My Little Desk Pet

[littlest-lily]

Rob was looking forward to today. It had been a long, long week full of one stressful meeting after another, and he could hardly stand the thought of stepping into the corporate office at the moment. But thankfully he wouldn’t have to. It was Friday, meaning the weekend was ahead, and today would be the first time that he would be telecommuting, presumably the first of many. Not only could he stay at home, but that meant that he would spend the day with his new little friend.

He had picked her up less than a week ago, a quiet Sunday morning that quickly became anything but. This had been a months-long process, as was the case for all of the exotic pets that FaeCo could provide. She had not been cheap either. But by God was she stunning.

With freshly brushed teeth and wearing an amalgamation of half formal wear, half lounge wear, Rob strode into his home office, running a hand through his hair in a weak effort to comb it. His laptop was already there, open and ready to be turned on. His adorable pet was ready as well, right where he’d left her this morning.

She really was quite the sight to behold. Her miniaturized body was perfect. Slender arms, long legs, well endowed, but not overly so. Her skin was on the pale side, currently complimenting the darker colors of her loose-fitting outfit. She was quite small, even as far as these shrunken companions went, just under four and half inches tall. Her eyes were bright and the color of amber, hinting at the fiery spirit within her. Her hair was long, almost reaching to her rear, soft and smooth, and although it might have appeared black at first glance, upon closer inspection it was a deep, dark, midnight blue. Perhaps that’s where her name had come from.

“Welcome back, Master Robert,” the tiny woman chirped, gracefully lowering to her knees and bowing her head as her arms folded to link up behind her back. She had been very well trained before coming into Rob’s possession and was nothing but polite in the early morning. He’d always gotten her to loosen up pretty quickly, though.

“Hey, Blue,” the larger one yawned, for a moment coming to stand just in front of his desk and lowering one hand to trail a finger down the little lady’s back. She shuddered with pleasure, giggling but keeping her gaze lowered. “What was my name again?” he added with a smile.

His pet lifted her head, sheepishly meeting his gaze with a small grin of her own. “Master Rob?” she ventured meekly.

Rob sighed. “Closer. They really hammered those formalities into you, didn’t they?”

Blue slowly rose to her feet, lifting her head higher to beam up at him. She had to tilt her neck so far back that it made her owner feel guilty, and he crouched before the desk so they could be more at eye level. He still kept his hand at her side, though.

“Does it displease you?” Her small voice was like silk against his eardrums, and she stepped lightly to stay close to his hand, curving her back against his touch as his fingertips seemed drawn to her like a magnet. She was sporting the cutest little smirk that made his insides turn to mush.

“It doesn’t ‘displease’ me, it’s just not necessary. You can relax.”

“Okay, Robert,” Blue hummed, and with her demeanor already shifting, she gave his index finger a small shove backwards so that she’d have space to take a seat on his middle finger. Rob happily went along with this, placing his thumb against her knees and using his index to support her lower back as he lifted her right off the table. She let out the smallest gasp, almost imperceptible, subtly revealing that, despite all of her training, she was not entirely used to being handled so casually at this size. For a moment she wavered in place and glanced down at the ground quickly pulling away from her before she let out a steadying breath and went back to smiling up at her master.

Rob got to his feet again, shrunken woman in tow, and was content to hold her aloft like a parakeet as he turned on his laptop and made his way around the room, opening the curtains to let some light in. What a pleasure this day was going to be - working from the comfort of his home with such a sensually cuddly companion at his side.

A minute or two later he sat at his chair, just as his email was automatically booting up, and he lowered his hand back to the desk to gently set Blue down. He had brought her carrier here so that she’d have everything she’d need close at hand - litter, water, food, and even a couple of the toys that she had come with. Surely more than enough to keep her satisfied. At least it seemed to be enough whenever he had been gone at work, though he technically hadn’t been around in person to be sure.

“I’m sooo happy that you’re here today!” Blue sang, darting over to Rob’s laptop and looking up at it curiously. “So what’s on the schedule?”

“I have a couple of meetings later, but they shouldn’t take too long. Mostly just a whole lot of answering emails and writing reports. Riveting stuff, I know.” The comparative giant scrolled through the messages that had come in that morning, looking for any emergencies. He continued talking to his pet absently as he clicked away. “Just know that if any video calls come in, I’ll need you to be very quiet. I’m sure you’re aware that most of the world doesn’t know about shrunken ladies such as yourself. You’re my little secret, alright?”

“Ooo, I love that. Your little secret…” And with that Blue sprawled herself onto her keeper’s wrist, rubbing her cheek against the top of his hand that was resting on the mouse.

“Um…” Rob said with amusement, his attention pulled away from the screen and towards his tiny interloper. “I kinda need that hand.”

“Oh, fiiine,” she responded with a little huff as she got back up, “I haven’t had breakfast anyway.”

She scampered off to her carrier and Rob sighed with contentment as he watched her leave before going back to his emails.

The morning began passing without issue. Blue occupied herself for the next thirty or so minutes as she nibbled at the special pellets that were provided with her, alongside some of Rob’s own breakfast as he was slowly introducing her to real food. She spent quite a while in front of her coin-like mirror, using the tiniest of combs to parse through her long, smooth hair, grooming herself languidly within her master’s sights. After that she began wandering the desk, curiously taking a quick look around, as today was the first time that she had been placed here.

Eventually, though, she was drawn back to him. At this point both of Rob’s hands were occupied, typing away at his keyboard as he worked on a report. Blue carefully hopped onto his forearm, swinging both legs over in one fluid motion, so that she could go sit between the two arms. She laid down onto her stomach and gazed up at the computer screen that towered over her.

Rob particularly enjoyed this, and anytime he had to pause and think, one of his hands drifted over to his new desk toy, one thumb idly running up and down her back with a tender touch. Blue quickly gave up on paying attention to the screen and lay her head down on folded arms, practically purring in delight anytime she received the soft pets. She frowned and looked up whenever his fingers left her again to resume their journey across the keyboard, and then she’d let out a sigh before setting her head back down.

Eventually, though, the shrunken woman grew weary with the pattern, especially as she received fewer and fewer pets. She rolled onto her back, biting her lip as she looked straight up at the distracted giant. She took a deep breath in, conjured up a winning smile, and carefully interrupted. “Do you need a break yet?”

Rob glanced down at her, only half of his attention leaving his work. “It hasn’t even been an hour, Blue. Don’t tell me you’re bored already?”

“Um… just a little,” she responded cautiously, keeping her eyes on his face even as he kept his on the screen.

“Well, I brought your toys over too, did you see?”

Knowing that he wasn’t looking at her, Blue allowed herself to roll her eyes. Right… the rubber ball, the cylinder cage with a bell in it, and the stuffed penguin. Such wonderful entertainment those were. She thought she’d go crazy with only those “toys” to occupy herself with whenever Rob was at the office.

But she didn’t complain, simply rolled herself up to her feet and trudged back over to the gigantic arm beside her. She took a bit longer to cross the obstacle this time, laying her body along the length of it for just a moment, enjoying the feeling of his warm skin against hers and gently touching the soft hairs with her fingertips–

With a yelp, the tiny woman suddenly fell as Rob shifted his hand a little too abruptly towards the top of the keyboard and made Blue roll off his arm in the process, crashing to the hard surface of the desk.

“Oops,” her much taller companion lamented, taking a moment to look down at her. “Sorry about that, you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she said shortly, hurrying to her feet. A quick glance up, though, and she saw Rob was already back into his work. Hiding her frown, she turned back to her carrier.

She did take a moment to hug her stuffed penguin - as annoyed as she was about it, she was quite attached to this one comfort object. She then spent a few minutes kicking the rubber ball around, something she had gotten rather good at even though she had no interest in it. But then Blue decided to do some more exploring. She had all these office supplies around her, might as well examine the things that weren’t just the same old toys.

The stapler made for a fun balance beam, not to mention a good boost to be able to peer into the mug that was full of pens. She struggled to pull out one of them, wielding it like javelin, which earned her a chuckle from Rob as he glanced over at her antics. She dutifully replaced the writing utensil once she tired of swinging it around, and then she messed around with paperclips for a bit, linking them up in a chain that coiled around herself, the curved wall growing higher and higher until it was half as tall as she was. She left herself the task of unlinking them all for later and simply hopped out of her little metal cage. So far she was much preferring the giant’s toys over her own, but she still felt so restless.

Hoping a more active challenge might be more engaging, Blue wandered over to the back shelf that was part of the desk, looming above like an apartment building. Rob mostly kept various forms of paper, books and binders here, and it would be tricky even getting to the first shelf. It took her some time, but the determined little adventurer started gathering whatever items she could budge in the vicinity, stacking up post-it notes, dragging over a box of staples, sliding one of the shorter books out from the rest. Soon enough she’d created a rudimentary staircase for herself and she began climbing, her heart pumping with excitement at her modest accomplishment of reaching a higher platform.

There wasn’t much to see up on the wooden shelf, though. She ran her hand along the book spines that towered beside her like a row of narrow houses, all the while gazing out towards her occupied master, who she was almost eye level with at this point.

