Lena's arm swung out, hitting her alarm before it even went off. The damn thing almost never woke her up these days, so she got used to turning it off before it even started buzzing. She lay there for a while longer, rolling onto her side as she slowly woke up. Her bed was way too comfy for someone to wake up quickly, so she snuggled down into the blankets as she tried to decide whether she'd be getting up yet.

She huffed, deciding to just get the morning started already.

Pulling her eyes open, Lena's gaze moved to a few stray sunbeams that made it through her blinds. It must have been early morning. Still, she was damn tired after staying up so late. She yawned, rolling onto her back once again.

Staring at the ceiling, Lena began to smile as she remembered yesterday. It had started out pretty normal for a Friday: she worked till four, gamed for a bit, and went to bed much too late. But it wasn't a good day because it was normal; no it was because of the friend that was currently sleeping on her nightstand. Her new roommate, if things worked out.

Trying to move quietly now that she remembered him, the normal-sized woman rolled over in bed to check on Ryan. He was still asleep, somewhat dwarfed by the sock he'd used as a makeshift sleeping bag. She certainly hadn't expected to meet him yesterday. Hell, before yesterday she thought they'd never meet in person.

They'd met online ten years ago in high school and quickly became friends as they gamed away senior year. At the time, Ryan was Lena's only friend, at least until they found the other nerds that now argued in the group chat. He proved to be a good friend, and one she cherished. She'd noticed early on just how attached she was to him as her first real friend, and she knew that's where her crush stemmed from.

She blushied, still staring at him as he slept. Of course she had never expected him to be a small when she met him online. By the time she figured it out, she was crushing pretty hard on him. Their size difference was a big factor in how she approached their relationship though, especially back then. She was pretty sure the little idiot hadn't even noticed she was a big; he'd never said anything at least, so she had kept that difference to herself.

Ryan seemed to be getting used to her size though, which warmed Lena's heart like she hadn't expected.

Of course, him being small led to younger Lena constantly wondering if they could ever work out in a relationship as she had first hoped back in high school. Her much younger, and slightly more hormonal, past self had done a lot of research into the matter. She was pretty sure that if they had met, in person, nine or ten years ago she might have scared him off with her eagerness.

With time comes understanding though, and Lena knew she'd never be as overbearing or as controlling as her younger self might have been. Now, she just wanted her friend to not be worried about living with her.  Hell, she wanted more than that, but relationships don't bloom in a day so she'd have to be patient.

Sure, she'd hugged him twice now, something she knew was uncommon between smalls and bigs, but that was just in her huggy nature. Ryan understood she was a hugger at least, and who wouldn't want a hug anyway? They were great!

Lena blinked, looking away from Ryan as she checked her alarm clock behind her. 8:58 AM. She'd better get up.

Moving carefully, she pushed aside her covers and stood up, sliding into her slippers. She waited, holding her breath to see if she'd woken up her guest. After a moment to be sure he was still asleep, she crept to the door where she turned to see Ryan still sound asleep in her sock. She blushed a little, recognizing that it was odd to think of his sleeping arrangements like that. Hell, she had a hard enough time keeping how cute he was to herself.

"Cute and handsome." She repeated under her breath as she left the room. "Cute and handsome." What guy wanted to be called cute? Well, maybe some, but not Ryan. Probably. And he was handsome, its just not the first thing that came to Lena's mind when she saw him asleep in one of her socks.

She slipped down the hallway and crept down the stairs, turning down the hall towards the kitchen. What to make for breakfast though?

Breakfast.

With that thought, her stomach gurgled, and she shushed it hastily, patting her belly. She'd completely forgotten about dinner when she ran out to get Ryan in the rain yesterday. She was starving.

She entered the kitchen, pulling out the ingredients she'd need for pancakes. Easy enough, and she'd make one for Ryan too. Hopefully he liked pancakes...

--

Saturdays were always hard to wake up on. Ryan always just wanted to sleep the day away, not give a care about the world, but he knew that if he wanted the day to be worth it, he had to actually get up and experience it.

So, with a groan, he threw off his covers, only for them to return just as quickly as he had tossed them. With a grunt he tried again, yet the blanket returned. He shifted onto his elbows, opening his eyes as he stared at the odd grey blanket that was thwarting him.

A second passed.

Another followed.

Oh, right. He was sleeping in a sock.

Ryan fell back onto said sock, his head bouncing on the plush fabric it was made of. Really, it was very comfy. Not as nice as a bed, but not bad for something a normal would wear on their feet.

He rolled over, looking over at the bed Lena had slept in, noting that his friend was no longer in it. He lifted his head and peered around the massive bedroom, not seeing her at her desk either. Well, if Lena could be up already, so could Ryan.

Pulling himself out of the sock, he stood barefoot on the cold nightstand, yawning as he swayed on his feet. He looked around for a clock somewhere, spying it on the opposite side of the bed. 9:18 AM. Not bad for going to bed at eleven thirty something.

Placing his hands on his hips, he wandered over to the ledge of the bedside table, peering over the edge. It was quite a drop. One that he'd no doubt survive with only a bruise, but he did not feel like jumping at this hour.

Stepping away from the ledge, Ryan listened carefully to see if he could hear Lena. Standing still for a minute, he could barely make out Lena's quiet steps downstairs. She didn't need to bother, Ryan slept like a rock. It would take a lot more than a normal person bumbling about to wake him up. That or a couple alarm clocks, but that felt gratuitous.

With a sigh, he looked around for his phone, before sighing a bit more heavily as he looked forlornly across the room to the desk he had left it on. No texting her then, unless he wanted to risk the sleepy giantess stepping on him. Of course, her phone was over there too, so even if he had his phone it wouldn't help him.

So, instead, he sat down on the sock and waited. He didn't want to rely on Lena this much but he didn't have much choice in the matter yet. He hadn't considered this when he agreed to room with her, how much would he be able to function normally in his new home?

Thankfully it was only a few minutes before Lana returned to her room, creeping as quietly as possible.

