Best posts made by littlest-lily

Chapter 56
Evie

It’s been a rather quiet drive today. I can tell by the sound of Aiden’s heartbeat that he’s a little anxious, and I’ve been leaning against his chest from within his pocket, rhythmically moving my hand over the fabric of his shirt in what I hope is a somewhat comforting pet.

The nerves are starting to get to me too. I even tried to dress up a bit, not only picking out one of my nicer dresses, but also wearing my first attempt at shoes - although since they’re made of fine yarn they’re closer to thick socks. I’ve even followed Moira’s example and tied half my hair back into something a little more elegant, using a bit of thread in lieu of a ribbon. I don’t think this is supposed to be a very formal dinner party, but it’s the closest thing I’ve been to one in several years.

“Pulling up now…” Aiden mumbles, and sure enough I slip forward a little as the car gradually slows to a stop.

“Everything will be fine, babe,” I soothe as I get to my feet, eyes aimed up.

“I know,” he says with a glance down at his chest. “I’m mostly excited. It’s just, you know… several people who are much bigger than you. I can’t help but worry about how you’ll feel. Pinkie squeeze if it gets too overwhelming, okay? I can make an excuse to leave.” As he’s talking he pulls the plastic shield out of his pocket and then reaches in for me.

“Okay. Thank you,” I say with a nod, gripping at the fingers that are currently pinching around my torso, “I’m not planning on that, though…" I feel antsy getting extracted from my warm and reassuring little cave, so I quickly add, "Kiss for good luck?”

He grins and I’m rewarded with a pair of enormous lips heading my way. I pucker up and then push my entire face into his upper lip, arms spread wide to hug as much of his face as I can. Aiden starts laughing at my overenthusiastic embrace and doubles down by knocking me onto my back in his palm.

“Gotta get the PDA out of our system,” I giggle, and when he starts twisting around to my neck I yelp, “Wait, wait, don’t mess up my hair!”

“Oops, sorry,” the giant relents, though he barely pulls away. He hovers above me, his large eyes captivating me for a moment as they look me up and down. “Don’t worry, you still look lovely.”

“Thanks. You too!” I chirp before playfully shoving at his cheek with my foot. “God, we’re disgusting… Let’s go, I don’t want to be late.”

And before the nerves have time to reclaim either one of us, Aiden gets out of the car. He holds me near his chest as he heads down the walkway to the Ignacios’ house, hiding me just in case any neighbors look in our direction. Then his palm flattens out as he reaches the door, and once he knocks I sit on my heels and smooth out my dress.

I hear some quick footsteps from the other side and brace myself as the door opens. An unfamiliar face greets us, bright eyed and breathless, sporting a big smile with its own touch of nerves. This must be Star.

She’s actually a little more… normal looking than I imagined? It’s just that the way Diego had described her beauty, I thought I was about to meet a supermodel. She’s not unattractive though, her gray-green eyes rather striking against her olive skin tone. There’s just the slightest edge of a punk rock feel to her appearance, her dark hair in a long and layered bob with a streak of bright blue near the front of it.

“Hiii!” she gushes softly but enthusiastically, and she’s zeroing in on me immediately, covering her mouth with one hand. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you just the cutest thing! It’s so nice to finally meet you, Evie – come on in, guys, make yourselves at home!”

“N-nice to meet you!” I manage to stammer out, blinking as if I’d just been blinded by a flash of light.

I’m abruptly reminded of something. Back when I used to be a nanny, I once had to take one of the kids I was caring for to the pediatrician. I’m sure they’re not all like this, but not only did the doctor employ an ultra-sweet, doting tone with the child, but for some reason she also talked the same way with me, the adult. That’s exactly the way Star talks. Like a kind and overly eager schoolteacher, and maybe this makes some amount of sense since she’s almost like a pediatrician, but for animals instead. Perhaps the borderline infantilizing tone should be bothering me, I guess, but… she just seems so genuine that I kinda get swept up in it. To my own surprise I find myself smiling right away.

She steps aside, revealing the cavernous interior of the house. This place looks gigantic, even compared to our apartment - the entryway opens straight out to the back of the house like one wide hallway, and it’s on the opposite end that I make out a dining table and chairs. It’s so colorful inside, the sunny yellow walls covered in photos and vibrant decorations. There are live plants everywhere, adding refreshing splashes of green to the warm interior. And the ceiling might as well be the sky… The area opens up into its full two-story space, with stairs off to the left leading to an upper landing that looks like the top of a canyon.

The giant who’s carrying me steps into the house, and Star puts a hand on his shoulder as she closes the door. “Aiden, it’s been too long - good to see you, man.”

“It really has! Thanks for inviting us over." Even he seems to be absorbing her energy, though I can tell he’s being careful to still lead by example in keeping the speaking volume from climbing too high up.

Speaking of which. There’s an echoing boom that makes me jump, and I immediately recognize this voice.

“Yoooo! Perfect timing, I just pulled the fish out of the oven!” Diego calls as he sweeps in from the other room, the scale and intensity of his presence making my heartrate tick up a few beats.

Either he noticed me flinching or Aiden shot him a look, because he quickly tones it down when he steps up to us. Even though his attention is on Aiden and I, his hand absently slips around his wife’s waist as he stands alongside her. I’m realizing she must actually be on the tall side, but she still doesn’t come up to his shoulder.

Diego’s eyes light up as he focuses on me and lowers his head with a wide smile. “Hey, Shrimp! How’s that leg doing?”

Star’s the one who reacts to the nickname this time, her eyes going wide as she smacks the back of her hand against his arm. “Diego!” she hisses with disapproval.

He straightens back to standing, holding his hands up disarmingly as he looks at her. “No, no, we’re cool! I’ve said it to her face before, she’s fine with it. Right, Evie?”

He glances at me hopefully, and I couple a quick eye roll with a genuine smile. “It’s good to see you, Kong. Leg’s been feeling better every day.”

“See?” Diego grins at Star, who maintains her scowl.

“Don’t let him push you around, okay?” she tells me and then nods to the dining table deeper into the house, “Come sit, we’ll grab you guys some drinks.”

Aiden and I manage to make quick eye contact as he carries me over to the table, checking in with each other. He runs a thumb over my leg and raises his eyebrows quizzically, and I reassure him with a nod. All of this is a lot, but I felt prepared and I’m doing alright. He takes a seat as the other two giants recede to the kitchen, their quiet conversation briefly reaching our ears.

“But it’d be soooo easy to push her around,” the taller of them jokes.

“Diego, I swear to all that is holy–” is the chiding response before the mumbles become undecipherable.

Aiden sighs but seems amused, and he gives me an apologetic look as he sets his hand with me in it onto the dining table. “They’re harmless, I promise,” he says.

“I know,” I laugh, trying not to slip with my new footwear as I step onto the slick wood. “I really like your friends, Aiden.”

He smiles, and since we’re not in the privacy of our apartment, he goes for the more subtle gesture of kissing his fingertip and touching it to the top of my head.

I take a quick look around to get my bearings. The table’s as big as a tennis court, and the plates and cutlery that are already laid out are just as colorful as the rest of the house. A large vase of fresh flowers sits in the middle of the table - the sweet scent is probably too subtle for anyone else but it feels like a special treat just for me. There’s a stack of napkins just ahead of us that would be at the perfect height for me to sit at and use as a table, which actually might not be a coincidence since I notice there’s a second stack a little further away that’s more central to everyone else.

The Ignacios make a couple of trips to bring out cups of water and bottles of wine, and they mention that the food needs to cool down so we can just chat while we wait for Moira to wrap up her shift at work. I had packed all of my eating and drinking supplies into a pouch that Aiden fishes out so that I can retrieve them now. I hand him a lid that used to belong to a soy sauce bottle, and he uses a pipette to transfer a couple of drops of wine from his glass to mine. I think I’m slowly getting more accustomed to alcohol and enjoy having some on special occasions.

Star takes a seat across from us and props her elbows onto the table, looking positively enchanted with the way Aiden and I interact. “Forgive me for staring,” she says gently, “I’m so fascinated. You just don’t even look real, Evie. I straight up didn’t believe Diego at all when he told me about you. It’s not until I talked to Aiden on the phone that I realized my husband hadn’t gone off the deep end.”

I finish my sip of wine and set my cup down on the nearby stack of napkins. “I don’t blame you at all," I say, “I wouldn’t have believed it either if I hadn’t… you know, lived it.”

“Gosh, that must have been horrible. And yet look at you, you’re so, like… confident! Like you’ve always been that size. You’re one strong chick.”

I blush and find myself walking towards her across the table. Star’s the first person who’s been quite this blunt and curious about my situation, but everything about her tone and demeanor is so authentic and disarming. Since this isn’t my first rodeo, putting it all out in the open like this is kind of refreshing.

“It took a while to get to this point,” I say with a shrug. “You’d be surprised what a person can get used to.”

“Ain’t that the truth. I guess it helped that you got rescued by this one,” she says, nodding towards my partner behind me. “Mr. I-Live-To-Help-Others. Ever seen him work a charity event?”

“I haven’t!” I respond, glancing over my shoulder at Aiden, who’s already starting to look self conscious.

Diego chimes in from his spot next to Star, “Then you’ve never seen him in his element! Always running around, making sure everyone’s drinking water or whatever. Like a fucking soccer mom.”

“Staying hydrated’s important,” Aiden mumbles, holding his water cup up pointedly before taking a sip.

I’m not particularly surprised to hear this, but the mental image is entertaining nevertheless. “What kind of events have you all done together?” I ask, now standing closer to Diego and Star’s side of the table.

“The pet clinic I work at partners with local shelters a few times a year," Star explains. “So for the most part it’s adoption events.”

“Oh yeah, you know the blanket I gave you on that first night, Eve?” Aiden interjects, “With the dog logo on it? It was from a shirt I got at one of those events.”

“Yes! I still use it all the time.”

“Aww, you cut up a tiny blanket for her?” Star gushes, leaning her chin against the heel of her hand as she gazes down at me. “That’s so adorable.”

“You should see the setup they have,” Diego chuckles at her, “It’s like a family of mice moved in and set up camp on his desk.”

“Heh, makes sense I guess. So how long have you two been living together?”

Aiden and I make eye contact as we do some mental math. “Almost five months now?” I suggest and he nods.

Diego shakes his head. “Man. And all that time you were keepin’ your girlfriend a secret from your best friend. Even when when I called you out on it. Never knew you could be such a liar.”

A massive wave of guilt washes over me as I watch a shadow pass over Aiden’s expression. I didn’t know he’d ever been “called out” for anything. Just how much has he had to deceive his friends for my sake?

“I wasn’t completely lying,” he grumbles, “I mean, we weren’t actually together yet when you said that…”

Diego lets out a hearty, booming laugh that brings both Aiden and I back down to earth. “I’m just fucking with you, bro. If I was in either one of your positions I’m sure I would’ve done the exact same thing. That’s why I left you alone about it - I could tell you were hiding shit this semester but figured it was for a good reason.”

Aiden smiles weakly, clearly relieved. My gaze lingers on him, guilt giving way to gratitude as for the millionth time I think about all that he’s done for me. I don’t know just how much of an effect I’ve had on his social life, but I’m glad that he no longer has to lie in this particular friendship, at least.

“Wait, wait, hold up,” Star interrupts, “Are you two dating?!”

Color floods my cheeks and I find myself at a loss for words, but Aiden sits up a little straighter, his expression brightening. “Yeah, we are,” he says proudly.

Star knocks her head back, putting a hand on her chest as if she’d been shot. “Be still, my heart! I can’t take the cuteness. I love that so much.”

“Yeah, congrats,” Diego adds, beaming, “You both look really happy together.”

“It’s been great,” I manage to say sheepishly, and I start making my way back across the table to my boyfriend.

“I have so many questions, though…” Diego muses, his mind very clearly inching its way towards the gutter.

“And we’re not answering any of them,” Aiden shoots back.

His abruptness creates a ripple of laughter across the table. I reach my giant’s arm and hop up into a comfortable seat near his wrist. Star watches me with that same enchanted expression before she looks up at Aiden.

“I always did think you’d end up with a little thing,” she says pensively. “You had me going with the last one. This isn’t quite what I had in mind, but still - totally called it.”

My ears prick up at this. I’m vaguely aware of the fact that Aiden has some amount of dating experience, but I still don’t really know of any details. Before anyone can say anything else though, there’s a knock at the door.

“I’ll get it!” Diego exclaims, jumping to his feet and hurrying to the entryway.

I put a mental pin in that conversation topic - I can be curious about past girlfriends a different day. I just want to enjoy the evening now, and having a familiar face join us can only improve things all the more. In the distance the door opens, and there she is, looking adorable as usual in her bright summer dress with ribbons in her hair. Jesus Christ, she looks like a little kid next to Diego.

“Moiraaaa!" the taller of them bellows, and he scoops her right up to spin her in a circle, “How you been, chiquita?”

Moira’s both laughing and actively trying to wriggle out of Diego’s bear hug, teetering a little when he sets her down again. “Dizzy,” she giggles, “But I’m good! It smells great, hopefully you guys haven’t been waiting too long?”

“Nah, not at all. I’ll start bringing in the food – no, you stay there, Star, I got it!”

Moira walks over to the rest of us in eager greeting, and Aiden stands up so he can meet her in a quick hug before Star joins in too. It’s almost comedic just how much the taller ones have to bend down to accommodate their friend. At least they’re able to, though…

Despite the happy voices filling the air, I feel a twinge of sadness as I watch everyone embrace from my perch on the dining table. I’m glad that I’m here. I really am. I’m so happy that I’m able to have a potential friend group again, to feel like I’m a part of something greater. And it’s better for Aiden too this way - he doesn’t have to lie to these people anymore, and he doesn’t have to keep from seeing them as often as he did before. I’m glad things turned out the way they did.

And yet… It’s like there’s still this invisible barrier, keeping me in a separate world from all of them. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to break through it.

I begin staring at my boyfriend in particular. Will I ever get the chance to put my arms around his neck? To feel what it’s like for him to hug me tightly against his chest? What I would give to truly be in his world again, just for a moment. Just so I can know what it’s like.

Moira smoothly steps over to me at the table, reaching her hand to cup around my back with a grin and just as enthusiastic of a hand-hug as she’s able to give me. I smile, grateful for her doing her part in making sure I don’t feel left out, and I cling to her for a beat longer than I normally might.

“This is tripping me out,” she says as she goes to take a seat next to Aiden. “How cool is it that we can all hang out like this?”

"Eeee, I’m so happy that we’re part of the secret club now,” Star chirps, sitting back down in her own chair.

Diego’s brought out the salmon and the sides at this point, and as the plates are passed around, Aiden and I take a little extra time so I can pick out tiny portions to put on my own dish. I notice that there are at least five full-sized servings of everything, and maybe that’s just what the Ignacios would always do to make sure there’s plenty of food, but the thought that they planned for me as if I was one of them warms my heart nevertheless.

We fall back into conversation and spend what turns out to be a lovely evening together. Moira catches the others up on her Florida trip and the animation panel she hosted. I ask Star and Diego how they met and get to hear all about the time they ran a 5k together, and how they were so engrossed in their conversation that they took a wrong turn and got lost in the middle of the race. They also tell us about the headaches they’ve been dealing with during some bathroom renovations happening upstairs. Aiden and I talk at length about our adventures since I’ve been shrunk. Two hours pass and we never run out of conversation.

Despite everyone’s best intentions, there are enough of us that it gets a little loud. On more than one occasion I get talked over by accident. On the other hand, unlike anyone else I’m also able to easily walk around on the table and can catch someone’s attention by my movements alone. The dynamics may not always be flawless, but they’re decidedly good.

Once we’ve all finished the tasty meal and the dishes are put away, I wander to Aiden’s hand that’s resting in a half-fist, palm down on the table. I settle onto him like he’s a chair, sitting on his thumb and leaning back against the side of his hand as his forefinger absently begins stroking my leg. He launches into a story from work, going on about one of his students that he’s particularly proud of, and I find myself staring up at him adoringly. I really am obsessed with this guy.

I don’t realize that I was daydreaming until I’m knocked out of my reverie by something that almost makes me fall over onto the table. Everyone else suddenly goes quiet, exchanging confused glances over the unexpected sound. The doorbell just rang.

Chapter 61
Aiden

I’m standing in the Hispanic section of the grocery aisle, staring down a variety of mole sauces. I reach a hand out to point my forefinger at one of them.

“No no, next row up.”

My hand drifts higher. Why are there so many varieties?

“Two to the left… Yes! That one, perfect. This stuff is so good.”

I smile at the little voice near my ear as I pick the jar off the shelf and put it in the shopping cart. Evie and I have never gone grocery shopping together, but we felt like giving it a shot today. And we’re attempting something different so that we don’t have to try and communicate with each other while she’s in my pocket. Instead, I’m wearing a slouchy black beanie and she’s held snugly against the side of my head, half perched on my left ear. Not only is she completely hidden from sight, just barely peeking her face out, but this should also keep her protected from the absurd amount of AC they pump in here.

“What should we make with this, though?” I mutter, acting as if I’m pondering to myself.

“I was thinking enchiladas! We have that leftover chicken to use up.”

“Mmkay, sounds great. Tortillas are in the bread aisle–”

“Aiden!”

I flinch and my stomach does a flip, though I’m careful not to jerk my head too sharply towards the voice. At first I’m frustrated that the second we try something new like this I just had to run into someone I know, until I process whose voice that is.

“Hey, man!” Star exclaims as she hurries down the aisle towards me. “Fancy seeing you here. Are you uh… alone?” She glances towards my pocket before looking around as if searching for another full-sized person.

I give her a secretive smile and reach up to pretend I’m tugging the edge of my hat. In reality I’m just pointing out my little passenger. I can feel her stick her head out a bit further as she peers over my ear and gives our friend a tiny wave. Star’s eyes widen and she suppresses what would otherwise be a very enthusiastic greeting. She’s having to press a fist against her mouth to keep from squeeing, clearly finding the setup adorable.

“Yeah, just picking up a couple of things,” is what I say out loud. “Are you here alone?”

“No, Diego’s around here somewhere…” she says, glancing over her shoulder. “He really wants to make tamales so he’s probably meticulously picking out peppers right now.”

There’s a family coming down the aisle at this point so we just make small talk for a bit. I ask about some of her colleagues from work, old coworkers of mine from when I worked at the vet clinic’s front desk. She asks about the classes I’m planning to take in the fall and what my schedule will look like. A couple of minutes later we wrap it up.

“Oh hey, when you get home, can you tell Evie…” Star’s clearly directing her eyeline just a tad to my left. “Moira and I were wanting to start getting brunch on a regular basis, just some girl time every other week or so. She’s totally invited if she’d like.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know,” I respond, trying not to laugh as I feel an excited wriggle against my head.

“Eyyy, party in aisle three!”

A few strangers startle at the imposing figure that suddenly swerves around the corner. Diego’s not one to really worry about what people around him think, and he’s really exemplifying that now with the volume of his voice.

“Hey bro! What’s on the menu for you guys?” he asks, drawing his cart up just behind mine.

“Enchiladas.”

“Ohhhh shit that sounds so good right now…”

“But you wanted to do tamales for dinner!” Star protests, “Now I’m craving them.”

“Mmmm, I know what I really want for dinner,” Diego retorts, cocking an eyebrow at her suggestively. He gently takes his wife’s hand to ease her towards him, and then suddenly scoops her up in his arms to dump her into the grocery cart. She’s laughing hard as he whisks her away.

“See ya later, dude!” my shameless friend calls over his shoulder.

“Bye,” I laugh with an eye roll.

“I love them,” Evie giggles.

The rest of the grocery trip is uneventful and we successfully get through it with tonight’s dinner ingredients in tow. I’m glad to take the beanie off once we get back to the car since summer’s in full swing and I can tell I’m about to start sweating. But still, my girlfriend assures me she was comfortable in there, and it’s good to know we have another hiding option in our toolkit.

Later we’re both in the kitchen as Evie helps direct me through the cooking steps. We get about halfway through, and then she seems very eager to help fill the tortillas once I’ve laid them out, so I go ahead and take a shower while I leave her on the counter to work at that.

It’s as I dry myself off in the bathroom that I check my phone and notice I have a few new texts from Diego. I read them with a frown, feeling a little conflicted about the proposition that I’ve just received. He’s given me an invite to something and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea or not… I’ll need to talk to Evie about it.

I’m surprised at how much she’s gotten done when I come back from the kitchen. I’d already laid out the shredded chicken on the open tortillas, but she’s gone through and covered each one with cheese. She’s also cobbled together a platform from an old pasta box that I’d left lying around, so now she’s standing at the edge of the baking pan with a miniature spoon the size of a tennis racket in her hands. She’s been scooping out mole sauce from its jar and turns to me excitedly once I step back into the kitchen.

“I just talked to Moira!” she chirps, nodding towards her phone that’s nearby. “First brunch session is next Saturday - we’ll do it picnic style as long as the weather’s nice. I should be back by two or three.”

I smile at her enthusiasm. “Take your time, spend all day with them if you want.” I then pause as I notice that her eyes are shining. I crouch down by the counter, leaning in closer to get a better look at her face. “Everything okay?” I ask.

“Uh huh.” She props the spoon onto the edge of the jar so that her hands are free to wipe away the gathered tears. “It’s just that it means so much to me that I was invited to something like this… I’m so happy I have a friend group again.”

