Moosh

Draco rolled his eyes with a smile, swiping under his nose with the cuff of his white, button-down shirt. Nico could be a bit of a cheerful Slytherin. He was not quite as snobby as most and definitely didn’t care about blood status. Though he still could be quite cunning from time to time. He was an excellent actor, as his persona was always charming and sly to the passing eye. 

The ambience of the classroom became students rushing around, crushing and cutting ingredients, boiling cauldrons, and small chit chat between the deep concentration. Nico’s concentration wavered whenever Draco would sniffle or rub the underside of his nose with his sleeve again and again. This was most unusual to Nico. He had not known Draco to have allergies in the potions classroom. It was more often that Nico would be the sniffling, sneezing one due to his seasonal fall/winter allergies. 

He wondered if he would get to see Draco sneeze. He had only seen him sneeze a few times, but memorized them as if they were one of the most important memories to him. 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first time he saw Draco sneeze was before they dated. They managed to get detention together after being scolded for trying to hex each other as mere 16 year olds in year 5. The two of them barely knew each other, but got into a scuffle over something so stupid that they couldn’t even remember what started the fight. Their punishment was to clean the storage closet in the Charms classroom. No magic, no potions, just a broom, dustrag, and dustpan. 

Nico had gotten quite a pile of dust collected into his dustpan while sweeping the shelves off. While walking over the waste bin, Draco thought it would be fun to trip the fellow Slytherin boy. So he stuck the broom out. Nico tripped over Draco’s broom, tumbling onto the ground with a hard thud and a crack. He yelped in pain, hands instantly grabbing  his now bloodied chin. The dustpan was completely forgotten and hit the ground, sending a poof of dust into the air. Draco held a smug look on his face until the dust started drifting into his nose.

“You bloody dimwit! Now there’s even m-more du–hhhhst to snf snf to clean uhhh–up!” Draco’s gaze became unfocused, his nose scrunched up and he slowly brought his elbow up to his face. Nico sat up on the floor, hands still clutching his chin, but caught in a daze while watching Draco lose control of his nose. 

“Thh–that was a lot hHHh..of d-duhH’HMPHFSH!! eH’HFSHH! F-fucking hehH’MPSHH! –PshH! –hH’PHSHH! ehH’MFF’Shiewww–!” Draco sneezed and sneezed into the crook of his elbow, only slightly bending at the waist from the force of the fit. Nico watched in awe. The Slytherin Prince, reduced to an itchy, watery, sneeze fit from a cloud of dust. 

Nico took one hand off his chin and reached into his pocket to pull out a spare handkerchief. He finally stood up in order to offer his handkerchief, as he did not think Draco would even notice it with his eyes screwed shut and nose buried in his elbow.

Nico carefully pressed the handkerchief on the top of Draco’s nose. Draco’s eyes squinted open, then he quickly pinched his nose into the cloth. “hH’NGxt–! n’Gxt–! ‘ngT’ngt’hHh’GXsht–!!  h’GXtch! hahhH…hH’HGXSHT!” With one last harsh stifle he gave a hard couple blows into the handkerchief, his nose seemingly calming down after that. 

“Sorry Malfoy. Didn’t mean to make your nose explode like that,” Nico chuckled as Draco gave a slight glare, his eyes peeking over the top of the handkerchief still. Draco was about to berate him for dropping a full dustpan when he noticed a look of discomfort on Nico’s face. “Are you alright?” He asked a bit harsher than intended.

“Hm? Oh, I’m um– yeah I’m fine,” Nico’s weak smile was clearly forced and a look of pain came over his face when he did so. Draco glared again and Nico’s smile dropped at this. “Okay, you caught me. I heard my chin crack when I face planted into the floor.” He replied with slight amusement in his voice. Draco sighed and grabbed Nico’s arm to lower his hand from his injured chin.

“You should go to Madame Pomfrey.” He stated as a matter of factly. Now it was Nico’s turn to sigh.

“We have to finish dusting first though… won’t we get in trouble for this?” Nico desperately wished to go get this healed, as he didn’t have his wand to heal it himself. Though he didn’t want to be sentenced to more detention for leaving early. 

