Stepping off the plane, Taylor felt a rush of happiness as she breathed in the warm, humid air of Kansas City. After spending a month in the UK, this summer warmth was a welcome change. She rubbed her nose absentmindedly as she walked down the stairs of the plane, stretching her legs, savoring the feeling of movement after the long flight.
She was reaching the bottom of the stairs but stopped in her tracks pressing her hand against the underside of her nose, pinching roughly as her breath caught in her chest “Hhih'tchiiew!! Snfl..” she sniffled sharply and rubbed her nose on her knuckles again as she finally made her way down the stairs.
Taylor made her way inside the airport, she kept sniffling and rubbing her nose and she could feel the beginning of congestion settling in. Ugh, why did it still tickle so much? She sighed, scrunching up her nose and rubbing a little harder. "Snff... sniff..." She noticed her eyes were starting to itch too, and she sighed, a bit annoyed, realizing her allergies must be acting up.
As she waited for immigration paperwork to be done, her nose continued to run, and she had to rummage through her bag for a tissue. She blew her nose, noticing how congested she sounded. "Ugh, great," she muttered to herself. "Hh...hhih...hehhtchiew!!! Snf.. sniff!” The sound echoed in the spacious terminal, blending with the distant hum of conversations and announcements.
"Bless you," her security guard said, his voice calm and professional.
"Thadks," Taylor replied, her voice thick with congestion. She handed over her papers, the official barely glancing at her before stamping them. She finally moved towards the exit, where the humid air hit her once more.
"Ugh," Taylor whimpered, pulling her crumpled tissue from her pocket and blowing vigorously into it. When she was done, she didn't throw the tissue away; but instead continued rubbing intensely at her nostrils, scrunching up her face in an expression of cranky annoyance. "Fuck, I'm all itchy," she whined, before her hand stilled, pinching her pink nose in the tissue, and her bloodshot eyes closed to slits. "Huhh...hht chshh! Ah...ahh...tchhiew! Snfl...”
The ride to Travis's house was uncomfortable. Taylor sat in the backseat of the car, her head resting against the cool glass of the window. Her nose was stuffed up, her voice nasal and congested. She couldn't stop sniffling. "Sngff, snff..." The city streets blurred past, but she could only focus on the persistent itch in her nose and the tingling in her eyes.
“Hey guys,” She looked up to her driver and her security guard. "Cad we stob at a pharmacy? I ndeed sobe allergy bedicine."
"Of course, Miss Taylor," he replied, directing the driver to the nearest pharmacy.
---
Finally arriving at Travis's house, she stepped out of the car, feeling the familiar warmth of home. Travis was waiting at the door, his broad smile lighting up the moment he saw her. The sight of him made her heart flutter, momentarily distracting her from her discomfort.
"Hey, you!" he exclaimed as she got closer “come here, girl” pulling her into a warm embrace. She felt the strength and warmth of his body against hers. This is what coming home feels like. Their kiss was soft, but she had to break apart to sniffle, she looked up at him, a big smile on her face while rubbing her itchy nose with her knuckles. "Snff... I missed you," she said, giving him a peck on the lips and leaning back to look at him once more.
"I missed you too," Travis replied, his eyes sparkling. “So fucking much” He then attacked her neck and cheek with kisses, making her squeal as his lips tickled her skin. His breath was warm, and the sensation of his stubble against her neck made her giggle.
"Stop, it tickles!" she laughed, giving a liquid sniffle and coughing a few times to catch her breath as he finally let her go. Travis grabbed her luggage, and as he was closing the door, he heard her sneeze again. “Hhuh...'chhishew!! Snfl,”
"Bless you," he said, coming closer to hug her again. His embrace was tight and comforting, his scent familiar and soothing. "I have something to show you that my mom brought over the other day."
He led her to the couch, holding her hand. The living room was cozy, filled with the soft glow of evening light filtering through the windows. As they entered, Taylor dropped his hand and turned away pinching her pink nose as her eyes fell helplessly shut. “Aahh...aahishhhew!! Hhut'chheww!!! Ugh... snfl..” She sighed stuffily and mumbled, "Egxcuse mbe... snff," while rubbing her nose, feeling the rawness from constant irritation.
Travis came closer, one hand rubbing her shoulder and the other fixing her hair behind her ear. "You getting a cold, baby?" he asked, his voice gentle.
She shook her head, still rubbing her nose. "Doe, this is just how Kansas City decided to welcobe be back."
Travis chuckled, his laugh a soft rumble. "I can't believe you're allergic to my hometown," he joked. "Maybe your nose is just too snobbish for the Chiefs´ land."
Taylor rolled her eyes and mumbled, "Ha ha, very fuddy," while swallowing back a smirk. Despite the discomfort, she felt a warmth spreading through her chest. Being with her boyfriend made everything better.
They smiled at each other and leaned into another kiss. As they kissed, Taylor had to back up to sniffle and rub her nose. "Sngff... snff..." She leaned into him again, only to back away two seconds later as she sucked in an involuntarily deep breath. “Aah'tchxshh!!! Sniff!”
Travis laughed a little and said, "Bless you," leaning in to kiss her again. He heard her stuffy sniffles and asked, "You good, babe?" whispering close to her, his breath warm against her cheek.
Taylor sniffled once more and mumbled a sweet "Huh huh," while leaning into his lips again. Things got heated, their kisses deepening as they moved upstairs to the bedroom. Taylor stopped a few times to sneeze, but they continued, eager to be together.
In the bedroom, the atmosphere shifted, becoming more charged. The room was dimly lit, shadows playing on the walls. Travis pulled her close, whispering, "You're so beautiful, Tay." His hands were warm and firm on her back, pulling her into his embrace.
Taylor sniffled, wiping her nose in the back of her hand. "I've mbissed you so buch,"
"Come here," he said, pulling her closer, his hands exploring her back and waist. Taylor kept sniffling and wiping her nose, but she didn't want to stop. "Sndff... snnff..."
“Uhhh...hh...hhet'tchshh!!” She sneezed again, her breath hitching as he kissed her neck.
"It´s been too fucking long," Travis murmured against her lips, kissing her deeply. Taylor felt a rush of desire and they continued to kiss, their hands moving over each other with increasing urgency.
--
They lay in bed, the soft sheets cool against their skin. Taylor's nose was red and irritated, "Sngff... snff..." She lay her head on Travis's chest, rubbing her itchy nose in circular motions with the palm of her hand, trying to scratch the persistent itch. "Uh, huhh...uht'chiiew!! Hehh...heISHshiih!!!" She let out two congested sneezes, the sound echoing in the quiet room.
Travis chuckled softly, his chest vibrating under her head. "Bless you, baby," he said, leaning down to press a soft kiss into her irritated nose. "Poor nose," he murmured, making her scrunch up and wriggle her pink nose immediately in response to the feather-light touch. Travis smiled at her girlfriend´s kittenish behavior and then leaned down pressing more kisses on her face.
Taylor gave a liquid sniffle and mumbled a breathy, "Wait..." as she pushed him back, turning her face away and lifting her other hand to cover a third sneeze. "Hh...hhih...hehhtchiew!!!”
"Bless you, bless you, bless you," Travis said pressing his lips onto her hair.
"Sorry," she mumbled quietly, her hand still covering her nose. She sniffled back congestedly. "Sngff..."
"Do you need a tissue?" Travis asked, his voice full of concern.
Embarrassed, Taylor nodded. "Yes, please."
He brought a box of tissues from the bathroom and handed her a couple. She blew her nose congestedly, the sound harsh in the quiet room. She then wiped her nose, sniffling once more. "Snnnrff..."
Travis sat next to her and pulled her close once more. "You okay?"
Taylor was still rubbing her nose behind her tissues, “I´b fide, snff” wiping the crumpled tissues roughly back and forth against the underside of her damp pink nose, “by dose is just so, snnf… snnfff.. itchy."
"Do you want me to go buy you some meds?" Travis asked, his hand gentle on her back.
"I already had sobe before getting here," she replied, sneezing again. “EhhISH'sheww!!”
"I've never seen you so bothered by your allergies," he said, his concern deepening.
"I doe," Taylor sniffled. "I usually dod't get like this. It bust be all the traveling," she paused, feeling her breath hitch again. "Or the changing temperatures, or the... Hheh...hhheh...hht'CHSHsht!!! Ohhh... snfl…” The blonde girl sneezed breathlessly into the damp tissue she held to her runny nose, groaning and making a whiny sound while burying her face in Travis's chest as he rubbed her back lovingly.
“I´m sure the meds will start working in a bit” he looked down at his girlfriend, hating to see her so miserable. “Maybe you should take a hot shower, that´ll make you feel better”
“Yeah, I´ll go id a bit” Taylor paused to blow her nose again, and Travis waited patiently while the wet sound slowly cleared from his girlfriend’s stuffy head. “Huh, that’s better,” Taylor sighed cuddling up to Travis’ side. “When do we habe to leave?”
“We have to be there at nine, I think” he said, raising his wrist to look at his clock. He felt Taylor tense up, sucking in a sharp, quavering gasp of air, clearly gearing up for another congested sneeze. She hitched and huffed over another sneeze still swirling around helplessly in the back of her head, blinking blearily as her pink nose glistened with allergic snot. She looked, somehow, completely adorable and completely pathetic at the same time.
But the sneeze that had welled up suddenly inside her died away again just as her lungs filled with air, a desperately uncomfortable look settling onto her face in its place. "Oh..." Taylor groaned, pressing a finger under her running nose and rubbing hard while she laid back in his chest “Snfl... sorry, I thought I w-was goig… huhh… t-tohh... snfl...hh-hhuhh...” Allergic tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffled and wiped her nose, pinching it firmly between her fingers and massaging it lightly up and down as the ticklish feeling came back full force, making her squeezed helplessly shut in submission to her itchy nose. “Hhuh...hh... Uhh'ehhtchOOoo!!! snfl..”
"God bless you!" he exclaimed, smiling at her.
"Thagks," she sniffled, wiping her nose on a fresh tissue. "So, who's godda be at there tonight?"
Travis started explaining, "Well, it's at Jeff's place, so definitely him and his girlfriend, maybe a few other..."
"Hehhh…hetchshh! Sniff" Taylor interrupted with a sneeze.
Travis laughed and jokingly asked, "Do you really want to know?"
Taylor sniffled and wiped her nose, blushing a little. "Sorry, I thidk I´b done dow, snnff" She grabbed a fresh tissue and blew her nose vigorously, until the wet sound finally subsided, if only for a moment.
Travis chuckled, kissing her head. "I´m just teasing, love. Anyway, I think it´ll just be Jeff and Katie, Pat and Britt and the rest of the team with their partners”
“Souds great!” Taylor sniffled stuffily. "Maybe I should go take a shower. Sngff..."
She slipped out from under her boyfriend and spent a long time soaking in a hot, steamy shower, breathing deeply and trying to clear her sinuses. And it did make her feel more like herself.
She got out of the bathroom and crouched down in front of her suitcase, rolling her eyes as she felt her nose starting to run and tickle again. She kept rubbing it, trying to stave off the sneezes. She stood up to start getting ready, but her breath began to hitch.
Travis walked back into the room and watched her standing in the middle of the bedroom, one hand raised in front of her face, her nose red and her expression one of anticipation. “Uhh...snnfl...hh-hhuhh...” The tickle danced lightly behind her nose and eyes, making her head fall back in anticipation. She dropped her hands for a moment, still holding the tissue, briefly revealing her glistening pink nostrils on the brink of another allergic sneeze. They widened irritably in time with her hitching breath, leaking twin trails of watery snot down the channel of her upper lip as her teary eyes fought to stay open just a crack. But suddenly her shoulders dropped and she opened her eyes, breathing woozily with a cranky expression on her face and she let out a disappointed huff. “Ugh… snnf… it wedt away” She mumbled, furiously attacking her cute nose with the heel of her palm. “Ehhh...hehhh...huhhIHSHOOoo!!! Hht'ghSHIuuh!!”
"There it is!" Travis said, smiling. "Bless you, baby."
“Trav… sniff!… cad we close the…huhhhh…the wihdow? Huh-tchhh! Ahh, ahhh…achhiiew! Sniff..” Taylor’s shoulders snapped like a whip, doubling her over with one ferocious, shuddering sneeze after another. “Oh, shit, of course” Travis jumped up and closed the window while Taylor pulled a few more tissues from the box, rubbing and blowing her irritated little nose as hard as she could. He hadn't realized they were open and probably making her allergies worse. “Thadks,” Taylor sighed, sounding exhausted though they still had a long night ahead of them. She sat down at the little desk in his bedroom and blew her nose for the millionth time, as she prepared to get ready.
She looked at herself in the mirror, her face pale and her eyes slightly red from the constant rubbing. She began applying foundation, but her nose tickled, making her stop suddenly. “UhhTCHshiiew!!” The sneeze made her drop the bottle, the colored cream dripping onto her desk. She sighed and tried to clean it up a bit before continuing.