She enjoyed just observing him for the time being, taking in every feature. To the average person Rob might have come off as almost plain looking, slim and with a kind face, but nothing more. But she could see details that no one else could. She loved the way his eyes tapered into an almond shape and noticed every shade of brown that layered onto the irises. His short hair had the exact same layers of color, and she knew from experience that it was incredibly soft, a joy to run her hands through. He had just a shadow of stubble brushed over his chin, and even with a neutral expression she could see the smallest dimple past the corner of his mouth.

Blue was so distracted as she watched him that she bumped right into a big pile of business cards, only now noticing them in her path. A few of them got knocked askew, one fluttering its way back down to the surface of the desk.

She held her breath, body tensing up as she looked back at the giant before her, hoping he wouldn’t get mad at her blunder. He did notice the card falling but hardly seemed bothered, just quietly muttering, “Careful.” His tone wasn’t annoyed, if anything he sounded concerned for her safety up on the shelf, but Blue’s shoulders sagged sadly nonetheless at how detached he acted. She plopped right down into a seat on the shelf, letting her legs dangle off the edge, and just stared straight at Rob for minutes on end as she stewed in her loneliness.

It was almost 10am when the now stiff and bleary-eyed man pulled his hands away from the computer, bracing his arms behind his neck to stretch out his back. His eyes lit up at the sight of Blue up on her shelf, who was smiling at him eagerly as soon as he took notice of her.

“Ready for that break?” Rob asked, reaching his hand out to her, and the tiny woman was immediately on her feet, hopping onto his fingers excitedly. As soon as she was sitting on his palm, he stood up and ambled out of the room so that he could stretch his legs. His lovely little pet felt so nice and warm in his hand, and he found himself closing his fingers around her idly as he went to the kitchen. There was something so relaxing about the feel of her body, the subtle weight of it, the way she moved in response to his touch.

And it certainly helped that she absolutely loved being fondled like this. Blue circled her arms around her keeper’s thumb, squeezing it into a hug and sighing contentedly as she lay against the slope of his palm. She really hoped they would have some time for couch cuddles.

They had spent almost their entire Sunday afternoon on the couch, once Rob had brought her home and finished setting up her tank. For hours on end he pet her and talked to her, and she’d even gotten the chance to get a bit frisky as she discovered every inch of his body. It was the perfect beginning to their relationship. But after that first day he didn’t have nearly as much time to spend with her, and while the interactions they were able to have in the evenings were lovely, it was hard to make up for the amount of time she spent in total isolation during the day.

Rob contemplated making a second cup of coffee but settled for some tea instead. While he waited for the water to boil, he sat at the kitchen table and laid his occupied hand down on its surface, smiling down at his eager little toy. Using his free hand, he carefully explored the entire length of her with the tip of his forefinger. He traced figure eights around her tiny breasts through the fabric of her top, and Blue let out a happy moan as she closed her eyes and arched her back.

“I could do this all day,” she sighed, wincing as the giant finger ventured further south.

“You and me both,” Rob murmured. “Though I probably shouldn’t get us too riled up…” He was already getting excited downstairs and she still had her clothes on.

“Why not?” Blue pleaded, opening her amber eyes again with a pout. She almost cried out in protest when the comforting digit pulled away again.

“Because I’ve got a meeting soon,” Rob said, and he got to his feet in response to the kettle’s whistle.

“Already?” The word was whispered soft enough that her master didn’t hear it, and she hung her head dejectedly as they were promptly headed back to the desk. The break was so short that she wondered if it would have been better to not have the tease at all.

“Let me check something real quick,” Rob said, still holding onto Blue even after sitting down. A few clicks later on his laptop and suddenly they saw the room reflected back at them. “I want to see how much the webcam can pick up.”

He lifted the little woman up a few inches to position her in front of the camera. Distracted from her morose thoughts, she marveled at the sight of herself pinched between the massive fingers, something she never got to see from the outside. Rob lowered his arm until her feet touched the surface of the desk, and he gently continued pushing down on her head until she was forced to kneel.

“Right there… Okay, as long as you’re on your hands and knees you’re okay staying in front of me. And then…”

Despite herself, Blue smiled as the fingers wrapped around her again and slid her to one side. Slowly she was carried along until she disappeared off the computer screen. “Alright, this is as far as it can see you on this side… I’ll put a pencil right here to mark the edge, okay? Now the other side…”

She was giggling outright now, and Rob was grinning too as he playfully zoomed her to the opposite end. “Aaaand here’s this edge. So. While the webcam’s on, if you pass either one of these pencils you have to crawl. Alright?”

“Kinky,” Blue laughed.

“I’ll say,” Rob smirked back, setting her down. “Okay, I’m about to log on. No matter where you are, don’t make a peep. Got it?”

She mimed zipping up her mouth and silently nodded. Moments later, just as the call booted up, she went ahead and dropped to her knees to slink over the pencil that divided them.

It was something, at least. This was primarily a listening meeting, with Rob only needing to pipe up occasionally. The entire time Blue just lay on her side and curled herself into the curve of his palm, her feet absently massaging the inside of his wrist while he softly rubbed the top of her head with his ring finger. This was nice. If they could stay in such close contact like this she would consider herself completely content with the setup.

But the meeting lasted less than fifteen minutes. And then the giant was back at work, his attention fully on his big stupid computer once again, both hands occupied. Blue tried to make the magic last a bit longer by making her way over to the crook of his arm and taking a seat on the inside of his elbow. But the frequent movement would constantly jostle her, and from the occasional huff coming from above, it sounded like her clingy presence was becoming irritating. She took the hint and walked away.

Another hour and a half passed, the rest of the morning slipping by quietly, and not once did Rob look her way. As pathetic as she felt, there was only so much grooming and stretching and wandering and unlinking paper clips that Blue could stand when the object of her desire was so large that he was constantly in her line of sight. Soon enough her legs were moving seemingly of their own accord. She hesitantly stepped up to the hand that was resting on the computer mouse but currently not moving. Not that it mattered, apparently. All it took was her reaching out and touching his wrist for Rob to let out an openly frustrated sigh.

“You can’t expect me to resist you for so long, handsome,” Blue said softly, trying to turn on the charm by sensually leaning against his skin, breasts pressing onto the back of his hand.

His next exhale was gentler this time and his eyes met hers. “I know, sweetie. It’s hard to resist you too…” She was really starting to doubt that. But she kept her mouth shut and let Rob continue. “Listen, we still have the whole afternoon to get through. I can’t babysit you constantly.”

His words stung and she wasn’t sure how to respond to them. She tried to reassure herself by thinking ahead… It must be lunchtime soon, surely he’d take a break then? They could reconnect, it would help her recharge and face the second half of the day with new resolve.

As if he was sensing her thoughts, Rob tried to cheer her up in the most misguided way. “How about I bring you back something yummy for lunch? That should help, yeah? I’ll see if I can grab you a cookie or something.” And with that he sent his last email before putting his laptop to sleep.

Blue felt all of her mustered strength immediately deflate as she realized what he was saying. “You’re not eating here?” she asked hollowly.

“Nah, I can’t stand being inside for that long.”

The little woman balked at the irony and injustice of it all, and she almost said something. But she managed to take the words “How do you think I feel?” and swallow them down into oblivion.

Rob was closing his laptop now and gathering up a couple of things. “Be good, okay? I’ll be back before you know it.”

Blue silently descended to her knees on the desk, disguising her dismay as a formal gesture of farewell as she bowed her head. She closed her eyes and listened to the giant’s footsteps thunder out of the room and fade away into the distance.

[littlest-lily]

She wasn’t sure what was worse. Having Rob dangled in front of her, not to be disturbed? Or being trapped in stifling solitude instead? She sunk back into the dark hole that she’d found herself in every day that her master had been at the office. At least then she had her glass tank, with all its fancy amenities at her disposal. Here she was left stranded up on a desk.

Blue dragged herself to her carrier, picked unenthusiastically at her food pellets, and then tried to take a nap. With how fast her metabolism was she tended to benefit from a little extra sleep, and she typically did so around midday. But she was so frustrated with everything from the past morning that all she could do was stare at the navy ceiling of the carrier and count the seconds as they passed.

It felt like an eternity when she heard the distant door of the house open. Footsteps were quickly approaching. Blue leapt to her feet, almost tripping over herself from how stiff her muscles had gotten and how much she was hurrying. She ran out to the open surface of the desk.

“Welcome ba–”

“Sorry, Blue.” Rob was a massive blur of movement as he rushed to turn his laptop back on. “I’ll need to feed you after this call, traffic was bad and I’m running late.”

His pet opened and closed her mouth a couple of times in shock. How many more times was she going to get jerked around like this?

As the computer processed, in a silent moment of sincerity, Rob looked her right in the eye and brought a thumb up to her cheek in apology. It felt like fire against her skin and she lifted her hand up to touch it to the outside of the digit, to hold him against her for just a second and savor this. But the call booted up before she could do so, and the hand was ripped away from her again.

