Henri's car smashed through the wall of the lab, sending debris across the room as she skidded to a stop. I hugged Marissa to my chest huddled in front of the airlock, braced against the door. As Henri's car stopped moving, Quince banged on the clear plastic from within the airlock to get Henri's attention and gestured at us wildly. I stood shakily and helped Marissa to her feet, still pressed against the door to the airlock. The car shook as Henri tried to open the driver's side door, but the crash had dented it in and she couldn't budge it. She slammed her hands on the steering wheel and shook it, finally climbing over into the passenger's side and bursting through that door instead, stumbling out and onto her feet. She straightened up and grabbed her sleepover duffle bag out of the passenger's side floorboard and looked around the room, scanning for us.
Her eyes fell on us as she noticed Quince pointing, and she dropped the bag, rushing over to us as her shoes slapped on the concrete floor. Marissa hissed and curled up closer to my chest, her body shaking. I hugged her to me and put my chin on her head as Henri jogged up to us.
"She's so big..." Marissa hissed, her fingers digging into my top "Fuck, she's- I can't even- I can't do this..."
"It's ok, she won't grab you, it's ok..." I said gently, petting her head
Henri kneeled in front of us and stared down, her eyes wide "Oh my, you really were compressed." she said, reaching out to us
"Henri I just told her you wouldn't grab us!" I said angrily
"I- Amber I need to pick you two up, we need to make our escape." she said, her eyes locked on Marissa
"Let Quince out, let her pick us up for now." Marissa said "I don't want you touching me, I don't trust you..."
"No, don't!" I said quickly
Marissa pulled away from me and glared "Why the fuck not?"
"If Quince is still locked up when the cops show up, she'll have an alibi." I said "She'll be a suspect, yeah, but she'll get out on bail if she's even arrested and be cleared quickly, we need her to stay in there for now or she might lose Kay."
"That's stupid." Marissa mumbled "I just- I don't want Henri to touch me."
"Why do you not want me to pick you up?" Henri asked "Someone will notice the hole I made in the wall soon, and I would like to be out of here before then."
"You're going to squish me or something!" Marissa yelled "You'll squish me so you can finally have Amber!"
Henri narrowed her eyes and scooped both of us up in her hands, standing up. Marissa screamed and curled up on top of me, her heart racing.
"You misunderstand something, miststück." Henri said calmly "There is no danger from me anymore, because there is nothing you can do to keep Amber from me. Why squish you? You cannot do anything to keep us apart."
"Henri, stop!" I yelled "She's terrified, just stop scaring her!"
"She should be terrified." Henri nodded "I could do any number of terrible things to her... I could crush her, I could leave her here, I could put her in the car exhaust until she passes out, I could break her arms so she could never hug you again, I could do so so many things."
Marissa pushed her face against me and growled "Just fucking do them, then!" she yelled
"..." Henri took a breath "No. I will not. I will be polite to you, and put up with you, for now. I do not fancy myself a bully, and I want Amber to remain happy."
"Then why list all those terrible things you want to do?" I asked, kicking her palm
She closed her hands around me, pressing Marissa into me as she looked at me closely, her blue eyes darting over my face like she was memorizing it
"I want her to appreciate that I am letting her live." she said simply "I want her to understand that the only reason I'm helping her is to keep you from hating me, and I would discard her in a moment if it meant helping you even slightly more."
"I didn't ask you to let me live, fuckwit!" Marissa barked, trying to turn around to see her "If you're going to treat me like shit, then just stomp on me or something!"
"Just let me help Amber and stop whining." Henri said "For now, I am getting you both out of here. I have some of your things in the duffle, Amber. I had Parker pack them up and I swung by for them. He was more than happy to help, but I did not tell him our plan."
"What is the plan?" Marissa asked "If we go back to Amber's old place we'll be found."
"We are going to the airport, of course." Henri said "I am making sure Miss Lund cannot get her hands on you ever."
"Oh, fuck..." I groaned "No, no no no, Henri, please no."
"It is the only way, Amber." Henri said, wincing
"What's the only way?" Marissa asked "We're going to her house in Europe I guess?"
