The Virus - Part Twenty-Five (Wishing's birthday part :D) added 24 March 2012.

[Illiana]

x_X This is SO. GOOD. I definitely hope you write more. Thank you sooooo much for sharing! *_*

[Mischa]

Great update!!

Oh I am excited for more sneezing!!

[ichixshiro14]

I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove this story!!! Are you going to be writing any more? I hope so, pleasepleaseplease?

[Kiwifruit]

I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove this story!!! Are you going to be writing any more? I hope so, pleasepleaseplease?

Aww, thank you very much I've had half the new part written for ages xD I've just been very busy with a whole lot of assignments getting on top of me (but they're all in now! *happy dances*) and I got quite sick for a few weeks so didn't really feel like writing and then had to catch up on things after that, so I haven't really been able to get much done. I swear more is coming though! *Hopefully* within the next couple of days. So keep an eye on it

[BananaTree]

Wow, this story has everything. Suspense, angst, romance and well our favorite thing.

I've read a LOT of fanfiction and only a select few do I think are worthy of being emulated. You are one of them. I'm inspired! What detail! Excellent job!

[ichixshiro14]

I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove this story!!! Are you going to be writing any more? I hope so, pleasepleaseplease?

Aww, thank you very much I've had half the new part written for ages xD I've just been very busy with a whole lot of assignments getting on top of me (but they're all in now! *happy dances*) and I got quite sick for a few weeks so didn't really feel like writing and then had to catch up on things after that, so I haven't really been able to get much done. I swear more is coming though! *Hopefully* within the next couple of days. So keep an eye on it

Hahaha I know how it is to be rushed on assignments (guilty of procrastination too xD) so kudos to you for getting them in =] I hope you're feeling better! Thanks for writing and I will keep checking thanks for responding

[sillystarsmoons]

This is great. I love reading the chapters. I hope you keep writing.

[Vetinari]

*Hopefully* within the next couple of days. So keep an eye on it

Oh please your Kiwiness! That was a delicious chapter. Especially the part Sneezster highlighted.

[ichixshiro14]

*Hopefully* within the next couple of days. So keep an eye on it

Oh please your Kiwiness! That was a delicious chapter. Especially the part Sneezster highlighted.

I second that

[Nicole]

I just spent some time catching up on your fic, Kiwi. Fab-u-lous!!! Love it so much! Mark =

[curliecatlover]

I hate female sneezing BUT in your fic you have changed my mind!

I am enjoying this soo muck that I think it's in my top 10 sneezefics ever!!!!! can't wait for the next bit!

[ichixshiro14]

Still rereading the awesomeness that is your fic haha

[Kiwifruit]

At very long last, I’m finally updating!? Quick, stop the presses! It’s only been, what, ten months now? xD Oh well, if anyone is still interested, I found this story in the archives of my laptop and decided I just HAVE to know what happens xD So, here is part ten! Whoo!

@The Sneezster - thank you Glad you like it, it's the sort of thought I find exciting so I thought I'd add it in there...xD

@Giant Steps - I've never seen much point in the fics without plot, just not my thing. Gotta have me my plot xD I find that if characters sneeze too much it puts me off as well because it's unrealistic and I get switched off. Glad too see someone else agrees ;P

@Demosthenes - ah yes, but tomorrow, he will have extra "encouragement"! Nothing like death threats to motivate you.

@Sigrith - hopefully you like the next few parts then. Allergies too! Whoo!

@sprinkles287 - I'm glad you like it Those are all things I like reading about, so I write them that way too

@obsessed - indeed it is! With more to come...;P

@Illiana - welll, I wrote more...just a liiiittle bit later than intended... Glad you like it!

@Mischa - thank you!

@ichixshiro14 - ZOMG, it looks like I actually did! So sorry about the long wait

@Kiwifruit - liar! Your definition of "a few days" needs refinement! >:C Get your butt into gear and write, girl!

@Miss Monstro - glad you like it all! Butttt this isn't fanfiction, it's all original, I hardly ever write fanfic ;P Once in a blue moon...

