Chapter Text
Mydeimos sprinted, desperation seeping into his movements as he noticed the train about to leave, getting a sudden burst of physical motivation and making it just in time to slip through the doors that slid shut behind him a mere second later. He panted as he allowed himself to take an empty seat, relief swelling through him – the next train wasn’t for another half an hour and he would have really preferred not to be stuck at the station for that long after a fairly hard day at work.
Castorice had archived the new shipment of books all wrong so he had to redo all of them, even personally taking them down from their shelves and relocating them. Not to mention how a fight had somehow broken out between a couple of the nearby University’s students and he had to break that up (Mydei was glad he worked out in situations like these). Also how –
Mydei frowned.
There was a prickling sensation on his skin, like he was being watched. He looked around the carriage, finding the usual suit-clad office workers on their way home, paying attention only to their phones. But then Mydei’s attention landed on a pair of men sitting opposite to him and a few seats down and he frowned even harder.
They seemed to be completely identical, one wearing a fitted t-shirt and pants while the other wore a hoodie with the hood up and a pair of sweatpants, but that’s where the differences completely ended. They had the same facial features, the same silvery-blue hair, the same build, the same piercingly blue eyes – both pairs of which were unabashedly trained on Mydei for some reason.
Most muggers knew not to pick a fight with him, he was built and it was extremely obvious. Even if they happened to be larger than him, they still didn’t bother considering the fight he’d put up. Mydei threw his harshest glare at them in an attempt to deter them but the one in the shirt just tilted his head and threw him an easy smile while the other’s gaze’s intensity only increased.
What the fuck.
Mydei ran his eyes down both of their bodies, assessing if he’d be able to fight both of them off if worst came to worst. He couldn’t tell from the one in the hoodie but the other definitely had muscles, probably around the same build as Mydei, but then of course, Mydei had had professional training. He internally shrugged as he came to the conclusion that he most definitely could fight them off, opening up his phone to text Castorice and ask whether she’d be available to taste test a new dish Mydei has been trying to perfect.
“Like what you see?” A teasing voice sounded right next to him and with a start, Mydei realized the two had settled themselves on the empty seats on either side of him, and he hadn’t even noticed the two move.
Mydei took in a deep breath as discreetly as possibly, trying to calm his mind which was scrabbling to make countless theories and corresponding countermeasures to what these two could possibly want from him. He turned to his left where the one in the fitted shirt had spoken, trying to ignore how he could feel eyes on the back of his neck.
“I don’t know what you mean,” Mydei replied honestly, a ping sounded from his phone which was probably Castorice replying, though he couldn’t check it right now. Not without getting rid of these two nuisances.
“I saw you checking us out,” the man said with a wink, his voice airy and light – the kind of voice people would feel at ease with. “Well, mostly me, but I’m guessing it’s because Khas here is wearing his usual sack-like clothing. Don’t worry, he’s the same as me under all that.”
“Phainon, you piece of shit-” This voice was a bit lower, more grounded almost, his breath fanning across the back of Mydei’s neck.
“What?” The other – Phainon? – laughed out. “It’s not like I said anything bad about you. I’m making you look good, look at what you’re being compared to.”
Mydei processed all these words with a certain sluggishness because he was expecting none of these sentences to come out of the men’s mouths and his brain couldn’t keep up. Were they . . . trying to proposition him?
“I’m not interested,” Mydei said, his voice holding an assertive note to it.
Phainon’s face froze at that before visibly falling, lower lip jutting out just the slightest bit in a pout. Mydei turned his body to the front again, leaning against the backrest before flicking his eyes to the right, noticing a similar expression on Khas, though much more muted – only his eyes betraying his disappointment.
“You didn’t even hear us out,” Phainon complained, no, whined basically and Mydei felt his body give way completely at that, no longer an arrow pulled taut on a bow – so they were just here to come onto him. The two didn’t pose any sort of danger as far as he could tell.
“Look, I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who are interested in your . . . twin proposition thing, but I’m not the best person to handle that nor be into casual sex. I’m not interested,” Mydei repeated himself after his explanation, gathering his bag and walking over to the doors as the announcement for his stop arriving sounded through the speakers.
“No one said anything about only se-”
“We didn’t mean-”
Both the twins’ borderline indignant voices sounded at the same time but Mydeimos was already stepping onto the platform, the doors sliding shut behind him as the sentences abruptly cut off. He heaved a tired sigh, mentally throwing that whole interaction deep into the recesses of his mind where he won’t ever have to think of it again, and opened his phone.
i’ll be more than happy to come over this weekend if it suits you
The prep will take the whole day so Saturday evening seems fine
Castorice only replied with a thumbs up but that was a usual for her. Mydei hiked his bag higher over his shoulders before starting his 15 minute walk to his house, mind blissfully blank of a certain pair of twins.
***
“Castorice, can you arrange these into the historical fiction section?” Mydei called, pointing to a stack of recently returned books he’d set aside. The aforementioned walked out of one of the aisles, one hand holding an ipad and the other its pen as she scribbled what were probably outlines or ideas for her books.
