Lights Out

[lalaland~]

On 12/07/2017 at 9:57 AM, jawzzbubblez said:

I loved this chapter. Thank you. And I'm so glad that Jake and Matt are together. 

Thank you! I know it took a while but I'm glad you were patient & I'm glad you're enjoying it! ^^

On 12/07/2017 at 9:24 PM, Chiller, a sneezy skeleton said:

Really LOVE this story! This is my favorite story that ive probably ever heard. I have one request, though... is there any chance you could make jake allergic to something. Im more of an allergy girl, so if you could do something, that would make my day!

Thank you! (*muffled happy screams*) (♡°▽°♡) I never thought someone would ever call my story their favourite! I'm so happy...

Your wish will be fulfilled~ An allergy chapter is in the works. (though I may extend it into 2 due to popular demand )

On 15/07/2017 at 8:20 AM, KD02 said:

Loving this!

Thank you <3

On 16/07/2017 at 7:05 PM, PennyLane said:

I'm so happy they're finally together! Their relationship is so cute! (especially when it comes to them talking about the fetish). Keep up the great work!

Thank you! I'm so happy you love it (⌒ω⌒)

On 19/07/2017 at 9:10 PM, RachTheCool said:

AUGHH, MY HEART!!!

 

How did I not see this before? I did not get a permission slip for that feels trip! I just finished BINGE-READING this MASTERPIECE, and wooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!! I love these characters! I love watching them develop and grow together, its like having younger brothers and being with them as they grow. I've never been more attached to any other characters, and that's saying a lot considering what a super fan I am of ouran.

I love Levi. He is now an official member of my backup senpais. Welcome, backup senpai #4!!! When I got to the chapter with Sick!Levi, I blasted my computer with a yes gun. I love levi. So much. Like, he is my favorite character here, and I want him to be happy, but MattXJake is my official otp.

Like, would it be weird to write fanfiction and make fanart on an original fiction? I'm assuming its not, SO IF YOU WILL ALLOW ME TO, I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS TOO MUCH!!! I JUST LOVE THEM!!!

This story is an official part of my list of fandoms.

I oficially love you

I was so excited reading this I fell off my chair lmaoo! I'm honoured!! You may absolutely make fanfic/art of my characters- that's like, a literal dream come true! Ahh thank you so much!

(ﾉ´ヮ`)ﾉ*: ･ﾟ♡ so happy

On 19/07/2017 at 9:14 PM, jawzzbubblez said:

Can't wait till the next chapter comes. Really can't wait till the allergy chapter comes. And I really can't wait to read more of Matt sneezing 

Matt sneezing will for sure be in the next couple/(single?) chapters & then I'm throwing in a gratuitous allergy chapter (or 2) for the fans (haha) (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

 

wow wow so many amazing comments- my heart is racing with joy! Thank you <3

I'm working on the next few chapters, though I've been really busy with responsibilities and health lately so I can't give a deadline  There will be more Levi, more sneezes, and allergies (from matt & jake) coming up!

[RachTheCool]

MORE Levi?? UEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Honestly, this is so good its gotten to the point where this could literally stop being a sneezefic forever and I would still read it till the day I die.

Consider it a part of my official fandoms!! Fanart and fanfics comin up soon 

[Chiller, a sneezy skeleton]

Health?

[lalaland~]

Chapter 41

It only took a day to catch the very contagious cold and soon Matthew was in the same sniffly, sneezy state as his boyfriend.

“hhh-KKIIISH!” he gasped, feeling another tickle.  He wiped at his drippy, red nose, hoping to conjure the tickle.  It worked almost immediately and he sneezed desperately into cupped hands.  Grinning behind his hands as his nose dripped, he gave a cheerful, “Excuse me!”

“I’ve dever heard adyone so happy do be sick,” Jake commented, amused, as he offered him the box of tissues he was holding.  Matt laughed nervously as he swiped a couple from the box.  Jake rambled on, “I’b dot really surprised…you kissed be 47 times yesterday; it’s almost like you did it on purpose.  Bud I don’t think you’re that masochistic.”

Little did Jake know, Matt very much did it on purpose.  He made sure to expose himself to the cold at every opportunity.  Handling used tissues without washing his hands, letting himself get sneezed on, ducking in front of uncovered sneezes, drinking from Jake’s cup, and several steamy intimate moments quickly paid off. 

The blind man blew his nose then leant against Matt to relax, “But I’m happy you’d rather be near me than leave be all alone when I’m sick. Your company makes me feel better.” His voice was much clearer.

Matt subtly tried to check for a fever by caressing the other man’s cheek but was called out.

“Can’t I say something nice without you thinking something’s wrong with me?” He tossed an irritated glare at Matt.

 “I’m sor-” Matt’s face contorted from the pressing need to sneeze again.  His breath hitched a few times then…nothing.  It was just a tease.  He sighed, rubbing his itchy nose, “I’m sorry. As a side note, you are a bit warm, by the way,” he finished, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek.  The slight skin-to-skin contact brought the tickle back in his nose and he gasped, “heh-heeehh,” giving a drawn out sigh of frustration as sweet release yet again evaded him.

Jake pulled his sweatshirt up to his mouth to cover some coughs, revealing to Matthew a glimpse at his tanned, toned abs.  Matt stared, transfixed, until that bothersome tickle snuck up on him.  He didn’t even have time to cover, misting himself and Jake with a wet sneeze.

“Grooooss,” Jake drew out the word, whining.

Before he could reply, the British man sneezed again, directing it away from Jake this time, “KKESshiu!”

“À tes souhaits,” he offered sympathetically.

“Thank you,” he paused before asking, “What does that literally translate to, anyway?”

“To your wishes.”

Matt grinned, “That’s so much cuter than bless you.”

“Cute?”

“I don’t mean anything weird by it, I just think French sounds a lot nicer than English.”

“It does,” agreed the person that speaks French.

“Jake, random question, but why do you go by Jake?”

“Be-cause it’s my name?” his face was blank with confusion.

Matt laughed, “No, I mean, oh my god that was so funny, sorry, sorry! I mean, why Jake and not Jacob? Isn’t that the more Anglo version?” 

“Oh,” he said slowly, “Ah, it is. At one point there was another Jacob and everything was really confusing so I started going by Jake and now I’m just used to it.  I guess I could start going by Jacob again but I’ve already introduced myself as Jake to lots of people,” he shrugged, “Mystery solved?”

“hhKETCH!” The powerful sneeze bent the British man in half.

“Poor Matt, you have such an awful cold,” Jake cooed.

That was suspicious.  “You...gave it to me…” Matt tried to decipher what angle Jake was coming at but was only confused.

The blind man’s lips brushed gently across Matthew’s cheek, his gentle breath sending goosebumps all over his skin, “You’re enjoying it, aren’t you, Matthieu?” He could feel Jake’s lips curl into a smile against his face.

Matt swallowed hard, “I, well, yes,” he stumbled on his words.  Jake pulled his face away, smiling mischievously with a glint in his eyes.

“You’re cute,” he gently planted a kiss on Matt’s cheek then went back to his comfortable relaxing pose.

“Wha- that’s it? You’re just going to tease me?”

Jake smiled playfully, “Yeah.”

