Later that night (8:00 pm)

Rob's been asleep for hours now, we're not sure how long but it's been a while since he moved at all, aside from him breathing. Dart fell asleep a few minutes ago and I now have the sudden urge to use the restroom! I'm debating whether or not to wake Rob up to ask but as time goes by, I give up and call Rob.

'Rob, can you wake up please?' Nothing happens beyond more snoring, 'Rob! Rob are you awake?' I shout in my head, hoping to rouse the sleeping giant.

There's a hitch in his breathing and he lets out a quiet groan, 'uuuhhgg, what's wrong?'
He answers tiredly,

'Um, I need to go...' I say sheepishly.

'Wha- oh!' He says, quickly catching the hint. 'Hold on,' he says.
I suddenly see the shadow of his hand reaching for the pendant, he holds it in his hand and mutters the words "release conscious one" and with a dull flash, I'm standing on the back of his hand. The surface beneath me slowly rises as Rob moves to sit up.
I look up at the giant face above me and see the pain lacing his features but determination lit in his eyes, he slowly stands up and hobbles to the bathroom. I kneel down as he walks so I don't fall off. Rob makes it to the bathroom and drops me gently into the sink before waddling over to the toilet to take care of his own business. He and I finish so I climb onto the counter and wait for Rob to pick me up but instead, he puts the lid down and sits down.

"Rob, you ok?" I ask, generally concerned for my giant friend.

"Yeah I guess, just trying to will myself to have a shower." He says putting his face in his hands,

"If you want, I'll come in there with you. How bout that?"

He looks up and stares at me before cracking a smile, "dude you would have been there with me anyway, whether you're inside or outside the pendant is up to you. But yes that would be nice," he says looking genuinely happy.

He stands up to close the door and then strips down to nothing. I do the same and then he gently picks me up, getting in the shower and placing me next to the bar of soap in it's cradle. Rob turns on the shower, making sure it's warm and the the water stream is light, before standing underneath it. I stare up for a moment at the handsome man's body in front of me, admiring every nook and cranny I could see from my angle, before a hand drops in front of me. I look up and see Rob looking down at me,

"Though I can assume you like the view from there, I rather you up higher." He says, playfulness shining brightly in his eyes.

I climb on his hand and he lifts me to a shelf that's at eye level for him. After setting me down, he reaches for the shampoo and squirting some onto his hand.

. . .

'Ok this is a little weird but who cares? We're dating anyways,' I think to myself as I'm putting shampoo in my hair.
I wash it out then wash my body with the bar of soap. I stand there for awhile, just letting the water wash over my back, letting my eyes close and my mind clear.
After a few minutes, Scratch's voice cuts through my peace and quiet.

"Rob! You still awake in there?"

"Uh yeah, just clearing my head."

"You think I can wash quickly?" He asks sheepishly,

"Uh yeah sure, hear hop on." I say, offering my hand to him.

He climbs on and I bring down to the shampoo bottle and he gets enough to wash his hair. I then bring him to the bar of soap and he lathers himself in it before I bring him under the running water. He quickly rinses the shampoo and soap off then I bring him up to my shoulder and he climbs on, I turn off the water and walk out of the shower.

"You feel any better there buddy?" He asks,

"Yeah. That helped a lot, how bout you? It's been a while since you had a good shower," I ask. Drying myself off, being careful with Scratch on my shoulder.

"Yup, all squeaky clean again."

We laugh as I walk out of the bathroom, I grab a pair of boxers and put them on before sitting on my bed. I set Scratch down on the floor near their door so he can change. While he does that, I lay back down on my bed picking up my phone and earbuds off my side table. Turning it on and unlocking it, I go onto my Facebook and check my messages, nothing there, so I go on my games and collect the daily prizes before going to my music. I'm just about to turn on a song when I here Scratch calling me, I look over the edge of my bed and see he's fully dressed and staring up at me. I reach my hand down and he climbs on. Once he's on the bed, he walks up to my arm, hoists himself up and walks onto my back.

"Scratch, what are you doing?"

"Looking,"

"At what?"

"You, well your back."

"Why?"

"Seeing what damage you did to yourself now,"

"Oh! Ok," I say before settling down.

I can feel him walking down my back, stopping every once in a while and kneeling down. When he reaches my lower back, he's careful to take light steps. At first it doesn't hurt but in one spot, I jolt at the pain that shoots up my back.

"Are you ok?"
'Are you ok?'

Dart has apparently woken up as I hear both him and Scratch ask me the same question simultaneously.

"Yeah but if you don't mind, can you not walk on my back anymore?"

"No problem, I'll just-"

"Robert! I think it's time to get up, come have something to eat." My dad says, opening the door and walking in.

I feel Scratch duck into my pants when my dad opens the door and I try to roll over a bit, away from my dad, so he can crawl out without being seen. He catches the hint and I feel him slip out.

"Uh ok, I'll be down in a minute." I say, trying to get my dad to leave the room.

"Here, I'll help you up." He offers, about to walk over to my bed.

"I'm fine dad, I can get up on my own." I say, sitting up.

I put a hand behind me to let Scratch climb on so I can put him back in the pendant. When I feel him sit down in my palm, I stand up, curling my fingers to block him from view. My father hesitates before walking out of my room. I bring Scratch up to my chest and wish for him to be safe, then he's back inside my pendant, with Dart, as I walk downstairs for dinner.

To be continued...

Squirt out🤠