“Really, Cynthia, I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Nathan said, trying to keep his voice level. “I’ve been through this before. It’s... annoying... but harmless.”

“Are you sure, Nathan?” Cynthia cast a worried look on him, the expression looking uncanny from his current perspective. Funny how big a difference there was in being six inches shorter than her, not six inches taller like normal.

“Totally certain. I’ll be back to my usual size by tomorrow morning.”

At least, that’s how it had gone the three other times this had happened. He’d gradually shrunk down to an inch and then stopped, and when he’d woken up the following day, he’d been a normal-sized cat again. “I’ll just have to stay at home all day and make do.”

“Well, if you insist. But I’ll be staying with you to make sure you’re alright.”

“Jeez, Cynthia, you really don’t have to do that,” he said. If he’d been sick with anything else he would have welcomed her presence, but having people around when he shrank always made him uncomfortable.

“I know I don’t have to, but I’m still going to do it. I don’t want to leave you alone while you’re going through this. And don’t bother trying to talk me out of it, because I’m not budging on this.” Nathan’s mouth snapped shut.

“Okay, okay, we’ll just have to spend the day together.”

Cynthia gave a satisfied nod. “I’ll go down to the kitchen to make us breakfast,” she said as she headed out the door. “Come down whenever you’re feeling comfortable.”

At last, Nathan was alone in his room. A room that was now felt ever-so-slightly off from how he remembered it—a room that would only get more and more alien as the day went on. By mid-afternoon, he’d be the size of a mouse and everything would be towering over him. The thought made him shudder.

He’d have to deal with that later, he knew, but to dwell on it now would throw him into despair. For now, he just wanted to go about his day as normally as he could, and right now that meant getting dressed.

Nathan went to his closet and pulled out some casual attire. His clothes were already a few sizes too big, and he had to fasten his belt as tight as it would go so his pants wouldn’t fall off. Even so, his hands barely poked out of his sleeves and his pants legs spilled over his feet. 

He stepped in font of the mirror to examine himself. He felt that if he was getting smaller, there should be something different about himself, but to himself he still looked the same as always. Really, he couldn’t help feeling like it was the rest of the world that was getting bigger, not him getting smaller.

Somehow, that made him feel a bit less insecure about his size.

Still, it was without any enthusiasm that he finally went off to get breakfast, holding up his pants legs so he wouldn’t trip on them.

* * * * *

Cynthia watched Nathan trying to eat as if nothing were any different. He had to pull his sleeves up to handle the fork, but they just kept sliding down onto his eggs and bacon. She held her tongue, not wanting to embarrass him over it, but she couldn’t help but cringe every time a new grease mark appeared on the shirt.

He kept this up until there were just a few bites left, then he just sat staring at his plate.

“Are you full, honey?” She asked, he voice cutting the awkward silence.

Nathan looked up as if startled “No, no, I’m not full. Just, y’know, thinking about stuff.” Slowly he rounded up the last bits of food with his fork and put them in his mouth, chewing them lethargically before gulping it down with a nauseous expression. “I think I’m gonna go sit on the couch for a bit. Maybe watch some TV,” he said, pushing himself away from the table.

Cynthia watched him go and let out a sigh before picking their plates up to go wash them. Who had he been trying to convince with that little stunt? If he kept this act up, he’d try to do something he was no longer the right size for and end up hurting himself. She had to make him see that, somehow.

* * * * *

Half an hour later, Nathan lay slumped against the couch, watching some dumb game show that he didn’t even like, but which at least took his mind off his shrinking. If he just stayed here, he thought—alone, lying around like a useless lump all day—maybe he could make it all the way to tomorrow without having to think about his size. Of course, there was the little issue of needing food and water. And Cynthia...

He was absolutely dreading interacting with Cynthia. More specifically, he was dreading the moment when she decided he was too small to be allowed to do anything for himself and started treating him like a delicate porcelain figurine to be put away in some padded box so it won’t break, not a grown man who just happened to have an unfortunate condition.

Maybe he was being uncharitable. Maybe she would manage to be the first person to let him keep his dignity while he was shrunken. He so wished that could be the case, but his prior experiences with shrinking around others had left him wary. If she did start babying him, he was afraid their relationship wouldn’t survive the day.

