First time actually posting my writing to Tumblr. I wrote this specifically for it, in the past few days. I extend my thanks to @bellametre for encouraging me to post.
Author: AudaciousIntegral (I, Hailey)
Themes: Giant/tiny, romance, fluff, queer characters, The Borrowers
Audience: Teens and older, SFW
TW: Swears, premature themes
Chapter 1: A Normal Cup Of Tea
Strange was that day. It started in a guise of normality, only to unravel into a chaotic chain of events that would change Ryleigh forever. She simply wanted to have a cup of tea. A normal cup of tea. A cup with only tea in it.
'Shit, fuck, hell, aghh,' yelped the tiny creature, half-drowning itself further as it swore at its own demise.
Ryleigh froze in bewilderment as they witnessed the utterly absurd scene before them, their hand still suspended in the motion of reaching towards the cup to drink it. They lay lazily on the sofa in the comfort of their home, mouth ajar in confusion and eyes fixated on what appeared to be a very small person in their cup of tea. It flailed, clumsily leaning upside down over the rim of the cup, and its head sank into the liquid, no, was submerged in it.
Should I help it? Ryleigh wondered. She had little reason to aid intruders like this one as they disturbed her peace and her tea, but its high-pitched cries of panic as it failed to reclaim stable ground beneath its feet disturbed her even more. Especially with how human they sounded.
Fine, she thought, and sighed. Her hand, which had still not budged in the confusion, inched closer to the cup, then delicately grasped with two fingers the 'legs' of whatever that thing was, and gave it a firm yank upwards.
Ryleigh held the culprit in the air by the legs, and examined it. It dripped with tea, and blood was rushing down to its head, which flushed a bright red. Its flushing was then emphasised by the sudden realisation that not only it was no longer drowning, but Ryleigh also had caught it. It had gotten quiet suddenly, confused, before it snapped out of it and threw them a glare filled with what appeared to be a generational amount of venom.
'Put. Me. Down. You fuckin' monster,' the intruder spit through its teeth.
Ryleigh recoiled, shocked by the animosity.
' . . . Into the cup of tea?' They enquired with a certain rigidity.
'Course not, you muppet. On the ground,' it urged with perceptible frustration.
'The odds of me cooperating are becoming slimmer by the second, with that attitude,' Ryleigh asserted calmly. 'Ask nicely.'
The creature's little face twisted with outrage and, for a moment, it seemed it was holding back a horribly offensive retort. A few seconds later, though, it swallowed its anger and adopted a more jaded expression.
'Fine. May Her Highness please place me on the surface in the vicinity of the vessel containing liquid,' it said slowly and heavily, unwilling to be even convincingly faux-diplomatic.
'That will do for now,' Ryleigh sang lightly.
They did as asked and gently laid the intruder next to the cup of tea, and allowed it a moment to settle before beginning their interrogation. 'There is much I require an explanation for. First of all, what even are you?' They asked.
'I don't owe you shit. In fact, I'm leaving,' it said, and began to walk away, still dripping in tea.
Leaving? Ryleigh thought, taken aback. Does it really think it can barge into my home, dive into my tea, insult me, and leave whenever it wants?
'Ah, you seem to misunderstand. You will leave when I will allow you to. Not before that,' she said coldly. Her fingers then chased after the creature, pounced, and quickly snatched it again, this time by the waist. It yelped as her grip expelled the air out of its lungs suddenly, then groaned in frustration and began to struggle against it. With little respite, they raised the squirming intruder to their face and studied it sternly. My, it really looks like a human, but very small, Ryleigh noted. In fact, it exhibits the angry expressions of one, and screams insults at me like we are having a row at the pub. How bizarre, they thought. They stared down at it with a serious expression mixed with slight annoyance and disbelief until it exhausted itself fighting against their hand. Soon enough, its struggling faltered, and the living room was quiet again.
'Finished?' Ryleigh said.
'Not until I have your blood on my hands,' it replied with a feral expression.
They brushed off the comment. 'Right, so, you don't really have that power over me. You will answer my questions, and I won't let you off before that. Do you understand?'
'Go to hell,' it shouted.
