@Olo Hoo boy there is SO much on YouTube if you want to go down that rabbit hole, I tried not to put too much pressure on finding the best and just grabbed the first one that popped up for me: https://youtu.be/tGwiHUbzFoA?si=k7DotRY207-iyn2Q
And just because he has so many funny moments too:
https://youtu.be/TDDpq0bbufQ?si=jnpCGSaCuwj_S6sl
@foreverlurk Ack, I haven’t listened yet, but I appreciate the warning because I’m sure that will frustrate me too. I also had a happy childhood and loving parents and have been interested in size stuff for as long as I remember, far far before puberty. 
She wasn’t sure what was worse. Having Rob dangled in front of her, not to be disturbed? Or being trapped in stifling solitude instead? She sunk back into the dark hole that she’d found herself in every day that her master had been at the office. At least then she had her glass tank, with all its fancy amenities at her disposal. Here she was left stranded up on a desk.
Blue dragged herself to her carrier, picked unenthusiastically at her food pellets, and then tried to take a nap. With how fast her metabolism was she tended to benefit from a little extra sleep, and she typically did so around midday. But she was so frustrated with everything from the past morning that all she could do was stare at the navy ceiling of the carrier and count the seconds as they passed.
It felt like an eternity when she heard the distant door of the house open. Footsteps were quickly approaching. Blue leapt to her feet, almost tripping over herself from how stiff her muscles had gotten and how much she was hurrying. She ran out to the open surface of the desk.
“Welcome ba–”
“Sorry, Blue.” Rob was a massive blur of movement as he rushed to turn his laptop back on. “I’ll need to feed you after this call, traffic was bad and I’m running late.”
His pet opened and closed her mouth a couple of times in shock. How many more times was she going to get jerked around like this?
As the computer processed, in a silent moment of sincerity, Rob looked her right in the eye and brought a thumb up to her cheek in apology. It felt like fire against her skin and she lifted her hand up to touch it to the outside of the digit, to hold him against her for just a second and savor this. But the call booted up before she could do so, and the hand was ripped away from her again.
The split-second-long touch was too much. She was too wired and couldn’t take it anymore. Her entire body was shaking as her eyes fixated the fingers that had just left her. This was a much more active meeting, and even after Rob apologized to the group for the delay, he was doing a lot of talking, waving his hands around as he presented something to the rest of his team. He was already tense going into this and the subject at hand kept his stress levels up.
Blue was like a predator, poised to strike. She crouched down to hands and knees, focusing on her target that was gesticulating in the air, like a cat watching a very large bird. Finally it was someone else’s turn to respond and Rob briefly relaxed his forearms back onto the desk. Not a second was wasted.
The tiny woman swept in, slinking forward with her head low, and still with a cat-like mannerism, she rubbed her cheek along the side of her beloved master’s hand, planting kisses along the length of his pinkie. She didn’t have time to do anything else before she was forcefully shoved away. The hand had pushed hard against her chest and it was a struggle not to yelp as she toppled over to her side and watched the fingers pull away from her, rising back into the sky.
Blue looked up wildly, confused. He’d never shown any level of cruelty before. Even though she wasn’t physically hurt, Rob’s gesture spoke volumes. He wasn’t even looking at her, his face perfectly composed as he stared at the screen. She wasn’t just dismayed this time.
This time she felt a spark of anger.
Fighting back tears, she crawled away, getting back to her feet about half an inch sooner than she was supposed to in a hidden act of rebellion. She stomped back to her toys, the stupid useless things that were somehow supposed to get her through the day. If she had opted to pick up the penguin perhaps she could have calmed herself down. But instead she plopped into a seat in front of the cylindrical cage that contained a little jingle bell.
The toy was on its side and she grabbed one end of it to spin it. The bell hardly shifted, which only further annoyed the aggravated woman, who staunchly wanted to tempt fate at this point. In a self-destructive move she pushed against the cylinder hard so that it rolled an inch or two forward. A small ringing sound erupted from it and seemed to split the air.
Unsurprisingly, Rob tsk’d with irritation and surreptitiously reached over to where Blue was sitting. She’d just reached the cylinder to push it again when enormous fingers grabbed it right out of her hands. The giant opened a drawer, dropped the toy in, and shut it hard enough to make his pet lose her balance.
Temper flaring, Blue jumped to her feet and turned to the rubber ball now. She kicked it as hard as she could, sending it sailing past the edge of the desk and plummeting to the floor, where she heard it bounce away. Good riddance.
Drowning in her frustration, she paced in a circle with her fists clenched, until her eyes fell upon the rudimentary staircase she had built out of books and office supplies earlier. She marched right over to it, angrily making her ascent. On the edge of her vision she could feel large glowering eyes watching her, but she didn’t look his way. Maybe it was time for her to ignore his presence for once.
When Blue reached the shelf, there was a reverberating thumping sound as Rob rapped a knuckle against the desk to get her attention. She looked over and he was staring straight at her, clearly communicating his disapproval of whatever she was doing. Now acting in open defiance, she sarcastically mimed zipping her mouth shut again. After all, she’d kept her promise of not making a peep.
But she continued marching along on her destructive rampage. She reached the pile of business cards from before and picked one up to toss right over the edge of the shelf.
“Stop,” Rob hissed under his breath, barely discernible over the droning conversation of his teammates. His eyes darted between the shelf and the computer screen with growing exasperation.
Blue met his gaze in one fiery glare. And then she kicked the entire stack of cards and sent them flying. The bulk of it loudly clattered down to the desk, and several of them toppled in front of the laptop, surely showing up on the camera.
“Get down,” the giant snarled as he suddenly reached out to snatch her up roughly. She almost bit her tongue, overwhelmed by the huge fingers suddenly pressing in from all sides, and vertigo hit her hard before the hand slammed back down onto the desk and rattled her from the inside out.
“Everything okay there, Rob?”
Blue was wincing as the huge fist released her, tears of pain getting added to the ones from her anger.
“Sorry, yeah, that was… my cat.”
The casualness with which he spoke was the tipping point. Overcome with rage, Blue grabbed the closest thing she could find, a loose paperclip, and chucked it at Rob as hard as she could. It bounced against his temple, making the giant flinch. The projectile was too small and too fast for anyone to notice, and it didn’t really hurt him – in fact, with her reduced stature it was impressive that she could even throw it that high. But it earned her one deathly icy glare.
Rob finally took in just how furious his little pet had gotten. Her eyes were full of tears, her body was shaking, there was a bright red mark on her arm, but right now he was too riled up to care. In this split second as the two regarded each other, all he could think was how dare she defy him like this.
