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toast-tales · 1 month ago

Note

Do you think you’d ever write a story where Matt somehow comes to the world of giants and gets to meet Danny, Christopher, Nathen and the other characters? It’d be super cool to see him in something even if it isn’t canon

This is a short couple of scenes I wrote based on a roleplay I did with @luckyshotwrites involving her character Vallen, an employee of an organization from the human world called the C.P.P.A. (Chaos Prevention and Protection Agency) that deals with interdimensional conflict and monsters of all shapes and sizes. I hope to share that roleplay with you all one day, but for now, have this little look into Danny getting to invite her brother Matt to visit the giant world and meet Christopher. Goes without saying, this is all “non-canon.”

A Little Family Reunion

~10k words. Gets a little glimpse into what Danny's life was like back in the human world, and her brother Matt, who's visiting the giant world for the first time.

“So, when’s he getting here again?” Christopher asked, tracing a pattern for a human-sized t-shirt onto some green fabric. He didn’t look up from his work.

Danny was leaning back against a book on Christopher’s desk, sketching idly in an attempt to get her mind off of the impending visit. The flowers she was drawing had rather anxious, jagged edges.

“Vallen said he’d bring Matt here in a few hours. They have to do some sort of…uh, introductory course or something before they bring him through the rift.”

Christopher raised an eyebrow. “He…does know he’s coming to a world full of giants, right?”

“I mean,” Danny sighed, her lips pursing together. “I told him about it, a little. I didn’t tell him everything.”

“And by everything, you mean…” Christopher smirked. He knew exactly what Danny had intentionally omitted.

She snapped her sketchbook shut, stood up, and marched over toward Christopher. “Okay. Listen here, bastard.”

Christopher obediently put down his pencil as she approached.

She wagged a finger in his direction with a very serious look. “If you mention anything about eating people around Matt, I’ll kick your ass. If you mention eating me, I’ll get Sybil to kick your ass. And if you make one offhand comment about Matt’s taste or something creepy like that, I’m gonna get Vallen to kick your ass. Got it?”

Christopher returned her vitriol with an innocent grin. “Danny, when am I ever not on my best behavior?”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’m serious. I don’t want him to worry about me more than he already will be.”

Christopher gave a soft chuckle, and took her hands between his fingers. “Okay. I promise I’ll be nothing short of a gracious host for your brother, and I won’t mention anything about eating humans.” He released her hands, giving a thoughtful look to the side. “Although, you know…if you don’t say anything to him, there’s a possibility he’s going to think we’re…”

“Dating? HA!” Danny waved Christopher off. “Yeah, he’d know better. Even if I wanted to date, I think I have better taste than that.”

“Oh, you certainly do,” Christopher hummed, his smirk widening.

She scowled. “I hate you.”

“You love me.”

She gave his arm a light kick before returning to her position seated against the books. “And I hate that I do.”

She grinned, despite herself. She always did.

------------------------------

When Matt finally arrived later that day, the two of them embraced warmly—Matt felt just as familiar as before. No matter how long it had been since they’d been apart, it always felt right to hug him.

Matt laughed. “I know I saw you, like, a few hours ago, but it’s good to see you again, Danny.”

“Yeah. I’m glad you made it.” She took a step back and beamed at him—she could sense the wariness in his expression, and so she projected as much confidence as she could. “This is, uh, my house.”

The CPPA had agreed that it would be best for Matt to start off in Danny’s house before seeing the rest of the world, even if Vallen and Danny explained everything to Matt beforehand. It was still a space made for someone three times the size of a normal human, at least, but it was a much more manageable difference to get used to.

She hadn’t gotten much time to explain things to Matt, and what little she had been able to tell him hadn’t elicited a very positive reaction. She’d hoped that Vallen would be able to console him a little further, but somehow, she doubted the fancy-pants agent would have more luck with Matt than he’d had with her and Christopher. She wished she could have stayed behind and helped, but the CPPA had rules she couldn’t argue with.

Matt looked around in awe. “It’s huge. Oh my god. But I…I don’t know, the way you and that guy from the agency talked about it, I was expecting your giant world to be even bigger.”

“Oh,” Danny said, slightly embarrassed as she realized what Matt must have thought. She hadn’t taken a growth serum intentionally, not wanting to tower over Matt right away, so in her own house, she seemed a third of the size of it. “This is my house, but, um…well, the rest of the world is much bigger. I, uh, I take this stuff that makes me a little bigger sometimes. That’s why this place is big. Christopher made it for me. My, um, roommate, you remember him?”

“...oh.” He raised an eyebrow, looking around the kitchen they were in. It seemed normal enough at first glance, although there was a distinct lack of appliances. And out the window…well, if he looked, he’d probably get a glimpse of the gigantic room Danny’s house was in. But the walls and furniture were all well-made, not showing many signs that a good portion of it was put together by giant hands.

“A…giant built this?”

He was trying so hard to talk about it like it was normal and he was fine with it. She recognized the voice, and the way his eyes darted around. She still wasn’t sure how she recognized it, but it was an expression that felt familiar.

“Yeah. When I moved in here. It’s kind of nice to have a place my size, you know?”

Danny sighed. “Yeah, that was because of the CPPA. They put him in a human case, so he could walk around and stuff. He’s actually a giant, just like my other friend Nathan. You haven’t met Nathan yet, but he lives here too. He’s Christopher’s boyfriend.”

Matt paused and narrowed his eyes, as if he was trying very hard to remember something. “Wait…wasn’t Christopher with you, when you first came back? Wasn’t he…normal?”

He looked at her somewhat sternly, shaking his head. “You still haven’t told me the actual story yet, of how you got here and…met them.”

Danny gave a long, tired exhale. She had no intention of telling Matt the full story. She didn’t know what he would do if she told him how she’d actually met Christopher. He’d probably do something stupid. She’d developed a far more…sanitized version in the meantime, and hoped that Vallen hadn’t told Matt anything. He told her he wouldn’t, but she wasn’t sure how much she trusted the smug bastard in the first place. “It’s a long story. I can tell it later tonight, if you want. But I’ve got so much to show you first.”

