The next morning, Vivian was the first to wake, rolling over in bed with a heavy sigh. She simply lay there for a while, eyes closed and trying to deny that she had to get up for another day.
However, when her mind wandered to the events of the previous night, her eyes snapped open, though she immediately shut them again with a soft hiss because of the bright daylight streaming through her window.
Had it been real, or was it just a dream?
She didn't know which one she hoped for. How was she supposed to take care of a little Skywalker without anyone knowing?
Carefully, Vivian cracked an eye open much slower, casting her bleary eyed gaze down to the bottom shelf of her bookshelf.
Sure enough, she could see the steady rise and fall of the handkerchief blanket, and the mop of blonde hair resting on the wrist sweatband. Luke Skywalker was still fast asleep in her makeshift bed, and he had indeed come to life last night.
Which means he also bit me, Vivian couldn't help but think.
Pushing that unpleasant thought aside, Vivian reluctantly pushed the covers back and got out of bed, taking care to not wake her tiny visitor. When she realized she could hear no other voices in the room she took her opportunity and swiftly left her room, traveling down the hall and taking a right at the end to come into the living room, and then a left to raid the kitchen.
******************************************************************************
When Luke woke up the next morning, he kept his eyes squeezed tightly shut long enough to say a quick prayer that the night before would just be a dream and he'd open his eyes to find himself still on the Millennium Falcon.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, as when he opened his eyes he was staring at really large paper books with inscriptions on the spine that he couldn't read. Luke groaned softly, closing his eyes and burying his face in his pillow as he tried to avoid this strange reality for just a little longer.
That plan was graciously ruined when a few moments later he heard a door open and someone entered the room. Worried that someone else was coming to discover his existence, Luke pulled the handkerchief over his head and flipped over to try and see who was coming through the sheer material.
"Are you awake?" came Vivian's voice, and Luke sighed, heartbeat returning to normal as he removed the sheet from over his head.
"Yeah, I'm awake. I thought you were someone else coming in," Luke told her.
Vivian nodded. "Today I might see about getting you a private corner disguised so that no one will bother you. And possibly some furniture. I've got an old dollhouse I made with my dad when I was eight in the garage. I can go raid it after breakfast."
Luke sighed. "What has the galaxy come to that I've resulted to using doll accessories."
Vivian snorted, breaking off a small piece of her bread and butter and handing it down to him. "Here—I've also got some eggs and sausage links. I sincerely hope I can eat all of this," she chuckled.
Luke took the rather large piece of bread—at least to him—with a small sigh. "Being this small is already getting depressing—I have to hold it in two hands it's so big to me, but to you it's a crumb."
"Hey, don't go getting depressed on me, I have sausage!" Vivian said in hopes of cheering him up. "Honestly, it's much easier to keep you hidden at this size than if you were a full grown person."
Luke took a bite of the bread, shaking his head. "Still...it's a little humiliating. I mean, I don't even have a change of clothes!"
Vivian smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I can't help you there. I don't like dolls, so I won't have anything from another doll that's your size, and I'm terrible at sewing."
Luke gave her a strange look. "You hate dolls...yet you bought one of me?"
Vivian held up a finger. "Action figure, there's a difference. Plus, small figurines of my favorite characters don't bother me. Everything else, yeah, I kind of want to toss them into a burn pile. And I haven't even seen any scary movies about dolls. They just freak me out."
Luke shook his head. "That makes no sense to me."
"Well, I can just not give you anything else off of this plate, and keep the milk to myself too..."
Luke grimaced. "No, no, I still need to be fed. I'm a person, remember? Not a plaything."
Vivian laughed. "Well when you put it that way you almost make yourself sound like a pet." Grinning, she took a chunk of the sausage and passed it down to him as soon as he was done with the bread. "Here, I'll finish my portion and leave some for you while I go looking for things we can use for furniture and we'll see about building you a little humble abode."
Luke sighed. "All right."
