A Working Cold

[Purplelily]

Hey, so this is my first sneeze related story ever. There’s a second part with some caretaking, but for now, I hope you enjoy! 

 

~~~~

 

9:35am

 

A quick glance at the clock on the wall told Alina that barely ten minutes had passed since she last looked. She sighed, bringing a clammy hand to her face, remembering just in time not to smear her meticulously applied make-up. 

 

She looked back down to the laptop on her desk, knowing that she should return to it, knowing that this was of utmost importance. Running her fingers through her silky brown hair, thick and straightened to perfection, she adjusted the glasses perched on her nose and focused her eyes on work once more. 

 

Alina Tural, the owner and CEO of her own publishing company was the picture of perfection, sitting in her large office in her impeccable dark purple pantsuit and sharp heels. She had always believed in the power of image, whether that be on the cover of her newest bestseller or her own pictures that littered articles in tabloids and magazines. After self-publishing her first novel, a fantasy romance involving dragons, a princess, and a lesbian, she found herself catapulted into stardom. Alina charmed the public in the same way she charmed her readers, and soon she rose to the top, writing a few more books before opening her own publishing company at only 35. 

 

Having fought tooth and nail for her business, she was ruthless. Her charm and wit was good enough to land her interviews on television and articles in magazines, but there was more to a business than killer looks and sarcastic retorts. No, Alina the Author was not the same as Alina the Boss Lady, not by a long shot. This Alina had a sharp eye for mistakes, was a stickler for deadlines, and had a tongue cutting enough to send the interns crying. 

 

Not to say that she was cruel or ruthless. She took care of her employees, they were well paid with benefits and job security so long as they did their jobs and did it well. Which they did, for the most part, and although most of them cowered when she walked into a room, she was well respected. She did, after all, own the most successful publishing company in the nation. She was good at what she did. The best. 

 

Well, normally the best. 

 

Alina glanced at the clock. 9:38. Today she was distracted. Distracted by the pounding in her head, the tightness in her throat, and the tickle in her nose that seemed to grow stronger with each breath. 

 

She had woken up like this, groaning when her alarm pulled her out of the comfort of sleep only to find that her body had taken the weeks of stress and late nights out on itself. Knowing that something as trivial as a small cold wouldn’t be an excuse to miss work, she went about her morning routine. If she was slower than normal, she paid it little mind, and after kissing her wife goodbye (on the cheek, as not to spread her germs), she headed to her office. 

 

Which is where she sat now, miserable and unfocused, just as she had for the past two hours. 

 

Sighing, she glanced back at her laptop, at the email she had begun to write. The words swam on the screen and Alina groaned. It was at least another three hours until she could even think about taking a real break. 

 

Glancing up at the ceiling in frustration, she sighs again. It was a mistake. One glance at the bright lights and--

 

Ehhishoo!

 

Her first sneeze of the day. It’s wet. It’s messy. It’s everything that signals a good, heavy cold and Alina fumbles quickly for the box of tissues on her desk. She blows her nose gently, so not to alert her secretary or ruin her makeup. Then she discards the soggy tissue in the wastebasket next to her desk and begins typing again. 

 

The problem with Alina’s nose is that once she starts sneezing, she can’t stop. It’s just five minutes before the tickle in her nose, unprompted by the light, explodes. It’s spectacular and messy, and Alina just barely has time to capture the mess in a tissue. This time, there’s no avoiding smudging her makeup. She squishes her nose, trying to relieve the tickle before it can build up to a proper fit.

 

But of course, her cold is vicious, and her body weak from neglect, so her nose rebels. 

 

Hah-ishoo! Esshheww! Hehshhiew huh...ha...ahESCHIOO!

 

Wetness gathers underneath her pink nostrils, and Alina drops the ruined tissues, opting for her hands instead. 

 

Much to her mortification, her secretary Kelly pops her head into the office. “Miss Tural? Are you quite alr--oh! Bless you, bless you!”

 

“I’b fide.” 

 

Alina winces. Her voice is drenched with congestion. She turns her body away from the meddling woman, and gives her nose a quiet blow. It’s not nearly enough, but it should keep her voice in check. She clears her throat. 

 

“Please cancel my three o’clock.” 

 

“Of course, Miss Tural! Would you like me to collect your car? I can email you the rest of your documents this afternoon,” Kelly chirps. 

 

The CEO glares. “I will be completing the rest of my work in the office today. The car is not necessary.”

 

“But…” the other woman swallows her protests, perhaps sensing her boss’ irritation. 

 

The tickle in Alina’s nose suddenly comes back with a vengeance and she knows she’ll need to get her secretary to leave if she wants to avoid further embarrassment. 

 

“Go!” she barks, much harsher than she intended. She feels a pinch of guilt when Kelly clamps her jaw shut and flees from the room. It’s not her intention to berate her employees like this, but between her nose and the worsening chill, she has little energy for patience. 

 

As soon as the door clicks shut, she allows herself to let go, releasing five increasingly wet sneezes into a tissue. 

 

Ht’ssshu! Huh-tschoo! AhTschieww! Hah’TSCHH!! Ha...huh...heh’KSHHIEEW!!

 

She slumps down in her chair, pulling a few tissues out of the now nearly empty box and clutching them to her nose. It would be pointless to blow at this point, not when she feels another tickle already blossoming in her nose. 

 

Alina’s hitches and sniffles distract her, so she doesn’t hear the hushed phone call outside her door. 

 

“Hello, Mrs. Tural-Brown? ...,.Yes, it’s Kelly....no, you didn’t miss an appointment with us. It’s just your wife, she seems to have come in ill….I asked if she was heading home, but you know how stubborn she can be….yes, 12 would be perfect….no, thank you!”

 

[Klingon]

this has been pretty good so far.

[silentdreamer789]

Great start!

[poiub]

V nice

[Chanel_no5]

Oooh, this is very well-written! Great start!

 

[Likesn]

An excellent start! This is exactly the kind of stories I like 🤗 I'm looking forward to the next part and hopefully more stories from you in the future.

[ID2006]

Oh, I love where this is headed

[Purplelily]

Alright, I hope this turned out okay. Thank you to everyone who commented, it means a lot! I hope to write more stories in the future. ☺️

