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Mira woke up to a heavy feeling on top of her. She knew it well, a person bigger than her was there. She had a million ideas run through her head, but the first was Corus. Zeke wasn’t here, he’d gone to Kaya’s. She couldn’t feel the small man on her chest, and her hands were free. She took a deep breath and heard a groan near her ears. She didn’t have much time before this person acted.
She slowly slid her arms up until she had herself positioned just right. The person on top of her was on their back, a strange choice for her line of work. She snapped her eyes open and shoved the person off her. She jumped up and pushed them down, twisting their arms behind their back. She held their arms together firmly with one hand and pulled a dagger from beneath her bed. She leaned forward and held the dagger to their throat.
“Who are you and how did you find me?” she growled. The form beneath her felt oddly familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The hair just below the strangers broad shoulders was cut unevenly. They started to struggle, but she pricked their neck with her blade. “Tell me now and what you did with the small man that was with me.”
“Mira? I-is that you? You sound a lot quieter, can you let me up?” the stranger asked. The voice made her pause, it sounded like Corus. It couldn’t be him though, he’s small enough to hold in one hand. She pressed their arms down into their back.
“I’m not playing around, if you tell me where he is and who sent you I’ll give you a quick death.”
“Mira, it’s me, it’s Corus! Please don’t.”
She wasn’t happy this person was playing games. They must have bugged her home. She stood up and kicked them off her bed. She grabbed a gun off the top of the cabinet and kicked a pillow onto their chest. She stepped off, glaring at the person on the ground. They looked identical to the small man currently missing. She wasn’t foolish, she knew the way disguises could go. She straddled them as they tried to get up, they almost seemed confused while they moved.
“I won't ask you again, what did you do with Corus? You’ve been watching me long enough to think you’d succeed like this. Where is he?” she growled. The stranger's eyes widened as she aimed the gun at them. They tried to struggle, she was actually impressed by their strength. She knew how to combat a stronger opponent, she’s had to for her life. “One more move and I’ll shoot you now.”
“Mira, wait!” they shouted. She almost faltered hearing her name in that voice, but it couldn’t be him. “It’s really me, I don’t know what’s going on. You met me and Zeke because one of us stole a needle you laced with poison. I know we never said it, but I took it from you. I’d been getting a bit more brazen to try and prove to Zeke you were leaving things out on purpose!”
“You have until the count of three. One…”
“Y-you didn’t know how to deal with us right after and started to avoid us. I kept trying to be near you and eventually you gave in! I sleep on your chest or in your hand when you’re home.”
“Two.” She cocked the gun, she’d avoided using them after the two borrowers moved in. Corus wasn’t here and neither was Zeke. She gripped the pillow in one hand, she knew how to handle this.
“You’re Lavender. A master assassin. You knew we were here for a while, you never told us exactly how long.” She narrowed her eyes, some of that was information anyone who’d found her could learn. Especially if they managed to sneak in and take Corus while she slept. They probably drugged her.
“Three.” She moved the pillow in front of the gun.
“Wait! Wait! The first time we kissed was after I followed along on a mission because I snuck in a bag you were taking. You had some weird stuff on your lips that covered me in cherry goo and I said you shouldn’t clean me off until we were done!”
Mira let her arm fall to her side. There was no way to know that unless it was really him. Even if her home was bugged there was no way to know which car she’d go to after that night. She stood up and moved away from him… from Corus. She emptied the gun and set it aside, he could hurt himself now. He didn’t know how to use it. She turned and watched as he climbed to his feet.
He was taller than her by a lot. She looked up at him, taking in all the details she couldn’t usually make out on his face. She would have killed him. She almost killed him. She was seconds from pulling the trigger. She stared at her hands, she was shaking. She was even more dangerous than when he was a few inches tall.
She jumped when large hands covered her own. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly. He held both her hands in one hand before placing one under her chin. He made her look up and he was smiling at her. She couldn’t understand how he’d smile at her after that. She didn’t know what to do.
“Did you know, I wondered if I’d be taller than you if I was a human? I guess I wondered if you’d be shorter than me as a borrower too,” he laughed. She tugged away again, but he was stronger than her. She couldn’t outmatch in raw strength, and that kept her hands firmly in his grip.
“How… why are you human? This doesn’t make sense. I-I…” she tried. She couldn’t figure it out. He finally let her hands go and pulled her tightly into a hug. He rested his head on hers and she tried to push away.
