Chapter two: getting to know you.

"the ever-hidden heart is not nessisarily the safest one..."

-emperorwolf

"-nson? ... Benson! ... BENSON!!" benson heard a call from the corner of his unconsiousness.
"no No! NO!! don't be dead! PLEASE don't be dead!!" the voice called, full of desparation.

(who's calling me?) benson thought internally, unable to react while bordering unconsiousness.
"BENSON! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU'VE GOTTA WAKE UP...PLEASE!!!" the voice begged, now screaming.
(who's voice...?) he wondered (is that...?) he snapped to his senses in unconsiousness (KEVIN!)

looking around, all he could see was a shadowy blur of a world, no, not even a world... more like a void.
he could still hear kevin's pleading cries coming from... somewhere...
"greetings Benny" called an unfamiliar voice.

(WHO'S THERE?! NOBODY CALLS ME 'BENNY' AND-!)

"relax... it's not time yet... you'll understand later." the odd distorted voice called "but for now, you should go back."

(to where?)

"reality, DUH!" came the voice in an insulting manner "just...wake up..."

---

benson gasped heavily, choking on the sudden inhalation that preceeded it.

"YES! YOU'RE ALIVE!! THANK TH' SPIRITS Y'R OKAY!!!" a certain someone boomed

benson was groggy, but managed to speak "...kev...in?"

"I'M HERE!"

ears ringing, he just had to remind kevin "stop...yelling...it...hurts..." benson said in a pained voice.

kevin's gasping could be heard, followed by "right, right, ... , sorry."

benson opened his eyes to find himself once again in kevin's paws, being cradled just meters from kevin's face. back in the grasp of the giant german shepherd...

"um... woah... what?" benson struggled to compose the question.

kevin's expression softened slightly, but still looked concerned "y'fainted... y'know... after i..."

benson gestured weakly for him to continue

"...showed you my... secret... remember?" kevin finished cautiously.

suddenly it all came flooding back... kevin's story, the beach, the old house, the code... and the size change kevin had done...

benson snapped fully to his senses, and attempted to spring up to his feet, but was stopped by kevin, who gripped him tightly in his paw.
the pressure was too much.
benson made a strangled sound, barely audiable, but as he was so close to kevin's face, it was enough.
kevin noticed, and quickly lessened the pressure, but only a little, just so he wasn't crushing the little fox in his fist.

benson sucked in a breath, gasping for air, breathing heavily
"G-GODS! DON'T D-DO THAT!" he pleaded "l-let me go! LET ME GO!!"

"please..." kevin's frightened voice came as benson struggled in his grip "please...calm down, i'm not crushing you, you're not in danger, just...calm down." kevin tried to reassure him
slowly benson stopped struggling and settled "O-OKAY! - okay! okay... i'm calm... i'm calm."

"why'd y'freak out?" kevin asked, concerned.

benson was still catching his breath "you stopped me from moving, you squeezed too tight, i panicked"

kevin nodded slowly
"kevin... please release me..."

"i...can't..."
benson was shocked "Why?!"
"y-you might go tell everyone..."
"i promised, didn't i?"
"yes, but-"
"then... trust me..."

kevin drew in a deep breath, and slowly opened his paw "i guess i panicked too, you jus' suddenly fainted at the sight a' me... i freaked out, switched back to full size and-"

"how does that work?" benson inquired, craning his neck to meet kevin's gaze

"i can choose whenever i wanna return to full size at a thought, but have ta' use that ...'spell' to shrink down"
benson nodded slowly
"anyway- i picked you up and checked f'r vital signs, y'r breathing was slowin' and y'heart rate was going up, it din' make sense! then suddenly it stopped an' i was sure you were dead... i tried callin'- er, yelling, beggin' ya to wake up... to let me know i hadn't lost ya..."