She moved on to her blush, but now her nose was running again, and she tried to sniffle, but it was no use. Her eyes watered as a deep itch welled up in the back of her head. She grabbed a tissue, and tried to wipe her nose as softly as she could, to avoid smearing off the foundation she had just applied, but it was a fruitless effort between her drippy nose and the allergic tears. She sighed and went to fix it. As she looked back up at herself in the mirror, she realized she felt awful. Her nose was all stuffed up and constantly runny. Despite all the foundation she was putting on, her nose was still pink, and she looked sick. She couldn't stop sneezing and blowing her nose. She felt gross. And truly did not to be at a party sneezing her head off in front of everybody. On top of that, between the jetlag and the allergy pills she was starting to feel drowsy.
She sighed defeatedly. She didn´t want to disappoint Travis, but she truly couldn´t find it in herself to go to this party. So she went to the closet room where he was getting dressed. As she crossed the doorway, she sneezed two more times. "Uhhh...uhtchOOoo!!! Hiih'hishhiew!!" She groaned tiredly, leaning against the doorframe.
"Bless you," Travis said, looking at her with concern. "You okay?"
"By allergies are killing mbe, baby” She looked at him with a guilt filled expression “I jusd.. snnf.. I dod't feel great... Is it… snnf! Is id okay if I jusd stay here todight?" she asked, looking up at him with tired, watery eyes.
"Of course, baby," Travis said, getting up and wrapping her in a hug. His arms were strong and comforting, his chest warm against her cheek. "We don´t need to go"
"I´b so sorry… I jusd-"
"You don’t need to apologize about anything, T. I don´t want you to go anywhere if you are not feeling great. The whole point of this was to just have some fun" Travis smiled sweetly while he rubbed his arms down her shoulders.
“You doe you.. snff… you dod´t have to stay right? I´ll jusd take sobe bore meds ahd jusd go t-to.. huhh” Travis chuckled wryly and handed his woozy girlfriend a fresh tissue, which the blonde-haired girl grabbed hastily, raising it to her stuffy pink nose, already flaring wide as a fresh trickle of clear snot dribbled lazily from their depths. “Ishhxk!! Ishhiew!! Iiih, iishhew!!! Snfl…” Taylor sighed miserably as she wiped her nose.
“Bless you, baby. And I'm not going anywhere, so just forget it.” He told her while guiding her back into the bedroom “I´ve missed you so much these past weeks it´s going to take a whole lot more than a few sneezes to keep me away from you” he told her sweetly, with his big, charming smile as he helped her climb back under the covers and then tug them back up again so she was tucked snugly into bed.
“There, you stay here and pick a movie, I´ll go get us some take out and we can just stay here” Trav told her gently, threading her fingers through her girlfriend’s soft blonde hair.
“Thadk you, baby” Taylor smiled gratefully at him. She looked into his eyes, a gentle smile on her lips and the little twinkle in her eyes that he loved so much. Her small hand moving to his chest, pulling him closer “It´s so nice to be back home”
Lol remember when I said I had written my first and only allergy fic? Oops my hand slipped (I had an idea for a scenario that just screamed A/ramis)...
The ever-changing location of Marie DuPont’s hands on his body was making it increasingly hard for Aramis to devote his complete attention to the poetry he was meant to be reading to her. The room was awash in candlelight, but Aramis knew it was not their pitiable flames which contributed to the rising heat in his cheeks.
“My dear,” Aramis said breathlessly, her palms inching upward from his thighs. “For all you assured me that these cantos would be to my taste, you seem determined to ensure I cannot focus on them.”
“Perhaps,” she said, hands sneaking up further, “a bit of a break is in order, hmm?”
Aramis set the book of poetry aside on the engraved oak table as Marie led him, her soft hand in his, to her magnificent tufted bed. She parted the curtains and ushered Aramis in as though she were the driver helping the master into the carriage, but for the chaste kiss she pressed to Aramis’s knuckles and of course, the increasingly less chaste kisses which followed, snaking up his arm to his shoulder and then his neck. Her lips parted the cambric of his shirt away from his skin deftly, and Aramis moaned his pleasure.
“Wait here a moment,” she whispered, chin brushing against Aramis’s ear as she spoke. With a mischievous grin, she snapped the curtains shut, leaving Aramis with her tantalizing silhouette as she slipped off her outermost garments.
Aramis peeked out his head. “You wicked, wicked woman.”
Marie smiled at him and retrieved a clear bottle from the stand nearest her bed. She flicked a few drops of the transparent liquid therein upon her fingers and patted them on her cheeks, her neck, her breasts. Immediately, Aramis was assaulted by a sharp, pungent scent that may have been pleasant had his nose been able to get over the shock of smelling it. As such, the very air he breathed felt ticklish and itchy.
He sniffed once, hard, hoping that this might help him acclimate to his new surroundings. Marie hummed as she dabbed more of the liquid on her wrists, clearly mistaking Aramis’s sniff as one of approval, or at least of interest, and not a desperate attempt to stop the feeling of insect wings whirring in his nose.
“It’s a new perfume,” she said, giving the bottle a shake. “Sandalwood. My husband procured it for me from one of his trading partners in the East and gave it to me as a parting gift before he left for Amiens. Isn’t it lovely?”
Marie came back and perched herself on the bed beside Aramis, who did all he could to subtly angle his head away from her without being outrightly offensive. Still, it was no use, the scent was wafting through the entirety of the chambers now, and already Aramis’s nose was running, his eyes starting to water.
“It’s–hihhh–It’s quite strong.” He scrubbed quickly, hopefully surreptitiously, at his nose.
She smiled at him, tracing a neatly-manicured finger along Aramis’s hairline at his temple. “Do you like it?”
“Snf!” On any other occasion, Aramis would have welcomed the contact, but as such it put his nose in even closer proximity to her fragrant wrist, a fact which was rapidly proving to be his undoing. “I think I’m–HESHHOOO! Snf! ITSSHOOO!”
“Oh, Aramis,” she cooed, stroking his cheek. “Are you well?” She slipped a gentle hand to the base of his head and pulled him toward her breast.
“Nnnn, it’s–” Frantically, as the whole of him began to leak ceaselessly, Aramis did his best to wrangle himself free, to push himself away from her, too desperate to worry about how such a motion would be received. “The p-perfume! Ihhh’HISHHH’ooo! Snf! I’m—HISHHH’uhh! I think I’m–HESHHH’uhh!” He swiped his fingers across his burning, streaming eyes, and croaked, “Allergic.”
“Oh, my poor Aramis.”
Marie frowned at him, which only deepened when three more explosive sneezes burst out of him, leaving him spluttering, gasping, and sniffling in the aftermath. “Here.” She reached for the cloth which rested beside a bowl of water on her nightstand. “Take my handkerchief.”
His breath already hitching with the promise of another sneeze, Aramis accepted the proffered cloth without question. “Hhh’RSHHH!” But as soon as he pressed it to his nose he realized the folly of what he had just done; even as stopped tight with congestion as he was, he could still smell that the handkerchief was as doused in perfume as its owner.
Aramis groaned. “I n-nneed–HETCHHH’OO!--need to… HEHHSHHHH!” He sniffled and did his best to swallow around his inflamed throat, every inch of him on fire with the burning itch. “Need to go.”
“No!” Aramis cried desperately, all but sprinting away from her and to the door. “Please. Th–heh–the p-perfume. EHH’TSCHOO! Snf! I–” He could hold on no longer; the perfumed air of the bedchamber was slowly suffocating him, and so he was forced to dash out the door, down the staircase, without sparing a backward glance toward Marie nor her servants as he rushed forward with the singular purpose of reaching the outside and its sweet, unadulterated air.
Uncaring of the people he passed (and likely frightened), Aramis stumbled and staggered his way amidst sneezes and wheezing coughs until he ducked into a shady courtyard where he could be hidden from view and succumb fully to his affliction. “ITSCHOO! Hhhh’IDSHHH! HESHHH’uhh! Snf! EHHH’KSHOOO!” He sneezed again and again until he whimpered for mercy between ragged gasps for air. Every inch of him was positively consumed, his eyes inflamed, his throat and chest tight, his vision blurred as hot tears streamed from his eyes.
“Hehh’ISHHHH’uhh! HEHSHH!” And yet still the infernal sneezes came, one after another, until Aramis was sure he would never taste freedom from them again.
Gradually, as his nose began to settle and breathing became merely an arduous endeavor and not a torturous one, the memory of how urgently he had quit Marie’s chambers and scuttled out the door flooded back to Aramis’s mind, sending him awash in horror. He groaned, leaning his aching, heavy head against the trunk of the tree under which he had sought refuge, and shut his burning eyes. The chances that Marie DuPont welcomed him back into her home, let alone into her bed, after such an insult were slim, and though Aramis was confident in his ability to find another woman just as stimulating in mind and body as she (Paris was full of such beautiful creatures), he would surely miss her. The fact that the end of their relationship lay outside a jealous husband or a need to keep up a reputation and instead solely with Aramis and his own bodily weakness merely added to the sting.
“Eh’HISHHH!” Aramis wiped his nose with his now-sodden handkerchief, releasing another groan at its pitiful, woebegotten state. Though the prudent choice of action would have been to take himself back to his rooms for a clean handkerchief to deal with the residual effects of this perfume, Aramis found himself drawn in the direction of the tavern where he knew Porthos and D’Artagnan to be playing dice, reasoning slightly deliriously in his foggy mind that such a place was as good as any to sneeze out any remaining irritation.
He entered the tavern, sniffling wetly and wiping at his eyes, but nonetheless spied his friend’s corner table almost immediately. Aramis trudged over, feeling every bit as exhausted as if he had spent the day in the saddle. Porthos glanced up at him as he approached, wide-eyed.
“Did the Madame DuPont kick you…” The rest of his question died on his tongue as he better surveyed his brother, narrowed eyes scanning the length of Aramis’s undoubtedly dishevelled frame. “What happened to you, Aramis?”
D’Artagnan winced. “You look a bit…”
Mercifully, the Gascon did not finish his thought, yet still Aramis found himself rankled. He dropped heavily into the chair beside Porthos with a thick sniffle, burying his still-itchy face in his hands and rubbing. “I don’t want to talk about it. Heh’KSHIEW!”
D’Artagnan narrowed his eyes further, his expression softening minutely. “Did you get sick?”
Porthos shook his head. “Nah, I think he’s…” He trailed off, brow creased in thought, until his face turned bright and he huffed an incredulous laugh, a loud guffaw that shook the table. “You turned allergic to Madame DuPont!” He grabbed at his rumbling belly, tears squeezing from his eyes. “Oh, that’s a new one.”
“I’m not allergic to her,” Aramis said bitterly. “Snf! Snf! Ihhh…” He rubbed at his nose with his already-soiled (though mercifully unscented) handkerchief, releasing a low growl in his throat at the way the gesture irritated his already raw skin. “Hihhh… Ihhh’TSHHHH!”
He blew his nose hard enough that his ears popped, though he could still hear his friends laughing at his expense. “It’s–snf!--her perfume. Sandalwood.”
D’Artagnan snickered. “Damn, I guess I’ll have to throw the bottle I just bought away.”
“Ha ha.” Aramis lowered his handkerchief with a pointed glare, and was gratified when the Gascon had the good grace to look at least a bit chagrined.
Porthos, too, took on an expression of greater concern. “Her perfume never bothered you before.”
“Snf! HESHHH’oo!” Aramis groaned softly at the pounding in his head, wishing that his friends would prove their merciful countenances genuine by putting a bullet through it. “That’s because it’s new. Snf!” He coughed, his throat still lamentably tickly, especially given all the time that had passed. “Her husband gave it to her before he left for his travels.”
“Her husband…” Porthos whistled lowly and shook his head, mouth turning downward in disapproval. “Jesus Christ, Aramis.”
For reasons likely related to the sheer misery he was experiencing, the words from Porthos rankled him far more than they usually would. “Well, that is typically how one becomes a madame, is it not?” Aramis snapped, the words hot on his tongue. He shifted his watery gaze to their youthful companion. “And don’t look at me like that, D’Artagnan. As if you don’t have your eye on Constance. Eh’KSHHHH!”
Because Aramis had shut his bleary eyes and buried himself in his handkerchief once more, he did not see Porthos mouth grouchy at D’Artagnan, nor did he notice the subsequent pair of grins at his expense that followed. All he did notice was Porthos’s hands, warm, firm, and steady on his shoulders as he guided Aramis to his feet.
“Come on,” Porthos said. “Let’s get you a bath and then to bed.”
Soooooo funny thing about this is that I simply could not get this idea out of my head and since I made Noah delirious in the last fic with them, I had to make Savannah delirious in this one. Their two situations in the last fic and this one parallel each other pretty well which makes my heart go <3 <3 <3 buuuut there's a also little dual POV in here and it wouldn't be a fic from me if there wasn't a male with horrendous allergies so...Noah you're up :). Thanks for all the love on the last Noah + Sav fic, enjoy this one!!
