Out of their Element

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Yesss, as much as I love the early moments of being freshly shrunk - the shock, the meet cute, the discovery - there’s something so fun about the both of them becoming more and more comfortable with the size difference. 🥰

I’ll be totally honest, I was just having Aiden make conversation with the Christmas thing, but reading back he does sound overeager I’ll just roll with it, why not, let’s just say he’s obsessed with Christmas haha

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 16
Aiden

I’ve noticed something today… Evie’s gotten a lot better at walking on soft surfaces. She’s hardly wobbling at all now when she strolls back and forth on the couch. She’s deep in thought as she contemplates her next move, eyeing each Magic card like she’s observing an art gallery. The way we’ve figured out how to play is by sticking the cards upright between two couch cushions, so that I can’t see what cards are in her “hand” as I sit on the floor facing her.

She’s wearing a new outfit today too. Even though they’re probably not the easiest thing to make (and definitely not the easiest thing to cut out for her, admittedly), she’s been focusing on making little shorts for herself. They do look homemade, but she’s getting better at re-figuring out how to sew. Her top is new and is actually really pretty, with its decorative pleats lining the hem, which is especially impressive considering she just used fabric from another one of my old shirts. This shade of green looks a lot better on her than it did on me. Between that and the earthy brown color of her shorts, she’s looking even more like a mystical woodland sprite.

I have my elbow propped on the couch, wearing a constant smile as I watch my little friend concentrate. I’m definitely paying more attention to her right now than the cards laid out in front of us. I still easily won the last game, though… Apparently it’s been a while since she’s played this.

Evie was the one who had requested this morning that we play when I get home after work. I offered to build her a deck she could use for the game, but she wanted to try her hand at it first. So I’d given her my cards to look through, sorted in a few piles by color, and apparently she spent all day building her own deck. Which must have been a workout since these cards are taller than she is.

My tiny opponent finally nods with a smirk. She has to stretch her arms out to the sides to pluck one of the cards out from the couch, pivoting it so that she’s holding it above her head. Then she walks forward and slaps it down with confidence. “Downsized!” she exclaims.

“Seriously?” I laugh at the irony of her using what is essentially a shrink ray.

“Yup. Target creature gets minus 4 to power. And I will target your cheeky little Doomwake Giant over here." The irony of me using that card was not lost on her either.

Now is when I turn my attention back to my own game, and I suddenly realize she just made a very good move. She’s rendered my sole defense at this point completely useless. I look at the cards out on the couch cushion and in my hand, but clearly the writing’s on the wall.

“I… can’t… win this one,” I finally admit.

“Aw yeah! That’s right!” she cheers, throwing her arms up in the air and running a victory lap around her side of the cards as she giggles with delight. I can’t help but grin and laugh in turn. I’d be happy to lose every time if it meant getting to see this adorable display.

“Yup, you got me, I did not see that coming. You’re a sneaky little thing, aren’t you?” I say, reaching forward to push down into the couch next to where she’s passing by, and she trips over the sudden depression that I’ve created. She goes from stumbling to intentionally falling forward onto the soft surface, still beaming at her triumph as she rolls onto her back to look up at me.

“We have to do a tie breaker now!” she chirps, getting back to her feet and eagerly taking a few steps forward… and she gets a bit too close to the edge of the couch for my liking.

“Careful,” I say softly, shifting my hand to rest in front of her in a loose fist, essentially blocking her way. I hope I’m not being condescending in the process. Evie’s gotten so much more confident with her size over the past couple of weeks, she’s almost starting to overtake me in feeling comfortable with it. I add, “Can’t we just say that we’re equally good and call it a day?”

“I… I just want to play with you more,” she says with sudden sincerity, her smile faltering. She reaches out and touches the hand that’s in front of her, her miniscule fingers pressing into one of my knuckles. I don’t think she means to be giving me puppy dog eyes, but that’s absolutely what’s happening.

There’s a tightness in my chest. She’s so, so difficult to resist. Truly such a little thing, and yet she has so much influence over me nowadays…

My friends are starting to notice that something’s off with me. For one, I’ve definitely been a bit “busier.” Not that I used to invite people over that often, but I’d at least meet up with them to study at the library or something. I still do that between classes and will often grab lunch with people, but it’s clear that I spend way more time away from others than I used to. Just this morning, my friend Diego was giving me a hard time about it.

“What’s that?” he asked, making me jump. He pulled back the seat next to me, giving me a knowing smile as he sat down.

I was just looking at Evie’s latest note. Normally I would have already read and written a response before Biochem, but I had two back to back exams for my previous classes, so I was only just getting around to reading it. I folded the tiny piece of paper up and casually tucked it back into my wallet.

“My grocery list,” I said shortly in response.

“Uh huh… which is why you’re hiding it. You’ve been acting weird lately, you know.” My friend’s taller than I am and was using it to his advantage, leaning in and narrowing his eyes menacingly.

I gave him a tired look, raising an eyebrow to show him I wasn’t down for his usual ribbing. “How so?”

“I don’t know, just… off. I have a sixth sense for these things. And we never get to see you on the weekends anymore. Is it a girl?”

There’s no way I kept completely cool at that. I immediately felt heat in my ears at how quickly and accurately he hit the mark. Though the situation’s not exactly what he was thinking.

“I’m not secretly dating anybody, if that’s what you’re implying,” I said, keeping my tone as casual as possible.

“You, my man, are avoiding the question,” Diego responded with his signature goofy grin as he leaned back in his chair. “Fine, keep your secrets. Just as long as you help me with the homework for tomorrow. Wanna grab burgers after this?"

“Yeah, sure.” I cracked a smile at that point, grateful that he was respecting my privacy. Though it did make me wonder… How long can I keep this up?

