#hicth

[elacular-kink]

July Hicth 2025: Water's a bad cure

So, here's a little story with a brief pass for editing about a couple girls at a pool party, one of whom is trying and mostly succeeding to hide her hiccups. Notably, in the spirit of disability pride, I have included a deaf character (though this is not the kind of disabled I am, and I know that deafness and disability is sort of a complicated thing). Bearing that in mind, if I did anything wrong in writing this deaf character, please do not be afraid to call me on it.

TW: Social anxiety, mistaken for drowning, minor drunkenness, deaf character written by someone who is not deaf and doesn't know deaf people.

Kinks: Pretty much just Hiccups.

As she shied away from other people in the large pool, Midge considered just how much she regretted being here.

Midge liked pools. She wasn't a great swimmer, but it was a way to cool down in the summer, and when she was small, she'd always had fun getting into water wars with her brothers and sister. And there was no way in hell she'd ever have enough money to have one of her own, so if some rich frat douche enemy-of-a-friend-of-a-friend was willing to share a rental, it was at least worth considering.

However, also worth considering was the fact that Midge didn't like parties. Midge didn't like people generally, and events at which people congregated were dicey at best. So bearing that in mind, she really should have known better than to show up here. But the boiling temperatures were temptation enough to overrule her stupid forebrain, as was the promise of mediocre-to-terrible barbecue and beer. So now she found herself here. Sulking near one of the walls of the deep end, treading water and scowling at anyone who came too close.

She might normally have been inclined to sulk in the shallows closer to other people where she could sit comfortably on the rough-ass concrete stairs at least, but right now, Midge was particularly uninterested in being noticed, and particularly unhappy to be present at this party. Because at the moment, every few seconds, Midge's stomach would thump out into the water, her shoulders would jerk back, and she'd use every muscle in her upper body to prevent a single sound from coming out of her mouth.

Hiccups. God dammit. Just tipsy enough and overstuffed enough to get the hiccups. Embarrassing. Distracting.

...a lot of things.

But what could she do except shy away into an unused corner and hope the bobbing of her relative buoyancy camouflaged her jerking.

Well, she could leave. That's what a smart person would do. But Midge was definitely not smart, which she knew because she was staying here because it felt really...weird. It felt weird to hiccup with most of her body underwater. And she was weird about it feeling weird. So she wanted to feel it more. All the more reason to avoid the slightest contact with any other human beings at this party.

There was nowhere in this pool that would make that easy, but Midge was fairly sure she'd found the closest to perfect spot. However, her hopes were dashed when she saw a long pair of arms and a kicked-up wake moving towards her with shocking speed, and she just barely got out of the way before some human sea lion did a perfect flip in the water near her, launched off of the wall, and dolphinned the fuck over to the other side of the pool. 

Right. She was hiding in the area that'd be used for swimming laps if this place wasn't currently rented out to a flight of douche-canoes. Midge wondered if some poor professional swimmer had thought they were coming here for practice today and decided to do so in spite of all the college students. Well, whoever they were, Midge wasn't going to get any more in their way than everyone else already was, so she inched further along the edge of the pool and out of their lane.

After a moment, a loud "*HUP!*" burst out of Midge's open mouth, and she slapped a hand over it, face red. Fuck, that fucking seal distracted her enough to forget that she still had the hiccups. Looking anxiously around, it didn't look like anyone had noticed. Nobody seemed to be paying the least bit of attention to her. Good. She closed her mouth again and sunk into the water as best she could, just barely keeping her nose up.

Observing the human seal was at least interesting. She was one of the few women here besides Midge wearing a one-piece swimsuit, and her hair was completely concealed under a swim cap. Her eyes were also hidden behind a very professional looking pair of goggles. Midge was no expert, but she was fairly certain this woman's form was perfect (though that may have also been her lesbianism talking), and she sped back and forth across the pool faster than Midge had possibly ever moved anywhere under her own power, including on bicycles.

...something was also familiar about the woman, but fuck, Midge just couldn't place it. It was surprising that she thought that at all, considering how face-blind she usually was, and her being completely wrong was definitely a possibility, but that made it harder to stop paying attention to the woman and her laps.

She must have paid a little too much attention to that and nothing else, because before she knew what had happened, an early hiccup sucked air in through her nose and caught the surface of the water, and Midge was horrified to start coughing and hiccuping through a face full of chlorine. Just a few seconds later, she was even more horrified when the human seal was suddenly pressed against her, forcing her back into the rough edge of the pool, somehow having hauled her body halfway out of the water. "Are you okay?" the seal yelled in a voice way too loud, words slurred, possibly by a mouthful of water.

"Gah–kuh–*HUCK!* F-fu–*HUCK*, get off–*AULK!* G-gah!" Midge squirmed away from the seal, something made both easier and more difficult by the fact that she was about two thirds of her height and half of her wingspan. She coughed and sputtered, but started managing to swallow her hiccups again, though her little misadventure with the chlorine had made them significantly worse. With one arm thrown over the pool's edge to keep her body above water, Midge glared at the seal for lack of any smarter idea how to react.

The fact that the human seal responded to that by shrinking in on herself made Midge feel like a real piece of shit. "I...I'm sorry." Her voice was still too loud, and her diction was weirdly terrible. If this woman was as drunk as her tongue seemed to think she was, Midge had no idea how she was swimming back and forth so goddamn fast and in such a straight line. "I saw that you..." she trailed off, and Midge abruptly realized that she was doing something with her hands.

"W---wait, wa---ait," Midge forced her hiccups back and turned to face the woman more fully, looking her in the begoggled eyes before she started moving her own hands. "<Are you deaf?>" The seal woman's eyes went wide and she smiled as her hands started moving again. "H---hold it hold i–*IC*–i-it!" Hiccuping out loud made Midge's face burn, but she forced herself to keep focusing on the woman. "<I suck at this, I'll need you to go slow.>"

"I-I can speak out loud if that's easier!" she said quickly. "And I know how—how to read lips."

When the seal finally pulled her goggles off, Midge abruptly realized where she recognized her from, which was frankly incredible by her standards given that her hair was still completely hidden. She was that one gorgeous girl Midge had seen around campus for the past two years (and embarrassingly, half the reason she decided to take the sign language courses). And now here she was, hiccuping like an idiot, and also being a complete asshole directly to this poor woman's face. "No, whatev–*URK*–g-guh!" She pulled a hand to her chest before remembering just what an obvious tell that was and adjusting herself in the water to be able to sign more clearly. "<Whatever's most comfortable for you. I need the practice anyway.>" Not to mention, she could really use an excuse to be able to keep her throat shut as much as possible.

The woman exhaled, then began signing back, obviously going deliberately slow for Midge's sake. "<Alright. Are you okay?>"

Midge's face burned and she had to force herself to maintain the gaze she knew it'd be shitty etiquette to break. "<Yeah. I'm fine. Just got some water up my nose.>" The woman winced sympathetically, and Midge assumed (and hoped? It was complicated) that would be the end of it, but she didn't look away. After a long second, Midge felt compelled to keep "talking", if only because the movements helped keep her hiccups camouflaged. "<It probably looked worse than what it was since I'm so tiny.>"

The woman let out something kind of like a laugh, and there was a silence between them that definitely felt awkward to Midge. After a moment, the former started signing again. "<Are you sure? You still look like you're having trouble breathing.>"

Well fuck fuckity fuck fuck fuck. Midge's cheeks probably could have been used as a stop sign at this point. Despite everything in her saying to sink back below the water and rejoin her fish ancestors in the primordial ooze, Midge couldn't be quite that much of a jerk, so she signed as best she could. "<I'm fine. I've just got H-I-C-C-U-P-S.>" She fingerspelled it as if that wasn't one of the first signs she'd ever looked up on her own.

The swimming woman's eyes went wide, and she let out a strange sort of laugh as she smiled an offensively beautiful smile. And then she actually did the fucking sign for hiccups, pointing up and popping her fingers out from in front of her chest, silently opening her mouth, and even bouncing herself in the water, and it frankly amazed Midge that her head didn't just explode right then and there. She let out a few more laughs before signing some more. "<No wonder I was confused, I couldn't hear them.>"

"<Hopefully nobody else could either. That's why I'm hiding over here.>"

"<I can feel them though.>" The pool didn't immediately catch fire, which meant that Midge couldn't have been burning as hot as she felt like she was, but goddamn, this was going to kill her. The woman gestured at the water between the two of them, which Midge abruptly realized was an extremely small volume compared to the entirety of the pool. "<Your belly keeps pushing the water out. I can feel them pulsing.>"

Thank god this woman couldn't hear, or else the steam coming out of Midge's ears would have been the most incriminating thing in the universe. "Sh---Shit, sorry, I'll m---"

"No!" The woman seemed to be somewhat aware of how loudly she'd spoken, as a hand went up to cover her mouth, but then she shook her head and started signing again, visibly having to slow herself down for Midge's sake. "<I don't mind it. It doesn't hurt or anything. And...>" she paused, wringing her hands and making a possibly involuntary sound under her breath. "<And it's nice to have someone to talk to here.>"

Midge arched her eyebrows and looked around, seeing all the people all over. "<Not a single one of these jerks knows sign language?>"

"<Some of them do, but they have their own things going on. And I can read lips, but people are drinking and having weird conversations with lots of others that don't make sense, so it's really hard to follow.>"

A laugh half forced itself out of Midge and she swallowed back another hiccup. The idea that her...pulses were being felt through the water made her shudder, but she concealed it with a small head shake. "<Sounds like a normal party to me. Hate these things.>"

"<Then why are you here?>"

Midge opened her mouth, hiccuped out loud, covered it abruptly, then slowly closed it and rolled her eyes before signing again. "<Yeah. Great question. Honestly, I just wanted to swim in a pool.>"

"<Me too.>" Midge absolutely believed her, considering what a clip she'd been moving through the water at. After a moment of not talking, she waved a hand in front of Midge's face. "<I'm A-D-R-I-A-N-N-A.>"

"Adrian–*nnk*–na," Midge mumbled it to herself. "<That's a pretty name.>"

"<A lot of people say so,>" Adrianna said, and Midge abruptly wondered if that was a shitty thing to say to a deaf person. "<What about you?>"

"<I'm M-I-D-G-E.>" She fingerspelled it, then waited for her next hiccup to pass to say it out loud.

Adrianna looked a bit shocked. "<People actually call you that?>" Midge nodded. "<I thought that my friends told me that as a joke.>"

"Pah! *HNK!*" A loud, single laugh burst out of Midge, a pretty audible hiccup escaping her, but at least for now, she was too amused to be terribly self-conscious. "<No, yeah, that is my actual name. Kind of. It's short for M-A-R-G-A-R-E-T.>"

Adrianna squinted. "<Do those sound more similar than they're spelled?>"

"<Not really. I think it's one of those nickname for nickname situations. Like how R-I-C-H-A-R-D somehow becomes D-I-C-K. And if that's the alternative, I think I came out ahead.>" Adrianna did her single, drawn-out laugh and Midge smiled before something occurred to her. "<Wait, your friends talked about me?>"

Adrianna's face went a bit red this time, and she made a small, possibly involuntary noise in the back of her throat. "<Well, some of my friends are taking sign courses too, and I can't help but be curious about the other students, you know?>" The fact that there may have been some ulterior motives at play made Midge grin far more than she probably should have, and Adrianna's face got a bit redder. Before Midge could figure out how she'd want to respond, though, Adrianna abruptly changed the subject: "<Your hiccups are gone.>"

"Shit, really?" Midge looked down at her stomach distorted through the water and took a few breaths, and though the hiccupy feeling wasn't completely gone, they did seem to have stopped for the moment. "<Oh shit, yeah, they are. I didn't even notice.>" After a moment, Midge bit her inner lip and decided she could be a bit...bold? Bold was probably a charitable word for it. "<I feel like they might come back, though.>"

"<I always get anxious when I catch them. I have no idea how to tell how loud they are.>"

"Well—" It occurred to Midge just what she was about to say out loud, and she abruptly shut her mouth, but when Adrianna stared curiously at her, she took a deep breath and started signing. "<Well, if I'm around when it happens, I can tell you. And I won't mind if they're loud.>"

Adrianna laughed again, and Midge found that she really liked her unique laugh. "<I guess I won't mind if yours are loud either. And as long as we're in the water, I can tell you if you catch them again and don't notice.>"

That was literally fucking impossible, but Midge still loved the idea of it happening. So there was no reason not to stay near Adrianna for the rest of this party. Adrianna never found a reason to leave her side either, even when she did end up catching the hiccups again. And Midge found herself wondering if she would notice every time she caught the hiccups, and hoping she'd get a chance to find out.

[hiccupscloud27]

June Hicth Prompt: #hiccuping out pt 1

Hey everyone, welcome to PART 1 of the Hicth Prompt! I'm so excited to bring this to light! This part is actually a little over 5000 words, aka, the longest one-shot I've ever written (probably because the format is 5+1, lol).

In order of appearance: Dorian, Tele.machus, Riddy, Orfeo, Ari

CW: multiple cases of hiccups, loud hiccups, fast hiccups, hard hiccups, some burps in the beginning, mentions of arousal, mention of violence (implied, not shown), mention of LGBTQIA+phobia (implied, not shown), mention of alcohol, old meme used as a conversation, negative self-thinking/internalized kinkshaming self(?)

I also want to dedicate this to @writingforfishes as I had originally planned something for their tumblr anniversary, completely lost motivation to do it, and I felt bad because without them, I wouldn't have this blog, I wouldn't have this community to talk freely about hiccups with, and I wouldn't have had the courage to post any of my hicfics. So here's a little something as a thank you for being here and being your awesome self, though, it's kind of at the end, lol!

Now without further ado, I give you the story. Enjoy~

Fandom: EP.IC, Modern AU, 5 +1

Five times Tele.machus makes Dorian cure his hiccups and the one time he doesn't

1

First Semester, Week 4

Dorian walked into their shared dorm to see their dorm mate, Tele.machus, lying on his stomach on his bed reading a sociology book.

“Hey,” Dorian greeted him.

Tele.machus heard the voice and perked up slightly, “Dorian, hey! How was class?”

The newcomer felt their heart flutter slightly at the cute display. Ignoring it, they shrugged their shoulders, dropping his bag to the ground before slamming himself down on the desk chair, “meh, boring. It's just the same old shit I did in high school. Wasting money on math I already know as a requirement for game design and development.”

Tele.machus frowned sympathetically, “aww, did you try testing out of that class?” He closed his book and sat up in his bed, sitting criss-cross-applesauce.

“I did,” Dorian rolled over and grabbed a Monster from their shared mini fridge, cracking it open and guzzling down their sorrows.

Tele.machus couldn't help watching in anticipation, watching their Adam's apple bob with every hard gulp. Dorian took a breath, releasing a loud burp.

“Dude, gross,” Tele.machus rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“What?” Dorian forced out another burp, “it's totally natural to burp, man.”

“You could at least excuse yourself, have some manners,” Tele.machus groaned as he cringed.

“Fine fine, your majesty,” Dorian rolled their eyes amusedly as they jokingly bowed, “excuse me *brrrrhup!*...*hiiip!* oh shi-*HILP!*” Dorian's eyes widened at the abrupt hiccups that followed.

They started fast and hard, the only sound filling the room. His whole body shook with the force of each one. Dorian felt his heart racing, his face flushed as they got lost in the moment. Dorian very much enjoyed having the hiccups. They could definitely feel the instant arousal buzzing between his thighs.

Dorian rested his hand on their chest just in time for the next, “*HICKOLP!-HICK!-HIMPK!*” that echoed through the room. His chest lurched forward against his hand with each spasm. His hiccups were always so strong and forceful, which gave them all the more reason to love them.

As he'd almost gotten lost in his body's incredible, rapid movements, they'd heard a tiny squeak.

“T-try holding your breath,” Tele.machus looked at them, an unfamiliar shyness they hadn't seen since they first moved in last semester.

They honestly forgot he was even there, so caught up in his chest movements and the sounds of his “*HUCK!*”s and “*HUGGULP!*”s and everything in between.

Dorian swallowed thickly, “w-*HUCK'L!*-why?”

Tele.machus blinked confused, staring at Dorian and the way their body was jolting spontaneously-

“Because- they're annoying?” Tele.machus squeaked, closing his eyes, feeling a little overwhelmed with his own arousal. He wasn't expecting this at all today. Not from his super attractive dorm mate that he definitely didn't have a crush on…

Dorian suspected that wasn't really the reason, but they'd obliged, holding his breath until the hiccups resolved themselves. They rubbed their chest, already missing the sensation, but they didn't want their roommate to be uncomfortable.

“They're gone,” Dorian said unnecessarily, “you good?”

“Yeah, I'm fine,” Tele.machus nodded, giving him a thumbs up.

Dorian giggled before rolling themselves back over to his bag to get started on some homework.

2

First Semester, Week 5

Dorian and some random guy barged into the dorm room close to midnight, drunk and making out sloppily. Tele.machus glared up at them, cringing slightly. He yawned, grumpy that he'd been very rudely awakened.

“Guys, come on, this is a shared space!” Tele.machus groaned, rubbing his eyes.

Dorian released the sloppy kiss to stare flirtatiously at Tele.machus, “ya wanna join the fun, Telly?~”

“Don't call me that…” he huffed, thankful that the room was dark enough to hide his blush, “and no, I'd rather you take your make out session somewhere else.”

“Aww, lighten up, man,” Dorian complained.

“Dude's just jealous cuz he's got no bitches,” the stranger scoffed, forcing his lips back onto Dorian's.

Tele.machus rolled his eyes, not going to entertain that. He turned toward the wall, covering up his head with a pillow, trying to block out the smooching sounds and moans.

Eventually, he heard a loud “*HUCKULK!*” and a yelp of pain.

“Owww, what the fuck, dude, not cool!” The stranger cradled his bleeding lip.

“Shit, I-*hmkmk!* fu-*HUCK!-HULP!*” Dorian's diaphragm kicked into high gear, all the alcohol catching up to them.

Tele.machus bit his own lip, hearing the spasms. He'd love to be able to see them too, but if he was ever going to go back to sleep, he needed them to stop.

He heard the door slam closed, leaving a hiccupy Dorian in the room.

