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“Hey Mydei? I have a question.”
Mydei looked away from the scroll he was reading to the man laying on his lap. “What is it?”
Phainon smiled up at him. “Would you still love me if I was a rock?”
“Hah?” Mydei arched his eyebrow incredulously. “What kind of question is that?”
“Oh, humour me, won’t you?” Phainon reached up to flick the braid Mydei always wore. “Call it a scholar’s curiosity.”
Mydei rolled his eyes. “It’s a stupid question, HKS.”
“Come on!” Snow-white hair bounced as Phainon sat up. “It’s a harmless question.”
“I am not answering inane questions.”
“Just this once? Please?” Phainon’s eyes sparkled when he pouted. “I won’t ask it again.”
Mydei sighed. He truly was too weak to that wet puppy look Phainon apparently had mastered. “Fine. More than likely, if you had been turned into a rock, I would still love you.”
Phainon grinned and pulled Mydei into a tight embrace. “Then I would be the most loved rock in all the world.”
Mydei allowed himself to sink into Phainon’s arms. “What are you on about? I would find a way to change you back, either with Anaxagoras or Hyacine’s help.”
“But you’d still love me?”
“But I would still love you.”
Phainon’s smile softened as he pressed a gentle kiss to Mydei’s forehead. “Then that’s all I’ll ever need.”
Mydei hummed, pleased with the show of affection. “It’s still a ridiculous notion, Deliverer. I highly doubt there is anything in this world that would be capable of turning flesh to stone.”
Phainon laughed as he leaned back and pulled Mydei down with him. “Oh, you never know. The world is a big place. You and I haven’t seen all of it yet.”
In such a comfortable position, sleep began to take a hold over Mydei. “Perhaps someday we will.”
The Deliverer chuckled as he ran his fingers through his lover’s hair. “I look forward to that, my dear Mydeimos.”
-//-//-//-//-//-
The sun had begun to set when Mydei set out from his abode today. He pulled his cloak tighter around himself and took a bracing breath before setting off towards his destination. The months have been getting colder recently, and though snow will not fall in Okhema, the seasons will shift all the same.
The city was quiet this time of day, with the only people being those that work late and are buying things before heading home. These same people bowed their heads in respect as Mydei walked past but they never stopped him. They knew better than to interrupt his daily rituals.
He took the same path he always did, avoiding the major thoroughfares and places he knew would have people gathering for the night. He had long since memorized this route, the people along it, the habits of those that lived in the area. Not that he ever stopped to watch. No, he had other things he needed to do.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the Marmoreal Palace gardens, where gardeners and groundskeepers were finishing their duties for the day. He exchanged friendly nods with them, but ultimately he didn’t stop for anything. His feet carried him forward until at last he finally stood before a marble statue located at the edge of the garden.
The statue was tall, lifelike in some aspects and artistic in others. The broad claymore showed signs of wear along its stone edge, but the statue was nowhere near dilapidated. In fact, Mydei had made sure of that every week when he cleaned it himself. It stood on a stone plinth that was surrounded by gifts and offerings, many of which Mydei would take to distribute to the less fortunate of Okhema. The only things he left were those that were more personal; letters, flowers, art and poetry. He did his best to protect these from the weather, stashing them neatly in a box that was then placed in the hollow space beneath the statue. On the plinth, the brass plaque had been worn from years of hands touching and brushing it, but the text was still a knife to the heart every time Mydei read it. He ran his fingers over the engraved letters, whispering it in his mind like it didn’t occupy his every waking moment.
Phainon
Hero of Amphoreus
He looked up at the statue, at the carved face of the man he loves, and a painful thought crossed his mind once more.
It’s… really not that close…
Mydei reached up to the hand of the statue and held it gently like it would come to life at any moment. With a heavy sigh, he pressed his forehead to the cool stone and closed his eyes, praying that maybe he would feel that warmth return.
“It’s okay… I still love you…”