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“May Cerces —“
A gust of wind burst forth from where Anaxa previously stood, who ran off in hurried strides, with one hand holding a handful of coins, and the other holding the strap from his bag to avoid it inevitably falling to his side. It’s 7:17 AM. A clear and bright morning with birds flying on and about. From where they lived, walking to Grove High School would take a little over 10 minutes. Anaxa would usually leave at this time and arrive at his classroom with half an hour to spare, but this morning calls for urgency as the last batch of the limited edition dromas-shaped lollipops would hit the shelves.
The limited edition dromas-shaped lollipops that Anaxa, a seventeen-year-old teenager with more than three dozen plushies in the shape of the mythical earth beasts, have yet to have a taste of. It was always sold out by the time he got to the nearest convenience store. He wouldn’t have minded it if this were any other day - but it isn’t, and this was his last chance to purchase a jar and feel the bumpy shape of each stick in his mouth.
“..safeguard your thoughts. Naxy today is in a hurry, isn’t he, Nanous?”
Awoo. Nanous coos softly, sitting primly on the concrete slab beside the gate of their home as he looks at Anaxa’s figure that was slowly disappearing into the distant horizon. From across them, a pink-haired lady exits her house and gives Diotima and Nanous a friendly wave.
He huffs, thinking the gesture went unnoticed. Nanous couldn’t care less about other people. The pink-haired lady is pretty, but morning calls for his daily walks—Diotima had made a mistake before and forgotten his favorite activity, so Nanous had thrown a tantrum and ignored her for a good three days as a response, before relenting and going up to her with his fluffy head down and cooing in apology. He sits up and rubs his face on Diotima’s leg, letting out another soft awoo, urging her for their scheduled activity.
“Yes, dear,” Diotima gives him a pat on the head, brushing over his silky fur, “We can’t ever miss your morning walk, I know. Meticulous, just like your owner.”
Nanous is meticulous about his internal schedule and, on some days like today, social and friendly. He isn’t as active as other chimeras are, but he loves sitting down and observing crowds of chimeras interacting with one another. When another would come up to him, speaking to him in awoos and coos, they’d immerse themselves in their own little bubble. It is so like Anaxa, Diotima thinks fondly, who preferred to scrutinise flurries of people his age than join them in what he assumed to be trivial, shallow talks, but a blabbermouth with people he’s close to.
The two leave without a hitch, Nanous happily striding with a hop on his steps as he observes his surroundings. Meanwhile, on the house across theirs, a gray chimera trips on his paws. The pink-haired lady from before helps him up, brushing the dirt that clung to his gray fur with a gentle chastise to calm his movements down.
“Ow! Awoo!”
It is a sunny morning. Beagle Coconut made sure that everyone within three kilometers heard his awoo of despair.
Anaxa had always believed that the larger the animal was, the more beautiful they were. His belief was rooted in what is simultaneously a jab at Nanous, who resembled him in all ways but form, who even as a chimera was small for his species and was more fur than flesh, and a compliment for the mythical earth beasts he so dearly loved.
Right now, he’d rather the same earth that those beasts came from to swallow him whole as his hand grips the jar that is currently being held by a larger hand that isn’t his own.
Curse his mother for birthing him as a small, little thing. In awoo terms, he’s the runt of the litter. In human terms, it means being allocated a seat in the front row of the class when seating arrangements are arranged by height. Why did he get the shorter end of the stick? Why must biology deny him the genes that Diotima was blessed with to be a whopping 5’11 goddess?
He’s 5’7 and full of anger. The young man, who seems to be around his age, looks to be a good six foot flat.
My son loves them my fucking ass.
With such a youthful face and exuding a scent of fresh laundry with the aura of warm summers, unless the owner of the hand was a salacious man who did nothing but laze around in class and seek one-night lays, then Anaxa would not believe his words. What son? What Anaxa thought of the young man was: greedy, and deserved to be taught a lesson.
“Off.”
“No,” The young man in black hoodie says, flashing him a bright smile, “Look, my hand’s below yours. Doesn’t that mean I held it first?”
The truth is that Anaxa has nothing to say for himself. How can he prove that his love for these earth creatures transcends time and space, that his love for dromas is absolute? His room covered in three dozen plushies and multiple ⅙ figures aren’t enough to prove his adoration; no, it isn’t material wealth. It is determination.
He is anything but not determined. In fact, the fire inside him burns brighter than ever — he stares up at the white-haired man, pinning him with a glare, and tightens his grip on the last remaining jar on the shelf, “Someone like you doesn’t deserve a treasure like this.”
The man beside him looks offended at the off-handed comment, quietly muttering to himself, “Someone like me?”
“Someone so..” Anaxa catches wind of it and squints as he stares, trying to think of a word to best describe the man beside salacious and greedy. He finds himself drowning in baby blue eyes, their beauty captivating him, “..immoral and lewd!”
The man stills. The silence engulfs over them like a blanket. The both of them momentarily loosen their holds on the jar - and with his pride having taken a brutal beating on an early Monday morning, the man takes advantage of the lack of competition and hogs the jar to himself, scoffing at Anaxa.
He walks over to the counter and places the jar with a thud, and with Anaxa following suit, who eyes the treasure with a twinkle in his fuchsia eyes.
Now that he’s taken a closer look at Anaxa, Phainon could say that the male opposite him was pretty. A pity he was slower - and smaller, Phainon thinks as he looks down to meet Anaxa’s eyes - than him and wasn’t able to bag the plastic jar all to himself. His eyes were like gemstones, and it was a bigger treasure than this jar of lollies could ever be.
The height disparity isn’t Phainon’s problem anymore - not that it was ever a problem for him - for, despite the cold beauty calling him immoral in front of the innocent store clerk, all is well and forgiven.
Anaxa continues to glare at Phainon, however. His vision blurs until they focus on the clock behind the tall man. 7:58AM. Two minutes until eight.
The air spelled love the moment baby blue eyes locked into fuchsia.
Locked into stupor, Beagle Coconut could sight pink petals shining down upon the beautiful mint chimera’s fur and onto the gravelly floor. Never mind the dirt that clung to his paws and the sudden urge to lick his fur shining clean, Beagle Coconut could not take his eyes away from the beauty in front of him.
He lets out a small, pathetic awoo, and gets an awoo in turn. The mint chimera greeted him with a soft butt to his head, who Beagle Coconut felt was vibrating with excited trills and happy purrs.
