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The Flame Chasers: The Legacy’s Ptolemy joins cast (EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW)

Published July 2^nd, 2020

The Legacy’s fans have been buzzing with excitement for the last few days as news broke out and the world found out that one of their favorite singers is about to make a debut in the hotly anticipated movie The Flame Chasers. Ptolemy will be credited under his given name, Ptolemy Katrakis, and he will be joining a previously announced cast led by Gorgo Kremnos, Robin and a new star Phainon Khaslana that is also set to make his acting debut in this movie.

As with all castings for this movie, his role is being kept under wraps as is his acting thus far, but Amphoreus Magazine has learned that the singer has been working closely with Gorgo Kremnos and Phainon Khaslana, who reportedly hold lead roles in the film. However, despite the deep secrecy that seems to shroud everything about this movie, The Legacy’s star has managed to give us some intel on what it’s like to be cast in such highly awaited film.

“I’ve been a fan of The Flame Chasers ever since the first book came out,” Ptolemy told Amphoreus Magazine. “I think I cried when I got the role, it was a super emotional moment. I was sitting with my friends and family when I got the news; I didn’t tell anyone that I auditioned so it was a surprise for everyone [the man laughs]. I’m very, very excited to join the cast and take my part in the movie. I admit, I’m a little nervous, since it’s my first ever serious acting project but my colleagues on the set help a lot and they made the transition so natural, I almost didn’t even notice it.” 

While he’s still prohibited from saying anything about his role in the movie, Ptolemy has seemed to take his new duties well. “I’m more used to theatre, so it took me some time to switch gears but I found out that playing in movies isn’t so different from shooting music videos; it’s all about flexibility to me. I’m very excited for our fans to see the final product.

As an old fan of The Flame Chasers book series I can tell you this – you will not regret watching this movie. You may ask anyone who knows me, they’ll tell you just how obsessed I was with these books when I was a teen. I would literally quote it so much that Mydeimos would refuse to sit near me because I kept accidentally spoiling the plot for him. This movie adaptation is… It’s everything I dreamed off when I was a kid. No matter how you look at it, it’s simply perfect.”

Click here to read the full interview.

Comments (1.2k):

Top                  Newest

@loraxthegreat ·  6h ago

I’m so excited for this adaptation to come out!!!

@glareze ·  7h ago

Feels a bit surreal that The Legacy only debuted a few months ago and Ptolemy is already about to star in a movie this big. Kinda crazy when you think about it

@helectraMVP  ·  3h ago

Holy shit the cast is STACKED. How the hell did they manage to get all these celebrities in one movie????

@shipnegative ·  3h ago

replying to @helectraMVP

same question. the director deserves an award just for prying gorgo away from her husband. very excited to finally see her on the same screen as robin

@twintails ·  5h ago

i’m ashamed to admit that the main reason I started the books was because ptolemy was gonna be in the upcoming adaptation 😶‍🌫️

@newgate ·  5h ago

replying to @twintails

lol same. 0 regrets tho, the books are awesome

@zenos ·  5h ago

replying to @newgate and @twintails

SAMEEEEEE

@doomcracker  ·  5h ago

replying to @zenos, @newgate and @twintails

Best decision you made

@itsgreenurhonor  ·  5h ago

crazy cast but who the fuck is phainon khaslana

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Are The Legacy and The Flame Chasers cast Joining Forces?

Published July 3^rd, 2020

Rumors of a potential collaboration between the two have sparked after Ptolemy, The Legacy’s pianist, had announced his debut in the highly anticipated movie The Flame Chasers. The support of the group had quickly followed but not without dropping a mysterious clue:

‘January 2021.’

The fans have been speculating what this date might mean; some of the opinion that it is the date the movie is set to come out, while others suspect something deeper – a collaboration between the rising stars of the music industry and the movie that had been delayed for years due to ‘a lack of suitable male leads’ as the director of The Flame Chasers, Sunday, had mentioned in previous interviews.

It had been announced that one of the leading roles in the movie is set to be undertaken by an unknown actor, Phainon Khaslana, that had been officially signed under Goldweaver Inc. for over 2 years. The man has yet to star in any movies, having been focused mostly on modeling and small roles in TV shows (see full history here). Only time will tell whether this gamble will yield the success the film rightfully deserves, or if the world is about to witness a catastrophic box-office disaster.

Representatives for The Legacy declined to comment, so for now all we have to do is wait and see if the rumors of this collaboration are true and if they are, can they save the most anticipated movie of the last 2 decades from potentially crashing and burning?

“Are you out of your mind? Your melody doesn’t even fit the scene!”

“Have you ever heard of a thing called soundtrack dissonance?”

Phainon clenched his jaw. “This scene is supposed to be brutal. The music has to fit fully to emphasize the slaughter that will be shown on screen. We cannot afford to just,” he waved his hand in the air, lost for words. “To put on some cheerful music and call it a day! Have you even seen the scene? Our melody matches the slow-paced moment as it slowly gains strength and speed, and by doing so it will fully showcase the horror of what’s happening to our viewers. The music has to be slow, otherwise the whole weight of the scene will be lost!”

“Is that how you think?” Mydei narrowed his eyes, meeting Phainon’s gaze head on. “Slow is the way to go, huh? You might as well make it your personal anthem, given how strictly you live by it – and apparently work by it, too.”

“You are being unreasonable –”

“And you speak as if you don’t have a brain –”

“Alright, that’s enough of you two!” Perdikkas interrupted before a full-scale argument could break out. He stepped between Phainon and Mydei that were standing in the middle of the studio, faces flushed and chests almost touching with how close they were standing. “You’ve been going at it for an hour already and something tells me that the melody isn’t the real root of the argument. So until you two resolve whatever issues you have with each other – you are not to step foot into this room!”

Mydei reeled back as if stung. “Perdikkas –”

“No,” the man cut him off. He pointed at the door with hard eyes, “Go and breathe some air. You may come back once you two can actually listen to each other.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Phainon said with a scowl, his attention no longer on Mydei. Mydei crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. “The premiere is in less than 3 months and we’ve been arguing over this scene for a full day. We have to come to a decision today.”

“And that’s exactly why I’m telling you two to leave and solve your shit outside of this studio,” Perdikkas responded bluntly. “Don’t think we’re all stupid here. Get the hell out and come back once you’ve cleared your heads and not a moment earlier.”

He pointed at the door once more, more insistently this time. With a bitten off ‘fine’, Mydei turned on his heel, forcing his way past Peucesta and Ptolemy that stood behind him. The two men reached out to calm him, their faces full of sympathy, but Mydei brushed their hands away with a frown.

The door slammed shut a second later, signaling his departure.

The next second Phainon dropped his head in his hands with a loud groan.

“Was there really a need for this…” Leonnius asked, glancing at the door with worried eyes.

“Yes. I’ve had enough of this bullshit. I needed to end it a long time ago,” Perdikkas replied, ruthlessly. He stepped closer to Phainon, looming over him even if he was a whole head shorter than the other man. “I don’t know what’s going on with you two – and frankly I don’t want to know, since it’s none of my business – but both you and Mydeimos have been a mess the past week. You,” he poked Phainon in the chest, “need to fix it and you need to fix it now.”

He sharply turned around, his wavy black hair hitting Phainon straight in the face. “And while we’re on this topic, where the hell is Hephaestion?”

“Oh,” Mydei blinked as he shoved the balcony doors open. “Sorry, I didn’t know the balcony was already occupied.”

“It’s alright,” Hephaestion turned around, a sheepish smile on his face. “I didn’t call dibs on it or anything. You can come in.”

He was leaning on the balcony rail, looking in the distance with a contemplative expression. His long pink hair was blowing in the night wind, strands tangling together and getting all over his face. An ashtray stood in front of him so full it was about to overflow.

Mydei slowly closed the balcony doors, eyeing the ashtray with confusion.

“Ah,” Hephaestion blinked when he realized where Mydei was looking. “That was already here when I got here. Someone must have had a stressful day.”

“You didn’t –”

“No,” the other man smiled. “I wouldn’t dare. Perdikkas would have my head for breaking the promise.”

“A full year now, was it? Good,” Mydei nodded, reassured. He joined Hephaestion on the balcony, leaning against the railing next to his friend. “Your health is already fragile as it is. Someone needs to make sure you don’t hurt yourself with these habits of yours. So far Perdikkas has been doing a pretty great job.”

