sweet (f/f) | snippet #3

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by tea0731

by tea0731

[It was you, wasn't it?]

Four more weeks had gone by. It had been 8 weeks since Maria had first suspected she wasn't alone in this house, 4 since her suspicions were confirmed by a slightly delirious tiny person, and four more weeks of waiting as the tension grew thicker in the absence of conversation. Today, Maria had been lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when the voice she'd heard sarcastically before chimed into the wind.

"What did I do?"

A tiny scoff filled the air. [You think you're so subtle,] the voice responded but didn't deny anything. [You saw me too, didn't you?]

Maria shrugged, her gaze still fixed above. "No, not really." She snorted. "I know you're short, though."

[Ha, ha.] The voice responded, making Maria curious enough to shift herself upright.

Nothing. Maria remembered how monstrous she felt when she first saw the little occupant, how taking a peek at their minuscule form on her kitchen counter was enough to send a shiver down her spine. She remembered how out of place she felt, her, a college graduate who paid rent to live her, as the tiny said things they probably wouldn't have if they were a bit more aware. The guilt pushed her to go to the fridge and drop a few strawberries. That guilt, which wasn't even warranted because she couldn't control who she was, and neither could they.

And yet...

[Penny for your thoughts?]

"Can you even lift a penny," she snapped, and then immediately realized who she was talking to. "Sorry! I-"

A small chuckle interrupted her apology. [You're weird.] The being said instead, silencing any other protests she had and instead making Maria...self-conscious? She bit her lip, ignoring the obvious fact that in this world she was normal and they were weird.

...right?

[Do you want to know my name?]

Maria shrugged. "If you're offering. Although, I don't know why you would - you're clearly scared of me."

[Can't argue with that.] The voice responded. [But you did help me a few weeks ago, so I feel like I owe it to you. My name-]

It was Maria's turn to scoff. "Seriously?" She said, angling her eyes downwards to nothing in particular. "You don't owe me anything."

It was then that she spotted them - no, her? Them, her brain decided, humming at the compromise. They were exactly as tall as she remembered - about 3-4 inches, give or take what her eyes actually estimated. They wore a gray fabric draped about them like a cloak, the only indication of clothing being the holes they made for the arms, legs, and head or the white floss belt wrapped across their waist. Whoever they were, they were pretty - with shoulder-length hair and curious little brown eyes. Eyes, which Maria felt would be missed if she blinked or focused - they couldn't be bigger than the smallest freckle on her cousin's face.

[She.] They, no - she said, seemingly reading Maria's mind. [I'm a woman, so stop staring. I'm not into you.]

Maria sputtered. "I wasn't - that's not, how did you- "

She tilted her head to the side, craning her neck to get a different view of Maria. [You were oogling me.] She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. [Thanks for the months' supplies of sweets, but I don't want to get with you.]

"I don't either," Maria admitted, and surprised the both of them with her honesty. "I've just never seen someth- someone, like you before."

[Really?]

The tiny person drew closer, trekking her bed to see Maria up close. Maria flushed, ashamed of how big, how powerful she was compared to the person she'd finally started talking to. A few beats of silence passed between them as she walked, the human wondering how many others the woman had seen and not confronted - she was clearly shaken up. Every step the little one took shook with an uncertainty Maria couldn't quite place, but the most surprising part was that she could even feel the bare give of weight the smaller being caused with each minuscule step.

[You're alright.] She finally said, and Maria found it in her to breathe again. [I mean, I can still give you my name, but would you mind if we took this slow?]

This, Maria thought as her eyes flitted from the smaller woman to herself, wasn't what she had in mind a month ago. Two months ago, even, the 25-year-old never thought she'd start...whatever this relationship was with a being who could stand comfortably in her hand.

"Sure," she said as her heart swelled at the notion. "What is it?"

The smaller being met her eyes, a twinkle in her own. [Amber.]

Amber, she repeated to herself, smiling.

"Nice to finally meet you." Maria found herself saying, and as the figure retreated to the shadows of her room, the sweetness of her name cozied up to her mind.

Amber.