Lights Out

[RipleyToo]

YES!! I can't want to see what you plan next 

[lalaland~]

Chapter 27

Jake sat frustrated at his computer, sniffling wetly into an already soaked tissue.  So far his final paper was only halfway written and he was sure he’d spent more time sneezing than writing.  All he wanted was to curl up in bed and go to sleep but the paper was due tomorrow. 

The two flatmates hadn’t spoken since that morning and Jake wondered if he should try to make up with Matt somehow.  He did feel guilty about how rude he was earlier.  He wasn’t really mad at him, anyway.  Should he text him? Or would it be more appropriate to apologize in person?  Evidently, Matt seemed to not care about getting sick or he wouldn’t have kissed him- Jake felt flustered, remembering all the details of the kiss.  He rubbed at his nose, dissipating the fluttery feeling in his head.

Next door, Matt was wearing headphones listening to music to avoid hearing the constant sniffling and sneezing in the other room.  He’d barely heard the timid knocking over his music.  More curious than upset at the intrusion, he removed his headphones and journeyed to the door, dodging landmines of art supplies.  The younger man seemed uncharacteristically demure standing just outside the entrance to his room.

“umb, sniffle, I jusd wanded do say I’b sorry, sniffle,” He tugged at his sleeves nervously as he spoke.

“Oh?” Matthew prompted.

Jake sniffled again, wiping his nose on his sleeve, “I- I dod’t-“ he cut himself off as a sneezy expression washed over his face. His breath hitched and Matt swallowed hard. “Hh-hhh-iih’hischu! SHHuue!  Ihhd’SHHhue!  Ihh-Ihhd’SHH!”  He sneezed into his hands and sniffled thickly, leaving them in place to cover a sticky, sneezy mess. 

“Bless you.” Matt offered before Jake could insert his usual apology. 

Jake sniffled again into his hands miserably, “Thagks.”  Matt scanned his room for the closest box of tissues, grabbed it, and held it out, offering it to the sneezy Canadian, “here”.  Jake sniffled, a mild look of confusion on his face.  Matt quickly realized his mistake and plucked several tissues from the box, this time touching them to Jake’s hands.  He mumbled a congested thank you and turned away to blow his nose as discreetly as possible.

“Ugh, I’b ready do d’not be sick.”  He sniffled, shoving the used tissues into his pocket.

Matt felt guilty for enjoying this cold so much, since the other man clearly felt awful.   He wished more than anything the younger man would let him take care of him…and maybe share his cold with him.  He didn’t particularly want to be sick but the idea of having Jake’s cold was…nice.  

Jake took a shaky breath and brought his hands up to his face, bending over with each sneeze, “hhh-he’sschew! ESS’HEW! ESS’HEW! Eh-Het’sshew! Hhh-ihh-ihhd’SHHue!” The sneezes made him dizzy and he braced himself against the wall, groaning.

“Wow. Bless you. Are you alright?” Matt asked, laced with concern.  Jake shook his head.  Matt positioned himself to support Jake and keep him from passing out as he walked him back to his own bedroom.  He explained, “I’m taking you back to bed and I’m not taking no for an answer.”  Jake was too sick and exhausted to object, letting the man guide him back to bed.  He curled up under the blankets, sniffling miserably.  A soft sigh escaped his lips as a cool hand pressed against his sweaty forehead. 

“Hmmm,” Matthew hummed with concern and left for half a minute, coming back in holding something. “I need you to open your mouth, I’ve got a thermometer,” he explained.  Jake grumbled but complied.  He sniffled, trying to breathe while keeping his mouth closed, but it did nothing to unclog his nose.  It did however, generate a tickle, which Matt could see on his face. 

“Try not to sneeze,” Matt said with slight amusement as the younger man waved his hand in front of his face in a desperate attempt to ward off the inevitable.  “Hhhheh-“ he pinched his nose, “GGG’SHue!” he sneezed the thermometer onto the floor, “he’sschew! HHH-hepp’SCHew!”

“Bless you,” Matt said as he retrieved the thermometer.

“Sorry…sniffle sniffle.”

“It’s fine,” Matthew’s heart fluttered.  It took every bit of willpower to not climb into his bed and snuggle the adorable sick boy.

“Umb…Badd*?” (*Matt) he wore a look that was a mix between curiosity and playfulness.  “Whad’s with thad d’tone of voice?”  He sat up, reaching out, and touched the older man’s chest.

“H-h-how do you mean?” he stuttered. 

Jake traced his hand down Matthew’s chest slowly, feeling every bit carefully, outlining the contours of his abdominal muscles, "I dnow your secret. You like sdeezig."

Matt huffed seriously, trying to hide any signs of being flustered, “Jake. Yesterday you ran away after I kissed you and today you’re trying to seduce me- I don’t get what’s going on with you.”

The sick man frowned and pulled his body away from the other, sitting on the edge of his bed and crossing his arms.  “I dod’t dnow. sniffle, Ib’ve dever beed kissed before so I didd’t dnow whad do feel bud…” he paused, pouting, “I thik I liked id add I thoughd id beandt* you wanded be? sniffle” (*meant)

Matt took the sniffly boy into his arms and fluffed his hair lightly, “Let’s start with just the kiss. No need to rush things,” he reassured him.