"It's- nothing." I said, looking back up at Henri and trying not to think of what was coming next "How are we getting to the airport? Your car is all smashed up."
Henri frowned, and looked back at her smoking car "I... had not thought of that."
She looked around the room and blinked, staring at Quince who'd resorted to leaning against the wall sullenly once she'd realized Henri wasn't freeing her "Where did Quince leave her purse?"
I pointed to the area next to what was left of the table, and Henri walked over, giving Tracy's limp form a wide berth and digging through the designer bag, pulling out Quince's phone, her charger, and her pepper spray, setting them on the table before finding what she was looking for. As she walked back past the airlock to the hole in the wall, she held up the car keys and jingled them at Quince. Quince gasped and threw herself against the side of the airlock again and again, trying to break it with her shoulder but with no luck.
I made eye contact with Kensey, who was sitting on the card reader, as we left the area, and she gave me a small wave, her expression worried and hurt. I felt a pang of sadness when I realized I'd most likely never see her again. I smiled sadly at her, or tried to, and then we were out of the building, Henri swinging the duffle bag onto her shoulder with the hand that wasn't carrying us. I saw Quince's sports car on the far side of the lot, the gold paint shining in the late afternoon sun. Henri squared up, and marched towards it with purpose. I only hoped she knew what she was doing...
~~~
I huddled on the seat surrounded by blankets and hugging Marissa tightly. We'd changed out of our wet clothes finally, but my wardrobe was far too big for Marissa, and she was practically swallowed by the poncho she'd picked out. I was trying to lay close to her so she wasn't so cold, but her teeth were still chattering and I could feel her trembling through our thick clothes. She gave a violent shudder and huffed, annoyed.
"Gods, Amber, w-were you always this cold?" she muttered
"Yyyup." I said "It's why I was ok being in your pocket all the time, you were so, so warm..."
"Ugh, I wish I could say the same about you." she said "You're b-barely warmer than I am."
"So, about my car?" Henri said, glancing down at us from the driver's seat "Are you sure it will be ok?"
"Fuck, yeah, it's fine." Marissa rolled her eyes "The guys I use are used by like, D-Darcy's entire family. It'll be like we were never there, no car, no security footage we don't want, none of your f-fingerprints on stuff, and I'm g-guessing Quince will even testify she let us b-borrow her car if questioned, so there'll be no gta charges."
"I- ok, so just there, you said there would be 'no car', I am concerned." she said, frowning
"You can't keep it, it has too much heat." Marissa snapped "Th-they'll get rid of it for you."
"I liked that car..." Henri said with a pang of hurt "I had it for five years, I bought it with my own money. I wanted to have it brought over to my home eventually."
"What does that even mean? 'Heat'?" I asked Missy "She crashed it, we're not even being looked for yet."
"W-whatever." Marissa said "I'm doing her a favor."
She cuddled up closer to me and spoke under her breath "I kinda just wanted to f-fuck her over, s-so I told them to crush it."
I held back an eyeroll and sighed, hugging her closer to me "Henri, do we have a plan for what we're doing once we get to the airport?"
"Ja, I called my papa on my way to pick up the stuff from Marissa's house and I got him to charter a private jet." she said "We should be off the ground by midnight."
"Ok, that's good." I said "He didn't ask any questions?"
"He did not." she said "My call woke him up, he was very tired. I will have a hard conversation waiting for me once we land."
"I hope h-he's ok with th-this." Marissa said "H-how are we g-getting past the security?"
"Well, we are on a private flight, so I will be using a private gate, with a metal detector instead of a scanner..." Henri said, her voice quiet
"And?" Marissa said "They'll still go through the luggage. Small or not, my bones still show up on an xray."
There was an heavy silence and I pulled Marissa closer to me, shuddering "It'll just be for a while, it's ok..."
"I'm still confused." Marissa grumbled "This had better work."
"It will, it will." Henri said confidently "I just- ah, I will need to stop by the drug store first for some things."