Her black hair was frizzy and in disarray as she leaned around the door. Her blue eyes locked onto Ryan, sitting up on the sock. He waved, and she let out a breath as she fully entered the room. She was still in the Never 41 tank top and the dog bone pajama pants but had some slippers on as well.

"Good morning!" Lena said, placing her hands on her hips as she wandered over to the nightstand Ryan was sitting on.

He waved once again. "Morning, Lena!"

She knelt down on the floor, bringing herself closer to Ryan on the nightstand. "I hope I didn't wake you, I managed to get up a while ago and started making breakfast."

Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Making breakfast? Lena, you don't have to-"

She raised a hand, a playfully stern look on her face. "Nuh-uh, I wanted to make breakfast. Besides," The stern look disappeared, replaced with a teasing smile. "I was already hungry and what would you eat if I didn't get anything ready?"

Ryan raised a hand to list out something, but stopped, retracting his hand.

"Okay, fair point." He stood up, fixing his sweatpants around his waist before looking back up at Lena. "Though you don't need to walk around like you're stepping on eggshells; you'd have to be trying to wake me up to wake me up."

Lena smiled thoughtfully. "Good to know." She looked like she was about to say something but was interrupted by the gurgling of her stomach. Ryan glanced at her belly, covered by her tanktop. He'd never heard a normal's stomach growl before. It was slightly unnerving; probably something to do with ancient instincts.

Lena laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "Seems my stomach beat me to suggesting we go downstairs and eat. Pancakes are almost done."

Ryan chuckled, pushing down his train of thought before it went anywhere. "I'm pretty hungry myself, let's get going then."

Her hand lowered to the nightstand, letting Ryan climb aboard. Once he was sitting in the palm of her hand, she lifted him up and made her way downstairs with her tiny friend in tow. Thankfully, she seemed to remember not to bounce Ryan too much as she went down the stairs.

Early morning sunlight shone through the window, filling the hall with sunshine, casting rays of light right into the kitchen. Ryan could smell the pancakes now, and yeah, they smelled great. Though, it was normal sized food, so it wouldn't taste nearly as good as it smelled to him, but he doubted Lena knew that.

The kitchen was pretty old school in style but filled with modern appliances. There was plenty of counterspace and a small island in the middle. Sitting on the stove was a pan with four pancakes just about finished baking on it. She lowered Ryan to the island in the center, next to a pair of plates and her utensils.

Ryan frowned, realizing he'd be eating with his hands.

"Anyway," Lena began, picking up her spatula and turning to the pancakes. "How'd you sleep?"

Ryan shrugged, dismissing his thoughts, though she was turned away. "I've had better, but it wasn't half bad for sleeping in a sock."

Lena nodded, yawning. She flipped the pancakes onto a plate, moving the steaming pile to the island next to Ryan.

"If we weren't up so late, we'd be much better off, I think." She said, turning off the stove and grabbing a plate of butter and a pitcher of what was probably syrup. She took her seat and stared at the pancakes for a moment.

"Oh, one of these is yours. I know you probably won't finish it, but I'll eat whatever is left."

Ryan looked at the pancakes. Each were the size of a small plate and were easily quadruple the size of any bed he'd ever slept on. Hell, they might even be more comfortable.

"I'll eat what I can." He said, moving over to his plate as Lena flipped a pancake onto it. She held up the butter and syrup, glancing at him.

Ryan pointed to the butter. "I don't need to drown in syrup today, thanks though."

Lena snorted a laugh and cut a slice of butter onto his pancake, and Ryan watched it melt. The pancake was still warm and smelled fantastic.

Ryan couldn't lie, it looked delicious too. Most normal sized food did. And while it might taste just fine, there's a little thing called texture to consider. While this might be thick and fluffy for a normal, it was a sticky-spiderweb of dough for a tiny.

Wedging a piece of the pancake out with his hands, Ryan took a bite, chewing thoughtfully. As he thought, it tasted pretty good, but, it was like a strip of under-baked dough to him.

Tiny food was specially manufactured to not be like this and had equivalents of just about every normal sized dish on the market. It was nice, since their ancestors just had to make do with normal food.

Ryan simply shrugged, taking another bite. There were stranger foods than pancakes though, so it was still pretty good. He dipped the next piece in some melted butter, enhancing the dough enough to be a good meal.

Lena had lathered her two pancakes in a sea of syrup, and was plowing through them quickly. After a few bites of her own, she nodded towards his plate. "How is it?"

Ryan debated saying good, and leaving it at that, but figured honesty was called the best policy for a reason. "Well, it tastes good, but..." He waved his hand between himself and the massive pancake in front of him.

She blinked, not quite getting his meaning. Ryan pursed his lips, taking another bite before continuing. "Normal sized foods have a weird texture, since they're so..." He waved generally at the pancake. "Big."

Lena nodded, taking another bite of her breakfast.

"I don't think I ever thought about that." She said between bites. "I've seen movies and whatnot where smalls look like they're eating burgers and stuff though, is that different?"

Ryan shrugged. "I don't know how they make it, but tiny food doesn't have the same problems." Taking another bite, he chewed thoughtfully. "I suppose I'll either have to get used to normal sized food or get my own cooking set."

Lena nodded, taking another syrupy bite of food as she spoke between bites. "We can check online once we're done eating: look at stuff you might need."

He took another bite as well, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll probably need a shower too." He said, dejectedly looking up at Lena. "I guess it's the sink for now?"

Lena smiled apologetically. "I could let you use my shower, but you'd probably need help getting in and out."

Ryan nodded understandingly, taking another bite of pancake.

 "Well," Lena continued. "Once we're done here, you can start shopping and I'll take a shower. Once I'm done, I'll get the sink ready for you. How's that sound?"

Ryan nodded. "Sounds perfectly fine to me."

