#nomtent

Quinn’s phone dings.

Sorry;;

Laine and Quinn have been dating for a little over a month now. Of course, it’s not like they haven’t known each other for more than half a year, and been schoolmates for longer— They just went at their own pace. Not that Quinn was bothered by it, he knew Laine had a lot to work out before they could date. And that was okay, he didn’t mind waiting. The point was…

(Quinn never considered himself to be an overthinker, but Laine had a tendency to change that.)

Quinn looks up from his phone, trying not to panic. Why did Laine text him, “sorry?” They’re sitting right next to each other. Was he anxious? Overwhelmed? It was their first time out drinking with a friend group, after all.

He looks up, fingers tapping against his phone as he does. ‘Are you oka—’

“hhiH-’ Iish-! -IISh-!.. , h’’ihshU—!!”

Oh. (Laine had a tendency to change other things about him, too.)

Quinn is forcing his voice not to crack, because he’ll be damned if he isn’t the one to say it first. “Bless you!” He says, trying not to seem too enthusiastic. The circle around the table responds in a chorus of echos. Laine turns red, then crimson when Quinn rests his hand on his thigh under the table.

“Sorry..” He murmurs, looking away. His ears are redder than his nose, but that should change by the end of the night. Quinn’s told him he obviously finds his sneezes attractive, but Laine seems to get violently embarrassed nonetheless. Laine ducks his head down, furiously swiping at his phone to avoid eye contact with anyone.

Another ding sounds from Quinn’s own phone, and he silences it. Laine again, for some reason, even though they’re literally sitting so close that they’re touching.

“Sorry”, Laine’s texted a second time. Before Quinn can wonder, “for what?”, Laine starts typing again.

I couldn’t hold it back…

Oh?

Why are you sorry? ;)

Quinn types back, and against his better judgment, he adds a little emoji at the end. 

Because I don’t want to turn you on. I’m sorry..

Oh. Sweet, sweet Laine, worrying about him over something as simple as a bodily function. That won’t do, the last thing he wants is Laine to feel bad over sneezing. And anyway, he underestimates Quinn’s ability as an exhibitionist. He’ll hold out just fine.

Before he can text Laine back, Quinn watches his head lift gently. Through a buildup, he takes the effort to mouth yet another breathy, “sorry” (s, soriiH--) as he succumbs to another fit. This one, true to his promises, is stifled into almost near silence. He pinches his nose and his head jolts forward violently, the sneezes remaining unblessed. He’s managed to keep them quiet enough that no one else around the table notices, and wouldn't unless they were looking his direction.

Quinn very much notices. He lifts a hand to put on Laine’s shoulder, but quickly pulls it back as he gears up again, hands lifting to his face. Stifling makes him sneeze even more. Quinn knows that better than anyone. He’d hope Laine does by now, too, but that didn’t seem to be the case. 

Laine jerks forward again, folding into himself. “hhIh— HIh’’—nt!! hIh’ kT. !! —Ikt !! —hiIh’ IKt!--!chuuh.…” The last one escapes his grasp, and someone else in the party is looking up in concern now. 

“Laine.” Quinn whispers gently. Laine nods, or tries to, stifling two more tearful sneezes in the process. 

“Don’t hold them back, hun.” He expects that to work, as it usually does, but Laine shakes his head no and sniffles violently. 

“ ‘M alright.” He whispers back. Quinn gives him a look, the kind that says no you aren’t, and i know you, and YOU know you, and we both know you won’t stop sneezing if you start like this. Laine pretends he doesn’t know what the look means (he does), and picks his drink back up. It’s something mixed and on the sweeter side, as he’s not a huge drinker. Which is exactly why Quinn is sipping on a 0% beer instead of joining the fun—As much as he’d like to, he wants to let Laine have the experience tonight. 

Though it seems like something is setting him off, which kind of takes away from all that. But, whatever. 

“Just…,” he watches Laine down the rest of the drink as someone calls for cheers. “Don’t like, hurt yourself.” 

