littlest-world

[littlest-world]

Off and on i think about how borrowers can’t really enjoy hot drinks because a little drop or two of a hot drink would go cold too fast for it to actually be hot by the time they drank much of it

But now i’m wondering.. what if, because of this, communal hot drinks are part of borrower culture..? Like, if everyone poured themselves a cup of tea, they’d have a bunch of room-temperature cups of tea pretty fast, but if the tea stayed in a pot over a small fire and everyone drank directly from that..? Either sipping it slowly through something like a straw, using a dipping utensil and plain ol’ surface tension to bring up little drops to sip, or even maybe using a short length of string like a wick and sucking on the end of it. Even if the water is boiling, i assume it would cool to drinking temperature by the time it got to their mouth, if they do it right.

Maybe in cold climates, it’s normal to have a pot of water constantly simmering on the fire to warm oneself up with periodically, since tinies can’t hold onto body heat as well.

[littlest-world]

*I won’t let you fall… I promise I won’t leave your side all night. No matter how rough things get, there’s always room for you here.

Even if it’s a tight fit-*

(Unprovoked fluff as a treat)

[littlest-world]

At the Side of a Titan

Our First Conversation

The titans are great beasts that no man in his right mind would trust. It is fortunate then that I did not belong to that category, for you see, I have discovered life at the side of such a powerful being to be much simpler than it is within the confines of human civilization. Gone are the worries of food and shelter - a single crumb of the titan's meal could feed me for days, and no soul dare approach such a terrifying figure. At the same time, it is difficult to be so completely stripped of any sort of society. While it seemed otherwise at first, the lack of social exchanges began to weigh on me a few moons after I joined the titan's wandering across the land.

I had not one person to speak with - not even the titan, who made himself clear about the matter. They only tolerate my presence due to my insignificance, but would leave me at the first human settlement we encounter were I to cause any disturbance to them. It is for this reason that I dare not to speak much.

The titan himself seemed to be content with silence. In all the time I have traveled with the titan I have heard them say fewer than a dozen different words, and not once have I heard them speak a full sentence. I would like to think that it is understandable then that I had jumped when the titan chose to initiate a conversation with me for the very first time while we hid from a storm in a large cavern.

"Bothered?"

"E-excuse me?" worry tinted my voice, in spite of me not having anything to worry about.

"You sighed."

"Oh- did I? I apologize!" I feared the titan to be angry - perhaps he thought the sigh to be an expression of frustration, "the rain had simply saddened me, but I am perfectly well!"

"Why?"

The titan sat down in a motion that caused the bolder that I sat on to tremble terribly - almost resulting in my falling to the ground.

"Why?" I repeated, somewhat surprised, "why did the rain sadden me?"

"Yes."

The titan's usage of a word where a simple nod or even a grunt would have sufficed surprised me further, and I attempted to answer carefully.

"We humans are always sadder during the rain," I sensed it might not be enough, and continued before the titan spoke again, "I would not pretend to have a complete answer, but there are a few reasons I am able to think of."

Having paused for a moment to gather my thoughts I noticed the titan's eyes following me with great interest, I did not know what to make of it so I continued speaking - happy at the opportunity for a conversation.

"Rain brings with itself cold and darkness, and these are both things humans tend to avoid - we do not see well in the dark, and the rain constrains our vision further, and the cold is dangerous to us - it weakens and ills us."

The titan hummed in response and looked to the entrance of the cave at the heavy rain. I followed his gaze and we sat in silence for a while.

"You fear us."

I looked up at his face, and was relieved to see it curious instead of angry.

"Well, yes." Attempting to lie of this matter would have been unwise, but that just meant that I needed to tread carefully. "Your great size frightens us as we are all too aware of the harm you are capable of inflicting on us if you so choose."

"And our abilities."

My heart stopped at these words. Everyone knew of the rare powers of the titans, and everyone knew that they never spoke of them with lowly humans. At these moments I feared for my life. Have I spoken too much? Have I irritated the titan greatly enough for them to have decided to rid of me?

Still, I replied, "yes, the abilities scare us most."

The titan - lowering their head - looked away from the rain and inspected me.

"Are you scared of me?"

Yes. Yes, I am terrified.

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

My body refused to react as the titan leaned lower - watching me all the while. A strange expression appeared on their face.