For a lack of a better word, it was love at first sight. They could not bare to part from one another; Beagle Coconut had taken to grasping the smaller one’s head to lick him free from impurities, each licks from his wet, spiky tongue bathing Nanous’ fur in what Beagle Coconut would call his healing saliva.
“Aren’t they cute?” Cyrene would ask, sipping on her morning coffee from the glint of her steel straw, with one of her hands holding the leash that kept Beagle Coconut from eloping with Nanous, “Little Nanous doesn’t seem to like me, though.”
“No, no,” Diotima bowed from her seat, “Our Nanous.. he simply has an attitude to strangers. Seeing as you aren’t one anymore, he’ll open up to you soon,” She eyes the mint fur, who was shaking his body to dry himself from the sopping wetness that clung to him from the gray chimera’s thorough cleaning.
Nanous has gotten used to being the bystander that receiving such undivided attention raised his hackles. Truthfully, he is unsure of what to feel; anger from letting himself be vulnerable to a chimera he had just met minutes ago? Upset at how easily the gray chimera overturned his meticulous schedule? Happy from the attention and love he’s receiving?
A whine bubbled in his throat. Overwhelmed, Nanous bites the gray chimera on his paw, who yelps and jumps, falling on his back with his belly exposed, letting out a small, pathetic “Awoo…”
Now he feels bad. Nanous gives kitten licks to the shallow bite on Beagle Coconut’s leg, his ears drooping and tail moving back-and-forth in apology, “Awoowoo..”
“How quickly they make up..”
“I reckon our boys will be the same once they meet,”
Cyrene says, already picturing her Phainon and Diotima’s Anaxa and their future camaraderie, blooming into bright flowers from two unlikely seeds.
Ahem.
The sun was at its peak when Cyrene received a call from her boss, urging her to attend an important business meeting. Alas, she had to take Beagle Coconut with her, gently tugging on his leash to signal their departure.
“Awoo..” Beagle Coconut whined. He remained on his tummy, his head lying on his paw as he let himself be licked clean by Nanous, who awoo’d softly in response.
Another tug.
“Awooo…”
Seeing his unwavering resolve to stay by Nanous’ side, Cyrene sat up on her feet and gathered the bundle of fur in her arms, who thrashed and whined in her hold, “Shush now! You will meet again tomorrow.”
“Awoo!”
There was a soft bite on her pants, and she chuckled as she sighted mint, all kitten bites and kitten dander. Diotima got up immediately and held the small chimera, petting him, “That’s not nice, Nanous!”
“Awoo!!”
“Language. You will see him soon enough. What will Anaxa say if he knew you were being naughty again?”
“Awoo?” Nanous looked at her imploringly, “Awoo..”
“Yes, yes, he’ll scold you, it’ll be like the Incident again. Oh, and I am so, terribly sorry for this one, Cyrene..”
Cyrene laughs and waves her hand dismissively, “Please, it’s no worries. I hope to see you and little Nanous again soon.”
..
It was less than a minute later that they realized they were going where the other one was, before it fully dawned on them.
Right. They live across from each other.
“Awoooo!”
Empedocles stood by the podium by the time Anaxa and Phainon arrived in their class, with only the seats in the middle of the back row available for the two of them.
No way.
Earlier, at the auditorium, Anaxa had been forced to stand at the back of the line due to his late arrival. Phainon, who was late with him, stood behind him, “Shouldn’t you be at the front?”
“Latecomers stand at the back of the line,” Anaxa said, staring straight ahead at the forefront of the auditorium where the principal prattled on and on about new beginnings. Then, he brought up the school’s achievements out of nowhere and went on a tangent about it, completely forgetting the original purpose of his long-winded speech.
Phainon bent down to whisper in Anaxa’s ear, “Being at the back doesn’t suit you.”
“Are you calling me short?”
“You said that, not me.”
Being near this tall lamp post of a man was one part infuriating and one part painful.
It was almost nine in the morning when the principal dismissed the students before calling the teachers backstage for a swift meeting. Anaxa made his way into his classes situated on the third floor at the second building, with Phainon following his footsteps right behind him and talking his ears off apropos of the little commotion they got into.
How much more shut up and get lost Anaxa has in him, he doesn’t know.
When they arrived in their classroom, Empedocles was in the middle of introducing himself and telling the class of his expectations for them and the year that followed. The two seats at the back glowed subtly in the same manner as items available for interaction would glow for the player’s notice in video games.
Anaxa was tempted to walk out.
“I’m not sitting next to you.”
“Anaxagoras,” Empedocles then called, his voice turning soft at the edges. Anaxa had been like a son to him, having counselled the small student last year for his personal troubles, “And Phainon Khaslana, please have a seat at the back.”
The two stood still, one firm and unmoving, one trying to stop himself from bending down in laughter.
Phainon coughs discreetly behind his fist, “Ahem.. aren’t you gonna sit.”
Anaxa snaps his head towards him and lets out a cold “No.”
Phainon rummaged through his pockets and offered a stick of the limited edition dromas lollies he bought during the incident at the convenience store earlier, “Sorry.”
“Aren’t they for your son?”
“My son would be happy that I shared them. Come, come, why don’t we…”
By the time Phainon ended his sentence, Anaxa was already pulling his chair to sit by their shared desk. He followed, the legs of the chair shrieking at the friction, “..sit down and be friends. Deal?”
Fortunately, he braced himself for the rejection that would come. Phainon wasn’t, by any means, dejected by the rejection, with a harsh pull of the limited edition dromas lollies from his other hand that followed, as determination only burned in his gut at the firm no.
Winter had gone by in a flash of white.
Spring reigns over them in bouts of green and a wide array of colorful flowers. Each bud blooming with the promise of a better tomorrow, each seed taking root in bountiful soil. Anaxa looks longingly at the window where flowers grow on the branches of a grove of trees that stand over the buildings, and past Phainon’s long-winded, never ending babble.
He had half a mind to tell him to fuck off but decided against it, thinking he ought to be nicer to the boy. The same boy who, a good six foot flat, wrestled the jar of limited edition dromas lollipops out of his hands. Anaxa thought that such transgressions will never be forgiven.
