"Ahhh....choo!"

"Bless you...again," Justin offered his sincerest condolence, although he was laughing inside. He didn't dare show it on his face. Brian was already royally pissed. Something had really gotten to the poor man, and Brian was having a hell of a time figuring it out. He nearly bit off Justin's head when the thoughtful blond offered some tentative explanations.

"Maybe you've just caught a cold," he had offered.

"I don't have a fucking cold, Justin. I feel fine. I just keep...keep...keep...ahhhh choooo! Keep sneezing my fucking head off."

Justin had stepped away quickly before whatever germs Brian might let loose got too close to him. He then tried another tactic.

"Maybe it's just stuffed sinuses because of the weather change. Winter is almost over."

"It's not my sinuses. Damn it Justin, I told you...my nose is fine most of the time and then it just starts itching out of nowhere. Ahh ahhh choo!" Brian suddenly had a thought. "As a matter of fact, the only time my nose itches is when I see you, Sunshine. Ahhh chooooo!"

It had been a couple of weeks now since Brian and Justin had their historic reunification. They had seen each other nearly every day since. Justin no longer lived with Brian but he came over a lot. He stayed at Daphne's most nights just so that he could give Brian the space he felt the man needed until he trusted Justin as much as he once had. Their relationship was just as strong as ever, having survived the fire of Justin's betrayal, but the young man didn't want to push it. He never had any problems with Brian at work, but lately it seemed that Brian always developed a sneezing problem whenever Justin came over to the loft or Brian would drive them somewhere together. But the idea that Brian had become allergic to him never crossed Justin's mind.

It hadn't crossed Brian's mind either, until now. Actually, the more he thought about it the more he wondered. The first week after he had forgiven Justin for his little peccadillo (and he was quite certain 'it' was little, judging the book by its cover), Brian had enjoyed countless hours wrapped up with his young lover. Okay, he would admit it. Justin was his lover and he made it a point to catch up on lost time with the wayward young man. It was soon impossible to tell who was wearing out who. But this last week had been different and it finally dawned on Brian. His poor nose never bothered him at work, but it had started giving him fits every time he picked Justin up at the apartment he shared with Daphne. Usually the sneezing would subside after a bit, but it always came back. Could he suddenly be allergic to the blond beauty?

It was now Saturday night and Brian had just picked Justin up at his apartment. They had stopped at the loft so that Brian could change before they headed for Babylon. Brian had met a client for a dinner meeting since the man was only in town for the weekend. Brian had felt fine all day. Within minutes of Justin climbing in the car, Brian's nose started itching. Now, standing together in the loft, his nose was going crazy. He must have sneezed a dozen times already. It was causing his sides to ache and he didn't like it one bit. He hadn't had a bout like this since early childhood, when his sister had brought home a stray cat and Brian had reacted badly to it.  But that was over twenty years ago. Justin purred like a kitten when Brian was rimming him, but he certainly wasn't a feline. Yet something definitely was amiss.

Brian had originally planned on having a little horseplay with Justin before dressing to go out to the club, but he changed his mind quickly. He told Justin to get his jacket on and made shorter work than usual in dressing for the club. The sneezing continued all the way to Babylon, actually increasing in frequency. By the time they parked outside the club, Brian's nose was running and his eyes watering. Poor Justin was getting worried. What if Brian had developed an allergic reaction to him? The couple dropped off their jackets at the check stand and entered the club. They spotted their friends within minutes as the fellas leaned against the bar in their normal 'scanning the inhabitants' mode. They hurried over to the bar to join the others. Mikey, of course, noticed that something wasn't right almost immediately. Brian let out another manly sneeze.

"Bless you. What gives Brian? You seem to be sneezing every time we see you lately. If you're catching a cold, Ma has a wonderful recipe for making it all better. Remember how she used to dose us with her chicken soup whenever we got sick?"

"I remember, and no I don't have a cold...like I told Justin already," Brian snapped back irritably.

