There are two holographic screens now. On the new one, I see the upper body of a man who looks slightly older than Henry. The left side of his black hair and strong face is illuminated by red light. His name is Timber, and he’s sitting in a quiet office building.
He’s not quiet.
“I’m gone for half a morning and you erase Lance?” he shouts.
“Don’t be pessimistic, Timber,” Professor Grant says in an upbeat tone. “Lance’s episodic memory is damaged, but his procedural memory seems to be intact. His semantic memory warrants further investigation.”
“Damaged? Does that mean it can’t be fixed?”
“Each and every giant power can be dispelled with its appropriate countermeasure. The Starving Saber should know that better than anyone.”
“I know that Henry is a world-ending threat like me. His sizable energy can’t be dispelled like a snot-nosed slum commoner’s.”
I don’t understand what any of this means. All I know is that I don’t want Henry to leave me, which is why I’m on me knees, clutching his leg. I’m not crying anymore, but I don’t want him to push me away again.
Professor Grant maintains his upbeat tone. “I thought you were working yourself to the bone to shed the world-ending label. A bit harsh to use it on Henry, don’t you think?”
Henry’s wolf ears are flat against his head, and his eyes are downcast. “Don’t be mad. You’ll scare Lance,” he says softly.
“Henry’s right, Timber. Lance soothed his sobbing my muscle worshiping Henry’s leg. He needs comfort, not anger.”
Timber’s face turns from a scowl to a frown, then settles into lukewarm composure. From his left side, he pulls a cage of glowing red energy into the screen view. There’s a small young man with white hair inside.
“I’ll ask the giant registration workers to hasten my appointment. I’ll be home as soon as I’m finished with this crop circle idiot.”
“Actually,” Professor Grant says, “it might be better to rendezvous at the laboratory.”
“Lance’s suffering isn’t a research opportunity!”
“Suffering? For all we know, this mishap could end as Lance’s most fortunate adventure since he encountered a certain planet eater.”
“Are you trying to calm me down or piss me off?”
“If you need to be upset with someone, better it be me for the time being. Let’s give Henry and Lance some private time.”
Timber sighs. “Henry, keep Lance calm and explain everything to him. I’ll try to be at the laboratory by 5 PM.”
“Explain everything?” Henry says. “That’s way too much!”
“Not everything about everything! Tell him about the three of us. If he has questions, don’t say anything dumb.”
“Henry,” Professor Grant says, “I recommend you continue to soothe Lance with size play methods that don’t strain his sizable circuits.”
“Like muscle worship?”
“Anything that satisfies his small space instincts without energetic exertion or psychological duress. Gentle size play. Grow large enough that he feels protected by your presence, not dominated.”
“Right. I’ll make sure he’s not intimidated...but he keeps begging me not to leave him alone. What should I do about that?”
“Don’t leave him alone?” Timber interjects. “He sounds like you in a bad mood.”
Professor Grant types another note. “Timber, you and I should talk further.”
Timber sucks in a breath and looks to his side. “Henry, sorry I lost my temper. I talk to you and Lance differently, but I want to protect you the same.”
Hearing Timber’s words stirs a new feeling in my core, a mix of comfort and longing. I want to know more about him.
Henry raises his eyes enough to peek at Timber’s screen. “Is that why you train me so hard?”
“I’ll give you a belly rub when Lance is back to normal.”
For a moment, Henry winces and his shoulders stiffen. The sensing power within me, one of many things I don’t understand, tells me he’s embarrassed.
***
The two screens blip off as Timber and Professor Grant say their goodbyes. With no screens to hold my eyesight, my gaze points up at the ceiling while I hug Henry’s muscular leg.
“The ceiling is so high,” I say. “Is this really a human-sized house?”
Henry’s wolf ears perk as he looks down at me. “It looks high when you’re way down there.” He flexes a bicep. “How’s the view?”
The two of us are barefoot and wearing shorts for warm weather. I’m wearing a blue cotton T-shirt that hugs my chest and arms, while Henry is bare-chested.
My eyes take in his muscular form from head to toe. “You look big.” I squeeze his leg like I’m testing the softness of a pillow. “And stronger than me.”
“Is squeezing my leg fun?”
I blush.
