Five Times Obi Kisses Shirayuki

Third

Obi is...concerned. Before, he's always managed to tamp down any feelings before they've managed to take root. This time, he thinks, as his fingers sweep over his lips for the third time that day, he might've been a little too late.
Or maybe, another voice whispers, he's been too late since the beginning.
"Obi?"
He startles on his window perch and snaps his head towards the mistress, a few books and scrolls cradled in her arms.
"Is there anything the matter? You keep touching your mouth," his mistress says with a frown, the worry clear on her face.
There's a small cut on his lip from...three days ago, but he'd never admit to his mistress that it's bothering him in more ways than one.
"I'm fine, Miss, don't worry about me," he grins. And is unable to stop the small wince when he smiles too wide.
Instantly, his mistress sets down her array of items on a nearby desk and pounces.
"Don't lie to me, I saw that!" she scowls as she draws closer to him. "What happened? Did you bite yourself?"
Before Obi can even reply she's reaching out, fingers grazing the corner of his mouth and his mind stutters.
"Hmm," her frown deepens. "It's a little bruised here. Did you get this during training?"
Heat lurches down his throat and clenches tight in his belly when his mistress presses gently at the side of his mouth, her fingertips caressing the edge of his now oversensitive lips.
"Maybe," he says hoarsely. He shivers as she carefully presses again. "Miss."
Obi feels raw, exposed, over aware, roiling under his skin with sheer want. She's touched him before to tend to his injuries, but nothing...nothing comes close to this. It's far too intimate and close and too much warmth and he feels like he might do something beyond reckless and incredibly stupid and horribly and wonderfully improper-
Obi grabs her hand between his and gently, carefully, presses her fingers to his lips. He keeps his eyes on her the entire time. Maybe lingers a heartbeat longer than he should. He hears her breath hitch and it takes every bit of willpower he has to plaster on a grin that feels strange on his face and pretend he's only her knight and that he hadn't wanted to kiss more than just her fingers a few seconds ago.
"Miss." He clears his throat and tries again, but his voice still comes out thick and a little strange.
"It's nothing but a scratch; it'll be fine in a few days," he murmurs, his lips brushing faintly against her smooth skin. He catches the scent of the herbs she's been working with during the day and tries very hard to not inhale too deeply.
She blinks slowly a couple of times and then blushes, warmth spreading across her cheeks as she pulls her hand back.
"Yes, of course," she says, a little too quickly, her voice high and a bit unsteady. "I can give you a balm to help with the bruising though." She bustles off to her work desk to pull out a drawer a little too hard and begin searching a bit too fast, bottles and jars tinkling and clanking.
It's a charade, he thinks. He's back to being the usual sarcastic knight and her the precise and diligent court botanist.
Except this time, his mask isn't fitting as well anymore and he feels like half of his face is exposed.
He's out the window and long gone by the time Shirayuki finds the bottle.