“I don’t know and I don’t care. It was kind of cool seeing how you’d act if a random human did break in. At least I’d know what to expect now.” He pressed his hand against the back of her head. It felt weird having someone human holding her. It was almost nice having someone like this, but this wasn’t Corus either.
“I… I almost killed you.” She didn’t even know how loud to be now. The arms around her tightened and he started to pet her head. “I… this proves how unsafe I am for you.”
“You almost killed someone who was suddenly in the legendary assassin’s home and might have taken someone you cared about.”
She shook her head and tried to squirm away. He didn’t let her, holding her tighter. For the first time she got a good look at the clothes he wore. They had such perfect stitches, but the cloth felt strange. She felt bad even touching it, her hands were drenched in blood. If he was human for good he could be free of the dark world she exists in.
“Mira, I don’t know what’s going through your head, but I really want to just see your face right now. I’m pretty sure if I let go you’re going to run away though. Will you please stay?” he whispered. His whispering voice sounded odd. His voice felt deeper and louder even then. He didn’t sound like her Corus, but it was him. She nodded against his chest.
He slowly pulled his arms away. She hugged herself as she stepped back and looked up into his eyes. It felt impossible to see him like this. He just stared at her without a word. She started to shuffle on her feet, someone looking at her never felt so weird. She wanted to disappear, she almost thought it would be better if she’d woken up small. When he smiled it made her heart skip a beat.
He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. She widened her eyes as he just kept staring at her. Slowly he moved closer, a look in his eyes she’d grown to know well. She froze, she hadn’t expected him to act like this. She kept her eyes locked on his as he finally pressed his lips onto hers. Her mind completely blanked as they kissed. It felt different from her times kissing him while he was a few inches tall. When they finally parted she couldn’t speak.
“Yeah, that was better than I imagined,” he sighed. She shivered as his breath washed over her. “Mira, I kind of like looking down at you. You’re almost cuter than when I’m my real height.”
“O-oh,” she mumbled. Somehow thinking he liked her better like this hurt. He might be small again and not like her anymore. He placed his hands on her cheeks and kept her facing him before she even tried to look away.
“Hey, I said almost. I love looking up at you and having you be everything in my world. Stop thinking whatever you’re thinking.”
“Corus… I-” He pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. She didn’t know quite how to feel about him being able to do that. Although she usually just kept an eye on him when they spoke so he didn’t have to try to speak over her.
“Stop, I don’t know why this happened or how long. Can we just do human things for a day? I want to be with you like a human could.” She didn’t have a good answer, it should be no. They should be finding out what happened and being careful about it, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. She just nodded and he hugged her again. His chest was so much bigger than she would have thought.
“I guess we should get you more human looking clothes first.” He pulled away and made a face at her. She smiled as he folded his arms over his chest.
“What are my usual clothes not good enough to be out doing human things?”
“Nope, they’re strange. They don’t look right, the cloth is weird. Come on, I’ll take you to a mall. We’ll get you some clothes there, at least a few outfits. If you go back to your normal size after then we can use them to make more clothes for you and Zeke.”
“Fine, but I get to treat you like I’ve seen boyfriends do in movies.” She laughed at him, he made it sound like some huge promise. She realized it might be to him, he never could before. She nodded, his smile was blinding.
Mira took him to a mall closer than she usually went to. It was safest to stay close in case he changed back. She dragged him into the first store and started to search for clothes he’d blend in with. He was enamored by everything he saw. It was like she got to see a simple clothes store for the first time again. She knew how to avoid curious employees which let him explore things he’d never seen.
She picked out simple clothes, but he was drawn to shirts with designs he could never make on his own. She laughed when he came out of the dressing room in an orange Hawaiian shirt and bright blue shorts. It took more convincing than she would have liked to make him give up on wearing them right away. Eventually he wore a shirt with the design of some rock band she heard of a few times and plain jeans.
Mira took him back to the car quickly to drop off the things they’d bought. Their day would be here mostly, but she didn’t want to carry clothes around for hours. She almost missed the way he jumped as people walked by them. He may be human sized, but he wasn’t a human. She had to remember that today, she had to let him have fun and ignore her fears.
“It’ll be too bad about these when I get small again,” Corus mumbled as they walked back inside. He didn’t see the appeal to the jeans Mira picked out, but he liked the shirt.
“Didn’t you ask me not to think about things like that? Just enjoy today,” she smiled at him. Looking down at her smile had him going insane. It was his Mira, but it wasn’t at the same time. He loved her, but he missed having her being his entire world. He still smiled and nodded.