Justin prayed that Brian wouldn't bring up the little joke he made in the car on the way to the club. He had teasingly suggested that Brian might not have been as forgiving as he claimed to be in the office that special night and instead was having an allergic reaction to his suppressed anger at Justin's abandonment. Brian had brushed it off, but Justin had no desire to give Michael ammunition to use in his attempts to separate the two of them. Luckily, Brian refrained from saying anything and the two hit the dance floor. The sneezing lessened and finally stopped within a half hour. The relief for both men was great indeed as they danced the night away.

All went well until the guys all left. Brian had every intention of taking Justin home and fucking his brains out once again. It would be the perfect cap to a fun evening. Problem was, within minutes of driving away from the club, Brian could feel that now familiar tingle in his nose, and sure enough he began sneezing again. He hated doing it, but the sneezing was giving Brian a serious headache. He begged off any more entertainment for the night and ended up dropping Justin off at Daphne's instead. It didn't help his mood any when he got home and the sneezing stopped almost as quickly as it had begun. He made a mental note to check with his old friend from Woody's who had given him such sound advice after Justin had been bashed. Maybe the psychiatrist could tell him if he was having a psychosomatic reaction that made it appear he was allergic to Justin. If that was the case, Brian wanted a cure. He had no intention of losing the young man again. Twice was enough.

The next day, Sunday, Brian was on his own. Justin had already promised to attend a recital for his sister's dance class weeks before, and he had not wanted to let her down. The fact that both his mother and sister accepted him for who he was gave Justin plenty of incentive to be faithful to his word to them. Brian was glad of the opportunity to check with his doctor friend while Justin was busy elsewhere. Luckily he didn't have to wait long for the man to show up...he usually did on Sunday afternoon after church. Brian explained his problem after buying the man a drink. He didn't appreciate his old friend's amusement at his predicament but he needed the man's help too much to get snarky. Actually, the good doctor was amazed that Brian had come to him twice now with problems involving the same young man. This certainly wasn't the same Brian Kinney he had known for over ten years. This kid must really be something special, he deduced.

The doctor thought things over for a few minutes while Brian waited patiently. Finally he laughed and assured Brian that he had no doubt there were no hidden resentments inside him. He reminded Brian that if he hadn't really forgiven Justin deep down, he would never have said differently. Brutally honest were the words he used, to be precise...even with himself. Brian was relieved to know he had not been repressing anything, not that he actually thought he was, but it always helped to have a professional agree with his self-diagnosis. But if his sneezing was from a real cause, what the heck was the root of the problem. There was no doubt that Justin had something to do with it and that thought plagued Brian. Was he going to have to go on allergy medication just to have a hot session of torrid sex with his number one playmate? He would do it if he had to. Justin was certainly worth the effort, but Brian preferred sticking to party drugs if he would use any at all. He made another mental note to find a good allergist on Monday.

Monday went by with few problems at work. Brian slipped in a couple of hot smooches with Justin during the day and never sneezed once, although his nose did twitch just slightly when Justin first got to work. He even had a good meeting with Stockwell in midday. Now if he was going to be allergic to anyone, it should be that asshole, and not Justin, he told himself. Brian made an appointment for the following week with an allergist that Cynthia recommended. He hoped that the sneezing would be over before he had to keep the appointment. It was just about time for the work day to end when Brian suggested Justin join him for dinner at one of his favorite restaurants and then an after dinner drink at the loft (which was Brian-code for 'and then I'm going to fuck you till you pass out'). Justin went home to Daphne's so he could freshen up and waited for Brian to arrive. He hadn't caused any sneezing fits in Brian all day so he had his fingers crossed. Maybe the problem was finally over.

Justin had waited patiently for some time when he finally heard the knocking on Daphne's door. Brian usually just phoned from the car to announce his arrival and waited for his blond bombshell to come bouncing out. For some reason Brian was feeling more chivalrous tonight. Justin flung open the door and there stood his handsome knight. Brian stepped in, all grins. He was feeling very good tonight and was looking forward to a hot night with his Sunshine.