"i know, i heard you..."

kevin's eyes widened "y'did?!" he asked in disbelief
"i did, trust me. how could i ever miss that booming voice of yours? you nearly made me deaf you know"
kevin winced "sorry, i was panickin' though..."
"true, but think next time please"
"duly noted"
the two took a few minutes to fully calm down, steadying their breathing and so on...
benson looked down and noticed now that kevin was on his knees, the hand not holding him covering his groin...
benson froze...
kevin wasn't wearing his trunks...

"mind explaining to me why you're naked?" benson carefully asked
kevin blushed
"the um...'spell' affects me entirely, everything on me too, but when i shift manually, it um..."
"it...?" benson asked, trying to get him to continue
"it... only affects ME." kevin said, embarassed "not my ... clothing."
"oh...OHHHHH!" benson covered his eyes "AGH! SORRY!"
kevin playfully bumped benson's body against his nose, knocking him over on his paw "it's okay..."
"but you've got nothing else to wear, right? ... please tell me i'm wrong"
"can't do that"
benson blushed, still covering his eyes "dammit..."
"you can't seriously tell me that y'think involuntary faintin' makes it y'r fault?"
"no ...but-" he was silenced as the wall of soft fur that was kevin's cheek embraced him.

"i don't think y'r at fault here."

"but-"

"shhhhhh... it's okay... it was gonna happen whether y'fainted or not y'know. granted, i'd've warned ya if y'hadn't, but it's no big deal right?"
benson whimpered and kevin lifted his head from benson
"... y'r not... intimidated by it... by any chance?" kevin asked uncertainly
benson began to flail his arms, keeping his eyes screwed shut
"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" he quickly answered, clearly flustered.
"s'okay if ya are...can't imagine someone your size'd usually encounter this kinda thing..."

"AGH! STOP TALKING! I'M NOT LISTENING!"
"i'm not saying y'r-"
"LA LA LA LA LA, I'M NOT LISTENING! I'M NOT LISTENING!"

kevin laughed, finding benson's embarrasment quite amusing, and bent a finger to lightly rub him on the head.
"s'alright, s'alright... i'm just saying i'd understand if it made y'feel... inadequate...considering the circumstances an' all"

"it's just... i'm not...like that... and, ... you could easily... y'know" benson fidgeted uncomfortably "...use me...and i wouldn't be able to do anything about it..."
kevin laughed a little and moved his finger so that it now rubbed benson's back
"don't worry, i'd never 'use' you against y'r will, i wouldn't take advantage of ya' like that"

benson opened his eyes and gave kevin an unsure look "are you..."
"am i what?" kevin chuckled
"what i m-mean is...do you... um 'swing that way' ..."
"if you're asking if i'm gay..."
"I'M SORRY!" benson cowered
kevin kept laughing "alright, alright, calm down... if you're askin' me... wellllllll..." he drew out the word for suspense "...yyyyyyyeah, i am....is that okay?"
"I DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH IT REALLY!" benson panicked, flailing his arms again "I-I DON'T MIND! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"stop it, seriously"

"Th-the arm thing or talking?"
"both, mainly the panicking please"
benson cowered again
"and stop that too! seriously, i know it must be difficult to deal with, but try and understand that you're safe, i'm not gonna hurt ya' or take advantage of ya' ... everything's fine... say it, come on."
"e-everything-" he took a deep breath and calmed down "everything is...fine... everything is fine..."
"good, again."
"everything is fine" he repeated
"better now?"
benson opened his eyes but still seemed uncomfortable.
"benson?"

"y-yeah i heard you, i'm okay..."

kevin knew he had to get benson to cope with the situation, and a fun idea came to mind, it seemed like something that would take benson's mind off things...
"hey..."
benson looked up awkwardly "yes?"
kevin broke into a broad, toothy grin, making benson even more nervous
"d'ya' wanna go swimmin'?"
"huh?! what?!"
"do you...want to...go...swimming?" kevin repeated slowly
benson thought for a moment, then smiled awkwardly and answered "yeah, i guess i could go for a little swimming right now..." benson gave him a slightly frightened look "...you... did mean in the water...right?
kevin laughed heartily "yes i mean in the water! what else would i mean?"
"well....you know..."
kevin caught on "ohhhhh, no no, nothing like that i assure you! and by the way, shouldn't you leave THOSE kind of thoughts for someone who's actually-"

"right, right, i get your point! i'll stop!"

kevin kept laughing "whelp..." he said as he rose to full hight, no longer covering up "okay then, lets go!"
and he leapt into the water with a joyous "CANONBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!"

