Motel (f)

[Blah!?]

Yes, ladies and gentlemen... Another story from me already. I've really been craving some writing lately, so I've just been cranking stories out for the past few days. I think this will be my last one for a little while, unless someone can feed me another idea. I've run dry for the time being.

Anyway, special thanks to Skye for basically coming up with the plot and characters for me. She did all the hard work, coming up with the plot and all. Typing words is easy.

Basic Summary: A young couple gets snowed in, and one of them is allergic to something. Yep, that's right: a snow fic with no colds.

And here it is:

Charlie and Erin finally stopped shivering as they jogged into their motel room. They had been driving in a heated car for hours, but the brief moment out in the cold was enough to chill them to the bone. Charlie closed the door behind them and sighed contently.

"What do you think?" he asked, putting his arm around his girlfriend. Erin smiled and leaned against him.

"It's cozy," she said, closing her eyes for a moment. Her nose felt a bit tickly, but she assumed it was just because of the cold air they had come out of. Charlie nodded and headed toward the single large bed.

"Yep. All it's missing is a fireplace. But it's plenty warm without one."

The young couple removed their coats and hung them on the rack by the window. They were warming up just fine already, so they didn't feel a need to keep their heavier clothing. Charlie rolled their suitcases into the corner of the room and then went to use the bathroom. Meanwhile, Erin sat down on the edge of the bed, kicked off her shoes, and shook some snow out of her short, bob-cut hair. She adjusted her glasses and then rubbed her nose, which was still feeling strangely tickly.

"Hey," Charlie said as he walked toward the bed, returning from the bathroom. Erin echoed him and smiled softly. Charlie noticed his girlfriend rubbing her nose, which worried him a little. He knew that she was allergic to either cats or dogs, and he owned both of them. For the sake of their relationship, he hadn't yet told her about either of his pets. There was probably some dander on his clothes, but he hoped it wouldn't be enough to set Erin off.

"I'm glad we got here when we did," Charlie said, trying to take his mind off of Erin's allergies. "The snow's supposed to be really bad tonight. I don't know if we'll be able to get out in the morning." Erin leaned against him again as he sat down on the bed next to her. "That's okay," she said with a smile. Charlie smiled back and put his arm around her shoulder, rubbing it gently.

Suddenly, Charlie felt Erin tense up a bit. Her body shivered for a second, and then she started to take in hitching breaths. "Heh… Hehh… HEH-ISHOO!" She sneezed a breathy and forceful sneeze, bending forward at the waist. The sides of her bob-cut hair swayed forward and back as she bent forward and then straightened up in an almost perfectly synchronized motion. Charlie would have blessed her, but he had noticed over the course of their relationship that she never just sneezed once. "Ehh… HEH-ISHOOO!" Erin let out one more sneeze, her hair and body swaying back and forth the same way again. "Bless you times two," Charlie said, squeezing her gently. Erin giggled and then fell onto her back on the bed.

"I'm tired," she said, her eyes shut peacefully. Charlie smiled and lowered himself onto his back next to her. "I think we're both ready for bed," he replied, removing Erin's glasses for her. She giggled again and rolled over onto her side. Charlie set Erin's glasses down on the bedside table and turned back to her. "You want to sleep in your clothes?" Erin smiled and nodded. "Yes. Too tired." Charlie rubbed her shoulder and then stood up from the bed. He at least had to turn the light off, but he too decided that he was feeling too worn out to change out of his clothes. After he collapsed back on the bed next to Erin, both of them fell asleep almost immediately.

---

"Heh… Ehhh… HEH-ISHOO!" Erin sneezed forcefully, her head lifting up off of her pillow. She sat up and tried to look at the clock, but the lights were out and she wasn't wearing her glasses, so she couldn't even tell where it was. Before she could put together another coherent thought, her inevitable second sneeze took control. "Ehhhhh… Heh!" Not wanting to wake up Charlie, Erin rubbed her nose desperately, trying to hold the sneeze back. All she managed to do was draw out her buildup, and she ended up sneezing anyway. "Heh-heh-heh! Hehh… Huhhhh…. HEH-ISHOOOO!" Erin rocked the bed slightly as she swayed forward and back.

