#swh

A sniffles, their nose twitching, the sneeze evaporating in its tracks. crisis averted, for now... but their nose still tickles furiously.

it isn't long before their breath is starting to hitch again. this time, B presses their finger up to A's nose again, with enough pressure that they can feel the slight dampness against their finger.

"don't sneeze," B instructs.

"i can't h-help it," A mouths voicelessly, their breath hitching. "i... have to... hH... hAHH..."

this time, B—sensing impending disaster—pinches A's nose shut. A snaps forward with a messy,

"hAh'dXXtt!"

the sneeze is quiet, thankfully, but it still holds all the force it would've had if A had been able to let it out.

worse, A's nose is tickling even more now. they try and fail to communicate that the pressure of B's fingertips against their sinuses is more ticklish than relieving. soon, they're jerking forward with another: "hAHH'nNGxt!"

"you need to hold back," B admonishes. "i'm not about to risk getting caught."

"i'm trying... but it... hIHh... t-tickles so badly... hih... hiIh.... hiIIHhh..."

with the next sneeze, B clamps a hand over A's nose and mouth. A hits their hand with a spraying, "'TTSHHiish-!", which mists B's hand with thousands of droplets. their nose is openly running now.

the footsteps outside the door pause. B moves their index finger back under A's nose.

"what did i tell you?" they chastise. "if you sneeze again, we're going to be in serious trouble."

what follows is 2 minutes of intense ticklish torture A has ever experienced. they have to sneeze so badly, but every time they come close, B stops the sneeze in its tracks with a finger under their nose, or pinches their nose shut so the sneeze has no room to go anywhere.

"hhih... HIiih... hiiHHh...!!"

the tickle is almost unbearable, they need to sneeze so badly. on the other hand, B quiets them with little sympathy: "don't even think about it," they say. "i'm not going to let you sneeze."

after what seems like an eternity, the footsteps head off in the other direction. there's the sound of a heavy door shutting, and then they're alone again.

relieved, B lifts their cupped hand from A's mouth, seemingly forgetting that A's resolve was just seconds away from crumbling. meanwhile, A can't possibly hold back anymore. after minutes of denying themselves the relief their body so desperately needs, after every holdback and every false start fed directly into the itch in their sinuses, they can't take it anymore. A explodes forward with an absolutely drenching sneeze...

"HEHH'TCHHIIIIIew!!"

...directly onto B's face.

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