Best posts made by littlest-lily

Chapter 2

My muscles are all tensed up as I open the door and peer inside. Alright, no room full of dudes ready to laugh at me. Just a very standard dorm setting - two beds, two desks, a shag green rug over the fake wood floor. And there he is, sitting at one of the desks, fiddling around with something on his laptop with his back facing me.

“Perfectly on time,” says Ryder without turning around, “At least one of us is capable of being punctual.”

I stare at the back of his head while standing in his doorway. Even his haircut is perfectly trimmed, the back of his neck smoothly shaved of any stray hairs. I’ve noticed this in the past, actually, that he doesn’t seem to have much hair on his body at all. I’ve since learned that apparently it’s quite common for even men to shave their limbs and chest if they’re swimmers - I guess to eliminate any extra drag in the water. As soon as I have that thought, my eyes linger on the back of his toned calves, one of which is splayed off to the side of the chair.

“Come sit.” My host turns his head halfway to me and motions his hand towards his nearby bed in invitation. Right. His bed. Not at all awkward.

It’s still not impossible that there are cameras around if this really is a prank, so I try to appear as aloof as possible as I step inside and let the door close behind me. I notice Ryder’s shoes are lined up right next to the door, so I follow his lead and step out of my sandals, and soon I feel the thick shag carpet under my feet as I step closer.

“So how come you were so late to class?” I ask casually as I take a seat and let my backpack slide off my shoulders.

He had gone back to briefly looking at his computer before he appears to finish up, and he shuts the laptop completely. He pivots in his chair to face me head on and gives me a wide, toothy smile.

“To give me an excuse to hang out with you?” he responds, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.

Fuuuck. There’s no way he’s not messing with me. But I stay as calm and collected as possible, and I roll my eyes as if we were already on friendly terms. “Joke’s on you,” I say, “You’re going to get way less out of this lesson secondhand.”

“I look forward to it.”

I just can’t get a good read on this guy. I zip my backpack open to pull out my notebook and the textbook for the class, setting them beside me onto the bed. With one hand I open up my notes. With the other I nervously run a fingertip in a circle on the bed sheet, falling back on my habit of inspecting whatever’s near me.

I glance up at him and say, “You were there for the last class, right? When we first started discussing GDP?”

He watches me with that goddamn smile, and eventually instead of answering he lifts a hand and waggles it back and forth, as if to say “ehhh.”

“Do you even remember what GDP is?” I ask with barely masked exasperation.

“Hmm… Glorious Dollar Points?”

For a moment we’re just staring at each other. I search his expression, the veritable fortress of his gaze that conveys nothing except a mild amusement. Alright. He’s no longer playing along with whatever façade we started with. I’m not going to act like an idiot.

I snap my notebook shut and narrow my eyes at him. “You don’t actually want to study, do you?”

His eyes narrow too but in a more natural way as his smile widens and becomes a little more genuine. He leans forward in his chair, staring at me with such intensity that I can feel it in the pit of my stomach.

“No. I don’t,” he says.

I do my best not to squirm and blush. I’m suddenly finding myself having a hard time looking at him. “Why did you invite me over then?” I ask sheepishly.

“I want…” Ryder straightens up again so that he can sit back in his chair pensively instead. “…to get to know you a little better.”

I can’t help but laugh wryly and give him a look. “Seriously? Me?”

“Yes. You.” He crosses his arms, appearing to very much be enjoying this. “I’m curious about you.”

An odd thing to say about a girl whose name he had trouble remembering an hour ago. I sigh, convinced that he must still be messing with me for some reason, but I’m unable to resist continuing this conversation. “What do you want to know? I’m not that exciting.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I dunno… Accounting major. No real hobbies. I watch a lot of trash TV and don’t really get out all that much.”

He stares at me pointedly, and for the first time I’m seeing a shadow of a frown cross over his face. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Hide behind shit like that. You and I both know that’s not really who you are.”

I frown back. “Do we know that? What are you talking about?”

I’m starting to really think I shouldn’t be engaging with this, but then Ryder takes me by surprise as he leans forward again in his chair. “How tall are you, Isabelle?”

The question is abrupt. Weirdly casual. And yet incredibly oppressing. At least… it is to me. I balk and hesitate, a couple of quiet and confused sounds escaping the back of my throat.

“Wha… What does that have to do with anything?” I stutter.

His smile turns cocky. “You don’t want to answer me?”

My gaze crumbles to the ground like a house of cards in an earthquake. “I… I’m 5’10”…"

“That’s rather tall, isn’t it?”

I stare at my feet and mumble, “It’s… not compared to you…”

Every article I’ve seen that features him always mentions his 6’4" stature. It’s one of the reasons he’s a particularly good swimmer. Ugh, I hate that I know these odd bits of trivia about him and yet he couldn’t remember my name.

“That’s true.” To my shock, Ryder reaches his hand out, and I hadn’t realized how close he’d gotten. He’s able to reach me and touches the side of one finger just under my chin to forcefully lift my head up. He looks deep into my eyes as he asks with overflowing confidence, “Is that why you’re so taken with me?”

I jerk my face back, pulling away from him. “Excuse me?” I say with a nervous laugh, “Who said I was… Listen, just because you’re the big man on campus doesn’t mean I…”

I trail off. I feel not just confused at this point but embarrassed, and I’m getting agitated to the point of defensiveness. Meanwhile, the man sitting across from me looks completely unperturbed. He chuckles and grins as he puts his open hands up in surrender.

“Alright. Don’t worry… I like games.”

I exhale heavily and start quickly packing up my school supplies into my backpack as I grumble, “Listen, if you had me come over just so you can psychoanalyze me, I think I’ll just–”

Ryder stands up. From my position seated on the bed he looms over me easily, and I fall into silence as I blink up at him. There’s something particularly odd in the air now. I’m overcome with a weird calm. For some strange reason, I feel no inclination to move from this spot anymore.

I look up at him from around his stomach level and he smiles down at me in turn. He brings a hand to cup the side of my face. It feels intimately warm.

“Psychoanalyze you, huh? That’s not a bad idea. Let’s see…” He runs a thumb back and forth along my cheekbone with a slow, methodical rhythm. “You want to be an accountant. Maybe because you think that’s a well-paying but low-key, stable job, right? Every accounting major I’ve met wants that. Or they’re being forced into it by their parents.”

Ryder’s hand drifts down now, fingertips caressing the side of my neck. I shudder helplessly.

“You don’t share your true interests with anyone because you don’t want to stand out.”

He reaches the collar of my hoodie and gently tugs at it. He brings his other hand up too, to fiddle with my sleeve on the other side.

“You wear oversized clothing to make yourself look smaller, because you hate being taller than the average woman.”

Casually he takes the little elastic bands off the ends of my hair and starts running his fingers through the braids, softly teasing out the copper strands.

“You wear your hair in pigtails because you want to look younger and more innocent.”

Now that my hair sits unburdened just past my shoulders, Ryder seems satisfied, and a hand returns to my chin. He takes it softly, but there’s a firm dominance there as he makes me look at him.

“You want to be underestimated. To pass right under the radar. To not be seen.”

He’s starting to put a subtle pressure on my jaw, forcing me to sit up straighter.

“Only thing I’m left wondering is why that is.”

The upward force he’s putting on my chin gets to the point that I feel compelled to my feet. I don’t actually want to stand up, not now, I don’t want to be any higher. But I find some satisfaction in the fact that I still have to look up at him, and so I follow his lead and slowly rise. He’s so close. Our faces are only inches apart.

“Why do you care so much?” I whisper, my voice tight with deferential anxiety.

Ryder smiles at my demeanor. “Because you intrigue me, Isabelle. You have ever since I first saw you in that Marketing class.”

I actually gasp at this. His hand is still holding my face and I reach up to weakly grab at his wrist. “Wait… you do remember me then?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you act like you didn’t?”

He finally lets go of my jaw so that he can take my hand instead, fingers interlocking. He shrugs in response.

“Because we were in public. And if there’s one thing I’ve figured out about you it’s that you hate public attention. Remember that first time I sat next to you? I kept whispering stupid jokes for the whole hour and made you giggle every time. But then as soon as class was over and I talked just a bit too loud to invite you to lunch, you declined without hesitation and practically sprinted out of the room. Away from all the prying eyes of those who were wondering who I was talking to.”

Of course I remember this. That day was the inception of this stupid crush, and I’ve been carrying my burdensome feelings around for the past year and a half. I struggle to take in a breath and then Ryder brings me back to earth as his thumb makes soft circles against the back of my hand.

“That’s why I’m so intrigued by you,” he says with a soothing tone. “Everyone around me is constantly vying for my attention. Doing everything they can to connect with me or curry favor, or at the very least lust from a middle distance. And then, there you were. Clearly interested in me. And yet doing everything to erase herself. Trying her utmost to just… disappear.”

I feel an unexpected need to fight back tears. He’s so on point with his observations that it’s scary. And yet there’s also something bizarrely validating about it. Despite all my efforts to remove myself from his view… he still saw me. He noticed. A myriad of feelings are battling inside of me like a cyclone.

“I don’t know how to feel about all this,” I finally say quietly.

Ryder squeezes my hand, the sky blue of his eyes drawing me in. “I can help with that.”

“What do you mean–”

And we’re kissing.

@blehb Hell yeah! Oof being fought over would be its own level of fear/excitement. Meanwhile I keep thinking about two male lovers working together to use me as a toy for their amusement and pleasure. 1v1 when there’s a shrunken party already is unfair, but 2v1 becomes impossible.

Chapter 6

Walking along a gigantic human body is already hard enough when I’m not hurrying. But with a ticking clock in the form of my height melting away a millimeter at a time, constantly disorienting me… I might as well have just become the foolish jester in a mighty king’s court.

I waste no time whipping around and dashing along the center of Ryder’s chest. Almost immediately I lose my footing and fall to one knee, a hand slamming down against expansive pectoral muscle. I’m quickly back on my feet, only to fall from his inhale below me, again to one knee on the other pec. The giant laughs, and in perhaps an act of pity he flexes the muscle just as I land to help me bounce back up. I cross his diaphragm and three steps later I think I might actually have fallen into a rhythm. But when I glance up and see how quickly I’m approaching the large pitched tent ahead, the distraction is enough that I lose my footing again.

I land hard against my front, wincing at the impact despite the pliant nature of the floor. This is starting to feel stupid… What’s there to worry about anyway? It’s not like I feel any less safe if I become smaller. Sure, I’m a little nervous about how my world is changing around me, but robbed of my own terror I’m not particularly motivated to hurry. It feels kinda nice laying on his stomach, listening to the gurgles within as his skin shifts against mine ever so slowly, expanding in every direction. His navel is just ahead of me and I reach a hand over to run a finger along its edge. I wonder if laying here might mean I’ll become so small I could fit inside this belly button.

There’s a sharp breeze against my back from air getting displaced by a descending hand. The warm finger touches down just in the dip of my lower back, gently massaging the space.

“I’ll make it worth your while,” Ryder croons melodically.

And just like that, I’m roused to my feet. Pleasing him is motivation enough.

I’m just a couple of steps from his boxers now, and I pause nervously as I get to the waistband. I’ve already lost at least a relative foot of my height since I started shrinking again. I’m assuming he wants me to get inside his underwear, but can I even do that? I bend down to grab at the elastic, yanking it up as hard as I can. It does give, but it’s a strain, and in the end I have to lay down and army crawl my way underneath it, entering the stuffy darkness within.

The scent of the titan’s musk, mixed with a hint of chlorine, stops me in my tracks for a moment. It’s not necessarily unpleasant, but it’s definitely overwhelming… Okay, focus. What do I do now? It’s so hard to see in here. I stay low to the ground and opt to start crawling again, feeling around in the dark for where I figure my destination must be.

Ryder’s apparently not quite as diligent about shaving this area. There’s not much here, but I do sense thick hairs tickling against my arms and legs, and me maneuvering through the sparse patch of pubes is having an effect on the prone giant. It already feels like everything’s constantly moving right now from the shrinking, but the muscles underneath me seem to be clenching at a greater frequency too, and faraway moans cause faint vibrations against my skin, even all the way down here. The fact that I’m able to give him any kind of pleasure despite being tiny is very distracting.

As my eyes adjust, I think I make out the anticipated pillar up ahead. It’s getting very warm, and the heat seems to mainly be emanating from the towering manhood that I’m trapped in here with. I inch forward, trying to pick up the pace as I can’t even imagine how much height I’m losing.

I almost crash into it, stopping myself short just as I realize how close I am. It’s too dark to be sure, but it looks like the structure is as thick as an oak tree. I reach out to touch it, and it almost feels like I’m touching a flat wall instead of a curved one. A wall of smooth, hot, musky, pulsating skin. I can hear the blood rushing inside, though the sound is quickly overshadowed by a reverberating groan in reaction to my touch. The simple knowledge that my hands are on Ryder’s dick right now makes my heart race.

But something’s off. I frown and realize my hands are sliding against the pillar. Am I still shrinking?

I get to my feet, keeping a hand against the wall. “I made it, didn’t I?” I yell. Which feels pointless - even if my voice reaches his ears in any capacity, there’s no way he could make out what I’m saying.

But then, miraculously, he does. “Not quite, sweetheart,” he says, sounding strained, “Gotta get higher up than that.”

I look up uselessly in the darkness. I don’t have a good idea of how tall the structure is, and it’s getting slowly but steadily taller with every moment. I’m not a particularly good climber either… But here goes nothing. First I start maneuvering my way around the massive member. It feels like it’s being held upright by tension against the front of his underwear, but if I make my way to the underside, gravity might be on my side–

Suddenly I yelp as my feet hit something soft and I topple forward. I land right onto a trampoline-sized ballsack. The ground shifts violently and Ryder’s voice is like far off thunder. “Fuuuuck…”

Gritting my teeth, I clamber up onto the squishy surface and find the shaft again, and the incline is still steep but manageable this time. I shimmy along it, managing to push it down a bit with my diminishing weight. My little limbs are inadvertently massaging him and his breathing is intensifying, and then I almost fall again as I’m blinded by a flash of light coming from the entrance of his underwear. A gigantic hand is joining the party. I continue to hurry upwards, crawling quickly as I’ve now caught sight of the bulging tip up ahead. Trunk like fingers encircle the structure under me as I finally reach my goal, making the entire cock shudder as I hug my whole body around the enormous head.

“Good job,” the giant pants, and it’s harder to make out what he’s saying now amidst the chaos happening all around me. “Just… nghh… just hold on tight… mmmfuck…”

I strengthen my grip, especially as I feel slick fluid pass over my hands, though I’m not making things easier for myself as I just seem to be stimulating him more and more. His hand is working now, pumping underneath me, making me bob up and down with a quickening rhythm.

I’m filled with adrenaline. The electrifying heat and the smells and the sounds are so overwhelming, but in a good way. Just the thought of what’s happening right now, the knowledge that I’m just a couple of inches tall, if that, clinging onto this god-like man’s dick like a cat that’s fallen onto a Christmas tree and hanging on for dear life… It’s enough to bring me closer and closer to my own release that has barely had the chance to build.

My front now slick with precum, I almost slip off, and Ryder seems to realize this as his thumb suddenly presses into my back, catching me, pushing me, sliding me, and my arms grab and my legs clench and I wriggle and writhe and squeeze. And it’s enough. With a thunderous groan, the giant comes intensely, rocking my dimly lit world with vibrations that make me orgasm in tandem. I lose track of where I am - I’m slipping, and then suddenly I’m falling.

I don’t even yell, my breath is ripped right out of me as I plummet. I clip against something soft, then hit a springy wall, and after a couple of bounces I think I’m on a floor. There’s an ominous pause as I look around wildly in the darkness. I’m feeling way more cold now, I’m no longer on his skin but sitting on thick fabric. But then there’s a sudden light coupled with movement. A whole lot of movement. I can’t make sense of the chaos, it’s like an explosive earthquake, and Ryder’s control over my mind slips just enough for me to let out a scream as I curl into a ball.

But things go still again after just a handful of long seconds, and I quickly calm back down to my subdued state. I slowly unwind myself and carefully get back to my feet as I make sense of the new alien surface I’m lying on - rippling navy blue bed sheets stretching off into the distance like a lake. I must have fallen through one of the leg openings of his boxers as the giant got up. For a moment I’m too disoriented to know where Ryder went, but there’s just enough logic in my brain for me to quickly think of a solution. I look skyward.

It’s only now that my eyes adjust that I realize I’m standing in his shadow. He’s looking positively cliff-like, impossibly so, and he’s fully naked now. From my position near his knee, Ryder’s body seems to stretch into the sky for hundreds of feet. I stare at him as if I was the world’s first human to witness a smoking volcano.

That is, until he crouches down. Such a casual movement to him, but to me it’s as if the volcano had started rumbling to life. God, he’s fucking gigantic. How small did I get?

His head gravitates towards me, heavy and imposing. He moves closer and closer, and the eyes that are fixed on my shrunken form look bigger than I am. Seeing his face hovering so much closer is unnerving in its own right, I can’t tell if seeing his features this magnified is more or less intimidating than seeing his full height. His voice booms like music during a concert.

“So. Tiny.”

I take a few shaky steps back, and this just seems to amuse him. He straightens up a tad, and his hand swings in like a private jet coming in for a landing. He’s got one long forefinger stretched in my direction, over fifteen feet in length from my perspective. It doesn’t touch me, but it comes very close, as if casually deliberating what it might want to do with me.

Ryder speaks again. “Let’s see, you’re less than two inches tall now… Maybe, like, an inch and a… third? Lost quite a bit there during that journey, didn’t you?”

“Y-you’re able to tell how tall I am just by looking?” I call up to him.

“It’s more like an internal clock as I make you smaller. Don’t worry about it. So. That was fun, huh? How are you feeling, my lovely little plaything?”

“Like there’s not much of me left,” I lament with a weak smile.

“Heh. Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of you left to shrink.”

I ignore the foreboding tone and shift my attention to his hand that’s gradually inching closer. My stupid nerdy brain is reminded of a long-necked dinosaur, his fingertip like a mighty head dropping down to inspect me. I reach out with both hands, marveling at the scale of him as I make contact with his skin.

“This is crazy!” I yell towards his face, laughing at the absurdity. “Jesus, Ryder. You’re, uh… taking me on quite the adventure.”

“You’re sorta taking me on one too,” he chuckles back, "I mean damn, you felt so fucking good down there.”

“Doesn’t everybody?” I ask, tracing the whorls of his fingerprint, each ridge now as thick as a pencil. “If you’ve done this before, I mean.”

“I don’t usually make people so little before they venture down there. But there was something about you having to do all that climbing…” The finger pulls away from my hands so that it can lightly bop the top of my head, almost knocking me over. His smile widens. “That or I’m just particularly fond of you.”

Ryder starts poking my nude body, and since I’m no bigger than a Lego figure now it doesn’t take long until I’m knocked flat on my back. Even though his finger is so huge, the touch is light enough that the texture of his skin occasionally tickles, and as soon as I make the mistake of giggling it’s all over for me. He intentionally aims right under my arms, and even when I wriggle away and hug myself tightly, he’s still able to reach my stomach and waist and soon I’m kicking at him and laughing so hard I can’t breathe. I love the deep echoes of his laughter that fill the air in turn.

After half a minute or so the giant gives me a break – his hand departs, and I immediately miss it. I uncurl myself and look up at him pitifully as I get back up to my feet. I’m taken aback as the smile he’s wearing is so fucking… genuine right now. It’s not his usual smirk but one of tender affection, his eyebrows curving slightly up and his exhale coming out in a sigh. I’m so used to seeing him cool and confident, but this is new, and it fills me with a yearning. I want more moments of silliness and sweetness, I want to play, I want to get to know him more and more, I want to be his…

Wait, hold on. I just said he wasn’t smirking. What’s that look on his face right now?

