Niall and Nonah were being loomed over by the two girls they had recently shared a table with. Naskia sat down cross legged on the floor and picked up Niall’s pad and placed it in her bag. Loona brought over the box she had brought Nonah over in and set her hand down.

Nonah went to scamper into her hand but Niall grabbed her by the arm.

“Would you mind if Nonah travels with me?” Niall asked.

“Is your case big enough for both of you?” Loona asked.

Naskia laughed. “He won’t go in a case. He did it once and I never heard the end of it.”

“But you have to. Even if Naskia accepts you as an equal it’s the law. Surely you obey the law?” Loona asked switching back to journalist mode for a minute.

“Yeah I’m happy to obey rational laws that I have a say in. I’m totally disenfranchised. As far as the law is concerned I am property and not an individual. So why should I recognise a legal system that doesn’t recognise me?” Niall said.

Loona noted Niall’s tone was one of arrogant defiance. He had given her a rational answer and he expected her to debate on his terms. If she resorted to domineering then although he would lose in actuality he would win the debate. She grinned admiring his methods.

“You’re clever. I see exactly what you’re doing. If I engage with you then I have to beat your argument which isn’t really possible without proving you’re not intelligent which I don’t think I can do. You want me to accept your position as the default but what you forget it that as a Titan citizen the law applies to me so I cannot have a Human in my possession that is not in a case.” Loona said thinking this would settle the matter.

“I can accept that.” Niall said. He turned to Naskia. “I’m ready to go.”

Naskia set her hand down and Niall stepped on and pulled Nonah with him. Naskia stood up slowly, not quite used to having to balance two Humans in her hand.

“Hey!” Loona said getting annoyed. “You said you accepted my point.”

“I did. This way you don’t break any laws. Nonah comes with me and gets a comfier ride.”

“I…I…I don’t know. I don’t want Loona to be mad.” Nonah chimed in. She had been nearly terrified when she saw Niall arguing with Loona. You never talked back. Never.

“See! Naskia can you hand her to me?” Loona said getting Nonah’s case.

“Just wait Nas.” Niall said in a voice that was more commanding than asking.

Naskia stopped. Nonah was awestruck. Niall had commanded his owner and she had complied without complaint. First arguing with Loona and then commanding the enormous woman who held him in her hand. This man was unlike any other she had ever met.

“Nonah, do you like sitting with me and talking with me?” He asked.

“Yes…” she said nervously.

“And do you want to go in the case?” Niall said. He was now staring her hard in the eyes.

“No…” Nonah said breaking a bit. She was torn between what Loona wanted from her and what she wanted now she had seen what things could be like if she were only bigger. It wasn’t fair. “I don’t like it in there! It’s dark and it’s bumpy and it makes me feel sick.”

Loona was rather mad at Niall. He didn’t have the right to do this. He was confusing poor Nonah and she didn’t know any better. But she really did feel bad when Nonah admitted to disliking being in the case. She had never really considered that being in a dark box in a bouncing backpack would be unpleasant.

“Right, fine; she can go with you. But we need to have a talk after the interview is done.” Loona said mostly out of guilt.

Nonah hopped up and down and squealed with delight. The Human had won somehow. Niall did his best to not look at her bouncing chest but it was quite alluring. He consciously snapped his focus away from it when he sensed Naskia’s eyes burning into him. The last thing he needed was two giant women being pissed at him.

Naskia deposited them in her cardigan pocket carefully and left along with Loona. Niall lay back in the corner of the pocket and let Nonah settle in to the other corner. She was beaming from ear to ear loving having two new friends and a new experience. The world soon started to rock as Naskia started to move. It wasn’t entirely comfortable but it was better than being in a dark box, it was like being in a speedboat hopping over waves on a lake.

“Enjoying yourself?” Niall asked her.

She nodded vigorously. “I don’t think I’ve been outside since Loona took me home.”

Nonah looked up past the hem of Naskia’s pocket. Her dark, cascading hair was visible above them but beyond that there was the deep blue sky.

Nonah craned her neck trying to see as much as she could “It’s so pretty. I wish I could fly up there like a bird.”

