#also I didn't read any replies other than skmayor's until today

[awkwardgtace]

Secrets Exposed

Day 31 Free Day. Well I am insane so here's the first one of today's stories. thank you @skmayor for giving me an idea that I wound up wanting to do as both familial gt and romantic gt!

Rhys has a secret his foster parents just saw so he runs

Secrets Exposed

Rhys had to run. If he didn’t get away they’d find out too much and they couldn’t find out any more. His body had started to burn long before he got to the woods. He was going to lose it soon. It would leave everyone upset. No one could know what he really was. They almost caught him, well they did catch him. So he had to get away.

“Rhys stop!” Vitus called. Usually he would stop, but he couldn’t. They would hurt him now. Everyone always hurt him, he didn’t belong. He never belonged.

“Rhys! Let’s go home!” Dabria yelled. She sounded wrong. Her voice was wrong… It was too close. He had to move faster.

Thunder crashed from the sky. The storm would make it easier to lose them. He’d hide, this wasn’t the first time anyone saw exactly what he could do. It was the first time in a foster family. Up until now the other foster parents would just complain about his behavior. Too destructive and always disappearing. It wasn’t on purpose. Sometimes they just made him so angry and then he’d get big… Or they’d make him so scared and he’d get too small.

A branch brushing against his head made him gasp. He was too big again. If he didn’t get smaller it would leave too much of a trail. It was hard to calm himself enough to get small. They would find him, they might hurt him. It almost felt like he’d found a family this time. Brothers, a sister, and parents…

“Rhys, please!” Dabria called again. 

Rhys tripped over his own feet. A scream escaped him as he fell to the ground. It should have been a quick fall and back on his feet, but his power decided to work again. He fell and fell and fell until he landed heavily on the cold dirt. It was hard to push himself up, but when he did he saw the same tree he’d touched towering far overhead. Tears fell from his eyes, he’d been doing so good too.

“Rhys!” Vitus’s shout vibrated his body. If they found him now how would they act? Kill him? Someone else tried once, but they failed. He was lucky it had already hit a point where people thought they were insane. He was just put in the foster system. Thankfully all their claims were ignored.

It felt like a miracle when he was sent to Vitus and Dabria. They introduced him to Felix and Ryder right away… The three of them would be brothers. Then Delphia… She was older than him, but acted like he was the big sibling. It was almost like she knew there was something about him that was different. She would just smile and check on him. Ask him if he was ok, it made him feel wanted.

Another crash of thunder deafened him. Using all the strength he had he pulled himself towards some tree roots. Things were going so well. He fought with Felix sometimes, but it was always fine in the end. Felix even helped him fix clothes he ripped… He helped without asking anything. Even the times it was clearly a tear that didn’t make sense.

More thunder, Rhys whimpered. Ryder would play games with him. Video games and anything he came up with. It was so fun. Ryder had a bunch of fake weapons for them to use, he made a lot of them too. Felix was going to help them make costumes to go to events…

A crash that was too close, one that couldn’t be thunder. Rhys tried to disappear into the tree. Dabria would have him paint with her. They’d spy on the others sometimes too. The best were the times she’d let him grab a snack before dinner. Usually it was when he’d grown that day, it always left him so hungry. Dabria didn’t even care, she would just smile and make him promise not to tell.

A series of crashes that surrounded where he was, they couldn’t find him. Vitus was nice too. At first Rhys thought he was terrifying. Eyes that saw too much, Delphia had them too. It was wrong though, Vitus was nice. He’d help when Rhys struggled with homework, and that was a lot. The few times he broke something Vitus would fix it before anyone else found out.

“Rhys!” Dabria and Vitus called his name at the same time. The loud voices were right around him… Right above him. They’d kill him if they found him. He was small and vulnerable. He held his breath to try and stay hidden. Not a single sound. It would be fine.

“Damn it,” Vitus growled. Rhys almost yelped when a loud slam shook the tree he hid beneath. “Where did he go? His steps stopped here.”

“We’ll find him,” Dabria’s voice was still wrong. Almost… sad. “We’re not letting him run away.”

Rhys hugged himself. They were going to hurt him. If only he hadn’t gotten comfortable. Everyone was supposed to be out. He wasn’t supposed to have anyone else in the house. He wasn’t even supposed to be home. It was the perfect time to just let go a bit, get a little bigger. Just big enough that nothing would break, but he wouldn’t feel tense. It would be obvious when anyone got home and he’d be the right size again.