It was just as he was thinking about her than Cynthia decided to appear. She came into the living room and sat down on the couch next to him. Nathan noted with consternation how his head barely came up to her shoulders while sitting and how the couch’s surface depressed when she sat on it, funneling him towards her—subtle reminders that he was already down to being half the man he normally was, and that he would keep losing his height as the day went on.

“Nathan,” she said, something in her voice pulling him out of his musings and making him look her in the face. “Is everything alright?”

“Oh, I’m fine. I’m totally fine,” he said. “Why would you think otherwise?” he turned to the TV and pretended to be engrossed in it.

“Nathan,” Cynthia said insistently. “I’m not blind, you know. I can see this is eating at you. The way you’re struggling to go on like normal—you don’t have to push yourself like that, honey. Let me take help you through this, Nathan. You can trust me with that, can’t you?”

Her eyes probed deep into his soul, begging for an answer. “I...” What was he supposed to make of this? On the one hand, it almost sounded like she wanted to baby him, just as he’d feared, and a part of him was sounding the warning sirens already and telling him to decline her offer; but on the other hand, she was showing him a good deal of respect by asking him if he wanted her help rather than making the decision for her. Should he accept her offer? Surely he could trust her to let him keep his dignity through all this, right? “I guess I can do that,” he said at last.

Cynthia’s face brightened up at that. “Thank you,” she said softly, her huge hand giving his smaller one a squeeze through the sleeve of his shirt. Then she glanced down at his body, a frown on her lips. “Now could you please get out of those clothes already? I can barely tell that there’s a grown man under all that fabric.”

Nathan looked down at himself. Cynthia was right; with all that cloth covering him he couldn’t make out where his arms and legs ended. He absolutely had to do something about that. But taking his clothes off in front of her? Granted, he’d been naked around her before, but she’d been naked with him all those times. If he was the only one naked, there would be an imbalance.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to” He glanced up to see Cynthia smiling at him. “But if you do, I’ll give you a big reward.” The ends of her lips curled upwards in a gesture rich with implications.

Curiosity drove all else out of Nathan’s mind. What kind of reward was she talking about? Knowing her, and with the way she smiled, he figured it must be something physical. But what could they possible do together at such different sizes? Whatever it was, he just had to know. So he sat up with the intention of pulling his shirt off, only for it to immediately slip off his shoulders, his whole torso easily passing through the neck hole as the shirt pooled down at his waist.

Nathan wordlessly looked down at his shirt, then up at Cynthia, the two staring at each other before simultaneously breaking out in laughter. After all his deliberation and all her convincing, it turned out the decision to undress had already been made for him by his size. Well, now there really was no point in fretting about it.

His laughter subsiding, Nathan pulled himself out from his clothes, his legs easily sliding through all that fabric.

“Alright, now get over here, kitten. I want to give you your reward.” Cynthia stretched an arm out around Nathan’s shoulder and gently guided him towards her lap, where her other arm came in to attack him with a tight hug that pressed him against her chest. It reminded him of nothing so much as being a kid in his mother’s arms.

In that warm embrace, Nathan’s tension melted away, and he found himself returning the hug and burying his head into Cynthia’s neck fur. She started purring then, a powerful rumbling to which he joined his own lesser one. “Enjoying your reward?” she asked, her warm whispering breath blowing softly into his ears. He nuzzled her up and down and hugged her tighter. “Good,” she said, then returned the gesture.

It was an eye-opening experience for Nathan. He had never considered that there might be benefits to being small, but now he realized being small also meant that there was more of Cynthia to love and be loved by. If the rest of the day went like this, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

Cynthia was the first to pull away, and it was not without regret that he let go of her. “I’m gonna go prepare a bath,” she purred down at him. “Feel like joining me?”. Nathan’s tail started waving in excitement. “I thought so. Just take your clothes to the laundry basket first; you can still handle that, right?” He gave her a nod. “I’ll go fill up the tub, then. See you there,” she said, planting a kiss on top of his head before getting up and leaving him to his chore.

* * * * *

A few minutes later, Nathan stepped through the bathroom entrance to find Cynthia already unclothed, towering over the bathtub. Back on the couch he’d known that she was twice his size now, but actually comparing his standing height to hers really drove the point home. His head only came up to her hips, and he realized with some amusement that he could probably walk in between her legs without having to duck too far.

Each of her legs was now the same size as him, and Cynthia herself looked like a giant. From somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice chimed in wondering what she would look like when he bottomed out at one inch tall. The thought made him shudder, though whether from dread or excitement, he couldn’t have said.