The split-second-long touch was too much. She was too wired and couldn’t take it anymore. Her entire body was shaking as her eyes fixated the fingers that had just left her. This was a much more active meeting, and even after Rob apologized to the group for the delay, he was doing a lot of talking, waving his hands around as he presented something to the rest of his team. He was already tense going into this and the subject at hand kept his stress levels up.

Blue was like a predator, poised to strike. She crouched down to hands and knees, focusing on her target that was gesticulating in the air, like a cat watching a very large bird. Finally it was someone else’s turn to respond and Rob briefly relaxed his forearms back onto the desk. Not a second was wasted.

The tiny woman swept in, slinking forward with her head low, and still with a cat-like mannerism, she rubbed her cheek along the side of her beloved master’s hand, planting kisses along the length of his pinkie. She didn’t have time to do anything else before she was forcefully shoved away. The hand had pushed hard against her chest and it was a struggle not to yelp as she toppled over to her side and watched the fingers pull away from her, rising back into the sky.

Blue looked up wildly, confused. He’d never shown any level of cruelty before. Even though she wasn’t physically hurt, Rob’s gesture spoke volumes. He wasn’t even looking at her, his face perfectly composed as he stared at the screen. She wasn’t just dismayed this time.

This time she felt a spark of anger.

Fighting back tears, she crawled away, getting back to her feet about half an inch sooner than she was supposed to in a hidden act of rebellion. She stomped back to her toys, the stupid useless things that were somehow supposed to get her through the day. If she had opted to pick up the penguin perhaps she could have calmed herself down. But instead she plopped into a seat in front of the cylindrical cage that contained a little jingle bell.

The toy was on its side and she grabbed one end of it to spin it. The bell hardly shifted, which only further annoyed the aggravated woman, who staunchly wanted to tempt fate at this point. In a self-destructive move she pushed against the cylinder hard so that it rolled an inch or two forward. A small ringing sound erupted from it and seemed to split the air.

Unsurprisingly, Rob tsk’d with irritation and surreptitiously reached over to where Blue was sitting. She’d just reached the cylinder to push it again when enormous fingers grabbed it right out of her hands. The giant opened a drawer, dropped the toy in, and shut it hard enough to make his pet lose her balance.

Temper flaring, Blue jumped to her feet and turned to the rubber ball now. She kicked it as hard as she could, sending it sailing past the edge of the desk and plummeting to the floor, where she heard it bounce away. Good riddance.

Drowning in her frustration, she paced in a circle with her fists clenched, until her eyes fell upon the rudimentary staircase she had built out of books and office supplies earlier. She marched right over to it, angrily making her ascent. On the edge of her vision she could feel large glowering eyes watching her, but she didn’t look his way. Maybe it was time for her to ignore his presence for once.

When Blue reached the shelf, there was a reverberating thumping sound as Rob rapped a knuckle against the desk to get her attention. She looked over and he was staring straight at her, clearly communicating his disapproval of whatever she was doing. Now acting in open defiance, she sarcastically mimed zipping her mouth shut again. After all, she’d kept her promise of not making a peep.

But she continued marching along on her destructive rampage. She reached the pile of business cards from before and picked one up to toss right over the edge of the shelf.

“Stop,” Rob hissed under his breath, barely discernible over the droning conversation of his teammates. His eyes darted between the shelf and the computer screen with growing exasperation.

Blue met his gaze in one fiery glare. And then she kicked the entire stack of cards and sent them flying. The bulk of it loudly clattered down to the desk, and several of them toppled in front of the laptop, surely showing up on the camera.

“Get down,” the giant snarled as he suddenly reached out to snatch her up roughly. She almost bit her tongue, overwhelmed by the huge fingers suddenly pressing in from all sides, and vertigo hit her hard before the hand slammed back down onto the desk and rattled her from the inside out.

“Everything okay there, Rob?”

Blue was wincing as the huge fist released her, tears of pain getting added to the ones from her anger.

“Sorry, yeah, that was… my cat.”

The casualness with which he spoke was the tipping point. Overcome with rage, Blue grabbed the closest thing she could find, a loose paperclip, and chucked it at Rob as hard as she could. It bounced against his temple, making the giant flinch. The projectile was too small and too fast for anyone to notice, and it didn’t really hurt him – in fact, with her reduced stature it was impressive that she could even throw it that high. But it earned her one deathly icy glare.

Rob finally took in just how furious his little pet had gotten. Her eyes were full of tears, her body was shaking, there was a bright red mark on her arm, but right now he was too riled up to care. In this split second as the two regarded each other, all he could think was how dare she defy him like this.

“Ohhh, you have a cat?” one of his coworkers was asking excitedly, “Can we see?”

Despite him still angrily fixating Blue, Rob managed to maintain a relaxed enough tone. “Nah, she ran off. Though if she doesn’t stop misbehaving, I’ll have to go lock her up in her carrier.”

The look in his eye at that moment was enough to make Blue finally snap out of it. She suddenly realized that she was completely out of line. No matter what she felt, the gigantic man before her owned her. He was completely within his rights to do whatever he wanted to her. Fear swooped in to replace her wrath, and she threw herself to her knees, linking her hands behind her back and bowing her head low as she got into her submissive position.

She stayed like that for the entire rest of the meeting, her body trembling from the awkward stance, the anxiety, the residual frustration that she had buried deep inside. A good thirty minutes passed as she stared at the desk and desperately wondered where Rob’s mind was at.

Finally the call ended, and once the giant clicked out of the virtual meeting room, he let out a heavy sigh. The tiny woman could hardly breathe in the ensuing silence, her own heartbeat reverberating in her ears as she continued to keep her head down.

“Blue.”

His voice was quiet but it still made her flinch. She raised her head slightly in response to her name, though she did not meet his gaze. A large hand appeared in front of her, unfurling so that the fingertips lay just ahead.

“Come,” the voice commanded firmly.

For the first time, she didn’t want to. For the first time she was afraid to go anywhere near him. But she couldn’t defy this direct order. She got to her feet and took a couple of shaky steps forward down the length of his fingers. As soon as she reached his palm the entire thing lifted up and knocked her off balance. She got back into her kneeled bowing position right there in his hand, and her shoulders tensed as things became still again.

“You understand I have to work, right?”

His tone was so cold. Blue’s chest was tight as her heart raced away. She kept her head down and silently nodded.

“You understand why I have to work. Right?”

She nodded again.

“I can provide for you far better than the vast majority of people you could have ended up with, you know. Thanks to this job.”

Blue hung her head in shame at this. She didn’t look at him but softly said, “I know…”

“Care to explain yourself, then?”

She swallowed, trying to keep the shaking under control. Her voice was weak. “Th-the accommodations are nice… They’re very nice. I-I’m grateful, Master, I really am.”

Up until now, he had always insisted she call him by his name. But he didn’t correct her this time.

“It’s just…” Blue squeezed her eyes shut, mustering her courage to continue speaking. “I need… er… I would like… a little more than just nice things. W-we’ve barely been able to spend any time together… I just…”

And despite her best efforts, a tear fell from her eyes. She watched in terror as the drop of moisture splashed onto the skin of her owner’s palm. Desperately she tried to keep herself in check, but a second tear fell, and then a third.

Rob stared at his tiny pet. He had been thinking about how he was regretting not having accepted the leash that she came with. That she clearly didn’t understand how good she had it. That everything he’d bought for her was top of the line - her tank had plumbing for Christ’s sake - and how infuriating it was that she would repay him with such blatant disrespect. He’d been too easy on her. Things would need to change.

But then he heard the distress and longing in her voice. He felt her miniscule tears and the way her body trembled. He took notice again of the big red mark on her arm that was quickly bruising… and realized that it was about the size of a fingertip. He must have pinched her harder than he meant to when he snatched her from the shelf. He thought about what that might have been like for her, getting violently grabbed by a beast many times her own size. He thought about what could have driven her to act so rashly. What he might have done to push her to such a desperate state of mind.

Rob let out a long exhale.

“It’s true…” he finally conceded, “that I probably should have taken a couple of days off to help you settle in first.”

Blue finally looked up at him, her expression full of shock, before she snapped back into position, lowering her head. Rob smiled and prodded her with his thumb.

“You can relax,” he soothed, his tone warming up.

She did as she was told, releasing her hands from behind her back and slowly getting into a cross-legged position. She was still struggling to look at him. So he lifted her up higher, level with his face so that he could catch her gaze.

“Hey… I’m sorry I lost my temper, I didn’t mean to hurt you. And please don’t think that I don’t want to spend time with you. I’d like to do that more than anything, Blue.”

“R-really?” she stuttered, mindful of her movements as she went to wipe tears off her cheek. “It hasn’t exactly… felt that way.”

Rob assisted in a moment of tenderness, using his free hand to wipe her other cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Of course I do,” he murmured, “You’re beautiful, but you’re also so fun and sweet and caring. And I love that fire in you, even if it can be a bit troublesome sometimes. Tell you what…”

He paused for several seconds as he thought things through. For a moment he glanced at his laptop, but right now the computer had no power over him compared to the miraculous little creature in his hand. Things really did need to change.

