Chapter Text
It was times like these—jobless and introverted as all hell—that you realize you didn’t have much to do, having aimlessly scrolled on social media for the… seventh time today? Mac’s keeping track better than you are at this point.
Pushing away from your desk, you swivel in your chair, recalling some of the posts you found today. One random video on your timeline was about recent archaeological site discoveries that are contributing to some culture out there. It makes you wonder… Would Dolly be interested in it? Been a while since you last saw her, the dust bunny being busy with her own research and studies. Might as well go check in!
“Alright Mac, I'll catch you later. Save any new cat fail vids for me tomorrow,” You push yourself off your chair, waving at the computer. You didn’t get a proper response due to the dateviators being off, but if the rapidly clicking mouse in response is anything to go by, they certainly got the memo.
Making your way from the office to the living room and accidentally shoulder-checking the wall on the way, “Sorry Wallace…” You approach your couch, giving Koa a little shake to watch a familiar ball of dust come bouncing out from behind. You crouch down before the dust bunny, taking your rose-tinted sunglasses from your pocket and sliding them on to focus on it.
After a few seconds, does your grey-haired, dusty lover sprout into the space before you, matching your crouched position with Lint bundled in her arms and a warm smile gracing her face. “Well howdy there, darlin’! Couldn't be happier to see ya. What's on your mind? Here for the relics… or to relax?” Her eyebrow raises at the latter offer with a cheeky smirk.
Tempting.
Returning her smile with a sweeter one, you shake your head, chuckling, “Relics this time around. Got some news I want to tell you about.”
“Meyooorp?” Lint chirps, body tilting slightly like a head tilt.
Her smile growing brighter, Dolly shifts Lint to her shoulder and interlocks her arms around one of your own, slowly pulling you towards the space under the couch, “Come join me then! I was just dusting off some old fossils.”
“Trying to make new friends?” You crack, a teasing look in your eyes.
Dolly rolls her eyes, “Haha, good one. Nah, you and these ol’ bones are all I need right now.” The two of you shrink smaller in size as you enter Dolly’s under-couch burrow, and you can feel the buzz of Skylar appreciating your suspended disbelief for going along with that. It's a familiar, cozy space with the few times you've been here, but now with the addition of various fossils resting on a workbench, waiting to be dusted clean. Lint takes the pleasure of bouncing out of Dolly’s arm and squeezing himself into a rare empty space on the tabletop, assumingly his resting spot.
Dolly lets go after tugging you along, picking up one of the fossils and handing it over. The warmth of her arms being replaced with cool rock isn’t ideal, but it could suffice. “Why don't you help me out? I could always use an extra set of talented hands.”.
“Meeeeyoooorp…” the little dust bunny droops for a moment, his caretaker reaching out her hand to rub his cheek.
“Of course with the help of my trusty work buddy, Lint!” Dolly adds with a giggle. As you also reach over to give Lint a scratch on his head, the woman of dust picks up a brush and begins to clean off an ancient piece of bone, “So, you said ya had something you wanted to tell me about, darlin’?”
“Oh!” You can always count on her to get your mind back on track. “I was mindlessly browsing a bit online, doomscrolling as one does, and this video popped up that archeologists just discovered the oldest piece of cheese? Like, 3,500 years old kefir on a mummy in a tomb. I think it’s somewhere in China, but that would mean it had to have been some type of immigrant or traveler. It’s crazy that it even lasted that long though. They say it probably helped the ancient people with lactose intolerance or something like that.”
Dolly glances over with wide eyes, “Well jeez, who knew you could tell all of that from just a piece of ancient cheese!” A small hum leaving her.
“Imagine my surprise!” You agree, taking up a fossil of your own to join her work. The conversation furthers as you delve into your own theories about where the cheese discovery could lead, with Dolly adding takes from her own experience and findings. It's a familiar rhythm between the two of you, working side by side with calm yet lively chatter, bits of flirting, and occasional breaks of comfortable quiet.
Amid the two of you’s mixed silence and small chats, you notice something strange in the fossil you're cleaning off. It’s a wax-like substance with something trapped inside. It almost reminds you of amber? If you had to take a guess with the lack of sap in your house, it likely came from candle wax dripping on the floor. Cleaning laziness strikes again.
Inside of it, there looks like a really tiny bug of some kind. It definitely wasn’t a regular fly or ant though– being shrunken down, those could probably fit in your hand. A weird mosquito or termite, then? No, those wouldn’t look like tiny specks at this size either. You squint closer at the amber, struggling to find any features hinting at what it could be.
After examining the fossil until you couldn’t bear it anymore, you nudge Dolly with your elbow. “Hey, you deal with bugs, right?”
“As much as you deal with them, why?” She hums, focused on her own fossil.
“So are there like, I don't know, molecule mosquitoes or something when you’re down here?” You tilt the ‘amber’ in Dolly’s direction.
She sets down her own fossil and looks over, slowly blinking and clearly failing to process the question. “... I'm sorry?”
