"I will always come for you..

Giggling into his palm, he both feels sorry for Zen and is fondly exasperated at him at the same time. He was clearly out of it. "I'll get you a new glass, pay attention to which one you're pouring this time."

He approaches Zen with a cloth over his mouth and goes to refill it so Zen can take his medicine.

At first, Zen's face turned very red, and he full on GLARED at Obi as he chuckled at him. "...!" Dammit, it wasn't funny! How dare he laugh at him!

It took a few moments, but eventually, Zen ended up laughing at himself too. Gods he really was out of it wasn't he? He was so busy being grumpy about being sick that he had done something incredibly dumb, a rarity, but it was admittedly funny, at least once the angry flusteredness faded.

He'd managed to get himself sick. It wasn't anything too awful, just a mild flu, but it still had him off his usual duties, and confined to bed in his room. It did have him a bit scattered though, and he looked a bit miserable. Part of it was being confined, but part of it was also feeling icky from his flu.

Obi was keeping him company, voluntarily of course, but also staying on the other side of the room because when he got sick he always got hit hard. His body didn't have the immunity some others had.

Ugh. Medicine. Right. Zeen made a face, looking displeased at the whole medicine thing. He was usually pretty good about taking it when he needed to, but it didn't mean he had to LIKE it. "Nnn.. Fiiinnnee.." He was also going to grumble about it too.

He reached for both the water, and the little cup with the pills in it, staring at Obi across the room with a grumpy expression. It wasn't Obi's fault, but he was sick and he was not holding back how much he disliked it.

"See? I'm taking them." He was barely even paying attention, not looking at what he was doing, and before his brain could even fully process what he was doing, he tipped the pill cup over into his hand.. Except it was NOT the pill cup, and instead he just succeeded in dumping water into his hand.

And then he blinked. And stared at his now wet hand, dripping water onto his lap. And then at the cup. And then at the pill cup.

"I'd..." He swallowed thickly, feeling his heart lurch. "I'd stay by your side for as long as I could," he whispered. "Forever if you let me. I don't...want to be anywhere else."

It was the truth, the reason he'd stayed in the first place. He was already infatuated with Zen even back then--

                                   But, as long as I’m alive, 

                                              I will always love you. 

He was trying, trying so hard not to take it that way. He really shouldn't because why would Zen feel that way for someone like him?

But he was also incredibly smart and his brain was screaming at him.

"..." He sighed and lowered the glass, wondering if he was about to sign his death warrant.

"Some people~? Oh? I'm curious now," he leaned in teasingly, having forgotten that he should be a little less open with these sorts of things after what Zen had said earlier.

At first, Zen seemed like he might actually be about to say something. And with his current state, he was not doing a good job of being subtle in the way he looked Obi over at all, up and down. Probably something Obi had seen before from people at bars, who decided he was attractive.

But Zen was definitely a little drunk now, enough at least Obi could probably see it. And the playful tone shifted into a slightly defiant one. "Tch. I'm not telling. Doesn't matter anyway. Not after that rejection before."

"Now now, I don't show off, how could you say such a thing?" That was of course him being full of shit, because he would absolutely go to the trouble to show off. He liked being stronger than most other people and Zen knew it.

"You most definitely showww off. A lot." Was he starting to slur just a little? Yes. And his face was definitely tinged, tipping back the rest of his glass.

"So you managed to avoid work all day, I bet that's nice. They'll be harder on you tomorrow though, so don't drink too much. Hangovers suck." Not that he didn't deal with them on a regular basis, but Obi was very used to them considering how much alcohol he drank.

Yes, he had been avoiding work for most of the day, though he hadn't avoided it entirely. "Not all day. They did manage to corner me and made me sign a few things."

"Yeah well, we'll see what happens." It was the only sign he'd given that he was giving in a little. it was because he was worried about Zen and sort of wanted to keep an eye on him, but it was giving in nevertheless.

Zen was a little more eager about taking the glass once it was poured than he normally would be, and he wasted very little time in taking a long sip once he had it in his hand. "Yeah, a drink sounds good right now. Maybe a couple."

"As tempting as that is, and it is quite tempting, your bed is actually fucking comfortable, I don't want to disrupt your sleep. I'm told I snore."

He didn't, he was just making excuses at this point. But...

"Doubt that would be an issue if I was drunk, admittedly." Possibly another reason for it. And maybe a small nudge that Zen was wanting something stronger tonight too.

"I'm thinking whiskey, but considering how quick you get drunk, maybe you should stick to wine," he was rambling on to try and keep himself from feeling awkward.

Truthfully, he wanted to press, but it...it wasn't his place, was it? Zen looked so sad right now, and there was a nagging feeling in Obi's chest.

He struggled to figure out what to do, but finally stood to follow. Maybe he would figure it out along the way.

He wasn't acting cold towards Obi at all, he just seemed to be a bit.. sad. He'd eventually get over it, probably. But it wouldn't be immediate anyway.

"Why...are you acting like I just turned you down?" And he's suspicious now, but thoroughly confused. "...Master...I'm sure you can figure something out. Any Lady would be happy to have you..."

Unknowingly, Obi had done just that. But Zen wasn't going to say anything about it. "It doesn't matter. It's fine." Maybe if pushed, he'd eventually crack, but for now, he was going to act like he was fine.

"I wouldn't be good for you," he breathed out softly, "please don't be offended. I'm...a bit of a disaster. Even if there were other ways, it wouldn't be worth the risk. /I'm/ not worth the risk."

The problem was him, entirely him, not Zen.

"What face? I'm not making a face.." And there was Zen's denial. His expression was still mostly neutral, but his face was turned just so, his hair hiding his eyes.

"A Prince and a known murderer. Sounds like a good way to get executed by the King of Clarines." He spoke firmly. "I refuse to go out that way, sorry."

And there it was. The disappointment. Small hurt. It was relatively brief, and he soon managed a more neutral expression, but it was there for a moment or two.