Emma carefully checked every square inch of her bedroom floor before she took a few tentative steps towards the light switch. Daniel could be anywhere on the floor and her eyes were yet to adjust to the dim light. With each step she was careful to place her bare feet carefully on the carpet, lest she accidentally reduce him to pulp if he happened to be nearby.

He was not where she had left him, so Emma stepped out into her living room with an equal measure of caution. Once she was outside, it did not take long for her to catch sight of him wandering aimlessly around the kitchen floor near the dishwasher.

Daniel turned around upon seeing, or perhaps hearing her thunderous approach like an oncoming storm, and yawned innocently. 

“What are you doing out of bed?” Emma asked austerely. Daniel tried to keep his composure as she approached him with heavy, thudding footsteps. 

“Hmm? I-I really needed to pee and...” He trailed off as she stopped just short of him. Tracing his way up her unbelievably large body he met her steely gaze. Emma crossed her arms, tapping her foot forbiddingly. “...didn’t have a good way to wake you up.”

“So you came out here.”  She asked with her brows raised suspiciously.

Daniel nodded meekly. Briefly her eyes shifted away from scolding him to glance at the closet door. Emma turned back to him and seemed to lose herself in thought whilst contemplating something. 

Several tense moments passed. 

The entire time Daniel could feel his heart beating rapidly like a drum. He tried to remain aloof, rubbing his eyes as if he were dozing off where he stood.

Eventually, Emma’s expression softened back to the sweet young woman who had come to his rescue.  

She knelt down, blowing a gust of air strong enough to send him stumbling backwards several inches. “Daniel. I could have stepped on you by accident. Or you could have gotten hurt navigating without me.” She chided him, almost motherly. “If you needed to use the bathroom you could have woken me up by calling my name.”

“I know.” He replied apologetically. “I just didn’t want to wake you up.”

Her gaze remained unyielding as she appeared unconvinced by his words. “I’m sorry.” Daniel finally said. “Really, I am.”

Another tense moment passed between them, before she seemed to accept his apology. Emma sighed and determined that she was too tired to make a big deal out of it. She rubbed the bags under her eyes in exhaustion.

Daniel knew better than to argue with her when she reached for him. However, he was taken aback when he found himself with no choice in the matter as her fingers pinched his torso and raised him off the ground on her own volition. 

Previously he had the option of stepping into her hand. Now, she just grabbed him and moved at her own pace. It was... an uncomfortable feeling to say the least. 

Emma shut the lights in the living room off and returned to her bedroom. Rather than take him back to the nightstand, she instead took a detour to the bathroom. 

Once again Daniel found himself in the sink, however this time she opened the drain and took a few steps back. “Go ahead and piss.” Emma commanded sternly.

“Um... I’m a little... I have stage fright if you know what I mean.” Daniel remarked with bright red cheeks.

She raised an eyebrow but mercifully turned around to give him a bit of privacy. As a steady stream of urine hit the ceramic leading to the drain, Daniel got the feeling she was sneaking glances back at him. He tried to ignore her peeking, and eventually shook the last drops free.

After he was finished, Emma gave him the option of walking into her hand. He stepped on board and moved into the center of her palm for his own safety. Once he was secure, Emma rinsed his pee down the drain by turning on the faucet for a few seconds. Satisfied, she returned to the bedroom and set him down on his bed next to her own.

“Sleep well, Daniel.” She said sleepily. “And try not to wander off again… You had me worried.”

“Will do.” 

As opposed to the previous day where he had felt like a gas station toilet next to a highway, this was a substantial improvement and Daniel felt well-rested. Emma’s sock was a reasonably comfortable bed considering its thickness and the warmth it provided.

The smell of something cooking wafted towards him from the outside. His stomach grumbled, as a swimmer Daniel was accustomed to consuming massive amounts of food on a regular basis to fuel his body. The sumptuous meal he had eaten yesterday felt like an eternity ago.

For a moment Daniel considered climbing down the lamp cord to investigate, but decided against it. After last night he didn’t really want to mess with Emma, his wandering really seemed to piss her off.

Speaking of which, he recalled what he had seen in her closet. Jason’s backpack. 

