#snzcane

Jayce had been coming down with a cold for the past few days. It had started as just a sniffle and the occasional tired yawn but today it seemed to have hit him with full force.

Which, for Viktor, was really not helping him to focus on their upcoming project.

Jayce sniffled thickly- it sounded like his face was completely bunged up.

“Vik, do we have any more… snffff..tiss–uh-HEH H’ETGHn’xx!” he stifled forcefully between pinched fingers, drawing in on himself from the force. He pulled on his nose as he released his fingers. “snfff any tissues?”

Wordlessly, Viktor rifled through his desk drawer and slid him over a box.

Jayce glanced up at him gratefully before snatching a few, turning from him and blowing groggily, the sound crackling.

Viktor exhaled shakily. He’d been holding his breath during that whole ordeal. And the semi he’d been growing since the minute Jayce had trudged in, sniffling helplessly as he hung his coat up, was becoming harder to ignore.

This was coupled with the guilt worming through his stomach, Jayce clearly wasn’t feeling well and here he was, listening to every sound with rapt pleasure.

“Do you think the acceleration or the precision rune would work better here?” said Jayce, sliding over his notes for their latest project.

“Ehh…” fuck, he couldn’t focus with the way Jayce’s broad frame was leaning over him. He could just about make out the slow whistle of his breath. Maybe if he stayed frozen like this for long enough Jayce would have to sneeze again…

“Ahh the uhh.. The acceleration one maybe.” he stammered out.

Jayce looked puzzled, “You sure? I was thinking snnfff..ugh sorry, hold on.” he leaned back from Viktor and retrieved another tissue, swiping at his nose and clearing his throat, “I was thinking of the precision, seeing as we need the frequency to be accurate.”

“Right, yes.” Viktor nodded.

Jayce hummed his agreement, sliding back into his seat.

Had he looked like that yesterday? So tired, with exhaustion hanging heavy around his features? And his nose was starting to look chapped from him pawing at it constantly with sleeves and hands rather than the embroidered handkerchief Viktor knew he had.

Then Jayce’s face crumpled, hands clenching against the edge of the desk.

He gasped once. Twice. Before hurtling forwards, haphazardly raising an elbow to let out two bellowing sneezes.

“Ehh’HAESTchuhh!... Hh’HITSCh’ieww!”

Viktor’s breath stilled once again, his dick twitching in his pants. They just sounded so wet and draining. His mind was running wild, picturing Jayce’s pretty face making that expression over him in bed. Imagining the spray raining down onto his chest. Kissing him with mess still clinging to his nose…

“Ughh.. fuck me, sorry Vik.” Jayce groaned. And he truly sounded apologetic. Embarrassed at his complete lack of control over himself. As if Viktor would be disgusted. As if Viktor would care.

Jayce’s head was hung, whether from shame or exhaustion Viktor wasn’t sure. But there was something fragile in that expression, something raw. Jayce was just about holding it together but the ropes were fraying.

“Jayce,” Viktor said quietly, reaching over and grasping his shoulder, “you sound really awful.”

“I–uhh, I know, I’m sorry.” Jayce shrunk back in on himself, inching from Viktor’s touch.

Idiot.

“You don’t need to be sorry.”

“Well…ugh, it must be gross. It’s… pretty rough today. I just can’t seem to stop. I’ll try and-”

“Jayce.”

Viktor wheeled his chair over, taking Jayce’s face in his hands and lifting it.

Jayce’s eyebrows darted together, confused, but he didn’t try and pull away this time.

His nose was running. He tried to sniff it back but it wasn’t particularly effective. Viktor could see the blush creeping across his cheeks at being looked at so intently as this was happening.

“Vik, I need to..sdnff.”

Silently, Viktor reached for the tissue box and pulled one out. He pressed it up against Jayce’s nose and pinched away the moisture there.

Jayce froze. Eyes following Viktor as he tossed the soiled tissue aside.

“Does that not…gross you out?”

“No, Jayce.” he swept his thumbs across the tops of Jayce’s cheeks, revelling in the way it seemed to make his features twitch with itchy need, “I don’t care, I’m just worried about you.”

“Oh.” said Jayce quietly, letting himself sink into the cool hands that were still pressed around his face.

Viktor continued to sweep his thumbs across Jayce’s sinuses. The other man let out a little, stuttering breath.

“I’m g-gonna sneeze if you–HHH…keep doing that.” he breathed.

“Mhhm…that’s the intention.”

Jayce's eyes widened in surprise until his face suddenly scrunched up, chapped lips parting as he tried to fight the sensation, tears collecting at the edges of his long, dark lashes.

Viktor smiled, he must have hit the right spot.

“HhAH’TUSChn’’gtx!!!” Jayce half-stifled desperately, twisting into his shoulder to try and shield Vitkor from some of the blast.

But from the way Viktor was leant over him, hands cupping his face, this wasn’t very successful.

He shivered as he felt the warm mist catch the side of his wrist, the rest of it glistening against the dark fabric of Jayce’s top.

“Shit.” Jayce muttered sniffling.

Before he could try and worm away again, Viktor leant in and planted soft kisses along the lower half of his face, taking in the warmth of Jayce’s skin and his rich, earthy smell.

“Let’s get you home.” he said softly against his ear.

A shudder went through Jayce at the feeling of Viktor’s breath, “We still need to finish-”

But Viktor shut him up with a kiss to his neck, nipping at the skin with his teeth.

“How can you want me when I’m like this?” Jayce asked quietly, sniffling deeply as he pressed a finger up against his nostrils.

There was too much space between them, with Viktor on his chair and Jayce slumped over on his own. He needed to be pressed against his broad frame. Enveloped in his warm embrace. He needed friction.

So, wordlessly, he reached out and took Jayce’s hand in his own. He brought it forwards. Downwards. Rested it against the tent he was pitching in his pants.

“Oh, oh.” said Jayce. A glint of amusement flashed across his tired eyes and a flash of something more, something closer to hunger. 

“Mmm, that’s how.” 

“Let’s get home then.” His congested, hoarse voice had taken on a different tone, deeper, needy.

They walked through the halls of the Pilltovan academy, not worried about getting caught as it was the early hours of the morning. 

Jayce had to stop a few times to suck in a deep breath, air rushing into his lungs before twisting to the side with a poorly stifled, waterlogged sneeze.

After one particularly loud one, Viktor leant in and traced along the skin of his neck with a slender finger.

“You just can’t make them quiet can you?”

Jayce looked blearily down at him, still recovering from the sensation that had taken hostage all of his senses.

“Ughh no, I’ve never been able to-hHEH–.”

Viktor couldn’t help himself, he didn’t give a fuck that he was rapidly growing harder and needier in the middle of the hallways. He whispered into Jayce’s air-

“Try and keep this one quiet, baby.”

Jayce’s eyes flashed at the use of the petname- Viktor almost never used them. But he couldn’t dwell on it too much as his chest suddenly swelled, his eyes clamping shut-

“HAH’’’TGng—CHuch!!” He’d tried desperately to stifle properly, to be quiet, but he was just so miserably congested, his nose wouldn’t let him keep all of it in.

The sound rang through the hall and Viktor shivered. God this man was going to be the death of him.

“Bless you.” he breathed.

Jayce turned to look at him with saddened, red-rimmed eyes, “I tried.”

“I know.” 

Finally, mercifully, they reached Jayce’s apartment. 

Viktor couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as the door was shut behind them, he turned around, letting his cane clatter to the floor as he titled his head upwards and pressed his lips against Jayce’s own.

He sank into the kiss for a moment, tasting the long day on his lips. Jayce was breathing deeply, humming as he lapped Viktor up. He looped an arm around Viktor’s back, supporting him, drawing him in tighter and firmer.

Then suddenly he was pulling away, breaking apart from the kiss- though still helping Viktor to stand.

“Fuck, Vik, you’re gonna get sick.” he croaked, guilt swimming in his big, amber eyes.

“I’ve spent all day everyday with you for the last three days. If it’s going to happen it already would have.”

Jayce groaned, free hand coming up to pinch the skin between his eyebrows, “Still I don’t-”

“Jayce,” Viktor said firmly, trying not to let the desperation sink into his voice, “Don’t deny me this.”

