Female Happy Haulidays (F)

[Blah!?]

Hey everybody, it's that time again. I actually wrote this story a while ago, earlier in November, but since it takes place around the holidays I figured I'd save it at least until December started. I guess it's still a little early, but I kind of feel like I should post it now before the board gets inundated with secret santa stories. Anyway, it's not really a holiday story in a thematic sense, but it takes place around that time of year. It's also very slow paced and chilled out, so hopefully people won't find it boring. If nothing else, I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you enjoy!

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"Alright, CS Irmanda, you've been approved for immediate departure."

"Thanks a lot, Olympus Station. Standby for egress."

"I've got you on my scope, Irmanda. Please proceed to lane Whiskey-7. She's all yours until Saturn. Happy holidays!"

"Happy holidays. Irmanda out."

Captain Annekke Nystrom smiled as she closed her communication channel with the spaceport. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, but she made sure to open them again when she felt her ship start to turn away from the station. Olympus steadily slid out of view, followed by all of Mars below it, and then Annekke was faced with nothing but the stars. The Olympus dispatcher would probably chew her out if they knew she was flying manually, but Annekke decided to have some fun as she headed toward the interplanetary shipping lanes. Holding the Irmanda's control yoke in a tight but careful grip, Annekke guided her ship into lane Whiskey-7 and finally allowed the autopilot to take over. Once the Irmanda reached cruising speed, Annekke unstrapped herself from her chair and began to float around the cockpit.

It would take six Earth days to reach Titan Station, but Annekke liked the solitude. She wouldn't describe herself as shy, but she was certainly introverted. Spending too much time at busy spaceports made her feel exhausted, and after a few days in one place, her job felt like its own vacation.

Annekke allowed herself to drift away from the pilot's chair, briefly stretching out her arms and legs before gently curling up into a ball. She wrapped her arms around her folded legs and closed her eyes, enjoying the soothing rumble of the Irmanda's engines. For a minute, the only other sound on the ship was Annekke's soft breathing, but she suddenly gave a snuffle as she felt a tickle in her left nostril. Not thinking much of it, Annekke gently nudged her long nose against her knee to scratch the itch. This held her over for a few seconds, but before long she sniffed again. Annekke's eyes fluttered open, and then she squinted and scrunched up her face as she pressed the underside of her nose against her knee once more and shook her head back and forth, vigorously rubbing her nostrils.

To Annekke's delight, the tickle in her nose disappeared. After one more light sniff she was back to normal, and then she unfurled her body and reached for a handhold on the cockpit's ceiling. Annekke pulled herself along a protruding metal rail until she arrived back at the control console. Pressing a few buttons, she entered her usual conversational communication channel. Solitary as she was, she didn't mind having some companionship on such long journeys, especially if she could simply turn them off when she wanted to be alone again.

"Hello? This is Annekke Nystrom of the CS Irmanda. Is anyone else there?"

"Hey! Cindy Blanchard, CS Elena!"

"Jerry Sherman of the CS Condor. Good to see you again."

Annekke smiled as two familiar voices responded. She quickly slid a finger across the underside of her nose and allowed herself to float away once more.

"Happy holidays," said Annekke, still smiling as she tumbled about her cockpit. "Is it just you two?"

"What do you mean 'just you two'!?" cried Cindy, giggling afterward. "Sorry all the fun people are gone, Annie! Sheesh!"

"Yeah, I think everyone else already packed it in for the winter," Jerry continued. "Are you finally going to take a vacation this year?"

"Nah, just a couple days on Titan," answered Annekke, shaking her head. "Then I'm headed back to Mars."

"Aww, come on, Annie! You've gotta take a break sometime! You're gonna turn into a piece of spaghetti if you keep spending so much time in zero-G. Just get a room at a nice hotel, snuggle up in front of the fireplace and drink some 'nog!"

Annekke giggled softly as Cindy rambled on about the ideal winter vacation, but she quickly found herself becoming distracted. The tickle in her nose was back, still in her left nostril, but a little deeper inside this time. Annekke squinted, flaring her thin nostrils. After holding this irritated expression for a few seconds, she scrunched up her whole face and then wrinkled her nose and lips around in a circle once, twice, three times, and then once more in the opposite direction. To Annekke's dismay this gesture accomplished virtually nothing, and she had no choice but to rub a finger back and forth under her nostrils.

