GTS Syndrome Vol 2 Ch 12: For Whom The Heart Beats!

The campfire crackled softly, filling the silence with little pops and flares. I stood there, hands stuffed into my pockets, eyes glued to the glowing embers like they could somehow answer the thousand thoughts running through my head.

I'd never known this about giantesses. Hell, most of us human men did our best to keep clear of them. The ones who didn't ended up as pets... or worse. That's what we were taught. That's what we saw. But Penelope—Penelope had always been different. At least, I thought she was.

I turned to look at her. She was sitting still across the fire, her face unreadable in the flickering light. I swallowed hard.

"I can't go with you."

Her head snapped up. "What?"

"I said..." I took a deep breath, trying to push the lump down in my throat. "I can't go with you. Not anymore."

Penelope didn't say anything. She didn't flinch. She just stared, her expression frozen like stone. Then, slowly, she stood up. The ground rumbled beneath me as her towering figure rose into the night sky.

She took one step forward, her face falling into shadow. "You're afraid of me."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement. Honest. Obvious. It hurt to hear.

"I understand," she continued, her voice quieter now. "You've got every right to be."

She knelt down, and when her knees hit the dirt, the impact sent a jolt through my legs. Dust lifted around us like smoke. Then, slowly, she leaned in until her face filled the sky above me.

That's when I saw them—her eyes. Trembling. Glassy. Tears slipping down her cheeks in silence.

"When I was by myself," she said softly, "my heart didn't beat. Not really. It was cold. Still. The only thing that kept me going were missions—orders to follow, enemies to kill, places to go. That was my life. Empty."

She looked at me then, really looked. And in that moment, I saw something raw behind her gaze.

"But then I met you. And you... you made my heart move again. You made me feel alive, Braden."

I froze. Completely taken aback. I didn't know what to say.

She kept going, voice trembling with every word. "I want to protect you, more than anything. But I forgot what it feels like to protect someone you care about. I forgot how terrifying it is... because it means you have something to lose."

Her voice cracked.

"I don't want to lose you. Not again."

"...Penelope," I whispered, her name barely escaping my lips.

"I can't!" she shouted suddenly, just enough force in her voice to knock me backward onto the dirt.

She gasped and quickly looked away like she regretted it, but then her voice softened again.

"I want to stay with you so badly, Braden... Please. Please allow me to."

I sat up slowly, brushing the dust off me, still unsure what to think—what to feel. My heart was a mess.

"But how do I know," I said quietly, "that the other you... won't turn against me again?"

Penelope didn't answer right away. Instead, she lowered her hand gently, palm up, her fingers slightly curled in a way that invited me to climb in.

I stared at it. At her.

"The Wanting," she said as I slowly stepped into her hand, "it's a release of our deepest desires—our anger, our pain, our need to control what we can't. But it can be controlled, especially by those who are aware of it... and who have something worth staying grounded for."

She looked down at me—tears still drying on her cheeks, but her gaze steady.

"I promise, during the full moon, I will fight it. With everything I have. Please believe in me."

I just stood there in her hand, stunned. Was she really asking me to trust her word alone? After everything?

I looked past her fingers at the horizon. The full moon was practically here. One more night. I wouldn't make it far without her. She'd catch me in minutes. So maybe... maybe I didn't have a choice.

But more than that... maybe I didn't want to leave.

I exhaled, gave a tired smile, and looked up at her.

"Okay. Fine," I said. "Let's do this."

Penelope smiled.

Not her usual half-smirk or one of those confident, warrior-grins she wore when knocking bandits into trees like they were bowling pins. No—this was something else. Something... softer. Real. Like she was finally letting her armor slip just a little.

She nodded slowly, those massive locks of brown hair shifting over her shoulder like a curtain. I figured we'd sit in silence again or maybe go back to our awkward campfire watch like we usually did when we ran out of things to say.

But instead, without a single warning—bam.

Her hand shifted and suddenly I was rising. Not fast, not rough, but still enough to jolt my breath. I barely had time to register what was happening before she pulled me in—right up against her chest. Her fingers curled behind my back like a giant, living wall, warm and unyielding. My body pressed into the soft fabric of her clothes, the steady thunder of her heartbeat drumming just beneath it.

My arms sort of flailed for a second. I won't lie—I may have made a noise like "uhhghmph" or something equally heroic.

But then her fingers gently pressed me closer, her whole hand forming a secure, sheltering curve around my back.

"I promise I won't hurt you again," she whispered. Her voice was low, trembling, the words vibrating through her chest and right into me. I could feel every syllable, each one like a ripple through the earth.

And just like that, something in me settled.

I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it was the warmth. Or how she was holding me like I actually mattered. Maybe it was the raw honesty behind her voice. Maybe it was just her heartbeat—steady, powerful, alive.

But whatever it was, I stopped struggling.

I let my shoulders relax. I leaned into her embrace. I smiled.

"Okay," I said.

And I meant it.