Mydei had been employed at the Library of Okhema for about two years now, luckily enough getting the job right after finishing his degree and climbing up to the position of head librarian just last month. Castorice, on the other hand, was freshly graduated – working at the place while also moonlighting as a writer for her own books as well as working on freelance commissions.
She didn’t even look up at him as she hummed out an affirmation, gathering the ten hardcover books with a singular hand after transferring the pen to the hand with the ipad. Mydei was quietly impressed, guessing she packed some muscle underneath the full sleeves she wore every day. There was a rumor by part timers that Castorice had once won her university’s hand wrestling competition.
Mydei closed up his ledger, updated for the day, and went back to reading a book he’d started that covered Amphorean mythology – epics involving Titans and Chrysos Heirs and Demigods. He’d been reading for what only felt like five minutes before a presence looming in front of his desk made him look up, eyebrows bunching together when he looked into the same piercing blue eyes he’d seen a few days ago in the train, his twin standing next to him a few steps back.
The one in front of him – Phainon, Mydei guessed – threw him a grin. “Well, fancy seeing you here.”
Mydei only raised an unimpressed eyebrow, eyes flicking from one twin to the other. “Are you two following me?”
Mydei noticed how Khas looked away for a split second while Phainon only laughed charmingly, expression unwavering. “You wound us, can a couple of university students not even visit the local library to study now?”
“I’ve never seen either of you here before I met you on the train,” Mydei observed, slotting his bookmark between the pages before putting his book down, turning his focus entirely onto the men in front of him.
“It’s . . . our last year, we need research material which means books that are not available in our university’s library,” Phainon replied.
“Oh, really? Then what books do you want?” Mydei asked, an almost challenging lilt to his voice, asking them to prove their claim.
“Uh . . .”
“Cult of Nikador: Rites and Festivals of the Incarnation of Strife,” Khas rattled off in a monotone voice though there was some sort of muted emotion glimmering in his eyes though Mydei couldn’t make sense of.
“Mythology, huh?” Mydei asked, a bit of curiosity overtaking him.
“Degree in Mythological Studies,” Khas shrugged, though a small smile was tugging at the corner of his lips from Mydei actually asking him a follow-up question even if the latter wasn’t aware of it. “Nikador is particularly interesting to me so I want to learn more of him. The juxtaposition of spreading strife and anger while also being a protector fascinates me.”
“Hmm, that’s a fascinating way to look at it. We do have that book but it’s currently been borrowed. Its due date is tomorrow though if you’d prefer to come back,” Mydei said on instinct from saying the exact same line to countless people, only realizing the implications of saying that to someone who was pursuing him after the sentence was already out of his mouth. He internally groaned.
“I’m doing Material Culture,” Phainon blurted out, small pout upon his face as if he felt he was being sidelined in the conversation and didn’t appreciate it. Mydei almost cracked a smile. If nothing else, he had to admit the pair was making him go through several ranges of emotions very quickly. And perhaps Mydei didn’t hate the monotone of his life being broken a bit. “I’m studying architecture and objects important to their corresponding culture but I specialize in antiques mostly.”
“Hm, that sounds interesting. My mother has always been a fan of archaeology, it’s bled a bit into me as well,” Mydei said, remembering how his mother, Gorgo, had a collection of antique weapons and shields as well as the signet ring she’d passed onto Mydei emphasizing the importance of the family heirloom.
Phainon’s eyes lit up at that. “Really? Does your mother collect anything?”
“Fucking asshole.” Mydei heard Khas muttering under his breath, promptly receiving an elbow jab to his ribs from Phainon. Khas just discreetly rubbed at the area as he tried to keep his scowl intensity to a minimum.
“You could say that,” Mydei replied, amused at the banter going on in front of him which apparently the twins thought he couldn’t see. He wasn’t sure why he was indulging them but he decided to throw them a bone, reaching out his left hand, palm down in front of the two. “This is the signet ring my mother gave me, a family heirloom. I’m not sure how many generations it’s been in our family, however.”
Khas leaned forward, admiring the burnished gold texture of the ring. Phainon had no qualms about personal space however, taking Mydei’s hand in his own as he rotated the ring around his finger gently, an expression of concentration on his face. Surprisingly, he felt calluses on Phainon’s hand, scraping against his own. Mydei took his hand back after a few seconds, clearing his throat.
“Kremnoan craftsmanship, right? It’s probably at least eight centuries old, that’s insane,” Phainon gushed, seemingly not affected by how awkward Mydei felt at the gesture. Khas was apt enough to understand though, elbowing Phainon in the exact same way as the latter had done to him just earlier. Phainon just pouted. “What?”
Mydei cleared his throat again. “Nothing, I think you guys should go and actually study like I believe you came here to do? If you need help finding the sections or certain books, Ms. Castorice should be available in the back.”
The twins fell silent at the clear dismissal, identical instances of silent desperation making their way onto their faces.
