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justatinybunwriting · 2 years ago

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Midnight Rendezvous

Continuing the miniseries that was based on the promptober list that @/Bittykimmy13 made.

This is part 4 of Forlorn

<<Previous Chapter

A tantalizing aroma filled the air as the expertly carved steaks was finally served. While the cuisine was delightful to the senses, the two friends paid little mind to it at first as they focused instead on each other in their small, yet still important chatter. These talks were short lived yet welcomed, for long, awkward pauses often followed between each sentence. But as time went on their wariness lessened, and the atmosphere would gradually turn into a welcoming calm.

Richard barely touched his plate, despite a Wile giant's typical response to fresh, grade-A meat. This wasn't something that Jac took lightly, for she assumed since he got here that the shrunken Wile had neglected his appetite for far too long.

"Eat up," Jac reminded. "You're beginning to look like skin and bones under that suit! You can't hide that from me.."

"No I don't..." Richard mumbled.

Jac then cuts out a large piece of beef and shoved it into his mouth.

"Good, right?"

Richard was annoyed by this gesture but ultimately couldn't refuse. After the swallow, his eyelids sprung upward, and at long last his stomach trembled desperately for more. He leered at the still sizzling meat for a few seconds before he started to dig into it quite menacingly. While he was more than ready to forgo utensils in favor of sinking his teeth into it literally, he knew that maintaining a proper form was the safer option in a place like this. He still looked less than humble, to put it gently, and Jac couldn't help but crack a smile at the sight of him destroying his meal.

"This is barely enough to satisfy you." She laughed.

Wiping his mouth, the Wile gave out a toothy, yet softer than normal grin.

"I have work arounds. Even so... to be honest... I had considered staying in this size for a little while longer."

"Wha, really? Wouldn't... that take up a lot of energy?"

"I'll be okay. If Beta Wiles can handle it, then I shouldn't have a problem."

"It's... not like you though... Is there some other reason for this?"

Richard lowered his napkin and stared blankly at his empty plate. He was still taking his time to say anything, for his overwhelming guilt showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. Even the smallest of words required careful consideration, and Jac understood this. Although she appreciated this approach, she was far from fond of it.

"Please... you don't have to be scared of me. Do you think that every little thing you say is going to make me angry?"

"...No... It's not that..."

"You're afraid of messing up, even if it's by accident... is that it?"

"Yeah." Richard sighed. "Is it... ok if I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Richard sighed and spoke as softly as he could.

"I... would like to go somewhere in the human district. Since... I'm in the proper height to actually be allowed inside now, haha. I would, like to walk with you... and talk, and listen... If, that's okay of course."

Jac was quiet for a moment, yet she never looked away from the shrunken Wile's face. She rose to her feet before she placed a hand over his forehead.

"You don't seem warmer than usual."

"I'm fine..." Richard grumbled.

"Well... to answer your question I... don't mind that at all if I gotta be honest. But, I don't want you to be uncomfortable for my sake! We can always do something in your true height, and on a separate night if you're too tired. It's not a big deal."

"Jac, I want this. It's the main reason why I... well..."

Jac cocked an eyebrow and pondered for a minute. Surely there was no foul play here, after all her best friend was clearly too afraid to do anything remotely manipulative. Her caution was warranted, but ultimately trust paved the way to her final decision.

"Well, if it isn't that much harder for you, then... yeah. I would like that."

Richard could not express the relief he felt upon hearing those words. For the first time in forever it seemed, he was finally able to crack a proper smile.

..........

After Jac ate her fill, the duo left Frederico's upon Jac's insistence with paying half of the bill. A small squabble between these two over money duties was nothing new, and after a few minutes they were able to laugh it off without much worry.

They walked for some ways in a quiet street, the stars obscured by the giant streetlights a hundred feet above. Jac never enjoyed walking beneath them, and secretly wished that she could ride under the crook of the giant's neck to avoid these flickering annoyances altogether. Her focus then turned to Richard, who was already feeling the strain of walking without, at least by his normal standard, covering much ground.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Yeah! I... need a bit of a workout. So, uh... where were we heading to again?"

"Shi...su... I forget the name. But it's a garden located on the other side of town. The view is fantastic at night, and every time I visit I always wished that you could be there to see it."

"That sounds great." Richard replied, his thoughts enamored by the visuals described.

"We have to take the monorail to get there, but it's open to the public all night. Think that'll be all right with you?"

"Yeah! Let's go then."

He reached out but suddenly stopped midway, his hand shaking subtly in the air. Jac gave him a puzzled look before he decided to pull back.

"I'm sorry." He sighed.

"For what?"

Jac then took out her own hand and grabbed his, which caused him to panic for a split second.

"C'mon! We haven't got all night!" She chuckled.

Jac had virtually pulled Richard for a few steps before he finally followed along. They continued like this for over a minute with the latter not knowing what to say or how to feel about it. Realizing this, Jac slowed down her pace.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Is... this ok?"

"What do you mean?"

"The... hand..."

