"Ah... Aaaah..." Lumpy inhaled as he tilted his neck back. His reddened nostrils were flaring as his snout twitched. His hands, which were holding his handkerchief, moved up to cover his nostrils as he gave a final inhale. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH-"
"AH-CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lumpy sneezed explosively into his handkerchief, with the edges of the silky cloth fluttering with the force of the sneeze. The sneeze was painful, but satisfying.
"Ughhh..." Lumpy removed his handkerchief from his nose and rubbed underneath his nostrils gently with his forefinger. He could feel that his poor nose had started to run again. He sniffled sharply, then blew his nose loudly into his handkerchief.
Once again, Lumpy had caught a cold, and it was taking full advantage of his body. Earlier today (it was the first day this week that he'd woken up with this cold), he had tried to complete his tasks at the office where he was employed, despite that he wasn't feeling good. But his cold was constantly tickling his nose, making him sneeze loudly throughout the day, and that thwarted his attempts to get things done. And less than halfway through the day, his boss (and best friend when they weren't working), Sniffles, overheard his sneezing. When he went to the cubicle to check on Lumpy, he was immediately distracted when he saw how sick the poor moose was. He didn't have any choice other than to send him home. Lumpy could still remember what he told him, in a thankfully more concerned tone than a strict one.
"Lumpy, I think you should get some rest. That's a pretty bad cold you've got there. You wouldn't want any of our other employees or myself to catch it, would you? Now go on home, please; Toothy will finish those papers."
After that, Lumpy got up, left the office and went home. Along the way, his sneezes continued, even though he tried to stop them. But Sniffles was right; Lumpy couldn't work, not like this. So here he was, laying in bed in his pajamas, with his favorite white handkerchief in his hands and his many boxes of tissues by his bedside.
Lumpy rubbed and wiped his nose with his handkerchief after he had finished blowing. A small amount of mucus persistently oozed out of his nostril, even when he wiped it away with his handkerchief. He sniffled briefly a few times, then snuffled loudly. What would it take to satisfy his runny nose?
"Why couldd't I get the sdiffles instead of a code?" Lumpy asked to no one in particular. "At least I wouldd't be very sdeezy if I had the sdi-"
Lumpy suddenly stopped talking when his nostrils flared up again. Another sneeze was coming. He tilted his neck back, inhaling hastily but desperately.
"Ah, ah... AH, AH-CHOO!"
Lumpy was too late to cover his mouth this time, and a good amount of mucus was released from his nose. Lumpy placed his forefinger under his nose as he sniffed noisily, bringing the drops of mucus back up his nose. He grabbed his handkerchief and blew his nose into it again. It made his nose feel a little better, but he could see that the mucus was visible on his handkerchief. He couldn't use it any more than he had.
Lumpy sighed, balled up his handkerchief and placed it aside. He then grabbed a tissue from one of the boxes on his bedside, and wiped the tissue underneath his runny nose.
"This is the worst. I wish by ibbude systeb wasd't so weak... *snuffle*"
Suddenly, Lumpy heard the doorbell being pressed. Someone had come for a visit. Lumpy groaned in dismay. He didn't want to get up; he was uncomfortable enough as he was. Not wanting to be rude, however, he slowly got out of bed and took his tissue box with him. He trudged over to the front door and opened it slowly.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Lumpy!" A familiar voice greeted him.
Lumpy smiled weakly as he saw who had arrived. It was none other than Sniffles himself. Work had ended not too long ago, and Sniffles wanted to see how Lumpy was doing.
"How are you feeling?" Sniffles asked.
Lumpy gave a stuffy sniff. "I'b afraid I still dod't feel good..."
"Yeah, I can tell..." Sniffles looked at Lumpy in concern. "But that's why I decided to come over right after work ended for the day."
"That's dice of you..." Lumpy said gratefully, and then sneezed into a tissue. "Aaaah-chooooo!" Blushing, Lumpy sniffled and wiped his nose with his tissue.
"Bless you," Sniffles said with a giggle.
"Thadk you. Ad excuse be, I've been sdeezy all day..." Lumpy said.
"It's fine, Lumpy," said Sniffles. "Hey, since we're not working now... may I come inside?"
Lumpy thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"Sure."
Sniffles went into the house as Lumpy watched, snuffling again.
"By the way, Toothy finished all of your day's work for you," said Sniffles. "But aside from thanking him, I didn't say much to him when he was done. The truth was, I was a little too busy being concerned about you."
Lumpy didn't say anything. He didn't know how to respond. Just then, Sniffles got an idea.
"Hey, Lumpy, I think I know how to make you feel better..."
"How?" Lumpy asked, then sneezed again. "Heh-xchoooo! Ugh..." Lumpy blew his nose into his tissue, then threw it away and pulled out another one. He used this next tissue to wipe his nose.
"With a potiod?"