Matt wasn’t going to let him get away with it.  In one swift motion, he flipped Jake over and pinned him on his back, earning a small yelp from the man.  Jake’s stiffness melted away as their lips met.

 

~~~

Matthew awoke to his boyfriend sitting on the edge of the bed sneezing repeatedly into a pile of tissues.  It didn’t sound like they were providing any relief- only irritating his nose further.  His heart sank; seeing him so clearly miserable was devastating.  He slithered his arms around his waist and pressed his head against his back, holding the man tightly while he convulsed in half-hearted sneezes.  Maybe he could will him better. No, that’s not how it works, but the thought is nice.

“Bless you.” Matt’s voice was still full of sleep.

Jake’s voice was full of congestion, “Ugh, I’b dying.” He launched into another sneeze he didn’t have the energy for, then another.  The third sneeze would’ve toppled him off the bed had Matt not been holding him.  He groaned and leaned back into his boyfriend, burying his face into his chest, sniffling.  A hint of blush crossed the British man’s cheeks.  Jake’s cute gestures of affection always got to him.

Jake mumbled something into his chest- Matt tried to make out the words before realising it wasn’t English. Whatever he said, he sounded exhausted.  Matt pulled him back under the covers, finding no resistance from the other man, who stayed clinging to him.  Soon they both fell back asleep.

 

~~~

Jake’s phone pinged a notification, so he checked it.  Levi was asking him if he still wanted to go to that thing tonight- the thing he completely forgot about.  If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t feel up to going- not from lack of interest, but because he felt physically awful.  So, he explained this to Levi, leaving out the part where he forgot.  In a move which should not have surprised anyone, Levi offered to come over instead.

 

Jake answered the door, opening it and waiting for (what he assumed was) Levi to say something so he could let him inside.

“Hey Jake!” the small man almost hugged him, but retracted his arms, deciding at the last second against it.

“Cobe in,” Jake offered, trying his best to sound energetic and cheerful.  His voice was soaked with congestion and a bit hoarse.  He turned to the side to cough harshly into his elbow.

“Aww Jake you sound super sick, no wonder you didn’t want to go out,” Levi cooed. After removing his shoes and coat, he went to the kitchen and placed a bag on the counter.

Jake tried to be a polite host, “Bake yourself comfortable, sniffle, umb, whad did you want to do?”

“Oh Jake, don’t worry about entertaining me- that’s not why I’m here.  You go, do whatever sick person thing you were going to do anyway, and I’ll make soup.”

“Oh,” he blinked in surprise, then smiled gratefully, “Thak you.”  How he was still cute with messy bedhead, wearing pyjamas, and sporting a red nose, Levi would never know.  He tried to massage the thoughts out of his head. (It didn’t work.)  He spun back around at a sudden noise.

“hhh’shue! t’shhu!” Jake paused, anticipating another soft sneeze, and ducking into his cupped hands when it finally snuck out, “heht’chew!” He sniffled, apologizing, but leaving his hands in place, “Désolé.   Hhhh”

“Bless you,” Levi interrupted.

“I have to sdeeze agaid,” he mumbled behind his hands.  He gasped a few times, then sighed, finally removing his hands.  “N’deverbind,” he sniffled, walking back to his room, mumbling something about washing his hands.

After a while, Levi tapped on the doorframe of Jake’s open door (to let him know he was there) and came in with a steaming hot cup.  Jake removed his headphones and paused his book, smiling pleasantly.

“I made you some tea,” Levi explained, “With all that coughing, I thought your throat must be sore from it.”

Jake accepted the offering graciously, “Thank you, and, you’re absolutely right.” His voice sounded less congested, but more scratchy than before.

“Where’s Matt, anyway?”

Jake paused, holding the cup thoughtfully, “Hmm, I think he’s asleep in his room,” he paused, frowning, “I, uh, got him sick…” he added, looking guilty, right before pulling up his sweatshirt with one hand (holding the mug in the other) and coughing into it.  Levi climbed onto the bed behind him and rubbed circles into his back to help.

“How’d you get sick, anyway? You never get sick.”

Jake took a sip of the tea, wincing as he swallowed. “Work. All my coworkers were passing it ah-round,” his breathing quickened.  Predicting what was coming, Levi gracefully snatched the cup away, placing it safely on the windowsill.

“Heh, heh’TSHUE!” he tried to sneeze into his elbow but it ended up more on his sleeve than anywhere.  He gave up on that idea and just decided to sneeze in his hands after the first one, “heh, ah, kk’sshu! Hehhh, heeeeeeh,” he sat frozen in place for what seemed like an eternity while his nose tortured him with the tiniest, irritating tickle occupying the farthest spot at the back of his nose.  When it quieted, he let his guard down and the sensation returned vehemently.  He sneezed into his lap and groaned. “Ugh, thad was disgusting I’b sorry.”

“Bless you, you’re fine,” Levi said, handing him tissues.

“Thak you. I didn’t sdeeze on you, did I?” he added sheepishly.  It was adorable.

“No, but I should probably get out of your room if I don’t want your cold.”  Levi told him where he left his tea and awkwardly exited the room.  He made that up- he really didn’t care about getting sick; he just didn’t know any other way to deal with all the emotions and urges he felt for Jake.  He wanted to hug him and kiss him and cuddle him to sleep.  He looked up at the kitchen ceiling, trying not to cry.  At least he could help him feel better other ways- tea and soup and the like.  Man, that sounded so lame.  That was nowhere near as convincing as he’d hoped it would be.

“Levi?” A slightly sick version of a very familiar British voice startled him.  “Sorry,” Matt apologized for making him jump 4 cm into the air, “I didn’t expect you to be here.” He noticed the pot on the cooktop, “Oh, are you cookig?”

“I’m making soup,” he grinned with his usual enthusiasm, shoving away all his negative thoughts for now.

A warm smile graced his pale face, “Thad’s very generous of you, thak you.  Ah, I bed it sbmells good but I can’t sbmell anything,” he tried and failed at breathing through his blocked up nose.

“Not a problem, I’m happy to help my sick friends.”  He smiled, hoping it didn’t look faked. Feelings of loneliness and despair were creeping back into his mind.

Matt stared at him suspiciously.  Levi countered with an innocently confused face.  This seemed to work for now.

“If you deed help finding sombething in the kitchen, just ask me,” Matt offered, walking back to his room.

“I need to stop falling apart in my friends’ kitchen.  Get it together, Levi,” he tried to focus on stirring the soup, watching it swirl around as it simmered in the pot, taking slow, calming breaths.  “Breathe in, hold, breathe out. Much better.”

 

Levi poked his head into Matt’s room through the open door, asking if he wanted soup.  Matt said yes, so he carefully brought a bowl of soup to him.

“Do you need anything else right now?”

“No, but I am wondering…are you feeling alright? You’re not sick and hiding it, are you?” Matt’s eyes shone with concern.

Levi shook his head, smiling, “Nope, I feel great! Am I acting weird or something?”

“You are,” Matt stared into the bowl of soup, “Um, perhaps this isn’t my place, and you don’t have to answer, but…”  His posture was tightened up nervously, “Have you been…okay?  Since the whole boyfriends thing?  I’ve just been worried about you, and wanted to make sure you’re alright.” He was still staring nervously at the soup, afraid to meet his eyes in case he was upset.

