You know how Luke has nightmares about being giant and accidentally hurting people, has Matt every had a nightmare about accidentally hurting Luke while he was tiny?
Yes, he has. Though he would never admit it to Luke, shortly after the events of HOME, Luke invites Matt over for a sleepover and Matt feels paranoid as he goes off to sleep, he then dreams of waking to find Luke small.
“Dude what happened, why are you small right now? Are you okay?” Matt kneels in front of his friend; it had been a few weeks since he’d last seen him this size and that interaction hadn’t been perfect, but he maintained that he had kept his friend safe. Something in Luke’s little blue eyes however made him feel like Luke was looking through him, like he was a stranger in his eyes.
“Luke? It’s me Matt, you're okay.” Matt lowered himself further to the ground, feeling a sense of dread wash through him as he noted Luke take a few slow steps backwards and away from him.
It reminded him of the feeling left in his heart after he’d initially gone to grab at Luke without warning a few weeks ago outside of their math teachers office. Luke’s eyes had gone wide, and he’d run from him then until he was out of reach under the door. Matt had felt horrible for scaring his friend like that. He’d known Luke was shrinking and promised to be supportive of his friend however his first reaction was to grab him.
“Don’t touch me!” Luke suddenly shouted up at him, Matt flinched as though Luke had just slapped him hard across the face. Why was he acting like this?
“I swear I won’t touch you dude, just chill.” Matt tried again to calm his friend, he noted Luke’s impossibly small chest rising and falling at a worryingly fast pace, this wasn’t working. It made him wonder if this is how Luke felt when he was a giant, just monstrously too big.
A scream pierced the air and Matt watched in horror as a hand chased Luke, causing him to flee in panic, Matt’s heart dropped to his stomach when he realised it was his own hand chasing after his friend.
“STOP!” Matt screamed at his hand, but it did no good instead it only made things worse causing Luke to stumble from the volume of his voice and trip over his own feet, he rolled into a huddled ball on the cold floor, holding his hands tightly to his ears.
“I’m sorry!” Matt cried, his hand would not stop though, it was as though it had a mind of its own, he could only watch in horror as his hand dipped under Luke’s body, nudging it into his palm.
Finally, Matt regained control of himself, he intended to put Luke back on the ground but felt a sense of comfort knowing he was holding his friend safely, maybe now he could convince Luke that he was safe and with his friend.
“Luke, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to grab you, I couldn’t stop myself, I swear your safe and I won’t do it again.” Luke was unresponsive in his palm, the only indicator that Luke was even conscious was the flutter of his miniscule breaths against the base of his palm.
Matt reached for his friend again, this time only a single finger hoping to poke Luke playfully and get a laugh out of him, the reaction he got was far from a laugh though.
Luke’s scream echoed through the room as Matt’s finger made contact with Luke’s side, Luke’s whole body convulsed, and he wrapped his small arms around his waist in pain.
“Luke what- what just happened?” Matt exclaimed, he inched his face closer to get a better look, had he done that? Had he just hurt his friend? He had barely touched him and yet Luke was holding his middle in pain as though he’d just broken a rib.
“Matt STOP!” Luke screamed, this was the first time Luke had acknowledged him by name, recognising him for who he was, but somehow this didn’t make Matt feel any better anymore.
Matt watched in horror as the fingers surrounding Luke began to twitch, Luke’s eyes widened in fear watching and being unable to do anything to stop him. Matt urged his fingers to remain still, but they disobeyed him, slowly closing in on his best friend who was helpless and at his mercy completely.
“Matt please!” Luke cried, tears falling freely as the hand closed around him, Matt felt his small frame hot against his fingers, his chest beating wildly against his skin, every miniscule bone and joint Matt could feel with acute clarity. So fragile, so alive and yet helpless against something as insignificant as his own fist.
His fingers did not relent though, instead squeezing tighter, Luke’s face went red and his breathes came out in laboured pants as his chest was restricted further, his lungs tight with the effort of drawing a full breath.
And then a crack.
Matt felt sick as he watched Luke’s eyes gloss over before they closed completely, and he went limp.
“Luke! Wake up! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” He wanted to shake his hand, shake Luke awake but he was so scared he would only hurt him further.
“Luke! I’m sorry! Please wake up!” Hot tears stung his hazel eyes and he cried, he released his friend from the restrictive grip and let him lay limply in his palm. He was unconscious but still breathing, he’d hurt him, hurt him badly.
“Luke.” Matt’s soft whimper faded out and the image in front of him blurred.
Matt blinked his eyes until the world around him refocused, the rhythmic buzz and whir of the fan in the room blew cold air against his sweaty skin and he stared at the ceiling above him.
He pushed himself up into a sitting position, taking in his surroundings and recognising the space as Luke’s spare room in his granny flat. He rubbed a hand over his face taking a few calming breathes as he remembered he had come over to Luke’s for a sleep over last night, the first time he’d been invited over since he found out about Luke’s ability.
“It was just a dream.” He whispered to himself, he looked around again and suddenly felt unsure, scared and alone, so he got up and quietly tiptoed out of the room.
He wanted to see for himself that Luke was okay. He couldn’t shake the sick feeling from his stomach, the feeling of being a monster.
He gently pushed the door open and peeked in, he could see his friend curled up on his large queen bed, he had his fan oscillating as well, cooling the humid room as it was a hot night. The lump that was Luke’s body under the covers rose and fell gently, indicating that he was still asleep.
Matt was about to turn around and head back into his own room for the remainder of the night, the rules were that Matt sleep in his own room just in the rare chance that Luke shift in his sleep. He hadn’t shifted in his sleep-in years, but the possibility was still there, and yet Matt couldn’t get his feet to move in the opposite direction.
Instead, he inched further into the room and carefully slipped under the covers beside his best friend, he hesitated only a moment before wrapping an arm around Luke’s waist and nuzzling his face into his neck. He didn’t care how it looked or what Luke would say when he woke up, all he knew was that he needed his best friend right now and he needed to know he was safe.
A few more tears leaked out of Matt’s eyes before he fell asleep, thankfully his sleep was dreamless as he succumbed to a feeling of peace, enjoying the presence of his friend unhurt and held securely to his body.
