~

“I don’t understand…” whispered Brian. He was intensely scrutinizing every word, every letter, every pixel on the enormous television in front of him, desperately trying to make sure that his eyes weren’t deceiving him, or he wasn’t misinterpreting what he was seeing. Elizabeth was still crying with hysterical joy, but to Brian the world was silent. He heard nothing but the rapid beating of his own heart, as he slowly came to the realization that his innocence had actually been proven to the world.

Allison, on the other hand, was completely frozen. She wasn’t comprehending what she was seeing in the slightest, as her brain had shut down in the face of such an unexpected development. The information processed in her mind at a snail’s pace, but register it eventually did. At that exact moment, tears of joy formed in her eyes as well. She wanted to jump around and flail her arms in excitement, but she quickly remembered that she was holding her tiny boyfriend. As such, with an increasingly shaky hand, she slowly transferred him to a nearby table. This table rose to her waist, and was still in view of the television.

Just as she was about to check on him, she became aware of two arms that suddenly wrapped around her frame tightly. She recognized them as belonging to Elizabeth, and she turned her head to face her. She saw that Elizabeth’s eyes were extremely wide, and radiating pure and overwhelming joy. Her face glistened with tears, and she was showing one of the widest and most emotional smiles Allison had ever seen.

“T-They found him, Allie!” Elizabeth sobbed. “We did it! We did it! W-We proved it, Allie! We proved it! Brian is innocent!!”

At those words, the reality of the situation slammed into Allison like a speeding train, and she immediately broke down sobbing. She returned Elizabeth’s tight embrace, and they began to lightly jump up and down as they babbled incoherently over each other. It was impossible to accurately translate what they were feeling at that moment into words, and as such all that came out were a series of squeaks and shouts. Suddenly, every hardship they had gone through was worth it. Every risk, every ounce of stress, every little doubt- it had all paid off.

Brian was innocent. He did not commit that terrible crime. And now, the world knew.

At that, Allison realized that they were ignoring the man in question.

“E-Elizabeth!” she exclaimed, reigning in her emotions. “B-Brian! We n-need to…!”

Elizabeth immediately understood what she was getting at, and released her from her tight embrace. Allison dashed over to the table and kneeled down so her face was at Brian’s level. She saw that he was sitting down, his legs spread out in front of him as he stared at the television. He looked completely, positively, and overwhelmingly stunned. He looked like he was looking at everything and nothing at the same time, bringing back the memory of when he had entered his trance.

“Brian?” Allison asked softly, smiling warmly at him through her tears.

Brian did not respond, he only continued to stare in the direction of the television.

“Brian, baby, look at me,” she repeated, ever so gently teasing his chin towards her with the tip of her fingernail.

Brian locked eyes with her, and the sight of his loved one snapped him out of it. His eyes focused on her, and they immediately softened in pure emotion.

“We did it, baby,” Allison whispered. “We did it.”

Brian slowly adopted a small smile, and his bottom lip began to quiver. Before he succumbed to his emotions, though, his gaze hardened and his eyes steeled over. With renewed conviction, he looked to Elizabeth, who had been watching them intently with an emotional smile.

“What happened?” he asked firmly. His voice was deadly serious.

~

“Security camera footage?” he asked incredulously, to which both women nodded. Elizabeth was looking at her laptop, and Allison was staring at her phone. They had realized that looking it up would be quicker than watching the news, and as such were furiously examining the dozens of articles that had popped up regarding Brian’s innocence in the last ten minutes.

“It says here…” Elizabeth started, narrowing her eyes at the screen through her glasses. She had mostly calmed down, but the occasional tear was still clouding her vision, and her voice was still shaky with excitement.

“It says that… they saw him on a security camera near the hotel Timmy was staying at… and he was… dragging him away! Oh, no…” she continued, drawing one hand to her mouth.

“Yeah, and they also saw him on a few security cameras from stores in the financial square where Timmy died,” Allison chimed in, reading from another article. “They saw him entering the alley with Timmy, and leaving without him and covered with blood… and… he was carrying a knife! Holy shit, there’s no fucking doubt about it!”

“This is unbelievable…” Elizabeth replied. “Just like that, they identified him and arrested him. Oh, I don’t even know how to express what I’m feeling right now! Brian, isn’t this amazing?!”

