Archive of Our Own ^beta

“What an interesting tattoo.”

Phainon peeks up from where he’s been drawing in his notebook, random doodles of passing customers or various items scattered about in the ticket booth. His favorite customer stands before him, the fluorescent lights from above the train station highlighting his multicolored eye and jeweled eyepatch. It’s been a while since he’s come by the station, Phainon going through his day by day routine at the ticket counter without being gifted by the presence of the beautiful man before him. 

He places a hand over the tattoo of the sun on his neck, blushing slightly. “Thank you! I got it back when I was in high school,” He closes his notebook and shoves it off to the side, leaning forward toward the glass that separates him and the man of his dreams. “Where are we headed for today, Anaxagoras?”

“Back home to The Grove,” he responds with a kind smile. He’s dressed up today, a nice button up with the sleeves rolled up and freshly pressed dress pants. There’s a small satchel at his side, a few pieces of paper sticking out of the front pocket haphazardly. It was rare to see Anaxa so nicely dressed, Phainon having grown far used to the man dressing more casual for his trips. “I’m spending the upcoming holiday with my sister this year.”

“That sounds nice!” Phainon chirps. A family man, traveling three hours away to see his family for the holidays. Everything about this man was perfect, from his gorgeous long green hair, his pale skin, his quick wit. Phainon wouldn’t mind listening to one of his lectures at the local university someday. “When are you returning?”

“I’m planning on spending the New Year here with my extended family. They always throw a huge party to celebrate and give me hell if I dare to miss it.”

Phainon nods in understanding, ringing up the ticket and accepting the man’s credit card from the pass-through tray. He’d been assisting Anaxa for over a year now, the man making Phainon’s heart thump faster with every visit, like some childhood crush growing ridiculously out of control.

He’s pretty sure Anaxa doesn’t even know Phainon’s name.  

When he returns the card with Anaxa’s ticket underneath it, he’s taken aback by Anaxa saying, “I really do like your tattoo, by the way. The sun suits you, matches your smile.”

“Oh?” Phainon nearly stumbles over such a simple compliment. “I, um, that’s very sweet of you, Anaxagoras. Happy Holidays!”

Anaxa repeats the sentiment back at him with another small smile, heading towards the platform with a short wave. Phainon watches with longing eyes as he goes, admiring the man’s clothing choices from afar. Part of him wishes he could have something as stylish, maybe a nicer jacket than the one currently draped over the back of his seat, but his budget prevented him from doing so. Working at a ticket booth didn’t make him much, but it covered rent and that was what really mattered. 

Phainon isn’t surprised that Anaxa could afford such expensive outfits, especially with the constant trips he makes nearly every weekend. He’s well known around Amphoreous for his philosophical lectures, his multiple published papers, and being one of the infamous Nousporists. He was basically a household name to those in the education sphere, and Phainon was proud to be one of the rare people to see him outside of the classroom.

He turns back to his drawings once Anaxa is out of sight, deciding to finish up his most recent one of the handsome man. He feels ridiculous, drawing somebody he’s only shared brief conversations with, but he’s been such a real inspiration for him the past few weeks. He finds himself enjoying drawing Anaxa, even if lines on paper couldn’t come close to conveying his beauty. 

He’s just begun shading Anaxa’s hair when he hears shouting coming from near the tracks. Considering it was only a Wednesday afternoon and the station was practically a ghost town, he can see the culprits dart across the concrete. They look like teenagers, shouting incoherently as they dash towards the exit. Normally Phainon would roll his eyes at such antics, ignoring them in favor of his notebook, but his eye catches something being tossed between the two of them as they leave; a leather bag, one that looks suspiciously like the one Anaxa had strung across his shoulder. 

He’s expecting Anaxa to come running out after them, but when he doesn’t see the man, he steps out himself to shout at the two boys. They are long gone at this point, making Phainon huff as he heads towards the train platform to see if Anaxa was still around. Maybe he didn’t even know his bag was gone; He could have set it on one of the benches and wandered off towards the restrooms. It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened, and Phainon begins to wonder when he can stick a sign about keeping an eye on your bags up near the platform when he notices that Anaxa isn’t even there. No one is. 

“Hello?” Phainon calls out, looking around the deserted platform.

No answer. 

A gust of wind picks up an abandoned piece of paper nearby, hitting Phainon’s feet and making him look down. It’s the piece of paper he had given Anaxa, confirming his ticket purchase. With his heart thudding in his chest, he peeks down towards the platform and gasps. 

Anaxa is lying down there, face pale and blood trickling from a wound across his forehead. 

Oh no, Phainon thinks, pulling his phone out of his pocket and calling an ambulance. Before he can press call, he can hear the electronic swish of the board, updating the arrivals and the next train that will be coming into the station. It’s the next train to The Grove, and it appears to be only two minutes away. 

He could call the ambulance, but it would be too late. Anaxa would be nothing but a shredded human being on the tracks by then. 

Phainon has done plenty of things in his twenty-six years of life that would be considered reckless, and this was about to go down as one of the most reckless things he’s ever done. 

Without another thought, Phainon jumps down onto the tracks. 

The paramedics ask him how it felt to save a man’s life. 

It was exactly what Phainon had suspected; the paramedics definitely wouldn’t have made it in time to save Anaxa’s life themselves. One of the EMTs called Phainon a real hero for jumping down onto the tracks to save a random stranger’s life. Part of Phainon wanted to argue with them, that they weren’t complete strangers. Then again, he really didn’t want to have a conversation with a random EMT about how he was mostly fueled to rescue Anaxa because of an incredibly ridiculous crush. 

Not that he wouldn’t have saved Anaxa if that wasn’t the case. It was his crush on the guy that made him investigate in the first place though, that was something he couldn’t deny. Watching as those teenage hooligans tossed his bag back and forth had angered him, and he wasn’t about to stand by and let injustice happen right in front of him. He likes to think if it had been anybody else’s bag, he would have investigated it as well. 

Or maybe that was simply something he was telling himself to feel better.

He followed the ambulance to the hospital, having left his shift a little earlier than usual at the instruction from his boss. “Go home, get some rest,” his boss had told him, but Phainon knew he wouldn’t be able to rest at all until he knew if Anaxa was going to be okay. What if his condition was worse than what he thought? What if Phainon made things worse when he lifted him off the tracks?

It’s these thoughts that plague him as he sits in an uncomfortable waiting room chair, tapping his foot against the linoleum floor as he watches nurses rush past him with their clipboards, various doctors handing off folders to the front desk nurse before taking off to another patient. There are a few others waiting in the room with him, some asleep with their heads leaning against the wall while others are flipping through home magazines, bored out of their minds. 

It’s been a couple of hours since Anaxa’s been admitted and Phainon can’t help but be a little impatient. 

The charge nurse at the front station is older, gray hair pulled back into a neat bun and large glasses resting on her nose as she flips through various folders in front of her. She looks up at Phainon with a hint of annoyance, as if him approaching her is disrupting something incredibly important. “I’ll tell you what I told you the first time, unless you are a family member, I cannot tell you what his condition is. You should go home, get some rest. You look like you’ve had quite the day.”

Phainon huffs. “I’m sorry, I know the rules, but I just want to know if there are any updates? I was the one who rescued him, I just want to make sure he’s doing okay, or if he has to get surgery?” He doesn’t think his request is that unreasonable. 

The woman sighs, closing the folder in her hands. “The most I can tell you is that he suffered some head trauma, and they are a little concerned about a spinal injury. Other than that I’m unfortunately not allowed to share with you unless you are immediate family.” She takes a look around her surroundings, leaning in closer. “If you ask me, I think you have a right to know. You are the one who saved him, that means something.” 

Phainon watches as the nurse gets up from her chair, taking a quick glance around before beckoning him toward her and the direction of the rooms. Phainon doesn’t hesitate to follow her down the hallway, walking past rooms filled with worried family members and patients in various states of consciousness. A little girl waves at him when he stares a little too long at one of the doors, and he waves back at her with an embarrassed blush on his cheeks. She merely giggles at him before turning away and back into the room. 

The nurse eventually pauses at one of the doors, taking a deep breath before knocking. “As far as I’m aware his family should be arriving about any minute now, and I doubt they would be upset that the man who saved him is just making sure he’s not dead.” She gives him a secretive wink before heading back toward the nurse’s station, only to be stopped by a doctor who looks at Phainon with a raised eyebrow. 

“Is he a member of the family?” the doctor questions, and Phainon freezes. 

The nurse scoffs at the man, waving him off with a light chuckle. “Of course he is! He’s the man’s partner.”

Phainon nearly chokes on his own saliva at the word’s partner, but manages to keep his composure as the doctor nods. “Alright. Sorry to bother you two.” 

Once he’s disappeared down the hall, the nurse turns back to him with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I’m sure a little white lie won’t hurt anybody, right?” She opens the door gently, peeking in before turning back to Phainon. “Nobody’s here, just make sure to close the door behind you, alright?”

She takes off before Phainon can even thank her. 

Stepping into Anaxa’s room, Phainon is suddenly hit with the realization that he has no idea what to do now. Anaxa was unconscious, which wasn’t much of a surprise given the severity of the head injury, but Phainon still finds himself wanting to be careful with what he says. He’s heard stories of those that were unconscious still being able to hear things around them, even if the words were a little fuzzy and incomprehensible. 

He pulls a chair up beside Anaxa’s bed, reaching out to take Anaxa’s hand before shaking his head and keeping his hands in his lap. “Um, hi Anaxagoras. I’m Phainon, I work at the ticket booth at Okhema Station.”

This whole situation felt weird as hell. Phainon was awkward, unsure of himself as he takes quick glances around the room for something, anything to talk about with the unconscious man. There’s a chart towards a computer monitor nearby, listing Anaxa’s medical information that would definitely be a violation of some kind if Phainon read it. His eyes only browse the paper, catching little pieces of information about Anaxa that were not too personal. 

He’s nearing his late thirties, currently residing in Okhema. His emergency contact appears to live in town, a name that seems familiar to Phainon despite being unable to place it. Aglaea Mnestia. What if that was Anaxa’s significant other? He really should have just admitted to the doctor that he was Anaxa’s brother or something. 

He wears an eyepatch after an incident a few years ago regarding an experiment at the local university he teaches at. The self inflicted part sticks out to him, making him shudder slightly at the thought of this man gouging out his own eye. What kind of experiment was he performing that he needed to cause himself bodily harm?

Phainon reaches into his pocket for a distraction, pulling out his phone and opening it to a music app. “Hey Anaxagoras, I’m not sure if music helps in this situation, but maybe you would like something nice to wake up to? I know family is on the way, and that will definitely be a nice sight for you to see when you wake up, but how about a soundtrack for that?”

A random rock song has just started when the door to the room swings open, Phainon nearly sending his phone tumbling to the ground at the sudden intrusion. A woman stands in the doorway, dark red hair and her blue eyes glistening as she looks towards Anaxa. She’s accompanied by a teary eyed lavender haired girl, followed by another woman with short blonde hair. 

Phainon feels even more awkward now, with what is clearly Anaxa’s family looking at him with confusion until the red haired girl throws her arms around him and begins sobbing. 

“The nurse out there said you are Anaxa’s boyfriend!” she sobs, crushing Phainon in her arms. The man feels awkward, needing to explain that he was certainly not Anaxa’s boyfriend, but he doesn’t think he should upset the woman any further than she already was. “I can’t believe you pulled him from the tracks! What a hero!”

The nurse comes in behind the family, smiling sheepishly at Phainon before turning towards the three who have just arrived. Phainon wants to scream at the woman, beg for her to get him the hell out of this, but his desperate, silent cry for help is clearly ignored. 

“I see that you all have met the hero of the hour!” She instead cheers, patting Phainon’s shoulder. “This is Phainon. Phainon, this is Anaxa’s immediate family, from here in Okhema.” Her voice is trembling, eyes shaking. She’s clearly just as terrified as Phainon at this moment, as their lie begins to ignite and spread. This had to end, they needed to clear this up right now before something bad happens.

The tall blonde woman holds out a hand in Phainon’s direction, face stoic despite the unshed tears in her eyes. “I’m Aglaea, Anaxa’s ex-wife. I wasn’t aware that Anaxa was dating anybody here in Okhema. He told us he didn’t know anybody around here outside of his office.”

Phainon tenses. “Oh, um, it’s still a pretty new relationship? Only a couple of months, so.” No, idiot, don’t tell her that!

Aglaea hums. “I apologize that we are meeting under such unfortunate circumstances. Anaxa has always been rather private with his personal life, even with members of his family. Should have known he was seeing someone with how often he’s been excusing himself from dinners.”

So he keeps a good relationship with his ex wife. That’s pleasant. She doesn’t seem like a bitter ex at least. Maybe Phainon wasn’t in danger for his life. 

The lavender haired girl smiles softly at him, holding out her hand. “I’m Castorice, and this here is Tribios. The two of us are close friends with Anaxa. It’s very nice to meet you.” 

“Very nice!” Tribios chirps, wiping at her eyes. “So sorry for all the emotions. Just as Agy said, Anaxa has been dodging our dinners for a while now, so we’ve been extremely worried for his well being, especially since he’s awful at answering a phone call every now and then.”

Two close friends and an ex wife. He’s surprised that his sister isn’t among them. Did they not call her to come visit from The Grove? Perhaps she was running late?

There isn’t much time to ponder such questions before he’s being rallied into going to the cafeteria for tea. Aglaea volunteers to stay with Anaxa in case the doctor comes back, both Castorice and Tribios looping their arms with his and talking his ear off the entire walk toward the elevators. It’s fine, he insists to himself. He can have this one moment of feeling like he has a family again, and then he will explain to them the truth. 

It will be fine. Really. 

Mydei remembers just how much he hates hospitals the minute he walks through the visiting room doors. Everything is incredibly bright and sterile, loud with various voices of concerned family members or doctors spilling out medical terminology that mostly sounds like gibberish. All of it gives him a headache, though that could also be from the little bit of jet lag from the flight home. 

His golden eyes scan the waiting room for any sign of his friend, only to frown when he doesn’t see a single one of them. His text from Tribios still sits on his phone, telling him that this was the correct hospital and to get there as soon as he could. He swallows tightly, trying not to think of any bad scenario that could have kept them away from greeting him. There was a good chance the doctor just led them to Anaxa’s room, where the man was already sitting up in bed yelling that he could treat himself at home, that he was just fine, thank you Aglaea, you can fuck off now. 

He steps up to the receptionist at the desk, who informs him that someone would be with him shortly. 

“Dei!” Tribios’ voice cuts through the chatter surrounding him. She’s running toward him and wrapping him up in a tight hug, tears lingering in her lashes. “He hasn’t woken up yet,” she whispers to him, sniffling. 

“Has anyone come to speak with you?” Mydei asks, squeezing her tight. He looks behind her to see Castorice with an unknown man, one who looks over their way with a nervous glance. “Whose the guy with Castorice? One of Anaxa’s students or something?”

