Jisung wished the afternoon sun could burn away the memory of that morning. And the fact that he wasn't feeling well wasn't helping with the strange, foreign taste of the memory.
Oddly enough, Jisung was able to fall asleep smushed against his self-declared enemy in such a way, but the following morning he woke completely tangled with Minho. So much so that it took him a few long seconds to realize which limbs belonged to him. They had basically been sleeping like lovers, and it sent strange waves of unknown emotions crashing through his entire being.
If only Mage Minho wasn't so good looking. Things would be so much easier. Probably. It was unfair that someone so brutish and rude was so handsome.
The mages didn't say a word about that morning, they merely packed up camp, dressed in clothes that were still a bit damp, and forced themselves to continue up the mountain. It was far more difficult to travel now that a new layer of snow covered everything, but at the very least the sun was out and it was giving off a small amount of warmth.
By the time they reached the town, Jisung's entire body was stiff and sore, and the clothes he currently wore were chafing in the worst ways possible. Minho was grumbling complaints just in front of him, and for once he could mentally agree with what the water mage was complaining about. Jisung wasn't afraid to shake more money out of the townspeople if they didn't offer enough for all they went through just to get there.
The mayor of the town was quick to greet them, like he'd been waiting for mages to arrive at any time, and he spoke so fast that Jisung nearly didn't catch a single word the man said.
"You two showed up on a good day, the goblins absolutely hate the sun, and we rarely see it. They've gone off to hide among the rocks around the quarry up that way," he said, pointing up a steep slope along the backside of the town.
"Do you know how many there are?" Jisung asked, hoping that he hadn't missed the mayor already mentioning that information.
"It's hard to say, they stick together in groups to make it easier to terrorize my citizens. But our rough estimate is about fifty."
Jisung closed his eyes, fighting the need to groan and roll his eyes.
Minho spoke up before he had the chance to reply. "Well you seem to have quite the problem on your hands, that's why we're here. But before we get into the job, we need a room and access to a bath. And possibly some warm food, if that's possible."
The mayor seemed to hesitate, lightly scratching his balding head. "Well, as you might have guessed by now, we don't get very many visitors this far up in the Amulet Mountains, so we don't have very many accommodations. But I may know someone that would be willing to help you two."
Jisung was having a hard time believing that, but the two mages followed the mayor through the snow-covered town anyway. After a short time, they stopped at a small house of stone that had a rather saggy roof and small windows.
The mayor knocked on the door loudly. "Jeongin, you in? We've got some mages here to help us, but they need a place to rest."
It didn't take long for the cracking door to swing open, and a young man with well styled, black hair and bright green fox-like eyes appeared. He smiled warmly. "Oh, yes, come on in. I have plenty of room." He wrapped the brown coat he wore tighter around his body and stepped back in a welcoming motion.
The mayor began backing away with a satisfied smile. "Once you gentlemen are settled down, you can come down to the town hall and we'll discuss payment and such."
"We'll be there," Minho said off-handedly, barely even sparing a glance at the mayor as he stepped into the house.
Of course he was being rude. Jisung stopped in front of their spontaneous host and held his hand out. "I'm Jisung, and that's..." oh, how he wanted to insult him, "Minho. Thank you for helping us."
Jeongin shook his hand. "No problem. I'm actually a mage as well, I just... haven't found the opportunity to leave this place yet."
Something twisted in Jisung's chest, an understanding. He'd once been trapped alone, surrounded by a frozen wasteland with no future ahead. "Well, maybe we can help you with that, too," he offered, giving a small smile.
Jeongin beamed, a wide smile that lit the air around them. "I would appreciate that. Let's go in now, it's cold."
Inside, Minho was already standing in front of the fire burning brightly in the small hearth, his bag left to sit on the badly deformed sofa right behind him as he warmed himself.
The front room was small, with only one chair accompanying the sofa. Through a small doorway to the left of the fireplace, a small kitchen area could be seen, once again with minimal furniture of a single chair and a very small table. Three closed doors sat on the far wall, presumably the bedrooms and washroom.
A familiar tightness filled Jisung's chest, and he slowly let out a breath, mentally counting down. The size and state of this little home was bringing him back to that place he'd escaped those years ago, and he sure as hell didn't want to drop into flashbacks while on the job.
Jeongin's voice thankfully interrupted the shadow looming over Jisung. "The washroom is that middle door, and the door on the left is the guest room. Feel free to use both as you need, and of course, warm up as much as you need to. I'm sure you were hit by that blizzard last night."