Another set of crashes near him. Muffled voices and someone running off. Maybe he could wait them out. He closed his eyes. They weren’t supposed to be home. It should have been fine for him to sneak out of his room for a snack. Size didn’t matter when no one was home. He hadn’t calmed down since they said his name… since they saw him.

“Where did you go…?” Vitus mumbled again. A new crash as the man sat on the ground nearby. That didn’t make sense. They should keep looking. If he was alone he could try to get bigger and run. Avoid being big enough to leave tracks… He was stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

A new bang of thunder caught him off guard. A shout left him and the world stopped. Maybe Vitus didn’t hear. Maybe… maybe the thunder was too loud or they’d think it was impossible. He was supposed to be big, not small. A new crash, a crash way too close landed near him. A new scream came out. There wasn’t an escape. Not when the crash came from the hand near him.

Rhys curled up as small as he could. The hand would come in and grab him. Squeeze him until he cried. Then, if he was lucky, he’d get a chance to get big again. A chance to run. Heat from the hand came close, he couldn’t stop his tears as fingers started to close in. If only he wasn’t so stupid.

“Rhys?” Vitus’s voice was quiet. Rhys knew it was a lie. If he answered, the massive fingers would close around him. Squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until- “Are you hurt?”

It had to be a trick. He wouldn’t be stupid again. They would hurt him, kill him… He lost the first family he thought he had in a long time. All because he decided to be home when he let go for once. He should have just run the first time someone caught on. It would be smarter to give up on living with normal people.

“Can you move? Should I grab you? I don’t want to hurt you more if you got hurt.” The steady rumble was cruel. He heard how angry the man was before. The tree shook from his anger. It didn’t matter. A sigh actually blew over him and convinced Rhys to look at the human near him.

It wasn’t what he expected. The green eyes were filled with worry. The white hair had come undone and fell into the mud. Rhys didn’t even realize the rain started. Slowly he looked up, the fingers weren’t prepared to grab him. They gave him a shelter of pale skin as rain pelted it. Keeping him dry.

“Rhys, what’s going on? You can talk to us,” another rumble of the commanding voice. It couldn’t be real. Still Rhys was going to be stupid again. He sat up, only noticing then how bad his ankle hurt. The big worried eyes didn’t move. “I can get Dabria back here. I know she’s easier to talk to.”

It was stupid. Rhys was stupid. Yet he shook his head. He stared at the worried eyes for too long. Nothing changed. Even as the mud grew worse, sticking to the clothes and hair of the normal sized man. It was stupid. Rhys was stupid. Yet he put a single hand on the fingers around him. Yet he pointed to his ankle… Yet he was going to let a giant hand hold him.

“My ankle hurts,” he said. Green eyes went wide. He tensed. It was stupid. Rhys was stupid. He’d get hurt. The one who tried to kill him was nice. Talked him out of a hiding spot. Acted concerned. Then they hurt him. Called him a monster. He’d been lucky.

“Can you walk?” Vitus’s eyes stayed kind. Rhys shook his head. Narrowed eyes before they disappeared. A hand replaced them. It would be like he expected. Rhys was stupid. The hand stopped near him. Warmth radiating, warmth he was tempted to reach for. “Can you climb on my hand? Do I need to pick you up?”

Rhys tried to stand on his feet, falling instead. His ankle hurt too much. He stared at the pale flesh… As big as trees and yet offering a way out. He shouldn’t trust this. It was stupid. If he followed they’d turn on him. He’d be hated, ousted. That was if they didn’t kill him. Yet…

“I can’t stand!” he shouted. It came out like a whine. It wasn’t how he meant it. Yet the hand in front of him was pulled away. The eyes came back to stare at him. His shelter from the rain moved closer. It could crush him.

Instead the fingers currently bigger than him slowly wrapped around him. Gently moving to encompass his tiny form. The warmth was nice and that only made it worse. The pain that would follow would be worse. Except… the pain didn’t come. The fingers stopped, holding him loosely against the palm. That made even less sense.

“I’m going to pick you up, let me know if I’m hurting you.” 

The voice vibrated Rhys again. The fingers around him pushed the strength of the voice into him. He hated this. It was a lie, even if he screamed the gigantic fingers would only get tighter. The loose hold grew tight enough he was pressed firmly into the palm. Slowly, maybe even carefully, the hand turned on its side. Rhys was forced onto a palm through gravity and he wished it worked the other way around.

