Hhrshihwww!
Dexter stiffened behind the bar, ears flicking back to catch the sound of a sneeze he’d never heard before.
The Rabbit Hole was full of the sound, of course, but it became routine after a while, and none of the performers were particularly attractive to him.
A patron?
No, the silvery cocktails he whipped up at his station tended to quell most allergy symptoms, saving the sneezing to be done by the escorts and dancers. When the ambiance of the club became white noise to him, anything out of the usual routine stood out.
Black nails tapped the bartop, and Mona grinned at him beneath her shimmery green eyeshadow.
“Tequila and lime, honey. Straight.”
The bat nodded, scooping up the necessary bottle.
“What’s got you all flustered?”
He shrugged, setting down the liquor and reaching for the lime container.
“I’m not?”
“Your ears went all pink,” and he could hear the grin in Mona’s voice, “someone caught your fancy?”
“Who would ever.” He scoffed, half-jokingly, as he handed her the glass, listening to her heels tip-tap back into the noise. The pink clouds and music of The Rabbit Hole swallowed her, and he stood alone at the bar again.
His ear flicked back, involuntarily, catching a distant rough, desperate inhale.
HHrsshiuuwhhh! Hhhrrchuu-!
And just as quickly a cutoff, as if the sneezer had slapped a paw over their mouth to muffle the sound.
But Dexter had heard it, and damned if it wasn’t such an incredibly hot sound. He could feel his heart start to race below his fur, himself leaning into the direction it had come from ever so slightly. He felt a slight heat in his ears, and realized what Mona had meant about him appearing flustered.
This one had issued from the direction of the doorway, the part of the club that sat behind the bar, down a small flight of stairs, that had a din of its own - muffled conversation and street noise, broken by louder moments of the front door being opened.
It couldn’t have been-
Dexter raised a self-mocking eyebrow at the thought. Of course not. There were certainly a great many individuals in the club he’d never heard sneeze before. Likely, it was a new patron who either hadn’t found out about the suppressant cocktail yet or just enjoyed the sensation, maybe not yet confident enough to partake wholly in the club’s activities. It wouldn’t be so odd for a patron to finally be attractive to him, would it?
But the bat found his thoughts wandering to a certain sweater-clad badger, an immovable object of a security guard, someone he’d seen come in that evening - and tried very hard not to stare at - who held a steady post outside The Rabbit Hole’s front door every night.
But nothing made Gatsby sneeze.
He’d dragged unruly patrons out of nearly every corner of the club, each room down those violet halls brimming with different allergens and triggers, hell, even the main hall was decked out for the holidays amongst the regular florals, poinsettias and pine branches dusting their pollen across the room. He’d never reacted to any of it, even in his few years here, Dexter hadn’t heard him so much as sniffle.
A thwap of a metal tray on the bartop and Mona was back, rattling off a list of a dozen shots for a group down the hall. Simple enough. It took Dexter’s mind off of the mystery sneezer and back to work, at least. At least, mostly.
“Mona?”
“Hmm?”
“Did we add anything new in the Hole recently?”
She took her time lining up the tiny glasses onto her tray. “Not that I know of. I mean, it’s the holiday season, so everything’s got mistletoe and pine added, and spices, but we’ve pretty much got a private space here for that theme already. Why, you think you’re finally allergic to this place?”
Dexter shook his head. “Just feels…different in here, I guess.”
She grinned. “Maybe it’s snowing! Ask Gatsby if you see him, he’s been outside all night!”
And she tap-tip-tapped off down the hall.
Dexter was pretty certain that he’d visibly blushed at Gatsby’s name and was really glad that Mona either had not noticed or kept silent about it. He turned his attention across the bar, where a few standing patrons had begun to approach, summoned his most positive bartender demeanor, and busied himself with their orders for the moment.

The last of the group had left the bar, and Dexter was alone once again. He heard the front door clack open and felt the cold rush of winter air and city fumes, the chatter of people outside. Another clack as it shut, a piece of the chatter remained inside, and more patrons had arrived, still not many, but on a frozen Sunday night, who could blame them?