Matt nodded nervously. It was then that his eyes traveled sideways, out the window in the kitchen, and he saw the room outside. His eyes widened in shock. “God…I…I know you said it was a giant world, but…Danny, that’s huge.”

“I know,” she laughed, trying to conceal her own nervousness all of a sudden. She didn’t want Matt to be scared. “You…get used to it, I guess. It’s really not that bad.”

“How…how big is Christopher?” he muttered, stepping closer to the window and peering out at the room.

“He’s got an ego to match,” she said with a wry grin. “Are you…ready to meet him? If you need a few minutes, that’s fine. He’s just making dinner right now.”

Matt nodded stiffly—his eyes kept darting out the window, like he expected a giant eye to peek in from outside.

Danny held his hands between her own. “Hey. Matt. Look at me.”

He obeyed, his hands softening up to her touch and grasping her back firmly.

She looked directly into his eyes. “I know it’s crazy, but I promise I’m safe here. Christopher and Nathan are both really friendly—they both work for the HRA. The, uh, Human Rights Alliance.” She realized that was getting dangerously close to territory she didn’t want to explore—the reason for human “rights” in the first place and the only recently-implemented legality of her existence. “You’re not in danger here. Christopher’s very careful—he’s used to looking for humans, and he’s got insane senses. You’re not gonna get dropped, or stepped on, or anything. Can you trust me?”

Matt stared at her while she spoke, before his lips tightened and he looked at her with his eyes full of worry. “I’m not worried about me, Danny. I just…it’s just so much to take in. You’ve been living in a place like…like this for…two, three years, now? I…I trust you, I just…I just want you to be safe. It’s just hard to believe you can be safe here.”

“I know,” she said quietly. “It’s taken a long time to realize it for myself.”

She didn’t want to tell Matt about the nightmares she sometimes had on occasion—she definitely wasn’t going to tell him about how she dealt with them.

“But Christopher barely lets me out of his sight. It’s…I mean, god, it can be annoying sometimes, but I know he’s just wanting to look out for me. Even if I did something stupid, like accidentally walk off a table or something, giants have these crazy reflexes. I know he’d catch me. Not that he’d let me do something like that in the first place.”

She chuckled. “Trust me. Even when you’re not here, I’ve got someone filling in the job of worrying about me. Okay?”

He nodded—still not entirely convinced, but at least for now, he seemed to put his worries to rest.

“Now come on. You ought to meet him.” She reached into her pocket and held out a pill. “Want a growth serum? You can be a little bit bigger.”

He laughed, though it was somewhat nervous. “You’re already offering me drugs, Danny? If only Mom knew that’s what you’ve been doing while you were gone.”

She rolled her eyes. “I won’t take one if you don’t, but it might help you feel a little better. You’ll still be small, but not, you know, as small as you are now.”

He took the pill gingerly from her. “You take these all the time? And they’re safe?”

She nodded. “Completely safe. You’ll just have to take the reverse pill before you go back.”

He bit his lip as he thought about it, before he agreed. “Okay. I’ll take one, then.”

“Hold on,” she said quickly, before he had a chance to ingest it. “Let me go first. I’m used to keeping my balance with it—this way, I can catch you if you stumble or something.”

Before he had a chance to say anything else, she crushed the pill between her teeth and instantly grew to match the size of everything in her house, suddenly towering over Matt. Her brother looked up at her in frightened awe, only coming up to about her knees.

She grinned, and motioned for him to do the same.

He stared at her for a moment more before regarding the pill in his hands, turning it over as though he expected to see something out of the ordinary. Finally, he closed his eyes and popped it in his mouth, swallowing it awkwardly. Within just a second, he rose up to Danny’s height, finally matching the furniture and walls that surrounded the two of them.

Matt did stumble a bit, but Danny caught him easily, propping him back up onto his feet. “You can open your eyes now, dork.”

Matt’s eyes opened slowly, and he let out a dumbfounded laugh. “This is…absolutely crazy, Danny.”

She smirked, before heading towards the door and motioning for him to follow. “You haven’t even met my giant roommate yet. Come on—his cooking is fucking amazing.”

Once they’d made it outside of Danny’s room, Matt looked around in amazement. The ceiling was far above them—higher than even the most impressive of cathedral ceilings back in the human world. A huge bed was pushed up against the wall to the left, although their vantage point didn’t allow them to see on top of it. Light streamed in through the window, casting warm sunbeams along the wooden floor where they walked.

Matt didn’t speak while they made their way out of the room—he gawked at each and every little thing, his neck craned far back to look up at the end table and chair next to them.

And then, they rounded the corner of the slightly ajar door—which was wide enough for Danny’s hand to rest against the slim edge of it—and Matt’s eyes fell upon the giant standing on the other side of the room.

Christopher was, for his part, doing his best to act like he hadn’t heard any of their conversation, or that he knew exactly when they were about to enter the room. He was tending a pot of something cooking on the stove with his back to the humans, but as they entered, he turned and smiled as his eyes landed on the redheaded human standing behind Danny.

“Well, hello there—Matt, isn’t it? It’s great to finally meet you. Danny’s been looking forward to having you visit for a while now.” He strode around the counter slowly. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Good, because I’m starving,” Danny remarked. She turned to see that Matt had effectively turned into a stone statue, his mouth slightly open as he stared up at the towering figure of Christopher before them.

She gave him a sympathetic smile before lightly hitting his shoulder. “Hey, it’s okay. He doesn’t bite.”

She instantly regretted her choice of words, but as a man of his word, Christopher didn’t so much as crack a smile at her remark.

“Ni-ice to meet you, um, Christopher,” Matt mumbled, barely managing to speak without his voice wavering in fear.

Christopher bent down onto his knees to get a little closer to the two of them in height, and held out his hands as he always did for Danny. She stepped onto his hands easily, without a second thought—this was more than a common routine for her.

Christopher carefully lifted her up to the counter before bending back down to hold his hands out for Matt as well. Matt didn’t move.

Danny peered at her brother from up on the counter. “It’s okay, Matt. I told you he’s not going to drop you.”

Christopher gave Matt an easy, gracious smile. “Your sister would wring my neck if I even entertained the possibility.”