"We were, actually, so would you mind if we dried some of our things here by the fire?" Minho asked, his voice surprisingly polite.
"Not at all, make yourselves comfortable. I was just about to make some lunch, so I'll get started on that." Jeongin dipped his head a little awkwardly but politely, and quickly made his way into the small kitchen across the way.
Jisung turned to Minho, who was already crouching and pulling some of his clothes out to dry in front of the hearth. "We have to get him out of here."
Minho didn't spare him a glance. "Why do you say that?"
"If you were nice for once and stayed back to properly introduce yourself, you would already know that he's a mage."
That made Minho finally pause his actions, looking up at Jisung with furrowed brows. "He is? I must have missed seeing the mark on his neck."
"Again, you weren't there to hear what he had to say. I think he's kind of stuck here, in a way. He hasn't had the chance to be officially signed as a mage because he hasn't even left this place." Jisung gestured around. "And who would willingly stay in a place like this?"
Minho studied him, those blue and brown eyes digging through his soul like a pirate digging through a treasure chest. It was like Jisung could physically feel his gaze, and he rubbed his arms.
Time to change the subject before Minho started spewing nonsense of some sort. "So who uses the washroom first?"
Gratefully, Minho went back to his task, shaking his head slightly. "I'll bet my whole life savings this place doesn't have running water."
"Okay, so-"
"So we should just share it."
An obnoxious laugh jumped out of Jisung's throat. "You really need to work on your jokes, Mage Minho."
The water mage was suddenly on his feet, now barely a foot away. "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Jisung's smile dropped at the sight of Minho's blank expression. "You can't be serious. You really are just a pervert."
That brought a fiery smirk to Minho's lips. "Darling, we practically slept naked together last night, I don't think a little bath will cross any lines. Unless you're just... shy."
Jisung's skin prickled, and he wasn't sure why. He took a rather shaky step back. "I get it, you think I'm handsome and you want to see more of that. But it is not" -he jabbed Minho's chest- "happening."
Minho suddenly caught his wrist, making Jisung jump as the water mage lifted his arm and held the bottom of his wrist to his face. His multi-colored eyes didn't leave Jisung's. "You're sick, aren't you?"
Jisung cursed everything in the universe as he felt a blush beginning to crawl its way to his face. He felt a little wobbly and strange all day, but how the hell did Minho know? "N-no."
"Liar. You're clearly showing signs of a fever." With one hand still wrapped around Jisung's wrist, Minho set his other hand on his forehead, in turn pulling the fire mage a fraction closer. He hummed deep in his throat. "Look at that, you do have one."
Jisung recoiled, yanking his wrist free. "It doesn't matter if I do, back off."
Minho tilted his head, a habit Jisung had taken notice of lately. "Will you even be able to handle these goblins while you're ill?"
Magic was reliant on energy, and if anything compromised a mage's energy, their magic was compromised with it. But Jisung had already shown his rival enough weakness this trip. "I'll be just fine, I assure you. I don't even feel that sick, don't overreact."
A muscle in Minho's jaw ticked, and he let out a dry, humorless laugh. "Overreact? Right, like you weren't on the verge of freezing to death last night. If you already have a fever, it's only going to get worse."
Heat pooled in Jisung's lungs. "And what are we going to do about it? We have no choice but to do our job, I can't just lay around."
"For the last time, we aren't on a time limit. If you go out there and slow me down or make things more difficult for me, I swear-"
"Oh, that's rich. Like you could handle fifty goblins single handedly."
"I'd do a hell of a lot better than you. Especially now that you aren't at full strength."
Jisung rubbed his temples. "This isn't a competition, Minho, stop making everything a competition."
Another dry laugh. "Isn't that how it's always been with us? We're rivals, darling, it's in the description."
"And we were sent here to work together. Does that not ring a bell?"
Minho scoffed, shaking his head. "You make it impossible to get past my hatred for you. You really got fired up because I was insinuating that you need rest?"
"Way to twist the situation. You questioned my abilities, and you have the gall to pretend you're concerned for me?"
Minho's eyes flashed. "Watch it, darling."
"Or what?"
A slow, wicked smile. "What a dangerous response."
Jisung let out a short laugh. "Like you could do anything to me."
Minho took a step closer. "I could tie you down and force you to stay right where you are until you're feeling better. How does that sound?"
Jisung bit his tongue to keep himself in check, at least a little. Jeongin was probably hearing all of this, and he didn't want to make their host any more uncomfortable than he was likely already feeling. "You are impossible." He moved toward the washroom.