Shaking those thoughts away, he knocked on the open door, causing Cynthia to turn and see him. “Oh, Nathan! Sorry, I didn’t notice you come in. I’ve got the tub halfway full but I’m not sure if I should fill it all the way or if that would be too much for you. What do you think?” Nathan stepped up next to Cynthia and looked into the tub. At a foot deep, he could comfortably submerge himself in the water, but it probably wouldn’t do much for her. On the other hand, if it filled all the way he’d have to stand up to keep his head above the water... Unless, perhaps, he laid on top of Cynthia.

“Fill it up all the...” Nathan trailed off as he looked up at Cynthia and his eyes were met with the sight of her body. Up close like this, from this low angle, she looked stunning, all her natural curves given new depth with his changed perspective. The things he wanted to do to that body...

It wasn’t until Cynthia placed a hand on her hip, a chuckle resounding from her throat, that Nathan realized he’d left his mouth open. “All the way, then? Sounds good. Why don’t you get in while it fills up, kitten? Enjoy the water while it’s more your depth.” She placed a hand on the back of his head—he was still just barely tall enough that she didn’t have to bend down to do it—and gave him some scratches that sent him purring.

Needing no more encouragement, Nathan climbed into the tub and lied down inside, soaking in the water while Cynthia leaned in over the side and gently stroked his head. Once the water rose so high that he was forced to sit up, she stood, giving him a hell of a view. “I’m coming in now, kitten; brace yourself.” She stepped in, with one foot to either side of Nathan, and lowered herself into the tub. From Nathan’s perspective, all that mass coming down looked almost like a collapsing building.

Her body displaced the water and sent a small wave through the tub, which first pushed Nathan back against the tub’s inner wall and then pulled him forward, leaving him right between her legs. Those two pillars of flesh and bone wrapped around Nathan’s back, pulling him even closer until he was up against Cynthia’s crotch. “Come here, kitten,” she said, beckoning him with a finger; “I want you in my arms.” Nathan could not help but blush, his face growing hot beneath his wet fur.

Heeding her call, he crawled forward across her slender belly before letting himself lie down using her breasts as pillos, each of them the same size as his head. Then Cynthia curled up around him, completely enveloping him with her body. In his lover’s the warm, wet embrace, Nathan let his thoughts fade away and his body relax, just basking in the sheer bliss of just being with her.

* * * * *

Cynthia didn’t know how long she’d been holding Nathan, but it had been long enough that the tub was nearly full, the ongoing flow of liquid sending the water level precariously close to the tub’s edge. Much as she wanted to remain like this, something had to be done about that, so with a sigh she sat up and spoke. “Sorry, but I have to turn off the water or else it’ll start overflowing. Let me get up so I can turn off the faucet.”

“Don’t worry, dear; I’ll get it,” Nathan said without hesitation. Giving her no time to reply, he pushed himself off her body and grabbed onto the rim of the tub, pulling himself along its length until he reached the faucet. Seeing how he threw himself with such enthusiasm at this task brought a smile to her face. It was good to see his mood brighten up again.

Nathan grabbed ahold of the knob with both hands and tried turning it off, grunting as he barely managed to budge it a little bit at a time, until the flow of water was reduced to a trickle and then stopped altogether. He let go of the handle with a sigh, looking dispirited.

Cynthia’s heart sank. “Nathan?” she said called out softly. “Is everything okay?”

“It’s fine, dear,” he said, turning to her and grasping her arms. “I just wish I didn’t have to go through this.”

How she lamented being unable to help him get back to normal. “Does it scare you? I can’t imagine what it would feel like to see everything around you grow bigger and bigger.”

“Yes, it’s scary.” His gaze drifted back to the faucet. “It’s scary seeing your strength slip away from you and being unable to do anything about it. It’s scary thinking that maybe this time you’ll be stuck being one inch tall forever, or maybe you just won’t stop shrinking until you disappear out of sight.

“But you know”, he continued, his bright yellow eyes looking deep into her own, “it hasn’t been so bad this time around. I’ve even found some things I can enjoy about being small. And Cynthia... I want you to know that there’s no one else I’d have with me at this moment. You’ve been great at getting me through this without losing my sanity, and I just want to say: thank you.”

How her heart ached for him. “Oh Nathan. You don’t have to thank me. You know I’d do anything for you.”