“I–okay.”

They stumbled their way into the bedroom, Jayce’s mouth hot against his own, hands in his hair, down his chest, gripping his tie.

Viktor let himself be guided onto the bed, smirking as Jayce hurried to take his clothes off. His bare skin sprouted goosebumps as it was exposed to the cool air, but in his veins his blood ran hot.

Jayce was yanking Viktor’s pants away, leaving him in just his boxers, dick embarrassingly hard for not even being touched yet.

There was no way he was getting out of this without Jayce catching on. But fuck it. There were weirder things about him and Jayce knew them all.

Jayce was tearing off his own clothes now, ready and eager despite the cold ravaging his system. Maybe he was tired of sniffling and working all day? Maybe he just needed to let everything go.

Fingers at his shirt buttons, Jayce suddenly paused. His nose quivering, shoulders rising as he sucked in staggered, gasping breaths.

Hurriedly he dropped the shirt, cupping his palms to his face and snapping in half with a resounding, drenching-

“Hh’AHH’’CSCHooo!! Ugh, fuck me.” he said, voice barely distinguishable from the congestion clinging to every syllable.

Viktor bit his lip to stop himself from screaming- hurry up, hurry up.

Jayce returned to the buttons and Viktor tried not to imagine the moisture on his fingers, coating the buttons, no doubt making the job harder.

At last, Jayce was down to his boxers too and he crawled onto the bed. 

“Let me be on top.” said Viktor- greedily watching the way Jayce’s nose still wriggeld about as if he wasn’t quite done, as if the itch consuming his sinuses would never be satisfied.

Obediently, Jayce hooked an arm around him, gently but solidly shifting him to be on top.

He took a moment to sink into the contact, the feeling of their hips pressed together. Jayce’s dick, straining against the fabric of his boxers, grazing against his own.

With slow, shifting movements, Viktor rocked himself back and forwards, dragging their cocks together through the material.

“F-fuck Vik.” Jayce gasped out, pushing up into him even more. His voice was a wreck, claggy, stuck at the back of his throat.

Jayce’s breath hitched in a completely new way, his broad hands reaching down to slot around Viktor’s waist, hips bucking upwards. 

With Jayce still sniffling pathetically beneath him and the pressure against his dick, Viktor was worried he was gonna finish before they’d even began, like some horny fucking teenager.

But he didn’t stop. He reached forward and raked the skin of Jayce’s chest with his nails, hands moving upwards to snake around the skin of his neck.

He let out a shuddery moan as he felt one of Jayce’s hands working their way from the side of his waist towards the centre and inching down, down…

“Jayce…ughh.. P-please.”

Jayce didn’t need any encouragement. His hand slipped beneath the waistband of Viktor’s boxers, curling around his cock.

“Ohh..mmmhmm.” Viktor breathed out. 

“You’re so wound up.” Jayce said, almost laughing.

“I- god yes,” he inhaled sharply as Jayce’s hand began to move up and down, “a-all day.”

“All.. snnddff.. All day?”

Viktor just nodded his confirmation, too caught up in finally, finally being touched to say much of anything.

Through his bleary blaze of pleasure he remembered Jayce had needs too and worked his own hand downwards.

He trailed his fingers along the line of hair leading to Jayce’s boxers, relishing the way the light touch made Jayce quiver.

His touch slipped under, fingers stretching around his length.

“V-viktor–”

Jayce gasped and stuttered beneath him, eyes sinking back in pleasure

Before suddenly he was jerking upwards, hands pulling from his pants and coughing thickly to the side, the sound rattling through his chest. It went on for a while, as if he was struggling to catch his breath.

“Ugghh sorry… snff… snfff I think lying down made all the…the congestion worse. I can barely breathe.” he let out a miserable little laugh, scrubbing at his face.

“Alright, I’ll lie down then.”

They switched positions, Viktor squirming beneath Jayce’s frame as he rocked back and forth into him. Why the fuck were their boxers still on?

From this angle he could see the chapped skin on the underside of his nostril- it looked red and sensitive, like if he just reached up and tapped it, it would cause a barrage of sneezes and moisture to rain down on him like a fucking shower.

He could hear every jagged breath, every thick snort as Jayce tried to sniff back up the congestion. 

Then his face stilled, his chest contracting in and out. 

“HEEHH– hh-iiiHHH…”

Yes, Viktor thought, this is what I’ve been waiting for.

Jayce’s hitches were growing louder, more high-pitched until suddenly, with a shuddery moan his shoulders relaxed again and he exhaled bitterly.

“Lost it.” he muttered, resuming his motion against Viktor, leaning in to suck and nibble on the tender skin of his neck, tongue swirling across the mole there.

Then it happened again, louder and more needy this time. His breath caught in a wild, overbearing sensation. It sounded like Jayce was teetering right on the edge, his eyes squeezed shut and body waiting for the inevitable.

“HH–IIIhhhhh!” But the release never came. 

“Vik I need to sn–EEEHuhh… snddfff.. Sneeze so bad but it wo-Hhu–hHH, won’t come.”

Irritated tears were beginning to slip from Jayce’s eyes. He looked so stuffed up and miserable. An entire day of sneezing non-stop and now they were eluding him.

Something cold and hungry slipped through Viktor.

“Why don’t I help you?”

“H–HHEH H-How?”

“Eucalyptus, yes?”

Jayce blinked, “What?”

“What you’re allergic to.”

“Well yes, but-”

“Reach into my trouser pocket.”

Wordlessly, Jayce obeyed, leaning over the bed to pick up Viktor’s trousers, his fingers slipping around something smooth and cylindrical. He pulled it out. Oh.

“Now spread it between my legs.” 

Jayce tugged at the waistband of Viktor’s boxers to draw them off before uncapping the lid of the Eucalyptus ointment.

From just the smell his breath was hitching widely once again, he was close, so close- more itchy and desperate and hungry for release than he’d ever been in his life.

“HE-EHH hI–HHeehh!” he heaved, the hand he had against Viktor’s shoulder tensing in preparation.

Viktor curled up, pressing a finger beneath the quivering appendage. 

“Mhhm… not yet baby. You think you can hold them in? Until I say?”

Jayce’s eyes widened, blinking through the allergic tears.

“I– err… okay.” he shuddered out. So obedient.

Viktor slowly slid his finger away, trying not to moan as he felt the wetness gathered across Jayce’s nostrils slink onto his fingers. God they were both such a mess.

Struggling against the need to cram his eyes shut, to rub at his wriggling nose with fisted hands, Jayce poured the bottle to the side, spilling some of the substance onto his palm.

He stuttered and gasped through the itchy need, his hands shaking as he tried to fight the sensation. Jayce put the bottle aside and massaged the substance along the tops of Viktor’s thighs.

Viktor let out a shuddery gasp at the cool substance slid between his legs, Jayce’s fingertips so close to his dick that was pulsing with need.

Suddenly Jayce froze. No doubt he’d breathed in loads of the stuff he was so desperately allergic to at his point.

His breaths were coming in faster and faster, almost as if he were panting, the taut muscles of his abs contracting in and out.

“Fu—HHHHCuckk Vik, I- ca–Hhnnt, can’t…”

Viktor slid his hands across the lengths of his own thighs, getting them slick in the oil coating them.

Then, with his fingers absolutely drenched in the stuff he reached up and held them up to Jayce’s nasal airways.

He let him take deep, gulping breaths before he realised what was going on. Before he noticed that with every needy gasp drawn into his lungs, the allergen was becoming more and more concentrated.

Jayce’s eyes snapped open at the feeling of Viktor’s fingers against his nostrils.

His breath was insanely erratic, heaving in and out above him. Afterwards VIktor would tell him what a good job he had done, fighting so desperately to obey his commands.

But now he would give Jayce what he wanted, what he needed.

He leant in close, hands dropping to Jayce’s wrists, pinning his hands down. 

He whispered into his ear,

“Let go, Jayce.”

Instantly Jayce reared up and with his hands pinned down there was nothing he could do. Nothing but snap forwards again and again with an insatiable need to rid his system of the antigens attacking it. Cold, allergen it had all gotten too much.