Matt’s terror gave way to an incredibly nervous smile as he took a few steps forward, pausing just in front of Christopher’s hands before stepping onto them. He wobbled a bit, and Christopher moved one of his hands to support Matt as he slowly rose to his feet and lifted him up, placing him gently on the counter next to Danny.

Matt put a hand on Danny, slightly leaning against her. She could hear his frantic heartbeat and the quick breaths he was taking.

She gave her brother a teasing grin. “What are you, afraid of heights?”

“Shut up, I-I’m fine,” he said, laughing nervously. “It’s fine.”

“It’s okay if you’re a little nervous,” Christopher said smoothly, grinning slyly. “Danny was scared of heights too, at first.”

Danny huffed defensively, snapping her head to the side to glare at the giant. “I was not.”

Christopher cocked an eyebrow at her, like a challenge. “I recall you being rather wary of the ladders I installed.”

“I’d say I was more wary of your shoddy craftsmanship than heights, jackass,” she sneered.

Christopher put a hand to his chest in mock offense. “Shoddy craftsmanship? You’d really say that about the man who built you a whole house?”

“Well I didn’t have the house at the time, now did I?”

Christopher leaned in closer to Danny, still grinning smugly. “Maybe you just like me carrying you around all the time instead, dollface.”

“Dream on, bastard.” His face was close enough for Danny to shove at his nose, prompting a laugh from the giant as he backed off and turned to finish getting dinner ready.

Matt watched all of this with wide eyes, clearly not sure what to make of their banter. He’d known Danny to be hot-headed, but he’d never seen her quite like this before. He could tell she wasn’t actually irritated with Christopher, but even so, he’d never seen her call someone names and snap at them like that in a friendly way. Much less a giant who could easily just crush her in retribution.

And when Christopher had leaned in right next to her, Matt had to admit that his anxiety spiked—but Danny didn’t even flinch.

He stared at Danny with awe—impressed even more with his big sister’s moxie, even if it bordered dangerously close to recklessness at times. It was the same Danny he used to know, before she’d disappeared—headstrong and brave.

He wanted to know more about their relationship—how they’d met, what they’d done together all this time, and why Danny even put up with someone calling her “dollface,” something she would have likely kicked someone her own size for.

Danny had had friends back home, of course, but he didn’t think she was very close with any of them. She had been popular, easily able to rope people into things and give them a boost of morale when they needed it. But he remembered how lonely she was, too—how she’d worried she was “too much” for some people, how she admitted her tendency to get angry too easily and how she felt isolated as a result. She was always trying to defend the people she loved, and unfortunately that didn’t always work in her favor. She’d lost a lot of friends that way.

From the sound of it, Christopher might be the closest friend she’d ever had. He could tell she was comfortable around him. And Christopher didn’t shy away from her personality, either—if anything, he seemed to like bringing it out, and whether or not that was a good thing, Matt wasn’t sure. He’d never seen someone bring out this snarky side of Danny so easily before. But as the evening went on, and he observed the two of them continuously going back and forth, insults and jabs interspersed with laughter and grins, he felt more and more comfortable with the idea of it.

He found himself smiling as he watched them. He liked seeing his sister so happy.

________________________

It was later that evening when Matt and Danny were settling into the couch in Danny’s home. It was easy to forget that Matt had taken some sort of drug that made him freakishly tall, given that he fit the size of Danny’s furniture now, and was literally dwarfed by everything outside of it.

Danny hopped off the couch. “I’m gonna take a shower, Matt. Will you be okay for a bit?”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll be fine.”

He watched her disappear behind the bathroom door, his mind wandering as he looked out the window to the huge room outside, now shrouded in partial darkness so that he couldn’t really see its size.

He could hear the giant was still in the kitchen, still cleaning up from dinner, it sounded like.

Should I…?

He had considered the idea of talking to Christopher one on one, even though the notion slightly terrified him still. He was trying to reassure himself that, giant or not, Christopher was friendly, he was Danny’s friend, and there was nothing to worry about.

He decided that the best way to get over his fear was just to do it, before he had a chance to overthink it—and so he quietly got up and left Danny’s house, treading carefully across the enormous, dimly lit room to the kitchen.

He saw Christopher turn to look at him as he peeked around the door—he actually heard me? How did he—

“Oh, Matt,” Christopher said, smiling graciously as he set down the dish he was drying on the counter. “Did you need something?”

Matt felt that anxious fluttering in his stomach again, but he pushed it down. He didn’t need to be nervous. “Oh, u-uh, no, I’m good. I just came to, uh, see what you were up to.”

He had no idea how the giant could hear him from all the way over there, but Christopher didn’t seem to be straining to listen. The giant grinned. “I’m just cleaning up.”

Matt took a deep breath, and a few more steps forward. “Uh, do you think, you could, uh, lift me up to the counter again?”

Christopher’s head tilted slightly to the side as though he was curious, but he nodded and made his way around the kitchen island. “You’re getting over your fear rather quickly, aren’t you?”

Matt laughed nervously as Christopher approached him and bent down, holding his giant hands out for Matt to climb onto. “It’s just, you know, it’s a lot to take in. But if Danny trusts you, I do too.”

Christopher smiled wider at that, and he lifted Matt up to the counter. This time, Matt closed his eyes, and it wasn’t as bad as before. He still felt the rush of vertigo in his chest, but it was fine. He was fine.

He tried to walk onto the counter without stumbling. “Thanks.” He took a deep, steadying breath, and decided a seated position would be more stable. He sat cross-legged and leaned back against the fruit bowl.

“Of course,” the giant said smoothly, making his way back to the sink to continue with the dishes. Matt watched him quietly, observing whatever details he could. From what he could see, Christopher was a rather neat and tidy person—he grinned as he thought of Danny’s messy room back home, and realized that the only reason they likely got along as roommates was because Danny’s habitual messiness was only a tiny dent in Christopher’s enormous house.

“You know, you and your sister look remarkably alike,” the giant said, turning his head slightly to look at Matt as he worked. “Are you older than her?”

Matt shook his head. “No, Danny’s the oldest.” He didn’t feel like his voice carried over the sound of running water, but as Christopher nodded along, he figured Danny was right about Christopher’s freakish senses. “I’m twenty-two.”

“Are you in college?”

“I actually just graduated.”

