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Author's Chapter Notes:

We learn some of Allison's past in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!

~

“I have a question, but it might sound insensitive. If I ask, can you promise not to get offended?”

“No, no, no. You can't promise something like that. I have no idea what you're going to ask me. So you can go ahead and ask me what you're going to ask me, and my natural response could be to get offended, then through no fault of my own I would have broken my promise.”

“That sounded like a quote.”

“It was. Pulp Fiction.”


Allison Starr was hanging out with Brian Bentley, the most hated man in the country. She had saved him from death for a crime he did not commit, and they had grown rather close in the three days since. After a movie marathon, and some emotional revelations regarding the death of Timmy Osment, Brian had suddenly grown quite fond of resting on the body of his giant protector, rather than just near. Allison was more than happy to oblige him, as she had become quite a fan of it herself. Although Brian had spent the first half of their Saturday in Allison’s hand while they watched TV, he was now perched on her shoulder, leaning against her neck as she used her laptop. Apparently, Allison was wanting to ask him a potentially offensive question.


“I’m just messing with you, Allie. I promise not to get mad,” Brian said in his usual neutral tone. Allison reached up and playfully poked him.

“Jerk. Anyway, I was just wondering… well… why you are so expressionless, you know?” she asked hesitantly. Indeed, Brian Bentley was known for his eerily neutral expression. One of his nicknames was “Robot,” alongside other charming monikers like “Child Murderer,” of course.

“I mean, like… were you always like that, or did that happen after everything with Timmy?” she elaborated. Although she could not see it, Brian pondered carefully for a moment.

“Probably a mixture of both. I was always pretty hard to stir up, but I had to really hone that skill while in prison,” he said.

“Why did you have to do that?” she asked.


“Well, think about it. People thought I was a child murderer. The other guys in prison didn’t take very kindly to a child murderer,” he started. Allison’s face darkened slightly, this was something she hadn’t thought about.

“Eventually, I had to find some way to adapt. If you stop reacting to provocation, eventually they will stop doing it. That’s what I figured, anyway. I guess it was one way to defend myself,” he continued.

Defend himself… guess that explains the abs, Allison thought.

“I see, that makes sense. Definitely didn’t help your public image, though,” she replied. Brian chuckled.

“If you’re in a situation like mine, at a certain point you have to stop caring about public perception,” he said dryly.

“True.”


“Anyway, enough about me. I have a question for you, Allie,” Brian said suddenly.

“M-me? Well, I guess it’s only fair…” she replied, suddenly feeling rather nervous.

“How does one become a Chevalier?” he asked. Allison was stunned by his unexpected question about her job.

“Why do you want to know that?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about a career change. No, because nobody knows how to become a Chevalier, that’s why. It’s all super secret,” he replied.

“That’s true… but we’re really not supposed to talk about it, you know,” she said. At that, she felt his tiny fist bop her neck a few times.

“Who am I gonna tell?” he replied playfully. Allison sighed.


“Fine, fine. Nobody knows because they approach you. I suddenly got called into a government office one day where they offered me the job,” she answered.

“Really. Did they tell you why they picked you?” Brian asked. Allison shook her head, nearly knocking him off unintentionally.

“Not really. I think it had something to do with government issued surveys they send out every now and then. They did say I was recommended for the job, though.”

“Ooh, how mysterious,” Brian said, “any idea who it could have been?”

“Well, I had only recently graduated from college, so I thought it was probably one of my professors. I have no clue which one,” she replied.

“Well, were there any professors you were particularly close to?” he asked. Allison thought for a moment.

“One, I suppose. My mentor, Elizabeth Dawson. I was pretty close to her. It definitely wasn’t her, though,” Allison replied. Brian made a questioning noise, encouraging her to go on.

“Well, because she was privately very against the Shrink Penalty. She was a retired defense attorney,” she continued.

“Interesting,” Brian said, “so what does she think about your being a Chev?”


Allison was quiet for a moment.

“I… I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to her since I took the job. I was scared of what she would say… I guess,” she said sadly. She felt Brian’s hand rub her neck tenderly.

“It’s okay. Sorry I asked,” Brian said softly. Allison reached up and gently rustled his hair. At that, she came up with a new goal for herself.

If his lack of expressions is a defense mechanism, I want to break it. I am going to fluster Brian Bentley, she thought. She decided to try right away. Without warning, she plucked Brian from her shoulder and transferred him to her palm. He looked up at her questioningly, and she grinned at him in response.


“I’ve been wondering,” she said slowly, before quickly moving in so her face was close to Brian. 

“What’s it like to be so small around a giant woman like me?” she asked playfully, her warm breath washing over her tiny friend. “Am I intimidating?”