“I won’t,” he murmurs happily, like someone with zero alcohol tolerance would, and nestles into Quinn’s shoulder. He sniffles a couple times, more than a couple, but the worst of it seems to be over. Quinn underestimates Laine’s nose, though. 

“hAh’ -ITt’schue!!” Quinn’s body jolts as, seemingly out of nowhere, his boyfriend sneezes breathily into his chest. Again. And again. And again. He raises his arms up almost in question, but it seems Laine can’t do much else but sneeze. Sneeze, or blink hazily between fits while another was soon to come. He either couldn’t stifle, or didn’t care to. Likely the former. 

“Bless— Bless you,” Quinn offers. As much as he is turned on, he is a little concerned as to what is bringing this on. The rest of their friend group falls silent, a couple offering blessings, most offering questions of, ‘are you okay?’ It’s out of pure concern, but Quinn knows any attention would just make Laine more nervous. 

Holding his breath, Laine looks up from the shield of Quinn’s sweatshirt. “Sorry,” he says, “I’m okay. Just, “ his breath hitches, “ sensitive.” Another sniffle, and Quinn could tell he’s probably reaching his limit. Pinching his nose, he watches Laine reach for his phone. 

Quinn almost sighs with amusement as he leans down to see what Laine is texting. He doesn’t need to wait for him to send it anyway.

Wuinn can w wego. now

The heat from Quinn’s dick goes straight to his fucking chest as he’s overwhelmed with the urge to do nothing but take care of his boyfriend. He gently lifts Laine up, who wobbles a little, and oh he’s drunk drunk. He barely bothers with an excuse, just a quick, “Bathroom.” It’s not like anyone doesn’t know why anyway. 

Quinn laces his hand with Laine’s, the other one preoccupied with being shoved up to his twitching nose. He pulls the other man into a stall, flipping himself against the wall and holding Laine against his sweatshirt. It’ll be damp soon, but he sure as hell doesn’t mind. 

“There’s no one in here,” he says, as Laine begins to hitch, loudly. “Let them out.” 

And Laine does, taking a gasping breath as the sneeze he’s been holding in this whole time finally peaks. 

“hIE’ ‘iEESHuH!! - hIih—!”

The rest come out one after another, overlapping as his body struggles to keep up with how badly he needs to sneeze. 

He looks up, panting, and stares at Quinn. Expectantly, almost.

“Bless— Already done?” Quinn sighs, feigning annoyance.

“-.. yes ..h ..nh.. ‘IT’schuu h!” Laine stutters out, struggling to stop before another sneeze tumbles out anyway.

“There we go. Bless you, hun,” Quinn says, in a tone that is not at all appropriate for a public bathroom stall. Not his fault his boyfriend was this hot.

“Mmh. Thank yh…” Laine pants out. His pale face is flushed from the alcohol, nose equally as red by now. He sniffles, then laughs. “I feel funny..”

Is his tolerance really that low? “Yeah, bud. You’re a bit drunk.”

“Ohhhh.” Laine nods gently, as if it’s needed. “First time.” He says, and sneezes three more times. 

“You, what do you mean its your—”

“Love you.” Laine murmurs, and Quinn’s heart nearly stops. He must really be far gone. Thankfully, he probably won’t remember all this after, and Quinn mentally says it back. A blessing in disguise, he decides. 

“Think..,” Laine starts, then sneezes once. “Thi ..h..,” a second time. He sniffles angrily, and spits it all out in one go. “ThinkI’mAllergicTosomethinghiH-!” It likes the word triggers him, and he sneezes eight more times, open and breathy. Quinn has to rub his thighs together to keep his fucking dick at bay, and actually use his brain. 

“Oh,” again. Quinn only knows this because he’s such a perv. “It’s the..” Laine sneezes, and he stutters in his thought. “It’s the drink. Makes histamines, or whatever.”

“Oh,” this time from Laine. But he doesn’t sound like he honestly cares, or even understands right now. “Hm, ok. Let’s… go home” He nods to himself again. “I’m not done yet.”

Quinn looks at him puzzledly. Does he want to go home? Or not?

