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Mydei supposed that, after a while, he would get used to Aventurine popping up randomly in his house now. 

He didn’t. 

He was still startled when he entered the house and found Aventurine on a barstool in his kitchen, helping himself to a glass of Ambrosia in a clear tea mug, even though it was 10 in the morning. He didn’t turn to greet him; his lavender eyes, now framed with what Mydei suspected was a new pair of reading glasses, were far more focused on writing something down on his tablet. 

How the fuck did he even enter the property when neither Mydei nor Phainon was home?

“Aventurine, what the fuck?” Mydei asked grumpily as he stepped into his house; the sole of his boots stomping loudly on the marble floor to announce his arrival. 

“Hold that thought, Mydeimos. I know I look fresh and intelligent buuuttt I’m just in the middle of something here,” he said, without looking up from whatever was on his tablet. 

He tapped his fingers a few more times on the gadget, then tilted his head to look at him.

“Now, hello, Megastar,” Aventurine smiled, all pearly teeth, eyes softened in a gentle, humble gaze, with a confidence that told you everything would be alright. The world is healing. Inflation would decline, and everlasting peace would happen. 

He’s getting good at that particular brand of manipulation.

Mydei had a suspicion that Aventurine’s closeness to Phainon had anything to do with it; he got a front row seat on what “total genuineness” would look like, after all. As much as Mydei didn’t want to admit it, Aventurine was a quick learner, and he never hesitated to use it against them. 

What a prick. 

“Please, go ahead with those praises you would sing to me again. It’s the reading glasses, isn’t it? I look good in these, yeah? It’s Juliet’s idea. She thinks I’m smart, obviously, and she said that these glasses just make me look the part. Thank you so much for noticing, by the way. What keen eyes you have, as expected from the dear husband of our lovely Phainon Khaslana.”

Mydei scoffed, refusing to say anything to Aventurine’s self-compliment. He knew what this little guy was playing; he was trying to distract Mydei through random chatter to weaken his defense before Aventurine dropped something bigger on his head. 

After all, it was always the case whenever he came to hang out in their house. 

Which circled him back to his original question: how the fuck did Aventurine even enter their empty house?

“How the hell did you get in here?” he asked, placing the bag of groceries on the dining table away from Aventurine, afraid that he would take it hostage and use it against Mydei, too. As far as he knew, Aventurine didn’t like kitchens, but you could never be careful around him. 

Aventurine smiled wider, and Mydei was 100% sure now that he had something in mind.

Something big.

And he had a feeling that somehow Phainon had something to do with it.

“Oh, Phainon gave me the passcode combination to your front door,” he said nonchalantly, and Mydei almost groaned. Phainon really had to be careful about these kinds of things. “I called him to say that I want to stop by to deliver him a surprise I mentioned to him a week ago. He said he was on his way home, so I could wait inside and help myself to anything on the wine shelf while I wait,” he said, with a bright, pearly smile as he patted a box wrapped in a sky blue wrapper on top of the kitchen island.

Huh. 

“I’m surprised you deliver here in person, considering how busy you are,” Mydei said. “You could have just placed that in the mailbox or dropped it by the receptionist. Or I don’t know, ask Klaris or whoever worked under you to deliver it.” 

Aventurine blinked. “I could,” he said. “But I miss my friends so much, so this is better, don’t you think?”

Mydei frowned. “Or, let me guess,” he said while placing the meat and spices he bought on the table. “ It’s not just an ordinary gift. It’s an expensive bribe to make us do whatever you want. So let me ask again, what wicked thing do you want from us this time, Aventurine?” 

Aventurine’s smile didn’t falter. He didn’t even flinch, even as Mydei glared at him. That man was insane, Mydei knew as much, and, according to Phainon, Aventurine took his negotiation with Mydei as a cute banter and a fun game. He probably saw Mydei as the embodiment of a gambling game or something, which made Mydei feel a little uneasy.

It almost made Mydei think he should have stuck with Aglaea’s PR firm as his personal representative. This bastard was far too annoying to work with; it almost made all the benefits of working with him not worth it. 

Almost. 

“Come on, Sweet little Lion. Why do you always think that I have something wicked in mind whenever I approach you?” Aventurine asked. “Can’t I just visit as a good friend?”

“You’re not a friend.”

“Phainon seemed to think so.”

“Phainon is a dumbass,” Mydei furrowed his brows. “What do you want?”

Aventurine twisted his lips into a fake, overdramatic expression of offense. “Being a kind person sure is tough these days,” he sighed. “I genuinely come here to deliver a gift for Phainon, expecting nothing in return, I assure you. It’s not even expensive. Do you see how small the box is?”

“Right.”

“I do have real business to talk about with you, though,”

Yep. There it was. 

“Not interested,” Mydei said. 

Aventurine hummed, but he did not let his eyes go from Mydei. He only smiled, waiting for Mydei’s curiosity to get the better of him and ask about it, anyway. Mydei could easily see through him. He had been watching Aventurine’s moves very, very closely during the fake-dating. He’s not as hard-to-guess mad genius he branded himself to be. 

And Mydei wouldn’t let him get his way. 

If Aventurine was gonna wait and let the silence stretch to make Mydei feel uncomfortable and fill it with questions, then he’s going to wait for a looooong time. 

Mydei focused on unpacking his groceries. The click of cabinets and the thud of containers filled the silence, underscored by Aventurine’s rhythmic tapping on the marble.

“Alright, fine,” Aventurine said, finally. He was still smiling, but there was a twitch in his eyes. 

Mydei mentally patted himself. Great. He’d won this round.

“Mydeimos, did you remember your cameo in The Flame Chasers?” 

Mydei only grunted.

