"This is the worst," Jisung grumbled, tossing the bag he packed onto the cargo hold of the carriage.
"If it wasn't for your little temper, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess," Minho argued, giving him a mocking once-over.
"Oh, go to hell."
"You just proved my point."
"I wouldn't have a temper if you didn't exist."
Minho placed a hand over his heart. "I feel so special that your temper only exists for me. Makes things fun." He yanked the straps over the luggage, securing it down for the hour-long ride ahead.
Jisung rolled his eyes. "Your life must be terribly boring if messing with me is the funnest thing you can think of."
"Or you're just that interesting, Jisung. Have you considered that possibility?"
"You don't even know me."
"I know you enough."
The driver of the carriage came around them from where he was preparing the horses. "We're ready to go."
Dread settled into Jisung's bones. From this point on he was going to be stuck with Minho day in and day out until the whole goblin mess was dealt with. He always preferred doing jobs alone, mostly because traveling conditions for mages weren't always the greatest.
Minho gestured to the carriage. "Darlings first."
"Enough with the nickname," Jisung warned, throwing the door of the carriage open and climbing in.
The water mage climbed in behind him, and the moment the door was shut Jisung wished they could have requested a bigger carriage. Minho was on the seat in front of him in the opposite corner, but the side of their right knees still brushed together with the movement of the carriage.
Jisung hated it. He hated being this close to the mage that seemed to tower over him despite only being slightly taller. He hated that Minho smelled nice, that he looked nice. Hating him would be so much more satisfying if he was nothing more than an ugly brute.
"Do you still have that shapeshifter notice?"
Jisung narrowed his gaze on the water mage. "Why?"
"We could take care of that on our way to the mountains. Get some extra funds for the rest of our trip."
That wasn't a terrible idea, but since it was Minho suggesting it, Jisung was suspicious of it instantly. "You're sitting cozy with money right now after that job you stole from me. Why would you need more?"
"Must you think that I have some motive behind everything I do and say?" Minho asked, his voice honey-like and slightly mocking.
"Because you always do. It's never simple with you. Face it, Minho, we've been like this for over two years, we both know each other's tricks and schemes."
"You're awfully confident in that. Do enlighten me, what would I be up to when it comes to this shapeshifter job?"
Jisung slowly smiled. "That's not going to work, honey."
"What's not going to?"
"You can't intimidate me or make me question myself. Besides, it doesn't matter what I think you're up to, it only matters that I know you're up to something."
Minho leaned forward, causing their knees to brush even closer. "So you'll be okay eating nibbles of fruit until we take care of the mess in the mountains?"
Jisung's ears heated in slight embarrassment. "So your spy also told you I'm low on funds? How kind of him."
"He didn't tell me, I already knew that. You accepted the silly job of taking that troll down because it was easy cash."
"So why did you take it from me?"
That smug smile was back. "I suppose you'll have to figure out the scheme behind that, darling. Since I apparently do everything with a purpose in mind."
Minho was good at playing mind games. Too good. Jisung was getting tired of constantly being cornered. The last time he succeeded over the water mage was nearly five months ago.
Jisung bit the inside of his cheek harshly, briefly glaring at his boots as he debated with himself in his mind. Then he sighed. "The shapeshifter job is on the way. We can hit it first."
Minho leaned back, allowing Jisung to breathe a little easier. "That's the spirit. Relax, Jisung. It's not like I'm planning on killing you."
"Yet," Jisung added, giving him an annoyed once-over.
The water mage chuckled. "You're clever, that's why you're so fun to mess with."
"Let's enjoy some silence until we get to the station." Jisung turned to look out the small window beside his shoulder, shutting the conversation down. He could feel Minho's gaze on him. He ignored it.
A minute passed.
"How did you enjoy your time with Rey?"
Jisung's head whipped around. "What?"
Minho tilted his head. "A few days ago you spent the night with Mage Rey, didn't you?"
Heat crawled up Jisung's chest to his neck. "How the hell do you know about that?"
An innocent shrug. "I have my ways."
"You're a fucking stalker."
"No, I'm observant. I was taking a nice evening stroll when I saw you and Rey disappear into your apartment. Neither of you were smiling, but he was draped all over you. Anyone could guess what you were up to."
Jisung scoffed, running his tongue over his teeth. "You don't need to know more than that, little water mage."
Minho's mismatched eyes took on a dark, unreadable look as he leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees. "Why, you don't want to tell me that it was... unsatisfactory?"
"Perhaps I don't want to tell you anything about my private life, have you considered that?"
