Quaranteam: Remote Work Ch. 18

The Quaranteam Universe is the creation of CorruptingPower, used with permission.

—-

Chapter 18: Home Economics

27 September 2020

Day broke, and it was not alone. The sound of Shannon calling out to the others drew Callie and Esther running to the bathroom next to the bedroom that Adam and Shannon shared, Kaipo and Allison close behind. They found Adam curled up on the ground, head on Shannon’s lap as she tried to console him. He wasn’t sobbing, but his breath was coming fast in the throes of what looked like an enormous panic attack. The faucet on the sink was disassembled entirely, so was the one in the bathtub. Next to the disassembled bits in the tub were a small stack of washcloths and a selection of cleaning products, sections of the moulding and parts of the caulked grooves were noticeably cleaner than others.

Shannon looked up at the others, concern and resolution in her eyes. “I woke up as he rolled out of bed thirty minutes ago. He grabbed his tools and just… started in on this. Wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t let me help. He’s pushed himself too far, it’s all too much again. I’m pretty sure he never actually recovered from losing his students, and the last few weeks haven’t exactly been relaxing.”

Allison seemed particularly disturbed by seeing him like this. “Does… does this happen often?”

“Only the second time I’ve seen it,” Callie responded. “Last one he just fainted, it landed him in the hospital for a bit. Adam is… he’s not okay. He tries to be strong and keep going, but all of this? This isn’t him. I didn’t realize it until we got back to the renovated apartment. He’s a square peg in a round hole right now. Slicing off his own corners to make himself fit isn’t doing him any favors.”

Kaipo gulped, looking around the others. “Is there anything we can do to help him get past this? I know I’m the new one here, but there has to be something.”

“Can I get a couple of you to help me get him to the bed, at least? I can’t lift him by myself.”

Callie and Kaipo awkwardly got into position in the cramped bathroom. Working together with Shannon, they managed to lift Adam up enough to get his arms around their shoulders. After that, it was a relatively simple matter to get him over to the bedroom and up onto his bed. Shannon didn’t hesitate to get on that bed with him, cradling his head in her lap just the way it had been in the bathroom. Through all of this, Adam reacted as if he was still on the bathroom floor. His panting breaths kept coming fast, his eyes wide.

Kaipo caught her breath. “Okay, what’s next?”

Shannon shrugged. “You said you’re a masseuse, right? Once I get him past this part, that might help. This fight’s one he has to fight for himself. We can only help him with it, not do it for him. Um. I know it was my turn to make breakfast, but I’m slightly trapped. Can one of you take over?”

Kaipo nodded. “I got you. We have any Spam?” The others gave her a look, but Esther led her off to the kitchen.

Allison began to follow with a look over her shoulder at the two on the bed, but paused. “The others have the food covered. I think I’ll try to put the bathroom back together while they’re at it.”

“Thanks. He said something about the caulking and tightening up the traps, if that means anything to you.” Allison nodded and left the room; Shannon leaned over Adam’s form, stroking his head softly. Once the others were out of the room, she let the worry she was feeling actually show on her face. “Alright, Adam. I’m here for you, and so are the others. Even the new girls. You can do this. I know you can.” The soft litany continued for some time as his panicked breathing gradually slowed to something resembling normal, until he was resting again on her lap. Shannon’s heart rate would come back down eventually. For now, he was safe.

Around the table some time later, the five women made their plans for the day. Adam was asleep on the bed and, if he woke up, then they could take care of him. Everything from direct medical care to making sure he had food and water. Shannon addressed the others after chewing and swallowing her eggs. “Until he wakes up, I can do my work from the bedroom. That way I can keep an eye on him.”

Allison nodded. “I guess I’ll keep doing fix-it things. I’m not the best, but I know most of the basics and the rest is fairly easy to look up.”

Callie interjected. “Just make sure you don’t mess with wiring.”

“I’m not stupid, Callie, just practical.”