"Don't be scared," their voice quiet and gentle as it had never been before, "I won't hurt you."

I found myself unable to move as gigantic hands rushed towards me. In terror and awe I watched the enormous hands as one closed around my bolder, and the other around me. I would have disapproved of this, were it not for the fact that my legs chose that exact moment to buckle. I slowly sat down - using the giant hand as support, and looked up to the titan's face. Fiery-gold eyes met mine, fiery-gold eyes that followed every single one of my movements.

A heavy sigh escaped the titan's mouth, hitting me as a warm gust of wind, "sorry, didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

That caught me unprepared. Did the titan really just apologize for scaring me? Evidently so. As my heart returned to its regular pace I managed to decipher the large being's facial expression as sorrow or perhaps regret. He really did mean his apology. For a single moment I felt a need to apologize to him for having feared him.

"There is no need to apologize," I reassured the sympathetic titan, "the matter has been cleared now," I smiled - both to help assure the titan of my forgiveness, and due to a true easing of a tension that went unnoticed by me until now.

The titan remained still for a few moments - looking me over with those terribly big eyes - before leaning back to watch the weeping heavens once more. I confess that the sight of his hands retracting away from me filled me with relief.

"What do you know about the abilities?"

I would have preferred some other topic of conversation, but with the titan's reassurance and an unhealthy supplement of curiosity I managed to continue the conversation.

"We do not know much," I began, "we only know for certain that these powers exist, and that they are inaccessible to us. All else are guesses. Are these powers tiring to wield, or do they have to be held back at all times? Do all titans possess them, or are there just a select few who are actually able to make use of them? Many of our scholars debated such questions, but to the best of my knowledge none have yet given a complete and satisfactory answer."

When an amused chuckle reverberated throughout the cave I turned to look at the titan.

"You do fear the unknown."

I do not like to admit it, but I felt embarrassment at the titan's reaction - not just for myself, but for all of humanity.

"We have good reason to," I defended, "much too often the unknown turns against us, or is used against us by some other malicious entity."

The titan thought it over shortly before shrugging.

"Fair."

I suspected him not to be entirely sincere - the slight upward curving of his lips might have went unnoticed by a fellow titan, but it clued me in to his still elevated mood. I might have continued arguing, but the titan sighed - and the smile was gone. I took that as an indication that our conversation is over, and reserved to continue watching the heavy rain.

#g/t #gt #giant/tiny #size difference #g/t writing #gt writing

[littlest-world]

self-conscious tiny: do you hate me? 🥺

giant who’s been pampering them by giving them everything they ask, who’s currently holding them so gently like they’re the most precious thing in the whole wide world: …what?

[littlest-world]

Therapist: Dinosaur James doesnt exist he can't hurt you

Dinosaur James:

Therapist I right— dinosaur James is adorable and he wouldn't hurt a fly 😤

#🥺🥺🥺

[littlest-world]

Oh hey, I remembered what I made this blog for originally - to post my writing! Just don't look when was the last time I actually did that, haha... Anyway- I'm currently sick, so here's a little piece with the latest OCs that invaded my brain. :)

Proofread? What's that lol

"Where's your healer?"

The titan's voice boomed across the village, despite his best attepmts to keep it low.

A single human stood in the empty streets between the houses full of scared people. The only one brave enough to speak to an unknown titan.

"She is a titan," the human - experienced with the titans - recognised the signs of agitation in this one and began answering almost before the titan had finished asking, "she visits every month or so. Last time she visited was about a week ago, and she went north from here."

Titans famously hated speaking, meaning that they only ever did so rarely. If one were to be unlucky enough to be asked a question by such a being it was in one's highest priorities to answer quickly and truthfully.

Given the titan's already irritated state our poor human feared not only for his own life, but the lives of everyone in the village. For a single moment she thought that the worst is to come. As the titan released a low, threatening growl, and slowly stood to their full height, the human cowered and covered her head. But instead of enacting their judgment on the village the titan turned and walked away. Only later did our traumatised human notice that the titan headed to the north.

As the titan approached the the other of his kind she looked at him expectingly.

"Healer?" he asked, a little out of breath.

She nodded.

Slowly and carefully he pulled a small figure out of an inner pocket. A human.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise, but began working - touching the limp humans forehead for a moment. She noticed a small amount of warmth disappearing from the hand holding the sick person, and her surprise increased, but she stuck to her work.

