Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/557324.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Choose_Not_To_Use_Archive_Warnings, Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Homestuck
  Relationship:
      Rose_Lalonde/Equius_Zahhak
  Character:
      Rose_Lalonde, Equius_Zahhak
  Additional Tags:
      Fluffy_sick_care, no_specified_age, But_kind_of_young_so
  Stats:
      Published: 2012-11-08 Chapters: 1/2 Words: 2714
****** Cluckbeast Noodle Soup ******
by SuperImposed
Summary
     A very, very old fill for a kink meme prompt for sick care.
Notes
     Kind of an old one. The sequel's been in the works (as in nothing
     happening >>) for some time now. Made a few changes.
     Original prompt: http://homesmut.livejournal.com/
     5183.html?thread=2312767#t2312767
“While I do appreciate this, you are not-”
“Quiet.” Slim, pale fingers pluck the thermometer from his mouth as he types on
a nearby husktop. She pulls it away and sends a message to Kanaya. “Hmm.
Apparently you are several degrees too warm – even for you.” Rose turns to look
at the bedridden, sweating troll.
Equius looks plaintively back, feeling bare without his shades. He tries to get
out of the weird, flat ‘bed’ thing. “I assure you, I am quite fine. I am very
STRONG, and-” He slips, Rose barely able to catch him. She struggles his clammy
body back into bed, the strong troll not helping out of fear he’ll harm her.
“You are not fine. You are sick, and you must rest in order to convalesce. Stay
here.” When the brawny boy looks to argue, Rose adds, “That is an order.”
Equius shudders and says nothing, but the amount of sweat coating his body
increases.
Rose stands back and fondly regards considers the sick mechanic. Until recently
the human didn’t even know trolls could get sick. A bout of something much like
the flu had struck them not long after the four had entered the Veil, and while
she was thankful it seemed noncommunicable to humans, it had hit their hosts
hard, and in waves. With one group recovering, one sick, and one catching, much
had been left up to the kids, including sickcare.
That had led to some interesting conversations with Jade over proper and
improper ways to do things, such as how to dampen a towel. Even now Rose felt
her shoulders shake with silent glee at Eridan’s reaction. It would take much
time and bribery for anyone to forget the expression on his face.
Speaking of, it was time for the cloth on her own ward’s head to be changed
out. Rose removed it, replacing the washrag with a fresher, cooler one. Equius
sighed, sounding marginally more comfortable, as she did so.
Rose realized that that had been the last of the clean cloths, and while they
theoretically could be reused, the high quantity and unusual properties of the
boy’s sweat made that an inadvisable option. She gathered up the used rags and
headed to the bathroom. Upon entering the room she was struck again by an
amusing memory, this time of the trolls’ reactions to the common human names
for various items such as a bath tub or toilet.
Apparently these were ‘hoity-toity’ names used mainly by the upper-class
trolls, who had (generally) been pleased as punch when they realized that had
bled over to the world they had created.
Rose felt tears prick her eyes, forgetting the running faucet as she bowed her
head over the sink. A world that was now gone. The blonde tried to swallow the
lump in her throat. Some of the trolls had been sympathetic, but they came from
a race of intergalactic conquerors originating from the most crapsack planet in
existence. Few, if any, held positive connotations for it. They just couldn’t
understand how hard it was, for your home to be gone, for your race to be
essentially dead before you were even an adult.
“Miss Lalonde?” Rose half-jumps at the noble’s cautious inquiry, turning off
the taps and quickly finishing her task.
“Yes, Equius?” she asks, and feels a bit of pride that her voice barely
quavers.
There was silence a moment. “I just heard the water running for a bit of a long
time. My apologies.”
“No, it’s quite alright. I should have known my constant presence and care
would have caused some separation anxiety.” The joke lifts her spirits a
little, and the corners of her mouth follow suit. She gathers the rags and
returns to the sickbed.
“Wha- that’s 100dicrous- I most certainly-”
“I was joking, Equius,” the blonde murmurs, setting the washcloths into a fresh
bowl of ice water. The noble tries, but he’s never really gotten the hang of
sarcasm. In some ways he’s even worse than Kanaya at it.
“Oh,” he deadpans, and the blue on his face can’t all be from the fever. Rose
lets him see the smile on her face as she turns back to him. She thinks he’s
going quiet now, but he surprises her. “You know, I- I was, confused, the first
few times we talked. Er. Chatted.”
Rose turns to face him more fully. He stares at the ceiling as he continues.
“Your choice of te%t color; it was; that is; trolls prefer to use their b100d
color. I was; under the impression; that you were; somewhat more important than
the rest.”
The flighty broad young blond smirks. “You say that as if you have now been
proven wrong.” Equius looks confused, and Rose withholds a sigh. “Another joke,
Equius.”