“Look, the other day, I – well, we – didn’t mean to come off as we did, I swear,” Phainon started and Mydei pinched the skin between his brows, already anticipating the heartfelt explanations and begging he’s going to receive from the twins, all in a bid to get into his pants.
“Come off as what?” Mydei asked when Phainon didn’t elaborate further.
“Um-”
“Fetishistic sex fiends?” Khas offered, Phainon immediately whipping his head to glare at him.
Mydei huffed out a chuckle at that, more a smile paired with releasing air through his nose, but Phainon and Khas latched onto the expression in an instant, staring as if it were the most fascinating phenomenon in the world. Against Mydei’s own wishes, he felt warmth in his chest at that, immediately tamping it down and adopting his neutral expression again.
“Shut up, Khas,” Phainon said.
“I’m the one who made him laugh, I think you’re just jealous,” Khas taunted back and Mydei felt his ears warm at that – something about his laughter, his emotions, being akin to a prize being won.
“He does look beautiful laughing,” Phainon murmured to himself, almost in a trance, and Mydei feared the blood flow may eventually move to his face so he spoke up.
“I don’t have all day.” He hoped there was enough firmness to his voice for the twins to listen and sure enough, like a pair of well trained dogs, they turned their head towards him once more, their expressions softening.
“Okay, we didn’t mean to come across like we were just propositioning you,” Phainon started explaining. “Granted, we don’t even know your name but you’re beautiful and seem even more interesting after today. If you will agree – him, Khaslana and I, Phainon, would love to get you more. Not in a purely sex way, just . . . in . . . the regular way,” he finished weakly.
Mydei blinked when he heard that, his expression turning into one of incredulity. “You two want to court me?”
“Yup!” “Yes.” Both the twins responded simultaneously and suddenly, it felt like the Universe was playing a joke on him.
“Both of you? Together?” Just to make sure Mydei was hearing this right.
“We’re pretty good at sharing,” Phainon replied, easy grin making its way onto his face once more.
Mydei had a hard time wrapping his mind around the concept. “And neither of you would feel jealous of the other?”
“As long as you don’t show blatant favoritism, we don’t care,” Khas (Khaslana, apparently) replied, before continuing. “We’re sorry if it’s something you’re completely averse to and . . . don’t want to try out. But if there’s even a small possibility that you’re not absolutely disgusted, please give us a chance?”
It was the most Mydei had ever heard Khas speak and he could tell it was completely genuine. Even though he said it with his usual flippant tone, Mydei could detect just the tiniest bit of pleading accompanying it. He roved slightly tired eyes over the two who were sporting twin looks akin to that of a kicked puppy. While Khas didn’t have the pout Phainon had, both pairs of eyes were completely identical – large, round, and filled with desperation and brimming hope, as if something terrible would happen if Mydei refused.
And Mydei . . . Gods, Mydei couldn’t believe he was even considering this. That he didn’t outright reject them immediately. Perhaps there was some part of him that wanted this, wanted to be fought over and treated like a prize, but not in a suffocatingly possessive way.
He was going to regret this.
“Go away,” Mydei barked, feeling the blush crawling up his face.
Khas blinked. “Was that a rejection?”
“Just . . . leave me alone for now,” Mydei muttered out, adding the last two words to make sure they knew what he meant.
He couldn’t ignore the rising grin on Phainon’s face and the small smile on Khas’ even if he wanted to, his own chest feeling light at the expressions. “It isn’t, is it? Okay, okay, we’ll give you some time. Though . . . there is one small problem.”
Mydei simply raised a questioning eyebrow.
“We still don’t know your name,” Khas said quietly, tilting his head. Mydei imagined if he had dog ears, they’d be drooping in an act of begging right now.
“Mydeimos.”
Mydei didn’t know what reaction he expected but Phainon walking over to him and gently catching his left hand in his own wasn’t it. The aforementioned looked to Mydei for permission and upon finding no objection, lifted the back of his hand to his mouth, lightly kissing his base knuckles right where the signet ring was. Mydei’s heart skipped a beat at the gesture as Phainon grinned once he raised his head. “You’ll be seeing me soon, Mydei.”
Phainon dropped his hand and started walking towards the back, whistling a tune to himself. Khas was left standing there, looking slightly uncertain but clearly wanting to approach him. Mydei couldn’t help but feel a flicker of fondness in his chest – while Phainon took what he wanted without reserve, Khas clearly thought things over a bit more even though his interactions with his twin brother showed that he could be just as quippy and blunt.
Mydei wordlessly held his right hand out this time and Khas was on it in an instant, kissing the back of his hand rather than the knuckles. Before retreating to join Phainon, he said in an almost reverent manner, “Thank you for allowing me a chance, Mydeimos.”
Mydei felt like his face was going to catch on fire – he’d never received this much undivided romantic attention, let alone from two people simultaneously. Two . . . extremely handsome people. Who simply happened to have the same face. Mydei groaned for what seemed like the umpteenth time this day, burying his face into his hands.
What had he gotten himself into?