05 - At the Starting Line

05 - At the Starting Line

"Are you ready?" Sirus asked Eri, sitting on her shoulder as she stood in a hall before a wooden door with the number '314' stickered to it.

Her breathing slightly erratic, the blonde woman took a couple deep breathes to calm herself. "It doesn't feel real." She said, looking to Sirus with a nervous smile. "I mean, it's only been three months and already..." She looked down at the keychain her was holding, two fresh and shiny keys attached to it.

"You worked hard and made a lot of compromises." Sirus said, patting her on the neck. "You earned this."

Her hands trembling slightly, Eri slid one of the keys into the deadbolt of the door. There was a satisfying sound of metal sliding against metal followed by a 'click' and as she turned the knob, the door open.

"Welcome home, Eri." Sirus congratulated.

*******

Eri's life was rather hectic after shrinking Sirus. He immediately started getting her life back on track, making her go open a PO Box, open a chequing account and get a really cheap cell phone plan. He even made her make a new email address for when he made her write up a resume, apparently '[e-mail]' wasn't good enough.

She was still homeless while working a couple under-the-table jobs, but eventually got hired part time as a waitress at pub down town. Eventually she got promoted to full time and after saving for a few months she was able to afford to get a cheap bachelor, or in her case bachelorette, apartment.

*******

As she crossed the threshold of her new apartment, Eri almost felt overwhelmed. Sure she was here not even a few hours ago to see the place, but she had to go sign the papers and get the keys from the office. This time the unit was hers.

Immediately to the left were the coat and linen closets, and to the right the bathroom. Directly ahead at the end of the hall the room opened to the kitchen and living space. There was a counter, sink and stove on the right wall with a thin partition splitting the room a bit. There were two windows in the far wall, one on either side of the partition. There was no furniture to decorate the space, that could always come later. It was a little small and not exactly the cleanest, but there were insulated wall, heat and had hot water.

Walking through her new home, Eri's eyes began to water and she was unable to hold back the tsunami of emotions she felt, falling to her knees and hugging herself as she wept. Joy, relief, pride, safety, security, she had been without them for so long and had started to believe she would never feel at home again.

Thrown from his perch when she collapsed to the floor, Sirus rolled and landed safely on the floor and approached the blonde woman.

"Hey, hey, hey. Whatcha crying for?" He teased, setting a hand on her knee to try and comfort her. "You're home now, everything is fine."

Her attention now focused on the four inch tall man, Eri quickly picked Sirus and began hugging him affectionately. She wasn't able to articulate just how grateful she was, so she continued to hug and cry for a half hour before she started to calm down.

"Feeling better now?" Sirus asked as Eri placed him on her lap.

"Yes, I just can't believe it." Eri said, looking around the apartment, her appartment, their apartment. "If I didn't have Sirus, I never would have made it this far." She thought. "Thank you so much Sirus, I couldn't have done it without you."

"You did all the hard work, I was just bossy and mean." He replied, taking the sewing needle he had on his waist off. "I pushed you hard, not that I have any actual ability to make you listen, but you still listened to me, respected me. You don't have to thank me, Eri, I'm the one that should be thanking you. Despite everything, you still treat me like I matter. Thank you."

"You're only small because of me." The blonde thought, feeling guilty yet again for shrinking Sirus in the first place, especially since she was told it was for nothing. "It's a far cry from his old place, but this is just the start. To return his kindness, I'll make sure Sirus lives comfortably." "Of course you matter Sirus. You're the most important person in my life. I know you were strict because I needed it and because you care." She said, lifting him up for one more hug. "Since there shouldn't be any prying eyes here and we are celebrating..." She added, trailing off at the end as she held Sirus out a bit. Suddenly, the tiny man grew a bit, up to roughly 6 inches.

"Oh, been a while since you grew me this tall." Sirus commented as she set him down. Depending on the situation, Eri has been altering Sirus' size over the past few months. Sometimes it's to better hide him, others, like now, to better relax.

Pulling her shopping cart out of her coat pocket, Eri smiled to Sirus as she reverted it to full size. "Like I said, we're celebrating." She informed, restoring many things to their full size and setting them out on the floor, including the various bottles of alcohol she got from his old apartment.

