FSE

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The Big Things

Chapter One

By Roofles

“How do I even start this?” Theodore the albino white rat sat on a footstool in front of the large TV tucked into the corner. The controller to the game system he was currently trying to play was attached to the broken TV tray that had been dressed up to be far more comfortable for the rat to use.

His roommate had broken off the legs of the tray and had created a small base for it to rest on, putting it at Theo’s height in front of the foot stool seat that had also been modified for him to use.

The simple stool he sat on had a pillow strapped to the top of it with a soft cloth underneath, allowing easy access for Theo to climb up and down from when he needed. A blanket, cut down to size, had been neatly tucked onto the beanbag style pillow Theo was currently sitting on. What he called a blanket had only been a hand towel for his roommate previously.

No point destroying a full-sized blanket for someone Theo’s size. At least it had been a very nice hand towel.

The game controller was held up by a modified phone stand. The prongs of the black plastic had been stretched around the edges and curved inwards to hold it in place. The perfect height for Theo to tap on. Something he currently was trying to figure out as he swatted his hand like a fly swatter against one of the buttons. His tiny pink furless hand kept pushing the X button trying to get the screen to load and getting frustrated it wasn’t.

There were a couple of small kinks the two of them needed to work out with the jury-rigged devices Pedro had cobbled together for Theo to use. Pun intended.

“He explained the side buttons,” the rat muttered aloud. He always heard about these video game systems but had never had the opportunity to play them until now. Back home, they had only bothered with things for their survival. Entertainment had been pushed to the backburner.

Maybe he should’ve waited until Pedro had gotten back. Trying to be independent could be so very challenging.

“Top buttons go clickity clack and nothing else.” Theo sighed, resting back, getting frustrated and bothered. It went far beyond just the game system not working.

Theo always talked to himself when no one else was around. Preferring the artificial company over being alone. Coming from such a noisy environment to this quiet one had been a shock for Theo’s system. He was still acclimating to his new home.

Some nights, he cried himself to sleep. Even though, he’d never tell Pedro, his roommate, that…

“The start button doesn’t start…” He frowned as the rat reached over and with a pink furless hand pushed the button several times. It did nothing. “There’s a strange symbol in the middle…” Theo touched over the silver plastic of the X. “And finally, the movement controls.”

He knew the theory behind the device but never had an opportunity before to play one of these game systems Pedro had bought for reasons Theo still never understood. The tiger had bought each of the consoles and set them up neatly in a stand below the TV. The large flat screen TV was mounted on the wall and the tiger had adjusted it down for Theo’s height before leaving him alone in his dorm room that morning. Pedro heading for class.

Theo had waved Pedro off before climbing over to his seat. It was sweet of the tiger to create the makeshift gamer chair for him to use while Pedro was busy with his classes. The tiger had even set up the spare phone nearby so Theo could use it to text him whenever he liked. Pedro would reply when he could get away with it.

Calls were used for emergencies only.

Thankfully, nothing had come up yet.

Theo had moved in with Pedro shortly after the incident that had gotten him exiled from his rat colony. Neither of the two liked to talk about it. Theo would become depressed thinking about the colony he wasn’t a part of anymore, and Pedro didn’t know how to get the rat from thinking of anything else when the topic did come up.

Pedro had regretted it the very second he asked Theo “how they were doing?” The tiger unable to help beyond being there for Theo.

That was about the time Pedro had begun creating distractions for Theo to focus on instead of letting him fret about home. The two constantly keeping busy instead of letting their thoughts wander. Neither of the two had said it, yet, but they knew that Theo didn’t have a home to return to. This place, this college students dorm room, was now his new home.

His cage to live in. A strange, bitter thought that Theo never really thought about until he worked up in this room again.

Pedro had insisted that Theo play the games he’d bought. So, they “wouldn’t go to waste.” The tiger not bothering to play any of them despite owning so many. It was just the first thought the tiger had to distract Theo away from his troubles, unable to help much more than he already had in this when he wasn’t there. Worried about leaving Theo alone.

Something Theo appreciated! It just took time to adjust to.

Even three weeks later, Theo was still trying to wrap his mind around it all. The hole in the wall had been sealed and the latch Pedro had created to make the makeshift door had been disassembled and the parts recycled.

Not like Theo needed it anymore. He was still sad to see it go. He pretended not to be.

“Breakdown, recycle, reuse!” Pedro had said, using Theo’s own words in hopes of lifting his spirits. It hadn’t. Just reminding him of the scavenger’s guild moto. Theo had curled up in Pedro’s front pocket for the rest of the evening and the tiger had left him alone in there while he did homework.

Theo needing his company but also needing time alone. It was the best solution to a problem that couldn’t be solved. He didn’t need Pedro sticking a finger in the pocket to poke and pet over him. The squeaky giggling rat had to fight him off, forgetting all about his blues. Theo ended up helping Pedro with his homework after that.

The tiger always helping him out in some way, even as a distraction.

