A follow-up of this story and drawing.

I was going to go straight to a story with the Arcanine but then realized I kinda liked the interactions of these two and wanted do a little more with them.

And since I was at it I did the same with the non-musk version, tho it gets a bit lewd in there.

The Story Contains: Footpaw, Musk, Sweat, Micro/Macro, Footwear Trapping, Unwilling prey, Aware-but-oblivious pred.
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- "Uh, by the way... sorry again..."

- "Oh for the 100th time! It's fine! I'm fine! Stop worrying about it"

- "Y-yeah, sorr-" The Shinx's latest apology was cut off by his tiny roommate's annoyed expression - "...right".

If you had told the micro Lycanroc a few days earlier that he would be hushing up a macro just by looking him the eye, he would've reasonably taken you for a lunatic, but after having the giant Shinx -who eventually presented himself as Shawn- apologizing to him for days over a certain incident they had gone through, the Lycanroc's instinctive fear had worn off to the point he now found himself talking to the macro as an equal.

*sigh* - "Seriously dude, forget about it already. Actually, I should be the one owing you something by now. Letting me stay, the food..."

- "Oh don't say that! It's the least I can do! And even if I didn't want to make up for... that... I still wouldn't want to leave you on your own with this weather. Besides, you don't really take up that much space, Lil" responded the Shinx with a friendly smile.

The Lycanroc's eye twitched. That name again... Lil'canroc. Shawn had come up with it after finding out the small wolf didn't have a name of his own. The feline thought it sounded really cute, but he hadn't taken into consideration that the pun was basically a permanent reminder of the wolf's status as a micro. The Lycanroc found it condescending, but since that had happened during their first day as official 'roommates', the tiny still didn't feel confident enough to talk back to the Shinx.

But by this point? The wolf pokemon already knew this macro was harmless. He could tell him right now to not call him that ever again. He even opened his mouth to say so out loud... but what came out was another sigh of resignation after looking at the giant's smile.

He had realized by this point that the name wasn't ill intentioned. Heck, he doubted this guy could ever insult someone on purpose. If he said something, what he could risk would be having the giant go into a new series of apologies for having been using a name that made the Lycanroc uncomfortable. Besides, he was probably used to saying it by now, and it didn't sound thaaaat terrible, and the wolf hadn't come up with a better name himself. He did not like it! Of course he would never admit such a thing... he just... uh... had a name now at least.

- "Thanks... Can we just watch that movie now?" Said Lil.

- "Oh, sure! I still can't believe you hadn't seen any of these. Trust me, you're gonna love this one. It's my favorite of the trilogy."

As the wall of dialogue floating in space appeared on the screen, Lil drifted off into his thoughts for a moment as he suddenly became self-aware of the situation he was in. Sitting on the arm of a macro's couch, with said macro sitting next to him, accompanying him while watching a movie, as if they were friends. The Lycanroc was even getting tear eyed.

To think how much his life had changed in a few days. In one moment, he was surviving through a winter the same way he had always done, living as a pest who feared the consequences of being found by whatever titan lived here. The next moment, he had been found, and the consequences of that were the unending apologies and subsequent cares and attentions from an overly empathetic titan, who then offered him to stay in his place without even wanting any sort of payment in exchange. It had even made the tiny feel embarrassed.

And to think that none of that would've happened if...

Sudden images of the event the Shinx apologized about flashed his mind. Those pink, fleshy pawpads, the black fluff between them, their weight and pressure surrounding him, his warmth covering him... his sweat coating him... its smell...

Lil shivered, instinctively brushing away at his arms and chest as if he was cleaning dust off him. He glanced down at the floor to see a glimpse those familiar boots on the ground in front of the Shinx. He immediately shifted his attention back to the movie. The least he thinks about it the better.


...


The Lycanroc woke up the next morning, having to take a moment to remember where he had fallen asleep. He was still on the couch's arm, having indeed fallen asleep during the movie, the last thing he remembered being that somebody was somebody else's father.

And it seemed he wasn't only one who slept there, as he could easily see the giant Shinx still slumbering, right next to him, or more precisely, he could easily see his feetpaws resting only a few inches away from him on the armrest. Turning around to find 'that' made him jump in surprise as if he had just seen a monster sneaking up on his back.

He shaked his head at his silliness. Sure, that... hadn't been a very pleasant experience, but it's not like he now lived on a constant danger of ending up in a situation like that ever again. He was friends with a macro of all people, that's like the luckiest thing that can happen to a micro. And no, his giant foot was not some mischievous being looking for the next chance to step on him and drown him in sweat. He had nothing to fear anymore.

