g/t one-shot book

point of view (m/m)

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!"

James stared at the former giant in awe. Here he was, the one that could once hold him in a hand, now panicking over the human being able to do the same. If he was honest, he didn't blame Michael at all. When the human's vantage point had changed, it had taken James a few minutes to get used to his actions being so...loud.

Each step he took was a small quake to his companion, and he learned that every move he made had a sound. It was quite the suprise. So much so that James elected to stay still while Michael rambled, the only indication of his presence being the breaths that reminded the shrunken being of what was bigger.

Finally, the reduced giant fell exhaustively to the ground, his impact barely registering in James's giant ears. A beat of silence filled the quiet acceptance both parties had come to.

"...this sucks," he whispered, and James found himself straining to hear the diminished being. He willed himself to nod, training careful eyes on the 6 ft figure.

"It worked as intended, though," he muttered back, and Michael flinched. "Sorry."

The figure on the table sighed. "You shouldn't be. It's just something I need to get used to."

"Being loud?" He offered.

Michael chuckled sadly. "Being silenced. I never thought..."

He choked, his eyes meeting James's with a flash of recognition. A moment later his eyes averted their gaze, his features indistinguishable to the newly heightened giant.

"You never told me how overpowering everything was."

James's eyes widened. Overpowering, he'd said. A word he hadn't used before, yet it nicely summarized his entire existence. The humans, the insects, the food - all of it was too much. He'd gotten too familiar with the pounding of his chest, the muffling of everything else in favor of what was right in front of him.

But here? Now? He was the one overpowering. Michael never told him about the silence in being the biggest, never told him the calm of seeing the former borrower no taller taller his upright palm.

James grimaced. And yet...

"How do you feel, though?"

Silence answered him. At first James pressumed he was thinking about it, but one look at the petrified being told him all he needed to know. His eyes, big as can be, accompanied his buckling knees in telling James exactly what he was thinking. Exactly what James once thought at his height.

"You're..." he trailed.

Huge. Neither of them had to say it to understand. Still, James thought, Michael had been lucky. He'd known that the now-giant had the same experience, that he'd think twice before inflicting pain on the smaller being. But James? He'd spent months warming up to the idea that Michael wasn't violent, years to even consider walking willingly into the bigger man's palm.

"I'm alright, though," his voice came confidently, so much that if James hadn't seen otherwise he would've believed it. "It's definitely...different."

James chuckled. "Differently different."

He made out the smaller being nodding. "Differently different," he agreed, making his way towards James.

"Michael...!" He went, noting how the guy in question flinched. James lowered his voice. "You don't have to do this if it makes you uncomfortable."

The man closest to the ground audibly scoffed. "You put up with me every day at this height. The least I can do is return the favor."

James hadn't even thought about that. A few minutes ago being small had been his normal, and in the short amount of time between thrn and now he'd accepted the permanence of this form, too. Maybe it had to do with him growing. His eyes refocused on Michael. Or maybe...it was the presence of his friend going through the same motions in reverse, validating his own feelings along the way.

He sighed as he slowly brought his open palm to the table, mentally preparing for the shrunken being to make contact. It was grueling watching the man gradually reach his own pillar of flesh. Step by step. Centimeter by centimeter.

Finally, Michael came to his awaiting palm, shuffling his feet and twindling his thumbs. Hesitantly, the smaller man touched a finger to the side of his pinky, sending a miniscule jolt of recognition to his brain. His friend smiled weakly, placing his whole hand on the spot.

"It's amazing, right?" His voice tried, and it took a moment before James realized the gravity of those words. "Like the dull end of a toothpick brushed against your skin."

James furrowed his brows at the statment. He'd used those things to hunt, to keep predators at bay. To think that an object so big, so significant was nothing more than a sharp version of the touch he felt to the average giant emasculated him. His mouth twitched momentarily, forgetting that he was now heads above the person he used to be.

Michael didn't seem to miss the change, though, as his steps began to retreat. At the peripheral image of his friend leaving, James snapped back to reality, eyes softening.

"You're afraid of me."

Michael scoffed. "I'm seeing you in a new light. Of course this is scary!"

James bit his lip. This, he had said, referring to the experience. But he hadn't denied his fear. The now giant understood why - it wasn't easy being smaller. He remembered his own process of warming up, but the fact still bothered him.

He hadn't done anything wrong yet, but it still felt like before, back when he was not moving a muscle. When he was holding back. Was this what Michael went through with him? Tiptoe-ing around his true strength, discomfort in his own skin because of what he was capable of?

He knew the answer, but living it was something he'd have to get used to.

"I know," he muttered, and the way Michael looked at him told him he believed it, too. A soft smile played on his lips. "But we can take it slow, right?"

Michael nodded, willing himself to step closer. "One step at a time?"

James's eyes crinkled. "One step at a time."