"Good morning Steph!" Mat said cheerfully. Stephanie smiled tiredly as she made her way to the table.

"Morning," she replied sleepily.

"I found some honey yesterday, you want that?"

"Sure." Mat pulled out two neatly cut slices of bread and opened the small container of honey. He carefully poured a few drops of the precious, gooey liquid on the slices and then made sure the lid closed. Stephanie yawned and murmured her thanks as she was handed her sweetened bread. She took a bite and hummed approvingly.

"How are you feeling today?" Mat asked, taking bites out of his own share.

"Well," Steph gestured at her throat, "I was feeling like I was gargling gravel, but good call on getting honey." Mat nodded appreciatively. It had been three days since the house owner, Nate, had discovered Mat, but it had also been three days since Mat decided to soon begin a study of the human. He was mystified by Nate's strange behavior lately, and he wanted to investigate, but Stephanie had been sick. However, now that she was better enough to get up and walk around without coughing so much, Mat decided that today he could begin his secret mission.

"Well, I'm gonna go out and scout for some more rarities," Mat told Steph as soon as he was done eating, grabbing his borrowing pack. His wife watched him with alarm.

"Is it safe?" She fretted. "I mean, we don't really need anything at the moment, do we?"

"I'm just going to look for things like cookie crumbs, or anything Na- the human, might have left out." Mat felt his heart squeeze a bit when he almost accidentally called the human by name. The last thing Stephanie needed to know was that Mat had already been seen while she was bedridden.

"Okay," Stephanie agreed hesitantly. He went over to her and kissed her on the head.

"I'll be back before you know it," he promised. Stephanie ruffled his hair and playfully nudged him.

"You better!" Though the look in her eyes was serious, she still smiled at him as he nodded and headed out. She turned to her breakfast and hoped, prayed, that her husband would return home safe and sound.

Behind the door, Mat hesitated before letting go of the handle and finally turning away to head through the tunnels. But he didn't take his usual route. He took a sharp left and continued up a sloped tunnel until it ended behind a desk in the house. Mat slipped out of the hidden area and sidled along the wall, keeping in the desk's shadow and taking a look around the room. This was Nate's bedroom. Beside the large and messy desk was a guitar sitting in its stand, and across the room was the bed. The bed's covers, however, were messily splayed over a figure under them: Nate was still asleep.

Mat took a nervous breath and then slowly emerged from behind the desk. Soft snoring rolled gently through the air as the borrower approached. He was astounded by how deep under the covers the house owner was, as all he could see from his place on the floor were the tips of the top of Nate's hair. Mat walked up to the bedside and craned his neck as he analyzed the situation. Okay, he's asleep. So now what? The borrower took a few steps back and looked at the nightstand. Maybe I can get up on that, and then...

And then what?

Mat decided to just take it one step at a time. He pulled out his hook and swung it, watching as it sailed through the air and caught on to the drawer handle. He went up to its side and started climbing, and he made his way all the way up onto the top. As he waited to catch his breath, Mat looked around and noticed that the clock's alarm was off. Well, at least when I got up here I didn't alarm it. Mat wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "No, bad joke, bad Mat," he muttered, smiling a little. He turned around and set his sights on the mound under the covers. Nate had fallen asleep lying on his stomach, and the entire left side of his face was squished into the pillows as he slowly breathed in and out.

Mat, amused, got up and went to the edge of the end table. He didn't say anything, just sat on the edge and watched the human with innocent curiosity. Why do humans try to kill borrowers? He suddenly wondered. Is it because we're so small that they think we don't have consciences too? Or that they think they own the whole house to themselves, so when they see one of us running around their brains automatically categorize us as vermin? There were so many questions and theories Matthew Patrick had about humans, that even the ones from his childhood started rushing over him. Could we ever be friends? Or actual roommates? Mat almost laughed out loud when he remembered asking his parents if borrowers and humans could be friends. He'd gotten a strict talking to, but the question still lingered there in the back of his mind. So what if there was a huge height gap between them? They both had thoughts, dreams, expectations, goals, emotions, love, tragedy, loss, families and friends, lives... What made them so different?

Mat didn't realize he was daydreaming until he noticed that the snoring had stopped. He blinked and looked as the covers shifted, and Nate groaned a little as he rolled over. Mat shied back, experiencing a flicker of fear before he decided to ignore it. No. I need to test these questions, he realized, Nate spared my life the other day. I need to know why. What makes him different from other humans?

Mat waited patiently as Nate slowly woke. The human slowly opened his eyes and squinted, scowling at the sunlight that seeped through the window. He let out a groggy yawn and practically rolled out of bed, and he then stretched before meandering off to the kitchen. It took Mat a few seconds to process what had just happened, before he realized that Nate had completely missed him. He shuddered and wiped his forehead, feeling both relieved and anxious. Okay, wow, I didn't realize I'd be this nervous. Just follow him into the kitchen, say hi there. He was nice before, hopefully he'll be nice again. But even as he made his way back down to the floor and hurried after Nate, his heart still hammered in his chest.

