Accompaniment (Jonah & Lily, M)

[Skylacticon]

Hey, back here with another product of my own procrastination and creativity. Not sure why I like the 'broken focus by sneezing' trope so much, but it's essentially what this is, and my OC's being silly.

Merry Thursday.

-

🎛️🥣🎹🛋️⌚

 

 

“You know the fun bit about me editing this together and not doing it live?”

 

“What’s that, sweetheart?”

 

“It’s that they don’t have to listen to me… *snff* sneehzing every so often…”

 

Just then, Lily heard the clunky wheels of Jonah’s office chair rolling backward, and in the corner of her eye, she saw his torso fling forward with a massive, allergic sneeze-

 

“hih-! AAEHhd’EEISSSCHHIEWWw!!! Ughh, fugck…”

 

-a soundtrack of its own, composed of the thunderous, wet expulsion and rattle of the chairs’ wheels against the floor. Then a brief, if present at all, moment of silence. He’d blink, as if running diagnostics, to let any pain set in and pass, or to decide if blowing his nose might be worth it. It wasn’t always - sometimes that could set him off again, and the occasional liquid sniffle as he worked would be the lesser evil. But sometimes it got overwhelming, and Lily knew this, keeping a quiet eye on him.

 

“Bless you,” she chirped.

 

Jonah let out a breath and sniffled thickly. “Thagk you.” With this, he stood up, pacing a few steps away. He ran his long fingers through his wavy, unruly hair, combing it back and away from his face. Then, in sharp, rapid bursts, he began to sneeze again. Rough and nasal, like they really itched- “hUHh’EESSCHHh!! -ISSCHHiew!! hieHh! DZSSCHHhiew!!-ISSHHIEWW!! -ISCHh!!”

 

Jonah just paced around the more open space of the living room as they kept coming, one after the other. He’d kept the crook of his arm over his nose and mouth for the first breathless cascade of sneezes, but it sounded as if they were getting messy. And he’d rolled up the sleeves of his beige button down, the cloth of which was relatively thin…

 

“EEEISSCHHIEWW!!!” His frame swelled with another huge breath. “hieEEESSCHHIEWWw!!!”

 

The bigger ones like that were tired, not necessarily relieving. Lily leaned forward and grabbed one of the spare clean hankies from the coffee table. She got up from the couch and slowly approached him.

 

“-unhh… *sngk!* hiH’TDSCHHh!! -USSCHhioo!! *sdrf!*”

 

His back was turned to her, and understandably so - the sniffles the followed were sharp and wet, utterly congested. She held her hand out past his tall frame, and raised the other to gently run over his back.

 

“Here, hun.”

 

Another breathy sigh, and a thick, miserable attempt at sniffling. His eyelids fluttered as he peeked back slightly, eyelashes clumped with itchy tears. His free hand came out to accept the cloth, and he sneezed again, quickly turning his head away. “huh’ESSCHHIEWw!!”

 

“Bless you,” Lily breathed.

 

There was another long, very wet sniffle, as Jonah finally lowered his arm to fold the handkerchief. “Thagks, *sngk!*” Before he began to pivot again, Lily caught a glimpse of his deeply flushed, irritated nose, nostrils flared and bold red against his fair skin. They soon got covered up as Jonah lifted the hanky to his face, and gave a slow, gurgling blow; slowly pacing away toward his computer again. Pausing slightly, he sat back down in his office chair, making it rattle.

 

After a couple more thick blows, Jonah lowered the handkerchief and sniffed a couple of times cautiously.

 

“Ah,” he breathed, his voice croaky and weak. “*snrff!*” He let out a soft chuckle, and raised a slightly bent thumb to wipe his watery eyes. “*snrk!* Oh, Jesus… wow.”

 

Lily glanced up from the couch. Sometimes he made such light of the worst parts of spring-summer, and he didn’t often complain about how he was feeling.  Sometimes he’d just sit there, in that limbo of in between break time and composition work, staring into space. Then without warning, with the energy of something magnificent and inhuman, his hands would jump back on the piano and play the most rapid and complicated sequence known to man.