Of course, that one episode in which Cyrene and Phainon very persuasively asked Mydei to star, fifteen minutes total airtime as the rockstar whose bandmates were possessed by the black tide. 

“Cyrene wrote that character based on me,” Mydei said. “It was hardly acting. I was just starring as myself, for all I know.” 

“Which was a spectacular performance, I assure you. Though I’m still a bit annoyed at you accepting his offers, despite knowing my real feelings about any of you, my best friends, working with that snake…”

“I did it for Cyrene, not Sugilite,” Mydei said, purposefully mentioning that name to annoy Aventurine. The smiley facade cracked with a twitch of Aventurine’s left eye. It was a small change, but Mydei was satisfied, regardless. Noting it as his another win. “And I don’t owe you anything.”

“Nope, and I’m not here to collect debts or make any fuss about it. I’m merely here to praise you, and let you know that the one episode of airtime inspired us to do something wonderful,” Aventurine let out a fake innocent smile. 

Mydei had to let Aventurine know somehow that such an effort is wasted on him. It wouldn’t work. Aventurine could have just cut to the chase and told Mydei what he wanted. 

“You know Lady Bonajade, right? The very esteemed chairwoman of the IPC. My boss. The woman that even that bastard Sugilite reports to.”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

At that, Aventurine widened his eyes. 

“Wait, what? You don’t know her? The Lady Bonajade? The biggest female entrepreneur in the world? The billionaire of the year for three years in a row? The very person who could topple nations and bring down presidents and world leaders just with a snap of a finger?” 

Mydei pulled a discounted bulk purchase of a salad dressing from his shopping bag. “... Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

Aventurine almost let out an exasperated sigh, which would have counted as another win for Mydei, but apparently, whatever he had in mind was far more important than berating Mydei for not knowing the key figures in the industry, because he proceeded.

“Anyway, her biggest studio is developing a reboot for that classic Chimerric Park movie. She has a very soft spot for that movie. It was her favorite school-holiday movie, one she watched with her children. That’s a huge project, like huge huge. I’m talking hundreds of millions of credit movie budget. A reset for a pop culture, a long contract for theme park rides, toys, and video games, and…”

“Get to the point, Aventurine.” 

“You must know the stake of this project I’m discussing with you.”

“By Kephale, how many months have we worked together?” Mydei asked. “How could you not know that things like that will not sway me? Aren’t you supposed to be smart or something?” 

Aventurine’s smile faltered a little, but he quickly recovered. “Sure, so, this project was almost fully set. Except that stupid actor who plays the Park Warden got caught up in a scandal.”

“... Scandal.”

“Yeah, he got caught abusing his child. The evidence was there, clear as day. Can you believe that? His own flesh and blood. The one he actually sired. Fucking cunt. He will soon serve his time in jail, and I hope he rots there.”

“Yeah, fuck that asshole,” Mydei said, placing the cheese blocks in the easiest place to reach. With how much Phainon likes this particular brand, he guessed these cheese blocks wouldn’t even survive a month. 

“So, he obviously got dropped from the project, since Mister Gopherwood from Clockie Studios refused to fund the project if we still cast him, which was the sane thing to do instead of spending a crazy amount of money to cover that bastard’s ass. So now, we need a new actor to play the Warden. Specifically, a well-built man who is publicly known to love children and animals in real life. This is co-produced with Clockie Studio, after all. So those clauses are essential.”

Mydei half-tuned him Aventurine at this point. Phainon might be interested in the industry’s gossip, but Mydei didn’t care at all, so such hot news was wasted on him.

“... We have recast a few actors; the big names in Dollywood, the mega stars, Grady Award winners, et cetera et cetera. Whoever you could think of, we have cast them, and Lady Bonajade had watched every single cast video. No one feels right, she said. So I think we might need a fresh approach. So I think we should cast you.”

At that, Mydei stopped and turned to see a gleaming, smiling Aventurine.

“Ti skatá?” 

Aventurine laughed. “No clue what you were just saying, but that didn’t sound nice.”

Mydei was so shocked he didn’t even realize he cursed in Kremnoan. 

“But yes, I propose to Lady Bonajade to cast you. You’re muscular. You look rough on the outside and a softie inside. And the world knows that you’re good with BOTH children and animals. You’re the guy who feeds Chimera and sings with the kids in a video shoot, after all. And even if that’s not convincing enough, my own daughter adores you.”

“Pass,” Mydei said.

“Come on now, Mydeimos. You know it’s a great idea.”

“That’s a shit idea,” Mydei said, his voice raised with how ridiculous that offer is. “I can’t act.”

“I’ve seen your music videos AND The Flame Chasers. I know you can.”

“You’re my PR representative, not my agent. You can’t keep shoving random shits at me. That’s not on the contract.”

“Whoa, what is it about shoving shits at Mydei?” Phainon’s voice was a mix of curiosity and amusement as he entered the room with his purple yoga pants and bright yellow windbreaker. Aventurine’s eyes twitch. His lips almost pulled in a wince. 

Huh. So even he wasn’t immune to the impact of Phainon’s fashion disaster. Good to know.

Maybe Mydei could weaponize that to get Aventurine out of their house, sometimes.

“Oh, it’s nothing, Phainon. Just a terrific job offer that I’ve found for Mydei. But I think he’s not interested,” he said with a bright smile. 

Mydei narrowed his eyes. The way that Aventurine gave up on his persuasion was suspicious. He wouldn’t back off so easily on regular days. 

“Oh, what is it about?” Phainon asked.

“Nothing important. Anyway, since I’m here for you, Phainon, come here, I have the thing I’ve mentioned to you!” 

That almost sounded like a magic word, because Phainon literally perked up. “No!” he said, laughing giddily as he approached Aventurine. “No, Vasha, you didn’t.”