The illness had a simple treatment, but without it most humans passed away sooner or later. As she set her backpack on the ground and began looking for the correct ingredients she said, "keep 'em warm," mixing a few powders into a small sack she added, "one pinch a day," as she handed the other titan the mixture. Thinking for a moment of the strange arrangement between a human and this titan, she decided to be generous and handed said titan a smaller sack from the ones she always had at hand. "For the pain," she explained before warning, "not together," gesturing to the other sack of medicine.

As both titans packed up, one putting the precious medicines in his inner pockets, the other organising her backpack, the female titan decided to give some more advice. It'll be a shame, really, if the human would die from a dumb illness like that.

"Don't jostle 'em. No raw food," she said as she finished packing and stood up, "soup's best."

Sparing one last look at the strange pair, a simple human cradled securely at the hands of a titan of fire, she nodded, and walked away.

The other titan looked after her for a while before turning around and walking to a small cavern he saw earlier that could house his sick friend while he recovers.

Again, I am sick and didn't spend too much time on this, so sorry for any errors.

I am planning to pick up writing again, so hopefully you'll get to see some more of these two¹ and their world.

¹ I say after a piece where only the giant does anything...

#g/t #gt #giant/tiny #size difference #g/t writing #gt writing

[littlest-world]

aww James you can tell your therapist friend Oliver that you like dinosaurs, he won't judge

Therapist: Dinosaur James doesnt exist he can't hurt you

Dinosaur James:

Therapist I right— dinosaur James is adorable and he wouldn't hurt a fly 😤

#i mean who else would be the therapist here but oliver

[littlest-world]

Hello giants and tinies might I offer:

A: A tired, low self-esteem inventor who lives alone and can never seem to make a break through...

And B: A cocky but possibly incompetent thief who breaks in one night and accidentally triggers one of the inventions, shrinking themselves.

The best part? A has no clue how to fix B, so they have to stay until A can reverse it.

[littlest-world]

Two normal sized people being anxious over introducing each other to their respective set of parents. Not because they're afraid their parents would judge their partner, but because one was adopted by Borrowers, and the other was adopted by Giants. Neither of them are aware of their partner's adoptive family's size.

[littlest-world]

you know how humans evolved to recognize faces with ease? imagine tinies that have been around humans enough that they can recognize hands and fingerprints without even thinking about it

[littlest-world]

#oughghfhghhgh #want!

[littlest-world]

Okay you know that classic: person went to bed and while they were asleep they became a giant and they thought the whole thing was a dream but it keeps happening every night and their are news reports about it?

Imagine that this happens to our main character. When they go to sleep, a giant version of themself spawns in near a city. They think it’s just a dream, but they aren’t the type to just wreck things. So they just walk around the city, carefully stepping around cars and stuff. They see people running away and they think that it makes sense, they are a giant. Although they kinda wish they could interact with someone without diving for them or aggressively grabbing them. They eventually notice someone frozen in fear and they think the dream has answered their call. They lower themselves down and gently scoop the terrified person up. Remarking how cute the person is and that they aren’t going to harm them. They give ‘em a gentle kiss or gently rub the person’s head before putting them down.

They then wake up and think about how the dream was nice. Despite everyone running away, they still got to hold someone. They go on about their morning routine, until they see the news about a giant roaming a city. Spitting out their coffee they watch the clips of themself walking around the city. The news doesn’t know if the giant is friendly or not but says that law enforcement is ready if the giant returns. Our giant has no clue what to think or do in that moment and just awkwardly goes to work, where everyone is obviously chatting about it. Especially about the interaction between the giant and the one person who got snatched by them, but was let go. Our giant joins in and says that maybe the giant is friendly and just wants friends or something. To which most say maybe or perhaps that’s just how the giant plans to trick them.

Later on they go to get lunch or something, and they are so happy that their giant form looks different from them, even just slightly, as no one has put two and two together. While at lunch someone walks in with a crowd of people asking them questions, they look embarrassed and our giant realizes that this person was the person they picked up last night and that they are being hounded for questions. Luckily the store owner kicks out everyone bugging the person because they are too loud and he doesn’t like the news people for whatever reason. They thank the owner and sit down nearby our giant who is feeling very embarrassed right now. They ask what’s bothering the person and they just sigh and explain that ever since they froze last night and got scooped by a giant, people haven’t stopped bugging them about it. People wanting to know their thoughts, what it felt like, how’s they feel, and so many more questions. The giant just nods and says that they did get a unique experience and the giant probably did too, before chuckling. The person smiles and starts asking the giant questions. Eventually a bond is made before they have to leave to get back to work.