His head leaned on his hand that was propped up by his elbow on the table. Phainon sat at his left, thin glasses sitting snugly on the bridge of his nose, moving as his mouth incessantly babbled on and about his little gray son. Anaxa briefly considered walking out by the opened sliding doors to his right.
The son in question was a fucking gray chimera with a knack for chewing on pet-friendly lollipops and furniture. Anaxa bristled at the thought of limited edition lollies ending up not in his but in a chimera’s wet sticky mouth.
He lost to a chimera. That was a fact he had a hard time accepting.
Every argument with Nanous, he ended up winning. After all, the mint chimera could do nothing but awoo in response to his well thought out arguments. Each counterargument was muttered in awoos and whines, and each of it was met with a carefully crafted response by Anaxagoras the Budding Philosopher. Sometimes, Anaxa would be met with a bite to his toe and a scratch on his face.
If it weren’t a bite, it would be something else that Anaxa wouldn’t spare even a furtive glance at. He sported multiple small scratches from the little furry creature out of fury and sheer pettiness.
“Fallacies could only get you so far, Nanous!”
“Awoo!”
Anaxa was incredibly petty. That was a fact he had accepted a long time ago. Now he sits in stubborn silence as Phainon goes on a long tangent about Beagle Coconut. The teacher in front pays them no mind, having gotten used to their antics in the first few days. What the two didn’t know was how horribly smeared their reputations were within the walls of the faculty room.
“..paws.” So he was talking about Beagle Coconut’s paws. Phainon may as well start from top to bottom raving on about his chimera’s physical features.
“So what,” Anaxa finally snaps. He turns his head and glares at the offending person who has his palm level with his chest and facing the green-haired boy in an innocent motion, “I don’t care about your stupid pet.”
The wooden chair may as well catch on fire with how hard he was lying. Maybe he wasn’t enthusiastic about it, but he is a tad bit curious about his seatmate’s pet.
Disbelief leaked through his face as Phainon praised his chimera for being obedient and proclaimed him as the best in the world. How on Earth could any one of those furry little creatures be obedient? Nanous sure wasn’t.
And never was.
He was expected to die within the first week of his birth. Born as the runt of the litter, he had life harder than his littermates. He was the last of the litter to develop motor skills, having learned how to crawl with his frail paws at his third month instead of the normal second. He was the least to receive milk from his mom, his littermates having grown exponentially larger than him than they left no space for him to suckle on a teat.
His first vocalization had been a meow, and not an awoo.
The owner of his mom described him as a mute when Diotima and Anaxa first adopted him. They never heard him awoo, nor did they ever hear him cry. He was silent as a mule.
Nana, the senior mamacat who lived on their front porch, practically raised the little runt.
Anaxa used to be worried about Nanous’s developmental stages. He never considered raising a chimera, but his sister had adopted one for him, so he had been forced to research and read many online manuals regarding their growth. Growing up without his mama might hinder it, and he was afraid of the little one dying without getting to live a life full of joy.
Was it even possible for the runt of the litter to be raised by an entirely different animal?
It was, indeed, possible.
Nanous used to be so cute. Now he was a conniving little shit full of rage and sass.
“He’s full of love,” was Phainon’s response after a minute of complete silence. He took hold of his bag and grasped the pin that was attached to the front of his bag. Anaxa was met with a glossy, horribly handdrawn print of what seems to be a gray chimera, “You can’t ‘not care’. Everyone cares for Beagle Coconut.”
The mention of the name had halted Anaxa's long internal list of insults.
“Come again?”
“Everyone cares for Beagle Coconut?”
Anaxa snorts as he clasps a separate keychain of the same terribly drawn doodle of the pet, “His name is Beagle Coconut.”
“Is there a problem?”
Yes, Anaxa so desperately want to say, multiple, in fact.
Nanous sat atop a pot that used to house a pretty plant with pink flowers as he stared yearning at the house in front of him.
Beagle Coconut was not faring any better—he had climbed the fence and decided sitting at its peak despite its sharp edges was wise as he looked over at Nanous from across him.
How he so desperately wanted to climb out and make his way onto Nanous’s house. To feel his mint fur, smooth like silk, with his paws.. to grab his small head and pepper his furry little face with licks and kisses.. would Nanous let him see his belly? To feel it, to touch it, would he be granted permission and trust to sniff the guarded flesh beneath?
He lets out a whimper, and his ears lop down out of sadness. Nanous senses his change in mood and rises in alarm, ready to run off to his side, but was stopped by a shake of the head by Beagle Coconut.
I’m fine, was what the gray chimera wanted to say.
Nanous oscillates between looking in front and looking back to check for Diotima. He didn’t want to make her worry, not with Anaxa being a difficult teen around, he couldn’t add to her stress of raising two boys.
Once he’s made sure that the coast was clear, he immediately jumped down from the pot and ran over to Beagle Coconut’s side, not without checking left and right for oncoming vehicles. Nanous jumped, high and agile his little body was, and tackled Beagle Coconut, giving him licks all over out of worry.
“Awoo?”
Beagle Coconut deflates at that and shakes his head, “Awoo…”
Nanous looks down, feeling useless as of the moment. He gave Beagle Coconut a chaste kiss on the furry cheek, before asking, “Awoo..?”
Beagle Coconut lights up at the kiss. Nanous was reminded of the sun at his bright, fangy grin, “Awoo!”
Nanous was delighted at his lover’s happiness that he plopped down on his back and started rolling around the pavement, his soft, white belly exposed to everyone who walked past the steel gate. Beagle Coconut’s world abruptly stopped at the sight.
Nanous’s belly.
Nanous had shown him his belly!
Just right before he dives headfirst and get a hard sniff at it, he was hoisted into the air by a pair of gloved hands, “No fighting, little one.”
“Awoo!” We’re not fighting!
From Cyrene’s perspective, Beagle Coconut was but a centimeter away from ramming onto Nanous’s belly and biting into it. Grabbing him had meant saving poor, defenseless Nanous from receiving the injury of his lifetime.
But wasn’t it obvious what Beagle Coconut wanted?
He just wanted a sniff!
Nanous awoo’d at the sight of his lover in the air and bit into Cyrene’s pants for the second time that week. He awoo’d and awoo’d, feeling distress at the pathetic sight Beagle Coconut displayed.
Cyrene heaved a sigh and gently placed the chimera back onto the ground. Beagle Coconut made a run for Nanous’s stomach, pressing his nose from where his lover’s flesh met the ground.