Hephaestion’s health was always a sensitive topic. He was born small; sickly. His parents had tried everything – every medicine, every doctor, anything to heal their son. But nothing worked. Living with a weak immune system was never easy, but Hephaestion had adapted – he was meticulous about his health, his diet. Made sure to always take care of his body and had scheduled visits to his doctors every month. The one thing he had trouble of letting go was smoking.

Mydei had no idea when or where Hephaestion had picked up the habit; absolutely no one in their inner circle smoked. Yet, one day Hephaestion had simply started and it was only recently that he finally quit – a victory achieved entirely through Perdikkas’ relentless nagging, for which Mydei was immensely grateful.

It wasn’t that Hephaestion was ever an avid smoker but with his health… Nothing good would come out of it.

“Hey,” Hephaestion nudged Mydei in the shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You okay? You’ve been kinda quiet.”

Mydei stared at the glowing skyscrapers that split the dark blue sky. The sun had disappeared hours ago, leaving only the city lights to illuminate the night. A cool breeze carried the distant hum of traffic, and Mydei wrapped his leather jacket tighter around himself.

“It’s…” he sighed, blinking away from the sea of lights. He stared at his hands that grasped the balcony railing. “Phainon. What else.”

“You two had a fight?”

Mydei glanced at him from the corner of his eye. “You heard it?”

“You weren’t particularly quiet,” Hephaestion shrugged. “Didn’t sound like an argument about the movie, though.”

Mydei hmphed, not saying anything. Hephaestion continued, “Does it have anything to do with the way he’s been acting lately?”

Mydei stilled. “What do you mean.”

He didn’t think it was bad enough for his friends to notice. Did anyone else notice it too?

Hephaestion’s loosely tied ponytail swayed gently in the wind as he stared at the bustling city below them. His lips twitched in a half-aborted grin. “You really think we’re blind, don’t you?”

“I –” he started, blinking rapidly at his friend’s accusation.

“It’s alright,” Hephaestion reassured him. He closed his eyes and relaxed against the railing. “I get it.”

Mydei narrowed his eyes. “Do you?”

“I guess. I mean it’s understandable at least. His change was a bit sudden.”

Mydei turned away from lights of the city and looked at his friend, now fully focused on his serene expression as he enjoyed the wind blowing in his face. Hephaestion always did like the cold, the weirdo. “You sound like you know more about it than I do. Why is that?”

Hephaestion opened one of his eyes and looked sideways at Mydei. “Maybe I do.”

“Stop speaking in riddles,” Mydei commanded, a frown appearing on his face. “What is it? Phainon refused to tell me when I asked.”

And he did ask, multiple times in fact. Not once had Phainon provided him with a clear answer, only continuing to monopolize Mydei’s attention with even more fever than before.

Hephaestion lowered his head with a sigh. “Not sure if I can explain it properly. My information is secondhand at best.”

“It’s better than nothing,” Mydei pressed. “Tell me.”

“Don’t blame me for any misunderstanding that might occur because of this,” Hephaestion warned him. “It was Peucesta. I don’t know what he said or what he did but I saw them talking a few months ago – I think it was a week or so before our debut? – and whatever he said must have gotten through Phainon’s thick skull because he hasn’t been acting normally since then. Around you, that is. He’s been fine with us but his dynamic with you changed for some reason.”

Mydei frowned. “Peucesta?...” That was the last person he’d blame for this whole mess.

“Yeah,” his friend nodded. “I was just walking by so I only heard a few words but I think they were talking about our future tours? Peucesta mentioned something about ‘new opportunities’. Not sure if it was connected to something else but Phainon froze when he heard that. They then started talking about this but I had to leave for a rehearsal so I didn’t listen to their conversation after that.”

“New opportunities…” Mydei repeated to himself. “What does that even mean?”

Hephaestion shrugged. “Not sure. I thought Peucesta was talking about our tours but looking back at it now, I was probably wrong. You have a better chance at asking Peucesta himself but I doubt he even remembers what he said, at this point. You know how he is –”

“…9 out of 10 times he has a memory of a goldfish,” Mydei finished. He rubbed his forehead, exasperated. “Yes, I remember.”

Peucesta’s ability to forget anything the man deemed as unimportant – and Mydei had no doubt this conversation with Phainon had joined that pile in his head – was frankly incredible. Especially if Hephaestion was right and that conversation had happened months ago.

Hephaestion smiled apologetically, “I’m sure it wasn’t anything bad. I mean, you don’t seem to mind Phainon’s current behavior, no?”

“I –” Mydei pursed his lips. It was true; he didn't mind it at all. In fact, once he grew accustomed to Phainon’s constant attention, he began to revel in it. There was no need to admit that to Hephaestion, though. His friend likely already knew.

With the way Mydei bloomed under Phainon’s attention it was more likely that all of his friends already knew.

“It’s not that,” Mydei lied. He ignored Hephaestion’s raised eyebrow and doubled down, “It isn’t. I just want to know –”

If there’s an actual chance Phainon finally realized –

“What made him change from his… Usual attitude, that’s all,” he finished lamely instead.

Hephaestion’s snorted but didn’t press. “If you say so. I do wonder, though,” he twirled a pink strand that fell from his ponytail between his fingers, “what exactly did Peucesta say that made Phainon snap out of his constant state of obliviousness. I mean, if tabloids didn’t do anything, what could Peucesta possibly do?”

“What do you mean?” Mydei asked with a frown. He shifted slightly, feeling his leather jacket slide against the balcony railing.

“I mean it’s obvious he’s preparing – either you, himself or both of you – for something,” Hephaestion replied, waving a hand dismissively. “He has to with the way he’s been hovering over you and touching you 24/7. And I say this literally, Mydeimos, I love you but I don’t need to see Phainon’s hands under your shirt doing Gods know what. Keep that stuff to yourself, please.”

Mydei’s face burst into flames. “He wasn’t –!”

“He very much was. Stop treating us as if we’re blind – we see things. Leonnius might be having a blast but I’ve known you longer and I don’t really want to see you getting groped in public,” Hephaestion grimaced. “Phainon has always been pretty shameless but he doesn’t need to make some sort of… statement or anything. There is no competition. He can rest easy.”

Mydei stared at him for a moment, utterly speechless.

Kephale save him, this was embarrassing.  

He dragged a hand down his face, his palm coming to a stop against his slightly opened mouth. “He wasn’t,” he started after a second, his voice weak and muffled by his palm. “He wasn’t… making a statement.”

Hephaestion frowned. “What do you mean? I thought he was,” he shrugged, trying to find the right words, “marking his territory because of those tabloid rumors about us.”

“Phainon,” is incredibly chronically offline. Mydei bit his tongue before the words could escape his mouth. He leaned heavier against the balcony railing and buried his face in his hands. What did he do in his past life to deserve this? “Doesn’t do social media. He doesn’t know about the rumors.”

Hephaestion froze. He slowly turned to Mydei as if he was making sure he heard that right, “Then you’re telling me he what? That he is – he’s just like that? That he’s groping you for literally no reason at all!?”

With his face still hidden in his hands, Mydei simply shrugged.

What could he even say in response to this? It wasn’t like he actually had an answer.

“How can he not know?” Hephaestion demanded. “The rumors are everywhere!”

Mydei shrugged again. He didn’t know that himself. Really, it was a tad fascinating but it wasn’t like he’d bring up these rumors to Phainon unprompted. Who knew what kind of reaction he’d even have.

He wasn’t willing to take any chances. Not this time.

“Holy shit,” Hephaestion dropped to the empty chair that was standing in the corner of the balcony. Mydei glanced at him from the gaps between his fingers. “So I’ve been tolerating these rumors for so long and you’re just now telling me that this asshole doesn’t even know about them?”

What?

Confused, Mydei finally raised his head. “What does Phainon have to do with this?”

His friend stared at the starless night sky with an empty gaze. “It’s half of the reason and he didn’t even know. Fuck my life, man. How is that even possible.”

“What are you talking about?”

Hephaestion lowered his head and stared at Mydei. “You know why I stopped denying the rumors? About us dating,” he asked suddenly.

“Because it was pointless,” Mydei replied, puzzled. “No matter how much we denied them at first they only became worse.”

“Sure, that’s the main thing,” his friend said, keeping his eyes locked on him. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion as if Hephaestion himself couldn't wrap his head around the conversation they were having. “But I also thought that I’d be a nice cover up for you. For, you know, the day when your crush on Phainon becomes impossible to hide. Thought if Phainon or anyone else ever called you out on your feelings for him when you didn’t want to reveal them for whatever reason, these rumors would be nice to have around as a shield or whatever.”

Mydei froze. “What?”

