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Rhys still couldn’t believe that his foster parents had accepted what he was. Especially the next morning when he’d gotten small enough to fit in their fists again. It helped when one gently picked him up off a pillow and reassured him he was safe. They both talked about skipping work, but he begged them to go. They agreed once he reminded them his foster brothers would be home soon. Rhys swore he’d go to them if there was any trouble; of course he kept the fact it was a lie to himself.
His mom, it didn’t feel real that he could think that, but his mom carried him to the living room. Her hands were soft, holding him firmly against her heart. She set her palm down next to the couch; a place he had hidden more than once. There were plenty of times he’d gotten stuck small before; not while living with this family though. It wasn’t hard to deal with anymore, at least he liked to say it wasn’t. It was kind of nice to have people who wanted to keep him safe until he could get big again.
They did a lot to make sure he’d have everything he could need. His mom cut up some fruit for him. His dad put a small cap alongside a bowl of water. Even looked for things he could use to stay entertained until he could grow… Having a mom and dad who cared was nice.
Just as he thought that, his dad’s hand surrounded him. Long, massive fingers covered any escape. Panic set in as they pressed him into the massive digits. Then the hand was gone. An echo of the warmth sat on Rhys’s skin. He liked it… He still felt stupid, but they made it feel worth it. Even when their steps made the world shake, bounced him a little off the ground, and reminded him how small he was. It was the first time he could remember a safe feeling while small ever.
Rhys wandered out from under the couch a few times over the next few hours. Each was an attempt to grow, but it filled his body with pain. Eventually he curled up on a cloth his mother had left so he wasn’t stuck on the wood floor. Stuck small usually meant he had to hope he didn’t starve before he could grow. The memories of the last time he was stuck small filled his mind. He’d been so cold and hungry by the time he grew again…
“Rhys you here?” Ryder’s voice jolted him from his thoughts. He curled in on himself, afraid to be found.
The steps that neared him made Rhys bounce. He clutched the cloth, terrified of what would happen. Horrified that the people he started to trust immediately betrayed him. Tears burned his eyes when Ryder’s steps stopped right at the couch. Right where the people who claimed to care left him.
“Guess not,” Ryder’s sigh made Rhys’s body go limp. Until heavier steps started. It had to be Felix. Rhys shook as his body was flung in the air by the steps with all of his stout foster brother’s weight. “Was he upstairs?”
“No,” Felix said. The couch creaked in time with the steps stopping. At this size he could hear how normal people affected everything. “We can stay down here and see if he comes home, like mom and dad asked.”
“I guess… They sounded worried. Do you think something happened?”
“Does it matter?” Rhys swallowed. Felix sounded angry. He’d never seen Felix angry. “Kid’s been avoiding us for weeks anyway.”
“Oh so that’s why you’re in a bad mood.”
Another shiver as Ryder’s steps started up again. Felix’s feet slammed on the ground in front of him. Rhys bit his hand to keep from screaming.
“I’m not in a bad mood. He doesn’t want to be here, what do I care?” Felix growled. Rhys’s cheeks grew damp as he listened. “Besides I won’t have to fix clothes all the time if he leaves… or worry about the way he flinches from our hands sometimes…”
“Ok, what’s actually on your mind?” Ryder’s voice held the concern Rhys was used to. It was usually sent his way. The steps came back. They stopped and Rhys risked crawling a bit forward to see at least Ryder. He was a lot more intimidating from his current position.
“Nothing!”
Felix’s voice was loud. It made Rhys’s ears ring. He slid back, away from the two. It started to look like a good idea to run. Get out of this place before Vitus and Dabria came back. Before he had to admit that he couldn’t have parents when the rest of the family hated him.
“Is it what Del said? That he’s like her?” Ryder’s voice was soft. The couch creaked as his weight joined Felix’s above him. He inched closer to the feet of his foster brothers. Delphia never mentioned they were similar. If she could change too maybe that was why he had a chance at a mom and dad.
“He’s not like her. It would have been obvious by now if he was,” Felix’s voice was more how Rhys knew it. Tired, a bit snobby, but a hint of kindness in the words. The anger at least passed. “He’d already have said something off that we could pick up on.”