Cindy and Jerry's voices faded into vague background noise as the last of Annekke's attention was sapped away by the tickle in her nose. She scratched at the inside edge of her left nostril and rubbed under her nose a few more times, but a sudden and unflattering wet snuffle prompted her to unzip one of her jumpsuit's breast pockets and withdraw a tissue. Wrapping the tissue around her finger, Annekke cautiously inserted it into her left nostril, flaring it to make room. Unfortunately for Annekke even this embarrassing maneuver wasn't enough. After carefully folding the tissue over, she gently pinched it around the base of her nose, took a deep breath through her mouth, and then blew.

"Wow. Really, Annekke? Not even going to mute for that?"

"Yuck! Gross, Annie!"

"Sorry," sniffed Annekke, pressing the used tissue against her septum. "I have a booger."

"Ew! Stop it!" whined Cindy. "Did you get it, at least?"

"Ugh, no," Annekke complained, wiping her nose with her tissue. Somehow trying to blow her nose had only made things worse. Now her left nostril didn't just tickle, it felt completely clogged. With nothing better to do, Annekke finally muted her microphone and tried blowing her nose a second time. This time she pressed against the right side of her prominent nose, holding her clear nostril shut. Sure enough, Annekke managed to properly blow the tickle clean out of her left nostril and into her now-damp tissue. Crumpling the tissue up in one hand, Annekke pulled herself over to the starboard side of the cockpit and slipped the tissue into the garbage receptacle. As soon as Annekke's hand was clear of the opening, the device snapped shut and sucked the tissue away to the Irmanda's trash compactor.

"Hey guys, sorry about that," Annekke apologized after unmuting herself.

"Don't worry about it. You gotta do what you gotta do," absolved Jerry, prompting Annekke to smile and blush. Cindy harrumphed, but she began to laugh again shortly afterward.

"Well, I'm glad we'll be together for the holidays at least," said Annekke, gently placing a finger under her nostrils again. "But I think I might hit the sack for now. I'm pretty sleepy."

"Aw, come on! We were just starting to have fun!" groaned Cindy.

"Hey, she'll be back tomorrow," interjected Jerry. "You'll be back tomorrow, right, Annekke?"

"You bet," promised Annekke, giving her nose a quick rub back and forth with her finger. "But for now, I need my beauty sleep. Bye!"

"Bye, Annie!"

"Goodnight, Annekke."

Annekke closed her communication channel and double checked the Irmanda's heading. Once she was certain that all was well, she pushed off from the back of the pilot's chair and floated through a door at the rear of the cockpit. The bulkhead automatically closed itself behind her, and Annekke grabbed the first handrail on her left to pull herself into her quarters. After making sure the room's air was circulating properly, Annekke slipped into her sleeping bag. She dimmed the lights and then zipped the sleeping bag up around her body to keep her secure for the night. A few seconds after closing her eyes, Annekke felt the edges of her nostrils tickle lightly, but after rubbing the underside of her nose on the lip of her sleeping bag, she was able to doze off peacefully.

Roughly seven hours later, Annekke awoke to the soft buzzing of her alarm clock. Although there wasn't much to do on such a long journey, she never liked to oversleep. Annekke yawned and stretched her legs inside her spacious sleeping bag, and then she absently rubbed her nose with one hand as she unzipped the bag with the other. She drifted lazily out of the sleeping bag, motionless until she yawned again a few seconds later, her mouth gaping open and her small nostrils flaring as wide as they could go.

After pulling herself out of her quarters, Annekke floated down the Irmanda's central corridor toward the washroom. Once inside, she sealed the door, clumsily wrestled her way out of her jumpsuit, and finally she slipped into the shower pod. Annekke pressed a button to seal the pod, and then another to dispense a modest amount of pre-soaped water. Cupping the floating water in her hands, Annekke carefully pulled it toward her body and began to scrub herself down. When she was sufficiently lathered, Annekke then reached for another button, this one for pure water so she could rinse herself, but her finger stopped just short of the control pad.

Annekke's nose felt uncharacteristically itchy. Her thin nostrils flared of their own accord, and she drew her finger back toward her face to rub underneath them. This only drove the irritation deeper up Annekke's nasal passages, and before long her rubbing finger was having no effect. She lightly pinched her nose just above the nostrils, but the tickle continued to evade her.

"Hihh!"

