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arc852 · 1 month ago

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Third to Double

Summary: Jimmy has just woken up tiny with no idea where he is. Also, why is Tango here?!

Word Count: 3319

Warnings: Slight fear and panic

AO3 Link

This was commissioned by the lovely @thegayfay! Thank you so much and I hope the rest of you guys enjoy it!

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Jimmy stirred a little in his bed, pressing himself further into the mattress. He didn’t want to get up quite yet, because getting up meant facing the day as a red life and he wasn’t quite ready for all of that again. But his brain was already starting to wake up and he groaned at the realization. Besides, if he didn’t get up soon, then Scott would surely come to get him and that would just be embarrassing.

He’s had quite enough of being embarrassed already, thank you very much.

With that thought in mind, he stretched his limbs and reached out to pull the covers off of himself. For some strange reason though, no matter how hard he pulled, the blanket stayed where it was. He…also couldn’t find the end of it, reaching far to his right and then his left and still finding more and more blanket. Jimmy groaned and finally opened his eyes to see what the heck was going on, only to be met with the dark.

Jimmy blinked and tried to make out what was happening. Was that…his blanket? Was he under the covers in bed? That would explain why the air was so stiff, something he had just noticed now that he was more awake.

But something was still wrong. Despite realizing he was under his covers, the space around him seemed to go on forever in every direction. It was weird and not at all something that should be possible. He racked his still half-asleep brain for an answer. Maybe…his perception was just off?

Yeah, that had to be it. Waking up underneath his covers, which already was pretty unusual for him, was probably just throwing him off. He reached up to try and pull the covers down and off but he was met with the same problem as before. No matter how far he stretched, he could only feel more blanket.

Grumbling, Jimmy decided to scoot himself up instead. He felt like he was scooting up forever though, clinging to the blanket above him and waiting for the end of it to come. The longer it took, the more confused Jimmy became. Surely he should have reached the end by now. Was Grian playing some sort of trick on him?

Jimmy huffed when he realized that’s what must have been happening. Grian had, somehow, turned the space underneath his blanket into some sort of pocket dimension and he was probably watching Jimmy scrambling around trying to find an exit that didn’t actually exist. He wasn’t even sure if that was something Grian could do, but his brother was full of surprises. Jimmy was just about to call out to Grian, demanding that he be let go, when he finally saw light. Jimmy began moving quicker, scooting his body and finally reaching the edge of the blanket. He pushed it off his head, exposing his body to the outside.

Jimmy froze, the grin that had made its way onto his face at the victory dropping as soon as he noticed the rest of his surroundings.

Everything…everything was huge.

Jimmy couldn’t help but stare off into the distance, at the blanket that seemed to go on for miles. It was no wonder it took him forever to get out of there…It was no wonder it had been too heavy for him to push up. What was happening? Why was everything so big?

A loud, low moo caught him off guard, causing a noise of surprise to escape him. He whipped his head over to his right, his eyes wide as he took in the pen of cows not too far off. Though it seemed like miles away in Jimmy’s diminutive state, he was at least aware enough to know that wasn’t actually the case.

But the cows in question made Jimmy realize something very important. Not only was he small but this wasn’t his base. Jimmy didn’t have a pen of cows attached to his house like that, nor was his base shaped like this. Jimmy’s eyes darted around, trying to make sense of it all. Was this really a prank from Grian? Could Grian even do all of this?

The sinking pit in Jimmy’s stomach that was telling him no only made his brain scramble more.

A loud noise cut him out of his thoughts, along with the bed he was still sitting up in moving almost violently. Jimmy gripped the sheets of the bed, the movement feeling like an earthquake. The noise happened again, the movement continuing, and Jimmy finally turned his head in the direction of it.

Jimmy froze as he took in the giant sleeping next to him.

Jimmy scrambled back, fully uncovering himself from the blanket. His breathing increased and his heart raced as he could only compare how tiny he was to the massive being. He had to get out of here, had to get away before the giant-

The giant stirred again, the source of the earthquake, and let out some more muffled noises. Jimmy couldn’t help but look back again, taking in the striking features. Hair that wisped with flames, fangs that were visible when the giant yawned, pointed ears…

He recognized this giant.