~~~~

Alina wakes slowly, with a foggy head. She doesn’t move, just blinks her eyes open and takes stock of her body. Her nose feels raw and sore, stuffy and wet. Her neck is stiff, her back aches. One of her hand is clutching a fistfull of tissues, and the other is holding her hand carved pen. The one she keeps in her desk at the office.

 

Shit.

 

She realizes that she fell asleep at the office at the exact moment her nose decides to explode. 

 

Ischeew! Ettschoo! Ah-KSCHOO!!

 

Her heart is pounding, as the shame and panic swirls around her chest. She has too much to do, no time to waste sleeping while on the job. But her nose is still going and she’s struggling to breathe when--

 

One arm wraps around her waist. Another slides up to her head, carding fingers through her mussed up hair. 

 

“Easy, honey. You’re okay, you’re okay,” is murmured into her ear. 

 

Alina subconsciously sinks into the embrace, her body taking comfort in the familiar warmth. She relaxes for about three seconds before, “Kat? What are you doing here?”

 

Her wife chuckles, shaking their bodies through the tight embrace. “A little birdy told me you weren’t feeling well and were being too stubborn to go home.”

 

“Kelly,” Alina growls, before breaking off to cough lightly. 

 

Two hands come up to cradle her cheeks. With her head stuck, Alina has no choice but to look into her wife’s blue eyes. 

 

“You’re running a fever, darling. Kelly was right to call me, you’re in no condition to be working,” Kat says, tone firm. It’s her no nonsense tone, only used when she’s really serious, and Alina should be grateful that her wife knows her this well but she really does have too much to do.

 

“Katherine, you know I don’t have time to be sick, there’s so-hehh...so much to do!,” Alina manages, curling into herself. She hates this, hates that all she wants to do is let her wife take her home and care for her, hates the part of her that’s just too stubborn. 

 

“Alina. You’re sick. You shouldn’t have even come in, in the first place. You know that,” Kat says, still using her authoritative voice. 

 

“But I-ehh...ess’heiew!” Alina flushes as a sneeze cuts her off. The sneeze jerks her head out of her wife’s comforting embrace, enough so she can hide her face and what little dignity she has left.

 

Kat sighs. “Aly, come home.” Now she’s using her soft voice, her pleading voice. 