“Then what is it, I thought you liked our new brother. Mom and dad said you were ok with them adopting him down the line if things worked out.” Another time Rhys had to bite his hand. He’d been hiding so much, but they still wanted him. Even before they saw what he was… Maybe it would change now. They still didn’t know everything…
“His clothes…”
Rhys looked down at his clothes. They were a bit baggy right now. They didn’t fully shrink with him, better than some of the other times at least. Maybe he should ask for some doll clothes. It would make things easier in the future, kind of embarrassing though.
“What? You don’t like his style?” Ryder laughed.
“Of course not,” Felix snapped. “They get torn all the time. A lot of the time after he’s disappeared for the day or just gets home from being out.”
“So… you think someone forgot what happened when they tried to bully Del?”
“Nothing happened back then!” Felix’s voice squeaked. Rhys had to hold back his laugh.
“Oh really? I remember a certain call to dad about someone getting in a fight at school. That a certain brother of mine broke someone else’s nose. If I recall the reasoning was they made his sister cry.”
Rhys could picture Ryder’s face. A small grin, eyebrows raised, eyes glowing with an emotion he barely understood. Felix’s sigh replaced the image with his face. Eyebrows pulled together, index and thumb on his forehead, eyes closed, a frown that had the smallest hint of smile in it.
“They shouldn’t have made fun of her for warning them about the ticks on their camping trip,” Felix mumbled.
“And no one’s forgotten since. Do you really think someone is bullying Rhys?” Ryder asked. The couch creaked again, Felix’s feet disappeared. Rhys crawled forward, almost out of the shadows. Just in time to watch his foster brother put his feet on the coffee table, they weren’t supposed to do that.
“I don’t know, but how else do you explain all the ripped clothes? The way he flinches from us just tapping his shoulder?! He’s gotta be getting into fights… He could just talk to us,” Felix said. Voice small and so unlike the person Rhys had always seen. Stoic, prepared, confident. This time Felix sounded as scared as Rhys was to be seen.
“You could try asking, he might say it.”
“You didn’t see his face the one time I did ask…”
Rhys scrambled back just in time to avoid his foster brother slamming his feet back on the ground. He’d gone too far out. That was close and reminded him how stupid it was to listen to the part of him that wanted to call out.
“It was as bad as Del’s face the first time she told us something before it happened I’m guessing,” Ryder sighed. The couch creaked as he stood up. Rhys closed his eyes, unwilling to see the steps moving around after his close call. That didn’t stop them from bouncing him.
Ryder’s steps got far enough Rhys was left still. The pop of a can opening came from above him. Probably what Ryder went to get at first, a drink for each of them. The silence weighed heavily in the room. Rhys thought it would suffocate him. He tried to think about what they said. That Delphia knew things before they happened.
It would explain a lot. How she sometimes showed up and left things right where he needed them when he was small. The front door always left unlocked after he’d snuck out when he needed to grow. It never made sense. If she knew…
“It was worse than that Ryder,” Felix’s voice was cold. It froze Rhys in the broken silence. “Like he’d die if I knew what was going on.”
The sound of aluminum crumpling filled the air. Whatever Felix was drinking spilled all over the floor. Rhys told his body to move. Run. If he didn’t they’d see him when they cleaned it up. His legs refused, the cold tone from Felix had locked his limbs down.
“Shit! Ryder bring me some paper towels!” Felix shouted.
Another bout of ringing in Rhys’s ears. It didn’t make him move. Neither did the fast, heavy steps that approached. The creak of the couch as Felix stood. The slam of his knee on the ground. The hands too close for comfort. None of it broke the spell that cold tone set on Rhys’s small body.
“Don’t forget under the couch.” Ryder’s voice felt far away. As if this was a dream he was about to wake up from.
Numbly Rhys realized the ground around his feet was wet. He waited. As the shadow covered the light. As massive paper towels slipped in and out. His pulse pounded in his ears. It nearly muted the call to ‘shine some light under here.’
Light blinded him. Usually he adjusted quickly, but not this time. It didn’t matter, he was caught. So he waited. As the paper towels pulled away. As golden eyes filled the space in front of him. As a deep breath was sucked in, it smelled kind of sweet. As a hand with thick fingers replaced those eyes and approached him.