The realization hit him suddenly but he couldn’t deny it. He may have just met the guy, and barely at that, within the third life server, but even he would remember the guy who had fire for hair.

The giant sleeping next to him was Tango.

Now Jimmy had new questions rolling around in his head, like how he had gotten to be here with Tango in the first place? He had certainly not been here when he had gone to sleep last night, that much he had already known. But how had he moved? Had someone moved him? Jimmy shivered at just the thought of being moved without his knowledge, especially like this.

The giant, Tango, moved again and this time the movement was paired with Tango’s eyes peeling themselves open. Jimmy watched, frozen in fear, as one of Tango’s hands reached up and rubbed at his eyes. He yawned and the glint of those fangs again made a shiver run down Jimmy’s spine.

“Jimmy…?” Tango called out, turning his head and furrowing his brows. Jimmy, for a brief moment, thought he had been seen already but no, Tango was looking too far up and now out into the rest of the room. “Jimmy?” He called out again, sounding less groggy this time.

Why was Tango calling out his name like he had expected to see him first thing in the morning? Had Tango done this to him? But no, that made no sense. If Tango had, then he would have known to look down a bit more. Jimmy was so confused…

Tango moved to sit up, stretching his arms as he did so and Jimmy couldn’t help the small squeak of fear escape his lips at the sight. Jimmy slammed a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Tango paused, looked around again, and then slowly glanced down toward the bed and right where Jimmy was sitting.

Tango’s eyes widened and Jimmy felt himself stop breathing as they both stared at each other for a good minute.

“Jimmy?” Tango asked again, but this time his voice was low. “What…?” Tango trailed off, as if not knowing how to finish the question. But Jimmy wasn’t focused on the barely started sentence. No, Jimmy was all too focused on the way Tango lifted his hand up and started to hesitantly reach out toward him.

That was enough to get Jimmy moving again, his mind screaming at him to get away from the incoming hand. The hand that was far bigger than his entire body. Jimmy’s breathing became rapid and he started to scramble backwards, putting as much distance away from the giant as he could, even as Tango’s hand had halted in mid-air.

“Whoa, Jimmy, it’s okay. It’s just me. I-” Tango cut himself off, his eyes going wide as he stared at Jimmy, who hadn’t stopped moving. “Watch out!” Tango suddenly called out but it hadn’t been soon enough as Jimmy barely processed the warning before he scrambled right off the edge of the bed.

Jimmy screamed, shutting his eyes tight as he entered a freefall. He barely had time to process himself falling more than that though because he found himself hitting the ground a lot sooner than he would have thought, slamming against the surface that only mildly stole the air out of his lungs. It took Jimmy a second to realize he hadn’t actually reached the floor and he opened his eyes wide as he realized what that had to mean.

Sure enough, looking down showed that he was pressed into skin.

“I-I gotcha. I gotcha.” Tango said and along with his words, his fingers curled in a little. Jimmy’s heart jumped into his throat at the sight and he cowered. As he was curled up into a ball in the center of the giant palm, Jimmy felt himself being moved. Peeking out between his fingers told him that he was now closer to Tango’s chest. “Are you okay?” Tango asked and a curled finger gently prodded him.

Jimmy gasped and flinched away, almost falling off Tango’s hand in the process. “Whoa!” Tango brought his other hand up, catching onto Jimmy as he fell backwards. He was now spread across both of Tango’s palms and looking up at his face upside down. Despite the position, Jimmy could still make out his expression and was almost surprised to see how worried Tango was. “Jimmy? Come on, are you alright?”

The concern emanating off the blaze hybrid finally broke Jimmy out of his fearful haze and he took in slow and deep breaths to try and calm himself down. Tango simply let him and once Jimmy felt his heart return to a normal speed, he sat up and turned around to face Tango properly. “...Tango?” Jimmy asked without really knowing why. Perhaps he just wanted to make sure it was really him but whatever the case, his questioning tone was answered with a nod.