“Come see for yourself,” Aventurine said, handing him the box.

Phainon went to where Aventurine sat in a few long strides, which, wow, that meant he was super excited. Mydei had only seen such excitement when Phainon saw the Concorde at the Aircraft Museum, when his mom cooked his favorite food, and when he saw Mydei after they hadn’t seen each other for more than two months…

Phainon even giggled a little when Aventurine finally told him to open it.

“So Mydei,” Aventurine said, distracting Mydei from the very excited, very giddy Phainon, who looked like a boy on Christmas morning. It was very endearing. Mydei was almost annoyed. “I understand if you’re not interested in the role. All I asked was just to show up. You don’t even have to try to get the job. Just do that as a small favor for me, cause I’ve already put in a good word to Lady Bonajade and her casting director. That sounds fair, right?” 

“What the heck, cast a real actor, man,” Mydei repeated. “If you’re looking for a muscular man, why not cast Blade? He’s built, loves kids, and takes care of his boyfriend’s son.”

“We’ve cast him. Too broody.”

“So why not the original actor’s son? Doesn’t he have a son, too?” 

“Nope, Galla Junior is far more interested in mixing drinks instead of acting. Also, he’s dating Sunday Gopherwood. That would look too much like nepotism.”

“Ugh. Dan Heng?”

“Too lean.”

“Gepard Landau.”

“Too pretty.”

"Koski?" 

Aventurine pressed his lips, staring at Mydei with a look that said, really? While Mydei winced.

“Right,” Mydei cleared his throat, at the same time Aventurine said, “too slutty.”

“So you know why I even proposed your name. This problem required a fresh perspective. Something… out of the box.”

Just as Aventurine finished talking about it, Phainon pulled out the gift Aventurine had given him, and he gasped, his face lit up a million megawatts.

“Oh, Kephale, you’re not kidding!” Phainon exclaimed excitedly. “Damn, this is actually an action figure of Mister Gallagher from the original Chimerric Park movie! It still has the signature, and oh, that wrong paint color on his shoe! It’s so legit!” 

Mydei narrowed his eyes again, and Aventurine smiled, leering at Mydei knowingly while talking to Phainon. 

Oh, no. 

“You’re welcome. It’s nothing but a small gift for a fellow Gallagher fan,” he said. “I don’t even buy it with my own money. The studio gave me these old collectibles for Veritas and me as a gift when Veritas agreed to help with the soundtrack. After I heard how much you crush Mister Gallagher, how could I not share such a wonderful item, right?”

Ugh. 

Mydei gritted his teeth, and he must have been showing something on his face, because Aventurine’s smile went full-on gleeful now. 

“You know Phainon has a major celebrity crush on Mister Gallagher, right, Mydei?” 

Of course, Mydei knew. Phainon was his husband. Chimerric Park was one of the classic movies that never missed their weekend movie routine. Who did Aventurine think he was?

“Phainon told me that Mister Gallagher was his first gay awakening, which is the same, by the way. I mean, everyone who watched the original movie would definitely think the same.”

“Dude! That’s not what I said,” Phainon chuckled, almost looking sheepish. He glanced at Mydei through his eyelashes. “I mean, Mister Gallagher was a damn good actor. But it was to his character, Owen Muldorf, that I had a huge crush! I mean, come on, rough, sexy, muscular Park Warden who saved everyone from the chaos? Who wouldn’t fall in love with that?” 

Phainon pressed a button on the tiny figure’s back, and suddenly, a rough, manly voice with an evident old-speaker noise was heard.

“Good Boy,”

Phainon mouthed that name alongside that pre-recorded voice, chuckling.

“Oh man,” he looked like he almost doubled over with how excited he was. “The audio still worked! The effect of this line… Vasha, this is amazing! Thank you so much. I just know that the teenager Phainon deep inside my brain is screaming right now. I never thought I could even see this toy in person. It was so damn expensive back then and so damn rare to find now!”

Mydei glared at Aventurine, who was letting out a broad, smug grin as he said, “You’re welcome.” 

He just knew that he had thoroughly lost this battle. 

Later that day, when Aventurine excused himself, he patted Mydei’s shoulder and leaned toward him, whispering with an innocent smile and a faux-soft voice. “Still think I don’t know how to sway you?”

Oh, this little fucker. 

-

Mydei cast in the role. 

He got the job.

-

Veritas was right. Mydei shouldn’t have let Aventurine see how possessive he was to Phainon. That man could smell emotions like sharks could smell blood. 

Because here he was, playing a part of a Park Warden with a cowboy hat and a pair of yellow-tinted glasses, running and jumping around the forest near the Grove day and night, shouting his memorized lines in a gruff voice, dragging himself in the mud, carrying Elysia, the main actress, around the studio and the forest when her character “broke the ankle”, and bruised his shin more than once because he accidentally hit the props, all because he couldn’t stand that his dumbass husband had a celebrity crush on some old man dressed up as a tough character.

What even is his life.

The dumbass in question was sitting on a chair next to Mydei’s makeup station, smiling widely, excitedly, and supportively at Mydei’s reflection in the mirror, having zero clue of why Mydei decided to cast for the role at all. Because not in a million years would Mydei admit he did all this out of unreasonable jealousy of Phainon’s celebrity crush. It’s silly, but jealousy is silly, and love is stupid, and Mydei would be a stupid Park Warden in a stupid movie if only to make himself Phainon’s new celebrity crush.

Like, sure, he’s Phainon's husband. By law, it was the ultimate status in Phainon’s life.

But—

Mydei was also a celebrity. So it makes sense that he wants to be Phainon’s celebrity crush, too, right? 