It’s so strange how used to her I’ve gotten. It’s not like I ever actually forget about Evie’s size, but I do sometimes forget the extreme level to which it impacts her life. Seeing this amount of gratitude over just having a couple of friends is enough to get me choked up for a second. I clear my throat to keep my voice from wavering.

“I’m glad you do too… Um, I think I’ve noticed something, actually. Just from hanging out in a couple of group settings now. Are you an extrovert, Evie?”

She abandons her oversized spoon to come sit on the edge of the pasta box so we can be face to face. “That’s actually a very good question. I think I might be. I’m comfortable being alone, or rather I’m used to it, but when I was younger I would always surround myself with people at school. Over the years I ended up isolating myself a lot more… But I’d still be happiest and most energized when I was working and interacting with my coworkers.”

Damn. It’s taken me way too long to realize how much of a people person she is. We both spend so much time shut away at home that I just kind of assumed that she’s more of an introvert like I am. But that’s not right. She’s just having to suppress her natural tendencies.

“If there’s anything I could do to help you have a fuller social life…” I say tentatively.

“No, it’s okay babe, you’ve done enough. I already so appreciate what I have, I don’t need any more - even if it felt safe to do so. In fact… I don’t know if this makes any sense, but I think the fact that I’m extroverted might be what makes me able to handle having even just a couple of friends who are so much bigger than me. I know I don’t have a lot of them but they’re still… a lot. Know what I mean?”

“I can only imagine. I guess it would be rough trying to hang out with, like, a dozen people."

“Exactly. Secrecy aside, it’d be so overwhelming.”

“Well… this actually kinda segues into something I need to talk to you about… Here, do you mind if I keep working at that?” I motion to the pan with the thin puddle of sauce.

“Go for it, I’ve had my fun. I was getting to the point where I couldn’t reach deep enough in the jar.”

It feels considerate, somehow, to continue the task by reaching in with my own spoon instead of dumping the sauce straight from the jar. This gives me the time to explain the texts that I’ve gotten.

“So… Every year, the Ignacios’ extended family all get together for Thanksgiving. They’re spread out across the country, so it’s become tradition for the family to rent a big cabin in the woods and everyone travels there. Well, for various reasons this year, it’s not happening with the family. Diego just texted me – they decided they still wanted to rent a cabin, but do it more locally and invite a couple of friends instead. Aka us.”

“Ohhhhhh my god! Aiden, that sounds fantastic! We can finally go camping, or glamping or whatever.”

“Hold on, there’s a catch. You and I are invited, and Moira. But Camila was the one who came up with the idea. Meaning she’ll be there too.”

“Oh…” Her energy level drops notably. “Well… that makes sense. She’s an Ignacio too.”

At this point I’m done with the sauce and I shift my attention to Evie standing near my waist, trying to get a read on her. But her face is downcast.

“Thoughts?” I ask as I start to transfer the filled tortillas to the pan. “How are you feeling about that whole… thing?”

She sighs. “I don’t know. I’m still a little uncomfortable around her, I guess. But the second meeting went infinitely better than the first one… How do you feel?”

“Hrrmmm, I still think she was being kinda rude to you last time. But it was definitely better. Also, on the plus side, I’m starting to wonder if I might be wrong about her still being interested in me.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean. I was relieved that she seemed to back off. And I mean, it’s still only been two meetings, and it’s not like she’s been downright horrible to me or anything…”

Evie continues to mull it over in silence, and I give her the space to think as I pack the tortillas into the pan and pour the rest of the sauce on top. I’m crouched down and opening up the oven when I hear her pipe up again.

“I think, ultimately… I don’t want to miss out on this opportunity. I’d still like to go.”

I close the oven and pop my head up over the counter to smile at her. “Awesome. We’ll make it really fun, babe. And I’ll have your back.”

“I know you will. We’ll be sticking together even more anyway, right? For safety, since we’ll be spending a lot of time outside.”

I stand back up so that I can set a timer on the microwave. “Right. Plus it’s not like we’ll be in one giant tent or anything, this’ll be a cabin with multiple rooms.” I start putting a couple of things away with one hand while laying the other one on the counter to offer my girlfriend a ride. “If things ever get too awkward we can always excuse ourselves from the group."

She doesn’t miss a beat and has already hopped right onto my palm. Since I’m still tidying, I wasn’t even looking her way when I felt her little feet against my skin, but I’m instinctively closing my hand around her body. I hold her up to my heart as I finish up.

“I can’t wait to finally spend that weekend in the woods with you,” Evie croons before burying her face in my shirt.

Now that the prospects of this trip actually seem like a potential reality, I’m starting to feel really hyped about it. Camping is like a meditation retreat for me, and it’s been almost two years since I last spent a night under the stars. I’m all the more looking forward to spending it with my little love.

I turn around towards the kitchen island, still operating with just one hand, to put a few dishes in the sink, all the while rubbing Evie’s back with my thumb and dreaming aloud about what’s to come. “You’ll get to try out the classics! We’ll sit around a campfire and eat s’mores and go on hikes. And because it’s a cabin instead of a tent, we can bring board games and other stuff too!”

“Do we know exactly where we’re going yet?”

“Nope. I’m sure they’ll appreciate help researching that, actually. Want to join me while the enchiladas bake?”

She agrees emphatically, and I head to the other side of the living room, grabbing my laptop from the couch along the way. I carefully set my tiny companion down on the desk before taking a seat myself. Now that there’s miniature scaffolding in the way, I have to move a couple of office supplies aside to make room for the computer. Evie watches me thoughtfully, waiting until I’ve turned on the laptop before revealing her thoughts.

“So, umm… the desk is getting a little crowded,” she says as she glances around, “It’s not that bad yet, but a lot of the pieces I’ll be ordering in the future are going to be bigger.”

The laptop’s still booting up so I turn my full attention to her by my arm. “Well that’s exciting, your business is growing! Hmmm. Maybe we get a second table? A smaller one alongside the desk?”

“Yeah, that works. I can look into table options and order one. But I did have another idea…”

She’s looking way off to the side, and I notice she’s taken a couple of steps closer to me so that she can gaze over the edge of the desk. I bite my lip as I realize where her mind is going.

“Ladders?” I ask.

“Yeah. I mean, there’s plenty of room on the floor, you know? I’ve already looked up some wooden ladders meant for parakeets that I think might work. I’d set up a safety rope system and we can put a cushion for me to land on at the bottom just in case I fall.”

I can see that she’s thought about it and that this is the option she’d prefer. The image of her miniscule figure scaling a comparative cliff makes me nervous as hell. But she just went through all the precautions she plans to take, I don’t think this is unreasonable. I decide not to make a fuss about it.

I smile and place my hand just behind her on the desk, fingers cupping in an arc around her body. “Then let’s do that,” I say, “I think it’s about time you had better access to the rest of the apartment anyway.”

I think she was expecting for me to put up more of a fight. Her tiny brown eyes are intense with affection as she steps away from my fingers, instead walking towards my face with clear intention. I still get butterflies in my stomach around this girl, and I move automatically, my hand quickly catching back up to assist her forward movement, scooping her towards me. Not needing any more words, we fall into a passionate kiss.