He felt like he’d been repeating the same few words all hour, but how else could he react to the seemingly endless barrage of news Hephaestion kept dropping on him? Mydei stared blankly at him, lips parted in shock as his friend continued to speak.

“Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t mind it. You using these rumors for your advantage in the future,” Hephaestion said the moment he saw Mydei’s expression. “It was honestly the only good thing that came out of these rumors. Never really told anyone about this but once I realized that we couldn’t do anything about them, I started to wonder how we could use them to our advantage. Two birds, one stone – that kinda thing.”

He rubbed his face, suddenly feeling tired. “And now I find out that it was pointless because even if he managed to somehow miss the rumors that seem to be literally everywhere than he sure as hell will never even think of calling you out on anything. I’ve told everyone to not mention anything around him too, in case we ever had to use them in the future... Man, what the actual hell is wrong with him?”

“Why…” Mydei’s voice was hoarse. His breath came out uneven, shaky as he stared at his friend. “Why would you do that?”

He knew how much Hephaestion detested these rumors. He made it his mission to deny them at every corner and Mydei couldn’t blame him for that; understood it even. It was invasive, even creepy at times with how invested people were in their lives back when they were nothing more than just two teenagers that were unlucky enough to get caught in the midst of people’s obsession with the Kremnos family. 

Mydei would never blame Hephaestion for feeling disgusted by these rumors; he had every right to be. In truth, Mydei understood the feeling completely – the suffocating weight of the public’s scrutiny made him just as uncomfortable.

That was exactly why Hephaestion’s words struck Mydei so deeply.

His friend merely shrugged, entirely unaware that he had just pulled the rug out from under Mydei. “Why wouldn’t I? The other choice was to give up and accept these rumors as they were and I refuse to do that. I thought that maybe if in the future you ever needed a cover – from the public or even from Phainon himself – these rumors would provide it for you; help you deny the allegations, tell people that you already have someone in your heart; something of that sort. If you can't beat them, join them – I guess I took that phrase to heart. That’s my spin on it, at least. Not that it really matters now.”

Mydei blinked rapidly as a new thought popped into his head. “You do realize that if that ever happened, if I ever needed to use those rumors, we would’ve needed to start a PR relationship. If I needed a cover up –”

“I know,” Hephaestion nodded. “I was prepared for it to be honest.”

“You –” Mydei’s mouth dropped. “What?”

“Yeah. It’s not like it would’ve been a big deal,” the man shrugged as if it was a completely normal thing to say. “I mean, if it ever came to it, we simply could’ve ‘dated’ for a few months and then peacefully separated. We would’ve been the friendliest exes in Amphoreus history.”

“You’re actually out of your mind,” Mydei barked out a laugh, feeling breathless. He slid down the railing and sat on the cold balcony floor. “You were really ready to do that?”

For me?

“I had it all planned out,” Hephaestion grinned tiredly, “Though I won’t lie, I would prefer if we never had to go that route. We both know that one day Phainon will become famous and you two will have to interact at some point – look at what we’re doing now, for gods sake. He’s not even in the spotlight and you are already collaborating, and soon you will have to interact in public too. And I love you, Mydeimos, but,” he grimaced. “You’re not very subtle with your feelings. One day everyone would have known one way or another and I don’t even want to think what kind of scandal we would have on our hands then. These rumors were supposed to help; divert the attention to an extent. That is, of course, if you ever needed that help in the first place and with the way Phainon has been acting lately, I don’t think it will ever needed. Your mating dances these days are… quite obvious,” he scrunched his nose and raised his hands. “No offense.”

Mydei shook his head, a soft, breathless laugh escaping him. “None taken. You are still out of your mind, though.” He looked at his friend, unable to comprehend the extent of what he was ready to do.

For him; Hephaestion was ready to do that for him.

“Well,” light brown eyes crinkled as Hephaestion laughed at his reaction. “I prefer to call it ‘being prepared’ but whatever works for you. I’m not sure how your whole… thing with Phainon will go, but just in case you ever need it – you can always fall back on these rumors. Sure, a lot of things were taken out of context but they provide a pretty good base, don’t you think? I really don’t mind; it would actually make me feel a tiny bit better, like not all my pain was in vain, you know?”

The only one Mydei could see himself dating was Phainon and it wasn’t like there was any chance of that ever happening – not with the way their relationship was currently progressing. Mydei was not ashamed of his feelings but he knew it would be nice to have a safety net if someone ever found out about his feelings… Just in case.

He shook his head at his friend and replied with a small but genuine smile, “Of course. Thank you for all your hard work.”

“Anytime,” Hephaestion smiled. He did a mini salute, “Always at your service, Your Highness.”

Laughter bubbled in his throat; his eyes softened as he looked at his oldest friend, all thoughts about his fight with Phainon forgotten. Even the cold wind that tried to weasel its way between the gaps of Mydei’s clothes couldn’t dampen the gentle flame that lit up in his chest.

Comfortable silence descended upon them. The city below them continued as always, a buzz of activity as people left their work and hurried home, venturing to the market stalls to buy something for their families, or simply went out to grab a quick dinner in a nearby café. The chatter of people, of moving cars and trains – the pulse of a living city – served as soothing background noise for both men as they sat on the balcony together.

Mydei leaned against the balcony railing with a sigh and felt the leftover tension leave his frame. He suddenly felt so, so tired.

Which was probably why he missed the sound of balcony doors opening.

A tall shadow fell on Mydei’s legs and he raised his head with a frown to look at the newcomer.

Gold eyes met blue; Mydei stilled.

“You…” Phainon breathed out. His eyes lit up; his cheeks were slightly flushed from the chill, the tight black t-shirt doing nothing to protect him from the cold late autumn air. Nonetheless, he took a step forward and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. Then his eyes focused on Hephaestion in the corner; his fingers flexed. He quickly schooled his expression, “Hephaestion.”

Hephaestion lazily rolled his head to his shoulder to look at him and said in the same dry tone. “Phainon.”

Tension crackled; Mydei’s eyes darted between the two of them, confused by the sudden animosity.

“Is something the matter?” he asked to ease the tension.

As soon as Mydei spoke Phainon’s eyes locked on him. He dragged his gaze across Mydei’s body, cataloguing every change that might have happened in that short time they were separated.

Mydei felt his cheek heat up; he straightened his jacket, closing it over his chest and pointedly cleared his throat. Phainon jolted out of his thoughts and turned to Hephaestion that was watching the whole exchange with raised eyebrows.

“Perdikkas has nearly overturned the whole studio looking for you” he said to Hephaestion after a moment, his voice returning to its usual cadence. Hephaestion let out a small groan, slumping even further in his chair. “He wanted to go over your part of the song again.”

Mydei’s jaw clenched at the mention of the song. He scowled and hunched his shoulders slightly, looking anywhere but at the two men that were conversion quietly.

He knew his bad mood had nothing to do with the song; frankly, he wasn’t that against Phainon’s idea of using a slower melody to emphasize the scene. It was a sound idea, all things considered.

The argument had sparked up unexpectedly. Yes, emotions were high between them the past few months but they both managed to reel each other back before a full-blown fight could ensue – despite Phainon and Mydei’s competitive natures and petty squabbling, they surprisingly weren’t that prone to actual arguments with one another. A fact that baffled everyone who spent even a minute in their presence.

What happened today was neither normal, nor was it expected, but neither was Phainon’s behavior these past few months.

Could anyone really blame Mydei for snapping?

Phainon was everywhere. Everywhere Mydei turned, he saw guileless blue eyes staring at him. Everywhere he went, he saw Phainon trailing after him and not even trying to hide that he was following Mydei’s steps!

Eyes that were following his every move, boring into his back; a few times, Mydei managed to catch Phainon's razor-sharp stare. But as soon as Phainon caught him looking, his features melted into a mask of pure innocence.

Each time Mydei would demand an answer from him, Phainon would deflect. He’d slump into Mydei, resting his weight on Mydei’s body with a pitiful expression; acting much like a scolded puppy. He tried everything to win Mydei over, alternating between pleading whines and charming smiles. Mydei likely would have yielded to the act, would have stopped his relentless questioning if not for one thing – Phainon’s hands that were locking him in place, not letting him move even an inch without taking Phainon along with him. The strong pressure of Phainon’s fingers digging into Mydei’s waist was a stark contrast to his doe-like blue eyes that nearly sparkled from how pure and innocent their owner was.

And yet his grip made on thing crystal clear – he had no intention of letting Mydei escape.

