One Size Fits Most

[Riboflavin96]

“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”
-A quote often misattributed to Mark Twain.

Hello all and welcome to my first long form story. I hope you enjoy it. I don't consider myself a very practiced writer so feedback and criticism is welcome.

What is this Story?: In a world where Shrinkies are increasingly second class citizens, our protagonist, Charci, is one of the rare few who benefits from a drug that can regrow her to normal size… temporarily. Her practiced and regimented lifestyle is turned upside down when her girlfriend makes a rash decision. Now three young women navigate a world of prejudice, crime lords, shitty roommates, and have loads of kinky sex.

What to Expect?: in addition to F/f, F/F/f and F/f/f, expect general themes of lesbianism, exhibitionism, voyeurism, awkward scenarios, and (eventually) wholesome lovely completely consensual polyamorous sex.

What you will not find: Generally very little about feet, vore, gore, snuff.

[Riboflavin96]

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Chapter 1 Meet Charci
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Fuck.

Charci slammed the door to her studio apartment and fiddled with the lock with one hand while rubbing between her brow with the other. The migraine was coming on sooner than she would have liked. Had this been a calm day she would have another hour or so. She kicked her sandals across the room, a little harder than she meant to. Two loud thuds on the opposite wall (Sorry neighbor).

She moved to her kitchen as quickly as she could and grabbed a protein bar. It would have to do for dinner tonight. She could already feel the stomach ache starting but she would feel worse if she didn't get to eat anything. Charci stood in her kitchen lamenting today's events. She was an impressive six feet tall (currently), with almond skin, and ringlet curl afro framing her face.

She had only choked down half of the breakfast bar when she felt her stomach turn over. That'll have to do for tonight, discarding the rest of the bar in the trash. She moved to her bathroom and completed the bare minimum of a nightly routine, the stomach ache growing into cramps as well as aching in her back and shoulders. Arriving at her bedside she undressed completely, tossing her clothes in a hamper in the corner, more gently this time than her flip-flops. Charci's body was toned and well proportioned. Her medical condition was more manageable if she stayed in shape, so she took her fitness very seriously. The result was a thin waist with well defined musculature. Her breasts were large and supple. More than once she had been accused of having implants, though silicone wasn't realistically an option for her. Her rear and thighs were firm and round, living up to their Brazilian ancestry with pride (thanks Mom).

The aches and pains of her body were beginning to give way to numbness and tingling, akin to a limb falling asleep. The final stages of her medication wearing off. She grabbed one of the pillows from her bed and lied down on the floor, staring up at the ceiling waiting for it to be over. Well it wasn't HER bed, it was THE bed. The faux bed, meant to keep up appearances. Not that she ever had anyone else in her apartment, even her girlfriend. Charci's head fell to one side as she peered at her true bed. It could have been a little doll's bed, less than a foot long, sitting underneath the frame of the imposter bed. She supposed other people kept other things under their beds, boxes filled with who knows what. But for Charci, that was her nightly space in this cramped studio. Accompanying this bed was a miniature dresser with miniature clothes, a full sized nightstand clock with easy to push buttons, a small stack of washcloths neatly folded, and a phone charger for a full sized phone.

Fuck!

Her phone! How could she forget her phone? Charci jumped to feet, the nausea and tingling keeping her off balance for a moment. She was four feet tall now. She rushed over to her hamper as fast as she could. three feet. Luckily the sloppiness with which she had discarded her clothes meant that a single pant leg was hanging out of the hamper. She pulled on it until the whole pair was on the floor. The weight of the pocketed phone almost clonking her in the head as it fell from above, and began rummaging through the pockets. Two feet tall now. Pulling the phone out of the pocket, Charci began trudging back over under the bed. Moving it at this size was akin to moving a flatscreen TV by yourself. And the flatscreen is getting bigger. 1 foot tall. With a final heave Charci managed to plop down the giant phone close enough to the charger that she could shove in the cable. She fell to her knees gasping. The nausea and the tingling had subsided at some point on the trip meaning that Charci had reached her actual height. From an even 6 feet down to an even 6 inches.

Charci's condition wasn't wholly unique but it was rare. Years ago, before Charci was born, just before in fact, a pandemic had swept over the globe. Victims, like Charci's then pregnant mother, shrinking to 6 inches or less. Vaccines were developed within a few years but a cure was much more elusive. No universal cure could be found for the "Shrinkies," as they came to be called, but a few methods had been effective, or at least partially effective for various outlier cases. For these individuals the right medication could get them back to "normal" (Charci hated that word) height for a certain amount of time, based on the patient's health, stress levels and exhaustion. When Charci was in her early teens this consisted of a whole cocktail of meds that only gave her an hour or less full sized. Now a single pill, Vertinex, could last her twelve hours or more, given the right conditions.

Charci should be grateful, she WAS grateful. As a "Shiftie," Charci had far more independence than any size-impaired person (SIP or just SI) she knew. But still, she was shackled to this apartment, to those pills, and to a strict regimented lifestyle.

Leaning over her phone with both hands, Charci managed to unlock it, navigate to her texts, and open a thread labeled "Dad, Derrick." The two people who knew her secret, plus a few doctors and her pharmacist. With more leaning and reaching she managed "H" send "B" and send. "Home" and "bed" respectively. It was important that someone knew where she was in case something went wrong. And with that she got into her real bed. Glancing over at the alarm clock, relatively now the size of a dresser, barely 7:15. It didn't matter much, there wasn't much for Charci to do at this size besides sleep.

One virtue of your phone being larger than your mattress is that it disincentives doom-scrolling the news late into the night. This did not, however, excuse her from the other popular bedtime activities: mulling over all the problems in the world and hyper focusing on every mistake you made throughout the day. Conditions were only getting worse as Anti-sizest sentiment grew and new laws were passed seemingly every day to limit their rights and enable abusers.

In the earliest days of the pandemic the governments of the world needed census data to assess the damage. Uninfected family members were mostly assumed to take care of infected ones while the pandemic was ongoing. Of course, not everyone lives with or has family. And, of course, "family" was not always the safest community for everyone. Early shelters were meant to be temporary way stations for the afflicted. Hoping to get these people back to more long term solutions. Others signed special documents allowing former friends, unofficial lovers, and roommates to take on the role of "Care Taker" in a family member's stead.
These flimsy systems were the best case scenarios for most. Plenty of horror stories of the earliest days of the Pandemic still swirled around the internet. Stories of the uninfected accidentally crushing their lovers underfoot, or of small children who didn't understand how fragile their parents had become. Stories involving wild animals and insects. Of house pets who found their masters before anyone else, of the elements washing fresh victims off the streets and into gutters, never to be seen again. The list was truly bottomless.

And those were the tales of accidents and the dangers of the world to the afflicted. The real horror, as always, came from other people. Neighbors, coworkers, or relatives keeping an SIP against their will but family and friends couldn't prove it. Stories of lovers who learned too late exactly what they really meant to their partner. Those corners of society who get off on torture and death suddenly had a whole new demographic that couldn't defend themselves and were rarely accounted for by government and policing systems. Human capacity for cruelty, callousness, and pettiness is only matched by their creativity.

Charci rolled over in her bed, eyes still wide awake. "Why am I dwelling on this shit? What good does it do me?" A bitter thought in itself. Was she just supposed to ignore injustice? No. She told herself reasonably. But lying in bed thinking about all of the world's inequality wasn't helping, it was just negative thoughts eating away at her. So she made a conscious effort to turn to a brighter thought. A sweeter one. Hailey. Her girlfriend.

A thought that immediately turned sour and grey as a weight in her stomach formed. Because along with thoughts of Hailey came the argument they had. In the LBGT+ spaces it's well known that you don't just come out once. You have to make that choice with every new interaction. Every new coworker, you have to wait and listen for how they might respond to a specific topic, or news article. Every conversation that leads to questions about relationships you have to make a snap judgement about whether you say "girlfriend" or "partner?" Then you have to judge their response to that information. Or you could be like Hailey and just announce it to the world everywhere you go with big old Pride buttons, and bumper stickers, and striped flags on your bedroom wall. But Charci wasn't bold enough for that. And in Charci's case, her relationship to the Size-impaired community was not so different. Hailey doesn't know about Charci's status as a Shiftie. So Charci had to wait, and gauge Hailey's reactions to news articles and conversation topics as they came up naturally. And Charci's observations were good! Of course they were. Hailey was one of the kindest, sweetest, most concerned people she had ever known. Of course she would be disgusted by mistreatment. Of course she would want to see size-rights preserved. Of course she supported independent communities and safe spaces for the size-impaired. Charci was thinking about opening up to Hailey. About telling her her status in the size-community. Lord knows it had been a strain on their relationship that Charci had never slept over. Or stayed out too late into the night. "I'm an early riser." "I like my own bed." Weak excuses that Hailey had never pushed too hard against, but Charci knew they dimmed the relationship. But just when Charci was working up the courage to divulge the truth of her medical condition, she was hit with a bombshell. Hailey wanted to get a Care Taker Contract.

Care Taker Contracts, or CTCs, were the long term solution to the shrinkie problem. An evolution of the consent forms and documentation of the early days of the Pandemic, CTCs were mostly held by shelters but individual contracts could be sold off to private citizens, functionally allowing almost anyone to buy SIPs as pets. CTCs were supposed to be customized to the individual infected's needs and only handed off to a new "contractor" with the SIP’s consent. However, these days most contracts were generic legalize gibberish meant only to corrode the rights of Shrinkies that were subject to them. There were even bills trying to be passed right now that would make CTCs mandatory for all afflicted peoples. If such laws had existed when Charci's mother was still alive, her mother and father would have had to register as what functionally amounted to owner and pet, despite being married as equals for years. Or worse, if such a couple didn't register a third party might be able to swoop in and register the afflicted away from their own family against their will. Courts these days so often sided with Care Takers and proper documentation rather than the wishes of the victims.

And Hailey, sweet compassionate lovable Hailey, wanted to be a part of that system? Hailey had defended herself of course. She said she wanted to get people out of the system of abuse. To get a Shrinkie a better life than they would get with someone who didn't care. But couldn't she see, that was the same problem. It was still treating them like a pet, still supporting the system that profited off of that abuse. Had Charci even made these points in the argument? Or had she just yelled and screamed and slammed doors? She couldn't remember now. God how did this all get so fucked? Of course Hailey thought she would be helping. She hadn't grown up with the constant threat of the "bigs" taking away her personhood. She didn't know Charci was so connected to all of this.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuck….

Charci's same thoughts continued to swirl around in her head for hours. Repeating the same paths, slowing down, stewing, festering, and eventually letting her drift into sleep.

[Riboflavin96]

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Chapter 2 Meet Hailey
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Charci awoke early the next morning. The clock claimed it was only 3:40. Her alarm wouldn’t go off for hours. Nevertheless, she was hungry and she had to pee. No use for it but to get up now. And for Charci, part of getting up meant growing up. She reached for a pill bottle on her nightstand sized for her. To a full sized individual these pills would be minuscule, but for Charci’s current state they were horse pills. Just a part of her daily routine she had grown accustomed to. She downed it without the need for water and pulled herself out of bed.

Regrowing took about as long as dwindling but fortunately without the nausea or the tingling, and only about half the aches and pains. Charci stepped out from under the bed and lay down naked in roughly the same spot she had last night. Pulling one knee up to her chest then the other. Sitting up letting one leg stretch out flat in front of her leaning into it, then repositioning for the other. Her morning stretches minimized the aches of regrowth and helped her maintain her size for more of the day. At two and a half feet tall she was big enough to use her restroom and then throw an old t-shirt on (it was a smock for her now but she would grow into it over the next few minutes).

Moving into the kitchen she had lost her taste for those breakfast bars so she pulled out health-wise cereal and skim milk. Breakfast items were strategically placed on lower shelves of the pantry and fridge and she always bought milk in those individual servings parents sometimes send to school with their kids lunches so that it could be more manageable at these awkward in-between stages of growth. Though by now she was over four feet and climbing, the process would be over soon enough.

At some point in the night Charci’s dread and apprehension had calcified into clarity of purpose. She had to talk to Hailey. She had to come clean as to why this issue was so important to her. And help her see why her desire to become a Care Taker wasn’t productive. Hailey would understand. Maybe once she explained everything the two of them could volunteer in SI activist circles together. A part of Charci had always wanted to be more active in SI rights groups but Shifties weren’t always seen as trustworthy in such spaces. With Hailey at her side though she could tough it out, she had to make this right.

