Chapter Text
Amanda peered around the cabinet door, checking to make sure the coast was clear. With a grin she whipped her hook out, embedding it into the wood and grappling down with ease. She came over to where a plate of cookies sat unattended, steam still coming off them as they cooled. Amanda grabbed one and carefully broke off a chunk, letting it melt in her mouth.
“Mmm~” Amanda gave a pleased hum at the taste. She ate more of it until she couldn’t stomach any more sugar, looking down at the half a cookie left. Amanda bit her lip, realizing she hadn’t been exactly…subtle. She glanced back at her rope, wondering how she could carry it and climb. The answer being, of course, that she couldn’t.
“Aww, dang it.” Amanda huffed, breaking the cookie apart and shoving the pieces into her bag. “This is gonna be such a mess.” It was her own fault being so greedy with the sweets. Now that her bag was packed with a melting chocolate chip cookie, she hoisted the strap over her shoulder and grunted at the weight. Now that all trace of her presence was gone, Amanda went back to the rope and began the arduous task of climbing with a full bag.
Patton hummed as he went back into the kitchen. The cookies should have cooled down by now and he was so ready to have one. His eyes landed on the cookies but then traveled up as movement caught his eye. His eyes widened at the sight of…a tiny girl hanging from the cupboard?
Patton was frozen in shock.
Amanda clung to the rope, careful not to fall as the human’s footsteps shook the cabinets. A breeze slowly turned Amanda around, leaving her facing the human dead on. She gulped.
Acting on instinct, Amanda began to scramble up the rope at twice her normal speed.
“W-Wait!” Patton yelled, moving closer to the tiny girl. He reached out his hand but faltered, wondering if that was the best course of action.
“AH!” Seeing the hand come towards her Amanda let go of the rope, intent on sliding down out of the human’s immediate grasp. However, the cookie bag threw off her equilibrium. She swung as she fell, her leg getting tangled up in the string. As Amanda fell farther it became taunt, causing her to painfully dangle upside-down by one leg.
“Oh no!” Patton gasped and carefully brought both his hands up on either side of the small girl. “It’s okay, I’m not going to hurt you,” Patton reassured as he gently cupped her and the hook to stop her from hanging.
“Nonononono-” Amanda shook her head frantically, closing her eyes and curling in on herself as those giant hands actually touched her. Not to mention, her leg felt as if it was on fire. This was officially becoming the second worst moment of her life.
Patton furrowed his eyebrows in concern and quickly took her into his room. He placed her on the bed, so she would have a soft surface to lie on and gently looked her over. He noticed the string still wrapped around her and her leg and carefully reached out to untangle. “It’s okay, I’m just gonna get this off of ya.” Patton continued to reassure.
“Don’t touch me!” Amanda hissed in pain as she pulled her leg closer to herself, fingers shaking as she tried to undo the knot.
Patton brought his hands back quickly, no longer knowing what to do. He wanted to help but he didn’t want to scare the poor girl either. “Please, I’m just trying to help.”
“I- I don’t need your help!” Amanda insisted, frustrated tears sprouting in the corners of her eyes.
Patton felt even more concerned when he noticed the tears. “Kiddo, hey, it’s alright.” He said softly. “Calm down. Deep breaths.” He started breathing in the familiar pattern, the one he used to help Virgil out.
“I’m not a kiddo.” Amanda glared at him, but slowly she steadied her breathing and gained enough of a grip to untangle her leg. Amanda wrapped the string up, about to stuff it in her bag before remembering that was full of cookie. Instead, she threw it around her shoulders like a sash, reaching for the pin she kept at her side.
“Stay where you are!” Amanda threatened, biting her lip to keep from screaming as she stood up and brandished her sword at the human.
“Whoa!” Patton put his hands up in surrender as the tiny girl pointed a very sharp looking pin at him. He briefly wondered where she had gotten it from. “Um…okay? I really don’t mean you any harm, though.”