“Hey, Isabelle,” Ryder says, his grin slowly growing. “If you’re into dinosaurs, does that make you a fan of Jurassic Park?”

Sidetracked, I perk up excitedly at this. “Of course! I practically had that movie memorized as a kid. You know, they don’t get featured much, but that film was the first time I saw a parasaurolophus, which ended up being my favorite–"

I yell loudly as I’m suddenly interrupted by a massive jaw swinging open and a face plummeting my way. Before I realize what’s happening I’m in hot, wet darkness. Like the infamous theropod from the movie he just distracted me with, Ryder has snapped me right up into his mouth. Only my legs are sticking out, and my feet lift up from the ground as I kick them wildly, disoriented by the vertigo and the darkness. The springy floor against my chest is soaked and warm and slippery, contrasting against the boulder-like teeth carefully pinching around my legs.

It’s another moment that’s simply too much for me as the panic fights its way towards the top of my consciousness. My limbs flail and I whimper with the growing fear of my legs getting crushed as easily as pretzel sticks. The giant tilts his head back and I cry out as I fall forward and fully land on his tongue. I try to scramble to hands and knees but it’s too slippery and everything’s shaking and I can’t see a damn thing– I’m coughing, sputtering–

Deep breaths.

I grow still as I’m splayed out on my back in what I’m assuming is the center of the expansive tongue. That was Ryder’s voice just now, unmistakable. But there’s no way he just talked out loud… I think I would have noticed that. This is another mind manipulation. And right on cue, I feel a sedative wave of calm that helps all of my muscles unclench and my heart rate slow down. The air is humid and rather lacking in oxygen, but I manage that deep breath nevertheless.

“Did I just hear your thoughts?” I call out, my voice echoing in the cave. Then, struck with an idea, I say as clearly as I can in my own mind, Can you read MY thoughts?!

Whoa, I can even hear his amused chuckle in my brain. I told you, we have a special connection now. Besides, surface thoughts are a breeze.

That’s so cool! I say silently, So we could just do this all the time?

The moment of quiet is over. Light pours into the cave through a gap in the nearby teeth, and a breath of laughter whooshes out in a gust of wind. His voice shakes me to the bone and I’m jostled heavily as Ryder says out loud, “Don’t get used to it, little one.”

He takes a few seconds to play with me, a casual gesture that feels like an insane theme park ride. I’m pushed up into the roof of his mouth, writhing weakly as I’m sandwiched within flesh and heat. I tumble and slide as he moves me around - it’s still hard to tell, but I think I briefly brush up against the side of a molar and then I’m pushed into the inside of his cheek. But then I’m finally greeted with fresh air as he spits me back out into his awaiting palm.

“You’re not escaping my voice,” the giant croons as I struggle to sit upright, “Not when I’ve seen the effect it has on you.”

He’s not wrong. The smaller I’ve gotten, the more intense are the vibrations of his voice. I can feel them against the surface of my skin every time he speaks. I wipe saliva off of my cheek, attempting to catch my breath as I look up at the massive face above me, at the intricate details in the blue of his irises. So intimidating. But so beautiful.

He blinks, and the speed of the movement makes me shy away. I start sliding backward in Ryder’s palm, but then a fleshy pillar appears at my back and blocks my path.

“Nope,” he mumbles, “I’m not done tasting you.”

I get to see it right in front of my eyes this time. His jaw descends, his smile revealing the white of his teeth, the pink of his tongue rolling out like a wave. My body is operating out of instinct, still trying to scramble back but just helplessly pushing into the impeding finger, and then the wave crashes over me. For a moment I can’t breathe at all, trapped under the wet pressure of his tongue against his palm.

Maybe I should start feeling worried that I’m not going to survive all this. But something comes over me despite the objectively horrifying situation. As Ryder slowly licks the length of my miniscule body, I have no choice but to submit under the sheer weight of it all. And the texture of his taste buds is like acupressure, stimulating key points along my naked body and making me shudder from the inside out. It feels particularly amazing against my crotch, each little bump making me spasm.

I gasp in cool air as the hot muscle finishes passing over me. The giant is about to repeat the process, but instead of just letting the tongue roll over me again, I attempt to straddle it. While last time it just slid along my body, this time I’m pushed along the lines of his palm as I clench the lithe, wet beast with my knees. Goddamn, does it feel good between my legs. My eyes close as I focus entirely on the feeling of his tongue and then start grinding against it.

Ryder realizes what I’m doing and pauses, things briefly going still as I continue rubbing myself against his taste buds. And then he chuckles, his breath hitting me hard, and oh my fucking god, the vibrations from his voice are so intense, the rhythm of his laughter jackhammering its way through his tongue and buzzing against my clit, and the release comes hard and fast as I let out a whimper of ecstasy.

The tongue retreats and I fall back into the hand of my gigantic lover, giggling to myself now. That’s certainly one way to tame such a slippery beast.

@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.

Chapter 7

Ryder’s still laughing softly as he lowers his hand away from his face so he can look at me. “Did you just start humping my tongue?” he asks incredulously.

I try to sit up but I end up slipping in the saliva, so I give up and just lay there as I look up at him. “Was I not supposed to?” I ask with a cheeky grin. I’m not even bothering to yell anymore, now that I know communication’s not an issue. “You were presenting it to me, what else was I supposed to do?”

“You are something else, Isabelle,” the giant murmurs, and he touches the side of my body very delicately with his fingertip, stroking me up and down. “You’ve got quite the endurance too, I gotta say. What was that, like, your third orgasm?”

“Fourth,” I titter, practically purring at the overwhelming touch that I’ve been learning to love. “And don’t act like you didn’t have anything to do with that! No way would I be able to get there so often normally.”

“Mmm, maybe you’ve just never given yourself the chance to,” he says with a smirk.

I start shaping myself to the curve of his finger, twisting my abdomen, rubbing my cheek against him. I give him my best seductive look, which is honestly incredibly out of character for me. I don’t really know how to be sexy, and if I had any more brain power I’d just be feeling self conscious and stupid. But with all my inhibitions gone I’m able to go for it, sighing and giggling as I rub my body up against him. He pets me for a bit longer before pulling his finger away, and I get onto all fours in the center of his palm as I look up towards his face. I smile, moving my shoulders like a panther about to pounce, and I dip my back to tilt up my rear.

Ryder looks very entertained and is struck by an impulse. It’s his pinkie finger that comes back, and with careful aim he attempts to lightly slap my raised up butt. But in reality it’s more like a rough shove that makes me crash onto my face into the folds of his hand.

He laughs, the sound of it lighting me up with shivers. “So pathetic. And I mean that in the best way possible, sweetheart.” He looks entranced, holding me up in front of his eyes as I push myself back up to sitting. “Damn, I just can’t believe how small I’ve made you… Let’s set you down for a second.”

I gasp from the vertigo of the sudden descent. I take a quick look around to figure out where I’m going and am disoriented enough to think it might be to the floor from the sheer distance that his hand is traversing. But quickly enough I’m jostled by a thump and realize he’s just setting me on his desk. His palm starts tilting, and I quickly crawl to the edge of it to try and hop off myself. At a little over an inch tall, though, that would actually require some climbing down if he’d just be patient enough to– welp, nevermind, I guess I’m just getting dumped off. I crumble to the wooden floor with an “oof” and look around wildly as I rush back to my feet.

“Take a break,” Ryder says, his form dizzying as it squats down in front of the desk. “Feel free to look around, do your little explorer thing.”

I do indeed try to take in my surroundings. There are some me-sized earbuds nearby, and a village of strange buildings surrounds me - laptop, phone, plastic cup, stray pens, a stack of business cards. But the nearby giant is rather distracting as I look around. He’s opening a drawer that’s just under the table, and when he shuts it I almost lose my balance.

“Here.” An immense white tarp drops in front of me that smells strongly of lemon. “In case you wanted to wash off the spit,” he explains with a smile.

“Such a gentleman,” I respond with a hint of sarcasm, though I do walk up to the wet wipe so that I can start rubbing the moist cloth against my skin. Being covered in quickly drying saliva isn’t the most pleasant thing, and I’d rather be clean for him, even if that means I’ll briefly be very cold.

Ryder takes a seat at his desk and just observes me for a while. I feel peaceful and content simply being in his silent presence for the next few minutes as I clean off and continue my circuitous patterns around the desk. Exploring such an intimidating environment might have been more unnerving if I wasn’t under his watchful gaze. I feel so safe, and I know I wouldn’t if I was with any other titan. Which reminds me…

“Are you not worried about your roommate walking in on us?” I ask, gesturing vaguely towards where I know there’s a matching bed and desk on the other side of the room.

“I don’t have a roommate,” he says bluntly.

Right. Of course he’d have a two-person dorm room all to himself. If anything, it’s odd that Mr. Rich Boy is using an on-campus dorm at all instead of some fancy condo somewhere.

“I like being close to everything here. The pool’s only two buildings down,” he explains, as if he’d read my thoughts. Actually, maybe he did just that.

“Sooo how does this whole mind thing work?” I ask curiously. I reach his hulking laptop and run a finger along the edge of a USB port I could fit my head in. “I mean, I can tell I’m not quite myself, but I don’t feel like I’m some kind of brainless husk right now. How much sway do you actually have?”

There’s a short pause as Ryder continues to watch me with a subtle intrigue, the corner of his mouth switching slightly. I don’t think he’s used to having this kind of conversation. But he quickly falls back into his confident demeanor.

“Oh sure, I could be a lot more forceful than what’s happening right now. I could control your every muscle if I wanted. I could force you to smile or cry or walk off the edge of a cliff.” He gestures towards the landscape I’m standing on. “Or a desk.”

I take a moment to process that, as fascinated as if we were discussing a workplace anecdote instead of the much more dire reality. Then Ryder leans in closer, staring at me with a sudden intensity that makes me focus completely on him.

“I could break into your mind,” he thunders softly. “I could track down any thought or memory I could want from you… and then make you forget any of this ever happened. In fact, none of my previous little victims have any idea about the adventures they’ve been on with me.”

I’m trembling from the booming voice and heavy implications, and he straightens back up and shrugs one shoulder. “And sure, sometimes coercing people more directly comes in handy, for logistical reasons. But being that heavy-handed is so boring. It’s way more fun to prod and entice and tease things out of you.”

I smile weakly, still shaking slightly. I’m feeling hung up on something and decide to ask, “Victims? Are people getting hurt?”

His eyes narrow. “Have I harmed you, Isabelle?”

“No…” I answer immediately with a shake of the head. At this point I’m not worried about the danger in all this, not really. I just feel so safe with him. It all feels so right. I’m struck by a sudden thought and add, “Wait, have you done this with me in the past and I just don’t remember?”

This gets more of a reaction out of Ryder than I was expecting. He looks a little taken aback. Enough so that I trust the fact that he’s not reading my every thought.

“No,” he says. “This is the first time.”

I believe him, and I’m grateful to know this encounter is as special as I thought it was. Our first. I want it to be the first of many. I wish I could reach him - physically, I mean. Even though he’s sitting right in front of his desk, he’s so far away. My hand twitches as if it wants to take his as I look deep into his eyes, praying that he’s able to see the earnestness in my expression despite my greatly reduced size.

“I don’t want to forget this,” I plead. “I don’t want to forget tonight.”

A slight frown creases his features. “You say that now…” he mutters in a low voice, shifting uncomfortably.

There’s a pause where we hold each other’s gaze. But then without warning, a hand vaults into view and settles onto the desk - beside me, around me, crashing into the wood and making it shudder. I instinctively hug my arms around myself before looking back up at the domineering titan. I’m positioned in the space between his thumb and forefinger, though he chooses to not make contact.

“Don’t think about the future,” he commands, leaning forward, “Stay with me. Right here, right now. Don’t look away.”

And I’m breathing hard now as I feel the familiar heat overtake me. Ryder’s form, already enormous, swells above me as I start shrinking again, dwindling ever further down. The process itself is disorienting enough, but I’m getting completely overwhelmed by the visuals as the giant’s massive head descends drastically until he’s surely kneeling on the floor, so that he can stay eye level with the desk and watch my progress.

"Are you feeling more like yourself, Isabelle?” he chuckles. “Such a long way from ‘too tall,’ don’t you think?”

"How small are you going to make me?” I wonder feebly, struggling to speak as I keep falling further.

"As small as it takes.”

My attention shifts to the thumb that’s resting just in front of me. The digit was practically the size of a car before, but it’s slowly growing more and more… and more. My heart races as I watch the width of the pad of his thumb overtake my height.

“I think that’s half an inch…” he mumbles, “This gets trickier, just a sec…”

There’s a storm of activity above me, and it’s so intense that I cover my eyes. This is a mistake, though, because I jump about a foot off the ground when something lands heavily just behind me. I whip around and am staring at a wall of silver that stretches into the sky, and as I zero in on the many black lines that adorn the edge of it, I realize it’s a ruler. Ryder leans in further, muttering to himself and hardly seeming to notice how I gawk up at him in shock.

“Metric’s easier at this point… Let’s stop at a centimeter.”

And just like that, the shrinking jerks to a halt. I’m gasping for air, less composed this time and failing to take any deep breaths. I could really use another dose of manufactured calm right now. I don’t have the proper words to describe how big everything looks. It doesn’t seem real - taking in the world is like gazing out at the ocean, or at a canyon, except for the fact that the scenery is fucking moving because the landscape that I’m looking at right now is actually a fucking person and my brain can’t fucking take it–

The giant’s thumb, which honestly reminds me more of a single-story house at this point, twitches and then starts sliding along the desk. You know, like a house on wheels, holy shit, holy shit…

I’m frozen in place as Ryder readjusts his fingers around me. His forefinger’s to my right and his thumb is to my left and they’re closing in on my cowering form between them. They stop a few relative feet away from me in either direction, hulking at such close proximity that I can feel their slight warmth in the air. I can’t even pay attention to that, I’m too busy staring straight ahead, into the terrifying beauty of his eyes, and I’m trying to communicate silently to him since I’m unable to form words. But my supplicating look doesn’t seem to be doing much - hell, I’m not sure we’re actually capable of eye contact anymore.

One side of his mouth raises up into a crooked smile. “I can still just make out your face. Want to see?”

I gasp, chest tightening even more as my wide eyes stare into space. He projects an image overlay onto my vision, showing me his view. Logic is telling me that I’m looking at a hand that’s about to crush a bug, a little beetle or something. But it’s standing upright. It’s flesh colored. It’s not at all shaped like an insect and it’s… it’s me. I recognize myself now, barely able to make out my expression of awe and overwhelm. Seeing how small I am in comparison to the building-like digits that surround me isn’t the least bit reassuring.

“Hold very still,” Ryder says, and the vision vanishes, leaving me in my perilous reality. With a subtle groan against the wood, the walls start closing in. Fuck.

For the first time this evening, I’m genuinely scared. The fingers are getting ever closer. There’s no way. He’s absolutely going to crush me. I need to move. But my muscles aren’t budging. The gap narrows and I should be too small to pick up and yet eventually there’s just no more room available and the walls make contact–

“There… I’ve gotcha…”

The pressure is intense, almost painful but not quite, as I’m pinned between two planes of flesh. And then my feet leave the ground. For once I think he’s trying to actually move slowly, but it hardly matters, any distance is going to be traversed way too fast. My breathing is getting shorter and I’m trembling with how tightly my muscles are clenched. I don’t even have anything to hold onto as I’m hurtled through the air.

Ryder holds me just in front of his face, cocky smile at the ready. He’s so fascinated and entertained that I don’t think he’s realized that his mental grip on me is slipping. I’m so close to panicking.

“Hello, my little lady bug,” he croons with glee, making my insides quake with every thunderous word. “So stinkin’ cute.”

Vertigo hits even harder. And yet I’m still just as close to his face… He must be getting to his feet. A glance towards the dizzying distance to the floor is enough for me to finally choke out a fervent plea.

“Don’t drop me!" My voice is barely audible, even to myself.

But he takes notice. With a blink, his pupils constrict as he seems to hone in on my face.

“Relax," he breathes, and finally I get what I need. Wonderful, soothing calm envelops my mind like a warm and cozy blanket. My muscles slacken and I suddenly feel so much more comfortable in the titan’s grasp. The tears that had started falling down my cheeks seem wildly unnecessary now. I let out a sigh and lean my head back as I close my eyes, feeling drunk with relief.

“Sorry, got distracted for a bit there," Ryder murmurs. “I can’t remember the last time I made someone so little… Just breathe, sweetie. You’re not going to fall. And I’m not going to squish you. Trust me.”

Of course I trust him. It’s not even a question. Clearly he’s some kind of all-powerful being who’s able to do whatever the hell he wants. And that includes keeping me safe. I could totally see him becoming an expert in picking up ant-sized people. It’s all good.

Actually, the pressure of his fingers pinching my torso kinda feels pleasant, the longer it lasts, like a snug embrace. I was picturing myself getting flattened as if between two walls of concrete, but I forgot how pliant his skin is, even at this size. His grip isn’t completely steady - I’m lurching with every micro movement. But it only takes me a handful of seconds to feel used to it, and I relax as if I was just bobbing over some ocean waves.

“I’m reminded of something,” I mutter lazily.

“What’s that?” Ryder asks, looking satisfied by how much I’ve calmed down.

I open my eyes and settle into recounting this memory. “When I was in middle school, my family took a trip to Machu Picchu. At that point I had already given up on wanting to be a paleontologist one day, but I was considering becoming an archeologist or anthropologist instead. And yeah, the Lost City was super cool to see, but… I realized something else about myself on that trip. Because that was actually the first time I ever saw mountains.”

My shoulders are just as pinned as the rest of my torso and legs, but my arms are otherwise a bit more free to move, and I idly crawl my fingertips along the lines of the giant’s thumbprint as I speak. The warm bumps feel nice and grounding.

“I’d never felt so small,” I continue, “But it wasn’t in a bad way. I was just in awe of something so much bigger than me… It was liberating somehow. All my problems felt insignificant. Like nothing really mattered, so I might as well just enjoy where I’m at.”

Ryder’s been listening avidly, holding as still as he can. Softly he says, “That memory’s way less sad than being miserable at school and wanting to shrink out of existence.”

I nod. “Yeah. Life has a way of sucking you back into worrying about every little thing, but ever since that trip, it’s always been my dream to live near mountains one day… Here’s hoping. In the meantime, I’ll just enjoy the mountain that’s right in front of me.”

We smile at each other and he quips, “Happy to be your mountain man, little one.”
I sigh contentedly, and for the next several moments I just pretend I’m on vacation again and quietly enjoy the view.

Chapter 8

If this was a movie and we were on screen, Ryder and I spend a rather awkward amount of time just looking at each other in comfortable silence. But while any imaginary audience might be getting bored and leaving the theater by now, I remain completely captivated by the simple experience of being held by this titanic being. I could drown in that tender gaze of his that’s both enchanted and enchanting.

He’s the one who finally makes a move. I’m pressed back as he lurches me forward, even closer to his face, until it’s only his mouth that takes up more and more of my vision. There’s a part of me that feels mild irritation at the thought that he might put me back inside there. I just got clean. But no, all he’s doing is bringing me in for a gentle kiss. My feet briefly land onto his lower lip, but otherwise I’m pushed into the soft pink wall of the upper lip, which is about as tall as I am. I giggle and, even though I’m sure it feels like nothing, I kiss him back.

A gust of wind escapes the giant’s nostrils right over my head, just a gentle sigh to him. I’m lurched back up to his eye level.