A hitch in Annekke's breath nearly sent her into a panic. She clapped a hand over her face, carefully covering her nose and mouth. After holding her breath for a few seconds, however, Annekke relaxed and lowered her hand. The tickle in her nose was still growing, but if she was going to sneeze, there was no better place to let it out than in the shower. She took a deep, slow breath through her nose, hoping to coax the tickle out, and sure enough, she succeeded.

"Hiehh-Ehnk'SHH!"

Annekke's upper body thrust forward, and she reflexively brought her legs up to compensate. The tickle in her nose wasn't entirely gone, but once she was sure she wouldn't sneeze a second time, Annekke uncurled and dispensed a few more drops of soapy water to wash her hands and face. Then, she finally rinsed herself and activated the shower pod's drying cycle. Air and water were sucked out through one end of the pod while fresh air was blown in from the other, and while it was normally almost fun in a childish way, today it only made Annekke shiver. She decided to get out early, but she quickly came to regret it as her damp hair only made her shiver more.

Halfway into pulling on her jumpsuit, Annekke realized she was sniffling. She couldn't remember when she had started though, and a few quick rubs under her nose put an end to the moist tickle in her nostrils. Trying not to worry about it, she scrubbed at her short blonde hair with a towel for a few more seconds before exiting the washroom and returning to the cockpit.

"Morning, Annie!"

"Hi, Cindy. Have you been up long?"

"Maybe an hour or so? I got up early today. How are you doing?"

"I'm alright. Just feeling lazy."

"Sounds like somebody has the sniffles. You okay?"

Annekke suddenly blushed, oblivious to the fact that she'd started sniffing again. She quickly lifted her index finger and rubbed her long nose. The tickle inside was being stubborn, and even a few seconds of rubbing wasn't enough to satisfy it. Eventually Annekke gave up and hoped she'd be able to ignore it.

"I'm fine. My nose just tickles a little, that's all," she mumbled, sounding unsure of herself.

"What's the matter? Gotta sneeze?" Cindy asked slyly.

"No way!" protested Annekke. "Besides, I already sneezed in the shower..."

"Ha!"

"Morning, ladies. Did I miss anything?"

Jerry's voice caught Annekke off guard, leaving Cindy open for another gag.

"Annie's gonna sneeze!"

"Uh oh," chuckled Jerry. "Bet you wish you had some filter masks."

"Ugh! I hate those things!" Annekke groaned, holding a finger under her nostrils. "They're so tight on my nose!"

"Then get a smaller one!" snorted Cindy.

"A smaller nose!?" Annekke stammered, starting to blush again.

"Yeah!"

"And how am I supposed to afford something like that? Besides, my nose isn't that big..." Annekke trailed off timidly, her blush deepening as she slowly rubbed under her nostrils.

"Cindy, be nice," Jerry scolded lightly, though his tone wasn't too serious. Cindy gave another snort of laughter, but she began to calm down.

"But really, Annekke, it is my professional opinion that you get some filter masks when you can."

"Or don't, but then you're gonna be cleaning boogers out of every nook and cranny once you get to Titan!"

Annekke rolled her eyes and smiled. After one more rub under her nose, she gave a quiet giggle and pulled herself back toward her control console.

"I appreciate the concern, but really, I'm fine! Also, let the record show that Cindy brought up boogers this time, not me!"

The three traders shared a laugh, and then they all began to settle down. Annekke allowed herself to float away from the control console, lazily hanging in the center of the cockpit.

"So, what's everybody hauling?" asked Cindy. "I'm pretty boring this time. Just water from Earth to Jupiter."

"Gas samples from Neptune to Mars," said Jerry, sounding almost as disinterested as Cindy. "How about you, Annekke?"

"Oh, all kinds of stuff," Annekke said with a shrug. "Mostly seed packets, but I also have some paper products and some toys. Mars to Saturn."

"Toys? That's sweet," cooed Cindy, prompting Annekke to giggle.

"Looks like we got ourselves a regular Santa Claus here," Jerry laughed, and his companions shortly joined in. "By the way, what lane are you in?"

Annekke hummed curiously and pulled herself back over to the control console. She really should have remembered, but her mind had been strangely cloudy ever since she left Olympus Station. It was probably just the lazy holiday season.

"Whiskey-7. What for?"