“Likely story,” Amanda growled, looking around for the nearest escape route.
“No, really! I just want to help you.” Patton said, slowly putting his arms down. “What were you doing up there anyway?” He asked.
“…None of your business.” Amanda lowered her sword slightly, surprised the human was actually keeping his distance.
Patton chuckled a little. “Well, I mean, it is sorta my business, with you being in my apartment and all. Not that I’m mad or anything!” Patton wanted to make that clear. “Just curious.” Patton looked the tiny girl over, still in awe, when he noticed something on her face.
“Is that…chocolate?” He asked, reaching up to his face at the same spot she had it on hers.
Amanda reached up, mirroring the human’s movements. She felt some chocolate left there, a side effect of her messy eating habits. “Uh, yes?” Amanda answered cautiously, knowing the human might get mad about her cookie theft.
Patton smiled sadly as he realized what the girl must have been there for. “Were you hungry? Is that why you were in my kitchen?” He asked.
“I, well I only took one…” Amanda paused her explanation. No, why should she have to explain herself to a human? She shouldn’t be talking to him at all! Amanda took a step away from him, forgetting it was her bad leg. She let out a cry the moment pressure was put on it, her legs collapsing and sending her tumbling down.
“Whoa!” Patton exclaimed and subconsciously surrounded her with his hands. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” He asked, trying to be gentle.
“I’m…fine.” Amanda pushed herself up, trying to bring her pin up again, but the effort of trying to do both simultaneously just made her fall on her stomach again.
Patton bit his lip, eyes going to her leg. “I…I think you may have hurt your leg when you got all twisted up in it.” Patton guessed. He suddenly stood up. “I’ll be right back, I’m going to go get the first aid kit.” He ran off to the bathroom.
Amanda looked up, realizing the human was gone. She tried to stand up, but her leg burned so fiercely that it was clear that wasn’t an option right now. Instead, Amanda began to army crawl towards the edge of the sheets. Grabbing hold and giving a small prayer, Amanda slid down towards the floor.
“OW!” Amanda couldn’t bite back her exclamation as she fell directly on her injured leg, making it flare up again.
Patton rushed back in, eyes going to the bed. He panicked when he didn’t see the girl but then his eyes spotted movement on the ground and he saw the curl lying there. He gasped. “Oh goodness!” Patton threw the first aid kit on the bed and reached down to scoop the girl up. “Are you okay? What happened?”
“I’m fiNE!” The last part of Amanda’s words became a high pitched yell as her leg painfully protested being moved. She clenched her jaw.
Patton winced and gently set her down back on the bed. She definitely did not sound fine. Patton dug through the first aid kit and cut up some gauze. “Alright. I’m going to wrap up your leg, okay? Can I do that?” He asked, not wanting to do it without consent.
Amanda shook her head weakly, unable to say anything lest it come out as another scream.
Patton frowned. “Well…do you want to do it? As long as your leg gets taken care of, I’m good with anything.” Patton said with a soft smile.
Amanda took a deep breath. She had never wrapped a leg before, but she definitely didn’t want the human getting any grabbier.
“I…I can do it.” Amanda said, a bit unsure of her own skills but willing to try. Especially if it meant the human left her alone.
Patton nodded, glad to see they were finally getting somewhere. He placed the gauze close enough for her to reach and then sat back to watch in case she needed help.
“How do I, uh, do this?” Amanda asked, gathering up the gauze in her arms and carefully rolling up her pants leg.
“Oh uh…” Patton thought for a moment. “Just take the end of the gauze and start at the base of the injury and then work your way up, making sure you overlap slightly,” Patton explained.
“Right.” Amanda followed his instructions, looking up at him to see if she had done it correctly.
Patton smiled. “Good job! It looks great.”
Amanda frowned up at the human. His behavior was certainly odd. Why did he care if her leg was wrapped, anyhow?
“What do you want from me?” Amanda asked, gazing at him with suspicion.
