Title: Day 4
Author: tarotgal
Rating: R
Pairing: Original Characters M/M
Summary: Two hockey players; one shared cold
Notes: Written during my 12 Ficlets in 12 Days in 2019-20 project project for Myownprivatesfc

It took a few minutes to find the right channel, and though he thought it was right on time, he was surprised to find the coverage had already started. “Hurry! You're going to miss it!”

Some coughing sounded from the bathroom followed by the shout, “The game's two and a half hours long. I think I'm safe.” And then there was more coughing. “When did we last take cough medicine?”

Billy Jameson thought for a second, running his hand through his dirty blond hair and then swiping it under his somewhat runny nose. He decided the question was a little more complicated than it seemed and called back, “Hang on!” He lifted his head from the pillows. Hands on the mattress beneath him, he pushed himself up with a groan. He climbed off the bed and headed toward the bathroom. He hung off one side of the doorway. “What are you trying to take, Mitch?”

Michael Mitchel sat on the closed toilet seat with his arm stretched out across the bathroom counter and his head resting on his arm. Kleenex was clutched in his hand. “Anything, man. I wanna take anything that'll help at this point. I feel like I'm dying.” Strong, hacking coughs shook his body. And considering that the man could bench press three hundred pounds, there was a lot of body to shake. His mussed brown hair flopped in one direction then the other. His green eyes were tightly shut.

Jameson looked over the vast array of medicine they'd collected over the last two days on the counter. The worst part about getting sick while on the road was being at the disposal of whatever medicine happened to be available at the hotels and airports. They hadn't even heard of some of the brands, and they'd found out the hard way that some of the meds definitely worked better than others.

But the best part about getting sick while on the road was having company to wallow in misery with. That was especially the case when your company was also your teammate, roommate, and fuck buddy. Of course, that was also part of the problem. If one of them caught something, the other was bound to come down with it, too.

On the ice, they didn't let anything stop them. Sure, they were only on the second line on a team with a few well-known superstars, but being underestimated had always worked to their advantage. They played through broken noses, sprains, pulled muscles, fevers, and more. Probably if they were dying, they'd still haul themselves out there and throw themselves in the way of the puck. So playing with a head cold? No problem. In the last game, Jamesey had even gotten a goal and Mitch two assists.

Off the ice, on the other hand, they were practically incapacitated due to a little congestion. It was pretty damn pathetic, but that's the way it was. Hot steam showers. Matching boxes of tissues. Nests of blankets and pillows. And so, so many cough drops. They weren't feeling good, but they did whatever it took to keep breathing and rest as much as possible before the next practice or the next game.

They'd been both given day-to-day status instead of being sent home from the road trip. So here they were in a hotel room in Minneapolis on the first day of the year. Their flight wasn't until later tonight, which gave them most of the day to rest and, of course, watch the annual Winter Classic hockey game on television.

They could hear the National Anthem being played right now, in fact. They could imagine the two teams standing in the outdoor rink, moving their legs back and forth to keep them warm before they started a game as close to authentic pond hockey as you could get at the professional level. And they both honestly felt a little jealous. It counted the same as any other game, just two points to the winner, but it was different in every other way. Playing outside, dealing with the weather and the sun brought complications, but the excitement of playing in front of a stadium of fans outside, the way it all began, on a holiday, couldn't be beat.

“hehh-IHHSchhhhhh!” Jameson sneezed suddenly, snapping his hand up far too late. “Sorry.”

“No sweat. We've already got the same cold. Your germs are my germs.” Mitch sat up and offered the Kleenex he had in his hand already. With a laugh, Jameson took a Kleenex from the box on the counter instead. Mitch made a face and rested his head back down on his arm on the counter. He coughed and winced at the pain that caused.

“We've got another five hours before we can take more of the good stuff.” Jameson grabbed a bag of cough drops. “But these will help. C'mon. We're missing the game.” He dangled the bag in front of Mitch. And when the man reached for it, he pulled out of reach. Mitch groaned and sat up again, lunging for it. But Jameson was too quick. He hopped back then took a few steps back to the doorway. “Come and get 'em, man.”

“I hate you,” Mitch grumbled. But he got up and followed Jameson back to the bed. He dove into the mess of bedding they'd left, pulling a comforter over himself and hugging a pillow as he rubbed his cheek into it.

Jameson dropped the bag of cough drops onto the bed in front of him. He took one out, unwrapped it, and held it out. Mitch opened his mouth and let Jameson pop it in. “Still hate me?”

Mitch sucked the cough drop and gave a soft moan of pleasure. He reached out, pulling Jameson down with him onto the bed with him. “What do you think?”