His head tilted, his lips tipping up in a mocking way. "So it was unsatisfactory. You should have expected as much, have you seen how Rey works? He's lazy."
Jisung leaned forward as well, giving him an exaggerated sympathetic look. "Aw, are you jealous?"
Minho's eyes sparked in a way that had Jisung's body ready to retreat, but he didn't move. "I feel sorry for you. A pretty mage like you deserves to be satisfied in every way." His eyes raked over Jisung in emphasis.
"You act as if you could do that for me."
"I'm good at pleasing others."
"If you're so good, you wouldn't have to say so."
Minho's eyebrows twitched in challenge. "I can show you, if you like."
Jisung tapped his chin as if he was considering it. Then he leaned back against the seat. "In your dreams, water boy."
"Often, yes."
The fire mage rolled his eyes. "You must be running out of ways to ruin my life if you're resorting to useless and rather trashy flirtation."
Minho relaxed in his seat at last. "I may hate you, but I'm not about to deny the fact you're pretty in every way. There's a reason everyone in the guild eyes you every time you stroll by."
"I suppose I should thank you?"
"That's the typical response when one is complimented."
"Your compliments to me are not real. Now let's just shut up and focus on getting to where we're going. I want to get this over with as soon as possible."
To Jisung's relief Minho didn't say another word. He hoped this new flirtatious side of the water mage wouldn't last. Aside from using the infuriating nickname of 'darling', Minho never said anything in a flirtatious way. He was definitely trying new tactics.
After what felt like much longer than an hour, the carriage rolled to a stop at the train station and the mages were quick to disembark and grab their bags. The steam engines were still fairly new to this region of the country, and there were a limited number of tracks, so working around the trains was inconvenient and obnoxious. But right now it was their fastest form of travel.
Both mages bickered over the map and the train times posted at one of the information terminals in the station for several minutes before they finally settled on a train that would take them to an area a few hours from the village with the shapeshifters.
They barely made it to the train on time, and they settled in one of the only cars available, once again giving them hardly any leg room.
The silence between them was deafening until the train finally set into motion. Jisung put all his attention on the window, absently twisting his knife in his hand. He couldn't seem to ride a train for very long without fidgeting in some way.
Ten minutes into the journey, Minho excused himself and Jisung didn't acknowledge him. He was grateful to get some leg room. He propped his feet on Minho's seat and made himself comfortable for the three hour journey. He fell asleep within minutes.
✿✿✿
Jisung's legs were shoved.
"Get up, little fire mage. We're pulling into the station."
Jisung jerked awake, sitting up rather abruptly as he glared up at Minho, who was grabbing their bags already. There was no room on the bench for Minho to sit so... did he just come back to this car? "Where have you been?"
"Why do you suddenly care?"
"I don't, I'm just suspicious."
Minho gave him a flat look. "And what would I get up to on a three hour train ride? It's not like I jumped off the train and got back on."
Jisung was getting tired of rolling his eyes around this guy. He would always be cautious when it came to Minho, so despite not saying another word about it, Jisung didn't drop it.
The steam engine was huge and had multiple destinations. Even if the water mage didn't leave the train, anyone could have boarded. It was true that Jisung didn't know what exactly Minho could be getting up to, but whatever it was couldn't be good. It never was.
Leaving the station was a hassle. Renting services for carriages, wagons, and others forms of transport were extremely limited out in the country. Jisung was nearly tempted to steal a cow, but after much trouble and arguing with strangers, both mages were left to travel on foot.
Jisung was grateful that he was good at packing light, so hauling his bag over his shoulder wasn't a big deal. It was the amount of walking that lay ahead of them that got him in a bad mood.
They were on the road for over twenty minutes, and Jisung was enjoying the silence until Minho decided to ruin it.
"I have a question."
"I'm not going to answer it."
Minho was a few paces behind Jisung and he caught up to the fire mage. "I think you should. We're out here to work together, aren't we?"
"That doesn't mean we have to talk."
"When did you first start hating me?"
Jisung wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. He gave Minho a confused eyebrow raise. "Where did that come from?"
Minho shrugged. "I'm just curious. If you tell me, I'll know how to answer someone who asks how I came to be rivals with Mage Jisung."
"Just say that you're an asshole. That'll answer their question just fine."
"That's boring. It's a simple question, darling."
Jisung sighed. He was still tired from his lengthy nap on the train, and he didn't have the energy to deal with Minho's antics. "I've hated you since I first laid eyes on you."
Minho scoffed lightly. "You mean when I saved your ass from those bandits?"
A spark of anger ignited in his chest and he tamped it down. "I didn't need saving."
