Out of their Element

[littlest-lily]

@tiny-ivy Thank you so much for the lovely feedback! Always makes my day to hear what you guys think As much as I love the physical sides of this fantasy, the stuff that I particularly love writing is what the characters are thinking/feeling and how they communicate. It’s so much fun to play with that stuff.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily As part of the narrative, I might share Aiden’s speculations about the cop showing him around the lab, but in my experience cops really are just that dumb.

I’m really enjoying both Evie and Aiden individually renegotiating their new reality. They didn’t really know each other before the accident, so they don’t have much history together as peers. The size discrepancy is therefore an important part of the foundation of their relationship, which is probably good considering how permanent it seems it will be. If they’d known each other for a while before Evie got shrunk, one or both of them might find that history too much of an obstacle to a size-difference relationship and reject it altogether. Then we’d have to find a new custodian for Evie.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo There are definitely pros and cons to them getting to know each other post-shrink. It does complicate things that Aiden’s essentially “one of us” and is actively trying to avoid getting excited about her size. Granted, that would have been an issue regardless of when he’d known her…

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 9
Evie

Oh no. Oh no no no no no.

This is it. He’s done with me.

“A-about what?” I ask, trembling, “I won’t touch the scissors anymore, I promise!”

“Not that,” Aiden says, shaking his head. In this moment he looks very tired, and… hurt, almost. I don’t understand, not completely, but I’ve seen this kind of look before.

I stand there, not knowing what to say to stop the train from wrecking.

He sighs heavily. “I went to the lab and… it was bad. The whole room’s pretty much destroyed, none of the machinery was intact. And from what I can find out, Dr. Little was a complete mystery person - no one knows who he was or where he came from or anything. I don’t even know if that’s actually his name at this point or if it was just a sick joke. And according to his notes, none of the stuff that was shrunk down ever got restored again. It… it doesn’t look good, Evie.”

I have to keep the lid on. Keep it together.

“I wish I could tell you how sorry I am that this happened to you. I hate that I’m partly responsible. I’m trying to think longer term though…”

I can’t look him in the eye anymore, wrenching myself away from the piercing hazel.

“I understand that you’re scared of going to the authorities, and I wish I was able to just restore you myself instead. But I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what else to try.”

There’s a pause of deathly silence as I waver on the spot. It’s not a surprise at this point to find out that I might be stuck like this forever. I’ve either already come to terms with that, or more likely I just don’t have the capacity to process it yet. But now I have to face an entirely different reality instead. One that fills me with a deep, deep dread.

I blow out an exhale, like letting out steam to alleviate some of the pressure inside me. I try to take this small death gracefully and give him my gratitude for helping me as much as he has, all the while gathering the strength to negotiate.

“Aiden…” I finally say, still not quite looking him in the eye, “I don’t know what would have happened yesterday but… the way I see it, you saved my life. On more than one occasion. That’s not lost on me. I don’t know how to thank you and… you’re right. You’ve done enough.”

Another breath, even as cracks threaten the walls of my facade.

“I can’t ask any more of you. I can only imagine the burden I’d be. So… so I’ll… I’ll go…”

I feel a tickling on my cheek, a tear that I wasn’t able to keep in check. I stiffen and ignore it. Stay steady. I have to broker something other than the cops. Maybe someone from school, a professor or something–

“Hold on. What?” His tone makes me jump as he interrupts my thoughts, and my eyes suddenly meet his again. He looks completely bewildered. “Evie, I don’t think we’re on the same page. I really don’t know where you’re getting it from that I think you’re a burden?”

I blink, thrown off. “You were just saying… you want to go to the police, right?”

“I want to go to the police to better help you. Not to get rid of you. Is that what you thought?”

I had been reliving something from years ago. But it’s going differently this time, and I suddenly realize I’d completely misunderstood the situation. It’s as if the looming threat of a dark storm was actually just a cloud passing over the sun. I start seeing rays of hope again.

“Would you really rather just stay here? Even if you’d be stuck this way?” Aiden continues, “Y-you’re totally welcome to…”

Maybe it’s selfish, but I scramble for the opportunity. “Yes. Yes, I would. If that’s okay.”

“I mean… If that’s really how you feel then… shit, you can stay as long as you want.”

“Really?” I ask, and I finally wipe away that stray tear.

“Totally.” And he’s smiling at me now, the pain in his eyes dissipating. “Honestly I really miss living with someone. Not to turn around and make light of everything but, I don’t know, having a tiny roommate sounds kind of… fun?”

I feel surprised, but before I can unpack what he means by that, he resumes a more serious tone, “I just figured you’d want to take steps to getting back to normal as quickly as possible. You sure it’s a good idea to put it off?”

