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writingforfishes · 15 days

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Otto and Atticus Chronicles 4: The Hiatus

It is after 3am on my side of the world and when I came home from work I wrote out over 4,000 words, I guess.

This fiction is actually SFW.

I know in my own experience of having a kink I will go through phases where I simply don't feel ar0used by it. At some points in my life I think that I've lost it completely. But it always comes back. Atticus goes through the same states, I've decided. They call that state their 'hiatus'. So that gave me permission to write a story that was not about being turned on by hiccups but, instead, just about Otto getting hiccups and Atticus being a Good Partner.

This story has some hurt/comfort elements in it. Mainly Otto is stressed out and hyperfocused on his clock repair as there is a seasonal rush and Atticus makes sure our boy is taken care of and loved. In turn, Atticus also practices self-care and self awareness.

Oh, and there is also loads of hiccups. Just from a different perspective than normal.

Also, is it normal to develop secondary characters as much as I do for kink fiction? Cause this world is growing...

***

Otto usually didn’t have movements set up like this in the house on test stands. He used the shed in the back yard to test movements, especially the ones with pendulums. He didn’t like to do it on the work bench in the house because there was a possibility that it would get bumped. But it was spring and usually around this time of the year Otto experienced a rush in business. People were cleaning out their homes or their parents/grandparents homes and finding old clocks that hadn’t seen services for decades and suddenly wanted them working again to have a piece of their loved one with them.

He had a few watches in drawers as well that were waiting for service. And then there were the regular customers that still filled the quota for maintenance. All in all, this week had been hectic. He’d been to four home visits for tall clocks and grandfather clocks already and it was only Wednesday.

Fortunately he didn’t have any home visits scheduled for today and he wasn’t planning to, not with how enthusiastic his diaphragm had decided to be. Luckily, thanks to Atticus’ insights on the pattern when his recurring hiccup days happened, he had known this was a possibility.

He ate later than usual last night and it was a spicier meal than average. When Atticus had mentioned the possibility of hiccups being the consequence of his indulgence Otto took note and popped a couple of antacids before bed.

While it hadn’t prevented the hiccups he had to admit that they weren’t as strong or violent as his past experiences with day-long recurring hiccups had been. He hadn’t even seen reason to try and cure them. And, at times, he completely forgot they were there until he found himself taking a breath, gulping, or startling himself with a HUCK when his mouth had been open.

They had started coming a little more rapidly though, and he wasn’t sure exactly why. But he was so focused on at least finishing one more movement before taking a break that he ignored the body jolts and worked through the clusters of hiccups that piled one on top of the other to get just one more thing done.

He leaned forward into the current clock movement, a Seth Thomas regulator, and pulled down the eye loupe attached to his glasses to get a better look at the escapement. He paused as a cluster of three hiccups hit him causing him to bounce and his hand to unsteady. He sighed and swallowed down some slower hiccups as he inspected the built up oil around the pivots and in the teeth of the gears.

A lot of clock makers were enthusiastic about taking apart movements and cleaning them. But if the oil buildup wasn’t too bad and it was working pretty well once it was in beat Otto would rather leave the movement as it was and clean what he saw.

He was deciding whether or not this particular movement was going to need an ultrasonic bath when he heard the stairs creak behind him, the light thumping of bare feet tapping through the living room and into the kitchen, and the sound of a mug hitting softly on the counter.

Normally Otto would have excitedly met with his partner to show his hiccups and spend an intimate moment together but 1) he still had so much work to catch up on that he was nervous to lose any time that he could use getting through his list of repairs and 2) Atticus was in what they liked to call a ‘haitus’ from experiencing arousal from hiccups.

When Atty first experienced the phenomenon Otto had been worried his partner going to find his hiccups obtrusive and annoying. But they reassured them that even when their arousal level was low Otto and his hiccups were adorable and charming. Otto had been relieved, but they’d never had the hiccups while Atticus wasn’t aroused by them. In a way they were thankful timelines lined up to be a benefit to his catching up with work. But he was also curious as to whether Atticus really would find his hiccups as endearing as they claimed they would.

“Huh-huck’m!” Otto murmured as he looked closer at the escapement gear. He might have to bend some of those teeth back into place. Another cluster of hiccups hit him, “huck!hmp!mk!hmk!uck!--Jeez!”

“Have you had them all morning?” a voice said from behind him.