In the back of my mind I’m reflecting on our journey. I feel so comfortable around her. I partly mean physically comfortable - the casual way we’ve been interacting all evening exemplifies that. But we’re at the point now where I feel like we can talk about anything, where we know we won’t judge each other or assume the worst or be anything other than patient and supportive. I feel like I can be myself around her, more than anyone else in my life. And we’ve finally reached a point where I deeply trust that she feels the same.

~~~

There’s still a good chunk of Part 3 left, but I’m going to take a little break! Which is perfect because we’re about to enter a time skip~ See you in about a week or so. Thank you so much for reading. I don’t know if I say it enough, but the comments and messages mean a whole lot to me, I really appreciate you guys.

Chapter 63
Evie

“Okay… how many?”

“Ummm. Three?”

“Damn!” I sit back on the couch cushion in shock. “How are you so good at this?”

Aiden grins with pride. “I have a lot of experience touching you, you know.”

“Still,” I say, a little befuddled. “Alright, try again?”

“Sure! As many times as you want, this is fun.”

I reach my hand out again and put it against his outstretched fingertip. Even fully splayed, my hand doesn’t even come close to covering the pad of his finger. We’ve been playing a game where I put up a certain number of fingers against his skin and he guesses how many by sense of touch alone. I can’t process how my ridiculously small digits must feel to him, but he’s been guessing right every time.

“Can you close your eyes this time?” I suggest.

“I can’t see through my finger…”

“Close 'em!”

He obliges, shutting his eyelids. I form a peace sign on his fingerprint.

“Two,” he says confidently.

“Wow. Okay, one more…”

He keeps his eyes closed and I attempt to throw him off. I lean forward and peck my lips against his skin instead.

Aiden laughs. “You didn’t think I could tell the difference between your hand and your mouth?”

He opens his eyes and I lean deeper into the kiss on his finger. At this point I’m foregoing the game and just getting a little frisky. Which I probably shouldn’t be - it’s nearing final exams for the class he’s working for, and he’s got a lot on his plate. But it’s been well over a week since we’ve done anything sensual and I’ve been finding myself missing his touch. I can see the longing in his eyes too, and I start feeling guilty for tempting him. I sit upright with a sheepish smile.

“Should you get back to work?” I ask.

“I probably should…” he mumbles.

“Will I be too much of a distraction on your shoulder?”

“Umm… I think I’m willing to take that chance.”

Jumping at the opportunity before he can change his mind, I scurry over the top of his hand and across his forearm. He chuckles at my enthusiasm, and he gently lifts and straightens out his arm to help me climb up to his neck. We settle into silence, with him on his laptop and me attempting to massage the muscles in his shoulders.

But even though we’re not talking or even looking at each other, I swear the sexual tension is arcing between us like static electricity. I take the occasional pause just laying against his neck and watching him answering emails. He seems pretty restless, his fingers tapping and fidgeting idly whenever they’re not actively typing. I glare every time I see a new message come in. How dare these students bother him with so many questions right before their final. Who do they think they are??

My arm muscles are getting sore after half an hour or so. I gravitate back towards his head, thinking I’ll shimmy down to sit on his collarbone and relax for a bit. But as I approach, Aiden takes a second to stretch. He’s very careful not to dislodge me from my perch, but I immediately notice an opening. Normally his ears are too high up for me to reach them, so even though I know they’re a sensitive spot for him, I don’t usually get the chance to touch them. But as he tilts his head to stretch out his neck, the side of his face comes really close to where I’m standing, and I just can’t resist - I reach up and brush my fingers against his earlobe.

“Ahhhh,” he quietly exclaims, shivering so hard from the tickle that I fall to my knees. His fingers are suddenly around me, not to pick me up but to make sure I don’t topple off of him.

“Sorry,” I giggle.

“Nope. Don’t apologize,” he sighs longingly.

I notice his head is still tilted my way, and if anything he seems to be bending it a little further in hopeful request. I reach up from my sitting position and with one finger I start caressing the side of his ear. His grip on me tightens slightly and goosebumps form on his shoulder right below me. After a few moments of me fondling and tickling, he lets out a sound that’s between a groan and a whine.

“Well, I did just get caught up on emails…” he grumbles.

“Sorry,” I say again with a wince.

“Stop,” he responds with a smile in his voice. “I can afford a little break.”

“Okay… Well in that case…”

I stand back up so that I can reach him with my mouth and begin gently pecking and nibbling at the edge of his earlobe. I can’t see his expression, but I can feel the subtle change in his pulse where his hand is touching me, I get jostled by the occasional shuddering, and his breathing is getting choppy. He’d be able to hear me whispering from this proximity, so as I start getting riled up myself from the effect I have on him, my quiet moans do not pass unnoticed. His fingers begin favoring me in turn, running lightly across my limbs and up my back.

“I want to see you,” Aiden murmurs as a head’s up before I’m encircled in his grasp. A part of me was enjoying how much pleasure I was able to give him from my spot on his shoulder, but mostly I’m brimming with anticipation for what comes next, so I don’t protest.

I look over the edge of his hand for a second so that I can take in his mammoth body, and I do notice that far below there’s a lump forming inside the loose fabric of his basketball shorts. I’ve still never seen him completely naked. There’s already so much to adjust to with sex at this size that we’ve been content to discover it very gradually, so he’s only ever used his hands and lips - the thought of getting his junk involved intimidates us both. But my glance down is still a longing one… someday we’ll get there.

My giant partner holds me out in front of him and casually but carefully uses a finger to force me onto my back in his palm. We take each other in for a moment and then he starts kissing me, starting at the side of my head and slowly making his way down my body. I’m making all sorts of sounds as I squirm and happily give in to him.

When he gets to the bottom, I’m surprised by a nipping at my ankle. I glance down just in time to see him delicately close his teeth around my foot as he sports a wide, playful smile. I push myself up on my elbows, so close to his face that I just stare at his eye and give him a quizzical look. Suddenly I feel something warm and wet against the sole of my foot and I jerk my leg back with a squeal, yanking it out of the giant mouth. I realize he just pushed his tongue up against me.

“What the hell?!” I laugh, wiping my foot off on his palm.

“Just being silly,” he chuckles. His free hand appears at my side and starts caressing my leg. “Although… I kinda wanted to try something new, if you’re open to it? It just might get a little… messy.” He takes my still-damp foot to gently rub between finger and thumb, accentuating his point.

I stare at him for a couple of beats, trying to decipher what’s going on in his mind. Suddenly, I recall a term that I’ve seen around the Internet before and wonder. “Wait a sec. Is it one of your fantasies to eat me?"

This sobers him right up. His eyes widen as he looks horrified. “No… no no no, not at all.”

I try to temper what I’m now realizing sounds like an accusation with, “It’s okay! Sorry, I totally jumped to conclusions, and I don’t mean to sound like I’m judging you. I mean, it’s all just fantasy, right?”

“No, well… yes, that is a thing that some people are into, but no, I just, um… I just like the idea of using my tongue a little bit.” He pauses, turning things over in his mind now that he’s gone more serious and adds, “But I can see how that might be… scary. We don’t have to. Forget I said anything.”

I feel guilty for how embarrassed he looks right now. I try to give him my most reassuring smile and then I shoot up to my feet, standing in the middle of his palm. Without a word I proceed to strip completely naked by pulling my shirt up and my shorts down. Aiden watches in stunned silence as I kick my pile of clothing off the side of his hand for us to find on the couch later.

I beam up at him enthusiastically. “It’s just like kissing, yeah? Except a little more wet. I’m down to try.”

He just stares for a few seconds before nodding weakly. Then, as if overcome with a sudden passion, he cups a hand around my back and leans in to start kissing me, harder than before. Instead of just passively taking it in this time, I kiss him back avidly, relaxing into him. I take in the warmth of his skin, the pressure of his lips, the smell of citrus on his breath from the orange he was snacking on earlier. We make out like we normally might for a little bit, and my bare skin is feeling more and more sensitive as the muscles between my legs get tighter.

Eventually we slow down while I’m somehow still standing upright, and Aiden softly breathes warm air on my lower body. He lightly runs his nose along the side of my frame, making me shiver with pleasure. With unhurried, deliberate movements, he puts slight pressure against my back with his fingertips as he starts kissing my legs. I hug myself against his cheek, closing my eyes as I breathe deeply, feeling ready to discover whatever it is he wants to explore.

Soon I feel something different against my thighs. His jaw has opened just a tad, and he’s carefully prodding with the tip of his tongue. It leaves a thin film of saliva where it touches my skin, and at first I worry it’s just going to make me cold. But the pressure begins to grow as the bumpy muscle covers more of my legs at once, its heat pleasant despite the moisture. It’s such an odd thing compared to what I’m used to. His tongue is so lithe and can form itself into flexible shapes against my body.

I gasp as the warm mass pushes my thighs apart, and he slowly licks the spot between them. My second ex only went down on me once, and it was pretty great, but I remember feeling so self conscious about it. And yet, even though I’m dripping wet at this point, I’m very aware that the space between my legs is so small, and that somehow helps ease my embarrassment. When the giant’s wetness finally meets mine in earnest, I moan without holding back.

I want to lay down now, so I lean into the folds of his hand that’s just behind me, and Aiden follows hungrily, becoming more confident in the way his mouth is moving. He’s definitely focused on my womanhood now, but his tongue is so big that it’s covering my legs in the process. The hot, wet pressure is so new and… exciting. The texture of his taste buds is most surprising of all, very distinct from the ridges of his fingers but feeling just as amazing against my sex. I writhe and wince uncontrollably.

There’s a brief pause as my boyfriend checks in, his tongue pulling away for a moment. “Doing okay?” he whispers.

“Yeah,” I gasp, “Don’t stop, I’m gonna get cold.”

He grins, more than happy to continue. He uses his free hand to briefly reach down to me and roll me over in his palm, so that I’m on my stomach instead of my back.

“C-Can I bring you in… inside?” he stutters.

I turn to look at him over my shoulder. “Inside your mouth?!”

He’s blushing fervently but nods. “Not completely, just to… surround your lower half a little more.”

I’m not sure how to feel about this, but I can’t say I’m not intrigued. “Okay… Just be careful not to swallow me or anything.”

Aiden kisses my back, helping me to relax back into his palm. “For the record,” he murmurs, “You’re not so small that that could happen by accident. I’ll go slow and you can stop me the second you’re uncomfortable. My goal here is to make you feel good, okay?”

His face is currently floating just above, so I turn my head again to make eye contact. I soak in the beautiful hazel of his irises, reminding myself of how deeply I love and have faith in my gigantic partner. I smile. And incline my head in agreement.

His tongue swoops back in. My nerves are mollified by the feeling of its weight sliding against my thighs again, snaking in between them so that he can maneuver the muscle underneath my legs. It prods and nudges and rubs against my entire crotch area, and I’m going right back into the throes of pleasure. Finally the tip of his tongue reaches my stomach, and he gets enough purchase against my body that I can feel myself starting to get dragged as he slowly pulls me into his mouth.

It’s probably a good thing that I’m on my stomach and looking in the opposite direction. I can only imagine how intimidating it would be to see the entrance of the cave I’m about to enter. Especially when some of his teeth are as big as my head. It’s… quite the trust exercise.

Once I’m halfway in and my ribs are resting just over his lower lip, the giant closes his mouth around me. He’s careful not to touch me with his teeth, but my legs are completely encased in the hot, humid space as I stare just past Aiden’s chin, at the fingers that are now encircling my torso, and also down and down and down the cliff that is the rest of his body. I watch his faraway hand disappear under the waistband of his shorts, just as I feel his tongue form its way over and around my body, completely enveloping my lower half.

This is absolutely wild.

His tongue slides against me effortlessly, and the entire package feels surprisingly fantastic. It’s reminiscent of a warm bath with water jets, like a very wet massage. At this point my own lubrication gets lost in the cave, but he has plenty to share. And I can feel the vibrations of his voice more than ever before, each small moan making me shiver. Aiden curls his tongue around my frame and I feel a sudden lift, a rolling motion, a pressure against my skin… as he starts sucking on me like a lollipop.

“Ohh,” I gasp with sudden realization of what’s happening. “Ohhhh…”

I grip the thumb that’s supporting me, my legs writhing feebly under the force of the suction. It feels like I’m getting swept up into some kind of piece of machinery, like a terrible accident waiting to happen, except the cogs aren’t actually crushing me, just coming dangerously close. It’s so intense that it’s almost painful, but the adrenaline heightens the pleasure beyond what I thought was possible. It’s so incredibly intimate to know that this insane sensation is being caused by something as mundane as my lover’s mouth.

God, I want… more.

To the surprise of us both, I start shoving against his hand, pushing myself deeper inside. Aiden flinches, as if slightly panicked that I was slipping in unintentionally, until he realizes what I’m doing and his fingers let go. I grab hold of his lower lip and press my face into it, my entire body fitting into the hot space as if I was one end of a spoon.

His tongue undulates and thankfully he’s using his lips to protect me from his teeth as my lower half is pushed into the roof of his mouth. He sucks and licks and massages every bit of me, until he finds a sweet spot with the edge of his tongue between my legs. I yelp as I feel individual taste buds against my clit, and he reacts to my sounds by thrusting, again, again, finding a rhythm that makes me breathless.

I grip his lip so tightly that I’m probably leaving a mark, and the orgasm hits me hard, making my body spasm as I cry out. I think Aiden’s right there with me, his voice echoing in the cavern at my back as his breath whooshes past me in a sigh. His tongue relaxes, and in the aftermath I’m suddenly rather anxious to get out of here, abruptly noticing the proximity of his enormous teeth. I wrench myself forward and his hand is ready to catch me, his tongue nudging me out as I collapse clumsily into his palm.

It feels good to see his face again. I vaguely catch on to the fact that he took off his shirt at some point, but I’m too busy looking him in the eyes as I lay there in his hand, covered in saliva and dizzy from the afterglow.

“You alright?” Aiden whispers with a hesitant smile, trying to catch his breath.

I’m struggling even more to catch mine. “That… was… intense…” I gasp, and with an overwhelmed laugh I add, “In a good way!”

My partner’s wasting no time in making sure I don’t start shivering now that I’m soaked. He brings up a tent-like blue cloth - oh, that’s where his shirt went - so that he can start wrapping me in it.

"You sure? It wasn’t too–” He stops himself short, freezing in place, just as he’s rolled me to the side to start maneuvering the fabric underneath my body. I glance up and he looks very alarmed as he stares at my torso. “Oh my god. Evie, I’m so sorry.”

I frown, confused, and look down at myself as I ask, “What? What’s wrong?”

“There’s… there’s bite marks… I didn’t think I bit down but I guess…” I twist a little further on myself and now I see it too - big red blotches right around my lower back.

“You didn’t,” I say quickly, “Don’t worry, Aiden, you didn’t hurt me. I think that was just from the sucking.” I giggle. “Like a giant hickey… Wow, that’s crazy. I don’t think it’s bad though, I’m sure it’ll fade quickly.”

He still looks very concerned, trying to both cover the rest of me up with the makeshift towel while gingerly running a thumb over the mark that he’d accidentally left. I gaze at him with a deep sigh, so endeared by the way he’s fretting over my wellbeing. I roll onto my back so that the mark is out of sight and take his thumb, hugging it against me as I snuggle into the loose fabric of his shirt.

“Relax, it doesn’t hurt. Don’t ruin my buzz, 'kay?” I murmur, “Because that seriously felt incredible. I want to do it again in the future.”

Aiden’s forlorn expression softens. “Really?”

“Yes! I completely get it now, I actually thought that was really hot. Maybe it’s not for every time, I love you touching me with your hands just as much. Less cleanup that way too.”

“Yeah, and I honestly kinda missed looking at you. But…” He lets out his own wistful sigh, leaning back against the couch as his shoulders relax. “I still really, really enjoyed that. You felt amazing in there, babe.”

I grin. “Variety is good! We’ve got more options now.”

It’s getting harder to hold my head up and I let it slump to the side, forehead resting against the pad of the thumb that I’m currently using as a teddy bear. The palm of his hand feels like a heated mattress, the heavy fabric of his shirt like a cozy blanket. I could lay here for hours, although I know this was meant to be a relatively short break.

“Mmkay, you can go back to work…” I say, slurring my words. “Could I just, like, chill in your pocket for a while? I want to stay close.”

My eyes have shut but I feel gentle air displacement on my face before huge, soft lips touch my cheek. “Cuddles first,” Aiden murmurs.

He readjusts himself to lay sideways on the couch, resting his hand with me in it on a cushion so that he can hold me within kissing distance as we relax for a bit. His nose nudges the back of my head, breathing me in and ruffling my hair on the exhale. When he speaks his voice is full of emotion.

“Thank you for being so open. You’re just making all my tiny dreams come true, one after another."

“Thank you for being my guide.” I open one eye to glance towards something far away and out of sight, my mind visiting the forbidden location between his legs. I don’t specifically call out what I’m thinking about as it feels like a conversation for a different time. But my response is genuine when I say, “I can’t wait to discover what all of those tiny dreams are.”

Chapter 65
Evie

“Happy birthday, Evie!”

I jump at the sound of Diego’s voice as he sails into the room with gusto. Thankfully I’ve gotten used to his sudden booms of activity and recover quickly. I realize he’s holding a platter with a gazebo-sized chocolate cake balanced on top.

I wasn’t expecting this. Star and Moira and I have been at the Ignacios’ dining table for the past couple of hours, deeply engrossed in some room escape board games, which I’m sure is going to become my newest obsession at this point. I didn’t want to do anything particularly special for my birthday - my partner and I have romantic dinner plans later, and I was content to just enjoy a bit of girl time otherwise. I didn’t even realize Diego had come back into the house, he and Aiden had been off somewhere.

Speak of the devil. Right as Diego strolls in from the kitchen, I realize my boyfriend is just behind him.

“Thank you!” I call up to them, feeling embarrassed by the attention but very touched all the same. Then I completely cover my face as a barely-subdued cacophony of a happy birthday song fills the air, with everyone quickly joining in. As self-conscious as I feel, I take a moment of gratitude in the darkness behind my fingers. I’m so thankful for my oversized friends.

I look up again as the four of them finish their singing, and I realize Aiden has crouched in front of the table to set something just ahead of me. It’s a miniature version of the chocolate cake with a tiny dollop of frosting on top - it’s still almost as big as I am, but far more suited to my size. Stuck into the center of the cupcake is a tiny candle. Actually, I think it’s a toothpick, but it’s been painted with festive stripes, and at the very top is a tiny bit of yellow cotton fluff. Even the smallest birthday candle would produce too much fire to be safe for me… but this setup lets me pretend.

And I step forward to do just that. The small chunk of cotton is light enough for me to blow it away, and as I meet Aiden’s eyes I can feel tears welling up in mine from how thoughtful the gesture is. He beams back at me, and as the others start gathering around to partake in the normal-sized version of the cake, he and I share a brief kiss right there on the table.

“I know what I’m going to spend all of my earnings on,” I tell him a short while later, pointing at the room escape game that’s still sprawled out.

“Evie’s really good at puzzles, apparently,” Star chimes in as she clears off the table to make room for plates.

“So are you!” I respond avidly, “We never would have figured out the spaceship layout without you.”

“Eh, I guess I’m better at seeing the bigger picture. You’re better at catching all the little details.”

“Spaceship layout?” Aiden asks with a raised eyebrow. “Okay, I’m interested.” His hands are busy as he helps me with my own plate. The mini cupcake is so big that it could keep me fed for a month, so even I need a smaller slice cut out.

I reach out with a thankful smile for my tiny portion as I say, “Good, because there’s a whole series of these games and I need to play all of them.”

We dig into the sweet treat and spend the next hour hanging out all together. The gathering is loud, it’s lively, it’s a little overwhelming at times. But it’s so much fun. We talk about a new show we’ve all started watching, and we make plans for the camping trip coming up in a few weeks. I compliment Diego on the kickass cake - I think cherry and chocolate might have just become my new favorite combo. I’ve had a little bit to drink and end up wandering around the table to make sure everyone gets a finger hug and is told how much I appreciate them. It’s edging into late afternoon once Aiden and I finally call it and decide to head for home.

I’m practically bouncing off the walls of the shirt pocket during the drive. “Thank you so much for that surprise!” I gush, "I’m still buzzing with energy.”

Aiden chuckles and tenderly says, “Pace yourself, babe. Don’t forget, we also have dinner tonight. I actually just got the text confirming our table at that Greek place. They still haven’t treated me weird about reserving a private room for one.”

“I can’t wait.” I throw myself against his chest, craning my neck back to look up at the side of his head. “Can we just cuddle in bed until then?”

“I’d like nothing more!"

He sounds a little more tired than I do, but his heart rate is still kinda high. I think he enjoyed the excitement too, and I feel warm with affection as I nuzzle into him and collapse into a seat.

“What were you and Diego up to?” I call up.

“We were back at the apartment, just getting some stuff ready.”

“Oh is that where he baked the cake?”

“No, he baked that last night.”

I frown and glance upward. “Then what…?”

“Patience, my love, patience.” He runs a finger against the outside of his pocket, as if to rub my back, but due to the plastic barrier it just creates soothing shifting sounds instead. I notice he’s barely suppressing a grin. I feel insanely curious about him being so cryptic. I had insisted on no expensive birthday gifts, but did he get me something anyway? For his sake, I decide not to pester him and let this play out.

By the time we get back to the apartment, though, I can’t take it anymore. I steal a glance over the edge of the pocket as the giant steps inside, my eyes aimed right for the kitchen counter to see if there might be some kind of new object wrapped in colorful paper. But even though the counter is empty, it only takes me another two seconds to realize what’s different.

I grow very still, my eyes widening in shock. “Oh my god. Aiden, what…” and I can’t get any more words out.

Tunnels. Along the walls, across the shelves, both nearby and in the distance, is a long series of clear plastic tunnels. My gaze traces their path, all around the room, and I notice some furniture has been rearranged, I think there’s a new shelf or two. I hardly have time to take a decent look before I’m distracted by massive fingers reaching for me. I’m still very preoccupied with the apartment as Aiden lifts me up and kisses me on the neck and cheek.

“You’re not getting out of cuddling in bed with me,” he murmurs, and then I descend again, elevatoring all the way down to the nearby counter, until the hand I’m in rests on its surface to gently slide me off. With a sly smile he adds, “I’ll meet you there.”

And I watch as he walks away from me. The vibrations of his footsteps grow fainter as he steps through the living room and his figure disappears into his bedroom.

The context of him leaving me alone like this is disorienting. I take a quick glance around my immediate vicinity, getting a lay of the land with fresh eyes. I’m on the kitchen counter right next to the front door, since upon entering the apartment the open kitchen area is to the immediate right. There’s a plastic tunnel opening nearby, and it’s taller than I am, more than enough clearance for me to walk through. I notice it’s going across the door as it lines the wall, staying up at counter height, and then continues deeper into the living room. I’m actually not sure how he opened the door to get into the apartment just now without crashing into this thing, but I’m diverted from that thought by a paper note that’s resting by the tunnel entrance. I hurry over to it to see familiar handwriting.

I’ve said it before, but it’s about time you had better access to your own home. Don’t worry, these weren’t expensive and they weren’t that hard to put up. Plus they’re super sturdy and safe - they can hold up to thirty pounds and you weigh a wee bit less than that.

Happy birthday, Evie. I love you so much. Now don’t keep me waiting!

This is when the tears start.

Fighting the building emotion in my chest, I turn now to the entrance of the tunnel. Despite trusting what the note said about these being secure, I’m still a little hesitant when I first step inside. Thankfully Aiden has lined the bottom with some black fabric so that I don’t see straight down to the floor, but I still get a clear view of my surroundings through the rest of the clear plastic. As I venture further inside and feel how rock solid this pathway is, my steps become more confident. I pass over a couple of seams in the plastic that I suppose must allow for the tunnel to come apart as the door opens, and I quickly make it to the corner of the wall. The tunnel bends to line the room, like a hiking path carved into a canyon.