But he was dealing with his own stuff after getting caught by the cops… how could she have his bag? Why does she have it?

Granted, Jason’s backpack was generic as could be, there were literally thousands of them around campus and in the exact same color as well. The only thing that had roused his suspicions was the familiar stain from an alcohol related incident at a pizzeria last year, and even then, so what if Emma had a backpack with a stain? 

The dream... it was messing with his mind. Making him make connections out of weird coincidences.

Loud footsteps were heard, and also felt as the giantess strolled across the house. Coincidence as it were though, Daniel did not regret his decision to play it off as needing to pee. 

Emma peeked her head into the bedroom, her distinct pink hair matched the color of her soft cotton shirt. Daniel gave her a friendly wave, signifying that he was awake. She smiled warmly as she entered. “Good morning.” She checked her phone. “Or should I say afternoon, I figured you needed the extra sleep.”

“You’re right on that account.” Daniel replied as he stretched. His joints popped from the effort, loosening up his body for the day ahead. His grin faded. “Hey, about last night-.”

“Before you say anything, I wanted to apologize.” Emma cut in. “I think I was pretty mean last night for no real reason. You did nothing wrong and I’m sorry if I uh… frightened you or anything.” She rubbed her arm and blushed.

“I’m like what, a hundred times your size?” She asked. He nodded, guessing that sounded right. “I feel pretty awful knowing I might have intimidated you.”

“It’s fine really. This is your home and I shouldn’t be wandering about.” Daniel replied reassuringly. “You’ve done a lot for me and I disrespected that. I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

He breathed in another waft of delicious smelling food. “Something smells good.” Daniel remarked with a smile.

“I made us brunch. Nothing as fancy as last night but I hope you’ll enjoy it.” Emma told him and giggled. “I don’t get to cook for other people very often, so this is pretty fun to have a taste-tester.”

By now Daniel felt more comfortable being picked up by Emma to allow her to carry him however she wanted. It was clear she would be careful to not drop him and still moved at a respectable pace that didn’t cause him to bounce around too much in her grasp. 

It was more efficient than stepping into her hand and trying to balance himself when her fingers squeezing his torso were much quicker. 

She hummed a gentle tune under her breath as she carried him into the kitchen. A few plates were already set out, including a small one intended just for him. In the space next to the spot where a fork would normally be, he noticed a small wrapped bundle of fabric. 

Daniel noticed it and looked up at her, confused.  “I made you a little something this morning.” She said proudly. “Let me know if you like it, I’ll serve out the food.” Emma placed him next to the bundle of cloth, while she began to spoon out a serving of eggs and pancakes for them to enjoy. 

He inspected the loosely compacted material, and upon picking it up felt the cotton unravel until it just about reached his ankles. 

“Is this a robe?” Daniel asked, stunned. He turned it around and flapped it back and forth to see if it really was what he imagined it to be. 

“Put it on. I want to see if it fits.” Emma requested eagerly.

He nodded and began to push one arm through one end until he felt his hand emerge from the sleeve. Remarkably the hand woven robe seemed to fit him perfectly. Daniel brought his other arm through and pulled the front flaps closed, sealing his manhood away from her prying eyes for the first time.

“Wow... this is really cool! Super comfortable and warm.” 

“I’m glad you like it.” Emma said while taking a seat across from him and admiring her work. “But I must admit, I’ll miss seeing you naked.” She told him flirtatiously with a wink. 

“Well enjoy it while you can then.” Daniel told her as he removed the robe and folded it neatly. “I don’t want to mess it up while I eat.”

“I can always wash it for you, but fair point.” The giantess mentioned and cut into a stack of pancakes. “If those eggs are too oily let me know and I can always redo them.”

“Honestly the only thing that’s missing from this perfect setup is some bacon or smoked breakfast sausages.” Daniel told her upon stepping into the plate she set to one side for him. “You wouldn’t happen to have any? Like the microwaveable ones from the frozen section?”

“Not in the fridge no.” Emma said over a mouthful of food, using her hand to cover her mouth. She wasn’t really paying attention as she replied to what was probably a common conversation topic. “I’m a vegetarian.”