“H’’HHAESCHUhhh– HEHH-hhH-.... HEH’ATCHUhh–.....H’ENGT-SchUhh- HEH-H’’Ept’’CHOOO!!”

Warm mess blasted onto Viktor’s bare chest, over and over, Jayce barely able to gasp a breath, barely able to hold himself upright as his body forced him to snap forwards relentlessly.

Viktor’s chest was getting soaked, long trails sprouting from Jayce’s nostrils.

The heat in his belly was pulsing, hot as fire.

“Oh f–fuckk Jayce…” he gasped out, pressing himself upwards almost involuntarily to grind against Jayce’s cock, eyes rolled back in pure pleasure from the pressure below and the wetness against his chest.

“Vii-HHIII’TCHUhhh… Vik I ca–AHH-HAETCHUhhh… can’t sto-OppHhh’’EEHH…. E’’EHSTUCHuhh!”

Viktor paused, worried he’d pushed Jayce too far. The other man had completely lost control, mess clinging to his face, chest heaving as he desperately tried to pull in air between expulsions.

“It’s okay, you’re okay.” said Viktor shakily, releasing one of his hands from Jayce’s wrist to rub comfortingly up and down his arm.

To his surprise though, Jayce didn’t try to cup his face to shield him from the continued blast, instead, through the haze of overwhelming sensation he fumbled for Viktor’s hand and grasped it in his own.

Oh. Oh. He was okay, this was okay.

“H’HIHH’Tchuhhh!”

“You’re so fucking hot like this Jayce.” Viktor breathed out, squeezing the broad hand encasing his own.

Jyace leant in closer, nuzzling his slick nose up to the crook between Viktor’s neck and collarbone.

“H’’ESTCH-uhhh!” he sneezed, blasting against the warm skin, “This stuff…i-HHHhh– is so.. Snnfff- H’ITCHchuhhh.. So strong.”

Viktor released his other hands, reaching up to rake across his back, too absorbed by lust to control how heavily he was scratching. Besides, Jayce liked it when he left his mark.

Finally, the fit seemed to subside and Jayce exhaled, utterly exhausted against him.

He sat up slowly, hand coming to cup his nose. Finding it miserably wet he bundled up some of the covers and mopped himself up. His eyes flicked to the mess smeared all across Viktor’s chest, no doubt glimmering in the lamplight.

“Oh god… you’re.. You’re absolutely covered.” embarrassment flashed across his eyes.

It was time to tell him.

“Yes,” Viktor said slowly, methodically, not quite sure how to broach it, “ Jayce, I like it. I really like it.”

“You– I don’t–...”

“I like it when you sneeze.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Makes sense?”

Jayce laughed, the sound muffled through the congestion, “Explains a fair amount actually.”

“Like what?”

Jayce’s eyes darkened, the corners crinkling, “Like why you’ve been sporting a semi since I started this cold.”

Viktor laughed then, he really had not been subtle.

Jayce hitched again, nose scrunching upwards and eyes squeezing shut.

“H’ehh’’HITChuhH!” But this time his hand had slid down to Viktor’s crock, stroking as the sneeze took over him- making Viktor’s ‘bless you’ catch with a shuddery moan in his throat.

“Always such pretty sounds.” Jayce breathed, sniffling back the mess, though most was still smeared across his face.

It was the middle of the night - a time Caitlyn Kiramman had grown accustomed to seeing through little choice of her own. She was the type of person who preferred to keep herself on a routine, but she hadn’t lived a life that really allowed for that, and so her sleep schedule typically suffered. Some nights she awoke for what seemed like no reason, when it was really underlying stress she hadn’t yet unearthed forcing her brain awake. Other times, certain nighttime sounds, however distant, kept her mind restless and alert. But tonight it wasn’t anxiety keeping her up, nor was it any noise. The only sounds Caitlyn could hear was her sleeping partner breathing next to her, the flick of her quill on parchment, and every now and then, her own soft, quick sniffs.

That partner, Vi, was sprawled haphazardly on the mattress beside her, sheets kicked off around her, her shirt riding up past her navel to expose the muscles in her stomach. Her quiet snores reassured Caitlyn that she was having pleasant dreams. Her pillow was nowhere in sight, having landed somewhere in the dark. Vi wasn’t a complete mess, but she wasn’t organized, either. Whether she was awake or asleep, her things ended up where they ended up. Sometimes they made it to the side table, sometimes not. Sometimes her shirt came off in the night without her even realizing it (which of course neither of them minded).

Caitlyn herself was generally the opposite. Everything had its own specific place on the table or in the drawer on her side of the bed: a clock with a display that she could read in the dark, because she preferred to know the time exactly (right now, it was 1:14am). An eye patch, which she only took off at bed and put a separate fresh one on first thing in the morning. A glass of water for when she woke up in the night and needed to drink something to ground her. And a clean handkerchief, for when she needed to…

“...hiih…”

…needed… to…

“...ihh- ih-hiiH-! …h-HIIH-! Ih’hh… hh… hah- … …hahh-h… hhn…….”

…or… not.

Caitlyn let out a soft growl, crumpling the cloth in her hand, knuckling the side of her nostril with the other. Honestly, what was going on with her? Was it dust, something in the air? An oncoming illness? But… she felt fine otherwise. This wasn’t like her. Everything about her was normally more predictable - not perfect, but more controlled, more… organized. And the fact that this reaction was so out of her control was-

“-nhh-! Ahh’hh… hih-! Hh-hih… hh… ih’HIH-! …h’h… ha’aaahhhh…” 

-exasperating.

“...Mmn… you’re awake.”

Caitlyn heard her girlfriend’s voice beside her, drowsy but coherent. She looked over and smiled softly, reaching over to ruffle Vi’s short pink hair. Vi yawned and blinked back sleepily, leaning into her touch.

“Sorry, love. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” 

Vi shook her head wearily. “N… No, you didn’t, I was already…” Then her brow furrowed when she saw the light was dimly lit, and there was parchment on her partner’s lap. “Hey, it’s late… and you’re working on something. Didn’t we talk about this?”

“I know, I know,” Caitlyn sighed, giving her a soft smile. She moved the papers onto the side table. “But I couldn’t sleep anyways, so I thought I should at least make myself useful.”

“...I heard you panting, so, to be honest, I kind of thought you were, y’know… …doing something else.”

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow and wrinkled her nose, but she couldn’t help but laugh. “Do you have to be so vulgar?”

“I’m just saying…” Vi mirrored her expression mockingly.

“Ha. Of course you are. But no, it’s just... It’s…” Her voice tapered off unexpectedly, and she went quiet. Vi rolled closer to her partner.

“Something bothering you?” she asked, concern in her voice. Now Vi was worried that the breathing she thought she'd heard before had actually been crying. Both of them still occasionally woke up with nightmares. The trauma they’d experienced would never leave them completely. But having each other for comfort helped immensely. 

A heavy sigh. Caitlyn pressed her fingers to her forehead, looking exasperated. “...Yes, actually, but it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s… Ihi-it’s- ih-! Hh…!” Her voice pitched up as she spoke, as if she was going to ask a question. But she didn’t. Instead, her eyebrows quivered, her mouth gasped open, and her vision unfocused. Her breath stuttered a few more times before it held, for a moment, a long moment… and then she exhaled hard, and her body slumped forward in frustration. “-haah. Ugh… It’s that.”

Vi simply blinked back. “...Ahuh. And what was that, exactly?”

Caitlyn rubbed her thumb and forefinger against the bridge of her nose, growling softly. “A sneeze that won’t come! I’ve got to so badly. I just can’t for some reason.”

That was what it looked like. Still… “What? You have to sneeze, but then you try to sneeze and you just… don’t?”

“P- hh… Precisely.”

Although when she sat perfectly still, and she didn’t breath, and she didn’t move, Caitlyn could pretend everything was fine. But unfortunately, breathing was unavoidable. A single sniff, and it immediately reignited the flame in her sinuses that flickered and flared and threatened to become an uncontrollable but ultimately relieving fit of sneezes - but unfortunately it only threatened it. As soon as it would reach its peak, and her remaining eye would squeeze shut, and she’d think she could hardly stand it any longer, it would just as suddenly elude her, leaving her in bleary-eyed aggravation. Over and over again.

