The Date (oneshot)

The Date (oneshot)

HI. this is my first writing, i hope the g/t community on here likes it

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Sal was not a confident person, they would count themself as far more anxious, in fact. It didn’t help that sometimes they felt as though they had a phobia of Lobians - a newly befriended species that just so happened to be huge. Sal hadn’t even graduated college yet, they were an intern at a company to pay the bills, but they didn’t care much for the work. It would look good on a resume, and that was all that mattered. Lobians were frequent in the office - well not in the office but near it - but Sal never had to talk to them. It wasn’t until they met another paid intern that they first spoke to a Lobian.

“Hi,” he said, a small wave of a hand that could cover Sal like a weighted blanket, “you’re Sal, right?” They looked up from the forms they had been filling out and took a minute just to give him a light nod. “I’m new here - only been working for a few months actually - and my boss told me you’d be the best person to talk to about how to use the copier.” 

“Well, I-I don’t know if you’ll be able to use it,” they began, then realized that if they made this giant angry it could be over for them. “B-but, um, I can copy some things for you, i-if you need.” Sal tapped the papers on the table once, then set them down and stood. The Lobian offered another kind smile and scratched the back of his neck.

“Thank you so much,” he stated, reaching his hand out. Sal flinched and prayed he didn’t notice. He unfurled his fingers - about the size of Sal themself - and in his palm sat a piece of paper, a little wrinkled and wet from the sweat of his palm. Sal offered a nervous smile. 

Little did they know that would be the first of many interactions. Sal eventually learned the Lobians name - it was Ezra. Sal also learned a few other things about Ezra. He was talkative, friendly (at least on the outside), and oblivious as hell. He was denser than a rock. At least Sal knew he’d never get angry over their little flinches or the times Ezra would laugh and Sal would shake for a few moments after that. Still, Ezra scared them, and Sal knew deep down that there was something off about him. Nobody was that happy. 

There was one time, of course, when he slipped that facade. Watching when a man who was several stories tall yells at someone? It’s an experience you don’t forget. It didn’t help that the incident practically confirmed office rumors. People had already begun to claim that Ezra had been violent in the past, that he had anger issues and had only gotten the job because he had intimidated the boss. After the incident, the rumors furthered in severity. The secretary, Jenni, had looked his name up on the internet one time, and an article popped up. Allegedly, when he was sixteen, he had been caught trying to french a human, and then that human was found dead a few days later. Unrelated, the article had said. But Sal didn’t believe it.

“Sal? I had a request, if you aren’t busy.” He poked his head through the balcony window. Sal spun around in their chair, trembling lightly. How could someone so big sneak up on people like that? 

“You, um, you have the floor Ezra.” They noted, sitting on their hands so that they would stop shaking. 

“Would you like to get lunch together?” He asked, his cheeks lightly dusted with red. No. Sal thought. No, no, no. This can’t be happening. They panicked silently with their eyes open and a soft smile on their face. He couldn’t be serious. There was no fucking way. Either way, Sal could not have a choice in the matter. They had seen what happened if Ezra wanted his way - he got it, always.

“Okay,” they practically breathed out the response, their muscles tensing. They flinched when his hand laid down on the balcony. 

“Well, lunch break starts in a couple minutes, you wanna go now?” Sal stared at the hand. They couldn’t take too long in their response, or Ezra might get mad. But even if they said yes, would it be safe to go with him? If he had an unstable past, it surely wasn’t. But, if he had an unstable past, what was stopping him from doing whatever he wanted? So Sal got up from the chair, trembling of course, and sat in his hand. They tried not to look at his face as he blushed again.

Ezra had talked their ear off the whole way there, but Sal hadn’t been listening. They were preoccupied with the fact that they were now on a date with a guy they didn’t like who might’ve had a track record of hurting human partners. They trembled in his hand the whole way to the cushy restaurant, and felt even worse when the giant hostess made a face at them when they walked in. She seated them swiftly, but gave a knowing look to Sal. They’d gotten it before. It was one that meant ‘if you need out of here, just let me know.’ 

“So, I’ve probably bored you with all the nerdy work stuff, what do you want to do outside of filing papers all day?” Ezra asked, still oblivious to Sal’s discomfort. They fiddled with their fingers in their lap.

“I-I’m studying to be a psychologist right now, but, um, I don’t know if that’s what I’m going to go with yet.” They said, using the menu as a shield to hide behind. Ezra looked at his own menu, but continued the conversation.

“That’s really cool, Sal!” He noted loudly, though he changed the subject with a laugh. His laughter was always so unrestrained and loud, but now it felt mocking, which only added to Sal’s discomfort. He smiled playfully, “I know just what you should get. The fish and chips! Ha, I still remember when you told Jenni about how much you hated fish.” Sal’s toes curled inside their shoes and they desperately tried to make themself look smaller. How had he even known about that conversation? He wasn’t even a part of it? Had he just been listening to everything they said? When the waiter finally came, Ezra ordered himself a chicken parmesan sandwich. 