“Ohhh, you have a cat?” one of his coworkers was asking excitedly, “Can we see?”
Despite him still angrily fixating Blue, Rob managed to maintain a relaxed enough tone. “Nah, she ran off. Though if she doesn’t stop misbehaving, I’ll have to go lock her up in her carrier.”
The look in his eye at that moment was enough to make Blue finally snap out of it. She suddenly realized that she was completely out of line. No matter what she felt, the gigantic man before her owned her. He was completely within his rights to do whatever he wanted to her. Fear swooped in to replace her wrath, and she threw herself to her knees, linking her hands behind her back and bowing her head low as she got into her submissive position.
She stayed like that for the entire rest of the meeting, her body trembling from the awkward stance, the anxiety, the residual frustration that she had buried deep inside. A good thirty minutes passed as she stared at the desk and desperately wondered where Rob’s mind was at.
Finally the call ended, and once the giant clicked out of the virtual meeting room, he let out a heavy sigh. The tiny woman could hardly breathe in the ensuing silence, her own heartbeat reverberating in her ears as she continued to keep her head down.
“Blue.”
His voice was quiet but it still made her flinch. She raised her head slightly in response to her name, though she did not meet his gaze. A large hand appeared in front of her, unfurling so that the fingertips lay just ahead.
“Come,” the voice commanded firmly.
For the first time, she didn’t want to. For the first time she was afraid to go anywhere near him. But she couldn’t defy this direct order. She got to her feet and took a couple of shaky steps forward down the length of his fingers. As soon as she reached his palm the entire thing lifted up and knocked her off balance. She got back into her kneeled bowing position right there in his hand, and her shoulders tensed as things became still again.
“You understand I have to work, right?”
His tone was so cold. Blue’s chest was tight as her heart raced away. She kept her head down and silently nodded.
“You understand why I have to work. Right?”
She nodded again.
“I can provide for you far better than the vast majority of people you could have ended up with, you know. Thanks to this job.”
Blue hung her head in shame at this. She didn’t look at him but softly said, “I know…”
“Care to explain yourself, then?”
She swallowed, trying to keep the shaking under control. Her voice was weak. “Th-the accommodations are nice… They’re very nice. I-I’m grateful, Master, I really am.”
Up until now, he had always insisted she call him by his name. But he didn’t correct her this time.
“It’s just…” Blue squeezed her eyes shut, mustering her courage to continue speaking. “I need… er… I would like… a little more than just nice things. W-we’ve barely been able to spend any time together… I just…”
And despite her best efforts, a tear fell from her eyes. She watched in terror as the drop of moisture splashed onto the skin of her owner’s palm. Desperately she tried to keep herself in check, but a second tear fell, and then a third.
Rob stared at his tiny pet. He had been thinking about how he was regretting not having accepted the leash that she came with. That she clearly didn’t understand how good she had it. That everything he’d bought for her was top of the line - her tank had plumbing for Christ’s sake - and how infuriating it was that she would repay him with such blatant disrespect. He’d been too easy on her. Things would need to change.
But then he heard the distress and longing in her voice. He felt her miniscule tears and the way her body trembled. He took notice again of the big red mark on her arm that was quickly bruising… and realized that it was about the size of a fingertip. He must have pinched her harder than he meant to when he snatched her from the shelf. He thought about what that might have been like for her, getting violently grabbed by a beast many times her own size. He thought about what could have driven her to act so rashly. What he might have done to push her to such a desperate state of mind.
Rob let out a long exhale.
“It’s true…” he finally conceded, “that I probably should have taken a couple of days off to help you settle in first.”
Blue finally looked up at him, her expression full of shock, before she snapped back into position, lowering her head. Rob smiled and prodded her with his thumb.
“You can relax,” he soothed, his tone warming up.
She did as she was told, releasing her hands from behind her back and slowly getting into a cross-legged position. She was still struggling to look at him. So he lifted her up higher, level with his face so that he could catch her gaze.
“Hey… I’m sorry I lost my temper, I didn’t mean to hurt you. And please don’t think that I don’t want to spend time with you. I’d like to do that more than anything, Blue.”
“R-really?” she stuttered, mindful of her movements as she went to wipe tears off her cheek. “It hasn’t exactly… felt that way.”
Rob assisted in a moment of tenderness, using his free hand to wipe her other cheek with the pad of his thumb. “Of course I do,” he murmured, “You’re beautiful, but you’re also so fun and sweet and caring. And I love that fire in you, even if it can be a bit troublesome sometimes. Tell you what…”
He paused for several seconds as he thought things through. For a moment he glanced at his laptop, but right now the computer had no power over him compared to the miraculous little creature in his hand. Things really did need to change.
“How about I take a few extra days off next week?” he finally offered, “I’ll extend the weekend. We can spend time together, really get to know each other more, and figure out better ways for you to occupy yourself.”
Blue almost got emotional again as her face lit up with a big, bright smile. “Yes! I’d love that, Master. I’d really love that.”
Rob smiled and brought her in to kiss the side of her head, and for a moment they embraced each other, her pressing her body against him and him enjoying the feel of her against his face.
“What’s my name again?” he said softly, pulling her away and reaching a finger up to stroke her neck.
Blue took the finger in both hands and kissed it before hugging it against her cheek. “I’d love that, Robert.”
“Better. So do you think you can behave until then? Just for the rest of the afternoon?”
“Yes. I’ll be quiet, I’ll be good.” She let go of him and fidgeted with her fingers, her smile conflicted. “Even if that means having to stay away from you.”
“About that…” Rob said and he stood back up, cupping his hand around his spirited little treasure as he began walking out of the room. “I have an idea.”
They traveled to the bedroom, a place Blue was quite familiar with as this was where her own living quarters were. For a moment she worried he was about to put her back in her tank, but he kept walking towards a door she was less familiar with - his closet.
Before she knew what was happening, Rob was tilting the hand she was sitting in to slide her right off, playfully dumping her into a soft, cramped space. It took her a moment to realize it was the pocket of one of his hanging shirts.
Blue spent a few seconds righting herself and struggling to get to her feet. By the time she popped her head out of the fabric enclosure, the nearby giant had stripped off his own pocket-less shirt and was turning away to drop it off into the hamper. She grinned in delight and made a tiny squeak of a wolf whistle.
Rob chuckled as he turned back her way and reached for the hanger she was dangling from. She giggled and held on tight as her gigantic master started putting on the shirt she was riding in, bumping and jostling her in the process. The silliness was sucking any residual tension out of the air, so that the unlikely couple was finding a comfortable ease in their interactions once more.