Breakfast conquered and goals firmly in her mind, Charci moved back to the bathroom to continue her morning rituals. It was hair day which gave Charci an excuse for a longer shower and another mental checklist to occupy her mind. Stripping off the tee that had evolved from smock to belly shirt over the course of breakfast, Charci stepped into the shower and began lathering up. It was barely after 5:00. Still far too early to go calling on Hailey any time soon. So she resigned herself to getting some work done this morning. When Charci stepped out of the shower her alarm was going off. She reached under the bed to click it and pulled her phone out, sending her morning text simply “Awake.”

Charci sat down at her computer desk and resigned herself to work. For the most part Charci worked from home. Her company took contracts from foreign businesses to handle their PR and advertising in the States. Most of Charci’s job was answering Emails, waylaying concerns, and forwarding those concerns to other departments where they could be promptly ignored, prompting more concerned Emails from the contractors that she then had to placate and reassure that her business knew what they were doing with the foreign brand. Once every few weeks Charci had to make an appearance in the office downtown. From there she could answer the same emails she could have answered at home and take conference calls with unhappy people in different time zones in a more professional setting.

The morning whittled away and sunlight began creeping in through the corners of the closed blinds. Since Charci didn’t have a car anymore, she decided she would get her exercise in by jogging to Hailey’s house. It was about 10 miles but that would give her more time to think about what she was going to say exactly. She was up so early this morning that she decided on an early lunch (some chicken and veggies meal prep that probably wouldn’t be trustworthy tomorrow). She donned a crop top hoodie that still showed just a little bit of belly and some thermal leggings set out on the road.

Along the way Charci would stop to look up news articles she half remembered or statistics that she thought would help her arguments; the rate of SI disappearances from shelters, Capitol and lobbying numbers from companies that profited off of SI communities, limitations of healthcare and medicine for SIPs. All the gruesome facts that Charci knew intrinsically but thought hard data and numbers might help the case she was forming in her head. Hailey had to be able to see reason, she was too pure to support this industrialized system of abuse. Inevitably, Charci’s thoughts turned away from her well reasoned arguments and towards her girlfriend more broadly.

Hailey was a skinny girl in her mid 20s. She had wavy mouse-brown bob cut, with bright green eyes and freckles spattered over her button nose, shoulders, and back. It was a daily toss up whether she favored her rectangular glasses or contacts. She was almost completely blind without them, The lenses on her glasses were some of the thickest Charci had ever seen, despite the thin rims.

Helping Hailey recover from her teenage struggles with anorexia had been one of Charci's foremost projects as her girlfriend, and progress was starting to be made. She was still only 4'10” and thin as a board, but the ribs and spine were showing less than when Charci met her. Hailey's greatest lament was her flat rear, and often sulked about her body's lack of curves, while praising Charci's well toned body. Charci reminding her that all of her favorite "assets" were made up of fat continued to be one of the greatest motivators to getting her to eat more.

A mismatched assortment of small tattoos scattered around her body signified a youth that involved disposable income, lax supervision, and poor impulse control. A pair of butterflies under her left breast, a Chinese symbol 棍 on her inner forearm that Hailey insisted meant "Life" despite the internet claiming it meant "Stick." Several flower outlines around the right shoulder and creeping up the ankle. Hailey swore she would get them filled in one day.

Clothing wise, Hailey favored a style of 90s to early 2000s punk rock and skater energy that was falling out of fashion not long after she was getting out of diapers. Band T-shirts with obscure or long dead artists, flannel, jewelry made of studs and leather, and most of her shoes, khakis, jeans, and boxers came from the men's sections of clothing stores (more accurately the boys, given her petite frame). Jangling off of her belt loop sat a carabiner with a Swiss army knife and the keys to her Subaru. A stereotype Hailey embraced with pride ("It's practical!")

Half of the arguments and statistics had fallen out of Charci’s head as she daydreamed about her girlfriend, but soon enough she found herself trudging up the staircase leading to Hailey's apartment. Heart like a hummingbird, not from the exercise but from the imminent confrontation, Charci moved to the front door,slid in the key she had to the apartment, and barged in, maybe a little more forcefully than she intended.

Hailey was standing at the kitchen bartop facing away from the front door when Charci entered. She wheeled around on the balls of her feat with her hands behind her back.

“Charci!? Wha- what what are you-?”

“Hailey, listen I have a lot to say and I need you to know that I’m not mad I’m just really invested in this and you don’t understand why. Okay. No. I am mad but I’m not mad at you-”

“Mad? What are you mad about?”

“The system Hail.”

“Oh, right. Yeah. Down with the system”

“No! Not like that- let me start over…”

Charci took stock for a moment, Hailey’s eyes darted around the room, finding anything and everything to purchase on except Charci. What was that on the counter behind her? A fabric bag with mesh windows. Like a cat carrier.

“Hailey”

“Yeah Char?”

“What are you holding behind your back?”

“You said you weren’t mad at me right?” And with that Hailey sheepishly produced her hands holding up a six inch tall blonde girl. She was completely naked.

Charci was too late. Hailey had ruined her life. Had ruined this other girl's life. Why was she naked? Was Hailey cheating on her? She felt sick. Nauseous even. In a very familiar way.

“Oh fuck...”

“Charci? Are you okay? Are you- OHMYGOD!”

The last thing Charci saw was her girlfriend’s concerned face darting towards her as her vision jumbled and then turned black… or perhaps that was the fabric of her sports top smothering her as she fell to the floor.

[Riboflavin96]

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Chapter 3 Meet Olivia
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Charci’s hearing came back to her before anything else. Somewhere, one thousand miles away someone was typing furiously. Loudly. Charci became aware that she was lying on her back and that her eyes were closed. If she attempted to ever move again or even just open her eyes, her body would certainly explode.

“I think she’s breathing normally!” A woman's voice shouted directly over her. Sugary and high pitched. Charci didn’t recognize it.

“Can you check her pulse? It says you should check her pulse” Hailey’s voice. Distant. Loud. Panicked.

“I um. How do I do that?”

The typing stopped. “I don’t know. You, like grab the wrist and feel for it or something.”

“But if she’s breathing… Doesn't that mean she has a pulse?”

Charci chanced opening her eyes for fear of headache induced combustion and learned many things about her surroundings all at once. First, that the ceiling light was directly above her, leading to a direct surge of pain through her corneas and straight back to her brain. Second, that ceiling light was hundreds of feet up. It may as well have been the sun. Third, standing over her, just off to her left, was a completely naked woman. Looked to be in her late teens to early 20s. And Charci was staring directly up at her unshaven crotch. Somewhere beyond that was a thin waist followed by a full bosom. And above that was a head of straight shoulder length blonde hair. The face was looking across the massive room to where Hailey laptop usually sat on the breakfast table but soon enough it glanced down at Charci.

“Oh. Miss Hailey! I think she’s awake!”

A scrambling of wooden legs on tile. Thundering, bounding steps. A reverberating thud in the ground as knees the size of cement-mixers hit the floor on either side of Charci. And then a giant three-dimensional billboard in the shape of Hailey’s face blotted out the ceiling-sun.

“Oh my god! Oh My God! Are you OKAY?!”

The billboard descended lower. Charci felt the presence of Hailey arms box her in on either side, sliding inward as though to scoop her up, before stopping. Afraid to touch something so fragile.

“I’m fine, just please not so loud.” Charci murmured.

“I-... what?”

“I think she is asking you to lower your voice” The blonde translated helpfully.

“Oh- I’m sorry” The second half was a whisper through gritted teeth.

Another moment of lying on the floor passed before Charci worked up the strength to try to pull herself up and put her feet below her. Upon attempting this she became aware of one additional fact about her current situation. One which she secretly already knew but hadn’t worked up the courage to acknowledge yet. Charci was also completely naked. Her sportswear, now twelve times the size of their owner, lay bundled on the floor where she had fallen like she had succumbed to the Rapture.

Charci didn’t dare look up to the face of concern and fear that towered over her. Instead she looked straight ahead at the giant’s knees and feet.

“Can WE get some clothes please.”

“Oh- Right.” The Monolith of a human jumped to her feet and looked around her own apartment as though expecting to see signage leading her to the clothing aisle. “What do I- What can you-?”

“How about tissues.” Charci stated flatly.

“Right. Tissues.” She charged off with a clear objective and returned a moment later with a box that she pulled two tissues from and set them daintily on the floor between the two girls.

Charci grabbed hers greedily and wrapped it around her shoulders like a security blanket. The blonde examined hers for a moment before deciding to wrap it around her chest and tuck the fold in front like a bath towel. She seemed quite pleased with herself. Perhaps that was the better play Charci thought. She was keenly aware that her blanket method had still left much of her crotch exposed. Instead she resigned to crouching back down bringing her knees up so that the blanket could better cover herself.

Charci just sat there for a moment, soaking in the silence that wouldn’t last. Hailey’s imminent barrage of questions casting a darker shadow than her wiry form could ever muster. Charci just wanted to be home. She wished she had a car. She wished she had a body that could take her there. She wished she had a teleporter. But more than any of that, she wished she had a normal life.

“Charci- What… How?-”

“Let’s start by trading questions, okay? I’m part of the Size-Impaired Community. Specifically, what's known as a ‘Shiftie:’ born size-impaired but capable of managing it with medication.” Charci felt Hailey’s next questions bursting out of her so she interrupted with her own. Turning to the new girl she put on a plastic smile, “Hello, I’m Charci. What’s your name?”

“I’m-”

“OhmyGosh! This is Olivia! Or Olive. Or-r Liv. We were just talking about what she preferred when you came in. She pulled you out of your clothes!” Hailey gestured behind her at the pile. “I was afraid to in case I pulled up a sleeve and you went tumbling or I… crushed you or something.”

“Thank you, Olivia.”

Olivia beamed. There was a momentary pause before Hailey’s curiosity overflowed again.

“I was looking online about Shrinkie stuff,” She gestured towards her laptop in the distance. “How- Why did you shrink just now?”

The tissue came a little tighter around Charci’s back and shoulders, pulling it taught. “My medication is supposed to last most of the day. But stress, overexertion, and… other strong emotional states can cause it to fail.”

Silence for a moment as Hailey felt the guilt of stressing out her girlfriend so much it caused her to shrink. Until Liv’s voice piped up.

“Do I get to ask questions too?”

“Oh, uhm of course.” Another pause while the two girls waited. “What was your question?”

“Hmm? Oh, I thought I would have to wait for another go around. What are your plans for me?”

“Yes, Hailey. What ARE your plans for her?”

“Uhm. Well. I bought her-you-your CTC- at an auction last night-”

“An auction!?” Charci couldn’t believe this. The shelters with CTC catalogues and strip mall store fronts were bad enough. But auctions were notorious as the sketchiest way to get CTCs. SIPs were hand picked for their “desirable traits” to be sold. Taking a second look at Liv, it was really no wonder she was an auction contract. Young, curvy, and blonde. She was practically a living Barbie doll.

“And where did you go for a LATE NIGHT CTC Auction?” As though she didn’t already know the answer.

“The Doll House…” Her voice shriveled as she said it.

“Oh Hail…” mixtures of pity and contempt swirled in her voice. Of course it was the Doll House. Of all the seedy, horrible, misery-profiteering “legitimate” businesses to spring up around SIP abuse, none were worse than the Doll House.

“Charci, It was crazy. The main office was closed by the time I got there, right? But there was this side door with this huge-like- bouncer dude. He looked like a gorilla in a suit. Straight out of a cartoon, Charci, I’m telling you.”

“And you just walked right in?”

“Kinda, yeah. I mean, there was this group of creepy looking dudes filing in when I walked up so I kinda just followed them in, down to this basement area.”

Oh a basement filled with ‘creepy looking dudes,’ great.

“There were pictures lined up on this table. I guess they were, like the lot numbers? I don’t know, I didn’t really get a good look. I just went and sat down in the chairs facing, like, a stage area.”

“Why did you do ANY of this though? Why did you go to the Doll House of all places? Late at night? To an auction?”

Hailey’s rambling came to a halt. Her words came slowly now. Chosen more carefully. “After our fight… I thought… you thought that I wasn’t responsible enough. That I would just fuck it up.”