“Oh, really?” Christopher looked impressed. “Good for you. What did you study?”

Matt traced the patterns on the marble countertop idly. “Civil engineering. I’m gonna start working with WisDOT soon.”

The name seemed to confuse Christopher, so Matt clarified. “The Wisconsin Department of Transportation. I’ll be helping with planning road work and infrastructure, things like that.”

“Ohh. That’s right. Danny mentioned that’s what it was called.”

Matt didn’t realize that Christopher was referring to Wisconsin, and not the rest of the acronym.

He stared at the back of Christopher’s head. He thought of how David would surely have an opinion on a man with long hair like that (one with a boyfriend no less), and mentally rolled his eyes. Christopher really did have nice hair—it was clearly well taken care of. As was a practiced habit of his by this point, he told the mental image of his stepdad to shove it.

“So, uh, Christopher, did you ever go to college?”

From his point of view, that question didn’t seem to faze Christopher, but what Matt couldn’t see was the slightly nervous expression on Christopher’s face.

“No, I…didn’t have the money, at the time. I kind of went off on my own after high school.”

“Oh, okay. What did you do? I know Danny said you worked for the, uh, Human Rights Association, right? Did you do that back then, too?”

Matt didn’t take note of how Christopher paused at that. “The Human Rights Alliance, yes. No, I’ve…only been with them for a little over a year now. I did a lot of…odd jobs, after high school. Nothing that really stuck.” He resumed scrubbing a little more vigorously than before, quickly following up with a change in topic. “Did Danny ever go to college?”

Matt grinned wryly, remembering many arguments from a long time ago. “She did, but she hated it. She wanted to go to school for fine arts, but David—our stepdad—wouldn’t pay for it. He wanted her to do something more profitable. They settled on computer science, eventually. Danny’s really good with computers, but I think the whole thing with David made her kind of spiteful about it. She was always complaining to me about her job.”

Christopher seemed intrigued by the information. He finally finished with the dishes, dried his hands off, and made his way around to the other side of the counter, where he took a seat in one of the barstools. Matt tried not to look intimidated by the giant’s sudden closeness—the size was manageable from a distance, but as he had to look up, the twinge of anxiety returned.

How does Danny deal with this? She’s so calm about it.

“I never knew she went to school for that,” Christopher mused. “I’m sure she told you—or the CPPA did—but when she got to this world, she didn’t have any memories of her life in the human world. So, even though she got some back after seeing you all again, there’s still a lot I don’t know about her.”

“Yeah,” Matt said, a little sadly. It still hurt to think Danny had forgotten about him for so long—even though it was completely out of her control, even though she’d come back and remembered him when she did—it hurt. He’d never stopped thinking of her that entire time she was missing, and she'd just been living an entirely different life here—one without him.

“Can you tell me more?” Christopher asked, propping his chin up with his arm casually. “What was she like—did she have any hobbies I don’t know about?”

Matt smiled, looking down at the counter as he reminisced. “Well, she liked video games. She was always better than me, and I hated it. We always played a lot together, us and our little brother Will.” He rubbed his palms together idly. “And, of course, she loved to draw. She had so many sketchbooks. And she actually had a pretty good social media following for it, for a while. She was good.”

Christopher smiled. “She is good. She carried that over, certainly. If you ever get to go to the human city, she did murals there.”

The human city. The CPPA had explained the basic concept of this world to him, and so had Danny, but the thought of humans being relegated to this little city under someone’s house was still wild to him.

Matt smiled a little impishly, peering over Christopher’s shoulder as if Danny could actually be in earshot. “Don’t tell her I told you this. But she also liked writing. She never showed anyone, and I don’t think she knows I found one of her stories once. You know what she liked to write?”

Christopher raised an eyebrow, a devious grin of his own betraying his interest.

“Romance,” Matt nearly whispered. “Like, the super sappy stuff. Which, if you know Danny at all—”

Christopher’s eyes widened. “You’re joking.”

“I’m not kidding. There was pages of it. I think maybe she had a phase in high school or something.” Matt laughed. “I’m only telling you her secret because she made fun of me for being scared earlier.”

“That little punk…she rolls her eyes every time I watch one of my shows,” Christopher said with disbelief, glancing slightly behind him towards Danny’s room. His smile grew wider. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. But that is hilarious.”

Christopher continued to look off in the distance towards Danny, and his face softened. “Was she always so…headstrong?”

Matt nodded, without hesitation. “It got her into a lot of trouble, most of the time.”

Christopher laughed. “It still does.”

Matt gave a short, humorless laugh. “She was always ready to pick a fight with people. Especially David. She has…really strong convictions, and she doesn’t like to see people be mistreated. And it didn’t matter who it was she was arguing with—she used to pick fights with boys twice her size in middle school. She’d get roughed up pretty badly—she’d get hell from our parents for it—but she didn’t care. It’s like she didn’t have any fear at all.”

Matt looked up to Christopher, who was nodding along solemnly.

“She was always yelling at David. And to be fair, David’s kind of an asshole, but the two of them were always butting heads. She usually got angry for my sake, or Will’s.”

Christopher looked curious, though Matt could see something like worry crease into the giant’s forehead. “What would they fight about?”

Matt waved a hand about. “Everything. It never took much for David to get under Danny’s skin. But…” he bit his lip before he continued. “A lot of the time, it was about money. Danny would always be telling David he was a deadbeat. He’s unemployed, and Mom’s always working, and a lot of the time, Danny had to step up to take care of things. Like, she was always having to help Will with his homework because David was busy or something. And when she got a job, David kind of pressured her to stay and help pay the bills and stuff, since he helped pay for her education and whatever. Even though really, it was Mom that paid for it.”

Matt sighed. “She wanted to leave. I know she did. She was so tired of living with David, but she didn’t want to leave me, or Will. She cared about us too much.”

His fidgeting stopped as he stared down at the counter, feeling his heart thump dully in his chest. He could still remember the night Danny left, so clearly, like it had been yesterday. “That’s what they were arguing about, when Danny left. I don’t think she meant to leave for good—I think she just wanted some air. She didn’t take her phone. She wandered off outside, and she…didn’t come back.” Matt shifted his seated stance to bring his legs in close to his chest. “I looked for her all night.”

