g/t one-shot book

be okay (m/f)

"You...don't mean that."

But he did. Her thoughts confirmed. He knew exactly what he meant by that.

"It wouldn't work," he said, his voice shaking the barn as he spoke. "What would they think of us? What would they think..."

Ellie hated that she understood. What would they think of you? His eyes seemed to finish. As his pupils focused on her once again, the teen found that she couldn't feel anything.

Nothing.

It was...horrifying. He was so big, literally and figuratively, telling her that their relationship wouldn't work and all she could feel was static. He was right there, his palm cradling her as they spoke, but to her he couldn't have been further away. His body heat, intense as she'd liked it, felt illusionary as his mind seemed foggy compared to hers.

She stopped herself. No. They were both foggy. She pressed herself further into his embrace, hoping that they could meet in the middle. Between calluses that supported her, and the fingers curled around her so gingerly, she hoped he understood.

"I..." she said, wishing her dry throat to work. "We...can get through it though, right?"

His eyes fell to the side, his silence speaking in his voice's absence. In that moment, Mark couldn't have looked smaller. Here he was, nearly 4 times taller than the average head in this town, strong enough to demolish the wooden walls that contained him, paralyzed in fear.

Ellie thought that being that giant would do wonders. That confidence was innate, being the biggest on the playground. That somehow 15 feet atop her 5'4 frame would make a person go crazy with power. But here Mark was, 20 feet tall, holding her close in a barn, proving them both wrong. His hands around her back, supporting her even when he didn't feel the same.

She shrugged. It was why she'd fallen for him, after all. The humility in his silence, the ability to crush but his persistence to instead build was...attractive, to say the least. Even now, in his uncertainty, she wanted nothing more than to show him that everything would be okay.

She jumped to her feet, ignoring how the mini-giant flinched. His eyes flashed hurt, and as she got closer to his chest those eyes widened. Without betraying her intentions she grabbed his chest, using the fistfuls to hoist herself up. His hands scrambled under her, fingers twitching in anticipation as she scaled his chest up to his shoulders. With hands on either side of his neck, she hoisted herself - placing a delicate kiss on the bottom of his chin.

His worried expression turned flustered as she pushed herself up a few more times and planted a few more affectionate touches to his chin. His hands snaked their way to support her, and as she let go of his shoulders, she wasn't surprised that he'd caught her.

"We'll be okay," she said softly as he hoisted her up, the certainty in her eyes melting away his hesitancy.

"I know," he muttered back, "But I'd rather you be better than suffer with me."

Ellie scoffed. "There you go, worrying about me again."

A grin made its way to Mark's face. "But that's why you love me, right?"

She laughed, letting his hands bring her to his chest as she embraced it the best she could. She brought her voice to a whisper, trying to bring the flesh behind the shirt closer:

"More than you know."