And hidden within the chatter-
eshhuu! tssshhu! ekshhhu-!
-a hastily stifled triple, and a harsh sniff. Dexter felt half his blood rush back to his ears, and half to his groin, thinking hasty un-sexy thoughts as the new group approached him and glad any… more physical reaction wouldn’t show behind the level that the bartop was set at.
What had gotten into him, finally reacting to THIS out of anything? Who WAS it?
The new group of guests dispersed into the main club room with their drinks in hand, and Dexter strained his ears slightly for a hint of another sneeze, but none came.
The bathroom door slammed at the base of the stairs, and Dexter heard a familiar pair of boots climb to the club floor. He glanced over in that direction, locking eyes with Gatsby, the badger’s brow crinkled and his arms folded across his chest.
He was glad Gatsby couldn’t see him turn even redder in the dim light. It didn’t really matter, though, as the badger’s eyes shot around the bar space, locking onto the mistletoe garland that curled around the column on the side and taking a few brisk steps away from it, circling to stand in front of Dexter’s more central spot. He huffed an annoyed sigh, leaning forward across the counter.
“Dex?”
“Hmm…y-yeah!” Graceful, he thought.
“Can you make hot drinks back there?”
“Um, yeah! I’ve got coffee and tea and stuff. It’s cold out?”
“Mm.” Gatsby brought up a paw to rub at his eyes. “That-“ He gestured at the back of the bar area- “-that concoction of yours, can you make it hot?”
“The-“
“That silver thang. The-“ He jerked away from the bar- hhkkssht! -stifling a harsh sneeze into his elbow.
Dexter froze.
Gatsby sniffed and groaned, turning back around to the bar. “-the allergy thang that you’ve cooked up.”
“…Right! First-uh…first time you’ve- sorry, yeah. I can make that hot, it’s just a mixer. Um…with tea?”
“If it still works, yea. Don’ want it diluted.”
“Yeah! It’ll…just be a minute..cause the water…” Dexter gestured clumsily to the pot.
Gatsby nodded, leaning one hip against the bar, scrubbing his paw against the side of his snout.
Dexter fell silent for a moment as he flipped the warmer on, steering his thoughts away from how hot Gatsby looked and how inexplicably horny he’d become in a matter of moments. He pulled it together momentarily as he walked back, enough to inquire, “you’ve never ordered this before, yeah?” and prayed that his current mindset was not betrayed by his voice.
“Didn’t ‘ave to.” The annoyance in Gatsby’s tone was obvious. “Chel’s decorated the club with some…some new bullshit this year, and it’s been settin’ me off all night.” He gestured to the mistletoe garland running down the side of the bar. “It’s out by the front door, too.”
The slight southern drawl in Gatsby’s voice had always been enough to make Dexter weak in the knees on its own, let alone the realization that he’d been right about who’d been sneezing.
“Mistletoe?”
Gatsby squinted at him.
“The thing she decorated with- with the little white berries. Is that what it is?”
Gatsby regarded the garlands surrounding the bar with some curiosity, then shrugged. “Prob’ly. It’s bullshit. Never ‘ad a problem with this place before.”
I know, Dexter thought, and squeezed his hands around each other behind his back. “I didn’t know anything could get to you, really.”
“Fuckin’ embarrassin’ is what it is.” the badger grumbled. “I don’ know how my sis keeps her head on straight.”
Right. Gaia. A dancer within the club, who was certainly far more prone to sneezing than her brother.
Dexter was torn out of his recollection as -hhskkkhh! Hhhichuuhh! Huhhhixchh! - Gatsby doubled over sneezing again, the offending leaves in too close proximity to allow relief.

DISCONTINUED - 12/25/25 - I can't think of where to take this next, and I wanted what currently existed up here to flesh out the Rabbit Hole's universe! (plus i drew this last year!)
Enjoy, and Happy Holidays!