Here's another Maid-Sama fic for you guys! After the major success of my Valentine's Day and White Day fics, you guys encouraged me to write more, so I did as quickly as I could! Thanks so much to all my loyal fans and readers/reviewers! This story is dedicated to you all! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!

Maid For A Day

That stupid, stupid, idiot! Misaki though vehemently as she stormed out of the Student Council's meeting room. I can't believe he went and got himself sick! And at the beginning of Spring! What is he going to do about the rest of it when there's all that pollen and whatnot drifting around everywhere?

That entire week, Usui had looked a bit paler than usual and she had confronted him about his health several times, yet he had just kept denying that he was getting sick. However, his absence today proved that she had been correct and that he must have gotten sick enough to miss a precious day of school. Her friends could easily tell that Misaki was probably more upset by his absence than he was himself, but they decided to keep quiet and spare her the teasing comments.

As she stomped down the sidewalk toward Maid Late once school had ended, thoughts of the possible aliments that could be affecting him buzzed through her head. Is it allergies or just a seasonal thing? Or is it a lot worse? Is Usui even allergic to anything anyway? Or was he just lazy today and decided to take a 3-day weekend?

By the time she had finished contemplating the blonde boy's condition, she had already arrived at her workplace, the bells ringing loudly as she entered through the doors.

"Hiya, Misa-chan!" Satsuki greeted her employee with the usual, almost unbearable zeal and excitement. "You aren't sick too, are you?" the young woman asked, her tone quickly shifting to concern.

"Too?" Misaki repeated. "So Usui really is sick." She sighed. "Great. Doesn't he know he's causing me a lot of stress here?"

"How inconsiderate of him!" her manager added with a playful smile. Misaki pouted. "Maybe you should go and visit him if you're that worried?" she suggested, nudging the high schooler in the side with her elbow.

"N-No way!" Misaki stuttered. "I-I'm just saying he should be more careful with his health. Besides, I can't afford to miss work. If Baka Usui wants to go and get sick, he can do it on his own time, not mine." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning her flushed face away; both of them knew she did not mean what she said. Satsuki merely chuckled as her eyes softened.

"Alright then, whatever makes you happy, Misa-chan." She nodded. "But if you need to leave early today for some reason, I won't stop you."

"A-As if!" The teen girl ignored her manager's little giggle and began heading off to the changing room. However, she was spacing out so much, pondering why she was so strung up on this predicament that she was not paying attention when she neared the kitchen and Erika stepped out from the curtains as Misaki passed by. The two girls collided with startled cries that were cut off abruptly as both stumbled to the ground, the dishes Erika had been carrying plastering themselves wonderfully all over Misaki's school uniform.

"Heeeyy!" Satsuki rushed over to her employees. "Are you two okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." The redhead replied. "Sorry Misaki-chan." She apologized.

"No, no! That was totally my fault! I'm sorry Erika-san. I shouldn't have been spacing out like that and now all this food is ruined."

"But so is your uniform." Satsuki informed her as she helped Misaki to her feet. "Come on, go into the back and change now."

With guilt weighing heavily on her shoulders, Misaki trudged into the changing room as the others began cleaning up the mess in the café. Geez. Do you see what you do to me, Baka Usui? Even when you're not here, you're still distracting me! This is all your fault for getting sick! She wailed in her mind.

As she slipped out of her ruined clothing, she was thankful for her manager's cosplay obsession for once in her life; because of the vast amounts of outfits in her possession, there was a washing machine as well as a dryer off to the far corner of the changing room which Misaki gratefully took advantage of now before changing into her maid outfit.

Her colleagues could easily tell that she was not at the top of her game today, as Misaki was especially spacey and distracted as she carried her orders to her designated tables. Presently, she nearly tripped over her own two feet and bashed her head against the wall, startling every customer and worker in the café, but somehow only managed to strike her left shoulder. However, this had been the final straw for Satsuki, who promptly marched over to the black-haired girl.

"Misa-chan, I insist that you take the rest of the evening off." She said gently, but with an irrefutable sternness in her tone. "You're really not yourself with all this worrying, and I'm afraid you're going to get hurt." Her eyes narrowed to where Misaki was rubbing her shoulder with her opposite hand.