-one and a half hours later-

kevin sat in the mid - torso high waves, smiling as benson showed him how long he could hold his breath, supported three meters down by kevin's paw.
he felt a tug at has fingertip and raised his hand into the air, level with his face, as benson shook off in the middle of his palm, spraying droplets all over kevin's face, proceeding to smile and ask "how long was that?"
kevin pretended to focus intently, allowing it show "hmmm... i counted around about... one minute and fourty eight seconds"
benson dramatically fell back on the palm "so close!"
"not far off from two, yeah."
benson was laughing "yeah, i almost thought about going longer, although i was already out of breath"
"hey if you have to, you have to, we don't want you drownin' on me do we?"
"no, suppose we don't"
"'cause i really dun' wanna go through all that panic again anytime soon!"
"okay okay, sorry!" benson laughed, before sighing contentedly and sitting up "this is kinda nice, thanks for suggesting this"
kevin smiled "no prob' had'ta' get y'ta' deal with the situation somehow didn't i? figured a lil' swim might get y'r mind off things"
"ohhh, so that's why! you sneak! take that!" he said as he playfully struck at the paw holding him
"stop that! it tickles!"
"then it's tickle torture is it?" benson asked playfully, giving kevin a sly look
"no please lil' assailant, i beg you not!" kevin pleaded dramatically
"shove off shakespeare-hund!"
"oh ho ho!, making 'Germany' puns are we? well, i could make a few about 'the hunt' little fox, if that's how you're going to play it!"
"alright point taken! point taken! ... or rather NEIN! NEIN! NEIN!" benson laughed
"you're askin' for it..."
"no please! i'm only joking!"
"well so was i"

benson stopped laughing and smiled up at kevin "you know, i barely even notice the size difference now, is that a good thing?"
"i'd say so, i still notice it though, but i guess i probably should keep it in mind, don't wanna hurt you n'all"
benson flopped back onto the paw again "and yet, my friend, thou hast already done so!"
kevin didn't seem to have understood
benson sighed "see,'thou hast' means 'you have' in shakespearean."

"oh i see, so... Dost thou think me a fool? well, pray thy words art wrong mine diminutive jest!"

"seriously?! you've been playing dumb?!"

"what's that 'sposed t'mean?" kevin gave him a knowing look

"nothing! absolutely nothing! and 'little fool' really?"

"what's wrong wit' it?"

"oh nothing, it's quite ... Punny!"

"as i intended..."

"yeah right"

"shut up"

"don't you mean: 'wouldst thou shut thine trap' hmmm?"

"pffft! oh come on!"

"can you blame me? you left yourself wiiiiide open for that one!"

"sure can!"

"can not!"

the two swam and playfully argued untill the sunset started in the sky, kevin hoisted benson up and strode back to the beach, giving benson a spary of his own as he shook off
"ARGH! stoppit! i'm already wet enough thanks!"
"hey, i'm just evening the score"
"THAT WAS HOURS AGO!" benson sulked "COME ON!"
"don't care" kevin joked "still evens things out!"
benson proceeded to try and shake off, but to no avail "jerk, now i'm TOO wet! i can't even shake off the water now!"
kevin laughed tauntingly "my bad so- OOH! i've got an idea!"
benson tried to ask, but seconds later gale force winds blew over him, well, gale force breath, at least!
"oh crap! waaaaaah!!" benson screamed as the warm winds knocked him over onto the palm of the giant jerk who had blown them, who procceded to laugh when he was done "pffffff HA HA HA! your face..." then, he laughed harder "IT'S PRICELESS!"

benson made an annoyed grunt "yeah, ha ha, real funny(!) everybody simply loooves being blown over like that don't they(!) surely they wouldn't rather stand, no they'd prefer to fall(!)" he complained with a great degree of sarcasm
kevin was still laughing "pfffff okay, okay! point taken! i snerk i'd say 'go blow youreslf' but- pfffff HA HA HA HA! but i already did!"