Minho caught his arm. "Jisung," he warned.
Jisung glared at Minho, and a thin tendril of smoke curled out of his mouth as he snarled, "Let go."
Heat simmered between them for a few long seconds before Minho finally released his arm.
Reminding himself why he was enduring all this shit, Jisung forced himself to calm down and peeked into the kitchen. "Hey, Jeongin, how close is the nearest well?"
Jeongin glanced up from where he was chopping some vegetables. "There is actually one directly in the washroom. My grandfather was a bit lazy. There's plenty of coals to heat under the tub as well, so you don't need to worry about finding wood or anything like that."
Jisung managed a small, smile. "Thank you."
"Um, is everything okay?" Jeongin asked, his words a little nervous.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that. We don't always get to choose who we work with."
Jeongin nodded. "Just making sure."
Jisung retreated from the kitchen, sent Minho another icy glare, and then closed himself in the washroom.
✿✿✿
If it wasn't for Jisung's magic, the water he'd filled the tub with would have never warmed up. This whole town was so frozen, lighting coals was like trying to light ice cubes on fire. And after heating everything properly, he was feeling the effects of using so much concentrated magic while his fever was growing.
He hoped that soaking in the warm water and washing himself down would help, but his head was slowly filling with cotton, and his chest was feeling tight.
Why did Minho have to be proven right at every turn? Was there no end to the humiliation?
After a heavy mental debate, Jisung settled on acting like he was perfectly fine, and he dried himself off with one of the towels Jeongin offered.
He briefly wondered if he should just drown himself right in that well to spare the rest of his existence, but he decided against further traumatizing Jeongin. He seemed so innocent.
Jisung dressed in the one dry set of clothes he had and then quietly left the washroom. He moved toward the guest room but found himself pausing as he heard the voices in the kitchen.
"Yes, it was my grandmother and I for most of my life, he died when I was about five," Jeongin was saying, clearly talking about his grandfather.
Only Minho was visible from Jisung's vantage point, and he was leaning back against the wall, his hands tucked in his trouser pockets as he nodded along. His eyes held genuine interest, which was... scary. "And you said your grandmother passed away a few years ago?" His voice was gentle. Another scary thing.
It was quiet, Jeongin must have been nodding. "Three years ago."
"I'm sorry. I'm sure it's been hard. But you seem to have down well for yourself, considering everything."
"I just haven't found it in myself to leave. And my grandmother didn't even know I have magic, so she never taught me what to do."
Minho's full lips tipped up in a -strangely cute- smile. "Well there's an open spot with Jisung and I. Once we're done taking care of the goblins, you can come with us. If you want."
A beat of silence. "Really?"
"Of course."
Something pinched in Jisung's heart while witnessing their interaction, making his already dizzy head grow a little more hazy, and he sort of stumbled back into the guest room. He lightly touched his chest, brows furrowed. Had he ever seen Minho with kind eyes and soft words? Had he ever seen the water mage without the undertone of mockery present in his demeanor?
Minho suddenly appeared in the doorway, as if he heard Jisung stumble past. "Jisung."
The fire mage jumped and quickly turned away, moving toward the medium sized bed in the corner of the room as if he was doing something this whole time. "The washroom is available now. I can heat some new water for you, if you need."
The door clicked shut behind him, sending tension coiling through his body. Minho stopped just behind him. "You know eavesdropping is rude, right?"
"So is stalking."
"Jisung."
"It wasn't on purpose," he muttered, his energy draining by the second. He just argued with Minho, he didn't want to do it again so soon.
Minho took a breath as if he was going to say something. Jisung waited. Then the water mage sighed. "There's food in the kitchen. Eat while it's warm. Take your time eating."
Jisung didn't move as the door opened, and the air in the room seemed to gain more oxygen with Minho's absence.
Why the hell was he feeling so... strange?
Hunger took over Jisung's mind, and he pushed the clutter in his brain aside as he made his way into the kitchen.
Jeongin was cheerful, and he told Jisung about his magic eagerly as they ate the stew he made. He could grow plants with a mere twitch of his finger, but it was a bit difficult to exercise his magic while living among ice. Every mage could use practice to get stronger, but his power was already impressive. The vegetables filling the stew were grown by him minutes after he'd invited the mages inside.
Now that he'd cleaned up and gotten warm food on his bones, Jisung expected to feel better, but if anything, his body only grew heavy with the need to sleep, and the fever was creeping down his neck and filling his chest.
