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A loud, throaty groan bounced around the employee lounge, the guttural sound puncturing the generally tranquil atmosphere of the open air.
Shifting from his comfortable spot on one of the sofas, Stanley smiled to himself as he took in the man before him. The Narrator had decided to grace the office worker with his physical presence today, extending his vast knowledge of the Parable to conjure up a human form. He didn't do it very often, the Narrator finding it weird to be in a form so limiting, they had said. Well, either way, Stanley was going to savour every moment, it's not everyday they gave in to his demands for another person to talk face-to-face with. Taking a sip of coffee from the mug the Narrator had pulled out of thin air, he couldn't help but exhale carefully as the man beside him groaned again, the effect more hilarious than annoying as Narry's breath of despair was interrupted by a brief squeak of air exiting their lungs.
Ah, hiccups. They're like a fungus, once they're there they seem to almost never leave.
Ah…
It was pretty hilarious though, watching the Narrator wallow. Eventually he had taken pity on the other man and shoved him down into a seat across from himself, chucking a bottle of water to them after they had settled onto the soft material. They ended up fumbling for a few moments, not used to having human hands, before holding the bottle in a near death grip as he, unsuccessfully, attempted to open the bottle. Snorting to himself, Stanley reached over and grasped the bottle, his fingers brushing against the Narrator's. The other man flinched back at the touch, still not used to the physical sensations of the human body, especially those that were unexpected.
'Here. Let me do it for you.'
Prying the bottle away from Narry's hand, he unfastened the cap. Once finished, he handed it back over, the Narrator opening his mouth to thank him.
"Well, thank you Stanley." (hic) "Ugh, I hate these pesky human limbs." They groaned, droplets of water dripping down their sweater vest as they drank slowly and deliberately from the bottle. Not that it made much of a difference, considering his terrible lack of hand-eye-coordination and depth perception when in this form. "How you deal," (hic) "with these things, I'll never understand!" Sighing dramatically and dragging a hand down his face, all the Narrator could do was a frown, a tight squeak escaping him as he slowly drifted further down in his seat. Their cheeks burned, and they were pretty sure their neck had long ago turned a light shade of red, but they weren't surprised - this was embarrassing!
This was the most humiliating, asinine thing he had ever exp- (squeak) experienced, and they never wanted to have a repeat of said experience ever again. It was not worth the pain of falling victim to Stanley's not-so-subtle glances towards himself, the worker's eyes wide with mirth and barely concealed laughter as he glowed and shone in the suffering of his own partner. Narry felt like his whole being was on fire, his chest jolting with each (squeak) that whistled from their body. They did not like this one bit, and they'd long since decided that since Stanley wasn't going to do anything apart from laugh silently to himself, he'd make it the other man's problem as much as possible.
Of course, this started off small. Originally, he had decided on releasing quiet puffs of air every 30 minutes, not too often but (hic) not too long of a break in-between. Stanley hadn't reacted much, besides sending them an unreadable glance - one he wasn't willing to decipher at the time, anyway. After that he had amped it up a little, whistled breaths of hair escaping his throat, the sound loud enough to have Stanley's head snap up in surprise when they had done it the first time. After the 3rd time, however, Stanley had caught on to what they were doing and had promptly decided to ignore him. A wise call.
(squeak)
Too bad they were as good at being annoying as Stanley was at ignoring his story.
They had done everything - poked the buttons on the vending machine repeatedly; knocked stray cups from the edges of the coffee tables like some sort of domesticated feline; scratches at the armchair fabric with his nails - that had got a reaction, but Stanley hadn't liked it so he'd stopped. They'd even tried touching the man! Granted, they weren't truly sure if it was considered… touching when all they did was occasionally poke the other man's shoulder, his body swaying from the force. Narry had kept at this for nearly an hour, poking Stanley when they noticed his attention fading. He'd lectured the worker when he'd nearly fallen asleep, the stuffy warmth of the lounge almost enticing the other into the depths of unconsciousness.
"Now, now Stanley, we must stay awake!" He'd said, a self-important lilt to his tone. "You (hic) called for me didn't you? The least you could do is listen to what I'm trying to tell you." They'd then started some long rambling monologue about animals and different kinds of birds, the speech indicative of one of the previous endings - the Bucket Mind Control ending. Ah, he really enjoyed that one.
'Ugh.'
"No, no, no. Stanleyㅡ" (hic) "Staying awake doesn't mean you can 'rest your eyes' or whatever you call it. Oh, a nap? That's nice and all, but I'm not finished talking about these birds, you know- (hic) they're simply just so fascinating Stanley. I mean, look at all these colours, and all for just finding a potential mate! You'd be hard pressed to find more than a speck of red on one such as yourself. Perhaps you should have a browse and take on some of the aspects to liven upㅡ"
(squeak) (hic) (hIC)
Oh dear. It was getting worse.
Lifting his head from the makeshift pillow he'd made by propping himself slightly against the armrest, Stanley turned to the person beside him. He took in the scrunched up, sour facial expression the Narrator currently wore and couldn't help barking out a laugh, the sound a shock against the quiet hic, hic, hic of the man beside him. It was so funny seeing the disdain and dread on Narry's face, and Stanley could feel tears budding in the corner of his eyes as his body bent forward, chest heaving with the strength of his giggles. He tried to stop, he really did, but he found it nearly impossible as the hilarity of the situation caught up to him.
