Lena's hand slapped down on her alarm, quieting its obnoxious beeping. For once, the damned thing did its job, but she regretted not waking up on her own. So, her eyes remained closed, not ready to get up yet.

A tiny yawn came from the nightstand, waking her up just the slightest bit. "You have the most annoying alarm clock."

She murmured nonsense, rolling over in bed as she squinted her eyes open to look at her roommate. Ryan was already sitting up, rubbing his face in both hands as he woke up.

Lena grumbled incoherently with a slow, tired blink. Ryan looked over at her, yawning, and her heart bounced: a small jolt of energy waking her up just a little bit more as he yawned adorably. Pulling her head off the pillow, she gave him a tired smile. "Good morning."

He finished his yawn and fell back onto the sock. "Mornin'."

She yawned too, rolling onto her back. It was just past nine, but she felt like she'd only slept a few hours instead of the near twelve hours she'd actually slept. That's what happens if you oversleep though. Well, that's what happened to her, anyway.

She glanced over at Ryan, surprised he was already up and out of her sock, stretching away the morning stiffness. She sighed, looking back up at the ceiling for a moment before she threw her covers aside.

--

Ryan watched as she muddled through her sleepy routine, rolling over in bed repeatedly and grumbling wordlessly. He was actually finding the giant woman's mannerisms while half-asleep to actually be kinda cute. He watched the giantess throw her blanket aside, before laying there with her eyes closed once again. He stopped his own stretches, watching the rise and fall of her torso as she breathed in and out, almost meditatively.

She was still in the sorta skimpy outfit she'd been wearing last night and it was still giving Ryan a hard time. Before he met her in person, he didn't care what she might look like, he liked who she was as a person. Then her met her and had any expectation blown out of the water with her size, but even past her size, her looks were above anything he'd anticipated.

Her black hair that fell across her shoulders, snow white skin, deep blue eyes, and her athletic body came together in a way that gave her a supernatural beauty. Even though all this was blown up to dramatic proportions, he doubted he could possibly find her unattractive.

And her outfit? Short-shorts and a crop-top? This outfit only served to give him a hard time hiding the tent he'd formed while staring at her. They served to accentuate her more intimate features, and draw his eyes to them, or at least that's what he felt they were doing.

Ryan found himself blushing, finally noticing the tent he'd pitched in his pants. He decided it was best to sit back down on the sock and wait for her to get up. Soon enough her eyes opened, and, with a sigh, she rolled out of bed.

--

Lena stood on her feet, smacking her lips as she forced herself to wake up a bit more. Stretching her arms in the air, squeaking with the effort, she tried to get her tired body moving. Arms hanging loosely above her head, she looked down at Ryan, sitting patiently on the nightstand. He gave her a little wave, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Sleep well?" She heard him say.

"Yeah, I'm not a morning person though." She turned toward her small friend, leaning to the side, dropping a hand on her hip. "You?"

He looked away, rubbing his head. "Yeah, well enough. Can't wait for my bed to get here tomorrow though."

Lena chuckled, halting her stretches to kneel on the floor so he wouldn't have to crane his neck. "What, is my sock not good enough for you?" She teased with a smirk.

Her little tease had the intended effect, and her little friend waved his arms at her frantically. "No, gosh no. Very comfy." He stopped waving his arms, shrugging instead. "Just strange."

Lena nodded, understanding what he meant for the most part. It would be pretty strange to sleep in a sock several times your size. Sure, she had small feet, but not so small that they (and her sock) didn't dwarf the poor guy. She moved her hand to the edge of the table, and Ryan stood awkwardly to get on board.

She felt his little footsteps on her palm, tingling her hand. It was a peculiar feeling to be carrying a person, especially Ryan, but she'd been getting used to it. She also liked the closeness it brought between them; it made her giddy.

He sunk into her hand a little bit as he sat down on her palm, despite weighing very little. Every time she held him she fought the urge to close her hand around him so he wouldn't fall off. She didn't want to overstep her bounds too far; squeezing him too much, or simply restricting his movement; anything that might make him upset.

She stood up, partially concentrating on keeping her hand as level as possible, the rest of her concentration focusing on keeping herself awake. After another round of yawns from the both of them, she carried him downstairs.

Lena poured herself a bowl of cereal, munching slowly as she watched him eat his own, much smaller, bowl of cereal. He was using a tiny bowl she'd found in one of her kitchen drawers, something from a dollhouse probably. The house she lived in was old. She was always finding random junk from a long time ago in various drawers and, when she dared venture up there, in the attic.

So, now he had a partially bent plastic bowl that was probably the size of a salad dish to him. Oh, salad might be something she could make him. Salad was basically just leaves after all.

Since he told her about the differences in texture, she'd been thinking about what might translate well that she could make. She'd only had a couple ideas though, including salad just now. She was hesitant to bring anything up though since he became oddly defensive whenever she showed any concern for his well-being.

Fragile masculinity, probably. Though, to be fair, he was the smallest thing in the house: of course he'd hold onto any shred of pride he could. Even if it meant he wasn't entirely enthused when she bought him things.

Lena smiled tiredly, remembering her gifts that were being shipped. Hopefully he'd like them, despite his odd anti-gift nature.

After breakfast, she carried him to the bathroom, letting him shower first this time. She'd felt pretty bad about leaving him in a completely steamed-up bathroom to deal with last time, along with having using the sink. Still though, she was happy he was using the shower she got him.

When they set it up yesterday, he actually seemed pretty excited about it. He said it was one of the nicest showers he'd ever used. Lena was just glad he liked it, despite his misgivings about gifts.

Today though he simply used it, thanking her again for buying it. She waved him off with a smile and a laugh, though her heart was spinning in place to the sound of his appreciation.

Lena sat in her room, patting her legs to a random rhythm as she waited for her computer and her roommate. Her phone didn't have any messages on it, aside from the group chat's normal squabbles and banter. She scrolled through some social boards before putting her phone back down on the desk next to where Ryan sat.

