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“Stay still…!”
“I’m- Gh- Trying, I swear, haha!”
“This Isn’t Funny!”
“I know, sorry, just- Haha, hh..! I just- Haha, c-cold, H- Ow-!”
Phainon leaned back suddenly against the chaise positioned comfortably in a sunny corner within his quarters, shoulders shaking in strained laughter as Iridiana settled back from her spot on the Heir’s lap with a sigh. This was the fourth time the nymph has had to halt Phainon’s treatment from his rather… Excessive competition with Prince Mydeimos earlier that day. (Where both men thought it would be a wonderful idea to find out who could fight the most Titankin at once in a singular group.)
Setting aside the damp rag she had been using to clean the smaller scrapes dotted here and there, Iridiana crossed her arms, looking upon the Phainon with exasperation. “Well, the water I went OUT of my way to boil for you wouldn't have become COLD if you had stopped SQUIRMING!” She huffed as she then reached over to the cushion beside them, grabbing the bandages and ointment she gathered prior as she continued.
“AND it wouldn’t hurt if you hadn’t gone out of YOUR way to do something so… So…! Unnecessary..!” Iridiana exclaimed her last words by throwing her arms up in the air, the silk bandage roll within her left hand unraveling in the process, which the nymph fluidly brought back down as she uncorked the ointment bottle with a flick of her right thumb. Phainon watched his nymph’s display all the meanwhile, the shake of his shoulders settling as he grins sheepishly.
“Unnecessary..? Come on now, Iri, you know that a feat of competition is all the more necessary, especially with Mydei! You should have seen the look on his face when he realized i had managed to take on TEN Titankin on my own!~” He boasts, now looking quite proud of himself, before humming, and tilting his head before adding with a mumble, “...Granted he then showed the… 27 piles of rubble around him right after… But that face he made is gonna be burned into my memory for years to come, haha!”
….Phainon’s chuckles subside when Iridiana doesn’t return his laughter, and the Heir sits up straighter as she takes the now damp bandage up to his scraped shoulder, causing him to hiss from the slight sting the medicine brought. Once the pain fades, Phainon leans in more, nudging his face against the top of her head.
“Hey, Iri…”
“Hmph….”
“....Iriiiiiii….. im okay, cmonnn…”
“Hmph…!”
Iridiana’s hands settle onto Phainon’s chest, trying to push him back, only to be met with not even a centimeter of movement, soft palms shoving against hard muscle. Huffing out in annoyance at her failure, Iridiana crawls out of Phainon’s lap. Blinking a few times in confusion, Phainon’s wide gaze watches as the nymph plops herself a little ways away from him, turning her face away in a huff, arms crossed.
“Well if you’re okay, then you can fix your wounds yourself!”
Phainon blinks a few times more, her words finally catching up to his brain, his already fading grin turning into a small frown. “...Wha?… But.. Hey, you aren’t usually upset by this, what’s wrong?”
“Hmmph…!”
Phainon’s lip juts out in a small pout, leaning forward so as to bring himself closer to her, his head tilting in more confusion as Iridiana scooches further away. Not liking how far apart they were, added with how Iridiana seemed upset with him, Phainon’s brain was a mixture of muddied thoughts. Just WHAT had he done to make his beloved, dearest, most incredible nymph act like this towards him??? Did he forget something important today? Impossible, he marks his schedule accordingly, never once has he forgotten something that held meaning, he hasn’t even missed a single one of his baths with Mydeimos (Much to the tired princes’ displeasure whenever Phainon barges into his room so late in the hours to drag him to the baths)
Was it something he’s done or said? Nothing really comes to mind, no matter how he tries to recall, and the Deliverer would be mortified if he had said or done anything to make Iridiana like THIS towards him… So just what had he done?!?! Panic began to take hold as he tried harder and harder to think of the reason why his nymph had become so distant and cold, its claws seeping in deeper when he moved his own body closer to Iridiana, only for her to scooch away once more, arms crossed and gaze averted sternly.
