Ryan sat down in his now empty apartment, hanging his head in his hands. What was he going to do? First, he was passed up on for a promotion, and now he was getting evicted? With a heavy sigh he looked around the room, picturing his things where they had been just hours ago.

Just his luck. The building didn't pass health and safety, and there wasn't a clause in his contract concerning this. He didn't even get his security deposit back! He was just told to pack up and get out. At least the city sent a normal sized moving crew to get his stuff sent to a storage locker until he found someplace to live. Made moving easy when they could just pinch up his tiny boxes and carry them in a much larger box.

He still had his laptop, a few changes of clothes, his phone, and some other odds and ends. It just sucked. Being tiny wasn't the best draw in life either, but that was less of an issue nowadays though.

Oh, being tiny in a world built mostly for "normal" people. Streets too big, can't drive cars, getting stepped on occasionally, can't go out when it rains, etc. Thankfully, evolution had made the little people hard to kill; between the dense bones and strong skin, they weren't going to die from a normal sized step. It just made for an... inconvenient life.

Used to be that life was a lot worse for a tiny. It was only 50 years ago that tinies gained proper human rights, and before that it was an exceedingly difficult life. Thankfully, times change and now they were considered just as human as a normal person, only smaller. Well, the polite way to speak was supposed to be "small" and "big", but Ryan wasn't concerned with this. He was tiny, they were normal: end of story.

Such is life.

Not that being tiny was so bad. Food was cheap, especially the bulk stuff. As was housing, supposedly. If you could find a nice tiny apartment complex in this city, you were set. Unfortunately, good housing was the hard part. Can't just live in a box with some water, that would get the landlord fined, tiny homes had to have the same basics any normal person would want.

And that was expensive, especially the electric parts. Some normal apartment buildings constructed tiny apartment buildings on one of their floors, easy to maintain and safe from the weather. Others stuck them between floors, but having your room shake because your upstairs neighbor decided to take a step was awful. Decent apartments were slim pickings, according to apartment finding sites.

So getting evicted sucked, doubly so for a tiny.

Ryan looked at his phone, eyeing the time. Just after 5 PM, and he couldn't crash here. He'd have to go to an inn or hotel for the night, and those were always kind of disgusting. Some things were the same regardless of size, but rats and cockroaches were especially annoying to wake up to for a tiny.

Ryan scratched his head, trying to remember any of the better places to stay in the city but was interrupted by his phone dinging.

It was his group chat, Ryan's online (and only) friends. He'd let them know what was going on and they'd sent their sympathies, along with a bunch of "oof" and "crying" emojis. Nice people, his people. Nobody was big or small, normal or tiny. Just losers playing games together.

==

(Apakoript): that sucks man, good luck

[YOU](Orion): thanks

(ODAMAN): :oof: :oof: :oof:

(Turkey-Blaster): You should try Mangin Apartments. They're p good.

(Halan23): i had to move back home last week, it sucks.

(ODAMAN): :oof: :oof:

(Steel Rider): Don't let it get to you, at least you're not strapped for cash right?

(Apakoript): mangin apartments suck always leaking.

(Apakoript): don't go with big name places look for ezer ones

(LenaManera): hearts out to you @Orion!

(ODAMAN): :oof: :oof: :oof: :oof:

(Turkey-Blaster): Mangin aren't that bad

(Apakoript): odaman I swear to god ill drive to your house and slap you

(ODAMAN): :oof:

Multiple people are typing

==

Ryan smirked, scrolling up through older messages. At least you always had friends, even if you never got to see them.

He sat on the floor for a few more minutes, scrolling through chat. He couldn't stay there forever though.

So, with a sigh, Ryan stood up and exited his apartment. The hallway was empty, the other tenants already having cleared out. Bag over his shoulder, he marched through the empty halls. He considered keeping his keys, they wouldn't need them, before dropping them in the bin. He didn't need any reasons for his landlord to contact him, especially not for theft.

Leaving the tiny section of the apartment complex, he surveyed the massive hall for normal tenants. The hallway outside the tiny apartment was built for normals and had the tiny section behind a small door under a strategically placed table. When he had first moved in, Ryan had found it degrading, reduced to a hole in the wall, but it was life, and you made do.