That night the giant wonders if they’ll become a giant again and what the law enforcements will do to them. They told themself before falling asleep to be careful again, just in case and to be a gentle giant.

Who knows what happens next. Perhaps they keep becoming a giant every night and interact with people who slowly want to meet with them. Maybe the person they first picked up comes back and they bond even more, to the point they share their secret with them. Maybe every night they are put near a new place to explore. There are endless possibilities for it and I find that super cool tbh. To be a giant while asleep and a person while awake, and no one can stop or capture you cause you “de-spawn” when you wake up. It’s perfect…until they find out your secret that is.

[littlest-world]

boop!

[littlest-world]

He loves her so much 😭🥹

“As precious as a jewel… and she’s all mine…” 💎👑

She loves him so much😭🥹

“As big as a mountain… and he’s all mine…” ⛰️🌄🧗‍♀️

*gently holds* 🥺

#this is so cute!!

[littlest-world]

that's the issue, i can't decide.

i find a borrower living in my house and we fall in love? great, amazing even! i'd love to care for them however they ask me to, hold them gently when they're too tired for anything, ruffle their hair to fluster them,

but i'd also love to be the tiny.

i find a giant living in a secluded area and we fall in love. they care for me when i ask them to, when i'm too tired of everything they hold me gently, and they love to make me flustered.

i thought, maybe i would want a sizeshifter boyfriend, but for some reason its just,,, not as appealing? like, i'd still love that, but it's a different type of thing, and i'm not sure why. maybe it's because a sizeshifter bf is just not as different as a giant or a tiny one? as in; a sizeshifter has probably been at a human height (or close to it) at some point, so i probably know what they're like as a fellow human, and i feel that this lessens some aspect of the relationship that i crave.

in conclusion:

[littlest-world]

but i also dont wanna be a sizeshifter? help?!

#i want to be a functioning person i guess #(im not)

[littlest-world]

pepper & felix

part one

In this universe, when a person turns 21, they gain the ability to communicate with their soulmate telepathically. For the borrower Pepper, this turns out to be quite a shock. word count: 2.9k

“Can you hear me?”

The words floated around Pepper’s mind for a moment, soft and fuzzy as if he was hearing them from a distance. 

“Hello? Can you hear this?”

Pepper spun in a circle, searching for the source of the strange voice, but he was completely alone in the secluded area under a floorboard. He tensed up, briefly remembering a myth he had been told as a child, of soulmates and telepathic connections. He hadn’t thought it had been real, but…

“I’ll just try again later.”

After that, the voice went quiet, and the fuzzy feeling in Pepper’s mind vanished. He spent the next few seconds staring around at his surroundings, heart heavy. Once he was certain that he was completely alone, he tightened his grip on his satchel and continued his trek back home.

He could worry about the messages after he rationed out his food for the week.

—

The second time Pepper’s mind was filled with someone’s else’s voice, he felt more prepared.

The wiry black-haired borrower was sitting in his hammock, a thick piece of fabric being held up by two push pins in the wall. He had been absentmindedly scribbling in his journal when he heard it.

“Hello?”

Pepper bit his lip. He briefly thought back to the myth, stomach currently twisting in knots.

“It’s me. Your soulmate.”

A chill settled into Pepper’s stomach, and he drew his knees closer to his chest. 

“Um, if you want to talk back, just interlock your fingers and press them to your chest. And then I’ll be able to hear you.”

Pepper didn’t really understand how moving his hands somehow would allow this mystery voice to hear him, but he knew that being heard was not something borrowers wanted. He drew his bottom lip into his mouth, vaguely wondering if he was going crazy.

The voice had gone quiet for a moment, clearly waiting for him to respond.

Pepper could hear the disappointment as the voice said, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk. I don’t even know if you can hear this. But, I just wanted to say hi. We’re… We’re soulmates.”