I gaze out at the rest of the living room. I can’t believe I’m able to make my way across it on my own. Even now that I have access to the floor by the desk, I don’t usually venture out anywhere else in the apartment. I always rely on Aiden carrying me to other areas since everything’s so high up. But now I don’t have to. I think about some of the food staples that he keeps out on the kitchen counter. He refills my own supply of food and water all the time, but he doesn’t have to do that either, I can do it myself!

I quickly come across something else that’s new: a small floating shelf with what resembles a miniature picket fence lining the edge of it. The tunnel cuts off at the shelf and then continues again just past it, like an open balcony. I’m right below the hook where Aiden hangs his keys, and he’s put his wallet up on this shelf, leaning against the wall. I also notice a couple of me-sized things too - a dollhouse chair, the jacket I recently made for the fall, one of my two pairs of shoes. This is the perfect little getting-ready-to-go-out station. I can already imagine myself scurrying over here to get prepped while my boyfriend finishes something in the kitchen, or to greet him when he comes home from work.

After exploring this area, I head back into the tunnel to continue my way along the leftmost wall of the apartment. The desk where I live is at the far end of the living room, next to the window, but it looks like I have one more stop before I reach it.

I pass over the familiar squat bookshelf that has always been against this wall, where Aiden keeps his books and rock collection. But now there’s a new piece of furniture - a taller, narrower bookshelf that intersects my path. There’s a hole cut out in the side of it that lines up perfectly with the tunnel I’m in. I curiously pass through it and step out of the doorway, and I have to suppress a gasp as I look out at the miniature room.

This entire shelf is a new lounge space for me. There’s the couch-beanbag thing I’d made for myself, a table and chair, a lamp that I think was originally a little night light for children. There’s a phone I’ve never seen before - an older model by the looks of it, so thankfully he didn’t buy a brand new phone - sitting against the wall like a wide screen TV. There’s a bundle of trimmed pine needles in a little plastic container like a potted plant, giving off a subtle but refreshing scent. There are even some snacks wrapped in small scraps of foil to help keep them fresh - a single chocolate chip in one, a sliver of rice cake in another, a drop of peanut butter in a third.

There’s also what I quickly realize is a curtain that’s installed into the open side of the shelf. I experiment with this, dragging the curtain fully closed and turning on the night light. It’s so cozy in here now, and surprisingly quiet. I’ve gotten pretty used to wide open spaces at this point, but it still feels so good to not have to be surrounded by so much empty air.

In one corner of the shelf-room there’s a hole in the floor. I peer down into it and there’s a ladder leading down to the next shelf. From up here I can see another hole past that and another ladder, and so on. It looks like I have access to this entire bookcase. I glimpse the edges of my paints on one shelf, my packing supplies further down, and then it all clicks in my mind. This is my new office building.

“Oh wow, Aiden…” I whisper, fighting again the urge to break down into tears again, though they well up anyway and I have to wipe one stray drop off my face.

I’m itching to explore the whole bookshelf and figure out what should go where, but I know that should be for another day. I soon rip myself away and head back into the tunnel that continues its way around the apartment. It’s a short trip along the next corner, and soon I’m stepping out onto my familiar living space on top of the desk. But there are a few clear changes now.

My toilet closet, clothing shelves, mini fridge, phone and random bits of entertainment are all just as I’d left them. But there’s a new couch now, the base clearly bought from a toy store but the cushions lovingly hand sewn by my boyfriend. My treasured purple geode is still there in the background, the usual basil plant is recently pruned, my stuffed toy lion has been dusted and cleaned. I don’t even notice that my bed’s missing, I’m so inspired by the fresh feel of my space. Now that all of my business stuff has been moved, I can separate my work and my leisure time and just relax here on the desk. But that’s not even the best part.

“No no no no no,” I breathe through choked sobs as I walk over to the plastic box that contains my bathtub. It’s always just been a plain white box, but there’s something new on its outer wall that now lines the space of my new living quarters.

I immediately recognize Moira’s art style. Tiny tableaus of beautiful fantasy landscapes are artfully arranged on the wall. No wonder she’s been talking a lot about home decor recently and asking for my opinion, this is the perfect whimsical aesthetic I’ve been pining after. A couple of the paintings I know are from Star, since we had that one artsy hangout and I know how obsessed she is with doodling flowers. The goofy mushrooms in all sorts of bright colors are surely from Diego’s hand. I even think one of these might be Camila’s watercoloring. And I’ve played enough pictionary with Aiden to recognize those acorns with smiley faces.

This is what breaks me, and the crying starts in earnest. It must have been so difficult for my friends to make art on such tiny pieces of paper, most of them smaller than postage stamps. Not to mention the simple fact that they all came together for me like this… And I now have a beautiful mural to look at every day to remind me of the people I care about. I don’t deserve them. My body’s racked with sobs as I focus on each individual art piece in turn, and I’m thankful that Aiden’s left me on my own to savor this without an audience. My emotions are probably heightened by the alcohol I had earlier, but the love I have for these people is so genuine all the same.

It takes me a little while to pull myself together again and traverse to the other side of the desk, where I see another plastic tunnel entrance. This one lines the opposite back corner of the living room and then passes right over the top of the couch. In fact, there’s a hole in the plastic here, an open door that gives me access to the couch backing and tops of the cushions. There’s a rope ladder draped over the edge of the fabric cliff that would allow me to get to the armrest, to the seat, and even to the floor. I now imagine Aiden sitting here, working on his laptop, and I can sneak right up to kiss his neck.

The tunnel continues, along and past the couch. I know that on the other side of the wall I’m lining is the bedroom. I still haven’t fully stopped crying, and I quicken my pace in anticipation. The tunnel makes a U-turn once it reaches the edge of the wall, going straight through the open doorway of my boyfriend’s room. And there he is, the first thing that I notice, sprawled out on his bed as he casually reads a book. But then immediately after I realize that the entire room has been rearranged. His bed is now on the other side, up against the wall that the living room shares. The tunnel I’m in slopes downward, and it’s leading to its final destination: Aiden’s nightstand. Where he’s already set up my own bed.

I’m several steps closer when my movements catch his attention. Our view of each other is slightly warped by the transparent plastic that I’m encased in, but we’re still able to smile at each other. He turns in my direction as I move towards him, and I’m thankful for the fabric floor that keeps me from slipping and sliding down the tunnel. We’re able to make better eye contact once I’m closer, and he lifts his head off his pillow, frowning with concern as he sees how red my eyes are.

“You okay?” he asks quietly.

Words aren’t an option right now, so I just silently and fervently nod, hurrying towards him and motioning for him to put his head back down. I think he can tell that I’m the good kind of emotional right now since he does indeed lay his head back on the pillow, but he continues to fret as I run out onto the nightstand.

“We can rearrange stuff however you like, I want you to get a say in how it’s all set up–”

I leap onto his pillow and practically crash into his face in a hug. “I love it,” I sob, shoulders shaking as the tears just won’t stop. I press my forehead against the space between his eyes, struggling to breathe as I cry. “Aiden, I l-love you, s-so much…”

His hand reaches my back to gently cover my frame and hug me against him. I revel in how close his voice is as he softly says, “I’m glad you like it. I’ve been kinda nervous about it for weeks, but I was excited with how it came together today.”

“I t-totally didn’t s-see it coming…” I whimper, sniffling. “Good job.”

Before we get into a serious snuggle session on the bed, he gives me a slightly tighter squeeze and whispers, “Welcome home, honey."

Chapter 66
Aiden

I manage to wake up silently today. As soon as my eyes blink open to the morning sunlight bathing the nearby wall, I’m ultra aware of what’s sitting very close to the back of my head. The simple knowledge of it makes me smile, and I decide on a little mission. As stealthily as I can, I slowly flip over, doing my very best not to make a sound against the bedsheets and pillow. And although it takes me a solid minute to simply rotate, I have a nice little reward waiting for me at the end. There she is on the nightstand, quietly snoozing away.

Still moving ever so carefully, I lift my head so that I can prop it up with my hand and smile down at my tiny girlfriend by my side. I got used to glancing at my mini crane origami every morning - which is still there - but this is admittedly way better. And it’s so rare that I’m the one who wakes up first. Evie keeps assuring me that I’m not a loud sleeper, and thank goodness for that, since there’s no way I’d subject her to spending the night in here if I snored or thrashed around. Still, I know that just shifting my head to the side is probably enough noise to rouse her come morning, because even if she’s still in bed when I wake up, her eyes are almost always open.

It’s such a treat now to see her looking so peaceful. Aww, apparently she smiles in her sleep. And she’s also apparently more active than I am - her blanket has been half shoved off her body and she’s got an arm flung off to one side while her hair’s fanned out to the other. I lean in a little bit to make out how her miniscule fingers occasionally twitch. So tiny. So cute. I feel a powerful desire to hold her close. But that would defeat the purpose of trying not to wake her up.

Alright, stop being a creep, I finally tell myself.

I’ve still got well over an hour before I need to get ready for class, so I can just chill in bed for a while. I carefully retrieve my phone that’s in an open space in my nightstand, just under Evie’s bed. I reflexively grab a breath mint that’s there too - I’ve become a little obsessed over the past half a year in making sure I’m clean at all times. I know I can already be overwhelming enough to be around without also making her deal with morning breath.

A few minutes later, I hear the slightest sound, a tiny inhalation, and I glance up from my phone to watch my partner stir. She stretches her arms past her head and her eyes blink open before she turns her face my way and smiles.

“Good morning,” she says, her voice tight from her stretching.

“Morning,” I respond. I set my phone down and add, “Sleep okay?”

“Uh huh… Better than usual, I think. You didn’t wake me up at all.”

I chuckle, “Good! I’ve been feeling kinda proud of myself, for once I’m up first.”

Evie sits up in her bed to do a deeper stretch into a forward fold, and then she pushes the rest of her blanket away. She slides off her mattress to quickly make her way to mine, and I lay my head back down so that we can share a kiss. She lingers, sleepily leaning her cheek against my upper lip as she yawns.

“I’ll go get breakfast started,” she says.

Her position slumped over my mouth makes it harder for me to talk, but I manage to quietly murmur, “Noooo, not yet.”

I set up the tunnels and ladders in the apartment about two weeks ago now, but Evie’s still very excited about her newfound independence. She’s been getting into the habit of heading to the kitchen on her own first thing in the mornings and doing as much meal prep as she’s able. Yesterday she used a small plastic knife to make the beginnings of a peanut butter and banana sandwich. She’d managed to gather the bread and peel, cut and arrange the banana all on her own. She did end up needing me to open the jar of peanut butter, but I’ve been impressed with her resourcefulness all the same.

This morning I’m feeling particularly clingy, though. I don’t want her to go.

“You don’t have to get up,” she tells me, completely missing the point. “Take your time, I’ll at least go put bread in the toaster today.”

She gets back to her feet and starts walking away, but she doesn’t even reach the end of my mattress before I gently grab her leg. “Nope,” I say as she yelps and loses her balance. I start dragging her back towards me with a grin. “You’re not going anywhere.”

She giggles and manages to writhe out of my grip before sliding right underneath my pillow to hide. I push myself up, laughing as I uncover her again and whine, “Let me love you!”

Playful shenanigans aside, Evie is ultimately completely amenable to spending a little longer in bed. After dealing with some more overenthusiastic kissing from me, she makes her way to the collar of my shirt and tucks herself inside with her head sticking out. I hold her against my chest as we relax and she tells me about the dream she was having. The warmth of her body against mine is so comforting. Ugh, do I really have to go to class?

“Two more weeks,” I murmur after a lull in the conversation, and I smile as I feel her reaction under my fingers. She always perks up enthusiastically whenever I refer to our upcoming cabin trip.

“Less than that!” she chirps. “Closer to a week and a half. And there’s supposed to be a cold front hitting that area so it’ll be nice fall weather too!”

“Yeah, it’ll be perfect for campfires that way. How have the cold weather clothes been coming along?”

“I finished crocheting two scarves, and I’ve got a bunch of socks now. I’m almost done with the warmer pants too. I’ve been procrastinating on the coat, though… I really need to get it done.”

“Anything I can help with?”

“Umm, I’ve been meaning to add a hood to it so… I might have some stuff for you to cut out when you get home?”

“Mmkay. No problem.”

“Hey babe?”

“Hmm?”

“I really am starting to get hungry.”

With an amused exhale I finally relent and release her from my loose grip. “Okay, fiiiine…”

Evie wriggles out of my shirt and turns back to look at me when she reaches the night stand. “Seriously, take your time!” she says, putting a hand out to encourage me to stay prone.

“Yeah, I might be lazy and stay here while I answer some emails,” I mutter, reaching for my phone again.

“Leave it to me! I can just bring your breakfast to bed.”

I laugh and joke along, “In that case, I’ll have eggs benedict. Make sure they’re poached just right.”

“Right away, sir.” I beam at the glint in those beautiful brown doe eyes of hers and then watch her turn and scurry away down the tunnel. Off she goes.

I procrastinate on my phone for a while before going through a few of the emails like I’d planned. Subconsciously I’m keeping an ear out for any worrisome sounds coming from the kitchen, but for the most part I’m able to trust that Evie’s doing just fine over there. Eventually I notice that a good half hour has passed, and I decide I should finally roll out of bed and make sure she was able to find something to eat.

As I sit up, my eyes fall onto the plastic tunnel on the wall, originally meant for ferrets but perfect for shrunken women too. I’m pretty proud of the setup. I’ve always felt content with carrying my girl to wherever she needs to go, but I’ve been surprised by just how much of a joy it’s been to have her come to me sometimes. We’ve haven’t had this new setup for all that long yet, but it’s already done wonders for her confidence and overall mood.

There are still a few kinks to figure out, though. Lately Evie’s been lamenting the fact that she only has one toilet, which she wanted to keep in the more central location on the desk. It’s a bit of a hike for her to get there from the kitchen or from my room, so her current plan is to have makeshift chamber pots around for emergencies, but her engineering brain has already started trying to figure out the mechanisms of the metal contraption that was in Dr. Little’s old briefcase. Maybe we’ll be able to replicate it at some point. She’d also like to replace the ladders leading to the floor - particularly the ones in the kitchen and at her work shelf. She’s convinced that she can come up with a pulley system to create miniature elevators, and I totally believe she could do it.

I’m smiling as I get up to leave my bedroom, daydreaming about the future. Having a tiny roommate with tiny furnishings is fun. I feel like I could live like this forever. How cool would it be, assuming I’m graduated and have a stable job, for us to buy a house, maybe even build it custom, with Evie’s situation in mind. If we owned the place we could actually do things like cut holes in the walls for her tunnels to pass through, or alter the electronics and water lines for her to be able to use them as well. We could build a sheltered little outdoor area, almost like an aviary, so that she could safely enjoy some fresh air whenever she wanted. Maybe we could even get her some kind of vehicle to get around faster–

A tiny voice suddenly reaches my ears in a shrill scream, “Aiden, AIDEN!”

I was in the middle of walking out into the living room, but as soon as I realize the direction the voice is coming from, I snap to my senses. I almost fall over as I jerk backwards and lift one leg up high. I have to reach a hand out to the nearby wall to steady myself, heart racing as I look down. Evie’s on the floor. Oh my god. I hadn’t noticed since I was passing through a doorway. I nearly just stepped on her. Holy fuck.

She was in the middle of launching herself backwards and away from my incoming foot, so she’s fallen over, eyes wide with panic. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her look at me in terror like this. For a second I’m completely frozen in place, horrified, caught between the desires to either get her off the ground or drop down to her level. But seeing how scared she looks right now, my better judgment tells me that the last thing she needs is me hurtling towards her in any capacity. I take a couple of shaky steps backwards, giving her some space, before kneeling down on the floor.

“You’re okay,” I whisper in an attempt to reassure her, “Everything’s fine… Fuck. I’m sorry."

I watch Evie trying to get a hold of herself, and she manages to take a couple of deep breaths as she sits up straighter. “N-no, I’m s-sorry… I shouldn’t have come down h-here without w-warning you, that was stupid…”

Now that I’m able to evaluate the situation a bit more clearly, I’m thinking things through in the back of my mind. From my trajectory, I don’t think I was actually going to land on her, maybe just kick her aside at worst. Plus, if I’d felt the slightest thing against my skin I’m sure I would have been able to stop myself before putting my weight down. I desperately want to believe that I didn’t just almost kill my girlfriend by accident.

I’m trying to meet her gaze as I barely manage to keep my anxiety in check. God, I hate how freaked out she looks in my regard. She keeps dropping her head for a second, as if wanting to put her face in her hands while she struggles to catch her breath, but then quickly looks back towards me, clearly afraid to take her eyes away. I hate that, I hate feeling like this menacing monster. But I don’t blame her for being on high alert right now. It’s hard to imagine what she just went through…

I need to focus. Does she need more space or less space right now?

Before I can ask the question out loud, Evie answers me. I’m far enough away that this is hard to make out, but I think she’s got tears welling up in her eyes, and her bottom lip is quivering. She reaches her arms out to me, and I immediately lower onto my elbows and then lay down beside her. We silently embrace, her slender body fitting in the space where my nose meets my cheek. She’s still a bit shaky but she’s fully leaning into me, and we breathe out in tandem. I’m relieved to feel her muscles begin to unclench now that we’ve made contact. I’m glad I can still bring her comfort despite what just happened.

After a solid minute of us calming back down in silence, she lets out a tremulous breath. “I think you would have missed,” she says with forced confidence, echoing my own sentiments from earlier.

“I think so too,” I agree. “Still… that was scary.”

“I don’t have to come down here anymore. I just spilled some oats on the floor, so I wanted to go down and gather them up… and then I thought it’d be easier to go straight to your room to come see you, but… but I can stay up on the counters from now on.”

I wage a battle within myself. My paranoia around her wellbeing is agreeing wholeheartedly to never risk anything like this again. But at the same time, I don’t want to see that confidence of hers slip away as she loses bits of her independence once more. Her safety is absolutely crucial, but her freedom is important too. Maybe there’s another way.

“I mean, I’ll leave that up to you,” I say evenly, “but… um… If you were to go down then, yeah, a warning would be good? Just so I can be extra vigilant. And maybe try to stick close to the walls? But I feel like I’d normally notice you easily, it’s just because I was turning a corner… I think this was really bad luck.”

“Yeah… Yeah, okay.” Evie buries her face into my cheek, sighing audibly. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

It’s hard to feel completely reassured right now, the aftermath is too raw. She’s right, I’m sure we’ll be fine, but… this was quite the sobering reminder that we do indeed have a couple more things to still figure out.

Chapter 68
Evie

I shiver and twist deeper into the covers as I come to consciousness this morning. The air feels even chillier in the early hours, but it just makes my bed feel all the more cozy. I slept pretty great, actually. As much as I’ve gotten used to the sounds of people and cars passing by outside back home, the relative quiet of the forest that surrounds us is lovely. I peek my eyes over the blanket to look towards Aiden, who’s turned in my direction but still fast asleep. The very tip of his nose is pinker than normal with the cold. I wish I could tuck him in a little better. But even if I was strong enough to drag his blankets, I’m too comfortable to move right now.

Soon I hear a slight floor creaking coming from outside of our room. I lift my head up to listen, and sure enough, there’s a very light tap on the door a second later.

Alright, alright… Comfort be damned, Moira and I made plans for this morning. I force myself out of bed, rushing to throw on some warmer outerwear, and then I quickly make my way down the ladder that’s hanging from the nightstand. I pause to look up at the bed, looming so high that I can’t see past the edge of it. I blow my sleeping boyfriend a kiss before I turn and hurry away.

The gap under the door is big enough for me to slide under, and the first thing I see are a pair of feet clad in fuzzy purple socks. My friend is crouched there, anticipating my arrival, and she already looks so put together with her yoga pants, a light coat of makeup, and a cute, casual side braid. And here I thought I was an early bird.

“Good morning,” she whispers, immediately offering me her hand.

“Morning,” I respond sleepily, and once I clear the door I don’t even bother standing up before I crawl aboard. It takes a great amount of effort to keep myself from curling up in the warmth of her palm and refusing to budge.

A quick stop by the kitchen for a drink of water is enough to rouse me to attention, and then once we head out to the back deck, the fresh air does the rest of the job. Looks like Moira’s already rolled out her yoga mat, and she has a hand towel laid out on a nearby bench for me. I thank her profusely for the setup as she sets me down.

“You said you’ve done yoga before, yeah?" she asks once she’s stepped onto her own mat.

“Um, I’ve followed a couple of videos before, but I’ve never done a class. Please guide me," I call out to her.

“Okay, sure! Let’s do some sun salutations to get us going? We’ll start with tadasana, mountain pose. Stand like this, arms to the side… There you go.”

I quickly realize that I need to stretch more. I was diligent about doing the leg extensions that Diego sent me after my injury, but I’ve been slacking lately and I can really feel it as I struggle to hit some of these yoga poses. I’m more in shape now compared to before I got shrunk since I have to travel further distances and do a lot of climbing, but I don’t take nearly as much time as I should to stay limber. Actually, I should ask Moira to do this with me more often. It’s fun to do it together, she’s a good teacher. Even if she needs to go out of her way and come quite close to me to help correct my positions from time to time.

By the time we finish up half an hour later, I’ve started to sweat and have abandoned my jacket, but I feel refreshed. We’re noticing bits of commotion coming from inside the cabin as everyone else slowly wakes up. Aiden’s face had briefly appeared in the window halfway through our practice, smiling once he’d confirmed where I was before leaving us be. Soon enough the scent of coffee trickles out of open windows.

The back door opens, and with a pronounced yawn Star shuffles out onto the deck as well. Her dark hair is up in a messy bun so that only the one strand of blue is hanging down by her face. She’s holding two bowls in her hands as she trudges our way and says, “Hellooo ladies. Anybody want oatmeal?"

There’s a patch of sunlight that’s landed on the patio accent table, giving us a spot to have breakfast outdoors. I fill my senses with the apple and cinnamon, savoring the taste of fall. Thankfully I carry a few basic tools and utensils in my jacket pockets, so I’m able to dig right into the spoonful of oatmeal that I’m offered.

“Is everyone else up too?” I ask between bites.

“Yeah. Camila’s still upstairs getting ready," Star says with a sleepy smile. “I think I’ll be staying with her while you guys go on that hike, I just want to relax. The boys are prepping food for the day in the kitchen.”

Moira ponders for a moment and then suggests, “Well, I don’t think we were planning to leave until 9 or 10… Would you guys want to do a bit of that spa stuff beforehand since we didn’t end up doing it last night? We can have some quality girl time?"

Star perks up at this. “Yeah, totally, if you guys have time! I’m sure Camila would love that too."

I briefly hesitate, imagining the four of us hanging out and putting on face masks. That does sound nice and relaxing. And Camila’s been pretty chill so far, which is encouraging. So quickly I chime in, “Sure, why not!”

We finish our breakfast while marveling at how beautiful the nearby tree line looks at this hour. Star is apparently extra touchy when she’s sleepy, frequently putting a hand on Moira’s arm or rubbing my head with a finger as we chat. But I’m endeared by it. I honestly still haven’t quite figured out why I don’t find Star to ever be patronizing. No matter how honey-sweet of a tone she employs, or how much she fawns over how cute she finds me, or how she gently pets me without expressed permission, it never feels disrespectful. It feels like she would treat any of her loved ones this way, and I’m all for it.

