G/t I Guess

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He'd just needed some more fabric.

Arder had taken the exhausting, tedious path through the walls to the basement; he'd maneuvered his way past old boxes and containers to the shelf with what he needed. All he needed to do was reach into one of the storage boxes to snip off some extra material and then he'd be gone.

He'd made it to the box he wanted, but it was upright for some reason; usually it was on its side, the opening on the ground for easy access. No one was ever down here, and this box was far towards the back, so someone must have moved it. He'd almost let his fear get to him and give in to his borrower urge to return to the safety of the walls, and now he was wishing he'd listened.

He'd come all this way, he wasn't going to turn back yet; he was getting what he came for first. He'd climbed around a different box behind it and used the grooves in the cold brick basement wall to hoist himself on top of it. He'd placed a hand on a string hanging out of another box behind him and reached for the fabric in the one now in front of him. It was right there, and his cursed tiny hand was millimeters away from his prize. Of course, he wasn't counting on the string coming loose and causing him to fall into the box below him.

After getting his bearings, it didn't take a genius to realize he'd gotten hopelessly stuck. An unknown string now entangled his small body in the new shadow of this mysterious new box. After a second to think, it didn't take an idiot to realize said box was for holding Christmas decorations.

Arder took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. His claustrophobia was kicking in, and if he let it get out of control he could pass out. On more than one occasion, it had almost gotten him caught, and he wouldn't dare let it happen again. So he just sat still where he was and forced himself to control his breathing. If he was going to move, he couldn't be panicking, so he'd just have to wait. It probably would have been fine if it had been any month that wasn't December, but fate wasn't playing nice today for Arder.

If he wasn't preoccupied with trying not to pass out, Arder might have noticed the quiet shifting of fabric and cardboard from behind him. But he wasn't paying attention, so without warning, his box moved and was lifted upwards. Arder stifled a yelp and his stomach churned from vertigo as the box unexpectedly moved forward in the arms of a human stranger. A human. Tears began to build up in Arder's eyes at the realization of the severity of his situation and his body began to shake. He'd never been this close to a human before, not remotely, and now he was indirectly in the grasp of one. Not only was he trapped, there was now the terrifying risk he could even be seen by this colossal bean, all because he let his guard down for a moment in his attempt to not panic.

Well, look where that got him.

Arder felt the box make motions indicating he was moving up stairs, then moments later was set down. To say the placement wasn't soft was a slight understatement, and the cry that he released wasn't quiet upon his short fall to the bottom of the ornament pile.

Arder's hands shot to his mouth, his body screaming in pain at him to stop moving but the adrenaline was going a long way. His teary eyes slowly glanced upward only to gasp at his reflection in enormous black-rimmed glasses.

The human's blue eyes widened in surprise, and his fluffy dirt blond locks fell into his face as he leaned forward for a closer look. The boy gasped and Arder was positive his heart was going to explode from beating so fast. This was it. His life was over. His tense body stiffened as he took a shaky breath, the realization hitting hard. His body then relaxed and the previously built up tears began to silently spill over, never breaking their seemingly eternal gaze.

"Hey, it's ok, shh... I won't hurt you." The human whispered. He slowly began to reach for Arder's tiny form, and the poor borrower was definitely going to pass out. He screamed mentally at his body to stay awake; if he passed out now he'd be completely powerless to stop this human(no more than usual) and screamed at the sight of large digits nearing his form. His breath quickened as a warm, leathery fingertip grazed his shoulder, and a black shadow clouded his brain, and he fell limp against the giant's knuckle.