“Yeah; I know.” Nathan took a step towards her, raising a hand to her face. She felt his slender fingers caress her cheek, saw his eyes gleaming with intent as they drew closer. “Nathan...” she whispered in a breathy voice dense with all her feelings for him.

Nathan raised a finger to her lips. “This is the last time today I’ll be able to do this” he said, and before Cynthia realized what was happening, his lips pressed against her in a passionate kiss.  A second later, she started reciprocating. It started out a bit awkward, neither of them too sure of how kissing worked when such a size-discrepancy was involved, but soon they settled into a rhythm. Concerned she would hurt Nathan if she went too fast, Cynthia worked at him gently, not putting too much force into her affections so as to not overwhelm him, and so she found herself unprepared when Nathan went on the offensive.

Soon he was upon her like a lion on its prey, pushing her back with a force that made her eyes go wide in shock. With her back against the wall, still he was all over her, standing on her thighs with his little feet pushing against them to press himself more firmly against her. His hands were on her body as far as they could reach, caressing her head, breasts, neck, and shoulders with an intensity that outmatched anything he’d shown when he was normal-sized. Unable to keep up with him, at last she simply surrendered to the torrent of his love, letting herself be led deeper into the throes of passion.

* * * * *

“Check,” Nathan said, moving his rook onto the same row as Cynthia’s king.

It has been a while since their bath together. The two sat on the floor with a chess board between them. Cynthia was now fully dressed, while Nathan, now 1’10, had wrapped a hand towel around himself.

Cynthia contemplated the chess board. Nine of her pieces had been captured already, whereas Nathan still had all of his save a knight, a rook, and three pawns. She didn’t have to be an expert at the game—and, indeed, she wasn’t—to see that her situation was hopeless. She’d be losing this game for sure, just like the previous two.

Still considering her next move, Cynthia stole a glance at Nathan. The small cat had his eyes and ears fixed on the game board, his tail swishing around playfully like a kitten ready to pounce on a playmate. The sight brought a smile to her face. However much she hated being beaten so thoroughly, it was all worth it to see Nathan enjoying himself. She was glad to have suggested they break out the old chessboard and play a few games, something they hadn’t done together in ages.

Turning her attention back to the board, she picked up her king and moved it up a space, hiding it behind her last bishop. Nathan responded immediately by capturing her queen with a pawn, announcing “mate in four” as he did so.

Cynthia eyed the board, her brows furrowed in puzzlement. Nathan had mate similar proclamations the past two games, and both times he’d proven himself correct, but she just couldn’t see how it was supposed to happen. Still, if he said the game was lost, it was lost. Sighing, she tipped over her king in surrender. “That’s game and match. You’re too good for me, Nathan,” she said, throwing her arms back in a stretch. “You ever consider playing in a tournament?”

“What, me?” he stopped putting his pieces away and seemed lost in thought for a moment. “I actually did join a few tournaments back when I was a kid. One time I even made it to third place. Haven’t had much time for that recently, though.”

“That’s a shame,” she said and began helping him to put the game back in its box. “I’m sure you’d do well. Maybe after this is over we could check to see if there’s any tournaments coming up.”

“Eh, maybe, maybe. I’ll definitely think about it.” A very vague sort of commitment; it sounded like he was hiding something, but she didn’t probe him for answers. “You know what’s something else I haven’t done in a while, tough? Giving you one of those full-body massages you like so much. How about it; you up for one of those?”

“What, right now? Sounds good. Just let me put the game away first,”

“Just don’t leave me waiting.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” She stood up, chess box in her hands, and walked off. Truth be told, she doubted that a massage from Nathan at his size would do much for her, but for his sake, she’d sure let him try.

* * * * *

Nathan sat waiting on the carpet, the towel wrapped tight around him. A full-body massage. Could he do something like that now? Cynthia was so big, like a monument come to life, and he... he was so small. Almost half again the size he’d been back in the tub.

The tub. What a great moment that had been. He was proud of himself for what he’d done back there—for proving to both of them that he could still take care of himself and do things for Cynthia even at three feet tall. Could he be just as useful at this size, though?

Useful. Was there even any point in worrying about being useful? Soon he would be too small to do anything at all, and where would that leave him? If he couldn’t come to terms with a “useless” existence, how would he cope when he was one inch tall?

