Best posts made by littlest-lily

Chapter 30
Aiden

I had a weird dream last night. I was at one of the labs from school I think, though everything felt off, in that dream-like way. There was an odd tension in the air, but then I wake up and I’m actually a little calmer than usual, feeling especially comfortable against my pillow, and the dream is quickly forgotten. It’s like the quiet before the tumultuous storm of the coming weeks, but it’s quiet nonetheless, and I take a moment to enjoy it.

I turn 26 today. The only plan I have is bulk cooking with Evie tonight, one last push to prep for final exam hell. But I look forward to it. I roll over in bed and turn to my nightstand, to the ridiculously tiny paper crane - the first of her origami creations - that I ended up displaying right next to the table lamp. Like it has on so many mornings, it gives me the strength to smile and get out of bed. I was up late studying last night and don’t have much time at all this morning as a result, so I have to grab breakfast and eat on the go. I make sure my mini roommate is fed and watered and then with a quick goodbye I’m out.

The stresses of the day are certainly there, most of it coming from my TA job, but all the other students are buzzing with excitement over it being Friday and so close to the end of the semester. It’s the last day of classes before a full week off to allow us to focus on studying for finals. Thankfully all of my exams are within the first few days… so in two weeks from right now I’ll be finished with them.

And then, freedom. Freedom to do whatever I want. With whoever I want. The anticipation is enough to help me coast through the day. By the time I get back home it’s almost 4:30, and I’m tired but so relieved to be coming back to a no-study evening.

I step inside and proceed to jump at a loud sound coming from the desk. What the hell?

I don’t bother taking off my backpack or shoes, I’m just hurrying over, operating on pure instinct. It was a weird sound, like a trumpet or something… or like one of those paper party horns?

And within a second I’ve put it together. Evie herself doesn’t have a party horn - she would be too small to operate one - but she’s playing a sound effect on her phone. She keeps pushing the replay button as I make my way to her, beaming up at me as she lets the obnoxious sound loose. When I’m close enough she steps away from the phone and hops closer to me, throwing her arms up above her.

“Happy birthday!” she yells, and the sight of her jumping up and down so eagerly is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

“Thank you!” I laugh, unable to contain a goofy grin. “I didn’t expect you to remember.”

“Of course I did! You didn’t think I’d immediately take note of that when you told me what day it was?”

“Okay, yeah, that tracks. Thanks, Evie. I’m so glad that it’s Friday too.”

“Let’s celebrate!” she chirps, knowing full well I’m not studying today, “Sorry if I freaked you out when you came in, go unpack and settle or whatever.”

I do so, walking back to the front door so I can slip off my shoes and backpack. Once I return to the desk, my tiny friend is dragging something out from behind her bathroom. It’s an origami crane, a larger version than the one currently sitting on my nightstand. I frown in confusion. It was my turn to respond to the notes, not her.

“Open it,” says Evie, a little out of breath from pushing a paper bird that’s bigger than she is.

I pick it up and find a seam so that I can carefully unfold the origami. I’m even more perplexed by the note that’s written within it.

You’ve been working so hard, now it’s time for a game
If we didn’t celebrate it would be such a shame!
So first take a look at a place we hang out
To watch shows or play Magic or just laze about

“What’s this?” I ask, looking back to the shrunken girl who’s smirking up at me.

“What does it look like?” she quips back.

“You want me to actually…?” I trail off and turn my head towards the location the note is clearly referring to. We only ever watch shows while sitting on the couch. My eyes scan the cushions before dipping down to the floor. And then I see it, on the side of the couch, tucked mostly under it… a corner of white paper. I crouch down and see that there’s another crane.

“Whoa. You got this all the way over here?" I pick up the bird before getting back to my feet. “Good throw…”

“You have to keep opening them!” Evie insists. My smile is growing as I do so, unfolding the paper to see its message. Did she really do what I think she did?

Next is the home for all of your friends
Be them crystals or fossils, minerals or gems

My eyes immediately move towards the shelf at the opposite wall, my rock collection sitting on top of it. Sure enough, a thin white beak is peeking out from behind one of the agates.

“Hold on now," I say, walking over to pluck up the paper bird, “How did you get it up here?” I pause for a second, weighing the origami in my hand before I look back to the little woman on the table. “Did Moira come over today?”

“Maaaybe.” Evie’s grinning, looking like she can hardly contain herself.

How many of these are there? I open up the note and read it avidly.

For this next one, let me give you a tour
Because it’s sitting with all my leftovers, not yours

At the mention of leftovers, I briefly start pivoting towards the kitchen until I remember the next part. I walk back to the desk and take a seat.

“May I?” I ask, motioning over to the mini fridge on the table.

“Be my guest,” Evie responds, backing up to give me space.

I open it up and am greeted by the next bird, though I also make a mental note in the back of my head that my roommate is apparently out of food. I definitely want to address that before prepping for finals. I almost laugh out loud as even the note seems to be calling me out.

Oh no, look at that! It’s empty in here
Maybe if we restock the next clue will appear

“Okay, that’s the kitchen,” I confirm to myself out loud, and before I can even look down at her Evie’s trying to climb onto my free hand that’s laying on the desk. I affectionately help pull her aboard with my fingers, giving her body a little hand hug before I loosen my grip and stand up.

I carry her to the kitchen, scanning the counters, checking the pantry, and finally opening the full-sized fridge. Sitting on top of the egg carton like an undersized mother hen is another origami crane.

This next location will depend on the weather
It’s a lovely place where we would study together

This one actually stumps me for a minute. I glance over the kitchen island towards the couch, which is where most of my studying happens these days, but she’s already used that location. Holding Evie close, I amble back into the living room and scan the surface of the desk. “Umm… There aren’t too many places that I study…” I mutter, now looking around near my feet on the floor.

“Really?” her little voice pipes up from near my chest, prompting me. “Can’t think of aaany other places we’ve gone to together?”

I briefly think of my bedroom, where I’ve normally been working late at night. But I don’t go there with her. I look back at the message and focus on how it mentions the weather. Suddenly I’m thinking about the metal table we’ve visited several times in the courtyard downstairs…

“Wait. Are we about to go outside?”

Evie sits up straighter in my hand, a little twitch against my skin, all but confirming my guess with her big smile. “If that’s where you think we should go…” she says, trying and failing to sound cryptic.

I grin right back at her and am glad that I’m already wearing a shirt that has a pocket. I lift her up and help her slide right in. Before I leave I pause to take a quick look around the apartment, briefly reminiscing on all the little spots she just had me revisit. Mundane spaces made special.

It feels really nice outside as the days are getting warmer, the promise of summer on the horizon. Between that and this adorable game we’re in the middle of, my spirits are soaring high.

“We should still come out here once school’s done,” I whisper to my passenger, “We could bring your tray and play Magic…”

“Maybe,” she responds with a laugh, “Might be harder to hide me if we’re openly playing like that.”

I’ve looked around where we normally sit and don’t immediately see anything, so now I’m crouching down, keeping a mindful hand near my pocket. I find the next clue taped up to the bottom of the table.

“How many times have we ever seen another person pass through here, though?” I point out, carefully extricating the paper from its sticky bindings, “And I don’t care if some stranger thinks I’m crazy playing by myself.” Evie hums in agreement and shifts against me to peer out of the pocket as I read the next message.

A great metal beast is what this looks like to me
But to you it’s a way to get where you want to be

The parking garage is just a quick walk from here, so I take another moment to linger again, picturing my tiny friend strolling across the metal table before me. A vision of the past, or perhaps the future. And then when I do get to my car, I go through a similar exercise, remembering the rather stressful experiences of driving with her, but also looking forward to trying it again. I’ve recently thought of a way to reinforce my pocket to keep her safer for next time, just need to find a way to make it. I love the idea of visiting new places with her.

It takes me a little while to find the note this time. I look around the perimeter of the car, squatting down to glance underneath and even peering in through the windows. Evie eventually helps me out by suggesting to look closer at the tires, and I find the clue sitting on top of one of them.

A place full of flowers and picnics and fun
If you get to this one, you’ll be almost done

“I guess we’re going on a walk,” I say with a wide smile. I’m enjoying this so much.

“If that’s okay!” the little one at my chest responds, leaning almost a bit too far out as she looks up at me.

“Absolutely.” I put my fingers up against the exterior of the pocket, sensing her tiny body from the outside. Keeping her stable is an excuse, when in reality I just can’t stay away.

It’s another moment where I wish I could give her a real, full-sized hug. Maybe a quick kiss on the forehead while I’m at it. I can’t remember the last time someone’s done anything this elaborate for my birthday, and if I stop too long to really think about it I honestly might get emotional.

As we walk, Evie and I discuss summer plans. Since it’s still a weekday, there are a lot of people around and our conversation gets frequently interrupted, until she mentions to me a trick that apparently Moira has used before. From then on I pretend to be on the phone, able to chat with her more openly, a technique I now plan to employ often. She still seems a bit hesitant to respond too loudly, but I’m confident that if anyone walked by and heard her, they’d sooner think the faint voice was coming from my phone rather than my pocket.

It’s a wonderful preview of times to come. I’ll still have to work during the summer, but there will be no classes, no homework, no studying. We could go on walks like this every day if we wanted to. We discuss what shows we want to watch and board games we want to play, where we might want to go for hikes and for picnics. I can’t wait. Just gotta get through these next two weeks, and then nothing will be in our way.

We get to the park and I almost need Evie’s help again to find the clue, until I notice a small black box among the flowers that I know wasn’t there before. Sure enough, the origami bird’s inside, the receptacle simply a way to keep the paper from blowing away or get too easily noticed by a passerby.

I hope you liked memory lane as much as I do
Now off to Mo’s place! She’s made a breakthrough!

