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ratcatcher0325 · 8 months

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A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #31)

Chapter #31. ... Something Wicked this way comes... Or so Alexander thinks. Who is at Nat's door?

So this is by far my longest chapter yet! I guess that makes up for how long it took me to write and edit it? Maybe? Anyway thanks for continuing to read!! I love and appreciate you all!

Previous: Chapter #30

Next: Chapter #32

Word Count: 10,045 Read Time: Approx. 60+ mins

CW: adult language

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A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #31: The Pricking of Thumbs... and Eyes

[Alexander’s POV]

I strained to listen through the bedroom door, thicker than I measured shoulder to shoulder, through walls of drywall and insulation, through distance. While it was only a few dozen steps for the human who’d just told me to hide, it may as well have been the better part of a mile for me.

Damn my little frame!

My throat tightened as my spinal column was washed with adrenaline. What was happening out there? Was she okay? What was my best course of action? On the desktop I had the advantage of some height, sure, but I was also a sitting duck, with no chance to outrun a pair of malicious human hands if it were to come down to that. Did I risk clamoring to the floor? Or did that just guarantee my doom, underfoot? Down there, I’d have more places to hide out of sight before springing into action with this makeshift weapon I currently hefted under my arm. If push came to shove, would I be able to get to her in time to make any difference at all? Even if I crashed my way into the room with two absolutely massive beings before me, was there anything I could do to help?

My few milliseconds for strategizing were abruptly cut short as the creak of the door opening far off in the distance hit my ears. My blood froze in my veins and I admit, I held my breath as I ground my heels into the wood of the desk, waiting to discover what was taking place far beyond where I stood.

The door opened. I strained, wincing and wishing I wasn’t banished to this far off room, like some weak little coveted prize to be stashed away when danger called. I couldn’t be certain, but I swore I heard a gasp.

Her gasp.

My heart thundered ever more feverishly. That was it. I had to do something. Anything. Even if it got me killed. I would not lie down and cower in fear like some weak little waste of oxygen. If she needed my help, I’d try my damndest to give it.

Without a second thought, I hobbled over to the edge of her desk, contemplating the cables I’d shimmied down once before. I now had the much more logistically challenging job of navigating this vertical drop with a letter opener towering a whole 3 inches above my head and mobility aid tucked under my arm. I heard a shuffling of feet as I swung my own over the cliff’s edge that was the desk’s ledge. I tried not to think about how a drop from this height could kill me as I heard her exclaim, “What the fuck? What’re you doing here?” Was this someone she knew? To my ears, it didn’t sound good.

I needed to move, and quickly. I heard a male voice, deep and wholly unfamiliar ring in response, but I hardly had the bandwidth to pick up on his exact words. I managed to hear “Worried… Own good… Don’t freak out…” I launched myself over the edge, both hands gripping the cord as I swung precariously, trying not to drop the two objects carefully hooked under my right shoulder joint and pressed to my side with the crook of my elbow. I had to make sure to apply adequate pressure to keep them from slipping.

Hand under fist, I began to slowly lower myself down the length of the cord. The progress was abysmally slow. I bared my teeth, sweat forming on my brow, as a muscular burning began to blossom in my shoulders and arms. No! Not now, I’ve only just begun my descent.

I pictured Natalie’s face in my mind. I’d no doubt she could hold her own quite well. The incident with the driver in her alley and her unapologetic shouting match with the impatient man came immediately to the forefront of my thoughts. She did not hesitate to come to her own defense, and I knew that. What she’d failed to remember when she’d commanded me to hide myself away, is that I would not hesitate to do the same.

I was ripped back to reality by two concurrent events that occupied my full attention. First, I could feel my crutch slipping dangerously from my hold on it, threatening to fall out of my grip entirely, as my arms shook with the effort to hold myself aloft. I could hardly afford to risk letting go with one arm to catch it, let alone be able to twist around in time to stop its fall. I doubted I’d be able to support my full weight with just one fist gripping tightly to the slippery rubber casing of a wire. Yet, if it tumbled to the ground, and out of reach, I’d be royally screwed in trying to hobble even a few paces.

As I hung in place, tightening the pressure between my elbow and ribs to try to keep the objects from falling, the second event tore me away from my current disaster unto another. There were footsteps, loud and unmistakable, thundering toward the door. This human, whoever he was, would be bursting through the threshold in only a few seconds’ time, judging by the cacophony of shoes on wood flooring.

I was much too high off the ground to risk jumping, but too far down to have enough time to clamor back up again. This was a huge mistake. I was stuck, midair, probably about level with the average human’s thigh, swinging uselessly, and utterly exposed. Like ripe fruit ready to be plucked from its vine, I was at high risk of being snatched up.

Steel yourself, Alexander, now’s not the time for succumbing to fear. I had a weapon after all, and a sharp one at that.

The gigantic footfalls continued with ever growing intensity in my direction. The stranger’s voice seemed far too casual and familiar for my liking, “Aww, come on, I gotta see what’s been goin’ on… what’re you trying to hide?” Who was this man? Why was she not stopping him and what gave him any right to invade her home on such unexpected notice, no less?

What was she trying to hide? Me. You unwelcome invader of privacy. She’s trying to hide me. So much for keeping out of plain sight and giving her peace of mind.

“No, you really don’t! N-no I’m not hiding– I just… now’s not a good time and–” Her voice was softer than his, quieter and more distant. He was charging ahead and she was scrambling after him. What was wrong with this human? Did he not know how to listen?

The footfalls were so close now, I could feel them as they ricocheted through the hardwood floor of the hall, and shook my makeshift climbing rope ever so slightly.

How embarrassing. Just their steps were enough to rock me to and fro like a fragile leaf on the breeze. I swallowed hard. This was it. In the next millisecond I’d be face to face… well… make that face to body with an unknown enemy.

I gripped tighter, tucking the cable between the sole of one shoe and the toe of the other, so that I didn’t have to bear all my weight with just my arms. This muscular effort tweaked my injured leg, as my trembling hands gained some small relief. With my crutch still barely able to balance, I readied myself to use my weapon if needed. I was almost certain it would be needed.

That’s when he crashed through the door.

He towered over me, of course. The gusts of wind generated from his massive form erupting into the room threw my hair about my face and made me grit my teeth. Why did humans have to be so big?!

He stopped just inside the doorway, his left thigh upsettingly close, yet maybe just an inch or so shy of being within stabbing range. Damn. Still, he was much too near for my liking. I could practically smell him. Was that fresh soap and a hint of cinnamon? I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

He hadn’t noticed me yet: of course not, I was far below his eye line, why would he? He stood comfortably, as if he owned the place. He looked a few years older than Natalie, perhaps about my age, though it was impossible to know for sure. His bespectacled visage was bright, excitable. He seemed amused, as he cast his gaze around. His beard, dark in color, just like his neat, tightly curled hair, was cut close to his jawline. The wide-necked cable-knit sweater he wore sported a geometric pattern in black, royal blue and crisp white. His left hand relaxed inside the pocket of his corduroy slacks, as he took in the room before him.

I hated him at first glance.

He played the part of a perfect Nantucket dandy, clearly hailing from wealth, and with the added benefit of an Ivy League university education, he seemed out of place in Natalie’s humble living conditions. Everything about him oozed with pretension and privilege. And yet, the two of them seemed well acquainted, so there must’ve been some common ground.

While this strange and wholly unwelcome intruder delighted in the view, my muscles were screaming for relief. Sweat poured from my brow and down the back of my neck. My arms, in spite of my best efforts, were starting to tremble and that damned cane was ever closer to tipping out of my grasp and down to the floor, a deadly distance away. I couldn’t hold on for much longer, but I’d be damned if I’d let this supercilious interloper’s first encounter with me be one of pitying condescension because I required any form of assistance.

A moment after he’d paused in the doorway, the third party in this equation, and second human, my human, practically crashed into him in her hurried attempt to stop him in his tracks. Great job, on that front, Natalie. She managed to stop just short of colliding directly into his back by gripping to the threshold of the door and halting her momentum. Much to my surprise, I noticed she was significantly shorter than him. Was Natalie short? That seemed impossible, given just how towering she was to me. Or was this unannounced visitor just abnormally tall? From my vantage point they both may as well have been city buildings, so the difference hardly mattered.

I watched as her eyes flitted feverishly over the desk’s surface, no doubt searching for me. She was red faced and breathless. I couldn’t tell if she was more relieved or panicked by not knowing where I was. Maybe luck was on my side and I’d go unnoticed by them both, left to gasp and tend to my sore muscles in the sanctity and peace of a humanless space. She sucked in air as if about to speak, no doubt to usher him out of the room, when he, oblivious, his back to both of us, cut her off.

“Damn Nat, since when did you start picking up? This place always looked like a tornado blew through here but now it should be on the cover of a home decor magazine or something… What’s changed?” Me. I’m the change that made her clean up her pigsty of a home. You’re welcome. If I hadn’t been convinced already, it was painfully clear now that these two knew each other. He had this smug, easy going familiarity about him that made the bile rise in my throat. Who did this man think he was, waltzing into Natalie’s home uninvited and entirely unexpected and then parading around as if he owned the place? Was he expecting to stay for dinner? Spend the weekend on her couch? How dare he interrupt her work, our work, as if we had nothing better to do with our day than entertain him!

I glanced over at Natalie, she didn’t seem the least bit offended or wary of his presence. So he’d been an unplanned but not altogether shocking visitor? How often did this stranger make himself comfortable in her home? They must’ve been quite close if he had unfettered access to her space and had been here frequently enough to note her change in personal organization. Why hadn't she mentioned him before?

As he spoke, he took another step into the space and went so far as to sweep a finger tip across the surface of her dresser to check for dust, his expression one of impressed intrigue (as he should be, that was my meticulous and thorough dusting he was observing).

While he remained occupied, I suddenly felt the invasion of her gaze alighting on me. She finally spotted me, dangling there like some marionette in the world’s most boring puppet show.

Her eyes bulged from her skull, as she set her jaw and her nostrils flared in that capricious way she always did when she was upset with me, which was infuriatingly often.

Her gaze flitted with anxious intensity from my dangling form to the back of this other human, and then returned to me. With a frantic, utterly confounded gesture she mouthed at me with a serpent’s intensity “What the fuck are you doing?!”

I hissed back, the heat in my face beginning to rise, “What am I doing? Why is he–” I jutted my chin in the stanger’s direction, which I immediately regretted as the force of my gesture forced me to swing in counterbalance, making the challenge of keeping my grip steady and the objects in my arms from falling all the more difficult, “--even here?” I cast my eyes down to the letter opener, and then back to her, “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m protecting you!”

Somehow, her eyes managed to widen even farther as her gaze followed mine toward the letter opener in my grip, its blade as long as I was tall, sharp and menacing, “Don’t you dare! Alexander! No! Do NOT.”

While she spat through gritted teeth, she made all kinds of emphatic gestures: shaking her head, swiping her hand in one fell motion across her throat, and staring daggers at me. If she hadn’t learned by now that telling me what to do would get her absolutely nowhere, then there really was no hope for her. If the man deserved to be stabbed, a stabbing he would get. Simple as that.

She seemed to read my mind, “Alexander–” She was about to continue, her eyes narrowed to slits, even taking half a step in my direction, no doubt on the verge of expressing more disapproval for my very reasonable reaction to an invader in her home, or perhaps to simply snatch me up and disarm me, which I was prepared to fight tooth and nail over. Just as she drew another breath, however, the seemingly spatially unaware invader himself, clearly having no idea of this fiercely whispered conversation behind his back, uttered a noise of delight and intrigue which made both our heads whip in his direction.

“Oh! This is adorable!” During the length of our heated exchange, our interloper had graduated from the dresser to the bedside table, where he was now leaning, hands on knees, marveling at the miniature wonder that was my neatly made bed, my dresser, and a few other furniture items, all to my scale: my open air bedroom of sorts. Oh give me a break! Have you never seen a bed before? What’s wrong with you?

Defensively, Natalie stepped in his direction, still trying to keep my presence a secret; a smart move if his fascination with just my furniture was any indication of how he’d react to seeing me. A few beads of sweat traced down my spine as I grit my teeth, struggling to hold on. He continued to stare, adjusting his glasses for a better look, “What’s all this for? It’s so cute!” Come back over here and I’ll show you cute.

Realizing with simultaneous intuition that we had about half a second before he’d turn over his shoulder to look back in her direction, we exchanged a swift, knowing glance before she turned on her heel, and planted herself firmly between him and my hiding spot, obscuring me from view.

“Oh! All that? It’s… nothing… I thought my niece might like them, I just haven’t wrapped them up for her yet…” Ah yes, thank you Natalie, for reminding me that I and your niece’s playthings could do a furniture swap if we wanted. Excellent. At least she was giving me a chance to escape my predicament. She got points for that.

I wasted no time in re-engaging my muscles for the upward climb. As my shoulder joints buckled, I felt my stomach drop. Did I have the strength to pull myself up?

Now was not the time for doubt. I had to try.

She continued to cover for me, speaking louder than was normal, as I made laughably little progress towards the lip of the desk, “Anyway, look, I really appreciate you coming to check on me. You have literally been saving my ass with the lectures and stuff, I owe you, big time…” My whole body was trembling, my breath escaping my lungs in ragged gasps, my hands, now slick with sweat, were struggling to maintain traction, as my hurt leg burned from the far too great strain I was putting on it just to keep from slipping. As I struggled against gravity, Natalie crossed the room to the other human, trying her damndest to usher him toward the door.

I was only a bit too preoccupied at the moment to clock whether her encouragement was proving successful. Hand over fist, feet wrapped tightly around the thick, rubber casing, I was getting ever closer to sweet relief. Only about two inches of distance left. I could do this.

No sooner had I encouraged myself, than my next handhold gave way and I was left to cling fast by one arm, as I instinctively hugged the letter opener and cane to my chest with my now free hand, both objects swaying wildly along the same pendulum trajectory of my own form. My heart rate spiked and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to make a sound as I happened to peer down at the floor, seemingly a million miles below me. That was close. Taking advantage of the gravitational force that bandied me about, I managed to grab back on with my right hand.

Okay, crisis averted, I could do this.

“...But, you did your check-up on me and as you can see I’m totally fine, so…”

Nevermind. I could not do this.

No sooner had I steeled myself for the homestretch, my grip gave way again and this time I had much less luck in righting myself. My favored hand, my left, failed me, as did my foothold. I was now dangling, precariously, by one arm, legs flailing, as I swung with a violent rhythm. But that wasn’t the end of my troubles. In my scramble to right myself, my movement was enough to finally knock the crutch from my grasp.. and down, down, down it fell.

"...Thanks for stopping by. Like I said I do have a bunch of shit to do today–” CLANG!!!

The aluminum cane collided with the metal rim of the trash can below. My shoulders flew up to my ears as I cringed and grit my teeth.

So much for keeping a low profile.

The gasp of pure delight that came from the man across the room made my stomach churn, as I hung, wrapped tightly around the cable, my one line of defense still pressed between my chest and arm. The speed with which he turned on his heel, alerted by the sound I’d accidentally made, only to almost instantaneously break into a, frankly, disturbingly joyful smile made my countenance twist into a snarl. He practically bounded over to me, with so much enthusiasm that his footfalls shook me from head to toe.

Why, oh why, did I ever delude myself into thinking the company of humans was ever worthwhile?

Much to my utter frustration and embarrassment, all my swinging and thrashing about for a steady hold left the wire above me twisted, and, therefore, I found myself being turned so that his rapidly approaching gigantic face was greeted with only my back.

This was all much too humiliating. I kicked and writhed in a minimally successful attempt to right myself. What I was greeted with made me regret the effort.

His bespectacled gaze was a mere few inches from my body, his dark eyes, widened and glowed with patronizing fascination.

“Awwwww…” His voice was booming, the intensity of his stare far too all-encompassing, he was close enough that I could smell him, that hint of soap and cinnamon striking my nostrils like a biochemical warning signal. He smiled, his massive eyes staring directly down into mine, “You need help, there, little buddy?” I could practically feel the steam erupting from my ears. Before I even had a chance to snap back, the pad of a finger, huge, rough and jarring, pressed into my ribs to turn me fully about.

I writhed away from his touch, swinging to and fro and snarling, “DO NOT TOUCH ME.” Even a rattlesnake gives one fair warning before he strikes, this is mine and you’d do well to adhere to its call.

Simultaneously with my outburst Natalie stepped forward, clearly forecasting what was to come. She knew me well enough by now to know just how I would take such condescension. As she came forward, I felt myself tensing, Don’t you dare swoop in and rob me of my moment. I don’t need your help here, I’m well armed and perfectly capable. I squared my shoulders and lifted my chin, hungering for the now inevitable moment of confrontation with a being twelve times larger than myself.

She continued to close the distance between us, and I couldn’t help noticing how her hand rested on his trapezius muscle with easy familiarity. She glared at him, an eyebrow raised “Yeah. Don’t, dude. Don’t do that…” Her eyes darted from him to me, her right hand poised to reach forward and tear me away. As much as I relished the idea of not having to hang here any longer, I craved the opportunity to give this dimwit a piece of my mind with far greater fervor.

But it seemed unnecessary for me to advocate on my own behalf, because he immediately laid the groundwork of his own demise, “Aw, come on, Nat. Don’t stress. I’ve got this. Just watch, we’re gonna be the best of friends after today, aren’t we? Aren’t we little fella?” How perfect. Keeping digging your own grave, you cable-knit clown.

He stared expectantly, awaiting a response. His brows furrowed when he received nothing but an unrelenting glare from me, “He’s not much of a talker, huh?” His eyes darted uncomfortably away from my stone cold stare, as he looked to Natalie for an explanation.

“Quite the opposite, actually. That’s why I’m worried…”

“Aww, don’t be! I’m not gonna hurt him!”

“… for you, jackass. You’ve pissed him off into silent rage, that’s a level farther than even I’ve gotten.”

The bespectacled man burst into laughter. Not only did the volume at this distance threaten to blow out my eardrums, but the boiling of my blood quickened my heart rate and I couldn’t help but snarl. The ignoramus wiped a tear from his eye and managed to speak between bouts of belly laughter, “You’re joking, right? That’s adorable! Uh oh, somebody’s grumpy! We all better be very afraid!” He threw his hands up in mock terror. His voice cascaded and echoed in a sing-songy voice reserved for the condescension of human babies or cute animals. Come just a little closer, you ignorant bastard, I dare you.

“I’m gonna say this one more time, you’re gonna regret saying shit like that, I promise. So either move and let me disarm him, or you’ll see what happens when you piss him off!”

Another round of incredulous laughter. Could he manage to be any louder and more obnoxious? I highly doubted it. He continued, unphased by Natalie’s apt warning, “Look at him! He’s harmless! What’s he gonna do? That letter opener is bigger than he is. I’m actually surprised he’s even able to hold it!” You’ll be even more surprised how much force I can put behind it when its razor edge sinks into your flesh, “Yeah, you’re not gonna hurt me, are ya? I bet you’re just a sweet little guy, deep down. I just frightened you, is all. Don’t be scared…” Scared?! Who did he think he was dealing with? “Did you drop something? Here lemme help you….”

He sank all the way to his knees now, searching the carpet fibers for my long lost cane. I waited, practically salivating in anticipation. He rose back to a neutral spine, his knees still planted in the carpet, as he held the walking aide triumphantly between finger and thumb, it looking no more durable than a twig in his massive grip. He grinned brightly, clearly pleased with himself. Alright, just a little closer…

He waved it wildly in front of my face, like teasing a dog with a stick before playing fetch. Needless to say I was less than amused. He leaned forward, to place it on the surface of the desk behind me. Yes, you’re doing great, A+ for hitting your mark. You’re almost exactly where I want you to be. Just a tiny bit closer… His massive face was mere inches from mine, I could see every pore, every eyelash, every detail I’m sure most humans would prefer to be left to the imagination. He was so near I could feel the cascading tide of his breath stirring tendrils of my hair. He looked down at me, his dark brown eyes bright with bubbly self satisfaction, “There ya go. See? We can be friends. I’m not out to getcha…” As soon as the object clattered to the wooden surface, his hand descended from over my head, careening down, closer and closer until his fingers were right on top of me, aiming for my hair. Was this man about to try and pet me?!

Without a second’s hesitation, I wrapped my right arm firmly around the chord, hefted the letter opener over my head, tucked it securely on my left side, and then shoved it forward with all my might.

The trajectory of the weapon was suddenly halted when its point hit home, jarring my shoulder as it absorbed the ricochet of force.

This four-eyed Polyphemus roared in shock and surprise, his hand flying up to the origin of sudden pain. The letter opener had glanced off the rim of his glasses, and the blade hit its mark just an inch or so shy of his right ocular organ. He whipped away, batting the letter opener as he went with such force that he very nearly pulled the weapon and me right along with him, but, somehow, in spite of our significant disparity in strength, I managed to hold fast.

His initial exclamation, loud enough to deafen me, was not one of articulate words, but rather garbled shouting. He’d flung himself backwards, crumpled in a heap on the floor.

And thus, Saint George slayed the dragon.

Did I feel a swell of pride enlarge my chest? You bet I did.

Raising my voice over the din, I shouted at the top of my lungs, “I TOLD YOU NOT TO TOUCH ME, YOU INSUFFERABLE WRETCH!” I couldn’t help but laugh as I swung on the wire, all muscular exhaustion temporarily forgotten in the wake of this newfound excitement.

“ALEXANDER!!!” Uh oh.

Here came Natalie, her shadow casting a pall, literally and figuratively, over my gleeful celebration. She was pissed. I didn’t care.

Meanwhile, her friend had scrambled across the carpet until his head crashed into the dresser behind him, “WHAT THE FUCK?!?! HE ALMOST STABBED ME IN THE EYE!” The timbre of his voice had gone from saccharinely sweet baby talk to one of whiny disdain and flustered disbelief. He pointed at me emphatically with his free hand, looking to Natalie for some sort of recompense.

I beat her to the punch.

“WHAT DID I SAY? HM? WHAT DID I TELL YOU? I WARNED YOU!!!” I shouted across the cavern between myself and him, until my throat was raw. By this time, Natalie had fully crossed the few feet between her dresser and desk, settling before me on her knees, her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched.

“Alexander! Hush! You’ve done enough damage already…” Her fingers descended around me, her thumbs pressing into my sternum and across my abdomen, her coinciding index fingers reaching under my arms and just above my hips to support my weight. Her grip was a bit harder and swifter than I’d become used to. She was trying to pluck me up quickly, and I sensed it wasn’t simply due to a desire to relieve me of holding myself up.

Nevertheless, I was grateful for the relief, letting out a breath I hadn’t noticed I was holding. Carefully, she untangled me from the wire and shifted me to a seated position in her right palm. As she gathered me in her hand, she paused just long enough to cast a glance over her shoulder, “He did warn you though, like, in a multitude of ways…”

“Ha! See??” I burst with pride, unable to keep a wide grin from painting my features.

She whipped around immediately, “Oh shut up, Alexander,” She pointed her index finger at my chest, “You’re in as much trouble as he is! He was being a fucking ass, yes, but you didn’t have to shank him! Give me that!!” Her finger and thumb dove for the plastic handle of my weapon, still dutifully tucked under my arm.

I resisted, jerking my shoulder in the opposite direction, “Me? What did I do except protect myself… and you?”

She looked utterly incredulous, motioning with a sweeping, exaggerated gesture at the injured party, who had now managed to scramble to his feet, examining his battle wound in the vanity mirror, “You STABBED my fucking friend! That’s the TA!”

I was baffled by this newfound information.

“THAT’S the TA? Who’s been sending the taped lectures and keeping your attendance afloat? That pretentious imbecile? Well, he shouldn’t have been so condescending to me! And… besides, you could’ve led with that, you know! Maybe then I’d have gone for his hands instead!” I found myself escalating in volume as I spoke, getting increasingly more emphatic, until I was practically shouting.

“You didn’t give me a chance before you went all Zorro on his ass!!!!!”

“What’s Zorro?!?!?”

“Oh my god! Give me the sharp object Alexander, do not make me pry it out of your tiny little hands!” My face flushed hot. I knew she was keenly aware I resented that completely unnecessary addition of ‘tiny’ and ‘little’ into her request. Nothing about me was little, everything and everyone else was just huge. End of story.

She held out her free hand, flat, just below my chest, raising one eyebrow expectantly. I held off for a second, then another, “ALEXANDER!” Fine!

I trusted our intruder understood his limits now and would not be making the same mistake twice. I relented, laying the slightly bloodied object across her fingers. She pursed her lips as if to say “That’s what I thought.” I had a feeling she had a few choice words for me after this unexpected visit. No matter. I regretted nothing.

“Uh, Nat?” It’s bleeding… like a lot…” His voice from across the room drew our attention once more. He turned over his shoulder as he spoke, revealing a rivulet of blood springing from his cheek, down the fingers he’d pressed against it to staunch the flow, and down farther still, staining his pristine, white, woolen collar.

“Fuck!” Natalie practically groaned, before flashing me an extremely dirty look, “Here, lemme… uh, here…” she half rose, seeming to suddenly remember she was holding me. With a grimace, she set me down somewhat roughly on the desktop. She wasted no time in quickly swiping the letter opener up and away from my grasp, before securing it in the back pocket of her jeans. Taking a quick glance around, she decided to pluck up the entire metal cup of pens and other writing utensils, “Please, just stay right here.” I crossed my arms over my chest and glared. When she realized that was all she was going to get from me, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

With that she rushed over to her friend who was cupping his other hand beneath the first to catch drops of crimson as they fell. She threw the pencil holder down on the vanity and ushered him hurriedly to the bathroom, turning over her shoulder and pointing both fingers at her eyes, before reversing the gesture to be aimed at me. I held my hands up, what could I possibly do now? I was unarmed, and stranded. The object of my disdain far away from my radius for harm.

As they retreated, I heard the wounded man grumble, “Fuck! He’s a little… demon!!” I had the sense that a different word had come to mind first, but he’d chosen the latter.

“… Yeah, believe me, I know…” Hey! Natalie, you’re supposed to be on my side!

“Why in the hell do you keep him around, then?”

“I don’t know how to explain it, but, believe it or not, he actually kinda grows on you after a while.” I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Should I be offended or flattered?

“I can’t believe he actually stabbed me…” And I’d do it again without hesitation.

After that, their voices became so muffled beyond the partially closed bathroom door that it was hardly worth straining to listen.

I sat alone, isolated and small, feeling a burning sensation in all my exhausted muscle groups, as my heart and lungs worked to steady themselves to a more even tempo. The gift of solitude meant that I no longer had to maintain my composure. I collapsed back onto an elbow, breath coming in ragged fits and starts, no longer having to maintain a defensive stance. Air couldn’t come fast enough as I choked and sweat dripped in my eyes and down my back and neck. My arms and legs were spasming as I tried my best to come down from the excitement of all that had just transpired. Damn, my leg hurt. Everything hurt. I focused on my breathing for a few moments, eyes craned to the ceiling so far above where I lay. I was utterly exhausted. A long rest in my bed which had been the object of such condescension and ridicule just a while ago sounded utterly delightful. But what could I do? I had no means of crossing the vast room in any practical way. I was much too pathetically little for such luxuries of inhabiting two different corners of a room with ease. As if I needed any more reminders today of how small I was. What was a man in my situation to do but sit and ponder? I had no other recourse, after all.

So, this was her friend who’d helped make all this time working from home possible? I was beginning to think Natalie had very poor taste in friends. I wrinkled my nose in disgust remembering how his eyes had lit up in fascination like I was some shiny, new, coveted object. What was wrong with humans? What was so delightfully fascinating about me anyway? In any case, he got exactly what was coming to him.

The muffled sound of voices honed into sharp focus as, suddenly, a voice with a male timbre could be heard whining, “Fuck! OWWW!!!”

A female voice followed with zero hesitation, “Oh don’t be such a fucking baby!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. You got what you deserved, you overly enthused idiot. Of course, in fairness to him, I knew firsthand how dangerous Natalie could be when armed with a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide.

*********

If I was in the mood to be generous, which I wasn’t, all I could say is that the tension in the air between myself, leaning over the kitchen counter prepping two whiskey cokes, my friend, nursing his wounds at my kitchen table, and the positively tiny man, petulantly sulking on the opposite side of the table and somehow, even from this distance, palpably radiating with vitriol, was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. The only sound was the groan of the living room heater, as ice clattered in the glass while I poured.

We’d shuffled from bedroom to kitchen without so much as a word between us. And now here we were, all avoiding eye contact like put out children. This was fucking stupid. They were both being wildly immature about this. Build a bridge guys. Don’t condscend and don’t be a fucking dick, it’s not that complicated. Did this whole crazy day say something about me? Was I like a drama magnet or something?

Tired of the exhaustive pity party, I swept my hair from my eyes, and swirling them for a final time, I set the drinks down by a wool sweater covered elbow. Neither of them bothered to respond.

I stood there for a moment before breaking the ice myself, “Alright then… Alexander? Meet Charles. He’s a teaching assistant in most of my main lectures this semester. He was just coming over to check on me since I’d kinda gone AWOL these last few weeks. That’s all. He’s not a threat to either of us, okay? He’s a good guy and he means well. He just… had a pretty major… lapse in judgment. One of the smartest people I know… Oh, don’t glare at me like that! Besides you, of course. Okay, Charles, meet Alexander. I found him in my pantry… well, actually, my roses… well, I technically found him in the trash, I just didn’t know it yet… anyway, he’s incredibly intelligent, fiercely independent, and he’s been through some fucking major shit, yet, he still manages to come back swinging every time. To be super clear, he’s here only as long as he wants to be, he’s his own man and he has my utmost respect, even though he pisses me off every five minutes for doing gremlin shit like stabbing my friends in the fucking face. Oh, and he’s almost as big a nerd as you, so I’d like to think you two can find some common ground. So, with that said, it’s time to kiss and make up.” They each bore holes into the surface of the table. I refused to take no for an answer, “Apologize to each other, now.”

Both their heads whipped up, brows furrowed, incredulous sputters erupting from both mouths, big and small. Then, upon realizing I was serious, and almost as if on cue, both shouted, “Me?! What did I do?!”