"I thought I'd come in and say hi to your roomie. I haven't seen her in quite a while," he announced to Justin to explain his coming in. He had a soft spot for the petite girl. He knew that she had been the one person who thought Justin was making a mistake with the Fiddler, and he loved anyone who took his side.

Justin called Daphne out of the kitchen. She walked into the living room and started beaming when she saw Brian standing there. She had been so relieved when Justin came home on cloud nine barely over two weeks earlier after being gone all night. She was irritated at first, but when she found out that her friend had spent the entire night with his gorgeous ex, she calmed immediately. Now she could personally tell Brian how proud she was of him for giving Justin another chance. She walked towards Brian with her hand outstretched.

"Ahhhh, ahhhh choooo!!!"

Brian's whole body shook with the intensity of his sudden sneeze. What the fuck? Not Daphne too! Brian's eyes started watering instantly. This was worse than at his place. Both Justin and Daphne were about to ask Brian if he was alright when they heard a faint...meow. Brian's head whipped around to the kitchen doorway. Out stepped a tiny bundle of orange fur that promptly walked up to Brian and began rubbing all around his pants leg, purring contentedly. Brian jumped back as if scalded by hot oil.

"When the fuck did you get a cat? And why didn't you tell me, Justin?"

Brian's voice rose slightly with his panic. No wonder he had been sneezing like a worker in a pepper factory. Daphne was quick to catch on. Justin had expressed his concern over Brian's recent sneezing fits. She hurried the still purring bundle off to her bedroom and closed the door before rejoining the men. Justin was just starting to explain why he hadn't mentioned the kitten to Brian, in between the poor man's side spitting sneezes. Daphne interrupted.

"He's only been here a little over a week, Brian. He belongs to a friend from school. They were supposed to pick Tigger up today, but they've been delayed. They'll pick him up in the morning," Daphne explained patiently. "We didn't know you were allergic to cats," she went on, looking over at Justin for confirmation.

"I'm so sorry Brian," Justin chimed in. "I would have said something but it never crossed my mind. I've spent a lot more time at work or with you than here at the apartment and it just didn't occur to me. I hardly even notice the little fur ball except when I catch him sleeping on my jacket."

The light dawned for both men at the same time. Justin never wore his jacket at the office and almost always had it on in the car, since it was still kind of chilly outside in the evenings. He usually had it on when he came to visit Brian at the loft too. Looking back, Brian realized that his worst sneezing spells always came when he was in close proximity to the jacket, not the man inside it. Brian began laughing hard, which only made his sneezing fit that much louder. He swiped at his nose for the hundredth time since entering the apartment and mumbled to the roommates.

"Daph, it's good to see you again and Justin, I'll meet you in the car...and don't bring your jacket. I'll find some other way to keep you warm."

Brian exited as quickly as he could, sneezing all the way out the door and down to his car. Justin joined him moments later without his jacket on.  Brian drove straight to the loft, his sneezing continuing but at a much slower pace. In a matter of minutes after entering the loft, Brian had Justin stripped naked, his clothes in a laundry bag to be taken to the cleaners and the young man standing under the stinging spray of the shower head with Brian right behind him soaping every spot on the young man's body. Once they were dried off they stretched out on the bed, skin rosy pink from the brisk rubdown and hot water.

Somewhere between the shower and the bed, Brian's sneezing had ended and his nose was feeling almost normal again. As he buried his nose in all those delicate and tempting spots on Justin's sparkling clean body, he took deep breaths. Not one sneeze sneaked its way out of him. Now this was more like it. They would have their dessert now and then order food in for dinner. Tomorrow, Brian would take Justin on a little shopping excursion for some new clothes to wear to work in the morning, since Brian's clothes were a little too big on the young man.  Then he would buy Justin a brand new winter jacket. He never wanted to see the old one again. As he took one more deep whiff of Justin's sweet smelling body, Brian was more than relieved that he could cancel his appointment with the allergist. No medications for him. He could have his Justin and breathe freely at the same time.  Without thinking, Brian let out a little sniffle. Justin pulled Brian's face up to his.

"Allergies again?" he questioned.

Brian kissed him deeply, thus ending the inquiry.

The End