“Good.” Callie thought for a moment. “Actually, once you’re done? We need to sit down and have a long talk.”

“That sounds vaguely terrifying. You already told me about the whole Team contract thing I’m a part of, now.” Allison didn’t look too worried, but then again everyone there knew she was good at controlling what her face said.

“Different contract.” Callie sighed. “I really should have gone for corporate and contract law in school, shouldn’t I? Point is, I got a chance to glance over the things you almost signed for Superior Economics. Monica sent them yesterday. That was… as close to slavery as I’ve ever seen without involving prison. You were going to be trapped on the bottom of a really bad totem pole on frankly terrible terms, with literally no way to escape for an unknown amount of time until medical science caught up. How the heck did you let yourself get into that?”

“It sounds a lot worse when you put it that way.” Allison stabbed her spam and eggs with her fork and took a slightly vehement bite. “Huh. I wouldn’t have come up with it, Kaipo, but this is good.”

“Thanks, now answer the question Callie asked. I’m curious, too.” Kaipo’s smile was more than a bit impish.

Allison shrugged as she chewed the next bite. “Honestly? Not much more to it. I was running scared. The world was turning upside down, I got hints for a couple of months about the vaccine and some organizations pulling through from the Teamed men I was doing, then Duo strikes close to home. I took what I could. The terms didn’t look too bad.”

“And that’s why you talk to lawyers about this kind of thing.”

“Callie, I’m going to say this with all due respect, but prostitutes generally try not to cross paths with lawyers too often. Lawyers mean law enforcement, and law enforcement means prison. They don’t take too kindly to us no matter what little legalities escorts maintain.” She stood, picking up her empty plate. “Anyway, I could use a hand putting the rest of the bathroom back together, especially if we’re going to take care of the other ones. Kaipo, you down?”

“Sure. We always had to maintain what we had.” Kaipo looked down at the wreckage of her meal on her plate as she stood to join Allison. She had, again, completely cleared out two plates. Those plates hadn’t exactly been skimpy ones, either. “Soon as we’re pau on cleanup?”

“Works for me.”

Esther was jotting a note to herself on a napkin. “I need to get to work, and it sounds like Callie does as well. We can take over the bedrooms for privacy.”

“That works for me. I know you all already know I’m working for that company, but I’m still supposed to do this properly.” Callie looked around the table. “Shannon, if you need to take a break then let me know.”

“Will do.” Shannon brushed some crumbs off of her expansive cleavage. Despite everything, she still wasn’t quite used to them. Neither, it seemed, were either Allison or Kaipo. Both of the standing women’s eyes locked straight onto the gentle slosh of those enormous breasts, hidden only by the thin fabric of her pajamas. The moment didn’t last long for either before they all got to work on what they planned, but nobody present missed it.

Esther and Callie scurried off to their remote jobs, Kaipo and Allison gathered up some tools and cleaning supplies before getting to their own work. Shannon grabbed her tablet, typed an apology to her channel for not streaming today, then got to work.

She made some good progress, too, despite regularly turning to check on Adam. One commission down, the rendering a bit annoying but ultimately not too bad. Two quick sketches sent for progress. It could be a lot, but she had standards and so did the community she was a part of. Heck, since she wasn’t on stream she could jump between projects when she needed to. It all definitely helped her mood, getting it out onto the canvas always had, even before she monetized this particular hobby. It was during one of the times that she turned to check on Adam’s sleeping form that she heard it.

There was a soft gasp. A thump. A clatter of metal on the linoleum floor. Shannon was up out of her seat and scrambling towards the noise instantly. Adam wasn’t here to react, so it was up to her. It sounded like it was coming from the bathroom, where repair work was taking place…

She opened the door to find almost exactly not what she expected. Or perhaps she should have. The sink was fully reassembled, the tub was clean. That wasn’t what got her attention. THAT was the fact that both Kaipo and Allison were naked, Kaipo’s compact and hard body writhing on the floor under the assault of Allison’s tongue as the latter ate her out with incredible focus, dedication, and (from Kaipo’s reactions) skill. She at least had a fluffy throw rug under her, but from the look of things it could have been a bed of nails and she would not have cared. Kaipo’s body arced as she struggled to stay silent, and the gasping sound was revealed to be coming from her mouth. This was apparently not her first orgasm of the session.