“Auctions at the Doll House are not how you show responsibility Hailey!”

“If I hadn’t been there Liv would be with one of those guys right now!”

“And how many other girls ARE with those guys? How many were sold at that auction, huh? Ten? Twenty? What are you going to do? Buy them all out? Give the Doll House that much more money so they can go get more girls for next month?”

Hailey’s will was shattered, her posture for an argument sank before it really began. “I-I don’t know how many. Olivia was the first… lot. After that they pulled me aside for paperwork, and financials and address so they could deliver her this morning. I got out of there immediately after.”

“How much did you even pay for…” Charci stopped herself from saying ‘her,’ “the Contract?”

Hailey winced. “Like… two hundred and forty.” Much like finances for a new car or house, the “Thousand” was left implied.

“HAILEY!”

“Dad’s paying for it” Charci knew Hailey’s late father had left her a sizable inheritance (Lord knows her job isn’t paying rent on this apartment). However most of that was wrapped up in a trust, only made available to Hailey in a monthly allowance.

“A-and I don’t have to pay it all at once. I took out, like, a loan…-thing.” Oh good. Now she owed interest. Yes, Hailey. Great way to show how responsible you are.

“So… to recap.” Hailey winced at the imminent chastising. “You went to a barely legal late night auction. Snuck inside into a basement full of what you yourself described as ‘a bunch of creepy dudes.’ Bought the first thing you saw. Gave them money and personal information. And then left immediately with nothing to show for it other than a promise they would show up TO YOUR HOUSE later?”

Hailey recounted each bullet point in her head to make sure everything was accurate. “Yes.” There was a little too much confidence in her voice for Charci’s liking.

“You understand that Human Trafficking of full sized people is still a thing right? It didn’t go away just because SIP’s are easier to transport.”

“Oh come on Char. Everything worked out. And they brought Olivia here just like they said they would.”

“Naked! In a cat carrier.”

“Okay, in my defense she had a dress on last night. I did not know that she would be showing up… like that.”

“Mr. Whitaker says the dresses are Doll House property.” Olivia chimed in helpfully.

Charci sighed. “Do you at least have the proper paperwork for Olivia?”

Hailey glanced back at the counter with the cat carrier and a few other items that were brought with it.

“Yyyyes… I think so. Do you want to come help me sort through it?”

One of Hailey's open palms came down in front of Charci faster than she was expecting. Charci jumped backwards and almost fell over, heart pounding. Hailey pulled away afraid she had made a mistake.

“I’m sorry!”

“No, no. It's fine. I just- I don’t spend a lot of time around people… like this.”

Hailey nodded, understanding.

“Can you just not touch me? Just for now? Okay?”

“Oh- okay…”

There was a stomping outside the front door. One of Hailey’s roommates was home.

“Pick me up! Pick me up!”

Hailey did as she was commanded without question. Both hands clasped around Charci’s waist leaving her feet unsupported and putting pressure on her arm pits and chest as she lifted. Standing at full height and bringing her girlfriend to her face awaiting further instructions. Charci’s eyes practically bulged out of her head from grip pressure and urgency and through gritted teeth, “Hide me!”

Jangling of keys at the door.

Panicked, Hailey spun around her apartment looking for somewhere to hide her girlfriend. Charci was convinced her lunch was not going to have the same destination as herself in a moment. In desperation, Hailey opened her flannel breast pocket and dropped Charci inside. She sank down to the bottom of the pocket keenly aware of every piece of lint and gravel that tended to accumulate in such places. At some point in the scuffling and the spinning and the lifting and dropping, Charci had completely lost her tissue-blanket. Grabbing the fabric walls she attempted to orient herself lying down, face up as though the pocket were a large hammock. Before Charci could situate herself further she felt Hailey leaning forward to the ground again then stand up straight. The pocket mouth darkened as the hand reappeared, this time attempting to deposit Olivia.

What are you doing? Charci hissed and waved. You don’t need to hide her! But it was not up to Charci. Or Olivia. The hand had made its decision. And with a squeak, Olivia slid down the fabric walls and dropped on top of Charci.

What followed was a tangling of limbs, poking, and groping, and whispered apologies as both girls tried to find solid ground intertwined in a pocket that had none to offer.

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 4 Meet Marsha
____________________________________________________________________________

“‘Sup bitch. Didn’t expect you to be home today” It came from outside the pocket.

“Stop, stop, stop.” Charci hissed. She grabbed Liv at both shoulders to get her to end the squirming. Liv froze as commanded. One of Liv’s hands was tangled up in Charci’s coiled hair, the other had found its way under Charci’s back. This left her leaning forward quite heavily, her head hovering over Charci’s breasts. Charci, for her part, had her left knee raised and was very aware Liv’s naked groin was being pressed into her thigh. In the scuffle the one remaining tissue between them had bunched and torn, leaving bare skin touching in multiple places. Both girls immediately started to cramp in their awkward positions but Charci didn’t dare move.

“Hey Marsha. I uh- had a delivery today, so I traded shifts.”

Fucking Marsha. Charci didn't like terms like "skank" or "hoe." They were sex-negative terms meant to indignify women and shame them into submission. Unfortunately she liked Marsha even less. Marsha was a skank, a hoe, a bimbo, a bitch, and every other sour word in English and French. She was also Hailey's roommate. Her most redeeming quality was paying rent almost on time, some months.

Marsha had some meat around her waist, cheeks, and arms but most of it found its way to her chest and rear. Assets which she was sure to show off with deep cut collars and short skirts. She still dressed and talked like she lived in a sorority house despite approaching thirty. Marsha was petty and vain and selfish. Once she had learned a character trait about you that she personally didn’t identify with, those became your only features in Marsha’s eyes. For Hailey this was her history with drug and alcohol abuse and her current sobriety, which Marsha constantly disrespected and tempted. “Oh come on girl. It’s no fun if everyone isn’t drinking.” “You are going to pay that much for a mocktail? Just get a real drink.” “One little sip. No one is asking you to go crazy. Just loosen up.” For Charci, it was her heritage that Marsha found casual contempt for. Not that Marsha could distinguish between any latinx person. So the comments came in the form of remarks about spicy food, and what kind of job she expected ‘someone like her’ to have.

All of that came second to her true obsession though. Charci and Hail’s relationship. If Marsha was around neither of them could make it more than two sentences without some commentary about which of them was ‘the man’ of the relationship, jokes about scissoring, parades, constant slurs that were ‘all in good fun,’ comments about man-hating, or blue hair and pronouns. Truly, nobody thinks about being gay quite as often as bigoted straight people.

From inside the pocket Charci could hear Marsha clomping around the common area. Then came a booming voice:

“HEY CHAR-CHAR! DIDN’T MEAN TO INTERRUPT ANYTHING!”

If it were possible for Charci to freeze more, she would have. Her heart was trying to burst out her chest and fall out her back at the same time. Had she been seen? Did Marsha know she was in here? No, that can’t be right. That commentary wasn’t appropriately mocking enough for Marsha just learning her most vulnerable secrets.

“What are you doing out here girl? go to your woman. Eat some carpet or whatever.”

She had seen Charci’s clothes on the ground. And the shouting had been directed at Hailey’s bedroom door. Marsha was working under the assumption that Charci was in Hailey’s room, naked, and waiting to be ravished. Mortifying and Charci knew more comments were coming in the future but not nearly as bad as Marsha learning the truth.

“What? I uh…” Hailey’s brain had clearly not followed the same path. She hadn’t moved an inch since Marsha walked in.

“What’s this?” Marsha asked. Her attention moved to the next new object in her space. “Oh. My. Fucking. Gawd. Hailey. You didn’t? You actually got a Shrinkie??!” The ruffling of the fabric bag, a zipper, the shuffling of papers. “Wait, where is it?”

“Where is…? OH! I… will go get her.” The dimmest little lightbulb flickered on in Hailey’s brain for just a moment. An escape. She moved stiffly to her bedroom and slammed the door behind her. Shuffling over to her nightstand she reached into her jacket pocket.

The fingers were back. This time reaching down into the pocket to retrieve her wards. The clumsy unseeing things pushed and groped their way around both girls, squishing and grinding them together until eventually she felt she had her target and pulled. Charci didn’t think Hailey realized she was holding both of them together until she had lifted them both free from the pocket. She squealed and lifted her second trembling hand into place to give them both space to separate before setting them down on the nightstand.

“I am soooo… sorry. I panicked and I didn’t know what to do and the door was already opening and you said you didn’t want me to pick you up and then you did and-”

“Hailey. It’s fine. Just don’t let Marsha see me. Please.”

“Of course. Uhm, she does want to see you though.” Hailey directed her attention to Liv.

“Okay.” Liv clearly did not yet have the context to know why meeting Marsha was sure to make her day worse. Hailey picked her up again and inspected a little bit closer. The tattered remains of the tissue no longer covered a single area of interest. Liv’s nipples showed through easily and the scraps that were hanging down did not reach to her waist line.

“Uhm. Should I get you another tissue?” she asked inspecting the girl standing in her palms a bit more closely than Charci would have liked.

“Oh- uhm, if you want t-”

“Yes. You should.” Came from the nightstand.

“R-Right” and Hailey darted off to the bathroom with her ward.

“Bitch? Where you at? Did she get stuck or something?”

“Coming!”

“I need a tissue too” fell on deaf ears as Hailey raced out her bedroom door. Charci had been unwilling to speak too loudly for fear of being heard. Now she was left standing on the bedside, unable to get down on her own, naked, and with the door slightly ajar. She had scarcely felt more vulnerable in her life.

The conversation outside the door was muffled but Charci could make out immediate gasps and slurs as Marsha remarked on how of course Hailey had "bought a pretty one.” “Well thank you” Charci heard barely audible from Liv. Quickly Marsha seemed to lose interest in actually addressing Liv and instead turned her questions to what (a presumably full sized) naked Charci was doing in the bedroom with a Hailey’s new shrinkie. “Well she’s still dry, so I assume you haven’t ‘used’ her yet.” “Are you just going to make her go around naked all the time? I had an ex who did that with his.” “You really are so cute. You make me want to get a pet of my own. Maybe a cat.” Fucking bitch.

After about ten minutes of questioning and derogatory comments, came “Well I don’t want to keep you dykes, I’m sure Char-Char is fuming in there. You have fun. Don’t make too much noise though other people live here besides you. And don’t break your toy too fast, m’kay?”

Hailey came back into the bedroom and slammed the door with her foot. She was suppressing an urge to scream and yell when she saw her girlfriend shivering on the nightstand. All the frustration melted off her as she sprinted back to the bathroom to grab a half dozen more tissues and set them down next to Charci, respecting her previously stated wishes to not be touched. Despite the fact that they were long past that now. Charci picked up two of the tissues and tied them around her waist and chest in a similar manner to what Liv had done earlier.

Setting down Olivia on the bedside again, Hailey knelt down to be at eye level with the girls. “Alright Char. What do we do now?”

We? Charci wanted nothing more than to be at home right now, alone, forgetting this whole day ever happened.

“Well. My medication is back at my house. I have some clothes there as well that Olivia could use but they probably won't be your size.”

“But you guys are, like, the exact same size.”

“Maybe to you, but I’m 6 inches right now. Olivia, do you know your height?”

“It would be on my paperwork.”

Hailey jumped up to retrieve the papers from the kitchen. Charci wished she would close the door fully when she left. Hailey returned, closing the door properly again and already reading. “It says 5.4 inches here.”

Well that's basically the difference between me at my other height and a 5’4” person.

“I would be 5’4” if I was a normal person?" Olivia seemed ecstatic to learn this very simple math but Charci winced. She wished Olivia wouldn’t use that kind of language when talking about herself.

“Well you would have me beet. I’m only 5 feet.” This thought brought even more glee to the little girl. The idea of ever being taller than Hailey was clearly hilarious to her. 4 '11 " Charci thought to herself.

“Well regardless, let's get back to my place for medication and clothes.”

“Oh, I don’t want to take from you. I don’t need clothes-”

“Yes. you do. Doesn’t she Hailey”

“Y-Yeah. Absolutely. Tell you what, we can borrow some tonight and then go shopping tomorrow for your own stuff or something.”

“I get to pick out my own outfits?”

“I don’t see why not.” This prospect truly seemed to excite Liv.