Saying that I’ve liked memory lane would be an understatement. God, I can’t believe I’ve only known this girl for a couple of months. What a meaningful gift that she’s set up for me. So meaningful that I can’t help but wonder. Can’t help but hope….

I haven’t been to Moira’s apartment very often since she’s so rarely home alone and I don’t want to intrude on her roommates. I know the general direction of the building, and then Evie helps point out which door to aim for when I get close. No one’s around so I go ahead and gently pull my friend out of my pocket as I knock on the door. Thankfully the occupant notices the tiny person I’m holding, so that when she answers excitedly she’s very careful about the way she hugs me just below the ribs.

“You made it! Oh my god, I’ve been so weirdly nervous while waiting and wondering when you guys would show up… Come here, come see!”

She pulls on my free arm and the door shuts behind me as I stumble in. Without really giving me a chance to get my bearings, Moira waves her hand over to her dining table. My eyes settle onto the lone item on its surface, adorned with a big red bow.

“It’s not much…” Evie says, her voice a little weak. “I just remembered you mentioning an interest in gardening, and then Mo worked her magic… Now you can make pesto whenever you want!”

It’s a basil plant. Tall and green, sitting in a flower pot that looks simple and gray except for a large fake crack of color down the center, where the ceramic is textured and painted to resemble emeralds. It looks beautiful, like a tree growing out of a geode.

Wide-eyed, I look between my two diminutive friends. “You guys…" I manage to choke out.

My eyes have met Moira’s and she waves me away. “Don’t look at me. All of it was Evie’s idea, I just made the pot.”

I gaze down at the tiny, gorgeous, thoughtful girl cradled in my hands. She beams back up at me, brimming with infectious excitement. And in response I lift her right up to my face, closer than ever, so close that I get double vision for a second. I close my eyes and gently press her up against the space between them. I can tell by the way her body moves that she’s startled by this unprecedented showing of affection, but she recovers as quickly as ever. I feel her little hands hug around the bridge of my nose and she leans her forehead against mine, giggling softly. I’m so caught up in the moment that if I didn’t have an audience I would have surely confessed my feelings to her right then and there.

And would that be so wrong? I can’t just be imagining how strong our connection is, can I? We’ve come so far. Maybe we could make it work. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe if I was honest we could be happier than ever…

But the fear of ruining everything is still lurking below the surface. I can’t. Especially not now - I don’t want to jeopardize everything Evie’s done for me today. So instead I just whisper, “You’re the best.” Her response is a tighter embrace and a quiet “So are you.”

The rest of the world might as well have disappeared.

@giantmaneddie OPE I need to make more comics where she’s doing stuff for his sake, I didn’t realize she was coming off as the “dominator” But I guess what’s interesting about that is that is that in a situation where a big/tiny couple see each other as equals, that might lend itself to the smaller one having the bigger personality to compensate

Ahhh these are all so cute! My humble contribution comes tomorrow

Chapter 32
Evie

Things are getting a little rough.

I can’t complain too much. At this point, I feel like between Aiden and me, I’m the one who has more freedom. I don’t have to stay up late working on papers or poring over textbooks. I could watch movies all day if I really wanted to, never having to worry about grades. I have plenty of opportunities to be productive in my own way, and my collection of painted figurines has been growing rapidly. But the loneliness feels sharper than ever.

I miss him even more than I thought I would. I had just been reaching a point where I knew I couldn’t ignore my feelings anymore. He hadn’t even actually kissed me - I don’t think that’s physically possible - but that simple gesture on his birthday night had been enough to give me a sense of hope. It gave me the strength to pull my head out of the sand just enough to wonder… if he might truly feel something for me after all. Is he somehow able to see past my size? As if it was some kind of disability that he’s maybe willing to work through? I don’t know what it could mean. But I’m starting to open up to the possibility of it.

My troubled memories of a different life feel more and more distant. I start thinking that there’s a chance I could move past them… Maybe I can let go… Especially here, especially with me small and removed from everything that was a problem… Especially with someone as kind and gentle and wonderful as Aiden.

But we don’t have time to think about it right now. He’s fully jumped into preparing for finals and has had no time for anything else. Even though he doesn’t have classes anymore, he still needs to go to work, which has been even more demanding than anticipated, consistently running over schedule and making it that much harder to get everything else done. He’s also frequently out at the library with study groups for long stretches of time. Keeping to myself is hard, but I’ve already intruded enough on his life, I don’t want to get in the way of his education. I can wait. I’m not even sure what I’m waiting for, but maybe in two weeks things will start making sense again.

In the meantime, though, I’m struggling. Curse this stupid three inch stature. It makes everything that much harder.

I quickly realize that I need to avoid taking actual baths using the hot plate. I don’t want to make Aiden dump out the dirty water all the time, so I’ve just been using my bathtub as a place to rinse myself off after washing up at the water tank. This means using cold water everyday. But certainly not the end of the world.

The lightbulb for the desk lamp burns out at one point. It happens in the evening while my roommate is out, and he thinks I’ve already gone to bed by the time he gets home. I don’t correct him and have resorted to sitting in the dark anytime that he’s not around at night.

At one point my phone begins having a strange issue where the battery drains despite it being plugged in. I want to try unplugging and replugging it, but when I yank out the charger cable, I lose my balance and drop it, and it slides right off the back of the desk. I dejectedly resign myself to not being able to use my phone for much longer, and then when Aiden notices the fallen charger on his own the next day and helps me out, I feel mortified. It only takes him a few seconds to rethread the cable back up to the desk’s surface, but any extra effort spent on me when he’s this stressed out is too much.

Food becomes a bit of a problem too. My giant keeper is out or busy the majority of the time, and he’s been losing track of how stocked my mini fridge is. The rare times that he eats at home he gives me part of his meal, and since my portions are always too much for me I’ve been able to make do. But he’s gone so often that at one point I completely run out of fresh food. Evening hits and the only things I have available for dinner are the non-perishable options we had set up months ago.

And then I realize I’m too small to open the granola bar. Too weak to access the bag of crackers. The plastic film is just too thick and unwieldy. I probably would have waited things out if I had any idea when Aiden would get home, but my hunger pushes me forward. Finally, after well over two hours of hacking and sawing away at the cracker packet with my plastic letter opener, I finally manage to pierce through the packaging. Hands blistered, arms shaking, exhausted tears rolling down my face, I reach inside to pull out the bland, meager meal.

I’m so frustrated by my weakness I could scream.

Honestly, it’s a pretty humbling experience. The slightest inconvenience is magnified tenfold for me. What would I do without Aiden in my life? Without Moira? What if I didn’t even have access to this apartment right now? If I was on my own, trying to survive on the streets, it would be infinitely worse. I wouldn’t make it past nightfall. As the days slowly crawl by I become fully aware, more than ever, of just how desperately helpless I am.

It’s Sunday night, the day just before exams begin. My giant friend is thankfully at home now, but we’ve hardly exchanged any words at all today. He’s sitting on the floor while facing the ottoman, leaning over a textbook alongside handwritten notes. He looks like a zombie, eyes glazed over, having sat in silence for hours. In some kind of solidarity, I’m actually studying as well right now, sort of. I’m looking through my Construction Technology spiral book for ideas on how to make packaging for the figures I’m painting. Might as well be productive when I can.

My stomach complains loudly… The mini fridge is empty again. I could go have some more of the crackers, but it’s been a couple of days since I’d opened them so they’re quite stale at this point. I figure that it’s almost dinner time - I can wait a little longer for the big guy to initiate the next meal.

My phone buzzes and I hop off of the textbook to hurry over to it. Moira’s been having a rough go too. She’s flying out tomorrow so that she can host a panel at this animation convention in Florida. She’d been prepping diligently for weeks and then received a slew of last-minute changes from the convention organizers a few days ago that threw some wrenches in her plans. I miss her so much too. I haven’t seen her in over a week, and I don’t think we’ve gone this long without hanging out since we’ve met. I open her latest text avidly.

Yep, I think it’s finally finished. Thanks for all the support Evie!! Having you to vent to has been a lifesaver.

I let out a sigh. All I’ve had to offer are words. I wish I could do more to help my two unattainably large friends. I can’t even take care of myself.

I gaze at Aiden past the edge of the phone. As exhausted and stressed as he is, as disheveled and borderline depressed as he looks… I still enjoy the sight of him. I see right past the dark shadows under his eyes, noticing instead the flicker of determined focus he still manages to muster. The tone of the muscles in his arm are just the same as they’ve always been, and I admire their slight flexing from his grip on his pencil. His posture is worse than usual, but the shape of his back is still so nice.

I exhale wistfully. He hardly talks to me anymore. Hardly touches me. I haven’t even left this desk since his birthday. It was all expected and part of the plan, I know it’s not his choice. The brief moments we have been able to share have felt like gasps of oxygen. Every morning that he’s able to spend a couple of minutes talking to me, I always wrap my arms around as many of his fingers as I can to give him an encouraging hug and wish him luck with his work for the day. It’s not enough. It’s never enough, for either of us.

I even miss our letters to each other. It doesn’t feel like that should be making such a big difference, but it really does. Sometimes those little messages were what really helped me get through the day. The ball is still in his court. But I can wait.

I’ve been zoning out while just staring at him, so I jump a little when the giant sits up higher to lean back and stretch with a grunt. He stares at the ceiling for a few seconds until he swings his face towards the desk. I bristle as he looks right at me.

“How are you doing?” he asks with an attempt at a smile.

He’s asked me this on occasion during his too-short study breaks, but my answer is always the same. “All good here!”

Suddenly Aiden straightens up, so abruptly and intensely that I take an intimidated step back. Before I can ask him what’s wrong, he makes it clear. “I didn’t get you water this morning, did I?”

No, he didn’t. This is actually the second time it’s happened, he didn’t realize at all the first time. “It’s okay, I still have some,” I say, but he’s already standing up to walk over, reaching a hand out towards the small dish. I continue to fret as his fingers pass overhead, “And there’s still a ton in the water tank, I’m fine!”