Ryan's laptop was tiny, like everything else he owned, and Lena could hardly understand how they made computers function at that size, yet there it was. She was a snooper at heart and had considered taking a look at the laptop before, but it would be pretty difficulty to do that without breaking the little thing. It would also be a breach of trust which was the main reason, she assured herself.

Her computer finally booted up, and she logged in. They'd probably play games again today, for a while at least. Though this time Lena wouldn't forget lunch, and she'd make sure Ryan didn't either. Then they'd each go to their gyms, before coming back home for some more gaming. Then they'd go to bed at a decent hour so they could both get up for work in the morning.

Lena slumped in her chair, remembering work. Always a killjoy. Still, she like a routine and a plan, so her little outline for the day was nice to have. She could mellow out a bit when she had a schedule to stick to, relaxing to the flow of life.

Her phone buzzed, and she glanced at the message. From Ryan, he was finished with his shower. Lena hopped up, walking at a controlled, but fast, pace to the bathroom. She knocked on the door as she opened it, figuring it was polite to do so.

Ryan was standing outside the little shower in his last set of clean clothes, a tiny amount of water trickling through its tube from the shower to the sink. Lena thought the shower was a clever little device and loved that she could get Ryan something that would make living with her more pleasant, not to mention easier.

"Enjoy the shower?" She asked, bending over towards Ryan.

He looked up from his phone, his eyes lingering for a moment before he reached her face, nodding. "Yes, great." He cleared his throat. "Thank you again for buying that. The shower."

Lena beamed, clasping her hands together. "I'm just glad you like it!" She lowered a hand for him to climb on, waiting to feel him crawl to the center of her palm before standing up straight and carrying out to her room. She brought him to her desk, letting him off near his laptop.

She turned and collected an outfit for the day, keeping in mind they'd be hitting the gym eventually. She tossed them over her shoulder and looked over at Ryan from the door.

"Okay, I'll be back in a few." She gave him a little wave, which he returned a little exaggerated so she could see it from where she was. Her heart did a summersault, so cute!

"Cute and handsome, Lena." She chanted like a mantra under her breath. "Cute and handsome."

--

Ryan sat against her computer again, breathing a sigh of relief as Lena left the room. The way she'd bent down in the bathroom had caught him off guard: she'd accidentally given him clear view of her cleavage, with a window between her... girls; straight out the bottom of her crop-top.

Damnit Lena and your apparent lack of awareness! Seriously, Ryan once thought she was the most attentive person in the group chat, but now he was pretty sure she was one of the least perceptive people he'd ever known. At least in terms of how she acted around others.

He shook his head, booting up his laptop. If he kept thinking about the view that was probably now etched permanently into his mind, he'd give himself an aneurysm. Between this, and her forgetfulness with the bra yesterday-

Oh god, that.

She'd apologized for it too.

Like, how do you take that? The person you secretly admire apologizes for something like that? He'd passed it off as something that could happen with a roommate, and she seemed to accept that, but...

Ryan sighed, staring at his screen. It wasn't about the lewdness of her actions, it was about how she might think about him. Was she just not comfortable around him, or was she too comfortable around him? Or maybe she was just unable to vet her own actions, appearing more open or comfortable than she actually was? Or was it that she wanted him to see her without a bra, but changed her mind when he didn't say anything?

Was she upset over letting him see her without a bra, or did she think he was upset over it?

At the end of the day, the answer to this question answered another: did she like him?

And,

Oh god,

He had no idea what to do with any answer to that particular question.

Ryan took a deep breath, logging into his computer. It would be best if he buried it down deep inside and actively avoid thinking about it. He'd lived with her for two days, not even a week. Surely over time he'd be able to come to a better conclusion than he could now.

He stared at his list of games, working hard to move on from the multitude of mixed feelings he was having. It took him longer than he'd like to admit to push down the feelings and actually think about the games he was looking through.

He eventually decided on Mafia City 2, when Lena returned from her shower.

Ryan looked up slowly, worried for his emotional state, but sighed in relief. She'd changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, her black hair pulled up into a ponytail and still a bit frizzy from her blowdryer. She tossed her towel into her hamper, walking quickly over to the desk and plopping herself down in her chair.

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. She'd remembered a bra this time.

Not that he was looking, of course.

Of course not, that would be inappropriate.

"Choose anything?" She asked, her computer already booting up. Ryan cleared his throat, starting up the game he chose.

"Mafia City?"

Lena smiled, letting her computer turn on as she sat back in her chair. "So," She started in a terrible New York City accent. "You want to be done in by the Manera family, eh?"

Ryan chuckled, pulling out his own impression of the Godfather. "You think you can get away with that, on this; the day of my cat's Quinceañera?"

They stared at each other for half a second before laughing at their bad impressions of 30's gangsters. Lena shook her head with a smile, finally able to boot up the game. "Alright, sounds fun to me."

Ryan started the lobby, and they got to work on ruining some small city on the east coast of the US, turning it into a wretched hive of scum and villainy. They were about an hour in, both of them talking on-and-off in their horrible accents, when something occurred to Ryan.

He cleared his throat, looking up at Lena. "I just realized I know nothing about your family."

Lena smirked, not looking down at him as she focused on her screen. "Well, duh. I've invested into intrigue and every person you've sent to my base was shot on sight."

Ryan squinted at her, absolutely confused. "What?"

She looked down at him for a moment, raising a brow with a smirk. "What?"

Ryan shook his head with an exasperated. "I meant in real life, Lena."

She stopped; realization clear on her face. "Ah."

He waited for her to elaborate on that, but she didn't. So, Ryan cleared his throat again. "You've known that my family lives in the middle of nowhere on a farm since we were in high school. Hell, you knew we were tinies too. It only just now occurred to me that I never knew anything about your family."

She smirked, but he could tell it was a little forced. "Well, I mean, you never asked..."

"I am now though."

She bit her lip, pausing the game before leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. "Well.." She started, apparently hesitant. "I've got a mom and dad, no siblings, couple cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents. Pretty standard stuff."

She shrugged, looking over at Ryan.

He stared at her, bemused, motioning for her to continue. She returned his stare before she sighed and looked away from him, staring past her monitor.