Vi just watched as Caitlyn’s nose twitched with expectancy, only to be met with nothing once more. 

“...Wow. That sucks,” she said merely.

Cait scrunched up her nose. Even when the tickle receded, it never fully went away, still taunting her from the recesses of her sinuses. “You’re telling me.” 

“Hmm…” Vi tapped her chin in mock thought. “Well. That’s definitely not normal. So… sounds to me like you need a checkup from Dr. Vi. Who fortunately for you happens to be right here.” 

“Doctor? Really?” Caitlyn shifted her weight towards the supposed medical professional, leaning into a fist. “I’d like to see your credentials, Miss Doctor.”

“It’s not Miss Doctor, it’s Dr. Vi!” They were both grinning in spite of themselves. “Now tell me, young lady, how long have you been suffering with your ailment?”

Caitlyn rolled her eyes but decided she would play along with an honest account. “Well… I suppose I’ve had to sneeze since this afternoon… It was just a small itch then, but nothing came of it. I thought it’d go away. I didn’t expect it to stick around and get stuck like this… Now I can’t even sleep. It’s torturous.”

“Mhm... And has this ever happened to you as a result of stopping a sneeze?”

The patient pinched the bridge of her nose for a moment, then released it when the feeling subsided. “W-Well, somewhat, but not like this. This is just terrible.”

“So then…” Vi turned over on her stomach, resting her hands under her chin playfully. The doctor act was already forgotten; she was back to being her regular, devious self again. “You have an itch you need help scratching, is that right~?”

Caitlyn smirked at her, knowing her girlfriend was teasing at something else, but she chose to ignore it for the time being. “Not unless you can make me sneeze, Violet.”

Vi didn’t mind being called by her full name when it was Caitlyn. Only special people were allowed the honor, and there was no one else more special. “I can make you sneeze. Easy. You’re holding the solution as we speak.” She plucked the feather quill out of Caitlyn’s hand, swishing it around playfully.

The other girl raised an eyebrow, but her expression was softened by her current desperation. She sniffed, and the tickle nipped her back. “...A feather? Really?”

“Yeah, what else?”

“I don’t know, it’s just so… stereotypical. It seems like something you’d see in a cartoon; it doesn’t really work, does it?”

Vi continued to twirl the quill around in her hands. “It does if you know what you’re doing.” 

The marksman couldn’t help but sniff again in response. She pushed a slender finger along her upper lip to abate the urge, though it hardly helped. “Ahh… A-And you know, do you?”

“Well, Miss High-Society Topsider, I know you’ve probably never been bored a day in your life. It’s amazing the things you can learn when you’ve got nothing else to do.” She pointed the quill towards her girlfriend. “Like how to make yourself sneeze.” 

Caitlyn folded her arms, lightly amused. “So, you’ve done it? Forced yourself to sneeze, with that?”

“Sure have. Why, you want me to prove it?” she said slyly.

“Hh-hih-” Caitlyn stuttered as the sneeze took hold of her again. She put up a finger, leaning to the side, willing hopelessly for the reaction to fulfill itself. But it wouldn’t. She knew it wouldn’t. What a terrible tease it was… Her thin nose flexed, and tears lined the bottom of her eye as disappointment greeted her once more - she released her held breath. “-hah. N… Nothing, again… See, this is how it’s been all night, can’t you see how much it’s been bothering me?”

Vi flushed at the desperation in the other woman’s features, at her bangs that were falling out of place, her lips that parted slightly whenever she gasped. God, how is she so… “You know… you’re pretty hot when you can’t sneeze.” 

Caitlyn rolled her eyes, but she felt her cheeks flush. “Well, I’m glad one of us is enjoying herself.”

“What’s that?” Vi pushed herself onto all fours, leaning in so their lips were close, their noses brushing. “You wanna enjoy yourself, too?”

Even that light touch against her nose reignited the nerves in her sinuses. Cait leaned away involuntarily, gripping the handkerchief in her hand. “W-Well… It’s a little hard for me to en-hehh- …at the moment…. Hh- hhahh… i’hh… h'hnnn…” 

Vi shifted back, just watching as she once again hitched uselessly. “Wow - did I make you do that? Man, you’re sensitive… Well, I think you’ve suffered enough. Come’ere, let’s give this a try. I’ll have you sneezing in moments.” 

But despite how much of a bother it was, Caitlyn was still hesitant. “Aheh… ahh… are you sure… it’s going to work for me…?”

Vi nodded reassuringly. “Of course. Like I said, I’ve done this before. Besides, I always take good care of you, don’t I?”

Caitlyn offered a small smile. “Well, I suppose…” 

“And we can stop any time. I’m not gonna force you.” 

“...All right, I guess... we can try it...” Caitlyn shuffled her body forward a bit on the bed, conceding. After all… it was only a feather. And it was only Vi. Even if she felt ridiculous, surely she’d made herself look even more ridiculous being unable to sneeze, hadn’t she? And Vi had never judged her. So she probably wouldn’t choose now to start.

“That’s my girl.” Vi gave her hand a squeeze, then shifted back into a cross-legged position on the bed. She leaned in towards her girlfriend’s face, inspecting her thin, almond-shaped nostrils as if there was something to see. Caitlyn sat up tall, literally looking down the bridge of her nose. She couldn’t help but feel slightly self-conscious - she wasn’t used to someone inspecting her like that… even if it was Vi. Cait watched her girlfriend’s thumb go to her cheek, pulling the skin to the side to cause her slender nostril to widen, and before she could hardly register it, the feather went in and up- and as soon as it did, her body rejected it.

“Kehff’Hh-!” Caitlyn sputtered involuntarily, pulling her head back. She hastily covered her face, embarrassed at the sound she’d made, even if she couldn’t help it.

Violet pulled back, too. “I’m sorry - too fast? I can go slower.”

“-Wh… what are you doing?!” 

“Huh? Uh… I’m trying to make you sneeze?” 

Caitlyn sniffed harshly, trying to rid herself of the residual tickles the feather left behind. “I didn’t realize you were going to put it in my nose, I thought you were just going to… dust it around the outside, or something...”

“Okay, see, that doesn’t actually work. What you gotta do is get the tip to reach the back of your nose.” 

Caitlyn made a face. “That far? I don’t know if I can stand it, Vi…”

“Well, that’s sorta the point - that’s what makes you sneeze.” Vi tilted the feather up, once again staring at her partner’s nose as if it would give her some sort of clue to unlocking the reaction they both desired. It was long and slim, both angular and smooth at once, and mostly symmetrical, unlike Vi’s, which had been broken more than once in the past. “Hmm… well, your left side tends to be more sensitive. So maybe we try the right nostril. Maybe the left one was too much for you.” 

“My left… is it?” She’d never noticed before - she didn’t even think to notice. But she guessed she shouldn’t put it past Vi to pay attention to something like that.

“Yeah, it is - here, I’ll show you.” Suddenly Vi dropped the quill and reached towards her girlfriend’s breasts - Caitlyn intercepted by grabbing her hands in her own.

“Focus, Vi,” she reminded, raising an eyebrow.

The other woman feigned innocence, still eying her chest. “On what now?”

“On- eh’hih-!” The sneeze chose that moment to take over, and Cait couldn’t help but succumb to its control. It was almost as if it was telling them to “take this more seriously.” She let her breath staccato silently, almost noiselessly, as she concentrated so hard, so closely… Vi watched unblinking as her girlfriend’s chin tilted up, up, her nostrils flexing with need, her eyebrows knitting tightly, and thought, I know that face. She’s got it now. 

“-ha-iih-! Hiih-! Ih-hiih-! -hh’hiihhh-” 

…Only… she didn’t. As close as it was, it was still just as far. It didn’t matter how badly she wanted it. It just wouldn’t happen.

“...hihh… ihh… hhhhh…”

Caitlyn's shoulders drooped with another heavy exhale, and she rubbed at her poor, defeated nose. It stung back at her in response, as if it was scolding her for being unable to sneeze. Which was truly unfair, she thought, because she was willing it with all her might, and what more could she do? It was out of her control. And she hated it when she couldn’t control something.