Patton frowned again, looking at the tiny girl with a tilted head. “I…nothing, I just want to make sure that you’re okay,” Patton answered truthfully.
“Why’d you take me captive then?” Amanda’s hand went once again to her pin. “Every human wants something.”
Patton put his hands up once again, wanting to let her know that he meant her no harm. “No, really! I just wanted to help untangle you from your string.” Patton explained. “After all, it was sort of my fault that that happened.”
Amanda paused, not actually expecting a human to take the blame for something like that. “Well, yeah I guess.” Honestly, she blamed her own climbing skills.
“Like I said, I just want to make sure you’re okay,” Patton said before his face lit up in realization. “Oh! I haven’t even introduced myself yet! I’m Patton.” Patton grinned. He reached out to offer a shake but decided against it and put his hand back down.
Amanda contemplated for a moment whether she should give out her name. Of course, she shouldn’t be talking to a human at all, but with her leg in its current condition, it’d be difficult to make another escape attempt while Patton was in the room. Perhaps cooperation would be her best bet.
“My name’s Amanda.” Amanda said finally.
Patton grinned. “Amanda! Well, it’s nice to meet you!” Patton still couldn’t believe that such a tiny person existed but he was doing his best to keep his curiosity to himself. He didn’t want to scare her, after all.
“Do you always climb things like that?” Patton asked, referring to back in the kitchen.
“I mean, I climb a lot of things.” Amanda shrugged as if it would be obvious. “It’s kind of the easiest way to get around.”
“I wish I could climb like that.” Though, he wasn’t sure what he would use that ability for. Rock climbing?
Patton glanced down at Amanda’s leg again with a small frown. “How does your leg feel?”
“Like it’s on fire.” Amanda’s eyes widened slightly, realizing that admitting weakness to a human probably wasn’t such a good idea. “I mean…a small fire. It’s fine, really.”
“That…doesn’t really sound like it’s fine,” Patton said with a slight wince. “I think it might be best for you to stay off of it for a while.”
“Not really an option,” Amanda muttered, trying weakly to stand again. She tried to use her pin as a walking stick, only for the needle to poke through the blanket.
“Careful!” Patton reached his hand to surround but not touch her. “Amanda, really, you should rest it.”
Amanda’s eyes widened, feeling a jolt of primal fear go through her as the human’s hand came at her.
“Stay back!” Amanda swung her pin at Patton’s hand, slicing across the palm.
“Ow!” Patton yelled, hissing as he brought his hand to his chest. He looked down to see a long cut that was now bleeding pretty badly.
And it was at that moment, that the door opened. “Pat! Are you okay!?” Virgil yelled out, hearing the shout of pain coming from Patton. He ran into Patton’s bedroom to see Patton sitting there with a bleeding hand. “What happened, how did-” He cut himself off when he looked up more and saw a…tiny girl?
Virgil froze. “…What the hell?”
Amanda trembled, favoring her good leg as she held her needle out in front of her with both arms. “Don’t come any closer!” She warned, feeling even less sure of herself now that there were two humans.
Virgil blinked, taking notice of the needle and putting two and two together. “Wait a second, did you do that to Patton’s hand?” Virgil asked, glaring at the tiny girl. Patton’s eyes widened and he put his uninjured hand on Virgil’s arm.
“Wait! It’s not her fault! She was just trying to protect herself. It was my fault that I got too close.” Patton said sadly.
“I’ll…I’ll do it to you too if you come near me.” Amanda threatened, noticing the second human seemed a lot more aggressive.
Virgil scowled at the tiny girl but grabbed the first aid kit on the bed and started to bandage Patton’s hand.
“Thanks, kiddo,” Patton said and Virgil just nodded, his eyes still on the tiny girl.
“…I really don’t think you’re in the position to be making threats.” Virgil spoke, not only talking about her injured leg but her size as well.
Amanda took a deep breath, knowing he was right. The very act of standing was taking a toll on her, and she had begun to shake from exertion.