Laine clarifies like it’s obvious. “Sneezing. Not done.” He smiles up at Quinn, sniffling hard to prove his point “The rest is for you.” He giggles to himself.

Cool. Today is the day Quinn fucking dies and ascends into heaven. 

An wishes he could freeze this moment in time. Not in the way that an ice pack stings when you hold it bare-handed, but how honey liquidates when poured into warm tea.

Or something like that. An’s never been good with words. Or intimacy. So the fact that he, right now, is curled around his boyfriends frame is fucking insane. Dante shifts, and it all feels too real. In a nice way, An thinks. It may have taken them a damn year to get to this point, and even longer for him to be in close capacity with someone--physical affection was always an impossible hurdle for him. 

Except for one damn thing. An’s nose fucking itches. Normally, he couldn’t give less of a fuck. Sneeze once, get over with it, move on. An didn’t care, Dante didn’t care, they were close enough that it just didn’t matter. Unlike Dante, who got weirdly shy (about sneezing of all things), An was normal, thank you very much. But this time, something was different, bordering frustrating. The itch kept coming back; he’d sneezed twice already, and it seriously wasn’t doing anything to bring relief. His eyes stung, he couldn’t stop blinking, and he perpetually felt halfway to a sneeze.

An, for the record, did not have any allergies. That was a fact. Dante did, and he didn’t. Simple as that.

The feeling culminated, and An gasped, expression drawing up. “hHI--hh’ISHEW!! --IISHeWW!--SHEW-!! Agh…” The sneezes were half muffled into Dante’s shoulder, as the other party shivered in surprised. 

“Bless you, bless you, bless you,” Dante murmurs, half asleep. “Five times, actually. Are you coming down with something?” He rolls over to feel An’s forehead. An just jerks forward with another sneeze, nearly hitting Dante’s head with the force of it. Then another. Another, this one more tired, his body trying to get rid of the residual itch.

“No,” An sniffles, and it’s audible in his voice. “I’d tell you if I was.” He’s still ducked down, but he can just imagine Dante’s frown from how he talked, his brow probably furrowing. 

“No, An.. no you wouldn’t.” It’s spoken with a sigh, and he turns his boyfriend’s face back upward. “Come here.” 

An brings his head up and sniffles again. It’s hard not to, with this damn itch. 

“Well…” Dante’s hand is soft, still a bit warm from the shower he’d just taken. “It doesn’t seem like you have a fever, at least.” He’s still got a look of concerned staining his face, and An hates that he’s worrying so much over him. He fine. He goes to say just that, but as soon as he makes the mistake of taking a breath though his nose, its over.

“hiIH’--ISHuew-! --IISHyyw! Sorry, I have to, ha--” Well it’s a little late for a warning, he barely manages to think as his breath draws up again. “hiHII’SHUU!! hIShUH! --IISHU--! ..haH.?! -- uh’IIshyiEW-!!” An doesn’t think he’s ever…sneezed as forcefully, as that last bit. All he can manage is bringing his hands up in the general direction of his face, twisting slightly away from Dante.

“Have to sneeze. Well, had to.” An finishes breathlessly, as if the declaration is still anywhere near needed. 

“Bless you hun, jeez,” Dante trails off. “Is something bothering you..? If you’re sure you’re not sick, that is.” He leans to pull An closer, tugging him inwards and carding his hands through his boyfriends hair.

“Not…,” An bites down on his tongue, trying to get through one damn sentence without sneezing again. “Sick. Just my,” he’s cut off by and itchy triple. “Just my, snF. Nose. Itches. My eyes are fuckin’ watering, I dunno what the hell it is.”

Dante mentally runs through the places tissues may be located in the room, but doesn’t want to get up just yet to grab some. For now, he’s selfishly too comfortable with An tucked into his chest. “You think you’re allergic to anything?”

“No.” The answer is quick. “I don’t get allergies.”

Dante almost sighs. “That’s… yes, I know, but they can develop.” He breaches the explanation before An has to get over his pride to ask. “Usually, for me, it makes my nose itch a lot. And eyes, sometimes face… Just, irritation. Anything like that?” Another “no,” because An tends to think he knows every signal his body does and doesn’t send him (and really, it’s not his strong suit. He’s got a tendency to do thinks like forget to drink water for a day, simply because he doesn’t sense his body’s ask for it.)