Ryleigh rolled their eyes. 'You sure are feisty for such a little thing. Well, your tone might change once you realise that, if you don't come home, others might come looking for you. I know you can't be acting alone, with how diminutive you are. And the others, I'll catch them all the same, if they're anywhere as clumsy as you,' they asserted. 'So, for the last time, do you understand?'
That possibility seemed to make the intruder uneasy, and Ryleigh felt a weak squirm between her fingers. After a moment of reflection, it nodded with a grave pout on its lips.
'Good!' Ryleigh exclaimed. 'So, again, what are you?'
'Borrower,' it said flatly.
'That does not help me much, I'm afraid. Are you a kind of little human?' they asked.
'Don't you dare compare me to your kind,' it replied, tensing up in their hand.
'But it is something like that, isn't it? You look like a person, just a very small one,' they pushed further.
Ryleigh leaned back onto the sofa, borrower still in hand, and dropped her hand until it laid on her thighs. From this perspective, the borrower looked so small. But it refused to return her gaze. I guess it hopes I will lower my guard for a moment, and seize the opportunity to run away. At least, that's what I would do, if I were in its position, she thought. To her own surprise, she found herself empathising with the poor thing. I still don't know its name, she noted.Curiosity burnt inside her, so she continued to ask it questions.
'Perhaps this is a strange question, but, do you have a name?'
'What do you think, tall fuck? Yes, 'course I have a name. It's June, and you'd do best to remember it when I'll take away everything you own and everyone you love,' it snarled.
Ryleigh brought the she-borrower close to their eyes again, doubt showing clearly on their face, unrestrained, unyielding. 'Right. And I suppose you have the bite to back this up, June?' they asked with skeptical snark.
'I've got bite alright,' said June, before planting her teeth into their finger.
There was a sharp tingle, they felt, in their index finger. Like that of a swarm of tiny needles trying to break skin. However, the pain itself was barely noticeable to them. They almost felt sorry for her, sorry that she was under the impression that this was meant to prove her point. Bold spirit, naive girl, Ryleigh thought.
'I'm afraid that doesn't feel painful in the slightest,' they said with feigned disappointment in their voice. 'And, by the way, my name is Ryleigh. Nice to meet you too,' they teased.
June's eyes grew wide, the weight of her powerlessness hitting her abruptly, and while she continued to defy Ryleigh, something about her demeanour seemed to fold and soften.
'Ughh, who cares. You're mistaken if you think I'm ever gonna make buddy-buddy with something, someone like you. Now, will you let me go or not?' she whinged.
'Not quite just yet, little one. You owe me an explanation for your admittedly unfortunate fall into my teacup. This is my home, after all,' Ryleigh said.
June shifted and one of her eyebrows twitched. 'You don't need to know that.'
In turn, Ryleigh raised an eyebrow. 'As a matter of fact, yes, I do. Go on then, tell me; I'll happily be here all day. See, I'm not the one stuck inside my hand right now,' she insisted.
June glanced away from her, staring into the distance for a moment, then sighed and turned back to Ryleigh with an exasperated expression. 'Fine, I'll tell you, since you're being so stubborn. I saw you hid a cube of sugar in there and I wanted to quickly take it out while you weren't looking and bring it home. That's all,' she pouted.
'Sorry?' Ryleigh asked, wondering if she heard right.
'Yeah. You didn't look like you were drinking the cup, so it was worth a shot,' June continued.
'Hid . . . a sugar cube. In my cup of tea?'
'Are you slow or sumthing? Yes!'
'I don't know how to tell you this, June, but, sugar melts in liquids. It's gone.'
'W-What?' June blurted out, blinking rapidly in shock.
'I can show you if you want, but yes, really,' Ryleigh said, her voice sounding more amused by the second.
'Oh, I'll be . . . I took all that risk and got caught just for something that isn't even here anymore. This is the worst day of my life,' June said, defeated and sinking into Ryleigh's hand.
There was something simply endearing to Ryleigh about someone making such a naive mistake. This little intruder, she didn't mean any harm. No, she simply was wildly incompetent. It made them wonder if she could even find her way home, at this rate. 'Well, it could be worse,' Ryleigh said then smiled, 'you could have stumbled upon a much less welcoming host than I. At least I won't squash you or feed you to a cat.'