“That's not a bad idea. We have a lot of stuff we are going to need to buy for you.” The prospect of Hailey being a caretaker truly dawning on Charci now, she started to form a mental list of all the amenities and necessities she would need to help them acquire.

“Okay but today we are just getting you home? How are we doing that?”

“Don’t you have any purses?”

“I have khaki’s.”

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5 Home Again
____________________________________________________________________________

Several minutes later Hailey walked out of her bedroom, Liv in hand. Marsha was at the kitchen counter scrolling her phone while something boiled on the stove.

“We’re going out.”

“Just you two? What about Char-char?”

“She left already.”

Marsha gave a dubious glance at the sportswear still on the floor of the living room.

“That's… why I’m leaving. She texted me to bring her her clothes.” Hailey bent down slowly so as to not disturb her secret passenger in her right pants pocket. Upon reaching a full squat in front of the pile of clothes she realized she only had one hand free and began scooping up the pile as best she could.

Upon standing back up there was a dull thud. Charci’s phone had fallen out of her discarded pocket and landed on the hard floor.

“She texted you?”

“Yup” And without allowing time for further scrutiny Hailey raced through the front door and down the steps to the parking lot.

She fumbled with the clothes some more, dropping several pieces until she had enough of a free hand to reach into her left pocket for the keys. Deposited Liv into one cupholder then reached into her pants pocket to retrieve her girlfriend. Much more gently this time than with the flannel breast pocket. Then successfully transported her into the second cup holder. After picking up the floor clothes once again and shoving them in the back, she sat down in the driver seat and locked herself in with a click of the seatbelt.

“Thank you, Hail. Did you actually grab my phone or just leave it on the floor?”

Hailey stared ahead into the middle distance. Click. Slam. Bee-beep. Hailey was back out of the car and heading back to her apartment. Charci wished she wouldn’t leave her alone in such exposed places so much. Olivia was too busy taking in the new surroundings of the vehicle's interior to be of much comfort. Luckily no one came peering into car windows in that particular parking lot today and within a few minutes Hailey had returned. She placed the retrieved phone in the passenger seat and they were off.

“I’ve never actually been to your apartment before. Where am I going?”

“Oh.” Charci glanced over at her unattended phone. “Start heading to the Denny’s, I’ll send you the address.” She knew how bad her girlfriend was with street names and directions. A maps app would make this all go smoother. Charci hoisted herself out of her cup holder and Hailey’s hand instinctively dropped down. Rather than grab her, the palm simply went between the console and the passenger seat, creating a bridge to keep Charci from falling between the cracks. Scurrying over structures on all fours and climbing out of fox holes Charci was deeply aware that the tissue clothes lacked any kind of underwear and that she was likely flashing the other two girls in the car. Though with her girlfriends eyes primarily on the road her only real audience was likely Olivia. The two hadn’t yet had a chance to talk about the pocket fiasco and now she was showing off her perineum to this girl she had only just met. Charci had no choice but to push through the embarrassment and crawl her way over to her phone.

The task of pushing buttons on the huge screen without touching any other part of it was always a workout. Unlocking it, going into contacts, finding her own name, navigating to the address, sharing it, finding Hailey’s name. All of this would have been a few finger swipes at her other height but now each step was a major task. Hailey glanced down at her struggling girlfriend.

“Should I just-?” Her hand reached for the phone.

“No, no. You focus on driving. I’ve almost got it.”

After Charci hit send and heard a bing from Hailey’s pocket she fell backwards into the passenger seat. She glanced over at Liv who was staring, completely enthralled. It occurred to Charci that the girl had probably never worked a phone before.

“I’ve got a few texts to send. Do you want to help me out?”

Olivia’s eyes lit up and she jumped out of her cup holder like a kid who just heard the bell for recess. Hailey’s hand dropped back to its bridge position and Olivia made her way to Charci and the phone.

“Alright, before we begin, can you read?” Liv nodded vigorously.

“Can you read? What kind of question is that?” Came from above their position in the driver's seat, without looking down.

“Less than 15% of second generation SIPs can read above a third grade level.” Charci explained. Her statistics research from earlier today finally coming into play.

“Oh…” The sad truth of the fact washing over Hailey.

“Not like there are a lot of great schools out there accommodating the SI community.”

Charci returned her attention to her eager student.

“Alright we’re going to send a text to my dad and Derrick. So you are going to push the text icon, the green one at the bottom of- yup that one. Press on it hard with both- good. Now up at the top of the list is a text chain for me, Dad, and Derrick. Click it” A pause of confusion. “Press on it the same way you did for the text icon. There we go. Now on this keyboard down here at the bottom I want to send them a message ‘heading home.” Liv jumped back to position herself at the bottom of the phone. She clearly wasn’t used to using a keyboard so she had to find each letter individually. H. E. D.D. Charci winced but didn’t correct her. Spelling lessons could come another day. I. N. G. “to make a space we’re gonna use the big button at the bottom.” Space. H. O. M. E.

“Perfect.” It was not perfect but it was good enough. “Now we just hit this arrow- Mmm, that one is actually the backspace. In case we mess up.” Charci re-added the E and then pointed to the send button. Which Olivia put her whole weight into. A bling and the message went from the typing bar up into its own little bubble in the chain. Olivia looked genuinely proud of herself. Charci smiled.

“I think we are here” Hailey said as she cranked the wheel into a parking lot noted on her map.

_____

Charci languished in khaki pockets once again, while her girlfriend wandered the complex looking for the specified door number. The bouncing against the leg with each step was uncomfortable but at least it was more discrete than the chest pocket. Thinking about that scuffle again, she rubbed her left thigh absentmindedly. Feeling self pity was made all the more difficult by the presence of Liv. Charci was having one of the most stressful days of recent memory, but for Liv this was likely her everyday. Being handled and tossed, hiding or being hidden away. Sure she was out on Hailey palm right now, not shoved down pants pockets. But that was self-inflicted humiliation on Charci’s part to not risk being seen by neighbors. Her thoughts were interrupted by the jangling and scratching of keys.

“Why won't these go in?”

“Uhhm. Miss Hailey? I think she said it was 524? This says 526.”

Charci hoped her neighbor wasn’t home.

“Oh.” One large step to the left and the trio had arrived at their intended destination. More jangling and then the sound of a door opening and a small thunk as said door collided with the workdesk just inside. The space was just slightly too small to accommodate all of its furniture so her door couldn’t open all the way. Charci probably should have warned her about that.

“This is …. Nice.” Hailey set down her first charge on the desk directly in front of her before reaching into her deep pockets for her second. Pulling her out and setting her down next to the first, Hailey took in the room further. A high quality rolling office chair sat at the computer desk, though it couldn’t be fully pulled away from the desk lest it bump into the bedframe behind it. That bed was up against the far wall with walking space to its right and a dresser to its left. Further in, the back wall was split between a door that led to the bathroom and a tight kitchen area. There was very little decorum otherwise and no room for extra seating or furniture of any kind, but everything that was here was of fine quality, well maintained and clean.

Charci found herself feeling self conscious about her modest space now that her girlfriend was seeing it for the first time.

“Can you put us down on the floor by the bed hun? My other dresser is over there.”

“Your other?... Oh right.” She lifted Charci back off the table and brought her to the floor. As she reached her hand back to the table Olivia piped up.

“Uhm… Miss Hailey?” a whispered horse tone “I have to use the bathroom.” Hailey looked back to Charci for advice. This was not her home and it was clear she was not prepared for this eventuality regardless.

“Oh, uhm. I don’t really have size-appropriate accommodations for that.” Charci admitted. “Are you comfortable using the sink?” The blonde on the table nodded furiously. Charci pointed them towards the bathroom door. Hailey carried her off in that direction and set her down before stepping away, but loitering. Clearly not sure if she should be present for this and eager to look anywhere except the bathroom counter.

From the floor Charci called out, “Hey hun? Why don’t you tear up some toilet paper squares for her and then come get me. I can bring her some clothes for when she’s done.”

Happy to have a task, Hailey got to work shredding up toilet paper. Meanwhile Charci moved under the bed to her second dresser. She glanced at the clock while she opened drawers looking for something appropriate. Shit, it was already almost 4:30. If she took her medication now, she would risk shrinking while she slept. Getting caught on a high surface like the bed top could be a serious problem. She could always keep the pill bottle close at hand but then she is still just taking one of her precious medications now for a few extra hours awake and then half a night of sleep. No use for it now, she would have to simply wait out the rest of the day small, and then try again tomorrow.

Charci picked out a long knit sweater and some simple sports underwear for herself. It was unlikely that any of her bras would fit Liv but maybe her more elastic briefs. She picked out several pieces for Liv to try including leggings, a few oversized T-shirts, and a cardigan sweater.

At that time she heard and felt the thrums on the linoleum floor of Hailey coming to find her. She was moving with slow, deliberate steps to make sure she knew exactly what was underfoot.

“Char?”

“Under here!” Charci removed her tissue dress just as the knees of the giantess hit the floor by her bed, followed soon after by the freckled face leaning down to see where her girlfriend had gone.

“Oh wow.”

“Like what you see?” Charci pushed her ass out just a little bit as she lifted her legs through the holes of her briefs.

“Why don’t you have more Shri- Size-appropriate furniture. Seems inconvenient.”

“Maybe. But it’s also inconvenient having two of everything. And it's normally my goal to NOT spend time at this size if I can avoid it.”

“Yeah, I get that I guess.” She watched as her girlfriend pushed her chest down into the sports bra she had just zipped up. “Still it’s a pretty good view.”

“Oh? Are you attracted to Shrinkies Hailey?”

“That is a trap question and you know it, little lady. For one thing you would never use the S-word.”

“And saying no would mean telling your girlfriend that you don’t find her attractive while ogling her. But saying yes would be admitting that you spend hundreds of thousands of dollars you don’t have on a very attractive young woman to live with you and be completely dependent on you without your girlfriend's approval?”

“Uhhm… yeah.” Charci let Hailey stew in that guilt for a few moments while she slipped on the sweater. Then picked up the clothes for Olivia and strode over to the giant face giving it a peck on the cheek.

“Speaking of word choice, when are you going to tell that girl she doesn’t have to call you ‘Miss Hailey?”

“I… hadn’t noticed.”

“Well I have. You know she was probably taught to talk like that to whoever she was sold to right? She assumed her Caretaker would one day be one of those creepy guys from that basement. You want to be better than them? That’s the kind of behavior you have to look out for.”

“I understand.”

“Good girl. Now let's go give her some proper clothes. Or at least some of my pajamas.”

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 6 Dinner and a Show
____________________________________________________________________________

Charci was deposited on the bathroom counter next to Liv who was waiting patiently. Beside her sink faucet was a pile of freshly shredded toilet paper so large, the two girls could have played in it like autumn leaves. At least Hailey was diligent.

Chacri set down her bundle of clothes in between them. “Alright, I don’t know exactly what will fit you so I brought a few options. I also have a few pads just in case. Obviously we can get you your own tomorrow. Do you prefer pads or tampons?”

“Uhm-”

“We will get both. Hailey, add that to the list.” Hailey did not know she was supposed to have started a list.


“Alright in the meantime, clothes. I think these briefs have the best chance of fitting you. No luck on a bra but I have a few options for tops and bottoms.”

From above them, “That's alright, I’m not wearing a bra today either.” Hailey pulled at the side of her faded tanktop and winked. Charci privately thought that there was a world of difference between Hailey’s flat chest and Olivia’s.

Olivia removed her tissue without further instruction and the other two girls tried to remain sapphicly respectful. Both had seen her plenty today and both had felt her body intentionally or otherwise. For all of their time together today, Charci hadn’t actually seen Liv walk around much. She had mostly been standing or getting carried (or squirming around on top of her in dark and cramped spaces). Something about the gait of her step and the sway of her hips as she walked towards Charci and the laid out clothes made Charci take notice. And she suspected that Hailey did too.

“Right,” suppressing that. “So, most of my clothes are for lounging around here, I don’t exactly go out much at this size.” Liv slipped into the underwear. They scrunched up around her and pulled up past her belly button. They looked like granny panties on her. Oh good, maybe Charci will be able to focus after all. Next she tried on some of the leggings but their length went past the balls of her feet and they obviously caused the panties to bunch up even more. It was obvious that Liv was not comfortable.