An leans in to Dante’s neck, almost pouting. He goes to nibble it as a distraction, inhaling, and that is when it hits him. That is absolutely, one hundred percent when it hits him. Dante smells different. Like a flowery sort of scent.  And it fucking burns. 

“DanT--” He can’t even stutter out the name before he ducks into Dante’ hoodie collar. “H’EESH’’-IEW! iisHUYEW--!--ISHHu’--,  IIISH--! !!  SNf,.. hEH…isiHUIIEW! hUH’USHuIEW! hhh..” He can barely get a breath in, managing to pull himself from Dante and whatever the hell that smell is before flipping around.

He covers his face with teary eyes, half-glaring at Dante. “You…hhI’ISShuIEW!-- ISShu! You, your—“ Dante looks confused, rightfully so. 

“You smell like something,” An manages to choke out, before sniffling and gearing up for yet another sneeze. They’re starting to lower in intensity, and grow in number. “hiH’ISShuiew!--h’ISHUEw!” His breathing ragged, he manages to stutter out ,“Allergic…” before falling victim to another one of his rapid fits.

Scent. Oh, yes. That must’ve been the bodywash Dante had used just half an hour before. He’d thought it smelled nice, but apparently, An’s immune system seemed to disagree. 

“Oh, honey..” Dante got up quickly, backing away. He managed to fish a box of tissues out of An’s nightstand drawer, and all but tossed them over to avoid being too close. “I’m sorry, I was using a new soap. I guess you do have allergies, then…” An, nose buried deep into his own sleeve, could only answer with a wet sniffle. He didn’t dare take the pressure off his nose in fear of starting up again, and just nodded in response.

“I,” Dante moved towards the door, “am going to shower now. With my normal soap.” An looks up at him, and before he can even say anything, Dante adds: “No, you cannot come with me. You’re already sneezing your head off, that defeats the point.” 

An sighs, one more tired sneeze echoing off the walls. “You know me too well, babe.” Yes, Dante thinks, yes I do. “Come lay with me afterwards…?”  Even if Dante were to say no (which, he wouldn’t) An’s puppy eyes could rival an actual puppy.

Sangonomiya Kokomi had always been nothing if not prepared. It felt natural to her, and more importantly, felt secure to her people.

So of course, today was no different. Even if she was… a bit under the weather. Her schedule hadn’t allowed for as much sleep as she liked, yes, but she’d slotted enough time to pick up some medicine; something for her headache, something to curb the congestion, and a warm tea. If it was up to her jurisdiction, then yes, she’d spend the whole day in bed. But the army, though mostly dormant, had required an overview on some sort of thing they were working on (her brain was too foggy to recall what). It’d already been over with General Gorou, so the last step was her.

Yes, she may have had a hint of a cold, but no worry was needed. She had gotten medicine. And everything would be just fine.

“Um, Your Excellency…?”

If Gorou would just…let her be. He was one of the most valued members of her team, truly. She enjoyed working with him. But right now, she couldn’t think about answering his question without taking her mind off her nose. And that wasn’t going to happen until she found a handkerchief.

She stayed silent.

“Your Excellency, I’m sorry to bother, but--”

Kokomi went to answer, or at least she tried.

“G--” a pause. “hIHt…--HTTschhIW!!” Oh. Well, there goes that.

“Um, bless you, Your Excellency.” Gorou looked concerned. That wasn’t good.

“I just wanted to ask your opinion on this here…” He began to spread a document out on the table in front of them, but paused.

“Bless you. Again.” Kokomi cursed Gorou’s acute sense of hearing, slowly gearing up to another sneeze. Then another. And again. Of course, she can’t get away with just one.

“Sure,” Kokomi grinds out, rubbing her palm to her nose. Does her voice sound congested? Hopefully not. But if it does, Gorou can probably tell. Usually she’s grateful for his perceptiveness, but for now she just wants to finish today quietly. And rest.