Marissa shot me a look, confusion making way for comprehension, bleeding away into horror. I quickly buried her face in my chest before she could start screaming and held her tight. It'd just be for a while... That's all I could tell myself, it'd just be for a while...
~~~
Marissa lay on the tray in the jet, sobbing, her chest shaking violently as she caught her breath, her hands clawing at nothing. I lay in a similar state, coughing as I got my wind back, hugging myself and trying not to shudder. I reached over and snagged her hand as it swung, bodily pulling her over to me. I hugged her with my free hand, my nose wrinkling at the latex smell that stuck to her, and I sat up, pulling her with me so I could hug her better, our skin warm and comforting as I held her.
"It was only for a few minutes." Henri sighed from behind us "Less than half an hour, we are on the plane now, it was fine, you see?"
"B-bath." Marissa said "Or b-bleach, either one."
"You did not even touch anything, you are perfectly clean-" Henri started before I cut her off
"Henri we smell like the inside of a guy's wallet, I need to get clean too before I put my clothes back on." I snapped "Just- fuck, can we just get cleaned up?"
Henri sighed, but picked us up, bringing us to the bathroom, snagging the carafe for tea on her way. She set us on the side of the sink, and stopped it up, running the water to fill it, then poured the hot water from the carafe in, heating up the water. She poked a finger in and frowned, thinking for a minute, then she ran a little more water and tried again, nodding. I was still holding Marissa to me closely, trying to ignore the fact we were both in our underthings and were about to take a bath together. It wasn't the time for things like that, Missy was still shaking and hiccuping, and I doubted it was because of the temperature on the plane.
"Ok, the water is ready." Henri said plainly "Get in and I will put the soap on you."
I poked my toe in, feeling that it was hot, but not too hot. Not as hot as the soup she'd dropped me in, at least. I slipped all the way in, my legs resting on the sloped side, and gave Missy support as she climbed down too. I held out my hands for the soap, and Henri dripped a small bit of hand soap into my and Marissa's palms. I lathered up over my underclothes, not watching Marissa do the same, I'd feel guilty looking at her like that while we felt like this... I finished soaping up, and slid under the water, letting the water and soap wash away the film of 'product' that was on me. This hand soap would kill my hair, it'd be rough and unpleasant for days. I tried not to think about that as I stood up again, wringing it out with my fingers.
"Ok, Amber, let me dry you off..." Henri said, plucking me out of the water and wrapping me in paper towels as I struggled and kicked back
"I can do it, I can do it!" I yelled angrily, and she set me on the sink, her expression smug
"Was that so bad?" she asked "You know, when we tried to do this before, we ran into a snag, but now..."
"Oh, fuck off." I growled, pulling Marissa up and handing her the paper towel
"Hm, that is not polite language to use for the person who is saving you from being used as lab rats." Henri said haughtily
"Fuck. You." Marissa said "Look, if you want to fucking be like this, then just leave me on the tarmac. I'm not putting up with your entitled attitude."
"MY entitled..?" Henri said, her eyes widening as she picked us both up to go back to her seat "Oh, I- you- Do not tempt me, Marissa. Amber would get over you soon, you are not that valuable to me."
"If you hurt her, I'll kill myself!" I said, pulling Marissa close again
"Amber- no, stop." Marissa said, pushing me away "I'm- you're not- this is too weird, just stop."
"W-weird?" I asked, letting her slip back "Weird how?"
"You're being too, I don't know, protective of me, I guess." she said quietly "You'd kill yourself? Really?"
"Her being protective of you is the only reason you are not still at the lab." Henri said, dropping us on the tray gently "She 'loves' you, and that is enough for me, but it is the only reason you are here."
"I know, but- I'm the one in charge here, but- it feels like maybe I'm not anymore, and I hate that, it makes me feel- I just hate it, ok?" Marissa said, grabbing her poncho and some sweats
"I- uh..." I said, unsure how to deal with this "Marissa, I still see you the same, I just know like, you're smaller now. You're still in charge, I'll follow your lead, I promise!"
"I think you two should- oh?" Henri said, turning as the door to the plane opened and she scooped us onto her lap.