Sniffles giggled in response. "No, I was thinking of something much more fun."
"Cad we do this with be id bed, please?" Lumpy asked, still wiping his nose. "I bight wadda take a dap whed we're dode..."
"Oh, certainly." Sniffles nodded.
Lumpy went back upstairs into his room, sniffling constantly. Sniffles followed him from behind along the way. When Lumpy finally made it, he put his tissues back on the night stand and sat down on his bed. He managed to see Sniffles closing the door, but he didn't pay attention to that.
"What are we godda do?" Lumpy wanted to know. "I guess adythidg could be bore fud thad this dumb code..."
"Yeah, you're not wrong there," Sniffles said. Then, without speaking, he reached behind his back and pulled out a long feather. It was white with a pointed black tip, and was very soft to the touch.
Lumpy's eyes widened and pupils shrunk. His hands went up to cover his nose. "Do, please...!" he begged.
"What's the matter, Lumpy?" Sniffles asked.
"Are you godda tickle by dose?" Lumpy asked. "I've already got a code id by dose, so how buch bore do you want be to sdeeze?"
"Oh, Lumpy! That's so silly of you to say!" said Sniffles with an audible giggle. "I don't want to make you sneeze; I know that's what's making you uncomfortable."
"Aaah-tcheeew!" Lumpy sneezed mildly due to his stuffy nose, and then rubbed his nose gently with his forefinger. "Are you godda... tickle be?"
Sniffles nodded in confirmation. "That's right! Laughter is the best medicine, after all."
"Oh..." Lumpy removed his finger and put his hand down.
"By the way, don't worry about your cold or being tickled too much," Sniffles advised. "Just focus on how good the tickles feel, and let me know when you need a break."
"Okay." Lumpy nodded in understanding.
Sniffles then walked over to the side of Lumpy's bed, smiling at him happily. He looked down at Lumpy's feet and touched one of his soles gently with his feather.
"Hehe!" Lumpy winced a little as he giggled. It was tickling him already.
Smiling at his reaction, Sniffles began to wiggle the feather up and down Lumpy's sole.
"Hahahahaha, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy laughed as he wiggled his feet and toes around.
Sniffles giggled to himself as he continued to tickle Lumpy's foot. After a few seconds, he switched to Lumpy's other foot and tickled it in the same way: running the feather up and down his sole a few times.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *gasp* AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy continued to laugh as he squirmed around. A small amount of tears came out of his eyes.
After a few more seconds, Sniffles pulled the feather away from Lumpy's feet. Lumpy panted a few times, trying to catch his breath, and then coughed into his hand. This was due to his cold, not the tickles.
"You're right, Sdiffles..." Lumpy commented with a light sniffle. "That does feel good cobpared to by code."
"I bet it does!" Sniffles replied. He then inserted the feather in between Lumpy's toes and swiped it out quickly.
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy laughed hard for a second as he shook his feet a little. "S-Sdiffles! I'b really ticklish there!"
"I know~!" Sniffles replied. He inserted his feather between Lumpy's toes again, and then pulled it out.
"HAHAHAHAHAAA!" Lumpy laughed again. He then laughed more as Sniffles once again swiped his feather between his toes. "HEHEHEHEHEHE! That tickles!"
"I can tell." Sniffles giggled, then stroked the undersides of Lumpy's toes with his feather, making him laugh more. "Tickle-tickleeeee!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy curled his toes, but Sniffles kept tickling them.
After a few seconds of this, Sniffles finally stopped tickling Lumpy's toes. Lumpy panted a few times as he tried to catch his breath. He was blushing, but smiling blissfully.
"Are you okay, Lumpy?" Sniffles asked, innocently.
"I'b still kinda sick, but these tickles are really cheering be up," Lumpy stated with a sniffle.
"I'm glad they are," Sniffles replied with a smile.
"Aaaaah- Chooooooo!" Lumpy suddenly sneezed into his hand, and then rubbed his nose cutely with his forefinger. "Excuse be..."
"It's fine. Bless you," said Sniffles.
Lumpy blew his nose into a tissue and then wiped his nose with it. Then he put the tissue aside and unbuttoned his pajama top.
"Okay, I'b ready for more tickles," Lumpy said as he pulled the sides of his top apart, revealing his tummy.
"Great!" Sniffles said happily.
Sniffles held his feather close to Lumpy's tummy and began to wiggle it around gently. Lumpy giggled at first, and then laughed.
"Hehehe... hahahahahahaha!" He squirmed qround a little, twitching his belly.
Sniffles giggled at his reaction and continued to tickle him. He teased him playfully as he did so. "Coochie-coochie~coo~~!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Just hearing the teasing must have been enough to make Lumpy laugh even more. "THAHAHAHAHAT TICKLEHEHEHEHES! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Sniffles giggled once more as he moved the feather to Lumpy's belly button and tickled him there. He would've inserted the feather in his navel if he wanted to, but he wanted to keep the tip of the feather the way it was.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy squirmed around as he continued to laugh.
