History Repeating (Secret Santa for Leap-Year Kisses)

[Dusty15]

For Leap-Year Kisses....I hope you enjoy! Loved all your prompts and I may end up writing the Sirius/Remus one someday

Also, I'm not supposed to post this until Monday but Christmas is coming early for you, because I'm going somewhere without reliable internet until Tuesday!

Prompt: Rather strict (but cute) English teacher comes to school with bad hayfever/a terrible sneezy cold (depending on the season, lol). Throughout the day he is bothered by and cared for by the fun History teacher (whom he is sort of together with, unbeknownst to his students). Perhaps told from the perspective of a student with the fetish?

History Repeating

Meg Mullins wasn’t the best student during the winter months. For one thing, she hated the dark mornings and biting winds as she trudged to class across campus each morning. The dreary days made her sleepy and unmotivated. And there was the other problem with winter: colds. Yes, influenza and the common cold were Meg’s arch nemesis and greatest love, for she had a sneeze fetish and couldn’t help but get distracted by sniffles and sneezes.

Today was yet another freezing winter morning and Meg’s first class was her most difficult. The prerequisite English class she took as part of her History major was led by the intelligent but strict Mr. Asher. “Ash”, as they called him outside of the classroom, didn’t tolerate anything less than perfection when it came to grammar and essay-writing. Meg was fond of him but often found herself frustrated with her inability to get an “A” on any of his assignments. Despite his strict and slightly uptight nature, it was difficult to truly dislike him because he had a charming British accent and handsome, classic features.

Professor Asher wasn’t there when Meg arrived and settled down into her seat, unraveling her scarf and retrieving her notebook. In fact, he didn’t arrive until almost exactly ten, which was quite unlike him. He entered the room after a trail of students, looking thoroughly exhausted, his nose a bright scarlet.

Normally Meg wouldn’t’ve taken notice, considering most people sported red noses when coming in from the cold weather, but there was a telltale handkerchief sticking out of her Professor’s jacket pocket. A cold.

Meg shifted in her seat uncomfortably, feeling a swell of excitement in her stomach.

“Take out your books please,” Asher said. His voice cracked slightly and he cleared his throat huskily. “I’m sorry, I seem to have a slight cold. You’re all going to need to be quiet so I don’t have to shout over you. Page thirty-two. Take a few minutes to read and then we’ll begin discussing this in conjunction with last night’s assignment.”

With her textbook open, Meg began reading, glancing up every few seconds to watch her professor fumble with his handkerchief as he dabbed his running nose.

Just as he was setting the handkerchief aside and digging in his desk for something, there was a knock on the classroom door. Ian Oliver, Meg’s favorite history professor, opened the door and peered in, a steaming mug of tea in one hand.

“You left this in the lounge,” he said, crossing to Asher’s desk and setting down the mug. Meg was sure she saw Professor Oliver’s hand trail lightly over Professor Asher’s as he drew it back. He’d dropped a few cough lozenges on the desk as well before turning to leave.

“All prepared?” Asher asked, unwrapping a lozenge. “Meg, will you start us off? What’s the link between what we all just read and what you wrote about last night?”

“Um,” Meg stammered, caught off guard. She’d only managed to read half of the text. “Well, this talks a lot about the use of magical realism and that’s a major literary device in ‘Bless Me Ultima’ and…”

Eh’tschhhh!

Going silent, Meg stared wide-eyed as her teacher bent and sneezed into the crook of his arm. She was sure her knees would have buckled had she been standing. And it looked like it wasn’t the end of the sneezing. Professor Asher was now scrambling for his handkerchief, clutching it to his nose as his chest expanded and his tie slipped out from his jacket. He pitched forward with another sneeze,

Hehh’tscht!

“Bless you,” several students chimed.

“Thank you,” Asher said, visibly uncomfortable with the display in front of his class. “Meg, continue.”

“Err, um, and the animals…uh, talking animals. They’re a big indicator of magical realism.”

“Good. Moving on. Richard, can you talk to us about parts of the book that relate to other aspects of magic- ah…”

The teacher went quiet again, eyes squinting shut and his lip curling upward before his head snapped in a short volley of spraying sneezes.

Ehh’tsshhhh! Hehh-ehhtschttt! ‘Tshhhhoo!

“Ugh, terribly sorry,” he said, but between his congestion and his accent, it sounded more like “terubwy swory”. He reached for his tea and took a long sip, massaging his throat absently as he swallowed.