'Uhh, that's a very low bar, but thanks? I guess you don't seem like the panicking type. Kinda weird, actually. You're too calm,' June said, then squinted her eyes, 'you are going to feed me to a cat, aren't cha?' she said.
'No!' Ryleigh exclaimed, smiling nervously. 'No. Especially not now that I can see you are just a very little person. And now that we've cleared everything up, you are a guest in my home. You rightfully deserve my hospitality,' Ryleigh asserted.
'I don't want your hospitality. You said you'd let me go. What makes you think I won't go home immediately after that?'
'You're having trouble breathing. And I have to hold onto you tight because your body is as limp as a wet facecloth. You're in no state to go anywhere,' Ryleigh observed sternly.
June blushed and suddenly straightened, her breathing becoming more regular. 'Touché. I'm surprised you even paid attention to that,' she conceded. 'By the way, your hand is fucking crushing me in here.'
'Oh. My apologies, it's hard for me to tell. Then, well, I don't know if this is an odd request, but, may I hold you in my palm for a moment?' Ryleigh enquired.
'I feel like we've gone past the point of asking first before tossing me around. Knock yourself out,' June said.
Ryleigh swiftly rotated their hand and released their grip on the little lady. June gasped for air and lay still for a moment, comforted by the overwhelming warmth and softness of their fingers, a new sensation she would have to become accustomed to, she wagered. Ryleigh, on the other hand, still felt conflicted; they had wished to lay June back on the table respectfully, but the rather likely possibility that she would dart away and collapse from exhaustion or otherwise hurt herself tortured their mind. They weren't used to this dynamic, weren't used to tiny women who stumbled into their cup of tea, really. How protective they needed to be without coming off as patronising was something they had yet to learn, they realised. Being a little patronising is fine anyway, at times. Just because she's too proud to admit that she needs my help doesn't mean I'll let her off that easily. Small animals tend to be like that, they thought. Their eyes drifted away from June slowly, now focusing their thoughts on working out food and shelter for her. Whilst they remained deep in thought and distracted, June lay lazily in their hand, blond head lodged between their thumb and slightly curled index finger. She stared at the ceiling blankly, crushed under the weight of exhaustion, only her mind able to race anymore. Her passionate personality and intense struggling came at a high cost; there were just so many times in a day where she could muster all of her body's strength and adrenaline to throw herself at a problem. Now, she felt the withdrawal, the aftershock. I feel miserable. How am I gonna get out of this? Gwen's gonna fucking kill me,she thought. Her muscles ached terribly, and it felt like the more time passed, the more Ryleigh's skin glued to her, and the more she didn't want to leave her torpor. Getting up was soon going to be out of reach.
'June?' Ryleigh's voice boomed in her ears.
'What?' She groaned slowly, as if roused from a thousand-year slumber.
'Biscuit?' Their right hand had suddenly appeared before June's eyes, holding out a little chocolate chip biscuit on the tip of their fingers.
She didn't respond. With difficulty, she rose slightly and crawled towards it, and studied it for a moment. Ryleigh's hand was visibly trembling to her, that with microscopic adjustments of its position, but still decidedly offering the treat. Suddenly, June grabbed the biscuit from their fingers and began to devour it ferally. She had little concern for cleanliness or manners, bits of chocolate smearing her face all around her mouth, and made a threatening growl while she ate. Ryleigh watched with a mix of concern and fascination as she swallowed the whole thing within a minute, and smiled.
June, finished with the biscuit and wiping her mouth with her arm, sighed and looked up and directly into their eyes. 'Better,' she said. 'You didn't have to do that, though.'
'Ah, see it as compensation for the proper scare of earlier,' Ryleigh replied.
'Right. Let's say it's for me gripping you too hard.'
'Now, we've got to find you a place to sleep, don't we?' Ryleigh then stood up. The abrupt motion sent June tumbling and pressed against their fingers, and she clung the best she could onto the giant's hand until it all stopped.
'Fuck's sake, Ryleigh, where's my warning?' She shouted, a bit shocked and annoyed at being tossed around again.
They remained silent, eerily staring right at June, until the shadow of a cheeky smile grew wider.
'I thought you didn't care what my name was.'
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