The medbay was a lonely place to be left for an entire night. It was perfectly safe and suitable for someone her size, but inside it, Sierra was isolated -- abandoned. When the day was over, Duval had to leave like any other scientist, but her being gone was little different than her being there. So limited was their time together that it felt relieving for the overseer to be absent, for at least then, Sierra did not need to toil so close to her lover.

It was especially dark when Sierra finally found motivation to move up from the simple bed. She had been told to rest and certainly acted the part, but her head was far too occupied with buzzing thoughts to be genuinely rested. Did Duval still love her, or did she regret that night at the hotel? Were these obstacles Ericka’s doing, or was Duval hiding behind them?

These worries racked at Sierra’s brain even as she paced around the room, the few dimmed lights of which made any of the space visible. She explored the medbay as much as there was to, but the wide window of her room naturally drew her to the view of outside. Of course, even this was themed towards Duval; she remembered her size above the medbay, how this entire building could be swaddled up into her arms, and how Sierra wished she would have done anything like that with the time they had. She longed all day for Duval to rebel just like before, but that spirit was not there like it had been leading up to the showcase.

Things were different -- Duval was different. From Sierra’s perspective, it was too unlike her. Certainly, she assumed, even Duval in her precarious position as an overseer could afford some chance to speak honestly with her. Sierra scoffed when she thought how simple it would be to pull her aside and be blunt about matters; Just pocket me for a moment and take me somewhere private, she envisioned, a warm thought despite how frosty her attitude was. Whatever is happening, can’t I know? Isn’t it better if I know?

Sierra crossed her arms and put her back against the cold glass. She bit her thumb, delved into a new line of thinking: What if Duval can’t tell me…? She had yet to consider that possibility, that Duval was just unable to speak honestly to her. Something could be blocking her from having that moment together, and that something could be anything, or anyone. Of course, it was likely Ericka’s constant shouldering that got in the way, but what of the times she was absent? Was she still watching then? Is she watching now?

There were no cameras in the medbay, none that she happened to find at least, but she was sure there were cameras elsewhere in the larger room outside. If surveillance had been strengthened around the labs, then perhaps Duval was having difficulty getting to be alone with Sierra. It could be worse than that -- and that was probably the case. Sierra only then realized how straight and tight all of Duval’s movements were, as if she were burdened by something. Ericka’s insistence was peculiar, as well; more than just Shoote Labs upping its security, it was true that Duval herself had been planted with her own personal camera with which to study her from.

-- and that was probably the case. Sierra remembered then how Ericka urged Duval to stand straight and tight, as if she were burdened by something.

A camera… Sierra felt sure of this conclusion, as much of a theory as it still was. In Duval’s chest pocket had been something new, but at the time, Sierra thought little of it. Only now did it strike her that it was likely a body cam, fitted to her lab coat so that the supervisors could inspect every interaction she had with her subjects. If she were being tailed that intensely, then naturally Duval would have no chance to speak privately with Sierra, not without revealing their relationship to Shoote.

Sierra pushed off the wall and towards her bed, wanting to believe it was her overthinking. She drank a glass of water, but the idea persisted, ushering her to conclude that Duval was trapped, perhaps more so than herself. Sierra looked around the medbay, left to regret what led her to here. If she had kept things ordinary and followed along, they could at least be enjoying a quiet and distant life with one another -- but Sierra did not want that kind of life. She wanted it all, for her life to have real meaning, and so she thought of how to undermine this surveillance. She desired a proper reunion with Duval, and she dreamed of how to get there.

“... And, you still feel unwell?” Duval bit her lip as she asked the question. “Do you feel better or worse than before?”

“B-Better, a bit,” Sierra replied, crossing her hands together nervously. “But I still feel shaky and weak… and I didn’t sleep well last night, either.”

Duval glanced behind her to where Ericka waited. The two had barely greeted each other for the day before beginning their check-up with Sierra. “You might sleep better back in your own bed,” Duval suggested, but she saw that it did little to persuade Sierra inside the medbay. Getting her back home in the community was what she wanted, more than just because it was pushed upon by Ericka. The terrarium was not only safe, but normal and mundane -- Duval wished to have that with Sierra and to be over this hump of awkwardness, but without Sierra being in a provably better condition, it could not simply be forced.

“Let her stay another day,” Ericka proposed with a wave of her hand. Her tone was faster than how it usually was. “Check her weight and pulse, schedule a big meal, and after a good sleep, she can be taken back. Does that work?”