“It hasn’t even been three full days…” he murmured. His eyes were narrowed, and his expression was extremely conflicted.

“What’s wrong, sweetie?” Elizabeth asked softly.

“It took only two days of investigation… to find him…” he repeated, as if in a trance. Allison and Elizabeth exchanged a concerned glance.

“If they had done any investigation at the time… anything at all… none of this would have happened,” he continued, in an angry strained whisper. Both women’s faces fell when they realized what he was getting at, and their hearts softened in sympathy. Allison pulled over a chair and sat down in front of his location on the table, before tenderly stroking his cheek with her finger.

“Brian, it’s okay,” she soothed, with a loving smile. “What matters is that they found him. You’re innocent, and everybody knows now. Everything is going to be okay.”

Brian nodded, although he was still clearly troubled. Elizabeth decided to change the subject a bit.

“U-Um, I’m having trouble finding information on why the murderer did it,” she cut in. Allison perked up a bit in response.

“Me too. They probably haven’t figured it out yet, if they only just arrested him. I wonder if-”

“I don’t want to know,” Brian said softly. Allison and Elizabeth looked to him with concerned eyes.

“When they find out… I don’t care if you two know, but… I don’t want to know.” he continued, darkening his tone and looking down at the table.

“Okay, sweetheart. You don’t have to know,” Elizabeth replied comfortingly, to which Allison nodded in affirmation. Elizabeth walked towards Brian and kneeled down next to him. Her eyes softened in loving adoration, and she gently rustled his hair a bit.

“We did it, Brian. The world isn’t going to remember you as a killer,” she whispered. Brian let out a deep sigh, before finally cheering up a bit. He allowed himself to be happy at that fact, and he smiled widely.

“You’re right. You’re both right. This isn’t the time for that. I’m innocent, and now everybody fucking knows it.”

“Fucking yes!” Allison cheered, raising one first in celebration. Elizabeth smiled warmly at their display, thoroughly relieved that Brian was no longer upset.

“Damn right,” she said. “Now, I know this is going to sound weird, but I actually have to go out for a bit.”

“Wait, what?” Allison asked, her fist frozen in midair.

“Brian, the campaign to prove your innocence just ended. But the campaign to take down the Shrink Penalty and return you to normal just began,” she explained. Brian and Allison made an appreciative noise in response.

“True…” Brian muttered.

“Shit, that’s right!” Allison exclaimed. “Now that the world knows, it’s time to get you back to normal!”

“Absolutely, and we need to strike while the iron is hot. Now, I need to go have a few very important talks with a few very important people, and I don’t have the time to stay here and make appointments. I’ll beat down their doors if I have to, but I have to go,” she continued. “I’ll be back in a couple hours, and then maybe we can do a bit of celebrating.”

She reached out and gave Brian a playful nudge to his side, to which he smiled again.

“Sound good to both of you?” she asked, turning her eyes to Allison as well. They both nodded vigorously, and she grinned widely.

“Excellent,” she purred. “Be right back, kids. Oh, but first…”

Suddenly, she leaned forward and laid on an enormous kiss to Brian’s whole body, nearly enveloping his entire left side with her thick, smothering lips. She let it hang for a moment, and he groaned in disapproval. Finally, she pulled away with an exaggerated smack.

“You’re innocent!” she squealed with delight. Brian examined his shirt and pants, and saw that they were now a little wet with her saliva.

“Elizabeth,” he whined, “you know I have to change my clothes now, right?”

“Good thing I made lots of clothes, then!” she replied with a wink. Still grinning widely, she turned to Allison, who had been watching the display with a slightly annoyed expression.

“Anyway, I’ll be back. Look after Brian for a bit, okay?” Elizabeth asked, before rising to her feet and giving Allison another huge hug. Once she was close enough, she moved her mouth a little closer to her ear.

“This is all because of you,” she whispered. “You saved his life, and now you’ve saved his memory. I’m so proud of you.”

She pulled away, and saw that Allison had slightly teared up as she smiled appreciatively at her kind words. She then mouthed the words “thank you.” Elizabeth gave a quick nod in response, before leaning in again to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek. With that, she made her way towards the closet to grab her coat. Once she was about to open the door, though, she remembered something and turned back towards them. Although she would normally treat it like a bigger deal, her brain was too scrambled to give it the proper energy.