It hadn’t been easy, and Pedro didn’t know what to do. It was why, seconds later, Theo got a text message on the phone as he sat back in the beanbag chair thinking about the past. The tiger doing his utmost to keep him company when he could. Despite Theo’s depression, the rat truly enjoyed his company. Something the tiger had instantly picked up on.

Theo had been there for Pedro and now it was the tigers turn to be there for the rat.

“Class is aburrido,” the tiger still liked to mix Spanish into his words, never denying his history despite what others would’ve liked him to do. Theo never questioned it and was learning a lot about Pedro’s hometown and culture because of it and found it interesting.

Theo would sometimes have to look up the words to figure out what he meant. Bending over, Theo used his whole hand to tap on the screen. Texting the tiger back as quickly as he could.

“Being here alone is aburrido.” Theo said and got a tiger emoji in reply. Pedro liked it when he tried to understand and incorporate who Pedro was into his life. Just another thing Theo had done for the tiger.

“What’s wrong?” Pedro quickly asked and Theo typed back.

“Can’t get your game to start.” Theo said before needing to clarify. “I pushed all the buttons! It won’t turn on.” He felt dumb for not figuring it out and was about to break the damn thing open and start poking around inside.

“Push the X button.” Pedro texted back. Theo did several times, pushing the blue X.

“It’s not working.” Theo sighed, about to just give up and climb back up into the pseudo bedroom he had on the nightstand next to Pedro’s bed, curl up into a tiny ball and wait for Pedro to get back to their room.

“The middle button?” Pedro asked and Theo took a second on that.

After a moment, Theo pushed the middle button and to his delight, and a squeak, the controller lit up and the console it was connected to turned on.

“It worked!” He texted back quickly and could practically hear the tiger chuff a laugh on the other end.

“I knew you could figure it out, little rata.” The tiger sent back using a cute rat emoji along with a tiger. “Text me if you need anything. Ever. Anything at all.” Three separate text messages quickly sent one after the other.

Theo’s round ears folded back as he read over them. He knew he was making Pedro worried; it didn’t stop how he was feeling about it all.

Did he regret befriending Pedro and having the tiger help save their city, or what they could of it? No. That wasn’t even a thought in Theo’s head. It was the fact that, being the good guy usually meant you ended up in last place. Theo had sacrificed his standing in the colony by calling Pedro in, losing his family in the process and his entire future in order to save as many rats as he could after the pipe burst and their town flooded.

It had been worth it.

Still, Theo wished, at times, he could see his family. His friends back home. Even those at Squirrel Haven! Anyone… and he was left holding his furless pink tail in his tiny hands as he looked around the room he was in.

Big would’ve been an understatement. Theo was proudly ten inches in height on a good day, not counting his tail or ears. He was roughly a pound in weight, though that was before Pedro had begun stuffing his furry cheeks with sweet treats. He never thought of himself as “small” before.

Not until he met Pedro.

The first Big in his life had changed his world view. In more ways than one. Theo had lived his entire life with his family in the colony and it had been strictly forbidden to interact with a big, let alone bring one home. It was why he had been forced into exile. All because he had wanted to help…

Being with Pedro had changed things. Theo had seen the other side of the looking glass and could never go back. His blissfully ignorant view of the world had shattered and now he was trying to find his place in it all. Being as small and tiny and insignificant as he was, trapped in this room…

Ten inches for a rat was a modest size, nothing to scoff at. Pedro, the tiger, was over six and a half feet. His feet with pushing size fifteen in shoes. Theo had never tried to figure that one out. All he knew was that he could fit into his roommates shoe and that was… terrifying.

Pedro, the tiger he lived with, could step on him by accident if the two weren’t careful and Theo trusted Pedro with his life at this point. Others? Not so much. It was why Theo never walked on the carpet, ever. It was just too risky. The scavenger’s guild had made it one of the golden rules to follow. Never be on the floor unless it’s an emergency.

Otherwise, it’d be your fault, not theirs if something happened.

The room matched the rest of the tiger, being his after all. The bed was gigantic, and the closet was like a towering building that Theo couldn’t even see the top of. The table desk the two used together was so large, Theo had to use the ladder Pedro had attached to the side just to get to the top of it. Whereas the tiger could just pull out the chair, take a seat and wait for Theo to finish his climb.

Pedro never teased him about it. The tiger loved to tease him, but their height disparity hadn’t been one of them. It was already a harsh reminder how different the two were from each other.

“The controller is as big as I am…” Theo rubbed a hand over the plastic as the game started up. “Pedro holds this controller with one hand… like he can hold me with one hand. I’m a controller for my friend,” Theo wanted to laugh but he only felt sadder about it.

There were so many things the two got along with and, still, Theo couldn’t help but notice their differences. Being the smaller one of the two. Always looking up at the tiger. Being carried around by him and, more than once, sleeping inside his shirt pocket, curled up in on himself. It was a constant reminder he could never forget.

Or the fear that came along with it.

“Pedro is a good guy, shut up dumb brain!” Theo shook his head quickly to get such thoughts out. He didn’t want to ever think of the tiger in a negative light. Since the two had met, there had been plenty of misunderstanding, but Pedro had been nothing but kind to him.