“Oh, I had no idea. It’s fine, probably for the best anyways all that saturated fat... isn’t...” Daniel trailed off right before he took a bite out of his pancake. He became very distant and his fingers felt cold and foreign. 

Emma noticed his sudden silence and frowned. She pulled her mug of coffee away from her lips in concern. “Is something wrong?” She asked.

“You’re a… vegetarian?” He repeated. Emma looked confused by why he was making such a big deal out of it but nodded her head. “So you don’t eat any meat at all?” Daniel pressed.

“Not since I was like five, no.” Emma professed as Daniel struggled to put his words together. “Is that a problem?”

“My dinner last night. The patty melt and pepperoni bagel bites… If you don’t eat meat why did you have that stuff ready to go?” Daniel asked from a far away place.

The ceramic mug of coffee Emma had been holding suddenly slipped from her grasp. 

With a loud shattering noise it smashed into countless tiny pieces as the remaining aromatic drink leftover spilled out onto the hardwood like a caramel scented flood. Some of it even reached the nearby rug. Daniel jumped in alarm and felt his heart pound loudly in his chest.

“Shit...” Emma cursed as she stood up and pulled her chair away from the mess she made. “Give me a moment, I need to clean this up before it stains the laminate.”

It had scared the hell out of Daniel, who took a few moments to regain his composure. To his delicate ears it sounded like a car crash even from this far away. “Yeah, take you’re time.” He told her softly. 

He remained fixated on her the entire time.

Emma grabbed a few paper towels from nearby and scooped up as many ceramic shards as she could. In doing so she also managed to soak up some spilt coffee. She remained quiet whilst she did so. Daniel waited patiently for her to respond, but was left on hold even after she had more or less removed any evidence of the accident. 

Once she did, Emma simply reached for the eggs and pancakes again to continue her breakfast as if nothing had happened right before the accident. “So?” Daniel asked after she sat back down and had a few bites of food.

“Hmm?” She pondered curiously, feigning disinterest in the conversation.

“The patty melt and stuff you made me. I guess the burger could have been a meat substitute but the bagel bite was that frozen store-bought kind.” He said. “They don’t have a veggie version that I know of… Is that why you threw it away when I was finished?”

“Sometimes I have stoner friends that come over. You know how the munchies can be.” Emma told him curtly with a half-hearted shrug between mouthfuls. “They love that kind of stuff and I’m a pretty good cook.”

“It… It makes perfect sense why you’re so good at cooking then!” Daniel said with a nervous smile, visibly appearing put at ease by her explanation. “You must cook for people here all the time then huh?”

Emma smiled affectionately. “As long as they bring their own stuff  and give me free weed, I’ll cook for anybody here. Good company and it keeps me in practice.”

Now it was Daniel’s turn to widen his smile. “That’s good to know.” He remarked, and continued to eat in silence.

After breakfast was finished the two sat quietly until Emma began to wash dishes. He thanked her for the meal as she retrieved his plate and began to rinse them off before loading everything into the dishwasher.

He noticed she had a habit of humming to herself while she performed physical tasks. Normally she only stopped once she concluded an activity.

However midway through her loading the machine with dirty plates and glasses she stopped suddenly. 

Daniel squirmed in place on the table. He clenched his hands together tightly until his nails nearly cut through the skin of his own palms. Several seconds ticked by in dead, tense silence as Emma seemed totally paralyzed by a horrific realization. 

A critical error. 

For a few of those seconds Daniel contemplated trying to find a way off of the table. A way out or path where he could evade her if the situation demanded it. If she turned around and the look on her face was the one that he feared…

As quickly as her paralysis appeared, the peaceful humming resumed and Emma finished the rest of the dishes.  “It’s probably going to rain again today.” She noted, peering outside the window over the kitchen sink where thunderclouds loomed ominously. 

“Did you have plans outside?” He replied quietly.

“No. But now I don’t have to feel guilty about watching anime in bed from dawn to dusk.” Emma laughed innocently. “After we watch a couple of episodes, I’ll call the nearest clinic about your condition.”

Daniel was not a big fan of anime, or any tv shows for that matter. He was a very active person who needed to be doing something and struggled to sit still for long periods of time without interacting with anything. However for several hours he remained content sitting next to Emma on her bed whilst she caught up on the latest hot releases of her favorite manga adaptation.