“I’ll cover for you. Your wound needs treatment,” Draco glanced over his shoulder to the door, “This will take at least another hour. Just hurry back as soon as you're done there.” Nico nodded reluctantly, but his face was full of gratitude.

“Thanks Malfoy, I promise, I’ll be right back.”

It was then that they first bonded.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Draco's nose twitched more frequently as they worked, signaling an onset of itchiness that soon couldn't be ignored. He tried to suppress the building sneeze(s) that threatened to escape, but it proved to be a futile effort.

"hHhehh... ehH-...hH’Ngxtch–!" Draco quietly stifled a sneeze into the back of his wrist, trying not to draw attention to himself. He cautiously brought his wrist away from his nose and sniffed the air lightly, almost instantly regretting it. 

Nico, the ever observant and doting boyfriend, noticed Draco's stifle. He could distinguish Draco’s restrained sneeze anywhere. With raised eyebrows and piqued curiosity, he turned to Draco. "Are you alright, Draco? You seem to be paying more attention to your nose than the potions assignment."

Draco sniffled, rubbing at his itchy nose again. "I think... hihh... I'm fine. Something in this damn potion is bothering me most likely," he sighed, frustration evident in his voice. "It is making me want to claw my bloody nose off. It’s so damn itchy."

Nico tried to sound more concerned than curious, his mouth formed an O. "Oh, do you have allergies? Will you be alright?"

Draco scoffed, “I do not have allergies! I don’t remember having this problem.” He wetly sniffled again. A Malfoy having allergies? Not possible. Right?  Nico shrugged, switching his attention back to the half brewed potion. 

When it came time to add the jobberknoll feather, all hell broke loose. Well, from Draco’s nose that is. Draco picked up the feather delicately and brought it closer to his face just to inspect it before preparing it for the boiling cauldron. This turned out to be a mistake. 

Nico watched him carefully as Draco’s nose scrunched up, his eyes glossed over, and his lips slightly parted. He panicked a little, watching as Draco’s grasp on the feather loosened. “D-Draco, hand me the feather!” Nico tried to quickly reach for the feather without waiting for a response from the platinum-blonde haired Slytherin. Alas, it was too late. 

“hH’ASHH’IEWW! hH’RRSHOO–! –eH’SHIEW!” Draco violently sneezed thrice in rapid succession. The tickle had been so intense that he couldn’t focus on anything else. His nose was trying to rid of the allergic, itchy feeling as violently and as fast as possible. He didn’t even have time to try and stifle the bout of sneezes that consumed him. 

“ –hG’GSchuH! ‘eg’GSCHU–! hh’HRE’SHIew–! Ihh–it itches s-sohhh bahhH’KSHiew–ih’SHIew–’SHiew–’gk’SHIEW!” Draco’s body jerked with each sneeze, only loosely covering with both hands up to his face. However, in that process, the entire feather floated into the potion. Nico’s eyes widened in fear. “Salazar, this is not good–” An explosive BOOM shook the whole classroom. 

Nico shielded the still sneezing Slytherin Prince from the explosion by jumping in front of him and using his own back for protection. It only left Nico with some burnt robes and minor burns to the nape of his neck. 

“hhHahh…hhih–! ehehhH–hH’PHSHH! hM’PHSH–! ih’KSHtt– ik’sh’iew–ehHh’tshuu– tschu–tsch–ksh’ie’ww! hHhah…f-fuck..I–ih’KSh’iew! I’m snfff sorry, Nico…” Draco’s sneezing began to slow down as the explosion had also settled down. Snape, with an irritated glare, briskly strode over to their station to clean up the aftermath. 

“Malfoy. Gaelach. Detention at 7:00 pm sharp. You will be re-doing this potion as well as writing a 3 foot long essay on the dangers of sneezing while brewing potions. Understood? The rest of the class is dismissed. Place a sample of your potions on my desk for grading,” Snape grunted out with bitterness clear in his tone. “Now, Malfoy, since it seems your nose has calmed down a bit, I will ask you to escort Mr. Gaelach to the hospital wing so Madame Pomfrey can treat his wounds.” His tone was just ever so slightly softer at the end. 