Tribios chuckles, though the sound is watery. “Oh, that’s Phainon. He’s, um, Anaxa’s boyfriend?”

Boyfriend? Mydei supposes he shouldn’t be too surprised that Anaxa would have been dating someone in secret. The man was never fond of giving out personal details such as that after the divorce. From a distance the man doesn’t seem anything like someone Anaxa would be interested in. 

“I’m glad you could make it, Mydei,” Castorice welcomes him, pulling him away from Tribios to hug him as well. “You are probably exhausted from the flight. How was Penacony?”

“Same as ever,” Mydei shrugs off. “What happened? Aglaea said he was mugged?”

Castorice nods. “He’s stable, at least. We won’t know much else unless he wakes up and tells us himself,” She wraps her arms around herself, shuddering. “Some teenagers took his bag and shoved him off the train platform.”

“ Titans ,” Mydei curses. “Good thing a train wasn’t coming in then, I suppose.”

“There was though!” Tribios cries. “If it weren’t for Phainon, he'd be dead. ”

Mydei looks over at the man in question, who looks as though he wants to melt into the floor and vanish. “Anaxa’s boyfriend?”

Tribios nods, pulling on Phainon’s arm. “Phainon, this is Mydei, he’s part of our little family. I’m sure Anaxa has told you about him. Mydei, this is the man who saved Anaxa from being pulverized on the tracks!” The statement has Tribios nearly bursting into tears again, Mydei pulling her into his chest so she could cry. The man, Phainon, gives him a shy wave as he steps closer, holding out a hand. 

“Nice to finally meet you,” he says, grip firm in Mydei’s hand. “Wish it was under better circumstances, of course.”

The guy was handsome, certainly. Wholesome look that would have grannies pinching his cheeks. He was wearing a simple plain shirt and jeans, nothing of the sort that Anaxa would typically find attraction toward. Granted, Mydei wasn’t one hundred percent sure Anaxa even had a type, given his silence on those types of conversation. Still, Anaxa would usually inform them of things such as this, bringing them around to meet the family and what not. If not for their case, for Aglaea, just to rub it in that he was moving on. 

Mydei doesn’t have time to exchange pleasantries before a nurse shows up, telling them that visiting hours have been condensed to one person at a time. Tribios and Castorice push Mydei toward the direction of Anaxa’s room, insisting he go and relieve Aglaea. 

That’s how he finds himself alone in an incredibly bland hospital room, watching the rise and fall of Anaxa’s chest. He pulls a chair closer toward the bed, attempting to find the words to say. He’d never been awfully close to Anaxa, but this was still someone he’d known for a good portion of his life, someone he considered family. 

“I go off to Penacony for a week and you land yourself into a coma,” Mydei shakes his head. “Also, since when did you start dating? What happened to being married to your work, huh?”

Anaxa doesn’t so much as twitch at his words. 

“You do know Aglaea has been here to see you, right?” Mydei tries. “She’s all talk about how she doesn’t care about you anymore and wishes you would drop dead, but she’s never once meant it. She wouldn’t have come here otherwise, you know? She’s probably just as confused as the rest of us about the boyfriend though. He saved your life, which means he’s a good guy, I guess.”

He’s saved from further awkward conversation by the nurse re-entering the room, Tribios in tow. The hopeful look on Tribios face drops when she sees Anaxa still hasn’t moved, as though Mydei could have pulled off some miracle with his awkward one-sided conversation. 

“Maybe you’ll have better luck,” he tells her, stepping out of the room and heading back toward the waiting area. The rest of his friends are still there thankfully, all of them surrounding Phainon with various questions as the man stands between them with a nervous smile on his face. Poor guy must have been questioned endlessly in the few minutes Mydei had been gone. 

“I’m okay to get home, really,” Phainon tells them. 

“Nonsense,” Aglaea responds. “The least we could do is ensure you get home safely. Please, just let us pay for a taxi at least.”

“If he needs a ride home, I can take him,” Mydei offers, stepping into the group. “I should be heading out anyway. The flight from Penacony has left me dead on my feet.”

Aglaea promises to keep him updated with any changes before he leaves, giving him a quick hug before he leads Phainon toward the parking lot. Phainon seems to be less nervous around him as they make their way toward Mydei’s car, though there is still a stiffness to him that Mydei understands. 

“It really isn’t a big deal if I take the bus,” he insists. “I’ve done it multiple times before.”

“Pretty sure Tribios would be the one coming for my head if she finds out I let you take the bus,” Mydei informs him, unlocking his car. “It’s alright, I’m not going out of my way. It’s the least I can do since you rescued Anaxa from a worse fate. Really.”

Phainon lets out a sigh in defeat. “Okay. Thank you, Mydei.”

Phainon is very, very tempted to beat his head against the window of Mydei’s car. Perhaps it would knock him out enough that he would have to be transported back to the hospital, only minor head trauma but enough for all of this to breeze over. It would certainly be better than his current situation of being in the car as someone from Anaxa’s personal life, which he knows nothing about. 

“Anaxa doesn’t have much of a personal life,” Mydei starts, breaking up the uncomfortable silence. “At least not one he talks about. How exactly did the two of you meet? Was it at the university?”

Phainon took a little bit of theatre in high school. He knows how to improvise. “Oh, um, not at the university. I actually work at the Okhema Station. He happens to be a frequent traveler through there, and eventually we just started talking more as he came through.”

Close enough to the truth. Easy to remember. 

“Surprised Anaxa humored you with any conversation,” Mydei tells him. “Do you have family around here?”

Yes, take the conversation away from Anaxa. Less nerve wracking. “Two siblings. My sister Cyrene lives here in Okhema, and my twin Khaslana is currently in Janusopolis for work.” 

“A twin, huh?” Mydei comments. “Don’t think I’ve ever met a set of twins. Are you identical?”

“Yup,” Phainon feels a little more at ease. “I mean, Khas has blonde hair and golden eyes, while I have white hair and blue eyes. Other than that, we look exactly alike. He dyes his hair, probably so he doesn’t get confused with me. Do you have any siblings?”

Mydei shakes his head, eyes never leaving the road ahead. “Only child. Raised by a single mother in Castrum Kremnos.”

Castrum Kremnos. Phainon has never been there himself, but he knows Khaslana went there shortly after high school for university. He loved it there, always sent photos back to Phainon and Cyrene about how the two of them would appreciate how beautiful the sights were. Phainon always promised him that he would go there someday, if he could afford the time. 

“Will you be heading there for the holiday?” Phainon asks. 

Mydei shakes his head. “My mother passed away a few years back, and my father hasn’t been around since I turned eighteen, so I don’t really have anything else for me there. I usually stay here in Okhema and spend the holidays with everyone here. They became my family after her death.”

They seemed that way. Even in the short amount of time Phainon spent with them at the hospital he could tell they were practically a family. 

“Sorry for your loss,” Phainon bites his lip. “My parents passed away just a year ago. It’s been me, Cyrene, and Khas since. The two of them have been so busy lately though that I’ve kinda been on my own.”

“Anaxa must have been a nice addition then,” Mydei says, and Phainon’s stomach twists. The car pulls up to a red light, Mydei removing one hand from the steering wheel to place it on Phainon’s shoulder and squeezing gently. “Someone to fill that void of loneliness. He helped me back then too, with my mother’s death.”

Phainon nods silently. “He’s good at making you forget how lonely you are.”

The light turns green, Mydei removing his hand from Phainon’s shoulder and continuing forward. The feeling of his hand on Phainon’s shoulder lingers slightly, the comforting warmth stabbing Phainon directly in the heart as he remembers how good it feels to be comforted, loved. It’s been so long since he’s had something like this. 

Tomorrow, when he doesn’t come back to the hospital, he’ll try and remember this. 

The weather the next day is colder than the day before, the wind biting at Phainon’s cheeks as he makes his way out of the station. He’s exhausted from the night before, and it didn’t help that he spent the majority of his shift at the station stressing out about the lie. Part of him wanted to call up Anaxa’s family and tell them the truth, experience the chewing out of a lifetime, and carry on. 

He turns the corner, heading toward the bus station, when he crashes into a body. He yelps, attempting to catch himself before hitting the concrete when a pair of strong arms wrap around him, preventing him from cracking his head open on the pavement. 

“You alright?” Mydei asks him, steadying him. “Wasn’t expecting you to be off work already.”

From this close, Phainon has to fight the heat from rising in his cheeks. Mydei’s golden eyes are scanning his face in slight panic, his long eyelashes fluttering while Phainon desperately tries to avoid eye contact. He hasn’t been this close face to face with another person in forever and it clearly shows. 

“I worked the early morning shift,” he explains, clearing his throat. He steps a little ways back from Mydei. “What brings you around here? Were you looking for me?”

Mydei lets out an awkward laugh. “I was, actually. None of us got your phone number at the hospital last night, so my best bet was to track you down at work. Wasn’t too sure about your schedule, but if you said Anaxa frequently came by it had to have been early in the morning.”

“Great detective work there,” Phainon jokes, attempting to break up the awkwardness he felt. “I guess it didn’t cross my mind that any of you would want it, my apologies.”

Mydei raises an eyebrow at that. “Of course we’d want it. How else would you be able to get updates on your boyfriend?” He holds out his hand. “Here, give me your phone. I’ll at least put my number in for now. You can get everyone else’s when we head over there.”

“What, like right now?” Phainon stumbles, taking his phone out of his pocket and handing it over. “I doubt anything has changed with his condition, I’d hate to take away visiting time from all of you.”

“Don’t think like that,” Mydei shakes his head, handing back Phainon’s phone. Mydei Nikador. He put his full name on the contact. “You were closest to him the past few months, I’d assume. The rest of us have been rather busy and haven’t really made time to see him. It would be good for you to be there, for him to hear your voice.”

Phainon supposes that’s true. Doesn’t stop him from sweating. 

“C’mon,” Mydei beckons him. “I parked about a block over. Won’t take us long to get there.”

The drive to the hospital isn’t as awkward as the drive home the night before, thankfully. Phainon tries to make conversation at every stop light, coaxing a few fun facts out of Mydei. They’ve already bonded over a song on the radio they mutually enjoy, and Mydei finds that a smile is hard to fight off when Phainon cracks a few jokes. 

It’s rather strange to think that this was the guy that Anaxa chose to be in a relationship with. Phainon wasn’t anything like his past relationships, not even in the slightest. He was bright, extroverted once you got him talking. Clearly a sociable person that could make anyone his best friend with ease. He loved dogs, wanted one of his own someday when he wasn’t living in a cramped apartment. While he currently worked at a train station, he one day dreamed of being a pilot. 

“It’s expensive though, flight school,” he explains with a sigh. “I’ll get there eventually.”

The more they spoke to one another, the more Mydei found it incredibly hard to believe that he was dating Anaxa. They were completely different from one another. What would Mydei know, though, when he’s hardly spoken to Anaxa the past few months?

They are immediately bombarded once they enter the hospital waiting room by Tribios, who gathers Phainon into a tight hug. “Oh good, Dei found you!”

Phainon laughs, hugging Tribios back. “It wasn't too hard to find me. I was only at work.”

“How was work?” Castorice asks politely. “I’m sure it wasn’t a good time, given that Anaxa nearly died there not too long ago. I sure wouldn’t be able to focus with that on my mind.”

“Titans, Cas,” Mydei says. “It’s a job, he’s got to get money somehow.”

“I have to agree with Princess here,” a new voice chimes from behind Castorice. “If you were really dating our Anaxagoras, wouldn’t you have been here all night, worried out of your mind? Pretty sure a caring and devoted boyfriend would dedicate time into spending the night at the hospital just in case anything happened, don’t you think?”

Cipher always had a way with creating tension. 

“That’s not fair, Cipher,” Tribios frowns. She turns to Phainon, apologetic. “Sorry, Phainon, we’ve all been tired and stressed. Don’t take it personally.”

“Who said I was tired?” Cipher counters. “I just think it’s rather odd that Anaxa has a boyfriend we’ve never even met, nor heard of. You’d think he would have at least told Aglaea, given he’d do anything to rub in the fact that he’s over her, hm?”

“He doesn’t need to prove anything,” Mydei steps between Cipher and Phainon. “That’s not fair of you to ask of that at a time like this.”

“His eye.”

The group turns to look at Phainon. 

“It was a self-inflicted wound,” Phainon continues. “An experiment of sorts. He, um, never quite told me what for, but he usually tells people who ask that he had an accident rather than go into detail about why a sane person would rip out their own eye.”

Cipher blinks. Tribios stifles a laugh. Mydei can’t help but be impressed that Phainon pulled that out as his proof. 

“Naxy doesn’t tell anybody about that,” Cipher grumbles. “Fine, maybe you do know him. That’s just basic info, Hero.”

“Oh, back off from the man, would you?” Tribios rolls her eyes, pulling Cipher back. “How about you go and visit him now, huh? I’m sure he’d love to hear your voice over Aglaea’s right now.”

Cipher rolls her eyes. “Fine, you have a point,” she takes one last glance at Phainon, looking him up and down. “I got my eye on you, boy.”

As she takes off down the hallway, Tribios gives Phainon an apologetic smile. “Not a great first impression of her, but I promise Cipher means well. She’s always been the overprotective one, even if she doesn’t want to admit it out loud.”

“Sometimes she needs to watch herself,” Mydei mumbles, shaking his head. “Tribios is right though, she’s not all bad. Anaxa has been in her life since she was small so naturally she’s a little more protective of him.”

Just how much did Anaxa tell Phainon? They haven’t been dating for very long, according to Phainon, but he had to have at least told him a few things about his family and personal life. The basics, at least. He knew about what happened with Anaxa’s eye. 

So why did Phainon seem at a loss for words over tiny details? As much of a front as Anaxa puts up with strangers, he always spoke fondly of Cipher and her upbringing, how proud he was of her. Now though, at the mention of Cipher and her relationship with Anaxa, Phainon looks lost. 

“I think we should let Phainon have some time with Anaxa, once Cipher is done,” Mydei tells Tribios as they take their seats in the waiting room. “How about we go get something to eat with the others so they can be alone?”

“He’s hardly had any time alone with him since we showed up,” Castorice agrees. “Poor guy was probably worried during his entire work shift over him. He deserves a little bit of alone time.”

“Would that be alright with you?” Mydei asks. “I can always bring you back something to eat?”

Phainon holds a hand up. “Don’t worry about me, I ate something before I got off shift. Go enjoy some time together, I’ll wait for Cipher to be done and head in.”

“Don’t let her be rude to you,” Tribios tells him, gathering up her purse. “Also text us if anything changes! Even if he so much as twitches, I want to know.”

