This was supposed to be Timmy’s story, the tale of a seven-year-old boy’s second chance at life with a small, loving family who had the means to make his every dream a reality. Unfortunately, nobody told Daniel that when he pushed Timmy’s social worker down the stairs the night before he was due to be chaperoned to his new home with his adoptive family.

Daniel was a fifteen-year-old delinquent with short, messy black hair, blue eyes and a penchant for getting himself into trouble, especially where little people were concerned… really little people. Daniel had heard the stories his history teacher had droned on about, regarding the shrinking pandemic from decades before he was born. He’d listen to the man go on and on about how they were no different than we were and how they deserved to live normal lives the same as anybody else. What a load of shit that was. Truth be told, the only lessons Daniel really perked up for were the ones about inter-size genocide and how normal sized people would find ways to get their hands on tinies to torture and kill them in all manner of unspeakable ways. Those were Daniels favourite lessons; they gave him all sorts of wicked ideas.

Ideas like the ones he was very much looking forward to testing out on his soon to be new family, not that they knew he was coming. They were expecting that runt from the micro section of the orphanage, the one he’d overheard everyone talking about last night before he hatched this brilliant scheme. Supposedly, he was being adopted by one of the richest micro families in the world, too good an opportunity to miss.

Fortunately, there was only one full-time social worker at their orphanage who knew the inner workings of the place and whenever she needed a helping hand or took time off they’d bring in temps, always a different one every time, none of them familiar with the kids or their prospective families.

It was one such temp at the wheel of the car Daniel was riding shotgun in right now, currently making idle chit chat with him as they drove through the winding countryside to the estate where he was to meet his new family of victims. She was completely oblivious to the fact that after pushing their social worker down the stairs he’d stolen the keys to the office and switched Timmy’s file with his own, otherwise it’d be that pathetic little insect making his way to paradise right now instead of him. He’d had half a mind to use the keys to gain entry to the micro section of the orphanage too so he could pay the boy a visit, but that wouldn’t have gone unnoticed, so he’d decided to have patience.

The only thing he had to worry about right now was how he was going to dispatch the temp once they got to their destination. She was bound to want to see him inside to do a proper handover with the family, who were bound to notice that the colossal Daniel was definitely not the tiny Timmy. That problem soon solved itself though, as halfway to the estate the temp received a phone call stating that there was suspicion of foul play with the social worker and they were to return back to the orphanage immediately. Daniel’s blood froze at the word they, but the woman must have read the terror on his face and interpreted it as disappointment, because she said, “Don’t worry Daniel, we’ll get you dropped off first before I turn back, you shouldn’t have to suffer because of someone else’s actions.”

Stupid bitch, Daniel thought, but said “Thank you ma’am, you can just drop me off outside, I know you’ll be in a hurry.”

“Thank you for understanding, I’m sorry I won’t be able to stay and help you settle in. The family said they’d leave the door open for us, so you should be able to go right ahead and let yourself in when we get there. They’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen, said they wanted welcome you with a nice meal!”

Daniel only smiled.

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Rob and Calvin were in a mad rush trying to prepare for Timmy’s arrival, the late-thirty-year-olds frantically pottering about the kitchen, finalising the lavish breakfast they’d been slaving over for the boy who was due to walk through the door any minute now.

Already things weren’t going to plan, the 3-inch-tall men had given their house staff the day off so they could spend the day with Timmy alone and uninterrupted, it hadn’t dawned on them how much they took their chef for granted until they could hardly find their way around their own cupboards.

Their home was very unique in that it was built for regular sized people, but they’d had it modified to suit their… shortcomings. All of the rooms had size respective counterparts within them, so the tiny kitchen that they were currently bustling through was situated upon a small mezzanine overlooking the normal sized one. They were only elevated to just below the average eye level for ease of communication with normals, which was about five feet off the ground. Like the kitchen, every normal sized bedroom contained a tiny replica, same for every bathroom and all of the lounge/recreational areas. It cost a small fortune, but it made them a hit in the community since they were able to host the most size-accessible galas outside of public venues.

Navigation around the home was much easier than one might expect as well, since they’d had vacuum tubes installed to carry them from room to room. The main concern they’d had with that was the impact upon landing at the drop off point where the tube shoots you out. As it turns out though, little people are a lot more durable than they give themselves credit for and the impact was little worse than jumping on the spot. Every tiny who has visited the home and traversed the vacuum tubes has swiftly praised them as the best invention of all time, much to the pride of Rob & Calvin.

The two lovers were now plating up the food, only five plates since their middle son Dylan refused to eat with them despite their protests. The fifteen-year-old high schooler had outright called them assholes for not running the decision to adopt again past any of their existing children, a sentiment they agreed with to an extent, but the deed was done and they could only hope he would come around given time. Their other two sons Seth and Tyler were already at the table.

Seth was nineteen and preparing to leave for college. In truth, he should have left a week ago as the semester had already started, but he insisted on being here to welcome his new baby brother before he left. He’d always been protective of his younger siblings and this one would be no different it seemed. That protective nature of Seth’s was especially potent when it came to the youngest of the three adoptive siblings; Tyler was only Eleven and troublingly timid for his age. He’d always struggled to make friends, but Rob & Calvin were hoping Timmy’s arrival would help him take on more of a big brother role and build some character to boost his confidence.

With the food prepared and everyone (for the most part) gathered, there was nothing left to do but wait for the social worker to arrive with Timmy. The tension in the air was palpable as they all strained their ears listening for any sound that might signal the arrival of their new addition. Sure enough, they could faintly make out the sound of a car pulling up the driveway before… pulling away?

Rob and Calvin exchanged wary glances before looking toward the doorway of the kitchen where they could just see out into the foyer, but not quite around the corner to the front door. They heard the front door open and close almost too softly, followed by a gentle rustling sound, like someone trying much too hard to conceal their movements as they remove their shoes at the door.

Something felt off, the pairs instincts were screaming at them to grab their children from the table and run, but some stupid human piece of them held them in place. Curiosity they realised, as they all, Seth & Tyler too now, craned their heads to try and peek around the corner from their viewpoint on the mezzanine across the room.