His thoughts were interrupted by the thud of approaching footsteps. Cynthia stepped into the room already stripped down to her underwear. In her arm was a small mat that she rolled out on the floor. “Ready, kitten?” she asked, giving him a coquettish smile that he met with his best grin.

“Yes, ma’am!”

She got down at the edge of the mat and slid her body forward, looking like nothing so much as a huge wave surging up the beach.

Nathan walked up to his girlfriend. He figured he’d start with her paws, like always, and work his way up to her neck and shoulders. Beyond that he wasn’t too confident on how to proceed, and when he got up close to her feet the sight of them gave him pause. Each was half as big as he was. He couldn’t just hold them and rub them with his thumbs like he usually did; he’d have to work them hard with both hands, putting his whole body into it. Even just working on her feet would leave him tired, he realized; how worn out would he be after going over her whole body? The thought alone was enough to make him weary.

“Honey, is everything alright back there?” Cynthia’s voice rumbled out from behind him, taking him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, it’s all fine. I’m just trying to figure out the logistics of this.”

“Oh? I don’t remember you thinking so hard before you jumped on me back in the tub.”

She was right, he hadn’t; he’d just done it and figured it out along the way. Well, it was probably best to do the same here and get to work. That, and there was also the thought that the sooner he started, the more size he’d have to work with.

So, straddling her foot, he set each hand against a toe—each the same size as his hands—and pushed down on them, letting his weight rest on his arms as he rubbed the surface of her toe pads. In response there was a slight curling of Cynthia’s toes, the simple gesture causing him to adjust himself in his seat in his seat. It really drove home just how small he was. Oddly, rather than feeling troubled or upset over it, Nathan felt excited.

After a minute working the toes, Nathan moved on to the foot proper. At the first few strokes across her paw pad, Cynthia’s foot scrunched up roughly, almost sending him off-balance. It reminded him of riding a mechanical bull at the county fair and feeling like he could be lose his balance at any moment with all the tossing and turning. That’s why he felt excited, he realized; he was essentially riding a huge animal that could throw him off at any moment—except that animal was his partner. From that perspective, his struggles weren’t a sign of his weakness. In fact, that he was undertaking this struggle at all was a sign of courage.

Feeling a new resolve growing in him, Nathan started working more vigorously, running his hands over Cynthia’s skin and fur. He delighted in the way strands of her fur bent and brushed between his fingers and the way her body heat seeped into him through his contact with her. He found accomplishment in every moan Cynthia let out, in the way her muscles responded to his touch, in the slowing of her breath as he helped her relax, and especially in the rich, deep purring that started up once he reached her back.

In this way he worked until he finished massaging the back of her neck and hopped off her body. “All done on this side,” he sighed, breathing heavily. “You wanna roll over so I can work on your front now?”

Cynthia turned to look at him. “Honey, you look exhausted. I think that’s quite enough for today; I don’t want you pushing yourself too hard.”

Nathan exhaled loudly. “You know, I’m actually glad you said that.” Now that he wasn’t working on her he could feel his efforts catching up to him. His muscles sore and tired, he ached more than he had in years.

“Oh? You must be really tired, then. Maybe I could do something to help you out with that,” she said, rolling over on the mat. “Here, lie down on me.”

“Okay,” he said with some reservation. 

Nathan stepped onto Cynthia’s belly, its mass of fat and muscle shifting oddly with every step Nathan took. It reminded him of walking around on a bouncy castle as a kid, though Cynthia probably wouldn’t appreciate him jumping up and down on her, funny as the thought was. Instead, he got himself into a good position and laid down, his head nestled in Cynthia’s cleavage, where he bent his neck back to see her face looming over him with a gentle smile and half-lidded eyes.

His thoughts wondering at what she was planning on doing to him received their answer in the form of a finger and thumb seizing onto each of his feet and beginning to squeeze and rub. It was a massage, he realized.

Rather than relaxing, though, Nathan became tense. Cynthia had him completely at her mercy like this. He knew she’d been capable of overpowering him for a while now, assuming she ever decided to, but knowing something and actually feeling it were two different things. Up until now, even though they’d done stuff together despite their size differences, he’d never been made to feel helpless against her, but something had changed that.

It was the way she manipulated him so easily, he realized. Seeing how she held up his legs using just a pair of fingers, how she made his joints bend and straighten to her will... it was like he was an action figure being played with.

