“C'mere, Ken!” Harriet snapped her fingers, beckoning her tiny man to her. He eagerly raced towards her, looking up at her smiling face. She beamed back with equal enthusiasm, grateful to have a little person so eagerly devoted to her.

As he neared her, Ken slowed to a stop and laid down on the floor, keeping his limbs tightly pressed together. Harriet gripped the wheels of her wheelchair and slowly slid forward, being very careful to line the treads up with his body. It was a system they had developed, due to her being unable to reach him on the floor. The rubber wheels pressed against his form, molding slightly around him, and Harriet turned her chair to the side, bringing him up to the top of the wheel, then plucked him from the tread.

“I have great news!” she announced, setting him down on her desk.

“What's up?”

“I'm getting another pet soon! You'll have a little playmate, and the two of you can keep each other company when I'm not around!”

This worried Ken. Why does she need another pet? he wondered. Aren't I good enough? Don't I make her happy enough? Insecurities races through his mind, but he did his best to put on a smile. “Th-that's great, Harriet,” he said softly. She smiled and patted his head.

“Of course it is! Now, I don't know if it's going to be a boy or a girl yet, but if it's a girl, I don't want you two getting too friendly, understand?” She put her finger to her lips, looking down at his nude body. “Maybe I should have you fixed, just in case.”

“No!” Ken's reaction was immediate. “No, please! I won't lay a hand on her, I swear! Y-you don't have to mutilate me!”

His owner giggled softly. “Oh, don't be silly. It's not mutilation, it's just practical. Anyway, I'll hold off on it 'til we know the gender for sure.” She picked up a hobby knife and continued working on a small bed she'd been making for the past week. Only now did Ken realize it was big enough for two people his size.

“You know... uh, you know, Harriet, I was thinking... maybe we don't even need another pet around the house!”

“What do you mean? Aren't you excited to have a little friend? The two of you can scurry around and play together!”

“I don't need another friend! I have you, Harriet!”

The giantess smiled. “Aww,” she said, reaching out and patting Ken's head again. “That's so sweet! You're adorable, you know that?”

Ken beamed with pride. Getting compliments from his owner was the best feeling in the world, and he wanted to bask in it as long as possible. “So... we'll hold off on the new pet thing?”

Harriet chuckled. “No, honey, 'we' won't hold off on anything. I've already ordered it, they have to find a reasonably-obedient one and send them over. It should only be a few days. A week, tops.”

His agitation growing, Ken paced nervously on the desktop. “What if they're crazy? What if they're a psychopath, a-and they... they try to kill me, or something? What then?”

“What are you even saying?” Harriet frowned at her pet's outburst, setting down the wooden bed. “I just said they're finding an obedient one. Whoever it is will be fine. Settle down, okay? Jeez.”

“I don't like this one bit, Harriet! We don't need another pet!”

“It's not up to you, Ken. You know I don't like to have to tell you this, but you don't have input in this household. I'm getting another pet. That's it. End of discussion.”

“W-well maybe you should just throw me away then, if you're going to treat me like a piece of fucking trash!” the tiny man spat, storming angrily to the far side of the desk. Harriet was shocked, breathing shallow breaths as she watched him walk away. He'd never spoken to her that way before, and it hurt her to the core that he would imply she didn't care for him. Harriet could feel the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly, clearing her throat.

“Th-that was... very hurtful, Ken,” she said quietly. “You know I love you.”

“Not enough, obviously.”

Again his words lanced through her heart. She couldn't understand why he was taking this so personally! It wasn't as though she was replacing him! She'd expected him to be excited to have someone to play with when she was at work or with her friends. Harriet bit her bottom lip and picked the knife and bed back up, continuing her work in an attempt to ignore the painful gulf between them.

Minutes of silence passed before Harriet spoke again, though she didn't lift her eyes from her modeling. “Why are you being so hateful, Ken?”

The little man turned around. He was sitting down, arms folded across his chest, but he looked over his shoulder to see her. “Hateful? I'm not the one saying that one of us is failing their end of the relationship.”

“I never said that!” Harriet screeched suddenly, smashing the delicate bed in her fist and flinging the knife across the room. She reached out and shoved the edge of the table, sending a powerful tremor through it that sent Ken rolling a few inches. “I said I want a new pet! A new pet! That's it! I just want a new fucking pet, okay Ken? I don't want a fucking replacement, I don't want you to fucking die, I just want another fucking pet, okay!?” There was a small pause before she repeated herself in a higher pitch. “Okay!?”