"I didn't have a bad life if that's what you're thinking. People usually think differently about me when I tell them about my family, so I don't go out of my way to talk about them."

Ryan thought for a moment before something clicked in his head. He leaned forward with a slight smirk on his face. It lined up pretty well.

"Your family's rich, aren't they?"

Lena's head whisked around to face him, blushing ever so slightly. She grinned sheepishly as she scooted down in her chair. "Kinda obvious?"

Ryan laughed, sitting back against the computer. "Between the paid off house and your penchant for expensive gifts, it sort of made sense."

Lena chuckled, sitting up a bit straighter. "Yeah, well, they are pretty wealthy." She bit her lip again before shrugging.

"My family owns real-estate all across the country. They buy up old or rundown houses, warehouses, stores, and apartments, have them fixed up, and then rent or lease them out."

She paused a moment before continuing. "I work for them but I'm not, like, a CEO or something. I just do finance stuff and have some stocks. I also save a lot of money living here, it was a gift when I turned 21."

Ryan nodded. "That explains why you were so ready and willing to drop so much on a shower."

Lena shrugged, grinning. "Well, I probably would have bought that for you anyway."

They sat there for a moment before Lena cleared her throat, leaning towards him a little. "So, you know, since I'm kinda rich you don't have to-"

"I'm still paying you back for the gifts."

"Oh, okay, well you don't-"

"I'm also going to pay rent."

She huffed, crossing her arms. "Fine." She thought for a moment, staring off into space with a serious look Ryan hadn't seen on her face before. He waited, not wanting to interrupt whatever it was she was thinking about.

After another minute, she nodded. "$1700 a month."

Ryan sat there for a moment, not sure what she was talking about. He blinked, looking back down at his computer.

His eyebrows raised as he felt a little color drain from his face.

Oh.

Oh.

He slowly opened his mouth, realizing what he'd just dug himself into. He was about to say something when he heard Lena snort, so he looked up at her. Her lips were pressed together as she was clearly holding back laughter, her eyes filled with the gleam of a victorious pranker.

Ryan let out a nervous chuckle and Lena sat back, laughing. "You should have seen your face! White as snow, you looked like a deer in the headlights!" She laughed again, scratching her head. "Well, I imagined you looked like a deer in the headlights, its actually kind of difficult for me to read you face."

She sat forward, propping up her head with one hand, looking down at Ryan with a knowing smile. "For a townhouse in this part of the city, with such nice amenities that this one has? Or, will have? $1700 is pretty generous."

She shook her head. "Of course, I'd never make you pay that. Your old place was probably..." She thought, tapping her lip with her pinky. "$600 to $700? How about calling it $650 then, Mr. Gottapayrent."

Ryan let out a breath, rubbing his head. "Yeah, that sounds fine." He looked up at her, exasperated. "You nearly gave me a heart attack."

She chuckled, shrugging. "You underestimated my expertise in the rental business. Besides," Lena leaned in, a cocky grin on her lips. "It's fun to tease you."

Ryan chuckled, shaking his head. The last of the shock from her fake rent price still ebbing away. He let out a long breath, sitting back. Her being rich didn't change his perceptions of her, though it did explain a lot. He could also worry a little less about-

His eyes went wide. He was suddenly no longer relaxed as her words clicked in his head.

It's fun to tease you.

--

Lena was patting herself on the back for her little prank. Well yeah, he looked like he was about to pass out for a moment there, but he kept being so obstinate about rent, she couldn't help it.

Sure, rent for this house would probably be pretty high, but there were certain rules that would have to be followed if she were seriously renting it out, especially to a small. That's partially why she bought the ladders and whatnot, but she'd also have to look into small-accessible stairs for both the front and back door of the house, among some other things.

She let out a breath, sighing out a quiet chuckle. Still, that felt pretty good to drop on him, a weight off her chest she hadn't noticed. And now that she thought about it, his self-sufficient attitude would probably mean that he wouldn't think about her any differently, despite her family's wealth.

Although, he wasn't saying very much.

She frowned, glancing down at him. She couldn't quite tell, but by the way his hands were hanging from his sides and the fact that he didn't appear to be blinking... was he okay?

"Ryan?" She asked, leaning towards him for a closer look. Yeah, he looked completely out of it. Lena brought her hand up, waving it near him. No response. Her frown deepened, concern etching itself on her face as she snapped her fingers above his head.

He jumped a mile, grabbing his laptop to keep it from falling off his outstretched legs. "What, yeah, no, what?" He stuttered, his little face turning red as he looked at her hand, then up at her face. "Sorry, did you..." He trailed off, his face still flushed.

Lena gave a small smile. "You okay?" She really was starting to feel sorry, but Ryan simply waved a hand at her.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it. You just... caught me off guard is all. What you said about rent was way outside my budget."

Lena breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back from the poor guy. "Oh good, I was worried I broke you or something."

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, it would take a bit more than high rent to break me." He paused. "Or finding out you are apparently rich."

Lena laughed, sitting back. "Yeah, I don't exactly flaunt it. People at the school I went to considered me less than them because my parents didn't make as much as their parents." She crossed her arms, the smile falling off her face as she remembered a few of the less than friendly faces at the boarding school.

Ryan scoffed. "Really? What a stupid reason to pick on someone."

Lena sighed, shrugging. "Yeah, but a lot of rich kids were, and still are, little snots." She thought of Miah in particular, her parents were oil tycoons in Canada or something. Richest kid in school. Lena pursed her lips, looking back down at Ryan.

"Really though, you were the best thing that came out of my time in high school."

Ryan sat back a little, his face only slightly less red than it was. What was up with that? Lena was almost tempted to check if she'd forgotten her bra again, but she distinctly remembered putting it on in the bathroom. He cleared his throat. "Well, that's a little sad. Surely there was something or someone better than me."

Lena smirked. "Nope, nothing else. Well, my teachers were okay, but being teachers pet didn't help you make friends."

Ryan nodded. "You must be bloody smart then; you went to college too."

Lena snorted. "I'm smart enough, I only have a bachelors." She sighed again. "My parents decided I don't really have ambition for my family business, so they just let me do my own thing these days."