"You work at a pub and yet you want to drink?" Sirus asked.

"Everybody drinks, even bartenders and bar waitresses." She countered, holding up a couple bottles.

"True, but I've never seen you so much as take a sip before." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but I know you don't like to drink alone." She admitted, sitting down next to the brown haired man. "We didn't have a safe environment to sleep in so I didn't want to be impaired mentally in case you needed me." She explained, opening a bottle of strawberry Sour Puss and filling the cap for Sirus. "You are my guiding light Sirus, but I still need to protect you."

"I appreciate it, really." He said honestly, using both hands to take the cap of booze from Eri. "Well then, to your new home." He offered, raising his 'cup'.

"To our new life." She corrected him, lightly tapping the mouth of the bottle off the rim of his cap. The two spent the next little bit relaxing and talking, drinking steadily as they reminiscenced. After the second bottle was over three quarters empty, with Sirus only having four or five caps, Eri's face had become very flush. "Siiiiiriiiiisssss~" She slurred in a singsong tone, looking to her shrunken roommate. "Sincse were celbratin, hows 'bout a song? Itz ben soooooooooooooo looooooooong." She requested, giggling as she poked at him lightly.

Sirus, holding his alcohol much better but still in a delightful state of inebriation, pushed her finger aside and flashed her a smile. Eri had often requested that he sing to help pass the time and would shower him with compliment when he did, making him very comfortable singing around her.

"Just one or two..." He agreed, setting down his 'cup'.

Bouncing in spot, Eri clapped wildly before reaching into her pocket and producing his iPod and handing it to him. "Picka gud un, Imma get comfy." She said, standing up and sliding her tight jeans off. She was still wearing a pink hoodie that hung down to the higher end of her thighs, but Sirus still caught an eyeful of her lacy purple thong.
Seeing her rather pricey underwear always reminded him of the first time he mentioned the quality of her undergarment to her a couple months back.

*******

Eri had just finished going around to various stores and businesses handing out resumes and was in a toilet stall at a public park changing out of her good clothes. Sirus was sitting on the toilet tank not watching, not that they weren't use to seeing each other at this point, it was just polite.

"Eri, mind if I ask a question?" He asked as she changed.

"Depends on the question." She teased innocently.

"Well your underwear doesn't seem all too old to me and I know La Senza and Victoria's Secret charge an arm and a leg for their products, so I was wondering why you would buy from there instead of somewhere cheaper?" He questioned.

Eri knew why Sirus was asking, knew the underlying question that he felt was too rude to ask. 'Why waste so much on something so frivolous when you're worrying about food and shelter?' He had been helping her budget her money, which incidentally most of which came from him, and since he was dependant of her savings too it was fair for him to ask.

"Well... actually." Eri began, slightly embarrassed by the truth. "Why I go to the more expensive places? Became wearing silk and lace underwear with risque designs makes me feel... pretty. I know I'm not the most beautiful woman, but I want to feel like a fashion model or movie star too, you know?"

"I can understand that want, not that you need to think like that but still." Sirus replied. "But how could you afford so many? Those frilly things cost a small fortune!"

Even more embarrassed, Eri finished getting dressed and leaned in close to whisper in Sirius' ear. "I don't... I figure those kind of places can afford to 'lose' one or two items every now and then, so sometimes I go in and shrink something I really like." She admitted in a tone equal mix of naughty pride and shame.

Sirus turned to see a small, sly smile cross her face, his own mouth agape with shock. "That's brilliant!" He said, no hint of reprimand or shaming in his tone as he smiled with her. "But if you can do that, why be homeless at all? You could go into stores and take a bunch of stuff and just sell it. You'd have enough for an apartment in no time."

"That and this are two separate matters. I might shrink some panties here and there, but I don't want to be a career thief... I have my morals, as complicated and sometimes contradictory as they may be, and I'll hold to them." She said proudly, puffing out her chest. "Though I guess even then I can be persuaded into breaking even those..." She chastised herself, looking at Sirus and feeling the guilt wash over her.

"That's good to hear." Sirus replied with a big smile. "You're a good person Eri, I'm proud."

