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gt-jar · 1 month

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Two Worlds among the Stars

7. CHAPTER

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Word count: 4.125

The next time Noah woke up everything hurt. His entire body was aching. He was hoping it was just the consequence of his escape attempt yesterday, but his throat was just as sore as his muscles, and his head felt like he had run straight into a brick wall. There was no denying it, he was sick.

Great, that's exactly what he needed right now.

He lifted his head from his knees, only now noticing how stiff his neck was. Sleeping the entire night in a sitting position on a wooden table was definitely not one of his best ideas. But Noah was nothing, if not stubborn. And he had gotten his message across last night, so it was worth it. Maybe it finally went through the man's thick skull that he could shove his hypocrisy somewhere else. Speaking of which, where was that guy?

One look around showed that the giant wasn't sleeping in his bed anymore, Noah couldn't hear him either, which meant he wasn't nearby.

Just like that his morning felt a tiny bit less horrible.

Hopefully he would be gone for a while, Noah certainly wasn't in the mood for any talking, and with how great things were going for him at the moment the man surely was going to say something like “deserves you right for running away” or “it's your own fault that you're sick now”.

Not that he would be wrong. Just thinking about yesterday sent shivers down his back. All things considered, he was pretty lucky that he got off lightly with just a cold. Things could have ended a lot worse. But the last thing he needed right now was a lecture. His head was killing him already and he would like to avoid making it worse.

Noah let his head drop on his knees and closed his eyes again, maybe his headache would lessen like this. The position may be extremely uncomfortable, and he sure as hell wasn't doing his neck a favor, but it wasn't like he had better options right now. With the giant gone he was stuck on the table after all.

He still very much preferred the current peace over getting to the pillow on the man's nightstand. At least that's what he told himself.

He must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing he knew was that he woke up to a snapping sound. Noah forced his eyes to open, and sure enough the giant was snapping his fingers in front of his face. Why couldn't he just leave him alone?

“You okay, kid?” he asked with a furrowed brow.

“Sure, why wouldn't I be?” Noah answered, his voice involuntary taking on a defensive tone. Sure, he felt even worse than before, but that didn't mean he wanted to rub it in the man's face. If Noah was smart about it, the man wouldn't even notice that he was sick. Miss Harris never did either.

John didn't look convinced though. But as long as he would drop the matter, Noah didn't really care. He didn't have to believe him, Noah just wanted him to stop bothering him. Just until he felt better. Was that really too much to ask for?

“If you say so,” the man said.

He still eyed him suspiciously, but took a seat, so Noah counted it as a win, “how about some breakfast then? I'm sure you're hungry.”

Just like yesterday he prepared a plate with bread and jelly for the teen, pushing it half way between them. Noah already knew what was coming next and gritted his teeth in frustration.

“If you can sit with me to fool me, you can do it today as well,” he tapped his finger beside the plate, prompting him to come closer, “And remember, I'm not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

Noah flexed his fingers, pretty much everything else felt sore. He braced his hands on the table, before pushing himself up. Just standing up made him dizzy, but he pushed through it. His legs felt so weak, like they had no bones in them to support his weight. He made his way over to the food, every step was exhausting him further. Noah just prayed that the man would leave him alone after this. Unfortunately, the spinning in his head only got worse, everything was starting to blurry. He had no control over his body and before he knew it he was falling towards the table.

Before he could hit the hard surface though, a pair of large hands caught him. His arms and legs were swinging and kicking, trying to find out where up and down was. He tensed when something cold touched his head. He realized that John's thumb was pressing against his forehead, and that's when he heard a hiss from above.

“When exactly were you going to tell me that you have a fever?” The man didn't sound too happy about the fact that Noah had tried to hide his sickness from him. Noah didn't understand why it was such a deal though.

“Why would I? It's just a fever. It's not like I haven't dealt with those on my own before. I can take care of myself.”

Noah swore the man looked like he wanted to say something, but decided against it.

Good for him.

Instead he huffed, and pulled him close as he walked over to his bed. As Noah was cradled against John's chest he realized just how cold he was.

Damn fever.

The desire to lean into the warmth the man's body was providing was almost unbearable. That guy was basically a living furnace! Thankfully, before he could do something really stupid, he was placed on the pillow that served as his bed.

Then John placed the plate with his breakfast and a thimble filled with water beside him on the nightstand.

“Get some sleep while I'm gone, and please do me a favor and try to eat something. I'll be back soon” After that he walked out the cave, probably to “work” as he called it.

For once Noah was too weak to argue and lied back down. John finally left him alone. That's what he had wanted after all.

