Air - (22 Parts)

[untiluntiluntil]

Title: Air

Author: moi

Fandom/Orginal: original

Summmary: Charlie's been bad. Eric wants to punish him. It doesn't go exactly as he planned.

Authors Notes: there's nudity and tying up but nothing dirtier than a shower happens, I promise.

==

“What are you going to do?” Charlie asked, his lower lip caught between his teeth. He sat on the bed with his arms hugging his knees and watched Eric undress in front of the full-length mirror. The dim light bounced off of Eric's hard stomach, and Charlie bit his lip harder.

“Nothing you don't deserve,” Eric said, though Charlie could hear the barbed tease in his tone. Eric had already forgiven Charlie for the fight—mostly. He could tell there was some lingering resentment, and that, underneath Eric's joke, there was still an undercurrent of resentment.

It was Charlie's fault. He had screwed up.

He always screwed up.

He left Eric at the bar, left him, abandoned him, forgot him, because of the boy with the lip ring, and...God, nothing had happened, but he'd been magical enough for Charlie to forget, for an hour, that he had a boyfriend and the last bar, a boyfriend, a partner, a love. It had taken an entire hour for Charlie to turn around and realized that when the lip ring tried to work its way into Charlie's mouth, Eric was not there to stop it. He'd left him. He'd gotten into the boy's car and left Eric.

He always screwed up.

And if he just apologized, maybe he could have subverted all of this. The screaming, the crying, the three days of glaring at each other around the house, the panicked calls to his sister, the peace treaty dinner, the awkward “what happens now?”

What happened now?

He turned his head away and sneezed--“Huh'kissh'uh!” and Eric gave Charlie a look he wasn't expecting. A few sneezes from allergic-to-everything Charlie weren't usually noteworthy. That the sneeze came alone, in fact, was probably more shocking.

Still, Eric said, “Nose bothered?”

Charlie shook his head a little, rubbing his nose against the back of his hand. “Just the season.”

“The ragweed?”

“Mmhmm.”

Eric nodded a little and turned back to the task at hand—undressing. Charlie watched, though still unsure if he was invited to do so.

“Out of your clothes, Charlie.”

He didn't need to be told twice. He'd had a feeling Eric's payback—his punishment—would be something of that nature. He lay down on the bed and held his hands behind his head, ready to be tied up. Eric quickly pulled out and did not disappoint. Charlie grinned in anticipation of his favorite, favorite game.

“Blindfold me?” he asked.

Eric shook his head. “Not today. I want to see your face.”

Charlie smiled, just a little. Hesitantly.

Eric lay down next to Charlie, head resting very gently on his chest. “Asthma okay?”

The question surprised Charlie, even if it shouldn't have—how many mornings had he woken up to Eric's cheek against his chest, the anxious fold between his eyebrows revealing he'd fallen asleep listening to his boyfriend's wheeze?

“It's fine,” Charlie said softly.

“You mean it?”

Charlie nodded. He wouldn't tell Eric their fight had taken its toll on his breathing these past few days. Now his breath hitched a few times.

Eric said, “Bless you,” softly, in advance.

Charlie nodded while he cupped a hand over his mouth. “Huh'kissh'uh! Heh...”

“You're fine.”

“Huh'kissh'uh!”

“There you go.”

Charlie sniffled a little. “Sorry. It's--”

“Ragweed. You don't have to apologize.”

Normally, Charlie wouldn't.

He used to, in the beginning—when they'd first started dating, but especially when they began to live together, and Charlie couldn't hide the reality of his persistent allergies to absolutely everything. He'd long grown used to the sneezing, and to the rest of the world's annoyance with it.

Eric always told him it was adorable, and he was beautiful.

“You're soooo cute when you sneeze,” Eric cooed once. “You get so worked up.”

Just a light kiss on the nose could set Charlie off—a trick Eric exploited quite often.

It was the kind of trick Charlie expected now.

