Roses: A Bodyguard Romance (m/m)

[ticklywombat]

(Author's aside: I never know what to say to individual comments but aaaaa I'm so glad people are enjoying this trip into my id.)

[Blackcat182]

I love this cant wait to see what happens next

[deadaccount]

I love this! Can't wait for your next update!

[Arvani]

Ooohhhhh I love each and every update! Just glorious.

[Hovercuke]

I’m loving this so much! Keep going!

[ticklywombat]

"EEEHH-TSCHIIIEW! TSHUUU! SHUUU! IISHOO! Hiihhhhh..."

The dust is visible in the air now, drifting slowly towards the ground around Robin's jerking body. Each sneeze sends out another cloud of the stuff. "Ehhh... ehhh... ehh'SHOO!" Cloud. "SHIEW!" Cloud. "AAH'SHIIIIEEWWW!" Cloud. Robin gasps, the only normal breath his body allows him before the next sneeze starts. "HAAAAAH... A'TSCHUUUU!" Mel's eyes are beginning to itch.

He ignores that, dropping the hand that's no longer needed to get Robin sneezing. "Ehh'tschuu! Ehhh... hiihhh... HISCHOOO! Hi'schiew-schiew-SCHIEW! Hih - ih'SCHUU! SCHOO! SCHIIIIIIIEEEW! Ehhh... ehhh..."

Mel hopes Robin isn't affected by dust, because if he is, they might never get out of here. The stuff is thick in the air now, making Mel blink, the dry prickle intensifying somewhere in the middle of his nose.

Robin's still going. "Ehhh... haaahhh... heh!" Mel sees the violent twitch of his nose through the clouds of dust. "Heh'TSCHIEW! Heh! Heh - heh'CHUUU! Ehh'SHOO! Ehhh... eschoo..."

Robin pauses. He takes a few breaths, in and out, on the rapid side of normal, and wipes at his nose, but Mel knows better than to trust it. He waits, watching, and sure enough, Robin's face begins to change. First the distracted look, quickly replaced by ticklish urgency as his nostrils flare. "Hhh! Hhh'tscchuu! Tsccht! Tschuu! Tchiew! Hhehh - ksccccht!"

Last time the sneezes built to a big climax; this time they seem to be winding down. Mel wonders if they'll build up again, or if this time, they'll fade to nothing, leaving Robin to recover. He's back to soft fast breaths again; maybe they'll be out of here soon. The prickle in Mel's nose is starting to feel ticklish.

It's fine; he's a big tough bloke. He can handle a little tickle.

Robin takes five more quick breaths, and then: "Hh'ksscht!" He lapses back into rapid breathing, but he's breathing through his mouth, and he's still holding the wad of paper in front of his face. Mel watches his chest rise and fall, sees his nostrils suddenly twitch wide. "Hh - " Pause, head thrown back. Mel suddenly wants to sniff, to clear that sharpening speck of irritation, but resists temptation. Robin's head bobs. "Hh'kscch! Ksscht! Hhh'kschu! Shuu!"

The last sneeze is strong enough to knock Robin back against the coats again, sending another plume of dust up into the thickening air. Then he subsides against the coats, panting, and raises the toilet paper to his face to blow his nose. As he does, Mel's nostrils wrinkle, capitulating without warning to the need to sniff. Robin's nose-blow covers the sound. Mel's nose twitches once, twice, as the speck works its way deeper inside.

He's starting to want to sneeze.

Robin blows his nose again, then stands there panting for maybe a minute. The speck is sitting against a sensitive spot, shifting minutely with every breath, making Mel's nostrils twitch. The tickling sensation is getting distracting, so he switches to breathing through his mouth - and a few breaths later has to clench his jaw against an urge to suck in a big lungful. He patiently waits the impulse out, breathing carefully through his nose. The irritation shivers, moving with the air, pulled deeper still, but after a few seconds the need to gasp lets him go.

By the time he's conquered it, Robin is breathing more normally, wiping his nose with the sodden toilet paper. Mel trusts himself enough to open his mouth. "All right?"

"Yeah. Give me a minute."

"Sure." Mel's nose twitches again, and he sticks his hands in his pockets to keep from rubbing it. It tickles. Unignorable now; the sensation keeps yanking his attention back to his nose, to that tiny bit of uncomfortable tension right at the back.

Robin gives a couple more hearty sniffs, sounding clearer, and keeps wiping his nose. Mel feels another urge to gasp rise up from his lungs, and grits his teeth against it. It's a harder, longer fight this time, but he wins it, even as he feels his nostrils flare and the tension build. Then, with only a few seconds' pause, his jaw tugs down again, muscles slackening.