I tumbled down onto her skirt, the soft material not doing much to stop me from knocking against her leg. I flailed, trying to sit up, but her hand pressed down on me, holding me in place. I wiggled around and looked for Missy, had she landed ok? I saw her legs sticking up out between Henri's thighs kicking wildly, and I winced. Being held upside down was bad enough, being pinned upside down? I hoped she could breathe...
"Hello, Miss Burkhart?" a voice came from above us
"Ja, are you the pilot?" Henri asked
"I am, I see you've requested no flight attendants on this particular flight, is that correct?"
"That is correct, I do not want to be disturbed." she agreed
"I see, well, It's not legally required for this plane, but I'd highly encourage you to-"
"No thank you." Henri said plainly "I wish to be alone."
"Ok, that's not a problem. I'll just get the pre-flight check done, and we'll be on the way, sound good?"
"Yes. Thank you."
I heard sounds of walking, and the closing of a door, and Henri finally pulled me back onto the tray, dumping Marissa behind me. Missy staggered to her feet and stomped to the far side of the tray, dropping down to a sitting position facing away from us, her arms crossed.
"Ah, she is so moody." Henri sighed "I do not understand her being so upset, I am doing all I can to keep her alive and with you, am I not?"
"You're being inconsiderate." I said "She's just had her whole life ripped away and you're just enjoying it."
"I do enjoy it, a bit." Henri agreed "I think seeing her like this helps me to deal with a lot of my past issues with her."
"Henri, she's still a person, she's my girlfriend, and she deserves for you to like, I don't know, understand that she's scared right now, not threaten her and treat her like she's worthless."
"I do not care if she is scared." Henri said "And no, I do not think she is worthless, just not as valuable to me as she is you."
"I can hear you, you know." Marissa said over her shoulder
"I am aware. I simply do not care." Henri said back "Now, Amber, let us discuss how we will be living once we get to Germany..."
I didn't want to think about that, I didn't want to think about anything. I just wanted to lie down and cry. I couldn't even start to process what things look like now, would I ever see my mom and Appa again? Would Marissa actually be allowed to stay with me? Would I be treated like a non-human toy or would Henri actually respect me as a person now? I had no safety, no one to call and get me out if things got too bad. Henri was that person before, the balance of her and Marissa keeping me secure and mostly unbothered about how I'd be treated.
Henri was technically an international smuggler now, or she would be once we left the country. It was a direct flight from New Jersey to Germany, and we'd need to be... smuggled in through customs, but hopefully that was less of an ordeal than getting on the plane. I felt dry and unpleasant from the hand soap, I was so, so tired from the long stressful day, and my arms and legs ached from climbing up and down the shelf. I knew Missy was most likely in just as rough of a shape, if not more- she'd mentioned the compression hurting for some reason- but she wouldn't admit it, not in front of Henri.
"I don't want to talk right now..." I said "I just want to pass out, did you get my bed?"
"No, no furniture, just your clothes and electronics, that was all I told Parker to get." Henri said "I can hold you in my lap and you can sleep?"
"No." I said firmly "Marissa? I need you, I'm too cold and I don't want to sleep alone. Henri, make a nest in your bag for us."
"I am not letting you two sleep together like that, I just got you for myself and I do not approve of-" she started
"I do not care, Henri, we've been sleeping together, and I'm freezing. I need a bed-warmer, and she's bed-warmer-sized."
"You're the bed-warmer, not me." Marissa said sullenly, coming over beside me "But I'm still shivering, I need someplace warm too, yeah."
Henri huffed, but slid her duffle out from under the seat next to her and rooted around in it for a moment "Fine, there, a lovely nest for you two to nap in. When you wake up though, I do need to talk about the living situation." she said, mildly annoyed
The duffle bag had been rearranged so a sweater- one of my old ones- was on top, with the arms folded over the chest, making a 'bed' of sorts. I pulled Marissa to me and held her tight as Henri lowered us into the bag. I shimmied under the sleeves and Marissa followed, her body cold and clammy next to mine. Hopefully she'd warm up soon, if she was too cold for too long, she could get brain damage...