"Oh, perfect!" Jerry responded, sounding excited. "I'm in Xray-7. We're gonna pass right by each other, probably tomorrow or the day after."

"I'm looking forward to it. That'll be nice."

Annekke smiled softly, but it didn't last long. A sharp tickle flooded into her nose so suddenly that she gave a soft snort and reflexively pressed her finger up under her nostrils. She squinted and began to rub her finger back and forth, but this only barely managed to dull the irritation.

"Something wrong, Annie?"

"Oh man, my nose tickles again!" whined Annekke, scrunching up her face. "Why does this keep happening to me?"

"Annekke, as your friend, please buy some filter masks," urged Jerry, prompting Annekke to roll her eyes and sigh.

"Ugh, isn't a tissue good enough?" muttered Annekke, wrinkling her nose around in a small circle.

"I guess it's better than nothing."

"Very well, I'll be right back."

Still holding one finger under her nose, Annekke braced herself against her pilot's chair and then propelled herself across the room. Her tissues were still in the breast pocket of her other jumpsuit, which meant heading back to the washroom. She quickly passed through the door at the rear of the cockpit, but she still had a little ways to go.

"Ehh!"

Annekke tensed as she drifted down the corridor. The previously diminutive tickle had blossomed to fill her whole nose, and now she was sure she had a sneeze coming on. She knew better than to kick her legs or flail her arms for more speed, so she could only hope she would float to the washroom in time. The Irmanda's crew space wasn't very large, but it could be dangerous to move too quickly with no gravity.

"Hhh-! Hh-hih!"

By the time Annekke bumped against the washroom's doorframe, she was barely able to keep her eyes open. She was distracted enough that she nearly bounced away and floated back across the corridor, but luckily she managed to grab a nearby handrail just in time. Annekke firmly rubbed the index finger of her free hand back and forth under her small, flaring nostrils, hoping to buy herself some time as she retrieved the tissues. Her fluttering eyelids finally snapped shut just as she flung herself into the washroom, and Annekke knew she only had a few seconds left. She was able to grab the handrail near her hanging jumpsuit from memory, but she had to blindly grope for the zipper on the breast pocket. Nearing the end of her willpower, Annekke tore the tissue packet out of the pocket and managed to clamp one over her nose just in time.

"Eh-heh... Ehhn'CHSHhh!"

The tissue felt warm and damp, but luckily nothing managed to escape. Keeping the soft paper pressed to her nostrils with one hand, Annekke sniffled and dejectedly pulled herself back toward the cockpit.

"I sneezed," Annekke announced unceremoniously as she floated through the door.

"Gesundheit, Annie!"

"Bless you. Got a tissue?"

Annekke rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose under her tissue.

"Yeah, I'm good," she mumbled, her voice muffled. Annekke sniffed deeply, and then she wiped her nose and crumpled up the tissue. After depositing the used tissue into the trash receptacle, Annekke groggily returned to the control console.

"Do you think I could be coming down with something?" she asked, slowly sliding a finger across her nostrils. "My nose still tickles a bit."

"I hope not," said Jerry, "but you never know. 'Tis the season, after all."

"Ugh, that doesn't make any sense," Annekke groaned, gently massaging the long bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. "But I would catch a cold for Christmas..."

With few other options, Annekke muted her microphone and held a fresh tissue to her nostrils. She simply sniffled into it for a few seconds, but eventually she took a deep breath and blew firmly, lightly shaking her head to alternate nostrils. To Annekke's delight, this succeeded in clearing up the unpleasant sogginess. A new tickle would crop up in her nose every few minutes and she couldn't help but sniff just as regularly, but Annekke managed to remain sneeze-free for the rest of the day.

The next morning, Annekke decided not to shower right away. She barely exerted herself the day before, and today she wanted to eat first. Annekke pulled herself across her quarters to the small storage area opposite her bed, and from there she retrieved a nutrition bar, a coffee pouch and a napkin. Although she wasn't a picky eater, the food was probably still Annekke's least favorite part of working in zero-G. The drinks were fine, but the food always felt dry and stale. In fact, today the nutrition bar tasted even more bland than usual. Annekke raised an eyebrow as she chewed, and when she tried to take a deep breath after swallowing, she finally realized she had a stuffy nose.