“Alright,” Hephaestion’s voice pulled Mydei out of his thoughts. Mydei ignored the blue eyes boring into the side of his face and watched his friend move from the chair, stretching his back. “I’ll be off then. Don’t want to worry Perdikkas more than necessary.”

“Weren’t you hiding here because you were trying to escape his nagging,” Mydei said, straight-faced. He realized this halfway into their conversation but didn’t deem it important enough to mention. Hephaestion was a big boy, he could handle Perdikkas’ wrath just fine.

Hephaestion popped his back with a satisfying sound before grinning at Mydei. “Maybe. I got my break, though. And I’m ready to face him again.”

He stepped towards the balcony doors and raised his eyebrow at Phainon that was blocking the exit. Phainon tore his eyes away from Mydei and with a quiet ‘my apologies’ he moved out of the way.

“I’m out. You two,” Hephaestion gestured between Phainon and Mydei. “Talk. I’ll be waiting for you downstairs.”

A silent threat from someone who knew Phainon for as long as Mydei did – Hephaestion was more than aware of what the two were capable of with their communication skills that seemed to have plummeted into the abyss these past few months; he would be waiting for updates once their talk was done.

And with that he was gone.

The door had barely closed after him when Phainon opened his mouth. “Mydei –”

“Are you going to feed me more of your bullshit?” Mydei interrupted, narrowing his eyes at the man standing over him. He didn’t even want to pretend as if their fight was about the song. They were both smarter than this. “If so, I’ll have to stop you right there. I’m in no mood to play your mind games.”

Phainon reeled back as if slapped. He looked at Mydei with wide eyes asked, his voice quiet, with notes of underlying hurt, “Is that how you see it?”

Not wanting to continue this conversation while he was sitting on the floor, Mydei got to his feet. He ignored the cold wind that rushed by them, tangling their hair and tugging at their clothes. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the railing, his body language closed off. “You don’t get to say this. I’ve asked for your reasonings, multiple times. Not even once have you given me an explanation.”

You don’t get to lead me on, act as if we’re together and then pretend as if we’re nothing but normal friends. You don’t get to posture all over me and then ignore my questions.

Mydei bit his tongue to stop the words spilling from his mouth. He clenched his jaw and looked away.

Phainon expression twitched, his lashes cast deep shadows under his eyes. His voice lowered, “Listen… I’m sorry. I know I’ve been confusing and I’m not normally like this but –”

“Yes, you are,” Mydei replied, meeting Phainon’s eyes. “But you’ve explained yourself before. Now you just run away or pretend as if nothing had changed.”

And it would’ve been fine now too if only Phainon had explained himself. Mydei knew himself, knew that he would have forgiven and accepted anything that Phainon would have done, as long as he told him the actual truth. Even if he told him that he simply missed his friend because of how busy Mydei’s been lately due to The Legacy’s debut, that he wanted to be closer to Mydei – Mydei would have swallowed his hopes and accepted all the touches, all the hovering, everything without batting an eye.

Missing a friend was normal. Expected even with how busy Mydei’s schedule has been. There was nothing shameful in admitting it.

Which was why Phainon’s deliberate avoidance of the subject was so jarring.

All Mydei wanted, needed was an explanation. Because he didn’t think he could go like this any longer without knowing what made Phainon change so suddenly.

He steeled himself before delivering the ultimatum. “Either you explain yourself or we are dropping… this,” he gestured between them, “forever.”

Phainon’s expression shifted. He took an involuntary step forward, one of his arms reaching for Mydei. His eyes flickered across Mydei’s face, searching for any signs of a joke.

Mydei sidestepped, slipping just out of his reach.

“I mean it, Phainon,” he said roughly, his throat closing up from the small noise the other man let out. “Either tell the truth or get the hell out.”

“Mydei –”

He dodged Phainon’s hands once more. His eyes hardened, turning icy despite their warm color. “Stop this. Why is honesty so difficult for you?”

Can you stop pretending just for one moment?

Mydei knew what Phainon was trying to. He always did this, even back when they were kids.

First came the gentle hands, a loose hold around Mydei’s wrist, just enough to get him used to the touch. Then, slowly the grip would tighten, anchoring him in place until Phainon was certain Mydei wouldn’t pull away. And once that threshold was crossed, the embrace would soon follow until Mydei couldn’t even remember what he’d been angry about in the first place.

Touch had always been the fastest way to Mydei’s heart. And Phainon, that manipulative bastard, knew that better than most people.

Well, tough luck. Mydei wasn’t having any of that today.

Seeing Mydei escape his hands once more, Phainon lowered his head, a shadow flickering across his face. His arms flexed as if he was consciously stopping himself from dragging Mydei closer to him.

Mydei watched him carefully. Anger slowly bled out of his blood as wariness set in.

He didn’t like how quiet he was. Nothing good came from Phainon that was this quiet.

“I…” Phainon finally opened his mouth. Mydei stilled. “I want to tell you, I do but,” his voice broke off. He clenched his jaw before continuing just as quietly. “But I can’t. Not right now.”

Mydei furrowed his brows, confused. “Why? What’s stopping you?”

What’s stopping you?

Phainon let out a humorless smile and took a step close to the railing.

Mydei scowled. He inched a bit further.

“I’m not,” Phainon’s expression broke when he saw Mydei watching him with wary eyes. “I’m not going to touch you.”

He slumped against the balcony railing, gripping the cold iron for support. His head sank, shoulders slumping as the sheer exhaustion finally broke through. Phainon leaned on his elbows, his fingers running through the thick white strands. Tired blue eyes overlooked the bustling city below them. “You don’t have to worry, I won’t… I won’t do that again.”

Mydei’s expression cleared. A touch of concern shone in his eyes. He pursed his lips before making a decision and joining Phainon by his side.

The other man’s back went rigid. He didn’t look at him.

Mydei’s hands flexed against the railing before he made a conscious effort to relax them. With his eyes looking at nothing into the distance, he measured each word carefully before he started talking. “It’s not your touch that is the problem. I,” he clenched his jaw before forcing himself to continue, practically ripping his chest open with his confession. “I don’t mind it. Your actions and your touch are not the problem. Your refusal to tell me the truth is.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Mydei saw Phainon freeze. Phainon slowly turned his head to face him, his eyes wide.

“You don’t?...” Phainon asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Both of them knew exactly what it meant.

Yet none of them said it out loud.

Still looking far into the distance, Mydei gave a slight nod. “I don’t. You said that you want to tell me but something is holding you back,” he saw Phainon flinch and didn’t push. “I won’t ask what it is but I need you to tell me when I can expect an explanation. I need,” a time limit, something to look for, anything. Mydei gritted his teeth, “to know.”

“I,” Phainon started hoarsely. He cleared his throat and tried again, “Flame Chasers release. It’s supposed to be in January, in just a few months. I’ll...I’ll tell you everything.”

Mydei gave a sharp nod. A little over 2 months. It was nothing compared to the time Mydei had already waited.

(He’d wait for however long it took for Phainon to figure himself out.)

Phainon pressed on. “Just wait until then and,” he clenched his jaw. Mydei shot him a sidelong glance, brow furrowing at the raw tension threading through his tone. “And if I don’t tell you after that, you can… You can do whatever you want. I won’t stand in your way.”

As if, Mydei nearly rolled his eyes. If Mydei was reading this right – and for once in his life he was certain that he was – then even if Phainon broke this promise, he’d forever remain a thorn in Mydei’s side. No matter what future Mydei carved out for himself, what relationship he would have in the future, there would always be a Phainon-shaped shadow lurking in the periphery of his vision, always reminding him of his presence.

After all, Phainon’s possessiveness was one of the things Mydei loved most about him.

Mydei scoffed. “Stop lying.”

Phainon didn’t even bother to deny it. “I’ll make an… I’ll try to not stand in your way.”

All that remained was to hope Phainon wasn’t a coward.

“Fine,” Mydei ended up saying. “Flame Chasers release. If not,” he finally turned to face Phainon. Wide blue eyes met his. “Then we’re done with this whole charade.”

Phainon swallowed.

He didn’t reply.

The Flame Chasers. Just go see it.

January 6, 2021

The adaptation of most anticipated book of the last two decades has finally been released and I don’t know about you, folks, but our magazine has been on fire the whole day.

‘The Flame Chasers’, a book series about a legendary group of people who served as humanity's final line of defense in a desperate, losing war against an apocalyptic threat called the Honkai – everyone knows the plot and the beloved characters of this series (just go outside, chances are you will see a picture of at least one of them on your street). The series have been long awaiting its adaptation; it’s been canceled and reworked over and over again until the directors and the production were finally satisfied with the cast and, not even going to lie to you our dear readers, after seeing the movie? I can’t even blame them. I have never seen a cast more perfect; it’s frankly bewildering how flawless it is.