Lena swallowed the last of her pancakes, looking between her plate and his, before grinning sheepishly. "I don't suppose you're finished with that?" She asked, gesturing to the rest of his pancake, mostly untouched. Ryan laughed, stepping away from the plate, motioning for her to take it. She quickly stabbed it up with her fork and dropped an ocean of syrup on it, digging in.

Ryan laughed. "Man, you are hungry! You'd probably eat me out of house and home if I were cooking!"

Lena looked over at him with a bemused expression, rolling her eyes. Swallowing the last bite, she stuck out her tongue at him mockingly.

Ryan snorted, shaking his head as Lena stood up, collecting their plates. She sat them next to the sink, turning back to the island and leaning on it as she loomed over Ryan with a stern glare.

Ryan returned her glare with one of his own, but playing it up a bit despite being a little intimidated by her looming form. After a second, Lena's expression broke, and she smiled, shaking her head, giving him a sideways look. "Hell, I'd probably eat your home."

They shared a laugh, finally waking up now that they had eaten breakfast. Sighing away the laugh, Lena placed her hand next to Ryan, waiting for him to hop on.

"I'll carry you to my desk then go take a shower now, if you don't mind."

Ryan hopped up onto her waiting hand, and she swiftly brought them both upstairs. It was surprising how quickly she'd grown accustomed to carrying him around, especially with how much she shook him about on the stairs last night. Still, he wasn't about to complain. She'd been a gracious host since he'd arrived.

Back in her bedroom, Lena lowered him to her desk, leaving him to his laptop as she stepped out of the room and into the hall to go shower. He didn't wait, picking up his laptop and phone from the desk before sitting on the edge of her phone like a bench.

Letting his laptop boot up, he flicked through his phone. It had thankfully charged overnight, so no problems there. No texts from work or family, but the group chat had been active most of the night without Lena or him.

==

(Apokoript): goo dnight fellas, I'm off to bed. Have work tomorrow

(Apokoript): *good night

(ODAMAN): :oof:

(Steel Rider): Night Dan

(Turkey-Blaster): Night

(Halan23): im off too, my parents just went to bed and i dont want to wake them up

(Apokoript): Oda, I swear to god

(ODAMAN): :moon:

(Steel Rider): Close enough lol? Good night Hal

(Apokoript): :moon: night hal

==

Ryan snorted, not surprised they'd been up later then Lena or he had been. They were night owls.

He scrolled through the chat up till what he had read last night before switching to media. Nothing crazy, mostly politics. Apparently, some foreign prince died today, and was making the headlines.

His laptop finally booted up, and he typed in his password, stopping for a moment as he heard Lena's shower going already. He wasn't sure what to expect from showering in a sink, but he wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

With a sigh, he opened a browser and looked up mini showers.

Not much pulled up, just a link for Amazing, and another for InHome accessories. He opened InHome and started looking through their pages.

InHome was one of the more well-known brands in the normal/tiny market, being one of the only companies that sold products for tinies living in normal-sized homes. They sold outlet adaptors, appliances, dining sets, elevators, heating systems, and all sorts of other things a small person could want in a normal sized home.

They also sold stuff for tiny sized homes, but Ryan had never bothered ordering from them online. He'd looked sure, but never made a purchase. He scrolled through a few shower kits, most of them simply needing an outlet and some water that could be poured into the top or connected to pipes. Others required the tiny to pump a pedal, not needing an outlet. One just attached to a sink.

Ryan checked the prices, grimacing as he scrolled further. Yeah, that would put a sizable dent in his savings. Did he need a shower? Well, no, he supposed not. But it would be nice to have.

Maybe later, after saving up some cash. He'd probably be saving for several months for all the random things he might need, and that wasn't including food or even rent. Oh yeah, he'd have to ask Lena about rent later.

He began to make another search but looked up as he heard Lena's footsteps near the bedroom.

She entered the room, her hair still wet and slung over he shoulders, making her already pale skin look white as snow. She'd wrapped her towel around herself, and Ryan blushed hard as he forced himself to look back down at his laptop. She was basically naked, aside from the towel covering her important parts. He was having a hard time getting her long legs out of his mind when she made it to him on her desk.

"Find anything good?" Lena asked, leaning on the desk behind him.

He felt her looming over him, and a drop of water from her head dripped down onto the desk next to him. It smelled like strawberry soap. Ryan swallowed, gesturing pathetically to his screen before barely making a squeak as he tried to talk.

He cleared his throat, briefly glancing up at Lena. Man, he wish he hadn't done that. While the towel covered her up, it did little to hide her chest's size as it hung in the air up and behind him. Not huge, but sizable enough. He quickly averted his gaze as she looked down at him waiting.

Looking back to his laptop, gesturing at his screen, he tried talking again. "Well, I looked up a mini shower, but they're pretty expensive." He cleared his throat again as she leaned further on the table, getting close to him as she tried to see what was on his screen. Lena's breaths through her nose were warm on his back as he scrolled through the search again, which she could maybe see at this distance.

"I think I can make out what you were looking at. Man, that sucks." She huffed, her minty breath washing over her tiny friend. She must have brushed her teeth.

Lena nodded as she leaned away from Ryan, her hair leaving a wet trail on the desk. "Well, I guess we should have guessed they'd be expensive. Damn price gouging..." She grumbled, hitting the power button on her computer.

Ryan took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second to try and steady himself. Damn Lena and her apparent lack of awareness! He hadn't expected this, though he probably should have. Lena was always sort of aloof, despite her attentive nature.

"Anyway," Lena began, "Grab what you need." She paused again, placing a hand on the desk next to Ryan. "I'll run the tap for you and you'll need to text me when you're done."

Ryan nodded, stiffly standing up with his backpack and phone before climbing onto her still damp hand. He tried not to look up at her as she picked him up and walked them both to the bathroom.

It was still a little muggy in the small room, despite the fan dealing with most of the steam from her shower. She let Ryan off on the counter and quickly switched on the tap, testing the water with her fingers.

"Do you like the water hot, warm, or cold?"