“Jesus Christ, do I have to do all the heavy lifting around here?” I couldn’t help but massage my temples, a stress headache no doubt on the near horizon, “Charles? Gimme your eyes…” My friend’s lips flattened into a line as he raised one eyebrow as if to say, ‘Really, Nat?’ My bad. Wrong turn of phrase, given that one of his seeing organs was nearly lost just a few minutes ago.

I sighed, settling into the chair between the two uneasy parties, each glaring over his shoulder at the other, “Sorry, well, your one good one, then… Look…” Fuck, bad phrasing again, what was wrong with me? “…I haven’t even had a chance to properly thank you for braving this shit weather to come check on me. I know I haven’t been super responsive and you’re a good friend…”

The tiny scoff in the vicinity of my right elbow made me, albeit briefly, change course, “Zip it, Alexander!” Instead of acquiescing quietly, he, of course, had to make a big show of his dislike of being told what to do. He threw his small weight dramatically against the ugly, chipped, ceramic salt shaker my grandma gifted me years ago.

The object hardly even rocked as he pressed against it, rolling over his shoulder to turn away from me and obscure himself from view behind the white and blue patterned flowers, “…Anyway, where was I?” I turned my attention back to Charles, “Yes, you’re awesome, thank you for always watering my plants when I go home on break and for making the hellscape that is lawschool slightly more bearable. However… As you can see, there’s something significantly different from last time we really talked and there’s some important things you need to know: He may look like the cutest little blonde-haired, blue-eyed angel that you’ve ever seen, he may be so adorably small that he can fit in just the palm of your hand and, yes, in theory, if you were really determined to pick him up you could do so without too much resistance, but when I tell you it is against your own self interest to fuck with this little man I am speaking from extensive experience. He deserves as much respect as anyone else, big or small. He’s fought for that all his life and at least in the confines of this apartment, he’ll get what he’s worked so hard for. Believe me, he had to train me too, in the beginning. Listen to him and everyone will be much better off for it, I promise. Do not condescend to him, do not touch him without his permission and do not, under any circumstances, treat him as anything less than the hyper intelligent, wonderful little nightmare he is.” Out of the corner of my eye, I caught tiny movements on the table’s surface below, a pair of blue eyes staring up at me through blonde, curtained bangs as he listened intently. I didn’t dare flash my gaze in that direction, knowing full well once he’d been caught in the act, he’d turn away again.

Charles was quick to respond, applying pressure with a few fingers around the banadage on his cheek, as if spot checking for blood, “Little nightmare is fuckin’ right. What did I do? I was kind. I helped him. I tried to be as gentle as I could. Look at him, he’s adorable… er, was… Can I really be blamed for that?” He shrugged defensively, “I mean, c’mon, they’re tiny, they’re cute, isn’t that, like, the whole point?”

I was going to strangle him, “Dude, did you listen to a single thing I just said?”

“What?! I thought they liked it!”

“You thought I… what?” No longer satisfied with lingering behind the salt shaker, Alexander rose to standing. Without his cane, which, in all the fuss, I’d stupidly left in the bedroom, he steadied himself with one hand on the painted ceramic, his chest puffed out, a defiant gleam in his eye. Oh boy, here we go. I knew better than to get in his way, but I couldn’t help taking a long swig from my glass in preparation for the tirade that was about to transpire, “Please, repeat yourself, you thought I… what was that again?”

Charles stuttered, flashing glances at me. His face was drawn, he instinctively leaned back, away from the little man before him who was unflinchingly glaring up in his direction. He knew he’d been caught, “W-well, I just… you know what I meant…”

“You thought I liked being talked down to and treated with disregard? Interesting. What part of my reaction gave you that impression?” Even from this distance (perhaps a foot or so across the surface of the table) I could see his blue eyes were burning. Charles failed to respond, simply sputtering instead. I knew Alexander was just loving every second of this… smart little bastard, “No, I’m curious. You’re an aspiring attorney, aren’t you? Go on, then. Defend your case.”

Charles looked at me and I offered no solace, instead, I simply raised an eyebrow and downed another substantial fraction of my drink. As the little man spoke, goading the much larger recipient into a debate, he stepped away from the shaker, crossing toward Charles’ end of the table. I immediately bit my lip as he left the support behind and bore weight on his still weak leg. I did my best not to intervene, holding my breath as he made a few steps forward, a painful limp evident in his gait. Despite the pain, no doubt shooting through his body, his voice never waivered. Goddamn, I was proud of him, even if he was insulting my friend left and right. He tucked a hand into his side pocket, the other resting on his chest with a poised ease, his fingers spread from his solar plexus down the length of his sternum. This little nightmare knew precisely what he was doing, and I couldn’t help but watch, “Charles, wasn’t it? Tell me, Charles, how would you like it, if–” Just then, as he took another step forward, his knee failed to bear his weight, and he buckled.

Gasping, my hand flew toward him, offering him support with a few fingers. He fell forward into my grasp, a snarl curling his mouth as his hands spread on my fingertips. He leaned against me until he regained his balance, gripping onto the segments of my fingers to pull himself back up. My heart was in my throat, as I searched his little face for signs of pain, noticing the rhythm of his own tiny heartbeats, though they spiked for a moment, didn’t seem to be going into overdrive. Setting his shoulders, he pushed forward, against my hand, attempting to continue on his path. I hesitated, providing the slightest resistance. His brow knit and those burning irises locked with mine again, “Natalie, I’m fine. Let go.”

He wasn’t scared. His face was flushed and his bangs were disheveled, but his eyes were steeled and determined. I pulled my hand away without hesitation, wincing internally at each furious little limping stride he took, his fists balled at his sides.

He regarded the man before him, whose eyeline may as well have been the summit of a sizable cliff face in their proportion to each other. The little man stood fearlessly beside a tumbler full of alcohol that he could have bathed in, sucked in a clean breath and laid into the larger man, “What you fail to understand is that there is not a single cell in my body that likes my current predicament,” As he spoke, his left pointer finger sawed and jabbed the air like some sort of rhetorical blade intent on wounding his target, “I did not ask for you to loom over me, to touch me, to condescend or pacify me. I am not your friend, I don’t know you in any familiar way, yet you see someone like me, adorable and tiny, as I believe you put it, and you immediately assume that makes me somehow less valuable as a sentient being. You think that just because you can overpower me you have every right to do so. And I concede, in the current political landscape, you are legally allowed, no… not allowed, you are, in fact, encouraged to do so. And why shouldn’t you? I exist explicitly for your entertainment, don’t I? And, in any case, what am I going to do about it, even if I don’t like it? I couldn’t possibly, out of a desire for self-preservation, consider the idea of fighting back, could I? No! No, of course not. Because, as you put it, I’m just a ‘sweet little guy’, who ‘likes it’ when you treat me like an object. Indeed, it feels about as wonderful as a letter opener lodged in your face!”

There was a pregnant pause between all three of us, as the gravity of his words pervaded the room. Both Charles and I couldn’t help but stare ashamedly into the inky depths of our drinks. I knew I was no saint, myself, when it came to the little man. He stood now with a rod straight spine, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as his lungs heaved with the task of receiving oxygen again, his unflinching gaze trained on the avoidant eyes of his opposite. I knew I’d fucked up hundreds of times: pissed him off, disspointed him, failed him. He was so right, and it was important we shut up and listen.

The only sound was the heater rattling away, once again.

“... Fuck…” Charles sighed, leaning all the way back in his chair now, his head in his hands. He was full of remorse “I’m… I’m really sorry. I wasn’t… You’re right, I just jumped to… I’m sorry, Alexander.” I watched the little man who wore his every thought on his sleeve, as he took this in. He was shocked. His head cocked to the side, his brow furrowed, his lips parting just slightly from their usual tight, pensive tension. He hadn’t expected this. Not at all. He blinked rapidly, his rigid posture softening ever so slightly as he was taken off-guard.

Charles, taking precautions not to move too suddenly, pushed his chair out and leaned on the lip of the table, his chin resting on his forearm. As he moved, Alexander took a half step back, wary and uncertain about the whole situation, still, he never cowered and his eyes showed no fear. As the larger man settled himself, he was still a good distance from the baffled little man with whom he was now almost eye level. Slowly, he offered his index finger, “I’m sorry I insulted you. Can you forgive me?” Alexander regarded the man with suspicion, his brows knitted and his lips turned down into a sort of puzzled caution.

Still, to my utter surprise, instead of using this moment of genuine vulnerability against his opponent, the little man stepped forward in all his five and a half inches and, albeit not all that enthusiastically, took the offered digit in the palm of his hand and shook it tersely before quickly breaking away.

Charles didn’t linger in his space for long and soon returned to an upright position, as Alexander rubbed the center of his palm with the ball of his opposite thumb. It was clear we all needed some air.

“Hey,” Charles met my gaze as I got his attention, “Could you do us a favor and go get his cane?” He and I exchanged a knowing glance. It was clear he understood what I was really asking for, “Just… just in case…” With a terse nod, the man in the wool sweater rose and disappeared down the hall.

As the sound of his steps faded, I turned my full attention to the five and a half inches of a little life before me. It was just us again, after what’d felt like an eternity of drama. For the first time since that knock on the door, the air seemed to come a little more freely into my lungs. I propped my head on an elbow and looked him over. I watched his little body release pent up tension, his defensive spine melting into the everyday rigidity of his usual posture. Poor thing. Did he ever really allow himself to relax? He thrust his hands into his pockets, leaning his weight on his left side. I wondered how his leg was holding up. He hadn’t strained it this much since his surgery. I wanted desperately to offer him a hand to lean on but didn’t want to patronize. I bit my lip.

Seeming to read my mind like a book, his keen eyes flitted in my direction, “I’m fine.” Are you, though? Or are you putting on a brave face? “I can tell you want to touch me as some form of physical comfort. So, go ahead, get it over with…” he lowered his head and spread his arms, as if surrendering.

A pang of guilt shot through me, “No, I don’t want to make you endure it. If you want me to leave you alone, I will.”

“You’re going to pout if I don’t allow for some form of contact. So, go on, just do what you’d like, within reason…” his head had stayed lowered to the ground until his very last few words, when his icy irises flashed up at me, and I caught a glimpse of a very different kind of glow in his eyes, one that was much softer, more vulnerable. I’d opened my mouth to rebuff him again when those eyes changed everything.

Oh.

This was his way of asking for it. His pride would never allow him to directly request what he wanted at this moment, especially not after chastising us both for our sins of condescension. I didn’t blame him. He’d been threatened, humiliated, laughed at, and stressed out. Maybe a minute or two to rest would do a world of good for him but, of course, he couldn’t admit to wanting something from me, that would be far too weak. We couldn’t acknowledge the reality of that truth for the sake of his ego, so I played along instead, “Just for a minute, please? You tell me when you’ve had enough torture for one day and I’ll let you go.” He nodded, eyes still fixed to the ground. Although it was almost impossible to see his face, I swear I saw more color in his cheek.

“Yes, yes, let’s get this over with.”

I slid my hand over to him, very gently wrapping my fingers around his legs and back, pressing the ball of my thumb into his chest and torso. Even though his face stayed neutral and he hardly moved at all, I couldn’t help but notice a release of his strained muscles as he was finally able to release all the pressure off of his injury. It’s okay to get help when you’re hurting. I couldn’t keep my brows from knitting together in concern. It pained me that he tried so very hard to be strong and independent. I completely understood where the impulse came from but I hated that he was in pain and toughing it out when I was happy to help. I sat with my hand propping him up for a few moments, wanting nothing more than a closer look, “May I pick you up?”

“Yes, fine.” His face was a little pinker than it had been, I was sure of it. Gently, I settled him across the platform of my fingers, his right leg placed carefully along the length of my palm with his heel balanced on my wrist. The ball of my thumb remained in his lap with a looser grip as I drew him up to the level of my eyes.

He sat there stiffly, not allowing himself the luxury of relaxing fully into my hand. I wished he’d stop being so uptight but now was not the time to fight him on it. Still, as I looked him over, I felt an immediate swell of pride expand my chest and warm my face. I didn’t realize he’d been watching me with equal attention to detail, until he spoke, “What is it, Natalie?” His voice lacked its usual defensive edge. He was genuinely asking.

“I just think you’re absolutely incredible. You are literally the bravest, most unhinged person I know.” Did his face get a little redder? All he could manage as a response was to roll his eyes, “No, I mean it! You looked at someone over ten times your size and without hesitation were just like, ‘Yeah I can take him’. Who does that?!” The tiniest ghost of a twinge of a smirk uplifted the corner of his crooked little smile. There you are, Alexander, the real you underneath it all. “When I really think about it, I can’t even be mad at you. You are one badass little motherfucker. Don’t ever change. Okay?” I rubbed my thumb across his chest, as he begrudgingly nodded, the smirk cracking into a half smile, while he rested a hand over the bed of my thumb nail. I admit, I felt the blood in my veins pump a little faster, “We can all stand to learn a thing or two from you on how not to take other people’s bullshit.”

“I hope you plan to take copious notes after all this.”

“Oh, it’s a must!”

He cleared his throat and shifted in my hand, sitting himself up a bit straighter, his gaze took a moment to land as he settled, clearly preparing to speak in greater earnest, “I suppose… I feel at least a modicum of remorse… for staining his otherwise high quality sweater.”

I had to slap my hand over my mouth to keep from cackling out loud, “You’re such a bastard! Of course all you care about is his fashion sense!”

Alexander was smiling too, as he pressed against my thumb, emphatically gesturing to the bedroom far off to his right, “What?! It’s the only redeemable quality about him! Did you expect me to lie for the purpose of overt flattery? Have you met me?”

Just then we heard the opening of a door down the hall, as the man in question began to re-emerge. I stroked the side of the little man’s head with my thumb, as I cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say “Do you want to be put down?” He nodded brusquely, and I did as I was asked, gently lowering him and tipping my hand so he could find his feet before letting go entirely.

As the footsteps approached ever nearer, I leaned down and whispered so only Alexander could hear, “You know, if you wanted a sweater like that all you had to do was ask, you didn’t have to destroy his!”

“Says the woman who still hasn’t made good on her promise to fulfill my modest suit requests.”

“Three piece Italian suits and silk ties are not modest. Even for someone of your size! I’m saving up, alright? Get off my back!” I prodded him playfully in the chest as he batted at my fingertip.

In a moment, Charles would be standing before us, and there would begin a new matter as we all awkwardly tried to reset and start over, each much more aware of the others’ feelings on the whole situation. But for now, it was just the little blonde devil and me and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Was it weird that I was kinda excited to watch him lose his shit at us again? Not that I had any intention of provoking him, but it wasn’t far from feasible that we’d inevitably do something to offend him. It just made me proud to watch him unapologetically stand up for himself, even if I got caught in the crossfire. Looking down at him now, I couldn’t imagine my life without him. Had his opinions towards me shifted in that direction at all? Or was I a target for spite and disdain like my friend approaching the table? I didn’t think so. At least, not to the same degree. The way his eyes had softened when we were finally alone, the way he’d asked me to hold him in the most passive aggressive roundabout way possible… I thought deep down in that little stone heart of his was a warm spot for me, even if it was microscopic in size at this point.

Maybe, just maybe, with a lot of effort I could fan that ember into something bigger. But who knew? There was only so much room in a chest the size of my finger tip.

#Well that was a rollercoaster #Stranger danger!#Angry little man he attacc he protecc #g/t related #g/t writing #g/t community #giant/tiny #g/t angst #a fraction of justice #g/t #size difference #gt

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ratcatcher0325 · 10 months

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A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #30)

Chapter #30. They're becoming a real team!

Previous: Chapter #29

Next: Chapter #31

Word Count: 5,408 Read Time: Approx. 42 mins

CW: adult language

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A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #30: Uncharted Waters

[Natalie’s POV]

Wonder Twin Powers? Really Nat? That’s the best you could come up with?

I chastised myself while I rolled my shoulders back trying to mentally reset. Calm down, focus on the screen. I knew I had more than enough work to keep me occupied, but I couldn’t shake the electric feeling of having gotten to hold him, not once, but twice in such a short amount of time. It’s like I could still feel his tiny heart thundering against the ball of my thumb as I propped him up and stroked his chest. His face had turned a bright, beautiful pink, his crystal blue eyes, wide and wary. Poor Alexander. He wasn’t exactly the touchy feely type was he? The part that drove me up a wall is that I knew he liked it. There was too much evidence at this point for any doubt. From that first day when he’d curled around my thumb in his sleep, to the adoration he’d shown under the influence of medication, to how flustered he’d been just now. Yet, he couldn’t get out of his own way. What was that about? A fear of being betrayed? A lack of trust? Or did he just not want to want anything from anyone else? Maybe it was a combination of all three or something else I hadn’t discovered yet.

But he had apologized in his own stiff and far too serious way. He’d literally fallen all over himself in the effort. I thought of the pretty paper flower he’d planted in my hair. My face grew hot. He may have driven me crazy half the time with his antics and weird complexes, but everytime he pushed me to my limit, he’d go and show this thoughtful, sweet side of himself that lay buried under layers of witty quips, sharp judgements and an easily bruised ego.

I realized, all the sudden, I hadn’t absorbed a single word of the last page and a half I’d scrolled through. God, I’m hopeless.

This little spot right by my elbow seemed alive with warmth and energy. Unable to help from peering down and sneaking a glance every now and again, I still couldn’t believe my luck: So far, at least, he’d chosen to stay exactly where I’d placed him, his little chair so close to my sleeve, he could lean over and tap me if he wanted. I became suddenly hyper-aware of all my movements, realizing even a slight shift of my arm could easily knock him over, if I wasn’t careful. Hello, down there, Alexander.

As expected, he was a much better student than me. Absorbed in his work, he leaned into the phone display, scrolling through some document as he read and took fastidious notes. Was it stupid that I couldn’t help but smile when he ran his tiny finger along his lower lip in that habit of his which always showed he was lost in thought? Yes, absolutely. But it didn’t matter. I grinned like an idiot all the same. I guessed what really thrilled me was the chance to get to know him better. I was proud to be picking up on his little ticks and quirks and learning more about what made the Little Nightmare uniquely him.

I found myself trying to peer over the top of his head at his notebook below. What did his handwriting look like? Somehow I had a feeling it was far more neat and impressive than my terrible scrawl. Why was I so enamored with someone simply taking notes? Why would I be happy to sit and watch him do just that for hours? I felt my heart swell. How lucky was I to have him in my life!

It was hard to imagine what things were like before him. Certainly I got less of a daily earful, but I also had no one to share my time, my space, and my meals with, at least not regularly. I hadn’t gone home to see family in months. The coursework was killing me. The day I’d found this tiny blue-eyed thief clinging to the shelf of my pantry, I’d barely slept in a week. My modest, cramped apartment had gotten awfully quiet. Well, besides the occasional next-door cat drama.

I’d known it for a while, but never was able to diagnose the exact malady… that is, until now. I’d been lonely.

I felt the gravity of that sink into my stomach and slither along my spine. It unsettled me.

That word made it sound like I was some fucking sad sack recluse who never got out. One wary glance around my desk with its utter mess of papers, pens, pencils, a dirty used mug here, and a few scattered half empty water bottles there, and it was clear there was room for improvement, as much as I hated to admit it.

Banishing the trash heap from my foremost thoughts, I turned my gaze back to the little tuft of disheveled hair, and the tiny hand that reached out to tap the on-screen keys that were never designed with him in mind. I admired the speed with which his little fingers slid to type out the letters. He had to get both arms involved, just to span the length of the device, which was turned on its side, but he made it look easy. It was clear he’d spent years honing his efficiency.

As I watched him lean far to one side to reach the “P” key, I had to bite my lip to resist the urge to nudge his little chair closer, just to help him reach. I knew well enough by now, that’d earn me a tiny jabbing finger in my direction and more than a few choice words spat out about not letting him do things for himself.

I sighed under my breath. That seemed to be our continual conundrum: How could I help him and show him kindness without him taking everything I said and did as a threat to his autonomy? What was wrong with helping out every now and again?

“I can feel you staring at me, Miss Marquez…” His tone was accusatory. I’d been caught. How could he possibly have known? He didn’t even bother to look up as he continued to copy something down on the tiny page before him. I felt my face flush. How could someone so small take me to task so easily?

I sputtered before managing a reply, “W-well… you can’t be fully focusing either, if you’re so worried about what I’m doing!”

“Natalie, the energetic force of your direct gaze is the proportional equivalent of two full moon beams on a clear, pitch black night… they’re impossible to ignore.” Goddamn. Still, he refused to even hazard a glance up. He could be a mean little thing when he wanted to be. Undeterred he kept right along, “You can’t assist me with my own legal matters if you refuse to study your own. If you aren’t interested in helping, I’ll just go find some other human’s pantry to raid…”

I rolled my eyes and groaned, “Fuck you, little bastard! You’re such a bully!” I pointed my index finger at his chest. That finally got his attention. He dropped his notes in his lap, craning his neck to meet my eyes.

He shook his head, brow furrowing, “Oh, c’mon, admit it. That was good. Moon Beams Marquez… maybe that’s what I’ll call you now. Since you’re so fond of truly atrocious nicknames, you deserve one of your very own.”

“Oh you want a war, Ale-Ale-Oxen-Free? Is that what you want?”

My finger, about as thick around as his little head, dove for his chest again, this time playfully pushing into his sternum and sending him rolling across the desk. The second he began to careen backwards, he gripped the armrests, clinging to the piece of furniture like a shipwrecked sailor tossed about on a tumultuous sea. I could practically see his raised hackles. Poor thing, I wasn’t trying to actually scare him!

His journey across the desk came to a sudden halt when I laid my hand across his path, easily catching him in the soft barrier of my palm, little chair and all. He immediately whipped around to see just what had stopped him. When he seemed to understand he wasn’t going anywhere, he relaxed his tiny white knuckle grip on the arm rests.

In spite of his painfully obvious fright around this whole ordeal, he insisted on pretending all was well as he sucked in a breath and locked eyes with me, puffing out his chest a bit in a far too late display of nonchalance, “That’s some of your weakest work, Natalie. It’s not even remotely original.” Oh yeah? Is that a challenge, little man?

Without giving him more than a second or two to catch his breath, I dove for his little ankle with my finger and thumb, pulling him closer to me. For all his show of bravery, he went right back to clinging to the chair, as he lurched forward, “You know I didn’t have to stop you, just now, I could’ve just let you roll right off the desk…” I brought him close, the tip of my nose only an inch or so from his fluttering chest. I was delighted by the jumpy little thing before me. It doesn’t take much to fluster you, does it, Alexander? His blue eyes shimmered as he blinked rapidly, waiting to see what would happen to him next. Delicately, I balanced his heel on the pad of my index, bouncing it up and down slightly, “Ah, he’s too stunned for words! You know I’d never let anything happen to you, right? It’s way too much fun to tease you to let you go that easily.”

At that, he huffed and rolled his eyes, retracting his leg and planting it back on the floor, “If you’re this invested in not getting any of your work done, the least you can do is be considerate enough not to interrupt mine!”

I wanted to quip back, but I knew he was right. I had completely derailed our efforts. But could he really blame me? I wished he could see himself through my eyes. Then, I was certain, he’d understand why it was so hard not to mess with him every now and again.

Adjusting my spine to sit up straighter, I returned my focus back to my monitor. I was gonna cram this boring ass shit in my head one way or another, goddammit. I started to read, taking notes on key terms. Every time I was tempted to ogle over my tiny counterpart, I reined myself in by fiddling with my blue ballpoint pen. Focus, Nat.

I read, fidgeted, reset, then read some more. The worst part was he would occasionally shift in his chair, clear his throat, run his hands through his hair to sweep the bangs from his eyes, or generally just move about in miniature and it was so difficult not to stare.

I clicked the pen to steady myself. He cleared his throat. I kept clicking. He sat up, board straight. I tried so hard not to let my eyes slide from the screen to look at him. I kept fidgeting.

Suddenly, I felt a tiny, yet forceful tug on my sleeve, accompanied by a strained voice through clenched teeth, “Natalie.”

“Hm? You ok?” There was no rule that said I couldn’t gawk at him if he got my attention first! I happily gazed down at him, still toying with the writing utensil between my fingers.

“Oh certainly, I’d be fine… if…” his face was all hard lines and creases. Uh oh. He was grumpy about something. Well, when wasn’t he? I prepared myself for another tiny lecture.

As he spoke these words, he plucked along the fabric of my sleeve to wheel himself toward my hand, resting alongside him on the desktop. Then, much to my suprise, he threw himself over the back of my hand, reaching up for the top of the pen, where my thumb rested. With a determined grip he clutched the clicking mechanism, staring up at me with blazing eyes “… if you stop clicking this damned pen!” He used his left hand to shove at the pad of my thumb, trying to coax it away from the writing utensil.

He was splayed out over my hand, his good leg balancing on his tippy toes while he kept the other leg away from the ground. His hair was in his eyes, his mouth twisted into a scowl. He was pissed. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. His face went scarlet, even as his little body shook slightly from my bouts of giggling ricocheting from my torso, down the length of my arm and through my hand.

“Why are you laughing?! You are truly the most obnoxious desk mate I could have possibly conjured up and you have the audacity to laugh at me?!” His left hand was quick to grip onto the knuckle of my index for better balance.

“Oh my god, you’re so mad. Look, I’m s-sorry. I’m sorry, Alexander. I didn’t realize how… annoying that was. It’s just a tick… of mine when I’m distracted…” I was barely even able to get a word in, between all my involuntary chuckling.

“Oh really? Really?! You don’t understand how this could be annoying??” He was practically growling at me, his eyes blazing as his mouth turned into a grumpy, dissatisfied frown. He practically smacked the tip of my thumb away and then proceeded to use the flat of his palm to furiously click the pen over and over again in as rapid succession as he could manage all while boring holes into my skull with his vicious little gaze.

I waved the white flag, “Alright! Alright! Point made! You’re just mister particular about every little thing aren’t you? I didn’t even click it that fast!” I guided his hand away with a small flick of my fingernail under his little elbow.

“You might as well for all the noise you were making with it. Do you realize how obnoxiously loud that mechanism is, sitting right next to me?”

“Point taken. I’m sorry, Alexander…” I shifted my grip on the pen and transferred it to the surface of the notebook via my left hand. Then, taking advantage of his body being slightly slumped over my fingers, I gently squeezed his upper arm against the side of my index with the pad of my thumb, anchoring him to my hand. Lifting him up to eye level, I delighted in how his body splayed across my knuckles as his legs dangled.

The moment he was airborne, he flushed brightly, squirming a bit as he gripped onto my finger with both hands. I’ve gotcha, I won’t drop you, you’re okay.

“W-what’re you…?”

“I’m sorry for being a foolish, obnoxious human that kept you from your favorite thing in the world: getting your nerd on. I do solemnly swear before this jury of one to dedicate myself to the serious business of helping this little lawyer-to-be prosecute the hell out of those piece of shit humans that dared to fuck with the smartest little man I’ve ever met.” As I spoke I held my hand up as if taking an oath. He stared at me, a smirk curling his lips as he caught on.

***********

Finishing her lighthearted display of solidarity, she leaned in closer, the tip of her finger headed straight for the crown of my head. It wasn’t that long ago I would’ve jerked away and shunned her touch, but now, I let her clear the bangs from my face with only a miniscule spike in the rhythm of my heartbeats. What sort of witchcraft did she possess that within a few seconds’ time she’d managed to take me from scowling and shouting at her, to quietly thrilled at the touch of her fingertip on my scalp?

Lawyer-to-be. She’d actually said those words, out loud. I thoroughly relished the sound of them. The pad of her index lingered, settling between my shoulder blades. Her touch was warm, soft.

“I’m not exactly used to having to share a workspace with someone so… perceptive when it comes to all the little details. Will you forgive me?” That was a nice way of saying someone with a miniscule perspective and, therefore, a hair-trigger sensitivity. She couldn’t possibly understand though, all her flurries of movements, her thoughtful humming, her simple fiddling with office objects, while minor infractions to her, were frustrating, impossible to ignore distractions to me.

She was waiting, anxiously, for my reply. I propped myself up on one elbow, tipping my chin, “I’ll be drafting a workplace contract that stipulates all unacceptable, obnoxious and counterproductive behavior. Upon your consenting signature, I’ll be willing to consider your apology.”

Her brow furrowed as she wrinkled her nose, “You’re such a fucking prick, I genuinely can’t tell if you’re serious or not.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her bewilderment, before responding, “If you want to be a lawyer, Ms. Marquez, you’ll need to get much better at telling when someone is playing a practical joke on you.” Much to my amusement, she genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, I have no doubt, with you teaching me, I’ll get better soon enough. Now, little nerd, are we doing this? Like, for real?” She offered the tip of her index finger to shake. I took it in hand, and shook heartily, “That settles it. Our case has my full, undivided attention from here on out. Okay?” Our case. I had a case. A real one. And a human to help unlock the barriers that came with filing it, “Don’t look so excited. First of all I’ve never seen you this giddy without hardcore drugs and secondly, you realize that means you’re stuck with me… like all the time now, right?” I couldn’t believe I was just allowing her to lay me across her hand while we had this conversation. When did I become the sort of man who would let a human do this to me and not give it a second thought? When did I become the sort of man who liked it?

“Isn’t that the hell on earth I’ve endured up until this point? What’s changed exactly?”

She visibly rolled her eyes before answering, “Oh my god you’re such a drama king. No, you little bastard. I still had class before. Now, I’m all yours!”

“Ah, yes, how could I ever forget the infamous, what’d you call it? Ah, yes, ‘rat jail’ incident? On a separate point entirely, you can’t skip your lectures! We need all the information we can get. The last thing I need is you falling any further behind than you already are!”

“Ouch! You really couldn’t resist punching me when I’m down could, ya? Nah, it’s fine, I’m close friends with the TA in my main lectures, I’ll tell him I’ve had some kinda family emergency. Besides, he owes me a favor, I’ll guilt trip him into counting me as present and he can just send me the taping of the lectures they always keep for archival. Piece of cake!”

While I disliked the nonchalance with which she was ready to break the rules, I admit it left me feeling thankful that she was willing to devote all her time to me and my work. Was I feeling strangely warm again? The flush of color to my face seemed to know no limit today.