He laughed with her during funny scenes and maintained a friendly conversation for the duration. Whenever there was a gap between important story beats he would occasionally ask questions about the characters and her opinions about them.

But he never let his guard down and policed every word that came out of his mouth. Perhaps she sensed it, but if she did Emma appeared completely nonplussed by anything he said. 

“I could go for some popcorn.” Emma eventually proclaimed after one episode concluded. “Could you?”

“I would love some.” Daniel replied in agreement.

The titan swung her leviathan legs off the bed and rose to her full height. “I’ll go make us a batch!” She said cheerfully.

Two seconds later and she was gone. Daniel waited to hear the familiar humming in the distance coupled with the sound of her rummaging through the well-stocked pantry before he warily rose to his feet. Traversing the bed was difficult at his size. With every step he took Daniel’s feet sunk into the memory foam.

Fortunately he did not need to go far. Emma had neglected to take her phone with her into the kitchen. It was only a quick jog across the craters left behind by Emma’s enormous butt, which left deep imprints in the mattress.

Upon reaching it, Daniel wasted no time in clambering on top of the smooth glass surface. It was like standing on top of a movie theater screen at maximum brightness. He stomped on the home button in order to access her home screen.

Daniel breathed a deep sigh of relief. Her phone did not need a passcode or facial recognition to access.

The first thing Daniel did was check her previous outgoing calls. His search was narrow on the list, all that mattered was Jason’s phone number being dialed at some point in the past day. His heart was already beating at an insane rate. It could not go any faster than it was already. 

Now all he could do was try not to panic and maintain his cool and confirm that she had indeed attempted to communicate his predicament with his best friend, put his foolish theories and overreactions to rest, then eat some delicious popcorn~

“She never called Jason last night.” Daniel whispered aloud to himself after scrolling through her recents list. His hands began to tremble almost uncontrollably.

Instinctive dread was beginning to loom over him but he knew he had to remain calm. These were potentially the most important seconds of his entire life, he realized. A mistake now would be costly.

Daniel hopped across the screen of the phone in an attempt to step on the icon to pull up a web browser. He could access his email and inform his brother about this whole situation without Emma ever knowing he managed to contact someone. His stride was not quite long enough to reach the web explorer square.

 Instead he landed on top of her personal photo gallery which happened to be right next to it. 

At first, Daniel intended to simply run back across the screen in order to step on the home button again. Time was of the essence. He had no idea how much longer she would be and he would soon have to type in his entire password and username and manage to write out a message for help as well in that time.

But seeing a picture of his own face in Emma’s personal gallery of photos diverted his attention. 

At first he thought it was a trick of his imagination. However, on a quick look back at the preview icon, Daniel was positive that it was him. It was a close up of himself taken outside Kappa Omega’s house. “What the fuck…” He murmured, mortified. 

Unable to help himself, Daniel opened up the entire gallery. 

The picture he had just seen was a preview of her most recent photograph. It was dated three days ago. He gulped as he began to use both of his hands to scroll through her collection.

The next picture was also of him, getting out of the pool shortly after swim practice. Then another; it was him eating lunch with Jason and Jess. And another, was him sitting in class taking notes. None of them were photos Daniel had taken of himself, or knowingly asked someone to take. 

Daniel scrolled faster through an entire gallery of masterfully shot photographs, all of them lovingly edited too. 

Pictures of him getting off from work, hanging out with friends, walking around campus, going for jogs... and even one of him while he was asleep. However they all paled in comparison to the photos taken of him and Brie together.

In each and every one of them, a dark red cross was drawn through her face, or her features scratched out to leave him the only one there. He could tell by the path her finger took that the modifications were done with an angry hand. Especially whenever it was of the couple sharing a kiss, or even just hugging.

I’ve been kidnapped by a stalker. Daniel thought to himself, backing away from the phone slowly. He felt the intense sudden urge to pass out, and it took all of his effort to not vomit right there and then. 

A feminine cough behind him snapped him to attention. Right at the bedroom doorway, Daniel realized far too late that it suddenly smelled of freshly cooked popcorn.