It took a few minutes to leave the building, the long hallways remaining quiet as he stayed close to the wall. There weren't any normals around, but it was a habit of his to just stay out of the way. Taking the tiny exit door right next to the comparatively massive steel normal door, he stepped out onto the city street.

Thankfully, Ryan lived in a much quieter part of town, no skyscrapers in sight. The highest any building got around here was five stories, but most were under three. Of course, that was in normal measurements. You wouldn't see any tiny building reach over two stories, and none around here. All the tiny stores and such were built into existing normal buildings, most already closing for the night.

Sticking close to the buildings, Ryan walked down the street. He wanted to make the best of what sunlight was left in the day. He didn't fancy getting gobbled up by a stray dog or cat, and he'd managed to avoid the experience all his life with only a handful of close calls. Not about to break that streak now. While, yeah, he'd survive the experience; it would be disgusting and humiliating to experience.

Ryan shook the thoughts from his head, walking just a little bit faster down the street in the setting sunlight.

Normal sized cars and vans drove by, a few normal people strode by as well, noses in their phones. None of the normals even noticed Ryan, which he felt was a success. He'd learned from a young age to avoid getting stepped on and staying out of sight. When you're less than 2 inches tall, normals don't tend to spot you unless they were already looking for you. Both a blessing, and a curse.

Not that Ryan disliked normal though; he was just wary of getting stepped on. Of course he'd heard stories of tinies getting taken advantage of by normals. Not so much these days, but occasionally on the news you'd hear about it.

Ryan would rather not think of that though.

Ryan considered stopping at MinMart to grab something for dinner, something quick and easy. But, its lights were out and it was closed for the day, so Ryan moved on. Guess he'd have to wait till he got to the station, not that he was hungry anyway.

There was a tiny metro station a few blocks away, one of many dotted around, that could take him to an exclusively tiny section of the city. It seemed like the best plan of action at this point, anyway. He wasn't about to go home to his parents, they lived several cities away, and he didn't really know anyone else in this city. He knew two friends online who lived here, but they'd never met.

And, knowing Odaman, that was probably for the best.

So, to the tiny part of town it was. At least the hotels there were better than their normal sized counterparts.

The streetlights were flickering on just as he reached the station. It was about the same size as a fire hydrant, though dark blue, with a small open door at the bottom. There'd be an elevator inside to take him down to the actual station. He stepped inside the booth and pressed the button, looking around at the empty station awkwardly as he waited for the elevator.

After a minute, he hit the button again, to no avail.

Ryan groaned, punching the elevator button in frustration. More luck. Leaning out of the elevator booth, he spotted the sign hanging above the entrance he hadn't bothered reading.

OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE 45th STREET STATION. THANK YOU.

He leaned back into the booth, sitting on a bench against the wall. It was nearly dark out now, the light of the booth and the streetlamps being the only illumination. Besides the headlights of cars anyway.

45th was a thirty-minute walk when you didn't have to worry about getting stepped on or being spotted by an ally cat.

This day just kept getting better, didn't it?

He pulled out his phone, eying the Co-ride app he'd downloaded. Obviously, the drivers (normals) were used to picking up tiny passengers, but it was always sort of awkward being literally picked up by a stranger. Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't really see any other choice.

Putting off the decision, he flipped back to his group chat. They'd gotten into an argument about apartments and were now in a voice chat hashing it out. Ryan considered filling them in on his new predicament but was distracted by a notification.

He flicked it open. A message from LenaManera. Raising a brow, he tapped the notification.

==

(LenaManera): Hey, did you figure out where you'll be staying for the night?

==

Ryan looked at the message for a moment.

He'd met Lena, her real name, nearly ten years ago while they were both still seniors in high school. They'd met in a lobby for Dunekickers, which was an honestly awful game, but they stayed in touch and eventually became proper friends.

Well, online friends, at any rate. Ryan had hoped more of a relationship could grow out of their friendship but had been... unable to step up with anything.

Ryan typed out a reply.