“Pleeeeease?” Evie begs now, snapping me back to attention.

“I’ve got homework to do!” I laugh, giving her an apologetic look. “This paper’s not going to write itself.”

“Oh, right… That’s fair. Sorry, I don’t mean to distract you so often,” she says and she sounds a bit self conscious now, her eyes trailing to the floor. “Um, mind putting me back up on the desk then?”

I smile and reach behind her so that I can scoop her up into my hand, enjoying the feeling of her weight against my palm.

“Hey.” I touch her shoulder with my thumb and hold her high enough to be level with my face so that I can get her to look at me. “Just so we’re clear. I’d much, much rather kick your butt at Magic.”

She smirks back, my attempt at lightening the mood successful. “Uh huh. Oh I see now, the real reason you don’t want to play is because you know I’ll kick your butt. Again.”

“Hardly,” I say with a chuckle, slowly standing up now, “Though I’ll be honest, I haven’t lost that bad in a long time.”

“I’m sure you’ll recover someday. You’re actually really good, Aiden. A worthy opponent.”

“Same to you.”

I set her onto the desk and notice that apparently all of my papers are still in a pile here from when I was doing homework alongside her last night.

“Oops, I forgot I left my stuff. Let me get it out of your— aahh.” I jerk my hand away from the textbook I’d been closing, wincing in pain.

Evie jumps at my sudden exhalation, looking over at me wide-eyed. "What happened?”

"Paper cut.” There’s a tiny trickle of blood at the base of my thumb so I stick it in my mouth, taking a slow breath through my nose as it stings.

"Oh no, those are the worst! How bad is it, can I see?”

“I mean…” I’m trying not to show amusement at how worried she looks and pull my hand away from my face to show her. “No, it’s not bad. I’m fine.” Even as I say that the blood stubbornly bubbles right back up. She looks crestfallen at the sight.

“Do you have bandaids? Ugh, I wish I could help…”

“Yeah, I have some in the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Seeing the look on her face I add, “Don’t worry, Evie, it’s just a small cut.”

I step away, processing what I’d just said and realizing that from her perspective it might not have looked so small. I go through my medicine cabinet and am finding myself blushing. How sweet of her to fret over me like that…

I wash off the cut and normally I’d just put on the bandaid and call it a day. But I’m hit with a thought and instead bring the box of bandages back out to the living room. Evie’s still standing there near the edge of the desk, wringing her hands and visibly looking like she’s trying not to fuss.

“Think you could give me a hand?” I ask sheepishly as I come sit down, “I always have a hard time wrapping these things around one-handed.”

She perks up immediately at the thought of feeling useful. I hold the middle of the bandaid at the outer edge of my thumb, and the extra help is actually kind of nice as my little assistant stands on the other side and pulls each end of the bandage around the digit so that it’s nice and snug.

“There you go,” she says, rubbing her palm over her handiwork. She’s come around to making lighter of the situation now as she pets me and says with a doting old lady voice, “Now, you give it plenty of time to heal, alright? I don’t want to see you being so reckless again.”

I chuckle and play along, “Yes, grandma, I’ll be careful.” I look down at her fondly and since she’s standing next to the inside of my thumb she’s in the perfect position for me to close my hand around her. I gently bring a couple of fingers in to give her a very small squeeze. “Thanks, Evie. That was really sweet.”

“Anytime!” She wraps her arms around one of my fingertips and squeezes me back.

“That did make me realize, though…” I say pensively as I pull my hand away. “We should probably have a first-aid kit over here that you’re able to access. It would be a different story if you were the one to get a paper cut.”

“Yeah, not a bad idea…” she agrees. “Though, honestly… I might be too small for that to happen? I think paper is too thick for me now. But yeah, probably shouldn’t take that chance.”

I put the homework on hold for another fifteen minutes or so as I gather a variety of first-aid items, cutting out tiny bits of gauze and bandages for her to have access to in an emergency. Though hopefully I’d be there to help if anything happened. No… hopefully, we’ll never need to use these at all.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily said in Out of their Element:

“I… I just want to play with you more,”

That’s Aiden’s line.

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 17
Evie

I stare at my calendar, miniaturized at about the size of a notecard, and yet it’s as tall as I am. It’s been almost four weeks since I was shrunk. 27 days. The number boggles my mind. It seems like so much longer in a way, like I’ve been dealing with this forever… and yet sometimes it also feels like it just happened. I still have days where something unexpected startles me or I get disoriented.

Oddly, as much as I miss my old size, I don’t know if I can say that I miss my old life. Not the specifics of it at least… I’ve come to realize just how much I was struggling. I’m still struggling with being three inches tall, of course, but something about it is different now. And I think part of it is the fact that I have a friend now. I haven’t been this close with anyone in such a long time. It sucks that we were essentially forced to be together, but… even if I were to become my old self again, I can’t imagine life without Aiden anymore.

I hear his familiar footsteps coming in from the bedroom, and I turn to see him come into view, giant laundry basket in hand. For a little while I just watch him going about his daily life. I take in the movements of his enormous body as he transfers what looks like a series of circus tents into a silo. I brace myself against the booming crack of noise as he closes the washing machine, and the sound of the appliance starting is like the rumbling of thunder.

He’s been a little extra quiet today ever since he got home from work. Not that he’s a loud person, but he usually has more to tell me about his day, and I’m beginning to know him well enough to sense that something’s off.

Aiden puts the basket on top of the machine and then turns, shooting me a quick smile before he ambles over to the kitchen. I hear the distant clattering of ceramic echo through the canyon of the apartment as he starts doing some dishes. At this point I’ve stepped away from the calendar and have picked up a book - one of the shrunken novels actually turned out to be kinda interesting after all - but I keep glancing over at him. The more I pay attention, the more I notice the tension he’s carrying in his shoulders and his jaw. His gaze is largely unfocused as he goes through the motions.

