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Ephraim kept dusting himself off in front of the mirror, in spite of there being no dust in his clothes.
Honestly, he couldn’t help himself, not when he was doing all of this for the sake of the one he was going to meet with later. Ephraim had told himself in his head that he couldn’t afford to mess this up, and that what mattered was the comfort of Lyon.
Lyon del Grado was an interesting person, so interesting that he managed to catch the eye of Ephraim at first sight. With his hair that had shades of lavender, kind eyes and a gentle soul to accompany it, it was little wonder why Ephraim became drawn to Lyon. For that matter, Lyon shared that same interest, even confiding with Ephraim most of his woes. From being the son of a prominent politician and the pressures that came with it to his insecurities from being physically frail from frequent illnesses, Lyon disclosed these slowly to Ephraim.
Now, Ephraim wanted to get himself presentable for this important rendezvous that was coming up within an hour or two. He thought it would be fitting as today will finally be the day when he’d do it.
Tell Lyon how he felt.
Aside from wanting to stop the teasing from his sisters (especially from his younger twin, Eirika), he wanted to do this since, honestly, he couldn’t take the pressure of keeping it within any further. If anything, Ephraim thought that the mere sight of Lyon’s ever gentle smile could render him paralyzed within.
“You can do this, Ephraim—-it’s just a talk with Lyon, nothing else!” He whispered to himself. “While this talk will be the right time for you to tell him how you feel...this is also the time you can tell him the truth about who you are.”
Speaking of which, Ephraim had one more secret he had yet to tell Lyon. One that, as much as he wanted to say it out, didn’t find the chance to until now. The secret being, he wasn’t named Ephraim, at least a long time ago. He wasn’t even an ordinary Manileño either.
See, the young man happened to be one who had held great power in his veins, his true nature being far more divine than any ordinary mortal living in the islands. With the power of the sun in his hands, Ephraim was, and still is, the deity of the sun, once called Apolaki, centuries ago.
The sky had been his home once, but now he mostly stayed on the ground with the mortals, mingling with them, but never settling down with a spouse and having descendants. Unlike his younger sisters Micaiah and Byleth, Ephraim, along with Eirika, remained single for a long time since Manila’s colonial years.
At least, it would end once Ephraim managed to confess to Lyon del Grado.
Sweet, intelligent Lyon.
“Kuya!” A voice called out from outside his room.
Ephraim turned to the door. “Yes, Hanan—I mean, Micaiah?”
The door opened to reveal his younger sister, silver hair and golden eyes contrasting her youthful features and all. “You know you don’t have to stumble between calling me one or the other—-it’s not the Spanish period anymore!”
“Sorry about that...but you’re still my sister anyways, so I can call you any name I want.”
“And then call me something insulting? Mean.” Micaiah fake-gasped.
“You know I don’t mean that, Hanan.” Ephraim responded melodramatically, playing along. This got them to break into a bout of laughter.
Meanwhile, Ephraim’s phone vibrated in his pocket, to which he pulled out to find a message from Lyon.
Ephraim! I’ll be taking the bus to Pasig. Can’t wait to meet up with you soon.
Micaiah took a peek at the phone’s screen. “Is that my future brother-in-law?”
Ephraim nearly choked on his own saliva. “Micaiah! Isn’t that too soon?.” His eyes focused to his side. “Besides, I don’t even know if Lyon will reciprocate my feelings...let alone accept them.”
“Oh, Kuya...” Micaiah held Ephraim’s arm in a comforting gesture. “Don’t be afraid of what the outcome would be. Just tell him how you feel. And...even though there’s the chance he might not accept them, I know that a guy like him wouldn’t just abandon you completely.”
Even as the lingering fears festered within his heart, Ephraim trusted his sister’s words. Besides, if he wasn’t afraid to face enemies that tried to defeat him and the other gods before, why would he be in fear now?
The afternoon sun, whose rays reached the room’s windows, was shining brightly, and in reflection of that fact, Ephraim’s eyes flashed a bright gold for a moment, hope renewed in his line of sight.
“Okay...I’ll be going now. Tell Eirika that I’ve gone out!” He rushed out the door, Micaiah waving goodbye to him with a smile.
———————————————
Lyon stood at the line in the Bus Station, waiting for the one that would be taking him to Pasig. Sometimes living in Valenzuela wasn’t ideal, when it meant he had to bypass traffic to get to his far off destination in time. It was even more irritating when he wanted to really meet up with Ephraim right away, and yet the busy cues of cars and trucks wouldn’t give him the time of day.