Brian’s view was of her smiling mouth. He simply brought his hand to his chin in contemplation, though, hardly even acknowledging her attempt at teasing.

“Have you ever seen that old musical Into the Woods?” he finally asked. Allison retreated back to her original posture.

“What, you just gonna ignore my question?” she asked in mock offense.

“No, no, I just remembered a line that sums up my answer,” he responded. “Anyway, have you seen it?”

“No, I haven’t,” Allison said.

“Alright, well it’s about characters from classic fairy tales. Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk has a song, and one line he sings when talking about meeting the Giant’s Wife is ‘You know she’s big but you don’t feel small.’ That’s how I feel,” Brian said.


Allison was slightly moved.

I try to tease him and he says something sweet?! Not fair, she thought.

“Aww, thank you, Brian. Sounds like an interesting song, though, what are the lines after that?” she asked.

“I don’t want to tell you, they’ll ruin the moment,” he replied. Allison grinned.

“Well, you have to tell me now, I’m too interested,” she said.

“Fine,” Brian sighed, “he goes ‘someone bigger than her comes along the hall to swallow you for lunch.’”


Allison cracked up laughing. “You’re right,” she giggled, “that certainly does ruin your point.”

“In real life, I think that person coming down the hall might be Cathy. She seemed very excited when she thought you had been eaten,” Allison said after calming down.

“She certainly did. That woman gave me bad vibes, what’s her deal?” Brian asked, making an unpleasant face as he recalled what Cathy had said.

“She’s probably one of the most, well, enthusiastic Chevaliers I’ve ever met. I had to practically beg her to stop telling me the details of her sessions, it made me want to throw up,” Allison replied.

“Why do you think she’s like that?” Brian asked. “From what I could hear between your… well, you know, she seemed very nice and sweet to you.”

“You’re right, to normal people she’s very nice. As for convicts, though… It’s embarrassing to say this, but I think she might… get off on it. You know, sexually,” Allison replied, whispering the last word. Brian looked disturbed.


“Damn. That’s fucked up,” he said. Allison shrugged.

“Well, in her defense, she is dealing with the worst-of-the-worst, you know. Not like I can feel too bad about what she does to them.”

Brian went quiet for a moment.

“Yeah, but… I almost went to her. That almost happened to me,” he said cautiously. Allison’s smile vanished, as she realised that he was right. She looked down at him, and saw that his expression was troubled.

“Well… you didn’t, right? I got you, and I was able to save you,” she said softly.

“That’s not what I mean,” replied Brian, “I mean, what if others like me get sent to her? Other innocents?”


Allison was shocked into silence.

“Brian… there aren’t any others like you. You said it yourself, public outrage is what got you convicted. That doesn’t happen every time. The rules are really strict, only the absolute worst, most disgusting criminals get the Shrink Penalty,” she replied slowly.

“Yeah, but, how can you be sure? It happened to me, so who’s to say it won’t happen to others?” he continued. Allison shook her head sternly.

“No way. I understand how you feel, but I can tell you personally that everything surrounding the Shrink Penalty is extremely strict and regulated. Since the punishment is so severe, it’s under intense scrutiny to make sure situations like yours don’t happen. That doesn’t change the fact that it did happen, but you really don’t need to worry. People who get the Shrink Penalty deserve it. I personally just can’t do the whole… torture thing.”


Brian narrowed his eyes, he was clearly troubled.

“In prison, Chevs might as well have been demons. People were terrified to even bring up the Shrink Penalty, out of some superstition that doing so would make you more likely to get it. Even though Cathy might be extreme, people like her seem to be the majority, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” Allison replied. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I guess I just don’t understand. You say your mentor was a defense attorney who was opposed to the Shrink Penalty. You told me when we met that you don’t get off on being cruel, and you usually provide criminals a quick death. You apparently hate even talking about what other Chevs do in their sessions."

He took a deep breath.

"Allie… why are you a Chevalier? Why do you do something that makes you so uncomfortable?” he asked pointedly. This was something he had been wondering since the moment she decided to save him, but he simply couldn’t keep it in anymore.


Allison didn’t know how to respond. She sat in silence, staring at Brian as he sat in her palm. His expression was not judgmental, nor was it accusatory. He simply looked concerned, and it was scrambling Allison’s brain.

“I… I guess… I’ve just… It’s been six months…” she stammered. At that moment, though, the doorbell rang. Brian flinched, but he quickly regained himself and looked back towards Allison. His eyes softened, and he pulled Allison’s thumb towards his chest.

“Allie, I’m sorry. This is none of my business, and I shouldn't be questioning your kindness. I’ve clearly upset you, and I promise that wasn’t my intention. Please don’t be sad. I think that was the food we ordered, so let’s just eat, okay?” he said softly, as he lightly hugged Allison’s thumb. His gesture of kindness snapped Allison out of her fog, and she smiled at him.