My gratitude was short lived however, when my world flipped as she gripped me beneath my arms and plucked me up, now perpendicular to the floor far below, I dangled between her fingers, as she began to look me over, head to toe. I tried my best to hide the rhythm of my beating heart, but she seemed already preoccupied as her gaze landed on my injury, “While we are paused, though, now’s a good a time as any to mention we really should start doing some PT on that leg of yours before the muscles atrophy too much.” She used the pad of her finger to cradle my right heel, her face showing compassion laced in her furrowed brow.

I cleared my throat to get her attention, “I concur. Though, I’ll have a much easier time working on said muscles if I was ever allowed to use them….” I cast an accusatory glance at the finger and thumb which held me captive.

“You know, on second thought… forget what I just said. I can just carry you around wherever you wanna go…” she rubbed her thumb over my chest. Why did the mere brush of her finger elicit such a strong physical reaction from me? I was all red and uncomfortable again.

“No! No, we’ll none of that! Bad human! Put me down! Right now!” I batted at her fingers, knowing full well it was of no use to fight her grip, she’d have to release me herself. She stuck her lower lip out and pouted, dishing out the puppy dog eyes with extreme fervor, “No! I won’t be contradicted or manipulated. Down, I say!” I scowled, folding my arms over my chest.

“You’re no fun, I hope you know that, little sourpuss.” She cocked an eyebrow, playing the game with as much enthusiasm as I was, before carefully lowering me into my chair.

Slowly, after taking a moment to settle, we returned to our work in earnest. She tried her level best not to fidget and when she failed in this endeavor a terse calling of her name was enough to correct her.

In this way, minutes faded into hours, that cascaded into days, and before I knew it, weeks had given way to months and now we were on our 9th week of working together.

I already filled one of the notebooks I’d been given from cover to cover and was halfway through my second. I’d run through countless pencils during that time, too. She’d always tease me and pretend to read my writing, either by looming over my shoulder or plucking up the tiny (to her) booklet and, pinching it very carefully between her fingers, but, much to my satisfaction, the letters themselves were far too small for her to distinguish with her naked eye. My work was mine and mine alone, a fact that made me swell with pride.

I’d managed to go over Natalie’s data plan on her phone about three weeks in. When she’d glanced down and noticed the warning message, she’d raised her brows, plucking the device up and away.

“What the fuck?! You ran through my entire data plan for the month!! How?! Why didn’t you keep it on wi-fi???”

“Your wi-fi is abysmal. You know this. You complain about it daily. I wasn’t going to let such technological handicaps hinder my progress.”

“Goddammit, Alexander! You realize I have to pay for that right? Please tell me you at least didn’t know I was getting charged…”

“… I had no knowledge of charges incurred…”

“Oh my fucking god! You’re a terrible liar! You did know didn’t you? Little Nightmare, you’re going to bleed me dry, I swear to god. Were you just… not gonna tell me?!”

“Not until I finished compiling evidence! You would’ve switched me back to wi-fi and I would’ve suffered greatly due to those agonizing connection issues!”

“So you’d rather charge me hundreds of dollars than wait for a webpage to load for like… 20 extra seconds?!?”

All I could do was shrug.

“Fuck!”

Clearly, our path to success was not without its occasional speed bumps, but I’d characterize our forward momentum as generally headed in a positive direction. For example, while Natalie made progress on her coursework, with help from yours truly, of course, she also assisted me in exercising the torn muscles of my leg as we began the process of rehabilitation. Working out every day, with the added benefit of having plenty of weight resistance in the form of giant fingers that could counterweight whatever exercise I was engaged in, I made steady progress.

With the help of the aluminum forearm crutch (regrettably provided by the very same institution I was working so aggressively to destroy) I was now able to walk short distances without considerable pain, and I could stand with my weight shifted off my right leg with comfortable balance. In any case, it felt delightful to walk on my own two legs again, even if only for limited stretches.

The other utterly delightful benefit of our new arrangement was that I effectively got to attend law school with her. She’d managed, somehow, to convince her teaching assistant friend to send along the lectures, poorly filmed in the back of a sweeping hall, the auditorium-like seating steeply raked around a small stage, a massive projector behind the professor as he gestured emphatically and spoke into a lavalier microphone. It delighted me to no end how, from this perspective, the camera angled down on the spectacle below, how small the lecturer seemed, dwarfed by the silhouette of students’ shoulders. I would never admit this to Natalie, but as I watched, hanging on every word of his teachings, I couldn’t help but squint and picture myself in his place. Small, yes, but deeply convicted, passionate and knowledgeable, making up for my stature in my engaging rhetoric and undeniable love for the subject I was imparting.

All in all, Natalie saw to it that I ate remarkably well, and we both finally got an adequate amount of sleep for the first time either of us could remember in our recent histories. I admit, I found her less desirable quirks much more manageable on a full stomach and with adequate rest.

She’d even managed to convince me to tear myself from my work on occasion to watch some serialized television show with her, or cheer her on as she played video games with all sorts of fantastical creatures to vanquish. Her taste in media was abysmal and her proficiency in gaming was even more lacking, but… I admit, the way my heart swelled when she laughed until she cried at some poorly executed joke on her show, or she growled in frustration, swearing this time she was going to beat the enemy she’d been trying to vanquish for the last hour and a half because she ‘could feel it in her bones’ and, she was destined to win because she had her ‘grouchy little good luck charm with her’ went far beyond anything I’d ever experienced.

On nights like these, I could always see in the twitchiness of her fingers how badly she wanted to cradle me against her chest or in her lap, but she always settled me on the back of the couch just beside her, lounging in my own designated blanket pile, instead. Her show of restraint meant a great deal to me. And at the same time, I couldn’t help but reflect on how impossible my current situation would’ve seemed to me just a few weeks ago. Not only was I surviving in the company of a human, but… dare I say it? I was thriving.

I was working harder than I’d ever had in my life and yet I’d never felt more at ease or more enthused to leap from bed each day and dive eagerly into the task at hand. And as my heart swelled and warmed in the comfort of the only stable living situation I’d ever known, the world outside the apartment walls grew ever more frigid.

The rainy chill of early fall had given way to the crisp, icy, cold of winter, as snowfall became a regular occurrence. I’d never been more grateful to be safe, warm and dry than when I watched the snow flurries batter the window panes and the creaking winter wind howl through the skeletal branches of the barren trees.

It was on such an icy winter morning, seemingly no different than the ones that’d come before it, that this comfortable routine was suddenly and undeniably altered.

I was proud of the fact that I’d gradually forced Natalie to get up earlier and earlier to take advantage of the day. If it had been up to her, I’m almost certain she’d have slept in until eleven every morning! What a waste of precious time! I’d served as her much maligned alarm clock for many mornings before this, making all sorts of obnoxious sounds until, in groaning frustration, she’d rise. I wouldn’t stop until she stood from the bed on both feet. She very much wanted to throttle me in the beginning and I was grateful she hadn’t given in to her impulses. But now we both regularly woke around 5:30 or 6 am.

All that to say, on this day in question, at the fateful hour of 10:30 am, we’d already cooked, eaten and put away breakfast, shared tea (I’d discovered that earl grey was by far my favorite) and had been working for several hours when a sharp rap at the door pricked both our ears.

My stomach dropped, as I feverishly searched Natalie’s features for an indication on how to interpret this unexpected interruption. Just because I’d become gradually more accustomed to this human’s presence didn’t mean I felt at all ready to be introduced to some unknown stranger.

Her brow furrowed as she sat very still. It was clear she didn’t know who it was either. Locking eyes with me, she clocked my nerves immediately. I admit I was disappointed that she’d read me so easily, I’d hoped I could’ve managed to put on a braver countenance than that. Upon seeing my stiffened spine, she brushed a finger along my back, in an attempt to coax me into a more relaxed state. Suffice it to say, it was hardly effective, “I’m gonna ignore it. Might just be UPS delivering something to the wrong door or like… Mormons or something…” We both pretended to ignore the howling wind and active sheets of ice and snow cascading from the sky that made those theories less plausible.

Another series of knocks, harder, much more insistent. We both jumped at the harsh pounding of bone on wood. Whoever it was, they were awfully emphatic.

“I guess I should probably go see—“ As Natalie spoke, she rose from her chair, crossing towards her bedroom door. Adrenaline coursed through my veins. What if something dangerous awaited her on the other side? I wasn’t exactly in the most advantageous position to help her, even if my leg had been fully functional. Just as she’d crossed before the door, already ajar about a quarter of the way, and her fingertips had brushed the knob, there was the distinct clamor of a key sliding into a lock and the grind of that lock sliding open.

Natalie’s eyes widened in disbelief and shock, while I leapt to my feet, reaching for my cane to steady myself. The color drained from her face as she heard the initial creak of her door opening. She whipped around and leaned down to address me, “Stay here, and hide. Don’t come out until I come and get you. There’s only a few people who know where my hidden key is, but if this is something else… I just want you to be safe, I don’t want you getting hurt. Don’t pull some stupid hero shit on me, you hear me? Keep yourself hidden. Do you understand?”

I nodded, having no intention of cowering like a frightened child while she confronted the mystery currently entering her apartment. She gave me one last look before turning on her heel and exiting the bedroom. The second she left, I scrambled to the pen holder, fishing out her rather sharp letter opener, and brandishing it like a pike in my left hand, I stood armed and wary, straining to hear the sounds of giant footsteps, and an opening front door beyond that, over the cacophony of my own ragged breath and thunderous heart.

I had no clue just what lay in wait for us from behind that door, but I would later come to the undeniable conclusion that nothing would ever be the same from this point forward

#Rule Number One of working with tinies: Do NOT click the pen #Poor Alexander #Nat is so distracting #How dare she #a fraction of justice #oc: alexander #oc: natalie #g/t related #g/t writing #g/t angst #g/t community #giant/tiny #g/t fluff #size difference #g/t

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ratcatcher0325 · 11 months

Text

A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #29)

Chapter #29. Alexander tells his story. Natalie listens with rapt attention. Alexander does not mind this. Not one bit.

Previous: Chapter #28

Next: Chapter #30

Word Count: 7,629 Read Time: Approx. 59 mins

CW: adult language, angst, allusions to medical abuse

Tag list: @gatlily @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007 , @honey-olive , @bittykimmy13 , @aceouttatime , @imvenusasaboy , @liminaldaze , @windshield-patent , @joxter-coded , @rosella35 , @narrans , @rubeau-art , @littlescaryinternetguy , @jae-from-discord , @kitn-underfoot , @secretly-small @writing-forever , @iinogongju , @tales-of-aestus-deactivated2023 , @itsgothgirlthyme , @make-me-giant , @reborrowing , @whatthisfemsheplikes , @soapysoap69

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___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #29: Flock Together

[Alexander’s POV]

My lips, teeth and tongue were abuzz with the vibration of my vocal cords as I gave voice to the images that terrorized my inner eye. A mist of sweat formed on my brow, as heat rose from my woozy stomach and thundering heart. It was as though I was watching myself speak, as if I were a spectator of my own testimonial. I could hear and feel myself talking, while also noticing, with intrigue, how somewhat removed and numb I was about the whole affair. Perhaps this was my brain’s way of protecting me from the sharp, psychological pain of the ordeal. I sat upright in the bed, locking eyes with those large golden orbs, as I felt a clenching in my throat and a stiffening in my spine.

While sitting outside myself, everything seemed to move at a snail’s pace, as though the element of time had been dipped in amber honey. I observed, with quiet fascination, the dust motes swirling in the currents of air she created as she shifted side to side. I felt the cool, clutching texture of the crisp, white sheets against my fingertips. As blood coursed in my veins with each pump of my heart, I could count each exhale as my body fought valiantly to maintain an equilibrium of sorts.

But the thing that stunned me the most, was the way she was looking at me. Not with condescension or hollow pity, but with a brow knit deeply and earnestly in gut-wrenching sorrow. From the moment I began to speak, her body had sunk with a gravity of guilt and horror, deeper into her chair, her eyes alight with… was that compassion? For me? This human, who I’d only very recently begun to tolerate, was genuinely listening to me. Suffice it to say, this was a brand new sensation.

The sound of my own voice, ringing in my ears, returned to the forefront of my mind, as I continued, “… As it turns out, they were right to bicker over the proper dose of anesthetic, because they clearly administered far less than they should have…” The bracing of her body was impossible to ignore, her brow furrowed more deeply as she feared what I was going to say next. In fact, I swore I could hear a hitching of breath as she anticipated her own worst fears, “So… after I was put under, I found myself coming to on the operating table.” She stared down at me wide-eyed and shocked, “I overheard their voices… they said something about taking advantage of your concern over me to push for surgery, that it was a pursuit of profit not careful practice. They openly acknowledged that they were the ones to strain my leg enough to break. I heard them, Natalie. Ah, I wish I could remember the exact amount… 0.3 or 0.2 milliliters of… Buprenorphine? I believe? That’s most common for anything weighing less than 10 ounces, from the literature I’ve read—“ I looked up to see her pen come to a sudden halt. She looked at the paper, littered with chicken scratch in blue ink on brighter blue lines. After a moment, I cleared my throat, “…Do you need me to spell it for you?”

She stopped looming over the page and met my gaze. Her expression puzzled me, “What?” I asked, already a bit annoyed. Was she offended I’d offered?

Seeing my confusion, she spoke softly, her head tilted slightly to my left, as her eyes lit up, “You are so fucking smart, Alexander.” Was she being sarcastic?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I felt my defenses prick up as I wondered if she was teasing me.

She immediately looked confused and taken aback, “I’m being serious. Don’t cross your arms and mean mug at me. I was trying to give you a compliment. You’re incredibly intelligent. I mean who the hell just knows how to spell bupreenophrene or whatever the hell just off the top of their head?” I opened my mouth to correct her obvious blunder but she held out a single index finger and quickly interrupted me, “Don’t be a wise ass. I know I didn’t say it right. It doesn’t matter. My point is, you impress me with that brain of yours… just don’t let it go to your head, alright?” I stayed quiet, relaxing my defensive posture. She sighed too, both of us coming down from the heat of the moment. She rested her chin atop her clenched fist and made eye contact, “I completely understand why you’re touchy. Pretty much every time you interact with a human, all they do is coo at you and condescend. I’m sorry. I know I’m guilty of that too. But, I don’t know what more I need to say to tell you I’m on your side in all this. I wanna help, not hurt you. Okay? Now, will you please continue?”

She raised back up to sitting, clutching her pen between her fingers. I admit, I appreciated her apology and burgeoning self awareness. She really was starting to listen to me. I’d certainly categorize that as a win, and, sure, her complimenting my superior intellect didn’t hurt either. Adjusting myself slightly to get a better view of her, now so high above, I continued, “Well… As the anesthesia began to prematurely wear off, that’s when my nerve endings really came back and I could… I could feel my knee, cut open and… I flailed and shouted and they pinned me down, but not before he, the veterinarian, lodged the scalpel in my leg, somewhere inside the incision…” My throat tightened up as the pain washed through me, as well as the fear: the pure, animalistic, paralyzing fear of being utterly helpless beneath the razor sharp blade of my natural enemy. I kept seeing that font of blood spewing from my rent flesh. The way those massive, gloved fingers had ripped it out without so much as a glance down at me. The overwhelming pain, my dipping consciousness. A woman with kind eyes behind glasses, appearing above me, “…There was someone else there who actually displayed compassion. I believe… no, I’m certain she saved my life. I likely would have bled to death without her… She promised me she’d return me to you. She said that I had to go under again, but that I could trust she wouldn’t let anyone touch me until I’d been reunited with you. Though I had no other recourse, I chose to trust her. Evidently she delivered on her word…” I couldn’t help the fraction of a smile that raised the corner of my mouth, as I returned my gaze to the woman peering down at me. To have survived, to have been reunited with a human who, in her own flawed way, cared about me, seemed no small feat. I had the young woman with gentle, gloved hands and an empathetic, shimmering smile to thank for that, “…She wore wire frame glasses—“

“—With big hazel eyes? Her name was something with an L? Lilly? Laura?” Natalie was nodding rigorously in recognition, as she spoke, fighting to recall the woman’s name. I couldn’t help but catch her fever, gesturing widely.

“—Yes! Lindsey! Her name was Lindsey! You met her? Did she hand me back to you?”

Her brow furrowed, her eyes seeming wetter than before, and nodded, “She kept her word. She brought you directly to me. She placed you right into my hands. You were completely passed out… You… You looked so…” She bit her lip, as her eyes brimmed with crystalline tears, “I was so worried about you. I was pacing back and forth the whole time. They assured me surgery was the only option. I— I am so sorry, Alexander. This is all on me. I take full responsibility. I’m the one who took you there, I signed off on the operation. I let them hurt you. I was just so worried, when you got so sick, so fast, I-I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. All I wanted was to take care of you, but, instead, I did this to you. I gave you away to those monsters. This is all my fault. I am so, so deeply sorry, Alexander. I… I care about you more than I can say. You didn’t deserve any of this. I never meant to… Look, I completely understand if you can’t forgive me, just know, I feel so, so bad that it happened—“ Her voice cracked as her brow twinged, one tear rolling down the length of her cheek. Seconds later, the dam broke and she sobbed, burying her head in her hands.

There, too, my resolve cracked. I didn’t feel so numb anymore, so distant, or removed. Seeing her in pain directly before me, reignited my emotions, and I found myself hurting because she was. Was I really pitying a human being? Was she really shedding tears for my sake? Did she actually care as much as she claimed about this miniature mockery of a man who sat before her?

She blamed herself, and I could understand why: she felt responsible, that she ‘should have known better’. How could she have known they were breaking federal mandates? Her shoulders trembled as she continued weeping. I could see she was spiraling, “Natalie? Natalie, hey, it’s alright…” Her bloodshot eyes appeared behind a screen of dark, wavy hair, her brow pinched and sorrowful, “Give me your hand…” She just stared at me, wide-eyed and frozen, “Come on, I won’t bite… this time, I promise…” She broke into a smirk, that hint of a smile brightening her tear stained face, as she shook her head.

“This is all backwards, you’re the one who was traumatized, why are you comforting me?” She wiped away the trails of moisture on her cheek with the back of her hand, before settling and offering me her right pointer finger.

I clutched it with both hands, cradling the pad in my right hand and stroking the side and nail bed with my left, “I don’t blame you for what happened…” Her eyes immediately brimmed with tears again, as she blinked hard and turned away, “Natalie, Natalie look at me, please… It’s not your fault.” She shook her head, biting her lip, losing the battle to keep from crying, “You did the best you could. You take good care of me. No, don’t shake your head, you do. I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for you. That’s true! It’s not your fault…” I squeezed the tip of her finger and that seemed to push her over the edge. She cried again, eyes glowing with flecks of green behind the waterfall of her tears. I admit, her weeping made me well up, myself. For the first time in my life, a human wept for me. Someone so much bigger than myself responded to my pain with tears in her eyes and a gentle coaxing voice. Never in my life did I think such a thing was possible. I could never fault her for her compassion.

“May I touch you? Can I move your arm?” She choked out, between sobs. I nodded in the affirmative, heart thundering against my ribs. My agreement to her proposal made her cry harder for some reason I couldn’t understand. She flipped my hand over so it was now facing palm down against her upturned finger, the ridges of her fingertip now visible to me. She rubbed the back of my hand with her thumb, engulfing it, but still managed to be incredibly gentle. She moved my hand a little further away from my body, and flashed her eyes at me as she leaned down, slowly, slowly, and sank her lips into my outstretched fingers. The nerves in my hand were on fire, my heart was threatening to escape the walls of my ribcage. She’d only kissed me once before, and this brush of my skin to her lips was no less potent than the last. I did everything I could to keep my cool, I was done for if she caught on to just how much she was affecting me. As she pulled away, she stared down lovingly at my splayed fingers, rubbing with her thumb again, “I love these hands. You have such beautiful, little, delicate hands…” Normally I’d roll my eyes and groan at a comment like that, but her gaze told me, it was entirely in earnest. My heart fluttered in my chest and I felt a twisting sensation in my stomach.

Finally, she stifled a laugh and gently placed my hand on my thigh. Releasing the grip of her finger and thumb, she apologized, “I’m sorry. Like I said, this is about me being there for you, not the other way around… But, thank you, for comforting me. You really can be a sweetheart when you want to be, can’t you?”

I felt like I suddenly sat up just a bit taller, “I’ve no clue what you’re talking about…” I crossed my arms over my chest in defiance, while grinning just enough to give away my joke, “I don’t mind helping a human while she throws a big fuss over nothing every now and again…” She rolled her eyes and smirked, as I continued, “But do you really want to know how you can make it up to me?” With rapt attention and wide eyes, she rested her chin on her fist before my bedside, her gaze now only an inch or so above my eye-line. She was so close, I could feel the warm gust of her breath. I focused on keeping my voice steady and resonant, “You can help me take them down.” I cocked an eyebrow, awaiting a response I was already fairly confident in.

“You kidding?! I’ll do anything and everything I can, Alexander. I promise.” Her finger gently tapped my left knee as a small gesture of reassurance. I liked the warmth of her touch, how gentle it was. I was sorry when she pulled away.

*************

His little face twisted, and his brow furrowed, as if he was struggling with how to proceed. I stayed very still, watching him battle himself, trying my best to be patient, even though I was dying to know just what he was thinking. Finally, those blazing blue eyes locked on mine, “You really mean that, Natalie?” Of course, I do, sweetheart, “You’re not just placating me? Or pacifying your own guilt? You would actually help me take legal action against them?”

He was tense, uncertain, wary. Poor thing. I couldn’t blame him. How many times had his heart been broken by humans who’d promised to stand by him? I felt tears rush to the corners of my eyes again, as I spoke softly, returning his gaze, “Alexander, I want to help you. In any and every way possible. I believe in you. You are remarkable and I’m so so lucky to have you here with me. You wanna go for their throats? I’ll sharpen my nails. I told you I’d help you dig their graves myself, I meant that—“

“Why?” His sudden cut off stopped me in my tracks.

I could only sputter in response,“W-what? What do you mean, ‘why’?”

“Why… why are you so willing to help me? It’s not like I can compensate you financially, there’s nothing I can do to reciprocate the gesture. What is the benefit to you? I’m just supposed to believe in good faith that you’ll never grow tired of acting out of the goodness of your heart or whatever excuse you’re using to justify your motivations?”

My heart sank. Did he really not understand how much I cared and what I saw in him? “Are you worried I have some sort of hidden agenda? That I’m offering to help or that I’m pretending to help for my own selfish gain? Is that what you’re getting at?” He crossed his arms over his chest, obscuring the lettering on his sweatshirt, and shrugged, staring back defiantly, waiting for me to answer my own question, “I know you’re used to people being selfish. I know you are constantly on edge, expecting some sort of passive aggression or hidden agenda. I see it in your eyes almost every time I try to touch you or pick you up, that flicker of doubt, that fear. You still don’t trust me. And that’s okay. You’ve had a lifetime of broken promises and a handful of days with a dumb, clumsy human who’s learning as she goes just how to do right by you. I know I infuriate and offend you almost every day, but… fuck… I’m trying, okay? You’re teaching me and I’m trying my best to learn. Look, I’m being straight with you. I want to help because I think you’re a person worth helping. I take care of you because I genuinely want to. I like having you in my life, Alexander. But please don’t think I’m trying to possess you or that I’m doing this to hold it over your head later. I know you’re scared. You try really hard to be brave, and you are, you’re the bravest person I’ve ever met. But I know you’re scared, too. Who wouldn’t be? I guess… what I’m trying to say is… if you’ll let me in, you don’t have to go through this frightened and alone.”

He stared at the surface of the dresser with his piercing gaze, the inner gears of his mind turning rapidly. He seemed to be at an extraordinarily rare loss for words. I broke the ice with a soft voice, “May I ask you a question and will you promise to be honest with me?” His head snapped up to meet my gaze, apprehension and worry clouding his eyes. Yet, somehow, he nodded, slightly, agreeing to my terms, “You’re scared after all your fighting you’ll end up right back where you started, aren’t you? There’s this gnawing worry at the back of your mind that in spite of everything, you’re going to end up the plaything of a human who will never see you for what you’re capable of being. Is that about right?”

He was taken aback, color drained from his face. He hadn’t expected me to read him cover to cover like that. Without looking up, he folded his hands in his lap and mumbled, his little voice even quieter than normal making it quite hard to hear, “I… suppose the thought had crossed my mind.”

I tried not to be hurt by the realization that he still believed I’d treat him like that, and rested my chin on the polished wood ‘floor’ searching for his gaze, “Give me a chance to prove to you that I’m worthy of your trust, okay? When I told you I wanted to help you take those fuckers down, I meant it. Will you let me help you?”

He looked lost in thought for a moment, staring straight ahead. After a few heartbeats, as I gazed at him at eye level, I watched him set his jaw and blink before meeting my eyes, “Okay, Ms. Marquez, you have yourself a deal.” Slowly, he offered his hand to shake. When the pad of my finger slid into his outstretched palm, dwarfing it, I couldn’t help the rush of blood to my cheeks. I hoped the light from behind was enough to mask my flustered face. I gently held his tiny hand between my finger and thumb while he shook it with the strength and confidence of a much bigger man. He was quick to wriggle free, though, which disappointed me; I would’ve liked to have held and marveled at his little hand all day. Still. I couldn’t help but notice a sudden rosy tint to his tiny cheeks, even as he pulled away. Suddenly, I realized he was speaking to me, his tone of voice immediately irritated, “… Natalie? Hello? Are you paying attention?”

What had gotten into me? We’d shared a nice moment of solidarity and now I was caught staring, lost in thought. Upon hearing him, I snapped out of it, blinking hard, “Hmmm?” I’d been so caught up in his little features! Could I really be blamed? It wasn’t often he’d let me get this close. If we both stayed very still, I could almost make out his microscopic eyelashes, fringing those brilliant eyes with that fiercely intelligent spark behind them. His disheveled hair flopped in strands along his brow looking as stormy and malcontent as the sharp tone in his voice which still rang in my ears. What a strange little contradiction he was: delicate, yet bold, tiny, yet larger than life, vulnerable yet unafraid. He had every reason to be a trembling mess, reliving such horrible memories, but, instead, I could see this fire burning within him, this vindictive, righteous anger that moved him to great passion and, which, in this moment, he was taking out on me.

“What’re you ogling at me for? Don’t tell me I just spilled my guts to you, only to have you stare at me all starry-eyed like I’m some adorable kitten. It’s rude to stare, Ms. Marquez, has no one ever taught you that?” My cheeks burned. I was being taken to task by a man I could put in my pocket, “...So?? Are you going to just sit there, blinking like an idiot or are we going to get to work?”

******

Whatever had distracted her before seemed to be quickly quelled by my direct questioning. She sprang into action, setting up her phone, on a small metal stand in a horizontal position. This set the device at about the height of my lap, when she brought my desk chair and placed it directly in front. Once she’d finished setting everything up, she returned to where I sat and leaned down, “You ready?” I nodded, preparing myself to be picked up, but she continued, “I have one more little surprise for you. Close your eyes.”

“I’m not a child, Natalie, you can just show me—“

“Aw, c’mon sourpuss! Let me have this. I like surprising you with shit so maybe one day you’ll decide you actually like me.” She begged in a teasing way and I couldn’t help from chuckling. She clocked that immediately, “Ha ha, yeah I know. Fat chance. But c’mon, let me enjoy this. Please?” I rolled my eyes, sighed performatively and finally shut my windows to the world like she’d asked, “Okay, put out your hands…” I heard the grinding sound of wood, like a drawer opening, and then a rustle of fingers far too big for the dimensions of the comparatively tiny desk drawer as she fished about for whatever it was. Then, something landed in my hands and I was granted permission to open my eyes.

While it was wrapped and sealed in obnoxious packaging, with print scaled for human eyes, what I found in my hands still made me smile in spite of myself. Placed inside my opened palms were two spiral notebooks and a pair of already sharpened pencils scaled to me. After two decades of scrounging through trash and scraps for paper and anything to write with, I now had legitimate means to record my thoughts for the very first time in my life. It meant far more to me than she could possibly understand.

“What do you think? Do you like them?” I could see she was anxious for my approval. What a curious circumstance I found myself in, where a human was desperate for my opinion. It was far from a disagreeable position to be in. Still, all I could manage to respond with was a nod to keep from getting emotional. I turned my attention to freeing them from the packaging, the clear plastic being far thicker and more robust than I’d expected. Watching me struggle, she leaned in, fingertips looming ever closer, “Here, you want help?”

I hugged the items closer to my chest, “I’m fine, thank you.” Her lips tightened slightly, clearly disappointed she wasn’t allowed to do it for me. I admit, I felt a smug satisfaction even as I struggled to muster the strength to rip it open, that she didn’t just snatch it from my grip and tear into it anyway. I’d trained this human well. She was learning. Suddenly, she gasped, making me jump and search her face for clues.

“Aw shit!”

“What is it now?” I admit, I was annoyed. All I wanted was to start my research and she was getting in the way of that, even if she had the best of intentions. In the wake of her outburst, I managed to (finally) open the packaging, gripping the contents inside the busted plastic pouch.

“I just remembered, you’re left handed. Those spiral notebooks are gonna suck for you, aren’t they? I can’t believe I didn’t think of that! Here, I can return them…”

She reached for them again. I pulled away. Was she really incapable of thinking this through? Without saying a word, I held one of the note books in my lap, my pencil pinched between my fingers. The glossy black paint on the wooden writing instrument rivaled the black and white marbling on the notebook covers. Gesturing broadly to make sure my movements were distinctly legible for her, I flipped the notebook once, along its horizontal axis so that the back of the book was now facing skyward and then rotated it 180 degrees clockwise, so that the spiral binding was now clutched in my right hand. Without missing a beat I opened the book to its very first (technically, last) page, and scribbled “DON'T RETURN” as large as I could across the blue lined paper and then held it up for her.

“Okay, now I feel like a fucking dumbass…” she held her face in her hand, sighing and shaking her head in a moment of self deprecation.

“Well, I wasn’t going to be the one to say it out loud… but now that you mention it…” I smirked up at her, not at all dissatisfied with my own joke. She immediately began to laugh, groaning in mock disdain.