"N-No, I'm sorry Manager, but that's really not-"

"Misa-chan." Satsuki cut her off. "Actually, Usui-san just called me and…" she lowered her voice a little bit. "He wanted to see you as soon as possible."

She saw the significant change of emotion on Misaki's face as soon as she spoke her words. The girl's golden eyes widened and a spark of panic flared in her irises, a frown staining her lips.

"M-Manager…I think I'll go now." She mumbled, slipping past the 30-year-old woman and out the doors of the café.

There was a moment of silence that followed her absence as Erika crept up to Satsuki's side with a disbelieving and sarcastic look on her face.

"Um…Manager?"

"Yes?" came the cheery reply.

"You just made that up, didn't you?"

"Maaaaybe."

"She doesn't even have her clothes!" the other teen protested.

"Oh, that's true. I'll have to drop them off at her house after work and tell her mother what's going on." Satsuki mumbled to herself. "But don't you agree that this way, things will be a lot more fun and interesting?" she winked.

"Wow. I mean, Usui's an idiot for being so stupid and letting himself get sick. But I'm an even bigger idiot for running out of the café in my uniform." Misaki growled under her breath. "I mean, what if somebody sees me? I'm so stupid!" she cursed as she quickly skirted the garden of a private home until she came upon the massive apartment building she knew Usui lived in. She remembered the information he had given her once before; his room number and what to do in order to gain access.

Thankfully, it was somewhat of an odd hour in the evening, and most people were at home by now, so not many people took notice of her, and the ones who did merely blinked in confusion before continuing on their ways. "I can't believe I walked all the way here in my freaking maid outfit…" she groaned, slapping her palm to her forehead as she finally entered the large building.

Praying that no one would interrogate a maid in an apartment building, she stood straight and refined as she rode the elevator up to Usui's floor, as though she were a normal maid being requested for work. She miraculously reached her destination unnoticed and quickly dashed down the hallway to Usui's door.

I can't believe…I actually came here…Reality washed over her and she just began to realize what she had done and how rash she was being, but Usui had specifically requested to see her and she was not going to deny him that request.

She waited a moment to catch her breath a bit before she gathered her bearings and raised her hand to the door. Bashfully, she brought herself to knock twice uncertainly, hoping she was not disturbing him. She waited for a moment as nothing happened, and her thoughts began to whip around her mind again like a swarm of bees. Is he even home? Was it so bad that he had to go to the hospital? Is he sleeping or is he so sick he can't move or-

She gasped as the door before her unlocked and opened slowly to reveal the familiar, tall, blonde figure of the boy that filled ever inch of her heart and mind.

"U-Usui!" she squeaked against her will before quickly covering her mouth with her hands.

"Ayuzawa?" he looked down at her with emerald eyes that were half surprised and half confused. "What are you doing here?"

"…Wha…What?" she blinked. "D-Didn't you want me to come?"

"Ah…well sure. I guess I really did…" he trailed off, mumbling. "But…"

"I mean Manager told me you called and wanted me to come over right awa-" She slammed her mouth closed as the words passed through her lips and instead finished her sentence with an annoyed, "Damn her."

"Ah. I see." Usui gave her a playful, kitty smile that suggested he was extremely thankful to their Manager and would need to work overtime for her in the future. "Well now since you've come all the way here, dressed like that, might I add, you might as well just come in." He smiled conceitedly. Misaki opened her mouth to protest, but reconsidered the fact that she had just ran all that way across town in her maid outfit before sighing and slowly stepping into his apartment.

Not much had changed since the last time she had been there, but her perusing of the room was cut off when Usui stuck his handsome face in her line of sight. Misaki stuttered and took a step back.

"S-S-So what are you sick with that was bad enough to make you miss school, anyway?"she wondered.

"That? Oh it's not much. Mostly fatigue. I really just didn't feel like going in today."

"So you had Spring fever?" she clarified.

"More or less." He snickered. "But I've had a bit of a sneeze since this morning, too."

"Idiot." She huffed, crossing her arms. "Then you should be in bed. Come on, let's go." She herded him back to his room, not that he minded being herded by her, until he reluctantly sat down on his bed. "Sleep." She ordered. "I'll take care of some other stuff."

"Hm? Like what, Prez?" Usui leaned forward curiously.

