Languages of Love (and Colds) - (2 Parts)

[Esperanza]

Although I have posted the whole fic, it is split into sections because it really is quite long! Hope you like it.

Languages of Love (and Colds)

Elena marched through the snow, not feeling the cold. How could she when she was warm inside with all the excitement? She was nearly at the door of the airport. She hurried, even though she knew she was early. Inside, the large screen announced the obvious – that the plane she was waiting for had not landed yet. Pacing around the small airport, she wished she could make time hurry up, so all the passengers from the plane would be coming through the arrivals gate that very second. Well, she didn’t care for all the passengers; she was waiting for one in particular.

This particular passenger had long dark hair and brown eyes that lit up whenever she smiled, which was often. She was slim, tall, and was flying in from Madrid and Elena could not really believe that she was returning. It had been two months, one week and four days since they had seen each other (Elena had counted) but it had felt like a lifetime.

She had excitedly told her friends and family “Reya is coming back to Moldova!” Everyone was pleased – Reya was a nice girl; always smiling and joking with everyone. Nobody knew quite how happy Elena was about her return – to the outside world, the pair were just simply good friends.

Reya had come to Moldova for six months as part of a team for the charity she worked for back home, helping to set up a community project just outside Chisinau. Bold, independent and beautiful, most people had noticed her, especially Elena. Because of her good English, Elena had been made part of the Moldovan team, and for this she would always be grateful, because she had met Reya. Although they both spoke together in English, Elena wanted to learn Spanish, so she could speak Reya’s first language.

Elena was five years younger than Reya, who was twenty-seven. She had been attracted to her from the start, but after chatting with Reya one day and hearing crazy tales of ex-boyfriends, Elena had thought it would be impossible for her affection ever to be returned. As it turned out, after one night when lots of wine had been drunk, Reya admitted that she liked women and men, and had even had two relationships with woman before. This had filled Elena with hope, but she was sure that even if Reya liked women, she could never like her. She was not nearly as attractive as Reya. But Elena did not see what Reya saw when she looked at her – her long, soft honey-coloured hair, big green eyes and sweet smile were indeed very beautiful. After another night, and more wine (of course!), they had had their first kiss. It was sweet and soft. Elena had been embarrassed to see Reya the next day, but Reya had made it clear that she hoped that first kiss would certainly not be the last and Elena felt so filled with happiness.

Now, she glanced up, awakened from her daydream of her first kiss with Reya, by a group of people coming through the arrivals gate. The plane must have landed! She suddenly felt slightly nervous about seeing Reya again. Nobody had ever travelled all this way for her, and what if Reya changed her mind when she saw her, and regretted coming back? But suddenly Reya was there, walking among the other people, tall, vibrant and beautiful. Her dark eyes lit up when she saw Elena and she dashed to her. They hugged each other tightly. Elena was so desperate to touch her lips to Reya’s and kiss her again and again. However, both of them knew this was not acceptable in public. They looked at each other, both grinning like crazy.

“The flight felt so long!” exclaimed Reya, “I was really impatient. I just wanted it to be over so I could be with you!”

“Well, you are finally here,” said Elena. “I can’t even tell you how happy I am to see you again!”

A wicked little smile played over Reya’s lips, “Maybe you can show me later!”

Suddenly, the smile left Reya’s face, as she took in a gasp of air and her eyes began to close. She turned away from Elena and sneezed heavily into one hand, “Hu-ah-SHOO!” It sounded like quite a wet sneeze to Elena, and she saw she was right as Reya wiped her hand on her jeans. Reya let out a small “aaah” and massaged the bridge of her nose between the thumb and finger of her other hand.

“Are you alright?” Elena asked with concern.

“Yes. I’m really good now,” said Reya, sniffing and running one finger across her nostrils, “I needed to sneeze for, like, the last hour on the plane. Something was itching in my nose. It was so annoying. I just couldn’t get the sneeze out! But now, finally it came!”

Elena really liked her sneezes, although she had kept this a secret. That sneeze which had come so soon after Reya’s arrival was like a gift to Elena, and Reya didn’t even know it! Elena took Reya’s case for her and haled a taxi. They talked so much in the car. They were going to Elena’s parents’ apartment. Elena still lived with them and this was common as it took young people lots of time to save the money to get their own place. Elena’s parents liked Reya and had said that she was always welcome to stay with them. They had no idea that she was in a relationship with their daughter.

“We will have my room to ourselves the whole time you are here,” said Elena, “Veronika has gone to stay with Lana.”

Veronika and Lana were Elena’s sisters. They had all shared a room together, before the oldest sister, Lana, had gone to Romania, the neighbouring country, to try to find work there. It was cramped, especially once the three sisters had grown up, but there was nothing they could do about it. Veronika, the youngest sister, had just gone to stay with Lana for a bit, hoping to find work herself. Her timing had been impeccable, as this now meant Elena and Reya would have some privacy.

“Veronika told me to tell you that she is sorry she didn’t get to see you. She liked you very much,” said Elena

“Oh, that’s sweet,” said Reya. `She yawned, “Oh, I’m sorry! Please excuse me! Make sure you send Veronika my love, when you next speak to her.”

“I will,” replied Elena, “But, of course I am glad that we will have the room to ourselves!”

“Oh, me too!” said Reya, and she yawned again, this time so wide that it brought tears to her eyes. “I’m so sorry Elena! I didn’t sleep for three nights – I was doing so much work. They gave me so much I had to finish before I got here. And I am only taking a week off!”

“Poor baby,” murmured Elena, drawing Reya close to let her rest her head on her shoulder.

They got back to the apartment to find that Elena’s parents had made a big meal to welcome Reya. The last thing Elena felt like doing was sitting down to eat with the parents, but it had to be done. Although Elena had to translate for everyone, her parents could see from Reya’s smile that she was happy to be back. And they were happy to see her as well.

Finally, the meal was over, and they went to Elena’s room. Reya collapsed on the bed.

“I am so sorry about that,” said Elena, “I wish they would just leave us alone! I wish I had my own place!”

“Hey, don’t worry,” said Reya sitting up, “I think it was nice of them. It was a good meal too! Very delicious. Your parents are lovely people. Stop looking stressed! I want to give you a massage to relax you!”

Elena smiled and went to Reya. She always made things better. She was so lucky to have her.

Hours later, they lay entwined together in Elena’s single bed. Elena ran her hand through Reya’s long, dark hair, listening to the sound of her even breathing as she lay sleeping. She was still asleep when Elena had to get up the next day. Elena wished that she did not have to work, but she could not afford time off. Reya, as always, had been understanding, and told her she would not dream of asking her to take a break from work. She said she would visit the project she had helped to set up during the times Elena was working anyway.

Elena dressed and went to eat breakfast. As she came back in to take one last look at Reya before she left, she saw that her girl was beginning to stir. She woke and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She smiled when she saw Elena watching her from across the room.

Elena grinned back, “Buenos días, mi amor,” she said.

Reya smiled again, “Buenos días a ti también, mi amor!” Good morning to you as well, my love. “I like your Spanish.”

“And I like you!” said Elena! She was so happy to have Reya back here again, lying there in her bed, no less.

Reya seemed to be about to say something, but instead, her nostrils suddenly flared and she took a sharp intake of breath. Bringing one hand to her face, she sneezed into it “Hu-ah-SHOO!” She sniffed wetly and rubbed her nose.

“Bless you,” said Elena

“Thanks! Excuse me!” Reya sniffed again and shook her head a little, as if the sneeze had cleared it, “Ah, my morning wake-up sneeze!”

And it was true. Normally within a few minutes of waking up, Reya would always sneeze once. Elena remembered this detail fondly. It wasn’t just in the morning though, she would sneeze after waking from a nap at any time. Good memories!

“What would you like for breakfast?” asked Elena, mentally storing away the image of Reya sneezing in her bed, so she could recall it later.

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I think I’ll have something in an hour or so, if that’s ok. I know you are going to work, so I will go back to sleep for a bit. Sorry, I am lazy!”

“Oh, that’s fine. You were very busy before you came,” Elena thought of how Reya would sneeze again when she woke up later, and wished she didn’t have to be at work so she could witness it. But she was being irrational now! “Whenever you feel like it, just go into the kitchen and help yourself.” As she spoke, she started to mess up Veronika’s bed, which had been perfectly made.

“What are you doing?” asked Reya, with a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Got to make the parents believe that we slept in two beds!” said Elena.

Reya yawned. “You think of everything,” she said dreamily as she lay her head back down on the pillow. Elena kissed her gently on the lips before leaving for work.