“How about I take a few extra days off next week?” he finally offered, “I’ll extend the weekend. We can spend time together, really get to know each other more, and figure out better ways for you to occupy yourself.”

Blue almost got emotional again as her face lit up with a big, bright smile. “Yes! I’d love that, Master. I’d really love that.”

Rob smiled and brought her in to kiss the side of her head, and for a moment they embraced each other, her pressing her body against him and him enjoying the feel of her against his face.

“What’s my name again?” he said softly, pulling her away and reaching a finger up to stroke her neck.

Blue took the finger in both hands and kissed it before hugging it against her cheek. “I’d love that, Robert.”

“Better. So do you think you can behave until then? Just for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Yes. I’ll be quiet, I’ll be good.” She let go of him and fidgeted with her fingers, her smile conflicted. “Even if that means having to stay away from you.”

“About that…” Rob said and he stood back up, cupping his hand around his spirited little treasure as he began walking out of the room. “I have an idea.”

They traveled to the bedroom, a place Blue was quite familiar with as this was where her own living quarters were. For a moment she worried he was about to put her back in her tank, but he kept walking towards a door she was less familiar with - his closet.

Before she knew what was happening, Rob was tilting the hand she was sitting in to slide her right off, playfully dumping her into a soft, cramped space. It took her a moment to realize it was the pocket of one of his hanging shirts.

Blue spent a few seconds righting herself and struggling to get to her feet. By the time she popped her head out of the fabric enclosure, the nearby giant had stripped off his own pocket-less shirt and was turning away to drop it off into the hamper. She grinned in delight and made a tiny squeak of a wolf whistle.

Rob chuckled as he turned back her way and reached for the hanger she was dangling from. She giggled and held on tight as her gigantic master started putting on the shirt she was riding in, bumping and jostling her in the process. The silliness was sucking any residual tension out of the air, so that the unlikely couple was finding a comfortable ease in their interactions once more.

Once he slipped his head through the collar, Rob looked down to make sure his pet was where he’d left her, and he felt himself melt at her contented little smile. He loved the sight of her so close to his heart.

“What does ‘Goldarrow’ mean?” Blue asked suddenly, pointing to the label that was just on the hem of the pocket.

The distracted man answered absently as he continued to get dressed and shift his small passenger around. “I think it’s just this shirt’s brand name…” He paused after getting one arm through the hole, and then his eyes found hers again as he frowned. "Wait. Can you read, Blue?

“Of course!” she scoffed, looking up at him with exaggerated indignation.

He was searching for the other arm hole while he mused, “I didn’t know that…”

Blue laughed as she kept losing her balance, though she managed to speak nonetheless. “I’m still a person, you know, I can learn more than how to kneel. I bet I’m just as smart as you are.”

Rob reflected on this. He really didn’t know that much about her. Hell, maybe all she needed for entertainment was a damn book. Perhaps giving her a little more respect really was the answer in figuring this budding relationship out. He couldn’t wait to learn everything he possibly could about her.

He settled into his new shirt, tugging at the hem. “Is this okay?" he asked.

“This is wonderful," Blue purred, and she sat down to lean against the wall of his chest with a loving sigh. His heartbeat sounded like distant fireworks and his warmth was already making her sleepy.

“That cookie is ready for you whenever you’d like it… And let me know if you get bored. I’ll listen this time."

But she was already curling in on herself, settling in for a nap. She felt like she could stay in here forever. “Thanks, Rob. I will."

She didn’t even need a reminder this time. Rob smiled and lifted his hand up to gently run his fingers along her back from outside the pocket. “Good girl."

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I’d love to know more about Blue’s past. It seems like she’s always been small, implying that she was bred for this role. Is she as chronologically old as she appears? Did she have a tiny childhood before she was sold? Did she ever have a choice about her fate?

[littlest-lily]

@Olo I wish I had answers for you! Honestly this was just meant to be a one-off, I needed a little break from working on Out of their Element so I tried my hand at a shorter, simpler story where I don’t have to worry about all those details But I did have a rough idea for a different adventure for these two, so maybe one day I’ll come back to it and dig a little deeper!

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I know exactly what you mean about just wanting to describe the encounter. I just kinda wanted to know what her expectations of being a pet were so I can measure her frustration against them.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo I gotcha! So in my mind I was drawing parallels with a dog (even her name is meant to be dog-like), except she’s very much a person. No matter what it was like for her before this, I definitely have it in my mind that for her getting adopted is the ultimate happiness and gives her a sense purpose, even if she didn’t know exactly what kind of home she would go to. She genuinely wants nothing more than to spend time with her new master, though she also sees him as the ultimate authority.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Responsible owners train their pets and condition them to their environment.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Absolutely! Homeboy had a lesson to learn.

[littlest-lily]

Part 2: Her Little Playdate

Rob cracked open the front door of his house hesitantly. Blue should have been trained enough by now to be giving the entryway a wide berth. But one could never be too careful.

Satisfied that he hadn’t whacked the door into any tiny women, he continued opening it, still slowly but with more confidence. He stepped inside and his eyes scanned the floor until he saw a small figure darting in from the living room.

“You’re early, you’re early!” Blue shouted excitedly, running to her master as fast as she could.

“I am, I am,” Rob chuckled, adoring the sight of his excited pet. “There was a company event today that ended early, so they let us all go home.”

He was just setting down his work bag and hanging up his keys as the shrunken woman reached his feet, and she paused to lean onto the toe of his shoe and catch her breath. But after a couple of seconds she wasted no more time, climbing aboard his foot so that she could undo his shoelaces. She would have been happy to help take off his shoes for him as well, if she wasn’t just a little over four inches tall.

“Thanks, sweetie,” the relative giant responded as he slipped off his jacket. Blue hopped back off his second foot, and now he could easily slip his shoes off without having to bend down. Not that it mattered. There was just no resisting the allure of his little friend down on the floor - he crouched down all the same to gather her up into his hand.

“Hey there, handsome,” she gushed, gazing up at the quickly approaching face above her. As soon as she was close enough, she was covering his cheek with tiny kisses.

“What have you been up to?” Rob asked as he softly nuzzled into her.

“Adventuring! There’s still so much of the house left to explore!” Blue grinned and sat down in the massive palm, all but wagging an invisible tail. Even though it had been over a week since she had finally been given full reign of the house, she still couldn’t get over her newfound freedom.

“You’ve been avoiding the stairs?”

“Of course, no problem. I only try to go up those when you’re here.”

“Good girl.”

Rob closed his fingers around his little pet so that he could fondle every bit of her as he walked to the living room. Her body went limp from a mixture of fatigue from running around all day and of ecstasy from being in her favorite person’s gentle grasp. Her keeper was looking forward to entering the same state, the promise of rest coming into view in the form of the couch.

Soon enough the unlikely pair was in full veg mode, Blue sprawled on her back over Rob’s cheek with her feet propped up on the bridge of his nose. Her fingers trailed over his skin as she blindly tried to find the dimple just past the corner of his mouth.

“Oh hey, you’ll never believe what happened today,” the giant muttered with his eyes closed, his talking enough to shift his passenger around.

“You ran into someone like me?” she guessed. That would be pretty unbelievable.

“Actually, almost! I met a dude who also owns someone like you.”

“What?!” Blue shot up to sitting so that she could stare right into the large, now open brown eye beside her. “Really? How did you even figure that out?”

“Turns out someone decided to take a nap in my work bag yesterday,” Rob said, his eyes narrowing, and immediately she turned right around to avoid his gaze, earning an amused chuckle. “When I took my computer out during the event earlier, one tiny sock apparently fell to the floor. I didn’t even notice it, but some guy I’d never met pulled me aside to give it back and let me know I’m not alone.”

“That would explain where that sock went,” Blue grumbled as she turned back around sheepishly. Falling into old habits for a moment, she bowed her head with some formality. “I’m sorry, Rob. That was irresponsible of me.”

“It’s alright - no harm, no foul. I didn’t even know you wore socks,” he teased, reaching up to grab one of her feet, which was indeed bare at the moment. She giggled as he dragged her off of his face and into the palm of his other hand that started lowering down towards his stomach.

“I do when I nap, sometimes, to stay warm,” she purred, rubbing her chin against the thumb at her side.

“Anyway,” Rob said, setting Blue down on his shirt, right in front of the waistband of his pants. “His name’s Jim. He invited me to a playdate that he apparently hosts from time to time. What do you think?”

“Y-you mean I could meet others?” the little woman marveled. She tried not to get too distracted by the growing hump just behind her, which was very difficult for her to do. “It’s just been me and you for all these weeks… gosh, how long has it been now?”

“Coming up on three months,” the giant said without hesitation, though his attention was very much split at this point. His fingers found their way to the hem of Blue’s shirt and with a practiced confidence they were tugging it up her body.

She lifted her arms up as if this was the most natural thing, even as she was deep in thought. “Hmm… yeah, maybe it would be good for me. I’m down to try if you are!”

