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The heavy curtains over the windows in Schuldich's room did a good job of keeping the sun out, even at noon on the brightest summer day. Nor would Schuldich permit Nagi to set any kind of alarm, claiming he'd read somewhere that the shock of waking to the harsh sound of an alarm over the course of the years shortened your lifespan.
Personally Nagi was fairly certain his Master just didn't want to have to wake up one moment before he was forced to, but he never would have said something like that to the older man. He was slowly growing to accept that the boundaries of 'acceptable behaviour' with his current Master were considerably different than what he was used to, but outright insulting the man like that would have been just begging for punishment.
Despite the lack of sun or alarm clock, Nagi always awoke at the same time every day. It was part of his routine, and his body was well trained to do exactly what he - or more accurately, his Master - told it to.
At least he slept well, since Schuldich had gruffly ordered him to just forget about sleeping in his own bed. His Master didn't seem to mind having Nagi tucked against him in the bed at night, and it quelled the boy's nightmares in a way nothing else ever had. And despite Nagi's initial reservations about the German's true motives, it seemed the man had been telling the truth when he'd promised he would never order Nagi to service him sexually.
It was with some surprise therefore that he registered the feeling of a hand shaking his shoulder to wake him. Schuldich never woke before Nagi, and Crawford would have just knocked. "Huh? Wha?" he asked intelligently, dragging himself slowly out of a deep sleep. He blinked his eyes a couple times and finally focused on Schuldich leaning over him, frowning in concern.
"You okay, Liebe?" the German asked, raising an eyebrow at him when he saw that the boy's eyes were open.
"Hmm? 'M fine," Nagi murmured around a suppressed yawn, rubbing at his eyes with his hand. "What is it, did Takatori-sama call? Do we have a mission?" They'd only just gotten in from the last mission at about four-thirty this morning, but that wouldn't stop the man from calling on them again if he decided he needed the services of his personal enforcement squad.
"No mission," Schuldich shook his head, still eying him curiously. "I've just never actually woken up before you. And usually when I wake you from a nap you're awake the first instant I touch you."
Glancing at the clock, Nagi gasped and sat bolt upright in the bed. It was more than an hour and a half after his usual time to wake up, and he felt like he could have easily slept as long again. "I'm sorry!" he blurted out, scrambling up to his hands and knees and bowing low enough that his forehead touched the sheets. "Gebieter, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to oversleep, I promise it will never happen again, please don't be..."
"I'm not mad," Schuldich cut him off firmly, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Considering how late we got back last night, and how much you had to use your powers on that job, it shouldn't have surprised me that you'd sleep. You're probably starving too, huh?"
Actually the thought of food made Nagi feel faintly queasy, but that sometimes happened if he got too hungry. Schuldich was right that he'd had to expend quite a bit of his telekinetic energy last night, and that always burned far more calories than he could easily replace. "I shouldn't have overslept," he said softly, keeping his head down. He felt horribly ashamed by his lapse, even if Schuldich for some reason wasn't angry with him.
For that matter, just because Schuldich wasn't angry didn't mean Crawford wouldn't be. Technically the American was no longer Nagi's Master, but he was the leader of their team and that put him in authority over both Nagi and Schuldich. It was a bit of a confusing situation to him sometimes, trying to decide whose orders took precedence, but thankfully they almost never conflicted.
Yawning, Schuldich flopped back down onto the bed, stretching lazily like a cat. "No worries, Liebe. You go ahead and get started on your morning routine, I'll meet you in the kitchen later like always. I doubt Crawford's still asleep, but be careful not to wake him if he is."
"Yes Gebieter," Nagi agreed, lifting his head enough to bob a bow of acknowledgement and slide backwards off the bed. Schuldich already had his eyes closed again, probably preparing to catch another thirty minutes or so of sleep before Nagi had breakfast ready.
Still chiding himself harshly for oversleeping, Nagi quietly made his way to the door. He checked quickly to make sure there was nobody in the hall, then dashed across to the bathroom.
He felt oddly groggy, like he was still half asleep. Well, when you factored how long it had taken them to actually get to bed after the mission was over, he'd had a bit more than four hours of sleep. And he hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before either, too busy doing the set up for this job. Combine that with the extravagant use of his powers last night and it was no wonder he was light-headed.
