A Giant's Hands [ON HOLD]

Chapter 8 [MAKI/BENNETT] - Paying the Rent

When Maki opened her eyes, the world had turned blue.

Streaks of light grey crossed a dark, greyish-blue landscape dotted with flecks of green, that shifted and swayed oddly, moving in time with the gentle expansions and contractions of the deep black pupil at its center-

Maki gave a surprised shriek, pushing herself away, just as the similarly startled Bennett jerked his head back up, uttering a cry of pain as he accidently collided with the lamp that hung low over the kitchen table.

He bend over slightly, clutching the back of his head and cursed, while Maki desperately tried to stop herself from having a heart-attack, again feeling herself close to hyperventilation.

'Oh fuck, oh fuck, don't do that' he said, breathing hard.

Maki barked a short, breathless laugh in return.

''You're one- ... to- .. talk! You- ...'', she got out between panting breaths, trying hard to calm herself enough to continue.

Bennett couldn't help staring in wonder at hearing her speak, but the look of awe was soon wiped from his face, as Maki got her breath back and burst out:

'' -Insufferable, giant, bloody oaf!
Nine days!
Nine days you stomp through the house like a bloody lunatic, making noise enough for twelve of you one second - mewling and shouting and getting drunk and falling over things - and creeping about so noislessly the next, that I don't even hear you coming and have you almost bloody step on me, because you're too busy sulking to even look where you're going!''

'Oh god, oh god, what are you doing', a panicked voice inside Maki's head shouted at her, while her mouth just kept on talking.

'He could kill you without so much as a thought and you have nothing better to do than shout at him! Oh god, did I really just call him an insufferable oaf to his face?'

''Nine days you keep me from getting a full nights worth of sleep because you suddenly get it into your stupid giant head, that 2am is the perfect time to shout at thin air-''

'Oh god, no, stop talking you idiot'

''-or fall over that stupid side table yet again, because you're too pissed to remember it's there-''

'no no no shut up shut up shut up'

''even though it's been sitting in the same bloody place for over half a year now, and when I try, try to at least get a few hours of sleep during the day, bloody oaf that you are, you decide it's high time you went on ANOTHER fruitless cleaning frenzy, because, why, the last one must have been ages ago, like a day at least, and it was such a roaring success after all!''

'Oh god he's going to kill you, you know that, right?'

''So, what do you decide to do? Tackle that ENORMOUS pile of dirty dishes? Dust the shelves? Clean the windows?
NO, because that would be BORING, so why not get that bloody awful vacuum-cleaner, you know the one that is loud enough TO ALMOST BURST YOUR EARDRUMS, and start it up half a foot from the place where I'M TRYING TO SLEEP, because that's so much more FUN!