It was an accepted fact in their group that Obi never got sick.
When a vicious stomach flu made its way around the palace, taking down guards and nobles without prejudice, Obi had been the last one standing. He'd been the one to hold Shirayuki's hair back in the herb garden when the virus finally hit her, suddenly and violently.
"Don't tell Zen," she had begged pathetically between dry heaves.
"Wouldn't dream of it, Miss," was Obi's unperturbed reply, as if he tended to vomiting ladies in the garden every day. That had been months ago, but she could clearly recollect the comforting warmth of Obi's broad hand rubbing slow circles on her back.
The court herbalist reflected on this as she dragged a cool washcloth across Obi's forehead, the heat of his fever burning through the wet fabric. They had been planting seedlings for hours, Obi working quietly at her side. He had stood up with an armful of jarred herbs to carry back to the storehouse at her instruction, when his eyes rolled into the back of his head and the front of his body connected with the pavement below. Shirayuki's shriek of alarm drew Ryu to the scene. The young boy had simply shook his head at the older man crumpled before him and helped his former apprentice carry him to the infirmary.
Now, two hours later, emerald eyes surveyed the man that had become a permanent fixture to her side. So accustomed was she to relying on his strength and infallible smile that she often forgot he was human too. His hot and shivering body lying prone on the cot reminded her otherwise."Obi…" She rested a hand on his wrist that burned as hot as iron. She swallowed the worry that the illness might be fatal, that maybe this would be the sickness she couldn't mend.
She shook her head to get rid of the thought. In her experience, such negative thinking helped no one. Distracted by her thoughts, she failed to notice her patient's eyes flutter open. Shirayuki nearly fell off her stool at the sound of Obi's voice.
"Are you shaking flowers from your head, Miss?"
His cheeks were stained pink with the heat of fever, but his usual nonchalant smile had returned. He looked around at his surroundings, taking in the setting sun and Shirayuki's work clothes. "I've kept you late past dinner, I see."
"Obi!" she cried his name with a sigh of relief. "You fainted when you were helping me in the garden! I'm so sorry for not noticing that you were sick sooner."
Obi seemed to find this amusing. "I don't remember Master hiring you to watch over me. In fact, I think it's the other way arou-"
Shirayuki pressed the washcloth to his lips, effectively silencing him.
"Don't tell me that, Obi. Just let me take care of you, okay? You really gave me a scare, falling down like that." She removed the washcloth to see if he would protest. Though his face colored, he stayed obediently silent. "Good. Now take off your shirt."
"Excuse me?"
"Um," the redhead hesitated, but the intensity of her green eyes remained, "You were carrying those jars for me when you fainted. You were cut by the glass, and I'd like to check the dressings."
Obi seemed confused by this, but realization appeared to dawn on him when he felt at the bandages beneath his shirt.
"Could it be…" His eyes widened, "you took advantage of me in my vulnerable state, Miss?" He said this with a teasing smile, but Shirayuki still flushed in embarrassment.
"D-don't be silly! Ryu was with me to help me treat your wounds."
"Oh. Guess I got him involved too, huh?" Obi seemed to think about this for a moment, then finally removed his shirt. Three small bandages of her own making were plastered along his chest and right shoulder. His nose twitched at the aroma of alcohol and herbs rising from his body. They spent the next few minutes in a comfortable silence with Shirayuki focused on examining his wounds and Obi watching her do so. She was happy to see the cuts were superficial and would heal quickly with proper care.
When she looked back up from her task, the sun had completely set outside, plunging the room in darkness. Obi's cat-like eyes glowed unnaturally in the dim lighting. His gaze was trained on her hands, which she held flush against his chest to ensure the new bandages stuck. The intimacy of the moment was not lost on her. Shirayuki was suddenly very aware of how alone they were. Beneath her hands, she could feel the slow and sure pounding of Obi's heart.
Shirayuki waited for Zen's familiar face to appear in her mind, but as the seconds passed, the mental image never came and she became more and more self-conscious of the way her body leaned over Obi's form. So consumed with the warmth and tension between the two of them, she barely flinched when Obi reached a smoldering hand towards her face and traced a finger slowly along her jawline.