“You know, Charci only has a big sweater on. Maybe you would be fine with one of the oversized T-shrits?” Hailey’s finger pointed to one helpfully. Liv slung the shirt over her head. When Charci wore this shirt the collar hung loosely off of one of her shoulders and the hem came past her crotch. On Liv that hem approached her knees but ,more distressingly for Charci, that wide collar hung so low that it threatened to expose nipple. Charci could just start to make out the discolored areola, and was about to object when a “Looks perfect!” came from above. This approval was enough for Liv who promptly removed the leggings she was not enjoying and then hugged Charci.

“Thank you, I’ll return them soon”

“Don’t worry about it,” was this hug lasting too long?

“Well I guess that’s it? Will we see you tomorrow for shopping?”

Liv spoke up sounding concerned. “Wait. I thought Charci was going to grow back tonight?”

“Oh, I was but it's a bit too late for that now. I’ll just tough it out tonight and see you tomorrow.”

“What? You're just going to be here alone all night?” Hailey thought about the sparseness of the furniture. “What are you going to do for dinner?”

“I’ve gone without dinner before, you don’t have to worry about m-”

“Oh no little missy. I’ve been getting lectured for months from you about the importance of not skipping meals, you aren’t getting out of this that easily.”

- - - - -

Hailey stood in Charci’s kitchen, looking pensively at the vegetables in front of her. The other two girls stood on the counter watching. One to observe and the other to instruct and scrutinize.

“I still don’t understand why I have to make food. It's not like you two are going to eat much. There’s a vending machine just outside, a bag of chips or two would be fine for all of us.”

“Chips are not a proper meal for anyone at ANY size. Besides, you think of chips as completely flat but to us they are like biting into dinner plates with the texture of dry wall spackle. If you are going to be Liv’s caretaker you are going to need to be able to give her appropriate food. Remind me tomorrow and I’ll send you some links for proper healthy meals with soft or small enough foods you can start making at home.”

“I want chips” Liv contributed.

“Maybe after dinner.”

If Charci had been her other size, watching Hailey cook would have likely triggered another episode. No matter how many times she tried to instruct on proper knuckle placement for knife work, Hailey’s fingers always spread back out again. Food was sliding off the cutting board, burners were left at max temp, and despite the simplicity of the meal, dishes were piling up in the sink instead of getting washed and put away as they were used. Truly hell for Charci who just had to stand around and instruct as her kitchen was so abused.

The meal was roasted squash and creamed corn. Charci had pointed out that she had some chicken breasts Hailey could sear off for herself but that plan was abandoned after the oil in the pan burned, twice.

The girls ate at the computer desk with the keyboard pushed out of harm's way, all three eating off a single plate. Charci did have some size-appropriate silverware that she pulled out but the accompanying plates and cups were long lost over the years.

They sat in an increasingly awkward silence as they ate before Liv finally broke it.

“Can we keep playing the questions game?”

A pause while both other girls tried to remember what she was talking about; trading questions on the floor of the apartment. “Sure Liv.”

“Well Charci asked seven questions, I think last time. Miss Hailey asked two. And I’m at one. Or two if asking if I can ask questions counts as a question. But I’ve asked that twice now so is it three?”

Charci’s eyes shot to Hailey. “Oh, uhm, Liv? You don’t have to call me ‘miss’ every time.” Her girlfriend's eyes narrowed. “Or ever, I meant ever.” Charci’s eyes returned to non-critical levels of scrutiny.

“Okay. What should I call you?”

“Oh just Hailey is fine, or Hail, or Hails. In middle school some people called me Lee, but that was weird because there was a boy named Lee in our class…”

Charci interjected before this tangent got away from Hailey further, “Well it sounds like I’m way ahead on questions so why don’t you two ask-”

“Who is Derrick?” the question blurted out of Hailey before she could stop herself.

“Oh Fuck. Do you have my phone? I should have texted him by now.”

Hailey did not get an answer yet but patted herself down for an extra phone. “I think it's still in the car.” She grabbed her keys and flew off.

Returning a few minutes later, “You’ve got a missed call from your dad, two from Derrick and half a dozen texts.”

“Call him please.” Hailey did as she was told.

“Hello? Cici? Are you there?” Hailey held the phone down to Charci.

“Yeah, Derrick I’m fine. I’m sorry. I’ve had a hectic day.”

“The app showed you were at your apartment but you weren’t answering. Are you sure your fine you sound-”

“Yes, yes. I had an episode BUT I’ve got it handled”

“You’re sure? I’m on the road now. I'll be there in another hour.”


“Oh No, Derrick. I’m so sorry. No please turn around. I’m fine, I promise. I’m home, I’m staying in for the night. I’ll give you the details tomorrow. Can you let my dad know I’m fine?”

Several more back and forths of ‘You're sure?’s and ‘I’m sorry’s later and a few stilted goodbyes, Hailey hung up the phone for Charci. Now it was Hailey’s turn to glare and give stern looks of suspicious disapproval.

Charci sighed. “Derrick is a childhood friend.”

“Is he a shiftie too?”

“No, nothing like that. His parents knew mine before my mom got sick. She caught the shrinking virus while pregnant with me. My dad was suddenly taking care of a shrunken wife and a tiny newborn he could barely interact with. In the early days there wasn’t any infrastructure for SI’s at hospitals so my birth was pretty touch and go. Derrick's parents helped my dad a lot in the early days when I was born… And again after my mom passed.”

“So why are you texting this guy all the time?” All the time. Today was not the first time Hailey had noticed Charci’s phone habits. No wonder she was so eager to ask about Derrick.

“Now that my dad is too old to drive, we keep Derrick in the loop so that if something happens to me, he’ll at least know where I am.”

“Something happens? Something like what?”

“Well like today, honestly. If I have an episode and can’t get home or… take care of myself for a while.”

“So this guy, what, keeps tabs on you wherever you go?”

“I send them messages whenever I am heading somewhere or getting home. And we all have a family app to track each other's phones.”

“He said he was driving? Where does he live?”

“He and my dad both still live in Fairview, where I grew up.”

“Jesus Char. That's like two hours away.” More like two and a half. “So the only people who know if something goes wrong is your dad who can’t do anything about it and some guy who lives two hours away?” Charci just nodded.

There was silence for a few moments as all of the girls took another bite of food and contemplated.

“Olivia.” The little little girl squeaked at the suddenness of being addressed. Hailey softened her voice in response. “You are lagging behind on question asking.”

“Oh, okay. Uhhhm. Has Derrick ever had to come here before?”

Charci had hoped they were done with Derrick talk but the girls still seemed interested in the mystery man.

“Twice. Once about a month after I moved up here. There had been some paperwork mishap when transferring pharmacies up here so they didn’t have a refill on my medication. Derrick stayed up here for about three days then. They wouldn’t give him my prescription so he had to bring me into the pharmacy in person. That's the only time I’ve been ‘out’ like this in public in my adult life. The other…” Charci hesitated. “was after the first time we had sex.”

Hailey was bemused by this. “I sexed you so good you shrank about it?”

“Like I said before, strong emotions make me metabolize the medication faster. If I had planned for… our night, I would have brought a few extra pills with me. But I didn’t think we were that far that night so…”

“But wait.” Hailey, now thinking back to that night proper, “Oh Char, that was when you crashed your car.”

Charci just nodded.

“Oh my God, I am so sorry. You crashed your car and shrank because of me?”

“More I shrank and then crashed my car. Because I didn’t prepare enough. It’s not on you, really.”

“And then this Derrick guy had to, what? Come get you? From Fairview? You just sat in your busted up car, tiny, waiting for this guy?”

“Pretty much. He made pretty good time that night though. Luckily no one else came to inspect the car or call the police or anything while I waited.”

“Luckily!? Luckily you were alone, hurt, and scared for hours with nobody else knowing where you were?” Charci held back a shiver. That had been exactly her experience that night.

“Why didn’t you call me? I could have been there in minutes.”

‘Because I didn’t know if I could trust you’ was the objectively correct answer but not the right one to say at this moment. So Charci remained silent.

“You are adding me to that text thread. And to this family plan. I can get to you a hell of a lot faster than ‘Derrick from Fairview’ can.”

Silence for a few moments as Hailey mindlessly took another bite of overcooked squash.

“Thank you, Hailey.”

[Riboflavin96]

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Chapter 7 Light Sleeper
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It had been decided at some point during dinner conversations that Hailey and Liv should just sleep over and then in the morning they could all go shopping together. Charci had two beds after all. What had not been fully considered was what this meant for the sleeping arrangements.

As Charci lifted the covers to get into bed beside another woman, while her girlfriend slept above them on a bed the size of an ocean liner, Charci couldn’t help but contemplate how strange her life truly was.

Charci lay on her side at the edge of her own bed, facing away, trying not to move or disturb her guest too much. Olivia, in contrast, was tossing and rolling every few minutes, apparently struggling to get comfortable.

“Are you okay?” Charci finally whispered. “We can take the comforter off, or I can get you an extra layer if you need it.”

“No, sorry. It's just- mm- everything's kind of… bunching up.”

Charci suddenly became hyper aware of the folds of her own shirt laying underneath her and the way one sleeve was pulled taught but not the other. The tag was suddenly very itchy. Did this shirt even have a tag?

“Oh, yeah. Usually I guess I sleep in the buff.”

“Oh. Okay.”

There was more ruffling of covers for a moment and a soft ‘flup’ onto the hard ground. Had Olivia just taken her top off? A few more ruffles, Charci got the distinct impression that Liv was kicking or at least raising her knees up to her chest. Another smaller ‘flup’ on the floor. That must have been the granny panties. Liv adjusted herself one more time and then fell silent.

Charci lay there for another twenty or so minutes, itchy tag and all. Liv hadn’t moved. Charci got the distinct impression that she had fallen asleep facing Charci’s back, and taking a fair amount of the space between their sides of the bed for herself. She was just contemplating strategies for falling asleep when she heard the saddest little wail coming from the other bed.

“Charci? Are you asleep?”

Charci got out of her bed so as to not disturb Liv and came out from under the frame to look up at the source. Hailey was lying at the very edge of the bed almost the same way Charci had been. Their eyes met even in the darkness of the room.

“Sorry, I just keep thinking about how I’ve never slept with, like actually slept with, my girlfriend. And now I’m here in your apartment and I still can’t just sleep with you. I know it's selfish. I just… I don’t know…”

The plea had an almost sniffling snotty quality to it. Charci knew it was a bad idea. She had just looked up the statistics this morning for accidental crushing rates; hospitalizations, complications, and fatalities. She remembered how much she and her mom had struggled to wake her dad some mornings when she was young. She knew exactly why she shouldn’t-

“Okay, help me up.” Well what do you know?

The beaming from Hailey’s face could have lit the whole apartment. She leaned down and ever so gently scooped up Charci. Lying back down flat on her back this time she rested Charci on her chest with one hand cupped over her. Hailey really had put on some good weight, ten months ago this spot on her chest would have been hardfloor of bone and taught skin to Charci, now it was soft and warm. To either of Charci’s sides were the slight mounds of Hailey’s breasts, nipples poking visible under the threadbare tanktop that she still wore to bed. Following the straps upward towards her head where her chin was pushed down into her neck so that both girls could get a good look at their girlfriend. This was nice. Hailey’s body and cupped hand were warm enough to not need covers, and the slow rising and falling of her breathing was rhythmic.

For the first time tonight, Charci’s eyelids got heavy. Her desire to stare up at her girlfriend competing with her desire for sleep. Just as Charci felt she could drift off here, came another plea.

“Do I have to sleep alone?” It came from the floor. Hailey looked to Charci for guidance. Silence a beat too long as Charci contemplated what to do.

“No. Hailey’s gonna help you up.”

Approval given, Hailey’s cupped hand around Charci lay flat pressing down on Charci’s back, holding her in place. She twisted her torso off the bed to reach with her other hand for Liv. Charci could feel her movements through her shoulder muscles stretching. At full extension, after she had presumably clasped Liv, she paused and Charci felt Hailey’s heart thump.

“Why is she naked?” “I don’t know, she keeps doing that.” They both whispered through gritted teeth.

Not knowing what else to do Hailey pulled her up anyway, but apparently didn’t feel it was appropriate to let her sleep on her chest like Charci, so she deposited her at her side before getting back into position on her back, releasing Charci and letting her other hand fall somewhere to the far side of the bed in the distance.