Noah’s POV:
I peeked through the window on the door of the classroom, frowning at the darkness. …What? Oh, god, I definitely missed an email. I slipped my phone out of my pocket and opened my email, blinking down at the email that I had somehow missed saying that our lab was cancelled for today. Well, it sucked that I made the trek all the way here from my apartment, but at least I didn’t have to sit through hours of chemistry today. I’d take that one as a win.
I pocketed my phone again and was about to leave when a small, muffled noise stopped me. I paused, glancing down the hallway and listening closely. There it was again! Was that…Was someone crying? Considering this was the building where most of the science labs were held, I didn’t blame them. I hated my chemistry lab just as much as the next person.
But, that was the thing: my chemistry lab was typically the only lab running in this building at this time. It was always deserted when we came in. Meaning, either someone was hiding out in this empty building specifically to cry, which was a terrible choice. This building was scary from the outside, and even scarier on the inside. It needed a re-do, to say the least.
Or, it meant that someone from my lab had also made the mistake of coming here and was now…crying? For an unknown reason. And, that seemed like the more likely option, considering this building was so hidden away I was twenty minutes late to the first lab because I couldn’t find it.
As much as I wanted to let whoever that was have their own space, it just felt…wrong to just completely leave. Especially since I was fairly sure this was someone that I knew from my lab…I’d just make the left turn towards the sound, and casually walk by to make sure whoever it was was fine and not bleeding out dying on the floor of the lab building, and then I’d pretend I didn’t see them and walk out. Lovely plan.
I took out my phone, gaze pointed down at it as I began to walk forward to take the left. I took the turn, still looking at my phone to give some semblance of privacy. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a figure sitting against the hallway wall as I approached.
Wait…Was that…?
“Savannah?”
Immediately, I was pocketing my phone and swiftly making my way over to my lab partner, kneeling down next to her as soon as I got close. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, her eyes and cheekbones red, and my heart panged at the sight, my eyes flicking over her to make sure everything was alright. Well, obviously everything wasn’t alright, but I needed to make sure that she was physically alright. I couldn’t have her bleeding out in the middle of the hallway.
Once I had confirmed that, yes, everything was fine physically, my gaze turned back to hers. “What’s wrong? I can take you home if you didn’t see the email that lab was cancelled either, I was late so I drove myself today, but…” I trailed off. How was I supposed to phrase ‘But I’m pretty sure that you wouldn’t be on the floor crying over just coming to lab when it was actually cancelled, so what’s actually going on?’ I had a feeling if I asked that straight out it would make things worse.
She gave a soft, congested sniffle and futilely wiped at her eyes, blinking them open to look at me. Huh…There was something wrong here. I couldn’t exactly tell what, but her eyes didn’t just look watery from crying. They almost looked glazed over, as if she was in some kind of trance.
“What’s wrong?” I repeated again softly. This time, the question seemed to make it through to her. She gave another heavy sniffle before sighing, tipping her head against the wall as if the weight of the world was pulling it down.
“I-I…” She gave another hiccup of a cry before trying to explain through a partially incoherent ramble. “I came to lab by accident because I was sleeping all day and didn’t check my email and woke up when I only had twenty minutes to get here, snff!, and then lab wasn’t going on cause it was cancelled and then I checked my phone a-and someone from my apartment had texted in the group text that they had seen a gray striped cat run by them on floor two and I’m cat-sitting for my friend and she was supposed to pick her up later today but I-I think I left my apartment door open and sh-she ran out,” Savannah burst into another round of hiccuping tears and slight sobs after she completely word-vomited her story out in the open.
I blinked as my mind tried to take in everything she had just said. Alarm bells were blaring in my head at the words ‘cat-sitting’, but I ignored those for now, trying to focus on the rest of her story.
“Wait, you left your apartment door open?” I asked, brows furrowing. Savannah was probably the most routine person I knew - maybe not in all ways, but the girl always got her work done and was very focused on making sure everything was in order. The Savannah I knew would never leave her apartment door even unlocked, much less wide open. Especially if she was cat-sitting, I knew all of her attention would be on keeping that cat safe. She would never leave her door ajar like that.
I analyzed her a bit closer. Actually, now that I was looking closer, she was sniffling a bit more than usual, even for crying, and her face was really flushed, and she looked almost…pale? And, her skin looked…sweaty? Wait…
“Savannah, are you sick?” I asked.
The girl miserably nodded, more hot tears making their way down her cheeks. Oh, god, I wasn’t qualified to help with this whatsoever.
Instinctively, I swiped away the tears from her cheeks with my thumb, my other hand raising to her forehead. Jeeeesus, the girl was running a hell of a fever. And, based on the way she leaned into my touch, she was also incredibly delirious. Not that I couldn’t tell that from everything else about our current interaction.
Well, it was fairly obvious that the girl wasn’t just sick. As much as I typically ran way-high fevers when I got sick, that wasn’t super normal for any old person picking up the common cold. My guess was the flu. I hoped I was wrong, but for her to be this incoherent and this vulnerable around me, that fever had to be way up there.
As much as Savannah seemed to be much more tolerable of me since our interaction two weeks ago when I was sick, I was still positive that we weren’t at the stage in our friendship that she would willingly cry like this around me. So, I knew the girl was absurdly sick, to say the least.
I swiped at my nose quickly with a swift sniff before tugging a plastic water bottle out of my backpack, cracking it open, and handing it over to her as I decided on a plan of action. She managed to take a few swings of the water, as I decided on the only plan that made any type of sense. I gently took the bottle back, twisting the cap back on and slipping it back into my backpack. I slipped my sleeves up over my wrists, gently swiping them over her face to dry her tears. She definitely wasn’t in the right state to understand what was going on, so I felt a bit more normal about trying to clean her up.
“Alright, I’m gonna take you h-home, okay? We gotta make sure that your apartment is okay and get you to bed,” I lifted my hand for her to take and met her gaze again once her eyes fluttered open. Without any complaint or words whatsoever, she took my hand and I pulled her up to her feet.
She made a small stumble while attempting to steady herself, and I tugged her against my side to make sure she wouldn’t fall over. God, was this how she felt when I was sick? Fuck, I hoped not.
…Swiftly moving on from that life-alteringly humiliating thought, I glanced down at her.
“Are you good to start heading out?” I kept a large hand on her back as I quickly ducked back down to grab her backpack as well.
“My car…” She mumbled out as we started to make our way out of the building.
I had been busy overthinking this entire situation and scrubbing at my increasingly itchy nose, so I turned to blink down at her in surprise at her words.
“Did you drive here?” I asked.
“Mhmmm,” She replied in a hum. I had no goddamn idea how she had managed to operate a motor vehicle in this state, but I shook that horrifying thought out of my head so I could think for a moment.
We were going back to her apartment so I could drop her back off, and I didn’t want her to be stranded at her apartment without her car and have to find a way to get back to her car here…
“Okay, where are your keys? I’ll d-drive your car bahh-back,” Christ, I was sure half of the tickle in my sinuses was completely psychosomatic - that just because I knew Savannah had been by a cat recently, a fluttering tickle started toying with my nose way back in my sinuses.
Anyway, My car could wait a few hours in this parking lot. I’d drive her car home, and then walk back over here and grab my own car later.
Savannah fumbled for her keys in her pocket as I roughly scrubbed at my itchy nose again, thanking her when she placed them into my hand.
We made our way out to the parking lot, me half-carrying Savannah with the amount of weight she was resting into my arm around her back. Considering there were only three cars in the parking lot of this building - one of which being mine - it wasn’t too hard to find her car.
My hand moved to open up the passenger side door, carefully manuevering Savannah inside and telling her to buckle her seatbelt before closing her door just as carefully. I made my way inside the drivers seat, taking a few moments to adjust the seat - Jesus Christ that girl drove with the seat so far up - and to look over the car…
Wait.
Savannah Mitchell drove stick? …That seemed completely out of character at first, but oddly started to make sense the more I thought about it. I’d need to see that one day.
After sending a big mental ‘thank you’ to my Uncle Bobby who thought it was absolutely necessary for me to learn how to drive stick for no reason, I began the drive to Savannah’s apartment building.
I had learned during our coffee and chem session a week ago what apartment building she lived in, and I was pretty sure that during her crying and rambling earlier that she had mentioned floor 2…? I’d double check the floor later, but I definitely knew what building she was living in.
My allergen-irritated sinuses couldn’t help but sniffle a few more times before I brought one hand up to knuckle at my nose as I pulled to a red light, glancing over to the passenger seat to check on Savannah. She seemed extremely out of it, still, but had stopped actively crying (win), and seemed fine otherwiihh…othehhH! Otherwise-!
I wrenched to the side to bury a bundle of sneezes into my arm. “rRISHHHhu!-ESHhhHIIU!-hiIRISHHHhiEW! Hheh! eeH! iiITSHhhHuUE! ehh’YYIISHhhIEW!” Ugh, fucking cat--
A sharp honk behind me made me jump, realizing that the light had turned green. I moved the car forward through the light, cursing under my breath again as I swiped at my eyes. Based on how badly my sinuses were itching, the cat had definitely been in Savannah’s car.
…It was fine. I could deal with it. “iIESHhhyyU!” …Maybe.
After about ten more minutes (and definitely over ten more sneezes from me), I pulled up to Savannah’s apartment and parked the car. Immediately, my lashes fluttered shut and I hitched up to the sneezes I’d been attempting to hold back while driving.
“rRIIESSHHU!!-yIEShhHUE!-eeh! hhhEH’TISHHhU! hih-hIH! hiITSHHiEW! yyYIESHhhhUE! Hheh! ehH! ETSHhhHU!-uhhhJesusChrist…” I scrubbed viciously at my surely pink nose. Exercising an extreme amount of self-control I didn’t know I had, I avoided giving a similar harsh treatment to my eyes just yet, and instead blinked to relieve my eyes as I looked over at Savannah. Surprisingly, she was gazing right back at me. “Bless you,” She let out, words slightly slurred together. Jesus, I needed to get this girl in bed.
“Thagk you,” I cringed at the congestion already in my voice as I turned off the car and gathered both of our bags before stepping out of the car, moving over to Savannah’s side and opening her door as well. “Come on, let’s go upstairs. You gotta show me where your apartment is,” I helped her step out of the car with an outstretched hand in hers as well as another steadying hand at her back.
Within just a few minutes of attempting to find Savannah’s apartment through the maze of the building, I quickly realized that we were getting nowhere. Not only was she moving at a snail’s pace, she needed to stop about every minute to gather back her energy that the walking was draining out of her. After the third wrong turn that she took, I slung our bags over each of my shoulders. “C’mere, Savannah, just…here,”
I slipped my arms under her back and her legs, scooping her up into my arms, wincing slightly as I waited for any type of objection, but…it never came. She just simply sunk into my grasp, rested her head on my chest as she curled towards my body’s warmth, and mumbled out her apartment number.
I might have just stared down at her for a few seconds before forcing my body to move. And, no, I wasn’t feeling any kind of unhelpful fluttery feelings at all, I just… needed to make sure she was alright.
I carefully walked around her apartment building - we hadn’t even been on the right floor, much less the right wing of the building - with Savannah in my arms until I found her apartment. I tried the door, frowning when it immediately clicked open. The door itself hadn’t been wide open like she had thought, and I assumed someone walking by may have closed it.
I shut and locked the door behind me, trying not to jostle Savannah around in my arms because god knows she needed the rest, and she just looked so tir…Oh.
She had…already fallen asleep.
Said girl in my arms had her eyes fluttered closed peacefully, lips parted slightly as she took in slow breaths. It was the most peaceful I’d ever seen her. (No, I wasn’t getting the fluttery feeling again, shut up--).
I wandered around her apartment, making sure that everything seemed okay and in place, as the idea of her door being wide open made me a bit nervous. After doing a thorough run-through of the apartment and everything seeming perfectly fine, I made my way back to her bedroom and gently placed Savannah’s still sleeping body down onto her bed, pulling the covers over her body lightly.
With Savannah settling in easily to her bed, I perched on the edge as I thought of what to do next. Sneeze, apparently.
With a fleeting thought of Fuck, more??-- My fingers cruelly pinched my nostrils shut to stifle a few more sneezes (the sneezing seemed to be getting worse in her apartment), and I tugged out my phone from my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts until I found the person I was looking for - one of my only real connections to Savannah. I made my way out of the bedroom as to not disturb her and pressed the call button as Savannah slept peacefully away in the room next to me…
~~~~~
Savannah’s POV:
…“Well, I don’t really know, she’s been kind of MIA for the past few days, and I guess this is why, but she just seems really sick”
I stirred, blinking my eyes open with a yawn before closing my eyes yet again. God I was tired…I was just gonna go back to bed…
“Udless she usually ruds that high of fevers whed she gets sick, sobeone should probably bring her to the doctor whed she’s well edough to get a flu test,”...