Losing himself in the positive thought, Theo focused on the game and did his best to play it. It was a classic RPG and the turn-based combat let Theo take his time to put in the inputs on time. A fighting or FPS game would’ve been too much for him to handle even if he were an expert on the matter. Just due to his size.

“Unless they made controller’s rat size.” Theo thought that over and paused the game before getting up. He jumped over the blanket that had been folded around him and slid down the side of the cloth to the floor. Scampering over it on all fours, he made his way to a pad and pen he had set nearby the seat.

The pen was made for one of the smaller species, even if they were still classified as Bigs to Theo. It made it easier to use than the tiger’s pencil that took his full body, tail included, to support and maneuver it around to write with.

Over these past three weeks, Theo hadn’t done much other than write down his ideas. Writing things down, going over them, editing them or scrapping them altogether. He’d sit down on the desk later tonight, after Pedro picked up the pad off the floor him. Theo would sit down and read over everything he’d written down and deciding what to keep or what to ask Pedro about.

Pedro seemed to enjoy sitting down with him and discussing their future together. Maybe it wasn’t the usual, normal kind of future others must talk about… but Theo had a dream he was still going to follow even after the major setback. And Pedro…

“Does he enjoy my company still…?” Theo’s ears folded back as the pen stopped, unable to get the thought of his head. “Am I a burden to him? Distracting him from what he could have? Hanging out with friends his own size…?”

Theo wished he had someone, anyone, to talk to these things about. But he didn’t. These were the one thing he couldn’t talk to Pedro about.

Back home he had hundreds of other rats, squirrels and even a badger that he could talk to about things with. They thought he was odd, with wild crazy ideas, but they all had enjoyed his company. Talking with him and exchanging information or goods with. They’d share broken pieces of crumpets together and Theo loved when the butter melted on top.

Oliver preferred jam.

“Oliver…” Theo sighed, covering his face with both hands. The badger had been his friends. Someone Theo had even been interested in possibly being something more… that was until they had seen Pedro. Seen the tiger and knew Theo had brought him there.

The looks in their eyes, their scornful, fearful stares haunted his dreams and their words. Their words hurt as badly as if they had picked up and thrown stones at him. Some even had.

“I need a drink,” Theo bitterly laughed as he set the pencil back down. “This was my choice. I chose Pedro over the others… over my friends, my family, my colony… this is what I deserve.” He rubbed his hands together as he sat down on the notepad.

The notepad was bigger than he was. Everything was bigger than he was. He was so small. Insignificant. He could just cover his face and disappear, and the world would never know…

“Fuck, I wished Pedro was here. Or even Riz.” Theo rested back, cursing his nature.

Most people didn’t know, or care to know that rats were social animals. They couldn’t survive on their own. They needed others. Theo had even heard stories of rats passing away after their partners did, as if unable to bear another single night without them. They were social animals and lonely creatures.

Theo had hated rooming with his younger brother Anthony. Now? Now he would’ve given his tail just to see him again. Loneliness was like a sickness and Theo wished he had a cure for it. During Pedro’s absence the room around him seemed to grow ever larger, more vacant, and empty. High walls, tall spires, and canyons of discarded clothes and shoes that Pedro had lazily pushed aside with his foot.

“Dumb tiger,” Theo laughed softly thinking of Pedro. The thought always put a smile on his whiskered face.

Glancing around the room, it was hard not to think of the tiger. The rat sniffed and he smelled him in the room even though he wasn’t there. His musky scent had permeated every part of this room and, even in his absence, Theo felt his presence.

He was able to picture Pedro up on the bed lazing out. See the tiger sitting in the chair. Or when he was on the floor doing his stretches. The last one lingered and Theo shook the thought from his head before it burst into flames in embarrassment. His cheeks were already burning.

Theo got up and walked around the gamer chair Pedro had made for him as he looked around on the floor. His instinct told him to run or hide underneath something, but he fought against the urge as he walked over to the discarded laundry bin. It had been knocked over in Pedro’s haste to make it to class and the tiger had neglected to pick it back up.

Theo laughed.

“Ah, such a silly tiger.” The rat traced a hand on the woven basket before touching the rough fabric lining the inside of it. Peeking around the corner, his nose wiggled and shook his whiskered face with it.

The basket was overflowing with Pedro’s old T-shirts and undergarments. Theo didn’t need to look further as he made sure the coast was clear before snagging an article of clothing. The first thing he could before quickly running back to the gamer chair with it.

Grabbing the edge of the cloth, Theo pulled himself up quickly to the top. Dragging the fabric with him before he quickly and meticulously stuffed the basketball jersey into the blanket. Lining the inside of it with Pedro’s shirt before climbing back in and snuggling into it.

It smelled of the tiger.

How many times had Theo slept with Pedro in his bed? Curled up on the tiger’s chest or tucked underneath his muzzle? The rat had lost count and Pedro never mentioned it the morning after. Seeming to know where to draw the line between the two of them and the affection they would, occasionally, show one another.