Nate shuffled into the kitchen, grabbed a box of cereal and carried on to pour himself a bowlful. Mat kept along the edge of the dining room, frowning as Nate help himself to breakfast. That's not very nutritious. And what happened to him humming? The borrower remembered, back when he first moved in with Steph, the human humming a very catchy tune as he scrambled some eggs and bacon for a hearty breakfast. He seemed so light and carefree back then... so what was wrong now?

Depression? The idea caught Mat off guard and sent him into a conversation with his own mind. Wait, why would a human be depressed? He's got nothing to be sad about! He has a roof over his head, food, clean water, a warm place to sleep, and he doesn't have to worry about his life possibly ending every minute of every day. Well, maybe he lost someone? A relative died? But that's how life works, you can't just go and quit your own life because someone else's ended. That's not fair to yourself! Mat shook his head and covered his ears.

"Urrgh!" He grunted, "You humans are so lucky in every way possible and you don't even know it!" He saw Nate freeze and winced. Oops. Mat dropped his hands to his sides and watched as Nate looked over in his direction. The human swallowed his mouthful and slowly set the spoon down.

"Hello?" He asked uncertainly. Mat sighed. Okay, just stay calm. Just be nice. Don't give him any reason to be angry, all right? He braced himself and slowly stepped out from behind the table leg. It took Nate a few seconds before his eyes finally locked on Mat's small figure, and he stared for a good five seconds before pinching his arm again.

"Oh," was all he said, "It's you." He slowly walked over to the borrower, but then he stopped a meter away and crouched down, biting his lower lip. Mat studied the human for any signs of trickery or aggression, but he found none.

"Hi again," he finally said, smiling nervously. Nate nodded tersely.

" 'Sup?" And then they were both silent. Neither knew how to deal with the situation. What to say? What to do? "... So," Nate tried, "Did, uh... that medicine help you?" Mat nodded.

"Yeah, thanks," he answered quickly. Silence again. Mat squirmed, uncomfortable under the heavy weight of the quiet. Then he decided he couldn't bear the suspense any longer. "Um, I-I wanted to ask you something," he blurted. The human's facial features quirked with surprise.

"Really?" He sounded confused. "About what, exactly?"

"I... I, erm..." Mat found his thumbs twiddling on their own as he shuffled his feet. "I-I wanted to ask why..." His voice dropped lower and lower into an awkward mumble, "Why you didn't... y-you know... capture me?"

"Why would I capture you?" Nate shifted back on his hindquarters and crossed his legs. "There's no point to it." Mat winced a little.

"W-well, I've heard all the stories about how humans catch people like me because of our size, because we supposedly 'pose a question nobody's ever asked before,' that sort of thing."

"But... you're not real." Nate was frowning now. "You're just a figment of my imagination." Mat felt his heart stop in his chest. Not real? What!?

"I-I am real, though." His voice quavered with confusion. Nate looked at the borrower sadly.

"Oh." His voice became husky. "I just burst your bubble, didn't I? Fuck, I... I'm so sorry, I... I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean... I didn't mean to... to..." And then the human put his head in his hands and started to cry. Mat stood there, dumbfounded. Did I just make a human cry? Me? He wasn't sure what to do; what could he do? The young grown adult was hunched over, sobbing into the floor, at the complete mercy of someone who was the same size as his finger.

Mat felt his throat tighten with anxiety. I shouldn't have come. I've only upset him. But I can't just leave him like this. Mat summoned his nerves and slowly approached the curled up mound of self-pity. He swallowed and nervously raised his hand to the house owner's arm, gently patting him. "I-It's okay," he tried to comfort, "It's okay, I know you didn't mean it."

"I-I don't know what to think anymore." The human was speaking between hiccuped sobs. "I-I didn't mean to, I-I just- I- God, I'm such a screw up, I- Damn it!" Mat found himself leaning closer instead of pulling away at Nate's harsh tone. He wrapped his arms around the human's wrist to the best of his ability.

"It's okay," he whispered, "It's okay, shh... Just calm down, Nate, nothing to get all upset over. It's okay pal, it's all right. It's all good..." Nate moved his arms a little closer to himself, dragging Mat dangerously closer to the waterworks.

"It's-It's not okay," he sobbed, "It's not okay, n-nothing's okay!" Mat tried rubbing the human's hand in gentle strokes, like petting an animal, but it didn't seem to help. The borrower didn't know what else to do. Should I tell Stephanie? He wondered. Maybe she can help! I just need to explain everything to her first, though. That might take a lot of talking... and I'll need to make it up to her probably. But that's fine, that's fine. But I do know that I need her help. Nate needs her help.

"Nate, I need to go talk to someone." Mat let go of the human's wrist and stepped back. "But I'll be right back, okay? I just need to..." Mat's voice faltered when he realized he hadn't even told Nate that he wasn't the only borrower living under his roof. "I... I need to-"

"Just go." Those two words uttered with such defeat put fractures in Mat's heart. He reached out and tried to give the human an assuring touch.

"N-Nate-"

"Just go!!!" The human snapped. Mat flinched away and decided not to anger him. He turned away and quickly headed to the nearest nook, and he made his way home as fast as his small legs could carry him.

"Steph?" He opened the door and felt his guts suddenly twist. Stephanie was standing there with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and her fingers tapping patiently on her bicep.

She had been waiting for him.