Phainon isn’t sure what to talk about with Anaxa. He wracks his brain the entire hour he has alone with the man, rambling about his day at the train station to whatever story about his siblings he could scrounge up that sounds even the least bit entertaining. It’s strange to speak with a person that can’t respond at all, and the conversation just leaves Phainon feeling lonelier. 

He decides to take a snack break when one of the patient care techs comes in to do a bed bath. He contemplates just texting Mydei to bring him back something from wherever they all went out to eat, but his wallet tells him that a vending machine candy bar would be the better option. 

Anaxa’s nurse stops him just as he’s heading toward the elevator. “Sorry, but do you happen to know if his family is coming back through? His ex-wife signed to grab his things but she never actually walked away with them.”

“They went out to eat, they should be back soon,” Phainon reckons. “While I have you though, I do have a question for you regarding Anaxa.”

The nurse brightens. “Of course! He’s doing extremely well, given his circumstances.”

Phainon forces a smile. “Yes, he is. That’s not my question though. My question is why did you tell them all I was his boyfriend.” 

“I was helping you out!” The nurse hisses back at him, looking around. “The last thing I need is to be caught bringing in non-family members into this unit, okay? I got you in on that lie, it had to continue. Don’t forget, you could have told them the truth by now.”

He could have. He really should, before everything blows up in his face. 

“If we are lucky,” the nurse continues, stepping back to head toward Anaxa’s room once more. “He will wake up tomorrow and they will all be so overjoyed that he’s okay they won’t care about a little white lie. You were his hero, how mad could they be at you for saving his life?”

Because the universe doesn’t give him anything in this life, Anaxa doesn’t wake up the next day. The only reason Phainon even knows this is because Mydei and Castorice have taken turns texting him updates, ranging from ‘Castorice tickled his foot and he didn’t flinch, plan failed’ to ‘Mydei told him he was still married to Aglaea and he didn’t rise, he’s really out of it.’ Both texts have Phainon laughing inside the train station ticket booth, the sound echoing off the walls and disturbing a few passengers walking by. 

Mydei insists he come back to the hospital, but Phainon actually has a legitimate excuse this time. He can’t look like a bad boyfriend not visiting when his brother has returned from his out of town trip and insists he join him for dinner at his apartment. 

So that’s where he is, enjoying a home cooked meal by his twin. Khaslana has a bit of a tan from his work trip to Janusopolis, won’t stop talking about some girl he met while he was there that was really interested in him. Cyrene texted saying she was going to try and stop by to hear stories about the trip and check in on Phainon, which really warmed his heart. 

Only problem is his phone won’t stop going off with texts from Anaxa’s family. None of the texts are actual updates, just silly photos or questions to get to know him. He doesn’t mind them all that much, but he can see Khaslana looking over at his phone every time it vibrates, looking rather curious. 

“Did you meet someone?” Khaslana asks, eyebrow raised. “That’s about the fifteenth time it’s gone off since you got here.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Phainon evades his brother’s questioning stare, walking toward the fridge to pull out a bottle of beer. “Tell me about the person you met, huh? Is my brother finally entering a serious relationship?”

Khaslana’s eyes narrow. “Don’t change the subject you little shit, I asked if you met someone first, Phai.”

A knock on Khaslana’s apartment door gives Phainon the break he needs, the man bolting for it to welcome in their sister. Cyrene beams once she sees him, wrapping her arms around his neck with a happy squeal. “I haven’t seen your face in so long, you little turd.”

“Missed you too, Cy,” Phainon squeezes her waist, setting her back down on the ground so she could dart toward Khaslana. “Glad you could make it.”

“Phainon met someone,” Khaslana blurts before Phainon can change the subject. 

Cyrene gasps. “Finally! Oh, it’s been so long since you’ve dated! What’s their name, are they cute? How did you meet them?”

“Khaslana met someone too.”

Cyrene rolls her eyes. “Khaslana will sleep with anything as long as it has a pulse. You on the other hand, haven’t so much as gone on a date in ages. Start talking!”

“I take offense to that?” Khaslana gasps, hand on his heart. “I was in a committed relationship for a few years after high school, mind you.”

“And then spent the next few months after that sleeping with anyone you could find,” Cyrene counters. “Now, back to Phainon. I need all the information, right now.”

“It’s nothing,” Phainon promises them, “I’ve had a very long week is all. Nothing too exciting to discuss with you guys.”

Both siblings stare at him with knowing glances, Khaslana shaking his head as he hands Cyrene her own bottle of beer. “I know we tease, but if you did meet someone, that’s great. Take your time introducing us if you need to, we just want to know if they are treating you well and what not.”

Phainon’s phone goes off again on the counter, Cyrene and Khaslana’s heads snapping in it’s direction. A shock of panic hits Phainon as he watches Cyrene grab his phone, looking at the incoming message with a scheming grin. 

“ Mydei,” she coos, handing the phone to Khaslana. “That’s a nice name. Is he hot?”

“I won’t lie and say that he isn’t,” Phainon admits, walking toward them to snatch his phone back. Khaslana holds it up high, shaking his head. “Khas, please, he’s just updating me on a friend of mine who is in the hospital.”

Cyrene gasps. “Oh! You did say something happened at work, is everything okay?”

Phainon sighs. Maybe it’s for the best that they know the truth of the matter. At least someone in his life would know the mess he’s got himself into. “Let’s get ready to eat, I’ll tell you over dinner. It’s a rather long story.”

He tells them everything: Saving Anaxa from getting hit by the train, the nurse who threw him under the bus with the whole boyfriend thing. “His family is so nice too, all of them are the kindest people who keep inviting me to dinners and sending me text updates while also trying to get to know me because apparently, Anaxa doesn’t just let anyone in and I feel fucking awful about all of this.”

Cyrene and Khaslana share a glance with one another, unsure of how to answer. “That’s a lot,” Khaslana comments. 

Phainon groans. “Like I said, long week.”

“I’m sure if you came clean now they wouldn’t be too upset,” Cyrene tries. “You still saved his life.”

“That nurse should be reported,” Khaslana adds. “It was nice of her to get you in there to check on him, but she should have been honest with his family. If anything, she’s the one that got you into this mess.”

“I could have denied,” Phainon says. “I should have! Now I’m just stuck in this endless lie where I should be honest and tell them all that I’m just a weird guy with a crush, but I don’t know how.”

He knows what will happen the minute he tells them the truth. He loses every single one of them. He has Cyrene and Khaslana in his life, they mean everything to him, but Anaxa’s family has slipped their way into his heart in such a short amount of time. They were funny, kind, and so caring about each other and him. He’s selfish in not wanting to lose that. 

His phone starts buzzing again, Mydei’s name popping up as an incoming call. He takes a deep breath, reaching for the phone and answering the call as his siblings inch closer to listen in. 

“Hey, Mydei.”

“Hey,” Mydei says. “I know you said you had plans tonight, so I won’t keep you from them for too long. I was just thinking about you and wanted to give you a call.”

Phainon can’t help the blush that rises in his cheeks. “You were thinking about me?”

“You and Anaxa,” Mydei clarifies, Phainon hearing a hint of panic in his tone. “About what happened with Cipher and all. She was out of line with what she said.”

“Oh, I’m not offended,” Phainon promises. “All of you are dealing with things differently, and she just needed an outlet. I don’t hold it against her in the slightest.”

“She feels bad,” Mydei says, which is a bit of a surprise. “She won’t admit it, of course, because she’s a bit of a shit, but she really does. She’s always been really close with Anaxa, given her rough upbringing, and the fact that he didn’t tell her about you really hit her.”

Phainon bites his lip. There was that awful feeling again. “I understand. Are you doing okay?”

“As good as I can be,” Mydei admits. “Cipher and I are out getting some drinks to clear our heads. If you aren’t too busy, you should definitely join us. I’m sure you have a lot to get off your chest too.”

There is a part of Phainon that wants to take him up on that offer. Being around Mydei, for the short amount of time he’s known him, has felt comfortable. He was easy to be around, he didn’t feel like he had to keep up with the lie around him. He could be himself a lot more.

“I would love to join you guys, really, but-”

As if sensing his dilemma, Khaslana cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Hey, Phainon, this furniture isn’t going to rearrange itself! Get your ass over here!”

“That voice sounded almost exactly like you,” Mydei says. “Must be your twin. Tell them I said hello. I won’t hold you any longer if you need to go help him.”

“Not a problem,” Phainon tells him. “Oh, before I let you go, the nurse at the hospital gave me some of Anaxa’s things, I guess Aglaea signed off for them and never picked them up? Do you want me to bring them to you tomorrow?”

“I would appreciate it,” Mydei says. “Have a good rest of your night, Phainon.” 

Phainon smiles. “You too, Mydei.”

He hangs up the phone, looking at his siblings. “Thanks for the save, Khas.”

“Welcome,” Khaslana grins. “Now what is this about you having some of Anaxa’s things, eh?”

“Just the basics,” Phainon admits, rather reluctantly. “What about it?”

“You need to know more about this guy to really sell the lie, don’t you?” Khaslana starts. “Do you happen to have his house keys in that pile of belongings?”

Cyrene gasps. “Are you suggesting breaking into the poor guy’s house?”

“It wouldn’t be breaking in if we have the key to the place,” Khaslana reasons. “C’mon, it won’t take us that long, and it will really help Phainon keep this up for the time being. I’m all about helping my brother keep the peace for a little longer, aren’t you?”

Cyrene sighs. “Only if Phainon is comfortable with it.”

Phainon looks between the two, contemplating. This was really just digging himself into a much bigger hole, he really, really, shouldn’t agree to something as ridiculous as this. 

“I can’t believe I agreed to something as ridiculous as this,” Phainon says, watching as Khaslana slides the key into the lock of Anaxa’s apartment and opens the door. “We are going to get arrested for this, aren’t we?”

“We have the damn key, Phai,” Khaslana reminds him, closing the door behind them as they step into the entry way. “Titans above this place is too fucking nice.”

The apartment was huge, spacious. Phainon was certain that his own apartment would fit into just one room of this place. It’s slightly messy in the living area, papers and a few pieces of clothing strewn about. The kitchen is immaculate, spotless. There are several large windows around the place covered with dark curtains, blocking out the view from the outside thankfully. 

“Number one thing we’ve learned is he’s definitely neat,” Cyrene notes, observing the kitchen. “At least you aren’t fake dating a complete slob.”

Phainon moves cautiously around the place, trying his best not to leave any trace behind of being there. There’s a record player in the corner with several vinyls stored underneath, artists that Phainon would never find himself listening to. Several bookshelves line the walls, university textbooks taking up most of the shelf space. 

“The rest of the place is spotless,” Khaslana says from the hallway, peeking into a bedroom. “This man is definitely a scholar, there are so many books around here. What does he teach? Do you know that much about him?”

“Philosophy,” Phainon tells him. He walks toward the hallway to meet up with Khaslana, looking around at the photographs hung up. There’s plenty of the people he’s met before in the photographs, either group shots at major events or candids that make Anaxa look like an unwilling participant. 

“Is this him?” Khaslana points to a particular photograph near the end of the hall. It’s Mydei and Anaxa in the photograph, both of them smiling at the camera while Cipher holds up bunny ears for the two of them in the background. “I would lie to his family that I was dating him too, he’s gorgeous. ”

Phainon blushes, shaking his head. “That’s actually Mydei, one of his friends. Anaxa is the guy beside him, with the eyepatch.”

Phainon had seen Anaxa smile before, he knew how beautiful it was, how rare. The man was rather stoic in most cases. Being surrounded by his family was bound to bring a genuine smile out of him. It’s Mydei that takes him off guard, with a large smile that has his eyes crinkling. His hair is pulled up with his bangs framing his face, the red more vibrant. He’s not wearing a shirt in the photograph, showing off multiple red swirls around his body. He’s incredibly built, tanned and absolutely gorgeous. 

“He’s quite a looker too,” Khaslana agrees. “Seems your type, I suppose.”

Before Phainon can open his mouth to defend his crush, the front door unlocks. 

“Fuck,” Khaslana hisses, looking around in a panic. “Cy, get over here, we gotta hide now.” 

Cyrene squeaks, rushing toward Khaslana as the two slip into one of the nearby rooms. Phainon makes sure the door closes slowly, not making a sound as the sound of the front door now closing rings out. Phainon has no idea who could possibly be coming over to Anaxa’s apartment at this time of night, which of his family members thought of coming over. He hopes and prays it isn’t Cipher. 

“Can’t believe he left the lights on,” a female voice tuts. “Mydei, go hunt down Cerces? I’m sure she’s hiding in the back room.”

Cerces? Who the hell was-

A soft meow rises from below Phainon, a small cat rubbing herself up against his leg and making him yelp. His hands fly up to his mouth the minute the sound escapes, heart racing. 

Footsteps make their way toward the hall where Phainon stands, Mydei appearing in front of him in an instant. There’s a girl Phainon hasn’t met behind him, her eyes wide in alarm as she hides behind the taller man. 

“How the hell did you get in here?” Mydei demands, looking less tense as recognition crosses his features. 

Phainon shyly holds up Anaxa’s key. “Anaxa’s nurse had me take his belongings with me last time I visited him. I guess Aglaea signed off for them but never actually took them with her. It felt weird having them at my place and I didn’t want one of you to have to deal with it so I figured I’d bring them over myself?”

The girl behind Mydei steps forward, revealing herself to Phainon. She’s small, hair pulled up in two curly pigtails and holding a large, fat white cat in arms. Phainon doesn’t remember her being with the rest of the family at the hospital. “Oh, you must be Anaxa’s boyfriend I’ve been hearing about. I’m Hyacine, I work with Anaxa at the university.” She holds up her cat. “This is little Ica! I brought him over to play with Cerces.”

“Even though Cerces can’t stand Ica,” Mydei comments, kneeling down at Phainon’s feet. Cerces remains beside him, rubbing her head against his leg. “C’mere, Cerces, I brought you some dinner.”

The cat perks up at the sight of Mydei, finally leaving Phainon’s side and approaching him. She purrs softly into the man’s hand, following him back toward the kitchen as he begins to ready her food bowl. “Do you want something to drink, Phainon?”

“Oh, I’m good,” Phainon insists, stepping into the kitchen. He reaches toward Hyacine, scratching at little Ica’s ears as the cat purrs. “He’s a big guy, huh?”

“I spoil him too much,” Hyacine admits, pressing a kiss to the top of Ica’s head. “He deserves nothing but the best.” 

“I believe a diet is for the best,” Mydei comments, setting Cerces’ food bowl down so she can eat. “Thanks for bringing around his things though. I hope you had a good night with your family.”

“I did,” Phainon says. “It’s always good to see them. Definitely helped take my mind off of things.” 

“Family is wonderful for that,” Hyacine agrees, setting Ica down. “I need to head over and visit him one of these days. I’ve been taking over some of his course work at the university while he’s been in the hospital, so I haven’t really had the time to go over and check on him.”