He looked into his shoulder bag to double check the items he had to bring. A book to occupy himself with, check. Wallet, check. Sunglasses, check. Inhaler, check. Then his phone, a definite check. Speaking of which, Lyon thought he should send a new message to Ephraim to tell him that he’s going to be boarding the bus soon. Just as the aforementioned vehicle reached the roadside, Lyon took his time approaching it while composing his next text message to Ephraim.
“Ma’am! Sir! Pasakay po papuntang Pasig!” The barker called out.
This urged Lyon to go faster in his trek to the bus door; however when he was mere steps away from entering, a blur bumped into him, causing him to drop his phone instantly. Next thing he knew, that blur took his phone and flew away. Lyon didn’t take this too lightly.
“Hey! My phone!” Lyon exclaimed. He turned to the barker. “Pasensya, pero kailangan ako umalis muna; nawala ang phone ko.”
Then with as much energy his body could permit him to have, he ran after that blur. Now that he was focused, Lyon could see that the blur was actually a bird, a colorful one at that. Its wingspan had all the colors of the rainbow, its main body having gold plumage, tail feathers a display of a rainbow gradient. Though the bird was almost fascinating to the eyes, Lyon’s sight was more intent on the thing the bird had on its talons.
“Hey! Please...” Lyon huffed, running as fast as he could. He could feel his lungs getting short of breath. “That’s my...phone! W...Where are you taking it—!”
Then they ended up in an open space, one that didn’t have much people or vehicles passing by. The bird made a smooth landing on a bench just nearby, meanwhile Lyon panted as he slowly stopped his chase. He pulled out his inhaler, taking a dose from it to ease his lungs.
Oddly enough, Lyon saw that the bird put down the phone on the bench, its bright green eyes looking directly at him. As if it wanted to say something.
“You better have a good reason for stealing something as valuable as my phone.” Lyon scolded, taking the gadget in his hands. To his relief, there were no scratches or anything too grave inflicted on it. Before Lyon could take his cue to leave, he heard a voice speak.
“I had to keep you from boarding that bus.”
Surprised, Lyon peeked his head up, only to find that the rainbow bird was gone. What, or rather who stood in its place was a young man, who had dark brown hair, and had casual clothing which consisted of a yellow hoodie and some blue jeans. However, what made Lyon curious was the fact that this person had eyes of a green shade.
The same ones as the bird from before.
“W-Wait, who are you?” Lyon questioned, taking a step back. “And what about the bus? What’s going on?”
The other boy gave a chuckle. “To answer your first question, I’m Claude Radiamoda, and I was the one who stole your phone for your own safety.”
“So you’re a magical bird?”
“You could say that.” Claude mused. But his face turned serious. “To answer your second question, I was given a prediction by Ignatz that there would be an accident by a bus bound for Pasig.”
“A prediction?” Lyon repeated, almost in disbelief, which further grew when Claude confirmed it with a nod. “If what you’re saying is true, then what time will it happen?”
For that, Claude turned to look at his watch. “It’ll happen right...”
————————
“—Now! Kuya Ephraim, you have to check your News Feed immediately!” Micaiah called out from Ephraim’s phone.
“What’s the big issue, sis?” Ephraim asked, currently flagging for the next jeepney to take him to the next stop. “I can’t really check my phone while I’m busy trying to get a ride.”
“But this is important! A bus just crashed—-all of the people on board were killed.”
“Where was the bus going to anyway?” Ephraim asked, still not thinking much of it.
The other line went silent for a moment, then two words were muttered almost too quietly for him to hear. “To Pasig.”
In an instant, Ephraim felt his whole heart sink and break apart to pieces. “Lyon said he was going to take the bus there.”
Micaiah’s voice became shaky on the other line. “I’m so sorry, Kuya...I know how much you wanted to tell him how you feel...”
Ephraim could only drop his phone, speechless from the shock that overcame him in an instant. His eyes, once radiant with shine, now became dull as it began to fill with the most bitter tears he’s ever had.
The first drop fell to the ground, then another. And another.
Soon, they flowed freely down his face, and his head bowed down, not wanting anyone to see the huge amount of grief he held in his gaze. Ephraim almost laughed in this twist of fate; one moment, he and Lyon were on their way to meet up with each other, then the next, one of them was gone.
