"Jeez, what is taking him so long?" Yang wondered to himself.

"I'm not sure," Yin responded. "He's usually not late when we ask him to come over..."

Yin and Yang were sitting on the couch in the living room, waiting for their friend Lumpy to arrive. Several minutes had already gone by, however, and he still wasn't here yet. While Yang figured that this was just Lumpy's stupidity getting the best of him, Yin thought that something had happened.

After a couple more minutes had gone by, the doorbell finally rang. Yin and Yang immediately assumed it was Lumpy.

"It's about time!" Yang said.

"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried," Yin said.

Yin and Yang got up from the couch and walked over to the front door. They were about to open it, but they heard something from outside.

"Aaaaaah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..." It sounded like somebody inhaling and building up for a sneeze. Yin and Yang recognized who the inhales were coming from; they sounded like they were coming from Lumpy. "AaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..."

The door almost appeared to compress with the inhales. Yin and Yang knew what was going to happen, but while Yin's eyes widened with surprise and fear, Yang's expression didn't seem to change.

"Aw, pellets," he said.

Yin and Yang backed up a few steps to get away from the door. Yin put her hands to the sides of her head, wanting to avoid hearing the sneeze. Yang, however, seemed to be more interested in seeing the sneeze itself than his own safety. With a final dramatic inhale, the sneeze was released.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The sneeze was strong enough to blow the door right open, and Lumpy was standing at the door, his upper body tilted forward. He remained in this position until he had finished releasing the sneeze. A few seconds afterward, however, he recovered from the sneeze, tilting his upper body back to its normal position and opening his eyes. He stood there, sniffling wetly and rubbing his nose with his forefinger repeatedly. He really wasn't looking like himself; there were bags under his eyes, and his nose was a bright red, his nostrils dripping with mucus. Yin and Yang were both looking shocked at the powerful sneeze.

"Oh, my goodness!" Yin said. "Bless you, Lumpy. That was quite a sneeze you did there!"

"Yin, that sneeze was way too awesome to say 'bless you' to," Yang pointed out. "It deserves, um..." He tried to think of the word he was looking for, but soon remembered it. "Oh, yeah!" He turned to Lumpy. "Gesundheit!"

Lumpy continued to rub his poor nose with his forefinger, sniffling constantly. "Sorry about that," he apologized, his voice sounding very raspy and congested.

"It's alright, Lumpy," Yin replied. "But you don't look so good at all. Are you feeling alright?"

Lumpy sniffled again. "Ugh, no."

Yin walked up to Lumpy, looking at him in concern.

"I think you might have come down with a cold," she stated.

"I guess I have." Lumpy nodded weakly. He sniffled again and sleepily rubbed his eye with his hand. "Ugh. I really didd't wadda get up this bordidg. I was just too tired..."

"Was that why you were so late?" Yang asked.

"Yeah. Whed by alarb wedt off, I switched it off ad wedt back to sleep for a few hours," Lumpy mentioned. "Ad whed I finally woke up, I just started sdeezing..."

Lumpy stopped talking when his nose started to twitch, and his nostrils began to flare up. Apparently, just talking about sneezing was enough to irritate his nose.

"Aaaaaaah... Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh..." Lumpy tilted his neck backwards as his breath hitched.

It didn't take long for Yin and Yang to realize what was going to happen. Yang, however, just stayed calm and watched, looking intrigued. Yin, however, was very worried and didn't want Lumpy to sneeze. She reached her forefinger up to his nose, but he absentmindedly took her hand and pulled it away from his face. Then, just as Yin and Yang backed up to get out of his way, Lumpy took a final inhale.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy shot his neck forwards as he released the sneeze, firing a good amount of mucus from his nose. Luckily, Yin and Yang were far away enough to avoid getting sprayed. Lumpy recovered from the sneeze and rubbed his nose on his forefinger. Yin and Yang, again, were shocked from the sneeze.

"Oh, my. Bless you, Lumpy," Yin said.

"Dang, that was awesome!" Yang said, sounding excited. "Gesundheit!"

"Ugh..." Lumpy continued to rub his runny nose, sniffling constantly. "Thadks, whatever that meads."

