#elipadge

“Maybe you should go home and rest,” said Lady Amalthea, at Eliseo’s right.  She was looking at Padgett with sympathy, maybe because he looked quite similar to one of her sons.  “Which of the villas is your family staying in?”

Padgett cleared his throat and tried for a polite smile even though his nose was red and his eyes tearful.  “Oh, uh, I’m here as a guest,” he said.  “Of the Jorvalds.  Lord Eliseo’s guest.”  He nodded across the table and sniffled again, nostrils flaring.  He felt pride at being able to say so.  He was wearing his best suit.

Eliseo wished he’d told Padgett that this dinner wasn’t a big deal.  That they could have skipped it.  But Padgett wanted to be seen with him in public, and as much as Eliseo disliked society gatherings, he did have obligations.  He shifted in his seat.  “My Lady, this is Padgett Foxborough, a companion of mine from my days at St. Richter’s Academy.”  Let her think they’d been classmates.  In reality, Eliseo had been dainty and slim and utterly useless at riding horses, about to fail his required physical examinations until Padgett, one of the groundskeeper’s boys, had stepped in to assist him.  He’d gotten Eliseo’s ass into the saddle, Eliseo’s perfect blond hair into a helmet, and his own hands into Eliseo’s pants.  And here they were, together again.

“Is that so?  How lovely,” chirped the Lady.

Padgett nodded and muffled another sneeze into his napkin.  “Uhkkshtt!”  He came away from the fabric only slowly, flushed.  Probably making sure his nose wasn’t running.

“My handkerchief,” Eliseo managed to get out, pulling it from his vest.  He passed it across the table.  Padgett had already soaked his own in the carriage over.  As seemed always to be the case, his sneezes had come on quite productively.  Eliseo wished, as Padgett accepted the cloth, that he could just whisk his lover away to their rooms, but it only just now that the cooks were bringing out the second course.

He dropped a hand into his lap to squeeze himself discreetly beneath the tablecloth.  It hadn’t always been the case, but ever since his eldest sister’s wedding, he’d… found himself quite attracted to Padgett’s sneezing, as odd as that was.  He would have excused himself from the table by now if it wouldn’t be completely obvious exactly why.  Sometimes he wished he could wear skirts.  Thankfully, no one was paying him much attention between the band and the conversation and poor Padgett’s nose.

A series of waitstaff were circulating now with trays laden with food.  It was cranberry-glazed duck with a pear and feta salad tonight.  The food interested Eliseo less than Padgett’s flush and the gleam of moisture at his septum. He wanted to lean across the table and kiss him, draw him down, touch his face, make it better.  He suppressed a groan and rubbed himself again.  He wasn’t in a good position.

Lady Amalthea was asking Padgett about his prospects now, and the young women nearby were trying to suss out his earnings, his potential worth as a husband.  Padgett was deflecting admirably.  Eliseo let himself tune out and- and he undid his buttons, pressed on the head of his cock through his undergarments.  The cloth there was as wet as Padgett’s handkerchief.  He could feel the heat of his own skin radiating through.  The drag of the cloth on his sensitive skin was maddening.  He ran his thumb over himself and tried to suppress a shiver.  It felt ridiculous and shameful.  

Then Padgett’s breath caught again.

“Hhktsciuh! Ngktsch!”  Padgett raised the handkerchief in time to fully catch the second sneeze, but not before Eliseo had caught sight of his slick upper lip.  He felt his neck heating and he squeezed himself.  He wanted Padgett to sneeze against his skin. He thought back to before the wedding, their fateful reunion, and the days that followed.  His eyes slipped shut.

A sharp pain caught him in the ankle and Eliseo gasped, horrifically guilty, sitting back and reflexively putting his hands on his thighs.  His cock throbbed.  So did his ankle.  It took him a moment to realize that Padgett had kicked him.

“And you’ll bring me there, right, my Lord?” Padgett was saying.  His green eyes were sparkling but he was giving Eliseo a bit of a pointed look.  The ladies looked to him, too, and Eliseo did up his buttons one-handed with a dexterity he didn’t know he possessed.

“Of course,” he said, smoothly, and rose from the table.  His arousal strained again against the prison of his trousers and he would have whined aloud if not for the present company.  Entirely sure everyone could see it, he extended a hand.  “After you, my good sir.”