"Y-You know. Just like, he-helping you out with things around the house that you can't do since you're sick." She glanced around the room briefly before noting, "I mean it's obvious you haven't vacuumed or dusted in here in a few days…"

"So…you're going to be my maid for a day?" he clarified.

"N-No!" She hollered a little louder than she had wanted to. "When did I ever say I was going to do that, Baka Usui? Why don't you shut your mouth now and get some sleep?" she snapped.

"Alright, alright, as you command, Prez." He put his hands up in surrender and sat back against his pillows that were supported by the backboard of the bed.

"Good." She turned and was about to walk out of the room when his annoying, chuckling voice stopped her again.

"Prez?"

"What?" her voice was clipped and sharp.

"Aren't you going to tuck me in?" he asked innocently.

"Wh-Whaaat? Why on earth would I ever do that you perverted, outer-space alien?" she cried.

"Well I was just assuming you would since you're being my personal maid for the day. And you know," he went in for the kill. "Since I'm sick and all."

A look of dismay came over Misaki's face as she realized she would never be able to deny him now. And so she trudged back across the room and grabbed the blankets at the foot of his bed. She dragged them up over his long pajama pants and let go of them at his waist, since he was sitting up and his handsome face was just a tad too close for comfort.

"There. And I'm not fluffing your pillows." She warned with a fiery spark in her eyes as he opened his mouth, only to close it again and shrug with an 'it was worth a shot' smile on his lips. "Do you…need anything?" she asked after a moment.

"For now, could you just hand me that book?" he requested, nodding to a volume on a drawer she stood next to. She obediently picked it up and handed it to him. "Thanks."

"I'll be cleaning and stuff in the living room." She informed him. "Just…call me if you need anything." She said, blushing slightly as she turned her back to him and exited, closing the door behind her.

The blonde boy slid the bookmark out from between the pages of his book and laid it on his lap as he began reading. He listened as the vacuum went off in the other room and could hardly focus on his book at all with the thought of the cutest, most assertive and wonderful girl in his entire school being just outside his door on his mind.

He was just thinking how amazing it would be to have her here every day, of course he would never make her merely do menial tasks such as cleaning or cooking all day, when a small breeze came through his slightly opened window. His bookmark lifted off his lap and floated down to the floor beside the bed. He sighed, knowing that he would have to pick it up now or else it would be glaringly distracting to him from the corner of his eye until he did.

So he kicked off his comfortable blankets that Misaki had so warmly given him and swung his feet down onto the floor. As he got down onto his hands and knees to reach under the bed where the paper had moved to, he heard the vacuum cut off and his door opened soon afterward.

"Usui. I finished vacuuming and was just wondering-" Misaki's voice cut off in a sharp gasp and the boy blinked in confusion as he lifted his head and turned to face her. He was shocked to see a look of sheer horror on her face and her legs promptly buckled and she collapsed to the floor onto her knees.

"Ayuzawa?" immediately, he got to his feet and rushed to her, kneeling down beside her. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" his tone was urgent and panicked.

"U-Usui…" she stammered. "Y-You're okay…"

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm okay." He said a little softer.

"N…No…it's just that…w-when I came in a-and saw you on the floor like that…I guess my mind just jumped to the worst conclusions and I thought you had fallen or fainted or s-something…" she trailed off, her shoulders physically trembling as much as her voice. "I-I'm sorry. I just overreacted…but…but I got…really scared…" her voiced died away into a whisper.

"Ayuzawa…" he sighed, a small smile forming once again. "You scared me." He placed a hand lightly on her shoulder and she flinched. Relief and appreciation shone in his emerald eyes as he leaned in a little closer to her. "Thank you for worrying so much about me, but I'm okay."

"S-Sorry," she repeated. "I really don't know why I overreacted so much." The girl tried to shake off her uneasiness.

"I'm sorry I frightened you." He said sincerely. "You okay?" He asked, standing now and pulling her up by the hand until she found her shaky balance again.

"Yeah. I'm fine now." She gave him a small smile; somehow, he suspected that it was forced and kept the thought in mind as he asked,

"Now, what was it you came in here to ask me?"

"O-Oh! Right. Um, I was just going to ask where the cleaning supplies were." She recalled, her scare slowly beginning to subside now.

"Ah. Those would be in the drawers by the closet."