Stepping into the shower, he frowned as he felt the water against his skin. He'd set the temperature dial to exactly the same place he always did, but the water felt far too hot, even considering the fact that he liked his showers to be scalding. Reaching out with his powers he nudged the dial until no more steam filled the shower stall, and the water felt merely warm again. Not as hot as he liked it, but if the water pipes were acting up for some reason, he didn't want to be burned like that again.
He went through his shower a bit faster than usual as a result, but that was just as well, considering how late he already was. Drying himself off, he mentally called his clothes to him from the drawers in his room, not wanting to take the few extra minutes to actually go across the hall to get changed. They floated into the bathroom when he opened the door to let them in and he hurried into them.
Some part of him had hoped that Schuldich might be wrong and Crawford had slept in, despite how unlikely he knew that was. Unfortunately the American was just coming out of the kitchen as Nagi hurried down the hall, clearly having just finished his breakfast.
"You're up late," the older man commented as he saw the boy. Nagi opened his mouth to blurt out an apology for his tardiness, but the American cut him off before he could even start. "No, that wasn't a reprimand. It should have occurred to me last night to tell you both to take it easy this morning. From the sound of Schuldich's report last night, I'm surprised you didn't sleep until noon."
"Gebieter woke me," Nagi said softly, ducking his head and studying Crawford's shoes. "He was worried when he woke and found me still asleep."
Taking a step forward, Crawford put a finger under his chin and lifted, forcing Nagi's head up so the older man could study his face. Nagi kept his gaze firmly at the level of the man's collarbone, not daring to look in his eyes. He saw the frown on the precog's face, however, and inwardly quailed at the evidence of displeasure.
"You still look exhausted," Crawford finally pronounced, dropping his hand and stepping back. "Your skin is chilled. Perhaps you should go back to bed and sleep some more."
Torn, Nagi hesitated. You didn't have to be a submissive to know that Crawford's 'suggestions' were generally nothing of the sort, but this was one of those times when his leader's order conflicted with the one his Master had already given him. There was nothing Nagi hated more than being forced to make a decision, especially when it involved disobeying an order, but he didn't have much choice. When he reached out with his mind he found Schuldich was sound asleep, and therefore not able to make the decision for him.
"With respect, Crawford-san," Nagi finally said carefully, ducking his head again, "Gebieter told me to get started for the day." There. That wasn't actually a refusal, just a statement of his current orders. Hopefully Crawford was feeling benevolent enough to rescind his own order, rather than facing Nagi to make the choice.
It seemed he was, because the American simply shrugged. "As you wish, then. Make certain you eat enough to compensate for the energy you used up last night, and take it easy today. No practice sessions."
"Yes, sir," Nagi acknowledged, thankful the man seemed to be in a good mood. The results of last night's job must have been to the benefit of their team. "Would you... l-like me to bring you coffee in your office, sir?" That was bold of him, but taking the initiative seemed to please Crawford more often than not and always pleased Schuldich, and maybe it would make up a bit for him oversleeping.
"Yes, thank you," Crawford agreed. "Don't rush, I've got one with me and it should last me at least fifteen minutes."
"Yes, sir," Nagi said again, bowing slightly and moving to the side of the hallway so Crawford could get by him. He waited until the American was past, then continued on to the kitchen to get breakfast started.
The little room already smelled strongly of coffee, and Nagi swallowed hard when the scent hit him. He didn't like coffee much, though he often drank it if he was going to be up all night working on a computer project, but the scent didn't usually bother him. He really must be starving and overtired, if just that was making him nauseous.
First thing's first, though. There was enough of Crawford's special brew left in the pot on the warming pad that Nagi could just pour it into a mug to take to him later, and it would still be fresh enough. He needed to get Schuldich's preferred blend steeping, though, and then he could get started on making breakfast.
Eggs and sausage would probably be best, he thought as he waved a hand absently at the freezer and the little package with the coffee beans emerged and floated over to the grinder. The grease from the heavy Western food would sit badly in his stomach, but it was Schuldich's favourite and would go another step towards making up for his tardiness this morning. He turned to the fridge to get the eggs, and there was a crash and the sound of small objects scattering everywhere.
Startled, he spun and to his horror he saw coffee beans spilled all over the counter. The bag had opened almost a foot short of where the grinder was, and dumped out the entire contents rather than just the specific amount he'd told it to.
Now the beans were everywhere, and the ones that had fallen to the floor or touched the counter would have to be discarded. He could probably salvage the ones that had piled on top of other beans, but even if that gave him enough to make coffee for his Master this morning, he was going to be in trouble for wasting so much of the very expensive special blend.