“Mmmmkay,” Rob responded, his brain hardly functioning at all at this point as he was now working on pulling down her shorts. “We’ll check it out this weekend. For now let’s move on to your punishment.”

“Punishment?” Blue said with a laugh, now absently slipping off her undergarments, “Whatever for?”

“For leaving your sock in the bag. A terribly naughty thing to do.” There was a clink of a metal belt buckle.

“You said no harm, no foul!” she protested, all giggles as she seductively lowered to hands and knees on his abdomen.

“Just get in there and accept that you’ve been a very bad girl.” Rob grinned, pulling up the opening to the warm, and to Blue, perfectly inviting cave.

---

The trip to Jim’s apartment was frustratingly long. This was probably because Blue wasn’t used to getting out of the house at all, her travel carrier virtually unused before this point. But it also didn’t help that she was full of nervous energy. She’d go from gazing at the world through the one-way mirror that was her window, to pacing around the cramped space when things went still, to hunkering down on the floor whenever Rob started walking again.

Soon enough, she could tell that they were entering a building, and she knew that meant she’d be let out soon. Despite the rhythmic swaying of her master’s steps, she couldn’t stay still, practically bouncing off the walls in excitement. Finally, even though from her angle she couldn’t see anything, she heard the sound of a knock, followed by a door opening and an eager voice echoing into the hallway.

“Hey, Rob, you made it! Good to see you again, come on in.”

Blue looked around eagerly at the new environment through her window as the two men made small talk. The apartment was messy and looked like it would be so much fun to explore. But she also knew she had to be on her best behavior when meeting these strangers, and so she immediately tempered her expectations. Her carrier was swung around as Rob turned a corner, and then a third man came into her view.

He was already sitting on the couch but hadn’t said anything yet. Another carrier, bigger than hers, was sitting at his side, ñand he had one arm draped over it while his other hand was occupied with his phone. He had short blonde hair and dark gray eyes that were currently staring down at the screen with an unreserved scowl on his face.

“Dave got here a minute ago - it’s his first time too, we recently met on a message board. We were just about to introduce the girls to each other,” Jim said jovially, and the man on the couch finally looked up from his phone so he could stand and shake Rob’s hand.

A couple of “nice to meet you”s later and Blue finally heard the click of her carrier door opening up. The roof swung open and one familiar hand reached in to cup around her. She climbed up the fingers like a ladder, trying to get her first glance around as quickly as possible.

“This is Blue,” Rob said, reorienting his hand to help his pet settle into his palm. She glanced up at their host, who had been doing most of the talking so far. Jim was both tall and stout and had a warm smile. He was also hairier than she expected - she realized just then that she had never seen someone with a beard since she had been shrunken. She suppressed a giggle as she wondered what it would feel like to run her hands through it, and a part of her hoped Rob might grow his own beard out so she could find out one day.

Then she regained herself and remembered her manners. Even though Blue hardly got into this position anymore at home, she slipped back into her old training without any issue, kneeling and linking her hands behind her back as she lowered her head in greeting.

“Well aren’t you the little cutie,” Jim cooed as she sat back up again. He lifted his hand up to be level with Rob’s, unfurling his fingers to reveal a miniscule figure clinging to his index. “This here’s Peanut.”

Blue’s jaw almost dropped. The woman sitting in front of her was the tiniest person she’d ever seen. She had light pink hair and sparkling brown eyes, and her big smile’s warmth matched her master’s. She grinned over at Blue, scooting forward on her owner’s fingertip and waving. She was less than half of Blue’s height, surely under two inches tall.

“Aww, she’s so tiny,” Rob observed, bringing voice to his pet’s thoughts as Blue shyly waved back from across the gap.

“Yup, she’s my sweet lil’ lovebug. We can set them just over here while we chat. You want to bring yours out now, Dave?”

“Sure,” the other man said as he opened his own carrier up and reached in to grab his pet around the waist. “This one’s named Lucky.”

Blue did another double take. Back at FaeCo, she had seen other shrunken women like herself, but all of them were grouped based on size, so she hadn’t ever interacted with anyone outside of the 3-5 inch range. Seeing this kind of variety was so different from what she had expected. This new girl was strikingly beautiful, with scarlet hair that went just past her shoulders and deep green eyes that shone like emeralds. She had a collar around her neck that looked to be made of black leather, a leash hanging down from it. And she must have been about seven inches tall.

Lucky’s eyes darted between all of the giants above her before passing over the miniature women in their hands, and then she lowered her gaze without so much as a smile.

The three pets were placed into a container on the carpet, an old foosball table with the legs and players removed. The green floor made it look like they were in a miniature park, and there was a variety of benches and toys available for the shrunken ladies to do as they wished.

Blue looked around excitedly as she hopped into her new environment, and then she made a beeline towards where the other girls were being set down. Peanut was clearly used to the place, waving the other two over to a table that held a plate full of snacks. Lucky glanced behind her at her owner before taking tentative steps towards the others, just about reaching them before she stopped in her tracks, going very still as the leash hanging from her neck went taught.

“Stay put, Lucky,” warned the scowling giant from his spot on the couch, the other end of the leash in hand. “I don’t want you wandering around, hear me?”

A wave of awkward quiet passed through the group at the sharpness in the man’s tone. Lucky gracefully lowered into a seat, keeping her head down and her mouth shut. Jim was the first to recover as he settled into his own chair. “You want to let her off her leash, Dave?” he suggested kindly, “I don’t mind her wandering.”

“And just let her run amok?” Dave responded as he continued glaring at his pet’s back before dropping the end of the leash onto his lap. “I don’t want her to break something.”

There was a long, tense pause in which Jim and Rob met eyes for a second. The latter jumped in to try and help steer the conversation, “Uhh, I actually don’t even own a leash for Blue. Hope that wasn’t a faux pas to bring her without one?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” said Jim, grateful for the change of subject, “Though I really would recommend getting one for her. Especially if you want to take her out - it’s entirely for her own safety. Look, I got this harness type one and you can just lift her right off the ground and she’ll still be perfectly comfortable…”

Down on the foosball table things felt pretty awkward between the three girls as well. Peanut didn’t even come up to Blue’s waist and was practically doll-sized compared to Lucky, but like her owner she had quite the confident presence nevertheless. “Don’t you love how they always talk about us like we can’t hear them?” she said with an eye roll and a caring glance towards her owner.

With that, the women relegated the booming voices of the nearby titans into the background. Blue couldn’t keep her smile at bay anymore as she looked between her two new friends.

“It’s so nice to finally see another girl!” she gushed enthusiastically, “Another anyone, I guess! Much less two of you.” She hoped to bring Lucky into the fold with that, but the tallest of the women was still sitting with her head down.

“Oh right, this is your first playdate, huh?” Peanut chirped, and she reached up to Blue, who kneeled down delightedly to take the tiniest woman’s hands into hers. After all, their need of connecting through touch extended well beyond their giant partners.

“Yeah, first time for me,” Blue said, “How many have you been to?”

“Oh, probably hundreds now. Jim and I drive all over the state to host them. You’d be surprised how many of our kind there are in the area!”

“That’s so cool! I’m so happy to meet the both of you!”

“Likewise,” a quiet voice piped up, and the two looked over to see Lucky’s head lifted with a small, hesitant smile on her face. Relieved, the two smaller girls shifted closer so that they could all chat.

The buzz of conversation filled the air for a while. Rob had originally wanted to do this for Blue’s sake, to socialize her, but he ended up enjoying this. Their talks revolved around some of the normal topics - work and sports and the like - but they also wandered into stories involving their pets, tips on training them, what products were helpful to own. It was nice to get to know others who shared the same secret that he did. Well… it was nice to get to know one of them, at least. Dave wasn’t particularly chatty unless he was talking about his organic beard oil business.

The girls chatted excitedly in turn, and while Peanut and Blue did most of the talking, comparing tales of their time spent with their masters, Lucky only ever shyly joined in on occasion, to answer something like what her favorite food was or what toys she had in her cage.

Soon enough, though, the smaller women’s high energy got them to their feet and they started kicking a ball around, passing it back and forth. They knew Lucky wasn’t allowed to go far so they stayed close by, offering to pass it to her every once in a while as she remained seated. What was the size of a soccer ball to Peanut was more like a grapefruit to Lucky, but she looked grateful to be included, tossing the ball back their way.

At one point the smallest of the group climbed up onto the table, just to illustrate a part of a story she was telling, and even from her perch Blue was still taller than her. But Peanut hadn’t quite calculated her move right, and as she tried to avoid stepping on the food that was right next to her feet, she ended up toppling right over. Thankfully Blue was nearby and quickly stepped in to catch the little lady.

“Woopsie!” Peanut chirped, giggling and then throwing her arms around her taller friend’s neck. “Okay, that story didn’t end in me falling, but it’d be funnier if it did, so… I plummeted into the bowl and spent the rest of the day swimming around in chocolate pudding - the end!”

Blue laughed and held her close as she spun her around affectionately. “You are just sooo cute!” she sang and then finally crouched to set her down, “Gosh, and here I thought I was on the short side.”