She was confident she wore a blush as red as her hair. But when she peeked a glance at him, she saw his gaze was glassy and distant, his expression unreadable. She made a mental note to record this symptom in her report later. Then, a thought dawned on Shirayuki.
"Obi…" she placed a hand on his, the one hovering by her throat, "who was it that took care of you before now?"
For the second time that evening, Obi laughed at her. He intertwined his fingers with hers. It's the fever, she reminded herself, the heat is causing him to act like this.
"There was no one before you, if that's what you're asking."
Her heart thumped, and she was unsure if it was from his admission or from the sensation of his thumb drawing circles on her palm. A familiar feeling of sorrow filled her heart, similar to what she first read Zen's medical records and the pain and suffering he'd undergone as a child to accustom his body to poison.
"Now, now, what would the chief think of you crying on the job?"
Shirayuki touched her face and was shocked to see her hand come away wet. Fat tears had soaked her cheeks without her noticing. She looked at her sick and sweating bodyguard and was overcome with the urge to soothe and protect him. She turned towards her workstation, determined to prepare an elixir to break the fever. "I'm going to prepare you medicine now. Just wait a few minutes for me to grind the herbs and-" She was unable to finish her sentence because she was pulled back onto to bed.
Her vision was suddenly filled with strange yellow eyes. There was movement and the ghost of a hot mouth hovering over her own. It occurred to her that she had no idea how her body would react to a kiss from Obi. It was too soon when a pair of rushing footsteps broke the spell, and she was pushed to the other end of the bed, her head striking the wooden post. The room filled with light as Zen entered with a dripping white candle in hand.
"Shirayuki! Obi! I heard you collapsed in the garden and I came to see you as soon as I could. Are you alright?"
The two hesitated, the purity of the prince's presence overwhelming in the aftermath of whatever had been about to happen in the darkness between them. Shirayuki rubbed at the now sore spot on her head, still too bewildered to respond. Ever her protector, it was Obi that spoke up first.
"Master, it seems I've inconvenienced the court herbalist with a fainting spell. She was kindly tending to my wounds before you showed up." A cursory glance at the man's face revealed nothing out of the ordinary, his enigmatic grin forged from years of practice. Zen seemed to accept this and visibly relaxed.
"I see. Well, you picked the best place to fall ill. You are in the best hands possible." The prince winked at Shirayuki at this, but the bubble of guilt in her chest only allowed her to nod weakly in agreement.
"Miss," Obi addressed her in front of the prince, his eyes betraying nothing, "I'm sorry if I scared you. You see, in this darkness, I mistook you for Miss Kiki." He shot Zen a sheepish look. "I have always wondered what a kiss from her would be like."
Zen's face paled in horror. "Y-you mean to say that you kissed Shirayuki?!"
The messenger of the second prince shook his head violently in dissent. "Never! You see, in my fevered state I pulled her unnecessarily close, thinking it was finally my chance to make my move on your most maidenly guard, Zen. But it was not long before I realized my error."
Zen seemed to sigh in relief and Kiki emerged from the hallway with Mitsuhide in tow, arms crossed in disapproval at the confession. Obi began to sweat profusely for reasons other than his fever. Shirayuki suppressed a giggle from the sidelines, relieved to be out of the focus of the conversation. She glanced out the window to see that the newly risen moon was giving off a faint yellow glow. She was not stupid. Obi was obviously covering for the moment that had just transpired between them. For that, she was grateful.
She loved Zen, and she knew she would always love him as a flower loved the sun, without fail and dependent on its warmth and brilliance. But in the years that would follow, even after the most passionate of nights shared with him, she would think back to the anticipation that hung between her and Obi in the infirmary that night and Shirayuki would always wonder where that ship would have carried her had she decided to embark it.
Imagine my horror after binge-watching both seasons of Snow White with the Red Hair and racing to FF to see what Obi and Shirayuki fiction I could find, only to see a few dozen fics in total on the site! My heart broken, I had no outlet but to write my own clichéd one-shot to appease my pain. While it is clear that Zen and Shirayuki belong together, at times I felt his character a bit too perfect and Obi just too adorable and loyal to ignore. Anyway, if you read this far please drop a review. I would love to hear from you!
Pinkqueen21