Duval nodded. “I-If that’s what you recommend…”

“Any longer and Sierra will be taken into the next level of care,” Ericka warned. She stood up from her seat and made her way to the door, seemingly rushed. “We can’t have you sidetracked with this for days. There’s a lot that needs to be worked on. You made sure to schedule in that 4 pm meeting, right?”

“I-I have,” Duval responded after a breath of hesitation. “Er, I’ll see you then, and I’ll let you know how Sierra is doing.” Ericka was barely heard saying farewell as she turned the corner out of the room, leaving Duval to finish procedures with Sierra. It was only a matter of compiling datasets from the medbay, yet Duval’s sigh was too heavy to be only preoccupied with that much.

Sierra knew that expression, having studied and inferred that same bend in Duval’s brow for months. “Things are getting busy again, I guess?” Sierra asked through the window. “I hope I’m not getting in the way, but… it sounds like I am.”

“No, i-it’s not about you…” Duval said as she loosened her coat from off her shoulders and onto the back of her chair. She lurched over a keyboard, her head held in one hand. “The showcase got us a lot of financiers who all have different demands and priorities-- i-it all jumbles together, and the supervisors, well…”

Duval’s eyes widened, finally darting away from a screen. She looked to Sierra, then forward again. Somehow, a conversation blossomed so naturally between them, and when noticed, Duval immediately silenced herself. Though it was only a few sentences shared, Sierra cherished what little they could have, even if it was by mistake.

She’s so charming when she gets careless, Sierra wondered. As much as it pained her to have Duval so distant, at least she could still watch her. That, however, was limited as well; Ericka was forcing Sierra to be either returned to the community, or pushed up into someone else’s care. Today was her last chance to have privacy with Duval, and still did she need a way to actually secure that privacy.

Fortunately, the pieces to her puzzle were coming together. Until then, Sierra had the scheme to get out of the medbay, but nothing to follow after escaping. It was in her favor that today had already put Duval in a hectic mood, especially so when Duval finally left the room on her way to other duties. Sierra had to put herself on the mattress to contain her excitement and keep it secret, but she was over the moon to have found that Duval had left behind her lab coat, draped over the back of the office chair.

Everything had to be situated for her plan to work. First, Sierra used extra pillows and gowns to create a person-sized lump on her bed, wrapped up in blankets and sheets. It made for a convincing disguise, at least, Sierra assumed -- it would have to be passing enough at a glance so that no one knew she was missing, including Duval. None of this felt better having to be some grand lie happening under Duval’s nose, but it was necessary for getting around whatever cameras could catch them.

There were no convenient exits for the medbay, at least none that were unlocked for Sierra. Instead, she would have to be crafty and make use of the garage from where she entered. The transport pod still sat in the divet, and by climbing on top of it, Sierra could stand tall enough to see past the open ceiling hatch. From there, Sierra jumped through the opening and up to the roof, a feat of acrobatics that was more challenging than expected, but was accomplished nonetheless. It left Sierra exhausted at that point, but she could not lay tuckered out just yet. There was still a long trek to the lab coat, and then the matter of actually getting into it.

Sierra shivered in the vastness of space she had to herself. It had been quite some time since she experienced such a thrill, back when her relationship with Duval was first kindling. She remembered fondly her antics of hurting herself, receiving personalized care from Duval, and then eventually finding herself alone with her glove. That sense of adventure lived true in the moment, she admitted as much while on the long walk across the counter there, but the stakes were much higher. Appropriately so, Sierra felt tinier than usual, knowing she was sneaking about and putting herself at great risk, all so she could speak with Duval.

I think I’m going crazy, Sierra said to herself. What am I looking at here? How am I supposed to do this…? A desperate gaze stretched across the leap that was between the edge of the counter and the seat holding Duval’s coat. Sierra looked down the gap, trembling at the sheer drop to the tiled floor. From the medbay, the lab coat seemed so close, but that was an illusion; every ounce of doubt Sierra suffered seemed to extend that distance by another inch.

Sierra prepared herself with a few stretches, knowingly delaying the inevitable jump. There was no other solution, and waiting for too long risked her being found by Duval, or someone else. She developed a mantra out loud, “Think of Duval… Think of Duval…” It did little to encourage her, each run-up to the edge ended short by hesitation.

