Stephanie fidgeted nervously in her chair. It would be her turn, soon, after all. She just needed to wait for the all-clear to go inside. The gentleman that she had spoken to earlier had promised her that the wait wouldn’t take very long. And, as if on cue, the interview room door opened, and an older man exited from it.

 “Ms. Renford?”

 Stephanie nearly jumped out of her seat, obviously surprised.
 “Y-Yes sir!?” she stammered.

 “It’s about time,” the man answered, “I just wanted to make a couple of extra points clear before you go in to meet him.”

 Stephanie swallowed a lump in her throat. She already knew what this was all about. She was here to adopt one of the Unfo’s after all—one of the unfortunate men who randomly shrunk nearly three months ago. About 30% of all men had been affected by this terrible phenomenon. The reason he was here was clear enough, though. This was a rescue clinic. Which would mean…

 “You are going to be the first woman to try and help him since he was saved from his abuser nearly a month ago,” the man continued. “We’ve diagnosed him with somewhat of a mild to moderate gynophobia, which is entirely thanks to his ex-girlfriend. We just wanted you to be aware of this, and to be careful around him.”

 Stephanie nodded, although her eye contact wasn’t stable on the man’s eyes.

 “So, your background check came up clean. But…” the man hesitated.

 It wasn’t his place to question volunteers. He wanted to ask why she came in to adopt someone nearly her own age. He was more used to seeing older women or men coming in to help. And the term ‘adoption’ was merely a façade. She wouldn’t be his legal guardian, but it was highly expected they would at least remain roommates of some sort. That, was the whole point of these volunteers. To give back some semblance of a normal life for the ones who had no one else to turn to anymore. Suddenly finding yourself shrunken and unable to support yourself like you used to sometimes created a power dynamic between people. Not everyone was out of luck, but there had been varying cases of abuse victims as a direct result of the mass shrinking phenomenon. Some stories of death had even surfaced as well. Men being crushed, or even swallowed alive at the worst… It was all simply terrible. Both the clinic worker and Stephanie were aware of this.

 “But..?” Stephanie inquired, earnestly.

 The man looked her over. She wasn’t bad looking, not in the slightest. She could’ve easily been on a date today from the way that she was dressed. Her figure was rather petite—slim. Was she a head turner? No. But his eyes had rested on hers, and he found it difficult to look away. She wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous… No. She was just… pretty.

 “Nothing, sorry,” the man answered, “please, enter, and introduce yourself.” He gestured to the door beside him.

***

 I was worried, of course. Donald assured me that I needn’t worry about my new caretaker. That he had done a background check on them and everything. But he was acting suspicious about something. He wouldn’t tell me anything about the guy. Not even his name, when I had asked. He merely kept replying that I would know everything, soon enough. And would constantly repeat himself that I need to not worry. And so, I suppressed my anxiety, and sat still on the floor, cross-legged. One thing was certain, though. I was prepared to get back to something of a normal life again. And whoever this mystery stranger is, I hope we get along well.

 I mulled about with my head held in my hands, staring at my feet. It’s no surprise that when the door cracked open, my heart almost burst out of my chest. This was the moment. Today, I’d be leaving this place to start a new life and try to put my past behind me. Still; although I’ve come a long way since I was rescued from Heather, one thing remained a constant. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the giants around me.

 I quickly glanced upwards as I saw the man begin to walk toward—
 Wait…

***

 I closed the door very gently behind myself, and turned around to scan the room for him. It didn't take very long, as he was sitting cross-legged several feet away from me. Staring up at me, like a deer caught in the headlights of an eighteen-wheeler going a hundred miles per hour. It was a little difficult to tell from this distance, but he looked... scared. I decided that it was best to stand still where I was, and try to greet him softly.

 "Hello there, my name is Stephanie, what's your--"

***

 I couldn't hear what she was saying. I wanted to try, but I couldn't. My heart was pounding. My adrenaline, pumping. Every fiber of my being had opted for flight mode. I'm not sure why, but ever since I got away from Heather, I've become more scared of women. Huge ones, specifically. She didn't seem to mean any harm, but I think I was recoiling from the shock that I wasn't going to leave this place with the elderly old man I had pictured in my mind. This girl was absolutely pretty, for sure, but as I shakily stood to my knees, I could not help myself. I audibly began to whimper, and turned one hundred and eighty degrees away from her. And I sprinted. As fast as I possibly could. From behind me, I heard her voice rise. It probably wasn't meant to sound aggresive, but it came across that way to my mind.

***

 "W-wait! Please don't run!" I quickly stuttered out, and took a few steps forward. This was already off to a bad start. I mean, I didn't expect us to hit it off immediately, but I thought I was being innocuous enough!
I resolved to myself that I had to catch him. It might not be the best choice, but in my panic, my feet just began to move on their own. The poor guy had nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. I'm not even really sure where he was planning on going, but I just chalked it up to panic.

 "Please, stop," I implored him. My voice was already starting to lose confidence as I made my way to try and catch him. I didn't want him to hurt himself by running into a wall too hard or something.