Sal ordered fish and chips. 

“Hey, you know I was just joking, right? You-you didn’t have to order the fish and chips.” Ezra suddenly got quiet and lower to the table. Closer to eye level. His face changed, and for a minute Sal’s brain lied to them about what it meant. It was by no means an angry face, but the sudden shift in Ezra’s mood made them more twitchy. Sal kept quiet, their eyes keeping away from him like the way he looked was poison. “Sal? Are…you okay?” Sal’s gaze snapped up to meet him and they nodded quickly. It was then Ezra caught on. “Oh. Oh no. Not again.” He gasped lightly and sat back up again. Sal tensed and he noticed. “I-I. Sal, you aren’t…no. No. I didn’t- I’m sorry.” He stood up from the table. “I-I’m going to the restroom.” Sal was left alone at the table.

~

He’d done it again. This happened so many times. Ezra would meet someone, mistaken their complacence was kindness, and then think they were way closer than they were. He looked at himself in the mirror of the bathroom, desperately messing with his hair.

“Oh god, no. I-I didn’t mean to-.” He didn’t know how to deal with it, so he just cried. He slumped onto the sinks and cried. Soon enough, someone came to check on him. 

“Hey man, you okay?” It was the waiter that was waiting his table. He looked up at him and sniffled.

“I-I did it again. I th-thought- I didn’t know.” The waiter just looked at him, confused.

“Your date sent me, by the way.” He added, washing his hands. “You might wanna head back out there.” Ezra splashed some water on his face, took in a deep breath, and let out a ragged exhale. When he got back to the table, the food had arrived, but he wasn’t hungry anymore.

“Listen, Sal, I am so sorry. I-I thought we were friends, and I didn’t know that you were…” he trailed off, his eyes refreshing with tears again. He slumped on the table, not wanting to look at the little face he had admired. There was a soft touch on his forehead and his head slowly moved up. Sal was standing right in front of his face, shaking, but there.

“N-No. I-I’m sorry, Ezra. I-I should’ve…” It was then he took in their nervous body language and recognised it as the language that had been there the whole time. That first day with the copier, he knew they were nervous then, but he assumed they had never talked to one of his kind before.

“Sal, I-I’m going to quit.” He said quickly and quietly. “I-I’m so sorry I didn’t notice before- oh god, I-I’m so sorry.” Ezra cried softly, mindful of how close Sal was to him. 

“No, no, y-you don't have to do that, i-its okay, really.” Sal tried to assure him, though they were shaking and stuttering. Ezra sighed into the table.

“I…is everyone there afraid of me too?” He asked softly, terrified of the answer.

“Well I-I know Mr. P isn't,” they offered.

“That's the boss, he doesn't count.” Ezra frowned. “I-I’m so sorry. It wasn't supposed to go like this again.” Sal gave him a confused look. “This isn't the first time I fell in love with someone who was afraid of me.” He commented, not really wanting to speak on it further.

“I-Is that what that article was about?” Sal asked themself quietly, probably trying to make it so Ezra couldn't hear them. But he did.

“What article?” He began to sit up. Sal flinched and he clenched his aching fingers.

“Jenni showed us an article, um, about…you.” Sal said, legs shaking. Ezra inhaled sharply.

“Oh. Wh-what was it about, anyway?” He had a hunch, but he needed to hear it from someone else just in case it wasn't what he thought. Sal took a deep breath and backed away, like they were afraid he was going to lash out. His stomach sank, knowing that fear was actually reasonable. He had freaked out at the boss a few weeks ago.

He was interning in HR, and somebody had voiced a complaint about him. Instead of doing the reasonable thing and saving his frustration for later like he typically did in the presence of humans, he expressed his frustration to his boss. Loudly. For a minute he forgot the office was made almost entirely out of windows and he yelled about it. Mr. Picker had told him softly that he could have the rest of the day off, and so Ezra left early that day.

“Um,” Sal's voice brought his attention out of his thoughts. “It was about something that happened when you were sixteen. I-It involved a human who later died and, um, yeah.” Ezra covered his eyes with his hands and began to cry again. “Ezra? I-I’m sorry.”

He was sixteen and in love with a human boy at his school. By now the two had begun dating, and Ezra had thought things were going well, at least, until the police burst in when they were getting very passionate. It turned out that Ezra's boyfriend hadn't been in love with him, in fact he was afraid of him. A few days later, his ex was found dead and he was taken to court over it. It was the most stressful time in his life, and he became more angry as a result. He was tired and scared.

