[WIP] [ST 8: A NAME. A BIND.]

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The fourteen-story building erects up to the giant’s pelvis. Its design is simple: a main column of apartments with an elevator running from the ground to the roof, flanked by two wings of three additional floors with more living spaces. Built and assembled by the Great Builder, with the assistance of Suhr’s construction companies for human-tuning details such as essential utilities. One requested detail by the giant was the installation of durable glass ceilings on the removable common areas of his design.

“Psst. That’s what I get for asking.” the human mutters to himself.

“See? You don’t like the names I come up with.” the giant reproaches, ironically.

“Tchh. It’s not that…” He looks down at the building where he lives from the height the immense hand provides, now unable to ignore the resemblance between the structure and the suggestive nickname the giant has given it. “Actually, I think that’s a pretty funny name. I just wasn’t prepared for it.”

The young man chuckles quietly at the thought, the giant smiles above him, yet neither notices the other.

“Good to see the bush is being well kept. Brought those trees myself.” The giant takes a look behind the building where the courtyard is, with its various trees and hedges that look visibly healthy, a sign that they have been taken care of regularly.

“Oh, yes…” the man replies with a slight smile on his face, having received an unexpected compliment.

As part of his deal to stay at the building with reduced rent he has offered to take care of the green spaces, both outside and inside. Trimming, Watering and repotting the plants, weeding, mowing the lawn, etc. All activities he’s used to do as it reminds him of his childhood, back when he lived with his uncle in the forestry side of Guarida.

“So.” the giant interrupts after a brief pause. “On which part of the cock you live?”

“Huh?” The question catches the tiny man by surprise. He turns to look at the giant’s face to try  to decipher him. “What do you mean?”

“You live in the head, the shaft, or in the balls?” he adds to his question without hesitation, motioning his finger as he speaks.

“Eh–!!” As the question begins to take shape in his head, his face begins to blush too. “On—, On–” 

He stumbles, “On the third floor, door D” is what he’d like to say, it’s where he lives, but the words never come out of his mouth. And the mocking smile plastered on the bearded giant’s face doesn’t help him at all.

The human swallows hard, he can’t believe what he’s about to say. 

“It would be…” The human swallows hard, he can’t believe what he’s about to say. “In the balls. right there, in between.”

The giant lets out a small puff of air through his nose, though it feels like a gust of wind to the little man on his hand.

“Oh! In the middle of the balls!” He exclaims, almost too eager to hear the answer. “Good choice little one! I like them down there too.”

The human looks away instantly, hearing nothing but hearty chuckles resonate above him. A newfound worry now taking root in his mind: not letting the giant spot the blush spreading across his face from his suggestive remarks. He remains silent, unsure of what else to say– or if he should say anything at all.

The giant’s laughter eventually subsides, as his booming voice lessen the young man on his hand is able to pick up the sounds of the calm summer night around them. At this height he’s able to hear the whistling of the coastal winds coming from the ocean, coating an uncanny moment of silence in his neighborhood, which otherwise would have been packed with the sound of people. All that can be heard aside from the wind is the distant bustle of city movement happening far away from them.

As a safety recommendation by [GIMU], people are told to avoid wandering near the Great Builder when he visits the city. To keep at least a good eight to ten blocks or one kilometer of distance to have time to react to any sudden change on his path.

"Can you put me down?" The little human takes the initiative to speak. "Please."

"Of course, pequeñin." The giant secures the hand holding the human against his chest and starts squatting down.

"On the roof is fine." The little one looks at his belongings, concluding that it will be easier to bring everything down in the elevator.

"Straight to the tip. Got it." he adds in a mocking tone.

The young man lets the comment slide, but at this rate, it's going to be impossible to go unnoticed looking like a tomato.

The giant carefully moves the hand holding the human until the palm is parallel to the terrace, making contact with the roof that ends up on a railing. The human stands up and walks towards the center of the palm in search of his belongings. As he reaches for the strap of his backpack, he notices his hand trembling, becoming aware of his own nervousness.

"Need a hand with that?" The giant's deep voice resonates above him.

"No- It's alright. I can do it." he replies, turning his back to the giant. "You've done enough."

The giant watches closely as the human attempts to lift his equipment onto his back, grabbing his backpack, tent and sleeping bag at the same time, although he fails to hold it all and drops his stuff a couple of times, which he finds amusing. 

However, deep down, the giant does feel a primitive impulse. To pinch the little guy with his stuff. Lift him, carry him and drop him onto the terrace. Quick and effective, effective and in control. 

But he refrains, patently awaiting for the human. The truth is that he, the Great Builder, finds it satisfying to see his humans handling their own burdens by themselves.