Jake smiled deviously, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, like that’ll last.”

Matt cupped the other man’s cheek with his hand, and, taking the cue, Jake moved his face to meet Matt’s.  They started kissing tenderly, and ended the kiss with both men out of breath.

“Okay maybe we got carried away but…you are very attractive, do you know that?”  At his frank admission, Jake blushed a bit, though it didn’t show through his tan complexion and slight fever. 

“I’d return the compliment but I don’t know what you look like,” he replied lightheartedly.

Matt climbed off the bed and pulled the covers up, tucking Jake in.  “Get some rest and feel better.”  Jake was a bit disappointed as Matt left the room but he had to admit he was really exhausted.  It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep.

------Author’s Notes: So sorry if this doesn’t make sense at parts- there is a chunk of adult material available only in the 18+ board. I added some stuff to this version so the future plot would make sense, too.

Edited June 7, 2017 by lalaland~

[jawzzbubblez]

I loved that chapter and I can't wait till you continue the story. 

[jawzzbubblez]

I'm looking forward to the next chapter coming soon. And I hope that Matt sneezes soon

[Sharkylemon]

This is such a great story, I'm looking forward to the next chapter too. I'm also wondering if we'll ever see Levi and the other guy from a few chapters ago?

[lalaland~]

On 6/4/2017 at 10:28 PM, Toon Vlux said:

YES!! I can't want to see what you plan next 

o(≧▽≦)o Thank you!!

On 6/7/2017 at 6:52 AM, jawzzbubblez said:

I loved that chapter and I can't wait till you continue the story. 

Thank you dear ♥♥♥

10 hours ago, jawzzbubblez said:

I'm looking forward to the next chapter coming soon. And I hope that Matt sneezes soon

Oh he will hahaha  (￣ω￣)

8 hours ago, Sharkylemon said:

This is such a great story, I'm looking forward to the next chapter too. I'm also wondering if we'll ever see Levi and the other guy from a few chapters ago?

Thank you! (´ ∀ ` *)  Yes, Levi will be back- he's one of the main characters! I still have to tell his backstory, too (not that it's as dramatic as SOMEONE'S)
I'm not sure who you mean by the other guy, so I'm guessing he doesn't come back? lol. but anything not posted is subject to change 

Thank you guys for your continued support! It really motivates me to write more~

[lalaland~]

Chapter 28

“Good morning!”  Matthew greeted his flatmate cheerfully when he trudged out of his room, still half-asleep.  Jake sneezed in response, “hh’tscchew! Ih’SSHue! Huh-happ’SHEW! Ugh, sniff, déso- hht’SHUE!”

“Bless you,” he said, his cheeks turning lightly pink.  The sick man liquidly sniffled into a tissue he had kept in his pocket.  “I suppose I don’t need to ask how you’re feeling…”

“Like death,” he said flatly before turning away and blowing his nose, which helped nothing.

Matthew gazed at him with pity, “Thankfully I only have one more exam to write, but, I have no idea how Jake’s been doing on that front.  He’s been sick literally the whole week… I’d bet that’s been terrible for his revising.  Well it was hard for me too, but that’s my own fault.” He decided to ask him about it, “I know you’ve been sick but how have your exams been?”  The bleak expression that crossed the blind man’s face was enough to answer that question. 

Matt changed the subject, “So, last night then?  That was a bit unexpected.”  Jake almost fainted from the mixture of emotions those words made him feel.  Matt grabbed his wrist and steadied him, “Don’t pass out on me now!  I know you’re still ill, I’m not trying to overwhelm you.”  His colour drained a bit as he really did feel lightheaded.

“C’mon. Back to bed. Just you.  Not me this time.  I’m sorry, I shouldn’t tease you like that when you’re ill like this.”  He helped the sick man back in bed and tucked him in, “Really though, are you alright?”

“I thik so,” he said uncertainly.

The thermometer caught Matt’s eye, “Oh, we never did check your fever last night,” he laughed over his last few words, but quickly composed himself, “Let’s try that again. Take two*. Normally this time.” (*like a movie director would say) It went without a hitch (literally) this time.

Matt narrowed his eyes at the piece of plastic, “….Is this thing broken?  That cannot be right.”  He compared it to a touch test, “Well you’re very warm but I don’t think this warm.”

“Whad’sit say?” he half-mumbled into his pillow, sniffling.

“38.9°.”

“Doe wo’der I feel like death,” he commented ruefully.

“That’s really high though, it can’t be right.”  Matt seemed fixated on this, “Try it again.”

He did. “Sabe thig,” Jake called out.

“You can read that?” Matt asked, puzzled. 

Jake snorted, “Tch, doe. I’b blind.”

“You, with your banter. Let me see that.”  He swiped it from his hand, “Well, you’re right. It’s the same. I guess it’s not broken.”

“I could see id with by x-ray vision,” He smiled whimsically.

“I’m sure being blind definitely does not work like that,” he added a side comment, “Not with all the things you run into.”