There was a long silence that lay between them after that. “I’m sorry,” Christopher said quietly. “She never told me about that.”

“I don’t know if she remembers it,” Matt muttered. “When I asked about what happened to her when she left, she said it was all a blur.”

He sighed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump all that on you. I just…with the CPPA and everything, I can’t really talk about this stuff with anyone else. Our parents still think she’s helping refugees on the other side of the world or whatever. And I don’t…wanna tell her about the unpleasant stuff. She’s already got so much to deal with as it is.”

“It’s okay,” Christopher said, and when Matt looked up, he saw the giant was grinning lightly. “I want to know more about Danny, the good and the bad.”

Matt stared at the giant, gauging the expression on Christopher’s face. “I’m…glad she’s got someone to look out for her here. I can tell you both care about each other a lot.”

The giant’s smile widened. “Danny is easily one of the most amazing people I know, human or giant.”

“I’ve never seen her, the way she is with you. I knew she was reckless, but you’d think she’d be a little scared of a giant, at least.” Matt laughed. “Tell me she had some hesitation, at first. Because I’m imagining her squaring up with an actual, literal giant man right off the bat.”

Christopher snickered. “Hesitation? No, absolutely not. Certainly not with me.” His face softened, as though he was reminiscing something from a long time ago. There was a touch of bitterness to it—but Matt didn’t question it. “She was fearless. The way she’d talk, you’d never believe she was tiny. I don’t think she was ever scared of me.” He grinned humorlessly. “And if she was, she didn’t show it.”

Matt felt his posture loosen up—the more he talked with Christopher, the more it felt like Christopher was just a…normal guy. “How did you two…meet?”

Matt wasn’t sure if Christopher tensed up at that, or if he was seeing things, because just a moment later the giant seemed plenty at ease, smiling casually. “Well, I think that’s Danny’s story to tell, personally. But essentially, I…looked after her for a while, when Nathan wasn’t able to.” Christopher’s fingers tapped lightly against the counter, and he paused for a bit before he continued. “She was the one to get me to join the Human Rights Alliance, actually. Or at least, a good part of the reason. As you can imagine, she was…very passionate about it.”

Matt nodded, though he still wasn’t entirely sure what the Human Rights Alliance actually did. Human rights? Did humans not have rights in this world?

He didn’t want to bring it up right now, but he filed it away as a question to ask Danny later.

“I wasn’t in a…great place, at the time,” Christopher continued. His easy smile had given way to a soft sort of melancholy at the edges of his eyes as he glanced down towards the counter. “Your sister helped me when most other people would have turned and ran away—I don’t think she knows how much of a difference she made in my life. And I’ll always be grateful for that.”

“She’s really special,” Matt said quietly. That was just like Danny—beneath all of it, she cared ferociously for people. She always pushed people to be better. He had no doubts that what Christopher said was true—if he’d needed help, Danny would surely have helped him, even if it ended up looking a little like tough love in practice. “I’m sorry if she ever gave you hell, that’s just…how she is. She cares a lot.”

Christopher smirked humorlessly. “Oh, I deserved it. I learned very quickly that Danny does not have the patience to deal with anyone’s bullshit, my own included.”

“True,” Matt agreed with a laugh.

He didn’t want to pry further into their relationship—or rather, he did, but felt it wouldn’t be polite to press much further. A soft sense of suspicion crept into the back of his head about Christopher and whatever bullshit Danny had supposedly not tolerated, but it was easy to disregard in the face of what he saw before him—a surprisingly normal, thoughtful guy who really did seem to care about his sister, though he still didn’t understand their relationship in the slightest.

Christopher’s head popped up suddenly, as though he’d heard something. He then turned toward Matt and grinned. “Your sister’s wondering where you are.”

Matt blinked. “You can hear her?” He’d obviously heard nothing—he didn’t understand how the giant could possibly pick up Danny’s voice from that far away.

Christopher nodded as he stood up, and tapped against his ear. “Giants have better senses than humans. I pride myself on my hearing, personally, although it can be more of a detriment than anything. Sometimes I envy you humans.”

Matt chuckled, somewhat nervously. “I bet.”

Danny apparently yelled something, because Christopher turned back towards the guest room and replied. “We're out here, Danny.”

If he squinted, Matt could make out something moving near the bottom of the guest room door, and realized that was his sister. It looked like she still had a towel around her shoulders for her wet hair, and though she was pretty far away, he could tell that her head snapped right to him.

He gave her a slightly sheepish wave.

“MATT!” she yelled, and he could hear it this time as she stomped towards them across the floor. “YOU SCARED ME!”

Christopher went to pick her up and carry her up to the counter, only grinning at her hysterics. “He just came out to talk to me, what are you so worried about?”

She huffed a bit as she stepped onto the counter, angrily drying her hair with the towel. “You could have told me before you just up and left.”

Matt shrugged. “You were in the shower.”

She rolled her eyes. “The doors aren't soundproof, you dork.”

“Oh, cut your brother some slack,” Christopher said, poking Danny’s shoulder as he sat back down. “What exactly could happen to him while he's in my house?”

She gave Christopher a somewhat pointed glare before she threw her hands up in the air. “I don't know, he could have been carried off by a giant spider, or Vallen could have come back and whisked him away for all I know!”

Matt circled back to the first thing she mentioned, his face paling slightly. “...I'm sorry, did you say ‘giant spiders’?”

Christopher rolled his eyes and dismissed that with a laugh. “I don't have spiders in here. I've got amazing pest control.”

Danny put a hand to the side of her mouth as she whispered, as if that was in any way effective at preventing Christopher from hearing. “That's what he says, but he doesn't live eye-level to them. It's only a matter of time before—”

“Oh, stop scaring him,” Christopher scolded, looking almost offended at the notion. “You've never seen a spider in here before and you know it.”

She crossed her arms stubbornly. “IT COULD HAPPEN!”

Christopher seemed to ignore Danny as he leaned a little closer to Matt with a reassuring smile. “Don't listen to her. You're safe here, Matt.”

He did his best to put the spider matter aside, though it was a horrifying mental image to shove under the rug.