"Ugh, great..." she grumbled, dabbing at the corners of her mouth with her napkin. Annekke folded the napkin over and wiped it across the underside of her nose, and then she threw it and the nutrition bar's wrapper away. Still feeling annoyed, she uncapped her coffee pouch's straw and took a sip as she floated out of her quarters and toward the cockpit.

"Hi, guys," Annekke greeted sleepily, holding a fresh tissue to her moist nostrils. Her eyes widened when she realized she'd slept nearly two hours past her alarm, and she could only hope the others wouldn't call attention to it.

"Morning, Annekke," said Jerry, unable to hide his concern. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, you sound a little stuffy, Annie," added Cindy. Annekke sighed, giving her nose a gentle, upward wipe with her tissue.

"I guess I must have caught a cold," she confessed, shrugging her shoulders. "But really, I'm okay. It's just the sniffles."

"Somebody at Olympus is gonna be in big trouble!" said Cindy with a chuckle.

"I'll give them a good beating if I find them," laughed Jerry. "But let's take care of you first, Annekke. Are you sure you're holding up?"

"I'm fine, mom!" giggled Annekke. "Besides, we've all had colds on the job before. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Yeah, I know. It just kind of sucks when you're by yourself."

"Well, I'm not totally alone. I have you guys."

The three traders laughed briefly, and Jerry quickly chimed in with a suggestion.

"I know nobody wants to sit in their sleeping bag all day, so how about a fuzzy blanket? Does that sound nice?"

Annekke perked up, and then she bashfully averted her eyes from the cockpit's view screen even though no one else could see her.

"That does sound nice."

"Yeah?"

"I want a fuzzy blanket."

"Well, go get one!"

"Okay!"

After wiping her nose for what already felt like the hundredth time that day, Annekke threw her tissue away and headed back toward her quarters. Just as she was about to pass into the corridor, however, a sudden tickle in her nose made her shoulders tense and her nostrils flare.

"Hiehh!"

Annekke frantically scrambled for a tissue as her eyes fluttered. Her small nostrils expanded and contracted rapidly as she fought to keep them in line, but eventually they flared wide open and refused to close up again until the inevitable sneeze. Luckily Annekke managed to guide her long nose into a new tissue with time to spare.

"Hih... Hh-ehh! Eht'SHHOOhh!"

"Gesundheit, Annie!"

After wiping her nose, Annekke blushed with an embarrassed smile. Apparently that had been loud enough for the cockpit microphone to pick up even from this far out in the corridor. For better or worse, the sneeze had emptied Annekke's stuffiness into the tissue, so she only needed to wipe it back and forth across her nostrils a few times to placate her nasal passages. She threw the tissue away and then opened a storage locker beside her sleeping bag. Annekke unfastened the strap around a soft, red blanket, and then she tucked the bundle under her arm and returned to the cockpit.

Once she was floating beside the Irmanda's pilot's chair, Annekke unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around herself. Already she felt better, taking a moment to bury her face in the soft, fuzzy material before continuing to curl the blanket around her body. She left one hand free with easy access to her breast pocket, and she was immediately glad she did as her long nose crinkled up with a harsh sniff. Annekke folded a tissue around her fingers and wiped it across her nostrils, slowly and gently.

"Oh, I hope you get over your cold soon, Annie!" cooed Cindy. "I should be arriving at Callisto Station in a few hours, so I'm not sure how much longer I can keep you company."

"It's fine, Cindy. Don't worry about it," said Annekke with a smile. "I'm just glad... G-glad we... Hehh... Glad we could... Hihh! Ihhnk'CHHhh!"

"Gesundheit!"

"Bless you, Annekke."

"Ugh, thanks," Annekke groaned, squeezing her eyes shut as she gave her nostrils a firm, vertical wipe with her damp tissue. She crumpled it up and threw it away, and then she quickly brought her hand back to her face and furiously rubbed a finger back and forth under her nose.

"My nose tickles again!" complained Annekke, her voice sounding blocked as her finger covered her small nostrils. Instead of a sharp tickle that would make her sneeze, this was just a dull tingle all over the insides of her nose. As far as Annekke was concerned, that was much worse.

"Maybe try drinking some tea?" suggested Jerry. "It sucks that you can't brew it fresh in zero-G, but it might help you feel better."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," Annekke agreed with a sniff. Just as she was about to return to her quarters, however, the Irmanda suddenly shook. An alarm began to sound and a red light flashed on the control console: not a major emergency, but it was still something that demanded Annekke's attention.