“Yeah, of course. It’s me.” Tango looked a bit relieved now that Jimmy wasn’t flinging himself off of high places in fear but he still looked concerned with the overall situation. Jimmy couldn’t blame him, he was too. “What happened? How did you…shrink?”

Jimmy gave a small shrug. “I…I have no idea. I don’t know how I got here either!” Jimmy exclaimed, glancing around the room once again and confirming that yes, this was definitely not the place he had gone to sleep in the previous night.

But Tango only looked confused by this. “What do you mean? Here? As in the ranch?”

“The ranch?” Jimmy asked. He hadn’t heard that name before. And he was pretty sure that wasn’t the name of Tango’s base. Or how it looked. Wasn’t Tango’s base in a swamp?

Tango was looking more concerned, and confused, by the second. “Yeah, the ranch. Our ranch. Don’t you remember? It makes sense you woke up here considering you fell asleep here last night. The only weird thing is this new size of yours.”

Jimmy blinked. “What? No, no, I definitely fell asleep in my own base. The one right across from Scott’s!”

“What? From Scott…?” Tango trailed off, his brows furrowing. He was suddenly looking at Jimmy a lot more intensely. “And why are you wearing…?” Again, he trailed off, bringing Jimmy up a bit closer to his face. Jimmy squirmed under the blaze hybrid’s gaze but tried to keep himself from scrambling backwards and away from it. Tango’s fingers came upon him and Jimmy couldn’t hold back the flinch as they tugged down on his hoodie. “...Why are you wearing your Captain America hoodie?”

Jimmy was momentarily startled out of his fear by the question. “My hoodie?” He looked down at it. “I always have this hoodie on?” Jimmy said and it was true. This was the main thing he tended to wear, especially when he was out with friends.

“No, you did but you told me you got rid of it. You usually wear a blue jacket with a white top nowadays.” Tango tried to explain to him.

“I…But I’ve never-” Jimmy shook his head, pressing his palms to his forehead. What was going on?

Tango was silent for a minute and looking up at him showed he was in deep thought. Suddenly, his eyes focused on Jimmy once again, a look of something in them that Jimmy couldn’t identify. But it had him nervous all over again. “Jimmy…what server are we on?”

Jimmy bit his lip. He knew the answer of course, but the way Tango asked…Jimmy had a sinking feeling deep in his stomach. “W-Well, it’s Third Life…right?”

The look on Tango’s face alone was enough for Jimmy to realize that, somehow, the answer was wrong.

“No, Jimmy, this is…we’re in Double Life.” Tango gently tried to correct. Jimmy blinked, the name not ringing any bells.

“We’re…in the second game already?” Jimmy asked, though he hadn’t even known there would be a second game. They were all still getting used to the first, playing it out to see how it would go.

Tango winced. “Uh, actually, it’s the third game. Last Life was…was the second game.” Tango finished lamely, seemingly realizing how confusing the names of the games and their placements could be. And he was right, because Jimmy was very confused.

“Wait, Double Life is the third game…but Last Life was the second…I guess it makes sense if Third Life was the first one…” Jimmy kept starting and stopping half made thoughts, trying to make sense of it all. His only conclusion was that Grian needed a better naming system.

Well, that wasn’t his only conclusion. His other take away from all this was, somehow, someway, he had not only been shrunk down in size but he had someone been sent…to the future? Into yet another life game, one called Double Life.

“So…this is the future then?” Jimmy asked, looking up at Tango with big eyes. Tango could only nod.

“I mean, to you, yeah. It, uh, kind of seems that way at least.” Technically, it could also have been a case of amnesia but that didn’t make a lot of sense when you took into account the change in clothes and the tiny size.

“How!? How has this happened?” Jimmy cried out, planting his face into his palms.

“I have no idea but…maybe we can go ask Grian? He might know, being the admin and all, right?” Tango suggested and Jimmy thought for a moment. If this really wasn’t Grian, which he was starting to suspect less and less, then at the very least he might know what to do. Might even be able to get him back to his normal size and his correct time. He didn’t really want Grian seeing him like this but he didn’t really see another option at this point.

“Yeah, he might be our best bet.” Jimmy agreed and Tango nodded.