==

[YOU](Orion): No, just found out the station near me is out of order.

(LenaManera): Oh no!

(LenaManera): Which one?

[YOU](Orion): corner of 2nd and Apricot. In Alem.

(LenaManera): :(

(LenaManera): Oh wow, I live a couple blocks away, you can stay at my place if you need

==

Ryan blinked. That close? He'd been living this close to one of his friends and just hadn't known? It was surprising, to say the least. Still, the idea of staying at her place was enticing, but he didn't want to impose.

==

[YOU](Orion): Are you sure?

(LenaManera): Of course :)

[YOU](Orion): Then yeah, I really appreciate it

(LenaManera): Great! I'll come get you

[YOU](Orion): Just send me your address, no need for both of us to be out

[YOU](Orion): hello?

==

Ryan stood up, leaning out of the little booth the station elevator was in. It was pretty dark now, but the streetlamps high above were bright enough to illuminate most of the sidewalk in either direction. It really wasn't safe to be out at night for a tiny, hopefully she'd be okay. He'd actually had a crush on her for the past few years, so the idea of meeting her in person was an exciting, if nerve wracking, thought.

Ryan never worried about his looks: he'd been told he was decently attractive and made sure to visit the nearby gym a few times a week. Still, he'd never met her before, but knew she had a similar lifestyle: working online, visiting the gym, gaming. What if she didn't find him attractive? What if she thought he was ugly? He never thought they'd meet face to face, what was he going to do?

He shook the thoughts from his head and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair. No use worrying about that. Best to just go with the flow and see what happens.

Ryan looked back out onto the street, still worrying. A normal walked by the station at a brisk walk, stepping around the hydrant sized obstruction. The sky was dark and, judging by some of the normals on the street pulling out umbrellas, it looked like it was going to rain. Seems like he'd be staying in the booth for a while.

Ryan whipped out his phone, checking to see if Lena had responded. Nothing.

==

[YOU](Orion): it looks like its going to rain, ill just wait at the booth

[YOU](Orion): send me your address and I'll head out when it clears

[YOU](Orion): Lena?

==

"Shit." Ryan swore softly under his breath, looking back out into the street.

Rain was no place for tinies, especially in a city. Most storm-drains were tiny-proof, but there were exceptions or simply damages. Being swept away was a real danger, and Lena was about to walk righ-

A bolt of lightning crashed, and, like a signal, rain began to pour down. Ryan stepped quickly away from the open entrance to the booth, large droplets outside briefly splashing him with cold water. The sound of pouring rain hammering the booth drowned out the sound of the massive cars driving by, but at least he was dry, more or less.

Ryan swallowed, looking back at his phone. Still no response. She wasn't stupid, she wouldn't go out in the rain. Still, she wasn't responding, that was enough to make him worry.

Outside, the rain wasn't letting up. A normal ran by, splashing water with each step as they rushed to get out of the rain. Occasionally the rain would let up for a second as someone with an umbrella walked by the booth. Ryan paced inside.

Even if he weren't worried about Lena, Ryan would be nervous about this weather and his predicament. First the missed promotion, then the eviction, then the broken station, then the rain, now Lena. It just kept piling on.

Another normal ran by, shouting something about the weather (Ryan sympathized). He let out a shaky breath and sat down on the bench. Again. Another normal went by the station, splashing water.

The next set of normal footsteps splashed to a stop outside the booth, the sound of rain pattering on an umbrella replacing the cacophony of rain on the booth. Ryan looked out the door. Must be trying to cross the street, or checking their phone?

The feet outside shifted, sliding on the concrete sidewalk as the normal knelt down. Ryan sat on the bench, puzzled for a moment, wondering what this normal was doing as the face of said normal appeared in the doorway. Or, well, their eye did. Ryan didn't quite know what to do, so he waved at the giant eye that filled up the door.

"Nice weather?" Ryan said, trying to figure out what this normal was doing. Maybe they were here to fix the elevator?

"I knew it! I'd recognize that voice anywhere!" The normal, a girl, exclaimed with what might have been a smile. It was hard to tell by just looking at her eye. "Well, I mean your voice is slightly off from what I'm used to, I guess. But still, definitely Orion."