The danger has passed, but I still squirm nervously. “We don’t even know what that’ll look like,” I eventually say, “What kind of experiments they’d need to run or if I’ll end up all over the news… I just don’t know if I can handle that right now.”

"Okay… okay then! Well, damn, I’m glad we cleared that up. Just let me know when you feel ready to change course.”

"Thank you. I will.”

Aiden leans back in his chair and he actually looks just as relieved as I feel. "This changes things.” He crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow at me, corner of the mouth ticking up. “Now we can talk about the scissors.”

I wince. "I know, you’re right. It wasn’t worth the risk…”

"No, I can totally see why you’d want some amount of autonomy. So… let’s compromise, yeah? Let’s problem solve it. We’ll set stuff up so it’s easier for you to do things on your own. And please…” He leans in again, closer than usual, lowering his head so that I don’t have to look so high up. His gaze is gentle but intent. “Do take my word for it if I tell you you’re not bothering me? Being able to help makes me happy. Got it?”

I can feel something new on my cheeks. A warmth. It spreads through my whole body until I’m almost giddy with it. Suddenly I’m beaming up at him and extend my arm as if to give him a handshake. “Got it.”

He’s grinning right back and brings his hand up, index finger outstretched. I take it in both hands and we shake on it.

Things feel different as we have another meal together. I haven’t gotten over my new size, not by a long shot. I’m still actively pushing a lot of fear and uncertainty aside. But accepting my situation, even just on a surface level, is helping us both to relax.

“One thing I do need to ask of you…” I say, looking up from my taco crumbs, “I’ve been staying at AirBNBs while looking for a more permanent place to live. I was going to move out of my current one this weekend. Not that I can use my stuff now, but it all fits in one suitcase so…"

Aiden’s finished eating by this point and is currently cleaning up the desk. “Yeah, I should have enough space in my closet,” he says, “Sounds like we have some weekend plans then.”

“Maybe the day after tomorrow? The owner isn’t usually around on Saturdays.”

“Sure thing. In the meantime…” And now he’s opening up a drawer, below where I can see on the desk, and pulls out a notepad that’s over twice my height. “How about we start making a list of things to help you feel more at home?”

I get to my feet and internally attempt to reassure myself that it’s alright to let him help me this time. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

We go through a typical day and try to think of everything I might need to take care of myself. Thankfully I already have some shrunken toiletries, but Aiden offers me little bits of his own shampoo, deodorant and such to fill in the gaps. We debate what might be the best container to hold some of these things and eventually he thinks of the fact that he had gotten a bulk amount of toothpaste, meaning he has a bunch of little caps from those that we can use. I figure these might also be helpful just as buckets for carrying water.

On the subject of cleaning, we agree it might make more sense for me to hand wash my own clothes rather than potentially ruining them by including them with the normal sized laundry, so he offers me a drop of laundry detergent in another toothpaste cap. He ties some thread up to stretch between the desk lamp and a mug that he brings over, laying a hand towel down underneath it all, and bam. I have a clothesline.

I still need to make the clothes themselves, but I plan on letting him help this time. I’m still not particularly keen on the idea of doll clothes… I feel like they’d be made of something similar to the scratchy fabric of the hospital gowns. But I tell my new roommate that I’ll try them on if he thinks he finds something suitable. I do agree that dollhouse furniture might be nice - I wouldn’t mind shelves to store some of these things.

Food and water is a little trickier. A tank meant for small pets could work, at least to use for cleaning and whatnot. Aiden offers to give me a fresh spoonful of water every morning for drinking. He also brings over a couple of less perishable items - granola bars, packets of crackers, freeze-dried apple chips. We figure they’re good to have around in case I have to unexpectedly be alone for a meal. As much as I enjoy cooking, we can’t think of a safe way to set that up for me, so I’ll have to rely on my larger friend for the most part.

“It’d still be nice if we could get you a little fridge though,” Aiden muses. He’s brought his laptop over by this point to look for ideas online and is scrolling through a list of mini fridges, all of which would be the size of bounce houses to me. “Hey look, this one only holds a single soda can!” He looks at me with a bit more concentration, sizing me up.

“A can is what… six inches tall?” I wonder.

“A little less I think. Hmmm,” The giant has his hand up now, hovering it well above my head as he tries to visualize the height. “It would still be pretty big for you… Maybe worth a try though.”

I catch sight of the price on the billboard-like laptop screen. Yikes. “Don’t worry about it, I’m not sure I want to pay that much anyway.”

I had begrudgingly conceded to the fact that I wouldn’t be paying for rent nor for food since Aiden wouldn’t be spending anything extra on me (and while I have a small bit of savings, I clearly won’t be able to go back to work). He had wanted to pay for everything, but after some back and forth he eventually gave in to the decision that we would split the cost of my setup.