“Don’t be sorry. You’re right, let’s go eat,” she replied.


Allison had ordered some pasta. She thought that it might be easy to eat, since noodles are so soft and easy to cut. She was right, but Brian was nonetheless struggling, as he only had some broken toothpicks to eat with.

“Hmm… it tastes good, but this is kinda rough… why aren’t there any utensils for one inch people?!” he lamented. Suddenly, Allison’s brain was zapped as she came up with an idea.

“3D printer, 3D printer!” she exclaimed, one hand flapping in excitement. Brian looked up at her, eyes widening in realization.

“We’ll buy a 3D printer, and then we can just make utensils for you! We can make chairs and a bed and shit, too!” she excitedly continued.

“Dude! Allie, you’re a fucking genius!” Brian exclaimed, rising to his feet. He held out his fist, and she lightly tapped it with her index finger. Just like that, Allison had figured out how to make Brian much more comfortable.


~


Later on in the evening, Allison and Brian were relaxing on the sofa once again. Brian had elected to sit on Allison’s thigh, basking in the warm, fuzzy fabric. Brian was letting Allison in on another one of his favorite subjects- astronomy.

“Get this, Allie. Inside a black hole, space takes on some properties of time,” he said.

“What the fuck does that mean?” she asked with a laugh.

“Well, we can choose to move through space, but we can’t move in time, right? We’re always moving forward,” he started. Allison nodded in agreement.

“Inside a black hole, it’s literally impossible to escape. No matter what you do, you are drawn towards the center. Just like how we are drawn forward in time,” he explained.

“Oh, I see. That’s pretty interesting,” she replied.

“Fuck yes it is! That means that, if you were somehow walking along a bridge inside of a black hole, even if you turned completely around and started walking, you would still be walking towards the center,” he continued, his eyes sparkling once again. Allison giggled at his enthusiasm.


“You know, you’re pretty surprising, Brian,” Allison remarked.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, I’ve learned over the past few days that the infamous Brian Bentley likes Lord of the Rings, musicals, and now black holes?” she continued with a smile.

Brian’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

“What’s your point, there, Allie?”

Allison let out a slightly fuller laugh, and pulled out her phone.


“Let’s see if the internet can help you figure it out. Hey Siri,” Allison called into her phone, “is Brian Bentley secretly a huge dork?” she asked smugly. 

“Oh, I see how it is,” Brian said, pulling up his fists. “You want to fuckin’ go, sister?” 

Allison began lightly poking at him, Brian dodging and bopping her attacking fingers as she giggled all the while. As this was going on, Allison’s phone chirped in recognition of her question, and an artificial voice began repeating a response.


“Here’s what I found. Brian Bentley was executed via Shrink Penalty for the murder of Timmy Os-”

“Shit!” Allison cried, “Siri, shut the fuck up!”

The voice stopped, and Allison sheepishly looked back at Brian. He stared at her blankly for a few moments, and Allison became very afraid that she had upset him. Suddenly, though, Brian cracked up, laughing harder than she had ever seen before. He fell onto his side, his eyes showing traces of tears as he clutched his stomach in joy.

“W-what the fuck’s so funny, huh?” Allison asked defensively, her cheeks red.

“Y-your fucking face!” Brian eventually got out, before returning to his belly laughs. Allison simply sat there, her arms crossed as she pouted in embarrassment. On the inside, though, she was very pleased. One more milestone had been met in her goal to make him happy- she had made him laugh.


~


After dinner, the two were watching TV. Anything but the news, obviously. Brian was once again resting on Allison’s shoulder. As time had gone on, however, Allison had noticed that Brian was leaning against her neck more and more. Eventually, it felt like his whole weight was leaning against her, and she had the sneaking suspicion that he had fallen asleep.

“Brian?” she whispered, “Brian, are you awake?”

He did not respond, and her suspicions were confirmed. Careful not to jostle him around, she reached up and grabbed him from her shoulder. She gently transferred him to her palm, and she gazed down at him as he slept.


She was reminded of when she first brought him to her apartment. He had been sleeping inside of her breasts, and it was the first time that she had seen him look so peaceful. Just as she had done before, she marvelled at how innocent he looked. Nobody would have been able to tell that he had been through so much pain. He simply looked like a normal young man, and Allison was extremely happy that he was able to look so relaxed in her presence.

It’s only been three days, but we’ve really come a long way, she thought.

She continued to gaze at him adoringly, not fully realizing just how happy his presence was making her.


At that moment, though, Brian began to stir. He half-stood up, his arms pushing his chest up, as he looked all around. His eyes were still half-closed, and Allison guessed that he was still partially asleep.