After a few minutes, I decide to get up and walk over to my phone. We’ve been writing each other physical notes and see each other so much at home that I hardly ever text him - if anything he’s the one who will shoot me a message if he’s going to be late or something. But I want to reach out. And I know he wouldn’t be able to hear me yelling from this far, especially over the sound of the running water.

I tap open the texting app and pick out Aiden’s name. The message I write is quick and short. “You okay?”

I wait as my words traverse the airways, and a second or two later the distant giant seems to react to the buzz of his phone in his pocket. He turns off the sink and wipes his hands off on a nearby towel before he fishes out the device. He stares for a second and then breaks into a smile, his eyes flicking up towards me. Then he sighs as he puts his phone away and walks in this direction.

“Can’t hide anything from you, can I?” he says, still smiling as he approaches the desk.

I fidget with my hair as I give him a bashful grin. “Sorry, were you trying to? I don’t mean to pry. You’ve just seemed so down since you came home.”

“No, it’s alright, I’ll tell you.” Aiden sits down, slouching as if his limbs are too heavy, and his smile weakens until it vanishes. “Um… do you remember that student I was telling you about? In the class I’m assistant teaching, the girl I’ve been trying to help?”

I nod. “Cassandra, right?”

“Right. I just found out today that apparently she… she dropped out. She did better on this last exam but not quite as well as she needed to. I guess the stress was too much for her.”

There’s a squeezing sensation in my chest at the sight of the pain in his hazel eyes. I feel like I’m learning a lot about him in this moment.

“Oh…” I say, a little lost for words. “I’m sorry, Aiden. That really sucks.”

He shrugs and shakes his head. “It’s okay. I just… I don’t know, I really thought it was all going to work out. I’m so… disappointed. Not even in her, but in myself. I wish there was something more I could have done to help.”

He’s actually looking like he might get emotional. It’s a very odd sight, seeing this massive man that I view as incredibly powerful now practically on the verge of tears. His gaze is downcast and I step closer to the edge of the desk, trying to walk into his line of sight as I look up at him.

“Listen,” I say, “I watched you stay up late to make a custom study aid for this girl. It sounded like you were teaching her one-on-one for so many of your office hours. You did everything you possibly could.”

Aiden closes his eyes, taking a breath in through his nose. I wish I could reach out and touch him. My hand moves forward automatically, and if I was able I’d be resting it on his shoulder right now. The reality is that, despite the fact that he’s sitting down, there’s a ten-foot gap past the desk to his body, and his face is hovering forty feet above me. I press on anyway.

“Sometimes, as much as you want to fix something for someone… there’s just nothing you can do. They need to figure it out on their own.”

He takes another breath, nods and opens his eyes again. He really does have such beautiful eyes, even when they’re a little red, shining like one of the crystals in his collection. I try to hold his gaze.

“It’s hard, though. It’s so hard. I’m really sorry that happened.”

Time seems to be moving slower, somehow. We look at each other and no words come for a while. But no words feel necessary at this point.

Aiden finally breaks the silence. “Can I… hold you?”

I go stiff, blinking up at him.

He laughs self-consciously. “Sorry, that came out weird. Just… whatever our equivalent of a hug is.”

Tentatively he reaches a hand out to me. As if moving out of pure instinct, I take the opportunity to finally touch him, placing my hand on one of his outstretched fingertips. We share a feeble smile.

“Yeah, of course,” I say, following through the motion and using the finger to hoist myself up onto his palm.

The giant lifts me up towards the top of his chest and brings me in. His second hand joins the first and puts gentle pressure against my back, cradling me against him. I hug him in return best I can, pressing myself against the warm expanse of his chest.

At one point I had told him that I was getting so touchy because it can be hard to see his body as human. I wasn’t lying, but I’ve since realized that’s not quite right. I wonder if it’s because I do see him as a person. And I’ve spent so much time isolating myself over the years that I’m starved for another’s touch. Greedily taking in whatever I can.

Aiden’s breathing seems to level out again as he holds me close. I wish there was more I could do to make him feel better. The collar of his shirt is just above my head and I reach up so that I can run my hand along his clavicle.

“Want to make a mug cake?” I suggest. “Oo, actually, I know a really good mug brownie recipe. I could make it for you myself if you just give me like… an hour.”

I’m so close to him that the lightest of his laughs destabilizes me, and I cling to his collarbone to keep from falling over. “No, that’s okay,” Aiden says, lowering his hands back down so he can look at me. It seems his tears have retreated without spilling over. “But thank you. You’re such a good friend, Evie.”

This comment knocks me off balance, far more than the shaking of his laughter did. I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before. What did I do to deserve such an amazing compliment? At this size I can’t even actually go get him food or anything. I have to force a deep breath to stay steady, at risk of getting emotional myself.

There’s a thump that jolts me out of my thoughts - the hand platform coming to rest on the desk. Selfishly, I linger. I’d like to stay with him a little longer. He doesn’t ask me to get off.

Instead he says softly, “Can you believe it’s been almost a month?"

I sit down in his hand, pulling my knees up to my chest, and nod. “As of tomorrow. Tomorrow’s the eighth, right?”

“Yeah.” There’s a long pause before he finally asks in a tight, worried tone, “You sure you’re still okay with all this? Staying here?”

I get nervous every time he brings this up. I don’t know how long I can keep running away. I keep pushing off thinking about the long term.

“If it’s still okay with you… yes,” I tell him. “Honestly… okay, this probably sounds crazy. But even if it were easy to fix me… I don’t know, I guess it’s been kinda nice. Getting away from normal life. Hiding out like this. It obviously took some adjusting, but weirdly I think I needed the break.” I pull my legs in a little tighter, tense.