“Ass-*HOLP!*...*ICKOLP!*-guh…*HOUP!-HIYUP!*-ah, fu-*HUGGUH!*-fuck,” Dorian rubbed his chest, still feeling horny from the make out session, and now even more from his own body.

“Dude, hold your breath, t-trying to sleep here,” Tele.machus’ voice rang out.

Dorian startled, again forgetting this was a shared room, “right, right, sorry…oh, actually? I think you startled them out of me.”

Tele.machus wondered why they sound so bummed about that fact. Keeping his thoughts to himself, he fully let sleep take over him.

3

First Semester, Week 8

Tele.machus and Dorian were out in the cafeteria hanging out with their friends for lunch. Dorian was doing most of the talking, though, extroverted as they were. Tele.machus was quietly eating and listening.

Their friend group wasn't too big. Including himself and Dorian, there were five of them altogether. Riddy, Orfeo, and Ari had known them since orientation. Riddy and Orfeo were dating, apparently having known each other their whole lives.

Tele.machus watched Riddy snuggled up to Orfeo's arm as she was engaged in the conversation. He couldn't help but imagine that being himself and Dorian someday….if he would ever gather the courage to ask them out.

Anyway, what were they even talking about? Did Riddy just say something about snakes?

He shook his head bemused and glanced at Dorian, who was smiling and enthusiastically adding onto the conversation. With the way their eyes lit up as the word vomit just spewed out of them, Tele.machus could not only see the passion, but he could feel it too.

“...one day, I'm gonna have a snake of my own,” Dorian was boasting.

“As long as you keep it away from Riddy, she's allergic,” Orfeo held his girlfriend protectively.

“I'm pretty sure anyone would have a bad reaction to a snake bite, honey,” Riddy reassured him, caressing his cheek. “Snakes are poisonous.”

“I thought snakes were venomous,” Tele.machus contributed before biting another forkful of room temperature macaroni and cheese, cringing disgustedly–seriously, why was the food here so bad yet so expensive?

“Same difference,” Orfeo shrugged.

“Wha-...that sentence contradicts itself,” Ari pinched her brows unamused, “anyway, if you bite it and you die, it's poisonous. If it bites you and you die, then it's venomous. Simple.”

“But then…what if it bites me and it dies?” Orfeo tilted his head, pure, innocent confusion on his face.

Ari blinked slowly, glaring at Orfeo, “that means you're poisonous…were you not listening to me?”

“Okay, but what about if it bites itself and I die?”

“That's some sort of voodoo, dark magic.”

“Fair enough,” Riddy nodded, “so then, what if it bites me, and someone else dies?”

Ari furrowed her eyebrows confused. Tele.machus quietly chuckled, pitching in, “that would just be correlation, not causation.”

“But what if we bite each other and neither of us dies?” Orfeo scratched his head.

“That's kinky,” Tele.machus rolled his eyes.

Dorian was mid-swallow of his food when they heard that and started laughing and choking at the same time. Tele.machus’ eyes widened in shock, quickly patting his back to dislodge any stuck food.

“Oh my gosh,” Ari facepalmed and sighed disappointedly, “I'm surrounded by idiots…”

Dorian was finally able to calm down his laughter, though a few more coughs erupted, “whew, kff…that caught me off guard, kff…kff-*HULP!* kff-*HEEKULP!* k-*HUP!-HU'UCK!-HIIIP!*-” Dorian covered their mouth as the onslaught of hiccups threw his body around.

Tele.machus could feel the force of them, just from the hand he still had on his back. He shivered, willing his hand to move from their spasming body.

“Whoa, those are some intense hiccups, dude,” Orfeo chuckled, “you good?”

Dorian nodded through a “*HMLK!*” Even when he was trying to muffle the sounds, it was still very clearly audible.

Tele.machus watched the way his chest popped out and their neck caved in. It was such a beautiful sight to see. But he wouldn't be able to watch much longer according to the instant arousal between his thighs. He readjusted his position, standing slightly before sitting back down.

It didn't help…

“Y-*HUCK!*-yeah *HUUUP!-IP!* y-*MLKMP!*-you ju-*HUP!*‐just ga-*HAULKMP!*-mm, gave *HIP!*-”

“Here,” Tele.machus handed them his water bottle hurriedly, “d-drink this.”

Dorian glanced at Tele.machus, somewhat sensing some sort of panic as the latter stared at him and the water with a certain urgency. They opened the bottle with another strong “*HNGKUP!*” before drinking the water slowly.

The whole table was silent, all seemingly waiting in anticipation. When no sound or jolts followed, Tele.machus internally sighed in relief.

“What I was trying to say was that you gave me the hiccups,” Dorian chuckled, “but I can always count on Telly to cure me. Thanks, bud.”

“Don't call me Telly,” Tele.machus pouted, “but, um…you're welcome.”

“Wait, how did I give you the hiccups!?” Orfeo squawked and Tele.machus blocked out the rest of their conversation, just reliving the moment that happened seconds ago.

Accidentally feeling the power of Dorian's hiccups was definitely the highlight of his day. But now he felt like a pervert. Feeling aroused without their knowledge or consent. But arousal was a natural reaction in the human body. He couldn't help when he'd feel it…right?

Dorian must've had some kind of psychic powers or something because they looked at Tele.machus and whispered in his ear, “you good?”

Tele machus quickly nodded and forced a smile, “mmhm, just…really hate the cafeteria food here sometimes.”

“That's not what I-”

“Hey Dorian, you gotta check this out,” Orfeo interrupted the moment to show them a video on his phone.

Tele.machus would forever be grateful for the airheadedness of Orfeo.

4

First Semester, Week 10

“I don't need you picking fights for me, Telly,” Dorian frowned as they began the process of patching Tele.machus' wounds.

Tele.machus just muttered angrily, looking away fuming. Dorian sighed, grabbing an alcohol pad and dabbing it onto the wound on his cheek.

“Ow!” Tele.machus hissed and flinched away.

“Sorry, I'm sorry,” Dorian frowned, “I have to disinfect the wound.”

“I know, it just…hurts,” Tele.machus pouted, going back to his original position.

Dorian nodded understandingly, dabbing the pad against his cheek again. Tele.machus hissed again, but stayed still.

“What did this guy even say to get you so amped up?” Dorian asked. “I mean, I heard most of it, but then he whispered something in your ear…”

Tele.machus grimaced, looking at Dorian, but not directly in the eyes, “he told me that my dad's dead and gone and he called my mom a…very nasty slur and then mentioned how he wanted to sleep with her.”

“The fuck?” Dorian practically gagged, “I'm sorry, seriously, what the fuck?”

“Yeah, so that's when I kinda lost it,” Tele.machus looked away, “along with him being an asshole about your pride pins. I'm sorry he broke them.”

“It's alright, I can always just buy some more,” Dorian shrugged and finished cleaning the wound on his cheek before bandaging it. “How do you two even know each other?”

“He used to be my babysitter when I was a kid and mom would be busy with work,” Tele.machus explained.

Dorian's jaw dropped, “what?”

“Yeah…he wasn't exactly the best babysitter, but he was the only one available at the time,” Tele.machus cringed. “Guess he finally got enough money for college.”

“He's gotta be at least thirty, then…” Dorian theorized, “what's he doing beefing with someone ten years younger than him?”

“The guy's a jerk,” Tele.machus snarled, “he's probably always wanted to kick my ass, but had a fake reputation to uphold.”

“Damn, that sucks, man…you didn't deserve to be around that shit,” Dorian frowned before they grabbed his hand gently, “but, uh, I'll be as gentle as I can. Still, it's going to sting a bit.”

Tele.machus nodded, “mmhm…I'm rea-gah!”

“Sorry, element of surprise is best I read,” Dorian smiled sheepishly as he continued dabbing his knuckles.

Tele.machus squeezed their hand at the pain and Dorian soothed him with reassuring words as they'd gingerly wrapped bandages around his hand. Once they finished with the first hand, they gently grabbed the other.

“Good job so far,” Dorian praised before he offered, “Do you need a break before I continue?”

Tele.machus shook his head, “n-no, it's probably best to just get it out of the way.”

“Oka-*haup!*-kay?” Dorian looked confused, a hand on his chest. They rarely got singles, but with the lack of any more to follow, they brushed it off as a fluke.

Focusing on trying to dab the alcohol pad on Tele.machus’ knuckles as gently as possible, he suddenly hiccupped again, touching the pad to Tele.machus’ skin, making him wince.

“Shi-*HIP!-HILK!*uh -shit, *HICKOLP!*,” Dorian looked at him sympathetically, but noticed how stiff he'd gotten. “So-*HAULK!-HUP!*-guh, sorry the-*HEEKULP!-HEEK!*-these just cam-*HMPK!-HMKGMP!-HUUUP!*-ooh, came outta n-*NGK’UP!*-nowhere.”

Tele.machus watched as the hiccups wracked through their body right in front of him. One after the other, a symphony right in his face. He blushed profusely as Dorian continued cleaning up his hand.

“Holding your breath usually works,” Tele.machus whispered, biting his lip, keeping his eyes locked on his hand.

“Tru-*HOOP!*-ooh, true *HULP!-HUGGUP!*-ah,” Dorian nodded, though they didn't want this random case to end just yet. “But what-*HUCKULK!*-ngh, what's the ru-*HUP!-HUNGK!-HIUP!*-haa, rush?”

Come to think of it, Tele.machus always rushed them when it came to curing their hiccups. At first they thought he was uncomfortable, but could it have been something else? Was he afraid of the hiccups? Were they triggering for him?

Dorian looked at Tele.machus, seeing him staring at them–or more like through him?–with a blank expression, a poker face.

“Telem-*MMK!-MLKMP!-HMMMP!*‐mm, Telemach-*UP!‐HULP!*-us?” Dorian called his name worriedly.

Tele.machus then did something neither one of them had expected. He closed the gap between the two of them, kissing them on the lips. Dorian's eyes widened in pure shock, but they kissed him back, a hand caressing his unharmed cheek. Tele.machus closed his eyes, slowly pulling them closer to him, deepening the kiss before realizing what he was doing and he gently pushed them away, breathing heavily.

They both sat in silence, for a while, just staring at each other, jaws dropped, just breathing heavily.

Dorian broke the silence, “Tele.machus? Wha-”

“Sorry, I'm sorry!” Tele.machus panicked, quickly standing up, “I, um…it got rid of your, uh…problem. But, um…I should probably go-”

“Wait, it's okay, don't go,” Dorian tried to catch his hand, but they were too late. Tele.machus got away.

Dorian placed their fingers on their lips softly, blushing slightly. Their heart skipped a beat as he still felt his lips on theirs. The passion that was there. That kiss was definitely more than just a cure. Did Tele.machus have feelings for them? Did they have feelings for him?

5

Second Semester, Week 0

It had been weeks since the kiss and Tele.machus hadn't talked to Dorian since. He'd been avoiding them. He knew their schedule so he knew what time to be at their dorm to avoid a conversation.

Dorian was disappointed that Tele.machus had stopped talking to them. Even though they reassured him that the kiss could be forgotten if he so wished it to be. At this point, they just wanted their friend back.

The start of the second semester arrived quickly and as Tele.machus was busy unpacking his bags from winter break with his mom, he hadn't registered in his brain that Dorian was returning at some point.

And apparently it was sooner rather than later as he'd heard the beep of the key card embedded in their student ID and the click of the door opening. Tele.machus turned to see Dorian. They were bundled up in a warm hat, scarves, gloves, and a fuzzy heated jacket.

“Hey,” Dorian tried once they realized Tele.machus was going to stay silent.

“...h-hey,” Tele.machus stammered and waved, “erm…how was your break?”

Dorian slowly smiled as he shed all of his winter layers, “it was good. Dad took me and my siblings to this awesome ski lodge, it was a lot of fun. Poly tried doing so many tricks, but kept falling on his ass, it was hilarious!”

“That's good,” Tele.machus smiled slightly.

“How about yours?” Dorian asked curiously, closing the door and setting his luggage by their side of the room. “Do anything fun?”

Tele.machus shrugged, “not really…mom and I kinda just stayed in and- oh! Actually, I have a surprise for you…”

Dorian's brows raised, honestly touched, “shut up, you serious?”

Tele.machus searched through his bag and pulled out a little red and green striped gift bag. Standing back up, he handed the bag to Dorian, “merry Christmas- i-if you celebrate-”

“Yeah, I celebrate,” Dorian nodded and accepted the bag. Before looking inside, he looked at Tele.machus suspiciously. “Wait, I'm supposed to still be mad at you for not talking to me for weeks…”

Tele.machus winced and looked away, blushing profusely, “u-understandable, honestly…b-but just read the paper first…”

Dorian raised an eyebrow, but obliged. They took out the folded piece of paper and unfolded it, finding a very nicely written note. “You have amazing handwriting.”

“Thanks…” Tele.machus said distractedly, fidgeting with his fingernails.

“You want me to read it out loud?” Dorian asked.

“If you want to,” Tele.machus shrugged, seeming more shy than before.

Dorian nodded before dramatically clearing his throat, his body instantly spasming afterwards. “*HUP!* Oh wow, *HILP!-HUCKUP!-HYUP!*-oof, *HNGKLP*-”

Tele.machus squeaked and glanced at them, “you, um…okay?”

Dorian nodded again, “ye-*HEUP!*‐yeah, sor-*HORK!*-sorry, *HIC!*-cups again-*NLGK!*” They tried to swallow them down.

“C-could…you maybe…hhhhold your breath?” Tele.machus sighed, pinching his fingertips to distract himself.

But he couldn't ignore the way his body was reacting to the spasms. Seeing Dorian's chest jolt and his neck caving in was an art form. Even the rare times their stomach would pop out drove him off the wall.

Dorian looked confused, “w-*HIGGUH!*-why?”

“Please, Dorian…I can't…” Tele.machus shut his eyes tightly, squeaking, balling his hands into fists so tight, they left crescents on his palm.

Dorian went over to him concerned, holding his hands and releasing his fists to relax them, “he-*HULP!*-hey, hey *HIP!-HOLP!-H'GUP!*-uh, I'm-*M'GMP!* right he-*HEEK!-HERK!-HUCKUCK!*-oof, here.”

“Dorian…I-” Tele.machus took a sharp breath in. He looked at the note that was still in Dorian's hand. He exhaled slowly. “Screw it, impromptu speech.” He looked at Dorian, who jumped with another muffled “*HMM'MMK!”* and he looked away. “But please…I can't concentrate with those…”

Dorian sighed, interrupted by a “*HULP'K!*”, before nodding in cooperation. They sucked in a breath and held it. They both waited a moment and exhaled slowly at the same time.

“Okay, they're gone,” Dorian nodded.

“Right…” Tele.machus still couldn't quite look into their eyes, but he looked in their general direction, “what I wanted to say…what the letter says is…” he fumbled over his words. He took a deep breath and started again, “I'm sorry for avoiding you for weeks. After we…after I kissed you…I panicked and thought you'd never want to hear from me again…but still, I hurt you, and you're my friend, I'd never want to hurt you…but I did, and I'm so sorry, Dorian…”

Tears welled up in Tele.machus’ eyes as he continued, “I promise to do better, I won't…run away next time, I'll communicate with you and we'll work it out, whatever it is. I hated not seeing you and not talking to you…you're really fun to be around.” He chuckled wetly as Dorian gently wiped Tele.machus’ tears.

“Thanks, I try to be,” Dorian winked, making Tele.machus chuckle quietly, blushing slightly. “But it's okay. And honestly? I just want my friend back.” They shrugged.

Tele.machus nodded, “o-okay, yeah, yes, that can be arranged. Friends.”

“Cool, and you know~” Dorian smirked, getting closer to Tele.machus’ face, “I wouldn't be opposed to moving our friendship into…something more.~”

Tele.machus’ eyes widened and he blushed profusely, “s-something more?” He squeaked as his brain supplied him with ‘too close, too close, hot person is too close, help-’

“I mean…I know I offered for that kiss to be forgotten, but…all I've ever wanted to do since then is to kiss your lips again…” Dorian glanced at his lips.

Tele.machus felt like his heart was lodged in his throat. He swallowed thickly, trying to get rid of that lump in his throat. “O-oh, really?” He stammered, incredibly flustered.

“Really,” Dorian nodded and bit his own bottom lip, “so, may I?~”

Tele.machus nodded his head, “y-yes…you may.”

Dorian smiled and closed the gap between them, hugging him close as they kissed him. Tele.machus was quick to reciprocate the action, wrapping his arms around his neck, playing with their beautifully-dyed blue hair. They kissed for what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only a minute or two.

They both released with bright smiles on their faces, both breathing heavily and blushing slightly.

“Gosh, you're such a great kisser,” Dorian admitted, resting their head on his shoulder.

“Me?” Tele.machus chuckled incredulously, “you're the first person I've ever kissed.”

Dorian's eyes widened and they moved their head to look at Tele.machus incredulously, “you're telling me…I was your first kiss?”

Tele.machus nodded and looked away, blushing profusely. Dorian smiled and gently nudged him, “awww, well you're a natural.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Tele.machus shrugged, picking at the sleeve of his sweater.

“It's funny, one day, you'll be telling the story of your first kiss, and you'll be laughing at the fact that you wasted it on curing me from some random hiccups,” Dorian snorted.

“Y-yeah…”

“Speaking of…”

Oh boy, here it comes.

“...I've been meaning to ask you,” Dorian looked at the man who refused to meet their eyes, “why are you always so quick to cure my-”

“Cuz I like them!” Tele.machus blurted out before they could finish, his face impossibly redder. “I-I mean, not just yours specifically, I mean…I like hiccups in general. Sorry! I know it's weird, but-”

“Well, that's a relief, I thought I was making you scared or anxious whenever I had cases,” Dorian placed a hand on his shoulder, “and me too, actually. I love hiccups, both having them and hearing someone else have them.”

Tele.machus looked at Dorian, so much hope filled his eyes, “r-really? I'm not…I'm not alone in this?”

“Oh, Telly, of course you're not alone,” Dorian smiled kindly at him, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

Tele.machus let out a huge sigh of relief and hugged Dorian tightly, finding solace in knowing that someone else understood him and what he was feeling.

Dorian smiled and hugged him back.