“Such a precious little thing," he gushes, “I could just hold you like this all night. But that feels like a waste of potential… So, what to do with you?”

There’s a heavy swerve from him readjusting his weight. He’s starting to get restless. The background is whooshing around at a bewildering rate, and I feel a bit lightheaded from all of the motion as he begins pacing around the room.

“I could put you anywhere… Strand you up on a shelf. Or down on the rug. You’re definitely shorter than the carpet fibers now. Heh. A carpet forest would be some adventure, huh?”

“You’re having way too much fun with this,” I laugh.

Ryder’s eyes had started wandering as he considers all his options, but they snap back to me now. “It’s just… This is a lot more exciting than I thought it would be,” he admits, “I told you, I can’t even remember the last time I made anyone this small. But I guess I’m discovering a new side to myself. I’m loving this.”

“Yeah, I’m kinda loving it too. And, uh, actually… I have someplace in mind. Of where you could put me,” I suggest with a budding smirk.

“Where’s that?”

I squirm, and to mask my embarrassment I roll my eyes. “Come on. You can read my mind.”

“But I want you to say it,” he says pointedly. After a few more seconds of silence he grins widely and gives his hand a little shake, serving me severe whiplash as he insists, “Out with it.”

“I’m just wondering how much bigger your dick will look now, okay?!”

Looking gratified at my request, Ryder swiftly turns and sits back down on the bed. To my surprise, though, I’m now moving upwards. Higher and higher as the giant raises my pinched form above his head. He looks up at me with an impish smile, and I feel like I’ve just gotten to the top of an insane hill on a roller coaster. I look down at the sprawling view in this pause before the plunge. His naked body is hardly contained within my field of vision, and its expanse stretches hundreds and hundreds of feet. Even from up here, I can see his distant manhood with utmost clarity. He wasn’t kidding about him finding this “exciting.” Even though it hasn’t been that long since his last ejaculation, he’s already rock hard again.

“Sure you can handle all this?” he rumbles playfully.

I gulp and stutter, “Let’s f-find out?”

Here comes the drop. I quickly blow out the next couple of exhales, trying to ready myself, and then I’m hurtling down at an impossible speed. I grit my teeth and squeeze my eyes shut and my heart hammers hard and fast, and then in a few seconds… it’s over. I open my eyes just in time to realize the fingers are pulling apart from each other, and I topple out of their grip with a yelp.

Getting my bearings in each new location always takes me a few seconds. It helps that I knew generally where I was headed at least. Ryder’s now reclining backwards so that he’s more horizontal on the bed, and he’s dropped me off at his crotch, just on the outskirts of his pubes. My eyes quickly find the base of his cock, and like a character from a movie witnessing some hulking monster for the first time, my gaze climbs up and up the length of the massive fleshy pillar. It’s gotta be close to a hundred feet tall to me, as big as a lighthouse. It’s not sticking straight up, so it looms overhead threateningly as I sit under its shadow.

“You look even smaller down there, when you’re not in front of my face,” the titan muses, his voice raining down from above and hammering in how god-like he is to me. “What’s it like for you, Isabelle?”

I make a couple of choked sounds before I finally stutter out, “Like your dick’s a f-fucking skyscraper?! Fuck, you’re so big! I can’t…” I give up on words, and then I turn around, looking towards the distant face. “Can you see all this?” I ask.

“See what?”

“Can you see through my eyes too? You know, like how you showed me what I looked like just now.”

“Oh, you mean this?”

He doesn’t need to, but I’m sure he gets a kick out of it - I suddenly experience his point of view. It’s a pretty nice angle to see his chest and abs, I’ve gotta say. And there I am, looking like a misplaced tic tac, a couple of inches away from his looming member. Even some of the sparse pubic hairs rise taller than my crumpled form.

“R-right,” I mumble, and the vision fades away.

“Sure, it can go both ways if need be,” Ryder says, “I just like hearing you putting your experience into words. Or at least trying to…”

There’s a flurry of movement above me that makes me gasp and scurry backwards. For a second my brain forgot that I’m not facing an actual building, and I thought the tower was about to collapse. But no, he’s just bringing his hand back into view, and he starts using his middle finger to draw circles around where I’m sitting.

“You seem pretty flustered, sweetheart,” he teases.

“Oh, do I?!” I scoff.

“I wonder how long it would take you to climb up there this time…”

I hadn’t really thought that part through. Could I make the same journey that I did before? I could probably climb up on his ballsack again, there should be plenty of handholds, but his shaft is pretty smooth and taught, and this time I’m not sure there’s enough of an angle for me to scale it easily. Not to mention the incredible distance that I’d have to go. I don’t have much time to ponder this conundrum when my thoughts are interrupted.

“I don’t think I can wait that long. Head’s up.”

Ryder casually reaches up towards the top of the pillar, and with a deliberate slowness he starts pushing it down. It’s not hard for me to do the math on its trajectory - it’s heading right for me. First I just start backing away in shock, but as his cock looms larger and larger and I realize it’s clearly going to end up on top of me, I finally get a hold of myself and turn to run. It’s like running in beach sand on the soft texture of his skin.

“Timberrr…” the giant chuckles, watching me skitter away with amusement. I’m sprinting so fast that it leaves me vulnerable to tripping, but I manage to stay on my feet as I focus on his distant chest. Finally I glance behind myself, just to see if I’m out of the range of the approaching member, and I think I am. But due to that second of looking away, I don’t notice an upcoming obstacle until it’s too late. I end up tripping after all, straight into it.

As I fall into the unexpected pit, I hear the cock tower make heavy contact a short distance away. I’m a little dazed from all the adrenaline, though I’ve got enough of that inner tranquility in me that I’m still feeling fine. I glance around at the shallow dip I’ve found myself in. Huh. I guess I really did end up small enough to fit inside his belly button.

I turn and drag myself back up and out of the pothole. And I’m face to face with a humongous cockhead. The round structure exudes heat and looks unnervingly alive, and there’s a musk in the air now too, even though I’m not trapped inside an underwear tent this time. The not-unpleasant scent is that much stronger now that I’m smaller. My face is flushing and my bare skin is practically tingling from the anticipation.

“Damn, girl. You make it look huge,” Ryder mumbles salaciously.

I step forward tentatively, as if examining a crash landed satellite. My eyes are on its doorway, the slit opening ever so slightly from the pressure within… I bet if I crawled, I might be able to fit inside it. I get close enough that I can’t even see the lengthy shaft anymore, all of my attention is just on the head of his penis that hulks over me like a boulder.

The giant’s becoming short of breath as I approach, the ground swelling up and down under my feet. I go still, watching curiously as the monstrous dick seems to shudder, desperately trying to free itself from the hand that’s keeping it pinned down. A bead of translucent fluid swells out of the opening, shining like a beach ball sized jewel. Whoa. He’s not even stimulating himself, he’s just reacting to the sight of me… There’s something really gratifying about that. Ryder better watch out – maybe I’ll be the one to go on a power trip from seeing the effect that little old me has on gigantic him.

I grin as I glance back over my shoulder. “You seem pretty flustered, sweetheart,” I mock.

He groans and gives me a firm command. “Touch it.”

Without hesitation, I obey. I first aim my hands for where the surface is still dry. Even though textures are so different to me and I catch the otherwise imperceptible bumpy nature of his skin, the head still feels so smooth and soft. And it’s so warm. Ever since I shrank I’ve been almost constantly surrounded by Ryder’s body heat, but with how easily cold I get in this tiny, naked state, I can use all the heat I can find. A light touch from my fingertips soon becomes me stretching my arms out and hugging myself against him. I sigh happily, enjoying how intimate this feels.

The booming sounds of pleasure that follow urge me forward. I plant a kiss on the wall of skin and then reach over to the nearby trickle of lubrication. I slide my hands into it and start painting a picture everywhere that I can reach. Quiet moans and sighs become the music that I dance to as I arch my arms up and around the mushroom-like curve of the cockhead. It seems so silly, I know that even my wildest movements are just a slight tickle, but I do my best and he seems to enjoy it, and soon that very fact is making my insides simmer.

I eventually come back to the oozing slit and put my mouth to it, running my tongue on the edge of the opening. It’s the tiniest sensation but it makes the titan gasp and twitch, and I fall forward from the sudden earthquake, slamming against his flesh. My chest and face become covered in goo in an instant. Well, so much for keeping clean. And then I actually have trouble pulling myself away from the thick fluid.

“Are you stuck?” Ryder mumbles, tilting his head to look my way, eyes unfocused.

“No, I’m okay,” I say, finally peeling myself off of his skin, “I’m still big enough.”

“Let’s change that.”

It’s as if a hot ray of sunlight has suddenly hit my back. He’s simultaneously injecting me with a heavy dose of calm, which is very necessary, because down I shrink yet again. Instead of hyperventilating with fear, I watch with a slight smile on my face as the world slowly doubles in size. And by that, I’m only really referring to Ryder… He might as well be my whole world now.

A fingertip joins me as I dwindle, now a veritable giant all on its own. He nudges me with it, ever so carefully, like readjusting a grain of rice that was just out of place. I can sense the affection in the touch, however forceful it feels to me, pinning me against his dick. I’m pressed right into the still-oozing precum, and I’m no longer on my feet as I shrink under his fingertip.

“How many millimeters should we leave you at…” he wonders, voice strained with arousal. “Five… Four…”

I gasp softly as I feel warm fluid roll over my shoulders. The film of precum is thick enough to cover my back.

“Three… Perfect.”

The finger pulls away. And I’m stuck in place. Thankfully my head was aimed back and to the side so I can still breathe, but I’m now fully adhered to the tip of the titan’s cock. I crane my neck back, trying to get a look at the rest of him. The concept of being three millimeters tall is beyond me. The fact that in comparison to me Ryder’s close to four thousand feet tall is pure ludicrous. I catch sight of his face for just a moment, so far away that it’s slightly blurry, and it’s just a split second of me noticing a very large and very mischievous expression that sets off ineffective alarm bells in my mind.

He suddenly lets go of his dick, and it bounces back up, taking me along for the ride. It’s a wonder I don’t get launched away like a slingshot. I yell loudly and reflexively thrash around, and once the dick has reached its apex I try to get up, struggling to unglue myself. I wriggle up to hands and knees, crouching down on the unsteady ground as I look around from my perch.

Things go strangely still as I take in how much bigger everything has gotten. The fleshy platform I’m on is as large as a volleyball court. And beyond the immediate landscape of the cockhead, the rest of Ryder reminds me of clouds. Absolutely massive and yet so distant, to an unreachable extent. It feels like he’s beyond the realm of my existence. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth. I remind myself that in reality, his face is only a couple of feet away.

“Can you still see me?” I whisper.

The faraway head nods, and the minute movement seems downright dangerous at its scale. “Mm-hmm.”

At this point I feel his voice more than I hear it. Any sound he makes is on the brink of painful. But in my tranquilized state, I love the way his words rumble through my core.

“You look like a little speck from up here,” he observes with a smile. “I can only lean in so far… But I’ve still got my eye on you, sweetie. I’ll take a closer look later. Right now, you’re exactly where I want you…”

Fuck. That’s hot. I mean, uh, it shouldn’t be, it should be terrifying, but I don’t care. I reposition myself, opening my legs and finding a slight hump on his skin for me to straddle as I ask, “Can you even feel me?”

I grind against him, and his actions speak for themselves as the giant closes his eyes for a second while a twitch rattles my platform.

“Oh yeah. It’s… kind of a sensitive area, you know,” he groans. “Still, it’s barely there. And the fact that it’s such a light touch is driving me crazy…”

Like incoming tide, another wash of precum floods my immediate area, and I have to hunker down to not get pushed aside as the knee deep fluid surrounds me. The scent of the musk, the heat of his body, the insane view that I have, it’s all so much. I press my legs together, clenching my thighs to stimulate myself as I lay down and writhe in his juices.

But I can’t do it for long. Ryder’s getting close to the point of no return. He doesn’t seem fully in control of himself, but I see his arm reaching my way, and he wraps his fingers around his shaft. I yelp as he slowly pumps down and then up, and the skin stretches enough to severely jostle my slippery self.

"Ahhh…” I wince, suppressing the orgasm that I was just about to reach as I try to get back up, “Y-you’re going to knock me off!”

"Better find shelter then,” the giant murmurs, eyes half open.

I take the hint. Struggling not to fall, I crawl my way to the very tip of the tip, passing over a hill and coming face to face with an opening that can easily swallow me whole. Ryder pumps again and I’m not given a choice - I tumble over the edge, trying to right myself but sliding down the slope anyway, and my legs slip inside the opening, and between the pressure of the precum and the hot embrace of his flesh constricting in on my lower body, I’m dizzy with pleasure. I’m… I’m inside him… It’s so insane, it’s so extreme, it’s so hot, and then that delayed orgasm hits me with a vengeance and I cry out with joy and relief.

He’s right behind me. I lurch back and forth with one pump - two - three – and then the pressure underneath me is suddenly palpable and a thunderous moan fills the air, his cum bursts through… and I’m launched into the water slide of my life.

@Olo Ehhhh if I remember correctly, I think I came up with rough sizes first and then decided what he’d do with her at each size. Having said that, my poor husband did have to deal with me crawling all over him with a ruler as I tried to figure various things out

Chapter 10

When I open my eyes again and look up at the titan in the sky, I only see a flicker of whatever complicated emotions were resting in him before. But then he gives me a big smile, and the look on his face becomes much simpler to read. Lust. Fascination. Tenderness for his little toy who’s about to become even littler. I get swept up in the pure, uncomplicated excitement and smile widely in exchange.

“Alright, sweetie,” Ryder responds to me in a whisper, “Big finale time.”

I sit up straighter, taking a quick last look around the world. Where am I even headed? The pad of his finger could fit a house on it, but could it soon fit a skyscraper? A city? Is his fingertip about to become a veritable mountain?

I get one last full look at the giant’s face. And then he brings me in closer, and his mouth takes up more and more of my vision. It’s like he’s going in for a kiss, although that will have to be just pretend. Even from this proximity I can see the curves of a smile, his mouth is slightly parted to reveal the white of his teeth, his lips look warm and inviting… and forbidden. His exhale washes me in a warm wind and then the incredibly massive walls of pink come to life with his words.

“Slowly now…” he breathes. “Shrink for me.”

The sensation has become so intertwined with anticipation of what comes next that I start feeling immediate arousal when the heat encompasses me. I sigh and almost close my eyes with the pleasure of getting smaller, but I force myself to keep them open. I don’t want to miss this.

Neither does he. I catapult upwards, further up along his face, until Ryder’s finger is hovering back in front of his eye. Those eyelashes could be an expansive rainforest canopy. His irises contain a thousand shades of blue. The black pit of his pupil dilates as it focuses on me. And I can see it now, I can sense that he’s getting bigger.

“How far down you’ve come,” he purrs, his breathing growing shorter. “We’ve covered so much ground, too. Not only did I get to learn more about you… I got to learn more about myself. This has really been… something special, Isabelle…”

I look around at his finger expanding around me. The ridges of his fingerprint are slowly becoming ledges, and I make sure I’m positioned at the top of one. I don’t want to slip in between and lose sight of him. His voice booms ever louder, making me shudder.

“You just keep dwindling away… Less than a millimeter now… You’re too small for me to touch you anymore. You’d be crushed under a finger or drown in my mouth or get obliterated by my dick. All I’ve got is my voice… and my mind.”

The wave of arousal that hits me feels like an intentional one straight from him, a mind manipulation that fills my whole body. I moan happily as I receive this gift, laying back against the heat of the shifting skin. I look up at Ryder’s growing eye and blow him a kiss before I start touching myself.

The world is becoming primarily empty space. Everything beyond the giant is irrelevant. And even his head is becoming so distant that the sides of his face and the strands of hair on his forehead are becoming blurry. I’ve almost given up altogether on processing the scale of him.

“Stay with me, little one. I want you to watch.”

Nevermind… He’s not letting me give up. I groan, my fingers pressing against my sex as I close my eyes for a moment. The vision that he sends me is clearer that way. It’s a little jarring, now that the world is getting so faraway and fuzzy, to see his hand so clearly. His forefinger is raised higher than the rest, though anyone else who might see this picture wouldn’t understand why. I feel one last bout of heavy vertigo as the warm platform I’m on lifts me higher, and I watch from his perspective as he brings his finger closer to his eye. I make out a single minute dot perched on that fingertip, like a piece of dust.

“Do you see that, Isabelle? That little speck. That’s you, sweetheart. That tiny, precious speck… And it’s just getting smaller and smaller and smaller…”

The ridges in his finger are taller than me at this point, and I lay along the summit of one like it’s a balance beam. The digit truly is becoming mountainous, and I’m about to get lost in the labyrinth of his skin cells. I’m practically nothing. No one could ever notice my existence like this. Well… except for one person. The only one who matters.

“So tiny… Fuck, I can barely even see you at all now…”

His whisper rocks my existence and elicits one intense orgasm, and then another, and then another. I writhe and twitch and moan as I succumb to the ongoing stream of pleasure, watching my world expand while also watching a vision of myself continuing to shrink.

“Going… going… “

I gasp as I see the little dot blip out of existence, and I come harder than I ever have.

“…Gone.”

---

---

---

Uggghhhhh.

I feel heavy. So incredibly heavy. It feels practically impossible to move a muscle. But I try. I can feel my closed eyelids twitching from the effort. Something distant catches my attention… What is that noise?

A single flutter of my eyelashes makes me squeeze them shut again from the light. I groan and now the rest of my face slowly wakes up too, scrunching into a frown. Oh, it’s… it’s birdsong… The robins and wrens heralding the rising sun… It’s…

It’s morning. Oh my god. I’m not in my bed. Where am I?

I force my eyes to stay open this time. I’m facing a light gray wall and navy blue bed sheets. Yeah, I’m definitely not home. I quietly roll over in bed, my head the first thing to fully turn around. I’m still in Ryder’s dorm room. And there he is, just across the room, in his own bed. His back is turned to me, he’s presumably asleep. I stare at the nape of his neck as my heart rate steadily increases.

I don’t remember how I got here. What did we do last night? Were we drinking? No, I don’t think so. Did he drug me? God, I hope not. But I can’t think of any other explanation for why I’m still here and feeling so out of it.

And what a fucking dream I had. Despite the severity of the situation, in the back of my mind I’m still trying to hold on to it. I’m not usually so good at remembering my dreams, and I’ve already forgotten exactly where it ended before I woke up. The idea that I’m probably not going to remember it for much longer makes me feel unexpectedly sad. A feeling I completely ignore - there are far more pressing matters at hand.

Okay seriously, what happened last night? I can’t make sense of any of it. Shit, I think I may have ended up taking my clothes off? Oh wait… I shift under the bed sheets, getting a sense of the rest of my body. No, I’m still wearing the same outfit as yesterday, I either put it back on or never took it off. Actually, I’m remembering a little more now… Did I get sick? I recall having really weird symptoms at some point, a lot of dizziness. Maybe Ryder helped me lay down on the bed and then–

My heart stops. As I shifted my arm up, I caught the smell of something coming off of my skin. Citrus. The lemony scent of that wet wipe. This is what triggers the lingering dream to blast into clarity in my mind.

Oh my god. Oh my fucking god. It wasn’t a dream at all, was it?

I curse under my breath, my eyes widening as I stare at the back of Ryder’s head with sudden fear. I’m sober now. He’s not controlling my mind anymore, I can see it all so clearly. Holy fuck. I’m looking at a man who has super powers. Powers that he used on me, that he… violated me with! I mean, right? Jesus Christ, I could have died last night. I don’t care how… how careful he was being, how safe I felt at the time… I only felt that way because he wanted me to. Right?? Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—

Calm down, I tell myself. No use in panicking. I don’t budge from the bed - I’m not sure I’d be able to move right now, I’m so freaked out. I start taking in deep breaths, as slow and long as I can. Gotta settle my heart rate a little bit… Ugh, I could sure use a dose of manufactured calm right about now.

