Marshall was still rubbing his head as they entered the mall.

“Sorry about that, man,” apologized his shorter friend, Vance.  “You’re just too damned tall for my car.”

Marshall chuckled wryly.  “And for nearly everything else.  I’m just glad the mall doorways are oversize, so I don’t keep cracking my head on those, too.”

“Have you ever found a car big enough for you?” asked Vance as they walked toward the food court.

Marshall shrugged.  “A couple.  Nothing remotely close to the price range of an entry level programmer.”

Vance nodded at that.  “I hear you.  I can barely manage to keep old Betsy on the road myself, and that’s with my dad helping out on repairs.  One day I’ll be able to afford that Corvette I’ve had my eye on, though.  One day.”

“You and that Corvette.  You’d have to fold me in half to fit inside.”

“It’d be a shame to never know the joy of driving a muscle car...”  Vance trailed off as they spotted some of their friends and waved.

“Hey guys, glad you could make it.  And you dragged Marshall out of his spiderhole, good job.”

Marshall snorted.  “I do not live in a... okay, that’s truer than I’d like.  It’s like Mom’s basement attracts them from all over.”

Charlie shuddered, her eyes going wide.  “I didn’t really mean...”  She smiled when Marshall started to laugh.  “Is it really that bad?”

Marshall shrugged.  “The spiders eat the ants, and mostly leave me alone.  It’s all good.”

“Good.  Wait, mostly?”

“There’s this big one I call Debby Hairy that hangs out in my kitchenette.  I feed her scraps.”

Sasha stuck her tongue out at Marshall.  “You do not.”

Marshall put his hand to my chest.  “I am wounded by your entirely appropriate and accurate distrust.”

The group laughed then, and discussion devolved into a rambling “what are we going to do” that didn’t go much of anywhere.  Dan and Jeff finished up their fries and movement away from the table led to a general meander along the mall.

As the group drifted past the Venn Machine, Vance nudged Marshall.  “There’s no line.  Wanna try being smaller?”

“Eh, why not.”

Once they were inside, Vance murmured “smaller” a few times, tapping as he went.  “Oooh, this is cute.  Is cute okay?”

“How cute?”

“Really heckin’ cute.”

“Eh, sounds like fun.  I’m in.”

A moment later, Marshall was looking up at Vance, instead of down.  “Woah.  I’ll be the shortest in the group, instead of the tallest.  Oooh, my voice sounds cute, too.”

“Super cute!”

As soon as they got out of the Venn Machine, the hustled to catch up to the group.  “Hey,” said Marshall.

Charlie squealed.  “Oh wow, you’re so cute like this!  Still Marshall, or would you prefer Marsha?”

Marshall considered that for a moment, then she shrugged.  “Eh, I’d get confused.  Marshall’s fine.  You guys just call me Marsh half the time, anyway.”

“Marsh it is, then.  C’mon, let’s check out the junk jewelry shop.  Maybe get your ears pierced.”

Marshall laughed, then covered her mouth at the tinkling sound.  “Was that me?”

“Yep,” agreed pretty much everyone.

“It was cute, don’t be ashamed,” added Sasha.

Charlie and Sasha dragged an unresisting Marshall into the jewelry store.  She balked at the idea of earrings.  “There’s no point in paying for piercings when I’m only going to be like this for a bit.  How long did you set it for, Vance?”

Vance shrugged.  “Month.  Long enough to get used to it, yeah?”

“Huh.  Okay.”

While the girls tried to sell Marshall on clip-on earrings, Vance caught Marshall looking at the tiaras.  Once the group had moved away to consider brooches and necklaces, Vance bought the tiara Marshall had stared at the most.

Once they were out of the shop and wandering down the mall, Vance snuck up behind Marshall and plonked the tiara on her head.

Marshall spun to glare at him.  “What’s the big idea?”

Vance just pointed at the nearest storefront, and Marshall checked out her reflection.  She hadn’t changed much other than in stature – her clothes were the same jeans and shirt as before, just cut a little differently.  The one thing about her that wasn’t shorter was her hair - her blonde curls now cascaded to mid-back, and the tiara capped them beautifully.  “Oooh, it’s so me.”

That got her called Princess Marsh for the rest of the evening.  She wore the tiara and the title with pride.

The group carried on its usual peregrinations.  Sasha picked up a couple new books while the rest browsed at the bookstore.  They spent over an hour in one of the electronics stores, and Marshall tried to talk Vance into buying the radio-controlled Corvette.  Vance insisted he wanted to save up for the real thing instead.

“Marshall could take you back to the Venn Machine, and shrink you small enough to fit inside,” giggled Charlie.

“Nah.  Not the same,” sighed Vance, though he did continue to stare at the model for a time.

Eventually the group broke up and headed their separate ways.  Vance and Marshall headed back to Vance’s car, and Vance opened the passenger door with a flourish.  “This time you shouldn’t bang your head.”

Marshall giggled.  “I guess not at that.  Thanks, I’m kind of enjoying being the little one.”  She exaggeratedly folded herself into the car, and giggled again.  “That was way too easy.”

“Life is easier when you fit,” agreed Vance once he’d slid behind the wheel.  “Think you’ll go the whole month?”

Marshall shrugged.  “Long enough for my poor bruised head to heal, anyway.  The metal-framed doors at work are the worst.”

“Ouch.  No wonder you’re sick of it.  Other than the doors, how are you finding it?”

“Eh, it’s a job.  I can’t imagine staying there for long.  Still, I’m learning a lot, so I guess it’s not all bad.”

“Cool.”

“How’s your job going?”

“Same thing, I guess.  A bit further up the learning curve.  Might get trusted with a van of my own one day.”

“Hah, not the sort of company car I expect you dreamed of.”

Vance shrugged.  “That’s why I’m working toward the Corvette.”

They pulled up in front of Marshall’s place, and both hopped out of the car at the same time.  Vance walked Marshall to the door, which got him an odd look.  “I can find my way, dude.”

Vance blushed.  “Sorry.  Just... maybe your Mom will wonder who you are?”

Marshall smiled up at Vance.  “My hero.”  She went up onto her tiptoes and kissed him.

Both of them stepped back abruptly, staring at each other.  “Where did that come from?”

“Just... felt right.  I’d like to do it again.  Would that be okay?”

Vance stared at her blankly for long enough that she started to fidget, then he nodded.

The second kiss lasted long enough that both were short of breath when they broke away from the clinch.  “Wow.”

“Haha, yeah.  Wanna come inside?”

“Raincheck?”

Marshall pouted cutely.  “I suppose that’s fair.  Lots to unpack.”

“Yeah.  Talk to you tomorrow?”

That got a dimpled smile.  “Sure.”