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splashaxis · 4 days ago

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AHHH THIS IS SO GOOD!!! I love how Tango was kind of telling Grain and Joel to back off and let Jimmy make those decisions for himself, like he was standing up for him. Especially because Grain and Joel, despite having good intentions, are definitely very handsy people as implied a few times in other works.

Not Just A Drunken Dream

Summary: Jimmy goes to class with Joel and Grian, but as the humans are running late, they are a bit less careful and Jimmy ends up on the floor of the busy hallway.

Fortunately, he is found and picked up before he can be crushed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't by Grian or Joel.

Warnings: fear, anxiety, stress, very minor injuries, and dangerous situations

Word Count: 6909

AO3 Link

If you click to read this on AO3 do not read the character tags or you will be spoiled on who the third main side character is. Just giving you guys some warning if you wanted to be surprised while reading it.

This thing was a monster to edit because I wrote it four months ago and it was really bad but it's all done and great now! I'm really proud of how this turned out and I'm excited for you all to finally know who the third main side character is! I hope you all enjoy!

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Jimmy decided he wanted to go to class with Joel and Grian again. At this point in time he had gone with them to class plenty of times before. It wasn’t all the time by any means, he didn’t want them constantly worried about him, after all. And also it could get pretty overwhelming for him too sometimes. But, he thought today would be a nice day to go out.

He had learned that, while biology was definitely not for him, some of Joel and Grian’s other classes were a lot more interesting and easier to understand. Like Joel’s history class. He loved learning about human history, it was always so interesting to learn all about what humans had done. It was a bit terrifying at times though. The things some humans did…and to each other no less…

Jimmy shook his head. Despite all that, he really did enjoy it and he was looking forward to sitting in on another class.

“Sure, let me just grab my hoodie.” Joel said after Jimmy asked if he could go with them. Joel rummaged through his dresser while Jimmy waited patiently on the nightstand and watched as Joel put on a cream-colored hoodie.

Grian was already at the door, impatient. “Come on, we’re already running a little late.” Grian said as he glanced down at his phone clock. Joel rolled his eyes but went over to Jimmy and scooped him up, gently maneuvering him into the front pocket. Jimmy slid off Joel’s hand as soon as he was fully in the pocket and watched the hand leave as he settled comfortably, leaning against the wall that was Joel’s stomach.

“All set?” Joel asked, though Jimmy could already hear, and feel, him putting on his bag.

“Yep!” Jimmy yelled and when they were given his confirmation they finally left the dorm room. Jimmy hearing the click of the door as they left.

Due to running a bit late, Grian and Joel ended up walking a bit faster than usual, which Jimmy could tell from being jostled around a bit more. It wasn’t uncomfortable or anything like that, the hoodie pocket had always been pretty stable even with harsher movements, but it was noticeable enough. Jimmy didn’t mind it though and knew him being a bit jostled around was needed for them to get to class on time.

They entered the outside and quickly made their way down the path and toward a nearby building. Thankfully for both of them, Grian and Joel had their classes in the same building today, which meant if they continued at their current pace they should be able to make it on time still. That also meant they wouldn’t separate until they were already inside the building and if Jimmy remembered correctly, Joel’s classroom was first.

Jimmy knew as soon as they had entered the building because, once again, same as always, Jimmy got hit by how loud it was. Except this time it seemed a lot louder than usual. They hadn’t even entered the classroom yet and already Jimmy felt like he needed to cover his ears. Jimmy could only assume that because Grian and Joel were late that they hadn’t managed to beat the crowd of students coming and going and bustling around the halls.

This meant that the halls were quite crowded and combined with the fact that Joel was still rushing toward his classroom, it shouldn’t have been surprising that Joel would run into someone. But with Jimmy unable to see and in a pretty vulnerable spot, especially since Joel didn’t have his hands in the pocket with Jimmy at all, Jimmy was more than just surprised by the powerful weight suddenly slamming into the side of Joel’s body.

Jimmy couldn’t help himself as he let out a scream, one that was drowned out by all the other loud noises in the hall. He was moved violently towards one of the openings in the pocket. He tried gripping the fabric around him but the suddenness of the hit had given him no time to prepare and he was never able to get a good grip on the fabric. Instead, his screaming continued as Jimmy found himself rocketed out of the pocket..

“Hey! Watch it!” He thought he heard Joel shout but it was quickly drowned out by the pain of slamming into the floor.

Jimmy groaned, the pain of landing on his back was bad and part of him just wanted to lie there until the pain subsided. But then he realized where exactly he was right now, in the middle of the hallways, with what had to be hundreds of humans walking through it. He forced himself up, ignoring the pain in his back, and nearly screamed again as a shoe slammed down next to him. He quickly scooted back from it but then had to jump out of the way of yet another shoe.

Jimmy breathing picked up, the pain in his back all but forgotten due to the panic. This was bad. Where were Grian and Joel? Surely they had noticed he was no longer with them, right? They had to be looking for him right now, right? It was hard to tell from this angle though. Right now, all humans were just legs and shoes, all with the capacity to crush him without even knowing.

That thought alone nearly made Jimmy’s heart stop.

Another shoe came at him and Jimmy dove out of the way but he wasn’t quite fast enough. He made it but not without the shoe grazing him just a bit and causing him to wheeze as he harshly hit the floor again. He took in some fast breaths as he scrambled up again, knowing any amount of sitting still would kill him. He needed to get away from here. He needed to find cover.

Before he was able to do that, however, another shadow fell over him. Jimmy tried diving out of the way again, thinking it was another shoe but the shadow seemed to follow him. He looked up only to freeze as he realized the shadow belonged to a hand. Jimmy was helpless as the hand descended upon him from the crowd of shoes and legs and wrapped around him completely. Jimmy couldn’t help but feel panicked, because what if this wasn’t Grian or Joel? What if some random human had just picked him up?

But then he was quickly lifted and placed in a hoodie pocket, a red one, and Jimmy found himself relaxing. The red was familiar and the grip around him gentle. There was no doubt that it was Grian who had found him. Jimmy felt himself go completely limp and he let out a relieved sigh. The panic that had been building was finally mellowing out and Jimmy did his best to get his breathing back under control.

He brushed his hand over Grian’s thumb and there was a slight bit of hesitation before the thumb brushed along his side back. Jimmy hummed and settled against the warm hold. Though as he settled, he could still feel that Grian was moving faster than normal.

The noise of humans quickly died down but Jimmy knew it wasn’t because they had entered the classroom. They were back outside. He could only assume they were headed back to the dorm after what had happened. It made Jimmy feel a bit bad that they were missing class because of him. But the scare from it all also made him glad they were going back in order to make sure he was okay.

Jimmy could tell when they entered the dorm building, it was always a different kind of quiet than outside. Jimmy waited as he listened for the sound of keys in a lock and it didn’t take long for him to hear it. Before he knew it, a door was shutting behind them.

The hand still loosely wrapped around his body solidified into more of a stable grip and pulled him out of the pocket. The hand then opened, allowing him to sit up and on the open palm, his back only protesting a little as he did so. “Thank goodness you guys were able to find me.” Jimmy said, his words filled with relief. “I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I--if…” Jimmy’s words trailed off as he finally looked up.

That was not Grian.

And it wasn’t Joel either.

And suddenly Jimmy couldn’t breathe.

“You’re actually real.” The human said in awe. And then he grinned. “I knew it. I knew you weren’t just a dream.”

Jimmy could barely breathe, barely think, but even he was confused by the statement. A dream? What was he-?

And then it hit him.

“Y-You’re…You’re him. The drunk guy that saw me.” Jimmy managed to stutter out, tears pricking the corner of his eyes. He wanted out of here, he wanted off this hand.

He wanted Grian and Joel.

The human winced at his words and used his free hand, the one not holding Jimmy, to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. “Ah, right, right. That was uh…” He bit his lip. “You remember that, do ya?”