Ryan stared at the giant eye for a moment, processing. He was almost certain he knew her voice as well. Tinies had slightly better hearing than normals, so there wasn't a pitch issue on his end. But this normal's voice almost sounded like...

"Lena?" Ryan squeaked out, continuing to return the normal's gaze. Yeah, she was definitely smiling now, he could tell by the slight squint of her eye.

"Yep! Oh man, I thought you might be small, but I wasn't 100% sure until you said you were at this station." She got out, in her usual, Lena fast-paced manner. "I mean, I knew you didn't know I was big, but I couldn't be sure about that either, so I just didn't say anything, its not like I'd expected us to ever meet, I thought you were in another state, it never occurred to me that you'd be in my city, but then Turkey mentioned the apartment chain and I was like ‘oh I know those' and thought you might live near me, and I was right!"

She had only taken a breath at the end of that tirade, and Ryan sat on the bench, still comprehending his situation. Lena was normal?

Since he didn't say anything, Lena seemed to pick up on his bewilderment. "Oh right, uh, this must be pretty strange, huh?" She said a little sheepishly, her giant eye looking away from him, peering around the station. Ryan nodded slowly; his brain still stuck on this discovery, his eyes locked on the massive blue one that apparently belonged to his friend. His thoughts weren't racing, there weren't a million thoughts per second, his brain was just... stuck.

Lena was still bent down to the booth's door, swaying slightly on her knees. Her eye moved back onto him as she began to speak. "Soooo... my offer is still on the table, you know. Crashing at my place, I mean. Better than the rain, I think." Ryan nodded again, his brain still hitting the brick wall.

Lena waited another second before she shifted outside. "Look, it's a bit uncomfortable to be crouching down like this, and the rain is pretty cold..." She trailed off, noticing that Ryan was still spaced out. Ryan, to his credit, was almost finished working his way through the thought. Almost...

It suddenly clicked and he shook his head, locking his eyes on her one giant one. "Lena, you're normal!" His eyes were wide, and his mouth was slightly ajar; he was astonished.

There was a pause before Lena leaned away from the booth, laughing. Ryan blushed, not quite expecting this reaction.

"Well... yeah?" She managed while still laughing as Ryan's mind burst with questions, his mouth still partially open.

"Holy smokes Lena, how the hell did you keep this to yourself! Does the whole group chat know? You knew I was tiny? Does Odaman know?" Ryan said, standing up and taking a few steps towards Lena. She forced down the laugh and moved a little closer.

"Well, you didn't exactly ask, nobody else asked either, I had a hunch you were tiny, and hell no. I wouldn't trust Odaman with an empty matchbook, let alone anything more than my name." She shifted again, looking around the street, rain still coming down.

"While I don't mind being in the rain, can we get back to my place? It's pretty cold out and the rain is drenching my jeans." She said, looking back at Ryan. Ryan stood there a moment longer, before rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know, to be honest. I just..." He let out a breath, weighing his options. He'd interacted with normals frequently before, especially back home. With his parents he'd even had a few normal family friends, but that was a long time ago. And, a surprisingly, he still felt bashful around Lena.

His crush on her was apparently not swayed by her size, he realized.

Lena looked at him with concern. "I realize this revelation is probably a lot to take in right now, but the rain is no place for a small, and I'm not going to retract my offer." She waited, and Ryan realized she was right. This storm could last a while: she was the best choice right now.

Ryan nodded, stepping towards the door to the booth. "You're right, of course you are." Lena moved out of the way, sitting up, as Ryan stepped out onto the sidewalk.

"This is just a lot for me to take... in..." He looked up at Lena's pale face, partially shadowed by her umbrella. She was as beautiful as he'd imagined. Long black hair fell around her shoulders, framing her pale face. Her lips were lifted into a comforting smile as she looked down at him on the pavement. She was on her knees so, thankfully, she didn't seem insanely tall right now. She'd put on a red raincoat and, as she had mentioned, a pair of now thoroughly soaked jeans.

