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Zen is frowning, a furrowed brow marring his pretty face and Obi’s stomach clenches. “I agreed to the arrangement but I didn’t think my brother would pick you,” he says. “But we need someone close to the crown and, well, everyone knows neither my brother or I have ever gone out of our way to make friends with the Lords and their sons. Which leaves the knights.”
And of course, Obi’s mind supplies, the few of those who have befriended the two princes are all married or promised. Save for one.
He quietly clenches his fist and offers Zen a carefree grin. “It’s alright, Master. If not for this I’d probably never have found someone willing to marry me anyway.”
The grimace he gets in return makes his heart ache.
~~~
Mitsuhide has been unusually quiet for days now and Obi sometimes catches the aid looking at him with sad eyes and an angry mouth. Kiki notices too and turns to her partner and asks if he has had enough time to, ahem, unwind as of late and his indignant outburst finally brings the mood of the room back to something resembling normal.
Obi grins and joins in on the fun, coaxing out an even deeper shade of red from Mitsuhide’s complexion. He’s grateful for the concern but more grateful for the distraction; even after all these years he’s never quite figured out how to respond to the kindness he’s found among these three. He laughs to hide his shaking fingers and churning stomach.
“Obi,” Zen says, minutes later when the chaos has begun to calm, “how are you doing?”
Obi freezes at his place against the armrest of the couch; Zen’s tone was far from casual. “Master?”
“I imagine it’s taken a few days for my brother’s request to sink in. I’m wondering how you’re feeling about it now?” He quirks an eyebrow.
He’s caught in the glare of a searchlight, breath stuck in his throat and eyes wide. A moment passes and then he’s sighing, shoulders sagging as he chuckles dryly. “Aw, Master, you never let me keep any secrets anymore, do you?”
Zen’s smile is tight and sad. “Not since I figured out what the only secrets you keep are about.”
He feels a bump against his arm and looks up; Mitsuhide smiles at him, warm and reassuring.
“It’s okay to be nervous. Or angry. Or anything, really. We just want to know so we can help.”
Obi looks around at each of them, at their silent nods of agreement and tucks away the feeling it gives him for a rainy day, for a bad day when he needs a reminder for why he stays.
He huffs out a laugh, lighter than before, and nudges Mitsuhide back. “I may need Sir to hold my hand.”
~~~
Izana lets him meet Raj before the Crown Prince returns home to Tanbarun, an opportunity to learn about his future bride and for the Prince to get to know him in some small manner, to vouch for him.
The only thing he learns is that she must be an extremely strange person to be a good friend of the future King of Tanbarun. It doesn’t make him feel any better.
~~~
By the time the retinue pulls through the Starlight Gate, weeks have passed and he is ready. Nervous, yes, but only to know what she is like; Prince Raj’s latest letter has assured them all that she is approaching this marriage with optimism and grace and Obi knows that he can live with this relationship so long as that is true. But he hopes she likes him.
A guard opens the carriage door and a small figure steps through and down to the ground. She’s short.
He’s off to the side and she’s facing away from him at first, her attention on the Princes and Lord Haruka as they ask after her health and the long journey. When she turns and he finally catches sight of her face he can hardly breathe.
The guards around him are whispering about her hair, apple red and tied up in elegant loops and braids, but all he sees is green.
Green as springtime and fierce as the sea. He can’t look away.
~~~
His hands are in his hair, grip tight and unforgiving, and he barely even notices as he paces the floor. “She’s so-” He stops, lost for words. How had he, in all these weeks, never stopped to wonder?
“Yeah?” Mitsuhide asks, smirking.
“She’s beautiful! ”
Mitsuhide bursts out laughing.
How had he never stopped to wonder what she looks like?
~~~
The fierceness in her eyes was no deception, no mask thrown up for defense. She is a firebrand.
Her glare bores into him and he can be nothing but honest with her, both for the sake of this arrangement and his respect for her wrath.