“By head hurts,” his fanciful smile disappeared.

“I’ll get you some medicine- you haven’t taken anything yet have you?” “Doe.” “Alright, medicine, and a cool cloth to bring down that fever.”  He brought the items and placed the cloth with care.

“Thags Badd*,” (*Thanks Matt) he said with a touch of whimsy, clearly still feverish.

“If you need anything just text me, or, if you can’t find your phone, kick the wall, or something.  I’ll figure it out. I’m not psychic though, so not that way,” he joked.

“mm, chu fatigué*” (*I’m tired)

Matthew paused, “Act-ually, you seem to be in pretty bad sorts, I’ll come back in 15 minutes or so.”

The Canadian mumbled something incoherent that may or may not have even been a response.

------Author’s Notes: Did you like my pun?

38.9° = 102°F

chu fatigué = I’m tired  [in Québec, sometimes they replace “je suis“ with “chu”,  phonetically]
(so it would be written “je suis fatigué" but spoken with the regional quirk

[lalaland~]

Chapter 29

Matthew thought back to the night he kissed him for the first time, “I’m certain he’d had a fever that night, and yesterday, too.  So this is at least day 3 of running a fever- that’s not good.  On top of that, he couldn’t even stay standing this morning.  I can’t focus; I’m too worried…” He abandoned his studying materials and went back to check on Jake, who was at his desk, doing something on his laptop. 

Matt frowned with disapproval, “I thought you were going to rest.”

The sick man turned his face toward the voice, “Bud by paber’s due today…” He looked guilty but didn’t move away from the laptop.

Matt walked over and nosily peeked at the screen, “Just tell your professor you’ve been sick I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“I already tried tha-“ his voice waivered as a sneezy expression crossed his face, “tha-ah- ihhd’SHHue! hht’SHUE! He-said-ESSHHHeww! d’no excuses,” he groaned feeling around his desk, trying to remember where he put the box of tissues.  His desk was already littered with quite a few used ones.  Matt silently pushed the box to where his hand was searching.  He blew his nose and apologized for it.

“Well are you almost done at least?  You look like you’re about ready to pass out on the keyboard,” Matthew commented curtly.

“Yeah, I judt deed do prind id ad draw a rabbid od the back ad turn id in,” Jake slumped over, laying his face on the desk and looking positively exhausted as he scrolled through talking menu items to find “print”, not bothering to lift his face until he spoke again.

“Did you say, “draw a rabbit on the back”?” he asked, perplexed.

He sniffled thickly, “Yeah, he likes rabbids.  Id’s extra credit.  Oh,” he held up the freshly printed paper, “Which corder* does the stable* go? He god bad* because I stabled it ubside dowd last dime.” (*corner, staple, mad)

The sighted man kindly located the top left corner for him, trying not to laugh out loud at the idea of Jake turning in a paper that was stapled at the bottom.  The blind man then flipped his correctly stapled paper and was now attempting to draw a rabbit on the back, sniffling the entire time. 

“How does it look? Est-ce bien?*” he held it up for Matt to see. (*Is it good?)

Not laughing was the hardest thing he’d attempted all morning, “It looks…like….a blind person drew a rabbit?”

He seemed disappointed at the response, “Oh, so id’s terrible thed.”

“No, no it’s not terrible,” the Brit insisted, “I mean, the face is kind of off to the side of the head but you can sort of tell it’s a rabbit,” he spoke with uptalk.  “It’s quite charming.”

The younger man’s blue eyes fluttered shut as his irritated red nose twitched.  It made Matthew think of a rabbit, since they’d been talking about it so much.

He drew in a sharp breath, “hhh-he’sschew! tch’HEW! Eh-Het’sshHEW!,” he sneezed wetly, too tired to cover. “désolé, sniffle sniiiffle.”

“Bless you,” the older man spoke gently, “Now, will you please go back to bed?”

“I habe do durn id in,” he sneezed three more desperate sounding sneezes and muttered a congested, “Désolé.”

“Jake you literally just sneezed on your paper 6 times I really don’t think you’re in any shape to be going anywhere.  I’ll turn it in for you, how’s that?” he offered.

Jake picked up the paper from his desk. “I did?  Well, good, I hobe he geds sick,” he sniffled thickly, ignoring the last half of what he’d said.  Matt snatched the paper away from him.

“Go back to bed,” he instructed firmly, “You really, really need to rest- I mean it!  I don’t know if you know how sick you look and sound but you could probably play a zombie on the Walking Dead right now.”  The blind man gave an exaggerated sigh and actually did as he was told, muffling a few sneezes into his thick hoodie sleeve as he crawled back into bed.

“…D’thagk you,” the sick man mumbled quietly, but loudly enough for Matt to hear.

He delivered the paper, as promised, and when he returned, the sick man was sleeping soundly, snoring softly.  He shut his door for him.

Looking into Jake’s bedroom always gave him this sense of melancholy he couldn’t quite explain.  His room looked like loneliness, if loneliness were something that could be seen.