The tools were a bit scattered in the open space. Must have been where the clatter came from.

Shannon looked on in silence. Very horny silence. Allison seemed to notice they had a visitor. She stood, wearing nothing and wearing it extremely well, and slowly turned to face the new arrival. “Like what you see?”

Unable to speak, Shannon nodded vigorously.

“Then let me help you get out of those pajamas and I’ll show you why I was so… successful… at my job.”

Shannon started fumbling for her hem, but before she could Allison’s pale hands were on her dark ones. Slowly and sensuously, Allison helped remove those thin bits of cloth. Shannon was now fully exposed to the air, her enormous breasts bouncing free as she began to breathe harder. At some point during the process, Kaipo rose from the ground to join them. Suddenly, Shannon was pinned against the wall. Allison kissed her deeply as one hand lazily traveled south to play with the wet and eager sex she found there. Kaipo was latched onto her left nipple, her own strong hands roaming Shannons body and back. The busty woman tried her best to return the favor, she really did. Her own questing hands found Allison’s sizeable (though nowhere near her own massively sized) breasts and played with her nipples, she kissed right back instead of passively accepting what Allison was doing.

Kaipo seemed to be enjoying herself just fine, no need to put out special effort there.

Allison gasped but did not stop what she was doing. Before long, Shannon found herself losing the battle. Well, “losing.” Her knees wobbled and gave out, but she was held up by her two enthusiastic partners. There was no chemical help for this one, no serum compelled her orgasm. Just that same skill and passion to make her feel good. It worked, too. Her core was still twitching as her feet found purchase again, her knees wobbly as they let her support her own weight. She eventually got control reasserted over herself, admiring the view even as the view admired her. “That… was good. Really good.”

“And you’re definitely the hottest woman I’ve ever gotten to do that to.” Allison’s smirk was undeniable. And well-deserved. “I’ll let you return the favor at some point.”

“Deal.” Shannon looked around. “Good job on this bathroom, by the way.”

Kaipo was grinning just as broadly as Allison. “Thanks, and I’ll hold you to that. Allison’s handy, I try my best, and between us we managed it.”

Allison looked over at her. “You were a ton of help. Where did you ever get a grip that strong? I couldn’t get the joints any tighter with a wrench than you did with your bare hands.”

“Just masseuse things. You get a lot of power in your hands and shoulders.” Kaipo’s shrug set all kinds of hard, sleek muscles moving. “Actually, Shannon, I’m pretty sure your chest and back need my attention in a serious way. Maybe after lunch?”

“It’s not even eleven yet.”

“Tell that to my stomach. I’ll grab a snack to tide me over.” She put her own clothes back on and left the bathroom.

Allison looked after her. “That’s the second one since breakfast. Girl’s got a black hole where her stomach should be, and I have no idea where she puts it. If she has an ounce of spare fat on her body, I haven’t managed to find it… and I’ve looked.”

“Closely, right?” Shannon’s own core twitched in memory.

“VERY closely. Actually, if you’re going to do more of your art, mind if I watch? I haven’t seen it in progress before.”

Shannon shrugged, again setting off impressive motion in a lot more than just her shoulders. “No problem. I usually have an audience anyway. Let me just get my clothes back on, I might not have a bra that can contain these at the moment but a shirt helps.”

Both got dressed. Given what had just gone down, it might seem pointless, but propriety. The bedroom was not as empty as they thought it would be, though. Esther was waiting with her arms crossed and one eyebrow raised. “I was going to ask if you just stepped out to the bathroom, but from the afterglow I assume the answer is both ‘yes’ and ‘not quite for that.’ Am I wrong?”