"Alright. Thanks…Do…do you need anything?" she asked, shuffling her feet slightly. He blinked affectionately at her.

"A glass of water would be great." He smiled.

She perked up a bit at his request, her shoulders straightening. "Okay!" she beamed. "Here, let me help you get back to bed." She offered. "You seem a little weak from fatigue." She noted his slightly drained face.

As she pulled his arm across her shoulders, Usui felt her stiffen sharply and glanced at her questioningly, but her expression gave away nothing. She helped him across the room back to his bed, and Usui could not get over how wonderful it felt to be able to lean on her, even for a few seconds.

"Hey, Prez? Would you help me if I had to take a shower, too?" he teased.

"W-What?" she froze, weighing her options as well as her dignity. "D…Do you….really have to?" She honestly forgot how to breathe for a second but if he really did need her help…

"Oh no. I was just kidding." He grinned.

"Geez, you moron! Don't gross me out like that, you perverted outer-space alien!" she yelled, her face hot, as he laughed. Pouting, she let go of him as they reached the bed and he plopped down onto the blankets. "See if I tuck you in this time." She snorted, stalking away. Yet before she left, she added over her shoulder, "Make sure you sleep."

Usui watched her go with an affectionate grin before getting back under the covers. He decided it was useless you try and concentrate on reading with her around, and so he abandoned his book on his nightstand and leaned back against his pillows, closing his eyes.

Meanwhile, Misaki poured a glass of cold water before she reentered his room.

"Usui. Here's your-" she slammed her mouth shut quickly as she realized he was asleep. "Baka Usui." She mumbled, leaving the glass beside his book. "But it's good that you're getting some rest."

An idea suddenly popped into her head but she tried with all her might to try and dislodge it. No, no, no! T-that's just stupid! I could never do something so embarrassing! Plus knowing him, he'd probably wake up, or he's not even sleeping as it is right now!

But no matter how hard she tried to deny it, just looking at his peaceful face, his smooth skin, his slightly flushed cheeks, his soft blonde bangs and the tiny smile on his lips, she soon found herself succumbing to her mind's wishes.

Carefully, she leaned forward, disbelieving of what she was about to do and praying that he would not wake up right now. Can he feel my presence? Can he hear me breathing? Can he hear my heart pounding so ridiculously loud? She fretted inwardly as she came in closer. But she very well knew herself to be of the type that never backed down on something once she decided to do it, and so she continued and quickly kissed him on the forehead before recoiling and throwing her hands up in front of her face defensively. But the blonde boy did not awaken at the contact and she sighed with relief.

"Get some sleep, you big idiot." She murmured.

Before she tiptoed out of his room again, she scribbled a note briefly, left it by his glass and kissed him again on the cheek.

Misaki then proceeded to clean up the living room, though it was not all that messy in the first place. Yet she felt obliged to do something since she had come all the way here. She cleaned off the tables and counters in the kitchen, rearranged the books and CDs into a neater order and swabbed the windows and paintings hanging around the living room. By the time she had finished, she realized that the light that had been spilling in through the windows had vanished and it was now dusk.

Groaning, Misaki called her mother to inform her she was staying the night at a friend's. "And I don't even have any clothes to change into." She sighed to herself after hanging up as she looked down at her maid uniform.

Slipping into the kitchen, she retrieved a glass of water for herself before returning to the living room and sitting down on the couch, staring out the window into the darkly shrouded city, twinkling with lights.

Blinking his eyes open, Usui wondered just how long he had been asleep as he noted the significant change of the sunlight's intensity.

Flicking on the lamp at his bedside, he saw a little piece of paper sitting beside his book and glass. Opening the paper, he smirked as he read, Here's your water. You fell asleep, Baka Usui in familiar penmanship.

After downing the glass with several gulps, he felt significantly better, well-rested and livelier, so he kicked off his covers again and went off to call his maid and thank her for all her troubles. But to his surprise, she had not gone home like he had anticipated; yet on second thought, he did not like the thought of her walking around alone in that outfit, especially at night.

Therefore, he was surprised, yet very relieved to find her sleeping in his living room.

"Ayuzawa?" he peered over the couch to find her lying on her side on his couch, her ankles dangling off the side slightly and her hands curled cutely in to her chest. Her hair was slightly frazzled but he found it exceptionally adorable.