Ryan shrugged, pulling out his shampoo and a change of clothes. "Warm's fine."

Lena nodded, feeling it a few more times before nodding and drying off her hand.

Ryan, stared pointedly at the stream of water, knowing that Lena was on his left, with a mirror on the right. He really didn't want to be teased about staring at her; he didn't think he could handle that emotion right now.

"Alrighty then, here's a towel," She said, pulling out what must have been a washcloth for her, but was bigger than a blanket to him. "Text me when you're done, and I'll come get you!"

He nodded, realizing he should at least look at her and did so. He shot her a smile, and a wave, keeping his eyes pointedly above the rise of her chest. She smiled back down and left the bathroom, leaving Ryan to get cleaned up.

--

That was a bit strange, Lena thought as she stepped back into her bedroom, dropping the towel to the floor. Ryan seemed a little standoffish after she took a shower, and she couldn't place why.

Trying not to worry, she took out a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, setting them on her bed. Whatever was bothering him he'd get over it. Probably. If he kept up with the way he was acting she'd push for some answers, but she didn't see the need quite yet.

She snapped her fingers, realization hitting her; it was about being stuck showering in the sink! It was probably a bit awkward for him to do that, maybe even a bit emasculating.

"Bah, men and their pride." Lena chuckled, picking out some underwear for the day.

She quickly got dressed and sat down at her computer, leaning back with a sigh as a little bit of tension left her shoulders. She was still on edge, being around him made her feel like that. Worried she'd do something wrong and he'd go stay in a hotel or something instead of with her.

Shaking her head, she sat up in her chair, cracking her knuckles. There was something she could do though: buy him a mini shower! Yeah!

She smiled and logged into her computer, opening her browser of choice, pulling up that InHome store he had been on. Of course, Lena had checked it periodically from time to time over the years, entertaining some minor trains of thought she'd had back then.

Scrolling through the selections, she spotted a few things he'd need for general maneuverability around her house: namely various types of ladders for short distances, elevators for stairs, a couple different models of tiny segways, even a miniaturized helicopter was on sale, but that price was ridiculous.

She also checked out the showers, finding one that looked useful and convenient. Hopefully he'd like it.

Lena clicked through them: adding a couple ladders, the stair elevator kit, the shower kit, and a segway to her cart. They weren't that expensive, easily within her budget.

She paused another moment, looking over their cooking supplies. He did mention that normal food tasted weird, maybe...

No, she thought, an ad on the side of the page catching her eye.

An InHome, namesake of the company.

An InHome was basically a house that came with everything a small person could need to live, in terms of infrastructure. Built-in electric, ethernet, plumbing, ventilation: the works. Some models even came with appliances included with the purchase. All you needed after that was an outlet, an ethernet port, and the ability to pour water into a water tank once a month.

Ryan already had furniture, hopefully at least a couch and a bed. Though, she could easily get those included with the InHouse...

She looked through the options, eventually choosing a relatively utilitarian 2-story InHome with included appliances. Yeah, he'd like this. She wouldn't even need to order that shower kit now. She smiled, lining up the order and calculating the cost in her head. Somewhere around $3,000 for all of it, most of it stemming from the segway and InHome.

Worth every penny, and they wouldn't even put her over budget for the month.

Lena put in her information and chose the earliest delivery dates she could, which would be the upcoming Wednesday for everything but the InHome, which would arrive Thursday. She bit her lip; that would be a long time for Ryan to be using the sink as a shower...

"Fuck it." Lena said, going back and re-adding the shower kit from before. She paid a little more for the same day shipping promotion the kit had as well.

She bobbed in her seat a little, pleased with herself as the order went through and the receipt was sent to her email. Hopefully Ryan would be half as excited as she was for this stuff. Checking the order details, the shower kit would arrive near the end of the day.

Lena jumped in her chair when her phone buzzed, lighting up with a message from Ryan. She let out a breath, checking the message quickly. Yep, he was finished.

Standing up, she looked at her screen, the order details were still pulled up. A smile grew on her face and she quickly closed out of the order. She'd save what she just did as a surprise for later.

Oh, man! She was excited.

She had to stop herself outside the bathroom door and take a breath. It was going to be a surprise, so she would have to reign in her excitement a bit. With a breath, she opened the door and peeked in. Ryan was standing on the counter next to the wadded-up washcloth, dressed in a new outfit of sweatpants and a t-shirt. She stepped into the room, letting out a tiny breath she'd been holding as he smiled up at her.

Good, he wasn't acting weird still.

--

"How was it?" Lena asked as she turned off the faucet.

Ryan shrugged, running a hand through his wet hair. "The pressure was pretty high, but it wasn't as bad as I had expected." He was actually sporting a bruise on the back of his head after getting knocked down by the water when he first stepped into the sink, but he wasn't about to worry her with that. He hadn't been careful, and bruise would be a reminder for next time.

Next time. Ryan tried to hide his disappointment. It had been a little humiliating, relying on Lena so much since he arrived.

At least she was dressed now though. That had been a bit much for him to deal with. Showers did wonders for people though, and Ryan was feeling a lot better than before, even if he did just shower in a sink.

She nodded. "Well, I can turn the water down a little next time." She lowered her hand to him, letting him hop up before carrying him back to her room. She was still smiling though, which wasn't that odd, but it was a little strange.

Lena sat down at her desk, letting him hop off her hand near his laptop. He quickly opened it and stared at the store page for the shower kits. Man, that would be nice.

"I didn't find anything cheaper while you were cleaning up." She said, looking down at Ryan apologetically. "Might be cheaper to find this stuff in stores anyway."

Ryan looked back at his screen, sighing. "Yeah, probably."

Lena pursed her lips, looking up at her screen pensively. "We'll have to go sometime, I'm sure Welmart has something, even if it's just something for you to use short-term."

Ryan nodded, looking through a few of his apps. Lena leaned back, looking back down at him with a small smile. "Want to play some MulTycoon for a bit?"

