Title: Morning Allergy

Author: tarotgal

Fandom: Star Wars

Rating: PG

Pairing: Obi/Qui

Disclaimer: This is just a fanfic. Nothing more. And I get nothing from it aside from possibly feedback

Summary: Obi-Wan has a morning allergy. Hence the title. Qui-Gon helps wait it out.

Notes: It was a Qui sneezing bunny that first caught my attention, but I convinced the muses to let me do Obi so long as it got to be from Qui's pov.

Morning Allergy

     Every morning spent on this planet had started just like this one. Every morning I'd wake to the bed shaking and look over to see Obi-Wan's back were he sat on the edge of the bed. I sensed that it was getting late and I should be up. I yawned to shake off my sleepiness and reached up to place a warm hand on his cooled back.

     He looked back over his shoulder, his eyes squinting a bit, but the rest of his face wearing a broad smile. I always loved the way he smiles at me in the mornings, so glad to see me awake and by his side. There is always a warm surge of the force between us, welcoming and eager. The best part of my going to sleep is surely waking in the morning to him. But his smile now faded quickly, turning into a frown, and his eyes closed completely. He turned his head away from me and he fell forward with a sneeze. "hehChii!"

     I rubbed my hand up and down his back and sat up beside him. I could tell he was not all right, so there was no use in inquiring about his condition. "Good morning, Love." Every morning on this planet had started the same way because Obi-Wan seemed allergic to something in the air here. Obi-Wan devised that it was something that was only out at night, as he had the hardest times in the mornings and evenings. However, I suspect that he was simply better at hiding the symptoms during the day. In the mornings he was still sleepy and unable to restrain the symptoms. And in the evenings he was exhausted after the day and similarly unable. His allergy attacks always seemed worse in the mornings, however.

     "hahhChii! h'CHII!" I rubbed his back some more. He snuffled wetly into a handkerchief and pulled back a little. Then he looked up at me, cupping the hanky to his face. His voice muffled through the cloth, "I'm trying to sneeze it all out now." He blew his nose and lowered the handkerchief to his lap.

     I understood, of course. It was the same every morning. And I could tell he'd been sneezing for a while already this morning. The tip of his nose was pink, and there was a crease in the bridge that showed he'd been rubbing at it for a long period of time. I reached up and traced it with the tip of my finger.

     Obi-Wan gasped and pulled back, raising the handkerchief. He chuckled a little and shook his head. "That made... nose tickle... now..." He took a deep breath and buried his face into the hanky. "hahh... hah-ahhhhh..." With each breath in his shoulders and the rest of his body rose a bit. With each breath out, he sunk a bit. It almost looked as though he was bouncing in place. "huhh... huh-uhhhhh..." I could tell he was having difficulty with this sneeze.

     I stroked his nose again gently, letting the force flow from my fingers into him, tingling his nose just a little bit. He shuddered and reached over, gripping my thigh to steady himself as the urge to sneeze filled him. "huhhhhh... hahhh-CHIH! huhChii! huhCHIE!"

"Blessings." I stroked his head gently, the soft buzzed hair tickling my palm. "You sound extra sneezy this morning. Usually most of the sneezes are out before I'm roused from sleep."

     Obi-Wan nodded, open-mouthed. Another sneeze was clearly on its way. From his eyes, I could tell he was tired of it all. The energy required to sneeze so much was considerable, and in short supply so early in the morning and before breakfast. He began bouncing in place again as quick, shallow breaths seized him. I wrapped my arm around his back and squeezed him for moral support.

     After folding the handkerchief, he held the different spot on it to the lower half of his face. "huhhh... huh-hehhhh... hihhhh..." He breathed as the sneeze built, filling his nose, his whole body. His nose wrinkled and his nostrils twitched. I held him tightly to steady him. "hihhhh... hih-UHH-Chiii! Huh-Chii!" His nose wrinkled again as he sniffed hard and rubbed at his runny nose. He did not apologize, but the look in his eyes said it all, and I gave him another squeeze. He shook his head and weakly rested it on my shoulder. "Extra sneezy," he muttered softly.

     If he continued this way for much longer, I would seriously need to consider telling him to stay home for the day. It would be difficult handling the delegations without him, but too many problems had arisen in the past from Obi-Wan sneezing during important missions. I could not risk anything of the sort happening again when it was so preventable. It was simply our misfortune that we had been sent to a planet that irritated my padawan learner's sensitive nose.