Matthew’s own walls were completely covered in artwork- his work and others’.  Even his ceiling had posters.  There were personal items of every style and colour scattered in a haphazardly organized fashion.  It was, essentially, a visual cacophony.

Jake’s room, in contrast, still made him uncomfortable with nothing on the walls and minimal items in the room itself- though he’d doubled the contents since Matt first saw the room. He kept it fairly pristine and always put things away in their designated spaces- Matt wondered if he did this because he was a naturally tidy person, or primarily to make his life easier as a blind person.  It reminded him of his parent’s home, which was always spotless for guests; but, unlike his parent’s home, Jake’s room had absolutely no decorations to make it inviting.  There was also the matter of Jake never using the lights- months ago Matt felt awkward asking if he could open the lights but now he automatically flipped them on when he came in, knowing Jake truly did not care (sometimes he forgot to turn them off- not that Jake noticed).  Worst of all, though, was the damn dog that slept under the desk.  There was nothing wrong with Jake’s dog per se- but being allergic can make all dogs seem unappealing.  He always stood while he was in Jake’s room, despite there being an elongated chair that functioned as a small couch. That was the only piece of furniture in the flat that the dog was allowed on and Jake liked to sit there petting his dog, who would use his owner’s lap as a pillow.  He sneezed just thinking about all the dog fur.  It’s true that the room was uninviting, but somehow Matt found a reason to be in it at least once a day, and, once he was inside, he forgot all about the blank walls and the lonely aura it exuded. 

“In a way,” he thought, “Your bedroom gives a sort of insight as to what kind of person you are.”

------Author’s Notes: I’ve never seen the Walking Dead. (mostly bc I’ve heard it’s gory and that’s not my thing)  I checked to make sure this is on UK TV, just so I could make one quip.

My professors always had wacky mini assignments for extra credit- this was my inspiration.

Side note: I fixed the parts in chapters 17 and 20 with texting so it's not such a confusing mess anymore.

PD, Picture Description, is a common abbreviation for a caption that makes images blind-accessible.

Chapter Bonus – Jake’s Rabbit Drawing

(it was drawn by an actual blind person, a friend of mine, and I have permission to use it for "whatever I want")
***and no, Jake is not based on that person, or anyone really, except maybe parts of myself but we're very unalike as whole people

[PD: Jake’s rabbit drawing. He was going for a front profile of the head and ears (drawn as one continuous line), with a face consisting of 2 eyes, a nose, and connecting mouth.  The face is near the upper right corner of his rabbit, with one eye on the ear and the rest off of the body.  The lines where he started and ended his body do not connect.  It’s actually not bad, though, and you can tell what it’s supposed to be.]

click this

Edited June 10, 2017 by lalaland~

[RipleyToo]

Ooh yes 

[lalaland~]

Chapter 30

It was evening when Jake rose again.  He still felt quite sick, but much better he’d felt than earlier; sleep had definitely helped.  He automatically moved to sit at his desk for studying but paused, breathing a sigh of relief upon realizing he no longer had any exams or papers (though he probably didn’t get the best scores on those exams; he was certain he’d been running a fever during each one).  This nightmare of a week was over. 

“hhh’tscchhu!” Well, sort of. He blew his nose and grabbed another handful of tissues, shoving them in his pockets before venturing out of his room to get some water.

He heard a surprising sound escape from the back bedroom. “hhh’KISSH!”

“À tes souhaits~,” he called through the slightly open door. 

“Oh goodness, Jake you scared me!  I didn’t know you were awake,” Matt climbed over his piles of stuff on the floor, which now included a fair amount of tissues, all aimed poorly at one rubbish bin near the bed.  He opened his door the rest of the way to have a proper conversation.  Jake appeared adorably disheveled and still looked quite ill.

Matt inquired, “How are you feeling?” 

“Better than this morning, but not great,” the blind man shrugged. 

“Oh, I took your paper to your professor’s office.  He says he hopes you feel better soon; I didn’t tell him it was covered in germs.  He enjoyed your rabbit drawing, by the by,” Matt informed.

“I feel like he just wants to make fun of it…” he said dourly.

“Pardon me, one moment,” the British man turned and sneezed into a tissue, “HEK’SHHww!”

Jake wore an amused smile, “À tes souhaits.  Looks like you caught my cold- that’s what you get for kissing me.”

“Completely worth it,” Matt defended.

“You say that now…”

“Truthfully, I knew this was coming when I woke up with a sore throat but I didn’t start…KESSSHuu! ‘scuse me, sneezing, sniffle, until the afternoon.  Wow my nose will not stop tickling,” his emerald eyes fluttered shut and he sneezed again.

“Now you know how I feel,” Jake sighed sympathetically.

“Am I imagining things or is he teetering a bit?”

He didn’t have time to fully think through his question before sneezing, again.  Afterwards, he twisted back around to face Jake- who was no longer standing in the doorway, but had fainted with a thud.