I pressed my hand against my forehead, groaning. Who was talking so loudly? They needed to shut up…Ugh, I felt disgusting…
I forced my eyes to flutter open, pushing my body up to lean against the headboard. The other voices in my room seemed to realize I was awake, and filed into my room. With a few more blinks, my vision finally unblurred, revealing two of my best friends - Emmy and Olivia - as well as Emmy’s boyfriend, Asher, and… Oh, god.
And Noah. Lovely. Just who I wanted to see right now when I was all hazy and confused and sleepy. Emmy and Olivia were roommates at an apartment complex around five minutes away, and Asher and Noah knew each other well. Considering I was friends with Emmy and Olivia, and Emmy and Asher were dating, we always seemed to run into Noah when we went out. Technically, Noah and I were mutual friends. I didn’t exactly like to think of it that way.
As they all huddled around my bed, I tried to wrack my brain about why they would all be here…? What were they talking about when I was waking up, again? Going to the doctor, flu test…
Oh, fuck.
Okay, they must have realized I was sick, and the group of them must have been hanging out together when they came to check on me, hence why Noah was there. It was the only thing that made any sense. Great.
“How are you feeling?” Emmy asked with a small, sympathetic frown.
I gave a small shrug, my mind still too tired and hazy to fully take stock of how I was feeling. “Exhausted. And gross. But, other than that, okay. I didn’t feel this bad before I went to bed last night,” I said, grossly overestimating how well I was feeling.
Following a familiar waking-up routine, my hand fumbled to pick up my phone from where it sat on my bedside table. My thumb absently tapped at the screen to check if I missed any notifications, considering I crashed fairly early last night after taking that Nyquil. It took my eyes a few moments to understand what I was seeing, and I sat up straight upon realizing how late in the day it was.
“It’s 5:00pm?!” I exclaimed, wide eyes flickering up to my friends next to my bed. “Shit, I missed lab,” I murmured, pressing my hand to my eyes yet again as I tried to comprehend the fact that I slept the entire day away.
Glancing up at my friends, though, they didn’t exactly seem to understand what I was saying. “...What did I say?” Emmy, Olivia, and Asher were all looking at Noah with incredibly confused looks on their face, while Noah…
Actually, Noah wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was pointed upwards towards the ceiling, his shoulders hitching up as his wrist raised to his face, just under his flaring nostrils. “hhIISHhhU-yyYISHhhhUE! eeH’IITSHhhu! RITSSHHhhhUE!-RISHhhhIEW!”
I chorused a soft blessing along with the others in the room, still incredibly lost on what was going on. God, I hated this feeling.
Noah sniffled and scrubbed at his nose before turning his gaze to me. Okay, now Noah was looking at me with as confused a look as the others were.
“You…” He bit his lip and thought for a moment before trying again. “You dod’t rebember lab bei’g cancelled today?”
The sickness-haze was beginning to dissipate as I woke up a bit more, and I noted the congestion in Noah’s voice. I couldn’t have gotten him sick so fast, could I? I hadn’t even seen him in the past, like five days, and I didn’t even start feeling sick until a few days ago…Whatever. I shoved that thought to another time before beginning to dissect his previous sentence, which was just as confusing as everything else that had happened since I woke up.
“Lab was cancelled today?” I asked, to a hesitant nod from Noah. “Why are you acting like I should know that if I’ve been asleep since last night?”
And, at that comment, my friends’ expressions all got a bit less confused, but a lot more worried. Emmy, ever the brave one, spoke up first.
“Sav…you went to lab today, even though it was cancelled. Noah found you there, absurdly sick, and brought you home…You still don’t remember?”
My mind was racing. I had gone out today? To lab, apparently. Honestly, that was kind of impressive, considering how sick I was. …But, that was an accomplishment to celebrate another time. Especially considering the second half of her sentence, that Noah had found me…God, this was confusing.
So, Noah found me and brought me back…? I had assumed that he had just been with my friends by chance, since we were technically mutual friends through Asher and Emmy, but…it was just surprising. I mean, it shouldn’t have been all that surprising considering I had done kind of the same thing for him a week or two ago, but I had a feeling based on my friends’ current body languages that I was acting much worse than Noah had when he was in a similar situation.
He must have read the confusion on my face. “I cad explaid whad happeded later od if you wadt,” Noah offered softly, still snuffling over there for some reason.
I turned my attention to Noah, still not knowing what to think of his whole presence. As much as I liked Noah much more than I had a week ago, I still was not his biggest fan by any stretch, and was not really loving the fact that he’d apparently seen me in a very vulnerable state that I didn’t even remember.
This was eerily similar to his situation last week in which I’d taken him home after lab…Is this how he felt when I had to explain everything that he feverishly didn’t remember doing? God, I hated this. But, there was also a different burning question I had to ask him.
“Did I get you sick?” The question made its way out of my mouth with no filter fairly bluntly, so I managed to soften my tone a tiny bit as I continued. “I’m really sorry if I did, I didn’t even know I was sick until a couple days ago but I must have given it to you when we grabbed coffee and--”
“--Ndo, ndo, I’b ndot sick. S’just…y’kdow…” Noah gestured to his surroundings aimlessly with a hand.
My brows furrowed. What was he talking about? “I don’t know, actually,” I prompted, a confused look in my eyes.
Noah, on the other hand, seemed on his way to building up to another few perfectly timed sneezes. Asher jumped in quickly, obviously impatient with how this conversation was going.
“He’s not sick, he’s allergic to the cat,” He let out impatiently, just as…
Well, that little tidbit of information caused my brain to jog up and remember something that had happened while I was apparently too feverish to function: I was supposed to be catsitting Michaela’s cat, but she escaped because I forgot to close the apartment door.
Why that was the piece of information that my wacked-out brain chose to remember, I don’t know, but I stiffened at the remembrance.
“Oh, fuck, the cat ran out of the apartment while I was gone, Michaela is supposed to be here soon to pick her up, I’ve gotta go try to find her--” Frantic hands were already starting to throw the covers off of my body to go out searching when I felt a hand land on my shoulder, keeping me in place for the time being.
“No, no, it’s okay, Noa--” Emmy started, almost immediately getting cut off by Noah himself as his name was spoken.
“Sobeone fou’d the cahh! cat, s’alright,” Noah jumped in quickly, before muffling another double of sneezes into his arm.
Emmy, Olivia, and Asher were all giving Noah odd looks, but he sent them all a silencing glare. I was definitely missing something here, but I had no idea what on Earth it was. It was kind of freaking me out.
“...Oh. Okay. So, Molly’s back here?” I asked, brows furrowed.
“Yeah, Michaela’s coming to pick her up in a few hours,”
I breathed out a soft sigh of relief. Alright, at least one thing was going right. Thank god someone had found the cat.
A heavy sigh escaped my lips before I started speaking again, this time directed towards Noah. “Do I even want to know what happened earlier?” I mumbled softly, managing to lift my gaze up to Noah. To absolutely no one’s surprise, he was building up to a sneeze again. Or, multiple sneezes, most likely, since he couldn’t seem to stick to just one.
“y-yiiH!-hhIH! yyYISHhhUE-IIESHhhU! hhyiEH! EIISHhhhu!-K’TSHhhhUE!” With fluttering lashes blinking away allergic tears, he ducked forward into his awaiting arm with the harsh sneezes. I could tell he was getting exhausted with all the sneezing, I could hear it in his voice. The guy must be really allergic to cats if just being in the apartment was causing him that much allergic despair. I was about to offer him Benadryl when he beat me to speaking, answering my question from a moment earlier.
“I probise you, s’dnot thad bad. Id’s like we’re even ndow,” He mentioned softly, pressing a knuckle to his nostrils for a few moments to dispel a fluttering tickle before looking back at me again.
The other three in the room gave a look at his latter comment, and I quickly realized that they had no idea what he was talking about. They didn’t know what happened two weeks ago with Noah being sick…God, I couldn’t get into all of that right now. I quickly disregarded it, just giving another sigh at Noah.
“Alright, just tell me,” I let out, meeting his watery gaze.
As Noah moved to sit on the edge of my bed, Emmy and Olivia seemed to find two separate absolute nonsense excuses to head out of my room to leave Noah and I to it. Asher was a bit more oblivious, but Emmy just dragged him out along with her, leaving Noah and I on the bed.
My gaze turned up to his, my teeth digging into my lip nervously. “Was it really ‘not that bad’ or were you just saying that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
“Id was idcredibly bad. You almbost set the buildi’g od fire a’d you codfessed your u’dying love a’d attractiod to Professor Westerhold,” Noah let out, his tone sarcastically serious. I couldn’t even try to hold back my laughter at that.
“Stop it, I’m serious,” I complained through giggles.
“I kdow. You were very serious about your idtimate love for Westerhold, id was ki’d of scary, hodestly--”
“Stop, stop, or I’m gonna tell Asher about you almost setting yourself on fire in lab two weeks ago because you kept almost falling asleep. Twice,” I shot back, the smile still across my lips lessening the threat.
He gave me a look that I’m pretty sure was supposed to be a glare, but it was much too fond and mirth-filled for that. “Fide, fide. Id all seriousdess, id really was’dt thahh! thad b-bahH! bad-!” His voice ticked up in pitch with each hitch as he tried to push through the rest of his sentence before his allergies took over yet again.
“hH’DSHhHUE! hHIISHHIEW! Hhih! RIESHhhhU-hHRISHhUUE!” He tried to muffle the sneezes against his sleeve, but didn’t really help reduce the sound whatsoever, considering how loud Noah’s sneezes seemed to be.
“Bless you,” I let out instinctively, giving him a small sympathetic frown as he emerged with watery eyes.
“Ugh, thagk you. You’re godda get sick of sayi’g that, though,”
I waved him off casually, a sudden thought flitting through my mind. I turned towards my bedside table and leaned over to open the drawer at the bottom, pulling out a spare box of tissues and handing the box over.
Noah’s expression might have been the most relieved I’d ever seen it when he laid eyes on the box, and he let out a soft groan followed by a chain of words all tumbling out together. “Ohhhmbygodthagkyousobuch”
A soft laugh escaped my lips at his reaction, watching as he immediately tugged out a few tissues, cupped them over his nose, and harshly rubbed the sides before gently blowing. It didn’t seem to do much at all to clear the congestion with how softly he blew, but at least he had the tissues as an option now.
“No cats for you, huh?” My lips quirked up slightly.
His watery gaze lifted to mine from behind the tissues. “Udless id’s ode of those gross hairless cats, udfortudately no,” He muffled a helpless double of sneezes into the tissues, snuffling into them before bringing them away from his nose and just clenching in them in his hand. I had a feeling he was going to need them again soon considering how his nose was still wriggling.
“Adyway, I probise it wasd’t thad bad,” Oh, we were starting to get into it. God, my heart rate was increasing with the suspense.
“I fou’d you ki’d of…upset, outside the lab roomb, sitti’g agaidst the wall ‘cause I also accidedtally wedt to lab. I figured out you were sick, realized how hh-high your fever was, a’d thed drove you hihH!-home a’d…a’d--!”
A swift hand brought the clutched tissues up to his face, and he released the desperate fit into the white paper, eyes scrunched closed with the effort. At this point, I wasn’t sure if it was effort from trying to cut off the fit or effort from attempting to get all the sneezes out in one fit. All I did know was that a smooth stream of guilt slithered through my body.
Noah, who I thought had basically hated me up until two weeks ago and who I still wasn’t the hugest fan of, had not only taken me home after finding me in a …less than coherent state, to say the least, but he’d also willingly endured all the second-hand-allergic-ness that came with my apartment being riddled with the dander, which he was decidedly allergic to. Great. Well, at least he seemed to be finishing up this fit just about now.
“iih-HIH! yIISHhhHUE!-RIEShhHHIEWW!-uhhh…God, sorry, snff!!” I was about to jump in with the fact that he wasn’t the one that had to be sorry, but my brain still wasn’t working fast enough, and Noah had already launched back into telling the story of earlier.
“Uhmb…Oh, right, so I brought you back here a’d you ibbediately fell asleep. Like, idstadtadeously. A’d thed I did’t kdow whad to do, so I called Asher a’d was godda see if Ebby kndew thad you were so sick to see if you’d gode to the doctor. All three of theb were over at the apartbedt so they all cambe over to check od you,” Noah explained, every few words interrupted by an itchy, allergic cough or a congested sniffle.
“So then…” I trailed off. Did I even want to know?...Yeah, I did. I was nosey. “What happened with the cat?”
Noah infintismally stiffed at that comment, breaking eye contact with me and looking upwards briefly as he gathered his thoughts. “Well…Sobeone od your floor just fou’d the cat and recogdized it, I thigk,” He let out.
…I knew better. This whole thing sounded a bit too good to be true. Plus, he turned out to be absolutely terrible at lying.
“You know, I never took Noah Jameson to be a liar, but I think I may have been mistaken,” I hummed out, raising an eyebrow, the comment sending Noah reeling.