The micro stood up bravely, looking at the paw with pride painted on his face, trying to show off his courage to no one in particular. Then the foot twitched in the Shinx's sleep and the wolf jumped back in a defensive posture as he let out a high pitched yelp.

He... should go start his day or something.

That would have to wait though, since, as Lil soon realizes, there's no easy way down to the floor from the armrest. The fall is too high for him and he isn't willing to trust the rug. That means his only way down is... sleeping with his head resting on the other armrest, at the opposite far end of the couch.

He looks at the giant's face, his mouth open and partly smushed on the sofa as he snores. It's a long way, and he isn't waking up soon, is he?

It's not like the Lycanroc actually has something to do, the Shinx not even asking for him to help with chores considering... well, that he would easily die trying to do the dishes, and they're both still figuring out if there's a way a micro can use a computer. But still, he doesn't want to just... wait. The wolf glances at the paw once again. Not to wait there at least.

So, on he goes, the road somewhat easier to traverse than the view promised. The sheet Shawn had slept with helped to ease any climbing, which there wasn't that much of to begin with. The Shinx didn't occupy all the space in the couch, so Lil could walk mostly on the flat surface that was the space between Shawn's body and the coach's border. He only ended up having to climb up and down one leg and one arm, both of which stayed still during the micro's journey.

He had to stop himself more than once from gawking at the size of the slumbering lynx, not wanting to be caught doing so and having to explain himself. If he's going to live with a giant from now on, he'll have to quit being in awe at him from simply existing. The least they acknowledge the size difference between them, and the more they can see each other as equals, the better his chances of survival will be in the long term.

Not like the Shinx doesn't already gawk at him from time to time and mentions the obvious fact that he's so small. And he still thinks Shawn is harmless, but he wants to retain some grade of dignity in this relationship.

As if there was much to salvage from said dignity after having been inside a giant's boots. The Lycanroc shivered again, and at that moment he could even swear he could catch a whiff of those socks. That could be possible, after all, the Shinx had explained to him that said socks were not going to be washed yet. Something about him giving them as a kinky gift for his boyfriend, then him stating that it was specifically his boyfriend who was kinky, then him apologizing for the smell and the incident and clarifying for some reason that he wouldn't kinkshame someone who was into that.

Honestly, it was too much information Lil didn't feel like he ever needed to know about. At least he was glad about that smell not being the norm. Still, the farther away he gets from a macro's feet, the better he'll feel.

The Lycanroc is in front of the last wall he has to climb, the armrest on which Shawn's face is resting. After that, the only thing left to do will be to either try and wake up the lynx pokemon, or just wait patiently (and far away from those paws) for said lynx to wake up on his own.

To Lil's demise, that last thing is happening sooner than he had expected, as he only noticed Shawn's snoring had stopped by the time the macro had begun to stretch out his limbs still under the sheets, thus morphing the floor the Lycanroc was walking on. What had initially been a soft overall stable surface to walk on, is now being stretched out to become basically a giant slide the small traveler couldn't get a grip on.

He slid and slid, without a real choice of where he was going. Maybe he'll end up on top of the cat's body, which would lead to a very awkward conversation, but would still be the most preferable option. He could also end up falling between the lynx's body and the couch's backrest, now that could get him crushed, although there was still a chance of survival there. But what ended up happening was the scenario that he was convinced he wouldn't survive.

One moment, the wolf was sliding seamlessly on the sheet, the next, he was flying. No, he was falling. He had fallen, out of the sheet, out of the couch, heading for the floor. The wolf's heart skipped a beat. He was going to die, and very stupidly. Right when he had found a stable life with a macro as a friend, he was going to waste it away by splattering on the ground like an idiot.

The wolf turned mid-air to look at the ground, to look at his inevitable fate, and his heart skipped its second beat in a row. He wasn't looking at the ground, he was looking at a boot, and at the sock stuffed inside of it.

The tiny fell on what practically was an air bag to him, his life saved by the very thing he had grown to despise. Specifically the same thing. He hadn't been able to tell for sure as he was falling, but now it was as clear as day. That whiff he caught earlier wasn't just his imagination. This sock was one of those... the ones from the, uh... gift.

The Lycanroc feels nausea building up. It's not just the smell, which, yeah, it's bad, pretty bad actually, as bad as old socks should be when this close, but it's mostly the memories that are making him sick. He did not like it here last time, and he doesn't like it now.