All the work he put in keeping his tears back died. It didn’t matter. He was too scared to get big. They’d get to do whatever they wanted to him now. As Vitus pulled his hand back Rhys begged for things to move quickly. He expected the rain to pelt his face, but instead a shadow that radiated warmth came from above. Vitus was still protecting him.

It didn’t change anything as the hand holding him left the ground. He was brought up and up and up until the green eyes were in front of him. He couldn’t stop himself from shaking as the fingers holding him down moved. It was almost instinct as he sat up, matching the movement of the uncurling fingers.

“I’m glad we found you,” Vitus said. The expression on his face was soft, but Rhys wouldn’t trust that. “Once we get home and take care of your ankle we’re going to have to talk about this.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Rhys was trying to sound confident. He was good at lying, pretending it was fine. Acting like he was in pain from a stunt and not being one size too long.

“I mean,” the hand moved until he was in front of a broad chest, “you shouldn’t have felt like you had to run for being different. We’ll figure this out.”

Rhys was moved slowly towards the chest. Plenty of time to try and get away or call out for this to stop. Instead he let it happen. Let Vitus press him over a giant pounding heart. Let his tears fall more as he grabbed the cloth of the man’s shirt. As he buried his face against the giant and wailed. Even if it turned out he was stupid, this would be worth it.

“Vitus!” Dabria’s shout reminded him there wasn’t just one normal person looking for him. He started shaking all over again as the heavy crashes of footsteps came close. When the rain pelting down disappeared, hitting what sounded like an umbrella. “It didn’t look like he’d gone home. What if he doesn’t come back all night? I don’t want to send a search party out if he was scared of us seeing him. I don’t want our son getting hurt out here.”

“It’s ok, he’s right here,” Vitus’s hand moved a bit after the rumble of his voice. Rhys looked up to see ruby eyes staring down at him, shining. Ebony hair sticking out of the tight ponytail it was tied in, that it wasn’t in when he ran. This was stupid. He was going to be killed for sure.

Hands with fingers just as big as the ones around him slipped around him. He was pulled away from the shirt he clung to. The little bit of comfort he found disappeared. It was better, he shouldn’t let himself hope. He tried not to let his fear win as he was brought up and up to her standing height. As she stopped with him near her mouth. As a host of fears he never considered entered his mind… ones that came from movies he saw living with them.

The hand holding him moved and pressed him firmly to her cheek. Salty water landed on him and made him sputter. It tasted weird. He was rocked as a sob escaped Dabria. The pressure behind the hand holding him to her face increased. It scared him, but it wasn’t painful. It was warm and soft… and something he didn’t think could be real.

“Rhys I was so worried,” she sobbed. “I thought you might get hurt out here on your own.”

“I-I… My-my ankle is-” he tried and failed to say. The hand holding him pulled him away from her and in front of her eyes. 

“Your ankle!? What happened? Did you fall? Was it us? I’m so sorry you thought you couldn’t be honest with us. We’ll talk about this when we get home and I’ll make those cookies you love too.”

“I…”

“Dabria,” Vitus’s voice was firm. Too firm. Rhys would be killed now. Dabria’s hands moved again until he was dropped back on Vitus’s palms. He’d die… “Rhys… can you go back to a bigger size? I don’t want us hurting you on the walk back.”

“Why…”

Dabria’s finger tapped his head. He looked at her, finding a warm smile. “Because you’re our son, of course we want you safe.”

“Aren’t you mad at me? I was… I’m a monster.” Fingers curled up around him and he was forced to stare into green eyes.

“No, you aren’t. You’re a child with some special skills. That’s all.”

Rhys’s lip started to quiver. He wouldn’t cry. They had to be lying. The nice room they gave him. The smiles and laughs. The fun adventures. All if it had to be a lie. He wasn’t what they wanted and now they’d make him go away. Just like everyone else. They’d find out the times he broke things were him being big. The times they couldn’t find him were when he was small.

“Liar!” he shouted. The tears fell. He couldn't hold it back anymore. Everyone who found out about him hated him. This couldn’t be the truth. They would hate him and yell at him and send him off again. The anger he was able to build up let him get a bit bigger. Big enough he was taller than the fingers around him.

“Rhys, why would he lie to you? We haven’t done anything to hurt you, have we?” Dabria asked. Her hand came close and, as much as he didn’t mean to, flinched away from her. He got smaller again too. “Oh, sweetheart…”

“Rhys, has someone hurt you because you can do these things?” The fingers curled up, he got smaller again. He was back to smaller than when Vitus picked him up. They’d hurt him soon. The niceness wouldn’t last as they realized what he could do. Despite that, despite his past, he  wanted to trust them. They were so nice before so… so maybe it wouldn’t change.