“My treat?” he offers now with a sheepish glance down at me. “If I see it at the store tomorrow I think it’s worth the experiment.”

I sigh in dramatic defeat, though I give him a grateful smile. “Fine. Thanks. It’s true, it might be nice for when you have classes over lunch time.”

Aiden pauses, thinking about what I just said. “We haven’t talked about school yet,” he says quietly, “It’ll obviously be harder for you to attend classes this way… um… are any of your classes online?”

“No, they’re not. I’ve thought about it, and yeah it’s a bit of a bummer, and a waste of that scholarship money… but oh well. I took this long to start college, I can wait a little longer. Maybe when I get my textbooks back I can study and be extra prepared for next time.”

"Hey, that’s the spirit. You can still be my study buddy for Biochem if you like.”

"I doubt I’d be much help, but sure!”

This leads us to the subject of what I’ll be occupying myself with all day. Studying aside, I’m bound to get bored. I do have several shrunken books that are more or less in my size to check out. Aiden breaks up little bits of lead in case I want to write or doodle. And thankfully I still have a warranty on my phone that was lost to the lab fire, so he can hopefully get a replacement for me and I’ll at least have internet access on that. It’s a good start.

Some craft projects will probably keep me busy as well. I will say, letting Aiden help me cut the strips of fabric for my makeshift dresses and rompers really is so much easier than when I spent an hour cutting one myself. But I’ve now also found a way to take a broken piece of toothpick and grind it against the side of a matchbox so that it sharpens into a point, creating a rudimentary sewing needle. Maybe I could make some real clothes at some point, but for now I test it out on a simpler project. Aiden cuts out a rectangle of fabric from an old shirt and offers some cotton stuffing from his couch cushions. I tie some thread to the toothpick to sew the thing up best I can. Voila. I have myself a mattress.

We’ve spent all afternoon and evening planning and making things, and I can’t believe I’m thinking this but… it’s true. This is kind of fun, somehow. In a summer camp kind of way, a new adventure where it feels like there’s so much to explore.

And we’re chatting throughout it all, entering into discussions about our interests and hobbies, and it turns out he does like things outside of Magic, such as hiking, fantasy novels and geology (hence his major). Meanwhile, I mostly mention enjoying cooking and crafting - everything to do with home economics. I find out that we’re almost the same age, with me being 24 and him 25, and that’s a rather strange thing to bond over, being a little older than the average college student. I find out it’s because he’s a grad student, and while I don’t go into all the details, I tell him about my wide variety of odd jobs I’ve had since high school.

We start joking around about the ludicrous gap between our sizes. At one point I invite him to sit down at my shrunken table and chair, acting all confused when he chuckles at me instead. At another point he pretends to hand me something but briefly holds it above my head, way out of reach. Nothing too mean, just kind of silly. Apparently finding the humor in the size difference is our way of coping.

The conversations are nice… I like him. We get along with very little effort.

Since neither one of us slept well last night, we decide to call it a little early for bedtime. Aiden gets me some warm water to wash myself with before he leaves, and I turn to look around at my setup, feeling satisfied about how everything’s coming together. And after some shopping tomorrow it’ll be even better.

Don’t give up. Fight back. Work harder.

I can do this.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I must admit I chuckled at Evie’s misinterpretation of Aiden’s proposal. Unwanted little tiny, ready to hit the pavement and find new digs on her own. Too cute.

Much more encouraging is Evie’s determination to adapt to her new circumstances. Many tinies would not only despair but also pretend to be happy for their keepers’ sake. Good on Aiden for being honest with his feelings, too.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Yeah she jumped to conclusions real fast there Evie certainly has some… issues, but she’s definitely a survivor!

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 10
Aiden

“You sure this isn’t too awkward?”

“I’m sure. It’s just an arm, Evie.”

“Yeah, to you…”

I don’t let her know just how much I’m getting a kick out of this… This is probably the most intimate interaction we’ve had thus far. It was entirely her idea too.

Over breakfast Evie was going on about how she’s getting used to her new space on the desk and thanking me for my help. Meanwhile I’m just glad that she’s still here and settling in so well no less. Maybe it’s wrong, but I can’t help enjoying this fantasy-come-to-life situation.

And then she admitted to not feeling used to me. For a moment I was worried that I’d done something bad, until she clarified that she just still feels a bit intimidated by our size difference. Well… that’s understandable. I must still look like a monster to her. No amount of joking around about it is going to erase that.

She asked me if I wouldn’t mind just putting my hand up on the desk so that she could spend some time taking it in. My heart rate started picking up, but I was still more than happy to oblige…

And here we are. I’ve propped my entire forearm onto the table’s surface, my hand relaxing palm side up, and at first Evie’s just assessing, walking along the length of it, like a curious little mouse eyeing a potential hiding place. So cute. She’s halfway between wrist and elbow before she finally reaches out to touch me.