He concentrated on the biggest pile still on the counter, using his powers to separate the uncontaminated beans and ferry them over to the grinder, splitting his attention to also gather up the rest of the spoiled beans.
That worked for about thirty seconds before his control wavered again, and the pile of beans he'd been gathering scattered once more, pushed in all directions as a wave of dizziness hit Nagi. He leaned against the counter, trying to clear the spots from his eyes.
Clearly when Crawford had told him to take it easy, he hadn't meant only that Nagi shouldn't do any practice sessions with his powers. He was more exhausted than he'd thought, if his control was this bad. Sighing and trying not to cry in frustration and fear, he knelt and started gathering the scattered beans by hand. He'd have to make breakfast the hard way, apparently.
He was just chasing down the last of the spilled beans when Schuldich wandered into the room in jeans and a t-shirt, his long red hair spilling unbrushed over his shoulders and back. He hadn't put his bandana on yet either, and his bangs falling loose over his face made him look younger.
They didn't hide the surprised expression on his face when he saw Nagi on his hands and knees in the kitchen, however. "Liebe, what are you doing?" he asked, pausing in the doorway and staring.
"I dropped your coffee," Nagi admitted miserably, turning and bowing in Schuldich's direction. "I... I don't seem to have much control over my powers this morning Gebieter, I'm sorry. I think I salvaged enough to make one pot for you this morning, anyway." Unfortunately it would take a couple days to get more, as he well knew. He bowed a little further, expecting his Master would be furious at having to endure 'inferior' coffee for days.
"Shit, you really are tired, aren't you?" Schuldich said, and to Nagi's surprise there was no censure in his voice. Only genuine concern, and Nagi dared to peek up and saw the same concern in his expression. "Forget about the coffee Liebe, it's my fault for not realizing you overextended yourself last night. It happens to the best of us kiddo. Sit down, I'll make breakfast today."
"No it's okay," Nagi said, clutching the spilled beans in his hands. He realized he'd just objected to an order, and turned pale. Could he get himself in any more trouble today? What was wrong with him, he was never this badly behaved.
"I-I mean," he swallowed and tried to temporize his words. "I can still follow your order, Gebieter, I just have to remember not to use my powers. I can make breakfast, really I can."
"I'm not gonna punish you because you're too tired to make breakfast, Liebe," Schuldich said, shaking his head and sighing. "And I'm not gonna punish you for spilling the coffee either. Stop worrying, you're having a rough enough day."
"Yes, sir," Nagi said, though he couldn't shake the worst of his fear. Granted that neither Schuldich nor Crawford ever punished him in the sense that his former Masters had, and never for trivial things, but this wasn't a trivial thing. If Schuldich said he wasn't going to punish Nagi for the coffee, though, then he wouldn't. Nagi would just have to be super careful for the rest of the day not to do anything else wrong.
"Now, sit and let me take care of the food," Schuldich said again, moving past Nagi towards the fridge. "Maybe the fact that I actually did my own work for once will give Crawford a heart attack, and we'll be free of him."
There was no way he was going to be stupid enough to object to an order that he'd been given twice, so Nagi just nodded and scrambled to his feet. He'd no sooner stood than he swayed, gasping as the room seemed to spin around him.
"Liebe?" he heard Schuldich's surprised voice as if from far away, over the sound of the chairs and table rattling. Dimly he was furious at himself for his lack of control; he hadn't made random objects around him move since the early days of his training. "Nagi? Hey, you okay?"
He opened his mouth to reassure his Master that he was fine, struggling to regain control as he turned to face the older man. The room kept moving after he'd stopped, however, and the spots that had been swimming in his vision earlier returned with a vengeance.
"I'm sorry," he had just enough presence of mind to say before oblivion claimed him, and he fainted.
For an unknown length of time he swam through nightmare visions, the world twisted and warped around him. Time and again he tried to strike out against the monsters that stalked him, either physically or with his powers, but his limbs were restrained and his telekinesis refused to respond to him.
Several times he thought he saw Schuldich with him, and once he was certain he heard Crawford's deep voice, but they never seemed to stay with him for long no matter how much he pleaded for them not to leave him alone with the monsters.
At some point he became aware that there had been no more attacks for some time. Cautiously he opened his eyes a bit, just enough to let him peer through his lashes to see what was around him. He'd expected another twisted nightmare landscape, but instead he saw blank, padded walls.
"I think his fever is finally starting to break," he heard a familiar voice say quietly. "Either that or he's just completely exhausted himself. He hasn't tried to lash out in a while."
