Chapter 34
Evie
I can hardly focus on anything other than the clock today. I do try and get some more painting done, but I’m so distracted. We’re finally at the finish line. For all I know, he’s already done with his last exam. I won’t know for sure until–
I perk up at the sound of distant footsteps coming down the outside hallway. I don’t need to wait for the key going into the lock to recognize the cadence of his walking. I run towards the edge of the desk, brimming with excited energy as Aiden comes in.
“Freedom!” he calls out to me as he slides his shoes off, and I can tell he’s having to really hold back from being too loud and hurting my ears. “God, that test sucked, but it’s over. Sweet, delicious freedom at last!”
He comes over to me already holding my arms up in his direction, and he wastes no time in scooping me up and bringing me right to his face. The speed at which I travel is a little jarring, especially after so much time of rarely getting handled at all. But I’m just happy to be back up here again. As he closes his eyes to gently press up against me, I arc my hand between his eyebrows, like I’m petting the side of a horse. My instinct is to kiss the space between his eyes, but I hold back.
“Congrats! I’m so proud of you,” I gush before I hug my whole body against him in return, kneeling on his hand as I lean heavily against the bridge of his nose. Aiden just sighs happily in response. We don’t have an audience this time. Nothing to keep us from embracing each other forever. And we do stay like this for well over a minute. It’s both comforting and relaxing, while also creating butterflies in my stomach.
I really… really like him, don’t I? And… and somehow, he likes me too, doesn’t he? Is this really happening? Can I really allow this to keep happening? Am I ready? It just all seems so ridiculous when I’m only the size of one of his fingers. But maybe Moira’s right, I shouldn’t keep trying to sabotage myself. I did decide to see where things would lead. But I hadn’t honestly thought the path I was on might lead to this.
“Thanks for being the best little cheerleader ever,” the giant finally mumbles, his words tickling pleasantly against my skin.
I open my eyes and shift in place, turning to face one of his much larger eyes as I continue lounging against his nose. It’s still closed, and I can see the signs of fatigue by how dark his skin is underneath. But the muscles mostly seem relaxed right now, outside of a crinkling at the edge that signals to me that he’s smiling. I marvel at the proximity, reaching a hand out as if to touch one of his eyelashes. I don’t quite make contact, but hover a finger alongside one as I trace the curve of it, and it’s half as long as my arm.
“Anytime,” I answer him softly. I didn’t really do much, especially since he was gone so often. But I would have been happy to do much more if I could have.
As if sensing the proximity of my fingertips, the giant eye gradually blinks open, remaining at a half gaze for a moment before it widens and he tries to lay his sights on me. I’m mesmerized, being this up close. It’s like looking at a stained glass window into his soul.
He’s probably having trouble focusing in on me, though, since I’m millimeters away from his eyeball, and so his hand slowly makes some space between us. I can see more of his face as I kneel there in the dip of his palm, and I just can’t stop smiling.
“I’ve thought so much about fun things we can do this summer,” Aiden says, “But I hadn’t really thought about…” He trails off and I notice his pupils dilate. I wait for him to finish his sentence, but instead he seems to change course with a quick clear of the throat. “Um, so, before anything else, tell me. What do I need to catch up on? What do you need from me?” Holding me a little lower, his eyes suddenly start scanning the surface of my camp on the desk.
I don’t call him out on the sudden change of subject, feeling a little flustered myself. “Oh, nothing yet! You should relax right now, you deserve it.”
“I will, I will,” he says, setting his hand down so I can slide off, “But I want to make sure you’re all set first. I’ll at least go top off your water tank, and I might as well refill the sanitation tank too… Anything else?” He’s already picking up the metal toilet stall as he raises his eyebrows at me in a query.
I squirm. When am I going to get over this whole dependency thing? I try to push myself to be honest. “No rush, but… feel free to dump out the bath water maybe? And, um… I don’t suppose you have any lightbulbs?”