Jimmy sputtered, mouth agape. “Do I-? How do you remember?! I-I made sure you didn’t! At least, I-I thought I made sure…” Jimmy looked down at his hands, his eyes wide with panic. All this time, he thought he had been fine. He thought the drunk human that had seen him some two years ago now had been too intoxicated to even remember. But apparently, he had. And now, Jimmy was in his hands.

“I, well, it took a while to remember it if I’m being honest. And then I actually did think it was a dream for a while. But it just felt so real and…” He shrugged. “I don’t know, something in me just told me it couldn’t have just been a dream.”

Jimmy clenched his hands into fists as he grit his teeth. So the human hadn’t remembered while Jimmy had been watching but…then gained his memory back later on? Jimmy hadn’t even thought of that as a possibility.

“Uh, what did you mean by you made sure?” The human asked, breaking him from his thoughts and causing Jimmy to look up at him again. He flinched a bit as their eyes met.

“I…I stayed for a while after you saw me, watching, just to make sure you had forgotten.” He warily admitted. “I-I figured two days had been enough time, and drunk humans usually never remember anything anyway so I really thought-” His breath hitched. “Guess…Guess I didn’t watch for long enough.” He said through a choked up sob, tears starting to roll down his cheeks. This was it for him, it had to be, caught by the one human that had kept him up for countless nights in the past.

“Whoa! Hey, it’s okay.” The human said, panic making its way onto his features and through his tone. His eyebrows pinched together in concern as he saw the little guy crying. “Please don’t cry little buddy, I’m not going to hurt you or-or anything else that might be running through that little head of yours.”

The human looked around the room, head turning a bit too fast in all directions before his gaze fell on his nightstand. “Here, I’ll put you down. I’m sure being in my sweaty hands isn’t fun.” He nervously joked as he finally moved away from the door and over to his nightstand. He then placed his palm down on it, allowing Jimmy to get off on his own.

Jimmy immediately took the opportunity and hopped off, glad to be on solid ground again. The hand lifted and went back to the human’s side and Jimmy was both relieved…and confused. He wiped at the tears still on his face, trying to stop himself from crying anymore as he warily looked up at the human as he backed up a few steps.

“There we go. Is that better?” The human asked and when Jimmy didn’t say anything, the human looked panicked again. “Ah, oh, um…Oh! Maybe some introductions are in order? Yeah, yeah, um, I’m Tango! It’s nice to finally meet you.” Tango gave him a smile, though it was one full of nerves. “What’s your name?”

“...Jimmy.” He said hesitantly, still worried about what was going to happen but slowly calming down a bit.

“Well, like I said, it’s nice to meet you Jimmy.” Tango said, his smile gentler now. “I promise I don’t have any, uh, evil plans or anything like that.” Tango said with a little wave of his fingers at the word evil. “I just, I saw you and I didn’t want to see you hurt or-or worse.”

Jimmy bit his lip. That’s right, he had been so caught up in everything that he had almost forgotten but Tango really had saved him. If not for him, he might have actually been crushed before anyone else even had a chance to pick him up.

And, well…this was going a lot better than Jimmy would have ever expected. Tango had even put him down when he saw how distressed Jimmy was. He asked for his name, he promised no ill intent…

Tango was really reminding him a lot of Grian and Joel.

There was just one thing he had to be sure of.

“So…you’re not planning on, uh, keeping me? Right?” Jimmy asked, eyes pleading that the answer was no.

Tango’s eyes went wide. “Of course not! That’s included in the whole ‘no evil plans’ thing!” Tango answered. So not only was it a no, but a resounding no. Good to know. Jimmy then watched as Tango knelt down, so the human was more eye level with Jimmy now. “You’re a person, Jimmy. And I make it a habit to not kidnap, trap, and hurt my fellow persons.” Tango sent him another kind smile and this time, Jimmy returned it, even if his was a bit shakier than Tango’s.

“Thank you, Tango. That actually really means a lot.” Jimmy said. He supposed there really were more good humans out there. Still, a borrower could never be too careful, but it’s nice to see that Tango was one of them.

“Hey, no need to thank me for doing the basic human thing.” Tango said with a shrug.

Jimmy shook his head. “No, really. Because not a lot of humans would…would be as nice as you.” The ‘basic human thing’ in regards to borrowers was not kindness. At least, if all the stories Jimmy had ever heard was anything to go by. And even if Jimmy currently had a 3 out of 3 track record for finding the good ones.

“Oh.” Tango said. “Oh.” He said again as realization hit him. Right, he supposed Jimmy had a point. A three-inch tall person falling into the wrong hands…the things his mind came up with made him shudder. “Right, yeah, um…sorry you gotta, uh, sorry you gotta watch out for stuff like that.” Tango said, not really knowing what else to say. “I wish humans could be kinder.”

Jimmy smiled softly and it was then that he knew, fully, that Tango was good.

“You’re kind though. And that’s really all that matters right now.” Jimmy said, his small smile turning into a small grin.

Tango’s cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously. “Just, uh, just doing what I know is right.”

Jimmy giggled at the human’s flustered expression. Jimmy found himself feeling a lot more comfortable around Tango. The fact that Tango had proven to be kind mixed with the way Jimmy was somewhat used to humans now, it was surprisingly easy for Jimmy to relax. “Mind if I ask you a question.” Jimmy asked.

Tango let his nervous laughter die off and as he met Jimmy’s eyes again. “Yeah, of course. Ask away.”

“How did you…how did you see me in that crowd of people anyway?” Now that Jimmy’s mind was free of panic, it was actually something that baffled him. He could understand if it was someone who was actively looking for him, like Grian or Joel, but the fact Tango managed to see him in that mess had to have been a miracle.

Tango’s nervous laughter returned. “Heh, um, well. Funny story that, I uh, I’ve…kind of made it a habit to look down a lot. You know, just in case…I saw you again. Or another little person. I didn’t want to accidentally hurt you or anything.” Tango released a breath. “I’m actually really glad I did that now, or else you might’ve…ya know…” Tango didn’t elaborate, but they both knew what he meant.

“Huh, yeah, that’s…yeah. I’m really glad you made that a habit too, actually.” Jimmy agreed, pushing any thoughts of what could have happened far from his mind.

“Can I ask you a question too?” Tango asked and Jimmy, though not expecting Tango to want to ask his own question, nodded. Tango’s eyebrows furrowed as he thought about his question and how to ask it. “Why were you on the ground, in the middle of the hallway, in the first place?”

Jimmy blinked, realizing that was a fair question to have, actually. “Oh, I fell out of my friend’s…pocket…” Jimmy slowly trailed off, realization hitting him. His eyes widened, his body tensing up again. “Oh my word! They’re probably still out there looking for me! I gotta-I have to-!”

Tango’s own eyes widened at Jimmy’s sudden panic. “Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, what’s going on?”

“I was on the ground because I was with my friends and some guy knocked into one of them and it knocked me onto the floor! They’re probably worried sick!” Jimmy tried his best to explain. He had to assume his friends had noticed he was missing by now and were probably scrambling around trying to find him.

Tango blinked. “You’re…friends?” He thought for a moment. “Wait, do you mean…your friends are human?”

Jimmy nodded, his body still tense and raring to get back to them. “Yeah, Grian and Joel. They found me a few months ago and ever since then we’ve been best friends. But they still think I’m missing or…or worse.” Jimmy ran his hands down his face. He was probably causing them so much worry. The thought was stressing Jimmy out.

“Wait, did you say Grian and Joel? As in the Grian who constantly wears red sweaters and causes mischief, the Joel who has a green streak in his hair and also plays along with said mischief? That Grian and Joel?" Tango asked and Jimmy looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Uh, yeah? W-Why?” Jimmy asked, wondering how the heck Tango seemed to know so much about Grian and Joel.

“Because Grian and Joel are good buddies of mine.” Tango revealed and Jimmy’s brain short-circuited for a moment.

“...Wait, they have friends?” It was not meant to be a dig at them but Tango laughed and Jimmy realized how bad that had sounded. He tried to backtrack. “I didn’t mean that in a bad way! I just, genuinely thought they were each other’s only friends.” Jimmy shrugged helplessly. “They’ve never mentioned other friends before, anyway.”

