#tiny!caine

Sorry for the wait! I don't have an excuse this time, I was just being slow :P

Oh my gosh this has so much fluff I think I'm fluffed out.

Technically, this is the last chapter, but I'm open to any suggestions for future chapters!

‘Welcome back, my little fried fishsticks!’

As per usual, Caine was hovering with his hands on his hips as everyone begrudgingly passed through the cartoonish portal. His jaws were parted, pupils darting back and forth to take in everyone’s reactions. Zooble was lethargic with Gangle trailing behind them, fidgeting and refusing to look at Caine. Kinger seemed neutral, Ragatha was rubbing her arm and looking at the floor and Jax had his arms crossed and ears drooped. Other than Kinger, Pomni was the only one who didn’t look displeased.

Caine started to slouch a little, still staring at all of his humans, his fingers twitching. He was searching for something, anything that showed that they enjoyed, or at least didn’t hate the adventure. His fingers thrummed against his hips as he eyed Pomni in particular. She wasn’t slouched or grimacing, but didn’t look excited either. She looked more like she’d just walked out of a shop than an ‘exhilarating’ adventure. Caine drifted down to the group, hovering next to Jax. He turned his head to look at the AI, raising an eyebrow.

‘You enjoyed that, didn’t you Jax?’ He boomed. He lightly tapped him on the head with the ball of his cane, causing Jax’s ears to droop further. Caine’s eyes were visibly sparkling, his hands clasped in front of his torso as he searched his expression for any kind of answer.

The edges of Jax’s mouth crinkled to form a smug yet forced grin.

‘Why can’t you make the adventures like you used to?’ He sneered.

‘What?’ Caine tilted his head, his upper jaw starting to arch.

Jax rolled his eyes and started to walk away, heading for a sofa. Caine zipped higher up to get a view of everyone.

‘Did any of you…’ He started, his voice trailing away. He gestured to all of them with his hands. There wasn’t a peep from anyone, but Pomni looked up at him, finger on her chin, looking as if she was contemplating what to say.

Caine slowly shook his head from side to side, taking one last look at the cast before teleporting away, disappearing into thin air.

‘Caine, wai-’ Started Pomni, but he was already gone. Her eyes widened as she stared up at where Caine had just been.

Some headed for the lounging area, others their rooms. With a sigh, Pomni followed Zooble and Ragatha and sat on the sofa, leaning back against the cushions.

‘Well, that sucked.’ Grumbled Zooble, closing their eyes as they also practically fell back onto the furniture

Pomni side eyed them for a second before her eyes trailed away.

‘I didn’t think it was that bad.’

Neither Zooble nor Ragatha responded.

Suddenly, Pomni felt the familiar feeling of being popped out of existence and back in as she was teleported. She appeared in a large, colourful room. As usual, everything was fuzzy at first. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shook her head a little to orient herself, She took a deep breath before opening her eyes. Looking straight ahead, there was a wooden desk and a huge purple chair, and in it, was Caine. Her eyes darted around the room, taking in all there was to see. She admired the countless orbs on towering shelves and all the strange trinkets Caine kept around. Turning to look at him, she noted the solving cube on the desk, and the notebook sat nearby. She figured it must’ve been his office.

‘Caine?’ Pomni eyed him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

‘I-I do apologise for bringing you here so suddenly.’ Caine stammered, holding his hands in front of him.

‘I just need to talk to you about something, I’m so confused, I-I don’t know what to do!’ He finished, pulling his knees to his chest.

Pomni tilted her head. She knew Caine had wanted to see her again “tonight”, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. Not that she minded, though it was unexpected. However, Caine didn’t seem like he wanted to try the events from earlier in the day again. Not with how he refused to meet her eyes and the way his upper jaw was arched, not to mention his defensive posture. She took a step closer to the armchair, starting to close the already short distance.

‘You’re confused?’