Yin walked up to Lumpy, got out a tissue and offered it to him. Lumpy took the tissue, held it over his nostrils and blew his nose loudly. He then wiped his nose repeatedly.

"That's a pretty bad cold, Lumpy," Yin mentioned. "You need someone to take care of you for a while."

"Well, I was hopidg maybe you guys could do that for be," Lumpy stated.

"What?!" Yang sounded like he couldn't believe it. "Are you kidding me?! I've always wanted to hang out with a guy with a cold so I can see him sneeze those epically awesome sneezes!"

"Don't worry, Lumpy," Yin said. "If you'd like to rest in our house, I'll let you do that. And we'll make sure you're as comfortable as possible while you're sick."

"Thadk you..." Lumpy smiled weakly at them.

"No, no. Thank YOU," Yang said, pointing at Yin, "for letting him stay with us so we can watch him sneeze."

Yin rolled her eyes, and then allowed Lumpy to come into the house. She, along with Yang, started to lead him into the bedroom.

"Come on, Lumpy, let's get you to bed," Yin said.

Lumpy continued to sniffle as Yin and Yang led him through the hall of their house. Barely five seconds had gone by before he had to stop, since his nose had started to twitch again. Yin and Yang looked at him, with the former having a concerned expression and the latter having an excited expression.

"Aaaaaaah... AaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH..." Lumpy inhaled twice as he tilted his neck back. He quickly turned around, away from Yin and Yang so that he wouldn't sneeze on them. With a final inhale, he exploded.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy shot his neck forwards as he released the sneeze, which was loud enough to cause the floor to shake for a few seconds. Yin and Yang could clearly see a good amount of saliva blasting out of his mouth, as well as an equally large amount of mucus firing out of his nostrils. A few seconds later, however, Lumpy recovered from the sneeze, sniffled and rubbed his nostrils with his forefinger.

"Gesundheit, Lumpy," Yang said, satisfied from the sneeze.

Since he didn't know what the word "gesundheit" meant, Lumpy continued to rub his nose, still sniffling.

"Goodness me. Your sneezes are getting bigger and louder." Yin sounded concerned for Lumpy.

"Ugh. *sniff* Sorry..." Lumpy apologized, still rubbing his nose. "I cad't help it. It's by code."

"It's alright, Lumpy," Yin replied, not having a problem with his situation.

She pulled out another tissue and offered it to Lumpy. He took it, held it to his mucus-covered nostrils and blew his nose loudly. After he had finished, he proceeded to wipe his nose on the tissue. He continued to wipe his nose as he, Yin and Yang resumed walking through the hall.

"This is gonna be great," Yang said to himself.

Eventually, they arrived at the guest bedroom. Yin pushed the door open, and then entered the room with Lumpy. He walked over to the bed, lay down on it and pulled the blanket over it, sniffling occasionally as he did. Yin went over to him.

"It's important to get plenty of rest when you have a cold," she stated. "So I'd like you to stay in bed for as long as you can. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yeah, I'b pretty sure," Lumpy said, nodding his head. "Oh, ad by the way, I have just wud questiod."

"What's that?"

"Ab I allowed to sdeeze?"

This question was so ridiculous that it made Yin laugh slightly, but she still answered it.

"Why, yes, you are. Everyone knows colds can make you sneeze; it's a natural symptom," she said.

"Okay. I was askidg because Yadg really likes to see be sdeeze," Lumpy mentioned. "Ad I thidk he bite be up to subthidg..."

"It's alright, Lumpy. Yang loves watching people sneeze. And he'll try to make them sneeze when he gets the chance," Yin explained, despite that Lumpy had already heard her say something like that. "It's best to let him make you sneeze, but I'll make sure he doesn't go too far."

"Thadks," Lumpy thanked her, but then his nose started to twitch, and his nostrils started to flare up again. He sniffled sharply and rubbed his nostrils with his hand, but that didn't seem to help.

"Lumpy? Are you gonna..." Yin cut herself off before she could ask the question. She knew what was going to happen; Lumpy was going to sneeze. "Oh, dear."

"I think I know what he's gonna do," Yang said, sounding excited for Lumpy's sneeze.

"Aaaaaaah..." Lumpy's breath hitched as he tilted his neck slightly back. "Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh..." He tilted his neck further back, and then raised his forefinger to his nostrils. He hoped that that would stop the sneeze, but it wasn't working. "AaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAH... AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH..."

