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Their enemies were closing in, Cheong Myeong was heavily injured, Tang Bo had his hands full making sure he didn't die, and Shen Jiu-
"Quick!" He turned towards the other two from where he crouched slightly ahead of them, right behind the large boulder they were using for cover. "Feed me some dog food!"
Cheong Myeong looked up at him, confusion visibly distracting him from pain. "What do you mean?!" He wheezed out, glancing around their barren surroundings. "There's barely two rocks to rub together, where do you expect us to find meat-"
He got cut off by Tang Bo hauling him up by the collar, pulling Cheong Myeong into an obnoxiously loud kiss.
Perfect. Shen Jiu could already feel the tickle of petals gathering in his chest. The coughing bent him near in half, leaving his throat feeling raw and scrapped, but it was worth it: he had enough projectiles now to dispatch their pursuers. That's why he preferred using Plucked Leaves Flying Flowers technique, especially against more than a single opponent. It took far less qi than maneuvering his sword, worked at greater distance, and was harder to parry.
"They're taken care of," Shen Jiu reported back. He cleared his throat, trying to will the still-gathering petals to stand down. "So you can stop kissing now."
Tang Bo leaned back with a sheepish expression, coughing lightly as he straightened out Cheong Myeong's robes. "Right," he said. His fingers brushed against a bloodied patch of the outer robe, which seemed to remind him that he had been in the middle of something before Shen Jiu asked for assistance.
He couldn't begrudge Tang Bo for getting distracted, nor for trying to make the most out of this opportunity. If someone had asked him to kiss Cheong Myeong with a legitimate excuse, he wouldn't have hesitated, either.
"Wait, what?" Cheong Myeong looked between the two of them, dazed. "The hell's happened?"
Shen Jiu did not dignify that with a response. "I'll loot the bodies for anything we can use. Dark Saint, get him stabilized enough to survive a move, we need to get going."
He didn't wait for them to agree, instead sliding away from the cover and doing exactly what he had said he'd do. Money, water, provisions, they could use as much of those as they could carry. He took a few of the better-looking outer robes, too, intending to use them in lieu of blankets or disguises, as necessary.
Cheong Myeong's expression by the time he returned promised that Shen Jiu would not be avoiding an interrogation. Judging by Tang Bo carefully avoiding his gaze, there would be no help coming from that direction.
"We're getting out of here first," Shen Jiu said preemptively. "You can say whatever you want to say once we're on the move."
If Shen Jiu was lucky, Cheong Myeong would pass out before the conversation could take place. More realistically, Shen Jiu could talk circles around any question he was asked on the topic, revealing nothing he didn't wish to reveal.
He placed Xiu Ya on the ground, leaving it in its scabbard and scrapping the bottom of his qi reserves just to make it float. Together with Tang Bo, they got Cheong Myeong onto the blade. It couldn't have been comfortable, nor was it a particularly dignified pose to lay down with his legs dangling off, but until Tang Bo deemed him healed enough to walk, he'd just have to bear with it.
Settling on one side of Cheong Myeong, with Tang Bo walking on the other, both of them acting as guardrails in case Cheong Myeong slipped, they set off. They were currently in a rocky plain, but off in the distance, there was a dark blur which could be a forest. If they could reach it, they would have an easier time returning to their sects.
Shen Jiu got about three steps of peace before Cheong Myeong started talking.
"You should let Bo-ya check you over, too."
That was... Not what Shen Jiu expected to hear. He looked down at Cheong Myeong, his brows scrunched in confusion. Was it some sort of a deliberate redirection to catch him off guard?
"What, you think we couldn't hear you coughing your lungs out? How are you going to explain yourself with a sore throat?"
Rolling his eyes, Shen Jiu focused back on their surroundings, trying to figure out where they were. Getting rid of the men who were chasing them would buy them some time, but "as far away as possible" was not a sustainable long-term solution-
A hand nudged against his arm. Shen Jiu flinched, turning to see Tang Bo handing him something.
"Lozenges," he said quietly. "They'll soothe the abrasions."
The thoughtful gesture made petals climb up Shen Jiu's throat, and he couldn't even properly clear them away without giving himself away. He was about to refuse-
"They're sweet."
"Fine," he snatched the lozenges and popped them into his mouth, hoping to stave off the steadily growing urge to cough.
