Lights Out

[lalaland~]

Chapter 46

Jake lay awake in the guest bed.  He hated being alone in this house; it felt huge and daunting to the blind man.  Even counting steps couldn’t help him navigate successfully. 

Earlier that evening, he’d lied about not feeling well, but it had become a self-fulfilling prophecy; now he felt like his stomach had tied itself in knots.  He wasn’t even sure why.  Maybe he was just particularly anxious today?  Being in a car twice, plus getting disoriented and lost in that aquarium room was all rather hard on him.  He needed a reset, that’s all.  If only he could fall asleep.  Matthew said he’d come get him in the morning so he wouldn’t have to worry about finding his room.  He looked forward to that.

Jake awoke several times throughout the night, but generally was able to fall back asleep. 
2:17 AM. 3:09 AM. 3:40 AM. 4:28 AM. 10:12 AM.

He sat up quickly.  Was it really that late in the morning?  Well, he did say he’d come get him ‘around 10 at the latest’, so Matt should be on his way over. 

“Bon matin*, Noir,” he greeted his dog and changed out of pyjamas. (*Good morning)  He checked his watch again- 10:20 AM.  Strange.  Maybe Matt forgot?  Perhaps he should go to his room- he remembered how many steps away it was. 

He tapped on what he believed was Matt’s door and called his name through the door.

A surprised voice called back, “Jake? Oh gosh, I’m so sorry, come in!”  He found the handle and opened the door.  Matt’s voice came from the left of the room, near the dresser-or was it the closet? Jake couldn’t remember what he’d said was over there.

“I’m sorry I was going to come get you but I felt really dizzy suddenly.  I hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding my room.”

“It’s 47 steps away,” Jake tried to make him laugh, despite being embarrassed by that quirk.  The older man smiled, but didn’t laugh.  The lack of reaction (he didn’t see the smile) worried Jake.

“I’ll be right over, make yourself comfortable,” Matt’s voice suggested.  There was something off about it this morning but it was impossible to identify what was ‘off’.  Jake sat in a lounge chair wondering what Matthew was doing in the corner of his room.  It seemed so suspicious but he wasn’t going to pry.

“Alright, I’m dressed,” the British man announced.

“You were naked??” he exclaimed.

Matt clarified, “Well not exactly, more like half-naked.  But it’s not like you could see so I didn’t care.”

Jake laughed in relief, “I was so worried- I didn’t know what you were doing over there! Wait, why would you even care about that in the first place?”

He explained, “I don’t know, I guess I just feel weird since we’re at my parent’s house.”

Jake shrugged, “That’s fine. It’s not like I was going to frisk you at 10 in the morning anyway- 11. It’s probably 11 now.”

His tone changed, “Oh gosh, that late?  That’s not good.  No wonder you came to see what I was up to!”  He mumbled to himself and paced around his room looking for something. 

A very loud THUD echoed through the house and caused Jake to fall out of the chair he was sitting in from surprise.  He rushed over to the other side of the room where he heard the noise and, as he suspected, it was Matt- he’d passed out. 

Jake tried to lift his head and recoiled at the touch, screaming a string of French-Canadian profanities, “Crisse de câlisse de sacrament de tabarnak d’osti de ciboire!”

A knock came from the door, followed by the door opening without waiting for an answer, “Pardon me, young Master, but is everything alright in here?” A female maidservant had come to check on things.

Jake sounded panicked, “Non! Non! Matthieu est malade ahh…En-glish words?” his mind blanked when he tried to translate himself.  The maid came over to see for herself.  Jake was still panicking trying to come up with English for her.  Rose came in next.

“What’s going on?” the elderly woman inquired.

Jake gave up trying to use English, “J’chais pas*,” he muttered, dismayed. (*I don’t know)

The maid offered a better answer, “It appears young master Matthew has fainted, perhaps from fever?”

The maid and Rose switched places and Jake scooted away awkwardly, trying not to be in the way, but not really knowing where ‘in the way’ was.  Rose was checking various vital signs and looking for injuries.

He found his English again, “Um, earlier this morning he said he got dizzy but then he didn’t mention it again and 10 minutes later, this,” he referenced Matt’s current state.

“Oh, you do know English…” the maid commented quietly.

“Er-sorry, I freaked out and couldn’t remember any…” he replied, in echoed tone back to her.

Rose turned to Jake, “And how are you feeling?  Are you alright?  Last night Matthew mentioned you weren’t feeling well.  Oh, I’m Rose, by the way, wonderful to meet you.”  She held out her hand for him to shake, but he couldn’t see it and was unaware she was even doing that.  It took her a moment to figure out why he didn’t return the gesture, but when she did, she gracefully retreated her hand.  Matthew had mentioned to her that he was blind.

 “Nice to meet you as well.  I’m fine!  I think I was just really anxious or something yesterday but I feel much better today,” he assured her, truthfully.

“That’s good.  I’ll be back with some things.  I’ll send Charlie- he’s one of the help- up here to carry him back to bed- not that I’m sure you couldn’t do it (she referenced Jake), but please don’t feel like that would be your obligation,” and with that, she disappeared, along with the maid.  Truthfully, Jake wasn’t even sure if he could pull that off- maybe, at the flat, where he had well-established spatial knowledge of the layout, but here? Doubtful.  He went back to the chair he was sitting in earlier and changed positions 10 times before deciding it was most comfortable to rest his hands and chin on one knee while he tucked the other leg under him, sitting on his foot.  Another person, which he assumed must be ‘Charlie’, came in and lifted Matt from the floor to his bed, and even tucked him in before leaving. 