He tries to force it shut, feels his teeth touch and separate again. Pushes up with all his strength, and scores a partial victory: his lips only separate a little way. But a little opening is enough, and almost immediately, taking in the needed hitching breath is inevitable. "Hhuh..."

God, it tickles.

Robin's head snaps up. "Are you all right?" He seems to look around the room for the first time, expression changing to one of concern. "God, it's so dusty in here."

"I'm fahh - " Mel's protest is derailed by another inhale, forcing his mouth further open. Sneezy pressure is building fast at the back of his nose.

"Right," Robin says, talking fast. "Stay until you're done or get out before the dust sets you off?"

"Ahh..." Tickles! He makes a split-second decision. "Out."

"Okay." Robin reaches for the door and steps back out into the empty corridor. Mel follows, letting Robin shut the door behind them because he’s caught by another tantalising hitch. “Haah…” His nose twitches, and for a second he panics, thinking he’s about to blow, but the building tension abruptly lets him go, leaving him with burning pressure in his nose. He can't think about anything but how badly his nose tickles, and it keeps getting stronger.

If he doesn't do something, he's gonna... Any second... Building...

Fresh air will help. He takes a quick breath through his nose to clear out the irritation - and realises, a second too late, that he’s made a terrible mistake. The tickle shoots deep into the back of his nose, prickly-sharp, and hits the spot that screams, SNEEZE!

The pressure in his nose surges to breaking point and his whole body throws itself into irrepressible response. “Aaaahhh - “ He tries to close his mouth, but ticklesticklestickles another breath is already rushing in as the point of no return sails past. “Ah-haaAAAH - “

“Oh God,” Robin says urgently. “Don’t.”

But Mel can’t help it. He can’t even see Robin; his eyes have closed. His body is frozen in trembling-tickling anticipation, not even his breathing remotely near his control. He tries desperately to find a way to pull himself back from the brink, but there’s nothing he can grab onto, no movement in his whole body but his racing heartbeat and a tiny twitch in his nose -

- oh no -

“YAASHOOO!”

It’s a bellow. Mel’s a big man with a big sneeze, and that was loud even for him, doubling him over with its force. He straightens up, breath short, and looks at the panicked expression on Robin’s face.

There’s a moment of silence.

Then, distantly, the sounds of shouting and running feet.

[Arvani]

Holy hell. So well done! The build up and anticipation is just delicious.

[Snez gud]

Being someone that loves “a big man with a big sneeze” allow me to say: that was damn incredible. Just everything, from how well the urgency of the situation was written to Mel’s initial stubbornness to the delightful irony that he was the one who got them caught, I absolutely love it. Awesome job!

[ticklywombat]

"Run!"

It's Robin who says it, a harsh, urgent whisper, panic written on his face. Mel leaps across the corridor and opens the door ahead of them, the one that's opposite the dusty coat closet - it swings inwards onto another corridor. Empty. Robin rushes past him and he follows, pausing to make sure the door shuts quietly behind them, then using his longer stride to catch up and get a few steps ahead.

Halfway down the corridor, Robin yanks open another door. It leads onto an empty conference room; they dash through it, skirting the conference table and its many chairs, and come out into another corridor. Robin runs left. Mel follows, cursing himself in his head, and says as low as he can, "Do you know where you're going?"

"Nope." Robin's voice is a bit breathy. "Best to be random, right?"

"Not a bad strategy." If in doubt, be unpredictable.

"Might have done this before," Robin says, gasping. "Not with guns involved, though." They're coming to a T-junction. "Right?"

"Sure."

They go right, then left, and abruptly hit the end of a corridor. There's a door in front of them; Robin stops in front of it, catching his breath, and Mel stops beside him.

"Sorry," he says, inadequately.

Robin looks at him sideways. "You're allergic, you couldn't help it."

"Misjudged it," he says.

"Don't we all sometimes." Mel glances at Robin's face. His nose is still red, but it's still for now. "Onwards? We shouldn't go back, right?"

"Probably not." Mel takes a deep breath. "Okay."

He opens the door, expecting another conference room, or an office, or - something. Instead, behind the door is a flight of stairs. They're unlit, descending into darkness.

He doesn't remember a basement from the blueprints, but their other option is to turn back on themselves. Not a good idea when they know they're being pursued.

He looks at Robin. "Down?"

"Guess so." He doesn't sound thrilled about it.

