Shifter GT

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Gustave stared down the hall. The dog was on the other side of the manor with the eldest Dessendre daughter, which meant that the path was clear for once.

He should go to the atelier. That was where the ring was found, so that was where it would make the most sense to the humans when they discovered it. He should keep moving. He should return the wedding ring like he had originally planned.

But... he thought while glancing down towards the workshop... It’s so far.

He looked back at Verso's door. The human already knew about him. Hell, he had saved Gustave's life a month earlier. If he suddenly found a wedding ring on his desk, would it be so strange to him?

‘...mister “any excuse is valid to spy on that Verso”...’

No, Jerome was wrong. Gustave wasn’t making an excuse just to see the man. Gustave was being... strategic. The bedroom was closer than the atelier, and with the ring being heavier than he had thought, taking a shorter, more direct route made sense.

He’d leave a note. It would be fine.

Decision made, Gustave scurried across the hallway and popped under the door, not allowing himself a chance to second guess his hasty choice.

Not hasty... strategic.

The room was emptier than he thought it would be. Gigantic, even for humans, with only the basic furniture and a couple of rugs. He was surprised to see the lamp on the bedside table was lit, yet the human seemed peacefully asleep.

Did Verso sleep with the light on? The thought made Gustave smile a little. Cute.

Gustave pulled out his hook and threw it towards the table, smiling at the satisfying tink as it caught on the edge. Then he started on the arduous task of climbing up the rope while weighed down by a band of gold bigger than his waist.

As much as he appreciated being alive, trying to get around with only one arm was… tedious, at best. He looked forward for his new prosthetic to be complete.

Once at the top, Gustave took a moment to catch his breath and look upon the slumbering human. He slowly wound up his rope, head cocked as he considered the last time he had been this close to the human. Verso truly looked so soft and peaceful while asleep, just like before. It was hard to connect such a kind face to the stereotypical human behavior from the stories he had grown up with. Humans are vicious, they warned.

And yet…

'Verso…' He muttered, head tilted. Why was this man such an enigma?

Gustave crept closer to the human, pulling off his bag and letting the ring down. He sat down, opening up the ring before pulling out a stick of graphite and paper. He was quick, writing out a short, but concise message. Now, Verso could return the ring when he woke up.

Gustave paused as he finished, brows furrowing as he heard a noise. Something soft, like fabric sliding. He glanced up to find the cause of the sound. The blanket around the human had changed. Dread began to pool in his stomach as he followed the movement, up the colossal arm, and finally the face.

The human was awake.

His eyes were blue, Gustave idly noted. A steely kind, something that could very easily be cold and cruel, if not for the warmth that lit them from within.

Unfortunately, Gustave didn't see that warmth. Light eyes became dark. A small smile twisted into a cruel sneer. He wasn't in the open, but boxed in, both by walls and fleeing Lumerian borrowers. His hands shook, the forgotten graphite slipping through his fingers as he stared up, and up, and up. Losing his hold on Sophie as people screamed, as his home was found, as people died around him, screaming, begging, dragging him to run, run, RUN-

'Bonjour.'

Gustave gasped, blinking away the dual shadows that didn't quite dissipate from the broad face above. Closer now, turning towards him. Easier to reach that way. Why am I still here, he thought desperately as spikes of electricity ran through his extremities, willing him to move, to get away.

'I was wondering where you were.'

The words were innocent enough, but for the panicking borrower, they were twisted into something malicious. Something cruelly playful, like the giant being was toying with him. Memories bled into his vision and, finally, Gustave listened to the panicked voice in his head.

RUN!!

Eight steps to the edge of the table. Gustave twisted where he was, vaulting in the opposite direction of the shadowy human, stumbling slightly as he went. If he was quick, he could make it. It's not like the relatively short distance kept stretching out in his vision, like a nightmare of desperately running towards something, only for the goal to stretch away while the runner stayed rooted in place, no matter how hard they tried to move. This may have been a living nightmare, but it was no dream! He was not stuck! He could run!

Six steps. The very air seemed to vibrate in time to the human's voice, but the words were drowned out by the blood rushing through Gustave's ears. He glanced back, his ragged breath's hitching at the sight of a ginormous hand reaching for him at high speeds. He barely managed to slip under the fingers, avoiding the grab. He grabbed at his beating heart, willing the organ to stay where it was, to keep pumping blood, pumping the adrenaline that allowed his aching body to sprint like this. He blinked away the tears blurring his vision. Focus! Get away!

Four steps. Both hands were coming for him now. The fingers caged around him, aiming for his legs in order to trip him. He let out a yelp as he jumped, barely managing to slip though the threading fingers. His foot caught against a digit, and he stumbled forward, but free of the encroaching hold.

One step. Gustave planting his foot against the side of the table and leaped. If I manage to get down, I will be able to hide somewhere. He was already scanning, looking for a suitable space to scurry under. The end table was out of the question, a feeble defence against the might of a human. But if he managed to get behind the curtain, he could break the human’s line of sight long enough to get under the dresser on the other side. Surely, the human wouldn't be able to reach under there, and if he was lucky, he would find a loose board he could use to slip back into the walls, to safety.