******************

Why did her home seem so far away? This must be the longest bus ride of her life! Well obviously, it was the same length that it was everyday as she came back from work, but it felt like ages now she knew Reya was waiting for her at home! When her stop finally came into view, Elena jumped down and nearly ran back to her apartment block, so eager to get back to Reya. Once she got inside, she found her mother in the kitchen.

“Hi Mum, where’s Reya?” she asked.

“She went out for a bit earlier, but she is back now. I think she is in your room. Obviously I can’t speak Spanish or English, so I can’t actually talk to her, so will you please tell her that she is free to sit wherever she likes when you are not here? She doesn’t have to stay in that room.”

“OK,” said Elena, not really listening. She went to her room, where Reya was lying on her bed, asleep. Elena gently sat down next to her, and softly started stroking her hair. Reya began to stir and finally looked up at Elena from where she was lying.

“What time is it?” she said in a voice that still sounded tired, “I didn’t mean to sleep again. I’m so sorry.”

“Hey that’s ok. I don’t mind. How was your day? I heard that you went out before and-“ Elena broke off as she saw a pre-sneeze expression take over Reya’s face.

Reya turned her head away from Elena, and put one hand to her face. “Hu-ah-SHOO!” she sneezed loudly.

“Bless you.”

“Thanks,” Reya replied, her voice sounded a little congested. She sniffed wetly a couple of times.

“Would you like a tissue?” asked Elena.

“Yes, that would be really good,” came the reply.

Elena went and fetched her some and watched as she lightly blew her nose. She sat up on the bed, “So you were asking where I went before,” began Reya, as she went on to describe her day and ask about Elena’s.

Elena thought it was cute that she had still been listening even when she was about to sneeze! They chatted for a while and then ended up kissing and curled up tightly together on the bed together. There was a sharp knock on the door. They quickly jumped apart and sat at either end of the bed as Elena told the knocker to come in. It was her mother, telling them that the food would be ready soon and asking if Reya would like a drink while she was waiting. Elena answered no and tried to get rid of her as fast as she could.

She turned to Reya once she had left. “I am so sorry about that. We will always be interrupted. It makes me so mad.”

“Listen,” said Reya, “it is so great that I am sitting here now, here in Chisinau, with you, instead of being in Madrid and just wishing I was with you. So your mother knocked on the door – it is not a problem at all! We are here together, so don’t get mad about anything.”

“Are you sure? I just feel bad that I can’t offer you a better place to stay.”

“Elena!” exclaimed Reya, “This is a very nice place and even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter, because we would be together. You shouldn’t say things like that. It is so – ah – it’s so –ah – so – ah- huh-ah-SHOO!”

Elena was about to bless her but she heard Reya take in another deep breath before she sneezed again. “Huh-AH-SHOO!”

Reya nearly always sneezed in singles. The only times she had sneezed twice in a row, as far as Elena could remember, was when she had once caught a cold during her time in Moldova.

She said “bless you” to Reya, but Reya had still not taken her hand away from her face. She took another sharp breath before sneezing again, “Huh-ah-SHEEEW!”

She gave a large sniff, exclaiming “Perdon! I mean, ‘excuse me’! I don’t know where those came from!” She held two fingers to the bottom of her nose and kept sniffing hard.

“More tissues?” asked Elena casually, although she was tingling inside.

“Ay, please yes,” sniffled Reya. She blew her nose again, a little less lightly this time. Suddenly her nose wrinkled and she sat, gasping with a desperate pre-sneeze expression; tissue held in front of her face, but nothing was happening.

“Reya?”

“Ah-ah- yes?”

“Are you alright?”

“I – I –huh- need to –ah-ah- sneeze, but it –ah –huh—huh-HUH- oh, damn, so close! Huh- it won’t –ah- come,” struggled Reya.

Elena crossed the room and put the light on. “Here, look at the light. Maybe that will help you sneeze.”

Reya looked up at the light, “`Ah-huh-huh-HUH- no. I can’t – huh- stand this – ah…”

The only other thing that could make an even brighter light was, surprisingly, Elena’s mobile phone. A girl from England, who had worked on the same project as Reya, had given Elena her old mobile. It wasn’t a common phone in Moldova and if you pressed a button, a bright light, like a torch came on at one end. Elena grabbed it and made the light come on. “Look,” she said, shining it into Reya’s eyes.

It worked! “HUH-AH-SHEEEEW!” sneezed Reya, all over the phone and Elena’s hand.

She quickly brought the tissue up to wipe her nose and looked at Elena in horror, “I am so sorry! I have sneezed all over your phone!”

“And on my hand a little bit too!” grinned Elena.

“Really? Oh, I am sorry. Go and wash your hand. Give me your phone, I will wipe it down.”

Elena did as she was told and when she came back she saw Reya was trying not to smile. “What’s so funny, Reya?” she asked.

“I just thought it was kind of original that you shone a mobile phone light into my eyes!”

“Well, you didn’t look very comfortable! I just wanted to help,” explained Elena.

“No, it ok. Thank you. I hate having stuck sneezes. I am just sorry that it ended so messily for you, or, rather, on you!”

Reya had no idea how happy Elena was inside. She had always fantasised about being sneezed on, and since she had met Reya, she had dreamt of being sneezed on by her. To be honest, her phone hadn’t been involved in her fantasies, but she was still more than pleased with the result!

**************

The evening passed with no more sneezes from Reya, stuck or otherwise, although she did sound a little sniffly at times. The next time Elena was aware of her sneezing was actually in the middle of the night. They had gone to bed and had slowly started off kissing gently, but their kisses had got more frantic as they reached for each other’s bodies. They knew exactly the right things to do for the other, and they reached the climax together. Reya had fallen asleep almost straight away. Her breathing sounded a little heavy. Given her sneezing before as well, Elena wondered if she might be coming down with something.

That had been one of Elena’s last thoughts before she too had drifted to sleep. She awoke as the bed suddenly jerked and she heard “Huh-gn-ch!” She felt Reya turn away from her, and the bed jerked again as she stifled another sneeze “Huh-gn-ch!”

Reya slowly eased her way off the bed, trying to be quiet, so as not to wake Elena. Her head was swimming as she felt so stuffed up. Another sneeze was coming. “Huh-gn-ch!” She was standing now and was about to go to the bathroom, to leave her girlfriend to sleep, when Elena spoke to her.

“Where are you going, sweetie?”

“To the bathroom. Huh-gn-ch! I can’t stop sneezing. Huh-gn-ch! Huh-gn-chh! Hu-gn-choo!” The sneezes were getting harder to stifle. “I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I was awake anyway,” Elena lied kindly.

“Hu-gn-choo!”

“Bless you. Now you need to get back into bed and keep warm. And you don’t have to try and stifle your sneezes any more. I am awake.”

“Huh-ah-SHOO! Huh-ah-SHIEEW!” came the reply.

“My poor baby. Get back into bed. Do you want a drink or anything? I can get you whatever you need,” said Elena, ready to get up.

“I just need you,” said Reya in a small voice. She sounded do vulnerable, and so unlike the bold, confident woman she normally was.

Elena felt her heart melt. “Well come on then, get back into bed with me. I’ll look after you.”

Reya snuggled in next to Elena, who put one arm around her, and stroked her hair with the other, whispering soothing words to get her to sleep. It had nearly worked, when Reya’s eyes suddenly flew open and she turned away from Elena, sneezing into her hand. “Huh-ah-SHOO! Huh-ah-SHOOO!”

“Oh, bless you! What a cold!” said Elena, and she worked at soothing her girl back to sleep again.

***********

Iulia, Elena’s mother, had been given instructions by her daughter to check on Reya while Elena was at work. She was vaguely amused that Elena thought she needed to be told how to look after somebody suffering from a cold. Had she forgotten that Iulia had nursed her and her sisters through several? She was slightly nervous though. As much as she loved having this charismatic, foreign friend of her daughter’s to stay, she wished that they could speak the same language.

Iulia had looked in on the sleeping Reya a few times. It was now mid morning and Reya began to stir. She opened her eyes and looked around, forgetting for a minute where she was. Oh yes, at Elena’s. But Elena must have gone to work already. She swallowed. Her throat was sore. She felt a tickle starting in her nose. Her regular morning sneeze was coming, she reckoned. “Huh-huh-ah-SHOOO!” It was powerful, but her nose was not done! “Hup-SHEEW! Huh-AAAH-SHEW!”

Reya had never sneezed like this before, well until her little fit yesterday perhaps. It had left her a little breathless, but that was not her only problem. Her nose had started to run. She looked around desperately for tissues, but couldn’t see any. Where had Elena fetched them from yesterday? She didn’t know.

There was a knock on the door and Iulia came in. “Salut!” she said in greeting.

