Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was Shay’s first time out, and she couldn’t wait. She had glimpsed the human world from behind the walls for so many years and now she was finally going on her first borrowing trip. All of that practice of climbing lines and disguise, sprints and lifts, were finally going to pay off. After all, she could hardly call herself a Borrower if she didn’t borrow anything.

Shay’s three older brothers, however, were slightly less enthusiastic at bringing Shay along. They noticed some things changing in the human house they lived in, which made borrowing easy and unnerving at the same time. Things were the same and yet they weren’t. For one, there were boxes everywhere. Drawers were empty. Essentials were scattered all along the floor.

It didn’t feel right.

Still, the thought of easy borrowing was too good to pass up and so their parents just warned them to be careful. Borrowing was a bit of a sore spot for their father, who had been injured some time ago because of a fall. Traditionally, it was their parents who took them out on their first borrowing trip; however, the injury was severe. Still, they thought it would be alright. After all, what could go wrong with all three brothers keeping an eye on their young and only sister.

So, they set out into the labyrinth of walls. The whole way, each brother drilled Shay on the safety measures in place. What to do if she heard something. What to do if she thought she was seen. Where best to hide. Most importantly, the rules of a Borrower.

Don’t be seen.

Don’t speak with the humans.

Don’t get caught.

Move if any of these things happened.

Shay’s nerves could not be more charged with excitement as they reached the trim corner door. Her oldest brother, Beau, listened first before calling Shay up to him. Her heart pounded in her chest, creating a slight hum in her ears. The pre-teen Borrower had to take several calming breaths before checking for sounds in the room.

“Hear anything?” asked Slate, the second oldest. Shay focused her energy on listening and heard nothing other than the air kicking on.

“No,” Shay responded firmly, wanting to sounds confident to her doubting brothers.

“You sure?” prompted Icon, the youngest of her brothers. Shay shot all three of them a look.

“Yes, I’m sure,” she affirmed. Beau smiled and nodded.

“Alright, then let’s get going. Stay close to me.” Beau cracked open their secret doorway and stepped out, Shay close on his side. They abandoned the safety of the walls, relying on the dresser they exited under for cover. Shay stared at the woodgrain and the legs of the low set dresser. It was immense as were the floor and bed and shelf set. Her brothers were right – everything in the human world was huge. She had seen it before, but that was at a distance. Being next to it was different altogether.

Another thing her brothers were right about – something didn’t seem completely right about the way the room looked.

Rooms usually had furniture and swept floors or carpet. This room was filled with boxes which covered the floor. Clothes were scattered on the furniture and hanging out of these boxes. There were large strips of plastic with trapped bubbles in them and, more pressing, were a few smaller boxes of snacks and food items.

The Borrower siblings listened and, sensing nothing, set their plan into action. Slate went first, darting across the floor and keeping to the shadows of the boxes, until he reached the base of the box. He propped himself against the cardboard like he was sitting in an imaginary chair as Icon began followed his lead and darted from shadow to shadow. When he reached his brother, he placed one foot onto Slate’s knee and one onto his shoulder. They used Icon’s momentum and Slate stood just at the right moment to vault Icon to the edge of the box. Within a moment, Icon was perched up on the edge of the box ready to reach down or use his line.

Beau motioned to Shay to go next, and suddenly her heart leapt into her throat. No. I prepped for this. I trained for this. Let’s do this! Shay checked left and right before darting across the floor from one box to the next just as two of her older brothers had done. Slate motioned for her to keep going, and she went for it. She darted toward her brother, leaping to land delicately on Slate’s leg, up to his shoulder, and up into the air to catch Icon’s hand. The routine was performed expertly.

Shay didn’t need to see all of her brothers’ expressions to know they were smiling proudly as she straddled the top of the cardboard box. In no time, Beau and Slate joined them and together they slid into the snack box. Slate stayed up top to watch while the other three maneuvered through the boxes and taped bags. Knowing the natural dangers of being a Borrower, they knew better than to open untouched bags of food unless absolutely desperate.

Thankfully, there were plenty of partial bags to choose from, and that’s just what they did. The siblings took turns pealing away the tape and keeping the bag open while the others slipped in and took the fragments needed to take home.

Shay, having never done this before, was excited to get into the bag and borrow some chips until she realized that the crumbs and powder coating the chips got everywhere and smudged some of her clothes. When she came out to her brothers snickering, orange dust in her hair, she had to stomp her foot and take a fistful of powder to chuck at the nearest one, which happened to be Beau.

The oldest took it in stride, ruffling his sister’s hair, before rounding up the siblings and preparing them to find any final essentials before leaving. Thankfully, they didn’t have to go far. They each needed new pins for their hammocks, razors for the kitchen, and paper clips for pot grabbers. All of these things compiled into a list of school supplies – and Beau knew exactly where to get them. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a climb to the top of the desk in the corner of the room. After pointing it out to his siblings, he began unlatching his hook from his hip.

“Stay put, I’ll be right back,” he directed as he made his way to the towering construction.

“Oh no you don’t!” retorted Icon. “You always pick out the easiest things and then they break. You need the quality stuff, which happens to be my forte. I’ll go.”

“Hey! What about me? I stayed watch. I should get to go,” argued Slate. The brothers didn’t have any time to say more as they looked around to see their sister, Shay, was already sprinting for the desk, hook in hand.

“Hey!” the boys shouted simultaneously after a fractional moment of stunned silence before sprinting after her. Shay, giggling and out of breath, reached the leg of the table and threw her line as hard as she could. The silver ring flew through the air in a magnificent arc before scraping a proper hold into the desk.

“You have to be quick to be a Borrower. Isn’t that what you told me?” she called over her shoulder as she began inching her way up the line. She was already halfway up the desk by the time her brothers were throwing their lines.

“Not fair!” hissed Slate as he was the first of the brothers to begin climbing.

“Shay! You have to be careful! This isn’t a joke!” Beau scolded as he began making good progress up the line in pursuit of his sister. Icon was partially out of breath but keeping up with his older brothers. He also knew he wouldn’t live it down if his sister managed to beat him to the top.

Shay made it to the top, rolling onto the surface, and shoving herself onto her feet, legs pumping as hard as they could to the edge of the school supplies box. She used her hook and swung, acing the hook once again before pulling herself up the edge and slipping into the box. Shay wasn’t prepared for the drop as she slid down the stack of notebooks which were propped up on a massive clamp like device. Shay could hear her brothers calling out, but she didn’t quite care at the moment. She had beaten them to the punch, and that was enough to please her.

Shay carefully maneuvered herself around the massive pair of scissors, slipped over the pencils, and found what she was looking for – a small box with an assortment of paperclips and safety pins. The pre-teen Borrower had just pulled the lid off of the contained and began selecting the paperclips with the rubber coating when she heard her brothers, but they weren’t laughing. She stopped and listened, picking up just in time the sound of deep thuds against the ground of something very large heading their way.

Shay’s heart suddenly tripled in pace, breath catching in her throat. Her lungs felt constricted. Mind began racing. Relying purely on instinct, she vaulted over the scissors and under the propped-up notebook – and just in time too.

The sound of the human’s voice raised, calling back over his shoulder, pierced Shay’s ears. Though she couldn’t see where he was, she knew he was near as she listened to the sound of shuffling boxes.

“Yes mom, I have it right here,” he called over his shoulder. He was much closer than she thought and, to keep from yelping in surprise at the sound of his voice, threw her hands up and clasped them over her nose and mouth.

Shay had heard him before, but his voice was always muted and muffled by the walls and floorboards. If her panicking mind remembered correctly, his name was Odd or Ted. Something like that. The pre-teen Borrower had more pressing matters than to remember the name of the young adult male who was most likely a few feet away. There was a massive shuffle and a grunt before the sound of retreating footsteps left the room. Shay knew she didn’t have a lot of time.

Hands shaking, she began fiddling with her line which had become slightly tangled at the end. She could hear her brothers now hissing her name from outside of the cardboard at the opposite corner from where she was.

“Shay? Shay? Are you in there?” It was Beau.

“Yes,” she whisper-shouted back. Her voice had a tremble to it she didn’t anticipate.

“Sit tight. We’re coming up. Get ready to run,” called Beau, still keeping his calls to just under a shout. Shay listened as her brothers spot checked one another and the sound of a scraping hook against the cardboard. She heard a brief huff as they lifted Beau to the top.

“We’re clear. Hurry! We don’t…” Beau was cut short by the sound of approaching footsteps. Shay’s heart stopped. If she was going to go, she needed to go now. The young Borrower darted out from under the notebook and leapt over the miscellaneous supplies, her foot nearly catching and making her stumble. Her brother’s hand was right there and, with a running leap, she caught hold of his fingers; but she didn’t hold on tight enough.

Just as Slate and Icon tugged on the line to help Beau lift Shay out, her nervous fingers slipped against her brother’s grip. Shay landed flat on her back and watched her brother’s legs vanish over the edge and the sharp, impacting thud of his brothers catching the eldest sibling. They would have tried again if the footsteps weren’t creating such a thunderous rumble in the ground, making each of the Borrower siblings shiver.

They had run out of time.

Shay, thinking fast, stumbled back towards her original hiding place while her brothers scurried back behind a few remaining pencil holders and cups on the desk. Shay tried to breathe calmly. She tried keeping herself from losing her mind as she heard the young man call back to his mother over his shoulder.

“I’m almost done. I want to get my car packed and moved so we can get the truck closer for the big boxes,” he called. Shay watched with horror as an eclipsing shadow engulfed part of the box. The cardboard shuddered as the box lids closed one at a time. Shay was left in darkness with only a sliver of light where the box didn’t quite fit together perfectly. The ground shook and jostled as it was lifted into the air, tossing the contents rhythmically as the human walked. Shay threw herself into the corner to stabilize herself and tried to ignore the lump rising in her throat.

What was going on? What was happening? Most importantly, how was she going to get out?

~*^*^*^*^*^*~

The three brothers watched in horror as the box their sister was in was closed and carried away by the human boy who lived in the house. It took all of their will to not charge out and reveal themselves to save her. As much as it pained them, they couldn’t do anything at the moment. Their hope was the box would be left by the door, leaving them just enough time to dart out and rescue her.

They descended at a worrisome speed and hit the ground running, their legs carrying them in and out of the shadows until they reached the front room. With horror, they watched the human carry the box through the front door and down the sidewalk. Their hearts sank, a tightness to their core and a swirling in their gut.

What were they going to do? What could they do? A fateful glance back revealed the other boxes were already sealed and shoved by the door to presumably be taken away. Even if they made it to the boxes, it was too out in the open and the chances of them being seen were astronomical. They couldn’t hitch a ride in a bag. They didn’t know where the human was going. They didn’t even know where their sister’s box was now.

Defeated and feeling utterly useless, they realized there was nothing they could do.

The brothers had to simply watch as the final boxes were loaded out with an unholy speed they could never hope to match. They dropped to their knees and beat their fists into clutched fists. Their only hope was that Shay would stay hidden while they came up with a proper rescue plan.

Chapter Text

Todd had never done anything like this in his life. It was a big step – moving out. It wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately it’s what he needed. The early-twenties student had worked tirelessly on resumes, applications, and projects. Now, finally, it seemed to be paying off. Todd was accepted into his number one choice to a master’s program at the school of engineering. He even earned a scholarship through an assistantship to pay for the venture. The only problem, if it could even be considered that, was it was far – really far. He would have to move out for the first time.

It wasn’t as though he didn’t think he could survive on his own, adulting and managing an apartment and everything that went along with it. It was just the chance and the plunge into the unknown that had him on edge. His mother had been more than supportive through the entire venture and his father expressed his concerns. Some of his siblings, the young twins, begged him not to go while the other, a younger sister, excitedly discussed what she was going to do with his room.

Through it all, he finally made the decision of moving out on his own.

So, after weeks of preparation, he was now on his way down the driveway and riding the highway. The family was tagging along for the ride but couldn’t stay long. They also decided to make the trip all in one day, starting early in the morning and driving all the way to location.

The young adult listened to music to occupy the time while he drove. The hours passed and now, for the first time, he saw his new apartment. Time, on the road, seemed to inch by at a crawl through every road and every passed exit. Now that he was there, time ran through his fingers like sand. Before he could turn his eyes and blink, Todd and his family had unloaded his car, the truck, and were out the door again to retrieve some of the final furnishings for the apartment. He barely had a chance to open some of this boxes of personal things before they all rushed away to eat dinner together as a family for the last time in a while.

The end of the evening came and Todd’s family took up residence in a local hotel down the road, leaving the young adult to sit and absorb the situation. Rather than go immediately to bed, Todd decided to decompress and unpack a few personal items and sketch. Something about sketching layouts and plans of the apartment seemed appealing to him.

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

Shay was encased in total darkness other than a sliver of muted light for hours on end. The box had reached an uncomfortable warmth because of her body heat and the entire circumstance had her sick to her stomach. She wasn’t sure where she was. She definitely wasn’t sure where she was going. More importantly, she was completely on her own. Everything left an odd mixture of bitter and acidic taste in the back of her throat.

The young teen’s mind was sent in complete panic for a time. The unknown was terrifying, and she had to stifle her sniffling and tears out of sheer terror of being discovered. After a while, however, she remembered her brothers would tease her if she were caught crying and how her parents would scold her for giving up at the slightest challenge. She was a Borrower, and Borrowers never gave up. There was always a way; all she needed to do was find it.

There, in the dark, she began planning and going through, step by step, everything she would need to do in order to get back home.

There was an immense amount of jostling and, a few times, she felt the contents of the box shift and slide, collapsing her hiding place significantly. There were the sounds of many different people, some young and some older. Then quiet. The box suddenly flooded with light and the voice of the young man came flooding through.

“Yes, I just want to get a couple of these things unpacked before…” The very tips of his fingers reached into the box and grazed the top of the notebook concealing Shay’s location.

“None of that. We have to get you furnished before all the store close. Come on,” the motherly voice cut his statement short. Shay ducked further down into the box, covering her nose and mouth so the slightest squeak would be muffled. She heard the young man sigh and the hand retracted, and the sound of fading footsteps sent an unbelievable relief through Shay’s body. It was several minutes of total silence before Shay dared to readjust herself to a more comfortable position.

She used all of her concentration and listened, closing her eyes like her brothers taught her so she could focus clearly. The young teen could hear the sound of a refrigerator. She could hear the sound of the air kicking on. Otherwise, the apartment was empty.

Now was her time.

Shay crept out of her hiding place and took her time getting out of the box. She still had her hooks and lines as well as food and some supplies. It was enough. All she had to do was get into the walls. Maybe she could find someone to help her. Shay had confidence in her what few borrowing skills she possessed, but hadn’t put any of them into practical application. Her brothers had told her of the dozens of times they had to improvise. Did she possess the same level of skill and intuition?

There was only one way to find out. Shay slipped off of the edge of the cardboard and landed stiffly on the carpeted ground. She was in a room filled with boxes scattered everywhere and a bed in the corner. Immediately scanning around the vicinity, there were three places she could hide – under the bed, nearby shadow of the box flap, behind the door. Shay didn’t know what else there was and had another choice – try to get into the walls or get a lay of the land.

Shay decided she needed to know where she was going to be borrowing from and that it was safer when the humans were gone. There wasn’t much time. Creeping along the sides of the walls and listening all along the path, she inched along until she found a stack of nice tall boxes to climb up onto. The hook felt heavy in her hand as she pulled it from her hip and took a calming breath before swinging it as hard as she could. It soared through the air, but Shay had no such luck hooking it the first time like she had at home. It took the Borrower teen three times to latch the hook into the tower of cardboard boxes.

Hand over hand, Shay climbed to the tip top of the boxes and kept low to stare out across the vast human world. Humans were amazing. They made such large structures and moved about so quickly. They also had an uncanny ability of turning the world upside down, which is exactly how Shay felt as she stared out upon the vast room filled with boxes, feeling a sense of vertigo smothering her as she looked up and down and out.

The walls were smooth and freshly trimmed. The lights were blinding white instead of the warm yellow. The walls were grey and the electrical covers were fresh and white. The kitchen was on the other side of the room but was bare from what Shay could see. The carpet smelled fresh and unused. Undoubtedly, the fibers would be coarse and rough like they were in the bedroom.

Shay knew she only had so many non-perishable items in the form of chips and her water pack was already at its last sips. If she were going to make it, she needed to get to the kitchen and find help. The determined teen belayed down the line, forced the hook free from the cardboard, and began her trek to the kitchen.

If she thought latching the cardboard boxes were hard, this next task was nearing impossible. The slick counters gave no amount of purchase for her hook as she threw it nearly a dozen times and, even then, it only caught the nob on the drawer which she had to precariously perch on to jump up onto the counter.

The moment her eyes scanned the slick surface, she noticed something that was finally a stroke of good favor. Nearby was an electrical cover, slick and white, and it was near the sink. The Borrower quickly made her way to the sink while pulling out her water canteen. It took an embarrassingly long time to rotate the nozzle and push the handles into place for the finest trickle of water to drip from the tap. It was a precarious business to balance on the edge of the sink and not slip from the slick surface, but Shay allowed herself to feel a spark of pride for finding water all on her own.