How the heck are there people into this? These things smell so much like fritos, but not in a good way! It's like, wrong. It's an old, musty version of that smell, one he can tell right away that comes not from a snack, but from a giant feline's foot. How does one catch a whiff of this and suddenly wants to bang? Even if they do, what about the dirt? It's not like this pair spends much time out of the boots, which is its own kind of gross, but even then, just the mere idea that this cloth is stepped on for miles on end. Just what sort of stuff gets under those soles? And that's not even mentioning the sweat absorbed by these things. Ugh... the sweat... just waves after waves of it. Produced to keep things supposedly cooled down, but uncaring about the mess they leave behind. The mess they leave on these once-clean socks. The mess they left on him.

The Lycanroc shivers, pretty much able to tell the heater at the Shinx's workplace hasn't been fixed yet. This thing had managed to get grosser in the span of these last days since he first met the cottony material, than in the weeks the Shinx had been using them previous to the incident. If they had smelt this bad that day, he wouldn't even have gotten near them and none of this would be happening.

The sweat absorbed by the threads made them so sticky that they cling onto the wolf's arms and chest as he tries to stand up. Maybe his trauma with Shawn's paws is making him see his situation in a way more pessimistic fashion than he should, but he could swear everything about this sock is ten times more disgusting than it was the first time.

He looks up for a way out of this, the opening of the boot looking like the inside of a crater to him. The light from the outside looks way brighter in his eyes thanks to the darkness in the boot, but even then, he manages to see one thing very clearly: the face of a Shinx looking down at him. Thank god this will be over soon.

The Shinx wakes up happily from a dream about the newest trilogy being well written, yawning and stretching satisfactorily on his couch. He then snuggles with his sheet for a bit before finally opening his eyes and realizing where he is. His living room? His couch wasn't uncomfortable, but why would he sleep there instead of his own bed. As his brain finishes the process of waking up, he remembers. Movie night, his favorite movie, and he was watching it with...

Now he sits up suddenly, looking on top of both armrests and backrest, then under his own sheets where he finds no one. Where did he go? He didn't crush him did he? Had he left by himself? But how? What if he had thrown him off the couch in his sleep?
Oh god, please be fine.

Shawn looks down at the floor surrounding him, hoping that he's wrong, but still having to check to be sure. No signs of him, the floor around him clear of anything that could hide a micro, besides of course his boots, which were in the exact same spot he had left them, stuffed with his least favorite socks and...

The Shinx just stared, blinking twice to make sure his eyes weren't failing. The Lycanroc lifted an arm and waved at him to assure him as well, after which the lynx pokemon quickly covered away his blushing face in his palms and retreated in the couch while yelping.

- "SORRYSORRYSORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO SEE SORRY!"

The tiny was left dumbfounded by the macro's reaction.

He didn't mean to see?? See what? What did he do? Should he feel ashamed of something? He hadn't been caught doing something embarrassing... had he? He would notice it first if he was obviously. What was embarrassing about his situation? Well, yeah he was trapped inside a boot, not the highest point of his life, but that's not the kind of embarrassing that would elicit a reaction like that, that could make someone like Shawn embarrassed as well. It felt more as if he had been caught doing something like... pawing off maybe? But he wasn't doing anything remotely similar to... wait...

Hell no. Was he for real? Did that overgrown cat still believe he had a thing for... socks!? His stinky socks!? These damned things!?

It had to be a joke. Him? Getting frisky over foot funk? The idea was barbaric. Ok sure, maybe some freaks exist out there, fine, not his problem. But him!? Into this of all things!? He felt insulted. He had already explained to that giant idiot that it was an accident, rejecting his apologies about having 'ruined his fun'. No, it had not been 'fun' before the day-long walk. No, he did not want to spend 'alone time' with the socks even if Shawn didn't mind. No, it was not a 'canine thing', whatever the fuck he meant by that.

So he was right all along. It was a canine thing after all.

The Shinx didn't even know how he was supposed to feel about being in the right on that. For now he could just dwell on the embarrassment of having interrupted his little friend in what seemed to be his second attempt at getting frisky with his socks. Luckily he didn't really see anything, but he didn't have to to realize what was going on, and the idea of having caught him in such an intimate moment was enough to keep his blushing going for a long time.

While he waited for Lil to get decent or finish or whatever he was going to do, he had enough time to ask himself the important questions: What the fuck? Was that little guy really so down bad for that smell to dive in there? Could he not see those socks aren't completely white anymore? Wait, he likes that too, does he not? Yeugh, no wonder he kept denying it to him. Guess it can't be his proudest fap. But still, he likes it enough to keep doing crazy stuff like that. Poor thing, it must be hard for someone so small to have this sort of fun. He probably has to take any chance he gets.