Then, the door opened, just as she reached the final step of another attempt. The clacking noise distracted her from her own doubts, and so her jump was committed to, pushed over the ledge with her arms and legs cycling in motion. She was breathless, wordless, thoughtless as she flew in the air, every fiber of her being expecting a fatal failure.

Duval entered the room, lingering at the entrance as she spoke to another overseer. “I’ll catch up,” she said with a hurried wave. When the door closed, she huffed in a fit. All day she had been called to back-and-forth, dragging her to 4 pm sooner than expected.

A few printed reports were picked up as Duval swept through to grab what she needed. In her rush, she made time to glimpse inside the medbay, “Sierra? Are you--” She stopped upon noticing the bundled up figure under the sheets, realizing her sole patient was already asleep. She stepped away with a smile, her next breath a soft sigh as she moved along without her.

Duval delayed her departure for the meeting by leaning against the back of her chair, taking a beat to center her thoughts. Ahead of her was a dreary discussion, but one that had to happen. She took her coat and whipped it over herself, taking the time to straighten her collar and brush up her hair. As it was the end of her day at the lab, she also removed the camera fitted into her coat pocket; like unshackling a prison weight, she sighed with relief. After that, Duval was out the door and marching down the hall, a folder of reports tucked under her arm.

Meanwhile, a lump in a lab coat pocket situated itself in the ever-twisting confines. Sierra was jostled in all directions as her fabric hideout rocked back and forward to the rhythm of Duval’s footsteps. Such chaotic movement made it easy to forget the earlier risk with her life; her bound from the counter to the chair had been a success, but there was no time to celebrate. After sliding down a wrinkle of white that slowed her fall, Sierra had to instantly fling herself into the one exposed pocket. She buried into it at the last possible minute, tossed to the bottom when Duval picked up and wore the coat.

In her plans, Sierra had not even imagined this segment of her adventure being so exhausting. When she had been pocketed before, it was in the safety of a transport pod, but without that protective shell, she was left to endure the bumpy ride herself, shaken and spun as every footfall slammed into the ground far below. Weak as she already was, Sierra felt sick enough to faint, but she swallowed and withstood. She was well beyond the point of turning around, and was now at the whims of a world unaware of her diminutive presence.

Eventually, Sierra became accustomed to the webb and flow of Duval’s walk from within the pocket. From where she was crouched in the deepest corner, she could see slithers of the outside world from the opening, though what images she saw were too thin to make out. She flinched under many of the shadows, afraid any one of them could be the person that points out to Duval that she had a stowaway subject hidden in her coat. It was all terrifying -- but exhilarating and heart-thumping.

And though Duval knew nothing about her there, Sierra yet found comfort in being so close to her. It was all too possible that the overseer herself could be the one to cause accidental harm to her, but Sierra believed it would not happen, that it could not happen. It was nonsense, even she agreed against herself, but that belief persisted as she lay quiet during the walk. Because there was nowhere else to go, Sierra invested everything in this risk.

I only have to wait, Sierra thought. At some point, she has to be alone. I’ll talk to her then -- even if I don’t know what I’m going to say… What is there to say? What is she even going to think when she sees me? It was not that she hadn’t thought this far ahead, but rather that the questions did not ever distract her.

Between the stress of the situation and the warmth of the pocket, Sierra was sweating out her fears. It seemed eternal to be trapped in this uncertainty, but the halls were getting quieter, the distance she had crossed surely amounting to a few relative miles of travel. Sierra pressed herself against the body-side of her placement, as if trying to hug the giant wearing the coat. Through this touch, she could embrace the tremors that rippled up Duval’s legs, pleasure taken in how she knew that she was hugging her hip. The rumbling provided another calm, but only just before a change of rhythm.

There was a sudden stop, at least so from Sierra’s perspective. She was thrown forward in the pocket after Duval had reached a door to open -- it was likely the meeting room. Curious of her surroundings, and confident she could go unseen, Sierra shakily clambered to the opening of the pocket, poking her head out from its refuge. She scanned the wide world outside, acknowledging a huge door be pushed aside by her overseer as she entered. It was a circular space with a long table in the middle and a generous amount of seats all against the walls. The murmurs of a gathering were heard before Sierra saw any of the people; various Shoote employees of different ranks, from supervisors to lab techs, had taken their seats, but only the most important figures of the labs took a seat at the center.

Duval earned a few turned heads as she rustled in, warding awkward small-talk with a polite smile and an urgency to reach a chair. She had made it just on time, exactly like she wanted to. Her seat at the table was claimed like a prize, but she was made tense again when the seat beside her was taken by no other than Ericka.