“Oh, are you two…?” she asked.

“Yep, we’re back together,” Allison replied chipperly.

“Oh, good,” Elizabeth said plainly, with a small smile. “Well, see ya.”

She left. Just like that, Brian and Allison were alone.

~

“Um… what should we do now…?” Allison asked. Now that it came down to it, she had no idea where to go or what to do. She sat back down in her chair, and looked at Brian with questioning eyes. She saw that he also looked a little conflicted. However, there was a small spark in his eye that she couldn’t identify.

“Uh… well, what do you want to do?” he asked nervously, averting his eyes. His heart sped up a bit as he came to a terrifying decision. Allison thought carefully for a moment.

“Well, let’s see…” she started. “I want to… well, I definitely want to keep reading about what happened. I also want to go to every internet forum I can think of to see how people are reacting to this. Oh, and I really want to see how the fuckwads on those bad media groups are reacting to this. I bet they’re backpedaling so hard right now, or maybe trying to spin it. Either way, I want to see those worms squirm. Yeah, that about covers it. What do you want to do?”

Brian looked up at her, blushing heavily.

“I want to have sex.”

~

Brian was sitting atop a pillow on Allison’s bed, with the wall behind him. Allison was standing a few feet away, holding her hands in front of her as she fidgeted. Both of them were beet-red, and their hearts were racing. Composing herself a bit, Allison managed to speak.

“S-So, let’s run through this one more time,” she started anxiously. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Brian nodded his head quickly, his eyes hiding a layer of frantic energy behind a mask of neutrality.

“Yes,” he said, reassuring himself just as much as his girlfriend. “I want to have sex. I’m innocent, and the world knows it, and I’m innocent, and I’m feeling pretty good, and I want to have sex. Or something.”

“Got it,” Allison replied firmly. “Are you sure that this won’t trigger another flashback?”

“I’m sure,” Brian answered. “For the last month, I’ve been doing research on how to deal with traumatic memories. It’s not the same as getting professional help, obviously, but I’ve gotten a lot better. Like, my stomach doesn’t hurt right now, and I don’t feel like I’m going to panic. I’m still nervous as shit, but, like, not in a bad way, you know?”

“Okay. Still, we’re going to take it really slow, and I’ll check on you every step of the way. If you even feel a trace of panic, let me know and we’ll stop,” Allison replied, to which Brian nodded. Then, an extremely awkward silence overtook the room. Eventually, Allison spoke up. 

“S-Should… should we, um… d-do you want to start?” she squeaked. She was about as nervous as she had ever been, even rivalling the first and last time she ever approached the Silver Strip. Brian’s eyes widened a bit, and he couldn’t help but dry swallow.

“Y-Yeah…” he replied shakily. “Um… what do you want to-”

“No way, Brian,” Allison interrupted, holding one hand out towards him.

“I’m not doing a single thing unless you tell me to do it. As of right now, your wish is my command, and I’m not allowed to do anything else. Look, I’ll prove it to you. Tell me to do something,” she continued, flashing him a warm smile as she put her hands on her hips. Hips, by the way, that were still protected by a pair of jeans. Both of them were still fully clothed, but she had a feeling that would be changing soon.

Brian was silent for a moment as he processed this information. When he tried to think of a command, his brain short-circuited.

“Uh… lift your left arm up,” he meekly instructed. With no hesitation, Allison lifted her left arm until it was perpendicular to her body. Being given her first command made her extremely happy, and she somehow managed to smile even wider. Her nerves were fading by the second, and she committed herself to making this as fun for Brian as possible. Nothing else in the world mattered to her.

“Anything else?” she asked playfully. Once again, Brian blanked.

“Nope, that’s it,” he choked out, causing Allison to giggle. Now that her own anxiety was fading, she was able to appreciate just how cute Brian was acting.

“Might I make a suggestion?” she asked softly, to which Brian vigorously nodded. 

“How about you tell me to come closer?” she said, trying to put him at ease through her tone. A quick pang of nervous energy shot throughout Brian’s body, but he took a deep breath and got it under control. A task that was surprisingly easy, as compared to their previous sexual encounter.