Nor is Mel. Worse, another sneeze is brewing. It's just the faintest of tickles, only noticeable when he pays attention, but he knows now not to trust it - and it's right on the most sensitive spot. Go away, he tells it firmly. It doesn't.

Down they go.

A few steps down the stairs, lights begin to flicker on around them. Motion sensors, no doubt. Robin, a few steps behind, still gasps at the first illumination. One of the lights is right in Mel's line of vision as it flashes on. He blinks at the brightness at the same moment as the tickle suddenly spikes and that spot in his nose murmurs... sneeze? He clenches his jaw hurriedly.

The stairs turn. Another flight below them, lights coming on as Mel runs down, still ahead of Robin. At the bottom of the stairs is another corridor - not prettily decorated like the ones upstairs, but bare concrete. The corridor too stretches off into darkness, but Mel can see lights positioned along the walls, a couple before he can't see any more in the dark.

There's a clunk from above them, as the lights on the first flight of stairs shut off above them.

Beside Mel, Robin takes a moment to get his breath back. Then: "Well, this isn't creepy at all."

"No, not at all," Mel says, trying to match Robin's dry tone. His nostrils flare.

Another moment of silence. Mel listens carefully for footsteps behind and hears nothing, and a moment later, Robin says, "Do you think we lost them?"

"Maybe. I don't hear anyone coming." He doesn't add, But I might again. And so might you. His nose is just that bit more ticklish than it was at the top of the stairs, and God only knows what, or who, is down here with them. Mel can't see any doors leaving off this corridor. No convenient hiding-places for when one of them loses control. "You okay?"

One of them. Or both.

"Scared shitless," Robin says.

Mel turns to look at him. "So you should be. Anyone not scared in this situation is raving lunatic. "Apart from that?"

"Massive ongoing allergic reaction," Robin says. Then, wryly, "Apart from that I'm fine."

Mel snorts a laugh, and as he does, notices the first breath of tension rising in the very back of his nose. It's not quite a sneezy feeling. Yet. "Let's go, then."

"Let's go."

[Juto]

I love the constant tension of this story! AMAZING 

[Snez gud]

This is amazing! Little lines like

3 hours ago, ticklywombat said:

Nor is Mel. Worse, another sneeze is brewing. It's just the faintest of tickles, only noticeable when he pays attention, but he knows now not to trust it - and it's right on the most sensitive spot. Go away, he tells it firmly. It doesn't.

Are just so great for the tension and anticipation!

[ticklywombat]

27 minutes ago, Snez gud said:

This is amazing! Little lines like

Are just so great for the tension and anticipation!

Aah 🥰 I’m loving all of my comments (seriously, thank you everyone, I’m so happy you are continuing to enjoy!) but your specific comments are absolutely giving me LIFE. Thank you so much!

More as soon as I a) figure out what happens next b) write it down.

[Arvani]

Agree with the above - the tension in this story is amazing!! Can’t wait to read more

[ticklywombat]

The corridor goes on and on and on. After all the turning around as they ran, Mel doesn't have the best sense of where they are or which direction they're going in - weird for him. He can't hear any sounds, no movement ahead or behind, just the stutters and clunks as the lights around them flicker on and snap off. Meanwhile, slowly but surely, the urge to sneeze is creeping up on Mel.

No doors, no side passages, just endless concrete and neon lights. Nowhere to hide. If either of them sneezes now... some of Robin's sneezes are soft little explosions, some of them louder, but even his loudest don't compare Mel's. And the tickle is starting to nudge at his attention every few breaths.

"This is going on forever," Robin says. "Where are we going?"

"No idea."

"We shouldn't go back, right?"

"Don't know how far they followed us," Mel says. "They might still be following us, for all I know. I think we'd hear them if they were behind us, but..."

"We can't know for sure." Robin's voice is heavy. Mel hears the fear, tightly controlled, and feels the echo of it in his own belly. Then he glances sideways, catching movement out of the corner of his eye, and sees Robin rubbing his thumb against the side of his nose. The fear spikes, but now it's mixed with another kind of tension.

Fear. It's just fear. Robin's got another fit coming on, and Mel has a stronger and stronger sense that they're walking into the belly of the beast. The tickle in Mel's nose is starting to feeling like smouldering fuse.

"We can't," Mel says. "Sorry."

"Not your fault." Robin takes a deep breath. Mel hears it, slow and calm, and feels an odd mix of relief and something else. Robin's just a little bit itchy. No tickle yet, no building urge to sneeze. Not like Mel. "Hey, maybe this'll lead us to a way out."