Draco nodded, sniffling as he went to grab his belongings. Nico grabbed his bag as well and off they went. As soon as they made it out of the classroom and a few feet down the corridors, Nico let out a loud chuckle.

“W-what’s so funny Gaelach, huh?” Draco asked with irritation and pure confusion in his voice. Nico just shook his head while continuing to laugh. It took a few seconds for him to get an answer out.

“Y-you just s-sneezed us into a detention, Malfoy,” He jokingly mocked back to his boyfriend while still laughing. Draco rolled his eyes and huffed at him. “I didn’t know you were so allergic to jobberknoll feathers. Any other birds I should be wary of waving their feathers around you?” 

“How can you even be joking at this time!?” Draco exasperatedly sighed. Nico’s eyebrows furrowed as he shot Draco a look of confusion. 

“Huh? Why? What’s wrong Dray?” Concern and confusion clouding Nico’s eyes. 

“Because of my mistake, you’re injured!” Nico just playfully rolled his eyes at Draco’s response. 

“Deary, sweetness, love of my life, Dray. I promise with the bottom of my heart, this does not hurt near as much as the first time you saw me get injured because of you!” Nico laughed some more, wiping joyous tears from his eyes. “It’s just a couple small burns, I promise! Maybe it looks worse than it feels? I wouldn’t know since it's… y’know… on my back and all.”

Draco only looked at Nico with a look of doubt. Nico smiled and draped his arm over Draco’s shoulders. “Dray, it is all good! Madame Pomfrey will have me healed up in no time!” Draco still hmphed and looked away, but brought his hand up to rub Nico’s that was resting on his shoulder. 

As soon as they made it to Madame Pomfrey, Nico explained what happened. He turned around and lifted his shoulder length hair to reveal whatever burns he had to the nurse. Shortly after assessing the situation, Pomfrey kicked Draco out and told him to wait outside. 

“We won’t be long, Dray!” Nico gave a small wave and reassuring smile, “Go on to lunch without me! I’ll meet you there~!” 

“Fine, but you’d better make it to lunch. Can’t have you starving on me.” Doubt and concern still settled in Draco’s gaze, but he gave a small smirk anyway and left for lunch. 

A few minutes into their time in the supply closet, the particles of dust in the air began to tickle Severus's sensitive nose, causing him to scrunch his nose in discomfort. He quickly pulled away, sniffling and swiping his fingers under his nose.

Severus's brows furrowed as he fought to stave off the sneezes that threatened to erupt. He clenched his teeth, desperate to maintain their secrecy and not draw attention to their presence. But the more he held back, the stronger the tickling sensation became, and the more insistent his need to sneeze grew.

Estelle, her concern evident in her eyes, took notice of Severus's struggle. She stepped closer, her voice soft and comforting. "Severus, are you alright? Your nose is twitching an awful lot. Like a little bunny!" She giggled softly while booping his nose softly 

Severus nodded with a small whimper, his breath hitching at her little touch to his reddening nose. "The d-dust... It's t-tickling my n-nose," he bashfully confessed, a touch of frustration lacing his words. “Ihihh… I think I may sn-snehh-sneeze.  

“Severus, if you sneeze now, we’ll be discovered!” She whispered warningly. Snape let out another small whimper of discomfort. “Y-yes I know,” He airily replied, scrubbing more intensely at his nose. Estelle’s cheeks were dusted in a deep blush now. She’s never actually mentioned to Severus about her, little… kink. 

Estelle unconsciously reached out and gently placed her slim finger under Severus's nose, providing a distraction from the maddening tickle. Her touch was a soothing balm, momentarily alleviating the need to sneeze. He jumped in surprise at first, but then Severus leaned into her, finding her cool touch to be relieving for the moment.

“I-is that better, S-Severus?” She stuttered out, becoming more and more flustered by the position they were in right now. 