Right?

John ended his patrol earlier than usual. There was no need to drag this out, after the show he pulled off, John doubted there would be any trespassers any time soon. And besides, he wasn't truly focused on his work anyway. His thoughts were somewhere else, worry clouding his mind, distracting him. To go home was an easy decision, the kid's well being was more important than his patrol right now.

When he got home, Noah was fast asleep, his breathing shallow and uneven. His blanket had slipped down a little in his sleep, so John pinched the hem between his fingers and pulled it up to Noah's chin again, carefully tucking the blanket around his shoulders. From the looks of it, the kid hadn't touched his food. Nor the water.

This wasn't good.

Neither of them had eaten last night, which meant the kid had skipped two meals already. John may not know much about humans, but this couldn't be healthy. Noah was already awfully light, even for a human, barely weighing anything to him. He needed to eat. And even John knew that it was important to drink enough fluids, when you were running a fever.

Ever since the village incident, John kept messing up. First losing his temper, and now the kid was sick, which was partly his fault. As if their situation wasn't bad enough as it was already. He could have avoided this, if he just made sure that Noah had properly dried himself off last night, instead of giving him a lecture. That could have easily waited until the next morning. John sighed, there was no point in dwelling on things that couldn't be undone, he needed to focus on the important things. Right now the kid needed his help, no matter what he claimed. And John was determined not to mess things up this time.

But who was he kidding, how could he not mess this up? He had no idea how to take care of a sick child, let alone a human child! He himself rarely got sick. What was he supposed to do? What if he accidentally made it worse? Okay no, overthinking wouldn't help Noah. Right now the kid was sleeping, which was probably good. Rest was good. What else? Right, basic needs. Noah still needed to eat.

John tried to remember what his mom used to cook, when he and his sister were sick. She always made them something that was easy on the stomach and didn't require much chewing. So he started to make soup.

The moment he wanted to throw the cut vegetables in the pot, a coughing fit startled him.

When he looked over his shoulder, Noah was sitting up, his body hunched over and cramped up. Coughs rattling his entire body. This probably was more than just painful to watch. John walked over to his nightstand and kneeled down beside it. His intention was to rub Noah's back to help him through his coughing fit, but when his fingers as much as brushed his back, the kid recoiled from contact as if his fingers had burned him. The boy sent him the nastiest glare John had seen in all their time together. He put his hands up to show that he meant no harm. Not that it had worked the last times he had tried to convince the kid that there was no need to be afraid. But hey! At least the coughing had stopped.

“Would you drop the act already?!”

John, for the first time truly oblivious to what the kid meant, asked, “What act?”

“Don't play dumb with me! You know exactly what I'm talking about! Stop pretending to be so nice!”

“What makes you think I’m pretending to be nice?”

“Oh, let me think. First of all, you have been terrorizing my village for fucking ages. And did you forget that I saw how you acted back at my village? How you threatened us. And now you want me to believe that you're a good guy? I don't know what you're hoping to achieve with this, but it won't work. So stop it.”

Well, the kid had a point.

John debated his next words. If he wanted the kid to believe him, when he said he didn't need to be afraid, he had to tell him the truth. Hopefully he won't regret his decision later.

“Okay, you got me, I was pretending,” before Noah could say anything about being right, John continued, “but I'm not pretending right now. I'm gonna be honest with you, this whole… big bad giant thing, how I acted at your village, that was just an act.” Noah made no move to Interrupt him, which he took as a good sign.

“I know you probably don’t believe me, but you're a smart boy. You probably figured out already that I'm just a normal guy. Except for my size there is nothing really special about me. And you're old enough to know that I didn't just… poof into existence.

I’m not the only giant. I have family. Friends. There’re a lot of other giants out there. And all these tales about us, that humans spread over the years, they are just a scheme to scare you off. We’re not blood-thirsty monsters, but… we pretend that we are, because it's the only thing that keeps us safe from you-”

“Safe? From us? You're kidding, right? What on earth could someone my size possibly do to threaten a fucking giant?” Noah barked.

“Kid, where do you think I got these from?” He pointed at his scars, “One human may not be able to do much damage, but numbers can make a big difference. And humans, who think their lives are at risk, are not known for their great decision making. You experienced that first-hand.”

“I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I truly am. I wasn't thinking when I took you with me, but I had to play along. I'm just trying to protect my kind.” John said, hoping Noah would understand.

