Chapter 12: Expensive

A trail of clothes leads to Daniel's bedroom, where sweet hums, heavy breaths, and creaks spill out. Within, the artist lies on top of his firmer slime mother, immersing himself between her legs with growing fervor.

"Hmm...Daniel~"

Anne takes her son's thrusts easily, lovingly calling his name between the presses of their lips. This spurs the artist forward, sliding his member along her slimy walls until his hips slap against her new skin. However, with each thrust, her gel walls tug his member, making it difficult to hold out and maintain momentum.

Daniel is also concerned about seeing her body literally compress and expand underneath him. The fact that she feels nothing and has no skeletal structure makes it easy to think he's being too aggressive.

"A-are you, hah, sure you're okay?" Daniel asks between breaths, pulling away a little from her face.

Anne harrumphs, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I already told you: Mama is fine! Rather than that, you need to relax more. Here, let mama take care of you~"

After all, it's hardly appropriate for her sweet baby to exert himself.

Daniel gasps, having no say in the matter, as her legs wrap around his hips, drawing him deeper into her. With no room to thrust, he can only resign himself to his mother's hold and groan as his cock is massaged by her being. Hearing such pleasure, Anne hums contently and kisses him on the cheek, urging him to release. It wouldn't take long, given how her mass was milking him.

"Oh fuck, mom!"

As he pulses into her body, Anne rubs his shivering back and coos, "That's it, sweetie. Mama loves you so much~"

Proceeding to brush and scratch the back of his head, Daniel's eyes flutter as he comes down from his sexual high. No matter how he sees it, this is pretty one-sided. He understands that Anne is limited in how she feels, but is there nothing he can do but let her take the reins?

"So you really feel nothing, huh?" he questions, sliding off to her side.

Stopping her play against his hair, Anne sits up a little and sighs. "Sadly, but it's okay! I may not feel physically, but holding you still makes me happy!"

Daniel snorts. "That seems unfair though, plus I can't allow myself to be spoiled by you all the time."

Anne leans forward and narrows her eyes. "Why not? Amy spoiled you a lot when you were little, plus mama still has a lot to catch up to with you!"

The artist straightens, unwavering. "Exactly, when I was little. Rather than that, it's my turn to spoil you, don't you think?"

Unexpectedly, his slime mother lifts her chin. "Well, mama doesn't mind! In fact, you did mention we're going out for shopping, right?"

As her eyes shine, Daniel drops his head and chuckles. "Wow, what a way to twist it into your favor, but yes, we definitely have to go shopping for you. Before that, I'll have to find some clothes for you to wear. Luckily, I think I have some of Amy's clothes in a box which hasn't been donated yet, so maybe there's something you can wear temporarily, but..."

He scans his mother's curvy form and twists his lips. "You'll probably have to downsize yourself a bit."

Anne blinks a few times before looking at herself. "Ah? You're right. Speaking of, do you like my current size?"

Daniel coughs. "Well, as an artist, I appreciate all forms, but as a guy..."

His slime mother hums slyly, leaning into him. "Oh sweetie, you don't need to say anymore! Mama understands~"

"R-right," Daniel begins, a little flushed, before widening her eyes. "Wait! Can't you make clothes for yourself?"

At this, Anne flinches and slowly draws back, looking away. "Er, that's..."

Daniel blinks, raising his brows. "Mom...what's wrong?"

His slime mother fidgets before glancing down, ashamed. "So...um, I've been wondering when to tell you this, but...we may have to do additional shopping for food."

"Huh? I thought I stocked some stuff yesterday?"

Anne starts shivering. "B-because, mama...ate everything in your fridge and pantry after creating my new skin."

"What?!"

The slime mother shuts her eyes tightly. "M-mama didn't mean to hide it! Even though it's easy to maintain this form now and make small changes, building out my entire layer and coloring took a lot out of me! I ended up being so hungry and...I couldn't control myself!"

Daniel groans, placing his hand over his face. "And then you continued painting without telling me, huh?"

"Aah! Mama was going to tell you! I just...I'm sorry!"

The artist breathes out slowly. With closed eyes and a snort, he removes his hand from his face and places on top of her head, stroking. "So, I'm guessing that means you can't just transform drastically as you want, huh?"

Anne lowers her head with her lips quivering. At times, it feels like she's the child, which makes it all worse. "No, again...m-mama is-"

"It's alright," Daniel interrupts, his tone firm. "The worst thing that could've happened is if I saw you as a puddle and I don't want to ever see that again."

"But...I'm expensive, aren't I?"

Daniel breathes out. "Mom, you're priceless! What's done is done. We'll head to the grocery store after getting you clothes, okay?"

With a guilty smile, Anne nods, moving to hug her son. As she does, Daniel wraps his arms around her and internally sweats. Although she really is priceless, he starts doubting whether he can maintain his bank balance.

The remainder of the morning continues. After finding an old red buttoned blouse and a pair of jeans in an box in his closet, he feels relieved that his slime mother will no longer be naked. He could have given her clothes before, but she never appeared dry enough compared to now.

Obviously, there was no breakfast to make, but thankfully, Anne had left his coffee alone. Still, he was shocked that everything in his pantry, cabinets, and fridge was nearly cleaned out, as she claimed. That includes raw items like flour, eggs, and whatever meat was left uncooked in his fridge.

Anne apologized again but refused to elaborate on how she acted, only saying it was a shameful display.

Regardless, the matter is left alone, but given how much of the day will be cut short on shopping, Daniel opts to do as much work on the twins' painting before he'd depart outside with Anne for lunch. Although a small part of him worries someone would notice something off about her, he trusts his own judgment. After all, he's painted many people with various details, and his new mother before him has plenty of details that most would overlook.

"Oh, by the way, how is Rachel?" Anne asks suddenly as she works in the base colors of her self-portrait.

Daniel blinks, surprised, before turning his head away from his canvas towards her. "You remember her?"

Anne places her brush down for the moment and huffs. "How could I not remember her?! She's my..."

Pausing, the slime mother lowers her gaze before correcting herself. "Well, she's Amy's best friend and colleague, but more importantly, she should be like an aunt to you! After all, she was the one who was by Amy's side when you were born and..."

As more memories are recalled, Anne bites her lips bitterly. "...her death. Even though I know I'm only a carrier, the sight of you and Rachel crying for her really tore her apart...and it tears me apart when I think about it."

Daniel breathes in slowly, putting down his brush as well. He smiles reassuringly. "Then you can rest easy, mom. She's doing well. After you died, she cared for me: letting me stay at her place for a while so I wouldn't be alone, bringing me food, and supporting me like I was her own child. However, I couldn't continue taking advantage of her kindness, so in a way, she helped push me to move on and support myself quickly."

Anne relaxes, her eyes softening. "That's a relief. Where is she now? Is she still part of the institute?"

Daniel nods. "Last I recall, she is, but she's been busy, so I'm not sure where she is currently. But, if you look her up now, she's grown quite popular in science circles! It feels like she's being invited to talks and conferences about her work constantly. I'll be honest though, we haven't been talking as much as we used to, but she still checks up on me occasionally. I think mostly she's moved on as well."

"You think?"

"Well, I've never asked her explicitly, but we carry Amy differently in our hearts. At some point, she stopped crying much earlier than me when she visited the grave."

"I see..."

Although Daniel doesn't mistake the sadness that flickers across Rachel's face whenever they talk about his mother. Moving on doesn't mean one forgets, but that should be expected. Regardless, Daniel doesn't want Anne to worry too much.