Otto jumped, eyes wide, and looked around at the sudden appearance of his partner. They had gotten their hair cut recently, sides shaved and curls tousled on top and touching their forehead. They stood behind him calmly with a mug that said ‘Life’s a bitch and then you die,’ in simple font on the front. Atticus continued to amaze Otto with their ability to seemingly transport right behind him in an instance.

“Holy shhic!t, you sc-scared the huck’m crap out of me!” Otto exclaimed, clutching his chest. He muffled a few more hiccups that piled in with the excitement.

“But not the...hiccups, apparently,” Atticus replied and took a bemused sip from their mug.

It was always a little endearing how much trouble Atticus sometimes had saying the word ‘hiccup’ out loud. They avoided it most of the time.

Otto took his glasses off finally as looking at Atticus through them was becoming disorienting. He chuckled a little at the comment, feeling a harder than expected HUCK shake his body and pull in his sternum.

“N-no,” Otto confirmed, rubbing the sensation from his chest as his hiccups continued to settle more on contracting his belly after that big one. Atticus just smiled, no hint of arousal in their expression. “I-hulp! I got them hup!-after breakf-mp!-breakfast. Are you huck!-uh. Hmp!mp! Are you up ear-early?”

“I am not,” Atticus confirmed. “I, in fact, slept in. Late night working on a submission. Did you have breakfast around seven?”

Otto knitted his brows, confused at the question.

“Y-hup!-yeah,” he answered with a nod.

“Sweet boy, it’s one in the afternoon,” Atticus informed him.

“What?” he exclaimed, and looked at his watch. “Oh m-man. Huck! I was suHUP!-supposed to call hmp! Millie back hup!-to s-set mk!-up an appointment for herp!-her grandmother hmp!-clock.”

“Aw, I love Millie!” Atticus said. They came over and put a hand on his shoulders. “I’m sure she’ll understand you getting wrapped up in...wow, how many clocks are you working on?”

“I don’t mk!-don’t wanna talk about it. HUCK!” Otto said, and sighed again. Another volley of hiccups hit him. “Huck!hulp!Uck!Hilp!” and he silently jerked through two more. He felt Atticus’ warm hand rubbing his shoulder as the fit passed.

“Why don’t I fix you a sandwich? You can step away from...whatever this is,” Atticus suggested waving a hand at two stands that were holding up clock movements. One that was set up to be tested and one that he was currently working on.

Atticus had felt his neck tense as more hiccups rippled through his slouched form. They’d winced at the fastness of his hiccups. Usually they would feel turned on but now they just felt sympathy. They felt a higgup bounce in his shoulders before he sighed and rubbed his eyes roughly.

“I jhuck!-just have so hmp!-much to do! I’m behimp!-behind hip!-and I n-need to hmp!-call Millie. Damn! Wh-where did the hup!-time go?” he lamented, throwing a worried look up at Atticus.

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely not in those,” Atticus said, gesturing to the clock guts that were motionless in front of Otto.

Otto’s face turned from worried to stricken as he followed Atticus’ gaze. And what was meant to be a light hearted joke made a knot form that his hiccups seemed to gather around, an ache forming in his chest.

“Oh, hey…” Atticus cajoled realizing their mistake, “No no. C’mere.”

Atty put down their mug behind them, purposely avoiding the work bench where all of those delicate looking tools and parts were exposed. They wrapped their arm around his shoulders and took their other hand and pressed his head into their chest softly, stroking his hair. It was rare that they got to cradle Otto like this as their two height differences made it near impossible if he wasn’t sitting. So they actually really enjoyed moments when they could cradle him and offer him comfort, his body jolting with hiccups that seemed to get stronger as he had brought up the backlog of work he had on his plate right now.

“Sorry, sweetie,” Atty said softly into Otto’s hair.

Otto sighed at the sensation of warm breath on his scalp. The sigh ended in a hard HUCK-UK! He grunted. Now that he had started paying attention to them he realized how long he’d had the hiccups and how annoying they had become. It probably didn’t help that he also suddenly realized how hungry he was. His hiccups were definitely jolting a stomach that felt empty and ached a little from that, too.

“I’m just huck-uk!-just a little huck!-overwhelmed,” he admitted. His hiccups were a little muffled as he buried his face in the soft material of Atticus’ Henley. Their scent was comforting and he took a breath of it, snorting a couple more hiccups, small burps escaping in retort.

“You need a break,” Atticus said. “Would you allow me to call Millie and tell her you’re a little backlogged and not feeling well? And let me fix you a sandwich? I think it would help the...hiccups, too. And if that doesn’t work we can cure them the way we always do.”

