Okay, so, this one would really fit well with a bunch of other prompts which I'm not gonna list up here and spoil you, but I decided to go with this one to get it out the quickest. I wanted to see what you all thought about it and I know by the time I get to later prompts that match this story I will be better, with more creative ideas and characters. Have I mentioned that I love this one?

So for now, here's 37 - THREATEN.

Pepper leant up on her knees, looking up to the giant with her mouth hanging open the smallest bit, ready to hear what her giant had to say next. He'd been detailing last week, when unbeknownst to her, his brother had dropped by with some pizza for them to share, and almost opened the door on them had it not been for the fact he thought Daniel was speaking to himself.

"Yes way! She got me an appointment with the doctor asking if I heard voices in my head."

The redhead burst out laughing, falling back onto the desk and almost missing the annoyed hand approaching to snatch her up had it not been for the movements fluttering the pages of his book. Meaning she had ample time to jump away, leaving Daniel frowning at his empty palm before sending a sneer over to her.

"I'll get you next time." He huffed, coming closer and leaning over his work to begin revising, highlighting clumps of words in yellow, Pepper giving him a taunting display of her turned back before hopping back where all her things lay. A small rock, a blade she was fashioning, scraps of metal she was attempting to turn into projectiles, an impressive array of toothpicks and string, wood, even a whole screw. Exactly where she had left them. Daniel never touched her things, and in extension, hardly ever touched her unless he was absolutely sure she wasn't carrying anything sharp.

Daniel was watching her. He already towered over her every second of the day, did he have to make her feel more flustered by staring.

"Mikkelsen."

"Sorry, Pepsi, it's just really cool how you have all this stuff. You found all of this, or made it, it's pretty neat. Could I.." A hand was meekly offered, and Pepper regarded it with apprehension, before handing over part of a broken thimble she'd made into a sort of helmet to wear during storms, when shaking walls could throw down any sort of debris. The digits hid it from view instantly, but she knew not even a Bean's strength could break it, and sat cross-legged while watching the colossal admire it with a strange sombre air about him. Strange.

"What did you use these for?"

"Hmm?" Large eyes flicked to her, and she pointed to her thimble-hat nestled in the curves of his palm, chuckling when the giant looked genuinely confused and held it up in his fingers, before placing it on the tip of one.

"Like this, we use it when we sew. So you don't get cut." Daniel replied, before his hand approached and gently tipped it into her arms, warmth receding with a smile of the same temperature as he went back to his studying. Pepper tried to brush away the fact that her skin was still warm where a finger had grazed it, the sensation of a fingertip still lingering against her skin almost made her head spin.

What was wrong with her?

They fell into a companionable silence, Pepper patching up her clothes and sewing knew ones with a needle made of bone, unable to forget what Daniel had told her about thimbles when she pricked herself on accident, in fact, the Borrower was unable to forget about the giant altogether, and not because he was towering behind her. It was for some other reason that he made her heart flutter beneath her chest, and eyes kept drifting to his admittedly dangerous hands, imagining them holding, cradling, stroking-

NO!

He's a Bean.

'I must be at that age,' she told herself, 'when boys became attractive.' But then Pepper wondered if her life of solitude meant that she'd crave anyone, man, woman, even...even a human, for a partner. She knew for Beans it was different, love involved a lot more kissing and physical affection, while Borrowers showed love when they gave someone a sugar cube, a new satchel, a sliver of cake which they'd braved the odds to collect. Gifts meant a lot more, as well as knowing your partner had your back even in the tough times, instead of cuddling and flowers like how Daniel described it.

But she wanted Daniel to give her a sugar cube, there was no denying it, she wanted to know that the giant had her back, beyond the countless times he'd said it when she was a bit uncomfortable around him. But shrinking potions were in very short supply, and a Bean would do no good as a love interest.

"You know how you said you were looking for a button."

Daniel cut into her thoughts, and her head whipped up to see him standing and stretching tall enough to touch the sky, giving a deep sigh once he'd shaken himself down. It wasn't so intimidating for once, when he took only two steps and was now directly in front of her, close enough to see the pen markings staining his hands as he gestured overhead.

"Yeah."

"I think I've got one you'll like," The teenager said with a wink, running a hand through his short locks as he left to dig through his drawers, finding scissors and that one shirt among the mess that was his bedroom cupboard. "And I grabbed some of those dolls you wanted too!"

Pepper grunted and fell back in relief, glad to finally have a break from his overwhelming presence, messing with her head and forcing her to cut herself then think about a goddamn thimble. She sucked the wounded finger as she got up to brush the strands of fabric off her, frowning when she thought she heard a rustling coming from within the underside drawers that contained only inanimate pencils and knick-knacks.