“It’ll just take a second,” he says, picking the bowl up, “The tank water is for cleaning, right? You should have something fresh for drinking.”

I fiddle with my hands anxiously as I watch him go to the kitchen. I feel caught between two paths right now. I want to stop burdening him. But I want to be with him. I want to help. But I don’t want to bother.

When Aiden goes to put the dish of fresh water back down, my body decides for me, moving of its own accord. I suddenly grab onto his index finger right as he’s pulling away, and he’s dragged me forward an inch before going very still. When I look up, his expression is a mixture of startled, confused, and longing.

“Uhh.” I try to scramble for a reason why I stopped him. “Would… would you like a massage? While you study?” We blink at each other until I add, “You know, like that one time…”

The giant’s brow furrows and embarrassment lurches inside me. No matter how he feels about me, this is a distraction that I shouldn’t be causing.

“I don’t want to end up falling asleep if I lay down, especially with you on me…” Aiden finally says, looking off to the side as I continue to cling to his hand.

My grip tightens. “J-just the shoulders, maybe? You can sit upright then.”

He looks at me for a few moments longer, pensive and bleary eyed. Finally the corner of his mouth ticks up. He flips his hand over to give me the space to climb onto it. “You’re really hard to resist, you know that?”

I don’t respond, sheepishly stepping on and letting myself crumble to my knees in his palm. It feels like far longer than the nine days it’s been since he’s picked me up like this. The all-encompassing warmth of his hand as he brings his fingers in around me is enough to make tears well up in my eyes. He carries me with him to the couch and, having lost none of his confidence in handling a shrunken person, gently sets me onto his shoulder.

I want to just lay against his neck and feel as much of him as I can at once, but I have a job to do. Aiden picks up his notes to lean them on his knees and I start walking along the length of his shoulder. I’m sure it’s just a light touch at first but when I reverse course to the other side, able to carefully shimmy around the back of his neck since he’s leaned forward just enough, I come across a particularly firm spot in the muscle.

I crouch down so that I can start massaging in earnest at the knot, the pressure of my movements surely doing more than my weight alone. I’m so small that I worry using my hands might feel a little stabby, so I get down lower to work my entire forearm against his skin. Slowly, bit my bit, I can feel the muscle fibers begin to relax, and I’m rewarded when the giant lets out a quiet sigh through his nose, and the entire shoulder seems to unclench.

I’m determined to find any other little tight spots that I can reach. I’m too tiny to properly help something that’s severe, but my goal is to nip some of the tension in the bud to keep the larger knots from forming in the first place. I’m starting to feel a little woozy from hunger but not enough that I worry I’ll pass out, so I stay silent as I press on. This level of intimacy still feels better than anything else I’ve done this week.

At one point I’m very close to his head again and Aiden sets down his pencil to creep his hand up to where I am. He takes me a little by surprise when his fingers reach me and slip over my frame, pulling me in to tenderly press me against his neck. He tilts his head so that his jaw softly brushes the top of my head.

“I miss you,” he whispers.

My heart aches. I close my eyes and bury my face into his neck. Then I pull back and look up at his ear that’s very close by. I wonder if he’d hear me if I whispered too.

I try it, my hushed tone full of emotion. “I miss you too.” His grip tightens ever so slightly, signaling that he did in fact hear me. Though the next sentence I keep so low under my breath that there’s no way he can catch it. “Please don’t let go…”

My stomach growls loudly just then, and I can feel it vibrate against the skin of his fingers.

“Was that…” There’s a pause before the hand starts loosening its grip and pulling away, to my dismay. “Shoot, what time is it?”

But just then there’s a knock at the door and we both flinch. Not only is this a rare occurrence, it’s particularly odd for someone to show up this late in the evening. Silently Aiden gets up with me still on his shoulder, protective hovering hand nearby. I clench up my limbs, ready for him to hide me if need be, as he walks over to the front door and peers through the peephole.

“Oh hey,” the giant mutters with a smile in his voice, and to my shock he starts opening the door with me in plain sight. On the other side, quite far down from my current perspective, is Moira. She’s got a big grin on her face, green eyes shining with excitement, and she’s carrying a takeout bag that looks more like a sack of potatoes in her hands.

She quickly sees me on my perch and comments, “Huh. I don’t usually have to look up at you, Evie.” Then she takes in the looks on our faces and adds, “You guys didn’t see my text, did you?”

“What text?” Aiden and I ask in unison, followed by a joint chuckle. Guess we’re still in sync.

“I won’t keep you, I don’t have a whole lot of time anyway,” Moira says, “But I wanted to say a quick goodbye before I leave tomorrow! And I also had a hankering for Chinese food. Hopefully I’m not ruining the meal plan.”

“Extra food isn’t a problem,” I chirp as the giant I’m sitting on steps aside to let our friend in. “But you didn’t need to do that!”

"Yeah, that’s too nice of you, Mo…” Aiden adds as he lets the door close.

“But I wanted to!” she says brightly, hoisting the food up onto the countertop. My ride almost reaches out to help, and I think he only pauses to avoid risking me tumbling off of him. Moira gives him a sad smile as she examines his face. “Plus it looks like you could use a breather, man.”

I can feel the deep sigh whoosh out of the massive pillar of a throat that I’m leaning against. “Yeah. I should probably fuel up. I’ll still need to work while I eat, but stay as long as you want.”

“You sure? I don’t want to intrude if you need to get right back to it.”

“Not at all. This one really needs to eat…” Aiden turns towards me - we’re too close together to make eye contact but his chin swings my way. “And I’m guessing you wouldn’t mind some company, yeah?”

“I’d love some,” I admit, trying to subdue the desperation in my voice.

Gingerly he encircles my torso between his fingers and begins lowering me along the length of his body. I crane my neck back and manage to catch his gaze, allowing us to share a smile, before he sets me down on the counter. I hurry towards Moira so that I can give her thumb a big hug, and she affectionately touches my shoulders with a giggle. I’m so happy I get to spend some time with her before her trip, especially after the past long week. Still, I can’t help glancing over my shoulder at the giant who’s gathered up his food and school supplies to take to his room, and I feel a rippling sadness as he closes the door.

@blehb If you really wanted to be vague you could indeed write anything - just completely make up gibberish or even describe the sounds without writing any words. I’d imagine the process of problem solving with body language, miming, drawing, one leading the other somewhere, etc etc would be the bulk of it anyway so there might not be that much to keep track of in what is said.

I love the idea by the way! This feels like it could be so fun even outside of G/t. It’s like a mystery where no one knows all the answers.

@foreverlurk No I hardly ever do!! Even though I’m thinking about it all the time, especially right before bed. Granted, I hardly ever remember dreams at all, and usually when I do it’s a nightmare (but like the boring “I’m late for something” ones or whatever, not the I’m getting chased by an evil giant one…) And then the only times I remember ever being tiny, I was seeing myself from third person. I think it goes back to it being a lot more challenging to imagine the entire world being huge, along with its inhabitants, than it is to imagine just a small person in an otherwise normal environment.

I’m glad if VR helps though nyehehehe

@SmolChlo I should try the paper under pillow trick, maybe osmosis will do the job hehe

Chapter 33
Aiden

I’ve been visiting this lab a lot lately - the one that’s similar to what I see at school except something’s off. This time there’s something new, though. At the center of the room is… a birdcage. A giant one, one I could easily fit inside of. That’s weird. It’s just sitting there, open and empty. Something about it feels incredibly ominous. But still, I can’t help but feel curious, and I slowly start stepping towards it.

I stop in my tracks as something hits me on the top of the head. Just a small tickle of a feeling, it didn’t hurt at all. I briefly glance around but don’t figure out what it was. I look back towards the cage and put one foot in front of the other…

There it is again. It hits me in the face this time, right against the temple. “Mrrghh,” I groan, slowly lifting my head up from my arms. I squint at the light from my laptop and wince at a pain in my lower back. I raise my head further, disoriented at the sight of my living room. I notice a wide array of tiny paper balls near me, the size of BB gun pellets, all over the floor and the ottoman I’m slouched over.

My eyes gravitate towards the desk, and Evie is standing near the edge, looking very out of breath. “Sorry!” she calls out, “You fell asleep and couldn’t hear me yelling from here.”

Oh, that’s what I felt hit me. A wad of paper. I rub my eyes and sit up straighter, slowly coming back to the world. “Thanks for waking me up,” I finally respond groggily, “I’m impressed you could throw that far…”

“It was not my first attempt,” she says with a breathless laugh, “Sorry, I kinda made a mess.”

“No worries.”

I start sweeping up the dozens of bits of paper into my hands, surprised at the sheer number of them. I feel touched by the effort. How long had she been trying to wake me?

“You could have used the timer, you know,” I tell her, “That would’ve been way easier for you.”

“Oh.” She looks behind her at the visual timer on the back end of the desk that I gave her on day one in case she ever needed to get my attention from a different room. She’s never once used it. “I didn’t think about that. In my mind that’s just for emergencies… Plus it doesn’t sound like a pleasant thing to wake up to.”

Well, having the cutest, tiniest girl in the world working so hard to get my attention is certainly not the worst thing to wake up to. Especially when I’ve been so starved for her attention myself.

Staying low to the ground as I pick up stray paper, I crawl my way towards the trash can that’s right next to the desk. Once I’ve dumped my handful in, I straighten up to a kneeled position, so that Evie’s right at my eye level, and for a second I don’t even process what she says to me next, I’m too entranced by the sight of her.

Will I ever truly get used to this? She looks like some kind of animated figurine, like she shouldn’t be able to move and it’s a miracle that she does. As much as I was complimenting her about the amount of detail she was able to paint on the minis, that pales in comparison to the intricate detail that I’m looking at right now. That beautiful little face, her brown eyes shining with life, her tiny mouth shifting so fluidly to form words…

“Huh?” I say, shaking my head as I try to focus on her voice instead.

