Rachnee gazed down at Saul, biting her lip as she gently stroked his hair. If someone who didn't know him could see him then, they might say he simply looked like he was sleeping. But she did know, intimately, having watched him sleep often. And even then, he constantly moved, shuffling while he slumbered, making faces as he dreamed. This? Where he lay completely still and pale, the only movement being the slight rise and fall of his chest?

He looked dead.

"Zombina…" Smith began, massaging the bridge of her nose like that would relieve the headache already beginning to build. "You better have a good explanation for this…"

"I mean, I guess?" The zombie replied, sounding far too casual for Rachnee's tastes, "They were doing this thing to keep Lover on the edge of exhaustion because apparently that's when he writes the best, using a combo of liquor, sex, sleep deprivation and…incense, I think? I wasn't paying attention to that part."

"…The whole weekend?" Smith asked, eyebrows going up. Haru nudged Saul's shoulder with her head, frowning as that failed to get a response.

Zombina bobbed her head. "With a couple breaks to rest, eat and like, five hours of sleep each night. Hey, what do you know of the Android/Gynoid Initiative?"

The government agent blinked. "Not my department. And you took part in those…activities as well?" The raptor harpy brushed her feathers over his face, hopeful expression falling as that failed as well.

"Well no shit," the stitched-up redhead shrugged, "Alcohol doesn't do much for me, but I'm not gonna say no to a weekend of sex. Not that it was as wild as I thought it was gonna be…seriously, who schedules fuckin'? So controlling and wound up that chick was, even after I worked my magic…but it did get fun near the end…though that is when he passed out, too…"

Rachnee looked up from Saul. "Wait, he had sex with you?" She asked curiously. Scowling, Haru balanced on one foot, lifting the other up to jab Saul with her talons. Suu suddenly came up behind her, wrapping the harpy up and pulling her away from the bed.

Zombina grinned and stretched luxuriously, groaning in satisfaction. "Hell yeah he did! Just about popped some of my stitches, too! I probably wouldn't be able to walk if I wasn't, you know, a zombie and shit." She paused, tapping her lip. "…You sure you don't know more about that Initiative?"

Smith frowned. "No, I don't. So, dehydration and sleep deprivation…not good, but that doesn't explain why he looks just about dead. Did anything else happen?" A distressed-looking Cerea pulled the harpy into a corner, rapidly whispering.

"Well, he finished his writing or whatever yesterday and passed out, so I figured I'd get some cuddle time, and then he woke me up to have what looked like a serious, emotional conversation with the chick before coming back. Then we fell asleep and I'm havin' a steamy dream and next thing I know, he's going to town on me and obviously I was happy about that." She grinned in fond remembrance, rubbing her stomach and seeming about a minute away from fondling herself. "Man, he was nuts, slamming away all wild and animalistic…and nice. He did also spooge like six times and whispered something about going to die. And passed out again."

Rachnee glanced at Tio, who paused mid-cheek stroke and glanced at Yukio, who turned a questioning eye on Smith. "Humans don't usually do that, right?" She asked softly, all them thinking back to their own experiences.

"Not usually, no," Smith replied, biting her nail, "Not my specialty, but it sounds like some kind of drug. Drug use on top of exhaustion and dehydration? I thought he was smart…" She sighed and pushed her sunglasses up over her eyes. "Alright, ladies you're not gonna like this, but I'm going to have to quarantine Mr. Honey over here." She held up a hand to forestall any protests, with Miia huffing and crossing her arms. "All of those things you just heard? Any of them can reduce a person's immune system and make them more likely to get sick. Stacked on top of each other? It's guaranteed. We don't know yet if human sickness can be transmitted across species and back or how bad it could be."

"A plague?" Mero asked dreamily, eyes sparkling as she imagined Arachnes lying on their backs, legs curled as they coughed blood, Mermaids beaching themselves as they clutched their throats, Centaurs withering away in their green fields… "How tragic!" Herself, clutching Her Dear Sir's hand as she lay on a hospital bed. 'I won't ever leave you, my love!' She'd gasp through seizing lungs as he cried and grasped her hand with desperation. 'I'm so sorry!' He'd cry, 'I never meant to sicken you! Please, stay with me!' She'd cup his cheek and murmur as her vision would begin to darken, 'Do not worry, my love…though separated by life and death, know that I will…always…love…'

Rachnee rolled her eyes. She could almost see the tragic fantasies playing in the mermaid's head; more than once that weekend, she'd asked about 'Dear Sir' being gone, muttered about 'leaving for another woman, how tragic!' then going red and giggling. It had been quite annoying. And she was slippery, too, the usual webs trap just couldn't hold her for too long.

Mero knew she was blushing as she cupped her heated cheeks. "I don't need to breathe through my mouth, perhaps I should be the one to nurse our Dear Sir back to health…" She looked up and paused at all the dry looks being given to her. "What?"

"Time and place, Fishy," Rachnee shook her head, lavender tresses swaying. "How long do you think this'll last?"

Smith shrugged as she began to herd the girls out of the room. "Anywhere from a day to a week, who knows? I'm gonna have to fill out so much paperwork…" She sighed, before straightening, "Also, you all need to take hot showers, wash your clothes and sanitize, you might have germs on you."

"We should do as she says," Dina announced, calmly shedding her clothes, "I once became sick after taking care of My Knight, a 'cold' as it is called now. Imagine spewing organs from your mouth everytime you sneeze…and none of you are made of water as I am."

Most of the girls blanched at the thought and also began to strip down, though Mero had to be prodded into doing so. "You have experience with sick humans?" Smith asked, eyeing the Undine interestedly and no not that way. "I have to go get things situated at work, who would you recommend to watch him while I do that?"

Dina gestured to the blue-green form of Suu who had begun picking up and stuffing all the discarded clothes inside of herself, burbling happily all the while. "Suu would be the best choice; the body of a slime is acidic for digestion, but while they are affected by toxins, they burn through them much faster. Human sickness would have no major effect on her." She turned a stern finger on the slime, who now resembled a small boulder made of clothes, "Suu, put those in the laundry with haste, I'd rather not have my clothing disintegrate in an errant breeze."

The stretched head and green hair bobbed and the small boulder of clothes rolled down the hall with a gurgle.

Smith grabbed Zombina by the shoulder, stopping her from peeling off her shirt. "You don't need to sanitize," the agent told the zombie sternly, "And you've got a weekend worth of paperwork to finish."

Zombina sighed deeply and pulled her jacket back on, feeling a tube of something bump against her side. Reaching in her pocket, she withdrew the container of stuff Ms. Roboto had given her. "By the way, this is some…nutritional powder or whatever that some chick who works for that other chick gave me."

