Free Admission: Part 5

“She's getting close to another one... should we intervene?” The younger of the two asked, watching his tiny master from a distance.
“... No, leave her be. I sensed from the start the last one was no good. This one however...” She looked over at the human, tail flicking lazily. “... I believe she'll be alright.”
“... But we will step in if things go wrong, correct?” He asked nervously, looking over at his superior.
“Of course. Her safety comes first after all... but so does her happiness.” She responded, smirking.

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“Gods dammit! Shit, again?!” Trillia cried out, grunting and pushing away the controller that sat over top her lap. “How?! How do you keep beating me?! I used to rock shit at this game!”
Max meanwhile was laughing openly, setting his own controller aside as he looked over at her. “You don't think maybe it's because of a certain handy cap? I mean, you can't even block.”
“Because I don't need to. Blocking is for casuals.” She said bluntly, skipping past the results screen and picking a new character. “Come on, rematch now.”
It'd been a couple of days since she got back with her cats, all of them now living happily with the ever agreeable Max after the revelation that her cats were abnormal, deciding not to easily play cat and mouse with their now tiny master. After a bit more talking and realizing she had more free time now that she... well, had no job or anything of that nature to worry about, the revelation as well that he had about four different game systems practically put a shine in her eye. She used to love to game, but work and life in general prevented her from being able to. Now her only job though was researching her predicament when Max was at work, so she'd hoped to get back into gaming... If only Max was amazing at nearly all of them.
“You sure? We're at 10-0 so far.” He said with a chuckle, picking a new character as well. “Maybe you wanna quit while you're behind, Tril?”
She glared at him, hitting the start button and focusing on the screen. The match commenced, her being rather aggressive in her offensive this time. A kick, followed by a punch, a well placed spike, a dash, and with a bit of effort reaching even some dodges. “I've got this, I've got this, I've got thi-Gah, ABRA!” She cried out, her tabby having decided to jump up and nuzzle her, causing her to go sailing off the stage in a spectacular show, the score changing to 11-0. She simply sat with a blank face, a silent rage emanating from her. “... I'm going to make good on that washcloth threat, Abra...” She said, reaching up and scratching behind the cat's ear as it curled up just behind her, almost seeming to smirk as Max only laughed louder at the results.

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“Yeah hi, have you seen this girl maybe?” The man asked, holding up a picture of Trillia to the usher.
Cory looked it over for a moment, leaning on his broom before shrugging. “Sorry man, never seen her. Why you checking here?”
“There was this movie she wanted to see that came out recently, so I thought maybe she'd seen it. She's kinda missing though.” He said, sounding worried.
“Oh man... I'm sorry to hear that. I'll keep and eye out if I see her though, ok?” He said, holding his fist out and fist bumping the guy before getting back to work.
The man looked at the picture, frowning as he walked out of the theater and back to his car. “Trillia... we are far from over...” He said, slipping the picture back into his wallet and driving off to continue his search.