Tango nodded along, his laughter dying down as he placed a hand on his chin in thought. “Yeah, that makes sense actually. Grian and Joel have sort of stopped hanging out with me and the guys outside of class.” He looked down at Jimmy. “Though I can see why now.”

Jimmy frowned. He didn’t want to be the reason Grian and Joel had stopped hanging out with their other friends. He was perfectly fine being left alone for a few hours if they wanted to hang out somewhere else. He didn’t have to always be around them.

He would need to talk to them about that later.

“I need to get back to them.” Jimmy said, getting them back on track. “I can’t begin to imagine how worried they are.” Well, that was a lie. He definitely could imagine it and he hated it. He really needed to let them know that he was okay.

Tango nodded. “Yeah, of course. Uh, where do you think they would be, if they realized you were missing?” The question gave Jimmy pause and he had to think about it.

“Well…” He started, thinking out loud. “They probably would have retraced their steps when Joel realized I wasn’t in his pocket. Meaning…if they didn’t find me in the hallways or outside…they’re probably back in their dorm room.” Jimmy worked out.

“That’s as good as any place to start.” Tango said with a nod. “If they aren’t there, we’ll just head back to the building. We’re sure to run into them at some point at least.” Tango said and Jimmy nodded in agreement with him. Whether Jimmy was right or not, they would get him back to them.

Tango looked down at Jimmy and paused, realizing he would have to pick up Jimmy again for this. “Uh, how do you, ya know, want to do…this.” Tango stuttered out, waving at the both of them.

Jimmy looked at him confused. “What do you mean? You’ve already picked me up before, you can just do it again.”

“I know I have! But that was, you know there was a lot of panicy panic and not a lot of thinkificating involved.” When he saw Jimmy in danger, it was more of an act now and ask questions later sort of thing. “Besides, I feel weird just grabbing you.”

Jimmy tilted his head, puzzled. A human feeling weird about grabbing him? That was certainly a new one to Jimmy. Grian and Joel never seemed to have any conflicted feelings about grabbing him or picking him up. “Joel and Grian do it all the time, so I’m pretty used to it.”

Tango hummed at that, not knowing what to think. “Well…I would prefer you had some say in being picked up. So…” Tango placed a hand down next to Jimmy, palm up and flat. “...Hop on?”

Jimmy looked down at the hand, hesitant. It’s not like he had never been offered a hand before, he remembers vividly when that was all Grian and Joel did for a while after they first met, but it was such a rare thing nowadays that Jimmy wasn’t used to it. The difference between just being grabbed and being offered a hand was that, when it was offered, Jimmy was the one putting himself in that position. He was really and purposefully giving his entire self and safety to the human offering him the hand.

He supposed, when he was just being grabbed, it was easier to just let it happen.

And not only that, but this wasn’t Grian or Joel offering him a hand. It was Tango. Someone who he had just met and despite proving himself to be like Grian and Joel, it was still nerve-wracking to put himself in his hands. Especially when Tango was making him make that choice himself.

But he needed to get back to Grian and Joel, and Tango was the quickest way there, so he took a deep breath and stepped onto the hand. He moved toward the center and, feeling weird standing, he quickly took a seat. Jimmy then looked up at Tango and gave him a hesitant thumbs up.

“There we go, okay.” Tango said and Jimmy could just feel how nervous he was. It was kind of sweet, in all honesty. Even Grian and Joel had never been this nervous to handle him. “I’m going to put you in my pocket now, okay?” Tango said and when Jimmy nodded Tango lowered him to his hoodie pocket and let Jimmy inside. Jimmy slid off the hand and watched as Tango pulled his hand away but kept it at the very edge of the pocket, just in case.

“Ready?” Tango asked, still nervous.

“Ready!” Jimmy yelled back and then settled in as he heard the door open and Tango start to walk the dorm halls.

It wasn’t very long at all before Tango had stopped, making Jimmy wonder just how close Tango really was to Grian and Joel’s dorm. A sharp knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts though and he tuned back in, hoping Grian and Joel were there.

Tango heard a series of harsh whispers coming from inside the room but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. At least he knew they were in there. It took a long moment, long enough where Tango thought about knocking again, but the door opened before he could, revealing Joel.

He looked awful, honestly. Tango couldn’t help but wince at just how distressed he looked. And when Grian came from behind to see who was at the door, Tango noticed he didn’t look much better. He knew they would be worried about Jimmy but actually seeing them like this almost broke Tango’s heart. At least he knew Jimmy was in good hands, if their amount of worry was anything to go by. “Um, hey guys.” Tango said with a little wave.

Joel blinked. “Tango?” He had not been expecting him, though really he hadn’t been expecting anyone. “What are you-? Ah, nevermind, we don't really have time to chat or hang out right now, so maybe another-” As he spoke, he was already in the process of closing the door but Tango cut him off.

“I found Jimmy.” Tango said, not beating around the bush.

Both friends froze and slowly, Joel opened back up the door and both him and Grian looked at Tango with wide, incredulous eyes. “I…I’m sorry, what?” Joel asked, not sure if he had heard that right.

Tango gently patted his hoodie pocket with the hand not still in there. “I found Jimmy.” He repeated and then pointed to the inside of the room. “I think it might be best if I come in?”

They stared at him for a moment longer before nodding slowly and moving out of the way for Tango to come inside. Tango did and the door was shut behind him.

“Alright Tango, you better explain yourself.” Joel said, his arms crossed as he tried to appear threatening. However, his disheveled appearance and his worry were still showing through too much for it to actually work.

Grian, on the other hand, did a very good job at burying his emotions in order to stare daggers at him.

“Right, right, hold your horses.” Tango said, and then reached into his pocket since he figured showing them Jimmy was the best explanation he could give at the moment. He felt Jimmy crawl into his palm and he made sure to get a solid grip on him before pulling his hand back out, being very slow and careful just in case. He then lifted his hand to chest level and held it out towards Grian and Joel, revealing Jimmy sitting in the center.

“Jimmy!” They both shouted almost at the same time, voices overlapping each other. Before Tango could even react, Joel took a step forward and snatched Jimmy off his hand, moving to cradle him between two cupped hands. “Are you alright? What on earth happened? Where did you go?” Joel asked question after question in worried relief.

“And how did you end up with Tango?” Grian chimed in, close to Joel in order to look over Jimmy as well and make sure he was okay. But his gaze was locked onto Tango as he asked the question, Tango backing up a bit with his hands up at the intensity in Grian’s gaze. He had never seen Grian act like this before and, well, Tango could admit that Grian was scary when he wanted to be.

Jimmy, despite the too many questions, was just happy to be back with Grian and Joel. “I’m okay.” He decided to start with, since that seemed to be the most important thing to clarify. “I’m not hurt or anything.” He explained, even as Joel was using a gentle thumb to feel around his body for any injuries.

“That’s good.” Joel said with a sigh of relief, though he didn’t take his thumb back. Instead, using it to rub Jimmy’s back comfortingly. “But what happened? I got to class and put my hand in my pocket and you were just…you were just gone.” Joel’s voice cracked at the last word and Jimmy winced. He really had worried them.

“When you ran into that person in the hallway, I…I fell out and onto the floor.” Jimmy revealed, knowing the reactions weren’t going to be good.

He was right.

“On…on the floor. Of the hallway.” Grian said through gritted teeth and with wide eyes. “In the middle of that crowd! Jimmy, how…” how are you not dead, went unsaid but Jimmy still picked up on it. He was good at that since Grian and Joel never really liked bringing up what could have happened to Jimmy in certain situations. At least, not in any detail.

“It was…terrifying. But I was picked up only a minute or so later.” Jimmy looked over at Tango. “I thought it was you at first, Grian, since I was put in the pocket of a red hoodie but it turned out to be Tango.”

Both Grian and Joel looked over at Tango. Joel seemed to only just remember that he was there while Grian continued to look at him with barely hidden wariness.