"I suppose I am, aren't I?" She smirked, leaning towards him a little. He swallowed, gripping the strap of his bag on his shoulder. He fought the urge to take a step back from the normal sized woman, remembering to breathe.

This was Lena. Sure, she's bigger than you though, but still Lena.

"Well," Lena started. "I'll be honest. I don't really interact much with smalls. How do... how should I..." She bit her lip and looked away from Ryan, clearly not sure how to phrase her question. The hand not holding her umbrella was partially extended, showing she had some idea of what to do.

"If you set your hand on the ground, I can climb on." Ryan offered, motioning to the sidewalk next to him.

She nodded, her smile returning as she lowered her hand down next to him. Ryan took a breath and hauled himself up onto his friend's hand, rolling to the center of her palm and remaining sitting. She didn't wait long before she lifted him up, the inertia knocking him onto his back as she stood up from the ground completely.

"Alright!" She said, watching him sit back up in the palm of her hand. "Thank you for riding the Lena transport services. Keep your arms and legs and yada yada." She trailed off, giggling as she turned to begin walking. "This is kinda neat, y'know?" She smiled down at him as she walked through the rainy streets. "I'd like to think we've known each other for a long while, so it's great to meet you face to face."

Lena lifted Ryan up to her face, close enough for him to feel her breaths. Comfortingly warm compared to the cold air the rain brought with it. "That, and you're probably the only small I've been properly acquainted with."

Ryan smiled at this, waving his hand at her. "You're the first online friend I've met IRL too. And probably the largest friend I have."

"Well, you certainly have a way of complimenting a woman, dontcha?" Lena said, raising a brow towards the much smaller guy in the palm of her hand.

"Well, you, uh... I mean-" Ryan stammered before Lena cut him off with a laugh.

"Oh, don't worry about it, I'm just teasing you." She smiled down at Ryan, and he rubbed the back of his head, feeling his face warm up a tad. Hopefully she couldn't see it.

"Anyway, should I call you Orian, Ryan, or... oh, Ryan?" Lena hung on the last option dramatically, like a damsel in distress.

Ryan chuckled, shaking his head as Lena smirked. Despite her size, she was clearly the same Lena he'd known for the past few years. Bad jokes were her ultimate weapon.

"Ryan is fine." He said, and she nodded, coming to a stop.

"Well Ryan, here we are!" She motioned out with her umbrella towards the steps of a townhouse. Ryan's eyes went wide and looked up at Lena. "You can afford one of these?"

She shrugged. "It's been in my family for ages, paid off years ago."

Lena walked up the steps to the door, letting the umbrella drop when they were under the awning. She let out a breath as she rummaged through her coat pocket.

"There we go," She muttered, fishing out a key and unlocking the door. "home sweet home!"

She stepped inside, managing to keep her passenger somewhat level on her hand as she slipped her boots off and hung up her umbrella. Placing a hand on her hip, she held Ryan out in front of her, facing into the small abode.

"Well, its not much space, but its home." She motioned down the hallway next to the stairs. "Down there is the kitchen, and halfway down on the left is the living room." She moved Ryan so he could see down the hall. "Under the stairs are my washer and dryer. No wizards, sorry."

Lena leaned over towards the stairs, pointing up them. "Up there is my bedroom and bathroom. And a closet, I guess. Oh, and an entrance to the attic, but I try not to go up there."

Ryan nodded, taking in the massive home of his normal friend. He'd been in a few, but never for very long. He'd be spending the night here though and it was a bit to take in. He could almost picture this place as if it was sized for him, but the illusion was broken instantly as the hand he sat on shifted.

"It's a very nice house, Lena." He said decidedly, looking back towards her.

"Thanks! I try to keep it tidy." She grinned down at him. "I need to get this raincoat off, let me just..." She turned and lowered her hand to a small table with a succulent in the center. Ryan climbed off, immediately missing the warmth she'd unwittingly been sharing with him.

She tugged the coat off, hanging it on a hook next to the door. She was wearing a white tank-top underneath with the logo of Never 41 on it. Her arms were just as pale as her hands and face, with a light layer of muscle tone. He did his best not to stare at her chest, only noting they were huge compared to him, but probably a little over a handful to another normal.

