Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Mydei!”

The wooden sword was thrown against the ground, clattering against the floor and almost falling off the roof. But none of that was any concern in Phainon’s mind as he rushed over to the golden-haired man, who was bent down on the floor and grasping his head. Practically sliding across the roof, Phainon, with furrowed and worried eyebrows, was trying to bend down and take a look at Mydei's expression, but his golden bangs covered much of his face. 

“Mydei? Are you okay?” Anxiety washed over Phainon as he stared at him with wide eyes and shaking hands. He wanted to hold the man gently in his arms and soothe him from the pain, but he knew the man kneeling in front of him wouldn't appreciate that blatant sort of affection. Phainon fought to keep his hands at his sides, waiting for any sort of word from the other man. 

“I'm… fine, Deliverer,” Mydei barely managed to grunt out, and Phainon wasn't the least convinced of his reassurance. 

“Did you want me to call Hyacine for you? I can go grab her–”

“Didn't I just say I was fine?” Mydei snapped, and a nasty glare was shot in Phainon's way. 

“But…” Phainon's shoulders deflated as Mydei forced himself back onto his two feet, and Phainon could do nothing except watch the man struggle under his own breath. “It doesn't hurt to get checked out by–”

“I'm fine,” Mydei harshly cut him off. “How many times do I have to say that?”

Phainon could not argue with Mydei anymore, as he had already departed from the rooftop. With solemn eyes, he could only watch the man hastily stumble from the roof, leaving him and his abandoned wooden sword. 

It had been about a week since that incident–a week since he had spoken to the prince of Kremnoans. It seemed that, no matter which corner Phainon turned, Mydei was always just passing by. Or anytime they would lock eyes with one another, Mydei would immediately become preoccupied with something else. And anytime Phainon would open his mouth to raise his voice, someone else would come and steal Mydei’s attention. 

It had happened so often and across multiple days that Phainon took the hint and left the man alone. Now here Phainon was, eating at the Marmoreal Diner and enjoying the sights and the conversations that were occurring around him in a peaceful solitude. At least, that was what he was telling himself before Castorice hesitantly stepped forward with her question. 

“Did you get into a fight with Lord Mydei?” The bearer of Death peered worriedly at Phainon, who was stabbing mournfully into his salad. 

Phainon sighed heavily, refusing to lock eyes with lavender. “It's nothing, Castorice. Don't worry about it.”

“But… It has been quite a while since you two were seen together.”

“We're not together all the time, Castorice.” Phainon finally glanced up with a roll of his eyes but was met with a very dubious stare from the other woman. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Lord Phainon.” Castorice took one very tired breath. “It is… actually quite rare to see you two separated for so long.”

“No, it's not,” Phainon scoffed and continued picking at his salad once more. “Mydei and I spend plenty of time apart.”

“But, you two have not perused the baths together for about a week now.”

“Mydei and I do not go to the baths together every day.”

He was met with complete silence from the other woman. 

“Well, I mean.” Why did Phainon feel the need to defend himself right now? “Sure, Mydei and I go often. But we don't go often enough to warrant such worry on your part.”

“Lord Phainon, if I may be so bold, you two would go to the baths twice a day.”

“Okay, I get it!” Phainon threw his hands up in the air in exasperation before his elbows abruptly landed against the table, rattling his salad bowl. “Fine, Mydei and I spend a lot of time together. But like I said before, we're fine.”

“When was the last time you spoke with Lord Mydei?”

Phainon could not answer her question. 

She continued to stare worriedly at Phainon as he pushed around his lettuce leaves. “It has been about a week since you two have been apart. You have not spoken since?”

“Mydei just…” Phainon scowled. He couldn't even begin to imagine why Mydei snapped at him like that, and he couldn't even think of an excuse for him. 

“Have you tried to go see him?” Castorice suggested. “I still see him training in the training grounds every day. It seems that his daily schedule has not changed. I'm not sure what you two fought about, but I'm sure if you–”

“We didn't fight!” Phainon quickly shut his mouth, running an impatient hand through his silver hair. “Sorry, Castorice.” He sighed heavily, relaxing his tensed shoulders. “I didn't mean to raise my voice at you.”

She immediately shook her head. “I understand your frustration, Lord Phainon. I really do think you should talk to him. I think Lord Mydei would like to see you as well.”

Phainon scoffed once more with a shake of his head of silver hair. “I don't think he would like to see my presence, Castorice.”

“Have you tried?”

“I'd rather not be on the receiving end of the prince of Kremnoans’s ire.”

Castorice frowned, fiddling with her hands underneath the table where she had joined Phainon at the diner. “Maybe you can try to bring him something? As a peace offering?”

Phainon's eyes lowered. He wasn't even sure what he did in the first place to bring some sort of peace offering. What should he even bring? Bandage wraps? Compresses? If Castorice still found him in the training grounds every day, that would mean he was feeling better, right? It didn't really settle well with Phainon that Mydei was so obviously training without him, but there wasn't anything he could exactly do if the other man did not want to see him. 

“Lord Phainon.” Castorice's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “It can be anything that Lord Mydei likes. Anything at all he would enjoy.”