“Alright, let me just get ready then really quick.” Tango said and then suddenly there was a thumb snaking over Jimmy’s lap. He jumped as the huge appendage invaded his space, his shaking picking back up again at just how big it was in comparison. Tango seemed to notice Jimmy’s sudden fear and quickly lifted his thumb off.

“Sorry! I just, uh, I didn’t want you falling or anything. I thought it would be more secure for you, I’m sorry.” Tango apologized profusely but as Jimmy calmed down, he realized Tango was probably right in that regard.

“No! No, it’s okay. You can…do that.” Jimmy winced at his own words but Tango paused in his apologies.

“...Are you sure?” Tango asked and when Jimmy nodded, Tango carefully settled his thumb back over Jimmy’s lap.

Now that he knew it had been coming, it was a lot less fear inducing. It was still unnerving seeing just how much of his lap the appendage overtook but Jimmy reminded himself it was for his safety. With Jimmy secure, Tango finally got up and out of bed, stretching his back slightly as he did so. He carefully set Jimmy down on the nearby crafting table they were using as a nightstand and then gathered some new clothes for himself to change into.

Jimmy turned around for Tango’s privacy and picked at his hoodie strings as more questions started coming to mind now that he wasn’t completely terrified out of his mind. “Hey, um, Tango?” He called out.

“Yeah?” Tango said, the sounds of fabric rusling accompanying him.

“So, if I woke up here, and I, or my future self, went to bed here, then…are we a team this season?” The question might have had an obvious answer, but Jimmy was still curious to hear it from Tango himself.

Tango was silent for a moment and Jimmy almost turned around to see what was going on, but then Tango spoke. “Well, yeah, but, we’re…kind of a bit more than that?” Tango said with a slight laugh. “You can turn around now, by the way.”

Jimmy did so, a look of confusion clear on his face. “More than that? What does that mean?” His first thought was toward Scott, and how they had become ‘husbands’ as well as teammates for the game. Is that what Tango meant?

“Well, Double Life has a slightly different mechanic than third life. It’s still the same amount of lives but…everyone is soulbound to one other person.” Tango explained and it took Jimmy a second to process exactly what Tango was implying.

“Wait…Tango, are you saying we’re soulmates?” Jimmy flushed slightly at the word itself and even more so when Tango nodded, a small smile on his face.

“Yeah, we share health and damage but it’s been…really fun.” The way Tango was so utterly genuine with that statement made something in Jimmy’s heart soar. Even Scott, who was supposed to be his teammate and husband, didn’t really talk about him like that. Sometimes, he even felt more like a burden with Scott, especially since he had been brought down to being a red life so early on in the game.

But here Tango was, saying that being soulmates with Jimmy was fun and wearing that smile…if this was his future, Jimmy couldn’t wait to actually experience it.

“Oh. That’s…cool.” Jimmy said and winced at how lame he sounded. Tango just laughed though, and not in the way that meant he was making fun of Jimmy. But a genuine, innocent laugh.

“It is. I promise.” Tango said and winked, causing Jimmy to flush even more. Yeah, he was very much looking forward to this future.

“Are you ready to go? People will be waking up soon and then it’ll be even harder to get Grian’s help.” Tango said and Jimmy nodded, standing up and only flinching slightly this time as Tango put his hand down in front of Jimmy. At least he wasn’t being grabbed. He really did appreciate that.

He carefully climbed onto Tango’s hand and Tango lifted him up, holding him close to his chest. So close, in fact, that Jimmy could feel Tango’s heartbeat. Surprisingly, Jimmy couldn’t help but notice how it aligned with his own.

“Hopefully Grian can help.” Tango muttered one last time before heading out and towards what looked like a base in the shape of a cake. Jimmy couldn’t help but hope too, that Grian would be able to get him back to normal and where he belonged.

But as he settled against Tango’s chest, listening to both of their synced heartbeats, he found that he didn’t mind if he had to wait a bit longer to do so. Not if it meant staying with Tango just a little bit longer.

#g/t #giant/tiny #life series g/t #life series #fic #shrinking #tiny jimmy #commission

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