The agent took the container and examined the soft yellow powder inside. There was no serving suggestion or even contents, only a simple stamp of a Black Lily. "How much?"

"Two teaspoons per quart of liquid, either in water or soup," the zombie listed off, jamming her hands in her pockets as they stepped out of the building. "…You sure you don't know anything about that Initiative?"

…

Suu strolled back from the laundry, having taken a taste of the detergent and amusing herself by blowing bubbles. Her latest creation, using a bit of her body to form multiple bubbles and stack them on top of each other, almost looked like a bunny. If you tilted your head and squinted, and also had no idea what a bunny looked like. She was just rolling it across her hand when she heard the door to the master bedroom open. Nearly slipping, she took off at a run and rounded the corner with a recriminating finger raised…only to find nothing.

Then Suu looked down and found Saul. Face down, on the ground, slowly arching his back and releasing, creeping forward a few inches at a time. She watched as he crawled across the hall, head bumping into the doorframe before glacially turning and inching into the bathroom. Blinking, she heard the clink of the toilet being opened, followed by running the rush of liquid when one with a bladder relieved it, then a flush and the faucet being turned on.

And then Saul came back out, slowly dragging the front of his body across the wooden floor back to his room. She followed him inside and found him lying near the bed, now snoring softly. Smiling gently, Suu kneeled next to him and took him in her arms, arranging him on the bed. With a gentle hand, she brushed a few errant locks of hair away from his face and rested her palm on his forehead, imagining perhaps a bit wistfully that he seemed to relax under her touch. Her arm stretched, reaching across the room to shut the door, all while her gaze remained fixed on him. Bundling her legs into a comfortable sitting blob, Suu stayed and watched, yellow eyes gently glimmering.

She saw the light outside dim and felt her body shrink from lack of water, but she kept her post. The only time she dropped her watch was when Smith returned, opening the door bearing a bottle of water in one hand and a sheaf of paper in the other. "Ah, Suu, good job," she muttered, kicking off her heels by the door and setting the papers on the dresser, "Sit him up please."

The slime did so, propping his head up on the pillows. Her eyes flickered to the water, jelly trembling in something akin to hunger.

"After this I'll take over and you can drink all you want," the agent promised, unscrewing the cap and adding a few shakes from a tube of yellow powder to the bottle, shaking it until the liquid was clear. Carefully, she tipped the bottle into Saul's mouth, his brow scrunching as he unconsciously drank. "Has there been any change?" Suu opened her mouth to reply before Smith continued. "Oh, right, you can't talk."

The agent fed him a little more than half of the bottle before capping it and sitting back, pushing her sunglasses up and rubbing her eyes. Suu noted the deep bags on her eyelids and lines of stress stretching skin taut. She wondered if Smith knew just how tired she looked, and how much that didn't instill confidence in her watching abilities.

"I really hope he recovers before I have to help him pee," Smith mumbled absently, tired brown eyes taking in the author's sleeping visage. "Why'd you have to go and do this, Saul? I had a day off coming up…" Shaking her head, she stood from the bed and shed her jacket, ungracefully flopping down in a nearby chair with the sheaf of paper in her hand. "You can go now, Suu."

Suu nodded and burbled an affirmative, stroking Saul's cheek one more time before she left the room. Walking through their home, she noticed that while most everyone went about their nightly rituals; Rachnee played a video games, Miia tapped away at a laptop, Yukio read a book while Haru laid on the floor before her, Cerea cleaned her sword and chatted with Dina and she could spy Tio's low cut shirt above the kitchen counter; but there was a lack of energy to their activities. The past weekend had been similar, but with an air of uncertainty instead; now that the center of their home had returned and they knew what happened, worry had replaced it. A sort of listlessness of knowing someone they cared for was hurt and being unable to truly do something about it. The imposed distance wasn't helping either.

Suu skipped up to the Undine, who took one look at her and offered a finger. The slime slaked her thirst, inwardly marveling at the clean, fresh taste of Dina's water. Taste wasn't a problem for slimes, they could eat anything given enough time and determination, but it was nice to have it. And that was probably why their two species preferred to partner up; one to clean the crap out of a water feature and keep it neat, the other to provide the sustenance. It was kind of like marriage, she supposed, except most married people couldn't split each other in half for fun. Harmlessly, anyway, or more than once.

They also had sex, usually.

Once she'd drunk her fill, Suu thanked Dina with a burble and moved to the kitchen, finding a frowning Tio hovering over the stove. She stirred a pot of soup with a ladle, worried orange eyes distant, not even noticing as the slime opened up the garbage can and stuck her head inside. Inwardly as she consumed discarded pieces of food and whatnot, Suu wondered when anyone was going to notice what she was doing, or realize that they hadn't needed to take out the kitchen trash in the last week.

To her credit, Tio did notice the can's lid closing and turned to blink at an innocent looking Suu, indistinct forms of random stuff quickly dissolving in her body hidden under her coat. "Oh, Suu…how's Sweetie doing? You think he's well enough for some soup?" The slime thought for a second, then nodded. There were ways to feed someone who wasn't awake and many more for her specifically. "Good…it's just broth, that should be enough for now. I think there's enough for a couple cups over the next day or two, but I've got to go back to work…Suu, you'll feed him, right?"

Suu nodded, burbling her favorite word. "Handy!" She smiled as Tio gently patted her head and ladled steaming broth into a trio of mugs, the oni pausing as she made to hand them over. Suu simply formed a third arm from her chest and took it.

"Guess you really are 'handy,'huh," Tio giggled as the slime pattered off with her cargo carefully grasped in her multiple arms.

Smith looked up from her paperwork as Suu closed the door behind her, nose twitching as she took in the salty scent emanating from the cups. "Ah, good idea," she muttered, heaving herself up out of the chair, rubbing her eyes as she approached the bed and set about propping Saul up at an angle. It wasn't easy, given his dead weight and the fact she had to hold him up with one arm while the other stacked pillows. His breathing into her ear, even unintentionally, was also not helping. Setting him down, his head lolled back at an angle uncomfortable to look at, so she sat down on the bed and cradled him with her elbow, huffing stray strands of hair away from her face. "You better appreciate this…"

Suu tilted her head curiously, looking down at the mugs she held and the steam rising from the hot liquid that had just come off of the stove, then back up at the agent. Smith clicked her tongue, cheeks darkening slightly as she took a mug and sipped, wincing at the scalding broth. She didn't, however, set Saul down, sighing slightly as she slowly slipped her steaming salty sustenance, waiting for the rest to cool. Suu, for her part, opened her mouth and dumped half of it in, wiggling as the liquid heat spread through body.

"What I wouldn't give for some coffee," Smith mumbled, though she had to admit that the broth tasted good and the heat woke her up a little. "Mm, Suu, in my jacket pocket there's that container of powder. Can you put some of that in the cup for Saul?"