“Ready for your punishment?” Eric asked, his voice soft on Charlie's chest.

“Mmhmm.”

Eric gave each of Charlie's lungs a kiss and sat up. “Remember that story you told me, about you and your ex-girlfriend?”

He didn't, off the top of his head. His ex-girlfriend was amazing, a fireball, and left him with many, many stories.

“About this time last year,” Eric said. “When you cheated on her. How she came out on top in the end.”

Charlie's eyes grew. Immediately—involuntarily?--he struggled against the tie binding his wrists.

It had been sort of fun...

Still, he whispered, “Eric, please?” when he should have said “Eric, sorry,” and ended the whole thing. Days ago.

Eric shook his head and took a sealed container out from underneath the bed. “Look what I've got.”

Charlie saw the sprig of ragweed inside, curled up sleeping like a cat; he sneezed quickly, “H'kisshhh'uh!” like he did whenever the word “cat” crossed his mind.

Eric said, “Bless you. Bothering you through the container, love?”

“A little.”

“You're going to be a mess when I open it.”

Charlie nodded, his eyes already tearing and itchy.

Eric said, “My beautiful, adorable, suffering mess” and pulled the lid off the container.

The first sneeze came so fast Charlie was convinced it was psychosomatic—a quick, tickled “I'kshh!” that seemed to have more to do with his throat than his nose. Eric took the sprig between his hands and played with it a little, still a very uncomfortable few feet away from Charlie.

His ex had worn full nurse attire, touched him all over with rubber gloves while he sneezed.

A tickle started at the tip of Charlie's nose like a lit match. He squeezed his eyes shut.

Eric said, “Keep them open when you can, baby, I want to see.”

“C...can't.”

“All right,” Eric said, and the disappointment in his voice made Charlie force his eyes open while he fought with the growing itch in his nose. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this close to ragweed, and couldn't remember for the life of him how bad he'd gotten when he was with his ex...there had been some distracting factors.

But there was no more distracting from the fire now deep in his nose. “Heh...Er...Huh'kissh'uh! K'issh'uh! I'ku'isssshuh!”

“Bless you,” Eric said.

“Am I cute?” Charlie sniffled, “Are you...Huh...He'ksessshuh! Uh'isshuh! He'ksssh'uh! K'iiish!”

“You're adorable.”

“Need t'...Er can y...H'k'issh'uh!”

“Just one? You've got to have more in you than that.”

“H'kihishuh! Heh...wipe my...heh...my nose, Er?”

'Er'—that had been his nickname since the beginning, since Charlie realized it sounded exactly like what he'd always most needed. Unbeknownst to him, he'd been crying for Eric since he was a child—an asthmatic child in an allergy attack, whimpering “air, air, air.”

“I have pollen all over my hands, sweet, you don't want that.” His voice wasn't even mocking—it was matter-of-fact, plain. You don't want that, Charlie.

Air. Air. Er.

“Huh'kissh'uh!”

“All right, honey,” Eric pinched a tissue out of the box and balled it over Charlie's nose. “Here you go.”

As much as Charlie wanted to bury his nose in the tissue, his body new to resist as soon as Eric's yellow-stained fingers got close. One whiff of the pollen sent him reeling. “Heh'kehhh'ish! I'issh'uh! Heh...K'issh'eh'uh!” A small, involuntary whimper. “Heh'kissh'eh! Huh...huh'kissh'uh!”

“Honey,” Eric said softly.

“Keh'issh'uh! Heh....heh'kissh'uh! Iiissh!”

“Can you breathe?”

Charlie nodded.

The tickle in his nose was by no means gone, but the attack waned enough for him to open his blurry eyes. There was Eric, body a tent over Charlie's. There was the body that had slept on the couch for the past few nights, the body Charlie had imagined in detail every minute until he fell asleep, he'd been so afraid of forgetting.

Here it was. His. Er. Er. Air.

Eric leaned over him and kissed his chest. “Ready to be forgiven?”

