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“Where are we going Obi?” Shirayuki asked, peering around Obi’s side from her position behind him on his horse.
“You’ll see, Miss,” he responded with a smile, “It’s not much farther.”
“I sure hope not. We’ve been riding for over an hour.” Zen chimed in from behind them, the irritation in his voice doing a poor job of covering up his obvious excitement.
“Don’t worry, Master. It’s worth the wait. I promise.” Obi gently flicked his reins, urging his horse to go a bit faster.
Both Zen and Shirayuki had been working tirelessly the last few months, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, and were in dire need of a break. On several occasions, Obi had confiscated Shirayuki’s tools until she finished an actual meal, and he’d even had to bodily remove Zen from his desk and set him in bed to get the prince to rest. He sighed softly to himself and wondered if he ought to have his title changed from Messenger to Caretaker.
But it was their constant overworking lately that had given him the idea for their current outing. He’d been planning it for nearly a month, waiting until Zen finally had a day off. Convincing the Chief Herbalist to give Shirayuki a day off had been as simple as gifting her a bottle of fine liquor. Obi blushed faintly when he remembered the knowing wink she’d given him at his request. She was a far more perceptive woman than people gave her credit for.
They rounded a corner and Obi steered his horse off the trail, weaving expertly through the trees until he reached their destination. He heard Shirayuki inhale sharply behind him and tighten her hold on his shirt.
“Oh, Obi! It’s beautiful!” Her voice was nearly a whisper as she took in the sight of the little glade he had brought them to.
He’d found the spot when he’d gone out wandering one night, and knew Shirayuki would love it. The meadow was small, only a bit larger than Zen’s office, and it was covered in wildflowers of every kind and color. He brought his horse to a stop and dismounted, then helped her down as well.
“I thought you might like it here, Miss.” He smiled as she immediately went over and started looking at all the different flowers. He tethered his horse and was reaching for the saddlebags when he felt a hand on his arm.
“This was an excellent idea, Obi,” Zen said softly, squeezing his arm gently, bright eyes following Shirayuki as she wandered the meadow.
Instead of responding, Obi leaned down and briefly touched his lips to Zen’s, smiling when he felt the prince tense slightly. When he pulled away, Zen’s cheeks were flushed and his eyes wide and staring. Obi grinned.
“You’re so cute when you’re flustered, Master.”
Zen turned his face away in embarrassment.
“You should call me by my name when we’re alone, Obi. Especially if you’re going to… do things like that…” Zen’s voice trailed off and Obi’s grin got a bit bigger as he tossed his saddle bag over his shoulder. Then he took Zen’s hand and headed for the edge of the clearing.
Zen followed behind Obi, blushing even further at the hand in his. It wasn’t the first time Obi had ignored Zen’s request to call him by his name. He was no stranger to people feeling uncomfortable with not using his title, but it made Zen frustrated and slightly sad that Obi still didn’t use it. Shirayuki had had a nearly identical conversation with Obi, and although he had tried to decline her as well, she had been relentless, and Obi had finally caved. Although, he still called her ‘Miss Shirayuki’, and even that usually required a reminder and a stern glare.
They reached their destination, and Zen was broken out of his thoughts when Obi let go of his hand. Shirayuki joined them, arms full of different flowers and eyes bright with excitement. Together, they quickly laid out a blanket and unpacked the lunch Obi had made. After the long ride, they were all starving, and dived into the food with relish. No matter how many times they had his food, both Zen and Shirayuki were constantly impressed by how good Obi was in a kitchen.
Once the food was all but gone, Shirayuki went back to collecting flowers and herbs, leaving Zen and Obi watching her. After a moment, Obi lay down, hands behind his head, and closed his eyes. He opened them again in surprise almost immediately when he felt a soft thud on his chest. Looking down, he saw white hair and smiled. He brushed his fingers through the soft locks, and felt more than saw Zen relax at the touch.
A soft laugh above them caused both Obi and Zen to look up as Shirayuki knelt next to them. She leaned over and kissed Zen, threading her fingers through Obi’s where they were tangled in Zen’s hair. When she pulled away from Zen, she pressed her lips against Obi’s. The kiss was far too brief for Obi’s liking, but when she lay down on his other side and nestled her head into his shoulder, he smiled and put his arm around her. She dropped her hand from Zen’s head and placed it over top his where it lay on top of Obi’s stomach. Obi leaned back and closed his eyes again, sighing contentedly. Within minutes, both Zen and Shirayuki’s breathing had evened out into the soft rhythm of sleep. After a quick glance around the meadow, Obi let himself relax, and joined them.
***
Obi jerked awake when he felt a drop of water hit his face. The movement startled Shirayuki and Zen, waking them as well. Thunder rolled in the distance, and a few more drops fell from the now darkened sky.
“We should probably start heading back soon, or we’ll get caught in that storm.” Zen suggested, sitting up and eyeing the sky with concern.
Shirayuki nodded in agreement and began packing up the remains of their lunch, while Obi went to grab the horses. By the time they had finished packing up, the slight sprinkle had turned into rain, and they had barely reached the road before it was a full on downpour. It was difficult to see the road ahead, which was rapidly becoming more of a river than a road, and the wind whipped around them, making the whole situation worse.
