Let Me Tickle That Nose

Help Me Sneeze Please

Pov: my nose is itching so bad, so I turn to you for help getting my (harsh, wet, desperate) sneezes out ;)

I'm actually very proud of how this came out hehe like damn

Any variation on 'nose twitching'. Just the mental image of a nose, so desperately itchy that it can't help moving. A tickle so deep that, even without any outside interference, it just has to move.

It quivers, vibrates, flares, twitches, yearning for any form of relief. Maybe it's squished against an entire palm, feeling the hot breath against the skin. Or perhaps a single finger is brought up, trying to coax out an end to this ordeal

But it's just so sensitive, and when the hands are dropped once more, the nose is left to fend for itself against the waves of irritation, helplessly twitching once more~

Detergent Sneezes

Word count: 2.7k 

It was a blase October day; rainy and slightly foggy out. The wind was sharp and cold, dropping the overall temperature by at least ten degrees. It was all anyone could do, with the worsening weather, to not catch some sort of bug. It was going around the office like wildfire. Some had mild symptoms; a runny nose, a sore throat, or even none at all. Take, for example, Henrietta Davis. The office mom. She had wonderfully poofy, curly hair that went just above her shoulders. The natural honey blonde hue and freckled ivory skin earned her a lifetime of goldilocks jokes, but she just let them slide. She had a kind smile and a warm personality. She was the caretaker. The one to remember things such as birthdays and allergies when nobody else was bothered to. Unlike some in the office, Henrietta considered herself an open book; she would always say she’s got nothing to hide. But there was one thing nobody could figure out. Throughout every flu season and mid-summer cold extravaganza, almost every employee fell victim to whatever ailment made itself prevalent in the town– except for Henrietta. She liked to joke that germs just naturally avoided her out of respect.

But others weren’t so fortunate. Those ‘others’ in particular being one Octavia Reynolds. Her deep brown skin paired beautifully with her maple-coloured eyes, making her a force to be reckoned with. She had such a potential to be quite popular, if she wanted. But things…didn’t really work that way. Similar to Henrietta, she rarely showed any symptoms. Maybe the sniffles, a light cough. But nothing too extreme. She was, in her humble opinion, just too cool for the germs to touch her. 

Several employees stood around the only working water cooler in the place, just gossiping as you’d expect. One leaned in, a cocked eyebrow and a smug smirk. 

“You all coming to the bar tonight?”

Everyone in the circle agreed. 

“You think anyone’s going to beat Octavia tonight?”

A man scoffed, shaking his head. 

“She may be a bitch, but she’s damn good at pool. I don’t think anyone could beat her.”

“I think that’s the only reason she stays in this crap hole. Just to rub it in our faces every week.”

The first woman added on, a bitter shake of her head. They would’ve continued talking, but the woman of the hour showed up. 

Octavia had on one of those scowls that meant business. She said all she needed to without saying a word. She didn’t need to. It was all over her face. Everyone previously surrounding the cooler moved, as if the red sea parting for Moses. Octavia moved with purpose; not a single sway of her hips or crack of her knuckles were frivolous. She meant business. Even if it were just for something as small as getting a cup of water. 

Normally, Octavia was as silent as a mouse. Her footsteps rivalled that of a feather in the wind. She was frequently startling her coworkers with the swiftness of her movements. But not today. Her steps fell heavy, and you could hear an occasional congested sniffle coming from the woman whilst she waited for the bottle to fill up. 

She was simply getting water to warm up. For tea. It was embarrassing. Luckily, nobody dared question her as she walked away, rubbing at her nose as soon as she was out of sight. It didn’t help, unfortunately, as just a moment later, 

“K’huttsu! Hh-httsh!” 

She sighed impatiently. This was already getting annoying. Octavia sniffled harshly, exhaling through her mouth. It wasn’t like she could breathe much through her nose anyway.’ God, what elementary bullshit.’, she thought to herself, pouring the water into a kettle and rummaging through the cupboards for any resemblance of good tea. 