Otto whimpered a little. He hated stepping away from a project, especially when he had so many more to work on. He rubbed his stomach, though, feeling his hiccups respond by quickening again. He felt Atticus’ hand raking through his hair and over his scalp, grounding him.

“Hey,” Atticus said, voice still soft. Their hand suggested to Otto that he should look up at them and so he obliged. Tilting his head up forced his body to jerk a little more at each hiccup so he had to adjust his eyes at each spasm to keep on Atticus’. “It’s not your fault that you’re behind. You’re one person and you have a sudden surge of clients that need your services. You’re doing the best you can. And right now, you need to take care of yourself because otherwise you’re going to work yourself to the ground and I’ll have to youtube how-to videos on clock repair and, I dunno, I might get maimed by a main spring or something.”

“Is HUCK!-is this huck’m!-supposed to make mhuck!-me feel huck!huck!-feel better?” Otto responded wryly. He didn’t miss the roll of Atticus’ eyes as he suppressed a belch that tucked his chin in immediately followed by a volley of silent hiccups. He grunted, disgruntled. He felt a hand on his head again.

“You get what I’m saying though,” they said.

He nodded, “Y-yeah mk!mk!”

“Want me to call Millie?” they asked.

He shook his head at that.

“I’ll d-do it,” he said.

“With the hiccups…?” Atticus asked incredulously. They’d recently found out a few months ago how uncomfortable having hiccups in public made Otto.

Otto shrugged in response. It was a non-committal response but it indicated that he just thought it would be easier, somehow. Atticus didn’t argue. They weren’t a fan of talking on the phone, anyway.

“Sandwich?” was Atticus’ final question as Otto gathered up his phone and searched his contacts for Millie’s number. He nodded at this.

“P-please. Huck!-uh. Thanks,” he added sheepishly.

Atticus smiled and put a kiss on his forehead as Otto held the phone up and listened to the other line ring.

He prepared to try and suppressed his hiccups as much as possible. He certainly didn’t want to come off as rude. As weird as it was, some people did see the involuntary spasms as impolite and Millie was in her late 70’s, nearing 80. He had no idea what the older generation would think about a professional calling with the hiccups. If he were in a clearer frame of mind he might have decided to let Atticus call or wait until he could cure them effectively, but it seemed more direct and rational to deal with it himself as soon as possible.

“Hey M-Millie,” Otto said when a voice on the other end came on. Otto had been servicing Millie’s clocks for close to a decade now. She had some amazing timepieces and a couple of gorgeous chiming clocks. He had been honored to form a relationship with her first because of the opportunity to work on some absolutely amazing clocks but then because Millie was a delightful person.

“I’m d-mm!-doing okay. I apo-uh!-apologize for—for calling later—later than we’d agree-eed on. Hmp!” Otto tried not to hold his breath as that sped up his hiccups but he had been able to silence most of them with effort.

“N-no,” Otto said, and chuckled a little releasing an uncaught squeak. “The conhmp!-mm-the connection’s fine. I—I have a pretty—pretty stubborn hmpk!-uh stubborn case of the-the hiccups right now. Pl-please excuse me mk!”

Otto smiled and stood, wincing as he realized how incredibly stiff he was from sitting at the bench. His butt, of all things, was numb and sore at the same time. He came into the threshold of the kitchen to lean against the wall and watch Atticus toast bread to make a PB&J. They were slicing up apples, too.

Millie was coo-ing as if she was his mother. ‘Poor baby’ and such. Otto already felt more relaxed listening to her voice soothing him with compassion. He let his hiccups out a little as he unclenched his muscles. He still kept his mouth closed so they didn’t explode into Millie’s ear but they made more regular mk sounds as he waiting for her to finish.

Atticus sent Otto a smile as they mouthed ‘I love you’. Otto mouthed it back but with an uck punctuating it.

“Mm. N-no. Holding muck!-my breath makes mk!-makes them worse mk!-usually. Huck! Sorr-mk!-sorry!” Otto said, covering his mouth.

Otto nodded to her response.

“Yeah-mk!-they’re pretty bad. Mmk! L-listen. I wanted mk!-wanted to see if mk!-if we could t-talk tomorrow. Hmpk! I have a mk!-pretty long back-mk!-backlog of p-mp!-projects right now. I haven’t mk!-had—had time to look at mk!-my schedule, yet. C-could I call mk!-you tomorrow?” Otto asked.