“Yeah, whatever,” Danny grumbled, clearly just irritated that she'd been called out worrying over nothing. “So, what were you guys talking about?” She stared at Matt with an eyebrow raised, almost accusingly.

Matt shrugged. “Nothing much.”

Christopher smiled, though, and rested his head against his hand casually. “Apparently you studied computer science?”

She grimaced towards Matt. “I knew you were talking about me.”

“Well, of course we were,” Christopher laughed. “What else would we talk about?”

Danny sighed. “Yeah, well, apparently that's what I did back in the human world, I guess. I mean, I could probably pick it up again if I got a refresher course, but most everything at the moment is-” She waved her hand above her head, as if to mime the memories floating away.

“You know that's what Sam does, right? You could probably talk with them about it.”

“Who's Sam?” Matt asked.

Danny shrugged. “Christopher's friend. Another giant. They're cool. I usually just beat them at games, though,” she said, grinning slyly.

“They work in cybersecurity,” Christopher explained. “Well, I think network security, to be specific. Did you do something like that?”

It looked like Danny tried to think about it for a moment before she gave up. “I have no idea.” She sat down, sprawling her legs out comfortably.

Matt went to sit next to her. He rested his legs in such a way that they brushed up against hers—it felt pathetic to admit, but sometimes, he just wanted to feel that physical touch with his sister, as if it was a reminder that she was real. Even though they’d been reunited several months ago, it was still like a slap in the face to realize that she wasn’t missing anymore. He took every opportunity to remind himself that he could. “Yeah, I think you worked with networks, too. Don't ask me for more details, though, because everything about your job sounded like gibberish to me.”

“Yeah, well, I don't remember much about it, except my job sucked.”

Matt shoved her arm lightly. “Hey, you were good at it, though. Do you remember, you told me about how you accidentally hacked into your boss's account or something? And then you asked for a promotion.” He laughed. “It was a crappy company, yeah. You had skills way above your paygrade.”

Her grin tilted upwards slightly. “I think I do remember that.” She glared up at Christopher. “But you guys don't have to talk about me.”

Christopher wrinkled his nose back at her. “Fine.” He clasped his hands together attentively beneath his chin and turned his attention back to Matt. “So, Matt, what questions do you have about this world? Or giants?”

He laughed. “Plenty. Oh my god. I don't even know where to start. I mean, between the whole ‘human rights’ thing, and the, the rifts or whatever, and-”

He noticed Danny seemed to look away, almost worriedly. He nudged her. “What?”

She waved him off and turned a little more away from him. “Nothing.”

He turned to face her even more and placed a hand on her arm. “What? I thought you didn't want us to talk about you. And I want to know more about this place!” He crossed his arms. “Am I not allowed to ask questions?”

She turned back to face him, crossing her arms as if to mirror him, giving him a stubborn pout of her lip. “Fine. But you're not allowed to worry about me if you hear something you don't like.”

He shook his head disbelievingly. “Oh, so you can worry about me, but I can't worry about you?”

“I'm the older sibling! It's my job to worry!”

I've been the older sibling for the past two years. The thought stung, and he decided against saying it aloud.

He looked over to Christopher. “I want to know more about the Human Rights Alliance you guys keep mentioning. Danny said that most humans live under someone's house, right? Is that just…for…safety?”

Christopher looked like he was choosing his words carefully—and this wasn't lost on Matt this time. “Well, yes, in a way. On their own, humans aren't really safe without a giant's protection. I'm sure that much is obvious, at least.”

“...right,” Matt agreed, hesitantly. “So, the Human Rights Alliance, they…give humans a place to stay?”

Christopher nodded. “Well, yes, among other things. For instance, my job is to find any humans who may have found themselves in this area, and bring them to the human city safely. Just like how Danny ended up here, occasionally other humans will too.”

He rescues humans for a living? He looked over to Danny, who nodded. She'd adjusted her seated position to wrap her arms around her knees as she stared off at something, looking slightly more contemplative and subdued than before. “It wasn't a total lie when I said I was helping ‘refugees.’”

Matt looked back at Christopher. “How do you even…I mean, we're tiny, do you really just go out in the woods and—oh. Right. Your giant senses.” He realized it just before Christopher tapped his nose.

Wait. Nose?

Matt raised an eyebrow. “Can you…smell humans?”

Christopher nodded. “I think humans have a weaker sense of smell than giants do in general. But giants are very attuned to picking up human scents. It's an…evolutionary trait, I think.” He smiled, though that didn't put Matt much at ease. This guy could smell him? What did he smell like? Were giants like dogs or something? Hearing was one thing, but this just felt…way stranger.

Still, he nodded along. “Oh…I see.” He glanced back to Danny. “You said your other friend Nate works with the HRA too, right? Does he do the same thing?”

Christopher shook his head, answering for her. “No, Nate's senses aren't quite as good as mine.” He grinned a little proudly. “He works more with the legislative side of things—fundraising, campaigns, things like that. He'll sometimes travel out of town to attend legislative sessions.”

“Huh.” Matt thought about that for a while—legislation? What kind of laws did this world have around human rights? “What does…the HRA campaign for, usually?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Danny's eyes widen.

He might have imagined the pause Christopher took before he replied. “...well, we recently were able to get human legalization passed in the state, and now the focus is on a nationwide legalization, before we move to—”

“Legalization?” Matt's eyes were wide, his mouth agape in shock. “Humans weren't legal? What the heck does that mean? People fall into this other dimension and get penalized for not having a passport or something?”

Danny's head sunk further into her arms as she groaned. “Christopher, why the fuck did you bring this up,” she grumbled.

“He asked,” Christopher said simply, though it sounded as though there was a hint of regret in his voice.

Matt stared at her, his hope of her providing a sensible explanation slowly fading as she refused to look at him. “Danny,” he said sternly, “what does he mean by human legalization?”

Danny scowled, deeply, but not at him. “Human legalization isn’t the right term,” she mumbled. “He’s talking about human possession.”

That did not sound better.

“Meaning up until recently, it was illegal for giants to have humans with them at all.”

It didn’t quite make sense—Matt’s eyebrows furrowed deeper. “...so what were the humans supposed to do? The HRA could still house them, right?”

“The HRA operates…outside of the law,” Christopher explained. “Even today. The human city isn’t public knowledge.”