It’s just Allie… he thought, which quickly calmed him down.

“Okay, come closer,” he instructed, finding his conviction. Still, issuing straight demands made him feel mean, so he couldn’t help but add in a quiet “please” at the end, which made Allison want to squeal in delight at his bashfulness. Then, moving extremely slowly and carefully, she made her way closer to the bed. Soon, her thighs were pressed up against the edge, as she gazed down lovingly at her tiny boyfriend on the pillow.

Suddenly, Brian’s entire field of view was overtaken by nothing but Allison.

If he looked to the left- he saw Allison.

If he looked to the right- he saw Allison.

If he looked up- he saw Allison.

If he looked anywhere- he saw Allison.

However, unlike the previous time this happened, it did not make him feel small. He simply felt loved, completely amazed that such an enormous being was singularly focused on his happiness. 

“How do you feel?” Allison asked kindly, completely prioritizing Brian’s comfort over her own arousal. Arousal that existed in earnest, mind you, but was nowhere near as controlling.

“Pretty good…” Brian muttered, as if in a trance in the face of her mountainous beauty.

“Excellent,” Allison purred. “Alright, what would you like me to do next?”

“U-Um… um… suggestion, please,” Brian muttered in embarrassment.

“I’ll tell you what,” Allison replied with a grin, “how about I ask you some yes or no questions, and you just let me know if you get any separate ideas on the way, okay?”

“Okay,” Brian replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Perfect. Would you… like me to take my clothes off?” she asked, just a little scared that he might start to panic again. Brian’s eyes did widen a bit, but it was only in surprise at her boldness. However, he quickly grew a little uncomfortable.

“Uh… I don’t…” he murmured while averting his eyes. Allison lightly frowned in sympathy.

“Brian, don’t forget that I won’t do anything unless you’ve approved it. I don’t have to get naked if it makes you nervous. What if…”

Suddenly, she felt a little bashful. Surprising, since she had offered to get naked only moments prior.

“What if I, um… kept my underwear on?” she asked nervously. Brian resumed eye contact with her, and let out another small sigh of relief.

“T-That’s… that would be okay,” he replied quietly, somehow managing to blush even harder.

“Okay,” Allison said resolutely, as she closed her eyes and let out a determined huff. Suddenly, though, she came to a crushing realization.

WAIT! Did I pick out cute underwear today?! she thought, frantically searching through her memories. To her enormous relief, she remembered that she was wearing one of her favorite pairs. With that important confirmation, she began to remove her shirt and pants. Brian instinctively began to look away to give her some privacy, but he quickly realized that doing so would defeat the point. Soon enough, his girlfriend was standing before him once again, but this time clad only in her underwear. 

As Allison had confirmed, it was an extremely cute set. Her ample chest was covered by a lacy purple bra, which wasn’t quite as aggressive as what she was wearing during Brian’s “birthday,” but no less inviting. Her bottom half sported a garment of similar color, just simple enough to not draw attention away from her naturally suggestive curves. She stood by the bed for a moment, her heart pounding as she gave her beloved a moment to adjust.

“H-How are you feeling?” she asked. Brian had been staring at her dumbfoundedly, as his eyes traveled up and down the vast expanse of her scantily clad body. Her voice snapped him out of it, and he lightly cleared his dry throat.

“You’re, um… you’re really pretty,” he admitted, before closing his eyes in embarrassment. His kind words caused Allison’s heart to explode, and she became even more committed to making this a positive experience for him.

“Awww~” she gushed. “You’re so sweet, baby. Thank you. What I meant, though, is… well, how are you feeling down there?”

“Oh,” Brian sheepishly replied, before channeling his mental energy into checking.

“I-I don’t know,” he said, slightly fidgeting in his lower half. “I might feel something… but, it’s hard to tell, and I’m kinda nervous…”

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about it,” Allison reassured. “Is it okay if I lay down on the bed right next to you?”

Brian nodded, and she carefully crawled onto the bed, making sure not to bounce the area around her pillow too much. Soon, she was laying on her side, with her head resting right next to her tiny boyfriend. Knowing that her mouth was so close to him, she kept her voice extremely soft as she began to speak.