+1

Continuation of 5

The two of them hugged in silence before Tele.machus dragged them over to his bed and they both sat down.

“Do you mind if we, um…talk about hiccups? Or is that too weird?” Tele.machus asked.

Dorian chuckled, "First off, that isn't weird, second off, I would love to, cutie, but don't you want me to open your present first?”

Tele.machus gasped and blushed embarrassed, “yeah, yes, of course…” Then he muttered, “completely forgot about that…”

Dorian chuckled again and reached into the bag, taking out some kind of jewelry box. “What is it?”

“Open it,” Tele.machus begged them excitedly.

Dorian opened the box and gasped, his eyes sparkling at the sight of what looked to be a custom-made pride wristwatch. They gingerly held the watch in their hands, looking at all the shining gemstones reflecting the gold around the wristband and the colorful gemstones surrounding the face in a rainbow pattern. (I'm bad at describing watches, so here's a photo)

“Tele.machus…this…this is beautiful,” they said just a little over a whisper. “Where did you find this?”

“Well, I, um…went searching for your pride pins that Ant.inous broke,” Tele.machus told them as he sat back, watching Dorian try it on. “For some odd reason, there were none available? I dunno, it was weird, anyway I started searching for other pride gifts, and I went down a whole rabbit hole until I found this clockmaker and I thought, huh, a wristwatch…that'd be a cool and unique gift.”

“I found the address and saw it was a two hour drive from my house,” Tele.machus continued, “I figured, I didn't have anything better to do and it would be worth it because you're worth it, so I packed a bag and hurried to the car, driving all the way down to the shop.”

“Tele.machus, you didn't have to do all of that for me,” Dorian looked at him, eyes gleaming with unshed tears.

“I wanted to,” Tele.machus admitted with a shrug, “but anyway, I found the shop, and I told the guy–his name's Otto, lovely guy, pure golden retriever energy, hehe–exactly what I was going for and we kinda brainstormed until we came up with that beauty. He said he'd have it done by the end of the week. His price was reasonable, but shit, man, he deserved way more than what I gave him because he did an amazing job on it.”

“And I love how quiet it is,” Dorian sniffed, “the tick tick tick noise can keep me up at night sometimes.”

“That's why I put that in the request,” Tele.machus smiled, “and get this-” he sat up excitedly, “when I went to pick the watch up, he had these insane hiccups, like…I honestly thought he was going to die from a lack of air supply.”

Dorian snorted into laughter, “seriously?”

Tele.machus chuckled and nodded, “yeah! They were just hitting him, one after the other. I don't know how I made it out of there in one piece.”

“Were they worse than mine?” Dorian asked curiously.

Tele.machus thought about it for a moment, “in terms of speed? I think so. He'd sometimes get these really fast and long clusters…but the loudness factor goes to you…maybe.”

“Was he okay?” Dorian asked, slightly concerned.

“He said he was fine and they didn't hurt or anything,” Tele.machus shrugged, resting his head on Dorian's shoulder, “he said he's prone to them so he's used to it.”

“Man, I would've loved to be there to witness that,” Dorian admitted solemnly. “But honestly, I do need to tell him how amazingly he did on this watch. Wonder if he has a website so I can give him a five-star review…”

They admired the watch, holding it up to the light and watching the shine of colors sparkle beautifully. Dorian hugged Tele.machus, “thank you for having it made for me…I love it.”

Tele.machus gasped and smiled, hugging them back, stroking their hair, “of course. I'm really glad you like it.”

After another moment of hugging, the two of them sat back against the wall. Dorian looked at Tele.machus with a smile, “alright, appreciation of gift moment is checked off the list, time to talk about hiccups?”

Tele.machus giggled and nodded his head, “yeah!” He felt excited, but also nervous at the same time. He'd never talked so freely about hiccups with anyone. “How do you wanna start?”

“Well-” Dorian, on brand, was interrupted by a “*HOLP!*”

Tele.machus’ eyes widened as they both stared at each other, Dorian's head jerking back with another strong “*HUNGK!*”

“They came back…” Tele.machus whispered.

“Mm-*HMMK!*-mmhm,” Dorian nodded, “they *HUP!-KMP!*-mm, tend t-*HMLKUP!*-tend to af-*ICKOLP!-HIP!-HUGGULK!*-oof, at som-*HMK!* point aft-*ERK!* I cure them-*MMMK!-HUP!*”

“O-oh…” Tele.machus muttered, his brain complete mush as he'd watched and felt the hiccups shake the bed. He instantly felt the urge to tell them to cure himself again, but he'd thought back to the conversation he'd had with Otto.

If he could get through a somewhat sensible conversation with a hiccupping Otto, he should be able to do the same with Dorian.

Granted, Dorian was more his type, and age for that matter, and at this point they might possibly be dating?

“You-*H'GOOP!*-ooh, wan-*NNNK!-HINGK!*-want me *HEEEEP!* to *HIIUUURP!*-heh, cure *HERK!-HUP-HIK!*-”

“No!” Tele.machus blushed at his volume of the word, “I-I…I mean, no…not this time…no more accommodations, I can hold a conversation with somebody with hiccups.”

Dorian smirked, his head jerking through a silent hiccup, “don't wor-*HERK!*-worry, they wo-*HOLK!-HUP!*-won't be so ba-*HAUK!‐HAUGLK!*-bad after a bi-*HIK!-HUCKULP!*-bit.”

Tele.machus made a very conscious effort to focus more on the words rather than the way their body jolted.

“U-uh-huh…”

Dorian chuckled softly, “they a-*HAUP!*-always start o-*HOK!*-off fast an-*NGK’UP!*-gff, and loud t– –till they calm *MGLK!* down a bit, se-*HEEK!*-ee?”

Tele.machus blushed and nodded, “I see…interesting…do they hurt at all?”

Dorian shook his head, “no-*HOLP'K!*-nope, I don't think I'd *HULP!-HUP!* be able to en-*HNGK!*-enjoy these if they hu-*HURK!*-hurt. What about *HUP!* you?”

Tele.machus shook his head quickly, refocusing, “uhh, me?”

“Yeah! *HUNGKAH!*-ooh, what are yours l-*HUCKULK!*-oof, like?” Dorian sat up, readjusting their position.

“Oh, ummm…honestly, I rarely ever get them,” Tele.machus shrugged, “I think the last time I've had them was…sixteen? Seventeen? Though I have had some random singles every once in a while and those don't hurt.”

“That's goo-*HOOK!-HIOK!-HUOLK!*-mm, good,” Dorian patted their chest. “Do you prefer *HICKUCK!* having the hic-*KOLP!* hiccups? Or hearing-*NNNGK!* others’ hiccups?”

“Oh, I definitely prefer hearing others’,” Tele.machus confessed, “I do like having my own, but after the first couple of minutes of having them, I kinda get tired of them, hehe.”

“Un—understandable,” Dorian chuckled, their hand still on their chest, “aww, I ki-*HIPulp!*-kinda feel like they're star-*urk!*-starting to go away. They g—get pretty quie-*hep!-hip!*-quiet and so-*hokf*-soft when they're trailing o-*hok!*-off…you wann-*ngk!-nnkup!*-na feel them before they're go-*hok*-gone?”

‘Yes, yes, more than anything, yes!’

“N-no thanks,” Tele.machus blushed, “maybe next time.”

Dorian nodded, “that's fair.” They grinned, rubbing their chest. They jolted softly at one last silent hiccup before the case seemed to resolve itself. “Aww, looks like they're gone. They don't really last that long, honestly, which you would've realized, had you not made me cure myself constantly.”

They gently nudged Tele.machus, who blushed, “yeah, yeah, sorry! My brain literally freaked out every time and my first thought was to offer you cures as fast as possible and-”

“I'm only teasing, Telly,” Dorian giggled and kissed his cheek, “now, what would you say if we continued our little kissing session from earlier, hmm?~”

Tele.machus blushed more, stammering in a flustered mess. He ultimately nodded and the two of them completely forgot about unpacking all of their clothes that afternoon.

Fin~

[hiccuping-daydreams]

June Hicth 2025

This month's prompt is...

Coming out!!

This can be queer, kink, or both! You choose!

This month's tag is #hiccuping out

its a pun 😃

I'm excited to see what you guys come up with!! Don't forget to tag your stuff!

banner credit

[noonenowherenever]

June hicth 2025

So I was never in on the prompts that were made back in november but this one spoke to me. Its a continuation of an earlier thing I wrote, where the husband had found out about his wifes secret attraction without her knowing. No hiccups in this one but I have a follow up planned where they'll explore more about her thing together.

The confession

Months went by, but Stephanie certainly didn’t go a day without thinking about Jonathan’s amazing case of the hiccups. It had been the best hiccups she had ever witnessed, even though she’d occasionally seen boyfriends or crushes get them in her younger years.

It had been so special—the way it almost seemed like he wanted her to pay attention to them. He’d acted so perfectly nonchalant, yet at the same time just a little self-aware. She loved that mix. Of course, she’d felt like she needed to sink through the floor and disappear, but at the same time, she’d wanted to experience every second of it.

What if that had been the first and last time? She knew he wasn’t prone to them—one case in ten years. She wished she’d just recorded them, so she wouldn’t have to rely on her imagination all the time. At least she was thankful for what she’d gotten. She’d thought he was one of those people who never got them at all.

She tried to let it go. If it happened again, it happened… otherwise—well—she had the memory to replay in her head.

Then came that one night. In bed. Just after they’d both climaxed. A vulnerable state, of course. And Jonathan spoke.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” he whispered.

She smiled. “You know you can ask me anything.”

But she truly hadn’t expected this question—and she immediately regretted saying that.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that evening a few months ago. I’d been running, and I got the hiccups after I showered.”

Stephanie blushed deeply just hearing him say it. What the fuck. What about it? She decided to play dumb.

“Okay,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Did you?”

He chuckled. “I sure did—and you remember it, right? I… just thought maybe you… I don’t know, maybe you…?” He trailed off, not quite knowing how to phrase it.

She turned her face toward his chest, trying to hide her expression. But it was no use—he could feel the heat of her cheeks against his skin.

“Jonathan…” she murmured.

He stroked her arm gently, his voice careful. “You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I just… I felt something that night. Like maybe it affected you more than you let on.”

Stephanie exhaled shakily. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “I just didn’t think I’d ever have to talk about it.”

She also didn’t know if she ever wanted to. Would it be worth it, or would she just be humiliated?

He sighed. “I’m not forcing you to tell me anything. But I would like to try to understand what’s going on.”

“It’s just that…” she hesitated. “It’s so embarrassing. I can’t even think about it.”

“I won’t judge you,” he said, his tone calm and warm. “Whatever you say, it’s between you and me—and it’s okay. Really.”

“I’ve never put it into words,” she whispered.

“Try,” he coaxed.

“Just…”—her face was buried in her hands—“I like them.”

“Okay, that wasn’t so hard, right? In what way do you like them? I’m sensing it’s something more than just finding them funny.”

He tried to get her to look at him, but she still refused and kept her face hidden.

She nodded, clearing her throat. “It’s something else.”

He chuckled. “Okay, do you want to tell me what that something is—or are you making me guess?”

She shrugged. “What would you guess?” Her voice was so soft now, and her thoughts were spinning. What would he say once he knew?

She should’ve just told him it was cute and left it at that. At least that’s semi-normal, right?

She held her breath in anticipation and listened.

“Well… now this will be embarrassing for me too, if I’m wrong… but…” he began.

She looked up at him. “It won’t be.”

“I think they turn you on,” he said, looking straight at her.

Fuck. Stephanie panicked and tried to get up, but he pulled her back down and kissed her gently.

“Don’t,” he said. “It’s okay.” He took her face between his hands and smiled. “Really, Steph. It’s cute.”

She felt like she’d suddenly gotten a high fever—face burning, legs shaking, pulse rushing. She had to close her eyes; looking at him was far too intense in that moment.

“Hey, did you pass out?” Jonathan joked, trying to lighten the mood. When she didn’t answer and kept her eyes closed, he continued, “We don’t have to talk about it. Just know I’ll never say or do anything to make you feel weird about it.”

Stephanie opened her eyes and nodded. “Thank you.”

[angora48]

"(Room)Mates"

Inspired by the Hicth prompt for Pride Month. If the pirate show (0fmd) had gotten a third season, I like to think we would've gotten canon aroace Frenchie. A woman can dream!

When you’re the captain of the sex-positive “love is love” ship, how do you explain to your best mate who fancies you that you’re aroace? It’s not the easiest conversation to have, and an ill-timed case of hiccups isn’t helping. There’s a distinct possibility that Frenchie is nervous about this.

A brilliant sun was beating down over the Caribbean, but a good breeze took the edge off the heat and kept the Revenge in motion. Frenchie was in motion too—he walked briskly across the deck, checking in with the crew and making sure everything was on course.

“Hey, there he is!” Wee John called to him. Frenchie turned and found his roommate holding up a fluttering trail of purple.

“You finished it?” Frenchie asked in delight, skirting past some of the crew playing cards to meet Wee John by the stairs. He held still while Wee John loosely arranged the long knitted scarf around his neck.

“It suits you,” Wee John told him. “Purple’s definitely your color.”

“Yeah?” Frenchie said. “Is it dashing? Do I look, you know, captainy?”

“Very dashing,” Wee John confirmed.

Frenchie turned this way and that, watching the scarf trail behind him. “I love it,” he enthused. “Thanks, mate!”

Wee John grinned at him. “Any time.” He looked down toward the card game. “I’m getting some wash on—anybody need laundry doing?” he asked, then counted the raised hands. “Right, I’ll get that started.” 

Smiling again at Frenchie, he said, “See you round,” then headed below deck.

“See you,” Frenchie replied. 

He was in a good mood. Nice day, smooth sailing, and now, new scarf. Frenchie was still admiring it when Oluwande said, “Er, captain?”

That still threw him a bit, Captain Frenchie. He did the job just fine, but hearing the title felt like wearing somebody else’s coat. Maybe the scarf would help. Sauntering over to the card players, Frenchie said, “Yeah, what’s up?”

Oluwande glanced at the others, who seemed to be urging him on. “You and Wee John…” he started.

“What about us?” Frenchie asked.

They all had some sort of unspoken exchange that Frenchie couldn’t follow. At last, Jim was the one to speak up, asking, “Are you two officially a thing now?”

Frenchie frowned in confusion. “What sort of thing?”

Lucius gave a heavy sigh. “Oh my god—after Stede left, I thought I was done walking clueless captains through romance.”

“What’re you on about?” Frenchie asked. “There’s no romance. We’re mates.”

Archie laughed. “If that’s the case, why do you think he’s always flirting with you?”

Frenchie was proper confused now. “What?”

Lucius scoffed. “You are kidding.”

“Frenchie, mate, he’s always flirting with you,” Oluwande reiterated. 

 “No, he’s not,” Frenchie insisted.

“Oh, so you’re flirting with him just for the fun of it?” Pete prodded.

“I’m definitely not!” Frenchie protested, to a general outcry.

This wasn’t good. On the list of captains’ problems, it fell well below storms and mutinies, but Frenchie could feel his stomach churning as he considered what they’d said. “Don’t be daft,” he said firmly.

“Oh please,” Zheng replied, not looking up as she refilled her pipe. “He called you dashing? Must be love.”

“Oi!” Oluwande muttered to her.

“Who said anything about love??” Frenchie yelped.

Pete stood up and rested his elbow on Frenchie’s shoulder. “Look, speaking as a married man…”

Everyone groaned. Archie threw her cards at Pete, and Lucius said, “Babe, take it down, like, two notches.”

“The point is, Wee John likes you,” Jim told Frenchie. “Like, really likes you. I don’t know if you feel the same way or not, but either way, you’ve gotta tell him.”

“Frenchie likes him too,” Oluwande pitched in. “He must!”

“Oh, must I?” Frenchie retorted. “What, more of this supposed flirting I do?”

“You never moved into the captain’s quarters,” Oluwande pointed out. “You stayed with him.”

“Yeah, ‘cause he’s my roommate!” Frenchie said. “It’s a room people thing—you wouldn’t understand.”

“Your room used to be our room!” Jim exclaimed, indicating themselves and Oluwande.

“And every day, you regret giving it up, don’t you?” Frenchie replied.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, it doesn’t matter about the room!” Lucius broke in. “It doesn’t change the fact that Wee John fancies you. Anyone can see it.”

“Flirrr. Tingggg,” Archie said, drawing out the word to a painful degree.

“And if you don’t fancy him back, then stop stringing him along,” Lucius finished.

“But I haven’t!” Frenchie cried weakly.

“Don’t break up the band, dude,” Pete warned.

“Talk to Wee John,” Oluwande told him.

Frenchie bit back a groan. “Right. So that’s my day, is it?”  He sighed, grimacing. “Fine. I’m a responsible and tactical captain. I’ll just…fine.”

Filled with a jittery nervous energy, Frenchie turned on his heels and hurried below deck. Wee John couldn’t really have set his cap at him. Could he have? For how long? It couldn't be anything serious. If he was flirting with Frenchie, it was just in a fun, cheeky way, yeah? And there was no way he thought Frenchie was flirting with him, right? Please?

As Frenchie swallowed, he gulped down a feeling of dread. “Oh god.” He tightly gripped the ends of his scarf.

Frenchie attempted to be nonchalant as he moseyed into their room, though he suspected he was overdoing it—the whistling felt like a bit much. “All right?” he asked with trepidation.

“Yeah,” Wee John replied, glancing up from sorting clothes. He flashed Frenchie a smile. “Better now that you’re here.”

Oof. Had the others just put notions in his head, or was Frenchie starting to see it too now? “So listen,” he began, his hands still tugging at his scarf, “I’ve got something to ask you, and it might seem a bit mad, but….” Was this right? It seemed like he’d started all wrong. “Here, should we take it to the nook?”

Wee John raised his eyebrows, and Frenchie wasn’t sure if he was perplexed, intrigued, or skeptical. But he nodded, setting the laundry aside. Together, they walked to the corner and sat down.

“Here’s the thing,” Frenchie began, again. His head jerked back with a hiccup, a quiet “*hup!*” He cleared his throat. “Right. So, well, I mean, *hmmk!* it’s been brought to my atten-*hulp!*-attention….” Frenchie stopped and took a breath, hiccupping again. “Sorry, I—”

Wee John smiled. “Maybe you’d better hold your breath?” he suggested. “And then we can start over.”