“I'm not asking you to trust me and I'm not trying to gain anything from this, but please let me help you, at least until you're feeling better. You're more than welcome to go back to hating me after that. Just-”

“Could you just leave me alone?” Noah grumbled, no longer looking at him.

John sighed and stood up. This went as well as expected. But he knew he wouldn't achieve anything by force. All he could do was give Noah the time and space he needed and hope for the best.

Not much later, the soup was ready. John took a spoon and tasted it. It was not as good as he remembered it, but it was pretty decent, if you asked him. His mom would be impressed.

He went back to his nightstand to get Noah, who was asleep once again. John couldn't help but frown. The kid looked even smaller, curled up under the blanket like this.

So fragile.

Like he could actually break, if John wasn't careful. Instead of waking him up or picking him up, he carefully slid his hands under the pillow and carried it with Noah on top over to the table, where his meal already waited for him. The poor kid wasn't even aware of it.

Now came the hard part.

John sat down and gently nudged Noah's shoulder with his knuckle. Noah stirred a little but didn't wake up.

“Time to wake up, kid,” he whispered and nudged the kid again.

Thankfully, the boy's baby blue eyes finally blinked open. They were all glazed over, a far cry from the sharp gaze the kid usually had. It made something inside John's chest squeeze.

“Hey, I made you soup,” John said in a hushed tone.

“Not hungry” Noah mumbled and wanted to roll over, but John couldn't let him do that.

“Hey, none of that, you need to eat, if you wanna get better.”

John slipped his hand under Noah's back and guided him into a sitting position. He didn't pull his hand away though, the man doubted that the boy had enough strength to sit up on his own, with the way he was leaning against his palm.

“Work with me here, kid. Just a few spoons and then you can go back to sleep,” John scooped up some broth with his other hand and brought the spoon to Noah's lips. But all Noah did was turn his head away. John wondered if the boy was just trying to be difficult or if it was really this bad.

“Noah, you need to eat. Please,” John subconsciously started to rub Noah's shoulder with his thumb.

“And then you'll leave me alone?” At this moment Noah looked so much younger than fifteen. With his bleary eyes and frail voice. If John hadn't been worried before, he definitely would be now.

“Yeah, promise.” John gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile. After another moment of hesitation, Noah finally opened his mouth.

“There we go,” John murmured, being visibly relieved about finally getting the kid to eat something. The process continued for a few minutes, with John whispering soft praises. He was able to feed Noah a few spoons, before the boy stopped to open his mouth, signaling that he had enough. He didn't eat much, but it was better than nothing. A few drops of broth dribbled down Noah's chin and John used the pad of his thumb to gently whip it away. The boy didn't even try to bat it away. At this point the poor kid could barely keep his eyes open.

John slowly lowered his hand down onto the pillow and pulled it out underneath Noah's back. As soon as his head hit the pillow the boy was out like a light again.

The man tucked him back in and let him sleep. Sleeping was probably the best for him right now. John debated on carrying the kid back to the nightstand, but decided against it. This way he could keep a better eye on the kid.

While Noah slept, John spent the rest of the day working on his newest little project, glancing over to where the human was laying from time to time. The piece of wood slowly but surely shaping into what he had in mind. Sure, he could be more productive, but John didn't have the heart to leave the sick child alone. He wanted to be nearby just in case he needed something, when he woke up.

He knew that it was very unlikely, but it was a possibility.

John had thought the silence would be a welcomed change, but it had the exact opposite effect. It filled him with dread. He would prefer it, if Noah kept insulting and glaring at him, if that meant the kid was feeling better. Seeing Noah being so still made him uneasy.

He glanced over again and saw that the kid was silently watching him, his eyes half-lidded, but awake nonetheless.

“Hey there, sleepy head. That cold took its toll on you, huh?” John looked at him with a sad smile.

“Been worse,” Noah said even though that was a complete and utter lie, he couldn't remember the last time he felt this awful.

He flinched when the man reached for him and placed his thumb on his forehead to feel his temperature again.

“Shh, I'm just checking.”

Maybe John was just imagining things, but to him it seemed like Noah was warmer than this morning. No wonder he was sleeping so much.

The man didn't pull his hand back right away. Instead he brushed his thumb over Noah's head a few times, almost tenderly stroking the hair out of his face. “See, everything is okay.”

Against Noah's will his eyes started to water, so he closed them. He couldn't remember the last time someone touched his head not to strike him. The gentle strokes felt so… good. Almost soothing his headache away. He could fall asleep like this.

But then the comforting touch was gone again.

Noah blamed his current state for wanting it back. How childish of him to even think such a thing. The fever was starting to mess with his head. Noah hoped this wouldn't last long.