It’s probably just the anticipation of it that’s making my nerves oversensitive, but it feels like electricity where her skin meets mine. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck and I just try to hold really still. Her back’s to me so I don’t see her expression, but I imagine it’s one of fascination from the way she’s fixating the spot that she’s touching. She starts making her way up towards my hand, her tiny fingers trailing along my arm.

She’s getting close to the inside of my wrist when she pauses and puts both hands out now. “Whoa,” she says, and now I do get to see her face as she glances over her shoulder at me, “I can feel your pulse.”

If that’s the case, I hope she can’t tell how fast my heart is beating. Trying to play it cool, I quip back, "Well that’s handy. You can be my at-home nurse then– ahhh–” I try not to flinch as my whole arm lights up with goosebumps. She just brushed her fingers along the base of my palm. “Okay that tickles,” I say tightly.

“Sorry,” she laughs, pulling her hand away and continuing along.

Don’t be, I say only in my own mind, That felt really good…

I kinda wish I could explore her too. To maybe wrap my hand around her frame or carefully grasp a limb between my fingertips. To try and brush her hair back in order to gently touch her tiny face. But all of that seems way, way more invasive than what she’s doing to me. I don’t want to treat her like an actual doll. I thought I was having success at keeping these kinds of thoughts in check, but with Evie interacting with me like this it’s becoming very difficult to do so.

She reaches the ends of my fingers now and pushes against the third and fourth one while I let them hang loose, so that they curl in from the pressure of her minute muscles.

“What’s it like from your perspective?” she asks after she’s pulled the digits back out, and then she cautiously crawls right onto them.

Hoo boy. I want to be careful about how I answer this.

“It really is weird just how light you are,” I say, consciously flattening out my hand to give her an easier time clambering across the length of it. “At first I was so nervous about hurting you, you just seem so… fragile? No offense.”

“None taken,” she says, reaching my thumb now and using it to hoist herself back to the desk.

“My aunt has pet birds, though,” I continue, “and I got really used to handling them growing up when I’d go stay with her during the summer. If I can trim a finch’s nails I think we should be okay… At least your bones aren’t hollow. Mind if I try something?”

Evie looks up at me curiously and nods as a go-ahead. I tilt my hand upright and snake it around behind her, and then I very gently use my middle finger and thumb to pinch around the sides of her waist. I make sure to be careful about where I aim… All of her body parts are really close together and I don’t want to touch her anywhere inappropriate. I put on just enough pressure around her torso to lift her up, until her feet barely leave the floor. She lets out a little gasp, suddenly leaning forward to catch herself on the fingertips protruding from either side of her, but she doesn’t protest.

“Not too uncomfortable?” I ask before setting her back down.

“N-no…” she says, despite looking a little nervous. She takes a step back as I slowly slide my hand away again, and she’s looking from my fingers to my face, as if trying to put it together that I’m all one being. “In fact,” she adds, and her cheeks are reddening, “that might actually be better for when you have to carry me. Just something that feels more secure I guess? I’m always worried about falling.”

As if there was any universe where that would be an issue for me. “Okay, yeah. No problem.”

Her entire face is flushing now and she suddenly covers her eyes with her hands. “This is so weird!” she exclaims fervently.

I laugh and figure she might need a break from this exercise so I pull my arm back off the table. “It is very weird. You think this is helping you get used to it though?”

She pulls her hands off her face as she takes a deep breath, quickly regaining her composure. “It is. Thank you.”

“Any time.” God do I mean that.

I leave to run more errands after that, intent on finishing up Evie’s setup today. I’m out all morning, visiting a few different stores, being quite selective about the things on our list. I don’t find a mini fridge that’s even remotely the right size, unfortunately. And I’m realizing that most dolls are quite a bit bigger than three inches tall. But I otherwise do find success. At one point I get a spontaneous idea for something we hadn’t discussed that I might try to build this afternoon, so I stop at a craft store too.

Being at the pet shop is particularly strange. I’m just here to get her a water tank, though I figure I might as well look through the small animals section in case there’s anything useful. I briefly imagine her running around in a hamster ball, which makes me laugh to myself.

There’s a harness here with a leash - it’s clearly meant for rabbits or ferrets so it would be way too big for her anyway, but… something about it makes me shudder uncomfortably. I remember Dr. Little’s recounting of how he trained his victims to act a certain way. And I take a moment, right there in aisle 4, to firmly tell myself that I will never, ever treat her like an animal. No matter how small and cute and dependent she is. I can’t ever lose sight of the fact that she’s a person.