Even with doubt swirling in Phainon's brain, it was then that Kyros, the owner of Marmoreal Diner, set a plate down at the table next to Phainon did he immediately figure out a peace offering to bring to the fussy prince of Kremnoans. Despite a part of him still hesitant that Mydei did not want to see him, a part of him was now angry that Mydei was just continuing his life as normal, just without Phainon. The only way that Phainon could think of to appease his anger would be to directly shove himself back into Mydei’s life, whether he wanted Phainon there or not. But now the only thing left was to figure out where Mydei would be at this time of day. 

Thanking Castorice, he rapidly inhaled the rest of his salad before departing from the diner. But not without Mydei’s peace offering. 

“Why are you here?”

“I thought it would be nice to have dinner with you.”

Mydei stared with a sharp glare at the bag that Phainon held up in his hands. He was currently resting in his room, which Phainon had graciously interrupted. He figured, since it was now Parting Hour, that Mydei was most likely either checking in with the Kremnoans around Okhema City or resting in his room. Phainon opted to check his room first since it was a more concrete location for him to easily visit. 

“You want to eat Golden Honeycakes for dinner?” Mydei's voice dripped with extreme suspicion, but Phainon had no choice but to continue pushing forward. 

“Isn't it your favorite?”

“For dinner?”

“I don't see why Time should constrain our diet.”

Mydei narrowed his eyes at the straining smile that Phainon was trying so hard to keep upon his face. But after a while of silent stubbornness, he sighed with resignation after staring at the raised bag. “You didn't eat yet?”

A spark of hope blossomed in Phainon's chest, and it was with much difficulty that he buried away his excitement and anticipation. After not even speaking to the man for a week, was Mydei really considering allowing Phainon into his room merely because of a couple of stacks of Golden Honeycakes? Did Castorice's peace offering idea actually succeed? And now the most burning question at the forefront of his mind was if Mydei liked Golden Honeycakes more than he actually liked Phainon. 

“No, I have not,” Phainon lied straight through his teeth. He actually only bought enough for Mydei, but he wouldn't know about that until Phainon was completely settled in Mydei's room. There was no way Mydei would kick him out upon seeing Phainon wasn't eating with him, right? He wouldn't kick Phainon out after he had gotten comfortable, right? Was that wishful thinking on Phainon’s part? It was quite difficult to read the man standing in front of him, even after fighting and working alongside him for so long. 

With another resigned sigh, Mydei stepped away from his door and held it open in a silent beckon for Phainon to come inside. With his strained smile becoming much more relaxed, Phainon nodded in thanks before entering the room that he had become quite accustomed to over the past few years. It wasn't as if he visited very often, but he visited often enough to recognize the simple scenery before him. Mydei always kept his room quite neat and tidy, and Phainon quickly settled onto the edge of his bed after passing the bag of food over to Mydei. 

He heard the rustling of the bag as Mydei unwrapped the steaming Golden Honeycakes, and Phainon tried to appear as comfortable as possible despite the sharp glare being shot in his way immediately after opening the meal. 

“There's only enough to serve one person.”

“Is there?” Phainon feigned a chuckle, his eyes scanning everywhere around the room except for the glowering man at the table. “Kyros must have gotten my order wrong.”

Mydei clicked his tongue, quickly packing away the Golden Honeycakes. “What do you want?”

“What do you mean?” Phainon finally met eyes with gold. Fortunately for Phainon, he looked more exhausted at Phainon's antics rather than furious. Did that mean he was no longer angry with Phainon? Was the reason for his anger really so fleeting that it would disappear after a week of silence and avoidance between them? Or maybe the Golden Honeycakes just had that much of an effect on his mood. 

“I meant, why are you here?” He crossed his arms and was unmoving from the Golden Honeycakes on the table. It almost looked as if he were protecting them from Phainon. Little did he know that Phainon had only bought it for him. 

“I just… wanted to see you.” Phainon figured a simple response would be best to not infuriate the prince once again. If he so much as hinted to Mydei ignoring him this early in the conversation, Phainon was afraid he would get immediately kicked out of Mydei's room. “It has been a while, and I just thought to stop by. That's all.”

“That's it?”

“That's it.”

Mydei continued staring suspiciously at Phainon's relaxed smile. Now, how was Phainon supposed to progress from this conversation to figuring out what he did wrong a week ago? 

“Don't you have better things to occupy your time with, Deliverer?” Mydei's suspicious glare somewhat ceased, but Phainon could tell that he was not exactly off of Mydei's radar just yet. 

“It has been quite calm outside of Okhema's borders. There isn't much to be doing right now.” Phainon shrugged languidly. 

“I'm sure there are plenty of other things to occupy your time with other than protecting Okhema's borders.”

It was Phainon's turn to narrow his eyes in Mydei’s direction. “I would love to train as a way to occupy my time during this period of low activity, but my training partner has refused to see me.”

Mydei's glare only grew at his incriminating statement, and a scowl immediately graced his features. “It may mean that your training partner is quite busy. Why not train with someone else? Or by yourself, in the meantime.”

Phainon sighed loudly, as if he had actually been lamenting this issue in his head for the past week. “A certain… little chimera has actually informed me that my training partner has been training without me. Why would you say that is the case? Instead of meeting me in the usual spot at the usual time, he has taken great care to avoid me, even training during off times when I cannot be found.”

Mydei scoffed. His leering golden eyes were fully trained upon Phainon, as if he could not even believe he was entertaining such a conversation. “You must be greatly mistaken. I am sure your training partner does not care enough about you or your schedule. You must merely be imagining things.”