"That's a Bachelor's in Economics, right?"

Lena nodded. "Yeah, I thought if I got that I'd want to get into real estate."

"Wait, hold on," Ryan said, leaning towards her a bit, pointing at her accusingly. "You used your knowledge of economics against me in Multycoon yesterday, didn't you?"

Lena shook her head, smiling again, before shrugging with her arms out. "You caught me, I'm a serial cheater."

They shared a laugh, and Lena could practically feel a sort of nervous tension lifting from her shoulders. He was clever, getting her out of the little downward spiral she was in. Lena, however, couldn't get enough of him, her heart squeezing a little as they laughed together.

She sighed contentedly. "Anyway, how about we finish this game before we skip lunch again?"

Ryan nodded, smiling (she was pretty sure, anyway. Again, his face is quite small), and they went back to their bad accents and Tommy guns.

By the time noon rolled around Lena had won, which Ryan contributed to her family business and she'd simply laughed it off, not wanting to get into the nitty gritty again. Suffice to say, it wasn't nearly as glamorous as a mafia gang seemed to be.

She ferried him downstairs where they made sandwiches: Lena making PB&J and Ryan tunafish. She didn't break out her magnifying glass, but she did get close enough to catch a whiff, backing off with her nose scrunched up.

"Damn," She said, gagging. "You'd think tiny tuna wouldn't smell as bad as regular tuna."

"Really? You don't like tuna?"

"Not in the slightest, I can't get past the smell."

She stopped him as he offered her a slice of his. Even if it was only as big as a crumb, she wanted no part of any fish. Ryan simply laughed it off. "I guess I found your weakness, good to know."

"Disliking fish is not a weakness."

"Oh, so it's not just tuna?"

Lena poked him in the side, knocking him over as he laughed at her expense. She just smirked, taking another bite of sandwich. She nearly had a heart attack when he rubbed his side where she had poked him.

"Ah! I'm sorry!" She began to reach towards him, and he just laughed, motioning for her to back off.

"I'm exaggerating, the only place that hurts right now is my pride." Lena huffed, shaking her head. He laughed again, and she couldn't help but crack a smile, so she took another bite of sandwich. She hoped he was kidding about the pride thing, she hadn't meant to knock him over.

It wasn't the first time Lena had considered the power she had compared to him. If she wanted to, and she didn't, she could simply pick him up right now and throw him across the room. Or lock him in her drawer upstairs. Or simply step on him. It was a humbling thing for her to realize that he had placed a lot of faith and trust in her.

She didn't want to let that trust crumble. Lena would be more careful, she swore she'd be. For his sake, and hers.

They finished lunch before returning upstairs, not playing any games but just looking at videos on Youtube. She had her arm on the desk and Ryan was leaning against it, using her as a backrest. She didn't mind in the slightest, in fact she loved it. She wasn't about to voice that though.

They watched a couple videos that slowly dragged them down the spiraling hell that was deep in Youtube's suggestions. During a batch of animal videos, their phones buzzed, forcing them to pause a cat video to check the message.

It was a dm from Apakoript, one of their friends in the group chat. She looked down at Ryan, and he looked up at her. "You get that too?"

She nodded, reading the message.

==

(Apakoript): @Lenamanera @Orion you two okay? I see yall playing games together but you're not in group chat.

==

Lena sat there for a moment, before glancing down at Ryan. He was already looking up at her. She bit her lip, thinking. "What should we tell him?"

Ryan shrugged. "We can tell him you offered me a place to stay for a while."

Lena rolled her eyes. "Well duh, but what about the whole... me being a big thing?"

Ryan looked at his phone, tapping his chin as he thought. "Well, he's the oldest one in chat, and he's the least likely to go blabbing to the others about anything we ask him not to tell the others." He looked up at Lena. "That part is up to you."

Their phones pinged again, and they looked back at the chat.

==

(Apakoript): I can see you two have read this btw

==

Lena stared at the screen. Right, crap, it's a dm. He could see that. Her phone buzzed again.

==

(Orion): Sorry, I've been staying at Lena's since I was evicted. We've been gaming in person

(Apakoript): Oh, that's good to hear!

==

Lena stared for a moment, until she felt a tiny bump on her arm. She looked down at Ryan who had nudged her, with a fist, gesturing to his phone. "You can respond too you know."

Lena grinned sheepishly, quickly typing out a message.

==

[YOU](LenaManera): Yeah, turns out we live in the same city, go figure!

(Apakoript): No kidding? That's great!

(Apakoript): The guys were worried you'd thrown them aside, so I told them I'd reach out.

(Orion): Well thell them they're a bunch of shits and I'll kick their asses soon

(Orion): *tell

(Apakoript): I'll pass the message lol. Don't have too much fun you two. :wink:

==

Lena wanted to die, her face burning up. She glanced down at Ryan, who was just staring at the screen.

A second passed, Lena found she was unable to breath.

Another passed and she couldn't even swallow.

A third and she wanted to scream.

Then, she heard Ryan chuckle. "That ass." Lena's phone buzzed, and she watched a similar message from Ryan pop up, which was received with another lol from Aparoript. Lena tried to take a breath, managing a long, slow draw of air.

Ryan cleared his throat, standing up from where he had been sitting against her arm before walking over to his laptop. Lena finally managed to breath properly after he flipped it open, still facing away from her.

The next time she gamed with with Apako, she was going to destroy that man.

Instead of lingering on that thought, she closed her eyes, taking a deep, meditative breath. Calm, inner peace, fuck that guy, inner peace.

"Lena, don't let him get to you. It's one of his dad jokes."

Lena's eyes popped open, and she looked down at Ryan. His face was pretty red too, but he was functioning at least. She nodded, slowly nodding.

"Right. Right!" She chuckled nervously. Oh god, she sounded like an idiot. "I forgot he was like that." She took another breath, swallowing as she sat back in her chair, trying to relax a moment. She grinned nervously at Ryan. "Leave those guys for a day and they come at us with knives."