Luckily, there was a small packet of blueberry tea left over from…god knows where. But Octavia was desperate for any sort of remedy to soothe this…gunk she had in her system. After all, she still had a few hours before it was time to go home. Just as she started the kettle, her thoughts were interrupted. Quite suddenly, too. 

“Bless you! Are you feeling okay, Octavia? I know there’s a bit of a bug going around.” 

Octavia cringed, cursing under her breath. Of course it had to be Little Miss Perfect to find her in this state. Octavia wiped at her nose with the edge of her sleeve, turning a little with the same scowl on her face, but even more displeased, knowing that Henrietta definitely saw what just happened. 

“I’m fine. Mind your business.” 

She turned back around, hoping that was the end of the conversation. 

“Oh..well… if you want, I have some Cold & Flu meds in my desk drawer… I keep it stocked during times like these.” 

Henrietta offered a bright smile, even though it was to Octavia’s back. Octavia could just hear the smile in her voice. How frustrating. 

“I said, I’m- hhih!- f-fine.” 

Octavia pressed the back of her wrist to her nose, aggressively quelling the itch that suddenly made itself known. What an inconvenience. 

Henrietta pursed her lips momentarily, looking over Octavia’s shoulder. 

“You’re making tea? I love tea. It’s always good on a rainy day like this. My favourite type of tea is-” 

“Hh’ttshu! E’tshoo!” 

“Oh-! Bless you again. You’re…sure you’re alright?” She asked again, sounding a little dubious. Octavia kept silent, nodding. Only a small sniffle could be heard. She wasn’t fine. Octavia felt like shit. She knew she was burning up, her throat hurt like hell, and whatever the hell was happening with her sinuses was just the icing on top. 

Just as Henrietta was about to continue with what would surely be an incredibly boring lecture about health and safety, the kettle whistled. 

‘Saved by the kettle…’ Octavia thought derisively, rolling her eyes to herself and picking up the kettle off the stove and pouring it into the mug next to it. Steam billowed up from the hot drink, making her nose run. She sniffled, running the edge of her sleeve under her nose again. It was damp from the day’s events. Mainly doing exactly what she just did. Getting a box of tissues would be like shouting from the rooftops that she was sick. And Octavia Reynolds did not get sick. 

She turned, half leaning against the countertops as she sipped her tea. Henrietta raised an eyebrow. Octavia just looked sick…The half-lidded eyes, the slightly pink nose…it all didn’t bode well for Octavia’s case. 

“Let me go and grab that cold medication…I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better, really!” 

Most would have jumped at the offer. Whether it was because she was just a good caretaker, or really just being taken advantage of, was anybody’s guess. 

“I don’t. Need. your pity.” 

Octavia growled, sipping from the mug and looking just past Henrietta, as if off in the distance. She was thinking about the blissful sleep she’ll get as soon as the work day’s over. Octavia completely forgot about the weekly bar night the office held. 

Henrietta smiled sadly at Octavia. 

“Oh, come on, Octavia. You don’t look well–”

“You sayin’ I’m ugly?”

She snapped, her sniffles increasing in frequency. Henrietta’s eyes widened. 

“Oh-oh no! Not at all! You’re- you’re quite pretty….actually..”

If Octavia was paying attention, she’d notice that a blush crept up Henrietta’s neck, creeping up onto her cheeks. How embarrassing. Octavia just shook her head, pushing past her and out of the kitchen. A couple of muffled sneezes could be heard from the other room. Henrietta just sighed and shook her head. There was just no getting through to her. 

Henrietta returned to her desk and continued her work, but at a slower pace than normal. But it wasn’t her fault! Octavia never returned to her desk after their little interaction… That’s it! 

Henrietta stood back up, collecting a couple bottles of cold medicine, some tea, and a couple of soup cans and saltines in a small bag. She deposited it off at Octavia’s desk and waited. And waited. And… waited. 

Almost two hours later, Octavia still hadn’t been seen. Henrietta was beginning to get really worried! She stood up, walking out of the bullpen and down the hall, where a few conference rooms sat. 

She was beginning to think it was a dead end, looking down here was a mistake. That was, until a giant, congested sneeze came from the only room she hadn’t examined yet. Then another. Then a sickly noseblow. Henrietta cringed at the sound. Yikes… that did not sound good. She approached the door, knocking gently and peeking her head in. What met her sights was not a promising one. 

