(OLD VERSION) Little Pinebed: Trouble Sleeping
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.
“Isaac…” Sam muttered, “I can't get back to sleep. Could you-” He already felt Isaac's thumb as it begin to gently rub his back. Sam was asleep the moment he closed his eyes, a smile on his face.