Shannon stammered a bit, but unlike her, Allison felt exactly zero embarrassment. “Kaipo and I were horny in a way I’ve basically never felt before. Shannon heard something and came to check.”

“Sure. Came.”

Allison shrugged. “The word is definitely lifting twice as much weight as usual. Anyway, Shannon’s about to show me some of the art process. How’s Mr. Jeffries… I mean, Adam?”

Esther let out a breath. “I wish I knew. Vitals are normal, even if he didn’t wake up from me taking them. There is not a way to tell more until he wakes up and I can do more thorough checks. Still, it seems to be following what happened last time. I just do not like depending on that.” Esther looked at her watch. “Alright. You two are here to keep watch on him, I need to get back to my computer. Let me know if he wakes up.”

Shannon managed to recover enough to squeak out a “sure thing” and get into the computer chair. Esther apparently thought it was enough and walked out, her motions much more swift and smooth than Shannon remembered from when the doctor joined the team. Even if she was done changing, the others were definitely not.

The computer, being only asleep due to her rapid exit from the room earlier, came back online quickly. This piece would require a couple of references the client sent over, so she pulled them up. It was a matter of moments to get herself arranged, a thing she had done over a thousand times before and did again without needing to give it much thought.

“What are those?”

Shannon jumped slightly, having forgotten in those moments that she was not alone in the room. “Oh! These two pictures are my references. To the left is the character reference she drew herself. Our characters represent us, so I have to make sure that I get the details right. DoodleFox is a frequent customer, though, and her fursona model is pretty simple all things considered. It’s just that she is more fox than human, so her body shape is different. And the brush behind the ear is going to flow a bit into the piece. Also helps that she included the palette sample on it so I can drop in initial colors more easily.”

Allison was leaning in to look at the cute, cartoony fox. “Huh, wouldn’t have thought of that. Who’s that in the photograph?”

The other picture Shannon had pulled up as a reference was of an unbelievably cute blue-eyed redhead in an equally cute pose, one hand on her hip and the other going up to the back of her head. The raised arm was covered in a striking full-sleeve tattoo in a somewhat Japanese style, depicting a fox, branches, and leaves in sharp reds, oranges, and blacks. It must have taken a long time.

"Oh, that’s actually a picture of her. She sent me this picture to model the pose she wanted me to put her fox in." Shannon was staring intently at the woman’s picture as she laid down the construction lines of the pose she was standing in.

Allison was staring, too, but her focus was certainly not on the pose. "Is it... normal... to pose personally for a character like that? I thought there was a whole secrecy thing about your real faces."

"Takes a lot of trust in the person, so no it’s not normal. She's so cute that I can make it work, though." And indeed she was, now that the torso outline was roughed out she began to fill in the sketched details of the character’s face. It really did translate easily from the woman’s grin.

"And you said she's also an artist?"

"Yep. She does a lot of bubblegum and bold color pieces and girl-girl content. Her favorite palette is going to be flowing off the brush to make the background."

"So she KNOWS it isn't normal, then. And she’s interested in women. Girl, she's flirting with you."

Shannon’s pen slipped on her tablet, forcing her to hit Undo a couple of times to get rid of the line she had accidentally put across the character’s raised arm. She looked sharply at Allison. "DoodleFox? No way. I'm not actually convinced she knows how to flirt. She's...probably just lonely. This quarantine is hitting just as hard in the UK, you know?"

Allison smirked. "I absolutely think so, and you wanna know what else I think?"

"What?"

"You should flirt back."

Convincing Shannon didn’t take all that much longer. Neither did asking her if she trusted DoodleFox enough to do it in the same way right back. Allison was more than happy to use Shannon’s phone to take the picture as she modeled the same stance. It should be noted that it had a wildly different effect when Shannon struck the pose. Much less “cute” and much more “sexy, bordering on pornographic.” An effect she realized promptly when she looked at the result.

