Bless You (Silicon Valley, Gilfoyle and Dinesh)

[blueberrymuffin]

Gilfoyle is on his knees, ripping open shipping containers with a box knife. The sharp smell of cardboard and newly minted electronics makes his nose itch, and he pauses in his unpacking to rub it on his shoulder. It doesn't help much. He tries ignoring it, but his nose twinges, making him suck in a breath and squeeze his eyes shut before receding again abruptly. He sets down the box cutter, annoyed, and rocks back on his heels. He pauses, raising one arm to bury his face in his upper sleeve, and takes a few coaxing breaths. He's almost there.

"What are you doing?" Dinesh interrupts, and Gilfoyle lets out a sharp sigh as the sneeze recedes again.

"Trying to sneeze," he growls. He waits another second, but while his nose still itches, it's not an immediate threat anymore, and he starts slicing through tape and cardboard again. He sniffs, the feeling still lurking, and he knows he's just biding his time.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to. Why are we talking about this?"

"Because you looked like an idiot. I was intrigued."

Gilfoyle feels his nostrils flare again, and he sniffs automatically, the feeling building quickly this time. "Lucky you," he manages, breath wavering, before he ducks his head into his shoulder again, muffling a sneeze into his tee shirt. "Ehh-schuh!" He freezes, nose still buried in the soft cotton, waiting until his breath recovers and his nose decides it's not done, and he sneezes a second time, and then a third. "Ehh-schuh!! Haschuh!!" Each sneeze is a little louder than the last, a little more desperate. "Asschuh! Hashuh!! HAHshuh!!" He rocks a little on his knees each time, and the last throws him forward enough that he has to place his free hand on the floor, stabilizing himself. But it's also the last, at least for now.

He sniffs, recovering himself, and doesn't look up. "Bless you," he hears, somewhat stunned.

"Must you?" he asks. He doesn't really get much out of this particular exchange, but it seems called for.

"Fine. I hope you die of an allergic reaction to cardboard," Dinesh snaps, and Gilfoyle almost smiles.

Then he feels another sneeze coming, and he squints, trying to anticipate it. He has a second, he thinks. "Tissue-ehh?" he gasps, gesturing to the box on the table behind Dinesh. Dinesh tosses him the box, and Gilfoyle has just long enough to pluck one out and fold it around his nose. He gasps again, and manages to pinch off the next sneezes into the kleenex. "ihh! nch! nchh!" They come out short and stifled at first, but then he lets out a long breath that abruptly turns into another inhale. "hnch! aaahhh... HEHH-SHOOH!!" He's sneezing again before he has a chance to stifle, and this one is loud again, barely contained in the tissue. But it finally seems to have cleared the itch away, and he takes a deep breath, relieved when it doesn't catch. 

"Gesundheit," Dinesh says this time, and Gilfoyle rolls his eyes. 

[AngelEyes]

Mmmm. This is lovely.