G/T Oneshots

Coffee Trip

(Author's Note: Oh boy this is a long one. Glad I remembered to publish this today like I promised yesterday!)
Shit.
Shit shit shit shit.
I don't know what to do, it was absolutely not my fault in any way, but that's never stopped them. I hear the stories all the time, you accidentally hurt a human or almost do, then they take you to court and sue your ass off no matter the circumstances. There's even a ton of cases where the human obviously did it just to get money, but the system favored them and they made bank.
But come on now! It was after dark and they were in the 'Giant Walkway', how would that be my fault? And I didn't even hurt them, they screamed loud enough before anything happened. I even walked them home and did everything I could to be nice, but I'm still terrified they want money out of me.

I fall asleep with my thoughts racing around in my head, sewing into a tapestry of fears that wove itself into terrible dreams of pain and suffering.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Oh god dammit. I groan, then smash the top of the alarm clock lazily. That was a terrible night, but at least it all feels like a dream now. Maybe I can even convince myself that it was if I try hard enough.
No, no, that would probably make things worse. You can't run from everything, George.
I dress myself in a flash, not even giving myself time to process what I was wearing but cognizant enough to know it didn't look like a mess.
My coffee machine pathetically spits out about 3 squirts of coffee before I give up and decide to go to the chain coffee store down the road. I've never liked those places, the coffee tastes fake and processed and I have to use a million sugar packets to make it anywhere close to palatable. And it's like 10 dollars for a small cup. I understand that it's a few gallons but really, 10 dollars?
I grab a light coat off the rack and unlock my door, then begin my walk. It's not raining, but it's not exactly sunny either, I guess just somewhat cloudy.
This time I triple check that I'm in the 'Giant Walkway' and keep my eyes on the human one in case one tries to jump the barrier again for some reason.
Shit wait, should I look at my feet instead? Both. I have to do both.
My eyes dart back and forth between the ground beneath me and the small walkway beside me, slowly creating a blurry mess of information I can't decipher. But before I know it, I'm here anyway.
I will admit, they do have the coffee shop atmosphere down considering they're a chain company. Warm lighting coming from hipster industrial light bulbs, wooden and brick construction, a waiting area with benches and couches, speakers playing some royalty free violin music, and especially the smell of fresh bread and pastries from the counter that I doubt anyone actually buys.
It's a 'intersize' establishment, having space for both giants and humans. I'd call it inclusive considering it's run by giants, but it's probably a combination of wanting as much money as possible and the fact that humans run most of the government here and pressure the private sector to accommodate them.
There's a smaller entrance on the floor, and then a huge staircase with an escalator that reaches to the top of the counter, and then there's their own storefront and waiting area that takes up a good chunk of our counter, all protected by glass. I feel like it would be way less bother for them to have their part on the floor, but aside from the walkways most of their designated areas in intersize places are around our hip level, for safety I guess. It must be annoying to have to take all those stairs, though, even if they move sometimes. They don't make escalators big enough for us so when we have stairs we use them the old fashioned way. Or the few elevators they have, but usually those are intersize too.
"Uh, hello? Helloooooooooo?"
Oh whoops, I forgot to pay attention aside from scooting up in line when I felt I had space.
"Oh, sorry, what is it?" I blurt back to the barista.
Wait, I'm fucking stupid, she wants my order.
"Shit, I meant I'll take a normal coffee."
I breathe a sigh of relief, hopefully I look a little less like an actual idiot.
The barista looks like she's never been more bored and annoyed in her life. Is that from me, or her job?
"Small, medium, or large sir?"
Definitely from me. I'm so used to my own coffee machine that has one standard size that fits my mug I forgot that sizes even exist. What size do I want? What size does my machine make? I'll cut my losses and just take the middle option, if it's too much I'll dump it out, and if it's too little I'll be ornery for the rest of the day.
"Medium, please."
Maybe if I give her a tip it'll excuse my incompetence? But the tip jar probably gets split between all the employees so unless I tip a big bill she won't care much. I'll have to live with another person hating me for the rest of my life, oh well.
"That'll be 12.99." She points to the credit card machine.
"What?! Why that much?"
There's no way that's right, it's a medium coffee! Ten dollars was already a stretch, the hell?!
"New tax laws. It's a shitshow." She points to the human counter a few feet over. "You can blame those little fuckers for it."
Alright, maybe it's her personality and not me. I need the coffee, so I don't have a choice. I begrudgingly slide my card in the machine and wince as it makes its conformation jingle a little too loud.
"Name for the order?"
Is that really necessary? How long does a coffee take?
"Just George I guess."
Was 'I guess' too informal?
"Okay George, stand over there in the waiting queue while I make your beverage." She points to a smaller area near the corner of the counter, right next to where the glass that divides it into the human area is.