“Righ-*herk!*” Frenchie said, trying to sound less anxious than he was. “Just the thi-*hmmp!*-the thing, hold the ol’-*hup!*-breath and nip the h-*hic!*-iccups in the b-- bud.” It’s possible that he was babbling. Frenchie shook himself out like a wet dog, as if he could shake his nerves away. 

As he took a deep breath and held it, Wee John gave him a reassuring nod. But that kind gesture made Frenchie’s heart sink. What if he bungled this and lost Wee John as a friend? He wasn’t sure he could bear that, but he didn’t know how to avoid it. This wasn’t remotely the sort of thing he was good at, talking through messy or delicate feelings—especially when it came to this. Whatever happened to bottling it up like a sensible person?

When he felt he was about ready to burst, Frenchie let all his breath out in a puff. “There, now that that’s taken care of, *huck!*”

Wee John broke into a fond-sounding laugh. “This just isn’t your day, is it?” he asked. “C’mon, we’d better get you some water.”

“Oh, that’s-*hup!*-all right,” Frenchie demurred. “I’m sur-*herk!*-sure they’ll go away a-- any minute now.”

“Nonsense,” Wee John told him. “Help me up—we’ll head down to the galley and get you fixed right up.”

Frenchie didn’t know what he’d envisioned going into this conversation, but this sure wasn’t it. What could he do, though? So he nodded, swallowing a “*hmmk!*”, and popped up to his feet, giving Wee John a hand as he rose.

Probably a good thing they were already below deck. Lord knows what the others would make of this little scene, and Frenchie had already had more than an earful of their opinions. No, better that they could bypass all that and go straight to the galley. Maintain a bit of privacy.

“Here we are,” Wee John announced as they stepped inside. “You sit down, I’ll get your water.”

Frenchie threw himself onto one of the long benches, groaning as he stretched out his lanky hiccupping frame. The more they prolonged getting started, the more the whole thing seemed to be spinning away from him.

At that moment, Roach poked his head out from the food stores. “I said no one’s allowed in here until dinner!” he barked. “It’s a surprise.”

“We’ll be quick,” Wee John told him. “Cap’n has the hiccups.” He returned to Frenchie’s bench with a jug of water and a mug. 

With another “*hup!*”, Frenchie sat up. He gave Roach an apologetic smile. “Out of y-*herk!*-your hair in a-*huck!*-jiff,” he promised, then downed the water. 

“Right,” he said, wiping his mouth as he set down the empty mug. “All better now. Thanks, Wee Joh-*hulp!*” He sighed. “Oh, lord abo-- above….”

Wee John was right. This wasn’t his day.

Hiccups or not, was it better to just get it over with? He’d feel like a right fool, but putting it off like this was just making him more anxious about it. He wished these damn hiccups would go away already.

Roach frowned in thought. “Maybe if you drink from the other side of the glass?”

“What else cures hiccups?” Wee John mused. He turned to Roach. “Where’s the sugar? Or have you got any lemons?”

“That’s all r-*herk!*-all right, really,” Frenchie insisted, rising to his feet. “*hmmp!* We don’t have t-- to fuss with i-*hic!*-it.”

“I could scare you,” Roach offered brightly. “Hold on, let me get a few of my knives.”

“Oh, that could work,” Wee John agreed.

Everything was definitely spinning away from Frenchie now. His fingers were fidgeting, his palms were sweating, and his head was buzzing. All of a sudden, he heard himself blurt out, “Have you b-*huck!*-been flirting wi-*hic!*-with me?”

Well, that stopped things spinning, all right. Both Wee John and Roach went dead quiet. After an excruciatingly long moment, silent except for Frenchie’s “*hmmks!*” and “*hulps!*”, Roach announced, “I’ll give you two a minute,” and hightailed it out of there.

More silence-with-the-exception-of-hiccups—Frenchie stuffed the end of his scarf in his mouth, but it couldn’t quiet them altogether. Then Wee John asked in a soft voice, “What do you mean?”

Frenchie pulled the scarf out and sighed through another hiccup, sinking back down onto the bench. “That’s wh-*hulp!*-what Jim said,” he replied. “*hup!* And Lucius. An-- and Olu. And well, *hmmk!* pretty much every-*hic!*-one, I guess.” He looked down at his hands as he twisted his fingers round each other. “And they said I’ve-*hup!*-been flirting b-*hulp!*-back.”

He stole a glance at Wee John, who frowned as he asked, “You mean you haven’t been?”

“Wasn’t tr-*hmmp!*-trying to,” Frenchie explained quietly, “and-*hulp!*-and didn’t notice if-*hic!*-you were. That sort of-*hup!*-thing, it’s not really m-- my area.” He looked at Wee John again. “Sorr-*hup!*-sorry, if you thought-*hulp!*-I was. Didn’t mean t-*huck!*-to lead you on or-*hmmk!*-anything.” He looked back down. “If you w-*hup!*-you want the scarf-*hic!*-back…”

“No, it’s okay,” Wee John assured him, a bit too quick and a bit too cheery. “It’s fine. You’re not interested. Happens to the best of us. I’ll get over it. Other fish in the sea, right?”

Frenchie grimaced. “*hmmk!* It’s not li-*huck!*-like you think,” he ventured.

“Oh,” Wee John murmured, going quiet again for a moment. His pained expression squeezed Frenchie’s heart. “Is there someone else?”

“No,” Frenchie insisted, “*and-*hup!*-and that’s why it’s n-*huck!*-not like you thi-- think. There’s n-*hulp!*-no one else.” Covering his face with the ends of his scarf, he took a deep breath, or as deep a breath as his hiccups would allow. “*hic!*…*herk!*…*hulp!*” At his side, he could feel Wee John come and sit down next to him—not saying anything, just waiting.

Finally, Frenchie lifted his face out of the scarf. He said, “All the rest o-*hmmp!*-of you, you fancy-*huck!*-other folks. You flirt and k-- and kiss, and dally-*hic!* You, well, *hulp!* you get up t-*hup!*-to what you all-*hmmk!*-do in pri-*hic!*-vate. But I’m-*hup!*-not like that. *herk!* I’ve never b-- been.”

“You mean you’ve never…done anything?” Wee John asked.

“I’ve-*hulp!*-kissed,” Frenchie told him. “At least, o-*hup!*-other folks have kissed-*hmmp!*-me. A few ti-*hic!*-times, before I kn-*hmmk!*-knew they fancied-*herk!*-me. But I’ve not d-*huck!*-done anything-*hup!*-else. More th-*huck!*-than that, I’ve not w-- wanted to. Never-*herk!*-longed for it, *huck!* or for anyo-*hulp!*-one.” He sighed. “I dunno h-*hup!*-how to explain it-*hic!*-right.”

Gently, Wee John set his steady hand over both of Frenchie’s fidgeting ones. “It’s all right, Frenchie,” he said softly. “You don’t want anything like that. I don’t know what that’s like, and I can’t say I’ve fully got my head round it, but there’s nothing the matter with it.” He rubbed the back of Frenchie’s hand with his thumb. “Is there anything you do want?”

“Th-*hulp!*-this!” Frenchie replied. He drew in a hiccuppy breath. “Mates, like-*hic!*-you and me. Or, *herk!* or like I thought we w-*hup!*-were. I guess you may-*huck!*-maybe thought it were somethi-*hic!*-ing different than-*hup!*-that. ‘More than-*hic!*-friends,’ isn’t that what peop-*hulp!*-people say?” Wee John nodded.

“I-*hup!*-I’ve never underst-- stood that, ‘more-*huck!*-than friends,’” Frenchie went on. “‘More,’ li-*hic!*-like it’s better-*herk!* ‘Cause what could b-*hmmk!*-be better than ha-*hulp!*-having a mate like you? *huck!* Like th-- the crew. Like Stede-*hmmp!*-and Black-*hic!*-beard, even though-*hulp!*-they left.” He winced. “LIke Iz-- Izzy, even though he’s-*hup!*-gone.”

Frenchie shook his head. “For m-*hulp!*-me, there’s nothing-*huck!*-better than tha-*hup!*-that.”

Wee John smiled. “C’mere, you,” he said, pulling Frenchie into a tight bear hug. “Can’t pretend I’m not disappointed, but your friendship means a lot to me too, and I’d never want to lose that.”

Frenchie hugged back, resting his head on Wee John’s shoulder. “Me neith-*herk!*-neither,” he said, his voice coming out strained as he spoke round the emotion in his throat.

“Aww,” Wee John murmured in a fond tone. He broke the hug and looked Frenchie over. “Friend kiss, all right?” he asked. He gently tapped Frenchie’s temple. “Just here.”

Frenchie nodded through a “*hmmp!*”, and Wee John gave him a soft, affectionate kiss. “And I meant what I said,” Wee John continued, putting an arm over Frenchie’s shoulder. “I will get over it. To be honest, this makes it a little easier, knowing you won’t get snatched up by anybody else.”

With a curious look at Wee John, Frenchie asked, “So you-*hup!*-you were flirtin-*hmmk!*-with me, then?”

Wee John let out a hearty laugh. “Of course I was! You really didn’t know?”

“No i-*hulp!*-dea—I don’t usually c-*huck!*-catch onto that,” Frenchie admitted. “Not unt-*hic!*-until I get kissed, and then it seems t-*hmmp!*-too late to ask.”

“You little heartbreaker,” Wee John teased.

“I don’t m-- mean to be!” Frenchie protested. “And what you said, about some-*hup!*-somebody snatching me up? If you see anybody trying, tell me, all right? ‘Cause I won’t know they’re doing it.”

“It’s a promise,” Wee John told him, smiling. “Thanks for talking to me about this. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.” Frenchie nodded.

Wee John added, “So to cheer you up…I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What, another one?” Frenchie asked, raising his eyebrows. “Mate, how fast can you knit?”

“This one’s not knitting!” Wee John replied.

“All right, go on then,” Frenchie said.

Wee John grinned at him. “Your hiccups are gone.”

Frenchie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Hey, yeah!” he realized. “Sure, now they stop.”

Wee John chuckled, giving him a squeeze. “You must’ve been nervous.”

“Yeah,” Frenchie murmured in a low voice. “I think I was a bit.”

A thought occurred to Frenchie, and he turned to Wee John. “Is this all right?” he asked. “Sitting close like this. ‘Cause I’m fine with it, I mean with hugs, or holding hands—I like that well enough. But we don’t have to, if it makes it harder for you.”

“Somehow, I’ll manage to contain myself,” Wee John joked. “But don’t worry. If I start pining and I need some space, I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, ‘cause I won’t catch onto that either,” Frenchie admitted. Wee John offered him his hand, and Frenchie took it.

A minute or so later, Roach’s head appeared in the doorway. “Can I come back in?” he asked. “Did you two lovebirds sort everything out?”

“Yeah, we’re sorted,” Wee John replied, glancing at Frenchie. “Only we’re not lovebirds—we’re roommates.”

“Whatever,” Roach said. “I’m happy for you. Now get out of my kitchen.”

Wee John gave Frenchie’s hand one more squeeze as they got up and headed out. “What’ve you got on this afternoon?” Frenchie asked.

“Laundry, remember?” Wee John replied. “What about you?”

“Oh, just captainy stuff,” Frenchie said. “See you later, roomie?”

Wee John nodded, adjusting Frenchie’s scarf. “Later.”

They parted, and as Frenchie strode off, there was an extra spring in his step. Captain Frenchie, and his roommate Wee John—he quite liked that. He felt ready to take on anything, if he was being honest.

More than friends. Did people even hear themselves? They didn’t know what they were talking about.

[elacular-kink]

June Hicth 2025: Hiccoming out

So I did cheat a bit, since as soon as I voted in the poll, I had an idea for one of the prompts, this one specifically. But I only started writing it today when I knew that was the prompt. Anyway, the hiccups are honestly pretty minimal and only come in at the end, so not my best as far as a hicfic goes, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. Have a little queer love story.

TW: Dysphoria

Kinks: Hiccups

Davey had gained weight.

That was one of the first things he'd told me would happen when he went on testosterone. That he would gain weight. It was something he'd worried about at the time, but as he stood shirtless in front of me now, he seemed completely unashamed of the soft, squishy belly he'd developed, which was dusted lightly with body hair. Body hair was another thing he'd told me about. I'd joked that he never shaved anyway, so it wouldn't really change much, but he'd grown more than I expected.

He'd gotten past the acne stage, much to his relief, and though his facial hair wasn't growing in particularly thick, it had gotten to the point where it was visible, though it did absolutely nothing to hide his big smile. His hairline had started receding a bit, and when I stood behind him, I could see the bald spot he was developing, which I reminded him to put sunscreen on, much to his chagrin.

He'd also developed muscle in the time since he started T. Muscle that was much more noticeable than I realized it would be underneath the still-freshish scars of his top surgery, but were also very visible when he playfully flexed his biceps. He was joking, but they...

Yeah. His arms really did look a lot stronger.

"So, what do you think? Sexy as fuck?" Davey asked, his voice still crackling a bit. He laughed as he said it, but looked ridiculously happy as he stared at his shirtless, beshortsed self in the mirror, pansexual and transgender flag handkerchiefs tied around his neck.

"You know it, dude." I smiled and slapped him on the back (while I still could. His pale ass was going to get sunburnt no matter what I did for him).

Davey laughed more. It was funny. His voice training had even changed his laugh, but it still sounded like him. And his big eyes sparkled as he looked at the mirror again.

They were the only thing about him that hadn't changed. But they were also the thing that had changed the most. I never saw them shine like that back when we were together.

...I'd seen them shine a little, though. And I always loved those moments.

"Hey, Mick," Davey looked back at me and I abruptly came out of my stupor. His huge smile made my heart skip a beat in a way I'd been trying to ignore for a long time now. "You gonna wear that cute 'Straight, no h8' crop top you bring out every year?"

"Ahhh..." I'd worn that the first time I went to pride with him back when we were both in high school, and somehow, despite how goofy it felt, he'd talked me into wearing it again every single time. But...no. "No, not this time."

"Aw come on, Micky, why? You think that just 'cause you're in your mid 20s now you've stopped having great abs? Please tell me marvel movies aren't making you want to dehydrate yourself again."

"No, no way, nothing like that!" The idea of looking all overmuscled like that honestly made me feel gross. "It's, uh...it's more like..." a part of me had been winding up to this all year, but a part of me was absolutely shocked that I was doing it today and wanted me to shut up, but...

But the way he turned and looked at me, I...

"It's more like it doesn't fit anymore?" I saw the way he squinted and slapped my forehead. Of course he'd take that too literally. "Me! It doesn't fit me anymore, Davey! It...it doesn't fit me." The way he tilted his head hadn't changed, and I half laughed before taking a deep breath. "Because I'm not. Straight. I'm not."

Davey's eyes widened and he focused even more completely on me. "You're not?"

"No. I-I like girls! I definitely like girls!"

Davey nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You definitely like girls. So if you like girls, but you're not straight, does that mean that you..."

"I-it means that..." I stuttered and closed my eyes, wondering how exactly the fuck this was so terrifying. "It means I'm bisexual!"

"...oh." I opened my eyes and saw Davey staring at me, face...blank? Like all the emotion had been surprised off of him. "I, uh, legit didn't see that coming. So you, uh...you like—"

"I like men!" God, I yelled it way too loud. Being around Davey had never stopped making me feel vulnerable and nervous and act like a loser. Maybe just because I was almost never performing around him anymore. "I like men and women. But not, like, equally? I like women more than men, so, like, pansexual's not quite right—a-and I could totally date nonbinary people too, so the men and women thing—i-it's not just like—"

"Hey, hey, take a breath, Mickey." Davey pantomimed taking a deep breath in and a deep breath out, and I followed along with him. "You're good." He smiled up at me and patted my arm, and his touch made my heart race like we were back in high school again. "You don't have to explain it all to me right away. You don't even have to understand it all right away. It's okay."

"Right. It...it's okay." Even though it had initially made my pulse spike, his continued touch calmed it down again as he rubbed up and down my arm. "It's okay. It's okay."

"Okay." Davey nodded and smiled at me. "I'm proud of you." That sent my pulse right back up again. He patted my arm twice, then turned around and started rooting through his drawers. "I think I still have a few shirts of yours from way back in the day, and maybe you could use some of mine as a crop top if you still wanna do that. Oh, not wearing it doesn't mean you have to be out right away, that's totally up to you."

As he kept talking, I felt myself frowning more and more, and eventually I cut him off. "Don't you want to know?" He turned from his clothes and looked at me. "Don't you...don't you want to know how I learned it? How I learned that I was into men?"

"Uh..." he looked away for a moment before meeting my eyes again and shrugging. "K-pop?"

I couldn't help but snort out a laugh, and his smile let me know he'd done it on purpose. God dammit. "No, Dave. If it were K-pop, I would have figured it out in, like, middle school or something." He laughed too, and I loved the way he grinned. I cut him off before he could start making fun of my taste in music again, though. "But no. I, um..." this was sort of the hard part, and I had to seriously steel myself for it. I clenched my fingers around one arm, my nails almost starting to dig into me before Davey grabbed my hand and pulled it away. "Ah! Um, thanks. Yeah. But, um..." I swallowed. "No. I figured out that I like men because...b-because I still like you. And I never stopped liking you. Not even for a second."

"Oh shit." He said it softly, and I immediately started explaining that I knew this didn't mean we were dating again and that it was alright if he didn't want to, but before I could get very far, he patted my hand and shook his head. "No, no, it's not that. It's just..." he laughed softly. "Didn't you say that you hated, like...guy smell? And flat chests? And beards and mustaches and dicks?"

"Yeah, I did." Thinking back to that conversation hurt so much. It was bittersweet, but the sweet was almost impossible to taste most days. "And I wasn't lying. And I was worried that me still wanting you meant that I saw you as a girl, even when all those things started happening, like, you started binding and using a packer and going on T. But I still liked you and wanted you even with all those things on you. They didn't seem gross. They just seemed...right. And when I looked at other guys, I realized it seemed right on them too. I just never noticed before, I guess. That, uh...that probably sounds weird, right?"