"Alright, my computer has a microport set if you want to hook up to it." Lena said before thinking a moment, her brows furrowing together before she looked down at Ryan. "Wait, you do have a computer on you, right?"

Ryan scoffed, welcoming the far more normal distraction, pointing to his bag. "I've got my laptop. Never leave home without it." She smirked before lowering her hand down to the table, letting him climb back onboard.

Ryan hadn't noticed her warmth before, he'd been too caught up in the thoughts he'd been stuck in, but since she sat him down, he noticed it's absence. Her hand radiated warmth and was also rather soft, despite the ridges of her finger and palm prints. It was a strange thing to think, and one he tried not to dwell on as his host turned to the stairs.

"I'm gonna drop you off in my room on my desk for now. The ports should be within reach, I think, on the front." Lena climbed the stairs two steps at a time, forcing Ryan to hug flat to the palm of her hand as she bounced.

"L-l-L-le-LenaA!" He managed, his voice swaying with the rise and fall of her hand. At the top of the stairs, Lena smiled apologetically down at him. "Oh, right, uh, sorry about that. Still new to this whole ‘carrying my friend' stuff."

Ryan waved her off as she continued down the short hall into her bedroom. It was darkly colored, with her bed against one wall, a closet next to that, and the desk against the other wall. Between all this was a window, it's blinds drawn closed. On the desk sat her computer, which she lowered him next to.

Ryan hopped off, already unslinging his bag. Lena hit her keyboard, the screen lighting up as she typed in her password. The screen was massive, way wider than Ryan's standard monitor. Ryan glanced down at his laptop, already missing his normal desktop.

"Ports should be right... here." Her finger flipped over a tiny panel where a few ethernet ports, usb slots, and outlets were collecting dust. "Hook up, I'll be right back." She picked something up from her bed and stepped out of the room, out of sight.

Ryan got to work busying himself with plugging in his laptop. It was nice to be doing something relatively normal. His past hour had been anything but normal. Hell, it hadn't even been an hour since he'd learned Lena was normal.

Thinking about that fact still made his head a little dizzy, so he focused on getting the laptop up and running. Getting the right plugs in, he switched on his laptop, waiting for it to boot up. He heard Lena return to the room behind him, her footsteps loud in the old house.

"Man, I didn't know you were so worried!" Ryan looked up at her, spotting her phone in her hand. She'd also changed out of the soaking wet jeans into a pair of pajama pants, covered in little dog bones.

Ryan cleared his throat as she sat down at her desk, her upper body still towering over him. "Well, I still thought you were a tiny, like me. Then you didn't respond..." Her phone came down next to Ryan with a heavy thunk, the screen switching off.

"Now I feel like I should have just told you I was... normal." She said, biting her lip again. "I already knew you were small, I should have said something."

Ryan leaned back on the edge of her phone, looking up at his friend. "How did you know I was a tiny anyway?"

Lena laid her arms on the desk, resting her head on them as she looked at Ryan. "Well..." Lena thought. "You said at one point you wished you could get a driver's license, back when we first met. And quite a few times since then you've complained about getting stepped on, or whatever." She smirked. "You weren't exactly hiding your size."

She frowned, looking away. "I didn't want to tell you, or anyone else in the chat, about my height so that I wouldn't be... well, so I wouldn't be the odd one out. I guess."

She blushed a little, sitting up in her chair. "Despite my obviously drop dead, gorgeous looks, I was already an outcast in high school. I didn't want that online too." She smiled a little sadly, before shrugging.

"Whatever, it's in the past. At least you know what I look like now, right?"

Ryan nodded, logging into his laptop. "Its still strange, but yeah. Its nice to know."

Lena leaned on one arm, raising a brow. "Strange?"

Ryan took a breath, remembering she had teased him like this earlier. "Well, I now have a friend that can literally hold me in the palm of her hand. Hell, your mouse is bigger than me." He sighed, looking up at Lena. "It's a bit to get used to; I don't exactly hang out with normals regularly you know."