Once he slipped his head through the collar, Rob looked down to make sure his pet was where he’d left her, and he felt himself melt at her contented little smile. He loved the sight of her so close to his heart.
“What does ‘Goldarrow’ mean?” Blue asked suddenly, pointing to the label that was just on the hem of the pocket.
The distracted man answered absently as he continued to get dressed and shift his small passenger around. “I think it’s just this shirt’s brand name…” He paused after getting one arm through the hole, and then his eyes found hers again as he frowned. "Wait. Can you read, Blue?
“Of course!” she scoffed, looking up at him with exaggerated indignation.
He was searching for the other arm hole while he mused, “I didn’t know that…”
Blue laughed as she kept losing her balance, though she managed to speak nonetheless. “I’m still a person, you know, I can learn more than how to kneel. I bet I’m just as smart as you are.”
Rob reflected on this. He really didn’t know that much about her. Hell, maybe all she needed for entertainment was a damn book. Perhaps giving her a little more respect really was the answer in figuring this budding relationship out. He couldn’t wait to learn everything he possibly could about her.
He settled into his new shirt, tugging at the hem. “Is this okay?" he asked.
“This is wonderful," Blue purred, and she sat down to lean against the wall of his chest with a loving sigh. His heartbeat sounded like distant fireworks and his warmth was already making her sleepy.
“That cookie is ready for you whenever you’d like it… And let me know if you get bored. I’ll listen this time."
But she was already curling in on herself, settling in for a nap. She felt like she could stay in here forever. “Thanks, Rob. I will."
She didn’t even need a reminder this time. Rob smiled and lifted his hand up to gently run his fingers along her back from outside the pocket. “Good girl."
@i-am-insane (or just a normal attractive man… and we’re the ones who are small 🤭) But yeah, while I hesitate to represent all female SW fans, I at least feel like this is a pretty accurate general trend.
I do appreciate the discourse, by the way. So often when I see conversations around “what women like” I’ve seen it turn into men arguing about what they think, while ironically ignoring the women who try to participate lol
@Olo As much as I’m aware of the fact that a lot of people still have such archaic views, since the men in my immediate vicinity either don’t have those views or at least are aware enough to not be so transparent about it, the confusion is what never ceases to amaze me 
@i-am-insane I’ve also heard folks refer to just the sheer scale and power - that they’d be able to dominate someone so completely without trying, or even realizing that the person’s there.
Chapter 23
Aiden
I feel elated at how well this is going. This entire thing has had me in a weird state of anxiety mixed with giddiness. It almost feels like I’ve spent so much time dreaming, only to realize that none of this is a dream at all. One of my good friends is here with me, and she sees it too – she can see and touch and talk to the impossibly tiny girl I’ve been sharing so much of my time with. The opportunity to finally tell someone else about this has filled me with a relief that I wasn’t expecting.
Evie and Moira gaze at each other for a few seconds, to the point that I feel like I’m intruding. And then it’s the shrunken one who pipes up to encourage the next step. “Want to try actually lifting me up?”
Moira looks extremely hesitant, her eyebrows curving more and more with concern. “I feel like I’m going to knock you over.”
“You might,” Evie laughs, “It’s okay if you do. But I’ve gotten better at balancing.”
There’s further hesitation, and I’m about to suggest that maybe Evie should sit down for this first time, but before I can, it happens. Moira’s summoned her courage enough to slowly raise her hand upwards, letting it hover an inch or two in the air. The take off is smooth, hardly destabilizing the smaller girl at all, and even as she lifts her hand higher and away from the ottoman Evie stays on her feet. I feel like I should be taking notes.
It’s almost funny how much I can relate as I watch Moira cup her fingers around the precious cargo and reflexively clutch her second hand underneath the first for extra stability. Seeing her look so nervous and hesitant certainly helps me realize how far I’ve come.
“Um. Okay. Can I put you down now?” she mumbles and I notice how tightly clenched her shoulders are. She looks like she’s regretting pulling Evie so far away from a stable surface.
“I’ve got her,” I offer, and I extend my arm, touching my fingertips to the bottom of Mo’s hand, like docking a spacecraft to create a steady bridge. Our little space cadet takes it from there, stepping to the edge of one hand to hop onto the other. Once the transfer’s done I pull away again and Moira lets her arms drop down with relief.
“You did great,” Evie says, flashing a grin and double thumbs-up, and with my free hand I add a third, larger thumbs-up too, eliciting laughter from our guest. Still, we’ve thrown a lot her way with this initial meeting and I can tell we might be pushing her close to her limit.
“I’ll walk you out,” I say, slowly getting to my feet. Moira’s eyes are fixed on my hand that’s occupied, clearly on the verge of fretting about the casual way I’m moving around. Evie speaks up then, snapping her out of it.
“It was so nice to meet you!”
“Y-yeah, likewise!” Moira responds with a smile.
I drop Evie back off at the desk and we share a quiet grin, a secret moment of celebration over the success of this meetup. I’m overjoyed to see that she’s genuinely come around, and I’m feeling more hope than I have in a long time.
I follow Moira through the door to walk her out of the building - she knows the way so she doesn’t need me there, but I figure we might want a few minutes of privacy. As soon as I shut the door to the apartment her smile drops and she covers her face with her hands. I go stiff, pausing while still holding the door handle. I’d been so caught up in my own excitement that this reaction takes me off guard.
“I’m awake right now?” she whispers, “All of that really just happened?”
I relax a little. Right. Of course she’s still coming to terms with it all. “Afraid so…” I mutter and put a hand on her back. “I know, it’s a little overwhelming.”
I’d prepared Moira to the best of my abilities. I asked her to meet me for lunch yesterday and we found a private place to eat outside. Out of all my friends I figured she was the most likely to believe me, but I still wasn’t sure how she would react. I told her the story from the beginning, and she didn’t quite laugh but just seemed so confused, wondering what on earth I was getting at with my ridiculous tale. It wasn’t until I showed her a video of Evie on my phone that she became very serious. She had many questions that I answered as well as I could. But nothing could have fully prepared her for seeing the impossibility in person.
Taking a tremulous breath in, she slides her hands off her face and touches the arm I’m supporting her back with, absently giving it a thankful pat before she starts walking down the hallway.
“She looked so scared of me…” Moira whimpers, “Not that I blame her.”
“She was nervous,” I acquiesce, keeping pace with her shorter gait. “But I could tell she likes you, she was loosening up a lot by the end of it. She looked a thousand times more scared of me in the beginning, I promise.”
“I can’t believe this has been going on for so long. How are you holding up?”