She’s the one who offers to carry me back inside, cupping her fingers around my frame to protect me from the odd breeze. We go by the kitchen to drop off the dishes and let the guys know what we’ll be up to before the hike. They’ve got an array of bread slices spread out on the counter, in the middle of making way too many sandwiches.

“What do you want in yours?” Diego asks as he points at me in his wife’s hand.

“I’m fine with whatever,” I call back, “I’ll have some of Aiden’s.”

“Pshhh, c’mon. Not even half a sandwich?” he mocks with a grin, slapping a spoonful of mustard onto the sourdough. “Weak.”

I roll my eyes with a sigh, but I’m laughing. I’m also not sure why it’s never bothered me all that much that Diego has poked fun at my size from the moment I met him. I’ve found it refreshing that he doesn’t overthink how he needs to treat me. Again, it feels like he acts this way with all of his friends, and it’s how he helps make me feel like I’m truly part of the group.

We update the men on our spa plans, and they’re amenable to splitting up by gender for the next hour - I’m sure they’ll be happy to sneak in a couple of games of Magic before we head out. I can see the intent look in Aiden’s gaze when our eyes meet and we silently check in with each other. I smile widely to let him know I’m doing just fine.

We gather in the main bedroom downstairs, where Camila quickly joins us, wearing fancy loungewear and fluffy red earmuffs. She seems quite enthusiastic about the face masks, and we all pile onto the bed, with me finding a spot on one of the pillows to spread out some tissue paper to sit on.

Once we’ve done some exfoliating and moisturizing, Star offers to cut my hair, since apparently she does it for her nieces all the time. I’m initially wary when I see the blade, despite the rounded tips on the small scissors that she has. But ultimately I agree when I remember what Diego had said about how Star has stitched up a hamster’s leg before. I trust that she’s capable and will be very careful.

“Have you cut it since you’ve gotten tiny?” she asks me, draping my long brown locks over the side of her index finger.

“Nope. It’s actually been driving me a little crazy lately,” I say, closing my eyes to try to block out the thought of scissors coming so close. I hear Moira murmuring something to Camila about how they need to hold still and not shake the bed.

“Hmm, maybe the split ends are just too small for me to make out, your hair feels so silky… Okay, this’ll be real quick.”

I hold my breath and everyone goes strangely silent. I feel a slight tug, hear the sound of quick snips, and it’s all over in less than a minute. I look behind me as Star carefully tries to brush some of the loose hairs off of my back. I take one hanging strand to examine it, feeling immensely satisfied at the fresh feel of it now that it only comes down to my chest instead of nearing my waist.

"There, I tried not to make it too short,” Star says, smoothing out my hair affectionately. I turn around to smile up at her gratefully and she coos, “You are so precious, Evie. Like a little doll.”

The other two girls relax now that there are no more sharp blades in my vicinity. “That looks great! You even got some layering in there,” Moira marvels.

Camila leans in a little closer. “Yeah, you do look like a little doll,” she comments. I feel a bit guilty for thinking this, but I can’t help feeling that those words sounded better coming out of Star’s mouth. Still, she’s trying, and I respond with a warm smile.

“Thank you so much for this, Star,” I say, giving my friend’s nearby finger a tight hug.

“Anytime!” she giggles, “I’d love to be your new hairdresser. I’m sure I’ll get better at it over time.”

I thank her a couple more times before relaxing the embrace, finally letting go at the sound of a ziploc bag opening.

“Oh good, I’ve been meaning to change up my nails for the fall,” says Camila as she also notices Moira reaching into her bag of nail polish.

Mo is in the middle of holding up one of the bottles when she pauses. “Shoot. Evie, I didn’t think about this… Are the fumes a bad idea?” She bites her lip with concern, and the other two turn their heads towards me.

I squirm and shake my head, feeling suddenly embarrassed under their stares. “Oh, um, I’m sure it’s fine. I just won’t get too close. It’s not like I can use the brushes on myself, and uh… here!” I reach over to a nearby scrap of tissue that I’d been using to wash my face with earlier, and I tear off a strip before tying it around my face to cover my nose and mouth. “Ta-da! Don’t worry, it’s not like I do this every day.”

“Let me at least go open a window to air out the room,” Moira offers and gets up to do just that.

The girls start painting their fingernails, and while I’m feeling a little wistful that I can’t join in due to my own nails being the size of poppy seeds, I still feel included when they ask me for my opinion in color choices. But while Camila and Moira seem very accustomed to this activity, Star is struggling.

“Ahh, I’m so bad at this,” she laments, trying to scrub the dot of polish that she got onto the skin of her thumb.

“Can I help?” I pipe up, sliding off the pillow to head towards her. She’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, so she has to lower her hand down towards me for me to reach it.

“You sure?” she asks tentatively. “I thought you weren’t going to get too close.”

The smell of the polish is pretty strong, but not nauseatingly so. “It’s really not too bad. I’d love to give you a hand! It makes me happy if I can return the haircut favor in any way.”

“Alright then… thanks!”

I extract a couple of the tools from my jacket pocket since some of them are for painting minis, and they really come in handy now. I use a small splinter to scrape errant nail polish off, and then I eventually end up helping her paint an orange leaf on her ring finger.

“Wow, that looks really good!”

I’m shocked to look up and see that it’s Camila who has praised me so avidly on my detail work. I hope I don’t look too surprised as I beam up at her.

“Thank you! I can try to help if anyone else wants some kind of design.”

Star pauses in blowing at her fingernails to giggle, “You say that now until we switch to pedicures.”

I grin and wave my hand to push her concern aside. “I really don’t mind!”

“No, no, I was kidding, I’m not going to make you deal with my dirty–”

I gasp as just then we’re interrupted. Out of nowhere, Camila has just extended her foot from her seat, plopping it down right in front of me. I lose my balance from the impact and land on my butt, every muscle tense as I try to make sense of what’s happening. Her bare foot is as large as a tank, imposing all on its own, her heavy toes having landed much too close for comfort. The rest of her leg is like a hulking tower, and looming far above is her smiling face.

No, it’s… it’s more of a smirk. It’s incredibly apparent to me in this split second. She’s getting a kick out of seeing me down at her feet like this. Our eyes meet and the message she sends me is as clear as if she’d spoken out loud. It sends a shiver down my spine.

“Ewww, Camila, what are you doing??” Star yelps, and just as quickly as it appeared, the foot is shoved away again, the bedsheets buckling back and jostling me again.

“She was offering!” Camila laughs, casually folding her leg back.

“She was just being nice, you weirdo!”

Moira gently approaches me as Star berates her cousin-in-law. She gets my attention by showing me the nail design on one of her fingers, quietly pretending to need help straightening out a line. She uses the opportunity to pick me up, pushing the side of her hand into the mattress to slide her palm under me. I quickly snap out of it and cooperate, regaining my smile as fast as I can. But I’m still reeling from what just happened, reliving it in the back of my mind.

Everyone I’ve met since I’ve shrunk has treated me a little differently. Some of them specifically make reference to my height while others avoid it. Some of them are more liberal in touching me while others are more mindful about my personal space. Some of them try to help me out directly while others help me help myself. But outside of Dr. Little they’ve all been kind. They all treat me as an equal.

Camila clearly does not share that sentiment. I could practically hear her voice in my head as she sat there and savored the sight of me all the way down at her toes like a servant. The look in her eyes very clearly told me, “Oh, you think you’re one of us? That’s cute.”

I feel sick. I’ve been spoiled by so many months of living with Aiden and being surrounded by supportive friends. I have no idea how to deal with this. Desperately I fight back tears, only barely managing to.

Soon we’re able to just laugh the moment off as a silly little joke. I really don’t want the others to know how unnerved I feel after that. I don’t even want to acknowledge it to myself. All I want is to have a good time on this trip. But deep down I know that whatever benefit of the doubt I had been offering Camila up until now, whatever naive hope I had that she and I could get along as casual friends… all of it has vanished in an instant.

Chapter 70
Aiden

The sound of the small crackling fire is soothing. So is the gentle heat of it, the sight of the dancing flames, the smell of charred wood. Our bellies are full of flame-cooked sausages, foil packet vegetables and cast iron hand pies. Moira has her guitar out, and while initially this was for the purpose of everyone singing a few ditties around the fire, at this point all three of the Ignacios have left to check out the hot tub, so she’s just idly strumming some gentle chords in the quiet night air.

Evie’s cuddling up in my palm as I softly massage her back. She’s been a little extra clingy this evening - not that I mind. She’s attempting to offer me a light massage in return, pressing her toes into the skin at the base of my fingers. As time progresses, though, her movements are slowing down.

It’s hard to make out some of the details in the darkness, so I lift her closer to my face to try to suss out the state she’s in. In reaction to the change in elevation she slowly flips onto her back, blinking up at me curiously with heavy-lidded eyes.

“You’re looking pretty sleepy,” I remark with a smile, “Want to head to bed?”

“Noooo, not yet,” she whines, “You’re just too comfy, give me a sec… What time is it?” She pushes herself to a sitting position in my palm, stretching her arms out.

Moira had set her guitar down once she noticed we were talking, and she checks her phone now. “It’s just before nine.”

“See? Plenty of night left!” Evie beams up in my direction and wonders, “Think it’d be dangerous for me to check out the hot tub?”

I ponder this before answering, “Ask Diego what he thinks about the temperature, but I don’t think it should be a problem? As long as we don’t lose you in the water, obviously.”

“Ooo I have an idea,” says Moira before crawling over to some of the supplies that haven’t been cleaned up yet. She returns with a white styrofoam bowl, holding it up for Evie to see. “This should float, even if we put some of the water and you in it. Want to try?”

“Yeah!” The tiny woman in my hand doesn’t seem so tired anymore. I playfully dump her into her new tub, and she giggles as she slides against the styrofoam and the static makes some of her hair stick up.

“Are you not coming?” Moira asks me, though she’s mostly keeping her attention on the bowl and friend that she’s now holding.

“I will, I just need to put out the fire. I’ll catch up with you guys.”

It takes me a couple of minutes to get things wrapped up - once I’ve doused the flames, I prod at the remains with a fire poker to make sure there aren’t any smoldering coals left. I rather enjoy the glowing red of the parts that survived, so I linger as those last little bits die out. That’s when I hear the rustling of leaves. I look up to see a figure coming my way, hard to make out as they’re backlit from the light of the cabin. But a few seconds later I recognize Camila.

“Why’re you all alone in the dark?” she calls out to me, unnecessarily loud. I briefly frown at her demeanor when I notice she’s got a slight stumble and what might be a beer can in her hand. We’ve all had a bit to drink, but I’m thinking she’s had a bit extra.

“Making sure we don’t burn the forest down,” I call back with an amused smile. She looks so out of place in her fluffy bathrobe.

She plops down right next to me on the log to watch the glowing coals. I try not to laugh at how intently she’s staring at them. But I’ve taken long enough on this task, and I’d honestly rather be with the others. I reach down for a nearby water bottle so that I can finish the job and we can all regroup.

I startle at a sudden tugging at the hem of my shirt. I turn back to look at Camila and then go rigid as she abruptly leans towards me to rest her head on my shoulder. She shifts closer, so that the side of her body presses against mine. At first I naively think that maybe she’s just feeling dizzy or something from the drinking. But then she wraps her arms around mine with obvious intention.

"What are you doing?” I ask stiffly, too taken aback to move away.

"I can’t stop thinking about you,” she mutters, pulling me in tighter.

Fuck. There’s a sinking feeling in my stomach and the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. My mouth feels dry as I try to think of what to say. "Listen… I’m sorry but–”

"Are you truly happy with her?” she interjects.

This creates a spark of irritation amidst the alarm. I’m able to answer with a much more steady voice. "Yes.”

She squeezes my arm, fingers digging in hard, and mumbles, "I don’t get it.”

I take her hands to pull them off me, gently but firmly. She doesn’t resist and I’m able to get away from the heat of her body and slide a couple of inches to the side. Once I’m sure that she’s sober enough to hold herself upright, I pull back further and turn to face her. In the dim light that’s coming from the cabin, I look at her intensely and say, "You don’t have to get it. But I’m going to ask you to respect it.”

I walk away. Maybe that’s wrong of me to leave her alone like that. But I can’t think straight. It’s uncomfortably tingly at the spots where she touched me, almost painfully so where she dug into my arm. I feel nauseous. I knew there was a chance Camila might still have feelings for me, and she made that more and more apparent this whole trip, but I didn’t expect this, I didn’t expect her to try and make some kind of move, especially so suddenly like that…

I burst back into the cabin and have to catch my breath. It feels like the room’s spinning, the light inside feels too bright. Ugh, how the hell am I going to handle this? Do I just pretend that didn’t happen? Should I go back out there and make sure she’s alright? I just want to find Evie, I just want to see her–

“Aiden?”

I jump at the sound of Diego’s voice. He’s just stepped inside on the other side of the living room, through the door that leads onto the back patio. His shirt is damp in places and his hair’s still dripping, clearly from having just come out of the hot tub.

“You alright, man?” he asks, frowning.

I snap back into my composure, hoping I sound convincing when I say, “I’m fine. Did Evie and Moira…?”

I trail off and he nods, his brow still furrowed. “Yeah, they’re still out there. Moira didn’t want to go in the hot tub, but I think Evie still does. You should go see her. What did Camila do?”

He figures it out so quickly that I can’t suppress a twitch. He’s walking towards me now, confusion getting replaced by concern. I just stand there in silence, still trying to wrap my mind around the past few minutes.

“Come on, bro. I’m not an idiot,” Diego insists, “She’s been making everyone uncomfortable as fuck since we got here."

I look down at my feet for a few seconds as I try to breathe and think. I’m not sure what the right thing is, but all I know is I can’t bring myself to go back out there. Not right now. Maybe it’s alright to lean on my friend a little bit.

“Yeah, can you go check on her?” I finally say. “She seemed pretty tipsy.”

Diego claps both hands on my shoulders, bending down to look me in the eye. “I’ll talk to her. You go spend time with your girl, okay?”

Yeah. That sounds pretty good right now. “Okay.”

He straightens back up and grins widely before he walks past me and says, “We’ll be up in the loft after this so you’ll have looots of privacy.”

“Wh–” before I have time to say anything, he’s out the front door, making his way towards the campfire remains. I shake my head at him trying to be a wingman at a time like this. But he did succeed in making me feel just a little bit better. I’ll figure the rest out… later.

I go out onto the back patio to find the girls standing just outside the hot tub, and Star waves me over. “There you are!” she says, “Look, this works great!”

Once I step closer I can see what she’s talking about. It seems that Evie got the okay from our medical experts, since she’s currently drifting along the edge of the tub in her little styrofoam bowl. She’s dressed in her intricate red and white swimsuit, her hair fanned out over the surface of the water that’s also in the bowl, and she’s looking absolutely adorable half submerged in her contained little puddle.

“I can still feel the heat in here, but it’s not too much!” she yells once I’m close enough. “Want to come in?”

“Please,” says Star as she shivers profusely, “It’s really cold once you get out.”

“Yeah yeah, I’ve got her, you two get inside,” I tell them and they both scamper away.

Thankfully we’d thought ahead and I’m already wearing my swim trunks under my clothes. I begin stripping down, pulling my shirt off as I keep a close watch on the tiny boat.

“Look at you, little sailor,” I say with a laugh, “That looks fun.”

“I’m on the hunt for some sea monsters,” Evie responds matter-of-factly. “This lake’s kinda empty though.”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I chuckle as I finish yanking off my pants.

The hot water helps my muscles relax, and I lower myself down into it with a relieved groan. I rub at my still-tingling arm, feeling the urge to clean it, and then smile fondly as I notice my girlfriend gently drifting in my direction. I reach a hand out and touch my fingertips to the bottom of the bowl so that I can pull her in a bit closer. We decide to turn on a couple of the jacuzzi jets, on the lowest setting so that they’re not too loud and don’t jostle her around too much. But even this small amount of pressure against my back and my legs helps me unwind my tight nerves. I can almost pretend nothing out of the ordinary just happened. Almost.

I catch Evie shivering a tad, and I scoop a bit of water to carefully add to her existing bath in the bowl. Like a predator in waiting, she playfully latches onto my index finger as soon as it comes close enough and holds it tight. But… it’s a little extra tight. Just how she was being a little extra clingy earlier. A little extra quiet all day. I touch my thumb against the other side of her body, gently stroking its delicate curves.

“Are you doing okay?” I ask quietly.

She frowns. I guess this probably feels like it’s coming from out of nowhere. She leans her cheek against my hand, observing me for a moment. Finally she counters, “Are you doing okay?”

Welp. So much for pretending nothing’s up. I shouldn’t keep this from her anyway. I wasn’t particularly trying to hide it, it’s just that I haven’t sorted it out in my own brain yet. Evie and I have hardly had any time for just the two of us since we embarked on this trip - maybe we’re due for a little heart to heart.

I sigh. “Camila just came on to me.”

“What?” Her eyes widen as she lifts her head up. “Just now?”

“Yeah… I think she’s drunk. She didn’t, like, assault me or anything, she just got really touchy and… made it very clear that she still has feelings after all.”

Her grip tightens. “Any unwanted touch is not okay. I’m sorry, babe.” For a moment she tilts her head down, pressing her forehead against me instead, and laments, “Damn. This sucks.”

“Yeah, it definitely complicates things…” I mutter.

Evie lets go of me now, sinking herself back into the water. She pulls her legs up into her chest and gazes off into space before finally saying, “I have something to tell you about too.”

She recounts what happened this morning. About when all four of the girls had gathered to put on face masks and paint their nails. And about how Camila took an opportunity to misconstrue Evie’s offer of helping out and essentially shoved a foot in her face, knocked her down and laughed about it.

I grow more and more appalled. And I’m also increasingly angry. I’ve never been particularly close with Camila, but I’ve technically known her for a long time. Even though I didn’t consider her a best buddy or anything, I still would have referred to her as a “friend.” I’m learning a whole lot about her today.

I’m practically shaking by the end of the tale. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growl.

Evie looks a bit spent as she hugs herself, legs still bent in, shoulders drooping. She looks so vulnerable in her curled up position. How can anyone bully someone who’s this harmless, this defenseless?

“The other two had my back,” she says, “Moira’s been awesome - she took me aside after we left the room to make sure I was okay, and she’s been staying close any time Camila’s nearby. I’m alright, but… I don’t think I really want to see her after this trip if I can help it."

“Uh, yeah, I don’t either. I knew she could be self absorbed, but I didn’t think she’d be capable of being so mean. That’s just unacceptable…”

My outrage is boiling more violently than the jacuzzi. Ugh, and here a part of me had been pitying Camila. I may not have ever understood why she was interested in me, but I did feel for her plight - unrequited feelings can be really hard to deal with. I’d been frustrated with some of her behaviors and really put off with how she approached me tonight, but I still couldn’t help feeling guilty about rejecting her.

That pity has evaporated. Now I’m more focused on the fact that she was hitting on me despite knowing that I’m taken. I’m remembering how dismissive she was about my girlfriend, how she said that she “doesn’t get it.” I know she said that while drunk, but… she doesn’t see Evie as a person, does she? What the fuck is wrong with her?

“Aiden, hold on,” my partner pleads, clearly seeing how restless I’m getting. “I don’t want any drama. Let’s just try to ignore her? We’re only halfway through this trip, I’d like to make the most of it. Not to mention that I’d rather not be on her bad side, not when she knows about my situation.” I look down and notice that the styrofoam bowl has started drifting away, its tiny passenger needing to raise her voice now for me to hear her. “It wasn’t that bad, she was just being immature. Hell, if we know she’s into you after all, then she’s probably just jealous, right?”

I sigh deeply, like a deflating balloon. I reach my arms out to bring her back towards me again, and I carefully lift the bowl out of the water to bring her closer to eye level. “Alright,” I relent, “Let’s make the most of our time out here. But… Evie, if she pulls that shit in front of me, I’m not sure I can hold back.”

She nods. “That’s fair. Hopefully it won’t come to that.” Since I’m holding her this close I’m able to notice how dejected she looks. She puts a hand over her face and her voice quivers. “I just… God, I just wish she wasn’t so… hot.”

I freeze, completely caught off guard by this. “What?! Babe, there’s zero competition here.”

Evie’s using both hands now, digging the heels of her palms in against her closed eyes. “I know, I know. I’m sorry.”

This fun little boat is starting to feel more like a barrier. I run my fingers along the rim of the bowl restlessly in the ensuing quiet while neither one of us knows what to say. Finally I break the silence.

“Can I hold you?”

She lifts her head at this, her eyes red from the sting of unfallen tears. She smiles weakly and inches forward towards the edge of the bowl. I cup some water into my hand before gently tilting her into it, and I cradle her little body with utmost care, trying to make sure she’s neither too hot nor too cold. I lower myself further into the water, kneeling in the hot tub, so that it almost reaches the top of my shoulders. Tenderly I kiss my beloved on the top of the head.

“I wish I could properly express to you how much I love you,” I murmur.

Evie’s smile is weak but earnest. “For what it’s worth,” she says, “Despite all the weirdness, I’ve truly enjoyed most of our time here. Last night with the group was so much fun. The hike today was amazing. I didn’t think I could ever want to see such large flames after what happened at the lab, but this evening and the campfire has been so nice. I’ve loved spending so much time outside, and I look forward to that foraging class tomorrow and everything we have left.”

I lightly grasp her tiny shoulder between thumb and forefinger and suggest, “How about next time we go on a camping trip, we make it a couple’s one. Just you and me."

“Yes please. I really want to try camping in a tent with you one day.”

“Deal.”

She tilts her head back, silently letting me know she wants another kiss. I aim for her neck and then she turns to press her lips against mine. The warmth of the hot tub heightens the pleasure, and as the minutes pass, the tender intimacy helps me stay in the moment with her, distracting me from everything else.

The water creates enough lubrication that she slides with ease against my lips as she gets to her feet in my palm, and in the process I feel all of her curves against my mouth. I kiss her with a bit more force, tilting my head to cover her whole torso. Pure affection overtakes me, and I want to completely engulf her in it. I constrict my hands around her, folding my fingers over her body, and break off the kiss so that I can hug her instead. I tuck my clasping hands against the base of my throat, bringing my chin down so that I surround her from all sides.

For a while Evie welcomes the embrace. But then she takes some initiative and maneuvers her way between my fingers, until I feel her hands against my neck. She climbs onto my collar bone, and I slowly lean back to make the job easier, carefully regaining my seat and leaning the back of my head against the edge of the tub. I sigh and let my eyes close, savoring the feeling of my miniature girlfriend crawling around near the top of my chest. The tiny tickles are both relaxing and stimulating.

She reaches my shoulder and shimmies alongside it until she’s able to hoist herself up on the edge of the tub. Reflexively I bring one hand up to drip some water onto her frame, to protect her from the chill. She continues to climb up to my head, and I shiver indulgently as I feel her mouth against the edge of my ear. At this point I’m becoming short of breath and am covered in goosebumps from head to toe. I vaguely remember what Diego had said about giving us privacy.

“Aiden…” Evie murmurs, pausing to give my earlobe a little nibble that makes my heart skip a beat. “I’m not sure I can properly express how much I love you either. But… um… if you’re open to it, I… I’d like to try.”

Chapter 71
Evie

I lean myself against the side of Aiden’s head. The heat of the water and the rush of emotions are making me dizzy. But after the unfortunate moments of the day, after the frustrations and the fear and the questioning of my own self worth, I think we deeply needed this private moment. It felt good to talk things out. We’ve been able to reconnect and focus on just us, at least for now. We don’t need to think about the rest. It can wait. And there was something in particular that I had secretly hoped might happen during this weekend in the woods.

“Are you sure about this, sweet girl?”

My giant’s voice vibrates his skin and rumbles through me. I shudder with pleasure and try to return the unintentional favor by tracing the curves of his ear with a finger.