He skirted the furniture to take a seat by her stomach where her body curved inward and made room for him. Usui brushed his fingers lightly against her cheek, trying not to wake her. She looked cold though, with those rips in the sleeves of her uniform and her somewhat short dress. He noticed that her arms were shaking slightly and her chest was trembling as she breathed. He touched her shoulder as he stood, intending to bring her a blanket, but he paused when he heard her whimper in her sleep and turned back to her.

"I…am completely defeated by you." He smiled.

Carefully, he bent down and picked her up in a princess lift. He felt her flinch again and he tightened his grip on her shivering body, pulling her into a small hug. He frowned as she grimaced and whimpered again and he wondered if she could be having a nightmare.

Carrying her to his room, he laid her down on his bed as though she were made of delicate porcelain and sat down in his prior spot beside her. He was about to pulled the blankets over her when she turned over onto her side and yelped.

Usui was taken aback and leaned over her. "Ayuzawa?" he called out in a low voice, not entirely sure if he should be waking her or not. Yet regardless of his intentions, a second later, her golden eyes flew open and she gasped loudly, flipping immediately back onto her opposite side, facing him and clutching her shoulder with her other hand.

"Ow, ow, ow!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Ayuzawa? What's wrong?" the boy hovered over her, unsure of what to do as her body curled up into a ball and she let out another pain-filled cry.

"Ah…" she bit her lip. "My shoulder…" she panted. "It didn't hurt so much before…" she mumbled, burying her face in the pillow beside his.

"What did you do?" he queried with a strained voice.

"At work before…I was…distracted and didn't look where I was going. I tripped and slammed it into the wall but it didn't hurt at the time…" At that moment, Usui briefly recalled how she had flinched before when he had tried to touch her, how she had stiffened and recoiled ever so slightly. He mentally slapped himself as he realized she had fallen asleep specifically so that she would not be putting weight on her bad shoulder, and when he had lifted her up he had put pressure on it and probably made her pain worse.

"Ayuzawa…you should have told me." He sighed dejectedly.

"Hey…" she rasped. "Why do you sound all guilty now? It's not your fault I'm a klutz."

"But you were probably thinking about me when you got distracted and hurt yourself, am I right?" he guessed, looking down at her. When she blushed and turned her face away, he knew he was correct. "I'm sorry."

"Enough of that." She snapped. "It doesn't really hurt anymore. It was just sore from vacuuming, n-not that that was your fault either!" she caught herself quickly. "I mean it probably only hurt because I was sleeping weird or something like that."

"I'm sorry."

"I said to stop that, Baka Usui." She glared up at him. "It's getting better as we speak."

"Can I test you on that comment?"

"Go right ahead." She challenged.

Of course she was the last one he wanted to see in pain because of something he did, but he needed to know if she was telling the truth or not. So he reached down as she removed her own hand from her shoulder and he gently brushed his fingers over her sleeve. She winced but quickly recovered and her body relaxed as well.

Usui succumbed to an idea as it presented itself in his mind.

"Here. Flip over."

"Excuse me?" she asked with blatant suspicion.

"Just do it." He shifted over a bit and gingerly pushed her onto her stomach. She folded her arms over the pillow and rested her head on them.

"Wh…What do you intend to do? It better not be anything perverted or else I'll smack you so hard your grandchildren will feel it."

"Ayuzawa. Why would you want to hurt our grandchildren?" he asked, halfway seriously and halfway jokingly. She stuttered in bafflement at his response and he took this advantage to start when she was at a loss for words.

Slowly, he began massaging her shoulders with his strong fingers and she cried out at first. "Just relax. I promise it won't hurt anymore by the end." He made his motions gentler as he continued and Misaki remained as frozen as a deer in the headlights as he worked on her back. She was wondering just how hard her heart was pounding when he spoke up again. "Your shoulders are so stiff. Loosen up a little."

"B-Baka Usui. How am I supposed to do that?" she stammered.

"Just…relax." He soothed, moving down her back. She could not hold back a small whimper of delight as he hit a particularly good spot and his lips twitched into a smile as she blushed with embarrassment. Yet her back was still stiff as a board. "Ayuzawa, you're still too stiff. You need to relax more." He repeated.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she echoed herself once more. Her mind was in a massive state of confusion and uneasiness, while her body was both stiff with embarrassment and a bit of pain while mixed with feelings of slight pleasure, and her poor heart was being toyed with by sheer chaos.