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Max sat with a sigh on the couch, simply watching TV with his new roommates, Abra asleep in his lap and Arya curled up around Trillia on the other side of the couch. It had been over a week since he'd found her, neither of them having come up with any solution yet... not even a clue. He almost wondered if they'd given up... if they were just going to stay the way they were. He didn't mind he supposed, even if she couldn't help pay the bills for living here. It was nice just talking with her, having the company.
Still though, was she ok with it? She seemed relaxed most of the time, joking, laughing, smiling... she was kind of cute when she wasn't yelling at him for something she deemed stupid. And even then, sometimes she still was. He certainly didn't act on that though, they hardly knew each other and based on how she'd reacted when asked about relationships when they first met, she probably wasn't interested in one now. Whatever though, he was content being friends anyway.
Trying to focus his mind on something else, he instead started thinking about her apparently liking GT... He still hadn't found a tactful way of getting her to spill though.
Their show ended eventually and he flipped on the guide, flipping through the pages of channels before he smiled, his answer staring him in the face. An anime movie about borrowers. “... Hey, Tril. Ever heard of Arrietty?”
“Eh... rings a bell I suppose.” She said, shifting a bit.
“Well, it's up next. It's a favorite of mine, so maybe we could watch it?” He suggested, turning to the channel and setting the remote down.
“Actually, think we can change it? Or maybe just play a game or something?” She asked a touch quickly, trying to change the subject.
“Oh come on, just give it a chance it's not that bad.” He said, leaning back and relaxing as the movie started up.
“No, really Max change the channel.”
“It's a good movie-”
“I don't care, change it!” As she finished the channel suddenly did just that. Change. Then again, and again. Suddenly in an unintelligible mix of sounds and colors, the TV was flipping through channels as if someone were holding the button, though the remote remained resting comfortably on the arm rest.
They both watched it silently for a moment, unsure of what to say or do before Max grabbed the remote, hitting it against his palm a few times before shutting off the TV. Turning it back on, the channel was finally stopped on some show with a bearded redneck in a suit, prompting Max to sigh. “... Button must have just jammed, old controller.”
She remained silent, resting against Arya's side as the cat nuzzled the tiny, Trillia looking away.
“... Trillia, what's wrong-”
“How'd you know?”
“... Know?”
She rolled her eyes and looked up at him, already seeming defensive. “Yes, know! About the giant stuff! You don't have to coax it out of me or some shit, I like giants and tinies, alright?!”
He flinched back at the response, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Er, ok? Why... why are you yel-”
“Because I've heard it all before!” She said, standing up and throwing her arms into the air before starting to pace. “'Oh, that's so gross!' 'What a child, liking that fantasy stuff.' 'Bet your knight in shining armor steps on you.'” She rambled on with a huff before plopping back down. “...So go ahead, if anything this is the perfect chance to make fun of me. The girl who likes GT, shrunk to a tiny. Oh, the fucking irony!”
Max simply blinked, remaining silent for a moment. Was this really that touchy a subject for her? He knew some people reacted badly to GT, but... she'd certainly met all the wrong people if this was her first response. He gently placed a finger on her shoulder, smiling slightly. “... MaximumTiny.”
She looked over at him, arching a brow. “... What?”
“My DA name. It's MaximumTiny.” He answered, a slight chuckle in his voice.
Her eyes seemed to widen for a moment before her face reddened, covering it with her hands and simply falling forwards, face planting into the couch cushion. “... Step on me. Just step on my now.”
Max smiled, gently pinching her sides and sitting her back upright. They'd gotten a bit more trusting... or more she'd gotten a bit more trusting of him that little moves like that were allowed. “It's fine, really. I've heard some of the more... venomous comments about it. I'm just sorry you've met so many people like that.”
“I... I dunno, I'm into it just... I don't even know what I'm saying anymore.” She said with a more nervous laugh, unsure of how to continue and break the tension she'd created. Pausing a moment though she looked up at him, smiling. “... So you're really MaximumTiny?”
“Yup, the one and only.”
Trillia nodded before standing up and kicking his finger, hands on her hips. “Friggin' update already then! Been waiting for chapter six for almost a damned year!” A smile on her face.
He flinched at the kick, actually stinging a bit before laughing and shaking his head. “Gods... Thanks, this is what I need now... so Arrietty?” He asked, holding the remote up.
“Hellz yeah, turn that sucker on.” She said, waving a hand and going back to lounging on her cat.

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“... How'd she do that earlier?” He asked her, the two laying on either side of her. “I mean... there's like little to no magic here.”
“I always thought she was gifted... that's proof by her current state.” She replied just as calmly as ever, nuzzling the sleeping tiny master. “She's just getting better is all... perhaps we'll need to make ourselves known soon after all.”
He nodded in response, curling up and starting to get some sleep himself, the other doing the same.