Title: Playing (Hide and Seek)

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: The 10^th Kingdom

Rating: PG13-R, I suppose. Somewhere in there. I'm bad with ratings

Spoilers: Um, pretty much parts in the beginning, middle, and very end of the miniseries. So don't read if you don't want to be spoiled

Disclaimer: This wolf and his Virginia (or Virginia and her wolf) and 9 kingdoms are not mine. They're Simon Moore's (and Hallmark's). And I adore Simon and would never ever claim to steal his creations. I'm just borrowing his genius for this fic which I make no money off of at all.

Summary: An innocent game of Hide and Seek turns more exciting when Wolf discovers he has an allergy

Notes: This is 6^th in my series of Friday Fics. It was written in honor of the 4^th anniversary of The 10^th Kingdom. Ack, that's lots of numbers, isn't it? :-)

Playing (Hide and Seek)

     "The little cubby's finally asleep," Wolf announced in no more than a whisper as he stepped into their suite and closed the double doors behind him. "Mother Goose is watching over him and she'll let us know when he wakes."

Virginia nodded approvingly and clapped a hand quickly to her mouth to cover a violent yawn. "Sorry," she said, snuggling up to Wolf as he sat down beside her and put an arm around her to draw her close. "It's been such a long day, what with him teething and us going back and forth between here and New York trying to scout locations for a restaurant in the city. I'm exhausted."

     "Too exhausted, my sensual, scrumptious, succulent sweetie pie?" Wolf asked leadingly.

     "Too exhausted for what?" she replied, nuzzling against her husband's chest affectionately, as though settling in for a long, cozy nap. She was all for suggesting that there should be naptimes for parents, not just their children.

     "Well..." His voice was a little unsteady as he tested the waters. "I was thinking, now that we have a few moments to ourselves, that we could, ah, play a little Hide and Go Seek?"

Virginia pulled back with light laughter, then saw he was looking serious. She coughed and put on her most playfully serious face. "Oh, ah. Sorry."

"Oh pleeease, Virginia?" He whimpered, cocking his head to the side. "Just a little fun? I promise not to take advantage of your fatigue while I'm running away. Wolf's Honor." He raised two bent fingers to the side of his face and swiped then across his temple twice.

     Her deep eyes twinkled and she smiled. "Who says I'm 'it'?"

     He grabbed her hand in the excitement and pulled her up from the couch. "Oh, you are! I was 'it' last time, remember?" He pulled her towards the door.

     "Oh, I remember," she said, letting him drag her through the hallway. "That's how we got that little cub in-THERE!" she exclaimed as she tried to gesture towards the nursery and he pulled her along harder. "Where are we going?" She laughed and hurried to match his quick pace rather than get dragged along behind.

"Outside, of course. Can't go doing it in the castle where anyone could see us." He glanced over at her, grinning. Then, before she could object, he continued quite quickly, "King Wendell, the castle staff, the court attendants, your father--"

     "I get it!" she laughed. The last thing she needed was her father running across them being inappropriate in the royal corridors or behind the drapes in the royal sitting room.

     Outside it was warm and sunny, as it always seemed to be in the 4^th Kingdom. Spring seemed eternal there, unlike New York which was currently buried under a foot of snow. It made Virginia feel alive and rejuvenated. "Do you remember the last time we were here?" she asked, almost skipping to keep up with him now as they headed into the forest on the edge of the royal estate. The thick green grass gave way to dirt and twigs, and bushes made way for trees and shrubs and ferns.

     "Less talking," Wolf said, grabbing her in a hug and pinning her against the nearest tree. His breath was warm against her cheek before he gave it a quick kiss. "And more counting."

     She grinned, squeezing him back, then pushing him away with a shriek of laughter. "Go!" He lingered a moment and she began counting. "One! Two!" She clapped a hand over her eyes as she heard him scamper away. "Three- you only get until fifty, Wolf!"

     She heard a rustle behind her and a soft growl in her right ear. "One hundred and not a number less or I promise you'll never find me."

     She laughed. "That doesn't make much sense. You should need more time not less to be un-findable."

     There was another rustling of leaves and branches, and a kiss on her left cheek. "Count!" he commanded.

     "Five!" she called out suddenly.

     Wolf hopped on the spot in surprise, then sprang into the nearby bushes. He crouched as he ran, letting the foliage hide traces of his direction. Virginia had learned a thing or two about tracking from him, after all. Wolf was shifty, but made great distance through the forest, being able to almost sense the trees and rocks around in order to avoid them. Huffing and puffing, he came to a rest in a clump of large-flowered bushes on the edge of a clearing. He could just barely make out her counting, which was going much faster now that she had passed fifty. He laughed, remembering that it hadn't taken him that long to speed up his count when he had been 'it'. It didn't much matter this time as he was confident she'd never find him here.

