Must Defend Him

Chapter Ten

Over a week, the citizens of Yairenth have begun to rebuild destroyed buildings. Families mourned the ones they had lost. And all above that, they celebrated that the giantess was finally killed.

People began theorizing about who was the mysterious second giant. The only people who knew who the second giant was Theo, Henricus, Eliza, and Herman.

The idea of throwing Zelphar, a party, was plaguing Theo's mind. He knew that the giant was sad about his mother's death and the human wanted to cheer him up. He also really had to thank him for saving him from Alavara's attack.

Somehow, Theo had managed to get most of the village to agree to find the giant and thank him. Theo, Eliza, and Herman had grouped up many people such as musicians, bakers, and thankful families.

And now, today was the day that they were going to look for Zelphar. Theo knew the way to Alavara's cave but made sure to make a few wrong turns. Everyone grew anxious when they approached the cave and quieted down their voices.

"I'll go check if it is safe." A brave civilian offered, already tip-toeing inside. A few others, much like him, followed, same as Theo.

When they turned the corner, Zelphar was sleeping, but it seemed like he was having a nightmare. The giant was twitching, legs kicking the side, and fingers were tensing. Tears were trickling down his cheeks.

Theo's heart sank as the others froze in fear. Without thinking, Theo ran up to the sleeping giant to comfort him. "Shh, Zel, it's okay, calm down. I'm right here." Theo was stroking his hand slightly below Zelphar's eye.

At the sound of his voice, Zelphar relaxed before groggily waking up. Theo waved his hand at the people who were watching to began their celebration.

"...Theo..?" Before Theo could respond to Zelpahr, people began playing bagpipes, drums, lutes, and more. A group of five wheeled in a wagon with a large cake sitting on top.

In a frenzy, Zelphar jolted awake and stared at the dancing humans in fear. Humans, mainly children, brought him gifts and placed them in front of him.

The giant subconsciously scooted back in fear, cautious of this strange human ritual. "Zel!" He heard a familiar voice call out to him. The giant looked down and saw Theo smiling up at him.

"W-What's going on?" Zelphar continued staring at the cheerful humans in awe and bewilderment. The giant made sure not to make any more sudden movements as not to scare the humans.

"We are thanking you for saving our village, Yairenth!" Mayor Lorahorn announced from the crowd of humans. "You have saved us from the foul giantess!" A wide smile grew on his mouth.

"Oh... right, of course." None of the humans seemed to have noticed how uncomfortable Zelphar was. They were celebrating how he had killed his mother.

"Hey, Zel!" The giant looked down at Theo. "Could you give me a lift?" Right as he said that, the children squealed and ran over to Theo, looking up at the giant.

"I wanna fly!"

"Carry me!"

"Please!"

"Pick me up!"

"Uppie! Uppie!"

Not wanting to upset the human children, Zelphar scooped them up with his left hand. At the same time, lifting Theo with his right. When the giant's hand left the ground, the children squealed again, scaring him.

The giant stopped moving his hand, confusing the children. "Zel, can you transfer me to your other hand," Theo asked. Immediately, Zelphar joined his right and left hands together.

"Listen," Theo began talking to the human children, gathering all of their attentions. "Don't scream because you are worrying him. He thinks he had hurt you."

Instantly, the kids hushed and looked up at the giant. "Sorry." They all said in sync, surprising Zelphar.

"Uh, I-It's alright." Zelphar plucked Theo off of his left hand and settled him on his shoulder. Instinctively, Theo reached for something to keep him stable so as not to fall off, grasping some of the giant's hair.

With his left hand, Zelphar continued lifting them until they were at eye level. When he had stopped moving his hand, the kids giggled and played together.

"Zel-"

"Theo, I am so sorry I had hurt you! I never meant to, and I regret it every day! Please, please, please, could you ever forgive me..?" Zelphar accidentally interrupted the human on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Theo chuckled, confusing the giant. "Zel, I was about to apologize about running away." The human leaned into his neck, snuggling with his warmth. "It was dumb of me to be scared of a harmless giant that had never done anything wrong. Could you ever forgive me?"

"What am I going to say? No?" Zelphar smirked at him. "Of course!" The giant tilted his head to the side as a way of leaning back but affectionately. He was careful not to squish Theo at all.

Abruptly, Theo touched his face onto his neck, confusing Zelphar. A few humans had gasped, witnessing this. The giant grabbed Theo and brought him to his face. Theo's face was bright red, a dorky smile plastered on his lips.

"What did you do?" Zelphar asked innocently, making Theo's face redder. The giant furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion.

"I-I... I kissed you." Theo muttered under his breath as he rubbed the back of his neck. Zelphar lowered his left hand to the ground so the children could get off, never breaking eye contact with Theo.

In a blink of an eye, Zelphar pressed his lips against Theo's entire face. At first, everybody gasped in horror but cheered when they saw what was happening.

Theo felt a mixture of emotions when giant lips encased his face. Panic, relief, happiness, excitement, passion, and love. When Zelphar's mouth rushed straight into Theo's face, he had no idea that the giant reciprocated his feeling.

Then he felt relief that the giant had forgiven him and that he wasn't going to die. Excited that he loved him back, and he was possibly the first human to kiss a giant. Theo had kissed a few girls here or there, but none of them has been this amazing.

It felt like a lifetime before Zelphar pulled his hands away. The hands carrying Theo. Now they were both a blushing mess before the citizens of Yairenth applauded.