A Giant's Hands [ON HOLD]

Chapter 5 [SAM] Not the Tender Type

Sam had never considered himself to be the care-giving, ''motherly'' type...

He never used to baby his friends (when he still had any) and had hated it when his girlfriend got all needy on him (one of the reasons, he supposed, she was now his EX - apparently, there was a difference between being ''needy'', and just wanting some loving attention and pampering on a bad day).

Sam was perfectly fine with the idea of children and puppies and whatnot, just as long as they belonged to other people, and he could simply hand them back as soon as it looked like they needed more than a pat on the head and a tummy rub.

So, his own instinctual reaction to Martin suprised him - once he found the time to actually give it some thought.

At first, the whole experience had almost felt like a game - ''get the tiny person to safety without anyone noticing''. Not that Sam had taken the situation lightly, he actually hadn't thought about it at all.

He had just felt the strong need to help.
Plus, of course, insatiable curiosity.
You don't just spot a 5 inch person, wave, and walk past.
Rather, you want to be as close as you can to something so miraculous and extraordinary.

When deciding to help, Sam hadn't actually, actively considered this, but subconsciously it must have been a factor (right..?).

All Sam had thought at the time was, that this tiny creature desperately needed help and protection.
He had been in the perfect position to give it, and had felt the strong urge to act.

Almost contrary to his usual nature, Sam had wanted to encourage and sooth Martin when he noticed him giving in to despair.
Later, carefully cradling the small, broken body in his hands, trying to comfort the shaking figure, and telling Martin, that he was finally safe and would never be hurt again, had come so naturally to Sam, he hadn't even realized how 'out of character' that kind of thing was for him.

Sam used to hate having to console even his girlfriend, but holding Martin against his chest and gently stroking his back while he cried, feeling how his careful touch calmed and soothed the tiny young man, was.. suprisingly pleasant.

Maybe, Sam mused, it was not that he wasn't a caring person, so much as that no one had ever truly needed and deserved his care before.

But Martin sure did.
Small exhausted and helpless, abused and broken physically as well as mentally..
Sam doubted there had ever been anyone more deserving of kindness and care.

Feeling the small shivering frame pressed against hist chest, hearing the muted sobs, Sam just wanted so much to be able to take that pain and fear, and make it go away.

Eventually, the shivers got less noticable, and the tiny body relaxed into him.

Sam carefully peered down.
A warm glow spread inside his chest, and he felt oddly touched when he realized, that Martin had felt safe enough being held by Sam to fall asleep curled up in Sam's giant hands, clutching the fabric of Sam's shirt tightly.

***

Martin slept for a long, long time, and didn't even wake, but just drifted in and out of consciousness, as Sam carefully bathed him, cleaned and bandaged the open wounds and applied ointment to the ones that had already started scabbing over.

One of Sam's old t-shirts was sacrificed to to be made into a makeshift robe, as what Martin had been wearing had been nothing more than rags, torn and dirty, the copper coloured splotches of old bloodstains all over it.
Not wanting to waste the fabric, Sam had folded and cut the rest of the shirt, to produce something approximating a Martin-sized pillow and cover.

Never letting go of the sleeping figure, Sam had washed and changed his own bed-sheets (not an easy thing to do one handed) and had given the place a hasty cleaning. (Sam hadn't exactly expected visitors, much less ones ones that would be able to walk on a dusty surface..)

When Sam was done, he had carefully placed Martin on his bed, to let him rest in peace.

As soon as Sam withdrew his touch however, the sleepig youth started to become restless, softly wimpering, as he tossed and turned, only to end up curled into a ball, trembling.

Taken aback, Sam hurriedly replaced his hand on the diminutive body, carefully extending his index finger to tenderly stroke Martin's head and back.

The effect was immediate.
The trembling stopped, and Martin relaxed in his sleep, rolling over to press himself right into Sam's open palm.
''So much for Dinner and Vidya'', Sam grumbled under his breath.
But, in truth, he didn't mind.

Martin's need for his presence made him feel.. strange.

Warm.

Very slowly and carefully, Sam lowered himself onto his bed and folded his immense body around the tiny sleeper at the center of the mattress. Resting his head on one hand, Sam used the other to completely enfolded Martin, keeping a very firm, almost inescapable hold on him, that seemed to feel reassuring, rather than restrictive to the sleeping youth, while he kept on softly caressing Martin with the tip of his thumb.

He lay like that until well past midnight, smilimg down fondly at Martin's sleeping form, tenderly stroking his hair, until he too drifted off to sleep, feeling, warm and strangely soothed himself.

And also,

suprisingly happy.

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