"Lumpy, you shouldn't try to hold your sneezes back," Yin warned. "It just won't work, so you've gotta let them all out."

"D-do I... AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... HaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAVE TO?!" Lumpy continued to hold his forefinger under his nose, but then Yin pulled it away from his face.

"Yes, you do, Lumpy. Just let it all out," she advised.

Since his nose was so irritated, Lumpy had no choice but to obey her command. Besides, this sneeze was going to be one of his biggest ones ever. Lumpy tilted his neck as far back as he could, giving a final inhale as Yin hastily moved out of the way. She really didn't want Lumpy to sneeze on her, as much as she wanted him to release his sneeze.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy shot his neck forwards as the sneeze finally escaped from his body, firing a huge amount of saliva and mucus from his mouth and nose. Yin and Yang both cringed when they heard the sneeze; in fact, Yin had to put her hands to the sides of her head to avoid hearing it. And this time, unlike most of the other times when he was actually excited, Yang actually became shocked.

After several seconds had gone by, Lumpy recovered from the sneeze, but a huge amount of mucus was pouring out of his nose. He sniffled wetly and rubbed his nose on his forefinger repeatedly.

"Whoa. Gesundheit," Yang said.

"You know what? I'll go with Yang this time," Yin said. She got out a box of tissues and offered them to Lumpy. "Gesundheit, Lumpy."

Lumpy, who was still rubbing his nose, took the box of tissues from Yin and pulled out a few tissues from the box. He then held the tissues to his nostrils and blew his nose loudly. The mucus was cleared from the outside of his nose, but it was still feeling runny, so he wiped his nostrils several times after he was done blowing.

"Thadks for the tissues, Yid. But I dod't dow what to say about what you said..." Lumpy said.

"You mean, 'gesundheit?' It's pretty much the same thing as 'bless you.' Except Yang likes to say it after your really loud sneezes," Yin explained. "I don't use it nearly as much, except for that giant sneeze you just did."

"Sorry about that," Lumpy said with a sniffle and some more nose-wiping. "I just cad't help it."

"It's alright, Lumpy. I understand completely," Yin said. "Anyway, if there's anything you need from us, we'll make sure you get it. Are you feeling any better?"

"Well, just a little..." Lumpy sniffled again. "Except by dose is still kid'da ruddy, ad itchy..."

"Don't worry too much about that, Lumpy. It's something you just have to expect when you have a cold," Yin responded.

"I dow..."

Lumpy's nose was starting to twitch again, and his nostrils began to flare up. Putting his used tissues aside, he grabbed a couple more from the box of tissues. He then held these tissues in front of his nose, tilting his neck backward and preparing to release yet another sneeze.

"Aaaaah... AaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHH... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy could feel a small amount of mucus spurting out of his nostrils as he sneezed into the tissues in his hands. This sneeze wasn't nearly as large as most of the huge sneezes he had released earlier, however. Recovering from the sneeze, Lumpy sniffled and rubbed his nostrils with his forefinger.

"Bless you, Lumpy," Yin said.

"Thadks." After saying that, Lumpy removed his forefinger from his nostrils, blew his nose into the tissues he was holding, and wiped his nose with them.

"I've seen way better ones than that one," Yang stated. "But it was still pretty dang cool."

Yin put her hand on Lumpy's forehead for a few seconds. It didn't feel warm, however.

"You're not running a fever," she said.

"Did you thidk I was?" Lumpy sniffled, rubbing his nose on his hand. "I dod't usually get a fever whed I have a code..."

"I was just making sure," Yin replied. "Sometimes the common cold can cause a fever, but it's usually not as severe as the cold itself."

"AaaaaaaaaAAAAAAHHHHH-!" Lumpy inhaled, tilting his neck back, and raised his tissues up to his nose before he sneezed into them. "CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ugh..." Lumpy lowered the tissues from his snout as he rubbed his nose on his forefinger, sniffling repeatedly. This time, however, the sniffling was less audible than it had been. "Excuse be."

"Bless you. Did that feel any better?" Yin asked.

"Ugh, dot really. By dose is all stuffy..." Lumpy sniffled again, still rubbing his nose.