Peanut teetered in place as she grinned, a bit dizzy from the twirl. “Oh I know,” she said, “I’ve yet to meet anyone smaller, but I love it! You know, even though FaeCo tells us a whole lot of bullshit, that’s one thing they got down pat. We all turn out the exact size we’re meant to be.”

Blue’s smile faltered and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. They hadn’t talked at all about the headquarters they all came from, much less say anything so frank about them.

But Peanut didn’t seem to notice any hesitation as she turned to Lucky, who was still sitting on the floor, and beamed at her from down near her elbow. “I’l haven’t met many as tall as you, though! I sure wonder what that’s like.”

Lucky shifted uncomfortably in her cross-legged seat, curling in on herself. “I don’t really feel tall…” she mumbled, her voice barely perceptible over the drone of the nearby men. “Well, not normally,” she added with a gentle smile, gazing at the two much shorter women.

Peanut extended a hand out and the comparative giantess hesitated, looking as if she wanted to reach out before closing in on herself even more. The two other pets frowned, disturbed by how reserved their peer was. Not to be discouraged, the tiniest woman took it in stride, retracting her hand but trying to make contact nonetheless. “Well let me tell you, from down here you look gorgeous! I mean, just look at that hair.”

Lucky blushed at this, shyly tucking a strand of bright red hair behind her ear. “This is actually not too far off from my old hair color, believe it or not,” she said.

“Oh wow!” Peanut marveled, “You must’ve been quite the looker even before shrinking.”

Finally trying to take some initiative, Lucky tried to loosen up her posture and relax her arms as she loomed over the smallest woman. “What changed for you?” she asked curiously.

Peanut shrugged and took a lock of her own pink hair to dangle it in front of her face. “I mean, the standard stuff - hair, eyes. Definitely had a bit more of a stomach before.”

Blue swiftly hopped into this conversation as she sat down next to the other two and nodded. “Same.”

“I’m glad I didn’t lose my freckles though,” Peanut said, pulling up the sleeve of her shirt. Tiny light brown dots dusted her shoulder, trailing up further under her clothes. “They go all down my back now, where the scars used to be. Jim loves them too.”

The other two went quiet at Peanut’s candor. The mention of scars was another strange element to bring up, alluding to a time from long before.

Blue finally summoned the courage to ask something she normally wouldn’t, opting for the least intrusive question she could think of. “So how old were you when you enrolled?”

"Sixteen. Dunno if it was the same for you, but that meant two years stuck at that place before I could be sold, since apparently they deem it immoral to sell minors. When I was real young I was abused by both my parents, hence the scars, until they couldn’t keep me anymore. And then I was in the foster system for a while but I hated it. I jumped at the opportunity when FaeCo approached me.”

Blue’s eyes had grown round and her breath was coming in short. Without knowing what else to say she just resorted to, “I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” Peanut asked with a smile, “We all have fucked up pasts, right? Or else we wouldn’t be here.”

“I just… I don’t know, I haven’t told anybody about mine before.”

The tiniest woman’s gaze grew gentle and she reached a hand up to supportively touch Blue’s shoulder. “You should tell your owner about it sometime, when you feel ready. It’ll bring you so much closer together.”

Blue balked. “You told Jim?”

“Sure, why not?”

“That was just such a big taboo during training! They always said to never tell our owner about anything that happened before.”

Peanut rolled her eyes as she scoffed, “Yeah well, they also told us to always call them ‘Master’ and bow every time they enter the room. Do you still do that too?”

Blue let out a small laugh as she conceded, “No.”

Simultaneously, the tallest of the three quietly muttered, “Yes.”

There was a moment of silence in the little group, the echo of male voices filling the space instead. Both Peanut and Blue looked like they might burst with concern over Lucky’s entire demeanor and were trying to figure out what to say.

Instead, the flustered redhead began glancing around herself, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. Like she just wanted to escape. She slowly got to her feet and started saying, “Maybe I should…”

Suddenly they all cried out, as just then Lucky was forcefully yanked backwards and crashed into a heap on the floor.

“Good for nothing little…” Dave’s voice growled and he gave the leash another tug, causing his pet to wince and grab at her collar. The giant stood to take a step over to the foosball table, casting a shadow over all three women. “I told you to stay put, didn’t I? Why can’t you just listen?”

As if knowing what was coming, Lucky gripped her collar in both hands to try to save her neck as she was jerked right up to standing. She coughed and her eyes teared up as her feet left the floor for a split second.

“Now get on your knees,” Dave barked, “and stay there until I’m done. Understood?”

As soon as he gave the leash some slack Lucky threw herself down into a kneeling position, arms linking up behind her back as she bowed so low her nose almost touched the floor. Everyone was staring in silence, shocked by the sudden outburst. The other two men looked at each other again, not sure if and how they should address this. Dave stepped back to resume his spot on the couch, face smoothing out as if nothing had happened.

“So… uh…” Jim tried, his usual warm smile appearing a little cooler, “How long have you had Lucky now?”

Dave tilted his head as he thought. “I don’t know, something like… half a year? In any case, way too long for her to act up the way she does. I’m hoping if she sees how others are supposed to behave it’ll help. But I seriously think I just got a defective one.”

Jim frowned and looked like he was having a very hard time not just snapping and going off on the guy. Figuring that wouldn’t do much good, he instead tried to be diplomatic. “Have you tried spending more time holding her and petting her? She seems a bit skittish, maybe she just needs to get more used to your touch?”

Rob jumped in then to add, “Yeah, I made the mistake of not spending enough time getting Blue settled in at first. It really helped us when I just took a bit of time, made sure she knew I care, you know?”

With growing irritation, Dave sighed heavily. “I have a business to run, I don’t have time to coddle her all day. What’s the point of spending such an exorbitant amount of money on one of these if they still need that much training after the fact?”

As the giant men talked, the tiny women regrouped. Lucky stayed completely frozen, but the other two recovered from the shock and furtively slinked over to where their friend was kneeling.

“Are you okay?” Blue asked quietly, and Peanut instinctively reached up to touch the larger woman’s arm, causing her to flinch away.

For a moment, Lucky didn’t say anything. And then she whispered so softly that the others had to move in even closer. “Did you guys imprint with your owners?”

“Did we… imprint?” Peanut repeated, making sure she’d heard right.

The tallest one nodded, shoulders trembling. “Is it really supposed to be how they say? Like love at first sight?”

The two concerned friends briefly met eyes. Finally Peanut was the first to answer. “I don’t know if it was exactly like how they told us, but… yeah, by the end of the first day we were bonded.”

“Same here,” Blue added, “It didn’t mean we never had problems, but the link formed pretty quickly…”

Lucky sank even lower, pushing her forehead into the ground as tears fell and her voice broke. “Maybe I really am defective.”

The girls huddled closer, looking more like small children comforting a parent. They talked in hushed voices as Lucky slowly admitted to some of what she dealt with at home. That Dave had never really seemed satisfied with her. That his voice was always sharp. That from the very beginning the training involved a rap of the knuckles to the back of her head or a flick of the fingers against her rear. Soon enough she was getting roughly grabbed and squeezed if she said anything he disliked, or she’d receive a swift kick to the ribs if he found her where she shouldn’t be. In fact he seemed to rather like pinning her under his foot as a punishment, so that he didn’t even need to bother reaching down for her. If she failed to satisfy him in bed, he would stuff her in a mason jar and leave her on his nightstand for hours at a time. And as she grew increasingly afraid of him and tried to avoid his presence, she only seemed to incur his wrath more and more.

Blue felt absolutely heartbroken as she listened. Finding a home was supposed to be a chance for a new life. To finally make a connection with someone who was to be your everything. They would have full ownership over you, but above all they were supposed to love you and be your ultimate companion to care for you as long as you live. There was supposed to be an approval process to avoid excessively cruel owners. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

It wasn’t much longer until the playdate finally drew to a close. A massive hand descended from the heavens to gently interrupt the hushed conversation, and Peanut didn’t have to look up any higher than the awaiting fingers to know she was being called. Her master took precedence, but she took a second to connect with the other two, planting one tiny kiss on the top of Lucky’s lowered head, and then taking Blue’s hands as they shared a smile and a significant look. Then she scampered away so that Jim could scoop her up onto a single finger, which she straddled confidently.

Rob followed suit, laying a hand down next to Blue for her to hop onto. “Thanks for hosting this, Jim,” he said with a half smile as he straightened back up.

“Yeah, thanks for coming over,” Jim responded, though he was keeping a wary eye on Dave’s back as the latter gathered his own pet up in his hands.

Once Lucky was put away in her carrier, her owner roughly slung the bag over his shoulder, looking rather bored. He turned back to the other men, looking like he was about to say a similar goodbye and thank you. But then, as if noticing her for the first time, he looked down at Peanut perched on Jim’s finger and smirked.

“I was complaining about mine, but what can you even do with such a puny little thing?” he scoffed, and to Blue’s horror he was raising his hand, finger outstretched, aimed to roughly poke her new friend as if she was just some kind of plastic toy–

Jim pulled his arm back, not letting the finger make contact. “Alright man, that’s enough,” he said with a deathly glare. Clearly implying that Dave would not be receiving a second invite.