The young man manages to carry all of his things at once and heads towards the edge of the giant’s hand, where he stares at the roof of the building beyond the railing. It’s the last step he must take to return to his home, to normalcy. He drops some of the equipment behind the railing, holds onto it and jumps to clear it.

“Well pequeñin, I’ve kept my word.”

The giant’s deep voice resonates behind him. The human turns around to look at the massive giant and finds himself face to face with him.

“Brought you home.”

“Yeah…” He is left with nothing more to say, taken aback by the closeness of the giant’s bearded face.

An extensive silence hangs between them, their fixed gazes revealing that both of them have something on their minds, something they want to say. The giant opens his mouth and inhales, ready to speak.

“What's with that-?” But the human interrupts him, then cuts his own question upon noticing the giant about to speak.

Now a moment of uncomfortable silence stretches between them. The giant simply stares at him with his mouth slightly open, almost as if he had forgotten what he was going to say.

“My bad, go ahead.” The human cordially yields the floor to him.

“I have to tell you something before I leave.” He replies, his tone becoming serious.

The giant closes his eyes and takes a few seconds to reconsider his choice of words, enough time to unsettle the little human on the roof. The tone in his voice toying with the little’s head once more, even silencing the noises of the wind in his ears.

“What is it now? Did I do something else wrong?...” He ponders, prepared to receive another lecture.

The giant exhales and opens his eyes, his gaze meeting the human’s in front of him.

"Remember what I said. My forest is off-limits. Promise me you won’t go again." he states, keeping his gaze fixed on the tiny human on the roof. Each word is spoken firmly, each sentence delivered with authority.

It is impossible for the human not to feel vulnerable; small and exposed under the giant’s absolute attention. He’s grateful that it is the Great Builder scolding him; after interacting with him all afternoon, he has a better idea on how to respond. Though, If it were another giant, his next words might as well be his last.

“I promise. I won’t go there again.” he vows confidently, striving to match the importance of his words with those of the giant.

“Alright… I’ll take your word.” he responds, returning to his usual tone of voice, though with a puzzling look on his face.

The human's body relaxes as the giant's voice returns to its composed self once more. He finds it inexplicable how the giant can shift the mood so easily with a simple change in tone, even when completely unaware of the fact.

"Is that… all there is?" he muses, his gaze fixed on the giant's face. He can't shake the feeling that there might be more to the giant's words, especially after all the time he spent deliberating only to seemingly repeat himself.

"But y’know... In the forest temple..." The giant begins to speak again, but halts, looking down to the little man on the terrace who watches him expectantly.

"The forest temple?" Curiosity strikes, leaving him convinced that the giant has more on his mind to tell, though he cannot quite grasp what that might be.

"Mhh… Nothing. Better forget it." he grumbles with a hint of uncertainty as he changes his mind.

It feels odd for the human to hear the giant hesitate; usually, he is quite confident and direct with his intentions. He considers delving into the matter, but now it is the giant who interrupts him before he can speak.

"What were you going to say, pequeñin?" he asks, steering the conversation back.

The young man snaps back. He's had a question lingering since he began chatting with the giant.

"Oh right, well that. What's with that nickname? Peh-keh-neen?" The human attempts to mimic the strange pronunciation used by the giant. "Because, you know... I have a name already."

"Yes, I know you do." the giant responds, almost defensively.

Proper names are a human thing. Among giants, relationships aren't particularly friendly, so identifying and referring to each other by proper names is not a common practice. In terms of the relationship between humans and giants, titles and nicknames are usually the norm of communication. If there's any communication at all, that is.

However, the years of coexistence have had an effect on the Great Builder. Due to his good memory, he has acquired the habit of remembering faces or names of humans with whom he has an agreement with or some kind of interest, although his longevity often proves that effort worthless. But what is certain is that he very well remembers those humans who have disobeyed his word.

"Well, pequeñin it’s a nickname for silly little guys I find." the giant explains.

"Okay..." He doesn't know how to feel about it, but at least now he knows what it means. He’s just relieved it's not some term related to food or something similar.

"But tell me then, what name do you bear?" The tone of his voice denotes interest, though it feels distant.

Just as the human is about to introduce himself, he falters, struck by a sudden jolt of nervousness about the idea of formally presenting himself to the giant, despite the hours they've already spent together and the personal space they’ve shared– way more than he ever imagined.

But he knew this moment would eventually come, now is not the time to mess it up.

"My name is Adrian." he introduces himself cordially.

“Ah, that’s... a new one.” The giant's gaze momentarily drifts away, as if lost in thought, while his voice decreases in volume with each word, almost as if he were speaking to himself. Yet not quiet enough for a human a few meters away from his mouth to miss it.

