Hot & Cold (One Prompt, # Authors)

[Reader]

Hello! So like almost everybody else that joined up for the One Prompt, # Authors event, life was life-ing. So I just kept pushing this off. But I organized this so I have to post something! Lol! This will be short and please come up with your own descriptions, but it will have all the prompt: cashier, allergies if you squint, space station, and basket. And then a lot of focus on a cold because I have to have that! I think the only trigger warning is that people will get sneezed on. 
 

 

 

Cryogenic sleep had been the world’s answer to immortality. Curious about how the world would look in 100 years?  Just sleep through it and the advancements of cryo would freeze you at the age you were. My heart leapt with joy as soon as I woke up and wiggled my body. My first time cryogenic sleeping had been a success. I felt fresh and like no time had passed. For my first cryo sleep, I’d gone easy, 30 years. 

I stretched and slowly made my way out of the cryo chamber to go through the long process of getting checked out. I already knew what I wanted to eat.  Some chicken noodle soup from Hot & Cold Treats restaurant. It had been 30 years since I’d eaten it. I would check out the improvements to the space station later. 

It took a few hours but I finally finished my check-up with a clean bill of health and paid my final fees with the robotic cashier before I made my way over to the restaurant by inner car. 

There were a few other cars hooked into the indoor parking lot so I felt confident it was still in business as I locked my car and headed in. The decor was warm and inviting, but split in half. And it was nothing like I remembered. 

One side had a fireplace in one corner with comfy couches arranged around far enough away from each other that you would have to strain to eavesdrop. The other half of the large room was a botanist’s delight with flowers waterfalling from vines and small trees shading the table. There were baskets at each of those tables with beautiful flowers in them. Now I saw where their name came from. 

In that section, I couldn’t help but notice a tall handsome male non-Earther with a very pretty flower that was white with splotches of yellow pollen attached to his shirt. It seemed to be affecting him. I watched as his upper arms pulled out a handkerchief, folded it, and gave one of his noses a thorough blow all while his lower arms wrote down the order for the customer at the table. His lower nose was red and inflamed, quivering with the inattention to its itchy rims until he stopped writing and brushed a knuckle against it. His singular mouth hitched and he pinched the tissue off his upper nose, folded it quickly, and caught a desperate sneeze. 

Hhh’ngh’EEiiiSSSSHHHHXxxx!

A soft cleared throat got my attention and I turned toward a glaringly obvious sick woman leaning against the hostess stand. I tried to take in her other features and not stare at her drippy red nose or the tissues clutched in her hand. Poor thing had a cold and was probably uncomfortable.

Her tired eyes and wan smile brightened as she came up to me though. She sniffed thickly and it sounded like a mountain of sludge was lodged in her sinuses. What struck me was how hopeful and shy she looked under a slightly sneezy expression. “Hello, welcobe to Hot add Cold Treats. We’re happy to have you. Hot or cold?”

Her nose scrunched and stretched, nostrils flaring wide no matter what she did. Her eyes closed momentarily and she let out a shaky breath as she gave her nose a thorough squeaky rub. 

“The couches look so comfy. I’ll pick cold.”

“Yaaaaay! That’s by secshud. You cad tell be your preferences sood, but is it okay if I…” She motioned to herself. The build up to a sneeze progressed faster than she could finish her sentence.

“Oh, yeah, of course.” I supplied helpfully. I knew what it was like to work when sick. I could handle the consequences of being around her. “Just be comfortable.” 

A momentary flash of surprise moved across her face before she gave in.  

EHhhh HhheiiiiIi’SchUUUU! 

An unrestrained, uncovered sneeze sprayed out of her! Even though we were about the same height, she’d ducked down with the harsh sneeze so my face was spared from the germy wet droplets, but that was about it. There were dozens of wet spots clustered on my shirt and arm. The sneeze seemed to take a lot out of her and she wavered on her feet, leaning forward. I held on to her shoulders. 

“Bless you. Are you okay?” 

She looked up, surprised for some reason, and then beamed at me as she blushed. Or perhaps her face was flushed with a slight fever. Worry wiggled its way into me and I lifted my hand to her forehead without thinking. Right before contact, I realized what I was doing and withdrew my hand. 

