Qui-Gon looked up at the sudden, wet sneeze just in time to see Obi-Wan getting ready to sneeze again. His brow creased slightly in expectation, head tipping back then falling forward toward his datapad.
"ihSsshishoo!" Sniffling wetly, Obi-Wan pressed one finger under his nose. He rubbed gently, tensed up again, and flared his nostrils over the edge of his finger. A tiny, liquid sound seemed to tickle his nose and Obi-Wan rubbed it again until another sneeze burst out. "h'Isshih!"
His own reading cast aside, Qui-Gon leaned across the bed closer to Obi-Wan. Now that the sneezes were done, Obi-Wan was sniffling repeatedly, finger still pressed to his nostrils. Unable to resist, Qui-Gon stroked his fingers over Obi-Wan's hair and made a soothing noise. "Bless you. You nose is acting up again, hm?"
Obi-Wan nodded. A little cold had kept him sniffling and sneezing throughout the evening and had turned his nose the most tender shade of pink. It twitched as he sniffled, proving that the sniffs felt just as tickly as they sounded. "I think I might be done reading for tonight. Too many sniffles." Obi-Wan sniffled damply and pinched his nose shut. Nostrils even more pink, he turned to Qui-Gon with a smile. "You've already put yours down."
"Somebody's sniffles were being very distracting." A smile formed on Qui-Gon's lips. He brushed a kiss over Obi-Wan's temple as Obi-Wan pinched his nose shut again. The act seemed to only make his nose more sensitive and make him give the smallest, cutest little sniffling sounds. "Somebody also sounds like they have a very itchy nose tonight�"
"Mmm�itchy�" Obi-Wan's vague sound of agreement combined with one of pleasure. A series of soft kisses moved over his temple and his ear. Gentle, teasing, the touch coaxed him closer to Qui-Gon. "It's distracting me, too."
"Perhaps I can find another way to distract you?" Still smiling, Qui-Gon pressed another kiss to Obi-Wan's ear. Most of the time it was not an easy task to distract Obi-Wan from his coursework. He could be both studious and stubborn as a padawan. But as a lover� Qui-Gon smiled as Obi-Wan moved into his arms, soft wet sniffles sounding as he rubbed his face into the front of Qui-Gon's tunic. Easily distracted might not be quite the right word, but when something like a runny nose had already interrupted him, he was rather easily convinced to leave his work alone.
"Not such a hard task, Qui." Obi-Wan nuzzled against Qui-Gon's tunic once more and lifted his head. He blinked once, then again, then turned away from Qui-Gon with a long, wet "hihhYIHhissshoosh!" The sneeze made his nose run even more and Obi-Wan sniffled over and over again until he had to wrinkle his nose in preparation for another sneeze. "hih�hih!" Breath coming to a desperate halt, Obi-Wan aimed his nose toward his shoulder. "hihTSSSH! tih'Ssshoo! oh�oh, ahhISSH!" Three more wet sneezes brought the back of Obi-Wan's hand to press against his nose. He snuffled wetly, rubbed his nose, and coughed softly. "Tissues?" he asked in a quiet, hesitating breath and nodded toward the box on the table in front of the couch.
"Of course. Bless you, too." Qui-Gon bent forward to get the box with one hand. He kept his other arm around Obi-Wan, first hugging him for a moment, then stroking Obi-Wan's hair as he cleared his nose. His hair felt good against Qui-Gon's hand and sort of ticklish if Qui-Gon ran his palm over it lightly. Obi-Wan paused after a heavy, stuffy sounding blow to press into the stroking. The little action was enough to coax Qui-Gon to pet him more enthusiastically and allow himself to relish the feel of short, sort hair under his fingertips.
Tissue after tissue got filled with long, wet blows, often interrupted by sudden sneezes, until Obi-Wan dropped a handful of crumpled tissues into a pile on the table by the box. He sighed quietly and leaned in to rest his head on Qui-Gon's shoulder. "Go back to distracting me� I liked that."
"Oh, really? You turned away from me rather quickly." Qui-Gon brushed his lips over Obi-Wan's in a slow, whispering kiss. He kissed the corners of Obi-Wan's mouth, his lower lip, and then again full on the mouth. When Obi-Wan leaned up into the kisses, Qui-Gon deepened his touch.
With affection Obi-Wan returned the kisses. "Cold in my nose," he murmured between kisses, "doesn't mean I want to be away from you. Quite the opposite."
"Thank goodness. I seem to be set on replacing any cold you feel with warmth." He slid a hand down the center of Obi-Wan's chest and rubbed. The touch, though soothing, skirted close to intimacy. Qui-Gon watched his fingers insinuate themselves into Obi-Wan's tunic. He raised his eyes, uncertain, at the sound of a series of tickly sounding sniffles.
"Oh, that does feel good�" Obi-Wan sighed, his eyes half shut. Another series of wet sniffles set his nose twitching. He rubbed one finger under his nose with short, quick motions and gave his head a brief shake. The tickle still teased at his nose and Obi-Wan pinched his nose, rubbed it again, and sniffed strongly. When Qui-Gon pulled away, he leaned in after the touch. "Don't stop, please. Unless you m-mind�" He sniffled wetly. "Mind me�sneeeeh�sneeeh! ehhisshee, ch'sssih!" Obi-Wan sneezed a quick double against his finger and rubbed his nose vigorously. "Me sneezing."
"Bless you." Instead of moving away Qui-Gon slid his hand higher up Obi-Wan's chest and into his tunic. "If I minded� Well, I would have left a while ago."
"And you didn't." A smile brightened Obi-Wan's eyes. His nostrils flared behind the finger that pressed against them, pink and sensitive from his sneezes.
"No." Gentle strokes eventually led to the unfastening of Obi-Wan's tunic. "And I'm not going to."
"Thahh�that's� heiissh, ishhoo, ihSShoo, tishhoo!" Small, damp sneezes interrupted Obi-Wan's reply and he fired them off quickly to get rid of the tickle. A shiver triggered a quick "h'TihSSSH!" from Obi-Wan's nose that forced him to take the finger out from under his nose, grab a tissue and catch the next sneeze. "ihChiSSSH!"
"Bless you!" Qui-Gon frowned when Obi-Wan shivered again and worry edged the affection that had surged through him at Obi-Wan's smile. He tightened his embrace and pressed his hand to the center of Obi-Wan's chest. "No more reading is going to get done tonight. What would you say about continuing this in our bedroom?"
"I think," Obi-Wan replied, still sniffly, "that would be very distracting."
Qui-Gon smiled. "Indeed."