Jameson thought there wasn't anything he could do to make Mitch not want him. Jameson thought Mitch had the strongest arms that had ever held him. And Jameson thought that, even sick, this wasn't a bad way to start a new year. “I think you'd rather fool around than watch the hockey game.”

Placing a kiss that smelled strongly of cherry just behind Jameson's ear, Mitch confirmed the suspicion. “You, ah, feel up to it?”

The answer was: definitely. His whole body felt warm and alive in a way it only did when he was out on the ice or in bed with this man. One touch from Mitch and his whole body didn't want anything else but him. “I want you,” he whispered. Affectionately, he stroked Mitch's forearm where it lay on his chest. Then, all of a sudden, his hand tightened around Mitch's wrist. He let go and pressed a couple fingers at his nose. “And I want tissues.”

“I got 'em for ya. Hold on.” Mitch reached back, his fingertips just making it to the tissue box on the nightstand behind him. 

“H-holding,” Jameson only just managed. His breath was racing as Miched pulled away from him, and he shivered at the cold that brought to his back. He felt the sneeze grow stronger, coming whether he was ready for it or not. “M-Mitch I c-cah... hahh!”

“Wait!”

But the sneezes wouldn't wait. Jameson scrubbed at his nose, but it didn't do any good. “hahhh-IHTShhuhhhh! HEHPTshhhh! Hah hah hahhh-HIHHHShhooo! Ugh...” He felt a tissue against his nose only as he finished. He reached out for it with both hands and cupped it to his nose for a gentle blow. “Thanks, man.”

“Sorry I wasn't fast enough.”

Jameson blew his nose again. “S'fine. Better late than neh-never heh-hehh Hihhh HihhIHSchooo!”

Mitch handed over another tissue then rubbed Jameson's shoulder, sliding back up behind him. “Are you sure you feel up to this?”

Jameson felt sluggish and sneezy, but up? Oh yeah. “What do you think?” He took hold of Mitch's wrist again and slid it down to his hot crotch. He was most certainly up. Mitch hummed in approval as he gave Jameson's dick a stroke through the soft, plaid pajama pants.

“I think we've got our own game to play. It's called: let's fuck before one of us sneezes again.”

Jameson laughed and pinched his nose. This was not a game they were going to win. “HIH! Hihh-HIPPTshhhh! IHHTschooo! H'shooo!” He snuffled into a new tissue Mitch handed him. “How about: we play: let's not talk about how Jameson can't stop sneezing.”

“Okay. Time out.” Mitch nudged Jameson into a sitting position and pulled blankets up and around their shoulders like capes. “We don't have to do this right now. You're sick. I'm sick. You're sneezy. I'm...”

“You're what?”

Mitch shrugged. “Frustrated.”

Jameson tensed up, feeling guilty and a little annoyed.

“Not sexually,” he corrected quickly. “Just... feels like I need to sneeze and I can't. I'm a little jealous of you.”

One of Jameson's eyebrows rose.

Mitch laughed. “Hey, I didn't know you could do that.” He leaned forward and kissed Jameson's arched eyebrow.

The feel of lips there made Jameson hum and tingle, wanting to fuck right now. But they were on a time out, so he settled for touching. “I'd bet there's a lot I can do that you didn't know about.” He laid his hands on Mitch's chest, raking his fingers against the worn white T-shirt. “For example, I bet I can make you sneeze.”

Mitch's eyes flashed. He cocked his head. “Are you sure this is the game you want to play?”

Jameson smiled. “Depends what I get as a reward for winning. I mean, apart from you trying not to sneeze in my face. Not that it matters since I'm already sick. It's that I... don't like the... the...” He grabbed for the tissues. “IhhhhKshhuhh! IhhPTShuhhh!” He snuffled into a fresh tissue and wiped his nose dry. “I'm not a big fan of the mess.”

Taking two tissues out of the box, Mitch got prepared. “All right. Give it a try. I'll believe it when I see it, though. This tickle's been driving me crazy since we woke up. It's in the very back of my nose and won't budge. The coughs have been plentiful, but I just can't sneeze.”

“Yet!” And, with that, Jameson held up a tissue with the corner rolled up. He felt a little foolish doing this. He and Mitch talked about hockey and they fucked. That was about it. Occasionally they watched a movie or got some dinner. But trying to tease a sneeze out of a cold-ridden nose wasn't exactly any of those things. But maybe it could be just as good. “Come here, you.” He bent his finger, beckoning Mitch to lean forward.