“Why don’t you make yourself comfortable?”

Charci couldn’t see Liv from this angle and the softness of the bed made it hard to hear how she moved, so she returned to lying in her girlfriend's grasp, finally going to get some sleep.

There was another ‘thu-dump’ below Charci and Hailey stiffened but didn’t move.

“What’s she doing?” Charci hissed.

Hailey mumbled without moving her teeth. “She crawled up into my other hand, and is kind of curled up… like a hamster."

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 8 Stretching and Showers
____________________________________________________________________________

“Charci? Charci?” It was Liv’s voice. Charci didn’t yet have the muscle control to open her eyes or make noises but moved some other face muscles as a consolation of acknowledgment. “Uhm. I have to go to the bathroom. But I can’t get down. And I can’t wake M… Hailey.”

Charci nodded. She also had to use the restroom. “Alright.” Charci opened her eyes. And there was Liv standing over her. Naked. Just like last time she woke up. Taking in her current surroundings she found that at some point in the night she had flipped from her stomach to her back. More interesting than that however was that the middle finger of her hand-blanket had crept its way under her nightshirt and was now groping her right breast. Charci certainly didn’t remember that last night. She pulled herself out from under the claw and slapped it as hard as she could, turning to look at the reaction of the head of the beast. Nothing.

“Have you tried talking into her ears yet? That usually gets people up.”

“Oh, I didn’t know if I was allowed to.”

Charci sighed. “Look Liv, Hailey doesn’t ‘own’ you. She is your Caretaker. That means she has a responsibility, not a pet or a toy. You understand?” Olivia just nodded. “Come on. Let’s go see if we can wake this dragon.” Charci was discovering that she was in a rather good mood this morning. The two girls made the hike up the shoulder and to the side of the head. Charci leaned in close to the earlobe and tried to speak sensually but loud.

“Morning sleepy head. Time to get up.”

“Ug-m-ff-trr. Fyv mur minu-s…..”

“Nu-uh. Caretakers don’t get five more minutes.”

“Carrre takuh?” Hailey’s eyes shot open. She wiggled the fingers on both her hands to check for passengers and found them both empty. Her body intentionally stiffened so as to not accidentally move the wrong way and hurt someone. Memories of yesterday coming back to her in full, her eyes ever so slowly tilted to the right side of her head without moving her neck. Charci smiled wide.

“Good morning! Your charge has need of you. And so do I for that matter.”

What followed was the Hailey-shuttle ferrying first Olivia to the sink and then back to the bed. Retrieving her clothes from under the bed at Charci’s explicit request. Then retrieving Charci for the same bed to bathroom to bed roundtrip, and finally Hailey’s body remembering she had her own needs and rushing back to the bathroom for herself. Upon returning Hailey asked,

“If you don’t have a shrinkie toilet for yourself what do you usually do in the mornings? You're not climbing up to the sink are ya?”

“Normally I take my medication first thing so I can start my day.”

“Oh-oh! I want to see Charci take her medicine and grow!” Liv was practically jumping on the bed.

“Hey yeah. Me too.”

Charci squirmed. “It’s not really that exciting.”

“Maybe for you. WE”VE never seen someone duodecuple in size before our very eyes.”

Charci chuckled, “Just for the fact that you knew the proper term for ‘multiply by twelve’ I will allow it.”

- - - - -

Hailey’s body was lying perpendicular to the length of the bed, head propped up on her elbows. Liv stood beside her, both staring at the empty ground to the bed’s side as Charci walked out from under it, holding a single pill in her hand and completely naked.

“Uhhhm…” Hailey looked embarrassed for her.

“Well it’s not like I have anything that will fit me at both sizes.”

“Should we be seeing this then?” Hailey emphasized the ‘we’ and nudged in Liv’s direction.

“I knew what I was signing up for when I agreed. It’s fine.”

“Okay then…”

At that Charci swallowed her pill and stood still for a moment. Feeling the hard floor pull on the soles of her feet as they expanded, and watching her perspective slowly rise on the far wall, but most of all being extremely aware of the eyes set on her, for the first time in her adult life, as she grew.

When she estimated that she had reached the one foot mark, she looked up to her audience. “Ta-da! That's really all there is to it. Like I said, not very exciting.”

“Well what do you usually do while growing?”

“Normally I get my morning stretches out of the way.”

“I’d pay to watch that”

Charci pursed her lips. Exposing herself during one of her most vulnerable periods was one thing. Putting on a show at the same time was another.

“Oh come on. I’ll buy you something when we go shopping today. (I said I’d pay to see it after all)”

“Buy me something? Like what?”

“I’unno, something.”

This was not a vote of confidence for Charci selling her dignity. ‘I must really like these girls’ she thought as she lay down on her back and began lifting her pelvis up into the air. ‘This girl, my girlfriend’ her brain corrected her thoughts some seconds later with a pang of guilt. Chari went through the motions of her normal morning routine, stretching her back, neck, and arms. The swirling thoughts that came from that unbidden internal slip up carried her through most of her other exercises without much bandwidth left for her audience. However, she did have the presence of mind to end on a wide split just as she reached full height putting her face just about level with Hailey’s on the bed as she gave her girlfriend a peck on the lips.

Olivia clapped wildly as though she had just seen Cirque du Soleil. Charci blushed and stood up to head to her dresser for some clothes.

“That was amazing!”

“Honestly the most impressive part is that you can do all that before you go to the bathroom in the morning.” Hailey smirked at her own commentary, proud of herself and feeling cocky from the kiss no doubt.

“Well I’m going to take a quick shower. There is some cereal and fruit if you two want breakfast.”

- - - - -

Charci had just washed her hair yesterday and still felt like she needed to again. She swore she could still feel lint and pocket particles stuck in there. The bathroom door creaked open. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

No response.

“Hail?” There was some ruffling outside the shower curtain and then “BAAAAAWWW!” Hailey ripped back the curtain and roared at her girlfriend naked. Charci didn’t flinch. “I figured I needed a shower too,” she explained.

“Mmhmm definitely not just looking for an excuse after my show this morning.” Charci stepped to the side allowing space in this cramped shower for her girlfriend.

“Any excuse to get wet with you babe.”

“Where’s Olivia?”

“She’s rummaging through your clothes, looking for something more fitting to wear today.” Hailey stepped into the shower and closed the curtain again.

Now in an enclosed space with her girlfriend, Charci took a moment to appreciate this side of their height difference. A full foot and some change taller than her, Hailey’s eye level was just about even with Charci’s breasts. The two girls just showered for a moment enjoying each other's company and occasionally finding an excuse to brush past each other in this tight space. Charci had always loved the way Hail’s freckles covered her face, dripped down her shoulders and framed her pale breasts. She raised the ante when she reached over Hailey’s shoulder for the loofa hanging on the hook under the showerhead, leaning in slightly and putting her breasts forward. Hailey met, groping the underside of the breast. But Charci called her bluff, swinging her other arm fully over Hailey’s other shoulder, grabbing her butt and pulling her into her. There was a half slip that could have been disastrous but Charci caught her weight and held her there, looking into each other's eyes, both girls just laughed. They each wanted to kiss but the height difference meant that always took some finagling.

Charci let go and Hailey scooched back against the shower wall, giving her enough room to bend her knees and back so their lips could find one another. Meanwhile, Hailey’s hands played a different game, tracing their way up Charci’s inner thighs until they found lips of their own to play with. Charci nearly jumped when Hailey found her mark, but allowed it to continue, soon putting her own hands to work on Hailey’s waist, back and rear.

One tickling finger traced Charci’s slit up and down while the others followed along on the lips. Hailey didn’t penetrate though, she waited repeating her soft strokes. She wanted Charci to lean in, a game they had played before. Soon enough she got her wish. Charci had to break contact between their lips so that she could stand up straight and move Hailey’s invitation into herself. Once Hailey got the permission she was looking for her fingers got to work in earnest.

Charci tried to stifle her moans and cries, still aware of a guest in the house, but made just enough noise to let her girlfriend know what a good job she had done. Both girls knew there wasn’t enough time to also satisfy Hailey here and now but that was fine. Their relationship was one of giving and reciprocity, she knew she would be paid back in full later.

Hailey stepped out of the shower first, which meant Charci didn’t get the opportunity to see a little blonde scurrying back out the cracked bathroom door before she was caught peeking.

[Riboflavin96]

(Sex between two full sized individuals? On this site? Is that even legal?)

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 9 Shopping
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Clothing wise, Hailey was still stuck in her tanktop, khakis, and flannel jacket from yesterday, so the shower didn’t really do her much benefit (Charci wasn’t even sure if Hailey had gotten around to using soap.) Charci donned a bright blue cowl neck halter top and high waisted jeans. Olivia had chosen the oversized sweater that Charci had worn the day before. It fit her more like a dress, going past her knees, which meant Charci was unaware and unable to criticize that she had opted not to wear any underwear today.

While Hailey drove to the strip mall, Charci reviewed and added to their list. An actual physical list now on yellow note paper. Liv sat attentively in her cupholder.

“Alright so we need a full wardrobe; that means clothes for summer and winter, underwear, shoes if we can find them, most SIPs just end up in flip-flops because shoe sizes can be hard to get right. Toiletries; soaps, shampoo, conditioner. I hear they make pretty good toothbrushes now. When I was a kid the bristles were either too big or so soft that they would come out in your mouth. We’ll get a few different hygiene products to try. A full bathroom set, of course. Bed and dresser. Table and chairs. A couch.”

“Tables, chairs, a couch? What, am I getting her her own house? You didn’t have any of this stuff.”

Charci scowled, “I don’t live my whole life at that size.”

“You don’t have a couch at any size.”

The look Charci gave would have withered flowers and soured milk. Hailey relented.

Charci flipped to the next page. “Alright now let's start making a list for you.”

“I thought this was a list for me.”

“That was the list of things you are buying for your SIP. This list is things you will need as a Caretaker.” Charci referenced her phone for an online list. “Lets see you already use lotion and keep your nails clean, so no need to worry about that.” Hailey smiled and looked down at her fingers that had already put in work this morning, proud of herself. “Do you have a vacuum?” “Uh, a little hand one. Why?” “Vacuum cleaner. Duster. Wetjet mop.” Charci wrote as she spoke aloud. “Why?” Hailey repeated. “Because I’ve seen your floors up close. We are going to have to get you on a proper cleaning schedule.”

The page flipped again. “Next: Food.”

- - - -

First stop was a store called The Minimizer’s for Liv’s underwear. A size-appropriate attendant measured Olivia while Charci scolded Hailey for letting her leave the apartment going commando. “How was I supposed to know? Do you want me to watch her while she gets dressed or do you want her to have privacy and independence?” “Hailey, this is serious. You're her Caretaker now. You are responsible for her well being.” “I am being serious. Peeping or privacy? Which do you want? I’ll do it.”

While the bickering continued, Olivia and the attendant picked out bras and underwear of her choice. When she returned to the girls with her selections, what they beheld was an array of lacy pink and purple garments, g-strings, high waisted thongs, balconette bras, and bralettes, often with little bows and floral patterns. Charci convinced Hailey to add at least one more practical set of underwear on top of the purchase before checkout and all three girls left the store, Liv now properly garmented under her loaner sweaterdress.

“Am I still getting other clothes? Why are we leaving?” Olivia asked. Hailey looked to her girlfriend for an explanation.

“Of course we will get clothes. Minimizers is well priced and has good selections for underwear but has… a reputation for more costumes than actual everyday outfits.”

“Yeah, was that a whole wall dedicated to leotards? Who needs that many leotards?”

“Leotards, bunnygirls, french maids, cheerleaders, fairies…”

“Well, I mean… maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just keep looking around…” Before Hailey could fully turn back to the store entrance, Charci had grabbed her Olivia-less hand and directed her back to the car.

- - - -

The second stop was bathroom appliances. Charci explained that most of these wouldn’t hook into the house’s waterline and would instead have a separate jug to be replaced regularly, similar to an office water cooler. There would also be a septic tank that was either disposable or detachable and cleanable. Hailey winced but made no comment on her forthcoming responsibilities.