Really? Right next to them, damn. Eventually boredom gets the best of me and I can't help but stare.
It's sorta fascinating now similar they are to us, waiting in a line, sitting at tables, I can even hear a muffled version of a different song coming through the glass. They're all probably about half the size of my pinky finger, some bigger and some smaller than that though.
"Hey."
I turn around, looking for confirmation from any of the people around me in line, but I get none in return.
"Idiot. Down here."
I follow the quiet sound back towards the counter, and my eyes widen when I see a human away from the glass barrier. No no no, I'm not risking this. I take a small step back.
"Dude I don't bite, what's up?"
I questioningly glance around some, then slowly point to myself.
"Yes, doofus, I'm talking to you."
"...w-what?"
"I asked what's up! Are you as bored as I am?"
What is happening, how do I even answer that? What is it doing outside of the barrier?
"...wh...why....?"
It puts out its hands in a confused manner, and that's furthered by what I can make out in its expression.
"Like I said, I'm bored as hell. Do you wanna hang out?"
"Hang out? Huh? How...?"
It let's out a big sigh I can't hear, but can definitely see.
"Trust me, I do this a lot. When I don't have anything to do I come here and talk to you all. Usually they take me over to a table and share drops of their coffee with me."
"So...you use them for free coffee?"
"No no, it's much more than that. Certainly part of it but I like the conversation, too."
"How many times have you done this?"
"What, get a giant to take me to their table? Maybe 5 or 6."
"No, like leave the barrier?"
"Oh I do that shit all the time, I don't give a damn about the signs."
"Aren't you worried about getting hurt or something?"
"Who cares! If I die that's on me, it happens, not a big deal."
I look up as soon as the barista holds out my coffee, and we exchange looks. I don't think she sees the human below me but I can't disprove it. Soon she walks away.
What are the odds I have encounters like this two days in a row? This is definitely some sort of insurance or court settlement scam.
Suddenly I feel a slight touch on my opposite hand that's resting on the countertop.
"Forget about me? Don't just stand there! pick me up and get a table already."
I'm frozen. I can't go through with this, but I feel like I'm already in too deep with my dismissive responses. If I'm rude they might claim endangerment anyway.
"What's with it with you? Am I that annoying you can't even give me the time of day?"
"No, no, I'm sorry, I just..."
I pause, then reconsider my next words, and instead open my hand up and lay it flat on the counter.
Immediately the human jumps into it, confident and energetic.
I move upwards and scan the shop for am empty table. Of course the only one left is as far away from this location as it can be.
How did I get myself into this mess? My eyes fall down to the human in my hand, and it returns my gaze with a smile and a thumbs up. My feet take the first shakey steps forward.
Holding life in my hand like this is an experience I doubt I'd ever be ready for. I'm terrified that I'll do something wrong and kill it, but there's something comforting to it too I can't really describe.
I make it to the table and turn my hand slightly for the human to get off, and I got my first good look at the thing. It was a girl, around my age, either an older teenager or young adult, long dark hair with slightly lighter tips, a relatively tight black short sleeve shirt, high waisted blue denim jeans, and tall brown boots. Human fashion is weird, that's for sure.
I take a seat as slow and carefully as possible, not wanting to shake the table any.
Wait, I never went and got sugar or milk. I'll have to get drink it black, then, who cares at this point.
"You're very careful, huh?"
"I don't want to hurt you."
"Relax, I've fallen many times. I'll never understand why you all are so scared. I mean, you're the one who's massive!"
I take a small sip of my coffee to avoid answering for a moment. Should I actually tell my real thoughts?
"I...it's not that...well, you-"
"Spit it out, dude!"
"I could kill you! How can you be so carefree around a giant, something that could kill you without even thinking about it. It's separated for a reason, so you don't get hurt! And if I do hurt you, you'll land me in court and take everything from me. I don't have enough money to survive that, I can't get a job, I'll be homeless if I wasn't sent to prision! I can't even talk to humans without fear that they'll claim endangerment and the courts will favor them even without evidence. I already had it happen yesterday, I'm terrified to get a court order in the mail this week. I'm just so scared...I'm sorry. It's not you."
The human takes a moment, and it's then that I realize I don't even know her name. All this talk and fear and I don't even know what her name is.
"Wow...okay. Is that a common thing? Fear to be like, sued and shit? I've met my fair share of scared giants but I've never been told that's the reason. I understand if you purposely hurt a human, but they'll do it even if you almost did?"
"Not just that. I've heard so many stories, even known people, where they only talk to the human and then a few days later they get a letter that they're being sued for endangering them. Most of the time it's away from cameras so the giant has no proof that they didn't, and the courts favor humans and they get convicted. Lose thousands of dollars, get jail time, can't find a job at an intersize place when that's becoming the majority of jobs here."