Ryan nodded, and she heard a faint laugh from him as well. "Yeah, dicks will be dicks though."

He ran a hand through his hair, looking at his phone. Lena panicked, checking hers as well. Was there another message or-

"Well, gym time." Ryan said, sliding his phone into a pocket as he went to pick up his bag.

Lena breathed a sigh of relief, standing up from her chair. "Right, gym."

After a few minutes, they were both ready, their workout attire either stowed in their bags or already on. Ryan only had his workout stuff from yesterday, but he insisted it wouldn't be too bad.

Lena let him onto her hand, and off they went down the stairs and out of the house. Lena was focusing on keeping her hand flat for Ryan, as well as focusing on not thinking about how awkward it felt.

Again, nobody paid them any mind as she carried a tiny man down the street. Either they didn't care that she was carrying a small, or they were being subtle about it. Lena was nervous yesterday about what random people on the street would think of her just carrying Ryan like this, but nobody had said or done anything so she paid it little mind.

But now it was all she could think about. By the time they made it to his dropoff, she was ready to get away from her tiny friend and wrap her head around her spiraling thoughts. He hopped off her hand when she knelt down, turning to look back up at her.

"3:30?"

Lena nodded. "3:30." He nodded in return and waved her off as she stood up, before walking away down the street, hugging the buildings.

Lena sped off in the opposite direction. A good workout would clear her head. Hopefully.

--

Ryan looked over his shoulder after he had walked a down the street. Seeing that Lena was off in the opposite direction, he stopped, leaning against the side of the building as he took a deep breath of air.

That was one of the most awful experiences of his life.

Once he had seen the message, he'd frozen, and he'd felt Lena's arm behind him, which he had been leaning against, stiffen as well. Neither of them had spoken for a solid few seconds before he broke the silence and replied to Apakoript.

How in the hell were two people supposed to have a normal conversation after that, especially if one of them, ie: Ryan himself, had a crush on the other?

Well, apparently, you did your best to seem nonchalant about it, because that's what he had managed to get himself to do. And after looking at Lena's absolutely panic stricken face, he had no idea what to do. Thankfully it was time to go to the gym, and now he had time to think about what just happened.

Ryan rubbed his temples, sliding down against the brick of the nearest building, ignoring the other tinies and normals that walked by. He took a deep breath.

So, Lena was panicking about that little statement. Why was she panicking. A bunch of answers jumped into his mind at once, mostly about how she was embarrassed to even consider liking him as more than just a friend. He shook his head, trying to drown them out, but that was the only thing that made sense.

Though... maybe she had just never considered it? Ryan perked up a little, resting his head on his arms, staring at the passing feet of a group of normals. That was a much better thought.

If she had never considered him an option until just then, maybe she could come around to the idea? Ryan nodded a little, before sighing, burying his head in his arms. That was wishful thinking at best.

He couldn't just ignore it like he did with the bra situation, Lena just brought it up later that evening. It was a tight spot for him to be in. Of course, if he didn't bring up the text, she might bring it up, and who knows where she would take it.

His reaction hadn't exactly been stellar either, so was she stuck in these thoughts too? She certainly seemed to be dep in thought while she was carrying him to the station.

Ryan grunted, standing up. Nothing would get done sitting in the street, and he had a gym session to work though. It was important he kept the habit up: he didn't do anything else besides sit at a computer all day so it was the only exercise he got.

He walked down the sidewalk, keeping his breaths even as he tried to move on from this line of thought for the time being. Unfortunately, these thoughts followed him down the street and into the gym. He waved passively to the guy at the desk and went to change in the locker room. It was a little busy, but he didn't pay any mind to the others: he had his own issues.

Once changed into the slightly sweaty clothes from the day before, he set to work, using any machine that wasn't taken as he began his cardio day.

As he ran on an elliptical, he thought about his predicament. He had two options. First, he could ignore the issue and hope Lena didn't bring it up either. He liked this one.

Second, he could bring it up, but from there the conversation could take any number of turns. He didn't like this one.

And third... well there wasn't a third.

Unless...

Ryan continued running, ignoring the guy who tried to get his attention. Well, he could assume that she just hadn't considered him as anything more than a friend. That would help. Then he could try to get her to consider the possibility?

It was a stretch but-

"Hey buddy, time limit per machine is 20 minutes."

Ryan blinked, hitting the switch to stop. The guy he'd been ignoring was standing there, arms crossed.

"Oh, uh, sorry. Here." Ryan hopped off the elliptical, shuffling away from the aggravated guy, who simply grunted and hopped onto the machine.

Ryan started up a treadmill, returning to his thoughts.

If he could get her to come around to the idea, would she be interested in him? It was certainly worth a shot. But Ryan was hardly a experienced with ‘courtship' of any kind, he hardly knew where to start.

But he was willing to give it a shot.

Finding a new burst of energy, Ryan ran until he was pretty sure 20 minutes had passed. Checking the time, he still had a little under an hour left. Stretching, he moved over to the weights, reinvigorated by his decision.

--

Lena was lifting weights, an increasingly serious expression on her face as she worked through her emotions. The few people who were also at the gym gave her a wide berth, not wanting to get caught up in whatever was wrong.

She liked him. Hell, she loved her small friend. Just being near him filled her with warm feelings like she'd never felt with anyone else. She felt entirely conflicted though, especially with how he had acted about Apakoript's message.

Don't let him get to you. It's one of his dad jokes.

Easy for Ryan to say, he wasn't the one crushing hard. His face had been red as a beet though, even she could see that on his tiny face. What did that mean? Did he not like her? Was he embarrassed that Apakoript would even think they were going to... well, do anything past being friends? Had Ryan just never considered that they could be anything more than friends, or roommates?

Lena dropped the weight before returning it to the rack, grabbing the next largest one.

Realistically, she knew that he had simply been caught off guard at the prospect of doing something like Apakoript had implied with a big. I mean, just because she'd embarrassed Ryan (and herself) with the bra incident, it didn't mean he was attracted to a person who dwarfed him with her thumb. Hell, she wasn't sure she'd be into it if the tables were turned.