He waited. For the pain as the fingers closed around him. For the regret or anger at his body’s betrayal. The way it wouldn’t listen when he wanted to run. He was terrified. That cold voice filled his mind. Cold aimed at him or the invisible attackers Felix pictured. He couldn’t be sure anymore…
“Rhys?” Felix’s voice was soft. The fingers around him didn’t grab. They surrounded him, but didn’t close. There was no escape.
“Felix, did you hit your head? Ryder’s voice was loud, jovial. “Rhys is small but not that small.”
“Get down here, and turn the flashlight off.”
“Don’t have to sound so mad.”
Another crash as Ryder’s knees hit the ground. Rhys’s heart hadn’t stopped pounding. He was pretty sure his body started shaking. Stupid legs still wouldn’t move. This would be what ended that dream from the day before. He couldn’t have a family when some of them hated him. Mom and dad had to stay Vitus and Dabria because he’d be leaving soon. If they didn’t kill him.
Silver eyes joined golden in staring at him. The blinding light was gone. Thin fingers reached forward. They touched his side, just where the tips of Felix’s ended. It made him jump. He couldn’t tell what would happen next. Either way his secret was out.
“Did we both hit our heads?” Ryder’s voice was almost inaudible. Even for Rhys. That made it a bit easier.
“...no,” Rhys said. If his dream was ending he was going to be a part of it. He wouldn’t watch it happen.
Felix’s fingers moved. Rhys stiffened, but they actually pulled away. Ryder’s fingers started to fill the empty space, but a noise from Felix stopped him. Rhys watched the two share a look before both hands were completely gone. Then the golden eyes were gone. The silver followed. Legs stayed visible, but there was a spot left in between the two normal people.
“Do… you want to come out?” Felix asked. It was awkward. Not something Rhys was used to.
“N-not really,” Rhys said. There was some shuffling. Both Ryder and Felix moved further from the couch.
“Is this better?” Ryder whispered.
Rhys wanted to say no again. To curl up on the cloth, away from the gigantic people. The ones he wanted to be his real brothers. When he managed to make his body move, it went forward. Towards them. Step by step he moved farther from the safety of the couch. Closer to the open area where two people would stare down at him. Two people who might not want him around anyway.
As soon as he was in the open, he heard them both suck in a breath. He felt stupid again. It would be a miracle if stupid managed to work out a second time. He felt even smaller than he was as Felix and Ryder loomed closer. It wouldn’t be long before they grabbed him. Squeezed him. Bruised him. It happened once. Though that was a younger kid who thought he was a toy… It would be worse this time.
“So… uh… do you want to talk to us?” Ryder asked. Felix leaned closer. Golden eyes narrowed as they studied Rhys. It made him shiver.
Rhys opened his mouth, but the words died as Felix stood up. The oldest of his foster siblings walked off. The steps, still heavy, made him lose his footing as he left. Ryder made a noise, a cough almost. The steps paused, but continued after a second barely any softer. It was enough he could climb to his feet at least.
“I guess you heard us talking,” Ryder let out an awkward laugh. Rhys nodded. It took a solid minute of silence before he realized Ryder hadn’t noticed his nod. Rhys looked up and saw Ryder looking completely away from him.
“I-I did,” Rhys said hoarsely. Ryder turned to look at him, moved closer. It was terrifying. Somehow more terrifying than Vitus. Rhys stumbled back, but managed to stay out from under the couch. “I-I said I did.”
Ryder looked sad. Before he could speak, Rhys was knocked off his feet again. Ryder looked up to stare at Felix as he approached. Thin fingers surrounded Rhys, it wasn’t reassuring. He wanted his parents. He wanted to get bigger. To stop wondering if this would get worse. When they’d be mean.
Ryder wrapped Rhys in his fingers. Rhys nearly screamed. Felix sat down, the weight would have thrown him without Ryder’s fingers. Right after they were gone. Rhys was left back on his own. No hands crowding him. Both of his foster brothers staring down at him.