Pushing the concerns about her cold to the back of her mind, Annekke immediately shed her blanket and poured over the console. She quickly identified the problem and shut off the alarm, though the red light wouldn't stop until the issue was fixed. It could end up costing her a lot of time, but Annekke had no choice but to slow her ship to quarter-cruising speed for now. Letting out an irritated sigh, she closed her eyes and gently massaged the bridge of her nose.

"Annekke? Is everything okay?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah, I'm alright," Annekke groaned, opening her eyes. "That damn starboard stabilizer finally came loose. I'd better fix it before it gets me into even more trouble."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Annie? You can still make it to Titan if you just take it slow."

"If you want, you can pull off to the side and I can take care of it. I'll be going by in just over an hour."

Annekke smiled at Cindy and Jerry's concern, but she had already made up her mind. After transferring the communication channel to a headset, she put it on and pulled herself over to the starboard airlock.

"You two are so nice," said Annekke with a chuckle. "But really, it's okay. I already know what I need to do."

"Alright, Annie. Please just stay on the line with us, though."

"What, you think I'm going to go out there by myself? No way! I'll get bored!"

In the space just outside the airlock, Annekke removed an EVA suit from storage and pulled it on over her jumpsuit. She then unstrapped a helmet from inside the same locker, but she stopped just before placing it over her head. The tickle in her nose was back yet again, making her gasp for breath almost immediately.

"Heh! Hih-hihh!"

Annekke removed one hand from the helmet, cautiously reaching it toward her nose. She gently squeezed her nostrils between her thumb and forefinger, praying the urge to sneeze would subside soon. Luckily the tickle in her nose seemed to be dulling, and she seemed to have the situation under control.

"Don't sneeze, Annie!" pleaded Cindy, almost making Annekke giggle. A few seconds later the tickle faded to a faint but lingering tingle. Knowing better than to push her luck, Annekke decided this was acceptable and finished putting on her helmet after wiping her nose with a finger one last time. With her helmet in place, she pulled on her gloves, locked them around her wrists, and finally checked the control panel on her left forearm to make sure the suit was fully sealed and pressurized.

"Alright, I'm heading out," Annekke announced, opening the airlock's inner door.

"Good luck, Annie!"

"We're here if you need us, Annekke."

As the airlock sealed behind her, Annekke tethered herself to one of several sturdy hooks on the wall. She knew every inch of the Irmanda inside and out, but this was one simple safety precaution that would always be necessary. After checking both ends of the tether, Annekke activated the depressurization sequence and waited. An alert chime blared as the air steadily hissed out of the airlock, and after a few seconds the room fell silent. The only remaining sounds were Annekke's own stuffy breathing and intermittent sniffles, reverberating in her helmet.

The airlock opened to the blackness of space, and although Annekke had done this countless times before, she had to take a few seconds to stare out at the beautiful emptiness. Once she had her fill, she took a deep breath and began to pull herself along a handrail and carefully turn around the outside of the hatch. After double checking to make sure she was still equipped with a zero-atmosphere welding tool and a good old-fashioned roll of duct tape, Annekke stepped out onto the faded white hull of her ship.

"How're you doing, Annekke?" asked Jerry, the concern in his voice apparent. Annekke smiled as she continued to crawl along the Irmanda's hull.

"All is well," she said with a sniff, starting to feel even stuffier than before. Annekke fought the annoyance back with two more quick sniffs, and then she lifted her head to survey the damage. It was nothing major, and the inner hull was clearly still fully intact. Part of the center starboard thruster housing had come loose, trailing beside the ship and only held on by part of the fuel line.

"Ugh, this is so dumb," Annekke moaned, shaking her head.

"How's it look?" Jerry inquired, sounding calmer than before.

"Not too bad. It's just kind of a pain, you know? I might just replace the whole thing when I get to Titan."

After taking in a deep, moist sniff, Annekke tucked her feet under a lower handrail to brace herself. Once she was secure, she grabbed the thruster housing and carefully moved it back into place. No key components appeared to have been damaged, and at this point Annekke wondered if it would even be worth it to weld the plate back into place. With a slight shrug she decided it would be safer to have to cut it off later than to have it go flying off into space, so she tore off a section of duct tape to keep the housing in place while she quickly welded it back on.