***

 She was walking towards me very briskly. While it must have been quite normal for her, her footsteps were like very mild earthquakes that slowly rose in power the closer she got to me. It was fucking terrifying. I was beginning to get flashbacks of Heather already.

 Suddenly, a hand dropped in front of me, blocking my path.

 I dodged to the right, and kept going.

 The other hand dropped a short distance away from me.

 I dodged again, to the left this time.

 Finally, both hands joined together, and I ran directly into her massive wall-like fingers, and fell backwards, onto my ass.

 I quickly turned around to face her, simultaneously scrambling backwards on all four limbs, doing a reverse crab walk into her fingers even more.

 I was caught.

 And I wasn't calm.

 I looked up into her teal-colored eyes. Her face was contorted into one of worry.

 
***

 "Pl..." he tried to speak, but couldn't seem to.

 "Y-yes sir...?" I replied, trying to stop my voice from shaking too much.

 "Please don't kill me!" he cried out, and began to sob, mortally terrified of me.

 Holy shit... I felt so much fucking pity for the poor guy. I don't know what he's been  through, but the man before me was an absolute wreck.
I decided to not say anything else. I couldn't think of anything. I just... I just let him cry.

***

 I cried for a long time. Stephanie didn't say anything. She didn't move. She didn't even twitch a muscle. Well, maybe not for a good ten minutes. Once I began to start to calm down, somewhat, she moved her thumb.

 I twitched in fear as a response, of course, but soon she carefully began to stroke my hair with her thumb.

 And... well...

 I let her.

***
 I felt like I was making progress. I really felt like I screwed up for a second, there. I don't know what came over me, but eventually I felt like it would be okay to pet his head. And to my surprise, he allowed it. After a few seconds, I decided to try to speak again.

 "I'm so sorry," I whispered. And, in truth, I was. I guess I underestimated just how scary I would seem to him. Whoever made him this way, I hated already. With all my heart.

 He seemed to understand me a bit better this time, and responded to me.
"I... Um, my name is Cain," Cain meekly answered me. "I am sorry, as well. Thank you for not hurting me."

***

 All I knew of her was her name. It's all I heard before I went into a panic earlier. I felt as if it was the correct thing to say to her. I suppose it must have been.
Stephanie smiled at me. Warmly. Her teeth, rather white and a bit large compared to me, revealed themselves automatically. I winced, when I remembered just exactly how much of a threat teeth could be. How much of a threat a mouth could be. I had to remind myself she wasn't here to hurt me, or eat me. I never was the smoothest with women. If I'd met her awhile ago, before I'd shrunken... I might have been intimidated. Just a little. Rather than a whole lot.

 "Well! It's very nice to meet you, Cain," Stephanie cooed at me. "But... are you going to be okay?"

 She seemed supremely concerned with how I felt. I truly couldn't sense an ounce of hostility in this giant woman.

 
 "I... I think so," I managed to reply. She also had not failed to continue stroking my hair with her thumb this whole time. I think that maybe it had a lot to do with keeping me calm. She was a stranger and yet I was starting to feel like I could trust her. Something about her just radiated purity, to me.

 "Ah, good..." she answered, "and is it okay if I keep petting your head with my thumb, Cain?"

 "Please don't stop," I shamelessly replied. It was very soothing for some reason.

 Something I had been longing for was just a bit of... gentleness.

 Stephanie complied.

 "Yes sir," she answered. Her grin was plastered on her face like a child staring at a new Christmas present. Although I didn't get the vibe that she felt like I was a toy. Thankfully.

 A few moments of silence passed by. I soaked it all in. The atmosphere, the tenderness. Everything.

 I couldn't cry again. I just got done doing that. I was going to try and be happy for once. I really felt like the bad days were going away. Maybe Stephanie was going to be a godsend for me. I desperately wanted that.

 As I lost myself in the moment, she asked another question.

 "So, I... we're the same age, I'm guessing?" she sheepishly asked. "I'm twenty-six."

 "...Twenty-five," I replied. This was so weird. She was basically my age. I was told that it's usually elderly people that come to help out us small men. Men the size of a damn ibuprofen tablet. But, I wasn't going to question it too hard. She was kind of, no, definitely pretty. If I were actively in the dating scene again, I would have written her off as out of my league.

***

 Ah, he's a year younger than I am! I was right. I mean, I didn't come here expecting to get a possible boyfriend. I just wanted to help another abuse victim. I know all too well that sort of hell. Plus, my heart really bled for these people. I just... wanted to...

***

 
 She stared at me for a second.

 "Cain, can we continue this talk at my place? Will you please come with me?" she asked, biting her lip nervously.

 I couldn't believe it. She was asking me for permission to take me. I'm not sure if she knows how this whole adoption thing works, but generally us Unfo's have little choice in the matter. Volunteers are walking saints, usually. After they pass their tests and background checks, they usually always have the final say in what's good for us. I didn't ever feel like I'd legally lost my human rights, but it was more of an unspoken rule. Whoever adopts you isn't supposed to be your advisor. Unofficially, you're theirs to do with as they see fit. Not a single documented instance has been announced of any volunteer ever harming their charge, but something about the thing still stuck out to me. Stephanie didn't have to ask me anything. She could've just picked me up and taken me with her at this point. But, I guess that's why she made the cut in the first place. Adoption isn't supposed to be easy. Only kind people are supposed to walk through that door.