Looking helplessly on, Nathan began breathing faster. Before he went into a full-blown panic attack, however, Cynthia’s fingers ceased their work and let his legs back down. “Nathan, is something the matter?” He felt the air vibrate with the sound of her voice.

“N-no, nothing at all.”

“Nathan...”

“It’s just... you hold me so easily, like I’m nothing but a doll. You’re so big that you could so do whatever you wanted to me. I know you’d never do anything to hurt me, but still every instinct is screaming at me to run away or fight back even though I’m supposed to just lie still while you massage me.” Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes. “I feel so helpless, and I feel like such a coward for being afraid of you, and I hate it.”

“Oh, honey,” she said, stroking Nathan’s head with her fingertip. “You don’t have to go through with this if it makes you uncomfortable. I can find something else to do for you.”

“No. We have to deal with this. I’m just going to keep getting smaller all day, and soon I won’t even be able to move around the house without your help. When that happens, I don’t want to spend my time cringing in fear whenever you come close. I have to be comfortable around you.

“We’ll keep doing this. Just... go slow for me, okay?”

“Okay,” Cynthia said, putting her fingers around his feet again. Some of his fear but he found it more manageable now, as if in speaking about it he had lost some of it. When his breath started speeding up again, he managed to will it to slow down. He took deep, relaxed breaths, and tried to avoid looking at Cynthia’s hands on him.

Cynthia’s breath washed over him as she worked, the warm, slightly humid breeze ruffling his fur. He closed his eyes and focused on that feeling; focused on the fact that this was Cynthia. His Cynthia, with whom he’d spent many wonderful months. Cynthia, who loved hot chocolate so much she drank it even in the dead of summer. Cynthia, who worked at a coffee shop and played tennis on her days off. Cynthia, who had Spent a full two days taking care of him when he’d been sick with the flu. Cynthia, who always laughed at his jokes and whose laughter brightened his days. Cynthia.

Nathan’s breath softened at the thought of her. He was so lucky to have such a wonderful woman, a woman who wanted to be with him, who had done so much for him. With a sigh he turned his head and planted a kiss on the soft fur covering her breasts. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he felt her heart beat quicker when he did that. Her heart. With his head against her chest, he could hear its deep, rhythmic beating, a sound that drove away his fears. Hearing that sound, he felt closer to her than ever before, like he had become a part of her body.

The urge to resist or run from her disappeared. He finally achieved relaxation, allowing her to soothe his sore muscles with her massage. He found he could open his eyes and look on her fingers deftly manipulating his legs, not with fear, but with love—a love that radiated through his entire body, calling up a purr from within his throat as he began licking at Cynthia’s breast in an effort to express that love through however small a gesture. He hoped Cynthia could feel it. He hoped she could tell that he loved her. Most of all, he hoped she felt the same way about him.

* * * * *

The pair spent the next few hours were just trying to hang out and lead a normal day despite Nathan’s shrinking.

Come lunchtime, they decided to work together to make Lasagna, with Nathan providing the know-how while Cynthia took care of the cooking. 

Since Nathan was now one foot tall, much too short to keep pace with Cynthia—and since she needed him close to tell her what to do— she decided, much to his chagrin, to carry him with her between her breasts, where he clung to her shirt and fought to keep his head above the neck while she worked.

The dish progressed slowly, with Cynthia spending as much time teasing Nathan as she did actually cooking and Nathan spending as much time flustered over her teasing as he did actually instructing her. The end result was... edible. Edible enough that both managed to down half their servings, at least.

Since they were still hungry, they made some popcorn to eat while watching a movie. Nathan put on a fantasy/romance movie he’d been wanting to watch together for weeks now. Normally he didn’t care much for the genre—it was more Cynthia’s thing, really—but he would watch just about any movie that featured a dragon, which this one did. 

With the movie playing, Cynthia reclined on the couch, a bowl of popcorn on the seat next to her, while the nine-inch Nathan lay stretched out on her lap with a single popcorn half the size of his head. Though Cynthia thought the movie was alright, at least judging by what she caught of it when she was actually paying attention, she spent most of its run time watching her boyfriend.

Nathan was downright adorable at his current size, especially with the way his ears perked up and his tail started moving around whenever the dragon appeared on the screen. The more the movie went on, however, the more she began to look on him with worry rather than adoration.