“What about this one? It’s like an all-in-one bathroom setup.” Hailey called from down the aisle. The girls went to inspect the floor model. It was an enclosed metal box, about the size of a shoebox, plus the aforementioned gallon water tower on top and septic tank sticking off the side. The interior had all the inviting spaciousness of an airplane bathroom, complete with sterile lighting and hard metal surfaces. The shower, such as it was, was simply some holes in the ceiling over a drain in the floor. Olivia looked unenthused but also unsure if she could speak up about it. Charci was about to come to her defense when Hailey noted:

“Looks kinda ‘prison-y’ doesn’t it? Hang on. How does this thing heat up the water?”

“It doesn’t. Most of these models probably don’t have hot water.”

Hailey frowned at this new information. “Come on, Liv. Let's see if we can’t find something better.”

They eventually landed on a ‘luxury model.’ It was a bit larger, and didn’t include the shower but had more counterspace and a nicer throne. It even had a bidet. “This thing's better than my toilet.” Hailey remarked. The roof was also removable for cleaning, but only if an SIP unlatched a lever from the inside first. A good privacy feature. Charci approved so much that she ultimately decided to get one for herself. It would be nice to not have to hold it in the mornings.

However they still needed a shower for Liv. More perusing of aisles until Hailey called out again, “Hey, could this work?” She held up not a freestanding miniature shower or bathtub but an attachment to a sink faucet. Charci was torn. On the one hand this definitely went against her values of dignity, privacy, and independence for SIPs. On the other she remembered a childhood of limited hot water and sponge baths with her mom. This attachment even had pull chains hanging down like a ceiling fan so Liv could adjust the settings herself. Charci bit her lip, Olivia seemed excited about it, and Hailey seemed to like that it cost half as much as the freestanding models, and kept pushing the hot water feature, which was a huge selling point.

“Alright but only if you get some kind of a rubber mat for the sink so that she doesn’t slip. One with those step ladders for the sinks so she can at least get in and out on her own.”

- - - -

The next shop was in the same center. As the girls were walking there, Hailey had to use the restroom, leaving Charci holding the bags and Olivia for a few minutes.

Olivia broke what Charci had considered to be a perfectly reasonable amount of silence between them, “Are you going to make Hailey get rid of me?”

“What?” Charci almost laughed at the absurdity of the question but it quickly faded into concern. “Why would you think that?” Seriously, why? They had spent all day shopping for things so that Hailey could take better care of Olivia, Charci had been helping them.

“Its just that, before you showed up yesterday, Hailey was telling me about you. And how great your relationship was. But you guys have argued a lot today… because of me.”

They had talked about her? Just how long did Hailey have Olivia before she actually showed up? Now she had to imagine her girlfriend talking to a naked woman for hours… gushing about her… Charci guessed that was kind of sweet in a way.

“A bit of arguing is normal, I think. This is a new situation for all of us.”

“And also…” Olivia looked nervous. Charci waited, letting her continue at her own pace. “...ever since you… grew… this morning, you haven't really talked to me at all.”

“That’s not true!” Charci was scandalized. It couldn’t be true, could it?

“You haven’t even used my name. It's just been ‘SIPs’ or ‘her’ when talking to Hailey.”

Charci was stunned. Before she could review the day's interactions in her mind, Hailey had returned, planted a kiss on her shoulder (she couldn’t reach her cheeks) “Hey, ready to go?” She held out a hand at level for Olivia to hop onto and they were off. Charci trailed behind the other girls, carrying the bags and watching. Hailey was in full conversation with Liv, laughing and pointing out other stores and kiosks in the mall. Had she really been so insincere with Olivia? In all her efforts to make sure she was getting dignity she was the one who hadn’t been treating her like a person. This was going to chew at Charci for a while.

- - - -

“It’s completely ridiculous. Size ‘double zero’ is bad enough for shaming women about their bodies. But then they go ranging SI clothes ‘negative 45’ to ‘negative 37?’ Think about it, who are they trying to shame with that kind of system? - That’s a great color by the way, Olivia.” The opportunity to rant about other kinds of injustice in the world had at least partially relieved Charci’s heavy heart. The three girls were now in LBH, a clothing store that mostly sold normal sized clothes but also had several tables lined up with miniature clothing racks that Olivia was now perusing, shadowed by Charci and Hailey.

“I dunno Char, I think you are overthinking it. They had a number system before the pandemic, they needed to add new ones after. Negatives were kind of the only way to go, yeah?”

Charci just pointed to a sign hanging over the Men’s Miniature section. It read:
SH1 is Equivalent to XS
SH2 is Equivalent to S
SH3 is Equivalent to M
SH4 is Equivalent to L
SH5 is Equivalent to XL

“Well… That is why men’s clothes are better.” Hailey retorted.

“Oh come on, you would be 00 if you actually shopped in women’s. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to find something that covers my waist at my size?”

“I like seeing your waist.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. What have you got Liv?” Down on the table, Liv had a pile of clothes draped over her left arm so large it was getting hard to see her head. Charci turned away to inspect some full sized racks and let the girls have a conversation without her hovering.

“How much am I allowed to get?”

“As much as you want, let's just make sure they fit first.” A pause in the conversation over Charci’s shoulder. “Uhh, Liv. Let's take them into the changing room.” Charci spun around just in time to see Hailey pointing to a couple of shoebox sized rooms at the far end of the table, and Liv pulling her sweaterdress back down over her legs. She scooped back up her pile of potential loot and waddled off towards the changing rooms as fast as she could.

“You're doing an excellent job with her, you know.”

“Noooo. I’m just the credit card on this trip. You're the one that knows all the right places to go and what to get.”

Charci smiled, “I feel like all I’ve been doing is nagging all day.”

“Well yeah. But it's good nagging. Useful nagging.”

Charci smiled at this almost-compliment. Then leaned down for a kiss. A rare public display of affection for her.

“I-think-Liv-jilled-off-in-my-hand-last-night” Hailey blurted out all at once before she could stop herself.

It took Charci a moment to process. “...What?”

“I’m sorry. It was in your bed. And you were asleep. And I think she thought I was asleep but I wasn’t.”

“Uhm… How do you know?”

“Well she was in my hand you know? And I could feel her. Moving. But I didn’t, like, help her get off or anything.”

The thought of her girlfriend ‘helping’ Liv had legitimately not crossed Charci’s mind until Hailey said otherwise. Meaning it very much had crossed Hailey’s.

“Uhm. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I thought you should know, ya know? And you might have to wash those bed sheets. When she got… close she hopped off my hand and… finished somewhere else. And, I don’t know. I guess I never really thought about a Shr- an SI in my care as having those kinds of… needs?”

“Cats and dogs get spayed and neutered so their owners don’t have to deal with that kind of stuff, Hailey. She is a person. How could you not think of that?”

“It just doesn’t seem fair to her.”

“Of course it’s not fair! Nothing in her life is going to be fair. Ever. But what the fuck are you going to do, Hails? Take her down to the shelter so she can pick out a boyfriend? Return him if they don’t hit it off?”

“No, of course not…” then more to herself than to Charci “I don’t think it's a boyfriend she’d want anyway…”

“What?”

“Well.” Hailey chose her words carefully again. “Before she, you know, she kind of repositioned a bit. I think she was looking over at… at you. I didn’t open my eyes or anything so I can’t be sure but…”

“I can’t believe this.”

“What’s not to believe? You're beautiful, you're smart, you’ve done nothing but look out for her so far.”

“Oh God, I put on a whole show for her, for both of you this morning.”

“I know.”

“And you just let me?”

“I know! And you two got pretty close yesterday. Physically I mean. In the pocket mostly.”

Charci glared. Hailey tried to make an innocent face but couldn’t quite maintain eye contact.

“It’s just- what are we supp-”

“TA-DA” Liv had returned from the dressing room and gave a little twirl. She was wearing a classic yellow sundress. The two girls were forced to put their conversation on hold now that its subject had returned.

“It looks great, Olive. Do the other clothes fit?”

“I’ll show you!” The following thirty minutes was a series of awkward silences and guilty looks while Charci and Hailey waited for Liv to come out of the dressing room, followed by short bursts of encouraging words about her wardrobe. Repeat. It was becoming increasingly clear that Liv had a style; bright bold colors, flowing and frilly cloth, and an assortment of ribbons, flowerprints and bows.

Other assorted goods were picked up with relatively little fanfare. Charci had been right about flip-flops being the optimal choice for SI footwear. Toiletries, silverware, cleaning supplies, and other necessities off of Charci’s lists. The couch was allowed to be forgotten about.

They were now truly bogged down with baggage and heading back to the car when Olivia screeched. Hailey feared for a moment that she was crushing her somehow, but no, she was looking in the window of another clothing store. The scream had been one of excitement. Dangerously difficult to tell with this girl, this had been one of the first times she had truly raised her voice in any way.

“What is it?”

“Look” She pointed to a standing mannequin wearing another yellow sundress.”

“I think that dress might be a bit big for you. Besides, didn't you get enough dresses?” Hailey asked, shifting the weight of one of her bags.

“Not for me. For you. We could match.”

Behind them, Charci snorted. It was almost the same color as the first dress she showed off and the cut was similar. The main difference was that it had frilled shoulders instead of straps.

“Oh, uhh, I don’t really do dresses.”

“This morning, you said you would buy me something today, right?”

“Do you want that dress?” Hailey asked hopefully.

“No. I want you to have that dress. Come on.” And Charci pushed them all into the store, Hailey dragging her feat.

- - - - - - - -

Somewhere across town was a room with plush cushions and deep red and purple lights that left ominous shadows in the corners of the space. Stale alcohol and sweat mingled with flowery and seductive fragrances meant to mask such scents. A bar on the far end of the room, currently empty of all patrons. Booths along the walls along with curtains leading to private rooms, and a collection of small tables scattered around the center of the space. In the center of each and every table was a glass dome, like a display case for a cake. And inside each glass dome was a pole.

Amos Whitaker was a wispy and reedy man. Thin combover hair, liver spots on pale, flaky skin, and an ill-fitting suit quickly building sweat stains from the presence of his current guest. He poured two stiff drinks before sitting down across from Mr. Green. Mr. Green was Mr. Whitaker’s exact opposite. Stalky, broad shouldered, tan skinned, bald, with tattoos protruding from his well-pressed suit collar and sleeves. He spoke in a gruff, deep voice.

“I need to know who stole from the boss Amos.”

“Well technically, they are public auctions. Your boss knows as well as I that we keep them public to avoid certain… scrutinies and oversights.”

“Everybody knows you don’t bid on the first lot.”

“Clearly not everybody.”

“You don’t think this was intentional? He didn’t look like Cartel or Mob then? Trying to make a statement?”

“Hmmm… It’s possible SHE could have been a patsy. But a very clumsy one if so.”

Mr. Green just scoffed.

“I had my assistant drop off the package personally. He claimed it looked like an average place of residence.”

“You know where she lives? Give it to us.”

“Oh, no no no no. Sharing that kind of information would be highly illegal.” Mr. Whitaker took a slow drink, while Green fumed.

“I could, however, sell you her debt. Then I would have to give you her information. So you can better conduct… business.”

[Riboflavin96]

____________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 10 Alone Together
____________________________________________________________________________

It had been about a week since the shopping excursion. A few emergency calls related to cooking and cleaning products had been all the contact Charci had had with the girls recently. It’s not that she had been avoiding them, she just had work to catch up on, is what she told herself.

Her phone rang. Before she heard any voice, there was a heated exchange somewhere in the distance of the receiver. “Hello? Charci?” Liv’s voice. Hailey had been placing her charging phone at floor level so she could interact with it if needed.

“Hey Liv, what’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah. Hail wanted me to call and ask if she could drop me off with you today.” The background noise elevated ‘-you will NOT. Not while I’m gone-’ ‘Oh come on. It would be cute.’ Liv continued. “Marsha keeps talking about getting a cat. I think Hail is worried that she will… introduce us… while Hailey’s at work.” There was a slight tremble in her voice.

That fucking bitch. She would do something just like that. “Tell Hailey of course you can stay here. Any time you need to, in fact.” Before she hung up she could just make out Marsha’s voice. ‘Well then you will just have to get her a hamster cage or something.’

- - - -

Hailey knocked on the door some time later. Still fuming and ranting to herself more than to Liv. She was already late for her shift; Hailey worked as a barista at a coffee shop so hipster, Charci had only ever seen off duty coworkers and their other barista friends drinking there. She had no idea how it stayed open as none of them seemed to actually pay for the overpriced drinks they made for each other. Despite her tardiness she managed to stick around long enough to fume further about her roommate.