“See, that’s what I mean,” she says fretfully, “Are you sure you shouldn’t just call it and go to bed?”

“Oh… I’m okay. Tomorrow’s exam isn’t until afternoon. I actually feel pretty ready for it, so I’ll sleep in a little bit. This paper’s due today though, by midnight…” I try again to rub the sleep out of my eyes, pretending that the breath I’m taking is an invigorating one. “I’m getting there. The big thing now is just listing all the sources and stuff at the end.”

Evie tilts her head, concern still painted all over her face. “Is it bad for me to ask you to bring me over there? I don’t want to get in your way, but… it would be easier to help wake you up again if I was closer.”

Between her tone and her posture, she’s so self effacing in this moment that I feel a pang of guilt. I don’t mean to make her feel like she can’t talk to me because I’m so busy… even though that’s frustratingly close to the truth. Not that I don’t want to spend time with her. God no. This is just a brief amount of time where I have to put everything on pause. Even something as wonderful as whatever has been developing between the two of us. I’m well aware of just how distracting she can be, through no fault of her own.

I hate knowing that she must be having such a hard time these days, though. It was really bad timing that both Moira and I were so busy at the same time. And despite my best efforts, from some of the details that I’ve noticed, like the open packet of crackers and the charging cord I found on the floor, I’m sure I’m neglecting her even more than I realize. Since she hasn’t been advocating for herself, I have no idea the extent to which it’s a problem. With all the stress and sleep deprivation on my plate - I think I’ve gotten less than ten hours of sleep in the entire past three days - I can’t even think straight half the time.

I keep telling myself it’ll all get better by the end of this week. But right now I can’t help reaching out, quite literally. I place a hand just behind her, ready to pluck her up.

“Okay, yeah. Sure. Will you be okay with just your phone for entertainment?”

Evie says yes, so I take her in one hand and her phone in the other. She wraps her arms around my fingers as I pinch the sides of her torso from behind, and then I carefully shuffle back over to the ottoman while still on my knees.

Whenever I carry her like this, with nothing to support her legs, I’ve noticed that she tends to kick her feet a little once I lower her down again, in anticipation of reaching the floor. This time is no different - there she goes, bicycling her legs as I bring her closer and closer to the ottoman. I’m so entertained by it in the moment that I sort of… stop. Let her hover there as she continues to kick the air. After a couple of seconds she curiously looks up, takes in my amused expression, and then lets her legs dangle limply as she gives me a look.

“What, did you fall asleep again with your eyes open?” she quips.

"Sorry. You’re just too cute when you do that,” I say with a grin as I finally relent and put her down.

I notice her face goes a shade pinker as she turns to look away from me. I guess I’m not usually so vocal about how adorable I think she is. But I’m too deliriously tired to care.

I’ve set up her phone close enough to me that, once I go back to working on my laptop, she occasionally makes gentle contact with my arm. In moments of stillness she’ll lean her back against me, or reach behind her to stroke my skin with her hand. Presumably it’s just to help keep me awake, but I appreciate the caring touches all the same.

It really is helping me to stay alert. At this rate I should be done within the next hour or two. I’m so close to the end I can taste it… Hydrology paper due tonight… Geodata exam tomorrow afternoon… Biochem exam the next day… and then I’m done. I have work the entire following day but at least that’ll be Friday and I’ll have nothing I need to get done over the weekend…

We do run into one moment where I start nodding off again. I don’t even crumble towards the ottoman this time, my head’s apparently just hanging from my neck and the next thing I know, I’m jolted to consciousness by Evie who’s climbed up onto the laptop so that she can yank on my fingertips as she calls my name.

“Okay, good,” she says with a relieved smile as I come to, “I was going to start pulling arm hairs next. I guess you are a light sleeper after all.”

I return the smile and then rub at my face with a groan. “Thank you,” I say, “I’m so close to being done with this… but let me know if you want to get to bed, I don’t want to keep you up.”

My tiny friend hops back off the laptop and gives me a determined nod. “I’m staying right here.”

I hook my index finger around her head so I can rub the back of it appreciatively. I’m being particularly careful about touching her, seeing as I’m so out of it. But thankfully my hands are very accustomed to her presence, even if they’re a little out of practice during all of this studying hell.

“Thanks. This is helpful,” I tell her softly. “Would it be okay if we did this again tomorrow night? It’s Biochem so I’d love it if you could help quiz me.”

“Sure!” Evie says, and to my delight she’s fully leaning into my touch on her head, like a bird requesting scritches. “I can be your study buddy, one last time.”

That’s right… The only class we were ever in together is coming to a close. I didn’t really know her at all when she was still able to go to school, just admired her from afar. I wonder what would have happened if I’d said hi to her back then. Would everything else have played out the same? Could I have somehow helped her avoid this shrunken fate? But would it mean we’d be nowhere near as close as we are now?

“Last time for this class at least,” I confirm, “but who knows what the future holds!”

I want to keep chatting. This is part of why I’ve kinda been avoiding her during this critical time. I just never want to stop hanging out.

I yawn and wipe away the tired tears that are stinging in my eyes. I remember that I’d brought over my reading glasses, and I reach behind the laptop to where I’d left them so that I can slip them onto my face. My vision’s not bad enough that I regularly need corrective lenses, but when I’m this tired they do help a little.

“I’ve never noticed you wearing glasses before,” Evie says, taking a couple of steps back to get a better view of me.

“Yeah, these help with the eye strain. I guess I’ve been doing it more at night, in my room.”

“They look really good on you.”

I hope I’m imagining the speed at which blood rushes to my cheeks. “Why, thank you,” I say with a stuffy tone as I readjust my glasses with an over-exaggerated nerdiness. We both chuckle.

Come on, Aiden, I tell myself. Focus.

Another solid hour or so passes in forced silence. My increasingly clear approach to the finish line spurs me on, and I stay alert and determined the entire rest of the time. My small helper continues to prod me from time to time just to be sure, and every once in a while it’s in a way that gives me goosebumps. But I keep pushing forward. And then, about half an hour before midnight, I finally have uploaded my paper and can hit the “Submit” button.

I feel a massive weight lift off of me, and with amazing timing Evie has pulled music up on her phone, ringing out in a victorious fanfare as she celebrates right alongside me. I get caught in a fit of laughter from the way she runs and jumps around excitedly, and I almost feel inebriated right now, overcome with the relief of finishing one more class.

The music slows down, transitioning into a more whimsical, gently lilting melody. And yet as the tiny woman before me slows her own movements, breathing hard as she looks up at me with glee, my heartbeat jumps up a time signature instead. In a moment that surprises us both, I softly touch my finger to her shoulder and run it down along her arm until I reach her hand. It’s so tiny and delicate, her dainty fingers the length of strawberry seeds, and it’s just the slightest sensation on the pad of my much larger finger. Ever so cautiously, I lay my thumb on top, her hand disappearing in my grasp, though I can still feel it gripping me back.

I gently pull Evie forward, her first stumbling steps becoming more measured as she follows my lead. The music continues to weave its harmonies into the air and I follow the tempo, raising her arm above her head and carefully spinning it, making her twirl. Her giggle is even more melodic than the music is as we awkwardly find a way to dance.

Since the ottoman’s surface is soft, despite her staying light on her feet she almost falls over multiple times, and I either catch her or dip her backwards or she lands on her knees and poses as if she meant to do that. We’re both laughing the entire time. After a minute or so the music crescendos again into a less easygoing beat and we break apart as we try to catch our breath. All in all, it’s just a moment of silliness. But with the slightest touch of something more.

The last dozen days have been a challenge, for sure. And yet, seeing the effortless synergy that we’re still able to find… It makes me feel like we can get through anything together.

@coolguy69 Totally! Here are some off the top of my head.

So uhh, apologies for the self promotion here but just to get it out of the way - I make my own lil SFW M/f comic It’s called Salt & Pepper, it’s built for webtoons so I’ll share that link but I actually have been sharing here on DD (it’s also on DA & I’ve recently been uploading to Tumblr too). It’s mostly short slice of life stuff, though I guess I’m building a bit of a story to it in the background (nothing as awesome as VGttB though!) https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/salt-pepper/list?title_no=896513

The other webtoon I follow that has M/f is the Giant of Greywater, it’s still fairly early on in the narrative and I’m not sure how much “cute stuff” is going to happen (it seems more like adventure type stuff so far) but I’m enjoying it so far
https://www.webtoons.com/en/canvas/the-giant-of-greywater/list?title_no=822630

Tinysupervicki is awesome and I know she’s planning her own comic to hopefully launch in the coming months
https://tinysupervicki.tumblr.com/?source=share

Donnyanne is a writer but also has some wonderful art
https://donnyanne.tumblr.com/?source=share

Friendlyfoxpal has so much adorable art
https://friendlyfoxpal.tumblr.com/?source=share

And I know you said art/comics, but I do have to mention one writer here because I adore her stuff (I’ve only read Glitch and The Dollhouse but can’t wait to eventually read her whole backlog)
https://www.deviantart.com/misu-pahana

I imagine this goes without saying but just in case – I normally don’t share many SFW links on this site, in part because I assume some lack of interest, but also because I know that a lot of creators sadly get suggestive comments from NSFW folks all too frequently. So for anyone who’s visiting these creators, please be careful/respectful - and while I thiiink that all the creators I just shared are adults, there are a ton of minors on Tumblr too.

S+P 32 - Showing Our True Colors

Chapter 34
Evie

I can hardly focus on anything other than the clock today. I do try and get some more painting done, but I’m so distracted. We’re finally at the finish line. For all I know, he’s already done with his last exam. I won’t know for sure until–

I perk up at the sound of distant footsteps coming down the outside hallway. I don’t need to wait for the key going into the lock to recognize the cadence of his walking. I run towards the edge of the desk, brimming with excited energy as Aiden comes in.