     As he settled into his hiding spot, a slight tickle settled in his nose. He looked around, slightly confused for a moment before whispering to himself, "Must be the flowers." The flowers the bushes were sporting were large, the size of his palm, with open petals of various colors and yellow centers. He leaned close to one, cautiously, and took in a strong sniff. He pulled back immediately, coughing and rubbing pollen from the tip of his nose. A sudden, intense urge to sneeze filled him. Desperately, he waved his hand in front of his face, trying to drive the sneezes away. But the urge was far too strong. "hah... ah-hahhh..." His eyes squinted closed, and his jaw dropped. "HARshooo!" And as quickly as one struck, another five were right behind. "HAHShooo! ARshooo! Harshoo! Hahshooo! HARSHOO!" He fell backwards into the bush, smearing pollen over himself.

     "Not... hah... not good..." He rubbed the side of his hand beneath his nose. A fierce tickle had sprung up there again. He listened closely between heavy gasps to hear that Virginia was just nearing sixty-five in her counting. "ehhh...hah..." He clamped his hand over his nose and mouth, tightening every muscle he knew of to keep the sneeze away. "hahh-SHOO! Har-Shhooo! Hah-Shooo!" He sniffled wetly. The sneezes had been loud, strong, and still his nose tickled with the scent of pollen burning in his nostrils. There was no way he could hide here like this.

     He turned and jumped from the mass of bushes, then broke into a run. Wolf wanted to put as much distance between himself and the flowers as possible, but it was difficult to run when his senses were preoccupied. His eyes watered and itched a little, his nose felt tickley and runny, and he couldn't hear Virginia's counting any more as he ran through the brush and tried to sniff the urge to sneeze away.

     Feeling that she surely must have reached one hundred by now, Wolf looked desperately for a hiding spot. He brushed tiny tears from his eyes and froze in place. Nothing, as far as he could see, but trees surrounded by those bushes. Pink on one, yellow on another, red, white, orange, the flowers were absolutely everywhere. "Huff puff!" Whimpering like the hurt wolf that he was, he scrambled over to a tree and crouched behind it.

     Perhaps he had gone far enough that Virginia would not find him. Perhaps she'd already given up looking. Perhaps... "Oh no..." he whimpered. His nose had begun tickling again, thanks in part to a sudden wind which had whipped through the trees. He couldn't see the flowers or their pollen with his eyes closed, but he knew it was wreaking havoc on him just the same. The burning, tickling in his nostrils was just too much to resist. And, yet, he couldn't possibly lose the game. He'd never lost at Hide and Seek. He smiled to himself, "Of course I've never been the one hiding, either, but still..." Still, he couldn't let himself sneeze and give his spot away.

     This was far easier said than done, however. Wolf's nostrils twitched, his eyes watered, and his breathing came in gasps. Rubbing his finger beneath his nose did no good, scratching at the itches in his nose did no good, and trying to hold his breath and forget all about his nose did no good. Desperately, he cupped both hands to his nose. "hah... hahshphhh!" All that did was make the sneeze quiet and his hands wet. He rubbed them over his slacks. "Oh, huff puff! This isn't going to work at all!" he whispered, frustrated.

     But at that moment, he heard footsteps. The soft, delicate, cautious footsteps of his love. His ears perked up and he clung to the tree trunk, hoping not to be spotted. However, being seen should not have been so much of a worry as being heard. Seconds later, a fierce tickle settled in his nose. He scrubbed at it gently, not wanting to make any sudden moments for fear of disturbing the bushes around him.

     Her footsteps grew louder. She snapped a small branch with one step, and disturbed a small fern with another. Her scent was caught by the ever-blowing breeze, and she was so close that Wolf could smell it, even with a stuffy nose. "Wolf?" she called out.

     He nearly jumped with excitement to hear her voice. His heard fluttered with delight at being so close to his mate. She was nearly on top of him now, coming ever closer. How he wanted her to find him. And, at the same time, dared not sneeze and give away his hiding spot. Yet the need to sneeze grew stronger. He pinched his nose shut, willing the tickle away. But the large flowers were all around, he was covered in their pollen, and his nose desperately wanted to sneeze out the irritation. His eyes watered, his nose twitched, his breath caught. "hehhh... hahhh..." He pinched his nose tighter. He must not sneeze. He must not. The fear of being caught was pumping adrenaline through him, so much so that he wasn't sure he would be able to get a sneeze out if he wanted to.