He had almost reached what he said would be his minimum height of one inch. Though he was currently absorbed in watching the movie, not even noticing when his half-eaten popcorn became bigger than his head, she couldn’t help but fret over how he would react once the movie was over and he had to deal with his size again. They’d been coping well enough recently, but at one inch he’d be too small to handle doing almost anything by himself; he’d need her to take care of him, but, truth be told, she didn’t know if she could trust herself to be around him when he was so small she could seriously hurt him just by pinching too hard.

When the credits finally rolled, Nathan was down to just three inches tall. As he sat up, stretching his arms over his head and groaning, Cynthia brought a hand close to pet him. Seeing how much bigger it was than him made her stop short of actually touching him, though, and instead she let it rest on her lap next to him. “Nathan,” She whispered, afraid that speaking any louder might hurt his ears. “How are you feeling?”

“How do I feel?” Nathan stood up and looked down at himself and then at his surroundings, his gaze lingering for a while on her face. A smile spread across his lips and he walked between her thumb and index finger. “I feel good,” he said, resting his hands on her thumb.

Cynthia let her fingers curl around him in a sort of hug. “You’re not scared anymore, then?”

“How can I be scared when I’m with you?”

His response carried such trust in her, and his expression showed such love, that she found herself overcome with emotion. In less than a second, she had him scooped up into the palm of her hand and brought up to her face, where she planted a flurry of kisses all over his body. When she finally pulled him away, he was laughing. “Cynthia!” he exclaimed. “You’re going to suck me right into your mouth if you don’t cool it with the kissing!”

“Well, I did only eat half my lunch,” she said with a smile that bared fangs the size of Nathan’s legs. “I could use a little snack, don’t you think?” She gave Nathan one more, very lengthy, kiss.

“You’re amazing, Cynthia. I wish I were big enough to show you how I feel about you without having to use words, but I guess I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. There is one thing I can still do today.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t tell you—that would spoil the surprise. Just take me to my room so I can show you what it is.”

“Your room...” Cynthia said, a curious look on her face. “Alright, let’s go.” She set off slowly to give Nathan a smooth ride.

“You’ve done so much for me today, Cynthia,” he started saying. “You’ve helped me stop being scared of my shrinking episodes. You’ve helped me find enjoyment in being small for the first time. Most importantly, you never stopped treating me like myself, no matter how small I got. Even if I end up stuck at one inch tall for the rest of my life, as long as I could spend it all with you, I think I could still be happy. I want to thank you, Cynthia; and more than that, I want you to know that I love you.”

“Oh Nathan, I already know that,” she said as she arrived at his room. “And I love you too, my little kitten.”

“I know you know. I just hope this will show you just how much I do.” His heart was beating with anticipation. Turning, he pointed to his dresser. “It’s in the top right drawer, behind all my socks. Just put me down while you dig for it; I want to get a good look at your face.”

Cynthia gently placed him down on the dresser, letting him slide off her tilted hand. She opened the drawer, stuffed full of black and white socks which she started dropping to the ground in search of Nathan’s surprise. Soon, her searching revealed an object that made her heart skip a beat: a small, top and bottom hinged together. “Nathan, is this...” The words stuck in her throat

“Go on. Open it.”

Cynthia’s heart was racing as she picked up the box, slowly puling the lid up to reveal a small diamond ring. “I bought this a couple weeks ago but never managed to work up the courage to present it to you. After today, though... I would like nothing more in the world than to spend the rest of my life with you as your husband. So, Cynthia Henley,” he said, falling down to his knees. “Will you marry me?”

“Oh Nathan.” She picked him up off the dresser, holding him in one hand and the ring in the other. Yes, yes I’ll marry you.” She brought him up to her face, her mouth pursed in invitation for a kiss, one which he gave her as best he could, walking up to her lips and pressing his little head against them.

When he broke away and she got another look at him, there were tears on his face. “Thank you, Cynthia. You’ve made me the happiest man in the world today,” he said, wiping away his tears. “I only wish,” he sighed, “that I could make love to you today; but I suppose we’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

Until tomorrow. Until tomorrow? No; this absolutely could not wait another day. “Nonsense, we can do it today. I’m sure we could work out something fun for us to do together with you at this size.”

“You think I can satisfy you at just two inches tall?”

“That doesn’t matter. Even if you were a quarter inch tall, I’d still want to do it with you. The real question is, do you think you can handle a woman fifty times your own size?”

Nathan burst out in laughter. He had no idea what he could possibly do with her at this size, but they had hours to figure something out; that was more than enough time, he was sure.