They ate in silence a little while longer, and once Vivian was done she set the large plate in front of Luke, leaving him to break off his own portions of what remained. Looking up at her, he gave her a sheepish smile. "Ah...thanks. And I'm sorry for biting you last night. I was just trying to get free and I kind of panicked."
Vivian smiled in return. "Apology accepted. I'll be back after I've found some stuff for you to use."
Luke nodded, watching her make her way to the door. "I'll just be over here then," he called, turning his attention to what looked like boulders of food to him. "Trying to finish this off..."
Once Vivian had returned, Luke had finished off the sausage and done what he considered decent damage on the remainder of the eggs and toast, now sitting stuffed and feeling like he'd just had a meal fit for a king. As Vivian approached, he cracked an eye open, gazing at the little pouch she had in hand. "I'm guessing you found some stuff?"
Vivian smiled sheepishly. "Well, stuff we can use. I mean, some of it may even be small for you, but it's better than nothing." Luke sighed, getting to his feet while she crouched down and opened her little bag and began to withdraw the items. "I have some little china teacups you can use for drinks and such, and I found an actual pillow on the bed in there...sorry, it's pink."
Luke sighed, looking at the floral china and the pink pillow complete with lace on the ends. "I'll live...just don't take any holos of this."
Vivian gave him an apologetic look, then continued. "I figured you could use these two chairs, they look about your size, and the coffee table, the little kitchen table, the vanity, and the dresser."
Luke actually breathed a sigh of relief when he saw these pieces weren't all floral and pink. Just simple browns, and the two chairs were actually cushioned with soft cream built in cushions. "I like these," he admitted, lounging in the chair and reaching over to pull out the drawers of the vanity and dresser to make sure they were in fact empty.
Vivian smiled. "I thought you'd like those over the regular hard back chairs. There's a matching sofa, too, and I guess if you want it I can get you the corner cabinet and the china cabinet to keep stuff in."
Luke nodded. "All right, I'll check them out. Wait, you said the pillow came from the bed. Where's the bed? Why not bring the whole thing?"
"Because the bed is too small for you, length wise. And the blanket is terrible, a stiff fake quilt that keeps its shape. I think your legs would be hanging off at the knees."
Luke grimaced. "Okay, I guess I can stick with what we've got..."
Vivian nodded, reaching back into the little pouch. "I also got the bathtub, and I apologize, but you might want to use it as an old fashioned washtub instead of a bathtub, 'cause I don't think you'll fit."
"Oh, well, I'm glad you thought of clothes since you can't make any...though now that you mention bathtub...do you have any way I could wash?" Luke asked awkwardly. Vivian glanced around her room.
"Yeah, I was worried about that myself. I mean, my aunt made a bunch of soap bars the other day, so I know there's that, I could just let you cut out a chunk with your lightsaber, but..." She frowned, looking at one of the glass bowls she'd won at the local fair. A terrible prize, really, and she'd wondered what she'd use it for outside of a small amount of candy inside or maybe a bar of soap in the middle. But now that she was looking between the two...
Vivian snatched the bowl off of her dresser, giving it to Luke. "How's that? Can you fit comfortably?"
Luke awkwardly climbed into the bowl, though when he sat down he could recline and put his feet up, easily stretching out like he was in a bathtub. "Well, I think it could work, though the ring won't be that comfortable..."
"My stepdad has a few glasses cleaning cloth you could mold as a little pillow for when you use it so it doesn't hurt your neck," Vivian amended with a smile. Luke shrugged.
"Well, I'm glad that's covered," he commented, standing up to wander along his little collection of furniture so far.
"I was also thinking, on the food and water side of things, I have perfume bottle caps I never use I can wash out really well and they'd be about the size of a pitcher or a really large glass for you, I could fill them with milk, some kind of juice, and water every day. And to keep them cold, I have a tin lid for a candle we can put an ice cube in and set the drinks in the cold water, change the cube whenever we need to. And I have some old plastic coins that, well, can be used as plates, as cheap as that sounds. And I've got some bottle caps lying around I can put portions of food on, or pour soups and such into. I'm sure I can find something to use as a spoon or ladle of some kind. And with the bathwater and washtub water, I can just run them into the bathroom and bring them into you when you need it."