Hell, he might even find her scary, though as she thought of that she shook her head. That was obviously not the case, he'd chided her and poked fun at her too much to actually be afraid of her. No way. But she was worried, nonetheless.

Obviously he was intimidated at times, usually when she loomed over him or brought her face close to him, but that wasn't the same as fear. It was more like... it was more like he respected her and what he knew she had the potential to do to him. He knew she would never, or she hoped he knew, hurt him intentionally but that couldn't stop knee-jerk reactions after only two days of living together.

She sighed, moving to the next weight, and starting her reps again. Lena wasn't entirely sure what was going on in her roommate's mind, and she had too many ideas of how he might think of her to actually come up with a foolproof plan.

Still, she had a general idea of what she should do in this particular situation.

She set the last weight down on the rack, stretching her arms up into the air. She had a basic plan of action, and it mostly involved inaction. She wouldn't deny that the message happened, or her reaction to it, but it was just their friend's teasing. That was it, didn't affect the two of them in any way, end of story.

She gulped down some water, wiping her mouth as she checked the time once again. Yeah, she'd want to get going now, it was ten till their meeting time. She picked up her stuff and left the gym, thoughts still swirling in her head, but she was calm now, her decision made.

A plan of action was what she had needed, and now she had it. Lena smiled, taking a deep breath of mid-afternoon air. Sunday was back to normal for her, mostly, and she wasn't about to let a stray thought change her mood again.

Unfortunately for her, one last thought lingered in her mind nagging her as she approached the small subway station.

What if he wasn't opposed to a relationship with her, but had never considered it until that little jab from a friend? She sighed, coming to a halt at their meeting spot. She couldn't deny the possibility, but she didn't know how to act on it. Should she even act on it?

She shook her head, pulling out her phone to check the media. Better to leave well-enough alone and hope Ryan was willing to just move forward as if it hadn't happened at all.

--

Ryan jogged down the street, knowing he was a little late. Someone knocked over the weight-rack and he'd helped put everything back in order before noticing the time. He didn't even have time to change into streetwear or shower, though he could just do that at Lena's.

He wasn't entirely sure how he would go about essentially wooing Lena, but he was determined to give it a try. He'd never done it before in earnest, so he didn't know quite where to start, but he was sure he'd come up with something.

Probably.

Lena was waiting near the station, her phone in hand though she was looking down the street towards him instead of at the screen. She hadn't spotted him yet, so he waved over at her, hopping a little. Her head cocked to the side, and she leaned forward before she smiled, crossing the distance between them faster than he could have.

When she reached him, she knelt down, a cheeky grin on her face. A tiny who happened to be nearby gave the crouching normal woman a wide berth, glaring at her obstruction, but Lena didn't notice.

"You're late you know." She quirked an eyebrow.

Ryan shrugged. "I helped clean up the place, sorry."

Lena smiled, shaking her head. "Come on, lets get going. I don't feel like being sweaty for longer than I have to be."

"Agreed."

Lena's hand came down and Ryan climbed aboard, noting that, yeah, her hand was kinda moist with sweat. Just as he settled on her palm, she stood, and walked them both back to her house. Once home, Lena kicked off her shoes, heading upstairs with Ryan in tow.

She hesitated in front of the bathroom door, biting her lip. "Well, there's only one bathroom, and we both want to shower right now."

Ryan looked up at her as she stood in thought for a moment. Slowly she nodded, raising a brow at Ryan. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

Ryan grinned, pulling up his hand to play. "You're on."

Lena's other hand came close to the hand he was on. "Alright then, on three: one, two, three!"

Ryan's perch shook slightly as Lena's other hand bobbed in the air before her fingers shot out at him, forming scissors. Ryan chuckled, holding up his ‘rock' for Lena to see. "I get the bathroom first."

"Ugh, fine." Her shoulders slouched and she drew out her disappointment. "I'll just have to lounge in my gym clothes till your done then." She carried him into the bathroom, setting him on the counter before she turned and walked out the door.

"Don't take too long!" She shouted back to him. Ryan didn't bother replying, simply stripping down, and hopping into the miniature shower.

He did, in fact, shower quickly, though he honestly always did. In just a few minutes he was cleaned up and drying off with the same washcloth from the day before. It was a bit big, but it was absorbent like no other towel he'd used. He'd probably just keep using it when his normal towels arrived if Lena were willing to let it go, and she probably was.

He pulled on his clothes from earlier that day and quickly texted Lena that he was finished. Soon after, he heard her return, knocking on the door as she opened it.

"Finally, I finished a whole three movies while you were in there." She finished with a smile, holding out her hand for him to climb on. Ryan just about did, but stopped, stepping away from her outstretched fingers.

Lena's smile quickly turned into a frown. "What? Is something wrong?"

Ryan chuckled, shaking his head as he pointed to the sink. "Wash your hands, they're sweaty."

Lena looked down at her hands for a second, before an absolutely mortified look appeared on her face. "Oh, oh of course! Yeah, I probably... yeah, hold on."

She quickly got to work running her hands under the faucet and scrubbing them with soap, her face determined but red, she was clearly embarrassed. Ryan stepped towards her, deciding a compliment was in order.

"You've gotten pretty good at carrying me around, by the way."

Lena gave a small smile, still scrubbing. "Oh? That's good, I've been trying not to shake you around too much." Ryan watched some of the tension in her face fall back behind her signature smile. His compliment did the trick: he didn't want her to dwell on a silly thing like forgetting your hands are sweaty.

"Alrighty then," She held out her hands towards him, flipping them over and back. "Do they pass inspection now?"

Ryan smirked, making a show of looking at her hand. "Hmm, yes, everything seems to be in order now."

"Okay, good, because I want to shower and you're holding things up."

One of the giant hands scooped him up, very carefully, and Lena carried him out of the bathroom, into her bedroom, leaving him on the desk as per the norm.

Lena half-jogged back to the bathroom and, soon enough, Ryan could hear the water running.

It was a short but exhilarating ride. She was pretty good about not picking him up directly like she just did, but from time-to-time Ryan didn't mind. It was ever so slightly less awkward, and he'd basically told her he was ready to be picked up. Kind of. Okay, it was a loose interpretation at best, but Ryan really didn't mind.