Jeongin, bless his golden heart, seemed to notice this, and he told the fire mage to get some rest while Minho was still busy washing up. A few protests, and a few clean dishes later, Jisung was laying on the guest bed, curled up in the corner against the wall.
At first he laid there for several minutes just staring at the ceiling, trying to convince his body that he was, in fact, not sick. But it was useless.
Damn that blizzard.
Time swirled above his head, fading in and out as his eyes drooped closed against his will. Eventually, he rolled over and pressed his forehead against the wall, sighing at the coolness meeting his feverish skin. The world faded as his body floated elsewhere.
The room was much darker when Jisung's eyes flickered open again, and his mind slowly came back to his body. Something tapped his shoulder.
"Sit up enough to sip this," Minho's voice came. "Come on, Jisung, you need water."
Reality stabbed into Jisung's dulled senses like a needle, and he pushed himself up on his elbows. He winced at the headache that exploded in the back of his head. His eyes opened more fully when his canteen gently pressed against his lips.
He glanced up at Minho, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, with a slight raise of his eyebrow. The water mage raised his eyebrows in return, a silent instruction. Jisung let his lips part, and Minho tipped the canteen forward, allowing cold water to trickle into his mouth.
Jisung didn't know if it was because of the fever, but it felt like his heart was beating just a little too fast, and he tore his eyes away from Minho's in turn pulling away from the canteen. What the hell?
Minho secured the lid in place and then set the canteen off to the side. "Lay back, you need a cool compress."
For a second Jisung bit the inside of his cheek harshly, trying to bring himself into complete focus.
"Jisung."
He let out a huff and fell back onto the thin pillow he'd been using. He flinched as a cool, damp cloth came to a rest on his forehead, and he couldn't stop his gaze from landing on Minho once again. "Are you... taking care of me right now?"
Minho rolled his eyes, but a hint of color bloomed across his well shaped cheekbones. "Someone has to. You're a pain in the ass."
Jisung was not in the mood. "I didn't ask you to do anything for me." Then his eyes widened. He hadn't noticed until now. It was growing dark outside. "Wait, how long have I been asleep?!"
"Shut up, you needed it. The mayor stopped by and I told him he could wait. According to him we're... planning a strategy." Minho kicked his legs up onto the bed, laying back and settling in close enough that his arm brushed against Jisung.
In a pointed shuffle, Jisung scooted closer to the wall. "Then we'll get busy first thing in the morning?"
"Only if your fever is gone."
Jisung grumbled under his breath. And then all was quiet. The wind was blowing loudly outside, and that was the only sound for a long while.
"Are you warm enough?" Minho's voice was quiet as it broke the thin layer of quiet that encased the room.
There was that strange pinch in his heart again, reacting directly to the softness in Minho's words. Jisung felt the urge to pull his heart out and cleanse it for a few hours.
He focused on his body, the relief the cool compress was giving to the flush skin of his face, the slight draft that was brushing against his body. He hadn't bothered to pull a blanket over himself when he fell asleep earlier. Somehow, he found it in himself to answer honestly. "No." The word came out as a whisper, nearly inaudible.
But Minho heard it.
His body slid a fraction closer, and then a blanket was falling over both of them. "Is that better?" Another whisper.
Jisung nodded just a little, moving slowly enough to keep the compress from falling off.
"I'll change your compress in a while, and you'll need to drink more water."
This was beyond bizarre. Minho was not supposed to be caring in any way, shape, or form. Especially not to Jisung. At the moment his care was begrudging at best, but it was still completely alien to them.
The tense silence that fell again slowly but surely faded into a natural, sleepy quiet, and Jisung's body quickly fell under its spell. He was nearly completely asleep when the bed moved.
The compress vanished. "Sit up and drink," Minho ordered, voice still lowered and smooth. It was completely dark now. Jisung had no way of guessing what time it was, and all he could see was a hint of Minho's features.
Like before, he sat up just enough to accept the water Minho offered him, and he was grateful for the darkness. After a long drink, he laid back down, and a fresh compress settled onto his head. The bed shifted, and Jisung's breath caught slightly at the feeling of Minho's back laying flush against his. The warmth was comforting, somehow.
Another beat of silence.
"None of this happened, okay?" Minho spoke up.
Jisung felt himself nodding. "None of this happened."
------------------------------- This chapter is ending pretty similarly to the previous one but... enemies to lovers requires forced proximity!
Also Jeongin is precious, and he is Minsung's son in real life and in this story lol.
I had a million errands to run this week, it feels like, but I finally got the chance to sit and update this lol. So it's finally here!
Hope you enjoyed, thanks for reading .'w'.