The high, however, didn’t last long. Shay hurried to the electrical cover and realized with a heart pounding clutch that she didn’t have the tools necessary. Her mind began racing. How long had the humans been gone? What was she going to do if she couldn’t get the door open? Shay’s breath shallowed before she recalled the words of her parents.

When confronted with the impossible, take a breath and realize nothing is impossible. After all, if a human can do it, so can a Borrower. Her hand instinctually fell to the hook on her hip and it hit her all at once. The ridge was just the right size to slip into the screw. She placed the edges together, feeling that familiar spark of excitement that made her heart race. She counted down in her mind. Three. Two. One.

With all of her strength, Shay threw all her weight to the side and braced the other arm to help break the seal. It all happened in slow motion. The side of the hook slipped out of the groove. Shay’s momentum carried her cartoonishly slow through the air until she crashed onto the counter. Already, she knew a bruise was forming on her elbow. This would not stop the determined girl.

She repeated the motion again and again and again. She didn’t slip as epically as she had the first time, but each attempt proved just as futile as the last. She tried everything from trying to walk while pressing her hook into the screw and having her feet slide out from under her to using her leg to kick at it. Out of breath, Shay stared at her metallic nemesis when she was suddenly struck by a realization. It was a terrifying thought that stopped her heaving breath in her chest.

Water was essential. Shay didn’t need her brothers or her parents to tell her that. Another thing that was essential was that obtaining water needed to be done without being too obvious. Making holes in pipes was risky as humans tended to find leaks or know something was off within a short amount of time. The quote unquote “safest” route would be to go out onto the counter or into the bathroom to retrieve water. Shay and her family were fortunate to have their kitchen near the human’s kitchen. The pipes already leaked a little which made it easy for them to get their water. Based on what she had seen, Shay came to the sickening conclusion that wasn’t the case in this place.

The realization shook her to the core and had her re-evaluating her entire gameplan – there were no other Borrowers living there. She was completely and utterly alone.

There were no scuff marks on the nobs and counters. Everything was pristine. No fibers were missing from the edges of the carpet. It was hard to come to any other conclusion.

There would be no one who knew what the other humans were like. There was no one who knew where food was stored or how to obtain it. The supplies she had in her pack were the only ones stored; and that wasn’t very much. She couldn’t even get into the walls to hide. She wasn’t strong enough. There were no borrowings available to her because they were all trapped in boxes.

The crushing realizations were beginning to sink in. She tried taking a breath. She tried reciting her parent’s mantra. Nothing was working. Her breathing became shallow. Why was it so hard to take in a breath? She wasn’t sure how she ended up there, but suddenly she was sitting on the counter, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around her torso. There was a cold pit in her chest, wracking her body with shivers and a chill like a frigid winter. The only warmth residing in her body began leaking from her body through thin stream of tears.

She would’ve stayed there on the counter. She wanted to stay there and do nothing else. Instinct, however, refused to let her give in so easily as her ears pricked at the faintest sound of jingling keys.

The humans were home.

Shay scrambled to her feet and propped herself against the backsplash of the sink. Her trembling hands fumbled with the hook at her hip. Could she make it to the ground? Would she even have enough time? Did it even matter?

Yes. Yes it mattered. What would her parents and her brothers think of her just giving up like this? No. She was a Borrower. She was going to do this.

Shay sprinted across the counter and just managed to latch her hook onto the handle just as the door opened. There was no time to do this safely. Heart pounding, Shay grabbed the line and threw herself off of the edge. The rope burned her hands as it slid through effortlessly. They tingled and stung as she hit the ground and rolled under the cabinets just out of sight. She bit back a cry as she stared at the thick red rope burn on her palms and her fingers just as an immense set of shoes stepped into the kitchen.

Shay sat down on the ground and shoved herself into the corner until she was half her already unnoticeable size. The humans stomped around, shaking the ground around her, evidently bringing things with them. She heard them talking but wasn’t listening. There were more pressing matters at hand. Now, on top of everything else, she was injured. Shay literally watched as red-hot blisters formed around the burn she inflicted on herself from her rapid descent. Now, she was alone with limited supplies and she was injured.

Soon, the sounds faded, doors shut, and now the only thing Shay could hear was the shuffling of boxes in the nearby bedroom she came from earlier. Evidently, the human was in the other room and, much like herself, was alone.

The Borrower teen hated to admit it, but there were only so many options available to her given the circumstances. One was obviously to try and get into the walls and hope she could get the necessary supplies. Another was to try and find the other members of the human’s family and sneak into a bag or case to make her way home – all the while not be discovered or seen. The final option, which terrified her to no end, was to approach the human and ask for help.

When she was young, she heard plenty of stories about Borrowers being kept by humans as pets or test subjects. Some of her brothers’ favorite scary stories consisted of these elements. Shay’s mother, on the other hand, had told one story – one singular story – that she held onto.

The story was about a young Borrower boy who befriended a human. The human was sick and couldn’t leave the bed without considerable difficulty, and that made her very lonely. So, taking a chance, the Borrower spent time visiting the sick human, talking about the adventures he had and the things he would do. Shay couldn’t remember how the story ended, but it was that sliver of hope of a Borrower befriending a human that she clung to.

Limited supplies, injured, and alone, Shay could only hang onto that sliver of hope as she forced herself, trembling, to her feet, and began to walk to the bedroom.

Chapter Text

Shay wasn’t sure what she was doing. Every ounce of her being dared her to run and try for the walls again. Each trembling step across the floor set her heart pounding in her ears, the rush enough to make her head swim in ways she had only felt once or twice before when she was much younger when her father took her belaying down the lines for the first time. That rush of free falling down a tethered line was close to the nerves currently seizing her body, but paled in comparison to what she was currently feeling.

While her breath hitched and made that horrible tight lump in her throat, her mind couldn’t stop jumping from thought to thought. How was she going to address the human? Should she try and be demanding? Tell him he needed to bring her home or else? Or else? Or else what? What could she do to a human? It was almost amusing – the thought of her shouting and demanding something of a human. It actually made her chuckle nervously to herself.

Should she try and be humble? Plead for her life? Beg him not to keep her trapped in a cage or perform horrendous experiments on her like the ones in the scary stories her brothers adored? She hadn’t been out on her own, but she had spent time watching the humans as part of her training. This human, for some reason, didn’t seem to be the kind to do something like what she heard in the stories. Then again, she had seen him build some intimidating contraptions which she didn’t know the function of.

“What the…”

Shay hadn’t realized she had already crossed the threshold of the door to the human’s bedroom and was standing in broad light when she heard the breathy exclamation of the human. Her heart leapt into her throat as she was forced to tilt her head back at the bed and even further to see the human sitting on top of it. Her family talked about what it was like to almost be seen by a human, which was a nightmare come to life already.

This was so much worse.

Even at a distance, she could see every detail of his face – eyelashes and eyebrows, lines by his brow. She could see his eyes that possessed a dangerous fascination and curiosity as they seemingly absorbed every detail of her frame. Shay felt her body step back involuntarily three hesitating steps. A trembling started at her core like a chill she couldn’t shake. It radiated through her body and racked her senses, making her shoulders shake like the leaves on the oak during a windstorm. There was something that resembled a scream cued in her throat, but it was waiting for something.

Both of them seemed to be holding their breath until the human made the first move. He was slow, like he was trying to creep up on her or prevent her from fleeing. He set some immense black slab off to the side as he slipped off of the bed and sat on the ground before advancing inch by inch while he sat; all the while staring into her eyes, capturing her soul and will to flee.

Shay steeled herself as best as she could while she shook and clenched her fists; an action she immediately regretted. Even though her nails were dulled and short, the tenderness in her palms from the rope burns and blisters made her wince. The subtle facial expression she made was enough to halt the human from advancing.

Shay felt herself pause. Was it possible? Was that a flash of concern? Shay held her breath as the spark of hope grew a little brighter. Maybe… just maybe… he was a good human.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Todd was beginning to feel rather comfortable and calm in his new place. The rush of everything that had happened between the move and the whirlwind that was his family left him mentally and physically exhausted. Sketching the apartment wasn’t an arduous project, but it was something to keep his mind occupied. He could use that right now.

It hadn’t completely sunk in that his family was leaving the next day after brunch and that he would be all alone. Well, not completely alone. He would have his classmates and his work. There was a part of him that wondered if it would be enough and if he would get terribly homesick, but he wouldn’t know until the time came.

There. He let his tunnel vision retract and stared at the digital sketch before him. He managed to sketch all of the exterior walls and the load-bearing walls. The kitchen was set in place and all of the doors were outlined where the swung open and latched. It was bare bones and rough, but it was still fine work.

Todd was about to start on the next layer where he planned to organize the furniture he planned to purchase when something caught the corner of his eye by the door. He had to double take just to understand what he was looking at. It looked like a doll. A three-inch-tall doll in the doorway. He blinked a few times and even shook his head to see if it was a trick of the light or if he had been staring at his tablet for too long.

No. That’s not what it was at all. It couldn’t be a doll because it was walking on its own. It was completely involuntary, the words that came out of his mouth; however, he instantly regretted it when he saw those tiny features contort with surprise and fear. He watched it – her – stumble backwards a few steps and begin to shake.

What should he say? What could he say? Given the circumstances, Todd suspected there was little he could actually do or say to win over the tiny girl, but perhaps he could make it a little less intimidating. Afterall, the mere size difference between the two of them was staggering and Todd could only imagine how terrifying he must seem to the girl.

With every ounce of caution and patience he possessed, he slowly set his tablet aside and slid off of the bed. He kept contact with her eyes, hoping she could see he meant no harm. Should he get closer? Did he dare get closer? It wasn’t the best solution, but at this distance he wasn’t sure if he could hear her. Todd took the risk and began slowly scooting his way across the carpeted floor.

He hadn’t made it very far when he noticed the girl wince and tears well up in her eyes. He stopped immediately. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. While his heart pounded in his chest, he attempted the faintest smile which barely turned the corners of his mouth and he kept his breath slow. There was something in her eyes – a flicker of something.

Just as he formulated something, anything, to say to her, she spoke first.

“I… can you… can you help me?”

Todd’s breath hitched. Her voice was so soft, so timid. The curiosity he once felt for her quickly vanished in a puff of imaginary smoke and was instantly replaced by a protective instinct he had never truly known before.

“Of course,” he breathed, voice barely a whisper as if anything louder would make the girl vanish. She sniffed a few times, eyes still wide and shoulders still shaking.

“Can… will… you take me home?”

Chapter Text

Shay couldn’t believe she had done it. She had just talked to a human – and she wasn’t in a box or a jar or being grabbed by fingers the size of her body. The thrill was ten times more real than anything that she ever experienced climbing lines or learning to free fall in the walls. It made her feel ill. Her head swirled unnecessarily fast while she tried to hold still and look up at the human. When did the edges of her vision blacken? When did the ringing in her ears start? She wasn’t sure when it happened, but Shay suddenly was sitting on the ground cross-legged and the human’s shadow hovered near her.

His voice sounded so distant, but the young teen knew the human was speaking. It took a moment to concentrate on what he was saying as she watching his lips moving. Over and over, he repeated the same phrase.

“Are you alright? Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay. You’re alright.” Something about catching his gaze this time, latching onto those eyes, didn’t stoke the fear as it did minutes ago. He was still just as intimidating, but at least he had kind eyes and a reassuring smile that reminded her of her brothers.

Shay nodded timidly and, not knowing what to do with her hands, wrang them against the strap of her bag which was still slung across her chest. She winced again, which the human seemed to pick up on in an instant of reading her features.

“Are your hands hurt?” he asked. Shay nodded, still feeling a lump her in throat choking any more words from coming out. He mimicked the nod and looked past her. “I… erm… need to get my first aid kit. It’s in one of these boxes. Can I… get past?” Shay couldn’t move away from the middle of the threshold fast enough and hurriedly pressed her back against the baseboard beside the door. The human nodded with another smile and stood to his full height before leaving the room.

Shay hadn’t stopped to think about how hard her heart was pounding against her chest and how her ribs and body held an unbelievable amount of tension like the anticipation in the air before a strike of lightening and roll of thunder. A shuddered breath escaped her lungs as she brought her knees to her chest. Her eyes, which felt like sandpaper even with the moisture gathering in the corners of them, felt glazed and tired.

Shay almost didn’t want to blink, terrified of the thought that she might fall asleep if she were to blink even a single time. I need to stay awake. I can’t fall asleep. I won’t fall asleep. I need the human to help. He didn’t catch me. He didn’t hurt me or grab me or… Shay didn’t realize she was breathing faster and faster. It didn’t matter how much she tried to breathe and calm her mind. It was futile. There was too much going on. Too many sounds. Too many sights. Too many smells. Too many thoughts.

“Okay, so I don’t have anything for burns specifically, but I do have… hey, you okay?” The human’s words came from nowhere up above and slightly behind Shay. A jolting shiver electrified her spine and had her sit bolt upright as she turned her eyes skyward, a timid squeak escaping from her mouth. The human had returned and with surprising stealth. Shay didn’t even hear him approach or even notice that he was kneeling in the doorway mere feet from her.

Instantly, he looked completely apologetic and guilt ridden, retracting from her immediate vicinity. She swallowed dryly again and rubbed her eyes, unintentionally, with her rope burned blistered palms.

“You… okay?” he asked again. Shay nodded after immediately regretting rubbing her dry eyes. “Right. Well, like I was saying. I don’t have anything for burns specifically, but I can go and get some if you want. Or, if you’d like, I have this Vaseline. It’s kinda gross and slimy, but it’s great for moisturizing and keeping your skin soft. It’s not aloe, but it’s all I have right now. Sorry. I also have these bandages to wrap around your hands so you, you know, you can wrap your hands. I’m… going to be quiet now.”

With that, the human set down the Vaseline lid down and scooted back so he sat on the opposite side of the door from her and slightly outside of his own room, back pressed against the hallway wall. He pulled out the bandages and a pair of scissors longer than Shay was tall and began methodically cutting strips of cloth. Shay shuddered at seeing the sharp sides slicing through the cloth effortlessly and hoped the human wouldn’t turn this device against her.

One by one, the strips were set in the lid. The young Borrower teen could only watch while the human worked until she felt satisfied enough to scootch forward and smear a glob of Vaseline on her palm. It was cold and clammy, like a disgusting thick snot. She gagged involuntarily while rubbing the thick, glossy substance along the burns on her palms. There was an odd, cooling sensation, but it wasn’t enough to be alarming.

More than satisfied with the amount on her palms, Shay pulled one of the bandage strips toward her and began wrapping her hand. It took a few tries between the glossiness of her slicked palms and the mere size of the bandages themselves, but the bandages were finally tied tight enough to not slip from her hands. Shay was pleased that she was able to use the edges of her teeth to tighten the edges; that much she could do on her own.

Shay hadn’t given the human much attention, but, now that her hands were bandaged, she pulled her attention from the thick cloth wrapped around her hands and slowly looked up toward the human. He, evidently, had been watching her and looked away quickly when her eyes fell on him. Do I make him uncomfortable? Shay wondered. Regardless, I need to be polite at least.

“Th…thank you,” she said, pleased she only stuttered the single time and spoke loudly enough to catch the human’s attention. Absolutely mesmerized by her, the human smiled and nodded as he looked her in the eye. He maintained this contact for a moment before breaking direct eye contact and exchanging it for more general glances toward her.

“You’re welcome. Happy to help,” he replied. “Um… so… you said you want me to help you get home. Do you mind if I ask where that is exactly? I mean, how did you even get here? Do you live nearby?” He chuckled nervously and reached back to scratch neck as if it were some kind of habit when he was uncomfortable.

“I… well… I don’t… I… live at home,” stammered Shay, now suddenly realizing she didn’t want to give away her family if the human’s intentions were to trick her. The amount of trust she held for the person only a few feet away from her was minimal at best and was held together by a shred of hope given to her by stories which may or not have been true. The Borrower pulled her knees back to her chest and rested her chin on top of them.

“Home?” echoed the human. “Like, my home? Where I was this morning?” Shay looked up eagerly and nodded. “Wait. Then how did you get here?”

“Yes. That. That’s home,” she replied. “It was an accident. I was in the box and my br… um… well… I couldn’t get out.”

“Yikes, that’s really far,” muttered the human. It wasn’t meant for Shay, but the young Borrower didn’t know that; and hearing that the human thought the distance was far damaged her fraying confidence. Tears once again began gathering in her eyes and her throat constricted in a partially choked sob.

Far? Far! What’s far for a human? If he’s worried then what am I going to do? What if he’s fibbing? Lying to me! What if he’s trying to discourage me and keep me here?

The human suddenly noticed Shay’s distress and he immediately began backpedaling.

“Hey. Don’t worry. I’m just saying it’s a little far. That won’t be a problem though. Look, my parents and siblings are driving home tomorrow after brunch. You can come with me to brunch, I’ll explain everything, and then they can bring you…”

“Please no!” Shay completely surprised herself with her outburst; and was even more surprised she was suddenly on her feet confronting the human. She didn’t mean to interrupt so loudly. Even the human seemed surprised. “Please. They can’t know about me. I’m… I’m not even supposed to tell you! It’s dangerous for human to know!”

The human raised his hands in a motion akin to a surrender. “Right. Okay. Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Um… they don’t need to know. I mean, I can just tell them to bring a couple of things I don’t need from here back home. Would… that work?” Shay let out a shuddering sigh of relief, amazed at the human’s ability to find a viable solution.