“You can use me whenever you like.” Pedro had that feline smile on his face. A smug smirk that was bragging that he knew how much Theo wanted to use the tiger for his own ends. Just like when Theo would wake up in the middle of the night, sniffling from what had happened. Only for, seconds later, to be scooped up off the night stand and brought over to the bed. As if Pedro had been waiting for it to happen.

Pedro would purr and the sound of it made everything else disappear as Theo climbed up his body to snuggle in close to the warmth the tiger exuded.

The jersey wasn’t the same, but it was the closest thing he was going to get. It smelled of sweat, of the tiger and Theo really needed to get on Pedro about washing his clothes more often. Right now, he just put on some music after closing the game and soaked in the feel and smell of his roommate. Using him as he’d been told to do whenever he needed.

And right now, Theo needed that…

He wasn’t sure how long it was when the door to their room opened, and a disgruntled tiger came in. Talking on the phone, Pedro slammed the door shut behind him as he dropped off his school bag in the same spot he did every afternoon. Kicking off his shoes next to it, the tiger continue to talk and shout into the phone in Spanish.

Theo rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he awoke from the musky fabric and looked over the edge of the blanket at the tiger who was currently rubbing the top of his snout with a hand.

“Mamá no estoy interesado,” Pedro growled into the phone, trying to keep his voice leveled with his mother on the other line. She had a way of picking at exact what he didn’t want to have touched. “I have Theo, mama!” Pedro growled at the end, reverting back to English as he glanced around the room. “Theo…?”

The tiger lowered the phone down, the other line still ranting on about whatever his mother had to say. Pedro glanced at the desk, then over at the bed and then down to the floor. Pedro didn’t take a single step further into the room as he called out, again.

“Theo?” Pedro said as he hung up on his mother. Sure, he’d hear about that for the rest of his life but the rat’s absence at his return was beginning to worry the striped feline. “I’m coming further into the room!” He called out as, watching his step, Pedro made his way into the middle of the room.

“Pedro?” Theo sat up from the gamer chair, yawning and stretching before looking up at the tiger. The movement caught the feline’s sharp eye and Pedro carefully walked over before crouching down.

“Ah, there you are mi little rata.” The tiger reached out and with a single finger pet the top of Theo’s head. “Did you enjoy the chair? I can modify it further si es necesario.” The feline’s eyes roamed down to the jersey Theo crawled out of but didn’t say a word about it as he cocked an eyebrow, trying not to smirk catching the rat red handed.

“Sorry, was asleep.” Theo stood on his tip toes as he stretched, yawning once more before beginning to groom himself. Rubbing over his whiskers and over the tuft of white head fur he had after Pedro had messed it up with a finger, petting Theo’s head.

“Did you enjoy the game?” Pedro asked, glancing up at the TV. It had frozen during Theo’s nap and needed to be clicked again to continue playing. “My music list, eh? You really do have good taste.” Pedro teased as he lowered himself down onto his rear end.

Sitting in front of the step stool, Pedro slid his legs along the side of it as he looked down at the rat who rested against the edge to face towards Pedro.

“I ended up sleeping. Again.” Theo squeaked a laugh, blushing from the fact he’d fallen asleep.

“Why’s that, mi little rata?” Pedro asked in a soft, understanding tone as he let Theo tell him. Pedro already knew why.

“Things are just so aburrido when you aren’t around, Pedro.” Theo apologized as he held his tail with both hands, rubbing over the pink furless thing nervously. He wanted to say more but Pedro could tell Theo was holding back with him still.

It wasn’t a matter of trust; no. Pedro knew that wasn’t the issue here. It was Theo keeping stuff from him to not worry the tiger, who already was.

“No need to apologize, Theo.” Pedro’s tail swayed as the reached down to pet over Theo’s head again. His pink paw pad squished on the top between the rat’s ears. “I’m sorry mi classes run so long on Thursdays. El estúpido professor, couldn’t even let us leave early today.” The tiger grumbled in annoyance. “I already am acing his class and still needs to hold mi back to talk about,” he raised a hand, sighing. “No importa.” He just said. “I rather focus on you. Are you okay?”

“I’m doing okay… I’m sorry to hear about your dickweed of a professor.” Theo chuckled, balancing backo on his tail. “Look no hands!” He held up and Pedro’s smile didn’t meet his eyes. Talking about the elephant in the room, Theo addressed it finally. “Uh, who was on the phone…? You seemed… intense.”

“Mi padres.” Pedro rolled his eyes. “They, mostly mama, want to hook mi up with a girl back home…”

“Oh…” Theo’s ears splayed out, tail curling around his body. He took hold of it, rubbing it. He was glad it was furless or by now the anxious rat would’ve rubbed the fur off. “And…? Is she nice…? Does she like rats…?” Theo swallowed, fear making his whiskers bristle out.

Pedro snorted at that, chuffing out a heavy breath as he lifted his muzzle up while looking down on Theo. He had to turn his muzzle to the side, or he’d have blocked Theo from view.

“No, no, silly rata. Mi padres try to hook me up at least once a week with someone.” Pedro shook his head. “I try to keep it on the down low. It’s rather embarrassing when some rando texts me asking for pics.”