Ken was terrified. He had never seen Harriet this angry, and wondered if his passive-aggression had finally lethally backfired. He put his hands up above his head, getting on his knees to face her. “Okay! Okay! I'm sorry, Harriet! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!”

The giant girl panted heavily, her throat scratchy and hoarse. “I just want a new pet,” she repeated, her voice returning to a normal volume. “I just want a new pet, okay?”

“Okay. I'm sorry.” He walked forward, extending his arm, and Harriet slowly reached out with her own finger. He clasped the fingertip in his hands, hugging it tightly. “I love you, Harriet.”

“I love you too, Ken,” she said, though her eyes were distant and unfocused.

“Do you see what a new pet is already doing to us? I just don't want anything to come between what we have, Harriet.” Immediately Harriet's glazed look refocused on the tiny man. She jerked her finger back suddenly, sending Ken sprawling forward. He screamed as he slipped and fell over the side of the desk, landing hard on his back. He hurt, but the fall was far from lethal. Harriet gasped, putting her hand over her mouth.

“Are you all right?” she asked, looking down at him with concern.

“Yeah... yeah, I'm fine.” Ken stood and looked himself over, shaking his limbs. “See? Everything's in working order.”

The corner of Harriet's lip tugged into a smile, but she suppressed it. “I really wish you wouldn't say things like that, Ken.”

“What, that I'm fine?”

“About the new pet. It's not anybody's doing but your own that you're being like this, and I wish you'd stop.”

“I wish you'd stop being so selfish,” Ken muttered in a low voice. Harriet leaned down over her lap.

“I'm sorry, what did you say?”

“I said I...” Ken thought about his next words carefully. “I just meant I wish you'd think about me just once.”

Nothing was said between the two for a long, tense moment. Finally, Harriet leaned back in her chair, looking down at him with a dark gaze. “Come,” she commanded, pointing at the ground in front of one of her wheels. Ken knew he was in trouble, and knew that hiding or disobeying would only exacerbate the situation. He walked to the front of the wheel and laid down once more, holding his limbs at his sides.

Harriet maneuvered her wheelchair carefully over him. Had he been paying attention, he might have noticed before it was too late, but Ken was preoccupied with wondering about what kind of punishment was in store for him. He didn't notice the misplacement of the wheel until it was already pressing his arm hard against the floor, threatening to crush it. “H-Harriet!” he called up, trying to squirm out from underneath. Her powerful hands kept the giant wheel firmly in place.

“I'm sorry, Ken. I really am. I do love you, and I do want the best for you.” Harriet was crying softly, but her voice stayed even as she spoke. “But you've become someone else. Someone with a black and twisted heart. Someone consumed by jealousy and insecurity. You're not the Ken I bought at the pet store.”

“Please... please, Harriet, what are you saying?” Ken was frantically tugging at his arm, his blood racing through his veins. “Please don't do this! Please!”

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered before rolling forward. Ken's arm gave way with a sickening crack, followed by a loud scream from the little man. “You're not my Ken anymore.”

“I'll change!” he screamed. “I'll change! I'll obey! I'll be silent, I swear to God, Harriet! Please!” Despite the passion in his cries, they fell on deaf ears. Harriet joylessly rolled forward, crushing the rest of his arm underneath her titanic rubber wheel. She backed up, repositioned slightly, and started forward again, the tip of the wheel brushing against his pelvis this time.

“No! Please Harriet, no! No!” The wheel rolled inexorably forward, smashing through the insignificant resistance of Ken's body and pressing him against the floor under relative tons of rubber, metal and flesh. His last thoughts were brief and disjointed; flashes of spending time with Harriet, of playing in her hair and taking baths with her. Being woken up by her mildly-fragrant morning breath, or waking up on his own to find her hard at work on her latest little furniture project. He remembered the first time he'd trusted her enough to slide into her tread, how close he'd felt to her at that moment. He'd been overcome with joy and love for her. He was lucky. He'd found one of the good ones, one of the nice ones.

The wheel finished its slow, small trail of destruction, culminating in a wet plop as Harriet crushed Ken's head. She backed away again, looking down at the mess in her carpet. She rolled over it a few more times, just to ensure nothing recognizable remained, then nodded to herself. Her new pet would take care of this for her. It would be a bonding experience. She smiled, then began work on a new bed. At least this one could be smaller.