Shattered Illusion Chapter 10
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"I don't know about this, Damian." Clara sighed as she sat on the cool granite countertop in Damian's kitchen, her knees pulled up to her chest. She wore a light blue flowy skirt that went down to her ankles and a white spaghetti-strap crop top. Her bubble gum-colored hair was pulled into a French braid, and a pair of black ballet flats were on her feet. She watched as her giant boyfriend packed all sorts of food into a big picnic basket.
"Come on, love, it'll all be fine," Damian replied with a big smile. He was dressed in his denim jacket, a black T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. "Trust me on this. I scoped out the perfect place that people rarely visit in the park. It has plenty of coverage, so no one should see you." He was now placing a bottle of red wine into the basket, as he already had their plates, glasses, and cutlery inside.
It had been a few days since the incident with the jar, and everything had been going well. It mainly helped that Damian had work the days after, so they had time to themselves to let all the new information sink in. When he would get back, she'd happily greet him by standing on top of the couch and waving. He smiled back and gently placed his hand beside her to hop on. They'd journey into the kitchen to prepare dinner and chat about how their days had gone.
It would usually start with Clara telling him what she watched on TV, what she ate from the stash he set out for her, and how bored she was since she'd already searched this apartment up and down. Damian would listen to her rant and quietly add in how his day went, not wanting to disrupt her. He just relished listening to her speak without the metaphorical mask of Lily on. It felt like old times before the change when he didn't know better that she was a fae.
After they ate dinner, they'd either sit and watch a movie together, her cuddled up on his lap with his hand draped on her like a blanket, read a book, or play a board game. They'd do any of these three things until it was super late at night, and they were both exhausted to the point of passing out. Half the time, when they watched a movie, Clara would be out fast asleep, and Damian finished it without her.
Since that day, Clara's sleeping arrangements have also changed. Damian helped move all of Clara's items, except kitchenware, into his bedroom. Her new home base was now on his nightstand, where Clara could sleep in her doll-sized bed or jump across the small gap to sleep on the extra pillow he had set out for her on his bed. If you could guess, Clara preferred to sleep alongside Damian, curling up on the expansive white pillow with the blanket from her bed draped over her.
"I know, I know. But what if someone sees me or comes over?" Clara replied as she looked up at Damian, who had finished packing the basket. Being out in public worried the fae as she didn't need the world to find out that fairies existed.
"You know I won't let that happen." Damian gently brought a finger down to rub the top of Clara's head. "But in case that happens, I'll hide you from sight or play dumb like you're a doll or something. It'll probably cause the person to give me a weird look, but I don't care. I want to take you on a proper date since we can't go back to Marigolds." He smiled when she felt him pull his finger into a hug, wrapping her arms tightly around it. He blushed lightly when he felt the smallest pair of lips kiss his fingertip, his body wanting to melt right there on the spot. She may be the size of one of his fingers, but she knew exactly how to keep him under her control.
"Alright, alright." Clara huffed out as she released his finger from her grasp. "Let's hurry up and go before I change my mind." She smiled as she watched Damian offer his open palm to her as she climbed on. With her settled in the middle, sitting down, he used his other hand to grab the basket full to the brim with goodies. He already has his wallet, phone, and keys in his back pant pocket, ready to go. As they headed to the door to leave the apartment, Clara couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend, who was holding her at stomach level, only able to see the underside of his chin.
The world shifted as the hand holding Clara was raised higher, aligned with one of the chest pockets of his denim jacket. She watched as two thick tree-trunk fingers moved the flap out of the way and held it open for her. Looking at the pocket momentarily, she focused back on the man holding her, seeing Damian had his chin tucked against his chest to look down at her.
"I know the pocket isn't ideal, but I'll get you out immediately once we reach the car, alright?" Damian warmly smiled at her, soaking her petite form in his hand. With a nod, Clara carefully stood up on his hand, taking steps until she was right in front of the pocket. With one more glance back towards his face, she climbed inside, vanishing from his sight. She landed with the lightest thud in his pocket, reaching her hands out to steady herself from falling against the uneven surface beneath her feet. She carefully sat down and smoothed out her blue skirt, tapping the wall behind her to let him know she was settled in.
When Damian felt the smallest tap against his chest, he let the flap fall back into place, entirely concealing his tiny girlfriend from sight. He gave Clara's pocket a light pat from the outside before exiting his apartment and locking the door behind him. With the basket in hand, he carefully walked down the hall to the elevator, his steps gently making her hiding place sway. Once in the elevator by himself, he couldn't help it as he placed his free hand on the pocket she was hiding in. He added the smallest amount of pressure, pressing her into his chest more, chucking as he heard the tiniest of yelps come inside.