"It's breaking," a deeper voice confirmed. "I don't foresee any more problems for the moment, but we'll have to watch him carefully and make certain he doesn't work himself into a relapse."
"He's coming around." There was a faint touch against his mind, familiar and welcome, though Nagi didn't seem to have the strength to respond as he normally would have. He couldn't even turn his head to see the two men who were speaking, though he was now fairly certain who it must be.
Footsteps approaching, and then his Master's familiar face leaned over him. "Hey, Liebe," the German said, reaching out to lay a cool hand against Nagi's forehead. "You gave us a hell of a scare there. Definitely feels like you're cooling down, though. How do you feel?"
Nagi tried to answer, but his throat seized up and all he managed was a squeak. Forcing himself to clear his throat despite the pain that caused, he croaked out, "Hurts." He wasn't able to speak enough to specify what exactly hurt, but he wasn't sure he could have made a list of specific things anyway. Everything seemed to hurt, and what wasn't actively sore was sort of aching in a dull way. The pounding in his head and soreness in his throat seemed to be the worst of it.
Perhaps understanding how difficult it was for him to speak, Schuldich nodded and Nagi felt the faint brush of telepathy again as the German picked his answer out of his mind. "Yeah, feels like it does," the redhead said sympathetically, the skin-to-skin connection allowing him to use his empathy as well.
On the other side Crawford appeared, frowning faintly. "The day of the mission, were you feeling unwell?" he asked. Nagi wondered why he didn't just say 'yesterday', but obediently turned his mind to attempting to remember.
"He didn't say 'yesterday' because that was three days ago now," Schuldich informed him wryly. "You collapsed from reaction shock because you overused your powers and then tried to use them again before you'd recovered. Then you got hit by a cold or something while your immune system was weakened. You've been locked in fever dreams for the better part of two days, Liebe."
Shocked, Nagi stared at him. Three days? Panic started to set in. He'd left all his chores and work undone for two whole days? And that was after the mess he'd made of the morning after the mission. Dear gods, he was going to be in so much trouble, even Crawford and Schuldich couldn't fail to get mad at him for a lapse of this magnitude...
"Stop that!" Schuldich said, rubbing his hand over Nagi's forehead. "We're not mad at you. Everyone gets sick, all right? It happens, there's nothing you can do about it. We're not going to punish you for it. Haven't you ever been sick before?"
Nagi nodded, even that small movement taking a great deal more effort than it should have. He felt as weak as the proverbial kitten, unable to move very much or make his voice obey him. Giving up on verbal speech, he just formed his answers in his mind and let Schuldich pick it up, knowing the telepath would relay to their leader.
I've been sick before, but not much, he said, and even telepathic speech took more effort than it usually did. Only bad enough to get in trouble for shirking my duties once. He shuddered away from that memory; living with Schuldich as his Master made it easy to make himself forget just how bad it had been before, sometimes. My throat hurt a little that day, and I had a headache, he said in answer to Crawford's earlier question. I thought I was just tired.
"If you hadn't overextended yourself and gone into reaction shock it probably never would have developed into a serious illness," Crawford sighed. "And because it didn't actually affect your performance on the job, I didn't foresee it. In the future if you ever feel at less than one hundred percent capacity for any reason, I want to hear about it. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Nagi said hoarsely. "I'm sorry, sir."
For just an instant he thought he saw a flash of sympathy and compassion in Crawford's amber eyes, but in the next moment they were as hard as they'd ever been. "So long as it doesn't happen again," the precognitive said, turning away. "You can bring him back into the apartment, Schuldich. He'll be more comfortable there, and as I said I don't foresee any more outbursts."
"Outbursts?" Nagi repeated in confusion as the man left the room. Glancing around, Nagi finally realized where they were, and why the room seemed so hushed. They were in the practice room, but all the equipment had been removed. It was the soundproofing and psychic shielding on the walls that made the room seem cut off from the world.
"One major downside to a psychic having a fever is that we tend to lose control of our powers," Schuldich told him dryly. "Putting you in here and taking the equipment out meant you didn't have anything to throw around, and your powers couldn't reach past the shields to affect anything outside. It's gonna take us a while to put the apartment completely back to rights as it is."