“I have some Emergen-C, if you want some for your tea,” one girl offered from the back of the classroom. “It’s amazing if you’re getting a cold.”

“I’m just fine thanks,” Professor Asher replied with a nonchalant gesture, as if to suggest he hadn’t just had a sneezing fit. “Continue, please, Richard.”

The students carried on the discussion, occasionally prompted by the professor but for the most part, Asher remained seated at his desk looking unfocused. It was such a departure from his usual attentive and serious nature that Meg felt positively giddy about seeing him in such a state.

When the end of class came and the students began to file out, Meg saw a familiar face slip back into the room as she packed her books away into her bag. Professor Oliver entered with a small bottle in one hand and a box of Kleenex in the other. She slowed her packing, observing the two men. Oliver deposited the box of tissues on the desk, plucking one out and offering it to Asher. She could make out the phrase “you look like you need this”. He set the bottle down too and she recognized the label of a popular cold medicine. It was positively sweet of Oliver to be so attentive to his colleague’s cold, she thought. She’d always liked him as a teacher and now the affection grew more seeing him care for her other professor.

As she shouldered her backpack, Asher stood to talk to Oliver and she saw out of the corner of her eye that vaguely confused expression cross Asher’s face. It was undoubtedly the beginnings of a sneeze, so she turned nonchalantly and watched as her English teacher’s face contorted and he sneezed miserably right in the direction of Professor Oliver.

Hehh…ehhhh…etsxtttt!

“Bless!” she heard Professor Oliver cry. He looked nonplussed about being sneezed upon but instead reached for another tissue to hand over to his colleague.

Meg had no excuse to hang about any longer and exited the classroom feeling like she’d witnessed the best English seminar of her life. Joining up some friends, she headed to the school café, eager for lunch before her History class. Her best friend, Kait, was well aware of Meg’s affections for sniffles and sneezes and gave Meg a wink as they sat down together at a café table.

“Looks like the show will continue,” Kait whispered, cocking her head to the opposite side of the room. Professors Asher and Oliver were carrying trays, making their way to another table. Professor Asher looked even paler and more red-nosed in the fluorescent lighting of the café and Meg felt an excited yet sympathetic surge in her stomach. Professor Asher had a sandwich and she observed him eating a bit before setting it aside, rubbing his throat absently. He sipped some juice and blew his irritated nose into a rough napkin, clearly trying to play the role of a healthy and unaffected man. He was failing miserably.

Professor Oliver saw through the act as well as Meg and disappeared for a moment, returning with a bowl of soup, much to Meg’s delight. He set it in front of Asher who was in the middle of a small fit of irritated, congested sneezes.

Ehh’tschhht! ‘Tschhhhttt! Hehhh’tsxttt!

Oliver put a comforting hand on Asher’s back and retrieved a handkerchief from his pocket, offering it to his colleague. Professor Asher looked embarrassed as he took it and blew his nose. Meg could hear the honking clear across the cafeteria and tried to keep from staring. It was clear he was incredibly congested.

Upon seeing the soup, Meg observed Ash shake his head and sigh heavily, his shoulders drooping. He pointedly took another bite of his sandwich and Meg laughed under her breath at his obvious refusal to acknowledge the rotten cold he’d acquired.

“You’re loving this,” Kait whispered in Meg’s ear, stopping her conversation with the other girls to stare at the teachers for a moment.

“Shh,” Meg said, swatting her friend on the arm and turning back to her lunch. “Was I staring?”

“I think you were almost drooling,” Kait teased.

Blushing, Meg finished her sandwich, careful not to look back at the men across the cafeteria. Lunch finished, she gathered her things to head to the library for a brief break before her history lecture. She glanced back across the cafeteria and saw her teachers gathering their things as well. As they moved to depart their separate ways, Professor Oliver’s hand reached out and grabbed Professor Asher’s, giving it a squeeze. When they released, Meg saw a blue checkered handkerchief left in Professor Asher’s hand. Professor Oliver headed towards the History Building while Professor Asher turned in Meg’s direction, heading back to his classroom.

He was just feet away when he paused in the middle of the café, hand still clutching Professor Oliver’s handkerchief. Meg heard his breath hitch and he pressed the cloth against his nose, chest heaving, eyes tearing up.

Ehh’tschhhhhooo! Hehh’tschooo!

“Bless you,” Meg offered politely as she passed him, feeling herself blush.

