(Author's note: I don't think that the postman would think of himself as the postman, so I looked up his name and it's Hans, so the postman is referred to as Hans. This is my first fic for Nier Replicant for characters I didn't even expect to get, but I am satisfied with how it turned out.

This is completely based on the story in the game, not on the story "The Mermaid Princess". I am not too sure if the postman having the black scrawl is canon or a headcanon, but I went with it.

Prompt: Bed Rest Requestes by Acebladespades on tumblr.)

Even though Hans had been feeling ill for the last few days, he couldn't postpone visiting Louise anymore. The last time he had brought her food had been more than three days ago and the way she was scarfing down any food he brought here… he couldn't let her suffer like this again. Who knows how long she had stayed on this ship, floating through sea, before it wrecked on the Seafront shore? He had to get some food for her and see how she was doing.

His leg was hurting a lot when he left the post office. He knew it was the beginning stage of the black scrawl. He knew that his days were numbered, but he would make the most out of them. He only wished that Louise had taken up his offer on coming with him; having a daughter in the post office would make his days so much brighter. Maybe she would change her mind once she got used to seeing light again.

He limped to the tavern to get some fresh bread. When the tavern owner saw him, he expressed quite some concern.

"You know I would be glad to deliver your food to you. The post office has done so much for the town. It is only fair that we give something back.", he said.

Hans only shook his head as he paid for the bread. "I appreciate it, but this food isn't for me. I… have to get it to someone else."

The tavern keeper gave him a questioning look. He probably assumed that it would be the lighthouse lady, but she had been dead for a while now. Luckily, he didn't ask any further questions and handed Hans the package.

"Whoever you are helping out this time, I am sure they cherish it.", he said and waved him goodbye. Hans reciprocated the greeting and limped outside, heading for the shipwreck.

Even on good days the way to the shipwreck wasn't easy with his bad leg. It was why he so often wasn't able to deliver the mail and was more than glad when the young man with the white hair appeared and helped him out. Still, walking to the shipwreck was a lot easier than going all the way to Popola's village, fearing that the shades on the way would tear him apart.

He was bathed in sweat once he arrived at the shipwreck, the bag with the bread clutched to his chest. Now he only needed to enter the shipwreck and find Louise, who probably was staying in as deep as possible as always. She really was afraid of blinding herself by the daylight. It didn't surprise the postman, he also would be reluctant to step into the daylight when he would have lived in the dark for who knows how long.

As he entered the shipwreck and made his way to Louise, Hans noticed how much worse the smell had gotten in that place. He really should talk Louise into getting used to the daylight soon, when this place was rotting from the inside, there was no guarantee it would hold up for years. Still, the smell hadn't been that bad three days ago… could the shipwreck really rot that easily?

Whatever it was, Hans had a different thing to be concerned about. The symptoms of his illness were rapidly getting worse the longer he was up and out of bed. The bad smell didn't help at all and soon he was coughing on his way, having to drag his bed leg behind him. He probably wouldn't be able to stay around long and spend some time with Louise today…

In the meantime, Louise had stayed in the ship and tried to practice her writing. It was so difficult. He had shown her how to form letters to build words, which would allow her to communicate with him. Because she was a shade, he couldn't understand her words… she wanted to speak the same language as him. Louise wished so much that she could be human to be with him. He had looked so sad when she declined his offer to come with him… if only she could walk under the sun…

She already feared that he had left her alone. He hadn't been here for days. He used to come daily… why wasn't he here? Had he figured out that she wasn't human… Louise feared nothing more than being left alone again. Everyone always left her alone when they saw her real body…

"Louise? Where are you?"

It was his voice! She shot up from her chair and hurried to him, she was so glad to see him again. Her joy turned into deep concern though when she heard a heavy sound, like if something or someone had hit the ground and to downright horror when she saw him lying there, clutching a bag with food (for her, he always brought food for her), and he didn't move or react to her at all.

He looked so ill and weak. There were sweat beads in front of his face and he was so pale, even paler than usual. She knew that he had trouble walking, he always would limp, but she didn't know it was that bad.

Had he dragged himself here just to see her? Louise instantly had a weird feeling welling inside up her chest… how could she have thought that he abandoned her? He never would do that. He was the first one who was ever kind to her! How could she ever have doubted him?

Though, right now he needed her help… humans normally would rest in bed when they were feeling ill, right? Louise walked over to him, hesitating when she reached the light of the sun that filtered through the holes of the shipwreck.

She could take it. The sun would hurt her, yes, but she could easily heal the damage. Besides, with him being unconscious, he wouldn't notice the true nature of her body. As Louise stepped into the light of the sun, a low hiss escaped her when her body started to burn. She walked over to him and tried to lift him up.

She couldn't do it. This body that she was inhabiting… it was too weak. He was so much larger and heavier than that body… she despised having to do it, but…

Louise let part of her shade form take over, her arms turning into tentacles, having to pinch her eyes when the unfiltered light of the sun hit them, making the burn so much worse. Though her pain was nothing against the pain he must be in, he had come only to see her, even though he was feeling unwell. She would endure every pain for him.

With her tentacle arms, it was a piece of cake to lift him up and carry him into the sole bed she spent her time at when she didn't have anything better to do. She sighed when she stepped back into the shadows, grateful that the burning pain of the sun wouldn't affect her anymore. She gently lowered him down and tucked him in, stroking over his hood with one of her tentacles, before looking at it in disgust and hiding it in the shadows.

When Hans opened his eyes, he was lying down. Apparently, he also was lying somewhere soft, as opposed to the hard floor he had felt when his consciousness had left him. When he looked to the left, he could see Louise standing there, her face obscured by the shadows, like always, but that long black hair and the bow he had brought her, it was unmistakably her.

"Louise…?", he said and pulled himself up, only to get hit with a cloud of dust which prompted another coughing fit. As he was busy coughing his lungs out of his body, he felt how Louise gently but firmly pushed him back into bed.

"Oh woah, you are pretty strong…", Hans murmured. She looked so frail and small. How had she even been able to carry him here? As he looked at her with questioning eyes, she took a step back and began to cower away from him. She always did that when he talked about something she was afraid of.

"Hey it's okay, I… won't ask…", he said. "Thank you for taking care of me, Louise. I am afraid I was a bit weaker than I thought… I should head home and rest…"

As he pulled himself up again, ready to get out of bed and limp back home, he got pushed back into bed a lot more firmly this time, with Louise stepping back into the shadows right away after he had been forced to lie back down.

"You won't let me, hm?", he said, a faint smile on his lips. "Alright, you won, I guess I'll rest here until I feel well enough to go back to the post office."

Louise stayed in the shadows for a while longer. Hans already wanted to stop looking at her and close his eyes to rest up, when she stepped closer… and began singing. The tune he had hummed to her. The lighthouse lady's tune.

She was singing in her rough, broken voice, likely from a throat too damaged to form more coherent words, but for him, it was the sweetest sound he could imagine.

He smiled as he let his eyes close and lull himself back to sleep, murmuring: "Your singing has gotten better, Louise…"

(Author's note: And this was the fourth of the sicktember prompts. It was surprisingly fun to write the monster in hiding. Louise is a character that certainly should get explained more.

I have the feeling I made the replicants a bit too nice, because in canon almost all of them are kind of shitheads, but hey, canon is painful enough, let us have a little bit of kindness in fanfiction.)