#spicesolstice

“Solstice!”

“Hm?”

“Did you want dinner before I leave for work?”

A long pause, and then the clacking of the beaded curtain between the kitchen and the main area of the apartment.

Pale hands curled around Alex’s waist, and Sol rested his chin against his shoulder. “What is it?”

“Penne?”

There was a sudden sharp itch in Alex’s nose as Sol moved, and he leaned back from his boyfriend, scrubbing a hand against it. “You’re still covered in dust and shit from the theater, babe, maybe go change?”

“Mmkay.” Black nails grazed over his shoulder as Sol swished away back into their bedroom, the door clicking behind him, off to trade in his jeans and t-shirt for something more comfortable, cleaner, and probably indecent.

“Did you feed Cinder?”

“I did.” Alex eyed the gecko, pressed against the glass of her terrarium, eyes full of adoration or hatred, he couldn’t decide which. “I still don’t think she likes me.”

“You?” Sol’s voice, now slightly echoed, suggested he’d moved into their bathroom, “Never. I wouldn’t let her.”

He was right about Solstice’s outfit, as the taller man reappeared through the bedroom door in a deep purple wrap dress/robe type item, one of his favorite stay-at-home choices. His hair was pulled out of the hasty ponytail he’d had it in, and it flowed freely around his shoulders.

Goddamn it, if he wasn’t the hottest thing Alex had ever seen. 

Dark eyes flashed to the plates on the counter, then back to Alex, and Sol was standing before him in a moment, leaning over him to brace his hand on the counter, planting a kiss firmly on his lips.

“You’re wonderful.”

He kissed down Alex’s neck, and with the motion, a fruity, floral scent began to fill the air around them, making Alex’s nose twitch ever so slightly.

Did he-?

At some point after his disappearance into their bedroom, Solstice seemed to have taken the opportunity to reapply one of his favorite perfumes - one that he usually left the house with, but tended to fade before he returned.

That bastard-

It was a gorgeous scent, sure, and it suited his boyfriend extremely well, but Alex found himself leaning him back into the counter, an effort to put some distance between Sol and the tickle that had begun to blossom in his overly sensitive nose. “I…really?”

With the way that they were standing, Alex’s nose was at about neck height on Solstice, and he assumed that was the point where most of it had been applied. His hands gripped the soft violet fabric, pulling his boyfriend ever so slightly closer, tucking a knee between Sol’s legs. “And with that perfume, too? You really are merci-hh-less.” 

He inhaled the sweet florals, grazing his teeth against the taller man’s collarbone as he felt his nose burn from the scent. Sol half-choked back a heavy sigh above him, his hands still around Alex’s hips, holding him in via his belt loops.

“Well, you’ve got m-ihh-me cornered, so might as well make it…ghh…make it good.”

“Mmm. I plan to.”

He was backed all the way against the counter’s edge now, and Solstice lifted him up onto it, pushing forward between his knees. He raised his hands up to Alex’s chest, nails tracing his neck and jawline and making him shudder, and the perfumed air seemed to thicken, forcing Alex to bring a hand up and scrub vigorously at his nose to keep the tickle at bay.

Fuck - he’s put it on his hands.

They’d found out, in a very experimental portion of their relationship, that Sol’s signature perfume triggered Alex’s allergies far worse than pollen or dust did, leading the lighting tech to leave it off most days, only wearing it when he was outside of Alex’s general vicinity - or in this case, clearly, when he wanted something to…do with himself once Alex had headed off to work.

And grazing a perfumed nail across his boyfriend’s cheek, painfully close to his increasingly itchy, far too sensitive nose, would certainly accomplish that.

“Hh-hhechxu!” Alex’s head dipped sideways in reflex, and he felt Sol’s nails press lightly into his cheek a moment later, keeping his head forward and the tickle in his nose aflame. “Hheh…hh..”

He raised a hand to rub the tickle away, as useless as the effort would be, and felt Solstice’s free hand curl around his wrist, guiding it back to the counter. 

“Aw, don’t ruin it.” 

Alex felt his nose begin to drip as the other caught him in another kiss. Forced to breathe through his nose, he felt the itch swell, and he broke the moment off earlier than he meant to, stifling a harsh “Hh-Hhihgchxh!” into his shoulder.

“That was fast.” Sol murmured, eyes dark with arousal, “I guess I forgot how-“ and he traced a nail deliberately along one reddening nostril, watching as Alex’s eyes snapped closed - “Hhisheww! Hetchxew! hh..Hhh..Hexchuu!”