It turns out, something was alive inside that draw. Very much alive as it sprung out of hiding and barelled into the redhead's chest, forcing her to the ground and removing her ability to take in breath due to the weight that sat upon her abdomen.
The dead eyes of a rat stared her down, but the only reason she didn't run was because that's all they were, dead, part of a full skin worn by the same person who forced a hand over her mouth to keep her quiet. The elongated fingers were like her own.

"Call for your prettyboy, and you're dead." The second hand whipped out a whirling piece of machinery, aiming what looked like a mechanic bow at her, made of broken shards of wood, elastic bands, a paperclip mangled into a formidable weapon. What Daniel had called a crossbow, he even had a model one in his room.

"You gonna sing little birdie."

No.

"Good, then let's talk about Mr Bean, okay?"  They chirped in a feminine voice, hopping off her chest but leaving a worn leather shoe planted right in the centre, the sole digging into Pepper with malice. Her mouth wasn't covered anymore, though, so whatever dared to call itself a Borrower was getting a piece of her mind.

"You don't know shit about Daniel, now get-" Pepper was forced to stop talking, moving, breathing, as the sharpened edge was pushed gently into the base of her neck where bone gave way to soft tissue. A wicked smile flashed from beneath the hood of a rat's paw stitched together, and it was clear they were a bit too trigger-happy for her liking.

"I've been here much longer than you, young one. I know it, its strengths, and those very few weaknesses it shows to people like us. I know its darkest secrets, and you wanna know why?"

The other human leant close, and that's when Pepper realised she couldn't hear her breathe at all, like she wasn't taking any air into her. That alone was enough to give her chills.

"Because I am one of them!" The rat-girl bursted, and the crossbow drew back just for her to cackle in a haunting, high pitched screech that sounded like a gasping scream, all the while she held tight to the space just above her waist.

After collecting herself, repositioning the weapon and putting a bit more pressure on the foot that pinned Pepper, the hood was pulled away to expose a pretty blonde, had it not been for the way grime masked her wavy locks and dust caked her cheeks. She smirked in a devilish way, fingering the trigger.

"You think it cares for you? You think you're the first 'cute tiny person' to come into his life! You think he didn't offer to show me his buttons, to help me with becoming who I am now?"

A proud gesture to her fur and weapons, a caress of her jaw, only had Pepper wincing and turning away from the honestly terrifying display. As well as the fact the rat-girl knew Daniel, and...and the giant never told her anything about her. She wasn't pining for him in any sort of way, but, friends tell each other about this and don't lie about knowing about your entire existence.

But she had to be lying. It couldn't be true.

"Don't you dare lie about him like that! I know Daniel, he'd never-"

When she cut her off she was practically screaming.

"Oh yeah, I've heard it all before. Daniel said he'd never hurt you, he'd never lie to you, you were his closest friend and you didn't need to hide."

"That f-f-fucker is why we hide! We hide because we get hurt, by them! Every time, without fail."

Tears begin to slip down the other's contorted face, and she wavered and fell away from Pepper, panting and whimpering as she clutched her side.

"What's wrong with you?"

There was no reply other than the human hurriedly lifting the side of her tunic up to reveal her stomach and ribs, acting like she'd been waiting for that moment. They were scarred terribly, bones hadn't healed properly, creating jarring lumps beneath skin visibly bruised in long, lumpy oblongs.

"He's what's wrong with me."

Like the handprints he left on the frosted glass of cold mornings.

Pepper felt like she was going to be sick, scrambling backward with her eyes taking in too much light and sound all at once that she almost plummeted to her death off the side of his table with no-one to catch her.

A crossbow was cocked.

"That's right, get out! Run, little mouse, run before I stick you to his table. Run before I shoot my precious little babies right into his eyes!"

Pepper froze as the crossbow was truly aimed at her, the sliced piece of elastic band easily able to come loose and fire a sharpened shard of thick plastic. Heart pounding in her throat, the teenager couldn't tear her eyes from the malformed figure standing on the desk, the manic expression hiding the pain that must have driven her to murder.

To murder Daniel. The Bean she thought was different. The one who left his ugly mark on this innocent, twisted, girl.

"Run before your heart is broken! Run before we finish our business here! RUN!"

The room was silent for a moment, and the rat-girl had frozen. Years of experience, careful listening, and training ensured she knew when someone loomed behind her. So she could never be blindsided, always had the upper hand.

Except for this once.

2040 words, this was /long/!

But I'd appreciate your thoughts about the chapter in the comments (a vote always does some good too ). Whether you want it to continue, maybe have a little one-on-one time with rat-girl and Daniel, whatever!

Hope you enjoyed and have a good night!

-Tsunami