g/t one-shot book

joke (m/nbf)

It started as a joke.

In hindsight Blue knew better than to entertain her, but in that moment nothing else had mattered. Xe never questioned the clammy grasp of taupe brown that led xem to the foot of the bean's nightstand, xyr beating heart drowning all xyr rational thinking. Nor did xe question the fact that Miriam's gaze was fixed on the bed above them. All xe felt through the pounding of xyr head and burning of xyr feet was bliss.

Miriam turned around, her cheeks flushed slightly as whispered. "Get ready."

For what? Blue had thought then, but nothing could ever prepare xem for what happened next.

The two stopped suddenly, startling the redhead as xe took in xyr surroundings. Miriam had been the one to borrow for the past few months, but that had been the kitchen. The bean's room, however, had always been off-limits. But as xe's eyes traced the fairy lights, counting them until it hurt to think about, xe wondered if Miriam had been here before. Surely her bravado had been rooted in familiarity. The way she watched the bed, knowing the human was up there, and couldn't focus on anything else.

It must have been, right?

Xyr breath hitched as the other borrower turned around. Miriam flashed xem a smile - a genuine one, and the shorter borrower wondered how xe lived so long without her. At that moment, it didn't matter if she had been familiar with it or not. As long as she never became a stranger to xem, everything would be okay.

"Caleb!"

There it was. Blue had been so focused on the idea of Miriam - of her proximity and smile, that xe hadn't realized that she turned back around. In a snap Blue's euphoric demeanor left, a wave of fear overtaking xyr senses. Xe frantically looked between Miriam and the bed on high - xyr mind generating millions of ways to get out of this mess.

"Let's go," xe managed softly, xyr hand finding one of hers and tugging it haphazardly.

A creak of the bedframe caused both of them to stiffen, their eyes locking as Blue silently prayed he was asleep. As the moments began to pass, Blue found xyr gaze trailing to Miri's hand - which for the first time was encasing hers instead of their usual way around it. Something in xem jumped at the revelation - something so insignificant, yet it never occurred to xem they could do.

Finally, as the moments turned to minutes, the borrower duo forced themselves to relax. Miriam unflexed her hands within xyrs, and the change was enough for them to find each other's eyes. Unsure how long the silence would last, Blue jerked xyr head in the direction of their hideout, and to xyr relief Miriam nodded, not wasting a moment before the 3-inch borrower guided them back home.

---

Jokes were never funny the second time.

That's what Blue had told her when she asked to go back a few days later. And a third time. And a fourth. Blue remembered the conversation that spurred it initially - a quick jab at Miriam's obsession with the human, his "secret admirer." Through the bravado of night Blue had jokingly dared her to call to him, teasing that if he answered it would no longer be embarrassing.

Xe hadn't expected her to do it, though.

Blue sighed. The orange-clad 22-year-old didn't understand why she was so insistent. She'd been more courageous with each visit - a little more loud, a little more close, a little more...herself. But like clockwork, the big man gave her no answer. Each night she'd call his name the same way.

Each night she was met with the same answer.

One particular night, after Miriam decided to go out a little earlier in hopes to catch him before he slept, Blue had asked her why. Why go through all the trouble? They'd talked earlier about it being a joke, but Miriam had dismissed that it even had to do with that anymore. When xe asked, her eyes met xyrs with a devious glint.