 

It only makes Alina cringe more. She’s weak with this cold, needy but prideful. She doesn’t need to be taken care of, but she wants it, craves it. Still, she hunches over, curling tighter into herself. It’s childish, she knows.

 

“I need to finish mby paperwork,” she says sullenly, dull eyes glaring at the piles on her desk. 

 

Kat, who knows just enough about how the publishing company works, scoops up the largest pile in the middle, and makes a show of walking out the door. Through the entryway, Alina can see her wife dropping the papers on her assistant’s desk with a flourish calling out, loudly for her benefit no doubt, “Kelly? Can you make sure these papers are adequately dealt with?”

 

“Of course, Mrs. Turall-Brown,” comes the chipper response. 

 

It was a mistake to ever let those two meet. 

 

As Kat is stalking back into the office, a wide grin on her face, Alina’s nose decides to rebel again. The door isn’t closed, which she notices as she begins her fit. Harsh sneeze after harsh sneeze comes out, drawing out irritated tears. She’s gasping and doubled over in her chair, trying miserably to cover herself and hide from her coworkers. 

 

Her embarrassment must be palpable because Kat materializes by her side, shielding her from the open doorway. Tissues are gently guided to her face, and a soft hand moves in circles on her back. 

 

When the fit stops, and Alina has mopped up the mess on her face enough to look up, the sad eyes of her wife look back at her in concern. 

 

“Come home?” Kat repeats once more, this time adding a pout for good measure. 

 

Between Kat’s pleading and the humiliation, Alina’s walls begin to break down. She’s embarrassed, and the thought of hiding in bed, with her thick duvet bundled around her is too much and she nods her head slowly. 

 

Kat’s face brightens. “Good, love. I took a taxi here, so I can take us home in your car.”

 

“What about work?” Alina asks, her voice small. Even after years of marriage, receiving and accepting this love seems new. 

 

“I took the day off,” Kat soothes, blessing her as she sneezes once more. 

 

The two women rise, Alina leaning heavily on Kat as they make their way to the elevator to the car park.

 

They’re stepping into the lift, when suddenly--

 

Huh-tschoo! Hakshhoo!

 

Kat must have gathered her purse, because she reaches inside and pulls out a few tissues. Bless her wife, and her foresight. 

 

It’s less embarrassing to sneeze and blow her nose in the privacy of the elevator, especially when Kat turns her and hugs her tight. She’s already resigned to at least one sick day, maybe even the whole weekend, so there’s no need to be coy now. The congestion in her nose is nearly unbearable now, so she blows hard. 

 

“Poor love, you’re really not feeling well,” Kat whispers into her hair.

 

“I’mb sick,” Alina says, snuffling slightly. A pout forms on her face, making her feel like a child. 

 

But Kat catches her lips in a kiss, and the feeling fades. Alina wants to protest that she’ll catch her cold, but she’s just so tired and it feels so wonderful to be cared for, so she just returns the kiss quietly. 

 

In fact, she doesn’t say anything the whole ride home, just sniffles and sneezes and coughs. She doesn’t say a single thing when Kat guides her into their house, and nudges past their enthusiastic puppy, and rolls her into bed. She only sighs happily as her wife crawls into bed behind her, holding her until she falls asleep 

 

And when her nose wakes her up, first running, then sneezing, she doesn’t say anything while Kat gently wipes her nose, softly soothing her. 

 

She doesn’t say anything at all, until she’s just about to fall asleep again. Then it’s just a sighed, “I love you,” into her wife’s chest as she burrows deeper into the warmth.

[CharliesGirl]

Awesome story! Can’t wait for more! 

[ID2006]

Love it

[Victoria]

This was great!

Especially the caretaking in the second part.

[Matt alacran]

This is easily one of my favorite stories I’ve read in a while. The descriptions and pacing is so well rotten plus I love how you give sound effects and descriptions for the sneezes, since normally it seems like one or the other. Plus I’m a sucker for mess

[Gingersneeze]

This is my favourite! Probably ever.  Please continue x 

[MysteryGirl]

This is really cute! I'm not used to reading fics in a writing style like yours, I wish there were more like it.

[Willowwhip]

HHHHH I have a couple of characters that are just like this and it's adorable. Same scenario and dynamic and everything. Personality, job title, the only difference is Kat's former job was as Alina's personal assistant and she's now a school teacher. I love it. Thank you for writing it.