“I had a thought in mind for his recovery, actually, if you don’t mind me running it by the two of you?” Phainon looks down the hallway, watching as Khaslana and Cyrene poke their heads out. “C’mere, over by the record player real quick.”

Mydei raises an eyebrow at the request, but nonetheless follows. Hyacine doesn’t seem all that questioning as she also makes her way over, looking over the various vinyl records along the shelves. 

“I remember reading somewhere that music can be a good therapy for those in a coma,” Phainon begins, trying his best not to look in the direction of his siblings. “I thought I could make a playlist of some sorts to help Anaxa with the healing process? Our music tastes are completely different, so I’m having a bit of a hard time thinking of what he would want to listen to. Is there anything over here that the two of you think he listens to the most?”

Hyacine beams at the assignment given, going on about one of the jazz singers Anaxa adored. Mydei chimes in a few times with his own recommendations, Phainon sure to keep their attention on him as he watches his two siblings make their way out the front door quietly. 

“What type of music do you listen to?” Hyacine asks. “Maybe playing some of the music you like would also help him out? Remind him of who is out there waiting for him to come back to the land of the living?”

Phainon rubs the back of his neck. “I, uh, like a lot of pop songs? I’m not sure Anaxa would want to hear any of that.”

“Maybe if you sang it for him he would!” Hyacine continues. “I’m sure you have a lovely voice.”

“Better than the rest of us, at least,” Mydei jokes. “Let’s hear you sing a couple bars, huh? Maybe if you are terrible Anaxa would simply wake up just to choke you out.”

Hyacine gasps. “We don’t want him to kill his boyfriend!”

Phainon laughs, thinking about his options. He’s not even sure if he has a decent singing voice, hasn’t really tested something like that out. He mostly just sings along to the radio when he’s at home cooking dinner or when he’s alone in the ticket booth. He’s not sure if his voice would qualify as good or bad. 

He picks a song he heard just a few days ago on the radio, singing softly to the two of them as embarrassment creeps into his veins. He’s never really sung in front of others before, this could be awful. 

“You know what?” Hyacine says as Phainon stops his singing. “He would think an angel from above was serenading him back to us. That was incredible, Phainon!”

“Oh, thank you?” Phainon blushes, looking over at Mydei. “Is it a yes from you as well, Mydei?”

Mydei’s cheeks are dusted red as he turns away from Phainon, looking down at the ground where the two cats rub themselves against his legs. “Sounds better than what I hear on the radio nowadays. Did you do theatre or something?”

Did Phainon’s singing really make Mydei blush? That was an honor in itself. “No musicals, but I did dabble in plays? Musicals were more of my sister’s thing. If Hyacine isn’t just being nice about my voice though, the two of us could do a duet. That would be fun, wouldn’t it?”

Hyacine nods. “Oh, that would be so nice! Mydei really does have a lovely voice.”

Phainon wishes he could hear it. He doesn’t think Mydei would want to indulge him with it right now, but maybe down the road he could ask under different circumstances, when all of this blows over and things go back to normal. 

It’s a jolting realization to think such a thing. He was living a lie, things were never going to be normal enough that Mydei would want to be around him after this. Even if Anaxa woke up and all of this would be solved somehow, there wasn’t a chance that Mydei would want to be a part of his life. He would just be a person he saw on occasion, if ever. 

“I should head out,” Phainon decides, heading toward the door. “It was wonderful meeting you, Hyacine. Always great to see you, Mydei.”

He’s out the door before either of them can protest, his face burning as the thought of Mydei singing alongside him flows through his head. It’s a nice thought, but a thought he definitely should not be having about someone he wasn’t supposed to be thinking about in such a context. 

“Well,” Khaslana laughs when they get back to his apartment. “You learned a few things about your fake boyfriend! A cute cat, an extremely hot friend that you were definitely not ogling while we were hiding in the bathroom.”

“Shut up, Khas,” Cyrene smacks her brother’s arm, though she’s wearing a smile. “Get some rest for tonight, okay? We love you and hope you can get this figured out, okay?”

He lays in bed that night contemplating what to do next. He makes the playlist for Anaxa, mostly because he did promise Hyacine and Mydei that he would make one. He tries to find songs that are by artists Anaxa would enjoy, throwing in a few of his own favorites just to introduce him to something new. He decides to visit early in the morning before his shift at the station, hopefully when the rest of the family would be elsewhere. 

The hospital is eerily quiet at this time in the morning. Most of the nurses at the station seem to be nodding off at their computers, though one rather cheerful one waves him through. 

Anaxa’s condition hasn’t changed. There’s a blanket over him that looks handmade, some trinkets they must have brought in to make the room feel more homey. A few cards decorate what limited counter space there is in the room, some from his family and others from people at the university. 

Phainon sits down in a chair beside Anaxa’s bedside and sighs. “Morning, Anaxagoras. It’s Phainon again. While it is just the two of us, I just wanted to take a minute to apologize? All I meant to do was visit you and make sure you were okay and this whole thing just blew completely out of proportion. Your family is lovely and it’s wrong of me to lie to them about what I am to you when in reality you hardly know me. Hell, I hardly know you.”

No movement. No surprise there. 

“I made you a playlist?” Phainon continues, settling his phone down on the bed near Anaxa’s head. “It’s a mix of things, some you would like and others that are more my taste, but Hyacine agreed this would be a good idea? Figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something.” 

It’s like that for a while, just the two of them listening to the playlist. Phainon tries to give commentary on some of the songs, though he remains quiet during the ones that are more Anaxa’s speed. He wants to take them in, try and enjoy the songs Anaxa does to see what he loves about them. 

Yet. 

“I like to think I’m an honest person,” Phainon says. “These songs of yours are rather hard to get through.”

There’s a soft snort from the doorway, making Phainon just as Cipher gives him a gentle wave. “You are not wrong, Naxy here has awful taste in music. Rather boring stuff. I’ve tried getting him to listen to more modern stuff but he just goes on a boring rant about how it’s all meaningless drivel or whatever.”

“Some of it is,” Phainon admits. 

Cipher smiles, taking a seat beside Phainon. “I should apologize for the other day.”

“Oh, you don’t have to-”

“No, I should,” Cipher sighs. “It’s obvious that you care about him. I just found it hard to believe that there was someone new in his life that he didn’t tell me about. He’s not very open with a lot of people, but I figured I was the exception to that? So, sorry.”

He remembers what Mydei told him, that Anaxa had practically raised Cipher. He could imagine how hurt she was in not knowing something about him for once. He knows he’d be upset if Khaslana or Cyrene held a secret such as a relationship from him. They told each other everything, even if the truth was upsetting. 

“You are forgiven,” Phainon tells her, handing her his phone. “Why don’t you add a few things to the playlist, hm? I’m sure you have a better handle on what he’d be into than I would.”

Cipher seems to light up at the task, taking the phone from him and scrolling through his music app. There’s a smile on her face now, an excitement that Phainon thinks suits her quite well. It doesn’t feel so awkward to speak with her now, another member of Anaxa’s family that Phainon finds himself growing rather fond of. 

Something that was very dangerous to do. They wouldn’t be in his life forever. 

He walks with Cipher to the parking lot after an hour of music hunting, discussing holiday plans and cracking jokes at Anaxa’s expense. She offers to give him a ride back to his apartment, and while Phainon would normally try to avoid such an event, he finds himself accepting. 

It’s when he gets into the passenger seat that Cipher locks all the doors, turning to face him instead of starting the vehicle. “You know, I overheard you speaking with Naxy’s nurse the day we met. I don’t think either of you saw me, but I was listening.”

Phainon swallows. So this is how he dies. “So you know?”

Cipher nods. Phainon expects her to be angry, to lash out on him for lying and manipulating her family. He wouldn’t blame her, not to mention he’d gladly get out of the car and walk home if she demanded it of him. It was what he deserved. 

“At first I was mad,” she admits, starting the car. “You had no right to barge your way into my family like that. I almost confronted you in front of everyone. Then I kept listening, heard the nurse say that she wasn’t supposed to let non-family members in.” She grips her steering wheel. “She put that all on you. You were just trying to visit him and she dragged you into it.” 

“I’m really sorry,” Phainon says. “I should have told you the truth, regardless of what the nurse did. I don’t know why I didn’t just tell you all it was a misunderstanding.”

What else was he supposed to say? 

“You should be sorry,” Cipher agrees. “I chose not to tell everyone else because the last thing we need is another problem on top of all the ones we already have. It’s the holidays, we already have one of us in the hospital, the last thing we need is a little lie destroying things even more,” she sighs. “I’m not mad at you for lying. Mydei already told me you don’t have a lot of people in your life. You just wanted to belong. I’ve been there.”

That doesn’t make Phainon feel any less terrible. This wasn’t how Cipher should be reacting to him barging into her family. He already played out in his head how this entire conversation should be going and it was going the opposite direction. “My misery shouldn’t be placed onto people who don’t deserve it.”

Cipher reaches over, flicking his forehead. Phainon yelps at the connection, all while Cipher chuckles like a mad woman. “Relax, pretty boy. You are lucky our little family is so welcoming. I’m positive if you told them the truth they would all accept you regardless. It’s the guy in the coma who would probably have the biggest issue with it all.”

“I didn’t lie about how I knew him,” Phainon promises her. “I just have no idea if he actually knows me or if I’m going to be just some random weird guy to him.”

“Oh you are weird,” Cipher corrects. “I also don’t understand having a crush on Anaxa of all people. I love him because he’s family, but I can admit that he is not someone who is made for a relationship. That's why he’s divorced from Aglaea.”

“Well if it wasn’t clear, I don’t actually know the guy beyond a friendly greeting and giving him a train ticket.”

“Sounds like a you problem,” She’s smiling still, focusing her eyes back onto the road. “Now, give me directions to your apartment. It’s almost time for dinner and I have plans.”

Having Cipher know the truth makes him feel a little better. She makes sure that her number is secured into his phone for any emergencies, another promise that she wasn’t going to say a word. “Regardless of how this all plays out, pretty boy, you have a friend in me.”

When he’s back at his apartment, chest already feeling lighter, he gets a text from Mydei. 

Mydei: Are you busy tonight?

There were hardly any groceries inside of his refrigerator. There weren’t any shows or movies he really wanted to get invested in tonight either. 

Phainon: Date with my couch. Pretty serious stuff. 

Mydei: I got a better idea. 

The following text is an address, a residential one at that. It’s not too far from Phainon’s own apartment, only a few streets down. 

Mydei: I’m making dinner right now. If you are hungry, stop by. It’s just me here.

Phainon’s heart shouldn’t be doing backflips right now. 

Phainon: You had me at dinner. 

Mydei lives in a penthouse. There’s a doorman outside of the building that has to call up to Mydei and make sure that Phainon is an actual visitor he wants to see, one who wears a uniform and has that kind of pleasant smile that Phainon isn’t used to seeing on people around the city. He bids Phainon a wonderful night when Mydei tells him to send him up, Phainon returning the sentiment before heading towards the building's elevators. 

The penthouse smells absolutely incredible when he enters. There’s an aroma of spices and meat in the air that has his stomach rumbling, reminding him of his skipped lunch that day. “What’s on the menu tonight, chef?”

“Food,” Mydei says. “Shoes off at the door, you can hang your coat up on the hook. I think the meat has just a few more minutes before it’s completely ready, so feel free to hang out in the living area until it’s done,” He holds up a bottle of red wine. “Drink?”

Phainon nods, Mydei pouring him a glass before walking it over to him on the couch. “Spill on my couch and you pay for it. I know your salary isn’t enough for that.” He follows it up with a wink and a smile, making Phainon laugh. 

“Probably more than what I’ll ever make in this lifetime,” he counters, taking a sip from the glass. “This is some good wine.”

“Local,” Mydei tells him, continuing his work on what appeared to be a salad. “Castorice works at a vineyard that gives her discounts on select bottles, so she gives us some for holidays and birthdays. This one is my early holiday gift, or at least part of it she says.”

Right, the holidays were just around the corner. He still hadn’t done any shopping for Cyrene or Khaslana as far as gifts go. “I call that a good gift.”

“There’s a good chance she’s going to give you a bottle,” Mydei admits, walking over with his own glass and sitting beside Phainon on the couch. “What are your current plans for the holiday? Are you spending it with your siblings?”

That was the plan. It would be their second holiday without their parents, so they all agreed they would be around for one another and spend the day together. Khaslana was going to make dinner for them and Cyrene was in charge of decorating. Phainon was told to simply show up and they would handle everything else. 

“It will be our second holiday without our parents,” Phainon tells Mydei. “What plans do you have with everyone? Anaxa said you guys have a huge New Year party that he wasn’t allowed to miss?”

Mydei grins. “New Year is definitely the one we want to make the most of. It’s where all of us are actually able to be together without our work being in the way, so we always make time. Aglaea usually hosts it at her place, mostly because she lives in a fucking mansion just outside of the city,” he takes another sip of his wine. “Anaxa missed one year because of his sister. I think that’s the only year all of us weren’t together.”

Oh? “He did mention that he would be visiting his sister in The Grove. That’s where he said he was heading before he was pushed.”

“He always does once he’s on holiday leave from the university,” Mydei explains. “His parents have long since passed, and apart from our little group he doesn’t have any living family. His sister was the last person he had before the accident.”

It clicks then. Why Anaxa’s sister never came to visit him at the hospital. The lack of people mentioning her absence. Phainon is grateful he never brought up her absence. “He’s lucky to have you all.”

“We are all pretty lucky to have each other,” Mydei agrees, getting up to check on the meat. “Things should be ready now. Want to help me set the table?”

Dinner is absolutely incredible. Phainon is pretty sure he’s overly full by the time he’s cleaned his plate. It’s been so long since he’s had a decent home cooked meal, not counting Khaslana’s attempts at cooking. Mydei looks pretty smug about how much Phainon enjoyed the dinner, helping gather up plates to take to the sink. 

“I’ll wash, you dry?” He offers, Phainon giving him a nod. “Glad you enjoyed it. I was testing out a new recipe so it’s good to know that it turned out okay.”

“Better than okay,” Phainon reaches for the drying rag, taking a plate from Mydei. “You are an incredible chef. Is that what you do for a living?”

Mydei laughs, shaking his head. “It’s a nice hobby, but no, I don’t. I’m actually a musician.”

Hyacine’s comments about Mydei’s singing voice suddenly make a lot more sense. “Let me guess, you are one of those rockstars who is secretly a big ol’ softie. Am I right?”

Mydei rolls his eyes, handing Phainon another plate to dry. “Studio musician. I don’t have my own album or anything of the sort. I lend my hand with background vocals or guitar for other artists. That’s why I was in Penacony recently, I was working.”

“Well, you pull off the rockstar look well enough,” Phainon comments, finger reaching over to trace along one of the various red swirls decorating Mydei’s arm. “Have you ever thought about making it on your own or do you prefer lending a hand to others?”