“Freedom!” he calls out to me as he slides his shoes off, and I can tell he’s having to really hold back from being too loud and hurting my ears. “God, that test sucked, but it’s over. Sweet, delicious freedom at last!”

He comes over to me already holding my arms up in his direction, and he wastes no time in scooping me up and bringing me right to his face. The speed at which I travel is a little jarring, especially after so much time of rarely getting handled at all. But I’m just happy to be back up here again. As he closes his eyes to gently press up against me, I arc my hand between his eyebrows, like I’m petting the side of a horse. My instinct is to kiss the space between his eyes, but I hold back.

“Congrats! I’m so proud of you,” I gush before I hug my whole body against him in return, kneeling on his hand as I lean heavily against the bridge of his nose. Aiden just sighs happily in response. We don’t have an audience this time. Nothing to keep us from embracing each other forever. And we do stay like this for well over a minute. It’s both comforting and relaxing, while also creating butterflies in my stomach.

I really… really like him, don’t I? And… and somehow, he likes me too, doesn’t he? Is this really happening? Can I really allow this to keep happening? Am I ready? It just all seems so ridiculous when I’m only the size of one of his fingers. But maybe Moira’s right, I shouldn’t keep trying to sabotage myself. I did decide to see where things would lead. But I hadn’t honestly thought the path I was on might lead to this.

“Thanks for being the best little cheerleader ever,” the giant finally mumbles, his words tickling pleasantly against my skin.

I open my eyes and shift in place, turning to face one of his much larger eyes as I continue lounging against his nose. It’s still closed, and I can see the signs of fatigue by how dark his skin is underneath. But the muscles mostly seem relaxed right now, outside of a crinkling at the edge that signals to me that he’s smiling. I marvel at the proximity, reaching a hand out as if to touch one of his eyelashes. I don’t quite make contact, but hover a finger alongside one as I trace the curve of it, and it’s half as long as my arm.

“Anytime,” I answer him softly. I didn’t really do much, especially since he was gone so often. But I would have been happy to do much more if I could have.

As if sensing the proximity of my fingertips, the giant eye gradually blinks open, remaining at a half gaze for a moment before it widens and he tries to lay his sights on me. I’m mesmerized, being this up close. It’s like looking at a stained glass window into his soul.

He’s probably having trouble focusing in on me, though, since I’m millimeters away from his eyeball, and so his hand slowly makes some space between us. I can see more of his face as I kneel there in the dip of his palm, and I just can’t stop smiling.

“I’ve thought so much about fun things we can do this summer,” Aiden says, “But I hadn’t really thought about…” He trails off and I notice his pupils dilate. I wait for him to finish his sentence, but instead he seems to change course with a quick clear of the throat. “Um, so, before anything else, tell me. What do I need to catch up on? What do you need from me?” Holding me a little lower, his eyes suddenly start scanning the surface of my camp on the desk.

I don’t call him out on the sudden change of subject, feeling a little flustered myself. “Oh, nothing yet! You should relax right now, you deserve it.”

“I will, I will,” he says, setting his hand down so I can slide off, “But I want to make sure you’re all set first. I’ll at least go top off your water tank, and I might as well refill the sanitation tank too… Anything else?” He’s already picking up the metal toilet stall as he raises his eyebrows at me in a query.

I squirm. When am I going to get over this whole dependency thing? I try to push myself to be honest. “No rush, but… feel free to dump out the bath water maybe? And, um… I don’t suppose you have any lightbulbs?”

Aiden frowns, for a moment wondering what I’m referring to. But then he suddenly realizes what it must be and his hand drifts over to the desk lamp. He turns the dial on and off, confirming it to himself. “Shoot, I’m sorry. How long has this been out?”

“I don’t know, a couple of days?” I say sheepishly, very much stretching the definition of “a couple.”

“I’ll see what I’ve got handy. This will all just take a few minutes, so no worries, okay? If you think of anything else, let me know.”

“Thank you…” I say, forcing myself not to hide my face in embarrassment.

“And after this,” he says, gathering up the various water-filled receptacles, “I can go grab dinner. Still down for celebratory pizza?”

“So down.”

“Okay, cool. I think I’ll take a shower first and then I’ll head out.”

Actually, taking a hot bath sounds really, really nice right now. I’ve gotten pretty tired of using nothing but cold water everyday to clean myself. As soon as I have my tub full of fresh water back, I happily turn on the hot plate and begin undressing. I hear Aiden’s shuffling outside of my bathroom as he takes care of the rest, including changing out the bulb on the desk lamp. The relief I feel at everything being set back to normal is staggering. I don’t even think about my roommate’s proximity while I’m completely naked in my plastic box. Still just as comfortable with each other as ever… if not more so.

But I guess I finally take that comfort level too far. I’m so in love with the bath that I stay in there a little longer than usual and almost completely submerge myself. I hear the occasional noise in the background but my ears are mostly under the water level. So the assumption I end up making is wildly wrong. But I don’t realize that until I stroll right out onto the desk to grab a quick change of clothes that I had forgotten. Armed with nothing but a towel that’s just draped over one shoulder.

I make eye contact with Aiden sitting on the couch, and for a split second I’m too shocked to do anything, but then I make an audible yelp as I grab at my towel to cover my front and quickly backpedal, back around the corner of the bathroom. Meanwhile the giant immediately turns to look the other way, blocking his gaze with his hand.

"I-I’m sorry!” I hear him say as I duck out of sight.

“I’m sorry!” I echo, struggling to project so he can hear me from back here, "I thought you had left already!” I’m still fumbling with my towel, and between my agitated state and the fact that I’m still a little wet, my feet slip on the desk and I hit the ground with another yell.

"Are you okay?” I’m half expecting him to stand up in reaction to that but thankfully he seems to stay put.

“I’m fine!” I roll over, cursing under my breath at the pain in my knee. “Just really… really embarrassed…” Dragging my towel behind me, I crawl back into the bathroom and then bury my face into my hands.

Aiden chuckles awkwardly and makes an attempt at reassuring me. "I hardly saw anything, okay?”

Well, it’s true that my features might be too small to easily make out. But still, I was completely exposed, I’ve just crossed so many lines…

The shuffling outside signals to me that he’s cautiously getting to his feet. "I was just waiting to see what you wanted on the pizza. Uh, is sausage alright? Some kind of veggie too?”

God, don’t talk to me about sausage right now, dude. "Yeah, um… maybe peppers and olives?” I call out, trying to remember what toppings we both like. Though it’s kinda hard to think at the moment.

"You got it. Take your time, I’ll be back with dinner later.”

I continue pressing my hands up against my eyes until I hear the front door open and shut. Ughhh, I feel like such an idiot. I was not ready to reveal so much of myself like that.

And it also makes me wonder… if we’re heading in any kind of romantic direction… how is this kind of thing even going to work? Sex is certainly not something we’d ever be able to do. But does that mean we don’t do… anything? Is there anything I can accomplish like this? Can I even handle such large eyes looking at my embarrassingly small naked form?

Whoa. I’m getting way, way ahead of myself. I don’t even know for certain that he’d want that kind of relationship. Honestly, I don’t know if that’s what I want either. One step at a time. Let’s at least take tonight to relax, ease into summer break. Maybe one of us will have the courage to say something in the next few days. And then we’ll take it from there.

I get fully dried and dressed with time to spare before Aiden gets back, and we both completely ignore the fact that anything had happened at all as we tuck into the pizza. Instead he tells me about his finals until he no longer wants to think about them, and I catch him up on what I’ve been working on in the past two weeks. One of my projects has been the search for our next show to tackle, and since I had watched the first episode of several options, I meticulously go through all of them now and we debate on which one we should pick up next. I don’t think we’ll watch anything tonight, though. Although it’s mixed with a lightness and relief, the intense fatigue in his body is incredibly apparent - I’m sure he plans to turn in early. Poor guy hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in weeks, and it’s been particularly bad these last few days.

After we finish eating, the giant leaves to take care of a few of the dishes that have piled up before giving up on that and coming back to collapse on the couch with a sigh. The back of his neck is leaned against the armrest that’s closest to me, so that I just see a shock of dark hair peeking out. I gravitate in his direction, coming a bit closer to the cliff edge of the desk than I normally would.

“Can I join you?” I call out hopefully.

“Aw man, I just sat down…” Aiden responds with a teasing tone. He turns his head to the side without getting up. “Aren’t you pixies supposed to have wings or something?”

“Oh, right, I store them under the bed. Let me just flutter right over,” I say with a laugh before waving it off. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe later.”

His head shifts again as he sits up higher and tilts his neck back to look towards me with a smile. Then he shimmies up further still so that he can hook an arm over the side of the couch, and he extends his hand towards me. I knew the couch was fairly close to the desk, but sometimes I don’t have a very clear sense of distances. I wouldn’t have expected it, but his fingertips just manage to reach one corner of the table.

“Whoa! I didn’t realize you could reach that far,” I exclaim, staring at the newly made bridge.

“Neither did I,” he says with a grin, “C’mere.”

And I do, making my way across and carefully stepping up onto his hand. It’s quite a view, the long road of his arm sloping towards his distant face. I won’t have to traverse it myself though, because as soon as I reach his palm he closes his hand around me. It’s a slightly precarious maneuver so he doesn’t take any chances, enveloping me into a loose fist and then swinging his arm around so that I’m in front of him. He slides back down to lean his neck against the armrest again and, to my surprise, he brings his hand right to his lower chest, unfurling his fingers and letting me off.

I try to catch my balance and feel forced to sit down. It’s a bizarre sensation with the floor moving so distinctly like this, the rhythmic thumping of his heartbeat combining with the up and down of his breathing.

"Well this is new,” I say, smiling as I settle into a cross-legged seat.