“Ah.” She can’t tell if he affected the cough to hide his embarrassment or if
it was sincere. Rose frowns and drifts over to his side. She places the back of
one cool hand, icy in comparison to his boiling skin, to the troll’s brow.
Equius gasps sharply.
Rose eyes him with concern. “Are you- well, not well, but-” she stops short as
his hand comes up, stopping just before he touches her skin. His expression is
torn, and she becomes curious.
“Side effect…..of the virus,” he mumbles, fully flushed in the face now.
“Nothing to be concerned about.”
The human is tempted to answer snarkily, but something draws her eye. In
retrospect, it’s amazing she ever missed it, and the noble thought he could
hide it.
Equius squawks when she stands and ambles over, ineffectually half-trying to
grab her, terrified that she’ll break but mortified that she’s seen. “Perhaps
my earlier hypothesis hit closer to the mark than intended, hmm?” He blues even
more, partially sitting up and partially trying to curl over the embarrassment.
“Or is this another….side effect?”
“It-it is nothing, please disregard!” the noble all but shouts, waving his arms
feebly in a manner that would not even distract John. “I-I am just; not used to
touch; that is physical contact with another; because I am so STRONG you see;
so-” he freezes into a statue when Rose brushes a fingertip across his lips.
Equius remains silent as Rose inspects the new tent he is involuntarily making
in the blanket. The blonde human breathes quietly, doesn’t say anything. She
smiles at him, one of those cool smiles of hers, but he relaxes all at once.
Somehow she isn’t disgusted, isn’t repulsed. His blue blush takes on a slightly
more delicate tinge.
Then the husktop buzzes and the spell is broken. Rose trots over and checks the
message. She sighs and runs a hand along her forehead before turning to him.
“It seems John’s made yet another royal mess of things. Will you be all right
while I go to sort it out?”
“Of course.”
“All right then. Stay here; do not get up unless you have to. That is an
order,” she says, as she casually strolls away, a parting shot that makes
things no easier for the strain at his crotch.
 
About an hour later, Rose returns, exhausted. She really wishes she had gotten
a chance to shower before coming back, but she’d left the noble alone too long.
She just hoped she had managed to wipe all the slime off.
Speaking off….it seems her charge had been sweating the entire time she was
gone. Not just that – there is still quite a tent in the blankets. Her brows
furrow in concern as she briskly walks over to him.
Equius stares at the ceiling, desperately trying to avoid eye contact. He can’t
helps sneaking a glance, however, when she stops by his side and says nothing.
Her violet eyes lock on to his and he looks away, flustered at being caught and
a number of other things.
“Are you all right?” Her cool hand grazes his brow once more, and he nearly
flinches away like he was burned. Rose frowns. “I can’t tell if the heat is a
result of the fever, embarrassment, or both.”
She notices that he hasn’t changed the cloths and, tching under her breath,
goes to do so. She can practically feel his eyes on her as she pulls a still-
cold rag from the bowl, replacing the warm one on his head. He sighs a little
in relief- then yelps as she pulls off the blanket.
The human eyes Equius critically. “You’re soaked,” she murmurs, matter-of-fact
and making him blush. This deepens when she grabs the edge of his shirt.
“Wh-what are you doing?!” She pulls away a little, expression still totally
composed.
“You need a wash and a change of clothes. I’m hardly going to ask you to stand
in your condition, but I can still sponge-bathe you.”
The noble’s face seems to want to stay blue today. “Y-you’ll do no such thing!
I-I am perfectly capable of cleansing myself!” With that, he all but rockets
out of the bed and head to the bathroom.
Rose follows, noting he didn’t close the door and attributing it to his worry
at breaking it. She pressed herself to it, getting an eyeful of his bare chest.
“Need any help?” she asks, half-teasingly. He turns, and she swears he somehow
contrives to make his face even bluer as she catches her eye.
“T-that is not necessary, thank you, please just close the door!” Rose chuckles
quietly to herself and complies.
Equius quickly captchalogues the rest of his sweaty clothes, gently nudging
(and denting) the taps. Soon the tub is full, and he sinks in, not even gasping
at the coldness of the water.
The noble relaxes for a few minutes, before gathering the various cleaning
products that the trolls had been forced to get used to, and trying to scrub
himself. This was always an ordeal – usually he asked Nepeta for help, but she
was still recovering from her own illness. That was, in retrospect, probably
how he had gotten sick in the first place – trying to help care for the sick
catgirl at all hours, despite the humans’ warnings and reassurances.
“Oh, drat,” he murmured, as another bar of soap became powder in his hands. He
really couldn’t do this all on his own, he was just so shy proud…
He didn’t even realize the door had opened until she knelt by the tub. Equius
jumped at the flicker of movement, gray face becoming suffused with blue as he
realized the human had entered the bathroom against his wishes. “Miss Lalonde!