“Your Excellency…” How many times is Gorou going to say that today? “I apologize if I’m intruding, but, I have to ask. Are you feeling alright today?” “Yes.” Gorou keeps staring at her. “I have something of a cold, but I took medicine, so it’s perfectly alright. No need for concern.” She tries to sniffle to seem more collected, but it backfires. “HT. --nTT- chIEuH!!” The narrowly- successful stifle is caught into the back of her wrist.

“This may be bold of me, Your Excellency,” Gorou fidgets with a piece of fabric on his uniform, “But respectfully, I don’t think that will be enough. This revision can wait until tomorrow.”

“Listen, I know.” Is the medicine wearing off? Kokomi doesn’t particularly remember the duration it lasted,” She sniffles again. “I’m going to go home, then rest in my spot, alright? For the rest of the day. I don’t wish to neglect my health, I just wanted to finish signing these papers today. Thank you, Gorou.”

“Oh, ok, good!” Gorou’s ears flick as he pushes the paper closer to his colleague. “What’s your, uh, spot? Your house?” Kokomi’s head is fuzzy. The wind blows, and it’s not chilly, but it still makes her shiver. “Yes. The…” She just wants to get to her hideout on the island. There’s a warm bath, tissue paper, and a nice book waiting for her there. “Yeah, it’s…don’t worry about it. On the island. Ask the traveler if you need anything, okay?” Her speech is starting to lack it’s usual formality. “I’ll just be there.”

Gorou nods, slowly. “Alright, I’ll… talk to the traveler. Please, You Excellency, stay safe on your travels home.”

____________________________________________________________________________ Kokomi near collapses once she takes the first step into her base. She forces herself to pick up the cot from her shelf, and roll it out onto one of her benches. Thankfully, it’s fairly comfortable. She’s well since stocked her shelves and prepared for a situation like this.

She hums quietly, and the sounds of the island hum back. She could stand to be studying over documents from home now, or even chipping away at the novel she’d started. But the air was warm, and she was a bit too dizzy-- unable to fight it, the sounds of the waterfall lulled her to sleep.

Or so she had unconsciously hoped.

Kokomi startled, awoken to a loud noise. A crash. Had a hostile monster somehow gotten in here? She’d planned this spot specifically to prevent that, but that wasn’t important right now. She hoisted herself up shakily, attempting to kick her catalyst closer to her. This wouldn’t be a good fight, that was for sure, but if she used her higher position to her advantage, then surely--

“Oh my god I’m so sorry-- Your Excellently?!” The voice sounded familiar, but not possible. Kokomi’s brain was too fuzzy to worry about any details, she just needed to pick up her weapon.

“Y-- Miss Kokomi, it’s just me,--” She feels a calloused (but soft?) pair of hands lead her back to bed. She doesn’t bother to resist; somewhere, unconsciously, the voice’s owner has already registered in the back of her mind.

“General…” She hasn’t spoken since she’s been home. God, her voice sounds awful. “Pardon my language, but..how the everloving fuck did you get into my house…?”

Through the haze, Gorou’s face is painted with guilt. “I, uh…well… I’m sorry for knocking over your boxes…” So that’s what that was. “All I meant was to come in quietly, but I tripped. Oh, and, uh. The traveler told me where this place was. I’ll leave soon, promise! I just wanted to check on you got home okay, and--” He pauses his ramblings while Kokomi gasps quietly.

“hIHT’schEW!--ESCHuew!”

“Oh! Bless you,” Gorou continues, as Kokomi grinds her nose softly against her sleeve, “Sorry, I thought you were going to say something. Or were mad at me.” He laughs it off, a nervous lilt to his voice. “Anyway, um,” he sets a cloth bag down quietly on her table, backing off quickly. “I’m sorry for overstepping. And intruding. I just wanted to drop these off.” He bows slightly. “And make sure you got home alright.” Kokomi just sniffles. What does she say to all that?

“Gorou…” Oh. Her nose just won’t stop itching, will it. “Gorou—, I,— hIT’” schEWWw!” Okay, she was going to need tissue soon. This cold was making her sneeze so much… Luckily, her general got the message, slipping a couple out of whatever was in his bag.