“You can say it, y'know?” The boy rolled onto his back, so he didn't have to see John's face.

“Say what?”

“That it deserves me right for running away.” Noah just wanted to get this conversation out of the way.

There was a pause, then a sigh.

“Noah, believe it or not, but I don't enjoy seeing you like this. I really do want to help you. Here how about this, what would you usually do when you're sick?

“Working,” Noah answered dryly.

“You're kidding, right?” Noah's dead-pan expression told him otherwise.

“But didn't you say you're fifteen? I know I'm not a human expert, but I'm sure children aren't supposed to work.”

Noah scoffed at that.

“So? Money was always tight at the orphanage. And Miss Harris used to say, if I wasn't gonna be adopted, I could at least make myself useful.”

“Why would she say that?” The man asked quietly. Softly.

Noah let out a humorless laugh “Who would want a brat like me?” He almost wanted to turn his head to see the man's face, but decided it wasn't worth it. Then he added in a much softer voice, “And besides… I’m too old to be adopted anyway. People want the little kids, y’know the cute ones.” And with that he rolled over, signaling that their conversation was over.

Later that night, John was still sitting at the table, watching over Noah. Usually he went to bed relatively early, but worry kept him wide awake. His assumption had been correct. Noah's fever got worse. Through the day he had been drifting in and out of consciousness. Right now it seemed like he had settled in for the night, although it looked far from a peaceful slumber. The boy was curled up into a little ball and his brow was knitted in discomfort.

But that wasn't what had John worried.

In addition to the fever, Noah had started to have chills around noon, shivering under his blanket like a withered leaf in the wind, even after John had put more wood into the fire. It even seemed like the shivering just got worse the more time went by. John was running out of ideas. He couldn't just go to bed and leave the kid like this. Then an idea crossed his mind. Maybe it was stupid, but it couldn't hurt to try.

John gently rubbed Noah's shoulder to see if he would wake up. Luckily, the kid remained asleep. John took a breath and carefully scooped Noah up in his hand, who was not happy about being disturbed and the loss of his blanket. The kid started to stir, a quiet whimper escaping him. John quickly shushed him, silently praying that Noah wouldn't wake up. “Shh, I know, I know. Just sleep, everything is okay.” Thankfully that seemed to work and Noah settled down again. John just hoped it stayed that way, because there was no way the kid would let him do this if he was awake.

John placed the boy in the crook of his arm, if the fire wasn't working, maybe body heat would. Just when he pulled his hand away, Noah's face scrunched up. John wanted to kick himself for thinking this would work, an excuse already forming on his lips, but to John's surprise Noah didn't wake up.

No, quite the opposite actually. He rolled over, now facing John's torso, and curled up. John didn't dare to move. Or breath. He let a few moments pass to see if the kid really wasn't going to wake up. But even after several minutes Noah remained asleep.

This was… unexpected.

Unfortunately, the kid was still shivering. But maybe if he…? John knew he was pushing his luck, but still lowered his hand again, cupping it behind Noah's back, providing warmth from both sides. Absent-mindedly John started to stroke his thumb over Noah's back. Soon the shivering stopped and for the first time Noah's body seemed to relax, his troubled expression slowly melting away, and turning into something softer, still not fully relaxed but much more at ease.

It was hard to believe that this boy was the same one that had yelled at him yesterday. The boy had never let his guard down. Always ready to fight or flight. Always on alert. It made John's heart sink, that this was the only time the kid was this calm around him.

It was easy to forget just how young Noah was. But right now you could see past the mask he was wearing. With him being sick and John holding him like this. The man being well aware that he was holding Noah in a way someone would hold a child much younger than him.

He was just a kid. A kid that went through a lot already.

There was this tight feeling inside his chest again, but he ignored it.

Just when John wanted to relax now that the shivering had stopped, the kid began to move again.

The man, already fearing the worst, prepared himself to be cussed out.

Imagine his surprise when all the kid did was nestle closer to him, burying himself deeper into the warmth. And to top it off he grabbed his shirt in a loose fist and let out a content little sigh.

For a moment everything stilled.

John couldn't believe that really just happened. The kid was seriously snuggling up to him, even if it was just to seek warmth. Or maybe there was more to it.

But now was not the time to think about it.

Instead John went back to stroking Noah's back, while his shocked face turned into a fond smile. Under different circumstances he would consider this the most adorable thing he has seen in his entire life. But he knew if it weren't for Noah's bad state of health, this would have never happened. The kid still hated his guts.

