Kody locked his door behind him, the satisfying sound echoing throughout his entire apartment. It sure was great to be home. To be alone for a change. 

"Hulli, Kodes!"

Wait...it's hello, isn't it?

Who cares!

Kody had forgotten about the small thing he'd found yesterday. Barely as tall as his thumb, with wild brown hair and dark skin; a young girl, who'd been stuffing her face into his leftover casserole. She'd introduced herself as Fiona and then scampered away before he could think to snatch her up and stick her into a jar.  Kody could understand why anyone would long for his casserole, the best thing he could cook, even 3-inch tall "Borrower People" that lived in his walls. Not just Fiona, but her older brother Leo and their father, Grim, whom he had never seen. 

Slowly, but surely, Fiona had earnt the Bean's undying admiration which he showed to her every day by glaring at her in that happy way, and giving her rides down to the floor after she'd taken the time to climb up the couch to be by his side. Kody Wilson was the kindest Bean, allowing them to take what they need, entertaining Leo all the time! Even though her dad said they were forbidden from speaking to them, Fiona never held back from visiting. 

The briefcase was thrown carelessly onto the table right beside the smallest figure, who recovered from the loud clicking of latches and bobbed at its side as the giant rummaged through it. Thick folders of papers were stacked beside her, blue-green eyes flicking over her form before the case was discarded and a laptop was opened in its place. Kody sat down, brushed out his hair, and got to work, all without any word of greeting. 

"Kody. Answer." Fiona pouted, watching in awe as fingers her size began to fly over the buttons that sat on the bottom of his laptop, inscribed with their glowing symbols that she only just understood. They were letters, that formed words, that formed Bean-speak. She was not too good at the giant's language, she knew a few simple words - names, objects, everyday terms - but she still pronounced the "w" in "answer". The only reply was the gentle clicking of the buttons.

Fiona huffed and jumped up onto his computer, marching into the middle of the screen and planting herself on one of the buttons along the second row, waving her arms up at the towering form of the human before her. The thing that caught his attention was the weird noises the computer was creating, but the flurry of fingers stopped in their tracks...which was great!

"What do you want from me?" Kody snapped, cringing at the tone his Mac kept making as the barely non-existent weight pressed down onto the 7. He was already knee deep in work and wasn't looking for a distraction.

"I want to ask how Bean's day was." Fiona replied, jumping over the gaps between the 8 and 9 with delight.  She liked the clicking sounds they made, as well as the deep tone that sprung from the holes in the metal computer. 

"My day was fine. I won my case, and that's all that matters. Now get off the keys." 

"Did you do well? Daddy told me that all Beans do is shout, rob, and destroy the environment."

"All you have to know is that it's a serious and needed job. Let me do my work."

"Sure Kodes!"

"Will you be leaving?"

"Your thingy is warm. Let me stay please, Kodes?"

"Tch." He pushed her off with a finger, sending her sprawling before going back to his work. Something was wrong.

"Kodes."

"Go away."

"Kodes!"

"Leave me ALONE, okay!" 

Fiona wasn't really sure what happened, only that something very large had been brought crashing down right beside her, creating noise and vibration so strong it knocked her off her feet and rung in her ears and skull. By the time her head stopped spinning, she could see the hand unclenched from its fist, the looming face with its intense round eyes glaring down to her. 

She whimpered a little, shuffling backward. But she knew...she knew Kody would never hurt her. Those bone crushing fingers, however long and powerful they may seem, never acted against her...except for today. She could've been hurt, she couldn've been thrown from the force of his hurled fist, but what Grim called her "Bloody blissful ignorance!" kicked back in. Fiona no longer focused on the action itself, but why it needed to be done. It wasn't bad that he'd nearly crushed her, but it was bad that he felt the need to do it.