He nodded tersely, nose still wrapped in the handkerchief, and continued on his way.

Meg spent some time in the library reading until the alarm on her cell phone alerted her to the time and she headed to Professor Oliver’s room.

He was just entering the classroom in front of her and he had a shopping bag from the local drug store in his hand. Meg could see through the translucent white plastic that it contained a box of NyQuil, a box of Theraflu, a package of herbal tea, a bag of throat lozenges, a jar of Vicks, and a box of Breathe-Rite strips.

It was difficult to concentrate with Professor Oliver’s bag of treats sitting tantalizingly next to the desk. Meg tried to imagine Professor Asher with all the cold remedies and found she had a hard time visualizing her strict professor with all these indicators of weakness. From what she’d seen, it was clear Professor Asher didn’t enjoy them anyway.

When the lecture finished, Meg quietly trailed Professor Oliver out of the classroom and towards the faculty parking lot. As she rounded the fence, she saw Professor Asher sitting in a car, shivering. Professor Oliver approached and slid into the driver’s seat, handing over the bag and leaning towards Asher. At first Meg thought Oliver was going to check for a fever and was shocked to see him kiss Asher tenderly on the brow instead.

What happened next would go down in Meg’s book as one of the most amazing observations she’d ever have.

Professor Asher’s eyes closed in what appeared at first to be relaxed bliss, but from a distance Meg could see the expression change as a sneeze crept up.

Ehh’txchttt!

With a small pitch of his head, Asher sneezed right into Oliver’s neck. Defeated, he slid his head to his lover’s shoulder and Meg saw Oliver kiss the top of it before retrieving a handkerchief from his pocket and carefully dabbing Asher’s nose. Nose still irritated, Asher sneezed freely into the handkerchief, the spray spreading around the edges onto Oliver’s hand.

Hehh’tschxxxt!

Not looking the least bit irritated at being sneezed on, Oliver settled Asher in his seat with the fresh handkerchief before starting the car and pulling out from the lot.

Meg leaned against the fence, her legs feeling like jelly. This was one for the history books, that was for sure. And if it happened again tomorrow…well, it’s like they say…history repeats itself!

[ID2006]

This is amazing

[SweaterWeather]

eeeeeeeppppp!!! Cold ridden teacher and another teacher there to comfort him!?!? B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

[ooo]

Oh, wow, YUM. Professor Asher sounds delicious, I wouldn't have minded being in that class! Thanks for the awesome fic

[LeapYearKisses]

Oh my god, I couldn't have asked for a better one. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Everything about this was panty-meltingly badass. I am so happy! So, so happy! This went off perfectly what I had in my head! You even gave Asher a British accent. Oh, please marry my brain.

And Bless Me Ultima is a good book. XD

I'm gonna read it again. Oh, by the way, even my sister, who doesn't have the fetish as far as I know, says this is amazing. Seriously a good fic.

[obsessed]

I swore I commented on this.

I absolutely LOVE the concept.

[meepsy]

ooo this story is to DIE for! wonderful!

I am loving this secret santa business!

[tma]

:D THIS.... Just.... ojaoherkhljaslfhioehlslj... am incoherent. Just YUM!

The teacher went quiet again, eyes squinting shut and his lip curling upward before his head snapped in a short volley of spraying sneezes.

Ehh’tsshhhh! Hehh-ehhtschttt! ‘Tshhhhoo!

“Ugh, terribly sorry,” he said, but between his congestion and his accent, it sounded more like “terubwy swory”. He reached for his tea and took a long sip, massaging his throat absently as he swallowed.

“I have some Emergen-C, if you want some for your tea,” one girl offered from the back of the classroom. “It’s amazing if you’re getting a cold.”

“I’m just fine thanks,” Professor Asher replied with a nonchalant gesture, as if to suggest he hadn’t just had a sneezing fit. “Continue, please, Richard.”

This was one of the bits that just completely killed me.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

I think you might have killed me with the cuteness of this story.

So well written and yummy!

[doggo]

Aww-gasm!!! This is so very lovely. Adorably hot.

[Nova]

I like how you crammed so much... utterly likable things into this, without making it forced, to call me out of my "non-posting of replies"-spree.

It is very sweet and delightfully hot. Oh, how I love effective one-shots like these.

[Sneesee]

That was friggin AWESOME! Nice job, Dusty!! I love all these presents!! Such amazing writers we have here!

[Dusty15]

* blushes madly * goodness! Thanks for all the love!!!