“You’re so handsome,” Phainon sighed dreamily, for the thousandth time since Mydei was first sitting in this chair two months ago. 

The makeup lady who was doing Mydei’s eyebrows pressed her lips so tight, hiding the smile she must’ve wanted to let out.

Klaris, Aventurine’s assistant, who was lounging on the sofa in the far back of the trailer, groaned.

Mydei cleared his throat.

It was cute, really. For the first hundred times. Now, he sounded like a puppy barking happily at his favorite frisbee. It was a tiny bit embarrassing, really. Especially since Phainon always blurted that out every time he saw Mydei, regardless of who they were with or which room they were in. It had become a running gag around the shooting location. Mydei knew exactly how the wardrobe department gasped, giggled, and gossiped whenever Phainon visited. 

But that aside, Phainon also had shown his… appreciation in multiple positions since the wardrobe lady allowed Mydei to bring the slightly damaged Warden Park costume home. It surely did spice up their weekend routine, so Mydei thought that it was almost worth all the hassle and the embarrassment. 

Almost. 

Because, as the producers had predicted when Mydei was officially cast, there was an uproar on social media about his involvement in the movie once the word got out. Mostly from the Robin die-hards, who seemed not to let go of their breakup and still compare Mydei’s career with Robin’s. They still tried to cancel him over what Mydei did to beloved Robin, despite Mydei explicitly co-producing one of Robin’s “Heartbreak Song”, and Robin stating multiple times that they were on good terms.

Apparently, it's still snowballing even now, six weeks into the shooting period. Hence, the presence of Klaris, one of Aventurine’s assistants, who also got involved in the fake dating scenario, back in the day. She was here mainly to tell Mydei the next plan. What should he post on his social media, what he must respond to, and the general report on how ugly the situation was.

“Oh, dear heavens, the moms even got involved now,” she whispered, with a voice that sounded so horrified that if she told Mydei that the world would end, he might have believed it. 

“What?” Phainon turned his head from Mydei for once, looking worried. “What happened?”

“This… collective attempt to cancel the movie,” she said. “Mydei hater accounts have been spreading Mydei’s old videos of him cursing on live TV since two days ago. It was just an unnecessary noise at first, but a few mom influencers and the mom community started taking notice, and they ate up the story like crazy. Some of them are actively trying to discourage moms from watching this movie with their children.”

“Mmm,” Phainon hummed. His brows furrowed, and his lips pressed thin. “That’s bad, right?”

“That’s a disaster,” Klaris said. “This movie is PG13. It’s marketed mostly for families. If they’re not watching it, then…”

“Then it’s a flop,” Phainon hummed, looking so deep in thought it’s almost so cute. Mydei scoffed in pure humor. “Is there anything I could help with? I could reply to each one of them?”

“Don’t even bother, HKS. You’re just gonna be sucked into an endless argument,” Mydei said. “And don’t think too much of it. No PR disaster is great enough for Aventurine. I’m sure he can manage it,” he continued, closing one eyelid when the makeup lady was trying to touch up his reddish eyeshadow. It was supposed to make his eyes look bleary from what was supposed to be a look of exhaustion and lack of sleep. “In fact, I bet that dude is having a field day from all the attention and all the trending buzzwords.”

Klaris pressed her lips, still looking worried. “That might be true on normal days, but,” she sighed. “Boss had been antsy for weeks. He spent more time in our social media room, barking words and orders, and by the Heavens, it made the whole office nervous.”

Mydei’s eyes twitched, earning an “oof” from the makeup lady. Mydei muttered an apology, while she nodded and took a cotton earbud to wipe away the mistake, and continued her magic work to make Mydei look like he had spent the entire night being chased by a furious giant Chimera.

Phainon turned to Klaris again, looking even more worried, which made Mydei a little anxious. Even though he did this solely for a selfish reason, he still wanted the movie to succeed and live up to the original. Phainon genuinely loved that movie, and Mydei would hate it if his reputation ruined the reboot.

“He’s probably just putting up a show,” Mydei said, trying not to move around so as not to disturb the makeup lady from doing her job. “It’s impossible that Aven did not propose the role to me without thinking ahead. As much as he was a nuisance, he got a good head on his shoulder. And if he couldn’t think of anything good, he got Veritas on his side. That duo was unstoppable. I’ve seen it firsthand, so don’t worry,” he continued, staring at Phainon from the reflection in the mirror. “I bet it’ll pass before we know it, too.” 

Phainon returned his smile. A little of his confidence returned, but then that peaceful, beautiful expression was shattered by the loud slam of the trailer door.

The makeup lady swept her brush again. She sighed almost too sharply when Aventurine waltzed in with a big grin.

“Why, Mydeimos, I didn’t know you thought so highly of me,” he said with a wink. “I’m almost tearing up from how beautiful it is.”

Mydei almost rolled his eyes. Almost, if it weren’t for an exasperation the makeup lady sent him through the mirror. 

“Just prove I don’t misjudge you, then, Aventurine,” he said instead. 

“Mm, honest and confrontational. I like that in a man,” he said, sitting right next to Phainon and patted his knee. Mydei scoffed again, feeling absolutely annoyed how Aventurine could flirt with him AND Phainon in the same breath. Sure, it’s a joke. But he generally didn't like anyone flirting with Phainon. Even if it’s only for a joke. “And yes, I suspected something like this was going to happen the moment you were brought into the casting room. So I had a few contingency plans.”

At that, Klaris perked up. “Oh, so Robin agreed to help?”

Aventurine tilted his head. “Who said anything about Robin, Klar? That plan that involved Robin was immediately scrapped in the meeting room. I literally toss the paper written with that idea into the bin. It was the best three-pointer I have ever made in my entire life.”