Finally my legs are working again, and I carefully push myself up into a sitting position, all the while keeping my eyes fixed on the guy who became my titan last night. His breathing is slow and regular, he definitely looks asleep. I notice my backpack is at the foot of the bed I’m in. I should probably try to sneak out of here right now.

Slowly, cautiously, I extend one foot towards the floor while my arm reaches out for my bag. I feel the shaggy rug beneath my foot as I settle my weight down. The feel of the thick carpet triggers a memory of when it was like tall grass against my calves. I pause, staring down at the ground, imagining how expansive the green was last night. It gives me a little flutter in my chest. And embarrassingly, um… it’s not an unpleasant flutter…

Setting my jaw, I put my other foot on the floor as I quietly pick up my backpack and slip it on. As a strap passes over my shoulder, one of the zipper pulls makes a clinking sound, and I hold my breath as I watch Ryder’s shoulder twitch. I stand as still as I can for a couple of minutes, frozen in place as I wait to see if he’s waking up or not. I’m staring so hard at the back of his head that I notice every detail - the disheveled copper hair, the angle of his cheekbones, the way his neck curves where it meets his shoulder… My imagination starts wandering. He’s wearing a shirt now but I got to see so much more of him mere hours ago, so incredibly much…

Hold on. Come to think of it… Why didn’t he erase my memories from last night? Assuming that everything that I’m remembering was real, now that I’m sober it absolutely makes sense to me why he wouldn’t let the others keep any recollection of the fantastical things he’s capable of. His powers are much more useful to him if they’re kept secret. It really doesn’t make any sense that I can remember so much of last night. Yes, I asked him to keep my memories intact… and a part of me is… relieved that he did…

I shake my head and grit my teeth. I need to leave.

It doesn’t seem like he actually woke up, so I carefully tiptoe to the front door, silently slip on my shoes, and with bated breath I very carefully turn the doorknob. No rusty hinges thankfully, and no one is making noise out in the hall. I manage to open the door without a sound…

“Isabelle?”

I freeze in place again, my muscles taught. I’m ready to bolt and just try to make a run for it. But… hearing his voice like that, I can’t help but pause… and look back…

Ryder’s still in bed, now sitting upright. He looks… exhausted, actually. Dark circles under his eyes, a wobbly disorientation in his gaze. There’s a rather severe expression on his face, one that I haven’t seen before. He looks conflicted. Almost fearful.

But he forces a smile and makes no effort to stop me, simply saying, “It was really nice getting to know you.”

“Mm-hmm,” I respond reflexively.

I stand in the doorway for a few seconds longer, and in those short moments I feel a series of battles erupt in my mind. Making eye contact with him like this, I… I can’t help but feel a sense of longing. It’s so fucked up, I must be out of my mind. I’ve seen what he’s capable of. I know how powerful and how dangerous he can be. But… dammit, he and I shared such an intense connection last night that was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. I’ve never felt more alive, I discovered so much about myself, and yes it all seems terribly wrong on the surface, but deep down inside me… it still feels right. The feelings for him that I’ve been carrying these last three semesters haven’t gone anywhere, if anything they’ve gotten stronger. I can’t deny that I still care about him.

Maybe he’s using mind tricks on me this very second. I don’t think he is, I could always sense it when he was influencing me, but it’s not impossible. Where would we even be able to go from here? How am I supposed to know what’s real and what’s not anymore? How am I supposed to trust any sort of happiness that he’s able to give me?

Then again. If I can’t tell the difference between real happiness and fake happiness… does it really matter?

Aaarrghhh. Fuck it.

I give him a hard look, and within my brain I sheepishly form a thought that I try to send across the room. See you Saturday?

Ryder’s reaction is subtle, but even though I’m big again, I feel like I can still notice his micro expressions. Eyes widening in surprise. Shoulders drooping with relief. Face smoothing out into a much more genuine smile.

See you Saturday, he responds silently, clear as day.

I close the door.

Decided to post two in a day since this one was mostly epilogue-y. Hope you enjoyed this bit of smutty self indulgence! Also, in case it needs to be said… consent is important and manipulating someone’s feelings is not okay. The ending to this is intended to be a wee bit dark. This might be yet another set of characters that I might revisit, I feel like there’s a lot that could potentially be explored here. But at least for now, the end!

Chapter 46
Evie

For a second I’m blinded by a patch of sunlight that peeks through the clouds. I close my eyes and sigh contentedly, enjoying the extra bout of warmth on my skin. I love summer.

Oh, right, cards. Focus.

I blink a few times to help regain my vision and readjust my seated position. I’ve never been on something quite like this, a wooden picnic table. I’m used to the wood of the desk back home, smooth and flat and light in color. This material is very different, much more weathered and uneven and natural. It’s actually rather nice to look at, a display of swirling lines and patchworks of colors from where the surface is worn away. The grooves aren’t particularly comfortable to sit on, but leave it to Moira to bring a silk scarf as a soft cushion.

Being mindful of my still-healing leg, I scoot sideways along the fabric to get a better look at the Magic cards. As I move, Aiden pipes up, his hand suddenly swooping in above my head with a pointing finger.

“Watch out for that splinter there,” he says, “See it?”

“Yep, I got it,” I say with a little laugh.

He’s been perhaps a wee bit overbearing lately. I mean, okay… that’s not completely fair. He’s had to look after me so diligently since I hurt myself almost two weeks ago, it’s only natural that his habits now include being constantly vigilant. It’s a good thing. A kind thing. Not to mention the added bonus of him gracing me with his touch even more than usual to help me get around. But something about relinquishing so much control to him is also kinda starting to mess with my head.

Whatever, it’s fine. I care about him, and I trust him. And he had a point in that moment when he told me I need to learn to ask for help. I’m just trying to accept it, since the last thing I want to do is make him upset with me again. I’m already worried about the fact that he might get sick of dealing with me since I’ve been so extra helpless… And to be completely frank, the fact that I depend on him for basic shelter still isn’t lost on me. So I keep my mouth shut and follow his lead.

I flinch at a stranger walking by in the distance. The three of us are at a park on campus, a different one from the more secluded spot that Aiden and I would typically visit, and we’re not the only ones enjoying the lovely weather. We’re off to the side, though, at a lone picnic table, with the closest group of people at least twenty feet away. They all look like they’re in their own world too, either laying in the grass and reading, or sitting in a group on a picnic blanket. Even further is a bunch of guys playing soccer. We figured that since both Aiden and Moira are here, no one would suspect anything from them openly speaking to me, because it would just look like they were talking with each other. Mo’s put her purse next to me anyway, just as a way to block me from most views, and it’s open for me to duck into if need be.

Once the passerby is gone, I point at one of the cards that’s on the wooden stand. Aiden plucks it up and winces when he sees what it is. “Damnit, Evie,” he growls before placing the Fauna Shaman in the play area and tapping my lands for me.

“I’ve been getting really lucky with the draws this game!” I say, half apologetically. “That’s my turn, I’m done.”

“Craaaap,” Moira grumbles, drawing a card and then looking through her hand. “And she’s already got her Sneak Attack out and Mother of Runes? Evie’s dominating us this round…”

“Okay… hear me out, Mo…” Aiden says, looking through his own hand. “If you have anything that can help get rid of Mother of Runes, I have Banefire and can kill the shaman on my turn.”

“Umm, excuse me? You guys forming an alliance over there?” I scoff.

“Well, you’re the biggest threat right now!” the taller giant says, glancing down at me with a smirk. I find his choice of words very, very amusing.

“I haven’t agreed to anything,” Moira responds absently as she stares at the play area, deep in thought.

“If we don’t get rid of that shaman, you know we’re both dead when we get back to her turn,” Aiden insists.

“Alright, alright… Nothing ventured, nothing gained I guess.”

Moira spends her turn clearing off most of the board with Wrath of God - yep, that’s an actual card name. It leaves herself vulnerable, but it leaves me vulnerable too.

It’s Aiden’s turn next. He mechanically draws a card, but then he pauses and his eyes widen at what he’s just obtained. The corners of his mouth twitch, as if he’s not sure if he should be smiling or not. Finally he looks sidelong at our mutual friend.

“Umm… Please don’t hate me, Moira…”

She lets out an exaggerated gasp. “What do you mean? What about Banefire?”

“I… I mean, I could do that, or um… well, there’s only one winner in the end, so…”

He places down a card called Roiling Earthquake. It does indeed knock out my shaman, just as he had promised. But it simultaneously damages Moira considerably, enough to knock her out of the game.

“Traitooor…” I hiss.

“I didn’t know I was about to draw that card!”

Moira gracefully sets her cards down on the table, smoothing her fingers over them as she bows out. “Don’t worry. I don’t hold grudges. Not for very long, at least. Murder him, Evie.”

And I do. I have another amazing draw on my turn - Emrakul the Aeons Torn, thank you very much - and between that and my Sneak Attack I completely destroy my final opponent on my next turn. Moira celebrates my victory right along with me, and Aiden takes the defeat with relief, as I’m sure he would have felt guilty if he’d won after screwing his friend over so blatantly. Laughter fills the space between us. I feel giddy, not just from having won the game, but from the lovely weather and the wonderful company.

“Okay, I don’t know about you two, but I’m starving,” says Moira, ducking down underneath the table to rummage through her picnic bag.

“Yeah, let’s eat,” Aiden agrees, and he begins clearing off the table from our cards. I wish I could help clean up, I’m practically twitching from how restless I feel. I remain seated, though. My leg’s doing a lot better, I’m finally able to crawl and hobble around on my crutches now. But I’ve probably been overdoing it if I’m honest, even though I know it’s best if I just take it easy and let it heal.

We all decided to make a dish for the picnic today - including me. I had tried to think of something that would involve fine detail work and finally landed on steamed dumplings. I had Aiden’s help of course when it came to gathering what I needed and using the steamer, but otherwise I was able to cut and mix the ingredients for the filling and the dipping sauce, all on my own. Despite my leg, I was also able to individually fill each wrapper and fold up the edges into a rather elegant design.

My roommate opted for the much simpler task of making a few different kinds of sandwiches. And as Moira pops back up from under the picnic table with some tupperware of her own, she reveals a variety of salads that she prepped.

“Evie!” she gushes as Aiden opens up the box with the rows of dumplings I made, “That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!"

I’m guessing she’s referring to the decorations. Before cooking them, I used a little bit of water to adhere black sesame seeds to the top of the dumplings and created a variety of intricate designs on them, from stars to flowers to hearts. I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of how they all turned out, considering my limited artistic ability.

“Thank you!” I chirp, “They were fun to make. Ooo, I’m so glad you made one of the salads a fruit salad, I didn’t think about dessert.”

I jump at the sudden motion of a massive arm shifting much closer to me, stopping right next to where I’m sitting. Before I can wonder why Aiden just did that, I see a blur of movement in the air, though my view is now mostly blocked. There’s approaching footsteps and I finally figure out that what I saw was an truck-sized soccer ball that got kicked near our table and someone’s coming to retrieve it. I duck even lower behind the arm wall, wondering if I should drag myself into Moira’s purse. But Mo smoothly continues the conversation as if nothing had happened, just to avoid any suspicion.

“Well, this is a hell of a feast,” she says eagerly, and I peer just over the dip of Aiden’s wrist to see a looming figure who’s passing by just a few feet away from the picnic table. “Now I want to do this every weekend.”

My roommate responds nonchalantly, “Well, I don’t have to work on the weekends soooo…” He casually, slowly pulls his arm away now, signaling that the coast is clear. It’s a tricky life we lead, but both of my large friends have gotten good at this whole secrecy thing.

I’m finally able to jump back into the conversation with a laugh, “Uh, I’m going to run out of recipes that I’m able to make myself if we do this too often.”

“Actually, I probably will too,” Aiden chuckles, his hands busy as he preps me-sized portions of food.

“Alright, one picnic at a time,” Mo acquiesces. She’s absently braiding her hair to keep it out of the way, and her eyes are bright with interest as she changes the subject. “So. Any big summer projects for either of you?”

As I’m handed a heaping plate, I exchange glances with the giant who I’ve become particularly close with. We still haven’t mentioned anything about just how close we’re getting to Moira, not yet. Quickly I try to scan my brain for any other “projects” for the coming months.

“I’m really close to launching Bitty Forge,” I offer, referring to my mini-painting business. “Just gotta take the product photography and I’ll be ready…”

We slip into this subject for a little while, as I have so much that I’ve been working on - or at least have been longing to work on, since some of it has taken a backseat while I heal. I begin to eat and my spirits are lifted ever higher. Now I can add delicious food on top of the great weather and company. I just wish I was a little more mobile and the afternoon would have been perfect.

Well, almost. About halfway through our meal, I notice Aiden turn his head in a quick glance before going rigid. At the same time, I hear Moira gasp and both of the giants are quickly reaching for me. I cry out in surprise, the sight of two fast-approaching hands scaring the crap out of me. Mo gets there first and she cages her fingers above and around my body. A split second later, there’s a loud thump and Aiden winces.

“Oh shit! You okay, man?”

I have no idea what just happened. But I hear the unknown voice and can tell it’s approaching, so I quickly shuffle out from under Moira’s hand, ducking just past the entrance of the nearby purse. In the dimmer light I try to catch my breath, still a little freaked out, but I think I piece it together. What I heard was that same soccer ball from before hitting Aiden square in the back. From the angle it was flying at, I don’t think it would have landed on me, but he wasn’t going to take that chance so he chose not to dodge out of the way.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he grumbles, turning towards the strangers.

From where I’m sitting I can see the edge of Moira’s figure as she steps away from the table to pick up the ball. “You guys do realize the goal’s that way?” she says, gesturing off to the side. Her naturally friendly tone has a tinge of admonishment to it. Like a sweet school teacher who you’d never want to cross.

The dudes who very well could have accidentally killed me in a different universe are apologetic, and I think they move further away after that since we don’t hear from them for the rest of the outing. Once it’s clear that they’re not coming any closer and Moira leaves my line of sight to go hand the ball off to them, I hurry back out of the purse.

“You okay, really?” I call up to Aiden, having to clumsily crawl as I drag my leg behind me so that I can get closer to him. I put both of my hands on his, my eyes full of concern.

He turns to me and smiles. “All good. I was just wanting to play hero and impress the damsel,” he says in a low voice, reaching up to gently stroke the side of my face. “Did it work?”

I roll my eyes but nod anyway, and I reflexively plant a kiss on the back of his hand, forgetting for a second that our other friend is also nearby… She’s just about to sit back down at the table, and I quickly pull my mouth away. When I glance at her she doesn’t seem to have noticed anything.

“Thanks for covering me,” I tell her, making sure to show appreciation to both of my friends.

“No worries! Sorry for freaking you out… Uhhh what were we talking about?” Moira asks.

“You were just mentioning that new podcast you’re listening to?” I prompt, and we slip back into conversation.

It lasts for all of another five minutes. Aiden suddenly interrupts with a sigh as he looks past the both of us. “There’s a dog coming, no leash…” he mutters, “It’s small though - you’re safe, Eve. Hey, buddy!”

Moira protectively slips her hand over me again, just in case, as Aiden plays interference with the dog. I’m actually glad that I can’t see the beast from my perspective, I’ve yet to encounter an animal up close but the idea of it is pretty terrifying. I can hear the loud canine panting and cower in my little hand cave. I peer out at Mo and she has an exasperated smile when she looks back at me.

“Different park next time?” she whispers my way.

I nod in agreement. “Different park.”

Chapter 47
Aiden

I’m very excited about two things today.

For one, Evie’s walking has gotten so much better. We haven’t been wrapping her leg for a while now, she doesn’t need crutches nearly as often, and in fact I could hardly notice any kind of limp this morning. The cut is still quite visible, as I’m sure it will be for a while yet, but after almost three weeks of healing she’s nearly independent again. At least, as independent as she used to be.

The other thing is that we have a date planned. An actual, proper date. It wasn’t presented that way, but we both know that’s what it is. She’s the one who initiated it, actually.

“You know the Laid Back Camp movie?” she had asked me one day, pointing at something she was reading on her phone, “There’s a special screening in our area! Can we go?”

I perked up at the suggestion, having a soft spot for the show itself and for the fact that it was the first anime we watched together. “I’d love to! Except… do you think you can handle it? Isn’t the screen going to be, like, ginormous for you? Not to mention the sound.”

“I’ll bring something to plug my ears with. I think it’s worth a shot!”

And that was that. Now here I am walking around the movie theater lobby with a tiny girl hiding up near my shoulder, within the folds of the hood of my jacket. Not only is the hoodie nice for the theater, where they pump in way too much AC, but it’s easier to talk to her this way than if she were in my shirt pocket. We figured it’d be a little weird for me to pretend to be on the phone here, so we’ve gone back to the simple whispering tactic.

We got here nice and early, which means we have the time to look at some of the movie posters in a rather empty hallway to kill time. I gaze up at what looks like one solid black rectangle, until I notice that there’s a glossy texture on parts of it so that a pair of wide, demonic eyes appear under the right light, with a release date underneath. Freaky.

“What’s your opinion on horror movies?” Evie asks from near my ear. She’s more or less sitting on the base of the hood, which is resting on the downward slope of the back of my shoulder. I can just feel her elbows softly leaning on the skin near neck… Such a nice little spot to keep her in.

“I guess I’m neutral?" I answer quietly, "I don’t really scare easily when it’s just a movie. I tend to poke fun at it, the rare instance I’m forced to watch one. You?”

“I’m… a total scaredy cat. I can handle gore okay, but anything that’s too spooky and I’m a whimpering mess.”

“We should watch one together then! It’s a good time if you just make fun of it the whole time. You’ll see.”

“Nooooo no no no, I’m too scared. Forget I said anything.”

I won’t actually force her to watch anything she doesn’t want. But the idea of a girl fearfully snuggling into you while watching a horror flick is already kind of cute when she’s normal sized. Much less when she’s tiny and burrowing herself into your hands instead. I briefly imagine Evie trying to hide by scurrying down the front of my shirt, and I have trouble fighting back laughter.

“I’d protect you, little one,” I say soothingly, and she nuzzles against my neck in response. I keep moving down the hallway, to the next poster, feeling like I’m walking on clouds.

I can’t believe we’re doing this. I really am taking her out. Somewhere that’s not walking distance from my apartment, but someplace new. The first outing of many, I hope.

We had to drive to get here, which means I was finally able to acquire the new piece of protection to help keep Evie safe in my pocket. Moira has a friend she knows through work who’s really crafty, and I was able to commission what I’m sure sounded like a very odd request. I’d just met up with Mo yesterday so that she could hand it off to me.

“Here you go, try it out,” she said with an eager smile, giving me what looked like a thick piece of plastic about the size of a playing card. It was a roughly rectangular shape, with a top wider than the bottom, and the entire thing was curved through some kind of heat treatment. On the inside of the curvature there were a couple of layers of soft fabric adhered to the hard plastic.

I’d made sure to wear a shirt with a pocket for the occasion. I slid the plastic inside, and the dimensions were flawless. There was now a protective barrier lining the inside of my pocket, so that if the car’s airbag ever popped out it shouldn’t crush any tiny people inside, while still giving Evie a padded surface to crash into. It would give me a hell of a bruise, but I can deal with that. There’s enough of a gap formed by the curved plastic that she would have plenty of room, and the layer of cloth should help it still be comfortable. I can just store this thing in the car, and any time I want to bring her with me on a drive, I can easily slip it in and out.