She chuckled. "Yeah, that's fair." She moved one of her hands over to him, judging him against her finger. "You are pretty small, huh?" Her brows furrowed, realizing something.

"I guess my house isn't really built for smalls, huh? I'll have to do something about that if you're going to room with me."

Ryan stared at her. "Room with you?"

It was Lena's turn to blush a little, suddenly looking at her monitor as she typed in her own password, again. "Well, I mean, if you want to. I'd be down for a roommate, never had one before."

Ryan considered this. He'd never entertained the idea of rooming with a normal before. Sure, it wasn't unheard of, and there were things you could buy to facilitate a tiny living in a normal house, but he'd thought this was going to be a short-term stay.

He looked up at Lena, who was busying herself with her computer, fingers typing away. It wouldn't be half bad though, if he were rooming with her.

Ryan played it off nonchalantly, stretching. "If you're okay with having a tiny as a roommate, I'd be fine having a normal as a roommate."

Lena beamed, returning her attention to the tiny on her desk. "Really? That's great!" Her fingers drummed on the desk as she thought aloud.

"First I'll have to look into one of those shower dealies, so you don't have to use the sink. Or maybe one of those InHomes? Though, you could probably just use the tub. Food should be easy-" She stopped, blushing. "I'm getting ahead of this, I think!"

Ryan laughed, a little bit of nervous energy working its way out of him. "Well, at least one of us is!"

Lena started laughing too, still blushing as a little bit of tension left her shoulders. "Yeah, sorry! I'm just excited! Its... this is just so cool!" Suddenly, without warning, Ryan was snatched up in Lena's fingers. His laptop clattered to the desk as Lena picked up her tiny friend, hugging him to her cheek.

Ryan was startled, to say the least. He'd never been so casually picked up before, and never hugged like this. Her cheek was soft, still a little damp from the rain, but warm. After a second of essentially nuzzling him, Lena froze up. The cheek he was pressed up against warmed up intensely before she pulled him away, staring at him like a deer in the headlights.

Her face was as red as a pepper, staring at Ryan. The tiny stared back, equally as taken aback by her actions. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lena smiled nervously.

"I, uh, sorry!" Lena quickly lowered her hand to her desk, depositing her tiny friend on the mousepad. Ryan stared up at her as she continued talking. "I didn't really- I was excited! I've always been a hugger, and I didn't think twice, I should have warned you, I shouldn't have even picked you up like that! I mean, I should have asked before picking you up, or, no! I shouldn't have tried to hug you anyway, that probably made you uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

All at once her mad ramblings stopped, and her eyes remained on Ryan, filled with guilt. Ryan took a breath and stood up, making a show of dusting himself off. In reality, he was just collecting his thoughts, so he needed a moment.

He shrugged dramatically, putting his arms out. "Don't worry about it, I'm a hugger too!" He said, lying. Well, he wasn't not a hugger. He just never had anyone to hug in the first place. And he'd be lying if he said he didn't like Lena's version of a hug.

But, mostly, he just wanted her to not look so worried and guilty.

"I liked the hug, really I did, but some warning would be nice when you want to pick me- my laptop!"

Ryan turned and sprinted over to his laptop, picking it up from where it fell on the desk. He felt Lena loom over him, leaning down to check with him. Flipping the small computer in his hands, he breathed a sigh of relief. No damage.

Ryan set it back down, turning back to Lena. He had to stop himself from backpedaling when he saw how close she'd gotten, her face filled with concern and a bit of guilt. She wasn't so close that he could reach out and touch her face, but she was close enough for him to feel her warm breath as she sighed with relief.

"Oh thank goodness, It would have been awful if I'd broken that." She sat up, backing away from Ryan. She gave him a small smile, hands under her desk. "I'll be more careful, especially since we'll be living together."

Lena seemed get a little excited at the prospect again, before closing her eyes as she breathed out meditatively. Ryan had always known her as a person to get caught up in excitement, so this wasn't all too surprising; it was the difference in their sizes that worried him.

While he'd be fine, physically, getting dropped, stepped on, or whatever: it wasn't something he had to worry about on a daily basis. Living with Lena though; that might change things.