Charlie nodded hard.

Eric brushed his thumb across Charlie's cheek, so tenderly. “Are you sure?”

“Heh'issshuh!” Another nod.

Eric said, “Okay.” He maintained his position on top of Charlie and picked up the sprig of ragweed. “Okay, cutie.” He placed it underneath Charlie's nostrils and proceeded to tickle Charlie's nose with the blossoms.

“Bless you,” he whispered.

“Hehhh'kisssssh'uh!”

“You've got more in you than that.”

He did, he had a lot more in him than that, and he felt every sneeze building behind his nose, barely able to wait for its turn to explode. “Heh'keh'ISSHUH! Ish'KISH'uh! Keh'ISSH! Heh'kushh'uh! Heh'kuh'ISH'UH!”

“That's more like it.” He tickled Charlie's nose a few more times and removed the sprig.

It didn't matter. “Huh'KISSH'uh! Huh'KUSH'UH! Keh'ISHH! Heh...huh'kishhuh!” His eyes overflowed with tears, and in the brief pause between sneezes, Charlie felt his chest tighten. Goddamn it. This was his first summer with Eric; Eric didn't know the extent of his allergy to ragweed. His ex had known what she was getting into.

Eric had probably expected a few adorable, off-hand sneezes.

“Heh'ISSH'UH! K'HUSH'huh! Er...”

“You're doing great.” Eric gave him a gentle kiss on the lips. “So cute.”

“K'heh'ush'uh!” he sneezed weakly because it didn't seem to matter. No matter how hard the sneezes, they seemed to do nothing to alleviate the feeling that Eric was still rubbing his nose right in the pollen.

Just an open window on a hot day was enough to make him a sneezey mess on the floor.

“At least I didn't use a cat,” Eric said.

Charlie whimpered. “HUH'kishh'uh! Keh...heh'ISSH'uh! K'ISSHU! K'ISHH! I'sshuh!”

“Bless you.”

Charlie nodded just a little. “Keh'heh'USHH! Heh'ISSH'UH! Dunno how...heh...K'ISSH'HUH! Long this will...heh'KISSH'uh!”

“Don't get self-conscious, you're fine, honey.” He kissed him. “Still doing okay?”

Now Charlie wasn't sure. “H'KISSH'uh! Heh'ISSHU! Keh...keh'ISS'ah! Issh'ih!”

“I wanted to get to fifty.” Eric kissed him. “That was fifty-one. You're done.” He put the ragweed back in the container.

But Charlie wasn't done. “Heh'kissh'uh! HehISSHuh! K'tiiiiishah! T'chishu! Er I...k'behh...EH'SHU! I'EHSU!”

“You can keep going if you need to, too. That's okay.” Eric lay his head down on the pillow next to Charlie's and wiped his nose. “It's okay, baby.”

“H'tisssh! No, I ca...heh'ISHA! Can't...Heh'KISH'uh! Heh'ISHU!'

“You can't stop sneezing. I know, honey.”

“H'kiish'uh!HEH'KISSH'AH! I can't breathe.”

Eric sat, immediately, bolt upright. “You can't what?”

Charlie sneezed softly.

Immediately he felt Eric's hands fumbling with the ties on his wrists, Eric's much larger body scooping up his and bringing him to the bathroom. The roar of the shower started immediately,and his chest loosened in the steam and Eric rinsed the pollen away, his panicked eyes never leaving Charlie's.

“I'm sorry. Shit, that was so stupid. You just said your ex...”

Charlie gave him a weak smile. “Doped me up on all my asthma meds first.”

“Shit. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry I'm so sorry I'm so sorry.”

“No. It's okay. Heh'issh'uh!”

Eric grabbed him and hugged him, muffling Charlie's sneeze into his chest. It was heaven to be held again. Er.

“I'm so sorry,” Eric said.

Charlie whispered, “No. I'm sorry.”

