Chapter Text
Phainon’s love was harmless. Mostly. Sure, he might snap numerous photos of the blond haired man when he thought no one was looking, and maybe he spent hours staring at those same photos every night — tracing his finger along intricate tattoos and well-defined muscles he had long since committed to memory — but that wasn’t creepy! Nope. His love was perfectly normal.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
Anyone would do the same thing if they saw the man for themself. He was sure. It was impossible not to when faced with those striking golden eyes and ruddy tips of his hair, like it had been dipped in blood (And oh god why did that thought turn him on so much). Not to mention his immaculately built figure and skin-tight shirts he always wore, leaving nothing of those rippling abs and well-honed body to the imagination. Oh and of course he couldn’t forget the—
“Deliverer.” An annoyed voice called out.
Right. Phainon had completely forgot. The man who he fantasised about every night, who was the reason Phainon had started daydreaming currently, was standing in front of him, waiting for him to take his order.
“Haha… Sorry, Mydei…” He chuckled, shaking away the last of the thoughts and tugging at the collar of his work uniform whilst he averted his gaze, knowing it did nothing to hide the subtle embarrassment creeping up his cheeks. He hoped the man didn’t realise his absentmindedness was because of him.
“The usual? Pomegranate juice?”
“Yes.” The man, Mydeimos, nodded, his arms crossed. Curt and direct. Everything Phainon liked.
Phainon gave a small hum in response, entering the order into the till and pushing the card reader closer to Mydei. After confirming the payment had gone through, he watched as Mydei moved his way through the cafe; settling on one of the couches beside the windows.
He continued to watch as Mydei pulled a laptop out of his bag, legs splayed comfortably as he switched it on and began to work on… whatever it was that he did. Phainon wasn’t sure. He had dug deep into Mydei’s personal life, as much as what was public, but couldn’t find anything beyond a strained relationship with his CEO father and a deceased mother. He wondered if Mydei ever felt lonely. If he did, he never showed it.
Forcing himself to look away, Phainon started on the order. The cafe was quiet, only him, Mydei and a few other regulars were present. His coworker, Castorice, had stepped outside to make a phone call — he was sure she would’ve teased him about his ogling if she hadn’t.
Deft fingers concocted the preferred beverage of his beloved, stirring milk into the red liquid until it turned a delicate pink.
The first time Mydei had entered the cafe, Phainon had expected him to order something drab but nonetheless charming. Black coffee or maybe an americano. He had to stifle a laugh when he heard the other ask for a glass of pomegranate juice with “extra” milk. (As if pomegranate juice with milk was a regular occurrence to begin with…) But of course, it made sense. Obviously he would have a cute side to him too. Mydeimos was truly perfect.
Placing the cup down beside the other, Phainon turned to leave — not wanting to disturb him whilst he was in the middle of typing something up. It was then that deep baritone voice of which he had grown so familiar with suddenly stopped him however, and he found himself twisting his body around to see Mydei eyeing him with an unreadable expression.
“You were distracted earlier,” The statement came out flat, “In fact, you have been for a while.”
Shit. Had he noticed? Phainon prayed to whatever gods he could think of that he hadn’t.
“Mmm? You think so? Maybe I’ve just… been a little stressed with upcoming exams and everything. Seriously! You wouldn’t believe the amount of assignments my professor gives us…” He chirped out a little too quickly, trying his best to be cheerful and like his usual self. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if Mydei realised how he thought about him.
“Sorry if it seemed like I was staring at you earlier…” He added on, quietly.
Mydei stared at him for what felt like an unbearably long amount of time, before letting out an annoyed huff and moving to jot something down. Hoping he’d dropped it, Phainon was about to slink off back behind the counter again, when the sound of rustling paper caused him to lift his head with curiosity.
Tossing a note to the white haired barista, Mydei took a sip of his drink, savouring the delightfully smooth fruity taste before returning to his work.
“It’s my number.” He explained from over his shoulder, as if Phainon didn’t have working eyes. Not dignifying him with another glance, the man continued. “If you need anything you can message me.”
Phainon could only nod dumbly, swallowing hard as he stared at the torn sheet in his hands. Apparently his prayers had been more than answered.
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If someone were to see him now, they would surely mistake him for having been possessed by the spirit of a teenage girl who had just discovered her first crush.
Phainon was sprawled out across his bed, wearing a pair of bright yellow shorts and a graphic tee from which the print had already faded. An outfit Aglaea would surely describe as a “travesty”. Whatever. Phainon liked it! A giddy smile spread across his face whilst he kicked his feet through the air, the hands holding his phone shaking as he admired a picture he’d secretly snapped of Mydei from the previous week. He’d forgotten to take a photo today, but that was okay. He got something far better instead.
The note holding Mydei’s number laid wrinkled on top of his pillow. He’d done his best to smoothen it out after he’d crumpled it in his excitement to shove it inside of his pocket, but he’d no doubt beat himself up over it later. How could he waste his precious Mydeimos’ handwriting like that?
He’d been itching for a chance to escape work the entire day after their exchange, and the minute he entered his apartment he’d pounced on his phone, exceedingly infuriated at his decision to leave it behind earlier, to add Mydei to his contacts. In his hurry to leave, he’d left Castorice to deal with the closing shift alone. He’ll apologise to her about it tomorrow.
Swiping out of his album dedicated solely to his ever growing collections of photos he’d taken of the Castrum Corporation heir, he opened his messaging app, salivating at the newly added number like a starved dog.
Yet now he found himself hesitating.
What would he even say to Mydei? What could he even say without coming across too strong.
“Iloveyouandweshouldgetmarriedandhavechildren”? No. He would probably immediately block Phainon and never speak to him again. A simple “Hey!” wasn’t enough. Mydei did say to only message him if Phainon needed something but surely he wouldn’t mind if…
Phainon:
Heya! It’s me, Phainon, you gave me your number earlier, remember~
He typed out with shaking fingers, hesitating before hitting send and quickly adding a cute chimera emoji underneath. It went through instantly. He bit his lip, watching as the light beneath Mydei went from grey to green. A bubble with three dots appeared a second later.
My Dear Mydeimos ❤️:
Yes. I remember.
Phainon let out a sigh of relief he didn’t know he’d been holding, though it quickly came back as it showed Mydei was not finished typing yet.
My Dear Mydeimos ❤️:
I also remember telling you to message me if you needed something. So what is it?
He paused. He debated typing out “you”, but knowing that would be a terrible idea quickly deleted it before his hand could slip to press send. Contemplating his words carefully, he chose to go with something that hopefully wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows.
Phainon:
Nothing! I just wanted to make sure the number was correct
Phainon:
Though if you’re asking… can I say I wanted to talk to you?
It wasn’t a lie.
The speech bubble appeared again, then disappeared. It did this a few times, until a message finally came through from the other end.
My Dear Mydeimos ❤️:
Very well
My Dear Mydeimos ❤️:
Do you want to meet up this weekend?