Not public knowledge? There was something they weren’t telling him—things still wouldn’t add up. The only safe place for humans to stay had to be kept secret? And why did Danny call it human possession, like the giants owned them? “Why was…human possession illegal in the first place?” He’d been trying to stay neutral, but he couldn’t keep the distaste out of his voice when he said that. “What the heck does the government here expect humans to do?”

Christopher looked conflicted—like he wanted to say something, and then stopped himself. His eyes fell to Danny, whose head became buried even further into her knees. “I’m afraid your sister threatened to kick my ass if I told you.”

Matt turned to face Dany fully, getting as close to her as she could. It only prompted her to retreat further into herself. “Danny,” he said, calmly. “I’m going to need you to explain this one to me.”

She sighed before she lifted her head to look up at him—she wasn’t tired, but resolute. He recognized that look. Whatever it was she was about to tell him, he knew there was going to be no talking her out of staying here.

“The giant government doesn’t recognize humans as people,” she said simply, as though that wasn’t a terrifying statement on its own.

“So you’re…what, possessions? Danny, what the fuck?”

She just gave him a look, and he tried to calm down. “Okay. Sorry. Continue.”

“To giants, humans are…” She hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip for a moment. “Don’t freak out on me, okay?”

He felt a sort of panic start to overtake him in the wake of that request. “Freak out? How bad is it?”

“I said don’t freak out.”

He sighed. “Fine. Just tell me.”

Christopher was remaining rather quiet throughout this, seeming to be interested in how Danny chose to explain this.

Danny rubbed her face with her hands, and she couldn’t seem to meet Matt’s eyes. “Most giants consider humans to be…drugs.”

It was incredibly quiet in the wake of that revelation. Sometimes, when something is shocking enough, it doesn’t register as real for a moment or two. At first, Matt just thought he hadn’t heard her right. And when he heard the word “drugs,” it still didn’t connect right away. He was familiar with discrimination against people who used drugs, or associating people with the sale or use of drugs, and for a second or two, inexplicably, that’s how it made sense in his brain. And then…no, that wasn’t what she had said.

She said that humans were the drugs.

And she’d also told him not to freak out.

How was he not supposed to freak out over this?

“...what?!” he gasped, utterly in disbelief. How did that even work? How did that make any sense? “What the heck does that mean? How the hell are humans drugs?”

“Okay, I told you not to freak out about that, but-”

“How else am I supposed to take that?” he nearly yelled. “How are you so calm about it?!”

“I’ve BEEN HERE a while, okay?” Danny wasn’t exactly afraid to yell back at him, but she did look apologetic afterwards, averting her eyes again. “It’s fucked up, I know, but we’re making things better. I know a lot of good people here. I’m lucky.”

“Okay, but you didn’t answer my question.” He tried to calm himself down again, lowering his voice. “How are humans drugs? That doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Well–” Christopher had barely opened his mouth before Danny shot him a glare, and he folded his hands back into his lap and waited for her to explain instead.

She gave Matt a slightly desperate look. “Are you sure you wanna know?”

“Are you kidding?” He laughed, only slightly hysterically. “Yes!”

She sighed, and somehow looked slightly…embarrassed? Had he seen Danny embarrassed before? “Giants…eat humans.”

He felt his heart sink deep into his stomach all of a sudden—fear, disgust, disbelief, it all hit him at once. That was the kind of thing that came from fairy tales, not reality. Maybe if they’d told him that before he’d met a giant, he’d have believed it. But Christopher—he was just a normal guy. Giants were basically just big humans. He was supposed to believe…giants…ate humans…to get…high?

A wave of revulsion rocked through him—he thought he was going to be sick.

“Well,” Christopher said, thoughtfully, “that might not have been the best way to explain it.” He looked down at Matt somewhat apologetically. “It's not quite as bad as you may be thinking. Giants can eat humans safely, and bring them back up later, alive.”

He wasn't sure if that was worse or not. Was that better? For humans to be some sort of living, reusable drugs to giants? And why were they both giving him the impression that this was a common thing?

Why did he seem like the crazy one for freaking out about this?

For a while he couldn't do anything but stare at Danny, speechless, mouth slightly agape as he absorbed it all.

“That's why the human city is a secret,” Danny said. She was glaring away from Matt. “It's the only place humans can be safe here. It's the only place where we're treated like people.”

“W-why don't they…can't the CPPA bring them back to the…our world?” Matt spluttered. He was starting to understand why Danny had repeatedly told him not to freak out. But why the hell would his sister want to stay here? Did she not realize–

No, she knew how dangerous this place was, and she didn't care. She'd made her mind up, and there was no convincing her otherwise.

“Vallen said they were gonna start doing that. For people that wanted to go back.” She glanced over to him. “My friend Maria did. She wanted to work with the CPPA. I don't know how many did–maybe half the city? But a lot of people stayed, too.”

“Why?”

Danny shrugged. “Some of them were born here. Some have families, or partners, or giant friends.” Her eyes flicked to Christopher quickly before she looked away again. “Some wanted to stay behind and help the humans still here.”

Matt quietly ruminated over it, trying to quell the worry that had begun festering within him. Danny had been living here for almost two years now, right? She had giant friends to look after her. Christopher seemed like a good guy, at least.

He'd been hurt when Danny insisted on staying in this world, initially. After her being missing for a year, he was just supposed to let her go again, to who knows where, without even a way to reliably contact her? Why wouldn't she stay with her family? With him?

In truth, he had no way of knowing what it had been like for her. She'd had no memories of her life. This place–these giants, Christopher and Nathan–had been all she knew for those two years.

It would have been selfish to demand for her to give this family up for another, wouldn't it have? Even if this world was hostile, and dangerous, and downright weird–she cared about the people in it.

She'd never been able to make her own decisions while she'd lived with them in the human world. She paid her family's bills with the money she made from her job in high school, before going to college for something she hated, and taking on a career she hated equally just to take care of her family.

He couldn't demand that she sacrifice more now, as much as it hurt to be separated from her.

He sighed deeply, and scooted closer to Danny on the counter. “Well, at least you're safe here, I guess. At least you don't have to worry about…being eaten.”

…why did Danny seem to look away from him when he said that?