“...Damn. I really thought you were going to sneeze that time,” Violet murmured at her display.

Caitlyn groaned despite herself, frustrated, weary. “I thought so the first ten times it happened, but at this point I’ve given up hope.” 

“To be honest… I’m glad you didn’t sneeze, though. I want to be the one to make you.” 

Caitlyn slapped her arm playfully; her girlfriend grinned, cheeky. “Vi! I’m the one suffering here!”

“Well, you won’t have to be for much longer if you let me try the feather again.”

Caitlyn stared at her for a minute, then she nodded. Fine, she’d let her partner have a go again. Maybe it was out of her control, but it might not be out of Vi’s. “Alright... I’m willing to try anything at this point, even if I really can’t stand it. I don’t care how I sneeze, as long as I finally do.” 

Vi lifted the feather upright once more, determined. “You will. I’ll make sure of it.” 

“One second,” Caitlyn stopped her, holding up a hand in front of her face before the quill could get near her nose again. “Just… show me what you’re planning on doing first.”

“Show you? I thought that’s what I was doing.”  

“No, no. On yourself.”

Vi tilted her head. “Oh… you want me to make myself sneeze?” 

Caitlyn nodded, pushing Vi’s hands towards her own face. “I- hh… w… wanna… ahhh.. hem.” She cleared her throat, shaking her head side to side. “I… want to see what you’re planning to do, on you.”

Vi licked her lips, her eyes narrowing at the quill in her hands. “Hmm, well… it’s been a little while, but sure, I bet I could still do it.”

“Well, I hope you can. If you want to use it on someone else, you should at least be able to use it on yourself, shouldn’t you?”

“Hm! Well, you’re not wrong. Fine, then - I’m curious if I can still make it happen, anyways. Just watch me, all right?” 

Vi quickly got to work, twisting the feather in her hand so that the end was curved downwards, following the contour of the inside of her nose. Her taller girlfriend bent down slightly in her seated position to get a better view, and one eyebrow arched as she watched Vi insert the end of the feather into her nostril without even flinching. It had felt so ticklish inside her own nose, but Vi didn’t really look bothered - not yet, at least. A bit more, and then Vi’s nostril slowly pulled upwards, her eyebrows creasing. Her lips parted unevenly, exposing her upper canine. Her eyes began to glaze over as they watched her hand holding the instrument, which she moved around in deliberate, twitching motions, trying to find that certain spot she knew was there, she just had to refamiliarize herself with it…

As Caitlyn witnessed her partner attempt to induce, she felt her own expression mirroring Vi’s against her will, her nostrils tugging upwards and flexing as her girlfriend’s did, her eye tearing up slightly at the corners. Her breath hissed as she began to hitch again - it itched, it really itched, so much - and suddenly her eye was watering too much to even see Vi anymore. The sneeze wanted to form, so badly, her body stuck in a loop of preparing for an event that refused to take place. And she wanted it to, too. Would watching Vi be enough…? It felt like… maybe it could be… 

Caitlyn could just make out Vi’s features through the blur of her vision. Violet’s head was nodding back, one hand moving the feather in little circles inside one nostril, the other posed to catch the sneeze when it came. Caitlyn’s hand inched gradually towards her own nose wishfully. She blinked and dislodged a few tears, and then she could see her partner’s expression for a moment - Vi was on the cusp of it now, having located the spot in her nose and flitting the ticklish part of the feather right on top of it - Vi’s eyes blinked closed, the desperation overwhelming her, which then overwhelmed both of them, their breath catching simultaneously-

“-haa’hHh-!” Caitlyn inhaled, more vocal than before, the desperation building - sneezing was so tantalizingly close now… Her eyes winced shut, and-

“Ahh’hh… heh… Heh-Hh-H-HA’AKSCHh-! -sh’sCHhIUu–!” Vi doubled over from the force of it into her hands, the feather fluttering back to the bed as she did. Cait heard the harsh sound of it but missed seeing it, since her own eye had been teased shut. However… somehow, despite how horribly it itched, and how ready she was to let it out… she still hadn’t managed to sneeze. Instead of a satisfying release, she was only met with a terrible sting in her nasal passages that left her breathless and wanting. She wrinkled her nose, massaging at the sides between both hands, unable to handle the awful prickling feeling that remained. How she wished Vi’s sneezes could’ve been her own… they sounded awfully relieving… and she’d been so damn close…

Vi leaned back out of her hands with a gasp, wiping the leftover irritation from her eyes and nose - she had been so focused on making herself induce she hadn’t even noticed Cait’s struggle. “-ha! Th… There, you see? Toldja I could do it.” 

Cait swiped at her eye, too, the sneeze having backed off disappointingly once more. “My… goodness, that was powerful.”

Vi thumbed her nose, giving a quick sniff. “You could say ‘bless you.’”

“...I’m not sure you’re meant to bless a sneeze like that,” she responded teasingly.

“What?! What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Cait hoped she hadn’t sounded too short with her, but… she was a bit jealous. After all, Vi got to have two satisfying, strong sneezes, and she got nothing. “Well… if someone forces a sneeze when there wasn’t one in the first place, do you still bless them?”

Vi folded her arms. “Damn. I didn’t realize there were so many rules about manners…” she pouted. “And I did it just for you, too…”

Caitlyn couldn’t help but laugh, apologetic. She knew Vi didn’t care much about manners, but she did care about getting attention from the person who loved her most. Who was Cait to deny it? “Alright, alright - bless you, love.” 

Vi grinned approvingly, scrubbing the base of her nose with the back of her fingers. “Heh! That’s more like it. Well. I think now I’ve got a better idea of what to do for you.” She picked the feather up off of the bedsheets, pointing it towards Cait. “I’m gonna try your right side this time - maybe it’ll go better since it’s less sensitive. I’ll start out slow, and then go a little faster, once we find the right spot. Move it around in different ways, see what we can make happen - how does that sound?”

Well… “...I think that sounds… um…” Sexual. It definitely sounds sexual. 

“Hmm? It sounds what?” Vi simpered, the corner of her mouth twitching into a grin. “Heh, don’t worry. I only talk this way with you, you know.” 

“Sure you do… sometimes,” Caitlyn teased back. “Sometimes in the moment you’re a little… speechless.” 

Vi’s cheeks flushed red. “I, well… It’s not my fault, it’s you- I can’t help it with you…” 

Caitlyn smiled warmly, leaning in to kiss her on the forehead, but her face faltered as she did. “w- h’heh…” The sneeze was already back with a vengeance, punishing her again for some unknown reason that she clearly didn’t deserve. She pressed her index finger hard against the bridge bone - it was truly cruel that her body was even allowed to react like this in the first place, to itch in a spot she couldn’t reach. But there was no use whining about it - it wasn’t going to solve the problem. And she was going to lose her mind if the problem wasn’t solved soon. She rubbed her tongue against the roof of her mouth and scrunched her nose again, swallowing hard, then picked up the feather from in between them. 

“L… Let’s try again. I don't like the feeling but... I shouldn't give up so easily.” 

Vi nodded. “Okay. We’ll make you sneeze. I promise.” 

“Well, let’s hope so… This is getting ridiculous.” 

“I’m gonna try your right side now, okay?”

“All right. Let’s get this overwith…” 

Caitlyn watched as once again, the feather was lifted towards her nose with the hopes of coaxing out the most stubborn sneeze. As soon as she felt the feather go in, though, she could quickly tell that it was… less ticklish. What a difference it was between the left side - although it certainly felt like something, that something wasn’t a sneeze. She concentrated as best she could, though, trying to at least give it a chance. Vi could tell that Caitlyn wasn’t really feeling anything this time - her brow was hardly furrowed, her features more relaxed. Maybe if she pressed in just a bit farther? She lifted her partner’s chin up with her other hand, using gravity to help glide the feather down, moving it sporadically about. Even though it didn’t feel like a sneeze, it was still irritating - though mostly in the back of her throat. Cait suddenly sniffed hard, and Vi hoped perhaps she was making progress, when suddenly Cait pushed her partner’s hand away, the feather sliding out of her nose and quickly forcing her to-

“-h’ffeh-! -sh… shiu…” 

Well. That… sounded like a sneeze… kind of. Even though it wasn’t. Caitlyn shook her head hard, looking even more bothered and even less relieved than before. Vi stared at her flustered expression… and she could help but laugh - she covered her mouth. “Okay, I know that wasn’t a sneeze.” 