“In the beginning I wanted to be on my own,” Mydei begins. “Before my mom died, she taught me how to play guitar. We would always sing together on the weekends when she wasn’t busy with work. Really she’s the one that made me want to be a musician in the first place. It was my dad that didn’t really want me to be part of the music business.”

Phainon frowns. “Why not?”

“He had his own plans for me from the minute I was born,” Mydei continues, draining the sink of the soapy water. “While it was music that brought him and my mom together, it was also the thing driving them apart. Mom would always be busy with recording sessions and tours while dad also worked with recording contracts and the business side of things. He wanted me to be like him, an agent. He felt as though my mom was pushing her ideals onto me and not allowing me to choose for myself.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“In his eyes it wasn’t. They would fight constantly about my future. I wasn’t even a teenager yet but the two of them were so certain about what my future would be. Dad never once asked me what I wanted, but mom did. Of course she was happy that I wanted to be like her,” Mydei bites his lip. “She died around the time I turned eighteen. As soon as she was gone dad made the decision to show me his side of things. That’s how I met Tribios, actually.”

“Did she work for him?” Phainon asks. 

“Intern,” Mydei confirms. “She was a few years older than me and light years ahead in terms of smarts. When dad would ditch me for business meetings and trips out of town, it was Tribios that would keep me company. Well, her and Aglaea. Those two made sure I was content with where I was, not settling for something that I didn’t want just because it’s what my dad wanted.”

Phainon couldn’t imagine leading a life that his parents didn’t approve of. They had always been open minded with whatever he or his siblings brought to them, encouraged them to try everything just as long as it brought a smile to their faces. That’s why Cyrene pursued her art dreams, why Khaslana felt compelled to study whatever subject his heart desired. 

“You told me you were wanting to go to flight school,” Mydei changes the subject, nudging his shoulder as the two walk toward the living room with their newly filled glasses of wine. “Why do you want to be a pilot?”

Phainon brightens. “I’ve always wanted to see the world. I grew up in Aedes Elysiae, the farm town an hour from here? We didn’t have a lot of money to do things, but my favorite thing in the entire world was when we would pile up in the car and travel. The first time I flew in an airplane was when we went to Belobog for the first time. I kept talking my parents' ears off the whole flight about how cool it must be to be in the cockpit, watching the skies change and seeing the world from above.

“Flight school is so expensive though. I worked a lot through high school and before this job I worked extra hours at my old job just to earn enough to go. I still have quite a bit of savings in the bank going toward schooling, but after my parents passed away and all the funeral expenses the three of us split, it took quite a hit.”

His siblings had felt awful about taking his savings. None of them had realized at the time just how expensive burying their parents would be. Phainon insisted that it wasn’t an issue, that he would drain his account entirely if it meant his parents had a proper burial, but he had to admit that the hit his savings account took was rather hard to take in. 

“You know,” Mydei starts, setting down his wine glass. “I have a private pilot contracted to me by the recording company I work for. He’s a fantastic pilot, one of the best Amphoreous has to offer. What if I could see if he still has some connections to his flight school? I could help you at least get a foot in the door?”

Phainon’s heart swells at the gesture. It wasn’t that he was having a hard time finding a flight school or getting accepted. He tested extremely well in the pre-exams, knew enough that schooling itself would be a breeze. It was simply the money. 

Mydei offering to help, to get him a connection to pursue his dream? That was more than he’s had in so long. Khaslana and Cyrene were always encouraging him to give it his all, but they had their own lives, their own dreams. This was the first time someone offered to push him toward the next step in making his dream come true. 

“You would do that for me?” Phainon whispers, looking at Mydei for any sign of this being a joke of some kind. 

Mydei nods, setting a hand on Phainon’s shoulder. “It’s clear this is something you really want. I don’t just give away hand outs.”

Perhaps it’s stupid, what he does next. He doesn’t really think it through in the moment, so overwhelmed by the person in front of him offering his support, his help to make Phainon happy. It’s been so, so long since someone apart from his siblings has done something so kind for him, it’s a lot. 

So he throws his arms around Mydei, burying his face into his neck. “It would mean the world to me, Mydei.”

Mydei doesn’t tense at the sudden contact. He doesn’t try and shove Phainon away with a scowl, telling him to watch himself. He instead wraps his arms around Phainon in return, a tight embrace that holds honesty and care. It’s not the kind of hug you give someone you hardly know. 

It also wasn’t the kind of hug you should be giving someone who was your friend’s supposed boyfriend. 

“Anaxa would do it for you if he was awake,” Mydei whispers in his ear, keeping Phainon close. “I’m simply doing it for him.”

The rest of the night is them simply lounging on Mydei’s couch with a few glasses of wine, Phainon’s head spinning a little as he starts laughing a little too much, slurring his words a little. He feels loose, happy, the tension of the past few weeks fading away as he soaks in his time with someone who feels like a best friend for once. 

“Let me get you some sleep clothes,” Mydei tells him, leading him down the hallway toward the guest room. “There is a bathroom right next door if you need it. Towels are in the hall closet for when you want to shower in the morning, help sober you up a little.”

“I’m fine to head home, really,” Phainon insists, his words only slightly slurred. “I’ll call a ride share.”

“You don’t have a choice in this,” Mydei argues gently, handing Phainon a change of clothes and pushing him softly into the guest room. “Get dressed while I grab you some water and painkillers for the morning. You’ll be thanking me later.”

He falls asleep that night easily, peacefully. The guest bed is ridiculously comfortable, from the plush mattress to the soft and cozy comforter. The room smells pleasant too, a relaxing lavender scent that really helps ease him into a restless slumber. 

That night he doesn’t dream of Anaxa, or the situation that he’d got himself into. He doesn’t have a nightmare about his parents, about his siblings and something happening to them. Instead, he dreams of Mydei, of his smile and his tattoos, of his kindness and the way his golden eyes have a light to them that draws Phainon in. He dreams of lips softly touching his, of a promise that they would fly around the world together. 

It’s when he wakes up the next morning, head pounding and mouth dry, that Phainon thinks to himself, Oh shit.

“You do understand, with our friend being in a coma right now, that texting me emergency, need to talk, is going to stress me out, right?”

Now that he thinks it over, Tribios had a point. Mydei couldn’t say he was firing on all cylinders this afternoon, however, so she cannot blame him for that. Ever since he’d woken up this morning he’d been out of sorts. 

Phainon had stayed the night at his apartment. That wasn’t necessarily the plan when he’d invited him over for dinner that night. It was just a friendly invitation to come join him for dinner that night, take his mind off of the fact that Anaxa was in the hospital and to have some company. He’d also wanted to try the new wine that Castorice had gifted him. Nothing but innocent intentions for the man who was becoming a fixture in their lives. 

Then they started talking about their lives. Phainon’s eyes lit up when speaking about flight school and his dreams. There was a passion in his words that had Mydei intrigued, the offer to help him achieve such a dream rolling off his tongue before he could even think about it. 

Phainon’s embrace was unexpected but welcome. He smelled of sunshine and sandalwood, mumbling thank yous into Mydei’s neck. He’d told him that Anaxa would have done the same if he wasn’t in a coma, but he knows that’s not true. Anaxa, as much as Mydei admired the man and cared for him, was not an affectionate person and was rather difficult to read. He wasn’t the type of person that hugged someone. 

Mydei accepted the hug purely for selfish reasons. He wasn’t proud of it. 

Then came the morning. Phainon had woken up before him and made him breakfast, was all smiles despite the possible hangover. Mydei had complimented his cooking, because it was actually incredible despite what limited things Mydei had in his kitchen for breakfast food. He admired the tattoo of the sun on Phainon’s neck that he’s never really noticed before, they talked about their tattoos while eating, then Phainon went back to his own apartment while thanking Mydei for allowing him to stay over. 

It was the minute the door was closed and Phainon was gone that Mydei had an awful realization that he certainly should not be having. 

“Sorry,” he says to Tribios, accepting the cup of coffee from her as he leans against her kitchen island. Her triplets are playing in the backyard currently, visible from the kitchen window as they play in the freshly fallen snow. “Have you taken the girls to see him yet?”

Tribios shakes her head. “No children allowed in the intensive care unit. Once he’s awake I’ll take them in. They’ve been making him get well soon cards for the occasion at least,” she looks back toward Mydei. “I know the emergency isn’t that you wanted to see the girls, right?”

Mydei shakes his head. “I always want to see the girls. I’m their favorite, aren’t I?”

“I won’t deny that,” Tribios smiles. “C’mon, what’s bothering you, Dei?”

Say it. Rip the band aid off and be ready for the scolding. “I think I’m falling in love with Phainon.”

Tribios blue eyes widen comically, the woman setting down her own mug of coffee. “Dei, honey, oh Titans.” The poor woman looks like she’s about to burst into tears. 

“I don’t know what happened,” Mydei admits. “I started spending time with him to make him feel welcome, because we didn’t know anything about him or his existence, but as time went on and I got to know him-”

“Dei,” Tribios holds a hand up to her mouth. “Oh, Dei, you don’t, you don’t have to explain yourself. You can’t control who you fall for.”

He should have though. You shouldn’t be falling in love with your friend’s boyfriend. That wasn’t right. Especially when said friend was currently in a coma. What kind of person did that make Mydei? Anaxa was already such a private person, was hesitant with new people and sharing his life. He found someone and Mydei decides to fall in love with him. 

“I didn’t act on anything,” Mydei feels the need to add this. “I invited him over last night for dinner, purely innocent intentions. He ended up spending the night because we had a little too much to drink. Tribios, he woke up before me and made me breakfast.” 

Mydei had planned to make the two of them breakfast originally. He knew Phainon was going to have quite the hangover and figured it would be a nice thing to do. Waking up to someone making him breakfast, face bright and welcoming as they tell him good morning, hope you slept well-

It felt nice. It’s been so long since he’s had someone to wake up to, that took care of him instead of the opposite. 

Tribios smiles sadly at him, not pitying but understanding. “He’s a good person. That’s part of why we are so happy Anaxa found him,” she sighs, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “I don’t want to tell you that you should stay away from him. It’s clear that the two of you are forming a wonderful friendship, which is a good thing! I just, I don’t want you or both of you to come out of this hurt because of feelings.”

Mydei knows that regardless of what happens, when Anaxa wakes up and things progress, that Phainon wasn’t his to have. He will fade back into the background, hearing from Anaxa every now and then, eventually receiving a wedding invitation in the mail that asks him to RSVP to see his friend’s second marriage to someone that Mydei would never have a chance with. 

“I want to keep being his friend,” Mydei tells her. “I don’t need to have him romantically to want him in my life.”

“That’s the best we can do for now, isn’t it?” Tribios grins. “Right now, just be the bestest friend you can be. Phainon definitely deserves a good friendship.”

He does. The man had been through quite a bit in the past few years. Mydei would be more than happy to help be the person that takes his mind off of the bad things. “I’m thinking we should invite his siblings to our New Year party. That is, if Anaxa is serious about their relationship.”

Tribios lights up at the mention of their New Year party. “Oh that would be wonderful! Have you met them yet?”

Mydei shakes his head. “Phainon talks about them a lot. Cyrene seems like someone you would get along with rather well. Khaslana, his twin, would probably hit it off with Cipher. I guess he’s more of a little shit than Phainon is, which is saying something.”

“A twin, eh?”

Mydei knows that look. “No, Tribios. I’m not going to try and get with his twin.” 

Tribios shrugs. “Maybe if it was just his appearance you were attracted to, it would work. How different are they from one another?”

“I’ve never met him so I don’t have a clue,” Mydei looks out the window, watching as the triplets complete their snowman with cheers. “We should go out and take a look at the triplets' creation. They look proud.”

Tribios takes the subject change, but Mydei knows this isn’t the end of the conversation. She was going to pass this on to the rest of the family, he’d have to hear from all of them how he should tread carefully, that the feelings would go away once Anaxa wakes up and he doesn’t spend as much time around Phainon as he has been. 

Truth was, he didn’t want to spend less time around Phainon. It didn’t matter if they were romantically involved or forever platonic, he wanted to stay in Phainon’s life in any sort of capacity. 

He’d grow out of these feelings. Eventually. 

Khaslana raises an eyebrow. “A New Year’s Eve party. With your fake boyfriend’s family.”

“I think it sounds fun,” Cyrene looks over the official invitation in her hands, one that Phainon is sure Tribios put together just for his siblings to have. “I’m excited to meet everyone you’ve been talking about.”

When Mydei had brought over the invitations, insisting that his siblings were more than welcome to join, Phainon was stressed. This meant that the lie was getting even deeper, his siblings were now personally involved in keeping it up. He didn’t want to drag them into this more than they already were when they went to Anaxa’s apartment. 

Yet Mydei had been so insistent. “Everyone wants to meet them,” he’d said. “If you are sticking around, we’d love to get to know the people important to you.”

“They are great.” Phainon promises. The three of them sit in Phainon’s living room, Khaslana still in his work clothes while Cyrene browses over the invitation. Phainon had texted both of them to come over once they were done with work for the day, mentioning the invitations as well as another topic of discussion. 

“What’s the other thing you wanted to talk about?” Cyrene asks, setting the invitation down and reaching for her dinner. Take out from a Kremnoan place down the road, Khaslana’s treat. “You made it sound pretty urgent.”

That’s because it was. He knew that his siblings were the only people in the world that could hear this, and could give him solid advice that he could use. He almost texted Cipher about it, but stopped himself knowing that the last thing the woman needed was another conflict regarding her family. He’s done enough with that. 

“I need a promise from both of you first,” Phainon starts. “To listen, hear me out, and understand that nothing is going to come of this.”

Both of his siblings nod slowly, side eyeing on another. “Phai,” Khaslana leans forward. “What did you do?”

Phainon takes a deep breath. “Well, uh, a couple of nights ago I spent the night at Mydei’s place,” at the sound of his siblings gasping he holds a finger up. “Nothing happened, don’t start. He invited me over for dinner, I accepted because we are friends. We had some wine, I had a bit too much, and I slept in his guest room. Woke up the next day with an awful hangover but still made breakfast for the two of us before I left.”

Cyrene’s eyes narrow. “That’s it?”

“Not exactly,” Phainon readies himself. “Nothing happened, nothing will, but when I woke up that next day, I came to the realization that I may or may not have feelings for Mydei that are not platonic.”

Silence. 

Phainon looks between his siblings wide eyes, Khaslana’s mouth slightly hanging open. Cyrene sets down her food slowly. “Phainon.”

“I know,” he despairs, making himself horizontal on the couch. “I’m supposed to be in love with the guy in the coma. His friend, the guy I fucking rescued from the train tracks. I got myself into this entire mess because I had a stupid crush on Anaxa. Now I’m here, thinking about Mydei and how incredible of a chef he is, how he’s a studio musician that has apparently made a lot of songs I genuinely love, and how he’s so stupidly kind and generous. The guy who invited me over for dinner because he figured I was lonely, this completely unavailable guy who doesn’t know I’ve been lying to him for the past few weeks and doesn’t deserve this kind of deception.”