“I mean, it makes sense.” Theo offered and got a look from the tiger. “I-I mean you are so awesome and cool and sweet. You’re interesting and funny…” Theo twiddled his thumbs. “I’m sure that… that I’m sure everyone is interested in you!” Theo covered his face. He squeaked. “Stop looking at me like that!”

“I don’t know what you mean.” Pedro grinned. “If I didn’t know better. Mi compañero de cuarto favorito, has a crush on mi.” The tiger teased and Theo squeaked angrily up at him.

“You already have too big of an ego as it is! I don’t know why I bother,” Theo shook his tiny fist at the giant tiger before turning his back on him with a huff. “You try to compliment a tigre and this is the thanks I get.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. Te molesté?” Pedro asked and Theo looked over one shoulder at him.

“Molest? What?” The rat was confused, and the tiger rolled his eyes.

“Do I bother you?” Pedro translated, making his English sound extra crude as a joke. Whenever Pedro had to translate his native tongue, he always made it sound as dumb as possible. It was always gracioso seeing their reactions to it.

“What, no. Never! I-I love being with you,” Theo turned around before hesitating, rubbing his tail between his hands. He looked away. “Do I… do I bother you, Pedro?”

“Qué?” Pedro’s eyebrow lifted, utterly confused where this was coming from.

“I mean, I’m just… and you are… and the girl seemed nice,” Theo brought up and Pedro rolled his eyes. “I don’t want to hold you back from anything of value or-or worth… Hanging out with other people y-your size, I mean… Then you wouldn’t have to…”

Theo gestured around at all the modifications Pedro had made to the room for his sake.

“Mi rata,” Pedro didn’t even ask for permission these days as he reached down and picked Theo up. His legs hung below his fingers, his head and arms resting on the top of Pedro’s hand as the tiger lifted him up to his face. “You are the only value in mi life. Mi padres have the money, not mi. I don’t even own half the stuff in this room,” he turned his hand slowly around the room so Theo could see everything before bringing him back in front of his face. Dipping his muzzle down, Pedro continued to talk. “You are my greatest treasure…”

“So… You think of me as a possession?” Theo frowned, unsure how to take that.

Pedro muttered a curse in Spanish as he rolled his eyes.

“You know what I do during class?” Pedro asked and Theo shook his head. “I try to text you. Sneakily. Without the professor finding out. I think of you. What you are doing. What we are going to do tonight. Are we going to finish our shows? Maybe start a new project? Or maybe you’d be comfortable with durmiendo conmigo…” The tiger scratched his cheek with a clawed finger, not looking at the rat in front of him.

“Sorry, I’m unfamiliar with that one.” Theo squeaky voice made Pedro chuckle.

“If I had known you wanted to take a nap today, I’d have snuck out of class to come join you. Or maybe have snuck you into class with me.” Pedro grinned and Theo blushed at the thought. “I see you beat me there.” He added with a wink.

“I, uh, borrowed one of your shirts…” Theo motioned down at it. “It’s getting cold these days,” he tried to explain. “Fall is around the corner and like, uh, winter.”

“It is getting rather frío,” Pedro chuffed a hot breath over the rat’s body making Theo squirm. “I suppose you will have to start durmiendo conmigo.” He grinned and Theo was the one to roll his eyes.

“I swear, half the things you say need a censor bar… I bet!” Theo angrily squeaked as Pedro lifted him up and, gently, he released Theo to stand on his snout. The rat opened up his arms to balance himself as the tiger slowly got back up with his arms out.

“Where’s the fun in censorship?” Pedro’s eyes danced with delight as the two stared at each other. Carefully, Pedro undid his coat and his pants. Taking the fabric off slowly as the rat stood on his snout. It was one of the many silly games they played with one another, and Pedro was ready in case Theo slipped and fell.

Theo never did. The rat had perfect balance and would do risky jumps or walks that would give the tiger a heart attack half the time. Pedro was sure his already pale orange fur was growing lighter by the day with some of the things Theo tried to get away with.

“So,” Pedro started after helping Theo down onto his hand and onto the desk. It was a large flat wooden desk with a nice finish. It had taken some creativity just to get the large thing into the small room. It was where the two often spent their time together working on projects.

Pedro slipped on one of the discarded basketball shorts and took a seat.

“So? What did you have in mind?” Theo was already walking over to look at the blank pieces of parchment that had been left their from the previous night.

The two had stayed up late into the hours of the night coming up with various ideas they could implement together. It had been a lot of silly fun. Talking about things they’d do together in the future or the things they’d build.

“Rats tend to build things for efficiency and usability… not for fun.” Theo had told Pedro. “You Bigs are the ones who do crazy things like,” he motioned towards the consoles. “Create video games and such. You guys are on top of the world. Safe. Secure and boring.” Theo teased. “We focus on survival above everything else… at least that’s how it was in the colony.”

Pedro just silently nodded along as he sketched things out. It took Theo a moment to realize the tiger was speaking to him without words. Pedro penmanship was questionable, but he had a knack for drawing. Able to create diagrams and blueprints for the two to use for future endeavors.