Jake sat consumed with worry and stress over the situation.

“That posture is simply awful!”  The voice of Rose reprimanding him startled Jake- he hadn’t even heard her come in.  He sat up, awkwardly, leaving his legs in that strange position.  “Did I scare you? Sorry.  I thought you’d heard me enter.”

Jake explained, “Sorry, I just wasn’t paying attention.” 

Luckily, Matt stirred from unconsciousness, offering a distraction from this awkward conversation.

“Hello Matthew, how are you feeling?” his nanny brushed his hair back affectionately.

“Rose?” his voice was clouded with sleep and he made a sound of discontent, “I feel dizzy.”

She hummed, “I’m not surprised.  What else?”

“Just a headache.  Wait, when did I get back in bed? Did I faint?” Matt’s head swam with confusion.

“Yes,” she informed him, “You have a fever as well.  Now that you’re awake I’m going to check you over.” She took his temperature, listened to his chest, and examined his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.  “Nothing terrible at the moment, except the fever,” she commented, “You should rest.  If you need anything at all, just beckon.  I’ll make sure to have lunch and dinner sent up for you.”

“Thank you, Rose,” he said, dismayed.  And with that, the two men were left alone in the room again.  Jake hopped onto the bed, sitting at the foot of it. Matthew seemed surprised, “Were you in here the whole time? I didn’t even notice!”

“Ninja skills?” Jake offered.

“Yeah, right. You’d be the worst ninja on the planet.”  Matt scoffed.

Jake pretended to feel hurt, “Wow. That is so mean,” but his laugh gave him away.

Matt gasped, “Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even properly introduce you!  Rose is my nanny.  She’s also a nurse.  She um, raised me.”  The whole concept of a nanny was so foreign to Jake.  He wondered where Matt’s parents were and if he was ever going to meet them?  That made him a bit nervous.

Matthew sighed and sat up, “I didn’t really think I was sick.  Now what are we supposed to do all day?” he glanced at his lap glumly.

Jake seemed nonchalant, “I was going to spend the day with you anyway so what does it matter?”

Matt wilted into the covers, “But now we can’t go anywhere; well we can, but I don’t want to feel dizzy again…”

Jake climbed up the bed closer to where Matt was, “Are you joking? Your house has everything; where would we need to go?” his face expressed his disbelief at Matt’s attitude.

“I’m glad you’re being so kind about it,” he suddenly remembered something, “Oh, last night, are you feeling alright today?”

“Hm?” it took him a moment to remember what he meant, “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.  I think I was just really anxious from everything yesterday so my stomach was hurting but I’ve been fine all morning.”

The British man smiled, feeling reassured, “I’m glad; I just hope I don’t get you sick, too.  You can do something without me today, if you like.”

Jake’s reply was very casual, “I don’t really want to do anything if it isn’t with you,” he stiffened up, speaking more flustered, “I mean, I could do something by myself; I’m perfectly capable!  I just don’t want to.”

“He’s still so dishonest about his own feelings…” Matt shook his head, “Let’s do something you enjoy like…um…what do you enjoy?”

“You seriously don’t know?”

“I know you like reading and music. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you do other things in your spare time…”

“Oh,” Jake seemed disappointed.

Matt thought quickly, “I guess writing would be an obvious one, since that’s what you’re studying.”

“Actually, I’m not even sure if I enjoy it that much.  I prefer reading,” he frowned.

“Well now I feel terrible- I don’t even know basic things about you.”

Jake didn’t seem upset though, and waved it off, “It’s fine; now that I think about it, I’m not even sure what I like to do.  Other than reading and music, everything I used to enjoy doing in my spare time…I kind of can’t do anymore.  Hockey was a big one.  I can still skate though; I really enjoy skating,” he sighed, “I used to be interested in space, but now I can’t see the stars or planets and it’s not the same.  I used to like running, too, but now I don’t feel comfortable doing that.  I feel like I’d just get lost or run into things,” he paused, looking uncomfortable, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be depressing. I guess I need more hobbies.”

“Wait, I know something you’d enjoy!” Matt spoke excitedly, “Want to watch a film?”

“Of course!  I’ve wanted to watch a whole film ever since we tested the cinema out yesterday,” he admitted, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Oh, and, not today, of course, but, I also like running, just not alone, so maybe we could run together sometime? That would solve my being alone problem and the getting lost problem you have,” Matt offered.

“Yeah, I’d like that,” he smiled lovingly at Matt, something new that turned the Brit’s cheeks pink.

-----Author’s Notes: Do you ever make your characters sick way too many times just so they can take care of each other? 
I needed more awkward Jake/clingy Matthew…I’m sorry Matt I’m a terrible mother.

The number of times I have to backspace “movie” to write film, ugh I get all mixed up between the two countries’ phrasing sometimes. (Sometimes I mix up different countries’ phrasing irl too, though (since I’ve lived so many places). Okay, all the time. And people make fun of me for it. lol)

I’ve explained the Québécois profanities a million times- they’re all literal catholic words that don’t translate into anything in particular (except emotion).  Now I’ve finally strung them all together : )

Non! Non! Matthieu est malade = No! No! Matthew is sick

J’chais pas = I don’t know (Québécois slang; in France-French it’s not the same)

 

There are 51 chapters completed, but I don’t know how to end the story ._. I’ve stared at the same 3 sentences for over 2 weeks now.  I really don’t want to leave the story incomplete when it’s so close to completion.  There’s honestly nothing more disappointing than finding an old fic and enjoying it then finding out it was never finished and never will be.  I don’t want to be that person.