“Why, th- thank you,” said Padgett, and he stepped around the table to take the lead, walking away from the patio toward the main house.  Eliseo followed behind, trying to walk like a normal human being.  He was probably imaging the soft titters behind them. He hoped he was... 

When he and Padgett were out of view of the dinner party, he grabbed his lover’s shoulder. “Where are we going?” he asked, and cleared his throat.  “I wasn’t listening.”

“I know,” said Padgett, rolling his eyes.  “I could tell.  Your, you know, the face you make when you’re turned on.  It’s really obvious.”  He put his hands on Eliseo’s shoulders and pressed him up against a wall, behind a shrub shaped to look like a swan.

“Good God,” Eliseo said, rubbing his face.

“It’s my fault, though,” Padgett continued, kissing the back of Eliseo’s hand.  “I should have known my hh- my cold would distract you.  Sih- hh- sorry.”  He started to undo Eliseo’s trousers.  “Oh, very distracted.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Eliseo moaned, and then Padgett’s pulled his cock free to the autumn air and wrapped his fingers around it.  He leaned back against the brick, knees weak.

Padgett leaned in close, kissed him on the lips this time.  There was that damn smug smile on his face despite his fever.  “Tell me what you want, Eli.”  He stroked his hand down the length of Eliseo’s cock. “Want to get off here, in the courtyard?”  Eliseo groaned.  “Want me to tease you?”  Padgett nuzzled Eliseo’s neck, leaving a wet trail.

“Are you going to make me say it?” Eliseo groaned, already moving his hips to try and bring them closer.  “Devil.”

“Your devil.”  Padgett rubbed his nose, breath catching again.  “Nh- now, whih- ihh what do you want, love?”

“I want you to sneeze,” Eliseo moaned, taking Padgett by the hips.  “On me. Aa, please.”

Padgett nuzzled him again and kissed his jaw.  “Good, Eli.”  He started to stroke Eliseo’s cock rhythmically.  “Already so eager.  I’ll forgive you for touching at the table.”

“I am in Hell,” Eliseo growled, and then Padgett leaned close again and sneezed against his neck, pulling back Eliseo’s collar to expose the almond skin below.  

“Hh-hrkschtt! Hgtsnchx!  Haah…”  Padgett groaned softly, although he didn’t stop his attentions below.  His nose was hot where it met Eliseo’s neck and so was the slight pool of mess that had settled under it.

Eliseo keened and then coughed, trying to keep his voice down.  He wasn’t going to last long like this.  A good thing, too, as the tinkling of glasses and murmur of conversation was still quite audible beyond their little nook.  “Bless you, hon.”  He moved one hand to Padgett’s nape.  “Are you going to, nn, sneeze again?”

Padgett sniffled thickly and Eliseo could feel his nostrils twitching.  “Y-yes,” he said, breath stuttering. “Are you going to hh- hh– come for me?”

Eliseo nipped Padgett’s ear.  “Barely holding it together,” he said, thighs trembling.  

Padgett laughed lightly.  “Here, then.”  He slipped the handkerchief between them to catch the impending release.  “Love it when you get like thih- hh-”  His fingers tightened on Eliseo’s cock before he made an effort to return to a smooth pace. “Hh- hah- oh, hngtsxchht! Haktschiu!”

Eliseo held Padgett close as he sneezed again, spray and more mess pooling now, a wet heat.  Each of the sneezes sounded desperate, a bid to free Padgett from the torturous urge, from his illness itself.  They left him breathless, leaning on Eliseo for support.  Eliseo came into the handkerchief with a strangled cry.

Coming down, he rubbed Padgett’s back and murmured sweet nothings to him as he tried to catch his breath.  Padgett’s face was wet with mess and tears from his efforts.  His eyelids looked tender and pink.  Eliseo kissed his forehead under his unruly bangs. 

“Back to the rooms?” he asked, when they had both calmed enough to move without drawing suspicion.

“Yes,” replied Padgett.  When he shifted, Eliseo could feel the length of Padgett’s arousal press against his thigh.  “You’re not the only one.  And I want a bath.”

“I’ll have one drawn for you.”  Eliseo fixed his trousers, wadding the handkerchief into his pocket.

Eliseo sighed with an edge of frustration.  “Maybe.  Marcello is having his prospective wife around at the beginning of the season.  He’s asked for me to get the place into shape for entertaining her family.  He’s far too busy to do it himself, of course.  Playing with his new cutter down on the Niamh.  I think he means to race it.”  He leaned his cheek on his palm.  “The sketch he sent me made it look like a potato with sails, but I expect it’s prettier in person.”