Niall smiled at her. She seemed so sweet and innocent. It was like talking to a child in a lot of ways. “The sky on Earth is light blue. It’s much brighter and there are fluffy white clouds. We have planes that let you go high into the sky and fly like any bird.”

Nonah dived towards him and locked her eyes with his. “Will you take me to see it? Please?”

Niall raised his arms instinctively and caught her shoulders. He consciously kept his eyes locked on to hers and not the line of cleavage easily within reach of his eyes and hands. He gently pushed her back into her spot.

“We really need to get you some clothes….hmmm…” Niall said. He pulled his red t-shirt off over his head and gave it to Nonah. “Put that on.”

“But…but we don’t wear clothes…only masters wear clothes.” Nonah said clutching the t-shirt. She really did like it. The colour was bold and bright.

“Am I a master?” Niall asked.

Nonah shook her head. She wasn’t sure what he was.

“But I wear clothes. Go on; if Loona asks tell her I told you it was ok.” Niall said. He wanted to stay on good terms with Loona but he really did want to make a point. It was unfair of her to attempt to use Nonah against him so he decided to turn the tables.

Nonah pulled the T-shirt on over her head. Niall did his best not to look but it was hard not to.

“You can keep it. It’s yours.” Niall said.

Nonah turned red. Nearly as red as her only possession “Really? You mean it?”

Niall laughed. “Yeah it’s yours. Naskia will make me a new one.”

Nonah was about to ask how he was able to tell Naskia what to do when she spotted the deep purple bruise covering half of his torso.

She gasped as slid herself over beside him. “What happened to you?!”

“Oh this? It’s nothing just ignore it.” Niall said the tables suddenly turning against him.

“That looks really bad. What happened?!” Nonah said gently stroking his bruised side.

Nonah’s soft hands felt good on his side. He could feel the concern in her touch. This was the first real contact he’d had with an individual on his scale since he arrived. The holosuite was one thing but it still had a slightly detached feel to it.

“I was climbing the wardrobe and I fell.” Niall lied.

“Nu uh; this doesn’t happen from falling. I’ve seen this before. Someone hit you. Someone big…..” Nonah said looking him dead in the eyes while still stroking his side.

“Look I don’t want to talk about it.” Niall said hunching up.

“Did your owner do this? Did you say something bad?” Nonah pressed on.

“I don’t have an owner! I’m a free man! You need to learn when to drop stuff.” Niall said quickly losing his patience. Nonah had hit a sore spot. Literally.

Nonah draped himself on his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder to show she was backing down. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it…” Niall said uncomfortably.

“How do you put up with him?!” Loona asked Naskia without hiding her frustration.

Naskia smiled and brushed a loose strand of dark hair back behind her ear. “He has his good points, though it’s impossible to win an argument with him.”

“Why not just train him?” Loona enquired.

“It wouldn’t work. He’d rather be dead than be like like Nonah. Besides, I think he’s right….” Naskia said.

“Right about what?”

“Humans, think about it. I have been top of my class for as long as I can remember and he wipes the floor with me, every time. There’s no way I can say I’m superior just because I’m bigger than him. That’d be like saying you’re superior cuz you’re bigger than me.” Naskia did her best to explain.

Loona laughed. “I’ve no problem with that logic.”

“Really? Tens of thousands of years ago we chose our leaders based on who was the strongest. That time was called the Dark Time for a reason. We stopped thinking about ourselves in that way a long time ago. Why shouldn’t we apply the same standards to other species?” Naskia said.

“Sheesh you’re as bad as he is!” Loona smiled.

Naskia giggled. “He’s not always like this. He acts tough but he’s really a sweetheart. He’s affectionate and kind. He’s always surprising me with little things. That restaurant we were in, it’s part of a bigger program; a whole city he made just to spend time with me normally. He took me on a day out there and really swept me off my feet. He’s not like other guys. He sees me for me rather than the skin under the dress. He’s still a guy but he can still hold a conversation when I’ve my clothes off.”

Loona stopped and smiled a broad smile; her mouth was hanging open slightly from surprise. “Ok. Off the record…do you love him? Not like he’s my pet of course I love him but actually love love him?”

Naskia turned red with embarrassment and looked back at Loona before pressing on without answering.

Loona chased after her. “You do! You love him!”