“Hey, I did’t lie about adythin--”
“--No, but you’re not telling me everything, I can tell,”
“I have dno idea how you’d be able to tell, Savadda--”
“--I can tell because you’re honestly a horrible liar and I can hear it in your voice and see it on your face that you’re not telling me everything. I know it’s probably bad, but would you please just tell me because I remember basically nothing from--”
“--Fide! Whad do you wadt mbe to say, thad I fou’d you cryi’g od the floor, you were so delirious thad you barely kdew what you were sayi’g, and thad I had to carry you idside to your apardment because you were so sick and feverish you could barely walk three sdeps? Is thad what you want to hear, ‘cause id’s dnot sobethi’g I pardicularly like to thi’k about, a’d I really did’t thidk thad’s somethi’g you’d wadt to kdow!” Noah instinctively raised his arms in the air as he spoke.
…Oh. Well…Maybe I would have liked to hear that new absolutely humiliating information in a bit of a more gentle and sympathetic way, buuut, it was kind of my bad, considering I did push him to tell me tha…Wait, what was that?
Mid-mental spiral about the newly revealed information (that I’d cried and he carried me?? I was fairly sure I would never recover.) my gaze fixated on a certain section of his forearm, my expression wrinkling slightly in confusion. Partially because of my curiosity and partially because I had no idea how to respond to that new information and needed to say something, I reached out to gently grab his left arm, pulling it closer to me to inspect with a frown.
A red scratch laid on the center of his inner forearm, the three harsh red lines contrasting with his tan skin. That was definitely a new scratch, considering it seemed much more red than normal and it had…red sploches around it?
“What…? Did you scratch yourself?” I mumbled out, my feverish mind lagging as I tried to catch up.
Noah, seemingly finally realizing what I was looking at on his arm, froze and haphazardly pulled his arm from my grip, instinctively itching at the scratches and the spot around it. “S’fide, I just…slipped,” He mentioned casually. Liar. I was about to tell him so when everything seemed to click in my mind.
“Noah, were you holding the cat?” Why on Earth would he do that when he was so obviously allergic? Now that it had all clicked, that scratch on his arm was definitely from Molly, though, I just didn’t understand why.
His body stiffened as his gaze set on mine. “N-ndo, I wasd’t holdi’g the cat, I just slipped a’d scratched byself,” He tried.
“You’re lying to me,” I insisted, pressing further with a hard-set gaze.
Noah groaned with a congested sniff. “Savaddah, I-I’b dnot lyi…”
His voice faded out as I began to piece things together in my mind. The scratch on his arm, the way he had gotten uncomfortable when talking about how Molly was found, the absolutely incessent sneezing and allergies…
I looked up at him and blinked in surprise, finding him looking right back at me with wide eyes.
“Noah, were you the person that found Molly?”
“...Ndo, I told you, sobeode just fou’d he--”
“You are possibly the worst liar I’ve ever met. Did you really go running around my apartment building looking for her when you’re insanely allergic?”
Noah glanced downwards for a moment before managing to put his gaze back on me. “...Mbaybe,”
I sighed with a glance at him. Two contrasting emotions were running through me at the moment. One was the part of me that was telling me that Noah was an absolute idiot for trying to find Molly since he was so very obviously allergic. But, the other part of me was thankfulness, for him being so kind as to find Molly for me. He didn’t have to do that; he didn’t have to do anything that he did today. But, considering I was me, I vocalized the former.
“You’re an idiot, you know that?” I asked, a fond smile pulling at my lips. The quiet mirth that filled his eyes made his lips quirk up the slightest bit as well. “Have you taken any medicine?”
“...I have a feeling you’re not godda like the adswer I give you,” He let out, a wry and shy smile pulling at his lips.
“You’re impossible. Emmy! Olivia!” I called as loudly as I could with my head still absolutely pounding from the sickness.
I heard a bang! outside the door immediately once I called their names, and I rolled my eyes, exchanging a look with Noah as the three of them strolled into the room, much more faux-casually than one would deem normal. Should I have expected anything less than all three of them huddled against the door trying to listen to our conversation…? Probably not.
“Can one of you get Noah a Benadryl? He hasn’t had medicine yet,” I tattled, leaning back against my headboard. Noah sputtered, obviously not expecting me to expose his lack of medication, and gave me a glare, to which I stuck my tongue out in retaliation.
“Noah, you told me you already took something,” Asher accused, while Olivia went off to go grab the medicine. Noah, though, wasn’t looking at either of them. He was looking at me, shaking his head.
“I cad’t take Benadryl, m’godda fall asleep in, like, thirty mbinutes a’d I have to go get mby car from the lab buildi’g,” He tried to explain.
Asher’s face twisted into a grin, his eyes brightening with an idea. Oh, lord, whenever that guy got an idea like this, it was absolutely horrible for everyone involved and--
“Just sleep here. Savannah’s gonna have to sleep anyway ‘cause god knows she needs some damn medicine for whatever she picked up,” He mentioned.
Yep. Just as I suspected. An absolutely horrible idea for everyone involved--
As much as it made a slight bit of sense, sleeping in the same bed as Noah Jameson seemed a bit more intimate than what we had been used to.
Noah went off sputtering again flusteredly about how he couldn’t sleep here, and that was a terrible idea from Asher and that he should probably just go home and sleep in his own bed when Asher piped in again.
“I don’t know how you’re expecting to get back to the lab building right now considering none of us except Sav have a car here, and we’ve all gotta stay here to watch over the both of you anyways,” Asher pointed out.
At that, both Noah and looked incrediuously up at Asher, immediately contradicting his statement.
“Whad are you talki’g about--”
“You do not have to stay here to watch over me--”
“I’ve had allergies before, I’b godda be fide odce I take sobe medicide--”
“Literally all I’m going to do is take some medicine and sleep, y’all do not need to watch me--”
Emmy was the one that cut the both of our rambling disagreements off. “Hey--! You both need to be watched over - Savannah, you haven’t taken medicine and your fever was crazy high a few hours ago, and Noah, you need to take medicine asap and knock all of that crap out of your system now, neither of you are in any state to do anything but sleep right now,” She insisted. “We’re worried about the both of you, and it would be a hell of a lot easier if you were both in the same place,”
I rolled my eyes and gave Emmy and Asher a glare that I’m sure matched the one Noah was giving them. I could tell by the glare they shot back at us that they weren’t gonna budge. Damn caring friends.
I sighed and glanced to Noah. “You really should probably take some Benadryl and sleep. The cat hasn’t been in here, so you can sleep in here,” I said with a shrug, much more casually than I felt at the moment.
Noah looked at me, opening his mouth and hesitating for a moment. “A-Are you sure? You’re, like...Thad’s okay with you?”
He looked like he was absolutely radiating anxiety over the idea of me not being comfortable with it all. It was much too sweet for the both of us, and I immediately felt the need to reply with a snappy comeback to slip back into our comfortable joking demeanors.
“Yes, it’s fine with me. If you can manage to keep your hands to yourself and the cuddling to a minimum, we’ll be fine,” I mentioned with a pointed hum and look.
Noah rolled his eyes, seemingly now more relaxed about the whole situation of sharing a bed because of both of our idiot friends. “Somehow, I think I’ll be able to manage,” He let out in a deadpan, mirroring my look back at me.
In the blink of an eye (or maybe that was just my fever still fucking with my sense of time…God, I needed some sleep), Emmy was pouring out whatever medicine she’d found for me and handing it to me, and Asher was tossing over the Benadryl to Noah for him to take. The next thirty minutes were a blur of Emmy, Olivia, and Asher chatting on the edge of my bed and watching whatever show they’d put on the TV, Noah directing increasingly exhausted sneezes into the bundle of tissues that had made a home in his hand, and Noah and I both trying to input on conversation while half-delirious because of the medicine beginning to flow through our bloodstreams.
Needless to say, the both of us were conked out within a half hour.
When I woke up a few hours later, it was to a soft curse from an unknown voice and someone trying their best to navigate the room without making too much noise. My eyes fluttered open and immediately squinted slightly as they tried to adjust to the slim amount of light in the room.
Who was in my room…? Oh, god, it was just my luck that I’d gotten sick and then an fucking home intruder managed to get in…Oh. Wait.
“...Noah?” I asked softly after a few moments, finally remembering everything that had occurred before I had drifted off. His head whipped to face me at the noise with a soft sigh.
“Fuck, sorry, I was trying to be quiet,” He whispered out gently. I shook my head and waved him off causally as I woke up a bit more.
“S’okay. You’re heading out? Are you gonna be good getting back to your car?” I asked, slightly worried about the idea of Noah driving in his current state, considering the Benadryl that was still running through his system likely wasn’t conducive for driving.
“I’b good, Asher’s outside to pick me up. I’m godda grab by car later on,” He explained, still keeping his voice extremely low although I was awake.
It took me a moment to fully comprehend everything he had said, but I gave a small nod after a few long seconds. “Did the Benadryl help?” I inquired.
He nodded. “Yeah, a bit of Bedadryl a’d sleep dnocked pretty buch everything out. I’ll still be a little sniffly and sdeezy for the dext day, but it’s lightyears better thad I was feeli’g before,” Noah let out with a snuffle, picking up his bag and beginning to head around the bed and towards the door.
The fever was still kind of messing with me, and I was still half-asleep, so I instinctively let out a “Hey, Noah--” to stop him before he left.
God, I shouldn’t have done that, the thought fleeting through my head was too familiar, too friendly, too kind…But he had been kind to me, and I was feeling all gross and sentimental, so once he turned to face me, the thought automatically escaped my mouth anyway.
“Thank you. For everything today. You, uhm…Didn’t need to do everything you did, and I know I was probably a lot to deal with, and the cat was definitely a lot to deal with -- still don’t know why you thought it was a good idea for you to go chasing after the cat like that -- but you were really sweet. So, y’know, just wanted to thank you,” I trailed off awkwardly.
Even fever-fogged and half-asleep, that felt uncomfortable to say. I didn’t know when I got to the level with Noah Jameson to be thanking him like this (I guess when he got to the level with me to be looking after a cat that wasn’t even mine that he was absurdly allergic to for me) but it seemed necessary for all that had happened in the past few hours.
Noah blinked at me for a moment, obviously semi-surprised at my words of thanks, before relaxing slightly with a nod. “Yeah, of course. I would’t just leave you there. Plus, after you helped mbe out whed I was all delirious a’d sick a’d all, I’d just be ad asshole if I did’t do the same for you,” He mentioned with a soft laugh.
I tilted my head, debating his point for a moment. “Well, yeah, but I also didn’t have to hang around something I was absurdly allergic to for hours while I did that,” I pointed out with a raised brow.
Noah paused for a minute before shrugging, seemingly very casual about the very allergy that had made him sneeze almost non-stop just about every other minute. “I’b dot ‘absurdly allergic’, cats bake me sneeze a bit, but it’s really not that big of a deal. Plus, Mbolly was really cute, I dever get to play with cats. So, it was really all for mby bedefit so I could play with her,” He hummed out half-teasingly. I could very obviously tell that he was downplaying how bad his allergies were, though I wasn’t exactly sure why.
“You say it’s not that big of a deal and then spent literally three straight hours sneezing until you took Benadryl and slept. And, for your own sake, I really hope you didn’t spend time playing with Molly. She is adorable, but I have a feeling that may have made things a bit worse for you,” I pointed out with a raised brow.
He rolled his eyes, acting absolutely faux-annoyed with my insistent questioning. “Fide, yeah, I’b pretty allergic. But, it really isd’t that bad, probise. Dot anythi’g I’b dot used to,” He insisted.
“Oh yeah, is it often that you have to bring home your deliriously sick lab partner and go running around her apartment looking for her friend’s lost cat?” The teasing tone that was so familiar around Noah slipped back into my voice.
“Oh, ‘course it is. Happeds every two weeks at least,” His tone managed to mirror mine, also slipping into our familiar routine.
“Well, here I was thinkin’ I was special. Turns out you’re setting off your allergies for every girl you run into,” I hummed, faux-dissapointedly. “Really, though, thank you. Seriously, I really do appreciate everything you did today,”
“You’re welcome. I’ll let you get back to bed, get sobe mbore rest. A’d, you really should also go to the doctor’s at sobe poidt soon. Especially if your fever does’t break sood,”
I grinned, mirth filling my eyes and expression as a thought occurred to me. “Hey, you were the one teasing me a few weeks ago because I was apparently all caring and shit, but that’s really you, isn’t it?” He was gonna regret being all nice and all.
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. “Ndo, ndo, I think you’ve got the wrong guy,” He insisted, a fond smile overtaking his lips.
“No, no, you were all worried about me, and you looked after me, and you got Molly, and you made sure that Emmy and Olivia knew that everything was oka--”
“--Shut up, shut up, you’re spreadi’g lies and sla’der about me--”
“It’s all true, Noah Jameson is caring and empathetic, alert the presses--!”
“--Alright, alright, that’s edough, I’m leavi’g,” He let out through a few deep chuckles. “Id the mbost ud-cari’g way possible…Please feel better,”
I grinned up at him through the darkness, though my eyes had semi-adjusted at this point.
“Thanks, Noah. I’ll talk to you soon,” I hummed out softly, absently rubbing the back of my hand over my eye to get the sleepiness out.