“Matt was worried about me?” Levi paused, contemplating if he should tell him or not. He sighed, not smiling but not frowning. “I appreciate your concern, Matt, but to be honest, I don’t think you could even understand how I feel.”

Matt looked up, a bit thrown back at that response. “Levi, I think that’s a very childish thing to say.  To think you’re the only person in the world that’s experienced heartbreak is a ridiculous notion.  I really do understand how you feel, which is why I’ve been worried about you.”

Levi couldn’t look at Matt or move.  Tears blurred his vision as he stood rigidly in place.  He tried to stop but the effort was futile.  He felt warm arms wrap around him in a hug.  Wave after wave of emotion crashed over him until his eyes were left red and stinging, his cheeks were salty and wet, and his nose was running.

“I’m sorry, Matt,” he whispered to the man who was still hugging him.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he reassured him.

“Thank you,” he spoke so quietly the two words were barely audible.  Matt finally let go, and retrieved tissues for Levi to tidy his face with. 

Levi glanced over at the bowl of soup, commenting and poking his tongue out after, “Oops, I bet the soup’s cold by now.  I’ll go reheat it.”  Matt laughed, which broke Levi’s mouth into a smile.

 

------Author’s  Notes:

I’m sorry this took so long to post…Things have been chaotic : /
I’ve probably had the least healthy schedule possible recently: I stayed up for over 48 hours straight to research and write a paper that I’m not even finished with, then slept for a literal day, then watched the entirety of Bungou Stray Dogs (both seasons). >.> It was a really good show, okay.  I was only going to watch a couple episodes but you know how that works.
Only a few more weeks of intense stress and then I’ll have heaps of free time to write again!

[Leafeon78]

Aww that was very cute it was very nice to read.

[RachTheCool]

ALDJDHANFBBAJDNDHWKFBKANSHDIWNDKESKJXKWKDHCOW

you never dissapoint with new updates!!! Poor Levi... aww... *pats his head*

7 hours ago, lalaland~ said:

Matt looked up, a bit thrown back at that response. “Levi, I think that’s a very childish thing to say.  To think you’re the only person in the world that’s experienced heartbreak is a ridiculous notion.  I really do understand how you feel, which is why I’ve been worried about you.”

MATT YOU JERK!! You can't just assume you understand people's feelings! QLDNSISKXBXKWKDHDKAJFJWSKNFKSK So much sympathy

LALALAND~ STOP IT YOU ARE MAKING ME CRY LMAO

 

(on an unrelated note, glad you liked bungou stray dogs. I can write you some if you want)

[PennyLane]

10 hours ago, lalaland~ said:

How he was still cute with messy bedhead, wearing pyjamas, and sporting a red nose, Levi would never know.  He tried to massage the thoughts out of his head. (It didn’t work.)  He spun back around at a sudden noise.

“hhh’shue! t’shhu!” Jake paused, anticipating another soft sneeze, and ducking into his cupped hands when it finally snuck out, “heht’chew!” He sniffled, apologizing, but leaving his hands in place, “Désolé.   Hhhh”

“Bless you,” Levi interrupted.

“I have to sdeeze agaid,” he mumbled behind his hands.  He gasped a few times, then sighed, finally removing his hands.  “N’deverbind,” he sniffled, walking back to his room, mumbling something about washing his hands.

Everything about this made me melt❤. A poor, sick Jake with bedhead is just too adorable.

10 hours ago, lalaland~ said:

Matt looked up, a bit thrown back at that response. “Levi, I think that’s a very childish thing to say.  To think you’re the only person in the world that’s experienced heartbreak is a ridiculous notion.  I really do understand how you feel, which is why I’ve been worried about you.”

This is a bit harsh to say to a fresh broken heart, but its still true. I might be wrong, but it sounds like Matt has gone through 1 or 2 nasty break ups.

Anywho, great story as always!

[lalaland~]

Matt isn't the best with words but he tries his hardest (haha)...ok he's outright terrible at comforting people but better when he doesn't speak. 

On 21/07/2017 at 6:13 PM, RachTheCool said:

MORE Levi?? UEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Honestly, this is so good its gotten to the point where this could literally stop being a sneezefic forever and I would still read it till the day I die.

Consider it a part of my official fandoms!! Fanart and fanfics comin up soon 

I'm dead and my ghost is also dead (in a good way)

18 hours ago, Leafeon78 said:

Aww that was very cute it was very nice to read.

Thank you! ^^ I'm glad you enjoyed it.

12 hours ago, RachTheCool said:

ALDJDHANFBBAJDNDHWKFBKANSHDIWNDKESKJXKWKDHCOW

you never dissapoint with new updates!!! Poor Levi... aww... *pats his head*

MATT YOU JERK!! You can't just assume you understand people's feelings! QLDNSISKXBXKWKDHDKAJFJWSKNFKSK So much sympathy

LALALAND~ STOP IT YOU ARE MAKING ME CRY LMAO

 

(on an unrelated note, glad you liked bungou stray dogs. I can write you some if you want)

so much all caps oh my! hahahaha There's nothing wrong with that, though. I'm so happy you enjoyed it!

(you like it too? omg yes if you write it I will read it for sure)

10 hours ago, PennyLane said:

Everything about this made me melt❤. A poor, sick Jake with bedhead is just too adorable.

This is a bit harsh to say to a fresh broken heart, but its still true. I might be wrong, but it sounds like Matt has gone through 1 or 2 nasty break ups.

Anywho, great story as always!

It wouldn't be Matt if he suddenly gave good advice. He tried, though.

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it : )

[Elyze]

I'm new here and one of the first things I open is this pearl. Love it! I couldn't stop reading yesterday and was so sad to reach the latest post. But considering it was about 3 a.m. by that time I guess it was just as well... So this morning I just started re-reading from chapter 1. This has everything I love: Cute boys, good story, humor and plenty of sneezes. I am a total Jake-fan. He is so adorable! I love his multiple sneezes, his little apologies after he sneezes and his cute insecurities. I'm very curious about the *other* version of the story, but until I gain access to that I'll just keep re-reading this and wait for every update. Keep up the good work, you have a new fan here! ?

[lalaland~]

Chapter 42

Levi left Matt’s room, his smile falling flat. 

“That was the worst attempt at cheering someone up I’ve ever seen. Is he always like that?”

He ventured over to his best friend’s room, not bothering to fake a smile.

“Hey, Jake, how are you feeling?” he offered, as warmly as he could muster.

Jake wore a curious expression at the sound of his voice, “Hmm? Levi, how are you feeling?” he returned the question rather than answering, “You don’t sound like yourself.  I don’t know what’s wrong but I know something is. Did you think you could sneak that by your best friend, who knows you better than anyone?” he smiled deviously, hoping Levi would open up to him.

“Ah, I don’t know, I mean it’s kind of awkward…”

“You can tell me anything, you know.”

“Er…Alright, I guess. I’m…having a hard time getting over you.” Jake’s face flushed.  “I told you it was awkward!”

Jake covered his face, embarrassed, “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t mean to!” Levi sighed. Jake continued, calmer, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.  I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

Levi paused, “Honestly…this was much less uncomfortable than talking to Matt, so…” he left his thought unfinished.