He started the game, answering her question. She snorted, starting it up as well.

They played for the next few hours, Lena getting them both some water after a little while. She'd given Ryan an old thimble (which she assured him she'd washed thoroughly) to drink out of. It was the size of a washtub to him, but better than a full-sized cup like she had. He was reminding himself to pick up a water bottle at some point, when he shook his head, facepalming.

Lena looked down at him before pausing the game. "What? What happened? Did you but a railroad card? You know those are awful, right?"

Ryan shook his head, setting his laptop aside as he pulled out his phone. "I need to call the city and have my stuff delivered here!" He paused, looking back up at her. "If I'm still going to be rooming with you, I mean."

She smiled broadly, clapping her hands. "Of course!"

He smiled back, dialing the number and putting a finger to his lips to tell her to be quiet. She returned the gesture, smiling broadly as she wiggled in her seat excitedly.

Ryan began pacing as the phone rang, ignoring Lena's excited movements. He went through a couple automated systems before eventually getting answered by one of the city clerks, where he was transferred through a couple different departments before he was transferred to someone in the public housing department.

After a brief conversation, that Lena totally wasn't entirely engrossed with, Ryan hung up, looking up at her as she leaned forward in anticipation.

"They'll send someone Monday with my things. So, day after next." He tossed his phone down on his backpack, returning to his laptop as he sat back against her computer tower. "So, at least I'll have a couple things my size to use around here."

Her excitedness died down just a little as she un-paused the game. "Oh, that's good to hear!" She leaned towards him a little, clicking through some screens in the game. "So that makes it official, you're going to be my roommate?" She phrased it as a question, so Ryan nodded.

Lena hopped in her seat, a giddy smile on her face. "Oh, this is so exciting! I've never had a roommate!"

Ryan chuckled, buying another skyscraper card as she calmed just a little. He went to buy another, but stopped, nodding to himself before pausing the game and looking up at Lena.

"Why'd you pause?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryan crossed his arms, raising a brow of his own. "If I'm your roommate, and this is your house, what's my rent going to be?"

She stared at him a moment, before laughing nervously, waving her hand down at him as she un-paused the game. "Oh don't worry about it."

Ryan shook his head, pausing MulTycoon again. She looked back down at him, smiling apprehensively. "Seriously, you don't need to worry about rent."

"Yes, I am. Nothing in life is free, and I'm not about to just mooch off of you."

Lena frowned, letting out a breath. "I mean, I guess I see what you mean. I just don't think it's necessary." She waved at him, then at the rest of her room. "You hardly take up space, you won't put a dent in my water or electric bills-"

Ryan waved his hands, managing to cut her off. "It's a matter of principle if nothing else. I'm not about to let you give me a free ride here, I expect to pull my weight as a roommate." He paused. "Well, not my weight, but you know what I mean."

Lena bit her lip, looking unsure. "I... it just..." She sighed, shaking her head. "Alright, alright. I'll figure out how much you'll pay rent on." She fixed him with a stern look, pointing a finger at him. "But don't worry about it for now, alright?"

He un-paused the game, raising his hands. "Okay, okay, I won't press you on it."

He let out a tiny breath. He hadn't expected it to be difficult for him to stand up to Lena, and it really hadn't been hard at all. But having her sitting right there, towering over him, it made him worry about things he hadn't worried about before with Lena. Things he really didn't need to.

He shook his head, buying a railroad card. He had this game in the bag, no use distracting himself when he was in the lead.

They played for maybe another hour, with Lena coming out as champ with the most money built up by the end of the game. She did a little victory dance as Ryan clapped, shaking his head with a smile. It had been close.

While she did her little victory dance, he checked the time. 2:14 PM. It was later than he thought and they'd missed lunch already. Normally the group chat would vanish around this time for an hour or two, either stepping away for a break or going to work out.

"Lena?" He said, trying to get her attention. She stopped dancing after a second, placing her hands on her hips as she stepped back towards the table with a cocky grin. "Yeah, loser?"

He pointed at the clock across the room, and he let her connect the dots as she looked at the time. A look of realization crossed her face and she nodded. "Gym time. Guess we missed lunch."

She tilted her head, raising a brow at Ryan. "Why is it that, since yesterday, I've missed two meals?" Ryan chuckled, bending down to check his bag for his Gym membership card as Lena crossed the room, pulling out a towel and a bag.

They were both already dressed for the gym, out of habit, so that wasn't an issue.

Ryan left his laptop and change of clothes here, opting to just take his sweat towel with him. Lena threw her bag over her shoulder before lowering her hand for Ryan to climb on. Once they were situated, she carried him downstairs, setting him down for a second as she pulled on a sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers.

Picking him up again, she held him in front of her face. "Do you want me to drop you off at your gym, or should I drop you off somewhere and we can meet up later?"

"Drop me off at that station from last night, its close to my gym. We can meet up there at 3:30?"

Lena nodded, stepping outside before locking the door behind her. It was a sunny day, unlike the day before. Not a cloud in the sky. Pretty nice out, though they had spent a good chunk of the day huddled in front of their computers, so it felt a little wasted.

They were off though, Lena walking down the street at a quick pace, Ryan held at waist level in front of her as she walked. They walked by a few normals as they made their way through town, nobody even so much as glancing their way.

Ryan considered looking towards the ground for tinies but reconsidered. Lena was keeping her hand fairly still, but it was still a little bumpy. And a fall from even this height would hurt, even if he'd probably be fine. So, he sat in the palm of his friend's hand as she continued on.

"Here we are then." Lena knelt, depositing Ryan on the pavement. It was still a little wet form last night, but the sun was drying things up nicely.

"Meet here at 3:30?"

He gave her a thumbs up, so she smiled, returning the gesture before she stood up, waving as she walked away down the street.

Ryan was alone again. Well, mostly alone. She'd sat him down to the side of the station, where a couple tinies were exiting, paying them no mind. Must have been repaired this morning, typical.