“Good afternoon, Ophelia,” Ericka greeted, sporting her usual smile. “Everything well today?”

“B-Busy,” Duval replied in a chuckle, “but, it’s nothing I can’t manage, right?”

Sierra was startled when Ericka was suddenly in her vision, her huge body witnessed taking a seat just as Duval had. The experience rocked Sierra into slipping back into the pocket, but her glare was as stubborn as ever aimed up at Ericka. She scowled at the supervisor, seeing her as nothing more than an obstacle. While she and Duval passed some friendly chatter, Sierra took solace in that she could spy on Ericka like she was. If she could, she would taunt Ericka for her being able to escape and sneak about without her realizing.

The pettier of Sierra’s priorities dwindled away as all conversation in the room came to a hush. From where she was stashed aside, Sierra could not tell what all was unfolding, only able to see a variety of different legs underneath the table. Then she heard a voice, reserved in volume and modest in tone, that of an older woman’s. Tepidly, Sierra leaked from the pocket in order to hear what was being discussed, instinctively inclined to eavesdrop while she had the chance.

Sierra was tipped back when Duval started to move, slightly straightening her posture for the sake of this speaker. It went unknown to Sierra, but Duval knew very well that it was Director Coles leading the meeting. All of Shoote Labs’ projects were managed by her, her hand involved in every department, the shrinking project included. Her long stares across the room pressed Duval to act on her best behavior, fully prepared to engage with the topics.

After a minute-long attempt of listening in on the meeting, however, Sierra found too much of the discussion to be alien to her. Scientists spoke of chemical make-ups and mathematical formulas, while the supervisors and overseers argued over schedules and procedures. Numbers and terms were spat at one another, but Sierra could make little sense of what was said. She sighed as the meeting dragged on -- waiting was proving to be more difficult than she assumed.

Rather than dwell on the broader meeting, Sierra turned her attention to Duval specifically, positioning herself again at the edge of her pocket so that she could gaze up at her lover. It was all she could to bide her time, and it did well to rejuvenate her waning energy. Whether it was a motion as simple as moving her arm to the table, or switching which leg was kicked over the other, every one of Duval’s actions carried a magnitude that thrilled Sierra. It was no night at the hotel, where she was blessed with the freedom to look up at Duval under her watch; the excitement was different, a chill that went up her back because of how discrete it was, the danger she was put in.

Minutes went by, and Sierra had only one thought to swallow on. I really am… incredibly tiny to her. It seemed silly to state that specifically after all this time, yet it occupied her head fully. She really doesn’t know I’m here. No one does. Only me…

Before slipping into a weary trance, a commotion of noise shook Sierra awake. She was jostled when Duval began to move again, urging her to dive back into the pocket just as a hand swept nearby. A few pairs of legs that Sierra could see pushed out from their positions and took leave; the meeting was coming to an end.

Sierra felt her adrenaline pick up once more, expecting to endure another long walk through the halls, but she found instead that Duval was mostly unmoving. Other than shuffling her papers and leaning on the table, Duval remained in her seat, as did several others such as Ericka. Sierra struggled to see a pattern, but after a minute, the staff present had been more than halved, cut down to only the most vital scientists and managers.

When the doors closed again and the remaining staff was to themselves, there was a notable shift in the air. Even Sierra felt it from within the coat, a silence that droned for a little too long as people rustled anxiously in their seats. The mood was stiff, but unexpectedly, it was Duval to break the quiet.

“Why are there still errors? Where’s the progress we were talking about last month?” Duval attacked; at first, Sierra thought it was someone different speaking. “All I see are the same results we’ve been having -- all year.”

“Straight to the chase, eh, Ophelia?” Ericka shakily replied. She extended an arm out to Duval’s shoulder as Sierra watched, but Duval was still to the gesture.

“I don’t understand,” Duval said. “How can we be so loose about this?”

“We’re not having this argument again,” cut in that stern voice from before; Director Coles had interjected with her own authority. “We’re this far along with revolutionary science. We know the problem, it’s simply a matter of solving it -- which will be done in time.”

“This isn’t… It can’t be considered acceptable,” Duval pushed. “This should be our top priority. The project never should have left the ground!”

“It wouldn’t have,” Coles snapped, “but we’re flying fast now, Duval, and we can’t cut the engines. Everyone goes down with this project and I’m not letting it go that way.”