[littlest-lily]

---

Evening arrived swiftly a few hours later, and Blue found herself deep in thought as she perched on the armrest of the living room couch. Her legs dangled over the edge, feet kicking rhythmically as she gazed down at the distant carpet. Meanwhile Rob was on the other side of the room, busy looking through his DVD collection. Once he picked something out for the evening, he came to join his little pet at the couch and noticed the glazed-over look on her face.

“Why so blue, Blue?” he asked, chuckling at his own terrible pun as he sat down beside her.

The tiny woman seemed to snap out of it and quickly got to her feet. She attempted to smile but it was feeble, and then in a moment of tenderness she padded her way down the armrest to reach her master’s upper arm. She hugged herself around him, as far around as she could reach, closing her eyes as she held the embrace. She so deeply appreciated the connection that they shared, and she never wanted to take it for granted again. Rob had just picked up the remote so he could pull up the movie, but now he could sense something was truly amiss with Blue’s demeanor. He quietly set the remote back down and instead put his hand against her back, carefully hugging her in return.

“I can’t stop thinking about that playdate,” she finally admitted, “I loved meeting the other girls, I’d really like to do that again. But I’m really, really bothered by the way Dave was treating Lucky.”

Rob started stroking her back and nodded consolingly. “Yeah, actually Jim and I started texting about it almost immediately afterwards. That guy was a total asshole in every way. Even with us he was just being an arrogant prick the entire time, but the way he treated his pet was next level. I really felt for the poor thing.”

Blue opened her eyes again, keeping her cheek pressed against her owner. “I wish we could do something,” she lamented.

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do, sweetie. She’s his property. Since this is all underground, there’s no, like, animal services I can call to report it.”

“Well, if the law’s not involved, then… we could always kidnap her.”

Rob laughed at this. “Always the little troublemaker,” he said, playfully flicking at her hair. “Not sure how exactly I’d accomplish that. I don’t want a second pet anyway, Blue, I’m more than happy with just us.”

“But she doesn’t belong with him, Rob!”

In a rather uncharacteristic gesture, she jerked away from him and took a step back so she could look up into the much larger man’s eyes. There was a fire in her amber gaze, fierce and determined. One that was new. Since she had started her new life, Blue had never needed to think of anything outside of herself and her master. But now here she was, seeking justice for a fellow shrunken companion who was in far greater need than she was. The passion came to her as naturally as first discovering how to breathe.

Rob looked her up and down, a bit taken aback. He found his voice again, “Trust me, Blue, I agree with you. I don’t think any woman belongs with him, big or small. Actually…” He turned, frowning towards the ground for a few moments, gears revolving in his mind. Suddenly he reached to the coffee table to pick up his phone. “You just gave me an idea.”

Blue tilted her head curiously at her giant as he tapped at the screen. She was even more confused and intrigued when he lifted the phone to his ear and it became clear he was making a call. After a couple of rings, there was a muffled “Hello?” from the speaker.

“Hey Dave, it’s Rob. I just wanted to let you know, I think my girl accidentally stole one of Lucky’s accessories. She has a bracelet or anklet or something that’s not ours.”

With a gasp, Blue began panicking, gesticulating her hands wildly in an effort to stop whatever was happening. There was no way Lucky wouldn’t get punished over something like that. Rob held up a finger to try and reassure his little pet that she just needed to wait a moment, and she barely managed obedience in keeping quiet. He was otherwise focused on the conversation with Dave, who was clearly grumbling loudly on the other end.

“Listen, man, just hearing you say that,” Rob said evenly, “I’m starting to wonder if you were right today. Maybe she’s more trouble than she’s worth.”

Pause. Horrified, Blue held her breath.

“I dunno, maybe you two just don’t belong together. Nothing wrong with that.”

Another pause, coupled with a disgusted frown as he repressed a sigh.

“No, not in the woods. I’m sure someone else wouldn’t mind taking her in. You could probably even get your money back.”

Blue was swiftly calming down now, eyes widening as she realized where this was going. She broke into an adoring smile and formed a tiny heart symbol with her hands as she gazed at her master gratefully. Rob smiled right back as he continued.

“Okay well, in the meantime… Work’s about to get busy for me,” he lied, “Blue could use some extra company if you’d be open to a bit of a… fostering situation?”

---

The house was quiet. The bedroom had new furnishings. Extra water bowls were scattered throughout the downstairs. Things were strangely reminiscent of three months ago, when Rob had first brought his spirited new pet home. And yet the circumstances now were very different.

Blue stood on the floor, wringing her hands in anticipation as she watched a pet carrier, which to her was the size of a house, being gently set down in the entryway. She couldn’t see inside the plastic case - this one didn’t even have any one-way windows. She could only imagine what it might be like inside.

Rob kneeled down in front of the carrier, fiddling with the lock for a moment before slowly drawing the door open. He smiled at the interior and spoke softly. “Come on out, sweetheart, it’s alright.”

The figure who appeared made every semblance of formality. She had just finished smoothing out her scarlet hair and meager clothing. She tried to keep her head lifted as she took hesitant steps. But she couldn’t fully mask the trembling in her limbs and the darting of her eyes. Lucky was looking nothing short of terrified of the new environment.

Rob let her take a quick look around the kitchen and get her bearings before he addressed her again. “With any luck, you’ll only be here for a couple of days. Jim’s already looking for a better fit for you in his contacts. In the meantime, just a few ground rules, okay?”

The miniature woman nodded and, now that she had cleared the carrier entrance, she descended onto her knees and linked her arms behind her as she faced Rob, keeping her head lowered. He frowned and almost told her he’d rather she not bow, but he stopped himself and thought better of it. Giving the poor girl extra orders was not what she needed right now. He figured the most he could do for the little thing was use a warm and quiet tone.

“Stay away from closed doors and from the stairs - that’s to make sure you don’t get hurt. Try not to make a mess, but if you do, let me know. And always come if I call for you. Think you can do all that?”

“Of course, Master Robert," Lucky said, barely suppressing the waver in her voice.

Now realizing that what she probably needed most of all was some space, Rob carefully got to his feet again. “I’ll let Blue talk you through the rest. I’ll be in the living room if either of you need something."

“Thank you, Master Robert."

And with that the towering man took his leave. In normal daily life Blue hardly ever paid attention to the vibration of his magnified footsteps, aside from her getting excited at his approach. But she noticed Lucky flinching slightly with every thundering step. There was a lot of work to be done.

“Hi,” she said meekly, making her way to the taller woman. “It’s good to see you again!”

Lucky didn’t budge until her temporary owner was well out of sight, and even then she seemed too afraid to speak or look up. She also didn’t seem to know how to handle the situation - Blue might as well be her keeper too, a second in command.

“You as well, um… Miss– er…”

“None of that. Just Blue.”

Lucky finally glanced up at the dark haired beauty, her eyes brimming with tears but not quite overflowing. Blue’s heart clenched at the sight, and all she wanted to do was throw her arms around her and comfort her for the entire evening. But she kept herself in check, instead just smiling and reaching one hand out - not to touch but just to beckon.

“Can you come with me?” she offered gently.

The two diminutive women started slowly making their way through the downstairs as Blue tried to lighten things up by giving a quick tour of the place. Pausing in doorways, they wandered from the kitchen to the main hall, past the office and finally reaching the bedroom.

“Here, I’ll show you where we sleep," Blue said as she skittered towards the towering bed, at the foot of which sat her mansion-sized glass tank. “We’ve already got all your stuff set up. It’ll be fun, like a sleepover!"

Lucky followed obediently, able to take slower, more hesitant steps while still keeping pace. Some of her trembling had abated, and she was even able to summon a wisp of a smile when Blue looked at her with enthusiasm. She continued to remain silent, though.

They reached the edge of the tank, and Blue reflexively reached for Lucky’s hand without thinking in her excitement. She caught herself before making contact, but the tiny giantess had already recoiled, taking a step back before a look of embarrassment coupled onto her fear. She immediately dropped to her knees and bowed her head apologetically.

Blue took a deep breath and bit her lip. "Are you scared of me too?” she asked softly.

Lucky’s bright green eyes shone as she lifted her head up. “No, I… I’m sorry.” She took a deep breath before her gaze dropped again. “It’s just that being touched is usually not a… pleasant thing for me.”

Hearing it said so plainly wrenched at Blue’s heart. “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault!” she started with a hair too much passion before she paused. Then with a more subdued smile and tone of voice she reached her hand out again, leaving a generous gap between her and the taller woman. “How about you touch me instead?”

It took Lucky a good half minute to summon her resolve as she looked between Blue’s eyes and hand. But then, with what looked like a herculean effort, she slowly extended her arm until her fingers finally reached their destination, wrapping around as if she was gently taking a child’s hand.