“Me? I’m fine. I’ve liked having her around. And she’s been adjusting pretty well, all things considered.”
“Thank you for trusting me with this…” She looks up at me with such sincerity that I want to give her a big ol’ hug right then and there. “I promise I’ll keep it to myself. I want to help however I can.”
I walk in silence for a couple of paces before I quietly tell her, “Honestly, Mo, she just really needs a friend right now. Someone other than me.”
We’ve reached the door to the parking garage where she has her car waiting, and she turns to face me with a soft smile. “I’m more than happy to try. You said she has a phone, right? Give her my number, she can text me whenever she wants. Oh and Aiden…” Her expression shifts to a bit of a frown as she reaches up to give me a light, quick jab in the chest. “Watch it with the grabby hands?”
My mouth opens and closes a couple of times as I reel back for a second. Finally I stutter out, “I-I’m really careful, I swear!”
“I’m sure you are. But it’s more than that… Just make sure not to disrespect her autonomy, you know? I can only imagine how helpless someone might feel that small. Maybe it doesn’t help if you don’t give her the chance to move a couple of inches on her own.”
I can feel color flooding into my cheeks, and at first I think it’s just me getting defensive about Moira jumping to conclusions the second she gets invited to the party. But the longer I stand here the more I realize the heat I’m feeling in my face is stemming from shame. I think Evie and I are on the same page when it comes to this stuff. But the thought that I might be disrespecting her in any way makes me feel sick to my stomach. Any frustration around unsolicited advice quickly deflates within me like a balloon with a leak. It might actually be a good thing to have a third party’s perspective…
"Maybe you’re right,” I finally concede. “Maybe I’ve been getting too comfortable…”
She shrugs. “And maybe I’m wrong. Probably good to double check though, yeah?” I must still look conflicted because she adds with a more gentle tone, “You’re a good guy, Aiden. I’m sure you’re handling things fine. I wouldn’t have even known where to start… Let me know if either of you need anything, alright?”
“Will do. It was good to see you.”
“You too, man. I get why you’ve been so absent now, but still, I’ve missed hanging out.”
I have to bend down low to give her a hug while she stands on her tiptoes. We wish each other goodnight and then I head back to the apartment. When I step inside I notice that Evie’s laying backwards on her bed, holding her pillow over her face, and I might have been worried if her feet weren’t fluttering excitedly.
“Did we break you?” I laugh as I sit down beside her.
She drops the pillow to reveal her eager expression, upside down from my perspective. “I think I’m in love.”
You and me both, I say silently. It feels so wonderful to see her overflowing with joy like this.
“Well then, I’ll start planning the wedding," I quip, beaming. “Yup… there’s a reason I picked her to introduce you to. Everyone loves Moira."
“Dammit. That means I’ll have competition in winning her heart…”
She’s clearly kidding around, but seeing her elation is starting to make me feel just a little bit jealous. I can’t help but want to check…
“You might have a chance, you know," I say, dragging the joke out a bit more, "She’s single, and I’m not actually sure she’s fully straight.”
Evie lets out a theatrical sigh, resting the back of her hand against her forehead. “Tragically, though, I am. I guess I’ll have to settle for friendship."
My stomach does a flip. We’ve never delved into past relationships or anything like that, so it’s not until now that I’ve gotten confirmation that she’s into men. Good to know. Whether she’s into men fifty times her own size is an entirely different matter.
“You didn’t tell me just how much we had in common," Evie says, getting into a seated position on her bed.
“I didn’t want to tell you everything, you’d have nothing to talk about," I counter.
“Fair.” She lets out a more subtle and natural sigh this time, a sweet smile at the ready. “I’m so glad you convinced me to do this.”
“Yeah… Me too.”
There’s a wistful part of me that’s mourning the fact that she’s no longer my little secret that I get to keep just for myself. I mean, her happiness is absolutely worth it, and I hope this is a step in the right direction. But in a way, I’m also going to miss it just being me and her all the time.
I reach out towards her to… I don’t even know, touch her arm or something, make some kind of contact. But I interrupt myself, suddenly feeling self conscious, and my hand halts its journey halfway across the desk. I think about the talk I just had in the parking garage and retract my arm.
“Does it bother you?” I ask quietly, “When I pick you up and stuff without asking first?”
Evie frowns. “Is this about what Moira said with the manhandling?”
I don’t pretend to hide it. “Yes. The more I think about it, the more I’m worrying that I’m not doing a good job at like… making sure you still have agency, I guess.”
I expect her to minimize the issue, to just casually wave me off and tell me it’s fine like she always does. I’m already preparing to insist and really make sure she’s not hiding her true feelings from me. But then…
“I like it.”
My next word dies in my throat, leaving emptiness in its wake. I just stare.
Evie starts fidgeting with the bedsheets and tries to clarify, “Not you removing my agency, but… I don’t know, I just don’t see it that way.” She pulls her legs towards her chest as she leans back, in a slightly precarious balance. “We’re in a really weird situation and are having to write the rules as we go. Who knows if we’re doing it right. But I know I’m fine with how we are. Honestly, when you hold me, I just feel… safe.”
My heart is thumping hard. The weight of what she’s saying is enough to pin me to the chair. Am I imagining the look in her eyes right now? The insinuation in her voice? Surely I’m not just hallucinating the blush on her cheeks or the way she’s biting her lip?
I almost cave. Almost say something I shouldn’t. Or maybe I should. But instead I just say, “Oh… All good, then.”
Conflicted, my hand retraces its journey across the desk, this time slinking around Evie’s bed and hovering just behind her back - she really does look like she might topple backwards if she loses her balance. She smiles and leans back further, gently trust-falling against my fingers.
With a lighter tone, she says, “Don’t tell Moira I have a girl crush, I was just being silly. I don’t want her to think I’m weird.”
I tip her back onto the bed, letting my fingertips linger against her shoulders. I’m not sure I can match her buoyant tone, but I try, and I hope my smile makes up for it. "Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Yeah it can be fun talking to normies about this stuff! (if anxiety inducing, if they bring it up unexpectedly lol) Most of the reactions from people I know is that they think it’s really cute - and I’ll take it, I like the cute stuff too. But I’ve even had a friend who told me something like, “Yeah, I think I get it. I remember feeling a certain way when Hook captured Tinkerbell. It’s kinda hot.” That BLEW my mind, because she definitely doesn’t have the kink like I do, and yet there’s still an appeal there. And I can understand it if I think about other things. I’m not into something like, say, merpeople. But I think it’s such a cool fantasy race, and I can certainly get behind a concept where a hot merman takes me on a magical underwater adventure lol.
