[Shifted] Cooling Off

The apartment was stifling. Heat clung to the walls like a second skin, thick and humid, turning every breath into something heavy. Allie had invited Reese, promising “something to beat the heat”

The place felt empty when she arrived until her eyes landed on the small damp towel left out on the table, a few melting ice cubes still clinging to the fabric.

Reese tugged at the neckline of her shirt. Her freckled face was already flushed. “A Tiny would do this” she thought, practical and a little proud of herself. Without much hesitation, she slipped on her own size-shifting bracelet and activated it. Shrinking herself down onto the table.

The ice looked like glacial chunks now. With a small grunt, Reese climbed onto the ice and lay across the remaining cubes. The cold felt heavenly against her back. She closed her eyes, legs idly kicking, wondering where Allie had gone.

The front door clicked open.

Allie walked in with a crinkly plastic bag swinging from one hand, her hair sticking to her forehead from the outside humidity. Her red eyes immediately narrowed when she spotted the missing ice and the crumpled towel.

“Blegh… I can’t stop sweating… Too humid to be a Tiny out there…” She called out to the room for Reese, dropping the bag on the counter. She reached for the towel without looking closely, scooping it up in one smooth motion. “You didn’t touch my rubbing ice, right? I went out to get some more for you too…”

Her fingers curled around the damp fabric… and a tiny pair of kicking legs suddenly poked out between two ice cubes. Allie’s eyes lit up with instant, sparkling mischief. The corner of her mouth twitched.

She didn’t let it show in her voice. Instead, she lifted the towel closer to her and gave an exaggerated little sigh. “Since she’s not around…” Allie said loudly, pretending to not have noticed. “I guess I better cool off by wiping everything down!”

Before Reese could even process what was happening, the towel was pressed firmly into the damp hollow of Allie’s armpit.

The heat hit Reese like a wall. Thick, humid musk clung to every inch of the fabric, and suddenly she was being dragged across warm, slightly salty skin. The ice cubes pressed against her body trapping her and melting faster from all the body heat. She screamed, voice tiny and muffled against the damp cloth.

“Mmph…! Al! Help!-” Reese cried out.

Allie hummed happily, using the towel in slow, deliberate strokes. She made sure to grind the tiny girl especially deep into the crease where sweat had gathered.

“Mmmh, that’s better…” she murmured to herself, moving the towel to her other armpit next. Back and forth she rubbed, the blue glow of Reese’s shrunken bracelet the only thing illuminating the dark, sticky space. “So refreshing on a day like this~” Allie giggled.

For twenty long minutes Allie continued the routine. She wiped across her neck, under her chest, even across her legs, letting the ice fully melt and Reese take every drop of humid sweat the towel could collect. Reese’s struggles grew weaker, her protests turning into exhausted little whimpers as she was repeatedly mashed against warm skin. Allie’s soft, cheerful hum never stopped.

Finally, Allie lowered the towel with an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction. “Okay~ that should do it.”

She peeled the rag open slowly, acting surprised when the limp little figure lay sprawled among the soggy remains of the ice cubes. Reese twitched once, then again, chest heaving.

“Whaaaaat?” Allie gasped, voice bright and theatrical. “Reese?! You were in there all along?!”She gently scooped the tiny girl out with two fingers and placed her carefully on the table. Reese lay face first, unmoving except for the occasional weak twitch.

Allie leaned back, her expression sparkling with playful cruelty. “You really should have struggled harder if you wanted to get noticed…” she teased, clasping her hands together. “I should know best, after all!”