“Come here…” her fingers slid around and beneath me and I suddenly found myself lifted high in the air, seated amongst a web of fingers. My heart leapt to my throat as she held me before her eyes, splayed out in her hand. I was feeling rather small, now, plucked up so easily and held aloft before those familiar, wide eyes, “What’s your problem, huh? Why are you so mean? I do all these nice things to help you and now you’re calling me a dumbass?” She dug a fingertip, teasingly, into my chest, I squirmed against her touch, batting her away.

“You called yourself one, I said no such thing!” I lifted up my hands in a gesture to show I took no responsibility. She rolled her eyes, and stood with me cradled in her hand, before crossing the room to stand before her desk. I’m so close to finally beginning my life’s work anew. I was a mere few feet away…. If she could just put me down…

“I mean for real, I have a whole ass undergrad degree and am about to graduate from law school… and you just hung me out to dry! Are you really that much smarter than me or am I just way stupider than I thought?”

“Yes, yes… Now, please, let’s get started, shall we?” I attempted my best polite smile, clapping my hands together and sitting up inside her palm, trying to coax her into lowering me into my chair. She didn’t budge an inch.

“What do you mean, ‘Yes’? You don’t really think I’m stupid do you? I’ll have you know I graduated fourth in my class in undergrad, little sir! Besides, there are different kinds of intelligences. You just happen to be particularly book smart—“

“—Book smart, yes, got it! Speaking of that, I think the best way to keep getting smarter is to conduct research. Expand my horizons, all that. So with that in mind—“

“Besides, I’m like, ninety percent certain two of the people ahead of me my senior year were cheating to get perfect grades…” she kept talking, “I’m still convinced I coulda gone head to head with Jack Lahey for salutatorian!” And talking, “But not Lindsay Ellyach, she was like, inhumanly smart— I’d never be able to out do her! Not even now!! She was the valedictorian…” With no sign of letting up, she carried on, full steam ahead, “…It’d be fun to pit you against her and see if you could give her a run for her money… she was actually always really nice though, which honestly made it even more annoying—“

“Natalie!!” I was too exasperated, I couldn’t help myself.

“Oh. Oh my god. I’m talking too much aren’t I? Poor thing, you just want to get your nerd on and start working on this and here I am keeping you. I’m sorry. Here…”

True to her word she gently lowered me down into my swivel chair. Handing me back the notebook and pencil that had slid into the center of her palm once I’d begun moving about. I gripped these items with firm yet clammy hands. This was it! Here I was about to do something I never thought possible: openly researching unfair practices against my kind, directly in front of, and with the full support of a human being.

“Alexander?” Her voice, timid and apologetic, rang from high above my left shoulder. That is, until she adjusted herself to rest her head down, close to where I was, “Are you mad at me?” She stared at me with bright, pleading eyes, before her hand approached and she flicked my hair from my eyes with the brush of her thumb.

I snarled and wrenched away, “I’m too busy to be mad at you. Please, I just want to work on this in peace.” I had no patience to be the steward of a needy human’s emotions right now.

She was quick to respect my wishes, turning her attention to her own massive screen, simply adding, she was “happy to help” in any way she could. When I glanced over my shoulder, I could see she had her coursework up.

Finally, a moment of blessed, uninterrupted silence for me to get to work! I was so giddy I could’ve giggled like a little kid. Cracking my knuckles, I flipped open my brand new, beautiful notebook, with its perfectly proportionate blue lined paper, to the next fresh page. I proceeded to format my page for notes in the same way I’d seen executed hundreds, if not thousands of times, by a man with a watery blue, cataract-filled gaze, and short temper.

No time to think of him now, I had justice to pursue and legal precedents on my side. I may as well have measured nine feet tall today, what with all the probability of victory I already possessed. I traced my lower lip with a pointer finger as I leaned in to operate the phone’s internet browser.

As soon as my fingertips pressed into the colorful glass display, Natalie let out a forlorn sigh. As I craned my neck, I watched as she tucked a strand of curls behind her ear, her expression twisted into a pout.

If it had been any other human, I probably would’ve jeered and berated her for getting so upset over such a minor thing. But for some reason, when it came to Natalie, I suddenly had a heavy conscience. I didn’t like seeing her upset. What was wrong with me? I was getting soft.

“Natalie?” She suddenly seemed quite absorbed in her work, as if she couldn’t be bothered with me. Ah, so that’s how it feels. My face flushed hot. I tried again, leaning to tug on her sleeve right at the bend in her elbow, which rested within arm’s reach, “Natalie…”

“What?” She was cold, annoyed. A pang of guilt washed through me. All of a sudden, I felt uncharacteristically small and timid, staring up at this woman who towered over me, wanting to repair the damage I’d done.

“I can see I’ve hurt your feelings…” an olive branch.

Would she take it?

“No. I’m good. Just trying to get this done. Do you need something?” Well, that was a resounding no then. So much for trying to be vulnerable. If she wanted to play games, fine, then, it was my turn.

“Why are you being so childishly passive aggressive? You’re very clearly upset, you’re actively pouting and you threw a fit just moments ago. I’m apologizing. Isn’t that what you wanted?” Why did humans always have to change the rules to fit their narrative? It made no sense to me. What did she want me to do?

She was quick to raise a brow at me before she retorted, “I’m being childish?! Really? That’s funny, because last I checked that wasn’t even an apology. You just made a statement. Look, I’m trying to keep my cool here, but you don’t get to shrug someone off and hurt their feelings and then bark back at them about their own emotional state and get mad when that doesn’t fix the problem. Try a real apology next time and maybe you’ll get the response you were looking for.”

With that, she turned her attention back to her work, and gave me the iciest of cold shoulders. I may as well have been invisible for all she cared to acknowledge me. My stomach dropped.

She was right.

As much as I hated to admit it, she was absolutely right.

I took a deep breath and then sprung to my feet (or foot, rather), careful to keep my injured leg from bearing any weight. She jumped, making a fuss the second I stood up, “Woah! What do you think you’re doing? You’re not supposed to put any pressure—“ I was already quite off balance, trying to keep one foot from touching the floor. Even with my arms outstretched, and tensing all the necessary muscles to stay upright, the moment I craned my neck to look directly up at her, and as I opened my mouth and the words ‘I’m sorry’ began to form on my lips, I knew I was a goner. I started to stumble, my arms grasping at air as my good leg gave way beneath me. I braced for impact with the hard surface of the desk. Yet, within the next fraction of a second, I found myself perfectly upright, the wind knocked out of me.

I blinked hard, trying to make sense of what had just happened. In the breadth of a heartbeat, she’d reached for me, catching me from my fall and suspending me upright, with a little gentle pressure. Her thumb was now pressed against my chest, her nail landing just beneath my left arm. Her index finger wrapped around my lumbar curve and gently rested against my bent elbow. As I collided into the barrier she provided with her hand, I found myself gasping for air and instinctively gripping onto her thumb with both hands. She kept me steady as I found my footing, and craned my neck to meet her eyes. She looked down at me in shock and concern, “What was all that for? You scared the shit out of me…”

“I was trying to apologize. Now I think we can both see how much that disagrees with me in practice…” She broke into a brilliant smile and peered down at me, nodding her head in agreement as she shrugged and giggled. I’d be lying if I didn't admit I enjoyed the sound of her laugh. I suddenly felt quite warm, surrounded by her fingertips. I could even feel her heartbeat beneath the surface of her skin.

My heart leapt to my throat, as I felt her eyes continue to gaze down at me. She’d stopped her bemused chuckling, instead staring at me in a way that made me squirm beneath her. Slowly, slowly, she guided her pointer finger beneath my left arm, to keep me upright, and very gently, she passed the pad of her thumb across my chest in a rhythmic back and forth motion. I froze. All her attention was on me, balanced carefully inside the hollow of her hand. What was she doing? Could she feel how hard my heart was hammering against my sternum?

Her eyes flickered in concern, as the motion of her thumb ceased, in the direct center of my sternum, “Your little chest is pounding away like crazy—” Well, that answers that. My face flushed bright red, as she suddenly sunk lower, so that her chin was resting on the crook of her right elbow, and the tip of her nose was a mere few inches from where I stood, propped up between her fingers. She was so close, I could see a silhouette of myself reflected in the iris of her eye. She’d returned to stroking me, I stiffened, barely able to keep my composure as she hit me with her next question, her voice soft, low and intimate, “Is this okay?”

It took every ounce of willpower I had left in me to keep from trembling. She was so close, so warm, I could smell her fragrant hair, feel the heat of her hand, all while I took in those bright, brilliant eyes, awaiting my answer. I was completely overwhelmed, surrounded by her on all sides. I couldn’t breathe. I needed air. I couldn’t breathe. I needed out.

“No! No it’s not!” I finally choked out, “You’re too close. Please, just put me down.”

Her face fell. It wasn’t the answer she’d been hoping for. She blinked once, twice, and then obediently did as she was asked, quietly whispering “Sorry” as she prepared to let me go. Too bad, she has no right to fluster me like that. I told myself that over and over as she gently sat me down in my chair.

We were right back where we started. A tension palpable in the air between us. Even as I got exactly what I asked for, I felt an ache where the heat of gentle fingers had just been. My heart continued to pound away against my breast as I wrestled with the confusing thing that had just taken place.

She didn’t say another word and I followed suit, much too embarrassed and shaken to fill in the gaps between our clicking, swiping and staring at screens with any polite conversation. I sank in my chair. What was happening to me here? All I’d ever wanted was the chance to research this compelling case in harmonious, blessed silence. But now that I had my greatest desire, I suddenly felt hollow inside. It wasn’t possible that my heart had blossomed toward this human beside me.

Wasn’t it?

Just then, as I had paused in my notes, to sneak a glance up at her, I found myself catching her eye, as she appeared to be doing the same thing, in reverse. Blushing hard, I tore my gaze away, staring flatly at the screen before me.

Try as I may to read and reread the lines of black text on white pixels, one thought kept ricocheting through my skull: what did she make of all this? I couldn’t bring myself to ask, so I imagined I’d never know.

I tried to ignore these feelings, leaning into the article I’d found on veterinary law in the state of Massachusetts, even despite my elevated blood pressure. That is, until the sound of her clearing her throat to get my attention became impossible to ignore.

Reluctantly, I turned over my shoulder to face her, admittedly a little anxious to see just what I’d find there. When I turned, I was confronted with her finger and thumb directly before me and pinched between them was a delicate paper flower, a daisy, I’d made for her seemingly forever ago. Then, her voice, soft and strained rang in my ears, “I’m sorry I can’t ever seem to get this right… I’m just a big dumb human that upsets you. I’m sorry for that.”

And that right there was a proper, genuine apology, unlike the half baked defensive excuse I’d thrown at her earlier. Guilt creeped in as I realized what I’d done. Sighing, I made up my mind, and as I leaned over and clutched the fake flower from her grip, I formulated my response, “Will you do me a favor?”

“Of course, anything.” She meant that in earnest.

“Will you pick me up and hold me directly before you?” My past self would have a hard time believing this series of events to be true, and yet, here I was, requesting to be handled by a human. She hesitated for a moment, watching me closely for signs of regret or discomfort, before pinching me between her thumb and forefinger, and placing me inside her waiting palm. She then lifted me up to her face, her eyes confused and cautious, “Closer…” She inched me forward, “Still closer…” her brow furrowed, I was already less than half an inch from the bridge of her nose, “Almost there…” Now she held me so close I was hovering over her face, far too near for her eyes to be able to focus on me anymore. My chest practically brushed against her eyelashes as I reached up and over, planting the flower I’d made for her in the nest of waves and curls that was her hair. With that, I gently patted her on the forehead and whispered, “Okay, all done.”

She pulled her hand back to a reasonable distance again, staring at me with delighted eyes, “Did you just…?”

“Natalie, I owe you an apology. I’m not particularly fond of them, so don’t get used to it…” I sat up a bit straighter with my arms crossed, as she broke into a knowing smile, “But the way I see it… we’re a team now, unlikely and mismatched as that is. And I… I could have done better by my partner and I’m sorry. I was dismissive and I rejected your simple kindnesses. As you can clearly see, those sorts of things don’t come naturally to me, so I can’t promise an entirely different response in the future. But what I can say is I’ll endeavor to see things from your perspective once in a while. And… maybe on a very special occasion, I’ll allow you to touch me gently again…” my throat tightened and color rose in my cheeks again at the mere mention.

By the time I’d finished speaking, she’d broken into a wide grin, “You’re such a little liar! I knew you liked it, that’s why you were all squirmy and red faced. I’m gonna get you to admit you like me… someday, it’s gonna happen. I fluster you, don’t I? Like right now… you’re all kinds of squirmy. Look at you, you can’t even look me in the eye!”

“Natalie! Don’t make me regret this the second I say it! I am not flustered!”

“Suuure you’re not. Of course not, Little Nightmare. No flushed face and heaving chest here! Nope! Totally calm and collected…”

“Natalie!!!”

“You’re too easy to tease! It’s not my fault!”

“I’m never apologizing to you again if this is how you’re going to weaponize my vulnerability against me!”

“Oh woe is Alexander! Look how he’s being so horribly mistreated!” She made a big fuss, rolling her eyes and gesturing with her free hand. I admit it made me smile, for just a fraction of a second, but it was enough for her to pick up on, “I saw that! The little robot does have a sense of humor. How delightful!”

“I despise you and everything you stand for.”

“Yup! So sweet and funny! Just an absolute sweetheart of a little man. Nothing about this is alarming at all. I should definitely not plan on sleeping with one eye open tonight.” She cupped her chin in her free hand, biting her lip as she smiled at me, “But seriously though, thank you, Little Nightmare. I can see you’re trying, and that’s all I can ask for. I promise not to push your boundaries… too much. But I’m sorry if I can be overwhelming at times. Are we okay?”

I sucked in a sharp breath, before nodding, “In spite of my better judgment, I suppose I’ll allow for forgiveness this one time. Don’t get used to it, I’ve got my eye on you, Miss Marquez.” I raised my brows and flashed her an expectant look.

“Alright! The dynamic duo is back!! Wonder Twin powers… Activate!!” She held out a knuckle of her clenched fist, presumably so I would bump her back with my own.

“No. Never. Don’t even try.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot… back to it, then?” She gently caressed my knee with her thumb as she asked. I nodded curtly.

Soon, I found myself lowered back down to the level of her elbow, still close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of her. I did my best to clear my mind and focus on my work, but, I have to admit, any time she shifted in her seat,or hummed (badly) to herself, I couldn’t help but get a bit distracted.

Maybe a life like this wasn’t so bad. Maybe, just for now, I could learn to like this, Wonder Twin Powers and all.

#Whew! This was a rollercoaster ride!#Will they? Won't they? Will Alexander cry or scream?#Porque no los dos?#They are both such a mess #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t community #g/t writing #g/t related #g/t angst #size difference #a fraction of justice #g/t fluff #oc:alexander #oc:natalie

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

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A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #27)

Happy March everyone!

Chapter #27. Natalie discovers why Alexander has summoned her home so quickly.

Previous: Chapter #26

Next: Chapter #28

Word Count: 5,700 Read Time: Approx. 44 mins

CW: adult language, angst

Tag list: @gatlily @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007 , @honey-olive , @bittykimmy13 , @aceouttatime , @imvenusasaboy , @liminaldaze , @windshield-patent , @joxter-coded , @rosella35 , @narrans , @rubeau-art , @littlescaryinternetguy , @jae-from-discord , @kitn-underfoot , @secretly-small @writing-forever , @iinogongju , @tales-of-aestus-deactivated2023 , @itsgothgirlthyme , @make-me-giant , @reborrowing , @whatthisfemsheplikes

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

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A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #27: A Balm for the Mind

[Natalie’s POV]

I tore across my living room, ducked through the kitchen and raced down the short hallway to my bedroom door, before thrusting it open and practically tripping on the corner of my dresser, I finally managed to shove the bathroom door aside. As I pushed at the barrier separating me from the tiny man in my sink, I couldn’t help but feel a catch in my throat as fear trickled down my spine.

“A-Alexander? Are you there? Are you hurt? Are you okay? What was the big emergency? What do you need??” The words were pouring out of my mouth like a dam bursting forth, uncontrollable and overwhelming.

As I whipped around the corner, I heard him before I laid eyes on him. He didn’t miss a beat and the second I started shouting, he matched me with equal fervor, although the poor thing could never hope to match me in volume, “It’s about time, Natalie! Where were you??” That’s when my panicked gaze locked on to those familiar, tiny, blue eyes. There he was perfectly safe; this little life wading in the shallow pool of water in my sink basin. His left knee was bent, and tucked into his chest. His hair was wet, the roots darker than normal, as his locks stuck to his skull in an unkempt way, falling in tendrils into his eyes. He seemed… perfectly fine.

There was no blood, no scene of chaos, no cat, no disturbance of any kind, “Alexander what the fuck?? Is this your sick attempt at a joke?? I almost killed like three people just to get back—“

He cut me off with a hurried gesture before placing his index finger over his lips, and pointing at the ceiling with his other hand. His eyes followed the trajectory of the point. Was this part of the joke? Was he trying to scare me? I opened my mouth to demand an answer when he hurriedly shushed me. I stood there, baffled, utterly confused and beginning to get pretty ticked off, when it happened.

The sound was instantly recognizable: sharp, piercing, blunt. It was the chirp of the smoke detector begging for a battery swap. The disturbance made Alexander’s shoulders twitch as he immediately recoiled, groaning, as if at the end of his rope.

“…. Okay? Is, is that it?” Surely there was something I was missing here.

He leaned forward, rippling the water around him as he raised his brows, an utterly incredulous look on his face, “What do you mean ‘is that it’?? Do you have ears?? It’s grating! Did you not get my texts??—“ he was off on a tangent, but I couldn’t help the steam rising in my ears.

“Alexander!” That was a bit more forceful than I’d intended. He shut up, but flames still burned behind his eyes, “You made me lose my goddamn mind and literally almost murder someone, not to mention the copious traffic violations or the fact that my car is blocking a one way alley right now, because you had to listen to a mildly annoying sound for a few minutes??”

“First of all, Natalie, it started going off almost the moment you left. I’ve been suffering for nearly an hour at this point. Additionally, for both our sakes, I was attempting memory recall in regards to the vet, but that became instantaneously impossible the moment that godforsaken machine started its repetitive screech. I’ve got a splitting headache, I’m dehydrated, the water’s bone-chillingly cold and you forgot to give me any medication before you left on your oh-so-important errands so I am in rather significant pain. So please, please tell me, at the very least, you got the 9 volt battery I asked for and that you’ll save my auditory receptors from any more damage today.”

The poor little man had to shout over every one of those piercing chirps. I furrowed my brow and pouted my lip, “Oh! Oh you poor thing! I didn’t realize! Forty five whole minutes of pure agony, huh?” I placed my hand over my heart in mock concern. He was so absorbed in his own pity party he didn’t even realize I was being sarcastic.

“Yes! Yes!! It was truly awful. I sent an array of messages with detailed instructions…”

“And on top of all that, the water’s all cold and you weren’t even able to relax…”

“Precisely! I’m so glad you see it— wait—“ his eyes narrowed as he folded his arms over his chest, “You’re making fun of me aren’t you?”

“The little scholar cracks the case!” I shouldered the door frame, sporting a self-satisfied smile.

The little man rolled his eyes, leaning his back against the sink basin, “Natalie, please, you’ve put me through enough. Don’t pour salt in the wound.”

“I’ve put you—?? Little bastard, how many times do I have to emphasize I almost ran over a little old lady to get back here just for you to be a whiny bitch about a minor inconvenience?!”

“Well you don’t have to be so hyperbolic about it! You’re embarrassing yourself—”

I couldn’t help but raise my brow, “I genuinely wonder, sometimes, wether you can hear yourself speak…”

He sighed, catching my gaze, “The alarm… please. I’m about to jump out of my skin. And… well, I can’t exactly get it myself…” he broke eye contact and craned his neck to the ceiling far above his little frame.

“I should let it chirp all night. All it would take is a pair of earplugs and I’d be blissfully unaware.”

If looks could kill…

For someone who could barely wrap himself around my thumb, he could serve up quite the threatening glare. We locked off for a while, neither of us giving ground.

Finally, I shook my head. Who was I kidding? I let my shoulders drop from my ears. I couldn’t say no to him. If anyone was wrapped up, it was me around his tiny finger. You’re lucky I like you, little nightmare.

I approached the sink, he was still stiff and skeptical, unsure if he’d won this battle. I dipped my hand into the water, which, in his defense, was rather cold, “Come here… let’s get you warmed up…” My thumb moved to cover his chest, while my fingers curled around his back. He opened his mouth to speak, resisting my grip with tiny but determined hands, “… and I’ll get the alarm, just give me a second. I can’t do two things at once…” his lips pressed into a thin line at that. At least he finally shut up for just a second!

The pads of my fingers squeezed around his shivering torso, as I lifted him easily into the air. He gripped the pad of my thumb, wet hair in his eyes. I quickly met the left side of his body with my opposite hand, clutching a washcloth. He hadn’t quite managed a full on thank you, but I heard a little murmur of delight escape his lips when the warmth of my hands and the towel started to thaw him out. I couldn’t help it, even after he’d just pissed me off five seconds ago, I couldn’t keep myself from brushing his hair aside with the tip of my thumb. He could feel my gaze on him and the touch caught his attention enough to look up at me.

At almost the same instant that his clear, blue irises locked with my golden-green ones, his little face flushed with color and he suddenly seemed to find the countertop far beneath his feet to be a significantly more interesting subject to stare at. I, too, felt my temperature rise as I was compelled to work on the alarm and let the little man be by himself for a moment. He said not a word and neither did I. Setting him down in a bundle of fabric on the counter, I clamored up, one foot on the lip of the bathtub, the other on the closed lid of the toilet, “You happy, Your Majesty? I’m finally completing your Royal decree!” I shouted over a chirp which was now very much in my ear and made my head buzz.

He leaned forward, his left shoulder exposed, his palm flat against the cool surface of the countertop. He was watching me intently, “Are you sure that’s the safest way to do that?” Was that concern I heard in his tiny voice?

“Ahh, sure, I’ve done it like this a bunch of times. I don’t own a step-stool and I’m never gonna manage to fit a chair in here so… this is fine…” I turned my attention to fidgeting with the grey plastic circle with its blinking LED light and awful noise making. I managed to pull it from the ceiling with an easy twist and pinch on each side, but as I went to shift my weight to jump down, my foot pressed into the rounded curve of the bathtub, slipped, and I lost my balance.

“Natalie!” A little bundle of fabric jerked forward, arm outstretched. In the next heartbeat, I caught myself, gripping the counter in front of me and stopping my fall. We locked eyes for a moment before I hopped down.

When my feet returned to steady ground, I ripped the dead battery from the inner compartment of the smoke detector. During this, he’d settled back down, his good leg dangling over the cliff’s edge that was the lip of the counter. I placed the now, thankfully, silent hunk of plastic beside the sink and kneeled down, resting my chin in my hands, gazing at the back of a tiny, wet mess of blonde hair. After a few moments of silence, he turned over his shoulder, irritated, “What???”

“Don’t play dumb with me… you know what…”

He immediately turned away again, running fingers through his wet locks, “I don’t know what you’re talking about…” he practically mumbled into the fabric. I slid my finger across his sternum, hooking his chin and pulling his face towards me. He was flushed bright pink. I melted a little.

“What was that? You have to speak up…” he shoved at my finger, shaking his head and trying his damndest to hide his blush, I continued, a smile blossoming across my face, “You were worried about me! You give a shit, don’t you? All this stone cold bullshit? It’s an act and I’ve finally caught you red handed. You do have a heart in there after all….” I prodded his little chest, he rocked back and immediately batted at my finger, his brow furrowing and his lips tightening as he snarled. I was unfazed, I had him right where I wanted him, “You actually cared! It was all over your face! You, like, reached out and everything! Little cold-hearted grumpy man cares about this big dumb human!”

“I was not! I… I don’t! Well, I mean— You just frightened me, is all, I-I thought you were going to fall right on top of me!”

*****

She wasn’t letting go of this easily was she? How irritatingly predictable. Humans. They never could resist a chance to tease us if they got the opportunity, it seemed. Her gaze was inescapable, those warm, golden eyes sparkling with mischief. My face and chest felt hot… she beamed as she took in another breath, no doubt to continue this relentless game, when there was a sudden commotion outside.

The sound of a car horn blaring in long, irritating bursts and the voice of a human male shouting something incomprehensible but no doubt, angry, ricocheted through the walls.

“Shit! My car! I’m blocking someone in… hold on, I’ll be right back, okay? Dry yourself off. I’ve got something for you when I come back… even though you kinda don’t deserve it now for being a dramatic little dick a few minutes ago…” She rose as she spoke, crossing the cavern of space between the counter and the threshold in the blink of an eye.

“I was not—“ she disappeared beyond the threshold, paying my response no mind. I heard the jangle of keys being snatched up, as I shouted as loudly as I was capable, “Don’t call me a dick! It’s neither accurate nor sophisticated!” Her footsteps faded down the hall. Alone again.

I sat for a few moments in the blissfully quiet bathroom, my left leg bouncing against the counter’s edge. My better judgment told me not to lean too far over the edge. The drop was much too dangerous for me. I busied myself with wiping the beads of water from my skin. Some so big, I could pick them up in my hands and they’d keep their shape. I squeezed the moisture from my hair and had just about freed my right leg from the suffocating mess of cling wrap it was trapped in, when the tranquil quiet of this cramped, yet cavernous bathroom was broken.

I heard the slam of a car door, sounds of a man’s voice, then, a woman’s, even more argumentative and certainly louder than him. I cracked a smile. What a strange creature that human was. Next was the sound of car tires on gravel, then another honk and I swear I could hear “Fuck you, asshole!” In an enraged female voice. As the sounds of the quick-lived altercation faded from earshot, I pulled the cloth around myself, keenly aware of my nudity in this chilly bathroom. She’d plucked me up, with a sort of familiar nonchalance of picking up a toothbrush or a favorite pencil.

I found myself wondering for the very first time just what she thought of me. What kept her looking after me? I half expected any other human would have tossed me out a long time ago. Why hadn’t she given up? Maybe something really was psychologically wrong with her. It wouldn’t be a giant leap. It would certainly explain her wildly oscillating emotionality.

She’d said she had something for me, right before she left. I couldn’t imagine what that might be. I prayed to nothing in particular that it wasn’t another godforsaken polyester glittery nightmare shirt. Or some similar humiliation. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to sink my teeth as hard as I could into the softest part of her flesh I could find if that were the case.

Still, it wasn’t possible her errands had been on my behalf, was it? Surely not. I remembered back to the first time I’d stood on this counter, stripped naked, shivering and soaked from a bath, and she’d insisted I wear that unicorn covered tie-dye embarrassment. She’d balked at my request for respectable clothes, then. Now that I thought about it, she hadn’t seemed keen to spend money on me at all. Well, that was out of the question.

So, food then? If so, the timing was right, I was half starved and in need of a round of medication. No more time to ponder, however, because the sounds of a door opening and slamming told me she’d soon stand before me to carry me to the next unknown adventure.

“… Son of a fucking bitch!” Yes, that was Natalie alright, always such… sophisticated… language. I heard the sound of something settling on a surface just outside the door and then there she was, standing…. Well, more like towering, before me. I leaned back on my elbow to see her better, as she blustered, “That guy was such a fucking asshole…” a palm came to rest a few inches from my left side.

“Well, you were committing a traffic violation, weren’t you?? I think he had some justification for responding in a negative—“

“Nope. No. Shut your face. Shut it right now. I’m trying to do something nice for you, don’t say another word or I’ll change my mind.” She hovered a finger over my chest, I scowled, but, nevertheless acquiesced to her desires. I went silent and pressed my lips into a thin line. I never took kindly to being told what to do, but I understood after the smoke detector debacle, I could stand to give her a little ground. She suddenly sighed, as if she’d been holding her breath, “Oh my god! I can’t believe that actually worked! Guilt tripping can really be an effective tool when dealing with an Alexander; noted!”

I rolled my eyes as heavily as I could while her fingers pressed gently into my back and she lifted me off the counter. She balanced my injured leg along the length of her pinky as her thumb pressed the fabric of the washcloth against my sternum. I had to give her credit, she was getting quite good at handling me gently. She hardly ever gave me whiplash from moving me too quickly or bruised my skin with too much pressure between her fingers. My heart didn’t drop to my stomach every time her hands came near. What a relief to my cardiovascular system.

I peered up, seeking some sort of hint as to what was coming next in those bright eyes. I loathed surprises. If a human told you they had a surprise for you, it was often some fresh form of humiliation or torture for their own pathetic amusement. And yet, despite the instinctual alarm bell ringing at the base of my skull, some other part of me dared to believe this was something good. Not a smart move to set yourself up for disappointment, Alexander. Yet, even as I chastised my own train of thought, a glimmer of hope remained. Maybe, just this once, I’d accrued enough karmic positivity or whatever forces of the universe were out there, to get something good coming back to me.

Gingerly, she sat me down on her dresser as she leaned back on the corner of her bed, directly across from me. To my left was some sort of plastic shopping bag, looking bulky and misshapen from the contents inside. I returned my gaze to her eyes, questioning, curious. She beamed down at me, clearly excited, “Okay, okay. Close your eyes—“

“Why? This isn’t some sort of payback for earlier is it?” I crossed my arms.

“No! Just… c’mon just close your eyes!” She groaned and rolled her own.

“I don’t know—“

“Dammit, little man! Let me have this! I’m trying to make this fun,” she leaned in, her chin resting on the silky, wood grain, her fingers closing in to sweep my hair from my face and rest lightly on my exposed, bare shoulder. I felt the heat rising in my chest again, just as it had earlier when she’d held me, “No more grumpy Alexander. Please? Let’s have a good day, okay? You deserve something nice. After all you’ve been through. Trust me. Will you trust me for five seconds?”

I swallowed. She was being genuine, I could tell. She’d gone out of her way, for me? “F-fine. Okay. Yes.” She broke into another sparkling grin, her eyes alight with the giddiness of a child. Her enthusiasm was infectious, I was suddenly abuzz with anticipation.