Padgett sniffed.  “Not very responsible of him.”  His voice was a bit thick with congestion, but his tone was good-natured.  Eliseo tried not to stare at Padgett’s red nose, but he wasn’t sure whether he was successful.  

“Not particularly.  But that’s Marcello for you.”

Padgett sat up and laid his jacket on the seat beside him.  “What happens if you can’t make those preparations?”  He paused for a moment, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket.  “Anythih- hh– anything bad?  Hahktsch!”

“Huh?”  Eliseo licked his lips.  “Ah, he’d probably have to come down a few days earlier…”

Padgett sneezed again, a wet sound not well muffled by the cloth.  “Haptschiu!”  Without blowing his nose, he said, “You couldn’t work if you were sick. I wouldn’t let you.”

A thrill went through Eliseo from his heart to his groin, but he started to shake his head.  “Padgett.”

“Come here, Eli.”  Padgett held out a hand, putting the handkerchief to the side. “You’re hardly ever sick.  You might not even catch it.”  He smiled slyly.  “And you’ve been so good to me the past few days.  You must have been struggling.”

“For the love of God.”  Eliseo could feel himself blushing scarlet… and his trousers felt awfully tight all of a sudden.  “You are a scoundrel and a menace.”  He lowered his voice.  “What exactly do you mean to do in a carriage, Padgett?”  

“Whatever you’ll let me,” Padgett replied, matching his volume to Eliseo’s.  It came out sultry, heightened by the roughness of his voice.  Still, seeing that Eliseo was making no move to get up, Padgett braced a hand on the gently swaying carriage wall and inserted himself onto the bench seat beside his lover.  Eliseo made a token protest, but that was all.  When Padgett took his hands and laced their fingers, Eliseo found himself mute, gaze fixed on the wetness gathered at Padgett’s nostrils.

“We have to be quiet,” he said, finally, just to say something.

Indulgent, Padgett nodded.  “Of course, my Lord; quiet as church mice.  Now, will you kiss me?”

Their mouths met in a bloom of heat.  Padgett pressed their tongues together, treasured Eliseo’s lips, nipped until Eliseo deepened the kiss.  Between breaths, he chased Padgett’s mouth with his own, caught up, until he was practically in Padgett’s lap.  Padgett ran his hands down Eliseo’s back, reassuring, encouraging, until he could slip them up under the edge of Eliseo’s waistcoat and worry his shirttails from his waistband like an excited dog with an errant pillow.

Eliseo laid a hand alongside Padgett’s jaw, slipped his fingers into the unruly curls at Padgett’s nape, and kissed his nose.  He wasn’t shy; he drew his tongue over Padgett’s septum, tasted salt, pressed his lips to gently crush a nostril closed.  He shut his eyes in pleasure.  When Padgett’s breath hitched moments later, Eliseo drew back, flushed and loose, resting his thumb at the corner of Padgett’s lips.  “I want you to sneeze on me,” he said, almost inaudible over the carriage wheels but straightforward and plainly desirous.

Padgett smiled.  Eliseo was ever beautiful to him, but no more so than when he was free with himself.  “Hh- hh- I will, Eli.  Your neck?”  He could feel his nostrils flaring and knew his nose was running by the slick feeling on his lip and Eliseo’s soft moan both.  

“No,” Eliseo said.  He tilted his face and kissed Padgett again.  He didn’t move far after.

Padgett let his eyes slip closed and gave over to the itch in his nose.  It was deep-seated, caught in his sinuses, radiating outward in scratchy hints of irritation.  He had been at its mercy all of the previous day, so much so that Eliseo had postponed their trip, although probably equally for his own peace of mind as Padgett’s health.  He had no reservations now, waiting for Padgett to give in, face upturned.

“Hh- hah- hahktschiu!”  Padgett ducked forward, overcome in a rush.  Mess ran down over his chin; its evacuation filled him with a momentary ease, a relief from the thick prison of congestion.  Eliseo moaned and pressed closer.  His face was lightly dusted with droplets and now his mouth was on Padgett’s again.  Sighing into the kiss, skin heated, Eliseo had given up any pretense of reluctance.  He rocked his hips, rubbed his clothed erection against Padgett’s thigh.  His tongue darted out again and he started to lave Padgett’s lip and streaming nose.