“What is it?” Theo had asked last night as the tiger continued.

“El theme park.” The tiger even initialed it after, signing his work. “This place,” he rested back in the chair looking around the room. “Is too small for what I have in mind.”

“What’s a theme park?” Theo asked and Pedro had just smiled down at him.

“One day, I’ll show you…”

Now the desk was barren. Pedro having neatly tidied up after Theo had fallen asleep. The tiger carrying the rat over to his bed before cleaning things up. It was easier to keep his desk and other surfaces clean than the floor. Something the two had agreed on that Pedro was terrible at doing. The tiger showed no signs of changing.

“What’s the agenda today?” Theo asked as Pedro motioned for him to stay on the desk as the tiger walked over to his closet. Pedro only moved after knowing Theo was somewhere safe and high up off the floor.

Opening the closet up, the tiger began sifting through the various clothes hung up within it. The closet was overflowing with things and Theo wisely decided not to ask as Pedro snagged a maroon-colored sweater. It had dark gray sleeves and seemed to be a two-piece set instead of just a single sweater.

Theo stepped out of the way, balancing on the edge of the desk, as Pedro laid the sweater out over it’s surface. The large garment took up the entire desk, showcasing how large Pedro was. Needing to wear something of this size.

“I want you to come with me to class tomorrow.” Pedro said and it took a full minute for Theo’s brain to register what that meant.

“W-what?” Theo squeaked, jumping into the air with the sound as the tiger watched with amusement. “Class? Outside? Together!” Theo began pacing back and forth, grooming his whiskers. Pedro just laughed. Watching his tiny friend overreact like this. “Outside?” Theo jumped and turned around in mid air before pacing back across the desk. “Outside!”

The small albino rat taking three steps one way before spinning around and back tracking. If he kept that up he’d eventually form a groove in the wood as he paced nervously back and forth.

“What if someone sees? What if I fall off? What if!” Theo eyes bugged out before he relaxed. “Okay, there are only a few terrible scenarios to think of. They’re still terrible!”

“But exciting.” Pedro winked.

“But exciting,” Theo had to admit. It would be far more interesting than being stuck indoors for over three weeks now.

“That is why,” Pedro reached over to a side drawer and opened it up. He began pulling different things from medical shears, to needles and finally strands of fabric and thread. “I bought these.”

“When did you even have the time to buy these?” Theo jumped up on the sweater and walked over to look at what Pedro had gotten out.

One nice thing Pedro had figured out about Theo was that, in order to distract him from his nervous anxiety, the tiger just had to show him something of note or worth of gaining Theo’s interest. Pulling his attention away from the dilemma before them and letting the rat lose himself in his curiosity.

And people say felines were curious creatures.

“I’ve been thinking about this, a lot.” Pedro didn’t take a seat, instead the tiger leaned over the desk looking down at everything. Watching as Theo moved around to organize and sort things out. If Pedro turned over a puzzle box in front of the rat he was sure, within the hour, Theo would’ve put the entire thing together.

OCD or something else? Pedro was never sure. It was still extremely amusing to watch as Theo rolled a spool out of the way before collecting the needles and placing them safely to the side. Within a couple of minutes, the entire desk had been organized.

“What?” Theo asked and the tiger chuffed. “I forgot what we were doing…”

“Well,” Pedro took a seat and picked up the cloth shears. It was the same thing paramedics used to take clothes off people. He figured it would work for the thick fabric they needed to use for this. “I wanted to experiment with you.”

Theo blushed, his white furred cheeks burning red as his pink ears turned maroon as he stared at the tiger.

“I’m not much of a seamstress,” the tiger continued, and the rat was utterly confused. “But I’ve seen you work your magic, if tiny, fingers and do some incredible stuff with my things.” Pedro chuckled.

“I’m still not following… You want me to come to class with you but then you want me to tear apart your clothes?” Theo was trying to figure that one out. This massive piece of fabric beneath his tiny feet would’ve been coveted by those back home.

The rats back home would’ve torn the entire thing apart and taken the precious material to make beds or even clothes with. It was a nice sweater, Theo had to admit. A lot of the sports clothes Pedro had were of top quality and must’ve been just as expensive because of it. Theo never asked about Pedro’s money and the tiger seemed to greatly appreciate that.

Theo had a suspicion that most of Pedro’s old friends had only liked the tiger because of his families wealth.

“Remember the other day? Last Tuesday, after I came back from the gym?” Pedro left that open-ended. Theo recalled the incident.

Pedro had just gotten back from the gym. About to take a shower when he turned around and flashed the rat with his booty on accident because of the giant hole in the side of his shorts. Pedro hadn’t even noticed but the squeaky rat had quickly explained what the issue was, after Theo had calmed down.

“Mi junk had nearly fallen out.” Pedro had just laughed. “Now that would’ve been a sight for your tiny eyes, mi rata.”

“Take off your pants.” Theo had ordered and Pedro had been the one caught off guard from the sudden boldness of his Small roomie. Unfortunately, Theo had just wanted to patch up the hole instead of try anything with the tiger, leaving Pedro in a huff as Theo tended to the torn fabric.