Soulmates? Pepper swallowed hard. Most borrowers go their whole lives without seeing more than fifty others of their kind, and they needed to be incredibly lucky to find someone they liked enough to start a relationship with. The idea that there was another borrower out there, that was supposedly “perfect” for Pepper, was astounding.

What if his soulmate was hundreds of miles away, hiding somewhere across the country? Pepper would never be able to meet them. 

“I just turned twenty-one a few days ago. You know, soulmate-connection age. Oh… maybe you’re not twenty-one yet and that’s why you can’t hear me. This is a little embarrassing, then. But I guess if you’re not listening, it doesn’t matter, right?”

Pepper was struggling to follow. He himself was twenty-two. You had to be at least twenty-one to communicate with your soulmate, then?

“I like to sing. I’ve always thought that my soulmate would maybe be a singer too. Or maybe not. I just get the feeling that you are artsy, too, you know?”

The borrower shifted in his hammock, peering down at the journal in his hands. He had ripped up thick sheets of paper and sewn them together with thread. He supposed he did enjoy making things.

“Are you artsy?”

The voice had lifted up a little, clearly hopeful that Pepper would respond. The borrower didn’t move an inch.

“...That’s okay. I’ll tune in later. Remember— interlocked hands on your chest. If you wanna talk.”

Pepper was left in silence. His small chest heaved with uneasy breaths, while tan arms hugged his journal close to his torso. 

Despite his apprehension, it was kind of nice to hear about his… “soulmate.” His soulmate might even be sort of brave, considering the fact that he is apparently a singer. Pepper hadn’t met a single borrower that felt comfortable enough to even speak loudly, let alone identify themselves as a singer. A strange feeling of appreciation wormed its way into Pepper’s chest. Maybe this wasn’t so bad.

Maybe it’s just nice to hear from someone, the borrower concluded. He had lived alone in the walls of this apartment for a little over two years, and he couldn’t remember the last time he had had a real conversation with someone. 

A smile settling over his face, Pepper continued doodling in his journal.

—

“Hey. My sister came to visit today.”

Pepper nearly jumped out of his skin. He spun around, tiny hands clutched around a grape twice the size of his head. When he realized that he was alone in the kitchen, he relaxed microscopically.

“She just wanted to stop by to wish me a belated happy birthday. And she made me a bracelet, which is so sweet! I moved out a few years ago, and since we’re both so busy it’s hard to see each other. It was really nice.”

Pepper’s mind wandered to his own sister. She was a few years older than him, but they could be twins, sharing tan skin and shaggy black hair, two dark features that every borrower wished to have. Basil, Pepper's sister, had moved out when Pepper was fourteen. He had seen her twice since then, on the rare occasion she was able to stop home and say hi.

He really did understand his soulmate. If his hands weren’t holding the grape, he might have considered saying so.

“I don’t have any roommates, or anything, so I’m alone a lot.”

Pepper was trekking across the counter, one arm holding the grape to his hip. He reached the edge, where his hook was latched onto the smooth surface.

“I’m an introvert, so it’s fine, but it’s definitely nice to hear from the people that I care about. You know?”

It only took a few seconds for Pepper to slide all the way to the floor, carefully holding the grape in one arm to prevent it from falling. 

“My sister asked me if I had heard from my soulmate, now that I’m twenty-one. She’s really into the soulmate thing, but she’s only eighteen, so she has to wait. Anyways, I told her that I had reached out to you, but I think you might be younger than me, and you can’t hear me, maybe. Or you’re just shy?”

Pepper found the crack at the base of the counter and eased his way through, yanking his hook and his grape with him. He was met by a familiar darkness, and he subconsciously relaxed in the safety of the walls.

“Anyways, well… It’s late, and I should probably get some sleep. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Pepper murmured, wishing he had the strength to truly say it back.

—

It had been a week since Pepper had first heard from his soulmate. Since then, the soft voice had entered his mind a total of five times— chatting about his sister, sometimes, or his favorite songs. Pepper was always left with a fondness, followed by a feeling of guilt, that he was ignoring his brave soulmate for the safety of his own comfort.

He was afraid that he would fall in love with this person. He would tell them all of his secrets and thoughts and desires, only to learn that they were miles and miles apart. Hell, even if his soulmate lived down the street, they would still be out of reach for a borrower.

But— why give up before even trying? Was it really that harmful to say hello?