Octavia had paled quite a bit, her nose looked constantly runny, and she was slumped against the table. The light of her laptop only illuminated the bags under her eyes and the fatigue written all over her face. 

“Oh, Octavia, hun.” 

She said sympathetically, sitting down next to Octavia, who immediately sat up. Sluggish, but quick, nonetheless. With a congested sniffle, she rubbed the sleep out of her face.

“Mmm…what do you want…” 

Octavia stretched, groaning quietly. Henrietta reached out a hand to put on Octavia’s shoulder, but Octavia pulled away, stifling two snotty-sounding sneezes into her wrist. 

“H’Kutshh! H’eettssh!” 

Henrietta pulled back, a little surprised. 

“Oh- bless you.” She looked a little pensive, choosing her next words carefully. “Do you… need to go home?” She asked gently, as Octavia, (somehow, grumpily), blew her nose, a sick, gurgling sound escaping her. 

“Ndo…Go away…” Octavia grouched, too tired to even properly insult Henrietta right now. 

Henrietta was not convinced. She leaned forward, shutting the laptop. 

“Or we can pack up…go home and get some rest?” 

Octavia snatched back the laptop, shaking her head. 

“Stop- I’b fide.” She insisted, sniffling and rubbing the palm of her hand against her reddening nose. Octavia stood up, though slightly swaying, and pushed past Henrietta again. 

“Oh! Uhm- or - or maybe, you know–” She looked around, spotting a clock hanging off the wall. “It’s almost time to go home…you could just sit and wait for the day to be over?” 

She knew that her propositions fell on deaf ears as Octavia walked out of the room. Her head felt like it was full of cotton, and her nose felt just as plugged. She was borderline mouth breathing at this point, and she didn’t even care. Octavia left Henrietta in the doorway of the conference room, watching as Octavia stumbled away. 

She shook her head, sighing. Maybe this was a matter better left alone… 

A couple hours later, the work day was done, and all of the employees filed out, each headed to the local bar for a few drinks and games. The most popular one was a simple game of pool. For months now, Octavia was the reigning champion. Nobody could beat her, despite their best efforts. 

But, as it seemed tonight, Octavia wasn’t up to the task. As soon as she got to the bar she grabbed a beer and started drinking, alone, in a corner booth. She watched as her coworkers laughed and mingled about, played darts, watched football, and made stupid little drunken bets throughout the night. Nobody ever really came up to Octavia during these outings. And she was generally fine with that. Especially today. Everybody avoided her especially today, except one brave soul who asked her if she was competing today in pool; to which she hastily snapped that she wasn’t, and stalked off to get another drink.  

Drowsy and now tipsy, Octavia sat alone, contemplating whether or not she should go home before she gets too drunk, sleep whatever this is off before tomorrow. She lurched forward , for what felt like the millionth time tonight, cupping her hands over her mouth. 

“H’kittsh! E’kkktshu! Heh-Hettch!” 

Her hand dropped immediately, and she leaned back against the wooden back of the booth. She ran out of bar napkins in the nearby vicinity to use, so she resorted to the heel of her palm, rubbing at her itchy nose. The alcohol didn’t help with the sneezing, either. Octavia sighed, resting her head in her hand, letting her eyes close for just a moment. Was she drunk? Perhaps. Too sick to stay awake? Entirely probable. 

From across the bar, Henrietta was in a large circle of her coworkers, laughing and watching them all drink themselves silly. Henrietta and a couple others were usually the designated drivers, just to keep everyone safer. 

But this time, things were a little different. 

Henrietta had been watching the other woman from across the bar all night. Sneezing and drinking seemed to be the activity of the night for poor Octavia. When she gave up and just closed her eyes, Henrietta decided it was probably time to check up on Octavia again. 

She grabbed a glass of water and hauled herself over to the booth, sitting next to Octavia, who didn’t even bother to look over at Henrietta. 

“Hey, Octavia. Fun night so far?” 