"Y-yeah yeah, laugh it up all you want Stanley, you won't be happy when you get them next." Huffing, the Narrator crossed his arms in indignation, how dare Stanley laugh at me, doesn't he see how dangerous this situation is? I've had these blasted hiccups for nearly 2 hours now and I've yet to see an improvement. Honestly, if they didn't start going away soon, (squeak) (hic) he would start debating his return to the consciousness of the Parable. The only thing stopping them was that they didn't want to disappoint Stanley. "Are y-you going to help me, or are you going to just sit there, reveling in my suffering like the filthy sadist you are?"
'Sorry. Your face was just… it was hilarious. I've never seen you make such a face before.'
"Ha, ha. Shut your face, Stanley, I know you're eating this up really. The shit-eating grin tells me all I need to know."
Stanley raised an eyebrow at the phrase, before shrugging to himself as he assumed it was one of those "not literal" phrases the other man said. Chuckling lightly, he leaned across to Narry's chair, clapping them on the back with force, the air being knocked out of their lungs as he did so, a wheezed "oof!" escaping their throat.
Turning a scandalised glare to Stanley, the Narrator couldn't help but catch the glimpse in the man's eye - his brown eyes twinkling with laugher as he could see him fighting to keep his lips from upturning. They didn't really understand why he did that, he could read him with ease and it was pointless for Stanley to pretend he wasn't enjoying their suffering. Stupid, perfect idiot! Stop laughing at me, it's embarrassing! He could feel blush creeping up along his skin at the situation, brain working on overdrive to combat the feeling of restlessness.
The man beside him obviously couldn't hold in his laugh much longer, and the air finally escaped through clenched teeth, laughter bubbling up from within. Stanley reached for his stomach as he leaned his weight against them for support, nearly toppling Narry over as he leaned across both chairs.
"Wha- What are you doing? Sit back down, you dolt! You are going to make yourself fall at this rate, and then who'll be laughing, huh?"
'Oh my… I- I can't breathe.'
"I find this concerning, Stanley." He deadpanned, amusement taking over his thoughts as a warm feeling spread over his body at Stanley's wobbly laughter. They really liked hearing that sound, and even though it was embarrassing, it was worth it in the end to hear Stanley's joy. I can sacrifice my reputation a little bit, I suppose. He'd been so caught up in the other's enjoyment, it took him several minutes just to realise that his hiccups had subsided, the pressure still present but the sound no longer scratching its way past his mouth. Grinning, he turned back to Stanley.
Wiping his tear-streaked face with some napkins perched on a nearby coffee table, Stanley could finally feel himself calm from his giggling fit. Wow, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. It was... nice. Yes, it was comforting to find himself happy around Narry, his feelings of joy and contentment only heightening the more time he spent around the man. Turning to his partner's face, he paused at the relieved smile framed there.
'Oh? Have they gone?'
"Yes, indeed! It is quite the miracle, Stanley, I had truly thought I was a goner." Stanley laughed at his statement, causing their own gaze to soften as they took in the sweet features of the man before him. "Thankfully, it seems as if I have made a full recovery."
'That's good news, Narry.' He reached forward to gently caress the Narrator's face, the heat radiating off of their cheeks and warming his fingers. Leaning forward, Stanley pressed a light kiss to their forehead, the feeling tingling on his lips.
Shocked, all Narry could do was sit there dumbfounded, unable to come up with any sensible thoughts as his mind screeched at him. Slowly rubbing his fingers along the area Stanley had kissed, all they could feel was warmth bursting inside of them, reservations melting as they stared at Stanley. Swallowing nervously, the Narrator glided forward, palms resting on the other man's lap as he leaned into his space. Grabbing Stanley's tie with a firm hand, he jerked him forwards until they were face-to-face, grey meeting brown as he could feel the man's breath blowing warmly against his skin, goosebumps rising from the proximity.
Crossing the threshold, Narry closed the gap and, cupping Stanley's cheeks delicately in their palms, kissed the other, their lips meeting as his body buzzed with excitement-happiness-loveㅡ both melting into the kiss, eyes closed as they took all of the sensations in.
Stanley was the first to break the kiss, gaze soft and loving as he grasped the others face as well, running his thumbs across the Narrator's lips. Furrowing his brow, Stanley felt… something. He couldn't place it, and lowered his hands from Narry's face, their expression turning concerned as they searched his eyes for an answer. Bringing his gaze back to the man before him, he was about to go in for another kiss when he suddenly (squeaked). A sudden, mortifying dread encompassed him, his body freezing as he screamed in his head, eyes closing in resigned despair.
No.
No, no, no. This was not happening. (hic!) He never got hiccups! What the hell…
Gulping, he opened his eyes, his gaze immediately bombarded by wide, grey eyes, the Narrator's smile gradually growing on his face as he took in what had just happened.
Narry didn't last as long as he did. As soon as the man's mouth opened, the room was suddenly shaken by loud cackling as they laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I can't believe… I can't believe this is happening to me right now. Cheeks blazing, he lowered his head in embarrassment, but all it did was spur the Narrator on as he gushed and cooed at how "cute he was", how he had told him he was next, and how you only had yourself to blame, Stanley!
Begrudgingly, all Stanley could do was accept his fate as he shoved his rosy face into splayed fingers, his body being pulled by Narry as the voice's arm snaked around his hips, his partners deep chuckles vibrating through his body as he leaned his head against them.
How embarrassing…