And yet…

“And you say you're not cute,” John chuckled quietly, shaking his head.

The man leaned back in his chair, making himself more comfortable. Looks like he was going to sit here a little longer.

Though, John found that he didn't really mind.

Taglist: @da3dm @himbogiants @coffehbeans @mehs-mini-magic

#giant/tiny #g/t #g/t community #g/t writing #OC: Noah #OC: John #my-writing-jar #parental g/t #gtwac #gtwac day 21 #if i don't get any comments i'm gonna cry /hj

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gt-jar · 8 months

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Two Worlds among the Stars

6. CHAPTER

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The rain had started a while ago. Dark, bulging clouds covered the once blue sky and enveloped the forest in sinister shadows. By now Noah's clothes were completely soaked, but he couldn't care any less. He had to get away. He already got this far, he certainly wasn't going to stop now. The boy had been running the entire time. His lungs were burning, his wet clothes were clinging to his body and his hair was plastered to his forehead and kept getting into his eyes, no matter how often he wiped it out of the way. All things considered, he could be doing better.

And yet, he didn't care. No, he couldn't care. He had to ignore his own discomfort for now. There were more important things to worry about, like not getting caught again. That's why he kept running, even though his body had reached its limit a long time ago. Each step was sending a new wave of pain through it. At this point only his sheer stubbornness kept him going. Noah ran until everything before his eyes began to blur and he was seconds away from collapsing. Drained of all energy and completely out of breath, he finally slowed down. Noah tried to at least keep walking, but what he was doing had nothing to do with walking anymore. It could be more described as stumbling a couple of steps forward and stopping every few seconds to gasp for air. It was a miracle he hadn't fallen face first into the mud yet. But he knew from personal experience it was always better not to push your luck. A tiny, yet very stubborn, part of him still wanted to refuse to take a break, but he also wasn't too keen on getting covered in mud. Walking around in wet clothes was already bad enough, no need to make it even worse for himself. Noah staggered towards a tree, practically falling against it, and took a few deep, painful breaths. The exhausted boy let his head lull against the trunk and shut his eyes for just a moment. The tree being the only thing that prevented him from falling over. When he wasn't afraid of passing out anymore, he slowly opened his eyes again. He was surrounded by dozens of trees, each and every one looking exactly the same, nothing nor anybody else to be seen. 'This has to be far enough, right?' He turned his head in the direction where he had come from and strained his ears. All he could hear was the sound of the pouring rain.

Still no giant in sight.

Good.

A small, relieved smile tugged on his lips and a faint laugh, probably more a wheeze than an actual laugh, not even audible over the sound of the rain, escaped his throat.

He did it.

His plan had actually worked!

All he wanted to do was to close his eyes again and sleep for the rest of the day, maybe longer, fully intending to just ignore the cold wind that was sending chills down his spine. Exhaustion pulling at his eyelids. Maybe he could just-

A rustle snapped Noah out of his daze. A friendly reminder that he wasn't safe yet. Even if the giant wasn't nearby, it didn't mean he wasn't looking for him. The giant had most definitely noticed that he was gone by now and was probably looking for him at this moment. Noah couldn't risk getting caught again. He had no idea how much distance he had gained while running, but he knew no matter how far he had gotten, the giant wouldn't need much time to catch up to him. Not to mention these woods were far from being a safe haven. Who knew what other creatures were lurking here in the dark. You'd have to be a massive idiot to linger around longer than necessary.

When his breathing sounded somewhat normal again, he continued his path. The teen had no idea if he was walking into the right direction, but if the smaller trees were anything to go by he was at the very least walking out of the deeper part of the forest and hopefully towards the river. He had to reach it at some point, right? And if he did it would be only a matter of time until he found the way back to his village. At this point his body was basically moving on its own, only focused on putting one foot in front of the other and following a somewhat straight line. The teen could call himself lucky he hadn't bumped into a tree yet. As he navigated his way through the unfamiliar woods, he heard the same rustle again. This time louder - closer? When he stopped to look around, Noah couldn't see anything though.

It couldn't be the giant, there was no way he could be this quiet. Noah also should have been able to see him by now, that guy wasn't exactly easy to overlook. No, whatever caused that sound had to be way smaller. Noah rubbed his eyes. His mind was messing with him. He was just tired. That's all. He was probably making a fool of himself and he was scared of a stupid squirrel or something. Nevertheless Noah picked up his pace again. It was better to be safe than sorry after all. He just wanted to get out of this cursed forest as quickly as possible. Yet, somehow he couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was watching him. Maybe he was being paranoid or he was simply so tired that he was imagining things already. Hopefully his mind was just playing tricks on him and nothing was following, or worse, hunting him. The next time Noah heard something it wasn't the rustling of leaves, which could be easily mistaken for the sound of the wind. Instead Noah's ears picked up a snapping sound. A snapping twig to be precise. Once again he stopped and looked for the source of the noise, expecting - hoping - to find nothing. But when his eyes carefully scanned over his surroundings he froze.