“Don’t be shy. You can squeeze me all day, anywhere! The smart guy said it’s a safe way to help you calm down.”
His skin is warm. “Is it really okay? You won’t push me away?”
Henry playfully groans as he reaches down and picks me up with both hands. He holds me high and smiles up at me.
“On any other day you’d be the one pushing me away, but only ‘cause I tease you. It’s a game we play.”
When he found me in the hallway a few minutes ago he was 6’2, and then he grew himself. He’s a tall muscle hunk holding me like a lion cub, yet the ceiling is still far above my head.
“How big are you now?” I ask.
“Well, you’re 5’7, so I made myself 7’7. It’s a good size for hugs.” He pulls me down so we’re eye to eye, and his voice becomes sultry. “If you want, I can grow bigger.”
My mind flashes back to my earliest memory. “Base… height. You mentioned that earlier. What is it?”
“Base height? That’s how big you are without sizable energy. Yours is 5’7, so making myself two feet bigger gives you easy access to my happy place.”
“Happy place?”
Henry tenderly squeezes me twice. “Where my pecs and abs meet. When you’re standing, you can get on your tippy toes and lick my nips, or dive down a bit and taste my abs.”
I look down at his body. It’s like looking at a god. Am I really married to someone like this?
My separation anxiety goes away, but my confusion remains.
“I don’t understand anything. I don’t even know who I am.”
Henry’s ears twitch as his eyes show inquisitive concern. “Not ready for muscle worship yet? That’s okay. I’ll tell you about yourself first.”
Henry slowly sets my feet on the floor and flexes one of his pecs directly in front of my eyes. “You can feel me whenever you’re ready. Till then, let’s visit your favorite room.”
Henry leads me out of the living room, giving me a view of his muscular back. I want to hug him from behind, but if I do, I’m not sure I’ll be able to let go.
When we reenter the hallway, he stops and turns toward me. He closes the distance between us to the point I can feel his body heat.
I crane my head up to look at his face. His brow is furrowed like he’s solving a rocket science equation in his head. Then, he smiles and rustles the top of my head with his big hand.
Henry turns his back to me again and kneels low. “Walking is boring. Come on, I’ll let you ride piggy back.”
“Piggy back? You don’t have to do that.”
“Piggy back rides are fun! You like feeling my muscles, yeah? Well, I like when you get grabby, so this is my favorite way to walk around human-sized areas with you.”
Grabby? This is too good to be true, so I won’t believe it fully.
With Henry’s invitation, I palm his broad back. It’s warm and firm, and I have to stop myself from kissing it.
Should I want to stop myself?
“Ah, that feels good,” Henry sighs. “I can survive a thousand sparring matches with Timber if I feel your hands after.”
Sparring matches? Survive? What type of marriage is this?
I climb onto his back and wrap my arms around his sturdy neck. He rises faster than I was prepared for.
“Space jet!” he blurts out.
“Wha—“
Henry dashes through the halls and up the stairs of the house, making an obnoxious droning sound with his voice. I shut my eyes and hold on tight. Is this what size play means?
We slow to a stop. “Destination reached, captain Lance. Welcome to your study.”
I open my eyes and see that we’re in a large and cozy carpeted room of bookcases, computers, and what appears to be a setup for filming videos.
“My study?” I try to make sense of this new environment. “Am I a professor too?”
“Professor? Eh, you probably will be someday, but what you do now is way cooler.”
Henry sets my bare feet on the carpet. “We’re college students, but when classes end you come here and give yourself more homework.”
I walk to the side of the room, scanning the contents of the first bookcase. Anatomy at Several Sizes. Encyclopedia of Giant and Tiny Techniques. The Stomping Centuries.
“Have I read these books?”
“You’ve read them more than once. When Timber spars with me outside, you’re in here studying tiny techniques.”
“This area looks like a recording studio. What’s it for?”
I sense anxiety from Henry. “You make videos to teach the world about size changers. And you give speeches. And you write things.”
“You don’t want to tell me, do you?”
He’s struggling with something. “I… I’ve gotta tell you everything. That’s what Timber said.”
“You say you have to, but you don’t want to. Is there something bad about me?”
“No! You’re the best human in the known universe! You’re a hero even without Size Support.”