 

“Jo, honey,” Lily called out softly, as he’d begun to repeat the riff he’d just come up with. His fingers paused slightly, still hovering over the keys.

 

“Mb?”

 

“It’s six - you wanna grab something to eat?” she asked gently.

 

The chair slowly swivelled a humble effort of about ninety degrees. Jonah’s swollen, mossy brown eyes still wandered over to his keyboard. He sniffled sharply and cleared his throat.

 

“Uh, yeah, actually. Let me, um… *snrff!* Let me just record this, and… we’ll find something to eat…”

 

“Okay.”

 

The chair swivelled ninety degrees back in the opposite direction, and Jonah quickly hit a few buttons to create a new track in the digital project on his computer. Before he started recording, Lily quietly got up. Her socks seemed to muffle her footsteps as she came up behind him. His shoulders tightened a little in preparation, as the computer began to record, the playhead moving towards the part of the composition it would accompany. With a good few seconds of time before it would get there, Lily ran a warm hand over Jonah’s back. There was a second of gentle acknowledgment, then he began to play.

 

She felt the muscles moving under her fingers as the notes climbed up and down. So fast - like each one had its own place in an array of a marching band. They went up, and up, and then swiftly came down, as if descending a steep staircase. And he was moving to it - their rhythm, as if these notes were just a playing ground, where he made them sound as he pleased, and they complied. The final note in sequence was accompanied by a hard, defining bass note. Jonah quickly hit the space bar, ending the recording. The two let out a simultaneous exhale.

 

“Okay,” Jonah said, with some satisfaction. He reached up to edit the length of the new clip, to cut off the quiet end. Then, he stood and stretched, and raised a hand to ruffle Lily’s hair.

 

“Hey!” she giggled.

 

“Can I just eat you?” he joked, pushing back his chair.

 

“No,” Lily exclaimed. She backed up, in the direction of the kitchen. “What are you, the wild things, from the wild- where… where the wild things-“

 

“Please don’t go!” Jonah bellowed in a funny, monsterish, deep voice. Lily shrieked, and dodged as he made a playful grab for her. “We’ll eat you up!”

 

“No!” she was giggling uncontrollably as Jonah caught up to her, squeezing her in his arms as he stomped towards the kitchen. With their height difference, he could quite literally pick her up off the ground, and take her with him.

 

“We love you so!”

 

“Jonah, stop!” she laughed incredulously.

 

“I’ll eat you up!”

 

“No!”

 

“I love you so!” He gave her a firm kiss on the cheek, and released her from his grip as they reached the kitchen counter.

 

“You’re so weird,” she said affectionately.

 

As she turned to look at him, his soft, mischievous gaze was shifting into a sneezy expression. He swiftly turned away and lifted the crook of his arm.

 

“hAH’dt’ISSCHHIEWW!! -dt’zZSSCHHhhioo!! *sngk!* Agh…”

 

“Bless you,” Lily said, in tone of ‘serves you right’. “Now, would the wild thing want mac and cheese?” she asked, reaching up to look in the cupboards.

 

“Oh, absolutely…” Jonah breathed in his normal voice, wiping his eyes.

 

“Well, be good, and you’ll get some.”

 

“No promises… *sddrff!*”

 

-

{Also, here's a fun song I was thinking of after I wrote this. I'm in love with this cover done by an artist I follow, that's just so good in my opinion: Breezeblocks by Alt-J (Cover by Matïas)  }

 

[Reader]

This was just so top tier! I’ll definitely get behind allergies if it’s written like this! The details are exquisite! 

[AntheaHolmes]

This was nice. Would love to see more. 

[Skylacticon]

@Reader Thank you so much, I appreciate it.  Glad you liked it!

@AntheaHolmes Thank you! I’ll likely be back with more of these two soon~ 

[Catsgotyourtounge]

Love this

[rockbell]

very cute!!

[Skylacticon]

Hey. Thanks again for reading.