Theo had skillfully patched the spot up, using spare scraps of cloth on the inside before sealing the outside. It wasn’t perfect but it was far better than it had been before. It had given Pedro the idea of what he wanted to attempt with Theo.

“Mi casa es tu casa,” Pedro grinned. “La ropa. Eh,” the tiger rolled his eyes. “Mi ropa es tu ropa.”

“You want me to make a house of your sweater…?” Theo frowned, trying to think that one over. “I guess I could dress up my place,” Theo looked over at the nightstand where a small house was under construction that Theo stayed at during the night. It was solid and well built. A miniature safe that Theo could go in and out of.

“Not a house, per say.” Pedro rolled his eyes. “I want to create a safe place to keep you on mi person while I go to class. It needs to be secure. Even when I walk, I don’t want to risk you popping out of mi pocket or something!” The tiger grumbled at the end as his ears splayed out, tail tip flickering. “It is mi… my miedo,” the tiger sighed. “Stepping on you? Sitting on you? Not knowing where you are… to lose you?” Pedro shuddered at the thought, fur sticking out. “I’ve had pesadilla of such things happening.”

“And your solution is to create a portable cloth-based storage container…?” Theo wasn’t sure how he felt about that. The gears in his head were already turning as he began picturing how the two-part sweater could be put together for such a thing.

Theo could practically visual the two pieces and how they could connect together. Which parts to add to, what parts to take from. How the thread needed to go in. How much they needed. Visualizing every thread stroke and needle work needed…

“More like a… tour bus,” Pedro had to think of an example. “I want you having a good time! Sight seeing around campus with me. Attending classes together. Maybe we can even get lunch.” The tiger mumbled a bit at the end, fiddling with his fingers.

There was something more to this that Theo couldn’t put his finger on. Pedro wanted this as badly as Theo needed it. Theo only really knew Pedro within the room, not outside it. There was still a lot Theo didn’t know about Pedro and tagging along with him might allow him an insight to the tiger’s day-to-day life.

“Pedro…” Theo looked up at the tiger then down at his hands. Walking over, Theo placed his tiny hand on one of Pedro’s large fingers. “I can’t hang out with you like you would someone your own size… I’m not… like that.” The rat’s ears folded back as his tail curled around his legs. “We can do stuff in here because it’s isolated from the outside world and prying eyes… no judgment. Judgment free zone.”

“No, no.” Pedro clenched a fist. “I do not like gente, they annoy me!” The tiger began to get worked up. Pedro stood, pacing in the room much as Theo had on the desk before. “They are molesto. Estúpido! No vale mi tiempo!” He spat to the side. “I want to spend time with you. Not them!” The tiger said after taking a breath to calm down. Pedro wiped a hand down his face. “This is not mi wanting to substitute you for… anything! Or anyone! I want to spend time with you, Theo. Not them. They… they estupido.”

Pedro turned his hand over in front of the rat who looked down at his bright pink paw pads. Theo hesitated before climbing up onto his hand. Pedro easily lifted him up off the desk so the two were at eye level. The tiger bumped the front of his muzzle against Theo’s front.

“I… Mi gusta pasar tiempo contigo,” Pedro said quickly before saying it again. “I enjoy spending time with you. I didn’t care,” Pedro began resting back in the chair. “About this.” He motioned at the expensive consoles. “Or school. Classes? Projects? I lost interest in all that a long time ago, mi amigo. It was boring and no one appreciated the efforts I made or put into things… not until I met you.”

Pedro took a slow breath before turning away to let it out.

“I know, being Small is hard for you, Theo. Being… being Big doesn’t just instantly make things easier, though.” Pedro shook his muzzle back and forth, covering it with a large hand. “Money? Money helps, sure. It doesn’t magically fix things. Not… Not like you do.”

“Pedro,” Theo began as the tiger looked back at him with teary eyes.

“I had a hole in my shorts!” Pedro gritted his fangs, trying to hold back the growl threatening to escape him. “No one said a thing! A gaping hole in mi pants and… nothing. Not a single damn Bastardo said a damn thing because of who and what I am… but you did. You saw me and instantly said something. Then. You teased me about it, as amigos are supposed to do. Then… then you came to my aide,” Pedro’s ears splayed out as his shoulders fell with the motion. “You... You are Small, tiny and yet you are the only one to offer to lend mi a hand… no matter how small they maybe, you did.”

Pedro let out another heavy breath.

“They didn’t even laugh or tease me about it…” The tiger continued. “They didn’t even…”

“What do you mean?” Theo inquired, touching Pedro’s thumb with a hand. The tiger looked down at it. The way the rat comforted him during his blue times like this.

Pedro had given up on people in school. Like the previous years. People didn’t want to hang around a large, angry looking tiger. He knew it was partially because of his nationality. He would talk in español often, sometimes without meaning to do so. Especially when he got annoyed by something or if he made a mistake.

An angry tiger speaking in a language you didn’t understand was extremely off putting for most people. Especially when that tiger could be twice your size.

