When Sam finally stepped onto his palm, he didn't expect it to tickle as much as it did. It was his first time holding his friend, but he knew he would never forget it.
The feeling of something so warm, so alive, voluntarily setting itself into his hand placed an immense weight of responsibility on Skip's shoulder. Though Sam could only have been a few ounces at most, the weight of his entire being was heavier than Skip could make out. And when he was reminded of Sam's mention of being touch starved before, he curled his fingers in just a bit more to offer whatever comfort he could at their size.
Sam happily leaned against the blockade of towering fingers, soaking up their heat like a blanket in the winter. He was reminded of his nest, and how he hadn't frequented his home for much longer than usual. Sam made a mental note to go back and check on how things were in his abode before any dust mites or other insects decided to take up a residence in his pile of fabrics.
The hand swayed up like his own personal elevator, escalating to reach Skip's giant face, and all at once, Sam's world was consumed by a hooked nose and dark features. Though he looked scary, it was clear that Skip held a lot more in his heart then could be seen on the surface, and Sam felt a burst of confidence swell up in his chest at the memory of their late night conversations.
"Hi," Sam whispered, causing Skip to blink back before responding.
"Hey."
"Why are you awake?" Sam's voice was raspy, still fresh from sleep, but his mind was more awake than ever at the sight of Skip's face protruding his vision.
"Just thinking about things, I guess."
"Leo had the same problem last night. I think I might have that effect on people," Sam huffed, and Skip nearly let out a laugh. "Are you okay?"
"Sure," Skip replied, far too quick. "Are you?"
"As good as I can be. I don't regret telling you all everything, I just wish I went about it differently, you know?"
Skip lowered his hand a bit to rest the edge of his palm against his chest, not enough to crush Sam in between, but enough to relax his arm while he spoke with vibrations that shook Sam's entire body with ease.
"Don't worry about it. You're not the only one who freaked out."
"What do you mean?"
"I threatened a little kid, Sam. To be honest, I'm still on the fence about whether I should let it go or not. It was murder, no matter which way you see it, and I can't just-"
"He was a child," Sam interrupted. "He was curious, and didn't think it was as bad as it really was. Jamie was just a kid-"
"And so were you," Skip ran his other hand through the mess of clumped hair atop his shaven sided head. "You can't forgive someone who killed your family, Sam. Why do you forgive him?"
"I can't afford not to."
"....oh."
Silence filled the room after that, the light breathing lost in the air as Sam shifted around in the hand, suddenly too hot for his own comfort.
"I'm sorry, Sam," Skip began. "I keep forgetting you don't have the same luxuries as the rest of us."
"It's okay," it was okay. "It makes me happy that you want to help."
"I do. I really do. If I could help, would you let me?"
"It depends on what you're planning."
Skip took a moment to think of his answer, but when nothing came out of his mouth, Sam decided to step in.
"I don't want someone else getting hurt. Whether that's me again, or a kid that didn't know what he was doing at the time, I don't care. I just want to move on."
"You don't want revenge?"
"No," Sam lied. "It's worthless to want something that I can't get. Do I look like I can get revenge on a human at my size? He should be around fifteen years old now, and could kill me with a finger, Skip. There's no point in fighting a battle I know I'll lose. I don't even know where he lives now."
"What if I could find out?"
"...what?"
"If I found out where Jamie lives now, and I drove over there to talk to him, how would you feel?"
"Hypothetically, I mean, as long as he wasn't hurt-"
"No fighting," Skip clarified, and pressed Sam tighter to his hard chest. Sam decided he liked laying on Leo's chest better. "Just telling him what he did, and he would have to live with it."
"Doesn't that seem cruel?"
"Not more cruel than murder. And it sounds like you're more concerned about the consequences than you are with me actually going through with it. Seems you care less about cruelty, and more about getting the job done for your parent's sake."
"I didn't say that," Sam called up, but he didn't deny the truth either.
"Can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"If you were my size, and had the opportunity to make the person who killed your parents feel guilt, would you do it?"
Sam thought for a while, to the point where steam could be seen blowing from either end of his ears as the gears turned.
Would he make the human feel guilt? Remind him of his crimes even after Sam convinced himself for years that he just wanted it to be over? Or would Sam leave it alone, and try to move past it like he parents would want.
With three humans at his side, and just a little bit of selfishness to his name, Sam found that he wanted Jamie to know what he did. He justified it as letting the teenager learn from his mistakes so he wouldn't do it in the future, but deep down, the truth was that Sam wanted someone besides himself to feel the pain he felt from the past four years. He was desperate.
"I think I might," Sam spoke up to Skip, breaking the silence. "If I were given the opportunity."
"Then," Skip said, now resolutely determined. "Let me help you."
"What can you do, exactly? How will you even find him?"
Skip sunk further into the couch and allowed Sam to lean on his chest with no issues, leaving a very tired borrower to yawn at the sudden comfort and try his absolute hardest to remain awake and alert.
"It's the twenty-first century. It's probably not hard to find out if I have his name and previous address. Just give me the time, and I'll do what I can."
"Okay." Sam yawned once more in response and burrowed into the soft fabric in Skip's shirt. "Thank you, Skip."
"It's fine. This is weird, you know. You sleeping on my chest like this. If you were Eli, I would've kicked you off by now."
"You want me to leave?" Sam mumbled out, but prepared to move if necessary.
"I didn't say that," Skip replied with a grunt, and they both fell into a comfortable silence for the remainder of their consciousness.
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A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, work has been crazy lately and I havnt had a day off to write more! This is just a glimpse into where Skip (and friends) are headed in the future, because let's be honest, if anyone is gonna get shit done, it's Skip :D
Thank you so much for reading (also we hit over 100 votes!!!!) and as always, leave a comment to let me know what you think!
-D
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Fantasy"Out of all four boys that were a part of the unlikely friend group, only three of them were human."