She brought him around to a lot of strange places he knew were stores. She showed him toys that he’d seen in shows and movies. They looked wrong to him. Some were almost funny when he considered how big they’d be to him normally. Mira kept asking for places he wanted to see, but he didn’t think of this ever happening. He couldn’t think of any until they finally passed a pet store. Humans always liked animals like that, he couldn’t see why.
Mira noticed his interest and brought him over, asking to see the kittens up for adoption. The human in the store let him into a place that seemed like a death trap for his real size. He sat down like he was instructed and small furry animals were placed near him. Seeing a cat from this size made the fear feel almost pointless. They were cute and the little claws didn’t do much. He’d almost lost himself when a toy about his real size was thrown in and one of the kittens pounced.
“Look at that man,” a human whispered. He wasn’t sure if they were loud or his hearing was sensitive, but he didn’t like the way they sounded. “He’d be perfect for one of my kids. Do you think that girl is with him?”
“Of course not, probably just a sister. She’s one of those strange children born with the odd colors, a man like that wouldn’t be with her. Probably makes the family struggle because of her ‘uniqueness’,” another human answered. He narrowed his eyes and looked up at Mira who had just leaned on the wall near him.
“Hey Mira,” he said as he climbed to his feet. She started to say something, but he stopped her with a kiss. He couldn’t believe how different it was this time. She tasted like lavenders and it made him smile. He heard the two other humans scoff, but he didn’t care.
“Sir, if you’re done with the kittens I’ll need you to leave,” the working human said. He just nodded and climbed over the wall. Mira and the other human widened their eyes. Mira acted fast and grabbed his hand pulling him from the store. She was laughing as they ran.
“You almost blew it, humans usually let them open the gate for us to get out,” she smiled. He didn’t care, he loved how happy she looked.
Mira brought him to somewhere called a food court. He didn’t get what that meant, but it was probably a place for food. He was starting to get hungry. She stood in the middle of a crowded place for a few minutes looking around. He didn’t know why she did, but he didn’t like it. Humans kept walking by and a lot were looking at him in ways he hated. He only wanted Mira to look at him like that.
“Corus, what’s something you always wanted to try eating?” she asked. He didn’t have an answer, he didn’t know human foods well. He did remember one thing she had a few times, it smelled good and he kind of wanted to try it.
“You brought home something in a white bag once. You didn’t eat all of it, and we took some. It had a lot of stuff on it, there was also the stuff in plastic containers you used to bring home. You were more careful with them, but I was wondering what they were,” he answered. She nodded and looked around for a bit before seeming to make a decision. She brought him to a table and had him sit in a chair.
“I’ll be right back, trust me ok?” He nodded, he’d always trust her. Even if he was suddenly normal again she’d find him and keep him safe. He knew it.
Mira disappeared into the mass of humans and he watched them. It was weird to see how normal it all looked at this size. It was like the colonies he was told about before going off on his own. People living together and thriving. He didn’t know how to feel with everything anymore. He wanted to be his normal size, but Mira was having fun. She might prefer him like this.
“Is this seat taken?” someone asked. He looked up to find a woman with brown hair and blue eyes like his own looking over him. There was a seat open next to him so it should be fine for her to take it. He shook his head at her. “Oh good, I was worried someone like you already had a girlfriend.”
The stranger sat across from him and he frowned. He didn’t know how to make humans leave. She started talking, but he couldn’t get himself to answer. It wasn’t easy to face a human he didn’t know directly. He just kept thinking about if he suddenly went back to normal. She said something about leaving with him and he shook his head frantically. He jumped when something landed on the table in front of him.
“I’ll be back in a second,” Mira murmured and rushed off.
“Ugh, was that your sister? She’s one of those freaks. I feel so bad for you, I guess you got the good genes in the family,” the stranger said. He glared at her.
“You’re the second person today to call her a freak, I don’t get it. What makes her a freak?” he asked. The human just blinked at him before laughing.
“Are you kidding me? She has that weird hair. Not to mention those eyes. Those people are freaks. There’s always something wrong with them.”
“Leave, now.” He glared at the stranger. She looked shocked that he got upset, she tried to reach over and grab his hand.
“Hey, I’ll be nice if she’s your sister don-”
“I’m here with her. I’m in love with her. She isn’t my sister. Now leave.”
He didn’t pay attention as she said something more. The stranger did leave at least. He looked around and found Mira. She was carrying another of those tray things she’d already dropped by him. It was amazing watching as she seemed to dance around people. She finally reached him and he didn’t have words. She set the tray down, but looked a bit confused.