“Do you want to try taking your clothes off?” she asked lightly. Luckily, Brian had already prepared himself for this question. As such, he was ready to try something he had never truly done before: flirting.

“Only if you help me,” he replied playfully. Allison was slightly stunned at this unexpected development, but the surprise was soon replaced with gleeful anticipation.

“My pleasure,” she cooed, before drawing one hand closer to him. “Arms up, please.”

Brian complied, and Allison pinched the bottom of his shirt with her fingers. Then, with extreme care, she pulled it up until it was off. Suddenly, for the first time in a month, Allison was seeing Brian without his shirt off. Thanks to some 3D printed weights, his body had in no way softened over the past month- a fact that his girlfriend was now seriously appreciating. She simply had to say something.

“You’re really handsome, you know that?” she breathed, while biting her lip. Whereas such a straightforward compliment like that would have previously made his stomach turn, it now made Brian feel nothing but happiness, along with a little bashfulness. As he had predicted when he regained his memories, moving on from his assault became a lot easier once he became aware of it.

“Thanks…” he muttered. “I’ll, um… I’ll do the pants…”

Allison nodded, trying not to let her excitement outwardly show too much. With that, Brian took a deep breath and removed his pants. Elizabeth hadn’t quite figured out underwear yet, so that was all it took. Just like that, for the first time since the night she and Cathy had tortured him, Allison was seeing Brian with no clothes on. Additionally, for the first time ever, she felt safe in admiring his lower half. To her mild surprise, and her tremendous excitement, it was pretty big.

Oh, just you wait until we get you back to normal, and… not the time, Allie.

“Well, well, well,” she purred, to which Brian rolled his eyes.

“If you make a ‘size’ joke, we’re breaking up again,” he said plainly. Allison had a small giggle fit, although she was careful not to overwhelm him with the noise. That was enough to break the ice, and they both suddenly felt comfortable with their choice, or lack, of clothes.

“Alright, I think it’s time to pass the torch to you, baby,” Allison said. “What would you like to do now?”

Pushing down his embarrassment, Brian reached into the part of his brain that Allison had awoken.

“Could you, um… could you t-touch me again? Like you did that one time, when I was on the pillow in your lap?” he asked, once more averting his eyes shyly.

Allison thought carefully for a moment, before she recalled what he was talking about. It was on their day off, when she had unexpectedly attacked him with her fingers.

“You want a nice massage, darling?” she asked teasingly, causing Brian to blush even harder.

“You’re the actual worst, Starr,” he mumbled.

“And proud of it,” Allison replied, before rolling onto her belly and propping herself up on her elbows. She carefully placed her hands on either side of the blushing, naked one-inch man on her pillow, then paused for a moment.

“Is this still okay?” she softly asked.

“Yeah,” Brian answered.

With that, Allison moved her hands inwards and began to gently poke, prod, stroke, caress, and massage the tiny body of her tiny boyfriend. She lovingly moved her fingers up and down his frame- fondling his chest with a couple while stroking his arm with a few others. Her warm and gentle touch quickly washed away Brian’s embarrassment and anxiety, as he came to the realization that he was simply having fun with a girl he loved. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of. At that realization, he allowed himself to completely relax and enjoy the soothing sensations coming from Allison’s loving digits. Eventually, something peculiar happened. 

Is that…? Allison thought, as she began to notice it.

“Baby?” she asked, keeping up her impromptu massage. Brian was too relaxed to respond, so he simply grunted in acknowledgement. 

“How are you, um… feeling, down there?” she continued. She slowed her movements, so he could evaluate. Once he did, his eyes shot open as he looked down at his nether regions.

“Do I have an…?” he asked, slowly and carefully. Allison smiled extremely widely, and her eyes positively sparkled.

“You do,” she replied jovially. “This confirms it, Brian. You’re demisexual.”

Brian drew one hand to his mouth, and he couldn’t help but get a little emotional. Suddenly, one of his greatest desires had been fulfilled. He finally knew what it felt like to be aroused, and he absolutely loved it.

“You know what else that means?” Allison continued eagerly, to which Brian shook his head.

“That means that I am the singular person in the entire universe that can get you excited,” she purred, before leaning in a little closer. “Way to make a girl feel special.”