He whipped his head to Christopher, who seemed inexplicably fascinated with the details of the cabinets behind him.

He turned back to Danny, who was definitely not looking at him either. Something about her posture seemed…embarrassed, and it was so uncharacteristic of her that he almost didn't recognize it at first.

“...no,” he nearly whispered in disbelief. “Danny–”

“Shut up, Matt,” she grumbled.

“You did not–”

“I said shut up,” she hissed sternly.

Years of arguing with his older sister had at least taught him not to back down. He put a hand on each of her shoulders and made her look at him. “Danny, were you eaten by a giant?!”

She gave him an annoyed look, but she didn't give him an answer right away. She pushed his hands off her shoulders. “Maybe. Whatever. It's not something for you to worry about, okay?”

Why is she so infuriating?!

He stared back at her in shock. “Danny, that's not okay! You–how am I not supposed to worry about you when you say stuff like that?! You were–”

“IT'S MY CHOICE,” she snapped, snarling back at Matt in frustration as she waved an arm towards Christopher. “I LET HIM EAT ME.”

…

…she what?

Immediately, Danny's face turned a bright shade of red. “I-it's not always some big awful deal, alright?” She glared down at the ground.

Matt couldn't quite find it in himself to look back up at Christopher.

“I didn't tell you about the giants eating people thing because I didn't want you to worry about me. I know it sounds insane, and it kind of is. This whole world is crazy, I know. And there are a lot of bad giants, just like there's bad humans. But I know a few good ones, and they're really important to me.”

Matt didn't even know what to say anymore–his worry and fear weren't gone, but now he was just as equally…well, confused. And still far too much in shock to process what Danny had said.

“...I'm sorry, did you say you let Christopher eat you?” Matt squeaked, his voice coming out in an embarrassingly high pitch.

Danny rolled her eyes. “Stop making a big deal out of it, Matt. I'm fine, okay?”

Matt finally summoned the courage to glance up towards Christopher. The giant had been rather quiet while he and Danny had argued, and now seemed a little surprised that Matt had looked his way.

Christopher smiled, seeming a little less embarrassed than Danny was, although there was something a bit awkward about his grin still. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if this was all so fucking normal. “I promise it's perfectly safe, Matt. Giants’ bodies evolved the way they did specifically to protect humans. It's like a symbiotic relationship of sorts.”

Matt raised a finger and opened his mouth as if to retort, and then closed it again with a puzzled expression. “...what?”

It seemed like Christopher was used to giving this exact explanation, for some reason, because he spoke to Matt with the patience and practice of a schoolteacher. “Humans have been coming to this world since it began. Clearly, though, they had little protections from the elements, or larger predators, and for whatever reason, their presence caused giants’ bodies to adapt, to hold them safely inside of their–”

“–okay, yeah, I get it,” Matt said, shaking his head and cutting Christopher off quickly. He didn’t really get it, but it was enough of an explanation to tide him over for now. That was just batshit crazy. He couldn’t think of any animals in the real world that did anything like that.

And his sister…was okay with that? His sister willingly volunteered herself to be eaten?

Was Christopher coercing her? Forcing her? He still had his doubts that whatever “relationship” they had could be equal, especially when Danny had to rely on giants for nearly everything. Was Christopher using that as some sort of…leverage?

He knew Danny pretty well. He didn’t think she’d let herself be controlled like that. He couldn’t imagine it in normal circumstances—but these were far from normal circumstances.

His fear was put to the side, momentarily, for the sake of the fierce protectiveness he felt for Danny. He stared up at Christopher, seeming to size the giant up as if he could glean anything else about the man’s character from a more scrutinizing glance.

Christopher looked back at Matt placidly, his dark brown eyes surprisingly soft. He seemed to be able to tell he was being scrutinized, and yet he offered Matt little more than a rather docile, almost curious expression.

“Did you have any other questions about this world, Matt?”

Matt laughed—not in a way that suggested he was feeling humorous, but because he was so deep in disbelief and shock that he couldn’t make any other sound. “Fucking hell. Do I have more questions? Are you for real?” He looked back at Danny, who seemed to be assessing his reaction too now.

And then he grinned wickedly, crossing his arms as he stared her down. “You are telling me everything, Dan.”

Danny groaned. “I forgot you used to call me that.”

“Dan?” Christopher repeated, an almost mischievous gleam in his eyes. Danny immediately whipped her head towards him and glared.

“You aren’t allowed to call me that. You’ve got enough fucking nicknames under your belt.”

“But it’s cute,” he insisted, though he smiled in the same way Matt did when he knew he’d only be annoying his sister.

“I’m beating the hell out of you the next time we’re the same size,” she grumbled. “I’m not cute.”

“You know, pouting about it just adds to the cuteness,” Christopher quipped, poking at Danny’s shoulder. She tried to grab his finger and bite it, but he pulled away just in time, laughing.

Matt wasn’t entirely sure he could look at Christopher the same way anymore, not after being told that he apparently ate his older sister on what Matt assumed to be a regular basis. He couldn’t understand it, he wasn’t sure he wanted to, and he had no idea what kind of…implications that kind of relationship had in this world. And he doubted, even after he got through all the questions he wanted to tonight, that he’d truly understand it at all.

But the longer the night went on, the more he realized that Danny really did seem much happier than he ever remembered seeing her before. That wasn’t a lie, or an act. Whatever the two of them got up to, it was a real friendship, and it was obvious even through the layers of distrust and suspicion Matt wore.

This world was weird, and frankly, it was terrifying. But he could see that his sister was thriving in it, and despite his own hopes that she would decide to come back to the real world…he could only be happy for her. And that was enough for him.

------------------------------

I know that was a lot, but I like writing these kinds of things because even though they're not canon, I get to show a lot of the behind-the-scenes worldbuilding that I wouldn't normally get to show! Thanks for the ask, and thank you for reading!

#itwom #itwom au #oc christopher #oc danny #oc matt #10 points to anyone who can guess the name of the “not Wisconsin” state Christopher lives in #and go check out lucky's work while you're at it!#they don't have an official story out with Vallen yet but #i'm really excited for when they do release it #vallen is such a character and I don't get to express that enough here #toast asks

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