it occurred to me that this scenario gets tastier if you throw in some dislike and tension. maybe the two are really annoyed about being tethered. maybe they already knew the other is the last person on the planet they wanna be tethered to.
person B has always been irritated by their nose during springtime and whenever they find themselves around a particularly floral perfume. flowers are pretty, but they drive B’s nose crazy
one thing, though, that drives B further up the wall than a bouquet of fluffy flowers is A’s presence in their life, something that has now become unavoidable after the curse
A pesters B, nags them, gets under their skin. they seem to enjoy being as grating as possible. they tease b about the curse, laugh at their sensitivity to certain sensations. B remembers the afternoon that A spent dragging their fingers across the back of their own neck, sending pinpricks down the back of B’s neck, keeping them from focusing on anything besides squirming in their chair. A seems almost amused by their ability to send such vivid sensations across B’s skin
fine, B thinks. maybe A wants a taste of their own medicine.
they seek out something they know will set them off. A likes to go on and on about how unbothered they are by being tethered together, how much fun they’re having. let’s see how fun this is
B takes a good, deep breath full of the strongest perfume they can sample. it’s some floral mix, rosy and lavender-y and nice if not extremely itch-inducing. they stand with tissues at the ready, prepared to weather out the storm
like clockwork, a sharp itch shoots through the back of B’s nose. they take another breath in of the sweet scent and pause as they try to hold back the sneeze, their eyes watering
also like clockwork, A can feel the tickle from wherever they are. they freeze as the tickle teases them and tears prick at the back of their eyes. come on, they urge silently. this itch is unlike anything they’ve ever felt. it’s deep and sharp and they can smell that it’s being caused by something flowery. they glance around for any assaulting object, but when nothing seems amiss they realize that this itch isn’t from their end of the tether
after a moment of futile sniffling, B can no longer hold back the impending fit. they release one sneeze at first, and so does A, who sighs in relief. but B knows that they’re not done, something A shortly realizes with dread
both their breaths catch, and they pitch forward with another sneeze. B is ready with tissues to catch their fit, while A is trying to find a place to step away to in order to sneeze for who-knows-how-long
B knows how long, and they gasp for air knowing full well that they’re not even close to being done. this was their plan, of course, and they’re ready to ride it through if it means teaching A a lesson
indeed, A has a much harder time navigating the allergy attack than B does. they’ve never sneezed like this before in their life. it’s one after the other: three, four, five, six… seven, eight, nine… they have trouble getting air into their lungs between- ten! eleven, oh gods twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, what the fuck is b doing jesus christ
B is smirking through the sneezes. each one brings little relief to the itch but a great boost to B’s ego. they can almost feel A’s distress, and they can certainly feel the way that A is squashing their hand against their nose to try and quell the itch. B takes another sniff of the perfume, sending another wave of itchiness through both of their noses. this time they pinch their fingers around their nostrils in an attempt to keep from sneezing. their eyes water and their sinuses burn and they can hardly breathe, but they know A feels the same. they take shallow breaths as they hold back on the next bout of sneezes, eyelids fluttering and nostrils flaring wildly against their fingers
A can tell that B is trying not to sneeze. they don’t know why, what’s going on, but they do know that the itch is blinding. they haven’t been able to see clearly for a couple minutes at this point. A’s nose is so itchy, and they know B’s is too. they can’t think about what B might be doing to cause this, though, because they’re so desperate to let the sneezes out. maybe there’s a reason B is keeping them back?
curses, who cares about the reason? not A, who right now only cares about relieving the itch. they lift their own shaky hand and trace a finger down their septum
B feels this, and it’s enough to push them past their threshold. they barely have time to pull a tissue against their nose before the sneezes are tearing through them, and A in turn. they sneeze for maybe a minute straight, gasp for air afterwards. B can feel that A was less prepared than they were, and can feel the mess leaking from their nose. B is sure the heat in their cheeks must be from A’s end of the tether
it is admittedly fun from the other end, B realizes. maybe A will remember this next time they feel like bothering B any more than they physically have to