“So you…saved him.” Grian said. Tango just shrugged and Jimmy frowned at that, answering before Tango could.

“He did! He saw me down there and grabbed me to save me!” Jimmy exclaimed.

Grian’s eyes finally softened, his wariness still there but much less prominent and he could already feel himself relaxing. “If that’s the case then thank you, Tango.”

“Of course.” Tango said, feeling better with Grian not looking at him all scary like anymore.

Joel though, still holding Jimmy close to his chest, still looked confused. “Okay, that is great and all and we do really appreciate it.” Joel started, but his tone became more wary as he continued. “But how are you not freaking out at Jimmy existing? You’re being pretty calm about all this.”

And Joel’s words, Grian’s wariness came back tenfold and he looked at Tango with much the same gaze as before.

Tango gulped at that but held out his hands. “Well, you see, I-” He cut himself off when he saw Jimmy run a hand along his neck, telling him to stop and not say anything. Tango really didn’t know why, but he followed along anyway. “I…uh, got all of my freak out when I talked with Jimmy at my dorm?”

Joel raised an eyebrow. “Why was that said as a question, Tango? What are you hiding?” Joel still seemed a bit untrusting toward Tango, despite Tango bringing Jimmy back to them.

“I’m not hiding anything! I, well…” Tango glanced down at Jimmy for help. Grian and Joel noticed and followed his gaze and now all three were looking down at Jimmy.

“Jimmy? Do you have something you want to tell us?” Grian asked, his brow slightly raised.

Jimmy looked at the three of them before he couldn’t help but duck his head a little. He was used to being around Grian and Joel, of course. But Tango being added to the mix…that was three humans surrounding him from all sides, staring down at him with their full attention, and it was just a little intimidating if he was being honest.

Jimmy bit his lip, knowing that if he told them the truth of how Tango knew about him, they would freak out. Probably on both him and Tango. But he also knew that at this point, Grian and Joel weren’t going to let it go. He either told them now with little fuss or spend an hour arguing about it and then end up telling them anyway.

He really didn’t feel like getting into a big thing right now. He was starting to feel exhausted from this whole day. So, he sighed and decided to reveal it. “Tango isn’t really freaking out because…he already kind of knew about me.”

Grian and Joel’s eyes widened and Tango bit his lip as he watched closely at their reaction.

“...Okay, but how?” Joel asked and Jimmy knew he wasn’t just going to let him leave it at that.

“Um…remember when I told you about that time, when you two were celebrating the end of your first semester with some beer? About, how uh, I almost got caught by that drunk guy?” Jimmy asked with a nervous smile.

It clicked right away for the two of them.

“Tango was the drunk guy that saw you?!” Grian shouted as Joel’s jaw went slack. Jimmy winced a little at Grian’s volume and their reaction. Tango also found himself wincing, his body tense as he prepared to run if he had to.

“I thought you said he didn’t remember seeing you?” Joel asked, getting over his shock enough to speak. Jimmy huffed a little and looked down.

“I thought he didn't, but according to Tango…” He trailed off and looked at Tango, who took the hint to finish for him.

“I started remembering a few days later. At first I thought it had been a dream but I just…I had this feeling it couldn’t have been.” Tango repeated what he had told Jimmy earlier.

“Well that’s…hmm.” Grian started, only to stop talking and hum to himself, unsure.

“I guess I am glad it was you and not some total stranger.” Joel admitted. “That could have been really bad.”

“Yeah, imagine my surprise when Tango told me he knew the two of you. Why have you never mentioned him or any of your other friends before?” Jimmy asked, looking between Grian and Joel.

Joel blinked and then shrugged. “It just…never got brought up? And besides, we never thought you were ever going to meet any of them.” He looked at Tango. “Turns out you two met long before us.”

Jimmy supposed that was actually kind of true. It had been at least a couple of years before he met Grian and Joel that he had had that close encounter with Tango. That was honestly weird to think about.

“Oh shoot, is that the time?” Tango suddenly said, catching a glance at Grian’s alarm clock. How words pulled Jimmy out of his thoughts “I gotta catch a class in about 10 minutes, so I should probably head out.”

Grian nodded but as Tango made to leave, Grian stepped forward. “Wait.” Tango froze at the seriousness in Grian's voice and looked at him nervously. “You’re not going to tell anyone else about Jimmy, right?”

Tango’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not! I would never ever.” He said and then paused, thinking something over. “But, I mean…you know, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for you guys to tell the others.”

Grian’s eyes narrowed. “Tango…”

Tango put his hands up. “I’m not going to say anything! You don’t have to worry about that. But…you know the guys. You know Impulse and Etho and the others. Do you really think they can’t be trusted to know about Jimmy?”

Joel rolled his eyes. “It’s not about trust! It’s about not having so many people knowing about Jimmy. The more who know, the more likely it could spread.”

“But only if someone spills the secret.” Tango said with a raised eyebrow. “And I really don’t think anyone would. But, anyway, it’s not really up to the two of you, is it?”

Grian and Joel blinked. “What do you mean?” Joel asked with a huff.

“It’s up to Jimmy.” Tango said. Grian and Joel paused and looked down at the borrower and Tango couldn’t help but hum. “It’s his decision whether he wants more people to know about him or not.” It was important he reminded his fellow humans that Jimmy should be making the ultimate decision on anything that involved the borrower himself. And something like this definitely fell into that category.

Tango then crouched down so he was eye level with Jimmy and smiled at him. “They can tell you more about our other friends later, but I wouldn’t be suggesting this if I didn’t think everything would be okay.” He explained a bit more. “Besides, I think you would get along great with the rest of our group.”

Jimmy blinked wide-eyed at Tango, taken aback by that last statement. “You really think so?”

Tango nodded. “I do. Think about it?” Tango asked with a slight head tilt.

Jimmy hesitated for a moment before he nodded. “I will. Think about it, that is.”

“Great.” Tango said and then slapped his knees as he straightened up before heading toward the door. He looked back behind him. “Hopefully we can see each other again soon! Bye Jimmy!” He waved and Jimmy waved back with a smile. “And bye to you guys too, I guess.” He joked as he also waved to Grian and Joel.

And with that, Tango was gone.

And since he was gone, that meant all attention was now back on Jimmy. He was finally brought away from Joel’s chest and held between the two humans. “You are okay, right?” Grian asked softly, wanting to make sure.

Jimmy took in a shakier breath than he had intended but nodded. Despite everything, he really was okay. Tango seemed like a really nice guy and even promised to keep his existence a secret. His mind, however, couldn’t help but replay the terrifying parts of the day. Jimmy did his best to not think about it though and shove it into the back of his head. “I’m okay. Just a bit shaken up, I guess.” Jimmy said, allowing himself to be a bit more vulnerable with Tango no longer around.

“I bet.” Joel said and Jimmy realized his tone was no longer bordering on defensive. “You fell out of my pocket, onto the floor, and ended up meeting another human today. I’d be exhausted too.” He said and then sighed and looked away. “Stupid of me to not have my hand in there with you.” He mumbled to himself, so quiet Jimmy only caught a few words. But before he could ask about it, the conversation moved on.

“You’re back with us now though.” Grian said, not only to them but to himself as well. “That’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, and maybe no more trips to classes for a little bit.” Joel recommended and Jimmy nodded. He had no desire to leave the dorm room for a long time after what happened today.

“I second that.” Grian said and then walked over to his bed to collapse in it. Joel, who Jimmy expected was going to be holding him for at least the rest of the night, sat down on his own bed and seemed to finally relax.

“By the way.” Jimmy said after a few moments of silence. Joel looked down at him and Grian sat up a little to do the same. “What, uh…what are your other friends like?”

He looked to Joel first, who was frowning. “You can’t seriously be thinking about meeting them, right? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Grian sat all the way up and rubbed the back of his head, sighing. “Joel, I hate to admit it, but Tango is right. That’s not our decision to make for Jimmy.”