And with a small smile and a wave goodbye, Noah was gently closing the door to my room, and exiting my apartment, only a few muffled sneezes escaping before I heard the door shut.
I quickly took stock of myself and how I was feeling, though I couldn’t really focus on much of anything but my heart rate steadily increasing as I thought about Noah and the past day. And how he’d been so sweet, and how his eyes had brightened up as they bantered and…
…Oh, fuck. God, next time I saw Noah Jameson, I was gonna be in for a ride.
Spring in Hatchetfield (The Guy Who Didn’t like Musicals, Paul Matthews)
It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a snzfic, so here we go!
Paul sniffed uncomfortably as he walked into the office. It was a beautiful late spring day. Nice and warm with a small breeze. Perfect, if you weren't allergic to pollen. And even the less than five minute walk from his car to the office was enough for his allergies to start bothering him.
“Morning Paul!” Melissa beamed at him. Paul returned the smile, rubbing absentmindedly at his nose.
“Morning Melissa!” he said. To his frustration, his nose was already itching quite badly. He hadn’t taken the antihistamine he still had because it made him annoyingly sleepy. He stepped into the elevator and pressed the button to the third floor. As soon as the doors closed he immediately pressed his wrist against his nose, trying to will the now spiking itch in his nose away. It didn’t work though. “H’nxxx! H’xnntc!” two tightly stifled sneezes escaped him. Paul sighed and got out of the elevator. He headed to his cubicle and practically fell into his chair. “He’Xxcn!” he barely managed to stifle the sneeze.
“Bless you!”
Paul jumped, surprised by the sudden voice to his left. He looked over and saw Bill sitting next to him at his own desk.
“Thank you.” he muttered. Looking over to the window on his other side, he saw to his dismay that it was opened widely. On one hand, he knew he should close it. Otherwise this day would not be very fun. On the other hand, the window was in Ted’s cubicle. Which meant he’d have to ask Ted. And there was a good chance Ted would just refuse anyway. So, he resigned himself to a day of suffering.
He wasn’t even an hour into the day when he thoroughly regretted that thought. His breath hitched again and he quickly turned away from Ted, who’d been complaining about one thing or another. “Hu’exxnt! H’nnnx!” he couldn’t help but wince a little as the last sneeze scraped against his throat. “S’cuse me.” he mumbled.
“Ew, gross.” Ted said. Paul rolled his eyes, fighting against the embarrassed flush working it’s way up his face.
“That’s an interesting way to say bless you. It’s because you keep your window open so wide.” he complained. Ted scoffed in response.
“Not my problem, should have taken anti whateverthefuck.” he said.
“Antihistamine.” Paul deadpanned. Ted waved his hand.
“That. Sorry dude but if I close the window I’ll choke because of this goddamn heat.” Ted said a little more apologetically. Paul sighed and was about to respond when he was forced to turn away again.
“Hu’Achhew! H’nXxct!” he didn’t manage to stifle the first sneeze.
“Bless you!” Charlotte said, who’d just entered the room. Paul jumped, not expecting her.
“Thank you.” he responded, rubbing his nose again. He sat down again, grabbing a tissue and blowing his nose for what felt like the tenth time that day (and judging from the glare that Ted gave him he’d been doing it more than enough to be annoying) “He’xXC!” rubbing his eyes, he made up his mind. “I’m going to Beanies. Anyone want anything?” he asked.
“GET ME A CHAI TEA!” Ted yelled.
It was a short walk to the cafe. He’d normally enjoy the weather, but now he was just focussed on getting to the place as soon as he could. When he practically reached the entrance to Beanies the itch in his nose spiked again and he had to steady himself on the doorframe.
“H’nnXc! H’Xxch! X’xxchew!” he groaned.
“Bless!” Emma called from inside. He looked up at her and smiled.
“Hi Emma. Sorry.” he said. Emma shrugged.
“No worries. Don’t sneeze like that.” she said. Paul frowned.
“Why not?” he asked, walking over to the counter.
“You could burst a blood vessel. Or rupture your throat.”
Paul shook his head affectionately, muttering something about biology students. “I will sneeze h-how, fuck, sohh-rry, H’xxchh! h’Achew! However I damn please.” he said.
“Next time you sneeze like that I’ll punch you.” Emma quipped. The joke didn’t quite land with Paul however.
“Please don’t. I’ve been suffering enough already.” he said. As if to punctuate his claim, he immediately turned away from Emma again. “Hu’Achh!” Emma’s face softened.
“How are you holding up?” she asked more gently. Paul shrugged.
“My nose feels like it’s trying to escape my face. Ted won’t close the damn window in the office so I’m not getting any relief inside.” he said, rubbing his nose and blinking. Emma nodded sympathetically.
“Not fun I hear. Order?” she asked. She didn’t want to push him, but she could almost feel the glare of her boss on her back if she chatted too long.
“Oh yeah, uh, He’Atch! H’Uchew! Sorry, one black coffee and a chai tea.” he said.
“Bless. Coming right up.” she said. It was quiet for a bit, the silence only broken by Paul’s occasional sniffles. Then, Emma chuckled. “You know, this could be the universe’s way of revenge for that time you got me those scented candles.” she said. Paul trew his hands up, although he was smiling slightly.
“How was I supposed to know you were sensitive to those? You never t- fuck’sss sake A’chhu! Hu’achew! Told me!” he said. He sighed, pulling a tissue from his pocket and blowing his nose. “Sorry. God I feel gross.” he said. Emma placed the drinks next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“You look miserable Paul. Can’t you just take an antihistamine?” she asked. Paul shook his head.
“Makes me too sleepy to properly work.” he said. Shaking his head again to clear it, he smiled at Emma. “I’ll be alright babe, really. It’s just annoying.” he said. He looked at the clock behind Emma. “Damn, I have to go back. Sorry Em.” he said. Emma leaned forward and kissed him. She couldn’t help herself, and quickly kissed him on the nose as well. Paul practically shoved her off him and buried his face into his elbow.
“H’acchew! Hu’Achh! A’cchhew! He’Ticchew! h-h-Hu”tchhew! Emma!” he whined. Emma chucked.
“Sorry Paul. Didn’t expect it to make you sneeze. Honestly.” she said.
“You’re a menace and I hate you.” he responded. But Emma could see the twinkle in his eye. She smiled wider.
“I’ll see you after work. You coming to pick me up?” she asked. Paul nodded.
“I will. Bye Em!” he said, and quickly exited the cafe.
At 5 pm Emma finally exited the café . She’d been on her feet all day and was exhausted. Just like promised, Paul’s car was in front of the store. She quickly got in and closed the door before looking over at Paul. He smiled at her. His nose was almost bright red and his eyes looked slightly watery. He was about to lean over to give her a kiss when he held up a finger and turned away.
“H’xxch! Sorry, H’tchh!” he sighed.
“Bless you Paul.” she said affectionately. He sniffed and rubbed his nose.
“Thank you. As soon as we’re home I’m taking those antihistamines. Let’s-” he cut himself off. “H’nxxc! Ugh, sorry. Do you want to drive maybe? I don’t want you to feel like I might crash the car.” he continued. Emma nodded. They got up and swapped seats. It was a good idea too, because as soon as Paul sat down he succumbed to another fit. “Hu’achew! H’EChhew! h-h’Achh! A’cchh!” he sighed, leaning back in the car seat. Emma gently ran her hand over his knee.
Alex and Maggie were sitting outside on another beautiful spring morning. There was a light breeze coming through every couple of minutes that ruffled the edge of Maggie’s newspaper. They had moved into their new house just a month ago and were relishing in the peace and quiet that came with their new neighborhood. Well… Quiet barring Alex’s sniffling.
The couple sat, Maggie with her tea and Alex with her coffee, watching as their dog ran around the yard chasing a squirrel.
Hhii--hitchew… *sniff* Chheww… Hii-Hiiesheeww!
Alex paused before slowly lowered her elbow away from her face thinking she was finished for the moment.
“Are you done?” Maggie asked with an amused smile and a raised eyebrow.
*sniff* *sniff* “Yeah, I’m good for now.” Alex said as she rubbed her nose and eyes.
“Well then, bless you.” She said as she handed her wife a tissue. Knowing what was going to happen, Maggie had thought ahead this morning and just brought the box outside with them.
Alex narrowed her eyes at Maggie knowing she was a little too proud about bringing the box outside. “Thank you.”
“Do you want to go back inside?” Maggie asked.
They had done this routine in the morning a few times now and each day Alex stubbornly refused to acknowledge her body’s displeasure with the outdoors, specifically at this time of year.
“No. I like being out here… My medicine should kick in soon.” Going inside would have admitted weakness for her, and Alex Danvers didn’t do weak. It simply wasn’t in her vocabulary.
Maggie chuckled at her, “the big bad DEO agent brought down by pollen and hay fever! It’s not even the worst of the season for you yet and you’re already so itchy.”
Alex found herself in no place to argue back at that point. The evidence was indisputable. She was currently holding a tissue up to her nose, rubbing it purposefully yet gently. She had her other hand rubbing at her eyes and she cleared her throat every few minutes. Her coffee sat forgotten on the small table between them.
“Well, that’s what our military-grade antihistamines are for. I’m surprised J’onn hasn’t banished me to the lab full time yet…” Alex trailed off, her eyes narrowing again.
Hhii… Huhh… *sniff* Hhhiiuh… Alex was struggling to coax it out even as she looked up towards the sun, hitching in short bursts. All of this pollen was torturing her.
Maggie smirked. “Bless you,” she said before Alex could sneeze.
Hhii… hhhiiiuh!... Nothing.
“Ughhhhh. Maggie!” Alex groaned as she rubbed furiously at her nose. *sniff* “I hate it when you do that.”
Maggie chuckled, “we both know it’s only temporary. It’ll come out sooner or later… But please, continue what you were saying.”
“Yesterday after the last mission, I almost gave away our position by accident... It’s just a matter of time before I’m bound to headquarters till my allergies chill out.”
“I have yet to figure out how you manage,” Maggie waved in the general direction of Alex’s face, “that quietly in the field.”
Alex’s allergies had progressively gotten worse each season and Maggie had definitely noticed the difference each year they had been together. What was once rather minor now took a lot to get a handle on.
HihESShheeWw! That one caught Alex by surprise. She ducked down towards her lap and half covered with her arm. She straightened up and took another tissue to blow her nose. Her cheeks were slightly pink as she blushed, mildly embarrassed about the unexpected sneeze.
“Bless you,” Maggie said with growing concern.
Alex scrubbed at her nose with the back of her hand and sniffled, “thanks.” With her nose cooperating momentarily, Alex continued their conversation.
“With great difficulty obviously,” Alex said, scrubbing at her nose again.
Maggie was witnessing that mentioned ‘great difficulty’ right now. While Alex was silent, the struggle was very present. Alex’s eyes were narrowing again already and her ever increasingly red nostrils were starting to flare. She wiggled her nose and sniffled deeply trying to rid the tickle from her sinuses.
“Aw, babe,” Maggie said sympathetically.
She picked up the box and held it out to Alex. Alex took two tissues and held them in her cupped hands a few inches in front of her nose.
Hiih huhh hiiiih … nothing.
“Urgh,” Alex groaned. She dropped her hands into her lap still gripping the tissues and tipped her head back exasperated.
“Well,” she said and turned to look at Maggie, “the ahhhh--llergy medicine,” Alex stopped and sniffled. She shook her head and continued, “is starting to work because now I cahhh--nd’t sneeze…”
Alex took a few more short breaths and brought the tissues back up to her nose, rubbing it gently. The combination of gentle rubbing, a quick look up towards the sun, and a light sniffle, was enough to finally push her nose over the edge.
She bent forward in her lap with the tissues cupped tightly to her face.
Hii-Hiiesheeww… Hhii--hitchew! Alex paused for a moment to see if she was done. When she didn’t feel the need to immediately sneeze, she sat up and blew her nose.
Alex wiped at her watery eyes.
“Bless you,” Maggie said and stood up. She extended her hand out to Alex to pull her up.
“It’s time to go inside. You proved your meds are kicking in, your coffee is cold, and our dog wants in. You need air conditioning and filtered air.”
Alex sighed and smiled, “oh thank you.” She chuckled, relieved. She took Maggie’s hand and stood up. They both knew she was too stubborn to go in just because of her allergies. Maggie leaned in and gave her a kiss.
“Never change, Danvers,” Maggie smiled as they went inside.
This was only supposed to be half this length, but I got carried away whoops. Here’s some of Owen’s allergies trying to kill him lmao
*
Owen is almost always at least a little stuffed up, because he feels like he’s allergic to everything under the sun. At the top of what feels like a very long list of allergies, is dust.
He’s in his office for all of five minutes before he starts to feel the familiar itchiness at the back of his throat and in his eyes. It’s at that moment that he realizes, with a sinking feeling, that the cleaning crew hadn’t been here in the two weeks he hasn’t been in his office, which means his office hasn’t been cleaned in over three weeks, and he’s going to have to do that himself.