Padgett groaned and moved to undo Eliseo’s fly before his smallclothes became a casualty.  He remembered the first time they did this and how shy Eliseo had been then, although he’d had even less control over his body’s actions.  “I love you so much,” Padgett said, trading kisses, letting Eliseo have him.  “You’ll make me hih- make me sn- nnh– sneeze again, love.”

“Ah, please,” Eliseo moaned, and he pressed his cock into Padgett’s palm, overeager.  “You ruinous-  you ruin me.”

“Hh-hold still, easy,” Padgett murmured, nuzzling against Eliseo’s chin, then his cheek.  The itch had come back and he trembled with it, chest working fitfully.  “Hh- hah- hhih-”  He drew back again, felt Eliseo tense in his lap.  “Hakschtcht!  Huh- huhktschiuh!”  Again, the relief, a hot tension through his abdomen. He felt Eliseo’s thighs close around his own, felt Eliseo’s cock throb in his palm.  He closed his fingers around it, started to stroke.  He was almost overwhelmed with an urge to take down Eliseo’s trousers and bury himself between those thighs but- but the carriage bumped over a rut in the road and he was shaken unfortunately back to the reality of where they were.

It didn’t seem to bother Eliseo anymore.  He rocked into the circle of Padgett’s fingers, his own precome serving to slick the way, raining kisses over Padgett’s face. “When we get to the hotel,” he said, half-gasping, “ I want you to sneeze on my cock.”  He moaned.  “Fuck, fuck-”

“God, Eli, I will,” Padgett groaned.  He increased his pace.  “Come for me, baby, come on.”  

It didn’t take long.  Never a special fan of sport, Eliseo was nonetheless more than fit for his lover.  He keened with his release, tucking his face into Padgett’s shoulder to muffle his voice.  Whether from temporary deafness or inviolable decorum, the coachman kept on without an inquiry.  Padgett enfolded Eliseo into a tight embrace and rocked him gently through his orgasm, his own erection trapped in his breeches still. He had no trouble encouraging Eliseo to see to it when the latter had calmed.

Eliseo looked up from his papers, a pair of spectacles perched on his nose.  He was quick to hide them when he saw who it was.  “You’re back,” he said, and though his tone was warm, his voice was rough with disuse, or maybe coughing.  He got up from the desk to greet Padgett with open arms.  Padgett noticed as they embraced that Eliseo was wearing a jacket despite the fire blazing in the grate.  He sighed.

“I’m back.”  He pressed a kiss to Eliseo’s forehead.  “You have a fever.  The letter I received in Brighton said you weren’t well, so why is it that you’re not in bed?”

“Who else was writing to you in Brighton?” Eliseo asked, irritated.  “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Your sister Brielle.”  Padgett let Eliseo go, but followed him back to the desk. “She was worried for you.  She said you hadn’t made it your parents’ for the winter ball.”  He looked down at Eliseo’s papers and found that he’d been doing more of the accounting.  Pages of sums crowded the writing surface along with furniture catalogs and real estate listings.  The Jorvalds were selling a property in Camden and were auctioning most of the interior contents, it seemed.  Of course Eliseo didn’t trust the numbers to his siblings, but Padgett didn’t understand why he couldn’t hire a consulting accountant to help with the workload.

Eliseo scoffed as he rummaged for a pen.  “My parents, good-intentioned as they are, are still waiting for me to fall for a society girl and propose at such and such a ball.  It would have been an endless parade of dances with sharks in satin and heels.  You weren’t even going to be there, so what would have been the point?”  He drew his ledger closer.

Padgett put a hand over the pages.  “Fine, no ball.  But she wasn’t wrong; you’re ill, and it’s easy to tell.  Won’t you put this up for now and lay down?”

“You’ve caught me in the middle of something.”  Eliseo pushed Padgett’s hand away.  “I just need to… Need to.”  He paused, blinking, then his mouth fell open softly and he ducked into his hands.  “Ecktsch!  Hehktscht!”

“Need to sneeze?” Padgett asked, tugging a slightly crumpled handkerchief from his pocket.  He passed it over.  “Bless you, Eli.  You sound rough.”

Eliseo wiped his palms off, blushing, and settled the handkerchief around his nose to catch another sneeze, this one sounding wetter.  “Hhktschnght!”  He coughed.  “I’m fine.”