“That’s because you are special, Allie,” Brian replied. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I love you.”

Allison’s eyes softened in pure, overwhelming love for the one-inch man in front of her. She reaffirmed herself to the belief that rescuing him from death was the best thing she had ever done.

“And I love you, Brian Bentley,” she cooed, before activating an extremely muted version of her predator mode.

“So, now that we know it works, what would you like me to do with it?” she asked seductively, causing Brian to lightly gulp.

“Um… could you give me a kiss…?” he asked, somewhat losing his confidence.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Allison replied, as she grinned widely. “Would you like me to make it a special kiss?”

Brian’s eyes widened slightly, and his blush somehow deepened. At that, Allison decided it was time to check in.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” she asked kindly. “We’ve already made a lot of progress today, we can stop if you want to.”

Brian stopped, and took a breath. He pondered carefully for a moment, before deciding to screw it and just go all in.

“T-Tell me that I’m yours!” he exclaimed, causing Allison to flinch.

“H-Huh?” she asked incredulously, as this was the last thing she was expecting. Brian vigorously nodded in response.

“It always made me feel nice when you said shit like ‘you’re mine’ and ‘you belong to me,’ s-so go ahead and do that and give me a special kiss, please!” he shouted, closing his eyes and just throwing it all out there. Allison needed a moment to adjust in the face of his sudden honesty, but once she did her own excitement returned with a vengeance. 

“I-I see,” she replied, not wanting to embarrass him any more than he already was. “Well, I’m happy to oblige. You know why?”

Brian shook his head, slowly opening his eyes as he continued to blush.

Suddenly, Allison leaned forward and gave him a gentle peck on his face. She pulled away only slightly, so his view was of her smiling mouth.

“Because I simply love reminding you that you’re mine,” she whispered, keeping her voice incredibly soft. Still, her words caused Brian’s body to vibrate from the intense sound waves they were creating.

“Nothing makes me happier than telling my boyfriend that he belongs to me, and nobody else. You hear that, baby? You’re mine, and mine alone.”

She finally pulled away, and eagerly examined her tiny boyfriend. She saw that he was extremely red, and borderline panting. Most importantly, though, she realized that her words had gotten him incredibly excited. She grinned victoriously, extremely happy that she had discovered another one of his weaknesses. Taking another moment to confirm that he was not distressed, or even remotely conveying anything other than “keep going,” she finally moved in for her special kiss.

She engulfed his body in the squishy folds of her plump lips, and began to lightly move them around as she gave him repeated kisses. This became increasingly easy, as his body was becoming slicker and wetter with every new smooch. Every time she pulled away, she could hear that Brian was panting and moaning, completely lost in the sensations. The knowledge that she was introducing him to an entire new world of pleasure got Allison extremely excited, and she couldn’t help but let one hand drift down to her waist. Still, she continued.

Eventually, she decided that it was time to get serious. She pulled away once more, letting Brian catch his breath. She then leaned back in for another kiss, only this time she was much more deliberate in where she was aiming. With precision and skill that should have been impossible for such a large creature, she directed Brian’s member into the gap between her lips. She began to lightly suck inwards, creating a comfortable pressure that pulled Brian’s hips upwards into her soft skin. She then began to move her lips all around, creating movement and sensation from every possible angle. Brian’s eyes were shut tight, and he felt like his mind was going to explode as his body undulated in every direction. Just when he felt like he was going to go crazy, something even crazier happened.

Allison moaned.

She herself had succumbed to her pleasure a bit, and she couldn’t stop a soft purr from reverberating throughout her body. To Brian, this created an all-encompassing noise that was accompanied by an all-encompassing vibration, and he instinctively gasped with pleasure. Allison miraculously sensed this, and just to be safe pulled away to check on him. What she found was that her one-inch boyfriend had turned into a quietly moaning mess, as his body begged for release. Her pulling away was unintentionally the meanest thing she had ever done to him, and he was desperate for the sensation to resume. As such, he managed to force out a few words.