Horrified, Nagi stared up at him, and cringed. "I'm sorry!" he blurted out frantically, now more certain than ever that he was going to be in a great deal of trouble. He'd trashed the whole apartment? And he knew the strength and range of his powers, especially when emotions like fear or anger were fueling them. All those 'monsters' he'd lashed out at... he could have done damage to significantly more of the building than just the floor they occupied, and Takatori would be highly displeased. Not only that, but it would have revealed him as a psychic. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry, I'll fix it somehow..."
"Stop," Schuldich commanded him, and the words froze in Nagi's throat. His voice gentled, and he added, "I told you not to worry about it. We got you under the shields before your reach extended past the immediate vicinity, and everything can be fixed. Right now, the only thing I want you to worry... no." He shook his head and frowned. "Damn it, if I say it that way you're just gonna fret yourself into a relapse because you don't think you're getting better fast enough. The only thing I want you to focus on for now is getting better. All your other chores and jobs and orders are suspended for now."
"All... of them?" Nagi repeated hesitantly, eyes wide. What about things like the standing orders for his morning routine, or going to the bathroom, or...
"You're too weak to move far, so for now you're going to have to tell me when you need anything like that," Schuldich replied, picking his thoughts easily out of his mind. "Me, or Crawford. One of us will always be right there with you, so you can tell us if you need something. Come on."
Bending, he slid his arms under Nagi's shoulders and knees, and lifted the slender boy up to his chest. Carefully he stood, and for the first time Nagi was able to see that he'd been lying on a thin futon mattress, the covers dishevelled around him. The only other objects in the entire room where a small plastic bowl of water and mostly-melted ice cubes, and a cloth that was floating in the water.
Following his glance, Schuldich chuckled. "It was a struggle to keep you from battering the bowl around the room or soaking me, a couple of times," he commented, and Nagi huddled against his chest. He hadn't sounded upset though, only amused. Nagi's mind quailed at the idea of him dumping a basin full of freezing water on his Master's head.
Carrying him as easily as if he'd been a doll made of styrofoam, Schuldich brought him back out of the practice area and into the main apartment. He hesitated for a moment in the living room, glancing down the hall towards the bedrooms, before shrugging and depositing him on the couch. "Now that you're not going to struggle and get yourself tangled up in them, I'm going to get you some pyjamas," the redhead said, and it was only at that moment that Nagi realized he was naked. "Your fever is better, but I bet you still feel cold."
"A little," Nagi acknowledged hesitantly. He struggled to sit up, distraught by the idea that his Master was going to have to fetch something for him. That wasn't the way it was supposed to work! "I can get them, Gebieter, I just..."
"You just nothing," Schuldich said, and now he did frown at Nagi. "Weren't you listening to a word I said? If you try to get up you'll probably make it about two feet before you collapse again, and if you keep trying you'll work yourself into a fever relapse or another bout of reaction shock. Stay put."
With that he turned and walked off, leaving a very bewildered submissive sitting frozen on the couch behind him.
An order was an order, and the last thing he wanted was to get Schuldich upset with him now, considering how much the German had already forgiven him for. Slowly Nagi subsided, leaning back against the couch cushions and shivering slightly in the cool air.
Shortly Schuldich returned with warm pyjamas Nagi couldn't even remember owning, let alone ever wearing, and the pillows and blankets off Nagi's seldom-used bed. "Here," Schuldich said, depositing the pyjamas in the boy's lap and the blankets and pillows beside them. "No, don't try to put them on yourself!" the telepath added when Nagi started to struggle to do just that. "I doubt you can even raise your arms up over your head, can you? Let me."
Gently, his touch as careful and soothing as when he was coaxing Nagi out of the grip of a nightmare, Schuldich slipped the warm clothes onto him. When he was done he gestured for Nagi to lie back against the pillow he propped up against the arm of the couch, and then arranged the rest of the pillows and the blankets comfortably around the boy.
"There," he finally declared, satisfied. "Now. Do you need anything?"
Automatically Nagi started to say no, but the warning glint in Schuldich's eyes stopped him. This was a test of some kind, he realized, and fought off the panic the mere thought brought up in him. "I could... use something to drink," he ventured tentatively, hoping that had been the right answer.
Apparently it was, because Schuldich smiled at him. "Good. I was half afraid you were going to revert to needing orders for everything," he said, standing and patting Nagi's head. "If you need or want something, whether it's food or water or to go to the bathroom or just something to do, you tell me, understand? If I pick something out of your mind later that you didn't tell me about, I won't be happy. I won't punish you, but I won't be happy."
"I understand," Nagi agreed, and watched as Schuldich turned to leave once more, to fetch him something to drink.