“But why?” Phainon asked, looking genuinely confused. “Why not ask Rob for this? If Robin endorses this movie, I’m sure it’ll help boost the popularity and change people’s minds about it. Robin’s so pure. People love her, so it’ll increase their approval for this movie… right?” 

Aventurine tilted his head. “I see you’ve started to understand how this all works,” he said with a proud grin, which was weird. Mydei still didn’t like him to be around Phainon so close like that. “And that’s true, but I have promised someone not to include her in any of Mydei’s projects again after your wedding, and I am a man of my word.”

Hearing that, Phainon shifted his eyes towards Mydei through the mirror, his eyes filled with a question that Mydei returned. He didn't make Aventurine make such promises to him, and judging by Phainon’s questioning look, he knew he didn’t either. 

If it wasn’t him or Phainon… then, who?

“Alright, so the plan!” Aventurine clapped his hands once, sobering Mydei and Phainon from their nonverbal conversation. The makeup lady winced again. She closed her eyes, looking like she was cursing him in her heart. Well, get in the line, lady. If anyone were to curse that little blond man, Mydei would be the first to do so. 

“What is it, Sir?” Klaris asked.

“Viral KitKot dance challenge,” Aventurine said, looking all smug. “This is a family movie, right? Let us shoot a one-minute silly sally, family-friendly Chimera dance, set to an earwormy song, to market the movie to young kids and families. We have Elysia on the cast. She would soften the image even more. And Stellie!” he flicked his fingers. “Stellie would make it even more likable. They will love this, I’m sure. I already talked to the producer and the director, too. They will clear a schedule for us to shoot the material sometime next week. My team is preparing for the choreography and the song as we speak. It’s nothing to worry about.”

Phainon suddenly perked up. “Oh, setting up Mydei to dance it out?” he asked. “Oooh, Vasha, that’s genius! You should see him dance! He got some serious moves, I promise!” 

“Oh, I know, he’s my mega star, after all,” Aventurine cackled. “I’m sure this cute move would blow up and shift the public opinion about him. So really, it was never a problem.” 

“Um…” 

Klaris opened her mouth, as if trying to say something. But Aven gave her a look. It was just a flash, but it was enough for her to press her lips tight, and Mydei had a suspicion that Aventurine wasn’t as calm as he usually was. 

Hm. 

Something was definitely about to blow up, but Mydei suspected that it was not going to be in a good way.

-

So Mydei, Stelle, Elysia (the main actress for the movie who looked like a taller twin of Cyrene), and the actor who played the professor (who looked suspiciously similar to Anaxagoras), did the dance, which took only two takes, because the first one was so perfect that they filmed the second one just as a backup. To see if they could outdo the first one. 

They didn’t. 

It was perfect. 

Lady Bonajade was so happy that she bought everyone a lavish catering that day, and Aventurine patted Mydei on the back, calling him Megastar, and that he was wasting his talent as a rockstar when he could be a Pop King with his surprising talent in dancing, et cetera, et cetera. Mydei wasn’t paying attention. Phainon was taking his type-rating exam for the Bombardier that day, so Mydei was too busy texting him after the shoot.

The studio sent the footage for editing and mixing, and it then premiered online as part of the movie's pre-release marketing. It was supposed to blow up. Aventurine had orchestrated the internet campaign to turn it into a Viral Challenge that everyone would want to join in and promote the movie. 

Except, it flopped. 

Hard.

Well, some people did talk about it the day it rolled out, and some of the hardcore Elysia fans joined the viral dance immediately. However, the release of that video coincided with the political campaign for Penacony’s next Presidential Election. The leading candidate used Mydei and Stelle as a bitter example, claiming that ‘People Like Them’ were ruining the media and poisoning young minds. That speech went viral, and the fear it spread was amplified on social media by almost tenfold, only making their supporters more aggressive, attacking everyone who joined the challenge, including the celebrity endorsers.

And the silence in the first week gave the haters even more reasons to attack him. Mydei’s hater accounts said the studio was trying too hard. Then there were the homophobes calling out Dollywood for ruining such a classic movie by casting queers. 

“... They call you a worse monster than the mutated Chimera, those brainless fools,” Phainon slammed his fist on the table during breakfast, gripping his fork so tightly as if trying hard not to stab the table with it. “They even said that it’s better they go on with the previous actor rather than going with you as Owen! What, now an actual criminal is better than my law-abiding, talented, awesome husband? Those… those stupid cowards, only hiding behind the screen of their phones. How could they even think they have better morals when they support an actual child-abuser?”

Mydei did not react, only drinking his water calmly despite the acid in his stomach. “HKS, come on, I thought after last time, we agreed not to search for things on the internet that might hurt our peace?” 

“I know, but,” Phainon pressed his lips. He shifted his eyes to the side, shaking his head slowly. “I can’t just stand still when people are talking shit about my husband.”

Mydei hummed in agreement. “It is what it is, HKS.”

“Especially since you’re already doing your best! They ought to give you a chance, at least!”

“I did, and so everyone else on the set and the studio,” Mydei said. “But things like this happen. You can’t expect a smooth landing every time on your flights, too, right?” 

Phainon’s hum now sounded more like a groan. Like he was in pain just thinking about it. It made Mydei feel guilty. 

“Sorry, I can’t bring that favorite character of yours as good as Mister Gallagher did,” Mydei said.

“No, don’t say that!” Phainon frowned. “You are doing a great job! It’s just that people are drowned in negativity and toxic propaganda before they can even see that! I’m sure we can fix this. There has got to be something we can do to fix this.”