Caitlyn shook her head, massaging the sides of her nose between her fingers again. “N… No, not quite. That was just… an attempt to manifest it.” 

“I thought so. Your sneezes never sound like that.” 

The taller woman smoothed her long hair out of her face, sighing. “I dunno, Vi… I couldn’t feel much that time. I guess you were right about my left being more sensitive… and perhaps my right isn’t sensitive enough.” 

“Man, that’s a shame. Would’ve been nice if it just worked.”

Cait groaned again. “I never knew it could be so complicated to sneeze… But what am I supposed to do? It's driving me mad, I can't possibly get to bed like this… and I’m sorry you’ve had to stay awake with me through all of it.” 

Vi rubbed the back of her neck. “Don’t worry about it, okay? You know I can’t sleep when you’re up, anyways. I’m not gonna let you suffer alone.”

“Even with something as trivial as a sneeze?” Cait snickered - though as soon as she said it, it stung her sharply again, forcing her to pinch her nose. 

“Hey, this isn't just any sneeze. This is the worst damn sneeze of all time,” Vi chuckled, shaking her head. “Listen, I know it didn’t feel great, but your left nostril is the one that keeps pulling up, even when I was trying the feather on your right side. Maybe the right side didn’t work because it’s not bothering you there.”

“Oh, um…” Cait twitched her nose a bit, feeling for it. “Hmm, perhaps… It seems like it itches everywhere… B-But…” Now that she thought about it, the tickle did feel more concentrated on her left side. She reached up to touch that side of her nose, rubbing slow circles into it with her knuckle. The movement began to coax it forward a little, and her breathing quickly grew disjointed once again- “Th-There- it… ahh… is… ih-hit’s there, where my finger is-”

“Where - here?” Vi reached up to her face, pressing her thumb over her partner’s knuckle. When Caitlyn moved her hand out of the way and felt Vi’s touch in place of her own, the sensation suddenly multiplied, radiating outwards from where Vi’s finger rested against her skin, and she was completely overcome with it. Her sinuses spasmed - she almost pushed Vi’s hand away from how powerful it was, but her brain was functioning just well enough to recognize that somehow, even though it itched to tears, her girlfriend’s touch was keeping the sneeze in place rather than allowing it to shrink back like it had been all night long. Almost as if, somehow, she was holding it there. Caitlyn didn’t dare move. At least not quickly. Her facial features twitched against her control, but otherwise, she kept her movements gradual, deliberate. She was not going to lose it again. 

“Please,” she managed, pushing the feather quill across the bed, towards her partner. She placed her other hand over the one Vi held to her face, trying to prevent her from moving it off of her nose. “J… Just m- ...make me sn…neeze…” 

Violet’s eyes widened at the sudden urgency in her tone. “W… Wow. Okay, I’ll try. Let’s see-”

Caitlyn felt Vi brush the tip of the feather against her upper lip, then slowly move it higher, slipping into the curve of her left nostril. She winced at the intrusion, feeling each fiber of the feather brushing against the walls of her nose uncomfortably as it went deeper still, traveling over skin previously untouched. She braced herself, swallowing hard, trying to keep from coughing against it. What an awkwardly ticklish feeling it was, not just in her nose but also in her throat, in the space between her eyes… It was definitely more reactive than the right side, that she was sure of… Vi wasn’t wrong about her left side being sensitive. Though now she was wondering, what kind of reaction did her past self have that led to Vi figuring that out in the first place…? The thought was chased from her head as a ticklish tremor shot up her nose like a lightning bolt - she inhaled abruptly, and she must’ve pulled a face, too, because a moment later Vi was asking her, “You gonna sneeze?”

Unable to respond, Caitlyn just gave her head a subtle shake - Vi hesitated.

“Is it too much? Want me to stop-”

“Mm-mm…” Caitlyn barely shook her head again, trying not to let the feeling escape her once more. “K…Keep g-going- ih… t’s… w-working…” 

“Really? Okay, got it-” Vi immediately started up again, quickly pulsing the feather inside her nose, moving it in and out and even deeper- Cait’s head tipped back further, eye narrowing towards the ceiling, her nostrils flexing with need. It was coming - surely now, it had to be coming… Her entire nose was filled with it, this tantalizing, tingling, buzzing urge, nuzzling deep within her sinuses, just waiting for the feather to brush it in the right way, the right spot - but that spot kept feeling like it was just out of reach. How was it possibly still eluding her, even though it was so strong she could hardly stand it - she didn’t think she’d be able to bear it if the sneeze didn’t come now, not when it felt so finally within her grasp… Again, she must’ve been making a face that really gave her away, because Vi said, “It’s right there, isn’t it?”

It was. It really was, right there, right on the cusp… But it wouldn’t come… why, why couldn’t she just sneeze already… It just didn’t make any sense…

But Vi was done watching her girlfriend suffer - she wasn’t about to let the sneeze get away again. She tried to act quickly. “Here, I’ve got an idea - you take the feather from me, keep moving it like I was. I’m gonna try something, okay?”

“...I d’know, y…you’re th-heh… one who- ehh’hehhh… wh-who’s the expert… at thi-his…” Caitlyn breathed, feeling a tear roll down her cheek. 

“Sure, sure, on myself. You're the one who knows how it feels right now, not me. You got this. Just go slow so you don’t make yourself choke again, alright?” 

Caitlyn let out a jagged sniff, nodding shakily. She wasn’t confident she could induce any better than her partner, but as she’d said, she was willing to try anything at this point. She clumsily switched positions with Vi, her right hand taking hold of the feather and her left hand still holding Vi’s against the side of her nose. The itch was still there, strong as ever, burning a hole through her sinuses and burrowing itself deeper - but Caitlyn pushed the feather after it. The presence of Vi’s right hand on her nose was preventing the sneeze from fading, but it still managed to escape her grasp, leaving her in a torturous limbo. She knew if she pushed the feather too deep, she’d end up coughing again and it’d let the sneeze escape. And there was entirely no way she could let that happen. She just hoped whatever her girlfriend had in mind was going to work…

Vi hoped so, too. With her left hand free, she reached up to touch her partner’s face. She wasn’t especially confident in what she was about to do, but… It was ticklish enough when my nose just brushed hers, so… Vi tentatively extended her index finger, then lightly pressed it into the space between Cait’s eyebrows. Her nose responded immediately - it shivered and her nostrils flared, and Caitlyn felt the nerves in her sinuses convulse tremendously. Then Vi moved her fingertip downwards, brushing small, rhythmic strokes down the bridge of her twitching nose, scratching at it ticklishly with her fingernail, causing the skin there to crinkle more and more and more as she did, until-

“-vhh… V-Vi-”

“Sorry, is that okay - is it working?” Vi asked, apprehensive.

Caitlyn managed to give her partner a single nod, stammering “D-Don’t stop-” -and that was all she was able to offer before her mind went numb.

Vi didn’t stop. She quickened the pace of her movements on Cait’s nose, stroking her finger down its spine and skimming her fingernail along its tender skin. Caitlyn’s face pulled into an involuntary sneer. Her eyebrows pinched, her jaw slackened. She continued to try and tease her nose with the feather, but her movements were getting harder and harder to control… she simply felt mentally and physically paralyzed by the need to sneeze. Thankfully, Vi wasn’t detoured. She made her strokes faster, short and quick, her fingertip brushing from the top of her nose until it reached the underside. And when she decided to change up her movements so that her fingernail traced the lightest, ticklish circles just above Caitlyn’s septum - that was what finally pushed her over the edge.

Her breath caught once, and then it caught again. And again. There was no doubt now. At last, she could tell she was absolutely going to sneeze - and sneeze and sneeze and sneeze.