"Hey, are you okay?" Charlie asked next to her. Erin mentally kicked herself for waking him up. "Yeah. Just a sneeze. Sorry." Charlie sat up and put his arm around her, and she leaned against him with closed eyes. However, doing so only brought on another sneeze. "Hehh… Heh! HE-ISHOO! ISHHH! Heh-Heh-HEH ISHHOO!" With her body held in place, Erin's head and hair jumped with each sneeze. "Bless you," Charlie said, rubbing Erin's shoulder, "are you feeling alright?" Erin shrugged, sniffing quietly. "Maybe I caught a cold last night." "Maybe," Charlie lied, kissing her forehead. He knew that wasn't it, but he still didn't have the heart to tell her what was really making her sneeze.

"I can't sleep now," Erin said, sliding out of bed. It sounded less like an annoyance and more like a simple statement of fact. "May I have my glasses, please?" Charlie picked them up from the bedside table as he got out of bed as well. He approached Erin and slid her glasses onto her face and watched as her large, soft eyes blinked themselves clear of blurry tears. "Thank you." Erin closed her eyes and tried to lean against Charlie again, but he moved out of the way, knowing it would make her sneeze if she did. Erin nearly fell over as she missed him. Neither of them remarked on it, and they continued as if nothing had happened.

"Hey, I have an idea," Charlie said, walking up to the door, "let's get some fresh air." Erin tried to nod, but she could only make her head tilt back but not forward as she built up to another sneeze. "Huhh… Hehh… HEH-ISHHOOO! Heh-Hehh-HEH! ISHHHOOOOO!" Her second sneeze was powerful enough to make her stagger a little. Erin stumbled backward and half fell, half sat back down on the bed. She couldn't help but giggle at herself, but Charlie's guilt only grew. "Okay," Erin replied, temporarily breaking his train of thought. Charlie smiled back at her and tried to open the door.

The door moved a few inches, but it suddenly stopped. "What the…" Charlie shut the door and tried opening it again, and it only moved half an inch farther than it had the first time. He looked through the gap between the door and the wall to find several feet of snow blocking the way. "You've got to be kidding me…" He turned back to Erin and shrugged. "Looks like we're snowed in. Like seriously snowed in." Erin giggled, not at all bothered by this fact. "That's oh… Ahhh… Heh… HE-ISHOO! Th-that's oh-oh-ohhkehhhh… HEH-ISHOOO!" Erin sniffed and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Excuse me." Charlie wanted to sit down next to her and comfort her, but he knew being near her would only make it worse. "Hehh… HEH-ISHHH!" He was a bit shocked when Erin continued to sneeze. Were her allergies bad enough that she'd continue to sneeze when he wasn't even near her? If that was the case, he thought maybe he should just sit next to her to make her feel better, mentally anyway.

"Heh… Hehh… Hehhh…" As Erin built up to another set of sneezes, Charlie walked up beside her and draped his jacket over her shoulders. Erin pulled it tight around her body just before swaying forward with a forceful "HEH-ISHOOO!" She only had time to sniff softly before a second "ISHOOOO!" Erin sniffed again and thanked Charlie, leaning toward him. "There should be some tissues in one of the inside pockets," Charlie said, putting his arm around his girlfriend. Erin's hands ruffled around inside the coat and returned to her face with a single tissue. She wiped her nostrils and then held the tissue gently underneath them, not wanting to blow. "Thanks. I think my cold's getting worse."

"HEEISHHOO! HEH! HEH-SHHOO! Heh.. Hehh… Hehhh… ISHOO!" Erin sneezed three times quickly into her tissue and then rubbed her tickly nose with her hand. Nothing she did, rubbing, blowing or even sneezing, made her feel any better. She snuggled up even closer to Charlie, who was looking away from her in shame. He could still hear her desperate, shallow breaths as she rubbed her nose, meaning she was nowhere near done with sneezing. "Are you sure this is a cold?" Charlie asked, deciding to at least put Erin on the right track. "You don't feel warm, and you've only been sneezing." Erin rubbed her nose and adjusted her glasses, looking over at Charlie.

"You think it might be allergies?"

"Well, um, maybe. I just think it's best to, uh, consider all your options."