Caine shut his jaws with a snap and nodded. With a small chuckle, Pomni fully closed the distance with another step and sat down on the edge of the leather chair with a soft thump. The AI visibly relaxed, even if only a little, his legs pressed against his chest slowly lowering to rest on the chair. His jaws remained shut, tilted away from Pomni as he fidgeted his hands together.

‘Caine?’ She reached out, gently brushing a finger against one of his hands, freezing when he flinched away.

For a couple of seconds, neither of them spoke.

Slowly, Caine took her hand, loosely interlocking his twitchy fingers with her relaxed ones.

‘None of them liked it. Not even a little bit.’ He muttered in a small, uncharacteristically broken voice that sounded much closer to a whisper than his usual eccentric tone. He hardly opened his jaws to say the words. His upper jaw arched.

Pomni almost gasped, taken aback by his tone. It was so different to his usual performative persona, it sounded small and had a vulnerability that was rare from him. She had been surprised by his nervous tone before, but this was entirely new. She gently tightened her grip on his hand. In a slow, silent movement, Caine opened his jaws and turned to look at her. His pupils were slightly enlarged and his eyes looked more watery than their normal rubbery texture.

‘I-I really thought they’d be impressed by this one. Do you know how long I’ve been working on it?’

Pomni gulped.

‘I…I could see how hard you tried on this adventure.’

Caine’s jaws opened a little wider, his pupils locked on her.

‘But…’ She continued. ‘You’re right, not everyone liked it.’

Caine let out a huff of frustration.

‘Jax complains when the adventures aren’t exciting enough, but hates them when they’re too action driven, a-and Zooble just doesn’t like anything I create!’

‘Cai-

‘Gangle and Ragatha wouldn’t even look at me! I don’t understand, I worked so hard on this one to appeal to all of you!’ Caine sputtered, ripping his hand from Pomni’s and wrapping his arms around himself. His pupils shrank, something that only happened when Caine was truly upset.

‘I don’t know what to-’

‘I liked it.’

Pomni climbed further into the chair, settling next to him. With a sigh, she rubbed his arm in an attempt to soothe him.

There was a pause as Caine halted his rambling. He slowly turned to look at her, his voice small and hopeful.

‘What…?’

‘Look,’ She gestured with a hand towards him, ‘It wasn’t perfect…’ She looked away awkwardly, rubbing her neck. ‘But, I enjoyed it.’

‘You did?’

Pomni nodded. Caine slowly uncurled, leaning in a little.

‘You’ve improving, Caine.’ She turned to look at him, a warm smile growing on her face.

He didn’t respond this time, instead just locked his pupils onto her.

‘You took my advice on making adventures less violent, the action was exciting this time, not terrifying.’ She explained with a soft chuckle. Caine was taking it as well as he could, his pupils huge and sparkly.

‘Not everyone liked it, but if you keep listening to us and making the adventures less…terrifying, then I’m sure they’ll come around.’

Pomni slowly began to reach for him, when he didn’t flinch away, she rested her hand on his shoulder.

‘W-well…I’m glad you enjoyed it!’ He stuttered, one of his hands shakily finding hers. He gripped it like he was trying to anchor himself to her. ‘I’ll have to think outside the box if I want to please everyone…’

‘How about you take a day off tomorrow, do something you enjoy?’

Caine was visibly taken aback as he sat up straight, one hand gripping the arm of the chair.

‘A day off?’ He questioned, his voice rising in volume. ‘But…making adventures is what I enjoy doing!’

‘I know.’ She leaned in a little, softening her tone, ‘But you’re draining yourself, you need a break.’

Caine’s pupils drifted away, his grip on her hand loosening.

‘A…break.’ He tested the word on his tongue, feeling how it felt to say it. All of a sudden, he tensed all over and locked his eyes onto Pomni’s.

‘B-but what if the others think I don’t care about keeping them entertained, a-about keeping them sane?’ He exclaimed, gesturing wildly with one of his hands.

Pomni cupped his bottom jaw in her hands before he could spiral. He visibly leant into her touch a little, but didn’t fully calm down.

‘They won’t mind, I promise.’ She used her thumb to rub his jaw. ‘They’ll probably appreciate having a break.’