Mydei deserves so much better. Their entire family does. Phainon wishes he’d never got that stupid crush on Anaxa in the first place. 

“Phainon,” Khaslana speaks up, walking toward the couch to sit beside his twin’s head. “Look, this entire situation is ridiculous. I’m sure Mom and Dad are watching this all unfold and probably laughing their asses off. All of this could have been avoided if you had just told the truth from the start,” he sighs. “I don’t blame you one bit for having feelings for Mydei, though.”

“That’s just because you think he’s hot.”

Khaslana rolls his eyes. “ Beyond that. Phainon, it’s been forever since you’ve had anyone in your life that wasn’t me or Cyrene. Even before Mom and Dad died you didn’t really have a solid group of friends that stuck around. Now you have this group of people who treat each other like family, who took you in without a second thought, and you’ve been so much happier. ”

Had he? “I was happy before.”

“Sure you were,” Cyrene says, moving to sit on the couch as well. “It wasn’t a proper happy, though. It was a getting by happy. You did enough to get you through the day and called it enough. In reality, you were just stuck in such a routine that you didn’t think about how you were really doing,” she takes her brother’s hand, squeezing. “Watching you the past few weeks, it’s obvious you’ve been better. I don’t think I’ll be able to thank all of them enough for making you that way.”

“Anaxa never gave you a proper glance,” Khaslana continues. “Mydei did. We can’t blame you one bit for falling for the guy who has been around the past few weeks. He’s a good fit for you.”

“I can’t be with him,” Phainon whispers, feeling his throat grow tight and his eyes wet. “I’m so deep into this stupid lie. I’m supposed to be in love with Anaxa. I can’t make things worse for them by trying to be with Mydei. Hell, Mydei would turn me down in an instant.”

He’s sure of that. Mydei would never go for him if he believed he was dating Anaxa first. That’s just the kind of person Mydei was: he was good. That’s part of what Phainon fell for. 

Cyrene squeezes his hand once more, her smile gentle. “You should tell them the truth. If they are any bit of what you’ve told us, they will understand the position you were in. The longer you wait the worse it will get.”

Phainon sniffles, wiping at his eyes. “Cipher already knows. She’s known the whole time.”

“How did she react?”

“She said she was angry at first, but she understood why I did lie,” he sits up, crouching forward. “She also said she’s sure they would all forgive me, but I still don’t know if she just said that to be nice or if she meant it.”

“There’s your answer,” Khaslana declares, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him close. “Tell them. Next time you see them, be honest and yourself. If Cipher says they will accept you as you are and understand, then she’s probably right. She is their family, after all.”

Phainon spends the rest of the night thinking everything over. He knows what he needs to do at this point, as painful and scary as it was. He couldn’t keep lying to them, not with everything that has happened since this all began. It wasn’t fair to any of them, and he couldn’t keep putting them all through this, including himself. 

As he enters the hospital the next day, he thinks over the grand speech in his head. Just be honest, tell the truth in full. Promise you meant no harm, that you hope they all understand your position. Don’t cry in front of them if you can help it. 

Mydei is the first person he sees when he enters the visiting area. His hair is pulled up in a ponytail, a long sleeved sweater covering his tattoos. He looks softer, warm, and Phainon feels his heart swell at the sight of him. 

“Hey,” Mydei greets him, and Phainon feels faint. They are standing in front of one another, probably closer than they need to be, and all Phainon can think is I wouldn’t mind kissing him right now. 

“Hey,” he responds. “I need to talk to you.”

“I need to talk to you,” Mydei says. 

What did Mydei need to talk to him about? “Oh, you go first then! Mine can wait.”

There’s a muffled shout that comes from down the hallway. Both men turn to look in the direction of the noise, watching as Cipher comes bursting out of Anaxa’s room and sprints toward them. She’s staring at them with wild eyes, a gigantic smile on her face as she grabs both of their wrists. 

“He’s awake,” she exclaims. “Anaxa’s awake!”

The walk toward Anaxa’s hospital room feels similar to walking toward the gallows. The end is near, the end to this entire lie that’s been created and the end of the comfort and love that has come from Anaxa’s family. The minute Anaxa sees him and hears of the lie that’s been created while he’s been asleep he will be executed on sight, he’s sure of it. 

He wants to be happy that Anaxa’s awake, he is, because that means his family will be overjoyed. He can already see the joy in Cipher’s face when she came running towards them, the relief on Mydei’s at hearing the words awake. If Phainon was a good person, he’d be ecstatic and not thinking about how much he’s going to lose, how much better it would have been if he’d explained everything. Now they’d be hearing it from Anaxa himself. 

Mydei’s hand slides into his, tugging him closer. Anaxa’s nurse looks at Phainon approaching and looks absolutely panicked, as if it is dawning on her as well that their lie was about to blow up. Phainon shoots her a look to leave, begging her to not be around for this, and he’s grateful when she takes off down the hall. 

“Cifera, you shouldn’t be yelling down a hospital hallway, this is a place of healing,” Anaxa’s voice is rough from lack of usage, the man coughing slightly as Cipher hands him a cup of water. “Mydeimos, I thought you’d be busy with work.”

Despite being rumpled from his long sleep and definitely out of sorts, Anaxa still has that bit of beauty that Phainon remembers falling for in the first place. He doesn’t seem too annoyed by the amount of people in the room with him, giving Cipher a smile as she sets down his water cup. 

“Family is more important than my job,” Mydei argues, nudging Anaxa’s knee. “How are you feeling?”

Anaxa picks at the hospital spread covering the lower half of his body. “Agitated that I’m here. Relieved that it’s only you two that are currently visiting. How awful it would be to have to see her face upon waking up. I’d surely think I was dead and sent to hell,” he looks over at Phainon, an eyebrow raised. “Who is this man?”

Cipher looks over at Phainon, a knowing look in her eyes. “Naxy, this is Phainon.”

“Phainon,” Anaxa tests the name out. “Is this your partner, Mydeimos?”

It’s then that Phainon remembers that Mydei was holding his hand, the two of them pulling apart from one another as Anaxa observes the two of them closely. Phainon’s face burns as he scrambles to find something to say, anything to cover this. 

Luckily, Mydei says, “He’s yours, Anaxa.”

Anaxa doesn’t bother hiding his unamused snort. “Don’t be ridiculous, Mydeimos. Be honest, who is this man and why is he here with you?” His eyes squint. “Why are you all wearing winter clothing? Isn’t it a bit warm to be wearing heavy coats?”

“It’s December,” Cipher answers quietly. “Anaxa, the holidays are in just a few days. New Year’s Eve is next week.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, Cifera,” Anaxa dismisses. “It’s barely August, isn’t it?”

Mydei’s out the door before Phainon can even take that in. A nurse and a doctor come rushing in, examining Anaxa and asking too many questions for Phainon to really keep up. Amnesia is tossed around, as well as a hopeful ‘should be temporary’ that has Cipher sucking in a breath and Mydei looking even more concerned. 

Phainon shouldn’t be here. He needs to leave, let the two of them handle this alone. 

“Phainon,” Mydei’s voice rings in his ears. “Breathe, okay? Deep breaths.”

“I should leave.”

Mydei nods, looking at Cipher. “We are going to get some air,” he says, tugging Phainon out of the room and out towards the elevators. There is hardly anyone around when they get there, Phainon taking the chance to slump against the wall and attempt to breathe. “Phainon, take it easy, okay? This is a good thing, he’s awake. He’ll get his memory back.”

Phainon hates that he doesn’t want that. He should be wishing Anaxa good health, to regain his memories of the past few months. It’s not fair of him to wish for the easy way out of this. 

“If he doesn’t get his memory back, we can handle that,” Mydei continues, hand on Phainon’s shoulder and rubbing gentle circles with his thumb. “If he’s already fallen in love with you once before, he can do it again. You-” Mydei breaks off, closing his eyes. “You are pretty easy to fall in love with.”

Phainon’s heart cracks at Mydei’s words. If things were different, if this lie didn’t exist, Phainon would have loved to hear such words from him. He’d say what he wanted to before, how he’s fallen for Mydei too, but he can’t. 

“I should leave.”

“You don’t have to.”

Phainon shakes his head, pressing the button to call the elevator. “He just woke up. It might overwhelm him if I’m there when he doesn’t remember me. Give him some time.”

He doesn’t wait for Mydei’s answer when the elevator arrives, stepping on and waving farewell as the doors close before him. Tears threaten to escape his eyes as he makes his way to the parking lot, the cold winter air biting fiercely at his cheeks as he makes his way toward the bus stop. 

He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone and dialing Khaslana’s number. “Hey, can I come over to your place?”

“Say it.”

Khaslana doesn’t speak. 

Phainon huffs. “I’m an idiot and should have confessed to the lie right then and there. Say it.”

“I’m not going to make you feel worse than you already feel,” Khaslana tells him. “What kind of brother would I be to kick you when you are already down?”

There is an awful part of Phainon that wants to take Anaxa’s amnesia into advantage. This was his chance to disappear, to step off the stage he was forced upon and never speak with any of Anaxa’s family ever again. Let Anaxa never regain his memory of him by staying completely out of the picture, come up with some bullshit excuse to the rest of them that he’d rather Anaxa be left alone. He could quit his job at the train station and run off somewhere else. Khaslana did say that Janusopolis was gorgeous. 

“You are not running off,” Khaslana scowls at him. “Just take your time with this. Let them reach out to you and go from there. Everything I’ve heard about these people shows that they are a good, understanding bunch. Stop assuming the worst.”

It was easier that way. Less disappointment in the long run. “I was going to tell Mydei.”

Khaslana reaches his hand out, squeezing his shoulder. “Everything?”

Phainon lets out a laugh. “Not everything. I was going to tell him the truth, go from there I guess. I wasn’t planning on telling him about my feelings for him. That’s just something that is going to die with me.”

Nothing good would come out of confessing how he felt towards him. He was still the man who lied about his relationship with his friend. He kept up the entire lie for weeks without saying a word of it to anyone, kept adding more and more to it until he couldn’t stop. What man in their right mind would look at someone like that and want to be with them in the end?

“You’ve always been so dramatic,” Khaslana laughs, shoving him softly. “Give yourself some kindness, will ya?” From it’s place on the coffee table, Phainon’s phone vibrates. A text pops up on the lockscreen, Mydei’s name in view as Khaslana reaches forward and hands the phone off to his brother. “See? He’s probably worried about you. These are good people, Phai.”

Mydei: Anaxa wants you to come see him. He thinks it might help him remember you if you two talk. 

“He wants me to come back to the hospital and talk with Anaxa,” Phainon sighs, running a hand over his face. “I don’t even know what to do here.”

“You go to the hospital and talk to him, dumbass,” Khaslana rolls his eyes. “I can drive you there right now if you’d like. I’ll wait for you to finish up and then we can get dinner. You can’t avoid this forever.”

Phainon: Khas can give me a ride back. 

Then, before he forgets. 

Phainon: What did you want to talk to me about before?

It’s been bothering him since he’d left the hospital before. Mydei had wanted to talk to him about something, seemed rather eager about it. His golden eyes were filled with nervous energy, his regular confidence shaking. Whatever it had been had to have really made Mydei anxious to discuss. 

He waits for a response as he gets into Khaslana’s car, waits as they pull into the hospital parking lot and walk toward the main lobby. By the time the two of them are upstairs and at the intensive care unit, Mydei hasn’t responded at all. 

“I’ll wait here,” Khaslana tells him as he takes a seat in the visiting area. “Let me know if I need to get you out of there, if things are too awkward or if shit hits the fan.”

Phainon nods, looking around the visiting area. A quick scan shows that none of Anaxa’s family was currently here, most likely having gone home to get something to eat or haven’t come in to visit him just yet. At least Khaslana wouldn’t be questioned by them. 

Anaxa is sitting up in his bed when Phainon knocks on the door, waving at the man as he steps into the room. No family here either, he notes. “Hello,” he says. “I’m Phainon.”

Anaxa stares at him for a moment, slowly processing him as Phainon walks toward the chair beside the bed and takes a seat. His hair is braided today, looking clean and far less greasy than it had been the past few weeks. His skin has more color to it as well, making the man look much healthier. 

“You work at the train station here in Okhema,” Anaxa says slowly, processing. “I recognize the tattoo on your neck, now that it’s not covered by your coat.”

What an interesting tattoo. It’s what Anaxa said to him the day he fell onto the tracks. “I do! I was working the day that you fell. I rescued you.”

“That’s what Mydeimos told me,” Anaxa doesn’t look at him, avoiding eye contact as he stares at the light switch on the wall. “Apparently we’ve been dating since September.”

Phainon swallows. “About that-”

Anaxa’s hand finds Phainon’s own, their fingers intertwining as Anaxa nervously pulls Phainon closer. “I am not one for relationships. When Mydeimos and Tribios explained to me that I had found someone after my divorce I was utterly astonished. I’m married to my work, I’d say,” he looks at Phainon, his good eyes searching Phainon’s face. “I wonder what it was that made me decide on you.”

The words are not intended to be harsh, but Phainon can’t help but feel the sting. “Oh, um, I often wonder that myself! A man of your caliber has no reason to want someone like me.”

“You are awfully self depreciative,” Anaxa notes, making Phainon blush in embarrassment. “At least I didn’t fall for someone full of themselves. Tell me, what was our first date like? Did you plan the whole thing or did I?”

This wasn’t something Phainon had planned on discussing. Nothing about this fake relationship had a backstory or any sort of explanation he could have passed on to people. Anaxa’s family never once asked such questions beyond how they met, so he didn’t feel the need to come up with something. 

This was the perfect opportunity to put everything out there. He needed to. 

“Or perhaps,” Anaxa continues, his hand sliding out of Phainon’s and resting back onto his lap. “This is just some idiotic ploy set forth by my family and you just so happened to be dragged into it. I don’t like being played a fool, Phainon.”

There it was. The opening he needed. 

“My parents raised me to be completely honest and truthful,” Phainon starts. “I do want to admit that yes, we did meet at the Okhema train station, and yes, I do work there. You came by a lot for travel purposes and it was around those times that I grew a crush on you. You would talk to me about your days at the university sometimes, other times you would simply take your ticket and carry on with your day. I cherished the days you would stop and tell me about your life. One day you went on and on about the dromas at the local zoo you went to see because I mentioned that I liked the pin of one on your work bag.”

Anaxa smiles at the mention of the pin, subtle but there. “I’m incredibly sorry that I don’t remember you. I remember pieces, like your tattoo, but anything beyond a platonic connection does not exist in my mind.”

A few weeks ago those words would have hurt. Being rejected was never fun, especially by someone Phainon crushed on rather hard. Today it’s sobering. It tells Phainon that he was right in letting go of dumb fantasies about being with the hot professor that came through his work on occasion. It’s almost a relief that there wasn’t an inkling of something there, making it much easier to move past this and carry on with his life. 

