Chapter Text
After the events of Amphoreus, Phainon was invited onto the Astral Express. He, of course, accepted. He had become quite fond of the trailblazers, each of them reminding him of someone he held dear to his heart. Stelle reminded him of Cyrene - they were both mischievous and playful. Caelus reminded him of himself, more specifically the hero within himself. He was a true hero, after all. He liked Dan Heng as well, despite not getting to know him as well as the trailblazers. His data bank was fascinating, and Phainon found himself reading through it quite often.
His first day on board was, well, pretty rough. He had to get used to a whole new group of people as well as deal with frequent visitors from across different planets. But he quickly grew to like everyone. Himeko was delighted to have someone that appreciated her coffee. Welt seemed a bit tense at first around Phainon, especially when he revealed his true name (how odd…), but they became close as well. And of course he loved Pom-Pom. Who wouldn’t love Pom-Pom?
He was happy to finally meet the pink haired girl that rumors around Amphoreus spoke of when the trailblazers and Dan Heng first arrived. She was sweet and kind and loved taking photos. Apparently she had a rough time while the others were in Amphoreus, but she seemed to have gotten over it by now.
And finally, there was the person Phainon found most intriguing - Sunday. He seemed to have been through a lot, judging by how awkward and jittery he seemed to be at times. Over the first few weeks, Phainon observed a lot of things about Sunday. He would tense up at the mentions of Aeons, likely some sort of trauma around that (just like him). He was the only one on the Express that was neat and orderly, but when mentioned, he seemed to become flustered. Phainon thought it was kind of cute. He also learned that Sunday liked to play piano, and that he would sometimes sneak sweets into his room at night.
Despite noticing all these things about him, Phainon had yet to actually talk to the man. One day, as Phainon was about to go to bed, he spotted Sunday in the Express’ party car. He decided to take his chance and say hi.
“Hello there. I don't believe I’ve had an opportunity to introduce myself yet. I'm Phainon!” He held out his hand. Sunday stood up before taking it, his grip firm.
“Hello, Phainon. I’m Sunday.” His voice was calming, like the sound of the ocean’s waves. Phainon felt a faint blush creep onto his face, though he wasn't sure why.
“What are you doing here in the party car alone so late, Sunday?” He already knew the answer. He had seen the man staying up late alone many times, and had heard whispers of something about avoiding sleeping. Insomnia, maybe? Or could it be something more?
“Ah, I was just… seeking some quiet. You know how noisy March and the twins can be.” Phainon nodded. He knew that wasn't why Sunday was here, but he wouldn't pressure him to speak. He did genuinely want to get to know him after all.
“Do you mind if I join you?” He pulled out a seat next to Sunday at the bar. The man shook his head, inviting him to sit down beside him. So he did. They enjoyed each other's company in silence that night, occasionally broken by an awkward question from Phainon at the start. But even he began to appreciate the silence. Being with someone else drove away the usual thoughts that plagued him when things were too quiet.
“I had better go to bed, now. I appreciate the company, Phainon.” Sunday smiled at him, and Phainon could swear his heart skipped a beat. He nodded and as soon as the man left, Phainon buried his face in his hands. His smile was so beautiful. Wait, what was he thinking? He had only just met Sunday. There was no way he could possibly have a crush on him already. But he was attractive and was enjoyable to be around. He had a nice scent, too…
Phainon shook his head. That was way too far for having just properly met him. Why was he already thinking about his delicious scent and his beautiful smile and his pretty wings and-
He sighed. He definitely wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.
Phainon was right about not getting any sleep. He stared at the dark circles under his eyes in the mirror. He splashed water on his face in hopes of waking himself up - today was the Astral Express cleaning day, and he would have to help out. He put on a smile, acted like he hadn’t gotten zero hours of sleep, and left his room. He immediately ran into Sunday, literally.
“Ah, I’m sorry!” Phainon blushed slightly, both out of embarrassment and from being near Sunday. The man also seemed quite tired. Could he maybe have been up at night also thinking of Phainon? No, that was an absurd thought. There’s no way that was the case, Phainon was just being delusional.
“No worries, Phainon.” Ah, his morning voice was just as wonderful as Phainon could’ve imagined. Wait, what was he thinking? He mentally pushed those thoughts aside, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. The two men made their way to the parlor car of the Astral Express for the cleaning meeting.
Phainon ended up being tasked with mopping the floors. It was a fairly simple task, right? Wrong. As his luck would have it, after he filled the bucket with water and was walking back to mop the floors, he collided with Sunday again, spilling the water on his white button down shirt.
“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry, Sunday!” Phainon felt horrible. Sunday looked quite distressed by the wet shirt sticking to his skin, but at the same time, he thought he was blessed. He could see Sunday’s skin through his wet shirt - his thin frame, his small waist, and most importantly…
Before he could finish that thought, Sunday had turned around and was making his way back to his room. Phainon followed after him, still apologizing.
“It’s fine, really,” Sunday murmured, though his tone suggested otherwise. Phainon waited outside Sunday’s bedroom door for him, ready to apologize once again. The door opened, and out came Sunday, giving Phainon a small, tired smile.
“It’s alright, Phainon. You don’t need to apologize again. I just… got overwhelmed for a moment.” Phainon pouted like a sad puppy, but nodded and went back to the parlor car with Sunday to finish his job of cleaning.