Nanous hissed, “Awoo-woo!”
What!
Nanous had called him a sick pervert!
He wasn’t perverted! He just wanted a sniff!
But it was too late. Nanous had jumped with his might and ran off to his house across from where he previously stood. Each step he made he had huffed and sulked as he thought about Beagle Coconut’s shameless behavior.
He stares again past the steel gate and at his lover’s pathetic, despairing face. He briefly considered making his way back to give Beagle Coconut a chance to redeem himself when he hears multiple footsteps from his right.
“I don’t like snakes.”
“I don’t care about your preference, Phainon Khaslana.”
Phainon hooked an arm around Anaxa’s shoulder. He peeked at his deskmate’s phone, making a noise at the sight of the game that Anaxa likes to play, “I like sandbox games. You know, like Minecraft?”
“I don’t care about your preference, Phainon Khaslana.”
“I hate dress-up games though. I always only get one star.”
Anaxa opens his mouth to say I don’t care once more, but Phainon beats him to it and places a hand over his lips, “Look.”
He points at Beagle Coconut, who is lying down on the pavement with his head hanging low, “He’s sad.”
Anaxa licks the hand over his lips, whose owner retracts it at a speed unheard of. He walks at a faster pace, overtaking his companion, “Your presence is saddening.”
“Don’t be mean. I said I’m sorry, didn’t I?”
Anaxa stops by the gate as he sees Nanous. He ushers the chimera to come close, yet his command goes unnoticed. The steel glare and fiery mood was unmistakable. Following Nanous’s line of sight, he could only conclude one thing, “My Nanous is mad at your pet. Are you gonna say sorry for that, too?”
“What? I mean, yes, I’m sorry for Beagle Coconut’s behavior.. Anaxa,”
“Anaxagoras.”
“Anaxa. Please forgive me.”
“No.”
It was too late for any kind of apologies as Anaxa had made up his stubborn mind from the start. The gate stood between them, steadfast and unwavering, furthering their divided friendship companionship.
Gently, he lifted the moody chimera with a palm under his soft belly. He gave his forehead a soft kiss, mindful of the comically big horn above it, “What happened now?”
“Awoo…”
“I know. It’s rare to see you so down. That guy is annoying, isn’t he?”
Nanous thought of Beagle Coconut and his fangy smiles. He wasn’t annoying by any means, he was, as Phainon said, a chimera full of love to give. Still, he made a mistake. Attempting to even catch a whiff of Nanous’s guarded stomach without his permission was a sin too grave to be forgiven.
“Awoo..”
“Yes, I won’t fight you today, as long as you promise to not near him, hm? I bet he’s like his stupid owner.”
The problem was Beagle Coconut wasn’t stupid, too. He was smart and charming, and he knew what to awoo to get someone’s affections. It worked like a charm for Nanous, and he’s sure it worked for others as well. Who could say no to a face like his?
“Awoo…”
“Are you arguing with me, Nanous?”
“Awoo!”
With Nanous in tow, Anaxa stepped foot inside the house and locked the door without a trace of hesitation, leaving Phainon and Beagle Coconut across them, wondering what had gone wrong.
Phainon sighed and hugged his chimera close, “You good, pup?”
No, Beagle Coconut wasn’t. He whimpered, burying his face on Phainon’s chest.
“What icy hearts. But we have our charm, don’t we, little Bee? Reney would tell us not to give up, so we won’t. Isn’t that right?”
“Awoo…”
“We can melt their hearts, can’t we, pup?”
Beagle Coconut lets out an excited awoo at that. He had made up his mind — he’ll get back into Nanous’ good graces, and they’ll soon return to being the sweet lovers they once were.
They’ve been assigned as project partners.
Phainon had surprisingly been a good partner. With how much of a nuthead he was, Anaxa expected to do a good chunk of the assigned work for them. To his surprise, Phainon took the lead and even had his most of his section done within the day of the teacher assigning it to them.
Anaxa had prepared a bag of walnuts to give to his deskmate. It was good for the brain to function well, and a subtle way of him to say that he thought Phainon was a bit stupid. Though it seems that the sentiment isn’t needed.
“Here.”
Anaxa ignores him and continues to type on the keyboard of his laptop. Then, he catches whiff of a pleasant, sweet smell before a dromas-shaped candy is shoved unceremoniously inside his mouth.
He glared at Phainon, who flashes him a bright smile, “Good, isn’t it?”
Nanous eyes them from inside his pen. The white-haired male reminds him of his once lover, and he’d hate for him to commit the same mistakes Beagle Coconut did. He jumps up on his chimera tower, lying down on the plush bedding as he looks down at the two young men.
Anaxa hums. The flavor bursts on his tongue. It was the first time he’d gotten a taste of the candy, and he wanted more. It was a sweet, citrusy treat with the flavor clinging to the walls of his mouth. But he’d rather die than yield and ask for another stick of the candy.
Five sticks fall on his lap. It was as if Phainon had read his mind.
“I don’t need this.”
“Liar.”
Anaxa gulps down the urge to call him a fucker. He sucks at the stick in his mouth, amused by the tangy flavor. Beside him, Phainon sits crosslegged as he works on what is left of his section. Anaxa couldn’t help but think that the space between his legs is empty.
“Nanous,” He calls. The said chimera stretches his neck out to look at him yet ignores his call. When a second Nanous hits his ears, he whines and jumps down from his tower, stretching his torso out before he makes his way to Anaxa.
“Up.”
“Awoo..” He jumps up on Anaxa’s thighs and curls into a soft ball of fur. A disgruntled sound leaves his mouth when he gets picked up on his belly and carefully planted on Phainon’s lap, who looks surprised at the action, “Is this an offering?”
“No.” He lies through his teeth. “It’s exposure therapy for Nanous.”
“Awoo?” Didn’t that mean he was going to see more of Phainon? Nanous snaps his head to Anaxa, who was looking away from the both of them stubbornly, then to Phainon, who stared at Anaxa with genuine interest.
If Nanous didn’t know any better, he’d think these two were pining for one another. Yet he could still sense Anaxa’s dislike for the white-haired boy. Perhaps, Nanous thinks in his little head, that it was an amalgamation of the two, a homogeneous mixture of two opposing forces.