Nodding, the slime set the mug aside and started digging through the agent's jacket, quietly consuming the pocket lint and little bundled scraps of paper inside. She liked things clean, she couldn't help it. She paused slightly when her fingers came in contact with a plastic container, but not the one she'd been looking for. Discretely eying the label, she found that they were caffeine pills and judging by the weight and count, only a few had been taken. Subtly eyeing the exhausted Smith, Suu discretely palmed the pills and hid them inside of her arm, and then felt around for the thing she was actually looking for.

Swirling the mixture into the broth, the slime determined that it was cool enough and nodded at her host. Smith grunted in understanding and lifted his head at an angle. Suu brought the cup to his lips and carefully let it slip into his mouth, his throat pulsing rhythmically as his body automatically drank the liquid presented to it. The agent gently stroked his hair, admiring the texture under her fingers and the color of it in the light of the room. Then her eyes met his. His open eyes.

His open, staring eyes.

Smith yelped and jerked back, dropping him onto the pillows, his head lolling back uncomfortably. Suu fixed her with a dry look, pointedly waving a hand before Saul's blank, unblinking gaze. "…Does he do that often?" The woman asked, poking his cheek and getting a shrug from the slime. "…Right. Well, that's a little creepy."

Suu finished feeding Saul the soup as Smith gathered her papers and drank from her mug, yawning deeply. "Sleep?" Suu asked, patting the bed as she tucked her host in.

Smith blinked at her, then at the bed and shook her head. "I'll sleep in an empty room," she replied, absently feeling around in her jacket. "Er, Suu? Do you mind sleeping here? Just in case he wakes up in the middle of the night?"

Suu shook her head and lay down on the floor, shifting her body around so that her yellow rain jacket was atop of her like a blanket.

The agent dug into her jacket for a minute, expression tight before eventually giving up. "Right, well…I'll be a couple of doors down, okay? Wake me if you need me." Getting a nod from the slime, she sighed and left the room, though not towards a bed; instead, the kitchen was her destination and the cupboards where the instant coffee was stored.

Eye on the door, Suu determined that Smith was well and truly gone. Rising from the floor, she locked the door and padded over to the bed, discarding her jacket on the carpet as she carefully lay down next to her master. Her fingers brushed his cheek, gently rubbing the stubble slowly accumulating on his jaw before sliding up to touch his lips, his flesh hot against hers. His breath, light as it was, warmed her hand. Until it stopped.

Saul's eyelids shot open, inhaling sharply as his eyes, pupils dilated, darted chaotically in their sockets. His chest heaved, limbs weakly flailing in blind panic until a cool hand cupped his cheek and stilled his struggle. "W-wha…"

Suu tilted his head, her yellow gaze his blue as she stroked his heated skin. "Don't worry Master, you're safe," she murmured, gently scooting up against his side, "Your Suu is watching over you."

Eyes trembling, sweat dotting his brow, his voice was raspy. "M-my…Suu?" He whispered, panicked breath slowing slightly.

"Yes, Master. Nothing will harm you while under my care, I swear," she swore, smiling softly when he shakily grasped her wrist. "Sleep now, for me. I won't leave you."

His eyes began to roll up into his head, beginning to fall limp. "Suu…" he mumbled before going slack. A second later he began to snore quietly. She wrapped her arms securely around him, cradling his body with hers as happiness burned inside of her. Her Master was healing.

With a light kiss on his brow, Suu too allowed sleep to take her.

…

When the sun rose the next day, Suu had been awake for a while. Not that she'd moved an inch while a sleeping Saul cuddled her or had any real desire to move, but she knew someone would inevitably come to check on them.

And as if on cue, something thumped against the window.

The slime slithered her way over to the window and pulled the curtain aside to reveal a messy head of cobalt hair and foot-long talons digging into the window frame. Pushing it open, Suu popped her head out and greeted the harpy. "Papi!"

Papi levered herself up onto the sill with her wings. "Suu!" She replied with a wide smile, "She came to see if her Hubby is back yet!"

"Hubby is back!" Suu parroted with an excited nod, then quickly caught the harpy by the face as she attempted to crawl inside. "No! Hubby sick!"

Papi flapped her wings and hooked herself back onto the window. "Then Papi will take care of him!" She chirped brightly and again tried to fly through, only to again be shoved back out. "Suu! Stoppit!"

"Papi stop it!" Suu returned with a chastising wag of her finger, "If Hubby gets Papi sick, Papi might die!" The harpy tilted her head curiously. "That's bad!"

"Ooooh," Papi realized, looking around, "Should Papi leave, then?"

"Papi can stay," the slime nodded, pointing downstairs, "Hang out with girls! Then, when Hubby better, can say hi!"

"Okay! Good idea Suu!" The harpy bobbed in the air happily, then dove down.

Suu looked out of the window and watched as Papi opened the back door and heard her loudly greet whoever was up. Shaking her head and giggling to herself, she retreated back inside and closed the window. Looking back, heat swelled in her chest as she saw Saul unconsciously reaching out to find her, even if it was just a reflex. It was still nice to be appreciated. Before she could reclaim her spot, the door opened and Smith stumbled in.

Despite supposedly having an entire night to sleep, the agent didn't look any better; in fact, Suu would say she looked worse somehow. The bags under her eyes were more like bruises and her skin was pale and papery. "Ah, Suu," Smith mumbled, brushing more than slightly greasy hair out of her eyes, "You can go do…whatever you usually do. I'll-" Her words were cut off by jaw-cracking, painfully deep yawn. "I'll watch over Saul."

Somehow, Suu thought that was unlikely. Nodding and heading out the door, she paused as she heard Smith flump into a chair before looking for the room the agent had occupied the night before. And to no surprise, she found it messy and full of cups, along with an electric kettle and a now empty jar of instant coffee. Along with a phone still chiming an alarm. Shaking her head, the slime went back to the master bedroom and found Smith sleeping deeply. Not even shaking her would wake the woman, she was truly dead to the world.

While this wasn't a big problem for Suu, being a smart slime and all, she recognized that the other girls would probably like to know about it. It took her a while to wake everyone up and further to explain the situation, especially with parroted phrases and pantomimes.

"Well girls, it looks like it's up to us to take care of Darling!" Miia announced rather happily, pounding a fist into her palm, "Or, well, we can show Suu and she can do it for us."

"'Take care of' how, Snakey?" Rachnee asked, looking rather cross with arms folded, "Honey's still just sleeping." Again, as if on cue there came a shuffling sound from the master bedroom, but only Suu and Cerea seemed to hear.