“No, no, i-its partly true. I-I had done what I did to you, b-but it went further than it should have. B-but I didn't kill him.” He said, not looking at Sal at all. There were a few moments of silence between them as he cried. “I-I’m so sorry, it makes sense why you're all so afraid.”

“I'm sorry I judged you so quickly. That was wrong of me.” Sal commented, not able to look at Ezra. “Let's just go back to the office.” Ezra wiped his face.

“I shouldn't carry you right now. I'm sorry.” He said, sniffling. “I shouldn't have taken you out. I should have known better.” His head was laid in his arms and he kept his gaze away from Sal.

“Focusing on the should’ves doesn't help.” Sal said automatically, but then Ezra looked at them and they flinched. “I-I mean from a psychological standpoint.” Ezra laughed breathily.

“I know,” he wiped his eyes, “it's just really easy to.” The pair sat there in silence for a few minutes. “Thank you for not, I don't know, running away or screaming or hiding from me.” Sal gave him an honest soft smile.

“It's the least I could've done.”

Eventually, the two of them made it back to the office and were called in by Mr. Picker. Ezra was fully ready to take the fall, but Sal surprised him when they told their boss about all the ways Ezra was doing well at his job. He almost cried for the third time that day when Sal said they would stake their career on him. He would get to work there, but Mr. Picker was changing his job to be a delivery boy between employees to help prevent the collective fear due to ignorance.

Plush (day 3 of gt July)

Carter loved his teddy bear, just as any other eight year old would love the plush they cuddled to sleep at night. But, after he had brought it to school, a rip had formed at one of the seams.

"Oliver, Bartholomew has a rip!" He whined to his big brother the morning following the incident.

"I told you it was a bad idea for you to bring it to school." Oliver tutted, pouring milk into the younger boys cereal bowl. Carter harrumphed with exaggeration. Oliver set down his breakfast, then sat across from.his little brother. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Can't you fix it?" Carter asked, fiddling with his spoon in his cereal. "You have all that thread and the pointy thingy." Oliver smiled warmly, trying not to laugh.

"Alright, I promise it'll be all fixed when you come back home." Oliver said, grabbing his little brother's backpack. "Do you want me to walk you to school, or do you want to go with Ray and her mom?" Carter pushed out from the table and scampered to get his backpack.

"I wanna walk with Ray!" He said, excited. "Please." He added, remembering the conversation they had about being polite. Oliver opened the door.

"Okay kid, you have a good day!" He called as Carter rushed to catch up with his friend.

"Bye!" Carter yelled back. "I love you!"

Once Oliver closed the door, he knocked on the wall.

"Miss Goosefoot? Would you mind helping me out?" That was the thing Carter didn't know about the needles and thread. They weren't exactly for human use. Oliver had no idea how to sew.

Soon enough, a small woman in a dark pink dress emerged from the walls, still putting her brown hair up in a bun. Her tail flicked and her long ears perked up as she approached, walking on the countertop of the kitchen.

"What would you like me to help with?" She asked nicely. Oliver offered her a hand to stand on.

"Carter's bear has a rip." He admitted. "I was hoping you had the time to fix it?" Miss Goosefoot nodded.

"I haven't got a groundling in the program at the moment, so you grab that radio and some thread and we'll make a day of it." She winked, stepping onto his hand and sitting down gracefully. Oliver smiled, carrying her to his bedroom and dropping her off next to his alarm clock, which doubled as a radio. Once Miss Goosefoot hit the button on the side, he went off to grab the bear and thread.

When he returned, he sat at his desk right in front of Miss Goosefoot. Once she was settled and found the right position to sew up the bear, which was about five times her height, he pulled out his laptop.

"You wouldn't happen to have any advice for a resume, would you?" He asked, glancing at her.

"Well, I can't exactly write your letter of recommendation, but I do know that you are most likely qualified for whatever you wish to do." She said, threading the needle with ease. "I'm just glad you finally quit that janitorial job. I did miss you, you know. Can't blame an old lady for not staying up until midnight." She joked.

"Yeah, at this point I just want a decent paying job without being on the nightshift. Carter didn't like that much either." He sighed, propping up his head on his hand. During that time, Oliver almost never saw his brother. It was breakfast, dinner, and then he had to leave. Carter hated it, especially because he couldn't fall asleep without someone else in the house.

"Ah, yes, I remember." Miss Goosefoot replied without looking up from her stitching job. She tied the last knot and finished it off cleanly. "I just about revealed myself when he woke up crying that one night." Oliver clicked something on his computer.

"I know, and again I'm sorry you felt like you had to-"

"Oliver. You know I'm perfectly fine with humans. You and Carter don't scare me." She looked at him.