Okok here’s something that I think could actually truly work if it’s done right. In mainstream media, I feel like sizey things are supposed to be funny, cute, or “fun” scary (ie big scary monster that needs to be defeated). But I think it could be truly engaging as a horror premise. And I’m thinking about the popularity of shows like “You” and the whole sexy serial killer trope (I’m glazing over the problematic aspects of that here). I’ve thought about this a lot and can picture it…
He’s charming, engaging, hot, albeit a bit reserved. She doesn’t realize he’s been stalking her for weeks, but finally he hits it off with the girl, they talk and laugh, enjoying a meal and some drinks. She starts feeling dizzy, fearfully realizing her drink was spiked with something before she blacks out. She wakes up and she’s tied up, alone, in an unknown space. She’s panicking, fighting the bindings, looking around. There’s a spotlight on her, too dark to properly see past, but she vaguely sees a massive shape moving in the darkness. Something comes into the light, slowly revealing itself to be giant fingertips, a hand sliding across the floor that’s actually a table, reaching for her, with a softly booming chuckle as she hyperventilates and recognizes that voice.
If the filmmakers actually took this kind of scenario seriously and made it scary, I think normies would take it seriously too. Make the giant kidnapper just sympathetic (and sexy) enough and I think it would really awaken something in certain people.
@Olo LOL if my giant were to ever call me “satisfactory,” that’s the fastest way to get me to start acting very disobedient 
Chapter 24
Evie
“How aboouut…. what’s your favorite dessert? I think for me it’s tiramisu.”
That’s a good question. I ponder for a minute before typing out a response:
“I don’t know if I can pick! Probably something basic, like a really good brownie or chocolate chip cookie. Ok ok here’s one. I’m super into board games - which one’s your favorite?”
I hit send and step back as I glance up at the rest of our texts with satisfaction. It’s so strange seeing the many messages labeled “Evie Ondine” alongside all those marked “Moira Wynne.” I haven’t had a long text chat with a friend like this in a while. I’m still a pretty slow typer, but I’ve gotten way better at using the phone over time and I’m doing well at keeping up with this conversation.
It’s been another cleaning day so we’re back down on the floor for a change of pace. Aiden’s laying on his stomach next to me, in deep concentration as he works on some lesson plans for his TA job. I scamper back over to what I’ve been occupying myself with outside of chatting with Moira - I’ve got my textbook from my Construction Technology class and am doing my own studying. Well, it’s less of a book and more of a laminated spiral journal. This actually makes it easier for me to turn the pages since they’re so stiff - I’m able to lift a plastic sheet on the outside edge and push it over my head as I make my way towards the spiral binding.
Sometimes I’m not sure why I even bother studying anymore. The end of the semester is quickly approaching and I have no idea if or when I’ll ever be able to go back to school. But thinking about that means thinking about the long term, which I’ve been refusing to do. At least studying keeps me occupied.
Still… I get bored of it so quickly. I perk up excitedly every time I hear the buzz from my phone that lets me know Moira’s responded, giving me a quick distraction.
“I’m not sure if it counts but I really like Pictionary. I’m probably biased since I like to draw :p"
Before I get a chance to respond, another text soon comes in.
“FYI the first students for the night are starting to trickle in so I need to put my phone away. Have a good night!”
I hurry to text her a “Good night!” back and sigh in disappointment. So much for that distraction. I look up at Aiden, his massive form hulking just beside me. He’s been at it for a while, maybe a short break wouldn’t be so bad…
His laptop lies next to him and he occasionally refers to it as he works. I make my way to it, hopping onto the edge of the keyboard and padding my way along while avoiding stepping on the keys. I’m about to call out to him, but that’s when he turns back to the computer again. He reaches a hand to the trackpad with his eyes fixed on the screen, until he suddenly notices me standing on the laptop. He breathes in sharply through his nose and yanks his arm back, obviously startled, and I wave my hands at him apologetically.
“Sorry! I didn’t mean to sneak up on you.”
“All good,” he says with a growing smirk and then repositions himself so that he’s laying on his side, propping his head up with one hand. “You getting tired of studying?”
I look off to the side sheepishly. “So?”
“I can put you back on the desk if you want access to your stuff.”
“No, I don’t mind being down here, I like the change of scenery…”
He frowns sympathetically. “Sorry, I wish it wasn’t raining or I’d have taken you outside today.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” I insist, now very much feeling like a bother. “I wanted to ask - do you have any board games here? Moira and I were just talking about them, I do miss playing.”
"Yeah, I’ve got a couple, all stuff from when I was younger… I think I have a checkers set, Ticket to Ride, Battleship… maybe Clue?”
“Think we could do a game night sometime?” I ask hopefully. “I could probably at least play Battleship.”
He nods and leans in a little closer. “Totally! I bet you could play all of them, we should give it a shot. Uhhh maybe not tonight though, I really have to get this done. Sometime this weekend sound good?”
“Absolutely! Okay I’ll leave you alone now.”
“Okay… even though I don’t waaaant you to,” he whines, letting his head sink onto his lesson plans on the floor.
This lifts my spirits a little bit, knowing he’d rather be spending time with me instead. I jump back off the computer and edge a little closer to his face. “You can do it! You’ve already gotten so much accomplished today, you’re almost done!” I raise an arm up to him, offering him a high-five. “You got this!”
As I’m cheering him on he tilts his head to watch my approach, giving me an appreciative smile. He slides a hand over to me to touch his index finger to my outstretched palm. “Go team,” he says weakly. Not needing to be as careful as him, I give his fingertip an enthusiastic slap before I finally leave and give him his space.
I make a halfhearted attempt to go back to my textbook, but after a few minutes I still feel so restless… I decide to wander the apartment instead. I actually haven’t done much of this since it’s rare that I’m on the floor. I’m still pretty intimidated by the wide open spaces in this canyon-like room, and I’m finding myself drawn to the structures within it. I first walk the perimeter of the ottoman, which looms above me like a mansion within a stadium. Soon I find myself between the ottoman and the couch and notice that I would be able to fit underneath either one of them with ease… I’d be really good at playing hide and seek right now.
As I wander along the edge of the couch, something on the floor ahead of me catches my attention. I quicken my pace curiously and realize it’s a stain of some kind. I crouch down to carefully touch it, and it’s a little sticky. Figuring out that it’s a few drops of tomato sauce, I’m confused at first. We hardly ever eat on the couch, does this stain predate me being here? And then I remember that we did have dinner here once, that night a few weeks ago when we got Greek takeout. This is totally from that green bean dish.