“Y…yes. That should work. I… thank you,” muttered Shay as she sat back down onto the ground, this time crossing her legs rather than folding them against her chest.

“Right,” he said with a grateful sigh of relief. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything. Um… I don’t know how you want to do this. Do you just want to get back in the box you came here in?” Shay gave a noncommittal shrug.

“I don’t know. It was kind of dark and hot,” muttered the teen.

“Well… I could poke a few holes in the side; and to keep you secret and everything I could tape in a false bottom so you wouldn’t have to worry about them opening the box and seeing you. Would you like that?” he asked. Shay considered it for a moment.

A false bottom would help keep her safe, sure; but why go to the trouble? Why was he helping her? Did it matter if she got to go home? Undiscovered at that? Shay opened her mouth, not sure what she wanted to say, when her stomach growled uncomfortably loud. The Borrower girl tried desperately to hide it by wrapping her arms around her torso, but even for her size it was too loud to go unnoticed. An amused smirk spread across his face followed immediately by a sympathetic stare.

“I’m assuming that means your hungry and that it’s not some kind of menacing growl,” he said cheekily. Shay was too embarrassed, feeling her cheeks and tips of her ears reddening with heat, to have any kind of response. “Hang on. I’ve got some stuff I can heat up for you.”

He was gone for maybe two minutes while Shay stared at her bandaged hands and numbly reflected on what had just transpired when he returned with a bright orange bottle cap and a bottle of water. Tucked into his palm was what Shay recognized as tin foil – a Borrower’s saving grace when it came to tool making and cooking. This collection of items was set nearby, and Shay only hesitated for a moment before moving closer and partaking in the meal.

At some point about halfway through the meal, she thanked him to which he merely hummed a response. It went unsaid that she was being watched. It was subtle and more of a hospitable and also curious nature. Still, it made Shay feel self-conscious and soon she wiped her mouth with the back of her bandaged hand and sat quietly once again. Only a fraction of the food was gone, but she had completely eaten her fill and could stand no more.

“Finished?” he asked. She nodded and felt the smallest smile tug onto her face. The food was good and warm, something she knew not all Borrowers got to appreciate.

“Yes. Thank you.” The Borrower kept finding her repeating those words over and over with this human.

“Yeah, of course,” replied the human, who glanced over at a small device by his bedside. “Um… I know this is all probably a bit much for you all at once, but it is getting late. Are you… I mean… I guess you sleep, right? Are you ready for bed?”

Shay’s eyes widened and she once again drew her legs to her chest. “I do sleep, but…”

“Well, it’s settled then. Let’s get some rest. I’ll grab a pillow. Would you rather sleep on the bedside table or back in the box or, well, wherever? What’s good for you?”

“I, well, was just going to sleep on the floor; but, could you, maybe… um… set the pillow on the ground? Under the bed?”

As easy as that, the human pushed himself up, retrieved a pillow and blanket, and had it under the bed ready and waiting for her. He mentioned something about brushing his teeth, which Shay remembered she should probably do, and that he would be back in a few minutes. In the meantime, Shay swished some water in her mouth and approached the pillow with a fascinated curiosity.

Borrowers had proper pillows and beds; at least, her family did rather. Her brothers had borrowed cotton balls and stuffed them into fragments of cloth they gathered over time. They were wonderful, but not as wonderful of this. Stepping onto the pillow was like walking onto a cloud of marshmallows. It was so unbelievably soft and melted under her feet she couldn’t believe it. The blanket, too, was soft unlike the thick woolen and scratchy cloth. Shay tried to argue that her blanket back home was warmer until she laid down and slipped under the cloth. Yes. It was just as warm as it was soft.

It was a rapturous moment where she didn’t worry about not being home with her family. She had food and a warm place to sleep. She had someone who listened to her. The Borrower girl prayed it would be enough to keep her safe until she made it home.

A set of rhythmic, heavy-set footsteps approached and paused right along the edge of the bed. The light overhead was extinguished and was replaced by a much smaller, dimmer light. The feet disappeared, but the boards near her head ached and creaked like the walls of the house during a windstorm.

“Did you want the light on?” His voice drifted through the air like a gentle breeze on a summer day.

“No,” said Shay. “Thank you though.”

A thought entered her mind. It had been there like an unattainable itch, but it wasn’t until now as she was beginning to drift off to sleep that the inhibitions she held before were now beginning to drift away.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked in a daze.

“I… well.. I mean why wouldn’t I help you? You’re a person. You needed help. Wouldn’t you help someone if they needed help?” Shay had to think about the human’s question, but it wasn’t hardly enough time as he continued talking. “My name is Todd by the way. I don’t suppose I could know your name?”

The Borrower teen contemplated the question for that fraction of a second as she began losing consciousness.

“It’s Shay.”

She fell asleep to Todd muttering her name over and over again, as if by saying her name he was willing her to not be a dream.

Chapter Text

Shay’s sleep was sound, but hardly as restful as home. She remembered hearing Todd’s voice just above her muttering her name over and over, as though saying her name made her real to him. The bed above her creaked with every twitch he made, a reminder of how much bigger he was than her. It was bone chilling and not something she wanted to hear first thing in the morning when she began to stir.

There was a massive creek followed by his rhythmic stomping as Todd left the room and Shay slipped into unconsciousness once again. She wasn’t sure how much time passed, but at some point she opened her eyes again, surrounded by the cloud like pillow and the warmth of the blanket. Her eyes darted to the outside of the bed and saw Todd sitting nearby on the ground with a smattering of supplies that would satisfy her family’s building needs for years.

Curiosity got the better of her and she sat up, pulling the blanket over one of her shoulders, and watched him silently. He was methodical and delicate with his fingers as he seamlessly cut and folded the pieces of tape in his fingers and inserted them into the box that rested on the ground in front of him. His keen eyes barely blinked as he worked, calculating each and every detail of his work. Shay shuddered to think of what it would be like if he were to take that same precision in examining her.

“Good morning,” said Todd suddenly and slowly, surprising Shay. She let out a faint squeak and pulled the blanket up just beneath her nose before looking up into his eyes. Evidently, he had noticed her watching and though he did not look at her right away, he caught her movement out of the corner of his eye and a thoughtful smile tugged the sides of his lips upward. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you. Did you sleep well?” His eyes flicked up to meet hers.

Shay nodded timidly behind the blanket while her heart decided whether it was worth maintaining its current pace in her chest. A few deep inhalations and exhalations later let the Borrower’s nerves settle and she lowered the blanket.

“Did… you? Sleep well?” she asked, having to repeat herself when she realized he hadn’t heard her the first time. Todd nodded and set the box to the side, seemingly satisfied with his work.

“I did, though I have to admit that it was a little weird knowing that there was a girl sleeping under my bed,” said Todd with a nervous chuckle while reaching up and scratching the back of his neck. “Anyway, I just finished the ultimate false bottom hiding place of all times. Not to brag, but not even my siblings are going to know the difference. Do you want to see it? Give it a try and all that?”

Shay straightened up and tried peering past Todd to see into the box. Her apprehension for humans conflicted directly with he kindness Todd had shown her. While Todd, to her own surprise, was winning her over, the idea of getting in a box she struggled so hard to get out of on her own made her uneasy.

The Borrower teen looked back and was forced to come to the obvious conclusion – Todd could have captured her at any point, especially while she slept, and yet he had not done anything of the sort. Regardless of her instinctual fear, nothing indicated he was one of the bad humans like the stories she heard so many times. At any rate, she would be going home today and could pretend none of this happened.

She nodded and pushed herself up, stumbling on the uneven surface clumsily, and took up her bag before walking out from under the bed toward Todd. The human’s muscles tensed, which amused Shay slightly. It seemed like she wasn’t the only one who was nervous about their interactions.

Todd pushed the box forward slowly toward the small humanoid girl, still baffled beyond his wildest imagination that such a small, sentient being existed. From the belt that held paperclips and hooks to the pack on her back, it didn’t seem real. He tried clearing his throat as she approached, but found the nervousness constricting his words.

“Okay, this is probably going to be your best entrance and exit,” he said while pointing at the seam of the box. From the outside, Shay couldn’t tell there was anything different from the cardboard. Then, she noticed that the Todd had cut along the seam of the tape, an almost unnoticeable cut – especially for a human. “I made it so this seam here opens and closes like a door. There’s a bit of floss inside that keeps it secure. Sorry, I don’t have any string. My bad.”

Todd reached inside of the box to lift the false bottom and unlatched the floss so the door was revealed. Shay watched in awe as the cardboard door practically appeared as Todd pressed on the inside of the box.

“Wow,” she breathed to herself as she cautiously approached the edge of the box and peered inside. Todd immediately retracted his hand to giver her full reign of the structure he created. Shay crouched and saw a number of things that were different than when she was there just yesterday. She listened as Todd explained the different things he did.

First, he created additional walls on the interior to keep things from falling and crushing the interior structure. The false bottom let her go completely unseen and protected her from the inside. Second, he added floss straps for her to grab onto. He explained that it could help keep her stable if the box got jostled around too much. Next, he showed her how there were different places she could peer out and illuminate the inside if she wanted. One major difference, however, was the comfort of the journey. Todd had put together a makeshift bedroll for her to lie down on so she wouldn’t have to get comfortable on the ground.

It was perfect and Shay found herself getting choked up at all of the work Todd, this human, had done for her; all to help keep her safe. She wiped at her eyes, which instantly sparked a look of concern and worry from her human counterpart.

“Shay? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong? Look, I can change it if you don’t like it. I just thought…”

“It’s perfect, Todd,” she interrupted with a thoughtful sniffle. “This will definitely keep me hidden. I… don’t know what to say. Just… thank you.” Todd smiled at the Borrower girl’s words. Todd usually took pride in his work and something about her words was somewhat flattering.

“Of course! You’re more than welcome,” smiled Todd. “Um… do you want anything else in there? Snacks? Water? Anything at all?”

“Um… some water would be nice, and maybe some snacks?” said Shay unsurely. Todd nodded.

“Sure. Not a problem. Um… I’m getting up now; didn’t want to startle you.” Shay’s tightened chest was beginning to relax with each passing moment. She nodded and stepped further into the box to examine the reinforced elements in hopes to discover any weaknesses the cardboard might have while being jostled around. Todd stood up and Shay listened to his retreating footsteps.

I can’t believe it. I get to go home! I’m safe and I get to go home. Todd. He’s such a nice human. True, he’s really tall, but he’s not as scary as all of those nasty stories my brothers told me about. You know, he’s a lot like us Borrowers. He made this whole construction and he’s very good at crafting with his hands. I wonder what he could do if he had the materials we usually work with. How similar are Borrowers to humans anyway? Hmm…

Shay was so preoccupied in the box and examining the makeshift bedroll that she didn’t notice Todd return. He had walked back quietly with a sinking feeling in his chest. He had just gotten off of the phone and the electronic device was still clutched in his hand.

There wasn’t going to be an easy way around it. There was no other way. This was going to be a jab in the gut for both him and Shay. He knelt and sat with his back against the door facing.

“Shay?” he called out quietly. Shay heard Todd’s voice and approached the cardboard door, pressing it open and taking a few steps out.

“Yes, Todd?” she asked. One look at the human’s face was all she needed to know something wasn’t right. Instinctually, her hand rested on her hook while the other grasped the strap of her bag. It broke Todd’s heart to see Shay’s guard suddenly rise again in such a short amount of time. He really thought he was winning her over, but now the hesitance she had when they first met seemed to be returning; and what he had to say wasn’t going to make it any better.

“Well… um… there’s not really an easy way to put this. I just got off of the phone with my mom,” started Todd, not sure if how he was going about this was the correct path.

“Phone?” asked Shay. The word sounded familiar, but Shay wasn’t exactly sure what it did or how it worked.

“Yeah. This. It lets me talk to people who are really far away,” said Todd as he held up the device in his hand. “Anyway… um…”

“Is everything okay? What’s going on?” asked Shay hurriedly.

“Well, I mean, mostly everything is fine. Apparently, my parents forgot my sister had a school event today. She meant to remind them but with the move and everything, it completely slipped their minds. They would skip it, but it’s tonight and you’re not supposed to miss orientation,” explained Todd who instantly notice the bewildered look on Shay’s face.

It was clear that what he was talking about was going right over her head in a manner of speaking. Todd sighed and winced. “To put things simply, they didn’t call me this morning when they left because they wanted me to rest and settle in and so that means we won’t be meeting for brunch like we planned.”

“Wait… what? You mean… they’re not meeting you?” asked Shay. She felt her insides seize as Todd shook his head slowly. “You can take me to them, right? Before they leave? Even if you don’t meet for broonch?” Todd bit his lip as he watched the pain and panic filling Shay’s eyes with tears. Her hand went from grasping the hook at her side to wringing one of the straps on her pack. Small, quick breaths were just the start of hyperventilation.

Todd’s heart ached as he shook his head. “Shay, I can’t. They’re already a quarter of the way home. They’ve been on the road for a few hours. Even if I asked, they wouldn’t turn around now. I… I’m so sorry.” Shay sucked in a sob.

“But… then… how am I going to get home?” she choked out, the waterfall of tears cresting over the rims of her eyes. She began walking backwards instinctually until her back hit the cardboard. Her arms wrapped around her mid-section in the form of an odd hug. Slowly, she sank to the ground, keeping her knees close to her chest.

“Hey, hey now. It’s going to be okay. Look, I’m really sorry, but there’s nothing I can do right now; but what I can do is I can bring you back when I go home over the long weekend,” soothed Todd, trying to think of something – anything – to make the girl smaller than his fingers stop crying.

“W-week-end?” sniffed Shay in between heaving, tearful breaths.

“Yeah. I was going home over the long weekend which is about a month away or so. I know that’s a really long time; but, unless you want to travel by mail, this is the safest thing we can do,” encouraged Todd.

“B-bu-t what ab-about my f-f-family? They ha-ave to be s-s-so w-wo-rried!” Shay, amongst her quickening heart and tear blurred eyes, hadn’t realized she had given away that her family lived back at the home. Todd better understood now. She was young; much younger than he originally thought. “Wh-a-at am I go-gon-gonna do?”

Her cries were desperate, and Todd wanted nothing more than to show her she was going to be okay. If it were his sister, he would give her a hug, which would be more than complicated with the girl who could easily hide in his palm with no one being the wiser. Would he be overstepping boundaries if he were to reach out to comfort her?

The grad student thought better of it. If anything, she would recoil. Putting himself in her shoes, it could easily sound like a lie intended to keep her from her family. Instead, he took the supplies he intended for the box and set them just close enough so Shay could see him out of her peripheral vision. Those tear lined eyes registered his movement just as he had hoped.

“You’re going to be okay Shay. You can stay here with me and live for as long as you want. You can stay or go, whatever you want, and I won’t stop you,” said Todd gently. Shay looked up at him and blinked a few times, the thoughts seemingly trying to gain purchase in her mind. “We’ll be roommates until I get you home. Sound good?”

Shay’s small eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’ll bring me home?” she asked in between hiccups.

“Of course. I promise!” said Todd.

“And… wh-when you s-say stay? You do-don’t me-an as a p-pet, right? I don’t want to be a pet.” Shay’s emotions overwhelmed her once again as more tears began glossing her cheeks.

“No. No! Of course not! I would never do that to you Shay. You’re free to come and go as you’d like,” said Todd. Shay eyed the human. This seemed like a convincing argument for her to stay, but it could equally be as useful as a lie. What if he had changed his mind about helping her? The Borrower child pulled her legs up to her chest.

I don’t have much of a choice, do I? I can’t get into the walls. There’s nothing to borrow. I’m already this far in.

“O-k-okay, Todd, I’m going to trust you.”

Chapter Text

It was an odd thing, living with a human. Shay had done so all her life, but it wasn’t like he or anyone else knew about her and her family living in the walls. As odd as it was, ever since Shay agreed to stay with Todd, it seemed like everything fell into a sense of normal in no time. Yes, a human was aware of her presence, but all in all he didn’t seem to mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t care or express concern, but it was more like the novelty of finding a small person was lost on him.

He was considerate and kind, checking in on her on occasion but not asking too many times to make her uncomfortable. More often than not, he was doing something called “homework” for class. It often involved him staring at various devices and screens, scribbling notes on paper for hours on end. In the morning, he made breakfast and left out a snack. In the evening, he made dinner for the both of them.

In some way, it felt nice having someone there. Shay couldn’t imagine being on her own trying to survive. It felt like having one of her own brothers there looking out for her. To keep her from using her hook all of the time, Todd taped and secured stable lines for her to use. For counters and gaps, he placed bridges. He even agreed to making some ladders that led into the walls.

Staying inside the walls was one way Shay honored her heritage while also staying near her roommate. The Borrower girl knew she needed to practice and keep her skills sharp, so she spent time in the walls setting up a makeshift camp. Todd even helped remove the face covers of the electrical outlets so she could slip in and out easier.

Shay thought about staying in the walls. That’s what should have happened the first day she arrived. She thought of what her parents would say and how her brothers would tease and taunt her, maybe even scold her, at being around a human for so long. The first night alone sleeping in the walls on her makeshift bed told her one thing – she missed home. Furthermore, she didn’t want to be alone, even if that meant being with a human.

