Little Pinebed

Characters:

Will (They/Them)

Sam (They/Them)

EDIT: Sam's pronouns have changed to they/them, this change has not been reflected in this story

— — — — —

The first days of spring. Meant to usher in the warm, pleasant summer, with gentle rains and flourishing flowers; there was not, however, meant to be a mild snowstorm. Yet due to the changing climate you could have a week without a hint of frost, only to be buried under a foot of snow overnight. On one of those nights, two unlucky people would come to meet.

Sam sat in the low branches of a tree, along the edge of a steep hill that stretched for what seemed like miles. Well, miles to the ten centimeter tall borrower, at least. He pulled his cloak tight around himself in an attempt to cling to what little warmth was held in his small frame. “Sorry I won’t be able to pay you back for this, Isaac.” The borrower muttered to themself.

Their first time outside coinciding with heavy snowfall was not what Sam was hoping for. That's what you get for showing yourself to a human. Sam guessed. What were you even hoping for? A friend? Stupid. Humans… are nothing… but trouble. 

Sam’s eyes, heavy with exhaustion, closed as the evening's events weighed down on the borrower and sent them into a deep sleep. Nearby, someone else was dealing with the sudden storm almost as poorly, despite being much larger.

— — — — —

This is what I get for not checking the weather forecast. Will thought to themself. They adjusted their scarf and pulled their hat down over their ears before stuffing their hands back in their pockets. I should have brought my mittens. Something warmer than a windbreaker too. Will looked up to the cloudy sky, snowflakes falling all around them. “The view was worth it though.” Will spoke aloud to nobody in particular, “It's a shame you can't see this much starlight in the city.”

As Will continued his trek down the mountain towards the quaint little cabin, the path took a sharp turn and became a bit precarious for the intrepid stargazer. I should be fine as long as I don't- As if to demonstrate what he shouldn't do as he explained it to himself, Will made the immediate mistake of looking down.

There must have been a foot of snow, at least, covering the ground, yet they could see the broken branches and long-dead shrubs sticking out of the snow clearly. Will tried their best to quell the anxiety that began to stir inside them, but that left them distracted; their next step hit soft powder, which broke under their weight and sent them tumbling down the steep slope with a loud yelp.

— — — — —

Sam jolted awake. “Wha?” They opened their eyes and held their aching body tight. I must have… passed out? Sam thought, Isn't that bad to do in the cold? Sam took a moment to calm down a bit of anxiety that began to creep up on him, when he noticed a low, rumbling sound approaching him.

It was like an avalanche. A massive object rolled towards him, bringing with it an amount of snow that would easily bury him if he wasn't already in the safety of the tree.

Thunk! The thin tree shook wildly from the impact as whatever was rolling down collided with the tree Sam was perched in.

Sam managed to grab the branch underneath him while he was still on it, only to watch his pack fling off into the distance. “I'm not getting that back…” Sam mumbled as he started pulling himself up. 

Another, smaller impact shook the tree, and caused the borrower to lose his grip and plummet to what was surely his end.

— — — — —

Will clutched their aching body. Their clothes were torn, their body bruised and covered in scrapes and scratches. Annoyed, they slammed the tree they had been leaning against with their elbow, which only elicited a further wince as a stabbing pain shot up their shoulder. Clutching their right arm, they pulled their hand back to find a thin line of blood drawn across their palm. Need to grab a bandage… Will reached for their pack, and noticed they didn't have it with them. Did I drop it somewhere? 

Taking a moment to look around, Will couldn't see their pack on the hill they fell from, and didn't notice any of it sticking out of the snow around them. “Damn,” they muttered, “Must have left up on the patio.” They considered wrapping their scarf around the wound, but a quick check showed it was mostly bruised and had already stopped bleeding. Their scarf was mostly unwound from their neck. It draped off one of their shoulders and onto the ground next to them. Looking down, they finally noticed the figure that was laying on it; Will nearly jumped in surprise when he saw i t-no, them- move.