Maybe it’s the fact that I feel partly responsible, but I want to clean this up. I rack my brain as I make my way to the end of the couch, determined to figure this out on my own. What kind of cleaning supplies could I use at this size?
Far ahead of me is the kitchen island, and I know that if I walk along the leftmost wall, Aiden’s room is just around the corner. Could he have anything in there that would work? Then again, I feel a little awkward just waltzing into his bedroom like that. I’ve hardly been in there outside of day one when he gave me a tour of the place. Across from his bedroom and next to the kitchen is his bathroom… Maybe there’s something there I could use.
I reach the edge of the wall and I’ll need to cross some open space to get to my destination. I look around as if I’m at a traffic light and about to cross the freeway. Aiden’s still in the same spot, back to being very concentrated. I make a run for it, dashing across the floor until it becomes tile. I huddle against the doorway for a moment, tilting my neck back to get the lay of the land.
To my right is one enormous blank wall, like a cream-colored cliff. On the left is where all the structures are, and I stroll past the looming cabinets, almost disappointed with how tidy it is in here. Soon I’m coming up to the enormous toilet, and just past that is where I catch sight of something that I think will do. There’s a toilet paper holder, and at the bottom of the tower I have easy access to the heavy white rolls.
I hurry over to the hay bale-like cylinders and find the seam. The way it tears is a little messy since I can’t reach the top of the roll, but I manage to acquire one large square of paper, which I fold up to make it easier to carry.
I continue looking around, turning hopefully to the shower-bath combo that’s just past the toilet. There doesn’t seem to be any soap or water that I can access, though. Maybe I can still make a difference with dry paper… but let’s go on one last journey first.
As eager as a traveler who’s just received a new quest, I exit the bathroom and line the wall to my left so that I can make the trek down the length of the kitchen island. Actually, it’s more of a peninsula since it’s attached to the wall, meaning I have quite the obstacle to circumvent if I want to make it into the kitchen proper.
On my walk I look towards the giant in the living room, who’s appearing quite statue-like from here. I wonder if he’s even noticed that I’ve been wandering around. If he stood up, surely he’d still be able to hear me down here, right? I don’t linger too much on this line of thinking, figuring that as long as I don’t just hang out in open spaces I should be just fine.
After a couple of minutes I’ve finally made it into the kitchen itself, and I’m starting to get a crick in my neck from having to look so far up all the time. The height of all these constructs is dizzying. This area is also pretty tidy, and the cupboard under the sink that houses the cleaning supplies is unfortunately closed. But then I spot something and run over to it excitedly.
There’s a chunk of ice on the floor, already half melted, just by the fridge. I doubt Aiden even noticed that it fell down here, but to me it’s like unexpected treasure I’ve found on my adventure. The piece of ice that’s intact is pretty sizeable, as big as a beach ball, and I hoist it up with some difficulty out of its puddle. It’s painfully cold to the touch, and I remind myself that I really do need to make myself some gloves.
I drop the ice off onto the toilet paper sheet I’ve been carrying and wrap it up in a double layer. Then I hoist it onto my back like it’s a knapsack and begin the journey all the way back to the couch.
By the time I get there my back is cold and wet, the ice chunk melting quickly against the heat of my body. I waste no time in utilizing the moistened paper, rubbing away fervently at the tomato stain in little circles. Some soap would have made this a lot easier, but a bit of extra elbow grease seems to slowly be doing the trick.
After a good fifteen minutes or so I’m almost finished with my little cleaning project, when I hear and see Aiden moving in the distance, although the view is mostly blocked by the ottoman. He sits up and stretches his arms over his head before rolling his stiff neck and shoulders. From the back I see his head turn to one side and then the other.
“Evie? Where’d you go?”
“Behind you!” I yell, and when he turns his head not quite far enough I add, “By the couch!”
He follows the sound of my voice, pivoting to peer over the structure that separates us. He spots me and smiles, settling his arms onto the ottoman as he regards me with amusement.
“What are you up to?” he asks.
I hold up the toilet paper to show him the orange stain on it. “You missed a spot.”
Aiden laughs and lowers his head down to rest his chin on his arms. He then says something that takes me by surprise. “That is so sweet.”
I balk with mock outrage, thinking he’s poking fun at me. “What did you just call me?” I exclaim, dropping the paper and putting my hands on my hips.
But he’s not quite going along with the joke, instead softening his gaze and the tone of his voice. “I’m saying that I appreciate the help. You really could just coast by and let me take care of everything, I wouldn’t blame you. But you keep wanting to pitch in whatever way you can. It’s really sweet and I don’t take it for granted.”
There’s a fluttering in my stomach and I struggle to look him in the eye. His earnestness is too much for me right now. Seriously, since when did he start making me blush all the time? My flippant response feels dissonant as I go back to scrubbing at the stain.
“I mean, no one likes a lazy roommate… and I sure don’t want to get kicked out.”
A crease appears between Aiden’s eyebrows. He looks like he’s about to say something and then stops himself, face smoothing out again. He opts to match my lighthearted tone instead.
“Well with you around, this place is going to be extra clean, that’s for sure.”
“Uh huh. Not a speck of dirt on my watch.” I sit back up, wiping the back of my arm on my forehead as I admire my handiwork. It’s not much of an accomplishment, but I do feel rather proud of myself.
That is, until I realize I can’t fully clean up. I’m still holding a wet wad of toilet paper, and I have zero ideas around how to dispose of it by myself. I stare at this one last hindrance as I hold it, a pang of frustration making my shoulders droop.
Aiden seems to pick up on what’s bothering me, and he casually reaches off to the side, close to where the desk is. There’s a small wicker trash can there, currently empty, and he gives it a little shove while still looking my way. It teeters before toppling onto its side, a wide tunnel crashing to the floor.
“Oops,” my giant friend says with a smile, “Clumsy me.”
I’ll take the silliness over nothing. I drag the wet wad the short distance to the trash can and hurl it inside. Aiden quickly rights it again as if nothing had happened.
“Look at that. All on your own.”
I wrinkle my nose at him, and I wonder if I should actually be annoyed with the slightly condescending gesture. But his clearly caring intention wins me over. I’ll count this chore as a success.
@skysayl I think about this all the time and you’ve put it into words so well. It really is mind blowing!
@Olo As much as I’m not into being a tiny dominatrix personally, I do really enjoy the feeling of “control” that comes with being able to give your partner immense pleasure. Being able to do that despite him being so much bigger than me would absolutely bring out my playfully dominant side and send me on a power trip hehe
@SmolChlo Hehe, there’s something kinda special about people making sizey comments and having no idea the effect it has on us. Best of luck for if/when you tell him!