She crept out of the walls that night as Todd breathed deeply, already asleep, and curled back into the heavenly soft pillow and thick, warm blanket. It wasn’t all bad. In fact, most of it was good. There were still times where he moved too fast and she didn’t notice him in a room because of how quiet he was when he worked that she squeaked and retreated beneath whatever was near; however, this lasted for less than two days.

Immediately after spending two days with Todd, she found herself wandering out when he was doing homework and other things. Most of the time, she was keeping her skills sharp for when she arrived back at home. Since Todd knew about her, it didn’t make sense to hide all day in the walls when she could be practicing out in the open.

The Borrower teen also realized she had a lot of questions that Todd knew the answers to. Some things were simple, like where humans got their food and what farms were. It was mind numbing, thinking of fields and fields that would take a year to cross growing mountains of food. Some questions, however, were more complex and Todd had to explain it many times for Shay to understand. Things like how that device he wrote on knew what he was doing and how he could “submit” a project without bringing it to the other humans.

The days passed and the more they talked, the more Shay realized how advanced the humans were and how their daily struggles as Borrowers were things humans had solved advanced the humans were and how their daily struggles as Borrowers were things humans had solved years ago; at least, most of them anyway. A lot of problems they ran into constantly were trivial at best for humans.

Another thought came to Shay one night that terrified her after the fact, and that was how much easier life would be if they relied on humans to help take care of them. Immediately, she shook the thought away. The thought of demeaning herself to be a pet for an easier life made her feel choked up and tears burned the corners of her eyes. What would her parents think of her if she had let this thought slip?

No.

She had to be strong. Despite how easy things would be, she realized that there was purpose in her life by borrowing. She wanted purpose – for her life to mean something, even if it was just for her; and living with a human to be their pet was no purpose at all.

The thought, to Shay, was actually amusing. What could a Borrower do to help a human? What purpose could they serve other than being a pet.