Softly I respond, “I know I’m ready. I’ve been wanting to venture down there for a long time… And hey, you’ve just taken a bath, you’re nice and clean. I just thought it might be a good opportunity.”

“Yeah… Maybe we’ve waited long enough. I think I’m ready too.”

Just then, a breeze passes through, chilling me instantly, until Aiden’s fingers cover me, pressing me against him with a protective weight. He suggests we go inside, and I heartily agree. I’m bundled up in the corner of his towel as he heads into the warmth of the cabin, and it’s a short journey from the back of the living room to our bedroom. We can hear voices coming from upstairs as it seems that everyone’s playing pool up in the loft. I even make out Camila’s laugh. Good. Maybe she’s so drunk that she didn’t realize what she was doing with Aiden, which wouldn’t be the worst outcome. Whatever.

It’s almost eerily quiet when Aiden shuts the door to our room. I feel like I can hear my own heartbeat - and his, for that matter. We stare at the bed awkwardly.

“Just go lay down,” I finally say, smiling up at him. “We’re gonna psych ourselves out.”

He nods and drapes his towel over the closet door before carefully climbing onto the bed. He holds me against his chest as he gets into position, so that I’m laying at an angle once he’s still again. I gaze down the length of his near-nude body, as I have time and time again. I’ve tried to imagine so many times what he might look like under all his clothing. I won’t have to wonder for much longer.

“If at any point you change your mind, that’s okay,” he mutters restlessly. “You know I enjoy it when we’re focusing on you.”

“Thanks, babe. But I’d really like to focus on you, for once,” I say, getting up to my feet. I pad my way down the center of his body, over his chest, his stomach. I approach his swim trunks with desperate curiosity, my cheeks feeling warmer by the second. I’m not sure what I’ll do, what I’m even capable of at this size, but right now I just want to see it.

I stop at the waistband and look back over my shoulder. My boyfriend really is like a landscape to me, in all its varied elevation. It’s unreal. But I find his body to be absolutely spectacular, despite it not quite being suited for someone of my size.

And I seem to be having more of an effect on him than I have any right to. His jaw and shoulders are tight, his arms are to his side as his fists clench at the bedsheets, and his eyes are fixed on my position. His voice is a little shaky. “Seriously, no pressure on doing anything that you don’t want to–”

“Aiden, I’m fine,” I interrupt, trying not to laugh at how nervous he is. I have to raise my voice considerably now that I’m this far from his face. “Are you not okay with this? We can stop.”

“No, I just… Um… Okay, here goes…”

He brings one hand up to where I’m standing and slips a thumb under the waistband of his swimsuit. He pauses, and I put my hand on his, trying to reassure him with my touch. I give him a gentle but encouraging little push, and it feels like we’re doing the job together when he finally pulls off the fabric barrier.

Perhaps normally there would have been a wave of warm air, maybe a musky scent or something. Since we both just came out of the hot tub, though, he’s just as clean and slightly damp here as everywhere else. The sight sure is something to behold, though.

There’s a sparse patch of dark hair that tapers into a trail leading to my feet. I have to blink a couple of times to fully make sense of the fleshy shape up ahead, as big as inflatable lawn decor. There it is in all its glory, already at half mast. His member looks so alive. Just another beautiful part of his body.

I can’t help giggling, and when I realize that might sound terrible, I quickly try to explain why. “I was starting to wonder if it was deformed or something based on how shy you were being,” I say, shooting Aiden a grin over my shoulder.

He’s looking very relieved to have gotten the reveal over with, and he chuckles too as he carefully finishes sliding off his swim trunks and tosses them aside. “Listen, just imagine if your privates were this magnified to your partner.”

“Sure, I’d probably be really self conscious too,” I acquiesce. “But you’re into this, right?”

“I am,” he sighs and he really seems to take in the sight of me down on his crotch. “Fuck, am I into this.”

I turn back to his manhood, approaching it cautiously. I can’t believe I’m finally here. It’s not that I was incapable of imagining what a man’s penis might look like from my perspective, but… seeing it in person is filling me with an unexpected awe. Even from a short distance away I can tell that it’s emanating warmth, like my own milder version of tonight’s campfire. Damn, despite it being half flaccid it already stands a little taller than me.

“It’s huge, Aiden,” I marvel.

“Heh. It’s average. You’re just tiny.” He bops me on the top of the head to accentuate his point.

I’m practically purring as he lets his finger slide down the length of my back. “I really am small, aren’t I?” I say with a teasing tone.

“So small,” he agrees, voice tight with arousal, “So, so small…”

I watch as his member moves before my very eyes, the shaft stiffening and elongating even more. I take a small step back as I watch him grow.

“Am I getting… even smaller?” I stammer with pretend fear.

I’m successfully poking at all the right buttons. Aiden’s breath hitches and I almost lose my balance from the way it makes his whole body spasm. “Staahhp,” he groans with a bashful smile, “I’m embarrassed enough.”

“Well you shouldn’t be, big guy. You’re magnificent.” I step closer to the warm pillar again, craning my neck back. It’s got to be almost twice my height now as it reaches its full stature. I’m easily eclipsed by its shadow.

Aiden’s hand is still right next to me, and it fidgets restlessly. He clears his throat. “Do you, uh… want to touch it?”

The gentle prompt encourages me to reach my arms out and lay my palms against his skin. It pulsates under my hands, my subtle touches causing not-so-subtle twitches. I stroke the pillar a few times, like petting some kind of large beast, and already I can feel that my gigantic partner is tensed up in an effort not to shake me.

“Ohhh… fuuuck…” he groans, briefly laying his head back against the pillows.

This feels wonderful. And I’m not just talking about the sensation of touching him. I’m talking about the unprecedented levels of pleasure I’m able to give him right now. It’s giving me such a thrill. I just hope it’s enough.

I circle the member as I look up at it, mesmerized. I’m struck by an idea as I make my way around and suddenly duck behind the tower, crouching down into a ball at the base of it. Its thickness dwarfs me, hiding me from the giant’s sight with ease.

“Look, I’m so little that you can’t even see me from here!” I call out, trying to continue emphasizing the difference in scale.

Aiden laughs, and his hand creeps in my direction as he protests, “Nooo, come baaack…”

As his fingers reach for me on one side, I escape them by circling around the other side, giggling playfully. I then try to hug my lover’s manhood, and although I press up against him, my arms aren’t able to fully reach around.

“It’s so warm,” I say, closing my eyes with a sigh.

Aiden’s hand catches up and he begins touching me too, drawing doodles on my back and across my limbs. I shiver with delight. He pauses once he finds the spot on my swimsuit top where I’ve tied off the fabric into a big knot. His too-large fingertips struggle to pinch the end of it, and I surreptitiously give him a hand, tugging at the edge of the knot myself to guide it into his grasp. All it takes is a little yank on his part for the garment to slip right off. He has a much easier time sliding my bottoms down my legs.

I feel that much more free with my clothes off. I writhe my nude body against him, reveling in the way it makes my partner moan. I reach my hands up high as I look skyward, up to the summit of the living tower. I stand on my tiptoes and stretch out my fingers.

“I can’t even reach the tip!” I laugh.

Aiden exhales heavily. “Should I be feeling bad for you? Or am I allowed to think that’s so hot?”

“Heh, of course you’re allowed," I say brightly, “Right now I’m really glad you have that kink of yours. It’s making my job a lot easier.”

I abandon my attempt to take up space and turn around so that I can face him as I press my back into the shaft instead. I love the way his eyes run over my frame, continually taking in the sight of me with a dizzied smile.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers.

I swoon, smiling widely at him. Lighthearted antics aside, I’m starting to wonder how I’m actually going to accomplish anything here. I can’t just tease him to completion. But it’s a little hard to think in my own increasingly aroused state.

“Could I get a boost?” I ask, glancing back up at the tip.

“Mm-hmm.”

His fingers wrap around and lift me with ease, and for a brief second I’m hovering above his crotch, taking in the sight, shocked by just how exhilarating I’m finding this. Aiden lowers me back down to straddle the pillar from on top - it doesn’t stick straight up but is just angled enough for me to not slide off. It bends slightly under my weight, and since my new perch is curved I have to be careful not to topple over, digging in with my knees and gripping with my arms. The giant’s unintended movements jerk me around so hard that he ends up keeping his hand on me, just in case.

His palm replaces his fingers, flat against the back of my body so that only my head and shoulders are free, and I melt under the pressure of it as I fully lay down on his member. I put my ear against his skin and listen to the rushing of his pulse.

“Can I just hold you like this for a second?” he murmurs.

I’m beyond being able to yell my responses at this point, so I just reach a hand out with a thumbs-up and hope he gets it. He holds on to his manhood, and I’m sandwiched within, the heavy pressure feeling warm and loving. I start kissing whatever I can reach - the shaft underneath me, the base of a finger to my left. Just ahead, looming slightly above my head, is a smooth ridge, the mushroom-like curve of the tip I’d been looking up at minutes ago. I scooch forward so that I can kiss it too, and I’m surprised by the level of reaction this gets.

Aiden groans and moans as I run my tongue up against these increasingly sensitive spots. I get an occasional squeeze from moments where he briefly loses control. I can tell that if he could, he’d love to rub me all up and down him, and I’m grateful that he’s being so careful. Wanting to ramp this up, I silently communicate by pushing my back against his grasp, and he loosens his fist just enough for me to wriggle free.

I get up into a sitting position then, my legs splayed out to either side, as if I was mounting a horse. I rest my hands on the ridge that I had just been fondling with my tongue and I look up, up at the sprawling titan of a man ahead of me. At this point the immediate area is becoming slick with a warm fluid that will work great as lubrication, and I encourage it to spread with my hands. I stare into his distant eyes, hoping I’m not too small for him to look into mine, and I grind against him, smoothly sliding against the shaft.

His reaction is immediate as his grip around my waist tightens. His eyes widen as if with startled realization. I undulate my hips again and he gasps.

“Whoa– Oh, wow–”

Oh wow indeed. I’m stimulating myself too, and seeing the direct effects of my small movements on this mountain of a man is insanely hot. Soon this becomes more like bull riding as the giant’s manhood pulses violently beneath me, rendered all the more challenging since it’s also very slippery. I struggle to find a rhythm, thrashing and gripping and sliding. His breath gets more and more ragged, and I revel in that wincing smile of his as he closes his eyes and basks in ecstasy. It’s hard to stay steady, and this lasts for several minutes until my clenching legs are sore and I’m gasping for breath.

His hand isn’t just holding on to me, it’s holding on to himself, and eventually he starts pumping behind me as I thrust, and I come so close to falling off of him. I can hardly breathe as I’m overtaken by heat and lust, my voice is weak as I gasp his name. I find myself wishing he was being a little rougher with me. I throw myself down onto him again, embracing him, writhing and pleasuring him with everything I have. I feel his finger slide onto my back, the pressure making me sink into him as I lovingly submit.

He finally crosses the threshold, his voice reverberating through me with one final groan, and I’m thrusted upwards as he bucks his hips and pushes his head back. I lift my head to watch as the beast I’m riding shudders and sprays, and I break into a joyous grin at the sense of victory it brings me.

I feel amazing, but I’m also exhausted. As Aiden hurries to sit back up after his release, I waver dizzily on my precarious perch. He scoops me into his hands and whooshes me up to his face.

“Are you good?" he asks breathlessly, looking my naked form over, “Can I help…?”

Oh, right. I’d sort of forgotten about my own orgasm in the midst of everything else. I feel as worn out as if I’d had a release, but it got a bit lost in the excitement. That doesn’t mean this experience hasn’t been intensely pleasurable and gratifying, though. Besides, I really didn’t want to focus on me this time.

I easily wave him off with a “Nah, I’m great. All done." Then I collapse backward into his palm.

Aiden kisses me tenderly, thankfully on the stomach as I’m still lacking in air. “Such a little trooper," he whispers, his words tickling my abdomen. “Thank you, honey… That was fantastic. Like holy crap, how did you even do that?”

I giggle and pat his upper lip as I sigh, “Eh, you did most of the work."

He lowers me down to give me a look. “That is a false statement and you know it. Now flip over, you’re getting a back rub.”

I acquiesce, not needing to be convinced, rolling onto my front and laying my cheek on crossed arms. I close my eyes and just enjoy the little massage that follows, my lover’s fingers carefully kneading at my body. After a couple of minutes, I decide to say what’s on my mind before I become too relaxed to talk.

“I appreciate you finally letting me go down there,” I say. “I know it might have been a vulnerable thing for you. But I loved it. A lot.”

“Right back atcha. You have no idea how much this meant to me, Eve. And don’t thank me yet. You’re gonna regret it, now that I’ll be tempted to stuff you down my pants at a moment’s notice.”

“Challenge accepted,” I giggle.

Honestly, as long as we’re safe about it, the idea of hiding in his underwear while he’s wearing it doesn’t sound all that bad. It gets me thinking about the future. And I have a sobering realization. I’ve finally reached the end of the line… so to speak. As long as I’m three inches tall, this is as far as I can go with Aiden in terms of having sex. Sure, we can explore things a little more, we can try out different positions and techniques. But I can’t go any further.

I eventually pipe up again with a rather sad tone. “I hope this is… enough. I know it’s not my fault or anything, but… I’m sorry I can’t take you inside me.”

Aiden pauses at this, and although I’m not looking at his face, I can sense the weight of that pause. I can tell he’s not taking what I said lightly. He turns his wrist to readjust me and lowers his head to the side so that he can look me in the eye. I try not to cry from the emotion swelling up in my chest. The connection we share in this extended gaze is so much deeper than any sort of closeness that I’ve felt with another man, physical or otherwise.

When my partner speaks he opts to keep it light, giving me an encouraging smile. “Conventional sex is overrated.”

There’s loud, muffled group laughter coming from the loft upstairs, echoing in the vast space of the living room. But we completely ignore it. We don’t give the rest of the world a second thought, unwilling to let go of this very moment. This moment’s ours.

Chapter 72
Aiden

I move slowly and rhythmically as I pull on the oars to push the rowboat through the water. I noticed a few minutes ago that Evie has drifted off to sleep in my pocket, so I hope my movements are akin to gently rocking her. I keep glancing down to check and then feeling smug about how she’s still snoozing away against my chest.

It was a pretty rough night last night. Not the part right before we went to bed and things got intimate… That part was stellar. But it got really windy once we had turned in for the night, and the foliage just outside our window was rattling pretty heavily against the glass. I woke up several times, so I can’t imagine what it was like for Evie. I’m glad she’s getting a nap in now - I’ll probably take one myself once we go back to the cabin. We’ve been taking it pretty easy today as a result.

I smile at a brief memory from this morning. We were admittedly a bit nervous to rejoin the group after what happened last night. But in the end it was fine since we were the first ones in the kitchen and never ended up seeing Camila, who was apparently sleeping off her hangover. I left Evie on a counter on one side of the room and was rummaging through some cabinets on the other side when a yawning Star wandered over, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“What’s Evie doing with that banana?” she whispered to me, nodding towards the kitchen counter with an arched brow.

I glanced over my shoulder. “Picking off the stringy bits for me,” I chuckled, “She likes to do her part once I’ve peeled it.”

Star suppressed a laugh, and then she smiled widely as she let out a soft sigh. “You two are perfect for each other.”

I freeze into stillness as Evie stirs from within my pocket, the boat drifting slightly off course. I bite my lip and stare at her as I wait it out, but it seems she’s just turned over without actually waking up. I carefully resume rowing to turn the vessel back around towards shore, and I fall back into thoughts about the day.

“Do you have a favorite kind of rock?”

Evie and I spent a good hour this morning laying in a hammock in the woods. She sat cross-legged on my stomach, enjoying the gentle breeze that was playing with her hair. I’d pulled up some music on my phone to help me stay alert as we phased in and out of conversation.

“Hmmm. Maybe opal?” I responded, propping the back of my head up with an arm as I gazed down at her. “No, wait. Geodes. You never know what they’ll look like on the inside until you crack them open. So it’s like a Christmas present every time.”

She tilted her head. “Isn’t that a cop-out? There can be all kinds of different crystals inside a geode, right?”

I smiled, touched by the fact that she’s paid enough attention to my interests to know that. “Yup, I’m cheating. Why do you ask though?”

“I’ve been mulling over the idea of designing my own board game, just for fun. I’m trying to decide on a theme. If I make it about rocks, then I get to bug you with more questions.”

“No problems here!” I suddenly wrapped my arms around myself, pinning her against my abdomen in a hug. She yelped and laughed as she wriggled in weak protest, but I held her fast and told her sincerely, “That’s so cool, Eve. I can’t wait to play your game.”

I slow my rowing again as I get closer to the dock. There’s a family of ducks on a trajectory to intersect my path, so I sit back and watch them pass. I briefly consider waking Evie up so that she can see the little ducklings. But I want to let her rest, I’m sure we’ll get another opportunity down the line. Besides, we’ve already witnessed plenty of birds today.

“I see a chicken!” she exclaimed, leaning over my ear excitedly. I could just make out the blurry shape of her pointing hand in the edge of my vision. Despite being tired, we had still decided to check out that mushroom foraging class that the campground was offering. Both of us had been unreasonably amused by the fact that most of the edible mushrooms in the area had names like “Shrimp of the Woods” or “Chicken of the Woods.”

“Nice, good eye,” I whispered back as I located the fungi she had spotted. I reached for it with gloved hands and added, “Want me to put you down?”

“No, I’ll stay here,” she said, pulling back a little deeper under my hat. “That other group’s too close, it’s making me nervous.”

I went ahead and extracted the mushroom before muttering, “I’ll go a bit further from them so you can come out if you want. Although you’re still plenty helpful up there, you’re good at spotting these.”

“Wait!” I was about to get to my feet when my girlfriend pipes up with a reminder from our instructor. “Don’t forget what she said. Tap the cap!”

I pull up to the shore, and it’s a painstakingly slow process to get out of the boat without startling my small passenger awake. But even though Evie was only conscious for half of this little excursion on the pond, I’ve certainly enjoyed it nevertheless. I sit down on the dock as I struggle to figure out which of the included ropes I should be using to tie the boat to its mooring post, when I hear distant rustling.

I glance over, expecting to see a squirrel or rabbit. But with a cold dread I realize it’s Camila, a couple dozen feet away but heading straight towards me. I haven’t seen her at all today, not since that moment by the campfire last night. I know she was going to take a car trip with the others to visit some waterfalls, but I guess they haven’t left yet.

Well, no point in pretending I didn’t notice her, so I give her a wave as she approaches. She shyly waves back, and I finish tying off the boat by the time she reaches me. She lowers herself into a seat beside me on the dock. On the outside I’m calm and collected. But internally I’m already nervous as hell.

“Where’s Evie?” she asks, looking down at her own feet dangling just above the water.

“She’s taking a nap,” I say shortly. Actually, at this point I’m sure that’s not true, now that we’ve started talking. But I doubt Evie would want me to bring attention to her right now, so I don’t give any more details.

“Listen…” Camila sighs. “I’m sorry I was acting weird last night. I had a bit too much to drink.”

I nod indifferently. “It’s fine. I figured.”

She’s fidgeting with her hands quietly for a few moments as we sit there awkwardly. Finally she presses on. “I still wanted to talk to you, though. Um, take any of my feelings out of it for a second… Seeing how the two of you are as a couple, I’m just… I’m worried about you.”

I frown as I finally turn to look at her. “About me?”

She moves a little closer, her hand sliding towards my leg. “Yeah… I just want to make sure you’re happy.”

I move further back to keep her from touching me, taking her in. There’s a pouting look in her dark eyes, a nervous tension in her jaw. But it sets me on edge. I don’t buy the “worried” tone one bit. This entire interaction feels completely false.

I find myself glaring at her. Hackles raised. I try to stay aloof but my voice comes out in a growl. “What part of ‘please respect it’ don’t you get?”

Camila’s eyes widen in surprise. “I’m just saying that–”

“I appreciate the concern,” I interject, “But it’s not necessary.”

I see a moment of heartbreak on her face, unexpectedly genuine. Her eyes glaze over with a thin sheen of tears that don’t fall. But a split second later, her gaze hardens. Cracks begin forming in her unassuming facade as her temper flares.

“Aiden… come on. This is weird. We’re all just pretending that everything’s normal. But it’s fucking weird.”

I tense up at her shift in demeanor. I can see the storm coming. Shit, I’m probably the one who screwed this up by immediately going on the defensive. But that doesn’t matter right now as my thoughts immediately go to Evie, who I know is listening to all this. I want to protect her from the outburst that’s clearly about to hit us.

“Stop,” I say, and I get to my feet. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

She’s right behind me, insistent even as I start walking away. “You haven’t been the same. You used to be so fun and laid back, but now you’re stressed out all the time. And no wonder when you’re dating someone like her! You have to feed her and carry her around and do everything for her! How are you supposed to relax when you have to watch where you step all the time, or worry about dropping her? And what can she even do for you?”

She’s quickened her pace and wheels out in front of me, blocking my path off the dock. Desperately I try to speak, to stop this. “Camila–”

“You have to think about the long term!” she plows on, practically yelling over me at this point, “There’s no way she can truly make you happy in the end. This is so stupid, you can’t convince me this isn’t some kind of weird charity case! It’s just like you to take pity on a little freak who–”

I finally snap and raise my voice, “Camila, that’s enough!”

She stiffens, breathless from her tirade. She stares defiantly at me for a moment. And then her eyes begin trailing down just a tad, until they land on the subtle lump against my chest. Her scowl deepens and her nostrils flare as she comes to a realization.

“She’s with you right now, isn’t she?” Camila sneers.

I don’t answer, just hold my glare. I watch her warily as a series of expressions dance across her face. She looks back up at me.

“Figures,” she spats as she turns to leave, “You don’t even get a second to yourself.”

With that she marches away, heading back towards the cabin. I watch her go, still on my guard, though my shoulders are lowering as I sigh dejectedly. My hand automatically hovers up to rest loosely against the outside of my pocket. All of that happened so quickly, and my mind is all over the place. I feel unsteady on my feet as the throbbing anger and stress fills my body.

“You okay?” There’s a shifting against cloth from my little passenger. Her quiet voice is hesitant, as is her touch as she reaches out to put her tiny hand on mine, her eyes wide and worried.

I look down at her, stuttering, “A-am I… Evie, are you okay?” I reach in with finger and thumb to pull her out, quickly yet carefully placing her in my palm. “I’m so sorry you had to hear all that… You know it’s all a load of bullshit, right?”

She sits down and looks a bit disoriented. Probably because she just got woken up. Woken up to a series of insults, no less. Her gaze drifts. “She was… talking out of anger. And she didn’t know I was here.”

“That doesn’t excuse anything,” I murmur with a gentler tone, my concern for her upstaging my residual wrath. “She shouldn’t have said any of it.”

The emotions seem to be catching up to her. Evie lowers her head, one hand over her brow to shade her eyes as she wavers in her seat. My heart aches at the sight. I let her process for a few moments, but then I’m getting nervous at her silence and I gently kiss the top of her head.

“Talk to me, honey,” I breathe. “You know none of it’s true, right? I’m so much happier with you in my life.”

She nods stiffly and then hesitates, fighting against her natural tendencies to close in on herself, before finally managing to speak. “But, um… What about the… the part about you not being the ‘same’ anymore? Do you think that’s true?”

I shake my head and firmly say, “No. Camila doesn’t know me. She doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”

“But still,” Evie sighs, “What if she has a point? I’m sure you’re more stressed out about my safety than you were with your last girlfriend.”

I have to sit down. Thankfully there’s a stone bench nearby so I take the couple of steps over to lower myself onto it. I rest my arms on my knees, both hands cradling my little one as I think very hard about what to tell her.

“Every relationship has its challenges,” I say. “Like… Imagine if Star needed a wheelchair. Or she started dealing with seizures, or was going blind. Do you think Diego would be better off without her?”

She shakes her head as tears start sliding down her face. I move to try and dry them, touching my thumb against her cheek, and she leans against me, crumpling against my fingers, holding me tight. She presses her face into my skin and mumbles, “You have to deal with all of my emotional baggage too, my panic attacks… You do so much for me.”

