Chapter 9

Zoe stirred in her bed, alone. That was surprising, even her brain in dire need of some orange juice in the morning knew that. Where had the Godling gone? And was it a good thing? She wasn't so sure of it. She got out of bed silently and stole toward her bathroom, certain to see the impossible being waiting for her in the larger living room, the sole only room of her tiny home.

Bur Laurene wasn’t there. Even her presence seemed absent. Laurene frowned. Had she imagined all of the events of the previous day? And if so, how ill was she to let her imagination run so wildly? She shook her head and the door was here, suddenly appearing as if she had been unable to focus on it. Zoe shivered, worried now because she knew it was real. She had been in bed with a Godling, who was crushing hard on her. At least she wasn’t crushing her, period.

She sighed. For the first time in years, during a weekday, she had no reason to get out of her apartment. It felt strange, as if she was back to the years spent hidden away in her room. There only missed the berating of her parents, and the mocking tones of her siblings, who smugly considered the “little freak” had had it coming. She closed her eyes, opened them again and did her whole morning routine, relieving herself and washing her face.

And when she returned to the living room, a sudden flash blinded her, making her gasp. As she painfully blinked away, unable yet to see properly, she heard the almost childish laughter of Miss Beckworth booming around her, as the smell of perfectly cooked food, all her favorite dishes in fact, grilled fish and grapes and feta and so many other that made her stomach growl painfully. Finally, she was able to see and gasped at the incredible sight in front of her.

“Like what you’re seeing, my Zoe,” smirked the colossal giantess, hundreds of meters tall and yet contained easily in an apartment that couldn’t contain her body more than it could have the previous day. “I made all of that for you, quite literally may I add!”

“But you… you uh… didn’t cook them,” Zoe mumbled, blinking some more as she tried to ignore the impossible colossus. “You uh… you weren’t there when I woke up?”

“Oh, you noticed. Yes. There is… events, happening outside the Universe that could end up being… problematic, and we need to focus on them from time to time, entirely. But don’t you worry, I made sure you wouldn’t be in danger of anything while I was away and I returned as soon as I could.”

“But… you, uh…. you exist outside of Time, yes? Shouldn’t you, uh… Shouldn’t I not be able to, uh… be unable to notice when you’re not here?”

It was extremely difficult to argue with a person taller than her, at the best of times. With Laurene being taller than the Burj Khalifa probably was, it was basically all but impossible. And yet, the giantess managed to make her feel - at ease would have been a gross exaggeration. It was that rather than being paralyzed with terror, the care and affection that radiated from Laurene like light from the Sun, was enough to allow her to speak a little - or rather mumble.

“You’re right, of course, my Zoe. Usually. But let’s just say that we are still somewhat tied to Time. After all, we can't do anything to events before our Ascension. So, some matters mean that we need to leave the Universe entirely, and we can only return after we left it… But don’t bother your pretty head too much.”

That was absolute fear-inducing to hear, and in fact, Zoe was certain she had now ice in her veins. What could require all the Godlings to leave the Universe. How did one even leave it, in the first place? She must have bleached because she was suddenly cuddled in large arms, as another facet of Laurene appeared out of thin air, far smaller, barely 2 meters tall it seemed, as if the Godling knew she needed to offer her an almost normal interaction.

“I’m sorry Zoe, I’m worrying you. Forget about it, you need to eat, my love… Here, enjoy, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Uh, yeah, okay…” she mumbled, letting herself be gently carried to the table which seemed ready to break at any moment under the weight of the plates on it. “Uh… Laurene… I can’t, uh… I can’t possibly eat even a tenth of that…”

“Oh, believe me, Zoe, I know you can clean it all with ease” beamed the colossal facet, as the smaller one passed her fingers into the small woman’s hair. “I’ve faith in you.”

A Godling having faith in a mortal seemed a mockery of all the natural laws, as far as Zoe was concerned. Then again, being with a Godling was absolutely ridiculous. She still strongly believed that it was a mistake, that, somehow, the perfect, all-powerful being in her apartment was confused and took her for someone else. Which was frightening, to say the least. A being like a Godling couldn’t make a mistake, it was too powerful to be allowed to, in the first place.