Chapter 25
Evie
I wince and groan as I twist in on myself. My eyelids are sealed shut and my head is swimming. This feels familiar. Like I’m back at the bottom of the ocean… Back when powerful drugs were pumping into my system, immobilizing every muscle…
Hovering above me is a face, demonic and sinister. I can smell latex as a blue hand approaches me, a single finger pinning me down with ease and with pleasure. I can’t move. I can’t even scream. There’s nothing I can do about the titan’s touch sliding along my body… slipping between my legs… his eyes alight with flames in the darkness…
“Mmmmrrughh,” I utter miserably, and as I hear the sound break the air it’s enough to shatter the seal on my eyelids and they suddenly flutter open. There really is a massive finger on me, but the face that’s hovering above is far less threatening.
“Hey…” Aiden says softly, his hand retreating once he sees that my eyes are open. “Nightmare?”
I’m still waking up and don’t answer him right away. My breath is coming in shallow, I feel nauseous, and I’m really confused. On a typical day, even if I happen to still be sleeping when my giant friend gets up in the morning, at his size no amount of sneaking around is going to keep him from waking me up. The distant footsteps alone are usually enough to rouse me, much less any shuffling while getting ready. He’s never been able to walk right up to the desk without me noticing before. It’s very disorienting.
“Yeah,” I finally respond, and I push myself up to sitting. “Yeah, that sucked.”
My voice is a little hoarse and Aiden takes notice. “I’ll go get you water?”
I thank him and have a few moments to myself as he makes a quick trip to the kitchen. I rub at my eyes and slap at my cheeks. It’s been a minute since I’ve had to deal with some of those memories. I feel resentment towards my own brain. Why torture me with images of the past?
The fresh water helps, and thankfully the nausea begins to ebb after a few sips. I’m still very uneasy, though, feeling shadows clinging to me like haunting ghosts. Instead of sitting at the chair the way he normally does, Aiden’s on his knees next to the desk so that he can keep his head level with me, clearly worrying over the state of his little roommate. Normally I’d be reassuring him that nothing’s wrong, but I don’t quite have it in me right now.
“I was dreaming about that day,” I quietly lament, staring into the dish of water from my seated position on the desk. “Some of it’s a bit of a blur. But some of it’s still so vivid in my mind.”
“Like it just happened…” Aiden murmurs, and I look up at him. He’s got an empathetically pained look on his face. If anyone’s going to understand what I’m feeling right now it’s him.
I reach an arm out to him, and for a moment he looks hesitant at the lack of clear direction but silently takes a stab at it anyway, and as usual we’re in sync. He places his hand palm up next to me and I slide my arms around his pinkie like it’s an oversized teddy bear, leaning my chin on the tip of the finger. I hold him snug against my chest and we both stare off into space as we silently reminisce on that awful event.
"I know I don’t really talk about it,” he finally says, gaze still unfocused, “but I honestly haven’t gotten over the fact that I took someone’s life that day.”
My chest tightens. That sentence feels too close for comfort. I squeeze him harder against me. “It was an accident,” I counter.
The shake of his head would be hardly perceptible if his face wasn’t two stories tall. “That doesn’t change the reality of it.”
Aiden hadn’t told me right away, but I did eventually find out about the horrible things Dr. Little had done to those other women. The things that could very well have happened to me. I feel a surge of energy just then, fierce and protective. I’m suddenly on my feet.
“He was a monster, Aiden,” I insist, firmly. “As far as I see it, you didn’t take a life that day. You saved one.”
His face isn’t usually this close - I don’t have to tilt my head back at all to meet his gaze right now. His eyes zero in on me, pupils dilating, and for a moment I’m overtaken by the beauty of them, the sunburst of light brown over the crystalline green of his irises. And I marvel at the size of them, humbled by the way they’re entirely focused on something as small and insignificant as me.
He looks a bit taken aback by my outburst, but then the corner of his mouth pulls up into a crooked smile. I’m still holding onto his pinkie and he slips it up a little higher, carefully touching my jaw.
“Thanks, Eve,” he mutters, coining a nickname on the spot. “Sorry, I wasn’t trying to turn the spotlight onto me. Just know you’re not alone. We might have a long journey ahead to get over this shit, but I’ll be there to support you every step of the way.”
Trying not to cry, I give his finger one last squeeze before releasing it. My previous burst of energy has actually lifted my mood somewhat, and the bite of the nightmare’s teeth loosens its grip on me. At least enough to pretend I’m totally fine now, and so I manage a warm smile. “Thank you, I’m feeling way better.”
“Okay, good,” Aiden says, pulling back so that he can slowly rise to his feet. “Because I doubt you’ve seen the texts yet, but you’re scheduled for a Moira visit this morning.”
“Really?” I feel a jolt of nerves and excitement.
“Yup. I got a copy made of the key to the apartment, so that she can come over and see you when I’m not around. She’s coming to pick it up this morning and asked if she could hang out for a bit before she goes to work. I hope it’s okay that I said yes?”
“Yes! And wow, uh, I didn’t realize you had done that with the key… you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s all good. Mo’s one of my best friends, I don’t mind. Okay, I do want to have time to make breakfast before class so I’ll go get ready now.”
I aim all of my gratitude at his receding back. He’s such a kind person. He’s done so much for me from day one. And even now he’s still trying so hard to make sure I’m happy… God, I don’t deserve him.
We both wash up and get dressed in our own corners of the apartment, and then Aiden brings me to the kitchen with him so that I can help cut up some chives while he makes eggs. Actually, cutting isn’t quite the right word - I use a sharpened toothpick to stab a hole in the thick green herb and then use my hands to tear off the pieces from there. I won’t even get through a single stalk, and it’s more of a garnish than a true ingredient, but it still helps me feel like I’m earning my keep.
We’re almost done cooking when there’s a knock at the door, and I’m so unaccustomed to the sound that I jump about a foot in the air. Aiden claps a hand to his mouth to keep from openly laughing at my reaction, until I make it okay by cracking up myself, the both of us still giggling as he goes to answer the door.
“Heyyy,” Moira sings as she steps inside. Her hair isn’t braided this time but she still has an adorable green ribbon in it, the loose curls half tied back. She gives the taller giant a quick side hug as she adds, “It smells really good in here.”
“Hope you came hungry, 'cause I made way too much for the two of us,” Aiden responds as he closes the door.
“Sure, I could eat.”
She glances into the kitchen, and when I give her a little wave I manage to catch her attention. She looks surprised at seeing me there before catching herself, smiling and waving back. “Hi, Evie. I didn’t realize just how involved you were with the cooking.”