There between the bushes, hidden in the shadows, two seemingly glowing eyes stared right back at him. Suddenly a deep growl tore through the forest. Noah's whole body flinched. He had no idea what kind of predator was staring him down and he didn't want to find out. The teen did the only reasonable thing and broke into a sprint. Thank god adrenaline did its job and pushed him past his limits. His heart was drumming against his rib cage and this time not just from over-exertion. The rain was hitting his face full-force now. It was impossible to tell where his cold sweat ended and the rain drops started. Noah had to use his arm as a shield to be able to see, though not truly caring where he was running. As long as he wouldn't run straight into a tree and was able to escape from whatever was chasing him, any direction was fine. Anything else didn't matter. He could worry about how he was going to find his way out, when his life wasn't in danger anymore. All he could hear was the rain, his own ragged breathing and the blood rushing in his ears. It was almost overpowering every other noise.

Almost.

Unfortunately, Noah could still hear the growls and howls not too far behind him. They sounded close - way too close. The teen sharply turned his head, trying to see how close that thing chasing him was, and immediately regretted it.

It lasted just a second. One teeny tiny second, but that second was enough to decide over his fate. In one inattentive moment Noah tripped over a root and fell to his knees. He, thankfully, was able to cushion his fall with his arms, stopping himself from face-planting into the dirt. But his trembling legs prevented him from getting up. He stumbled several times and was struggling to find his footing again. When he finally managed to stand up it was already too late.

He was trapped.

Four wolves had encircled him with no way out. All he could do was to slowly back away until his back hit one of the trees behind him. His eyes were twitching in every direction, looking for an escape that didn't exist. His fingers clawed at the bark as he pressed himself harder against the tree, trying to become one with it. His legs were trembling so hard that if it wasn't for the tree his knees would've buckled underneath him already. The wolves were snarling and baring their teeth. Now would be a really, really good moment to pass out. That would save him at least a lot of pain.

How ironic.

After everything this was how he was going to die? Not by the hands of the legendary giant, but slaughtered by a pack of hungry wolves? Pathetic. And here he thought he had escaped from his guaranteed doom, only to run straight into an even more gruesome death. What had he been thinking? Had he really believed that he could make it on his own?

He couldn't help but wonder if it had been the right decision to run away. Was it really worth it? Cause let's be serious, nothing the giant could have possibly done to him would have been as brutal and painful as what was about to happen. With him Noah at least had been warm and dry and not a pathetic, dripping and shivering mess like right now.

Well... too late for regrets.

One of the wolves was getting ready to pounce and Noah braced himself for the pain, turning his head away, accepting his fate and preparing for the inevitable. Any moment now their teeth would tear through his skin and their claws would rip his flesh apart. The seconds felt like an eternity. Time passed painfully slow. But nothing seemed to happen. Instead he heard... whimpering?

What?

The boy hesitantly blinked his eyes open and saw the pack slowly backing away, with their tails tucked between their legs.

What was happening?

Only then did Noah realize that the ground beneath him was shaking. The heads of the four predators turned upwards, the ground stopped shaking and then-

The pack fled.

Just like that.

Noah's gaze flicked to where the wolves' had been and landed directly on the cause for the pack's sudden retreat. One look was enough to recognize his savior. Next to him stood John, eyes fixated in the direction where the wolves had run in.

And oh did he look mad.

Noah didn't know whether he should be relieved or terrified. Suddenly green eyes met his blue ones and did he mention that he looked mad already? The boy's feet were still firmly planted to the ground and his body simply locked up. But even if he was able to move, it would be pointless. The wolves may be gone, but now he was facing a new threat. One he couldn't run away from either. Unlike before his path wasn't blocked. Nothing was stopping him from trying to escape. But what was the point? He knew he couldn't outrun a giant. So why wasting energy he didn't have to begin with?

John crouched down and Noah used his arms to shield his head, fearing the worst when a hand reached for him. In doing so he missed the way the hardened eyes immediately softened. Noah expected to be grabbed in a crushing grip, instead the hand wrapped around him in a loose fist and lifted him off the ground. He was raised up to the man's face and the boy braced himself for the blow.