My colleagues have already talked about the incredible work of The Legacy’s star, Ptolemy Katrakis (read here), and the acting of the veteran, the star of the acting industry, Gorgo Kremnos (read here) and while I can gush about them as much as anyone else, I have to say that the work of the novice Phainon Khaslana completely blew me away.

His path to stardom has not been easiest and his casting in such anticipated movie was not a smooth sailing either. The key to making this adaptation work was the casting of the main lead and here was where Phainon Khaslana unexpectedly swooped in. Before this nobody knew of the man, at least not on such big scale, but now? You can’t go anywhere without seeing his face.

Playing a role of the main lead had put incredible pressure on the young man – I’m sure we’ve all seen the articles about alleged conflicts on set and doubts about his performance. And while I can understand the worry, I’m glad that we moved past this because, if the rumors of his nominations for the role are true, then he sure proved everyone wrong.

The Flame Chasers has a very strong cast from top to bottom, but it’s Khaslana who carries the whole film on his shoulders. With this role he proved himself to be a first-rate actor who officially accedes to the status of a movie star. We could only hope that he’s ready for the future that awaits him.

Decades waiting for this adaption were worth it. And as the whole world – our magazine included – is still reeling from this movie we would like to offer you a quote from our favorite pianist: “This movie adaptation is… It’s everything I dreamed off when I was a kid. No matter how you look at it, it’s simply perfect.”

And he was 100% right.

The Flame Chasers now in theatres.

Go watch it. You will not regret it.

A flash.

“Phainon look here!”

Another flash.

“Mydeimos! Hold that pose!”

The wave of reporters pushed at each other, trying to get a better shot. The red carpet under their boots creased, forming a small wrinkle.

“Smile!”

The noise grew louder, intensified. The flashes went brighter, almost blinding.

“Now together, please!”

Mydei swallowed as he took a step to the side. The leather jacket was a soft weight on his shoulders as it ground him to the present.

Another flash.

His eyes watered from the onslaught of light. He tried to stop the frown forming on his face and clenched one of his hands behind his back.

A second later a familiar hand wrapped around his waist.

“Hey,” Phainon whispered, his breath warm against Mydei’s ear. Mydei unconsciously turned his head towards his voice. “You’re tense. Relax a little.”

The man sent a carefree grin to the reporters, his eyes as bright as the sun. “Come on,” he continued in a low voice. Mydei slowly blinked at him. “Let’s take a few pictures together.”

The stepped into the lights – side by side, with Phainon’s hand still wrapped around Mydei’s waist, a few of his fingers touching the bare skin underneath. They painted a striking picture together: one clad in a formal dark blue suit, the other in nothing but black leather pants and a matching blood red jacket. Together, they looked less like a pair and more like two entirely different worlds colliding in a single room.

Feeling a warm hand on his waist, Mydei felt a bit of tension bleed out of his shoulders.

He raised his head and narrowed his eyes at the cameras.

A storm of camera flashes ignited the street.

The Flame Chasers was finally released.

Phainon raised his other hand and waved at the reporters, his grin never changing.

Mydei looked through hooded eyes at the cameras.

Today. Phainon was supposed to tell him the truth today.

(Could it truly count as telling the truth when Mydei knew it already and only waited for Phainon himself to admit it?...)

No, he mentally shook his head. He couldn’t be sure. Phainon could still back off and not tell him anything.

Mydei clenched his jaw. He shifted his body, the move accidentally showing off the crimson tattoos on his chest in their full glory.

Phainon’s grip on his waist tightened. His smile didn’t lose an ounce of its charm.

Mydei scoffed quietly.

Praise where praise was due – Phainon did stop hovering over him after their talk a few months ago. Others would still call him overbearing and perhaps if it was happening with his friends, Mydei would have agreed but…

He’d be a hypocrite if he said that he didn’t enjoy Phainon’s attention.

The reporters’ voices rose and receded like a tide; the cameras kept flashing.

Mydei put his own hand on Phainon’s back, half embracing the man. He locked his gaze with the camera in front of him, deliberately ignoring the way the muscles coiled and stiffened under his palm.

Phainon was like the sun – bright, warm and almost blazing with charm. A shock of moonlight hair paired with the bluest eyes and a blinding smile – it wouldn’t be wrong to go as far as to call him magnetic.

Mydei ignored the pit slowly forming at the bottom of his stomach the longer the day went. The corner of his mouth lifted in half smirk.

The cameras nearly blinded him.

But just like the sun, Phainon was relentless.

And that was Mydei’s last hope.

Phainon tugged Mydei closer to him.

Mydei buried his face in Phainon’s shoulder, blinking rapidly against a sudden rush of tears. He wasn’t sure of their true nature.

Warm breath ghosted his ear. “I have an interview after this,” Phainon said suddenly, his voice lower than usual. He spoke so quietly Mydei had to strain his ears to hear him. “But… Meet me inside after this?”

Mydei stilled.

Face still hidden in Phainon’s shoulder, he narrowed his slightly glassy eyes at his… friend.

Phainon was still half-facing the cameras, the smile glued to his face. His eyes jumped between the reporters; his nostrils flared at another shout but his smile didn’t twitch. He swallowed and continued, “There is a small library on the 2^nd floor, right next to main venue; hard to miss,” he finally tore his eyes from the crowd of reporters that formed around them and looked at Mydei. Gold met blue; Phainon’s face softened, imperceptible for anyone but Mydei. His lips trembled for a second before he pursed them. He sent a shaky smile to Mydei. “Meet me at row 10?”

Mydei stared at him for a second too long. A small inkling of hope flared in his chest.

Surrounded by a storm of flashing lights, they were frozen in time as reporters all around them unknowingly immortalized this moment forever.

Mydei took a deep breath; Phainon’s cologne, a scent as familiar as his own, surrounded him. Slowly, he straightened out, keeping his eyes on Phainon’s hopeful face.

His heart hammered against his ribs, stronger, faster than before. He pursed his trembling lips and, not trusting his own voice, he could only nod.

And hope for the best. 

sara, hephdei thread updated! @hephdeilvr

omg guys look at them on the red carpet 🥺

[photo description: Mydeimos and Hephaestion posing together on the red carpet. The Flame Chasers promotional logo could be seen behind them.]

96 Replies • 1.5k Retweets • 13.4k Likes

riah @wlwhephdei

Replying to @hephdeilvr

dude they look so cute

mari cr jjk @crazygg

Replying to @hephdeilvr

how are they literal couple goals when they’re not even together. never seen two ppl compliment each other so well

pri @cezhouism quote retweeted @hephdeilvr tweet

[omg guys look at them at the red carpet 🥺…]

this pic is such a huge contrast to the one mydeimos took with that khaslana dude im actually crying real tears bro 😭😭😭

361 Replies • 5.1k Retweets • 27.9k Likes

lena @widowasp

Replying to @cezhouism

no fr bc I thought I was too hephdei pilled and my brain started to make shit up sjdhdhsjs

riah @wlwhephdei

Replying to @cezhouism

lmfaooooo youre not wrong tho!

moni @mooncrystal

Replying to @cezhouism

like mydeimos is frowning in all of his pics with khaslana, it’s weird af. I saw a few articles about their alleged beef on set but I thought that was something pappz pulled out of their asses? are u telling me that shit was true???

For you   Trending    News

The Flame Chasers: first reviews are out!

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The Flame Chasers breaks world box office record! (and a few other records along the way)

January 10, 2021

The Flame Chasers is taking over the cinematic world by storm and smashing records left, right and centre, and we couldn’t be more excited to see it.

All the gloom and doom was posted for nothing as The Flame Chasers blaze through the movie theatres with all ferocity and drive they’re so known for in the books. Staring with the record-breaking CR 1.7bn in world ticket sales in their first week and followed closely by having the biggest opening in recorded history for a film in Styxia where they took over CR 100 million!

With the highest earning opening day – and honestly any day – of all time at the box office, The Flame Chasers has beaten records set by the giants that are Awakening (2010) and Soul River (2016). And as if that wasn’t enough, The Flame Chasers has also become the fastest film ever to break the CR 1 billion barrier, doing so in less than 5 days.

The star of the show – the man, the myth, the legend that also humbly goes by the name of Phainon Khaslana, has disappeared from the public eye and hasn’t been seen in the past 2 days. We reached out to his agency and were lucky enough to receive an answer for when will we be graced with his presence once more (we can’t get enough of his charming smile, sue us).