"Good or bad?” Aiden asks with a crooked smile of his own. I can feel the vibrations of his voice so distinctly too, but that part is less weird to me. It’s not unlike when I’m sitting in his shirt pocket or alongside his neck.

“It’d probably be kinda hard to walk around,” I say pensively, “But I guess I don’t really need to do that, so… I’d say it’s good.” I don’t mention that he feels like a gigantic, comfy bed. Or that he smells particularly nice from his recent shower.

His hand lingers just behind me, one finger tentatively reaching my back and pushing my hair aside with a gentle touch, so that it tumbles over my shoulder to my front. I take in the dazed contented look on his face and notice the slight flush of his cheeks. This is a little intimate. And with that realization I suddenly feel anxious, remembering my post-bath embarrassment and intimidated by how physically close we are. I start blabbering in my flustered state.

“So what’s your work schedule gonna look like now?” I ask.

Unperturbed, Aiden carefully trails the fingertip down my back before making his way up again. The light touch makes my skin flush with goosebumps. His voice remains far more calm and even than mine.

“I’m working all through next week, until everyone else finishes their finals,” he says. “Then I get a week off until orientation for the summer class…” He pauses as his finger reaches the back of my neck. “Is this okay?”

“Y-yes,” I say and his reaction is swift as he goes back to stroking me. “Um… You’re not actually taking any summer classes, right?”

“No, I’m not. I’ve been debating on getting an extra summer job, actually. Past couple of years I’ve worked at a pet clinic. I do still have some savings, though, so maybe I don’t need to…”

“A pet clinic? I didn’t know that, what did you do there?”

“Just front desk stuff. I have a friend who’s an actual vet, though, so I’ve been able to help with the animals sometimes. She knows I can handle small birds, which can be tricky, so on occasion she’d call me in to help hold them still.”

“Huh. That’s cool!” Damn, no wonder he’s so good at handling me, he’s even more experienced with birds than I thought. And no wonder he seemed like a natural when checking me in at the lab, all those many weeks ago…

The longer we chat, the more I realize how nice it is to be touched so casually like this. Gradually, I transition from sitting to lying on my stomach, arms crossed in front of me with my chin resting on them. Meanwhile he’s started using his thumb to pet me instead, with the rest of his hand forming a shallow cave over my lower half. I run out of things to ask, and then the next rub against my back adds a tiny bit more pressure, making me sigh with pleasure.

“Tell me what feels nice,” Aiden says softly.

"Whatever you’re doing sure does,” I answer, turning my head to rest my cheek onto my forearms instead. I let my eyes shut.

We lay in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, until the tender caresses eventually slow to a stop. The rest of his hand makes contact with my body too, putting pressure on my legs. It doesn’t feel bad, but I glance up curiously. The giant’s head has tilted to the side and his eyes have drifted to a close. The cadence of his chest rising and falling slows down as I hear his breath deepening just below me.

I stiffen and prop myself up onto my elbows, wondering if I should wake him up. But he looks incredibly peaceful… He’s been so stressed and exhausted lately that it’s a wonder he hasn’t started hallucinating a whole slew of tiny people. I just want to let him rest for a bit. Besides, even though he’s been so paranoid about falling asleep with me around, is it truly that risky? He’s proven to be a light sleeper - the other night when I was close to him I was able to wake him up really easily. Even if he started rolling over or something, I’m sure I could cling to his shirt and yell loud enough to wake him.

Like a total creep, I just watch him sleep for a little while. Each micro expression is magnified tenfold to me, and I almost laugh as I watch the emotions quickly pass over his face, small frowns getting immediately smoothed out into subtle smiles instead. His hand twitches, tickling the inside of my knee and making me giggle outright. I could do this all day. In fact, I could do this all night. The way his chest moves up and down could surely rock me to sleep, and his warmth is just so comforting. I’m certain he’d never agree to something like that, but as far as I can tell this is harmless.

There, see? He’s already starting to wake up. No problems at all.

His eyes look glazed over as they blink open, and he has a bit of an odd expression on his face. Then he closes his eyes again, though they’re clearly active underneath their lids. They reopen at a half gaze and before I know what’s happening, his hand closes around me.

My breath gets caught in my throat. He’s not being painfully rough, but there’s suddenly an alarming confidence in his fingers. Zero inhibitions. They press against me and lift me off right off his chest, surrounding me from all sides.

“Aid–” I barely get a sound out before the wind is knocked out of me, his thumb pressing hard against my diaphragm. It’s at this point that I start struggling. And I start panicking.

One of his fingers snakes around to my front and pushes up against my breasts, rubbing at them deftly, intrusively. I’m gasping for air as I’m flipped around and his thumb runs down my back, lining the curves of my body as I thrash to no avail. Then he’s pushing one of my legs, shoving it up higher than the rest of me. I lurch to the side, twisting around as I try to look up at him and find my voice again. Our eyes meet briefly, but there’s no acknowledgement - it’s like he’s looking right through me, sending chills down my spine. A finger shoves right up between my legs and I wince, kicking furiously and opening my mouth to attempt to yell his name.

But he’s the one who says something instead. His eyes are closed again and he lets out the slightest moan. And then, his voice dripping with unmistakable arousal, he whispers, “So fucking small…”

Time freezes for a moment. In the split second before I manage to scream, my eyes widen as I’m thrown into terrified confusion.

…What?!

@Olo Had to go for those Tinkerbell vibes!

Along with today’s chapter I also wanted to give the head’s up that I’m having a medical procedure tomorrow. It shouldn’t cause any kind of hiatus (because that would be terrible timing with how things are going in the story), but if I end up going quiet for a few days then that’s why!

Chapter 35
Aiden

Every time I visit this lab it looks slightly different. But I don’t really look around anyway, just have a general sense of it by now. My attention is on that birdcage in the middle of the room.

The door is closed this time. And it’s not empty. There’s a figure inside it, sitting on the floor, hunched over. Her clothes are simple, with no metal parts as per her instructions - a light blue shirt, cotton black shorts, simple tan flats. Just like that day…

I’m stepping forward and Evie sits up. She turns to face me, looking unnaturally large compared to what I’ve gotten used to, even as she’s sitting on the floor at my feet. She doesn’t say anything but gives me a pleading look, fingers intertwining with the metal bars.

As if it appeared out of nowhere, I notice a metal structure right next to me. A control panel of some kind, eerily similar to one I have experience with. There’s a display at the very top with the words “Subject: E. Ondine.” I see a lot of green lights across the surface of the panel. I know that it means the subject is fully calibrated. That the solution is loaded and ready for vaporization. There’s a comedically joystick-shaped lever beckoning my attention. With swift confidence I do the unforgivable.

The moment I’ve lowered the lever Evie gasps and shoves against the bars, pushing herself to her feet and stumbling back to the center of the cage. But it’s already too late. Even her full standing height would barely reach my chin now. And then mere seconds later the collar of her shirt slips off of one shoulder.

I step over to her prison, putting my own hands up on the bars as I gawk at the shrinking woman within. Her clothes appear to have a mind of their own, shifting and taking up more space over her skin. Her shorts fall to her feet, though her giant shirt is long enough to cover her thighs now, provided she manages to keep it on. And she certainly is trying, holding the expanding fabric against her as it overflows over her clenched arms.

It’s her shoes that get the best of her as she tries to take a step back and trips instead. She loses grip on her shirt and even as she struggles to get back to her feet, the fabric devours her. I lose sight of the unfortunate girl as her head dips past the collar and her feet slink under the hem.

I want to see her. I pull on the door of the cage and it swings open with ease. I lightly put one foot in and stare at the pile of clothing on the floor, taking a moment to locate the protruding hump that doesn’t even reach up to my knee now. With more self-assurance I bring in the other foot, stepping closer, and the obscured shrinking victim jumps at the sound of shoe hitting metal. Taking care not to make any more sudden sounds, I crouch before the small mound of fabric.

Finding the edge of the shirt, I slip a hand underneath and my fingers slide over something warm. I continue edging them upwards, along the impossibly little legs, until I feel her hips. I then eagerly encircle her waist into my fist and pull her out of the soft fabric trap. I haven’t allowed myself to lust after her like this for so long… And now I know what she looks like naked.

I estimate she’s no bigger than a foot tall at this point, and she’s still shrinking, albeit much slower now. Evie looks up at me wide-eyed, chest heaving, her little hands clutching my wrist, her hair disheveled from her time imprisoned in her own clothing. My monkey brain directs my eyes straight to her breasts, so small but so perfect, solidifying my erection in an instant. I take in her entire form at my leisure as she does nothing to stop me, just maintains that same pleading look on her face.

Finally, she speaks. “Aiden,” she says in a plaintive sigh, her hands gripping me tighter before they shift farther along my forearm, making her lean forward. She’s already lost another inch just from the time I’ve been staring at her.

Nothing to say but an echo of the sentiment. “Evie…” I whisper, and I bring my free hand right up to her face. I run my thumb along her cheek, and as I cup her head against my palm I can feel it getting smaller still.

“Please,” she says, leaning further down against my arm, and she’s trying to pry herself forward, climbing up and out of my clutches. I loosen my grip and with greater ease she clambers aboard, crawling on hands and knees until she reaches my elbow. Her bare rear sways as she tries to keep her balance, and finally she grabs onto the sleeve of my shirt to hoist herself to standing. She wavers precariously on my forearm - all it would take is me straightening out my elbow and she would fall right off.

Her head doesn’t reach my shoulder, she must be under seven inches tall now. She tries standing on her tiptoes to get closer to my face, even as the shrinking process takes her farther away.

“Please,” she says again, “I need you.”