Within minutes, the thought of this “easy life” had completely vanished from Shay’s mind and she curled up on the lent pillow under the bed and drifted into a deep sleep.

~~~~~

Nearly a week had passed since Shay had these thoughts about Borrowers being pets and Shay was enjoying some chips Todd left on the counter of the kitchen when Todd came home. The instinct to hide was there, but easily overridden by seeing her human roommate. She swung her legs off of the edge of the counter as Todd loaded a dozen bags from his arms onto the opposite counter.

“Hey Shay,” Todd greeted warmly. “Up and about I see. Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah, it was great,” she replied as she stood and stretched, dusting the crumbs off on her pants. “What’ve you got there?” Shay knew she wouldn’t be able to see even if she stood on her tiptoes, but she tried all the same. Todd cast a glance over his shoulder and grinned.

“All the good stuff,” he proclaimed. “I have some of our favorites for dinner, a new bag of chips we haven’t tried yet, and some candy.” Shay was delighted at the list, but noticed that he hadn’t unpacked all of the bags he brought in.

“What’s in those?” she asked after he put away most of the food.

“Huh? Oh. Those are supplies for a project I’ve been working on. There’s a bit of a competition going on right now for who will present at a conference. Whoever wins will get the chance to make a mock proposal to the board and, if it does well there, it’ll…” He was about to continue when he saw the partial confusion on Shay’s face. “Well, long story short, some really important people may actually use the design I come up with if I can prove my design is stable and, to do that, I need to make a model.”

Shay was grateful Todd simplified things for her and now was more fascinated than ever in this “modeling” thing.

“Anyway, I need to get working on it. No pressure or anything, but do you want me to make something now for dinner or just wait it out?” Shay wasn’t necessarily hungry, so she shook her head.

“I’m okay. Get working on your project thing,” she said with a sweet smile. Todd nodded and enthusiastically gathered his building materials and disappeared into the living area to begin working. Shay, in the meantime, decided she should practice opening cabinets on her own from the outside. It was a useful skill to have and, the more powerful motivator, she wanted to look at the candy boxes he brought home.

It took time, but Shay had the fundamentals down of getting her hook onto the cabinet handle, climbing it, and then pulling it free. Beau, her oldest brother, had made a device that helped open and keep open the cabinets, but the materials were hard to find. Slate, her middle brother, simply used force by climbing above the cabinets and slipping down from the top. Icon didn’t have a technique, but Shay knew he had more practice than her.

In between attempts, Shay had to take a breather, but it wasn’t enough. She either needed to get stronger or get something to help her. The Borrower teen remembered what the pieces and parts looked like but had no idea where to find them.

Then, a thought occurred to her. Maybe Todd knew what these pieces were and where to find them. It was settled.

Shay retriever her hook and belayed down to the ground to find Todd.

Todd, in the meantime, was hyper focused on this project. He had printed off all of his blueprints and was making adjustments as needed to accommodate. The base was the easiest part, laying the popsicle sticks down as the floor joists and leaving gaps for the rods he intended to use as posts and wall joists. Each cut and measurement had to be precise and exactly to scale if he was going to succeed. Thankfully, he was diligent and precise.

Within a few hours, Todd had a significant portion complete and had only burned three of his fingers on the hot glue. He sat back in his chair and was about to pull out his phone when he heard the familiar *zing* of the line and the catch of the hook. Carefully, he glanced over and down to see Shay beginning to ascend to the top of the table. Seeing his tiny roommate climbing the table brought a smile to his face.

“And what brings you this way little lady?” he asked, leaning back as he watched her begin to inch up the line.

“I was… wondering… if you… ooofff… could help me…. With something…” Shay responded in between breaths when she had secured her footing on the line. Todd chuckled.

“Probably. I was just about to take a break,” he said. “You know, I could give you a hand. This table is pretty tall.” Shay locked her position with her feet and stared up at Todd. The momentary break allowed enough time for her muscles to begin shaking. If she stayed clinging to the line and not moving for too much longer, she would undoubtedly have to go back to the ground. The other option, having Todd quite literally lend her a hand to stand on, was daunting. She hadn’t been held or touched by Todd, and her Borrower instincts flailed against the idea.

Still, her muscles were tiring quickly, and she was already starting to slip down the line. Shay clenched her jaw. She trusted Todd and had been trusting him for these past few weeks. He had proven himself time and again, and that was enough for Shay.

“I know you can do it on your own,” reminded Todd. “But, I thought the offer might be nice.”

Shay partially snorted in amusement. Even now while he saw her muscles shaking, he wasn’t forcing her.

“Okay,” she said softly with a shy nod. Todd’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized what he had offered. With a subtle nod, he reached down just below Shay and leveled his palm just barely an inch below her.

The young Borrower’s heartrate tripled as the immense hand rested just beneath her. Her body tensed instinctually and she gingerly lowered herself until she stepped onto the soft surface of his palm. It gave way under her feet like a stiff pillow, but it was far too warm. Shay noticed only now that the tips of Todd’s fingers were bandaged and slightly blistered. She knelt and could see all of the ridges on his fingers and on his palm, every line and crease making up this part of his body.

His fingers curled instinctually upward only a fraction of a degree as the human lifted the teenage Borrower from where she was onto the table. It was a rush of motion, reminding Shay of dropping down a line suddenly. It sent her senses tingling and a shiver of excitement up her spine. For a moment, Shay stayed crouched, almost wanting him to do it again before coming out of her partial daze, and stepped off.

It was then that she saw the thing he was working on. It was a massive structure, easily five times her height. The building itself had rectangular elements, but there were interesting triangles and circles attached like it was trying to emulate a pyramid and a dome at the same time.

“Woah,” she said, walking up to the wooden structure. “You… made this? In just a few hours?” she asked.

Todd, still reeling from the sensation of Shay standing and crouching on his hand, simply hummed an affirmative response and nodded. “Yeah. It still needs a lot of work, but I thought I’d give my fingers a rest from being burned. Overall, I’m pleased. There are still a few things on the inside I need to work out, but that’ll take time I don’t really have.”

Shay stepped up to the front, realizing the door was just her height. Being so close, she could see he used actual screws just barely larger than her hand to secure the door. She turned around and pointed absent mindedly at it.

“Could I… go in?” she asked. Todd’s eyebrows raised, taken slightly off-guard by the question, but nodded and gestured toward the structure.

“Go right ahead. Just be really careful. Some of the glue is still setting and those elements I’m having some trouble with are inside, not really outside,” replied Todd. Shay reciprocated the nod and crossed the threshold.

Immediately, she was astounded.

There were walls and nooks and stairs all on the first floor. The ceiling was far above her and revealed each floor. The dome and the pyramid let her see the ceiling of Todd’s apartment, but some of the other areas she could walk into and not worry about hitting her head. There were places that had shelves and spots for coat hooks. If a Borrower were to live in a house, this is probably what it would look like.

“What do you think?” he asked from the outside. Shay peered around to see his massive eye looking in through one of the windows, a sight that made her startle. When she regained herself, she could only smile.

“It’s amazing. Do all of the stairs and doors work?” she asked, stepping over the threshold into a smaller side room and began closing the door, which came loose and fell almost on top of her. She yelped and leapt back.

“Shay! Are you okay? I was just about to say most of them. There were a few things that I haven’t quite fixed because it’s running into other design problems,” said Todd.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” huffed Shay, passive aggressively shoving the door with her foot. “What design problems? This whole place is amazing!”

“You’re being way too nice,” said Todd with a roll of his eyes. “For one, some of the doors are running into one another. I thought I accounted for that, but they end up opening into each other and that’s not a great design. Plus, I don’t know what to do with the roof. I thought about just covering it, but that’ll reduce a lot of natural light. Problem is that if I don’t cover it, the overall structure won’t be stable enough to sustain the shape. Anyway, it was a good concept, but I may have to go back to the drawing board.”

Shay stared up at the roof for a minute thinking about what Todd said. She didn’t understand all of it, but she understood enough.

“Why don’t you just put some beams to support it?” she asked.

“I thought about that, but the weight it’ll have will put too much pressure on the walls,” replied Todd.

“No, I meant… Here.” Shay began climbing the stairs all the way up until she made it almost to the roof. Then, pointing, began explaining what she meant. Todd’s eyes narrowed as his brain began calculating angles, suddenly catching onto Shay’s idea.

“So, use the beams here instead of here?” he asked, pointing to the points on the structure. Shay nodded. “Huh… that… could… actually work. Here.”

Todd seized a handful of popsicle sticks and began placing them with the glue. Slowly but surely, he removed the original supports and, sure enough, it held. In the meantime, Shay walked around and began readjusting and fixing small things she noticed. Things like the stairs and the frames of the doors.

“Hey, what do you know!” Todd said with a pleased grin. “Way to go Shay.” Shay, rather pleased with herself, accepted the human’s complement with a bashful grin, feeling the tips of her ears and cheeks pinken.

“Thanks,” she said, blushing.

“You know, you’d make a good engineer,” said Todd leaning back.

“An engineer?”

“Yeah,” said Todd. “Like me. Someone who designs and builds stuff.”

Shay looked around at the structure and felt a swell of pride. Perhaps there was a purpose she could serve here.

Chapter Text

It had been days - days - since the incident. The brothers had come home, heads hung low and absolutely no plan to get their sister back. They tried to make it outside, but those monstrous things called “cars” were already too far away. They could only watch as the humans left and vanished around the corner into the much larger human world beyond the world they knew indoors.

What could they even say to make this right? What could they even tell their parents? How could they justify returning without her? They were charged with their sister’s safety and the first time she went out she was taken

Regardless, they had to go home. There was nothing that could be done now.

Their mother’s cries could barely be stifled and their father was furious; not with the brothers, but with himself. They wept together, shaking in fear and sadness for their daughter.

Where had Shay been taken? When was the family going to return? Could she make it back on her own? Could she even survive on her own? She knew the basics, but this visit to the human’s home was her first time. Could she live undetected? Was she already caught? Seen?

There was little sleep among the family that night. There was nothing else they could say to one another. They could only hope their daughter was able to return home. She was clever. She was quick. She was their daughter - and they raised her fierce and determined.

All hopes of these things, however, shattered when many of the humans returned home and there was no sign of Shay. She wasn’t in the luggage and she wasn’t in the bags. She wasn’t seen sneaking away back into the safety of the walls. She wasn’t there. She wasn’t anywhere.

No. She was somewhere. She had to be where the other human who didn’t return was staying.

The last fragments of hope were slipping from the Borrower family. Their last thread - that she was alive and okay - was all that tethered them to their daughter. They could only hope it would be enough to bring her home.

Chapter Text

“Ready?”

“Ready!” Shay’s heart was pounding excitedly in her chest. An entire week of planning and preparation, designing and testing, all led to this moment. Shay gripped the hook in her hand. Her head was buzzing with nerves. She glanced up at Todd, her human roommate, and gave a nod. He honestly looked more scared than how she felt.

Todd is here. He’s not going to let anything happen to me. There are pillows. There are safeties. He’s going to catch me if it fails.

She took one last breath walking up to the ledge of the table and jumping off. She leapt straight up in the air, hook in hand, and embedded the barbed edge into the table as she began to plummet. The sensation of dropping in a free fall rose in her throat as a shriek, but she kept it down. Instead of giving into the fear of falling, she reached back with her left hand and pulled the lever.

The device on her back whirred and began grinding the cord, keeping it from releasing. The harder she pulled, the faster she slowed. The line shook, but it held in place, as she eventually began descending slower and slower. Finally, she touched down on the pillowed ground.

The Borrower teen turned around, a beaming smile on her face, as she looked up at Todd who shared the same expression. The jittering excitement exploded in her as she leapt into the air and cheered.

“It worked! We did it!”

“Yeah we did!” Todd reached down, palm out, and Shay wasted no time in high-fiving his hand.

“I can’t believe it! I mean, that was terrifying, but in a pinch it absolutely works!” said Shay as she began trying to shake the hook free from the table.

One of the biggest problems as a Borrower was having a quick descent plan if you were on a tall surface and couldn’t get to a hiding place where you were in time before a human entered the room. The usual decision was to accept the rope burn and descend the line as fast as you could, hope you could get your hook unlatched in time, and run to your hiding place. Shay had first-hand experience with this issue when Todd and his family first came home and she was trapped on the counter.

Working together, the two of them came up with this simple device which released the safety line attached to the hook which could be controlled with a lever. Todd worked on the device itself, using Shay’s specifications, while she made the harness pack it attached to. It was a little clunky, but obviously effective; and Shay couldn’t be more pleased.

The young Borrower smiled from ear to ear, completely elated, as she clambered onto Todd’s hand which he had rotated as an offer to climb on. When she was stable, Todd raised his hand and set it onto the table, fingers splayed so Shay could get off easily; something which she didn’t do.

If the past few weeks had told them anything, it was that their friendship was nothing like they expected and that they quickly got used to one another’s presences as if they had been working together for years. It was almost spooky how quickly the two had forged their friendship; like it didn’t matter they were so different. After all, they had so many things in common.

They both liked watching cartoons and dipping chocolatey treats into melted chocolate. They liked building more than reading about buildings and were both night owls. Both had an eye for construction and invention. They still had their differences, naturally. Shay didn’t like scary movies, seeing all of the things that were natural problems for Borrowers, but she was more adventurous and active than her human counterpart. Todd liked the quiet and could go hours without saying a word, content to work in the natural hum of his apartment.

Still, they worked seamlessly together and joked and played around like they were siblings, Shay almost treating Todd like she treated her older brothers and Todd treating her like his younger sister.

It was after this time had passed that they were watching one of the movies Shay had seen only pieces and parts of while sitting on the couch. Todd had made himself comfortable and was only partially watching the movie. Instead, he was watching Shay, who was currently perched on his knee and nibbling on a chocolate covered pretzel.

He remembered the first time he met her and could think of nothing else he would rather do than be friends with such an innocent soul and protect her from the big, scary world they lived in. Seeing her tears had been heart wrenching, and watching her open up to what he guessed was her natural self - energetic and vibrant - had been a great distraction to living away from home for the first time.

He also remembered the promise he made to her about bringing her home over the long weekend while he visited during break. Had she forgotten? Or had she not been counting the days, dreading each one where he’d have to part with his spunky little companion? Todd wasn’t sure which it was for Shay, but he hadn’t dared broach the subject.

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t talked to her about it. Maybe it was because he would be lonely. Maybe he had gotten used to the idea of her staying with him. He knew she didn’t want to be a pet and he certainly never treated her like one, but he did wonder to himself from time to time if she liked not having to worry about gathering food and hiding all of the time - being taken care of.

Todd dared not bring up that delicate topic, knowing any mention of it could potentially sever the trust he’d earned. Instead, he pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and draped it over his shoulders, layering it to provide a comfortable cushion. He then reached out and nudged Shay gently with his index finger. She looked around at him, a bit of smudged chocolate on her face. He snickered at the sight.

“What?” she asked, a smile spreading across her face as she looked playfully defensive. “What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything, but you’ve got melted chocolate on your face,” said Todd, gesturing to the area that was smudged with the melted sweet. Shay’s face turned a bright pink and she began wiping at her face with the back of her hand.

“Did I get it?” she asked, pursing her lips and turning her head from side to side. Todd nodded.

“Yeah, you’ve got it,” said Todd. “But, I did want to ask if you’d be more comfortable where you are or if you’d rather get on the blanket.” Shay’s eyes sparkled as she saw the cushioned place Todd had created before looking away bashfully at being overeager.

“I mean… if it would be more comfortable for you,” she said sweetly. Todd rolled his eyes and laid his palm beside her.

“Right. Definitely. You’re so considerate,” he said teasingly. “Just don’t get your melty chocolate on the blanket.” Shay stuck out her tongue playfully and wrinkled her nose as she climbed onto his hand on all fours.

“I’ve been the MOST careful between the two of us,” she said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Uh huh,” Todd teased. Shay opened her mouth to protest, but Todd rapidly lowered his hand as if he were dropping her, making her squeal. She instinctively flattened against his palm after lunging for his thumb, wrapping both arms around it as tight as she could. If he had looked smug at making her squeal instead of the playful grin that reminded her so much of her middle brother, Slate, she would have had some snarky remark for him and may have even gotten angry. Instead, she decided to get back at him by wiping the melted chocolate on her hands into the crevices of his thumb.

“There!” she said as soon as Todd realized it was too late to stop her. “Now, you don’t have to worry about me getting chocolate on the blanket.”

“Ha ha great. Thanks,” was his only reply as he raised his hand to his shoulder and let her step off. He held impossibly still as she got situated and secured herself with her safety pin before readjusting and pulling part of the blanket that was free over his head, making an odd sort of tent for Shay.

They continued to watch the movie in silence, only laughter interrupting the movie. As much as Todd wanted to dismiss his thoughts, they continued to nag at him. The architect in the making would rather passively avoid the topic and continue along the status quo, which made him ten times happier than the alternative. Still, he knew he needed to bring up the topic of going home to Shay sooner rather than later. It was only three days away after all. He waited for the credits before summoning the courage to talk to her.

“Things are going to be different, huh?” Todd knew he wasn’t the best at starting serious conversations, but this seemed to be a good enough transition as he could come up with given the circumstances. He felt Shay, who had adjusted to lying down on his shoulder, sit upright.

“Different? What do you mean?” she asked. Todd clicked the television off with the remote, trying to let the words come naturally.

“You know. After the holiday break and everything, I’ll be here,” he replied. “And I’ll be on my own – for real this time.” He heard Shay giggle and shift again.

“You’re not going to be alone silly,” she said jestingly. “You have me.” For a moment, Todd’s heart leapt into his throat. Did she mean it? Was she going to stay? Or…

“What about going home?” he asked quietly. Todd heard Shay inhale sharply and fall very silent.

Shay sat on the soft blanket on Todd’s shoulder, her blood running cold and mind numbing. Were things really so different now? Had she forgotten to count down the days until she went home? To her brothers? Her parents? Had she changed so much being with Todd? What were her parents going to think of her? Had they completely given up on ever seeing her again?

Shay pulled her knees inward to her chest and gripped her ankles. All of these realizations suddenly were making her chest feel tight. Todd had been so kind and had reminded her so much of her older brothers. He had practically been her family all this time later. Now, he was going to leave, and they probably wouldn’t see each other again because the Borrower rules forbid it. She didn’t realize that warm tears were gathering at her eyes and that she was trembling. This did not go unnoticed by Todd.

“Shay? Are you crying?” Something about Todd asking made it all worse, and Shay sniffed and wiped her eyes. The next thing she saw was a hand eclipsing the light from outside the makeshift tent Todd created. Her Borrower instincts were to shy away from it, but Shay found herself leaning into the hand that wrapped around her, massive fingers pressing against her back. She threw herself forward, wrapping one arm between his index and middle finger and the other arm around to catch it.

“Hey, Shay, you’re going to be okay? Don’t cry. I… I’m sorry,” soothed Todd. Todd lifted Shay off of his shoulder, careful to cradle her body in his fingers, and brought her to his chest. She stifled a few more sniffles before wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“No… I’m sorry. I… can’t believe it. I guess I just… lost track of time,” said Shay as she leaned into the warm embrace around her until the tightness in her chest began to dissipate and she started feeling better.

“You know,” said Todd softly. “You could stay if you wanted to. I’m not saying you’d have to and I’m still going to take you home just like I promised, but you can always come back here with me.” Shay let go of Todd’s finger and turned around to face him. Instinctively, he uncurled his fingers slightly so she was no longer encased in his hand. He had that same welcoming, soft smile he had that reassured her all those weeks ago.

“You’d… let me stay with you?” she asked.

“Of course!” said Todd. “Shay, you’re always welcome to stay here with me. I mean, I’m not going to force you to stay here and all that; and you could go home with me when I go home over the holidays.” Shay could only look into Todd’s thoughtful eyes. Perhaps she could come back from time to time and see him – stay with him.

“I… I think I’d like that,” she said with a sweet smile. Shay’s eyes suddenly drooped and she leaned once again into the crevasses of his hand. Todd, noticing the quickly fading Shay, pulled the blankets off of himself and headed for his room. He glanced at the kitchen clock. It was a lot late than he thought.

Todd took extra care as he rotated his hand and set her down onto the pillow and pulled the blanket over her shoulder. She would have to pack and get everything ready for the weekend, just like him, but he quietly hoped that she would come back. He’d miss her a lot and, based on her response, she would miss him too. With that heartwarming thought, he quickly brushed his teeth and slipped into bed.

Chapter Text

The next few days passed for the duo as they prepared for the journey home. Shay had very little to bring with her except for the inventions she and Todd had created. While packing, the teenage Borrower couldn’t help but feel apprehensive and nervous about the journey home. Traveling with Todd wasn’t the concern. It was the family she would be returning home to.

How was she going to tell them she had revealed herself to a human? How was she going to tell them that he had let her go and had been so kind? How was she going to say that he was her friend? Most importantly, how was she going to convince them that she wanted to visit Todd and, quite possibly, keep living with him from time to time?

There were no answers she could give that would result in her continued friendship with Todd - but she was going to try.

It was early in the morning when she felt a gentle prod at her side. She instinctively leaned into the touch and barely registered that Todd was speaking to her. He said something along the lines of, “It’s time to go,” when she felt his fingers curl under the blanket and under her. She rolled into his hand while clutching the blanket, forcing her human transport to bring the blanket along.

“This is still my blanket,” she heard Todd mutter as he readjusted his hands so she was better swaddled in the human sized blanket.

“Mhhh… know,” she muttered sleepily. “But I’m sssstill tir…” Shay didn’t remember finishing her sentence. She only could recall Todd’s signature chuckle and a brief jostling as he walked out into the brisk morning to his car to begin the drive home.

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

It was hours later and Shay was woken by the sunlight refracting off of the windshield and into her face. It was still early and the sun hadn’t completely risen in the sky. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the smell of warm food wafted in the air - and it smelled sweet. The bleary-eyed Borrower stretched as big as she could and sat up, rubbing her eyes and looking out across her new environment.

The car itself was mostly seats and a massive piece of slick plastic which she would have difficulty climbing. There were several hand and foot holds near the middle, but they all had numbers on them and goodness knew what they did. Todd was sitting in what was called the “driver’s seat” and currently had his hands off of the big circle that was in front of him. He was drinking something in a cup at least twice the height of Shay and had something in a tray in his lap that Shay couldn’t quite see, but she had every intention to.

Shay stretched again as she called out to Todd, “Good morning.” Todd’s head immediately perked up as he glanced over at his passenger. He set down the cup in his hand and set it on his leg.

“Good morning sleepy,” he said with a thoughtful smile. “Well, little miss bedhead. You didn’t get up like you promised.” Teasingly, he reached over and carefully ruffled the top of Shay’s hair. Shay blushed and leaned back, grabbing onto the tip of his finger.

“No! Not the hair!” she giggled and maintained her grip even as Todd raised his hand a few inches into the air above the blanket. Todd moved slowly but began turning his finger downward so Shay would slide off.

Shay, in response, wrapped her legs around his finger, giggling the entire time. Her grip endured, even when Todd began bouncing his hand up and down until, finally, he yielded and rotated his hand so she could sit upright. Knowing she had won, she turned around and sat in his palm beaming with a grin from ear to ear.

“Thank you, Todd,” she said sweetly. “And I’m sorry I didn’t get up like I promised. That was very rude of me.” Todd side eyed his tiny companion with a playful suspicion.

“You’re just apologizing because you want breakfast. Is that right?” Todd teased. Shay’s mouth was agape with her eyebrows raised in fake surprise.

“What?! Me? I would never!” she said with a giggle.

“Right,” grinned Todd as he reached down to the small bowl in his lap and tore a small piece of something out with a fork. It was steaming slightly and had a clear, sweet-smelling substance on top which Shay recognized as icing. She reached out and took it, thankful it wasn’t burning hot, and took a bite. Cinnamon roll!

“Thank you Todd,” she said before continuing to eat.

“You’re welcome,” he replied. Todd and Shay continued eating quietly while Shay woke up. All the while, she was trying to catch a glimpse outside of the windows. Todd, noticing this, carefully lifted her up to the ledge. “Don’t sit up too high. There are other people who could come by. Okay?” Todd advised.

Shay stayed low and looked out the window. As she looked out, she nearly dropped the fragment of sweet, iced bread in her hands. There were several other cars nearby, many of them looking as big as Todd’s home. It wasn’t just one or two. There were at least twenty. Then Shay turned to the front of the car and her breath was taken away.

The sunrise.

She had seen outside before in the mornings and had even watched the sun set a few times, more with Todd than she had in her entire life. This, however, was the first time she had seen an early morning sunrise. The pastel colors painted in the sky blended seamlessly from soft yellow to baby blue into dark blue. There were a few clouds nearby which added a smatter of pink.