Luke gazed up at her suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't plan for this to happen, because you're rather prepared."
Vivian rolled her eyes. "No, I'm being creative. Now we just have to think of something to make your little abode out of..."
"At this rate, why not use your mountain of books?" Luke asked, gesturing to the two bookshelves packed with hardback books and paperback books. Vivian chuckled.
"Because those wouldn't be very stable, and they'd probably fall on you in the middle of the night. Plus, that would be really noticeable."
"And a little man that walks and talks isn't?"
"Not the point. Now...I have suitcases, but they don't have a flat surface...Under my desk is right there for everyone to see...my jewelry box is too small, plus there's no way for air to get in...the hamper I need for my clothes...under my bed is frightening..."
"You don't have to tell me that, it looks like a cavern of dusty despair from down here," Luke commented, though Vivian clearly ignored him.
"My dresser people may go through, the basket's got holes in it, Mom will be taking the tote out..."
"I'm homeless, I get it," Luke muttered.
Vivian huffed, looking around the room. "Well, I've got two medium sized boxes I haven't used for anything yet, I can put them directly across from each other, and use my classics book series to make a small antechamber, and to form a doorway...throw my blankets over it to make it look like a pile of junk, or stuff that doesn't have a home...I can give you one of my small candles for light, you can light it with your lightsaber...what do you think?"
"Okay, maybe I have a mansion," Luke chuckled, and Vivian rose to her feet with a roll of her eyes.
"Well then, I guess that's what we're doing today—building you a home."
"What's this we stuff? I can't push around your giant books and blankets!"
"Ah, but you can move your own furniture into the house."
"...Oh. Right."
Vivian chuckled. "How about we make our little antechamber the bathroom, so that if you spill some water you don't get the boxes wet and ruin them?"
"You're apparently the boss."
Vivian rolled her eyes. "We can just put your little ice tray in the middle so that if it spills it too won't ruin the boxes. I'll put this together and you can start moving stuff in, how does that sound?"
"It sounds like you're giving yourself the easier job."
Vivian rolled her eyes, smirking devilishly. "You know, I forgot how whiney you were in the first movie."
Luke sputtered indignantly. "Excuse me?"
Vivian shrugged, moving to set the boxes up, judging the distance. "Still my favorite character, but wow, whiney. Maybe I should have looked for an action figure of you in the second movie. Though then I might have to deal with the short tempered, impatient you..."
Luke scowled. "You have a talent for upsetting people, you know that?"
"Not as much as Han Solo—and besides, I'm yanking your chain, calm down," Vivian chuckled, grabbing a stack of blue hard cover books that were all the same size and starting to build his antechamber and his entryway. Once she'd finished setting it all up, she grabbed a stack of blankets and layered them over the small constructed house haphazardly so that they were completely covered but just looked like a pile of stuff in her room.
"Hey Vivian..." Luke grunted as he carried his dresser inside.
"Yes?"
"Did you ever consider, oh, I don't know...a toilet?"
Vivian paused. "Oh shoot. Well...um...well...we can't exactly get you indoor plumbing for your size...ah...ew...we're going to have to result to something to be carried out and changed and washed regularly."
Even Vivian could hear Luke gag at the thought inside the little makeshift house. "Really?"
"Sorry," Vivian said sincerely, already picking around her room for something she didn't care about. "I'm guessing you'd like something with a lid."
"Please," came the awkward reply.
"You know...just for this, I think I'll let you use our sink as a swimming pool."
Luke actually laughed at that, poking his head out to start carrying the bowl that would be his bathtub in with care since it was glass. "I think that's a nice trade. Would you be willing to wash my clothes then in that case? Make it a little fairer?"