Holding a hand up to pause the conversation, Suu went to check and found Saul mumbling under his breath, face red and dotted with sweat as he unconsciously shifted uncomfortably. Touching a hand to his forehead, the slime grimaced at the heat radiating from his skin. Returning to the living room, she performed a few charades to inform them of the situation.

"…He has a fever?" Cerea finally guessed after a few minutes. "Oh, how terrible! Sickness! Such an enemy, one that cannot be defeated mere armor or weapons or skill alone! How useless a Knight I am forthwith…"

Conversely, the news cheered Miia up considerably. "See?" She shot Rachnee a smug look, "We do get to take care of Darling!...Suu does, I mean."

Rachnee was not impressed. "Again, how? Do you know how to take care of a sick human?"

The Lamia flushed, scowling, but returned fire. "Do you?"

The Arachne slumped minutely. "…No…"

"Maybe we should try all the ways we treat sick people and try them out on Darling until we find one that works?" Mero offered, rubbing her hands together.

"Probably not," Dina replied from the far end of the room next to Yukio, their noses buried in different books.

Miia slithered over to the Undine with an interested look. "Dina, you've been around for a long time, how would you deal with this?"

Dina uncaringly flipped a page. "Plenty of water and rest."

"And cool air or cold rags," Yukio added, squinting at the page before turning it on the side and making a noise of realization.

The other girls looked at each other. "That's…boring," Miia muttered, scratching her cheek. "I like my idea better."

"Okay, since you seem so gung-ho about this," Rachnee started, tapping her fingers on her arm in thought, "How would you go about making Honey better?"

The Lamia curled her tail underneath her and sat, thinking hard. "Well, first I'd wrap him in blankets and then my tail and-"

Rachnee snapped her fingers sharply and made a buzzing noise with her mouth. "Wrong. Fever, remember?" A distracted Papi started looking around for whatever big insect had made that sound.

Miia scowled and went back to thinking, before brightening up. "I know!" And then she quickly slithered into the kitchen.

Suu traded confused looks with Cerea and Haru. Running away hadn't explained anything. "Cereal, how about you?" The centaur scowled at the name, but tapped her chin in thought all the same.

"Well, first I would have to determine just how bad the fever is before I can declare any medication, but as My Noble Master is sick and we can't approach him, perhaps-"

Rachnee crossed her arms, leaning against the couch. "Cereal-" Cerea twitched again, "-Do you actually have an idea or not?"

Cerea glared at the rather casual Rachnee, cheeks puffing up as her face started to turn red. Rachnee slowly arched an eyebrow. Cerea stamped a hoof, fists clenching, eyes twitching…

And then she exhaled gustily, walking over to Saul's desk and dropping her head on it with a thump. "NoIdon'thaveanyideasbutIdon'twanttoadmitthatIfeeluseless," she mumbled into the wood, slumping dejectedly. Suu patted her on the back; at least the centaur had made an attempt.

Mero raised her hand with an opened mouth, but paused as they heard a door open, followed by a low groan. "…Did Miss Smith awaken?" Suu motioned for them to stay down and quickly hopped up the stairs just in time to hear another door open, this time the bathroom.

"…Jesus, that's not a good color…" She heard a masculine voice grumble following the sound of liquid meeting liquid, peeking around the doorway to find a somewhat unsteady Saul standing before the toilet. And he seemed to be conscious this time. Lightly knocking on the doorframe, she winced a bit as he turned to look at her, face sweaty and eyes slightly glazed. "Hey Suu, does this look like healthy pee to you?" He paused, blinking slowly. "…Why am I asking you this?"

She shrugged. "Master, I don't know what that would look like," she said, tilting her head to the side and nodding. Despite the situation, Saul had admirable aim. He hadn't missed a drop as far as she could tell. "How are you feeling?"

He shrugged blithely, still not spilling. "Like…hot shit…and not the good kind…y'know, I don't know why that's a saying, shit isn't good, even when it's hot, I think that would be even worse…my pelvis hurts…" He looked down and shook himself. "Even my blood hurts…that's not a good sign…"

"Maybe you should go back to bed, Master," she said in sotto voce, walking up behind him as he flushed the toilet, wrapping an arm under his shoulders as he stumbled and helped him into the hallway.

"Maybe, but I don't wanna," he whined tiredly, leaning over to nuzzle the side of her neck. Suu found it hard to ignore the heat coming from his skin, nor the sweat that she automatically absorbed. The fever didn't help, either. "Will you stay with me, Suu? It's hard to sleep alone…"

"Of course, Master," Suu murmured, laying him back down on the bed and brushing a hand over his hair, frowning at the sheer heat and accumulated moisture. Saul sighed at the sensation, his hand coming up to rest on hers, his eyes fluttering. She stroked his hair for a bit longer until he'd fallen asleep, gently pecking his forehead. "I'll be back, hopefully with some good ideas," she whispered. He groaned something in his sleep that she took as an affirmative, and so went back downstairs.

"That didn't sound like Agent Smith," Cerea announced as Suu rejoined the group, Miia still in the kitchen making quite the racket.

"Shh, hubby sleeping," Suu burbled childishly, touching her lips, "Idea? Fishy?"

Mero blinked at the slime, having been brushing her long pink hair and gazing off into the distance with a suspicious redness to her cheeks. "Oh, right, well-"

…

When she returned to the bedroom about an hour later, Suu found her Master lying on his side, sleepily groaning in pain. She looked back at the various items in the hall and wondered if she might have to use Rachnee's idea first, then approached the sleeping figure, setting a hand on his arm to gently pull him onto his back. As he rolled over, the cause of his discomfort became obvious; not the fever, though the redness of his skin was probably not fun (Suu wasn't exactly sure about human bodies, red Slimes tended to be fun, though not as fun pink Slimes, and humans- whatever their outward color -all tended to be pink and red a couple layers deep) or even the sweat dampening his clothes. Nope, the most obvious source of discomfort was currently pitching a rather tight tent, straining against the fabric of his sleep pants.

Now, Suu wasn't entirely sure about the intricacies of the human body, not having one herself nor needing one, thank you very much, but she was somewhat familiar with Saul's. With just how much he and the other various ladies interacted and his own dampened sense of shame, she'd seen that part in the bathtub and the shower, sometimes soft, sometimes hard, sometimes in between and often going into and out of various orifices. And thanks to her observations, she knew the sounds they made were ones of pleasure and relief, and the noises he was currently making, while similar, weren't the same.

The only smart course of action would be to relieve the strain, of course. Nodding to herself, Suu reached for the waistband of his pants, pausing as he shifted, then carefully peeling them away. The erection that sprung forth looked a painful reddish purple, bolded by angry veins throbbing in time with his heartbeat. It didn't look like she remembered, seeming more tense; she gently laid a hand on it, pausing as Saul twitched and groaned, then grasping it fully. The sheer heat nearly burned her, the skin tight and nearly bursting against her palm and not in a good way.