“Pretty, yeah?” asked Todd, snapping Shay out of her trance. She nodded and took another bite of the cooled cinnamon bread in her hands.

“Yeah, really pretty,” she signed.

“If you want, you can ride up on the dash. It might be risky and someone else might see you, but you’ll get to see the scenery,” Todd suggested as he pulled a damp cloth out of a small pouch and began wiping his free hand. Shay looked back behind her at Todd after thinking for a second to herself.

“Do you think I could ride on your shoulder instead? That way I can see out and no one can see me,” said Shay.

Todd, with a grin, replied, “Only if you hurry and after you wipe your hands off little miss sticky fingers. We need to get going if we’re going to make it on time.” With that, Shay quickly finished her breakfast and wiped her hands on the wet towel before climbing up onto Todd’s shoulder.

The car started up and they were off once again onto the open road. Shay watched buildings and cars come and go. She caught glimpses of people in their cars, feeling extreme satisfaction that she could see them and they couldn’t see her. It felt like being a true Borrower again. She could also see the fields and hills and the hundreds of trees that passed. The trees they passed were all shapes and colors. Shay had seen fall before, but never had she seen so much of it all at once.

It was several hours with just the two of them listening to music and talking, laughing and teasing. Then, finally, the car turned down one small road and then another. It twisted around one part of the road and turned down a much narrower strip before coming to a stop. Shay looked out of the window curiously.

“Todd? Why did we stop? This doesn’t look like the other stations,” asked the teenage Borrower girl. Todd signed and barely glanced at his companion before muttering his reply.

“We’re home.”

Shay couldn’t believe it. Home? Actually home? She clung to the ridges of fabric on Todd’s shoulder and leaned forward. The house looked a lot different on the outside. It was brick and had a lot more windows than the place he was currently living in. There was a tree in the front yard that was covered in golden leaves that were drifting to the ground.

Shay had been so distracted that she didn’t realize they had made it all the way home. She didn’t even realize this place was home, having never seen it from the outside before. All of a sudden, her nerves were on edge. There was a sickening feeling resting just above her diaphragm.

She hadn’t even thought twice about how she would address her parents. Every question that came to her mind suddenly drowned out what Todd had just asked her.

“Shay? You okay?” he asked. Shay glanced up and saw Todd’s eyes in the rear-view mirror looking at her. Her breath hitched. She had seen her reflection before, but not ever when she was hitching a ride on Todd’s shoulder. It looked odd but natural at the same time. Shay couldn’t think about that now. Instead, she focused on Todd’s question and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I just… I’ve never seen home from the outside; and, I’m not sure how to tell my parents.” Todd sighed and reached up instinctually toward his shoulder, touching her shoe with his index finger.

“You’ll probably say no, but would it help if I came with you?” he asked. Shay slowly shook her head. “It’s okay. I thought the offer would be nice. I don’t want to rush you, but we shouldn’t stay in the car for too long. My family is getting ready to come out here and they’ll probably tackle me. Speaking of which, where do you want me to put you? Should I set you in my bag and put it in my room?”

Shay had to think about the question for a moment before nodding.

“That would probably be the safest,” she replied. Todd nodded and turned his palm for her to slide into. She slide down his shoulder and landed on all fours before quickly readjusting herself. While Todd grabbed his bag, Shay suddenly had a thought – a terrible thought.

If the conversation with her family didn’t go well, they would probably have to immigrate. What was even worse was that if her parents refused her request. If they refused, she would never get to see Todd again. There was nothing she could do about it now as Todd brought his backpack except tell him. He had the right to know just in case her family wouldn’t let her see him again.

“Todd, wait!” she said as Todd began unzipping his bag.

“What? Is everything okay? Look, I know this has got to be scary, but I won’t let…”

“No, that’s not… I just… If…” Shay looked up into Todd’s eyes, trying to memorize everything that had happened over the past weeks, and barely managed to choke out the words. “I just wanted to thank you… for everything you’ve done for me and I hope… I hope I get to see you very soon.” Todd’s brow furrowed in confusion.

“Shay? Why…” Todd looked like he wanted to say something but bit his tongue instead and smiled. “I hope so too.”

Shay gave another smile before sliding into the pocket of the backpack. Todd carefully zipped it part of the way up and slid the strap over his shoulder before getting out of the car. His steps were quick as he approached the front door, pulled out the key, and entered his home.

“Hey! I’m home!” he called out. Shay listened to the thudding of footsteps as his siblings and parents all came rushing at him. He barely had time to set his bag off to the side before he was tackled to the wall. There was conversation, but Shay couldn’t hear past the pounding in her chest and her ears.

Todd made his excuses to his family about needing to drop his things off in his room and brought his backpack with Shay safely stowed away inside. He set down the backpack and smiled.

“I hope I see you soon. Bye Shay.” With that, Todd stood up and left his room, shutting the door behind him. Shay, after taking several deep breaths and composing herself, slipped out of the bag after checking her surroundings. With nothing stopping her now, she slung her pack over her shoulder and headed for the same outlet in the walls that started her journey into the human world. The question now was how things were going to work out – and would Shay ever get to see Todd again.

Chapter Text

It had been so long since she had seen the insides of the walls. It was like nothing had changed. The smell of slightly aged wood still drifted in the air among the flecks of dust. There were still hooks near the entrance, which were natural precautions just in case they needed them. Shay had to think about the route they used to get home and, silently, began making her way through the walls.

She paused at one of the main junctures to take a breath. Her heart was pounding so fast. Her lungs felt so tight. Every twisting nerve in her body brought her steps to a halt. She wanted her parents to see reason. She wanted them to understand that Todd was a good person, especially for a human. She wanted to show them all of the things they made together that were still in Todd’s backpack. Everything was coming to a head. Was she ready for it?

“Shay?” The young Borrower girl heard the familiar voice. She spun around, a lump forming in her throat as she looked into the faces of her three brothers. No words came to mind. Her mouth was dry and everything she was just worried about vanished from her mind. She was home. Finally, she was home.

“Hey,” she managed to choke out as warm, salty tears streamed down her cheeks. “Um… I’m home.”

Shay had barely uttered the words when all three of her brothers dropped their borrowing bags and charged at her, each throwing their arms around her and smothering her in an endless hug. Shay had let Todd hold her and had hugged his fingers dozens of times, but it was nothing like hugging someone her own size. The youngest of the Borrower siblings didn’t register her brothers’ questions and she certainly dared not give any answers just yet; not when this moment was so precious between them.

They held one another for what felt like an hour when everyone suddenly pulled away. Shay had never seen tears in her older siblings’ eyes, yet there was not a dry eye among them. Slate, the middle brother, was the first to sputter out a coherent question.

“How did you make it back? Where did you go? Where have you been?” Slate sniffed and wiped his eye on the back of his hand.

“We thought we lost you!” Icon chimed in. Beau, with his knowing eyes, seemed to look through Shay directly to her thoughts.

“Shay, what happened? You’ve been gone for weeks. Just about two months actually. How are you home?”

Shay felt her shoulders beginning to shake as she looked into her brother’s eyes. She wanted to tell him everything. She felt compelled to tell him everything. Thankfully, Slate and Icon interrupted.

“Now’s not the time Beau. We need to get her back to mom and dad! They’re going to be over the roof!”

With another keen look, Beau nodded and picked up his things as well as his sister’s belongings.

“Alrighty then. Let’s go home.”

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

They made quick work of the passages and tunnels all the way back home. All the way, Shay tried grasping at any and every thought she could that would help her case. She finally had an argument in place. Now, all she could do was hope it would be enough.

“Mom! Dad! Come quick!” shouted Icon as he sprinted up ahead and burst through the door into the kitchen. Beau rolled his eyes and followed behind Slate as he guided Shay along. From the other side of the wall, Shay could hear her parents’ frantic calls.

“What is it? What’s going on?”

“Look!” With that, Icon stepped off to the side, revealing Slate, then Beau with a little Shay tucked under his arm. Shay glanced from parent to parent, trying to read the situation. What she saw as confusion before quickly evolved into overzealous cries and overjoyed sobs. Her father hobbled over as her mother dropped the spoon she was stirring with as they tackled their missing daughter.

“My baby! Darling Shay! My love!” They both cooed over and over as they gave her a once over. Icon and Slate joined the fray, though Beau continued to eye Shay for several seconds just before he joined them altogether as a family. Shay, smothered in kisses and hugs, finally felt like she was home. Still, there was something missing.

Between the tears and sobs, unintelligible questions were thrown out, mostly in disbelief. Still, questions would need to be answered; however, that would have to wait. They had a lot to celebrate and drought out some of their most rarely borrowed food and dishware for the occasion.

The family, thankfully, ate in peace while they caught Shay up on everything they did to try and get her back and what they were doing to get her back. All while they were talking, Shay’s mind drifted to what Todd was doing and if he was having the same kind of reunion. After they talked for what felt like hours, the family fell silent and turned to their long missing daughter.

“Shay, I know it’s still so soon darling,” said her mother, leaning in and brushing the stray strands of hair from her face and over her ear. “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I can only imagine.”

“But we really want to know,” interjected her father.  “How did you make it back?” All eyes fell on the returned Borrower. Shay didn’t know how to start, but she started by easing into it.

“Well, I mean, Beau and Slate and Icon all saw me go into the box. We were just having a little fun getting the last couple of things when there were footsteps. I managed to hide, but I couldn’t get out in time. They tried, but To… the… human came back before that could happen.”

Shay couldn’t believe she’d almost already slipped up and hoped that no one noticed.

“So, I hid in the box and waited until everything was still again. It was a really long time and I could hear them outside talking. After a while, they all left and I managed to get out of the box. I kept to the corners and I had my hook. Since they were gone, I just started exploring and trying to find a way into the walls.”

“And that’s when you found the other Borrowers?” interjected Beau. All eyes shifted from the youngest to her eldest sibling. “What? She’s been gone for two months. I know she’s got the heart of a Borrower, but this was the first time she was out.” The eyes shifted back to Shay.

“Yeah,” added Slate. “What were they like? Were you able to help tell them about the human’s habits and stuff?”

Shay knew this was coming. She couldn’t lie. She had tried when she was younger and it went miserably for her. There was no way she could get away with it now. The thumping of her heart returned and her gaze lowered.

“Well… not… exactly…”

One look; that’s all it took. One look and they all knew - she was seen.

“Shay!” hissed Icon and Slate. Her mother’s eyes widened as her hands clasped over her mouth while her father looked like the wind had been knocked out of him from a harsh punch to the gut. Beau stiffened while her other two brothers stared in complete disbelief at her.

“No, it’s not like that!” Shay started to argue.

“We need to get everything ready.” Her father was already on his feet and looking at the boys. “Get the dried goods and the essentials only.”

“No, please!” Shay stood and clutched her father’s arm.

“Shay, it’s dangerous. You’re lucky enough you weren’t hurt,” replied her father.

“Daddy, please, just listen to me. Just sit down, please, and let me explain.” The oldest three slowed their rapid pace and stopped gathering as they listened to her. Shay retreated back to her seat, shoulders tense, as she tried gathering her scattered thoughts again.

“I… I was on my own. I was hurt and couldn’t get into the walls. There was no other option! I could either sit out in the open and wait for no one to help me to find me or I could ask Todd for help.” Shay felt her voice tightening and shaking, but she stood firm in her words. Shaken with the statement, her parents and brothers absorbed the information.

“Why didn’t you try and find any other Borrowers, Shay?” asked her mother, emotion constricting her throat.

“There weren’t any. The building is new. There were no lines or hooks or passages into the walls. Nothing. I… did try…” Shay wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Oh… oh no… baby… I… I didn’t mean it like that,” cooed her mother as she pushed herself up and hugged her daughter tightly. “It’s just… humans are dangerous.” At this, Shay slightly pulled away to look her family in the eyes.

“Todd is different!” argued Shay as she held up her hands and pointed to the faint marks on her palms. “He’s the one who helped my hands when I got rope burns. He helped open a spot in the wall so I could go and feel safe. He let me eat his food and let me pick from time to time. He’s the one who made sure I got home safe.”

The eyes of the family collectively widened.

“You mean… he knows where we live?” asked Slate.

“Then we don’t have a lot of time,” interjected Beau. “We need to start packing to immigrate. If he knows we’re here, we don’t have a moment to spare.”

“No, he doesn’t know where we live! And we don’t have to immigrate!” pleaded Shay. “He’s a good person. He’s not going to tell anyone about us, not even his family. He promised to help keep the secret.”

“I’m sure that’s what he told you,” muttered her father, looking unnerved and tired. “But how do you know? He’s with his family right now. How do we know he’s not telling them about you and about us? How do we know they’re not setting traps and preparing to open the floors and walls? We can’t trust him - any of them.”

“I trust him!” The room was quiet once again. Shay rubbed the pouring tears from her eyes constantly as the rest of the words spilled out of her. “I was so scared momma. I was alone and tried to get into the walls. I tried to stay hidden. He didn’t even know I was there until I was injured; and even that was my fault - not his. He was so nice and helped me get better. He helped make things so I could stay hidden and left me alone when I wanted it and… and… and…”

The youngest Borrower’s sobs choked out the rest of her thoughts as she leaned once again into her mother’s embrace. She let herself cry. She cried for the loneliness she felt when she was alone for the first time and for every moment of unknown she endured. Shay finally was able to admit to herself that if the human were someone other than Todd that things could have ended poorly for her. The danger she was in was astronomical on a good day, and with an unknown human it became mission impossible. She thanked her lucky stars it was Todd.

After her eyes had dried up and only a few unsure hiccups remained, Shay looked back at her family. They were still tense and unsure, but there was a silent agreement that this was far too much excitement for one evening and, for the moment, they hesitantly accepted they may be alright for one more night. The issue would need to be addressed again and they would most likely need to immigrate, but now it was time for resting and celebrating the return of their lost daughter.

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

Shay lay awake in her bed for hours after the Christmas lights had gone out. It was her bed, fitting perfectly to the curves of the cloth and frame. It wasn’t as comfortable as Todd’s pillow she had borrowed for the past few months. The smell was the same as when she left it - with a touch of peppermint.

Shay buried her face into her covers and tried to sleep. Her usual tricks didn’t work and, ultimately, she knew what was bothering her - she hadn’t said good-night to Todd. Regardless of what her parents said, there was no doubt in Shay’s mind that Todd was her friend and would never do anything to hurt her or her family. The young Borrower had enough tossing and turning.

As quietly as she could, she slipped out of bed and put on her borrowing shoes. She slipped one of the bags over her shoulder instinctually as well as her blanket fragment and set out into the walls with her hip lantern. It took little to no time at all to reach the electrical cover and push it open. Shay listened instinctually, remembering all of her training like the back of her hand. No sound. She cracked open the socket and looked out.

Yes!

The light was still on.

Shay quietly stepped out to the underside of the dresser and kept to the shadows so she could see the bed properly. Her heart leapt with joy as she saw Todd was in bed with the light on, tapping on his phone. By the way he was lying down, he was getting ready to go to sleep. She checked to make sure no one else was around before walking out across the floor toward Todd. It was completely out of habit, but she didn’t see the need to hide herself. She hadn’t forgotten her skills, but she knew she didn’t need them here.

She shuffled her feet and pulled her blanket over her shoulders until she was only a few feet away from the edge of the bed.

Todd, in the meantime, hadn’t had a moment’s peace since he arrived home. It was nice in its own special way, but there was a peace in being at his apartment that couldn’t be achieved at home. Still, it was great to be back. He heard about his siblings’ classes and teachers as well as the woes of being young. His parents were keenly interested in whether he had met anyone new worth mentioning – to which he said no.

There was, of course, Shay, but he wasn’t going to bring her up. He had promised to keep a secret and had worked so long to earn her trust. Besides, he liked having his shared secret with the handheld girl. He found himself distracted during conversation thinking about his small friend and how she was fairing with her family. Was she alright? She seemed pretty shaken about the whole circumstance. Was she afraid? Surely not.

Then again… he remembered her fear when they first met. He could only image how a conversation with his parents would go if he confessed that he’d broken some very important rules and basically lived with a giant who wasn’t supposed to know about him. It didn’t go well. He hoped she was okay and that he’d get to talk to her again soon.

They kept talking for hours until bedtime, where the siblings eventually went off to their rooms and fell asleep. He finally had a minute to breathe and think in the quiet. The side lamp was on and he just finished sending a couple of messages to his project members when he heard a very small and familiar sound – shuffling.

Todd dared himself to glance up and couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face when he saw his small companion standing only a few feet from the edge of his bed. A blanket of sorts was wrapped around her shoulders, and she practically had to bend backwards just to look up at him. She too had a smile on her face.

“Shay, hey!” Todd kept his voice low so his siblings wouldn’t overhear. He knew he was looming slightly, but that couldn’t be helped at the moment. He set his phone on the bedside table and readjusted himself on the bed so he was more comfortable. “I didn’t think I’d see you tonight. Everything okay? How’s your family?” The first thing Todd didn’t want to do was bombard her with questions, but he couldn’t help it. They all just spilled out of him.

Shay giggled, muffling it with the edge of her blanket. She could see Todd was curious when he didn’t mean to be. It was funny to her. The Borrower teen thought about the questions for a moment, now feeling partially disheartened at the answers. It was no way to end a night – to be sad. The smile returned as she looked into her human friend’s eyes.

“They’re doing really good. They were surprised to see me and tackled me when I came through the door,” she said. Todd could already see that something was bugging her. It was a gut feeling, but it wasn’t worth pressing just yet. He instinctually lowered his hand to the ground and she climbed on in response without a second thought, leaning into the warmth and natural curl of his fingers.

“I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure they were worried sick about you,” said Todd while carefully maneuvering his hand off of the ground and up onto the bed. I’m really going to miss this said a small voice in the back of his head as Shay leaned into his fingers and began tracing the lines on his palm mindlessly.

“Yeah, they were really worried. They… well… anyway… what about your family?” asked Shay, obviously looking to redirect the focus onto something else. Happily, Todd obliged.

“Yeah, they were super happy to see me. It’s weird being back but it’s not at the same time if that makes any sense. Like, I’m glad to be home but I’ll also be… okay… when I go back. Does that make any sense?” asked Todd, to which Shay nodded.

“Yeah, that does make sense,” she replied. “I’m really glad they’re happy you’re back.” The smile the Borrower teen gave was genuine, but that hint of sadness lingered in the corners of her lips. She obviously wanted to talk about it, but wasn’t sure how to bring it up.

“Yeah, it’s definitely nice being back. Um… Shay? What were you… trying to say a second ago?” asked Todd. Odd silence of the resting house crept through. “Shay? Do you… are you… okay?”

Why was it that question – that one question – that always seemed to send everything tumbling out of place? Every thought and emotion could be kept at bay; however, after that question was asked it was all over.

Shay gave a noncommittal shrug before feeling her bottom lip quiver and her eyes start to burn again. Todd was definitely pulling on the right threads.

“They… don’t like that I know, do they? About you, I mean.” The way he phrased it – “do they” – indicated he already knew the answer was a resounding no. Shay didn’t want to cry anymore. There had already been enough tears for one day, but it didn’t stop them from spilling over the rims of those exhausted eyes and down the already tear streaked cheeks. She tried shaking her head, but that only made things worse. She sucked in a breath which came in spurts and stutters.

“They… don’t want us to talk or see each other again, huh?” he asked, which sent Shay into a sniffling spasm. She wanted nothing more than to stop the conversation, to go back with him or pretend that it never happened; but it was happening. Todd, obviously disheartened, sighed and brought his other hand up so he could use one of his fingers to brush her shoulder.

“Hey… it’s okay. Don’t cry,” soothed Todd.

“I… know… why… they’re af-f-raid, b-bu-t if they-they could just me-eet you they-y’d see,” said Shay as she tried to calm her breathing in between words so she could speak clearly. It was working, but just barely. Todd gave a soft shushing sound as he rubbed her arm and back with his index finger.

Yes, he was sad – heartbroken even. Still, he suspected something like this would probably happen and secretly had been mentally preparing himself for it. He didn’t want to leave his little friend behind, but taking her wasn’t right either. She had a family and if they were going to trust him like Shay trusted him, he had to take a leap of faith and know that he had to do the hardest thing he’d done since moving out; he had to let her go and hope she would come back.

“Shay,” started Todd, but he stopped himself. Telling her something like this now would ruin the reunion with her parents. He didn’t want that for her; not in a million years. Instead, he took a different approach. “Look, I remember what it was like when we first met. You remember, right?”

Shay sniffled and nodded.

“Your parents probably thought they’d never see you again. They’re relieved to have you back and are probably just shocked at hearing about us being friends. Yeah? It’s a lot to take in for one day,” encouraged Todd. The engineering student could see his building argument taking root in Shay’s head. It was already comforting her.

“We have time, I guess, is what I’m saying. Give them some time to enjoy the fact they have you back safe and sound before doing anything too crazy. Let’s face it, I don’t think I’m ready to meet your parents. They sound intimidating,” finished Todd with a smile. At this, Shay actually managed a small laugh. “At the very least, let’s let them sleep on it. It’s been a long day, so let’s get some rest. Yeah?”

Shay nodded and pulled her blanket closer to her chin. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was starting to feel drowsy already feeling the warmth of Todd’s hand and feeling the gentle pulse in his fingertips.

“Yeah,” she mumbled sleepily. “Todd? Can I stay here? With you? Please?” Todd had to think about the question quickly. He wanted nothing more than for Shay to stay, but he had his siblings to think about and the last thing he wanted to do was get her in trouble, giving her parents even less reason to trust him.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, Shay,” said Todd unsurely. “I could walk you closer to your home, so you don’t have to walk as far though.” Shay was saddened by this, but she understood enough. At any rate, the offer was tempting and she decided to accept.

Todd tiptoed his way through the house to a piece of trim that had been loose for years and set Shay onto the ground after she hugged him and thanked him so much for all he had done. Todd watched the Borrower teen slip into the walls and waited to make sure everything was okay before heading back to his room.

Shay slipped back under her covers and began dozing off immediately. Todd was right. Her parents just needed time and needed to see that Todd was a good person – a good human. Letting the fading warmth of his hand soak into her bed, she silently vowed she would do whatever it took to make her parents see Todd the way she did.

Chapter Text

Slate couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. Shay had just come out of the wall, willingly climbed into the clutches of that human, Todd, talked with him, and then let him carry her out of the room! The middle brother had half a mind to reveal himself from his spot on the shelf, but decided not to do that. Instead, he stayed tucked away and waited for the human to return to bed and turn off the light.

Slate hadn’t been able to sleep. His sister was back, seen, and quite possibly revealed more than she intended - something that he now had confirmed - and the fear of being uprooted and caught in the middle of the night unsettled him to no end. So, he and Beau both agreed to keep a subtle lookout. With the human now asleep, Slate had a decision to make.

He knew what Shay told him; that wasn’t up for debate. Seeing it happen, however, was an entirely different experience. Slate hadn’t heard everything that his sister said, but he could easily pick up the human’s words. Humans were clumsy and loud even when they were trying to be quiet. From what he heard, Todd sounded concerned for Shay, something that was extremely confusing to him, but he was also firm when he insisted she go home.

Slate imagined that if a human were interested in keeping a Borrower that they wouldn’t allow them to leave or at the very least convince them to stay. Maybe it was a trick? Maybe he wanted to lure her into a false sense of security? It would be the quickest way to get to the family.

Still, Todd was careful with his little sister and she didn’t seem to be in distress. Dozens of scenarios crossed his mind, but each seemed further and further from the truth. The scary thing was that Slate was interested and was on the verge of believing that his sister may actually be right about this human. His watch continued and he had to decide now whether he was going to tell Beau about his theories and the encounter between Todd and Shay or if he was going to keep it to himself and watch how everything unfolded.

It was dangerous to keep information to himself, but Beau would undoubtedly have a negative reaction to hearing Shay snuck out to talk to Todd. He could bring it up to his sister directly, but that too would probably not be great. She wouldn’t like being “spied” on and would insist on meeting Todd. Just the thought of talking to a human made Slate shiver.

Then again, maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea.

Shay had done it.

She just did it and everything turned out fine. At the very least, it would reveal Todd’s intentions. If Beau or Icon were to keep watch while he went out and talked to Todd while Shay was at home doing something, perhaps they could get to the bottom of this mystery. It was a terrifying thought, but also thrilling. It was a steep ledge on either side. On one hand, Todd could be everything Shay said and they’d have to accept Shay’s friendship, if it could be called that, with a human, but they would still have to reveal themselves and talk to him. On the other hand, Todd could easily catch whoever approached him and the siblings would have little to no way of stopping something bad from happening.

Both cases weren’t ideal, but at the very least they would get answers.

Slate made up his mind. He would bring in Icon and Beau into the fold and set this trap for the human.