The planning was for naught. He had barely started his descent when a shadow covered his minuscule form. He glanced up to see a hand having gone over him, swinging down in order to snatch him out of the air.

There was no way to change his trajectory now that Gustave was in freefall. But that hand could manoeuvre in any way it needed to in order to complete a quick grab. Gustave couldn't avoid this. All he could do was suck in a startled breath as he watched, almost in slow motion, as the fingers closed around him, sealing him away from the world that unfairly outsized him.

For a moment, the world was still.

Then the human moved.

Gustave began to struggle and squirm, his only hand pushing at the fingers that held him inexorably against a broad palm. No! It was odd, struggling against an unmoveable force that had a squishy quality to it. No, no! His head spun as his prison soared though the air, his stomach doing flips at the rapid movement. Nonononono! The human was talking again, muffled through the flesh that held him down. Gustave was flipped to the side, the fingers around him loosening slightly as a new hand cupped under him. It created a small chamber between the fingers, though it did little to alleviate Gustave's growing sense of claustrophobia.

He stared around the fleshy prison, scrambling back as he looked for any weaknesses he could exploit. He couldn't just give up, right? There had to be a way out of this! But it was hard to notice anything in a dark confine, pitch black other than the faint glow of pink and gold slipping through the edges of the fingers. He kicked at a finger, scrambling against any crevice he might be able to tear at, as if he could claw his way out.

'-op kicking.' The human said, and Gustave blinked at the words. Angry? Desperate? He couldn't tell. With a grunt, he kicked once, twice more, in defiance, before trying to dig his hand into a gap between the fingers, praying manically that he could miraculously slip through.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to defy a human's "request" while they literally held your life in their hand. As if in retaliation of his kicks, the hands moved again, tossing Gustave into one palm. As he tried to regain his bearings - which way was up, again? - the space inside the hands rapidly shrunk. Gustave yelped as he was pressed down against the palm, as the human gained an even stronger hold on him. It didn't hurt, per say - it barely even held him down, really - but the casual, almost facile show of strength made his struggles cease.

Gustave laid in the palm, his arm shaking uncontrollably in front of his eyes. He could feel a thrumming under that thick skin, cords of muscles miles long flexing at the slightest movement. Every twitch held enough force to potentially crush the caught borrower. Gustave could even feel the faint thumping of the human’s heartbeat, racing as fast as his own. He blinked away the flowing tears he hadn’t realised he was shedding. He wasn’t getting out of this, was he? He was never going to return to New Lumiere. He would never see his apprentices again, or Sciel, or Lune, or…

Maelle. His poor little sister was going to wake up alone. Never knowing what had become of her foolish brother. His breathing quickened, short and raspy, eyes watering, limbs shaking and-

Oh. A panic attack. It was surprising it took so long for it to start shutting him out from the world. With a wet sob, Gustave curled into a ball, his one hand running through his hair and holding on as the outside world fell away. With no way of fighting back against such unimaginable force, all Gustave could do was wait for the human to make their decision on his fate.

The hands around him were moving again. Slow and deliberate. Gustave was nudged and prodded, sliding down. He curled into a tighter ball, nerves wound to an unbearable tension, waiting for the pain to begin.

'-re safe.'

… What? Why was Gustave laying on sheets?

'-sorry. I didn't mean to scare you-'

Gustave recognised that voice.

The panicked borrower took a long moment to calm the racing heart that had settled in his throat. Was that why he was struggling to breath so much? He slowly pushed himself up, sneaking a glance to the side. The human had scooted back, and he could feel their gaze on him. Gustave kept his movements slow and careful, as if any sudden movement would cause the human to pounce. He'd seen cats do something similar when they were hunting. But the human stayed calm, still, simply waiting and watching.

Gustave didn't dare try to bolt, through part of that was due to the adrenaline having finally left him. His whole body ached, not only from lack of sleep and the initial trek through the manor, but from the over exertion from trying to run. There was no more energy for him to dip into for even an attempt. Slowly, he looked up at the oddly patient human.

Instinctual panic gripped his soul at being the sole focus of such a large, dangerous creature. But as he looked, old memories began to fade. Dark eyes lightened. Smug superiority morphed into something cautious, maybe even wistful. This wasn't the human host of Gustave's old home. It was Verso. The very man who had saved his life.

'See? Everything is fine.'

And Gustave had just… panicked at the sight of him.

'I won't hurt you,' Verso said, head tilting slightly, 'You know that, don't you?'

Oh, this was mortifying! Cringing, Gustave lowered his gaze, hoping the man didn't see the embarrassed blush that lit his cheeks.

'Y-yes… I shouldn't have…' Shouldn't have what? Made a bloody fool of himself? Too late for that. 'Please, excuse me.'

Maelle could never find out about this interaction. Not only was she liable to kill him for pulling such a stupid stunt, but because she would never let him live down the fact that he took one look at arguably the kindest human in the manor - his own guardian angel, even - and panicked like a child. I'd never hear the end of it.