-

🕰️🌃🧺💻☕

Part 2:

 

After consuming a hefty, steaming bowl of macaroni and cheese, and listening to a very fascinating collection of theories from Jonah about Where The Wild Things Are, Lily had once again curled up on the couch. She slowly blinked from a hazy slumber, staring up at a dim piano, the wooden bench unoccupied. She glanced around, wondering where Jonah had gone.

 

She saw that the light in the dining room was still on. Still seated in her nest on the couch, she heard a rather harsh sneeze, though it seemed as there was effort trying to smother it.

 

“huHd’ZZSCHH!!!hMMmnhh….”

 

Then more stark silence. Lily looked down at her knees. A few seconds later, some drippy, liquid sniffles came from the next room. Then a cough.

 

Lily stretched out her back, and yawned. Then slowly, pushing down on her knees, she got up.

 

“*snnrff!* … *ahemmm~*….. *snrgk!* hiH! Hiehhhh, hih! HEEIHh’zZZSSCHHIEWW!!!”

 

He couldn’t lift the hanky fast enough to properly smother it. Lily winced a little, as a few very wet sniffles followed. Then a long, weary sigh.

 

She squinted as she came closer to the light in the dining room. Jonah sat there at the table, eyes shut, a crease forming between his brows. His long fingers were steepled, rubbing hard at his nose with a rather large, pale blue handkerchief. He let out another breathy sigh, and slowly drew in another shaky gasp.

 

“hdD’tDJSCHHIEWWw!! -tdj’EEISSCHHhieww!!!”

 

Lily’s heart sunk a little, watching as each of his naturally powerful sneezes shuddered through his tired frame. His brow furrowed as he kept rubbing up and down the ridge of his nose with both hands.

 

He lowered the hanky and sniffled gently. His poor eyes looked so tired and itchy, fluttering in an allergic haze. After a few more sneeze-less, sneezy seconds, he just pressed the hanky back over his nose, trying to get his eyes back to focusing on his laptop. Lily walked over, rubbing one eye. She put an arm around his big, panting shoulders, and leaned in to kiss his cheek.

 

“Bless you,” she mumbled.

 

“*snrk!*” He sniffled thickly, pressing the abundance of cloth over his face. His brow wrinkled involuntarily, and brought up his other hand as he sneezed again, quite violently. “HEEEEISSCHH!!!-hmnhh….”

 

“Bless you,” she breathed, beginning to rub slow, gentle circles on his back.

 

“Thagk you… *snrkk!*” He sucked in another harsh, terribly congested sniffle, followed by some vigorous rubs under his wide nostrils.

 

“You okay, hun?” she asked softly.

 

Jonah stopped rubbing. He sniffed thickly, twice, and let out a soft sigh. “I wedt to check the bailbox…” he began hoarsely, then stopped, as if there was nothing left to tell. She had been there when he’d forgotten to close the windows overnight, when they’d walk past gardens in hot, summer afternoons, and even in spaces that didn’t have much business making him feel as sneezy as they did - such as a few studios on campus. Going out to check the mailbox on this fine, warm evening, wasn’t the most unusual reason.

 

She just nodded, and gently pulled his frame against hers, running a thumb over his shoulder. He leaned his weary head against her chest for a few seconds, taking another deep breath.

 

“I cad’t layer this sectiod properly, *sdrff!*” he huffed, gesturing to his laptop screen. He was still working on the composition, and it seemed like he had been all this time.

 

“Aw, honey,” Lily stared at the rows and rows of tracks, with clips of audio that were carefully and expertly arranged.

 

“I’b godda sdeeze,” Jonah muttered quietly, his voice thick and shaky. Lily kept where she was, while Jonah’s frame moved away cautiously. Her hand remained on his back, and while she was barely talking, she wanted him to know she was still there, that it was okay.

 

“hehh- hih! hiH-! HihHt’EEISSCHHIEWWw!!!”

 

A huge, brutally powerful one- then came an abrupt, pained silence. Jonah exhaled shakily after a bit, and sniffled harshly.

 

“Ow, oh by god…” he said under his breath, leaning his forehead into his palm.

 

Lily leaned closer and kissed the top of his head. “Bless you.”