“I brought tissues, tea, and cold compress… these are from the traveler as well,” he tacks on.

“You Excellency, if I may be so bold to ask—“ Gorou cringes as he watches Kokomi duck into another muffled sneezing fit, “would it be alright if I… stayed for a bit? With all due respect, I think it would be useful if I at least started boiling water for this tea. It’s specifically for sinuses.”

Kokomi just sighs. She’s been bested. As much as this is her problem, not Gorou’s, it would be rude not to accept when he’s all the way here… And, perhaps a little help would be nice right now as well.

Oh. Yup. This was it. The end of a blooming romance, and the end of Venti’s existence on earth.

A cat cafe. A CAT cafe, of all places Xiao could’ve chosen. “It’s a surprise,” he’d said, with that cute, quiet smile. How could Venti say no? It was rare for Xiao to open up. Not that they were too far into the relationship-- Venti didn’t want to say anything for sure, but he did feel by now he knew that Xiao was a more closed off person. Which was why they were taking things slow. Which is why today was a big deal-- Xiao had suggested a spot for a date (which!! By the way, he never does!!), then said it was his favorite spot. And somehow- the whole way there with the monotone of the GPS in his ear- he hadn’t realized that Bell Cafe wasn’t just a regular cafe. The “Bell” part stood for collar. Cute, but-- it had cats. And lots of them.

“So! Uh… This is it, right?” Venti leans back in the driver's seat. He hasn’t turned the car off yet, sitting in the parking lot and delaying the inevitable.

“Mmh.” Xiao was nothing if not quiet, but he definitely knew the place. He’d directed Venti to the best place to park and everything. “Is it alright..?”

Venti nods so hard he almost gets dizzy. “Yeah! Yeah, yes of course! Sounds fun!” A smile. “I like coffee! And cats! Super cute..!”

He had to force the last bit out, but there was no way in hell he would back out now. Xiao seemed so happy. It might not show in his stoic expression, but he was happy. Venti could just tell. It was in his aura. Also, he was pulling a punch card out of his wallet displaying his frequent visits with the cats. Frequent visits?! Venti was starting to wonder how he hadn’t figured this one out before.

Ugh. The cats. He’d figure that out when he got to it.

“So, uh…” Xiao starts. Venti notices he still hasn’t unlocked the car. Or even put it in park. Yeah, he should probably do that.

“Pretty boys first.” Venti grabs Xiao’s hand to lightly pull him out of the car, giggling as he does. Xiao just rolls his eyes with a mutter of “embarrassing”, but interlaces his fingers with Venti’s.

The bell rings as they enter through the double doors, a second set to make sure the cats didn’t escape.

“Ah! Hello again,” a staff member smils in their direction, waving to Xiao and he softly nods back.

Venti isa bit too preoccupied for formalities. When they said cat cafe, they meant, “Cat --oh, and there’s a cafe too.” A small section of the building is a room dedicated to the drinks. Everything else? Not so much. Fur is everywhere. Cats too, but whatever. The first thing that sticks out to him was this white cat-- blue eyes, and long ass fur. Jesus. He didn’t even know cats could be that fluffy. Venti’s nose itches just looking at it.

Speaking of itching, his eyes have already started to water.

“Ah! I see Miffy’s caught your eye! She’s very friendly,” the staffer (un) helpfully supplies. ‘No,’ Venti thinks, ‘not in the way that you might think.’

Then there was Xiao's cute smile again. His cute, lethal fucking smile.

“She’s my favorite.”

And yeah, alright. Venti could do this. Xiao looks too cute in his sweater today, and he loves the cats, and he looks so warm and even a bit excited. So he could do this. For..what, maybe--

“Hour ticket, please.” Xiao pushes a couple of bills over the counter. An hour. Alright.

“So!” Venti chirps. He’s decided to just ignore the way his nostrils were trying to twitch. “I’ve never been to one of these…you uh, come here a lot, I guess? Show me around!” For now, he’d just try to distract himself. It was better than nothing. Or better than thinking about how the itch in his nose was beginning to get worse. And itchier. He wished he had a tissue.