“Well,” said Padgett, rising.  “I’ve been travelling all day, so I think I’m going to turn in.  Is there a room upstairs free?”  He gathered his bag.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Eliseo said.  “I’m not going to house you with the servants.  You’ll get a proper guest room.  The- hh- hngktsch! green room is free.”  He blew his nose, leaning on the desk.  

“The green room?  Oh.” Padgett cleared his throat.  “...I would have liked to stay in your room.  But I could see how that might be misconstrued.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Eliseo said, standing again as well.  His blue eyes were shadowed, but he looked flustered.  “It’s just that the green room has been freshly turned over and mine is… somewhat chaotic.”

Padgett went to the door.  “That hasn’t mattered before now.  You know, it’s been a long month away for me, but I do understand if it’s been somewhat out-of-sight, out-of-mind for y-”

“No!”  Eliseo had moved quickly across the room and now caught Padgett’s sleeve.  “No, you fool, I just don’t want you to get sick!”  He was panting slightly, eyes bright.  When he met Padgett’s gaze, though, he scowled.  “You’re an ass.”

Padgett couldn’t hide his smile, and he took Eliseo into his arms again.  “You’ve admitted it, now.  Won’t you feel better tucked up with me?  I’ll bring you soup and medicine, I’ll rub your shoulders…”  He nuzzled Eliseo’s cheek.  “I don’t mind catching your cold.  I’d probably catch it anyway, even from the green room.”

Eliseo blushed.  “I would hope to avoid that.”

“I remember giving you a cold once upon a time,” Padgett said softly, nuzzling him.  “You were all for that.”

“That was different!”

Padgett laughed.  “I’m sorry, you’re getting all red.  I shouldn’t tease you when you have a fever.”  He kissed Eliseo’s cheek.  “Let’s go to bed.”

Eliseo let Padgett lead him through into his bedroom, undress him from his working clothes, and put him in a nightshirt instead.  He let Padgett bring him soup and tea and brush his hair.  And he let Padgett curl up beside him in his four-poster when he was starting to fall asleep.

“You know I did miss you,” he mumbled, face to face with Padgett under the down comforter.  “Of course I did.  It felt as though I’d misplaced my own heart.”

Padgett pressed their lips together, running his hand comfortingly over Eliseo’s hip.  “I know.  I read your letters every day while I waited for a new one.  I’m very glad to be home.”  He swept Eliseo’s bangs from his face.  “Now, let’s just focus on getting you better so we can have a proper reunion.”

Padgett rubbed his nose and looked over to Eliseo with a smile.  "You've gone quiet," he said fondly. "I hope you're not thinking about work. Haven't you been busy enough this week?" The only one among his siblings with a head for numbers, Eliseo had been roped into managing the Jorvalds' several properties and their land interests. He was quite good at the work, but Padgett lamented how it kept Eliseo inside more often than not.  He thought that Eliseo, bright and blond, could use some sun; otherwise he tended to look a bit faded.

"Oh no," Eliseo replied. "I'm sorry if I seemed far away." He leaned over across the plaid blanket to steal a kiss, something Padgett was more than willing to allow. "Just enjoying the view. How are you finding it?"

Padgett chuckled. "Are you talking about me or the lupines?" He took Eliseo's hand on the blanket. "I'm enjoying it very much. As soon as I heard the manor had such a display, I was intrigued. I'm honestly surprised we're alone today. No society ladies wanted a tour?"

"I sent them to the back gardens. They'll be diverted by the Bernini fountain and the topiary."  The manor was the site of very frequent visitations from the elite families in the area and even some of the townspeople as well.  Usually Eliseo ignored them completely, but today he'd been motivated to provide himself some privacy.

"Ah, of course." Padgett rubbed his nose again. "How many acres did you say you had?" 

"Well, Bellecourt is 650," Eliseo replied. "Or did you mean in total?"

"All that and you don't keep anything but carriage horses," Padgett sighed. "What a shih- shame." He pinched the bridge of his nose.

Eliseo blinked, distracted. "What? Oh. The horses again." He tried to pull his gaze from Padgett's fingers. "You're single-minded. I did tell you that none of the family really likes to ride for pleasure."  He'd barely passed his physical exams on horseback with Padgett's help back at the Academy and had steered clear of them ever since.  But Padgett had a fondness for all creatures, up to and including irascible mares.  "Perhaps if you become a more permanent resident, I will order the building of a stable." 