“Salut!” replied Reya.

Iulia asked her if she wanted some breakfast, but Reya couldn’t understand, so she mimed eating and drinking and Reya nodded.

Reya really wanted to ask for a tissue, but she was not sure how she could mime this to Iulia. Plus she only had the use of one hand, as she was holding the fingers of her left hand underneath her nose, to stop it running everywhere uncontrollably. She remembered the last time she had caught a cold in Moldova. Elena had come round and had taught her some random Moldovan words to do with colds. Reya wasn’t quite sure why she had done that, but it had been amusing at the time and had cheered her up. Elena could be so sweet and funny sometimes. Now however, those words could actually be useful.

She looked at Iulia, her eyes watering a little, and tried to remember the word for tissue. “Strănut,” she said hopefully.

Iulia nodded and made a sympathetic noise. Obviously this was not the response Reya was looking for. Then she remembered that ‘strănut’ meant sneeze. She finally managed to think of the word for tissue, “ ţesătură ,” she tried.

This worked as Iulia quickly hurried off and came back with some tissues.

“Mulţumesc,” - Thank you- Reya said gratefully as she buried her nose in one.

After managing to eat a little of her breakfast, she went back to sleep.

**********

Reya awoke as there was a knock at the door. “Elena?” she croaked. She cleared her throat, as painful as that was, and tried again “Elena? Is that you?”

“No,” came the reply. “This is Liliana, Elena’s cousin. Please can I come in?”

“Sure,” answered Reya. “You will have to excuse me though. I look a mess.” She had met Liliana a few times. She was a sweet kid, just 18, and in her last year at high school. Liliana had liked Reya very much, at first just because of the novelty of knowing somebody foreign, but then because she could see Reya had a warm, friendly personality. It was hard not to like Reya!

“Hiii!” squealed Liliana, coming over to hug Reya.

“Oh, don’t hug me, darling. I don’t want to give you my cold.”

“I don’t care about that,” said Liliana, pushing her curly, blonde hair behind her ears, “It’s great to see you again!” She hugged Reya anyway.

Suddenly Reya’s body tensed. “Oh, mind!” she exclaimed, quickly turning away and grabbing a tissue to sneeze into. “Huh-AH- SHIIIEEEW!”

She coughed and exclaimed “¡Ay Dios Mio!” Oh my god! at the enormity of the sneeze.

“Wow! Are you ok?” asked Liliana.

“Yes. I always sneeze when I wake up, but not quite so big like that! That was because of my cold.”

“Really? You always sneeze when you wake up? I don’t have a time when I always sneeze. I don’t even have a set number! Elena does though, doesn’t she? Always four times! We like to tease her about it!”

Reya could not remember ever hearing Elena sneeze. That was funny – she had been working in Moldova for a whole six months and Elena had never sneezed around her.

“Aunty Iulia wants to know if there is any food or drink you like to have when you aren’t well,” stated Liliana, “She asked me to come round because I finish school early on Wednesdays and she can’t speak any English. I think that’s silly. People should learn other languages. I want to travel one day so it will be good! I want to work in another country. Did you know Veronika went to stay with Lana in Romania?”

“Yes, I knew that. It –huh- it is so – ah- nice that –Huh-ah-SHOO! Huh-AH-SHOOO!”

“Bless you.”

“Huh-AH-SHOOO! HUH-AH-SHIIEEW!” Reya involuntarily let out a little whimper as she reached for some more tissues.

“Wow, you are really sick. Maybe I will go soon and let you sleep. So, is there any food or drink you want, like Aunty Iulia asked?”

Reya shrugged, “Some orange juice would be nice, but tell Iulia not to worry if there isn’t any.”

“Oh, but there is! I will go and pour you some right now.” and off Liliana went. By the time she returned, just two minutes later Reya was already fast asleep.

***********

“Why don’t you ever sneeze?”

“What?!” asked Elena turning around. She had been sitting at the desk in her room reading, waiting for Reya to wake up. Reya had apparently done so, without Elena noticing and was now asking her strange questions.

“Well, you don’t sneeze! I mean obviously you do, but not around me!” said Reya.

“Where on earth did this question come from?” asked Elena, hiding her discomfort. She had some issues with sneezing. Whenever a woman she fancied sneezed, she enjoyed it; whenever Reya sneezed, she felt like she was in heaven, however she had some problems with her own sneezing. Normally her own sneezes had no effect on her, and she felt quite comfortable sneezing around most people. If she was with an attractive woman, she felt more hesitant about sneezing. With Reya, for some reason, she just didn’t want to. She had more control than most people and could make the warning tickle in her nose go away without actually sneezing. She wasn’t quite sure why she did not want to sneeze around Reya. It was partly to do with being embarrassed about spreading germs and partly about Reya seeing her lose her self-control. She couldn’t quite pinpoint the problem though.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Reya’s sneeze, which usually came after she had woken up, “Hu-ah-SHOOO!” she sneezed into both hands. She made an urgent grab for some tissues. “Huh- hupSHOOO! Huh-AH-SHOO! HA-SHIIIIEEEEWW!” she sneezed into them.

“Oh, bless you,” said Elena, full of concern. “Can I get you anything? Do you need more tissues?”

Reya shook her head. “I have loads here, although I will probably run out later if I go on at this rate. Do you know those sneezes felt like they ripped at my throat? It’s so horrible. But I sneezed four times, just like you usually do!”

Elena felt her cheeks redden at that last comment. How did Reya know this, and why was she talking about it? She quickly went out of the room before the fact she was blushing became too noticeable, shouting something over her shoulder about seeing if they had any throat sweets. They did and she brought them back to Reya.

“Here you go, and Mum is in the middle of making you some soup,” she told her.

“Oh she is so kind,” said Reya. She paused to cough. “You all have been. I’m so sorry I got sick like this, and we only have a few days left. I didn’t want to disappoint you, but I am not fun to be around now. I hope you are not mad at me”

Reya was usually the one dealing with Elena saying she hoped she wasn’t mad about things! With the roles reversed, Elena went and put her arm around Reya. “Of course I wouldn’t be mad about this. I am just sad that you are not feeling that great. Remember what you said, that whatever happens it is just good to actually be with each other. I am glad you could be here at all. But obviously I just wish you were feeling better.”

Reya hugged her, squeezing hard, showing her appreciation for the things she said. Then she looked up at Elena, “So how come you never sneeze?” she asked.

“Oh, not this again!” said Elena standing up. “I’m sure I have but you just don’t remember. Anyway,” she changed the subject, “I am just going to tidy up this room a little bit. Why don’t you lie back and rest for a while?”

“OK, but you haven’t sneezed. Although I guess I am sneezing enough for both of us right now. I think I’m sneezing enough for the whole of Moldova at the moment!” exclaimed Reya with a sigh.

“That might be a slight exaggeration!” said Elena, smiling at how dramatic her girl could be.

“Oh what do you know? You never sneeze!” Reya grinned back.

Elena thought that perhaps it would be easier if she just sneezed in front of Reya and got it over and done with. For whatever reason, Reya found it amusing to tease her about her lack of sneezing and Elena wished she didn’t. Elena put some of her clothes away in her wardrobe and wandered over to the shelf where she and her sisters kept their toiletries. Lana had a particular perfume which had always made Elena sneeze. She noticed it hadn’t been taken to Romania as the amount of things you could pack was limited. She had her back to Reya, so she couldn’t see what she was doing, and carefully took of the lid and inhaled deeply. It had the desired effect.

“He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO!” she turned round triumphantly, “See I do sneeze after all!”

This was met by a look of concern by Reya. “Bless you, my sweet. I really hope you are not catching my cold.”

“Oh, I really don’t get sick very easily,” said Elena, still happy she had managed to sneeze in front of Reya.

“That’s good,” said Reya, “And you do sneeze four times, just like Liliana said.”

“Liliana?” Elena felt like she could strangle her younger cousin, but still, she had just managed to sneeze for the first time in front of Reya, and that was great!

********

It was the middle of the night and a bought of coughing overtook Reya’s slim body. She could not control it and she could not stop. Elena fetched her water and cough syrup.

Reya managed to say in between coughs, “Muchas gracias. Ay, no me siento bien. Me duele la garganta. No puedo parar de toser.” Thank you very much. Oh, I don’t feel well. My throat hurts. I can’t stop coughing.

Elena continued to rub her back and soothe her. Once the coughing had finally stopped, Reya asked, “Was I speaking to you in Spanish?”

“Yes, but love is strong enough to overcome language barriers,” replied Elena.

Reya turned away, covering her mouth and nose with a tissue. “Hu-AH-SHOO! Hup-SHIIIEEW!”