Sniffles continued to tickle Lumpy's navel, listening to his laughter and giggling over it. He could tell Lumpy was enjoying this - much more than his cold, that was for sure. After a few seconds, Sniffles stopped tickling Lumpy's navel and looked at him, smiling in amusement. Lumpy was panting and gasping for air, a bit of mucus leaking out of his nose from his cold.
"Thadks... would you... excuse be?" Lumpy picked up a tissue and wiped his nose with it a few times, trying to stop it from running. Instead, however, he caused his nose to tickle, making him need to sneeze.
"Aaah... Hehhh... Haaaaah-TSHYEEEEW!" Lumpy blew his nose into the tissue, then snuffled a few times as he wiped his nose gently into it.
"Gesundheit," said Sniffles as he blushed and giggled to himself.
After a few seconds, Lumpy put the tissue aside and looked at Sniffles with an excited smile on his face. He was ready for more tickles. Sniffles smiled in return and began to wiggle his feather on Lumpy's sides.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Lumpy laughed as he squirmed around. As he laughed, Sniffles moved his feather from one side to the other, but Lumpy's reaction was just about the same. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
After a few seconds, Sniffles moved his feather up to Lumpy's ribs and tickled him there.
"HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Tickle-tickle-tickle~~!" Sniffles said as he kept tickling Lumpy's ribcage. He tickled one side for a few seconds, then the other side.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! *gasp* AAAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAAA!"
Lumpy was laughing uncontrollably as he squirmed around everywhere. He was really enjoying the tickles. After at least ten seconds of this, however, Sniffles pulled his feather away so that Lumpy could catch his breath. Lumpy panted a few times, but then his nostrils flared up due to his cold. He tilted his neck back, gave a single inhale and sneezed into both of his hands.
"AaaaaaaAAAAAAH- CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Sniffles smiled and giggled as he heard the sneeze. It was loud, but it sounded cute to him.
"Gesundheit," said Sniffles as Lumpy rubbed his nose with his forefinger.
"Thadks," Lumpy said as he kept rubbing his nose for a few more seconds.
Sniffles politely handed Lumpy a tissue, which Lumpy took and blew his nose into.
"I hope you're feeling better now," said Sniffles.
"Yeah, I ab," Lumpy replied as he wiped his nose with his tissue. "I'b still sick, but those tickles really put be id a good mood." He sniffled loudly and smiled at Sniffles. "Thadk you, Sdiffles."
Sniffles smiled at him as well. "You're welcome, Lumpy. Anything to make you feel better, whether you're sick or not."
Lumpy buttoned his pajama top back together, and then lay down in his bed, yawning quietly into his hand. Sniffles couldn't help but giggle to himself as he did so.
"Aww. Are you getting sleepy?"
Lumpy nodded. "Yeah. I dod't dow if it's because of by code, or because the tickles have tired be out..."
"It's alright, Lumpy." Sniffles walked up to Lumpy and tucked him into bed to make him more comfortable. "You can have as much sleep as you need. It's getting late, anyway."
Lumpy took a brief look out the window and saw that Sniffles was right. The sun was disappearing into the horizon, with the sky turning an orangish shade.
"Hah- Cheeew!" Lumpy doubled over as he sneezed quietly into his hands. He then smiled sheepishly as he rubbed his nose gently with his forefinger. Sniffles giggled once again.
"Bless you, Lumpy," said Sniffles.
"Thadks..." Lumpy continued to rub his nose for a few more seconds. By this point, he was just minutes away from falling asleep.
"I hope you feel better soon, Lumpy," Sniffles said compassionately, "because I'm looking forward to seeing you come back to work."
Lumpy blushed as he heard that. "As buch as I dod't like to work, I'b lookidg forward to that, too."
Sniffles walked away from Lumpy and headed to the door. He placed his hand on the doorknob, turned it and pulled the door open. He turned back to Lumpy with a final warm smile on his face.
"Goodbye, Lumpy, and good night. I'll see you in a few days."
Lumpy waved goodbye to him as Sniffles walked out the door and pulled it shut behind him. Lumpy then placed his head on his pillow, his eyelids falling shut afterward. Sniffles made his way out of the front door, closed it quietly and went home. Once Lumpy had fallen asleep, he stayed asleep for the whole night, breathing through his mouth in case his nose was stuffed up.
Lumpy hadn't been lying when he told Sniffles he liked the tickling. Even though Lumpy was sick, he found it a great way to pass the time and help him feel happy. Maybe someday, if Sniffles got sick, Lumpy would come over to his house after work, and then tickle him to cheer him up.
That was a day that had to wait, but it was a day Lumpy was looking forward to - as much as Sniffles was looking forward to the day Lumpy was back to being a healthy, hard-working moose.