And just like that, I felt the world opening back up to us. The possibilities were suddenly endless.

We’re both buzzing with excitement as we head into the darkness of the theater, and I make a beeline for the back row, wanting to get as far away from the screen as physically possible. I pick out a spot and cautiously sit down, glancing around myself. There’s one other couple on the far end of the row, but otherwise we’re pretty isolated. I set down our little bucket of popcorn - yes, I got some despite how overpriced it is. It’s a special occasion.

After a few minutes of waiting for people to trickle in, I silently creep one hand up to the hood of my jacket, and without having to say anything I feel Evie climb into it. I bring her around to the front of me, still keeping her close to avoid anyone seeing, holding her just around my collarbone.

“Well?” I whisper, glancing down in her direction. Her face keeps whipping around, this way and that, not just looking around for nearby people but also still taking in the sheer expanse of the theater screen. I wonder what it must be like for her.

“It’s hard to even look at all of it at once,” she marvels.

“Uh oh. Too much to handle?”

“Nah, since we’re so far away it’s fine. It’s like… watching a projection on a canyon wall, but from a quarter mile away.”

“Whoa. Well, just say the word if you change your mind. In the meantime, let’s make sure your ears are more protected…”

I reach into my jacket pocket to fish out a cotton ball and hand it to her. It was the only thing we could think of to use - it’s as big as a beach ball in her hands, but she’s able to tear off tiny pieces of it and stuff them into her ears. At least, I hope she’s having success, because the lights suddenly dim further, and as my eyes adjust I have trouble making her out.

“Whack me if you need anything, okay?” I murmur.

“What?”

Oh crap. Didn’t think of this. I glance around furtively before I try raising my voice at all, but a second later Evie laughs and says, “Just kidding, you’re still not exactly quiet to m–”

The boom of the speakers splits the air and I hear a tiny squeak of a yell. There’s a panicked shuffling against my palm, and as the theater screen lights up the room from whatever kids’ movie trailer it’s showing, I can see my friend’s small figure nearly tripping over herself trying to climb back onto my shoulder. Instead I quickly lift her higher, up by my ear, so that I can hear her response when I ask, “Should we leave?”

Evie leans heavily against the side of my face, trembling, but I can feel her taking deep, steadying breaths. She has to yell over the obnoxious noise of the trailer. “N-no. I’m getting used to it. It’s just like… a concert. No biggie, I just need a m-minute. The cotton’s much better than nothing.”

I cup her in both hands against me, hold her close, stroke her back with a finger. To be completely honest, this is a small theater and the sound system isn’t that great - for the average person it’s on the quiet side. But again, just like with the size of the screen, I can’t even begin to imagine what the experience must be like for someone so small.

The trailer ends and I hear a softer breath as she seems to unclench. She shifts against me, and it takes me a second to realize it, but she’s giving me a kiss on the cheek. “I’m good,” she says, and the strength definitely seems to have returned to her voice.

I still keep her in my hand for a bit, just to be sure, gradually lowering her to my chest level. Finally as the trailers end and the movie begins, I help her settle onto the armrest. She’s already come around in the past few minutes, having acclimated to the overstimulating environment, and now she’s getting excited again.

I’m distracted from the film as I continue feeling the need to watch over her. When the fireworks begin bursting over the introductory scene, she looks skyward to beam up at me, before pointing eagerly towards the screen, clearly indicating that I should be watching too. I chuckle and look ahead of me, she sits leaning against my wrist, and I’m just so happy to be here right now. My little secret at my side, unbeknownst to everyone else in the room.

We’re about twenty minutes into the movie before I suddenly remember that the popcorn exists. I nudge my thumb against Evie to get her attention before bringing the little tub into view. Well, anytime I think the word “little” I have to temper myself - to her the container is more like a koi fish pond. She straightens up, having also apparently forgotten about the treat until now, and nods excitedly. I put the bucket in my lap and pluck out one of the kernels to hand to her. She gives me a thumbs up and starts nibbling away at it.

I pick at the snack too, but I’m paying attention to the screen again so I’m not sure exactly what happens a few minutes later. Maybe the kernel I’d given her was burnt? Maybe it was mostly un-popped? Regardless, at some point she decided she needed another piece, and instead of getting my attention, she must have tried to reach out from the armrest to get it herself. I feel it more than I hear it, a slight shift of the container in my lap. And I look down to see a pair of tiny legs protruding from the popcorn and flailing wildly.

My breath hitches as I reach down, instinctively wanting to yank her back up by the legs. But in the dark I can’t tell which limb is which and I’m scared to touch the one that’s still healing. A second later, Evie wriggles into a seated position while managing not to sink deeper, her head popping out as if she was sitting in a foam pit. I’m surprised to see that she’s laughing, hard, completely caught in a fit of giggles. I can’t help breaking into quiet laughter myself, relieved that she seems fine.

“Why didn’t you just ask me for more?” I ask through a chuckle, digging a couple of fingers into the popcorn to fish her out.

“I felt dumb for having dropped the one you gave me!” she calls up. “I thought I had it… And now I’m covered in butter.”

My shoulders droop a little as I let out a slow sigh through my nose. She said the same thing the day she got injured. “I thought I had it.” Come on, girl. I know it sucks, but why can’t you just acknowledge your limits? When are you going to feel okay relying on me?

When I met up with Moira yesterday to get the reimagined “pocket protector,” this subject actually came up in conversation.

“How’s she doing?” Mo had asked, her expression turning a little more serious.

“Since you saw her yesterday?” I teased. She’s been at our apartment almost every weekday to be there for Evie while I’m at work.

“Yeah. She seemed kinda down - at least I think. It’s hard to tell sometimes.”

I became more serious too, both saddened and relieved to be reminded that I’m not the only one who sometimes feels unsure about what goes on in our friend’s head. “She’s alright,” I said, “Her leg’s doing a lot better today, after a couple of days of it getting worse, so she seemed in higher spirits this morning. Of course, if she stopped trying to do things by herself maybe it’d finish healing faster…”

Moira raised her eyebrows before prompting, “Sounds like that’s bothering you?”

I looked away, towards the window of the cafe we were at. “A little. I understand that she wants some amount of independence, this is nothing new. But… refusing to ask for help is part of why the injury was so bad in the first place. She was getting better about calling for me when she couldn’t walk at all, I guess she had no choice then. But now it’s like she’s going right back to her old habits.”

I hadn’t realized how much this was weighing on me until it all tumbled out. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

“In some ways she’s gotten much more open with me since she moved in, and in others she’s just as closed off as ever,” I finally muttered, still staring out the window. “After all this time, I just wish she’d be okay leaning on me more. I’m constantly worrying.”

I felt a pressure on my forearm and turned to see Moira had reached across the table to give it a squeeze. She had a small, sympathetic smile on her face.

“I say this with love,” she gently countered, “Because I know how much you’re always wanting to help people. Aiden, you can’t solve all of her problems for her.”

My jaw clenched as my first thought was, Maybe I could if she’d let me.

But instead all I said was a quiet, “I know.”

I gaze down at Evie as she pulls herself out of the popcorn and onto my hand. Even now she’s acting so apologetic through her laughter. Almost… deferential. As if I was her superior in some way, not just her friend.

I wonder why we have such a hard time finding the right balance. Should I have a more serious talk with her about it? I’m not sure what I’d say that I haven’t already tried to say. I don’t know how much of it is just something I’m building up in my own head, making a mountain out of a molehill. Hell, am I the one fully at fault here? Am I not respecting her enough?

Or could it be that… she still sees me as a threat, on some level? Is she afraid of opening up to me? I’m still not over what happened that night after my final exams - I still have moments where I wake up in a cold sweat, haunted by her screams. Maybe it’s the same with her, maybe it affects her more than she lets on…

My chest feels tight as for a second I look away from her, trying to get a hold of myself, and I glance up at the theater screen instead. The character in the movie is looking towards a mountain in the dark, and the music swells as the sunrise peeks over the mountain and lights up the sky, making the valley come to life. The artwork really is beautiful.

Why am I thinking about all this right now? I need to stop overanalyzing every little thing. We’re on what might be considered a first date, I don’t want anxiety to get in the way. I just want to enjoy this.

“Do you want to go wash off?” I ask Evie, “I can take you to a bathroom sink?”

“I think it’s pointless, it’s all over my outfit too and I don’t want wet clothes. You just gotta deal with me being covered in oil and salt.”

I grin and lift her to my face to kiss her upper back. I can only imagine what the couple on the other end of the row might be thinking if they notice my movements - maybe that I just have a really weird way of eating. But it’s dark, and from the way that I cup my hand around her, I’m confident that I’m keeping her hidden at least.

“Well the bonus is that you taste delicious now,” I mutter, still holding her against my mouth. “Maybe I should keep you right here for the rest of the movie.”

“There we go, that’s how we can wash me off! Like a cat.”

“Mmm, careful with your suggestions. You’re tempting fate,” I murmur, choosing not to actually use my tongue but still continuing to gently kiss her frame. Evie has residual giggles, and from the way she writhes against me I think I’m tickling her when I reach her waist. But she’s not pulling away, if anything she’s leaning into it.

And with that, I’m right back in my happy place, the anxiety dissipating. After all, the things I cherish about this girl far outweigh the parts that bother me. I adore her laugh. The ways she shows affection. The way she fits in the palm of my hand. I appreciate the sweet moments, and the silly ones - the times where we learn from each other or have fun together or relax in tandem. It’s all so worth it.

I’m a patient guy. Whatever reservations she has, I can wait for her to figure them out. All I can do is reach out my hand and open my heart. It’s up to her to decide what she wants to do with that. And I have every hope that we will find a balance.

Chapter 49
Evie

My boyfriend stands at the end of the bed, a crooked smile bringing a gentle warmth to his face. His brilliant blue eyes trail across the length of my body, hungry and eager. He was just in the middle of getting changed, so he’s currently shirtless, every toned and bulging muscle in his upper body on full display. I match his smile from my position sprawled on the bed, marveling at the sight of him. I’ve always thought that if he just let those platinum blonde locks of his grow out a little bit that he’d easily be able to pass off as a movie star.

And yet he’s the one looking at me with quite the lustful stare. “You look like something out of a painting,” he observes with a soft, deep voice. “My very own piece of art.”

These days the average person might think I’m a little bit underweight, actually. Up until not so long ago I’d been on my feet all day for my job, and I also didn’t have much opportunity to eat while working so… I’ve lost some weight in recent years. Of course I happen to be aware that my man prefers me slender, so I’m pretty careful about my diet anyway.

“You’re not so bad yourself, sir,” I say, stretching my arms over my head languidly and further tangling myself in the sheets.

He strolls around the corner of the bed so that he can reach me. He sits on the edge of the mattress and lays a hand over my abdomen, fingers splayed. Then he leans in, his head hovering above mine.

“How about you and I play a little game of dress up, hm? You still haven’t tried on that green dress.”

I laugh quietly at how excited he’s getting. “Can it wait until after dinner?” I ask, “It’s getting late.” I’m trying not to call him out too blatantly on how it was already 7pm when he got home from work.

“Oh… Darling.” His fingers grip me a little tighter, digging into my skin ever so slightly. “Are you really going to let me down like that?”

My blood turns to ice in my veins.

~~*

I had a nightmare last night. A series of them, really. They’re a bit of a blur now, but I can still remember bits and pieces. Our old apartment. The lush, secluded forest. The diner I used to work at.

I wouldn’t dare mention anything about the dreams out loud, but they have been haunting me throughout the entire day. For better or worse, though, I’ve been spending a whole lot of time alone today. Aiden had his TA class in the morning, extended office hours in the afternoon, and right after that he’s going out for a friend’s birthday. Moira was going to at least be here during the day, but then she ended up sick with a stomach bug. I insisted to my roommate that he should still go out and enjoy himself, that even though my leg has actually been hurting a little worse recently, I’ll still be fine on my own. He ultimately agreed but reassured me that he’d be back right after dinner.

Despite making some progress on painting minis and successfully packing up two new orders, I’m struggling. I don’t have much appetite. I startle easily at the slightest noise outside. It feels like an old ghost from my past has settled heavily onto my shoulders, deciding to haunt me relentlessly. It’s probably a good thing I’m by myself, actually.

"Hello, little girl. Are you lost?”

"Heh, come on, stop that. Hey, I’m almost legal now! I’m so excited. Then we won’t have to be so secretive on date nights like this.”

“Mmm, but I kind of like having you as my little secret… Here, let me get that for you. Shall we, darling?”

I chase the memory away, feeling nauseous. I toss my paintbrush onto a towel and go to my phone. Just gotta stay distracted. Keep the lid on. The background on the device is one of the pictures Aiden and I took together. Focus on him. This is who I’m with now. It’s nothing like back then. We genuinely care about each other, this is real.

My gaze slips to the picture of myself, standing there next to his face. That’s really how I look to the rest of the world, isn’t it? So small and pathetic…

Not that he minds.

Tears fall over my cheek out of nowhere. I wipe them away furiously. I haven’t allowed myself to think about this particular fear since I first found out about Aiden’s kink… Stop it, stop it. I’m more than just my size to him. I know that. Why can’t I trust it? I turn away from the phone.

“Wait, please… stop…”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Is that not to your liking, princess?”

“It… it hurts…”

“Hmm, that’s a shame. How about this then?”

“Ow, ow–!”

“What was that? Don’t tell me you’re not enjoying this. Are you really still so sensitive, darling? Do I need to toughen you up?"

“N-no… no. It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“That’s better. There’s a good girl.”

I clutch the sides of my head. “Stop,” I hiss out loud. That’s enough. Just because some old memories came back to me in a dream doesn’t mean I can let them dominate me like this. It’s all from so long ago, it’s so far away. That part of my life is over, and I can’t let old fear poison my current relationship… I go back to my old mantra. Don’t give up. Fight back. Work harder.

I turn on some music, go back to painting. And I continue to desperately shove all of my anxiety as deep underground as I can. I’m fine.

I’m so relieved when Aiden finally returns. I’m feeling pretty exhausted at this point and all I want is for him to hold me. I silently tell him as much, tugging on his forefinger as soon as it comes within my vicinity, and then pushing his hand open so that I can climb into it for him to pick me up. He happily greets me with a warm touch and a soft kiss.

“How was it?” I ask him, “Were things winding down by the time you left?”

“Nope,” he laughs, nuzzling into me with a happy sigh, “They’ll be out drinking for hours yet.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with them?”

“I’m sure. I love Diego like a brother, but he can be way too much sometimes. I’d rather be home with you.”

I ask him more about his day and he tells me. With a smile I’m reclining in his hand, my back leaning against the wall of his fingers as I listen and let my mind escape for a little bit. I figuratively walk through his schedule with him, posing the occasional question to lengthen the process.

By the end of it he’s holding me a tad lower, and then he looks me over. “You doing alright?”

Damnit. I wasn’t even saying much of anything, but he can already sense that something’s up. “Just a bit tired,” I say evasively.

“Oh… Did you want to get some sleep then? I don’t want to keep you up.”

Aiden’s lowering me further, back down to the desk, and I’m starting to think he might have a point. As much as I enjoy him, maybe some rest would do me good after the stresses of the day. I slide off his hand with a stumble, flinching at the pain in my leg from stepping on it weird. That certainly doesn’t help things. I just wish this damn injury would be over and done with already. The lingering pain has recently been making us worry that it’s not healing right, or that it might have some hidden infection after all.

I sit onto my bed with a sigh and when I look back up, I freeze at the sight of the giant’s face. He’s looking just past me, eyes unfocused, with an expression that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before. Not from him, at least. But it’s clear as day. Disappointment. He was looking forward to coming home and spending time with me. And now I’m failing him.

The heavy ghost of my nightmares tightens its grip on me. I feel a pain in my chest and my breath starts coming in more shallow. I can’t… I can’t let this just…

“I said I’m a bit tired,” I suddenly remark, catching his attention again. He perks up and it draws more out of me. I’m not even sure what I’m saying, it’s as if someone else is in the driver’s seat. “I got a lot of business stuff done today, it was more work than I thought it’d be… Maybe I just need some TLC.” I lay back on the bed, looking up at him suggestively.

Aiden smiles, reinvigorated and intrigued. “Well… I think I can help you there. If you like.”

He brings a finger up to gently brush the side of my face and the length of my neck. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. This is… nice, really. After the day I’ve had, maybe this is what I need after all. And it’ll make him happy, which is necessary. Er… I mean… it’s important. Important to me. Because I care about him. Obviously.

Anxiety continues to swirl at the pit of my stomach. My body starts moving of its own accord. I turn on my bed to encircle my arms around the me-sized index finger and kiss the lines of his fingerprint. His other hand joins in to softly massage my back, and I manage to let out a genuine sigh of pleasure. I’m still holding onto his finger and start wrapping my legs around it too.

Aiden chuckles. “Whatcha doing there, little monkey?”

“Just trying to touch you with as much of me as I can,” I say, clinging to him tightly. The pressure against my back strengthens and I sigh contentedly again.

“How can I make you feel good?” the giant murmurs. His tone is relaxed but clearly edging on seductive.

I’m not quite sure how to answer right now. “How can I make you feel good?” I counter, turning my head to look at him with my best attempt at a smirk.

“I asked first,” he laughs, “If I can help give you any kind of pleasure, that makes me feel good.”

Great. As kind as I know he’s being, now I have performance anxiety. Mechanically I take a slow breath, loosening my grip on him so that I can settle onto my back again. There’s a part of me that knows I should stop this. We’ve never gone farther than kissing and I’m pushing too hard, clearly forcing it. But I can’t really hear that part of me right now. Before I realize what I’m doing, I’ve pulled the hem of my shirt up a couple of inches, revealing a thin strip of bare skin. Aiden follows my cue and carefully touches the space, creating a tickling against my stomach.

I close my eyes. Take the finger between both hands. And I start pulling the digit up. Along the length of my abdomen. Slipping under my shirt. Covering up more of my skin.

“Wait, hold on.”

My eyes fly open, and the pain in my chest tightens. I look up to see Aiden’s brow is slightly furrowed. “You’re really tense. Are you okay, am I hurting you?”

“No!” I say quickly, plastering a reassuring smile on. “Not at all, I’m fine. Come on.” I try to pull his finger again but it holds firm.

“Is… something wrong, Eve?” He’s still frowning. Shit.

“No, really, I’m fine! Please. I want you…”

Trapped in a vortex of anxiety, I yank on the giant digit, try to press it against my breasts, anything to get his attention again. Anything to please him. But it has the opposite effect - Aiden pulls his hand away completely. My arms grasp at air for a second, and I shoot up into a seated position on the bed.

He settles his hand right next to the bed and leans in a bit closer to get a better look at me. His brow is still creased, he looks worried. “We don’t have to move so quickly. Clearly you’re uncomfortable, Evie. What’s up? Talk to me.”

Panic is blooming inside me, as much as I’m trying to maintain a calm facade. That quiet, more rational part of my brain is admonishing me. Of course it wouldn’t work with Aiden. He’s nothing like the ghost of my past. What was I expecting? But then the louder, more primal part of me is very insistent.

“I thought this might be part of your… fantasies?” I try, again forcing a smile. “Aren’t you into this?”

His frown deepens, each misguided attempt making things worse and worse. “I’m not into you forcing yourself,” he says plainly.

My hands have started shaking. Every alarm bell is ringing.

“Please… I’ll do anything," I say quietly.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?"

“It’s not… Nothing’s wrong. I’m sorry, it’s fine. Please just let me–”

I slide off of the bed, reach out for his nearby fingers like it’s my salvation. But before I can reach him he pulls away again, sliding his hand all the way to the edge of the desk. This time when I look up at him, the worried expression also holds an edge of frustration.