“Jake!” he’d meant to call out to him as a question, but was so taken by surprise it came out more as an exclamation.  He crouched down and hoisted the feverish man up into his arms, bridal style- something he’d certainly object to if he were conscious- and carefully carried him over the sea of art supplies on his floor to the island of a bed.  He tucked him into the blankets and looked him over worriedly.  He appeared quite flushed, like he’d been this morning.  Matthew quickly retrieved a cool damp cloth for his head and decided he should probably clean up the floor, as he’d almost tripped on things twice- and he could at least see them (not that Jake would be getting out of that bed any time soon; not if Matt could help it). 

His room wasn’t normally this messy, just a little messy (in his opinion).  He picked up all the papers and art supplies and other junk he’d strewn all over his floor this week, trying not to sneeze on everything.  When he’d finished, Jake still hadn’t awakened, so he took some cold medicine and set up a bedside table with sick person essentials- medicines, lots of tissues, a thermometer, fresh water, and, of course, some tea. He looked over his masterpiece, satisfied. 

“I feel ready to spend the week in this bed, as long as I get to keep the attractive man currently in it. I hope he doesn’t mind too much.”

------Author’s Notes: As a reminder,
À tes souhaits = bless you (“to your wishes”) – additionally, this is the informal version

[Ciuty80]

God i really like the fact that matt caught jakes cold but i do also hope jake will get better soon in no time. I'm worried about him

 

Please more

[lalaland~]

Chapter 31

Matthew climbed into bed and snuggled up to Jake, which seemed to rouse him.  His just-woke-up face was so precious, Matt felt flutters in his chest.

“Hmn? Uh..,” Jake froze, “Matt?  Why are you in my bed?”

“Actually, this is my bed. And you fainted in my doorway, so lay back down because I’m not having you faint again,” he explained, sniffling.

Jake responded calmly, “…That explains why I don’t remember getting in a bed, I guess.  And why my head hurts so much,” he rubbed it, as if to illustrate, then slid back down under the blankets, sighing, “Even sitting I feel so dizzy…” He acted as if waking up in someone else’s bed was a completely normal thing.

The British man turned away from Jake to sneeze, “KIISHhew!” He sniffled and waited for a response.  Getting none, he complained, “What, you’re not going to say ah-tea-sway* anymore?” (*he means À tes souhaits, but that’s more what it sounds like)

“But you’ll just sneeze again in less than a minute, and my throat really hurts…” the blind man said, frowning.  His voice had been sounding rather scratchy and a bit hoarse that evening, even before he passed out.

“hehKKESH!”

“Called it.” He shivered, curling up closer to Matt and mumbling, “Freezing.”  Matt scooped him closer, pondering if he should kiss the top of his head, but deciding against it.

“You’re actually quite hot- in all the ways,” he grinned at his own pun, “You should probably take off that jacket, I don’t think it’s helping.  Why don’t you do that while I, um, sneeze again…” his breath hitched several times before he pitched forward with a messy sneeze, “hih-hihKESSHu!”

Since he’d complained earlier, Jake wished him, “À tes souhaits,” despite it hurting his throat to talk, followed by hoarse coughing.  Matt felt a bit guilty for complaining, but did think it was sweet of him to add that back in, despite sounding like he was losing his voice.

“I was saying, why don’t you take your jacket off while I reach over here and get you something for that fever,” he suggest-commanded.  Jake stayed stubbornly curled up with his jacket on.  Matt turned around holding the thermometer and sighed, “Alright I won’t make you take it off, but I want to know exactly how hot you are, so here’s the thermometer-no, the other way around.”

“I knew that, it’s just how I grabbed it,” he mumbled with it in his mouth, causing him to cough a bit. 

When it beeped, Matthew plucked it out of his mouth and read it off automatically, “38.6°.” He traded it for some medicine and water from the table and placed them in Jake’s hands, “Isn’t that what it was this morning?” 

“No, it was 38.9°,” Jake casually corrected before taking the medicine and handing back the empty cup.

“You say that like you can recite random numbers all the time,” Matt joked.

Jake fidgeted uncomfortably, “What?” he said, rather defensively.

Matt’s eyes widened, “Oh my god, really?”

“Ughhhhh leave me alone,” he said with his voice cracking, clearly embarrassed.

Matt wore a mischievous look, “How many times have you sneezed today?”

“….Of all the things, of course you would ask that.”

“I know you know.”

“Fuck you. ………128.”

“Ooooh my god, no that’s actually really cool! Do you count everything? Stop hiding, your embarrassed face is cute!”

Jake started coughing again and Matt rubbed his back, quickly forgetting his teasing and asking if he was alright, to which the other man replied with more coughing.  He handed him a cup of tea, which he accepted with a, “Merci,” that sounded so whispered and hoarse like it was the last of his voice for the night. 

When he finished his drink, he was wrapped in a warm embrace.  He pretended to fall asleep so he wouldn’t have to admit he liked the cuddling; which turned into actually falling asleep in the older man’s arms.  Matthew, of course, thought this was precious. 

------Author’s Notes: Does anyone remember that seemingly random tidbit in chapter 3? >v>

38.6° = 101.4°F

128…is a lot. 