Of course, it would have been easier if things had ended there. Phainon would have got up, apologized and said that he wouldn’t be coming by anymore and that he was correct, they did not know one another. He would leave and things would come to a conclusion. 

Instead he’s stunned by Anaxa leaning forward and pressing his lips against his. 

Mydei: I was going to tell you that I’m in love with you. 

Nope, not that. 

Mydei: I was going to say that you should not be with Anaxa and you should be with me instead. 

Over a text? That didn’t make him sound pathetic at all. 

Mydei: Do you feel a connection between us or did I just make everything up in my head?

“You’ve been erasing messages for quite some time,” Anaxa points out as he picks at his hospital dinner, grimacing at the rather lackluster serving before him. “Is something the matter?”

Yes, I’ve fallen in love with your boyfriend. “No, just work matters I don’t want to deal with,” he puts his phone away, leaning back in the uncomfortable hospital chair. “Doctors said they should be discharging you tomorrow if things go well. How are you feeling about that?”

“Relieved,” Anaxa reaches for his water glass, taking a long drink. “I can have actual food rather than this garbage they’ve been providing. Then again, if the train had taken me out I’d probably be dining on tube feed, so I guess we take our small victories.” 

“I’m glad you weren’t hit by a train,” Mydei chuckles. “You have Phainon to thank for that. Did he visit you earlier today?”

“Indeed he did,” Anaxa sighs. “How did I break the news to all of you that I was dating again?”

Mydei snorts. “You didn’t. I came back from Penacony the night you were pushed onto the tracks just to find you in a coma and with a boyfriend. None of us were told, apparently.” He leans forward. “Phainon is a great guy, though. You got a good one in him.”

“Yet it’s strange that I wouldn’t at least show off something such as that to Aglaea,” Anaxa ponders. “Yet when he visited me earlier, there was nothing within me that felt any sort of attraction to him. This man saved me from being killed and yet I look at him and feel absolutely nothing.”

Mydei can’t fault him for that. Still, he couldn’t imagine not feeling anything towards Phainon at first glance. The man was beautiful, not to mention one of the kindest souls Mydei has ever encountered. “You have no memory of your relationship with him, of course you don’t feel anything. It’s going to take some time to get those memories back.”

“I kissed him,” Anaxa continues, and Mydei’s heart plummets to the pit of his stomach. “As an experiment, to see if that would wake something up. Yet once again there was nothing there. If I was enthralled enough with this man to hide him from the people I care about most, shouldn’t that have aroused something in me?”

There’s a traitorous voice in Mydei’s head screaming at him. This is your chance to break them up. Phainon could easily be yours if you push for it. If Anaxa never remembers Phainon at all, if he can’t bring himself to fall back in love with him or even get his memories back about all of their time together?

Anaxa was his friend, no, his family. Mydei would never do that to someone he cared about. He wasn’t a selfish person to start with. Phainon chose Anaxa for a reason, and Mydei wasn’t about to tear that apart over his own selfish desires. 

“Get to know him again,” Mydei says. “He’s an incredible person with a big heart. He’s hilarious, really listens to a person and makes them feel special with his attention to detail. He cares so much about others that he often forgets about himself? He wants to own a dog someday, which might conflict with Cerces but it’s because his parents never let him have one growing up-”

“You seem to be a bigger fan of my boyfriend than me,” Anaxa furrows his brows. “I guess I should thank you for keeping such company in my stead?”

Mydei fights back embarrassment over his rambling. “He’s bringing his siblings to the New Year’s party. That would be a perfect time to get to know him again, with his family around.”

There’s an awkward silence that follows before Mydei gets up, sliding his coat back on as Anaxa reaches forward to grab his wrist. His voice is tired as he says, “I’ll try and remember him, Mydeimos.”

“I know.” Mydei gives him a quick farewell as he steps into the hallway. 

 I just don’t want you to. 

Cyrene looks like she wants to smack him. Khaslana appears to be in a similar boat as he sets down the piece of paper he’s been handed, running a hand over his face and shaking his head as an annoyed groan escapes his lips. 

“I like to think you were the smarter twin,” Khaslana speaks up. “Why do you choose to prove me wrong?”

“That is your fault for making an assumption,” Phainon argues, taking back the piece of paper and smoothing it down onto the table. He narrowly misses knocking over his cup of coffee, thankfully not spilling it all over his siblings. “I didn’t say it was a great plan.” 

“Good, because it isn’t,” Cyrene scowls, picking off a piece of her muffin and popping it into her mouth. “Vanishing without a trace only works in those terrible movies dad used to make us watch. This is the real world, Phainon, they can find you.”

They chose to meet up at a local cafe a couple of days after Phainon’s visit with Anaxa. It was the only time Cyrene could be available, the last minute holiday rush keeping her busy with work until now. Phainon had insisted that he had a plan to put this terrible performance of his to an end, needing his siblings' suggestions to really put it into action. 

Of course they were trampling all over it. 

“Doesn’t Mydei know where you work?” Khaslana mentions. “Not to mention where you live? He looks like a guy that could hunt you down and make you pay for hurting the people he cares about. Do you really want to piss him off?”

“What part of ‘tell the truth’ has you so lost?” Cyrene demands. “Anaxa gave you a freaking out and you still didn’t take it! Now you just want to ditch town and never come back in the hopes this all blows over?”

“As opposed to what?” Phainon challenges. “I go up to Anaxa at this New Year’s party, tell him that his kissing skills were awful and that I’d rather be making out with Mydei?”

Khaslana shrugs. “I mean, that would be the truth, wouldn’t it?” Cyrene and Phainon both turn to glare at him, making the man chuckle into his own coffee cup. “Really though, Phai, all of us will be at the New Year’s party. It’s the best chance you have at owning up to this. We will be there to support you and take you home afterward, help you forget about this whole thing, and life goes on.”

Phainon slumps into his chair, reaching for his half empty cup. “I’d rather ditch town than imagine the disappointed look on their faces. Tribios is going to burst into tears. Aglaea is going to slit my throat. Mydei won’t ever want to speak to me again.” 

He hates that losing Mydei was the worst part of this. He doesn’t want to lose any of the people he’s come to know, but Mydei especially twists the knife. He’s grown so fond of him, so used to texting him nearly every day and being around him that imagining him not being in his life was painful. 

Why couldn’t it have been Mydei that had come to the train station? Would things have played out differently? 

“The New Year’s party is tomorrow,” Cyrene reminds him, crumpling up his plan and tossing it into a nearby trash can. He doesn’t bother fighting back. “It’s time to face the music, Phainon.”

“Don’t forget, it is the season of forgiveness,” Khaslana points out, downing the rest of his coffee in one big swig. “Everything is going to work out in your favor, I promise you.”

Aglaea’s house is absolutely stunning. From the moment Khaslana pulls into the gated pathway and drives down toward the house Phainon is in absolute awe of it all. The house is surrounded by acres and acres of land, all well taken care of by the look of the various trees and the perfectly shoveled pathways. He’s pretty sure he can see a large guesthouse in the back, as well as a heated pool. 

“I looked into her, you know,” Cyrene says, taking in the surrounding land herself. “Aglaea Mnestia. She’s an extremely famous fashion designer. Of course you wouldn’t know her given your complete lack of fashion sense.”

They pull into a large driveway with several other cars already there, Phainon recognizing Mydei’s right away. Cipher greets them at the door as they pile in, a glass of champagne in her hand already as she introduces herself to Cyrene and Khaslana before pulling Phainon off to the side. 

“Have you figured out what you are going to do yet?” She whispers, keeping her arm around Phainon’s shoulders the best she can with her height. “I can only cover for so long, but this can’t keep going, dude.”

“I know,” Phainon assures her, looking around the room to make sure no one can overhear them. “I tried telling Anaxa at the hospital, but then he kissed me out of nowhere and insisted that he could try and fall in love with me and I didn’t know what to do, okay?”

Cipher pulls a face. “Can’t believe he was bold enough for that. Whatever, we need to get a game plan going that gets you out of this as fast as possible, okay? Of course, we are going to do that after the party so we don’t kill the vibe.”

Right. Let the good spirits stay and worry about the inevitable doom later. Tonight they could pretend that the lie doesn’t exist and simply have a good time with a few drinks and wonderful company. Phainon could pull that off easily enough. 

The two of them walk back to the main area where the rest of the family sits around, each with a drink in their hand and smiling as they talk amongst one another. Cyrene seems to be getting along with Tribios and Hyacine, while Castorice and Aglaea look rather amused with Khaslana. Mydei stands off to the side, nursing his own glass of champagne while looking around in hopes of something interesting coming along. 

When he locks eyes with Phainon, his face softens. 

“Found you,” Mydei welcomes him, looking back at the party. “Saw Cipher pull you away and worried for a second. Is everything okay?”

Phainon nods, trying his best to keep some sort of distance between him and Mydei. “Yes! Have you met my siblings yet? At least been introduced to them?”

“Khaslana approached me first thing,” Mydei chuckles, taking another drink of champagne. “He’s a bit forward, isn’t he?”

“Always has been,” Phainon admits, watching as he charms Aglaea and Castorice. “He’s more of a people person than I am, which is saying something.”

There’s a pregnant pause. Phainon isn’t quite sure what to say as he looks around the room for any sign of Anaxa, noticing that he’s the only one missing from the party as the rest all continue to chat amongst one another. Even Cipher has rejoined them, handing a glass to Cyrene with a wink. “Where’s Anaxa?”

“Upstairs,” Mydei tells him, looking up the winding set of stairs. “He had a phone call to make before he could come down and join us. Most likely with the university about him coming back after the winter break.”

That would make sense. The university was probably overjoyed that he was alive and in good health now. “Couldn’t leave work alone for even a second, could he?”

Mydei opens his mouth, most likely a sarcastic retort, but both men are pulled away by Cipher grinning at the two of them, pointing above their heads. “Well, well, well, looks like the two of you have been caught under the mistletoe! How strange that such a decoration still remains up even after the holiday has ended!”

“What?” Mydei looks up at the doorway they stand under, noticing the little plant dangling just above their heads. “Does that even count if it isn’t before or on the holiday?”

“I believe it’s bad luck all year round to ignore it,” Hyacine chimes in, looking rather amused as she looks between the two of them. “Just a quick peck to keep in good spirits, hm? Wouldn’t want to ring in the New Year with bad luck, do you?”

Phainon wants to assure them that it doesn’t really matter but Mydei is already stepping closer, hand behind Phainon’s neck as he pulls him close to him. His breath brushes against Phainon’s lips as he moves closer, Phainon bracing himself as Mydei closes the distance between them fully and presses their lips together in a quick, chaste kiss. It’s over just as quickly as it begun, Mydei blinking at him for a moment before the room bursts into cheers around them, including someone clapping from behind them on the staircase.

“Good to see that everyone is having a good time,” Anaxa comments, standing beside Phainon with an amused smile. “Glad you could make it, Phainon. How about I show you around the house, hm? After all, this place used to be mine before the divorce.”

“Yet you chose to live in the tiny apartment,” Mydei teases, stepping away. There’s a longing look in his eyes as he glances back at Phainon before he vanishes into the living room, Anaxa pulling Phainon away to begin the tour of the house. Phainon finds himself looking back toward Mydei, still processing the tingle on his lips and the fact that he actually kissed Mydei. 

Anaxa seems to be giving his best effort into humouring Phainon during the tour, holding his hand as they walk around the house. He doesn’t try to kiss him again, thank Titans, but he does attempt at some affection as they go around viewing expensive artwork along the walls and checking out various different rooms reserved for guests. 

Dinner is absolutely incredible. Mydei gave Aglaea’s personal chef the night off and prepared everything himself, with a little help from Castorice. She tells the table how she’s been trying to be a better cook, raves about how wonderful of a teacher Mydei is. Tribios talks about her triplets, who were with a babysitter tonight but promises Phainon that he would meet them soon enough. Cipher discusses New Year’s resolutions, Aglaea mentions a future trip out to the Xianzhou for a fashion week. Cyrene and Khaslana even kickstart conversations about traditions regarding holidays and how they are honored to have been invited. 

Hyacine stands after everyone has cleaned their plates, tapping her cutlery against her glass. “I would like to make a toast, if everyone doesn’t mind?” The family all settles down, turning their attention to her as she clears her throat. “It’s always an honor to be invited to such an event here every New Year, especially with our three new guests joining us! I know it’s been a hard few weeks for us all, so it’s lovely to see that we can all be together to ring in the brand new year together.” She turns to look at Anaxa. “Professor, I’m so glad that you are in better health and back with us. It truly is a holiday miracle.”

“Oh, no need for that,” Anaxa rolls his eyes, though Phainon can hear the fondness in his voice. 

“It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t also thank Phainon,” Hyacine continues. “You are the reason Professor Anaxa can be here with us tonight. I’m not sure how all of us could ever repay you for making sure he was safe and pulling him from those tracks. I hope you know that from here on out, you will always be welcome into our family.”

Phainon feels like he’s going to throw up. Guilt wraps around his throat in a vice, choking him as he looks around the room as everyone smiles at him, applauding Hyacine’s speech and thanking him. He can’t breathe as he looks around the room, his eyes finally landing on Mydei as he gasps out, “I can’t.”

Anaxa blinks at him. “You can’t what?”

Here it is. “This isn’t right,” Phainon fumbles with his words, trying his hardest to breathe. “I can’t be doing this with you all. I’m so, so very sorry,” he gets up from his chair, ignoring Anaxa reaching out for him to steady him. “I’m not someone you should be thanking, not at all.”

“Phainon,” Mydei’s voice is quiet. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not dating Anaxagoras,” Phainon finally lets it out. “We’ve never been dating. His nurse only said that we were because I wanted to make sure he was okay the day I pulled him from the tracks, and they would only allow family to visit. I wasn’t expecting her to tell all of you that I was Anaxa’s boyfriend, and then everything went completely out of control,” He breaks off, trying his hardest not to cry as he looks around at all of them, at their shocked stares and open mouths. “You were all so kind to me, and for the first time since my parents died I felt like I belonged. It’s been so long since I’ve had anything nice, and I wanted to selfishly hold onto it for as long as I could.”

He looks at Cyrene and Khaslana, both of them stunned. Tribios has tears in her eyes. Aglaea’s hand is covering her mouth. Cipher is giving him a look of pity that has him tearing his eyes away from her, only for them to land on Mydei. 

“Mydei-” He cuts himself off, stepping backward. The man looks heartbroken, confused as his golden eyes search Phainon’s for something, anything to tell him that this wasn’t real. “I’m, I’ll leave. I need to go. I’m so, so sorry for everything.”