“Ah, yeah. This is where I usually come to study.” Cute! Cute.

“This chair is where I usually sit..” Xiao leads Venti, hand still in tow, to a little loveseat. The other people in the cafe are scattered on similar seats, some waving toys at the kittens. Xiao follows suit and grabs a wand toy of his own, patting the cushion next to his.

“Here. Miffy is my favorite, like they said earlier, but she’s asleep… “

Venti sniffles. This itch is begging. These cushions are fucking full of cat hair. And cat…stuff. Whatever cats are made of, it’s on there. He sniffles again.

“Mhm!” All Venti can do is hum. Does he sound congested? He hopes not. Whatever.

“And this is…” Xiao continues, “Oh. He’s new. C’mere buddy..” Slender fingers pull at a collar. Wow, Venti’s boyfriend has some cute hands. But there’s no time to focus on that. Venti needs to sneeze. Reaaaaally badly. But that would be way too obvious. It hasn’t even been 5 minutes in here yet! Just one more minute, it’s less suspicious that way. He can do it. Right? “Oh. Petal! How cute. Hi Petal.” Xiao does that half smile of his. The clock on Venti’s phone reads 2:06.

“Aw, hi Petal! Pretty name--” The rest of the words spill out and are replaced by loose breaths. “She, uhh..? hHe? Very cute..” Venti slips an eye open to see its 2:07, and he allows his eyebrows to draw up. “heT’SCHuu! …cute.”

“Bless.” Xiao murmurs. He’s still fairly fixated on the cat.

Venti doesn’t want Xiao to think he’s bored or something, so he sticks out a hand.

“Pass me a toy?” A nod, and now Venti has a stick-thing in his hand. It’s plastic, with a little butterfly attached. “So, you just…wave it around?”

“Mm. Like this.” The cat bats the butterfly around and there is peace for a moment but then the itch in his nose comes back. It was abated by the single sneeze for maybe 30 seconds, but he was nowhere near done. Petals the cat seems happy, at least.

Venti tries to speak again, to say something to let Xiao know that yes, he would love to hear about the cat toys (but can’t exactly without sneezing his head off). Instead, his breath catches again. Then again.

“iI--haH! Need to use the bathroom, Xiao, I’ll be right ba..ah-! Back..! HTT”schw.! Euh…” He holds the last one back, shoving a finger under his nose as soon as he’s turned away from Xiao. That hurt. And made him waaay stuffier. Hopefully Xiao hadn’t noticed anything.

Venti slams the bathroom stall door behind him, not even bothering to lock it. A sneeze escapes him before he can even grab toilet paper. It’s smothered into his hand. Ugh… Venti thinks to himself. If only he carried allergy medicine in his bag all the time, like-- Another sneeze. Into his hand again. Gross. He should really get some toilet paper.

Venti takes a breath. If he gets all this out now, he’ll be done sneezing, right? Something like that. He cautiously pulls his sleeve up to his face, which has to be covered in cat hair.

A careful sniff, and-- oh god, he shouldn't have done that.

“ah--hH/,HAAh.?!!” His breath stops, almost in confusion at the direct irritation. Venti’s eyes freeze in a squint, and the tickle fucking burns. He definitely should not have done that.

“huH-’HEttshUH! Holy fuck, that is the loudest Venti thinks he’s every sneezed in-- “HEt’shuuh! eEtshuU! ‘’eshu! ‘EEshu! uuh…… ----”AHT’’shUH!!” Okay. Maybe that one was louder.

Venti wipes his hand on the toilet paper roll, then grabs a little more to blow his nose. It takes 3 times until he’s finally done. Ew. That should do it, right? He doesn’t have to sneeze now. Well, not as much at least. His nose is clear. So that should be good. He gives one last sniff before splashing a little water on his face, so it doesn’t look like he was crying or something, and heads back out.