Jake will be fine, he just pushed himself too hard during exams, but now he’s getting the rest he needs. ^^;  I’m sick, too, right now, and I keep wanting to get up and do things, but then I keep thinking, “I’ll end up like my fucking story- go lay down,” so thanks, Jake

[lalaland~]

14 hours ago, Ciuty80 said:

God i really like the fact that matt caught jakes cold but i do also hope jake will get better soon in no time. I'm worried about him

 

Please more

I kind of replied to this in my author's notes but that seemed not very official so I'll reply like this, too. Thank you! I'm happy you're enjoying the story♥

[lalaland~]

I'm not sure what kind of posting schedule I'm on...I aim for posting a new chapter every 2 days (that's every other day). Sometimes it's less, sometimes it's more like 3 days, but close enough.  I have lots of chapters written and edited and ready to go but I've explained earlier why I don't want to post them all at once.  Another reason is because I like to be ahead when I'm writing so I don't feel pressured to turn in something that isn't my best work, just to meet a deadline.  It's much less stressful, too, which is good for my mental health and terrible immune system :v
Is every other day still too fast? Should I aim for posting a new chapter every 3 days or 4 days? You tell me. 

As always, I welcome comments, compliments, suggestions, requests, and whatever else you feel like writing in the reply box! (please note that while I try to consider requests, I may not do them all)

I also just noticed my poster status is changed because this story got my posts past the 500 mark! Hooray!

I've posted chapter 31 tonight, enjoy ♥ LaLa

[Ciuty80]

Awwww the cuddling was sooooo cute!

 I hope you also get better in no time

 

 

Please more

[jawzzbubblez]

I really loved that chapter. I was wondering. Could you also update the allergy story because I would LOVE that too. 

[jawzzbubblez]

I like when you post every other day. 

[lalaland~]

On 6/16/2017 at 4:35 AM, Ciuty80 said:

Awwww the cuddling was sooooo cute!

 I hope you also get better in no time

 

 

Please more

(„ᵕᴗᵕ„) thank you ♥
I do feel better but I don't

 know if I'm getting better

 -v-;

On 6/16/2017 at 5:20 AM, jawzzbubblez said:

I really loved that chapter. I was wondering. Could you also update the allergy story because I would LOVE that too. 

thank you!  (ﾉ≧ڡ≦) 
Yes, I can do that! tbh I haven't even checked it since I posted it oops

I struggle with coming up with situations where allergies happen?? I don’t have allergies like that so I guess I don’t really get it but all the fics seems to be like ‘always allergies’ and not a ‘turn-on-turn-off’ kind of thing, like I picture it? (the dog is here vs the dog is put away) Anyway situation suggestions would be really helpful, I’m sure other things too but idk what they are. This is sort of uncharted territory for me so I don't really know what I'm doing.

5 hours ago, jawzzbubblez said:

I like when you post every other day. 

ok that's what I've been trying to do...I should've posted yesterday, sorry

thank you for your feedback guys ♥

[lalaland~]

Chapter 32

“How’d your last exam go? sniffle” Jake asked in a stuffy voice.

Matt replied in an equally stuffy voice, “Well, it’s over; that’s all that matters I suppose,” Matt sighed, “I couldn’t focus at all and every time I sneezed I got glared at by my classmates. I enjoy sneezing but this is just too much.  God I can’t even talk I sound horrible.”

“Yeah, you do,” Jake affirmed casually.

“It’s not like you sound much better!”

“Tch, you get flustered so easily,” he teased.

“Oh, I get flustered, Mr. Compulsive Counter?” Matt countered.

“I said don’t bring that up again…” he said with a touch of anger.

Matthew sighed and joined his companion on the bed.  Leaning his head on the younger man’s shoulder he whined, “Jake, I don’t feel good.”  When he didn’t respond, the Brit glanced up, catching a wonderful glimpse of a sneezy expression.  The younger man pitched forward and sneezed wetly 3 times, sniffling thickly afterwards and mumbling a stuffy apology.

“Bless you,” Matt whispered in an oddly awestruck tone of voice.

Jake smirked coyly, “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” and laughed mischievously.

“I don’t like when you laugh evilly…”

“sniffle I’ve been sneezing the past hour, sniff, you missed it.”  He shook his head, “Ugh, I can’t believe I’m still sick, sniffle.”

Matt gifted him a box of tissues from the side table.  “You’re still sick because you didn’t take care of yourself,” he reprimanded.

Jake blew his nose a few times before speaking, “It’s not like you wouldn’t have done the same,” clearly it hadn’t helped his nose much as he sounded just as congested as before.  He frowned and leant his head on Matthew, “Do I feel warm? Wow, you’re so cold,” he said, as he lifted his head off, surprised.

“I was just outside, remember?  I’m not really sure if you’re warm, my hands are a bit frozen.”

Matthew shivered, “huh-KISSHH’ww!”

“À tes souhaits” Jake offered tiredly, in a neutral tone of voice, with an expression just as vacant.  He crawled under the blankets, sighing, “I don’t have any more energy,” even his voice sounded exhausted.

“Goodnight, Jake.”