She asked, sliding the water over to the other woman. Octavia just sniffled again, sounding terribly congested… Henrietta fished through her purse, pulling out a little to-go package of kleenex. She came prepared, opening it and offering a tissue over to Octavia. She had to nudge the woman’s arm to get her attention. 

Octavia sluggishly looked down at the tissues, then back at Henrietta with a confused expression. She didn’t take a tissue. Instead, she leaned closer towards Henrietta with a sly grin on her face. 

“You’re pretty…why don’t you have a boyfriend yet, hmm…?” She asked, her words slightly slurred. She sniffled again, rubbing her nose in an attempt to quell the itch. She was always more sensitive to alcohol’s effect than most. “Like…hhihh- what’s thHhih-the d-deal?” Octavia continued, a terrible itch taking over her senses for a torturous few seconds before, “Hhh’Tshh! K’iitshew! E’Eettshhu!” She snuffled wetly, giving in and taking the tissue, grateful for the softer fabric of the tissues compared to the bar napkins, as she blew her nose. It didn’t do much except create a sad, snotty gurgling sound. 

Henrietta’s eyes widened, blushing a little. “Uhm…I’m not…I don’t want a boyfriend…” She trailed off quietly. While she was advertised as an open book, there was one thing she seldom shared in her professional life; Henrietta Davis was a lesbian. She always knew she was. But nobody else did. Not even her family. 

Octavia frowned at Henrietta. “Whaatttt? You’re so pretty…and nice– I - I know so many guys, in the- in the office… they’d looooove to jump those bones-” She had a mischievous grin on her face, waving her finger in an up-down motion, while Henrietta’s blush only increased. 

“I- uhm…” She looked around, making sure nobody was looking at them. “Octavia- I’m…I’m gay..” 

Henrietta scrunched her eyes shut, prepared for the worst. She was fully expecting the other woman to react negatively. Throw water in her face, yell, something. But no. there was just silence. She slowly opened her eyes, surprised by the warm smile that was on Octavia’s face. 

“So you’re telling me…” Octavia started, scooting a little closer to Henrietta, “That I actually have a chance?” 

She leaned forward, surprising Henrietta with an, admittedly sloppy, kiss. It set off fireworks in her, until she came to her senses and pulled back. Wistfully, she looked down at Octavia. 

“You’ve been drinking, Octavia…” Henrietta murmured, a hand on the other woman’s cheek. 

Octavia’s face was flushed with a light pink; whether that was from the illness, alcohol, or from the situation at hand, it was anyone’s guess. 

“And?” She sniffled, bringing her hand up to her nose again, lurching forward. It was so sudden, she barely had time to cover it up, and some of it landed gently on Henrietta’s arm. 

“H’uttshuu! Ee’etssh! Sorry-” 

“You’re also sick. You need some rest, hun. Not a one night stand with a coworker.” She laughs softly, her voice dipping to a low tone, “As much fun as that would be…” Octavia noisily blew her nose as Henrietta talked. 

“How about I drive you home, get you better, and then we could talk, okay? You look exhausted, dear.” 

Octavia sniffled, letting her shoulders drop a little. She was exhausted. Today had been a long day, trying to act like she was fine. She eventually nodded in agreement and Henrietta smiled, happy to have finally won her over. 

I just had my first dust sneeze in over a year! I was cleaning the bedroom, picked up a cool mat that we have for the dog and dust and fur flew EVERYWHERE. It was so itchy, and within a second my entire nose was buzzing. I could barely gasp in a huge breath before I was being launched forward into a wet, very satisfying "HEASHEEW!"

One day I will be with a group of friends, or perhaps someone I admire, and I will have to sneeze.

Only this time, instead of my mental block cancelling out the reflex, I will feel comfortable enough and safe enough to let one out in the presence of my friends or SO.

It will be cute, since I've had ample practice by now tailoring them.

My friends/SO will look a little surprised, since it will be the first time they are hearing it (what do you know, she does sneeze after all)-and then...

And then they will say it: bless you.

I might thank them shyly, looking away, or simply nod with a smile.

The moment passes. My group of friends/SO will think nothing of what just transpired, and life will go on.