“And colds are also strong enough to overcome language barriers,” she said with a rueful grin.

Elena gently kissed her on the forehead and they snuggled back in bed together to fall asleep again.

[The Sneezster]

Oh my! I really like this story. Thank you!

[Vetinari]

Oh my! I really like this story. Thank you!

I'm with Sneezster on this!

[chui]

me three!!! this is really good! i hope there will be more

[Esperanza]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the fic!

i hope there will be more

When I have a bit of time, I will try and write more

[chui]

*giggles* i hate to mooch but this really is just wonderful!

[sneezinglover]

Awesome story! Please continue when you get the time

[Esperanza]

Hi I managed to continue with my fic, "Languages of Love (and Colds)." I thought I would just write something short and quick... but it turned out to be really long! Have split it into sections again, as I'm not sure you'll want to read it all in one go!

The first part of the fic is on this thread: www.sneezefetishforum.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=27619

Haven't really introduced the characters here, so you might want to read that one first

Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Languages of Love (and Colds) Continued

It was time to ring Reya. Elena had been practicing how to ask for her all morning! She carefully dialed the number for Reya’s work, and as expected, the receptionist picked up.

Elena cleared her throat, “Buenos días. Quisiera hablar con Reya Fernández,” Good morning. I would like to speak to Reya Fernández.

She felt relief as the receptionist understood her and there was a click as her call was transferred through to Reya’s phone. She was not, however, prepared for the way her girl was about to answer though!

It rang a couple of times and Reya then picked up. “Huh-ah-SHOO! Ay, perdon! Buenos días. Le habla Reya Fernández” Oh, excuse me! Good morning. Reya Fernández speaking.

“Bless you, sweetie,” said Elena.

“Elena!’ exclaimed Reya, excited and pleased to hear her girlfriend on the phone, “How are you? It’s so nice to ah- to –huh- hear – huh- hear your voice – ah-huh-AH-SHIEEW!”

Two sneezes so close together. Reya, who normally only sneezed in singles, must still have her cold. This was confirmed as Elena, through the telephone line, heard her girl sniffle heavily.

“Reya, you are still sick! Why are you at work?”

“It’s just a cold,” she coughed, “it’s nothing serious.”

“But it’s been a week since you left Moldova! You should be better by now!’

Because of the costs of phone bills, they had only spoken on the phone once, just after Reya had landed back in Spain. Otherwise, they spoke online everyday, but obviously you cannot tell if someone has a cold from that.

“I was getting a bit better,” Reya, protested “but then, in the end, I got worse again. Maybe this is a second cold?”

“Oh, baby,” replied Elena sadly, “I wish I was there to take care of you.”

“But you will be! Next week! I can hardly believe I will be able to see you again so soon! And here in Madrid as well!”

A very unexpected turn of events meant that the unthinkable was going to happen - Elena had the money to go to Madrid! She had felt so down after Reya had left Moldova. What was worse was that she had to pretend to everyone else that she was absolutely fine. Nobody got that upset after someone who was just a friend went home; and nobody knew that Reya was so much more than that. One person who had been able to tell she was sad was her big sister, Lana, even though they only spoke on the phone. Ringing from Bucharest, Lana could tell something was up and persistently asked her what was wrong, and in the end, Elena had told her.

Elena had no idea how her big sister would react. She could trust that whatever her feelings were, Lana would not tell the rest of their family. However she may well be disgusted with Elena. It would not be an uncommon attitude to have. Instead, she had been really understanding, and even pleased that Elena had met someone who made her so happy. Lana had managed to find a great job, working for a branch of a British company which had set up in Romania, and had saved up quite a bit of money; enough to pay for a ticket to Madrid.

Elena had been so shocked and touched. Although she desperately wanted to see Reya, she felt she couldn’t take Lana’s money. But Lana told her how grateful she was that Elena had always been there for her, particularly when she was going through a very difficult time a few years ago, because of an ex-boyfriend, and when she had even contemplated ending it all. She told Elena that if it wasn’t for her, she might not be there today, and the least she could do was help her get to Madrid. Elena thanked her sister so much, and promised her that, one day, she would pay her back. She meant this with all her heart.

“I can’t wait to see you again so soon,” said Elena through the phone to Reya with a smile.

“Me neither. It’s just –ah – so –huh. Oh, no – huh – wait –ah-ah –wait a moment…” although Reya had then evidently put one hand over the phone to muffle the sound, Elena could quite clearly hear her sneezing, “Huh-hup-SHOO! Huh-ah-SHOOO! Huh-SHIEEEW!”

She then heard a loud male voice say “¡Jesús!” and Reya, giggling, calling back “¡Gracias!”

“The guy in the next room just blessed me!” said Reya, “I think I am disturbing the whole office today. HA-SHIIEW!” There had been no warning build up for that last one – it had even surprised Reya, giving her no time to cover - and she sneezed right down the phone, into Elena’s waiting ear.

“¡Jesús otra vez!” Bless you again! came the man’s voice.

“¡Gracias otra vez!” Thank you again! called back Reya. She giggled, and talking to Elena said “Sorry about that. I hope it wasn’t too loud!”

“Don’t worry about that,” said Elena. “I just hope you take care of yourself properly.”

“Yes, Madam!” joked Reya, although she was warmed inside by Elena’s obvious concern. “Don’t you worry! I will be all better by the time you come here next week.”

And she hoped she would be, but she just had to wait and see.

********

Elena felt a wave of panic surging up inside her, and tried to breathe slowly to allow herself to calm down. Everyone swirled around her, so busy. She just needed to find out where to get her suitcase. The airport was heaving with people. She had already had a very stressful day. She had never been in an aeroplane before and had been terrified when it took off and landed. It was a horrible feeling. She just kept saying to herself that it would all be worth it because soon she would get to hold Reya in her arms again. Suddenly a screen in the corner of the room caught her eye. It told her which conveyor belt her luggage should be on and she was finally able to retrieve her case. Now she was able to follow the signs and make it through the arrivals gate. Panic again overwhelmed her. People everywhere, chatting loudly in Spanish, and no sign of her Reya. She walked cautiously among the crowd. Why hadn’t she seen Reya as she had come through? Had they missed each other? Had something made Reya late? Was her girl alright?

A noise behind her and a little to her left caught her attention. “Huh-ah-SHOO!”

It was unmistakably one of Reya’s sneezes. Elena turned and tried to make her way towards where she thought the sound had come from.

“Huh-ah-SHOO!”

This one sounded much closer. She was going in the right direction. Come on baby, just one more, she willed Reya silently, and then I think I will be able to find you.

As if in answer to her girlfriend’s wish, Reya’s nose continued with its outburst. “Huh-ah-SHIIEEW!”

Elena thought this sneeze seemed to come from just behind a couple who were making out, oblivious to the crowd. She was right, because as she walked around them, she saw Reya. Reya didn’t see her though because her eyes were shut, as she was building up for another sneeze. “Huh-ah-SHIEEEW!” she exploded into a tissue.

Elena noticed some people giving her dirty looks and edging away slightly. This didn’t include the kissy couple though - they were lost to the rest of the world at present! Elena moved towards her girl, not having to fight for space so much, as people did not seem to want to be standing too close to the sneezing Reya.

She gently put a hand on Reya’s arm. “Hello, sweetie!”

Reya turned, still managing to be so beautiful, despite the redness around her nostrils and her tired, watering eyes. “Elena! You are here! I couldn’t find you.”

Elena took her gently in her arms. “Oh baby, you are so sick.”

Reya managed a small grin and sniffed ”I’m ok.”

“I hope you don’t mind me coming to Spain while you are ill, but now I am here, I am just going to take care of you.” She went to kiss her.

Reya moved back though. “I don’t want you to catch this. You are on holiday! You have to go around Madrid and you must be well!”

“I don’t have to go round Madrid,” Elena planted a firm kiss on Reya’s lips, noting how chapped they felt. “I came to see you, not Madrid! I can stay inside the whole time looking after you. In fact I will start right now.” She fished for something in her pocket, bringing out a small stick of lip balm. “Put this on. Your lips are dry.”

Reya gave another small smile. “You are so sweet, you know.” She coated her lips with Elena’s balm. “Come, let’s go home.”

They walked to the car park and found Reya’s car. She opened the boot and looked at Elena’s small case. “Wow, you know how to pack light!”

“Yes, but not everyone needs quite as much stuff as you always bring, my sweet!” Elena joked.

Reya chuckled and lifting the case, started to put it in the boot. Her breath began to hitch. She quickly turned her head away from the boot, so as not to sneeze on Elena’s suitcase.