"dude, that sounded SO wrong!"

"you have to remember the context!"

"which one? 'you just knocked me over with your breath' or the 'you're gay' one" he said seriously "because one makes sense, and the other's just wrong!" benson said playfully

"that is kinda wrong isn't it? well whatever..." he tossed benson in the air suddenly, and quickly performed a handstand, catching benson on his hindpaws as he fell "...you know which one i meant!"

"warning next time! seriously!"

kevin began to chuckle

"what now, you big bully?"

"i guess you ended up snerk... 'underfoot' afterall huh?" kevin bellowed

benson couldn't help but laugh at that one
"right now i can't tell whether you're the best or worst friend i've ever had!" benson joked "your sense of humor's certainly the worst though!"

"hey! if you laugh, it's funny! gotta admit that much!"

"i don't have to admit anything to you! ... now, if you'd please..."

kevin responded with a simple "hmm?"

"get me down...NOW." benson demanded, and just as kevin's legs started to bend...he realised his mistake in his indescriptive request "A-and no tossing meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-!" he cried out as kevin launched him into the air yet again, catching him as he sat right-way-up with soft paws
"you are...the worst best friend... i have ever had... by far." benson protested
kevin chuckled, jostling benson around in his paws as they hung at his waistline "aw come on! i bet you my tail i'm the first GIANT friend you've ever had anyway! ... wait, did you call me your 'best friend'?"

"true, aaaand, also true, ... but that'll change if you keep tossing me around without warning you know"

"fair enough" kevin admitted "thanks by the way, for my only friend, your definitely also the best one i've had so far!"

"i'm the first of my size too aren't i?"

"yup."

"well aren't we a perfect match then? who'd have thought a friendship could start from almost being stepped on?"

"and almost stepping on someone, in my case" kevin added.

"don't remind me, moron"

"nosneb"

"what?"

"that's your name backwards, just random."

benson had an epiphany "hold on... the 'spell' is just 'kevin ghast super-reduce' in reverse isn't it?!"

"yep, took ya' long enough to notice."

benson got an evil glint in his eye "em naht rellams tsahg nivek ekam"

and in the blink of an eye, kevin was small enough to fit into benson's palm, which he now stood stunned upon

"WHAT THE WHAT?! DID YOU SWITCH OUR SIZES?!"

benson chuckled "nope, the spell ONLY affects you remember?"

kevin gave an unsure expression "em naht..."
benson smiled as kevin worked it out
"ohh what!? 'make kevin ghast smaller than me' REALLY?!"

"sorry, i couldn't help myself!"

kevin growled, clearly he disliked being the smaller one

"hey, i'm just 'evening the score' as you put it..." benson said as he nudged kevin with his free hand
kevin smiled up at him "okay fair's fair i suppose... now c'n ya' undo this litlle switcheroo?"

"wanna know how it works first?"

"...yes, actually, go on."

"it's Technomagic, magic using technology as a medium, in this case, reduction technomagic."

"...really? is that 'ow m'normal shrinkin' works?"

"yep, the number code imprinted on you, which means you can be used as a medium for technomagic."

"so normally... it only works on machines?"

"that's right."

kevin brushed a hand through his head fur "wow...so does 'at mean i'm one of a kind?"

"matter of fact, yes."

"how'd ya know that?"

"it's part of the imprint, there's a list showing all ... devices... currently running the code, no other 'living creatures' show up."

"...you can see it?"

"i'm a technomage, it comes with the job."

"technomage? you mean... y'can freely use that stuff whenever y'want?"

