It was a quiet car ride home.  Meredith kept me in her upturned palm, cupped so I would not slide around with the vehicle’s movement.  Every few seconds she glanced down to make sure I was okay, as though concerned I would suddenly shatter like glass.  Even her music, which was usually loud enough to be heard clearly outside the car, was kept at a reasonable volume.  Several times I could tell she wanted to say something, but this was not the right environment for the conversation we were going to have.

When we reached her house, Meredith hurried to her room as quickly as she could while keeping me stable.  Her parents never seemed to be around, so there was very little chance of her being discovered with a tiny man in her palm, but she was eager to get me to what we considered our space.  She opened her door just enough to slip through, then moved to her dresser.  Slowly she flattened her hand and lowered her fingers until they touched the top, forming a ramp.  I walked down her middle finger until I reached the dresser, then turned around to face her.

Meredith squatted so we could see eye to eye, even though her beautiful, cedar-colored eyes were on either side of me.  “Before we do anything else, let’s get this out of the way,” she said, practically whispering.  “Are you comfortable being this size right now?  I know you just went through something traumatic, so if me being a giantess makes you uncomfortable, just let me know and I’ll make you your regular size.”

“I’m fine like this,” I replied.  “Really, I prefer it.  Ever since you started shrinking me, I didn’t feel comfortable when I was bigger.  I can endure it to go about my day with everyone else, but I don’t like it.  I’m always looking forward to the next time you’ll shrink me, since how I feel I’m supposed to be.”

“Since I started?” Meredith asked, echoing my words.  “Does that include before we were dating?”

“Yes,” I answered, “even then.  Every night I fantasized about you towering over me.  It seemed like the most natural thing, and I liked seeing it even more than I did picturing it.”

“Do you have the same thoughts about Tanisha, then?  If you do I won’t be mad, I just need to know.”

I recoiled from the very idea.  “No, of course not!  With you it’s always been playful, or at worst an extension of your bullying, but you’d still need me alive afterward so you could do it again.  I think she legitimately enjoys seeing me suffer, and I have no doubt she’d follow through on her threats.”

“Then the boners you got from her were…”

“Just a physical response,” I assured her.  “I like it when a big, strong woman controls me, but my dick doesn’t know the difference between you doing it for fun and her trying to kill me.  She felt them, too, and made it a point to say I was disgusting and weird, and that our relationship was bizarre.  She has nothing but contempt for me, and doesn’t seem too fond of you, either.”

“Well, good, because I would’ve been at least a little mad.”  She chuckled, and I was glad we could joke about something again.  “I was worried about you, you know.  The whole night I was worried I’d never see you again, and I could barely sleep imagining what she was doing to you.  If she’d really hurt you I’d put her in the ground, I don’t care if she’s got a foot on me and is the embodiment of physical perfection.”

I stroked the tip of her finger reassuringly and said, “I know you would.  No matter what, I knew she would pay if she did anything serious to me.”

“What did she do to you, anyway?” Meredith asked.  “Yesterday, you were pretty intent that she should never learn how to shrink people, but today you gave me the go ahead.  What gives?”

I recounted the whole experience with Tanisha as best I could remember it.  All the time she gleefully spent stepping on me by “accident,” having to eat crumbs she left behind, time spent in her mouth.  When I told her about my time spent in the open, I made it clear that Tanisha left me out there on purpose, and that her sister seemed to accept seeing a tiny man too readily.  Eve’s attempt to kill me was featured heavily, because I felt it was genuine and Tanisha had tacitly endorsed it.

“The main thing that changed my mind though,” I started, “was imagining how you’d feel watching her destroy me.  All the times she claimed to save me were obvious bullshit, since she was the one who put me in those situations to begin with.  I couldn’t bear the thought of you watching me slowly get picked apart, though, and that would make Tanisha’s year.  One way or another she would get what she wanted.”

“Do you think we did the right thing, though?  I’ve never shrunk anyone besides you since it would seem inappropriate, but she doesn’t seem like she’d think twice about it.”

“I think we did what’s best for us,” I replied.  “Maybe she’ll terrorize everyone we know once she figures it out, maybe she’ll try it out a couple times and get bored.  Whatever happens is on her though, since she’ll be the one doing it, and we’re just trying to save our skins.  The big question is whether she’ll honor her deal with us or go after us immediately, I don’t see much chance of her doing anything else.”

Meredith nudged me with her finger, then stroked up and down my side with its tip.  “You know why I like you?” she asked.  “You like being small, and you’re smart.  Macho head games just don’t suit you.  If our roles were reversed, I would’ve at least lost an arm before coming to my senses.”

“Come on, you’re plenty smart,” I reassured her.  “And I don’t just like being small, I prefer it.”

“Well, in that case,” Meredith began, and started to stand.  She caught herself and brought herself back down to my level and added, “If you feel uncomfortable or scared at any time just let me know, okay?  I’ll take it easy on you, but I don’t want to push you too hard right now.”