I lean forward emphatically. “And you do so much for me. I hope you know that… You’ve done more to make me happy just today than Camila has over all the years I’ve known her. So please… please don’t take any of that stuff to heart. Okay?”

Evie lets go of me, nodding as she shakily but dutifully wipes off her own tears. “Okay. I trust you, I know we’re good. That was just… really painful to hear.”

I smile with weak relief mixed with a heavy dose of sympathy. We sit out there for a while yet, soothing and supporting each other as we calm back down. Eventually I see in the distance that all of our camping companions, Camila included, get into Diego’s car and drive away. At least the coast is clear, for now.

But the uneasiness never leaves the pit in my stomach. I’ve told Evie the absolute truth, yes, but maybe not the entire truth. I don’t want to admit, to her nor to myself, that the stress about her wellbeing does wear on me sometimes. It doesn’t feel worth fully addressing that right at this moment.

Because our relationship is worth it. And I’m not going to let anyone get in the way.

Chapter 73
Evie

“Alright, so it’s almost 5pm… If we were to leave now, we could get home before nine. Just saying.”

I’m pacing back and forth on the nightstand, deep in thought. “We should at least wait for Moira to come back, though,” I respond, “There won’t be enough room for her in Diego’s car with all the bags.”

“Okay, then, we’d get home by ten or eleven. Still not that bad."

“But we had such a rough night and you’re exhausted, Aiden. I don’t think that option’s safe. We were already planning to leave tomorrow, maybe we just go a few hours early, first thing in the morning. For tonight, if we don’t want to see her we can just, like… conveniently decide to have dinner up in the loft or something.”

I’m restless and jittery. I’m feeling so self conscious about the fact that we’re considering changing our vacation plans just because Camila’s said a few nasty things about me. Ugh, what a mess of a trip this is turning out to be.

“Well, you do have a point about driving safe,” Aiden sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. He leans back on the bed’s headboard and runs a hand through his hair, pushing his bangs up on top of his head as he stares into space. “How about this… I was meaning to take my own nap now. I’ll try to get some shuteye. And then maybe we can make a decision about a late-night return later.”

I turn to face him, feeling honestly rather thankful about ending this conversation. “Alright, sounds good. Think you’ll actually be able to sleep?”

“I’m pretty beat, so I’ll at least try.” He kicks off his shoes and lays down onto the mattress, not even bothering to get under the covers. He turns his head to smile my way and asks, “You going to be okay over there?”

“Yeah, I’m good, I’ve got my phone. I’ll wake you up if I need you.” I give him a smile and try to lighten the mood by blowing him a kiss. “Sweet dreams, babe.”

He shifts his head onto the pillow with a heavy sigh. And then within a couple of minutes after his eyes close, I notice his breathing becomes slower and deeper as he drifts off to dreamland. Good. I’m sure the lack of sleep wasn’t helping with the stress levels. I’m glad he’s able to get some rest.

There’s just one issue. After about twenty minutes of distracting myself on my phone, I realize that I’m both thirsty and apparently out of water up here on my nightstand setup. I could honestly go for a snack too… I should have thought this through before he started his nap. I briefly wonder if the discomfort is enough for me to “need” Aiden, though. It doesn’t seem worth it.

But my stomach complains loudly, and I look over towards the ladder that leads to the floor. Come to think of it, I bet I could scavenge something up for myself… It doesn’t hurt to try, right? The house is empty, and we haven’t encountered a single bug inside the cabin for the entire stay. I’ll take a quick trip to the kitchen, and if I can’t reach anything then I’ll just come back and either wait it out or maybe consider waking my boyfriend.

It’s an easy journey to the floor, and it’s very quiet as I walk down the cavernous hallway. I can’t quite decide if it feels peaceful or eerie. But I reach the kitchen soon enough and look up and around me as I get a lay of the land. The pantry door is cracked open, and between some cargo-like containers on the ground and the snacks stored on the lowest shelf, I can already tell I’ll have no problem climbing up for something to eat.

Getting a drink might be a challenge, though. At first I consider the sink, but not only would it be impossible for me to get up there, I doubt I’d be able to turn on the faucet. And even then there’s no way I’d be able to reach the stream of water without getting trapped inside the sink itself. But I remember there’s another water dispenser, a smaller standalone one. It’s meant for bringing outdoors, but it’s currently stored on a low side table by the kitchen counter. There’s a handle on the spigot that I think I’d have a better chance of budging. Maybe I could loosen it just enough for some water to slowly drip out. But can I get up there?

I take a closer look at the duffel bag that’s right next to the side table - Star’s, I think. The thick fabric exterior is loose enough that I could probably find handholds to climb up on top of it… That’ll get me most of the way to my goal. There’s another ten feet or so on top of that, but what the heck. Maybe I’ll get a better idea when I’m up there.

I drag over some napkins from the pantry to put on the floor at the base of the bag - if I happen to slip and fall, I’d rather land on a padded surface than the tile. And then I begin my climb, using fabric folds and zipper pulls to hoist myself up. It’s pretty hard work, especially since I’m dehydrated, but there’s something kind of fun about this. I feel like a little explorer, an adventurer, setting out on my own.

Several minutes later I successfully make it to the summit. I wander around the top of the bag for a while, gazing out towards the rest of the kitchen, and then focusing up towards the ledge that’s still a decent distance above my head. I’m going to need some kind of tool if I want to get up on the table. I start to wonder what’s inside the bag that I’m standing on. Feeling a bit guilty about infringing on my friend’s privacy, I head over to one end of the main zipper so that I can pry it open, just a tad. I take a brief peek inside. Okay, good, no sex toys. Looks like some extra toiletries, maybe. Actually…

“Jackpot,” I whisper with a grin as I tug the zipper a little further. “Sorry, Star, I hope you don’t mind.”

I reach down past a rolled-up towel and grab hold of what looks like the top of a ladder rung. With considerable effort I pull, pull, pull… and manage to yank the wide-toothed comb out of the depths. I drag my makeshift ladder to one of the nearby table legs that the duffel bag is leaned up against, and then I push the comb up until it reaches the tabletop’s surface. I use a thread that had been fraying off one of the bag’s straps to tie the comb to the table leg, so that it’s nice and stable. A lot of effort to create a path, but now the climb becomes an absolute breeze.

I stick my arms up in the air once I’ve reached the top, feeling quite proud of myself. I’m starting to feel dizzy from the thirst, though. Almost there. The water dispenser is looming ahead of me, I just need to get up to the spigot. There are small paper cups nearby that I can drag over and climb on, shouldn’t be an issue–

I startle at an unexpected sound. A very distant boom. It takes me a second to piece it together… was that a car door closing? But the others were estimating they’d be gone for at least two hours, and it’s only been one. Are they back early?

The back entrance of the living room is within my sights. The door swings open and in strolls a single figure. Of course it’s Camila. I hear the other three discussing something outside briefly while the door’s open, but then it slams shut behind her as she walks inside… and heads straight towards the kitchen. Fuck me.

She’s on her phone, so she’s distracted, maybe I can just hold still and she’d pass me by. But because she’s texting, that means she’s looking down, and I guess she noticed me out of the corner of her eye. She stops in the middle of the room, a towering beauty with a stone-cold gaze. She stares at me blankly, and I stare back. God, I feel so stupid for having left the nightstand. I’m so tired of having to deal with this girl. And I’m insanely tense from the fact that everything’s out in the open now. I know exactly how she feels about me, and she knows that I know.

Camila lowers her phone and smirks as she finally says, “Uh oh. Someone better call pest control.”

Alright. You know what? That’s it.

My hands clench into fists as something snaps inside me. While I tend to react towards stressful situations with fear, I’m somehow beyond that at this point.

At this point I’m pissed.

“What is your problem?” I call out towards her. I take a few steps towards the edge of the table I’m on, glaring at the giantess. “I’ve only ever been nice to you. Why do you hate me so much?”

She crosses her arms and takes a couple of steps towards me. I’m not much higher than her knee level but she doesn’t crouch or anything, just looks down her nose at me with disdain.

“I guess I’m just tired of being the only one who has any sense around here,” she sneers. I refuse to take any steps back, holding my ground defiantly.

“You think I asked to be this way? Seriously, how do you think I feel, Camila?” She lets out a breath of mirthless laughter as she rolls her eyes, but I plow on. “Look, I know you’re hurting. I know you’ve had feelings for Aiden for a long time. I’m sorry. Rejection is hard. Especially since he’s with someone you see as below you. But that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like shit.”

She sets her jaw, glaring daggers down at me. “You’re a shackle to him. You know that?” she hisses, “Oh sure he might be all… weirdly… infatuated with his new little puppy right now. But he’s going to be miserable in the long run. And he’s probably too nice to break up with you, he’s just going to keep dating you out of pity. Don’t you see that? You’re not good for him.”

“Oh and you are?” I say incredulously. “I’ve never once seen you take an interest in what he likes or do anything nice for him.”

Camila looks like she wasn’t expecting that response and falls into silence, eyes glazing over. Still overcome with anger, I don’t relent.

“You have no idea what our relationship is like. Aiden’s an adult. It’s not up to you, or to me for that matter, to decide what’s best for him.”

I take another step forward, craning my neck to continue looking her in the eye.

“And he chose me. So back. Off.”

To my shock and indignation, Camila breaks into cruel laughter. “I can’t even take you seriously right now. So much talk for such a pathetic little–”

“Fuck you!”

As soon as I shout, she lunges. I tense up at the sight of her suddenly bending down, maintaining a half-amused smile on her face as her head swoops in like a fighter jet, coming so close that I catch the scent of florals from her perfume. She purses her lips and I’m abruptly knocked backward by an intense gust of air. I collapse onto my back, hitting the table hard and wincing at the impact, before quickly propping myself up on my arms as I look up at her in sudden terror.

Camila slowly rises back up, looking perfectly smug. “Didn’t even need to lift a finger,” she hums, and she thunders away from me, continuing through the room to turn a corner and head up the stairs.

I’m shaking with panic. Breathless from the yelling I was doing, and from the mind-numbing fear that grips me now. For a moment there I thought she was going to actually hurt me. I’m reminded of a time from many years ago, from something Brock did once, when I was trying to stand up to him and he suddenly got in my face before he grabbed me by the hair and ripped me to the floor.

I hear the sound of the door opening again and I jump violently, whimpering uncontrollably. But it’s just Moira. She comes in through that same back door, and she has a frown on her face as she hurries into the kitchen, her eyes aimed towards the staircase. She probably would have walked right by if she didn’t purposefully take a quick glance around the room. She notices me and rushes over, taking in my crumpled state with sudden distress.

“Evie? What are you… I thought I heard… Oh my god, did Camila just…?”

I’m still not quite in control of myself. Camila crossed a line just now, I know that. But I feel trapped. I don’t want more fights, I don’t want more attention on this. I’m just too scared. I shouldn’t have antagonized her like that, what was I thinking? Besides, it was my own stupid fault for wandering around the house on my own, I’m sure Aiden would have wished that I had just woken him up instead. I don’t want to upset him, nor anyone else. I just want to get through to the end of the trip, and then maybe I can put all of this behind me. For a moment I fall back into my old habits. I plaster a smile on my face.

“I’m fine,” I say shakily, trying to reassure my worried friend. “She didn’t touch me.”

Moira frowns, confused and unconvinced. She doesn’t insist quite yet, first offering me a finger to help me back to my feet. I take it gratefully as I try to think of what to say. Fuck, what am I doing, I think, Stop it, don’t start again with the lying…

“We, uh… We had an argument,” I finally admit with tense anxiety. “It got a little ugly…”

And I finally push myself to tell her… most of the truth, at least. I detail what happened between Camila and Aiden last night, what happened with the three of us by the pond, what happened here in the kitchen… and I just leave out the part where she blew on me to knock me down.

“I am so done with her,” Moira growls with frustration once I’m finished. “For someone who’s apparently so interested in learning about other cultures, she sure lacks in empathy. I don’t care if she thinks you stole her love interest. How can anyone be mean to you?”

I blink up at her, a little taken aback. “I, um… Thanks, Moira.”

I hear distant laughter from the remaining Ignacio couple, causing me to startle but with less panic now that my friend is here with me.

“Did everything go alright?” I ask, remembering the fact that they should be in the middle of visiting waterfalls. “Why are you guys back so early?”

“Diego’s car battery was having issues halfway through. Thankfully there was someone there who kindly helped him jump the car, but we decided to head straight back. That’s what they’re working on right now, trying to figure out what’s wrong with it.”

Yikes. Here’s hoping it’s fixed before we have to leave tomorrow. Damn, this trip is cursed.

Moira hesitantly adds, “So, Evie… Even before you said anything just now, Star and I were texting in the car. We’ll keep Camila entertained, alright? I’ll be honest, she’s made some passive aggressive comments about you, she and Diego have gotten into a couple of spats about it. But she still seems fine with us overall. We won’t let her get near you.”

I fidget restlessly and lower my gaze. “Thanks. You shouldn’t have to do that. But… Aiden and I will probably just stay up in the loft for the evening, away from everyone. I’m so sorry, Mo. I hate all this drama, and I hate for any of you guys to get sucked up in it.”

She smiles sympathetically. “Listen. Just for the record, we’re all trying to keep the peace and not openly show preferences or whatever since we’re all stuck in one house together. But know that all of us are on your side.”

I take a deep breath. I’m glad I just confided in her, it feels so much better to have Moira be there for me. Gosh, I almost feel bad for Camila. Even her own family is in my corner.

Moira is looking at the water dispenser now, then she glances down at the comb that’s on top of the duffel bag.

“Can I get you some water?” she offers.

I sigh and lower my head. “Yes please.”

Chapter 77
Evie

It’s morning.

I’m aching from head to toe, exhausted, hungry, dehydrated. I hardly got a wink of sleep during this long, grueling night. But after hours and hours of misery, it sounds like the wind has finally died down. And when I force my head up and out of my pile of leaves and fur, I see some dim rays of sunlight poking in from around the pinecone door.

I let out a deep, long sigh. Part of it comes from the relief of having survived the night. But the other part is me bracing myself. Because I am quite literally not out of the woods yet. I now have the dreaded climb ahead of me, and I’m not in my best state to do it.

I drag myself out of a bed that’s better suited for rodents, stretching my sore muscles. I rip out some of the leaves that I’d wedged into the doorway, and then I push against the pinecone so that it starts to tip over. I’m not worried about being careful with it, and sure enough it ends up rolling away and plummeting to the ground. Whatever. It’s not like I’ll be spending any more nights here.

It’s strangely silent in the woods, the air is so still now. And holy shit is it freezing. I felt cold to the bone for the entire night, but now that I step out into the open air I realize the hollow was downright warm in comparison. Small bits of frost sit in patches along the surrounding branches, tiny ice crystals on the orange leaves glinting in the pre-dawn light. Meanwhile I’m in a crop top and have no shoes on. Lovely.

My friends are nowhere to be seen. I heard their voices from time to time in the night, always in the distance. For a moment I wonder if they decided to eventually go to bed. But no, of course not - I don’t see them from here but I can catch Star and Diego’s faint voices coming from around the corner of the cabin. I can’t quite make out the words, but their tones sound weary. I’m not the only one who had a rough night, that’s for sure.

Well, no time like the present. I need to start climbing while I still have any of my strength left. I feel a wave of vertigo as I look down the length of the tree trunk. At least I’m now able to see that it’s a fairly straightforward path since the branches are no longer swaying. While I was laying in the dark this morning I blindly manipulated the rope I still have, tying it to myself and knotting off some loops so that I can hopefully use it as climbing gear. I pretend that I’m just about to head down my packing station back home as I find a protruding ridge in the tree bark and hook the end of my rope onto it. Down I go.

I’m at it for hours. I’m being so careful, so meticulous about making sure my safety rope is attached to something as often as possible. The persistent pain in my ribs is thankfully not as sharp as last night, but it still makes the process grueling and slow. At least it’s a lot easier now that the air is still, so I do think it was for the best that I didn’t attempt this climb last night. I pause and rest every time I reach another branch, and as the readily available frost begins to melt in the morning light, I drink some of the dew. The water is hard to get down, it’s so cold, but the hydration is too necessary to pass up.

Eventually I reach the part that I was most dreading. Past a certain height there are no more branches, just solid trunk all the way down. There are still plenty of handholds, but it becomes increasingly difficult to find anchors for my climbing rope, and there are zero opportunities to sit and rest. My arms and legs shake from the exertion as I slowly inch my way down. I have several moments where I almost start crying from the fear that I’ll surely fall off before I make it. But somehow I manage to keep it together with the knowledge that if I lose my composure, I’m dead.

And little by little, I’m getting closer to the ground. My arms are growing weak, but even though I started a couple hundred feet up the tree, I’m now at the point where I’m only a hundred feet up instead. My hands and feet are scratched up and raw, my sore ribs feel like they’re getting electrocuted every time I twist in just the wrong way. But now I’m just fifty feet up. And I finally start to regain hope.

“Almost there,” I whisper fervently to myself. “Almost there!”

Despite the frigid state of my body, my limbs are burning when I glance down and realize the ground is close enough that I’d survive the fall. I keep going, maintaining a steady pace, until I finally lose patience when I’m my own body length up from the forest floor. I let myself slide down the rope, toppling the last short distance until my feet hit the ground at long last.

I could kiss the earth if it didn’t feel like the inside of a freezer. I don’t care that I’m wasting water, I cry happy tears, collapsing to hands and knees as my shoulders shake with relieved sobs. I’m not dead. I made it to the ground again and I’m alive.

But I’m not done yet. Come on. Just a little further. I have to walk now.

This last stretch shouldn’t be the hardest part of my journey, and yet it’s what almost does me in. At this point I’m just too worn, too cold, too weak. I trudge towards the looming cabin that’s half a mile ahead of me, the terrain below my feet changing from the dirt of the forest floor to patches of grass. I ended up abandoning my climbing rope that was originally part of my shirt, my skin having long since grown numb from how exposed it is to the cold. I have my eyes set on the cabin’s front door - I haven’t even spared a thought about how I’m going to get up the couple of porch steps at its base - until I notice two figures in the distance, visible once I exit the tree line.

I alter course, briefly hurrying once I see him. I absently realize that I’m failing to pace myself, but I don’t care.

Aiden’s sitting on a grassy slope near the cabin, his back unfortunately facing me. He has his arm around Moira who’s sitting next to him, holding her tightly. Their heads are downcast, their shoulders drooping. The grass is getting tall enough that even if they were looking my way they probably couldn’t see me, but the relatively short distance is still so agonizing. Just a couple hundred more feet.

I trip and fall to my knees seconds before I see Moira stand up. Her hand trails on Aiden’s shoulder, and they mutter something to each other before she turns to leave. She still isn’t quite facing me as she goes, though, and I feel like I might burst inside with frustration. I fixate the lone giant who’s still sitting as I start to see spots dancing in my vision. Just stay right there, babe. Wait for me.

The exhaustion is painful. I’m unable to get back to standing. But the adrenaline of seeing him pushes me on, and I crawl on hands and knees to drag myself forward, shivering violently from touching even more of the frozen ground. Thankfully I bide my time on using my voice. I think I might pass out if I start yelling, I have to get closer and make it count.

My hearing begins to sound muffled. I feel like I might throw up, and for a moment my vision fades to blackness despite my limbs still moving. I’m suddenly jolted back to consciousness when my face hits the dirt. I gasp in fear of how dizzy I am, and it’s so much harder to move now that I’ve stopped. I try to push myself back up, at least to sitting, but my arms are firmly protesting. I’m the equivalent of a block or two away. I risk it.

“Aiden.”

The sound comes out scratchy, dry, weak. I curse inwardly as I know I was too quiet. But from some instinct, the giant ahead of me twitches. I see him lift his head.

“Aiden!”

I was more successful in yelling this time. My voice is clear and ringing. And immediately he reacts, straightening up and turning his head - to the left, right, and finally whipping around to look behind him, wildly searching the ground, until our eyes meet.

As soon as his gaze locks on to my fallen figure, Aiden’s launching himself forward, crawling over to me so fast that I barely have time to blink before he’s right on top of me. His arm is already reaching out as he whispers, “Oh god, Evie–”

He scoops me into his hands, slightly more clumsily than usual from the fact that he’s wearing gloves. I roll onto the nylon surface, whimpering from the sheer relief of being reunited, hot tears running down my face. I’m shot upwards as my giant partner lifts me to his mouth, and for a moment my dizzied mind thinks that it’s to kiss me. But instead he starts exhaling heavily onto my body, desperately trying to warm me up with his breath. It makes my numb skin prickle to an almost painful degree. But I can tell it’s so, so needed.

After a few more exhales, he silently pulls me away again, and if I had the strength I’d be complaining about him stopping. He holds me with one hand and uses his teeth to rip his glove off the other before tipping me onto his bare skin. Oh wow, the heat is overwhelming, but at the same time it’s fantastic. I curl up into his palm as he gets the other glove off, and he cups both hands around me now and continues to breathe warm air onto me. My stomach lurches as I vaguely realize he’s getting to his feet, but I don’t worry about that, I let my eyes close as I bask in his presence, enjoying each wave of heat that envelops me. I catch the scent of chocolate and sugar… It’s hard to believe that the time we were relaxing and enjoying a sweet treat together was just last night.

Things get a little fuzzy at this point. My eyes are still closed but I can tell that we’re moving, I think we go back inside… I hear a couple of different voices, though everything sounds so far away… I’m starting to tremble a little less, but I’m not sure if that’s because I’m getting warmer or if my muscles are just completely giving out…. I’m hardly conscious of my damp, meager clothing getting removed or my body getting poked and prodded…

When I come to again, there’s something heavy pushing against my front. My eyelids don’t want to move and I frown as I stir under the warm weight, unable to budge the massive… um… finger?

Someone’s voice is coming into clarity. “…bruised ribs for sure but I don’t think anything major’s broken… Lungs are working fine…”

Finally I force my eyes to open to a squint. The looming face of a sleep-deprived Diego is hovering above me. I’m unable to show it right now, but I’m incredibly relieved to see him too.

“Eyyy, there she is,” he says softly with a smile as he notices me waking up. “Good morning.”

I glance around from my pinned position. I recognize Aiden’s hand below me, I haven’t moved from his palm. But I seem to be getting examined by our resident nurse. His fingertip is covering my upper chest and pressing up against my jugular… I guess he’s trying to find my pulse.

“You know, you really freaked us out there, Shrimp,” Diego adds, shifting his finger slightly to the side. “No more crazy benders in the woods, okay?"

I may not have the strength to speak at the moment, but apparently I have enough to lift my hand up and extend one tiny middle finger his way.

He releases an amused breath before looking up to address Aiden. “Heart rate’s still a bit low… I think she’ll be alright, all we can do right now is warm her back up. At least there’s no frostbite, as far as I can tell.”

“Should I heat up some water for a bath?” Moira’s voice asks shakily from somewhere I can’t see.

“That might be good for her to sip on if she can stomach it - but no, don’t put her in it, the shock of that can fuck up her heart. You’re doing the right thing, Aiden, keep using your body heat. Skin to skin. Go rest, I’ll check in again once I get a hold of Star, she should take a look at her too.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as everything starts moving again. A minute later I’m transferred to a new, even warmer surface… I gather my giant has just put me on his bare chest as he laid down, his palm now at my back. There are a couple more sounds - Moira says to let her know if we need anything, Aiden thanks her, a door creaks to be mostly shut. And then finally things grow still and quiet.

I sigh as I let myself relax. I’m starting to be convinced that the shivering has abated for the right reasons, and I’m able to feel slightly more comfortable overall. A smile finds its way onto my face. I actually made it. I’m safe.