“When I was a kid my dad installed slidebolt locks at ground level for me and my mom. As long as they are maintained and at the right height, they are manageable. We could get some of those for your bedroom at least.”

“Yeah. Or I could lock Marsha out. And shoot her would-be cat. And then shoot Marsha too.”

“Yes but then you would go to prison. And no jury is going to side with a cat-shooter.” Charci added matter-of-factly, ignoring the fantasies of murder.

Polite kisses and thanks were exchanged and Hailey headed back out the door, twenty minutes late to a shift that was a twenty-five minute drive away.

- - - -

Charci typed away while Liv sat on the desk. Charci could tell by her despondent body posture that cats were still on her mind.

“You know. Maybe the cage isn’t such a bad idea.” Liv recoiled, betrayed by her greatest advocate. “No, no. What I mean is- When I was a kid, my dad set up ‘safe houses’ in almost every room in our house. Metal boxes bolted to the floor that my mom and I could run to if something ever happened. They would lock from the inside, obviously, and had a few days worth of rations and water. Granted that water was in gerbil bottles which wasn’t the most dignified but neither is dehydration.”

“Did you ever have to use them?”

“Hmmm… There was a cockroach once. Big sewer one, that came up through the drains. But Dad was home for that so he came running when he heard me scream and squashed it before I even made it to the safe house. I still didn’t come out for the rest of the day. I was six. Other than that… I would sneak rations every once in a while. Dried fruit mostly that dad would change out every few weeks, but we never actually needed them.”

“Your dad really loved you and your mom, huh?”

“Mmhmm. He wasn’t always the best at homemaking or telling us. But he is handy and has other ways of showing his love.”

“Homemaking?”

House work. Cooking, cleaning, laundry. My dad was raised pretty old-school. Went right from living with my grandparents to living with my mom. I don’t think he ever expected to be doing those kinds of things. That’s why the Millers, that’s Derrick’s parents, helped so much early on. Then, once I was in my early teens and had the medication I took over a lot of those responsibilities. Speaking of, how’s Hail’s cleaning and cooking coming along?”

“She’s… been really good about cleaning. Almost all the dust bunnies are gone.”

“And the cooking?”

“I think I prefer it when she just makes ramen.”

Charci laughed. “I’ll work on it with her. Maybe I can help her meal prep for the week.”

- - - -

Charci stretched after a particularly virulent strain of emails. Liv had asked to be set on the floor some time ago, presumably to use the restroom, but never returned. Glancing over at the bathroom box, the door was open and the light was off.

Not a lot of places to hide in this apartment. Charci checked her immediate area before spinning her chair around to stand up. Walking over to the bedside she ducked down to check her other furnishings.

Charci bolted upright again, stiff backed and eyes wide. Liv had indeed been down there. Lying on Charci’s bed with her skirt pulled up and her hand down her underwear. Knees up, back heavily arched, and her other hand over her own mouth. Or maybe holding one of Charci’s pieces of clothing to her nose? Charci hadn’t gotten a good look. Maybe she was wrong about the whole thing. Should she look again? NO. That’s ridiculous. Well maybe Liv hadn’t noticed her? Also ridiculous. She was stomping around with feet the size of sedans. Her head was a shipping container dropping into view and then lifting itself back up again. Liv had noticed. Charci should say something. She didn’t want Liv to be embarrassed. It was nothing to be ashamed of, she reminded herself. She should say something. The seconds dragged on. She should really say something.

“Olive (I’ve never called her that before, why would I call her that?) I’m going for a walk. (Yes, perfect. Out of the house. Will she be okay on her own?) I’ll be back soon. But not too soon! (That was dumb why did I say it like that?)”

She moved stiffly and with purpose to grab her sandals and keys and get out the door.

“Charci?” Coming from under the bed.

A pause. Hand on the doorknob. “Y-yeah?”

“I’m sorry.” It sounded so small, even given the circumstances.

“Oh, it's nothing to be sorry about. E-everybody needs… alone time. You can finish if you want to (Shut up! That was already implied!)”

There was some soft scuffling under the bed. Charci let go of the doorknob and turned her head. Liv had pulled her skirt back down and shuffled out from under the bed to look up at her.

“Do you ever have alone time?”

(It’s alright Charci, not shameful. Completely normal) “O-of course. Yeah. All the time. (Too far. Shut up)”

“Does alone time… have to be alone?”

“Oh Liv… I’m with Hailey. It wouldn’t be… proper”

“But I’m with Hailey too.”

“But not in the same way.”

“But Hailey, she’s also-”

Charci furrowed her brow. “Hailey’s also what?”

Olivia didn’t respond. Charci slowly got to her knees, closer to Liv. “Olivia. I won't be mad. Is Hailey making you do something you don’t want to do?”

“No!” But Olivia got bashful here. Knowing she was likely getting Hailey in trouble. “I just danced for her…”

Charci nodded slowly, taking it in. “She made you dance for her?”

“She didn’t make me! She said one of my outfits looked like a belly dancer.” Charci got a flash of memory of a distinct red tubetop with tassels, she had seen in the motley of clothes. “And I said ‘I know how to do that.’ And then I showed her.”

“And then what did Hailey do?”

“Then she went into the shower and had alone time.”

(We need to stop using that phrase. It’s losing all meaning) “Without you though?”

“Well she leaves the bathroom door open…”

“So you.. watched?”

“Listened. Heard.” Liv corrected herself.

“Is Hailey aware that you ‘heard?” Liv just shrugged, not making eye contact with Charci.

“Do you want to see me dance?”

(NO!) “Alright.” (...What?)

- - - - -

Charci had moved Liv back on top of the desk while she sat in the chair. She was just beginning to think better of this when Olivia started to move. A slow sway at first. Her tiffany blue layered skirt moved rhythmically with the waving of her hips. Her top, cream white, sleeveless with ruffles down the chest, followed suit as she picked up the pace. This was a bad idea, Charci should put an end to this. Liv’s arms went above her head and began to spin slowly, the light material of her dress flaring out as she did. The oscillations of her waist became more pronounced, her neck swaying in contrast.

Liv was stepping forward now. Closer to the edge of the desk, and to Charci’s face. Charci had no memory of leaning closer. Hailey had watched this? Hailey had to finish in the shower after this. Liv had just been below the bed, masturbating herself. Charci’s hand moved between her legs on the chair, putting pressure on her groin.

Charci’s free hand was still on the table. Liv sauntered over to it, put her back to it, and dropped to her knees pulling herself back up again against the wall of the arm. Charci’s instinct was to pull away, but she didn’t. For fear of disrupting the show.

Olivia moved back to center stage. Charci pulled her arm away so that she could lean back in her chair, to get a better grip. Her fingers were now moving underneath her, rubbing over the jeans between her legs.

She was hot now. Her head was swimming. Guilt. Nausea. Nausea? Oh fuck. Aches in her back and shoulders. Now that she was aware of it, she could feel her clothes slipping. The grinding of fingers to jeans, jeans to panties, panties to skin was all becoming more baggy. Why was she still grinding?

She wanted to speak up. To tell Liv they needed to stop. To move. But if she opened her mouth in this malaise she wasn’t sure words would be what came out. Her feet weren’t touching the floor, her head well below the back of the chair. Three feet tall perhaps? She couldn’t get stuck on the chair, couldn’t let Liv get stuck on the table. With all the might her cramping muscles could muster she hoisted herself forward to grab Liv with both arms and pull her into her chest. Their sizes much less differentiated now, the weight of Liv falling onto her sent them both flailing to the floor as the rolling chair was not stable terrain to be tumbling on.

Charci pulled Liv closer into her still shrinking form as they fell, careful to protect her more delicate form. In the nausea, the aches, the stress, and the impact, Charci could also feel Liv’s body squirming against her. It was enough to send her over the edge. Climaxing at the height of reduction, while colliding with the floor on her back was certainly a new experience for her. She wished she had been allowed to enjoy the pleasure a bit more. Luckily landing inside her pile of clothes had partially blunted the fall. Once she confirmed that Liv was standing and moving freely and without injury on the other side of the cloth circus tent, she allowed herself to lie there for a few moments.

Guilt returned as pains faded. She shouldn’t have done that. A minute later she felt the fabric around her shuffling. Liv was crawling inside the shirt to check on her. Soon enough she arrived on hands and knees, a smile plastered across her face.

“I made you shrink too! Just like Hailey did her first time.”

Another pang of guilt. “Yup. You sure did. Now can you show me the way out of here?” Charci followed Liv on hands and knees to the neck of her former top. She was naked, once again, with Liv. This time with a mess down her legs. Shamefully and with head held high she walked to her dresser to grab new clothes.

“I’m going to head to the bathroom to clean myself up and get dressed.”

“Okay. But if you are staying this size, how is Hailey going to get in.” Charci froze. Examining the problem. She shoved her clothes back into the dresser and moved over to her nightstand to grab a pill.

“I am going to head to the bathroom to clean myself up and take my medication. Then I’ll come back out here and get dressed.”

“Okay.” Liv repeated. “While you are doing that, is it alright if I take my ‘alone time’ now.”

Charci was almost knocked to the ground by the boldness of the question. “I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to say no.”

As a naked Charci sulked to the bathroom she noted that Liv did not move back to her bed. Instead she darted back under the desk towards Charci’s clothes. Knots coiled over in Charci’s stomach when she realized her destination but didn’t have the energy or will to speak up about it.

- - - -

Charci used the restroom and gave herself a quick wipe down in the bathroom-box. She just stayed in there for a while, knowing she had no way to shut the main bathroom door, this was the only privacy she could guarantee. She would have to come out to take her medicine. Would she be able to see her pile of clothes from this angle? Would Liv be able to see her? Whatever the case, Hailey certainly couldn’t see them like this. She had to go out there. She had to take her medicine.

Charci stepped outside the bathroom-box and plopped herself on the floor with her back against the tub wall. Whatever Hailey had done with Liv was irrelevant now. Charci had escalated. This surely constituted cheating. She popped the pill in her mouth. Glancing over at her desk despite herself, there was no sign of Liv. Buried under some fold of cloth right now, no doubt. Doing the same thing she had just done. The same thing Hailey had done in the shower. Her and Hailey in this shower together. She loved Hailey but now she had screwed everything up. How could she be with her with Olivia around? If Hailey found out about this, would she blame Olivia? Would she get rid of her? Could Charci be Olivia’s caretaker? Yet another dagger of guilt. That would be worse. Now it's just them running off without Hailey. She couldn’t do that. If Olivia was gone could Charci and Hailey’s relationship be saved. But where would she go? Just be sold off again? That’s a terrible thought. Charci didn’t want that. Did that mean Charci had to break things off with Hailey? Leave the two of them be? It was the option that felt the most reasonable but somehow the most devastating.

Charci had been full sized for a few minutes, still propped up against the bathtub, when movement caught her eye. Liv stumbled out from under the jeans, close to where Charci’s underwear must have fallen.

Olivia began to trot towards Charci, the bathroom, and the bathroom-box to clean herself up. That was her queue to stand up and head to the dresser. The two girls passed each other, one jolly, merry and enjoying the view, the other solemn, sulking, and dazed.

Fresh underwear donned, Charci went over to inspect her former outfit crumpled under the desk. A wet stain from the panties to the naval of the shirt from her experiences while shrinking. They were discarded to the hamper and new clothes were acquired just as a knock at the door came.

Fuck.

Charci pulled her arms through the sleeves as she reached for the knob letting Hailey in.

“Thanks again for watching Liv.”

“Uh-huh.” (I did more than watch)

“No problems I take it?”

“Uh-uh.” (Such a big problem)

“Hey. Don’t you think that since you have a key to my place, I should have one to yours?”

“Uh-huh.” (That's not going to matter soon. I have to break up with you. I just don’t have the courage to do it today) Charci moved to her kitchen drawer and found her spare key.

“Hey, Charci? Is everything okay?”

“Uh-huh.” (No!)

At that moment Olivia came out from the bathroom.

“Ready to go?” Hailey bent down and laid out a hand for Liv. “Thank you again Charci. We’ll call ya tomorrow okay?”

“Yep.” (I’m so sorry)

Soon enough Charci was left alone with her thoughts once again. Guilt, pain, and sorrow.