Phainon hummed playfully. “You sound like you are quite acquainted with my training partner, Prince Mydeimos. To think that you can so boldly claim for my training partner’s actions?”

Phainon could see Mydei's jaw tightening, and he prepared himself for another one of Mydei's usual outbursts. 

“It is merely an assumption,” Mydei managed through clenched teeth. “It is just a simple assumption based on the information you have given me.”

A light laugh left Phainon's lips. This common bickering often found between them was one such thing that he had been missing for the past week, amongst many other things he had been missing regarding this golden-haired warrior. “Then, do you suppose my training partner will return to my embrace very soon?”

“Em–” Mydei quickly regained his bearings, refusing to cave to Phainon’s outlandish statements. “Your… training partner must find you quite infuriating.”

“He must, if he is so obviously avoiding me.” Phainon sighed wistfully with a dramatic shake of his head, putting on quite the show for the other man. “I wonder what I must do to be in his good graces once again.”

“I'm not avoiding you,” Mydei harshly snapped. 

Phainon raised an accusatory eyebrow. Was he seriously going to continue to deny Phainon’s claims? “Then, why could I not find you on the rooftops? Or better yet, why could I not find you in the baths? You are the most familiar with my schedule, Mydei, and it is clear that you are purposefully planning your time around my schedule.”

“I am not planning my time around you,” Mydei spat. 

“Then, care to explain why I could never find you?” Phainon pushed himself off the bed, but Mydei stubbornly kept his feet planted to the floor. “Why, whenever we would lock eyes, you would be the first to look away. Why, whenever I would bump into you, you would suddenly be preoccupied with something or someone else.”

“As I said before, you must clearly be imagining things.” Even with Phainon approaching Mydei, the man stayed unmoving in his spot in the room. “Did you think the world revolved around you, Deliverer?”

Phainon stopped in front of Mydei, and the sweet scent of the syrup from the Golden Honeycakes filled his senses. “Then, if I asked you to meet me on the rooftops tomorrow, would you meet me there?”

Mydei stayed silent, glaring at the man who now stood in front of him. 

At his voluntary silence, a deep breath left Phainon's chest, and his eyes lowered towards their feet. He watched how the endless light from the Dawn Device streamed through the window and spanned across Mydei's golden cuisses and greaves, cascading even the color gold all along his floors. “I… would just like to know what I did wrong, Mydei. I would like to give you a proper apology, if you at least explain to me what I have done to earn your ire.”

“You have done nothing to earn my ire,” Mydei immediately answered. “I have already explained to you, Deliverer, that everything is in your imagination.”

Phainon scoffed, raising his eyes off the ground with a glare. He couldn't stop his own irritation from bubbling to the surface over this useless conversation he was having with Mydei. He felt as if their entire conversation had been running in circles since the moment he stepped into his abode. “Then, why do you refuse to speak with me? To even merely be within your sights? I am sure both of those are no imagination of mine.”

“Am I not speaking to you right now?” Mydei cocked his head to the side, and his glare was unchanging. “Are we not face-to-face and exchanging words?”

“You only let me in because I brought you your favorite food,” Phainon snapped. “Tell me, Mydei. What have I done? I doubt it was because I hit you while sparring with you a week ago.” Phainon didn't even hit Mydei particularly hard, which was why it came as such a shock to Phainon that Mydei had immediately crumpled to his knees. Not only did he crumple to his knees, but he had grasped his head, which Phainon did not aim for at all. 

“I did not let you in because of the Golden Honeycakes.”

Phainon wanted to fall over in frustration. He was trying his best not to shake the life out of this immortal man in front of him and force an answer. “I don't care, Mydei. I want to know why you have been avoiding me all this time. And you cannot deny that you have been trying to keep yourself out of my sight.”

Mydei's throat bobbed, wavering as he sank into an argument within his head. Phainon took his chance of inattention to approach the man closer until their feet were almost touching each other's, and Mydei snapped out his thoughts upon seeing their sudden proximity. 

“Deliverer,” Mydei warned, which Phainon blatantly disobeyed. It was Phainon's turn to stay rooted to his spot. 

“Mydei.” It was almost a pleading tone that slipped out from Phainon's lips, but he bit himself back. “Will you join me on the rooftops tomorrow?”

Golden eyes warily searched Phainon's expression. Phainon wasn't sure what appearance he held upon his face as he was too busy trying to assess Mydei's own expression to garner any sort of clues, and even Time itself seemed to freeze the two men in this very moment. Phainon wanted to reach out his hand and plead to the other man, but he wasn't sure what he would be pleading for in the first place. All Phainon knew was that he wanted to wipe all the hesitation he could see clouding his beautiful, golden eyes that were meant to shine in the golden sunlight. 

Mydei's lips parted open, grasping Phainon's attention, and a loud sigh soon left the other man, breaking their brief silence. “I am afraid… that you know too much about me.”

“Know too much about you?” Phainon repeated with a frown. If anything, Phainon felt as if Mydei knew too much about him rather than the other way around. 

An unreadable expression crossed Mydei’s face. “You read me too well. More than any of my people. And I do not want you to see what is swirling in my heart.”