“D-Do… that… a-again…” he panted. Allison got the picture, and she smiled widely as she leaned back in. She resumed assaulting him with her lips, but this time she added the mind-blowing sensation of a continuous moan. It proved too much, and within seconds it was over. Brian bucked his hips and let out a pleasured exclamation, as he experienced something completely, overwhelmingly, and amazingly new. Just like that, he knew what it felt like to have an orgasm, and he fucking loved it.

~

A small amount of time had passed. Brian, understandably, was unable to talk for a few minutes, so he had been laying on Allison’s pillow, panting heavily, as she softly and lovingly stroked his hair. Grabbing a tissue from her nightstand, she began to dry his sweat-and-saliva drenched body. Through it all, Brian had been staring at her. His eyes were half-closed, yet hyperfocused on her, in a primal expression of overwhelming love. There was nothing in the universe he wouldn’t have done for her at that moment, and she knew it. As such, she had adopted a smug and satisfied smile as she gently tended to his exhausted body. Eventually, Brian was able to think coherently again, and the reality of the situation crashed down on him. Immediately, he got emotional.

“What’s wrong?” Allison whispered, as she resumed stroking his hair.

“I thought… I thought I was going to die…” he replied, matching her tone.

“When?” she asked, a little concerned.

“In prison…” he answered, as a tear raced down his cheek. Allison’s eyes softened as she realized what he was getting at, and her heart melted.

“I thought… I was going to die… with the world hating me,” he said, finding it increasingly difficult to speak.

“I thought I was going to die… without knowing what it felt like to love someone…”

“Oh, Brian…” Allison whispered, as a tear of her own fell down her face.

“Everything good in my life is because of you, Allie,” he said, with all the love in the world.

“Thank you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Everything was perfect.

~

Some time later, they were back in the living room and watching television. It was one of the bad networks, and they were relishing the frantic backpedaling that was occurring in the face of Brian’s innocence. As more details were released throughout the day, it became harder and harder to spin the story, until everybody was forced to confront the truth that Brian Bentley was indeed innocent. They loved it.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of keys interacting with the front door. Exchanging a quick glance, Allison rose from the couch before carefully scooping Brian up in her palms. Once he was secure, she moved towards the door to greet the individual who had returned. The door swung open, and they were once again faced with Elizabeth Dawson. Once she caught sight of them, her face lit up.

“There’s my darling innocent man,” she cooed, while stepping inside. She then glanced up at the woman holding him.

“Oh, hey Allie,” she said plainly, as if only just noticing her.

“Wooooooooooow,” Allison groaned, rolling her eyes. At that, both Elizabeth and Brian cracked up.

“Kidding! I’m so happy to see both of-”

She stopped, before narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

“You both look different,” she said accusingly. “Did something happen while I was gone?”

Brian averted his eyes in embarrassment, while Allison widened hers in shock.

“How did you…?!” she stammered, before clearing your throat.

“A-Anyway, how were your meetings?” she hurriedly asked. Elizabeth let the awkward silence hang for a moment, before closing her eyes and sighing in defeat.

“Oh, whatever,” she muttered. Now that her shoes and coat were removed, she beckoned them to follow her to the couch. She sat down at the edge, and Allison sat down next to her while still holding Brian.

“Okay, there are a lot of moving parts right now,” she started. “I’m obviously going to tell you about all of them, but I need to know one thing first.”

“What is it?” replied Allison.

“When are we going to go public?” Elizabeth asked, her voice deadly serious. Allison and Brian were stunned speechless for a moment, as they had completely forgotten about that in the face of their sexual exploits.

“Now, I think we should go public right away,” Elizabeth continued. “The media fever is at its greatest intensity right now. Brian, if we want to use you to illustrate the danger of the SP, then revealing that you’re actually alive will make the public outrage that much greater. If we really play into the ‘fact’ that you’re permanently shrunken to one-inch tall for a crime you didn’t commit, it’ll hit way harder with the public. What do you both think?”

Allison nodded appreciatively, while Brian frowned.

“I’m against it,” he said. “Don’t forget, telling the world about me also means putting Allie in danger, since she broke the law.”

Allison smiled at his concern for her, although she didn’t think it was necessary. Just when she was about to respond, though, something on the television caught her eye.

“True, but remember what I said about how public perception would protect her?” Elizabeth asked. “There’s no way that there wouldn’t be outrage if she was punished for saving your life.”