“-sensitive you are.” 

He felt Sol’s grip go slack on his wrist, and he took the opportunity to wind his fingers into the taller man’s hair, holding him tight as he sneezed down between them. He heard Sol’s voice waver, and aimed the last sneeze in the fit at his mostly-uncovered chest, hand tightening in his hair.  

“I hahh…have to go t-to work…you bi-ihh-ch.”

Sol tucked his index finger under Alex’s nose as he hitched, holding the next round of sneezes at bay whilst the perfume still lingered on his hands, building upon the persistent itch. He was certain his nose had dripped down onto Sol’s hand, and he was also certain Sol didn’t care.

~end~ 

🍎 Cider

Alex straddled his hips, effectively pinning him to the bed, one hand still mysteriously tucked behind his back, the other cupping Sol’s jaw as they kissed. 

“Pretty little thing.”

Sol glanced at him, half-lidded in the morning sun, grinning slightly at the compliment. 

Alex’s thumb grazed over his septum ring, drawing him back to consciousness. 

“But prettier when you’re helpless.”

Then Sol was pushed back into the mattress, one-handed, Alex successfully trapping both legs and the taller man’s right arm with the free limbs he had available. 

His nose itched. 

It wasn’t just the touch, right? He wasn’t even close to being as sensitive as his boyfriend, the tap on his piercing shouldn’t have done-

Alex brough his hand out from behind his back, and let the contents come to rest delicately on Sol’s chest - a medium gray-and-white striped feather.

That bastard.

Feathers had always been Sol’s worst allergy, and Alex knew that- was this revenge for the little perfume stunt he’d pulled the other day?

He’d begun to itch before even seeing it, but now knowing its proximity to him, his nose began to react, and he’d have twisted away if Alex hadn’t been holding him down.

“Hihh-hh…wa-ihh-t…I ca-ca-hh-n’t tehh-!”

Alex traced the feather down his body - away from his face, but no less tortuous. “Hiihh-hh-”  

Alex’s eyes had overtaken with lust, and he leaned into Sol, semi-grinding against his hips. “Shoulda thought of that before what you did, hmm?”

The feather hadn’t even passed Sol’s collarbone, and he was sure he’d already fallen apart more than Alex was expecting, given the pressure the shorter man was putting on his lower half. 

He wiggled his arm free to rub away the itch, but the mistake came when Alex’s feather-holding hand was the one that moved to pin it, the offending object whipping by Sol’s face, far closer than he’d wanted. “Hhhh-!” 

A gasp for breath, and a tingle that died out in his nose. Fuck.

“Oh, you weren’t kidding, huh?” Alex’s voice, gone dark with arousal, hand trembling slightly where it had pinned him, “You really are that allergic.”

 A pause, as the tickle persisted. 

“You sound so itchy…” Alex pressed further into him, a soft brush against his sternum and a twitch in his nose telling him the feather was returning. “...but you haven’t actually sneezed yet, have you?”

“I-hhh!...I have t-to…” He was certain it was still nowhere near his face, but he could still feel it , wispy edges clinging to the insides of his nostrils. “A-ahhh-lex…hhh…it tihh-…”

A choked moan from above him, and a slow grind against his hips would have made him grin, had Sol not been focused on how tremendously itchy he was. He was growing hotter now too, something about a shared kink -ihhH and knowing his pahh-artner was coming apart from just this-

“HihhhHH-!”

“Your nose is all pink, and I haven’t even touched it yet,” Alex observed, the grin audible in his tone. “I wonder what happens if I…”

Something horribly soft brushed against Sol’s lips, and the allergic itch increased tenfold. 

His nose crinkled, and

“HhhiHHHKCIIUU!...hhhHHiiHHH..HECHHHuuU!”

His body jerked against Alex’s hold. “Heuhhh…”

“T-that was fast,” Composure and arousal fought in the older man’s voice, his expression indecipherable through an eyeful of allergic tears. Sol ground up against him regardless, the startled moan enough of a sign that his suffering was definitely having quite the effect.

“W-hhh!-what’s the-hhahhh…ihh…th’matter?”

He knew it came out more desperate than cocky, laced with hitches, but Alex threw all his weight onto Sol’s shoulder, flattening him in the sheets. “You’re- You’re gonna be the death of me, Angelo.”