"Stop,” he says, “I’m sorry, but… I’m not buying it. Not this time. Can’t you tell me what’s on your mind? Did I do something?”

I kneel there on the table, fidgeting as I sit back on my heels. I don’t know what to do. I’m not even sure how to begin talking about the complicated emotions swirling inside me. And there’s no way I can tell him why I’m feeling this way, he can’t know about all of those memories that I’ve been fighting all day. But right now, I’m ruining things. It feels like I’m on the edge of a precipice. As if everything’s about to fall apart. I’m not thinking straight, consumed by a fear of losing everything. Our relationship, my everyday life, the shelter and care that I so desperately need, it suddenly feels like it’s all in jeopardy.

“I’m sorry,” I gasp, my voice getting weaker by the second, “I’m sorry. Please, I don’t mean to be a problem… I can be better, I just… just… please let me… stay…”

“What? That’s what you’re worrying about right now?” His voice makes me flinch and I struggle to meet his gaze. There’s something in it that’s frightening me. “I don’t understand why this keeps coming up,” he says with growing agitation, “Are you really afraid I’ll kick you out? What, abandon you on the street, is that what you think?”

I shake my head desperately. “No! No, no, no… I… I know you wouldn’t. I know we’ve got this good thing going. Especially since you like me small like this, I didn’t mean–”

“Wait,” Aiden interrupts in a low voice. “What did you just say? Especially since I…"

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.

With one shaky breath… I try. I try to share the thing that deep down has been such a source of anxiety for me since he first told me about his fantasies over a month ago.

“I guess I… Sometimes I wonder if you like me… or if you like the idea of me…”

“What?!” I cower at the raised volume, still struggling to look him in the eye. He’s hard to read - he looks confused, shocked, a whole slew of things. But right now, all I can interpret is… a look of disgust. A resentment for me accusing him of such a thing. A sense of betrayal for having taken information that he had been scared to tell me and turning it against him.

I furiously backpedal. “I don’t know, I don’t know! Forget I said anything. M-maybe I should just go to bed…”

The giant shakes his head, his tone more and more intent. “No, hold on, that’s important. We should talk about this!”

“It’s okay, that was stupid, I didn’t mean it. It felt dumb the second it left my mouth.” I look to his hand, resting a dozen feet away. I start crawling forward to reach it, employing as soothing a voice as I can, “Please, Aiden… Everything’s fine. Let’s just–"

And that’s when I can tell he’s clearly irritated. He pulls his hand right off the table before I can reach it, leaving emptiness in its wake. “I wish you’d stop that,” he growls, “Just stop… placating me all the time.”

“I’m not… I mean… I…”

It’s too much. I stare across the gap at his chest, so far from where I’m sitting near the edge of the desk. It’s hopeless. I can’t reach him, physically or otherwise. I’m too small… and too weak of a person.

I start to shut down. I kneel there, my facial features smoothing out as I stare into space. I feel numb. Aiden notices my shift in demeanor and moves his chair further back, so that he has the space to lean forward, lowering his face to try to pull in my gaze.

“Why don’t you want to talk?” he asks, “Do I scare you? Is that… Is that why you never want to ask me for help? Is the fact that I’m bigger still intimidating? Especially after some of what’s happened - like when I grabbed you, or the time I hit your head?” He’s gone back to sounding concerned, but there’s a tension underneath.

“No,” I say, my tone more detached now, “Those were accidents. We’ve learned from them. You’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Then why? Why won’t you lean on me more? Why won’t you just… just confide in me? Clearly I must have done something.”

“No, you haven’t.” I let my chin lower, looking past him. “I’m the problem. I’m always just… worrying you’ll eventually see me as a… burden…”

His frustration rushes right back in. “Well, stop! I’ll say it a hundred million times, you speaking out or needing help doesn’t bother me. You know what’s a burden? Never knowing what’s actually going on in your head every time you close up like this!”

My face lowers further and my eyes squeeze shut. No matter what my best efforts were… I’ve caused trouble for him after all. Figures. Being vulnerable with someone used to be the problem. And now not being vulnerable with someone is the problem. There’s no winning.

With a herculean effort, I keep tears from falling and look back up at Aiden, eyes shining. My tone is harsh with the tension in my body as I ask, “What do you want from me?”

He sighs heavily, looking pained. “I just want you to be honest. I want you to stop bottling up your feelings and just tell me when something’s bothering you…” He puts his face in his hands and I can practically hear him gritting his teeth. “God, Eve, you know every last dirty little secret about me. But I feel like half of the times you’ve opened up to me it’s because I’ve had to pry you open.”

“I’m not… I’m not hiding anything.” This is the first time I’m blatantly lying. I’m overstimulated and this is me lashing out, as useless as I know it is. Aiden lifts his head, and for several long seconds we’re at a stalemate. We glare at each other in silence, neither one of us knowing how to handle the pent-up emotions that the other has been suppressing for so long.

But even this is hopeless. I’m trying to stare down a man who’s as tall as a skyscraper. Who could obliterate me with zero effort if he wanted to. Of course he wouldn’t, but I don’t actually know what he’s capable of if pushed too far. There’s no way I’m not going to feel intimidated by the thinly veiled anger of the titan before me. And it’s not like I can walk away from this conversation either. I’m at his mercy and I know it.

Finally I cave. My scowl deepens and I choke out, “I don’t know… wh-what you want me to tell you…”

Aiden doesn’t say anything for several seconds. Out of nowhere, piercing the air like the sound of breaking glass, there’s a buzzing sound. The giant tsk’s with annoyance and pulls his phone out of his pocket, but he dismisses whatever it was trying to tell him, and the buzzing stops. I’m knocked off kilter from the distraction when he looks back at me and immediately speaks.

“Why don’t you want to go to the police?”

I go very still. Any anger that I was feeling completely vanishes. “W-what?” I stutter.

“Why are you so afraid of getting outside help?” he insists, not backing down in the slightest. “You’ve clammed up every time it’s come up. And you should’ve seen yourself after we ran into that police officer at the lab.” His eyebrows curve with concern. “Are you in some kind of trouble?”

“N-no!” I yelp, “I’m not… I mean… I’m not in… It’s not what you think…”

“I don’t know what to think!” Aiden’s hands are suddenly back on either side of me. He clearly isn’t sure whether touching me would be a good or bad thing right now, his fingertips hovering so close that I can feel their warmth. “Evie, whatever it is, you can trust me. Don’t you trust me by now?”

I shake my head, close to hyperventilating. I stare at the ground and say, “I can’t do this…”

“Why not?”

“You think you want to know… they always say they want to know, until…”

“Please. I’m begging you.”

No, no, not those words… I sit in terrified silence. Keeping my head down. Refusing to look at him.

“Just talk to me, goddamnit!” Aiden snaps. The massive hands that surround me land on the edge of the table, causing it to shudder and for me to almost lose balance. I gasp - he didn’t quite yell that, but it’s as close as he’s ever come. I whimper and cower and come no closer to looking at him, only curling in on myself further.

And then there’s the buzzing sound once more. It’s his phone again, receiving another call. He pulls his hands away, sighing with frustration.

“I need to take this real quick…” He takes his phone out again, swiping at it. He doesn’t manage to mask his tension as he answers, “Hey. Everything okay?”

I slowly raise my head with a small shard of curiosity, though my breath is still coming out ragged. This is accidentally providing me with a bit of a break. A welcome diversion. I can’t quite make out what the person on the other end is saying, but it’s a male voice, and rather loud. There seems to be a lot of commotion in the background too.

Aiden frowns, a new kind of annoyance blossoming. “Sorry but I told you earlier, I can’t tonight. Listen, man, this really isn’t a good time–” He falls silent as the other voice interrupts him and speaks for a while. “No, I hear you, um… Have you tried calling Steve? Or Moira? Wait, no, she’s sick… Okay, well you’ll just have to get an Uber or something, then, okay? I’m happy to pay for it if it helps. Happy birthday.”

The voice on the other end continues to insist and Aiden looks increasingly exasperated. I slowly get to my feet, and the motion is enough to catch the giant’s attention. “Go,” I mouth at him. His frown deepens, and just in case he didn’t understand, I speak out loud this time. “Go.”

He holds my gaze for a moment. “Hold on a sec,” he finally says, and he taps the mute button on his phone. “You really want me to leave right now?” he asks me, the hurt plain on his face. “Seriously?”

Despite the tears running down my cheeks, I manage one last calm sentence. “I think I need some space.”

Aiden’s jaw clenches and his eyes shine with tears of his own - I don’t know if they’re sad or angry ones - before he unmutes his phone. “Yeah, okay, fine. I’m heading over.” And without even looking at me, he gets up… and leaves the apartment. The door closes a bit more forcefully than usual, the sound reverberating like thunder until everything fades into unnerving stillness.

There had been no point in me standing up. I’ve collapsed right back onto my knees, and then my hands, and then I let my head fall onto the ground. The tears continue to fall, though I’m not quite crying. I don’t make a sound. I just hold very, very still as I slip into a state of unadulterated, mind-numbing fear.

~~*

I’m in a lush green forest, hardly noticing the chill in the air or the distant call of birds singing. I’ve been to these woods a couple of times, but we’ve never been this deep before. There’s no sign of even a path, much less any other people, just thick foliage as far as the eye can see.

My boyfriend, if I should still call him that, is on his knees in front of me. His hands are wrapped around my wrists, his head lowered with his brow leaned against my stomach. He’s shaking. Crying.

"Please,” he gasps, “I’ll be better… You have to believe me, I’ll change… Just please don’t do this. Please, I’m begging you…”

My face is covered in tears too. "Brock,” I say dejectedly, “I’ve heard that too many times. I always tell you that it’s fine, but… it’s not. We can’t keep doing this. We have to end it.”

His hands tighten their grip, squeezing me so hard it hurts. And then, in a blur of movement, he’s on his feet, suddenly looming over me. He reaches to his waistband and I gasp as he pulls out a handgun. He looks at me manically, his eyes wide as he puts the gun to his own temple.

"Then I’ll end it!” he yells, his cries echoing and halting all birdsong. “Is that what you fucking want?! To have another life on your conscience?! I’ll end it right here and now!”

I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s carrying some kind of firearm. But I’ve never seen him pull it out like this. No wonder he brought me so deep into the woods. My heart is racing and my mouth opens but no sound comes out.

Brock steps closer, looking crazed as he breathes hard. "And then? What are you going to do without me? Think about it for two seconds. You have no money. No schooling. No skills to offer other than, what – fucking waitressing?” He takes another step, coming alarmingly close, his face inches away from mine. “And what about your mother’s death? Forgot that little detail, did you, darling? Do you really think anyone will believe you if I’m not there to defend you? You think they wouldn’t have hauled you off in handcuffs the first chance they had?!”

I’m afraid to make sudden movements but I can’t help taking a step back, and I feel my shoulders hit a tree. Dizzily I begin crumbling to the forest floor, collapsing into a seat. I lower my head submissively, trembling from head to toe. I can’t face him. I don’t know what he’s capable of anymore. My only option is to wait. Wait… and then run. Just have to get past this.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Brock’s arm drop back down. With much more calm, he puts the gun back into its holster, and then he crouches in front of me. I hold my breath, unable to look at him as he puts his hand to my cheek.

"Never forget that,” he says icily, the cold composure filling me with even more dread than when he was yelling. “Without my testimony you’re nothing. You’ve got no future. Come on, baby… don’t you get it?”

His hand moves to my chin now. His fingertips press against my jaw as he forces me to look up at him.

“You. Need. Me.”

~~*

I have no idea how much time has passed. I’m just collapsed on the desk for hours on end. I have nowhere to run to. No choices at my disposal. It gets darker and darker around me as the setting sun gives way to the night, but I don’t get up to turn the desk lamp on. I just sit there in a heap. Frozen. Paralyzed.

Until I hear a sound. I’m not even sure what I’ll do when I see Aiden again, I haven’t thought through anything at all. But that’s not what I’m worrying about right now. I can tell even before the door opens that he’s not alone.

Operating on pure instinct, I skitter backwards as the key goes into the lock and then I see the silhouette of some monstrous shape that lumbers into the room. I hide behind my bed, peeking over it to realize that my roommate is there, yes, but there’s someone else who’s slumped onto him, one arm draped over his shoulders. And… the other person is huge. I’m not just talking normal levels of huge in comparison to my three inch frame. He looks to be a head taller than Aiden and nearly twice as broad. I duck down behind the bed again, not daring to look any longer.

I hear the two men stumble further in, grunting with effort. Then I jump at the booming sound of the stranger’s voice.

“Oh yeaaaah! I forgot you had a washer an’ dryerrr,” he says, slurring his words, “You ‘member when I’d mooch off of you last year, bro? When our washer broke? Good tiiiimes.”

“Yes, I remember,” Aiden’s voice is both very tired and clearly on the brink of his patience. “Oh, come on, Diego!”

There’s a loud, resounding thump as I guess that the new guy has just fallen to his knees. “I jus’… restin’ for a sec…”

The more familiar giant sighs. “Okay, just… don’t move. I’ll go change the sheets on the bed and help you in. Just stay here.”

“Mmkaaaay. Thanks for lettin’ me staaaay.”

“Don’t mention it. Please.”

There’s the sound of footsteps and I can’t help stealing another glance, this time from past the side of the bed. Sure enough, I can only see the drooped form of this unfamiliar behemoth in the living room now. I quickly hide again - he’s closer than I realized.

There’s a brief shuffling near the couch, I think he’s messing with a cushion or something. And then there’s more noise… it sounds like he’s getting to his feet… and the single thing I was most afraid of happens. He’s shambling towards the desk.

I have to hold a hand over my mouth to keep from crying out at a sudden, brief earthquake that would have knocked me over if I was standing. I don’t know if the titan has kicked the desk or hit an elbow on it or what. But clearly he was drawn to whatever tiny odd things he noticed sitting on the table’s surface, visible even in just the dim light of the street lamps outside. I can hear his breathing and catch the smell of booze, the proximity absolutely terrifying. There isn’t really space for me to get underneath my bed, but I crouch down and press myself up against my hiding spot as I hold as still as I possibly can.

Diego seems to chuckle with amusement and I hear something fall over less than a dozen feet away - one of my clothing shelves, I think. Aiden, where are you? I wonder desperately.

No sooner do I have that thought when out of nowhere I’m knocked backwards. I wince involuntarily from falling onto my butt and then watch in horror as my bed is lifted up into the sky. My breath comes in shallow as I take in the scale of this monster of a man. I can’t be much taller than his pinky finger.

I don’t know if it was the sound that I made or if he’d already realized I was there, but… he’s looking at me. There’s no avoiding it, our eyes have met and his are widening with shock. I’ve been discovered. By a very large and very inebriated giant.

Diego blinks a couple of times and wavers slightly on the spot from his kneeled position. Finally he thunders, “What the fuck?” and his free hand is reaching for me, quickly taking up more and more of my vision. I can’t process the nightmare. The built up stress has turned me into a wreck and I’m not in control of my body when I fly into a full-on panic. I scream.

Chapter 51
Evie

It was a dreamless sleep, thankfully. No more nightmares. I’ve done enough reliving the past.

I jolt awake, thrown off by my unfamiliar surroundings. I’m on a surface that’s way bigger than the bed I normally sleep on, green cloth stretching in every direction. There’s an edge to the fabric, and beyond that is a darker shade of green that… oh. I see now. Aiden must have put me on the pillow on his bed. I don’t even remember going to sleep last night. We had that long talk, and I think at some point I crawled into his outstretched hand… I guess I drifted off in the middle of a conversation. I was so exhausted that I must have just slept through getting relocated to this pillow. He’s even cut out another scrap of fabric so that he could lay a blanket over me.

Aiden’s still here, sitting on the floor by the bed, to watch over me I suppose. But he must have eventually dozed off too, he’s doubled over forward with the side of his head sitting on the mattress, a hundred feet away from where I am now.

He’s still… here. I mean, obviously he’s here, physically, but… Wow. I haven’t lost him. I can’t believe I told him everything last night. It’s so surreal, I have to remind myself that it wasn’t a dream. I’m still a bit wary - in the past the negative effects of me talking about my story weren’t always immediate. But from his reaction and what I know of him, I really believe things will be different this time.

There’s a lot of sunlight in the room, it’s almost blinding actually. I’m not sure how late we were up talking, but we must have been reaching the wee hours of the morning, so maybe now it’s late morning? I’m not sure. I’m still feeling pretty drained, truth be told.

I sit upright and wince at a soreness in my side. I rub my eyes groggily and push my hair back, feeling like a total mess. Yesterday was so stressful, and I did so much crying and screaming and hyperventilating that my throat still hurts now. I’m nowhere near as anxious anymore, but I’m still in the midst of recovering from all that drama. I just need some time.

With a budding smile, I scoot a little closer to the edge of the pillow as I gaze out at my favorite giant. He doesn’t exactly look comfortable with his back hunched over and his neck bent at an odd angle, but it still feels rather peaceful to see him quietly dozing. Which is an interesting thought considering what happened the last time I saw him fall asleep. It’s like I should be scared, but I’m just not. So much happened last night and tensions ran high, but none of my affection for him has gone anywhere. If anything I care about him more than ever.

I flinch at the sound of a muffled thump through the wall. Oh… shit. How on earth did I forget that we have a guest?! That’s the entire reason we’re even in this room! It suddenly all rushes back to me, and I realize where the soreness in my side comes from. Unfamiliar tree trunk like fingers plucking me roughly from where I sat, hurtling me into the air and enveloping me into the darkness of a fist… I shudder. I should actually be thankful that Diego was as careful as he was, considering how clearly drunk he was. But regardless of anything else, we now have to deal with the fact that my cover is blown.

There’s more shuffling outside, though from the location of where the noise is coming from I think the other titan is still on the couch. But he’s definitely stirring. I carefully climb off of the pillow and make the trek across the mattress so that I can reach Aiden. It’s like walking through sand as I sink slightly into the sheets with every step. Thankfully he’s not too far away and soon I’m feeling the breeze of his slow, deep breath roll over my feet.

Being careful not to wake him up too suddenly, I decide to approach the sleeping giant’s forehead and gently touch the dark hair of his bangs. He feels the slight tickle and frowns, his eyes squeezing tighter shut before relaxing again - he’s twitching a little but still asleep. I reach out a second time, placing my palm directly against his skin. The reaction is surprisingly different this time. He goes very, very still, but his eyes slowly start blinking open.

I smile and kiss his forehead. In one smooth motion, he both tilts his head up and pulls it backward to catch sight of me. He smiles sleepily and mutters, “Hey, you.”

“Good morning,” I say, sounding pretty out of it myself. “Um… I think your friend might be up.”

“Oh. Right.”

Aiden brings a hand up to the mattress so that he can push himself upright with a groan. He rubs at the nape of his neck, shaking his head as if trying to dispel the sleepy haze.

“I’m sorry I brought him here,” he says, keeping his voice particularly quiet so as to not be overheard. “He lost his house keys while we were out, I couldn’t think of what to do… I should have called up a different friend or something…”

“That’s alright,” I assure him, “I don’t blame you for wanting to help a friend out. And he didn’t hurt me, but… he did see me.”

Aiden nods, eyes unfocused for a moment as he also recalls what happened right before we retreated to his bedroom. When he looks at me again he seems conflicted. “What do you want to do? I can try to convince him that he was just seeing things.”

“Ugh, I don’t want to make you lie to him like that… Plus he’s seen all my stuff too, that’s harder to explain."