@sillystarsmoons - thank you

@Vetinari - I'm taking after your writing style with insanely long breaks! ;P Hoping it gets me up to the same writing standard as The Elven Cloak

@Nicole - isn't he just? And thank youuu!

@Da kitty ninja - well, I have some of both in it, so I can appeal to both tastes! xD Thanks so much for your amazing compliment as well ;P

Part Ten

After a long, frustrating day, Mr Calvin finally left his office and headed out to his car. He had managed to coax out a couple more sneezes and force a cough or two, but he was disappointed in his lack of sheer contagion value.

Once he was inside his house, he sank down onto the couch, relishing the peace and ability to relax for a moment. Hopefully the neighbour’s cat would show up at his backdoor soon as it did most weekdays - usually it was a source of annoyance, but today it would be welcomed with open arms. And scissors.

“He won’t miss a few clumps of fur,” Mr. Calvin muttered, rubbing his eyes and hauling himself off the couch to be sure he was ready with scissors and a small storage container when the cat paid his usual visit.

He didn’t have to wait long before a high-pitched mewling started up outside his back door. Mr. Calvin took a deep breath, picked up the scissors. and went to let the cat into his house for the first time.

The cat was young, not yet a year old. However, he still looked as large as an adult, thanks to its long, thick grey fur. When Mr Calvin opened the door, the cat stood still for a moment, probably expecting to be chased off with the spray bottle of water like usual. When he wasn’t met with any adversity, he cautiously crept inside, rubbing against Mr. Calvin’s legs and starting up a low rumble when he decided he was welcome.

Mr. Calvin tried to hold his breath as much as he could as he bent down and quickly snipped a few clumps off the cat’s tail. Oops – it was fairly noticeable. Oh well. That’s what you get for letting your cat bother the neighbour despite repeated complaints.

Mr. Calvin carefully placed the fur into a tiny plastic container for later use, rubbing his face against his shoulder as his eyes and sinuses began to prickle with the familiar allergic tickle. He turned around to remove the cat. Speaking of the cat...

“Damn!” he exclaimed, looking around frantically for the animal. It was one thing to collect the animal’s fur for use in the classroom, quite another to have it shedding at will over his furniture. “Here, kitty kitty...”

A small trickle of mucous ran down the inside of his nose, the irritation making him cough. “Come on, stupid cat.”

His bedroom door was shut, so it couldn’t be in there. The living room appeared cat-free. He could see the bathroom was empty with a glance. That left one room.

“There you are,” Mr. Calvin growled as the cat purred at him from on top of the refrigerator. “Come down.”

The cat stretched and yawned, rolling over so that its back was to him.

Mr. Calvin dragged over a chair to stand on, viciously scrubbing at his protesting nose. The cat didn’t object to being taken down, but in order to climb down from the chair, Mr. Calvin had to hold it against his shirt, his nostrils spasming as the dander floated up towards them.

Once the cat was safely outside, Mr. Calvin stripped off his shirt and brought it immediately to the laundry. The deep itch in his nose blossomed into triplet of messy sneezes as he sponged the cat fur off before putting it in the wash.

Despite his annoyance at having to put up with his allergy for the rest of the night on top of his worsening cold symptoms, Mr. Calvin was pleased at the effect the fur had on him. His plan for tomorrow would work out nicely.

* * *

Mark arrived at Cindy’s house promptly after school, carrying another bag of tissues, soup cans and movies. Cindy stumbled to the door when he knocked, hastily trying to arrange her unbrushed hair before he saw her.

“Good lord, Cindy.”

“H’lo to you too.”

“Inside! Now!” Mark stepped past Cindy into her house, taking the door from her and closing it behind him before turning to Cindy. “You! Bed!”

“I’m –“

“Don’t you dare try and say you’re fine, look at you, you look awful...” Mark held his hand to her forehead and frowned. “You feel really hot.”

“I wasn’t gonna say I’m fine. Was gonna say I’m not in bed, I’m on the couch. Mum made me up a bed on it before she went to work, so I can watch TV.”

“That’s fine too, but go, lie down.”

Cindy wasn’t going to argue – she really didn’t feel well and lying down again seemed like a wonderful suggestion. When she was tucked in on the improvised bed on the couch, her feet on Mark’s lap, she felt the dizziness and weakness from standing up start to hit her.