"That's it?" Cheong Myeong chimed in from his perch. "Just some sweets? Bo-ya, not even an examination-?"
"I already know what it is," Tang Bo refused to look at either of them. "This is the best I can do right now."
Well, technically- But no, Shen Jiu was just deluding himself there. Tang Bo was right. There was nothing else he could do.
"My health isn't your business; Either of you," Shen Jiu said sharply, keeping his pace brisk. "I did what was necessary for our survival. I'd appreciate if we could all forget the details."
Oh, he knew this wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.
"Bo-ya?"
"What do you want me to say, hyung-nim?"
Shen Jiu sighed. "Is it truly so important to dig deeper into this topic?" He asked, exasperated. "I'm not dying. My condition is manageable and, at times, advantageous. I'm not looking for a cure-"
"Not looking?" Tang Bo repeated. "Or not expecting to receive it?"
He shot him a glare. "It is not something I wish to discuss with either of you-"
"Don't you? Wouldn't one of us be the perfect-"
"You assume too much. Just because I needed a reminder of what I don't have, and the two of you were conveniently here, does not mean it must be you-"
"What." Cheong Myeong loudly shoved his way into the conversation. "Are the two of you talking about?"
Shen Jiu exchanged a look with Tang Bo. And he could see, in those poison-green eyes, that his secret would not remain hidden for much longer.
"Hyung-nim-"
"-don't you dare-"
"-are you familiar with the Hanahaki disease?"
Great. There they went.
"Nope," Cheong Myeong said. "Please educate me, Bo-ya."
Tang Bo grimaced, clearly having been hoping that Cheong Myeong would already know what it was. Ha! Let him struggle; Perhaps it would teach him to keep his nose out of other people's business.
"It's a rare condition," he said. "It causes floral growth in the lungs of the patient, with the petals exiting through the airways with sufficient exposure to, ah-"
"Strong emotions," Shen Jiu intersected. It was even true, if vague. "If I feel particularly strong emotions, I cough up petals. Which I had used to get rid of the people who were chasing us. You're welcome."
He got a look from Tang Bo at that, but he ignored it. They both let Cheong Myeong chew on that description for a moment as they continued walking. The dark blur grew close enough that it was possible to confirm it was definitely a forest. If they could get there before it grew dark, they'd have a decent shelter for the night.
"And what emotions, exactly, did you feel when watching Bo-ya kiss me?"
What crimes landed Shen Jiu in this situation? Why did he have to carefully sidestep the reveal of the stupidly juvenile crush he had nursed for years, now? While exhausted from the escape, too? There were responses he could give, but they didn't want to pass through his lips. Some — the more truthful ones — were too embarrassing. Others — ones which could get him out of this situation — were lies too distasteful to voice. How could he claim "disgust" or anything of the sort-
He nearly tripped on the flat ground, and didn't even have the energy to flinch when Tang Bo's hand wrapped around his wrist. The push of qi through his meridians felt like that first drink of water in the morning.
"You should have said something sooner," Tang Bo chided, his face set into a heavy frown. "Your qi is dangerously low."
"It's fine." He's done more on less in the past. Shen Jiu shook his arm, ineffectively trying to get Tang Bo to let go. "Don't waste your strength on me-"
"And what do you imagine I should do when you pass out, leaving me alone with two immobile people?"
...alright. That was a valid point. Unfortunately for Shen Jiu's pride, the extra qi was helping, making it easier to keep Xiu Ya steady. He'd just have to bear this almost-handholding for the foreseeable future.
Another hand grasped his wrist slightly above where Tang Bo held it, pushing even more qi into him.
"You should focus on healing yourself," Shen Jiu told Cheong Myeong sharply, but the other man didn't even pretend to react to it. His eyes were piercing in their intensity, and Shen Jiu was almost afraid to know what thoughts were running through his mind.
He resigned himself to the possibility that, soon enough, both Cheong Myeong and Tang Bo would become aware that Shen Jiu's heart was theirs, even if they thought it was just one of them rather than both.
Hopefully, he could still remain in occasional contact with them, even in spite of that revelation. He's kept his thoughts to himself for years now, nothing would need to change.
Petals tickled the back of his throat, but Shen Jiu focused on the sweet lozenge in his mouth, on the two hands holding his wrist, on each step taken on the rocky ground, and ignored the pain. He's had plenty of practice at that.