Jake frowned sympathetically, “Oh…Matt, um, yeah, I mean, no offence to him, but, he sometimes doesn’t plan out what he says very well…”

Levi snorted in half-laughter, “No kidding.”

Jake changed the subject, “Hey, thanks for coming over and doing all this for me. You didn’t have to, but I really appreciate that you did.”  There was that signature soft, warm smile- the one that could make the coldest feelings melt.

Levi cursed internally, “Why does he have to be so freaking perfect?”

 

Levi left at bedtime, to go back to his own place so that he could be ready for work the next day.

 

~~~

He was lost, wandering a strange wood alone.  The ground was uneven and damp.  The hum of insects and a shifting sound under the dirt were the only sounds.  Suddenly, something wrapped around his leg, grabbing it tightly and pulling him to the ground.  It felt rough and thick, like a tree root.  The fresh, pungent smell of dirt filled his nose.  He tried to stand, but the tree root remained firmly wrapped around his leg, trapping him with a vice grip.  Then, the tree root began to yank him through the dirt, burying him alive, starting with his leg. 

Just before his head was buried, Jake woke with a start, trembling, with a cold sweat, crying and hyperventilating.  Once he regained his bearings, he was able to slow his breathing.  This was the second time tonight he’d woken in terror and now he was afraid to go back to sleep, or even be alone.

He timidly crept into Matthew’s room and walked up to the bed.

“Matt?” he said in the tiniest voice, sniffling from having cried.

Matt half-opened his eyes, unsure if he’d heard a voice or was dreaming. 

“sniffle”

“Jake?” he questioned, his voice hazy with sleep.

“Matt, can I sleep with you tonight?” The question was innocent and almost child-like in tone.

“Of course,” he mumbled, trying to wake up enough to understand what was going on.

Jake climbed into the bed and curled up onto Matt.  The British man stroked his cheek lovingly, but noticed it was peculiarly wet.

“Jake, why are you crying?” he asked, as he tenderly wiped the tears off his cheeks.  He kissed his (slightly warm) forehead and wrapped his arms around the trembling figure.

Jake shook his head, sniffling.   This was embarrassing enough without having to admit he’d had nightmares.  Laying here with Matt would be safe.  The older man didn’t push for an answer, though he’d figured it out intuitively.  Jake buried his face into Matt’s warm chest and listened to his heartbeat as it slowed, the other man easily falling back to sleep.  He continued to cling in this position, his head and arm draped across his chest, rising and falling with each breath.  He noticed that at some point he must have stopped shaking.  Even so, he intended to stay up all night to avoid more night terrors.

Matt awoke the next morning, a bit surprised to find his boyfriend in his bed, only vaguely recalling the events that transpired in the middle of the night.  Jake was sound asleep, draped across his chest.  His lips were parted slightly and his nose was pink, but the most prominent feature on his face was the matching pair of dark crescents sweeping under his eyes.  He decided he shouldn’t wake him, and, instead of getting up, simply readjusted into a more comfortable cuddling position, and went back to sleep.

 

“Matt, wake up, we need food,” Jake said, ruffling Matt’s soft hair.  Matt made a noise that was somewhere between a moan and a grunt.  “How are you feeling?”  Matt coughed roughly instead of responding.  “Mm. Attractive,” Jake commented sarcastically, smirking.

“5 more minutes,” Matt mumbled into the bedsheets. Jake rolled his eyes. 

“You can-” There was a silent pause.

“I can what?” Matt murmured sleepily.

Jake ducked his face into his elbow and sneezed, “hep’shew! hahTSCH! Heh kesshhue!”

“Bless you~” Matt said in a sing-song tone.

Jake sniffled thickly, “I’b godda sdeeze agaid.”

Matt watched, now fully awake, as if by magic.

His nose made a cute squish sound as he pressed it to his arm right before sneezing in triplicate.  He sighed, “Désolé, sniff. Ad least you’re awake dow, sniff.”

“Bless you,” Matt said, sitting up, “The tissues are right next to you.”  He yawned, stretching while Jake tended to his nose. “You alright? You look a bit knackered. Maybe you need a nap.”

“Ça va bien*. I’ve only been awake an hour or so, anyway,” (*I’m fine.) His smile was tired, but warm.

Matt gave him a quick kiss and got out of bed, finally.  “I wonder if I look alright. I hope my hair isn’t too messy,” he patted at his hair.

“You look fine.”

“Oh, okay.” He paused, “Wait.”

“Matt, you look fine,” Jake repeated firmly.

“But you don’t know how I look!”

“It doesn’t matter, I’m sure it’s fine.  No one else is even here,” he was insistent.

Matt took a moment to think it over.  “Okay, but just in case I’m going to look in the mirror first.”  Jake sighed overdramatically but didn’t stop him.

“I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re done being a funny sparrow*.” (*see AN for more explanation)

“Sorry, a what?” Matt peeked out of the bathroom perplexed.

“A funny sparrow.”

“Why’d you call me a funny sparrow?”

“Do…you not say that in English?”

Matt laughed, “No! I’ve never heard that before. That’s cute, though.”

“Nevermind!” he used his hand to block Matt’s view of his mortified face as we walked out of the bedroom to the kitchen.

 

“Someone looks cheerful,” Matt teased as he walked into the kitchen.

“I’m even better now that you’re here,” he winked.

“Wow, that was smooth.”

Jake laughed, “I’m not sure where that even came from.”

Matt ruffled his hair gently, “Oh, you.”  He gasped suddenly, as if he’d had an epiphany, “Hey, by the way, since I know you have no plans for Christmas and no work scheduled, I told my family I’d bring you to the house for Christmas…is that alright? I can change it if it’s not, I mean I know I didn’t ask, so-” he rambled quickly.

Jake kissed his cheek to signal that he understood and no more rambling was necessary.  “That’s fine. It sounds fun.” Excitement greater than his words revealed, showed through his smile.

 

“There are no more tissues,” Matt stated, tossing the box to the side.

“I don’t feel like getting up,” Jake commented.

“Me either,” Matt added, proposing a solution, “How about this: The first person to sneeze has to go get the tissues from the shopping bag.”

Jake stood up, “Fine, where’s the shopping bag?”

“But you didn’t sneeze yet.”

He sniffled, rubbing at his nose, “But I will, and I’d rather have tissues.”

“I’ll just get it. I’d feel bad making you look for somethi- hhh’KKISH!” Matt interrupted their conversation with a sneeze. 

Jake turned toward him with a mischievous grin. “You lose.” 

Matt laughed, accepting the terms of his loss.  He retrieved the new box, pulling some out for himself and placing some into Jake’s hand, which he promptly sneezed into a few times.

“Bless you,” Matt offered.

He sniffled miserably into the soaked tissues, “Merci.”

“KET’chu!” Matt sneezed unexpectedly.

“À tes ‘SHHue! Heh-HESHew! T’shue!”

Matt planted a quick kiss on his boyfriend’s lips, despite both their noses dripping like leaky faucets.

Jake leant his head on the older man’s shoulder, “Are you havig fun being biserable, sniffle?”

“I am.” 

Jake grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around himself.

“Are you cold?”

“Yeah,” he sniffled.

Matthew carefully slid his hand under the blind man’s bangs.  His hands felt pleasantly cool and left a chilling sensation on the spot he’d touched even after he’d removed his hand.

“You’re a bit warm. Why don’t you lay down and rest?” Matt suggested.

Jake pouted, “That’s boring.”

“What if I let you rest your head on my lap while I run my fingers through your hair?”  This enticing offer piqued his attention.  He immediately flopped down into position.  Matt chuckled, “Well you’re easy.”

 

------Author’s Notes:

knackered is slang for tired. Not used in Canada, but used in the UK and other countries. It’s safe to assume that at this point Jake has heard this word a lot.

“Be a funny sparrow” is a slang phrase, which translates in French to: “(Être) un moineau drôle”. It means that person is being weird (a weird person). (Québécois slang)
Jake translated it literally, since it’s an idiomatic expression that he assumes is also used in English. This is not a phrase used in English.

I got carried away with writing this segment and kept throwing more fuel into the Pile of Suffering, but it was fun (for me, not them). I also had major writer’s block for about a week. That’s why it took so long to get this chapter posted, sorry. However, I have all the next chapters written up until the ending arc, so I should be able to resume a regular posting schedule again!
Next chapter is basically gratuitous fanservice (if you can call allergies “fanservice”).

[Elyze]

A new part to this lovely story! Woooohoooo!Thank you!

[lalaland~]

On 7/30/2017 at 6:06 AM, helyzelle said:

I'm new here and one of the first things I open is this pearl. Love it! I couldn't stop reading yesterday and was so sad to reach the latest post. But considering it was about 3 a.m. by that time I guess it was just as well... So this morning I just started re-reading from chapter 1. This has everything I love: Cute boys, good story, humor and plenty of sneezes. I am a total Jake-fan. He is so adorable! I love his multiple sneezes, his little apologies after he sneezes and his cute insecurities. I'm very curious about the *other* version of the story, but until I gain access to that I'll just keep re-reading this and wait for every update. Keep up the good work, you have a new fan here! ?

 