“So how are you feeling, Cindy?” Mark stroked her hand, studying her face with concern.

“Egh. Tired. Sick. I can’t breathe through my nose.”

Mark laughed slightly. “I can hear that. Poor baby. You’ve been hit really hard.”

“Baby?”

He shrugged. “Term of endearment?”

“You’ve never called me baby before.”

“You’ve never needed babying quit e this much before.”

Cindy quite liked what he called her – wasn’t it what couples usually said? Maybe he was starting to see her as a potential girlfriend – though heaven knows why he’d be drawn to her in this state. She tried to quell any hope in case it was just wistful thinking.

She had been waiting for Mark all day while she tossed and turned on the couch, her nose slowly pinkening from her excessive tissue use. A small part of her hoped desperately that he’d worry about her enough to leave early to come check on her, another hoped desperately that he’d stay away altogether so he wouldn’t have to see her looking so pathetic. Now that he was here, she felt more relaxed and comforted than she had all day. She hardly even cared how she looked.

It’s okay now he’s here, she thought sleepily. Mark squeezed her hand and said something to her she didn’t quite hear – she hadn’t said that out loud, had she? She had little time to worry about it before her eyelids sank closed and she drifted off to sleep.

[Emily]

OH HEY WHOA 8'D haven't seen this in a long time. but the romantic development's going strong as ever ♥ and the poor kitty

[alejandra xx]

This got bumped up and man I love it! I wish it was finished.

[ichixshiro14]

WOOOOO YOU UPDATEDDDD!!!! (yes, I had to add the telletubbies ) This part is just as awesome (and adorable) as the rest! Thanks so much for continuing!!!

[Kiwifruit]

Aaand not even 24 hours after the last, here's another I'm properly into this story again now, got parts lining up in my head just waiting to be written...anyway, bonus update for you guys for being so patient with me :3

@Emily - oh, kitty doesn't mind, he's thrilled out of his little feline brain that he got to get into Mr. Calvin's house Heaven only knows why he likes him so much...

@alejandra xx - all in due time! Still gotta go through the writing of it first... I do still hope to finish it eventually - though, with all the plot in my head, it's gonna turn out novel length by the time it's done xD

@ichixshiro14 - whoooo teletubbies! xD I see you share my love of emoticons <3 Hope you like this part too!

Part Eleven.

Joseph straightened up in his chair, stretching out his stiff back. It hadn’t taken too long to patch up the spotted remnants of Cindy’s sneeze on his painting. He smiled slightly, recalling her embarrassment. Poor girl – she was obviously sick, and he’d missed her bubbly presence beside him in art today. He wished she’d let him stay with her while she waited to go home. He guessed she was probably just embarrassed. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if maybe she’d be guilted into being nicer to him, perhaps seeing a movie...

He shook his head to dislodge the thought. No, that wasn’t fair, he couldn’t use her illness as a tool to get a date with her. Still, perhaps she’d try to make it up to him somehow.

On the downside, he suspected he was starting to come down with whatever Cindy had – and no wonder, after being subjected to a sneeze like that! Hopefully he’d be able to fight it off quickly with a cup of his mother’s honey, lemon and garlic tea. He rubbed his nose on his wrist to quell the rising irritation, put his painting back on the drying rack and left to go home.

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Holding her breath with trepidation, Jenny checked the thermometer. 37.8C. But she had used it under her arm, so you added half a degree...

“Crap, Cindy,” she whispered, clenching her fist around the thermometer in frustration. But then, she didn’t feel too bad – certainly not bad enough to warrant a fever of 38.3C. Maybe it was just because she had the temperature in her car up because of the winter chill slowly creeping upon them? Yes, that must be it. She was in a lot of layers too.

She popped the thermometer into her mouth to check again, running through her other symptoms. Slight runny nose – also explained from getting out of her warm car into the cool outside then back into a warm house. A tickle in her throat – a little harder to pass off, but she hadn’t really been drinking as much as she should have today. Perhaps she was just thirsty.

She ignored the sneezes that had racked her on her drive home. Just a coincidence. A few sneezes does not make a cold.