[Lady Blessington]

I don't have allergies or asthma so I don't know how uncomfortable/dangerous this may have been for Charlie, but I definitely found it hot, and if I'd been sure he was enjoying himself as much as Eric was, it would have been crazy-hot AND guilt-free to read. I like the play on Eric/Er/Air.

[katia]

Wow, I LOVE this. More than I can express. It's perfect. Will there be a continuation?

[starpollen]

HO-LY GREEN. GUACAMOLE. This was... is... gah I can't even speak. This is incredible. I would love more about these two - very well done. The Er/Air? Brilliant.

[untiluntiluntil]

HO-LY GREEN. GUACAMOLE. This was... is... gah I can't even speak. This is incredible. I would love more about these two - very well done. The Er/Air? Brilliant.

thank you. these characters are...hmm. long term friends of mine? haha. i'm SURE there will be more with them.

[everest]

This is cute!

[Zane]

SO GOOD!!! so many sneezes...lol... YUMMY!!!! ok so you can probably tell that I loved it... and I just wanted to say it was so frickin awsome!

[Aprilcot]

*sits shaking her head in awe and wonder, with a happy grin on her face*

[untiluntiluntil]

awwww, thank you

[untiluntiluntil]

A little something new, same characters. Just a short little thing.

--

“And then what happened?” Eric said, tolerantly, while he poured coffee.

“Ad thed.” Charlie sniffled, head against the table, words slurred with congestion and tequila. “Ad thed he said we're jusd godda blay—” He sighed a little.

“You sound ridiculous. Blow your nose.” Eric set the coffee cup in front of Charlie and nudged the tissue box closer to him. “Here. Tissues.”

Charlie blew his nose worthlessly. “I'b too sduffy.”

Eric lifted Charlie's sleeve to the boy's nose and held it there until he inhaled. He couldn't see any cat fur on Charlie's clothes, but with his sensitivity it wouldn't take much to set him off. Sure enough—“Ixxhit, Ish, H'ISH'uh!K'sih, t'ish, ISH!” Those little, useless sneezes. It took a hundred of him to clear his nose out. “Someone needs to teach you to sneeze, Eric said, but at least now he could blow his nose a little.

Charlie folded his arms on the table and put his his head back down. “I'm fine I'm fine I'm fine.

“You shouldn't have gone to a house with a cat.”

“You're the one who didn't wanna come out tonight, said Charlie goooooo not gonna join you tonight, not gonna join you. God, I'm druuuuuunk. We were just gonna play poker.”

“And how long did you last before you had to beg someone to drive you home?”

“Like two...h'KISh'uh! Ish'ah, K'HISH, Ish!”

“Bless, bless bless bless.”

Charlie sniffled. “I hate cats.”

“Yes. Come on. Drink your coffee. Sober up enough so you won't drown in the shower.”

“H'KISH'uh!”

“That sounded like a good one,” Eric said, but it clearly didn't seem to matter the size of the sneeze, because Charlie was still going.

“H'ISH'uh! K'ish, ish'KISH'oo!”

Eric kissed his temple. “It's probably sick and wrong that I find this a little funny. You poor drunk bastard.”

Charlie offered him an adorable, if very sneezy, smile. “H'ISH'uh! Y-you're lucky I'm so...Ish! K'hish'uh! Kish, ish'OO!”

“Bless you. Damn.”

“Lucky I'm so drunk this isn't even—H'KISH'uh--bothering me.”

“Yeah, but soon it's going to bother your lungs. Keep drinking coffee. I'm getting you a spare set of clothes.”

Charlie nodded as another fit of sneezes took him over. He shivered. Eric made sure the hug he gave him before he left was enough to give him a little warmth. Charlie's allergies always made him so cold.

He came back with pajamas to find Charlie with his head in the sink.

“Oh, that's very normal.”