“Felix, take it easy,” Ryder tried to laugh. Rhys could tell it was forced. Felix kept his eyes narrowed.
A shrug. Then hands were heading towards Rhys again. He wanted to back away. Wanted to run. Escape. Hide. His body wouldn’t listen. The hands stopped in front of him. Not touching him. Slowly opened and revealed clothes that looked a lot more comfortable than what he had on. Admittedly his current clothes were stiff from the night before.
“Here, it should fit. I always make something small first,” Felix whispered.
Rhys reached forward, grabbed the clothes and scrambled back under the couch. He changed quickly. These were a lot softer than what he had on. Warmer too. He felt more in control. Especially out of sight again. Easier than standing there, being stared at.
“So… is this why your clothes always get torn?” Felix asked. Rhys bit his lip.
“Do we scare you?” Ryder said. Rhys started to shake. They did, everyone did. Except… he kind of trusted Vitus and Dabria. They were so kind, maybe he could trust Felix and Ryder. “Is… this why you flinch all the time?”
Nothing. Rhys couldn’t make his voice work. How could he explain that their hands reminded him of pain? That even now his body ached from all the times people found him. Times people didn’t know where he was and did something by accident. He… he wanted his mom and dad.
“...you know, there’s something like a game we could play.”
“Felix what are you-” Rhys walked forward during the silence, Ryder started to nod under Felix’s gaze “Right… that game.”
Slowly Ryder and Felix lied down. Their heads side to side. Rhys inched closer as the two got comfortable. This didn’t seem like a game to him. His curiosity spurred him closer. He wound up close enough he could touch Felix’s skin.
“Rhys,” Felix started, it made him stumble back, “the game is easy. You can ask us anything or tell us to do anything. We can’t lie and we have to do what you say.”
“Of course you could walk away, we’re not allowed to do anything without an order. Consider us your dedicated knights,” Ryder laughed.
“So… if I say you can’t look at me?” Rhys asked.
“We can’t look at you.”
Felix turned his head to show his eyes were closed. That was… kind of nice. He started to feel stupid again. It felt like it could be fun. As if he could have the chance to see what normal people were like when he was this small.
“Th-then stay still.”
Rhys waited for a few seconds. Neither one moved. So, he walked over to Felix’s side. He tugged at the cloth of the massive shirt. No movement, not even a reaction. He pulled himself up, it was a little hard. Kind of fun too. Felix twitched and Rhys slid. Still he managed to start climbing up his brother… Were they brothers?
After a few minutes Rhys sat on Felix’s stomach, panting. He’d never done something like that before it was harder than he expected. He looked up towards Felix’s face. Eyes were still closed. He could sort of see Ryder’s too. He started walking again.
“Aren’t you mad at me?” he asked.
“Why would I be?” Felix said.
“I lied… about me. The clothes too.” Felix stayed still. Rhys kept walking towards his face. His feet sunk in a bit with each step. Felix was soft, it was kind of nice being up on top of him. Like the few times he got to stay in bed when he was small. “I ripped them… when I got bigger.”
“You can-” Ryder started. He cut himself off. That wasn’t part of the game. It made Rhys smile.
“I’m relieved. I thought it was something else.”
Rhys kept walking forward. Didn’t stop until his hands were on Felix’s chin. He was a bit scared this close, but pressed on. He climbed right onto Felix’s face. Crawled over his cheek to sit near his eyes. They stayed closed even then.
“Isn’t this worse? What if I get big and hurt you?” Rhys mumbled. That made Ryder shift, but he didn’t talk. Didn’t sit up.
Felix didn’t say anything either. Rhys took it as a reason to move. He stood on Felix’s cheek. Stared at the closed eyes. He was tempted to tell him to open them. Instead he walked to where Ryder’s head was pressed against Felix’s. Carefully Rhys stepped onto his other maybe brother. Both Felix and Ryder stiffened when he did.
“Ryder, are you mad at me?” he asked.
“Furious,” Ryder had a smile as he spoke. “You never told me you could do this. Imagine how much fun we could have with our games now.”
Rhys shivered at the idea. He knew it was meant in good fun, but that didn’t change what he knew it could mean. Ryder’s smile fell. He could feel the way his almost brother stiffened. The way the normal person held back from moving to probably grab Rhys. He found himself worried less about if any hands found him.