"You can stay here forever if you want…” It sounds like he’s almost just muttering that to himself. I resist burying my face into my knees, trying to keep my composure. I know he can’t mean that. But I just want to keep pretending.

Aiden takes a breath in and sits a little straighter, trying to lighten up the rather dreary mood. “Want to do something special? To celebrate one month as roommates?”

I jump at the opportunity to change the subject, perking up along with him. I unravel my limbs and slide my legs over the side of his hand so that I can stand up on the desk.

“Let’s do it! Ummm, okay, we’ve only got two episodes of Laid Back Camp left, right? How about a big season finale? And, and… maybe we start season two while we’re at it?”

“Okay! Let’s do something fun for dinner too, it’s been a while since we’ve done takeout. I don’t remember if I’ve asked, what’s your favorite type of food?”

“Hmm… I really like Greek food. Haven’t done that in a while.”

“Let’s get some, then! I’ll plan around it. Tomorrow night, no studying, no homework. Let’s just hang out. You and me.”

I beam at him and shoot finger guns in his direction. “Me and you.”

As much as I don’t want to face it, it’s so clear that I’ve latched on to this guy like a little lost duckling. It actually feels as if old habits are creeping back to haunt me. But it comes along with the other bad habit that has gotten me through life - my stubborn ability to bury my head in the sand.

The past few weeks haven’t exactly been a walk in the park. No matter what happens, I know my life will never be the same – I’m no longer the person I was from a month ago, freshly shrunken, staring through a vast wall of glass at a titan of a man. Completely ignorant of the fact that he would soon become my savior and my best friend.

Who knows how long we can keep going like this, but… is it so wrong to let myself enjoy him while I can? Ever since I can remember, life has pelted me with one hardship after another. But it’s never stopped me.

Don’t give up. Fight back. Work harder. And maybe this time, for however long it lasts, I can cherish this little scrap of happiness.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Aww. I got some strong Minami-kun no Koibito vibes from their “hug.”

"You can stay here forever if you want…”

In other stories similar to this, such an offer by the biggo often provokes the more self-effacing tiny to respond with something like, “Be realistic. What if you get a girlfriend?” This is, of course, a test to get a glimpse at the biggo’s self-perception of his romantic ambitions. The tiny is typically pessimistic about such a possibility and is looking for either confirmation or a reason to hope.

Here, Evie is too wrapped up in the fantasy to risk disturbing it with such provocations. I wonder if she understands that Aiden, too, is entertaining a fantasy he doesn’t want to end.

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Aww I looove Minami kun Particularly the 2004 version~

You’re spot on with Evie being super avoidant here. She’s not even addressing his statement because she doesn’t believe him for a second. Not in a “he’s lying to me” way but in a “he’s doesn’t mean that, he’s just not thinking it through” way. But she doesn’t want him to think things through since she’s so dependent and doesn’t feel like she has options outside of him. Honestly, she’s not even thinking about romantic ambitions at this point

[littlest-lily]

Chapter 18
Aiden

“Doing okay in there?” I ask, brushing a finger against my shirt pocket. I feel what I think are Evie’s little shoulders through the fabric.

There’s a shifting against my chest as she readjusts herself restlessly. “Y-yup! All good.”

I’m a bit nervous too. We haven’t gotten back into a car together since the first time. Every once in a while that image of her rolling over the edge of the dashboard still haunts me. I have no idea what would have happened if I hadn’t caught her. Thankfully sudden movements should no longer make her fall off a precipice.

I return my hand to join the other on the steering wheel. “We’re almost home. I’d say this was a successful test drive!”

“W-wait until we park to say that. Don’t jinx it…” Poor thing. She really sounds like she’s ready to be done.

A few minutes later we’re pulling into the parking garage and I can feel shuffling against me again as my tiny passenger stands up to stick her head out of my pocket. I stop the car, put it in park, and we both let out a sigh.

“Aiden,” says Evie nervously, and I pull my neck back so I can look down at her. “I didn’t want to freak you out so I kept quiet, but I had a thought during the drive back. If there was a crash bad enough for the airbag to pop out… do you think I’d get flattened in here?”

My blood goes cold. I feel pins and needles run over my skin like a wave and my heart rate picks up. I hadn’t even thought of that. The idea of her getting crushed, against me no less, is so horrifying that my hand moves reflexively up to my pocket to cover it protectively. No wonder she was so anxious during the drive with that swirling around in her head.

“That’s… a very good point,” I say shakily, “I-I’ll come up with something else.”

“I’m probably overthinking things.” She’s noticed the proximity of my hand and reaches out of the pocket to give it a reassuring pat, the lightest of sensations against my skin. “Or maybe I just don’t need to do car rides. As much as I like the thought of going out with you.”

Going out?! My heart’s racing all over again.

Wait. She means, like, going outside. Right. Of course she did.

“We’ll find a solution,” I say with a bit more strength. “I’d like to take you out too.” Take you… outside. Right…

After that rather stressful couple of minutes, I start to get a hold of myself again as I carry the takeout bag through the winding hallways and back to the apartment. Before I can even turn the key to the door, a small voice squeaks out of my pocket.

“Uggghhh, I can’t waaaait, I can smell it from here and it smells amazing.”

“Almost, almost!” I tell her with a laugh, stepping inside and setting the stuff down on the counter. “Hang tight for just a second.”

I pull out all the takeout boxes as Evie watches me avidly from her perch near my heart. We essentially just got a slew of appetizers, so I make sure to get her a tiny piece of everything onto one of her larger miniature plates. I get my fill as well and bring it all to the living room so that we can watch the anime while we eat. On a dish I’ve already set up a candle that’ll sit right next to the laptop so that it feels like a tiny campfire, to match the theme of the show. I have the kitchen light on too so we’re not just sitting in the dark, but the small flame is already creating a rather cozy atmosphere.