“Well, I’m the one that’s armed.” She pointed out.
Virgil raised an eyebrow and reached over, plucking the girl’s weapon from her gasp easily.
“Virgil!” Patton yelled at his friend.
“Hey!” Amanda glared at the human. “Give that back!” She tried to take a step towards the human, only to lose her balance and fall on her stomach.
“Amanda! Are you okay?” Patton leaned forward in worry but kept his hands back.
Virgil looked at the tiny pin for a second but his eyes widened when he saw the tiny girl, apparently named Amanda, fall.
“I’m fine!” Amanda hurriedly pushed herself up, worried about keeping her eyes off her captors too long.
Patton turned to glare at Virgil. “Why would you take her pin?” Patton said, disappointed in Virgil and showing that through the look he sent his friend.
Virgil winced. “I just didn’t want either of us getting stabbed again,” Virgil argued back. He then turned back to Amanda. “Look, I’m sorry.” He apologized, knowing Patton would have made him anyway. “But, based on the look of things, Patton was just trying to help you. You had no reason to freaking stab him.”
“I didn’t mean to stab him that hard,” Amanda admitted, sitting up more. Indeed, she was a bit proud of how effective her weapon had been, but now might not be the best time to admit that. “I just wanted to send a warning. I don’t like being grabbed.”
“I’m sorry about that.” Patton apologized, looking down. “I should have known better.”
“…Still, stabbing him was a bit excessive.” Virgil said, looking from Patton to Amanda.
“I don’t exactly have a lot of options at my disposal.” Amanda was now noticing that all her options seemed to be gone now, and perhaps she should be a bit more careful about not angering the humans. “Humans aren’t keen to listen to people like me. It’s more grab first, kill later.”
Patton’s eyes widened. “Kill?!” Patton exclaimed in horror, hands going to his mouth. Virgil’s eyes went wide right along with Patton’s.
“Whoa, whoa…you don’t actually think we’re going to…kill you…do you?” Virgil asked, looking Amanda up and down.
“Well, not right now, no,” Amanda admitted, having noticed how calm these humans were acting. “Although I was wondering when it’d come up.”
“We would never, ever, ever!” Patton said, eyes wide and filled with concern. “I-I actually want the exact opposite. For you to get better.”
“Yeah and, well, despite the fact that you hurt Pat, I don’t want to see you dead either. That’s just wrong.” It was wrong whether the person in question was a human or not. Cause Amanda was definitely not human but she was a person.
“…why should I believe you?” Amanda frowned, looking between the two of them. Honestly, the idea of a human not wanting her dead was…baffling.
“Because if we wanted you dead, you would be dead already,” Virgil said, plain and simple. Patton, this time, hit Virgil in the arm.
“Seriously Virgil, stop it.” Patton did his best to glare at Virgil and Virgil ducked his head down.
“S-Sorry.” Didn’t make it any less true though. Patton sighed but turned back to Amanda.
“He could have said it better, but he is right,” Patton said with a gentle smile.
“Well then, what do you want from me?” Amanda asked again, looking at the new human. She knew Patton had said he just wanted to help her, but that made no sense. Besides, if he really wanted to help he wouldn’t have grabbed her in the first place.
“Well…I just got here.” Virgil defended himself. “I’m not actually sure yet. Pat?” He looked down at his friend, who was still kneeled near the bed.
Patton bit his lip. “I’ve already said what I want. For you to get better. Why don’t you believe me?”
“Sorry, it’s just…hard to believe,” Amanda admitted. “Humans always have some sort of motive.”
“And my motive is seeing you get better. And so is Virgil’s, right?” Patton turned to look at Virgil and Virgil’s eyes widened.
“What?” Patton narrowed his eyes. “I mean, uh, yeah! Right.” Patton nodded and smiled back at Amanda.
“And I’m willing to give you whatever you need until your leg is all healed up!” Patton exclaimed.