Joel sputtered. “It’s-I mean-Jimmy, you were the one who didn’t want more humans knowing about you in the first place!”

“I know, I know.” Jimmy looked down. Meeting Tango had been nerve-wracking for sure but maybe it was only because of the way he had met him? Sure, he would probably still be nervous meeting the others despite knowing what he was getting into with them. But…maybe Jimmy wanted to try. Maybe he wanted more friends. Not that Grian and Joel weren’t good enough but more friends, more people to talk to, seemed…nice.

Besides, if the others knew about him, he would no longer be stopping Grian and Joel from hanging out with them. They could all hang out together!

Still…Jimmy couldn’t take making this decision lightly. He needed to think about it and calculate if the risks were worth it. But, honestly, if the others were anything like Grian and Joel, or even Tango, he figured he would be just fine.

“I’m not sure about it yet. But…I am thinking about it.” Jimmy admitted and looked between the two to gauge their reactions. They both looked worried, which Jimmy thought was fair. “I would like to know more about the others though, in order to…reach that decision.” Jimmy continued.

Grian and Joel were silent for a moment before Joel sighed. “Well…I guess we can start with Impulse. He’s Tango’s roommate.” Joel started and Jimmy was a bit surprised they were willing to do this right now but thankful all the same.

The rest of that night he spent in Joel’s hands, listening to Grian and Joel talking about their friends.

And once they had all laid down to finally go to sleep, after learning so much about these people, these friends of his friends, Jimmy couldn’t help but think about how much he wanted to meet them.

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splashaxis · 9 days ago

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Not telling your kid they have a learning disability, chronic illness, mental illness etc. so they can “feel normal” actually does the opposite. They will not feel normal if they do not have the context to understand that their normal will be different from that of their peers.

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splashaxis · 13 days ago

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AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH IM GOING FERAL FOR THEM!!! I LOVE THIS ✨🫶🏻

First Meetings Epilogue

Summary: How Jimmy met Grian and Joel.

Warnings: anxiety, and mentions of loneliness

Word Count: 2022

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

AO3 Link

Ha! I lied to all of you! Chapter 3 of First Meetings wasn't the last one! This is one is!

And yes, this was planned since the beginning of the fic. I always planned to have the epilogue be a bit of a surprise. Hopefully it's a good one! I hope you guys enjoy the real last chapter of First Meetings!

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Jimmy really shouldn’t have been doing this.

What he should have been doing was gathering up as much stuff as he could and moving. He wouldn’t move out of the dorm building. He couldn’t. But it was big enough where he could move up a few floors and never have to even be near Grian and Joel’s dorm.

Moving is what he should have been doing.

What he was actually doing was heading back toward Grian and Joel’s dorm, hands fidgeting in front of him as he walked. It had been a couple of days since Grian and Joel had caught him and then let him go. And no matter how hard Jimmy tried, he…

He couldn’t stop thinking about them.

The beginning had been terrifying and he played that part over and over again in his head. The way their hands wrapped around him, trapping him, ignoring his fear, it had all been too much and it still left him shaking when he thought about it. But he also replayed what happened after. How they had stopped and apologized and fed him and let him go.

The more he thought about that part, the more Jimmy realized just how deep his loneliness ran. Because just that little bit of interaction with another person had Jimmy almost desperate for more. He wanted to talk, he wanted someone else’s presence around him. But Jimmy was the only borrower in the whole building. Maybe even in the state, or country, or even the world.

He didn’t know how many borrowers were left. But he knew that no matter what that number was, the likelihood of him ever meeting another borrower was very, very low.

And the more he thought about that, the more that deep buried loneliness of his felt suffocating.

It was mostly that feeling that led him back. He stared at his exit out of the walls, the one that would put him in Grian and Joel’s dorm. He shifted his grip on his bag slung over his shoulder and looked between the door and back toward the way he came. He could turn back now. He still had the chance to. But the more he thought about leaving, the more he realized he couldn’t. The more he realized he didn’t want to. And so he took a deep breath and entered the dorm room.

There was, thankfully, nothing blocking his way in. Grian’s bag was still under the desk but it was placed farther away from his exit. Jimmy briefly wondered if Grian had done that on purpose.

He tore his gaze away from the bag and looked around. Grian wasn’t at his desk but a quick look at the opposite side of the room showed Jimmy that Joel was at his. And from the slight shifting and creaking of the bed not too far away from him, he knew Grian must be on his bed.

It was pretty quiet other than the sounds of Joel typing. Jimmy didn’t know what Grian was doing but he hoped that whatever it was was enough of a distraction that they wouldn’t notice Jimmy right away.

He wanted to get higher up before revealing himself, put himself on a more even playing field. Even if he knew that was more of an illusion than anything, it made him feel a bit better at least.

He adjusted his bag and then ran under Grian’s bed from the desk and went to the edge. He couldn’t see Grian from where he was but Joel was fully engrossed in his laptop. Jimmy felt his heart thud in his chest as he realized he would be taking the same risk he had before. Except this time without the threat of being chased and grabbed.

He hoped.

Jimmy took in a deep breath before running across the room as swiftly and quietly as he could. Thankfully there were no sudden gasps or shouts this time and Jimmy was able to dart behind Joel’s nightstand without being detected. He let himself catch his breath from the adrenaline he just put himself through before carefully leaning out from behind the nightstand to try and catch a glimpse at Grian.

As he thought, Grian was in bed. He seemed to be on his phone, his thumb scrolling every few seconds. Jimmy couldn’t even begin to guess what Grian was actually doing on his phone but whatever it was had him engrossed enough that he didn’t see Jimmy. Which was all the borrower needed.

Ducking back behind the nightstand, he grabbed his hook out of his bag and started whipping it to gain more momentum. He didn’t have a lot of room between the nightstand and the wall but it was enough to let him throw his hook and watch as it snagged the edge of the nightstand. Jimmy gave it a little tug, just to make sure it was steady. It stayed firm despite his tugs and so Jimmy started the climb up.

He made it up the nightstand with no problems, hoisting himself up and onto it. He decided to leave his hook and line where it was as he ducked behind the lamp. From here, he could basically see the entire room and he peered out from behind the lamp to his left to see Joel a bit better. He could see that Joel must be working on some homework, as his screen was full of words that continued to appear the more Joel typed.

Unfortunately, it was at this moment that Jimmy was watching Joel that Joel leaned back against his chair and stretched, turning his head to the side in order to give his eyes a rest from the screen. As his head turned, Joel’s gaze subconsciously landed on his nightstand as something in his peripheral had caught his attention and it was then that Joel and Jimmy’s eyes met.

Jimmy gasped and ducked back behind the lamp just as he saw Joel’s eyes go wide. He pressed his back against the lamp, his breathing coming out faster and his heart rate spiking considerably.

“Jimmy?” Joel called out as Jimmy heard him stand abruptly from his seat.

“Huh?” Grian let out a noise and snapped his attention away from his phone and toward Joel. “Is Jimmy here?” Grian asked and Jimmy could just barely see Grian scrambling out of bed and moving closer to Joel, to Jimmy.

“I-yeah. He’s behind my lamp.” Joel said and for some reason, having Joel actually put into words that he saw him and knew where he was had Jimmy’s heart racing even faster.

He placed a hand on his chest and tried to force himself to calm down. He was fine. He was the one who decided to do this. And Grian and Joel had already let him go once, he didn’t think they would keep him or do anything like that to him now.

It was just so nerve wracking putting himself in the presence of humans again. His instincts, fear instilled into him since he was little, screaming at him to run and get away. But he stayed put and breathed through it.

He wanted this.

Jimmy took his hand off his chest and before he could second guess himself, he leaned back around the lamp, revealing himself to Grian and Joel. He looked up at them, still using the lamp as some sort of comfort as he gripped the side of it and tried to stop his body from shaking. Joel and Grian stared at him with wide eyes and Jimmy cleared his throat, preparing to say something.

“Um…H-Hey.” He winced at the stutter in his voice. Thankfully, Grian and Joel didn’t comment on it. Instead, they just seemed really surprised.

