Nap Time

Mirio barely made it through the front door before his legs gave out under him. His bag slipped off his shoulder and hit the floor with a soft thud, and he flopped onto the couch like a man who had just survived a marathon made entirely of errands and social obligations. His shirt clung to his back, his arms felt like lead, and his eyelids were already halfway closed.

From the kitchen came a familiar soft plop plop of approaching slime footsteps.

"Hubbyyy~" Lily's voice rang out, bright and bubbly. "You look like you've been run over by a bus made of to-do lists!"

Mirio groaned into the couch cushion. "I'm not even sure I made it home. This could be a dream."

Lily giggled and slid beside the couch, resting her soft cheek against his shoulder. "You're real. Very squishable. And very sleepy."

"I feel like I could pass out for three days," he mumbled.

Her eyes sparkled. "Wanna try something new?"

"That's usually a dangerous sentence."

"I mean nap-wise~"

"…Still dangerous."

She kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear. "Nap inside me."

That woke him up. "Wait, what?"

She backed up slightly and raised both hands with a proud smile. "I've been working on a new shape all week! I've finally figured out how to be a full-body waterbed! You know, like those fancy ones people sleep on in sci-fi movies! I can keep your body supported and cooled from every angle, gently pulse for relaxation, and even maintain optimal nap squish levels."

Mirio stared at her.

Lily wiggled in place. "Come on~ You're always saying I feel like a heated pillow. Now you can nap inside your pillow."

He considered it for a long moment. Then sat up. "...Will I suffocate?"

"Nope! Built-in airflow! I'll leave your head exposed and filter the air through my core."

"What if I roll over?"

"I am the bed. Wherever you roll is me~"

He gave her a long, skeptical look. "…Alright. I'm too tired to argue."

Her eyes lit up.

She instantly melted into a puddle on the carpet, then swelled outward into a wide, wobbling, translucent mattress-shaped blob. She adjusted her density until she was firm but squishy, cool to the touch but slowly warming to match his body heat. Gentle ripples pulsed across her surface like the calm waves of a peaceful lagoon.

"Welcome to Hotel Lily~" she said with a wink. "Please remove your socks before entry~"

He snorted, kicked off his shoes and socks, and lowered himself onto her.

His body sank slightly. Then stilled. Then slowly… floated.

She was perfect. His back relaxed instantly, his legs felt weightless, and his arms sank in just enough to feel cradled. He let out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a groan as his head tilted back onto the softest part of her center.

Lily purred. "Comfort level… MAXIMUM~"

He shifted once, burying himself deeper in her gel. "This might be the best idea you've ever had."

Her goo formed gently curving sides, hugging his torso without restricting him. Two loops of her slime curled lightly over his arms, not to trap him—just to remind him she was there. Her core pulsed faintly beneath his chest, syncing with his breathing.

She whispered, "Nap time engaged~"

Mirio's eyes fluttered closed.

For several minutes, there was only the hum of the apartment, the patter of rain against the windows, and the soft, slow waves of Lily's gel pulsing up and down in time with his breath. The entire bed shifted to accommodate every movement he made—no resistance, no awkward corners. She was warmth and stillness and cool pressure all at once.

He mumbled something unintelligible.

Lily giggled softly. "What was that, hubby?"

"…Dreaming about pancakes…"

"I can be pancakes."

"Don't you dare."

She wrapped a gentle tendril across his chest and whispered, "I love you."

He mumbled something that sounded like "love you too," but she couldn't tell if it was to her or to the pancakes. Either way, she was satisfied.

Half an hour passed.

She kept herself still and perfectly cradled around him, cooling slightly when she sensed a change in his body temperature, warming back up when his toes twitched. Every now and then, he let out a tiny snore or muttered something about a vending machine. She thought it was adorable.

Then, as he stirred slightly and yawned, she pulled back some of her upper gel and kissed his forehead. "Good nap?"

He blinked awake and rubbed his eyes. "I don't know where I am. But I feel… amazing."

She beamed. "You were inside me~"

"Stop saying that like it's a pickup line."

"But it is a pickup line."

He yawned again, still floating gently inside her like a drowsy prince in a living water balloon. "Okay. Maybe we replace the bed permanently."

"I knew it!" she cheered, jiggling in victory and causing a small wave to lift his arms. "Now taking reservations for nightly cuddles and breakfast-in-slime!"

"I'll take the all-you-can-snooze package."

She leaned in, her face appearing beside his, hair-tentacles wrapping gently around his head like a living hood.

"Already booked for life, hubby~"

And with that, he melted back into her arms, and the nap resumed—with Lily proudly holding her title as the world's softest, squishiest mattress girlfriend.