He tossed his bag aside, looking forward to having changes of clothes tomorrow. Oh right. Tomorrow. Work.

Ryan slumped a little, sitting on the desk next to his laptop. He had work tomorrow. Great. With a sigh, he picked up his laptop, checking some boxes to update some games that had some. Though, something she'd said to him had given him an idea.

A movie.

Very cliché, he knew that, but hey: it sounded like a welcome change from the standard they'd set the past two days. Obviously, she had been sarcastic about watching three movies in the past ten minutes, but it felt appropriate to suggest they watch a movie.

Ryan checked some streaming services, glancing through what was available. The group chat had watched a couple movies together over the years, simply watching someone's stream, so he had an idea of what Lena liked. She basically liked anything but horror, which was fair consider her penchant for getting caught up in emotions.

Though, there was that new Againsters movie that came out. Who didn't like those? Ryan hadn't seen it yet, so he was betting Lena hadn't either. That was a good choice to present, though he'd leave it up to her.

Ryan didn't really care so long as he didn't have to sit there and watch some sappy romance movie. Sure, he liked them on occasion, but they weren't his favorite.

He looked up as Lena entered the room, and he immediately looked back down. Towel Lena again. She moved quickly, immediately moving to her drawers as she pulled out underwear, pajama pants, and another tank top.

"Sorry, I'll be another minute. Forgot my clothes."

Ryan didn't respond, knowing she couldn't hear him across the room. He risked another glance up, immediately averting his eyes as his face lit up red. She'd bent over and now burned into his mind was the shadowed shape of her butt.

Thankfully, her room was dimly lit, so he didn't see anything that would make his night difficult again, but he had to be way more careful. Or, well, she did. But she clearly wasn't, so he would have to be. As quickly as she had entered the room, she shuffled out to get dressed.

Ryan took a deep breath before she returned, hoping he'd be able to keep the image of her ass out of his head. When she did return, she was fully dressed for sleep. She tossed her towel in a hamper before spinning into the chair at her desk.

"Ah, there we go. Sorry about the hold-up, did you pick out a game?"

Ryan took a deep breath. First step. First step.

"Actually..." He started, looking up at Lena, before he stopped. Her face had frozen somewhere between a smile and deep worry.

"Lena, are you okay?"

She blinked, her smile returning as she swallowed hard. Odd. "Oh, no, nothing wrong." She leaned an arm on the desk, resting her chin in her hand. "You were..."

Ryan nodded. "Right. I was actually going to suggest a movie instead."

Lena let out a long, warm breath, like she'd been holding it. "Oh, yeah." She perked up a little. "Oh yeah! That's a great idea!"

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good.

Lena clapped her hands together. "I can make us some popcorn, and the couch downstairs is really comfy!" She frowned, losing a little steam as she pursed her lips. "Although it probably won't be as amazing for you since you're so light."

"Thanks, I've been working out."

Lena snorted, shaking her head. "Har har, very funny." She lowered her hand to him. "Come on, I'll get you in the living room and make us some popcorn."

Ryan climbed into her hand, and off she went, down the stairs and into her living room. He hadn't actually been in here yet, so when she sat him on the arm of the couch, he took a second to look around.

It was minimalist, white walls and white carpet with a flat-screen larger than the tiny drive-ins they had back where his parents lived. The couch looked old, but was in decent shape, with the cushion closest to him having the most wear and tear from use. There was a recliner in the corner, a coffee table in the middle, and a couple plants in the window. Other than that, only some landscape paintings adorned the walls to break up the blank space.

Lane picked up a remote from the coffee table, the TV coming to life. She stayed standing next the couch, pulling up a couple streaming services. "What do you want to watch?"

"I was actually thinking that new Againsters move, Age of Mega or something?"

Lena nodded, quickly finding it. "Oh yeah, I haven't seen that one yet. Alright."

She placed the remote next to Ryan, walking towards the kitchen. "I'll make some popcorn!"

Ryan watched her walk away, letting out a breath he'd been holding. It wasn't even a date, yet he felt like things had to go perfectly. Wait, was she making popcorn? Ryan sighed, shaking his head. Popcorn was okay for a tiny, but the damn things were either super salty, greasy, or buttery: all of which would ruin his clothes.

He looked over at the kitchen. He could probably make it in there, and Lena could easily hear him if he got close enough. He didn't feel like waiting, he'd been waiting for her to come to him the past few days. No, it was time this tiny got a move on.

He stepped over to the edge of the couch, looking over. The carpet looked comfy enough, but... yeah. He wasn't going to jump that. There was a much easier way down. He turned towards the rest of the couch and slid down onto the worn couch cushion, rolling to a stop towards the center.

He'd never bothered, nor had the chance to, traverse a normal sized house before. It was actually kind of exhilarating in a way, like an adventure. He was about to move to the edge of the couch and slide to the floor when Lena returned, a bowl of popcorn in hand. That was fast.

She was looking at her phone as she approached the couch, already chewing on a piece of popcorn. "Alright, popcorn is ready, and we can start the movie as soon as I've picked up Amazing's streaming service. Hope you don't mind popcorn for dinner." She added, laughing a little as she stepped up next to the couch.

"Oh, Lena, I was..." He trailed off, watching as Lena turn to sit down on the couch. Right where he was.

He didn't have time to move as his giant friend sat down on the couch, pressing him into the worn cushion. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he was suddenly enveloped by darkness and warmth. Thankfully, the pressure from Lena's weight was mitigated by the cushion of both the couch and her butt, but only by so much.

He tried to move, tried to tap her so she'd get up, but he couldn't. He was completely pinned and barely able to draw a breath. The warmth was all-encompassing, but thankfully unoppressive. He struggled to take in a breath, suddenly very thankful she had just showered.

"Actually what?" He heard Lena's muffled voice up above him and felt the slight vibration through her body from that same voice. "Ryan?" It was a very strange position to be in, Ryan didn't fail to notice this, but he was simply too stunned and focused on trying to regain his faculties.