Zoe sat at the table, looking at it. And suddenly, she felt famished, like she had never been before. She started to eat, slowly at first, but then more and more, until she was literally gorging, barely conscious of the cooing of Laurene Beckworth as she did so. She gulped down gallons of juices, green tea and even a bit of water, something she rarely took in the morning. It was only when all the plates were scrubbed clean, that she stopped and realized what she had done.

“What…” she mumbled, looking at her belly, which should have burst under the strain of what she had devoured, but seemed barely larger than after her usual minuscule breakfast.

“I wanted us to enjoy a lot of what you’d call normal stuff today, my Zoe,” the Godling almost purred. “And I felt that drinking and eating could distract you for too long, so I… I’ve perfected your metabolism.”

“What?” Zoe repeated, quite alarmed now. “What do you mean?” she added, her voice shrill.

“No, no! Don’t panic my love!” Laurene pleaded, suddenly looking worried. “I just… made sure that your stomach could take all of it, and that your body would require less energy than a normal human’s to function properly. You could consider that, uh… Your stomach is larger on the inside, and your body has just been… perfected? Please, don’t freak out§ I can remove the food from inside you and change you back if you want to!”

“No!” yelped the tiny woman, shivering. “I… not. Oh God…”

Zoe felt both nauseous and feverish at the same time. Something had changed in her body, because Laurene Beckworth had wanted it, and she hadn’t even noticed before she had been told, and now more could happen to her simply because she wasn’t taking it in stride the way it was meant to by the Godling. She was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, her breathing becoming shallower and hurted. And then, she felt the hands of Miss Beckworth on her, almost the size of a normal woman.

“I’m sorry, Zoe. Breath. I won’t change you back yet, if it gets to you like that. We’ll do it later, I promise. It’s okay, my Soulmate. Breathe in, and now out. Nice and slow, that’s right. That’s right, you’re doing great, it’s okay. I’m sorry, I don’t want to peek into your future all the time but I should have done that before perfecting you. Can you forgive me?”

Zoe blinked, looking up at the two faces of Laurene Beckworth, the small one near her own and the towering one far away above her, merely below her ceiling, hurting the brain of the small woman with how it made reality seem like a putty. She closed her eyes and trying to calm down, listening to the soft litany of the Godling’s voice, until she felt able to at least operate semi-normally. She shivered a little and looked at the worried face of Laurene, who was holding her own between her hands.

“I… It’s okay, i.. uh… I’m not just used to… my body… that’s… a little difficult for me,” she whispered, her voice particularly weak and shaky. “After Ron…”

“Oh Zoe,” the Godling cried out, taking the small woman into a bear hug, her large bosom engulfing the head of the mortal, even as gigantic fingers coiled around both of them so they could be brought to the gigantic face of the larger facet. “I should have known. I… Trying to contain myself may be worse for you than allowing me to use more of my abilities… Are you sure you don’t want me to be… more me? Even if it means things are less normal for you?”

Zoe didn’t answer immediately. As long as Laurene Beckworth, Godling extraordinaire, crushed on her, she was realizing that normalcy was out of the question. Still, could she really abdicate all willpower and remain her Soulmate to begin with? If she did, if she truly let Laurene peer constantly into her future to say and do only what would be “optimal”, would she be a person still, or just a toy in the hands of a superior being, who would conflate apathy for love?

“If you did that, I wouldn’t be your Soulmate,” she managed to say, looking up as best she could with the enormous mounds of flesh around her head that should have suffocated her but didn’t hinder her breathing one bit. “I think it’s better if we… continue as we are and I… uh… I remind you of… what it is to be with a Human?”

“Oh… Why would you… Ooooh. Yes, you’re right, it could be problematic, if I only said and did what was necessary to have you react the way I want to, I guess… Perhaps that’s why my perfect timeline kept faltering? I guess being all-knowing and all-powerful doesn’t necessarily mean all-wise!”

“Uh… I guess?” Zoe replied meekly, totally unable to even grasp what other answer she could give the goddess holding her - and teleporting her to her shower. “What the hell!” she yelped, when she realized she was naked and sharing the space with the two meters tall facet of Laurene Beckworth.