Phainon had to stop himself from asking what Mydei was hiding in his heart. “Are you really that afraid of me seeing?” A weak chuckle escaped Phainon. “Mydei, I am sure you have seen even the darkest parts of me.”

“Yet, I do not want you to see mine.” Mydei stared expressionlessly at Phainon. He was too good at controlling his emotions, and it infuriated Phainon to no end. Ever since he had met this man, he had been callous in showing just an inkling of his true emotions. And Phainon felt that it was wrong to forcefully peer into the prince's mind when he was so obviously trying to shield everyone from the truth. Yet, here Mydei was, telling Phainon that he knew him better than even his own people. 

“What are you so afraid of?” Phainon had the urge to reach his hand forward, to brush his fingertips through the stray strands of golden hair that fell in front of his face. But he kept his hands rooted to his side, burying away his desire to tightly embrace the man standing in front of him. 

Mydei fell silent, deep within his own thoughts. His shimmering golden eyes searched the floor beneath their feet and the window that had a clear view of Kephale bearing the weight of the Dawn Device upon His shoulders. Mydei's eyes shone brightly within the light, yet it felt as if they were a shallow, empty falsehood built upon lies. “I… have a responsibility to my people. And to the Flame-Chase Journey. And you, Deliverer, make me want to break away from those responsibilities.”

“Me?” Phainon had to hold back his surprise. Weren't they working together solely for the Flame-Chase Journey? 

“I am known for my strength, my physical prowess, and my immortal body,” Mydei explained. “I have been recruited to bear the weight of Strife and to lead my people to a new future. But you, Phainon, make me want to entertain other thoughts–immature, childish thoughts that have been pervading my mind recently, more so than ever. Thoughts of a life where I am more important than my body, or that other things about me matter other than my strength.” 

Mydei furrowed his eyebrows as if he couldn't even imagine himself entertaining those thoughts. “You make me believe… that I am more than just a warrior. That there could be a time when I could live in peace, away from a life of fighting and struggle. I spend my life training my body, honing my skills, and carefully choosing the foods that I eat, all so that I can bear the weight of my responsibilities. But you so casually bring me Golden Honeycakes for dinner, as if I could eat such a thing at this time. As if it were normal.”

No matter how much Mydei's words echoed in Phainon's mind, it was as if his brain refused to acknowledge or digest anything that Mydei had just uttered. Nothing Mydei had just spoken of made any sense. “I don't understand. You are more than just your immortal body. I don't understand why you would–”

“The way in which you so nonchalantly convince me of such ideas frustrates me to no end.” Mydei's sharp, empty eyes bore straight through Phainon's being. “You can say those words so simply, as if they were the truth.”

“They are the truth,” Phainon stubbornly declared. “I don't understand why you see anything but.” Phainon's eyes eventually found the wrapped Golden Honeycakes that were still set upon the table behind Mydei's back. “Then, why did you let me in if you weren't going to eat the Golden Honeycakes?”

“I thought you didn't eat yet because you were waiting for me.”

An emotion that Phainon didn't recognize rushed through his entire being, and he took another step forward. As usual, Mydei did not flinch. “Then, after a week of avoiding me, you only finally decided to speak with me because you thought I hadn't eaten yet?”

Mydei narrowed his eyes once more. “I only thought that because you said you didn't eat.”

“That's not the point.” Phainon quickly rushed past his lie being exposed. “You choose to avoid me… because I make you want to do things that any normal person would do?”

“Do you think we are normal people, Deliverer?” A wry smile found its way upon Mydei's lips. “We are to become the next demigods of this world. Anything about us is anything but normal.”

“But why should that prevent us from doing normal things?” Phainon took another step forward, and they were so close that even the tips of their noses faintly brushed against each other. “Why is it wrong for us to want to chase a life of normalcy? A life of peace, away from the fighting that we constantly endure in this world. Even if you are the bearer of Strife, you are so much more than just your immortal body, Mydei. You are more than just a warrior, and you are more than just a prince to your people. You are… so much more than that.”

Phainon's voice had lowered to a whisper, and he could no longer bite back the pleading voice that was escaping from him. The longer he stared into his golden eyes that were so reminiscent of the healing Hero’s Baths that soared over the sky, the more Phainon wanted to praise this man to the ends of the earth. “You are a man who is kind and caring. Who loves to cook and play with the children outside. Who looks after even those children who have been left behind all by their lonesome. You are grounded, self-disciplined, and the most selfless person that I have ever met. And if you love sweets, then why should Time stop you from indulging in those Golden Honeycakes behind you? Why let Oronyx decide what you should eat? If you love something, then what is stopping you from indulging in it?”

“Is this what they teach you at the Grove?” Despite his sarcastic words, Phainon could see that his words were repeating in Mydei's mind, and the glare that had permanently seared into Mydei's eyes finally dissipated.  

Phainon chuckled lightly. “No one else could ever teach me how important you are to me, Mydei.” Before he could even stop himself, he was already pushing Mydei's golden bangs out of his eyes. Surprisingly, Mydei did not flinch. “Is that why you refused to let anyone check on you the other day? Why would that possibly be a sign of weakness to anyone?”

“Because I am supposed to be strong. Because that is what I was brought here to be. And this constant state of being has been swirling inside of my heart ever since I realized how lax I have been with you.”