“Ihh-I’m fine. I-hhH’gksh-! N’Gxt-! h’Gktch-! hH-!” Estelle pinched off Severus’ nostrils with two delicate fingers to prevent any more sneezes from escaping. Severus looked into her eyes, mortified that he just sneezed all over her hand. He gasped and brought both of his hands up to cover the lower half of his face. 

“I-I’m so sorry! Oh Merlin, I-Ihhn’Ngxt! need t-to, shh-sneeze againnn-” Severus tried to profusely apologize before his breath caught again. He screwed his eyes shut as he desperately rubbed at his nose with both hands still over his nose and mouth. Estelle gently reached her hands up to his frantic ones. 

“S-Snape, you’ll hurt yourself like that–” She slowly tugged his hands down from his face, revealing a pinkish-red hue on his nose. “H-here, just let me…” She brought Severus into a close embrace and put his face into her shoulder. Estelle could feel his uneven breaths as his nose begged for release. 

“EstehhH-! Estelle, w-what ahhahH… hhH!!... hHHhHeh!! N-no, I couldn’t Estelle thhh-that’s…hhHhhehH–!” Snape tried to protest through hitching breaths.

“Muffle your sneezes into my shoulder. I promise it’s ok. I don’t want you to hurt yourself like that.” She rested one hand on his back and the other one on the back of his head. Snape’s face burned with embarrassment. 

“I-uh-are you sure? I don’t w-want tohhh– to m-make a mhhehHh…hh..hH–!” Snape rubbed his nose onto Estelle’s shoulder, making her own breath hitch, for different reasons however. 

“Sev, it’s alright, just sneeze into my shoulder, quietly though!” She laughed a little bit, in hopes that this would hide her growing arousal. Snape made a small noise of protest, but the prickling tickle in his sinuses completely took hold of him. 

“hH’HMFSHH-! MM’MPHSH-! -mM’FSHh-! –uHhuh’mfschh’fsch’fsch’’sch’sch’sch–!” Sneezes started tumbling over one another, as there was no escape for the allergens. Estelle could feel each jolt of Severus’ body as he sneezed and sneezed. Her breath caught as his sneezes became little rapid ones. 

“mM’Fschu–! m’Fschu’schu’sch’schs’chs’chs’chs! hhHahH…hHh! ehhH’HMPSCHH–! ‘PSCHhu!” Snape just could. Not. Stop. Sneezing.

Oh boy, she prayed to Merlin that he would not notice her thighs tense, her face heating up, or the racing of her heartbeat. She only knew for sure that he could not see the deep red that painted her cheeks. 

“H-How are you holding up, Sev? We should be able to get out of here soon,” Estelle craned her neck to look at the watch on her wrist. “Lunch hour starts in a minute or so. The halls will be void of students and we can finally get you–” She abruptly stopped when she heard two students’ get close to the door. Too close for comfort. 

Severus noticed this as well and brought a hand up to his nose in an attempt to stop the sneezes and pinch any oncoming sneezes into silence. 

“Bloody fucking hell. I should’ve thought of this sooner.” Estelle cursed herself out, “Colloportus.” She murmured before the footsteps got too close. 

“Daisy, I think this is the storage closet Professor Snape keeps the extra cauldrons. Everyone should be at lunch by now let’s– Oh no!” The one student exclaimed.

“W-what is it? …Well!?” The student named Daisy sounded panicked. 

(“Estelle I-I n-nhhHhehh-need to sneeze..hHh so b-bad…hehH–hHih!” Estelle could feel every movement of Snape’s hitching breaths on her figure.)

“It’s locked…” The first student replied. 

(“N-no not yet! The door may be locked, but a sneezing attack from you would alert them right away that someone was in here!” Estelle frantically whispered back.)

“Oh bloody hell! Snape is going to murder me for not having my potions kit ready for class! Maybe I can borrow Harley’s?” Daisy cried with worry. “I can’t believe my brother broke my kit. I’m going to murder him next time I see him! If I get in trouble, I will beat him up…” 

“M-maybe he won’t take away house points?” The first tried to comfort Daisy.

“Oh right, because getting detention for a week or a month will be so much better!” Daisy exclaimed with exasperation clear in her voice. “Let’s just head to lunch… I don’t think…” Their voices faded as the two students quickly hurried away towards the great hall. 