The thermometer beeped again, this time reading 38.2C. So she did have a fever.

Jenny groaned and dropped her head into her hands.

* * *

“Ishoo! Heh-shoo!” Cindy jerked awake to a nest of angry ants crawling around in her nose. She barely had time to catch her breath before she exploded into a third sneeze. “Hah-ishoo!”

“Bless you!” Mark exclaimed, dissolving into laughter.

“Wha-“ Cindy scrubbed at her nose, the lingering itch making her eyes water. Still sleepy and disoriented, she looked around for the tissues, blinking when they were shoved into her hands by Mark.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Cindy yanked a thick pile of tissues from the box and bunched them to her nose to empty it of the congestion that built up while she slept. The barrier wasn’t enough to hold the product of her irritated nose though and she winced as she felt the warm dampness sink through to her fingers.

“You were kinda twitching your nose while you slept...and it was really cute...so I kinda tickled at it for a bit until you sneezed.” Mark looked abashedly at her with his delightful crooked grin. Cindy half-laughed.

“You’re so mean.” The vibrations sent through her sinuses when she spoke make her rub her cheeks and forehead, biting her lip at the pain.

“You okay?”

“Yeah...I think I might be getting a sinus infection...you know that pressure you get around your cheekbones and the middle of your forehead?”

“Maybe you should go to a doctor, get some antibiotics for that.”

“I don’t wanna go out looking like...like this.” Cindy waved her hands at herself half-heartedly, indicating her tousled hair, flushed face and pyjamas.

“You look sick. Doctors help sick people. I’ll drive you.”

“My mum said she’ll take me to the after-hours on the weekend if I’m not better by then.”

“That’s three days away! Think how much worse you’ll feel in three days if it is a sinus infection. Or how much better it could be if you got antibiotics.”

“Don’t like doctors.” Cindy slowly sat up, wincing as her sinuses throbbed. Three days. That would be plenty of time to give herself a chance to get better on her own.

“What about when I go to medical school?”

“Then there will be one doctor I’ll like.” Hardly believing her own bravado, Cindy laid down again with her head in Mark’s lap. She held her breath, nervous he’d be uncomfortable or weirded out. Instead, his fingers started gently combing through her hair, separating the tangles. She closed her eyes and relaxed.

“I love your hair.”

“It’s red.”

“It’s pretty. And you don’t straighten it like all the other girls. I love when you get the little ringlets.” He tugged gently on one of her curls.

“It’s red.”

Mark chuckled and continued running his fingers through her hair until she drifted back off into a restless sleep.

I'd like to say that anyone who has any requests is very welcome to ask, either on this board or through PM, and I'll do my best to incorporate it into the story I love filling requests and making people happy...xD Good for inspiration too

[Emily]

god knows why cats like to curl up against people who hate them.

it looks like the virus is definitely starting to spread.

-waits eagerly for next update-

[curliecatlover]

*joins the waiting party*

[alpha_dog]

*patiently lurking and waiting*

[Jorm]

I'm so glad you decided to continue this! I can't wait to see how much messy allergy and cold induced sneezing Mr. Calvin is going to get himself into

[count tiszula]

Wonderful that you've decided to keep this going! And the added nose-tickling bodes well. Now what will Mr Calvin get up to next? And if I were Joseph, I would be preserving the sacred spray on my painting and working around it in order to display it in a sanctum of the sneeze cult...

But that's just me....

[polychrome]

Wow, I think I read Part 1 forever ago and then just tonight read through all the rest. Lovely story. I really appreciate the individuality of so many different characters. And, triple bonus points for having male and female virus transmission and sneezing. I love it when that happens! (...in stories...). Please do post more.

[zneeze]

Wait - what? I thought this had died and had its funeral last November!

So glad you're updating this again, Kiwi! It continues to be made of awesome

(I agree with polychrome above - triple bonus points indeed! For everything )

[ichixshiro14]

Yesh I have an uncontrollable urge to put an emoticon in every post I make I love how fast this is spreading! Bahaha I'm soo glad you started updating again What else is there to do in the summer break? but seriously, you make me a happy camper with your updates