     "hehh..." Far too soon after his last bout of sneezing, Obi-Wan seemed to need to do so again. "hahhh..." Both his hands clutched his handkerchief, which I was sure must be quite used by that point. I started to get up to find him another, but the look he shot me glued me to my seat. He leaned into my side and I tightened my hold around him. "huhhhhhh..." He tensed up expectantly. But then he relaxed with a sigh and rubbed the handkerchief at his nose. "It's being stubborn. Knows it's getting late."

     "It's not late," I reassured him. It was, in fact. But he did not need the extra stress.

     "It... it is..." Obi-Wan rushed as the tickle returned. He began swaying again. "hehhhh... hah-ahhhh..." He was trying to draw the sneeze out, but it wasn't having anything to do with him. He sighed deeply and rubbed hard at his nose. "At this rate I'll never... huhhh... heh-ehhh-EHH--" The urge backed down, and Obi-Wan sighed with frustration.

     I snuggled closer to him and kissed his ear. Then I whispered warmly into it, "Let me help, Padawan mine."

     Reluctantly, Obi-Wan nodded and slowly dropped all of his shields. I closed my eyes to sense him in a way I had not in years. I waited for the sneeze to build in him again, helping him channel his impatience and frustration away and accept that this was one of the many things he could not control to his liking. He finally closed his eyes as well and sent me a warm appreciative vibe through our bond.

     Then his breath caught and he frowned. Obi-Wan pulled back. "hehhh... hah-ahhhhh..." I leaned over and kissed the bridge of his nose softly. He tensed against my touch and took in a deep breath. Quickly, I moved out of the way. "hehh-heh-CHII!" he sneezed finally. "yeh-CHI! Heh-Chiii! Heh-Chie! Sniff!" He rubbed his nose into the hanky wet a series of terribly wet sniffles. Then he yawned weakly into it.

     "Padawan," I sighed. "Being on this planet so long is taking a toll on your sinuses. Maybe you really should consider staying in bed today and resting."

     "Doe," he shook his head and sniffled again. "No. It will pass. It always... huh... it always does... huhh..." He gave a shudder at the intensity of the urge, and so I pulled him close against me.

     With his head against my chest, he grabbed a fistful of my sleep shirt with his free hand, holding his handkerchief to his face with his other. With my arm around him, I gave him a good, tight squeeze to let him know he could sneeze all he needed and I would keep hold of him. "It is all right, my Obi. Just sneeze it out."

     Burying his face into my chest, he did just that. "ehhChii! hehhhChuhh!" he sneezed, and I held him more tightly as he shook. "hehhChii! hehChie! Ehhh-hehChii! Kchii! Kchiii! Hep-Chiii! Hehh... hehh-EHHChiii!" He gave it a moment, to be sure the fit had passed completely, then he pulled away from me and blew heavily into his handkerchief once. He folded the cloth and gave another strong blow. Then he lifted his head part way and spoke softly. "How many more mornings have we got here?"

     My heart sank with sympathy for him. "Only three more, if all goes well." I tried to sound reassuring. "But if more arguments arise and if it looks as though we shall need to stay longer than five days, I will arrange transport for you to leave."

     Despite the great relief I could feel flowing out of Obi into the force, Obi-Wan shook his head. "I will not leave until our mission has been completed." Another harsh blow of his nose begged to differ. "After a get the sneezes out I feel fine," he insisted.

     Then, realizing I could tell he was certainly not fine, he quickly raised some of his shields back up. It didn't help prevent another sneeze from striking, however. "hehhCHII!" he sneezed, then rubbed his palm against his nose to get rid of any more tickles.

     I lifted an eyebrow, eyeing him suspiciously. "This is you feeling fine?"

     He sniffed and took a few clear, slow breaths. "I only require a shower to shake off these last few sneezes. And then I really shall feel fine," Obi-Wan said with such insistence that I simply could not question him further. "Good morning, to you too," he answered me finally, and showed me a wide grin.

     I melted right on the spot and kissed his happy lips until they dropped their smile and kissed back. Then I hurried him off to the shower and gathered our clothing for the day. It was getting late.