“Well?” She seemed rather impatient.

“Well, what??” I jumped, wondering if I’d stared at her just a bit too long. Before I had a chance to comprehend the situation further, the pad of an index finger was coming straight for my face, with all its unique swirls on the pad coming into crystal clear focus before blurring as she swiped down from my brow, along the bridge of my nose.

“Close your damn eyes, Alexander!” She giggled, exasperated.

Her touch tickled and warmed me at the same time. It was about the width of my whole head, after all, “Right! Yes! S-sorry.” I sealed my eyes shut as I listened to the rustle of plastic and crinkle of… paper? It sounded like she was unwrapping something.

My heart thrummed against my chest. I didn’t want to come across as some naive little fool, but… I’d never exactly been given presents like this before. Certainly, I’d been given clothing and some necessities but not without earning them first. I’d never been given something for nothing. There was a clatter of the mystery item settling on the dresser top. Something hard, and lightweight, just to my left.

“Ta-da! You can look now…”

When I opened my eyes, I saw two pieces of furniture before me. Closest was a cherry stained, swivel desk chair, with curved armrests and an upholstered seat made of rich, green leather, and just beyond that, a desk, stained the same, with gold pulls on the drawers. I couldn’t quite see the desktop from my downward angle on the floor. But these were unlike any furniture items I’d ever seen: these were scaled to me. I blinked rapidly, swiveling my head between these two objects and the hazel irises that were trained on me. My brow twitched and furrowed.

“Well? What do you think?” She was hungry for my response, her face flushed, eyes wide.

I couldn’t help but shrink back, “You can’t be serious. These… they can’t be for me…”

“You see any other little scholars standing at about five inches around here? Cuz I don’t…” she made ridiculous motions of peering around the room with her outstretched hand shielding her brow.

I couldn’t help cracking a smile before shaking my head, “N-Natalie…”

She wouldn’t even let me finish, before leaning down, “Here, you want a closer look? Come here, test it out for yourself. Let’s see if it gets the Little Nightmare seal of approval. Can I pick you up?”

I nodded slightly, a little dazed as her fingers wrapped around my middle and I found myself settling into the chair. My spine went board-straight as I breathlessly slid my hand across the upholstered, leather surface of the desk. It had a small embossed inlay of diamonds that gave it a beautiful oscillating pattern in the center.

In spite of myself, I felt my throat suddenly tighten as my brow furrowed deeply. I gripped the edge of the desk with all might, staring daggers into its surface until my shoulders started to tremble.

She shuffled close, her left palm cupping around where I sat, “Alexander? Hey…. Hey, what's wrong? Do you hate it? Did I do something wrong? You don’t have to like it, you can be honest with me…”

As I turned to face her, my image of those eyes clouded with worry, was obscured almost entirely with tears I couldn’t hold back, despite my best efforts, “I… I’ve never… I’ve never sat in a chair… before…”

“Oh, sweetheart…”

“It’s beautiful, Natalie. It’s absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Deeply, truly, thank you. I can really have this?” I’m embarrassed to say my lip trembled.

She smiled as her own eyes grew misty, “Again, do you see any other little men around here to compete with? Let me know if you do… maybe the next one I bring home will be sweeter!”

“I keep you line, that’s more practical than being sweet! You’ll appreciate me in the long run.” I took the much needed reprieve from the heavy moment to quickly wipe my eyes and shake off my emotions. She laughed at that, and groaned.

“You’re nothing if not true to your brand, huh? Well, listen, you can’t get all emotional about every one of these things, cuz I still have a whole bag of goodies for you. If you cry, then I’ll cry and then we will be here all night.” I ran my fingers along the polished wood of the arm rests, tracing its curvature, but what she said broke me from my trance and made me whip my gaze upwards.

“Wait.. there’s more??” I was genuinely baffled.

“Ha! Straight out of an informercial!” She stood to fetch something else from the bag as she spoke.

“An info-what?”

“How the fuck do you know how hydrogen peroxide reacts to tissue but you don’t know what an informercial is?”

I shrugged, “I can’t know everything! I’d become far too powerful for humankind to handle!”

“Little Nightmare, you’re already too much for humankind to handle, that’s why you got stuck with me. I think I must’ve sinned a lot in a past life or something. Okay, what’s next? Ahh, here we go…” she made a sort of trumpet fanfare with her lips before ripping away paper and placing another furniture item down, this time to my right. My heart skipped a beat as I took it in: a bed. It had a simple enough wooden frame and a garish pattern of red and blue flowers dotting the comforter, but it was a proper bed, nonetheless. I could let the eyesore go for now. Wheeling myself over to its edge, careful to keep the heel of my injured leg upright, I hopped from the seat of the chair to the mattress in one fell swoop, still clutching the towel around my otherwise naked body and reclined back, luxuriously.

“I bet you’re delighted. Now you can finally get some sleep in peace without some giant bitch hovering over you or touching you all the time. I know, it’s a dream come true. You’re welcome.” She propped her head up on her hand as she smiled teasingly.

“Natalie, you and I both know this will not deter you from swooping in unnecessarily close to my personal space at all times. I get no reprieve whatsoever.”

“You poor thing. You’re truly in hell, aren’t you? Is it comfortable?”

“Yes, actually. I’d assumed it’d be filled with lumps of polyester judging by the hideous covers, but it’s surprisingly firm and supportive.” Oops, I hadn’t meant to be entirely honest with her…. My mistake.

“Awww, I thought the flowers were cute… oh well. I can sew you something else you like better, later…” for a petulant human, she took my criticism surprisingly well. During the next few minutes she pulled out all sorts of other gifts: a mirror, a wardrobe, towels, my very own toothbrush, a razor, other hygiene products in impressively detailed bottles with fully printed labels that imitated their human counterparts perfectly. I felt a swelling my chest as she showed me item after item. She’d gone above and beyond. I felt utterly spoiled.

Finally, she revealed the last piece to this extraordinary puzzle was new clothes. I could’ve jumped for joy, except, of course, I’d never degrade myself to such a degree. The moment she told me, I could already feel the smart cut of tailored slacks, the comfortable embrace of a woolen waistcoat beneath a fine suit jacket, my collar buttoned all the way and adorned with a perfectly presented tie. I loved the elegance of a fine set of gentleman’s clothes. It may have been the one thing the old man and I could agree on. After all this time of wearing that humiliating smock, which barely managed to cover my manhood, I absolutely craved the comfort and security of three layers of sophisticated fashion. She’d instructed me to close my eyes once again, which I did without resistance, this time. As I sat on the edge of the bed, my right leg propped up in the desk chair, I could feel the heat and movement of her fingers as she presumably placed my new wardrobe next to me on the bedspread. I was beside myself with glee, I couldn’t wait to see what wonderful clothes were lying in wait.

Then, I opened my eyes.

Oh.

What surrounded me were clothes small enough to fit me, yes, but they weren’t at all what I was expecting. I spotted one pair of baggy slacks and and an uninspired sky blue button down but beyond that, it looked like sweatpants, t-shirts and hoodies galore.

“Okay, what’s wrong?” Her voice, up above, made me jump.

“Nothing! Nothing at all! They’re— great. Thank you.” I wore a perhaps too-eager smile.

“Oh, c’mon. You’re not getting away with that, little mister. You’re a terrible liar. What’s the problem?” Natalie had no interest in playing games, it seemed.

“It’s fine, really… it’s just…” I tried my best to sell my non-existent enthusiasm.

“It’s just?? What??”

“… I’m just used to something more… sophisticated. I’m most comfortable in a suit. I wore a suit everyday, before…”

She burst out laughing, my face burned hot, “Alexander… you’ve got one working leg at the moment and you’re just going to be sitting around the house for the foreseeable future. What in the flying fuck do you need a full on suit for?”

“You asked! Don’t complain when you get the answer you demanded! Besides, I don’t judge you for dressing in a monotonous variety of barely socially acceptable forms of pajamas everyday, don’t judge me for wanting a little elegance in my appearance! Despite how you found me, I’ve been known to maintain meticulous grooming. Unlike you, I get a sense of pride out of being put together. I just haven’t had much luck of it since you decided it would be just hilarious to dress me up like one of your dolls. I apologize if I’m looking for a bit more class than that nightmare you put me through.”

She threw her hands up, “Jesus fucking Christ, I get it. Well you’ll just have to suffer through wearing this trash until I can afford to get His Majesty what he truly deserves. Mea Fucking culpa. Can you at least languish in these rags for peasants long enough for me to go cook you dinner, Your Highness?”

My stomach dropped. I felt awful. Here she’d done all these wonderful things for me and I’d turned around and coldly insulted her. I swallowed the lump in my throat, “Natalie…”

“No no, save it. You’re right, as always. I got what I asked for.”

“Natalie, please…” I opened my arms wide, beckoning for her. She hesitated, her mouth turned down, her lips tense. I gestured again, “Give me your hand?” She threw her gaze askance and offered me her outstretched fingers. Landing on my good leg, I threw myself off the bed and embraced her pointer finger with both arms, bouncing and wobbling on my left foot as my little weight shifted her hand slightly. She hadn’t expected that, clearly, “I was a dick just now. A terrible, selfish, disgusting, unwashed, detestable, overly dramatic dick—“

A ghost of a smile played on her lips as I craned my neck upwards to catch her gaze, “Ew…” she muttered. I continued, unperturbed.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I said. I’m extraordinarily grateful for all of this. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” With that I laid my cheek on the side of her finger, flashing my eyes up at her through my lashes.

She scrunched her nose, cheeks turning pink, “Stop it! Stop being all cute when I’m mad at you! It’s not fair. You can’t cut me to the fucking quick and then bat those pretty blue eyes at me and have me right back. That’s manipulative! You’re a little master of manipulation, you know that, you little devious bastard??”

Normally, I’d take issue with being called cute, but right now it was working in my favor, “Thank you, sincerely, for everything.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I’m on to you. Put some clothes on and I’ll see you in a minute.” She was smiling, at least a little, now, and that made my shoulders relax. With that, she gingerly lifted me under my arms and placed me back on the edge of the bed, “Oh, wait. You’ll need some help with that leg won’t you?” My inability to bend it would make it impossible to put on underwear or pants, without assistance, “Oh relax, don’t get all huffy, I’m not going to dress you, or anything, here…” In one swift movement, she eased open a shallow center drawer in her dresser and produced a pair of tweezers, just about the length of my leg. They were a perfect grappling arm to extend my reach, “Okay, now I’m outta here. Try to behave yourself for the next 30 minutes, please? I can’t take any more Alexandering all over the place today. You’ve frayed my nerves to their absolute breaking point.” I nodded in earnest, as she stood and headed for the kitchen. I thought about thanking her again, but by the time I got the courage to speak she was already gone behind the partially closed door.

I sat in silence for a moment, looking over the bounty of things that were now mine. My chest swelled. Before I got too emotionally compromised, I turned my attention to getting dressed.

Since my right leg couldn’t bend, I pinched the right side of a pair of navy boxer briefs between the two metal clamps, and held the far end of the tweezers under my arm, this allowed me to reach and slide my ankle through the garment without risking injury. It was the perfect solution and I was deeply relieved to be able to do it myself. I deeply loathed being dressed by clumsy human fingers and it had happened far too often with the overly condescending nurses in the old man’s final years, Thank you, Natalie, for keeping my dignity in tact.

With the aide of the tweezers, I managed to adorn myself with underwear and a pair of unsophisticated charcoal grey sweatpants with only minor strain. I looked about myself, weighing my meager options and decided on a similarly gray hoodie, sighing and sliding it on. Despite the all too casual feel and fit of the fabric, it was nice to finally be covered again. Feeling another pang of guilt for even thinking along those lines, I scooted myself over to the mirror with the aide of the desk chair on wheels. Maybe I’d look better than I felt. Maybe it wasn’t so bad.

Gripping onto the beveled wooden edge at the base of the mirror, I stood, with imperfect balance as I came face to face with my own reflection.

What I saw staring back at me made my breath catch: printed across the chest of the hoodie in crimson lettering were the words Harvard Law, complete with the shield-like crest of red and gold.

My heart beat faster as tears welled in my eyes. She’d bought me an actual Harvard Law sweatshirt? I clutched a fistful of fabric. Natalie, you’re not so bad after all, are you?

With newfound determination to be less of a dramatic dick (a characterization I still wasn’t convinced was at all applicable) I awaited her return, reclining comfortably on my new bed. Perhaps shutting my eyes for just moment wouldn’t hurt either…. It’d been a rather exhausting day, for both of us, after all.

#do you think Alexander’s emergency was an actual emergency?#look at him learning how to be #they grow and then instantly fall back into the same habit so fast #giant/tiny #g/t #g/t community #g/t writing #g/t related #size difference #g/t angst #gt #g/t fluff #a fraction of justice #oc:alexander #oc: natalie

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

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A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #28)

Alexander is back and he's ready for.... napping. No, no this chapter is interesting, I swear.

Chapter #28. Alexander wakes up from his nap but has a much harder time getting Nat to come to from hers. How will he solve this problem? You guessed it. Through rage and yelling.

Previous: Chapter #27

Next: Chapter #29

Word Count: 6,603 Read Time: Approx. 51 mins

CW: adult language, angst, allusions to medical abuse

Tag list: @gatlily @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007 , @honey-olive , @bittykimmy13 , @aceouttatime , @imvenusasaboy , @liminaldaze , @windshield-patent , @joxter-coded , @rosella35 , @narrans , @rubeau-art , @littlescaryinternetguy , @jae-from-discord , @kitn-underfoot , @secretly-small @writing-forever , @iinogongju , @tales-of-aestus-deactivated2023 , @itsgothgirlthyme , @make-me-giant , @reborrowing , @whatthisfemsheplikes , @soapysoap69

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #28: Rosemary for Remembrance

[Natalie’s POV]

My heart leapt in my chest as I looked over what I’d carefully crafted. Balanced delicately on the aluminum lid of a mason jar, which served as a tray of sorts, was a tiny place setting, complete with a dish I could balance on my pointer finger, a miniature glass of water with a few drops filling it to the brim, a mug of tea, and teeny tiny little utensils, small enough that I had to press the tip of my finger into them to pick them up. Piled high on the plate was a simple, very finely diced, medley of chicken and peppers over an adorably small bed of quinoa. Simple, yet filling and wonderfully displayed in perfect, proportionate miniature just for him. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I revealed it to him. I delicately placed a paper napkin over the top of it all and laid the whole thing in the flat of my hand.

Picking up my own plate, I padded down the hallway, almost giddy like a little kid. I couldn’t deny, it hurt when he’d thrown his little fit about the clothes. I’d been excited for them, how could I have possibly known he expected to dress like freakin Downton Abbey every day? I couldn’t help rolling my eyes as a smile curved my lips, in spite of myself: what a little mess he was. But hey, for all his fussing about clothing, maybe I’d be able to make it up to him with a warm meal. He must’ve been starving at this point.

I paged the door with my side as I slipped into the room, biting my lip to keep from beaming. I’d just opened my mouth to announce that dinner was served when I laid eyes on him.

Instead of finding him fidgeting impatiently in his little desk chair or pouting with his arms crossed on the edge of the bed, face flushed from the horrors of being forced to dress casually, he was fast asleep, splayed out on the right side of his tiny mattress. My heart melted.

I gently laid out two very differently sized place settings down on the surface of the vanity, carefully balancing the mason jar ‘tray’ on his little desktop. With one sweeping motion, I made sure the thin napkin stayed in its place, serving as an extremely low budget cloche.

Once all was settled, I turned my eager attention to the sleepy little life below me. His deep slumbering breaths caused his chest to rise and fall to the rhythm of his slowed heart. I felt a thrilling tingle trace my spine as I noticed what covered that tiny beating breast: crimson letters each no bigger than 8-point font. I’d secretly hoped his keen eyes would spot what I’d purchased especially for him. Smart little thing. If anyone deserves a free ride to Harvard, it’s you.

His right hand lay slack over his abdomen, rising and falling with the air in his lungs. His injured leg was splayed straight out, while his left was bent, tucked beneath his hurt knee. His left hand had fallen limply at his side, just barely balancing on the edge of the mattress. I don’t know why, but the detail of seeing his tiny head, usually all full of blustering anger and intellectual fervor in his waking hours, resting on a tiny pillow, almost overwhelmed me. It delighted me to no end to see him interacting with furniture that fit him. For a moment, if I squinted my eyes, I could imagine my perspective was just an aerial shot in a movie and the little man before me wasn’t tiny at all, but belonged perfectly to a world that matched his proportions. I suppose he’d dreamt of such an impossible fantasy quite often.

Hello there, Alexander. I propped my head on my elbow and took in the mesmerizing sight of the man who could fit in the palm of my hand. Dinner could wait a minute… or thirty.

There was something wonderful about watching him in this moment of total tranquility, it was like a window into a future where he felt safe and satisfied. Poor little man, even without knowledge of all the details, I could tell he’d had a hard and painful life. I could imagine pretty much everyone at his size had. They were so vulnerable, after all. Looking at his bandaged leg, I was reminded that despite all his boisterousness and snapping, he was actually quite a fragile little being. It was easy to forget sometimes. He put so much effort into tricking you into thinking the opposite, after all.

I knew he was utterly wiped. Especially after all the melodrama in the bath. He deserved to sleep peacefully, knowing no one would ever dream of hurting him again. Not on my watch. As long as he’d let me, I’d be more than happy to do everything in my power to give him that peace of mind.

A pang of guilt rushed through me as a biting, critical thought burned through my cortex, searing the edges of my amygdala (did I remember Psych 101 well enough to get that right?). Despite my genuine desire to keep him safe, I’d hand-delivered him to hell on earth, myself. He couldn’t recall the details yet, but I believed him when he said they’d been cruel. I felt the burning sensation cut through my chest. Would I ever be able to make up for what I’d done? Or would he want nothing to do with me the second he could stand on his own two feet? Could I even give him what he needed to be happy if he could stomach the idea of staying with me?

Just then, he twitched in his sleep. It was nothing more than a microscopic little clenching of his fist and twitch of his brow as he pursed his tiny lips, still, I felt my heart skip a beat. Enough agonizing over the future, all I could do right now was relish in this precious moment. He was with me for now, and maybe that was enough. Not only that, but he was safe, comfortable and relaxed. That’s all I wanted for him.

Staring down at his little form, practically sinking into the surface of the mattress, I felt a tingling sensation run the length of my spine. Would this ever get old? I couldn’t imagine it would. The only thing that could possibly make this better is if it was my hand that held his limp little body aloft as I felt him twitch against the surface of my palm. Blood rushed to my cheeks just thinking about what a precious gift it was to get to hold him while he slept. I didn’t think I’d ever forget how that felt, even if I wanted to (not that I ever would). And he’d looked me directly in the eyes and requested it from me! He saw me, at least for that one moment, as a safe place to rest his head. All I wanted was to be deserving of that trust. I was painfully aware I had a long road ahead of me for that.

I shook my head, banishing the guilt again. Present moment, Nat. I reached for my phone and flipped on the camera. If I wanted to stay focused on the gift of this precious instant, I supposed it could last a lot longer if I captured it in a photo.

Making sure the flash and shutter sound were off, I aimed the camera at his little sleeping form, delighted that all of him fit easily in the frame, and took the picture. There, now when you’re pissing me off I can remember that sometimes you’re actually pretty cute. Granted, it’s only when you’re unconscious, but, we’ve gotta start somewhere don’t we? I couldn’t help but smirk. He was such a handful, this angry little spitfire, but he was also the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Who else was gonna drag me kicking and screaming through my last semester, and guilt me into cleaning to boot? Not to mention being the perfect pocket-sized, taste-tester for all my recipes. I knew he meant a thousand times more than all that, but I blushed to even think of those things.

I could stay here and stare at him adoringly for hours and not even feel the time go by, but he deserved to rest as long as he wished without me accidentally waking him. Poor thing, I imagined it’d be kinda terrifying to wake up with someone gigantic just looming directly overhead. I needed to give him his space.

Reluctant to let go, I sighed, settling on the edge of my bed, as close to his little sleeping form as I could get, resting my head at the foot of the mattress, so my gaze lined up directly with where he lay. If he needed anything I’d be close at hand. Sweet dreams, Alexander, I’ll be right here when you wake.

Much more quickly than I expected, I found my eyelids getting impossibly heavy as my breathing lagged and sleep claimed my mind and body. I’d forgotten how little rest I’d had today. It felt good to drift off into oblivion, knowing that tiny life, only an arm’s length away, was safe and sound.

******

My sleep was blissful and dreamless for a while, my body sinking into the surface of the mattress... My mattress. I desperately needed the rest, it was evident by how quickly I’d fallen asleep in the first place. I was warm, safe, and the aching pain in my joints faded with my consciousness. My body craved a moment to recover, that much was clear, and it was a delight to be able to give myself that gift.

But, as my breathing slowed to a deep, dull cascade, and my muscles melted into the fabric, releasing every fiber of tension into the forces of gravity, the ghost of an image began to form in my mind’s eye.

It was hazy at first, like the tendrils of silvery smoke in the split second after a flame has been extinguished, flashing in and out of sight as it dissolves into an inky black void.

I saw something electric blue, hurtling toward me, massive, forceful, frightening. Its surface undulating with strange lines and shadows. I wanted to run, to yell and fight, but I was rooted to the spot, unable to move a muscle. Another appeared, and another and another. As if emerging from the very pitch blackness of my subconscious. They were wrinkled, undulating, living.

My head spun and a bad taste rose in my throat like bile, but stinging, my lips and tongue abuzz with the sensation, as one of those tendrils slammed into my chest, pinning me like some prized butterfly in a case, unable to escape the possessive gaze of all who looked upon me. These blue things were fingers. Fingers attached to a human hand. This was not a fantastical nightmare, but a memory.

Another one, thick, strong, in no way holding back its immense strength against my fragile frame, pressed into the soft flesh of my throat, tipping my head upwards, while others suspended the motion of my wrists and ankles. Truly like a bug on display, all pinioned and poised. In the distance, my ringing ears could make out voices, rumbling with the thunder of a burgeoning storm: one male, one female, like boisterous claps of thunder, terrifyingly loud yet impossible to discern, at least not in this fever dream of a memory. I watched in helpless horror as something cold, and biting slid into my arm. A needle as thick around as my littlest finger, the liquid burning as it entered my veins.

Don’t fall asleep. Just don’t fall asleep. You must fight. You can’t let them win. The wind rushed from my lungs as I was lifted again, head lolling as the drugs began to take hold. No wonder I’d struggled to remember this… I’d been utterly intoxicated! If they wanted a more pliable plaything, they certainly had one now, these monsters. They were faceless, nameless entities of evil who delighted in nothing more than torturing me simply because they had the power to do so. I felt an insatiable urge to cry and scream all at once.

But as I was picked up against my will, in my final moments of lucidity, I’d managed to throw my gaze down far below. Just what had I seen there? I knew it was important by the way I could feel my heart thundering away at the mere thought.

Yet, as I anticipated the most pivotal moment in my waking nightmare, the image was growing hazy, the smoke of this ephemeral ghost-like memory was starting to burn itself out.

No! No, not now! Please not now. I must remember…

I willed the images back from the void of my exhausted brain. Black uniform lines on white, as crisp and pristine as a raven’s feather on new fallen snow, began to materialize. The type font, militant in its precision, seemed to repeat endlessly in an upside down sea of useless text. I’d been well on the way to passing out by this point. It was entirely possible the anesthesia had erased these final moments from my mind.

I refused to accept that as a possibility. Think, Alexander! The rumbling, gruff and ever irritated voice of my sometimes caretaker, sometimes torturer entered my mind, as I recalled the many times he berated me for misquoting a Latin verse of Homer by a single mis-conjugated verb, “Make use of that little engine between your ears… think! It’s the one thing I shouldn’t be forced to do for you!”

I strained to turn the infinite lines of ink, which seemed to be shrinking more and more as I was pulled farther and farther away, into meaning. And that’s when, as if bending to my force of will… I remembered precisely what I’d managed to read in a panic before succumbing to their methods to pacify me.

I shot up, with a cry, body soaked in a cold sweat. All the pain that had faded with sleep now coursed through my spinal cord, lighting up my neurons as I couldn’t help but wince. Light tortured my eyes for a moment, before I was able to take in the world around me. I was still in my bed, still on Natalie’s dresser, and still safe from the nightmare I’d just relived. My chest was heaving as my fists clutched the sheets and I struggled to breathe. Yet, right in front of me, something was quite different.

Instead of the barren, unmade bed with its sea of tossed sheets, a woman, a mess of curls obscuring part of her face, occupied my view, fast asleep and heedless of my tortured dreams and frightened waking. That woman, who’s fingertips had become more familiar with my body than any other set of human hands, lay on the very edge of her bed, her head resting at the foot of the mattress. She’d arranged herself in a rather unorthodox way… Why? Her positioning seemed neither comfortable nor practical. Had she been so exhausted she just passed out like that? I supposed I wasn’t in a position to judge, I’d essentially done the same thing.

I admit, it was a bit of a blow to my pride that even my anguished cry as I woke from a bad dream was too tiny and unremarkable to stir the human before me. She was fast asleep as I looked on, my blood thrumming though my veins and pounding in my head as my breath came in broken hitches. She was the picture of perfect stillness while my body trembled with anticipation. I’d remembered! Finally, I knew, in excruciating detail, what they’d done to me.

I watched her with hawklike precision, her breath heavy like a rolling, lazy tide. I leaned forward, speaking with a sharp whisper, “Hey! Natalie…” the tide rolled in and out, unburdened by me. I felt a tightening in my chest as I tried again, “Natalie! Wake up!” Nothing. Dammit, really?? I cupped my hands and gave a shout across the vast cavern of space that in reality was only maybe three or four feet across, “NATALIE!!” She didn’t even flinch, her breathing deep and unencumbered.

Fired up now, and without a moment’s hesitation, I leaned over the bedside and clutched a scrap of brown packing paper from the floor below. It came as no surprise that it lay precisely where it had fallen: of course, she couldn’t be at all bothered to put anything away in a neat or orderly manner. Her lack of cleanliness now came to my aide, as I ripped off a piece, and crumpled it into a ball only a bit larger than my fist. I took aim and fired. It fell short.

Damn my little frame!

My face flushed hot with anger as I fashioned another projectile and tried again. This one hit its mark, glancing off her forearm, which cradled her head. My celebration was short lived, however, as I watched her twitch slightly and then nestle further into the crook of her arm, mumbling slightly.

Wake up already, you giant indolent fool! I’m at the absolute limit of my patience!

In a flurry of motion, I made several more projectiles and began lobbing them as hard as I could. The first glanced her cheek, the next nestled in her hair, but the third smacked her right between the eyes.

Bullseye!

She woke with a groan and flailing of limbs. This sudden movement would have been frightening had I been within striking range, but seeing as I was at quite a safe distance, her reaction was rather amusing.

“What the fuck?!” She batted at the attack, opening her eyes as she wrinkled her nose, as though it had made her itch. The one paper ball that had tangled in her hair stayed trapped amongst her dark tendrils, even as she began to sit up, “Alexander! What the fuck are you doing??”

I replied with another volley of paper, narrowly missing her eye by perhaps a quarter inch. She gasped, startled, as her spine straightened and she sat upright on the corner of the bed. She was much taller than my line of sight again, her head high enough that I had to crane my neck to look at her, but, I supposed, that was the norm. Her forearms flew up to protect her face, as I threw what ammunition I had left, she cried out in a frustrated protest “Stop it! Stop! You have a shockingly strong throw for someone your size. You’re gonna stab me in the eye with one of those!” I refused, taking out all my anger about the vet, about being too little for her to even hear, and for not being there when I needed her, as I prepared to throw my final round. I twisted over my shoulder wrenching my wrist far back behind, prepping my elbow for a strong follow-through, as her hands were raised in frantic protest.

************

“Alexander! Stop that! I’m up now!” What the hell, little man?? I thought we’d made good progress, yet here he was hurling things at me in a tiny fit of rage!

He wrenched back to throw it, muscles twitching, “Alexander!! Don’t you dare! Do not throw that at me!” We were both still as statues, frozen in time, staring each other down, “…I mean it! What’s gotten into you?? Put it down.”

He didn’t budge.

“Seriously, you little bastard, what the fuck happened to you between the time I left and came back? You were sleeping so soundly when I came in. You were goddamn adorable and I thought ‘Awww, he’s actually pretty sweet’… and then it’s like you went all Mr. Hyde on me on a dime… Ah! I see your arm twitching. Don’t! Don’t do it! Why are you so mad? What happened to that pretty little smile, huh?”

That was very much the wrong thing to say apparently, because a ball of packing paper collided directly with my cornea less than half a second later. Ouch. But also? Good aim.

I sucked in a deep breath to calm myself before gingerly pushing off of the corner of the bed and kneeling in the carpet, closing the gap between the angry little man and I by about half the distance, while also getting us closer to eye level, “Okay…. I don’t understand what just happened, but clearly we’re not communicating in the best way possible and you seem upset. I’m sorry for that. What can I do, Alexander? How can I fix this? It may surprise you, because of how often it happens, but I’m really not trying to piss you off, I swear.”

He avoided my eyes, as I blinked mine rapidly, tears falling down my cheek as my eye recovered from the blow. He sat there with his arms crossed over his chest, “Hey, please tell me what’s going on in your head. I obviously did something wrong to get the surface of my eye scratched. I’m sorry if I offended you. Are you mad because I fell asleep? Did you need me and I wasn’t there? I’m so, so sorry. God, and all this time I still haven’t given you your pain meds. I’m sorry, Alexander, you must be miserable and I’m fucking it all up. I’m still kinda getting used to this whole ‘learning to be responsible for another life’ thing…”

As I stumbled over my words, I noticed his shoulders soften, as his stiffened spine relaxed a little, and he let out a sigh before finally tipping his chin to meet my eyes. That crystalline blue gaze, usually sharp enough to cut like a knife, was just a tiny fraction softer, more forgiving, “I am in a dizzying amount of pain, I’m starving, and as you could see from my recent unconsciousness, I am desperate for sleep. Perhaps, because of these contributing factors, I was responding a bit more strongly than I should have.” Wow. That was the closest to a kind of apology that I’d ever gotten from him! Well, besides those little flowers. He continued, “But I…. I wanted to… I was hoping that… Natalie, I remembered what they did to me.”