“I’m not that involved,” I say, my hands fidgeting self-consciously with my toothpick tool. It’s been a few days since she and I met, and we’ve been texting back and forth ever since, but I still feel a bit shy now that she’s here in person again.
“Nonsense,” Aiden tells me as he walks back up to the stove, “Those chives are going to make all the difference.”
He reaches for the herbs, a silent question mark hanging in the air as he touches the edge of the dish. I answer with a nod, pushing the bowl towards him to confirm that I’m done with them.
“I’m going to plate this up and then I’ve gotta run. Moira, you want to try bringing Evie over to that desk?”
“Um, okay,” she responds, and I see a hint of nerves creep into her expression. She steps up to the counter and this time she opts to bring both hands down to me, already cupping them in preparation. “If that’s okay with you.”
“Totally,” I say, hopping up onto her fingers and sitting down in the middle of her offering. “It’ll be a good exercise. You’ve got this!”
She’s a bit less hesitant than the first time she picked me up, though still very slow and stiff compared to the hands that I’m used to. She also doesn’t wrap her fingers around my body the way Aiden usually does, so I’m actually glad she’s being extra careful since I don’t have any clear handholds.
By the time Moira makes it across the room with me, the other giant is on her heels, a burrito wrapped in foil in one hand and one on a plate in the other. My miniature dish sits on the edge of the plate, the portion looking more like an open-faced quesadilla since I’m guessing it’s not quite possible to wrap such a small amount of egg in a burrito.
“You ladies enjoy,” Aiden says brightly, “I’ll see you after school, Evie.”
“Wait, don’t forget!” I shout up at him, pointing to our mailbox, where an origami panda sits expectantly. He snatches it up with a grin and then turns to head out.
“Key’s on the counter, Moira,” he calls back before disappearing out the door.
I fidget anxiously as I take in the fact that this is the first time I’m with anyone else without Aiden here as my anchor. I’m probably not the only one who’s nervous as neither one of us touches the food right away. But then Moira turns to me with a casual enough smile, one eyebrow arching with curiosity.
“What did you just give him?” she asks, nodding towards the now empty paper box.
“Oh,” I say, feeling embarrassed, “We write notes back and forth, like penpals. When I have extra time I’ve been folding them up into origami just for fun. I know, it’s silly since we already see each other every day…”
Moira giggles, “Aww, that’s a fun idea. You two are so cute.”
I feel the air leaving my lungs unexpectedly. Yeah, I guess it is kinda… cute…
I shift forward restlessly, picking up my tiny plate off of the giant one, and I bring it to my own miniature table to give my friend some room.
“So what’s your work schedule like?” I ask, tearing off a piece of tortilla.
She seems to remember her own burrito and picks it up. “Weeell, sometimes I go in during the day, like today, to do prep stuff. But evenings are when most of the classes are. Convenient, right? I actually look forward to having a friend who’s not so busy during the day!”
We chat while we eat, just a simple discussion about the details of her job, but we’re quickly falling back into an ease and a rhythm. Once we’re done with breakfast, Moira gets a kick out of the mini fridge when I go yank on the string of the door so I can put my leftovers away. She’s curious about some of the rest of the setup that I have on the desk, and I end up giving her a little tour of my living space, from the hot plate that heats up my bath to the first aid kit with bandages pre-cut for any emergencies.
“So many things I wouldn’t have even thought of…” she muses, leaning in to get a closer look at the carved splinters I use for sewing needles.
“It… took some adjusting…” I say awkwardly.
Even though we’d quickly stopped pretending there wasn’t something different about me, we still haven’t quite acknowledged just how screwed up my situation is. I think Moira’s been trying to give me space. But in this moment it’s like she’s tentatively reaching out to me.
“Aiden told me what happened,” she murmurs, “but if you ever need to talk through something, I’m happy to listen, okay?”
I almost can’t deal with just how nice everyone’s being to me today. I hate the idea of burdening Moira with my sob story. We’ve only just started bonding, I’m already worried that she’s only even hanging out with me just because Aiden asked her to or because she feels bad for me. I want to build a good impression of myself, not have a pity party.
But the nightmare from this morning nips at my heels, not letting me forget the loose grip it still has on my mind. Before I can even register what I’m doing, the words fall out of my mouth.
“It was for school,” I mutter, and seeing Moira lean in to hear me leads to my voice gaining strength. “It was just a stupid thing I’d signed up for… for class…”
I don’t know if it’s because she’s more removed from the situation, or maybe it’s the fact that she’s a girl, but there’s something about her presence that unlocks a new door in me. Words begin pouring out, and I don’t think I’d be able to contain them if I tried. I tell her everything, from the moment I entered that godforsaken lab, to the experience of my size getting ripped away from me, to the terror I felt at Dr. Little’s mercy, to the death and the fire and the running and the thinking that there was no way I would be surviving the day.
At no point am I interrupted, and I’m reciting everything as if from far away, gazing out towards the edge of the desk with unfocused eyes. It’s both cathartic to let it all out but also doesn’t feel real, as if I’d lived it through someone else’s body. I talk until I’m drained of all thought. Then I finally look up at Moira and startle at the sight of her big green eyes shining and her face covered in tears.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, fighting back sobs, “I’m just so sorry this happened to you, Evie…”
She’s got one hand up in a fist pressed against her mouth, but the other one is still lying on the desk. I walk straight to it, kneeling beside her and laying my hand on hers. I’m taken aback and so deeply touched by how this girl I hardly know is actually crying for me. And now it’s not words that are flowing out of me but tears of my own, as if summoned by Moira’s empathy.
“B-but then Aiden took me home,” I say, trying to finish the story with a smile despite my crying, “He brought me here. He’s been taking such good care of me, the both of you have been so kind. I’ll be okay.”
“Yes…” Moira says shakily, wiping tears away as she tries to smile too. She lays her thumb on my grip, gently holding my hand. “You will be okay.”
I laugh, overcome with a strange giddiness as I try to get a hold of myself. “This probably wasn’t the chill girl bonding time you were hoping for."
“It’s fine, I’m the one who started it with the waterworks,” she says, finding the tissue box on the desk to finish wiping off her face, first tearing off a corner for me. “Th-thank you for sharing that with me.”
“Thank you. That… really helped,” I answer. This emotional catharsis of telling someone about my struggles and receiving support in return is virtually unprecedented for me, at least not in a very long time. I’m shocked by its effect. I feel the dream from this morning finally releasing its grip on me after Aiden and Moira’s one-two punch, unleashing me from its jaws and slinking back into the darkness.