"Alright. Sleep well, I guess." Henri said, looking down at us with un-masked disappointment "Amber, I love you..."
I curled up, facing Marissa, and waited for her to close the bag again, plunging us into near-darkness. I felt Marissa's breath on my face, not as strong as it had been when she was a giant, but still 'her'. She'd had a mint earlier in the waiting room, and I caught the faint hint of the familiar icy scent and she curled up close to me. I remembered the first day I'd been hers, her minty, frigid breath washing over me. She'd changed to cinnamon soon after. I'd thought little of it at the time, but it'd been to get closer to me without making my eyes water, knowing her. I pulled her head into my shoulder and hugged her close to me, feeling the 'nest' warm up.
"You keep doing that, I don't like it." Marissa said softly
"Doing what?" I asked, pulling away
"Putting your head over mine, I don't like that." she said "I don't like being reminded that you're taller than me, scoot down."
"I- sorry, ok." I said, feeling a pang of something deep inside
I scooted down until I was deeper inside the sweater than her, and she pulled me to her chest, reversing the positions until she had her chin on my head. It was weird, and I had to curl up slightly to feel like I was actually being 'held' by her, but it was cozy. I pushed my face into her chest and breathed in, her unique human smell so much less noticeable at this size. I was sad, I'd grown to enjoy it, knowing it was her, smelling her on my clothes, feeling safe when I was around her. It was still there, it was just muted greatly, and I wondered if Henri's smell would cover up ours as she carried us around.
"I'm still your girlfriend, Amber." Marissa whispered to me "And we have a very particular relationship, as girlfriends."
"You mean, you still want to play around?" I asked, hopefully
"It's part of dating me. It'll be harder at this size, but I think it'll be more intimate." she hissed "I'm more used to full sized partners, after all."
"We may have to get creative..." I said, clutching her poncho "You're a bit smaller than me now"
"I still know how to make it hurt." she whispered "The good kind of hurt, I have lots of tricks."
"I'm excited to see what you can do." I said, balling up my hands and pressing them into her
"Mm, yeah." she said "It might be even better for me this way; getting to boss you around, getting to bully and torment you, all while you look down at me, not able to fight back or do a thing despite your height advantage..."
"I- yeah, I wouldn't fight back..." I said "I respect the dynamic, I do."
I felt a slight flutter in my chest at that. I did respect the dynamic, I knew where I belonged, where I wanted to be. I was relieved in a way, that despite the big change, the vast difference of power and control gone, flipped even, that she still wanted me. She valued me aside from her innate power over me, but still wanted to create that power over me even when it didn't exist, because that's how she loved me, how she expressed herself in a relationship, and she still wanted it with me.
"I love you, Missy." I told her, closing my eyes
"You'd better." she said back, sullenly "It'd suck to love someone as much as I love you and have them not feel the same."
"I'm gonna get some sleep, fight off the jet lag, ok?"
"Yeah, my whole body hurts, I need to sleep too. Just- stay here, and let me hold you, pet. I don't want you wandering off while I need you close, ok?"
"Of course, Lady M." I said gracefully, and pulled my arms closer around her as I drifted off
~~~
We'd managed to stay in the bag, curled up on each other like ants for the whole flight. Henri had peeked at us multiple times, and whispered my name to see if I would 'wake up', but I lay still and faked sleep until she got bored and closed the top of the bag again. It wasn't that I was avoiding her, I really was tired and I was so, so comfortable with Marissa hanging onto me, but at the same time... I didn't want to have the hard conversation she'd been asking me about before our nap. It could mean me finding out she saw me as a pet still, and I couldn't deal with that right now.
The muffled sounds of the plane shifted around us, and there was a thump, jolting us and making my head knock into Marissa's. She swore and groggily sat up, rubbing her eyes and popping her back. She groaned, and rubbed her limbs gently. She must have still been sore from the compression. I didn't remember feeling that myself, was it because the compression particles were just in her blood? Or because she'd compressed so quickly? Either way, it sounded like she was tender and aching. The bag opened up once again and Henri's pale face peered down at us from her seat and she nodded.