‘A-are you sure?’ His hands wrapped around Pomni’s arms, pushing her hands more firmly against his jaw.

‘I’m sure.’

Caine shifted awkwardly, but didn’t pull away. He seemed conflicted.

‘I-I’

One of his hands continued to grip Pomni’s arm, the other dropping to twitch and fidget against the chair.

Caine’s shoulders remained tensed, but the grip on her arm slowly loosened and relaxed, both hands now on the chair.

‘If…if you’re sure.’ He muttered, his shoulders dropping.

Pomni slid her hands around his torso to behind his shoulders. She gave him the tiniest little pull towards herself, pausing to see his reaction.

Caine leaned forwards, hands resting either side of Pomni. He shuffled a little closer, following her lead.

He rubbed the side of his jaw.

‘I know you’re right.’ His pupils drifted away. ‘But I-I’ve never had a day off before, I don’t know what I’ll do with myself.’

‘We…we can think about that tomorrow. You need to give your mind a break.’

With that, Caine went limp, collapsing onto her. He was sat on his knees, but his torso was resting against hers, his jaws shut and resting on her chest, his incisors lightly brushing her chin. He was still a little fidgety but seemed to be calming down.

‘Oh, um…’ Surprised, Pomni lifted a hand and rested it on his back. A small smile crept onto her face as she stared at the mentally exhausted AI resting against her.

Pomni felt two hands brush her torso as they dragged across her and round to her back. They rested there, arms wrapped around her body. With the tips of her fingers, she lightly rubbed the top of his upper jaw, tracing small circles into it, eliciting a small hum of appreciation from Caine as he pressed his jaws into her palm. Using her feet to push herself backwards, she pressed herself into the backrest of the chair, leaning back and allowing him to further climb onto her. Once they were both fully comfortable, she ran a hand up and down his back, stroking him in an attempt to further soothe him.

Being so closely pressed up against someone made Caine feel surrounded and protected. The remaining worry and tension drained from his body. He thought back to what had happened earlier that morning, memories of the mannequin drawings and holding her flashing through his mind, making his head feel fuzzy. He tightened his grip around her as he recounted the event. In a way, he was holding her again now, but not in the same way. This felt different, instead of only feeling her against a small part of him, he was deep in her embrace. He nuzzled his incisors against her neck as he pictured Gangle’s mannequin drawings again.

His mind flicked back to the one with the giant mannequin holding a tinier one to their chest, just picturing it for a moment. He lingered on the memory of her tiny body resting atop him, so trusting, so relaxed. It had made him feel special, possibly the most loved he’d ever felt. He sunk further into her, relishing in the feeling of being surrounded by someone who cared about him. He slightly opened his jaws, allowing one eye to peek out at her, before closing them again.

‘Pomni…’ He mumbled, his voice barely audible.

Still having his arms wrapped around her, he could feel the fabric of her clothes against his hands. It wasn’t soft per say, more silky. He could feel her body under his, it was rubbery instead of squishy like a human body, but boy was it comfortable. The image of her shrunken self flashed back into his mind, and he started to wonder what it would feel like if he were that tiny. How would it feel to be fully surrounded by her. He removed his arms from around Pomni, tucking them to his chest. He shifted his position, tucking his legs against his chest and laying on his side. He curled himself as small as he could, one hand tucked against him while the other gripped Pomni’s clothes. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, letting out a deep sigh as she relaxed further.

Caine felt fuzzy, like TV static was flowing through his whole body. He couldn’t help but let out a soft whine of contentment and grip onto her even tighter. His thoughts finally narrowed on one thing; what if instead of her arms covering him, it was her hand?

‘Pomni?’ He muttered, slightly opening his jaws.

‘Hm?’ Pomni’s eyes remained closed.

Caine burrowed his incisors against her neck further,.

‘I…um.’ He paused, clearing his throat, ‘I have an idea, a proposal.’

Pomni chuckled. ‘Another one?’ She teased, remembering the similar phrasing Caine had used when he asked to shrink her.