The figure was dazed, confused, and unmistakably human. Will could barely believe it, but there was a tiny, shivering person laid out on their scarf. They couldn't be more than a few inches tall, half-covered by some sort of white cloak.  Will could make out visible stitching on the gray t-shirt and pants they wore, made from what Will guessed were scraps from similar, larger pieces of cloth.

— — — — —

Snow-covered branches whizzed past the falling borrower. Sam attempted to twist his body in the air for a better landing; only to unexpectedly slam into an, oddly soft, wall. Sam tumbled down the steep slope, landing on his back on another soft surface. Sam lay there, wind knocked out of him, gasping for breath. While he looked up to see what he had hit on his way down, it only confirmed his fears. His eyes followed the green scarf he was laying on past the gray wall of a coat and up to the pale face of the giant he was faced with.

They were looking away. If Sam could just roll off the scarf and into the snow... He'd be practically invisible under his cloak, l and just had to hope the human didn't get too close when they stood up. He rolled onto his side, only to break out into a coughing fit from his aching lungs. When his coughing subsided there was a noticeable silence. Sam looked up to the giant to see two giant, sapphire-coloured eyes staring back; He had run out of time.

 — — — — —

Their attention shifted to the tiny person's features, the first thing Will noticed was curly, brownish-orange hair. Their skin was pale, though it was hard to tell the exact shade with the amount of freckles that covered their face and arms. Looking into their tiny, emerald eyes, Will asked:

“Are you ok?” The small person only shuffled back further, nearly falling off the end of the scarf. Will saw their hands and face were unnaturally pink. It was hard to tell whether the tiny was trembling more from fear or from the cold.

“You're freezing...” Will muttered. They reached down towards them, only to stop after seeing the tiny wince. “S-sorry. I wasn't thinking. Is it alright if I hold you, and try to warm you up?” 

That seemed to surprise them more than trying to grab them. After what felt like a long, grueling silence for the human, The small figure gave a nod, and Will gently scooped them into their hands.

— — — — —

When the giant hands closed around Sam his first instinct was to flee. The idea quickly faded as he felt the heat emanating from them. They were nearly as pink as his own at this point, but even then they were still much warmer than Sam would ever be able to get on his own. He quickly settled into the giant's grasp, and began to fight a sudden tiredness. It's warm…

— — — — —

Will needed to get home soon. They went over to the tree and held their hand holding the tiny up to the nearest branch. Instead of climbing off, the tiny remained sat in Will's hand and looked at them with a pleading expression.

“Do you… want to come with me?” A nervous nod confirmed Will's guess. Will used their free hand to pull their scarf, and let the tiny person climb down onto their shoulder before wrapping the end of it around their neck. They felt the tiny adjust their position, sliding their legs under the collar of Will's shirt and leaned against Will's neck. After making sure their little passenger was secure, they resumed their trek through the forest, towards home.

Not long after that they found the clearing and Will was able to spot a light not that far in the distance.

“Alright, the cabin's that way. We're almost there.” Now that they knew the direction they quickened their pace and made it home just a few minutes later. 

Built by Will's grandmother when she was young, the cabin must have been at least fifty years old. Will was surprised at how long it lasted without any visitors, but from what they heard about their grandmother it made sense.

They pushed open the door and let out a thankful sigh at the warmth that enveloped them as they stepped inside, shutting the door behind them.

Will slipped one hand under their scarf to support the tiny passenger as they used their other to slowly unwrap it from their neck. 

“Well,” Will said, “We made it.” They looked down to find the little one curled up in their palm, eyes closed. The last thing Will wanted was to wake their potential new friend, so they gently laid their scarf on the console in a way for it to resemble a nest, and placed the tiny person in the middle.

Will got to work removing their gear, taking heed not to get too close to the console.

“Thank you for bringing me out of the cold…” Will looked down to see their mini guest sat up in the scarf, groggily rubbing their eyes. So they do have a voice…

“No problem.” Will responds, “I'm Will by the way. They/Them. And you?”

“I'm Sam…” They looked down, and cocked their head to the side, as if in contemplation. “I'm… not sure if I want to use he, or they…”

“Sam's a nice name,” Will responded, “You could always use both, and put whatever pronoun you prefer over the other first.”

