This is dedicated to Maria and our PSL 'verse of amazing.
When he was younger, Ricken didn't mind that he was a little shorter than the other boys. He still had plenty of time to grow, and by the time he was a young man maybe he'd even be taller than most of his peers.
When he was thirteen and still shorter than the others, he kept hoping. Mother always said he was a late bloomer, some people just took longer than others and he would grow in due time. So he ignored the japes and taunts of his taller classmates, the older women who called him a little munchkin darling, tried to cope with having to ask for help reaching books on the taller shelves in the library.
But his second year at the academy came, and suddenly he was fifteen and even half the first year students towered over him. The bullies still taunted him, women still pinched his cheeks and he still needed help taking things off the high shelves.
Worse, now he had memories of a previous life to cope with, a life in which he was the exact same height and stayed small even as an old man. So many things now were the same as they were then; himself, Henry, Nowi, Chrom, Lissa, Sumia, his feelings for the librarian who'd been his wife and the mother of his child. A child who grew up to tower over him as much as everyone else did.
Ricken knew it was stupid to fuss over something he couldn't control. His friends, the people he'd loved back then and still loved now as well as his kinder classmates liked him just as he was. They didn't care now and they hadn't cared back then, only the creeps like Jules and Luke and Debbie did.
But it still bothered him. It was ridiculous, and it still bothered him. Was he doomed to spend another lifetime struggling to catch up to everyone only to fall behind even in his golden years? If he ever got married and had children, would they tower over him the way his son had?
"Hey-o, Ricken! What's got you down?" A sudden arm around his shoulders, followed by a squeeze to his arm snapped him back to the present. He looked up to see Henry, his lover then and now smiling worriedly at him. Sumia, one of their best friends and the past Henry's wife and eventual widow looked across the table, her face gentle and concerned. Nowi, one of his best friends since the beginning looked like she wouldn't let go of his arm until he smiled.
You're my Ricken, even if you never grow another inch. It's not your height I love, it's you! Nya ha ha!
I find our vertical contrast fascinating, to be quite truthful. And you more than compensate for it with your immense intelligence.
Hey, I'm short too, and I'm a thousand years old! Chin up, you!
I know this doesn't mean much coming from me, but...you're a good person. Just believe in yourself!
It doesn't matter how big you are outside, but who you are inside. You're growing into a good man, Ricken, and I've never been prouder.
Getting to know such a wonderful father helps make up for five years of solitude and regret. Thank you for reaching out to me.
A wife, a son, a lover, his dearest friends, the man he looked up to like a brother. In the end, their words meant more than the japes of bullies or the pinches of old women.
"I'm okay," he said. He would be, as long as he kept their words in mind and trusted in them. And they were trusting in him to come up with a good topic for their history project. "Now, I have a few ideas we can all discuss..." He opened his composition book to the most recent page, displaying a full list of topics.
One thing he would never be short on were ideas.