Suu remembered listening to Yukio reading aloud from her massage therapy book, about using pressure and movement to stimulate the release of stress from muscles and more. And while she was no expert, the erection pulsing painfully in her hand seemed pretty damned stressed to her. She attempted to recall what else the Yuki-Onna had been talking about, but the reality of what she was currently doing superseded her thoughts. All of the sensations…it made her mind foggy. And, well, she'd promised to take care of her Master, and here was an issue she could take care of.

Handy indeed.

Mind made up, she tried to imagine what would feel good, squeezing firmly but not too hard, lowering the viscosity of her hand as she stroked. Saul groaned and she nodded to herself, taking her other hand and grasping his length with both, slowly using movement and pressure to stimulate a release. The heat in her hands radiated through her body and despite not needing it, Suu found herself short of breath, biting her lip as the pleasured noises drove her to move a bit faster. Her eyes glazed a bit as they focused on her task, a strange tingling inside of her and the sudden desire to see just what happened when her Master popped under her ministrations.

A low, sharp gasp was her only warning before the sleeping man orgasmed under her touch, a spattering of white liquid landing on top of her head before another decorated her cheek. She blinked, the organ in her hand spasming again before she quickly covered the tip with her hand; but that had been the metaphorical last gasp as it softened in her grasp.

Breathing hard and not entirely sure why, Suu absorbed the seed on her body before gently tucking him back inside and standing up, pawing at her face as she wondered just where all that heat inside of her had come from. She paused and whirled around, sighing in relief as she saw that Smith was still sleeping.

"Ugh…" She spun back around as Saul stirred with a groan, tiredly rubbing his eyes as he levered himself up on an elbow, "Suu?" He asked, blinking slowly and peering at the room, "You're back…"

"Mmhm!" She nodded brightly, opening the door and retrieving the first of the 'Save Darling from Dying of Sickness!' ideas and presenting it to her Master.

Saul blinked down at the wooden tray and the white covered bowl. "Soup?" He guessed, looking up at her as she opened her mouth and lifted the lid.

"White rice gruel!" Miia announced proudly, showing the other girls perfectly plain, evenly white porridge. The lamia may not have been the sharpest, but she didn't miss the looks nor the sighs of relief that she hadn't created some sort of abomination in a bowl. "Hey! I know I'm not the best at cooking, but even I can make something so simple!"

Rachne and Cerea traded skeptical looks as Mero clapped excitedly, while Suu took the tray upstairs with the rest of the stuff. "It does look rather inviting, Miss Miia," the mermaid complimented coyly, steepling her hands in front of her mouth, "Perchance I could try a bit?"

Miia debated sharing the creation she'd made for her Darling for a second, before nodding. It wasn't everyday people complimented her meals. There wasn't a lot left, but she ladled some into a small bowl and handed it off with a spoon. Mero looked so excited about trying her food that the lamia couldn't help but puff up pridefully, smiling as the mermaid brought a spoonful up to her mouth, blew the wisps of steam away from the top and delicately slurped it up.

The color drained from Mero's face. And her hair. Also her clothes. The very air around her seemed to lose all life, somehow. Her eyes lost their spark and all moisture, becoming flat and dull. She sighed an oddly pleasured sigh and smiled slightly before falling stiffly out of her wheelchair, foaming at the mouth and shuddering.

Rachne and Cerea glanced down at her, blinking, then back up at a nonplussed Miia with a spoon in her mouth. "Tastes fine to me," she shrugged, reaching down to nudge the insensate mermaid, who seemed to moan 'more…' under her breath.

The centaur sniffed the air, frowning. "What's that wicked stench befouling the air?"

"Something smells fishy, you mean?" The arachne suggested, nudging Mero with a leg, ignoring the unimpressed look she received. On the other side of the living room, Papi began searching through the couch cushions for fish while Haru crossed her wings and rolled her eyes."What, exactly, is in that 'white rice gruel'?"

"White rice and water, obviously," Miia began, ticking the ingredients off of her fingers, "Also white salt, white vinegar, white truffle oil, white onion, white fish, white chocolate-" Rachne and Cerea traded alarmed glances and looked up the stairs, "-white flour, white garlic-"

Saul peered into the spotless bowl, arching an eyebrow at Suu, barely glimpsing a cloud of white substance inside of her body. It was a little lewd for some reason. "You ate it?" He asked rhetorically, smiling as she bobbed her head in agreement. "Good girl."

She preened while he stroked her head, setting the bowl aside and going for the door. "Next!" She burbled, very carefully squeezing a kiddie pool full of water into the room. "Bath time."

The author blinked as the slime shut the door and shed her raincoat and boots. "…I'm not saying a bath wouldn't be nice, but-" He paused as she pointed a finger rather imperiously at him, hand on her hip, hip cocked, eyes squinted. It was rather adorable.

"Strip!" She ordered, tapping a foot impatiently when he bemusedly rose from his bed and did, shivering slightly as he sat in the lukewarm water. She emptied a paper bag of pleasantly-scented flakes then plopped down next to him, making sure not to absorb the water before the herbs went to work, idly stirring it with a foot. Resting against her Master, she felt his flesh quiver and shake as he coughed into a hand, the redness of his skin only enhancing the depth of the bags around his eyes.

"…So what's this supposed to do?" He asked after a couple of minutes, swirling a hand through the water. His first thought had been a rather hysterical idea that she'd decided to marinate him before consuming his flesh, but that was probably the fever speaking. And besides, the people who lacked taste in his house were the ladies who'd decided he'd be their lover, heh-heh-heh.

Suu scooped some water up and poured it on his head, preparing to explain-

"-They're healing herbs from my home!" Mero announced proudly, handing off the small paper bag decorated with seashells and colored salmon pink. "My people, when we're sick, we fill a bath with these herbs and luxuriate until our bodies and minds are renewed! We are hoping that trading with the surface could stimulate our economy by selling these as curatives. And it's good for the skin and scales, too."

Rachnee opened the bag and peered inside, a little disappointed to see that said herbs were all drab colors, almost like they were dried plants of some kind and not magic. "And these work?" She asked skeptically, letting Cerea see.

"Of course!" The mermaid answered, the sounds of Miia rattling around in the kitchen echoing throughout the living room. "Why there was this one time when I was young that I became very ill, a rather wonderful time where my mother was by my side all day and night. She took me to the hotsprings beneath the cas-caves, beneath the caves, where she swaddled me in seaweed and poured an entire package of herbs into the spring. I was healed and swimming again soon after!" She clapped her hands enthusiastically, before pausing, "You know, I've told this story before and the agent started laughing. For some reason, the fact that it resembled a human cold and meant whenever I sneezed bubbles came out of my gills was very funny to him. I'm not sure why, it meant my lungs weren't separating water and oxygen properly. And it hurt."