"I-I know that." He paused, closing his computer with a sigh upon realizing he wasn't going to get much job hunting done. "I'm just worried about his reaction to meeting groundlings." He ruffled his hair. "He doesn't know how to be gentle yet, I can't let him hurt anybody and he certainly can't start seeking you out, what if you have a patient and they get spooked because he started calling out for you? I refuse to jeopardize your work." Miss Goosefoot was silent.

"I appreciate all that you do for me and my patients, but maybe it would be good for Carter to learn about all of this?" She asked, not saying exactly what she wanted to, which was: If not now, then when will you let him learn?

"Not today. Probably not tomorrow either. I promise I'll find a good time, and I'll teach him."

When Carter came home, Oliver was waiting for him with Bartholomew in his hands. Carter was happy the bear was fixed.

And Miss Goosefoot was happy that her humans were happy.

IM BEGGING YOU FOR THE NEXT PART OF HOW DID EZ AND MIKE MEET 😭🙏

🏃‍♂️💨IM HERE! IM HERE NOW!! SORRY FOR THE DELAY YALL!! LETS GET INTO THIS >:]

Mike and Ez Origins: pt 4

Ez lunged at Mike before he could escape

they're each other's mama now💖

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TAGLIST: @goblinunderabridge@gt-newbie@smolcomfycat@da3dm@mouzeinsoup@xoxohihi@freshcube@tineylittledude @tinybitz@dragoncookbook @areallycoolanduniqueusername

MASTERPOST

LOOOOOOOORE

LINEAR STUFF

Rehabilitation (ft Carter, Oliver, Goosefoot, and Thimbleweed)

Plush

Grit

Prologue (to the main story)

(COMING SOON) Read the Signs (ft Caleb, Snakeweed, and Pix)

ONE-SHOTS (may be subject to becoming two shots)

The Date (will they? won't they? I don't know, but one of 'em seems scared!)

Best Friends (reckless boy meets quiet girl. what happens when recklessness leads to trouble?)

Ugh- new brainrot just dropped. I am dying for a shrinking story with some sort of established relationship (be it friendship, pining, or lovers) but just a long established relationship. So when one of them shrinks, the other takes zero care to not be scary, cause why would their friend ever be scared of them?? And to an extent, maybe they aren't. They're not scared of them, but they're scared of the magnification of their traits. The way they've always hugged so tightly, the way they always break their phone, the way they like to push and roughhouse and tease. Their friend has always felt big- but this is so much more.

Their friend doesn't handle the sudden shrinking with care. Perhaps they laugh, or immediately crack a joke. They've always been touchy, but this?? This is overwhelming to an incomprehensible degree.

They push at incoming fingers, nervously trying to keep calm. To hang into some shred of normalcy. Yet, as they're scooped of the ground, that shaky facade crumbles in an instant.

They're begging, pleading. Perhaps even inconsolable. Their friend stares down at their hands, stunned.

"H-hey" their voice is nervous "it's me-"

"That's exactly the problem!"

"W-what?"

They go off. They tell them they're loud, or clumsy, or rough and how they're too much.

Their friend is pale, staring down at the shaking figure with sad eyes.

"You know I'd never hurt you..." but even as they say that, there's doubt on their face- thinking back to all the times they've tackled their friend, or dragged them about, or...

"You're scared of me?" They sound like they're about to cry. They've always been a lot- but their friend was someone that got them- that could handle them...

...but they didn't get them, did they? They'd been putting up with them.

They'd been tolerated.

They've never been soft- never quiet or doting... that's not who they were... but they were still good, right? Still kind? They could be gentle...

The tiny stares up, guilt and shame constricting their chest as they see the hurt plastered all over their friends face. This was painfully humiliating. Their own pitiful ego at fault- Why were they such a coward??

UGH?? LIKE DO YOU GUYS GET IT??? The angst if having to tell someone that you don't trust them at their most vulnerable because they don't act with vulnerability normally? They are kind and fun, but they never really give you proof of that nuturing safety??? And to be told that the person you cherish most is afraid of you?? Not because they're small- no, it's because it's YOU who'd big??

ANGST ANGST ANGST ANGST

g/t prompts

how a borrower might be caught

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫

1. tangled in their climbing rope

2. their home sniffed out by a dog/cat

3. sneezing too loud

4. falling into a sink, unable to climb out

5. sticky mousetrap

6. falling asleep in a human’s shirt pocket

7. lost their hook, left stranded on a counter

8. trying to watch a movie with the human

9. accidentally breaking a glass in the middle of the night

10. spilling flour/sugar all over the kitchen counter

11. singing along to the human’s music

12. setting off the fire alarm

13. choosing to reveal themselves because they need help (medicine, heat, etc.)