[Leafeon78]

Another excellent chapter as always.

[lalaland~]

Chapter 47

Jake sat on top of the blankets against the headboard, next to Matthew, who had swaddled himself in his comforter. 

“So what does your family usually do for Christmas?” Jake inquired.

Matt replied, “Oh, nothing special, usually there’s a party Christmas Eve where heaps of people I’ve never met get drunk and mingle in the ballroom and everywhere downstairs- as you can tell I don’t really care for that and I tend to hide away in my room if I’m home,” he laughed, then continued, “On Christmas we have a formal family dinner; and even at that there are so many family members it’s not any sort of intimate setting.  However, that’s the one time each year I see my parents.”

The younger man’s eyes widened, “Do you mean, you normally never see your parents?  Even when you lived with them?” he asked softly.

Matt answered casually, “Well, yeah, it’s always been that way.  They’re very busy with their careers- after all, they’re both world-class surgeons.  …You’re giving me a perplexed look; is that odd or something?”

“It’s odd to me, I guess.  I can’t imagine never being around my parents growing up,” he frowned sympathetically, “Isn’t that lonely?”

“Lonely?” Matt seemed puzzled, “Not at all.  I had Rose and my siblings, after all.”

“You have siblings?” he was curious now.

“Yes. I have 2 older brothers, Michael and Marshall, and an older sister, Marina.  I’m the youngest.  I believe Marina is coming here Christmas day, but my brothers have their own families to spend the holiday with.”

“All their names start with M,” he noted.

Matt sighed whimsically, “Christmas was much more fun when I was younger and all my siblings lived here.  We’d actually do gifts and watch Christmas films.  Now they unceremoniously give me money to buy my own gifts.”

Jake frowned, “Your family life is such a foreign concept to me…Plus, this huge house, the maids, a nanny- I’ve never had any experience with things like that before.”

Matt laughed nervously, “That’s actually the main reason I wanted to live in a flat with another person instead of by myself in something nicer.  I hope I don’t sound pretentious.  I wanted to broaden my horizons and experience living without all the extravagance. It’s such a limited world view and I’m quite glad I chose that because I’ve learnt so much.  I would choose it again if I had to re-do it.  My parents didn’t understand; they still don’t, but they’ve supported me in every way, even in my career as an artist, so I really couldn’t ask for better.  I know one day I’ll have to be on my own and I don’t want to be thrown into life unexpectedly.” 

Jake seemed lost in thought, processing all this.  

Matt started cautiously, “I’m kind of curious what your family is like?  You seem very close to them so that’s sort of a foreign concept to me.  I couldn’t imagine calling my mum and talking for an hour, much less every week; it’s wild and sort of fascinating. Actually, I’d never call my parents…”

He made a bemused face, “Fascinating? You’re weird.  I just miss her, that’s all.  I’m glad to be in England, of course, but I do miss her; and she misses me, too. I don’t have any siblings, so right now, it’s just me and her,” he laughed, “I should probably call her today; last week I called when I was sick and she kept commenting on it, worrying about me.  When I’m sick I especially miss having her around because she’d always take care of me in that special way only mums can.”

Matt spoke quietly, “I know my mum loves me but, she’s never taken care of me, so I really don’t know what you mean.”

“Matt…that’s so sad, I’m so sorry,” his response was heartfelt.

“Well, I mean, that was Rose’s job.  Don’t look so sad, it’s fine, really,” Matt reassured.  Changing the subject he asked, “What does your mum look like?  Does she look like you? I ask because I know you’ve seen her- I wouldn’t normally ask you that!”

“Actually, yeah, well it’s more accurate to say I look like her, but,” Jake stared in Matt’s direction looking pensive, “This may be a really weird question but,” he paused, “What do you look like?”

Matt paused, tilting his head before answering, “That was unexpected.”

Jake continued, “Well I’m asking mainly because I don’t really know how to describe you to other people, and I guess I’m also kind of curious?  I mean, I can tell lots of things- like, I know you’re about my height and your body is muscular,” he grinned with a glint in his eye at his last comment, “and your hair is short and straight,” he touched his head and pantomimed straight hair, “but I don’t know stuff like what colours anything is or what your face looks like…I mean, I can tell you what I imagine but it’s probably wrong!”

Matt clapped his hands together excitedly, “Ooh tell me what you imagine!”

“Oh gosh, I asked for that, didn’t I? Um let’s see- I picture you with just this tan, glowy skin, and a big smile, and blonde hair, and umm green eyes, I’m not sure what else.”

Matthew broke down laughing, “You got maybe half of it right!  I definitely do not have tan, glowy skin- that sounds more like you.  I’m actually very pale.  And my hair is kind of a medium brown.  I see yours as almost black and mine is much lighter than that. I do have green eyes, that part is correct.  And what else did you say-oh smile! I’m not really sure what my smile is like but I’m flattered.” 

Jake sat in disbelief, “Are you sure you’re pale? I was so sure on that one.”

“Yes I’m very sure!” he was still laughing.