"That woke you up I see. I almost woke you up several times, but I was unsure if I should. We have just landed in Frankfurt."
"What time is it?" I asked "It's pretty bright out."
"It is..." she checked her phone "just past two."
"I hate time zones..." Marissa muttered "I slept for fourteen hours and only got eight hours of sleep total, how fucked is that?"
"I never understand how they work, I get mixed up." I admitted "Is Frankfurt where we're getting off? Or are we still going?"
"No, we will get off at Stuttgart." Henri said "But here we will go through customs and passports. It's not as bad since I am a german citizen, but they will still search my bag."
"Ohhh fuck no, no no no, you can't make me do that again." Marissa said, her words sounding like she was demanding, but her tone bordering on pleading
"I did not plan on doing that again." Henri said "I brought some undershorts that are very tight, I will put you and Amber pressed against my tummy, one on either side. Customs does not require a full-body scan, and you two should clear the pat-down."
"Oh thank the gods..." Marissa sighed, slumping against me "I was about to just ask you if I could just try to sneak through security on foot."
"I am sure it was not that bad." Henri said "I was careful, you were safe and-"
"It's the idea of it Henri." I said "Just never bring it up again, ok?"
"Ok, I will not." she said "I do need to change into my shorts and get you two in place though, it will be tight, and hard to breathe. I have a little 'give' on my stomach so it will not be too bad, but you'll need to be careful and breathe deeply."
I cringed, remembering the jeans pocket. I bit my lip and grabbed Missy's hand, clenching it tightly "This'll be hard, but after this, we're good, right? Just get through customs, get back on the plane, and we're home free?"
"Yes, once we get to Stuttgart, my father will be there with a car to pick us up, and we will be safe." Henri said, plucking us out of the bag and digging through for her shorts
"We can do this, we've got this." I said, half to myself and half to Marissa as we were set on the tray
"I can't believe it's so much work just to avoid being used as a lab rat..." Missy complained "Ugh, if Tracy wasn't already dead, I swear I'd have put a hit out on her for this, who the fuck did she think she was?!"
"It is a lot of work, ja." Henri said, shimmying the shorts up under her skirt "Just keep that in mind. Remember all I did all this for you when we get to where we are going."
She reached out, picking up Marissa and pulling her waistband out "Stay very still, try to stay in the groove where my tummy and hip meet."
She slid her hand into her shorts, and pulled it out, sans-Marissa. I swallowed hard, it was my turn now, and my heart was pounding. Marissa had no idea how bad it'd be, but I had the misfortune of having experienced it before. I took a deep, deep breath and closed my eyes as Henri carefully picked me up and brought me close to her stomach.
"Stay safe, Klein Fee..." she murmured, and the world was sealed off.
It was hot, it was tight, I could barely get a breath out, what little air I had was stale and humid, and I fought the urge to writhe as Henri exited the plane. I couldn't hear what was going on around me, just muffled noises and the rush of the crowded airport. At one point I felt fingertips play across me quickly, and I fought not to move or twitch in response, but they moved on, and I felt Henri walk further and sit, her action crushing the air out of me. She slid down in her seat, relieving some of the pressure, but I was fighting to draw in air, to stay awake. I could only imagine what Marissa was feeling at her smaller size, she must be practically dead by now...
After an eternity of waiting, she finally moved again, and I felt her stand, the air rushing into my little pocket, my chest swelling with oxygen. She walked quickly and with long strides, and before long, we were in a quiet place, the noise of the airport gone. She stopped, and her fingers dipped down into my hiding spot, scooping me up and sliding me out, the sweat making me cling to her skin painfully.
I crested the fabric and found myself back on the plane, being set on the tray once more. A moment later, Marissa joined me, pale and choking for air but not getting any. I crawled over to her, the world still foggy, and I climbed on top of her, taking a deep breath and pressing my lips onto hers, forcing the air into her lungs. She flailed and hit my side with the heel of her hand and I rolled off, the both of us panting in the cool, clean air of the airplane.