“Hi Xiao!” Who’s this?” He points to a cat that's laying in front of their chair, different from the other one. Xiao looks a little suspicious (maybe Venti was gone a biiit too long--), but Venti has always been a firm believer in “fake it till you make it.” “Miffy again. Come here.” Venti sits down and is immediately whispered to: “You alright?” Xiao is so sweet, always worrying about him. But not now. Go back to looking at the cats, Xiao.

“Yup! Just had to pee, sorry!” Xiao makes a face and goes back to Miffy.

But Miffy, as kind and friendly as she is, has other plans. She walks up to the couch, sniffs Venti’s hand (he’s too scared to do anything but stay still) and sits down in between the couple.

“Oh, look! She likes you.” Xiao nuzzles a hand next to her face. She’s brown and white and really fluffy. “It took me about three visits for her to start sitting with me,” he explains.

“Oh! Great!” It’s only half sincere. Venti’s accepted his fate. He will not last long. He should’ve brought more tissues from the bathroom. Or even just stayed in there.

“Yeah. I can get us drinks in a bit if you want? I don’t know how you feel about coffee, but the lattes here are really good,” Xiao trails off. He glances over at the other area with the bakery stand. Drinks sound good. That’ll buy Venti some time.

“Yeah! That would be awesome, snif. Can you get me a um…” another sniff. “...” The cat has begun to climb his chest. Wonderful. Xiao just giggles, but Venti’s at his limit. He pulls his head as far as he can from this poor cat (and Xiao) and…

“HEP’schuu!” …sneezes into his shoulder. h’eESSHU! ---EESHuu!” God, Venti has never sneezed louder than he has today. Then again, he’s never been around as many cats than he has today. He shoves said cat in Xiao’s direction, hoping he’ll be able to get the message.

“B-babe, um, HEh’--h shuu! Ca. Cahh- Cann you Take, the. Um. CaaH--SCHUEW!!” Xiao gets the message, pulling the furry Thing out of his hands.

“Ven, are you alright?” His eyebrows are furrowed. “hETTshuu-hh!! Yeah, I’m- IIHTshuuH! Fi,. Fine-- hP ‘tschhh--uh!!” He tries to hold the last one back, desperateto stop the fit. It does nothing. Xiao has made a decision of his own, and has grabbed the hand that isn’t guarding Venti’s mouth and nose.

The door chimes again as he’s dragged back to the parking lot, and the staff watches. One gives a sympathetic smile, not that Venti is aware enough to see it.

“Venti.” Xiao nearly shoves him into the car, climbing into the passenger seat. Venti doesn’t respond, a finger under his twitching nose as his eyes are screwed shut in concentration. Xiao, as he hopes, gets the message: he nudges some tissues into Venti’s hand (god knows where he got them) and sits back.

“uuh…hH’ ishchh!” Venti removes his finger and allows himself to sneeze into the handful of tissues. Then keeps going for a little longer. Xiao quietly stares.

“Venti.” He says again.

“One sec…” His boyfriend blows his nose quietly. “Okay, yeah?” Xiao’s frown deepens. “Ven…I think you might be allergic to cats.” Venti almost laughs. “Yeah, I sure as hell am. Sorry about that. sNF!”

“....You already knew…?”

Venti wipes at his eyes. They’re still red. “I mean yeah, look at me right now. Sorry I ruined the date, though…”

He pauses, waiting for Xiao to speak. Sneezes. (oops). Waits some more.

“Xiao…? I--” “Dumbass.”

Venti frowns. He said he was sorry….

“Why didn’t you tell me? We could've gone literally anywhere else.” He doesn’t look mad, but he definitely looks a bit frustrated. He hands a couple more tissues to Venti in truce.

“I mean, you said it was a surprise and you looked so excited, I just…” “. I care more about you than a date spot, you know.” “...Oh.”

“Yeah.”

They stare at each other a little longer. Venti breaks the silence. “I’ll, um… I’ll tell you next time.” Venti sounds like a kid who got in trouble. Then he sniffs again. Xiao just stares. “It’s okay. You didn’t ruin anything, you know.” A hand on Venti’s back, rubbing slowly. Oh. That feels nice. “All I care about is that I’m with you.” Oh. That feels nice too.