It felt like a bomb went off in the foot and a half space between us. Just like that, my heart was in my throat. I could feel the throb of my agitated pulse in my neck, pounding in nervous waves. What had they done? I was terrified, but I had to know, “Oh my god! Alexander! That’s… that’s huge! Why didn’t you tell me sooner??” The dead pan stare I received was all the reminder I needed, “Oh… right… well, I’m ready to listen, now, I promise. But do you want food and medication first? What do you need most right now?”

*******

She gingerly placed her right hand on the surface of the dresser, a pointer finger absentmindedly floating up to caress the top of my left foot and ankle, which dangled off the side of the bed. This was as close as she’d dared to get and I felt myself instinctually jump when her skin pressed into mine. Normally, I would have pulled away, frustrated by the contact, but just now, I got the sense that she needed to touch me, almost as a way to soothe herself. She clearly felt badly for having fallen asleep and for upsetting me. I could see she was really trying to apologize and do better. That counted for something. Maybe this human was capable of improving.

“Yes, something to eat and some pain relief would be very welcome right now. Thank you, Natalie.” As I spoke, I caught her eyes. Her lips pressed together into a line as her brow furrowed compassionately, and she nodded.

“I bet the food is pretty cold now. Give me a second to heat it up and prep your meds, okay?” She very softly patted my ankle as she pulled her hand away and stood. It was my turn to nod, as she reached across the dresser for something covered by a paper napkin sitting on my desk. I hadn’t even noticed it was there before.

I didn’t like being left alone right then. The second she disappeared behind the door, images of my torture came flooding in. I saw blood, scalpels, fingers, so many prodding fingers, my nerves ablaze with pain, their grotesque faces twisted into saccharine smiles as they teased me. It sent a shiver down my spine.

I laid back, resting my head on the pillow, trying to keep my heartbeat steady and my mind clear. I wish I’d asked her to take me with her. The discomfort of being held and carried paled in comparison to the anxiety that was assaulting my senses now.

My forehead became damp with a cold sweat, blood thundering in my ears, as I clutched crimson letters and fabric in a fist, applying pressure to my fluttering chest, as my stomach churned. I couldn’t help this psychophysical response to the painful memories that were battering my brain. It was as though I was reliving it, despite being safe from harm. It was embarrassing, to say the least, not having control over my own nervous system.

Air was suddenly difficult to come by, as my chest heaved and found no real relief. I kept seeing those indistinct blue devices of torture, squeezing my face, yanking my hurt leg, pinching my bruised ribs. These very small parts of the human body that each were enough to subdue me. I trembled, face growing redder as air continued to evade me.

Just then she returned, saying something about the meal. I wasn’t exactly listening. But the moment she saw me, half collapsed on the bed, clutching my chest, she put down what she was carrying and rushed to my side.

*******

“Woah, what’s wrong? Hey, hey, Alexander? You having a hard time catching your breath? Okay, I think you’re having a panic attack. That’s okay, we can get through it. These things are a pain in the ass but you’re way too chaotic yourself to be bested by one of these fuckers…” I spoke softly, and couldn’t help but notice the corner of his mouth turning upwards into a hint of that crooked smile, “Can you sit up? Okay good. Is it okay if I get nearer? Can I touch you?” His brow furrowed as he winced from pain while sitting upright, but he still managed to nod in the affirmative and flash his eyes up at me. Those pretty blue eyes. Even in a crisis they managed to burn an impressive shade. As he adjusted himself, I laid my right palm beside him, my pointer and middle finger very gently stroking his back, while my thumb smoothed his hair away from his eyes, before resting in his lap. He propped his left hand on the knuckle and squeezed, blinking rapidly. He needed help regaining control, “Hey, look at me, let’s try to breathe nice and slowly in and out. Follow my lead, okay?” He did so, still gripping onto my thumb as tightly as he could, “I’m so sorry they hurt you. They will pay for what they’ve done. I know you’ll make that happen. But they’re not here and they can’t get to you right now. It’s just you and me. And I don’t ever want to hurt you. I may annoy the ever living hell out of you, but I’d never want to harm you.” He shook his head slightly as he hugged my thumb against his chest. He was finally getting air into his lungs and I could feel his little hummingbird heart slow to a more manageable rhythm. I ran my pointer finger along the length of his spine, delighted he was allowing me to physically comfort him at all.

“That was… I… I apologize for, whatever that was. It was highly illogical to respond that way—“

“—Uh-uh. Nope. We’re not doing that. No beating yourself up today. You ever heard of complex PTSD? You had a traumatizing experience. Your body and brain needs to process that. There will be no self-shaming here today. Thank you. Maybe try tomorrow.” I started to pull my fingers away to fetch the newly warmed food from his tray, but a pair of tiny, lithe hands pulling on the tip of my thumb stopped me in my tracks.

“Thank you… I…” He looked up at me in a manner I’d only ever seen once before, when he was truly vulnerable and scared, clinging to my pinky finger in the waiting room of the clinic. He sucked in a breath as if he was about to say something and then thought better of it. He cast his gaze down to the hoodie, and as he pinched the fabric between his little finger and thumb, he chose these words instead, “This was a thoughtful purchase.” He didn’t look back up at me. Poor Alexander, it seemed he’d hit his limit of being vulnerable today. But I’d take what I could get.

When I placed the tray of perfectly proportional dinnerware before him, I couldn’t help but notice a flush of pink to his cheeks, as he looked on, immediately clutching the knife and fork that didn’t, for once in his life, tower over him.

*********

I couldn’t help from swallowing hard upon seeing what she sat down on the bed beside me. A fork, knife, spoon, a dinner plate, a cup for water, a mug with steam curling into the cooler air, all perfectly sized for my hands. I felt a wave of emotion creep up and threaten to spill over, but I managed to keep myself grounded by inspecting the individual tines on the fork. It looked just like its human counterpart. How marvelous!

Her eyes were poring over me, delighted by my life carrying on in miniature before her. How stereotypically human of her. I was about to request that she not loom so hard, when I stopped short. What if this wasn’t about a human cooing over someone little? What if it was more like the delight of a person who’s given a gift relishing in the joy of the receiver? Being the recipient of gifts was not something I was really at all familiar with. Yet, an instinct told me she wasn’t trying to insult me, in this instance. I’d choose to give her the benefit of the doubt.

I seemed to be in a giving vein today, or maybe that was just aftershock from her having to see me shaking like a pathetic wet puppy. It was not my intention to ever let her see me like that again.

However, my body could no longer withstand abuse and the sharp pang of hunger that ripped through me reminded me of the task at hand.

Evidently, we were both quite hungry, because we ate in relative silence. She paused once to point at the steaming mug, with the butt of her knife, to say, “I mixed your medication with herbal tea. It might taste awful, though, just FYI. I put a drop of honey in, hoping that would help, but let me know how I can make it better.” I don’t know why, but that simple act of thoughtfulness touched me. It showed how she’d considered, beforehand, what my experience might be like and tried to fix it. She was stupid, she was loud, she was infuriating and sometimes altogether overwhelming, but there was no denying she had a kind heart.

The flush of color to my cheeks told me it was time to quickly switch to another train of thought. I considered the objects in my hands, once again, to calm me down. I’d never actually gotten to use a knife and fork before, but it was important that I do my best to mask my ignorance. After all, I’d spent countless hours of my meager existence watching humans chow down right in front of me while I waited for scraps. I was more than capable of learning through observation. However, it was an entirely new experience to have the actual sensation of wielding them myself, by delicately slicing a mouthful of food before piercing it with the fork (tines always turned down of course, I may have been born in America, but I’d be damned if I conducted myself like one at the table… Natalie seemed to have no such druthers as she used her fork more like a shovel than anything else. I tried not to watch).

When the meal was done, which, it must be noted, was flavorful and extremely satisfying, I plucked up the mug and imitated what I’d always seen humans do: I wrapped my hand inside the handle, cupping it tightly with both hands to savor its warmth. To human ears, I knew this would sound ridiculous, but I had not anticipated the sheer thrill of being able to just effortlessly pick objects up. I wondered if lifting this mug up from its surface with such little muscular effort was akin to how she felt lifting me into the air. It was so easy. If I wanted a drink, I could pluck the glass of water from where it sat with one hand and lift it with hardly any effort. No strain, no overwhelmingly large utensils and portions. No constant reminders of my littleness to fluster and embarrass me. For the first time in my life, I found total ease, grace, and peace in an activity that had, historically, haunted me. This ‘breaking of bread’ was something humans actually seemed to enjoy, whereas I had always grimaced and done what was necessary to sustain life as quickly as possible, hopefully avoiding too much ogling from the giant pairs of eyes around me.

Now I found myself clutching a white, ceramic mug, propped up against the headboard of my bed. With a low perspective and a squint of the eyes, I was indistinguishable from a man indulging in a nice cup of tea after a long nine to five shift. Why did that simple idea make my heart beat faster? For the first time in my life, there were things around me that accommodated me.

“Have you tasted it yet? How bad is it?” Natalie’s voice, always just a notch or two too loud, even though I was fairly certain she put effort into lowering it for me, tore me from my thoughts as I gazed up at her and shook my head, raising the mug to my lips.

Dear god. It tasted awful. I struggled not to spit it back in the cup.

“That bad, huh?” She winced, brows furrowing as she propped her head in her hands, and looked down at me. I shook my head with a grimace, flashing her a thumb’s up as if to say ‘no no, it’s great’. She laughed hard enough that she snorted, which made her laugh even harder. I rolled my eyes at how worked up she became and downed the rest of the concoction in one go, trembling from disgust as the taste medicine coated my taste buds.

“Woah! Glutton for punishment, are we? You’re braver than me, I’m such a weenie when it comes to taking meds.” She raised her brows, as I put the mug down. I shrugged, gingerly wiping the corners of my mouth. As I looked back up, I saw she was holding the glass of water, looking absolutely tiny pinched between her finger and thumb, before me. I softened a bit more. She was being awfully kind. Did I actually feel a bit guilty for getting so worked up at her earlier? I took the water from her and nodded in thanks. What was this strange feeling seeming to generate from the pit of my stomach and rise to my heart? Maybe the medicine was kicking in?

***************

He drank like a horse. Well… If a horse could be satiated with nothing more than a few drops of water. He drained the glass quickly, clearly desperate to wash down the bad taste. I hope it’d at least ease his pain. I felt so badly that I hadn’t taken good care of him. He’d been languishing in pain just after a major surgery and that was entirely my fault. Everything had been so chaotic in the last few hours it’d been hard to keep track of time. With a wince, he leaned over his right side and set the tiny glass down, which was clutched in his left. That seemed funny to me, why wouldn’t he just pass it off with his right? Was he left handed? I smirked, overcome with how adorable that was. In any case, I had to actively restrain myself from offering to pluck it from his tiny grasp and put it down for him, so he didn’t push himself too much.

“Natalie??” He waved his hand dramatically to grab my attention. I shook my head and cast my eyes to my lap (I’d pulled my desk chair up to the vanity to eat). Face flushed hot, I felt guilty for staring… again.

“S-sorry… Okay, so, you’ve been happily fed and medicated… You have my full attention Alexander, tell me what happened to you back there.”

He raised his brows expectantly, waiting for… Well, I didn’t know what. He crossed his arms, disapprovingly, when I didn’t get it. For someone so little, he could be so condescending sometimes!

I was totally confused, “W-what?”

“You should get something to take notes. What’re they teaching you in that law school anyhow??” He smiled for just a moment at his own joke, but it was enough to melt my heart.

Little Nightmare, I’ll be the butt of all your jokes as long as I get to see you happy.

I spun the chair and fished for a notebook and pen from beneath my pile of student trash and returned to his side. I clicked the pen and waited eagerly.

He pushed himself up against the headboard, resting his right hand in his lap, his left gripping the sheets, before peering up at me, those two brilliant irises hardened and haunted by a memory. The air suddenly felt heavy. I could feel the nervous pounding of my heart inside my chest.

When he spoke, it was with a definitive conviction that was impossible to dismiss, “I have substantial evidence that they’re in violation of federal law, Natalie. We have a case. An open and shut one, at that, from my perspective. They violated federal malpractice statutes 73A and B from the American Animal Hospital Association. There was an investigation less than a year ago, they were court ordered to make that information publicly available and clearly refused!” He looked up at me wide eyed and passionate. He may as well have spoken a foreign language for all I understood.

“R-right.” I clicked my pen, looking askance and trying to pretend I was following what that even meant. But of course, nothing got past his shrewd little gaze and he caught on immediately.

“You don’t even know what those statues are, do you?” Way to call me out! My face flushed. His eyes bored into mine, waiting impatiently for a confirmation of what he already knew to be true. I bit my lip and shrugged as his shoulders slumped and he sighed, rather dramatically, while pinching the bridge of his nose, “I hope you have plenty of paper in that notebook, because it looks like we’ll have to start from the very beginning.”

I felt embarrassed that I didn’t already know what he was going on about, but I looked forward to learning from the most brilliant, tiny mind in the world. I just hoped he had the patience to educate me, “Okay, Alexander. Teach me. Tell me everything that happened to you.”

I watched those brilliant little eyes light up at the invitation to share. Of course he was excited, someone was willing to listen to what he had to say! I may not know everything you want me to right away, but I hope you know I’m on your side, Alexander.

With a another click of my pen and a nod from me, he stood a little straighter. He licked his lips, swept his bangs from his eyes, sucked fresh air into his lungs and… began.

My only hope, as I pricked my ears to listen to his story, was that I could be all he needed me to be in order to fight back. After everything I was sure I was about to discover he’d gone through, this brilliant, relentless, little fighter before me deserved to win. I knew I’d do everything in my power to help make that happen and so, I prepared to write down his every word, feeling both eager and terrified to discover just what sort of living hell unfolded from behind that swinging metal door.

#Alexander is a great alarm clock #And he might have a future in baseball?#How long do you think it took her to plate that?#giant/tiny #g/t #g/t community #g/t writing #g/t related #size difference #g/t angst #g/t fluff #a fraction of justice #oc:alexander #oc:natalie

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

Text

A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #26)

It's a New Year! Hope you are enjoying 2023 so far!

Chapter #26. Natalie and Alexander spend some much needed time to rest up and relax.

Previous: Chapter #25

Next: Chapter #27

Word Count: 7,231 Read Time: Approx. 56 mins

CW: adult language, angst

Tag list: @gatlily @grbene @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007, @honey-olive, @bittykimmy13 ,@aceouttatime, @imvenusasaboy, @liminaldaze, @windshield-patent, @joxter-coded, @rosella35, @narrans, @rubeau-art, @littlescaryinternetguy, @jae-from-discord, @kitn-underfoot, @secretly-small @writing-forever, @iinogongju, @tales-of-aestus, @itsgothgirlthyme, @make-me-giant, @reborrowing, @whatthisfemsheplikes

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #26: Birds of a Feather

[Natalie’s POV]

I kept waiting for him to suddenly sit up or open one eye and with a scowl declare “That’s enough of that!” before requesting to be set down. Surely this was too good to be true. And yet, before my very eyes, he fell asleep, wrapped around my thumb, the tiny puffs of air from his nose and mouth getting slower and more rhythmic with each exhale. His right arm, which was clutching the top of my thumb, relaxed its grip and slid a few millimeters as the limb went slack.

His cheek was just slightly tinted with a flush of rosy pink, his lips barely parted, and as I watched a chest no bigger than the pad of my thumb rise and fall, I couldn’t help but burst into a smile. Plastered over that chest was a sparkling, ridiculous unicorn, surrounded by inky swirls of pink and blue and yellow. Poor thing. He’d suffered in that sad excuse for an outfit for far too long. My smile grew and I couldn’t help but chuckle when I remembered the look of pure loathing on his little face when I’d held it out before him for the first time. He’d flushed a bright shade of red the second he saw himself in the mirror, looking just completely adorable, a fact I’m sure he hated with every tiny fiber of his being.

As I continued to amuse myself looking at the clunky, cheap factory stitching on the hem of the shirt which was far too large for his proportions, I noticed with a pang, a rusty reddish-brown stain in the fabric, just about the perfect size for a human fingerprint. The color was undeniable: dried blood. My heart skipped. Please let that be the result of him defending himself and breaking some skin. I could easily imagine this tiny little man, only about as tall as my outstretched hand, just stabbing the shit out of grabby vet techs with the deadly end of a scalpel, almost too big for him to lift. In any case, the once fun, stupid, little garment was now a haunting reminder of the abuse he’d endured. I’d go get him something respectable the second the opportunity presented itself.

I could just picture his eyes lighting up when I spoiled him with new things: clothes, shoes, utensils, furniture, all perfectly sized just for him. Well, there was a limit to how far my wallet could stretch, especially right now, but I’d do everything I could. Maybe he’d break into that lovely little smile of his, eyes shimmering. Maybe he’d grip onto a finger or thumb and squeeze as tightly as he could. If I was really lucky, I might even get an earnest, heartfelt thank you. Little nightmare, you know you’ve got me wrapped around your finger, don’t you?

I bit my lip. How lucky was I to get to be in this little man’s life? Gratitude cascaded over me like a wave, warm and all encompassing. He was unlike anyone I’d ever known. Headstrong didn’t even begin to describe him. He had every reason to be utterly terrified of the awful cards he’d been dealt in life, and yet, deal after deal, hand after hand, he refused to go down without a fight. After hearing just a snippet of what they did to him at the vet, I knew I’d never last a day in his shoes. He was the bravest person I’d ever met.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what he’d been through, and yet he hadn’t let any of it beat him into submission. Thank you, for letting me be a part of your journey, Alexander.

Whether I held him, marveling at the absolutely tiny signs of life of this miniature person, for hours or mere minutes was anyone’s guess. The time flew by in what felt like seconds. My room had gone from dim to dark, the lamplight outside our only illumination and yet its warm glow outlined him perfectly, casting amber rays on his hair, making it seem to ignite like fire as he softly, slowly stirred awake.

I looked on, part of me heartbroken that the time for holding him closely and relishing in every little sleepy twitch and sigh had come to an end, while the other part delighted in watching him stir, as his warm little body wriggled back to life. His hands squeezed my thumb while he stretched his spine and turned his head to face me. His hair was a mess, he looked so adorably sleepy and disoriented that I couldn’t help but beam.

***********

“You slept pretty well, huh?” Her voice surrounded me, soft, warm and undeniable. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, pushing my bangs from my face, no doubt giving myself the appearance of a rattled cockatiel, with a messy crown sticking straight up off of my head. I rolled over onto my back, opening my eyes.

For a split second, I panicked from instinct, finding myself in a human hand. This was a place I tended to dislike being anywhere near about ninety- nine percent of the time. Columns of skin and jointed bone rose past my head and curled slightly into the infinite darkness of the room. Warmth, soft flesh and a pulse radiating like a deep, earthly vibration around me, thrummed with signs of gigantic life, as I peered high above where I lay and landed on two golden brown orbs, lit by a street light through blinds. There was nothing to be afraid of. It was only her. I was safe here.

My heart thudded in my chest for a moment when I realized this was the first time since I’d turned my back on the only home I’d ever known, that I’d awoken, not in a panic, blood pounding in my skull from primal fear or red hot anger, but sweetly, gently, with warmth all around me. I’d expected to regret my decision to let her hold me as I slept. I thought she would swoop down upon me the moment I’d regained consciousness only to pinch my cheeks between her fingers or fuss over me in some similarly condescending way. But instead, she held very still, and as my dry, sleep ridden eyes locked with hers, I saw them sparkle with delight as they flitted from my gaze to just above the crown of my head.

My hair.

I raised an eyebrow, “What? Are you jealous of my fashion forward hair style? Just you wait, everyone is going to be rocking this come spring!” I ran my hand through my untamed mop, as she beamed and shook her head. I shrugged my shoulders when my fingers got caught in the tangled mess instead of pulling through. I shuffled into an upright position, leaning my hands behind me, sinking my palms into her soft skin. She pulled me closer before her face. She was all I could see now, she took up my entire field of vision.

“Good morning, sleepy head. We should get you something warm to eat, and it’s high time to take some meds while we’re at it.” Ah, of course. She was my nurse now. I wasn’t sure how to feel about that, but I was grateful for the suggestion of food. On one hand, I deeply resented needing any help at all. It made my flesh crawl. But at the same time, if anyone was to be charged with looking after me in this embarrassingly needy time, I’d want it to be her. She continued to speak, as her hand (and subsequently, me) began to lower to the surface of the bed. Two fingers from her free hand began approaching my upper body, “Let’s get you comfortable and I’ll come right back with the food…”

She eased my right elbow out of the way and slid her finger beneath my arm, before I protested, “Hold on! I’ll accompany you.”

“You should take it easy, I’m sure the shock has worn off and until I give you medicine for the pain, it’s going to start to hurt. You don’t want me carting you around when that happens!”

I crossed my arms over my chest, undeterred, “I insist! Take me with you. I’m still owed an elaboration on this whole me being high thing. You’d hoped I’d forgotten, hadn't you?” She rolled her eyes and shook her head, “You had! Well, you clearly lost that bet.”

Still, she waffled, “You sure you don’t want to relax? I don’t want to accidentally hurt you…”

“You won’t hurt me, I’ll make sure of it. C’mon, pick me up and let’s go. Like you said, we’ve no time to waste with idling!” She did as she was told, as she gingerly plucked me up and moved me back to the center of her hand, before rising from the bed and heading for the door.

“You ever gonna stop sounding like a tiny mafia boss? Why are you so demanding?” She flipped on the hallway light which burned my more sensitive eyes for just a moment. I tried not to flinch and held my own, even as each of her strides ricocheted through my whole body as I bounced up and down ever so slightly with every giant footfall.

“Ah, ah! Don’t avoid the subject! I demand satisfaction! What did I do while under the influence of anesthesia that was so damn hilarious?”

************

In the time it took me to cross from my bedroom to the kitchen, and set him down on a folded tea towel inside my ceramic spoon rest, placed at a safe distance from, well, anything potentially threatening to a tiny life, I’d managed to reveal to him the story of a blitzed out little man and his mistakes regarding fictional elves, impromptu vomiting sessions and teary, sweet cuddles.

Now, he sat, incredulously, arguing with me as I chopped cilantro, “Who do you take me for, Ms. Marquez?? This entire thing sounds fabricated!”

“Cabrón, I’m telling the truth! Goddamn, just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

“You really expect me to believe that I, me, Alexander, was cerebrally compromised enough to genuinely believe you were Arwen Evenstar?”

“Sweetheart, you looked up at me with the biggest nerd boy goo goo eyes I’ve ever seen in my entire life! You were transcendent. I believe I recall the phrase ‘magnificent creature’ being used. ‘Divinity itself shines brightly upon you’ was thrown around… you know completely normal things friends say to each other…”

He was tomato red. This was way too easy. Poor little man. I shouldn’t torture him too much…

“You were very cute. You didn’t know up from down. I just wish I’d gotten it on video! Now, c’mon, make yourself useful and fashion a you-sized spoon out of this little scrap of tin foil, while I finish this up.” He was all too happy to distract himself with a task and avoid further discussion on the topic at hand. Suddenly, bending aluminum into a makeshift utensil was the most mentally gripping thing he could possibly imagine.

After a few minutes of silence, I guess when he realized I was having mercy on him and not saying anything else, he cleared his throat and piped up, “What is it you’re making again?”

“It’s a caldo. It’s like a stew. My mom always used to make it for me when I was sick as a kid. You’ll like it; it’s warm and filling. You know, now that I think about it, you’re kinda the perfect practice taste tester for me. It takes very little to make a meal for you. I can try a bunch of different things and it won’t cost me much at all in ingredients!”

“Har har, very funny.” He deadpanned as he waved his new little metallic creation in the air, as if to signal he was ready to eat.

I took the pot off the stove, before resting my chin on the counter, to get more level with him, “Oh hush! I didn’t mean it as an insult. It’s a genuine perk! Now, where do you want to eat? Here or at the table or back in the bedroom?”

“The table suits me just fine.”

“Coming right up, then!” I winked at him before rising to standing. I’d already decided that the closest I could get to a bowl for him would be my copper, quarter teaspoon measuring cup. It looked like a tiny cooking pot fit for his size. I dipped it in the broth, making sure to fish out a few kernels of corn, bits of potato, carrot and chicken so he could have the full experience. Finally, when I was done with that, I drew my hand near him, “Ready?”

He nodded, raising his arms at the elbow. Hooking my pointer finger around the right side of his ribcage, being very careful not to apply pressure since he’d told me about the bruising, I scooped him up, towel and all into my waiting hand. He held on to the tip of my finger as we started to move to steady himself. As I turned off the kitchen light with an elbow, I looked up to see the feathery creeping of dawn through my living room windows, “Hey, actually, I’ve got a better idea… go ahead and start eating, don’t go anywhere!” Gently, I sat him down on the surface of the table and put the tiny ‘pot’ of food before him.

“Can’t exactly run off even if I wanted to… but what’re you—?” his voice started to fade, as I was already heading down the hall to my bedroom.

I turned over my shoulder to reply, “Patience and decorum, little man!” before slipping out of sight.

“You can’t use my own line against me and do a better job with it! That’s against the rules!!!” I could barely hear his little voice as he tried his best to shout across the vast distance. I threw open my bedroom door and nabbed the things I needed, before turning on my heel and returning to the tiny man sitting patiently on my dining table.

******

She returned with a coat on and a blanket slung over her shoulder. Needless to say, I was a bit baffled but could somewhat guess her intention. Still, I stayed quiet as she offered to pick me up again, simply nodding and raising my arms as was becoming seemingly customary for us. She was very careful with my injured leg, always making sure to keep it supported and extended. Frustratingly, she’d been right about the shock wearing off. A dull ache in my knee joint was beginning to blossom. I tried to ignore it as she held me against her chest, the wall of fuzzy navy blue fabric extremely soft to the touch. She gathered my meal, which I hadn’t touched while waiting for her and she turned her steps towards the hallway. But this time, instead of heading all the way to her bedroom, we stopped short, before the back door in the kitchen.

I remember the first moment I’d laid eyes on this door. It had once been my hope for possible escape. If I hadn’t veered off-course in the pursuit of food in that fateful pantry, I’d have investigated it for any mouse holes or means of escape through the nearby vent. Now, in such a strange twist of fate that even my brilliant mind could never have anticipated, I was crossing its threshold, in the hands of the very human I’d been trying to run from.

She brought me outside to a cramped, creaky wooden patio, the air was crisp, and I found myself instinctively huddling against the fleece of her coat, her hand cupped around all of me, as she spoke, putting down my meal on the wide, flat railing, “Come here… I’ll make sure you stay nice and warm…” fingers were gradually replaced with a fuzzy cocoon of blanket, and I found myself held aloft, utterly surrounded in warm fabric, “Better?”

“Immensely.”

“Good, because just look at that view…” she turned me around and placed me on the surface of the rail, and I admit, what I saw took my breath away.

Her modest back porch gave way to a view of a rich and dense tree line, no doubt the self same ‘forest’ nestled in a golf course I’d found myself lost in before stumbling here. Between breaks in the great and ancient trunks of maple and pine, the brilliant pastel hues of a new day breaking ignited the purple and gray sky still littered with stars. Vibrant pinks and oranges, violets and streaks of blue seemed to light up the whole horizon, just for us to enjoy.

“Wow…”

“Better food for the eyes than just my same old boring four walls, huh?” She passed me the makeshift pot of steaming stew with my handmade spoon dipped inside. I took it, and somewhat clumsily managed to settle it in my lap, before dipping the spoon in with hungry anticipation. It certainly smelled delicious.

While I was busying myself with my meal, she had settled in, immediately to my left, leaning over the rail, her head propped up in her folded arms. The tip of her right elbow, so close I could lean my shoulder against it. When she felt the pinprick of my slight weight rest against her, she turned to face me.

I admit, my cardiovascular system underwent a shock, taking her in, her eyes blazing an incredible gold with flecks of green I’d hardly noticed before. She smiled at me, brilliant white teeth flashing beneath rosy, full lips. Even her warm, olive skin seemed golden and luminous, as if it was, actually, the true source of those beautiful colors in the sky. My heart was in my throat.

“What’re you looking at me like that for? Are you miserable out here? Is it too cold for you?” Her brow furrowed in genuine concern as she spoke, the realization that she may be torturing me out here dawning on her.

“N-no! No. I mean… I’m fine. I’m nice and warm, thank you…”

“Then what is it? You looked like you were in pain. You’re not pissed off for some weird nitpicky reason that I couldn’t possibly have anticipated beforehand are you?”

“No, nothing like that… I… I suppose I just realized this is the first time I’ve sat outside and watched the day begin in something like twenty years. I… I was a bit embarrassed to admit that to you, that’s all. Obviously, this is no big deal to you, you likely do it all the time. You have this vista right outside after all… a-anyway…”

“Alexander. You must not know me well at all…”

My heart sank, had I said something wrong? “W-what?”

“Do I come across like the kind of person that gets up before 12pm by choice, let alone wakes up at the ass crack of dawn just to stare at the sun?”

I avoided her eyes, but soon felt a fluffy mountain of navy blue material slowly press into my entire left side, as she elbowed me playfully.

“C’mon, Xandy, lighten up, I’m joking with ya!”

“If it weren’t for this actually quite flavorful food you prepared just for me, I’d have to firmly remind you of my position on that horrendous nickname.”

“Well it’s a good thing your mouth is currently too full to yell at me. Actually— fuck! That’s a great idea! I just need to feed you more often so you can’t get all pissy with me!”

I just rolled my eyes and shook my head, lifting another spoonful of the intoxicatingly warm and delicious broth to my lips.

We watched as the blazing orange star rose above the edge of the horizon and slowly ascended into the atmosphere. The rich, deciduous earth smelled freshly of rainwater and petrichor from the many days of thunderstorms. The twittering of birdsong rose in pitch and melody with the sun herself, as a crisp breeze teased the thinnest branches of the trees and the locks of my already disheveled hair. With delicate movements, she smoothed her own behind her ear, catching me peering up at her as she broke into a smile. I cleared my throat and stared straight ahead.