Estelle let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Severus was breathing entirely through his mouth. He hitched with uneven breathing, his fingers still holding his nose shut. They waited for what felt like hours, but was only about 3 minutes long. 

“Sev, you can let go of your nose now. It’s alright.” She whispered. Severus would have sighed in relief had he not been building up for a sneeze attack for the last five minutes. His nose was finally free of the tiny little stifles that did nothing to quell the itch. He wasn’t usually someone to stifle in little rapid fits. If provoked enough, then yes, they would happen. But now, he no longer had to hold back. 

“G-good, b-because hhHahH–! I-I,” Though Estelle knew of the oncoming storm, Severus tried to warn her anyway. 

“hehHH’ESHI’EWW!! hahH’EKKSHIEW–! gK’KSHIEWW–! ESH–SHiew!! EhhH-Estelle..hHihH c-can’t hH’IKSH’ieew–! Can’t s-sthhh-stop hA’AKSHIEW! ahH’SHIEW!! snhh-snee…sneezii’GKSCHIEW! Sneezing!” 

Estelle bit back a moan that she quickly tried to disguise as a cough. She and Sev were still hugging, pressed right up against each other. She didn’t know how much longer she could take this. Though they’ve been friends since their years in Hogwarts, she had never known Snape to get this sneezy from some dust. Okay, to be fair, this was a lot of dust.  Clearly this storage closet hasn’t been touched in a while. 

“hH’IKSH’ieew–! -’GKSCHIEW! ahH’SHIEW!! hEH’SHIEW!! hHG’KSHTT!  IhHG’shiew-! heH’Kshhtt! ehH’ISHH’iew-! Bloody hell, this is t-to… hHhihH!...ehH’ISHH’iew-! hHG’KSHTT! Torturous…”  

Severus scrubbed hard at his nose, willing the tickle to back down. Estelle dragged him out of the storage closet and quickly led him into his office. At least now he was not surrounded by the allergen. 

Once they reached his office, his nose felt worlds better. “Bloody hell, Estelle. Th-hh-that was ehH’ISHH’iew-!...a-awfully t-tickly…n-need to sneeze aga–ahH’SHIEW!!...hhhh…” Severus reached for a handkerchief on his desk and gave his nose a long blow. Sighing afterwards, he discarded it back on to his desk. Estelle just nodded along, trying to will the blush on her cheeks to go away. 

Severus noticed that she hadn’t said anything in a little bit. “Estelle? Are you alright, love? Your face is red…” Estelle’s eyes shot up to his gaze. She stared intensely into his red, teary, allergy attacked eyes. 

“Y-yes! All good, Sev!” She responded, her voice a few pitches higher than she intended. Snape’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, then softened again. 

“You know, love, you cannot hide everything from me. We have known each other far too long for me to not realize it.” He smirked a little as he walked closer towards her. “You think I wouldn’t notice how your heart skipped a beat everytime my breath caught? Or how your thighs clenched when I sneezed? You know, you could have told me… right?”

Estelle could only look away in embarrassment and shame. “I-I’m sorry, Sev. You’re right. I… I-I…like… I’m turned..on.. By your… sn..” She stared even harder at the ground. 

Severus pulled her chin up gently with his hand. “Hey, hey, it’s ok. Do not be ashamed. I still love you very dearly.” He said with a softer voice, still slightly stuffy from the earlier events. She hadn’t realized she was shaking. 

“I can’t even say the word in this context, Sev.” She giggled quietly. “I’ve never told anyone this. I mean it. No one! It’s just such an… odd… turn on.” Again, she averted her eyes from his gaze. 

“Estelle, love, I promise, I will not judge you or shame you for this. Maybe sometime later, we can explore this little interest of yours, hm?” He said while wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her closer into him. 

“Y-you would be willing to…for me?” She gazed up at him with widened eyes. He nodded, “Of course, love. Anything for you.” She gave a bashful smile and hugged him tight, resting her head on his chest. 

“Thank you, Sev.” She whispered out.

“Always.” Severus whispered back. 

===========================