~~~~~*^*^*^*^~~~~~

Unfortunately, Slate’s prediction was correct. Beau was two seconds away from confronting Shay about the entire encounter and Icon nearly tried to sprint off to tell their parents. He barely managed to convince them to listen and spent the next hour persuading them that his plan was going to work or, at the very least, prove whether Todd was as good as Shay claimed him to be.

They drew string strips to determine who would actually go and talk to Todd while the other two watched. Beau hated the idea, but the younger two agreed it was only fair since Slate and Beau both volunteered and felt entitled to the position, Beau for being the oldest and Slate because he came up with the idea.

Slate ended up winning the draw.

They determined what Slate was going to say to Todd and, hopefully, all would go according to plan. The overall gist - leave us and our sister alone. They didn’t want it to sound like a threat, one because they didn’t want to anger the human and two because they actually were the smallest bit grateful to him for bringing their sister home safe and sound. Still, there needed to be clear boundaries and Shay couldn’t be objective and would most likely not cooperate if she knew the plan.

They loaded up their gear and safety supplies, trying desperately to keep from shaking in their borrowing boots as they headed out late one evening when they saw the other family members leave. Shay was busy helping their mother with dinner and, frankly, she hadn’t been outside the walls of their home other than her little excursion a few nights prior. They hoped they would be back in time for their family meal, but prepared mentally for the worst.

Through the walls, they crept along until they reached Todd’s room. The boys checked the sounds of the room and, when they were satisfied, climbed the walls to their positions - Slate on top of the dresser and Icon and Beau along the ceiling trim. Their hearts pounded in anticipation. It was clear they were nervous, but their stubborn determination was stronger.

Slate stayed crouched behind a couple of old and weird looking structures with what looked like crouched people on top until he saw a quick flash of light from the ceiling trim. He looked back out across the vast expanse of the room and saw Todd standing by his bed folding clothes. Now or never.

Slate, mouth dry and limbs shaking, stepped out from behind the structures and walked out into the open repeating over and over in his head that Shay had done this for two months on her own. He could do this. Just as Slate started to wonder how to get Todd’s attention, the human turned around, crouched by an open bag, and began shoving the folded clothes. Slate had to fight every urge to not run away when he saw how fast Todd could move if he wanted to. The middle brother began debating his choice when Todd went to stand up and their eyes met.

No.

He wasn’t ready for this.

How did Shay stand this?

“Oh… hi…” Todd hadn’t heard from Shay in a few days and feared she was being punished because she came to visit him. He couldn’t hardly do anything about it except to continue to act normal with the full knowledge that small people were living in his home. He hoped that he would get to see Shay again and the last thing he expected to see was another small person standing on his dresser.

Todd knew Shay had a family and, based on that, could only assume this was her brother. He looked too young to be her dad. They had some of the same features and, if he was being completely honest, seeing him reminded Todd of the first time he saw Shay in his apartment. Relying on the tactics he used with Shay, Todd very slowly sat on the ground while maintaining eye-contact with the new person on his dresser. There were several seconds of tense silence, which Todd decided to break first.

“Um… nice to meet you,” said Todd quietly. “I’m… Todd.”

Slate, who was on the receiving end, couldn’t stop the cold rigidness from seizing his body. He couldn’t even manage a cry for help at seeing Todd sit down, let alone continue the conversation the human was trying to have with him.

After a moment, Slate managed to choke out, “Hello.” It wasn’t a strong greeting, but it was the best he could muster given the circumstances. Todd simply nodded, a partially amused smile tugging at one side of his mouth. For Slate, this could be really good or really bad for him. Thankfully, Todd continued.

“Um… I hope everything is okay. Is Shay alright? She’s not sick or anything, right? I know I make you uncomfortable and everything, but if she needs anything or if you need anyth…”

“Just… stop!” Slate knew he was going slightly off of what he and his brothers agreed he would say, but Slate was starting to lose his nerve. Something about Todd offering to help made him bristle. Did he think they couldn’t take care of themselves? Did he see them as something to be taken care of? Like a pet? No!

It wasn’t until after that Slate realized that shouting at a human could have very negative consequences and he tried swallowing the lump rapidly forming in his throat. He could only imagine what his brothers were thinking of him. Slate tried forming the words to follow-up, but Todd spoke first.

“Sorry,” muttered the human. “I ramble a bit when I don’t know what else to say or when I get uncomfortable.”

Did Slate hear him right? Did he just apologize? He - a human - was uncomfortable around him?

“Really though, is Shay okay?” asked Todd. Slate had to go back to the original plan - the things he and his brothers planned for. Slate coughed nervously a couple of times before nodding.

“Yes, Shay is fine. I… wanted to say thank you… you know… for bringing her home safe.” Slate had to force the words out in between his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn’t help but pause for a breath every once in a while to help calm himself. His sister definitely had more gall than he credited her with for talking with a human for more than a few seconds. Slate kept a watchful eye on Todd to make sure he wasn’t grabbing anything like a jar or bag to capture him with.

Nothing.

In fact, the only thing Slate noticed about Todd was the thoughtful smile that crossed his face and nodded slowly while shoving his hands in a middle pocket on his hoodie. 

“Of course. Anything to help,” replied Todd. There! Slate had an opening.

“Anything?” asked the middle brother.

“Yeah,” said Todd without hesitation. “Shay’s my friend. I’d do anything to help her; or her family for that matter.” Slate bit his lip, breath quickening. This was it. Moment of truth.

“Then… I have to ask you… no - tell you… don’t talk to her anymore,” said Slate. Todd looked mildly confused and leaned back. Just the way his brow furrowed made a cold shiver crawl down Slate’s spine.

“What? Don’t talk to her anymore? Did she say that?” asked Todd. The young adult felt taken aback by this new small person’s request. Slate, in the meantime, felt panic rising like acid in the back of his throat. This felt like a mistake. Why had he suggested this? Why was he doing this?

He steeled himself and looked back at Todd. If he was going to determine the human’s intentions, he needed to provoke him.

“No, she didn’t say that. I’m saying that. I’m telling you to not talk to my sister. You’re a human, and that means you’re dangerous. You’re… you’re probably trying to trick her anyway; it’s what you humans do. You lure us out into your traps and then keep us as pets. No. Not today. Not to my sister.” Slate knew he was stepping over the line, but if he didn’t say it now he wouldn’t work up the courage to say it again.

Unfortunately, it looked like it was working.

Todd leaned forward, eyes narrowed and jaw tighter than before, as he seemingly stared into Slate’s eyes. If this were a standoff, Todd was obviously winning.

“I’m not really sure where this is coming from, friend,” Todd started, keeping his voice and tone calm and even. “But I do know this. I made her a promise to make sure she made it home safe and I kept that promise. I made a promise that I wouldn’t tell anyone, not even my family, about her or anyone else like her. I’ve kept that promise. I’m not going to stop keeping my word to her just because she’s home now.”

Slate inched a step or two backwards. Todd may not have meant to be intimidating to the Borrower, but everything in Todd’s neutral tone and body position screamed red flags for the middle brother.

“As for your other points, she came to me. I didn’t try to lure her out or trick her. From day one, I’ve tried to be as helpful and open as possible. The last thing I want for her is to make her feel scared and alone. She’s always had the option of doing her own thing. I’ve never forced her to talk to me or come with me in any way. I’ve never touched or grabbed her without permission. I’ve never once wanted to hurt her. In fact, I’ve always asked before I did pretty much anything to make sure I didn’t freak her out. Did she tell you something different?” asked Todd.

“No… but humans are manipulating and tricky,” argued Slate. “Look. We have to leave our home because you know about her and now you know about me. It’s not safe for us anymore. It’s not safe for Shay anymore. How do we know you’re telling us the truth and haven’t already told your family about us?”

Karma had an odd way of punishing people and picking favorites. This was one of those times.

No sooner had the words come out of Slate’s mouth when both Slate and Todd heard the front door open and shut with lightning speed, followed by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. Slate and Todd both came to the same conclusion - whoever the footsteps belonged to were coming to see Todd.

Slate was frozen in place. He had quick reflexes, but not quick enough to take cover from whoever was coming.

He didn’t need to.

Todd, thinking fast, was on his feet in a flash and was at the dresser faster than Slate could blink. All the Borrower could pick up before being scooped up into Todd’s massive hands was a hushed “sorry” before being shoved into the hoodie pocket.

Slate was instantly covered in fabric which barely let any light in through and cupped on one side by Todd’s hand. Each one of the human’s fingers was the length of his entire body. Snapped out of his shock, Slate covered his mouth with his hand as he wrenched his sharpened watch gear free and pressed it against Todd’s hand. If Todd made another grab, he was going to get a sliced palm too.

Todd, in the meantime, couldn’t believe what he had just done. Here he was trying to win over Shay’s family and the first thing he did was grab her brother without permission and shoved him into his pocket. This was going to require the biggest apology in the history of his existence; however, Todd had to focus on his sister who burst into his room unannounced.

“We’re back lazy!” she called out loudly.

“Yeah, I got that much,” replied Todd sarcastically, trying to hide his nerves with a partial grin. “You’re back early?”

“Yeah, and we grabbed dinner while we were out. Come on, it’s time to eat!” She reached over and started to tug on his arm when he resisted.

“Just give me a second. I’m almost done,” said Todd. His younger sister rolled her eyes and pranced out of the room.

“Whatever! I’ll take your favorite if you’re not there in five minutes!”

Todd could only sigh and stare down at his pocket while keeping his body completely rigid.

“I’m… so… sorry,” Todd said softly. “I couldn’t think of what else to do…. She would’ve seen you and… well… I thought this was the lesser of two evils.”

Slate, who kept his breath smothered, listened to the human once again apologizing to him. He appreciated more than he could say that Todd wasn’t moving or curling his fingers at the moment. His entire body buzzed with adrenaline. Every one of his senses felt heightened. At the same time, he had never felt so small in his entire life. It put everything in perspective.

“Look… I… I get where you’re coming from,” said Todd slowly. “I have a little sister too and if I were in your shoes then I would feel the exact same way. I’m… I’ll trust you on this. I don’t agree with telling me to not talk to Shay, but I can do what I can to respect your wishes.”

At this, Slate’s ears pricked up. “You… will?” he asked, realizing a moment later that his voice was probably muffled by the pocket. Evidently, Todd heard him.

“Yeah… Now, I’m not going to ignore her. You need to be the one to tell her that you came and talked to me. If she comes to me, I’m not going to ignore her or try to explain this whole thing. Okay?” asked Todd. Slate couldn’t believe this. There was no way.

“Why… are you…” Slate couldn’t hardly finish his own thought.

“Helping you?” finished Todd. “You know, Shay asked me that same question when we first met. To answer yours, I’m trying to help Shay. She’s my friend and the last thing I want to do is get her into more trouble by being selfish. Obviously, I want to keep talking to her and visit from time to time. That’s the selfish part of me. The other part knows she’s young and has a family – she needs her family. I don’t want to take that away from her.”

Todd paused for a moment before continuing.

“At any rate, I’m going back to my apartment tomorrow morning, so you’ll have time to talk to her. I want to make sure I say good-bye and everything, but if you don’t want me to talk to her tell her… well… I’ll write it in a note and leave it somewhere if that’s okay.”

“Um… yeah… I guess?” Slate, still reeling, couldn’t think of what else to say to the human.

“Alright then,” muttered Todd. “Um… I can… get you out now… if that’s okay,” said Todd.

“Yeah… yeah…” replied Slate after taking several seconds to breathe deeply in preparation of what was to come. What he thought would come, however, didn’t. Instead, Todd rotated his palm so Slate could stand on it. The fingers didn’t wrap around him. The tips of those immense fingers merely flattened as his hand pulled free from the hoodie pocket. Slate couldn’t believe what he was doing, and he tried to remember he would need to give Shay kudos for doing this more than once.

Slate felt his insides hit the top of his throat as Todd descended slowly and lowered him to the floor. The moment the back of Todd’s hand hit the ground, Slate scrambled off by the leg of the dresser. He tried keeping his breath under control, but his breath was coming in relatively shallow gasps. Why did his chest hurt so much?

“Look,” said Todd, not breaking eye-contact with Slate. “I care about Shay a lot. She’s my friend and I’m going to miss her for what it’s worth. Don’t be angry or upset with her because she came and talked to me. She’s a great girl. Now, I’ve got to go. You know where to find me.”

Todd knew it was over. He knew there was no chance of this new person taking his message to Shay. There was going to be little to no chance of his message getting to Shay. His argument was long. There was little to no chance this new person would take his feelings into consideration. Todd wouldn’t get to see Shay again. His fears began to overwhelm him as he left the room to go to dinner.  

The argument, however, wasn’t lost of Slate. If anything, it strengthened the human’s argument. Todd didn’t want to hurt Shay. Todd didn’t want to hurt the family. He was telling the truth.

After a minute of Todd being gone, Slate gathered his thoughts and headed into the walls, wondering now what he was going to tell his brothers and how this would proceed now.

Chapter Text

“No! And you can’t make me!” Shay began storming away from her gathered family, something she would have thought was unthinkable just a few short months ago.

“Shay, this is about safety for you and for the whole family. Don’t you walk away from this, young lady,” said her father sternly.

The brothers had returned looking pale and shaken from their time outside of the walls and from their “little conversation,” as they so called it, with Todd. They confessed everything from Slate’s initial observation of Shay going to see Todd as well as the mishap and the agreement Todd proposed to Slate. Their parents were displeased that the boys acted without consulting them about speaking with the human, Todd, but seemed more forgiving when they heard that the human saw reason and seemed to promise to leave them alone, especially Shay. To them, there seemed to be just enough evidence to clear Todd of any immediate wrongdoing, but not enough for further interaction.

Shay, on the other hand, couldn’t believe her brothers went to go see Todd without her and, much to her dismay, made a deal that Todd wouldn’t speak with her without permission from her parents. The young teenage Borrower had enough of being treated like a child when she was the one who made first contact and dared to speak to Todd first. Her ears and cheeks were burning, fuming, with frustration and anger.

Shay was almost to the door to the hallway when Beau stepped between them.

“Shay, think about this for two seconds,” he said, using the same sternness that was in her father’s voice.

“I have,” she said, her constricting throat having a hard time mustering the words. This wasn’t just frustration coursing through her; this was disappointment - utter betrayal. “I’ve been thinking about it. I’ve known him the longest. I’ve talked with him for more than a minute. He’s not going to hurt me and he’s not going to tell anyone. What can’t you understand about that?”

“It’s not about that, Shay,” said Icon, piping up for the first time in a while. The youngest of the brothers knew what he saw happen with his brother. In a matter of seconds, Slate went from standing on his own on the dresser to being in the human’s pocket. Slate could’ve been seen by the other human that fast. Slate could’ve been hurt that fast - and there was nothing any of them could do. “I don’t think he would do anything on purpose. I think we can agree on that point; but, he could definitely do something on accident.”

“He’s agreed to leave us alone and not tell his family about us, so we don’t have to immigrate during winter,” added Beau. “On top of that, he said he doesn’t want to make you choose between family and your friendship, which is why he agreed to our terms.”

“It’s not fair that you decided this without me,” argued Shay.

“Shay, sweetheart, humans and Borrowers aren’t meant to live together like that. It’s just not how things are done. Your brothers are right. Even if he didn’t mean to, he could still hurt you,” emphasized her mother.

“We’re fortunate enough,” added her father. “That he agreed without asking for anything in exchange.”

Shay balled her hands into fists. She could’ve punched through the wall if she wanted to, but thought better of it. Yes, her family had valid points - but this was Todd. He had been nothing but kind and careful. All of that time spent creating inventions and building felt waisted now. Shay had so many more ideas, and the person who could help her make those ideas come to life was Todd. He knew so much and she had learned so much.

It wasn’t fair.

Still, she had to try.

“So, can I go see him?” asked Shay. Her question went unanswered in that painful silence just long enough for her to realize what the answer would be.

“Shay, that’s not a good idea right now,” said her father. Shay was shaking she was so frustrated.

“Why? Why isn’t it a good idea?” she asked, voice raised to a near shout.

“Shay, he’s busy packing right now,” said Slate. Shay’s eyes widened. Was it the end of break already? Packing only meant one thing - he was going back to his apartment. She had to think fast.

“All the more reason for you to say yes!” pleaded Shay. “I want to make sure I say good-bye to him!”

“You’ll see him again when things are a little less hectic,” said her mother. “For now, it would probably be best if you didn’t go see him.” Shay felt her insides plummet as her heart pounded hollowly in her chest. No. They didn’t understand. They couldn’t understand. They would always see Todd as just another human despite everything he had done to show he was on her side.

Tears flowed over her cheeks as she spun around and ran to her room. She could hear her parents and brothers calling after her, but there were too many emotions ringing in her ears for her to tell what they were saying. Shay hated that she was at odds with her family. What they said made sense, yes. At the same time, they weren’t listening to her. She wanted to talk to Todd. She wanted to stay with Todd and keep living in the apartment making things. At the very least, she wanted to thank him again and tell him good-bye, that they’d see each other again soon.

The Borrower teen spent the next span of time crying, wishing she could vent to her human friend. Her parents tapped on the door and once again expressed their sentiments. Her brothers unapologetically wished her goodnight before going to bed. As Shay lay in her bed wishing she could talk to Todd, a dangerous thought crossed her mind.

It was devious and would undoubtedly be disapproved of by her parents and brothers. They would be hurt, but at that moment she didn’t really care. They hurt her after all. She knew what she needed to do. So, quietly, she slipped out of her bed and began her work.