He dusts as fast as he can, hoping that if he does it quickly, he won’t have that bad of a reaction.
“Oh g-god,” he sniffles, trying to hold off the impending sneeze, because he knows that once he starts, he’ll never stop.
He gives up on cleaning, because it’s just kicking up more dust, and resigns to doing paperwork to try and distract himself from his fucking allergies.
“Hey, boss?” A voice says, knocking on the doorframe.
“Yeah?” He asks, muffling an itchy cough into his fist.
“They just came in, how the hell are you already having a reaction?”
“What? What the fuck are you talking about, Ada?” He groans, scrubbing at his eyes.
“These people brought their service dog into the restaurant,” she says, “heads up.”
“Of course they fucking did,” he all but whines, “it’s so dusty in here, I hate it.”
“Want me to tell them to get the fuck out? I will. Or I can make Allie do it,” she says, turning her head to the side, “yo! Allie!”
“Ada, stop,” he groans, “d-don’t…hhh…h-hih…don’t s-say anything…god…snff!”
“If it’s going to make you fucking die, they should be kicked out.”
“Ndo, it’s finde,” he croaks, and winces at how congested he’s starting to sound.
“Then go home. Make Kaden cuddle you or some shit.”
“I can’t,” he mutters, rubbing at his eyes.
“Don’t rub them, you’ll just make it worse.”
“I’ll rub themb if I wandt,” he gripes.
“Why can’t you leave?”
“I have to findish everyonde’s timbesheet…the bookkeeper ndeeds themb by five, undless ndobody wandts to be paid for two weeks.”
“You can’t do that at home?”
“Ndo, ihh…it’s all ond th-the…hihhh…c-combputer h-here…ehhh…hhh….”
“Just sneeze, holy shit.”
“Ndo…go away…snff! Do your job.”
“I’ll call Kaden on you if you don’t behave.”
“Oh mby god, go away, you’re so anndoyi’gg. Rembind mbe why I thought hiri’gg you was a good idea?”
“Uh, because I helped you get this fucking restaurant off the ground, and I was the least obnoxious person in culinary school to choose from.”
“I wouldnd’t say you were the least anndoyi’gg persond.”
“Yeah, fuck you, too.”
Owen flips her off, eyes drifting to his computer screen, “okay I really have to work. You do, too, go.”
“Offer still stands to kick them out.”
Owen rolls his eyes, “ndo. It’s finde…the dust is botheri’gg mbe mbore thand the dog will.”
*
By the time he submits the timesheets to his bookkeeper, he’s ready to rip his face off. His entire face is itching so badly, he has to refrain from scratching at it. He’s been sneezing and coughing almost incessantly, and it’s making his head throb miserably. His throat hurts, and his face hurts, and he can’t breathe through his nose whatsoever.
As soon as he submits it, he’s out the door. He hardly says goodbye to anybody - he’s too itchy and congested, and he just wants to go home and take a hot shower and sleep, because he’s exhausted and feels like hell.
Kaden is at the stove when Owen stumbles through the door.
“Ada texted me. How are you feeling?”
“Kill ‘be. Take ‘be out back a’d just kill ‘be,” he croaks out before the coughing starts up again.
“Oh yeah…you sound awful.”
“I’b goi’gg to t-take a shower…snff! Ehhh…hehh-k'tshIEW! Hehh'kSHEW! Hehh…hehh'kshHEWW! Guh…ca’d I have so’be ‘bac a’d…ihhh…cheese?”
“I have Benadryl,” Kaden says, walking over to him. He grabs Owen’s wrists when the go to his eyes and pulls them away from his face, “don’t. You’ll make it worse.”
“I do’dt wa’dt it,” he whines, rubbing his face on the sleeve of his shirt, he turns away from Kaden, a volley of sneezes tumbling out one after another. He hardly has time to breathe between them, and after the fifth one, black spots start gathering in the edges of his vision.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Owen, your face is swollen. You have hives, you’re miserable, you need to take it, I don’t give a shit that you can’t swallow pills and that the liquid medicine tastes bad. Don’t be a baby about it for once, and just take them or we’re going to have to take you to the hospital. Do you really want to take a trip there tonight? You look exhausted.”
“Ugh…I’b so co’dgested, I ca’d hardly breathe through ‘by ‘dose,” he groans, breath hitching again before letting out another few itchy sneezes, “ugh.”
“Yeah, because you need Benadryl.”
“Ca’d I take a shower first? That’s goi’gg to ‘dock ‘be out.”
“Yeah, and then some food,” Kaden says, kissing his cheek, “now go.”
When Owen gets out of the shower sometime later, he feels less itchy and irritated than before, but he’s still congested and he hadn’t stopped sneezing or coughing the entire time he showered, which is more exhausting than anything at this point.
Kaden is sitting on the bed when he comes out of the bathroom, towel wrapped around his waist.
“So I figured you wouldn’t care about food right now.”
“You would be correct,” he rasps.
“Yeah, I thought so. I have medicine, and I stuck that blanket in the dryer…should be nice and warm.”
“Have I told you lately how ‘buch I love you?”
He changes into some sweats and a t-shirt before climbing into bed.
Despite how much he absolutely loathes taking medicine, he manages to knock back the Benadryl and prays that it kicks in sooner, rather than later, because he hates this more than anything.
“What do you want to watch?”
“I do’dt care,” he mumbles, eyelids drooping, and that’s the last thing he remembers before he falls asleep.
so @kotyonoksnz commissioned me to write another part to her giveaway fic so here it is. sorry i’ve been painfully slow on commissions. i’m moving out next week and man this whole month has just been lskadjsf but i’m on it don’t worry!!!
[commission info] [buy me a coffee]
-
A cough gives Yuuri away in the end. His throat has been unbearably itchy all day but it finally bursts from him around four in the afternoon and he finds that he just can’t stop. He’s doubled over with his hand against a tree trunk for support and Viktor is hovering worriedly beside him, asking questions he can’t answer because his head is spinning and his lungs are aching with the pressure.
“Yuuri? Oh, Yuuri, what’s wrong?” Viktor’s voice is starting to get shrill the way is does when he’s feeling panicked. He says something else in Russian and runs a hand through his hair.
Yuuri sucks in a deep breath and purses his lips before letting his breath out carefully and slowly. When it doesn’t trigger another awful cough, he wipes at his leaking eyes and offers Viktor a sheepish look.
Viktor’s eyes are full of concern and he’s biting his lower lip so hard that Yuuri is worried he might draw blood.
“Are you…” he begins but his voice cracks and Yuuri’s heart clenches in his chest. Viktor clears his throat. “Are you alright now?”
Yuuri swallows. “I’m alright,” he says.
“Good,” Viktor says then slaps his arm. “Then what were you thinking?”
Yuuri’s mouth drops open in surprise. But isn’t that characteristic of how Viktor Nikiforov makes him feel?
“How long have you been sick? No, don’t answer that. We’re going home.”
And Yuuri tries to take him seriously because he knows that Viktor is worried but the blossom flower crown adorning Viktor’s head just makes the whole picture indescribably funny and Yuuri lets out a snort.
At Viktor’s glare he says, “I’m sorry, it’s just…” he taps his own head and Viktor’s fingers wander in his hair until he finds his flower crown. For a moment, he doesn’t say anything. But then he’s laughing too and they’re giggling against the tree until it catches in Yuuri’s throat and he lets out another itchy cough which thankfully doesn’t descend into a full blown fit.
(He stifles a few sneezes but they just hurt. At least he doesn’t have to hide them anymore.)
Viktor presses his hand to Yuuri’s forehead and sighs. “You don’t feel warm,” he says and his frown lines lessen a little. “Still, you’re obviously getting a cold. We should get you home.”
Yuuri doesn’t mean to deceive his fiancé but he just can’t being himself to say actually it’s not a cold it’s hayfever without feeling like he’s saying something which isn’t appropriate outside the bedroom. His cheeks flush just at the thought of it.
So he lets himself be led away from the festival and towards the street where Viktor bundles him into a taxi and pets his hair, insisting that Yuuri try to get some rest. Though he isn’t actually ill, the day has taken quite a bit out of him and Yuuri finds himself dozing against Viktor’s shoulder despite himself.
Hiroko greets them as they walk into the inn but when she sees her son’s red-nosed face she disappears into the kitchen and returns not a minute later with a damp cloth and starts wiping Yuuri’s cheeks, cleaning away the pollen. At first, Yuuri leans into the cool touch of the cloth but he very suddenly remembers that he’s standing next to Viktor Nikiforov and his mother is treating him like a child.
“Okaa-san! I’m not six!” He whines, completely cancelling out the point he’s trying to make.
Hiroko rolls her eyes. “Of course you’re not. You had much more common sense when you were six.”
Yuuri chokes while Viktor chuckles beside him, clearly enjoying watching Yuuri be thoroughly embarrassed by his mother. Yuuri feels like he’s twelve years old again and he simply cannot believe his mother is embarrassing him in front of Viktor Nikiforov, the coolest person in the world.
Eventually, Hiroko tosses the cloth aside and cups Yuuri’s face, gently running her thumbs under his eyes and tutting.
“You need a shower,” Hiroko says, swatting at him until he scurries off to the bathroom to do just that. She turns to Viktor and eyes his flower crown with a strange look somewhere between fond and exasperated. “Did he make that for you?”
Viktor’s expression turns dreamy as he remembers Yuuri clumsily twining the blossoms together with unpracticed fingers, setting the flower crown on his head reverently like Viktor was truly a king at his coronation. Yuuri made him feel so special that his heart hadn’t stopped singing in a whole year.
“Yes!” He grins. “Yuuri is so sweet.”
Hiroko smiles and shakes her head. Before she can say anything, Viktor speaks up again.
“Hiroko-”
“Vicchan, what did I tell you?” Hiroko asks with a fond smile.
Viktor flushes slightly. “Okaa-san,” he says, pausing to take in the novelty. He loves living here in Hasetsu with Yuuri and his family. He loves calling Yuuri’s mother his own. “Do you have any medicine for Yuuri?”
Hiroko shakes her head. “Oh no, he already had some this morning.”
Viktor frowns. “But won’t it have worn off by now?”
“No, dear, it lasts all day.”
“Wow!” Viktor says. “I didn’t know there was cold medicine like that.”
Hiroko’s confusion is written all over her face.
“Yuuri doesn’t have a cold, Vicchan,” she says slowly and Viktor is starting to feel incredibly stupid. Clearly he’s missing something here but he can’t figure out what it is.
He narrows his eyes in thought and bites his lip. “But, I thought…” he starts, remembering Yuuri’s flushed pink nose and awful cough.
“I don’t know the word in English,” Hiroko admits but she gestures to Viktor’s head. “The flowers. They make him sick.”
Viktor’s heart stops in his chest. Shit.
Hiroko puts a hand on his arm. “He didn’t tell you?” She frowns and Viktor shakes his head. She sighs. “He’s always been embarrassed about it but I thought he would have been sensible at least.”
Viktor feels awful. The guilt settles in the pit of his stomach like he’s just swallowed a boulder. The cherry blossom festival had been Viktor’s idea. He thinks back to when he’d first proposed it and Yuuri’s hesitance which he’d put down to Yuuri having been so many times that it wasn’t exciting anymore. But Viktor had persisted and waxed lyrical about how romantic it would be and how he wanted to see how Yuuri’s skin shone amid the petals. He’d been such an idiot and now his poor Yuuri was suffering and it was all his fault.
“Vicchan, it’s alright,” Hiroko says, obviously seeing his distress. She takes both his hands and squeezes gently.
Viktor swallows. “It’s my fault. I should have-”
“No, it isn’t,” Hiroko interrupts with a shake of her head. “Yuuri is a grown boy now. He has to take care of himself.”
Her words don’t make Viktor feel any better but he nods and forces a small smile anyway before untangling himself from her hands and excusing himself to check on Yuuri. The shower is still running when he gets there but he can hear Yuuri’s echoing sneezes over the jet.
Feeling guilty still, Viktor hangs his head and the lower crown comes tumbling off but he catches it before it hits the floor. He quickly goes to put it in his room and gets changed while he’s there. He knows well enough that pollen on his clothes will probably set Yuuri off just like cat hair on Yurio’s clothes does him.
He looks at Makkachin fast asleep on Yuuri’s pillow and smiles. She still has a cone around her neck from her last visit to the vet which was why Viktor had left her at the inn. (She’s also still a little grumpy with him for letting the vet put the cone on in the first place but she’s mostly over it now.).
When the shower shuts off, Viktor sits to attention. He hears Yuuri stepping out and the fwumpf of the towel being pulled off the rack. Another unrestrained sneeze-
hiYISHHEW!
-and a harsh nose blow which only worsens Viktor’s guilt. Yuuri sounds terribly stuffed up and miserable. Viktor wishes he’d known and they could have done something else romantic like go for a walk on the beach or on a coffee date or have Yuuri lead him through Hasetsu’s quaint little lanes and teach him how to read the street signs.