“You are strong,” Phainon emphasized. “Even if your immortal body had somehow scarred, even if you decided to eat sweets at night, you would still be the strongest warrior in all of Amphoreus.”

“Even greater than you?”

“I wouldn't mind giving you the title just for today, Mydeimos.”

Mydei laughed quietly, and Phainon's heart swelled upon finally seeing a smile grace Mydei's beautiful, perfect lips. This was another, of many other things, that he had been missing for the past week. “Just for today?”

“We will have to settle it on the rooftops, if you care to join me again.”

Another laugh slipped past Mydei's lips. How Phainon so desperately wanted to hear his songs of laughter once more. “If I am more than just my immortal body, and if I am more than just my strength, then there is no point in being here. I was brought here to be the bearer of Strife, and I will see that responsibility to the end.”

“Is it not possible to be both?” Phainon was so close to Mydei now that he could reach out and wrap his arms around Mydei's waist–the waist that was half-bare for all the world to see. “Is it not possible to complete your duties without having to destroy every other part of yourself that is not a physical entity? You, with an immortal body, would choose to destroy all there is left of you?”

The smile upon Mydei's lips was devoid of all emotion, as if the person standing in front of Phainon had already accepted the end of his life long ago. As if he had already seen how he would fall against this world. “A man who loves sweets, who loves to cook, who plays with children, means little to this dying world. A man such as that would have no hope in saving any part of this world. Are you to say that I serve no purpose without my immortal body?”

“When did I ever say that?” Phainon dangerously leaned in at his idiotic words, and even their foreheads brushed against each other. “Those children that you play with, those people that you cook for. Do those people not matter in this dying world? The people that you converse with, exchange stories with, and spend time with. Do they not matter in this dying world? Do any of those moments mean nothing to you? Do I… mean nothing to you?”

Mydei scowled. “It is because of you that those moments… mean too much to me. So much that they make me forget about everything else. For just a moment, I am just–”

“My Mydeimos.” Fingertips danced faintly across bare skin, and Mydei swallowed thickly at the hand that had settled around his exposed waist. As usual, Mydei was unmoving. “For just a moment, just let yourself be. Mydeimos, who is so kind and loyal to his people. Who is so bold and rash in the face of danger. Who would destroy his own immortal body rather than rely on another. My Mydeimos… who is so, so much more than a warrior. My beautiful, sweet, and loving Mydeimos.

“In a lifetime consisting of thousands of years, in a lifetime that no one would consider normal, would a moment of normalcy truly hurt? Would you strip yourself of all that you are for thousands of years to bear a mask of responsibility? Would you erase all that you are and all that you have done for others to be a machine of Strife? An unending machine, who is resurrected day after day to repeat the same, endless battles?” 

Phainon shifted his other hand, which had been running through golden bangs, to caress the other man's cheeks that had been quivering in denial. “Let me show you, my Mydeimos, how much this man means to me. Past the immortal body and past the bearer of Strife, I want to show you how much more you are to me than a warrior.”

His thumb ghosted about Mydei's trembling lips, where his breath hitched upon the contact. Wide golden eyes wavered upon blue that had lowered to the sea of red that had begun spreading down his neck. “If you would let me, Mydeimos, I want to show you how to truly treasure all there is of you.”

“Why would I let you do as you please?” The retort that left Mydei’s trembling lips was unconvincing with how flushed the man in Phainon’s grasp had become, and it only left Phainon wanting to see more of this man that he was never allowed to see before. 

“Because, clearly, this man in front of me does not know how to treat himself,” Phainon whispered, watching the golden eyes in front of him waver under Phainon's gaze. 

Mydei sharply inhaled. “And you know that so much better than I? Someone who cannot even look past the fate of his own hometown? I think you need to look at yourself first before you begin to look at me.”

“I have always been looking at you, Mydeimos. Since the moment I met you, I have been looking at you ever since.” Phainon's eyes trailed the curves of his lips, the tip of his nose, and the corners of his eyes. Everything was just so beautiful and harmonious to Phainon that it was always so hard to tear his gaze away from this perfect man in front of him. “That is something that you cannot change about me. No matter how much I think of that black-cloaked swordsman or my old family and friends, I think about you just as much, if not more.”

Mydei fell silent at his words. He was trying to steady his breathing under Phainon's feather-light touches, but at this close proximity, Phainon could feel the slightest shivers within his breath. This man, whom Phainon had always seen at his best, was someone that Phainon craved to see the deepest parts of–to feel the deepest parts of. And he wanted Mydei to give him that trust, to let Phainon care for him as he desired. 

All it took was one simple, pleading gaze of golden eyes. One shimmering, glistening of gold before Phainon leaned in, capturing Mydei's beautiful lips into his. The breath in Mydei had completely stilled when their lips connected, but Phainon's eyes had fluttered shut, blocking out any of his senses except for the feeling of Mydei's lips intertwining with his. It was a soft, delicate touch. It was so light, as Phainon was still hesitant he would even be allowed to do such a thing, but even this soft touch sent shivers down his spine and elicited goosebumps along his arms. The feeling of his lips moving against Mydei's was indescribable, and the pleasure and desire that rushed through his veins was something else entirely. With no signs of rejection from the other man, Phainon pushed forward, running his hand through his golden bangs to grasp at his cheek and pull him closer into the touch. The table behind them shifted against the floor under Mydei's weight as he stumbled against it. 