Jake explained, “I just thought: you’re warm all the time, and your personality is warm, so your colour would be warm too; oh man this sounds dumb when I say it in words.”

“No! It’s not dumb! I actually am quite flattered by that thought process. Stop, don’t hide your face! I like seeing your face- come back.” Jake had pulled his hood over his face and leaned away, embarrassed. Matt pulled the younger man back towards him and lifted up the hood.  He teased him, “So am I more or less attractive now that you know all that?”

Jake seemed nonplussed, “The same? Why would things I can’t see even matter- what kind of a question is that? It’s not like what colour things are even matters! Honestly I don’t even remember what colours look like.”

“You don’t remember what colours look like?” Matt inquired curiously, a bit awed by this admission.

He shook his head, “No. I remember things about colours, like light and dark or warm versus cool but that’s really all.  Those are more like concepts from my memory anyway.”

Matt was solemn, “Oh. I’m sorry.”

Jake shrugged, “I’m not bothered by it. Not any more than I am about being blind, anyway.”  He paused, looking thoughtful, “Which I’m actually pretty much okay with, I think, at this point.  I really wasn’t when I came to England, but, I think I can say “I don’t mind” now.  Some things really suck, but overall it’s not too terrible.”  He smiled calmly, “Especially after learning how many things I can still do and enjoy, just like people who can see.”

“Jake you’re going to make me cry,” he already was, a bit.

He looked worried, “Why? What’s wrong?”

Matt continued, “Nothing’s wrong.  It’s just, you’re like a completely different person from the Jake I met; now you’re so genuinely confident and happy it just- it makes me happy to see you so happy- oh gosh I just said happy 3 times in a row.”  He couldn’t help it anymore and squeezed the blind man in a tight hug. “Jake I love you.”

 

------Author’s Notes: I’ve purposely kept their descriptions vague but with enough details that they at least have an image in the reader’s mind.  This is so readers can fill in the majority of the details with whatever they imagine.  There’s really no way to go wrong.

The only other details not mentioned here, but mentioned or hinted at somewhere in the story are: Jake has toned abs, but is overall fairly slim after being out of competitive sports for over a year.  His eyes are sapphire blue (a trait from his mother).  He’s about the same height as Matt. (Honestly I haven’t ever specified who is taller, and probably never will. You can pick.)  His hair is curly (and fluffy haha) and short, though sometimes his bangs get in his eyes (not that that matters to him). 
Matt is muscular all over (he goes to the gym or does workouts at home almost every day). His hair is the type of brown that indicates he was probably blonde as a child but grew out of it.

Even the way I imagine them in my head changes slightly from day to day…

I'm sorry for being so horribly inconsistent and not responding to comments...truthfully, my personal life has been a mess, therefore I've been a mess :/
I will respond to the comments though, just when I'm in the mental space to do so u.u

[Blackraspberrycheesecake]

I'm new to the forum but I have thoroughly enjoyed your story so far. 

[sickprincess]

On 6/1/2017 at 9:16 PM, lalaland~ said:

He was enamoured by Jake’s disheveled curly hair, his sniffly pinkened nose, those slightly parted, chapped lips that he wanted oh so badly to kiss-

ohhh lord. I relate <3 <3 love this 

[Leafeon78]

This was another lovely chapter.

[ALilSneezy]

Oh my word! I love this so much! You are so talented! I literally can not wait to read more! I really love Matt and Jake together, and I love that even though they are "love rivals," Matt and Levi are not only civil to each other, but actively comfort each other. Gaah, I just love them! (Also loved the part about "surprise tea"😍)

[WolfPack]

I've been reading this story since I started posting. And I just have to tell you that I am IN LOVE with this story!  Please keep updating us with more cute fluff!!

[lalaland~]

Chapter 48

Jake gently brushed Matthew’s messy bangs to the side with his hand.  “He still has a fever.”  Matthew was sleeping soundly; he’d felt increasingly worse throughout the day- developing aches and nausea.

The blind man passed the time by listening to an audio book with headphones, but eventually grew bored of that and started using his laptop.

“hihKIIISHH!” the sick Brit sneezed himself awake, sniffling thickly as he rubbed sleep from his eyes. 

A startled Jake turned his head at the noise, “À tes souhaits,” he offered out of habit.

Matthew’s voice was clouded with sleep and sounded sick and lethargic, “Jake? You’re still in here?  I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I got a flu shot, I’ll be fine,” Jake said casually, returning to his laptop, but actually paying more attention to Matt.

“So did I. Clearly it didn’t work,” he said ruefully.

Jake stopped pretending to be busy with his laptop, “I’m sorry you feel so sick,” he offered, having no idea what to say.

“You seem bored,” Matt accurately observed.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” Jake insisted in his usual calm, cool tone.

“We can watch a film in here, you know- If I can figure out how to turn on the audio descriptions.  That’s something to do where I won’t have to move.  Oh, you have your laptop- you can look it up,” Matt said, noticing he was currently using it.

Jake was already on it, “Mm’kay I think I found stuff on how to turn it on,” he talked the British man through the steps and they put on a film.  Matt felt like seeing the film with his eyes while hearing the audio descriptions at the same time was distracting, so he started to draw in a sketchbook and just listened to it.

This whole time, Jake tried to subtly move closer until finally Matt sighed and told him, “Just come here.”

“Only because you asked.” 

Matt rolled his eyes at this. 