8 minutes ago, helyzelle said:

A new part to this lovely story! Woooohoooo!Thank you!

I feel honoured to be your introduction to the forum (of sorts)! Welcome!  You binge-read it?? I'm shocked but in the best way. I want to express myself better but inside my head is just discordant joyful screaming.  I'm just...so happy you love my characters and my story thank you!

[Elyze]

6 minutes ago, lalaland~ said:

 

I feel honoured to be your introduction to the forum (of sorts)! Welcome!  You binge-read it?? I'm shocked but in the best way. I want to express myself better but inside my head is just discordant joyful screaming.  I'm just...so happy you love my characters and my story thank you!

I most certainly binge-read it, couldn't put it down! But I've only read it twice so far...

[lalaland~]

Chapter 43

allergies

Matt paused the video he was watching on his laptop, taking out one headphone as he tilted his head up to talk over the back of the couch.  “Jake, are you alright?” he asked, concerned.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“I ask because-” a trio of sneezes and a French apology interrupted him, “Bless you, I’m concerned for your health,” he paused, hearing the other man’s breath hitch.  Three desperate sneezes and a ‘désolé’ later, Matt sighed, continuing, “Bless you,” he prefaced pointedly, “I’m worried you’re overworking yourself. You’re not getting sick again, are you?”

Jake narrowed his otherwise useless eyes at him, “I’m not sick. I swear! I don’t know why I’m sneezing!” he said, sounding frustrated and slightly stuffed up.

Naturally, not believing him, the British man got up from the couch to go walk over and wrap his arms around the sure-to-be-annoyed-but-grateful man, but he paused at what he saw. His smile curled up to a smirk and he quickly pressed a hand to his mouth to keep from giggling and giving anything away.  He waited to speak patiently as he watched another sneezy tickle develop over the other man’s face, enjoying this more than he should.

“H-heh-hh-h’tschhuu! Hehh’SHEW! heh, heh, het’shue! Désolé,” he finished with a sniffle.

Cheerfully Matt blessed him before reassuming that childish smirk, “Are you allergic to anything? Cats maybe?”

“Maybe. A little,” Jake fidgeted uncomfortably.  A tiny meow came from the space next to him on the counter and Matt could see his shoulders jerk up as his spine tensed and his eyes widened. “H-How long has that been there?” he said, pointing nervously to the space where the noise originated.

“Probably as long as you’ve been sneezing,” Matt laughed through talking.  Jake didn’t find it nearly as amusing. He cautiously walked away from the area, pressing his hand to his nose in an attempt to not sneeze again.  The kitten that had been sitting next to him leapt down from the counter and followed him, rubbing the blind man’s leg.  He froze in place and shot Matt a pleading look for help.

“Aww it likes you,” Matt commented, still laughing, and continuing to do so as the other man sneezed.

“Maaatt make it go away,” he whined, sniffling.

“But if I touch it-I’d start sneezing too.” 

“Matt!” he said the name with more disbelief than anger in his voice (and a bit of congestion).  He felt the small animal circling his legs, rubbing itself all over.  “Stop it,” he pleaded quietly with the kitten, like it would understand him. 

Matt watched him suffer through another sneezing fit before deciding it was time to come to the rescue. 

He scooped up the small kitten, petting it and cooing, “Aww aren’t you the cutest? sniffle” The kitten seemed to relax in his hands- it was so small that it fit in only one of them.  He sneezed into his shoulder, as his arms were occupied.

“Thank you,” Jake sighed in relief.

“mmhmm- heh-KISH!” the British man sneezed, again.

“À tes souhaits,” Jake offered sympathetically.

“I’ve always wanted a kitten!” Matt said excitedly, still holding and petting it.

“But…we’re  hh- allergic to it? ” Jake replied, confused, before sneezing again (and again, and again).

The British man sniffled as he continued to pet it, “Maybe, but he’s so cute…”

“Batt*,” he admonished, sniffling. (*Matt)

Matt ignored him, talking to the kitten in a ‘pet voice’, “How did you get in here?”

“Batt, you’re dnot heh keebing id. We alread…y hih have…a dog… hhh y-you’re allergic to,” he struggled through his sentence, sneezing as punctuation.

“I’m sure the dog will like him just fine!” Matt insisted, “sniff, I don’t really mind sne-hh-snee- KAT’schu!”

“Thad’s dot the problemb!” Jake cut him off.

The older man muffled another sneeze, sniffled, and wiped his nose with one finger.  “You just can’t see how cute he is.”

“Batt.”

Matt spoke in that ridiculous voice to the kitten, “Is Jake being a meanie? Yes he is.”

“I’b dot bei’g bean! I’m bei’g practical!” he defended, frowning as the other man sneezed, yet again, proving his point.

“Jusd ped hib; he’s so sofd!” Matt insisted, despite his stuffy, runny, sneezy nose. 

“No way!” He groaned, feeling more sneezes coming.

“hah-KET’shu!”

“You’re crazy!”

“KEH’chu!” Matt didn’t have time to muffle the sneeze into his shoulder.  This scared the kitten, which leaped out of his hands onto the floor.

Upon hearing the tiny creature land, Jake jumped back nervously.  “Where’d it go?”

Matt was on his knees coaxing the kitten out from under the table, “Link went under the table.”

“Y- hiiitshuuue! ‘shhhh't! heh ‘shhhh'd! sigh,” He stifled the last two.  “You NAMED it?” the blind man asked in heated disbelief.

“After my favourite video game,” Matt explained, ignoring everything about the question except the words themselves.

Jake shot him his most irritated (watery) glare as he blew his nose.  “Matt, put Link, or whatever, outside. You’re not keeping a cat.” He pointed firmly toward the front door.

Matt pouted, holding the kitten closer, and sniffling, “No.”

Jake sighed, “You’re like a 20-year-old-child sometimes.”

“It’ll be fine. I only sneeze when I’m touching the cat. I don’t mind.”

“I mind! I’m sneezing!”

“heh-KESHuu!” the kitten didn’t seem bothered by Matt’s sneeze this time.  “Aww look he likes me, too!” he cooed as the kitten snuggled closer to his chest, purring.

Jake pressed his hand to his nose again to fend off more sneezes, “Keep it away from me. Why do you want this cat so much, anyway?”

“Don’t call him ‘it’!” He placed the kitten down on the floor to let it roam around, then placed a hand on Jake’s shoulder reassuringly.  

Jake immediately brushed the hand off, “Don’t touch me; I’m mad at you,” he said curtly.

Matthew spoke softly, pouting, “Do you not like cats?”

“I don’t like sneezing,” he replied flatly, crossing his arms.  He forgot he was using one of those to hold back sneezes.  His eyes fluttered shut and he practically slammed a hand over his nose to cover in time as he folded in half, sneezing thrice.

Matt scoffed, “Except when you want to tease me?”

Jake’s fiery composure sizzled out as he flubbed his words, “T-that doesn’t, I bean, that’s different!”

Matt kissed him to calm his nerves, since Jake clearly didn’t get that he was being teased.

Jake sighed, giving in, “Can we at least put a bell on hib? sniffle, He’s so quiet I can’t tell where he is.”

“So I can keep him?” Matt gasped, perking up with the glowing excitement of a 5-year-old in a toy store.

“Sure, sniff, whatever. Did I even have a choice? sniff” His nose was running like a tap.

“Yay!” Matt squeezed the blind man in a tight hug, “A choice- no, but I preferred to know you’re not mad at me.”

“I’m not mad. I just don’t get it, I guess,” he mumbled into the hug.

 

 

 “I haven’t seen the kitten in a while; I wonder where he got off to?”  Matt performed a cursory search of the flat, not finding him.  He peered into the only room he hadn’t yet checked: Jake’s room. Sure enough, the kitten was in there- curled up on the pillow, snuggled into Jake’s hair as he napped.  Matt couldn’t help but smile at the adorable scene- he took a photo on his phone. 

The sound of the camera roused the sleepy man, who paused, feeling something move on his pillow. Still half-asleep, he sneezed his usual three times and sighed, apologising out of habit, rather than to anyone, while rubbing at his runny nose.

He hummed, addressing the kitten, “Why do you like me so much?  sniffle, You make me sneeze but, I guess you’re not…hih hi’tschue!” He propped himself up into sitting position as his breath shook and his eyes fluttered from half-lidded to shut as another sneeze teased its way through his nose.  The voyeur was staring transfixed, knowing there wouldn’t be consequences.  Jake sneezed into his wrist: three one-syllable sneezes followed on top of one another, all sounding like they irritated more than provided relief.  Leaving his wrist in place, he sniffled a few times before finishing his sentence from before.  

“You’re not so bad, after all. But don’t tell Matt, sniffle.”

“Don’t tell Matt what?” Matt winked. 

The other man’s face paled, “Why are you in my room?” he managed to get out.

“I was looking for Link. I haven’t even been in here for 2 minutes,” Matt explained.

“Oh. sniffle, Well, sniffle, Link isn’t so bad, sniffle, I guess, sniffle, but please take hih-him out of my room,” he rubbed hard at his nose, trying to kill the need to sneeze.

“You’re cute.”

 

------Author’s Notes: I wrote this chapter in an aeroplane. On an aeroplane? That way makes it seem like I’d be riding on the wings, which is way cooler, but involves way more death. Let’s go with “in”.

Ugh I feel this chapter right now…I have allergies all through summer and fall (but not spring for some reason?)…

My blind friend accidentally trips on her cat all the time because cats are so quiet! lmao