Aiden frowns, for a moment wondering what I’m referring to. But then he suddenly realizes what it must be and his hand drifts over to the desk lamp. He turns the dial on and off, confirming it to himself. “Shoot, I’m sorry. How long has this been out?”
“I don’t know, a couple of days?” I say sheepishly, very much stretching the definition of “a couple.”
“I’ll see what I’ve got handy. This will all just take a few minutes, so no worries, okay? If you think of anything else, let me know.”
“Thank you…” I say, forcing myself not to hide my face in embarrassment.
“And after this,” he says, gathering up the various water-filled receptacles, “I can go grab dinner. Still down for celebratory pizza?”
“So down.”
“Okay, cool. I think I’ll take a shower first and then I’ll head out.”
Actually, taking a hot bath sounds really, really nice right now. I’ve gotten pretty tired of using nothing but cold water everyday to clean myself. As soon as I have my tub full of fresh water back, I happily turn on the hot plate and begin undressing. I hear Aiden’s shuffling outside of my bathroom as he takes care of the rest, including changing out the bulb on the desk lamp. The relief I feel at everything being set back to normal is staggering. I don’t even think about my roommate’s proximity while I’m completely naked in my plastic box. Still just as comfortable with each other as ever… if not more so.
But I guess I finally take that comfort level too far. I’m so in love with the bath that I stay in there a little longer than usual and almost completely submerge myself. I hear the occasional noise in the background but my ears are mostly under the water level. So the assumption I end up making is wildly wrong. But I don’t realize that until I stroll right out onto the desk to grab a quick change of clothes that I had forgotten. Armed with nothing but a towel that’s just draped over one shoulder.
I make eye contact with Aiden sitting on the couch, and for a split second I’m too shocked to do anything, but then I make an audible yelp as I grab at my towel to cover my front and quickly backpedal, back around the corner of the bathroom. Meanwhile the giant immediately turns to look the other way, blocking his gaze with his hand.
"I-I’m sorry!” I hear him say as I duck out of sight.
“I’m sorry!” I echo, struggling to project so he can hear me from back here, "I thought you had left already!” I’m still fumbling with my towel, and between my agitated state and the fact that I’m still a little wet, my feet slip on the desk and I hit the ground with another yell.
"Are you okay?” I’m half expecting him to stand up in reaction to that but thankfully he seems to stay put.
“I’m fine!” I roll over, cursing under my breath at the pain in my knee. “Just really… really embarrassed…” Dragging my towel behind me, I crawl back into the bathroom and then bury my face into my hands.
Aiden chuckles awkwardly and makes an attempt at reassuring me. "I hardly saw anything, okay?”
Well, it’s true that my features might be too small to easily make out. But still, I was completely exposed, I’ve just crossed so many lines…
The shuffling outside signals to me that he’s cautiously getting to his feet. "I was just waiting to see what you wanted on the pizza. Uh, is sausage alright? Some kind of veggie too?”
God, don’t talk to me about sausage right now, dude. "Yeah, um… maybe peppers and olives?” I call out, trying to remember what toppings we both like. Though it’s kinda hard to think at the moment.
"You got it. Take your time, I’ll be back with dinner later.”
I continue pressing my hands up against my eyes until I hear the front door open and shut. Ughhh, I feel like such an idiot. I was not ready to reveal so much of myself like that.
And it also makes me wonder… if we’re heading in any kind of romantic direction… how is this kind of thing even going to work? Sex is certainly not something we’d ever be able to do. But does that mean we don’t do… anything? Is there anything I can accomplish like this? Can I even handle such large eyes looking at my embarrassingly small naked form?
Whoa. I’m getting way, way ahead of myself. I don’t even know for certain that he’d want that kind of relationship. Honestly, I don’t know if that’s what I want either. One step at a time. Let’s at least take tonight to relax, ease into summer break. Maybe one of us will have the courage to say something in the next few days. And then we’ll take it from there.