“You came back?” Grian asked, despite knowing the answer. He seemed in awe that Jimmy had come back at all and the question was only said to convey Grian’s shock. Jimmy nodded and with another calming breath he fully came out from behind the lamp, putting himself fully in the humans’ line of sight.

“Yeah, I mean…you did say I was welcome back, er, right?” Jimmy asked, fidgeting with his hands a bit.

“Well, yeah, of course!” Grian answered, putting Jimmy’s mind more at ease.

“Yeah, we just…well, we weren’t really expecting you to take us up on that.” Joel chimed in, rubbing the back of his neck. “I mean, we didn’t really have the-the best first meeting.”

Jimmy winced as his earlier thoughts were brought up. Good thing he had already thought this over at least a hundred times before coming back here. “Yeah but…it wasn’t terrible. I mean, you guys fed me and let me go…”

He watched as both of their eyebrows furrowed. “Well, yeah, we were never going to keep you here.” Joel said with a small frown. As if the idea of forcing Jimmy to stay had never even crossed his mind.

He said with such confidence too, such casualness, that Jimmy really had no choice but to believe them. That and he had seen them let him go first hand. The more Jimmy stood there on the nightstand without being grabbed, talking to the two humans, the more he realized he hadn’t made a terrible decision in coming back here.

“Speaking of food…” Grian said, glancing at his phone before looking back at Jimmy. “You’re actually just in time for lunch. Did you…want to stay for it?”

Before Jimmy could answer, his stomach did it for him, releasing a loud gurgling noise. Jimmy’s cheeks became red as he realized that was loud enough for even Grian and Joel to hear. The two humans blinked before Grian let out a small laugh. Joel chuckled as well, though he at least had the decency to hide it behind a hand. It didn’t stop the red in Jimmy’s cheeks from spreading though.

“I’m gonna take that as a yes.” Grian said, tapping some stuff on his phone that Jimmy could only assume was to order said food. “Any requests?”

Jimmy blinked. The only thing that came to mind was pizza, which he would for sure be happy to have again. But a part of him wanted to try something new as well. He decided on shrugging. “I’m okay with anything.”

Grian nodded and tapped some more stuff on his phone. “How do some burgers and fries sound then?” Grian said, looking between both Jimmy and Joel.

“Sounds good to me.” Joel said with a grin.

“Me too.” Jimmy said, barely even knowing what burgers and fries were. He thought he might have had a fry in the past but he couldn’t be sure. And if he had, it had definitely been old and cold. Not fresh like he knew this would be.

Jimmy honestly couldn’t believe he was getting another chance to have fresh and warm food. He also couldn’t believe this was going so well. Here Jimmy was, purposefully putting himself within reach of two humans and they hadn’t so much as reached for him. They actually seemed to be keeping their distance, neither one of them had moved any closer than where they were now. Which was a good few feet away from where Jimmy was.

As Joel listed off his order for Grian to put in, Jimmy found himself relaxing more and more. Maybe being here was against the borrower code. And maybe being here was risking everything he ever knew. But Jimmy didn’t care.

Jimmy sat down, hanging his feet over the edge of the nightstand. Grian and Joel’s sizes were still intimidating and it would take a lot to get over that, if he even could, but he knew there was a line of trust forming. A trust that Jimmy could believe in.

Maybe he was wrong before. Maybe he didn’t have to live in another world where Grian and Joel were also borrowers in order to be friends with them. Maybe, just maybe, they could be friends in this one as well.

Jimmy was glad he came back. Because he, at the very least, now believed they could be.

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splashaxis · 13 days ago

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splashaxis · 14 days ago

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going through the old posts for nostalgic comfort and just realized how much potential and how flipping awesome fleshing out this idea would be!

You get multiple first meets (something I’m a sucker for) and LOTS of angst and/or hurt/comfort scenes! Like consider-

Dream could just get use to being around them in his smaller form and start getting careless about his time limit and changing back and forth, but eventually one of them (probably George) would realize that Dream doesn’t just shrink frequently but is actually tiny more often then he’s human sized. George would probably ask Sapnap if he’s noticed anything and share his suspicions before they go and confront him. ✨second reveal ensues✨

bonus points if Dream doesn’t realize he’s become comfortable and careless when around the humans and gets all anxious having to reveal that he’s a borrower and they take a few steps back in their friendship before taking a few steps forward 🤭

P.S. I love @giant-tiny-squid ‘s work, your work is one of the things that inspired me to write a bit of my own! 🥰

Hullo! I'm desperate for more tiny!dream and I'd love to hear more about the borrower dream who turns human for an hour au! How does he get caught?

Thank you! <3 I haven’t really written anything for this AU yet, but I think it’s a really fun idea and would love to write for it.

So Dream turns human-sized for one hour every day. He doesn’t have a choice; he can’t stop himself from changing. It usually happens at around the same time, and he can try to fight the change, but it’s really hard and he can only do that by a couple of minutes. If he really tries he can trigger the change early, but it takes a lot of energy out of him. So basically it’s kinda like he’s a werewolf lol except he turns into a human instead of a wolf.

He eventually introduces himself to the humans he lives with when he’s human, saying that he’s their neighbor, and they start getting along pretty well. Dream manages to get a phone so he can text them and stuff even when he’s small.

He feels bad that he never really gets to hang out with them, and he’s frustrated about it too. An hour isn’t really enough time to do anything. No going out, no watching movies together, and he has to be very careful.

There are many different ways that he could get caught! He could be hanging out with them for too long and shrink, they could spot him when he’s tiny and recognize him, or he could grow in an inconvenient place. I imagine that has happened a few times, where Dream grew or shrunk and had to sneak out of the house without them noticing.

I think maybe the “canon” way that he’d get caught would be him shrinking in front of them, though. They’re hanging out, he’s laughing with them, he loses track of time. He feels the shift coming and panics but isn’t able to delay it because he was distracted, so he just,,,shrinks. One second he was sitting with them on the couch, and the next second he’s like four inches tall.

George and Sap are very startled, unsure what happened, thinking he just straight-up vanished before they spot him. Dream freaks out, climbing down the couch as quickly as possible and dropping the rest of the way to the ground when George reaches for him. He hides under the couch, ignoring the humans’ questions, and then sprints for the walls. Sapnap tries to stop him but hesitates before grabbing him and he gets away.

He avoids them for days, ignoring their messages and staying away when he’s human-sized, but eventually they run into him and insist that he comes inside and talks to them. Dream starts to explain, but his time runs out and he shrinks again. Sap and George are able to calm him down this time and he finishes explaining, although he isn’t fully honest, saying that his normal size is human but he shrinks frequently instead of telling them that he’s actually a borrower.

Thanks for the ask! I love tiny!Dream too and I have fun writing him <3

#Splash’s reblog remarks💧#Yes I had a phase don’t judge #g/t #giant tiny #size difference #mcyt gt #mcyt g/t #Tbh it was a fun phase tho and I love to revisit it

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splashaxis · 15 days ago

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something something, transformers really big and humans really small

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splashaxis · 15 days ago

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oops, almost dropped my emotional support human

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splashaxis · 18 days ago

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splashaxis · 18 days ago

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[ what happened.. ]

(Side Order AU)

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splashaxis · 19 days ago

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Jason Anderson

British artist Jason Anderson creates colorful abstract paintings composed of pixelated swatches of pastel-toned oil paint. Up-close, the artist’s paintings look like blocky layers of shapes and color; but, from afar, his scenes—featuring cityscapes, roads, trains, and marinas—are revealed.

Anderson began his career as a stained glass apprentice, where he worked on restoring the windows of cathedrals. He soon progressed onto designing the glass murals himself, where he learned how to break down subject matter into “jigsaws” of colored sections. This approach still shines through in his paintings today—complex scenes are brought to life with simple shapes and careful consideration to hue and tone.