“Huh-SHOO! Huh-ah-SHOO!” she sneezed openly.

“Bless you, sweetie.” Elena had seen a light mist of spray. This somehow excited her, then, at the same time, she felt guilty. She loved Reya and did not want to get pleasure from her discomfort.

If this conflict of emotion showed on her face, Reya did not notice. Her nose made sure she was preoccupied with other matters. She stood there, her breath still hitching. “HUH-AH-SHIIEEEW!” she sneezed the largest of the three, and the wettest, as Elena could see from the spray she produced.

“Perdon,” Excuse me, she said tiredly to Elena.

Elena put her arms around her. ”I am here for you. Now you don’t have to worry about anything. I am going to look after you and you will feel better soon, ok?”

“Thanks,” Reya said in a small, congested voice to Elena. “I am really glad you are here.”

********

Elena lay very still, watching Reya sleep. She could feel the warmth of her body, as they lay so close to each other in the middle of Reya’s double bed. Elena thought back to her own apartment. Well, it wasn’t even hers – she lived with her parents. Reya had stayed there, never commenting that their whole home could practically fit into her bedroom. What must Reya have thought during her stay? She didn’t realise that Reya had not even registered the size of the apartment in Chisinau; she had just appreciated the chance to spend time with her girlfriend.

An alarm went off. Reya stirred and made a groaning noise. She hit the alarm clock in what look liked quite a violent manner, groaned again and buried her face in her pillow. Elena smiled at her reaction and tousled Reya’s hair. “Time to wake up, sweetie.”

Reya looked up from the pillow, grinning, not seeming annoyed at her alarm clock any more. “I like you being here when I wake up. You should be in my bed more often.”

Elena smiled, “Well I certainly wouldn’t object to that!”

They embraced. Reya ran her hand down Elena’s back. Elena gasped as she felt her go lower and lower. Reya placed both her hands on Elena’s bum, enjoying its firm roundness. Elena moved even closer to Reya, their breasts touching. Suddenly Reya’s chest heaved and breath started hitching. For the second time that morning, Reya buried her head in her pillow.

“Huh-ah-CHHHH!” The thick pillow stifled some of the sound. Reya kept her face there for a few seconds longer, exclaiming in a muffled voice “Aaargh! My morning sneeze!”

She sat up, placing one hand under her nose to stop it running everywhere. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

She grabbed some tissues and blew hard. Then she glanced behind her at the pillow, which was displaying a large wet patch where she had sneezed. She wiped at it with a tissue.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know where else to go with that. My hands were, well, you know, occupied, and I didn’t think you wanted a morning shower from me!” She looked at the pillow again. “That was so gross!”

“It wasn’t gross at all,” said Elena. Reya did not realise how far from the opposite of gross Elena had found it!

“You are too nice to me!” she exclaimed.

*********

Elena dressed while Reya went to get their breakfast ready. The door to the bedroom opened and Reya stepped in.

“Elena?” she began.

“Yes, sweetie?” but she did not get to hear what her girl was going to say, as the small tickle Reya had felt in her nose intensified.

“Huh-ah-SHOO! Huh-ah- SHOOO! Huh – huh-huh-AP-SHIEEEW!” Reya had caught these in one hand and was now sniffling like crazy. Without waiting to be asked, Elena went and fetched her some tissues from the box at the side of the bed.

The second she handed them to her, Reya held them to her face and sneezed again, “Ap-SHIEEEW!”

“Oh, bless you,” said Elena, rubbing Reya’s back.

“Excuse me,” said Reya, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to come in here sneezing like a mad woman! Oh not – huh- again, huh –huh - AHSHOO! Huh-SHIEEW!”

The force of the sneezes were nearly bending Reya double. “Come,” said Elena, gently putting a hand on her arm and steering her towards the bed. “Sit down.”

Reya did as she was told, her nose still buried in the tissues. They sat close together, with Elena’s arm around Reya. She felt her shudder as she took in a deep breath, “Huh-ah-SHOO! Ah-SHOOO! Ah- SHOOOO! Hah-SHIIIEEEW! Huh-ah-SHIIEEW!”

“Oh,” moaned Reya into the tissues, “I hate being so out of control.”

“Shhh, it’s ok,” soothed Elena.

“Do you know,” said Reya, “I don’t even remember what I came in to tell you! How annoying this is!”

“Maybe you will remember later, but, Reya, I have something I want to tell you. I don’t think you should go into work today.”

Reya did not see that the reason behind this comment was concern for her well-being, and started to explain herself, “Oh, Elena, you know I would love more than anything in the whole world to stay with you. But I only just took the time off to go to Moldova. I couldn’t take another whole week off, but you know, I will take time off towards the end of the week. Besides, I told you, my friend will come round today and take you out somewhere. She has this afternoon free. You won’t get bored, I promise.”

“Oh, Reya,” Elena delicately reached out and tucked a strand of Reya’s hair behind her ear. “I didn’t mean for you should stay for me. I meant, I don’t think you should go to work because you are not well enough.”

“But I’m fine!” sniffed Reya.

Elena gave her an incredulous look. “You even admitted before that you were sneezing ‘like a crazy woman.’ “

“It’s ok, I do a lot of things like a crazy woman. Call it part of my charm,” Reya grinned.

Elena couldn’t help but smile back, “Well, you do certainly have lots of charm! But still, I’m not sure that helps that fact that you are really quite sick.”

But Reya shrugged of her girlfriend’s protests, and made her way to work.

******

Elena looked out the window. She was in Madrid! She was a little too nervous to go out exploring by herself, but Reya’s friend would come over in a couple of hours. Elena went to the computer and turned it on. She wondered if any of her friends were online. She saw that her sister Lana was on MSN, but her status was set to ‘away.’ Elena typed her a short message to see if she would reply.

Lana was in her tiny kitchen. She heard her laptop beep from the other room and realised she must have left MSN on. She would go and check in a minute. Her job was great – it had provided her with a laptop, and although it was supposed to be used for work, it also meant she could stay in touch will all her friends and family in Moldova quite easily. She missed them all so much. But now she had her youngest sister, Veronika, staying with her for a while! And this was why she was in the kitchen making soup. Veronika had come down with a slight cold and Lana was determined to look after her as well as she would have been by their Mum back home.

A noise made Lana turn round. Veronika had come into the kitchen, wearing just an oversized shirt, that apparently belonged to her boyfriend back home. Lana looked at her sister’s bare legs.

“Oh for goodness sake! Go and put something more on. You aren’t well.”

Veronika raised both hands to her face and sneezed, “Heh- PSHEW!”

“Bless you! This is exactly what I am talking about. Now go and find something warmer to wear,” commanded Lana.

“Heh-PSHEW!” Veronika wiped her nose on the back of her hand and sniffed. “Ok, ok! This is like still living with Mum!” She slunk out of the kitchen, with a final “Heh-PSHEW!” spraying into her waiting hands.

Lana watched her go. She had long honey-coloured hair like their other sister, Elena. She could have been Elena from the back, but if she turned, you could see that her face had slightly sharper features than her sister, and her eyes were blue, not green. Lana also had blue eyes, but she was the only sister with rich, dark brown hair. Veronika’s personality was nothing like Elena’s though! Elena was sweet and loving. Veronika had more of an attitude. Maybe it was partly because she was still just nineteen, and Lana could put it down to teenage angst. She was not sure how she would explain away her sister’s stroppiness next year, if it carried on at twenty!

She thought of her sweet sister, Elena. She wondered how she was getting on in Madrid. Maybe she would actually move there one day? She sounded so in love with this girl, Reya – what a beautiful name – but their relationship would never be able to flourish back home in Moldova. Too many people would be against the girls being together. But the attitude was different in Spain, like in so many countries in that part of Europe. She refused to call it “Western Europe”. She hated that divide, with people looking down on you if they thought you were from “Eastern Europe.”

“Lana!” called Veronika.

“Yes Roni?” she called back.

“Can I wear some pyjamas I found of yours?”

“Yes, do go ahead.” She said, glad her sister would now actually be warm.

She heard her sneezing from the other room. “Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW! Huh-EPSHEEW! Haah-APSHEEEW!” The sneezes sounded progressively wetter, and Veronika then proceeded to blow her nose.

“Bless you!” Lana called, quickly stirring the soup, wanting it to be ready for her sister as soon as possible.

******

Elena had been chatting to her friends over MSN for a while now. She had even managed to catch her sisters online. Their latest news had been that apparently Veronika had a bit of a cold, and that Lana was starting to act like their mother (this was just according to Veronika’s opinion though!) Elena missed her sisters. She hoped Veronika wasn’t driving Lana mad!