~~~

The Christmas arc (starting chapter 44) doesn’t have lots of sneezing, but I sprinkled it in where I could.  Mostly it’s just cute, fun, or “serious” (I admit, what I consider serious in my writing is not actually that heavy compared to other people.)  (There’s also currently no NSFW parts in the arc, but I may add an in-between chapter for that purpose, which of course would only be in the 18+ version) I wrote the Christmas arc back in May/June, so it seems like forever ago to me. (I don’t write anything in order.) Also, unfortunately Levi won’t be in that arc (I’m sorry) but I didn’t forget about him and he will definitely get more attention…

[Elyze]

Happy to see another chapter with my fav sneezy Jake I personally love cats so I totally get why Matt would want to keep Link, although being allergic to your own pet seems slightly inconvenient  Was there a reason the sneezes weren't spelled out as often as in other chapters? Jake's triples with the désolé after are so adorable! I missed them... 

[Leafeon78]

Another fantastic chapter really loving these so far keep it up.

[RachTheCool]

OH MY GOD.

OH.

MY.

GOD.

THEY HAVE A CAT?? AND THEY'RE BOTH ALLERGIC??

I THOUGHT IT COULDN'T GET ANY BETTER, BUT YOU NAMED IT AFTER A LEGEND OF ZELDA CHARACTER!?!?!?
 

AND YOU MADE IT MY BABY LINK!?

 

OH WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! FANART BEGIN xD

Im soooo happy. I love seeing new, permanent changes in things I like, like shows or books or whatever. That is the cutest thing ever. Oh my god. I'm sorry, I'll be right back.

*Goes in the closet and screams my head off* 

[venuskiddo]

i lOVE THIS OMG KILL ME BIIITCH

[PennyLane]

AAAAWWWWWW!!!!! This cat is everything i never knew i needed! This chapter is so cute❤❤❤❤❤❤

[lalaland~]

Chapter 44

“Are you ready to go yet?”  Jake stood by the front door, ready to leave for the airport.  He had a small suitcase and his guide dog with him.

“Yeah, I didn’t bother with allergy meds since I’ll be sneezing anyway, but just in case,” Matt shoved a box of pills into his carry-on bag.

“Are you sure that’s fine?  I don’t want you to be miserable?” he asked warily.

“Oh, probably not,” Matt joked.

“Matt…” Jake frowned with concern.

His reply seemed rather non sequitur, “Don’t worry, I’m not driving, we’re taking a ride to the airport,” he seemed to be addressing the concern of sneezing whilst driving.

Matt held his Canadian reassuringly during the drive to the airport, which managed to assuage most of his anxiety.  Between the dog and his cold, which he was still getting over, he burned through an entire packet of tissues during the drive.  Once they arrived at the airport, Matthew quickly located the check-in stations, then they waited in the queue for baggage check.  Jake stayed quiet, not wanting to draw any more attention to himself than he already was with the dog and his sneezy boyfriend.

The attendant called them up to the counter, “Next! Identification please.”  Matt handed the woman his ID and she checked it against his ticket then promptly handed it back to him.  Jake awkwardly held his passport out in front of him.  “Place it on the counter, please,” the attendant instructed.