Still a little confused, Sam responded with a nod and a “I'll think on it, then.”

“Okay” Will smiled, “It's nice meeting you by the way.”

Sam quietly approached the closed door to Isaac's room. He sat down and crossed his legs. Leaning back against to door, he closed his eyes and focused. He imagined a hand larger than his body reaching down towards him. He imagined it scooping him up, fingers curling around him as he's gently held in a warm embrace.

      He knew he had successfully shrunk when he only felt his shoulders touching the door. He got on his belly and crawled through the gap under the door. A single light illuminated the room, which came from the laptop sitting on Isaac's desk, partially blocked by the looming silhouette of its owner. Looks like he's still studying. Sam concluded. Does he ever sleep?

     Sam began the trek towards his friend. He knew it would take a bit to reach Isaac at his ‘tiny height’ of eight centimeters tall, but it would allow him to reach his friend without being noticed and interrupting his class. As he got closer, he noticed how the light illuminated his face and made his dyed, red hair stand out like a glowing beacon in the darkness of the room.

      Halfway into the room Sam tripped, his body hitting the ground with a quiet thump. He quickly looked up, hoping the yelp that he made in surprise wasn't loud enough for his giant friend to notice. After a few, tense moments with no response, he stood up. Looking behind, he barely made out the vine that snaked down from a plant pot sitting against the wall. Isaac really needs to trim his plants.

     The rest of the trek went rather smoothly, and Sam was able to make it to Isaac's desk without being spotted. The L-shaped desk was positioned in the corner of the room. Sam followed the wall to the right until he reached the built-in ladder made out of half-punched staples between the wall and desk. The climb up was both shorter and easier than the walk there. Soon as he reached the top Sam ducked behind a stack of botany textbooks that usually sat on this side of the desk. Peeking out gave him a better view of the giant.

     Isaac leaned on his hand, hunched over his laptop. The light coming from the screen that illuminated his face was partially reflected in his glasses in a way that reminded Sam of a projector from his old school back when he was a kid. He could see the giant was looking at from this angle. A diagram of two plants Sam couldn't recognize. It pictured cutting off the tops of the plants and matching one plant's top with the other. The title read “Grafting and You: Getting the best of both plants.” Isaac scrolled down, showing a new picture of the plant fully grown, with what looked like a tomato plant above, with potatoes under the soil. Sam didn't know how much time had passed since he got to the top, but if he remembered the numbers right he must have been reading along for like… ten pages? It was enough for him to realize how cold he had gotten.

     At his small size, Sam got cold really easily. Even Will, who was naturally tiny, was surprised with how poorly Sam retained heat. I must have been cold for a while then… I hate how I can't notice I'm freezing to death half the time. He stood up, and waited for Isaac to turn to the left and reach for his drink. Sam knew he couldn't jump straight into the giant's hood, Isaac would feel him and they'd be caught, so they aimed for the back of his chair when they leaped, smacking into it with a quiet thump. Gripping the sides, Sam's body went rigid as he waited to see if Isaac had noticed. They made the mistake of looking down, remembering the fall they had when they first met Will, and the two swapped sizes. Sam had fallen off the kitchen counter then, leaving his whole back bruised for a few painful days. This was at least a foot higher than that drop.

     Hearing the music leaking through the giant's headphones, along with the distinct lack of a giant grabby hand, Sam crawled into their friend's hood. He was immediately met with  a pleasant warmth as he slid into the bottom of the pouch. He leaned into the source of the heat, the shape of the hood enabling him to curl up against the wall of fabric. This is Isaac's back… It was only a couple weeks since he first met Will, and discovered he could trade sizes with tiny people, and shrink himself to a specific size. He could still find wonder in how vast everyday objects could feel when he shifted. I mean, he fit in his friend's hoodie for crying out loud! It felt so strange, so magical, so right. He had never felt more himself than when he could fit in a person's hand. This feeling was only compounded with the fact that Will perfectly mirrored him in that way, being a tiny person who wanted to be ‘human-sized.’