She wanted to tell Lana how things were going with Reya in Madrid and hoped to catch her on the phone or MSN when Veronika wasn’t there. Of course she loved her little sister, but Lana was the only person in the world who knew about her secret relationship and knew the real importance of her time in Madrid.

Elena heard the door of the apartment open. Reya’s friend, who was supposed to be coming round to take her out, must have a key. Then she heard: “Huh-ah-SHOO!”

Unless Reya’s friend had exactly the same sounding sneeze as her girl, Reya was back. Elena walked to the door, just in time to see Reya sneeze again into her hand “Huh-AH- SHIIEEW!”

“Are you ok?” Elena asked.

“Elena, they sent me home from work!”

“Really?! I am so surprised!”

“Oh don’t be sarcastic with me,” said Reya in a small voice, “I’m not that sick, It’s just a little cold.”

Elena went to her and took her in her arms. “I’m sorry. I was just teasing. Even if it is just a little cold you have, maybe you should rest now? Go to bed and I will make you a warm drink.”

Reya sighed “Thanks, but there is so much I have to do. I might work from home today.”

“Reya, if you rest today, you will probably be able to do your work better tomorrow.”

Reya shook her head. “I’m ok. And I’m sorry that I said you were being sarcastic. I knew you weren’t.”

Elena felt so much affection for her girl. She kissed her lightly on the lips, “I know that! Listen, Reya, why don’t you just humour me and let me do the whole caring girlfriend act. You go and lie down and I will get you a little something to eat and a nice hot drink. Please, I want to look after you.”

Reya tried to suppress the smile playing on her lips, but she couldn’t. “OK. You can do all that. Everything you just said. But only because you want to, not because I really need such a fuss made. I’m not that sick. So this would really all be just for you.”

“Of course it would!” said Elena, glad her girl would be getting some rest. “I’m going to tuck you up in bed right now, and then get on with things in the kitchen.”

Reya had to admit it was nice being in bed, hearing Elena bustling around her kitchen, making something for her. But she had so much to do. It was different when she had been ill in Moldova. She was miles away from her office and all her files and really could just rest all day. Now she kept thinking of things she needed to do. In the end it was too much for her, and she got up. She thought she had been quite quiet and discreet, but apparently not.

“Reya,” called Elena from the other room, “Why have I just heard you getting out of bed?”

Reya went through to the kitchen, beginning to make her excuses “Oh, it’s just that...” she trailed off as she saw what her girlfriend had put together.

There was a steaming mug of hot honey and lemon on a tray as well as a bowl of ice-cream to help soothe Reya’s sore throat. Elena had peeled an orange for her too, to make sure she got some vitamin C. There was also a plate covered with Reya’s favourite snacks. Elena had listened and remembered every time Reya had ever said she liked something and had found as many of these things as she could, going round Reya’s kitchen. The finishing touch to the tray was a small vase she had found. She had taken a bright pink flower from the bunch in the middle of Reya’s table to put in it.

She saw Reya looking at it and smiled sheepishly, “I just wanted it to look nice! I hope you don’t mind me taking a flower from your table. I would actually like to get you a bunch of flowers, but I don’t know where a florist is.”

“This is just so sweet,” said Reya, still looking at the tray. “I think I might cry.”

“No don’t do that!” said Elena in alarm, coming over to hold Reya. She kissed her on the forehead, “I just wanted to get you a few things. You should have your drink before it gets cold. I’m going to make you soup later. I remember my mother’s recipe.”

Reya looked into Elena’s eyes. “Thank you,” she said, ”Thank you for doing all this for me.” She turned away to cough.

“Look, you take the tray and get back to bed. I will just gather all the ingredients for the soup and will come and check up on how you are doing.”

Reya started to make her way across the kitchen with the tray. Suddenly she stopped, and looked around in desperation but there was nothing she could do, “ASHOO! Huh-ah-SHOOO!” she sneezed over the tray. “I’m so huh-so ah- so sorry – huh-ah-SHIEEW!” She sneezed openly on the tray again.

Elena could see her girl’s nose was running quite a bit and she went and took the tray, not caring that it had just been sneezed on. “Just to free your hands so you can get a tissue,” she explained.

Reya looked at her gratefully, before her face started to screw up as she released another sneeze. This time into her hand, “Huh-ah-SHOO!”

She went and got some tissues to blow her nose and then started to apologise to Elena. “I am so sorry, after all the effort you put into to that. And then I sneezed all over the food.”

“Well it was your food anyway!” reasoned Elena. “No harm done. You can still have it if you like.”

“Oh, yes please,” said Reya, “And you are right, it was lucky it was just my own food I sneezed on!” Reya took back the tray from Elena.

Elena affectionately put one arm round her girl’s waist, “Now if you are sure you can get that tray back to your room without any more drama, I will make a start on this soup. You can sneeze on that later too, if you really want too!”

Reya smiled, “Thank you so much for all this. I really do appreciate it, you know.”

This was high praise indeed from Reya, as she normally denied she needed anyone or anything! Happy to know her girl was resting in bed with the snacks Elena started to make her mother’s soup.

**************

Over in Bucharest, Lana was dishing out soup she had made from the same recipe Elena was using, for her youngest sister. Last time she had checked, Veronika was curled up under a blanket on the sofa, watching some music channel on TV. The soup was nearly done.

“Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW!” she heard coming from the other room.

She went to take a bowl of soup to her sister and see if she needed anything else. Veronika was still lying on the sofa.

“Heh-PSHEW!” she was sneezing openly, down towards the blanket that was keeping her warm, and the cushion she was hugging close as she watched the TV “Heh-PSHEW! Ap-PSHEW! Ap-PSHEW!” She sniffed loudly.

Lana went over to her to give her the soup and pick up an empty drink glass by the sofa, ignoring the tut her sister gave as she crossed in front of the television.

“Heh-PSHEW!” she sneezed again.

“Cover your mouth when you do that,” said Lana, automatically. Eight years older than Veronika and three years older than Elena, she was used to telling off her sisters for any variety of reasons!

Veronika rolled her eyes, but obliged, bringing both hands to her face as she sneezed a double, “Heh-PSHEW! Ap-PSHEW!” and then took the bowl of soup.

“How are you feeling now?” Lana asked

“OK,” said Veronika, not taking her eyes away from the television, ”I don’t really feel that bad. It’s just mostly sneezing.” She brought one hand to her face. “Heh-PSHEW!” she sneezed, as if to illustrate her point.

Lana was glad her sister was not feeling too ill. She put a hand on Veronika’s forehead. No temperature. That was good.

Over in the corner, her laptop made a noise. Somebody was messaging her over MSN. Maybe it was Elena? Lana went over to see. It was her younger cousin Liliana. “Hey,” she called over to Veronika, “Liliana’s online. You want to chat?”

“Oh yeah, definitely!” her sister replied, finally looking away from the TV. Veronika was just one year older than Liliana and they often went out together, back home in Chisinau.

Veronika happily went and sat in front of the laptop and typed a greeting. Liliana typed back that she was at an internet café where the computers had a small cameras. If Lana had one too, the girls could see and hear each other on the screen. Veronika found that there was a camera, and switched it on. Her cousin appeared on the screen! It was nice to see her again. She still looked the same with her long, dark blonde, curly hair, big hazel eyes and even bigger smile.

“Hiii!” squealed Liliana. “How is Bucharest? What’s it like in Romania? What have you been doing?” She paused in her line of enthusiastic questioning to pinch her nose between her finger and thumb and sneeze quickly, “Ah-Chiii! Ah-Chiii!” She didn’t acknowledge her own sneezes, she was too busy wanting to ask her cousin things. ”How’s Lana? What’s her place like? Have you got a job now?”

Veronika smiled, happy that her cousin wanted to know everything, and also liking the feeling that Liliana admired her for going to another country. “Everything’s fine here. Lana’s good, although she is reminding me more and more of Mum everyday,” both girls giggled at that, “And guess what? I have a job interview next week!”

“No way! Ah-Chiii! What day? Ah-Chiii!”

“Wednesday,” replied Veronika, “Have you got a cold or something?”

“No, but somebody – ah-chiii! - is smoking in here. It always sets me off.”

Veronika remembered that this was true. Her cousin had got so sneezey those nights they used to go out to bars together, where everyone was smoking. She suddenly missed Liliana very much. She felt more like a sister than a cousin. Elena and Lana always treated her like a baby, but Liliana looked up to her, even though there was just a year’s difference between them.

“This – ah-chiii! - smoke is so annoying!” complained Liliana.

“Oh, at least you don’t have a cold! I do. It’s crap!” said Veronika.