"I love you," Damian whispered under his breath as he held Clara there as the elevator went down, his heart pounding behind her. Once the elevator was on the ground floor, he moved his hand away to retrieve his car keys from his pant pocket and head out. He swore he heard something being said from inside the confines of the pocket, but it was too quiet for him to pick up on.
When Damian was seated in his car, he kept his promise as he carefully moved back the pocket flap. He peered inside to see Clara looking up at him and starting to climb out of his pocket. He sucked in the air, holding his breath, his body frozen as she pulled herself out. He wanted nothing more but to help her, but he saw the determined look in her eyes and knew it was best to let her do this on her own. So, he quietly waited as she climbed up his jacket before she was now seated on his shoulder. With her so close to his neck, he could barely see her out of the corner of his eye, so he used the rearview mirror to see her tiny form perched on him.
"Thanks for not grabbing me. I can't always rely on you to help me move around these massive spaces." Clara smiled, placing a small kiss on his neck. Glancing at Damian through the rearview mirror, she felt his neck shiver at her gentle touch, goosebumps forming around where she kissed him.
"Of course, Clara. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I'm being too overbearing or if you want to do things on your own. I like helping you out, no matter how small the task is." Damian smiled as he felt Clara lean her body against the side of his neck, also the smallest pull on the collar of his denim jacket. He checked in the mirror to see her holding on, looking ready for him to start driving. So, he placed the key in the ignition, turning it on, before pulling out of his parking space.
"Hold on tight," Damian replied as he made his way to the park, his eyes now focusing on the road, not Clara. She couldn't help but nod in agreement as she relaxed, ensuring she still had a good grip on the collar. She couldn't exactly use a seatbelt at her height and didn't want to go flying if he had to slam on his brakes. Time went by quickly as they both sat in the car, quietly listening to the music on the radio. The park was about a ten-minute drive from his place, so they didn't take long to arrive.
Once Damian had parked and shut off the car, he held still as he felt Clara move, clinging to his jacket as she climbed down. He watched her quietly as she made her way back to the pocket, him carefully moving the flap so she could get back inside. She dropped back in, her body barely adding any weight to the pocket she was hidden in. With her safely secured, he put the flap back down, grabbed the basket, and exited the vehicle, locking it up. With the basket in hand, he walked through the park to the spot he picked for their date.
It was around seven o'clock, so the park wasn't as quite busy as it would've been earlier in the day. Clara enjoyed her free ride as she sat in Damian's pocket, listening to her boyfriend's heartbeat. He did his best not to move too fast as he walked along one of the many pathways through the park. Some time passed before she felt Damian stop moving, and the world around her shifted. She let out a tiny yelp as Damian knelt, setting the basket beside him. He opened the basket, pulled out the black and red checkered blanket, and carefully laid it on the grass-covered ground, smoothing it out with his hands.
Clara tried to climb out of the pocket to see if she could help but felt something blocking her from moving the flap. She pushed against the force, trying to see if she could move it, but had no luck. She huffed in frustration as her pointy ears twitched with irritation, guessing it was Damian preventing her from leaving the pocket.
"Hold on, Clara. I'm almost done setting up." Damian said, his voice high above her head. To show him she was frustrated, she slammed her fist into the wall of fabric behind her, feeling more like a light smack to him. She felt and heard him let out a loud sigh, giving her the satisfaction that he knew she was not happy still being in the pocket. About another minute passed before the flap moved aside, and his hand slowly entered the pocket. The fingers gently wrapped around her before she was held in a loose fist.
"Please close your eyes and don't open them till I say so," Damian asked of Clara as he started to move her out of the pocket. She gently closed her eyes as she felt the warmth of the pocket be replaced with the cool breeze of the outside world.
"Okay, you can open them now," Damian spoke as Clara slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the ground before her, and her eyes widened in surprise. Lied out in front of her was a massive soft blanket with various foods sprawled onto it. She even saw that he had brought her table and chair if she preferred to eat there instead of sitting directly on the blanket. Set out on her table was a plate, wine glass, fork, and a small scrape of napkin. She looked up to her man, who now had her in his palm and not gripped in a fist.
"Oh, Damian, this is amazing! Thank you!" Clara smiled at Damian as he lowered his hand onto the soft blanket's material. Without hesitating, she stepped off his hand and approached the table, grabbing her plate. As she made her way over to the food to select what she wanted, she watched as he reached over her to grab his own plate to do the same. Damian made sure there were plenty of fae-sized pieces of each dish or item for her to pick from. He had improved at cutting things down to her size and was excited to show it off at this picnic.