Though, Ryan smiled, beginning his walk to the gym. It had led him to finally meeting Lena and getting a roommate for the first time. Not bad, and that's considering the eviction and not getting the promotion!

He deflated a little, remembering his job. Oh right, he didn't get the raise. Well, Lena was already not wanting him to pay rent, so it shouldn't be too high. Of course, he wouldn't let the rent be stupidly low either, so hopefully there would be a middle ground.

He passed by the Minmart, and a few other tiny storefronts built into normal sized buildings. He'd have to stop on his way back, buy a few things. Easy meals, a water bottle, that sort of stuff. He stopped at his gym, swiping his card to get inside, greeting the lady working the desk.

Pausing, he relished the feeling of being in a place that was sized properly. It was nice to have a ceiling within a reasonable distance, and objects he could actually use!

So, he got to work.

~fitness montage complete with 80s music~

He took the opportunity to use the showers at the gym, washing away the sweat he'd built up. It was also just to feel normal again, and he sorely missed this sort of thing. Just... having things sized correctly.

The water shut off as he stepped out, using one of the provided towels to dry off. He liked Lena, of course he did, but it would take some time for him to get used to the situation with her. So, in the meantime, he would make the best of it and take his time at stores and at the gym.

Ryan pulled his clothes back on, tossing the towel in a bin as he left the locker room. He waved goodbye to the receptionist and stepped back out onto the street, taking a deep breath of fresh air. He'd have to get Lena to air out her house a bit. It didn't smell bad, but it was a little stale.

Checking his watch, Ryan made a stop at Minmart, grabbing a water bottle from clearance and heading back to the refrigerated section. He couldn't get anything he'd need a microwave for, he wasn't sure he could use a normal sized one on tiny food, so he settled on lunchmeats, bread, and a bunch of other things that could be refrigerated or stored normally. All-in-all, he left with three bags of groceries. A modest haul.

He was still a ways away from the station, but he easily spotted Lena standing a short ways away from the blue structure, flicking through her phone. He still wasn't used to how big she was, but seeing her from this distance, with other normals walking by her, she was actually a little on the short side for a normal.

Go figure.

Lena spotted Ryan as he walked over to her shoes, waving up. She slipped her phone into her bag and crouched down, smiling. She'd clearly worked up a sweat but, unlike Ryan, hadn't showered at the gym.

"I see you went shopping, anything for me?"

Ryan laughed, shaking his head. Lena Gave a playful frown and lowered her hand. Ryan climbed on, settling into the middle of her palm as she began to walk back to her house. Her hand was oddly moist, most likely from sweat, so her didn't lean back.

Instead of carrying him near her waist, she held him up to her face so they could talk.

"What did you get?"

He looked through the bags. "Some bread, chips, pb&j, lunchmeat, chips, and a couple other things." He also held up the metal waterbottle he bought. "So I don't have to drink out of a thimble." He explained, and she nodded.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't have anything smaller for you to use."

"It's fine Lena, you didn't exactly plan on having a tiny roommate."

"Yeah, fair point."

They arrived at their house and Lena brought Ryan to the kitchen. "Here." She said as she opened the fridge. "Place them wherever." She let him hop off onto a shelf next to a bottle of milk that dwarfed him. Ryan set his bags near one wall before quickly returning to Lena's waiting hand.

Damn, it was cold in there.

Her fingers curled up a little, before stopping and holding flat. Ryan looked up at Lena, who was biting her lip in thought. Once she saw him looking at her, she immediately stopped, closing the fridge.

Without a word, she quickly brought him upstairs, depositing him on the desk once more. It was becoming routine at this point, but hell. He didn't have a better place to be.

"I'm going to hop in the shower real quick, go ahead and choose a game we'll play when I'm done." Ryan nodded, and Lena stepped out of her room.

He sat down once again, rolling his shoulders. It was always nice to sit down properly after a workout, to relax a bit. Even though he'd been sitting on Lena's hand on the way back, he hadn't been relaxing.

Being carried was still a strange feeling, one he was dealing with for Lena's sake. She might not have been a worrier, but he didn't want her to worry about him of all things. He'd be fine. He just wasn't used to the constant heights or just being carried so frequently. That and her hand had been kinda sweaty.

Still, it wasn't so bad. It was like having a car, in a way. Well, maybe more of a personal chauffeur than a car.

He heard the shower running already so he quickly picked a game, Enemigo, and booted it up before tabbing out to check the internet. Nothing amazing still in terms of world news, just day to day stuff. No announcements for movies or games, seemed like a dull day. Still, he scrolled through the mess of tweets and poorly written articles as he waited for Lena.

Soon enough, after the shower turned off, Lena emerged. Ryan stared at her for a moment, taking her in once again. He couldn't deny that he liked her, or deny he wasn't attracted to her. She was fantastic, despite being over 300 feet tall. Well, 300 small feet.

She had pulled on a pair of shorts and a cutoff tank top, which Ryan had actually seen this morning in the bathroom, hanging on the back of the door. Her had to tear his eyes off of her as she tossed her towel to the floor, her image burned into his mind. Her long pale legs, her toned midriff: he had them etched into his brain as he stared at his laptop.

She was hot.

Lena wandered over to the desk, looking down at Ryan as he stared at his screen. "Earth to Ryan, helloo?"

Ryan blinked, swallowing as he looked up at Lena. He tried his best to not stare at her body as his eyes traveled to her face, but he lingered longer than he would have liked.

She smirked. "Do you want to take a shower or not?"

He shook his head. "I showered at the gym, actually."

She raised her eyebrows as she pulled out her chair. "Oh, that was a good idea." She sat down heavily, and Ryan blushed as he watched her chest bounce with her drop into the chair. She might have said something as she sat down, but Ryan was fixated on the realization that his friend had neglected a bra, and he could clearly make out the pronounced shape of-

Something hit Ryan on the head, stunning him as he was knocked out of his thoughts. Right on his bruise from this morning too. He rubbed his head as he looked up at Lena, who had a finger hovering over his head. "You okay there? You seem a bit out of it."

