It was about 2pm, Lio sat on a bench in the local park. He had a lovely view of the plantlife, the people going around in the background. And the person standing right in front of him, thinking about what he had just told her, wasn't a bad view either. 

"Man... not even a full month after graduating? That's just unfair. It's like they wanted you to feel ready for a usual adult life... just to throw a dodgeball in your face." Ava said, standing before her best friend. She wasn't surprised he had located the nearest bench, he was always a little lazy. And if she hadn't known this would eventually happen, Ava may have needed to sit down from shock. 

"Tell me about it. Not that I had concrete plans, but now I gotta figure out what I'm gonna do with my life as a Micro. Rachel seems to think I will be spending the rest of my life at home or with her.... But that can't be right, can it?" 

As expected, Ava smirked a little, she was always the more fun-loving of the pair. She wasn't exactly the greatest extravert, but compared to Lio, she seemed to have 10 times the energy she actually had. "Nah, you'll be spending a lot of time with me as well. Don't worry buddy, I'll save you from your overbearing big sister and remind you of the fun in life. Speaking of which, stand up you lazybones, I'm gonna be looking down at you from now on, I wanna appreciate the difference being relatively small for now." 

Lio didn't really have a say in it, as Ava stretched out her arms, grabbing his wrists and pulling him up with all the strength biweekly jogs and fitness sessions had given her. She had just graduated a Master's in "rehabilitation sciences and physiotherapy". So she had had to be physically fit for schoos well, especially in the early years. And that healthy lifestyle hadn't faded at all. 

"Well that was easier than expected." Ava mused, proud of herself. Lio, of course, just rolled his eyes. "It's cause I'm already 5cm shorter than I used to be, I'm sure I weigh a few kilograms less alrea-" 

His sentence was cut short as the 175cm tall brunette casually hugged him really tightly. Something about this was very familiar....  It felt as if Ava was trying to shove their bodies together into one... The woman, of course, wasn't anything, she seemed to be burying herself into her friend.... Not as the usual lingo meant, this was without kissing or doing anything more "exciting" than touching skin against skin. 

"Ava, what the hell are you doing?" Lio said, breaking free and looking up to find his friend's eyes sparkling with devious purpose. She seemed annoyed it had been cut short, but didn't push it. 

"Isn't it obvious? You're infected, and I wanna get infected too. I won't shrink, I dunno anyone closely except you that has that variant of the gene. I just wanna make sure I have the heightened senses so we can keep being buddies as best we can when you're a teeny tiny speck. I'd hate to lose you because I couldn't see you, or hear you, or feel you.... or... nevermind, you get the idea." 

Lio was well aware which two senses she hadn't mentioned... And how "touch" had made her stop. It made him both wary and incredibly curious what new dynamic Ava saw in their friendship once he was fully micro. 

"Well, you could have just told me! No need to grasp me like we're some overly horny couple! In a public space, I might add." 

Now it was Ava's turn to roll her eyes, putting her hands on her hips. She looked as beautiful as always... and was aware of it. She was a caucasian light brunette (meaning light brown hair, not deep brown) with gray-blue eyes and long and straight hair that came all the way to her lower back. She usually let her hair hang on her chest/back or in a lazy ponytail. Right now, it was in a ponytail... It was warm outside. She was slender, but not lanky at all. In fact, her legs were long and athletic, but perfectly proportioned. Because Ava had little shame around Lio, he knew her chest was a low C-cup, but mixed well with her overall frame. However, her rear and her thighs were simply perfect. They had the exact needed amount of volume to them...the perfect mix of toned and round... In other words, while far from the "prettiest" girl around, she was quite the looker... Currently, she was wearing a loose white t-shirt and some beige shorts. And she had brains as well, as evidenced by her studies. 

"It's not like anyone is looking at two peope in their 20s on a bench halfway across the park. But fine, I'll let you have your social peace and quiet." Ava said with a shrug, pushing Lio towards the bench again and sitting down on his right. She looked out in front of her, acutely aware that her best friend was looking at her profile. It crossed her mind that he would soon be smaller than the 4 large freckles that were spread across the cheek he was looking at. 

"You do gotta let me help you buddy. I literally just graduated with Mental Health Care as my specialisation, in case you already forgot. I will never fully understand what it's like to shrink... But I think my education gave me a pretty good grasp on how to deal with it. So really, you're lucky as can be.... while still shrinking...." 

Lio sighed, of course he hadn't forgotten. He also hadn't forgotten about how Ava had taken a keen interest in specialised courses for dealing with people dealing with shrinking. It wasn't just a mental toll, a lot of people had physical pains and problems as well... Some cases needed to adapt to their new size as if they were training for working in space...  He also knew that he was likely the reason she had been so interested in that particular field... 

"I know I'm lucky Ava. I've got you and Rachel looking out for me. Well, we've got our mutual friends too... But I'm not sure all of them look the same at a Micro as they do anyone else, even if they don't realise it..." He sighed again, looking away from his friend and staring ahead of him. "And of course I'm gonna let you help me, you're my best friend. And way smarter than I am. It's just... so weird. In a few weeks, I'm gonna be a speck. Literally on the border of microscopic. I can't comprehend it.... I can do the math, but I cannot imagine how big you're gonna look when you're comparatively...." 

"Three-and-a-half kilometers tall." Ava said, knowing the number by heart, then continued "I don't know either buddy. All I can say is that having people that 'big' care for you... has to feel nice on an instinctual level." 

The brunette could feel Lio turning his head to look at her again. This time, she met his gaze, a hint of a blush on her cheeks. "What? I told you I know about this stuff, on an academic level. I also know you're the smarter one, just with different stuff. And... well..." Ava paused, Lio silently urging her to continue. "... Such a size difference allows us to finally try new fun things we've been thinking about for years...." 

It took Lio 10 minutes to recover after choking on his own saliva by the reflex-swallowing out of shock. Ava had to put her physiotherapy skills to use to make sure her best friend didn't die before he fully shrunk. 

Ava Carter's best friend... with the occasional benefits.