“Shuddup. H'KISH'uh! Ish'uh! K'h'ish! I'b...” He sniffled. “I'm getting the allergens off.” He raises his head out of the sink, his white blonde hair dripping all over the floor. “Charlieshower.” He smiled tiredly, rubbing his fist against his nose. “Wanna join?”

“You're ridiculous, you know that?”

“H'kish'uh!”

“Bless you.” Eric hugged him, pajamas forgotten for now. “I'll join anything with you,” he said, and tolerantly let Charlie, between sneezes of his own, kiss his nose again and again to irritate it before he managed one loud, solitary, “H'KUSH'ooh!”

Charlie smiled a little. “You joined me. H'ish'uh! K'ish! Ish, iiiSHU!”

“Yeah, baby.” Eric gave him a big, dander-free hug. “I always will now.”

[obsessed]

Awww.

[Lady Blessington]

Sneezy smiles and warm hugs AND tolerant, amused caregiving? Gah. Eric telling Charlie to blow his nose was crazy hot.

[starpollen]

VERY cute. I very much enjoy these characters.

[untiluntiluntil]

Thanks! And sorry for all the missing quotation marks in this one--it was a 3 AM ficlet, haha

[everest]

So very adorable.

[SomethingClever]

ohwow.

that. was. amazing...

I certainly hope there will be more with them...

[untiluntiluntil]

oh, totally. trust me, you'll get sick of them.

[W.I.N.]

oh, totally. trust me, you'll get sick of them.

Not if *they* keep getting sick...

~W.I.N.

[untiluntiluntil]

oh, totally. trust me, you'll get sick of them.

Not if *they* keep getting sick...

~W.I.N.

heehee, I'm definitely an allergy whore, but I have a feverfic in mind...we'll see.

[PaperThings]

I think this is one of the best sneezefics I've ever read! I just love the two of them. Please, please write more with them !

[untiluntiluntil]

Told you there'd be more. This one's a sickfic. Will probably require a sequel.

--

“Don't drop don't drop don't drop,” Charlie whispered to the tray of food as he slowly edged the bedroom door open with his hip. Eric lay asleep on the bed, pink and sweaty and curled, two tissues still balled in his hand. The covers were kicked to the bottom of the bed and his pajamas were all askew. He clearly hadn't slept peacefully since Charlie left him.

Charlie set the tray down and caught his breath—he was out of commission just from the stairs, this was so unacceptable. And every muscle through his back and shoulders felt like it had been snapped like a rubber band. He was hot and tired...

He was halfway through taking his inhaler when Eric opened his eyes. Charlie held up one finger and let out his breath. “Hey, babykid.”

“Y'kay?” Eric croaked.

“Of course.” Charlie sniffled as quietly as he could into wrist.

“Took y'inhaler.”

“It's one of my duties as an asthmatic.” He stroked Eric's cheek. “How are you feeling?”

Eric shook his head childishly and rolled over to bury his face in the pillow. “Shouldn't touch me.”

Charlie moved his hand to Eric's back. He was burning up. “Eric.”

“Y'get sick. Don't want you to get sick. Need you to take care of me, honey.”

Charlie coughed shortly. “I know, Er. Look. Brought you toast and orange juice, mmmm.”

Eric pulled himself up and gave Charlie a quick nuzzle. He opened his mouth for a drink, but Charlie slipped the thermometer under his tongue first. “You're so hot,” he said.

“Mmmm.” Eric gave Charlie a sleepy smile.

“Uh-uh, hot like fever.”

“Oh, that's not as conducive t'me, um...getting laid,” he said with his teeth clenched.

“No it is not.” Charlie took the thermometer out. “Especially not with a fever of nearly 102, kid.” He kissed Eric's temple. “Poor baby. Juice will help.” He slipped the thermometer into his pocket.

Eric screwed up his face. “Heh...”

Charlie located a tissue. “Aw, I know that noise.”

“Heh'USHOO!”

