After a fruitful afternoon of gathering pumice stones, Varrick and Zhu li made it back to their suite. They both had armfuls of volcanic rocks. Honestly you would think that the cities guards would be used to the two of them carrying miscellaneous items around the city. Yet every time the two of them are carrying assorted items, most of the time for projects, they get stopped and questioned.

But now that they were at their suite, with at least seven pounds of pumice stones, they could relax. Varrick took a seat after unloading his pumice stones on the table. They made such an interesting sound tinging off of the metal table. Varrick sunk into his cushioned chair. He saw out of the corner of his eye, Zhu li looking at the pumice stones with a small look of disgust. If he knew anything about his assistant, even the smallest facial expression meant a lot.

"Zhu li, is there something wrong?"

"No Sir, I'm just curious what you're planning to do with all of these pumice stones," she said with noticeable control on her voice. She was clearly trying not to offend him. But why was she trying to not offend him?

"Well I'm obviously going to use them for foot care. You know how bad my calluses can get," he turned his full attention to Zhu li.

"That's, that's great, Sir," She said miserably. Okay now Varrick knew that there was something wrong.

Varrick got up from his chair, "Okay Zhu li, what's the matter?" If something was wrong with his trusted assistant he was going to get to the bottom of it. "Is there something wrong with the stones? Are you allergic to them? Do they smell weird? Are you worried about travelling with them? Is there a…"

"Sir, it's none of that. To be completely honest with you, Sir, I'm not looking forward to scrubbing your feet. My sincerest apologies, Sir," Zhu li said with her head bowed in shame. She honestly didn't want to be rude, but feet in general repulsed her.

Varrick smirked, "Oh I see what this is about, your jealous that you don't get your feet scrubbed. It makes perfect sense, you have to stand by me all the time, let alone in heels, your feet must be killing you," Varrick then took her by the shoulders, "How can you appreciate the joys of good foot care if you've never experienced it!" He then sat her down in his chair.

"Now, since you've never had a foot scrub, we'll have to pull out all the stops," with that said he left the room to the on suite bathroom. Zhu li had no idea what her boss was thinking. But even she knew once Varrick had an idea in his head, nothing was going to stop him. He came back with a bucket of warm, soapy water. He placed the bucket at her feet.

"Sir, this really isn't necessary,"

Varrick just shook his head, "Certainly not, Zhu li. This is something that you have to experience first-hand to truly appreciate. Now I want you to take off your shoes and place your feet in the water," Zhu li reluctantly did as she was told. Once her feet touched the water they curled into themselves. With a small smile Varrick went to grab one of their newly acquired pumice stones.

"Now Zhu li, just relax,"

"This really isn't necessary, Sir,"

"Well we can't stop now. Now relax and let me show you why this is important," with that he started to rub her foot with the pumice stone. He started at her heel with smooth motions. He was right that she had plenty of calluses.

The most interesting part of this to Zhu li though, was the face that Varrick was making. He looked so soft and focused, like the face someone makes when they play an instrument. The look itself made her smile. She then tensed slightly as Varrick moved up her foot. Varrick noticed and in a soft voice told her to relax.

How could he not see just how crazy this was driving her? After all they had been through and the work she had done for him, how did he not notice how he made her feel. For spirits sake, they shared a bed before! Now he was massaging and scrubbing her feet and he still couldn't tell she was mad for him. She couldn't even imagine what was going through his head at the moment.

Varrick however was having his own queries. He was noticing in hyper focus again. How small her feet were, every callous against his own on his hands, the smell of the soap, how she seemed deep in thought as he worked rhythmically. All of it was driving him mad. He had to distract himself before he did something he regretted. "Penny for your thoughts?" he said in a voice that did not portray his true nerves.

Zhu li snapped back into reality. She had to come up with something fast. "I was just wondering where you learned to do this,"

"Well back when I was a young lad hunting seals, I would come back with incredibly sore feet. My mother showed me a trick she used when she was pregnant. She would take a seashell and use it as a pumice stone to soothe the ache. She told me that good foot care was important because your feet are your foundation for your body. Bad foundation and the whole thing goes with it. Take care of your feet and it will help with leg pain and back pain. It all relies on your feet."

Zhu li looked at him thoughtfully, "You never talk about your parents,"

Varrick cringed but he was almost finished with his work, "Well with the good memories also come the bad. Best to take what you need from the past and let the rest go. There your all done. Stay here I'll get you a towel,"

Zhu li looked at her dripping feet. They did feel nice, still warm from where he held them. This must be why he has her take care of his feet so much. They did feel refreshed. Varrick then came in with a soft towel. "There you go, much better right?"

"Yes Sir, thank you,"

"And you see why good foot care is important," Varrick asked

"Yes, I'm sure I'll never forget this lesson Sir," Zhu li smiled at him.

Varrick turned away to hide a blush, "Well good. Zhu li could you make me some of that tea I love?"

"Of course, Sir,"