Once I’ve settled the plates directly onto the couch, I finally reach for my eager little friend, pushing down on the lip of my shirt pocket with one hand so that I can more easily slip my fingers around her torso with the other.

I’ve set her food on the edge of my own plate so that it’s at about the right height when she sits next to it. I take a seat on the floor and smile with amusement at Evie sitting there, her hands clapped in front of her mouth, as if she’s having a religious experience.

“Spanakopita, my love,” she finally gushes, taking the bit of pastry in her hands and raising it up reverently.

“Umm.” I was in the process of pulling up the show on my laptop, but I pause and raise an eyebrow at her. “Should I give you two some privacy?”

“Nope, you have to deal with this,” she says, taking a bite and then letting her head fall back for a second with pleasure before aiming her attention at me. “Someone has to press play. Let’s do this!”

If I knew a bit of spinach pastry is all it would take to make her so happy I would have done this much earlier. After everything she’s been through it warms my heart to see her full of joy like this. I start the show and we enjoy it as we feast. I like Greek food just fine, but Evie’s enthusiasm makes it taste even better to me.

We finish an episode and I make sure she’s done eating before tidying up the leftovers to clear some space off the couch. My shrunken friend is looking off in the distance longingly, seemingly deep in thought.

“This really does make me want to try camping,” she remarks, gesturing towards the laptop. “Though I have no idea how we’d even do it. It’s not like they make tents in my size. Or any other supplies really…”

She actually sounds pretty forlorn. It’s true that she doesn’t really get out much. I need to change that, bring her out into nature more often than I currently do. But in the meantime I try to lighten things up.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a built-in tent right here,” I say, holding my hand up and bending it inwards to form an upside-down V. Then I plop the whole thing down on top of her, and she’s already giggling as I carefully knock her over backward from her seated position. I settle my domed hand onto the couch cushion, trapping her underneath. “See?” I add, biting back a laugh.

I never would have done something like this at the beginning. Hell, maybe I’m going overboard right now, physically pushing her down like this, even if I’m doing it gently. But her muffled laughter sounds so genuine. I really just think it’s a testament to how comfortable we’ve gotten with each other.

"You know,” she calls out, and I lean in so that I can hear her better, “this might actually be cozy if it wasn’t so dark in here!”

For a second I think she’s pushing upwards with her hands against mine, but then I quickly realize I’m actually feeling tiny bare feet kicking my fingers as she lays on her back.

I continue teasing her, grinning as I respond, “Huh? What’s that? You’ll have to speak up.”

She must have gotten up onto her knees because when I feel her next I can tell those really are her hands this time pushing against me. I let her shove my fingers aside as she pops her head out between the third and fourth digit, taking a dramatic deep breath before trying to wriggle her body out. The sight is both silly and absolutely precious.

But then, as much as I’ve gotten accustomed to her shrunken state, there are still moments where it really hits me just how little Evie is. Seeing only her head, no bigger than a marble, makes me feel a wave of dizziness. I spread my fingers out from around her and lift my hand away, suddenly afraid of hurting her… It wouldn’t have taken much more than a twitch to snap her neck. She hardly seems bothered, though. What a gift that she trusts me like this.

I regain myself and try to actually respond to her earlier wish. “We could rent a cabin. That way there’s less chance of having to deal with bugs or bad weather. It’s not quite the same but it could be fun?”

“Maybe,” she responds, getting to her feet. “Or I can just live vicariously through cute anime girls. Come sit up here, we’ve still got the last episode!”

I smile, nod, and get up off the floor, repositioning myself so that I can sit next to her. Lately we’ve started perching her up on my shoulder or my knee when we watch stuff, so by the time I’m on the couch she’s already walking up to my leg. She tries something new though, grabbing onto the fabric of my pants. I just watch her and let her try to pull herself up, but there clearly aren’t any good handholds.

“Nope, not happening,” she gasps, falling back to her feet and taking a couple of steps backwards.

“I got you,” I say, carefully lifting her up like she’s a chess piece and setting her on top of my leg. We start the episode.

There’s something… different happening today. I can’t quite put my finger on it. I just… I feel like I can’t keep my eyes off of her. I’d kept the habit at bay when I was sitting on the floor and my head was more level with hers, but now my eye line is much higher, making it easier for me to look without her noticing.

I watch as she settles onto me. She’s cross-legged for a bit, contentedly escaping into the colorful world on the screen. And then about ten minutes later she shifts her position and ends up laying on her stomach, propped onto her elbows with chin resting on her hands, legs bent with her feet up in the air.

I can’t stop staring. I don’t even try to hold off this time, as creepy as that sounds. I just observe her little form there in my lap for the entire rest of the episode, until my face is feeling warm and my heart starts beating harder.

Evie has no idea how good she looks. She’s got some homemade black shorts on that still manage to outline the shape of her rear, and her slender legs slowly drift through the air like flower petals in the breeze, her ankles occasionally crossing and uncrossing. The way her dainty little feet arch is almost ethereal, her toes so small that I have a hard time making them out in the candlelight. She’s wearing her usual gray strip of fabric looped around her top half, tied in a bow just above her tailbone, like a present begging to be unwrapped. The way the garment hangs on her frame accentuates the dip in her back, and I notice there’s the smallest gap that has formed within it that shows a sliver of bare skin at her waist.

Hold on. I’m getting… really excited. To the point that it’s starting to physically show. I can feel a lump forming between my legs, and it’s way too close to where she’s currently resting.