"Are you okay?"

Was he... what? More confused than ever, Noah let his arms fall down, right in time to see a finger moving towards his face. He craned his head back, not wanting to be touched. To be hurt. Of course no one ever asked what he wanted. A curled finger was placed under his chin and gently forced him to look up. He stared into stern eyes, yet, it seemed like they also held something else. Was it... worry? No, that couldn't be. The giant was supposed to be angry. To yell at him. Anything but this!

But he did nothing.

Just-

Silence.

Noah didn't know how to react. His body felt numb. How was he supposed to answer that question? Of course he wasn't okay! That much should be obvious. When Noah kept staring at him without answering, the man rephrased his question.

"Are you hurt?"

The softly spoken question sounded so genuine, and somehow that made something inside Noah's chest clench. He was far from being okay, but he wasn't hurt, so this time he softly shook his head. This made the man's shoulders sag... in relief? As if it actually mattered if he was hurt or not. The finger under his chin disappeared shortly after.

"Okay," The giant murmured softly, "let's go then."

The walk back to John's cave was accompanied by an uncomfortable silence. The man had Noah cupped against his chest, while using his other hand to shield him from the rain. It didn't make much of a difference, considering Noah was completely drenched already, but he appreciated the effort. Neither of them said a word. On one hand, the boy was glad about that fact and kept his lips sealed. He could feel how tense the muscles underneath him were, his own body just as tense. On the other hand, the silence was making the tension that surrounded them like a thick, suffocating fog even worse, and for Noah it was a lot harder to read the man's mood. The silence could mean anything. Worst case scenario the man was seething with anger and was trying to conceal it. So Noah did everything to avoid gaining his attention.

When they arrived the rain had significantly lessened, now only a gentle dribble. Inside Noah was placed on the table without a word. Instead of addressing what happened, John walked away from the boy over to the drawer. He came back with a towel in his hand, which he dropped at Noah's feet.

"Here dry yourself off," he muttered without really looking at the kid. Then he grabbed another towel for himself and began to dry his own hair. Afterwards he changed into a new shirt and sat down at the table.

Noah just stood there. His hands clenching and unclenching nervously, still not making a move to grab the towel, laying uselessly at his feet.

He waited.

He waited for some kind of acknowledgement. For a punishment. But even after several minutes nothing happened. No raised voice, no clenched jaw nor fist. Or any other indicators of anger. John looked just... tired. Exhausted. He wasn't even looking at him, like Miss Harris used to when she was waiting for an explanation or some kind of excuse. No, it even seemed like the man was purposely looking in a different direction.

He was ignoring him.

All there was was a frown on his face, but it was nothing compared to the fury Noah had expected. Noah noted that John must have spent the last few hours out in the rain, searching for him. And for what? Just to pretend his escape attempt had never happened? That made absolutely no sense. Noah had fucked up. There had to be some kind of consequences. There always were. At first the teen had feared that John had just saved him to teach him a lesson, to show him once and for all giants- No, that he wasn't someone to be messed with. There was no way that he would let him off the hook so easily, but he didn't even scold him yet! What the hell was this all about? What kind of sick mind game was he playing? What was the point of saving him? Noah knew all too well that he was just an inconvenience to the man. The only reason Noah couldn't leave was because the man feared he would snitch at him and lead other humans to his place. That problem would have been solved, if he had just let nature take its course.

So why?

A rather loud sigh startled him out of his rant and suddenly green eyes landed on him.

Well, here it comes.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? You can be lucky that it was just a tiny pack of wolves. Trust me, there are far more dangerous creatures inside these woods you definitely don't wanna encounter."

"Oh, you mean beside you?"

The man's frown deepened, and yet it wasn't anger. All he did was look at him, his gaze intense. Then - finally taking action - he lifted his hand, reaching in Noah's direction, who in turn took a quick step back. Whatever the man was about to do, was stopped by Noah's reaction. Instead he let his hand sink again and said, "You're still afraid of me."

It wasn't a question.

It was a statement.

And it made the teenager's blood boil. All he saw was red. So he did the one thing teenagers were best at:

Testing his boundaries.