"No, I get it." Davey reached out and took my hands, rubbing the backs of them with his thumbs. "I totally get it. I know exactly what you mean." Given that he'd known he was pansexual since high school, I sort of doubted that, but he sounded too earnest for me to say that out loud. After a moment, he laughed. "Didn't expect it, though. So, you, uh..." he smiled, and even though I could see his nerves in it, it was still the sort of smile he'd never wear back when he was dating me. "You still like me?"

The vulnerability in his voice made my heart flutter. "I still love you, Davey. I never..." I bit my lip, feeling my face go red. "I never stopped."

He laughed and smiled. His real smile. The one I thought I'd never get to see at the same time as him looking at me like this. "I never stopped loving you either, honey." My face burned. I'd always loved when he called me pet names like that. "And I never thought that this could happen again. So would you..." His hand was on my cheek, and I hated my facial hair for being between my skin and his. "Would you like to..."

Nobody finished that sentence. Nobody had to. I kissed him, and he kissed me, and I did everything in my power to avoid bursting into tears. It would be so fucking embarrassing if we finally started kissing again and the first thing I did was—

"I love you," hearing him say that made me tremble, smiling against his lips as he whispered into mine. "I'll always love you. Dating or not. No matter what. And you can tell me anything. You could come out as anything to me and I'd still love you."

I knew that. But for some reason, it was still the thing that broke me. I started sobbing, hearing him mumble another exclamation before he guided me down to the nearest chair. I covered my face, trying to get my breathing back in order. "I'm sorry, I'm sorr-*heep!* NNh!"

Fuck, I hated this. It was bad enough that I was crying, but crying almost always gave me the stupid hiccups, and I couldn't stop myself from doing either. Now they would take forever to go away. "H-hey, hey, it's okay, sweetie, it's okay." Hearing him call me that swirled immense joy into the mix of all my emotions, though I wasn't sure what the stutter I heard in his voice was about. It didn't seem to matter when he started rubbing my back, though, pulling me into a sideways hug and holding my head to his soft, flat chest. I could hear his heart beating. It was going so fast, but it still made me just melt into him. "It's okay to cry."

I was trying to internalize that, I really was, but it wasn't so easy. And the extra embarrassment didn't help. "It's n-not o–*khey* to get th–*hup* the hiccups fro–*uck* from it."

"Okay, that...that's stupid." I couldn't help but laugh when he said that, and a louder *HEEK* shook me against him. I felt his chest move as he chuckled and rubbed my far shoulder. "I'm serious, babe, that's stupid." I groaned and turned to bury my face in his chest. It wasn't the same as back when he had breasts, but I was surprised that I still liked it just as much. "It's not okay to...to h-hiccup? Like, where the fuck did that even come from?"

It was weird how he sort of tripped over the word, but it was probably just a voice crack. "I don–*hnk* don't know." I sighed. On the plus side, him making me laugh had helped put a stop to my tears. The fact that they were happy tears didn't mean I had any idea how to handle them. "It's em–*MMK* embarrass–*ingk* though."

He hummed and I felt it vibrate through his chest. I also felt and heard his heartbeat pick up a bit of speed. "W-well," okay, that stutter was unusual. I looked up and saw that his face was red, though he was still smiling. "You, uh...you wanna hear me say something? Uh, come out and tell you about a thing I like that you won't expect at all?"

I sniffed and pulled away from him, starting to wipe my eyes and nose on my arm before he gave me a fist full of tissues. "Sure? *HNK-llk!*–mmf!"

That hiccup made me rub my chest, but I was looking right at Davey, and I saw his face get redder as he rocked nervously on the balls of his feet. "So, uh, I know that we didn't end up having sex while we were still dating for...a lot of reasons. Nerves, dysphoria, blah blah blah." Honestly, I still wasn't sure about having sex with anyone. I'd tried it, and I'd mostly just felt like a gross gorilla. But if I was going to have it with someone, I'd probably want it to be Davey. "But, uh, another reason is because I knew I'd be a real motherfucker for you to get off. Part of that was 'cause I hadn't figured out, uh, how to do it yet. But another part was that there's a thing I like. A thing that turns me on most. More than anything. And it's, uh...hiccups."

I stared at him. There was nothing about his nervously-smiling face or his rapidly bouncing heel that looked like he was kidding. I hiccuped loudly, and his face got redder. "Oh. *HUP* That..." Actually, now that I thought about it, that explained quite a few things that had happened between the two of us. Especially when one or both of us was drunk. "Yeah, I di–*HILP* didn't expect that." I shook my head, but then got up and rubbed his shoulder. "But i–*HIP* it's not a bad surpr---prise I do–*HNK* don't think?" He sighed and rested a hand on mine before leaning his head against my arm. "You like wh–*IUK* when I get th–*HEEP* the hiccups?" It felt surreal to say, though the flush of his face half answered the question already.

"I mean, yeah," he laughed a bit nervously. "I like it when anybody gets them, but..." he blushed more. "But especially you. Yours are just so cute and girly."

I "*HEEK!*" hiccuped loudly and buried my face in my hands. "Don't j–*EULK* just say th–*HILK* things like *HIP* that!"

Even though my cheeks were burning, for some reason I couldn't stop smiling.

"Alright, alright," Davey's laughs died down. "Now come on, I want to get down to the parade!"

"Now? *HNK!*" I turned to him. "B-but I still have the–*HEEK-ULK!* a-aaahhh..."  I hid my face again.

"So?" Davey pulled one of my arms and smiled at me. "Don't worry, babe. I'll survive your nuclear hotness. And I'll do all the talking. But I wanna be there for when we get started!"

Without saying anything more, he grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the apartment with him. I ended up having the hiccups most of the day, being incredibly embarrassed and nervous and not being able to put on the performance I usually did. But Davey was by my side the whole time, both smiling adoringly at me, and chatting confidently with anyone who spoke to him.

I remembered back when we were in high school and he would cling to my arm, hiding behind me and his ill-kept long hair and hardly saying a word. But here, with our roles reversed, he had never looked or acted more like himself, and I...

I'd never felt more like myself either. Even with the hiccups.

[hiccupscloud27]

June Hicth Prompt: Part 1.5 The Missing Scene

Hey everyone, so in the first part of my June Hicth Prompt story, there was a part near the end, which spoilers if you haven't read it, that referenced Tel going to our favorite clockmaker's shop to pick up the beautiful watch he'd ordered for Dorian as an apology/Christmas gift. Well... @writingforfishes and I collabed on how we thought that interaction would pan out. Lo and behold, this beautiful 13k word work of art was roleplayed, edited, and now shared for the community to see!

Our characters today are Tele.machus, Otto, and Mitch

CW:

Hiccups

Fast hiccups

Tiring hiccups

Mention of arousal

Mention of missing parent

Mention of homophobia

Young man crying and being vulnerable

Otto being supportive

Otto adopts a 20 year old (/hj)

Found family trope, my beloved

Tangents including Napoleon, ADHD statistics, and more!

Encore of hiccups due to excitement

Long adorable story.

Mention of alcoholism (very slight)

Cloud's amazing ability to edit a very disjointed rp session! (Aww, shucks - ☁️)

Thank you again @writingforfishes for collabing this idea with me! It was a blast!

And now, without further ado, we bring you...

June Hicth Prompt part 1.5: Tele.machus Picks Up His Watch

Usually, Otto went to his shop in the back of a Watch and Jewelry store around once a week to work on more delicate pieces from customers. More often than not Otto worked out of his house, but for special customs and older more delicate watches he and the owner of the store had an agreement so he could have access to an area separate from the messier larger clock movements to work in. Otto paid a considerably low rent on the space, and he helped Mitch with older watch repairs and tricky battery changes. It was a pretty symbiotic relationship, and some months Mitch even told Otto he didn't have to pay for all the work he'd done for the store.

Otto was at the store a lot this past month after receiving a really interesting request for a custom watch from a young guy out of the city who'd found him online. Now, he finally got to unveil the final product, though he'd been sending progress pictures.

He was excited to work with a younger member of the queer community. He'd even asked Atticus to review his designs before committing to them. They had been very helpful in nailing something down for the design and suggesting changes.

Otto had bought some supplies off of Mitch to complete the vision. It actually ended up being a surprisingly cheap build and Otto was excited for Telemachus to see what it looked like and sounded like (or didn't sound like) in person.

This had also, a bit unfortunately, already been a bit of a hiccup-y day. But Otto was learning to be more comfortable with his body's inclination for hiccups and, regardless, the meeting had already been scheduled. Even while he waited for Telemachus to arrive as he chatted with Mitch near the front of the store, he felt pressure in his throat just waiting to trigger a case.

He'd told the kid to meet him at the front, and he'd take him back to his shop to see the watch.

Tele.machus felt his heart pounding excitedly at the thought of picking up Dorian's apology gift as he drove down the highway. He couldn't wait to see the official product in person. He'd seen all of the progress shots and loved every photo.

He really hoped that Dorian would forgive him for avoiding them and giving them the silent treatment. They didn't deserve that. In Tele.machus' eyes, they deserved the world.

Making his way to the exit, he turned down his radio and leaned up to focus. He didn't want to get lost, knowing how bad he was with directions—unknowingly, just like his father.

Spotting the building, he smiled and parallel parked right in the front. Turning off the Altima, he sent a quick text to his mom to let her know he'd made it safely before grabbing his keys and sky blue wallet with clouds decorating it. He got out of the car, locked it, and opened the door to the shop.

He spotted two guys chatting near the front and slightly felt his heart pound nervously before awkwardly walking over to them. He cleared his throat, "erm, e-excuse me, sorry to bother you, but I'm looking for a Mr. Otto?" He fidgeted with the bottom of the black hoodie he was wearing.

The shorter one, bald with dark skin and an incredibly well-groomed goatee, subtly signaled Otto as he stood leaned up on one of the displays to chat with him as Tele.machus entered. By the time the young man had alerted him, Otto had already turned around and given him a grin making sure to reel his features in to give an open and friendly look.

"Hey, man! Hey, good to meet you in person. This is Mitch. He owns this place. Let's me squat in the back sometimes," Otto said as he came up to Tele.machus and held out a hand.

"Uh, yeah, hey, nice to meet you too, sir," Tele.machus smiled shyly back, taking the hand and shaking it, his palms slightly sweaty. "Thank you again for making the watch, I really appreciate it. I can't wait to see it."

"Don't let this guy humble himself. The watch you're getting from him is probably the most bad-ass watch I've ever seen. I'm jealous..." Mitch said, voice smooth and easy.

Otto laughed, a little embarrassed. He also swallowed thickly as he felt a shift in the pressure in his throat. He tucked his head while doing this, pushing against the spasm starting.

Tele.machus noticed Otto tucking his head, but made no comment, thinking it could potentially be a tic of some sort. 'He's tall...' he thought to himself.

With Tele.machus being 5'11", he'd always been the tallest person in the room. It was somewhat intimidating to have someone taller than him, but his smile and friendly demeanor reassured him that he wasn't a threat.

"Eh, don't listen to him. I pay him money to squat, so he's not exactly impartial," he said as he forced a swallow again with some effort.

"Hey, do me a favor real quick and say your name?" Otto asked. "I just want to make sure I pronounce it right. And, sorry, remind me of your pronouns?"

"Oh, um, it's Tele.machus (pronounced Te-lem-a-kus), but if it's easier, just Tel is cool too. And, uh, I use he/him pronouns, thank you. Can you remind me of yours, too?" He smiled shyly.

"Tele.machus," Otto said easily. "Nah, I think I can handle that. He/him for me. I think I remember, I can't be sure, you referred to your friend Dorian as...them? My partner's nonbinary."

Tele.machus nodded, "yeah, they use they/he pronouns and your partner's nonbinary? That's really cool."

He smiled, blushing slightly at the thought of someday referring to Dorian as his partner. Butterflies filled his stomach and he quickly shook his head. 'Focus, Tele.machus, no zoning out,' he scolded himself internally.

Otto put a hand on his chest as the pressure he associated with his hiccups became sharper. Nah, he decided, there was no way he was going to avoid a case, now. Of course, they'd shown up when a customer was present.

"Also, you can just call me Otto. No need for mister or sir-HUM'K!," Otto stopped as the hiccups started and looked a little world weary for it. "Exc—scuse me!-Hip!"

He patted his chest as he muffled a cluster with mild frustration.

"And just Otto," he corrected, "you got-" he'd heard the first hiccup and froze in his tracks. His mouth opened slightly, eyes glossed over as more hiccups followed. His heart was pounding and racing even more. He closed his eyes and silently took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Oh-Hup'k!-sor—ry ab—bout the-Hip!-these. Been Himp'k!-ge—etting them Hu'ulp!Hilp! getting them a—all da—ay!" Otto said apologetically. "C'mo—on back. Hilmp!"

Otto made a gesture for Tele.machus to follow him and gave a smirking Mitch a good-natured glare that looked a lot less good-natured with Otto's features as they passed him.

Mitch just chuckled and shook his head.

Clearing his throat, Tele.machus quietly followed his lead to the back, observing the way his body jolted with every hiccup. Running a hand down his face, he forced himself to try and keep a calm demeanor, "i-it's okay...they sound r-rough...are you a-alright?" He'd tried to look around through the store to find something else to focus on, but nothing quite piqued his interest more than the hiccuping man in front of him.

"Y—yeah yeah-Hulp!-uh. Jus—st annoy-Hingk!" Otto said as he turned toward the nervous kid. He hoped his hiccups weren't somehow making the inherent anxiety Tele.machus seemed to have worse.

"Pro—bably more s-Himp!-so for Hngk! you th—an me. Hmpk!Mk!Hm'mk!Hulp!-uh, par—pardon, jeeze Hu'ulp!" he said, trying to just get through the conversation without paying them much mind, but they were putting on a show today.

Tele.machus could barely focus on anything, thinking, ‘annoying's not the word I'd use...calm down, you can get through this.’ He cleared his throat, going for his go-to conversation starter for someone with hiccups, "D-Dorian gets them a lot too...they, um, hold their breath to cure them...m-maybe that'd work for you?"

Otto chuckled lightly, shaking his head at Tele.machus' hiccup cure suggestion.

"That's no—not rea—eally something Hulmpk!-uh, that wor—orks for me. Hilp!" Otto said, thinking, 'Understatement of the year.' "They'll se—ettle down Hyump!-uh, in a li—ittle wh-Huck!-little while. I kn—ow they c-Humk!-can be dist—racting. Sor—ry abo—about that! Hulp!"

'Distracting...but in the best way,' Tele.machus thought to himself. He wanted to offer another cure, but didn't push the matter. "That's okay...you can't control it." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about the situation.

Otto put a fist on his mouth at another cluster, muffling it while he retrieved the watch with the other hand.

"Mp!Hm'mp!Hmk!Humpk!Mk!-mm. Rea—eally sor—ry about Hip! about the—ese. Hup! Ah," he groused as he flicked on a bright overhead light and opened the box to Telemachus.

Tele.machus’ eyes widened at all the clusters. How was he going to survive this? His heart felt like it was about to explode. But at the same time, he felt concerned, which somewhat quelled the arousal he was feeling. Did they hurt? Could he breathe? Were they uncomfortable? He wanted to know, but he didn't want to seem weird or too invasive, so he kept quiet and glanced at the watch.

Otto placed the watch level with where the young man could see it the best with the light, right above his spasming stomach.

The Swarovski crystals sparkled to the light he'd turned on.

Tele.machus gasped, letting the watch take up his focus, "holy shit-crap, sorry, that's freaking amazing! It's beautiful..." his gaze wandered to his stomach, feeling himself blushing at witnessing the spasms. He quickly moved his eyes back to the watch, hoping that Otto hadn't noticed his eyes drifting.

Then Otto grinned at Telemachus' reaction, nodding as he stroked his beard excitedly. This was the kind of reaction he loved to see.

Otto hadn't noticed his eye's direction as he was above him. If he had, he might have had a better idea where all this nervousness was coming from.

"I wa—anna tell Hip! tell y—ou a Himpk! lit—tle more abo—bout the mech—anical Hmpk! parts but h—ow does Hulp! does that look? Hm'mpk!" he asked as he handed the open box with the watch inside to Telemachus so the guy could see it without it jumping as Otto hiccuped.

Otto muffled his hiccups again to wait for his reply, putting a fist back over his mouth.

Oh, but Atticus would love hearing about this, he thought wryly.

Tele.machus cleared his throat again, "so sparkly and shiny...it's even prettier in person. It's perfect..." He gingerly took the box, moving it around and examining it with a huge smile on his face. He glanced back at Otto, seeing him muffling his hiccups. He bit his lip and nodded, "that shorter guy was right, this watch is so bad-ass...I hope Dorian likes it..." He looked away distractedly.

The clockmaker nodded at Tele.machus' continued gushing, eyes closing and opening slowly in happiness at his customer's reaction.

"Oof! Hulmpk! Do no—ot let Herp! Mitch he—ear you Humpk! call hi—im short! Got a comp-Huck! complex Nap—oleon would Hngk! be je—ealous of! Higgurp!-mm," Otto paused in thought.

Tele.machus chuckled nervously, "oops, my bad. I'm just kinda used to everyone being shorter than me, so that's my go-to descriptor..." He paused, appreciating the hiccups that were interspersed in his sentence for a moment.

"You're the first person I've seen that's taller than me," he continued, scratching his arm. "Not gonna lie, I was kinda intimidated at first, though, that's with most new people I meet...but anyway, you had, well have such a friendly, happy vibe..."

"Re—really?" Otto said to Tele.machus' comment about his height. "I guess I c-Hmp!-come fr—om a pretty Hulp!Hip! pretty tall fam—family. My bro—brother's 6 Hup! 6'4. My old—older sis-Hip!-ster is you—your height!"

Though Otto definitely understood being one of the taller people in the room, he rarely noticed someone else's height unless it was in the extreme. Mitch, however, at 5'6 seemed very aware of his own desire to be taller.

Tele.machus chuckled softly, "really? I honestly don't even know where my tall genes come from, my mom's 5'6 and from what I've been told about my dad, he's 5'3."

Otto hmm-ed with interest at how short Tele.machus' family seemed to be. He decided it was wise not to comment on the height of his father both because that might've been seen as rude and also because how Tel mentioned it made it seem as though his father might be a sensitive subject. Otto knew a lot about parents being sensitive subjects.