She sits down right in front of me and begins to speak in a quieter tone, loud enough for me to hear, but void of that energy her speech carried before.
"I never knew anyone did that, I only hear the stories of giants ruthlessly killing humans behind closed doors and holding them hostage and-"
She pauses, I think because of horrified expression.
"So you think humans just want to use you for your money? Ruin your life?"
I nod, too choked up to speak. Tears sneak out from the corners of my eyes.
"Damn, well, aside from coffee I've never even considered that. You have to be a real kind of awful to do that."
"I'm still horrified to talk to you..."
"Why would you do this if you felt this way?"
"Well, I, uh..."
"It's alright hon."
"I, it's like, no no...ugh. I get terribly anxious. I can't hold a normal job because of my panic attacks."
"No wonder you're scared of me, then."
"But I don't want to be rude, either. It leads me to do things I'm not really comfortable with and I'm scared someone will take advantage of it."
The human stands up and slowly makes her way over to me, then places her hand on my own. It takes a lot from me to hold the eye contact she's giving me.
"I'm so sorry, you don't deserve this treatment.
I'm sorry if I hurt you."
My eyes widen.
"Hurt me?"
"Of course. I saw how hesitant you were, I should have moved to someone else, I'm sorry..."
Something in me instinctively rejects her statement, the mournfulness in her voice pushing me to comfort her fears despite my own.
"No! You...you didn't hurt me. You, uh, you helped me. I thought all humans thought like the ones in the stories did..."
"Of course not. I think everyone I know doesn't think anything as bad as that. I used to believe our own stories too, ravenous giants that destroyed towns and shattered families, but then I took a step back and actually watched them. I saw how much they acted like us and how essentially none of them were as bad as that, every group has bad apples, but that shouldn't drive the fears against the entire group. I enjoy giant's company more than humans, really, not because humans are bad though...I think to make up for the lost time when I was afraid. All the friends I could have made if I opened my eyes sooner."
I never imagined this would happen. I'm stunned. Frozen, locked in my own thoughts while I tune everything else out. It's as though timed stopped just so I could make sense of the situation. My feelings are in turmoil, conflicting each other, fighting and rolling around in my heart to make me feel every type of way at once. I would have expected to have a panic attack in this moment, but I don't think I'm having one. This is something different. There's something new now...something good. Comforting. As if I finally have company in my own mind, someone who understands how I feel, someone here to help me feel better despite my mess of emotions.
Small drops of tears turn into streams, and time continues.
"What...? Why are you crying?"
"I...I've n-never...never felt li-like...this before..."
"Felt like what, exactly?"
"Not...n-not alone..."
She turns to the side, holding her shoulder, clearly upset or moved. I suddenly regret my outburst and gain a level of self awareness to my crying and stuttering.
"No! I'm...I...I'm sorry, I d-don't...don't...I..."
I sigh, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"I don't want to let it go."
She turns back to face me, and I think I can make out her own tears.
"Dude...dude you don't have to..."
She wipes her eyes on her left arm.
"You don't have to say that. I didn't do anything a normal person wouldn't do to a friend."
There it is, the word that turns on the light to the whole thing. It was her, her own company, her input, comfort, she was acting like a friend.
"I haven't had anyone treat me like this since elementary school."
"Like, a friend? You haven't have a friend since you were a child?"
"I...I guess."
"What the hell, but you're not bad in any way! You've been considerate to me even when you were terrified and anxious, I know people who won't be nice to me if they had a bad dream with me in it. That's stupid."
"Wh-"
"No, no, it's not like that. It's my friend group really. I should hang out with better people. Like you, maybe?"
I rub my hand against my right eye, then my left, then wipe my tears on my pants when I notice how much I was actually crying. Fear should have overtaken my body by now, gripping me down into uncertainty and paranoia for the future, but aside from my tears I remain calm.
She must have noticed my lack of a response, because she puts her other hand on my own.
"I'm Cassandra. Why don't we start with that."
Finally, all of these new emotions and experiences come together into this very moment, converging into one thought, one consistent feeling, a want, a need, for once in a life time, a positive drive that brings me to collect my bearings and open the door into an unfamiliar hope for the future and happiness for the company of another person, giant or human, someone to enjoy my previously empty and anxiety driven life with, and it eventually brings a smile to stretch across my face and warm my cheeks, an expression I near expected to create naturally. Everything that previously held me back feels so stupid now, of course this was meant to happen, of course this human would come into my life, of course we would become friends and she would change my outlook on my entire existence. And with that whole releation, I have words to say for it.
"My name is George. I'm so glad I met you, Cassandra."