Some rumbling from the welding tool echoed through Annekke's EVA suit, but for the most part she could still only hear her own sniffling. Her nose was getting stuffier by the minute, and before long Annekke felt like she was sniffing almost constantly. After a moment she stopped welding and tried to wipe her nose, but to her dismay her gloved finger simply slid across the glass of her visor.

"Ugh! Dammit!"

"Annekke? What's wrong?"

The panic in Jerry's voice made Annekke feel a bit scared too, even though she knew she wasn't in any danger.

"I'm fine, I'mb fide," she sighed, hanging her head. "By doze tickles and I can't scratch it."

Annekke was appalled at how congested she sounded, but there simply wasn't anything she could do until she was finished. Closing her eyes, she wrinkled her long nose with a deep sniff. Unfortunately this did nothing to ease her stuffiness, and it only made her aware of a stinging tingle around the edges of her small nostrils.

"Hiehh... Oh doe... I think... I think I... Hihh!"

"Hold it in, Annie!"

"Heh! Ehhn'SHHhh!"

Luckily Annekke was able to turn her head downward in her helmet, directing her sneeze away from the visor. She groaned as she saw a few droplets on the bottom edge of the glass, but her vision was unobstructed. Letting out a nasally groan, Annekke sniffed yet again and returned to welding.

"Bless you. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I didn't get ady od by visor," mumbled Annekke, still sniffling. A moment later she tried to wipe her nose again, but this time she remembered she was wearing a helmet before her finger made it all the way to her visor. Rolling her eyes at herself, Annekke chuckled softly and finished her work as carefully as she could manage. Once the stabilizer housing was as secure as Annekke could get it, she clipped her welding tool back onto her belt and removed the duct tape, feeling preemptively embarrassed about explaining it to a mechanic.

"Fidally, all done," Annekke sighed, hunching against the side of her ship. She tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but unfortunately her congestion proved too thick. Instead her nostrils made a wet snuffling sound, which was undoubtedly picked up by her microphone.

"Ugh, stuffy doze..."

"Well, at least you can head back inside now," said Jerry, sounding excited. "But before that, turn around!"

Feeling somewhere between confused and intrigued, Annekke held on tight to the Irmanda's external railings and carefully turned to face away from her ship. At first she couldn't see anything of note, but eventually she caught sight of a small cluster of lights moving left to right across her field of vision. All of the interplanetary shipping lanes were over a mile apart from each other for safety reasons, but even at such a distance, Annekke could tell it was the Condor. She giggled and put on a friendly smile, taking one hand off the handrail to give a wave.

"Hi, Jerry."

"Hi, Annekke! Get well soon!"

A few of the Condor's lights flashed brighter, returning the wave. Annekke's heart fluttered and she giggled, absently trying to wipe her nose again.

"That really cheered me up. Thanks a... Ahh... Hehh! Ehnk'CHHOOhh!"

Annekke shuddered, afraid of what she would find when she opened her eyes. Her nostrils still tickled distractingly, but she didn't know whether to be relieved or horrified that they didn't feel quite as stuffy anymore. Worst of all, she could feel some moisture all over the underside of her nose, and she began to sniff rapidly until it was gone.

"Bless you, Annekke. You okay?"

"Not okay! Not okay! I sneezed all over my visor! Help!" Annekke whined after finally opening her eyes and seeing the fog and mist all over the glass.

"Are you safe? Can you still see?"

"Yeah, I'll survive. I just need to get back inside."

Most of Annekke's visor was still untouched, giving her enough space to see through, but she still took it nice and easy as she crawled back toward the airlock. Luckily the trek wasn't too far, and soon enough Annekke had slipped back inside. She carefully coiled up her tether to make sure none of it would get stuck, and then she closed the airlock and activated the pressurization sequence. Sound began to return to the world as the compartment filled with air, but Annekke's sniffs remained the loudest of all.

"Ihh! Hihht'SHHOOhh!"

"Bless you."

"Gesundheit!"

"Ugh, okay, now I can't see," croaked Annekke after hosing down her visor a second time. Once she was safely out of the airlock, she quickly tore off her helmet, removed her gloves, and undressed until she could finally reach the tissues in her pocket again. Too rushed to mute her microphone, Annekke lifted two tissues up to her nose and gave what felt like the longest, loudest and wettest blow of her life.

"But, I'm finally back in my ship."