Shawn thinks back of his boyfriend, about how ecstatic the crazy bastard is going to get over those nasty socks. He also thinks about how he's never doing such a gross thing again after he hands him said socks, and about how there's only a couple days left for that to happen. Then he thinks of Lil, about how equally ecstatic the little guy must get whenever those things are close by. Finally, he thinks about how he had been looking for a way to make the tiny feel welcome and to make up for the accidental ride in his boot. A light bulb lights up. The answer was right there: an intentional ride in his boot!

- "Erm... you... done?..."

The Lycanroc wants to pluck away his fur in frustration when he gets confirmation that Shawn is thinking what he thinks he's thinking, but decides that if they're going to talk he at least wants it to be face to face.

- "Ugh... yeah yeah... you can look"

The Shinx looks back into the boot carefully, as if making sure the micro isn't trying to flash him.

The tiny wolf pinches the space between his eyes as he sighs before speaking.

- "Shawn, listen. I do NOT like-"

- "Let me speak first"

The smaller mon is taken aback by the way the feline spoke. It wasn't angry or severe, but it was still a way he hadn't heard the Shinx talk in his short time knowing him. It was... determined.

- "Look, I said it before and I'll say it again, I do NOT mind it. Seriously dude it's cool. You aren't harming me or doing anything bad, at least not the way I see it. You wanna go crazy in those? Be my guest! I doubt you can get them any dirtier anyway."

Lil just stares with a puzzled expression at the talking macro, his mouth open in simultaneous disbelief and disgust and his eyebrows frowned as if he was trying to decipher senseless gibberish.

- "But... just so you know, once Arthur comes back in a couple days, either he'll keep them or I'll be washing them... or I'll set them on fire but in any case, if you do still want to spend alone time with the socks, it's got to be now or never buddy."

Now this does get an instinctive reaction out of the micro, a slow shake of his head that he hopes can transmit enough of an answer while he comes up with some other word that isn't just 'no'.

- "Sooo I was thinking, considering how you already proved you can survive being in my boots, mayyybe you can be able to enjoy it in there if we do it carefully"

The headshake of the tiny quickens before clearing his throat in his attempt at a spoken response.

- "I... I don't-"

- "Listen, listen, let me finish. I swear I won't be putting all of my weight on you, and I'll be paying close attention to where you are at all times, ok?"

The wolf looks at the lynx dead in the eye, giving up on responding with a full sentence, keeping it simple instead.

- "No"

Shawn chuckles.

- "Hey, I get it. You must think that I think you're weird. Sure, it is... unusual, but you're fine! Seriously buddy, I'll be happy to make you feel good."

Lil is now being picked up by his giant friend, and his previous confidence about being able to have normal conversations with Shawn is mostly gone.

- "Wha-what? No. What!? Waitwaitwait no! I don't like this I swear! I'm not into-"

Shawn rests his own paw on his knee, giving Lil yet another unwelcomed glance at those feline pawpads.

- "Look, there's nothing to be ashamed of. But hey! I won't be the one making you admit stuff out loud, so I'll just... put you quietly riiight in here"

The pawpads increase in size rapidly as Lil is being brought closer to them. A moment later, all he can see is a bunch of the black fluff that lives in the gap between toe pads and main pad. He's been put in said gap... again.

- "There you go! Safe and snug. That's where you stayed in last time, right?"

The Shinx scrunches a little bit his toes, trying to give the little guy both a friendly hug and an encouraging stroke at the same time. From the tiny's POV, it's closer to a power show-off with the intention of warning him.

- "Ngh-... Sh-Shawn! I-" the little one tries to say while trying to spit out the mouthfuls of fur.

- "Yeah, I think you'll be good in there. Heh, I bet it must be comfy"

The Shinx picks up the sock his friend was so eager to get close to moments ago.

- "And it's only getting better for you in there." The Shinx winces at his own sock as he says this. He still doesn't get the appeal, but he's truly happy about making his little friend happy.

His foot slides into the sock and the stowaway notices it instantly. The Shinx was clean and he knew that. Shawn didn't smell bad, not right now at least. Now that sock, that was another story. The smell of fritos and cheese assaults him once again, and he's sure he won't be able to enjoy either of those foods again. Dammit... he liked cheese.

After putting both of his socks on, Shawn places the inhabited one once again on his knee to speak to Lil, immediately regretting his attempt at getting his face closer to his own socked foot.

- "Fuck! That's... geez" He pinches his nose before trying again "Um... hi there, Lil?"

An angry muffled scream from the sock is interpreted by the lynx as an energetic hi.

'How can he stand this?' Wonders the macro in his mind.

