Hey, you asked for a prompt so I found a cute one from that list you reblogged, I can't wait to see what you'll get out of it! :D "I can literally hear you sneezing through the walls and I brought some chicken noodle soup over for you because I have exams to study for and your sneezing is seriously distracting me," neighbor au
(AN: Leaving this one cute and fluffy. Also, you didn’t specify a ship, so I just went with Rickeen because I love those idiots.)
_____________________________
One, two, three, four, five, six—
Rickon let out a loud groan, throwing his book to the floor. He had an exam tomorrow in his least favorite class, and his neighbor just happened to have the worst sneezing fit in the world. It was insanely distracting. Not to mention that the sneezes sounded fake. They were so delicate and enunciated; Rickon could not believe that the person was actually sick. With slow steps, he picked up the book. On cue, another sneeze came from the wall.
“Goddammit,” Rickon said under his breath. There was no way he was going to manage studying when that sneezing was happening every ten seconds. Marching to his kitchen, Rickon dug through his cupboards for a can of chicken noodle soup. Maybe he could throw it at his neighbor and hope that would cure them… or knock them out long enough for him to finish studying.
Locating a can, Rickon went out his door, leaving it open. He went one door over and pounded on the door. When nothing happened, except a few more sneezes, Rickon knocked harder. The door opened a crack, and another sneeze greeted him. Rickon was fully prepared to throw the can of soup at his neighbor, but he froze.
Standing before him was a cute girl in her pajamas. She was slightly hunched over and sneezing into her sleeve. She had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail and blue eyes that looked slightly bloodshot. She sneezed again and looked up at him. “Can I – can I help you?” She sneezed again.
“Um,” Rickon rubbed at the back of his head and tried to think of what to say. He couldn’t just throw things at her. “You were sneezing a ton, and I have a test to study for… so I brought you some soup…”
She sneezed, reaching for the can. “Oh, thank you,” she mumbled. As soon as she grabbed the can, she dropped it.
Rickon leaned over to pick it up. “Look, I can…” Rickon searched about for words. “Do you want me to help you out a bit? I just really need you to stop, so I don’t fail this class.”
The girl nodded, sneezing again. There was something seriously wrong with her.
“Let me just get my things,” Rickon said. He raced back into his apartment, grabbed a second can of soup and his books, locked up behind him, and went next down. His neighbor had left the door open, but she was nowhere to be seen. Rickon walked in and closed the door behind him.
Her apartment had the exact same layout as his, so he found his way to her kitchen. His neighbor was sniffling into a tissue at the table. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I’m just—”
She cut herself off with a sneeze. Rickon ignored her and searched her kitchen for a pot. He put the soup on her stove and grabbed one of his books. “I don’t mean to ignore you,” he said. “I just really need to study.”
She nodded, leaning her head onto the table. “I’m Shireen,” she mumbled out.
“Rickon,” he said, glancing up at her. He leafed through the book, trying to find his place. He read through a few lines before nearly throwing his book again.
Shireen was watching him curiously, narrowing her eyes at him. “Are you reading Chaucer?” she asked.
“Huh?” Rickon glanced up, and back to his book. “Yeah, for my fucking English class. It’s so fucking useless. No one talks like this anymore.”
She laughed through a sneeze. “Do you want me to help?” she offered. “I’m an English grad student.”
“Are you serious?” Rickon said, nearly rounding on her. She nodded weakly. “Just my luck. I’ve been living next to a cheat sheet, and I only just figure it out.”
Locating a small ladle, Rickon stirred the soup before taking a seat next to her at a table. Shireen cleaned off her hands and took his book. She rarely lifted her head from the table, assisting her movements with her arms. Still, she read to his sections of the book, pointing out specific parts that he should probably remember. Rickon left to stir the soup and pour it into a bowl for her, and she talked through her eating, mumbling out things that could be helpful to him.