They turned to look as the back suddenly opened and Haru stepped outside. She returned their questioning look and nodded her head away from the house. "I'm going to get a fish for my Husband. Food will make Haru's Husband strong. And then we can fly again." She said matter-of-factly, brow creasing in irritation as Papi fluttered across the living room.

"Yes! Papi will catch fish too! Hubby will be so happy!" She cheered, only for Haru to use her greater size and wingspan to block the door. "Hey! Why Haru block Papi?"

"Because, Cloudbrain, this is my idea," the Raptor Harpy retorted, "Find your own…if you can." And with a flap of her wings, she was gone. Papi turned back to the room, looking hurt and rubbing her cheek. Then the door opened and again Haru was back. "Also, he's my Husband, not your 'hubby.'" And then she left.

Yukio glanced up from her book, taking a look at the teary-eyed harpy. "…Rude," she muttered, then went back to reading.

"Wonder why," Rachnee shrugged, turning back to the room, "Anyway, Fishy, about those herbs…how long did it take for you to get better?"

Mero smiled cheerfully. "Just about-"

"-A week?" Saul replied incredulously, splashing his hand in the water. "Alright, that would've been nice to know before I got naked in the kiddie pool." Suu slumped, antenna dropping. He put an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her gently. "Not that I mind being naked with you, Suu, but humans tend to recover from sickness quickly. I'll probably be better tomorrow or the day after."

The slime squinted and nodded slowly, burning that information into her mind. She blinked as Saul stood up and stumbled out of the kiddie pool, slowly pulling his clothes back on and ignoring the wetness as he flopped onto the bed. He coughed dryly as she got out and went to retrieve the next exotic curative. When she returned, he was still coughing into his hand, blinking slowly and wheezing. "Master?" She asked softly, holding up what looked like a pile of bandages, because that's what they were.

"…Kinda wishing I'd stayed in the pool," he mumbled with a dry half-smile, wiping his lips before frowning at the pile of fabric in her arms. "What's that?"

"Rachnee called it-"

"-Venomsilk," the arachne strained another line of silk through her teeth, weaving it together with the rest. "Arachne don't deal with fevers very well, we tend to flail a lot and shred shit nearby. The numbing venom reduces pain, the silk stops them from flailing and then they just get over it in time." She huffed, expertly spinning the silk into a long bandage. "I'm not sure if Honey's the flailing kind of sick or if he'll just slip out like he always does, but I guess it's better than nothing."

"Why am I not surprised that an Arachne's idea of a soothing compress involves restraining the sick?" Cerea muttered to herself, crossing her arms.

"Got any better ideas than some salad and a run?" Rachnee asked flatly, not even looking up from weaving to see the centaur slump in dejection. "That's what I thought."

There was a loud thump outside before the back door opened and a damp Haru shook herself off, looking more than a little frazzled. Then she dragged a fish larger than Papi into the house, letting it thud wetly against the wood floor. "Feed a strong fish to your Husband, and he will be strong," she muttered, sounding like she was quoting someone as she stabbed a talon deep into its belly.

"Haru, no!" Cerea called, skin gaining a greenish tinge, "No butchering fish in the living room!"

The Raptor Harpy gave her a tired glare but conceded and dragged the fish back out, leaving a trail of slime and slowly oozing blood on the wood floor. Suu dutifully sucked it up through her feet, leaving the floor spotless as Rachnee finished weaving her bandages, piling them into the slime's arms. "Alright, first thing you do is-"

"-bandage the legs so they can't run away," Suu repeated, doing as instructed and tying off a bandage around Saul's knee, "Then the hands so they don't shred the restraints on their legs."

The author gazed at the wraps on his legs with glazed but interested eyes, experimentally wiggling his toes. "...I shouldn't be surprised that even Arachne medicine involves tying people up," he noted faintly, before a frown sluggishly bent his lips. "Wait…I can't feel my feet anymore, but I'm still burning up…because I have a fever, not anything broken…"

Suu paused in bandaging his right hand, tilting her head curiously. "No good?" She asked solemnly.

"N-not for this, I think," he coughed into his hand, licking his lips, "It's not a bad idea, just-just-" He coughed again, deeper and rougher until his breath came in pained, dry gasps. "W-water…is there water, Suu?"

She looked down at the kiddie pool, the soggy herbs gently swirling on the surface. "Water?" She asked, pointing at it.

"N-no, other water…" He spied a half-empty water bottle on the floor near his bed and reached for it, his right arm flopping uselessly. Sighing, Saul made to speak but was interrupted by a dry cough, followed by another and another until he was half-curled in on himself, body wracking from the force. Eyes glazed, face red and dripping with sweat, he attempted to roll over and grab the bottle with the only limb not bandaged with Venomsilk…but instead rolled off of his bed and thumped onto the floor, face down while also knocking the bottle over.

Suu gasped and hurried to his side, pushing him on to his back and finding him insensate, his eyes rolled up into his skull. She hurriedly wiped the sweat from his face and loosened the bandages, idly absorbing them into her body as she cast her eyes around for any kind of solution. Smith was still asleep in the chair, having not moved even an inch despite the various noises that had accompanied all of the ideas and their materials, which was worrying in of itself. The water bottle was slowly emptying onto the floor, a dark pool beginning to spread across the wood. She looked to the door, debating on whether she should go find one of the others, but she didn't want to leave him as he was.

…There was something she could do, but it could be considered a violation, especially by one as private as Saul. Nodding, Suu reached out with the tentacle atop her head and pressed it to Saul's burning forehead, laying bare his unconscious thoughts and desires. A flurry of images and sounds raced by her eyes, only able to pick out a few things here and there that made sense.

-an empty park, lavender hair brushing his cheeks, a multitude of red eyes shining with love, warmth and wetness against his-

"-this is the last-fucking-time I swear to god, I HATE being sick-"

-a lukewarm onsen, icy blue eyes set in a placid face but alight with emotion, easy to read as a book, a cool hand brushing through his hair-

"-I wonder if Suu is going to stop pretending-"

-an empty road, the sound of clopping his ears, a tail of blonde brushing his neck, his arms around her, her warmth contrasting the cool wind-

"-I am REALLY thirsty-"

-a scaled red tail curled around his legs, her back to his chest, his chin resting on red tresses, a delighted hum as he stroked her stomach while she read his book-

"-I kinda wish I'd stayed in the pool-"

-sitting back on a blanket, her blue hair fluttering in the breeze, deft strokes of a paintbrush bringing blank canvas to life, her soft, content hum filling the air-

"-actually, any kinda water would be nice right now-"

-floating on the surface, the taste of brine on his lips, a soft hand dwarfing his, orange eyes smiling down at him over fire as marshmallow and chocolate dripped from the corner of her lips-

"-...I think my face hurts…-"

-a placid river with idyllic green banks, nary a cloud in the sky, yellow eyes and a blank countenance with blue skin, idly holding his hand-

"-I should do something nice for Suu, she deserves it-"

-a cool form enveloping his, sparkling eyes and gentle coos before they kiss, a voice of liquid velvet murmuring, "I love you, Master…"-

"-...wait, when was that-?"