In Nanous’s eyes, what they needed was a little push. Though infuriating, there is genuineness in Phainon’s eyes that people rarely possess in the new age. Maybe they could be like what he and Beagle Coconut used to be..
Is it truly possible? Is there a chance, even if small, that the two of them could be ‘lovers’? Nanous’s eyes gleamed, an idea forming in his little head. Two people who have absolute trust in each other, becoming each other’s confidant, being partners..
He bit on Phainon’s arm, startling Phainon who let out a sharp hiss. Anaxa looked over at the bleeding bite in alarm. He immediately rose to his feet and headed towards the cabinet to grab his first aid kit.
Phainon waved a hand at this, “I’m used to bites.”
“Nonsense. It’s bleeding.”
Nanous jumped up from Phainon’s lap and onto the keyboard of his laptop. His hind legs stepped on the letters, generating a string of long gggg’s and ffff’s on the document. His eyes focused on the two teens, taking in the sight of Anaxa patching up who he used to call his sworn enemy with glee.
“I thought you hated me,”
“Don’t be silly. I don’t hate anybody.”
Thump, thump. The wagging of his tail, like the beating of their hearts, betrayed his intentions. This was too exciting! Nanous was thrilled at the direction they were heading into. It seems that matchmaking these two wasn’t far-fetched considering their budding friendship.
Phainon produced a jar from his bag - it was the jar containing the limited edition dromas-shaped lollipops! He plopped it right onto Anaxa’s lap despite the other telling him to stay still.
“You have it,” He says, sucking on one. Anaxa deserved it for being a nice guy to him.
“No,” He shoved it into Phainon’s bag, “You bought it.”
“Beagle Coconut absolutely hates the flavor,” Phainon placed it on the coffee table, not giving Nanous even a second glance, nor did he seem to care about the chimera ruining his document with strings of repeated letters and deleted paragraphs.
“Fine,” Anaxa looks away with a ‘hmph’, “Then we’ll.. share.”
Phainon’s laptop lights up with the logo of the brand, before shutting down completely. He wouldn’t have minded if not for his work being sabotaged by the little mint furry who held a smug, toothy grin.
Anaxa sighed at the sight, pushing the first-aid kit into the table before seizing Nanous who whined and thrashed in his hold. He heads to the pen and plops Nanous right into the peak of his tower, who receives a warning glare.
It took a bite and a smug chimera to get Anaxa to soften up to him, but it was all worth it.
Beagle Coconut had the attitude of a saint, but like any other chimera, he hated being told no.
He stared at Cyrene, giving her his big, blue doe eyes, and hoping it works its magic. But it doesn’t, she seems immune to it, even, so he paws at her clothes, whining like a kicked puppy in her arms, his tail arched and swaying side to side in frustration.
“What is it now, little one?” She asks earnestly, giving him soft pats on the head. He lets out an awoo and looks over to the direction of Diotima - and Nanous’s - house. Though Cyrene got the hint, she played dumb, thinking it would get the little chimera in her arms to stop.
He does not stop.
He is persistent in his annoyance the entire day. The house is filled with melancholic awoos at every time of the day, and he lets his woes be known by refusing to eat out of his bowl. Hell, he took a turd next to his litter box, leaving a smelly mess on the ground.
Cyrene had given up on trying to get him to eat, knowing he’d relent once he’d gone hungry later. If there was one thing Beagle Coconut was, it was that he was a treat addicted little man.
He sits by the hammock perched on a window on the second floor of the house, looking over at where his once lover resides. His sharp sight allows him to glimpse shadows, one very familiar on the house’s second floor, and his heart lurches in betrayal.
Could that be who he thought it was?
(It was, indeed, who Beagle Coconut thought it was.)
It was Phainon!
He was with Anaxa, that sly man!
Awoo, and Beagle Coconut was unfortunate, stuck in the house, unable to explain himself to his lover!
He whimpered at the thought, burrowing his paws on the softness of the hammock, his head hanging low. How could it be? How could Phainon bear to sit next to Anaxa knowing his beloved pet is in the house from across them, wailing in despair? Didn’t they promise to help each other in their quest to woo the two stone-hearted beauties together? How is it that Phainon is a step ahead of him, leaving Beagle Coconut in the dark about his endeavors?
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice the signs of the fragile hammock falling off. The string snapped, and before he knew it, there was a loud thud, and the next thing he knew, he was lying face down on the ground, with Cyrene’s voice echoing behind him in concern.
But he doesn’t bother getting up.
Life was so, soooo unfair..
By the time it reached three p.m., their work was finished, tweaked only with slight revisions. Phainon’s laptop was packed in his bag, and the now-empty dromas jar of his sits on a countertop in the kitchen.
Saying goodbye was the hardest part in leaving.
Thankfully, Phainon had no plans to.
“Could you move a little?” Anaxa asked, glaring at Phainon who had his head leaning on Anaxa’s to watch the other boy scroll on his phone. Phainon ardently shook his head, making it known that he had absolutely no plans to respect Anaxa’s personal space that he loved so much.
“Not unless you accept my apology,” He said, steadfast in his resolve. He accepted only one answer, and whatever Anaxa says that wasn’t an affirmation would be thrown down the drain. The rhythm of his heartbeat fastens as he takes notice of their close proximity, but he drowns it down with an albeit nervous gulp.
Anaxa huffed, sitting up to look at Phainon clearly, whose head had dropped on the backrest of the sofa, “I already said yes. What more do you want from me, you stubborn fool?”
“To be friends?” Phainon said earnestly. It seems as though the world slowed down and only the two of them mattered, “Or maybe—“
Before they know it, their moment was ruined by a knock on the door.
“Tima?” Cyrene called from outside. “Phai? Ana?”
Anaxa gulps down his annoyance at the nickname, standing up to open the door, “Cyrene, and…”
The feisty little one barked from where he was cradled on Cyrene’s arms, “…Beagle Coconut. Come in, we have tea. Phainon is here, you can have him afterwa—“
There was a gust of wind that Anaxa registered too late, which was Beagle Coconut making a run for Nanous, who was napping at his chimera tower in his pen, “..!”
“..Diotima is away for grocery.”
“It’s all right. Beagle Coconut just wanted to see Nanous,” Cyrene sighed, thinking of the tantrums the chimera had earlier, “Wouldn’t shut up about it or anything. I was left with no choice.”