“Bless you.” Charlie wiped Eric's nose. “Feel a little better?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Probably need more sneezes.” Charlie's nose itched, suddenly, too immediately for him to fight, and he stole the tissue from Eric's nose and pinched it over his own. “H'ISH! ISH'uh! K'ISH'UH!” He sniffled and tried not to look embarrassed, or scared. “See. Like that.”

“Gettin' sick?”

“Nooo. It's dusty in here.”

“You can't get sick, Charlie. When you get sick you get sooooooo sick. No gettin' sick.”

“I know, baby. I...h'ish'UH! Mmm. Bless me. Not getting sick.” He lay down next to Eric and wrapped his arms around him.

“Nooooo no touching.”

Charlie rubbed Eric's chest and dropped a series of kisses behind his ear. “Honey. I'm not going to get sick.”

“Probise?” Eric sniffled. “Promise?”

“Uh-huh. I promise.”

“Heh....K'HISH'uh! My nose itches, Charlie. Itchy like Charlie's nose. Huh'TISH'uh!”

“This is a lot of sneezing for you.” Charlie leaned forwards and kissed Eric's nose. “Poor baby. Don't worry.” He stroked Eric's hair. He expected to feel the fever this close to Eric's skin, but didn't, and he bit his lip upon realizing what that had to mean. If 102 degrees of Eric felt cool to him...his own fever must have gone up.

“Have to go to the bathroom,” he whispered to Eric.

“Nooooooooo. Don't go.”

“I need asthma meds.”

“Take them here with me. Won'tease you. Won'watch 'f you don't want. Always s'cute, Charlie, doesn't matter.”

“Let me take care of me so I can come back and take care of you.”

Eric's feverish eyes searched Charlie, but he eventually nodded. “Okay.”

In the bathroom, Charlie sat on the edge of the tub and tried to catch his breath, sweaty head in his hands while he waited for the thermometer. The shortness of breath was bordering, again, on unbearable, and the constant need to sneeze made him want to rip off his nose. “H'ISH! K'tish'uh! H'ISH'uh! H'TISH!” The thermometer fell out of his mouth, unfinished, but already a fifth of a degree short of 103.

“Shit,” he whispered. He'd known he was sick, but not this sick.

He pushed hard on his eyes and took another dose of Tylonel, though the last was less than an hour ago. Eric took care of him all the time. He owed this. And more than that, he wanted to owe this. He wanted to be the hero for once. The one that pushed everything else aside when his boyfriend wasn't feeling well. How many times had Eric put his feelings on hold to take care of Charlie?

Charlie wobbled back into the bedroom. “See? I'm back.”

Eric was half asleep, shivering. “Come t'bed.”

“I thought you didn't want me to get sick.” He held up his hand quickly when Eric's chin began to shake. “Hey, just teasing. I'm coming.” He crawled between the covers next to Eric. “And I won't get sick.”

Despite his tremendous size advantage over Charlie, Eric managed to curl up under his arm, his head on Charlie's chest. “C'hear you breathing,” Eric said. “S'not good.”

“It's just fine. I'm keeping an eye on it.”

Charlie felt his eyes starting to tear up, and he didn't know why. It had to be the goddamn fever, making him worried and confused and God, so fucking hot. “H'ish! ISH! T'ISH!”

Although it was Eric's fever that worrying him.

“Allergies bad, Charlie?” Eric murmured.

“I'm fine.”

Eric yawned and stretched a little. “M so cold, Charlie.”

Charlie wrapped his arms around. “I'm here.”

“Charlie's so warm,” Eric whispered, and he drifted off to sleep.

[Aprilcot]

AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love these!!!!

You've got to give us more!!!

I love these characters!!!

Please torture them for us?

[elements]

oh i like this new one!!!!!

[mutini]

*flails*

OMG there's MORE! YES! Damn right this requires a sequel. XD

You're freaking killing me with the asthma and the fever, oh god. Love it.

Your writing is fantastic. More plz?

[starpollen]

Yup. I like it.