Disclaimer: I don't own the Borrowers or Arrietty or Spiller or anyone else herewith.

Arrietty saw Spiller coming across the field from her perch in the hedge. She climbed down quickly to catch him as he passed under the fence and scratched her arm on a thorn on the way down.

"Spiller!" she called, "Spiller, have you been to see Mrs Menzies? Did you speak to her? Did you tell her that we're safe?"

"Your arm's bleeding," said Spiller dropping his bags and taking her hand so as to examine the cut.

"Oh it's nothing," she said, blushing and trying to remove her hand from his. Spiller took a ribbon from his pocket and tied it around the wound. Only then did he return Arrietty's hand to her side.

"But Mrs Menzies? What did she say?"

"I told her you were safe, she was happy, tried to give me food but I said no and left."

"Oh Spiller I could just kiss you!" she said and then, blushing a furious red, added, "thank you."

Spiller grunted, picked up his bags and started for the house. Arrietty followed timidly behind trying not to say anything else embarrassing.

Once they were inside Pop and Homily were over the moon to see Spiller and rummage through the borrowings he had brought them, so Arrietty slipped away unnoticed and wrote an entry in her new diary.

Told Spiller I wanted to kiss him, he didn't seem to fancy it.

Then she slid it into the crevice behind her bed and padded back down to the kitchen. Pod and Spiller were there discussing the mechanics of motorcars and Homily was outside hanging the washing on the line.

So Arrietty went out to the field, picked the most perfect strawberry she could find, found a couple of seeds in the bird feeder, filled an acorn with water and hid them all under a bush. Then she built up her courage and went back into the kitchen.

"Spiller." She said, a little louder and more forcefully that she had hoped, "Would you like to come for a picnic with me?"

Spiller looked at Pod with uncertainty, Pod looked at Homily, who was coming in the door, with amusement and Homily looked at Arriety with a mixture of shock and horror.

"Alright." Said Spiller.

And he stood up, bowed awkwardly at Pod, skirted past a glare from Homily and followed Arrietty out the door. He took her hand cautiously as they passed under the hedge. She gave a little squeak but didn't let go.

She lifted the leaf to reveal her perfect strawberry and other picnic spoils. They unlinked fingers and sat down to share the food. It wasn't until after lunch that Spiller spoke.

"You can you know," he said.

"Can what?" said Arrietty.

"Kiss me."

"Really?"

"If you want to."

"I do."

So she did.

Since neither of them had ever kissed anyone before it wasn't particularly well done, but, they had a lot of time to practice that afternoon.

Later, as the sun began to set Arrietty suggested that they might go back to the house before Homily worried herself to death. Before they stood up Spiller took her hand again.

"Would you like to come with me, next time I go borrowing?" he asked, though he was fairly sure he knew the answer.

"Would I?" burst Arrietty throwing her arms about his next.

He smiled and stood up. "Your mother might be a little harder to persuade," he said, as they walked back towards to house.

"Maybe, but, Pod will convince her alright," said Arrietty, grinning from ear to ear.

"I could even take you to see Mrs Menzies."

Spiller always knew the right things to say.

The End.