The man is said to be celebrating the success of the movie with his family and was asking for privacy as he spends time with his loved ones. A family man; as if he could get any more perfect.

We will be eagerly anticipating Phainon Khaslana’s return! But in the meantime, please vote on our poll down below!

tai @ptlmgloss

aw look at them hanging out together 🥺

[video description: Leonnius, Perdikkas, Ptolemy, Hephaestion and Peucesta are sitting in the café together. Most of their faces are uncovered as they talk to each other. Hephaestion is seen showing something on his phone to Leonnius before smirking in Leonnius’ shocked face and pocketing his phone. At the same time Ptolemy is ordering their drinks, while Perdikkas and Peucesta are pointing at the breakfast dishes on the menu, trying to pick what they’re going to eat.]

ali @6LGCY

Replying to @ptlmgloss

so adorable 🥺🥺🥺🥺 but where is mydeimos? hope he’s alright!

moni @mooncrystal

Replying to @ptlmgloss

our boys 💞 love to see them taking a break!

zoe @hephiful

Replying to @ptlmgloss

anyone knows where is mydeimos??

 

sara, hephdei thread updated! @hephdeilvr

Replying to @hephiful and @ptlmgloss

probably at home. boys said before that he’s a bit of a homebody

 

zoe @hephiful

Replying to @hephdeilvr and @ptlmgloss

oh :(( I was hoping we’d get a few more pic of him and heph together (sorry, im very greedy) but im glad he’s taking care of himself!

 

sara, hephdei thread updated! @hephdeilvr

Replying to @hephiful and @ptlmgloss

same </3

Alright, Phainon thought a bit frantically. So confessing to your best friend was apparently not the hardest part of the whole ordeal. Who would’ve thought!

The teacup rattled against the wood as he set it down. He quickly smoothed his features into a strained smile when his mother shot him a look. Audata returned to her conversation with Cipher and Phainon allowed himself to sink deep into his thoughts.

A few days had passed since the release of the Flame Chasers.

A few days since Phainon and Mydei… got together.

His confession turned out far better than he had ever dared to hope; somehow Mydei had given them a chance. Phainon could still hardly believe it even happened. 

It still felt a bit weird. Surreal, for a lack of a better word.

And to think that his conversation with Peucesta of all people was the catalyst to everything… Phainon didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry at how ridiculous it was.

“We’re gonna be traveling through a few cities next week,” he could still remember the other man saying in what felt like another life. “We’ve got a few interviews at Dolos, Tretos and finally Bulsa.”

“Excited?” Phainon asked with a smile.

Peucesta grinned. “You bet. I always wanted to try out Dolos’ wine. Mydeimos used to talk about spending his summers there; can’t blame me for being excited after all of his stories.”

Phainon raised his eyebrows. “Mydei spent time in Dolos?” It was the first time he was hearing this.

“You didn’t know?” the other man said, surprised. “He used to go to an all boy summer camp there; it was a whole thing. He’s got a lot of friends in the city too, thanks to that. I think a few of them will be welcoming us once we land.”

“Huh,” Phainon remembered his own response. “That’s… nice.”

He didn’t allow himself to dwell on the reason as to why Mydei didn’t tell him about this. They all had their secrets and Phainon wouldn’t put it past Mydei to simply forget to mention something like this.

“Yeah. Dolos, Tretos, Bulsa… Hopefully we get to Aidonia soon, too,” Peucesta’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “Though I have to say I’m most excited for Dolos and not only because of wine, if you know what I mean.”

Phainon frowned. “I don’t –... What?”

“You don’t know about that, too?” Peucesta exclaimed. He shook his head, “Nevermind. If you didn’t even know about the summer camp, you definitely didn’t know about this.” The other man looked around and only continued after he made sure no one was close enough to overhear them. Despite himself Phainon leaned closer. “Don’t take my word for it since it’s technically nothing but my own guesses but I think that there might be… someone in Dolos that is very, and I mean very, dear to our Mydeimos,” he said with a wink.

A sudden stillness washed over Phainon. A frown began to form, but he caught himself, smoothing his expression back into a calm facade. "What are you talking about?" he asked quietly.

“Do you need me to spell it out for you?” Seeing Phainon’s blank stare, Peucesta huffed out a laugh. “Fine. What I mean is that I suspect that there might be someone in Dolos that could very well be Mydeimos’ first love. Or crush," the man waved his hand, not too concerned with the details. "Whatever. Get it now?”

“No, I don’t actually,” Phainon replied. He locked his jaw and ignored the sick feeling slowly spreading in his stomach. “What made you think that?”

Peucesta shrugged. He stepped to a cooler that stood in the corner of the room and grabbed an ice-cold water bottle. “Nothing in particular,” the other man said as he took a sip. “Just the way Mydeimos spoke of his time there. Made me think that something big must have happened there.”

“That’s all? It’s just your guess work?” Phainon pressed, unsure of why he was so invested in this.

“If you’d like to think that way, yeah,” the man scratched his cheek, entirely blind to Phainon’s quickly worsening mood. “Either way new opportunities are waiting for us.” He smirked as if he was sharing a joke, “perhaps in more ways than one.”

Phainon didn’t offer a smile in return.

And so Phainon’s slow descend to madness had started.

Or that’s what he thought at the time at least.

He didn’t know why Peucesta’s seemingly innocuous words had caught his attention to such a degree – no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Why did it even matter to him? he wondered at times when his thoughts wouldn’t quiet. It wasn’t like he even liked Mydei like that.

It wasn’t like he even liked men.

Despite what Cipher liked to say, Phainon wasn’t actually stupid. He wasn’t gullible. He knew he had a tendency to jump between extremes – from pure indecisiveness on certain matters, especially ones that concerned his own wishes, to sometimes a relentless, hyperfocused drive that exhausted everyone around him.

He’d always been like that, ever since he was a child. And so he figured that perhaps this… Mydei problem as he started calling it in his own head, was just that. Just him jumping between extremes.

(He quietly ignored how that didn’t explain his slowly growing obsession with keeping Mydei close, but that was a different matter. Friends tended to do that, no?)

Phainon had eyes – he didn’t need to be attracted to men to see that Mydei was beautiful. He recognized that even years back when he first saw Mydei in all his pointy and fiery glory.

Mydei was pretty. He was extremely cute which wasn’t something people often – or ever – said about someone like Mydei with his… intimidating everything.

But to Phainon he was. Cute, that is. He was adorable when he was a short kid with a constant petulant pout on his lips and he was just as cute when he was built like a Greek god and yet blushed like a maiden.

Mydei was adorable. It wasn’t gay to admit it. Phainon was simply being honest.

He was Phainon’s best friend. He was always there, always listening with quiet attention, always offering help when Phainon was down. He accepted Phainon with all his flaws, all his insecurities. He grounded him, brought him back to the real world when Phainon got too lost in his own head.

Finding his best friend adorable wasn’t a crime. And a simple wish to spend as much time together as possible wasn’t either. Despite what many people thought, Phainon didn’t see anything wrong with being a tad possessive over his friends – after all, Mydei was close to a lot of people and Phainon was a competitive man; perhaps even more so when it came to Mydei. He still wasn’t completely sure what it was about the other man that made him so fired up sometimes.

Point being, all of this was fine in Phainon’s eyes. None of it was something unusual, something that needed further attention.

At least, Phainon’s thought so.

Now, his constant need to touch Mydei was another matter altogether.

Phainon would never have described himself as a particularly tactile person. While he didn't mind touch – and even welcomed it at times – he rarely initiated physical contact himself. It wasn't due to a lack of desire, but simply because touch wasn't something that naturally occupied his thoughts.

That changed when he met Mydei.

And that was the first warning sign that he had ignored.

After all, touch was a normal thing between friends, no?

A hand wrapped around one’s waist, bodies pressed close and eyes locked on each other – somehow, without Phainon even noticing, it became Phainon’s new normal.

And then Peucesta’s words had pulled the world from under him.

‘First love’… Phainon never even thought of Mydei and a relationship in one sentence. It wasn’t something he was particularly interested in – why should he? Mydei was a permanent fixture by his side. Their bond left no space for an outsider to step between them.

They had other friends, were close with other people but at the end of the day it was always Phainon and Mydei. Mydei and Phainon. There was no space for anyone else.