Blue sighed with relief, keeping her eyes on Lucky even as she enjoyed the warmth they were sharing. Ever since the shrinking process, any time that she touched someone else, she would feel a much deeper connection than she had at her previous size, and it manifested as an internal heat. When she first met Rob, he felt like the summer sun, both overwhelming and wonderful, and over time that evolved until now his touch felt like a pleasant spring day or a cozy campfire. When she touched Peanut it had felt like a sparkler, bright and bold and crackling with energy. But this flame, in contrast, was so small. It was like a candle, delicate and soft, but it still felt so warm… so precious.

Lucky seemed very unaccustomed to this kind of connection. She reacted with a shaky gasp of surprise as she grappled with this integral part of herself that she had never really gotten to experience before. The moment wasn’t enough to thaw the frozen layer of armor around her heart. But it was something.

Blue gave her fingers the smallest squeeze. "Not so bad, right?” she said, “You’re safe here, I’m going to look out for you. And Rob’s never going to hit you or anything, okay? No matter how much you misbehave.”

Lucky nodded and her smile returned, a tad more genuine this time. Blue took this as an encouraging sign and started to tug on her friend’s arm to coax her to stand again. "Follow me. I want to show you something.”

Once again, the littlest of them walked ahead, leading them both all the way back through the house to the living room. Rob was sitting on the couch playing a video game, briefly glancing over as the two tiny women entered his line of sight but otherwise leaving them be. His loyal companion scampered up to where one of his socked feet lay on the carpet.

"You need to learn to touch someone bigger than you too,” Blue told Lucky, “Come here, it’s safe!”

Rob smiled without looking away from the screen. As much as the men had openly discussed their pets during the playdate, with the tables turned Blue was just as capable of talking as if he couldn’t hear her. He found it both amusing and adorable.

Lucky appeared to be struggling all over again. Reaching out and touching a woman who appeared about three feet tall to her was one thing. Willingly putting her hands on this monolith of a man was something else. She looked up at him helplessly, and although she seemed mildly relieved by the fact that he wasn’t staring back, she didn’t budge.

Blue insisted, leaning against the massive nearby ankle as she beckoned with an intent look in her eye. “It’s alright,” she said. “He’s literally never kicked me.”

Rob’s smile faded as he heard this. He was starting to catch on to just how far the abuse in Dave’s house had gotten. He made sure to hold especially still in the hopes it would aid with whatever was going on down at his feet.

It took another five full minutes of gentle reassurances until Lucky finally moved close enough to touch her fingertips to the giant’s leg. Her inhales grew tremulous as she took in the feel of both his skin and the warmth that bloomed inside of her as a result, her eyes growing larger with a dawning understanding.

“Yes, there you go!” Blue celebrated, coaxing a wider smile out of Lucky. “You should feel proud of yourself, that’s huge! Let’s go up, you’ve got this.”

In order to help his little friend get around, Rob had gone to a pet store and bought wooden suspension bridges made of twigs and meant for hamsters, hanging them from key spots like the kitchen table and his nightstand as makeshift ladders. There was one that dangled from the bottom of the couch cushions, and Blue hurried up the rungs with ease. Lucky meekly followed, having a bit more trouble getting good handholds on the thin rungs, but eventually managing to heave herself up onto the couch.

Now overflowing with enthusiasm, Blue had already scurried down the length of the couch and was currently climbing up onto Rob’s lap. She waved Lucky over and called out, "Come on! Getting pet is the best!”

Her master finally said something, unable to keep himself from chuckling. "Don’t throw too much at her all at once, Blue,” he said, pausing his game and stroking her affectionately with one thumb to the back of her head.

"You don’t understand, Rob. We’re made to be touched. There’s no greater joy.” Blue tried again, turning to Lucky, the fire in her eyes burning bright. Despite being the smallest person in the room, she spoke with the most authority. “I want you to know what it can feel like.”

Lucky was looking very unsteady on her feet. She still didn’t dare look Rob in the eye, and in fact her gaze was falling down to the floor. "Is… Is that alright?” she asked shakily, “I don’t want to intrude on…”

"I’m just sharing him for a little bit, okay?” Blue quipped, putting her hands on her hips, “Until you can have your own master.”

Taking the cue from his tiny partner, Rob turned his head towards Lucky and then slowly reached a hand out in her direction, keeping his eyes on her to gauge her mental state. His fingers came into her downcast view, just hovering there for a moment. Each digit was as long as her arm, and she was unable to keep herself from flinching at the sight. But she didn’t back away and she didn’t protest. She looked oddly determined in the wake of Blue’s words, fear slowly giving way to something else - maybe not hope, but at least a small fragment of curiosity.

The looming man approached her as he might a frightened kitten, letting her get accustomed to his presence before gradually moving closer. Lucky kept her wide eyes on his arm as his hand slowly moved behind her, fingertips floating just behind her head. That’s where he tentatively made contact, ring finger softly brushing against her hair. When she still didn’t panic, Rob let another couple of fingers lightly rest against her head and neck, prolonging the touch.

When Lucky felt the warmth this time, her entire demeanor changed. For a moment she looked overwhelmed and shivered from the intensity of it. But then, the longer she stood there with nothing bad happening, the more she processed the sensation instead. And as if it were happening despite herself, each of her muscles started slowly unclenching in turn. The large fingers shifted slightly against her shoulders and she found herself moving along with them, leaning into their slight pressure, until she closed her eyes with a palpable relief. Her shoulders dropped and she sighed with pleasure.

Rob smiled at his success in petting the frightened woman. This was a far more innocent touch than he might use with Blue, but there was a caring nature to it all the same. He looked down at his companion still sitting on his leg, and she was beaming back up at him, overjoyed with the progress being made.

Lucky began arching her spine as Rob’s hand reached her back, and she was shivering and sighing once more. After a few moments her tiny green eyes opened. She lifted her head. And though she still didn’t speak, for the first time she was able to give one of these towering giants an authentically grateful smile.

The foster family spent the rest of the evening on the couch. Lucky had eventually been coaxed over to Rob’s lap until she was sitting on his thigh and leaning against his abdomen, cheek resting on the curve of his stomach. Her eyes were closed and her body was limp, more relaxed than she’d ever been, like cuddling up by a warm fire that was slowly thawing her frozen heart.

Meanwhile Blue had scaled up her owner’s shirt to his shoulder so that she could reach his face. At the end of the day, Rob enjoyed the feeling of his tiniest friend and her big personality more than anything, and though they were frequently chatting about whatever was happening on the screen, he kept having to pause his game due to the occasional snuggle assault on his cheek.

“You’re a good girl, you know that?” he mumbled, returning his pet’s kisses affectionately.

“Damn straight,” Blue giggled with a cheeky grin.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I will refrain from asking follow-up questions and simply enjoy the extra glimpse into Blue’s life and her world.

I cannot help but be reminded of the time we tried to foster a second dog from the same rescue agency from whom we adopted our first dog. The second dog, Pax, must have been abused by a man because he never responded to my calls and always slunk away from me, even when I had treats. Pax constantly tried to escape, most notably digging under the backyard fence. We gave it three stressful months before I had to return him (on a Father’s Day, too). Fortunately he didn’t seem to teach our first dog any bad habits (like digging). On our recommendation the agency placed Pax with a woman who lived by herself.

I’m very proud of Blue for finding Lucky a new home, however long she stays. Something tells me FaeCo isn’t very diligent about vetting customers paying those prices.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Hey, those follow up questions were a big part of what inspired me to write more and further explore this little world!

I’m so sorry you had a rough experience with the fostering, but I hope Pax got what he needed in the end in a new home. Trauma can be such a powerful force, in people as well as in pets

I see FaeCo as an organization that might have genuinely good intentions (as opposed to the more likely scenario if this was real, of it essentially just being a human trafficking ring that would probably end up found out by the public real fast). But this is definitely a business model where all it takes is one screw up anywhere along the line and it can have disastrous consequences for someone.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Alright, here’s the big one: How do the little ladies become little? Is it voluntary? Is it still a secret outside FaeCo’s customer base?

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Happy to get into it! While I do plan to make this at least a trilogy (eventually), I don’t think these are spoilers since I’ve already alluded to it a lil bit. I haven’t thought of a specific shrinking method, but whatever it is, it also affects other physical traits and not just their heights. I almost imagine some kind of super fancy personality assessment that either scientifically or magically determines what their size/appearance is meant to be in their new life.

It is indeed “voluntary,” (though there’s quite the selection process involved, both for the customers and for the merchandise). It’s voluntary in the sense that these ladies fully consent to it and understand what they’re agreeing to… but they might also be in a place in their lives where they don’t really have any better options.

It is completely underground/secret, and I’ll say they’ve probably only been in operation for a few years because I just don’t see how word wouldn’t eventually make its way out… despite the fact that there’s probably all sorts of NDAs that the owners have to sign, and that (most of) these ladies are happy with their situations and thus not trying to escape. Not sure if I’ll end up doing anything with that part of the concept or not, I just enjoy the whole secrecy aspect and wasn’t particularly wanting to make a world in which this is normal lol

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Wonderful! So FaeCo isn’t just finding homes for the shrunken women, they’re also the ones responsible for shrinking them in the first place, yes? Maybe I should try to get a job there.