He was close already, Sol could hear it in his voice, and it was proven seconds later by the feather back up in his face, tracing along his nose, across his septum, the fibers catching as they went, the pink irritation deepening with each swipe. 

“F-hhHH-HHiihh-ck-..you ca-hhHHAhn’t just-”

The delicate tip of the feather caught the inside of his twitching nostril, finally, and it was over.

“HehhhEIIIISH!! HAhhHKCIIUU!!..hhHHEH! Hh-hh-ihh-HEIIIISHHUU! HAHH-EISHHOOOh!! EEIISHHH!! HACHEIIICCKHHHHH!!” 

“F-fuck-! I’m gonna-” 

He felt Alex lose control over him, the feather forgotten, nails pressing into his arm. He couldn’t do much but sneeze for a minute, but eventually opened his eyes to his boyfriend leaning back on his heels, flushed and gasping for air in a much different way than he was. 

Hot.

Alex’s head dipped to the side, grinning down at him. “S’pose it’s time for me to take care of you now.”

Sol scrubbed harshly against his nose as Alex reached into his pants, knowing the tickle wouldn’t be gone for a while - hell, he could feel the next fit starting deep in his sinuses - but they could at least make use of it while they were here.

“Suppo-hhihH-suppose it is.”

~End~ 

-Cider

Alexander (Al, Alex) Lovett

he/him

Age: somewhere in his 30s. Short and angry.

Height: 5’ 7”

Hair/Eyes: Red(dyed)/Brown

Piercings/Tattoos: None except on his left forearm; the word ‘SICK’ in a messy font above his old scars. Had snakebites once upon a millenia, but let them close when he got older.

Solstice calls him 'Lexi'.

The better cook by a long shot.

Elder emo, still occasionally dresses in some of his more casual pieces from that era. Never let go of the hair-dying thing (or the converse).

Bartender at their city’s local trucker/dive bar. Asshole unless he cares about someone. 

Asthmatic as a child, but has since grown out of it...mostly. 

Chose smoking as his vice instead of alcohol, therefore smoke is about the one thing he’s not sensitive to. 

Allergies/Snz Triggers:

Has an incredibly sensitive nose that gets set off by any pollen, dust, and tickle that happens across it. 

Has 100% called out of work due to the pollen count, knowing it would be the end of his day if he so much as glanced outside. 

Okay with dogs and cats, somehow. 

Most strong scents, air fresheners, and cleaning supplies also bother him, Sol’s favorite perfume (or anything floral and fruity like it) being one of the WORST.

Always builds up to start, often becoming a hitchy mess, to fits of sharp harsh sneezes. (farther between and itchier sounding when it’s Sol’s perfume doing it.)

Dust/pollen sneezes end in desperate and rapid fits, and anything tickled out of him (or when he’s sick) is more prone to false starts and a bit wetter.

Cannot stifle to save his life.

Solstice (Sol) Angelo

he/him

Age: somewhere in his late 20s. Tall and soft.

Height: 6’ 1”

Hair/Eyes: Black/DARK brown

Piercings/Tattoos: Right eyebrow, triple lobe on both ears, septum, labret. A moth across his upper back with runes down his spine, a spider and web across his left bicep. 

Alex calls him 'Dove'.

Not allowed in the kitchen or anywhere near cooking tools.

AuDHD Gothic fucker. Nails are black ALWAYS. Started wearing black in middle school and never stopped(got worse). Forgets to take off his eyeliner still. 

Works stage crew at their city’s biggest theater.

Unapproachable in appearance only, the biggest sweetie of a human who will lend a hand wherever it’s needed. 

Spent all his formative years in the wrong body leading a locally-famous garage goth band. Terrible mental and physical health cut that short when he was around 19, and he collapsed onstage.

Has a pet leopard gecko (Cinder) who lives a blessed little gecko life in their apartment. 

Allergies/Snz Triggers:

Less sensitive than Alex, and rarely gets sick outside of a cough.

(Doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to set him off, though~)

Wickedly allergic to cats, dogs, birds, really anything with fur or feathers.

Birds are by far the worst, feathers in any proximity to him cause a lot of hitching and false starts, eventually leading to LONG rapid fits. The tickle will persist for a while afterwards, and inducing with a feather usually causes an hour-long fit, at least. 

Cats are second, less build ups, and much harsher sneezes, though the fit usually ends when he’s cleaned off/out of the building that it’s in.

He was raised around dogs, so they’re the least offensive to his nose, though proximity will still cause a lot of itching and false starts.

🍎 Cider