“Aventurine called a marketing meeting yesterday,” he said. “He said he tried everything. Radio slots, podcast interviews, and dropped the first-look teaser with top-tier VFX. Nothing worked. They just gave the haters more to chew on. Soon enough, he had run out of high-profile celebrities to partner with, because they were too afraid to be in the middle of that heated conversation. He said our best bet was to wait it out until the buzz died down before we launch another release.”

Phainon furrowed his brows. “No, he must have something on his mind. Isn’t he supposed to be the genius of the PR world? He turned a pair a shoe into a sold-out global campaign.” 

Mydei did not say anything. 

“‘Dei, Honeycake, this is your world,” Phainon said, leaning forward to the table so he could grab Mydei’s hand. “There has got to be something we could do? Tell me. Vasha said you’re brilliant. I'm sure you could think of something? I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to help you.” 

Mydei shrugged. “We could do what he said and wait,” he said. “It’s alright, HKS. I’ve endured being called Mama’s Boy. Pretty sure I could handle being a Failed Actor, too. Look, it’s nothing. The internet easily forgets. They’ll move on from that the moment those Gardashian ladies make another scandal.” 

Phainon pressed his lips, his soft expression turned into a fierce one, and his eyes were literally burning with fury and determination.

“No,” Phainon said suddenly, clenching his phone and his hand so tightly that Mydei was almost afraid that he would crush it. “We can’t just sit through this disaster. I refuse to do nothing while people are painting my husband as worse than a child abuser. I refuse to do nothing. If they can’t hire more celebrities to promote it, then I will call Caelus. He has a good number of viewers. He's been cancelled more than thrice and always comes back stronger, so I’m sure he’ll do it. Maybe I can ask the Tribios triplets to help, too! They’re cute and family-friendly. And Cas! Cas could! Cyrene would want to help! It’s her girlfriend’s movie, too. My Dad and Mom, too! It’s their son-in-law and future daughter-in-law who were being bashed by the people!” 

Phainon muttered names in a mix of Okheman and Elysian, listing everyone he knew. Mydei tried to stop him, but then Phainon grabbed his jacket, made some calls, and…

“HKS, please.” 

“No, don’t HKS please me now, Mydeimos. If you don’t want to fix it, I will. Don’t even try to stop me!” Phainon called from the foyer. Then, he paused and stared at Mydei, right in the eyes. “And I will call Robin for help! I do not care what PR image she’s trying to uphold, or whatever promise she made to somebody not to be involved with you. She owes us a favor! She owes me a favor! And this is Clockie Studio movie, too! If she and her brother care so much about the people who work there, they should help us turn the situation around!” 

And then, he slammed the door behind him, leaving Mydei blinking in disbelief.

Wow. 

Is this really the same Phainon who bit his tongue throughout the fake-relationship?

-

Phainon was gone the whole day.

He didn’t even pick up Mydei’s calls; he just rejected them with a template answer: “Busy. I’ll Call You Back Soon” each time. Mydei gave up in the sixth attempt and shifted his strategy to calling Dan Heng instead. Because there must be where Phainon was, at Caelus’s home. Phainon always seemed to have this habit of running to Caelus whenever he had a problem. Or Caelus found him first. A testament to their long-standing friendship. Mydei was super jealous of them the first few months of their relationship, until he saw Caelus with Dan Heng and realized that he had nothing to worry about. 

Dan Heng wasn’t home, obviously. He was away in Fanghu for a movie shoot. But he had access to his apartment’s live CCTV feed and told Mydei that Phainon was there, along with the Tribios Triplets, Cifera, and their Chimera pets. He didn’t know what they were talking about, but he sent screenshots of the CCTV, showing Phainon in Caelus-Dan Heng's living room, unpacking something that looked like a set of… pajamas. 

Huh. 

Did he plan not to come home tonight? 

Mydei supposed that he could only wait. If Phainon decided to use Caelus’ stream to do whatever he was planning (if he had any plans at all), then it would not be until eight PM this evening. 

Until then, Mydei could only wait it out.

He spent the rest of his day distracting himself by playing the guitar, absentmindedly repeating his mother’s most popular ballad while glancing at his phone every few seconds, hoping to find a message or a call from Phainon. But it remained silent, so his mind wandered back to Phainon’s fierceness this morning. He looked so determined, almost like Aventurine when he was planning. Though he was far calmer and more flamboyant, while Phainon looked like a soldier ready to wade through countless fights to save him. But their intensity was the same.

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps it wasn’t just Aventurine who had a frontrow seat on studying Phainon’s genuineness. Perhaps it was a two-way street—Phainon was also studying Aventurine’s fierceness and strategic minds. 

Mydei shuddered; the thought was unsettling, yet he found himself smiling.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps it wasn’t new.

It wasn’t all Aventurine.

Phainon always had it in him to fight back. It reminded him of the first time he met Phainon; the first banter they had ever had in the airport’s restroom, his annoying confidence when he offered him coffee while also protecting Krateros from Mydei’s anger. 

Mydei’s finger missed a key on his guitar when he chuckled. 

Phainon had always been gentle, until someone he respected or loved was at stake. Then, he was always a brave man, ready to fight. He fought for the flight attendants and for Krateros, and now, he fought for Mydei’s name.

When the clock hit three PM, Mydei decided that playing music didn’t calm him enough, so he went to prepare early for dinner, cooking so much food he could bring to Caelus’ home. He prepared desserts for the triplets, too, planning something fresh and fulfilling while ordering the sweets he couldn't make himself. 

Exactly at five PM, Aventurine called him.

“What is your husband planning?” he asked, without even a hello.

“I want to know, too,” Mydei said, setting the homemade chicken nugget filled with three different cheeses that the triplets liked in the oven. “Does he say anything to you? Cause he had been replying to me with template texts all day.”