What are you-”
Rose smiled and took a surviving bar of soap from his unresisting hands. She
wetted it in the tub water, sleeves already rolled back, and gently ran it
along the strong troll’s muscles. He held totally still, watching her as one
watches a deer delicate hoofbeast – quiet, afraid it will flee.
She caught his eye and smiled up at him, making his face heat even more. When
the human bent back to the task at hand, he tried hard not to just start
sweating all over again.
The noble looked half-away, head tilted back, with the kind of expression grubs
wear when trying to look innocent. He squeaked, however, an adorable sound,
when her hand delved into the waters near his thigh. His, er, problem was still
quite visible, and he felt horribly self-conscious.
Rose glanced up a little, very obviously not-smirking at him. “Is it normal for
this to last so long?” she asks, as if she weren’t the one to send him into the
delicious state of arousal, as if she hadn’t issued an order before leaving,
compounding the problem.
“I- er! cannot take c-care of it myself,” he mumbles, ashamed. The blue-blood
curls one hand over his eyes, missing her sudden change in expression.
“I see.” Silence reigns a moment. “Would you like me to help?”
Equius gasps, hand falling away so he can stare at her. The human’s expression
is somewhat mischievous, but at the same time caring. “B-bucket filling? Here?
I c001dn’t- it w001d be terribly improper- ...w00ld you please?” He can’t tell
which of them is more surprised by the last statement, and waves his hands
erratically. “I- I mean-! That was completely 100d, I c001d never- um....” He
trails off, still shocked, and he can tell that she is as well.
Rose recovers first, smiling warmly through his blustering corrections. “No, it
was quite reasonable,” she says, as if he’d just asked her for something
perfectly mundane. Her brow furrowed a moment, leaving him worried she was
changing her mind, but she only asked “Should we wait until after you’re clean?
Or…”
Equius cleared his throat, trying to seem business-like and failing. “C-
considering my tendency; to sweat copiously; it is perhaps best to; that is-”
“Got it.” In more ways than one - the blue-blood gasps and then moans as a slim
hand closes most of the way around his bulge - her exceptionally long fingers
still only make it most of the way. The ache begins to lessen as she gently
pumps it, a look of neutral concentration on her face. Her free hand finds a
bottle of some slick substance the troll has never found use for, but when she
coats her pale fingers in it and the returns to rubbing his pained shaft the
Sagittarius can’t help but let out a quiet cry.
Half her movements are pleasuring, and half exploration – pleasurable in their
own way, as Rose curiously rings her digits around the bumps in his bone, the
ridges around his bulge, and especially under his small sheath – the noble
hisses when one finger finds its way in there, far smaller and gentler than any
troll’s, not tipped with lethal claws.
“This is good?” she asks, and he realizes the sound could mean a multitude of
things.
“Y-y-yes, very,” the strong boy reassures her, and then can only moan as she
tests just how many digits can fit, movements careful but excruciating. “O-
oh….Miss Lalonde, please…”
“Keep doing that?”
“Ohh, yessss….” Equius wrapped his arms around himself, the only thing in the
room he wouldn’t break. Encouraged, Rose dipped her fingers into and out of
him, much more sure of this motion, marveling at the pale blue lubricant that
was starting to coat her hand.
“Is this quite normal?”
“Yes, ah-” Equius hissed as her thin digits probed his innermost parts. Rose
marveled at the unusual appendage and favorable reactions.
“May I ask as to the nature of this...slit?”
“I- uh! it is a cop001ation sheath, ah! designed for the taking in of, uh!
other males’ bulges-!” Equius squirmed now, her touch delighting and exciting
his already burning se% drive.
“Is that so?” she murmured. If that was the case, then...
The noble shuddered sharply as another finger found its way inside. “Oh- oh,
miss-” he sucked in breath through broken teeth as she plunged all four digits
inside, the extremities rubbing delightfully against his inner nodes as her
thumb moved in small circles directly under the head, occasionally ghosting
over one of the bumps in his bone and making him squeal.
The human kept it up for a while, pumping slick fingers in and out until he was
very nearly on the verge, then suddenly withdrew, making the strong troll whine
embarrassingly. He shuddered as her hand returned, wrapping around his bulge
once more, his own lubrication slime slicking it even more.
Equius gasps and barely prevents himself from bucking, the ache of the last few
hours fading rapidly as a newer, hot feeling rises up. “Mis- R-Rose!”
Her other hand come up, covering his tip and quickly becoming spattered with
burningly bright blue genetic fluid. Equius tries to apologize, to say
anything, but then one of those pale fingers smoothly moves up to her mouth,
and her pink tongue flickers out, tasting it, and if the Sagittarius weren’t so
spent he’d be hard all over again. As it is he sinks against the back of the
tub, exhausted, as she wipes her hands off and goes to empty the basin.
 
“Now,” Rose murmurs, smirking at him. “Stay still so I can clean you. That’s an
order.”
Equius tried very hard to hide the glee in his eyes.
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