“Didn’t you want to talk to that person?” she asked. He grabbed her hand and pulled her closer to sit next to him.
“Not at all. I didn’t know how to make her leave at first,” he sighed. He leaned against her, the closest he could get to what he wanted. He wanted to rest on her chest and have her heartbeat pounding beneath him.
“We should eat before it gets cold. I got some of everything so you can try a bunch of food.” He smiled and laughed. She was always focused on something he couldn’t pinpoint.
“Whatever you say. You know I’m used to cold food.” She grabbed something wrapped up and handed it to him.
“That’s why you have to try this now, in case you go back…”
He forced his smile to stay as he took what she gave him. He kept saying when and she said if, he didn’t know what to make of it. He tried to push the doubt growing in his chest away as he followed her instructions to unwrap the food. It was weird to see it small like this. He got distracted just looking at it and the other things she bought.
After a bit she nudged him to try it. He did what she said and couldn’t believe how different it was. He’d had the pieces before, Mira gave them plenty, but this was different. He almost couldn’t believe how different the taste was. Mira grabbed something and held it out to him. She smiled as he tried that and was blown away. He wanted to find a way to have this stuff when he was normal sized.
It took them a while, but eventually the two ate everything Mira had bought. She said they didn’t have to, but Corus wasn’t going to waste the chance to have human meals like this. She got up to get rid of things and sat across from him when she came back. He looked at her and kept wondering what she thought about him like this. If she wanted him to stay like this, to live like this.
Corus reached over and grabbed her hand. She tilted her head, but followed what he wanted. He lifted it up and had her hand flat, but up in the air. He looked it over, coming to terms with how small her hands seemed at that moment. He fit in them, she could hide him in her grip usually. He placed one of his against hers. His fingers were longer and palm wider. He’d be terrifying to see at his normal height. He almost wished she’d gotten smaller, it would be easier to know what she wanted then.
“Your hands are bigger than mine,” she whispered. He nodded, he didn’t have any kind of goal with this. He just wanted to see how he looked to her. “It’s weird isn’t it? Seeing things like this…”
“Yeah…” She slid her fingers between his and held his hand. It seemed like she was worried about something. “What’s wrong?”
“Aren’t you curious? Why they keep making those comments about me?” He shook his head. He gripped her hand tighter, it didn’t matter to him.
“No, it doesn’t change anything. I don’t care. I can be pretty positive that I wouldn’t care if I was born a human too.” She smiled at him, it felt different than the ones he saw all day. He didn’t want to see the others anymore, just this one. He leaned forward and pulled her hand making her lean forward too. “I think I’ve had enough of other humans. Can we go home?”
She kept that smile he liked more and nodded. Mira stood and tried to pull her hand free. Corus kept his grip on her and smirked when she looked up at him. Her face turned red and she brought him through the stupidly large building. There were more whispers about her, each time he tried to hold her hand a bit tighter.
They were almost out when he heard more insults and finally had enough. He stopped for a second forcing Mira to follow. She looked at him confused but he was sick of these humans. They all kept acting like Mira was something bad, she was amazing. She knew what he was and still wanted to be with him. He bent and swiped her legs out from under her. He caught her back with his other arm.
“Corus what are you doing?!” she shouted. He laughed and held her closer. If he got stuck this big he wouldn’t mind if he could do more things like this.
“Making the humans stop thinking anything but the truth about us,” he grinned. She was bright red before he leaned down and kissed her again. He heard one of the ones insulting her complaining, but he didn’t care. Nothing would take him from Mira.
He carried her outside, only putting her down when he had to admit he didn’t know where the car was. He would have wandered around until she told him he found it if she let him. Instead she just shook her head and gently grabbed his hand. Feeling her small hand in his was a strangely bright sensation this time. She dragged him to the car and the two got in.
She drove them home and it felt almost wrong. He was still human, she still seemed to prefer it. He didn’t know what to do when he went back to normal. He didn’t want to lose her. He grabbed the bags of clothes she bought for him before she could. She looked almost hurt in some way, but he had to be imagining that. Inside he left the bags off to the side.
Corus dragged her to the couch and pulled her down with him. He just wanted to be with her until they had to figure out what was next. Mira seemed reluctant, but did sit and lay against him. It was nice having her with him like this. He did almost want to keep her like this, never share her with anyone else. He pulled her closer, he wished he knew how much longer he’d have like this.
“Corus…” she whispered. He pressed his head on the top of hers. He never would have realized how small she was without this. He almost wanted to be bigger to protect her. “Do you… do you want to stay here if you stay human?”