“You finished?” She shattered my suddenly scattered train of thought with such a concise question.

“Hm?” I hoped I sounded nonchalant.

“The caldo? You want some more?”

“If you’re offering, then sure. It really was quite good, thank you.” Fingers descended to pluck the bowl and spoon from my lap.

“Approval? From this little Princess and the pea? I never thought I’d see the day!”

My brow furrowed, “The what and the what?” I had no clue what she was referring to.

She chuckled softly. I was grateful she spared me a greater insult by changing the subject, “I’ll be right back, okay?” And with the squeal of worn out door hinges, I was left all alone on the railing of the patio, in the exact situation I thought I’d never wanted. And yet, the fabric surrounding me was wonderfully soft, the view utterly spectacular and for a very rare moment, I felt the constant tension melt from my shoulders as I breathed a grateful sigh of relief.

I was seated with my left leg tucked into me and I hugged my knee to my chest with my right arm and supported my weight behind me with my left. The only sound was the early morning twittering of birds and the rush and roar of cars on a nearby road. Perhaps the same one where I’d nearly been struck. I shuddered at the memory. So many moments of my journey could have ended far differently than they had. My close calls with death seemed too many to count at this point, and yet were far from uncommon for someone like me.

I glanced around, spotting the concrete floor seemingly miles below, directly behind me. Funny, how even in the most tranquil of moments, the glaring reminder that almost anything in this human-dominated world could kill me was never far from the forefront of my mind. By the door, was a dusty, sun faded welcome mat with gaudy flowers printed on it, whose vibrant colors were now bleached to some sort of ghostly shades of blue-green and pink. That didn’t quite seem like Natalie’s style, I wondered absentmindedly if it was a gift, or hand-me-down. Over my left shoulder, I spotted a ratty looking folding chair, and a small side table, both streaked with dirt and grime from sitting out of doors. Would it kill this woman to clean a little? Perched atop the table was an herbaceous plant that looked like it’d seen better days, its leaves yellowing and withering from a likely lack of watering. I’d just turned back to face the ignited sky, noting a bird feeder swinging from an iron stake just beyond the patio’s edge on the far left corner, when a bluejay, its vibrant hue striking a compelling contrast against the peaches and purples of the sky behind it, alighted on the rail beside me.

His plumage was brilliant, without a feather out of place. He was big. Well, at least to me, anyway. I figured he stood a bit taller than me, at my full height. He peered down with one glossy black eye at a time, his head seemingly always bobbing and moving. He was about ten to twelve inches from where I sat, but seemed to take an interest in me and hopped forward an inch or so, “Hello, there…” his white belly reflected the colors of the dawn as he came closer. As I looked him over, I couldn’t help but admire his beautiful crest of feathers, his stripe of stark black that looked like some sort of formal neckwear beneath his chin. Then, as he hopped even closer, now only five or six inches between us, something glinted in the morning sun that caught my eye. On his right claw was a small metal band, embossed with a series of letters and numbers. I clenched my jaw. You too, huh?

“You didn’t deserve whatever they did to you…” the bird just stared back with an infinite inky void in its uncomprehending eyes, “I envy your ignorance…” I chuckled to myself. Talking with a bird, am I? I see I’ve really lost it now.

Ah, what the hell? Why not? Maybe some small part of him understood me as we locked eyes, “Now fly, enjoy your freedom!” I waved my arms, to no avail. I didn’t come across as much of a threat… Figures. “Go on, shoo!” The sound of a distant, blaring car horn, startled him enough to take flight. The gust of wind generated from all those feathers whipped my bangs across my eyes, as my heart fluttered in the same rhythm as the beat of his wings when he became airborne.

His lithe, aerodynamic body twisted and turned in the air, landing gracefully on Natalie’s birdfeeder. Good, get a snack for the road. I wiped my hair from my eyes, as I watched the animal peck away at the seed and flap his wings to maintain his balance. I’m working on getting wings, myself. Maybe one day I can join you.

With the sharp squeal of rusty hinges, Natalie pushed open the door and I traded his silent company for her gregarious one. In the blink of an eye and a flutter of feathers, he was gone.

“Soup’s up! Chef special! Get it while it’s hot!” She entered beaming and playful, gently placing the fresh food in my lap. I craned my neck to meet her eyes as she crossed behind me and settled back against the rail, “How’d you do out here? See anything cool? Whitetail deer? Sasquatch?”

“Oh old Squatch? Yes, he’s actually a really pleasant individual once you get to know him.” I teased as I raised the sorry excuse for a spoon to my lips, only for her to gasp so unexpectedly, it made me jump and drop my utensil into the pot below.

“What the fuck happened? Have hell’s gates opened up? Did pigs fly? Am I dreaming? Or did Alexander, insert middle name and last name here, actually make a real, honest-to-god joke?”

“Did… Did you just say insert middle and last name, out loud–?”

“Are you running a fever? Did the aliens replace you with a perfect clone while I was gone? Maybe I died and went to heaven!”

“Natalie. Please. You do understand by putting on this little show you’re actively calling your own bluff, right?”

“Oh yeah? How so?”

“Well, first of all, it’s a scientifically proven fact that I am a man that possesses an excess of charm and an exceedingly impressive wit. The fact that you have just now discovered my propensity for humor proves one thing and one thing only: You lack the intelligence to appreciate my comedic genius!”

She scoffed, leaning down with her head propped over her arm, “W-well, I.. That’s not–”

“And see? You round out my argument with the perfect evidence! You can’t even formulate a half-baked comeback. You’ve got to be lighter on your feet than that to spar with me, Ms. Marquez! I rest my case and yield the remainder of my time!”

She squinted her eyes and made a face, wrinkling her nose as she glared, “You’re such a little bastard.” She then put on, quite possibly, the worst Italian accent in the history of humankind and continued, “I cook for you… my mother’s special caldo no less, and this is how you repay me?”

“Alright! Alright! For the sake of the caldo, and the people of Italy, I will retract my previous testimony. You’re lucky this tastes so good.” I wasn’t going to even begin to address the confusing nature of her choice of accent given that the dish and she herself were Latin, not Italian.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. I loved driving her up the wall. In fact, it was safe to say it had become one of my specialities. Not that it was at all that difficult to do, but still, I prided myself on the frequency with which I accomplished it.

I finished my second helping in relative quiet, enjoying the expanse of the ever lightening sky before me and the fresh air in my lungs. She did her best to distract herself with the tree line and the flocks of birds flying in ‘V’ formations overhead, so she didn’t just stare at me while I ate. I was grateful for that, to say the least. Once the meal was done and we’d sat in comfortable silence for a few more moments, she turned to me.

“Alexander?” She lowered herself until her chin was balanced on the wooden rail itself, as a slender, gentle finger slid across the fabric of the blanket, to land across my chest. I met her eyes as she called for me, “You ready to go inside and get cleaned up? I bet a bath would feel pretty amazing right now….”

“For once, you’ve managed to read my mind… Yes, sounds delightful.” I hooked an arm around her offered digit, pressing my palm into her knuckle

“Yup, this stupid human is bound to get it right every now and again…. Come here, let’s get you inside.”

I soon found myself cradled between navy blue fabric and soft, warm fingers as I was carried back inside.

********

About forty minutes after turning our backs on the rising sun, I found myself popping and stretching my aching vertebrae as I sat up from my hunched over position. I had leaned over him, splayed out on my bathroom counter, for the better part of the last half hour. At the moment, I held his tiny ankle between my thumb and forefinger while I examined my painstaking work, “What do you think, mister critical? Will this ship float or sink?”

He looked up and down the length of his injured leg, casting his discerning eye over my earnest attempt to wrap his bandages tightly in cling wrap so they wouldn’t get wet while soaking. He scowled as he looked it all over, tracing his fingers over absolutely tiny wrinkles in the plastic, “This… is…” he continued to examine, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes, “...Perfectly adequate. Thank you, Ms. Marquez. Your abilities to provide medical assistance in miniature are improving significantly. Need I remind you of your clumsiness with a cotton ball and hydrogen peroxide?”

“No, you needn’t! Thank you.”

“That’s not—“

“I know it’s not a real word! I know, you unrelenting little bastard, I know.” I grimaced with extra joking gusto as I busied myself cleaning up the crumpled up piles of plastic wrap that served as headstones to failed attempts, and tossing them in the trash. I loved that I could tell it physically pained him not to finish correcting me. Little nerd. “Oh and speaking of medical care, see if anything comes to you while you’re soaking in the tub. Maybe after some solid rest and a good meal those wheels will start turning again…” he opened his mouth to quip back, but a finger laid over his chest and a quicker verbal draw silenced him, “And no, that was not a personal insult to your cerebral functioning, it’s just a damn figure of speech, little man. Unlike you, I haven’t slept yet. Give me a break.”

I watched his board- straight spine soften at this information, “Will you rest while I’m in here?”

“No, actually, I thought I’d run a few errands while I had a moment of peace away from your annoying little ass…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence without ruining my performance with a smile, “Here, I think everything is set up for you. By the way, I brought my tablet in here; it’s voice activated. If you need to text me, I’ll have my phone on ringer, sound good?” I could tell he felt frustrated by the texting lifeline, but I didn’t exactly feel comfortable leaving someone so little alone in my house without some way to call for help, especially when he couldn't even stand up at the moment. “It’s just for an emergency, you don’t have to use it. I’m sure you’d like some downtime from me, anyway–” He nodded in sarcastic approval, I ruffled his hair with a finger, he snarled, I beamed, he broke character and smirked back in his asymmetrical way. I admit, I felt my heart flutter, “You ready?”

He nodded again and I cast my gaze askance, giving him privacy as he pulled that adorable little shirt over his head. Keeping my eyes averted, I inched my fingers closer, “May I?”

“You may.”

I wrapped my fingers around his little torso, his beating heart thrumming beneath my thumb as I lifted him and lowered him into the water, going very slowly so as not to hurt his leg. My fingers dipped into the steaming bath as I set him down amongst the bottle caps with shampoo and conditioner. “All good? The plastic wrap working for you?”

“Yes, thank you.”

With that, I rose to standing, crossing to the threshold of the door, “Alright then, have a good bath, I’ll be back in a bit–” I couldn't help but spin on my heel and step back to the counter, ‘Remember, if you need me–”

“Yes, yes, I’ve got my marching orders…” I had to admit, I felt disappointed that he suddenly seemed so annoyed with me. We’d had such a great day today, I hated for it to all come crashing down so quickly. I straightened my shoulders and tried to shake it off. He probably just wanted space. With that, I turned to leave the bathroom and heard a tiny little voice trail after me, “Have a good shopping trip, Natalie.”

“Thank you, Alexander…”

A five minute drive later and I found myself wandering aisle after aisle of tiny little clothes, furniture and household items. I was like a kid in a candy store: Everything here was so fucking adorable! I could just picture Alexander standing next to each item, it all perfectly made for hands his size. I bit my lip and taking each aisle by storm, quickly filled my basket with everything a miniature person could need: A toothbrush, a hairbrush, a full length mirror, a little wardrobe complete with teeny tiny hangers, socks, underwear, t-shirts and jeans, dress shirts, slacks, a tie, shoes, so many adorably tiny little shoes, a bed, about as big as my outstretched hand, bath towels, hand towels, wash cloths, shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, a razor (a teeny tiny little razor!), and finally… the pièce de résistance… A tiny little wooden desk with gold trim and a green, leather upholstered top, complete with a matching swivel desk chair.

Beaming with joy at all the adorably miniature items in my possession, I made my way to the check out. Delight coursed through me as I imagined him blushing in spite of himself. I wondered as I carefully laid each item on the rubber conveyor belt if he’d ever owned things like this before, if anyone had ever bothered to empower him with anything he could actually use. I was so deeply curious about his past, his childhood. Trying to picture Alexander of all people as a little kid felt… off.

He was so self serious and uptight. I couldn’t imagine him running around, wild and carefree, somehow even smaller than he already was. In my head, he was a perpetual tiny adult, regardless of age. Then again, maybe he didn’t get to have a childhood which would explain a lot about his personality. It seemed highly likely. I shuddered remembering just how terrified he’d been when he was medicated and confused. The poor little man, who was one of the bravest and most fearless people I’d ever known, had practically trembled head to toe for fear of the consequences if he didn’t fall in line.

I really didn’t know much about the life he’d had before showing up all disheveled and defensive in my pantry. I didn’t expect I’d ever find out much more, but what little I did know seemed spine-chillingly awful. Pondering this, I recognized, with a pang, that I'd never fully understand just how hard life was for him. I could empathize, of course. But it was impossible for me to truly get it. How could I? I had the privilege of living in a world that accommodated my size. He did not. All the more reason to give him things to help counteract that.

I watched as the clerk scanned each item. Picking up tiny pieces of furniture, wrapping them in brown paper and placing them in a plastic bag. As I tried my best not to fidget, I couldn’t help but wonder about the tiny man sitting in the center of my sink basin, right now. I pictured the little blue eyed devil running his fingers through his hair, while his mind worked a mile a minute. How was he doing now? Was he relaxing? Was he able to recall more about what’d happened? Funny, how someone so little took up so much space inside my head.

“Ma’am? Hello?”

I jumped, having no fucking clue what the 17-year-old kid in a maroon vest and a name tag has been apparently saying to me, “S-sorry, what?”

“I said, would you like to join our rewards program today?”

Ugh. I didn’t have time for this shit. I had a tiny little nightmare to surprise at home.

I opened my mouth to decline when he continued, “You’ll get twenty percent off your purchase if you sign up now…”

Stealing a glance at the accrued total, I knew my bank account was in no position not to take the discount. Relenting with a sigh, I nodded yes. Sorry Alexander… just another few minutes…

As the cashier asked for my contact information, I felt my phone vibrate and ding in my jacket pocket. Then again. And again. My blood froze. Was it Alexander? Was he okay? Did something happen?? I fished for my phone in a desperate scramble, probably looking to this high school kid like a fucking maniac, as I abruptly halted speaking halfway through giving him my email address.

My heart was pounding away as I raised the screen to my eyes and saw I’d missed sixteen messages from him as more were still pouring in, almost instantaneously, one right after the other. I read the most recent:

[Come home!]

Then another came in.

[NOW]

Oh fuck oh fuck! He was in trouble!

“Hello??? Ma’am?? I’m asking for your email! You just… sort of… stopped—“

I cut him off, “Forget it! Just ring me up…” he simply stared at me, exasperated and utterly confused, “Look, something’s come up, I’m in a hurry. Like a really big fucking hurry. Just cancel the thing and check me out!”

I saw sweat form on his brow, and normally I would feel bad for the poor kid, but right now I had one thing on my mind. I gave him a death glare while he stammered uselessly, “W-well I can’t just…”

“… Right fucking now!!” He jumped and seemed to be just sort of mashing buttons in a desperate attempt to cancel out of his current screen. I thrust my credit card in his face and he took it with shaking fingers, ringing me up as fast as his nerves would allow. Yet it still wasn’t nearly fast enough…

The phone was still going off in my hand, seeming to burn white hot, clenched between my clammy fingers, as panic washed through me in nauseating waves.

[Natalie. Question mark. Hello. Question mark. Question mark.]

The talk to text wasn’t exactly perfect but the meaning behind the words was loud and clear: Every second that went by could mean life or death for him. Had he hurt himself? Did he try to get out of the sink? Didn’t he know he couldn’t bear weight on his leg yet? What if he’d broken it? What if he slipped and hit his head? What if he was bleeding? It was impossible for him to have gotten out right?? There was no way he could’ve taken a tumble from the height of the counter, right?!?!? Oh god!!!

I tore the receipt from the cashier’s hand and practically sprinted out the automatic glass doors, nearly tripping on a dog treat dispenser on my way out. I didn’t give a shit about the judgmental stares of incoming customers as I crossed the threshold. My boots hit the pavement as I rushed to the car, my panic rising as my imagination ran wild. The second I slipped inside the driver’s seat, and threw the bag of once treasured items like an insignificant sack of potatoes in the seat beside me, with flying fingers I texted back:

[I’m five minutes away, Alexander. Are you okay?]

I didn’t wait for a reply and threw it in reverse, scaring a woman carrying a massive bag of cat food half to death as she tried to pass behind me. I glanced down feverishly at the phone screen, as I put the car in drive:

[OBVIOUSLY NOT]

Shit shit shit. I’d only been gone for forty minutes max. What could possibly have happened? At least he was still texting me.

[I’m almost there. Two minutes.]

I took another turn. The sounds of the road were deafeningly, achingly, too quiet. I wanted that bright, electronic ping.

[Alexander? You there?]

Nothing.

Then my heart dropped. But no, surely my fears were lying to me… could it be… was something after him? Did maintenance enter my apartment? Was he scared they’d hurt him? Were they harassing him right now? It seemed unlikely, they didn’t normally come without posting a notice first. After all, he’d been able to keep texting up until this point.

Had something else gotten in that didn’t belong? But no… surely it wasn’t… my neighbor’s, cat? Elvis?? That beast had been after him, ready to kill, the day I’d unknowingly rescued the little man and brought him inside. Had the animal found a way in somehow? Did I leave a window open??

As I ran a red light, I realized: the back door. I could’ve left the back door cracked open when we’d come back inside this morning. Tears blurred my vision as I clipped the curb and squealed around a turn.

Please, please, be okay, Alexander. I’m almost there. Just hold on.

In fifteen more seconds, I skidded to a stop in the gravel alley of my apartment. In five more, my sweating, shaking hand was wrapped around the doorknob. I was terrified to see what I would find on the other side.

In the breadth of one heartbeat I thrust open the door. Whatever’s happening to you, Alexander, just hold out for two more seconds, I’m right here.

I desperately hoped I wasn’t too late.

#The angry little man is making progress #He's going to be the death of her though #Or at least give her a lot of gray hair #Now I want caldo #A Fraction of Justice #oc:alexander #oc:natalie #g/t community #g/t fluff #g/t angst #g/t writing #giant/tiny #size difference

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

Text

A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #24)

Surprise! Alexander is finally home, but are all the lights on?

So grateful to @not-a-space-alien, @kitn-underfoot, and @thegodmother007 for beta reading yet again!

Chapter #24. Alexander’s high as shit. That’s it. That’s the chapter.

Previous: Chapter #23

Next: Chapter #25

Word Count: 4,431 Read Time: Approx. 34 mins

CW: adult language, angst, past trauma, vomiting, injury

Tag list: @gatlily @grbene @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007, @honey-olive, @bittykimmy13 ,@aceouttatime, @imvenusasaboy, @liminaldaze, @windshield-patent, @joxter-coded, @rosella35, @narrans, @rubeau-art, @littlescaryinternetguy, @jae-from-discord, @kitn-underfoot, @secretly-small, @writing-forever, @iinogongju, @tales-of-aestus, @itsgothgirlthyme

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #24: High or Hell Water

[Natalie’s POV]

I threw my hand over my mouth trying with every ounce of willpower to keep from laughing at this sudden, hilarious twist. He stared up at me, brows raised, eyes wide. My shoulders shook as I failed to hold back the wave of laughter. He watched me, mouth just slightly open, eyelids halfway shading those normally blazing blue irises. I waited for my verbal attack to begin at any moment. I expected his little voice to raise as his face flushed and he chastised me for making fun of him. But it never came.

The little nightmare I’d come to know and love, stared up, high above his eye-line to reach my gaze, his expression blank, the muscles in his face slack. Then slowly, slowly, the corners of his mouth twisted into a smile which blossomed into a chuckle, his little teeth flashing bright white. I’d hardly seen him crack a short-lived smirk, let alone heard the sound of his laughter. I realized for the first time he had an adorably crooked smile. The sound of his joy cascaded into my own. He beamed, and his sudden, unexpected delight only made me laugh harder. We fed off of each other, as I tried to control my body and not jostle him too much, even as my shoulders shook against my will.

He was splayed out on the surface of my palm, his head, neck and shoulders propped up by my curled fingers. He was beaming, laughing his little head off, his whole body shaking. Fighting to catch his breath, he finally managed to gasp out, “W-what… are we… laughing…about?!” His nose wrinkled as his eyes watered, his face bright red now.

“You don’t know?!” I fought through my own involuntary chuckles to speak.

“N-no!!” He shook his head rapidly from side to side, seeming to find his own utter confusion just as funny as I did. His ribcage fluttered as he sank lower in my hand. The poor little drugged up idiot didn’t have the slightest clue! I laughed till I cried, my cheeks burning. Blinking rapidly, I chased those joyous tears away, before descending my fingers down, gently gripping him under his arms and propping him back up against the backrest of my curled fingers. Letting go, I reached out with the pad of my thumb, doing what I’d only ever dared when he was asleep, I brushed his bangs from his eyes and caressed the crown of his head. Sweet, ridiculous, wonderful little man, you have no idea what a relief it is to see you smile.

He didn’t seem to flinch at my touch. He didn’t snarl or stiffen or pull away. In fact, as he grinned from ear to ear, he leaned his head into my thumb. My heart skipped a beat. The moment I pushed his cascading hair back along the curve of his scalp, though, his boisterous laughter shifted. He was laughing so hard, in spite of himself, that he was starting to choke, “Woah, hey, careful there. You’re experiencing too much unbridled joy at once, your spiteful little body isn’t equipped to handle that!” I smirked, grateful that my past self had thought ahead and filled an unused toothpaste cap with water in case he needed it. I pinched the makeshift drinking vessel between finger and thumb, careful not to spill the tiny amount of water inside, and held it before him. He continued to cough and sputter, as I spoke softly, “Here, drink…”

He peered up at me with a funny expression that I couldn’t quite place. His eyes were wide and shimmering as he reached for the tiny plastic object. It was still a bit too big for him to grip with just one hand, so as they both wrapped around to take it from me, his left hand pressed against the tip of my thumb. Why did that simple touch from him send a spark of electricity down my nerve endings? Calm down Nat, he’ll be back to his prickly self in a few hours. Well, I’d have to enjoy it while it lasted.

I let go, allowing him to pluck it from my grip. As soon as he had a good hold of it, he gulped, unapologetically, and drank the whole thing, not even seeming to notice as he spilled some down his chin and onto his pathetic little doll shirt. Passing it back to me, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Poor thing, he must’ve been dehydrated.

I turned away, briefly, to lean towards my bedside table and put the cap down. When I returned my attention to him, my spine stiffened in surprise. He was crying. Tears no bigger than a pinhead streamed down his cheek like miniature waterfalls. His face was twisted into a frown and his shoulders shook with sobs, “Alexander? What happened? Sweetheart, why are you crying? Did I do something to upset you? Are you in pain? Are you scared? What’s wrong?”

At each suggestion, he shook his head, eyes blazing as they stared into mine, “N-no…. It’s just…. You’re being so kind to me. You’re under no obligation….” My heart melted in my chest. I had an overwhelming urge to hold him against me and stroke his body with gentle fingers, but he looked ready to burst with something else to say, so I did everything I could to stay still and attentive, as he continued. His voice shook as he spoke, his vision blurred by tears, nevertheless, he tipped his trembling chin and stared directly into my eyes, “…You are the most magnificent creature I’ve ever seen…. the most beautiful light to rival the moon herself. Divinity itself shines brightly upon you, Evenstar. And yet, in all your infinity of being, you cleave to me. A mere mortal, an undeserving nothing by comparison. You owe me nothing at all. I can give you nothing in return for your kindness. And yet to this nothing, you are everything,…” he broke down, burying his head in his hands. I was utterly stunned. That was the last thing I ever expected to come out of his mouth. Who was this grateful, sweet, sensitive little poet and where was Alexander? Did he really feel this way, beneath all his blustering and self-importance? Was this the man behind the mask? Beneath all his venom and frustration, was this the frightened, grateful little man inside, he’d never dared to show me before? I couldn’t help but melt even deeper as my face flushed and my heart beat faster. I only hoped his words were genuine and not as fantastical as they seemed. He still thought I was a fucking elf, after all.

“Alexander, please don’t cry….. may I touch you and hold you against me?” He dug his fingers into his scalp, as he curled into himself, before shuddering a sigh and nodding ‘yes’. I felt a tightening in my throat at the chance to finally, really hold and comfort him. I tried to ignore the fact that this intimacy was drug induced, as I gingerly plucked him out of my palm and leaned back, draping him against me. I took deliberate care not to position him with any pressure on his injured joint, gently keeping the leg straight by balancing the ball of his little heel on my free finger as I lowered him down. After I’d laid him flat, I rested my thumb over his chest, and the tip of my pointer finger caressed his back and neck. He was propped up on his right side, his injured leg splayed out in front of him, his other bent at the knee. He wriggled his arm loose and let it rest over the crook between my finger and thumb. The moment he landed snuggly on top of me, he nuzzled himself closely against my skin, laying his head on the pillow of my fingertip, his torso hitching just slightly from quiet sobs. I watched him with keen eyes. I was wholly engrossed in this life that fit easily in my palm, as I whispered softly, “You are the farthest thing from nothing. You think I’m somehow significant compared to you? You’ve got no clue how in awe I am of you—“ he shook his head, about to protest, but I didn’t give him the chance, “You are the strongest, smartest, and yes, scrappiest, little man I’ve ever met. You are nothing short of incredible and don’t let anyone, including yourself, forget it…..” As I spoke, he laid his head on my chest, completely relaxed. I felt his full weight against me with each breath in and out.

Peering down, I could see his eyes dipping closed, in a completely exhausted daze. Okay, enough of that. Just sleep, you’ve more than earned it. Gently, I slid my hand over him, keeping him warm as he drifted off to sleep. “Sweet dreams, little nightmare….” I whispered only to myself.

I savored every second of this closeness, watching his tiny chest rise and fall, the catch in his breath, the sleepy twitches of muscle in his leg or hand, the way he looked so serene, and comfortable. Poor Alexander. He’d been through more than I could ever imagine, and yet, seemingly through sheer spite, he hadn’t let any of it take him down. That thought made me smirk. Being an angry little ass seemed to work for him so far, but in this moment, curled up beneath my fingers, he didn’t have a care in the world. I just wanted him to have that all the time.

As I laid in a prone position, warm and relaxed in my bed, I couldn’t help starting to drift as well. I wasn’t the one to endure poking and prodding and scalpels and anesthesia, but I’d still had a pretty exhausting day. Maybe just for a few minutes…. I shut my tired eyes, grateful for the chance to rest. No sooner had I settled in and put my mind at ease, I felt a sudden scrambling beneath my hand.

I bolted upright, making sure I had a good hold on him and that he had no chance of falling. He was squirming and huffing, digging into my fingers with all his might, my exhausted mind finally processing that he was speaking as well, “…Let go, damn you!!! Let go of me!!! I have to get back!”

“Woah, woah, what’s wrong Alexander?” I scooped him up under his arms and placed him in a cupped palm. He beat his fists against the fingers that held him, and the moment he was plopped into my hand, he scrambled around looking for an escape route. He was frenzied, panicked, and he paid me no mind. It reminded me exactly of when we’d first met, after he’d fallen into my cupped palm, squirming and hissing before biting me, in a desperate act of self preservation.

Peering into his wide panicked eyes, I realized that this time he wasn’t scared of me. He, instead, seemed wildly preoccupied with something else entirely. He was moving around so much that I was terrified he was going to bust his stitches. In a split second decision, I pressed a thumb to his chest and pinned him in my hand. He did not like that one bit. He still resisted, kicking his legs and writhing. I had to use my free finger and thumb to pinch his ankles together, “Alexander! Alexander, stop squirming. You’re going to hurt yourself! You don’t need to go anywhere, sweetheart. You need to rest. I’m not trying to scare you, okay? I’ll let you go if you just calm down and tell me what’s going on.” His face pinched, he wrinkled his nose at me and bared his teeth, squirming uselessly beneath my thumb. He didn’t have time to waste explaining things to me, it seemed, “We have a deal or not?” I made my tone a bit more forceful this time. The poor thing jumped. I felt awful for restraining him like this, but what else was I supposed to do? If he hurt himself, it’d be my fault for not looking out for him in this state.

Relenting, his little shoulders drooped, and he nodded ‘yes’. Good to my word, I set him down on the pillow beside me, releasing him entirely from my grip, “Okay. What the hell was that all about?”

“You don’t understand anything do you? I have to get back to his desk before he wakes up or I’m a dead man. I’ve never abandoned my post. Not in twenty years. Not once. He needs me!” Ahhh, okay. Another hallucination it seemed. This time involving that awful man he’d been pressed into service for. He seemed genuinely terrified of the consequences if he didn’t get to where he thought he should go. Poor thing. No one deserved to live in that kind of fear. Without pausing for air, he kept going, flustered and frightened, “I-I don’t have time for this, I really must go now….” He started to battle the ripples and undulations of the pillow, fighting to slide down to the mattress below. He’d just positioned his legs downward to jump off, when I snatched him up. Oh no you don’t. You’re not putting any weight on that leg on my watch. He shouted and snarled the second I plucked him up. I’m sorry! It’s for your own good!

“Stop it. Alexander listen to me, stop moving and look at me. Did you forget? H-He, uh, sent you to stay with me. He had that last minute trip to…. Italy. Didn’t he tell you?” Would the lie sell? I figured it’d be easier than throttling him into reality, kicking and screaming. His brow furrowed, as he swallowed, considering. His muscles relaxed a bit, as he rested his arms over my thumb, his dangling feet going slack.

“…. That’s… strange…. He’s never sent me away when he went somewhere before. He always just locks the door and leaves me to ration out enough food and water for myself. Who are you?”

“Uh, a-a friend… he figured you’d have a hard time caring for yourself with your leg all bandaged up. You really don’t remember?” He shook his head, blinking rapidly, eyes glassy and dazed. Well, he seemed to have bought it. Good. Just relax and stop trying to give me a heart attack. He rubbed his tired eyes with lithe little fingers, propping his elbows on my thumb. I couldn’t begin to imagine how utterly exhausted he must’ve been, especially after all this unnecessary excitement, “Your only job is to rest up right now. So no more trying to run off, okay?”

“You’re certain he isn’t expecting me?” I could feel his nervous heart pounding away against my fingers, “What time is it? He normally requires my services at 5 am sharp!” His chest was fluttering up and down. He’d really gotten himself all worked up. I cringed to think of what sort of punishment he was expecting for this imagined transgression.