“Ah-Chiii! I hope you get better soon,” said Liliana, seeing on the screen that a pre-sneeze expression was taking over her cousin’s face.

Veronika cupped her hands around her mouth and nose and sneezed “Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW!” She sounded so much louder than Liliana did when she sneezed!

“Bless you, Roni,” said Liliana

“Thanks. PSHEEW!” That last one had sneaked up on her and she hadn’t had time to cover so had sprayed all over Lana’s laptop. “Damn it!” she cursed, wiping the small wet spots that had settled on the screen with her sleeve.

“That sounds like quite a cold! Ah-chiii! Ah-chiii! Ah-chiii!”

“And those sound like quite some allergies!” grinned Veronika, “Oh Lana has just come back in the room! Lana, come here! Look it’s Liliana on the screen!”

Lana came over and squeezed herself onto the edge of Veronika’s chair, so both the sisters could see Liliana.

“Hey,” she smiled, “How’s it going?” Suddenly Lana felt a tickle in her nose. Turning away from Veronika, she sneezed into her wrist “Heh-YISHOO!”

“Bless you! We are all sneezy today!” exclaimed Liliana.

Lana stayed and chatted for a bit, but then went back in the kitchen to let the girls talk. She was sure they had things to catch upon that they didn’t need an older sister or cousin around to hear. She rubbed her nose and sneezed again into her wrist “Heh-YISHOO!” She hoped she wasn’t catching Veronika’s cold.

*******

A knock at the door of the apartment startled Elena. She was still in the kitchen and heard no sign of Reya getting up to answer the door, so she went herself. There was a very beautiful woman with wild, dark curly hair and shining eyes. She wore tight red jeans and a black top.

“Hello,” she said in heavily accented English, “You must be Elena!”

“Um, yes I am,” said Elena wondering who on earth this woman was.

“I am Ines. Friend of Reya. I to take you round Madrid,” she declared.

Looking at Elena’s surprised face, she thought it was because her English was not so great, or at least not as good as Reya’s. “Excuse me. I did not practice speaking English very much. But we will spend a great time in Madrid!” She flashed Elena a brilliant smile.

“Oh,” said Elena, “It’s just that I thought Reya would have called you. She came back from work today. She’s sick”

“Really?” asked Ines.

“Yes, she has a bad cold. Está muy resfriada,” Elena repeated herself in Spanish.

“Ahh, you know a little Spanish!” exclaimed Ines.

Well, Elena had tried to learn a bit before she came. She had been especially drawn to all the words to do with sneezing and colds, so she definitely knew those!

Elena suddenly thought of Lana, as she looked at Ines. Something reminded her of her sister. She wasn’t sure what because Ines looked nothing like her, and didn’t have a similar manner at all.

“You still go with me?” asked Ines.

“Maybe I should stay with Reya.” Elena replied.

“Where is Reya?”

“I told her to go to bed. She is resting,” said Elena.

“Whaaat?” exclaimed Ines, “You tell her to go to bed, and she go? How good! Normally, we cannot get her to stop working!”

“I can believe that!” said Elena, rubbing her nose. It had started to itch and suddenly the tickle intensified. She quickly turned away from Ines and sneezed into both hands, ”He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO! Oh, excuse me!”

Ines rubbed her own nose, as if that was itchy too. “¡Jesús!” she exclaimed “Or how do you say in English?”

“After a sneeze? You say ‘bless you,’” Elena told her.

Her nose still felt irritated. She always sneezed in sets of four, and so if the tickle was still there, probably another four would come. She felt vaguely uncomfortable sneezing in front of this attractive woman, but the tickle was intense, and she would rather deal with her embarrassment and sneeze, to give her nose some relief, than try and make the tickle go away.

She turned away again, sneezing into her hands, “He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO! He-ASHOO!”

“Bless you,” said Ines, trying out the new English phrase she had just learnt. She rubbed her nose again. ”Maybe you get a cold too?”

Suddenly Ines sneezed loudly “HU-TISHOO!”

It was so noisy that Elena almost jumped. Ines had not bothered to cover. “Sorry,” she said, “Sometimes I see people sneeze and it make me want to sneeze too!”

“Well, bless you,” said Elena, finding the idea of sympathy sneezing cute. “And take care, because I think I am going to make you want to sneeze again,” she turned, cupping her hands round her nose and mouth, “He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO!”

“HU-TISHOO!” sneezed Ines again, without covering. “This is silly!” she smiled, “So anyway, I go because I think you have got the cold of Reya. You should rest too. Another day I take you round Madrid, no?”

“Yes, another day. That would be nice” said Elena. The real reason she didn’t want to go was because if Reya was at home, she wanted to take care of her. She wondered why Reya hadn’t made an appearance. Perhaps she was sleeping.

“OK. I see you soon,” said Ines, turning to leave.

As Elena went to let her out, she got a strong whiff of Ines’s perfume. “Bye, Ines, see you soon.”

As Ines was walking through the door, Elena sneezed again “He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO! He-ASHOO!”

She heard Ines’s “HU-TISHOOO!” from just outside.

The tickle was still in Elena’s nose, “He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASH! He-he-ASHOO!” she sneezed again. She still bothered to cover with both hands, even though nobody was around.

She suddenly realised why she had thought of Lana before. Ines was wearing the same perfume Lana had sometimes worn back home. It was the very kind that made Elena sneeze, and she had even used it to secretly induce in front of Reya when Reya had been teasing her about never sneezing, back in Moldova.

The tickle in Elena’s nose was less intense now, but it still bothered her. “He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASH! He-ASHOO!” she let out.

Then, she went to check on Reya. Her girl had in fact been asleep the whole time, unaware of the sneezy conversation which had just taken place between her girlfriend and her best friend.

*******

Lana was nearly asleep when phone beeped loudly. It was a text from Elena! Elena wanted to speak to her at some point, when Veronika wouldn’t overhear them. Lana was sure she could send her youngest sister out to get something from the shops later on. Veronika had actually been being quite sweet – she was sorry that she had managed to pass her cold on to Lana. For Veronika, it was mostly a sneezy cold, with not too many other symptoms, but Lana was feeling quite shivery, and had the beginning of a sore throat.

“I brought you one of my magazines to read,” said Veronika, stepping into Lana’s bedroom. “Just so you don’t get bored in bed.”

Lana had decided to go for a little lie down, hoping that with some rest, her cold would disappear as quickly as it had come over her. She noted that Veronika had barged into her room without knocking, but her intentions had been sweet, so she didn’t complain. She cleared her throat “Thank you very much,” she said, taking the magazine.

“That’s ok,” said Veronika, trying to think of what else Lana had done to take care of her. “Oh, I know! I will get you a drink.”

“Thank you,” said Lana.

Veronika paused about halfway to the door. She brought both hands to her face and sneezed, “Heh-PSHEW! Heh-PSHEW! Ap-SHEW!”she sniffed deeply.

“Bless you,” said her big sister. “How is your cold now?”

Voronika wasn’t quite ready to answer her – she could feel more sneezes coming “Ap-pSHEW! Ha-AP-PSHEW! My cold is still sneezy!” she said with a grin. “Heh-PSHEW! “

“Oh dear,” said Lana sympathetically as she watched her sister’s face scrunch up again.

“Heh-PSHEW!” sneezed Veronika, “Lana, can I have a tissue?”

“Yeah sure, take one from the box on my dressing table over there.”

Veronika took two, promptly sneezing a double into one, “Heh-PSHOO! Ap-SHOO!” and blew her nose with the other one.

Suddenly, she grabbed a few more tissues and held them to her nose ”He-PSHEW! PSHEW! PSHEW! Ap-PSHEW!”

“Whoah, bless you!” said Lana, “Are you done yet?!”

Veronika smiled and nodded yes, but then her eyes widened and she shook her head, no. “PSHEW!” she sneezed into the tissues, “Ha-PSHEW! Ha-ah-PSHEW!” She blew her nose again. “Ok now I’m done!”

She glanced up to see why Lana hadn’t answered and saw her sister building up for a sneeze of her own.

“Heh-heh-YISHOO!” she sneezed onto the back of her hand. “Hey, Roni,” she said in a congested voice, “Can you pass me some tissues too?”

Veronika obliged and then left, saying she was going to get her sister some orange juice. Lana waited and waited. She didn’t really want a drink; she wanted to sleep. But she thought that would not happen at least until Veronika came back with the juice, and then Lana could tactfully explain that she wanted to be left in peace for the rest of the evening. In the end, a little impatient, as her sister hadn’t come back, she got up to see what was taking Veronika so long. She was sure that she was probably on MSN or something, and had forgotten about the promised juice! Perhaps Lana got up a little too quickly, as she felt slightly dizzy as she stood. She put a hand on the wall to steady herself, and then went to find her missing sister.