-a pair of pale, filthy arms reaching out of the screen, flailing for purchase before the owner falls out with a splat, brushing filth from ink-black hair, a protuberant, burning green eye staring at him-

"-that hasn't happened yet-"

-dark eyes peer at him over sunglasses, a teasing smirk on her lips before she drinks the coffee he'd made, crossing her stock-clad legs-

"-why am I thinking of Smith? I need to wake up…I'm so thirsty, my throat's burning…-"

Suu withdrew her tentacle from his forehead and her presence from his mind, stroking his cheek before nodding in determination.

…

The first thing Saul felt was refreshingly cold liquid sliding down his throat, followed by a sense of relief. The second was a bouncy, slightly jiggly experience, like he was resting on a bed made of jello. And the third was the realization that something was in his mouth, feeding him the water, followed by him recognizing that what was pushed between his lips was a nipple.

His eyes snapped open and he found himself looking at Suu's chest, though not her typical slender form; her body was the size of Tio's with breasts to match, one arm pillowing his head while her hand held him in place. He looked up across her collar and her slender neck, across her jaw and cheeks before landing on her soft yellow eyes, peering at him with care and adoration in her gentle smile.

Saul pulled back from her nipple with a soft smack. "Suu…" He started, noting that his throat no longer felt like sandpaper when he spoke, "You filtered your water and gave it to me?"

She nodded, stroking his cheek. He looked around, seeing Smith still sleeping before finding the empty kiddie pool and an empty water bottle on a dry floor, before noticing a line of cerulean slime leading under the door. Then he glanced down, remembering that his bed felt somewhat different than usual, and found that not only was Suu much larger, she was also only human-shaped from the waist up; what would've been her legs was instead a cocoon around his body from the neck down.

It was strange to look at and somewhat strange to be in, but Saul couldn't deny the sense of comfort he felt, suspended in cool blue gel. "…How do you have enough water for this?"

…

Hours Ago:

Papi wandered through the halls, grumbling to herself about the big meanie who refused to share her fish, when she found something that boggled her bird brain. A tiny Suu, merely her head and arms attached to a long cord of slime, was crawling across the wooden floor with tiny squeaks of effort. The harpy looked in the direction the li'l slime was heading and saw that it was the bathroom. "Huh…what Suu doing?" She asked, gently poking the miniature version of her friend with a talon.

Li'l Suu rolled from the impact with a grunt, shaking a tiny fist up at the harpy while cursing her out in a squeakily unintelligible voice before continuing her long crawl.

Papi tilted her head and giggled. "Suu need the potty?" She asked, opening the door to the bathroom with her foot, watching as the small slime-line crawled across the tile, up the wall and falling into the sink, then climbing up to the spout and opening her mouth to bite down on the spigot. Suu stretched out an arm and slowly twisted the handle, bulging like a hose as the water traveled down the tube, across the hall and under the Master Bedroom door. "…Weird."

…

"Damn…you really are handy, Suu," Saul muttered, leaning against the cool cushion of her breasts, enjoying that hand stroking his hair. "Ever since you appeared, you've done a lot for me…for the girls. A lot a lot, Suu." He blinked up at her, squinting a little. "What's it all for, though? What are you getting out of this? …What do you want, Suu?"

The slime looked down at him, her eyes glittering. She answered him with her lips, leaning down and kissing Saul firmly, slipping her tongue into his mouth to wrap around his own. He jumped at her taste, somehow sweet and refreshing yet oddly spicy at the same time, his eyes fluttering closed as he wrapped her in his arms…or at least tried, she was technically already holding him.

A hand ran through his hair, another sliding up the front of his shirt, another running down his back, another gently fondling his rapidly-hardening length…it felt as if she had twenty hands, all touching, rubbing, massaging and feeling his body.

Suu pulled back from him with a quiet pop, her eyes half-lidded and shimmering, her blue skin darker as if flushed. She licked her lips and moaned softly as he grasped at her thighs and ground against him, her cool skin heated to the touch. Another hand formed from the slime he rested in, gently pulling down his sleep shorts so that his erection literally sprang forth, slapping between her legs. She smirked at Saul and shifted, her head and chest reforming where her legs had been, her crotch now hovering temptingly over his lips.

Tired as he was, he knew an invitation when he saw it and slid his hands up to grope her bubbly rear and kiss her lips, grinding his nose against her core and pressing his tongue between. Part of him marveled at the sensation, how despite her body's makeup he could feel the ridges and walls of a woman around his tongue, tasting her arousal as his fingers sank into pliable skin without going inside. He felt more than heard Suu moan, her entire body subtly vibrating against him. Her voice, quiet as it was, was sweet. He wanted to hear more. He delved deeper, tongue flicking out to press her button, hands kneading her cheeks and thighs.

Suu loosed a low cry, trembling against him, then her head lowered and she took him into her mouth, all the way to the base in one go without the slightest hesitation. Buried as deep as he could go in her throat, her tongue slithered out and softly slathered at his sac, Saul bucking up into her. He groaned deeply, muffled by her folds as inside of her throat, far past her lips, more pairs of lips formed, kissing and pecking along every inch of his arousal. She was blowing him inside her own mouth.

He was lucky he was tired, otherwise the sheer sensory overload would've spelled the end of him. As it was, Saul clamped down on her rear and speared into her with his tongue, desperately trying to return the pleasure. Suu burbled around his length, her body quivering excitedly before warm liquid flooded his mouth; sweeter than water and yet refreshing all the same. At the same time, he couldn't restrain himself any longer, weakly thrusting up into her throat and letting go.

Saul gasped, lying back on the gel beneath him, his eyes fluttering as Suu gently sucked him clean, the slime sitting up. It was quite the sight, seeing his orgasm inside of her, a cloud of white dissipating and mixing with her blue. She turned around and softly lay atop him, cooing and wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Sorry, Suu," he mumbled, "You've really helped, but I'm just not recovered yet."

She nodded understandingly, kissing him gently. She jumped slightly, pointing a finger up in realization. Her arm stretched across the room, snatching the tube of supplement powder from the dresser before being reeled back in. Measuring some into her hand, Suu poured it into her mouth, the resultant cloud shifting down to her breasts, which she grabbed and shook vigorously. Saul blinked. Suu nodded to herself, then cupped the back of his head and pulled him up, feeding a nipple into his mouth.