     Sam gently swayed as the giant continued his study. Occasionally leaning into the chair, gently squishing Sam into his back. Tiny people were surprisingly durable in that way. It was difficult to hurt someone without actively trying, which made what Sam was doing only mildly risky. He could still get hurt if Isaac happened to move too quickly, or put too much weight on the little guy he didn't know was in his hood. Thinking on it, it was pretty risky. I'm too comfy now, though. Sam thought. What seemed like an hour passed until Sam felt a considerable amount of movement, and a booming voice sounded out.

     “Alright. I think that's enough for tonight.” Isaac declared before letting out a groan that sounded like a deep rumble to the tiny in his hood. Sam could make out giant's arms above him through the top of the hood as Isaac stretched, the simple action lifting him a few inches, along with the hood. They began to sway as Isaac made his way to his bed, almost collapsing onto it before Sam could react. They were thrown back before a heavy weight fell onto his chest and pinned him to the mattress. He gave out a loud yelp of pain in response.

    “Shit!” Isaac bolted upright, unknowingly tossing Sam around in his hood. Turning back, he didn't see anyone on the bed. “Sam? Will?” Sam could hear the urgency in his voice as Isaac quietly called out. “Where are you? Are you alright?”

“I'm in your hood.” Sam managed to call out. They felt the world shake again, along with the sound of a ziiip, as the giant slowly removed his hoodie and turned it around. Sam felt the hand before he saw it, as he's gently lifted out and brought to a billboard-sized face.

     “Are you alright?” Sam could feel the concern they saw on Isaac's face in that moment. They nodded, watching Isaac's face soften as he let out a large sigh of relief. “That's good, that's good." Isaac was still concerned. "I am so, so sorry I didn't notice you.”

Isaac dropped his hoodie off the side of his bed and laid down. He placed the tiny on his chest, and gently rested his hand on them. Sam immediately curled up, pressing his back against their friend's curled up fingers. It was silent for a few moments, and Sam was left listening to the ambient sound's that came from Isaac, that only the tiny friend on his chest could hear in the moment. He focused on the rhythmic beating of his heart, but also made out the gentle breathing that came from above him. The near-silence was eventually broken with a question.

     “Trouble sleeping?” Sam looked up towards Isaac's face, and nodded. “You could've asked me,” Isaac responded, “I would have let you sleep here.” His tone wasn't accusatory, but Sam looked away shyly and muttered, “Didn't want to bother you…” they braced for it, knowing how Isaac would respond.

“Sam,” They still winced. “You could never bother me.” Isaac's tone was a little more direct, but his gaze quickly softened as he continued, “You're family to me. You know that, right? I care about you, Sam.”  Sam nodded, and couldn't help but smile as well. “We're both tired, so we can talk about this more tomorrow if you'd like.” Sam nodded. “Goodnight, Sam.”

     The next morning, Sam found himself in a tangle of limbs. He opened his eyes to a familiar black hoodie, and glanced up at Will's sleeping face. They must have had trouble sleeping as well. Their arms were wrapped around Sam's chest, while both of their legs were tangled together. I don't know how I forget how clingy they are… Sam looked towards Isaac's face, and saw he was looking to the side, angling his phone away from the two tiny folk laying on his chest. Isaac glanced in his direction, and said a quiet “Good morning!” he smiled, causing Sam to do the same. “You two are really tangled,” He laughed under his breath. “Want me to wake them up for you?” Sam shook his head “No, thanks.”

     “Is that a no because you're good, or because you don't want to bother them?” …Sam looked away. Isaac seemed to think for a moment. “Alright. I gotta get up in an hour for work anyway, so you don't have to decide if you don't want to.” That was one of the things Sam liked that about Isaac. He doesn't force Sam to speak, or make a decision if they were having trouble, and was endlessly patient with them. Sam reached out to hug Will, who seemed to squeeze Sam a little tighter than before. Sam winced at the sudden pressure on his aching ribs, but the pain subsided as he pressed his head into their chest.