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

Todd had a hard time sleeping that night. After the rough conversation with Shay’s brother and the deal he made, he didn’t feel like sleeping. Todd wanted to explain himself to Shay or, at the very least, tell her good-bye before he had to leave. He wasn’t sure if she was going to be allowed to say anything to her.

It was depressing, but he had to trust that Shay’s family would see the effort and let them speak in the future. Eventually, he rolled over and was able to drift off to sleep, that hollow feeling still in his chest.

Early in the morning, Todd woke up and got ready. Habit made him hesitate before he put his feet on the floor and headed off to brush his teeth. There was a part of him, bigger than he expected, that was saddened that Shay hadn’t come the night before but he understood. He even suspected that his family would be the same way if things were reversed.

He pulled on his clothes and shuffled off to the kitchen where his sleepy siblings and parents were eating breakfast. They talked for a while before Todd had to leave. His mother, loving as always, was teary-eyed as she kissed him on the cheek. His siblings seemed excited to get the extra room back for games and storage, but also indicated they would be coming to visit him while they were in town for some tournaments if they won. With a final nod to his father, he heaved his bags onto his shoulders and headed out to the car. Just before flicking off the light, Todd looked back at his now partially empty room.

“Bye Shay,” he muttered. He wasn’t sure if she was there, but he wanted to make sure he at least threw it out there if her brother was listening in.

Todd placed his things into the trunk and waved good-bye to his family before starting the engine and heading out down the road. He had just gotten onto the road and part way down the hill when he suddenly couldn’t remember if he remembered his laptop charger. It was expensive and he’d need it as soon as he got back. It was a drag, but that little paranoid part of him needed to know if he remembered.

I remembered it. Of course I remembered it. Why wouldn’t I have grabbed it? Curses.

Todd pulled off at the bottom of the road, popped the trunk, and began rummaging through his bag to make sure he had it. Sure enough, there it was sitting right on top. Todd rolled his eyes at himself for stopping the car and partially shoved the backpack back into the trunk when he heard something.

It was muffled, but distinct.

“Oooff!”

Todd’s heart rapidly increased in pace as he gingerly pulled the backpack back out of the trunk and stared at it. He practically held his breath and watched as one of the pockets shifted subtly.

No way.

Todd’s eyes widened as he reached for the zipper and yanked the side open. The sensations he felt were an odd mixture of elation and happiness along with disbelief and dread.

It was Shay.

The miniscule girl had managed to wedge herself in between the chargers to keep herself from getting crushed. Although, instead of her simple shirt and satchel, she was dressed more warmly and had shoved what looked like a cotton ball sized bag just above the charger.

“Shay?” Todd made direct eye-contact with the small girl, who smiled broadly but bashfully. She knew she had been caught.

“Hey… Todd…” she looked at the bag before wiggling further between the chargers. “Um… I’m… ready to go.”

Todd couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He suspected the little girl was tenacious, but this was a whole new level of determination. One look and Todd knew exactly what was going on. He quickly glanced around to make sure none of his neighbors could see before he reached down and placed his hand by Shay.

“Shay, what do you think you’re doing?” he asked, his tone indicating he already knew. Shay, seemingly embarrassed, slung her bag over her shoulder before climbing onto his hand. Todd had to help by curling his fingers around her slightly and tugging her free from the backpack’s clutches before he shoved his pack back into the trunk and retreated to the driver’s seat.

“Well?” he prompted again after shutting the door. Shay, completely exposed on his palm, wrang her hands around the strap of her bag.

“I’m… well… I’m coming with you,” she said firmly. Todd knew it. He reached up with his opposite hand and rubbed his eyes slowly and methodically.

“Shay…”

“I didn’t think you’d find me so soon! I thought it would be like when your family left and you’d be too far away to turn back and so I would just get to stay with you until my family realized what happened and then they would know I was serious and tha…”

“Shay…” Todd’s second interruption silenced the small girl whose lip was now beginning to quiver at seeing Todd’s reaction. The two made eye-contact and, soon after, Shay’s eyes began to water.

“I… They… they weren’t being fair to you,” she sniffed. “They said I couldn’t talk to you anymore without permission and wouldn’t let me say good-bye and… and I want to live with you. I don’t want you to be all alone. You’re my friend, Todd. Don’t you want me to come with you?”

Todd reached up brushed his finger against Shay’s shoulder, and she immediately leaned into the touch. He needed to be diplomatic.

“Shay… Of course I want you to come with me. I wasn’t looking forward to being completely on my own and you being there made every day great; but this isn’t the way to do it,” said Todd. Shay’s eyes began to water more.

“It’s going to be lonely. More than anything I want you to come with me. I’m love our movie nights and quiet time doing homework. Goodness knows I won’t know what to buy or make for dinner without your help.” Todd got a sniffly giggle from Shay on that last bit. He smiled reassuringly before continuing.

“All the same,” he said softly. “This isn’t how we get what we want.” Shay’s features hardened as she gave him a pointed stare.

“You agree with my parents?” she asked.

“I can see where they’re coming from. They don’t know me and want to protect you. Naturally, that means they don’t want me talking to you. My parents would probably be the same way if we were switched if I’m being honest,” stated Todd.

“Yeah, but they’re completely ignoring the fact that we’ve been doing this for months! They don’t know you. They should trust me when I say I know you and trust you!” Todd could tell Shay was getting defensive.

“And do you think running away will make things better for you and me? Do you think they’ll be more willing to let us talk and hang out? What if they think I’ve taken you? Stole you away? What then?” asked Todd. Shay suddenly looked very alarmed.

“I’d tell them I went on my own!” she answered quickly.

“Okay, so that mean that you either ran away because you don’t care for their opinion and hurt them willingly or, on the other hand, I’ve tricked you into doing what I want. Either way, I don’t think they would let us talk it out or convince them if I keep going,” said Todd. Shay, feeling completely crushed, knew Todd was right. She hated to admit she was wrong, but it was becoming more and more obvious Todd wasn’t going to go through with bringing her along.

“It’s… just…” she stammered in between holding back sobs. “I’ll… miss… you… You-u’re my f-friend. It’s… j-jus-t no-t fair.”

Todd curled his fingers and rubbed his thumb along Shay’s arm as she continued to sniffle and shake.

“I know; and I agree. I don’t think it’s fair, but that’s how it works sometimes,” encouraged Todd. “And I won’t be gone for very long this time. I’ll be back next month, which is no time at all. Yeah?”

Shay wasn’t sure how to respond, and instead gave a vague shrug. Todd forced a smile in the corner of his mouth as he gently began poking and prodding Shay in her ticklish spots.

“Come on now. None of that sniffling. Can I get a smile? I know you’ve got one in there somewhere.” It didn’t take too much more for a partial smile to curl onto Shay’s face as she attempted to grab the finger that far too big for her to stop. Finally, Shay threw off her bag and simply wrapped her entire body around the prodding digit.

“Ah! There we go. That’s better,” smiled Todd. He brushed Shay’s back a few more times as her breathing calmed before starting the car once again. “Now, hopefully they haven’t noticed you’re gone yet.”

~~~~~^*^*^*^~~~~~

Todd had no such luck. Shay’s family had been frantically searching for their daughter for the past few hours. They had come to the same conclusion – she was gone. Where? Most likely with the human who, undoubtedly, was either on the other side of the world by now or had simply decided to keep her.

It was a long shot, but they all decided to go check the human’s room just in case. The Borrower family hurried along the halls until they reached the dresser. They had just made it when they heard the sound of Todd’s voice in the main entrance. The brothers waited in the shadows as Todd came into the room and crouched by the dresser.

“Come on, Shay,” he was saying quietly. “They’ll try to barge in here any second.”

“Todd?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you… I… I shouldn’t have tried to sneak… and…”

“It’s okay. Don’t worry about me, okay? I hope they listen and, who knows, maybe I’ll get to see you when I come back. Yeah?”

“Mhm.”

Hearing this conversation between the two was interesting and, for just a brief moment, made the brothers debate whether they wanted to confront the human or retreat back into the walls. They had time to do neither as they watched Todd’s hand lower with none other than their little sister perched in the middle of his palm.

“I’ll miss you Todd. You have to be good, okay?” instructed Shay. Todd laughed slightly.

“I’ll miss you too Shay. I’ll be good. Promise. You be good too, yeah? And I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”

“Promise?” asked Shay.

“Promise.”

The family watched Shay lean forward and lay against Todd’s hand, sprawled out as big as she could be as if she were trying to hug him, before sliding off and looking up at the human. Todd started to stand just as Shay spun around and saw her family standing there, watching the whole encounter. She gasped and took a few steps back, to which Todd froze.

“What? Are you okay?”

Slate, having been seen before, stalked forward toward his sister.

“S…Slate… no… look… listen… It was my fault. Todd didn’t know,” Shay continued to stammer as Slate gave her a harsh look and then turned his eyes to Todd.

“Did you try and take her?” demanded Slate. At this point, Beau and Icon stepped forward, shivers running down their spines at seeing the human, and walked toward their sister.

“No, I didn’t try to take Shay,” stated Todd calmly despite seeing two other small people come out from under his dresser toward Shay. “Though it is my fault. I should’ve given you a message to take back to Shay.”

“Todd…”

“No, Shay. I should’ve passed along the message. It’s my fault. Don’t take anything out on her,” said Todd, trying to be as persuasive as he could. Slate stared at Todd, as did the other brothers, for a short time before Beau spoke up.

“I believe that,” he said stiffly. “Shay, were you just going to leave and not tell anyone?”

“You weren’t listening to me,” argued Shay, taking a more bashful and embarrassed tone rather than combative. “I thought if I went with Todd and came back okay that you’d believe me.”

“Do you know how reckless that was? Do you know what could’ve happened?” asked Icon.

“Yeah, but it didn’t. You know why? Because Todd wouldn’t let anything happen to me, just like you. Any of you. He didn’t want me to get in trouble and came back as soon as he could to make sure I was safe. He could’ve kept going, but didn’t. He’s a good person and put what you wanted over what he wanted. Doesn’t that mean anything?” Shay’s words stung, but rang true; and they, unfortunately, could see it.

“I tried to leave because I thought you weren’t listening to me. I thought by leaving that it would prove Todd wouldn’t hurt me and that everything would be okay; and I was right. Todd did… he did the right thing… he brought me back…”

Beau bit his lip and stared up at the human.

“We need to be getting back,” he said quietly.

Shay, shoulders slumped, knew she was going to be in for the talk of her life; but, as she started to walk away, Beau turned back to Todd and held up a finger.

“You wait here,” he said sternly. Todd, just as surprised as Shay, gave a slow nod.

“Uh… sure…”

Shay followed her brothers back under the dresser and into the walls until they were just out of earshot. The turned around in sync and glared at their younger sister.

“What were you thinking Shay?” growled Icon. “You could’ve been hurt or worse!”

“Icon is right. Was your grand plan just to sneak out and go live with Todd the human?” demanded Slate.

“I told you that he was good and I thought you weren’t listening to me. I wanted to go back and stay with him, but the rule…”

“Was meant for your protection! For all our protection!” argued Slate.

“And I told you that Todd wouldn’t hurt me and that he’d protect me,” bantered Shay.

“Shay…” said Beau quietly. “Does living with that human… really mean more than living with your family?”

The question stunned Shay. She hadn’t quite thought of it like that – choosing a favorite. In reality, Shay wanted both. She wanted to live with Todd and come home to her family; however, she didn’t think about if she could only have one of the two. She hadn’t thought about only being able to choose one or the other.

“I…” Her mind was racing. What could she say? “I… I love my family… and Todd is my friend. I… He was all I had…. I just wish you’d give him a chance.”

“Give him a chance? With our little sister?” interjected Slate, to which Beau raised his hand.

“He really means that much to you?” asked Beau. Shay bit her lip and nodded. She knew it hurt. She didn’t want to admit it, but she couldn’t – wouldn’t – deny it. She did care for Todd a lot, not just because he helped her, but because of their shared experiences. They were friends. In fact, Todd was Shay’s only friend. Sure, she had her brothers, but it wasn’t the same; and that gave her even more reason to want to hang onto Todd.

Beau sighed. His young sister could be reckless, but she also had a keen intuition. Shay knew the Borrower way but was willing to go to a human for help and even stay him. The young teen had even snuck out because this was what she wanted. She had lived with this human for a long time and nothing had happened. It didn’t mean nothing could happen. Anything could go wrong. Still, she knew him better than they did.

He didn’t agree with it. He didn’t like it one bit. Still, he knew his sister.

“Fine…” he said softly. The other three siblings looked at their oldest brother in disbelief.

“What?” asked Icon in a demanding tone. “You can’t be serious!”

“If we don’t let her, she’ll either resent us forever because we stopped her or she’ll try again. We were lucky this time and she wasn’t hurt while she tried to leave,” explained Beau. “I don’t like it and I really don’t like him; however, he did the right thing bringing you home, which has to mean something.”

Shay was speechless. She didn’t know if her brother was playing a trick or if it was a test. She didn’t know if he was being sincere. All the young Borrower knew was she was completely and utterly torn. Her already tired eyes threatened to begin crying again.

“Beau, we can’t just let her leave!” argued Slate. “What about mom and dad?”

“I didn’t say we’re just going to let her leave,” replied Beau. Shay stiffened as she listened to her brothers. “We are going to let her say good-bye to Todd. Then, we are going to take her home and let her think about everything. After she’s been reprimanded, which I’m sure she will be, perhaps we can convince mom and dad to let her go live with Todd for a time – supervised time.”

“Supervised?” asked Icon.

“Yes. I’m going with her. It’s that or we let her go stay with Todd and one or all of us go with her. We could set up a residence there in the walls. Shay said there weren’t any other Borrowers there. Maybe we can be the first,” replied Beau.

The siblings were completely stunned by Beau’s proposal, none more than Shay. Then, in a rush, she ran up and threw her arms around her oldest brother.

“Thank you Beau!” she said with a choked sob of happiness. Beau hugged his younger sister tightly while maintaining his stern tone.

“You realize mom and dad will have to approve of this, right?” he asked. Shay nodded as she pulled away and looked into her eldest brother’s eyes. “Fine. Now, go tell that human good-bye and that maybe – maybe – you’ll see him again soon.”

Shay couldn’t run back through the wall fast enough. Slate and Icon both turned to their older brother.

“What was that about? Are you serious?” asked Icon. Beau, feeling twisted and unsettled.

“I am serious but think about it. If we go with her, she can’t do anything too crazy. We’ll keep tabs and make sure she’s keeping to the Borrower way of things. She’ll be safe,” responded Beau. “Besides, do you really think we can tell her no now? We tried and she almost succeeded in running away. This way, she’ll have a minute to think about everything and, when the time comes, we can make a better decision.”

Meanwhile, Shay had run out into Todd’s room. Todd had stayed put, just like Shay’s brother said, and smiled instantly the moment he saw her emerge from the walls.

“Hey, is everything okay?” asked Todd quietly, eyes flicking up to the door to make sure his family wasn’t listening in.

“Yeah,” said Shay. “It’ll… it’s good. I’m definitely in trouble, but Beau, that’s my oldest brother, said that he would try and convince my parents to let me come and stay next time.” Todd smiled gratefully, elated and relieved at the news.

“That’s great!” he said. “Then I guess I’ll see you soon?”

“It’s a deal,” echoed Shay. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

Shay ran over and threw herself into Todd’s hand, hugging him as hard as she could before getting up and looking him in the eyes.

“Thank you, Todd; for being there.” With that, Shay wiped her eyes one last time and headed off for the wall.

“Thank you for being there for me too, Shay.” Todd watched as the small girl vanished under the dresser, and then she was gone. Todd listened for a few moments longer before giving a brief nod, standing up, and heading back outside and to the road. This wasn’t good-bye. They would see each other again, and hopefully they wouldn’t need another good-bye for a long time.

~~~~~^*^*^*^*^~~~~~

The eldest Borrower was right. Shay was reprimanded. There was a mixed relief when she came home as well as frustration and confusion. It would take her the next two weeks to regain the relative trust she lost when she attempted to run away with Todd. Still, her parents agreed tentatively to the terms. They also insisted, to Shay’s surprise, that they meet Todd to better evaluate the human’s intentions.

So, when the next holiday came, they were ready for Todd’s arrival. The family met with him late one night after Todd’s family had gone to bed for the night. They outlined everything they expected from the human, to which he happily agreed.

Turns out, Todd didn’t realize how lonely he would be while away at his apartment. Though it was only a month, he missed Shay terribly and intended to do whatever he could to make sure she and her family felt safe. What were friends for after all?

So, that holiday as a trial run, Beau and Icon accompanied Shay and Todd back to the apartment.

The adjustment was odd at first. While Shay easily slipped back into old habits around Todd, her brothers were still keen on avoiding being seen by the human and stayed primarily in the walls setting up their future home. It wasn’t until Shay and Todd came up with some clever designs to add to their home away from home that Todd didn’t seem, in Beau’s words, “so bad for a human.”

Their exchange program continued for the months to come, some of the holiday breaks lasting longer and longer. While Shay loved going home, each time, she elected to go with Todd. She knew she wouldn’t be who she was without her human half and that the pair together was unstoppable – like it was always meant to be.