“I know, I know, and I’m 90% sure that’d be the case, but unless it’s guaranteed I just don’t feel comfortable putting her at-”

“Guys!” Allison exclaimed. Looking towards her, Brian and Elizabeth saw that she was staring at the television with extremely wide eyes. They turned to the screen, and what they saw shocked them into silence. Brian felt like his heart was going to explode.

“Jen…” 

There, on the screen, was Jennifer Bentley. It looked like a recorded video that the news was replaying, as she was in a room while clearly filming herself with her phone. Her long, black hair reached down past the frame, and her striking green eyes were sunken and lifeless. Brian had never seen her look so sad, and it broke his heart. After a moment of unbearable silence, she began to speak into the camera.

“I failed my brother,” she said quietly. Her voice, neither high nor low pitched, was dripping with sadness.

“When they… when she first told me what my brother was accused of, I obviously didn’t believe them,” she continued. “I screamed, I cried, I threw things, because I simply knew that my brother couldn’t have done that.”

She took a deep breath.

“The truth is that I’ve always known that. I never stopped believing in him. But I still failed him, because I was too much of a coward to say so,” she whispered, averting her eyes in shame. “Now, I could take the easy way out and say that it’s because my mother wouldn’t let me. Because it’s true- she kept the spotlight off me, and threatened me with punishment if I ever shared my thoughts publicly. She didn't even let me visit him in prison, before he was permanently moved. She said it was for my safety, my future, and all this other stuff that I told myself I didn’t care about. But that isn’t the whole truth.”

“The truth is that, when it came down to it, I was scared to talk,” she admitted, darkening her tone even more. “I could have found someone with a camera if I really wanted to. I’ve had thousands of opportunities to defend my brother in the last three years, but I never took them. Whenever I would get close, this awful voice would start ringing in my ears. The voice would say ‘the world will hate you’ and ‘he wouldn’t even hear about it anyway.’ And that was enough. I backed down, every time. I was a coward.”

“You were just a kid, Jen…” Brian whispered, gritting his teeth. “You were just a kid!”

Allison and Elizabeth’s hearts fractured at what was going on, and Allison began to softly stroke his back with her finger. Still, Jennifer continued.

“But you know what I realize now? None of it mattered. Even if the world would have hated me, and even if there was no guarantee that he would find out, I still should have said something. If there was even a chance - a tiny, infinitesimal chance - that my words, my love would have reached him, then it would’ve been worth it. He deserved to know that at least one person believed in him. He deserved to know that his baby sister hadn’t given up on him.”

Her voice cracked at the end, as she was clearly getting emotional. After taking a breath, she continued.

“But I didn’t,” she said resolutely. “I didn’t, and now it’s too late. At least now, you all know what I knew. You know that my brother is innocent, and we killed him anyway.”

She paused, trying not to get angry.

“Anyway. I just want to speak to my brother for a moment,” she said softly, causing her brother’s eyes to widen. She looked up and stared resolutely into the camera. After a moment, her expression softened.

“Hey, Bean,” she started, adopting a small smile. “I just wanted to say… thank you for everything. Thank you for making me dinner every day. Thank you for helping me with my homework. Thank you for praising me when I did well in school. Thank you for reading to me before bed. Thank you for reading to me before bed, even when I got way too old for it. Thank you for hugging me, and telling me that everything was going to be alright. Thank you for loving me, when it felt like nobody else would. Just… thank you for being my big brother. I love you, Bean. And, um… I’m s-sorry you died thinking I didn’t.”

With that, just as she began to cry, she stopped recording. The screen flashed back to a news anchor, who looked like they were trying not to cry themselves. Before they could speak, Elizabeth reached forward and turned the television off. The room was overtaken by silence, except for the occasional sniffle coming from Allison and Elizabeth, as small tears were streaming down their faces. After a moment, though, they realized that no such noises were coming from Brian. No, his eyes were anything but wet. They were intense. Focused. Determined. Even a little angry. Elizabeth noticed this, and grew a little concerned.

“Brian?” she softly asked. “Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”

Coming to a decision, Brian turned around. Soon, he was facing them. Then, without any warning, he spoke.

“Fuck it. Let’s tell the world.”

~

To Be Continued!