“He didn’t, he called Robin, and Robin called me,” Aventurine said. “Phainon asked her to… what? Oh yes, Princess. That’s so wonderful. I love the triplets, too. They’re super adorable. Listen, Papa is on an important call, alright? Why don’t you go back to Daddy, and I’ll join you watch their stream in a bit, yeah?… Ah, Mydeimos, sorry. It was my daughter. Where were we?”

“Phainon called Robin,” Mydei provided.

“Yes, thank you. And she said Phainon asked her to post the Chimera dance on her Chrystagram tonight. Or tomorrow. Whenever convenient to her. And you have to know. Robin said he was very determined. He left her little room to say no.”

“Huh, so he did that,” Mydei nodded.

“Then she called me to confirm if I asked Phainon to ask her in my stead. Because I’m tied with my promise to her, I work my way around to encourage her to promote your movie.”

Mydei raised his brows. “Wait, so she was the one you made a promise to?”

“Yeah, she didn’t want to be in the way of you and Phainon again, accidentally or by design. The last time was a disaster enough, and she still feels bad for Phainon. So she made me promise not to set up any romantic-themed campaigns between you and her again, or between you and anyone, for that matter. She was very thorough,” he said. “But that’s beside the point. What would Phainon plan by asking Robin that? What does he have in mind, Mydeimos?”

“Beat me,” Mydei said, pouring a salad dressing that he knew Phainon loved so much. He grabbed the cheese that Phainon loved so much, grating it so smoothly that it melted into the dressing. 

“Mydeimos, I thought I told you to wait it out! That extends to your husband!”

“He stormed off this morning, not saying anything except that he would fix the situation with the movie,” Mydei said. “There’s nothing I could do, really. He refused to talk to me all day.”

Aventurine made a sound that was a mix of a grunt and a growl. It was so rare to hear him so distraught. It sounded almost like music to Mydei’s ears. 

“What are you so stressed about? It’s just Phainon, Aventurine. What could he do?” 

“I don’t know, but he called Robin, and her involvement could make things worse. We’re already in a sticky situation, huh, hey Princess, I thought I told you to stay with Daddy. Papa will be there juuuust in a minute, and yes, of course you could see Uncle Captain… I will call… oh,” 

Aventurine’s string of words was suddenly halted in an abrupt silence, with only a faint, indistinct tune playing from the other side. Mydei glanced at his phone, just to make sure the call was still connected. 

It did. 

“Aven?” 

There was a scoff. 

Then, laughter. 

A laughter so light, so sudden, and almost so hysterical that Mydei almost thought that perhaps Aventurine’s stress finally got the better of him and he went nuts in front of his treasured daughter now. 

“Aventurine?” 

“Oh, Mydeimos,” he said, trying to form the words while still busy laughing. “Mydeimos Khaslana, you fucking lucky bastard.”

That succeeded in halting Mydei’s movement. The oven dinged, signaling that the chicken nuggets were ready. But he ignored it. He placed the cheese on the table, focusing on Aventurine’s call instead. 

“What?” he asked. “What’s going on?” 

Aventurine was still laughing. “Oh, by the protection of Qlipoth, I know I've placed a good bet on you. You sure are a wonder. You and your husband both.”

“Aventurine, you tell me what’s going on right now?”

“Go to the Tribios Triplets TabTube channel, please,” Aventurine said, still sounding amused. “And please excuse me. I just found a gold material to save a hundred million profit, your acting career, and my own dignity in front of Lady Bonajade.” 

Aventurine hung up the phone, still laughing.

It made Mydei curious. 

He quickly opened TabTube, and there, on the trending page right at the top, before he could even search for the Tribios Triplets’ channel, he could see him. 

His husband. 

With bright yellow pajamas with chimera pictures on them, fluffy sleep slippers, and a fluffy skincare headband, dancing to the Chimera Dance with the Triplets and Caelus, all wear the same style of pajamas, though in a less eye-straining color. 

And by the Gods and the Aeons,

Phainon did so, so terribly. 

His dance was three seconds behind the music; he moved like his joints were a set of machines not properly oiled, and yet he looked so concentrated, so serious, an honest display of how hard he tried and failed. He dressed tacky, he was cringe, he was awkward,

He was adorable. 

And the world seemed to agree with him. 

Because the comment section was filled with laughing, robot, and love emojis so massive they scrolled by so fast. But Mydei couldn’t bring himself to peel his eyes off Phainon, who was still trying to follow the movement of the dance, and still failed horribly. Mydei’s eyes followed his movement, and when the stream ended with the triplets’ endorsement of the upcoming Chimerric Park movie, he couldn’t hold the bubbling laugh in his chest. 

He is a lucky bastard, indeed. 

-

That stream quickly went viral. 

It was trending for a couple of hours after the stream ended. Someone—probably a meme account quietly nudged by Aventurine’s team—singled Phainon out of the original stream frame, put him in a dark, club-like background, and a poorly edited disco ball above him, making his awkward dance the focus and fueling the social media conversation.

And then, the next morning, Robin posted a video of herself dancing alongside Boothill in their pajamas. But they didn’t follow the actual dance. 

They were mimicking Phainon’s. 

And it was all it took to turn the conversation around. 

For the next week, social media was filled with the #Chimerrawkward dance tag, with thousands of people mimicking Phainon’s dance. A new sub-trend featured videos of people getting their pets to follow the Chimerric dance, with the hashtag #BetterDancerThanHim. 

The haters and the extremists from the political campaign were still there, but it was drowned out by the videos of people mimicking Phainon’s Chimera Dance, and their own awkward dance. Some of Mydei haters' accounts still made a few cynical posts, but then they posted a 24-hour Stories post with the “That Lucky Bastard” text image and a bunch of eyeroll emoji on a plain black background, and never posted anything again since then.