Erin raised an eyebrow. She wasn't quite sure what Charlie was getting at. Her train of thought was interrupted by yet more sneezes as she tried to ponder what he meant. "Heh… HEH-ISHHOO! Hehh… Hehhh… HEE-ISHOO!" Erin sneezed twice, but she still wasn't quite done. Her body struggled to rear back, but it was held in place by Charlie's arm. "HEHH-ISHHOOO! Heh… Hahh… HAH-ISHHHH! ISHOOO!" "Bless you." "Thanks. I wonder what I could be allergic to."

Sniffing and sneezing her way through a few more minutes, Erin continued to think about what was making her sneeze so much. Her sneezes were only getting worse, so her mind drifted back to her original cold theory. She pulled Charlie's jacket tight around her body again and sniffed. Suddenly, the inside of her nose was ablaze with tickling, and she prepared herself for a sneezing fit. "Hehh… Hehhhh… HEH-ISHOO! Heh… Hahhh… HEH-ISHHHOO! Heh-HEH-ISHHHH! HEEISHOOO!" Erin sneezed repeatedly, her short hair flying around her face.

"It's only getting worse," she said, her nose stuffy. "I think I just have a cold." Suddenly, Charlie shook her. Erin yipped, a little started. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and stared at him. "Erin, you don't have a cold," Charlie said, his voice sounding down somehow. Erin raised an eyebrow, more than a little confused. "You're allergic to cats, right? Or dogs? I'm really sorry, I can't remember. But whatever it is, I have one of both. Once I found out you were allergic, I decided not to tell you. I thought you wouldn't like me anymore if I had pets you were allergic to. I feel really guilty now, so I just had to tell you. I understand if you're mad at me. I can take you home if you want, once the snow clears up. You probably don't want to go on this trip with me anymore."

Charlie wasn't quite sure what she expected Erin to do, but he definitely didn't expect her to hug him. "HEH-ISHOO!" Erin sneezed into his shoulder as she put her arms around him, and then she looked up at his face. "It's okay, I understand. I… I… Heh… HEH-ISHHOO! I'm actually allergic to cats and dogs." Erin giggled a little, rubbing her nose. "But, I… I… Hehh… Hah… HEH-ISHOOO! I love both of them. I'm ahh… Ahhh… HAH-ISHOO! I'm actually okay around them, as long as I remember my medicine. I just didn't take it today because I didn't think I'd need it. But… Buhh… Hehh… HEH-ISHOO! But could I… Could I… HEH-HEH-ISHHOO! Could I please ask you to change your clothes?"

---

Again, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

[Hawkeye]

I love it! I love how Charlie gets progressively more and more guilty as Erin gets progressively sneezier and sneezier. And this part: "Suddenly, the inside of her nose was ablaze with tickling, and she prepared herself for a sneezing fit. "Hehh… Hehhhh… HEH-ISHOO! Heh… Hahhh… HEH-ISHHHOO! Heh-HEH-ISHHHH! HEEISHOOO!" Erin sneezed repeatedly, her short hair flying around her face."

It was awesome! Very fun to read. Good job, sir.

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Awwwwww. Love it. They're so cute together and d'awww.

Especially love the part where he is all guilty and confessing-ey and she hugs him and goes "It's fine, silly." (well, sort of anyway)

Anyway, love it.

[Chanel_no5]

Mmm... I loved this!! Thanks for writing and posting!!

[NoV]

"Heh… Ehhh… HEH-ISHOO!" Erin sneezed forcefully, her head lifting up off of her pillow. She sat up and tried to look at the clock, but the lights were out and she wasn't wearing her glasses, so she couldn't even tell where it was. Before she could put together another coherent thought, her inevitable second sneeze took control. "Ehhhhh… Heh!" Not wanting to wake up Charlie, Erin rubbed her nose desperately, trying to hold the sneeze back. All she managed to do was draw out her buildup, and she ended up sneezing anyway. "Heh-heh-heh! Hehh… Huhhhh…. HEH-ISHOOOO!" Erin rocked the bed slightly as she swayed forward and back.

Love, love, love paragraphs like this! Thanks so much for posting

[LovelyLinda]

Loved it so much

Thank you fro writing

[High on Lullabies]

Another wonderfully brilliant story Just what I love to read, a cute couple being adorable and a whole slew of beautifully described build-ups and sneezes Thanks to both Skye for coming up with the concept and Blah for transforming it into the finished product, I loved it

[Nicole]

Very nice story! I agree with HoL, I love a cute couple being adorable. Thanks for sharing!