“It’s going to end exactly that way if we don’t find an answer for these people!” Duval bolted up from her seat, a shift in position that had Sierra squeak in shock. “What’s going to happen when an investor finds out? What’s going to happen when the public hears about it?”

“Ophelia,” Ericka said, “we’ve taken measures to ensure--”

“How does this project end? Because the conclusion we predict isn’t at all what they expect -- what they were told!”

There was a pause, only a huff from Duval until the director spoke again. “There have been no broken promises. We still have time. The regrowth team has been able to restore up to one percent of an experiment’s size as of last month, and today’s projections are only better--”

“One percent is nothing! Ten percent -- nothing! If we cannot grow these people -- these humans! -- back to full-size, then we’ve irreparably ruined their lives!”

“Enough of this, Overseer,” Coles commanded. Such a striking tone instantly retook order, pushing Duval into a stunned quiet. “This is beyond your post. Your concern could jeopardize the entire project, and then what of the subjects? What would they do if our labs lost funding -- if we were shut down? Do you know what would be the fate for them?”

Duval shivered, but she tried to stand strong. “Then we should dedicate all efforts to--”

“That is not your call to make,” Coles decided. “You fail to see the bigger picture, Overseer. By no means is this the situation we wanted, but this is the reality our science must prosper in. These are the facts our future will be built on.”

Duval’s lips twisted with bitterness and her fingers curled against the papers on the table. This was not the first argument with the director she had waged, nor would it be the last. The progress she was hoping for was still just a faraway hope. It hardened inside her, this rocky emotion with jagged edges towards her peers. The matter at hand had her despising the very labs that employed her, but after a breath, Duval returned to wearing the mask she always did. She was an overseer, an accomplished scientist, and a likeable coworker, but only once she had exhaled.

The meeting proceeded as expected by Duval. Failed tests were reviewed like autopsies, analyzing every detail for the points of error, of which there were many to compile. Duval was critical, as was Ericka, with regards to where to experiment next -- but all the while, Duval struggled to find a purpose for it all. Her eyes fell dim as the conversation carried on, her spirit graying to the same shade as her coworkers -- her co-conspirators, all numbed to the reality they had created.

They’re trapped. That point remained impaled in Duval’s mind. They’re trapped. It was us who trapped them. And we’re trapped, too, now -- trapped with what we’ve put together. Trapped in what we wanted to learn.

“Dinner?” Ericka’s suggestion shook Duval from her downcast glare into her papers. The meeting was adjourned and casual conversation took over where the serious discussion had once persisted. Ericka was out of her seat and behind Duval, grazing her shoulder with a touch. “I know you’re hungry~ because I know you skipped lunch. Come with me, won’t you?”

“Oh, th-thank you,” Duval replied, still recovering from a daze. She began sorting her documents back into a folder, “I’ve got, uh, plans for tonight. Maybe tomorrow?”

Ericka giggled and playfully shook Duval by both shoulders. “That’s a promise,” she laughed, joining the flow of the others in leaving the room. “Get plenty of rest tonight, Ophelia! Thanks for the work today!”

Duval smiled and waved, both empty gestures as she dwelled on what the meeting had covered. As the last to leave, she turned off the lights and locked the door behind her, but still did that room burden her thoughts, as though she had never left it. All down the halls and up to the main lobby, Duval kept her stare away from others, unable to look them in the eyes on her way back to the outside world.

Her sluggish departure made her the last of the cars in the company garage. Nearing her vehicle was already providing relief as she sought it like a shelter, her escape to the mundane. Everything could be left behind each night, a status quo she maintained through her years as a scientist. Even the most serious matters could be laid to rest for the time being; Duval knew it did her little good to take work home with her.

After getting into her car with a slumped motion, Duval sighed away her stresses and gripped the steering wheel for balance. A moment of contemplation, not only to sort herself out before getting on the road, but to pick out a show tune for the drive home, her go-to genre for staying sane. She started the car and was scrolling through a playlist on the console, until--

“Duval…” A whisper, or maybe just a whine. The tone was only just distinct enough to make her hesitate, enough time for her to process the voice, and to hear it again. “... Duval! Don’t start yet!” Duval blinked, but a glance out the windows showed her no one nearby -- which left the overseer with only one implication. “Duval!!”

Crawling out from her coat pocket, wedged between her body and the gear stick console, was the flailing arm of a little body. Sierra had climbed out to reveal herself, clawing at the white fabric while waving up at the mountain-sized woman. Her calls for Duval’s attention were desperate and loud, but it was only when the overseer’s eyes befell her that her tiny voice could be comprehended -- those same eyes that widened to twice their size upon realizing Sierra had been in her pocket.