Aventurine’s marketing film, of course, milked every last drop of that momentum. They regained the celebrities' endorsement, who had previously been reluctant to join the trend. They gained organic front-page news coverage of the Chimerric Dance, the movie’s recommendation, and, to their surprise, the mainstream media and podcasters even joined the trend voluntarily before their PR team could approach them. 

Aventurine had called them with a whistle and a little awawa wiwiwi hums, sounding very pleased with how everything turned out. He said something about placing the right bet on Phainon and promised to personally deliver a very expensive bottle of champagne to celebrate Phainon’s success. He also said he received many offers from the media and famous podcasters to have Phainon and Mydei on their segment in exchange for the chance to promote the Chimerric Park movie.

And the star that made all of this happen, the terrible dancer that the internet loved and laughed at endearingly?

He was currently sitting at the breakfast table, covering his face with a groan as his video played in “Good Morning Amphoreus!” and the host was opening the segment mimicking Phainon’s dance. 

“Oh, Kephale, how could I ever go outside now?” Phainon groaned. His voice was muffled by his own fingers. “I will change career into a logistics pilot, where all of my passengers would be just boxes and papers and taxidermy animals.”

Mydei smiled. “No, you love your job.”

“Mydei, how could I ever face anyone again?” Phainon said. “I will move to Belobog Snow Plains and live alone with the penguins and eat cods and salmon all year. Mydeimos, will you move with me to a life of isolation?”

“You will not,” Mydei said again. “You love the sun too much to live in the North Pole.”

“‘Dei, come on,” he said, finally freeing his face from the cover of his own hands with a groan to openly sulk at Mydei. “I’m the laughing stock of the whole world.”

Mydei shook his head. He got up from his seat and pulled a chair next to Phainon instead, so he was close enough to hold both of his hands. “No, fos, people are not laughing at you. They’re having fun with you.”

And because Phainon’s lips still twisted upwards, because his cheeks were still flushed pink from embarrassment, Mydei picked up Phainon’s phone and clicked on the still-trending tag.

“He’s so awkward and so adorable,” Mydei read out loud the top comment of the viral video. “It’s actually ten thousand times better than that corporate-fabricated dance.”

Phainon scoffed, and that’s a good progress, so Mydei read the next. 

“He’s so cringe, but I just couldn’t stop watching.”

“I love me a silly grown-ass man with the flow of a rusty robot.”

Phainon let out a hiccup-laugh. “I look stupid,” he said. “And the worst part? I thought I actually did a good job. I seriously thought I nailed it, back in the stream. Cifera was there behind the camera. She gave me a thumbs-up.”

Mydei hummed, thinking that someday, he would tell Phainon not to fully trust Cifera in that kind of thing. That woman had a terrible case of schadenfreude. Mydei had experienced it himself on multiple occasions. 

But not this morning.

This morning, he had something more important to tell Phainon.

“You did. You did a great job at helping me and fixing the situation. And you don’t look stupid, HKS. You look genuine, and people love genuine,” Mydei said, placing the phone back on the table to hold Phainon’s hands again. He paused, giving himself some time to collect his courage before continuing. “You know what’s stupid? Accepting an offer to cast in a huge movie title despite having zero acting experience just because of a mere jealousy of a twenty-year-old character action figure.”

“Heh, that’s not even… Wh… Wait, wait wait wait,” Phainon paused, staring at Mydei’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

Mydei sighed. Of course, Phainon would make him repeat that.

“I turned down Aventurine’s offer to join the casting that morning, when he delivered you Mister Gallagher’s toy,” Mydei said, brushing his thumb on the back of Phainon’s hand. He shifted his eyes to avoid Phainon’s eyes, but realized that it might make him look like he wasn’t genuine about it, so he returned his gaze to Phainon’s pair of sky-blue eyes. “I didn’t want to play in that movie, or any movie, for that matter. Until you open that box and fanboying hard over Mister Gallagher toy calling you Good Boy.”

Phainon gaped. “But… but you know I like Owen Muldorf!” he said. “It was not news to you.”

“No, but your genuine reaction was, and…” Mydei cleared his throat, swallowed his pride, and continued. “... and I’m honestly so jealous that I’m not your celebrity crush. Cause I may be your partner at home, but I’m a celebrity, too. So… I asked Dan Heng to teach me the basics of acting before I went to the casting. I actually worked to get that role.”

Phainon blinked rapidly. “No, you didn’t.”

Mydei shrugged. “Ask him.”

“But if you did, I would have heard that from Cae.”

“Of course I went to Dan Heng when Caelus wasn’t home,” Mydei said. “I know he’s terrible at keeping secrets from you, but Dan Heng didn’t.”

Phainon let out a choked laugh, and then a grin, and a gaze of disbelief. “‘Dei, that’s… that’s stupid,” he said. “How could you be jealous of Owen Muldorf, a fictional character? You’re my husband.”

“Yeah, but I guess I’m greedy. I can’t be just your husband. I want to be your celebrity crush, too. And your favorite movie character. If I had to run around the forest or drag myself through fake mud or do such stupid things to have you call me handsome, to have you shudder when I call you Good Boy, then so be it.”

Phainon’s face was a mix of awe and a laugh, and… is that a look of arousal? 

But Mydei couldn’t confirm that, because Phainon already pounced him in a tight hug, with a laugh so hard that Mydei felt like it originated from his own chest, too.”

“Do you even hear yourself, Kotik?” he shook his head. “You’re so stupid. I love you, I’m such a damn lucky bastard.”

And Mydei only grinned, returning the hug and kissing Phainon’s cheek.

“You stupid,” Mydei said. “And you’re not a lucky bastard. I am.”