Jac looked down at her hand, which held a firm grip on Richard's digits. His was loose, however, and she realized then that they were still trembling.

"You don't... like this?"

"No! I... uh, I'm not used to it."

"That's okay. I'm sorry."

Jac then let go of the Wile's palm and walked a little ways ahead of him.

"Nonono! It's fine!" Richard said. "It just... caught me off guard."

"Yeah, I... should have given you a warning."

"Don't say that..."

The two strolled for a few moments before Jac broke the silence.

"I... always wanted to hold your hand. I just thought it would be kinda neat, that's all."

"So... that's, ok with you?"

"Yeah! Of course! Why didn't you think it would be?"

Richard didn't reply straight away, though Jac was able to put the pieces together on her own.

"I see... that's, why I decided to stop. If you're not comfortable with that, then--"

"Nono, I'm not... it's... hard to explain."

"It's confusing, right?"

"Yeah... I suppose so."

"It's okay." Jac sighed through her nose before continuing. "Society instilled the idea of holding hands as being more than just a thing that friends would do... Just know that... I personally don't agree with that."

As soon as they were finally away from the lamp posts, Jac breathed a loud sigh of relief before looking up into the night sky.

"I don't mind it personally, and I will hold hands with any friend who allows it. I also don't mind a lot of stuff that... people think is romantic. Like snuggles... and kisses."

Richard lowered his head, and started laughing between low energy breaths.

"Now I'm really confused."

"I get that a lot, don't worry. That's what it means to be a part of a spectrum. Some aromantic folks don't like those things but for me, personally, I don't mind! I don't see those actions, by themselves, as romantic. There's, more to it than that... that would make me uncomfortable."

"I want to learn." Richard said calmly. "Teach me... what is okay, and what isn't... so that I don't... make those mistakes again."

"I will. It's my fault for not explaining these things to you a long time ago. Though, to be fair, I was learning a lot of this myself, on my own..."

The two friends didn't say much to each other before they reached the railway station, but they both enjoyed each other's company with quaint smiles that never faded. They went off topic to talk about this and that while they waited, but in what felt like only a moment it was already time to step on board.

Jac flashed her card and went through the turnstile quickly, but before Richard could do the same a alarm was sounded along with red lights that flashed from the gate itself. Jac turned towards him and saw the distressed look on his face, his eyes dilated in the light as if he was a cornered animal. While there were only a few people who boarded the midnight express, there were a couple among them that stared down the young man.

"Wile giant..." One voice uttered.

Jac leered back to find whoever it was, but gave up quickly to return to her friend, the bars of the gate separating them by a couple of feet.

"Anti... Wile giant zone..." Richard grumbled.

"I'm sorry, Rich... I had no idea."

"It's... whatever. They probably think I'm going to grow into my full height while on board. While, excessive... it does happen suddenly sometimes, so... I can see why they'd be cautious about that."

"I see..."

Jac wasn't about to give up just yet. She pulled a brochure from the shelves and rushed back to the gates while flipping through the pages swiftly. And sure enough she found a map of the city and the places where the human and giant districts are segmented apart from each other. Using her finger as a guide, she gave Richard instructions for the next course of action.

"If you size up, you should be able to meet up with me before the monorail arrives right around... here! To the north east."

Jac grabbed her pen and made broad circles around the rendezvous spot. She then shoved the papers to his hands and squeezed them tightly.

"Think you can handle that?"

"Yeah," Richard sighed. "I'll be fine."

"You'll have to shrink again..."

"I know. But, I want to see this through."

"Okay."

Just then the monorail horn blasted, which instantly sent Jac running.

"I'll wait for you there!" She shouted.

She stepped in just before the doors shut, and within a few seconds the vehicle began to stir. Richard stayed put in his spot as he watched the monorail depart, waving goodbye to his friend inside even though it was unlikely that she could see him from his position.

Richard was saddened, yet a new sense of determination began to emerge from within. As soon as he stepped out, he hurried to the giant border and immediately sized up when his shoe touched the pavement. As always he had to kneel down to allow air back in his lungs, and during this time a passing security guard stepped in.

"You okay?" The man shouted.

Richard looked back at the Beansprout who was standing mere inches from his leg.

"I'm fine," he sputtered. "I wasn't going to do anything in there, I promise."

"I figured." The guard replied.

As the human walked away, he turned his head back and hollered.

"Go get her."

"Uh, thanks... She's, a good friend."

"Nevertheless! Good luck out there."

"...I appreciate that. Thank you."

Richard then got up, and began to brisk walk towards the path to the northern Sprout border. He uttered a spell under his breath, and the minuscule brochure in his hand grew in relative proportion to his current height. The molecular structure was thankfully in tact, and Richard was able to read the map as intended, with Jac's pen mark as a highlight.

"Thank god that worked." Richard sighed. "Ok Jac, I'm on my way. I'll be there in no time."

#sfw giant #oc: jac #oc: richard #jac in the beanstalk society #bun does writing #writing prompt #promptober #promptober 2023

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