Ryan cleared his throat, fidgeting as he diverted his attention to his laptop. "It's nothing, I'm fine. Shower good?"

She snorted a laugh, tapping her keyboard to make her computer wake up. "Yeah, my shower was good." She paused, glancing down at Ryan briefly. "You choose a game yet?"

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief, forcing himself to calm down, especially down south. How the hell was he supposed to live like this? He made a show of cracking his knuckles like a pianist. "Enemigo, you down?"

She smiled smugly, scoffing. "Oh yeah, bring it on." With that she started the game. However, before either of them could set up a lobby, the doorbell rang. They looked at each other quizzically before Lena looked towards her bedroom door.

"Huh, I'll see what that's about, get us started?"

"Yeah, sure."

Lena stood up, walking quickly out of the room.

--

Lena had an idea of what might have arrived, and she was giddy with excitement. That shower kit she ordered for same day delivery! Probably!

She looked out the peephole on her front door, not seeing anyone on the stairs, so she quickly opened the door. She pumped her fist as she spotted the package at her feet. Scooping it up, she closed the door, bounding back up the stairs to Ryan.

Speaking of Ryan, he was acting a bit odd again. He spaced out when they were talking, obviously deep in thought. He was staring at her too, so it had to have been about her.

Was he reconsidering staying with her? Her hands gripped the package as she stopped outside her bedroom. Had she done something wrong? She stood there in the hall, staring down at the package.

After a second of staring down, she came to a realization that punched her in the gut.

She forgot her bra.

Her face warmed up to a deep shade of red, and she stepped away from the bedroom door and leaned into the bathroom. Yep, her bra, sitting on the counter where she left it. She must have been straight up high-beaming Ryan with her boobs when she sat down. Hell, he was practically level with them.

She sat the package on the counter, pulling her shirt off as her face continued to burn. He must think she was a complete ditz: who forgets their bra? She clipped her bra on and slid her shirt over it. There, at least she'd remembered now and not after she'd gone to bed.

God, she thought, resting a hand on her burning cheek, How do I go back in there?

Staring at herself in the mirror, she took a breath, trying to cool her cheeks as she stood there.

Wait a second. Ryan had been staring at her. If she thought back to when she bopped him on the head, he had been staring right at her chest and his face had been pretty red, but she hadn't really given that much thought.

A relieved smile grew on her face as she let out a nervous chuckle. It was honestly really flattering now that she thought about it. She still felt like an idiot for forgetting her bra, but she figured that he probably wouldn't hate her for beaming him with her tits.

It was still going to be awkward as hell, but at least she was pretty certain this wouldn't be the end of her days with her roommate. And the end of her attempts to turn roommate into relationship.

Lena took a breath, standing up straight. Just act like nothing changed, everything is fine. He obviously didn't want to bring it up before, so don't bring it up now. She picked up the package and made her way back to the bedroom.

Ryan was where she'd left him, sat up against her computer, looking at his screen. She took another breath, hoping it was subtle, and stepped over to the desk, setting the box near her little friend.

He clearly was avoiding looking up at her, so he jumped when the package landed next to him. She barely heard him swear under his breath, and she chuckled, sitting down in her chair. Before she said anything, she briefly recognized that he was, in fact, level with her chest.

God damn it, don't think about it. She battled back the blush in her cheeks as she patted the box. "Package came." She stated lamely.

Ryan looked at the box, which was several times larger than him, then looked at Lena. She wasn't certain, but he seemed to visibly relax and stiffen almost simultaneously before looking back at the box like his life counted on it. So, he had noticed her lack of bra earlier. At least he wasn't saying anything about it.

"So, uh, what did you order?" He said, setting aside his laptop as he stood up to walk around the package. Lena smiled, feeling giddy despite herself.

"Well," She said, somewhat teasingly. "Let me show you!"

He stepped away from the box as Lena tipped it over, pulling a box cutter from a drawer on her desk. Quickly removing the tape, she pulled out the smaller, more store-shelf box and sat it down next to Ryan.

An image of a tiny shower next to a mirror under the words ‘InHome Shower Deluxe' was emblazoned on one side, with text and other instructions and safety labels covering the rest. Lena was grinning ear to ear as she looked at Ryan.

Now, it was hard for Lena to read Ryan's face most of the time. She'd, once or twice, brought her face closer to try and read his expression, but when she saw him flinch each time, she'd stopped trying. It made her heart hurt to know she was causing him to do that. Still though, when Ryan placed his hands on his hips and turned to look up at Lena, her smile faltered.

He didn't seem pleased.

"Lena." He started, and she sunk into her chair a little, her smile dwindling. Yeah, he didn't sound super pleased.

He waved a hand to the box. "You know how expensive this is?"

She looked away from him, twiddling her thumbs. "Well, I mean, it wasn-"

"There was no shower on that site under $150, Lena."

Lena deflated in her chair, understanding where this was going.

Ryan continued to speak, waving back at the mini shower. "Seriously Lena, this thing has to be at least $200." He rubbed his brow, visibly sighing. "How am I supposed to pay for this?"

"You're not." Lena said, a little sheepishly as she sat up a little. "It's more of a gift?"

He looked back up at her, glancing back to the box. "Lena... thank you, but I will be paying you back for this."

"Ryan, you don't have to."

"I said it earlier today, I don't want a free ride from you. And, either way, this is an expensive gift."

Lena fidgeted in her seat, not looking down at Ryan. If he thought this was expensive...

She heard Ryan clear his throat, and she looked down at him with a sheepish grin. His arms were crossed, and she could feel his gaze despite his size.

"Lena. What else did you get."

Lena sat up again, looking away from her tiny friend. "Well..."

"God damn it, Lena."

She huffed, blushing a little as she fixed him with a small glare. "I wanted to make sure you'd be comfortable here. And you can't do anything on your own without this stuff anyway."