I don’t like someone else finding out about me. It took a whole lot of convincing to get me to meet Moira, and that was in a much more controlled situation. But now I’m feeling like I don’t have much of a choice.

“He’s not a bad guy, right?” I say, trying to convince myself more than anything.

“Right. I’m really annoyed with him at the moment, but he’s a good person. He’s just a lot.”

I can’t help smiling wryly. “You know, you’ve said that more than once, but I always thought you were referring to his personality. Didn’t know you meant it literally.”

“I meant it both ways,” Aiden says with a sigh.

“It’s weird, I don’t remember him being that tall in class.”

“Well, I suppose you have a bit of a different perspective now.”

There’s another thump from the living room, and this time I would guess that it’s from Diego getting off of the couch. Sure enough I can hear it from past the wall… footsteps.

“You don’t think he’ll try grabbing me again?” I ask nervously, hurrying forward on the mattress to get closer to Aiden.

He notices where I’m heading and leans in, offering me an open hand. “No, no, I won’t let him. He’s not–”

There’s a knock at the bedroom door, and the sound makes me feel jumpy enough to quickly scurry onto my protector’s palm. A male voice booms from just outside, and even though it’s muffled it’s still so all-encompassing.

“Hey, Aiden? You in there, bro?”

Well… Here we go. The hand platform I’m on lifts up and up as Aiden gets to his feet and holds me up to his chest. I both hear and feel him take a deep breath in and out to steady himself, and I imitate him in turn. Then he’s walking over, reaching out to unlock the door.

“Yeah, I’m still here,” he says, “I actually, uh… I have someone to introduce you to. Just chill, okay? Don’t get too loud.”

My heart’s hammering hard against my sternum as he opens the door, and the colossus that I’ve only briefly encountered waits on the other side. He looks even more exhausted than either one of us does, and from the way he squints at the slight influx of light, I can tell that he’s sporting quite the hangover. He’s not so terrifyingly monstrous looking in the light of day, now that I’m no longer in as much of a vulnerable state. I’m recognizing him a little better from when I saw him in class - deep dark eyes, warm bronze skin and thick black hair, currently in a state of disarray. But even though he’s looking more human he’s still very… very large. Despite Aiden holding me up, I have to tilt my head way back to look at him.

Diego’s eyes find me quickly. It’s not quite the same level of shock as yesterday, just a moment of frowning and staring as I sit there, feeling tense in anticipation. But then to my surprise, his features relax and he lets out a deep sigh.

"Shit, you have no idea how relieved I am that I wasn’t hallucinating,” he says, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, “I’d already sworn off alcohol.”

“Still probably not a bad idea,” Aiden responds with an edge to his voice.

“Well, I guess this explains all that stuff on the desk.” Diego looks at me again and this time he smiles and crouches down a little, lowering his head to better address me. “So what are you supposed to be then, some kind of little elf?”

I can feel the hand I’m sitting in tense up, the fingers curling slightly around me in a protective gesture. “She’s a person, Diego,” Aiden growls.

Of all things, this is what sets me at ease. I glance up at my giant and I’m finding myself suppressing laughter. He’s like my own oversized guard dog. Down, boy, I think, giving his thumb a comforting tap, and then I turn my attention to our guest.

"I’m Evie,” I say, raising my voice more than I usually might. “We used to all be in biochem together.”

Diego balks at this. “Wait, what? You’re–” I inhale sharply as he moves closer to get a better look at me, staring into my face with more discerning eyes. “Holy fuck, what happened to you?!”

“Easy,” Aiden interjects, reaching an arm out to stop the titan from getting too close. “Not so loud, remember?”

"It’s a long story,” I pipe up shakily, not knowing how else to explain it right now.

Hardly noticing the hand that’s pressing against his shoulder, Diego keeps his eyes glued to my small form as he stands back to his full height. "That’s gotta be some story. Have you seen a doctor? You, uh… you might want to get that checked out.”

I hear an intake of breath above my head, a small gasp of sudden realization. "Wait,” Aiden says slowly, “You’re in nursing school.”

"Okay, fair point, I’d have no idea where to start with this, not really sure what a doctor would do…”

"No, it’s… I think we could use your help.”

Ten minutes later, I’m back on my own bed again, oddly enough. Prone on my stomach, I’m letting my leg get examined by someone who’s actually somewhat qualified to evaluate how it’s doing and whether the continued pain I’ve been dealing with is normal. Aiden had briefly left the room with me to make sure I’d be okay with the exam, and yes I’m a little nervous turning my back on a gargantuan stranger, but I think it’s worth making sure it’s properly healing.

“How long ago did this happen?” Diego asks, peering through a magnifying glass at the long, still visible cut. I can’t believe how easily he was able to switch into business mode, he’s honestly been taking the idea of a shrunken person remarkably well. I feel the side of his thumb against my calf, tugging slightly on the skin.

“About a month ago, I think?” I say, trying to think back.

There’s the click of a phone button as Aiden checks a calendar. “Yeah, just over four weeks,” he confirms.

“Gotcha,” Diego muses, “This is looking pretty good for four weeks, actually. No signs of infection either - and you’d know by now. You really would’ve benefited from sutures though, this is gonna leave a scar. Lift your leg up for me?”

I obey, bending my leg and raising my knee. The nurse-in-training slips his fingers underneath, carefully taking my calf in a pincer grasp. His skin is even warmer than what I’m used to, something I didn’t notice last night. I try not to imagine how tiny my limb must look to him, and I talk some more to keep my mind distracted. “Aren’t I too small to get stitched up?”

“Nah, not if it’s this sizeable. Microsurgery is a thing,” the giant sounds unperturbed as he slowly moves my leg around, this way and that. “Modern medicine is amazing, man. Okay, does this hurt?”

There’s a pressure in the back of my knee but I tell him that it’s not painful. He continues to poke and prod as he checks for sensitive areas, and I’m starting to feel more and more impressed. Judging from his overall demeanor, I thought he’d be a lot rougher than this. I guess he likely has a lot of experience doing delicate tasks, considering his intended profession, so his hand control is pretty amazing for his size. Thank goodness.

I feel the edge of his thumb roll over the sole of my foot, and then there’s a pinching around my ankle as my leg is suddenly lifted a little higher.

“Hehehe, look at that,” Diego chuckles, “Such itty bitty feet.”

“Dude… Focus,” Aiden sighs, “And be careful, please.”

“Aw come on, it’s not every day I get such a miniature patient. I’m as careful as can be.”

Another minute or so passes, until my leg suddenly spasms from whatever pressure he just put on it. It doesn’t hurt, but I still yelp, “Ahh, I definitely feel that.”

"Got it. That’s actually a good sign, you should feel that. I’m going to lift your hips now, okay?”

His fingers move to pinch either side of my waist and Aiden jumps in, "Wait a sec, careful with the–”

"I know, I got it. Yeesh, I get that she’s tiny but she’s not nearly as fragile as you think, bro.” There’s a warm nudge against my ribs. "Does he always treat you like you’re made of tissue paper?”

I smile against my pillow before responding, "Well, I did manage to handicap myself…”

"And look how well you’re doing now, just a few weeks later with no stitches. You’re a hardy lil’ thing. Alright, can you flip back over?”

I roll onto my back, and while I was getting used to Diego’s presence, now seeing him looming overhead like this is making me feel intimidated all over again. He pushes my knee up towards my stomach, then pulls it out to the side, and Jesus Christ his fingers are as big as mountain lions and one wrong move could snap a bone with ease– I shift my attention to the more distant face in the background, calling out to him as I try to stay distracted.

“Hey Aiden?" I yell, "Would you mind checking on Moira? She said she’d swing by today but if she’s still sick…”

“Wait,” Diego interrupts, and he suddenly sits up straight. “Moira? Our Moira?” He swings his head around to look at the other giant. “You told her about this but you didn’t tell me?”

Aiden’s already pulled his phone out to do what I’d asked, but then he pauses to give his friend a look. “Think about it.” He holds both hands out and gestures with the one holding the phone. “Gentle, sweet little Moira…” His other hand then motions to Diego. “…versus King Kong over here.”

“Alright alright, fuck, I get it,” the larger titan grumbles, turning back to me, “The little shrimp prefers littler people. Although I’m doing a pretty good job being ‘gentle and sweet’ - aren’t I, Shrimp?” he quips, leaning in to give me a lighthearted smile.

I can see Aiden looking positively murderous at the choice of nickname that was just used. But before he can say anything, to my own surprise, I just start laughing and quip right back. “You’re doing great, Kong.”

He laughs too, though his attention is back on his work as he finishes up one last leg stretch. “I like this girl. Sit up for me, Evie?”

I push myself up and turn to let my legs dangle over the edge of the bed. For the next minute or two he asks me to do a series of movements with both limbs - lifting each knee in turn, straightening each leg out, curling and spreading my toes, and so on. Finally it seems the exam has come to a close.

"I’m not an orthopedist,” Diego concludes, “but as far as I can tell, you’ve got good range of motion, and I don’t think there was any nerve damage. My guess is that the recent pain’s just from overdoing it without properly easing back into things. I’ll write down some exercises for you to build that muscle back up, ‘kay? At the rate you’re going, I bet you won’t even feel anything two weeks from now.”

"Thank you,” I say, with a relieved sigh.

"Don’t mention it! That was fun! Got my mind off this damn headache. Oh, by the way…” He rolls the chair back and glances between both Aiden and I while pointing over to the side of the desk. “I was looking through your first aid stuff earlier. We should probably get you guys some liquid bandage for emergencies, that’d be easier than using these kinds of dressings. Even Star uses it on some of the smaller animals.”

Damn. Having someone who’s actually knowledgeable about this stuff is really coming in handy. But I’m distracted as I frown and look past Diego. “Who’s Star?” I mouth in Aiden’s direction.

“His wife,” he explains. “She’s that friend who’s a vet at the place I worked at.” I’m still a little confused about the rather unusual name, and it’s clearly showing on my face because he adds, “Her actual name’s Estella. We call her that because–”

“Because she’s the star of my life!” Diego interjects, sweeping his arms out dramatically, “The most beautiful, wonderful woman I could ever ask for!”

“…because he read her name wrong when he first met her,” Aiden continues with a growing smile, “He thought her name tag said ‘Estrella.’ Which is Spanish for–”

“Shut the fuck uuuup, dude!” The larger titan gets to his feet to wrap one beefy arm around his shorter friend’s neck in a headlock, “Why you always gotta make me look bad in front of new people?!”

The scene looks a little more intense from my perspective, but the two wrestling kaijus are both beaming and now I’m giggling too. I’m starting to get a sense of how their friendship works.

“You know,” Diego says suddenly, looking back down at me, “Star might actually be the better person to help you out with injuries, if something like this ever happens again. She’s more used to tiny critters, I know she stitched up a hamster’s leg before.” He pauses as he seems to think of something, looking between the both of us again. “I can tell her about this, right?”

Just like he did before this morning’s introduction, Aiden’s looking conflicted again, his smile quickly vanishing. “Um… You know I think Star’s great, but… we’re really trying to keep this on the DL, man. Moira’s the only other person who knows, we weren’t planning on telling anyone else yet.”

“Oh come on,” Diego whines, “You can’t make me keep this a secret from her! I mean… I will if I have to, I’ll just… pretend it’s a HIPAA thing, I guess…”

I keep surprising myself this morning. It’s crazy what unloading a lifetime’s worth of anxiety will do to a person. “No,” I call up, “It’s alright, you can tell her. Just her, though… please.”

A wide, joyful grin lights up Diego’s face. “You got it, Shrimp! Don’t worry, she can definitely keep a secret. Ohhhh and then you can meet her! How about it, we’ll have you guys come over for dinner in a few days? It’ll be great!”

I smile weakly, bracing myself as my world continues to expand. Honestly, it might very well be a boon to have both a nurse and a veterinarian to turn to for help if I’m dealing with any kind of medical issue. Yes, I’m still nervous about more people knowing about me. But at the same time, the thought of having a couple more friends in my circle… it doesn’t sound too bad.

Chapter 52
Evie

We hang out with Diego for a couple of hours that morning - afternoon? - while we wait for Star to get back from out of town. Aiden makes some food, and we fill in my new acquaintance on what actually happened to me back in February and how we’ve been managing since. I come to like the guy, even though he really is “a bit much.” I’ll admit that I’m relieved when his wife finally swings by to pick him up. Thankfully there’s no insisting on me needing to make her acquaintance today - even Diego figures he should probably talk to her first. I’m open to meeting her, but the past 24 hours have been a lot and I’m bone-tired.

Once he’s gone, Aiden and I both agree that we need a nap in our own beds. After a good two hours of rest and eventually a light dinner, we finally start to feel more like ourselves again.

In a silent request to join him on his journey to the kitchen, I climb aboard the giant’s plate once we’ve finished eating. “Couch cuddles after this?” I suggest with a smile.

He perks up with a nod and delicately lifts the plate with me in tow. “Yes please.”

The dishes are tended to, and now we can finally relax together. Aiden lets out an audible exhale when he sits on the couch, and I’m already wriggling between his fingers in anticipation as he stretches his legs out and then lowers me to his stomach. I touch down just above his navel and collapse into a happy heap, sprawling out on his shirt as if I’m feeling out a luxurious bed. I’m shaken by a chuckle and look up to see a giant face gazing down at me from the sky, before it disappears as he leans all the way back onto the armrest.

That nap apparently gave me some good energy back. The hand that was carrying me settles just behind me to soon become my blanket, but I want to get closer to his face first, and I want to get there myself. I start climbing, grabbing at the thick fabric of his shirt to help me traverse the angled plain of his body. Up past his ribs, and then over the subtle hill of one of his pecs as I fight to stay stable through each rise and fall of his breath.

I think Aiden’s enjoying my little escapade. I hear the occasional whoosh of a content sigh and his muscles seem to be relaxing underneath me. I’m still being mindful of my leg, so it takes me several minutes to traverse his torso. But finally I make it to the top of his chest, and I hoist myself over the tree root-like hump of his clavicle. I park my rear right in the dip above the collarbone, and I lay back, feeling rather proud of myself for journeying all the way up here. I’m getting pretty skilled at this whole being tiny business.

“You feel good,” Aiden murmurs, and his hand finally catches up with me, an idle finger trailing against my arm.

“You are good,” I respond, reaching up to kiss the base of his neck.

For a long while we don’t need any more words. We just exist together, unburdened and at peace. The minutes pass in silence as I gaze up the length of the giant’s neck and the underside of his jaw, taking in every last detail. It’s a little strange - we’re not the same people we were a day ago. At least, I’m not. The simple act of telling my story last night has left me feeling like a new woman.

But… I’m not sure how it makes him feel. I should probably check in on that.

I eventually sit up and shimmy over to the center of his chest so that I can slide down his sternum. As if stirring from sleep, despite being dutifully awake, Aiden turns and readjusts his head to watch my progress.

“Where to?” he asks with a curious smile.

I stop right above his diaphragm and turn to sit cross-legged with my face aimed upwards. I start the conversation gently.

“I just wanted to talk. And see where, um… where we stand, with everything? How are you doing with that bombshell I dropped on you last night?”

There’s a pause as Aiden looks down at me thoughtfully. I’m more than willing to wait as he puts some order in his mind, keeping myself from getting too nervous by focusing on the ups and downs of his breathing. Then his hand slides up beside me, fingers already reaching around my frame.

“May I?” he asks, and when I nod he tenderly pinches the digits around my torso. He wants to sit up straighter for this conversation, so he readjusts himself and bends one knee up. That’s where he places me, right on the balcony-sized surface of his kneecap so that I can have a steady seat. His fingertips linger at the edges of my waistline.

“Listen, um… First I’d like to mention something that’s been on my mind…" he mutters. “I owe you an apology.”

I raise my eyebrows. I can see it now, guilt and shame plain on his face, and I wonder where exactly it’s all stemming from. I’m glad he kept his finger nearby so that I can hook my arm around it and tug it forward. He lets me, and I lay his fingertip on my lap, petting it like it’s a cat.

A whisper of a smile graces his features, and he keeps going. "No matter how I was feeling last night, I should never have lost my temper the way I did. I shouldn’t do that with anyone, but it’s particularly unfair with you, since you can’t just walk out of the room if it becomes too much. If I ever start getting really frustrated about something in the future, I promise I’ll step away first so I can keep my cool. I’m not usually quick to anger, I don’t see this being a big issue, but I’d rather address it…”

I slowly nod and look down to focus on the giant’s finger in my lap. I absently start tracing vague shapes across the surface of his fingernail as I ponder my response.

“Thank you,” I say, “I appreciate that. The more I’ve thought about it, though, the more I understand why you were so frustrated. I want to communicate more, I’ll try to get better about opening up…” I stop making invisible doodles and look back up at him hesitantly. “But I’ll say it now. I don’t think it’s quite like a switch. I’m so used to repressing everything…”

Aiden bends forward to kiss the top of my head, and then he hovers there. “That’s alright. I can be patient, especially now that I better understand why. My communication hasn’t always been the best either - I was blaming you for bottling up your feelings, but clearly I had a lot pent up too. We can work on it together.”

I tilt my head up to return the kiss before he pulls away. My spirits are lifted by how much better it feels to speak from the heart and not constantly be trying to hide something. Things are already feeling healthier. And I want to keep going with this newfound open line of communication.

“Are you, um, sure you’re not too freaked out by the fact that I have a stalker?" I ask with a tilt of the head. I can’t help worrying, since literally everyone else I told had major problems with it.

Aiden raises his shoulders in a little shrug. “I don’t want to make light of that. I’m concerned for you of course, but I’m not concerned for me, if that’s what you’re asking. I don’t care who he is, I’m not abandoning you. If anything I’m honestly feeling more determined to keep you safe than ever.”

“He hasn’t stopped looking for me for almost five years,” I insist, “He’s probably still looking for me right now.”

“Well, the good news is that right now…” Aiden lifts his finger up from my lap so that he can lightly bop the top of my head, “…you’re very easy to hide.”

I chuckle and reach up to grab his fingertip again, hugging it against me with a playful possessiveness. But then with a sobering tone I explain, “See, that’s why I’ve been really wanting to hide.”

He frowns. “I hate that he’s what’s keeping us from attempting to get you your life back.”

“Well, I wasn’t lying about the rest of it,” I say, “I’m still really intimidated by the idea of going public and having who knows what kind of tests run on me. But yeah… he’s at the center of it. I have no idea how he’d react to seeing me like this, but I don’t want to find out.”

Aiden sets his jaw. “That’s assuming he’d even see you like this… Let’s talk through it? Say we go to the local police. We tell them everything. What happens next?”

I feel a rush of fear take hold. Of course I’m still going to be afraid when I think about this. But now the difference is that I have someone else to lean on as I try to work things out. I take a deep breath.

“Whether he sees it on the news or finds my name in a police record or anything else… the second he knows where I am, I’m at risk of him finding me.”

“But… he wouldn’t actually haul you away against your will, right? That’s… that’s kidnapping.”

Yeah, he doesn’t quite get it. Maybe I need to share more of the nitty gritty details. I clench his finger a little tighter, holding it like my anchor as I revisit another painful memory.

“That night after he took me to the woods… when he knew I wanted out of the relationship… he locked me in the closet until morning. So that I could ‘think things through.’ The next day he decided he still didn’t feel like I could be trusted alone at home, so he tied me up and stuffed me into the pantry so that no one would hear me scream while he was at work. I managed to break out and that’s when I ran away but… no. I don’t think he’s above kidnapping me.”

Aiden tenses up and looks heartbroken to hear what I’ve been through. “B-but he’s a cop,” he says with a tone of desperation, “Would he really double down and risk his job like that? He’s supposed to uphold the law, not break it…” I can tell by the look on his face that he’s not convincing himself whatsoever. It’s not like police officers are universally model citizens, far from it.