"Maybe." Mel isn't hopeful, but Robin could be right.

They walk. Mel's listening carefully - for footsteps or voices that aren't their own, for Robin's breathing, for his own. No hitches yet; not even a telltale sniffle, though Mel's own tickle is starting to make him want to. He breathes, carefully and evenly, through his mouth, hears another easy breath from Robin, and seems the same wash of relief-and-something-else. It's like Robin's untroubled breathing is increasing one kind of tension, even as another eases.

But it's clear that Robin itches. Every few steps, he brings his hand up to touch his nose. Mel says nothing, trying to focus on his own body, his own breathing, on managing that bothersome tickle. It's hard, when every time he hears Robin inhale, he thinks, No tickle yet. The not-relief is starting to feel more and more like a sinking feeling. Like... disappointment. He thinks of the coat closet, of how urgently he wanted to see Robin sneeze.

Christ. They're walking through the secret basement of a crime boss's home base, where Vernon's men could appear any second and might be following them, and a sneeze in the wrong place could mean a violent bloody death, and he... wants Robin to sneeze?

He's insane.

Walk. Don't be insane, and walk.

The tickle is a constant nagging presence now, unreachably deep in Mel's nose, the tension behind it building steadily. He's starting to feel... twitchy... like it would feel good to sneeze, to get some relief from this irritation. Now and then his nostrils move. Flaring open. Narrowing. Uncontrollable. His nose wants to wriggle, as if to squirm away from the growing discomfort.

No, it doesn't just want to. It's starting to. Shit.

Something is changing up ahead. Like the darkness is... widening. Opening up. Are they coming to the end of the corridor? Mel only has to wonder for about ten steps before enough lights come on to show the shape of a bigger room ahead of them, filled with... something, though the light is still too low for Mel to make out what. Big, dark, squarish shapes in the dimness.

There's nowhere else to go, so they keep walking, until they finally step out of the corridor and into the big room. Lights come all around them, blinding-bright, and the light hits Mel's eyes at just the wrong angle. The smouldering tickle catches first, suddenly sharp and demanding. Sneeze? He grits his teeth just in time to hold back a giant hitching breath.

"Holy shit," Robin says, and as Mel looks, he has to agree. Only the need to fight the sneeze stops him from saying anything. The big square shapes are gun racks, and they're full of enough weaponry to start a small army. Beside him, Robin is digging in his pocket, pulling out his phone. "We should get a record of this. For the police."

In another life, Mel might have agreed. But his job is to protect Robin, not do the police's work for them, and if they don't get to safety, he's about to fuck that up. Again. He says, "We should fine."

"Why?" Robin holds his phone up to take a picture. "I'm fine for the minute."

"I'm nahh..." Shit. "Not." Robin turns to look at him sharply. Mel closes his mouth, but the need to hitch rises up again from the bottom of his chest. He grits his teeth, but that's not going to last much longer.

"Oh, bollocks."

Mel risks his mouth. "I'm gonnaaa..." And immediately regrets it as breath rushes in instead of out. He forces his teeth back together, feeling his jaw muscles tremble.

He really wants to. It would be so easy to give in. It'd be over in seconds, and the maddening tickle would be gone. Just... open his mouth...

"No you're not," Robin says. He shoves his finger up against the underside of his nose, and it takes Mel one whole confused second to realise it's a demonstration. He brings up his own hand. "Good. That won't last forever, but it'll buy us a couple of minutes. Hold your breath too."

Mel barely dares to nod.

"Okay, good, let's get out of here."

Robin strikes out ahead, between the gun racks. Mel should be ahead of him, scouting the way, putting his body between Robin and danger, but... but... All his attention is on holding back the threatening sneeze. His nose keeps twitching, and the nee dto gasp for air is intense, but he thinks he can hold out a little longer.

He follows Robin.

[Arvani]

I love Mel's distraction both with Robin and with his own tickling nose! So excited about this update!

[Kolen]

I like how quickly the updates come. It's very nice

[Snez gud]

16 hours ago, ticklywombat said:

"I'm nahh..." Shit. "Not." Robin turns to look at him sharply. Mel closes his mouth, but the need to hitch rises up again from the bottom of his chest. He grits his teeth, but that's not going to last much longer.

"Oh, bollocks."

Mel risks his mouth. "I'm gonnaaa..." And immediately regrets it as breath rushes in instead of out. He forces his teeth back together, feeling his jaw muscles tremble.