Mitch did so, closing his eyes with perfect trust. And, damn, that was a little sexy, actually. Jameson couldn't resist meeting those open, expectant lips in a kiss. But Mitch pulled back. “Uh-uh. No love 'til you make me sneeze.” Okay, that was actually really sexy. Jameson did always love a challenge. He eased the tissue up one of Mitch's nostrils and wiggled it around, watching the man's expression change from surprise to confusion to realization. Jameson twirled the tissue around. Mitch's face fell, nostrils flaring, mouth dropping open further, brows knitting together. He took a sudden, quick breath, mouth turning down at the corners. But then he relaxed. “See?” He coughed. “Told you. I can't sneeze. Tickles like mad, but that's it. It's how I always feel whenever I get a cold.”

“Awwww. Poor baby. Do you want me to pity you or do you want me to make you sneeze?”

He bit his lip. “I wanna sneeze.”

“Then shut your mouth and let me work, eh?”

Mitch grinned. “I love how your Canadian comes out when you get bossy.”  

“I... Damn it.” This wasn't a good time for Jameson to sneeze. It would be like rubbing it in Mitch's face. Though maybe that would help? “Hold... hold on a s-sec.” He pressed his nose into his shoulder. “Ihh-HIHTChhhhh!” 

Mitch wrinkled his nose jealously. “Come on, man. My turn.”

With a fresh tissue, Jameson tried the other nostril. This one seemed more sensitive. A whole array of emotions passed across his face until, finally, he took in a sharp breath. He grabbed Jameson's wrist tight, which Jameson took as a sign to stop. He started to pull back, but Mitch moaned. “Just a little more, man. I'm... I'm so close.”

Smirking, Jameson wiggled the tissue just a little more. Mitch gasped again then snapped forward “AHPTCHOO!”

Wiping his wet cheek on his sleeve, Jameson chuckled. “Now that was a sneeze. Well done.”

Mitch opened his eyes, sniffling. “Oh God that felt so good!” He grabbed Jameson and pulled him into the strongest kiss they'd ever shared. It wasn't saying much, because they didn't usually kiss, but Jameson had zero complaints about this kiss. Mitch pulled back. “Well done, you.” He rubbed his nose. “Is our time out over?”

“Hell yeah.” Jameson launched himself forward, instantly attacking Mitch's shirt and sweatpants, tugging them off. Mitch was doing the same for him. Though Jameson wouldn't admit it, he never got tired of looking at Mitch's fit body up close. Even better was being able to touch his body. Lick and cherish his body. Rub and grind and thrust against his body. Come all over his body. He silently uttered a thank you to the hockey gods for making the two of them roommates at the beginning of the season. Today, he took a few moments to take it in.

“Your body...” Mitch murmured, looking at Jameson with a hungry expression.

“Nah, not me.” Jameson rubbed his nose, feeling suddenly self-conscious. “My nose is all red from sneezing and my hair is—”

“You make me so hot, Billy.”

They never used each others' first names, but Jameson couldn't deny it felt damn good to hear this time. Jameson placed a palm to Mitch's forehead, though, feigning concern. “You're feeling hot? Are you running a fever? We can try different medicine and see if that—”

Mitch laughed, shaking his head. “All I want is lube and a condom and you.” He wrapped his arms around Jameson. “Mostly, you.” It was as unbearably saccharine as they got, but Jameson had to admit it worked. His hard, leaking dick found its favorite spot: right up against Mitch's hairy thigh. Their bodies pressed hard against each other, strong and unyielding, muscles tight and flexing. Mitch coughed and Jameson sniffed, but just like when they were out on the ice, they didn't let their colds stop them. They didn't dare complain now. This game was far too important.

His arms wrapped around Jameson, Mitch slid his hands down and cupped his ass, squeezing. One and then two lube-slicked fingers took ample time to tease and torment his pucker before finally pushing their way into Jameson's asshole. When that happened, Jameson tensed and moaned into Mitch's chest. But his hips kept bucking forward in a ceaseless rhythm of pleasure that even his sneezes could not disrupt.

He turned his head, sneezing over his shoulder.  “hihhh... IhhhKIHSchoo! H'IHHSHhhhh! H'EHPTshhuhhh!” And though he kept thrusting, the violent way the sneezes snapped him forward did mean Mitch's hand slipped out. “Sorry,” he apologized, even though the grunt he got in reply implied Mitch didn't mind. Snuffling wetly, Jameson pulled a tissue out of the box. He would have liked to have had a little bit of room to blow his runny nose, but being pressed up against Mitch didn't afford that, and he really wanted as dry and uncongested a nose as possible when things got even heavier between the two of them. So he blew his nose in a series of small, soft blows, one-handed as his other hand was pressed to Mitch's back, keeping them tight together.

“You c-c-cah can reach the tuh-tissues?”

“Yeah,” Jameson whispered. “You gotta sneeze again?”