His chest shuddered with every sob that came out, though he mostly suppressed them, the tears didn’t stop flowing. Ephraim wanted this to all just be a nightmare—-one that he could escape.
But alas, fate had to be unfair to them both.
“Lyon...” His knees crashed to the ground, and Ephraim clutched his chest, weeping even more. “Lyon!” Ephraim’s voice cried out, echoing amidst the noise in the street. “Please, let this be a dream...please!”
Above him, the clouds darkened and slowly, they obscured the bright sky. Lightning flashed for a moment, and when Ephraim let out another heartwrenching cry, the thunder roared. Behind the clouds, the sun became dull and devoid of radiance.
The sun had lost its light.
————————————
Meanwhile, Lyon read the news from his social media feed, with Claude looking at him with an expression that screamed ‘I told you so’. Internally, Lyon was relieved that he didn’t board the bus; if he did, he would’ve become one of the casualties.
“Do you still need to get to your destination?”
Lyon nodded. “Yes. I have to meet Ephraim—he must be worried about me. Good thing I’m still alright...otherwise I wouldn’t be able to tell him something important.
Claude’s eyes widened for a moment, recognition reflected in his stare. Though he masked it with a nod. “Okay, we’ll get moving right away—“
The sound of thunder interrupted Claude, and looking up, he saw the dark clouds, swirling around almost unnaturally above. Lightning flashed again before the thunder’s sound came along, and the clouds dimmed even more afterwards. While there was no rain, both Claude and Lyon saw that something wasn’t right, with the way the sky looked.
“That’s strange...I thought the weather forecasted for today would be bright.” Lyon said, confused by this turn of events. “Were the weather reporters wrong?”
Claude’s gaze remained upwards, his eyebrows scrunching down and lips frowning. “...They’re not.” In a flash, the brunette transformed back into his rainbow bird form, then flew up swiftly to the clouds, dodging a lightning bolt or two. A moment later, he flew back down, and shifted back into his human form.
“It’s as I thought...the sudden in change in weather is supernatural.” Claude confirmed.
“How so? What’s causing it?”
The rainbow bird in human form took a breath, then turned to Lyon seriously. “You mentioned a guy named Ephraim, right?”
“Yes, why?”
Claude faced the sky once more. “Well...he’s the one making this happen.”
“...What?” Was the smart response Lyon could come up with.
“Wait, he never told you?” Claude realized, and he resisted to urge to facepalm, considering how dire the situation was gradually becoming. “Okay, here’s the deal—-Ephraim, your friend, is a sun god. He once went by the name of Apolaki long ago, but things happened that caused him to take his current name. His powers are still intact, and among them is that his emotions can influence the weather in his immediate area.”
Lyon nodded slowly, trying to take this all in amidst his surprise. Ephraim, a deity? At first, Lyon couldn’t believe what he was hearing, considering that he didn’t witness Ephraim do anything godlike whenever they met up to hang out together. Though, upon reflecting on it further, Lyon remembered Ephraim saying multiple times before that he had something to say to him, yet he couldn’t do so right away. Lyon, with his selfless patience, reassured him that one day he would be able to. Looking back at it now, it all suddenly made sense.
Though, Ephraim wasn’t the only one with secrets. Lyon had readily agreed to meet Ephraim today for a personal reason: telling him how he felt towards the other man.
He wasn’t sure how it happened, but what he did know was that his heart fluttered with such feelings when he even thought about Ephraim, or anything about him. Lyon’s uncertainty over himself and his feelings had him delay telling Ephraim the truth, but he promised himself that he would at least try one day.
And that day was supposed to be today, but with all that was happening, well...
“By putting two and two together, I think what’s happening is that Ephraim must’ve found out about the bus crash, and thought that you were among those who died.” Claude deduced. “His grief caused the thunderclouds to form, and the sun to become dull.” His face became remorseful. “It pains me when I couldn’t save people from a tragic event like this, but when I saw you about to board the bus, I couldn’t let you become one of those who’ll die from the accident. Which is why I had to get you away from it as far as possible.”
“I see...I suppose I didn’t thank you properly for that then.” Lyon replied, trying to make light of the situation. “So, thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome. Now...” Claude’s face became determined. “We have to find Ephraim immediately. Showing him that you’re alive is the only way he’ll be able to snap out of it.”
Lyon nodded in agreement. “I’m with you.”