“I’m positive. No one is upset with you. You don’t owe anyone anything. Just, lie down. Can you do that for me?”

His brow furrowed, his lips tightening into a thin, frustrated line, “I feel… very strangely….” I know, you’re so confused and fucked up right now. It’s okay, little man. Turn that brain off and give yourself a break!

“I know. I’m so sorry. Is there anything I can get you?” He cast his eyes askance, before shaking his head, “Here, let me lay you down. Be still. I don’t want any more escape attempts, okay?”

With a little grunt he laid where he was placed on the pillow beside me. I desperately wanted to hold him while he slept, but was afraid of smothering him, or having him wake up in a confused haze thinking I was trying to hold him captive against his will. I pulled up the sheets and draped the edge, more than an adequate blanket for someone his size, over his body as his eyelids got heavy again. I descended a finger to smooth his hair, when he spoke again, voice gravelly and frayed with exhaustion, “Are you angry with me? For trying to leave?”

“No. No, of course not. You didn’t know any better. You’re not feeling well. I’m not upset in any way, I promise. I just want to keep you safe.” I laid a finger over his chest, resting my hand over him, protectively.

His head lolled toward me, as he gazed up, sleepily, his tiny body still tense and uncertain, “A-are you sure?? Because—“

“Alexander, shhh. Rest. You’re okay. You’re safe….” I closed my eyes for a moment while I relished in the feeling of his body beneath my fingertips. He was warm, soft. His graceful body in all its curves and undulations, thrummed with an electrical current of nervous energy. I bit my lip, my heart in my throat as I managed to choke out the next phrase, “You're where you’re… loved. I…. I…” I opened one eye just a fraction, to find the little man a few inches from me was already fast asleep. His head was turned to face me, his cheek slightly pressed by the fabric of the pillowcase beneath it. His hair was a tangled mess of blonde streaked with darker roots. His mouth was totally slack, as his chest rose and fell with the slow, steady rhythm of sleep. Oh well, probably for the best. “Goodnight, Alexander…”

I tried my damndest to lay stock still as I watched him sleep with a swelling in my heart. I could’ve stayed here, happily gazing at him and marveling at his every tiny breath, for hours. But it seemed, eventually, exhaustion got the better of me and I was soon out like a light.

************************

I came to, gradually. I felt hot, clammy, pressure closing in on my chest. Where was I? I shifted my weight, but the pressure was ceaseless: not enough to crush me but with very little wiggle room. I felt confused. Lost. Afraid. It was like swimming through pitch black water, trying to find the surface to catch a breath. I didn’t know which way was up.

That’s when a severe pain shot through my leg and I couldn’t help but cry out between grit teeth, eyes snapping open, as I gasped. Immediately, I felt a change in that hot weight over me, it shifted and moved of its own accord. A voice high above me sounded tense, worried, as something suddenly jolted where I lay, as if someone big was shifting beside me. My eyes stung with nothing to take in but painful, blinding light, as the voice fussed, “Alexander! Did I hurt you? Are you okay, sweetheart? Don’t be scared, alright? There’s nothing to be afraid of, no one’s gonna get you. You’re safe. Just lie back...”

My ocular lenses adjusted to the garish lamplight left on in an otherwise darkened bedroom. A familiar bedroom. It was Natalie cooing over me. Her voice floated high above my head, her hand rested over my body, finger tips applying pressure to my shoulders to coax me back down. It was her bedsheets I was tangled in. I was suddenly very relieved, but just why, I couldn’t remember. And then, in a sudden rush, it all came flooding back.

I bolted upright, into a sitting position, batting at her fingers. I didn’t need comfort right now…. I needed to go back there and burn that place to the ground, myself! I growled at her unwelcome touch, struggling to stand up on one working leg. Fighting through the pain, I was barely able to halfway rise before I heard a disapproving cluck of a tongue, timed perfectly with strong, steady fingers sweeping me off my feet. The voice chastised me, as I was suddenly, nauseatingly, flipped onto my back, heels up in the air, “Uh, uh. No. You can’t put weight on it, yet. We just talked about this. Don’t you remember? No more trying to run off. I know you’re still high as a kite so you probably don’t even know what I’m saying right now, but you can’t just leave, sweetheart—” had I woken up before this? If I had, I certainly didn’t remember it. Wait, did she just call me sweetheart?!

I growled back, teeth snapping, “— No! I can’t just sit here. I have to go back. I have to do something!”

“Alexander, not this again. That horrible old man can’t hurt you anymore, okay? You’re safe here, with me. Whoever you think I am, this time—“ she smirked at me, but I didn’t understand the joke. Her fingertips descended to caress me and I fought them off. Why was she behaving like this?

“What do you mean? Whoever I think you are? I know who you are! I’m not stupid!”

“Awwww, really? Okay, I’ll play along. Do you think I’m Galadriel this time? I mean, I’d be flattered, she’s pretty cool…”

What?! I shook my head, unable to make any sense of what she was going on about, “Natalie, stop treating me like I’m out of my mind, you’re embarrassing yourself. And besides, it’s tactless. Now, listen to me, for once you dull creature—“ she pulled me with sudden, sickening force, directly before her. My stomach was tearing itself apart, so every tiny twitch of her muscles rocked me painfully. I didn’t think she was trying to destroy my insides, but her giant movements certainly weren’t helping. In spite of myself, I cried out, bracing against the movement with two hands squeezing into her palm. A wave of nausea hit me like a freight train, as I found myself before two large hazel eyes and the curve of a slender nose. I shuffled to sitting, my good leg bent at the knee where her angled hand tapered off at a 90 degree angle to her wrist, while my injured side stayed out, toes practically brushing the surface of her cheek.

I leaned forward, placing a hand on either side of her nose, and shook her, doing my best to imitate the human gesture of shaking someone by either side of their face or their shoulders. Sadly, my tiny reach could only stretch so wide, so I settled for the bridge of her nose, while I fixed my gaze on one golden green eye at a time, “Listen to me, Natalie…. You have no idea—“

I had barely begun to enlighten her when I fell suddenly and violently ill. I shuddered, wincing.

“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” She was an overwhelming flurry of motion and heat and too loud and too close. She wasn’t helping my condition at all.

“I’m… I’m going to be sick…” I could feel the color drain from my face as that horrible nauseating sensation rose from my abdomen and made me gag. I threw a hand over my mouth as my body hitched and writhed.

“Oh! Oh my god! Uh, okay, hold on! Let me get you to the bathroom…. Hang on, y-you’re okay….” Distressed, she hesitated. Wrapping her fingers around me, much too tightly for comfort, she sprang from the bed, trying to rush to the bathroom sink in a flurry of panic. What she didn’t realize was that all that frenetic movement made it impossible for me to beat back the inevitable.

She was halfway between her bedside and the bathroom threshold, when I squeezed her pinky finger with all my might and shook my head violently, “I… I can’t….”

Without hesitation, she cupped her free hand at chest level, flush with my body, “I’ve got you, go ahead….” She rubbed my spine with her thumb.

She wanted me to throw up in her hand? No way! That was disgusting! It was pathetic! I would never lower myself to do such a thing… approximately five seconds later, I did said aforementioned thing. In spite of myself, I squeezed her pinky finger and edge of her palm with both hands, before my body hitched and I lost control of my own stomach, vomiting in her offered palm.

My ears rang and my whole body shuddered from exhaustion and illness. I felt miserable, not including how profoundly embarrassed I was. I couldn’t make myself look her in the eye, but as she pulled her hand away, she counteracted my mumbled apologies with gentle rubs between my shoulder blades and encouraging words.

“It’s not a big deal, Alexander. Of course you didn’t feel well, you’re very sick and went through so much and I jostled you around, just now. It’s my fault. I’m so sorry. Don’t be embarrassed. It happens.” As she spoke she carried me to the sink, lowered me down on a hand towel on the bathroom counter and washed her hands. When she was done, she knelt down to the floor, peering at my own neck and chin, before wetting her thumb and cleaning my face with it. I avoided her eyes as she cleaned me up, “You’re clearly in no condition to go anywhere. But, it does seem like the anesthesia wore off and that you’ve got a lot you need to tell me. Can I put you back down where you can be comfortable in the bed and then I’m all yours?”

With more intentional gentleness and a relaxed gait, she crossed back to the bed and settled me atop the pillow, where I had begun. She propped her head up on an elbow after draping my shoulders with the bedsheet, “Okay. What did you need to tell me?”

I swallowed hard as I felt the vitriol rise in my nervous system, a sensation that battled for dominance over the excruciating pounding in my head, my rent stomach and my aching leg. I drew in a sharp breath, before gazing up at her. “Natalie. You need to know what happened to me back there.” Her eyes flashed and she set her jaw, a characteristic I’d come to recognize when she had made up her mind about something.

“If they fucked with you, I’ll help you dig their graves myself–” Her fingers descended around me, curling behind my back, her thumb in my lap. I pushed past my comfort level and rested my hand atop the pad of the digit and squeezed.

“Okay, then… be ready to grab your shovel…”

Her lips pressed into a thin line, as her brow furrowed, “Tell me everything, Alexander.”

#Good morning little nightmare #He's a lil bit out of it you guys #Hold him and love him #He's such a secret softie #oc:alexander #oc:natalie #a fraction of justice #g/t #g/t writing #Giant/tiny #g/t fluff #g/t angst #g/t au #size difference #g/t community

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ratcatcher0325 · 1 year

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A Fraction of Justice (Chapter #25)

🎄🎅Merry Christmas 🎁❄️ to those who celebrate! ☃️🛷Happy Holidays⛷️⛸️ to those who don’t! I hope no matter where you are or what your holidays look like this year, you can let a little love in and relax, just like how Alexander is trying (and maybe failing) to do.

Chapter #25. Alexander does his level best to tell all about his recent misadventures.

Previous: Chapter #24

Next: Chapter #26

Word Count: 4,281 Read Time: Approx. 32 mins

CW: adult language, angst

Tag list: @gatlily @grbene @patrocolus3 @beautifulunknowntrash @titan-god-420 @andraimeide @themarlo @cup-o-chai @lucentbliss @raccoontoaster @tolsizedlove @not-a-space-alien , @thegodmother007, @honey-olive, @bittykimmy13 ,@aceouttatime, @imvenusasaboy, @liminaldaze, @windshield-patent, @joxter-coded, @rosella35, @narrans, @rubeau-art, @littlescaryinternetguy, @jae-from-discord, @kitn-underfoot, @secretly-small, @writing-forever, @iinogongju, @tales-of-aestus, @itsgothgirlthyme, @make-me-giant

Btw, DM me if you wanna be added to the tag list!

___________________________________

A Fraction of Justice

Chapter #25: Give a Little

[Alexander’s POV]

She stared at me earnestly, her fingers leaving warm impresses along my spine and in my lap as she gently supported my weight. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that she meant what she said: she genuinely wanted to listen to me.

This was… a novel sensation. I felt the slightest tightening in the back of my throat as I considered it. She was perched just above me, her hair cascading in waves down her shoulders as she regarded my comparatively small person, cradled between her fingers and thumb. I shifted around beneath her touch, feeling hesitant but eventually resting my hands atop her thumb (there was nowhere else to comfortably place them as her largest digit had commandeered the better part of my lap). This was all a bit too intimate for my tastes, but I supposed it was a small price to pay for having her rapt attention.

I allowed myself the small risk of leaning my weight on her fingers behind me, releasing all resistance to gravity from my muscular system. In spite of myself, I had to admit that simply relaxing felt wonderful… there was a part of me, I couldn’t believe such a part existed, that wanted to forget about the living hell that was the veterinary clinic and simply luxuriate in rest, right here.

But of course, there was no time for such ridiculous indulgences. I had to seize the moment while I actually had a human willing to hear me. Surely she would grow complacent and disinterested over time. I had to strike while the iron was hot.

As I craned my neck to take her in, the tension in her jaw, her furrowed brow and hard eyes told me just how defensive she was over me. Not that I needed her to protect me… nor particularly cared how she felt. Why did I feel the sudden need to shift beneath her thumb again to compose myself? I tried to ignore whatever it was and tilted my gaze upwards to lock on to those warm irises.

I cleared my throat and stacked my spine, ready to confide in the one human I could at least somewhat trust. She gazed back into my eyes, and I could practically feel the anticipatory worry coming off of her in waves. Get ready for your blood to boil, Natalie…

“Well?? I’m holding my breath over here… I can’t ever get you to shut up and now is the time you decide to go silent??” She pressed the pads of her fingers against me as she stared, hungrily awaiting the news.

“Oh, alright! Calm down! I’m getting to it! You humans, always so demanding! You want what you want and you want it NOW. Have some patience and decorum will you???” I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest as I jutted my chin in defiance. But as I gazed into her irises and felt the soft warmth of her hand surrounding me, I burst into a grin in spite of myself.

She couldn’t help but bite her lip and roll her eyes, “Is being shitty to me like the way you get life force or something? I liked you better when you were all cute and high off your ass—“

“Excuse me? When I was what?”

“Nothing, don’t worry about it… tell me what happened!”

“Fine! We’ll put a pin in that then…” I eyed her disapprovingly as I prepared myself to tell all, “Well, from the moment she took me away, it was simply reprehensible! You disappeared behind the door and they carried me off and… they were so infuriatingly condescending! They spoke to me like a petulant child, while poking and prodding. I kept demanding that they treat me and was flatly ignored. I have abrasions and bruising along my obliques from the pressure of their fingers….” I watched as her eyes got wide and her brow furrowed in concern. Her fingers moved in just a millimeter or two closer, as if she could shield me from what had already happened, “They were awful, especially the one with the black hair—“ I couldn’t help but clock the almost involuntary twitch of her brow as I spoke, “She, in particular, had a penchant for cruelty. Her male counterpart was stupid more than anything else. The other woman, she was kind. She kept doing her best to advocate for me, but to no avail….”

“Alexander… I’m, I’m so incredibly sorry. I should never have taken you there. I-I didn’t know!” I was hardly listening to her, however, as a sinking feeling permeated my every muscle, “H-hey…. Hey, earth to Alexander…. Hello? What’re you… why are you 1000-yard-staring right now like you’ve just seen a ghost?”

“Hm? S-sorry… it’s just… it’s nothing… where was I? Yes…. The woman with the glasses. She seemed compassionate but she was weak and low down in the pecking order so it did me no good. I… I remember her, the black haired one, pinning me down to take a picture of me… I ran… she grabbed me. The pain was unfathomable… and then… well… it was dark for a while? I had tubes coming out of my mouth. I remember my heart racing and…. I was lying down and I couldn’t breathe. They held me down and stuck a needle in my arm… I…. I was in a lot of pain, I think….”

She paused for a long while, “… You... think? Um, look I don’t know how to say this delicately, without you getting pissed off at me… but it sounds like, while they were very very condescending and disrespectful of you, which, to be clear is fucking awful… they didn’t technically do anything legally wrong… you made it sound like there was hell to pay. Please, don’t misunderstand, I am more than happy to file complaints for negligence… I just don’t think it’ll result in anything more than a slap on the wrist without stronger evidence. And… please don’t scream at me, but I don’t think them teasing you counts as grounds for litigation…” she winced as she spoke, no doubt expecting me to berate her, but her words were the least of my concern.

My mind was a blur. My heart thundered in my chest as she spoke. I was certain something particularly awful had happened… something unforgivable. But the sequence of events vaporized in my mind’s eye… like a candle snuffed out, leaving behind only a wisp of silvery smoke where vibrant heat and light should be. A sinking feeling emerged in the pit of my stomach.

“Did they administer the wrong drug, like you were afraid of? Were there clear signs of malpractice?”

“Yes! There were!”

“Okay, like what?”

“I am certain there were!! I just… um…” I stared up at her, wide eyed and blinking like an imbecile, panic rising ever so rapidly in me.

“You don’t remember do you?” She looked crestfallen as she spoke.

I grit my teeth, snarling, “Don’t say that! I do! Of course I remember! I always remember! I have an infallible memory. I just… have to think…”

“Alexander? Hey….” The pad of a thumb tucked under my chin, but I pulled away and stared at the lines in my hands, refusing to meet her gaze. Her persistence was beginning to irritate me. Didn’t she know a man who needed to gather his thoughts in peace when she saw one? She continued, undeterred “…there’s no shame in forgetting. They put you under, it messes with your memory. I… and don’t get mad at me for saying this, but… I could tell you were scared when she took you away. Is it possible your fear of what could’ve happened is what you’re calling to mind?”

Her thumb pressed into my cheek and I squirmed to avoid her, “Stop it! Stop with the coddling, I don’t need it! When have I ever asked you to caress me? Please, I'm trying to recall something very important and all you’re doing is distracting me! And what sort of a question is that? Are you accusing me of making things up?? I know my own mind. If I felt like that, something must have happened…”

She seemed taken aback, “I’m sorry! Look, if you say something happened, I believe you. All I want is for you to know I’m on your side, that I care about you and that I want you to feel better. I mean, look, I want to kill them already for being shitty and cruel to you. That’s seriously fucked up. I’m not trying to condescend to you, just to comfort… and, for the record, I’ve never once called you weak…” she leaned in closer, a finger tip gliding over the crown of my head. I didn’t like her dominating over me like this. It was a mockery of my very stature. I couldn’t help but burst.

“Now is not the time to get defensive! Please, allow me to focus for a singular moment on the task at hand! And stop with all the petting, it’s simply maddening!” I batted at her fingers, my hair falling wildly in my eyes.

She whisked her hand away, it was suddenly at least twenty degrees cooler as the current of air generated from the movement of her arm cooled my skin. I had to catch myself with my hands pressed into the soft fabric of the bedsheets to keep from falling flat. Her eyes were hardened, glassy.

She tucked one arm beneath the other as she leaned on the bed, suddenly distant, hurt, “Goddammit, Alexander, I’m doing everything I can think of to be supportive. Okay? You act above it all and like you fucking hate me but I know that’s not true. So please stop it. Let me show you some love and support. I’m just trying to be kind. It’s not gonna kill you to be touched or taken care of….”

“Look, Natalie… I don’t have time to address your wounded pride and I’m not interested in having an argument right now about your violation of my personal space—“

“—violation? You didn’t act that way when you were high off your ass an hour ago. You loved it when I held you. You leaned into the warmth of my hand and cuddled against me. What’s changed now? Just that you feel like you have something to prove and it’s you versus the whole world? Hm? Is that it? Because it doesn’t have to be like that. Don’t you see that now? I’m right here, Alexander, and I want to help.”

What on earth was she talking about?! Yet another thing I was apparently incapable of recalling. I burned. This wasn’t fair, none if it was… I knew I’d been through something excruciating and I was determined to get to the bottom of it, but, instead, I had to listen to this human blubber on about how she couldn’t play with me like a doll as much as she desired. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

She didn’t like that seemingly at all, “Hey! You have no idea what it was like for me in that waiting room. I was terrified for you. And they kept telling me all this shit about how your leg was broken and surgery was the only option. I kept asking and asking to see you, just to hold you in my hands and know you were okay and they told me you were fine. They kept shooting down my questions, assuring me… That you were better off in the back, so you’d stay calm… b-but I guess you weren’t. They were torturing you and I was just sitting there in the other room! You were terrified and I wasn’t there to help! That breaks my heart. Do you realize that? I’m sorry, okay? If, if I made the wrong decision… If you’re angry with me…. I understand. I do. It’s all my fault that they frightened you because I hand delivered you to them. I never meant to hurt you, Alexander. Please believe me. Hate me all you want, okay, because I’m not turning my back on you. I won’t stop looking out for you even if you hate my guts. I’d never do that… b-but I have to know, do you really not give a fuck at all about me? Because just a little while ago, you said some things… that, that made it sound like you don’t totally hate me. You seemed to enjoy me treating you with softness. I just want to know if that’s true because I…. I care about you… okay? I do. And not just in a shitty condescending or possessive way, like you always accuse me of. You’re not mine to own. I know that. You’re your own man. You’re here by accident. You never asked for this… or me. I see you, Alexander. I know you’re a person who’s trying so hard to make something of himself in spite of the odds. So, please, please let me in a little, will you? I promise, all I want is to help.”

I paused for a moment, taking it all in, beneath a furrowed brow and tight jaw, before meeting her gaze. She wanted to help, did she? Was it possible that I could trust her with my long term aspirations? Would she listen with respect if I told her I had plans to change the world, rather than laugh in my face? Would she really dedicate herself to helping me parse out this case currently before us? I felt a twinge of possibility stir in my soul… a ray of hope ignite the blood in my veins.

Her huge golden brown eyes were on the verge of tears, and I couldn’t help but release the tension in my shoulders, relenting. With a sigh, I spoke to her, softly, with consideration, “Okay, alright. Come here…. Give me your hand…” I stretched out my arms, inviting her to bring her fingers closer. I couldn’t exactly get up and come to her after all.

She hesitated, giving me a distrustful and quizzical look as if to question wether this was a trap. I gestured hurriedly for her to move her hand before me, “C’mon, closer. I won’t bite… this time, I promise…” I couldn’t help smirking in the crooked way I tended to do, which had always been rather embarrassing for me. She inched ever closer until the pad of her middle finger was before my lap. I cupped it with my right hand, the full width of it barely fitting between my fully outstretched fingers, as my left hand came to rest on her nail bed. I stroked her nail a few times, “There, there… is this what you needed?” She stared at me, her face twitching, before she burst into laughter. I was shocked, what was so funny??

**************** That was truly the most awkward attempt at comfort I’d ever seen! He was just sort of stiffly petting my nail bed while looking rather uncomfortable himself. My body shook with laughter, “You poor little bastard!!” I wasn’t even angry or hurt anymore. How could I be? His face turned a bright shade of red as he stared with sharp eyed intensity, truly baffled, “Your comfort game needs a little work, sweetheart!” I started crying I was laughing so hard.

“W-what?? I thought…” he blubbered wordlessly.

“Oh my god, you tried, little robot. You really did. D-don’t worry, we’ll find a heart to put in that hollow tin exterior some day!” I gently rubbed his chest with a finger. It was surprisingly warm for such a cold-blooded little nightmare.

I expected him to get huffy and double down but when I looked at him, he couldn’t help but smile, in spite of himself, “I’m no tin man, I’m a gallant romantic who’s interpersonal skills are unmatched, thank you. But nice quasi-sophisticated literary reference, I didn’t realize you could read!”

“Oh, shut up!”

“What? You seemed to think it completely acceptable to express your surprise when you discovered I was literate!”

“Okay, okay! Touché! I’m waving the white flag! I get it, little man, I can never match you in a game of wits. But none of that changes the fact that you can sometimes be a little prick who needs to learn how to relax and accept a little physical contact every now and again.”

“Never! I’ll never surrender! You can’t make me! I refuse! Now, please, be quiet so I can follow my own train of thought….” With that, he flopped back on the bed, his arms folded over his abdomen while he stared up at the ceiling. I waited quietly, trying my best to be patient, passing the time by watching the rise and fall of his tiny chest, as I matched the tide of his breathing with my own.

He was like a statue, stock still, unmoving. The only way I could tell he was a living breathing thing was that his eyes occasionally blinked. He lay there like that for five, ten, fifteen minutes, then finally, and almost so quiet I could barely hear, “Damn it all…”

“Nothing?”

“I remember the fear, the pain. The odd and terrifying shapes of hands looming overhead. I remember the hazy buzz of conversation and trying really hard to read…. Something. But just what that something was—? My mind is suddenly a blank. I’m so exhausted, Natalie. That’s all. My psyche is stretched so thin….” He rolled his head to look at me, as I leaned over him with my chin resting on my hands.

“Then sleep, you ridiculous little thing. The mystery to solve won’t go anywhere in the next few hours.” I wanted so badly to caress his little chest and gently rub his scalp, but I resisted with all my strength of will, keeping my twitchy hands to myself.

He stiffened at the suggestion, “N-no…. I can’t just rest. I can’t lose all my momentum…”

“You also can’t solve a case if you’re dead from overexertion. You’ve had one hell of a day, give yourself a fucking break. And when you wake up, we’ll put our heads together and figure this out, okay? For whatever fucking reason, in spite of you being an angry little ass most of the time, I’m still gonna stand by you, even though you’re my—“

“--Little nightmare, I know…” his eyes were half closed as he huffed and rolled them toward the ceiling, before training them on me. Even in all his grogginess, his gaze was breathtakingly blazing behind those sleepy lids, “You are aware that any and all proposals for atrocious and ridiculous nicknames have to pass through the house…” he sleepily pointed to me, “…and the senate, yes?” He pointed to himself, before continuing, “That means your coining of me as such is not likely to be codified into law.”

I couldn’t help but scoff, as I joked, “You’re half asleep and you still somehow manage to be a dick. You’re lucky you’re cute…”

“I take issue with that…” he shook his head and crossed his arms, the ghost of a smirk barely hidden.

“You take issue with fucking everything. Go to bed, Alexander!” I wanted to kiss him on the head and tuck him in. Instead, I pushed up from the mattress, planning to give him some space to sleep, but before I could even gather my feet beneath me, he halted my movements.

“Wait, one last thing….” His sleepy eyes opened partially, enough for me to peek at the brilliant blue beneath them.

“No, nope, I’m not getting tricked into another insult before bed. Sleep! I like you better when you’re conked out. I’m just saying, when you were loopy you were so cuddly and sweet. Now you’re back to griping and grumbling…”

He shook his head from side to side, his right arm stretching out toward me, “I have one favor to ask…”

“I know, you want me to leave you the fuck alone, I’m going, okay? As someone once said to me recently, have some patience and decorum!” I started to shift again and his words froze me in place.

“Will you hold me, while I sleep?”

I just about melted into the carpet fibers. He smirked that little crooked smile of his that I’d seen so very rarely.

He raised his brows, no doubt taking in my bright red blush and hitching gasp. He smiled teasingly, staring up at me through his brow in a way that made me melt even more, “Don’t look too excited about it or I’ll change my mind…”

I was breathless, sinking back down on to the surface of the bed, I let a single finger descend to brush his hair from his tired eyes, “Is that what you really want? You won’t be pissed at me later?”

“As you say, I’m always pissed about something. I’ll find something you’re doing wrong, don’t worry…..” I hesitated, lifting my finger and inch or so off of his body, “But yes, I’d like you to. Just hurry… it’s hard to stay awake right now, answering this monotonous battery of questions….” My heart skipped a beat, or two, or three, as he smirked again, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.

“O-okay…. If this is what you want, I’ll be so careful, I promise… come here, Alexander…”

Very very gently, I dug my fingers into the fabric beneath him, and scooped him up, supporting his head with the pad of my thumb, and very carefully cradled the heel of his injured leg beneath the tip of my free finger, as I had done only a little while ago while he was out of it. See? You can be sweet… it won’t kill you… “You’re going to remember and we’ll get this all sorted out… but in the mean time, I’ve got you, little nightmare… sweet dreams…”

*************** The moment her warm fingers rose to press softly into my spine, my hips, my shoulders…. I felt my heart race a little faster. I kept my eyes closed and stayed limp, but inside I was electrically charged with feeling.

Had I ever asked to be cradled in the hand of a human before? I didn’t think so. Yet, here, in the crook of her palm, I felt things I never thought were possible in the presence of someone so large and foolish: I felt safe, warm, and, dare I say it, contented to be there.

I was crushed by my current gaps in memory recall at the moment. I wanted more than anything to bring those maniacs to justice as swiftly and aggressively as possible. However, at the present, such proof eluded me. Yet, somehow, I believed her when she said with confidence that we’d figure it out.

We.

What a funny little personal pronoun. One I’d hardly ever considered all the days of my life. For once, the human was right. I did see myself as one man against it all. Maybe there was some validity to what she’d said next, that it didn’t have to be that way. I trembled at the thought. I was getting far too ahead of it all and only setting myself up for disappointment and misery when she inevitably let me down…. Wasn’t I?

A whisper stirred my eyelids open and I peered up at the woman gazing down at me, “Alexander?”

Her voice was soft, the consonants of my own name rustling my hair as her breath cascaded over my prone body. I raised a brow, too sleepy to move anything else, “Th-Thank you, for… letting me in a little bit…” she seemed as though she wanted to say more, but kept it to herself.

After a moment, where I almost dipped out of consciousness right then and there, I rolled over my left shoulder, outstretching my arms, and hugged her thumb to my chest. The tip of that strong, imposing digit, that was almost as big as me, was aligned directly with my face. I pressed my cheek into it, feeling the heat and rhythm of her pulse beneath, “Is this what you wanted? Is this what high Alexander would do which you seemed to love so much??”

She beamed, holding me ever closer beneath her sparkling gaze, “You’re recreating it so perfectly, fantastic job!” She was truly beside herself, I could tell. I could feel her heart racing beneath my cheek, after all.

I smiled, as grogginess, coupled now with unrelenting softness and warmth from her skin, took hold of what little consciousness I had left, “I demand to know just what exactly I did that left you so ridiculously enamored while under the influence…. You’d better tell me when I awake!”

“Not in a million years! I know you, little nightmare. The second I tell you, you won’t speak to me for at least a week.”

“I think I can handle anything you can throw at me. Get out of the habit of underestimating me!”

“Sweetheart, I know you can do anything you set your mind to, but, believe me, when I say I think I’m estimating your capacity for this quite accurately!”

“Mmmm, that bad huh?”

“Go to sleep, Alexander. I’ll be right here when you come to.”

“I demand satisfaction upon waking. I will not waver on this.”

“Uh huh… now, hush.”

“...Goodnight, Natalie….”

“Goodnight, Alexander… Sweet dreams.”

And slowly, as I seemed to sink ever deeper into the warm, silky surface of her cupped palm, I drifted off to sleep, held aloft by the first human I’d ever actually wanted, at least at certain intervals, to touch me.

Tomorrow I’d work to bring destruction to my enemies, but tonight, I’d give myself the gift of rest…. And what a glorious gift it was!

#He will burn it with fire but first... nap time #Let him revenge #we love soft holding here #oc:alexander #oc:natalie #a fraction of justice #g/t community #g/t writing #Giant/tiny #g/t fluff #size difference

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