Veronika wasn’t on MSN. She was lying on the sofa again, fast asleep. Lana went and put the blanket over her, smiling a little as she glanced at her sister’s sleeping face. Veronika looked just as she had when she was much younger. Lana felt a surge of affection for her. “Sleep well, sweet one,” she murmured, tucking the blanket around her. Now satisfied Veronika would be warm, Lana went back to her bed.

An idea suddenly struck her; if her youngest sister was sleeping, now might be a good chance to speak to her other sister, as interruptions (and unhelpful comments, such as “Lana is reminding me of Mum more and more each day!”) would not occur. Lana settled herself back in bed and reached for her mobile to text Elena.

********

Elena was so mad at herself for forgetting to put her phone on silent. Once Ines had left. Elena had slowly eased herself onto the bed, careful not to wake Reya, and had stayed there, gazing at her, the whole time. This meant that if her girl woke up, Elena would be right there with her, ready to attend to her needs. She was content just to lie there, close to her. In fact the only thing she had done, other than watch Reya sleep, was to text her big sister. She really wanted to speak with Lana, to thank her for enabling her to come to Madrid. Although Reya believed it was awful that she should be ill whilst Elena was visiting, Elena did not share her views. Elena did enjoy sneezing, particularly Reya’s, but this was not the reason at all that she was glad to be there. She was glad because she could look after her girl when she needed it the most. She had been worried that day after ringing Reya at work, and had discovered she still had a cold. She had wanted more than anything to be with her, and make sure she was alright.

Elena’s phone beeped loudly, as Lana replied to her message. Reya stirred and murmured something, her eyes blinking, still heavy with sleep.

“Sorry, baby” said Elena softly, “Go back to sleep.”

“Me duele la cabeza,” My head hurts, whimpered Reya, snuggling close to Elena.

Elena had not understood what Reya had said in Spanish, but she put her arm around her and told her she would be alright.

Reya lay there for a couple of minutes, still half asleep. She didn’t even register the sneeze, which always occurred within a few minutes of her waking, that was building up inside her.

“Huh-AH-SHIEEW!” she exploded, spray landing all over Elena’s top and her cleavage.

This made Elena tingle inside, but she tried to ignore it. That was not what Reya needed her to be feeling right now. She reached over and took a tissue. Reya was sniffling heavily. She held it to her girl’s nose and told her to blow. Without giving it much thought, Reya obliged.

“That’s it,” encouraged Elena, “One more blow now, and I think we’ll be done.”

Instead, Reya took a deep breath and sneezed, “Huh-AH-SHOOO!” into the tissue Elena was holding for her.

“Oh bless you, baby girl,” said Elena, wiping at Reya’s nose with a fresh tissue.

This last sneeze seemed to wake Reya up properly.

“Elena…” she said.

“Yes, my sweet, what is it?”

Reya looked at her and suddenly her eyes widened as she took in the wet spots on Elena’s top. “Oh my goodness! Did I sneeze on you?”

“It’s ok. You couldn’t help it,” replied Elena.

“Oh, shit! I am so sorry! I don’t want you to catch this.”

Elena noticed her girl’s voice sounded a little hoarse. “Seriously, don’t worry about it. I am just going to get you a drink though. Do you want anything else while I am up?”

Reya shook her head. ”Thank you for doing all this, Elena. While you are in the kitchen, I think I will just check my work email.”

“You know what?” said Elena, ”I don’t think you will just check your work email. I think you will stay and rest in bed because you are obviously ill!”

“I’m not really that ill,” protested Reya, “I just have to check if this grant has come through.”

Elena sighed, “Oh Reya, “ but suddenly an idea entered her mind, “Listen, you just sneezed all over me, so you have to make it up to me. That means you have to do something that I want. Now, I want you to rest in bed while I fetch you a drink, ok?”

Reya giggled, “You are so cute.”

Elena was pleased to note that Reya settled back into her pillows, obviously going to do to what Elena had asked.

In the kitchen, Elena looked at her mobile. She still hadn’t read the text from Lana. The message told her that Veronika was sleeping, so now would be a “safe” time to call her.

Elena told Reya this as she came back with her drink.

"Oh, please, go ahead and use my phone,” said Reya.

“It’s ok,” replied Elena, “I have enough credit on mine for a short call.

“Look, your sister helped you to be able to come to me. The least I can do is let you ring her on my phone. And maybe I could speak to her and thank her as well? If you thought it would be appropriate?”

Elena nodded, “It would. I think Lana would love to speak to you.”

Reya was happy she could at least offer the use of her phone. She felt awful that, so far, all Elena had done in Madrid was take care of her cold-stricken girlfriend. She was glad to be able to do something for her. She smiled as she heard Elena talking in fast Moldovan from the other room.

Then, Elena brought in the phone and handed it to Reya.

“Hello, this is Lana,” came the voice at the other end. Although to Reya, it sounded more like the girl had said “This is Lada,” which was strange! The girl sounded blocked up.

“Hello, this is Reya,” she replied, “I just wanted to say that it was such a great thing for you to help Elena come to Madrid.”

“Well,” replied Lana ”You seem to make her really happy and I just wanted… just wanted to… oh, please excuse me… I have to sn… Heh-YISHOO! Sorry. I have a cold.”

“Oh, not you too?” said Reya, sympathetically.

“Heh-YISHOO! Oh, please excuse me!”

“Bless you,” said Reya.

“Thanks, Anyway, like I was saying, you make my little sister really happy. And Elena has done a lot for me in the past. I just wanted to do this for her. I hope it has been great, having her stay with you.”

“Oh so, so great,” replied Reya, “I can’t even – ah –even –huh- tell –ah- ah – tell you –huh- huh-Ah-SHOOO! Sorry. I also – huh – also have a –huh-cold- huh- AH- SHIEEEW! AH-SHIIEEW!”

Elena quickly handed Reya some tissues, and she wiped her nose.

“Well, bless you, this time!” said Lana, “Sorry to hear that you also have a cold. I am sure my sister has been taking good care of you though. She is very kind.”

“Yes,” agreed Reya, “she is. And I am so happy that you were able to help her come here. I –huh –just – ah- huh- huh- AH-SHIEEW! Excuse me! I just wanted to thank you so much.”

“I am glad you are both happy there together,” replied Lana, “Now I will let you go, as you don’t seem to be too well. I hope we both feel better soon!”

Reya agreed with this and said goodbye, handing the phone back to Elena.

Elena went back into the other room and spoke a little longer to Lana. When she returned, Reya was fast asleep. Reya did not wake up for the rest of the afternoon, or the evening. Later, Elena got into bed beside her, and drifted off to sleep too.

*******

Sometime in the middle of the night, Elena was woken as her girl sneezed beside her, “Huh-ah-SHOO! Huh-ah-SHOO!”

“Fii sanatos,” she blessed Reya in Moldovan, without thinking.

Reya guessed what it meant and replied, “Mulţumesc,” Thank you.

Elena grinned, “I spoke to you in Moldovan!”

“Yes,” Reya smiled back.

“Now I will say something in Spanish,” said Elena. She wasn’t sure which one was correct, ‘te quiero’ or “te amo,’ but she had heard that ‘te amo’ conveyed stronger feelings, so she tried it out.

“Te amo, Reya Fernández.” I love you Reya Fernández.

Reya turned away. Elena was worried. Should she not have said that?

“Huh-AH-SHIIEEW!”

Oh, thought Elena, in relief, she was turning away because she had to sneeze!

“Huh-AH-SHEEW!” Reya sneezed again, and sniffed, rubbing her nose with her fingers. Then she looked Elena in the eyes, and speaking in Moldovan, she said:

“Te iubesc, Elena Patrascu,” I love you, Elena Patrascu.

They looked at each other for a moment, before smiles broke out over both their faces. They hugged each other tight and stayed, lying entwined, so glad to be near each other, for the rest of the night.

[Esperanza]

Thanks for your comments!

*giggles* i hate to mooch but this really is just wonderful!

Really glad you enjoyed the fic!

Awesome story! Please continue when you get the time

I've just posted part two on another thread! Hope you like it

[chui]

oh this is just so very very sweet!

[Candy]

Aww, that is just adorable!

[peachypeach]

this is so adorable

[ichixshiro14]

That was so great!! I really enjoyed the dynamics, different bonds between the characters, it was all so well woven! Thanks for sharing with us

[White Rose]

aww! this is so cute!

[StarryView]

I reallly loved this!! I love how you had different languages in there, and how it was SO well written. I wish I could write as well as you ! Thanks for writing this for the joy of reading!