Otto nodded as she acquiesced very quickly, insistently almost. Otto knew Millie couldn’t see him nod but he did it out of instinct and as Atticus seemed to relax at the gesture it was good that he had done it to confirm at least that stress was dealt with and off of his plate for today.

“Yeah th-they’re doing okay. Mmk!-uh. Fixing me so-something to eat mk!-right now. I s-sorta forgot hmpk!-to do that. Mmk’m!” Otto responded and rubbed his chest. “P-probably why mk!-these things have mk!-lasted this long.” Otto paused, listening, and smiled, “Yeah m-my mom mk!-got them when she was hung-hungry, too!”

Atticus raised their eyebrows. Otto grinned and shrugged.

“Okay,” he said into the phone. “O—okay, yeah. Mk! Yeah, tom-tomorrow. Mk! I’ll tell them. B-bye.”

Atticus sat the plate with the PB&J down on the kitchen table and the apple slices next to it. The writer was forbidden to use the stove anymore since the great scorch a few years back. Since then they’d gotten pretty damn good at salads and sandwiches, when needed. Otto did most of the cooking.

“M-Millie sends huck-uh!-her well-wishes. Says she hmpk!-read your latest huck!-latest book of poems. She hupk!-likes the one about p-MK!-pomegranates,” Otto said fondly.

“Ha! That’s great! It’s so cool that she reads my stuff. By the way, that one was totally about my junk,” Atticus said indelicately.

“HA! Huck’m! H’muck! Mk!-uh! Ugh, don’t m-make me laugh. HUCK!-uh…” Otto guffawed. He suppressed another belch followed by three more hiccups that seemed to play with the air that his stomach had created from becoming acidic with hunger. Otto made a gross face and swallowed.

“Sit! Food! Eat!” Atticus insisted.

Otto finally pushed off of the wall and sat down.

“PB and h’muck!-J?” Otto asked.

“Fast calories. C’mon. Those hiccups are just hungry. Take your time. I’ll get you some water,” they said and ruffled Otto’s curls as they passed him to get a glass.

“What-hmp!-What are you gonna eat?” he said around a bite. He chewed while he hiccuped and swallowed between them. It was a delicate process but he could already tell that his stomach was starting to satiate by the second bite. Though he might need at least one more of these sandwiches, at least. He tried to go slow.

“Gonna make some eggs,” Atticus said. At Otto’s look, they said, “I can make eggs…”

He grinned around the food, hiccuped, and swallowed. He made no further comment except to watch them carefully during the process.

Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with half an apple eaten by Otto and two scrambled eggs with toast eaten by Atticus later the clock maker felt a lot better. His hiccups weren’t quite gone, but they had lessened significantly. His anxiety had ebbed significantly, too. But he still couldn’t help but think about the looming deadlines and clock movements that sat unfinished.

“Okay. Back to it. Hmph!” Otto said. “I really appreciate you taking hmp!-taking care of me, Atty. These clocks are n-not gonna put themselves in hmph!-in beat!”

“Hey, suggestion?” Atticus said, putting both of their dishes in the dishwasher after rinsing them. The shorter of the couple watched the taller with some level of intensity. They took in his disheveled curls (though they were the one who did some of that), shadowed eyes, and posture that held tenseness like it was a vital commodity.

Otto’s hiccups had weakened and Atticus was thankful for that. Even within the break from their attraction they found hiccups to be interesting and endearing. But Otto’s hiccups today didn’t just originate from poorly made dinner decisions. Otto’s hiccups seemed to mirror the anxiety state he was in.

Or perhaps that was Atticus projecting a little. This writing submission had been a point of obsession for them. If Otto went back in the deep end of his clock repair then Atticus would end up back treading water with their short story submission. But when Otto looked back, lips opening over his slight overbite then closing quickly with another quick inhale of a hiccup Atticus felt a little guilty and selfish with their suggestion.

“Yeah?” Otto prompted when Atticus seemed reticent.

“Um. How about you don’t?” they finally said.

“Do-hmph!-don’t…?” Otto said, shaking his head.

“Uh. Listen,” Atticus winced as they rubbed the back of their head wondering if they should’ve even brought it up. But they huffed in determination to get it out. “Do you know what time I went to bed?”

“Hmm-hmk!” Otto said and took a moment to think. “No, actually. I know you were werk!-working on your short story. I fi-figured you probably fell asleep hmph!-in the loft.”

“Well yeah, I did...when I heard you get up,” they said sheepishly.

Otto’s eyes widened a little.