The blind man leant his head on Matt’s shoulder, “What are you writing?”

“Hmm? I’m not writing anything; I’m drawing.”

“Oh, then what are you drawing?” Jake rephrased. 

It felt very odd having someone look over his shoulder as he drew- even if that person couldn’t see.

“I’m not really sure.  I just kind of started drawing shapes and patterns.  I needed something to look at that wasn’t the film.  I’ve seen this movie before so it’s a very odd experience when you can see what’s being described and so I thought it’d be much better if I don’t look.”

“Hm, I guess that would be odd,” he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to the answers Matt gave, “Oh, sorry, I’m leaning on your arm; you probably need that to draw.”

“You’re fine. I’m left-handed,” he demonstrated by continuing to sketch, followed by a thoughtful pause.  “You know, after meeting you, it kind of made me rethink how I view art.”

“What do you mean?” Jake prompted.

“Well I really only thought of it visually before.  But there’s all these other senses you can make art for.  It’s still such a new concept to me that I’m still learning how to apply it more ways.”

“Hmm, that’s pretty cool. I guess becoming blind made me change the way I think about things, too,” he added thoughtfully.

“When I first met you I thought, “Oh God who’s idea was it to put an art major with a blind guy- this is the complete opposite of a match!  We’ll probably never talk to each other!” and here we are,” he chuckled.

“Pff when I first met you I thought you didn’t like me because you were so awkward around me.  I thought you were the weirdest person I’d ever met.  You still kind of are, though.  I don’t mean it in a bad way, though.”

“Oh gosh I remember being so nervous around you because I really liked you, and you were so cool and mysterious, but now I know you’re really a dork.”

“Hey!”

“You’re also still cool and mysterious, though- and really easy to embarrass.” He teased him.  “You have a much more complex personality now that I know you well; on the surface you don’t reveal much.  Oh, and when I first met you, and for a while after, I thought you secretly hated me!”

Jake was shocked, “What? I never hated you! How could I?  How could anyone?”

The Brit shivered and took in a shaky breath; the other man lifted his head off his shoulder, confused.  Matt wore a sneezy expression on his fever-flushed face.

“heh-heh hehKKESSH!” he sneezed a messy-sounding sneeze and quickly grabbed a tissue to catch another, “KISHHH’ww!” and gave a snotty nose blow.

“Gross,” Jake commented bluntly.

“See- that’s why I thought you hated me!  You say stuff like that!”

Jake frowned, “You know I don’t mean it in, like, a mean way, though.  I’m teasing you…”

“Well I’m aware now but it took me a long time to figure it out.  Actually, your words hardly ever match how you feel so you’re very hard to figure out.”

“Good,” he grinned.

Matt shivered again, “I feel miserably ill, are you absolutely sure you want to be around me?” he asked, frowning.

“I’ll be fine, I never get sick,” he accompanied this with a dismissive hand wave.

“You were already sick twice this month.”

“Um, not counting December. I swear, that’s more days than I was sick in all of high school. I’ll be fine.”

“If you think you’ll be fine then why don’t you kiss me?” he teased with a cutesy smile.

“No thank you.” Jake held his hand up as a barrier between their faces.  Matt laughed.

------Author’s Notes: I am soooo sorry this took forever to update >.<

It seems Apple products and Netflix have the most easily/widely accessible audio descriptions for shows and movies.  Additionally, it seems you have to purchase DVDs that have that feature.  I’m not really a movie person (I think the last time I watched a movie was 3 years ago? Yeah I’m weird sorry) so this is all relatively new to me.

Ok so this has nothing to do with my story but if you are a fan of bungou stray dogs, in the ADA onsen drama track, Dazai sneezes twice (you can find it on youtube)

Edited October 11, 2017 by lalaland~

[lalaland~]

@PennyLane ahhhh thank you♥ I love creating fantasies that can pull people in~  (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ

@helyzelle pahaha that house is the most ridiculous thing I could come up with (it was fun)  oops this arc ended up being Jake taking care of Matt (hahaha) ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

@Gengar Thank you, thank you! I love your mimikyu icon btw  ٩(◕‿◕｡)۶

@Blackraspberrycheesecake Welcome to the forum! I'm so happy you love it

@sickprincess I'm so glad! Thank you~  (*^‿^*)

@ALilSneezy \(★ω★)/ tHANK you omg I'm so happy 

@WolfPack (ღ˘⌣˘ღ) Thank you!! Fluff is what I love best :3

 

[WolfPack]

but... Could you tell me what part I should watch? I'm really part of Bungou Stray dogs trash and I AM IN LOVE with Dazai! 

[WolfPack]

1 minute ago, WolfPack said:

but... Could you tell me what part I should watch? I'm really part of Bungou Stray dogs trash and I AM IN LOVE with Dazai! 

Oooops... Nevermind, just found it! Thanks!

[lalaland~]

Chapter 49

Meeting Marina

The Christmas Eve party had ended hours ago and all the drunk and the not-drunk (though noticeably fewer of those existed) guests had left, so Matt and Jake were sitting cuddled together in the faux-living room by a toasty fire.

“I think I want to maybe do public speaking. I’d be good at that.”

“What kind of person even says that? I don’t even like giving a 2 minute presentation.”

“Really? I don’t mind it.”

“Don’t you get nervous?”

“Not really.”

“Maybe it’s because you can’t see everyone staring at you.”