“Holy--!!” Duval gasped in a burst. She frantically pushed away from the center of her car and into her door. She looked away, looked back, away again -- “No, no, no,” she muttered, her head shaking, “please, not like this--”

Duval’s shocked response was somewhat expected, but still just as eruptive for Sierra. The jump of fright had caused her to tumble out of the pocket and onto the driver seat itself, where a corner of space had been made for her where Duval had slid away from. Before even catching her balance, Sierra was already chanting up at Duval, “I’m okay, Duval! I’m okay -- look! I-It’s not bad! It’s just me!”

But these points failed to calm Duval -- they flustered her further. “No, Sierra, no! Y-You can’t!” she argued loudly. “You cannot be here, y-you just-- can’t! Oh, my god, Sierra…”

“No, no, i-it’s all fine, Duval! Trust me, I-I-- No one knows! No one knows I’m here--”

“Exactly! W-We need to take you back,” Duval scoffed, “this is-- oh my god, you’re going to die out here like this, Sierra…!”

“Please, Duval, just listen to me…!” Sierra shouted, only now turned onto her back after the fall. The sight above her had her choked; Duval’s glare amidst her nervous reaction was particularly imposing, a side of the scientist that Sierra had never seen.

“No…! Sierra, no…” Duval closed her eyes in frustration, a trembling hand brushing across her brow and down her cheek. “How did you-- No, no, it doesn’t matter! This is so wrong…”

Sierra tried to speak, but a swirling in her stomach slowed her. After two heavy breaths, she squeaked, “Please, c-can we talk, Duval?” She shuddered pathetically, her tiny body quivering in Duval’s shadow. “Please… I just came here to talk to you, Duval. Th-That’s all.”

“That’s all? J-Just to talk?” Duval swallowed on what would have been a sarcastic laugh. “... You risked your life, just to try and talk to me?”

“Yes!” Sierra jumped. “A-And I-I’d do it again…!”

“Stupid,” Duval winced. “I’m sorry, but that’s… absurd. It’s so reckless, Sierra.”

Sierra was shaken by the reply, but she persisted, “It’s… what I had to do. It’s all I could do -- you were ignoring me! I-I could never have a chance to just talk like we used to--!”

“We can’t, anymore! We… We can’t talk like that! I-It’s too complicated for you--”

“No, I know everything!” Sierra stepped forward, closer to Duval’s thigh so that she could caress that side of her. “I… figured it out, th-that you’re being recorded. I know what’s going on.”

“You…?” Duval bit her lip, the expression hidden behind her palm as it stretched down her face. “Sierra, you surely only know so much about what’s happening. If you did know everything…”

“I-It’s because of Ericka,” Sierra interrupted. “Right? Sh-She must have seen something, or she’s trying to get you fired -- either way, that… that’s not going to get in between us! N-Nothing will!”

Duval’s eyes closed again, her body cramped with stress. “Ericka is… only one part of all this,” she groaned, “Sierra… I-I wanted to explain it to you, but that’s exactly what would make things worse. And now with you doing this… I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.”

“Can’t you just tell me?” Sierra asked. “I-I want to know when this’ll be over. When can we go back to normal? When am I supposed to… be with you? I’m confused, Duval, a-and… it’s so scary not knowing what’s happening.”

Duval frowned, upset with herself for lacking the answers Sierra strived for. “... I don’t know if there’ll ever be a normal like before,” she admitted, parsing out her words. “Ericka… caught me at the hotel, after I took you back.”

Sierra became still, her hands flexing to her chest in worry. “D-Does… she know…?”

“She only knows I took someone,” Duval continued, “but she didn’t ask about who. She didn’t care. She… wanted to protect me, as much as she could. She wanted to protect me from myself.”

“She just doesn’t realize,” Sierra said. “She doesn’t know we’re… in love. She doesn’t know what she’s doing--”

“She’s doing her job,” Duval cut in, “like I should be doing…! This has gotten so out of hand… I-I--”

“No, no Duval,” Sierra stuttered, both hands now on Duval’s leg. “We can get through this… I-I’m sorry, for having done all this sneaking around… I-I wanted to be with you. I wanted to be here…”

“... How long were you in there?” A blink of silence. “When did you get in my pocket? When-- What did you hear, Sierra?”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

“At the meeting. You had to be there. What did you hear?”