I come home to the bright, adorable smile of my little roommate, and the afternoon is spent unpacking and setting up everything that I bought. I’ve upgraded her measuring spoon to a small bowl for me to put fresh drinking water in, and Evie’s very excited about some of the miniature shelves and furniture I’ve found - I even came across a bed frame that fits her makeshift mattress.

She assures me she’ll pay me back for this stuff as soon as we get her debit card tomorrow amongst her other things. I secretly hope she forgets. She’s got enough on her plate as is, paying for this stuff is the least I can do.

I go fill up the water tank, which is just the right height for her to easily scoop out of with her toothpaste-cap-buckets, perfect for filling a bathtub. Speaking of which - I bring over a longer charging cable to set up the mug warmer and a small dish that she can use to bathe in. It’s a USB-powered warmer that’s just meant for office use, so it doesn’t get excessively warm, and the dish completely covers the hot plate, so it should all be quite safe. Plus she’s able to operate it independently… It’s all coming together.

She has a section on the corner of the desk that is quickly becoming the bathroom area, and I take some quick measurements of it with a ruler. Then I set to work, using the ottoman as a table and pulling out the white plastic sheets I got at the craft store.

“What are you working on?” Evie calls out from the desk, tilting her head to the side as she watches me.

“You’ll see,” I say with a smile, “I don’t want to promise anything in case it doesn’t work out.”

We spend a little while in comfortable silence as I measure, cut and glue the plastic while she starts putting things on shelves, her industrious nature manifesting again as she organizes everything meticulously. Early evening is approaching when I finally finish my project.

It just looks like a box, about five inches tall and over twice that in length. The roof is a series of many very thin criss-crossing plastic strips, meant to obscure view but still be able to vent. One of the walls has a wide doorway, and another one has a hole just big enough to string a power cable through.

“Let’s see if this works…” I say, softly interrupting Evie’s endeavors.

She glances up as I approach the desk, and her brow furrows with a mix of confusion and interest. I take the mug warmer with its ceramic dish and put it inside the box, orienting it so that the doorway is facing the side wall of the apartment and is out of sight, and then I place the entire structure right next to the water tank and metal toilet box for easy access.

“Thought you could use some privacy,” I say, standing back up to admire my handiwork. “At first I thought about using a shoebox, but then not only would it be dark in there but I figured all of the evaporation from the bath would make the cardboard soggy. What do you think?”

Evie enters her new bathroom excitedly, and while I can see a little bit of movement through the roof vent, I can’t tell what she’s doing.

“Can you see me?” I hear her voice yell.

“No, not really. That’s kind of the point,” I say with a laugh.

“Thank you so much, Aiden,” she looks almost emotional as she comes back out to meet me, “This is so thoughtful.”

“I’m glad you like it! I won’t ever go in there unless it’s to dump out the water bowl, so just let me know whenever it’s okay to do that."

“Sounds good.”

“Maybe at some point we’ll figure out how to make you a kitchen. Hell, I wish we could get you your own mini grocery store. It’d probably fit in the living room.”

She laughs, and I can’t get enough of its near musical sound. “I think I have more than enough up here.”

“Yeah, unfortunately you’re still stuck with my cooking. Any requests for your celebratory welcome dinner?”

“Hmm. What are the other meals you said you’re good at?”

“Well it’s pretty hard to screw up fried rice. And I learned to make homemade pesto sauce once, so I’m not bad at pasta. That takes a while, though.”

“Fried rice it is then!”

This works out since I have a lot of vegetables I need to use up. I make a large batch of it and I’m excited to get to use Evie’s new dollhouse plates. Like almost everything else, they’ll be a little big for her, but it’s better than her having to crouch over a giant spoon. I carefully place her portion on her shrunken table and we’re both able to sit in a chair this time as we eat.

Since at this point we’re done with any work we can think of, I suggest watching a movie to relax for the evening. I actually don’t own a TV, just watch everything on my laptop, but I think that’s better suited for my little friend anyway.

“So what kind of stuff do you normally like to watch?” I ask, offering her my hand to climb onto.

“Umm… I watch a lot of nature documentaries…” she says, settling onto me, “It’s a bit embarrassing, but a lot of cartoons too. I’m really into animation.”

I remember to loosely close my fingers around her this time, giving her something to hold onto, and I’m trying not to look too excited about having another excuse to hold her in my hand like this. Still, I offer her a smile as I lift her up. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve just gotten into anime pretty recently, so if that counts then I’m right there with you.”

Evie clings to my ring finger and looks up at me eagerly. “Yeah, it counts! Gosh, I haven’t watched anime in years. My best friend growing up showed me so much of it, that was her big obsession. What’s your favorite show so far?”