“That never bothered me when I could see either!”

“Well, in that case, you’re just weird.  Maybe you’re an alien.”

“Matt, please,” he was laughing.

“But in all seriousness, I think you’d be good at it.  You’re always so cool and calm in public.”

“I’m cool?”

“Bonjour!♪” A feminine voice sang through the corridors of the large home as her heels clicked on the surface of the entranceway, “Happy Christmas eve!” she greeted cheerfully. She spotted the fireplace from across the way and was over in a flash.

“Oooh Matt I didn’t know you had a boyfriend?” Her emerald eyes glistened with excitement as she moved from the entrance of the room towards them with surprising speed, “Why don’t you tell me these important* things?”  (*spoken as a French word) Jake blushed a bit- this was the first time anyone had officially called them boyfriends.

“This is my sister Marina,” Matt introduced, “and this is Jake.”

“Hel-lo Jake!  I’m so happy to meet you!” The way she spoke seemed forced, like she intentionally gave her voice an exaggerated sing-song cadence and a faux-Parisian accent.

“Nice to meet you, too,” he replied, feeling a bit awkward but not putting that emotion in his voice.

She squealed, “You’re SO cute together!” Everything she said was spoken melodramatically.  She sighed, tossing her hair back, “If only Grégoire would accept mon amour* (*my love) - then I wouldn’t be alone for Christmas. Une tragédie!*” (*a tragedy)

“I thought Matt was weird when I met him- his sister is 100x weirder!”

She continued with her airy, fake voice, “It’s snowing outside- a sign of true romance!  How merveilleux* would it be to kiss mon unique véritable chéri* in the snow?” (*marvelous, my one true love)

“Why does she keep throwing random French into her sentences?  Plus the way she talks is really annoying…”

“Oooh!” she squeaked in delight, “You simply must try this pâtisserie* (*pastry) - I purchased them right before I left Paris*,” (*spoken the French way) she brandished a small white bag at Matt, who received it graciously.  “I will come back later to catch up!  I simply must say hello to everyone first! Au revoir♪!*” (*goodbye) and with that she left the room.

“…….Why does she talk like that?” Jake asked, bluntly.

Matt laughed, “Ever since she moved to Paris, she started speaking with that peculiar accent.  But if it makes her happy, I won’t judge her.”  Jake wanted to ask more questions but decided it was probably better not to know the details.  Matt stared at the bag in his lap, “Um, I’m really not hungry, do you want whatever this is?” he offered it to Jake, who accepted, but set it aside for later. 

Matt yawned, “I feel sleepy.”

“What time is it?” Jake inquired.

“Hmm, oh, wow, it’s almost midnight!” Matt said, as he checked his phone.

“Bedtime, then.  Oh, I should call my mum to wish her a Merry Christmas before I go to bed.  It’s 6 hours behind there so that should be a good time,” he commented more to himself than anything.

“Sleep sounds like a good time.”

“Matt, that doesn’t even make sense.”  Matt just giggled at his own strange joke. “How about I get ready to sleep then I’ll stop over to make sure your meds are taken.”

“You don’t actually want to go to bed, do you?”

“Yeah, well, you do, and you need the sleep, so I’m not going to be selfish.”

 

Matt sat by the door of the guest room, listening in on Jake’s conversation with his mum.  He was going to go to bed, but, this was far more interesting.  Marina joined him, adopting the same crouched position.

“What are you doing here?” he asked her.

“Listening- the same as you~” she replied with a wink. They both spoke in whispers to not be caught.

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree after listening for a bit, “He speaks français*?! (*French) His accent is so cute! Where’s he from?” she whispered excitedly.

“Kehbeck*, Canada.” Matt answered, “Do you know what he’s saying?”  (*see AN)

“Oui, he’s telling his mother he’s having such a good time!  He misses her…Um, that last bit made no sense, perhaps it was slang?” she listened more, “Ah, that is so cute♪”

“What’d he say?”

“It’s a secret♪” she winked, still eavesdropping.

“Is it about me?”

“Yes♪!”

“Tell me!” he pleaded.

“No♪!”

“Marina!”

“Oh- he said goodbye; time to go~!” she dashed off.

“Marina tell me!” he chased after her, getting dizzy partway after getting up the stairs.  He leant on the wall, partially collapsing.

“Baby brother are you alright?”  She stopped her shenanigans and returned to where he was, worried.

“I’m ill…the flu, I think.  I’ve been ill since Friday…” he’d turned pale and clammy.

------Author’s Notes: Marina is 26, by the way.  I didn’t describe her appearance but she looks like a female version of Matt and likes to wear fashionable clothing.  Her hair goes to the middle of her back and she often curls it. She loves cat eye winged eyeliner and wouldn’t be caught dead without it.

*Kehbeck – here Matt is reproducing how Jake pronounces it, as Matt has never seen it written or heard it pronounced any other way.

In winter, London is 6 hours ahead, due to daylight savings.  (I think. I’m pretty sure.)

Matt will never know what Jake said to his mum : )

Next week I will post chapters 50 and 51 together to make up for my absence

Edited October 14, 2017 by lalaland~
formatting

[lalaland~]

I'm pleased to announce the story is now fully written and all I have to do now is come online once a week to paste a chapter. There are a total of 54 chapters.