“I don’t-- er, I… I heard you all talking,” Sierra shrugged in distress. “About… things-- It doesn’t matter! I-It doesn’t change anything, does it?”

“Sierra--”

“I know! I know, I-I can’t… There’s no returning to my normal size.” Sierra paused, her throat frosting over after speaking the truth for the first time. “No one can. I-I heard that… How Shoote isn’t able to grow the subjects back to normal…”

Stricken with pity, Duval’s body compassionately began to relax, but still as stressed as before. She offered a hand, shaky as it might have been, and scooped Sierra into her palm gently. She lifted the little woman to chest-height, and with the seat now available, situated herself back into a normal posture in front of the steering wheel. Sierra was equally as untalkative as this shift occurred, neither wanting to progress the lingering topic.

“... Like I said, it doesn’t matter.” Sierra spoke up to the mighty face before her, less afraid of Duval’s size than when she stood beside her. “I don’t care about that. I just want… you, t-to be with you, to have you. And I want to be like this! I want to be tiny and held like this… Th-This is what I want! It’s okay!”

“No, it isn’t okay,” Duval countered. “You-- We can’t live like this. I’m your overseer, y-you’re part of an experiment, and you’re… like this! You’re small, you’re… vulnerable. What’s our life supposed to look like…?”

“I-It can be anything we want it to be!” Sierra pushed. “It’s our future, isn’t it? We can become anything!”

“I want us to be together, but wanting alone… doesn’t change reality. I want you terribly, Sierra, but can it really be like… this? Can we truly just decide to live together like this?”

“Yes… Being with you, while tiny, i-it’s all I think about. It’s not easy to explain… b-but I want to make you feel important, significant. I want us to have… meaning. It’s my dream to be like this with you forever.”

“A dream, right,” Duval sighed. “That’s it, I think. That’s the difference…”

“Duval…”

“You’re able to dream, Sierra, and fantasize about what we could do, and what you want to do. I… I don’t do that. I’m a scientist, Sierra, w-we calculate. We don’t dream, we hypothesize. And this logic you have, it doesn’t work -- you don’t see the future, you see what… what you desire. You’ve made an end-goal in your mind, but… how? How do we get there?”

“I don’t know, n-not yet,” Sierra admitted quickly. “But… I know you want this too. And if you do want it… I know you’ll think of something for us! I know you will!”

“Do you think I haven’t? I’ve tried, Sierra! But anything I do to continue… this… it’s going to risk my job. I worked so hard for this project, I’ve put so much of myself into this revolutionary science… and damn it, that doesn’t even matter-- I’m risking you! Not just your health, god knows that’s important too, b-but they could take you away from me! They could send you to another overseer, they could-- no, I don’t even want to think what they could do to you! Th-This is what I mean, Sierra, it… isn’t possible! We can’t!”

“We can, I-I believe that…!” Sierra whimpered, her arms whipping to her sides without something to grab or shake or push like they wanted. “We can… deal with this! I can deal with it, I can wait… When this project is over, which it has to end, y-you can take me! Eventually it’ll have to end--”

“What if I’m reassigned?! What if I’m just straight-up fired?!” Duval attacked with her arguments, all of which had been great blades pierced into her conscience since the showcase, since that night at the hotel. “Did you not think ahead like this? Well, I did! And that’s why… why it just has to… end…! There’s not a guaranteed happy ending to any of this. There’s only a long, long road… spanning years, where everyday is a risk to what this thing we have is.”

“Is that what we’re supposed to live with? A-Am I just supposed to be happy that I can even see you through a glass wall?” Sierra looked astray, as if beaming her vision directly to where the terrarium was inside the labs. “I don’t want to be there, Duval. I feel trapped there. Everything’s frozen… It’s not what I expected. But you-- I love you. And… you won’t say that back to me, will you…?”

“I love you, Sierra,” Duval confidently claimed. “You are a treasure, I-- but… you’re so precious, too. You’re too precious for me to lose to something like this.”

“Then… Th-Then just run away with me…!” Sierra stood up, taking a desperate stance on this suggestion. “We can go now! They couldn’t catch you!”

“Sierra…”

“If you love me, th-then do it…! Drive away with me, right now! And then, wherever we go, th-that can be our life! We can--”

“No, Sierra.”

“We can make this happen…! We love each other, and I… can’t go back there…! Not now…”

“Sierra, it can’t be like this.”