“So, one thing you have to know about me…" I say, sitting down on the couch as I continue holding her aloft, "is that I really love camping. I usually try to get out in nature for a couple of days once or twice a year. Last year was particularly busy for me school-wise, and I didn’t get to go. Sooo, what’s the next best thing? Watching cutesy anime girls camping instead, apparently. There’s my long-winded explanation for why I love Laid Back Camp. Even though I’m probably not the target demographic… It’s just so relaxing and a really nice escape for when I have a lot going on.”

“I’ve never heard of it. But a relaxing escape sounds really nice right now… Um, if you’re okay watching something you’ve already seen.”

“I don’t mind at all, I’d love to introduce you to it!” I set Evie down next to me on the couch and reach out to the laptop to pull up the show.

Our setup is rather comical. Like a kid who’s pretending to watch TV with his favorite action figure. I have to be mindful not to shift around too much - it’s not like she’s right up against me, but I still don’t want to jostle her.

We’re about halfway through the episode when I notice her small figure out of the corner of my eye, shifting closer to me. I think she’s trying to be sneaky about it… which might objectively not be the smartest thing if it could lead to me accidentally knocking into her. But I also feel touched that she trusts me to be careful. I wonder what she’s up to…

Evie comes very close to my leg, and I abruptly realize what she’s looking for - body warmth. She’s shivering.

Any normal person would have offered her a blanket. Or I should have at least gone and updated the thermostat. But instead, my gut reaction is to lay my hand down next to her on the couch. She jumps at the sudden movement and looks straight up at me.

“You cold?” I ask quietly, and I gently nudge her with my pinkie. For a second I think she’s going to decline and feel incredibly stupid for not offering her something other than myself to stay warm. But then she silently crawls onto my hand, huddling against my fingers as I curl them around her. And bit by bit her muscles relax as her shivering goes away.

“Thanks,” she finally says, giving my thumb a grateful pat as she readjusts herself on my palm for the long haul. “This helps.”

I have a really hard time paying attention to the show after that.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Mug-warmer FTW! This is now part of the canon of tiny accommodations.

I hope Aiden doesn’t have any awkward surprises for Evie in his laptop’s browser history.

One of my favorite aspects of handhelds is the opportunity for non-verbal communication through body language.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo HA, I’m sure Aiden is beyond paranoid about avoiding evidence of sites such as this one with her around

I love handheld interactions so damn much. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, I was happy to finally get to more fluffy stuff ️

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 11
Evie

It’s Saturday… Day four of being too little for this world. Today I would be seeing even more of it. Maybe it’s because of this that I wake up feeling incredibly anxious, and the room feels particularly vast this morning. I slide out of bed and gravitate towards the bathroom Aiden made for me, despite having no intention of taking a bath right now. At least here the ceiling isn’t 150 feet away.

What a rollercoaster of emotions I’ve had. Here I was thinking I was starting to get used to things. I thought I’d been able to see some of the fun in this messed up situation. But now it’s beginning to feel like this little camping trip I’m on should be ending soon. And yet instead we’re going to move my things out of the apartment I’d been staying at, despite me not having booked a new place to stay. Since… I already have a place to stay. A huge, scary, hopeless new home that–

Stop. Aiden will be up soon. I want to greet him with a smile. I know that my predicament is understandably overwhelming, and he hasn’t acted judgemental with any of my struggling. But I don’t want to push it. I want to avoid having meltdowns in front of him as much as possible. I take a deep breath and put the lid back on… I can do this.

The morning passes quietly since my oversized roommate admits that he should probably try and get some homework done. This gives me some time to occupy myself, and I decide to learn how to use bits of lead and a notepad to write at this size. I wet some tissue paper, twisting it around the lead and letting it dry again to make a rough handle, so that I can avoid my hands becoming gray. I’m not sure what to write, though. I start making a list to take stock of everything on the desk, just to fill the time. Eventually I get bored of that and start writing down recipes that I wish I could make, which ends up affecting today’s lunch.

“You were so right, toasting both sides of the bread makes such a difference,” Aiden says, sighing contentedly from his bite of grilled cheese. “Aww, now I really wish we could make you a kitchen so you can cook your own food. I can already tell you’re way better at it than I am.”

“I don’t think I have a particular talent for it,” I respond, nibbling away at my own portion, “I’ve just been doing it since I was pretty young. I’d be happy to share tips and recipes!” My mind wanders in the ensuing pause in conversation before I add, “Have you seen Ratatouille?”

“Uhhh I don’t think so… but I know it involves a rat that cooks?”

“By sitting on a person’s head and controlling him like a puppet.”

“Ahh, I’m picking up what you’re putting down. It’s worth a try!” He grins. “For real though, as long as we’re careful, feel free to join me in the kitchen. I’m happy to at least attempt any of your favorites.”