A moan filled the air between them, and Phainon quickly parted his lips to assess the man within his arms. Mydei appeared just as confused as he was, with slightly parted and flushed, red lips. His wide eyes were wandering over Phainon, as if he didn't know where that sound came from. But despite his puzzled appearance, the blush that was evident across his cheeks told Phainon all he needed to know. 

“Are you okay?” Phainon leaned in once more, murmuring against his lips. Mydei jolted at the touch as he unconsciously leaned into Phainon's hold, with his eyes flitting between Phainon's eyes and his lips. 

“Just… shut up.” Mydei was out of breath, panting for air as Phainon obliged to his request. With a smile, Phainon connected their lips once more with much more fervor than the last as both of their eyes fluttered closed. Strong arms wrapped around Phainon's neck, giving him more confidence to push forward. His hand resting on Mydei's waist began to venture deeper, sliding underneath his loose clothing and against his smooth, perfectly sculpted build and pressing tenderly into the small of Mydei's back. The golden-haired man arched in response, sliding his body against Phainon's as soft moans reverberated through their intertwined lips. 

Their lips began to move against each other in an exchange for hot breaths that quickly turned into desperate pants. The Golden Honeycakes were long forgotten on the table as Phainon, regrettably, moved his head away as he gasped for breath. Cold air rushed through the space between them, with Mydei's warm breath no longer heating Phainon's body. But the dilated golden eyes, parted lips, and flushed skin in front of him did little to calm Phainon's ringing heart. 

He tugged on Mydei's hand, and Mydei was shaken out of his daze, blinking rapidly at the man in front of him. But with a soft smile, Phainon pulled him forward, leading Mydei to the bed that Phainon had just been resting on before. 

“Will you join me, Mydeimos?” A gentle hand guided Mydei forward until the man was faced with a vast, empty bed. The message that hung in the air was loud and clear, and Mydei stood rooted to his spot at the foot of the bed, staring at the sheets that Phainon had tussled in just earlier. His wide, golden eyes that were locked to the sheets and his heavy, staggered breathing could only indicate that Mydei was currently having his own mental battle, and even after a few moments had passed, Mydei stood unmoving in his place. 

With a soft laugh at how still the man had become, Phainon untangled his fingers from Mydei's. Even with his heart tightening in his chest and his smile faltering upon his lips, all that mattered to Phainon was that Mydei would no longer hide from him. It was what he came here to do, after all, and he could only hope the other man would treat him with sincerity starting tomorrow. “Then, I will take my leave.” A faint brush of his fingertips against golden bangs, but Mydei glanced up when Phainon's hand had already retracted. “I hope to see you on the rooftops tomorrow, Mydeimos.”

A step echoed in the room as Phainon began to approach the front door, and he lightly chuckled at the Golden Honeycakes that caught the corner of his eyes as they still sat atop the table. “Don't forget to eat.”

Another step resounded in the room, but Phainon wasn't able to get very far when Mydei cleared his throat, cutting off the sound of his third footstep. Phainon turned around with a smile, but he almost faltered at the furrowed eyebrows and downturned lips from the other man. 

“You're leaving?” 

Phainon's eyes slightly widened. He wanted to tease the fidgeting man and ask if he could stay, but Phainon did not want to push the man past what he was already trying to become accustomed to. He wanted Mydei to tell him, himself, that he wanted Phainon to stay. “Should I not?”

The blush across Mydei's face only grew at the silence that followed Phainon's question, and Phainon's heart jumped at the adorable sight that stood before him. Even his ears that were covered underneath his golden hair had turned red as his shaking golden eyes darted all across the room. They were both completely still in the room, with not even a breath to break their silence, and Phainon was only a few paces away from the door, waiting for Mydei's next words. 

“Stay, Deliverer.” Mydei's voice was so quiet that Phainon could barely hear his voice cracking. But those were the only words that Phainon needed to hear before he rushed forward once more to finally embrace the man he had been wanting to hold tightly within his arms for the past week. Wrapping his arms around Mydei's waist and slipping them underneath his clothing to become enraptured in Mydei's warmth, Phainon knew he had been craving this for so much longer than a single week. 

Mydei's body immediately tensed under Phainon's wandering fingers, as Phainon traced every muscle and vein along his body and planted kisses all along the man's face. He pressed soft kisses to his temples, the corners of his eyes, his cheeks, the tip of his nose, to the corner of his lips, and ventured even lower to suck at the skin underneath his ear. Phainon couldn't get enough of Mydei's rising gasps, stifled moans, and palpitating heartbeat even while gently lowering the man to his bed. 

Phainon crawled in between the space between Mydei's legs with his own heartbeat pounding in his eardrums. This gorgeous sight below him, of Mydei lying on his sheets and waiting for Phainon to embrace him, was a sight that Phainon would leave seared into his mind for the rest of his life. With cheeks so flushed that they almost camouflaged with his red tattoos and shimmering golden eyes that stared hesitantly up at Phainon, Phainon wanted to do nothing except cherish this man, comfort him, and treat him as he should have been treating himself. 

Fingers delicately traced his waist as Phainon dipped lower, planting his lips along his neck, his shoulder, and his collarbones. Mydei was trying his hardest to still his panting breaths and his quivering body the lower that Phainon's hand ventured, and he had to bite back a chuckle over how adorable the man in his arms was. 