His face fell and his heart sank. The matter didn’t in fact matter anymore, Phainon needed to make this right, or else guilt and shame will cause him to NEVER forgive himself…! What would his mother think, hurting a girl’s emotions like this? She must be rolling in the Nether Realm right now, watching as his son forsake the woman he adores. He could HEAR Aglea shaking her head, her stern words as he’s looked down on as a-
…Wait, was that a grin?
Squinting his eyes, Phainon turned his head more, seeing what he thought was just the hint of a smile on Iridiana’s lips.
Oh. Oh she was messing with him…
Very well~
Phainon slid off of the chaise with a resounding THUD, Startling Iridiana enough to be pulled out of her silent vigil. “Phainon?! What are you-?!”
Iridiana was cut off at the sight of the Hero of the Prophecy, the Savior of Amphoreus, the resounding hero of the people… And the man she was just trying to tease lightly with a display she thought was utterly exaggerated and fake, crawling in front of her. His eyes looked near watery, shining up at the nymph like how a puppy would be begging for the scraps of a meal as his cheek squished against Iridiana’s knee.
“You hate me.”
“What?!”
“I’ve spited you for the last time and now you hate me”
“I don’t hate you!”
“You’re upset.”
“Well yes because-”
“OH WOE IS ME, MY BELOVED HATES ME!” Phainon practically wails as he takes hold of both of Iridiana’s legs, keeping them in place (And keeping Iridiana from moving away anymore). “Whatever will i DO?! How will I live OOOOONNN?!?!”
Iridiana rolls her eyes in amusement, her annoyed facade already fading as she attempts to free her legs to no avail, Phainon’s grip growing tighter with every tug, face becoming buried into her shorter chiton worn for languid occasions. “My love, my light, my sunlit sky in the Golden Hour, PLEASE FORGIVE MEEEE!!”
“You’re meant to hold the Worldbearing Flame, i’m sure you can handle it without a nymph-” Another exaggerated wail cuts her off again, followed by Phainon nuzzling more into her legs, the feeling of his snowy soft white hair tickling her thighs, causing Iridiana to hold back a snort. It was almost endearing with how distraught Phainon had become with her silent treatment, but the volume of tears that were seeping onto her chiton and smearing on her skin was getting a bit concerning. Did she upset him that horribly simply by acting coldly?.. Perhaps she had taken it too far…
This Man.
Sighing out softly, Iridiana decides to finally throw the heir a bone, and shifts her hand to rest on the back of Phainon’s head, his wails cutting off immediately the moment she began to run her fingers through his hair. “Alright alright, shush! People are going to think someone is getting murdered if they pass by your room with how loudly you’re crying.” Phainon whines at that, shaking his head and turning his cheek against the nymph’s knee and oh his face was such a mess that Iridiana immediately felt guilty. A pouted lip that wobbled shakily, big watery eyes, and every other breath he took was accompanied by a sniffle.
“...B-But… I can’t lose my nymph…! Let alone have my nymph hate me…! I’m… oh i’m a disgrace to the Flame Chase Journey!” Iridiana huffs, her fingers tracing over his hair and towards his cheek, thumb brushing away stray tears running down.
“No you’re not, I'm not mad at you Phainon.”
“...Y-You’re not?”
“No silly, I'm not. And you’re far, VERY far from a disgrace, please don’t think like that. I just wanted to tease you, and I took it too far. Just be more careful next time, alright?...”
Phainon blinked dumbly up at Iridiana, eyes shining in a mixture of surprise, awe, and fading anguish. “Oh… So… You were just messing with me..? You don’t hate me then…?” Iridiana shook her head, stroking his cheek. “...You’re still my nymph?” A nod now. “.....Well that’s good… yeah, that’s good…”
Phainon then grinned like a cat that just caught the biggest mouse in it’s life, his grip against Iridiana’s legs growing tighter.
“I’m gonna clear my nose now.”
“.....What-”
PPPPPPPHHHBBBPPLLLT!