I get fully dried and dressed with time to spare before Aiden gets back, and we both completely ignore the fact that anything had happened at all as we tuck into the pizza. Instead he tells me about his finals until he no longer wants to think about them, and I catch him up on what I’ve been working on in the past two weeks. One of my projects has been the search for our next show to tackle, and since I had watched the first episode of several options, I meticulously go through all of them now and we debate on which one we should pick up next. I don’t think we’ll watch anything tonight, though. Although it’s mixed with a lightness and relief, the intense fatigue in his body is incredibly apparent - I’m sure he plans to turn in early. Poor guy hasn’t had a full night’s sleep in weeks, and it’s been particularly bad these last few days.
After we finish eating, the giant leaves to take care of a few of the dishes that have piled up before giving up on that and coming back to collapse on the couch with a sigh. The back of his neck is leaned against the armrest that’s closest to me, so that I just see a shock of dark hair peeking out. I gravitate in his direction, coming a bit closer to the cliff edge of the desk than I normally would.
“Can I join you?” I call out hopefully.
“Aw man, I just sat down…” Aiden responds with a teasing tone. He turns his head to the side without getting up. “Aren’t you pixies supposed to have wings or something?”
“Oh, right, I store them under the bed. Let me just flutter right over,” I say with a laugh before waving it off. “Don’t worry about it. Maybe later.”
His head shifts again as he sits up higher and tilts his neck back to look towards me with a smile. Then he shimmies up further still so that he can hook an arm over the side of the couch, and he extends his hand towards me. I knew the couch was fairly close to the desk, but sometimes I don’t have a very clear sense of distances. I wouldn’t have expected it, but his fingertips just manage to reach one corner of the table.
“Whoa! I didn’t realize you could reach that far,” I exclaim, staring at the newly made bridge.
“Neither did I,” he says with a grin, “C’mere.”
And I do, making my way across and carefully stepping up onto his hand. It’s quite a view, the long road of his arm sloping towards his distant face. I won’t have to traverse it myself though, because as soon as I reach his palm he closes his hand around me. It’s a slightly precarious maneuver so he doesn’t take any chances, enveloping me into a loose fist and then swinging his arm around so that I’m in front of him. He slides back down to lean his neck against the armrest again and, to my surprise, he brings his hand right to his lower chest, unfurling his fingers and letting me off.
I try to catch my balance and feel forced to sit down. It’s a bizarre sensation with the floor moving so distinctly like this, the rhythmic thumping of his heartbeat combining with the up and down of his breathing.
"Well this is new,” I say, smiling as I settle into a cross-legged seat.
"Good or bad?” Aiden asks with a crooked smile of his own. I can feel the vibrations of his voice so distinctly too, but that part is less weird to me. It’s not unlike when I’m sitting in his shirt pocket or alongside his neck.
“It’d probably be kinda hard to walk around,” I say pensively, “But I guess I don’t really need to do that, so… I’d say it’s good.” I don’t mention that he feels like a gigantic, comfy bed. Or that he smells particularly nice from his recent shower.
His hand lingers just behind me, one finger tentatively reaching my back and pushing my hair aside with a gentle touch, so that it tumbles over my shoulder to my front. I take in the dazed contented look on his face and notice the slight flush of his cheeks. This is a little intimate. And with that realization I suddenly feel anxious, remembering my post-bath embarrassment and intimidated by how physically close we are. I start blabbering in my flustered state.
“So what’s your work schedule gonna look like now?” I ask.
Unperturbed, Aiden carefully trails the fingertip down my back before making his way up again. The light touch makes my skin flush with goosebumps. His voice remains far more calm and even than mine.
“I’m working all through next week, until everyone else finishes their finals,” he says. “Then I get a week off until orientation for the summer class…” He pauses as his finger reaches the back of my neck. “Is this okay?”
“Y-yes,” I say and his reaction is swift as he goes back to stroking me. “Um… You’re not actually taking any summer classes, right?”