“Shuddup!” Naskia said still red.

“I’m not judging….just curious…that’s all.” Loona said jogging to catch up.

Naskia focused on calming herself down. She really didn’t have any reason to be embarrassed. Did she?

“Ok. I love him. Romantically, so what?” she replied.

“So what?! What about the whole size thing? And the fact that legally you own him! You can’t get married or have kids or….” Loona trailed off reading the look on Naskia’s face. It was clear she had struck on a sore spot.

Naskia covered her pocket with her hand aware that Niall could probably hear most of this. “Yeah I know but I love him anyway. I’ve thought about all this; a lot. But I love him and I can’t change that. We’ll work it out.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet.” Loona said.

The two couples remained in a mostly awkward silence for the rest of the trip to Naskia’s house. Niall still referred to it as Naskia’s house but was debating internally whether to start calling it his own. Naskia already did. It was after all where he spent all his time. He spent more time there than Naskia did.

Naskia opened the door and walked to the sofa. She sat down and Loona sat down beside her. Naskia carefully placed her hand in her pocket waiting for her two passengers to latch on to her fingers. She lifted them out and cupped them into her hand and gently set her hand on the table. Once she was certain they were safely off her hand she got up and went to make some tea. Alcohol was clouding her brain slightly and she wanted to clear the haze.

Loona quickly noticed the two Humans were not as they were when she last saw them. Nonah was now clad in a long red t-shirt that went half way to her knees. She was smiling but staring at her feet obviously not wanting to attract any ire from Loona. Her eyes shifted to Niall. Surprisingly he looked less comfortable than Nonah. She expected him to be confidently strutting around the table but he wasn’t. The reason was glaringly obvious.

Loona gasped and leaned in closer to get a better view. “Niall….what happened to you?”

“I fell off the wardrobe. I’m ok. Don’t worry about it.” Niall said. He knew he hadn’t fooled Nonah but was confident he could fool Loona.

Naskia returned. She had heard the exchange. She swallowed. Her conscience wouldn’t allow Niall to lie to protect her. She had to take responsibility for her actions. “I’m afraid Niall’s not telling the truth there.”

Niall looked up at her and mouthed “NO” at her.

“The day you cornered me outside class, I didn’t actually know about his blog. You took me totally off guard. I was so angry I went home and confronted him. Things got heated, we both said some horrible things and it escalated. I lost it, I hit him…” Naskia said welling up.

Loona used some practised techniques to keep her face placid. She allowed no emotion or judgement to seep through. She couldn’t believe that the cute, ditsy looking girl who had told her not 10 minutes ago that she loved this man had inflicted so much hurt upon him. She was about to reply when Niall jumped in.

“I should point out we were both being heavily manipulated by Naskia’s former roommate. She’d been playing us off each other and engineered the confrontation to separate us. That psychopath tried to eat me. Naskia saved me, nothing like that will happen again.” Niall said just as stoned faced as Loona.

“You’ve seen what he’s like! Sometimes it’s hard to remember he’s Human. I lost it in the argument and slapped him without thinking.” Naskia said.

“You know by telling me this I could inform the authorities? At best you would lose Niall and at worst you’d do time.” Loona said still taken aback at the turn of events.

Naskia choked back some tears. “I know…I know but I couldn’t let him lie for me. It is the worst thing I have ever done in my life. I don’t know how I could do something like that ever, ever again.”

“Do you mind if I talk to Niall in private?” Loona said with a serious tone.

“That’s up to him…” Naskia said turning away.

“No. We don’t need to. We’re passed this.” Niall said standing firm.

Loona ignored him and gently picked him up and secured him in her grip. Niall struggled, annoyed at being ignored. Loona took him to Naskia’s room and set him on the bedside table and sat on the floor.

“I told you we don’t need to discuss this.” Niall said rather annoyed.

Loona’s expression softened. She had big blue eyes, not like Naskia’s. Loona’s eyes were cloudier, more guarded but Niall could tell she was genuinely concerned.

“I’m giving you a chance here, an out. If you want to come with me just say so.” Loona said.