“Oh! Well, that’s very kind of you.” Amanda’s eyes widened in surprise. “But really I should be going home.”
“Oh.” Patton bit his lip. “Um, are you sure that’s a good idea?”
“What do you mean?” Amanda gave Patton a wary glance, knowing this was where his true motives would come out.
“I mean, well, where do you even live?” Patton asked. Virgil just watched this interaction, curious as well.
“Uh…” Amanda glanced briefly at the outlet under the bedside table. “…around.”
Patton didn’t notice but Virgil had followed her gaze. He put two and two together. “…Do you live in the walls?”
“What?” Amanda quickly looked away, eager to deny it. “Who said anything about the walls?”
Virgil smirked. “Sounds like someone who does live in the walls and is trying to deny it.”
Patton’s eyes widened. “But, if you live in the walls…isn’t that a lot of climbing and walking?”
“Well, yeah,” Amanda admitted, looking at her leg. “But it’ll be fine, I can just rest for a while. I’ve got food preserves.” Sort of, she thought distantly, remembering the mess of melted cookie in her bag.
Patton shook his head. “I…I really can’t let you go in this condition. You’d just hurt yourself even more!” Patton was quick to continue. “But! Once you’re all better, you are more than free to go home.”
“No, I’ll be fine!” Amanda insisted, scooting backward. “I can’t stay here!”
“But-!” Virgil cut Patton off by placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at Amanda.
“Alright. If you can make it over there.” He pointed to where she had been looking earlier. “And not hurt yourself, then you can go.”
“But Virgil-” Virgil shook his head and Patton shut his mouth. He understood what Virgil was trying to do but he didn’t want Amanda to get hurt.
“What, right now?” Amanda shifted, stalling for time as her leg reignited.
Virgil nodded. “Yep. Show us what you got.”
“Okay.” Amanda scooted on her butt over to the edge of the bed, unfortunately, close to the humans. Her leg protested the move, and Amanda kept her jaw clenched to keep from giving any indication that she was in pain. She could feel two giant pairs of eyes watching her every move. She could do this.
Amanda turned herself around, gripping onto the sheets with her remaining strength. She gave a quick prayer, and she jumped.
Patton’s eyes widened and he went to reach out to catch her but Virgil held his arms back. He hated having to do this but Amanda seemed too stubborn to accept help unless they proved it to her.
“Augh!” Amanda couldn’t hold back a groan as she landed painfully on her uninjured side, rolling down a few more inches before finally coming to a stop. Dang it.
Virgil winced and released Patton’s arms, who immediately scooped Amanda up and looked her over. “Oh goodness, are you okay!?”
“Ow.” Amanda cringed, Patton’s jostling only serving to aggravate her injuries. “I- I was fine, I had it. Put me back, I can make it.”
“I think we’ve proved that you’re too injured to make it,” Virgil spoke, crossing his arms.
“Virgil, you should have let me catch her!” Patton exclaimed, actually looking a little betrayed. Virgil sighed, hating to be looked at like that.
“Sorry, but it was the only way. She is way too stubborn.”
“I can make it, I didn’t need catching.” Amanda winced, sitting up.
“Come on.” Virgil groaned, leaning forward a bit. “Look, Patton is right. We really do just want to help. So stop pretending like everything is okay when it clearly isn’t.” Virgil spoke, glaring slightly at Amanda.
“Fine!” Amanda glared back at him. “Life sucks and I’m in pain. But I certainly don’t need your help.”
“Why not?” Patton asked, eyes wide in his signature puppy dog look. “We promise not to keep you here any longer than need be. And we can provide you with anything you need, both for your leg or if you need food, stuff like that.”
Amanda looked back at him. It was clear even to her that she wasn’t going anywhere. And maybe things wouldn’t be so bad if she stayed on this human’s good side. After her leg healed she might even be able to sneak away pretty easily.
“Well, I guess I don’t have much of a choice.” Amanda shrugged.