“...ahiih… h-hiH… h’hAAaH…”

The feather fell out of Caitlyn’s grasp and onto the bed between them, and her sharp, erratic breaths suddenly halted in place of one large, desperate inhalation. 

“-iiihhhhHHhhHHHH-”

Her head lilted back further still, pulling itself out of Vi’s grasp, but at this point it didn’t matter - the urge had thoroughly overwhelmed her, and she couldn’t deny herself the need even if she’d wanted to. And she definitely did not want to deny it. Her eye rolled back into her head, squeezing shut as she finally, gratefully surrendered all control to whatever her body willed, and for the first time in her life, she allowed herself to be at peace with accepting total vulnerability.

Vi opened up her arms - just in time to catch her partner as she hurtled forwards into them.

“-ih’hiiiIIhhH’AH-AHSHIIIEUUUuuw–!!” 

And there it finally was - loud, forceful, unrestrained. Incredible. It felt overwhelmingly incredible. The first desperate sneeze landed against Vi’s shoulder - and she wasn’t near done. It was impossible for the strength of an itch like that to be contained in one sneeze. Helplessly she continued, not even trying to hold them back, because she simply couldn’t, while Vi wrapped her arms around her-

“-aheh-ih- Ihi- H’HiiTCHYUuu-! iHChiiHhh-! Ih… iH-Ih’hEHK-KYyiu-uu- iiHCHyUUu-!” 

She shuddered involuntarily with each outburst she wasn’t even attempting to stifle- and she doubted she’d be able to even if she tried, even if she’d wanted to. Each sneeze melted into the next, to the point where she wasn’t sure when she was feeling relief or the wave of the next fit overwhelming her-

“HEH-iHTCH’YUu-’tSCHUu-! -k… K’ShHIUu-! eHHh- EH’SCHhYUu-! h-hEH’FSCHu-! ehHEH- EhHCHYUUu-!!”

Vi had heard her sneeze before, but never like this; never so openly, so desperately, or so many times in a row like this. It was a sound only she would ever hear, as Caitlyn would never allow herself to be so uninhibited in public, around anyone else. Vi knew she was lucky to be the one to witness and even cause this lack of restraint from the person who normally held herself with such poise. Who wouldn’t ever expose herself like this to anyone else. It was fiercely endearing. Maybe something more than that. And entirely deserving of her praise.

“There it is,” Vi told her encouragingly, brushing her fingers through the back of her partner’s hair. “Bless you.” 

Caitlyn exhaled, expecting relief to greet her - but she still felt a needling twinge of dissatisfaction. Her voice was softly congested, breathless, hitching once more… “Hiih… hah… Eh’h… Eh’hehxcuse me…”

“‘Excuse me?’” Vi echoed, shaking her head. “Heh. After all that? Save the pleasantries. Except maybe a ‘thank you.’”

Caitlyn leaned out of Vi’s embrace and opened her mouth to speak, but instead she found herself seized by another sudden overwhelming, immobilizing itch. With little warning, her eyes snapped shut once more as she lost control, spontaneously sneezing for one final time-

“-ih’HeH- hHEP’KYIIEEWWw-!”

-abruptly in her girlfriend’s face. 

Vi blinked in surprise at the outburst… then her mouth slowly formed a smirk. Wow. Well, she… probably deserved that. “Bless… you. Again. Got any more, or was that the last of it?”

No, that was all of them… now she was finally finished. Caitlyn felt her body collapse back into Vi’s arms, relief filling her sinuses entirely in place of the sneeze, alleviated at last after hours of that torture - it was truly liberating. What an awful, dizzying, exhausting itch that’d been, maybe the worst she’d ever felt, had ever had to fight so hard for. She’d often have to hold back her sneezes or stifle them around anyone else, but she never held back around Vi, and she was grateful that she never had to, especially with something so torturous. Except… Caitlyn hadn’t meant to sneeze on her. She could hardly help how suddenly the last sneeze came. Humiliation stung her cheeks - her eyes widened and she abruptly sat up, covering her mouth - a little too late. “...I-I’m so sorry.” 

“Huh- for what?”

“For… sneezing at you, like that…” she managed, pushing one hand over her nose - again, too late. Vi waved her off.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s what I get for demanding thanks.” 

“Ah - right, that- Th… Thank you, Vi, really… I don’t think I could’ve managed to sneeze without you. You have no idea how much that was bothering me - well, I guess you do, you saw me just now... It was about to drive me insane.”

The former enforcer couldn’t help but feel turned on by the genuine gratitude etched in her girlfriend’s tone. She shrugged, somewhat shyly. “No problem, really…” 

Caitlyn remembered the handkerchief beside her and grabbed it, using it to dab gingerly at Vi’s face. “I really am sorry for sneezing on you, though… How embarrassing…” 

“Please, you think I care about that?” She pushed Cait’s hand away, who looked back at her sheepishly. “All I care about is that I got you to sneeze. Didn’t think I could do it, eh?”

“Well, I guess I wasn’t so sure…”

“I can’t believe you’d doubt me! I’ve always left you satisfied, haven’t I?” She winked.

“...Rather pleased with yourself, are you?” Caitlyn sniffed, but she couldn’t help but find it cute. Arousing, even.

“I am.” Vi lifted the other woman’s chin towards her face. Her remaining blue eye was still watery from her fit, the edges of her nostrils and cheeks tinged pink. “So. You’re satisfied, right?”

Entranced by her gaze, Cait froze for a moment, then nodded back. She was still reveling in her relief. “Well… I… of course.”

“Are you…? How come you don’t sound sure about it?” Vi pressed.

“I mean, of course I am, but…” There was… maybe something more she wanted. As long as her partner did, too. “...What about you?” she countered.

Vi cocked her head. “Huh, me?”

The marksman gave her a look. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you enjoyed that.” 

An eyebrow raised. Vi pushed her gently onto the bed so she was laying down, then climbed on top of her. She pressed her hands into Caitlyn’s, their fingers interlocking. “I’m always satisfied when I get what I want, when I know it’s what you want, too.” She leaned in closer, her voice sensual. “But there are things I enjoy even more. All you have to do is say the word.” 

Flush grew in Cait’s cheeks. There was another itch that needed to be scratched, deep inside her, inside both of them. She would no longer ignore it. “...I don’t suppose that’s the only thing you learned to do when you were bored.” 

The moon and the great inventors of Hextex are no strangers to one another. If anything, Viktor and Jayce have become quite fond of the stillness that comes with working late into the night. There's no dogs barking in the street, or people calling out to friends, the night is a time of no distractions. Of course, there is one teeny tiny difficulty; the University sanctioned lights of the lab seem to have some sort of timer. When the clock strikes midnight, all the lights dim slowly before snapping off and leaving the inventors in complete darkness.

For a week or two after this happened the first time, Jayce screamed so loud that a wandering policeman charged in with his gun drawn. After that incident, Jayce had tried many times to disable the timer before giving in and purchasing a lamp. The dark didn't truly bother Viktor, he could read his notes fine if he squinted, and he didnt trip over anything if he just rolled his chair around. In short, Heimerdinger's attempt at giving both men a reasonable quitting hour lasted only one night.

Tonight is no different, the stars above Piltover's skyline twinkle in their silent watch of the few souls still awake at such an hour. Viktor has never truly cared for the stars, they'd lost much of their allure when he'd learned they were simply past images of fiery deaths. Perhaps a bit too philosophical, as he is wont to be at such a late hour. Shaking his head to gather his thoughts from wandering, Viktor blinks down at his notes of sprawling equations.

Across the room, he can hear Jayce scratching away at the chalk board. There's a peaceful silence that falls between them with work like this, a sort of hum that encompasses them both. Though, a different sort of hum is the reason for their staying up so late, and its far less endearing. Viktor sneers at the slowly rotating Hexcore on the edge of his desk, doing nothing but whir and taunt him.

"What if we tried something organic?" Jayce pipes up, dragging Viktor from his grumbling curses. "I mean, thats the common denominator. We're looking at math thats inanimate, but what if the key to waking up the Hexcore is an organism? It worked with the runes so what if- oh, hey." Viktor pushes himself over to the chalk board, using a hand on Jayce's waist to stop himself. His eyes gleam as they scan the notes, each report written in sprawling cursive that makes his chest tighten.