“What do you mean more fun?” Rhys asked. He couldn’t hide the fear in his voice.
“You could be the king yourself in chess. The adventurer fighting monsters, be the monsters even. Much more fun for us both.” Felix cleared his throat. “Of course, if you wanted to. Only if you wanted to.”
Rhys nodded to himself. Then walked over Ryder’s face. Ryder couldn’t stay still. He kept scrunching his nose. Rhys stumbled a few times. Fell to his knees just after passing Ryder’s nose. He slammed his hands on Ryder’s face with a smile.
“Stop moving, you're making it hard to walk,” Rhys said.
“Sorry, you’re tickling me. Maybe Felix should have brought you shorter pants,” Ryder laughed. Rhys climbed to his feet as Felix grumbled. Both stuck to the rules of this ‘game’.
After a few more attempts Rhys managed to reach Ryder’s chin. He jumped off to Ryder’s chest. It wasn’t as soft as Felix’s. Easier to walk on. He rushed down past where Ryder’s hands sat. A few stumbles as the chest rose and fell, but he made it. Looking down off the side it became a lot scarier to climb down. It wasn’t high enough he’d get hurt… At least he thought it wasn’t.
Rhys had to stay in control. He wanted this to work. For them to actually treat him like normal even now. So he had to climb down on his own. He started by lying flat on his stomach and crawling backwards towards Ryder’s side. As he did, he looked around and found Ryder’s hands curled into fists. Like he was forcing himself not to reach out…
That gave him the confidence for his next decision. He finished climbing down; more so he fell nearly there, but didn’t make enough of a grunt for Felix and Ryder to notice. He didn’t move at first. Took time to stare at the two giants. He could be big enough they’d look small to him. Another attempt to grow, but again it filled him with pain. He was about to be stupid.
A run back put distance between himself and Ryder before he said, “Sit up.”
Neither moved. He was too quiet. Another try.
“You both can sit up!” He shouted, hands cupped around his mouth. “J-just like before you were lying down!”
Felix moved first, probably confident Rhys wasn’t near. Ryder was a lot more careful. He placed his hands further out than normal, telegraphing where he’d go. It did start to look like they could have fun. Maybe he could have fun at any size.
Those thoughts fell away as Ryder started moving. Watching someone so close and so huge turn around. It made it easier to understand why others had so many issues with him. Usually they saw him bigger and waited until he got small to hurt him. Scared he’d hurt them instead. It made sense with how easy he was to hurt like this, but he’d never do that. He wasn’t going to be like the people he’d met all his life.
Once both Felix and Ryder were facing each other Rhys got moving. He ran right to the space between them he’d avoided earlier. A shiver ran down his spine as he looked up. Eyes closed, faces angled down. They were honest about this game. He… didn’t want to keep playing anymore.
“We… we can stop the game!” he said. There was a strange amount of relief that overtook him as golden and silver eyes looked down on him.
“Are you sure?” Felix asked. Rhys nodded. It was noticed this time. Another relief.
“Feeling better?” Ryder asked. Another nod. Ryder leaned back on his arms, away from Rhys.
“So… now what?”
“Now we maybe get you off the floor?”
“H-how?”
“You tell us.”
The idea was terrifying. They hadn’t hurt him yet. He stared at Felix’s eyes. It was like when he fixed the ripped clothes. Worry, but nothing cruel. No judgment or anger.
“Put your hand down and I, uhm, I can try to climb on,” Rhys said.
Felix nodded. The hand came down fast. Too fast. Rhys stumbled back. It didn’t make the hand disappear. The thick fingers towered nearby. It was hard to even consider moving towards them. His body responded though. Shaky steps forward until the heat of the skin was enough to make Rhys sweat.
He put his hands on the palm. He felt small, too small. Another attempt to grow, another bout of pain. One bad enough he almost screamed. If this stupid size thing of his made sense it would be easier. Better. He could be normal, he could have a family. He could be happy.