Mydei had came out to Phainon a few months after they met. He mentioned it offhandedly, not staying on the topic for long and treating it as something insignificant, something that wasn’t worth much attention. Even back then, Mydei was confident and it was Mydei’s flippant attitude that made Phainon follow suit. If Mydei didn’t think it was something to agonize over, then why should he? Mydei was gay and he was still Phainon’s annoying and cranky best friend. This changed nothing between them.

Or well, he thought so until Peucesta had put the image of Mydei and love in Phainon’s head and now the fact that Mydei was gay mattered much more than it did before. 

Because now it opened door to paths Phainon had never considered before.

“Phainon, dear,” his mother’s concerned voice pulled him out of his head. Phainon blinked at the lukewarm tea in his hand and raised his head. His mother’s warm brown eyes met his. “Are you okay? You’ve been staring at your cup for a few minutes now.”

“Ah,” Phainon put the cup down carefully and rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, sorry. Got lost in my head. It’s nothing serious, don’t worry.”

Audata and Hieronymus exchanged a look. They didn’t push.

In the corner of the room Cipher narrowed her eyes at her little brother’s hunched form.

Not noticing any of that, Phainon absentmindedly took a bite of his cookie. Sweetness burst on his tongue, coating his mouth. Brown butter, chocolate chips and a bit of miso paste - a classic. Though Phainon wasn’t one for sweets he would never say no to his mother’s cookies.

He made a silent note to grab a few for Mydei later.

The thing with coming out, Phainon thought as he stared at his tea, was that no one ever told you how and where you should even start.

A few months ago Phainon thought himself nothing but a straight man. He could appreciate a beautiful face regardless of who it belonged to but he knew himself to be as straight as a ruler. Despite never being in a relationship or sharing his first kiss, he still knew he was only attracted to women.

Once that weird obsession with Mydei began he thought Mydei was an… uncontrollable variable. A temporary lapse in judgment. Something that would pass one way or another. Who didn’t find their friends attractive? Phainon thought it was a normal thing, especially to people who had Mydei as their friend. Just look at him; it wasn’t a question of whether Phainon’s fascination with his friend’s face was weird or not but rather a question of who wouldn’t find Mydei beautiful?

(He knew his feelings better now, obviously, but still that belief stayed. Mydei was Mydei. If Phainon could he’d rank his face as one of the top 10 most beautiful faces in Amphoreus but alas that wasn’t something in his power. Yet, at least. He’d see to it in the future.)

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly when the shift had occurred but it surely happened after his talk with Peucesta. For titans’ sake he had openly laughed at the mere suggestion of him and Mydei ever being a couple – a memory that now made him wince with pure embarrassment at his own stupidity. Yet somewhere between then and now, his simple… appreciation for his friend’s face – and body, personality, literally everything – had shifted into something much bigger, something much more consuming.

He was always possessive of Mydei; of his time, his friendship. Everything that concerned him was somehow Phainon’s business too. They were always together, they were never shy with their touches and maybe that made it so hard for him to distinguish his feelings from just friendship to whatever he had with Mydei.

Because Phainon wasn’t stupid; he just… turned a blind eye to something that was so obvious to him now. He realized that friends, no matter how close, simply didn’t touch each other like that. Didn’t talk about each other like that, didn’t get possessive, even jealous when their friend didn’t look their way for a minute too long. They didn’t feel sick to their stomach every time their friend spent time with their other friends and they surely didn’t feel as if it was the end of the world from just hearing the rumors that their friend might have had fallen for someone else in the past.

Not even the future. The past.

In hindsight all of it was very obvious. Phainon had ignored the signs for too long, preferring to look the other way when they became a bit too undeniable for his comfort.

And worst thing, he knew exactly why he was doing it for so long.

Fear was a peculiar thing, he thought. Even knowing that nothing was at stake, he still couldn’t help but fear.

Phainon knew he was luckier than most – his family was safe and healthy. They were always by his side and more than that they loved him. He didn’t have to fear the public backlash, not anymore. He was lucky. Extremely so.

But that knowledge didn’t erase the deep-rooted fear. It didn’t erase his doubts.

Fear was irrational. And it especially was so in his case, Phainon knew that.

It didn’t make anything easier either way.

Figuring himself out was never easy but Phainon also wasn’t one to quit. All he needed was time – time to figure himself out, time to simply accept himself – and Mydei had given it to him. Had given it and more and Phainon could never be more grateful that he somehow was lucky enough to fall for someone as perfect as him.

It was a small gesture, perhaps imperceptible to anyone else, but to Phainon, it meant absolutely everything. He knew he hadn’t been fair to Mydei. His constant indecisiveness – this endless whiplash of jumping from one extreme to another – hadn’t just left his own mind in pieces; it had shattered Mydei's sense of security, too, leaving them both hopelessly lost in the confusion Phainon had created with his own two hands.

But he couldn’t sit still. Not after Peucesta had unknowingly implanted that thought in his head. He was caught in a paralyzing vice. One half of him screamed at him to move, to act before it was too late and Mydei slipped away into someone else’s arms. The other half kept him on a short leash; restrained, paralyzed by the sheer strength of what he was feeling.

Mydei had every right to not meet him halfway, had every right to ignore him after Phainon had led him on for so long. He monopolized his time, acted jealous when he was spending time with someone else. He completely surrounded Mydei, leaving him no path to retreat – what retreat when Mydei couldn’t even take a breath with Phainon monitoring his every move? He acted as if Mydei was already his, as if Mydei owed him his loyalty while he himself gave Mydei nothing in return.

Phainon was unfair. Even cruel at times. Unknowingly so but it didn’t erase the hurt he had caused. He was well aware of it.

And yet Mydei chose to stay. And Phainon could only wonder which god had finally smiled on him for making Mydei give him another chance.

And now… only last step remained.

Phainon took a deep breath and let himself fall into the abyss.

“I wanted to talk to you guys about something.”

His words broke the tense silence that settled over the table. His parents looked at him, concern shining in their eyes.

“Of course,” Audata said. A small encouraging smile spread on her lips. Cipher slowly straightened in her corner. “What is it?”

The cup strained under Phainon's white-knuckled grip.

Here went nothing.

He exhaled slowly and finally let the words out.

“Mydei and I are dating.”

No turning back.

Silence settled over the table. It stretched, growing heavier with every passing second until a sickening dread began to twist in Phainon’s stomach. He finally forced his gaze up, his eyes darting anxiously between his parents and his sister, searching their faces for any sign of a reaction. Over and over again until finally he saw the subtle drop of his mother’s shoulder as if some heavy weight had been lifted from her.

“Oh, Phainon,” she said. She clasped her hands with Hieronymus, her brown eyes shining with emotion. “I’m so happy for you!”

“Congratulations,” his father said warmly. He hugged Audata closer, “It’s been a long time coming. I’m glad to see you two finally got your act together. Mydeimos’ parents know, too, I assume?”

Phainon blinked rapidly, confused at their reaction. “I guess,” he started hesitantly, his eyes darting between his parents. “He’s talking to them right now. Why are you guys acting so –”

“Man, you really had me worried there for a second,” Cipher finally said from her corner. She jumped over the couch and joined them at the table a second later. “Thought someone must have died when you walked in with that expression on your face. Figures, it’d be something trivial like you –”

“…unsurprised at me dating a man?” Phainon continued, staring at his sister as if she grew a second head.

“…dating little lion,” Cipher finished in the same tone and staring at Phainon with a matching look of bewilderment on her face.

Their parents glanced between their two children. A different kind of silence settled over the table, one that was broken by Phainon’s shocked voice this time.

“Trivial?!” he exclaimed once Cipher’s words registered.

“What do you mean so ‘unsurprised at me dating a man’? Since when are you even attracted to women?” Cipher demanded.

“Since forever?!”

Phainon nearly chocked on his tongue. Of all the ways he had imagined this unfolding, he could never have conjured up something like this.

“Now, children,” Audata finally stepped in. “That’s enough.”

Finding a new person to interrogate, Cipher swiveled to Audata. “You knew about this?”

Audata raised her eyebrow, unimpressed. “Yes. The real question is how didn’t you?”

Cipher threw her hands in the air. “How was I supposed to? He,” she jabbed her finger in Phainon’s direction. “Acts as if no one exists when little lion is around. How was I to know he even liked girls?!”

Hieronymus tilted his head to the side, conceding her point. “She’s got a point.”

“Not now, love.”

Phainon slumped in his chair and dragged his palms down his face.

What the hell, he thought as disbelieving laughter started to bubble in his throat at how utterly ridiculous this whole situation ended up unfolding.