But I opt to hammer it in. “He would do tons of stuff he shouldn’t, all the time. Excessive speeding. Illegal gambling. Sex with a minor… He’s taken criminal evidence home before just because he thought it was cool and wanted to show me. I doubt he was allowed to wave around his state-assigned firearm when he threatened his own life in the woods. I’m sure half the shit he’s done to keep figuring out where I move away to isn’t legal either. Not to mention the stalking itself. He totally thinks he’s above the law.”

I sigh as I gaze down towards Aiden’s chest. “And honestly, he is above the law. For better or worse, he accomplished a lot out in the field. Saved lives in pretty dramatic fashion. Every precinct in our area saw him as this hero. Hence him being able to transfer so easily whenever I moved to a new county. He got along well with the other officers, did some favors to keep them in his pocket. They would always look the other way when he did something he shouldn’t.”

I shudder as I go back through our imaginary scenario of me revealing myself to the cops. “I really don’t think I’ll be safe with the local police, even if I tell them about him first. I think they would listen to him before they listen to me. Once I’m under their custody, all it takes is him pulling some strings. Or just sneaking me out.”

“I won’t let that happen!” Aiden interjects, “I’ll never let him take you away.”

There’s a squeezing in my chest from pure appreciation. “I know you’d do what you can,” I say softly, “But once shit hits the fan and other people are involved… you don’t think I might get separated from you at some point? Even just for a little bit?”

He doesn’t answer, just looks past me with concentration, trying to think of some kind of solution. I shrug as I try to take out the tension in the air.

“I might be wrong about all of it. Maybe the cops would be perfectly accommodating and listen to what I have to say. Or maybe my situation is so extreme that I’d be under enough scrutiny and he’d never get to me anyway. Hell, maybe Brock would have zero interest in me now that I’m tiny. Or we could go to a hospital and they run a few tests and fix this right away, before the police even find out. It just doesn’t feel likely that it would be easy. I’m terrified of all the risks.”

With a quiet sigh of defeat, Aiden nods. “I get it.” The massive finger I’m holding comes to life, snaking its way up to touch my cheek as he repeats, “I get it. And I’m not exactly complaining, you know. I like you here, like this.”

I smile, immediately comforted by him stroking the side of my face. “You know what?” I say, “Same. I really enjoy my life with you, as scary as it can get sometimes. I know I need to face all that stuff eventually, but I’d feel better if we waited a while, let Brock chase his tail for a bit so that he’s hopefully far away when the time comes. If you’re okay with it, let’s stick with our original deal and talk about it again at the end of the year?”

He nods in agreement, and that settles that. Now taking on a more feline role, I rub my cheek against his fingertip, practically purring with affection. His other fingers give me little back scritches, and if this keeps going I’ll surely melt into a little puddle and slide right off his knee.

But Aiden switches gears. He turns his palm to my back instead and nudges me with it. I understand that he’s wanting to pick me up, so I start raising into a kneeled position and it’s enough for him to scoop me right up into his hand.

“Speaking of liking you here. Can we address something else you said last night?” he asks, slowly lifting me higher. “About whether I like you… or the idea of you.”

I half forgot that I admitted that. Alright. So far so good with this communication thing. Let’s keep going.

“R-right…” I respond.

“I don’t want to assume anything. How much of that do you think is past trauma, versus something you’re legitimately worried about?”

“Uhhh.” I sit there in silence for several seconds, frowning as I think things through. Finally I answer, “I don’t know if I’ve ever really thought about it being because of my history… But… damn. Yeah, come to think of it, Brock totally objectified me. His compliments were always about how I looked, and he had certain expectations too - he didn’t want me above a certain weight, for example. I knew that, but I didn’t realize that I might have been projecting some of that onto you. Shit, I… I’m sorry.”

Aiden quickly shakes his head. “No, no, don’t apologize. Honestly, all that aside, I think it still makes sense that you’d worry I was just objectifying you too. I told you I’m into tiny girls, and then I turn around and tell you I like you, literally the next day. Of course you’re going to have some doubts. So… I want to make it very clear.”

He takes a deep breath and brings his other hand up so that they’re both cupped around me, gently cradling my frame. I feel a blooming heat inside my chest.

“Yes, I like you little,” he says, his hazel gaze bathing me with tender care. “I think you’re the most beautiful person in the world, and this way I can see all of you so easily, hold all of you, all at once. I like it in the same way I like the rest of your body… like the shape of your legs, or how you smile with your eyes.”

I can’t help beaming fondly at him, inadvertently proving his point, and he breaks into an adoring chuckle, for a second overcome with emotion. I feel a prickling in the back of my eyes.

Aiden regains himself. “But when I think about us, I think about our conversations. I think about how good of a listener you are, and how you always know the right thing to say when I’m feeling down. I think about how fun it is to play a game with you, or how nice it is to relax together and watch a movie. I think about how excited you get about things, how infectious that is.”

I’m starting to feel short of breath.

“I was falling for you just from our letters to each other. Where it hardly even matters how big the size difference is. You’re so much more than what I can see on the outside - you’re creative and thoughtful and hardworking… and you make me feel like I’m actually worth something.”

I rub a tear away with the heel of my hand.

“I don’t care about the rest,” he says, and he wipes another tear from my cheek with the pad of his thumb, “Whether you’re Evelyn Frost, or Evie Ondine. Whether you’re big or small. Whether you’re happy or you’re scared, no matter how strong you are or how weak you feel. None of it makes a difference to how I feel about you.”

He lifts me higher to be eye level with him.

“Because I know you, Eve. And I’m in love with you.”

My tears are falling freely now and my entire body is filled with heat. Tears are welling up in his eyes too but his smile cuts through them as he adds, “I’ve been wanting to really commit to you for a while. I guess I’m stumbling into that right now.”

I catch myself before I start sobbing and shakily get to my feet in his hand.

“I don’t have such an eloquent speech prepared in exchange,” I say breathlessly, “But I love you too, Aiden. If you’ll have me… I’m yours.”

He leans in to kiss me. Our joy overflows and we meld into each other as if we were made of pure light. It doesn’t matter that to him I’m the size of a mouse, or that to me he’s the size of a building. To us it’s a perfect fit.

Chapter 53
Aiden

I’m slinking under the surface of the water, my eyes squinting upwards for my target. I can practically hear the Jaws’ theme in the back of my mind as I approach, slowly… closer… closer…

I aim and ascend, breaking the surface of the water. I hear a playful shrieking, and I can feel that I successfully hit my mark from all of the wriggling that’s happening on top of my head. Evie grabs onto locks of wet hair as she tugs herself forward and reaches the edge of my forehead. I hold myself steady and aim my eyes upward, just able to make out some movement as she leans out.

“That scared the shit out of me!” she yells, though she’s laughing just as hard.

I chuckle in response, “What, you thought I didn’t see you?”

“It felt like you were gonna eat me!”

I flinch, surprised to see my tiny passenger launch herself forward just then, a blur in front of my face as she plops feet-first into the water. I’m mostly submerged, my chin just above the surface, but still - to her that was probably more like cliff jumping. I back up a little bit to catch sight of her, her figure obscured as she sinks a couple of inches down. We’re not in a deep pool, this particular spot being three or four feet deep at most, but it might as well be a lake for little Evie. Without issue, she pops out a few seconds later, fighting against the slight current I’ve just created with my body when I’d backed off.

“Well, now you’ve made it very easy for me to do just that,” I tease, and this time I “dun-dun” the Jaws theme out loud as I lower my chin into the water and slowly close the distance, letting my mouth briefly open wide as a playful threat. She doesn’t attempt to swim away, she just giggles, braces herself and accepts my overenthusiastic kiss as she’s briefly pushed underwater by my lips.

I finally give her a break, bringing my hands underneath her as I straighten back up again. I don’t lift her out of the water but just prop my cupped palms right below her feet so that she can comfortably stand. She fights to find her balance, leaning back against my fingers as she tries to recover from both the adrenaline and the laughter. I just hold my girlfriend there for a minute, gazing down at her with adoration.

God… I can actually call her that now. My beautiful little girlfriend. My love. My partner.

It’s been a couple of days since we made things official. Our entire relationship has formed so gradually that our interactions haven’t changed dramatically. But still, I feel like a middle schooler who just asked his first crush out and she said yes. Both of us have been a little giddy. Honestly, that’s probably more due to our heart-to-hearts and finally feeling like we have a solid line of communication now. But it also feels a bit like a honeymoon phase, and we’re happy to ride it out.

And what better way to do that than enjoy what summer has to offer? It’s downright hot outside these days, and Evie and I began tossing around the idea of finding a place to go swimming. I reached out to both Moira and Diego for any ideas on where we might find somewhere private, and that’s when Diego offered up the code to the swimming pool in his neighborhood. He warned that it wasn’t very big, but as a result not many people go and it’s fairly secluded. It seemed like the perfect solution. And since he also confirmed that her leg injury was okay to submerge underwater, our plan to come out here formed quickly from there. I’m glad we decided to go for it - we’ve been having a great time.

“If I didn’t have a fear of sea monsters before…” Evie pants, trailing off as she smirks up at me.

“Am I overdoing it? You’re just so easy to mess with in the water.” And since I can’t help myself, I accentuate my point by still supporting her feet with one hand while I start slowly twirling a finger in a circle around her with the other. The little waves I’m creating are just enough to destabilize her stance.

“I know, I feel that much more helpless!” she laughs, batting my finger away. “Just… don’t do anything that’ll actually make me spin too much and we’re cool. Unless you want me to throw up on you.”

For a moment I’m gently batting her hands right back, and then I pet her lovingly on the top of the head. “Let’s avoid that,” I concur as I take a quick look around to make sure the coast is still clear. No one’s around, but I do realize something’s missing. “Uh oh, the inner tube ran away, let me go get it. Want to swim around here or…?”

“No, bring me with. My leg muscle’s asking for a break and I should probably listen for once.”

“Attagirl. Up you go then.”

I get up to my full standing height while lifting Evie out of the pool. Seeing her shivering once the water has rushed away, I readjust her into a careful fist to keep her warm, so that nothing but her head is sticking out. I wade towards the donut-shaped inflatable that has drifted a little too far. This is her hiding spot in case someone shows up, so we’d rather it stay close by.

Once I reach it, I glance back down and pause. The tiny woman I’m holding has since slipped her arms out from my grasp and now has them folded in front of her on my thumb, her chin resting on them. She looks a little dazed, staring in my direction but without looking towards my face.

“Deep in thought?” I question, absently pulling the inner tube towards us with my free hand.

“Hm?” Evie snaps out of it and looks up at me before smiling smugly and shaking her head. “Nope. I’m just admiring my man. In the past, anytime you’ve walked around shirtless post-shower or whatever, I’d always look away… Now I can ogle you and it’s okay!”

“Oh is that how that works?" I feel a little self conscious but still grin in delight. I tilt my hand and loosen my grip just enough to be able to take a peek at the rest of her. “Says the girl wearing a sexy bikini. Does that mean I’m allowed to ogle you too?”

She laughs. “Does this count as a bikini?" She looks down at herself critically and adds, “I definitely don’t think it counts as sexy.”

True, what she’s wearing isn’t quite what you’d see in a store. Evie owned exactly one swimsuit from before she was shrunk that was still in her suitcase. Apparently it dated back from when she lived with Brock, so she was all too eager to destroy it and utilize the material to make herself new miniature swimwear. Her top is wrapped around her chest and tied off over one shoulder, and the bottom is knotted off at each hip. The fabric has an intricate red and white pattern that keeps her nice and visible, and it’s also very lightweight, which is important. If she was wearing her regular, water-absorbent cotton clothes, she’d probably sink like a rock.

I open my hand a little further to help her readjust into my palm, and my fingers actually feel a bit stiff as they unfurl. I… I touch her a lot, don’t I? It’s only natural, since me picking her up is largely how she gets around. But even though it’s commonplace for us, that doesn’t mean the simple act of me holding her doesn’t feel intimate. Especially when there’s this much bare skin for my fingers to casually run over. Luckily we’ve spent months as just friends so I’ve had plenty of experience with trying to really respect her, and I still have a strong determination to continue doing just that. But… it does take a lot of self control sometimes. A lot of holding myself back.

After a second or two of maybe some excessive staring at the length of her legs and the curve of her waist, I finally respond to her with, “It’s a two-piece swimsuit, right? Which makes it a bikini? And if you’re wearing it, then it’s sexy. Simple as that."

Evie giggles melodically as her cheeks go bright pink. “Thanks, babe," she says with a grin, and I get tingles all down my spine from her calling me that.

My ears prick up at the loud squeak of a metal hinge, and I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Trying to look as nonchalant as possible, I bring my occupied hand over to the inner tube’s cupholder and slide my little secret right inside. She bounces in, gets her bearings, and quickly scrambles with the paper umbrella that’s already in there. It opens with a quiet pop and forms a light blue circle to cover the hole, effectively hiding her tiny figure from sight.

Keeping a hand on the inflatable, I let myself glance over to whoever just opened the entrance gate. Then the glance becomes eye contact and I smile widely.

“All good,” I say out loud in the direction of the paper umbrella, “You can come out, it’s Moira.”

Evie shoves the parasol aside and eagerly starts using it to help her climb up onto the edge of the cupholder. She sticks one little arm up to wave at our friend, and it’s enough for Moira to notice and wave back.

“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late. I was sitting in the parking lot for forever trying to end a phone conversation with my sister. It’s so hot out, I started roasting in the car…”

“Come over to the shade, then,” I say, taking the few steps to the edge of the pool to better greet her. Mo plops down a tote bag and steps out of her flip flops, then she sits down to dip her feet into the water with a sigh.

At this point Evie has apparently managed to climb out of the cup holder, since the next time I look over there she’s sliding off of the innertube completely. There are just a couple of feet between us and she starts swimming over like a little frog while us two larger folk chat and watch her with amusement. The shrunken girl nears Moira’s leg, who trails her foot through the water just enough to send a little wave in Evie’s direction.

“Kinda fun to mess with her in the water, huh?” I say with a chuckle.

“Weirdly fun,” she confirms.

“Thanks a lot, guys!” Evie laughs, and she gets close enough to latch onto her friend’s ankle. Moira carefully lifts her foot out of the water, tiny girl in tow, and reaches her hands out to take her in them. This way the smallest of us can join in on our conversation.

“Looking forward to dinner with the Ignacios on Friday?” Mo brings up.

“Yeah, that’ll be… interesting,” I say, crossing my arms and leaning my lower back against the wall of the pool. “I’m glad you’ll be there too. Diego’s been really excited, to no one’s surprise.”

“It’s funny,” Evie says from her spot in her friend’s hands, “I legit look forward to it. I mean, I’m nervous of course, but at this point I’ve heard so much about how great Star is and I’m excited to meet her!”

Moira beams down at her. “Look how far you’ve come! I do think you’ll like her. She’s not quiiite as high energy as Diego but she’s still super friendly.”

Soon there’s a lull in the conversation, and Evie and I share a look. We may have filled in Moira over text about what happened on Diego’s birthday. But there were certain things that we wanted to wait to talk about in person.

Finally I clear my throat and pipe up, “Hey, um, Moira? Just wanted to let you know…" I motion towards the tiniest of us with my chin, “that we’re a couple now.”

“Oh my god! Really??" If her hands weren’t occupied I think she would have clapped them to her mouth.

Evie nods and giggles. “We weren’t sure if you’d already know."

“I mean… I knew. I figured it was a matter of time, I just wasn’t sure when you two would figure it all out! Aww, congrats, guys. I’m so happy for you." She brings Evie up to her face and then gives me an affectionate shove on the shoulder. It’s really nice, not just making it official in private but with our mutual friend as well. Makes it feel all the more real.

I remember the other conversation topic that needs to be brought up and give Evie a quick nod before hoisting myself out of the water. “Actually, if you’ve got her, Mo, I’ll go grab some snacks. I left them in the car."

Leaving the two girls on their own, I’m toweling off as I step out into the parking lot. I don’t grab the food yet but just meander in the vicinity for a while, enjoying the feeling of the sun drying me off. Since I want to give them plenty of time, once I’m dry enough I go fetch my phone that I left in the car. I notice a new group text that has formed with Diego and Star.

S: Aiden, does Evie have any allergies or anything? I was thinking of making aguachile.

D : WAIT you can’t feed shrimp to the little shrimp!! That’s cannibalism : O

S: Oh right! Why didn’t I think of that : P

S: Actually, is salmon ok?

I smile at my phone. I still haven’t fully decided if I’m nervous or excited about dinner in a couple of days. I like everyone there, but after months of secrecy this is all a bit out of my comfort zone. I go ahead and reply to the text, and they must be right by their phones as the conversation continues promptly.

A: Salmon’s great. Shrimp would have been fine too lol. She’s not very picky

S: Be real with me, should I give her her own plate or is it better if she eats off of yours? I don’t want to be rude and I don’t know how to handle this

A: I’ll bring over her plates and stuff, don’t worry about that part

D : She plays Magic too right? Bring your decks, we can play after we eat!! I’ve already told Moira

S: Buncha nerds < 3

Alright… I think I’m settling on feeling excited. My friends are good people, and that includes my girlfriend. I’m sure we’ll all get along great.

I check the time, and it’s been about half an hour. Hopefully that’s enough? I gather up the snacks and go back to the pool gate, peering through the metal bars without opening the door yet.

Moira’s inside the pool now with her arms folded on the edge, and she’s put Evie down on a towel on solid ground. The larger one is looking very focused, still deep in conversation. I notice tears shining on her face. Good ol’ Mo. Such a kind soul. I know it’s not easy for Evie to recount everything from her past yet again, but she felt it was important to not just open up to me about it but to her other closest friend. And from just the glimpse that I’m seeing, Moira’s being every bit as supportive and caring as I knew she’d be.

She catches sight of me hovering near the gate and waves me over. Even though they’re still talking, I sheepishly walk in their direction and set the food down before I take a seat next to Evie.

Moira’s in the process of sighing deeply. “I just want to give younger you the biggest hug, girl. Hell, I wish I could give you a big hug right now.” She looks up at me from her spot down in the water. “Can you believe this shit?”

I nod sympathetically, slipping a supportive hand behind my tiny girlfriend’s back. “Wish I didn’t have to,” I mutter. Evie tilts her head back to give me a weak smile and touches my finger tenderly. She looks a bit drained from the recounting, but she’s handling it way better this second time around.

“No wonder you swore off dating,” Moira says with a shake to her voice, rubbing at her tear-filled eyes. “I’m sure I would have done the same thing.”

“You swore off dating?” I say with raised eyebrows, “Uh… oops.”

Evie grips my hand tighter and lets out a breath of laughter. “Don’t worry. I definitely needed a break from it, but it all feels like so long ago. I’m glad you changed my mind.”

“And no wonder you’re always so determined to do everything yourself,” Moira adds.

Both Evie and I pause and frown at this. “What do you mean?” she asks, tilting her head.

“Oh, I just figured, since you had what sounded like such a controlling ex…”

Moira trails off to a few seconds of silence. It’s one of those moments where the insight seems obvious in retrospect, but apparently even the victim in the situation hadn’t quite put it together. As it clicks in my brain, I feel a growing sense of determination.

I gaze down at my precious little partner, too small to reach anything or get anywhere without assistance. I want to make up for not just her size, but for all of the times that her mother and her ex tried to keep her under their thumb. I want to empower her, to help her find independence and self assurance in whatever way I can. The plan wouldn’t solidify in my mind for another month or so, but this is the moment that a spark of an idea lights up inside of me.