He doesn’t wait for Cyrene and Khaslana before he’s heading towards the front door, stepping out into the cold, frigid air. He doesn’t wait for them to call out after him before he’s taking off towards the main road, wiping furiously at his eyes as he tries to figure out just which direction he needs to take to get back home. 

He doesn’t know how long he’s been walking when he hears a car pull along beside him. Part of him wonders if it’s Cipher, maybe Tribios, coming after him. Part of him hopes that it’s Mydei, looking for answers but willing to listen and accept Phainon. 

Instead he sees his siblings, both of them looking at him with concern as Cyrene opens the passenger side door. “Get in,” she asks, holding out her hand. “You’ll freeze to death before you get back to Okhema.”

Phainon sniffles, sliding into the car and closing the door before he fully breaks down in the passenger seat. Cyrene wraps her arms around him, allowing him to sob fully into her shoulder as Khaslana drives them back into Okhema, unshed tears of his own sitting in his eyes for his brother’s pain. 

“Everything will be okay,” Khaslana assures him, voice cracking. 

Phainon wishes he could believe him. 

Life carries on. It’s a brand new year now, the holidays officially behind them. Phainon spent his New Year’s Eve with Cyrene and Khaslana at his own apartment, trying his hardest not to keep crying as they rang in the New Year with cheap beer and whispers of ‘everything will be alright’. 

Phainon spent all of New Year’s Day locked in his apartment alone, lying in his bedroom with his phone shut off and staring at the ceiling. He cries most of the day too, knowing holding it all in won’t grant him any favors. Getting things out was healthy, even if it did leave him slightly dehydrated. 

The day after he’s back at work in his tiny little booth, trying not to freeze to death as he kicks at the small heater hoping it would start working again. He waves as people pass by, tries to keep a smile on his face when he hands others their tickets and wishes them a happy new year. 

He’s never going to get another funny text from Cipher again. Tribios wasn’t going to send him funny memes with a text saying ‘hope this makes you smile!’. He was going to have to hide the wine bottle Castorice gave him so he doesn’t have to look at it and burst into tears again. Mydei wasn’t going to invite him over for dinner anymore, or ask him how his day was, or give him a smile so radiant that Phainon is nearly blinded by it. 

He can’t be crying at work. He wipes at his eyes, setting his head down and allowing the cold surface of the counter bring him back to the real world. 

That’s when there’s a small tap on the glass window. 

Phainon looks up, startled when he sees what has to be a miniature version of Tribios standing before him. It’s even more startling when two more appear behind her, all looking at him curiously. The one in front wears a big smile, one of her teeth missing. The one just behind her has this mischievous grin on her face, waving at him as if she’s always known who he was. The other shyly waves as well, a tiny smile on her face. 

“Um, hello?” He greets them, looking around. “Where are your parents?”

“Their mother is parking the car,” A familiar voice says, approaching the booth and standing just behind the triplets. “These three just got too excited and ran ahead.”

It’s Mydei. He’s really there, standing just behind three adorable little girls in his peacoat and his hair pulls back once again in a messy ponytail, strands of hair framing his face. He’s smiling, looking at Phainon with amusement as Phainon wipes at his eyes and struggles to figure out if this is really happening or if he’s losing it. 

“Mydei,” Phainon whispers. 

“I tried calling you,” Mydei says. 

“My phone is turned off.”

“Figured as much. You do know that people who care about you can’t get a hold of you when you do that.”

Phainon laughs. “Guess I should turn it back on then, hm?”

The amount of notifications that pour in is staggering. Voicemails, text messages, all from various different people. Anaxa, Aglaea, Cipher, Castorice, Tribios, even Hyacine. There are several from Mydei too. Phainon doesn’t read all of them, but he can see ‘we’re not mad’ and ‘please come back, we’re worried’. 

“After Cyrene and Khaslana left, we all tried going after you,” Mydei tells him. “Khaslana drives like a maniac, you know. All of you were gone so fast we didn’t know what to do. Then you wouldn’t answer your phone. Tribios was worried something happened, Hyacine insisted you were just processing. Luckily, I know where you work so I could hunt you down.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I also never answered your text,” Mydei continues. “You asked me what I wanted to talk to you about before Anaxa woke up.”

Phainon can’t help the smile that pulls at the corners of his mouth. He has a feeling he knows where this is going. “I did.”

“I was going to ask you if you truly had feelings for Anaxa,” Mydei breathes out, his breath coming out in a little cloud. 

Phainon shakes his head. “I don’t. I mean, I did, but that was before,” He takes a deep breath. “That was before I met and fell in love with you.”

Mydei looks relieved at the answer, eyes sparkling. “Well, that’s good then, because I’m here to tell you that I’ve fallen in love with you too.”

Phainon can feel his heart exploding in his chest. This had to be a dream, didn’t it? He actually passed out on the side of the road when he left Aglaea’s and he’s currently dreaming of the ending he couldn’t have possibly been able to achieve. 

“Now, how about you come out of the booth so I can kiss you properly, no mistletoe this time?”

Phainon nods, getting up from his chair and rushing toward the door of the booth. He’s startled to find Mydei already there, looking hopeful as Phainon reaches forward and pulls the man into him, kissing him properly on the mouth with his arms around Mydei’s neck. All of his nerves are on fire as he kisses Mydei fervently, both of them laughing into each other’s mouths in pure joy. 

“Ew!” The triplets say in harmony, Mydei laughing into his mouth as he continues to hold him close, kissing his lips over and over. Phainon is practically fused to him with how close they are, the winter air no match to the heat between them. 

“So,” Mydei breathes against Phainon’s mouth. “When do you get off?”

Phainon grins. “That’s up to you, don’t you think?” He laughs as Mydei rolls his eyes, kissing him again. “Fine, fine, in about an hour, okay? Think you can manage?”

“Think you can manage?” Mydei teases back, pulling away from him but keeping his hands on Phainon’s waist. “I guess I’ll wait for you. Triplets want to go to a nearby park anyways. I’ll see you in an hour then?”

Phainon nods, one last kiss being pressed to Mydei’s lips. “An hour it is.”

Five Years Later

They were definitely running late. Phainon was already counting down the minutes until he would be receiving an annoyed text from Aglaea demanding to know what was holding them up. 

“What’s taking you so long?” Phainon asks through the door of their bedroom. 

He was all ready to go: dressed, hair somewhat styled, food and late holiday gifts packed away into Mydei’s car. The weather wasn’t going to be holding them up this year thankfully and the roads were completely plowed, leaving a clear pathway out to Aglaea’s home. If you asked Phainon, this New Year’s party was shaping up to go over rather swimmingly. 

That was, of course, if his boyfriend would finish getting ready. 

Mydei opens the door to their bedroom a minute later, adjusting the sleeves of his jacket. He smells strongly of the cologne Phainon bought him for his birthday, the neckline of his shirt slightly lower than usual to showcase his chest tattoo. His hair is down, a singular braid resting against his collarbone. “Sorry, I was checking last minute things.”

Phainon doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to just how gorgeous Mydei was. They’ve been together for five years now, living together for three of them, and he still hasn’t got over the fact that all of this was his. Mydei, this magnificent penthouse, their life together that Phainon never even imagined being possible. 

“No worries,” Phainon assures him, reaching forward to touch the singular braid in Mydei’s hair. “You look incredible, Mydeimos.”

Mydei reaches forward, pressing a soft kiss to Phainon’s lips. “As do you, Phainon. Let’s get going, shall we? I’ve already received a text from Khaslana telling us that everyone is getting impatient with us.”

Their family has grown in the past five years. Khaslana and Cyrene were welcomed with open arms after the first year, despite how disastrous it was. Then came Khaslana’s girlfriend, Stelle, as well as a couple of her friends. Cyrene had joked that it was only a matter of time until children started being welcomed into the mix, something that Khaslana shot down almost immediately. 

“We need to work on getting Hyacine and Dan Heng talking,” Phainon brings up on the way there, flicking through radio stations. “I really think the two of them could be a cute couple, don’t you think? She’s always blushing around him and he needs to break out of that whole stoic act he keeps putting on.”

Mydei raises an eyebrow, keeping his eyes on the road. “Last I remember Dan Heng had a boyfriend, didn’t he?”

“They broke up over the summer,” Phainon explains. “Stelle said it was an unhealthy relationship, so he needs stability and someone willing to treat him right. I do think Hyacine would be perfect for that!”

“I think you should stay back and not play matchmaker,” Mydei argues. “Let them figure things out on their own, hm?”

Phainon huffs, crossing his arms against his chest. “I make no promises.”

The house is bustling with life when they finally arrive, being pulled into large hugs and scoldings of ‘about damn times’ going around as they shuffle in. Khaslana and Cipher help haul things in while the rest of the party finishes setting up the dinner table and giving their own greetings to the couple. 

Phainon has just finished greeting Aglaea when Anaxa comes around the corner, holding out his hand. “Always good to see you, Phainon.”

“Likewise,” Phainon greets, shaking Anaxa’s hand. After five years of knowing each other now, Anaxa still wasn’t a fan of physical affection. Not that Phainon minded, of course. He was far  past wanting anything physical from the man. He was simply grateful Anaxa wanted to be in the same room as him. “How have you been? Has the school year been easy on you?”

Anaxa scoffs. “Hardly. This semester’s students seem to have no aspirations and continue to give me migraines with their ridiculous questions.” He waves a dismissive hand in the air. “That aside, how has flight school been treating you? Mydeimos has said you’ve nearly completed everything, correct?”

Phainon’s grateful that after everything that happened five years ago, his relationship with Anaxa wasn’t fractured. The two of them finally got to know each other properly, despite the awkwardness that lingered in the first few months. Now he considered Anaxa family, sharing life stories with him as well as dinners and holidays. 

“I’m very close, yeah,” Phainon beams. “Just a few more flight hours to be logged and I’ll be able to get my license. I’m hoping to apply to be Mydei’s private pilot, actually, now that he’s thinking about branching out into his own stuff.”

“The two of you will be able to see each other, at least,” Anaxa commends. “With that wrapping up, have the two of you thought about marriage yet?”

They’ve discussed it, certainly. Phainon knows that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Mydei. The past five years have been the happiest he’s been since the death of his parents. The two of them have created a life together that Phainon couldn’t imagine creating with anyone else. He’s dropped various hints at his boyfriend that he wouldn’t mind having a long engagement while they figured things out either. 

In the end, as long as he’s with Mydei, he’s willing to wait. 

“We’ve talked about it,” Phainon shares, following Anaxa into the living room where the rest of the party resides. “I’m thinking of getting a ring once flight school is finished.”

“A ring, you say?” Cipher sneaks up from behind, grinning mischeviously. “Are you finally going to marry our dear Mydeimos?”

Anaxa turns to face the girl, a finger pressed to his lips. “Please keep your voice down, Cifera. We don’t need to spoil the surprise, do we?”

Cipher makes the motion of zipping her lips shut, chuckling. “Please, as if I would ruin things for Mydei,” she raises an eyebrow at Phainon. “Are you planning on proposing tonight or something?”

Phainon laughs awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. “No! No, not tonight. Like I told Anaxa, I’m not planning anything until flight school is finished. That way all my focus can be on planning the best wedding possible for him. It’s what he deserves, after all.”

He meets back up with Mydei once dinner is set on the table and everyone has taken their seats. “Saved you a seat,” Mydei jokes, pulling out the chair beside him for Phainon. 

“Thank you, love,” Phainon grins, kissing Mydei’s temple as he sits down. He looks around the table as everyone gathers around, only to raise an eyebrow at the unknown person sitting beside Anaxa. “Um, who is that?”

Mydei follows his line of sight toward Anaxa, a grin spreading across his face. “So much for no relationships, huh?” 

Anaxa shoots him a glare, the person beside him blushing and looking down into his lap. “Please, Mydeimos, if you would wait a moment I could introduce him to you,” he looks over at his partner, taking his hand into his. “This is Sunday, I’ve been seeing him for a couple of months now.”

Hyacine gasps excitedly. “Oh, that’s wonderful Professor! I’m happy to see that you found someone.”

“Thank you, Hyacine,” Anaxa nods, Phainon swearing there is a bit of blush on his cheeks. “Now, let’s eat, shall we? Take the focus away from me. That’s not what we are all gathered here for.”

The rest of the table seems to hide their smiles as they begin to eat, Phainon giving Anaxa a not so subtle thumbs up before digging in. He’s happy for him, for finding someone. He certainly looks happier, with the subtle glances he gives Sunday and the occasional blush that dusts both of their cheeks. It was definitely a new relationship, but Phainon hopes it lasts. 

The rest of the night goes by quickly, much to Phainon’s disappointment. It’s gatherings like this that he cherishes, as they come so few and far between anymore with how busy all of them have become. Most of the night is spent playing party games and humiliating each other during them, getting a rise out of Anaxa when he fails as well as pushing Khaslana’s buttons just so he could embarrass his brother in front of his girlfriend. By the time midnight approaches Phainon’s heart feels full, all of them gathering around on the balcony outside as they look towards the fireworks set up Aglaea arranged for the minute the clock strikes twelve. 

Phainon approaches Mydei off toward the side, where he leans against the railing staring off into the distance. “Hey,” he speaks up, not wanting to startle him. “You’ve been acting nervous for the past couple of hours. Is everything alright?”

Mydei nods, taking Phainon’s hand in his and pressing his knuckles to his lips. “I’m okay. Just have a lot of thoughts going through my head,” he turns toward Phainon, fondness glistening in those golden eyes Phainon adores so much. “Can I ask you something?”

“Anything.”

Mydei’s thumb traces over his knuckles, his golden eyes never leaving Phainon’s blue as he slowly lowers himself down onto one knee. Phainon releases a surprised noise, warm pooling into the corners of his eyes as Mydei shakily breathes out, “Were you serious about wanting to plan the best possible wedding for us?”

From around them their family lets out surprised gasps, but Phainon’s attention never wavers from Mydei. This man, who came into his life unexpectedly and became such an important figure in it, who loved him through so much chaos and miscommunications. The man he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, no matter what came their way. 

The man who asks him, “Will you marry me, Phainon?”

To which he responds, without a moment’s hesitation, “Of course I will, Mydeimos.”

Whether or not it was planned, or if it all was just a coincidence, the fireworks shooting off in the background as Phainon pulls Mydei into a kiss feels like the end of a cheesy movie. Their family cheers all around them as the New Year is rung in, all while Phainon continues to lose himself to his now fiance, trying to keep his happy tears at bay as Mydei pulls back and cups his face in his hands. 

“I love you,” Mydei grins, thumbs swiping away escaped tears. His own shine brightly in his eyes, making Phainon lean forward to kiss them away. 

“I love you too,” Phainon tells him, kissing him once more underneath the roar of fireworks. 

From behind them, Sunday smiles at the emotional display. “I’d love to hear their story. How exactly did the two of them meet?”

Anaxa snorts, unable to fight the smile on his face. “How should I know? They met while I was sleeping.”