After a few minutes of silence, I rub my cheek affectionately against Aiden’s chest. His thumb lightly brushes against the side of my head and his exhale is tight.

“I was sure you were dead,” he whispers.

My heart hurts at the heaviness in his voice, and my joke is weak as I force out a response. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

He continues gently stroking my head as I let it rest against his skin. “I can’t imagine what you’ve just been through…” he says, “The temperatures dropped to near freezing last night. And you fell out of that window, right? How are you alive right now?”

It takes me a little while to get through the story of my solo night in the trees. As I slowly regain strength, I explain everything from the moment Camila accidentally locked me out, all the way through the frigid morning. I can’t quite decide if recounting such fresh horrors is unloading the trauma or only making it worse by reliving it, so instead I’m just mentally distancing myself from my own words for now. Aiden listens intently, completely silent aside from the occasional sympathetic winces at the more intense bits.

He continues to lay quietly once I’m done, as if deep in thought. So quiet, in fact, that I tilt my head back to try and catch sight of his expression. But his face is out of sight from my current angle, and his muscles are tense below me, so I finally ask him, “What is it?”

He inhales deeply before answering. “It’s truly hitting me right now… I haven’t been giving you enough credit. You’re so much more capable than I realized.”

I didn’t expect that response and almost laugh. “Trust me,” I say, “I did not exactly feel like a badass.”

“Still,” he murmurs, completely sincere. “I mean… Just look at how much you’ve accomplished in the time I’ve known you. All the things you’ve built, all the challenges you’ve faced. Like when we went back to the lab and you got that flashdrive, all on your own. Or persevering through that leg injury. And now surviving a night alone in the woods during a storm, and then getting yourself back home. You’re amazing, Evie.”

Emotion wells up inside of me, more intensely than I would have expected. I’m glad one of us has found any kind of silver lining to what I just went through. Because I don’t think I’ve ever felt less capable in my life than I do right now.

Aiden readjusts his grip so that he can gently press his fingers into a hug around me, sliding me up just a little bit over his heart. “I’m both in awe of how incredibly strong you are… and at the same time I never want to let you out of my sight again.”

I’m unable to answer him right now. A tear rolls down my cheek, and I feel like I might be on the brink of a full meltdown as I spare a thought for what the future might hold. What other trials might be waiting for me past today. My constantly overwhelming reality, and the dangers lurking behind each innocuous moment.

I hear a slight sound that makes me flinch, though it’s too subtle for my giant partner to notice. I glance towards the door to our room, still open by a crack, and I notice a sliver of a face. A dark eyed beauty, peering in towards us. She lingers for a beat, too obscured for me to make out her expression, before her eye narrows and she quietly moves on.

My breathing is coming in short now. I suddenly face myself, as if glaring at my own reflection in a mirror.

Seriously. What is wrong with me? Why am I so insistent on running away from my issues and stubbornly clinging to my current status quo? I don’t care what Aiden just said - it’s beyond obvious that I am so incredibly fragile. How many close calls have we had now? How many times do I need to come close to fucking dying before I finally just face my past and go to the authorities who might actually be able to help me get my old size back? What am I fucking waiting for?

But even as I think this, even as I start crying hard enough for my boyfriend to lift his head and stroke my back with worried whispers, it’s all pointless. All it takes right now is a single sound. A distant police siren, completely unrelated to us, miles away in the mountains. A simple reminder from the universe that brings me right back into my own fear. As if trying to convince a potential interloper that no one’s home by fervently shutting off all the light switches in the house, my brain desperately chases away any thoughts of seeking help.

I bury myself into Aiden’s protective warmth. Determined to never leave it again.

~ End of Part 3: Something in the Air ~

@foreverlurk You are too good at creating a hateable character that we’ve all seen online. I beseech you, sir, please get into writing

And just like that, we fall into casual conversation; me, sitting bewildered in my hospital bed, never quite getting over the fact that I’m speaking with a person who could easily fit in the palm of my hand, and her, confident and enthusiastic, making herself right at home on my side table. We talk about the classes we used to attend and where we would go for fun. She dives into her previous interests, involving a lot of crafty and rather old-fashioned hobbies like quilting and embroidery. I’m surprised to hear about how much time she seemed to spend on her own, considering how extroverted she’s coming off.

“Do you remember that nook under the stairs at the big study hall?” she asks, “Where they put all those cushions and stuff? I practically lived down there between semesters, I’d just bring my knitting needles and watch movies on my phone.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve gone under there before. It was cozy, I remember that spot being really warm during the winter.”

“Yes, exactly! Whoa, I wonder if we ever ran into each other. That would be something, wouldn’t it? Oh, and then my other favorite place to go was at that horse statue fountain, whenever it was nice out. Actually, this one time, a friend of mine got drunk and ended up falling in–”

Naomi sure talks a lot. But I don’t mind it. At no point do I feel like I’m forcing myself to pay attention. I’m becoming more relaxed by the minute, and I frankly can’t remember the last time I’ve hit it off like this with a stranger. She goes on to tell me about how she was also working at a bookstore during college, and she regales me with stories about her colorful cast of coworkers.

“That’s because Thomas was a huge Trekkie,” she says to conclude an anecdote before avidly adding, “Oh, there’s a question - you more of a Star Wars or Star Trek kind of guy?”

“Hmm. I don’t know if I can pick, I like them both for different reasons… I actually might be more of a Firefly kind of guy, that’s what I get nostalgic for.”

Naomi completely lights up this. “Ohh nice, that’s a deeper cut! I really like space stuff, most of what I’ve been reading lately is that. I don’t suppose you’re an Andy Weir fan?”

“Of course! I think he might be my favorite author right now.”

“Dude, same here!!”

And so we discover a mutual interest in science fiction, and I think if we wanted to we could talk for hours about that alone. She gets excited about the fact that I too listen to audiobooks - neither one of us really bothers with physical books due to our corresponding health conditions. She’s already promising that she’ll come back to visit me tomorrow and bring me a list of book recommendations.

“I do really miss the feel of real paper though,” she sighs. “I’d be okay walking all over a book in order to read it, I just don’t have the space for it. Do you read braille?”

I bristle slightly at the question, feeling a bit caught unawares. “I don’t,” I admit, “I lost my vision relatively recently, so…”

She balks at this. “Oh shit! I didn’t realize that, I thought you were born with it! What the hell happened?”

Again with the bluntness. It’s interesting - I’ve gotten so used to people acting like they’re walking on eggshells around me, but Naomi doesn’t seem to hesitate in stomping all over said eggshells. Maybe because she’s too light to be breaking them.

But this is not a fun subject, and I want to move on as quickly as possible. “Erm, it was about half a year ago… I got sick with what seemed like your run-of-the-mill virus, but it ended up causing swelling in my brain, which put pressure on the optic nerve and… yeah.”

“Damn, Cameron. And this just happened to you… Hell, I’ve been tiny for longer than you’ve been blind. That’s gotta be rough.”

“It’s fine. So, uh, what got you into sci-fi in the first place then?”

Even though I’m quick to move away from the subject, I find that I’m not at all annoyed or resentful that she brought it up to begin with. Honestly, talking with her like this, I find myself opening up more and more despite all of my usual tendencies. Perhaps it’s just because her presence is so unintimidating, in more ways than one.

Later on I mention my interest in cooking from back when I was a kid and how it led to a passion in nutrition, and then she wants to hear all about it, frequently interrupting me with questions. She gives me tips on which meals to request from the hospital on which days, depending on who’s working in the kitchen. And she tells me about some of her favorite foods too.

“A what?” I say, trying to bite back my laughter, “A tapioca granule?”

“Yeah! You know, those little pearls that are in the pudding cups? Seriously, they’re so nice to chew on at this size, it’s a texture thing. And you can’t find all that many dessert options in a hospital so…”

“Fair enough. I’ll take your word for it.”

Naomi reminds me of my cousin Danni. I haven’t seen her in years since she lives halfway across the world, but we were close as kids. She’s a bit brash and had a tendency to overstay her welcome, but she’s the kind of person who makes you feel like you’re the most interesting person in the world, even when you don’t have much to say. This current conversation feels weirdly nostalgic as a result.

“Yeah, I guess it makes sense that you get pretty bored,” I say sympathetically after she’s finished another little rant. “I’m guessing you don’t have a miniature computer or anything?”

“Nope, just my phone, as cumbersome as it is to use. I really can’t have many forms of entertainment here, just the couple of things that fit in the plastic shoebox I call home… They usually just shove my habitat into whichever room has the most space at any given time. It’s been so crowded here lately… You’re lucky you have your own room. Do you know how long you’ll be staying?”

“It depends,” I sigh, suppressing a wince from the way I readjust my weight. “Hopefully just a couple of days. The injury isn’t that bad, but they were worried about sepsis at first so they want to monitor me for a bit…”

“Oh, okay,” Naomi says with a nod. She’s looking downward as she idly kneads at her calves, and her tone’s tinged with a heaviness I can’t quite identify. But before I can consider prying into it, she lets out a happy exhale as she then stretches her legs out long and beams up at me. “By the way. Can I just say how nice it is to not have to yell so much? I feel like I can almost just talk normally with you and you can still hear me.”

“Hmm,” I muse with a smile, “I guess your voice is a little quiet? Not bad though, I can hear it just fine. I’ve heard about how when you’re missing one sense, the others work harder to make up for it. Maybe that’s what’s going on. How about me, am I being too loud or anything?”

“Nope! You’re juuuust right.”

“Okay. Good.”

“So, like…” My tiny guest pauses as she formulates her next sentence, a little hesitant to pry this time since I clearly tend to dodge the medical questions. “What exactly do you, like… see? Not that I don’t believe you telling me that you’re blind, but you keep looking right at me, so it makes me curious…?”

For a moment I mull this over. It can be tricky to describe my reality to someone who hasn’t experienced it, so I don’t usually bother trying with strangers, I just give a couple-words answer and move on. But I decide to go ahead and do my best to describe it to her.

“So, in general…” I start, slow and thoughtful, “most of my vision is pretty dark and blurry, and it’s all covered in what I always describe as static. ‘Visual snow’ is what it’s called. And then there’s this one small tunnel.” I hold a hand out a foot in front of my face to make a circle with my finger and thumb, lining it up with what I can make out of Naomi’s figure. “And it’s almost like a hole in the darkness. It’s not perfect, but it’s a lot more clear, so I can still make out some details.” I pause, my eyes narrowing with my smirk as I observe Naomi for a beat longer before dropping my hand. “Like right now I can tell that you keep glancing over somewhere… Everything alright?”

Her wandering gaze suddenly snaps back to me, looking startled and a bit sheepish. “Oh, yes! Sorry, I’m paying attention, I’m just keeping an eye on the clock. I’ve still got time plenty of time though.”

I instinctively reach to the side of my leg to find my phone that’s sitting in the bed with me. It’s on maximum brightness, and I hold it up closer to my face to take a look at the time too. We’ve been chatting for well over an hour. It’ll still be a little while until a nurse comes in to check my vitals again, but I wonder if that’s what Naomi is worrying about.

“Hey Cameron,” she says, reclaiming my attention. I set my phone back down before quickly finding her small form again. She cants her head as she peers up at me. “Are you able to walk around with your injury?”

I don’t even mind the prying at all anymore. “Yeah, I can. In fact I should be practicing more of that, so they tell me… Why? Do you need me to get you anything?”

“Nah, not yet. But I could use a ride in about half an hour.”

This makes me stop cold. “U-um… Excuse me?” I mutter.

“If you don’t mind carrying me back to my room then, that would be great,” she says lightly. Then her brow creases as she sees the look on my face, and immediately she’s switching to a reassuring tone. “I know it’s a little weird at first, but from what people tell me you get used to it real fast. It’ll be no biggie, I promise.”

I can feel my heart rate picking up. Suddenly the whimsical and almost amusing idea of her sitting in my hand is replaced by the sobering, heavy reality that such a thing would entail. I can hardly get myself around, especially post injury. The thought of clumsily picking her up, of accidentally dropping her, of somehow crushing any bit of her… It’s enough to make me immediately sick to my stomach.

I stare at her, dumbfounded. “Naomi. I’m blind.”

She frowns, tilting her head to the side again. “But not completely, right? You can see enough to get around?”

“But– that’s not the problem, I just– I don’t know how–”

“Oh, and I can help you walk, I can tell you which way to go!” she cuts in with a nervous giggle, “I can be like a seeing-eye dog.”

I let out a quiet breath as I don’t take the bait. My shoulders tense and I give her an apologetic look. “I’m sorry, but… I’d rather not.”

She claps her hands together in front of her face, grimacing as she begs, “Please? I can’t open doors on my own. And I’ll get in trouble again if the nurses find me here…”

I’m starting to feel a little annoyed. It’s not like I had a say in her coming in here, and now I feel obligated to help sneak her back out.

“I can go open the doors for you,” I suggest, “You climbed up there - you can get down, right?”

Naomi is looking increasingly uneasy as she realizes how much I’m not budging in my conviction. She scrambles to respond, “Uhhh, I jumped from a bit higher up on the bed, I’m not sure I can make it going the other direction…” She gives me another pleading look. “I don’t see what the big deal is? It’s just four doors down from you. You get your walking practice in that way?”

I hate how awkward this is. We’ve just met each other, we’ve been getting along so well, and now we’re already getting caught up in an argument.

I shake my head. “I would still rather not.”

“Why?”

“Because… because that feels like a disaster waiting to happen.”

She breaks into a smile, although her tone is sounding a little desperate. “It’s not! You’ll be fine, I’ve been carried by way less capable people than you. You don’t have to worry–”

I interrupt. “How about… Can you just tell me how I can move stuff around to make it easier for you to climb down?”

Naomi has started fidgeting, looking at me with such intensity that it’s making my stomach churn. Meekly she asks, “Is it like… a sensory thing? You don’t like being touched?”

I sigh audibly, and I think my frustration is becoming quite apparent. “No, it’s not. It’s a safety thing. I have terrible depth perception, and if I bump into a wall or something…”

I trail off as I watch the miniature girl on the table practically writhing, her hands now restlessly massaging into the tops of her legs. “Um,” she squeaks, and then closes her eyes with a heavy exhale. “Okay… I have a confession.”

Starting to feel a creeping sense of dread, I raise a questioning eyebrow but don’t say anything.

“The truth is that, um… I think I might have pulled something in my leg when I… fell down…”

I make a choking sound, as if the air in my lungs has suddenly gone solid. She’s talking about the moment I knocked her over. Come to think of it… It has seemed like she’s been stretching her legs out this entire time.

Fuck. I did this.

Naomi starts waving her hands fervently and exclaims, “I’m fine, it’s really not that bad, I promise! I just probably should take it easy for a bit if I don’t want to actually injure it…”

I throw my hands out in disbelief, ignoring the pain of the tube in my arm as I blurt out, “See?? I’ve already hurt you! This is a bad idea!”

“No, no, that time was entirely my fault!” she insists, “You didn’t know I was here. It’ll be different this time. I’ll talk you through it, we can take it one step at a time. Here, let’s practice now - can you put your hand next to me?”

I don’t. My breath is coming in short as my stomach continues to churn, as if something inside of me is trying to claw its way out. I let myself lay back against the upright bed just behind me, giving my desperate acquaintance a miserable look.

“I’m really, really uncomfortable with this, Naomi,” I say quietly.

“But why?” she protests stubbornly.

“I just am.”

“I don’t understand why you won’t even try to–”

“Because I’m a total fuck up!” I snap, my voice raising up a notch as my gaze lowers in turn. “I always am. Ever since I’ve lost my vision I’ve messed up everything I do!”

She falls into silence, and although I can’t look at her anymore, I also can’t stop the words from pouring out of me.

“I’m incapable of doing anything on my own. I’m always covered in bruises from knocking into stuff. It took me forever to learn how to get around my own room. I can’t make my own food, if I try to help with chores I end up breaking something. I can’t even go outside without being literally handheld by my own mother like a fucking child. She has to house me and pay for everything, and I can’t even contribute, all I do is stress her out and stress out everyone around me.”

I should stop, I need to stop talking, but… inertia.

“Even getting sick in the first place,” I groan, “That was my own damn fault. I knew my friend had a cold and I insisted on going to see him, and not only did I almost die, I lost most of my sight over it. You can imagine how I made my friend feel after that… Even all the doctors I’ve been seeing are so done with me, they’ve got other problems to worry about. All these anomalies cropping up and I just have a normal condition, so now I just feel like I’ve gotten lost in the shuffle and won’t ever get out of it.

“I’m only even in the hospital right now because I got so tired of it, so sick of feeling like I can’t do anything for myself and being a burden to everyone I know. All I wanted to do was go to the local corner store on my own… I didn’t tell my mom because I knew she’d fret over it, I just left and I thought I was doing okay, I knew the way to go by heart and I had my cane and I thought I saw that the light was red for the cars, but I fucked up again, and now my mom has to deal with even more medical bills and worrying about her stupid son who she’s always going to need to take care of because I’m a pathetic piece of shit.”

I’m out of breath now, dizzy from the unexpected tirade. For a second I think I might start crying, but I choke the tears back down, if for no other reason than to not feel like a child yet again. I keep my face downcast but turn my eyes back up to Naomi. Her mouth is pressed into a tight line and she’s holding very still.

“I don’t want to fuck this up too,” I murmur, hoping it’s not already too late for that. “So it’s probably better if I keep my distance, okay?”

There’s a moment of silence as we’re both reeling from the fact that I’ve strung more words together in under a minute than I usually do in ten. I wasn’t yelling or anything, but the emotional timbre of my voice during all that must have been jarring too.

But then, to my surprise, Naomi smiles a little. At least, that’s what I see her mouth doing at first. I anticipate she might be about to try and diffuse the situation the same way everyone else does, trying to reassure me or spin this in a positive way somehow. But the longer I look her in the eye, the more I realize that her smile is a pained one. A purely empathetic one.

“That sucks, Cameron,” she says simply with a nod of her head. “That really fucking sucks.”

And now that it’s all out of me, leaving me feeling empty, I’m hit by a pang of shame, and not just because of the fact that I lost my composure. Just look who I’m talking to. What right do I have to complain to her?

I mutter in protest, “It’s nothing compared to what you’ve been throu–”

“Stop,” she says firmly, “You don’t need to downplay it. I don’t want to be your rival here. Just your friend.”

A girl of many words, and yet she only needs a few of them to stop me in my tracks. And now the catharsis is settling. Without quite realizing it, I had been holding all of that in for a long time. Always regretting, always wishing that none of this has happened to me, feeling alone and ashamed and so goddamned hopeless.

But now, for the first time in the past six long months, I finally truly feel seen. My friends, my family… my mom… They try. They really do, and I should be thankful that I have people who care about me, even when I feel like I don’t deserve it. But this is different. Naomi isn’t trying to fix anything. She’s not just trying to reassure me that everything will be okay… And I didn’t realize how much I needed that.

For a few moments we’re in silence as she patiently waits for me to pull myself back together. I curse under my breath as despite myself there’s moisture gathering in my eyes. I rub away at it with the heel of my hand, forcing a self conscious chuckle.

“How do you do it?” I ask with a still-unsteady voice. “How are you so, like… cheerful? It’s like your condition doesn’t even bother you.”

She laughs, and I find comfort in the way her face lights up again. “You’ve known me for less than a day. You didn’t see me six months ago. I promise you, I was less than cheerful.”

And I laugh too, at my own dumb comment. “Right…”

Naomi’s expression softens and she waves a hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about all this. We can call the nurses to take me back to my room, I’m not going to pressure you into anything. But… if it’s okay, do you think you could still… give me your hand? You really look like you could use a hug right now.”

My shoulders droop with my wistful exhale. I do wish that was possible. I’m not even sure what she means by that exactly… I’m suddenly reminded of Danni again, of when we were younger, her arms outstretched towards me if something ever went wrong. She gave the best hugs.

“It’s not that I don’t want to…” I respond softly, almost as if talking to myself.

I notice the shrunken girl’s figure is now sliding backwards along the tabletop, making me straighten up as her movement catches my attention. “Here,” she says, “I’ll scoot back. There’s plenty of space.”

I hesitate a few seconds longer as I imagine myself reaching out and bumping the table, or whacking into her again. It really shouldn’t happen if I’m careful… If I just take it slow…

My hand trembles slightly as I extend my arm. I decide to touch the underside of the table, so it doesn’t matter how far back I go, and then I trail my fingertips back towards me until I reach the edge of the wood. I glance to Naomi, to where her too-small knees are resting, as if trying to manifest better depth perception out of pure will. With the hope that I don’t look too intimidating from her perspective, I creep my fingers onto the top of the table, sliding them forward ever so slowly, keeping my eyes fixed on the gap that I’m closing.

I gasp quietly and freeze in place at the feeling of warm, tiny hands on my index finger. “I’m here,” Naomi soothes, having suddenly reached out to meet me.

I focus on her face again, anchoring myself into the present moment. Her touch sends a not-unpleasant shiver up my spine and truly hammers in the reality of what she is. I had pet hamsters as a kid, and I’m somewhat reminded of the sensation of their little paws, but the fact that she’s human, that she’s a person just like I am, makes this moment feel incredibly distinct. Her dainty fingers are like a feather’s kiss against my skin, but there’s also a surprising strength there as she leans forward and fully wraps her arms around the digit, the miniscule bump of her chin resting against a finger joint.

“Not too bad, right?” she asks as she beams up at me.

Downright adorable is what it is.

At first all I can do is hold incredibly still, just letting her embrace me in the only way she’s able. I’m hit with a pang of sadness as she closes her eyes and tugs at my hand to further envelop my finger into her grip. I have a feeling that, even before she lost her height, hugging might have been the main way she showed affection. I think this gesture is just as much for her as it is for me.

With a deep breath I close my eyes too, turning this into a purely tactile experience. I want to have a better understanding of her miniature form in a 3D space, and so I fall into my habit of “seeing” with my hands. Keeping my index in place, I slide the rest of my fingers forward, and my middle finger brushes against Naomi’s back.

“Sorry, I’m just trying to get a general sense…” I mutter, self conscious about the fact that this might unintentionally be a bit intimate.

“You’re good,” she says as I feel her chin lift back up.

I slide my finger around ever so gently against the smooth fabric of her shirt, across the small of her back, up along the subtle bump of her spine until I feel her shoulders. I can sense how alive she is at every moment, from the heat of her body to each little breath that she takes. She giggles as I reach the top of her head, lightly mussing up her hair in the process.

With a smile I open my eyes again and relent my exploration, pulling away until we’re back to just my forefinger being our one point of contact. Naomi’s staring at me intensely as she grips me. She’s got a very pointed look in her eyes.

Urgh. I know exactly what she’s thinking.

“You’re not giving up, are you?” I whisper.

She smirks playfully. “You catch on fast.”

I’m still very anxious at the thought of trying to lift her off the table. But after everything else my resolve is wavering.

“You’re absolutely sure?” I urge, “You seriously want to take this risk?”

“I truly think you’re more capable than you realize… You might just need to prove it to yourself.” Naomi releases her now-near-death grip on me and sits back on her heels. “Again, nothing you’re not comfortable with but… we can just try baby steps? And if it’s ever too much, we stop.”

I blow out one long exhale, as if releasing any pent-up steam that’s left. And at long last I relent. “Alright. Talk me through it.”

I love how some content creators just vlog about their tallness haha https://youtube.com/shorts/Z1gJtfFjVM4?feature=share

It doesn’t quite “do it” for me but I still find these really entertaining!

@SmolChlo lololol hang in there!