"In that case, would you like me to go downstairs and make you some tea?" Yin offered. "I'm sure it'll help clear your nose."

"I guess that'd be dice..." Lumpy responded.

Yin started to leave the room, but she turned to Yang, who had been standing at the door and watching everything happen.

"Yang, would you please do me a favor and keep Lumpy company while I make his tea?"

"Sure, Yin," Yang said. "But to be honest, I'd rather make him sneeze, just for the heck of it."

"Alright, then," Yin replied, "but please be really careful when you make him sneeze. His nose is most likely even more sensitive than it already is. We don't want him to sneeze any more giant sneezes."

"You don't. But I do."

Yin rolled her eyes and walked out of the bedroom. Yang looked back at Lumpy and then walked over to him, rubbing his hands in anticipation and having a mischievous expression on his face.

"Um, Yadg? What are you doidg?" Lumpy asked, trying not to make it sound impolite.

"Just getting ready to have some fun with you," Yang answered. He reached into his shirt pocket.

"What do you mead?"

At first, Lumpy didn't seem to have a clue, but then Yang pulled out a feather from his pocket. Lumpy's eyes widened in realization. He knew where this was going; Yang was going to tickle his nose and make him sneeze. He really, really didn't want that to happen.

"You wouldd't..."

"Wouldn't what?" Yang asked, teasingly. "I just wanna tickle your nose."

"Please, dod't tickle by dose with that," Lumpy warned. His nostrils flared slightly, and he rubbed them with his forefinger. "Just lookidg at that is makidg by dose tickle..."

"It does?" Yang responded. "Are you gonna sneeze?"

Lumpy expected a sneeze to come on, but it didn't materialize. His nose just itched. He sighed and removed his forefinger from his nostrils.

"Ugh, no. I thought I was, but I'b dot," he said.

"I can take care of that," Yang said with an evil smile on his face.

Yang held the feather right under Lumpy's nostrils and began to stroke it back and forth. Lumpy's eyes widened and his pupils shrunk until they could barely be seen as a chill ran down his spine. His snout froze, and then began to quiver as his nostrils flared. Just feeling that feather touch his nose tickled, a lot. He even had to mention that it did. He tried to endure the tickling sensation, reddened nostrils expanding and shrinking constantly.

"It... tickles..." Lumpy sniffled, trying to stop his nose from itching, but the mere smell of the feather was enough to tickle his nostrils even more. His breath began to hitch as a sneeze began to build. "Aaaaaaah... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh..." Lumpy tilted his neck slightly backward as he inhaled.

Yang continued tickling Lumpy's nose, wiggling the tip of the feather under Lumpy's ticklish nostrils and watching them flare in furious irritation. The smile on his face kept growing wider from just watching Lumpy's reaction.

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAH... AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...! Y-YAAAAAAAAAAADG... STOP...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... I'B GODDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH...!" Lumpy didn't have enough power to finish his sentence.

"Alrighty, then." Yang finally stopped tickling Lumpy's nose and pulled the feather away from his nostrils. He backed up, watching in excitement as Lumpy prepared to release the sneeze. It was going to be another huge one. Lumpy tilted his neck as far back as possible, giving a final gigantic inhale.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy shot his neck forwards as he unleashed the sneeze, which was loud enough to cause the floor beneath him and Yang to shake for several seconds. The sneeze was also forceful enough to fire a huge amount of mucus from his nose, with some of the mucus landing on the floor while some got on the end of the bed, but it wasn't enough relief for him to stop sneezing. Lumpy tilted his neck back, his heavily-running nostrils preparing to expel more mucus.

"AaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH- CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

This sneeze was only slightly smaller than the first one, but no less tremendous. It was also loud enough to cause the entire floor to shake, and it released more mucus from Lumpy's nostrils. This one, however, was enough relief to make him stop sneezing. Lumpy immediately put his forefinger to his mucus-covered nostrils and rubbed them repeatedly, sniffling several times. Yang just couldn't believe it, but he was elated.

"Wow! Those were awesome!" he said. "Gesundheit!"

"Please dod't say that..." Lumpy said, still rubbing his poor nose on his forefinger.