She’s now attempting to climb the fabric of my shirt, and in my surprise from her suddenly latching on, I lose my balance from my crouching position. I fall into a seat, my back hitting the metal bars of the birdcage. Evie lets out a precious little yelp as this makes her lose her grip and she slides down my chest, down the length of my abdomen, coming to a stop right at my crotch. Undeterred by the lump that swells underneath her, she pushes herself back to her knees and starts crawling up again, like a determined mountain climber.

But I decide to help her out this time. I put my hand right behind her as she reaches my stomach, and for a moment I just compare her against it. She’s no longer as tall as the full length of my hand, though still taller than all of my fingers. Maybe five inches? Still, it’s incredibly easy to just scoop her right onto my palm.

I bring her all the way up to my face. “So beautiful,” I mutter, practically whining with desire.

“I need you,” she repeats, and this time it’s with a wistful whine as well. Longing. Blushing. Perhaps the slightest hint of a smile. At least I hope so.

Because I don’t hesitate. I pull her in, straight to my mouth. Her naked body crashes against my lips and I breathe her in as she writhes against my skin. I kiss every dwindling inch of her, and the warm feminine curves feel like heaven. She becomes pliant, save for the intentional wriggle, and her small moans of pleasure fill the air. I feel every part of her with my fingers, manipulating her position with ease.

And she’s still shrinking. Smaller, smaller, smaller as I kiss her. She’s melting away, becoming an increasingly familiar size in an unfamiliar situation, until she stops at her normal three inches. As if this is what she was always meant to be. I tilt my head back and dangle her above me, my lips unrelenting against her stomach, until my mouth parts and one of her legs slips right inside. I gently close my teeth around the tiny limb, press my tongue along the length of it. I can feel every curve and her little toes tickle my taste buds.

It just makes me hungry for more. I guide her other leg over and she gasps as she slides further inside. Soon she’s gripping my bottom lip and pressing her face against it as I undulate my tongue across her entire body. I’m drunk with the feeling of her taste, her shape, her warmth, her moans. I can do whatever I want to her right now. She’s just so fucking small.

Out of nowhere, Evie goes stiff. And then something changes. In the silence I hear her softly say, “Stop.”

I’m not listening, too infatuated with my ability to feel all of her at once. She abruptly starts thrashing her legs, and then pushes against my bottom teeth to wrench her top half out of my mouth.

“Aiden!” she says more insistently, and she no longer has a sighing, whining tone anymore. Slightly annoyed, I bring my fingers up to pinch her body, my tongue releasing its grip on her. I’m still filled with arousal, though, and ready to take this in whatever new, sexy direction she wants.

But when I hold her out in front of me, her eyes are wide with horror. She starts kicking, writhing, screaming. I jerk back in surprise, but there’s nowhere for me to go as my spine just hits the metal bars again. The door to the birdcage swings shut with a loud clang, trapping us both inside and making my heart pound with sudden panic.

It’s like everything comes into focus. I’m not in a lab. I’m on the couch in my living room. That really is Evie that I’m holding.

And she really is shrieking my name in terror.

I almost drop her. I bolt upright, mirroring her fear as I stare wide-eyed at my tiny friend in incredible distress between my fingers. Without saying a word, I swing her over to the side and carefully dump her onto the ottoman before my hand swiftly retreats, snapping back as if she were made of hot coals.

The room is spinning. I can’t make sense of anything. Where did the dream end and reality began? I can’t believe I fell asleep. Stupid stupid, stupid!

“D-did I hurt you?” I manage to choke out.

Evie’s shakily getting to her feet, looking dizzy and out of breath. “I don’t… I don’t think so.”

But despite what she’s saying, she’s trembling and clutching her arms around herself, and when she takes a step backwards, her leg stiffens up and she winces. I notice that as she tries to get her bearings again, she’s distinctively avoiding my gaze.

“Shit…” I whisper, and my voice gradually grows in strength and emotion, “Shit. I’m sorry, Evie… God, I’m so sorry, what did I just do?!”

“I don’t…” she says, squeezing her eyes shut for a second, “I’m so confused right now.” It’s like our very foundation is cracking beneath us. She lets out an awkward laugh, like she’s hoping that whatever is going on is one big joke. “Is this because you saw me naked or…?”

My blood runs cold. “What do you mean?” I say without a hint of laughter, “Seriously, what did I do?”

“You don’t remember any of that?” Finally she looks at me and I take in her frantically bewildered state. “Your eyes were open!”

No, I can’t remember, I can’t differentiate what was real. Fuck, I didn’t actually put her in my mouth, did I? One look tells me that no, she’s dry, but the relief is little comfort.

I bury my face in my hands, trying to summon memories that are out of reach. “I was… I was half there. Not even that. It’s a total blur…”

“S-so you were sleep talking too?”

“What?!” I drop my hands again. “What did I say?”

“It… it didn’t make sense…”

I don’t think she means to be so cryptic, she looks like she’s trying to sort things out just as I am. But my lack of understanding in what physically transpired is driving me insane. I brace my unsteady hands onto the edge of the ottoman and use it as leverage to lower myself to the floor in front of her.

Her startled reaction, the way she takes a few fearful steps backwards, makes me all the more desperate. I remember back when I accidentally whacked her during our board game night. This is worse. Way worse. I’m nothing but a threat to her, aren’t I? A complete menace.

“Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn’t mean it!” I plead, “I’ve just been so out of it, I’ve been so exhausted, it… it’s no excuse, but…” My voice gives out then as I’m at a loss for how to handle this.

She’s continuing to clutch her arms around herself, her wide eyes on full alert. She seems to understand just how lost I am and tries to explain. “You just… grabbed me. It wasn’t for very long, and it wasn’t that hard, you weren’t crushing me or anything. But it was just so… different from usual. Everything was so…”

She falters and I realize in that moment that she’s specifically covering up her chest. Her thighs are firmly clenched together. Her eyes begin drifting down, and it’s not to the floor but… along my body. In all of the commotion I hadn’t even thought about hiding my erection. It’s completely gone at this point, but who’s to say it wasn’t in full view when I had her helplessly pinned between my fingers?

Her eyes snap back up, and there’s a hardness there. A pointed accusation. “Aiden… what’s going on?”

Fuck.

I slide my hands off the ottoman so that she can’t see how much they’re shaking. But it’s impossible to hide anything from her. I’m just too big, her eyes are too keen, her mind too sharp. I almost try anyway, desperately wishing I could just act dumb and sweep this all under the rug somehow. I don’t know exactly what I said in my sleep, how damning it really was, maybe there’s a way out of this.

But I can see it in her eyes - she knows I’m hiding something. I’ve been hiding it for far too long, suppressing my urges and pushing my body to the limit, and it’s going to destroy everything we have if I don’t do something. Despite the absolute dread in me right now… I owe it to her to come clean.

“U-um,” I croak, trying to figure out where to start. I’ve never talked to anyone about this stuff before. I attempt to take a deep breath in and let it out in an unsettled sigh. “I’m going to… try and explain something. It might sound… really, really weird…" Another breath, even less steady. "So, uh… believe it or not… ever since I was a little kid, I would dream about what it would be like to… to have a tiny friend.”

Jesus Christ, am I really doing this right now? I push on, trying to find a momentum, to rip this out of me as fast as possible.

“I’d pretend my action figures would come to life, or that my blaster toys were shrink rays, just that kind of kid stuff. Eventually I started figuring out that my fascination with the idea was a little different. That everyone around me wasn’t quite on the same page as I was. As I grew older, that fascination… matured. I’d have a crush on a girl and fantasize about what it would be like if she were small. I discovered websites online with like-minded people and realized I wasn’t alone. I eventually just accepted that some of the wires got crossed in my brain. It became a bit of a… a kink, I guess. A fetish.”

I try to catch my breath, feeling raw after revealing so much forbidden information about myself. My mouth is dry and I’m fixating Evie’s face as if waiting for her to explode at me. She’s listening intently, a slight frown on her face, but otherwise she looks nothing but perplexed. I wish she would say something. I try to fill the silence with my voice that’s getting shakier by the second.

“S-so it’s been… a little weird, having you around, it’s been… wonderful, just like one of my childhood fantasies, but… but I’ve also been trying to… to suppress all that, since I… I care about you, as a person, more than anything else…”

I trail off, and all I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I don’t even know if I’m quite explaining this right. I’m probably coming off as a complete freak. The foundational cracks are spreading, splitting the walls around us. Please. Say something.

And she eventually does, her mouth opening and closing a couple of times. “That, uh…” she says, pausing before trying again, “There’s a lot to unpack there. But that’s just… kind of an insane coincidence, isn’t it?”

I hold completely still. I’ve stopped breathing. The hardness in her eyes is back. The frown deepens, the defensive tension in her posture enough to chain me to the floor. I stare in fear at the girl I adore and it feels as if the cracks in the walls just keep spider webbing all around me and the sky threatens to collapse.

Evie sets her jaw and her voice stays oddly calm. “Unless it’s… not a coincidence that I’m here?”

Oh no.

God, please, no. Not this.

That’s when I begin to fall apart.

@Olo YES. I’m biased because I’m very nostalgic for it and had a huge crush on Jeremy Sumpter who played Peter (we’re almost the exact same age lol). But I do think it’s worth a watch, and the way he cradles Tink in a scene towards the end still makes me melt~

Chapter 38
Evie

I hoist my toothpaste cap full of water up my makeshift posted note stairs, careful not to lose my balance. Once I make it to the ceramic rim, I dump the few drops of moisture over the edge, onto the soil of the basil plant. I then climb up into the pot to get an idea of how dry the rest of the dirt is. Mild trauma isn’t an excuse to shirk on my self-appointed chores. Even if my ribs are still a little sore from last night.

I’ve actually been keeping myself busier than ever today. If I stay still then my mind starts going. Better to move my body instead, it’s less painful that way. I’ve already thoroughly cleaned the inside of my bathroom and done a batch of laundry.