“Shannon, don’t be shy!” Allison was certainly enthusiastic about this one. “Seriously, you can rock it with the best of them, she appreciates it and can be trusted, and you can’t tell me you didn’t have fun with this.”

“I mean… I guess you’re right. This is just new to me. Still debating on whether to overlay Princess’s face over mine before I send it.” Shannon looked wildly uncertain.

“Come on! The entire point is to do it the exact same as she did for you!”

“Okay, okay, you win. Hope she likes it, but I’ll send the picture at the same time I send the artwork.” Shannon still didn’t look quite certain, but seemed to be warming up to the idea. “Anyway, we’d better get lunch together before Kaipo snacks through the fridge door. Seriously, where the heck is she putting it? Her body’s already so cut it isn’t like there’s extra fat on it anywhere.”

Allison shrugged again. “No clue. I know I’ve been feeling a bit hungrier than usual the last couple of days, but nothing like that.”

There was a rustle of motion from the bed. “There enough for one more?”

“ADAM!” Shannon had him in her arms, holding him tightly. “Of course there will be food. Allison! Tell the others he’s awake!” Allison hadn’t waited, she was already almost halfway out of the room to go do so by the time the sentence was done.

“Ugh… I feel like I got run over by a truck.”

“Adam, you had a panic attack this morning. You kept trying to clean and repair the bathroom until I tried to calm you down, then you broke down in my lap. I had to get help moving you back to bed.” Shannon had, notably, not let go of him through this speech.

Adam, also notably, absolutely did not mind being held against her chest in particular. It was comfy. He minded more when Esther arrived and removed him from said comfy position, truth be told, but understood that the checks were necessary. And that they gave the others a chance to get lunch put together. Because he really was hungry.

She eventually let him get up, use the (now actually repaired) bathroom, and get out to the table. At least, once he got past the gauntlet of hugs. He half-sat, half-flopped into his seat, Callie dropped a bowl of pasta in front of him, and promised more was coming as soon as the sauce was done. He in turn knew better than to try to object to all five of them treating him like he was made of spun glass for a bit. After all, at least this time he woke up in his own bed instead of the hospital.

And he was hungry enough that the first bowl really was a warm-up. A pasta antipasto, as it were.

Eventually, the second bowl had a meat sauce of some kind, and everyone had their chance to chat and laugh. Adam coughed a bit, but when he spoke up he was sounding much better than when he first woke up. “Alright. Anything I missed while I was… I guess I’ll leave it at indisposed?”

Callie shook her head. “Honestly, you had a front row seat to the most exciting thing that happened today.”

“Is being on the stage really a front row seat?” Adam asked with a wry grin.

“We can debate that later. Short version is that Allison and Kaipo did finish the bathroom up.” Callie looked over at them. “Eventually.”

Kaipo looked right back. “We finished it before we did other things, thanks.”

Adam was slightly nonplussed, but took it in stride. “Other things” hadn’t really happened with the other three without him involved, but he found that he really couldn’t object. Quite the opposite. “Sorry I wasn’t awake to help out.”

Allison chuckled. “Only you would actually apologize for not being there to help me out by railing anywhere between one and three women while I …”

“Allison, is that really necessary over lunch?” Shannon’s skin tone didn’t show it much, but she was definitely blushing.

Adam looked at Allison, then back at Shannon. “Three? I think I see. And, for reference, I can imagine about a dozen ways for that scene to play out, and each of them is hotter than the last.” He breathed deep, letting it out slowly. “Okay. Thank you all. Seriously. You took care of me when I needed it, watched over me when I was vulnerable, carried on doing what we needed, and stuffed me with food as soon as I woke up. I couldn’t ask for a better family, and I’m happy that each and every one of you came to this one. Now, I seem to have wasted half the day, so I think I’m going to see what I can make of the rest.”