“Wait, what?” he replied. “So that was herp!-that was around five this morning?”

“This deadline is so close, Otto. But the harder I push myself the harder it is to finish. And I just,” they sighed in a huff, “I think I need a break! And...with all of these commitments and business you have right now I think...I mean...I’d like you to take a break with me. Just today.”

“Atticus, I…”

“I know, I know. You have a lot of people counting on you and you don’t like to disappoint people or promise something you can’t fulfill. But is what you’re going to be able to get accomplished today with as tired as you are really worth still feeling that tired tomorrow and pushing yourself through until you’re entirely burned out? Or is just taking this afternoon and tonight to take a break and feeling a lot better and having a lot more energy tomorrow better in the long run? I’m kind of being selfish here because I really just need to get out of my head on this thing and seeing you today running yourself ragged and forgetting to eat or drink water...I just...think it wouldn’t be a completely terrible idea for us both to just...take a moment,” Atticus said, sputtering nervously and biting their lip.

Atticus had never had the kind of drive that Otto had when it came to anything in life. Otto was self driven in a way that Atticus could never figure our how to embody. Truth be told, they often felt incredibly inadequate in Otto’s focused motivation and follow-through. But the person they saw crouched over the clock movement, shoulders up to his ears in tightness, working diligently but with tremors more than from hiccups seemed to embody the exhaustion Atticus had experienced the night before and morning of the current day.

“So…” Otto started, allowing his body to jolt with a silent hiccup, “take a break?”

“Yes…”

“Like a...m-mental health day?” Otto asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Atticus agreed.

Otto sighed and seemed conflicted for a moment. He looked back to his workbench. He gave the two movements sitting on it a glare. His mind’s eye thought about the three watches that needed service and the two other movements in the shed that still needed some attention. None of them were big jobs, but they were still time consuming. But he also considered what Atticus had said.

Warily he stepped tentatively over to his work bench, fingers twitching as he reached and flicked off the lights. He felt his diaphragm twitch again and rubbed his hand over his belly to ease the anxiety.

“Okay. What do we do now? Hmpk!” Otto asked and put a hand over his chest.

Atticus breathed out a sigh of relief. Even though they felt completely comfortable with Otto and had been with him for years they’d always felt like challenging his work ethic and dedication was something mildly off limits. But seeing him in such a state earlier had made their compassion override that inadequacy and they’re glad they offered the out.

“I was thinking we could...lay on the couch and fall asleep to some crappy tv?” they offered tentatively.

Over the years Atticus and Otto’s media consumption had melded. Atticus easily loved the classical music and niche composers Otto featured on his record player, but Atticus sometimes just needed noise. They rarely watched TV, but having it on made them feel more focused in some ways. It didn’t seem to make sense, but it worked for them. And slowly Otto had become accustomed to their habits in addition to his.

After a moment of consideration Otto gave a nod, “I could hup!-do that. Though...my diaphragm is hmph!-kinda disruptive right now…”

“I don’t mind but if it’s bothering you we can do the cure,” Atticus said.

“I think I’m al-almost done. I don’t want to do the hup!-the cure too much. Maybe it’ll get, I dunno, hmk!-like get ineffective if I do it too much?” he said uncertainly.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how that works but if you don’t want a mouthful of salt I totally understand,” Atty said with a smile.

“I really, r-really don’t!” Otto replied emphatically. Atticus laughed.

And so, Otto and Atticus ended up on the couch in the living room. Atticus pressed their back into Otto’s chest and belly. Otto nuzzled his bearded face into the place where Atticus’ neck met their shoulder from behind. For the first five minutes they lazily watched a documentary that neither of them would remember.

Atticus would jolt with every hiccup Otto made. His hiccups muffled in their neck. They could feel his intakes of breath on their neck’s skin and hear the slight whistle as air sucked into his nose as a small thump hit the small of their back from Otto’s stomach.

Otto’s hiccups faded and stopped after that. Simultaneously they both breathed in deeply and let it out. They chuckled together when they realized what they’d done.

Within an hour Otto had relocated to his back and Atticus had tucked themselves to Otto’s side, their head on his chest. A drawling British narrator spoke about some documentary worthy topic as the couple let the worries of their day fade like Otto’s hiccups finally had. When they awoke that evening to have dinner they would find they were able to breathe again, too.

#hic fic #hiccups #hiccups kink #hiccup kink #otto and atticus #kink fic #hurt/comfort kink fic #emotional h/c #minors dni

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