Making someone, who held so much power over him mad on purpose, was probably the stupidest thing he had ever done. And maybe it would be his last. But all his common sense was thrown out the window. Noah had enough of this fucking game. It was driving him up the wall. He would make that stupid giant show his true colors. "Well what are you expecting? That I believe a single word of the crap you say? You have been terrorizing my village for god damn years! You kidnapped me for fuck's sake! I have absolutely no reason to trust you, asshole! And guess what, I don't wanna be here. I don't wanna talk with you. I want nothing to do with you. I-"

The scraping of the chair against the floor cut him off mid rant and suddenly the giant was looming over him, his arms caging him in from both sides. "Listen here, you little brat. Don't think I like being stuck with you. I didn't ask for this either. It's not my fault your people hated you so much, that they wanted to get rid of you so badly, but you know what? I think I'm starting to understand them. And I don't blame them for not wanting to deal with you any longer."

And with that he stormed off.

With the man gone Noah could finally breathe again, he hadn't even noticed that he had been holding his breath. His legs were shaking. When did they start? Or had they just never stopped shaking ever since the encounter with the wolves. He couldn't tell anymore.

That had been...

Terrifying.

But wasn't it exactly what he had wanted? For the giant to lash out? He had definitely succeeded in making the man mad.

And still...

He hadn't gotten violent. He hadn't hurt him. Not even in a fit of rage. The man must have a remarkable amount of self-control. Though, Noah managed to make something inside the man snap.

One word was still ringing inside his head.

Brat

People called him lots of awful names. Street rat, good-for-nothing, bastard, worthless piece of shit, to name only a few of them. But for him 'brat' was somehow the worst. God, how much he hated that word. The people in his village probably used it more often than his actual name when referring to him. He didn't know why that word in particular bothered him so much, especially because compared to all the other insults it almost wasn't even worth mentioning. Maybe it was because the people were right, when they called him a brat.

Because... that's all he was, wasn't he?

He knew it.

His whole village knew it.

And now the giant knew it as well.

And it took him like, what? Three days? That was a new record.

Deep down he knew that John was right. It was his own fault he was in this situation. There was no point in pretending it wasn't.

And now he had to live with the consequences of his actions.

John walked aimlessly through the forest. Taking a walk normally calmed him down, but tonight it did nothing to ease his mind. He didn't know what to do anymore. He had been patient, had been willing to work together, had made sure the boy had everything he needed, and yet nothing seemed to work. He had thought they were making progress! But apparently he had been wrong. The little human still saw him as the bad guy. Sure, from his perspective he sort of was. The kid had a point. He had taken him from his home and was keeping him against his will after all. John wouldn't deny that, but that didn't mean he wanted to be treated like a monster in his own home. It was one thing to be seen as a blood-thirsty beast, when he was out on patrol, but to be looked at like he was some rabid animal, while eating breakfast was something completely different. Okay no, to be fair it wasn't that bad. But it was getting frustrating to constantly look into wary eyes, when he wasn't even trying to be threatening.

John winced.

Admittedly, he had messed up today. Losing his patience and using his size as a threat, when it was obvious why the kid was acting the way he did. He hadn't been thinking at this moment. But it was so depressing to be reminded of how much he had messed up on a daily basis. He knew he had fucked up by taking the human with him. Of course he knew! How could he not? The boy was making damn sure he knew. His presence alone was a constant reminder. If only there was a way to convince the child that his life wasn't in danger, and he could believe him when he said he wasn't gonna hurt him. That would make things so much easier for both of them. John truly wanted them to get along. The human on the other hand had made it perfectly clear today that he wasn't feeling the same. John's anger had long faded and the feelings of frustration and helplessness returned. This was getting him nowhere. Avoiding the kid was pointless.

It was time to return home.

When he entered his home he saw Noah exactly where he had left him. Sitting on the table and looking so small and utterly lost. A painful reminder how out of place he was. When John cleared his throat, he saw how the child's shoulders tensed. Now or never. "I- uh, I'm sorry for raising my voice at you. I shouldn't have done that. And for what I said-"

"Don't." Noah interrupted him. His voice sharp and raw with emotion. "You were right. Guess I'm your problem now."

John was honestly surprised that the kid was still talking to him that way. Any other human would have shied away by now. Another proof that this kid was different from the rest. Maybe he hadn't ruined everything. Still, it was too late to argue. Both had a stressful day and maybe sleep was what they both needed. They could talk about this in the morning, after they had rested. John walked over to the table and offered his hand to Noah. Instead of climbing on, Noah just glared at the hand and then at him, his hardened eyes saying more than enough. John just pulled his hand back and went to bed, giving the kid the space he needed.

He didn't know how long he laid awake, hoping that Noah would reach out to him eventually. But he never did.

Neither of them got much sleep that night.

#giant/tiny #g/t #g/t community #g/t writing #parental g/t #OC: Noah #OC: John #my-writing-jar

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