Panic floods my system. Shit. Shit. I can’t let her see. I have to step away. But I can’t exactly do that while she’s sprawled on top of me. The ending song of the episode is playing now and I attempt to position one of my arms so that my hand blocks the view of my crotch. I take a deep breath, and then with my other hand I reach out to gently stroke her back.

“Hey, Evie?” I say softly, trying to sound as sleepy as possible, “Sorry, I know we talked about maybe starting the second season tonight, but I think I need to call it here. I had to stay up late last night and I’m feeling super tired.”

She rolls over onto her back to look up at me and I’m really trying to keep my cool while also desperately hoping her gaze doesn’t drift too low. My finger’s still right there and she lifts her legs up to prop her feet up against it, shooting me a little smirk. God, she needs to stop being so adorable.

“Quitter,” she taunts, kicking at the digit.

I catch one of her tiny feet between finger and thumb and gently lower it back down. “Sorry… But I think we can agree that me falling asleep with you on me would be very bad.”

“Yeah, okay, that’s fair.” With that she stretches her arms up above her head as she yawns, her mid back arching and lifting off my leg. The strip of cloth hanging off of her slips, exposing more of her torso. Stop. Stop…

“We’ll start it on Friday, okay?” I say, lining my open hand up alongside her. I’m struggling to sound casual. I need to get out of here.

She nods and rolls back over so she can sit up, languidly stretching again before finally climbing onto my palm. I quickly lean forward to blow out the candle, and then I lift her up a little higher than I normally might, so terrified especially as I get up that she’s going to notice something. I try to surreptitiously tuck away the evidence as I stand.

“Good night, Evie.” I manage a smile as I put her back on the desk, crouching to make sure my waist is well out of sight.

“You too. Thanks for making the one-monthiversary special.” Her grateful smile in this moment is enough to break my heart into a thousand pieces.

I turn and try not to be too obvious about hurrying out of the room. And then I do something that I don’t normally do when I get into my own bedroom - I close the door.

I let my facade crumble then as I let out a shaky breath and collapse onto the bed. I need to calm down and get a hold of myself.

But as I stare up at the ceiling it’s like I can see images dancing across it, shadows of Evie’s tiny form. I can’t stop thinking about her, laying on my leg with her feet kicked up, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

I close my eyes. How amazing is it that I get to hold her the way I do, every day, her tiny body easily fitting on my palm or wrapped up in my fingers? And how wonderful is it that she’s so comfortable with me handling her now, that I can touch her so casually, pretty much whenever I want?

And yet there are so many other things I wish I could do.

I want to feel every bit of her between my fingers. Every bit of her. I want to roll her around in my palm like it’s nothing, push her into whatever position I’m feeling like. To touch every beautiful curve.

I want to bring her up to my face, closer than I ever have. To see her in greater detail. To gently snuggle her against my cheek. What would she feel like against the sensitive surface of my lips? What could it possibly be like to press such a small person against my mouth, covering her with gentle kisses as she writhes against me?

I’m sure something like that would terrify her. But what if I could actually make her feel good… What if I could figure out the ways to elicit moans of pleasure from the way I touch her… The smallest of sighs as she closes her eyes and rolls her head back and gives in to me…

What if that fabric had completely slipped off of her and I could see what was underneath. To feel her tiny, naked form against my own skin…

It’s too much. I’m drowning in my thoughts, the images in my head swirling as my breath comes in shallow.

My hand is down my pants now as I imagine what she would feel like down there. There’s so much her little body is capable of, so many ways she could make me feel amazing, and she has no idea. She’s just so small… so tiny… so—

I release right then with a tight, stifled groan. The bliss lasts for all of half a second… before it’s replaced by an intense, stomach-curdling, heart-wrenching shame. My eyes snap open and I’m breathing hard.

Oh god. What am I doing?

I drape an arm over my face, covering my eyes as I grit my teeth. And I curse under my breath.

What is wrong with me? What am I thinking? I feel incredibly dirty. I just got so caught up… How could I let myself do this? Evie’s my friend – my precious, precious friend…

And then I finally acknowledge it. I have feelings for this girl.

Our chemistry was obvious from the moment we met. We have just enough in common that we bonded quickly but enough differences to be able to share and learn from each other too. Every day has been a new joy as I discover the parts that make her her. The way she organizes things so meticulously, how eager and excitable she gets, and especially her sweet and caring side in my regard. We’ve gotten so close so quickly over the past few weeks - I’ve spent more time with her than anybody else this last month.

But it’s never enough. If I could have my way I’d be spending every waking moment with her. I love our friendship, so much. But it’s gone beyond that. I’ve begun caring about her on a much deeper level.

And I lust after her. Even before she got shrunk I thought she was gorgeous, with those big, brown doe eyes, her smile that even now can light up the entire room, her incredible body that curves in all the right places. And my brain is wired to enjoy her stature right now. I can’t help finding her even more beautiful when tiny. Her size is just… absolutely intoxicating. And there’s a sick part of me that likes the fact that it makes her helpless, keeps her stuck here, keeps her dependent. Dependent on me.

I can’t push my feelings onto her. A part of me wonders if she might care for me in that way too, size difference be damned, but I can’t risk finding out. It can’t come from me. Our situation is just too complicated - what kind of position would I be putting her in? She has no one else to turn to right now. I wouldn’t dare compromise our current relationship. I care about her too much, I don’t want to ruin what we have.

Don’t screw this up. Don’t you fucking dare screw this up, Aiden.

“Never again,” I whisper to myself, “This ends now.” I repeat it into the air again and again and again and again.

This.

Ends.

Now.

~ End of Part 1 ~

[littlest-lily]

And there’s that! Thank you so so much for reading thus far~ Lots more adventures still to come for these two. I’m currently working on the second part so it might be another couple of months or so before I start posting it, but I do have other little projects that I plan on posting in the meantime.