Thus began one of the most utterly bizarre experiences of Nagi's short life. For the next several days Schuldich rarely left his side, and true to his word the German would immediately hop up and fetch anything Nagi asked for, or carry him to the bathroom if he needed it. As the days went by 'carrying' became 'steadying', and Nagi was at least spared the embarrassment of being too weak to feed himself. Still, it felt horribly as if their positions of dominance had been reversed, and it left the bewildered submissive floundering.
Even Crawford would occasionally pitch in, insisting that Schuldich take a break and get some rest before he worked himself to collapse. When the telepath reluctantly capitulated, the American would take a turn sitting with Nagi in case the telekinetic needed anything. He even read to Nagi once, early on when the boy was bored but his eyes were aching too much to watch television or read himself.
"Why?" he finally burst out on the third evening, too confused to bear it any longer. At first he'd been too weak and sick to really think about it too much, but the more he recovered, the more difficult it became for him to understand or bear the situation. "Why are you doing this? It's strange enough that you're not mad at me for shirking my duties and destroying the apartment, but..."
Chuckling, Schuldich reached out from his chair next to the couch, and threaded his fingers through Nagi's hair. "Poor Liebe," he said, not unkindly. "You can't tell up from down right now, can you? I'm just glad this didn't happen before we at least had you used to making requests for things you needed, if not demands."
Shifting so he was leaning closer, Schuldich looked at him intently. "Look, Nagi," he said, and Nagi had the feeling the use of his name rather than his pet name had been deliberate. "This, what I'm doing and what Crawford's been doing, this isn't about Master and slave. It's not about dominance and submission."
Nagi stared at him blankly, unable to conceive of anything that wasn't about dominance at its core. He'd seen enough of 'civilian' life now to understand that most people didn't think about things in those terms, but it still wasn't something he could truly comprehend. Schuldich sighed.
"It's about the fact that you need us, and so we're helping you," he tried again. "It's about the fact that you're our teammate, and that's what teammates do. They help each other, watch each other's backs, take care of each other when they're weak. I'd do the same for Crawford, and he'd do the same for me. Has done the same for me, once when I caught pneumonia because I was so weak right after he picked me up."
Trying to picture that, Nagi just shook his head. He couldn't imagine the German ever being as weak and helpless as Nagi himself felt, but at the same time, he thought Schuldich probably wouldn't have made a very good patient. The glint in the telepath's eyes seemed to confirm that notion, as if the older man was laughing silently at a private joke.
"Look, you at least acknowledge that as part of the team, you can do things that Crawford and I can't, and that's why we made you part of the team in the first place, right?" Schuldich once more attempted in the face of Nagi's continued confusion. Nagi nodded hesitantly. As a telekinetic, Nagi's powers were in an entirely different sphere than the telepath's and precognitive's were. Once he'd been added to the team, many options had opened to them that wouldn't have been possible before.
"We need you, and we need you in fighting condition," Schuldich concluded. "Right now you can't take care of yourself, so we're doing it for you. It's no different than if you'd been injured in a fight, really. We'd take care of you for that, too, because that's just what teammates do. That's the reason it's better to be in a team than work solo, because you've got people to cover your weaknesses."
"I... I guess," Nagi agreed reluctantly. It was still mind-boggling to have his Master waiting on him hand and foot like this, but Schuldich was right that he couldn't do it for himself. And it wouldn't do any good for the team if he ended up being sick for weeks, or even dying, because nobody was helping him take care of himself.
"Besides," Schuldich added gruffly, reaching out again to ruffle his hair before leaning back in his chair. "I've gotten attached to you, Liebe. I promised you I'd take care of you, and never let anything hurt you. That includes things like being sick. I'd be a pretty lousy Master if I wasn't protecting you from the things you couldn't protect yourself from, right?"
Since that was the whole reason Schuldich had become his Master in the first place, to protect Nagi from the predators, that was an explanation Nagi could readily understand and accept. He nodded, settling back into the couch with a sigh.
Watching the German, he reflected that this must just be one more of those things that made Schuldich a 'good' Master, and had made most of his previous Masters 'bad' ones. The difference was hard to pin down and even harder to really comprehend... but Nagi thought the essence of it might be the warm look in Schuldich's eye when he looked at Nagi, or the muffled affection in his voice when he spoke to his sub.
If this was what it felt like to be 'cared for' or even 'cherished', then Nagi could only renew his prayers that nothing would ever cause him to lose Schuldich as his Master.