Vivian rolled her eyes. "All right, whatever. I'll see if I can find any doll clothes at a store that fit you, I'm sure I can spare some dollars for that."
"Maybe you can find me an actual bed, too."
"Your size? Not likely."
"Well you can at least try."
"Keep talking and I'll give you the too short bed with the stiff floral quilt and a little clay flowerpot for a toilet."
"I'll shut up now."
Vivian rolled her eyes, snatching a mini porcelain jewelry box shaped like a heart off of her desk. She didn't even remember who'd given it to her or when, though she did know that it didn't hold much, maybe a necklace and three or four rings. And it had a lid that fit on top like a puzzle piece.
Sighing, Vivian kneeled down and added the small box to the collection of furniture Luke was slowly transporting into his little house. "I found your toilet," she said as he came back out to grab a chair.
He glanced at the heart shaped container and grimaced, but didn't say anything. "Is there any way I could have some light while I set everything up?" he eventually inquired.
"Sure. If I scrounge up some batteries I might be able to get you a flashlight to hang from the blankets in the middle so you have a good amount of light. And less of a chance of a fire than if we used a candle," Vivian explained, already looking around her room for something she could take the batteries from and the mentioned mini keychain flashlight. Eventually she dug the flashlight out of her desk drawers, stealing a battery from the battery-powered portable charger she never used. Once she'd gotten the flashlight working again she messed with the key ring, doing her best to fix it so it would hang from the blankets, not fall, and not get in his way. Once she had that finished, she crouched before her carefully crafted entrance. "All right, I'm reaching in," she called softly, slowly putting her arm in to be careful not to knock anything over, carefully hooking the ring through all of her blankets with a little effort, catching the ring with her other hand at the top and then slipping it back through.
"There we go. Just press the little rubber button to turn the light on," Vivian said as she retracted her hand with just as much care, startled slightly when her hand met a microscopic patch of warm skin.
"Thanks," came Luke's response. "Hey, when I'm done...do you mind seeing if you can clean these clothes for me? I mean...I don't know how to clean clothes by hand."
"You sound so sheepish," Vivian chuckled, watching as light suddenly came from within the little abode and, after some rustling and moving about, Luke pushed the porcelain bathtub back outside. "But I guess...I'll probably get it done faster anyway. I'm guessing you'd like some soap too so you can wash? Shampoo too?"
Luke chuckled. "That would be nice, thanks. I'll just...keep doing this then."
Vivian nodded, standing. "I'll trade you soap for your clothes in a bit."
Luke blushed as he snatched up another piece of furniture. "It sounds wrong when you say it that way..."
Now Vivian blushed as well. "Ah...yeah...um...I'll go to getting that soap...and some of those caps we can use as pitchers I mentioned before, I'll clean those out too and get them filled...oh and bring you an ice cube...yeah...right..." she said awkwardly before she simply turned and left, taking care to grab her little pocket knife and the two Ziploc sandwich bags of soap her aunt had given her.
She'd try to pick the manlier of the two scents...hopefully the blue soap smelled more manly than the pink. Luke had suffered enough blows to his manhood today.
************************************************************************
Luke sighed when he had finally finished getting all of his furniture moved in, dropping down on his couch and leaning his hand over the arm of the chair while he stretched out along its length. He closed his eyes, thinking that maybe he could live here for a little while. He already had his boots tucked safely away by his mock-doorway, and his binoculars were stored in one of the many cabinets Vivian had given him.
Speaking of Vivian, she'd been gone longer than he'd been expecting her to be...
"I've got your stuff," came Vivian's voice no sooner than he'd had that thought. With a soft grunt, Luke got off of the couch and ambled outside, pushing his little tray with him as he did so. Vivian's giant form kneeled before his little house. She put the ice cube in the tray first, pushing it back into the house and setting her 'pitchers' down. It seemed she'd already filled them, as one had in milk in it, two had different kinds of juice, and another had regular water. She also opened her hand to reveal some carefully cut blocks of blue soap, and had another shorter bottle cap that was filled with what Luke assumed was a green, nice smelling shampoo.