Padgett leaned over to him, grinning. "Permanent as in you'll hire me, my Lord, or did you just float the possibility of marriage?"  His eyes sparkled with an opalescent gleam.

"Don't think I'll be down there cavorting with you," Eliseo soldiered on, feeling hot under the collar. "You know the hay makes me..." Padgett had become very close. In fact, he was almost climbing over Eliseo's lap.  "Makes me-"

"Sneeze," Padgett finished for him, looking coy.  "I remember."  He leaned more forward still and drew Eliseo into a lingering kiss. His lips were soft and insistent, and he opened Eliseo's mouth with his tongue.  The kiss tasted of lemonade.  Before Eliseo could protest - as if he would - Padgett had placed a hand at the back of his head and taken him down to the blanket so he was laying back in the sunshine with the shade of Padgett over him.  Their bodies were flush in a most interesting way.

Eliseo could feel himself blushing now, and he was breathless. "Yes," he finally managed, voice soft.  "That's right."

"You know," said Padgett, sniffling, wrinkling his nose, "I think something out here might be setting me off."

"Hadn't noticed," Eliseo lied, obviously, and Padgett laughed.  He bit his lip and reached up to touch Padgett's cheek.  "You're awful.  You should have told me if you were going to have a reaction.  It's not the lupines, is it?"

"It’s not," said Padgett, leaning into his touch.  "It's probably ragweed.  Did you know the pollen can travel long distances on the wind?"  He kissed Eliseo again, then nuzzled their noses together.  It didn't escape his notice that Eliseo's hips rocked upward at the same time.  "It bothers me much more in the autumn.  Right now, I'm just..."  He trailed off, eyes narrowing, but the moment passed.  He sniffled again.  "I'm just a little affected."

Eliseo sighed lightly in frustration.  His fingers found Padgett's buttons and he started to undo them.  "Maybe a more prolonged exposure will have an effect," he said, reaching the end of Padgett's shirt and pulling it open.  "Take some deep breaths.  They're calming."

Padgett laughed loudly and nipped Eliseo's jaw.  "You're delightful," he said.  "And a bit scary."  He helped Eliseo with his suspenders and belt, sitting back for a moment to slip off the trappings and put them to the side.  He kicked his shoes off.

"I trust you to know your own limits," Eliseo replied primly.  "And-" Even knowing they were alone in the field, and separated from the house by almost a mile of grass besides, he lowered his voice.  "I just know what I like."

"Oh, and will you tell me again?" Padgett asked, tugging Eliseo's belt and trousers off.  He pulled the pant legs carefully over Eliseo's black leather boots, ornately stitched and high-heeled.  He wanted the boots left on.  "I love it whih- hh when you say it."  He kissed Eliseo's thigh and then looked at him through his ebony bangs.

Eliseo was still blushing.  He might never get over it.  But he didn't hesitate this time.  He reached out to tug Padgett close again, murmuring against his lover's cheek.  "Honey, I want you to sneeze for me."  His pale blue eyes were half-lidded with desire.

Padgett brought their mouths together again.  "I'll see what I can do."

The picnic hadn't been a pretense - they'd had a very nice lunch - but Eliseo wasn't surprised when Padgett took a pair of towels and a bottle of oil from the picnic basket.  He made himself comfortable with a makeshift pillow and a towel under his hips, and then Padgett slid into him, one of Eliseo's legs over his shoulder, boot commandingly in the air.  They were still limber from the morning, and Eliseo moaned sweetly but didn't tense when Padgett was fully encompassed inside him.  "I love you," he sighed.  "Talk to me?"

"How much air do you think I have?" Padgett grumbled, but he knew Eliseo liked to listen to his breath catch and stumble.  He took a moment to massage his nostrils as he let Eliseo get used to the stretch.  "You look so good like this."  Eliseo's hair was falling from its twist already and fanning over the blanket like a halo.  His skin was rosy with his desire.  Padgett groaned and shifted.  "If I could paint, I would paint you just like this."

"Flattery," Eliseo murmured, pleased as punch.  He touched Padgett's sides, rubbed encouragingly.  "I'm okay.  I'm ready."