Henry goes to one of the computers and turns on a holographic screen. It takes me a few seconds to realize it’s a video of me.
Henry walks to my side and places a strong hand on my back. “When Professor Grant took me in, you said you wanna make a world where no giant is feared and no tiny is hated.”
Henry grabs my waist and lovingly hugs me against his giant frame. His anxiety is gone.
“You totally rocked my world,” he says. “I think that’s the moment I fell in love.”
Feeling Henry’s mind relax helps me relax into his embrace.
“Wow. I knew a lot, didn’t I?” I say.
Henry nods. “You’re a genius, and I’m a 22-year-old taking freshman classes. But I don’t care long as I have you and Timber.”
“Timber held that glowing red cage. Does he have giant powers too?”
“Yeah. He’s a lot better than me, but he says I can beat him if I put in the work. It’s a weird relationship.”
“Am I a giant too? Is that why I have the power to feel your emotions?”
Henry looks dumbfounded for a moment, then bursts into laughter.
“Oh man! All this talk and we never told you you’re a tiny?”
Henry’s laughter soothes the part of me that senses emotions. “Do tinies have powers too? I feel your emotions all the time.”
Henry stops laughing.
His eyes tell me he feels surprised, and my emotion sense confirms it. I also sense a twinge of guilt from him, but rapidly blooms into a feeling of gratitude.
“That’s good... it’s good that you always feel my emotions.”
He squeezes me in a bear hug, forcing me confront my reluctant attraction to his muscles. “Of all your tiny techniques, that’s my favorite. Never stop, okay?”
I can’t speak with him pressing my face against his godly torso, but I manage to mumble an okay into his happy place. He responds by squeezing me tighter.
This feels so good I might melt. Are these my emotions, or his?
I hug him back, and he strengthens his hold further. My body can’t take much more, so I try to push him away. After what feels like five minutes, he releases me from his vice.
I take a sweet breath of air, then look up at my 7’7 husband’s face. A tear is rolling down his cheek.
“Sorry,” Henry says. “I got carried away. You reminded me of something, and I forgot to hold back.”
Henry sniffles.
“If I forget my strength again, tell me I’m a bad dog and I’ll snap out of it.”
“You don’t seem like a bad dog.”
Henry’s ears perk and he blushes.
“Nah, I’m the baddest dog. But you put up with me.”
I step away and continue exploring the study. “I don’t know much about you, but you seem like you have a lot of love for the old me. I’m sorry I’m not him.”
“You’ll get your memory back soon, but it doesn’t really matter. The person inside’s the same; I can tell.”
“How can you tell something like that?”
“Uh, well… you smell the same. And your combat pose is the same. The way you touch my muscles is the same.”
“Is that all?”
“The more time I spend with you, the more same you act. That’s how I can tell you’re still the same deep down.”
I trace my footsteps back to the first bookcase and pick up The Stomping Centuries.
“You said my dream is to create a world where no giant is feared.”
“Yeah, and for no tiny to be hated. It’s awesome!”
“When I met you, I was terrified. You looked like you were going to eat me.”
Henry’s ears collapse. “We were size playing. It’s hard for ordinary people to understand, but for size changers like us, it makes us happy. It keeps us from going wild.”
“When I feared you, did I hurt your feelings?”
“Hurt me? You...uh… that doesn’t matter! All I wanna do is take care of you! It’s not like I’m mad or anything. And I wasn’t hurt!”
I flip through the book and stop on an illustration of a giant crushing a building with his bare feet. I turn the page and see a giant swallowing a person whole.
I close the book and look up and Henry.
“I sense you’re not a danger to me, but there’s more to you than that. I’m a tiny, you’re a giant. I’m a human, you’re a Wolfian.”
Henry is getting nervous again. “Yeah, three-species marriages aren’t super common. Timber and me are stronger, but truth is, you’re the leader of our pack.”
“Three-species?”
“Yeah, Timber isn’t human or Wolfian. He’s a real alien, not an alien descendant like me.”
I make eye contact with Henry. “You feel nervous, don’t you? It makes me nervous too, but I think I can bear it. There’s more I need to know. Henry, what type of person are you?”
Author’s Note: New Chapter Next Saturday!