After several seconds of rubbing his nose, Lumpy finally removed his finger from his nose, grabbed a tissue from his box of tissues, held said tissue to his nostrils and blew his nose loudly. This tissue quickly became soaked, so he balled it up, grabbed another tissue and blew his nose again. Despite his best efforts, his nose just continued to run, so he stopped blowing his nose and switched to wiping it with the tissue. He sniffled constantly.

"Great. Dow by dose is ruddidg agaid," he said. "Thadks a lot, Yadg."

"Don't mention it." Yang didn't realize he was being sarcastic.

It was then that the boys heard Yin's voice. She was on her way back in the bedroom, obviously having heard Lumpy's sneezes.

"Lumpy?" she called.

"Oh, no..." Lumpy said to himself, quietly. He was pretty sure Yin would be angry at him for spraying a portion of the room in his mucus. Yin opened the door to the room, looking concerned.

"Lumpy, are you alri-" Yin cut herself off when she saw the amount of mucus that Lumpy had sneezed onto the floor, as well as the amount of mucus that he had sneezed onto the end of the bed.

"WHAT THE PELLETS?!"

Lumpy was really worried now that Yin had seen what he had done. He tried his best to remain innocent.

"Yid, this isd't what it looks like," he said, thinking she was mad at him.

Fortunately, Yin was more angry with Yang than she was at Lumpy. She walked up to Yang, looking at him angrily.

"Yang, what's the meaning of this? Did you make Lumpy sneeze?!"

"Well, yeah, I did!" Yang said, not caring that Yin was mad at him. "I was bored and I didn't want to wait for another one of Lumpy's huge sneezes, so I decided to make him sneeze."

"Oh, really? And how did you make him sneeze?"

"I used this." Yang showed her the feather that he had used on Lumpy. Yin took it from her and put it in her pocket out of anger.

"Yang, you idiot! You've gotta keep every possible sneeze-causing irritant away from Lumpy!" she complained. "Don't you know how sensitive his nose has become due to his cold?"

"Nope," Yang said, bluntly.

"It's unspeakably sensitive! Just about anything can make him sneeze!" Yin responded. "We've gotta make sure we don't accidentally make him sneeze. There's no telling how much bigger his sneezes could get!"

After she had finished speaking, she took a few deep breaths to calm down. She then walked back over to Lumpy, who was still wiping his nose with his tissue.

"I am so sorry, Lumpy," she apologized. "I sure didn't expect those sneezes out of you."

"I'b sorry, too," Lumpy said, sniffling as he kept his tissue over his nose.

"Is your nose still stuffed-up?"

"No, but that's because Yadg bade be sdeeze." Lumpy sniffled again. With the tissue now slightly soaked, he removed it from his nose, revealing his blood-red nostrils that had mucus streaming out of them.

Yin cringed in horror. "Ah! Dang it, Lumpy! Don't show that to me!"

"Sorry..." Lumpy pulled out another tissue from his box of tissues and wiped his nostrils again, trying to clear the mucus off it.

"It's alright, Lumpy, I just can't believe how terrible your cold is right now," Yin said, calming down but still being concerned for Lumpy. "You must be miserable!"

"Yeah, I ab..." Lumpy's nostrils flared up again as he felt yet another sneeze coming on. This was going to be much smaller than the two sneezes that Yang had made him release, however, so he decided to just let it out. "Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH..." Lumpy tilted his neck back, and then raised his tissue over his nose and sneezed harshly into it. "CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Lumpy sniffled, rubbed his nose with his forefinger, and then blew his nose into the tissue. His nostrils continued to run, however, so he wiped his nostrils again.

"Bless you," Yin said.

"Thadks." Lumpy continued to wipe his nose. "Is by tea ready yet?"

"No, it's not quite done. It takes a while to make, but when it's ready, I'll bring it to you, I promise," Yin reassured him.

She started to leave the room, but before she made it out the door, she looked back at Yang. She made an "I'm watching you" gesture at him, and then left the room. Yang looked back at Lumpy.

"Heh. Sorry I made you sneeze so hard when I tickled your nose," Yang said. "I didn't know your sneezes were gonna be so flipping awesome!"

"It's alright, Yadg. I dow how buch you like makidg be sdeeze..." Lumpy sniffled again, and then sighed to himself hopelessly. "This is godda be a lodg week."