“It’s okay! I would love if you checked for a fever!” Her exuberance and eagerness melted into relaxation once my fingers met her forehead. No fever yet. She brought her hand up to her nose and rubbed it.

“Hehhh….I’b sorr-sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay. You don’t need to apologize.”

“You do’t like apologies before ….Iii’Shoo! Schuuu! …..sdeezes. Got it.” She rubbed her nose even harder. “What about addoudcebedts before I sdeeze?”

I blinked at her, trying to figure out the word she said at the end before social etiquette dictated I ask her to repeat. Announcements? It was an odd question but kind of considerate.

“Bless you! Umm, you can if you want. But I’m not one of those monster customers. You don’t need to go to so much trouble, especially since you’re sick. Just be comfortable.”

“Oh wow, you’re a rare ode. Usually the custober cobes in and has a list as tall as be and they don’t care how I’b feeli’g. But you seem to.”

No question was asked but she seemed to be waiting for confirmation or something. 

“I am pretty worried about you.”

She smiled and leaned her head against my shoulder. I couldn’t help wrapping an arm around her. 

“That bakes be happy. The one before you that cabe id initially picked me, but then didn’t like my sdeezes. They wanted me to only sti…sti….oh goodness, my dose ehhhh ….stifle and I cad sometibes but ….ehhh they have to cobe out evedtually.” She breathily got out. “Do you li-like hehhhh stifles? I should have asked.” 

I was having a hard time wrapping my head around this conversation. Her brain fog was on another level and by the end of this conversation, I needed to convince her to go home and get some rest. 

“I’ve never thought about stifles to be honest. So to answer your question, I don’t know.”

She nodded resolutely. “We cad test it out later and then you cad let be know, okay?”

Before I could clarify what she meant, she held up a finger. Her focus turned distant as she slowly fanned her nose, mouth slightly agape as she breathed in slowly. She was very close for someone about to sneeze. 

“Wo’t have to ….eh! wait actually….” Her head lifted slightly before she smooshed her face against my shoulder for a juicy, wet-sounding…

“Hhhnnggxxxt!” 

And then …

“HhhMMPpphtTsh!”

“Iii’HIHhhhheiSHxxX!”

She gave a satisfied, relieved sigh that was cut off by her hunching over and coughing crisply over and over into her fist as her irritated throat flared up at the sudden disturbance to it, which made her miss my confused expression. 

My confusion turned to concern though as her coughing hadn’t died down yet. I patted her back. 

“Can I get you anything?”

Breathing a little heavily, she nodded and guided me over to the seating area where she handed me a tablet and then sat down next to me.

The couch was nice and cozy with heated blankets plugged in. I wasn’t chilly so I sat next to the heated blanket and looked at the tablet that had a digital menu. 

My eyes widened in shock as my brain tried to comprehend what I was seeing. 

There were plenty of items to buy but they were all cold remedies or for allergy relief. Teas, tissues, cough drops, vapoRub, headache relief medicine, and more. I looked up and around the room. At one couch was a waitress sitting with the customer and she was drinking tea while chatting to him. I didn’t miss the times she rubbed her nose. I looked at another table and a waiter was sneezing into tissues that came from a big box just sitting on the table in front of a customer. I spied the heated blanket and the warm fireplace. 

It hit me all at once that the items on the menu weren’t for me! They were for our waiters and waitresses and we were buying cold supplies or allergy relief medication for them!

My oh my the changes that can happen in 30 years.

[Chanel_no5]

Ah, Reader, my queen, thank you again for organizing this, and I wouldn't have known you had pushed this off if you hadn't said so. I love it!   It's delightfully outside the box, in the best of ways, the descriptions of the sneezes (and the noses... oh, the way you describe the cold-ridden woman's nose) are beautiful. 

Soooo a confused non-fetishist got to visit a sneeze fetishist shop.  I love how they just roll with it, confused but intrigued!  

Just lovely!! 

 

[SleepingPhlox]

This was so fun to read! OMG the twist!  Using the sci-fi element to introduce that bit of confusion for the protagonist was absolutely freaking genius.