"We both know that's not true. I still can't believe they sent an eighteen year old to take care of that."
"I wasn't sent, I chose to be there. And you act as if you're so much older than I am."
"I am."
"No, you're not."
"Four years makes a hell of a difference."
Jisung huffed. "Maybe in experience."
Minho smiled. "Exactly."
Damn it. "Well that's when I started hating you. Are we done?"
"Don't you want to know when I started hating you?"
Curiosity itched at his mind, but when it came to Minho he was stubborn. "I don't see why I would."
A beat of silence.
"It was after our first fight, three days after I joined Goldenspire. Up until that point, I'd never been bested in a fight. And the fact that you are a fire mage only made me more angry for losing."
"What does my magic have to do with anything?"
Minho chuckled, but it wasn't from humor. "Fire mages aren't terribly common since your kind was once banned pretty much everywhere."
"I know that, but why have a personal hate toward fire?"
"I'm a water mage. Everything about my magic is opposite to yours. So failing against the one fire mage I managed to come across was like failing a big test. How could I be a worthy water mage when I couldn't even beat my biggest competitor?"
Jisung never really thought of that. In a way it made sense, but at the moment he didn't really care. "So we've both hated each other since the beginning. And Chan still thought it was a brilliant idea to send us out on a job by ourselves."
Minho hummed like he just got an idea. "How about I take care of everything, and we'll just act like we both worked together and became the best of friends."
"Like hell. I'm not letting you get in my way this time. If you did everything and we split the money, I would owe you."
"Now why would you owe me?"
"Because I know you. I know your games. I'm not giving you anything to hold over me."
Minho clicked his tongue. "You're no fun, Jisung."
"Only around you."
Jisung focused on the rocky dirt road under his feet, wanting to escape this conversation. He was tempted to let Minho do everything while he found some place to stay, but he was much too prideful to do that.
As they walked, the sky gradually turned gray with approaching storm clouds, and Jisung cursed his luck. Nothing was going his way. If it rained this trip would be all the more miserable.
Minho glanced at the small map he had tucked away in his breast pocket and traced his finger over it. "We're still about three hours from the village, but it looks like there's a little town in a few miles. Do you want to stop there if it starts raining?"
"We could, but that would waste some precious time."
"Who said we're on a time crunch?"
"I just like to be quick and efficient with my jobs."
Minho huffed. "We won't exactly be efficient if you catch an illness from staying in a rainstorm for hours."
Jisung rolled his eyes. "What, are you immune to illness?"
"Only to rain. It doesn't make me cold, nor does it make me sick. I even tested it out once and sat in a thunderstorm through the night. I felt just fine the next day, I was even refreshed.
"Water mage privilege."
"Hey, you have your own privilege, fire boy. I've been sweating all day under that lovely afternoon sun while you seemed way too relaxed."
"Alright, I get it. If a bad storm rolls in, we'll stop. I'm getting hungry anyway."
Minho suddenly leaned so his head was in front of Jisung, making the fire mage stop in his tracks. "And how do you plan on paying for food?"
"I packed my own, genius."
He shook his head. "That won't do, darling, you barely have anything in that bag of yours."
"So?"
"So I'll pay for you."
"No."
Minho tried his best to give Jisung puppy eyes but he failed miserably. "Why not?"
"I already told you, I don't want to owe you anything."
"You won't owe me."
"Bullshit."
They stared each other down for a long moment, dark eyes pinned on mismatched eyes. Hate simmered under their gazes, but Minho's lips were slowly tilting into a smug smile.
"How about this... If you can take down more shapeshifters than I do when we get to the village, you won't have to owe me a single thing for this meal. If you don't, you can just buy me dinner after we're done with this ridiculous job."
Jisung's eyes only narrowed. "What's the catch?"
"Who said there's a catch?"
"There always is."
Another stare down. Rumbling thunder interrupted it.
"Fine," Jisung relented. "I know I can do better than you, so I guess I have nothing to lose."
Minho smiled sweetly. "Only your dignity."
"We'll see about that. Come on, let's just get to that town before we get caught up in a nasty storm."
------------------- Another part down, phew. Idk how I feel about this chapter, like to me it's fine but idk if it has the exact vibe and punch that I want it to. Oh well, good things to come in this story.
Do you think Jisung is being too hard on Minho just cause he hates him or do you think Minho is actually sus? lmk what ya think.
ALSO. If any of you are artists, or know a good artist, I would literally pay money to see someone draw Minsung as these mages. lol. Okie bye
Thanks for reading \(lul)/