Beans had emotions too, something that Leo and Grim seemed to brush over whenever Kody thundered past their home, looking intimidating and careless. But he was always alone, where was his family? She knew humans like him didn't borrow, and that they hurt the environment, and that they got angry and yelled and hurled fists, but that didn't mean that they were soulless monsters. They had Borrower hearts, they knew what it meant to love and care.

"F-F-Fi.." She saw the round eyes grow larger, pupils dilating as if Kody needed more light to see what he had done, and what he had almost done. 

The rumbling voice was laced with so much concern, the face came momentarily closer so his breath wafted over her and he studied Fiona closely. Then something seemed to snap and he straightened back up, and reached down to pinch her waist. Of course, the Borrower dodged, and by then she knew it was time to probe him.

"K-k-k-Kody...w-w-what's...wrong?" 

"Come here." His voice was flat and emotionless, and his hand hovered around the 3-inch form. Fiona shook her head defiantly, jumping over the keys of the keyboard as fingers tried to snag her.

"No. Tell me what's wrong."  

"No!"

"Kody!"

Fiona dodged the large hand that descended to grab her, seeing the fingers close around open air and giggling at the way the giant's thick eyebrows drew down in anger. He was so slow!

But, that was close, so maybe she should-

Fiona yelped as large fingertips pinched the back of her dress and yanked her up into the air, the floor disappearing beneath her as she was held without any support other than the Bean grasping her clothes in his fingertips. The Borrower began to shiver and curl up as she found herself at the mercy of a human being, the height making her head spin as she finally considered that Kody was just like every other human.

"Got you."

But then her vision of a fall that would break every bone in her body and kill her was replaced with the pale skin of a palm. Fiona was dropped down into it, and she immediately pulled away from the soft but leathery surface and covered her eyes, trembling. It was wrong. Hands weren't supposed to be this powerful, able to crush her so easily; they'd always seemed fun when she was pushed off something and then left to her own devices. But now she was completely powerless. 

Borrowers weren't supposed to be held! Where was her daddy, where was her Leo? 

Fiona finally heard the giant stand, the flesh of the hand pressing on her back and sides as it curled like a living creature ready to snap her up, rushing air buffeting her along with footsteps jolting her entire body. It was too much, it was all too much, she was going to-

"Go home, Fiona."

Feel the pressure of fingers longer than she was tall release off her form; have the living floor beneath her tilt to slide her onto the floorboards that were her familiar home; feel the cold shadow of a Bean looming over her. 

Kody gave her that stare, the one that froze her dead in her tracks and rendered her powerless against him, the one where his eyes grew ever rounder and the greeny blue colour ever stronger. Shoes maintained a respectful distance from her even as the lawyer stepped forward to tap the walls.

"Just go home, you wouldn't understand. It's-" Kody paused, and he looked away from Fiona in a thoughtful manner, making her feel even smaller than when he was staring her down. But she was pleasantly surprised to see a smile, one of the genuine ones that made your eyes press upward, come across his face. "It's a Bean thing."

"A-A...Bean thing?" Fiona had never heard of a Bean thing, the terminology didn't make much sense to her, but the billboard face was smiling, a deep chuckle escaping a mouth that could easily hold her inside. Kody was actually laughing, out loud, and not overly sarcastically.

The Borrower jumped as the colossal suddenly squatted to her level, his pillar-like legs sweeping around and moving too fast for something that large. Someone that large. A sudden vibration sent Fiona wobbling, the young girl falling onto her back for support, her walnut hat spinning beside her thigh. The new perspective allowed her to watch as Kody messed up his hair and propped his chin on his fist with a sigh that would topple her the same as the giant's seating had, looking out at his apartment before turning his attention down to her.

"But, it's nice to have someone to talk to."

~~~

My new boy, Kody Wilson, originally going to be a roleplay character but now is home to a family of Borrowers. Mainly because I need Borrowers to survive. Fiona has short hair and a walnut hat and when they first spoke Kody thought she was a boy. Kody is a lawyer and a good boy, face claim is Ben Allen (pictured at the top). 

~Tsunami