 

He let out a tired chuckle, and snuffled thickly. “You kdow, I’b glad I did check though,” he said huffily. Lily raised her eyebrows slightly. “*hsnrk!* Sobethig very excitig was delivered.”

 

“What?”

 

Jonah leaned back, and stretched up his long arms. He slowly brought them back down, with a calm exhale. “It’s a surprise.”

 

Lily gasped, and gently swatted him. “You can’t tell me it’s exciting and not tell me what it is!” she whined playfully.

 

“You’ll find out. Dext week,” he turned and kissed her pouty face on the cheek. Then he turned back to his computer, and sniffled thickly. Lily grinned to herself, and bopped her head against his shoulder. Jonah’s mossy green eyes kept staring at the screen. She did it again. Jonah let out a soft laugh, muffled under his handkerchief. He peeked over at her. “Yes, love?”

 

“Come cuddle with me.”

 

“I will,” he said, his voice becoming soft. He turned again to kiss her cheek. “Just let me save this first.” Lily watched as he hit a few keys on his laptop. He renamed it to indicate its newer version, then closed the application. Lily was slightly surprised at his eagerness to stop, but altogether relieved that they could both rest. “Couch? Or bed?” Jonah asked, shutting his laptop.

 

“Bed,” Lily mumbled.

 

Jonah gave a quick nod, and quickly turned his chin away to muffle a sneeze into his blue handkerchief. “hUHt’dzZZSSCHHIEWW!!! -ISSCHHIUEE-!! …*sngk* ‘Scuse be,” he huffed.

 

Lily rubbed his shoulder. “Bless you,” she breathed.

 

“*ahem! ah’kmm~* *snnrff!* Thagk you.”

 

Lily watched with sympathy as he rubbed his nose so harshly - such effort made to prevent, or delay, rather, the next inevitable explosion.

 

“You should change, baby,” Lily said, as Jonah got up. He pushed the chair into the table, and let his hand slip into hers.

 

“Yeah, I know,” Jonah responded, as if wondering why he hadn’t thought of that.

 

“I should change, too.”

 

Outside it was twilight - the evening’s darkening veil slowly casting over. Lily could see the silhouettes of the tree branches through the window. Beyond them was a deep blue, lonely sky.

 

“huh’ESSCHHIEWW!!”

 

Jonah’s towering frame bowed with a harsh, spraying sneeze, as both of his hands were busy unbuttoning his shirt. He sniffled sharply a few times, and kept unbuttoning. As Lily pulled on one of his old t-shirts, she turned around to peek at him. He stood in front of the closet, in stiff sort of way as he kept having to sneeze. His long, dark mane was going wild, wavy locks crowding his vision as each expulsion jerked his head forward.

 

“hUHt’ESSSCHHhioo!! … *snrgk!*  … h’iehhh… huHt’ESSSHHIEWWw!!”

 

At that point, he’d finally got all the buttons undone. Sniffling hard, he removed the shirt in a slow, weary fashion, and stepped over to drop it in the laundry basket. Then he sat on the bed with a small huff, just in his dark grey slacks and a thin silver chain that hung around his neck. He combed back his unruly hair with his fingers, and tried to catch his breath.

 

Lily’s fingertips ran over the texture of the printed logo on the shirt she was wearing. It was a shirt Jonah had gotten from an art event when he was a senior in high school. Lily gazed over at Jonah’s weary frame, at his bare back, how the muscle and bone rose and fell with each breath. She was thinking of suggesting that taking a shower might help. After all, she did read somewhere that pollen gets trapped in your hair and that gets transferred to the pillow… But then she was also staring at the old ink on his side, a song verse in Irish that his late grandfather had written. Then she was thinking of him performing at the art event, eighteen and tattoo-less. His hair way shorter than it was now… Jonah sniffled again, harsh and congested. His head was in his hands, his long fingers raked through his hair.

 

“Maybe you should take a shower,” she finally breathed out gently, sitting on the other side of the bed.

 

After a bit, Jonah snuffled and peeked back at her. “…Yeah,” he whispered, rather croakily.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Skylacticon