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splashaxis · 23 days ago

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From Blood Births Life And Death - Chapter 1

Ordinary, oddly enough.

word count: 1,656

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Books were one of the only things in his equally ordinary life that actually entertained him, so why not make it a profession? Not that being a librarian was the most fun thing to do, but he surely wasn’t the type to dive into a socially exposing job like his brother, anyways. But hey, it wasn’t a flaw, at least not for him: everyone is unique in their own way, afterall. He enjoyed his time alone, and in any case there weren't many customers. He spent almost three quarters of his work day reading alone, out of curiosity, or tidying up and reorganising the shelves. Not many people shared his interests, but it didn’t bother him that much, to be honest. And that day had been just like all the others.

He slowly got down from the wooden ladder, adjusting it against the wall. He unrolled his folded sleeves and exhaled as he stifled a yawn. He picked the keys up from the nearby table, and turned towards the window. He apparently stayed in the library for quite more time than usual, he noticed, and night had already come, with the moon being the only source of light thanks to its faint glow.

Andrew grabbed the lantern and lit it up, the small flame warming the air around it. As he finally got outside, he locked the door behind him, and began his walk home. He didn’t mind late night walks, he even enjoyed them, but since his home was pretty far from the village centre, the path was quite long, and his tiredness wasn’t really helping.

The cobblestone path was flanked by the edge of the forest, quiet as usual in the deep of the night. As said before, the day had been routinary, normal, ordinary: shortly, nothing special happened; but even so, Andrew was still surprisingly tired. The calm silence of the night almost reassured him during the walk, making him already savour the moment in which he could finally rest his head on the pillow and abandon himself to sleep-

boom

He flinched, almost dropping the lantern on the ground, startled by a loud sound coming from the woods at his side. His head snapped instinctively towards the deep set of trees as the precious silence was shattered. His brows furrowed in suspicion: it was a peculiar sound, sharp, echoing and weirdly… mechanical? Unnatural, even. He felt a slight sense of unease. Andrew stood still, eyes fixed on the edge of the forest until the sound started to fade in the distance, still echoed by a series of fainter, high pitched noises he couldn’t fully identify. He hesitated before resuming his walk, his gaze still darting cautiously around every now and then, scanning his surroundings. He shook his head while quickening his pace: he didn’t know what that noise came from, but he didn’t want to interfere with whatever the hell it was. He really wasn’t in the mood of getting in trouble.

Calm seemed to settle back into his mind as he finally reached the more narrow path that led to his cosy home, and he loosened his grip around the lantern. The surrounding forest began to thin out, leaving room for single scattered trees. That was the quietest part of the village, distant from almost, well, everything. It was great for someone like Andrew, as he often just needed some time to detach from the everyday chaos and be on his own.

His mind drifted back to that strange distant echo. He nervously chuckled under his breath, almost like making fun of himself for getting startled. He was too tired, he thought, and his mind was playing tricks on him. Maybe it was just a wild animal running through the leaves, who knows. He rubbed his eyes, now more than ever willing to get home and get some nice sleep.

He continued along his path, his gaze dropping to the ground and tracing imaginary patterns through the various shaped cobblestones. Each one was framed slightly by grass and moss, except for one that was stained…

Wait. - He paused.

Was that a blood stain?

Andrew blinked a few times. He frowned, taking a few steps back and scanning the area. He was now too far away from the village centre, towards the woods, and that narrow alley wasn’t crossed by many people except him. He gulped, raising the lantern closer to his eyes to have a better sight. To his surprise, the blood stain wasn’t just one. They were multiple, tiny, scattered on the ground, and they seemed to stretch forward like a path of footprints.

Andrew clenched his fists nervously, his hesitation clear. It was like wariness and curiosity were having a fight inside of his mind. Oh, dang it. Curiosity won the duel.

Andrew followed the path of red stains, each step careful and slow as he didn’t know what he was approaching.

“Hey..? - he muttered unsurely, almost afraid to make his voice be heard - who’s there..?”

No response.

He called again, this time raising his voice.

Still dead silence.

He cursed under his breath, his hands slightly trembling. He frowned, but when he was about to turn on his heel and give up, he heard something. A muffled sound, like a faint rustle of something struggling.

He turned back again, his eyes sharpening as he gave a final scan to the ground beneath him.

His stomach dropped.

—

Okay. Between all the things Andrew expected to experience that ordinary, routinary, normal day, seeing a tiny, impossibly tiny person, crumpled on the ground in a puddle of blood wasn’t minimally in the list

His breath caught in his throat as he hesitatingly knelt down to have a better look of her. He placed the lantern at his side, leaning forward. She looked like a young girl, no taller than his middle finger, her face pale, streaked with blood and dirt, and she looked unconscious.

A human? Could it really be?

He heard they were small, but.. that small?

He couldn’t quite catch her features in that moment, as his heart hammered through his chest as he felt the rush of disbelief, wonder and something close to fear building up inside of him. She was badly injured, he could tell - not that it took an incredible perspicacity to understand it, given the blood around her - but what could he do?

He felt terrible at the idea of leaving her there, she would have died, perhaps. Picking her up? In 20 years of existence he never had been so aware of his size - if he dared to grab her, even with the nicest intentions, he would have scared the hell out of her, or he could have accidentally hurt her. He bit his lip in frustration, his eyes nervously looking everywhere except at the tiny figure lying unconscious on the ground, seconds feeling like minutes as he pondered the possible options.

Again, the two thoughts seemed to have that awful sparring in his mind. He was always like this when under pressure, and he absolutely hated it.

No, seriously, he would have slapped himself in the face.

He shook his head. Between leaving her to die and frighten her, maybe the second option was worth a shot. Maybe.

He breathed in, as if mentally preparing himself. He reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he extended his fingers towards her. Awkwardly yet as carefully as he could, he scooped the human’s body in his hand, curling his fingers around her for more stability. She felt so incredibly light, so small it actually scared him. As he made contact with her, he felt her small body shivering under his touch. He stood still in his kneeling position for a couple of seconds, staring at her incredulously as his gaze studied the human girl once again.

‘Oh Gods, I am holding a real live human in the palm of my hand.’

Andrew felt a rush of sudden panic surge through his veins as the thought concretised in his mind.

He was holding a human - a being that he wasn’t even sure existed before that damn night - and she was injured, and, for gods’ sake, he had absolutely no idea on how to take care of her or, worse, to deal with her when she’d have awakened. He cringed, feeling again painfully aware of their size difference, which sure as hell unsettled him, but it must have been ten times worse for her.

Taking another long breath in, he tried to calm down. Think rationally.

One step at a time. For now, he was glad that at least she wasn’t conscious, screaming at him in terror - even if he felt like the one who had the urge to scream. The whole situation was overwhelming, and it was merely the start.

He realised that it effectively would have been a great day not to fall asleep at work and get home at a decent time, but there he was. Life always manages to play nice tricks on us, after all.

Andrew slowly got up from his knees, the hand in which he held the tiny girl slightly shaking, the free one grabbing his lantern from the ground. One step at a time, he reminded himself.

All he needed to do now was to make sure she was safe. As if it was easy.

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splashaxis · 23 days ago

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From Blood Births Life and Death - Chapter 2

Gods no, too early.

word count: 1,953

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Once inside his home, Andrew shut the door behind him and slid his back down the wall, letting himself sink on the cold floor. His heart was pounding as if it wanted to break free from his ribcage, as the young man was completely overwhelmed by the situation. He felt something cold lightly touch his skin. He pulled away his hand from his chest, trembling, and noticed the small unconscious figure cradled in his palm.

Oh right- the human. The reason why he got home just before having a heart attack.

That human.

Ironic how he almost forgot about her existence even if she was the primary reason for his panic. Okay, he had to make sure he was safe. So, first step, her wound.

He got up and, before gently setting her down on the table, he grabbed a small tissue to make her lay on.

He started gathering supplies to treat the bloodied wound on her leg, his eyes nervously scanning her small figure as he moved around the room.