He really wants to. It would be so easy to give in. It'd be over in seconds, and the maddening tickle would be gone. Just... open his mouth...

"No you're not," Robin says. He shoves his finger up against the underside of his nose, and it takes Mel one whole confused second to realise it's a demonstration. He brings up his own hand. "Good. That won't last forever, but it'll buy us a couple of minutes. Hold your breath too."

Mel barely dares to nod.

"Okay, good, let's get out of here.”

Ah, the roles have been reversed! I love it!

[Snez gud]

17 hours ago, ticklywombat said:

"We can't," Mel says. "Sorry."

"Not your fault."

Awww poor Mel 🥺

[ticklywombat]

12 hours ago, Heathercd said:

I love Mel's distraction both with Robin and with his own tickling nose! So excited about this update!

I am having such fun writing this fic!

8 hours ago, Snez gud said:

Ah, the roles have been reversed! I love it!

Oh I'm glad you like the flipping around!

7 hours ago, Snez gud said:

Awww poor Mel 🥺

He is a poor baby, who is VERY DISTRACTED from his bodyguarding right now.

8 hours ago, Kolen said:

I like how quickly the updates come. It's very nice

Ahaha. Right now I have a lot of free time and a certain amount of Enthusiasm. (Now I just need to get validated and get in the writer's group so I can fix my dumb mistakes that comes from posting late at night.)

Hopefully more tomorrow!

Thank you all for your lovely comments, it helps my enthusiasm to write enormously!

[ticklywombat]

Sneeze... sneeze... sneeze...

Normally, Mel wouldn't consider the gun room that big - maybe fifteen paces from one end to the other. Bigger than some, but no one's grand hall or giant assembly room. Now that Mel's trying to get out of it without giving in to the increasingly insistent sneeze, it seems enormous.

Robin strides ahead, lengthening his steps as much as possible given his short legs. Mel follows, breath held with great effort, past rack after rack of guns. He can't help but notice the guns themselves, not semi-automatic pistols like the Glock on his own hip, but assault rifles. Given the number of racks, there must be hundreds of them.

"Hhah..."  Turns out he can't focus and the guns and holding his breath at the same time. Robin turns to look at him, not stopping moving; Mel slams his mouth shut.

"Hold it," Robin says in a harsh whisper. Mel sees the fear written plain on his face before Robin turns back around.

Mel's trying, but his jaw is shaking with effort, the pressure in his nose is enormous, and it tickles. He wants so badly to open his mouth and ah... ahhh....

No. Robin is terrified, and so he should be. If they're heard down here, in this room -

He holds it together for five more steps, catching up easily with Robin, the advantage of being a foot taller. They're almost at the door now, two more steps and they'll be past the gun room and into whatever lies beyond it. Mel's lips are trembling.

Robin opens the door, stepping through, and Mel follows with the building sneeze tickling at his willpower. His nostrils twitch against his finger and he pushes back harder against it, feeling his nose scrunch and wiggle, and the urge to inhale surges up from his lungs, irresistible. He presses lips together, but they part against his will. "Aah..."

Robin looks around with another look of fear, but says nothing.

Through the door is a short corridor, with corners at each end. More lights flicker on as Robin steps through the doorway, and the building sneeze  jumps from insistent to urgent. Mel stops, squeezing his finger up against his nose, and fights to resist, but can't help himself. Sneeze! "Aahh... haaahh..."

He manages to close his mouth again, but he can't hold it much longer.

Robin's already walking ahead, heading right. Not looking around this time, shoulders set. He disappears around the corner and only a moment later, Mel hears, "Oh thank fuck." He appears again, poking his head around the corner, and Mel sees his appraising look. "Oh, fuck. Okay, okay." Robin pinches his own nose, and this time Mel catches on immediately and mirrors the action. It pushes the impending sneeze back, just a little. "It's okay. I found us a hiding-place, it's just a few more steps."

This time Mel doesn't waste precious energy nodding. He holds his nose, feeling it twitch under his fingers, and takes a step forward. One foot after the other. Don't stop, even... even if... "Hhhaaaahhhh..."

Keep. Walking. It's an effort to keep his eyes open, his whole body fighting to react to that urgent tickle while he repeats Not yet not yet not yet in his head. Round the corner. It's only another step to the door. He's there, one foot over the threshold, lifting his other foot, when -

SNEEZE!

Urgency becomes desperation. He manages to get his foot down inside the room. The last thing he sees before his eyes close is Robin grabbing the door, and then he's lost as the reflex takes over.

"AAAAHHH... HAAAAH...." Everything freezes. "YAAAASHOOOO!"