“I want to have some normal interactions with you,” Laurene grinned mischievously, as if her recent worries were entirely dissipated already. “And it’s normal for couples to have showers together, you can’t deny it!”

“I… uh… I…” Zoe blabbered, turning a bright red as powerful but almost normal fingers started to caress her body. “Yeah, but, uh… I mean… I…”

“I know, everything goes so fast for you. I’m sorry, genuinely, my beloved Zoe… But I’ve waited so long for that, so very long, even for a being like me. So many times, have I failed to connect with you, my Zoe, even when I had the opportunity to focus on you. So much rewinding of the Universe, making sure your kind would be safe, would be happy… So many failures on our part, as we failed to account for Human nature and so many needless death and destruction, before we could understand what Time was and how to manipulate it to suit our needs. And though all that, I always denied myself the chance to be with you properly… I can’t… I need that, Zoe…”

Zoe opened her mouth and then closed it again, unable to find a valid reason to say no to the Godling. There was so much desperation in her voice, that in spite of the inhuman harmonics that still laced it and betrayed her nature far more than her size, which, while rare, was possible for a Human, she felt bad for her. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the Godling was going through. What she was saying was, frankly, terrifying. How many times did she and her kind have almost destroyed the Earth in their attempt to help?

And yet, there was something strangely soothing in realizing that, through all that, Laurene Beckworth had made sure nothing bad could happen to her. She was still able to be stunned and terrified by the Godling, because that omnipotent being cared about her and tried to preserve her. It was something she had forgotten for so long, to be cared for by someone else, someone who was genuinely preoccupied by her and her well-being. 

Before she knew it, she was clutching the large face between her tiny hand, ridiculously small. She didn’t want to kiss the Godling - it was utterly ridiculous still for her that someone as pathetic as her could take the initiative like that. But she wanted to convey to that impossible Entity that should never have cared about what someone like her - something like her species, in fact - wanted, that it was okay, that, somehow, baring her feelings like that made it easier to connect with her.

“Miss Beckworth… I…” she started, her words failing her when she noticed the painful intensity with which the Godling looked at her. “I like that you’re trying. I don’t know that… I’m not comfortable in my own skin but I don’t want to be changed… But… I haven’t been washed by anyone since I was a kid… Can you be gentle?”

Of course I can

The very air was vibrating, but the Godling hadn’t spoken. Her mouth was still hanging open, as if she was stunned by the words of her Soulmate. But it was clear that Laurene liked the way Zoe was opening herself, even if it was perhaps painfully slow for the incredible being. It was clear to the tiny woman that the facet holding her was perhaps not even the one where the Godling focused herself. She could feel her presence all around her, wrapped around her skin like a thin cloth, almost impossible to notice and yet incredibly present.

And I can show restraint, for you, my Zoe.

The facet holding her was still not talking, even if she seemed to be able to think again. With a smile, she brought Zoe under the hot shower and started washing her, just like the small woman’s mother had done all those years ago. Closing her eyes, Zoe relaxed. There was something incredibly freeing in letting someone who loved have so much power on her. Even if, of course, Laurene was always totally in control of their relationship.

“Tell me if the shampoo gets in your eye, my Zoe…” whispered the “small” facet, as the powerful voice of the hundreds meters tall one was now heard from the living room, as she hummed a soothing melody. “And when it’ll be over, we’ll get clothed and we’ll go walk together… There are so many things I’d love to show you today…”

“Can we… walk to see them?”

“Of course!” Miss Beckworth chirped, massaging Zoe’s skull. “I’ll just cut the space and time between the various places I want to show you, we can all enjoy them at their best! Oh yes!” she added after a few silent seconds. “You said you wanted to walk… But it’s okay if I levitate us toward someplace in space, right? In a way, it does count as walking for you, surely?”

Zoe didn’t even sigh. There was just no point.

“I… I guess? If you, uh, you keep me safe, yes?”

“Always!”

The small woman shook her head, a little desperate, but she leant into the large hands caressing her body, exploring it but - to her own surprise - not in a sexual way for now. Muscles that had knotted together were unknotting themselves and she sighed contentedly. If the Godling wanted to show her the Universe, why not, after all. It wasn’t as if she could really oppose it anyway.