"I wo—ork hard Hup'k! on that fri–iendly Huck!-uh, hap–py vi—ibe, by the Hngk! way," Otto said genuinely. "I know I c—an seem Hi'ilp!-uh, pret—ty intimda—dating. Heh. Maybe the hi-Hip!-hiccups hel—help?"

Tele.machus blushed, scratching the back of his neck, the grunts were driving him off the wall, "maybe, I mean, do you always get a c-case with everyone you meet?"

"I do—on't get the-Hilk!-them with ever—yone I meet!" Otto said, amused. "This-Himp'k!-this is just one-Hulp!-one of the da—ays I have th-Hic'mp!-uh, have them off—and on Hi'ulp! So, I gu—uess you should feel priv—privle—ledged to Himpk!Huck! see them!-mm"

Otto was trying to hide the discomfort that was building from them continuing so long.

Oh, Tele.machus definitely felt privileged to witness them. It was an honor to be in the presence of such powerful, fast hiccups. He then gasped, unable to hide his curiosity, "off and on? All day? How do you survive?" Then he realized how that question might've sounded and he backtracked, "shit, sorry, y-you don't have to answer that...I didn't mean to get too invasive." He avoided eye contact, feeling slightly ashamed that he'd let his curiosity get the best of him.

Otto chuckled breathily at the exclamation about his hiccups.

"Yeah Huck'uck!-uh. I actu—ually get that Hrmk!-uh, reaction a l—ot. Just Hmk! just how I hiccup Humgk!" he said lightly. "Fort—unately I don't Mgk!Hmk!-mm, get them thi—is frequent—ly every d—day. Usually it's just Huh! just a few min—utes a cou—couple times a we-Heek!-uh, with m—my morning Mgk! morning coffee."

Tele.machus smiled and nodded at the explanation, "that's a relief...I don't think I could handle that much stimulation...but coffee causes your case?" He tilted his head. "That's really interesting...is it iced or hot coffee?" He made a mental note to add this to his list of things to attempt induction sometime.

"Uh, hot-Hingk!" he answered about the coffee, clearing his throat at the higher pitched hiccup. "I usu—ally get too Hmph! too excited a—and don't Hulp! let it co—ool down eno—ough."

He chuckled at himself at this and shook his head.

Tele.machus chuckled quietly and nodded, "noted- hey, maybe if you're in my area, by some random chance, there's this really nice café that just opened up! And get this!" His eyes lit up with excitement and he bounced slightly, "so you know those cat cafés where they have cats roaming around? Well, this one's dog themed! It's a dog café!" He cleared his throat, realizing his volume increasing. He quieted down slightly. "But, um, a-anyway, I haven't had the chance to go there yet, but I've heard that the coffee there is top tier. The name of it was...uh, I think it was something like Paws and Noms...no, Pawprint Café?...nah, I can't think of it now that I've brought it up...but I can totally let you know whenever I get back home."

Otto nodded excitedly with Tele.machus but decided to circle back to the café later as they continued their conversation.

"Actu—ually," he continued, recalling their previous conversation about heights, "di-Hip!Hup!-uh did y-Hulp!-you know Hmp!Hmk!Hm'mp!-sorry, did Hulp! you kn—ow Napo—Napoleon was-Hngk! wasn't shor—ort at all? He wa—as how-Hup!-ever a li—little pri-Hic!"

Tele.machus scratched the back of his neck, realizing how sweaty and hot he was getting–and not just from hearing the hiccups that were running the show. He removed his hoodie, revealing a cream colored, turtleneck sweater.

Otto noticed Tel's disrobing and nodded empathetically.

"The Hulp! one th—ing I don't Humpk! love ab—out this ro—oom is how ho-Hock!-hot it gets! Hmp! I kee—eep the wind-hup!-dow open but Hmp!Hu'ulp!-mm, it sti—ill runs Hyulp! runs hot. So do—So do I, though," he said as he silenced a few more hiccups behind his lips.

"Ohhh, if it's this hot during Winter, then I can't even imagine how bad it gets during the Summer," Tele.machus cringed slightly. He was more of a Spring and Autumn enjoyer. Summer was too hot and Winter was too cold. Though the idea of cuddling up in a big cozy blanket with Dorian as they watched Christmas movies and drank hot cocoa did sound like quite the enjoyable date night.

Tele.machus shook his head, getting ahead of himself.

The clockmaker made a face to indicate Summers were not, in fact, his favorite. But then he watched the kid drift off a little and patiently waited for him to come back.

Wrapping his hoodie around his waist, Tele.machus remembered Otto's fun fact about Napoleon. Shocked, he gasped, "he wasn't? Wait, then why was he always depicted that way?"

"Y—yeah, so, ab-Huck!-about Napol—eon. Ju—ust like tod—day's rulers Hmp!Mk! he liked t—to make Hup! for hi—is inadequa—cies by Hurp! by surro—ounding himself Hm! with taller so—soldiers. So, he lo—looked shor-Erk!-ter. Als—so noth—ing says impot-Hilp!-impotence bett—er than sho—ort jokes! Higgulp!-scuse me!"

Otto rubbed his chest a little. The hiccups didn't hurt, but damn they were fast today. He was definitely getting a workout, and this poor kid was having to deal with the brunt of it.

Still, there had been something very familiar about how Tele.machus was reacting, and Otto couldn't quite place a finger on it, yet.

Tele.machus listened to Otto's spiel on Napoleon, but found himself more fixated on the hiccups. Typical. He noted how they'd seemed to be a bit rougher, maybe deeper? He then noticed him rubbing his chest. Concern showed on his face, "a-are you sure you're ok?"

Apparently, Otto hadn't been as subtle as he thought when Tele.machus asked if he was okay.

"Yeah-Huck!," he answered with some frustration. "Just tak—ing them a Hup!-uh, a li—ittle while to let—let off the gas Huck'a! on my dia—diaphragm. Hulmp'k!-mm, I'm good though. Hm!"

Otto pushed his inadequacies with people showing care for him aside roughly as he offered a genuine, though slightly strained, smile.

Tele.machus chuckled softly at his phrasing and nodded when Otto told him that he was good, "if you're sure." He paused for a moment, seeming to be internally fighting with himself before eventually continuing. "You seem like a good guy, so, uh...just wanna make sure you're okay. Sorry if that's kinda weird to say, I know we just met and all, but, um..." He trailed off, blushing as he suddenly remembered his childhood.

His mom would tell him he'd always compliment the most random people, regardless of what kind of day they were having. The reactions would differ, some grateful for the comments, others weirded out. But apparently, he hadn't grown out of it.

At his explanation of just wanting to make sure he was okay Otto nodded.

"Yeah y'—y'know, I used to Hulp! get really," Otto paused as his head tucked a couple times in silent hiccups and he patted his chest. "Sorry, really def—defensive about Hupk'ah! about people Mk! saying that? Took me a whi—ile to realize Hmk!Huck!-uh, realize they were—weren't annoyed Whip! with me, but concer—cerned."

Tele.machus frowned softly and nodded, "just know, if by some random chance in the future, I'm picking up another watch from you and you happen to have, um...a case, I promise I'm not annoyed at all." -Quite the opposite, actually- went unsaid.

At Tele.machus' assurance Otto smiled.

"That's g—good to know. Huap!-uh. Hopefully Hmk! hopefully it wo—won't be too com—mon an occurrence Hm'mmk!-mm." Otto said. Though he still wondered if the kid would've preferred that.

Otto smiled and waved Tele.machus over to where he sat at his work bench, bending the overhead light toward him.

Tele.machus bit his lip at the thought of being so close to him while the hiccups were still going steady. He cleared his thoughts, took a silent deep breath in and silently exhaled out before heading over.

"Lem—me sho-Huck!-uh, show y—you some th-Hingk!-s about th-Hilp!-this watch. Ha—have you Humpk! ever owned a me-Hilp!-mechanical w-Hup!-watch before? Hm'mk!" he asked.

Every time he hiccuped, now sitting, his stomach jolted out under his button-down shirt and his head tossed back. But Otto didn't seem particularly bothered by the movements.

Seeing the hiccups in a new angle now reignited the flame and Tele.machus just stood there, staring and malfunctioning for a moment, before realizing what he was doing and blushing profusely. He started rambling, "erm, s-sorry, I, uh...got lost in thought...I've been told I do that a lot...that's how I got my nickname Daydreamer in high school- mom thinks I may have some form of ADD, but none of the teachers at school pointed anything out when I was a kid, so she left it alone- sorry, rambling, but anyway, uh, what was the question? Sorry..." He looked away, trying to refocus his ongoing thoughts onto the task at hand.

"Oh ye—yeah? AD-Hup!-ADHD. Dia—gnosed but Hulp! untre—eated. Well-Himp!-at least no—not health—ily. Hyumpk!-uh. Uh-no-Hi'ulp!-it's co—ool. Probably hard to Hmp! understand m—e with these Huck! these hiccups an-Hu'ulp!-anyway. I think they're-Hump'k!-finally start—ting to calm do—down. A little, at least Huck!-uh."

Otto took a bit of a breath and rubbed his sternum. It was just starting to get sore. He took a sip of his water bottle and put it back down on the floor. It had no effect on his hiccups, but it quenched his throat from the dryness.

"Mm-Hmpk! They don't hur-Herp!-hurt or anything. Huh! But, sometimes Huh'uh! when they get that fa—ast they can g—get exhausting. Hilp! Anyway!" Otto said as he slapped his hands together and rubbed them, trying to get back on topic. Two people with ADHD was proving a special sort of challenge. "Have you Hulp! ever owned a mech—anical watch before? Hu'ulp!" he asked.

Tele.machus shrugged, "I can understand you, don't worry. Dorian gets these fast h-hiccups all the time and so I, um, guess I've got practice in that department." He stammered on the word, but hoped it wouldn't be noticed. Or just chalked up to nerves.

Unintentionally ignoring the question, he continued on his tangent. "But, um, yeah...I was kind of in the top of my class my entire education, so...n-not that people with ADHD can't be in the top of the class...but I think that's what threw the docs off maybe? Cuz I was doing my own bit of research and the percentage of students with ADHD that drop out of high school is roughly 33% and for those who do graduate and go onto college, statistics have said that only 15% actually complete the 4 year degree..." Tele.machus blinked, realizing his tangent.

As Tele.machus info-dumped about his research on ADHD, Otto smiled again as he found himself developing a fondness for the kid.

"Oh ye—ah?" Well, Hu'uck!-uh, I actually wasn't ter—terrible in school. Hm'km! When I cou—ould focus. But I did dr—op out of Hump'k!-uh, college. Granted, that cou—could've been the Hurgk!-mm, alcohol—ism of it a—all!" Otto said with a little bit of a shrug.

Tele.machus cleared his throat sheepishly, looking away and blushing, "or, uh, we just never went to the right doctors. But um, right, anyway, the watch!...um, no, I haven't. I don't know the first thing about watches if I'm being honest." He kept his mouth shut, ready to focus on what Otto was going to explain.

He found Otto so easy and nice to talk to, even with the hiccups having distracted him slightly. He still very much enjoyed seeing the way Otto's body responded to every hiccup, the variety of it all added to the experience. He smiled, just happy to be here at the right time.

And at Tele.machus reminding him of his actual goal of showing how the watch works, Otto started.

"Yes! Hup!-ugh," Otto was starting to get a little tired of hiccuping, to be honest. "The watch! C'mere le—emme show you Ulp!-uh, show you ho—ow to tell Dorian Hmpk! to work th—is baby!"

But then Otto remembered that Tele.machus had tripped over the word 'hiccups' earlier and everything started to fall in place. Otto's eyes widened a little, but he tried to keep his face neutral to the suspicion. Still, he couldn't help but think of Atticus and their own idiosyncrasies when it came to witnessing hiccups in himself or someone else. Excitement at the possibility turned to sympathy.

He realized he could just be reading into things, but the awareness of the possibility put him on a slightly higher level of alert for any further indication and made him momentarily play back the previous parts of Telemachus' interaction to find any further clues. Finally, he remembered to reply. He decided to attempt a little investigating, first.

"So, you mentioned Hi'ulp! Dorian's hiccu—ps," he said as casually as he could. "Att—icus, my partner Hulp! found o—out pretty H'gulp!-mm, pretty quick—ly how prone I Humpk! I am when th—they moved in Higgurp!Hulp!-scuse me, moved i—in with me."

Otto smiled at the memory.

"Fort—unately it di—dn't bother them HUULP!-Jeez! Sorry!" Otto exclaimed, hand over his mouth.

Tele.machus hadn't noticed Otto's eyes widening in realization due to him running a hand down his face. Though, he nodded at his mention of Dorian and his story about Atticus, smiling slightly, "that's pretty accurate for me too, honestly...Dorian's had many cases throughout our first semester...at least it seemed like a lot to me. I'm not as...prone to them as I used to be, so maybe it's just a matter of comparison between myself and them? But, um, with them being my dorm mate, I hadn't realized someone could just...do it so easily, no, that's not the right word...constantly, yeah, that's the one..." He'd tried to avoid the word again so as to not fumble over it again.

Tele.machus' eyes widened slightly and he squeezed the sleeves of his hoodie around his waist at the sound of that loud hiccup, "y-you're good, man. And, uh...that's good that they're fine with this." Tele.machus thought that Atticus was lucky to be able to witness hiccups like these occasionally. To be fair, he had Dorian as a dorm mate for now, but he knew that probably wouldn't last forever...unless he'd gather the courage to ask them out.

Otto merely smirked at Tele.machus' unknowing understatement of how okay Atticus was with his hiccups.

Tele.machus seemed to be internally fighting with himself again, a conflicted look on his face. He turned to Otto, "um..." then he saw the watch in his peripherals and completely switched gears, "never mind, sorry, you've been trying to tell me about this watch for a bit and we keep getting derailed. I'll, um...ask you later." He blushed somewhat embarrassedly before walking a bit closer to Otto so he was next to him.

Otto then got ready to launch into his spiel but paused at Tele.machus' aborted question.

"Ok—okay but, Hm'mk!-uh, that see—eemed like an import—ant question so-Hulp! definitely Huck! don't let it go unas—asked, kay?" Otto asked.

Tele.machus smiled softly and nodded, "I'll keep it in the most important place in my brain. Promise."

"Okay. Hulgk!-uh," Otto took a breath and prepared himself to battle hiccups through his explanation. "So-Humpk!, I was able to use the b—base of an old Hulp! old Seiko watch I've had f—or ages. Hu'urgk!-uh It's an automatic swe—eeper. That means Huck! instead of the—the secondhand Huggulk! ticking, it sweeps acr—across. And, listen, Mk! nothing is gonn-Ulgk!-gonna completely cut-Ergk! out the tick-Hic! tock," he chuckled at the timely interruption, "I know you Hmgk! you said Dorian likes a-Huh! quiet watch. But this should-Mk!-I mean, it should be—be a lot less with Hip! this one. Makes it a l—little heavier though because Hmk! I put some stuff to dampen the sound a little more Hm'mgk!-uh.”

The boy listened to Otto's explanation of how the watch was created, nodding occasionally to show he was listening. He made a conscious effort not to zone out, but the passion in Otto's voice drew him in more, which helped a lot.

"Come over he—here and I'll sh—show you how it works. Hu'ulgk!-mm. It shouldn't need to be hand-wound often as lo—ong as he keeps Huck! keeps wearing it. Wind it once to-Mk! to start. Here, I'll sh-Hup!-show you by giving the wi—winder a few twists. See? Mk! Sweeping second hand. Genius, right? Hmk! Can't take credit for that. I—It was just the watch. Have him give it a fe—ew winds and set it. Might run a little fast Hup! initially but then it'll be pretty accurate. And lemme show you how to set it and all the complications on it. It can be tricky."

When called over, Tele.machus headed to the table and leaned over awkwardly.

As Otto pulled the post of the winder out at various lengths to show Tele.machus how to set it, he also explained he'd included printed out instructions, because it could get a little tricky. He went ahead and set the complications to save the trouble for it.

Tele.machus watched him and already knew he wasn't going to remember most of this. He wished he'd brought a notepad to take notes. Then he heard about the printed out instructions, and thanked him profusely.

"And I want you to feel that automatically wind. Just give it a little shake back and forth and keep your fingers on the back of the case. You feel that vibration?" Otto asked.

Tele.machus did as Otto requested, nodding his head, "yeah, I feel it." His brain instantly supplied him with that one Spong.eBob episode and he quietly snorted at himself.

At Tel's snort Otto gave him a confused look, not quite up on his Spong.ebob references to understand the significance. He suspected it was related to something he was too old to understand, so he didn't pursue asking about it but was still amused at the reaction.

Tele.machus blushed, "sorry, ignore me, my brain is just full of memes and cartoons and it reminds me of them in impromptu times." He furrowed his brows, muttering, "did I use that word right?"

At the kid's question about word-usage he sort of wished Atticus was here, but he'd give it a try.

"I don't think it works in that sentence. Like, okay," Otto put his hands up in explanation," impromptu sort of means you're creating something out of nothing. Like, a stack of pillows can be an impromptu bed, right? But I get the gist of what you're trying to say. Uh...I think maybe a better word would be random?" He frowned a little but nodded. "You're not creating the times the memes strike you, you're being reminded of the memes at the times someone says something that triggers that memory. So, uh, so it's not a creation exactly but...um...it just, like, happens and it comes up in your brain sort of like an intrusive thought?"

Otto's hands moved as he spoke, trying to explain things and realizing they were getting completely off topic, but he was on a roll now.

"So...your brain is full of memes and cartoons that are triggered at....at random times, and you can't help but think of them...I think," he finished a little trepidatiously.

Tele.machus slowly nodded his head in understanding, "ahh, I see. Thank you." He wasn't going to mention the fact that it had been a rhetorical question out loud, not after Otto was kind enough to teach him something new. "You're really smart, hehe."

Otto was, of course, completely oblivious to it having been a rhetorical question and was just excited to be able to teach someone something. But he scoffed at Tele.machus' compliment.

"Nah, I just know a bunch of stuff," Otto said. "It's just what happens when you get old."