I’ve been meaning to clean my geode lately too, so now’s as good a time as any. I spend some time admiring the pet rock as I get to work. The level of detail hidden in the amethyst is one of the few things that makes me appreciate my small size. The colors in these crystals aren’t just solid and even, they’re complicated and varied, like pigment blooming in water, purple clouds frozen in time. Every time I run a tissue over the beautiful facets, I see new intricacies I’d never noticed before.

My admiration gets interrupted by a buzz from my phone. I hurry over to it - I was expecting this, but Moira’s calling a little earlier than anticipated. I slide my palm across the screen to accept the call.

“Hello?” I say tentatively. I haven’t talked on the phone since shrinking and I’m not sure how much to project. “Can you hear me?”

“Yup! It’s as if you were here,” my friend responds. I smile and collapse into a seat next to the screen. I hadn’t realized how tired I was from all the running around I’ve been doing today. It feels so good to hear Moira’s voice.

“How’s the setup going?” I ask.

“It’s all ready to go! First panel starts in a couple of hours. Then I’ll just be at my booth for most of the weekend. Do you two have any fun plans now that Aiden’s done with finals?”

“Oh, um… That’s a good question! I guess that means we don’t, since I… don’t have an answer.”

I just sounded incredibly awkward, and even though she can’t see me she immediately picks up on it. “Uhh. You feeling okay?”

Kicking myself, I end up wincing in defeat. “Sorry, Mo, I’m kinda going through something, but I feel bad bringing it up when you’re still in the middle of all your stuff…”

“No, no, it’s alright! I finally have some free time now, what’s up?”

I recount the harrowing tale. Not all of it - I remove all of the sexual overtones and don’t mention anything about Aiden’s kink. I just go through the sweet intimacy of our cuddling, the accidental falling asleep… and the grabbing.

“He feels so bad about it,” I lament, “Even though it’s not really his fault. But I mean, yeah, I was… very scared.”

The voice on the other end is quiet for a little bit, until I hear a sound of frustration. “Damn. That just sucks. It sucks that you guys have to be so freaking careful all the time.”

“Tell me about it,” I grumble.

“And we can’t just, like, put you in a bubble. I’m sure he’ll be way more mindful after this, but… I can understand that must have been terrifying.”

It’s like I can almost feel her hand holding mine in support. Except in my head I’m imagining her hand to be the same size as mine. Which is nowhere near the truth.

I hate this. I’m so sick of being this small and weak and worthless. Everything would be easier if I could just be big again. I could take care of myself. I could go back to school, make more friends. I could finally embrace Aiden fully, and he wouldn’t have to hold back in fear of hurting me. I could figure out if he likes me - for me, not for my shrunken state. I could get my freedom back.

“I just wish things could be simpler,” I lament with a waver in my voice.

Moira sighs, and as if she was reading my mind she says, “And there’s nothing we can do to get you back to normal? We’re sure this is permanent?”

It makes sense that I keep stumbling into this topic, but it makes me tense up every time. “I mean, yeah, in theory,” I respond, “According to the scientist’s notes it is, from what he had developed…”

Well, the notes that we currently have say that, in that one journal Aiden was able to obtain. There are still so many unknowns with Dr. Little. So many questions that I can’t afford to get answers to. But this conversation is making it really difficult to keep my head stuck in the sand.

We talk for a little bit longer, ending on a good note by making plans for when she comes back in a couple of days. After I hang up, I sit in silence for a good long while.

Alright. Fine. Let’s actually think about this.

What are the odds that the technology to restore me already exists, even if incomplete? I take the time since I’m sitting at my phone anyway to do some Googling and find out what I can about Dr. Little. Every police report and news article about the fire that happened at the lab keeps the burn victim anonymous. I find many medical doctors by the names of “Charles Little” but no one remotely familiar. I spend a lot of time digging through any kind of article or event post or scientific journal that I can find that mentions the laboratory. Nothing comes of it. It doesn’t mean he didn’t have a second base of operations or something. But at this point I feel like the likelihood of another machine that can reverse the shrinking just sitting around somewhere is very low.

Okay well, barring that, what would the first step even be to try and fix me? Go to a hospital? Maybe they’d actually keep my information private? But surely there isn’t some magical cure in the form of medicine for this. Maybe they’d be able to run tests of some kind, but even by the time we’d get to that point there would be several more people who’d learn of my existence.

There’s no way my picture doesn’t end up somewhere or that word doesn’t spread. There’s no way the cops don’t find out. Aiden would still be with me though… right? Is it worth the risk to try?

Fear finally slips into the driver’s seat. Before I know it, I’m curled up in the fetal position and rocking back and forth with my eyes squeezed shut. My fingertips are going numb and I feel like I can hardly breathe. I keep trying to come back up to the surface and reason through this but I’m drowning. There’s no way. There’s just no way.

And with that I have my answer. I stay. As long as I’m able, I have to stay here. Which feels like a more desperate need than ever now that Aiden’s mentioned the concept of me moving out. He just said it for my sake, to make sure I feel comfortable after what happened. But I’ve had previous experience with getting kicked out and abandoned. And even just the suggestion, the slightest possibility of him asking me to leave… I have to avoid that outcome at all costs.

I curse my weakness, inside and out. And I’ve let myself sink deep enough into this state that it takes me a long time to wrestle the lid back on. For a good twenty minutes I just gaze at my phone. Staring at a picture of the lab where my life came to a standstill.

In spite of everything… I’m just wishing Aiden were here right now. He might have freaked me out last night, but I was being truthful when I told him I don’t want to lose what we had. I wish I could rewind back to the moment when I was laying on his chest and he was stroking my back, and that I could just have it so that he didn’t end up dozing off. How would we have ended up instead? I yearn to know the answer to that, so much…

Thankfully I manage to pick up the pieces of myself before my roommate gets home. I don’t quite find the desperate vigor that I had this morning that got me through my chores, but I’m at least on my feet with dry eyes.

As soon as the giant comes into the apartment and puts his stuff down, he wanders my way. He doesn’t sit at the chair, just leans his arms over the backrest. Despite him keeping his distance, though, his smile is warm.

“How was the day?” I ask as cheerfully as I can.

“Long. But not bad.” He shifts in place, looking slightly distracted as he reaches for his pants pocket. “You?”

“About the same. At least it’s the weekend?” I’m surprised to see his wallet in his hands - he’s pulling out a note. It’s been a while.

“Yup, there is that,” he says, casually reaching over to drop the folded paper into our mailbox. “You okay with soup for dinner?”

“Yeah, sounds great.”

As soon as he pivots to head for the kitchen, I immediately turn my attention to the gift. Feeling a lot more self conscious than I usually would, I tiptoe my way over and pick up the message, tucking the bulky paper under one arm. I go hide behind my bathroom before I unfold it and read avidly.

Hey you. I missed us writing like this. There’s just something about us talking on paper. This way it doesn’t matter what we look like or sound like or anything else. Just two people sharing our thoughts. It’s nice.

Having said that, I’m sitting here at work and wishing I could see you instead! Let’s decide on which show we want to watch soon. I think we still have some popcorn in the cupboard!

Aiden

Even though the scrap of paper is as big as I am, I gather it up in my arms and hold it against me, burying my face into it. I sit there for a while, until I hear booming footsteps starting to return.

I come out and beam at Aiden when he sits down. “Popcorn sounds great!” I exclaim.

“Okay, cool! Let’s see how much of it I burn this time,” he chuckles as he transfers my tiny bowl of tomato soup from his plate to my table. “Oh whoops, I forgot your bread on the counter, be right back.”

“That’s alright!” I say hurriedly before he has a chance to move, "I can just grab some from yours, if you don’t mind?” I’ve already taken a few steps towards his plate as I look up at him hopefully.

“S-sure,” Aiden responds with a nod, though I notice in his subtle movements that he’s pulling back as I approach.

I do wonder what goes on inside his head. Is the mere sight of me… distracting? Well, not me, but rather my smallness. I don’t know, right now he just looks intimidated.

“Am I scaring you?" I ask as I reach his plate, half teasing but half earnest.

“No," he says quickly, looking a bit embarrassed now. “If I’m being honest… I think I’m just scared of myself.”

The edge of the plate is as high as my waist, meaning I have to hoist myself up in order to climb aboard. His king mattress-sized slice of bread is right in front of me, so I go ahead and tear off a tiny piece for myself as I try to come up with what to say.

“Just think about your track record," I offer. “I still trust you, okay? We can take baby steps.”

“Right… Thank you. I’ll get there."

Like a figure coming out of a fog, a look of determination appears on Aiden’s face as he moves a little closer. One hesitant finger makes its way to where I’m standing, curving around behind me to gingerly press against the back of my shoulders. It’s not unlike an arm draping around them in a light hug. The gentle point of contact gives us the strength to share a smile. I don’t care what I know now, this doesn’t feel like some kind of perverted touch.

He moves his hand away but keeps it in the vicinity, shifting the finger to line up with his plate, just behind my feet. I glance down and realize he’s offering me some help in climbing back off the dish now that my hands are full. Accepting gratefully, I step onto the pad of the digit and maintain my balance as the narrow platform lowers me the short distance down.

As I head back towards my own table where the rest of my meal is waiting, I take notice of my phone just beyond. The screen is black now, but I remember the image that was on there last. During the time that I was sitting and staring at it earlier, I had come up with an idea that I decide to bring up now.

“Hey, um…" I start as I turn back towards my giant friend. He acknowledges me with a slight raising of the eyebrows. “So I’ve thought about it. What I think you can help me with. If that’s still okay.”

Aiden perks up at this, looking pleasantly surprised. “Oh, yeah! Of course, anything. What do you need?"

I give him a long, hard look before I answer. “Closure."

@Olo Time to go spelunking! (ngl I was slightly worried about posting this as I didn’t even think about the fact that it’s potentially a little vore bait-y, I’ll see what kind of DMs I get on deviantart lol)