He hesitated before actually examining her wound. Just a single, even the littlest wrong move and he could break her a bone, or hurt her more than she already was. He grabbed a small piece of cloth and lifted her wounded leg with his finger, trying to be as careful as possible.

He worked quickly, wrapping the cloth around her leg with the utmost care, trying to adjust his touch to her tiny size. Despite his gentleness, he couldn’t ignore how enormous he must seem to her. What if she woke up in the middle of that and was terrified? He shook his head. It wasn’t going to be a problem to think about until it actually showed. His anxiety was already eating him alive from the inside out.

He finished wrapping the cloth around her leg, and exhaled a sigh of relief. He just had to clean it up a bit, and then… no idea.

Now that he finished the manual part of the work, he needed to think about what to do. He took a few steps back and leaned his back on the counter, steadying himself with his hands on the edge of it. He was lost in thought, not even looking anymore at the figure that was laying unconscious on the table.

The figure that was lying unconscious on his table and had just started stirring as she gained back her consciousness. She pushed herself up, gasping in pain as she tried to move her injured leg.

It was only when he saw the faintest movement at the very corner of his eye that he realised the human was, in fact, awake.

Oh Gods no. Too early.

Pain rushed through his mind as he noticed she was crawling towards the edge of the table.

She was already injured, and he probably didn’t want her to commit suicide by falling down such an height.

He leaned towards her and lightly tugged at her shirt, bringing her back to the center of the table as the first words that came into his mind escaped his lips.

“Hey- where do you think you’re going?”

Okay, no, that phrase sounded better in his head.

As she felt the sudden contact, the human’s eyes widened in terror, and she scrambled back, her hands slipping on the surface of the table as she tried to distance herself from him.

“STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!”

What was he doing? What he said to her seemed more like a sort of threat than a reassuring sentence. Fucking idiot. Now he scared the shit outta her.

He backed off instantly, retracting his hand at her predictable reaction, - her scream high-pitched and filled with raw fear. He would have slapped himself again, like, how did he manage to be such a disaster in every minimally stressing situation?

“Whoa, whoa, it’s okay!”

He quickly raised his hands up to show that he meant no harm, but he already messed up.

His eyes met hers again, as she shrank back in terror. He felt a pang of guilt and even embarrassment - he just wanted to reassure her, but it seemed impossible now.

“I.. - he tried to explain further, but the words he tried to mutter remained stuck in his throat, as he was the one scared to death in that situation. She stared at him, her tiny form trembling, and for a moment, all he saw was the pure panic in her eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I-.”

He could see how scared she was, and it hurt to know he was the cause. “I’m sorry if I scared you,” he continued, his voice quieter now, as words kept rushing out in a desperate attempt to make himself seem more like a person than a monster to her.

“T-That wasn’t my intention. I found you outside, and you were hurt. I couldn’t just leave you there.”

His expression remained embarrassed as he awkwardly waited for a response, his eyes meeting her terrified, wary gaze which nervously shifted between him and the bandage on her leg. Andrew could tell she was struggling to process everything, and honestly, he couldn’t even blame her.

He wanted to say something more, but instead he just stayed silent, to give her more.. space? That made sense in his head, but again, it wasn’t like each one of his ideas was particularly smart in such a moment.

“You… you speak English?”

Was the first thing the small girl dared to mutter in that absurd situation.

He felt confused at the question. How was she worrying about the language he was speaking when there were way more concerning aspects she could focus on?

“Yes. A- A little bit. I’ve… read something”

In fact, his knowledge in human language wasn’t that extensive, but it was one of the things of their culture that he learnt from some of the dusty books in his library. Well, being a bookworm seemed to have its perks. Who knew it could have helped him in such an awkward situation.

She looked stunned, her eyes wide as she tried to make sense of the situation. “Oh my God, oh my God, this can’t be real…” She gulped, her throat bobbing as she struggled to speak. “You… you don’t want to… erm, kill me or something?”

Is that what she thought?

Well, yes, pretty obviously. But again, his mind wasn’t in the right situation to collaborate properly in tasks so difficult such as bare coherent thinking.

“No… I don’t… think so,” he said, his tone softening and slowing down as he tried to stop his nervous stuttering.

He saw her exhale, a slight tremor in her shoulders as the tension eased a little. “Thank God,” she muttered, though her eyes remained guarded.

He took another slow step back, giving her space. “I’m sorry,” he said again, his cheeks turning slightly red as embarrassment flashed across his face. “You were bleeding badly, and I had to… well, I tried to patch you up.”

He silently watched the human girl as she shifted her position, adjusting her messy ginger hair. He could see that she was young, probably a few years younger than him. She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him again, her brows slightly furrowing.

“Well, uh.. thanks.” The girl muttered, her tone still slightly unsure but etched with a flicker of trust. “I’m Maya, by the way.” she said.

Wait, was the human - this Maya - introducing herself? Merely 10 minutes before she was screaming and swearing in terror, and now she was telling him, the reason of her fear, her name? Damn, humans were odd. His flow of thoughts about the weird question - at least from his perspective - were interrupted by the human girl’s constant staring.

Oh, right. Maybe she was waiting for a response.

“A-Andrew. My name is Andrew” he replied, still unsure about how to handle the unusual interaction.

She sat up a little more, her tiny hands clutching at her bandaged leg, still watching him intently, as if trying to figure out whether or not she could trust him.

“A-are you…a real.. human?” he asked, trying to break the ice. Yeah, the question was pretty stupid since he already knew the answer, but he had to push some conversation, one way or another. He felt like her guarded staring was gonna crush him, funny enough. Maya’s eyes darted up, her gaze sharpening.

“You knew about humans?” she asked, her voice wary yet filled with a drop of curiosity.

“Y-yeah. Not much, to be honest. All I know personally is stuff I've read from books, but.. - he replied, hesitating as he was aware of how odd the conversation could be to her. “but I never would have imagined meeting one up close.” He stopped. The last thing he wanted was to make her feel like an interesting little creature to study or do God knows what. Luck was at his side, though. She just nodded and the tension in her body started to ease.

“What happened to you…?” he asked, trying not to sound too intrusive. The size difference was already enough to process for her, no, for the both of them, and stressing her with questions surely wouldn’t have helped neither of them. “I mean, why were you there alone..?”

She shrugged, shaking her head. “It’s… complicated.”

What did she mean with that? Was it linked with the weird noise he heard in the woods? Was it her? Was she trying to get away from something? All the questions churned in his mind but he didn’t dare to push further.

“Uh.. That’s okay. You don’t have to tell me if you’re not feeling like it. - he said. - But… as much as this can help, you’re safe now.” She looked at him, and for a moment he thought she was going to reply, to say something more. But instead, she just nodded with her still wary eyes. Andrew felt a pang of frustration- he really wanted to help her, but trust would take time, and in that moment waiting was the last thing he wanted to do.

Maya yawned, the sound faint and barely perceptible. The yawn was followed by a slight shiver. As he looked at her again, she looked tired, exhausted, even.

“You know, maybe you should rest,” he said, trying to sound casual. “Your wounds need time to heal.”

At his words, the human’s eyes shot back to him.

“Y-you don't mind if I stay here for the night, do you?” Maya asked, her tone vaguely nervous, even though Andrew could tell that, oddly enough, maybe this time the reason of her apprehension wasn’t him. The question was strange, since he expected her to run away as soon as she could.

In any case, he wasn’t a complete reckless idiot. He never would have kicked her out in the middle of the night, it would have been completely nonsense, even cruel. He shook his head.

“No, no, don’t worry. It’s late, after all… of course you can stay… if you.. feel like it.”

She nodded, glancing a small smile at him. “Thanks.”

He felt reassured by that action, even if so insignificant. Maybe it was the first sign of trust coming from her. She lay back on the neatly folded tissue Andrew had set before for her to lie on, trying to close her eyes and finally rest.

He sighed, sitting on the edge of his bed and rubbing his eyes, anxiety leaving space for tiredness to settle in. It hadn’t been easy, but it was a beginning. Ignoring all the questions that started swirling inside of his mind at that moment, of course.

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