Anaxa awkwardly nodded, unsure of how to continue the conversation. He moved to the kitchen to prepare tea for her, but she waved her hand, dismissing his actions, “No need. I’ll leave as soon as Beagle Coconut is done.”
The three of them look over at the pen, now devoid of any chimeras. The small makeshift house was loud with awoos, however, and Anaxa frowned at the unfamiliar noises that Nanous was making, “Huh.”
“Do we leave them?” Phainon asked, curious all the same. He’s never heard Beagle Coconut make that sound either. Perhaps Nanous’s animosity towards him was irreversible after all.
Anaxa nodded, “Leave them to sort it out. And you,” He pointed at Phainon, “You leave, too.”
“No way.” Phainon looked at him with incredulity in his eyes, “Unless we become friends first. That was my condition, wasn’t it?”
“No way.”
“Then I won’t leave.”
“No way, too.”
“I won’t leave this house, you know.”
“Fine,” Anaxa extended a hand toward him. His lips were jutted out in a pout, betraying his slight unwillingness, “Friends.”
Phainon softened at that and gently grasped his hand, “Friends.”
With their reputations sullied in the faculty room, Socrippe didn’t expect a work of outstanding quality from Phainon Khaslana and Anaxagoras, hell, with how much the two were in their own little bubble during classes, he didn’t expect even a decent scrap of work from them.
“Amazing,” He grumbled, writing a 100 in bright, red ink, angry like how he feels. He’s known the two as the boys at the back who slacked off at every opportunity, so receiving something of this calibre from the likes of them made him mad. Not even the top student had a work as good as this.
He glances at the offending boys.
Should he make his anger known?
Perhaps the two received help from outside sources as everyone was given a deadline of two weeks?
At the back of the class, Anaxa sat down on his wooden chair, lax and eager as he clicks on the buttons of his handheld console. Phainon watched him play from beside him, munching messily on a dromas-shaped cookie that Diotima had baked for the two newly-found friends.
Around them, their co-students chatted around with one another as Socrippe graded their papers in front. No one really paid much attention to what the others were doing as they were busy in their own little circle.
Sighing, Anaxa places the console on his desk, “I’m sleepy.”
“Then nap?” Phainon helpfully chirps. He wipes the side of his mouth with a finger, then pointed at the console, “Can I play?”
“You cannot play shit. I’ll lose my progress if I hand it over to you.” Anaxa deadpans. He lays down his arms on the desk and places his head on the space between them, blocking off whatever Phainon had to say.
“I’ll play a new game then.” Phainon says as he gulped down the last of his cookie.
It was silent for a while, before a loud sigh came from the green-haired boy and the console was abruptly shoved on Phainon’s hands.
Socrippe eyes them, looking past the stacks of paper above his desk. His hand moved automatically as he graded the remaining papers, not realizing he was writing past it and onto the wooden material of the table from how he was focused on the two.
Drat! He cursed the two boys at the back for momentarily distracting him. He turned his head back and finished grading the papers, mentally cursing the two. Later, he stood up and called, “Phainon Khaslana, Anaxagoras,”
Phainon abruptly stood up with a ‘yes sir’, while Anaxa lazily pushed himself to his feet. Just the mere sight of the two slackers was enough to make Socrippe see red with annoyance, “Bring the papers to my desk at the faculty room.”
He heard an enthusiastic sir yes sir before they walked past him and to his desk to fetch the stacks of papers. Phainon carried a good three-fourths of it, while the other quarter laid lax on Anaxa’s hands.
“Look at that. We got a perfect 100.” Phainon told him, having carefully searched for their papers as they walked to the faculty room.
Anaxa paid him no mind.
When they reached the faculty room, they immediately placed the papers on Socrippe’s table, and looked at him for further instructions. Their teacher only stared at them emptily before asking: “Did you two do your work honestly?”
The two affirmed his statement. Socrippe searched for deceit but could find none of it in their eyes. He sighed. While angry, he had no desire to argue with two, more boisterous young men, so he waved them dismissively with a hand, telling them to return to their rooms.
Phainon skipped happily. More than once he’d stop to wait for Anaxa, whose strides were short and measured rather than long and quick. They made their way to their desks, and Phainon resumed his game on Anaxa’s handheld console.
Having reunited, Beagle Coconut refused to leave Nanous’s side.
He’s said sorry over and over again the last time they met, and thankfully, Nanous accepted his apology. Nanous even went as far as letting Beagle Coconut lie down next to him, so he thanked every god he knows for the miracle bestowed upon him.
Hell, he even let him !?&&$:!&.
Cough. Diotima excused herself and turned away from Cyrene, wiping her mouth with her handkerchief, “Sorry for that.”
Cyrene laughed and shook her head, “No, no, it’s fine. It’s allergy season, after all.”
Beagle Coconut licked Nanous’s face. It has already been three weeks since their fight, and a good week of it was spent ignoring each other’s presence. He never wanted something like that to happen once more! He could not bear to part with his lover, now mate, and he’ll move mountains to make sure it never happens once again.
Yes, their reunion back at Diotima’s house had gone something like this:
“Awoo..”
“Awoo!” Nanous barked, “Awoo!!”
“Awoo! Awoo!!” Then, Beagle Coconut mounted him, and everything was history.
It was no wonder why Nanous had been pudgier than usual. Diotima had carried him to the house as he whined about not feeling well, and she thought nothing of it. After all, Nanous was a demanding little individual, so Nanous demanding for his uppies wasn’t lost to her.
She had missed, and had been missing the signs, however. Of course, it wasn’t as if it was glaringly obvious. Rather, it was downright impossible as Nanous was neutered.
Neutered. His balls had been snipped.
So how the hell is he pregnant?
Half an hour of playing a new game was half an hour of Phainon failing spectacularly at every stage.
He’s gotten past the first two with ease, but as he progressed, the lesser stars he cleared with each stage. Was it his skill level declining? He had seen the unlocked stages, having scrolled through it earlier to see the owner’s progress, and they were all cleared with full stars. There were about a few hundreds of stages, so Anaxa is definitely a pro at this.
Anaxa, also, did not have any sandbox games in his console.
Which was sad, considering how fun they were. However, Phainon doubted the console could hold sandbox games with how complex they were. Perhaps those types of games just weren’t meant for the console itself.
