To love and to Hate

8: Safe travels

"No, you are not coming near me for the next three hundred years."

Minho rolled his eyes, his hand still extending down toward Jisung. "Okay, so you want me to leave you down on that little ledge, or what?"

"You got up there just fine, I can make it, Sir Knight Minho." Jisung grumbled, slowly finding hand holds along the slippery rock. They were nearly out of the mountain, the distant light of day was promising, but Jisung's body had gotten weaker and shakier as they climbed, and there were a few times he nearly slipped to his death. Not that he'd tell Minho that.

"You've got to stop pretending you are at full strength, Jisung. Just because we hate each other doesn't mean I'm going to mock you for being weak once in a while."

Jisung, still extremely wobbly, managed to pop onto the spot Minho was standing, but then his foot slipped.

Minho's arms wrapped around him, instantly stabilizing his body. "Hah, see? I can feel you shaking." Jisung tried pulling away, but the water mage held him in place and touched a hand to his forehead. "Look at that, it's freezing down here and your skin is burning up. The fever is back."

Why was his voice so gentle right now? It was disturbing. "It wouldn't be back it it wasn't for you, genius."

"It was sending you or Jeongin, darling, and if I sent that little plant mage, you would have boiled me alive. I knew you could handle yourself well enough until I could rescue you."

Jisung scoffed. "It's not rescuing if you're just getting me out of a situation you put me in."

"Perhaps you're right, but I will never admit that." Minho turned around and bent forward slightly. "Come on, we're nearly there."

Jisung stared at him, a question mark floating above his head. "What are you doing?"

Minho released a breathy laugh. "Jisung, just get on my back. It's mostly smooth sailing from here, but you are in no condition to hike down a mountain through a forming blizzard."

In that moment, Jisung wished he was Changbin so he could just teleport his way down. But that wasn't the case, so he was stuck with this. "Fine. Not a word about this to anyone."

"Except Jeongin, but that's okay because he already thinks we're a couple," Minho snickered as Jisung hopped onto his back. "Ooo, you're like a warm fire laying on my back, this is nice."

Jisung blinked a few times as Minho wrapped his arms under his legs to keep his stable. "What did you say?"

"You're warm?"

"No, about Jeongin."

Another laugh. "He thinks we're a couple. He was absolutely flabbergasted that I 'threw my husband to the wolves'."

Jisung couldn't think of words for a few seconds. "You're joking, right?"

"I kind of wish I was, it would be a funny joke. He threatened to turn me into a potato -which isn't possible, by the way- if I didn't take my husband back pronto." Minho was chuckling and it was oddly cute. "That kid does have some fire in him. He'll fit in well with Goldenspire, don't you think?"

Jisung face-palmed. "How could he think we're married after hearing us argue like that last night?"

Minho shrugged, sending Jisung's body jostling. "He thinks we just like to keep things... interesting." The words meant nothing, but the tone in his voice made Jisung's body heat up under the fever.

"So he thinks we're just kinky?"

Minho's laughter echoed loudly around them, and he had to stop walking for a moment to catch his breath and balance. Jisung could feel his own lips opening into a smile, that laugh being strangely contagious.