“Because… there isn’t anything for me. I can’t even go back to a normal life. I’m stuck like this. Like all of them.”

“S-Sierra… They’re working on a reversal procedure. I-It can happen, they’re trying--”

“No. I don’t want to go back to normal. I want this! I want you! I-I want us to escape!”

“... And just throw away everything I’ve worked for?!” Duval’s volume raised, and appropriately did it raise the heat around Sierra within her palm. “You don’t understand, Sierra! I’ve gone through hell to get this! This is what I wanted! To be on the cutting edge of science! To discover something that changes the world! And I watched my sisters fail to get there, and I watched my friends fail to keep up with me, and I competed with coworkers to have this…! And now I should throw that all away, and run away, from everything I had wanted…?”

Duval breathed. All while she had spoken, her hand had rumbled with her emphasises, talking over the whimpers Sierra defensively produced. Only after ranting did it sting Duval back, realizing her tone, her bluntness -- Sierra was visibly quivering, coiled helplessly in her hospital gown. The life drained from Duval.

“Pl-Please stop…” Sierra said, her voice shrunken and meek. “Don’t… Please d-don’t yell at me…! I-I’m sorry!”

“Sweetheart, no--”

“I’ve ruined it! I-I’ve ruined everything…!”

“Sierra, listen to me, please…! I just wanted you to understand--”

“No-- I know now! I do understand…! I-I get it! It… can’t! It just can’t…! And all I’ve done is-- is make you risk it all!”

“You’re worth these risks, Sierra! I want you in my life -- I want to share my world with you…! Please, don’t act this way--”

“I get it-- a risk-- is what I am…! That night, I made you risk throwing away everything you’ve made for yourself…! You’ve worked so hard -- you’re right, Duval, I’m sorry, Duval, I-I’m--”

Duval stammered into Sierra’s words, and then into Sierra herself. She pushed forward into a kiss, dwarfing the woman into the gesture like a powerful wind. Her eyes closed, but in her hum of delight, there was pushback. Sierra complained, her limbs flailed outside the mouth -- “No! Don’t you-- No!” she hissed at Duval, until finally the lips lifted away in a gasp.

“Si-Sierra…! I was--”

“Shut up! Y-You can’t just-- you don’t just do that! I-I can’t-- I can’t!” Sierra heaved, slipping in Duval’s unusual grip on her body. She kicked away in rattled movements, but Duval’s hand was all she could flee to, and Duval’s worry was all she could see. Sierra wheezed, a timid voice all that could continue on, “I can’t stop you…! I’m too weak…! I’m-- I’m p-powerless…!”

Trickles of tears turned to streams. Sierra wept, tangling her arms around the ring finger into a desperate, craving embrace. Duval lowered her away, making what little distance she could create in the cage-like car. The energy of their argument strangled them in their own ways, the air resonating with tension. Duval hesitated with every thought, crippled by Sierra’s shaking, and then cut by the wetness of her tears, their touch on her skin like steel.

“Put me down…”

“Wh-What?” Duval’s throat was dry. “Where…?”

“Anywhere! I-I don’t want to be held…!”

Duval stiffened. Sierra… You trust me, don’t you?

Sierra huffed. She wouldn’t repeat herself, if she didn’t have to.

Duval lowered her to the gray plain of the passenger seat. Sierra slipped through the fingers in a crawl. A final whine dismissed the hand, leaving her to weep and shake on her hands and knees. Duval dragged her own hand away, respecting Sierra’s wish regardless of how it hurt her.

There was no will to keep arguing. Duval turned away, a deep gaze cast out the window and through the parking garage. In her own space, she cried, muffled sobs kept hidden from Sierra. The conversation burned on in her head, repeating the bitter truths that had been concluded. There was more she wished to explain, and more she wished that could be done, but greater than that was her regret. She overpowered Sierra. She forced her, pushed her, a complete breakaway from the tenderness she practiced. As surely as Sierra could not trust that hand, neither could Duval herself any longer.

The rays of sunset eventually glared into the garage. Shoote Labs had locked its doors, and accessing the building after hours would raise a flag in security -- Duval would be found sneaking back to the medbay, if she even tried to attempt it. This was realized in stoicism, only a sigh to exhaust the stress Duval was settled into. Sierra shivered in an uncomfortable sleep, collapsed where she was. Logic illuminated the only decision Duval could make, and so she progressed, taking herself and her partner to their only refuge.

Home.