Phainon sighed and exited the game. This was the fifth out of a whopping hundred and thirty-four games he had played the past two hours, and he was running out of interest. At this point, he was playing just to pass time instead of enjoying them.
How could he enjoy them when he had neither the skill nor interest in them? He wondered how Anaxa could enjoy playing fast-paced games. Minecraft was infinitely better than all a hundred combined.
He set the console on the space at the bottom of their tables. He laid his head on his arms while turning to Anaxa, who was facing him, peacefully sleeping. The ray of sunlight hits his face perfectly, catching on the lashes of his eyelids.
He had always thought Anaxa to be pretty, despite his nasty, closed off attitude, but today, he was downright beautiful.
He stretched out a hand, his palm gently touching the tufts of green hair. Gently, he caressed his head, and went as far as to tuck a stray hair behind Anaxa’s ear. The young man’s eyes fluttered lightly, letting out a sigh. Phainon refused to move his hand.
Their Maths teacher entered the room, and immediately the rowdy classroom quieted away with a hush, yet Phainon paid no mind to her presence. The boy in front of him was so captivating that he could not tear his eyes away from him.
He could not name the feeling brewing in his chest. He didn’t want to, thinking it too early for anything strong like love. A crush sufficed, perhaps, as he did harbor some sort of admiration for the cold beauty.
He rummaged his pockets for his phone and snapped a picture of the sleeping Anaxa, who remained heedless of the actions of the white-haired boy. Phainon smiled at the photo. He pressed long enough on his phone for the apps to start moving, indicating their interactability, and set the photo as his screen wallpaper.
Now each time he opened his phone he would see the boy.
Phainon found the thought pleasant.
“Phainon Khaslana!” The teacher called, banging her teaching stick against the whiteboard. Her eyebrows were furrowed in a frown and her glare was steely as she looked over at the two of them, “No flirting in my class! Answer number 5 on the board. Now.”
Anaxa was awake by then, mouthing a sleepy good luck at the other boy next to him, who mouthed an I don’t need it back to Anaxa with a wink.
For some unfamiliar reason, Anaxa’s heart fluttered, and he could feel a blush creeping up on his cheeks.
Over a wink?!
It was there, the restless beating of his heart. Could it be that he felt something for the young man who did nothing but exasperate him in the past three months?
Anaxa looked away. He ruffled his hair, and in doing so, a petal slowly swooshed down to his table. There, he discovered a flower tucked in his ear.
Oh.
Oh.
There was something wrong with his heart, after all.
Anaxa recalled the second time this happened.
It was a windy morning. When not crowded by Phainon, he’d spend his lunches in classrooms, quiet and away from the bustling crowds, or in the fields where the breeze would sweep away dust and leaves in its path.
Despite Phainon’s clingy nature, Anaxa was used to being alone. All he needed was his handheld console and headphones, and he’d be set for the day. The lack of social interactions didn’t bother him, not one bit. Today, however, Phainon went up the hill and sat next to him on the bench, and said: “Come to my basketball game.”
Anaxa thought he heard him wrong. The resident Class 3-C slacker, playing basketball? “Come again?”
“Come to my basketball game?” He repeated with a light tilt to his head. Like this, he looked like a Samoyed puppy waiting for its owner’s instructions. Anaxa gulped the thought down, not wanting to enter that territory. Or at least, not yet.
“You.. playing basketball?” Anaxa huffed. Such was impossible unless there was something else beneath it. “What brought this on?”
“I was recruited into playing,” Phainon stated with a smile, full of pride for his skills. Yet Anaxa couldn’t believe his ears; Phainon was not only playing, but he was recruited into playing for the team? Would that not be them shooting themselves in the foot with Phainon’s inexperience?
Anaxa remained indifferent despite the thoughts bubbling in his head. He ate a piece of broccoli and said, “You must’ve been recruited for your looks.”
It was a tactic used by students to garner supporters for their team. Anaxa wouldn’t be surprised if that was the true reason they recruited Phainon, who looked incredulous at the thought, “No way. I was MVP in basketball last year. Besides..”
Anaxa waited, “Besides..?”
Phainon moved his face closer, and Anaxa instinctively moved away, “About what you said. Does that mean you think I look good?”
Anaxa’s heart skipped a beat. He looked away as he felt heat rushing to his cheeks, “No. Go away.”
Phainon wrapped his arms around Anaxa’s shoulders, making sure to hold him as close as possible to himself, “No can do. I need a cheerleader.”
“No way in hell I’m cheering for you.”
“Please?” Phainon whined, giving him his best puppy eyes. Anaxa gasped at the sight as it pulled on his heart strings, and he knew that moment that he couldn’t say no..
“…Fine.”
Yeah. There was definitely something terribly wrong with his heart.
And then, the third time it happened, Anaxa had enough of the restless beating of his heart.
It was during a basketball match that Anaxa felt his breath catch for the first time and realize how, despite months of suppressing it, he had a crush on Phainon.
It started slow; he couldn’t take his eyes off of Phainon, all sweaty and tired in his basketball jersey, playing with his teammates on the court. He couldn’t help the thought that strayed in his mind, of him wiping Phainon’s sweat away with his towel and cheering him on for the whole match.
He pretended to not have thought of any of it. It was too dangerous to wander in a territory so uncharted, unexplored, and he wasn’t even sure if he was ready for whatever it could mean.
Until Phainon pointed at Anaxa and winked at him before throwing a ball at the ring.
It landed in the ring, and the loud thud of it falling down the shiny court echoed loudly in Anaxa’s ears.
His heart quickened, and he felt his breath catch at his throat, and for a moment, the world was slow, their eyes were glued to one another, never straying away from each other.
What the hell was this?
When the game was over, Phainon left his teammates in lieu of running over to Anaxa, who tried his best to leave as soon as possible and escape the throng of people waiting for Phainon.
It was so small and silly that he wanted to cry. It was just a wink and a ball, how could he feel so much from it?
When Phainon caught up to him, he held him close in his arms, the sweat and the scent of musk that clung to his gleaming skin, and such a thing was pleasant to Anaxa that he buried his nose in him and Phainon felt arms wind around his torso.
When they pulled back, Phainon had a big, toothy grin on his face, “Hi.”
“Hi yourself,” Anaxa said. For some unknown reason, he was nervous, and everything was hot, and that the world was closing up on him…
Why was he feeling this way?