"Well, if you're laptop is all set, wanna play something?" Lena offered, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Ryan sat down next to her phone again, leaning against it like the back of a chair. "Well, yeah, of course!"

For the next few hours the two of them hopped between different games, talking shit to each other or the enemy team if there was one. It was different, playing games with someone who was in the room with you. He hadn't done this since high school, before he even met her, but it was just as much fun, if not more so.

It was a little distracting, having Lena right there the entire time. She was beautiful, he'd even use gorgeous like she had jokingly said earlier. It also didn't hurt that, from his spot on the desk, her chest was pretty much level with him, sometimes pressed against the desk when she leaned forward. He was a guy, and what guy couldn't appreciate boobs?

Okay, gay guys, but still. He thought his point still stood.

Despite his two distractions, he did his best to focus on the games they were playing and just having fun with a friend he'd known since high school. Ignoring the fact that he was sitting on her desk with Lena towering above him, it felt normal. Kinda.

It was a little after 11 that Lena yawned, sitting back in her chair as they finished one last match of Striker-Count. "Damn, I lost track of time." She groaned, exiting the game as she hung her head back. Ryan sat his laptop aside and stood up, stretching. Wooden desks made for terrible seats.

Lena looked down at him, a tired smile on her face. She started to speak, but was quickly interrupted by another yawn. Ryan could do little to fight his own yawn as well, so they sat there a moment longer.

Eventually, Lena nodded. "Yeah, I think it's time for bed."

She stood up, twisting her hips. "Now, I obviously don't have a proper bed for you. Any ideas on how you'd like to sleep?"

Ryan thought a moment. It would be a strange night no matter what he chose, wouldn't it? Nothing his size was in the building, aside from the clothes in his backpack. He shrugged, falling back on the ol' tried and true that he'd read about.

"Do you have any winter socks?" He said, before realizing how humiliating that would be. He stuffed the feeling down; it's just a sock.

Lena nodded, lowering her hand to the desk for Ryan to climb up onto. A moment later, they were across the room, Lena opening a massive drawer full of socks, picking through it. She pulled out a simple grey sock, squeezing it as she nodded. "Yeah, that should be pretty comfy." She smiled. "You'll probably be comfier than me tonight."

Ryan chuckled, hopping off her hand onto her nightstand as she sat the sock down on it. "I hope so, it'll be pretty weird to sleep in a sock though."

Lena sat on her bed, pursing her lips. "Well, it'll have to do for now, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine." Ryan stepped onto the sock, the plush material pressing down beneath his feet. Oh man, that was comfier than he'd expected.

"Hey..." Lena started, and Ryan looked over at her. She was blushing a little again, not looking directly at him as she wrung her hands together.

"Can I maybe, I dunno, get another hug?" She fixed him with a hopeful smile, one that Ryan couldn't say no to if he tried. Not that he'd have said no anyway. He simply opened his arms, nodding so she could see.

Lena grinned, showing off her pearly whites as her fingers nimbly lifted him from her sock. She carried him up to her face and pressed him against her cheek once again. This time, Ryan returned the hug as best he could, spreading out his arms on her cheek.

They held the hug for a little before she returned him to his sock-bed, looking away so he could change into some sweat-pants. Once they were both situated, and Ryan feeling very comfortable in his sock sleeping bag, she flicked off the lamp, leaving them both in darkness.

Ryan lay there, in the dark, considering his day. It had been pretty bad, up till he got to Lena's. Then, he was happier than he'd been in a long while. He rolled over in the sock, facing Lana, even if he couldn't see her.

"I'm sort of glad I got evicted today, now that I think of it."

He heard Lena shift in bed a little, rolling to face him. "I didn't want to say anything, but yeah. I'm glad too." She paused. "Still sucks you got evicted though."

They chuckled tiredly together before Lena yawned again, Ryan being just close enough to feel her warm breath from where he lay.

"Good night Ryan."

"Good night Lena." Ryan responded, closing his eyes. It was a strange day with a mix of emotions he'd never felt before but, in the end, he felt... good.