"How can you say that?! I'm not good! I steal underwear, I shrank you and kidnapped you on top of that!" It still amazed the blonde woman how quickly Sirus adjusted to his change, it was almost instant. "How would things have turned out if it wasn't Sirus that I shrank?" She asked herself, picking up Sirus and bundling him up in her collar. "Let's go find a place for the night." She suggested, opening the stall door and heading out.

*******

Eri laid down on her stomach, facing Sirus as he snapped back to the present. Her sweater just barely covered her round tush as she rested her head on her hands, arms up on her elbows. She smiled warmly at him, the blush in her cheeked accentuating her hazel orbs. Sure, Eri was no model, but that didn't mean she wasn't pretty. Her dirty blonde hair hung down to her shoulders, slightly wavy and was as soft and smoothe as silk and glowed in the light. Her eyes were absolutely mesmerizing, light shades of brown and green danced about her iris, vibrantly gleaming almost like polished gold around her pupils. Her lips weren't as full-bodied as most, but Sirus knew from experience that they were softer than marshmallow fluff. Her intoxicated stated exuded an aura unlike that of the warm, caring, quiet girl he had come to know. She now had the confidence to control her domain with the practiced prowess of a master.

With her arms propping her head up, the collar of her sweater hung low and gave an ample view of her perky breasts being squashed against the flood. Before he had estimated Eri's breasts to be C-cups, but that was when she was slightly underweight and malnourished. Now that she had gotten back to a health weight and was eating properly her bras had become a slightly tight fit, probably passable for Ds, but then again he knew next to nothing about bra sizes in general. All that mattered was her assets got fuller, rounder and perkier, something he appreciated on cold nights when she would stuff him between them to make sure he was warm.

The contours of her narrow waist and hips were visible where her sweater hung off the sides of her back, and out from under her sweater shot out her long, firm, legs. Almost perpetually hairless, her legs are most definitely one of her best features. Usually wrapped in tight stockings or pantyhose, her bare legs are a rare treat, a privilege afforded only to Sirus. He doesn't even understand it himself, he's more of a breast and ass man, but with Eri there is something about her legs that stirs something profound in him, that and her eyes.

"You gunna sing?" She asked as she took another drink from the bottle.

Smirking to himself, her tapped the screen to start the song. "It's perfect for the occasion." He said confidently as the the intro played. Taking one more swig from his portion, he cleared his throat as the lyrics started.

"I'm gonna need you to raise your glass

I don't care what you put in it

Here's to nights that you can't take back

We live hard but we love to laugh"

As he sung Eri allowed herself to drift on his voice. He was a great singer, his voice hit the mid and low ranges well and resonated pleasantly throughout her. She took another drink and watched him dance along with the music. His dance moves not nearly as polished as his voice, she still liked watching him earnestly sway and move with the beat.

"We all thought that we'd get rich fast

Hop the plane out for greener grass

Found out the green is cash

Don't compare to the friends that last"

Listening to the lyrics, the blonde was also impressed by Sirus' selection of song. Not just this time, but often when she'd get him to sing he'd chose one that somehow related to the situation.

"See, we won't forget where we came from

The city won't change us

We beat to the same drum

No, we won't forget where we came from

The city can't change us

We beat to the same drum, the same drum

(Hey!)

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

(Hey!)

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

(Hey!)

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

(Hey!)

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home"

"He's right," she thought, "even if it's here in Canada, I'm finally home." It was a warm thought, one at drew a few tears to fall down her smiling face as she hummed along with the music.

"So here's to the cheap sunglasses

Redbull and minivans and

People who had your back when

The world didn't understand"

"Sirus... and Eris too, thank you both so much." She thought.

"See, we won't forget where we came from

The city won't change us

We beat to the same drum

No, we won't forget where we came from

The city can't change us

We beat to the same drum, the same drum

(Hey!)

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

(Hey!)

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

(Hey!)

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

(Hey!)

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

When ties loosen

We're losin' touch

And fading away

We'll still be raising our cups

To the same damn things"

Her body fully swaying in time with the beat, smiling and singing along with the chorus, Eri fell in love with the song. She clinked her bottle off Sirus' cap and took another drink before rolling over onto her back. She picked up her personal vocalist and held him above as she continued to rock her hips back and forth. Sirus didn't miss a beat and continued to sing enthusiastically, even as she shrunk him down to three inches and set him on her flat tummy.

