Mirio stood at the edge of the big cylindrical tank built into the back wall of their home—a crystal-clear reservoir surrounded by polished stone, enchanted to maintain Lily's perfect core temperature and hydration. Once a week, he cleaned it top to bottom. It was an involved job: draining the old water, scrubbing the walls, recharging the rune base, and refilling it with freshly filtered spring water.
Lily's "home," as she called it, needed love just like she did.
He rolled up his sleeves and sighed as he looked at the thick layer of slime residue built up near the filtration panel.
"Okay, Lily," he said, stretching, "you're gonna have to stay out of the tank for a bit. I've got to scrub the inner runes."
She sat on the floor behind him in her soft, cozy form—knees hugged to her chest, tentacle-hair resting around her like a halo. She blinked once. Then shook her head.
Mirio frowned. "What do you mean, 'no'? You can't help with this. You'll get in the way."
She stood up.
Her body pulsed—blue shimmering into aquamarine—and she rose gracefully to her full, curvy height. Her raincoat dissolved instantly into her slime, leaving her nude and glowing. She stepped forward with a wobble in her hips and wrapped her arms around his shoulders from behind, pressing her cold chest to his back.
He stiffened. "Lily. This is not cuddle time. This is maintenance."
She purred softly against his ear.
Then flowed upward—melting across his back and over his head until she'd blanketed him completely, like a living suit of cooling gel. Her body clung to him, her slime soft and squishy, her arms sliding down his chest as she guided his hands back to the tank.
"You're not helping," he grumbled, trying to pull free.
She didn't let go.
Instead, she melted downward—slipping into the tank with a graceful splash, her glow filling the clear water with glittering color. She twisted through the current like a ribbon, then extended two of her tentacle-hair strands and wrapped them gently around his wrists.
He leaned over the edge and scowled. "Lily. I need to clean. Not cuddle."
She drifted up slowly, arms spread, chest bouncing with every ripple of movement. Her form was extra smooth today—likely on purpose—and the water around her shimmered as her breasts floated into view just beneath the surface, squishing slightly as they rose.
Then she smiled.
And pulled.
Mirio yelped as she yanked him into the tank, fully clothed, water splashing up over the edge and soaking the floor.
By the time he surfaced, sputtering, she was wrapped around him—her arms around his chest, her thighs gripping his hips, her soft breasts pressed to his back. Her tentacle-hair curled around his legs, anchoring him in place as she slowly rocked him from side to side in the lukewarm current.
"This is not cleaning!" he shouted, trying to swim.
She tightened her grip, then let out a slow, sensual moan.
His ears turned red.
"You're doing this on purpose."
She kissed his neck.
He groaned, floating there in her arms while she giggled and gently pulled him underwater with her. Inside the tank, everything was clear and still. She moved like a current around him, her body dissolving and reforming in soothing waves. Her hands melted into the water, then reformed on his chest. Her chest flattened against his back, then bounced up in front of him with a squish.
She was everywhere.
She pressed her lips to his forehead. Then his nose. Then drifted down to his chest, covering him like a warm, affectionate blanket of gel.
He wriggled helplessly as she lovingly rubbed against his sides. She slowly scrubbed him with her body—playfully mimicking what he was supposed to be doing to the tank. Her hands molded into sponge-like shapes, squishing and bouncing as she dragged them across his back and neck. Her thighs coiled around his hips and rubbed in circular motions, sending shivers up his spine.
"You're seriously using your body as a loofah?" he muttered underwater.
She nodded with a proud smile.
Then gently shoved him against the wall of the tank and pressed her chest to his face, bubbling softly in approval. His voice muffled instantly as her nipple bounced into his mouth by accident, releasing a tiny squirt of purified core water.
He jerked away. "Okay! Okay, fine! We clean together! Just let me breathe!"
She giggled and swirled around him again, this time pulling him down with her to the floor of the tank. As they sank, she formed soft pads under his feet, then extended her arms across the rune-inscribed surface. Her fingertips became tiny scrubbers. She handed him one, made of firmer slime, and pressed it into his palm.
He blinked. "You made me a… sponge?"
She nodded.
He sighed and started scrubbing.
She hovered beside him, watching happily, her body pressed to his side. Every time he moved, she moved with him—chest pressed to his arm, thigh stuck to his hip, tentacle-hair coiling around his waist. She kissed his cheek every few seconds. Hugged his head when he finished a section. Slid her fingers through his hair and purred when he complimented the water temperature.
Eventually, the tank gleamed.
He collapsed on the inner shelf at the edge of the wall, soaked and panting.
She floated above him, spinning slowly in place, arms open.
Then she dropped into his lap and molded around him like a slime blanket, her body heavy, cool, and soft. Her breasts squished against his neck, her core pressed to his chest.
He leaned back and closed his eyes. "Next time… I'm locking you out."
She kissed his chin.
Then whispered:
"Tank clean. Mate clean too."
He opened one eye.
She smiled. Then pulled the water around them into a whirlpool and swirled them both into the air before crashing back down into a full-body cuddle.
Soaked. Clean.
And stuck with the clingiest slime in the world.