“Paperwork is boring,” he says, shrugging. “And I can’t help with it anyway, so why not be on guard duty?”
The change in her expression tells him he has spoken rightly and when she smiles it is like the sun rising. “My name is Shirayuki. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise, Miss,” Obi says and offers her his palm once more.
She places her hand in his and they slide back onto the dance floor, weaving in seamlessly with the other dancers. “Tell me about yourself,” she says.
He turns his automatic cringe at the question into a wink and smiles charmingly. “I’m afraid there’s not much to tell, Miss. I grew up on the streets, so no family to speak of, and I made a living working odd jobs until Master took me in. I’ve been at the castle ever since.”
She looks up at him wryly. “If you had tried to be any more vague you would have had to have said nothing at all.” She chuckles at whatever expression has made its way onto his face. “It’s fine, I can tell when someone has a past they don’t like to talk about. Do you have any hobbies?”
It is a rare thing indeed for someone to realize Obi is evading and rarer still to be called out for it. It is whole seconds before he can compose himself and stutter out a response. “Well, uh, I like cooking.”
“Really?” she asks, eyes sparkling. “What’s your favorite dish?”
They keep dancing.
~~~
The moon reflects off emerald pools as she moves to open the balcony doors. “Obi? How did you get up here?”
He ignores her question for another time and speaks all in a rush. “Miss, I just want you to know that I’m happy it’s you.”
She stiffens. “What?”
“Who I’m marrying tomorrow,” he continues, trying to explain. “I’m happy it’s you.” His hand clutches at his shoulder and he glances away. “I know, it sounds stupid to say that when we barely know each other-”
“No!” she says, cutting him off. “I-” she pauses, eyes searching his face. “I feel the same way about you. You’re not what I expected but,” she takes a deep breath, pausing. “It’s good. You’re good.”
His heart pounds and he reaches out, runs his finger down her cheek and breathes. “Can we be friends in this, Miss?”
She smiles. “I’d like that.”
~~~
She’s got dirt smeared on her face. Obi noticed it hours ago but her hands are still caked with it and she keeps brushing that one stubborn strand of hair back and, really, there’s just no point in telling her yet. As long as he mentions it before they leave here she can’t get mad.
He looks back down and counts how many more plants he has left and calculates how much longer it will be until he’s finished. His shirt is starting to cling to him. The warmth of the greenhouse has invaded and all the moisture in his body is fleeing through his pores. He plants another flower.
When he glances up again he startles.
She is standing next to him suddenly (and when had he become comfortable enough around her that she could sneak up on him?) and she lowers herself into a crouch, leaning forward to brush her hand over the delicate sprouts. She smiles softly. “You’re good at this, Obi. Maybe you should take the apprenticeship test.”
This moment is nothing special, nothing new; they’ve teased each other like this a thousand times, but this time Obi’s response catches in his throat at her smile, as dazzling and beautiful as it was the first time he saw it and suddenly he cannot breathe . There is a tempest in his chest, a storm of fire and water that burns and soothes in equal portions. He trembles beneath it, overwhelmed by the power of his own feelings because in that moment he finally knows . He is aware and the words escape him in a breathless rush before he can stop them.
“I love you.”
And he freezes, stiff and surprised and he wants to reach out and snatch them back but he cannot move. He holds his breath and he waits, waits for the sky to fall or the world to end or his heart to stop, but none of that happens.
Instead, she turns to him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed and she is so beautiful he almost looks away. Slowly her expression changes, softens, the gentlest of smiles taking over her face and her eyes are green, green, green and he cannot help but to reach out and tuck that errant strand of hair behind her ear. He had not thought he could ever have this, had not even thought that she could become this for him and he tells himself he should not hope for her to return it, but oh he does.
She rests her cheek in his palm and gazes up at him and he does not know that expression, has not seen it before, but he is riveted by it, feet stuck to the ground and heart racing. She is radiant and he cannot look away when she opens her mouth and redefines his entire world. “I love you, too.”