“My Mydeimos,” Phainon whispered against his skin, sucking and leaving marks against his neck that would disappear in a few quints. Hands quickly buried themselves into Phainon's hair, and he had to swallow down a groan as Mydei tugged at his silver strands. “You're so beautiful, my Mydeimos.”

Another kiss, and another shiver from the man below him as Phainon lowered himself down. He heard a curse in response, but Phainon only smiled and grazed his fingertips along Mydei's golden belt and waistband, ghosting at the skin that dipped right below the rest of his clothes. Mydei had his legs parted wide just for Phainon, all so that he could love and please this man however he wished. How Phainon should have done this so many months ago; all he could think of now, as he planted kisses along his quaking chest and over his erratic heartbeat, was how much time he had wasted not giving Mydei the love that he deserved this entire time. 

Mydei's chest was rising and falling, trembling with every shaky breath and every moan that he tried to so adorably hide. His body was so hot underneath Phainon's touch, and he had to try his hardest not to completely ravage the man underneath him. Phainon’s mind was racing with his scent, his heat, and his touch through Phainon's hair. Every quiver of his body didn't go unnoticed to Phainon, and every sound that slipped his perfect lips didn't escape Phainon's notice either. 

Fingertips pushed at Mydei’s belt, circling the skin that peeked from under his clothing. Blue eyes were glued to his waist and to his bare skin as doubt began to creep into Phainon's head. Now that he had made it this far, all the way to the other man’s waistband, he wasn't sure how far he could go today or how comfortable Mydei even was with all of this–with all of him. As much as Phainon wanted to confidently love the man beneath him, he, too, did not know how far he could go. How much could he give Mydei, and how much would Mydei accept of him? These hesitations swirled in Phainon's heart, and this point in time made Phainon pause, too afraid to go deeper, but too afraid to leave this man who was lying on the bed and bearing his entire heart for Phainon. But was his entire heart enough to accept all of Phainon? 

Phainon put on a smile, pushing away his trembling heart and his shaking fingertips. He peeled away his red clothing and planted another kiss, right below his belly button, and Mydei shivered at the silver hair that sent tingles along his skin. 

“Mydei,” Phainon murmured into his skin. He wasn't sure how he could ask the man if he could go lower. Would that make him pathetic? Would that show the other man that Phainon was feeling hesitant? He didn't want to give off the wrong impression that he didn't want to do this; only that he was afraid of how deeply his love went for the prince. What if it was too much? What if he was too much? He didn't want to lose Mydei's trust after coming this far, and he didn't want to hurt Mydei after all that he had spouted earlier. 

What if Mydei didn't love him nearly as much as Phainon did for him? 

Phainon bit his tongue, trying to forget the question that emerged into his head. Here he was, with the man of his dreams, spread underneath his body on the bed and waiting for Phainon's love. Yet here Phainon was unable to move forward. 

“Phainon?”

Wide blue eyes met concerned golden ones, and Phainon was snapped out of his deprecating thoughts upon seeing Mydei once more, filling his line of sight and filling his very mind. 

“You… my name.” 

Mydei's voice repeated in Phainon's mind until every single pitch and timbre of his voice was ingrained into Phainon's brain. Mydei seldom referred to him so directly, and his body instantly craved to hear more from this beautiful man. 

“Why are you hesitating?” Mydei's eyes narrowed down at Phainon. “Or are you regretting this?”

Those last words from Mydei–the words that Phainon never wanted to hear hung heavily in the air. Something dropped inside of Phainon, crashing and breaking against the floor as his eyes widened in horror. That wasn't… That wasn't what Phainon wanted Mydei to think at all. In fact, his conflicting thoughts were because he wanted the exact opposite. But how could he explain that to him? 

“Of course not.” Phainon swallowed dryly. His hands unconsciously tightened around Mydei's waist, digging into his skin and his belt. “That's… not at all.”

“I thought you were going to show me how much you loved me.” Gentle hands began roaming through Phainon's hair once more and pushing his bangs that were falling into his eyes. “Is this how far your love goes? Only as far as this?”

Phainon flinched. He didn't want Mydei to think that at all. How could he stop Mydei from thinking that about him? But his eyes desperately wandered all over Mydei and the bed that he lay on, opening and closing his mouth in a struggle to form any semblance of words. “I… Mydei, I'm–”

“You won't say it anymore?” Mydei muttered. His hands stopped at Phainon's cheek, circling his thumb right underneath Phainon's bottom lashes that shook in anxiousness. 

“Say… what?” 

“My name. As you were saying it before.”

“My… deimos?”

Mydei frowned, his thumb stilling its movements. “You were saying it so much earlier. So much that I thought I would explode. Yet here you are, not even remembering what you said out of your own mouth.”

Phainon's eyes lowered. He hesitantly opened his mouth, forcing his shaking voice to work. “My… Mydeimos?”

“Look at me.” A hand jutted Phainon's chin up as he was forced to lock his now widened eyes with glaring gold. “You were so unashamed when you were saying it earlier. What changed?”

“I…” Phainon swallowed. “I don't–”

“Do you regret this? Sharing a bed together?”

“No!” Phainon almost shot out of bed at his incredulous words. 