He grabbed a towel from his bag and wiped Phainon with it. He couldn’t help but admire the perfect, unblemished skin, and for a second he stopped and simply.. stared. Not at the man who annoyed him everyday since his third year started, but at Phainon Khaslana himself.
Phainon was just too handsome, his baby blue eyes captivating anyone who locks eyes with him. And his smile.. it held everyone prisoner, unable to say no to his whims. It held Anaxa prisoner, unable to speak nor breathe as he lost himself in them.
Anaxa sighed and let go, snapping from his reverie. He shoved the towel - now wet with sweat - onto Phainon’s face, who choked on his spit in surprise at the action. There was no need for him to stew in his feelings over Phainon, it either existed or it didn’t. And that was the most he will do to acknowledge the affection brewing in his heart.
“..Diotima’s not home, Nanous is alone in the house.” Anaxa said. There was a brief silence between the two of them, with Anaxa waiting for an answer, while Phainon had his eyes set lovingly on the other.
Don’t look at me like that! He wanted to say. There was an expectant look behind Phainon’s eyes, too, like he’s waiting for Anaxa to continue. Like he’s waiting for Anaxa to offer him something neither of them could go back from.
“So..” Anaxa said, nervousness creeping up on his voice. Why was he so nervous today? This was just Phainon, he talked to him everyday.. “…let’s go home together.”
When Phainon wore his jacket over his jersey, zipping it up at the top from how cold the surroundings felt, it was already well past seven, with the match having started at around three in the afternoon.
His hand sneakily grasped Anaxa’s for warmth. He waited for a rejection as he was used to it from the young man, but he never expected for Anaxa to hold his hand as well.
“Cold?” Phainon asked. It was a stupid question. Anaxa was freezing. His entire frame was shaking in the cold that Phainon felt bad for even opening his mouth about it. Nevertheless, Anaxa nodded.
Phainon unzipped his jacket and held it over Anaxa, “Wear it?”
“I’m fine.” Anaxa lied through his teeth. He admitted it, he was too prideful to ask for help sometimes. Even when it was causing debilitating harm to him, he’d rather keel over and die than have someone aid him.
Phainon could see right through it, mostly from Anaxa’s hand shivering on his own. He could feel the younger man shake in the cold, and he would not have it.
“You’re not fine. I can see you shake.” Phainon said.
With no choice left, Anaxa pulled the jacket to himself and wore it, letting out a sigh at the newfound warmth. The jacket was a little big on him that he was dwarfed by it, and Phainon laughed at the cute sight it made.
And this time, it was Anaxa who initiated it. He snuck his hand into Phainon’s hand, and he held it tightly, as if he was afraid of losing him.
And Phainon could only hold his hand back, rubbing his thumb over Anaxa’s knuckle in a gentle caress. Together, they walked home.
“I thought they hated each other.”
It was the first thing that left Anaxa’s mouth as he and Phainon entered the house. Diotima was on the couch, taking pictures of the two chimeras napping side-by-side. She greeted the two of them with a nod to her head, and placed her pointer finger over her mouth so they could stay quiet.
Anaxa immediately shut up. He whispered at Phainon, repeating his remark, who laughed silently, shaking his head. Phainon whispered back, “My pup is in love with yours. How could that be hate?”
“Nanous bit him multiple times,” Anaxa countered, “By the looks of him, he must’ve meant it.”
Diotima looked at him with a raised brow, as if she couldn’t believe what he was saying. Phainon was right, they were head over heels over one another that hate was practically impossible between the two chimeras.
Her brother was smart, but when it comes to things like love, he was disgustingly slow. It reflected in the way he denied having a crush on his annoying deskmate, and how he thought Nanous’s emotions for Beagle Coconut consisted of only hate and not of love.
Nanous yawned, with the other chimera following suit. He stood up first, arching his back as he stretched his paws out, then ran over to Anaxa, pawing at his legs. He was begging to be lifted and held.
Towards Anaxa, the closeness was a new but welcomed occurrence.
Lately, Anaxa noticed, Nanous had been more clingy with him. He always slept at his tower, and at most he would take naps at the edge of Anaxa’s bed, but he’d beg to be cuddled by Anaxa nowadays, craving warmth and love and indulging in his need to be held like a sweet little baby being held by his mother.
So Anaxa complied and carried the small chimera, now a tad bit heavier, on his arms. He cradled Nanous like he was his babe, giving him pets with his free hand. He could hear the chimera purr loudly as he received love. At this angle, his belly was exposed to him, and Anaxa could see a tinge of pink under the white fur of his underbelly.
Curious, Anaxa smoothed the fur and found Nanous’s nipples to be swollen and pink —
“Is he pregnant?!”
He almost dropped Nanous.
How could that be? He was neutered.. his balls had been snipped by the vet one unfortunate Tuesday morning.. Diotima had even snapped a photo of his snipped balls held by a small cat figure! They had sufficient evidence that he was born male…
So how could he bear pups?!
Phainon stepped behind him, he wrapped his arms so that he was simultaneously hugging Anaxa from behind and cradling Nanous as well, “Are we gonna be grandparents?”
Anaxa glared at the offending young man. He sidestepped him and huffed, “Your pup better take responsibility.”
“We will.”
“You make sure of that,” Anaxa curled his fingers into a fist, leaving the pointer and middle finger upright. He made scissor motions, gesturing penance in the off-chance that they run away from their responsibilities, “Or I’m snipping your balls.”
“No balls will be snipped.” Diotima said, calming Anaxa down. She patted Anaxa’s head, then Phainon’s head, ruffling the latter’s fluffy white hair, “I’m sure Phainon and Beagle Coconut would be happy to provide.”
“Yes, ma’am. We would be very happy.”
Beagle Coconut awoo’d and pawed at Anaxa’s leg, wanting to hold his mate close to himself. Anaxa relented and gently let Nanous down, who immediately ran to his pen. He nestled against Beagle Coconut for warmth and cuddles, who licked him clean and spooned him from the side. They purred loudly and happily together.
Anaxa sat on the sofa, still sulking. Phainon followed, huddling close to him, and shyly placed his hand on top of his. He waited for a reaction, but like before, Anaxa didn’t pull away, enjoying the warmth of the other’s touch.
Everything happened the way it wasn’t supposed to be.
Sometimes, though, unexpected moments like this were better than ones done in a routine.
fin