“Mm,” Jake offered a half-asleep acknowledgement of the statement.  Clearly the man was much more tired than he’d let on.  He fell asleep fairly quickly, snoring softly from a stuffy nose, and Matt guided the younger man’s head gently to his chest so he could cuddle him.   Perhaps he was taking advantage of the situation, but Jake didn’t seem too bothered about being in his bed in the first place, and while he’d not initiated cuddling, he didn’t seem upset by it.  If Jake liked it, he’d probably not admit it.  He seemed intimidated by the idea of being a couple but certainly not opposed, which, in Matt’s mind, was a positive sign.

------Author’s Notes: So I originally wrote this entire chapter with stuffy-nose spelling but when I finished and looked it over, I thought, “Looking at this with my eyes is torture.” Listening to it through a screen reader was even worse.  Worse than being forced to listen exclusively to Nickelback for a 10 hour roadtrip while rubbing lemons on your cuts and wearing damp socks.  So I changed it.  But in your mind, you can picture the whole thing in stuffy voices.

There is a bit of adult material in this chapter available only in the 18+ board.   I tried very hard to make the regular plot just as cohesive as the 18+ plot, which mainly applies to a few of the later chapters.  The 18+ version of this chapter is better, if you have access to it.

Sorry I posted late.  My excuse is I’m still sick and have been sleeping so much I’m not really sure what day it is anymore because of it…I have no voice anymore, which is probably better than before :v (weird accent + sick voice = nope) but I feel better so that's what's important, right?

[jawzzbubblez]

You could write the allergy fic on other things that Matt could be allergic to like flowers, pollen, dust, more dog allergies, freshly mowed grass, and hay fever. Also feathers and spices. 

[lalaland~]

On 6/19/2017 at 1:26 PM, jawzzbubblez said:

You could write the allergy fic on other things that Matt could be allergic to like flowers, pollen, dust, more dog allergies, freshly mowed grass, and hay fever. Also feathers and spices. 

o-oh! I didn't think of that ovo;;
I have a few induced sneezes in later chapters hm hm this is giving me ideas *evil plotting grin*

[lalaland~]

Chapter 33

Matthew tried to be as quiet as possible while Jake was on the phone talking to his mother.  He couldn’t understand any of the conversation- it was in French, of course, but he did enjoy listening (especially with his cold).

“Staying quiet would be a lot easier if my nose would stop running,” Matt dabbed at it with a tissue, sniffling. Meanwhile…

“Hah-Happp’shue! Ih’SSHue! IISSHew! Eugh, désolé, maman, sniffle,” Jake had been sneezing frequently during his phone call, each time turning away from the phone and covering the mouthpiece with his hand while sneezing into his lap.  Often, they would interrupt him in the middle of speaking and he’d try to continue as long as possible before the sneeze.

“C'est excellent*! Eh-heh- un moment*,” (*that’s excellent, *one moment) his breath hitched as he covered the phone again.  He drew in a shaky breath and sneezed wetly into his lap, “hESSHHue! Hhh-ihh-ihhd’SHHue!  Het-SCHEW!” and groaned, sniffling thickly, “Désolé.” He paused while she spoke, then replied in a stuffy voice, "Bien sûr*, je promets de me reposer*.” (*of course, *I promise to rest)

“hhKIISHH!” it was Matt’s turn to join the festivities as he sneezed messily into a tissue followed by a whispered, “Excuse me.”

“Non, ce n'était pas moi*, Il est aussi malade*, sniffle,” evidently his mother had heard the sneeze. (*No, that wasn’t me, *he’s sick too)  He spoke a bit longer before ending the call with, “Bonne journée*,” (*have a good day) and then he hung up by moving the phone away from his face and double tapping the screen, sniffling the whole time.  Turning to Matt, he asked, “Matt, can I have some of those tissues, please?” but his voice was so stuffy he couldn’t pronounce any of the words correctly. Matt obliged and watched as the blind man immediately sneezed into some of them, letting the rest fall into his lap. 

Jake crumpled up the wet tissues into a ball and set it next to him before using the ones in his lap to blow his nose.  His poor, abused nose was red and sore from all the sneezing, sniffling, and blowing he’d been doing this week.  He sighed miserably, leaning over onto Matt’s leg, though he’d intended it to be his shoulder- It looked like he’d fallen over due to the miscalculation. 

He briskly lifted his head off of the British man’s leg and apologized, though Matt said it was alright, “Just put your head back.”  He did, hesitantly, then turned onto his back and used Matt’s leg as a pillow so he could talk to him (in a slightly stuffy voice).

“Thanks for not minding,” Jake said, hiding devious intentions behind a smile, knowing full well how much he’d enjoyed listening to him.

“What did you talk about on the phone, anyway?” Matt said, to purposefully get him away from that topic.

Jake rolled his eyes and volunteered some information from his phone conversation, “So my mum’s moving back to Québec.  She feels lonely and there’s no reason for her to stay.”

“I didn’t know you’d lived anywhere else,” Matt commented. He’d dodged temptation for now…

Jake explained, “Oh, yeah, we moved when I was 15, almost 16, to Ottawa for my dad’s job.  I went to high school there and that’s where I met Levi.” He decided to give up for now…Even though teasing him was fun, he didn't want to create tension between them.