“I don’t know where the counter is…” Jake admitted quietly.  The woman seemed puzzled.

Matt intervened, pulling Jake’s wrist so that his hand was above the counter, explaining, “He’s blind.”

The woman gasped, “Oh! Of course, I see the dog now; I’m so sorry!” She checked it and offered it back, “Here.”  Jake held his hand out, confused, since she seemed to expect him to know where it was.  Matthew transferred the passport from her hand to Jake’s, quickly ending the awkwardness.

There was more than enough room for Noir to lay at their feet in the spacious business class seats.  The luxury was a novelty to Jake, who had only ever flown economy class before.  Matt seemed quite miserable dealing with allergies on top of the remnants of a cold.  He looked it, too- his green eyes were glassy and teary and his poor nose looked red and irritated.  After sneezing through the first half of the flight, he gave up and took a few doses of antihistamines, which put him to sleep quite effectively.

 

“Matt, wake up, we landed,” Jake roughly shook the unconscious Brit, “Sheesh, were those allergy pills or sedatives?”  When that didn’t work, he pulled out a tissue, rolling one of the corners into a point.  He gently slid it inside one nostril, flinching as it irritated the surface.  He kept maneuvering the point until it activated a trigger point.

“Happp’shue!” he sneezed toward Matthew.  The older man gave a slight groan as he returned to the land of the living.  Jake offered a sniffly apology.  “Matt are you awake yet? We’ve landed, sniffle.” 

“Hmm? I’m working on it,” he mumbled, half-asleep.

Jake grinned slyly, “It worked.”

They disembarked the plane, retrieved their luggage, and waited in the baggage claim lobby for the Robinson family chauffeur.

“He should be here soon, let me know if you see a black limousine outside or a man in a chauffeur outfit,” the drowsy Brit instructed as he sat leaning on his suitcase.

“Oh look, here he is,” Jake took the opportunity to be sarcastic.

“Where? I don’t see him?” he spoke with a sleepy voice.

Jake laughed, “Like I would know! What kind of medicine did you take? You’re acting like you’re high or something.”

He confessed, “I may have taken 3 or 4 times the dose. Oh, there he is! He was here all along, it seems.” 

A man wearing a formal suit with gloves and a driving cap walked over toward the two men, “Welcome home, Young Master Robinson and his Guest of Honour.”  He retrieving their luggage for them and led them to a black limousine parked outside.  He opened the door for the young men and waited for them to be seated before shutting the door and carefully loading the luggage into the vehicle.

“‘Young Master?’  Is this his butler or something?  And we’re in a limo?  What kind of money does this family have?” Jake felt a bit out of place suddenly.  He clung onto a drowsy Matthew during the drive, as that seemed to be an effective enough anti-anxiety measure for his least-favourite activity.  Fortunately, the drive wasn’t too long.

They approached large, ornate gates and passed through a luxurious garden with fountains, a pond, and a gazebo.  The limousine parked in front of a beautiful mansion.  (Of course, Jake was completely unaware of any of these things.) The chauffeur escorted the men into the home where Matt led his ‘guest of honour’ upstairs to the room he’d be staying in. 

Matt gave a brief introduction, “This is one of the guest rooms.  Peter- he’s the chauffeur- will bring your things in here.  But it’s a bit lonely in here, so let’s come to my room.”  Jake left his guide dog in that room, even though Matt didn’t ask.  He held onto the older man’s elbow on the way to Matt’s childhood room, feeling very lost in this huge labyrinth of a house.

“This is my bedroom,” Matt announced with excitement.  He walked around with Jake, describing all the things in the room to him.  Compared to his flat, this room was much more chic and closely resembled something you’d see in a magazine featuring celebrity homes.  He mentioned that he didn’t like this room as much as the flat, since it lacked his favourite things.  “So make yourself comfortable, or, if you’d prefer, I could show you the rest of the house,” Matthew finished.

 

“To the right is the cinema, and, further down a bit, to the left is the pool and spa.  Then if you were to turn right at the end of the hall, there’s a door to the outside where the fire pit and summer lounge are.  There’s also a tennis court back there but somehow I can’t imagine you’d want to play,” he teased.  “I hope it’s alright that I’m being so brief- normally I’d take someone into all the rooms to show them but I feel like that wouldn’t do much for you, I’m afraid. But if you’d like I’ll be happy to show you, anyway.”

“No, that’s okay.  You’re right, though, it would be a bit awkward to walk into a bunch of rooms that I can’t see just for the sake of being in them.  Even if you described it, like you did with your room, it’s not like we’ll be in these rooms much, right? It’s kind of crazy how much stuff this house has…it’s like you have everything you could possibly want and never have to leave.”

“I don’t know about that, but, oh!” Matthew clapped his hands together excitedly, “I did want to show you the cinema though- my dad said it’s equipped with audio description headphones!  I didn’t even know that existed!”

Jake seemed pleasantly surprised, “Me either.  I guess it’s uncommon? I’m curious how it works.”

Matt beamed, “Let’s find out!”

“I feel like I should know those kinds of things exist, I guess I’m terrible at being a blind person,” he laughed at his self-depreciating joke.

“Well, you’ve lived most of your life with sight, you can’t expect to know everything right away,” Matt made a good point.

They ventured into the cinema and Matt set up the technology for a film to test it out.  He gave Jake a set of headphones and put some on himself, but, instead of turning on the projector he decided to watch Jake- His candid expressions were Matthew’s most favourite thing to watch.  The cinema speakers played the film sound while the headphones provided a supplemental audio description, during moments with no film dialogue.  The glow his smile brought to his face, the way his blue eyes sparkled and shone with joy, the way he perked up and his excited exclamations in French, some of which he translated, some he didn’t- all of this was Matthew’s perfect film.

------Author’s Notes: YES I knew about audio descriptions at the beginning of the story but I chose to save it for later in the plot.  I think it was much cuter that way, don’t you?

I hyped up this arc too much I think…it’s honestly really random and fluffy so I’m worried people won’t like it but ahkdhkdlhld

[Elyze]

They are just so cute together  I love Jake's blind humor and how he teases Matt when he's so out of it. 

[lalaland~]

 

@Leafeon78 I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it, thank you♥

@helyzelle Aren't a lot of people allergic to their own pets though? As for the spelling, I just wanted to switch up the writing style as a test to see if I liked it.  I did and didn't...it was less repetitive but yeah a lot less fun sneeze-wise, so I don't think it's a style I'll stick with.  
His blind jokes are probably my favourite thing to write hahaha (but only he gets to tell them)

@RachTheCool ♥^v^♥ hehehe I love LoZ~  Yaaaay I'm happy you liked it! Thank you!

@venuskiddo XD This is a positive comment, right? (I think so haha) Thank you!

@PennyLane ahhh thank you thank you I'm so happy ♥

[lalaland~]

Chapter 45

The other side of the house has my favourite room!  Though, I’m not sure you’d enjoy it much…” he seemed a bit glum.  “Really the only things on that side of the house are that room and the kitchen, but I don’t venture into the kitchen very often. I want to show you anyway, though. We don’t have to stay long.”