"Hey, what is that?" Luke asked, sniffing it curiously as he picked up the cap.
"Green apple. It's some of mine—it's meant for handling thick blonde hair so I figured it would be better suited to you than the other shampoos in the house," Vivian replied as she sat down, watching him transport his pitchers into the little house. Once he'd gotten down to the last piece she spoke. "So do you want me to draw you a hot bath while I clean your clothes?" Vivian asked with a chuckle.
Luke considered, placing the container of water in his little ice tray before he stuck his head out, shrugging off his shirt and handing it to her. "Sure. Let me just roll our little tub out of here and then I'll...throw out the rest," Luke said with a blush. Vivian laughed.
"All right, it's a deal," she said, taking the shirt from him and waiting patiently until he'd rolled the glass bowl out and tossed out the remainder of his clothes.
"I'll just pull out one of the books and slide the bowl back into your little antechamber when I'm done," Vivian called as she left the room, and Luke sighed, looking around his little abode.
"I'll just...wait here then...have a drink," he murmured, grabbing one of the teacups she'd given him and pouring himself some milk before he lounged on the couch to wait. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long, though he took care to scramble into one of the box rooms out of sight when one of the books disappeared and Vivian put the bowl in place. Once his antechamber was restored and he knew he'd have privacy, Luke grabbed a bar of soap and pulled the shampoo container close enough to the bowl, stepping inside and sighing when he felt the steaming hot water sooth muscles he hadn't known had been aching.
He wasn't used to being able to bathe with so much water. He was used to extremely quick showers to preserve waters on Tatooine.
He'd enjoy this.
Luke stretched out and simply stayed there for a little while, enjoying the moment to relax and almost forgetting to wash in the first place. He had such fun trying to keep the bar of soap in his hands, but it all worked out in the end.
Well, until he was ready to get out and realized he didn't have a towel.
Luke sighed, stretching out in the water. "Of course...I'll just wait for her to get back," he muttered to himself.
As strange as all of this was, it could become a nice little vacation away from all the craziness of the galaxy for a little while.
The tell-tale heavy footsteps of an approaching Vivian roused Luke from his relaxed state and he sat up, hoping to get her attention before she tried to peek into his small bathroom or something. "I just realized we forgot about a towel," he called, hoping she heard him. That worry was quickly soothed when her footsteps—thankfully—stopped.
"Oh...I guess so...well I guess we can't think of everything...though that's a poor thing to forget...Um...how about I get you one of our hand towels, you use that for now, and...well, how about we make a trip to the store and get things you need? How does that sound?"
Luke sighed, standing up. "I'm okay with that."
"Okay...well...I'll go get the towel, give you that and your clothes...I won't look, I swear," She managed to say, and Luke could just imagine her blushing.
"I'll just wait here then."
Her footsteps thudded away again, and it hadn't even been a minute before she returned, and Luke looked up to see the top over the antechamber carefully lifting. Vivian's hand appeared, and Luke carefully took the huge towel from her, tossing it to the floor away from the bowl and stepping out of his bath.
"Give me a second and you can take the bowl," Luke called, drying off rather quickly with the large towel before he scampered off out of view again. "All right, I'm hidden."
"Okay," Vivian said with a small laugh, and he watched her hand remove the bowl, clean up any remaining water with the towel, and then set down his clothes.
"Thanks," he called back, getting dressed and shaking out his damp hair, stopping to grab the milk in his little tray before he emerged. "All right, I'm decent again. You said something about going into town?"
Vivian snickered. "Yeah I did. You can hop onto the dashboard of my car, slip into my pocket while we run around, and I can help you out to look when I find something."
Luke rolled his eyes, stepping up onto her hand when she proffered it to him. "You know, I'm starting to wonder if you're purposely teasing me about my size."
"Oh, trust me, when I do that, you'll know it."