Crimson 13

chapter 2: Urges

Mark and zoe have seen little Nash grow. They've developed an unconditional love for their adopted daughter. They didn't have to be blood related to be family, and zoe did a decent job at controlling the energetic girl.

Living with a giant father, she had all the space around the giant apartment to run around freely, and climb everything, and run around without worrying to break anything.
Being too light and small to actually break and push anything off the edge of a table.
But she was barely a year old and still couldn't walk properly.

Zoe was changing Nash on the kitchen table while Mark was cooking dinner.
He was acting a bit unusual all day, which worried Zoe. Because he was never so distant from her, and when he spoke to her, he covered his mouth.

She changed the diaper finally, and dropped the dirty diaper in the bin below.

"Is everything okay Coco?" She said as she picked up Nash and looked at Mark, standing at the edge of the table. She tilted her head at him ina curious sense  waiting for an answer.

"Nothing, don't worry." He says in a clipped tone, focusing on stirring the chicken in the pan with the wooden spatula. He seemed impatient, his tone cut and sharp. Almost hostile.

"Well, something definitely doesn't seem right." Her eyebrows knit in a bit of disappointment and alarm.
Something was definitely up with him, and he wasn't being truthful. He never acted that way, he was usually stable and calm. A peace keeper.

"Don't press the issue Zoe." His grip tightened around the wooden spoon as he kept stirring, but then left it at the pan and then picked up a large knife and decided to start cutting vegetables for the chicken.

"Don't lie to me Mark, please." Zoe looked at him with pleading eyes, wanting to know what was suddenly wrong with her husband, but he wouldn't budge.

This time, he completely ignored her. Holding back from talking, and instead biting his lip to not accidentally yell at zoe. He had his reasons, but he didn't want to worry her with them. And he didn't want to make it seem like she did something wrong.

"Come on, Mark. Talk to me." She kept insisting, while still holding Nash who was squirming a lot in her arms.

"I just.. didn't take my pill today." Mark finally spoke. And zoe's gaze softened as she viewed his situation.
Mark being a maneater by blood, he had his own hunger he needed to deal with. And his was usually out of control, and pills specially made to stop that hunger he didn't take.
So that's why he had been keeping distant and covering his mouth each time he talked to her, he felt scared himself of his own disturbing thoughts of ways of eating his beloved wife.

"Why didn't you take your pills? They're in the closet if you don't remember where you put them" Zoe said, feeling worried for him.

"I don't have anymore.. and the store said they don't get a refill except next week." He slid the cubes of vegetables off the cutting board with the chicken in the pan with the knife.

"Oh. Will you be able to handle your... you know.." She said hesitantly, backing away slightly, holding Nash tightly against her.

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling and then stared back down at the pan as he kept cooking. "I don't know" is all he muttered.

At bedtime, Zoe carried Nash to her crib in a roofless one story dollhouse they bought so zoe could take care of her properly. Like giving her baths, putting her in a crib, and suitable furniture for her size.

After she put Nash to bed, she hopped off the nightstand and climbed over by Mark's side, who was scrolling aimlessly through his phone.
She walked over through the trenches of folds of the blanket and sheets, over to his side, gripped his shirt as she climbed his side to get to his chest and lay there.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at her climbing journey, opening his arm a bit to give her more access.

"Getting closer to you" she grunted as she finally made it and splayed herself on his huge chest.

"You could just ask" He shook his head with amusement, "..but I don't think this is such a good idea tonight"

"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow and laid on her stomach, prospering her head on the palms of her hand.
She stared at his face with contemptment, while kicking her feet lazily.

"Look, I just think it's better if I slept on the couch tonight.. I don't wanna do something I'd regret while being half-asleep.." he said quietly, rubbing her cheek with the tip of his thumb.
His hand itched to grab her and have a little taste of her. To just run the tip of his tongue over her, but he knew it'd escalate faster than he'd think.

But zoe nodded, and Mark picked her up in his palm and sat up in bed, swung his legs over the edge and stood.
He placed her back in the middle of the bed and leaned forward to give her a little kiss and left the room, closing the door behind him.
He sighed, feeling his urges gnawing at his throat and stomach. And he bit his tongue and flopped on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a bit.

The Days passed quickly, Nash grew older. With a timid and shy personality, and her parents loved her dearly like their own. Tons of space to run around in, and not be shy at her own space.
She was a talker, liked to tell stories to her dad while he was cooking. Or to her mom when she was pushing around the spices to help mark cook, since that was all she could really help with in his giant environment.

Mark had to be careful while walking so he wouldn't accidently crush her underfoot while she's playing, since she didn't really have the common sense to move out of the way because she was a toddler, running and not caring.

She would climb up Mark's pant leg when he was working on the couch, but would get tired by the time she
Reached his shin. Or would play with her miniature dolls ontop of his head, or would cuddle up with her mom when she was cuddling with her dad.

Though, school was an option for her to go, she couldn't really go to school on their side of town. Since most schools only housed giants, there was no option to enroll her in a school in the tiny side of town.
So she most of the time, she hadn't interacted with giants really. Only her dad, and his brother, Ben.
That was about it, but she had a curiosity towards giants. But especially her mom worried for her since she was timid and shy child all her childhood, and even till she grew up.