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You had been cold for weeks. It felt like it would never end. You didn’t know what else to do. You climbed through the walls to the one place that was warm in the human house. You knew the risks of what you were doing. You were dead either way, at least this way you’d die warm.
You were careful as you moved the bit of wall you’d chipped away. You wouldn’t risk the human hearing you while you were cold. You didn’t bother to place the bit of wall back, if you got a chance to return speed would matter. You shivered as the cold of the room bit at your exposed skin.
You took careful steps. The same you’ve used time and time again to get supplies. You saw the wire that seemed to exist just for you. The human never used it, but kept it plugged into one of the large computers they used. You tugged at it, sturdy as always.
You started climbing, your frigid hands made it hard. Every inch you climbed up you worried you’d fall to the ground. Your hands hurt from the bitter cold you’d lived in. You slipped a few times and you thought for sure it was the end. You survived it each time and made it to the top of the desk.
You grimaced when the desk felt just as cold as the walls. The human had been out all day, they hadn’t used the warm machine. You nearly cried when you realized you truly only had one choice. You turned to face the bed behind you. The human was breathing steadily. They were the only form of heat you knew of nearby.
You approached the edge of the desk. It shouldn’t be hard to jump over. At least when your body wasn’t half frozen it wouldn’t be. You looked at the gap, you didn’t want to fall. Staying out here wouldn’t help you warm up. You weren’t confident you could reach the ground safely again either. The human form in the darkness started to move.
You couldn’t breathe as the living mountain started to sit up. You knew you should run. All the rules you’ve lived by said to get away. The eyes that looked over you weren’t cruel as you were told. You could convince yourself the look was almost full of concern. You started shaking as one of those monstrous hands started to come close.
The hand came to encircle you. Fingers longer than you became your world. You wanted to start fighting and thrashing, but the fingers were warm. Every instinct you held screamed fear, but the warmth was so inviting. Time felt nearly frozen as a finger came to touch your skin. The others followed fast enough to remind you what you were facing.
“You’re like an ice cube,” they whispered. Their voice made your spine tingle. You waited for the grip to tighten until you couldn’t breathe. It didn’t happen, the fingers stayed gently pressed to your side. “Can I hold you? I think I can help you warm up.”
You felt the hint of adrenaline run through your body. You nodded, tempted by the promise of warmth. You had been told all the stories, you knew what humans could do. You wanted the promise that you’d survive the winter, the night, the next hour, the next minute.
The gentle grip started to shift around you. Fingers slipped in front of you and hid the world from your eyes. You could only see the skin of the fingers around you. You were painfully aware of the lines within the grip. That the muscles beneath could flex and end your life. You started shivering, you didn’t know if it was cold or fear anymore.
“I didn’t think about how the broken heater might reach you, sorry about that,” they said.
You felt your heart stop, they knew about you. You started to shake more, this could have been a trap. The hand moving you finally came to a stop. The fingers trapping you in darkness opened and revealed you to the world again. You were held against a chest that seemed to go on forever. You could hear the air moving through the lungs of the colossus you were with. You felt the truth of your helplessness then and there.
“I’ll bug them about the heater tomorrow so you don’t have to be an ice cube anymore,” they murmured. This close, their voice felt like a force of nature. “I’m guessing you thought I was asleep when you came out. I had been trying to, but I hadn’t seen any signs of you for the last few days. I was worried.”
“W-why?” you asked. Your voice sounded impossibly quiet next to the titanic being. The hand still near you brought you just slightly closer to the chest.
“Because you live here too?”
They laughed and you were forced to move with their body. It felt nice, but terrifying. Something so simple could cause your whole world to move. They started to shift around you. The hand holding you moved you more and fear struck you once more. They laughed again, this time you’d been stabilized by their movements. The darkness that came over you made the night feel worse, but heat seemed to radiate from somewhere other than the human.
“I can’t imagine how brave you must be, living in a world like this, coming out in the open too,” the human whispered. You never paid attention to them outside of their movements. They were careful and kind despite the power they could hold over you. “This almost feels like the world’s weirdest sleepover. I wondered what it would be like to hold you or hear your voice after I first saw you…”
“How long have you known about me?” you asked. Your voice sounded wrong, full of hope in a way. You couldn’t believe a human was actually like this. This human had been the one you borrowed from for years and they even knew about it.
“A while, a year or two. One night I couldn’t sleep and I was just staring in the darkness. I saw you throw something on to my desk and climb up. It fell off, but you used a wire I’d left out to climb down. I couldn’t believe how resourceful you were.”
“So you just let me go… will you let me go again?”
You were hopeful. It was the first time in so long. The fingers around you tightened only to relax seconds later. You followed the chest up to find kind eyes and a warm smile looking at you. This was a nice dream to have before the cold finally won. This couldn’t be reality.
“If you tell me, I’ll put you down right now,” they sighed, the breathing felt nicer now. The up and down of their chest calmed your heart. “I would have stayed just staring out, but I thought you might be planning to jump across. I didn’t want you to get hurt. If you need me, well you can just talk to me.”
“I’m not supposed to, you’re dangerous,” you breathed. The fingers that could end you only tightened again. You were moved, brought up to the eyes that blended in the dark. You held your breath as you faced the human. “You could do so much…”
“Can I show you I won’t?” You stared into their eyes. You always dreamt of human eyes looking evil and malicious. You never thought they could look kind or that their voice could be easy to hear.
“...let’s start with just a sleepover.”
“Thank you.”
They moved their hand back to their chest. You couldn’t believe the way it felt to be moved so easily. It was weirdly calming with how warm they felt. They held you close to their heart. You leaned closer, the thundering beat was calming. The first time in weeks you were warm and felt safe. You closed your eyes and felt calm enough to rest.
The next morning you woke up to dark eyes staring down at you. A smile that looked both warm and terrifying. The fingers surrounding you grew tighter and the hand holding you moved. You wondered if the nice night was nothing, but a dream. The hand holding you brought you out to the pillow and let you go. You were staring at them with awe.
“Good morning, the heater finally started working a couple hours ago,” they said. You nodded. “How do you feel about some breakfast before you go?”
“That sounds nice… Would you mind if we had more sleepovers?” you asked. You wanted to have another night where you felt so warm and safe.
“I’d like that, just let me know whenever you want.”