‘No, no, it’s okay. I scared you. I must seem so tall to you,’ Verso insisted, then smirked playfully, hand moving to his heart in an almost grand gesture, ‘But unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it.’

Oh merde, is he teasing me?! Gustave could just imagine how devious Maelle and Verso could be if they were ever to team up.

‘It wasn’t about you...’ Gustave insisted. Even if it was in jest, he didn’t want the man to feel that his mere existence was worthy of such fear. But how to explain such trauma without implicating that Verso’s very species was synonymous to catastrophe? ‘I... It’s complicated...’

‘You don’t know how glad I am to see you alive and well.’ Gustave paused, eyebrows raising at the quiet confession. Verso’s gaze had moved slightly, not quite meeting the bewildered borrower. He could practically see the shroud of melancholy that had entered those soft eyes.

‘Without any news, I sometimes thought... Well... I happened to think about the worst,’ Verso closed his eyes, head shaking slightly as if to rid himself of distressing thoughts, ‘I’m truly relieved.’

In all the time Gustave had thought about the strange man, he had never quite considered how strange a thing his rescue must have been. How would that have looked to the man? To have found such a tiny being, injured and bleeding out? To have rushed to administer aid, to someone the size of your own fingers? Any way to check for life would have been limited and difficult. It would have been incredibly easy to have misjudged and used too much pressure, to have snapped bones, or crush limbs without meaning to. With an unconscious patient, there would have been no way to confirm if the actions being taken to assist were actually causing more damage until it was too late. The very thought frightened Gustave.

Was that why Verso had watched over Gustave that day? Had he feared his own ministrations could have caused harm?

And Gustave had disappeared immediately. With no knowledge of the other borrowers, Verso would have been left to wonder if Gustave had survived the treatment on his own. If he had been able to heal properly. If he was able to keep himself fed while injured. If he could defend against other dangerous beasts that may try to make a snack out of a defenceless man trying to heal.

‘Forgive me about your arm. Monoco is my dog. Had I trained him better, this tragedy would never have happened,’ Verso continued, fingers digging into his arm in what must have been a painful grip. Gustave glanced at the stump, gently holding it as phantom aches began to run along the edge. ‘It must have been hard for you.’

Gustave frowned. Verso had done admirably well, all things considered. If their roles were reversed, Gustave didn’t know if he would have done half as well, treating a man as big as his finger with such a potentially fatal injury. And yet, he blamed himself for it?

‘Yes.’ It had been hard, even with Maelle and the others helping him. But Verso was not to blame for that!

‘But… I’d rather lose an arm than be dead,’ Gustave continued, carefully moving to stand so he didn’t stumble on the odd surface, smiling up at the human, ‘I was very lucky you found me.’ Truly, he was. If Verso hadn’t found him, Gustave would have been left to bleed out inside the dog’s slobbery maw.

‘I don’t really know how it went, but, I’m here today thanks to you.’ Verso was staring now, jaw slack at Gustave’s firm statement. He seemed truly stunned that Gustave didn’t harbor any resentment towards him due to his dog’s actions.

Gustave would not stand by and let the man who saved his life think he had failed him. He held his hand against his heart, imploring for understanding and acceptance of his words.

‘I owe you my life. Thank you.’

For a moment, neither moved, simply regarding the other. Then Verso reached out. Gustave squeaked, stumbling back at the quick movement. Verso froze at the sound.

‘Oh, sorry,’ Verso peeped, wincing as he realised his thoughtless movement had, once again, scared the smaller man, ‘I just wanted to introduce myself.’

The hand moved again, but didn’t approach the borrower. Verso simply turned it, keeping his movements slow and steady so not to spook Gustave again. He smiled, the simple action making his eyes shine with excitement and curiosity. It was endearing, like his very soul was on display.

‘My name is Verso.’

Gustave looked back at the offered hand. He hesitated, considering. Those hands were so large. The same hands that had effortlessly held Gustave down earlier. The same hands that had kept him alive a month earlier.

‘..."-deep down, you know you'll be the first to flee before one"…' Gustave had already proven Jerome right once. Not again.

Get a grip, Gustave scolded himself, taking a short, steadying breath. Hadn’t Gustave been preaching about creating connections with humans? Verso had already done the impossible by proving he meant no harm. After their earlier mutual blunder, didn’t Verso deserve the benefit of the doubt? After all, if Gustave wanted to prove that not all humans were evil, that borrowers could befriend them, shouldn't he be willing to offer his trust?

If Gustave couldn't even offer trust to the man who had saved his life, then there was no way that dream would come to fruition. He reached out and placed his hand upon the offered finger. The digit was so large, he could slot his fingers into the groves of Verso’s fingertips. He smiled up at the beaming human, ignoring how his stomach seemed to flutter at the sight.

Must be the excitement for all the possibilities creating a friendship with a human could bring. After all, why else would he feel so giddy at such simple contact?