“I told you there’s nothing to discuss. We were both being manipulated. Naskia saved me from being eaten for crying out loud! You have no idea how terrifying it is to be actually inside the mouth of another person who is seconds from swallowing you, nearly being digested alive. Naskia saved me from that and has not asked me for anything in return, not a thing.” Niall was fuming. He wanted to shout at her but he couldn’t. Her huge face and caring eyes dominated his vision. He felt like a lost little boy being approached by a concerned stranger.

Niall clearly seemed troubled about being eaten and he clearly trusted Naskia completely. She consciously decided to keep the focus on Naskia. “She says she loves you. And I believe her. I could see it when you were sitting together at the table. And I could see you love her. I just want to make sure your feelings for her aren’t making you stay here when you know you shouldn’t.”

“Look Loona I appreciate your concern. I really do. I appreciate that you’re treating more or less equally despite only having met me and despite the fact I’ve been pushing Nonah towards my agenda but I love her, I trust her and she will never hurt me again. Ok?” Niall replied.

Loona smiled. She didn’t make a conscious choice to treat him equally. She guessed it had just happened.

“How do you know she won’t?”

“After it happened, after she saved me from her roommate she took me to the holosuite. She made me Titan size. You’ve seen me there. I’m a big guy, a lot bigger than her. She turned the safeties off and demanded I hurt her, do what I want with her. That’s not the action of someone who has malicious intent. Seriously, you don’t have to worry.” Niall said.

“Hmm, I can see your point there. That’s quite the act of contrition. I dunno; I’m just comfortable not knowing you’ll be ok. “Loona said.

“I appreciate your concern but there’s really no need. Look if it makes you feel better you can come round regularly and check on me. Unannounced if you like. Bring Nonah too I’d like to teach her about Earth and maybe a few other things.” Niall said.

“Loona smiled. Her face softened and the concerned look slowly faded away. “Ok. That sounds good. I had fully intended on giving you a chewing out for confusing her but she seems to like you. Something tells me she’ll be begging to see you all the time anyway.”

“Deal then?” Niall asked.

“Deal.”

Naskia was sitting on the sofa staring straight ahead. Her eyes were welling and her lip was trembling. She didn’t know what was going to happen. She had felt a weight lift from her when she told Loona what she had done but she was starting to regret it. She could take Niall from her. She couldn’t lose him. She heard a little squeak and she looked down at the tiny woman in the red T-shirt standing before her.

“Can I have your hand please?” Nonah asked politely.

Naskia sniffed and dropped her hand to the table. She expected Nonah to sit but instead she scrambled up her arm gripping on to her cardigan. It didn’t take more than 10 or so seconds for Nonah to make it to Naskia’s shoulder. She felt the girl press herself into the side of her head.

“It’s ok. I can see it. Niall loves you and you love him. Whatever happened, you didn’t mean.” She said comforting her.

Naskia choked half laugh, half tears. She found it funny this little girl she had just met had read them both so easily. Niall was a tough nut to crack. She was really very affectionate and sweet. Nonah was what Naskia was looking for when she bought Niall.

“It will be ok. Loona is a good person. She won’t take Niall; promise.” Nonah said.

Naskia smiled and plucked Nonah from her shoulder. “You really are very sweet you know that?”

Nonah blushed and tugged at the bottom of her t-shirt. “Thank you. You’re really pretty Miss Naskia.”

“Aww stop being so cute, you’re making me want to steal you. And don’t call me Miss Naskia, just Naskia ok?” Naskia said. Nonah had quickly made her feel better. She lifted Nonah to her mouth to give her a kiss and smiled as Nonah hugged her cheeks as she did so.

Loona and Niall arrived back shortly after. Loona handed Niall to Naskia who instinctively cupped him to her chest.

“Don’t worry. Niall convinced me you’re not a danger to him. I didn’t mean any insult to you; I just didn’t want to risk it.” Loona said.

Naskia breathed a sigh of relief, smiled meekly and set Nonah down. “No, no. I understand.”

“On the bright side you’ll be seeing a lot more of Nonah and I. I hope you don’t mind?” Loona smiled.

Naskia laughed. “Oh no definitely not, we don’t get a lot of company since Kiri left.”

The two girls looked down at the table after hearing a high pitched squeal. Nonah was bouncing around in delight.

Naskia and Loona looked at each other and laughed.