Cool, sweet water flowed into his mouth and he could almost feel the vitality returning to him, though whether that was the drink or the impressive breasts in his face was a question for the philosophers. As he drank from one, his hand came up to knead the other, again marveling at the texture of her skin and how, despite literally being full of water, she didn't jiggle like a water balloon.

Suu burbled happily, her eyes lidded as life came rushing back to his erection, grinding her lips against him. With a little wiggle and a small adjustment, she pressed down and cooed as he sank inside of her, her walls squeezing down on him tighter than almost anything he'd ever felt before. Even though she was sitting still with his arousal fully buried in her, he could feel her moving, shifting, massaging and squeezing him…and the sight of his erection, a bit hazy but entirely visible through her gelatin-like body was quite exotic.

She removed her nipple from his mouth and replaced it with her tongue, wrapping Saul in her arms and moaning into his lips as he embraced her, running his hands up and down her back, reaching out to caress her hips, thighs and rear. Then her tentacles wrapped around his neck, the softly glowing yellow orbs touching his cheeks and she pressed down on him.

He wasn't sure how long it lasted, kissing and groping Suu as she writhed against him, her sweet, quiet moans in his ear, her sweet, refreshing taste on his tongue, floating in a world of blue where all he could do was grind inside of her. "Suu…" He mumbled in warning. The sensations doubled, heat radiating from Suu as she almost tried to pull him inside of her, every part of her bubbling lightly. It was such a strange, pleasant sensation, like being immersed in lightly boiling jello that he couldn't resist, mashing his mouth to hers and kissing desperately. He bucked into her and let go.

She made a sound, somewhere between a burble, a moan and almost a whistle and shuddered, entirely body jiggling…and then she sighed and relaxed, literally melting on top of him. He couldn't help but chuckle as she wrapped around him, cocooning him in her, a bunch of small lips pecking and his neck and face.

Saul breathed out, blinking open his eyes. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep again. Suu had reformed, holding him in her arms as she watched him sleep, eyes glittering. "That actually felt good for you, right?" He asked, which he hadn't meant to say, "Like…you weren't just pretending to make me feel better?"

Suu gave him an offended look, lightly slapping his cheek.

"Oh good," he sighed, slumping back against her, reaching up to cup her cheek, "Thank you for taking care of me, Suu. Once I'm back to a hundred-percent, I'll return the favor…somehow."

She shook her head silently and kissed him. "Silly Master," she whispered into his ear, "Suu loves taking care of you…Suu loves her Master."

"Saul," he mumbled back, "Master or not…I'll take care of you, too."

Suu sighed gently and embraced him, humming as his hand stroked her back.

Saul jumped. "Ah," he said, looking down at the foot of his bed where Smith sat in her chair, still conked out and dead to the world, "…I forgot she was here." Suu giggled as he blushed. "I also…really gotta pee."

With the slime girl's help, the author got to his feet and after finding himself just a little wobbly, managed to get from the bedroom to the bathroom and back again with little trouble. As they were walking back in, the agent sat up from her chair, stretching her arms out and releasing a long, jaw-cracking yawn.

"Sleep okay, Kuroko?" Saul asked, making her startle.

"Oh, Saul!" She stumbled to her feet and tripped into him, her long black hair slapping against his face, "What the hell were you thinking? Zombina told us what you and that one chick did, why would you think that was anything close to a good idea?"

He shrugged lamely, hugging her and breathing in her coffee scent. "I felt like I owed her, our history is…" Saul shook his head with a grunt, "Doesn't matter. What happened last weekend will not happen again, I promise you that. Sorry for being stupid, Kuroko."

"Hmph!" She withdrew, tapping him sharply on the nose, "At least you understand your position…" Her eyes wavered, "Though I'm not…the one you need to…apologize-" Her legs trembled and she collapsed back into the chair, her face flushed.

"What the-" Saul and Suu hurried next to her, pressing the back of his hand to her forehead, "Jesus, Kuroko, you're burning up!" He grasped her chin and tilted her head up, brushing her hair away. The bags under her eyes were almost like bruises, contrasting with her pale, sweating face. "…Damn, you really don't look good."

"M'fine," the agent mumbled thickly, "Just need a li'l coffee…"

Suu held up a pill bottle and rattled it, making the humans look at her. Saul took the bottle with a frown, narrowing his eyes as he read the label. "Caffeine pills, Sumike?" He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "How much sleep have you gotten in the last week, hm?" He pushed her back down as she slowly tried to rise, "Don't answer that. You're immunocompromised right now, why the hell would you volunteer to watch over my sick ass?"

"Is-izz my re-responsibilility," Kuroko stammered, blinking hard and trying to stand up, "I gotta…gotta go-"

Saul picked her up under the shoulders and halfway dragged her towards the bed. "That's right, you gotta go to bed," He said firmly, sweat dotting his forehead, "I'm not letting you kill yourself, Kuroko. You took care of me…kinda, so it's my turn to take care of you."

"N-no!" She shoved him away, inadvertently pushing herself back onto his mattress, flailing sluggishly before trying to get back up, "My-my job, gotta-" Her eyelids fluttered, then she took a deep breath and sneezed.

Not much is known about slime biology, but one thing is definitely certain: their slime is acidic. Suu had cocooned Saul for several hours and even though she was diluting herself with water, her natural acidity had still gone to work.

Kuroko sneezed, and Saul's clothes disintegrated into dust.

The agent blinked at him, eye-level with his bare crotch. "…Oh," she mumbled, then fell back on the mattress in a dead faint.

"Suu, block the door," Saul ordered, blinking as he looked over and found the slime already covering the entrance, "Oh. Good job!" She flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. Saul looked down at the unconscious, sick woman on his bed. "…Well, alright then."

…

…

…

…

…

…

A/N: Well fuck me running, I bet you never thought you'd see this story ever again, did you?

Speaking honestly, I don't know what the fuck happened. I posted the last chapter, immediately got to work on this one, got halfway through and just…couldn't write anymore. I'd get this niggle in my mind every so often and come back to peck at this like a sparrow trying to eat a fruitcake, but it just wouldn't gel.

And then it did, so now I'm back and the chapter is finally, finally finished.

The worst part is, I don't actually know if anyone who read this story previously and has been waiting for more is still around, or if they'll even get a notice 'cause FF keeps fucking up.

So, all I say is: I'm sorry it took so damn long to finish this. If y'all are still interested in the story, I'm moving it over to AO3 (along with most of my other stuff eventually) and I'll keep working on it if you are.

Stay Awesome.

~Soleneus