“When… when I did something dumb? You would tease me. Talk to me. Address me. Acknowledge my existence, even if it was in playful jest.” Pedro slowly explained. Laying it all out for Theo. “They? Those people? Compañeros de clase? Out there… they didn’t. They didn’t look at me or address me or even come over to tell me I needed to change my shorts.” He clicked his tongue. “They ignored me. Refused to even make a snide comment about it. To tease the big dumb tigre. That I wasn’t even worth making fun of… Theo?”

“Yes, Pedro?” The rat asked.

“You know what’s worse than being teased by your classmates?” Pedro asked.

“What?” Theo didn’t know.

“Being ignored. As if you weren’t even there…” The tiger pet Theo’s back with his thumb. It was comforting. To touch the rat like this, to have someone so close to him, looking at him. Holding onto every word he said, even when Theo didn’t understand them all. “When I walk down the hall? People move out of my way. They don’t look at me. They just instinctively move. Like there is this unseen bubble around me that others can’t enter…”

“Do you want them too?” Theo asked in a soft voice, resting back against the tiger’s fingers as he looked up at him.

“No!” Pedro laughed, showing off his fangs. “I hate people! Still. At least fucking acknowledge me. Get mad at me or talk behind my back. Don’t just ignore me like that…” The tiger clicked his tongue again. “Drives me insane. Or, at least, it did…”

“What changed? I thought, with your shorts the other day…” Theo said, trying to figure out the missing piece to this puzzle.

“Oh, I was annoyed! Enojado! But, eh, that didn’t really matter. Because when I got back here, you said something. You overreacted, as usual,” the tiger teased. “But you said something. You pointed at me. You got on me about it and then you… you helped me.” The tiger frowned. “Fuck, I must be estropear. Now that I think about it? Heh, being overly loved by mi padres left me rather needy.”

“You are a feline.” Theo teased playfully and was gently squeezed by the tiger.

“Feline, huh? I always knew you had a prejudice against it!” Pedro gently squeezed the rat before nosing at Theo’s body until the rodent squirmed and squeaked in his grasp. Getting what he wanted, Pedro set Theo back on the desk. “Bueno. For everything, Theo…” The tiger looked back at their work, trying not to let Theo see his teary eyes. “Back to what I was thinking about,” the tiger placed a hand down on the desk and Theo touched his finger again.

“Pedro?” Theo said, and the tiger looked at him. “Thank you for telling me about that. I know it’s hard… being different, than others. Trust me, I know!” The rat squeaked. “I do greatly enjoy spending time with you. I’m sorry I can be so needy about it.”

The tiger smiled at that.

“Well, I hope this will fix that issue… for both of us.” The tiger tapped on the sweater. “I want to add pockets. On the inside. Tunnels and passages through the sweater. To seal off the ends so there is no risk of dropping something. Able to put my hand in the front pocket,” Pedro fingered the fabric. “And, uh, feel you there. Curled up in my hand… To know you are there. Safe and sound.”

Theo looked the sweater over, thinking about it.

“You want to turn the sweater into tubes?” Theo said, and the tiger gave him a look. Theo waved it off. “Tunnels. You want to make it so that you can put me inside the sweater and let me run around on you from top to bottom without worry. I get it. I think we can one up this, though.”

The rat bounced his way over to the other side and began fiddling with the wooden box there. Jumping up, he pulled down the front of it to showcase one of the first things Pedro had made for him. A wooden box home.

“We can use this as an example,” Theo said as he stepped back to look at it. “The first floor we can connect to the front of the sweater. The living area, we’ll call it. We’ll create tubes, or stairs, connecting from this floor to the second floor where the hood is. That way I can stay up there, close to your ears, to talk with you and see things. We’ll add a hallway along the chest, not the back. The back will go untouched. No risk then if it’s only localized in the front. The back? Well, you might sit down and squish me.” Theo giggled at the thought. “And then the side rooms will be the arm holes. Simple enough.”

“You thought of all that, already?” Pedro blinked looking at Theo.

“Well,” Theo weighed his hands back and forth. “The idea of crawling around inside your clothes had come to mind once or twice. But it’s dangerous. So, I never suggested it. If we create a center part, within the fabric. Then I’ll be trapped,” Theo made air quotation marks around the word, “inside your clothes. That way, there is no risk of accidentally knocking me out or slipping and falling to the ground.”

“See, this is why I ask for your opinion on the matter.” Pedro smiled. “I was just going to stuff you in my pocket.”

“Like a cellphone?” Theo’s eyes twitched.

“Yes, but you get angry when I call you that.” Pedro smirked as the rat jumped up and down at him, shaking his tiny fist.

“I am not a toy!” Theo stomped his tiny foot against the desk, getting on the massive tiger about it. It was over the top, like Theo was, and that was why Pedro enjoyed it so much.

Theo was the only one to see and treat him like any other friend would’ve, despite his size.

“Nah, little rata. You are more like a carry-on.” Pedro teased, tail swishing playfully behind him as Pedro began to look forward to tomorrow’s class. Now that he wouldn’t be alone in it.