"Old?" Tele.machus looked confused, this entire time, he'd thought Otto was in his thirties. "Wait, how old are you?" He blinked at the bluntness of his own question. "Uhhh, or a range if that's more comfortable for you..."

Otto chuckled at the question of his age.

"I'm turning 46 this year," he said with a grin. "Trust me, that's a big fucking deal. Pardon the language. Didn't think I'd get past 30, to be honest."

Otto was really surprised and proud of himself for existing this long after all he'd experienced and done to his body.

Tele.machus' eyes widened and jaw dropped, "holy- you're gonna be 46?! I swear...I thought you were 35...still, I don't think you're old. Old is like...I dunno, 80?" He chuckled amusedly.

Otto shrugged at the kid telling him he looked younger. It was sweet, but, as he rubbed the back of his head, he didn't really believe it.

"But anyway, about the watch, that's pretty much the basics," he said. Then he made a face of realization and put a hand on his chest and took a very deep breath. "Oh! Finally! Whew. Those hiccups were kind of kicking my ass."

He admitted this as he took another drink from his water and put it back down on the ground.

Tele.machus had also noticed and couldn't help the feeling of both relief and slight disappointment. The relief was overpowering at this point, only because despite what Otto had said, those hiccups sounded painful, or at the very least uncomfortable. "Good, it must've been the distraction. Glad you were able to shake them off." He also took a deep breath, taking a moment to recuperate, shaking his legs, then his arms, careful not to hit anything.

Otto agreed with Tele.machus' relief at his hiccups being gone with a meaningful nod.

"Okay, so. I sourced the crystals from here, actually. The band is adjustable but let me know if there's any problems with sizing. Little thing but tell Dorian to wear it a little looser in the summer. Sweat builds under the dial and can cause some issues if it's too close to the skin. Um...any questions about the watch before you ask what you had wanted to ask before?"

But he interrupted that line of thought to pick up another before Tele.machus could answer.

"Wait, one more thing. So that initial quote I gave you went down a lot when I realized I already had so much of what I needed. And, you know, it's Pride month too, so I'm gonna give you a discount for that, too. Plus, you seem like a cool kid. Eh, I'm softer than I look. How's that on price?" Otto asked as he gave Telemachus a piece of paper with the new price quote on it.

Tele.machus furrowed his brows, stopping him for a moment, “wait, but- it's January.”

Otto paused at the realization, “well, shoot, uh, you know what? June? January? They both start with J, so what the heck? Super Early Pride Month discount for you, kid.”

Tele machus chuckled softly, amused at his logic. “If you say so.”

"Anyway, it's still pricey, I know. And if you need to break it up into payments, that's totally fine. I so rarely get people as young as you actually wanting a nice watch so I would love to work with you, if you need. I don't know your situation, but whatever you need," Otto added.

"Summer time, loosen it, got it," Tele.machus repeated. "Um...I think I'm all good- well, actually, it's less about the watch and more of a career choice question, uh...how exactly did you get into clock-making? I mean, you truly found your calling, did you always know?"

He then took the paper Otto handed him, read the new price and his eyes widened, "that's it? That's really all you want for this masterpiece? I brought the original amount we agreed on. I don't mind paying it. Really, you deserve it all." He grabbed his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out the cash he had organized.

After Otto responded to the kid's reaction to the price, "No no, kid, listen. You keep that extra cash," he said, divvying out the difference and giving it back, "and donate it to whatever charity you want. This is good, promise."

The boy reluctantly took the extra cash back, "are you sure? Do you at least accept tips?" He looked at Otto with puppy dog eyes.

"You're good!" Otto insisted with a grin as he pushed the money back. "Seriously! Keep the money, kiddo, that reaction at the watch was tip enough. Besides, if you're gonna come back for something else then I'm happy to accept a little less for a return customer.”

Tele.machus smiled shyly back at him, "thank you, seriously, that means a lot." He puts the extra money back in his wallet to use for a gift bag potentially. "And yeah, I'm definitely keeping you in mind for Christmas and birthdays." He chuckled.

Otto grinned and nodded at Tel's promise to patron him again. Somehow, he didn't doubt him.

He then tackled the larger question, "How did I get started in clockmaking? Wow. Um. Here," Otto said and pulled a rolling stool over for Tele.machus to sit on so the guy didn't have to keep standing. Once Tele.machus sat on the stool, he began, "Well, that's, um. Huh. So...so actually it's a family thing sort of. My dad had a pretty lucrative hobby in it that had been passed on from his dad and so on. He taught me when I was really young. Like...I think I was 6 when I first remember learning stuff? Then when I was 8, my dad passed away and I sort of left it behind.”

"Uh...so I'm a recovering alcoholic, first of all. I...when I got into recovery I realized I didn't know what to do with my life? My uncle was very kind and allowed me to rent out, and then buy, a relative's house for a really fair price. Like crazy low. And there were all these old clocks, and it sort of reignited my passion for it that I felt when I was a kid."

Otto shrugged a little before he continued, unsure if the kid would have any reaction to his recovery, but he wasn't ashamed of it.

"I, uh, I got together with some really nice people who fixed clocks and watches locally, and they sort of helped me learn how to fix all the clocks in my home. From there it...it just came naturally. Took a lot of work but I had a lot of support, so after a few years I was able to start a business out of it. And I, uh, you know I never stop learning. There's always a clock or a watch I've never seen before. So, it's kind of cool to be able to learn something new or how to do things better."

Otto finished with a smile.

Tele.machus listened to the story, completely enthralled by the tale. Well, maybe he shouldn't call it a tale since it was real life. He frowned at the end, "I'm sorry for your loss..." he couldn't help but think about his own dad. At least Otto had closure, knowing that his dad was gone. With his own father, he didn't know whether he was dead or lost somewhere. Shaking his head back out of his thoughts, he smiled slightly, continuing, "...and I'm glad you were able to have a recovery and a support system that helped you out. And like my mom says, it's always awesome to keep an open mind about learning new things and improving your craft. Though, I haven't seen much of your previous work in too much detail, other than pics I've seen on your website, but I'd say you've definitely peaked.”

Otto nodded to Tel's response to his story. He didn't really have much to add, though laughed when he said Otto had peaked. He hoped it wasn't all downhill from here, though he didn't say that out loud.

"Uh, can I...can I ask you something? And you don't have to answer if you don't want to," Otto said.

Tele.machus grinned and nodded curiously, "yeah, of course, let's hear it!" He chuckled and looked at Otto with sparkling eyes.

"Okay," Otto said and took a breath as he tried to figure out how to approach the topic sensitively.

"So, Dorian. Your friend," he said, hands spread wide again and gesticulating, "Dude, this person sounds pretty amazing, right? And even with the discount, this is not a cheap gift for a friend. Is there-mmm-maybe something more there? And if I'm reading the situation wrong, please tell me, okay? Just...feels like...I mean..."

Otto squinted at Tele.machus for a reply as he trailed off biting his lip.

Tele.machus' eyes widened and he blushed and looked away, "I-I mean...that actually really ties into the question I was gonna ask you. But, um..." He tried to think of how to word things. He took a deep breath before explaining, "so, you know how I was telling you Dorian was constantly getting the, erm, h-hiccups and I'd suggest cures for them...well..."

He looked at Otto, not directly in his eyes, before continuing, "they got them while they were patching me up from a fight- before you say anything, I was defending them and my mother..." He grumbled "homophobic asshole..." before shaking his head. "Uh, anyway, they weren't curing them, a-and...I dunno, I reacted impulsively. I kissed them."

Otto's brow furrowed as the young man told his story. The face he often tried to train to be pleasant and open reverted to how it naturally sat, wide eyed and prominent brow furrowed heavily, though perhaps heavier when he realized Tele.machus had been in a fight in honor of Dorian and against a homophobic bigot.

Tele.machus’ whole face lit up a rosy red and he covered it up, "I kissed him and...I felt them kiss me back. But I released and I...I was embarrassed and scared and I ran away...I avoided them, didn't talk to them the rest of the semester...didn't even message him during winter break."

Tele.machus looked down at the watch as it sparkled, "as an apology, I originally wanted to buy the pins that the homophobic asshole had broken, but everyone was completely sold out or it wasn't available, some nonsense. So I started looking for other meaningful presents, and during my search, I got an ad for your website and...the rest is history."

Unconsciously, Otto’s arms crossed and tightened as the story went on. When Tel mentioned finding his ad, he realized he'd have to thank Atticus for convincing him to put himself online and buy space to show up on social media accounts and search results. He had gotten an influx of customers, but most balked and backed out when they realized the price of his services, not understanding the work and rarity of servicing old watches and, specifically, old clocks.

After telling his story, Tele.machus realized he didn't really answer the actual question. He slapped his forehead, "I went on this whole tangent and didn't give you an actual answer. Geez...my bad." He shook his head, "they're my friend and dorm mate, but...I may have a bit of a crush on them. I want to tell them how I feel, and that's actually what I was gonna ask you."

He glanced back up at Otto, eyes shimmering with hope, "do you potentially have any advice on how to confess your feelings to someone?" Then he backtracked, fidgeting with his fingernails, "i-it's ok if you don't wanna answer...I know I could ask my mom, but she doesn't know I'm bi and I don't want her asking questions...not trying to guilt trip you or anything, sorry- just gonna...stop rambling." He clamped his mouth tightly and looked at Otto, awaiting anxiously for his reply.

Finally, the kid got to his question and Otto's expression released a little, became wider and more open. He made an effort to make his features softer again as his shoulders released their tension a little.

He was even closer to assuming Tel had the same kink as Atticus as he smiled at the story.

"A crush on them, huh?" Otto said a little sassily, "Never woulda guessed."

He winked.

Tele.machus blushed and looked down, smiling sheepishly, "yeah, I know...as if I'm still in high school. Embarrassing, right?"

"So, first of all, before we get into a subject I have historically failed every time except one, that was really brave of you to fight for Dorian and your mom and, maybe most importantly, the queer community. Stupid, but brave as hell. Those two things go hand-in-hand. So, kudos to that and also, man, don't do that again, okay? You can replace a pin, but you can't replace you."

He said this firmly, but compassionately, as he jabbed his finger into Tele.machus' chest.

Tele.machus bit his lip and scratched the back of his neck, "thanks...and I won't make it a habit...I dunno, something snapped inside of me, I promise I'm not normally like that...I'm not a fighter." He nodded at the wise words, another sparkle in his eyes.

"Also, sorry about the touch. I didn't ask consent. I got wrapped up in the adult speech of it all.”

"It's, um...it's ok," Tele.machus' voice cracked, eyes brimming slightly. He didn't know why he was latching onto this stranger—acquaintance at least he'd say. He blamed it on the fact that his father was absent for most of his life. He didn't blame him, of course, he was out fighting for the betterment of the country. Still, to get a speech from a guy around the age his father probably was...it threatened to bring tears to his eyes. "S-sorry, just...need a moment, gosh, I'm making an embarrassment out of myself." He wiped his eyes.

Then as Tele.machus became emotional, Otto tried to hide his concern as his face softened a little.

"You're okay," he answered softly as Tele.machus' eyes moistened. He smiled encouragingly. "Take your time, man."

Tele.machus sniffed weakly, wiping his nose with his arm, cringing before wiping the snot onto his hoodie. "Th-thanks."

“Uhhh, anyway, as far as your crush. Heh. Seems like hiccups are what brought you together, huh?" he smiled wryly. "Like I said, I don't have an outstanding track record in relationships, save for this last one with Atticus. I guess...be honest? And-and be open about who you are and what-er-you might like about this person."

Once he was back in control of his emotions, Tele.machus cleared his throat, "again, sorry about that...but um, y-yeah, kinda seems like it...that's kinda what initiated our first kiss, huh?" Tele.machus chuckled quietly, blushing slightly at just noticing that fact. He nodded, "honesty is the best policy, huh? Keep things open..." He nodded thoughtfully.

Though, he noticed that the wording was odd, but didn't mention anything.

Little did he know, Otto was dancing around the assumption of Tel's hiccup kink trying not to say it.

"I mean, with Atty and I it was really unexpected. Atticus is asexual and I...eh...I guess now that I know the terms, I'm maybe demisexual? Still sorting that out and it's not terribly important in our relationship. Uh, all that to say they're also demi...romantic? Is that right? Eh, basically they were nervous because while they liked me they didn't know if they'd ever be in love with me the same way I might be, and definitely am, with them. But-uh-I realized as time went on that I was okay with that possibility cause all I wanted was to be with them and have them love me in whatever way they could.

"Turned out working pretty well. We got married, uh, and have been together for...wow...four years? We'll be married two years at the end of this year.

"Anyway," Otto waved his hands around and shook his head. "I'm rambling. I do that. We...I guess we both do. Heh. Um, the point is we were both honest with each other. When Atty moved in I found out some...things. But they told me upfront as soon as they came up. And...those...things ended up really enriching our relationship."

Tele.machus was once again enthralled with the love story, watching excitedly. "Awww, four years together? That's awesome! Congratulations! What a great love story." He smiled, genuinely happy for them.

He was instantly curious as to what Otto had found out, but he knew that was probably personal and not something that could be disclosed. He still smiled, happy that things were working out with them.

Otto winced. He was dancing around the subject to the point that it was annoying him, but he didn't want to scare Tele.machus off if he was right and he didn't want to scare Tele.machus off if he was wrong and telling the kid about his partner's hiccup kink was offensive.

Tele.machus heard Otto wince, and looked concerned, "everything ok?"

Otto waved off Tel's concern for his wince before he continued trying not to make a big deal of the reaction he'd hoped the kid hadn't seen.

"Um, yeah, so just be honest? And if Dorian likes you even after that honesty? Then, hell, I think you have someone you could spend the rest of your life with," he said. "No pressure."

Tele.machus blinked, furrowing his brow again at the odd wording. He nodded his head slowly, "yeah...thank you, Otto...I'll take that into consideration...my honesty..." He stared at the wall, focusing long and hard at what it could mean. Then his eyes sparked with realization and slight fear, thinking to himself, 'does he know? W-was I too obvious? Shoot...now he probably thinks I'm a weirdo, especially with my reaction to his case...aaaahhhhhh' He was kinda freaking out internally, not even realizing his breath was starting to pick up.

It was when Tele.machus started to hyperventilate that Otto feared he'd said the wrong thing.

"Hey, whoa, kiddo. You good? I...shit," he whispered the expletive as he stood up for a moment and left before coming back with a cup of water. "Hey, bud. Here. Um. So...I think I might've said something to trigger this? And I think I know what it was. And I think if I'm wrong about this, this is about to get really awkward really fast and I...I apologize preemptively but...okay, mmm, try to take some deep breaths, Tel. Um. So...when Atticus started living with me, I got the hiccups one morning. They freaked out. I didn't know why. Turns out they...they like hiccups. Eh, and shit, this is only gonna make any sense if you get the-you know-undercurrent of what that means. A-are you freaking out because you like them, too?"

Before Tel could answer Otto continued, stuttering.

"And, and just to-uh-um-just to clarify. If-if you do, that's okay. And you weren't obvious except...that I know Atty so...so that's why I suspected. But-but-but if you have no idea what I'm talking about just...forget everything I just said. Cause...cause it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you keep drinking that water and calming down and...not think I'm a creepy dude who talks about...creepy stuff, heh..."

Tele.machus' eyes focused on the water and he took it, sipping it, removing it from his lips and taking multiple shaky breaths. He looked at Otto and bit his lip. Could he trust him? He looked into Otto's eyes, hearing his reassurance, before he took one more deep breath. He looked away and shyly nodded his head, blushing and covering his face.

Oh gosh, it was out there, one person knew, well two including himself. He wanted to talk about it, but his voice died in his throat, so he just drank more of his water.

"Yeah, okay," Otto responds to the nod. "But, you know, that's okay! That's okay because-because that's not a bad thing! It's just a thing!"

Otto was widening his arms with raised eyebrows and his eyes looked completely unhinged because he wasn't focused on making them look tamer.

"I mean...you know...people get aroused all the time. That's not anything to be embarrassed about. And-and Dorian? Well, if he's anything like me, he's gonna at least be thankful that you don't get annoyed at his hiccuping. I mean, there's something he can do to make you immediately happy. That's pretty awesome, kid. It's a good feeling to know that you can make someone you care about happy with just-just what your body does naturally. But...um...I dunno. How'm I doing with this?"

He doesn't wait for a response.

"You know it's funny...well...maybe not funny. Interesting? Synchronous? Serendipitous? But just a while ago, um, Atty and I met up with another kid...college-aged twenty-something...who felt the same way about hiccups. So, you know, you definitely aren't alone. And it's...really suspicious how that keeps coming up. An-anyway! Uh...shit...I'm rambling. You okay?"

Otto put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a concerned face.

Tele.machus sniffled and swallowed down the rest of his water. He cleared his throat, ready to test his voice, "I...I-I..." At the shaky start, he shook his head and started over, "you're the first person who knows...a-and you don't think it's weird?" Then realized, "wait, your partner likes them too? So you can't think it's weird...but that's your partner, I'm just some random kid buying a watch from you, I...who witnessed your...hhhiiiccups and...could barely focus on anything else..."

He whimpered and squeezed the empty cup, still refusing to look at him, "I-I mean...it's not something I wanna force on them just to make me happy...what if he's not like you? What if they think I'm creepy? Or weird? Or a pervert? And they hate me forever! And never want to see me again! And they switch dorms, or schools, and I'll never see their beautiful face again!"

Otto raised his eyebrows as Tel started spiraling again.

"Hey-hey. Whoa, bud. You haven't even told him yet. And, guess what? You don't have to tell him yet. This is your thing. You can take your time," Otto said and shrugged. "I mean...Atty and I knew each other and were in a relationship, of a sort, for a while before they told me. But if he does have those thoughts that you're creepy or weird, then they weren't someone who was right for you from the get-go. I just know my experience, as someone who doesn't have a hiccup...thing. Hiccups don't bother me. I get them a lot. I'm always going to be prone to them. I don't mind and, hell, a lot of good stuff happens when Atticus and I...enjoy my hiccups together. So, why am I going to hate that? It's a pretty sweet deal, honestly."