“I don’t know if every object can change their size, but I know you, the Hanks, and Bobby can. Given there are other inanimals like Lint and stuff, do you also have your own bugs and stuff too? Especially when you’re smaller?” You attempted to clarify, only to pause and scrunch up your nose. “Actually, would you guys even have to worry about mosquitos or other bug bites? I don’t think you guys have blood– at least not in the traditional sense. So pests like that would probably feed off… I dunno– hair, or crumbs, or something like that? Hell, they probably couldn’t tell the different things a dateable is made up of. Not unless there’s pheromones or something they could sense, I guess.” One of your hands points at the little speck inside the wax more directly. “Maybe this is more of a termite? It's hard to see, but I think it kind of looks like one. I thought they'd be bigger given we’re this small, though. Especially if this is wax… Candles don’t usually drip so much they’d trap a whole insect inside. Unless the poor bastard got unlucky or something…”
It catches on that Dolly hasn’t said anything for awhile now– not that she really could with how you were talking a mile a minute. You look back at her, a sheepish grin on your face. “... I'm rambling, aren't I?”
Dolly doesn’t seem to mind, her chin propped up in her hand and a loving gaze in her eyes. “You’re just too adorable, honey!” She simply giggles before leaning over to peck your cheek. A hand over her lips fails to hide an amused smile as she watches heat pool into your face. “I don’t mind the yappin’ at all, hun. I appreciate your curiosity on these kinds of things, that you're always willin’ to learn as much as I am.”
You shrug off the compliment, embarrassed but obviously beaming at the sentiment, “Ah, well, ya know…”
“But to answer the gist of all your questions, there are some tinier pests and stuff you gotta watch out for after shrinkin’. They're called dust mites and they're a pain in the ass. That’s probably what got caught in that wax shell.”
DUST MITES. Those were a real thing for regular humans too. All you could do in response is stare down at the floor, slightly bewildered. “How did I forget about those?”
Dolly rolls her eyes but lets out a small chuckle. “You're asking the wrong one here, honey.”
“Myerrp…” Lint mews from his spot.
You can’t help but scowl at the microscopic mite in your hands. Of course there were even more, smaller creatures than just the normal bugs. Don't you feel stupid.
You're clearly an open book though, as Dolly cups your face with another, firmer kiss on the other cheek. “Now don't start with those thoughts, you. Everyone forgets information now and again, especially if you don’t deal with it all the time. You're still learning about what it’s like down here too…” She trails off, gazing at the amber for a moment longer than before. “Now hold on… Lookie here,” Dolly starts, gently taking the amber from your hands, “I ain't never seen a dust mite like this one before! The physical anatomy is unique compared to the common mite. It's no wonder you got it mixed up with other bugs.”
Lint hops over, curious for his own self on the discovery, “Mrrr?” He chirps, sniffing the amber.
“Oh thank god, I'm not crazy.” You mutter.
“Just a little!” Dolly teases with a wink, focusing back on the amber, “I'll be sure to show this to the academy, see what they can make of it.”
A small smirk takes over your face as you reach over for another fossil, “If it's something big, I expect to be called professor… Or maybe even doctor! Tailor-made lab coat and everything!”
A dusty gray eyebrow rises up in amused disbelief. “Yeah, get back to me when ya have 3 PhDs, then we'll take your measurements.”
“Meyooo!” Lint chirped, Dolly nodding in agreement.
“Oh, and at least 2 black belts.”
“Well now you're just being picky.”
As Dolly’s laughter fills your ears, you can't help but feel your heart squeeze in love again. The rest of that day goes as normal as you both carry on with your work spending the daylight away with your dust lover.
About a week goes by, and as you're on your way to rummage through Freddy for the afternoon, you notice a familiar-looking dust bunny hopping up to your foot. She stops before bouncing against the side of your leg. Man, she's so cute.
Pulling out your dateviators and focusing on the bunny, you're greeted with a bright smile and incredibly tight hug ( woah , you always forget how strong she is) as soon as Dolly forms.
“Big news, honey bunches! That lil mite you helped with? Turned out to be a whole new species of dust mites yet to be discovered!” When she finally lets up from her hug, her hands are quick to grab your arms again, slightly shaking you in excitement. “Your very first discovery!” She cheers.
If you think about it, it's technically her discovery from your dusting… but details, details. Regardless, she’s including you in the whole thing, and you love that sweetness of hers.
You quirk a brow, “So what I'm hearing is that a professor title is on the table?” A broad grin matching your lighthearted tone.
Dolly returns the grin with her own amused smile, rolling her eyes, “A celebratory cause and all you want is a title?”
Pursing your lips, you close your eyes and shrug innocently, “Well if you're offering…” You open an eye back up, smile turning sly, “A kiss would be niiiice..”
“Oh, c’mere you~” Dolly purrs.
Wrapping her arms around your neck, Dolly pulls you in for a sweet kiss, your hands quickly finding their way to her hips. The kiss turns more potent by the second, a quiet hum emitting from Dolly that buzzes against your lips. However, as soon as she pulls you by the back of your neck to bring you closer, you begin to feel a small tingle in your nose.
Oh.
Oh no.
Try as you might, the sniff you attempt to hide doesn't go pass Dolly, who hitches and slowly breaks the kiss with a stern squint of her eyes. You sniffle again and again, holding back the growing sneeze the best you can– but the dust proves to be too much.
“Don't you do it.”
“A-Ah…”
“Hun, I swear to god.”
“Aaa-aaaah…”
“No you DON'T!”
Before you finally reach sweet release, Dolly yanks a tissue from out her bosom and quickly covers your nose with it, smothering the sneeze into the cloth. Your nose burns from the hard sneeze but tingles with satisfaction.
Wow, she was prepared for this.
You sniff and flutter your eyes from tears, gazing at Dolly apologetically, “Heh… Bless me…”
Dolly glares back at you, unamused, “Darlin’, I love ya, but I would’ve torn your head off if you sneezed me out again.”
You sniff again.
“That’s fair.”