“No, I’m not. I’ve been debating on getting an extra summer job, actually. Past couple of years I’ve worked at a pet clinic. I do still have some savings, though, so maybe I don’t need to…”
“A pet clinic? I didn’t know that, what did you do there?”
“Just front desk stuff. I have a friend who’s an actual vet, though, so I’ve been able to help with the animals sometimes. She knows I can handle small birds, which can be tricky, so on occasion she’d call me in to help hold them still.”
“Huh. That’s cool!” Damn, no wonder he’s so good at handling me, he’s even more experienced with birds than I thought. And no wonder he seemed like a natural when checking me in at the lab, all those many weeks ago…
The longer we chat, the more I realize how nice it is to be touched so casually like this. Gradually, I transition from sitting to lying on my stomach, arms crossed in front of me with my chin resting on them. Meanwhile he’s started using his thumb to pet me instead, with the rest of his hand forming a shallow cave over my lower half. I run out of things to ask, and then the next rub against my back adds a tiny bit more pressure, making me sigh with pleasure.
“Tell me what feels nice,” Aiden says softly.
"Whatever you’re doing sure does,” I answer, turning my head to rest my cheek onto my forearms instead. I let my eyes shut.
We lay in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other’s company, until the tender caresses eventually slow to a stop. The rest of his hand makes contact with my body too, putting pressure on my legs. It doesn’t feel bad, but I glance up curiously. The giant’s head has tilted to the side and his eyes have drifted to a close. The cadence of his chest rising and falling slows down as I hear his breath deepening just below me.
I stiffen and prop myself up onto my elbows, wondering if I should wake him up. But he looks incredibly peaceful… He’s been so stressed and exhausted lately that it’s a wonder he hasn’t started hallucinating a whole slew of tiny people. I just want to let him rest for a bit. Besides, even though he’s been so paranoid about falling asleep with me around, is it truly that risky? He’s proven to be a light sleeper - the other night when I was close to him I was able to wake him up really easily. Even if he started rolling over or something, I’m sure I could cling to his shirt and yell loud enough to wake him.
Like a total creep, I just watch him sleep for a little while. Each micro expression is magnified tenfold to me, and I almost laugh as I watch the emotions quickly pass over his face, small frowns getting immediately smoothed out into subtle smiles instead. His hand twitches, tickling the inside of my knee and making me giggle outright. I could do this all day. In fact, I could do this all night. The way his chest moves up and down could surely rock me to sleep, and his warmth is just so comforting. I’m certain he’d never agree to something like that, but as far as I can tell this is harmless.
There, see? He’s already starting to wake up. No problems at all.
His eyes look glazed over as they blink open, and he has a bit of an odd expression on his face. Then he closes his eyes again, though they’re clearly active underneath their lids. They reopen at a half gaze and before I know what’s happening, his hand closes around me.
My breath gets caught in my throat. He’s not being painfully rough, but there’s suddenly an alarming confidence in his fingers. Zero inhibitions. They press against me and lift me off right off his chest, surrounding me from all sides.
“Aid–” I barely get a sound out before the wind is knocked out of me, his thumb pressing hard against my diaphragm. It’s at this point that I start struggling. And I start panicking.
One of his fingers snakes around to my front and pushes up against my breasts, rubbing at them deftly, intrusively. I’m gasping for air as I’m flipped around and his thumb runs down my back, lining the curves of my body as I thrash to no avail. Then he’s pushing one of my legs, shoving it up higher than the rest of me. I lurch to the side, twisting around as I try to look up at him and find my voice again. Our eyes meet briefly, but there’s no acknowledgement - it’s like he’s looking right through me, sending chills down my spine. A finger shoves right up between my legs and I wince, kicking furiously and opening my mouth to attempt to yell his name.
But he’s the one who says something instead. His eyes are closed again and he lets out the slightest moan. And then, his voice dripping with unmistakable arousal, he whispers, “So fucking small…”
Time freezes for a moment. In the split second before I manage to scream, my eyes widen as I’m thrown into terrified confusion.
…What?!
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!) 