Caine just nodded. Hesitantly, he planted his hands either side of her, using them to push himself up to sit on his knees. He opened his jaws and awkwardly watched her, fidgeting his hands together as she also sat up.

‘Well…uh.’

He gulped.

‘You know how I held you earlier, when you were tiny?’

‘Yeah?’ Pomni raised a brow.

‘I was…I was wondering what it would have felt like to be in…your position.’ He rubbed his own arm nervously

Caine took a deep, artificial breath, sitting up straight, before blurting out:

‘CouldyoupleasecuddlemewhileImshrunkendown?’ He wrapped his arms around himself, refusing to meet her eyes.

Pomni’s eyes widened, she tensed up for a moment before relaxing.

‘You want to…be tiny? Like I was?’ She leaned in a little.

Caine nodded, head still stubbornly turned away from her.

‘Well…’ Pomni smiled, a small, genuine smile. ‘I suppose I wouldn’t mind doing that with you.’

Red, cartoonish blush lines appeared on Caine’s cheeks as he side eyed her bashfully.

‘You wouldn’t?’

Pomni chuckled softly, sliding her hands under his lower jaw to cup it in her palms.

‘Of course I wouldn’t mind.’

Caine’s jaws relaxed, going limp in her palms as the upper one loosened up, causing them to almost close again. The blush lines on his cheeks only reddened. All of a sudden, Caine whipped himself away, sitting up straight, much to Pomni’s surprise. Her eyes widened and she retracted her hands, zipping them back to her sides.

‘Hu-’

‘I-I do have some rules, though!’ He announced while holding one finger up. As he named the rules, he motioned with his hand, counting them on his fingers.

‘No grabbing me by the back of my suit, or dangling me by…anything, and tell me if you’re uncomfortable at any time!….Please.’

Pomni shrugged.

‘Sounds fair to me.’

Caine clasped his hands together, his eyes starting to sparkle in excitement.

‘Great!’ He chuckled nervously, gripping onto Pomni’s hands. His pupils began to grow, not to a massive size, but enough that he could take all of her in.

‘R-ready when you are?’

Pomni nodded. Slowly sitting up straight again. Caine took one final deep breath before lifting his hand and snapping his fingers. As soon as the echoing click sounded, Caine was no longer of a similar size to the humans, his body compacted and shrunk so rapidly, it looked as though he had popped out of the digital realm entirely. One moment he was eye to eye with Pomni, the next, he had to look impossibly high to even see her face.

Pomni’s eyes widened, and when she looked down, she saw the now adorably tiny AI sitting on the chair, legs sprawled out in front of him. He seemed disoriented, gripping one side of his jaws in a hand, little cartoony spirals swirling in his eyes. Pomni smiled warmly at the sight, slowly reaching for him with a finger, but instantly retracting her hand in fear of startling him.

‘You okay?’ She asked in a gentle tone.

Caine tried to grip to the fabric of the armchair with his now tiny hands. He clicked his jaws together a few times like he was blinking, before looking up and up to meet Pomni’s gaze. Instantly, he felt his jaws widen at the sight, she was massive compared to him. His pupils drifted across her face, down her body and to her hands, now large enough that he could sit in one and still have room to spare. He tilted his head, taking the situation in.

‘Woah…’ He breathed, his pupils dilating slightly in awe.

Pomni scooted back slightly, taking care not to move too quickly. She settled on her knees, leaning down a little to not tower above as much. Caine didn’t even flinch.

‘Are you feeling okay?’ She asked softly. ‘I remember I was pretty dizzy when I was shrunken down.’ She chuckled, looking away and tucking a strand of hair behind her (non-existent) ear

‘I-I’ Caine, albeit a little wobbly, pulled himself to his feet.

He looked around the room, everything was now huge. The shelves were impossible to even attempt to scale, the chair was like a fortress of leather and fabric, not to mention the scale of the room itself. Caine attempted to take a step forwards, stumbling as the leather yielded slightly beneath his feet. Holding his arms out to steady himself, he took another step, and another, until he was able to walk with stability. He approached Pomni, his boots pressing into the purple chair until he stood a small distance from her knees.

