Chapter Text
There was no actual reason or thought behind his request. Maybe it was because he had seen Zen and Shirayuki share a little kiss in the woods earlier that day. Maybe it was because Garrack had tipsily asked him about his trip to the pub last weekend, if he had seen any hot women there – Garrack was either a raging lesbian or way too invested in other people’s social lives or both. Maybe it was because he had jokingly hit on Kiki earlier and gotten summarily rejected, as per usual. Maybe it was all of those things or none of them.
Regardless of the potential reason, there was definitely no thought put into it at all, neither about the potential reactions nor the potential consequences.
“I have a dire problem that I would like to put on the table before you guys”, Obi said with a straight face, looking at his four best friends that were all gathered in Zen’s office to give reports about their respective days. Everyone had just finished with said reports and were now simply lingering in companionable silence, reluctant to part ways during such a rare moment of togetherness.
Upon his declaration, everyone looked at him with various degrees of worry and scepticism. Kiki’s expression was particularly pre-emptively unimpressed. It was so very rude in his humble opinion, she couldn’t know if he was about to announce that he was dying from a liver disease or that he had to bid them all goodbye and skip town for the foreseeable future because of someone wanting his head. Of course, she was absolutely right that he was about to spout pure bullshit, but that was beside the point.
“You see, I have this affliction… it’s called ‘kiss-starvation’”, he said, holding a dramatic hand over his chest.
Zen sighed deeply enough that if spraining one’s lung was possible, he probably just did. Kiki turned around, opened the door, and walked out, closing it quietly behind herself. Mitsuhide massaged his temples, looking weary. Shirayuki looked like she was refraining from giggling. Obi loved her so much, she was the only one who understood him in this cold, cruel group of people.
“It’s a serious issue”, he continued, not breaking character despite the reception from his audience. “It can be fatal if it goes on for too long, and mine has reached the state where I’m having trouble sleeping at night due to how lonely and unloved I feel at all times.”
Okay, so. He hadn’t actually meant to say anything remotely truthful. He really hadn’t. He hadn’t thought that was truthful in any way, shape or form when the words formed in his mouth. But as soon as they left his mouth, he realized he wasn’t joking, not completely.
The truth was that as much as he was pushing Zen and Shirayuki to be together, to take any chance they could to be affectionate, to spend as much time together as they could steal… the closer they got, the more he felt like the third wheel, like something that had no place by their side and they had simply forgotten he was still there.
He had no right to, but he had feelings for both Shirayuki and Zen. He ignored the feelings to his very best ability on a day to day basis, he had zero intention of getting between their beautiful love. But on some days, or more often some sleepless nights, it still made his heart feel heavy and empty. He felt like the ground he had carefully packed together as a foundation for his home was steadily crumbling under his feet, one kiss, one loving touch, one longing glance at a time.
Most days he knew this wasn’t the case. He knew. He wasn’t stupid. Just because he wasn’t part of the love story didn’t mean he wasn’t a part of their lives as a whole. That’s what he was banking on every time he tricked them into going on a date and every time he got one of them to do a loving act of service for the other. He didn’t need to be involved in their intimate, romantic relationship to be happy and to stay with them. This was genuinely his mindset on most days.
Just not on all days. Today was apparently one of the less okay days and he realized it far too late.
He hoped nobody noticed the momentary slip on his mask and rallied his speech back up. “Hence why I am now asking you, my dearest friends and the people responsible for my well-being, to step up and volunteer yourselves to give me kisses to restore my good health!”
Silence.
Obi turned to look at Mitsuhide expectantly. Mitsuhide immediately lifted his hands up in surrender, eyes darting towards the door. “I’m supposed to accompany Kiki to the training grounds. My apologies for being unable to assist you.”
Knowing Mitsuhide, this was actually true and not just an excuse to flee. It was, however, very much an excuse to flee as well, which he did posthaste.
Obi turned to look at Zen.
“You’re an idiot and you shouldn’t start a conversation with such a serious tone when it’s going to be your usual stupid nonsense”, Zen said, fuming and looking moments away from smacking him upside his head.
“Harsh, cold and cruel, master”, Obi said with a mild and deliberately provoking smile.
Then he noticed movement to his left. Shirayuki had gotten up from the couch she had been sitting on and was walking over to him, looking shy but determined. Before Obi had a chance to do more than give her a questioning look, her left hand reached up to cradle his cheek and she stood on her tiptoes to give his right cheek a quick peck.
He was stunned. Her cheeks went red and she pulled back, averting her eyes. Zen looked like he might faint.
“What kind of a pharmacist would I be if I ignored a plea for medical assistance?” Shirayuki asked, green eyes darting to look at him with amusement for a moment, before embarrassment overcame her again and she looked away.
Obi lifted his hand to touch his fingers to the freshly kissed cheek in astonishment. He had absolutely not expected to actually get a kiss of any kind from anyone here, it had all been a joke. As it was though, his heart filled to the brim within seconds and he felt some kind of an emotion that he had never felt before in his life, warm and light and comforting. It was almost like his joke of an illness was much less of a joke than he had thought and his self-prescribed cure was actually working.
Zen let out a frustrated sounding sigh and marched over to Obi, breaking his daze. Obi braced himself for a light smack over the head or perhaps an angry lecture, but what he got would never, ever have been on his list of possibilities even if he had been given time and mental clarity to compose such a list.
Zen grabbed a hold of his shirt to yank him down to his level and planted a kiss on his left cheek.
Obi’s mind was empty, his soul had ascended, and he had to unknowingly be some deity’s favourite child. If his heart had been full before, now it was spilling over and warming him to his core.
Zen’s cheeks were flaming red as he let go of Obi’s shirt and stepped back to stand next to Shirayuki. “There. Can’t have someone under my direct command perish from this condition.”
…surely he didn’t actually believe…?
Shirayuki slipped her hand into Zen’s and gave it a squeeze, which made Zen’s tightly bunched shoulders loosen.
It finally loosened Obi’s tongue as well. “Ah, many thanks to both of you! With this, I believe I can carry on a little longer again.”
It was not his wittiest quip, but his heart was beating wildly in his chest and his face felt a little hotter than usual, so it was the best he could do.
“You’ll let us know if your affliction flares up again, will you?” Shirayuki asked, and her eyes were definitely sparkling with pure mischief, even if her cheeks were still somewhat pink. Zen’s eye twitched, but he squeezed her hand.
Shirayuki was his favourite person in the whole world. The only one who understood him. His soulmate even.
“Will do, mistress!” he said, winking at them. Zen looked ready to commit war crimes, so Obi figured it was time to quit while he was ahead. “Now I believe I must be off. I need plenty of rest to recuperate fully. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do while I’m gone.”
Zen threw a book at him that he easily ducked on his way out. Perhaps that wasn’t quite ‘quitting while he was ahead’ after all, but it was so worth it.
If he closed his eyes and thought back to the kisses multiple times that evening before finally falling into very peaceful slumber, it was nobody else’s business.