————————————-
Meanwhile, things were getting worse within the sky.
The thunderclouds grew worse and worse, and Ephraim’s sobs grew louder and more frequent. His whole surroundings became dimmer and more grim, and the thunder boomed with greater intensity. People around him fled in a panic, thinking that it was a typhoon about to form without warning.
Never did they think that it was the manifestation of a sun god’s grief.
“Lyon...I’m so sorry...I’m sorry...I was too late...” He hiccuped, wiping his face in vain. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. “Curse this immortality I have—why did you leave me behind, Lyon? Why?” His sobs kept on coming, and when the sky reached its darkest, Ephraim curled up on his knees, trying to pull together the pieces he still had left.
This was it then; he had to accept the fact that he wouldn’t be able to see his dear Lyon anymore. As he began trying to push away those thoughts, Lyon’s voice resonated in his head, in that ever so gentle tone he remembered.
“Ephraim...”
It was so authentic, Ephraim thought that the other man was actually there with him. Lyon’s voice called out again, a bit louder this time.
“Ephraim...!”
Then the man got confused for a bit as to why this voice suddenly became too life-like for his ears. His thoughts were answered the moment he heard his name for the third time.
“Ephraim!”
The deity of the sun dared to look up, and lo and behold, a figure appeared, lavender hair and eyes, present with a tender face. Ephraim was in disbelief with what he was seeing with his own eyes.
Lyon, his Lyon—-alive and well before him.
“Lyon-!”
Ephraim wasted no time to leap up and bring Lyon in his arms. Joy couldn’t even begin to describe Ephraim’s feelings in the moment—he was downright relieved and overjoyed that this nightmare wasn’t real after all. Not when Lyon was alive right before his sight.
“Ephraim...” Lyon whispered, returning the embrace. “I’m sorry I worried you so greatly.”
Ephraim sniffled. “It’s alright...It’s just—I thought I lost you, Lyon, and I was so heartbroken since...since...” He wiped his eyes. “I love you so much, and when I heard about what happened, I thought you were gone—“ His voice broke even more, and his heart almost broke along with it. “—I couldn’t live with myself if you weren’t alive. I realized that the moment I was confronted with the possibility of losing you.”
Lyon gave off a smile of his own, reaching a hand up to Ephraim’s cheek, to which the other man leaned against his touch. “Oh, Ephraim...I’m not going anywhere, not anytime soon, see?” He leaned closer to Ephraim’s face. “And I love you too—so much that even words would fail me in telling how I feel. When I heard you cry for me...my heart cried for you too.”
Now both of Lyon’s hands cradled Ephraim’s face. “If you’d let me, may I stay by your side always?”
“Gladly.”
Their foreheads touched.
“Please...never leave my side.” A whisper from Ephraim’s lips.
“I won’t, Ephraim. Never leave mine.”
“I promise.”
Their lips touched, soft yet filled with such strong feelings. These feelings they’ve kept inside before were now unleashed as they tried to take in more from each other. Ephraim could only hold Lyon closer, his hands clutching the other’s back tightly. Lyon responded in kind as his lips took in more from Ephraim’s. Tears were still streaming down from Ephraim’s face, though they were for a different reason now.
Above them, the clouds parted to let the bright sky return, and the sun’s light finally came back to shine.
The two broke away from their kiss, noticing the change in weather.
“The sun’s back now.”
“It is...I caused it to become dull, with my grief.”
Lyon’s finger wiped another stray tear on Ephraim’s cheek. “It’s alright...what matters is you’re able to smile again, like you used to.” He let out a chuckle. “My dear sun god.”
Ephraim laughed a bit in return. “So you know.”
“I’ve had someone tell me.”
“Who, exactly?”
“Well...” Lyon trailed off, noticing the rainbow bird perched on one of the electrical wires. “Someone like you—one with powers and all.”
“I see...I like being with you like this.”
Lyon smiled. “I can say the same.”
The two remained in their embrace, not once thinking about pulling away, at least for a while. They wished to cherish this moment they currently have with each other, after all.
————————
From the distance, Claude, in his bird form at least, looked on with relief and joy. The two lovebirds (pun definitely intended) finally got together, in large part because of saving Lyon from a potential disaster. He made sure to remember to thank Ignatz later.
For now, he flapped his wings and soared upward and onwards to a new direction. Claude didn’t want to keep his dear Dimitri waiting.