Flux

the courtyard. Luli was there, setting a pot of water over a fire, and she smiled and greeted him. Then she gestured toward the house questioningly. Miner pointed to the room where Ennek lay, pretended to take several hearty swallows from an invisible cup, and then theatrically held his head and stomach, moaning and rolling his eyes back in his head a little.
    It must have been a good performance because Luli laughed and nodded in understanding. She bent and picked up a basket full of apples, which she handed to Miner. Then she pointed to the small knife that lay atop the flat stone she used for preparing food and indicated through a series of movements that he should cut the fruit into small pieces and set them in the blue pottery bowl that was nearby. He nodded and knelt at the stone to begin his task, and she hurried away.
    Luli returned a few minutes later carrying a tray. It included a squat teapot and a cup without a handle, as well as several fabric packets and glass jars. By then the water over the flames was steaming; she filled the teapot with it, then sprinkled in a variety of what appeared to be dried herbs and spices from the jars and packets. Miner kept chopping industriously at the apples, pausing every now and then to sneak a tiny piece into his mouth, until Luli said his name. She handed him the tray, pointed at the cup, and then at the house. “Hangover remedy?” he asked.
    She pointed at the cup again, then at her head and stomach, and said something back. He nodded and thanked her.
    Ennek was still curled up tight, and he only groaned when Miner tapped him gently with a bare foot. “Sit up and drink this, En.”
    Miner sat on the floor beside his lover, who remained motionless for a moment before groaning again, slowly unwinding himself, and managing to finally sit up. Ennek's hair was flattened on one side and standing up like loosely coiled springs on the other. His eyes were bloodshot and his face had a slightly greenish pallor. His breath smelled horrible, like something had died in his mouth while he slept, and he squinted blearily at Miner. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have had so much wine.”
    “Don’t apologize to me. You’re the one suffering.” Miner handed him the cup of tea.
    Ennek took a very cautious sip, winced slightly, and then sipped again. “It tastes horrible, so it’s probably good for me.”
    “Luli made it. I think she said it’ll help.”
    Ennek took another small drink. He wrapped his palms around the cup and stared down into the greenish liquid. “I used to drink a lot, before…before you. Didn’t have much else to do, I guess. But it’s been a while. People just kept giving me more wine last night and—”
    “It’s okay, En. You were having a good time. There’s nothing wrong with that. Well, aside from the sore head in the morning. Akilina can wait another day.”
    “I know. But…I shouldn’t lose control like that.”
    “You didn’t lose control. You were happy and everyone was enjoying you. You didn’t do anything wrong; but if something had happened, you know I’d have stopped you before it got bad.”
    Ennek looked up at him with surprisingly sharp eyes. “I know you would. Look, you don’t have to….” He bit at his lip and looked away. “I pretty much forced you into being my…my minder. I’m sorry. You don’t have to.”
    “Of course I have to. I love you. That’s what people do when they love each other: they watch out for one another. It’s not a burden, En. It’s a…a privilege, I guess.”
    “I haven’t done a very good job of watching over you, though, have I?”
    Miner blinked at him. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean look at all that’s happened to you since we met. And I didn’t stop it.”
    “What’s happened to me is no fault of yours, and you certainly have stopped it. Think of all the places I’m not because of you: I’m not Under or sold gods-know-where by pirates, I don’t belong to some man in Donghe, and I’m not drowned at the bottom of the harbor. You can’t protect me from every little thing, En, not unless you intend to lock me away in a secret tower somewhere.”
    Some of the tension in Ennek’s shoulders eased and he finished the cup of tea. Miner poured more. Ennek made a face but drank it dutifully.
    “Do you want to tell me now?” Miner said quietly.
    “Tell you what?”
    “How we can repay these people for all they’ve done for us. I don’t think scrubbing vegetables and chopping fruit