"Oh no, the city won't change us

Oh no, the city won't change us

Oh no, the city won't change us

Oh no, the city won't change us

Won't change us (Hey!)"

As the song slowed, Eri stopped swaying her hips and just before the chorus started back up again she thrusted her stomach out launching Siris into the air a bit. This also slid her sweater up her stomach, exposing her purple panties but she didn't notice or care. Sirus to his credit tried to keep singing as he flew through the air, but lost his rhythm when he bounced off the underside of Eri's breast and rolled back onto her now exposed, soft, warm belly. Unable to contain themselves, the two laughed through the chorus.

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah

La-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-doe

And no matter where we go

We always find our way back home

Trying to roll backwards to stand back up, Sirus tripped in Eri's belly button and fell sprawling out over her pelvis, the back of his head coming to rest in her crotch.

(Hey!)

We always find our way back home

Startled by the sudden impact on her privates, Eri sat up and see Sirus starfished across her lower abdomen. Smiling up to her, he sang the last line.

"Yeah, we always find our way back home."

"Comfy?" She asked as the song ended, an amused smirk on her face. Sharing toilet stalls and sleeping in the same sleeping bag had afforded them with very intimate encounters with each other's bodies, making them more or less comfortable with each other. They knew the act wasn't sexual or anything, it was just something they accepted now.

Wiggling in place to situate himself, the brown haired man smiled up to her. "Actually, yes."

Lying back down, Eri grabbed the hem of her sweater and pulled it down over Sirus and held it tight, restricting his movements. "Letz tuck yuu ein then." She teased, giggling as his hair tickled her inner thighs.

The night continued on for the two new tenants with Sirus singing and Eri cheering. After a few hours it was getting a little late and the two decided to get ready for bed. After laying out the sleeping bag in the far corner of the living space, Eri stumbled towards the bathroom.

"Com'on my wittle Sirus, time ta git ready fir bed." She said, scooping up Sirus from the floor on her way.

"It'z our bathroom, Eri." Sirus stated, not overly slurring but he could barely keep his head still. "We can uze da toilet separately without worry."

"No, no, no, no, noooooo." Eri protested, stretching the last word out as she entered the bathroom and closed the door. "We gots ta share e'eryting, even pee-pee time." She said, setting Sirus on the tank.

His thought process slightly slowed by his sloshed state, Sirus wasn't able to turn around fast enough and caught an eyeful of Eri's pleasant tush. Her thong disappeared between the space where her soft glutes met. He did manage to turn as she bent over to pull her panties down to sit on the porcelain throne.

"I had lotz 'o fun taday." She commented, relieving herself and leaning back on her seat.

"That'z good." Sirus said, sitting down and resting his back against hers. "Tamorrow you can just relax, maybe git sum groceries and take it easy."

"Yurturn." The plastered blonde said, standing up abruptly almost causing Sirus to fall.

Sirus was about to caution her to be a bit more careful, but when he turned around he saw that Eri hadn't pulled her thong back up yet. "You forgettin somethin there?" He asked, covering his eyes and pointing to the floor.

"Oops!" She exclaimed, quickly picking up her undergarment. "Can't be makin' a mess already." She giggled.

"Whatever, she's got a sweater." He thought, as he also emptied his bladder.

"Bedtime!" Eri announced after the two washed their hands and brushed their teeth. She picked up her little friend and headed for the sleeping bag. Along the way she threw her thong along with her sweater, shirt and bra onto her discarded jeans.

"Whoa! Eri, what are you doing?" Sirus asked, sure they were comfortable around each other, but there was almost always a layer of clothes between them, except when she would put him between her breasts. There was also that one time in his old apartment, but they don't talk about that.

"Gittin' ready fir bed, obvously." She said matter-of-factly, slipping into the sleeping bag. "Yuu too." She said merrily, grabbing Sirus and pulling him into the sleeping bag. Settling in to sleep, she held him into her chest. "Guud night, Sirus." She said just moments before drifting to sleep.

"Pleasant dreams, Eri." He replied, smiling softly and nuzzling close to her warm bosom.