The bathroom door clicks and Viktor bites his lip. Yuuri looks much worse than he did just fifteen minutes ago. The way he’s fiercely rubbing at his eyes explains why. He must finally be giving into the itch and his eyes are growing puffy and angry.
(Though Viktor can’t help but take a brief - BRIEF! - moment to enjoy the sight of Yuuri’s uncovered abs.)
“Hey, no,” Viktor says softly, startling Yuuri as he crosses the room and pulls Yuuri’s hands away from his eyes.
“V-Viktor!” Yuuri squeaks as Viktor presses a soft kiss to each of Yuuri’s closed eyes. “How long have you been there?”
Viktor frowns. “Long enough. You sound miserable, darling.”
Yuuri sniffles and swipes at his red nose. Even in the throws of allergies, he looks beautiful. Post-shower Yuuri is one of Viktor’s favourite Yuuris (though he loves them all equally, of course). His hair is somewhere between his Eros look and his normal look with wet strands falling into his eyes from where they’ve been pushed back.
“It’s not too bad now,” Yuuri says.
Viktor pouts. “I’m sorry I made you go!” He wails, plopping back down onto Yuuri’s bed with his face in his hands. “I didn’t even notice you were feeling so awful. I’m a terrible fiancé.”
Yuuri doesn’t say anything for a moment and Viktor’s mind immediately wants to take his silence as confirmation that he is, indeed, a terrible fiancé and Yuuri thinks so too and he’s probably going to break up with him and he’ll be alone again and-
Yuuri sits next to him and kisses him on the cheek.
“You’re not terrible, Viten’ka,” he says gently, using the diminutive he tends to save for when Viktor is particularly upset or depressed. It makes a little flame settle comfortably in Viktor’s heart. “I should have told you.”
“Why didn’t you?” Viktor asks before he can stop himself.
Yuuri blushes and looks down at his knees. “I...I was embarrassed,” he admits. “It feels wrong to say stuff like that.”
Viktor nods. He thinks he understands.
“Is this because of the-” he trails off and gestures vaguely at Yuuri whose flush deepens as he nods.
In a clear attempt to change the subject, Yuuri asks, “Where’s your crown?”
“In my room. I- I thought you wouldn’t want to be near it but I didn’t want to throw it away because-” he stops.
“Because?” Yuuri prompts patiently.
He’s so beautiful, Viktor thinks.
“Because you made it,” he says at last and, instead of blushing, Yuuri smiles.
“I wish more people knew how sweet you are,” he says absently, running a slightly damp hand through Viktor’s hair, eliciting a soft involuntary noise of pleasure. “But then again, maybe I’d rather have you all to myself.”
It’s a sweet moment, a romantic moment; it’s exactly the kind of moment that Viktor had planned for the day before everything went wrong. But it doesn’t last because Yuuri’s nose has other ideas and he whips his hand out of Viktor’s hair as he pitches forwards, fingers curled around his nose.
hiiSHHEW! ihKISHHEW!
“будь,” Viktor says, glancing around for the tissue box and finding he can just about reach it without getting up of he stretches far enough…
(He ends up on the floor.)
Yuuri cleans himself up and smiles down at Viktor fondly. “You’re ridiculous.”
“You’ve said that before,” Viktor muses, settling himself on the floor with his legs folded beneath him. “But I think you like me this way.”
Yuuri’s smile only widens until he’s grinning, eyes twinkling in that beautiful way that makes Viktor weak at the knees. “Of course I do. I only ever wanted you to be yourself.”
And for that small kindness, Viktor is forever grateful.
i cant tell if u like all snez or just sick snez, but if ur interested in allergy prompts u could write jughead having a fit because of dust on the film reels at the drive in?
( all snz is good snz anon..I live for allergies..this one is on the shorter side because this is snz with no plot lmao..here’s more j\ug snz, which I’m enjoying writing a little shh..very slight mess warning, more spray than actual mess)
Cinema was one of Jughead’s prime passions, this magical art form that felt like home. A home where his family, on their very few good days, could turn to, through the likes of the Twilight Drive In where his family could be a family. Here he could lose himself in the magic of ET, feeling happy for once with his whole family finally together at peace.
Cinema was also his home away from home. It had always been such, serving as his escape when his parents would start fighting and he would just pop in Star Wars for the hundredth time and pretend he was with Luke and friends, and not in this shitty world.
When he’d gotten older Jughead had began to appreciate cinema in a finer, more artistic level, analysing shot compositions and musical scores, the usage of colour and the certain beats in the acting. It had become a beautiful source of art that taught him much about the world, and about himself, that he could also turn to when things took a turn for the worse.
The cinema once again became a home to him, and this time a literal home, when things in his family turned for the worst and he was forced to live in one. It wasn’t the worst situation, he could be sleeping on park benches or underneath bridges, here he had a bed and an albeit shitty, but still did the job radiator, money, and of course free access to the cinema. However some days, the Drive In wasn’t too kind to Jughead.
It had all started when he headed to the Drive In after school, where and as he made his way to the entrance he was caught by his boss.
“Jughead!” He called out.
“Hey,” Jughead greeted.
“Just want to give ya the schedule for tonight,” He announced, giving him a list, and then pulled out a ten dollar bill out of his pocket, handing it to a very confused Jughead.
“It’s a long night tonight Jug, go buy yourself some snacks,” His boss told him before leaving.
Jughead gave him a thankful smile and made his way over to the food stand where he bought himself a large soda, a large bag of chips, a hot dog and fries, bringing them all back to the little projection booth he called home.
Setting down what he had been holding on a little table, he pulled out the list given to him by his boss and reviewed the schedule for tonight. Shattered Glass for the 6 o clock movie, Rudderless for the 8 o clock movie and finally Night of the Hunter for the 10 o clock movie.
Jughead blinked, while these movies were great, they were very uncommon. They weren’t the typical new releases or art house indies or classic cinema that usually came up on the itinerary, which Jughead found himself excited for.
That was until he realised he would have to handle the dusting pile of reels rather than the clean pile of reels that were set to their own pile because they were used more often or the new pile of reels they had gotten from companies.
It was no secret Jughead had quite a sensitive nose, wondering what it was like for people like Archie who could go days and sometimes weeks without sneezing, when he was sneezed at least every few hours each day. Many things set his nose off, but nothing more so than dust.
Jughead grimaced, breathing out as he braced himself for what was to come, knowing this was practically inevitable. He inhaled sharply, seeing if he could get through this without breathing and approached one pile of the dusty reels, lifting some to see what they were titled to attempt and locate the reels he needed. As he did the dust shook off, flying out into the air around him.
Jughead pulled his head back away from the cloud of dust, scrunching his nose to try and stop the particles from entering his nose, but to no avail the little flecks began to tickle the insides of his nose, rummaging around and irritating the already quite sensitive lining.
His breath immediately began to hitch, as he put down the dusty Once reel down, his nostrils quivering with irritation as he backed off from the dusty corner, cupping his hands around his nose and mouth in preparation for the coming sneezes. What Jughead forgot was the fact that his hands were coated in dust, causing the turning point in his battle against the tickle.
“hhahhhiiIITTSSHHOOO!! hehh..hhIISSHHHOOO! oh Jesus fuck, hahhSHHHIEWW!”
Jughead groaned tiredly, rubbing irritably at his nose. He scrunched it to try and force the irritation out of there, but to no avail. He sniffled wetly, the tickle still there, out of his reach, lingering. His eyes watered, breath hitching slightly with a staccato rhythm, nose twitching every so often but not allowing him to sneeze, leaving him in this dreadful limbo of a buildup.
Jughead continued to rummage through the likes of movie reels, eyes watering more and more as he did so. A few irritated tears managed to escape his reddened eyes, dropping down his cheek as he awkwardly tried to wipe them away. His hat had started to collect with dust, so he yanked the grey object off his hair and tossed it towards his bed. He let out a huge sigh of relief as he located Shattered Glass, pulling the reel out, but effectively causing it to spew out yet another cloud of dust, heading straight towards his face.
Jughead gasped as this dust cloud practically viciously attacked him, desperately fanning at his face as the burning, tickling sensation filled his sinuses and caused his eyes to produce more irritated tears that fell down his face. His nostrils flared, a slight sheen of mess lining them, as he hitched desperately, the tickle so intense that he was mentally begging for the sneeze to just happen. Finally, his body allowed him to as he pitched forward and bent at the waist.
A fine mist of spray lightly coated the reel he had been holding, causing him to cringe and wipe away at it with his hat, and proceeded to settle the reel down at the table.
Just as he felt a wave of relief, he suddenly realised that he still had to go looking for two other reels for the night. He groaned softly as he took in his fate, taking note of his available options as he sat down on the bed. He could give his poor nose a break for now, go looking for the other reel towards the third act of this movie and then do the same for the next movie, but suffer three different fits, or he could find them all now at the cost of one, but intense and overpowering fit that will take a while to recover from.
Jughead sucked in a breath, braving himself and opting to go for the latter. He got up, eyeing the pile of dusty reels and exhaled, mentally trying to prepare himself.
He took a look at one higher up shelf, noticing a pattern in which there were quite a few music movies stacked together. Jughead figured that maybe he would be able to find Rudderless amongst these reels, and reached up, lifting to try and find the film he was looking for, at the expense of causing dust and little dust bunnies to fall from the shelf, practically right into his face and thus his suffering nostrils.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Jug–hehh!! hahhTSCHHIEWWW! fuck..hehhtssSSSCHOOO! hahhRRRSHHH! hahhEETSCHH! hAAHHIISHHH!!”
Jughead pulled a reel out, and to his delight it was in fact, Rudderless. Letting out a sigh of relief, he blew the dust away from it which made his nose twitch yet again. Rolling his eyes with annoyance, he sneezed into his shoulder, “hheehhhEETSCCHH!!”
“I hate mby life,” Jughead groaned as he sniffled wetly, reaching for a some toilet paper he had stolen from the bathroom for his makeshift home and blew, exhausted and drained. He wiped at the irritated tears streaming down his face, finding it hard to keep his eyes open now that they were so tired of crying. He rubbed aggressively at his itchy nose, sucking in a breath and mentally preparing for the final reel.
Jughead began to aggressively search for the Night of the Hunter, hoping doing so would get it over with faster but only proceeded in throwing more dust into the air at an alarming rate.
“hehh..oh fuck,” Jughead cursed with irritation, the little particles of dust dancing around in his nostrils, tickling the lining as they flared with irritation. “..hhh..HEHHTTSHHHIEWW! oh Jesus..hahhtTTTSCHHIEWWWW!!”
Jughead groaned loudly as he ferociously scrubbed his face as it began to itch, wiping away agitated tears as he did so, nose dripping and sore. He continued to search, coughing ticklishly as dust continued to assault him, desperately swatting the air around his face with one hand while the other continued to search.
Once the pile had been searched, he moved on to the next, praying that it was the one. Jughead’s breath hitched mercilessly, entire body convulsing as he did so, tears clouding his vision. He found himself tilting his head backwards, taking in a sharp inhale as he pitched forward.
“hhEETSSSCHHOOOO! hahhTTTSCHHHIEWWW! ehhhtHHTSHHHHH!! hhh..hhhRSSSH!!” He sneezed powerfully, the pile becoming lightly coated in a mist. Then, his fingers came into contact with one reel, pulling it outwards, pushing dust with it. A feeling of euphoria washed over his body as the reel labelled “The Night of the Hunter” and he literally wanted to cry with happiness.
Jughead yanked the reel out, his battle ending with one huge finish, through the medium of a large puff of dust flying into his face.
“HahhhEEETTTTSCHHH! HhhRRRRSSCHHH!! hehhhTTTTTSCCHHHHH!” Jughead sneezed violently, head bobbing forward as his breath continued to hitch, taking in more dust.
“hhahhhRRRRSCHHH!! TTSSSCHHH!! Fuck..” He moved out of the dusty corner, retreating towards his bed and sitting down exhaustedly, nostrils reddened and quivering still, as well as his hitching breath.
The sneeze was just out of his reach, his nose tickling so badly, and he knew this one. The one that would finally win against the tickle, and he desperately yearned for it. He tilted his head back, nostrils quivering in anticipation as his mouth parted, breath hitching intensely. Jughead reached for the toilet roll, ripping a piece out as he quickly rolled the piece into a sharp point and stuck it up his left nostril, and the sneeze came out instantaneously.
“HhhhhaAAAAAATTSSCHHHOO!”
Jughead let out a moan of relief, lying back as he recovered himself. He panted, completely drained from this exhausting fit.
“Jesus Christ,” He whispered to himself, glad that it was over.
Suddenly, his boss was knocking and letting himself in to see the sight of Jughead exhausted, pale and nose a deep shade of rest, allergic tears running down his face.
“Oh,” His boss commented, a little stunned. Clearing his throat he continued, “Just wanted to give you the heads up you can set up the film now and start whenever it’s ready..uh..you okay?”
Jughead grinned sheepishly, “Yeah, just a little bit of dust.”