It took an extremely long time for her to finish with the soup, but Shireen was sneezing less and less as time went on. Rickon listened carefully to everything she said about his book, and he scribbled down relevant notes for his test the next day. Shireen was surprisingly helpful for a sick person, and even when she was getting sleepy, she pressed on with more information. Occasionally, she asked questions about the class and his professors, depending on his responses, she modified some information and continued on until she was almost completely asleep at the table.
When Rickon noticed her nodding off, he pried the book from her hands and moved away the things around her. Then, he picked her up, pressing her to his chest, and carried her to her room, guessing its location based on his apartment. It was right where he expected it to be, and he even tucked her into bed. After all, she had probably just saved his life with all this new information. Rickon had not been prepared for his test in the slightest before tonight, and even the half-asleep information seemed more legit than his class had all semester.
Rickon even decided to clean up her kitchen before leaving. After all, he probably owed her. Then, he locked up her apartment and went back to his own, reviewing the notes she had just given him. Looking over the notes a few times before bed, Rickon felt oddly confident about the upcoming test.
The next day, Rickon settled into class for his test. He was jittery from trying to force himself to remember all the information. It was a lot to remember, and Rickon felt brain dead when he finally finished scribbling down everything he could.
Walking out of his test, Rickon mostly felt relieved that it was over and that his professor had promised them their grades that evening. However, the best feeling was that Rickon was finally free for the summer. With a small jump in his step, Rickon raced back to his apartment to catch up on all the sleep he had missed studying for his exams.
He was completely asleep when a small knock started to rouse him. Groggily, Rickon rolled out of his bed and trudged over to the door. He opened it to find his neighbor smiling sheepishly at him. She was holding out a plate of cookies. Without thinking, he took a cookie and put it into his mouth. Shireen blinked at him.
Shireen laughed. “No, that’s okay,” she said. “I made them for you. As a thank you for yesterday. I’m feeling much better today.”
“Well, in that case…” Rickon took another cookie. Chewing through it, he covered his mouth with a hand and mumbled out, “Do you wanna come in? We can hang for a bit.”
“Sure,” Shireen said, stepping into his apartment.
Rickon led her into the small living room and flopped down on the couch. “Thanks for everything, too,” he said. “I, um, thought I was going to fail my test this morning, but I think I did okay.”
“What’d you get on it?” she asked, helping herself to a cookie.
“I dunno,” he said. “But I was thinking that I’d do something for you if I passed.”
“Like what?” Shireen asked, leaning against the back of the couch to look at him.
Rickon turned to her, finally getting a good look. Her blue eyes were bright again, and her hair was slightly damp. However, Rickon was surprised to see that the marks on her cheek were still there. He had assumed there were part of her illness. Still, she was pretty cute, and he wasn’t going to be shallow about this.
“I was thinking dinner,” he said. “I can take you out someplace nice.”
Her face flushed. “Oh, you don’t have to,” Shireen said quickly. “I mean, you probably thought that this was going to go away…” She gestured weakly to her cheek.
Rickon shrugged. “That’s whatever,” he said, taking another cookie. “Besides, with baking skills like these, I’d be willing to take you out anyway.”
“Take me out… to dinner? Or with a rifle?”
Rickon let out a massive laugh. “Is that what your English degree is for?” he asked. “Your impressive flirting skills?”
Her face went a deeper red, and she aimed a hit against his chest. “I am not flirting!” she insisted.
Rickon caught her hand, swallowing hard. “I am.”
She bit her lip and looked around. “Maybe we’ll see if I’ll let you take me out,” she said. “Depending on what you got on that test… Chaucer, right?”
Rickon soured slightly until he realized that this was probably a greater assessment of her knowledge than his. He narrowed his eyes at her. Even though it was a silly competition, he really wanted to win. “You know… my grade is supposed to be posted tonight.”
Shireen rolled her eyes at him, stuffing another cookie in her mouth. She waved him off to go check.