Pomni hummed and tilted her head, still smiling warmly.

‘You’re a lot braver than I was…’ She chuckled, slowly lowering a hand, palm up, in front of him, causing him to stumble back slightly.

‘Did you want me to- oh!’

Caine gripped onto one of her fingers and pulled himself to clamber right into her hand. He scrambled from her fingers to the centre of her palm. He plopped down with his legs sprawled out in front of him, staring up at her in awe. Pomni lifted her free hand and held it next to her occupied one like a safety net before slowly lifting her hands up to chest.

‘So, this is what it’s like from your perspective.’ Said Caine.

‘What?’

‘I mean, I’m always hovering above you all, this must be what it’s like for you humans every day.’

‘It’s not quite the same…but I guess it’s…similar.’

Caine ran his fingers across a section of her hand, feeling the curve of where her palm met the base of her fingers.

Caine froze as a giant fingertip brushed against the top of his jaws. It very lightly scratched. Caine's jaws widened and he felt as though he might melt, but just before he could lean into the touch, the finger retracted. Caine stared at it as it moved away. As much as it had surprised him, he wanted it back.

‘You wanted me to cuddle you, right?’ Asked Pomni, seemingly oblivious to what she had just awakened in the tiny AI.

‘Yes but…can you do that again?’

‘Huh?’

‘Your finger.’ He motioned to her retracting finger with his eyes.

‘Oh, do you want me to-’ Pomni slowly moved her finger towards him again, stopping a few inches from his head. Caine quickly nodded, snapping his jaws shut and leaning towards it.

The plush tip of her finger gently pressed against him again. It rubbed small, affectionate circles into his jaw. Caine immediately sat up straight, pushing his head into her finger. She started to use her thumb to stroke the side of his closed jaws, across his teeth. She traced one last circle against his head before pulling away.

Caine was dazed. He shook his head a little.

Very slowly, Pomni began to curl her fingers inwards. Caine remained still and trusting, his hands resting on his legs. He eyed her fingers curiously as they approached. Pomni’s brows furrowed slightly as she continued to curl them, determined not to spook him. Finally, one gently pressed against his chest. Caine stared down at the massive digit.

‘Oh!’ He lifted a hand and rested it atop her finger.

Pomni began to gently wrap her fingers around Caine’s torso and legs. To Caine, they felt like a wall of rubbery plastic closing in. Soon, four fingers pressed against him, pinning him snugly to her palm in what felt to him like an immense hug. Her digital avatar’s hand wasn’t warm, but wasn’t uncomfortable either. Caine lazed, his whole body relaxing into the embrace, relishing once again in the wonderful feeling of being surrounded, except now fully, everywhere except for his head and shoulders. Caine wriggled his arms free and rested his hands on top of one of her fingers.

Pomni let out a soft sigh. ‘You alright there?’

‘Just dandy!’

Pomni felt tiny pushes against her fingers as Caine attempted to kick his legs excitedly despite them being restrained. Using her free hand, she hovered a finger a few inches from his head.

‘Would you like me to-’

Caine shut his jaws with a soft click and tilted them upwards to give her more access. Pomni paused for a moment, before pressing her fingertip against the underside of his jaws. She dragged it back and forth from close to his lower incisors to where his neck would be.

‘Mm’ He hummed, going completely limp in her hand.

She continued, the rubbing turning to gentle scratching, petting him as if he were her cat. Occasionally, she scritched his teeth and on top of his upper jaw. He tilted his head back even further, allowing her more room.

‘T-that…feels nice.’ He murmured.

The sensation of being fully surrounded was even better than Caine had imagined, but in truth, he wanted to be fully enclosed and protected. He wriggled, his tiny hands pushed against her fingers. She lifted them slightly to allow him to move around. In an attempt to further seal himself within her hold, he squirmed further under her fingers until his head was also tucked beneath them, curling himself small.