I nodded my acknowledgment, and Meredith stood to her full height.  She towered over me once more, and I stood no taller than her navel even standing on her dresser.  Her eyes cast down, and I felt like they were locking me in place.  After a moment she got back into her role, regaining the usual confidence she had while looking down at me.  Standing in her shadow, I felt like things were back to normal.

“I just want to make it clear that you’re mine,” she said.  “No matter how horny you get for that overgrown blond, you’re with me, and for the moment I’m the only one who can grow you back.  Is that motivation enough for you?”  I shook my head vigorously, and she grinned.  “Good.  I didn’t want to spend time reasserting my authority here.”

Meredith reached for me, and despite my token efforts to get away she caught me handily.  She pinched me between her thumb and forefinger, then let me uselessly churn my legs in the air for a few seconds.  When she was tired of watching me try to run, Meredith lifted me to her face, moving just fast enough that I could feel the movement.  When she stopped I was a few inches from her mouth, bearing the full brunt of her eyes’ intensity.

I wanted to engage with her, but after a night inside a tiny glass jar I was too exhausted.  I let loose with a big, jaw-stretching yawn, committing myself to it so completely I almost forgot I was in her hand.  Meredith responded with a yawn of her own, much larger, and revealing her enormous maw to me while exposing her enormous teeth nearly the same size as me.  As her yawn went on I watched her tongue waggle back and forth while she blasted me with hot air, leaving some of the moisture stuck to my body as it dissipated.

“Looks like you’re a little tuckered out,” Meredith boomed.  “Don’t feel bad, I am too.  What would you say to us just being, like, a normal couple tonight?  We can snuggle and stuff.  I think it’ll be fun, don’t you?”

“I’ll give it a try,” I said, and Meredith was already growing me.  After just a moment I was my regular size, laying in the middle of Meredith’s enormous bed. 

The mattress sagged in front of me, and Meredith landed on her mattress with a thump.  I slid into her, and my smaller body formed around hers.  “Since you didn’t call it, I get to be the little spoon,” she said.  “Everyone loves being the little spoon since you feel safe and secure, but you’re always so little it wouldn’t work otherwise.  So today I’m the little spoon, and if you don’t agree I’ll crush you.”

“I can be the big spoon for a night,” I said, wrapping an arm around her waist.  “I think we’ve both earned this.”  When I tried to pull her close I just dragged myself into her, but it had the same result.  I snuggled against her back, and after a few minutes we were drifting off, content in our embrace.

“Oh, by the way,” Meredith groggily began, “if Tanisha shrinks you, you’re still mine.”

“No shit,” I answered, “I’ll always be yours.”  With that last bit out of the way, we fell asleep against each other with me using her shoulder as a pillow.

When the car stopped we got out at the same time, a first for us, and met in front of the hood.  I looked up into her big, welcoming eyes, and she peered back down at me.  “Once we announce this, there’s no going back, you know,” she said.

“There was no going back months ago,” I replied, placing my hand in hers.  I gripped it tightly, making sure she knew it was there, and continued, “All we’re doing is making it so we no longer have to hide something we never should’ve hid in the first place.  We’ve used our egos and reputations as cover for too long, and it’s time we came clean.”

“I can still bully you after this, right?” she asked.  “You know, sit on your chest, slam you into lockers, little stuff like that.”

“Of course you can,” I answered.  “The only thing that might change is how other people think of it, and who cares about them?  We have something that’s unique and works for us, and if they can’t deal with it that’s their problem.”

Meredith took a deep breath.  “I just want to say that I appreciate how patient you’ve been for this whole thing, and I hope it doesn’t take the magic out of our relationship.”

“Every moment with you is magic,” I told her, then led her toward the school.  She followed with the smallest amount of encouragement, and her stride quickly brought her beside me.  We went through the doors standing abreast, and maintained our spacing while walking through the hallway.  Other students get out of our way but did not acknowledge us any further.  This would probably not be enough to meet Tanisha’s demands, and certainly was not Meredith’s idea of going public.  She had her own idea for gathering attention, and while it lacked subtlety it was sure to work.

When we finished eating breakfast at our isolated table, Meredith grabbed my tray along with hers.  She stood on her seat then stomped on the table, drawing herself up so she almost touched the ceiling.  No one was looking yet, so she banged the trays together as loudly as she could.  “Attention, everyone!” she announced, drawing the attention of several irritated students.  “I just wanted you to know that I’m finally tired of hiding it!”  A few people had already gone back to their food, unable to even feign interest.

“I’ve been dating this guy for months.”  She reached down and hooked her hands under my armpits, then lifted me off the ground.  Her strong grip pulled me up until we were at roughly the same level, though my feet dangled a good bit off the floor.  We stayed like that for a moment, then she pulled me close and leaned forward to kiss me.  Our lips locked together, with our tongues flitting in between each other’s mouths.  Even if it wasn’t enough for Tanisha it was enough for us, and she let me go after a minute.

Free from her grasp, I leaned forward and hugged her shins.  A few people applauded, but most, as I expected, were totally indifferent.  We had announced it to the world though, and that was the important part.  No one could ever suggest we were ashamed of what we had again.