Take care and happy holidays!

[Olo]

@littlest-lily

I’d like to take you out too.” Take you… outside. Right…
After that rather stressful couple of minutes, I start to get a hold of myself again as I carry the takeout bag

“One Evie to go, extra curiosity, hold the self-doubt.”

She’s wearing her usual gray strip of fabric looped around her top half, tied in a bow just above her tailbone, like a present begging to be unwrapped.

Has Aiden been Naughty or Nice?

On Tumblr I once participated in a rather heated exchange about whether tinies could give meaningful consent. As usual, it came down to full and frank communication, which both Aiden and Evie are struggling with, but I have faith in them.

I wonder how much prior romantic/sexual experience each of them has. Might be time for Aiden’s former high-school sweetheart to show up…

[Olo]

@littlest-lily

A Gift For You by @Shardro

[littlest-lily]

@Olo

“One Evie to go, extra curiosity, hold the self-doubt.”

HA! I love that so much

Yes, communication in this type of situation is so incredibly important. In certain ways they’ve been pretty good about that, but in other ways completely failing… Consent, previous experience, all of it to be addressed

And oh my goodness that artwork is so freaking cute!

[littlest-lily]

I was doodling these two and decided to slap this together, as a promo pic I guess?

(Also, I’m still new to this whole posting images thing, here’s hoping this turns out okay!)

[littlest-lily]

Part 2: Down to Earth

Chapter 19
Aiden

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day out today. The sun is just cloud covered enough to not be too warm, the breeze is light and pleasant. I’ve yet to be bothered by a single fly or gnat and the sound of distant birdsong fills the air. The garden is in full bloom around me, carpets of peony and iris encircling the patch of soft green grass where I’ve laid out a blanket. The park is completely empty of any other people on this Saturday morning, just a beautiful, quiet, peaceful spot.

I hardly take notice of any of it. At the moment, my attention is entirely on the little creature before me who’s taking tentative steps over the surface of our picnic blanket. Her three-inch frame is just heavy enough to make the cloth bend under her bare feet as she absently meanders back and forth in circuitous patterns, her hands making wide gestures as she tells me a story. I’m currently laying on my stomach, propping myself up on my elbows, a long-abandoned book tucked under one forearm. A perpetual smile tugs up the corner of my mouth as I can’t keep my eyes off of this tiny woman who unknowingly has my heart under lock and chain.

“So what was I supposed to do then?!” Evie exclaims, throwing her arms out emphatically as she looks up at me.

“Did you think the basement was haunted?” I ask, biting back laughter as I wonder what direction this tale will go.

“Of course I did! Why would the freaking chief of staff lie to me about what he saw?!”

She pivots on her heel to resume her pacing, causing her hair to whip and her dress to twirl just above her knees. God, she’s so cute.

“But of course, he had already left because he thought it would be hilarious to let the youngest team member close up shop alone on Halloween night. I never imagined he’d be hiding down there to jump out at me. Worst prank ever.” She pauses dramatically before a sly smirk forms onto her tiny face. “But what he didn’t know was that I was carrying a crowbar I found just behind the basement door.”

“Oh, damn!” I say, my eyebrows shooting up. “Is this about to take a really dark turn?”

“Nah. I did swing when he popped up, but the light was so dim that I completely missed. Scared the crap out of him though… Served him right. Anyway, that’s another reason why I don’t like going underground.” Evie lets herself collapse onto the picnic blanket so that she’s lying on her back. “Much prefer the sunlight anyway. I wish the weather could be this nice all year round…”

As much as she seems to be enjoying the sun, the beam that’s shining down on us at the moment appears to be blinding her - she’s squinting and putting a hand up to her face. I scoot forward a little bit, looming over her so that my head casts a shadow onto her body. She gives me an appreciative smile.

“Yeah, I can definitely tell the fresh air’s doing you some good,” I murmur.

“It is!” she exclaims, stretching her arms over her head contentedly, “I’m totally high on it.”

“I should open the windows more often at home then. It would be good to air out the place anyway.”

“Sounds great. And thanks for bringing me out here so often, Aiden! I always thought this was such a dinky little park and never came here in the before times. Such a fool I was…” She flips over onto her stomach and gazes out past the edge of the picnic blanket. “Think it would be a bad idea to go exploring? I’ve never really done that.”

“Mmm, I don’t see why not. Let’s just watch out for things like broken glass. And bugs.”

“You mean like that giant scorpion?” she says, pointing out ahead.

“What?!” I yelp, head snapping up to look wildly at where she’s gesturing, and without thinking I’ve already darted my hand forward to form a wall in front of my vulnerable friend. I scan the grass and barely register my own confusion before I hear the melodic sound of her laughter.

“Kidding,” she says, sitting up so she can tap my wrist reassuringly, “April Fools.”

“Jesus, Evie.” I grin weakly as I look back down at her, feeling pretty dumb for having fallen for that. Surely she would have sounded at least a little concerned if it had been for real. “Who’s the prankster now?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if I’m cut out for it. I didn’t mean to scare you, I feel bad now.”

“Don’t. You got me good. I’ll just need to come up with some form of revenge,” I tease, extending my index finger to poke at her stomach and making her giggle as she skitters backwards.

In the back of my mind I’m processing what she just alluded to. It’s already April 1st. In just another week it will have been two months since the incident that dramatically changed both of our lives. We’ve settled into such a comfortable routine that I almost wonder if we’re doing something wrong, that it shouldn’t have been so easy to figure this out.

Well… okay, not everything has been easy. Especially at night when I go to bed and all I see are images of her when I close my eyes. But I’ve kept my promise to myself. And despite how much I’ve been struggling with these problematic feelings, I know she still has it way harder. She spends most of her life alone on a desk.