So, Pepper pressed his shaky hands against his chest, feeling the pounding of his heart. He closed his eyes, focusing on the fuzziness in the back of his mind, tuning in. “Hello? Are you there?”

He felt his own heartbeat quicken as a voice immediately responded, bright and ecstatic.

“Yes! Hello! Oh my gosh!”

Pepper let out a sharp breath, a mix of a gasp and a laugh. Biting his tongue, he tried again. “It’s… nice to meet you. I’ve been wanting to talk back to you, but… I don’t know, I get scared every time. Um, yeah. I’m Pepper…”

Something strange happened, when he tried to say his name. He knew that he was saying “Pepper,” but as he did so, static had filled his mind, clouding the word.

“Oh! I guess you didn’t know. Soulmate telepathy doesn’t let you say your name. I didn’t catch that, I’m sorry.”

Huh. 

“Why? That’s dumb.” Pepper’s brow furrowed.

“I don’t know. The universe makes the rules.”

Pepper laughed again, pressing his hands further against his chest. The warmth of his hammock surrounded him, but he was solely focused on the warmth of the voice in his mind. “Well, I guess I’ll always be a mystery to you.”

“I guess you will,” his soulmate said teasingly. Pepper smiled to himself, thinking hard before proposing his next question.

“Did you have a good day?”

“I did! I called my sister.”

Pepper blinked curiously. “You called her?”

“Yeah. To say thank you again, for the bracelet. I haven’t taken it off since she gave it to me!”

The borrower stared at the wall, trying to fit the pieces together in his mind. “Do you live close to her?”

“Oh yeah, she’s only like twenty minutes away. I just called her because I was out all day.”

Pepper nodded to himself. That made more sense, he supposed. If his soulmate lived that close to his sister he could easily call out to her while on a borrowing trip.

“I have a sister too,” Pepper admitted. “But I haven’t seen her in… maybe a year? She’s six years older than me, and once we both moved out, well… you know how it is. We are not nearly as close as you and your sister.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you two close growing up?”

“Yeah, definitely. We actually lived right next to a bakery, and she would always come home with the best stuff. She got me a big piece of this brownie thing once, and it was incredible.” 

Pepper found himself smiling at the memory of Basil coming home with a big chunk of chocolate, beaming as she showed it to her younger brother. They had shared it and it had been the best thing Pepper had ever tasted.

He wondered how Basil was doing.

“Aww, that’s sweet! She seems like a nice sister.”

“She was.” Pepper relaxed into the hammock, closing his eyes. “I’d like to run out and visit her soon. Especially now that it’s getting warmer, and I can actually walk outside without drowning in snow.”

“Yeah, I get that,” his soulmate said with a note of amusement. “I still have a bruise on my leg from where I slipped on ice last December.”

Pepper raised an eyebrow. His soulmate must really be brave, going outside in the middle of winter! “I couldn’t imagine trying to walk on ice.”

“No need to rub it in,” his soulmate giggled, and he once again was left in confusion. 

When Pepper said nothing, his soulmate continued. “So, how old are you? What do you do for fun?”

Pepper chewed his lip. “I’m twenty-two. And I’m crafty, I guess? I like to draw sometimes, when I have the materials. I really like to make things.”

“I knew you would be artsy!” His soulmate said brightly. “What do you make?”

Pepper stared around his room from the height of his hammock. A scrappy rug, fairy lights, and assorted articles of clothing surrounded him. “Decorations for my room. I’ve really started getting into clothing, too. I just finished up a jacket, actually.”

“That’s so cool!”

“…Thank you,” Pepper responded, mildly surprised.

“I’m not very good with my hands, but I’m pretty good at singing. I like to perform.”

“That’s cool, too,” Pepper admitted. “I’ve never sang in my life. I don’t really know how, and I would be so scared of getting caught.”

“Aw, that’s okay. I used to be super shy when I was younger, but the stage fright eventually goes away, I promise!”

Pepper blinked up at the ceiling. “…Thanks?”

“Oh— sorry, I should probably go. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow. But… I’ll talk to you tomorrow..? If that’s okay?”

“Yes,” Pepper said immediately.

“Okay, great! Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight.”

—

Pepper’s heart was pounding out of his chest.

He stood stiffly, back pressed against a metal thermos. He was currently stranded on the counter in the early hours of the morning, and he had greatly underestimated how early the resident human would be getting up today.