Mitch made a low, needy sound like a moan, a sound Jameson usually only heard when the man was so close to coming. But it was far too early for that now. “Yeh-yeah. I think I g-g-gotta sn... sneh... sneeze, man.” And it was clear that both his hands were covered in lube and not what he wanted to cover his face with just now.

“S'okay,” Jameson replied. “I've gotcha.”

Mitch grunted his appreciation this time and then showed it by plunging his fingers impossibly deeper into Jameson, who cried out one second and then ripped a tissue from the box the next. Instead of handing it over, he cupped it to Mitch's face for him. He nuzzled around it, kissing Mitch even as the sneeze began to build up. Jameson sucked a quivering lip into his mouth one moment then kissed a wrinkling nose the next. It was, apparently, just the thing to help tickle the sneeze the rest of the way out. “Ahh! Hahhh! Hahhhhhh-AHHSHUHHHH! AHPPTSHHHH!” Jameson marveled at the way their bodies rocked together with the force of the man's strong sneezes. And he marveled at how horny he was, how swept away in the moment, that even Mitchel's sneezes seemed sexy to him. This was weird and crazy and he absolutely loved it. He wiped Mitch's nose for him as Mitch's fingers stretched then penetrated him again. Jameson thrust his hips, grinding his dick even more desperately against the winger's thigh, hooking his leg around the back of Jameson's to hold his position.

A second later, he was glad for that, because he felt the need to sneeze again already and didn't want the sneezes to ruin anything this time. “ihhh ihhh-IHTShooo! HITTTCHOO! Sniff! Sorry, Mitch.”

“Nothin' to be sorry about,” Mitch replied, nipping at his ear. “And those sounded so satisfying. Feels so good to sneeze when you have a cold and your nose is really tickling, doesn't it?”

Jameson found himself agreeing, but honestly he would have agreed with anything Mitch said when he had his fingers up Jameson's ass and used his bedroom voice. He could have said that the Tinley Town Turtles were the best team in the National Hockey League, and Jameson would have agreed with him.

“I can think of something that feels even better.” In a sort of reach-around, he slid his hands up Mitch's back, gripping the man's shoulders tight to brace himself. Mitch shuffled and leaned and coughed a bit against Jameson's neck as he rolled the condom onto his dick and got it ready with lube. But when he thrust into place, filling Jameson's ass, both men moaned in pleasure. And that was even before he got close to targeting the man’s prostate.

Jameson had never spoken of what they did together in their hotel room on the road. But, if he did, this was what he would try to describe. It was the way he felt nothing but pure, uncomplicated pleasure and was able to give it right back at the same time. In this moment, there was no team, no game schedule, no industry bias, no world to get in the way. There was just Mitch inside him and in ecstasy from what he felt there. It was simple. It was wonderful. It was theirs. 

Mitch came first. He took his time, savoring each thrust. His fingers knew every inch of Jameson intimately, but they explored them all over again as his pelvis rocked forward and back. And his lips brushed kissed against Jameson's neck and cheek and forehead. He muffled a few coughs into Jameson's shoulder this time, and Jameson rubbed his back as he did so. But otherwise it was no different than usual. He looked just as amazed at how good it felt when he came as he always did, like he was surprised that Jameson was the best lay of his life so far.

And Jameson, who had craved the sight of that expression from the moment Mitch's hand cupped his crotch, came almost immediately upon seeing it. “Michael!” He cried out Mitch's first name as he covered both their chests with his spunk. Mitch was coughing again and maybe didn't hear him the first time. But Jameson repeated it over and over again as the orgasm seized him, drawing out of him the last of his energy. He relaxed, spent and exhausted, on the bed when it was over. He didn't even have the energy to cover his nose and mouth when he felt like he was going to sneeze again.

“ihhh-Hiptshhh! Ihhshhh! ihhh ihhhh-KTShhhhh!” Eyes still closed, he felt rather than saw tissues wipe his nose and then wipe his chest and dick. 

Sick with head colds wasn't the way either of them had imagined starting their new year, but there were absolutely no complaints. Not from Jameson, who was still a little sticky and messy and not from Mitch who was coughing again,

After a couple solid minutes, he managed to get through the coughing fit and cleared his throat. “Hey, Jameson?”

“Hmm?”

“We completely missed the game.”

Opening his eyes, Jameson saw that there was some sappy New Year's movie playing on the channel now. He hadn't even glanced up once to see what the score was during their whole escapade. It was a little disappointing to haven't seen a second of it, but his body still hummed happily from the orgasm. “It's all right,” Jameson replied. “I've got NHL All Access. We can watch it on the plane.” The flight would be three hours, so the timing would work out perfectly. But they both knew they'd take a heaping dose of NyQuil and probably be asleep before takeoff.