I’ve actually been feeling a bit worried about her lately. Evie’s been incredibly resilient throughout this whole thing - she hardly ever seems intimidated anymore by how much bigger I am, or the size of the rest of the world for that matter. She has all sorts of projects for herself now, having made a whole new wardrobe and crafting tools, and recently voicing interest in building furniture too. We’ve even started discussing maybe opening an Etsy store for her to sell miniatures once she gets the hang of it. Considering how recently the shrinking happened and the fact that we have no idea if or when we’ll ever be able to fix her, she really has been amazing in making the most of her situation.

But something’s a little off. Over the past week or two, I can’t help but feel like she’s been trying to keep particularly busy in an effort to stay distracted from something. There are a million things that could be bothering her. Boredom. Loneliness. Frustration over her limits. Missing things about the past, worrying about the future. Whenever I try to ask about how she feels, she always tries to reassure me that she’s doing fine.

As much as I care about Evie, that’s one thing I don’t love - the way she closes in on herself sometimes. I wish she would open up to me more about whatever’s troubling her… She’s always there for me when I’m feeling down, but it tends to be a one-way street. I’ve found myself wondering time and time again if I’ve done something wrong or if there’s more I should be doing for her.

At least the outdoors seem to be putting her in a genuinely good mood. She gets back up to her feet now as she asks me, “Are final exams coming up soon?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” I sigh, “I’ve still got a while, they start mid-May. But it’ll be here before I know it…”

“You’ve already started on that Hydrology paper though, right? I’m sure you’re way ahead of schedule.”

“Yeah, I’m trying not to procrastinate… Especially because work will get really busy just before exams too. But I’ll still have so much studying to do.”

Evie’s slowly making her way towards the edge of the picnic blanket, but she turns around now to give me a sympathetic look. “Not gonna lie… I don’t envy you. As much as I wish I could go back to class.”

I shift my weight so that I can lean my chin on my hand, smiling down at her as I take on a lighter tone. “Oh yeah, about that. I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’m planning to sneak you in with me on Monday. I thought it might help with your studies.”

"Wait, what?” Evie freezes in place and looks at me wide-eyed, going a shade paler and beginning to stutter. “Are you s-serious? How would we even… why would we–”

“Ha.” I poke her right on the forehead this time as I give her a smirk. “April Fools.”

A wave of relief washes over her before she smiles up at me, crossing her arms and wrinkling her nose. “Touché… Alright. Now we’re even. I’m gonna go explore." And with that she turns and marches towards the grass.

I watch her for a moment, marveling at the ease with which she traverses what must be an unsteady, bumpy terrain. She looks so much more confident now than she used to be… As if she was made to be this little. Though in reality, no human this small belongs in the world, and I straighten up a bit to scan the patch of grass ahead, feeling paranoid about any potential dangers. Evie looks a lot more cautious once she gets to the edge of the blanket, reaching out to feel a nearby blade of grass.

“In all seriousness, I do wish there was a way I could come with you,” she says, keeping half of her focus on our conversation.

“I mean, we could try,” I say, also only half paying attention, “More than anything else, it just seems like that would be incredibly boring for you. Just stuck in my pocket for however many hours.”

“What I’d be worried about is other people. Those chairs are really close together. All it would take is someone walking by while you’re sitting down and there’s a good chance they’d see me.”

“That’s if they’re looking… I wouldn’t expect anyone to try and look. Plus, there would be a million other conclusions to draw first before someone would assume I’m actually carrying a tiny person. Much less confront me about it.”

“Still…” Evie’s fidgeting with the blade of grass that she’s holding. She sounds very nervous, but in that trying-to-hide-it kind of way. “I guess I’d rather not take that chance.”

I take a moment to focus in on her again. Such a little thing… Yes, in some ways she’s gotten more comfortable with her stature. But in other ways she’s still appropriately scared of the outside world.

I lean over sideways, lowering my head to try and get her attention. “You know I’d never let anything happen to you, right?”

She lets go of the grass and it bounces back up, though it’s thoroughly rumpled now. She looks me in the eye and her cheeks are notably more pink. “I-I know,” she says and she gives me a sweet smile that makes my heart melt.

It’s another one of those moments. One where I so desperately wonder how she feels about me. Where the hopeful part of my mind thinks that just maybe… there’s a chance that she’s interested in me too. But I know it’s too risky to ask. I feel like such a hypocrite, wishing she’d open up to me more when there’s this monumental secret that I’m keeping from her. But this is different. It could ruin everything.

Evie looks away again, breaking the spell she had me under. She stares at the dirt just ahead of her and then slowly extends her leg, taking one tentative step. She touches down, feels the earth for a second, and the other leg is quicker to join the first. The grass reaches up almost to her chest, so she has to push it aside as she walks into it, traversing about an inch or two forward before she stops.

“I need to figure out how to make shoes,” she comments, lifting one leg to look back at her already-dirtied foot. “I wasn’t exactly wearing hiking boots when I got shrunk, my old flats won’t help me here.”

I scoot forward again, hovering behind her fretfully. “Seriously, let’s look out for bugs.”

“Will do. Though I’m not particularly afraid of them…”

I chuckle softly, keeping my eyes just ahead of her for anything that looks alive. “Yeah you say that, until you see the spider the size of a–”

“Aiden!”

I stop short. Evie and I stare at each other, frozen, our eyes slowly widening. The voice came from behind me. We’re not alone.

[Olo]

@littlest-lily Yup, it’s time to meet more of Aiden’s social circle (since Evie’s has quite literally shrunk out of sight).

[littlest-lily]

@Olo Right after she was like “I’m scared of other people” lol