"Yeah, so, here's the plan. I have to go to work, and luckily for someone..." Shawn winks in his direction before realizing he can't see him "theee heater in there is still stuck at high enough temperature to make me feel like it's a sauna! So... not great for me, but I won't mind it as much if I know you're having the time of your life. But we've got to get going now"

Another muffled scream, this time harder to discern the meaning behind it. Could there be a glimpse of worry in there?

"Hey, Lil. It's fine, I promise I'll walk slow on my way there. I will have more care than last time"

Shawn now puts on his boots, making sure they fit him nicely with some light taps that he believes Lil may find comforting

- "I guess it isn't exactly alone time, but it's only my foot in there with you. I won't be paying attention, I promise! Ah, I mean, I'll pay attention! Enough to make sure you're fine I mean, just not enough to notice you doing... I mean uh... just... be yourself ok?" The Shinx says gesturing a thumbs up no one can see.

After quickly getting everything ready to go out, the feline ventures out of his home, with a stowaway on him for the second time, but this time aware of him, even glad to be accompanied as well, but more than anything, glad to be making his Lil'canroc friend happy.

The so called Lil'canroc is being miserable right now. After multiple failed attempts at yelling at the macro for help, he had ended up in the last place he ever wanted to go back to. Stuck not only with the foot he had tried to get away from, but also with that disgusting sock and the smell it permeated. It didn't matter how well the Shinx washed himself, the foot wouldn't stay clean for long inside of this thing, and neither would the micro.

The cheesy and corny smelling air was already the only thing he had left to breath inside of his prison. Keeping him in a constant state of nausea. He almost wished to be crushed just so he wouldn't have to endure this whole ordeal once again, but just like last time, that couldn't be, all thanks to the safe spot he found himself in. The force of each giant step absorbed by the cat beans around him. Every chance of getting him harmed cushioned by Shawn, who made sure he would stay safe and uninterrupted while he 'had fun'.

Fun with what? The knowledge that he was being constantly stepped on by someone else? The idea of being stuck in a footwear, foot included? Fun with the ever-increasing body warmth of someone else? With the fur and skin limiting his movements? Fun with the dirt that he could feel attached to the sock against his back? Or the most probable thing in the Shinx's mind. He's expecting him to have fun huffing this stale air as if it was a drug, isn't he?

Well, he won't. He physically can't. This odor is making him sick. Heck, the Lycanroc can't even focus on the positive side of things like last time. The fact that it is indeed sorta comfy in here for example. He can't even begin to care. Too angry at everything else happening to him, at his situation, at his bad luck. At his lost chance of stablishing a relationship of equals with a macro. One that didn't result in him stepped on like a toy. Like a micro.

Fuck, he even hates that he can't be fully mad at Shawn for being well intentioned. Maybe in a different reality he would've liked any of this. But in this one he's in, he just wants to avoid going to through a whole day in there again. The toes holding him then scrunch lightly, as if making fun of him. He responds by thrashing around to fight back and as a means to ask Shawn to let him go. But the only response to said thrashing is a drop of liquid appearing out of the bush of black fur in front of him. He... was at the Shinx's workplace already... wasn't he?

This finally snaps him out of his stage of anger, making him ignore the following stages of bargaining and depression, and setting him straight into the stage of acceptance. Fine. He's done fighting it. He's going through it all again. He closes his eyes and mouth as tightly as he can, waiting for it. The first drop of feline footsweat finally does collide with the wolf pokemon's face, coating him in salty liquid with the intention of getting him to cool down. The internal scream of the Lil'canroc shows it didn't work, but luckily there's more on his way.

Shawn wipes some of said sweat off his face. He just arrived and he's already getting cooked alive. Most of his colleagues don't seem to mind tho, preferring this over the cold of winter, even his boss, part of why they hadn't fixed the temperature problem. And he knows of someone else who probably prefers it too.

He gives a light scrunch of his toes in acknowledgement to his 'bootmate', who responds with some energetic movements he didn't know he was capable of. It even felt kind of nice. Shawn surprises himself being able to enjoy this experience in some way. He was already happy enough just helping someone else have a fun time. Same reason why he had decided to stink up his socks for his boyfriend to begin with, even if Shawn would normally be against something as gross. But for the first time he's wondering if he could enjoy some of this stuff in some way.

Not the smell obviously, hell naw, the canines can keep that for themselves. But whatever is going on under his foot right now, it feels good enough. Arthur would like it too.

And now his train of thought goes back to his boyfriend as it usually does. The Shinx had already spent time imagining how it would be when he presented the Lil'canroc and the Arcanine, but after what's happened today, he's finally certain of something.

They're gonna love each other.