 "I... yes, I'm.. fine with that, ma'am," I answered. I needed to be respectful. Whether or not she was my age, I needed to learn to treat her with the utmost respect. I was about to depend on her with my life, after all.

***

 I didn't like that. I wanted to be someone he could talk to on a more personal basis. I had to correct this, immediately.

 "Please, Cain, just call me Stephanie. I'd like to be your friend, if that's okay," I answered.

 Cain seemed to relax his shoulders a bit. He was tense before, I guess.

 "Yes... Stephanie," he answered, albeit a bit nervously. As if he were breaking some kind of rule.

 I had a lot of work to do with this guy. Once we got back to my place, I wanted to get to know him a bit better. Hovering over him while we were both on the cold tile floor didn't seem like the best way to do that. While his first impression of me is probably already ruined, I wanted to show him he had nothing to fear from me.

***

 "Alright, then, Cain," Stephanie told me, with an upward inflection present in her voice. She was about to ask me something. I could tell.

 I was right.

 "May I pick you up? If so, is there any particular method you would like me to use to do so?" she asked. Holy Hell, she was considerate...

 I braced myself. I didn't know what to say. And, I cast my gaze to the floor a bit.
"Stephanie..."

 "Hmm?" she hummed back at me, listening intently.

 "I don't know how to answer your question... Because, no one's ever asked me that before. And I've never gotten a chance to think about it, either," I answered. The words seemed to drop like lead in the air. I heard her gasp very slightly. This felt pitiful.

 "Oh.. I, um... I'm sorry," she squeaked out. "Then I guess we'll figure out the best way, together, huh?"

 The thought touched me, profoundly. That reply was perfect. I felt my heart skip a beat, ever so slightly.

 She moved her left hand, and laid it flat on the ground.

 "I'm guessing this will be the best bet for now. Do you mind climbing on? Hopefully my hands smell good. I washed them a little bit ago before coming in here, just in case," Stephanie explained.

***

 He hesitated for a split second, but slowly attempted to crawl on to my hand. My fingers were about as tall as he was, and that's saying something. I watched him for a few seconds. He was struggling to climb on.

 "Hold on a second," I said.

 Cain stepped back, seeming to be slightly winded.

 I turned my hand, palm resting on the floor. Fingers pointed to him.

 "Climb up my fingernail, that's the lowest point of entry I can imagine I can do," I explained, trying to sound reassuring. In all honesty I thought the whole experience was cute, and funny. I wanted to help him, of course. But something about him being too small, that he couldn't even manage to climb on my hand the first time really struck a chord with me. He seemed... helpless. It dawned on me just how precarious his situation really was. And that made me want to safeguard him even more.

 Cain followed my instruction, and steadily made his way up my hand. I brought my right hand closer, and transferred him to my other palm. I didn't want to carry him around on the back of my left hand, after all. He's not a falcon.

 I watched him try to keep his balance in my palm. I wasn't sure if standing was the best idea on such a soft surface, especially one that might be moving and swaying. It didn't take him long before he sat down, for more stability.

 I slowly stood up, ready to take him back to my place and get settled in.

***

 
 Well, it was finally happening. I was getting a new place to live, except this time, I wasn't going to be tortured or fear for my life anymore. And that honestly makes an enormous difference in one's mood. Before Stephanie began to exit the room, I wanted to ask her one very important question.

 "Steph?" I asked.

 She looked down to me and grinned.

 "You can call me that as much as you like. And, yes?" Stephanie replied.

 "What made you decide to come and help someone like me?" I asked. It was an honest question. I was just curious.

 Stephanie stopped smiling, although I don't think she was upset. But her reply sounded a little melancholy.

 "Well, Cain... I think... I just..." Stephanie slowly answered, while her fingers began to curl in on me, probably to keep me secure as she left the room.

 However, I wasn't able to cry out. I was too stunned to do so. One thing that terrified me, was the thought of being crushed or killed in any way. In the back of my mind, I still very much trusted her. I whimpered, involuntarily, and curled up into a fetal position. I was absolutely at her mercy. The fear I was feeling was similar to one of an amusement park ride. Secure, yet terrifying.

 "I just... wanted to have a friend..." Stephanie finished her reply, completely unaware of the psychological torment she was placing on me.

 And, for a little bit, that was the last thing I heard from her.

 I felt myself beginning to pass out. Not from a lack of oxygen, nothing of the sort. Even in the cramped space, I felt no discomfort from her grasp.

 I guess the subliminal fear was overtaking me, finally.

 Ultimately, there are a million worse places I could pass out at. Stephanie isn't a threat. If only I could convince my subconscious of that, though.

 I closed my eyes, and let everything fade to black.