Padgett hummed in acknowledgement and started to move his hips.  He knew by now the angle that could make Eliseo crazy, and he teased up to it with steady thrusts.  All the while, he spoke sweet nothings or tried to rile Eliseo into blushing even more.  There was an extra edge to their excitement being outside, the sun gilding their skin with buttery light.  Their cries mingled with the the birds', and when Eliseo came, he didn't bother to try and muffle his voice.  No one would hear them here.  Padgett followed him over the edge with his own shout, and they both laughed breathlessly when it startled a pigeon into flight.  Padgett eased himself down onto Eliseo, careful not to drop too quickly, and started to kiss him passionately as they both relaxed through their orgasm and the tender moments afterward.

After a few minutes, Padgett felt Eliseo's fingers on his cheek.  He drew back.  Eliseo was looking up at him, eyebrows raised, looking half wry and all spoiled. "You didn't sneeze," he said.

Padgett blinked.  "I didn't?"  He sniffed.  There was a slight prickle in the back of his sinuses, but he certainly didn't feel as he did in the autumn when the ragweed was in full swing.  "I didn't even notice, my love.  I'm sorry."  He nuzzled Eliseo's nose with his own again.  "It looks like I might have overestimated the pollen's effect.  What do you want to do?"

Eliseo reached to the side of them, off the blanket, and plucked a long-stemmed blade of grass.  He twirled it between his fingers.

"Let me sit up."  Padgett rose and settled himself with his legs outstretched on the blanket, sticking his hands out behind him to brace himself up.  "It's going to be messy, my love," he warned.  "Did you bring a handkerchief?"

"I always have one in my vest," Eliseo replied, settling himself on Padgett's thighs.  "But you can have it after.  Is that okay?"  He reached back to take down his hair completely and it uncurled to hang heavy around his shoulders.  He spun the grass again.  Eliseo's cock had softened somewhat after his orgasm, but Padgett was sure he would come again from this.

"Yes, Eli."  Padgett sniffled a little to work him up.  "Whenever you're ready." 

Eliseo touched Padgett’s chin with his left hand and lifted the grass with his other, settling the point just inside Padgett’s left nostril so that it pricked the inside. Padgett settled his hand around Eliseo’s lower back. They’d done this before in the bedroom.  Padgett was always quite keen to indulge Eliseo if he felt well - and if he didn’t, then he was probably sneezing already and Eliseo could find pleasure while taking care of him.

Eliseo traced the edges of Padgett’s nose, eliciting a gasp, and then pressed the grass carefully further inside to touch the sensitive membrane at the back.  Padgett’s nostrils flared and his breath started to catch.  The low-level burn of the pollen in the air had been joined by a much more prominent itch from the grass.  Moisture began to gather as his body tried to fight the irritation.

Eliseo moaned very softly under his breath and pressed his cock against Padgett’s.  As Padgett has expected, Eliseo was quite hard again, his cock hot.

“Ih- it’s wh- working,” Padgett managed, letting his eyes close, sniffling. He took a deeper breath, hitched.  “I’m hh gonna snih-” He tightened his hold on Eliseo’s waist and ducked forward.  “Huhkscht!”  His nose had started to run, and he wasn’t done yet.  “Hh- huhptksch!”  That one produced more mess, and Padgett lifted a hand to wipe some of it away from his chin.

“Bless you,” crooned Eliseo, flushed again, embarrassed but unable to deny how very turned on he was.  He drew out the grass, sodden now, and kissed Padgett gently.  “Again, honey.  Please?  I’m close.”

Padgett plucked a new blade of grass himself and leaned in to nuzzle Eliseo’s shoulder.  “As you wish, my love.”  He kissed the tender skin there, then started to tease himself, a little more aggressively, looking for the angle that would produce the best results.  His nostrils were twitching as he worked, and he gasped, moaned a little himself in frustration or pleasure. He brushed the tip of the grass just at the back of his nose and-

“Hrushktcht!”  There it was.  He pressed his nose to Eliseo’s shoulder, letting the mess pool against his neck.  “Ahkttscht!  Kschtt!  Hh- huh- Huhkttschiu!”

Eliseo keened and clutched Padgett’s arm as he came again in a heady rush, painting Padgett’s belly with his release.  Padgett pressed another sneeze against him and Eliseo closed his eyes, letting the orgasm take him.

In the aftermath, Padgett let Eliseo kiss his face clean as he used the towel to dry them off and make them presentable again.  They dressed again, and none too soon, for it seemed that the society women had grown bored with the Bernini and wanted to make their own visit to the Lupine Lawn.  Well, the summer was early yet.  Padgett and Eliseo left to return to the house, picnic things packed up.