“Rhys, it’s ok. Let me help,” Felix’s voice made him shake. Warmth surrounded him. Immediately Rhys fought back, pushed against the skin and fingers. Against the things that could kill him in a moment. Against the things that always hurt him. At least until the night before.
“Felix stop you’re freaking him out. It didn’t work,” Ryder said. The warmth stayed close, but less suffocating.
“W-what do you mean it didn’t work?!” Rhys screamed. Now the terror was real. They were tricking him. He’d get hurt, bruised, trapped. Maybe Vitus and Dabria didn’t want to be his parents. Maybe they were tricking him too. Even if they were nice… Even if they said he could call them his mom and dad.
Rhys was left standing on the ground. The fingers were gone. Slowly the palm in front of him pulled away too. He fell right to his knees. It was easy to feel the burn on his skin of the eyes on him. It reminded him of too many things in the past. Times with his first family. Right after he learned he could change his size. Right after he got stuck too big and then too small…
“That was something we did with Delphia a long time ago,” Felix said. His voice was soft, warm. Easier to believe. “When she told us how she knew things she shouldn’t. It made her feel better.”
“We thought it might help. She only asked if we hated her. We should have known it was harder for you. We haven’t been your brothers your whole life like her,” Ryder said.
“We’re… brothers?” Rhys asked. He managed to look up. Gold and silver, wide as dinner plates stared down at him. Full of pure shock.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” Ryder’s fingers came down fast. Surrounded him. Closed in enough that Rhys started to struggle. He tried to grow, his body was wracked with pain, he was scared.
“Ryder!” The hand was gone. Rhys looked up, Felix held Ryder’s wrist in a tight grip. “Rhys, you’re just small. Nothing else changed.”
“But what if I was big?”
“Then you’d be like normal?”
Rhys shook his head. His whole body followed. That wasn’t it. They didn’t understand yet. None of them understood yet. He was so scared to admit it. Mom and dad… Dabria and Vitus… they’d change their minds too.
“No, not that big,” Rhys said. He felt as the two leaned closer. He couldn’t make his voice get any louder. “Bigger. Bigger than you two. Bigger than mom and dad. Bigger than the house.”
Echoing silence. He remembered all the tight grips. The bruises. The times he was made to stay in a jar, terrified he’d grow and get hurt. It would happen. His body ached as if the hands had already grabbed him. He wanted to get bigger. To be safe. Two fingers touched him and he screamed.
“Rhys!” Ryder and Felix said. He kept shaking, the fingers stayed against him. Tears fell from his eyes.
“Please don’t hurt me,” Rhys begged.
This time the fingers didn’t go away. Instead they increased. An entire fist wrapped around him. He couldn’t bring himself to fight this time. The warm, leathery skin was too much. More tears fell. The second they saw him he was at their mercy. Nothing would change. He’d just need to wait until he could grow again. Then he could run.
The warmth disappeared. Rhys fell, a scream caught in his throat. The freefall ended in a second. He met the soft cushion from the couch he honestly never thought he’d experience again. The two faces were right next to him. Metallic eyes staring at him. Still filled with worry.
“There, now we can’t hurt you even by accident,” Felix said. The smile on his face did help to calm Rhys down at least.
“Rhys, is that why you didn’t tell us?” Ryder asked. Rhys managed a nod. “We decided after you came here to be your brothers. Mom and dad didn’t ask us to, so we’re going to keep being your brothers even if you get placed with another family.”
“It’ll just be our turn to play the game if you get that big,” Felix said. Rhys tilted his head to the side.
“Which game?” Rhys asked. Felix had a big smile.
“You do what we say, answer our questions without lying, until we end the game. Makes it fair, right?”
Rhys nodded. The two smiled at him. It didn’t feel as stupid to trust them. They didn’t really care. This could work. Maybe… maybe he had a family now. Felix and Ryder shifted to look away from him. Towards the tv. He was curious. Smiled widely as it flashed to life with a movie the two told him about.
“Movie night sound good?” Ryder asked.
“Yeah, yeah I think so,” Rhys said. He tried again to get a bit bigger. It didn’t work, his body hurt, but he was ok with it now. As the movie intro started Rhys felt the doubt eating at him starting to ebb. He was even looking forward to seeing Delphia.