“W-where am I?” he slurred, sounding more perplexed than actually scared. He looked up at Allison.

“Who are you?” he asked drowsily. Allison couldn’t help but grin.

“It’s me, Brian. Allie. You know, Allison Starr?” she replied softly. At the mention of her full name, Brian relaxed, and lowered himself back onto her palm. He rested his head on her thumb, which she had conveniently laid out immediately prior.

“Mmm… Starr…” he mumbled. “My shooting star…”

Allison’s heart skipped a beat. Her whole body suddenly felt very warm, and her cheeks turned bright red.

“That’s right, Brian,” she whispered, “your shooting star…”

Allison brought one finger to the side of his face, and began to stroke it tenderly. She continued like this for a while, basking in her burgeoning feelings that she was finally becoming aware of.


After a little while, Allison decided it was time for bed. First, though, she wanted to try something related to her goal from earlier.

“Brian, wake up,” she said softly as she nudged him awake. He stirred for a moment before opening his eyes.

“I was sleeping, huh? What time is it?” he asked, as he rose to his feet in Allison’s palm. 

“About 10:30, it’s time to go to bed,” she replied softly. Brian raised an eyebrow.

“You woke me up to tell me it’s time to go to sleep?” he asked, causing Allison to giggle. Brian turned towards the TV, and his back was soon facing Allison. A moment later, he felt a strange sensation on his back. It felt like two giant, slightly moist pillows were gently pushed against him from behind. He felt the slightest of suctions before they were pulled away, just as suddenly as they had arrived. Brian turned towards the strange feeling.


“Allie, what was th-”

Just as Brian started to question her, he saw Allison leaning towards him, her lips puckered outwards. Her lips slowly eclipsed his field of view, and they soon pressed into him, engulfing nearly his whole body. Now that she was no longer trying to simply confuse him, Allison put a little more force into it, fully enveloping his body in the squishy folds of her plump lips. To Brian, it felt like he was getting hugged by two soft, wet cushions, and he was soon covered in a thin layer of saliva. He tried to pull away instinctively, but a small suction pulled his face back in, burying it in Allison’s top lip as she continued to kiss him. She let out an ever so slightly sensual moan, the sound reverberating around Brian and causing a vibration which made his whole body tingle. Then, after a small eternity, Allison pulled away with a large smack.


She looked down at her tiny companion. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was ever so slightly open. His hair was tangled, and his whole body glistened from the thin layer of Allison’s saliva that now clung to him. Most importantly to Allison, though, was the fact that his cheeks were bright red. She had achieved her goal from earlier: Brian was completely flustered. For the first time since she had brought him home, he was embarrassed into silence. Allison slyly grinned, admiring her handiwork as she waited for his response.


“…That was… was… h-h… ” he stammered, trying to form the words.

“H-Harassment! That was s-sexual harassment!” he exclaimed theatrically, pointing one finger in Allison’s direction. Slightly undercutting his playful accusation, however, was his shocked expression, which had not yet recovered from Allison’s surprise smooch.


Allison smirked at him condescendingly.

“Oh hush, just be glad I’m not wearing lipstick,” she said smugly. At this, Brian let out a genuine laugh, which Allison soon reciprocated. At that, she decided that it truly was time for bed, although she figured that it would be a little more difficult for either of them to sleep now.


~


Although Brian first required a little washing-up, the duo soon found themselves in their bedroom once again. Allison was still glowing from the earlier kiss, while Brian was clearly trying to contain his embarrassment.


“Alright Brian, I hope you sleep well,” Allison said teasingly.

“Oh, you can fuck right off with that, Allie. I’ll be filing a complaint in the morning,” he responded.

“Mm-hmm, I’m sure you will,” she said. “After you get done with that, though, I want to prep the apartment a little. Tomorrow is the last day before I have to go back to work, and I want to make sure you’ll be okay on your own. Goodnight, Brian.”

“…Goodnight, Allie,” he replied quietly.

 

Although Allison could not tell, Brian had developed an extremely troubled look on his face as she continued to talk. It was not dissimilar to the one from earlier when he was asking Allison about why she was a Chevalier, but it was entirely the look of someone who knew they were going to have a difficult conversation at some point in the future. For now, though, Allison simply turned off the light, unaware of Brian’s conflicted heart as she drifted off to sleep.

 

 

Chapter End Notes:

Small update- I originally planned the "Weekend" chapters to be four parts (since, you know, it was a four day weekend), but I think I'm actually going to end it here and incorporate their Sunday into the same chapter where Allison goes back to work. I don't want people to get bored waiting for the "action" to start.

With that being said, what do you think should happen next? Let me know. This story is not over!

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