"Ayuzawa…" he leaned down and breathed onto her neck and she squeaked, going stiffer than ever before. "Relax." He kept repeating and he moved his fingers over her shoulders. He pressed his palms against her shoulder blades before moving down to the small of her back and pressing again on her sides and back up her ribcage.

Eventually, the girl got used to the feeling of his hands on her back and she finally began to loosen up. He curled his fingers beneath her neck and followed his pattern back down her spine. "Hey. Don't forget to breathe." He reminded her when she had admittedly forgotten to do so.

A few moments later, Usui was giving her an effective massage and Misaki had learned to relax her body and breathe properly. She had to admit to herself that this was heaven. No wonder people pay money for this kind of thing… But her treatment was so much better, for she was being dealt with by the gentle, caring hands of the boy she loved. He knew exactly when the pressure was too much for her and he would immediately ease off. There was a tenseness in her body that she had never realized before since it was so constant due to her rigorous daily routine, but he had significantly softened that barrier.

Before she knew it, her eyes were closed and she was just focusing on her breathing, wishing and praying with all of her heart and soul that this would never, ever end. The pain in her shoulder had long since subsided, as had several other small pains she had never realized she had.

A few more heavenly moments passed by until he stopped at last, patting her back gently.

"Feel better?" he wondered.

"You…" she breathed. "Are…definitely an alien, because that was out of this world." She mumbled.

"Why thank you." He said happily.

"Damn you, Usui… I was supposed to be helping you today, you know. That's why I came over here."

"But you did help me." He insisted. "I'm merely showing my gratitude."

"You do realize I don't want to move now. Or ever again." She informed him.

"Well then I'll just have to help you out, won't I?" He announced.

"W…Wait. Usui? What are you-h-hey!" she piped as Usui slid his arms beneath her body and quickly lifted her up before flipping her over onto her back, his pillow toppling to the floor from the movement on the bed. Before she could try to ask what was going on, he grasped the blankets and pulled them up over her body as he lay down beside her.

"Ah. My pillow seems to have fallen off," He commented, glancing over at her. "and I don't feel like going to get it," here, he turned off the lamp, "and that one's too small to share." He nodded at the pillow Misaki's head rested on. "Oh well."

In the darkness, she could clearly hear the playfulness in his tone and was wondering what exactly he had in mind before she promptly found out.

She felt him slide one arm underneath her neck as the other lay across her stomach. He pulled her into a loose embrace as he rested his head on her chest, turning his face so that his ear was directly above her heart. "Ahh. Much better." He murmured.

Misaki opened her mouth several times to try and voice a complaint, but no sound was produced and she was forced to give up. I wonder…if this isn't so bad after all…

Slowly, tentatively, she moved her arms to rest atop his shoulders and back, hugging him gently in return. She closed her eyes as she held him there, running her fingers through his soft locks as he too let his eyelids fall, listening to the steady beating of her heart. "It's like a lullaby." He murmured and she blushed, feeling slightly self-conscious now, and he found it cute how her embarrassment made her heartbeat quicken slightly.

A few moments passed by as their breathing mingled together. "This is nice." Usui whispered. "I could stay like this forever."

"Sadly, we only have one night." She whispered back with a sigh. Misaki kissed the top of his head and Usui smiled. He smelled her sweet scent and felt each individual small rush of air as it entered her lungs before exhaling into a tiny breath that tickled his hair.

"I should get sick more often. Thanks, Ayuzawa."

"Thanks, Baka Usui." She replied. "Now go to sleep."

"Yes, Prez." He chuckled.

They savored one another's warmth and moved closer together, each tightening their embraces on the other.

The silence wrapped around them both as their breathings both slowed and deepened until they were in perfect unison.

The destined couple fell into a peaceful slumber together, each with smiles on their faces that had been absent upon their sleeping faces up until their fateful meeting.

A/N: Once again, I feel I'm getting repetitive with these stories so for my next fic I think I might try a different writing style. It's really up to you guys :3 Lemme know, give me some feedback or hints or ideas!

Please review!

And thanks again for being awesome and loyal readers!