In the meantime, I've been working on some drabbles with these characters.  I'll post them in a separate thread (in the drabble section) so that I don't have to wait until this story is complete to post them.  (If there are any specifically 18+ drabbles I'll make a separate thread for that as well, but at this time there are none)  I'm most excited about being able to write without  considering chronological order (lol).

[Leafeon78]

Nice these are very good love reading good job.

[peach_princess]

I'd never been into male-male relationship. I mean, I accept it and don't see anything wrong in it, but I'd never enjoyed reading fetish fiction about it. Your story is the first that really changed my attitude!!! I read this story in two days, and OMG, I'm in love 😍 

Not only it's one of my favorite fetish stories now, but I also love the characters, the plot and especially how much effort you put in it: you research language differences, locations, issues related to blind people life. Often fetish fiction is focused on fetish only, but your story is interesting itself, even the chapters without sneezing. It's very sweet of you to care about your story! 😊

What I also like is that you do listen to your readers (and do requests)! By the way, my favorite moment was when Jake sneezed on Matt while sleeping, it was somewhere in the beginning of the story. It's my favorite fantasy now!!! Oh my, he felt so embarrassed! And I kinda prefer the way he sneezed before: quietly and shyly. 

 

All in all, thank you for all the pleasant time I spent reading this masterpiece! 😊

[lalaland~]

Chapter 50

Content Warning: Implies vomiting, but no description.  I use a clever literary tool called “skipping over it completely”. It doesn’t even say the word, but I’m still putting a warning.

Marina ascended to the top of the staircase and pressed a nearby intercom switch on the wall. She spoke in her normal voice for the first and last time that night, “Charlie please come help- it’s urgent!”, then returned to her brother, who was writhing on the steps now, “Oh poor, poor Matthew, you look like you’re going to be sick.” Her expression was pained.

Meanwhile, Jake peeked into Matt’s bedroom, searching for him, “Matt? Are you in here?  If you are, say something, please.”  No reply.  He kept a hand on the hallway wall and walked back towards the room he was staying in, but kept going past it until he reached a (different) staircase.  He heard no sign of Matt or his sister so he backtracked a bit and decided to turn down that hallway he’d skipped over earlier.  He kept calling for Matt at a normal volume, to avoid waking anyone.

“Where’s Jake?” was the first thing the very sick Brit asked as he was tucked into bed.

“Perhaps still in that guest room?” Marina suggested.  She had Charlie check for her but he came back empty-handed.

Matt sniveled, “I want Jake.”

“Where the hell am I?” Jake wondered.  There were so many doors in this hallway and Matthew hadn’t even mentioned what they were to him.  He’d only shown him part of the house, anyway, not wanting to bore him.  “If I ever find my way back, I’ll ask him about this hallway. It’s probably not even anything special.”  He reached a dead end and came upon a set of huge doors. He pushed a door open with one of the ornate handles.  Inside smelt like old paper.  Curiosity took over and he crept in.  He walked with a hand out in front of him until it touched something.  Whatever it was felt like solid wood with a varnish.  He found the edge and felt along the side. This surface was uneven and ridged.  He tried to pull one of the ridges and it easily came out.  It was a book.  All of these must be books in a massive bookshelf.  He wondered if he’d found a library.  He put the book back in its place and froze- he heard footsteps coming toward him from inside the room.

“This is where I die.”

The footsteps stopped right next to him.  An ancient-sounding voice spoke, “My boy, what in the world are you doing in here- in the dark, no less!”  The voice was croaky and spooky.  Jake couldn’t breathe, much less speak- he was so gripped with terror.

“It’s alright, boy, you’re not in trouble.  Breathe!  I’m just the library keeper.”

His heart was pounding in his chest and in his ears.  Adrenaline pumped through his system and his breathing was tight and wheezy.  A look of astonishment mixed with terror had been fixed on his face the entire time they spoke to him so far.

“I’m lost,” he managed quietly.

“Why, that’s clear as day, boy!  What else would you be doing in the library in the dark?  It’s Christmas, you know!  You should be with your loved ones.  Come with me, I’ll take you back.”  The keeper took Jake by the hand and guided him to Matthew’s room.  “Happy Christmas, Jake.” 

Jake turned around to thank them then opened the bedroom door and went inside.

“Jake! My God, where’ve you been?”  Matt called out from the bed.

He explained, “I was looking for you, but then I got lost and found this library and the library keeper helped me back here.” He paused, “Wait. How did the library keeper know where I needed to be?...How did he know my name?”

Matt seemed perplexed, “Jake, what are you talking about? We don’t have a library keeper, and the library’s in another building, just how far away did you go looking?”

Jake paled in horror, “Then who…it was just down the hallway and…he said he was…he took my hand…don’t tell me…”

“What hallway do you mean?”

He was frantic, “The one off this main hallway, by the staircase, it goes off the right side and there are tons of doors and the library is at the end! There’s huge doors that are really heavy to open!”

“Um. Jake do you have a fever or something?  There’s no hallway there.  I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Come with me,” he was determined to prove (to himself) this wasn’t his imagination.  Matt followed him until he reached the stairs, then he felt along the wall until he reached…where the hallway should have been…except there was no hallway.

He panicked, “Where’d it go? It was just here I swear!” He kept feeling along the wall until he gave up and fell onto his knees, staring at the wall. “Did I hallucinate an entire hallway?”

“Um, Jake, let’s go back to my room; this is creeping me out…”

Once they got back, Jake was too scared to leave Matt’s room to go to his own to sleep.