"yes, i guess so... there is a limit though"

"really?" kevin settled down onto benson's paw, noting that his fur was a little more coarse than his own, but he didn't mind, he just figured it was a fact that came with benson as a 'package deal'
"what's the limit?"

"needing to have technology nearby."

"how close?"

"within ten metres"

"wierd. seems like it'd be a larger range"

"i think so too" benson's brow furrowed "comfortable?"

"uh..... so / so"

"well, sorry my fur's not as soft as yours is."

"knew you noticed!!"

"careful... thin ice..."

"more like coarse-"

"i CAN hear you."

"sorry, why's it like that anyway?"

"oh..." benson thought hard, trying to work out the answer "...i...think it has to do with my job."

"which is?"

"how do i explain this... i'm a pan - construction particle molecular techician"

"...you use sand to make cities?"

"close, i use sand - like particles to create all kinds of things, buildings, statues, cars, those wierd one-wheel skates for your kind... loads'a stuff!" he explained

"no kiddin'? how'd ya' get a job like that?"

"more studying than you can imagine..."

"damn... i don't get good grades...i'm an E- student..."

"i could help you study? i was a grade S++ student" benson suggested

"seriously? that'd be great... my dad's been going crazy 'bout my grade scores, Year eleven's just..."

"unreasonably hard?"

"hoh yeah."

benson smiled warmly "sounds like we've got a plan... it's way easier to talk from this perspective..."

"i KNOW... that's my perspective normally, remember?"

"right... you wanna get that position back now? i've had my fill for now"

"thanks, some people'd've just abandoned me or something..."

"well i'm not 'some people' am i?"

"no?"

"no."

"okay... ready when you are"

"you fully expected me to leave you didn't you?"

"to be honest... yeah" kevin admitted.

"if we're being honest, i actually don't like giants, no offense but you guys kinda snob us, like ALL THE TIME."
kevin winced "i... i can understand that..."
benson closed his eyes and sighed
"excluding you of course... you're pretty much the only giant who actually seems decent. one in a million awesome guy"

"w-wow... thanks... that's um... nice of ya' t'say?"

"that's alright, ok seriously i'm going to deactivate the spell now"

"got it."
kevin was lowered next to benson, ready to be returned to his full height.

"lleps tsal taht odnu"

and fast as before, kevin was once again sitting beside him at his full size.

"this isn't gonna be a thing with you is it?"

"only if you're not careful with me"

"fair enough."

benson's expression turned serious, causing kevin to wonder why
"what is it?"

"my place is being fumigated for a few days..."

kevin caught on "...and you're wondering if you can stay with me untill it's done?"

"maybe i am... if that's alright with you..."

kevin lay an open palm out and benson climbed aboard, and was placed atop his friend's head
"sure...why not? ... you're not ..." kevin suddenly switched to a suggestive voice "Worried that i'll do something?

"i'd say 'keep your pants on' but..."

"low blow!"

"bad pun!"

"okay then, the terrible twosome are off!" kevin announced as he started to walk, but froze three steps in.

"um... what is it?" benson asked

"you didn't walk here, did you?"

"as a matter of fact i rode here on my motorcycle"

"do i have to go get it?"

"no, i really want my expensive bike stolen, leave it(!)"

"oh ok, perfect" and kevin kept moving

"Kevin!"

"only joking!"
kevin spun around and walked back to where benson parked, in the little cave hidden in the cliffs.
kevin looked the cycle over "nice bike, it actually DOES look expensive..."

"i told you that already"

"thought y'were jokin' though"

"just pick it up and let's go"
kevin shrugged and reached for the bike
"Careful...! you break it... you owe me fourteen grand!"
kevin looked up to where he knew benson was on his head
"it's THAT expensive?!"

"half of it's the 'destruction of smaller property' fines"

"oh, THAT bullshit."

"language"

you're barely older than i am!"

"still older!"

"aw shut up... ok, got the bike."

"right."

"so let's go!! -- for real this time!" kevin announced.
if anyone else had been present, they could only have looked on while the two friends laughed as they headed towards kevin's home.