This man!!!
Iridiana squealed as Phainon pressed his lips above the flesh of her lower thigh, just above her knee, and blew a loud raspberry into her skin. The noise sounded just like that of one blowing out their nose with the confirmation that all of those tears were that of a crocodile’s, and Iridiana could feel that utterly devious smile on her skin as she tried (and failed) to push his face away, the smile on her skin growing more.
“Phainon?!”
“Oh hang on , im feeling a little better, here i still got-”
“NONONO-! EEEEEEEEK!”
The room was filled with the sound of raspberries, screeches, and laughter as Phainon quickly crawled back up onto the chaise, blowing out air onto every patch of skin he could manage as Iridiana squealed out, pulling on his hair and tying and failing to crawl away.”Oh wow i’m- PPHPPH- Feeling sooooo much -PPPHHPLH- so much better, you don’t mind if i wipe my face, yeah?~” Ignoring Iridiana’s giggled out protests, Phainon grabbed her right wrist, wiping his face against her arm to wipe his “tears” some more, all while the nymph lightly slapped at his chest, shoving against him.
“Phainon- HAHA!!~ Phainon you shouldn’t be- Hehehe!! You shouldn’t be moving around so much!”
“Ohhhh no I'm not falling for that again, you were never mad!”
“No i wasn’t but you’re still-” Once more Iridiana was cut off, but this time not by another raspberry, but by a loud grunt as her hand slapped against the bandage wrapped around his waist, Phainon letting out a loud groan as he slumped to his side beside Iridiana. “Ah! I told you!” The nymph scolds as she sits up after gaining her freedom, worriedly looking over the area she just hit, Phainon all the meanwhile letting out a strained chuckle.
“So…. worth it, you…. Sounded… so cute… Haha..!”
This man………
“I believe earlier I said to shush…!” Iridiana sighed as she gingerly rubbed at Phainon’s waist, thankful that she didn’t hit him too hard so as to open up his wound she had painstakingly spent the time to cover in ointment and bandages. After assessing the damage, Iridiana reached over and flicked his forehead, earning him another grunt. “I WAS however still worried you know. I always worry… I don't like seeing you hurt…” She huffs as she slowly lays back down, tilting her head at Phainon, who now was gazing at her with a warmth that always seemed to cool her down in moments like this. She now made no objection as he reached over to take hold of the nymph’s face, Iridiana immediately nuzzling into his palm, his voice now even and soft as his fingers went to her chin to move her gaze to meet him.
“It comes with the job, my love.”
“...mmm, i know, i just… “
Iridiana glanced away, feeling Phainon’s pinky run against her jaw, trying to encourage her to look back at him. “...You wanna know something? I’d rather come back to you like this than never at all…” Phainon smiled as Iridiana met his gaze again at that, her eyes widening in surprise, giving him the notion to lean forward, kissing her forehead “I can’t promise I won't be hurt. And I can't promise that I won't do "Unnecessary" things anymore with Mydei… But I will, I absolutely will ALWAYS promise to come back to you, okay?... I refuse to let someone feel the pain of being left behind…”
Phainon trailed off at that, pressing his forehead against Iridiana’s, slowly reaching over as carefully as he could to be mindful of his wounds, his arm could be snug around the nymphs lithe form.
“...It’s awful, that horrible feeling… I refuse to let you feel it… SO if that means I will be beaten and bloodied, even for my own faults, then I'll gladly carry that pain… Especially if it means i have the lovely Sunkissed Nymph to welcome me with warmth and love to ease these aches~”
Phainon adored the snort he got from that, Iridiana wrapping her hands around his neck to pull him closer.
“....Just be more careful, please…?”
“...Okay, okay… only if you kiss it better~ Like the one spot you missed.”
Iridiana pulled back slightly, alarm now in her expression as she gave him one more once over.
“Where???”
Phainon grins, and points to his lips, pouting slightly.
“.....”
This man……..
Oh this man she loved.