The heavy sound of footsteps filled his ears. Pepper swallowed hard, praying that the human wouldn’t touch his thermos of coffee anytime soon. The human usually forgot his coffee half the time, as sporadic as he was. Hopefully Pepper will be lucky this time.

The borrower shuffled to the side, peering around the edge of the thermos. His stomach chilled at the sight of the massive human.

The human’s hands alone dwarfed Pepper in size. A torso the size of a house moved around the room, easily carrying an enormous backpack that Pepper couldn’t even imagine trying to budge. A head of sand-colored hair was turned away from the borrower, much to his relief. The human seemed to be typing something on his phone.

The human left his apartment at different times each day, which was frustrating for Pepper. The borrower wouldn’t have ventured out this morning if he knew the human would be up before the sun rose.

Pepper’s gaze darted over to a thin crack on the wall, a few feet to the side. He could make a dash for it, but it would take about fifteen seconds to get there, and the human could turn around in any of those seconds… Pepper could wait for the human to leave the apartment, but the human might not leave without grabbing his thermos first…

The sound of keys jangling filled his ears, and Pepper’s blood ran cold. He begged for the human to leave.

He heard enormous footsteps receding, moving away from him, and he nearly sobbed in relief before a murmur filled the air. “Fuck, almost forgot—“

It took less than three seconds for the human to cross the room, and Pepper slapped his hands over his mouth at the sight of massive pale fingers closing around the thermos. He instinctively flinched away, staring up as the thermos was pulled away, leaving him stranded on the counter with a human who was sure to snatch him up the moment he laid his eyes on the defensiveness borrower—

But… the human wasn’t even looking at him.

Pepper swayed on his feet, staring at the human who was now opening his front door and stepping outside. The human had grabbed his thermos and left the apartment without even sparing a glance in Pepper’s direction.

The front door clicked shut, and the second Pepper was alone he collapsed to his knees, hugging his chest. Heavy gasps left his mouth, as the terror of the last thirty seconds left his body in shaky waves. “Oh my god, oh my god…”

He swallowed thickly, squeezing his eyes shut. Without even realizing what he was doing, he slid his hands to his chest, clasping his fingers together. “Hello? Hello? Are you there?”

It took a few agonizing seconds to receive a response, and Pepper almost sobbed in relief at the familiar soft voice that filled his mind. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I almost just got caught,” Pepper blurted, heart pounding.

“What do you mean?”

“Caught! I almost got caught! I was out, and the bean almost saw me, I almost— oh my god, I could have… this could have been so bad. Oh my god.”

His soulmate was silent for a long time, and Pepper’s stomach twisted in apprehension, a feeling that quickly morphed into irritation, that his soulmate would just ignore him when he was so clearly upset.

“Did you hear me?” He demanded with more anger that he intended.

“Uh, yeah, I— yeah, I heard you, I’m just a little confused. Sorry. Are you okay?”

Pepper swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. Suddenly filled with the horrifying thought that the human could return at any moment, he jumped to his feet, beginning to jog towards the crack in the wall. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine now, he’s gone. I— I’m sorry, I’m just shaken up. That was just a really close call.”

“Uh,” his soulmate said. “Were you in danger? Did someone attack you? Maybe you should call nine-one-one?”

Pepper nearly laughed at the absurdity. “Of course I was in d—“

He skidded to a halt suddenly. “…nine… one one?”

“Yeah? Oh, I’m sorry— are you not in America? What’s your emergency line?”

Ice seeped into Pepper’s veins. His hands remained clasped against his chest, although they were significantly shakier than they were before.

“Are you… a…”

Pepper couldn’t bring himself to ask. Despite being alone, terror was sinking into his stomach like a rock. There was no way. No way!

“I’m sorry,” Pepper said numbly, staggering towards the crack in the wall. “I have to go.”

“Wha— are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Sorry. I promise I’m fine. Bye.”

His hands fell from his chest as he squeezed into the walls, immediately stumbling against a piece of wood to catch his balance. His soulmate was sending him a confused farewell, but he could barely hear it over the blood pounding in his ears.

“I can’t believe this,” Pepper heaved, burying his face in his hands.  “My— my soulmate is a human?”

thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :]

reposts are appreciated <3