The clockmaker chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Tele.machus slowly nodded. He was scared to take the chance of Dorian being weirded out by this. If they didn't like it, he thought they would never work out, and he feared that most of all. He wanted their potential relationship to work and last. "They don't seem to bother them either..." He commented, "m-maybe they would be okay...I mean, he doesn't seem like the type to judge..." He thought about it for a bit, then blinked back into the conversation, "wait, good stuff happens? Wha-" then he recalled what arousal usually led to and his eyes widened and he blushed, sputtering out, "oh...OH- really? I-I mean, you're married, that's what married people do, it's, uh, natural, uh-" He'd never been intimate with anyone and rarely ever thought about it. Could this really bridge the gap? If he'd told Dorian and they were fine with it, would he want to...? It gave him something to think about, that's for sure. Maybe he wouldn't die a virgin...not that he cared about that.

Otto gave Tele.machus an amused smile at his realization of the subtext. This kid, Otto thought.

"Also, realistically? Are you ever going to make them get the hiccups for you? No, right? You'd never do that. I know you wouldn't. And if they know you, he knows you wouldn't, too," Otto insisted.

"Of course not, I'd feel way too guilty," Tele.machus pouted, "their cases may be short–though, I don't actually know how long they truly are because I'd have them cure them immediately–but they sound uncomfortable. I wouldn't wanna cause that discomfort...not on purpose, at least."

Otto nodded as his suspicions on Tel's empathy were confirmed.

Tele.machus glanced at Otto, "wait…y-you said you know more people? That...like them? I'm not alone…?" He bit his lip, scratching his arm.

Otto laughed, not cruelly, at Tele.machus' realization.

"I think you need to explore the internet more, bud. You are, most definitely, not alone," Otto said with humor. "There is nothing wrong with you. There are so many other people out there with kinks they're embarrassed by. It's just a weird roulette which one you get, I guess."

Tele.machus immediately blushed embarrassed, "oh, I...I guess I never did check to see if there were others...I was too nervous about it...I'm, um...a bit of a scaredy cat, not gonna lie...but honestly? Talking about all of this with you is...kinda daunting-" he put his hands in front of him as if calming a wild animal, "n-not to say it's bad or I'm uncomfortable. I'm not...I'm actually surprisingly comfortable talking about this stuff with you..." He shut his eyes tight, shaking his head, chuckling at himself. "You're gonna remember me as that one random kid who came in for a watch and came out with an experience."

He immediately felt comforted by the hand on his shoulder. He took another calming breath. He couldn't believe it...he'd told Otto his deepest darkest secret. "Uh...I'm gonna be honest, I'm still kinda freaking out a little...this is all really new to me...telling an acquaintance my deepest darkest was not on my bingo card for this year..." He chuckled at his attempt at humor. "Erm...you're not gonna tell anyone...r-right?"

At Tele.machus' request Otto smiled.

"I might tell Atticus, if that's okay. But no. You're safe. I would get absolutely nothing out of telling someone this random kid's kink. Especially if my partner had it too, which they do." Otto said and sighed, "I'm sorry I exposed you."

Otto thought maybe he should've been less forward about reading Tel's kink and asking about it.

Tele.machus thought about it before nodding his head, "yeah, that's fine. I trust they won't spread anything." He smiled, hoping one day to meet them. At the apology, he shook his head and smiled kindly, "don't sweat it, it's okay. It gave us something else to talk about and...it gave me a bit of reassurance. Sorry I kinda...panicked on you there...hadn't done that since...high school." He chuckled amusedly, that's now two things he hadn't done since high school: hiccup and panic.

"If it helps," Otto said softly. "It doesn't bother me that you saw me with them. I'm not offended. You didn't do anything wrong. You just...felt what you felt. And that's okay. You weren't inappropriate at all. Cause you're a good guy, right? Gawd, I feel like I should just give you this watch at this point!"

Tele.machus sighed in relief and nodded, "it does help, a lot actually, thank you. You've got some top tier h-hiccups there, your partner is sooo lucky." He blushed, "hope that was okay to say, erm-" he cleared his throat and nodded.

"Oddly enough, that's not the first time someone has said that about my hiccups," Otto said with a smirk.

"Really? Oh, I'm guessing Atticus?" Tele.machus raised an eyebrow and smirked playfully.

"Yeah Atticus," Otto said with a laugh and a nod. He loved this kid's pureness.

Tele.machus was chuckling at the last part that sounded more like pleading. "No, no, you're okay! I mean- transaction's complete and everything, but...um, I don't know where I was going with that sentence..." He admitted softly. "I'm just a complete mess today, aren't I?"

"Oh kid," Otto responded to his last nervous comment. "I've been a complete mess and, trust me, you're not even close."

"Definitely feel like one though," Tele.machus chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

Otto sighed and stood up.

"Eh, talk to me when you're half naked behind a breakfast joint covered inexplicably with sliced mushrooms with no memory of how you got there," he said and paused for a beat. "Actually, maybe just don't do that in the first place. Not recommended."

Tele.machus' brows raised, curious about how that happened, but he felt like he'd already pried too much into Otto's life. Instead, he nodded, "I won't...or at least try not to."

"You open to a hug?" Otto asked. He opened his arms preemptively and continued to talk, "And, by the way, I'll remember you as the kid who was very brave and talked about some really scary things and bought a very bad ass watch from me and came back to buy one for all of his friends and told them all about me and yes this is also a shameless plug."

Otto laughed at himself.

Tele.machus ran into Otto's arms, hugging him tightly. He definitely felt like he'd needed a hug and was nervous to ask for one. He chuckled at his shameless plug and smiled, "thank you, Otto. Not just for the hug, but...for everything. The watch, the conversation, for being so understanding and cool about everything."

Otto put a hand to the back of Tele.machus' head as they hugged, smiling at the enthusiasm with which the kid accepted the embrace.

He could recall when even a casual touch felt invasive to him, like he didn't deserve it and didn't know what to do with it. He was grateful he was able to give and receive physical comfort like this now.

"Yeah, of course. Yeah, sure. Don't mention it. I'm just glad I didn't come off as some weirdo, y'know? I kind of have that vibe sometimes," he said with a nervous chuckle.

Tele.machus chuckled and slightly nuzzled into the hug, his hands clinging to the back of Otto's shirt, "nah, I don't think weirdos give this good of hugs. Seriously, man, did you go to school for hugs or something?"

"Uh, something like that," Otto said he let him go with an amused huff.

Just years spent acclimating to positive physical touch via finally having healthy relationships after a lifetime of not. Otto had quickly learned he actually really liked hugs, something he'd never known before.

"Oh! And I need you to send that info about the dog café. I'm extremely allergic to cats and, man, it just makes me so sad I can't have coffee with animals because of histamines, y'know?!" he groused.

Tele.machus gasped and nodded, his eyes sparkling, "oh yeah! That dog café is definitely called The Barking Bean, let me send you the info!" He grabbed his phone and got the info, sending it to their chat.

Otto received the text message with a grin.

"Awesome. I'm really excited about this. And, hey, if Dorian has any issues with the watch or any questions, we can do a Facetime or something," he said. "That watch should be good for a while. But tell me if anything happens. The crystal settings should be solid. I'm pretty confident about that. Um, also, just so you know. I also do engraving. So...you know...if you ever need it engraved to represent...some sort of...development in your relationship?" Otto shrugged innocently. "I could do that..."

"Cool, cool, glad I brought it up!" Tele.machus smiled and nodded, "I'll make sure to let them know and I'll keep you updated. And engraving? Cool, definitely good to know, I'll keep that in mind. If all goes well, you might hear from me sooner rather than later." He chuckled.

"I'm definitely pushing for all going well. And, uh, yeah, let me know how they like it. And how it goes. If you want. I mean, I'm kind of invested now!" Otto said, then continued.

"Um, okay. I think I better get out of here. Honestly? I have at least two more cases to look forward to today so better see if anyone at home is interested in...well," he blushed a little, rubbing the back of his head, "Ahem. Anyway. And you should probably get on the road, yeah? It's, what...jeeze...two hours from here?"

Otto wasn't trying to rush Tele.machus, but the day was getting long, and he was anxious to go back home to Atticus and see if they were...in the right mood. He also didn't want the kid to have to travel back in the dark, if it could be helped.

Tele.machus stood up straighter and smiled sheepishly, "thank you, and yeah, no, I get it!" He chuckled slightly.

Tele.machus gasped and smiled, nodding, "yeah, yeah, of course! Wouldn't want them to miss out on the fun." He smirked slightly teasing. "Two more cases? Love how attuned you are that you know how many cases you're gonna get." He paused and cleared his throat, "But, uh, yeah, it's two hours, but it's alright, I'm good with long distances as long as I have some sort of caffeine in me." He smiled reassuringly.

"Eh," Otto said with a shrug as he started turning off lights and gathering his own things to close up shop. "I usually get at least 4 cases on these days. I've only had two so far. More of an estimation of occurrence based on previous likelihood than being in tune exactly."

Tele.machus nodded his head, "wow...four cases in one day...all as rough as the one I witnessed? Or...does it vary case by case?"

"Em, huh," Otto said as he squinted in thought. "I guess...I guess they vary a little. Never really gave it much thought, honestly. I'll have to ask Atty if they notice. I dunno. They don't usually last too long. Five to ten minutes is pretty average. But I'll get hiccups for thirty minutes to an hour sometimes. One time it was almost five hours. That was rough!"

Tele.machus' eyes widened, "Five Hours!? That's insane, I couldn't imagine...holy shit...what the heck caused those?"

"No idea!" Otto said. "They just wouldn't let up. That's when I realized holding my breath makes them a lot worse. My poor roommate at the time was traumatized."

Otto can laugh at it now as he thought about Mark's face.

"Oh gosh," Tele.machus gasped. He couldn't imagine one of the main cures for hiccups actually being a cause to make them worse. But there was a first for everything. "What a way to find out that a cure doesn't work!”

"Heh, you're tellin' me!" Otto said with a laugh.

"Thankfully Atticus figured out a cure. Then a friend of mine who owns an antique's store gave me another," Otto shrugged. "I dunno. I guess I'm just a hiccup-y guy. It's definitely come with some benefits though. So, I can't complain."

"I'm glad you found yourself a cure," Tele.machus nodded, "when I used to get them, I'd enjoy them for the first couple of minutes and then after a bit, I get annoyed with them, so I can definitely appreciate finding the right cures, hehe."

"Oh yeah?" he said conversationally to Tele.machus' comment on his own hiccups. "Yeah. I swear by apple cider vinegar and if that doesn't work," he swallowed and grunted, "if that doesn't work then a spoonful of sugar, a spoonful of salt, and lemon juice.”

"Huh...then maybe I'll have to try that...if I ever get them again," he looked to the side, somewhat sadly.

Otto noticed Tele.machus' seeming disappointment at his lack of hiccups and silently hoped the kid might get a case again someday. Though, he thought, that was an odd thing to wish on someone. Then again, Atticus' desires were well known to Otto as well.

The clockmaker took the money out of his pocket that Tele.machus had given him and double folded it before putting it into his wallet. He tapped the leather a couple times as a reminder to record the amount officially when he got home. Then he opened the billfold again with a thought.

"Hey! Actually, there's a place a block from here. I have," he said as he fished around the wallet for a second, "a punch card I just filled. Yeah. Here. Free coffee. It's a great place. Small business. Here."

He handed the punched card to Tele.machus.

Tele.machus looked at Otto, jaw dropped, as his brain went on autopilot and grabbed the card. He then shook his head, "Otto...no, no, you worked hard on getting this punch card filled. I couldn't possibly take your free coffee. I appreciate the offer, but please."

He handed the card back to him.

Otto did not take the card back.

"Oh, well, actually with all the money you gave me I just...gee...I probably can't fit that card back into my wallet. Ah well," he shrugged exaggeratedly. "Guess you'll have to keep it. Heh, c'mon kid, it's three to six bucks. I'll be fine. I'll fill another card up in no time. I go there all the time."

Tele.machus sighed dramatically and put the card in his front pocket, "Otto, you're just too good to me. Thank you so much."

Tele.machus looked around, making sure he had everything. He had the watch, his phone, his keys, and his wallet. He nodded comfortably. "Just one last check, I tend to leave at least one thing behind."

"Yeah," he laughed. "I have a system, so I don't forget things. Doesn't always work but..." he grabbed his cardigan and draped it on his arm and flicked his flatcap off the doorknob and placed it on his head, "...I'm a lot better than I used to be. C'mon, I'll walk you out."

"Smart, I should probably come up with a system of some sort," Tele.machus pushed his hair back, "but, um, yeah, thanks." He smiled kindly at Otto, untying the hoodie from his waist and putting it back on.

Otto locked the door of his shop, tapping the door twice, and kept his keys in his hand to open his car when he got out to it.

Tele.machus followed him out and smiled at Mitch, waving at him, "goodbye Mr. Mitch. Nice meeting you. And you were right! The watch is really badass!" He chuckled.

"You headed out, Otto?" Mitch called as they went through the showroom.

"Yeah. This guy's gotta get back on the road and I promised Atty I'd pick up something on the way home I can fix tonight for dinner," Otto said with a smile.

"Alright, man. Drive safe. Hope you don't run into any more...hiccups," Mitch said, teasing.

"Oh? Sorry? Couldn't hear you over all the money in my wallet. From the sale I made today," Otto said as he looked dramatically around at the empty store.

"Okay, yeah, remember rent's due in a couple days, Otto," Mitch continued to joke with a grin.

"Okay, alright. This guy, man. Sorry, kid. Have a good one, Mitch!" he shouted as finally pulled open the door for Tele.machus.

"You too, Otto," Mitch said.

Tele.machus smiled and waved again before walking through the door and out onto the sidewalk.

Otto followed Tele.machus to his car.

"Okay? This you?" Otto asked rhetorically. He swallowed against some pressure in his throat. He might skip groceries and order delivery if his hiccups were going to come back sooner rather than later, he thought as he rubbed his chest.

Tele.machus chuckled softly and nodded, answering anyway, "yep, this is my baby. Had 'er for four years." He gently tapped the top of his Altima. "Mom got her for me for my 16th birthday."

He noticed him rubbing his chest, frowning slightly concerned, thinking he was still feeling the aftermath of his case earlier. Poor guy, he thought.

Otto smiled at the car.

"Sounds like a good mom," he commented. There was a hint of sadness in his voice. But he was ultimately happy good moms existed.

Tele.machus smiled, "yeah...she's the best, honestly...maybe I'll consider a watch for her for mother's day..." He placed his finger on his chin in a classic thinking pose.

Otto couldn't with how demonstratively endearing this kid was. He couldn't help but chuckle at his cheekiness when discussing getting a watch for his mom for Mother's Day.

"Hold you to that," he said simply, grinning.

He swallowed again against the pressure in his throat. He wasn't sure if it was just the excitement of getting back home to Atticus that was encouraging the hiccups to come back, or if it was just the natural inclination of their return that would've happened anyway. Regardless, Otto was trying, once again, to hold them back.

This time he was holding them back because he didn't want to make the kid uncomfortable after he admitted his kink.

"Alright," he took a breath and tucked his chin again and shook it off. "Drive safe, huh? And, uh, good luck with Dorian. I don't think you have anything to worry about."

He smiled.

Tele.machus smiled back and nodded, "thank you...really. I honestly appreciate everything...would you be ok with a goodbye hug? T-totally ok if not, no pressure. Handshakes are cool too."

"Yeah, bring it in, dude," he said as he shifted his load so he could put his arms around the kid again. He chuckled and rubbed his back.

He giggled and hugged him back. He didn't know why he'd grown so...attached to Otto so quickly. Maybe it was the fact that his dad was out of the picture at the moment so Otto was potentially the closest thing to a father figure to him. No other male figure in his life had taken the time and effort with him. To give him advice and encouragement.

And then...Otto’s body spasmed quietly. And then it did it again.

"Ah cra—ap!" he bemoaned. "Hup!-I thought I co-Up!-could pu—ush them ba—ack long-Herp!-longer!"

Tele.machus felt the spasms and swallowed hard. He knew Otto had just gotten his next case. His next breath came out as a slight shudder.

Otto didn't want to overstimulate the kid and just thinking that in his head seemed too much, so he covered his mouth and left the embrace with what he hoped was read as a congenial pat to Tele.machus' shoulder.

Tele.machus' eyes widened and he nodded, taking a deep breath, "nope, yep, nope, y-you're good, uh, all good!" He cleared his throat, blushing slightly as he stood up straighter from the released hug, "I'll let you get going, uh...w-wouldn't want your partner to miss, uh, miss those..."

Otto felt his own neck warming and knew he was beginning to blush as well. He tried to keep the hiccups muffled but doubted that helped any.

He nodded, a little too quickly, at Tele.machus' comment. No, Atticus would definitely not want to miss these. And he'd hate to miss Atticus not missing these.

He opened his car door and watched Otto for a moment, "uh- shoot, we'll keep in touch, k-kay?" He gave a forced smile that he hoped still portrayed friendliness.

Otto had started to turn away with a wave when Tele.machus commented again.

"Ye—yeah!" he confirmed. "You ha-Hup!-have my nu—umber. Hmk!Mk! Bye ki—bye kid! Drive-Hu'urp!-drive sa—safe!"

"You too!" Tele.machus called out before he closed his door and sighed.

As Otto turned around to his Subaru, his eyes widened, and he shifted his hat on his head as he ducked into the car, throwing his things (though the more delicate things like his tool bag were placed a little more gently) into the passenger seat and became extremely thankful at how close the Watch and Jewelry shop was to the house.

He shot Atticus a very obvious text, 'You in the mood?' before putting the car in gear and driving as quickly, as safely fast, as he could.

Tele.machus took a deep breath before starting his Altima. He looked down at the watch once again and smiled fondly. What an experience today was. Buckling his seat belt after closing the watch box and putting it in the compartment between the passenger seat and his own, he drove off, stopped at the coffee shop for his free caffeine, and then headed to the highway that led him home.

Fin~

[hiccuping-daydreams]

July 2025 Hicth!!!

This months prompt is...

Pool Party!

(this one was hard to come up with a tag for guys)

This months tag is #Water's a bad cure

Bonus points for anyone who includes disability pride! Happy disability pride month everyone. Yours, your local disabled kinky dumbass 🩷

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