"F-fuck, Amber..." Marissa whispered, her voice rough and raspy "I c-can't do this, I really can't, I want to die, I can't do this."
"You can, I know you can." I said, laying my hand over hers "I did it for weeks and I'm still ok, you can do it, I'll support you, I'll be here for you."
"I d-don't want support, I want t-to just be ok." she croaked "I'll never be ok again, I'm like this until I d-die."
"I will do whatever I can to help the two of you retain your humanity." Henri said solemnly as she looked down at us with a look of sadness "Marissa, I do not like you, but even still, I will ensure you are treated as a person should be."
"Stop looking at me like that..." Marissa said, turning away from her "I don't need your 'humanity' or empathy or fucking pity or whatever, I need to be my old self again."
"I cannot help but pity you." Henri said "To see you, so strong and bold and commanding, brought so low that you cannot even look me in the face, it engenders pity of the highest order."
"Well, fuck your gender pity or whatever." Marissa said "Just ignore me and let me hang out with Amber and I'll be fine."
"That brings us to what I needed to discuss with you two." Henri sighed "Amber, we do need to discuss the living situation once we get to my home."
"I figure we'd just do what I did in Marissa's house, I just live on a desk or something in your room, and I have my own apartment or house. It worked for me and Missy..."
"We'd have our own apartment or house. Together, in the same one." Marissa corrected me "That's non-negotiable."
"Ok, I can concede that." Henri agreed, much more readily than I expected "But you might not be in my room with me, I do not like the warm quite so much as you two. We have many rooms in our manor, we could set one up with a dedicated thermostat and build a custom home for you there, if you like?"
"You'd be ok with that?" I asked "With us not living with you?"
"You would still ride with me in my pocket as I lived my life, if you allow that." Henri said "I would simply come to get you in the mornings or when I needed you."
"That puts me being pretty lonely all day." Marissa complained "I'd be stuck with nothing to do but look at whatever that app Amber likes is called."
"A lot of people do nothing but look at AntMound all day." I said "Uh, but maybe you could ride with me in her pocket?"
"That's too dangerous." Marissa said "She could like, pull me out and pretend to drop me or something, I still don't trust her."
"And I do not wish for her to be that close to me that much." Henri "She is quite mean and that would get old fast."
"Well, fuck." I said "Can we, like, work out a schedule then?"
"As if me and Henri are your divorced parents?" Marissa asked "I've been putting up with that for years already, it's a mess."
"I could do that." Henri said "I get you afternoons and early evening, Marissa gets you mornings and nights."
"I guess that works?" Marissa said "It's weird, but I could see that working out, sure."
"So, unless there's a change, we'll be doing that?" I asked "I'll bounce between you two, but Marissa and I will have our own room?"
"I think that works, yes." Henri said "I only have to convince my father..."
"He seems nice though, from what I've heard over the phone." I said "He'd be fine with it, right?"
"Amber, I have to tell him that I am dropping out of college, I am moving back in, I am now an international human trafficker, and I may need to tell him I'm gay, if he does not accept the excuse that I just love you as a friend enough to ruin my whole life."
"Oh, shit." Marissa said, looking at her with a frown "You're really fucking up your whole life for this..."
"Yes." Henri said quietly "I am, and I do not regret it, but I do want to make sure I make it worth it."
"All our lives got ruined, if you think about it." I said quietly "My parents are lost forever to me, and I won't even be able to talk to anyone in Germany, I'll just have you two."
"We will be fine, I know we will." Henri said "We must be, really. We have no other option."
"Fuck." Marissa said, leaning onto my arm and holding tightly "If you put it like that, I guess we'll be ok after all..."
I braced myself, feeling the rumble of the plane as it took off, shaking and swaying in the air as we made our last jump of the trip. Flying away to Henri's father, to her manor, to our new home. I felt butterflies in my stomach, both full of anticipation and fear, and I did the only think I knew to do, and held Marissa close. If I had her, anything, even a new country and a new language and a new dynamic for my best friend would be ok. I just needed her...
~~~