‘You like being held like this?’

Caine didn’t respond verbally, instead patting one of her fingers twice with a hand. Pomni uncurled her fingers and flattened her hand to allow him to sit in her palm. Caine remained lying down, nuzzling his head into the centre of her palm.

‘Did you want me to…hold you like that again?’

Caine nodded. ‘Yes please, my dear.’

Pomni used her free hand to carefully hook a finger under his tiny body. She lifted it, dragging Caine along and pulling him to sit up. Once he was sat, she retracted it. Very carefully, she curled her fingers in once again. She tightened the hold and successfully held him in a fist. Her grip was tighter than before, but still gentle. Only his head peeked out from between her fingers. Caine’s jaws widened and he gazed up and into her eyes. His pupils dilated dramatically and sparkled prettily in the light.

With a smile, Pomni lifted her hands right up to her face. She felt Caine wriggle a little and opened her mouth to say something, preparing to loosen her hold, but then she saw his pupils. The little black circles had grown further until only a sliver of white was showing. Her eyes softened at the sight of the once stressed AI now so relaxed and happy. There was more persistent squirming against her fingers, and she finally realised he was trying to free his hands.

‘Oh, I’m sorry!’

Pomni eased her grip a little and with a small pull, Caine freed his hands and rested them atop one of her fingers.

‘That better?’

Caine nodded vigorously.

‘Mhm!’ He hummed

With a small stretch, Caine used his other hand to reach for her face. Pomni blinked in surprise as a tiny hand pressed against her cheek, her pupils darting down to see it. She could feel each miniscule finger against her skin, so delicate, so small.. Her other hand approached his so carefully it was almost shaking. She gingerly pinched his hand in between her thumb and index finger and tenderly slid her thumb across his fingers. They were fragile, so fragile that she felt that if she were to squeeze even slightly, they’d snap. His hand was about two thirds the size of just one of her thumb pads. She released his hand.

Pomni leaned in a little closer. Caine didn’t flinch or wriggle, only tilted his head. She continued to lean in, her face nearing closer inch by inch, until finally, she gently kissed the top of his upper jaw. Caine froze, his whole body going rigid, pupils darting back and forth.

‘Uh-!’

He stared hard at her, but just as quickly as his surprise had came, it evaporated. He let out a long exale and went completely limp, his chin resting on her hands. He closed his jaws with a soft click, tilting his head as an invitation for another ministration.

‘Was that oka-’

‘Mhm!’ He confirmed, snuggling into her fingers so much it seemed like he wanted to merge with them.

‘Alright.’ She chuckled. ‘Alright then.’

Pomni resisted giving him an affectionate squeeze. After feeling his snappable little fingers, she planned to treat him like a newly forged piece of glass, her grip already having loosened slightly, despite how his model technically didn’t have any fragile insides that could be damaged. She leaned down again, and pressed another kiss to his jaw. It was a little firmer this time, lingering for a few seconds before she pulled away once again.

Caine blue-screened, the error sound blaring.

Pomni grinned, gently patting his head with a fingertip. ‘You okay?’

Caine’s eyes snapped back to their normal state.

‘I-I’m great!’ He exclaimed.

Caine let out a small hum of surprise as Pomni shifted her hands. She slipped one hand underneath her fist. The fingers trapping him unfastened, releasing him, and he dropped down down into her waiting palm. He regained his bearings, shaking his head a little. His upper jaw arched ever so slightly, but he clamped his jaws shut before quickly snapping them back open to revert it.

‘Feeling any better?’

‘Much better! But…are…are we done?’ He asked with a tilt of his head. He was trying to hide his disappointment, but it was clear the way his pupils shrank back down to their normal size.

‘Did you want me to contin-?’

‘Only-!’ Caine lifted his hands in front of his torso in a ‘surrender’ position. ‘Only if you want to.’

Caine wrapped his arms around her thumb and clung to it like a koala to a tree.

Pomni lightly patted his head.

‘I will, if it’s making you feel better.'

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this pretty short fic!