"This is brilliant. Yes this-" he pauses to squint harder at each line, preemptively expecting a fault that so rarely comes with his partner's work. "This just might work. You are..." he fumbles for the words in his excitement. "Youre brilliant!" Oh, and how Jayce absolutely sparkles at the praise; his shoulders folded back proudly, eyes shining with adoration, mouth set in a line like hes trying not to beam. Why would Viktor ever care for the stars when someone like Jayce could fill the sky?

"Lets try it! Right now. We must have some sort of organic thing..." Jayce trails off as he spins on his heels and scours the lab for something to make the Hexcore come to life. Its a bit endearing really, watching Jayce duck under desks, peek into closets, stretch to see the high shelves. Or perhaps Viktor has been awake too long, he brings himself back with a rhythmic tapping of his cane against the floor, feigning impatience.

"Here." Jayce holds a small succulent in front of Viktor like it's a trophy.

"Shall we...ehh, what's your phrase? Crank it?" A cheshire smile tugs on Viktor's lips as he pushes his chair and sends himself spinning back to his desk.

The plant, the Hexcore, the Hexcore, the plant, a breakthrough that may reinvent science and the world at large. Jayce places the plant next to the whirling core, his hands trembling in anticipation as he steps back. With a pencil in his hand, notebook flipped to a crisp blank page, Viktor watches, and watches, and watches. They're sitting there in the dark, both squinting at this block of literal magic, holding their breaths. Everything in the room seems to vibrate with anxiety and a sort of old mythical energy that makes Viktor's hair stand on edge.

ZAP

Blue light explodes from the core in a quick burst that drenches the pitch dark room in a blinding white. For a moment, theres silence again, a sort of disbelief that holds everything still in an ironclad grip. "Hih-hh-" Viktor's nose twitches in protest at the flash of light assaulting his previously dimmed environment. His eyes crinkle at the edges then snap shut as he brings up his elbow, notebook fluttering to the ground. "Hh'EDZ'tsch, ih'YISHh, hh- h'isch-isch-isch, hh-heh-hih'Ih'yishuu!" The fit leaves him panting slightly, blinking tears from his eyes as he glares at the now dormant core.

"Salude, you feeling okay, V?" Jayce tilts his head in that adorably puppy-like gesture, his hand hovering uncertainly at Viktor's shoulder. Sniffling to clear the remaining tingle from his sinuses, Viktor nods and leans down to pick up his notebook.

"Well something definitely happened. Not long enough to really gather any data, but something nonetheless." His mind shoots out new ideas at a million miles an hour, theories that verge on just insane enough to be plausible. A quick glance at Jayce proves that theyre both thinking the same things. His tongue stuck slightly out the corner of his mouth, arms crossed over his chest, Jayce looks like he might start steaming from the ears. "Crank it again," Viktor jabs his pencil in the direction of the -now rather crispy- succulent and the slowly rotating Hexcore.

Doing as he's told, Jayce pushes the plant closer to the Hexcore where a long purple tendril swallows it up.

Whirrrrrr zip zip ZAP

The tendril wraps around the plant, electric blue shocks lighting a few ruins before the whole core erupts into a cerulean fire. Viktor's breath hitches despite squeezing his eyes shut against the teasing sensation. Its like the quick sparks of light traveled all the way up his sensitive nose and embedded themselves at the very back where all they do is burn like mad. And make him really- really need to- "Ih'shuhh! Ih'yish-ish-ish-ish! heh'ushuu!" Each rapid relief leaves him gasping for air, gulping it in before- "hii'ITScchihw-hh'ish-ish-ish- ishyuw!" Fuck. Tossing his notebook and pencil down on the desk, Viktor brings both hands to rub he static tickle from his nose. Jayce whispers a concerned blessing, his eyes round with disbelief, but Viktor is more focused on the ominous clicking coming from the core. As if the damn thing hasn't caused enough issues.

ZAP

"ih'YISHh, hh- h'isch-isch-isch, hh-heh-hih'Ih'yishuu!" There's not enough warning this time for Viktor to duck into his elbow. Instead, he doubles over into his cupped hands with enough force to push his chair away from the desk. Which is fine by him, the farther he can get from this awful buzzing feeling in his nose, the better.

ZAP

"Hh'YDT'schu! Huh-ISHyuh, Ih'EDZ'schew! Hih... hdt- hh'isch-isch-isch-ISCH'syuw!" He lifts his head to blink away stray tears collecting at his waterline from the harshness of the light and the fit. It wont leave him alone, his nose twitches and scrunches against the deep rooted need to sneeze and sneeze and sneeze. Except, each breathless convulsion cant seem to scratch deep enough, leaving him panting into his hands. It tickles the whole way up the bridge of his nose to the deep cavities behind his eyes.

ZAP

"F-huuugck. eh'TZSHIEW! hh’iZTSH-isch-isch-isch! Ih'DZSH!" There's no need to look up to know his bangs have fallen out of place, he can feel the hair thats fallen into his eyes. At least he doesn't have to see the look Jayce is giving him, he'd rather let the floor swallow him whole.

Seeming to pity Viktor, the core burns through the plant in a final gulp of smoke and returns to dimly twirling on its axis.

"HUP'SCHew!"

Cait jolted awake at something, though in the haziness of sleep, she wasn't quite sure what had her awake at this hour. It was just past 2 am according to her alarm clock on a rainy night in Piltover. If she squinted with her good eye, she could just make out the rain dripping down the stately windows of the Kiramman mansion.

Vi was sleeping next to her in the huge bed, positioned on her stomach, with one leg hitched over Cait's thighs and her arm draped across her midsection. Cait felt Vi's breathing falter, her breath hitching as she aimed a sneeze towards Cait's side.

"Hih-ESCHew!"

Spray hit her exposed skin and she shivered at the sensation. She was wide awake now.

"Vi," she gently shook her girlfriend's shoulder. "Vi," she repeated when she received no response from her sleeping bedmate. Slowly, Vi began to stir. Her eyebrows furrowed together and she groaned lowly. Cait watched as her nostrils quivered, flaring at an itch deep inside her nose that clearly wasn't letting up anytime soon.

"Hih'TSCH!" Another harsh sneeze. Vi sniffed and opened her eyes blearily, taking stock of her surroundings. "Oh, shit, I'm sneezing all over you," Vi realized, still half-asleep. "Sorry, cupcake," she said before sneezing again, this time covering her mouth lazily with her hand, the spray still hitting Cait's exposed midriff. "ISHHHIEW!"

"Bless you, darling, are you alright?"

Cait brushed back Vi's bangs and placed her hand on her forehead, feeling for fever.

"You're warm." She tutted.

"I'm fine," Vi grunted sleepily, snuggling her body closer to Cait's, still feeling the deep pull of sleep.

"I think you're coming down with something." Cait said, her brows creased in worry.

"Can we deal with it in the morning?" Vi mumbled, clutching Cait's torso with her strong, toned arms. Vi sniffled and rubbed her nose against Cait's side. It wasn't enough to quell the itch though, and she sneezed once more into Cait's silky tank top, leaving a damp spot on the fabric. "Hih-ESCHew!"

"Hih'GUH-shiew!" Vi sneezed again, the muscles in her stomach tensing against Cait's hip at the strong sneeze. "Guh," she moaned congestedly, the fit finally catching up with her.

"Oh baby, you're really sneezy, huh?" Cait cooed.

"Just ignore it and go back to sleep." Cait chuckled.

"It's kind of hard to ignore you having a sneezing fit on my belly." Vi smirked sleepily.

"I could aim higher if you'd like." Cait blushed furiously.

"Violet!" Cait exclaimed at the scandalous suggestion. She carded her fingers through her girlfriend's pink hair. Vi sniffled and repositioned herself in her girlfriend's arms, resting her head against Cait's breasts.

"Hih-TSCH!" Vi sneezed into cupped hands.

"Bless you," Cait whispered, softly kissing the top of Vi's pink head. Vi groaned and rubbed fiercely at her nose, irritated at her blossoming cold. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just stay with me," Vi sighed nasally, burrowing herself into her girlfriend's arms.