So, both Clara and Damian quietly grabbed what they wanted to eat. Damian chose a ham sandwich, carrots, potato salad, and some chips, while Clara had various fruit pieces and pasta salad on her plate. She set her plate down on the table and watched Damian shift into a more comfortable position on the blanket. His legs stretched out in front of him as his back rested against a strong oak tree, its green leaves high above his head. She couldn't help but stare at him in awe at how far his legs stretched from her point of view. She couldn't help but be amazed; someone so big really liked her, size and all.
Damian noticed Clara staring and gave her a little wink as he rested his plate on his lap, reaching into the basket to pull out the wine. She couldn't help but look away, embarrassed that she got caught. This man knew how to make her heart race with such a simple movement. When she looked back over to him, he was pouring himself a glass of wine, his green eyes focusing back on her once he was done.
"Would you like some as well?" Damian asked, his hand moving in close till his middle finger was only a few inches away from brushing up against her midsection. With a nod, Clara passed over her wine glass, looking absolutely minuscule when he pinched it between two fingers. He moved her glass to his own as gingerly as he could, dipping it in since he knew he'd make a big mess if he tried to pour it in from the bottle. Once it was full of the delicious red liquid, he passed it back to Clara, who thanked him, taking a seat at the table.
With everything they needed, they started to dig in. Damian chose an area close to the edge of the park, with bushes surrounding where he laid the blanket down. It was the perfect cover to keep Clara away from any prying eyes, even though the park was pretty dead at this time of the day. As they ate in silence, they watched as the sun was starting to set in the sky. As time passed, Damian was on his second plate while Clara was still finishing her first. When they both finished their meals, Clara sighed happily, barely finishing everything she had on her plate since she didn't want to waste it. If she hadn't finished it, she knew Damian would've handled that for her.
Taking a nice long sip of her second glass of wine, she gathered up her plate and fork to hand them to Damian to put back in the basket. His eyes were focused on the sunset in the distance, and he didn't notice her approach, standing right next to his right thigh. She had to tap his leg to get his attention as those green eyes made eye contact with her brown ones. He lowered his hand palm up right next to her, feeling her tiny flats press against his skin as she got on. He used his other hand to take her stuff from her and placed them back into the basket with his own. He gingerly grabbed her wine glass so she could finish it as he took a sip from his own. Since he'd be driving them home, he figured it was best only to have one glass.
With Clara's glass back in hand, she moved her hand towards Damia's glass, clinking her tiny glass against it before finishing off her second helping. He couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle that sent a vibration through his body to the hand she was sitting upon. With her glass finished, she passed it to Damian, who also carefully put it into the basket. Raising his glass to his lips, he took another sip, resting the hand holding Clara on his lap. As he finished his glass, he felt Clara moving, glancing down to see her climbing off his hand and onto his jean-covered thigh.
Damian sucked in his breath as he watched his tiny girlfriend soon sit down on his lap, her back resting against his stomach, snuggling in close to the wall of fabric behind her. Putting his now-empty glass of wine into the basket, he set his hand close to her body on his lap. With his thumb so close, Clara took hold of it and tried pulling it onto her lap. Going along with what Clara wanted, he let his thumb be moved to where it was now draped across her lap.
"Thank you for this, Damian; I mean it. I was worried this wouldn't go well, but you really did do your research." Clara smiled as she nuzzled her back against Damian's t-shirt behind her. "I never thought we'd ever be able to go out in public on another date like this."
"Neither did I. I was worried someone would come over to see what was happening. I'm glad that never happened." Damian chuckled as he felt Clara gently stroking his thumb like it was a cat.
"Can we stay like this till the sun sets?" Clara asked, craning her neck up to see Damian's face, only seeing the bottom of his chin. Looking up at him, she saw the canopy of leaves that lurked high above both of their heads. It reminded her of Ever Shade, how the trees towered over her homeland, casting it in an eternal shadow to keep it hidden from predators and humans. She knew she'd have to return home soon since she needed to understand better why her power had stopped working. But for now, she just wanted to focus on spending time with her boyfriend.
"Of course we can. We can stay like this as long as you want." Damian's voice rumbled above her as they both focused on the sky, the sun slowly sinking lower until it was out of sight.
I'm sorry this took so long to get out. Life ended up getting really busy, and I had to move my focus away from writing for a while. Hopefully, since things have calmed down, I'll have more time to dedicate to writing again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Sera out!