“The one before you… they said I’m a monster, because I am a mon-” Two massive fingers covered his face. He’d grown again without noticing it. Enough that they only met half his face, his eyes were left clear. Clear enough for two sets of eyes, both burning with anger, to stare into his own.

“Don’t finish that sentence Rhys.” Tears dripped from the ruby eyes. “You aren’t a monster just because you can do something special. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

“We will talk more at home. Once you’ve gotten cleaned up and we’ve taken care of our son’s ankle.” Steely green eyes. “Are you comfortable at this size?” Rhys nodded. “Alright, then let’s head home.”

The hand he was on moved down to Vitus’s chest again. He wasn’t small enough for the fingers to cover him anymore, but leaning against the man’s chest felt nice. He’d forgotten about the rain until Dabria held the umbrella over them. At some point the two had moved beneath the branches. That was probably why Vitus called her name. The steps they took reached him on the hand. It was strange. Rhys had felt steps on the ground before, but not when someone let him lean against them like this. It reassured him.

The entire time Dabria kept glancing his way. It felt nice. Like someone wasn’t seeing anything wrong with him. For the first time in his life he kind of liked being small. Held by people who cared about him… People who saw him as their son… Held safely by parents who wanted him.

The steady beat mixed with steps had his own heart calming down. It started not to feel stupid to try and trust them. Maybe this time it would really be ok. Maybe they could be trusted. He could have parents, brothers, and a sister. Maybe Felix would keep helping fix the clothes that ripped when he changed sizes at the wrong time. Maybe Ryder would keep playing games and they could use his size for them too. Maybe Delphia would actually accept what he was and let him be a big brother in the only way he could.

“Hey Vitus!” someone called just as they left the woods. Rhys tensed, he didn’t want anyone to know about him. About what he could do. Would the people he wanted to trust show him off? Someone else tried to do that once too…

The nerves died when Vitus moved. Turning to face Dabria who had her own palm near her heart. Rhys was nudged off one hand onto the other without a word. He scrambled to face Vitus, curious about the look he shared with Dabria. Then the green eyes were at his level. Warmth was in them.

“I’ll be right back,” Vitus mumbled. 

Before Rhys could think the man’s face came closer and he got a kiss on the top of his head. Vitus had done that to Felix, Ryder, and Delphia a lot. Something Rhys wondered about for a while, but he thought wasn’t for him. He wasn’t important enough to have that bond. Another hand came up to hold him against Dabria as Vitus walked away.

“You know, he’s been wanting to do that,” she whispered. Her voice didn’t vibrate like Vitus's; it was something softer, cooler. “He was worried you weren’t happy with us. You always seemed so nervous. Like you didn’t feel comfortable in your own skin. Maybe he was right. I should probably listen to him more.”

Dabria laughed as they waited for Vitus. They were worried about him. Chased after him when he ran in fear. Kept asking if they were hurting him. It was nothing like he expected. He was positive that if this family learned about him they’d never accept him. They were proving him wrong. 

Vitus was walking back already. Rhys couldn’t tell how much time had passed. Exhaustion hit him, too many size changes too quickly. When Vitus got back he took the umbrella. A soft smile sent down at him as they kept walking. He was so tired.

“...can I…” he started. The idea was stupid. He couldn’t ask them that. They would change how they were treating him.

“What is it? You can ask us anything,” Dabria’s words were so kind. Too kind to doubt.

“Can I call you mom and dad?”

Vitus stopped walking and Dabria followed. Rhys was nervous as the tall man crouched a bit to look at him. A hand came close. He snapped his eyes shut, but a single finger rubbed his head instead.

“Of course you can,” Vitus mumbled. Rhys reached up to grab the finger and hug it to his chest.

“...I’m really tired, can I…” Rhys took a deep breath, “Can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t think I can get big again… I get scared on a bed alone when I’m small.”

Vitus stood back up. Rhys watched his parents, his first parents who liked what he did, share a look. Then smile down at him. It was followed by the two massive heads nodding. He knew tears fell again as soon as their expressions changed. He knew he didn’t need to cry, but this wasn’t how he ever expected this to go. They don’t mind, they still care, and they want him around.

“Thank you,” Rhys mumbled, turning to bury his face in  his mother’s shirt. For the first time in his life he fell asleep around other people without fear he’d wake up the wrong size. His parents didn’t seem to think he had one.