"Yay! You did it, Annie!"

"Thanks for keeping me company, you two."

"No problem, Annekke. Now, I'd say you've worked hard enough for one day. Go and take a nap!"

"Nuh-uh! I need a shower first!

After securing her EVA gear, Annekke floated over to the shower pod to freshen up. Feeling especially groggy, she wound up taking longer than she originally planned. When she finally did finish, she pulled on a new jumpsuit and made sure to take her tissues with her this time, and she held a fresh one to her nostrils as she sniffled her way back to the cockpit.

"Okay, I'm here," said Annekke, wiping her nostrils gently. "I wish I could get my nose as squeaky clean as the rest of me..."

"Hey, Annekke," greeted Jerry. "Cindy had to go, so now it's just the two of us."

"Aww, I didn't get to say goodbye," Annekke whined softly, squeezing her nose through her tissue.

"It's okay, she left a message. She says 'get well soon, Annie!' and 'take a vacation, Annie!'"

Annekke laughed heartily at Jerry's squeaky impression of Cindy. She barely got her giggling under control when another sneeze suddenly interrupted her.

"Eh? Hiehh-CHOOhh!"

"Bless you, Annekke."

"Thanks," she said softly, followed by a pensive sigh.

"What're you thinking about over there?"

"Oh, nothing," said Annekke as she wrinkled her long nose and gave it a firm wipe. "Maybe I will take a vacation..."

-----

Okay, hopefully the formatting actually worked. I have no idea.

As always any and all feedback is much appreciated, and I hope you enjoyed!

[Anonymouse]

DUDE, can I have her job? It sounds awesome. Floating around in a ship looking at the stars without anyone to bother you for six days? Sign me the heck up. I'm going to try not to comment on every single paragraph, but I love the way this started and I had to say so. Great introduction to the character and her literal universe.

The image of her rubbing her nose against her knee while floating in an zero-gravity ball was super cute.

Quote

 

"Ugh! I hate those things!" Annekke groaned, holding a finger under her nostrils. "They're so tight on my nose!"

"Then get a smaller one!" snorted Cindy.

"A smaller nose!?" Annekke stammered, starting to blush again.

"Yeah!"

 

Eeehehe I love nose size teasing. You wrote some great dialogue in this! Not just fetish related, but in general.

When she not once, but twice tries to wipe her nose with the helmet on.  Too cute.

I loved that little moment of Jerry passing by in his ship. Warmed my heart. <3

This was super adorable! I had so much fun reading it, thanks for sharing it with us!

[NoV]

Always great to see a new Blah!? story pop up on the forum  

I just finished watching Season 1 of The Expanse on Netflix and could not help but picture your story set in that universe. The idea of sneezing in a spacesuit where you can't get your hands to your face is sneezefic gold!

[SleepingPhlox]

Sci-fi and sneezing is always a winning combination.  So is sneezing and helmets.  This was such a good read.  The world you set it in felt real, ad your characters and interactions were superb!

[Curiosity234]

SNEEZING

IN

SPAAAAACE!  Hehheh... Very enjoyable read.

[Winged]

This was super creative! You also wrote the slow development of her cold super well -- I loved seeing her get progressively more sickly as the fic went on, which I'm pretty sure makes me a horrible person  I also loved the moment when Jerry passed by, as well as the lovely scenes in which she's sneezing inside her visor. Lovely job!

[SmokeyGhost]

That was an enjoyable read, thanks for writing that.

[Blueberry86]

Thank you for this story, great read.

[Blah!?]

Thanks for the kind words, everybody! I was paranoid that this was going to be way too long and scare everyone off, so I'm really glad so many people enjoyed it. I don't write too many illness stories, but I feel like they always end up being my most popular ones...

[Oolia]

Loved reading it the first time, and loved it even more on a second reading It's such a nice, warm and fun story (ironically,  since it's happening the cold and dead of space). I never knew I'd crave more sci-fi Christmas sneeze fics, but I totally do haha.

The relationship between Annekke, Cindy and Jerry was heartwarming. Good job, once again

[mysterysneeze]

I think the way things turned from a mild inconvenience into something possibly dangerous was nicely written. The way the circumstances surrounding the sneezing and sniffling changed and got more intense was an interesting choice but worked out really well. Great sneeze spellings and how the main character interacted with the people who cared about her. I liked this story ^^