As well as draw a proper breath.

The body that was pinning him shifted, the pressure of his current location lifting ever so slightly. Thanks to Lena's normal body temperature, it was pretty damn warm under her. It didn't help that he was under a particularly warm area of her body.

"Ryan, this isn't funny, where..." Lena's body went still, so still that Ryan could almost feel her heartbeat through her skin and the pajamas. The massive butt that pinned him shifted to the side ever so slightly. Then again.

"Ryan!" The pressure suddenly lifted as Lena jumped off the couch, and Ryan rose up with the cushion as it returned to its normal shape. No longer pinned under Lena's weight, Ryan took in a breath, rolling onto his hands and knees.

Before he could take another breath, Lena had plucked him off the couch, clutching him in her fingers as she lifted him to her face.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry, I didn't look where I was sitting, that was so careless of me, I can't believe I just sat on you, oh god I sat on you, are you okay?" Ryan blinked, focusing on her now incredibly close face as he tried to read what was obviously a worried expression. All he could make out was her giant blue eyes and furrowed brows though, but the worry in her voice was palpable.

"Oh man, I should call someone, or-" She started again, not waiting for Ryan to answer as he realized his arms were pinned to his sides by Lena's fingers.

"Lena."

"I'm so stupid, I should have looked,"

"Lena."

"Big idiot, just can't even-"

Ryan struggled in her grasp, before fixing her with a glare.

"LENA!"

She stopped, and he could already see tears welling up in her eyes. He took a breath, finally pulling an arm free of her fingers. "Lena, stop it, please. Just take a breath, okay?"

She nodded, taking a very shaky breath as her tears continued to well up. Ryan found a little irony in the situation: he was the one who was sat on, why was he comforting her?

Because she needed it, and damnit he cared about her.

"Okay," He said, keeping his voice level. "Let me stand on your palm, okay?"

He saw her eyes flick between him and her hands that were both clasped around him. She gave him a ridiculously small nod and her fingers uncurled, leaving him cupped between her hands. Close enough. Ryan stood up, straightening out his clothes before he put his arms out to his sides.

"I'm fine, see?" Ryan slowly turned, managing to keep himself steady as Lena brought him closer to her tear-filled eyes. He tilted his head towards her. "Okay?"

She nodded again, moving him away from her face as she took a deep breath, letting Ryan move onto one of her hands so she could wipe her eyes.

"I'm sorry."

"It's really nothing to worry about Lena."

"I sat on you."

"I'm hardly the first tiny to be sat on, you know."

"But I sat on you."

"And? I'm fine."

"But-"

"Lena, you'd have to actively be trying to kill me to kill me. The worst thing that could have happened to me just now would have been being stuck under you for a while. That's all, and I wasn't even under you for a minute! You figured out what was going on and fixed the issue."

Ryan dropped his arms to his sides and Lena wiped her eyes clear again, sniffing. "I know, I know, its just... I don't know! I need to be more careful!"

Ryan shrugged. "Well, yeah? But I don't think you'd be used to potentially sitting on someone after two days of living with them."

Lena let out a shaky sigh, turning and, slowly, sitting on the couch before she nodded. "You're right, you're right. Of course you are." She re-composed herself, sniffing. "But I'm still sorry."

Ryan gave her a small smile. "Apology accepted."

Lena sat there with Ryan in her hand for another minute, before looking down at the floor. She cracked a tiny smile, chuckling. "I spilled the popcorn."

Ryan turned to look, and popcorn was indeed thrown all across the carpet. All at once th wall of tension Lena had brought up collapsed, and they laughed at the ridiculousness of what just happened and the popcorn that was spilled because of it.

Ryan shook his head as their laughter died down, sitting cross-legged in the palm of her hand. "Alright, with that out of the way, how about the movie?"

Lena sighed. "I should probably clean up the popcorn." She snapped her fingers before pointing at Ryan. "What were you about to say before I sat on you?"

Ryan thought for a moment. "Oh right, I was going to ask if I could grab some of my food from the fridge; popcorn gets messy for a tiny."

Lena nodded, standing up from the couch. "Oh, fair enough. Wish I'd realized that. I'll clean up, then we'll go to the kitchen and get some actual dinner to go with the movie."

Lena had to set Ryan down to clean up the popcorn, returning it to the bowl and taking it to the kitchen, Ryan in back hand. They made dinner: Lena had a salad and Ryan made another sandwich. After Lena insisted, he tried a leaf from her salad. It was... leafy.

He couldn't wait for his microwave and toaster to arrive tomorrow though; he was tired of dealing with cold food. But, soon enough they were watching the movie, superheroes flying around the giant screen, weaving through action sequence after action sequence. It wasn't the best of the Againsters movies, but it was still a good watch.

It was long though, and it was just after nine when the finished the movie. Both of them yawning, they returned to her bedroom. She let him off on the nightstand, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Work tomorrow."

"Yeah..."

They both nodded, Ryan sitting down on her sock before he spoke up. "I know I'm beat, tomorrow's gonna suck."

Lena snorted, looking over at him. "Oh?"

Ryan nodded, yawning. "Yeah. Surprisingly, being sat on takes a lot out of you."

Lena chuckled, giving him a wry smile. "Was my ass really that bad?"

Ryan gave her a sideways look; he knew a trap when he heard one. But he also knew that the whole situation before the movie had made her nearly break down in a panic attack. Tricky pile of eggshells to consider.

Unfortunately for Ryan, he didn't really think about the question that deeply, as his brain shut off at hearing her ask him if her ass was bad.

"I, uh, well, I mean-"

Lena laughed, turning to climb into bed as Ryan's brain sputtered in embarrassment. Her remark earlier about liking to tease him came up in his mind for a moment, and he slowly shook it out, sliding into bed as well. Sock. whatever

She was good at teasing him, he'd give her that

Lena was soon under her covers, shifting to her side to look over at him. She seemed to consider something, looking at him from her pillow before she dismissed it, reaching out to flick out the lamp.

They both settled into the darkness, drifting to sleep before either knew what was happening.