After lunch it’s time to get going. I hop aboard Aiden’s hand and this is the first time I’ve traveled so far since I’ve gotten here, all the way to the front door of the apartment. My heart starts thumping hard against my sternum as he opens the door. He sticks his head out to make sure the coast is clear before stepping past the threshold, and I look at the world beyond.

I’ve actually never seen this hallway before, since I was unconscious the last time I was here. It stretches in both directions, impossibly far. The uniformity of the doors feels unnatural at such a large scale. The lighting is dim enough that I feel like I’m in a deep, dark, massive tunnel that threatens to completely engulf me–

“You okay, Evie?” Aiden says quietly, pausing in the doorway as he holds me up near his chest. I curse myself for losing any of my composure. What is wrong with me today?

“I’m fine,” I assure him, “Just taking a second to adjust.”

“Well, here, I should keep you hidden anyway if we want to avoid any awkward conversations.” He closes the door and then covers me with his other hand, creating a little cave with a small gap above my head. “This alright?”

I let out a breath. This is much, much better. I’m hidden away from the world, but the world is also hidden from me. I thank him, leaning my head against his chest, and he starts walking. I’m sure he probably won’t attract much less attention holding me this way, but it’s the break that I need to get adjusted to being outside of the apartment.

For whatever reason, the inside of his car intimidates me far less. He sets me up on the dashboard and we just hang out for a couple of minutes as I walk around the hilly plastic surface. The curve of the steering wheel is like a river boat’s paddle wheel protruding from the horizon. Even when I was normal sized I never owned a car or learned how to drive, so the view of this gigantic vehicle is all the more foreign.

“You ready to be my little GPS?” Aiden chuckles, “I’m turning the car on now, okay? You might want to sit down.”

I take a seat cross-legged, a short distance ahead of the steering wheel. The car comes to life with a shuddering rumble, the vibrations shaking my legs and filling me with adrenaline. I maintain a good grip on the plastic floor as the metal beast starts moving, and I just stare wide-eyed at the view beyond the glass.

I’m reminded of a time I visited one of the largest aquariums in the country, big enough to house whale sharks. The glass stretching in every direction before me, the mysterious aquatic world beyond. But there’s even more for me to see through the car window, especially as we come out of the parking garage. The buildings, plants, other cars, everything overwhelms me for a moment. Trying not to freak out, I suddenly look upwards…

Interesting. The sky looks the same as it always has. Something about that is reassuring, somehow.

I don’t have the AirBNB’s address memorized, but I’m familiar enough with the bus route that brought me to school that I’m certain I can get us back there. It takes me a minute to get my bearings and make sense of the vast river-like streets, and then I’m calling out directions with ease, pointing as I use my best robotic GPS-y speech. This makes Aiden laugh, which lifts my spirits somewhat.

About ten minutes later, we pull up to a more humble apartment building than the one we just left. Thankfully the owner of the place uses a keypad instead of a physical key, or else we wouldn’t be able to get past the door. Everything is just as I’d left it, an almost eerie sight.

“Can I set you down here?” asks my gigantic friend, motioning towards the bed. This is a studio apartment, one big room and then a bathroom, so the bed is actually quite central to everything, it’s as good a spot as any. I step off his hand, immediately struggling not to sink into the bedsheets. I quickly notice that I’d left a pair of pants sitting on the bed. Seeing my own things magnified to this level is tripping me out.

I direct Aiden to where my suitcase is and then he starts packing all of my things away - primarily clothes and textbooks. I really did travel light. As he comes back from the bathroom with my toiletries bag, I feel desperately thankful that I had just finished a load of laundry the morning I shrank. I’m already embarrassed enough without him having to deal with my dirty clothes.

I do have one thing that’s sentimental: a stuffed lion that’s sitting on the bed. It’s about a foot tall normally, so now it looks more like a taxidermied mammoth.

“I know it’s kinda silly to keep something like that,” I say self-consciously as Aiden packs away my lion with care. “Especially since it’s so bulky.”

“You want to talk about bulky, you should see my rock collection,” he responds lightly. “I bring that stuff with me for every move too, just can’t seem to part with any of it.”

“That’s cool, I’ve never collected anything before. Could you show it to me later?”

“Yeah, I’d love to. It’ll give me a reason to drag out the box.”

“Aww, why do you keep them in a box? Poor things. You should display them if they’re important to you!”

“You know what? That’s a good point. I think I will.”

A few minutes later he zips the suitcase closed before taking one last look around the apartment, assessing the empty drawers and counters.