For the first time since they met, and just for an instant, Adrian notices a hint of true uncertainty on the giant's face. Mere seconds. Until, regaining his usual composure, the giant returns his gaze down to Adrian, their eyes meeting once again.

"I like it." He concludes.

Mere seconds. The same duration those thoughts linger in the tiny human’s mind before being trampled by the giant's words.

‘He likes it’ is now the only thing Adrian can think about, a smile plastered on his face. Hearing the giant's approving words are enough to redden his cheeks once more. Ignoring why something as trivial as his name could really matter to him.

Little by little, the distant sounds of the city and the wind blowing from the coast become noticeable again, grounding them into the present. They stare at each other without saying much, each debating their own thoughts, though It's becoming evident that their time together must come to an end, both of them need to return to their homes to rest, to prepare for a new day.

“Alright, time to hit the road.” It’s the giant who finally speaks, as he begins to rise to his feet.

The scene unfolds in slow motion for the little guy on the rooftop. He’s forced to take a few steps back and crane his neck up to track the giant's face while doing so. The giant stands to his full height, towering like a monolith over the small human and the entire building he lives in. His face, partially obscured by his hairy chest, looks down at him from dozens of meters above.

“A pleasure to meet you, Adrian.” The giant’s deep voice resonates through the city.

The little guy feels his heart stop the moment the giant says his name for the first time. Once again, he feels a jolt in his head, forcing him to look away and step back several steps. He holds his head with his hand, anticipating the headaches. But this time, they don’t come; it’s not pain what he feels.

This time, he experiences the strangest sensation yet—a shiver that runs through his body from the tips of his toes up to his head, where it lingers for a moment. And then it happens; he feels as if something deep in his mind clicks.

Immobile, Adrian awaits a few seconds, trying to make sense of everything he’s experiencing. He feels surprisingly good, rejuvenated even. The fatigue and exhaustion have completely disappeared. It’s a senseless experience, an unknown sensation that leaves him perplexed. He has never felt anything like this before, nor had he ever imagined it.

As he assesses his situation with his gaze lost on the ceramic tiles of the floor, he catches a slight, unfamiliar movement in the corner of his eye coming from the giant's direction. He turns his head to look, yet the massive being hasn’t moved an inch since the last time he spoke.

This time he finds himself facing another section of the behemoth’s body. Steps ahead of him, where the terrace ends, towering above him stands a wall of cotton fabric that dominates his view: the giant’s underwear.

The human instinctively inspects the giant’s trunk, noting the fabric’s details and its sturdy cotton construction designed to withstand the giant’s frequent use. Above, a remarkably large elastic band secures the garment snugly around the giant's hips, adorned with a prominently displayed label bearing the logo of 'BIG,' Guarida's foremost textile company responsible for making all of the giant’s clothing.

He drops his head and his gaze settles on the prominent bulge in the giant’s underwear, the outline of the colossus is easily drawn against its prison. He becomes mesmerized, remembering what he saw in the forest when that beast was free and at its maximum size; he could swear it was the size of an entire bus, one of the largest. A tool so massive he already witnessed in action, if only to fling his ride away.

Adrian gets lost in his thoughts while staring intently at the giant's package, until the serpent inside gives a slight tug, as if wanting to come to life. That was the movement he saw before. The twitch of the giant’s bulge brings him back to reality.

Adrian averts his gaze, jumping away and turning his body completely around, now truly blushing.

“Shit, I just-” Adrian tries to say something, anything, but his nerves get the best of him. Coughing and stammering “Something moved… I was just looking– the label– a bus, I mean... Sorry, I- I didn’t mean to look...”

Now that his task is done, the giant turns around and retraces his steps, walking casually down the avenue he arrived on. The earth-shattering vibrations of his footsteps make Adrian regain his senses immediately. Now that he’s no longer on the giant’s hand, he once again feels the violence of each of the giant’s steps hitting the ground, reminding him of the true danger the giant represents.

Adrian leans on the railing, his eyes fixed on the imposing figure of the giant leaving, heading for the giant's path. The titan’s wide, muscular back stands out over the entire city, each muscle moving with mechanical precision, dictating the movement of his massive arms swinging around his torso and his enormous legs like skyscrapers covering vast distances with each step, leaving craters in the ground behind him.

He watches the giant for a long while until he realizes he’s forgotten to tell him something obvious, he prepares to raise his voice.

“Great Builder!” Adrian cups his hands around his mouth.

The giant hears him, despite being blocks away by now.

“Thank you!” He shouts with all the strength of his lungs. “Thank you for bringing me home!”

The giant walks to the end of the avenue, lifts his muscular legs over a block filled with buildings, and continues his path, crossing more and more blocks until he disappears behind the urban landscape of Suhr.

“A silly little guy, huh?” Adrian mutters to himself.

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