“Did I die? I must have died- there’s no way things like this happen to living people….”

“Jake calm down, I’m sure it’s nothing, and I’m sure you’re alive,” Matt reassured him.

“He took me by the hand and led me here. All I said to him was “I’m lost” and he knew to bring me back here. He said my name. How did he know? The only explanation was I was visited by a Christmas ghost- oh my god oh my god I’m cursed.”  He held his hands out, turning them over and feeling them as he spoke.  “Do my hands look okay?” he asked, showing them to Matt.

“Your hands look fine, though, they’re trembling- you should calm down.  Please breathe, you’re hyperventilating. Come here and let me hold you.”

“No, I was touched by a ghost!”

“You’re being ridiculous, come here. See? Everything’s fine.  Oh- your skin is so chilly; it feels nice.  I’m sure there’s an explanation- maybe you need more sleep or you had a fever- I don’t know. But you’re fine now, whatever it was. Do you feel alright- that aside?”

“Yeah, I think so…my heart is racing so it’s hard to tell.”

“And you’re shaking,” he added, “But I’ll keep you safe. You can stay with me tonight.”

------Author’s Notes: Sorry this chapter is so random? This is what happens when I don’t make a plan and just write.  It literally wasn’t even a ghost until I got to that part and thought “but what if”.  I love describing settings, can’t you tell?? lol

The main hallway they’re in has a set of stairs at the front that goes from the bottom floor to that one, as well as stairs all the way in the rear of the hallway that go from that floor to the one above.  Jake checked the front stairs and Marina and Matt ran up the back stairs, and then up another set.

Lately I've been making up AUs in my head for them and my fav is AU where Matt is a youtube vlogger and brings Jake into a video one day then keeps bringing him into more videos bc his fans like to see them together...anyway I've spent way too long imagining specific videos for that AU

 

 

 

Chapter 51

Meanwhile,

 “What are you doing for Christmas, Levi?”

“I’m not really sure,” he sighed, “I’m kind of alone so probably nothing, I guess…I bet Jake’s having fun, hanging out with Matt,” he ended his statement bitterly.

The other man set a mug down firmly in frustration, perhaps a bit too firmly, as some of the contents splashed out of the top onto the desk.

He spun around to face Levi, “Would you stop talking about Jake for once? Jake, Jake, Jake, that’s all you talk about!  I just want to have a conversation without him in it!”  He hadn’t shouted but the outburst nevertheless brought stark silence to the room.  The Asian man was left stunned by his friend’s uncharacteristic burst of anger.  He stared, unmoving, waiting for Ace to say something.  Ace seemed to be a bit thrown off himself, quickly bringing a hand up to cover his mouth, like he was trying to keep his lips from moving on their own.  He cautiously sat next to Levi, but not too close to him, to avoid intimidating him.

“Sorry,” they both said at once, one subdued and one with excess vigor, both in different accents.

“Um, you go first,” Levi offered.

“Right, sorry, I…” Ace paused, mentally searching for the words, “I’m sorry. Look, I don’t hate the guy- I’ve never even met him- but, well, it’s really more like I wish I could be him, but- NO, NEVERMIND! Just forget I said that, okay?” He glanced down, away from Levi and his black-framed glasses slipped down his nose a bit.  Out of habit, he pushed them up from the centre, using one finger.

Levi stared pointedly at him, “What do you mean by you ‘wish you could be him’?”

“I just said to pretend I didn’t say that!”

“Tell me!~ Please-please-please~” Levi used his cute charms to pull a response out of the man.

“You’re always talking about him, thinking about him, asking me what I would do or say if I were him, and then saying you wish he’d do that- I wish you’d think about me like that…”

Levi lost the ability to make coherent sentences.  He fell off his chair (being the melodramatic person he is), climbed back on it, and stared in awe, his eyes sparkling. 

He whispered, “Do you really mean that?”

Ace, who looked more and more like he wanted to climb in a hole as seconds ticked on, responded with a silent head nod, not trusting himself to speak.  Levi paused for a moment, a blush quickly spreading over his complexion and the tops of his ears at the thought of what he was about to say.

“Then you should kiss me~!” The Asian man smiled playfully, his voice sounding the tiniest bit nervous.

Ace took a deep breath to steady himself (it was rather cute) before the two men leant over and met lips.  Levi laced his fingers with Ace’s, a gesture that helped them both relax into the kiss.

Edited October 29, 2017 by lalaland~

[lalaland~]

On 10/24/2017 at 2:56 AM, peach_princess said:

Oh my, he felt so embarrassed! And I kinda prefer the way he sneezed before: quietly and shyly. 

@peach_princess this comment revived me from the dead, gave me clear skin, and cured depression (ok ok but it did make my whole month)
re: that quoted sentence: tbh I still picture his sneezes as quiet (did I change that I need to reread, tbh I like them quiet too so) & around other people (by that I mean not Levi or Matt) he'd still be shy about it, even embarrassed, like at work (now I have to see how I wrote those chapters??? bookstores are really quiet though)  

@Gengar thank you!

 

 

Edited October 29, 2017 by lalaland~

[Leafeon78]

Good chapter as always keep it up.  

[macrotwentytwo]

i love the beginning of this

[Alex Hemmings]

amazing

 

[Alex Hemmings]

wooooooooow 

[Evian]

One of my favorite 

[thesneezyowl]

So good!