He looked like he was about to retort, but looked down with a sigh. "I mean, you're not wrong, but still." He looked back up at Lena. "I'm going to pay you back for this stuff."

"If you're worried I can't pay you for this stuff, I assure you this didn't break the bank."

Ryan shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I'm paying you back for the gifts. Hell," He added. "Add it to my rent."

Lena sighed, leaning her arms the desk, forcing Ryan to step back from her as one elbow landed beside him. She gave him a sideways look. "Alright, fine. But I'm not going to tell you what I got you." She smiled, feeling ever so slightly giddy again. "It'll stay a surprise."

Her little friend slumped, looking away from her. "Fine."

There was a moment of silence as they both sat in the aftermath of their little spat. Lena's mind raced as she once again felt worried she'd overstepped her bounds. First with admittedly expensive gifts, then by looming over him. Did he think she was trying to bully him into accepting her gifts? As the silence continued, her heartrate sped up until, finally, Ryan said something.

"Thank you, Lena. It's a good gift. I just didn't expect one." She watched him take a hesitant step towards her arm before spreading his arms and hugging her. It was adorable.

Lena held back a squeal as she scooped him up in her hand and held him against her cheek, preferring this sort of hug to his (despite how happy his made her). "I should have said something about it." She admitted, still hugging her friend against her cheek. "Sorry."

She held him away from her face, throwing him her best smile. "And, you're welcome for the gift!" As quickly as she had said the word, she had a suggestion.

Letting her friend rest in the palm of her hand, she held him out a little. "Do you wanna set it up?"

Ryan seemed to be recovering from getting whisked around, but hey, if Ryan was ready to start a hug, Lena was ready to finish it. Still, she remembered him asking her to not do just that. "Sorry about picking you up like that."

He waved a hand as he got situated on her palm. "It's fine, I like your hugs, remember?" Lena felt her heart melt and she didn't resist herself as she pulled Ryan in for another hug, holding him against her cheek. Oh she loved this little guy.

When she pulled out of the hug again, Ryan collapsed on her palm. Lena giggled, picking up the shower kit from the desk. "Still wanna get this set up?"

--

They set up the shower as soon as Ryan was finished reeling from the hugs. The shower was pretty good. It was a standing shower, with hot and cold temperatures. Attached to the back were two massive tanks meant to be filled with water. There was an power cable meant to control the pump and heat one of the bottles. There was also a small tube that let the water drain out into a sink or tub.

It was nicely tiled inside, and looked like something out of at least a four star hotel. Very snazzy.

Lena left Ryan so he could take another shower, deciding to get some dinner ready. Ryan reminded her that he'd make his own, and she'd nodded, heading downstairs. So, Ryan took another shower. It was fantastic, if a bit lukewarm because they'd just plugged it in.

He was still in a bit of a grumpy mood from Lena just dumping a present on his lap. Sure, it was a present, but it felt like a handout. And he felt bad that she was spending so much on him, despite her good point about him needing to being able to do stuff on his own.

He vowed to pay her back, somehow. It would take a few months to get the money to do that, but he was ready to save up.

For dinner they had sandwiches, Lena making her own massive variety while Ryan had his tiny version. She even pulled out a magnifying glass so she could look at it. Her only comment was "Now I want PB&J." She settled for the tuna sandwich she had already made though.

Once finished, they went back to their computers, playing the game Ryan had picked out earlier. He was still having trouble concentrating, glancing over at his huge friend from time to time. She put a bra on after going to get the package, which had surprised and slightly mortified Ryan. Hopefully, she didn't notice him staring earlier.

She probably just realized because, hey, that seems pretty obvious. How she forgot that damn thing in the first place was still confusing. Still though, it made it a little easier to look her in the eye. She was still hot, of course, he would never try to deny that. He mainly glanced over when her midriff was showing, but he tried not to look over in general.

It felt rude.

He managed to win anyway, and considered doing a victory dance, but decided against it, taking a bow as Lena clapped sarcastically.

"Little man takes a bow, winner of Enemigo." She said, equally sarcastically as her claps.

Ryan waved her off, sitting back down. Ever the gracious loser she was.

Lena turned in her chair, looking back at her clock before sighing. "Alright, its ten now, we should probably stop here."

Ryan checked his phone, nodding with a yawn. It felt like a long day, despite being lazy through most of it.

"Sounds good to me, mind getting me to your sock?" His phrasing felt weird as he said it, but he waved it off with a yawn.

Lena scooped him up, not bothering to wait for him to climb aboard. Ryan was fine with it, mostly. It was still disorienting, and he didn't get his bearings before he rolled off her open hand onto the nightstand.

"Oh, sorry! Are you okay?" She knelt close to the table; eyes narrowed in concern. Ryan simply stood up, stretching with another yawn.

"I'm fine, no worries."

She breathed a sigh of relief, a waft of her warm breath washing over him. That was something else he wasn't getting used to, though he wasn't sure if he'd complain about it. Her breath was warm and generally pleasant. And, with winter coming, he'd probably learn to welcome it.

Lena climbed into bed herself, pulling up the covers as she got comfortable before looking over at Ryan, waiting. He stood there for a second, having watched her climb into bed dumbly, not sure what she was waiting for. She raised a brow as he stood there, before it clicked, he was supposed to be in bed.

Er, sock.

He did so quickly, and Lena giggled under her breath, turning off the light.

"Good night, sleep tight."

"Good night Lena."

There was a pause of silence, and Ryan sensed Lena wasn't finished quite yet, so he lay there waiting. And waiting. Eventually, as he predicted, she did speak up.

"Sorry about, y'know, forgetting my bra earlier." She said, quickly.

Ryan's face burned like the sun, not at all sure what to say. "Uh, don't worry about it. Bound to happen. We're roommates after all."

He sat for a moment, not at all liking the silence. Thankfully, it wasn't long, and he heard Lena let out a sigh of relief. "You're right, bound to happen. Good night, Ryan."

"Night Lena."