The door to this room was very peculiar- it led to the room through a slide.  Jake wondered how you get out.  They were dropped gently into a large, dimly lit, circular room.  A low, constant hum, and the soothing sound of running water filled the space.  Cylindrical tanks on the inside of the room illuminated upon their entering the room. These housed small, delicate creatures, including seahorses and jellyfish.  The walls of the room were completely made of acrylic glass. “Here it is- the aquarium!  There are sharks, rays, and heaps of exotic fish and sea life in this room.  I could honestly spend hours in here.” 

“You have sharks? This is starting to sound like a villain’s hideout.”

Matt chuckled, “Well my uncle is a marine biologist and he really wanted to keep sharks but didn’t have room in his home for them so they live here.  I love them though, they’re such fascinating creatures.”

“Matt, most people don’t have room for sharks in their house…”

Matt ignored this comment and sat on the bench in the centre, gazing lovingly at the swimming creatures contained in the tank that wrapped around the entire circular room, from floor to ceiling, even continuing below the door/slide. 

Jake sat next to him, commenting, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shark- well I’ve seen pictures but not one in real life.  I wonder how big they are.”

Matt explained, “Well, this tank is actually quite gigantic- it goes around the whole room and extends from the floor to the ceiling.  We’ve got epaulettes, wobblegongs, horn sharks, bonnetheads, reef sharks, and bamboo sharks.  Most of these are small and the largest go up to about the size of Levi.” Jake laughed at the last comment.  “Ones in the ocean can be much bigger- it would be cruel to keep animals that size contained.”

The blind man tried to imagine the room he was sitting in but this was so far beyond anything he’d seen in his years of having sight that he had no idea what to picture.  He’d never even been to an aquarium.  He figured this tank was probably the size of an entire house or bigger to have that many sharks! 

“So do you ever feed people to the sharks?” he joked.

“No, of course not!  They’re well-fed, too, with their preferred food sources- which do not include human flesh. They’re so sweet, really, they’re not vicious like movie sharks,” he defended them quite passionately.

“So you really like the ocean then? Or just sharks?” Jake asked curiously.

“Actually, I do love the ocean.  Mostly I love what’s under the ocean, but the ocean itself is quite beautiful and mysterious.”

“I’ve never been to the ocean,” Jake mused.

Matthew looked at him in disbelief, “How does a person go 19 entire years without seeing the ocean?”  “And how does he manage to so perfectly capture the ocean in his eyes- the shifting blues that glowed or dimmed with emotions; the splendid glimmer of sunlit waves; the mystery that intrigued you and drew you into its depths.”

Jake frowned, “It’s not like I lived anywhere near one.  The closest thing would be rivers and lakes.  But that’s not anything like an ocean, from what I’ve heard.”

It occurred to Matthew that he really didn’t know much about Jake’s home country.  He hadn’t even looked where his hometown was on a map yet.  He felt ashamed.  The most he knew about it was from the brief conversation about his mum moving and the snacks she’d sent him- which wasn’t much to learn about an entire country from.

Jake sat silently for a while, trying once again to picture what the room might look like.  It was a peculiar room to be in with the ambiance of water and filters completely surrounding him, but with no sounds coming from the other side of the glass walls. He got up and very cautiously crept toward the wall until he felt it against his hands- cool and smooth.  

“He said the tank went around the whole room…” Jake dragged his fingertips lightly along the glass as he walked around the edge all the way around until he was sure he’d come back to where he started (not that there was an easy way to tell).  “The room is a circle? I didn’t feel any corners; that was weird…Is that just one wall?”  He traced it again, starting where he was until he counted over 400 steps.  He walked back toward the bench in the centre, but smacked into some large obstacle.  It was cool and smooth like the walls.  Another tank?  He traced his hand around it, walking in a small circle.  A cylindrical tank.

“Matt, what’s in here?” he asked curiously.  There was no answer.  “Matt?” his voice was timid; he felt very lost and even wondered if he’d managed to step into some other room.  He forgot where the centre of the room was supposed to be.  His heart was racing and it was becoming hard to breathe as panic set in.  He stumbled around a bit more, but cautiously this time, as to not run into anything else- he kept a hand in front of him.  He kept walking around, turning himself completely around.  After leaving the small tank, he hadn’t been able to feel anything except the floor beneath him.  Where did the bench go?  And the walls?  What about the slide? A sense of terror swept over him.  He sat in place, afraid to move and unsure of where he was.  He extended a shaking hand and very slowly waved it around himself.  He startled as he finally felt an object- a leg of the bench.  He pulled himself up with the bench, afraid to let go of it in case it may disappear.  He felt along the seat, and, to his surprise, discovered a sleeping Matthew- completely silent, laying on the bench.  He must still be drowsy from the exorbitant amount of allergy meds he took.

It was a slight comfort to know Matt was there.  Still, he couldn’t shake the fright that gripped him.  This room was eerie and all he wanted to do was leave.  But he didn’t know how to get out of the room, much less his way around the house- and he’d been using Matthew as a sighted guide; he had no cane or dog with him at the moment and he was sure to get completely lost.  He felt pathetic.  He sat with his back against the bench, bringing his knees to his chest and laying his head on his knees, focusing on an escape from reality.

 

Matthew awoke and sat up stiffly.  How he’d fallen asleep on the bench in the aquarium room was beyond him.

“Jake?”  He asked, panicked.  He quickly spotted him, sitting slumped over next to the bench.  He ruffled his curly hair gently, “Wake up, sleepyhead.”  The younger man made a slight noise then lifted his head slowly, rubbing his eyes.  They felt sore and swollen from crying earlier- something he now felt like an idiot for doing. 

“Somehow we both fell asleep in here and it’s getting late- Rose probably wonders where we went,” He helped the blind man up and let him grab his elbow.

“Matt, I don’t feel good,” he lied.  Truthfully he just wanted to be alone with Matt and not have to deal with the anxiety of meeting his family* at this moment.  That seemed to work. (*see AN)

“That’s no good,” Matt frowned, “Let’s go back up to my room. We can say hello later.”

Matt pulled a cord and a ladder folded down from near the ceiling.  There’s no way Jake would’ve been able to find that on his own.

 

Jake sat on the bed as Matt examined him.

“You don’t have a fever- that’s good.  You don’t appear to have a cough or anything, do you just not feel well?”  Matt desperately wanted to hold him in his arms until he felt better- his expression seemed so lonely.  Jake frowned and somehow managed to look even lonelier than before.  The Brit pulled that lonely boy close and hugged him tightly- he couldn’t stand it anymore.  The tense, frigid emotions that had clung tightly to his chest for hours melted away in Matthew’s arms.

------Author’s Notes: *Jake is under the impression that “Rose” is Matthew’s family, but she’s actually the nanny who basically raised the Robinson children and is head of the help.

I really really love aquariums and sharks.  Did you know? Rays and sharks require circular tanks because they could injure themselves on corners.  Matt’s aquarium room is probably my new dream bedroom, if you added a bed. A bed, a laptop, video games, and sharks- that’s all I need.

[PennyLane]

Wow! Your room descriptions are amazing! I wish i had a house like that! Great story as always👌👏

[Elyze]

 That house....! What kind of money does Matt's family have? Poor Jake doesn't stand a chance of memorizing the lay out of that place. Matt better take good care of Jake