     "Wolf?"

     He looked up. Her voice was so clear that he had half expected her to be right above him. As it was, she was still a few yards away, and looking in the wrong direction. He curled up into himself, flattening as much of himself as he could against the tree trunk. But another gust of wind brought Virginia's scent and a new, soft wave of pollen. And he found his nostrils twitching uncontrollably against his thumb and forefinger. All fear of being caught was gone. The only thought in his mind was how very much he wanted to sneeze, to feel that relief, and for Virginia to finally find him. His whole body gave way to it at once, for a large "harhCHOO!" He smothered the sneeze and buried his nose in his sleeve, but the damage had been done.

     He heard quick footsteps, and when he looked up again, Virginia was looking down at him from above. Her face shone bright with a smile. "Found you!" She made to pounce on him, warning him with a soft growl. But before he could protest, she'd tackled him and pinned him to the ground. "You're mine!" She claimed him with a strong kiss, then pulled away when she realized he wasn't fighting back. "Wolf?"

     "I..." He could barely breathe, let alone answer. Quickly he cupped his hand to his nose and mouth. "HahShoo! hahSHUHH! HarShoo! AhhShoo! ArhChoo!"

     She sat up, straddling him, looking down in curiosity. "Wolf, what's wrong."

     He lifted his hand pointing weakly at one of the flowers, which happened to be right above his head. On the bush, it hung mockingly over his head with its brilliant red petals and bright yellow center. "F-flowers--" he managed, then his hand snapped down in place. "ArShooo! HARShooo! KChooo!"

     "Oh, Wolf..." She clapped a hand to her mouth, hiding her laughter. "Oh, you poor thing. I had no idea you were allergic..." She fished around in her jeans pocket for a tissue, finally producing it and rubbing his nose with it. "Why in the world did you choose this place to hide if you're allergic to the flowers?" she asked, looking around at the massive amounts of flora in the area. When she turned back to him, she looked down into his brown puppy dog eyes, still watering a little from the allergy. She brushed a few strands of his silky, soft brown hair from his face with a tender touch.

     He wiggled his nose and rubbed it back at the tissue. "I... hah..." Virginia pulled away quickly, giving him room to sneeze. "hah-hahSHOO! ArShoo! AhShoo! HahShoo!" Then she resumed her duty of rubbing his nose dry. "I had no idea I was allergic," he explained, with a weak smile.

Virginia worked hard again not to laugh, but Wolf did not, and his laughter rang in her ears as he pulled her close in a hug. "You win," he admitted.

     "It wasn't a fair game," she told him, rolling over onto her side, pressing herself against him, and propping herself up on one elbow. "We'll have to play again sometime when these flowers aren't in bloom." Though she couldn't exactly see when that time might be. Unless the 4^th Kingdom was invaded by the Ice Queen of the 8^th Kingdom, but that was highly unlikely with King Wendell the cunning and courageous ruling. "Or maybe we'll just avoid this area of the woods."

"What about this time?" he asked, turning his head, looking deep into her eyes.

     "Well... I don't know," she replied, stroking the side of his face and petting the back of his head comfortingly. "Are you feeling up to finishing?"

     He whimpered, nuzzling into her bosoms. "Oh yes, my decadent, delectable, delicious darling." He nuzzled into her chest so enthusiastically that he pushed into her over onto her back. She laughed and retaliated by scratching behind his ear. He froze at once, reveling at the sensation. Then his leg began to twitch and she took the opportunity to slip her leg in between his two, holding him close. "Ohhh... ohhhhh yeah..." he whimpered, leg still shaking, tail wagging against the back of his trousers.

     He snuggled against her face against her neck, then suddenly he pulled back, not wanting to sneeze on her. "hahh..." But she pulled him close, forcing his face into her shoulder and continuing to stroke his head with one hand, and other parts with her other. "hahSHOO! hehChooo! harShooo!" He groaned with pleasure at her touch, forgetting the sneezes the moment he'd let them out.

     She growled back and pinned him again to the ground, tearing at his shirt and slipping her hands beneath his pants. She felt his bulge in front, and his one in back, and stroked both firmly. He shook with intense pleasure and lifted his head to whisper in her ear, "I should lose to you more often."

Virginia nodded as she felt his hands slip underneath her shirt. "Just so long as next time it's a fair game."

     He raised his two fingers and swiped at his temple again. "Of course. And wolfies always keep their promises, you know."

Virginia's smile was soft as she nodded back. "Oh, I know. Now, let's get that shirt off you. It's all covered in pollen." And with that, she pulled his shirt off over his head.