Bucky's

Chapter 21: Breakfast in Bed

Ronny woke up naturally, a few minutes before his alarm was scheduled to go off. He turned it off and glanced over at the diminutive human on the pillow next to him. She was still fast asleep, curled up into a little ball. The blanket had slid off of her during the night. She looked cold, huddled up as she was, so Ronny carefully placed the blanket back over her, trying his best not to wake her. She twitched and murmured in her sleep, clutching the blanket in her fists, but did not awaken. Ronny found himself smiling tenderly as he gazed down at her. His heart was warmed at the sight of her, so cute and tiny, resting on his pillow.

He slowly got out of bed, striving not to shift the mattress around too much under his great weight. He normally showered in the morning as part of his routine, but since he had showered last night he had some extra time. He tiptoed over to the kitchen, so as not to quake the ground beneath his huge feet, and started making some scrambled eggs with cheese for his tiny guest to eat. He started up his coffee pot so he'd have some fresh coffee to help wake up.

He was in good spirits, even if he had to go to work. His sleepy mind wandered a bit as he thought through his agenda for the day. He needed to get Tanya some proper clothes, and maybe some human-sized objects for her comfort. He didn't know where he would buy any of that stuff, though, on the large side of the city. He had never required any human-scale items before, and no shops that he knew of sold such things. He would have to look into it after work.

He finished preparing the eggs and chopped up a strawberry into very fine pieces that he hoped were small enough for Tanya. The portions looked ludicrously small on one of his Giant-sized plates, but it was the best he could do for now. He carried the plate back to the bedroom, where he found Tanya still asleep on her pillow. He was about to wake her up, reaching out his hand to nudge her, when he noticed she was dreaming. Out of curiosity, he stayed his hand and watched as she tossed and turned, her eyes squeezed shut and her face straining with discomfort. It was quickly apparent that whatever she was dreaming, it wasn't very pleasant.

"No, no," she mumbled, flapping her arm weakly. "Stop. Don't eat me!" Ronny felt a painful knot in his chest as he realized she was having a nightmare about Bucky's, reliving being eaten alive. He experienced a pang of regret for his part in her torment, since he had eaten her multiple times. He probably looked like a mammoth, beastly ogre from her perspective. How could he live with himself, knowing all the things he'd done?

He didn't want to witness her suffering, so he gently caressed her shoulder with his thumb to wake her up. Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked a few times, flexing her fingers. She looked up to behold the Giant looming over her and her eyes widened with terror. With the vestiges of her nightmare still fogging her half-awake mind, she forgot where she was and failed to recognize Ronny as an ally. She yelped, jumped to her feet, and blindly ran, tripping over the squishy surface of the pillow and flopping onto the edge of the mattress. She scampered to her feet and dashed over the side of the bed.

Horrified, Ronny dropped the plate of food and dove forward to catch her before she fell to her death. He was able to break her fall with his soft palms just in time. Tanya was about to scurry out of his hands but he securely pressed his fingers around her to prevent her from hurting herself.

"Whoa, Tanya! Calm down!" Ronny cried. He winced as he realized his large deep voice would likely sound menacing to the tiny human. Dropping the volume down, he said softly, "Tanya, it's okay. You're safe. I'm not going to eat you, okay? Please, calm down."

His words were able to reach her, and she stopped struggling. Ronny could feel her tiny heart in her chest, beating against the pad of his finger. He loosened his hold on her with a sigh. She didn't try to run. She had regained her wits.