Here he was worrying over his family’s reactions – unnecessarily so, which he knew before he even opened his mouth – and yet still, they somehow managed to pull the rug from under him.

He glanced at his sister from the gaps of his fingers. “You really didn’t know?”

Cipher scowled at him. “Yes. I wasn’t kidding, you do act as if no one exists when that boy of yours is around – I’d call it sweet if it was anyone but you,” she grimaced and then mumbled to the side. “I’m a lesbian, I thought I was supposed to know these things…”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” Phainon couldn’t help but say as he pulled his hands away from his face.

Cipher made a face in response.

Phainon shifted his gaze to his parents that were watching the whole exchanged with amusement dancing in their eyes. “And you two? Did you know?”

His parents exchanged a look. This time it was his father that spoke up, “We suspected. We weren’t sure until recently.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“We didn’t think we should have,” Hieronymus looked at Audata. “We thought you needed time.”

Audata continued, “If we had known you were tearing yourself apart over this, we would have spoken up sooner. That was our mistake; we thought you knew we’d accept you either way, considering,” she looked at Cipher. “Well, your sister.”

His very much lesbian sister.

Phainon shook his head as last remaining tension finally bled away from his shoulders. “No, you were right. I did need time. I was just… stuck in my own head.”

Had he been forced to voice his thoughts before fully understanding this new desire, it would have ended in disaster. His hesitation had already cut Mydei deeply – Phainon refused to hurt him again.

He was… glad, happy even that everything got resolved in this way. That he was allowed the time to process everything at his own pace. It was better for everyone because now Phainon felt secure – in his sexuality, his attraction and most importantly his relationship with Mydei.

(Now he knew there would be no more doubts, no more hesitation. Now he was finally giving back just as he was supposed to do all those months ago.)

He’d take this over an early start any day.

“Now,” Audata started. Phainon raised his gaze to look at her. She grinned. “Let’s celebrate!”

“Was I really that obvious?” Phainon asked his dad once everyone went to sleep.

Hieronymus continued to slowly drag the towel over the porcelain teacups as he weighed his words. “Yes,” he ended up saying. “You’re not exactly the most subtle person in this…”

“House?” Phainon tried.

“More like this side of the town,” his father said. He patted Phainon’s shoulder, “Subtlety was never your strong suit.”

There was no need to beat around the bush, Mydei thought as he lowered his utensils.

“Mother,” He nodded toward his mother at the end of the oak table, then turned to his father on the other side. “Father. I have an announcement.”

His parents looked at him, curiosity written on their faces. It’s been a long time since Mydei had any news to share, let alone news that required an official announcement.

Mydei took a deep breath and fought the smile that threatened to split across his face. Giddiness from the last few days of bliss bubbled in his stomach, making him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. He cleared his throat and tried to keep his voice under control, “Phainon and I are now dating.”

His parents exchanged a look and then blinked at him in mild surprise. “Oh. Since when?”

“For a few days now,” Mydei bit his lip. “Since the release of The Flame Chasers.”

“Nice,” Gorgo said. She took a sip of her wine and nodded, satisfied. “Congratulations, are in order, I assume?”

Mydei nodded silently. His cheeks slowly filled with pink as he remembered the past days he and Phainon spent together in Mydei's apartment. Days that were filled with much needed conversations, teary eyes and gentle hands. Nights that were spent together as they laid in one bed doing nothing but holding onto each other; and early mornings that were welcomed with gentle nuzzles and even more gentle kisses.

In the end, all this wait, all of it was worth it.

“Who confessed first?” Eurypon asked curiously. Mydei raised his head and sent him a questioning look. Eurypon waved the look away, “Just sate an old man’s curiosity.”

Mydei tilted his head to the side. Technically Mydei was the first one who hinted at his feelings back when they were standing on that balcony but he knew his father wasn’t asking about that, “Phainon. Why?”

Eurypon leaned in his chair, a slow grin spreading on his lips. “Good, good,” he grabbed his phone that was laying on the table and shot a quick text to someone. “We just became a few thousands of credits richer.”

Both Gorgo and Mydei leveled Eurypon with eerily identical unimpressed expressions.

“Don’t tell me you bet on our son’s love life.”

“A man has to have his fun somehow and Mydeimos over here is my never-ending source of entertainment,” Eurypon shrugged, not concerned in the slightest. Mydei rolled his eyes with a huff. “Besides, it was just Krateros. Granpa knew what was going on between those two already.”

“Uncle is your age,” Mydei quipped.

“He’ll be my age when he starts acting like it,” Eurypon countered immediately. His smile widened when his phone started pinging nonstop. With a look of someone who just successfully ruined someone’s day, he shut his phone and looked back at his wife and son that were watching him with same blank expressions. “So until then he’ll just be a grandpa. Anyway,” he clasped his hands, “back to the topic.”

Mydei straightened at the change of his voice. “What is it?”

Eurypon shot a glance at Gorgo. Something unspoken passed between them; she lowered her glass and spoke, her tone careful, “Do you want to make a statement? To the public.”

“You mean…” Mydei furrowed his eyebrows. “Let them know about our relationship?”

His parents nodded.

“That’s –” Mydei fell silent, not finishing the sentence.

On one hand, he didn’t feel the need to go public – what was between him and Phainon stayed between him and Phainon. No one else had any right to pry into their business any more than they already had done.

But then… letting everyone know that he and Phainon belonged to one another didn’t sound too bad, even with all the cons that would undoubtedly follow such reveal.

In the end, though, Mydei already knew what he was going to say.

“I don’t think that’d be a good idea,” he said. His parents looked at him, concerned, so Mydei added, “At least not for now.”

“Why?”

“You know why. I don’t…” Mydei lowered his eyes to the table, his lashes casting a long shadow on his cheeks. “I don’t want him to go through this. Not until he is ready. The press had nearly eaten Hephaestion alive and he was always by my side. I don’t want to even picture what they’d do to Phainon that had just started to get his bearings in the acting world.”

His parents quieted. The way Hephaestion was treated, how his privacy was violated over and over again to the point that nearly fractured his friendship with Mydei in the past… They all had seen it.

But at the time Hephaestion had some sort of protection from paparazzi in the form of Mydei’s blunt answers and sharp tongue. They were often together back then – a by product of them going to the same school and living close to one another. Paparazzi had rarely stalked Hephaestion when he was alone; after all, him and Mydei brought the most money when they were on the photos together. That one time when someone tried to break into Hephaestion’s home was more of an outliner than something that happened regularly.

So, in a manner, for all that Mydei had put him in this position, he had also tried his hardest to protect his friend in any way he could.

Phainon, though, would not have that privilege.

Not only because they were now older and simply couldn’t be stuck to each other due to the nature of their jobs but also because Phainon had just started his career, had just started to stand on his own two feet and the last thing he needed was a reveal of this magnitude.

He had just stared in the most anticipated movie of the past two decades. And yet all of his accomplishments would count for nothing should Mydei reveal their relationship.

Mydei was well aware of the privilege he had; he knew, as of right now, Phainon would be easily overshadowed by Mydei and Kremnos family’s legacy. He hadn’t had time to settle in his role yet, hadn’t experienced what it was like to be in this world but more than that…

Mydei just wanted to keep their relationship to himself.

He knew, as soon as he made a statement, all eyes would be on them – the fans, the paparazzi, everyone. There would be no escape. Their first moments would be caught on cameras, left on the Internet for people to scrutinize and make conspiracy theories over; every smile would be analyzed to the very degree of how his lips upturned; every hug and kiss would be questioned and Mydei…

For once in his life, Mydei wanted to keep something to himself.

His experience with Hephaestion had taught him one thing – he needed to learn how to safeguard the last remaining fragments of his soul before the vulture-like paparazzi picked him clean.

He never wanted Phainon to suffer through anything like that.

“Are you sure?” his mother’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “People will find out sooner or later. You boys are not exactly subtle.”

Mydei snorted.

Well, wasn’t that an understatement.

“I’m sure,” he responded as he raised his eyes to meet his parents’ matching looks of concerns. “Besides –”

… Just in case you ever need it – you can always fall back on these rumors.

His friend’s voice echoed in his head. A small smile curved at the corner of Mydei’s lips.

“People are too absorbed in their own theories. They simply wouldn’t even think to look our way.”

Sure, a lot of things were taken out of context but they provide a pretty good base, don’t you think?

“Nobody is going to know,” he said with absolute certainty.

He knew his fans, knew how they operated. 

And so he knew – no one would even consider Phainon as a potential candidate.

“That I can guarantee you.”