“Where else would I go?” he laughed. He didn’t know what was in her head, but he didn’t have many options even if he left. He couldn’t lose her.
“I have some favors I can call in. I could set you up somewhere that you and Zeke would be fine on your own. Doubly so if this happened to him too. You don’t have to stay here.” She never knew how obvious she was to him. He pulled away to face her. Corus gently placed his hands on her shoulders and started to push her down. She let him until he was hovering over her, staring at the face he loved. He wanted to see all the details he couldn’t as a human. The little marks she didn’t know she had.
“I would only do that if I could stay with you.” Her eyes went wide, but she looked away.
“No, it would be better for you to leave and forget about me. Those people today weren’t wrong I’m not… I’m good at my job because of what makes me look like this. I can just perceive more than normal people. It’s why I knew where you two were… and why I grabbed the gun this morning, I knew no one your size was close enough to hear it…”
“Explains why you can always find us.” He laughed and leaned closer to her. He could almost see the details he was missing. “How different do I look to you now?”
“I see more, little details I couldn’t make out.” She reached a hand up and cupped his cheek. He leaned into the feeling. “It’s things I notice on everyone else, but I never did on you. Little lines from laughing that haven’t become obvious. The details paint a history, pain and fear plus joy. I can’t explain it amazingly, no one like me can. We just see through people, that's how others say it. It’s why I make sure about all my targets, I can sort of tell when there’s more.”
“I don’t mind you seeing through me.” He leaned forward until his forehead was against hers. He could tell she wanted to run, but he wouldn’t let her. “Mira, would you hate me if I said I miss being my real size? That I miss seeing details like that on you”
He shifted his head down to rest his ear over her heart. He could hear as the beat started to pick up. He didn’t make her heart race like this in his real size. He wanted to know what she thought, did she want a human? He wouldn’t hate her for it, he got an idea of how small he was when he looked at her hand. He slipped an arm beneath her and pulled her against him.
“Would you hate me if I said I miss it too?” she whispered. Corus froze, slowly shifting his head up to look at her. Pink eyes shining with tears about to fall. He couldn’t believe this was another way they were the same. She took a shuddering breath and looked away from him. “You were the first person who I couldn’t read. It was easy enough to predict how to act for everyone, but not you. I… I like not reading you.”
He buried his face in her chest and started laughing. All day he worried she would hate him for not wanting to stay human. He felt like an idiot, they were perfect for each other as they were. He pushed himself up, letting her fall to the couch again. He hovered over her, one of the few things he could see being human was good for. He kind of liked how she seemed small to him.
Corus leaned forward and smirked. Mira gasped before closing her eyes. He liked doing this, some human size things he wouldn’t mind keeping. He started another kiss, gently at first. Slowly he managed to open her lips. It felt like his whole body was on fire as they kissed. The fire was replaced by an ice running through his veins. He couldn’t even pull away before it happened.
He felt as his body started to change. It felt like time slowed as his arms started pulling away from her. He didn’t want to lose this moment, shifting his hands as it happened. He felt the way his spot straddling her became more difficult to keep. He didn’t know how to avoid this ending until her hands found his sides. She was helping him, he had no idea how to make sure they didn’t stop.
As he started to find himself on top of her he slid forward. It was painstakingly slow, but her hands brought him closer. As his lips got smaller he thought for sure she’d make him stop, tell him to be safe. Instead he was brought closer to her face as each inch he lost brought him back to normal. Eventually he got smaller faster and she lost her grip on him. He fell on her chest, he could hear the sound of wind going through her lungs. She started laughing.
“I wonder if we just have some bad luck with kissing,” she laughed. The way he bounced on her chest made him smile. He laughed too, crawling across her chest to lay on her heart. “What are you doing?”
“Shh,” he complained. He made it where he wanted and curled up on top of her heart. He just listened for a bit before sighing. “I was missing this all day. I love hearing your heart.”
Hands bigger than him came and rested over his form. He loved her hands holding him close, the way the sound echoed in the little cave she made for him. He curled up even smaller and reached up to touch her fingers. Her heart started to race again, he wanted to find more ways to do that like this. She started laughing again and her hands pressed down to keep him still.
“Your clothes changed with you, I guess you have jeans now,” she giggled. She curled her fingers around him. She missed this, holding him close and having him safe. She thought he’d leave her, that he would realize that was smarter. This was the best outcome she could hope for. He started to laugh after he squirmed under her hands. She’d have to see what happened to his real clothes too. She hoped today had been real.