His voice is a little tense. “l’ll admit this is pretty weird. It kinda feels like I’ve broken in…”

It does feel bizarre. Then again, everything about this is abnormal. I turn to humor, yelling out towards him as he passes by. “Oh no, help! There’s a giant man stealing all my stuff!”

This removes any of the tension in the air as Aiden turns to face me, looking down at me on the bed with a little smirk. He crouches, reaching a hand out to pick me up as he joins in dramatically, “Oh noooo, he’s about to steal the damsel away too!”

Okay maybe I didn’t think this through. I might have too much nervous energy to handle this today. His hand swooping in, fingers outstretched like a predator about to devour me, feels pretty scary. I’m a good sport about it though, letting out a laugh as he wraps his fingers around my frame and gently lifts me up.

Although I’ve started having more experience being handled, going straight up and down still gives me a lot of vertigo. Thankfully Aiden seems to be conscious of this and moves pretty slowly.

“I think this thief is all done packing,” he says with a smile, “You ready to say goodbye to this place?”

I take a brief look around. I was only here for a couple of weeks. Just one more living space amongst countless others. So I don’t feel very attached to it, and yet… the farewell does feel different this time. It’s more than saying goodbye to the apartment, it’s saying goodbye to all of my previous life. I get misty eyed, and then I swallow it all down.

“Yeah. I’m ready to go.”

We head back and I help again with the navigation from my spot on the dashboard. We’re almost back home - and I’m finding myself desperately looking forward to being on the familiar surface of the desk again - when something very unexpected happens.

We’re suddenly face to face with another car. It swerves into view from out of nowhere, going the wrong way on this narrow road, and we both let out a gasp as Aiden turns the steering wheel hard to avoid impact. I’m sent sliding off to the side, tumbling, right over the hump of the dashboard, slipping behind the steering wheel, too shocked to let out a sound–

I make contact with flesh, now crying out in pain as I land hard in a massive hand that’s just managed to slip under me in time.

“Holy crap!" I hear, and I’m still completely disoriented as I roll to a stop on my back, staring up at the roof of the car that’s whizzing by as I’m yanked away from the dashboard. Aiden’s upside-down face comes into view instead as he looks down at me fearfully. "I’m so sorry! Shit, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m alright…” I manage to respond.

We both jump at the sound of one car honking, and then another. It’s a miracle no one’s collided into each other. Knowing he has to keep moving, the giant lifts me to his chest now, cradling me against the fabric of his shirt, so that he can go back to driving with his other hand.

“I’m sorry, Evie… Hold on, we’re almost there… I got you…”

I can feel his heart hammering away at a million miles an hour. I don’t really see what’s going on anymore, I don’t want to look. I bury my face into his chest until I sense the light dimming, signaling that we’ve entered the parking garage.

The vibrations of his voice rumble through me as Aiden speaks again. “I feel so stupid. Of course it wouldn’t be safe to put you up there.”

I turn my head so that my face isn’t quite burrowing into the fabric, though I still keep my ear against the warm wall as I press into him. “I didn’t think about it either. How about next time I ride in your pocket?” I suggest weakly. “It’s not like I can put on a seatbelt at this size.”

“Yeah… I probably have some shirts with pockets. If not, I need to refresh my wardrobe anyway. I don’t have enough Magic: the Gathering stuff, I could use some more…” I appreciate the attempt at a joke, but neither one of us is in the mood to laugh.

He parks the car and I let out a sigh of relief as the engine dies down, so that all I can hear is the gradual deceleration of Aiden’s heartbeat. I can feel the muscles in his fingers tense to pull me away, and I cling to his shirt tighter.

“Wait,” I say quickly, and in the ensuing pause I add, “Um… C-could we stay like this? Just for a minute?”

My face is covered in tears and I don’t want him to see them. Maybe he can tell anyway, but he respects my request and just holds me there for a few minutes longer, quietly stroking my back with a comforting finger.

I’m on a never ending roller coaster. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the ups and downs. But as I cry softly against the gigantic chest of my only friend in the world right now, I take a moment to be thankful that at least I’m not on this ride alone.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily I had expected Evie to join Aiden in the kitchen at some point, but I never made the Ratatouille connection. That’s a sweet image.

“You ready to be my little GPS?”

Aiden’s pick-up lines are improving.

“Aww, why do you keep them in a box? Poor things. You should display them if they’re important to you!”

Indeed.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Except she’s small enough that she’d probably get kinda lost or tangled up in his hair

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Some hairs are shorter than others.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Fair! I imagined his around a mid-length… I still need to draw some art of these characters~

[tinyborrower]

Amazing story so far! I’m curious to see how Evie deals with things when she can’t keep a lid on her emotions any more, and I love all the details involved with the accommodations Aiden is providing.

Slow burns are my favorite so I’m to see how this continues to sizzle!