Zen heard Obi shout from behind him, but the howl of the wind made it impossible to make out the words. He pulled off the road into the mild protection of the trees. Obi rode up along side him.
“This storm is only going to get worse, Master,” Obi was nearly shouting to be heard over the rain, “There are a few caves not far from here that we can take shelter in until it blows over.”
“Good idea,” Zen agreed.
He glanced at Shirayuki. She was huddled against Obi’s back, hands clenched in his shirt, shivering violently. Obi glanced over his shoulder briefly, the met Zen’s eyes and nodded. He snapped his reins and led the way towards the nearby caves, Zen following close behind.
It took less than ten minutes to reach the caves Obi had told them about. When they arrived, Zen and Shirayuki had stood at the entrance with the horses while Obi had scouted ahead to make sure no one, friendly or otherwise, was inside. But he had returned quickly with his report that the caves were empty. While Shirayuki laid out the blanket and the remains of their lunch, Obi and Zen worked on getting a fire going, and within minutes they had a small blaze. They all sat as close to the fire as they could, trying to dry their soaked clothes.
As they sat in silence, staring into the fire, Zen found his thoughts wandering once again to Obi’s unwillingness to call him by name. He recalled the several months it had taken to convince Mitsuhide to stop using his title. But his relationship with Mitsuhide was different. Both Mitsuhide and Kiki were his attendants, and he considered them friends, but Obi was… different. He was special to Zen in the same way Shirayuki was, and he couldn’t help but feel like Obi was trying to keep some sort of distance between them.
Shirayuki only used his title when there were others not of their little circle around, or when she was talking about a serious matter. However, as Zen thought back on it, she hadn’t known of his title or station until after they’d met. Obi, on the other hand, had always known who he was, and their meeting had been a bit… rocky compared to his meeting with Shirayuki. And although both Zen and Shirayuki had forgiven Obi for his actions, Zen often wondered if Obi had ever forgiven himself.
“Is everything alright, Master?” Obi’s voice broke Zen out of his thoughts, “You’ve been staring at me for awhile. Do I have something on my face?” Obi’s characteristic smile broke out across his face and Zen realized he had been staring.
With a sigh, Zen turned away and went back to staring at the fire.
“Master…?” Obi started, head tilting slightly in confusion.
“I can’t change the circumstances of my birth. I’m a prince of Clarines. And that duty will always come before any other considerations, no matter how much I may personally wish it could be different.” Zen’s voice was quiet and laced with pain.
“We know that, Zen,” Shirayuki said softly, taking one of his hands in hers and squeezing gently in support, “You have to put the interests of Clarines before anything else, and we understand that.”
Zen smiled kindly at Shirayuki before turning and looking at Obi.
“Obi,” he started, voice firm.
“Yes, Master?”
“Nothing you’ve ever done in the past is going to change how I feel about you right now. I love you. And I love Shirayuki too. That wouldn’t change even if you held a knife to my throat. I can no more change the fact that I love you than I can change the fact that I am a prince,” he took a deep breath before continuing, “But I can’t bridge this rift you’ve put between us on my own. If you can’t feel the same way about me because of my title, then…”
“That’s not it!” Obi interrupted suddenly, causing both Shirayuki and Zen to flinch back slightly at the intensity of his voice.
Zen recovered immediately and met Obi’s eyes.
“Then what is it? Why are you distancing yourself from me?”
Obi’s gaze darted between Zen and Shirayuki, hoping to find a way out of answering. His shoulders sagged in defeat when he found none.
“You’re stubborn, Master,” Obi said, running a hand through his hair, “And you’ll keep pushing until Prince Izana relents and lets you be with Shirayuki. But…” His voice trailed off slightly and he sighed, “That doesn’t leave much room for me, and I would never get in the way of you and the Miss being together.”
The cave was silent for a moment. Then Zen smiled and folded his arms across his chest.
“You do remember my room has a window, right?”
Obi stared at Zen, shellshocked. Shirayuki let out a small giggle under her breath at his expression.
“And even once Shirayuki and I are together, no one would think twice about one of my attendants being in my room, regardless of the time of day. They’d just assume I was working late, or some such.”
Obi blinked rapidly, trying to process Zen’s words. Zen reached out and cupped his hand around Obi’s cheek.
“You’re right. I am stubborn. And I will never let anything, or anyone for that matter, stand in the way of my being with Shirayuki,” he leaned in and pressed his lips against Obi’s in a brief kiss, “Or with you.”
Obi’s eyes were shining in the light from the fire.
“Master…”
Shirayuki cleared her throat loudly and gave Obi a stern glare.
“Z-zen, I…” Obi started again, Zen’s eyes lighting up at the use of his name, “Thank you.” He returned the gentle kiss, pressing their foreheads together when he pulled away.
Shirayuki rose from her spot on the ground and knelt next to them, running her arms around their shoulders and pulling them close. They stayed like that for several minutes before Shirayuki stood and, taking both their hands, led them to the blanket. Obi noticed out of the corner of his eye that the rain had stopped, but he didn’t care. He lay down by Zen’s side, and smiled when Zen lay his head on his chest. Shirayuki curled into Zen’s other side, wrapping her arm around Zen’s waist and taking Obi’s hand. Within minutes, they had all fallen into an exhausted sleep, knowing that whatever the future held for them, they would face it together.