There's a moment of silence. "Jesus," says Robin.

But the tickle is still there, and the pressure -

"YAAASHOO! AA'SCHOO! AAAASHIEW! HaaaAAAAH - " Pause. "AAASCHIEW! AH'SCHIEW! AHHHSHUUUUU! AAAAH'schuh!" He manages several panting breaths. "AAAH'schiew! AAAAshoo! Ahhshoo! Uhhschu.... huh'shoo..." Back to panting. "What... hhuhh..."

"It's okay." Robin, from behind him. "It's just an - "

"Huuhhhshoo!"

" - allergic reaction. You're reacting to all that dust, that's all. Go on and get it out."

The tickle is still sharp enough to make his nose twitch, but he has a second to catch his breath. "Fuck."

"It's all right. The door's closed."

"Not sure how much that he - hhh-haaah - " For fuck's sake. "AAAAHshoo! Aaa'shiew!"

"We're doing the best we can. Don't panic." Mel's eyes blink open and he finds he's doubled over, leaning on something - the corner of a desk? - to hold himself up. Robin puts a gentle hand on his arm. "You should sit."

Mel sniffs wetly. The tickle is still there, bothersome at the back of his nose, but he can manage to move his body, lowering himself into an office chair that Robin pushes towards him. He doesn't even notice that there's another chair in the room until Robin takes it, looking around the room as he does.

They're in an office. A big desk, pushed up against the wall, has a computer with two monitors. A jacket is thrown over the back of Robin's chair, and there's a coffee mug on the desk, which when Mel looks, is half-full of black coffee. Mel hopes the person who works here has just left their stuff lying around, and won't be back in five minutes.

"I'm sorry," he says.

Robin is opening the desk's drawers one by one. "For what? I mean, if you've got magic powers to stop an allergic reaction it'd be cool if you used them, but otherwise..."

Mel can't help but huff out a laugh. "No magic powers."

"Nothing to apologise for, then." Robin's tone is firm, but he's not looking at Mel, too busy hunting for something in the desk. He opens one more drawer. "Jackpot!" He holds up a box of tissues with a look of triumph.

Mel looks down at his hand, the one that was covering his face instead of holding him up on the desk. "Oh... Good." What a mess.

He reaches for the box, but Robin reacts faster, plucking a couple of tissues out and brandishing them. "Here. You did this for me not too long ago, let me." He brings the tissues down and gathers the mess up into the tissues with swift, efficient movements, then looks around for a bin. His hands are tiny compared to Mel's; Mel's sure he could close his hand around Robin's and cover it completely. But he doesn't, because his hand is still sticky.

While Robin's tossing the first tissues, Mel grabs another from the box with the clean hand. When he's done, he blows his nose. It doesn't do much for the tickle that's starting to build again at the back of his nose. He sniffs, but that doesn't help a lot either.

"Mr Brand," says Robin.

"Mel," Mel says.

"Oh." Robin pauses, looking at Mel curiously for a second, then sniffs and lifts his hand to rub at his nose. Something in the pit of Mel's stomach flips over. "I thought it was protocol."

"It is." Technically he should be addressing, and thinking of, Robin as Mr Palmer. It's just that the name Robin suits him so well, with his smallness, and his sharpness, and his quick birdlike movements. He's even wearing a red shirt. "I think we're a bit past that now."

"I suppose most protectees don't sneeze all over you."

"And mostly I don't sneeze all over them."

Robin snorts with laughter, then sniffs again. "I'm Robin, then," he says, and after a moment, "So. What in the hell are we going to do?"

[starpollen]

This is just delightful.  Looking forward to more! 

[Arvani]

Loooooove these two!

[Snez gud]

4 hours ago, ticklywombat said:

"YAAASHOO! AA'SCHOO! AAAASHIEW! HaaaAAAAH - " Pause. "AAASCHIEW! AH'SCHIEW! AHHHSHUUUUU! AAAAH'schuh!" He manages several panting breaths. "AAAH'schiew! AAAAshoo! Ahhshoo! Uhhschu.... huh'shoo..." Back to panting. "What... hhuhh..."

"Huuhhhshoo!"

Ohhh that fiiiiittt. I especially love how his sneezes seem to be getting softer, like his body is too exhausted to sneeze too big🥰

And, again, every time he apologizes, it just melts my heart. Great job on this chapter!

[flowerbearfalls]

That fit was incredible!! I’m so excited to read more

[brownsasha11]

Not to sound like a broken record the suspense is stellar as usual