Matt interjected, “Wait though, I’m lost- I don’t know what or where these places are.”

Jake backtracked, “Oh, sorry, um, Ottawa is in another province but it’s right next to Québec.  It’s not close to my hometown, though, which is where my mum’s moving back to.”  

“But I thought your hometown was Québec?”

“It’s in Québec. I didn’t mean to confuse y-”

Matthew interrupted him with a shuddery sneeze, “heeeh hehKKSSSH’ww!” turning away from Jake and sneezing into a tissue.

“À tes souhaits,” he repeated, “Didn’t mean to confuse you.  My hometown is Val-David. In Québec. Which is a section of Canada.”

“Got it- ah-KISHhhhu!”

“À tes souhaits,” he felt bad for giving Matt his cold, though, it wasn’t intentionally.  He picked up his previous topic again, “Anyway, I think it’s great she’s moving back. It’ll be nice-”

“hhKIISHH!”

Jake didn’t miss a beat, “-to visit.  À tes souhaits. I’m not sure when that will be though, probably not anytime soon.”

“Sorry. I keep interrupting you,” the Brit apologized, sniffling. He rubbed at his sore, pink nose.

“It’s fine, it’s not like you can control it.  Besides, I kept interrupted my mum on the phone earlier,” he added with chagrin.

“So was Ottawa bad? Is that why she wants to leave?” he asked, dabbing his nose with a tissue (and avoiding the bait).

“No, I don’t think so.  It was just different; see- Val-David is a village tucked into the mountains and it has a small, cozy community, while Ottawa is a fairly large city.  She never cared much for that, but I don’t have a preference. I could live anywhere, I think.”

Matt sneezed again, wetly, “hhh’KISSH! Sorry!” He’d not covered it well and Jake recoiled with a grimace at being showered in spray.  His voice was stuffier after the sneeze, “Bloody hell, I don’t think I’ve ever sneezed this much in my entire life as I have with this cold!”

“I think I gained abs from sneezing this week,” the other man joked grimly.

Matt laughed, and sneezed again, this time into a tissue, “HEK’SHHww!”

“You’re making my nose tickle, stop,” Jake whined.  Matt tapped the blind man’s nose, which made him gasp- probably both in surprise and at needing to sneeze.

His eyes snapped shut as he bent in half with quick sneezes, “Huh-he’sschew! ‘TSshew!  Ih’SSHue! hESSHHue!”  The tap was very effective at magnifying the tickle. He tapped it again.  “Stop stop stop!” Jake swatted his hands around in front of his face, trying to prevent Matt from doing it a third time (Really, trying to smack Matt’s hand, but it was not in his range).  He froze briefly before giving in to three explosive sneezes into his lap, “hhTTSShue! hehSHUUE! ESS’HEW!” He hid his drippy nose with his hands and protested with a very stuffy, “No more!”

“Aww but it’s fun~” Matt half-pouted, half-teased.

“It’s not fair when I can’t see your hands, sniffle, sniffle.”

“Alright I promise I won’t do it right now, I’m just handing you tissues, as you clearly need them.”

He cautiously received them, glaring in the direction of Matt’s voice, and used them to try to clear his nose.  It accomplished almost nothing.  “I hate being sick,” he lamented, sounding just as stuffy as before.

------Author’s Notes: I never change the spelling of the French words when they’re spoken with a stuffy nose, so, since this chapter has so much French, I also did that for the English as well.

I hope the geography didn’t confuse anyone. I’m pretty good at it so I forget people don’t grasp it so easily sometimes. (It’s not really important to the story if you don’t get it) More than that- I hope this wasn’t boring lmao.

Jake calls his mother “maman” when talking to her but if he were to talk about her (in French) he would say “ma mère”.  Maman is more childish (so that’s kind of cute). Same thing with “grand-mère” vs “mémé”.

Mémé (or grand-maman) is what people typically call their grandmothers in Québec & using “mémère” can be considered rude, though usually only if you’re talking about an old women who isn’t your grandmother.  Mémé is a shorter version but is not ever used as an insult.  I’m really not sure what they say in France for this one.

bonne journée = have a good day (used when saying bye; much more common in Québec than France, where they’d probably say “au revoir”)

18+ version has a bit more, but it's not drastically different like the last chapter.

[jawzzbubblez]

I live in Ottawa, Ontario!! And my grandparents live in Montreal, Quebec 

[lalaland~]

On 6/21/2017 at 8:16 AM, jawzzbubblez said:

I live in Ottawa, Ontario!! And my grandparents live in Montreal, Quebec 

Ahh! That's super cool! Personally, I think they're both lovely cities.  I lived in Montreal at one point, though I'm not Canadian ahha

this story probably makes it seem like I am, though
I doubt anyone can guess where I'm from :>

edit: please everyone do not post replies that are just guesses of what country I'm from...that's not at all relevant to my story!!

Edited June 23, 2017 by lalaland~

[gay-for-the-snz]

Your work is stunning as always. I eagerly look forward to your next update (and will resist the urge to guess where you're from since you asked us not to)