“Then tell me,” Mydei muttered, “what is holding you back this time. Why do you get to see all that is inside of me, yet you will not reveal a thing of yourself?”

“You already know everything about me,” Phainon grumbled. “There is nothing that I can hide from you, Mydei.”

Mydei's eyes darkened. “Back to ‘Mydei’ so soon?”

“My… Mydeimos.”

A deep chuckle resounded from Mydei's chest. He buried his hand back into Phainon's hair, swiping at his hair and attempting to see as much as he could of Phainon's lowered eyes. “Are you afraid?”

Phainon slowly nodded. 

“Afraid of me?”

Again, another slow nod. But Phainon opened his mouth once more. “I don't… know how far I can go. I don't want to hurt you, Mydei.”

“You think you can hurt me?” Mydei scoffed. “You may… have made me doubt my own self and question my own existence unknowingly, but you will never be able to hurt me.”

“I…” Phainon was trembling. He was shaking so violently above Mydei that he had to shift his hands off of his body to fist at the sheets instead. “I don't…” He couldn't get the words to leave his mouth, no matter how hard he tried. How much he tried to hear his own voice or how hard he trembled, he couldn't ask that burning question that had somehow seared itself into Phainon's brain and burned into his very being. It burned into his thoughts, burned into his body, and scarred his very own wavering heart. 

“Ask me, Phainon.” Two warm hands brought Phainon's tremors to a standstill, and Phainon breathed in Mydei's scent that filled his brain from the hands that had caressed his cheeks. They caught the stray tears that had slipped from the corners of his eyes, burning down his face into the palm of Mydei's hands. 

Quivering lips hesitantly parted. A strained whisper left his throat, leaving his worries out in the open for them all to hear. “I don't know… how much… How far… I can go. If I should even go at all. If you even feel a single bit of what I feel.”

Mydei stared quietly at Phainon, who had begun to shake once more within his hands. The silence was unbearable, and Phainon was struggling for breath as if he had just been drowning in Phagousa's tempestuous waters. His neck was squeezing in on itself, burying his heart deep inside his chest, with his blue eyes staying glued to the rise and fall of Mydei's torso with every steady breath. 

“Did you think I went this far with you just to stop in the middle?” Mydei's hands suddenly jerked Phainon's gaze upward as he was shaken from the depths of his mind once again. “Did you think I would willingly stop you from leaving and lie down in this bed with you just to stop here?”

“Well–I–”

“Unless you cannot live up to your previous words?” A cocky smirk in front of Phainon fueled something within his chest. 

“That's–” A click of Phainon's tongue sounded in the room, followed by clothes being quickly discarded onto the floor. Mydei laughed at how eager the other man suddenly became as Phainon rapidly stripped both of them down, leaving both men in just their underwear. 

“My absolutely infuriating Mydeimos.” Lips pressed tenderly against the bulge in Mydei's underwear, with Phainon grumbling into the fabric. “My Mydeimos, who overtakes every thought in my head. Mydeimos, who frustrates me to no end.” Another kiss was planted against the bulge that had begun to twitch under Phainon’s touch, and a satisfied sigh was emitted from the man below him. 

Delicate fingers hooked into the waistband of Mydei's underwear, pulling it down past his ankles and finally unveiling everything to Phainon's eyes. Mydei's breath hitched as Phainon's warm breath ghosted over his length that was now standing before him, and Phainon's long eyelashes were just a hair's breadth away from brushing against him. 

“How long are you going to keep staring?” Mydei was struggling to breathe, trying to shift his hips away from Phainon's parted lips. His breath kept tingling against his skin, making Mydei fidget and quiver in place. With a low laugh that sent shivers down Mydei's spine, and another kiss against his now bare hip that had anticipation, pleasure, and embarrassment all washing over Mydei, Phainon reached over to his bedside table, rummaging to find if there was anything he could use to ease himself inside. It seemed that Mydei did not keep very many personal possessions, as all he could really find in there were bath oils. 

Filing a mental note to himself to start giving Mydei more physical gifts for his room, Phainon uncapped the bottle and spilled a generous amount to coat his fingers. Mydei, in a daze, only watched with half-lidded eyes. The sound of the uncapping bottle was still repeating in Mydei's mind, almost as if emphasizing what they were about to do. And watching Phainon's fingers, that were so deft and delicate with him… It was unusual to think about where his fingers were about to go. 

“Can I, Mydeimos?” Phainon had lowered his hands, shifting his fingertips over his pink entrance that barely peeked into Phainon's view. Phainon gulped, trying to still his trembling hands at the thought of entering inside and truly connecting with someone whom he had been craving for so long, but he wanted to stay true to his words. He wanted to treasure Mydei, praise Mydei, and show him what it was like to be entirely and wholly loved. This burning desire quelled any sort of anxiety in Phainon's body, and he wanted to prove himself to Mydei and show him how much he meant his previous words. 

Mydei nodded roughly, his shoulders tensing as he watched Phainon begin to ease his fingers inside. Phainon started with a single digit, pushing into the ring of muscles and watching with amazement as his finger slipped inside. It was warm, and his muscles surrounded Phainon's finger. The bath oil made his insides feel moist, and Phainon couldn't wrap his head around how good it felt inside even with only a single finger. He could almost feel Mydei's nervous heartbeat from down here, and with a quiet laugh, he bent down once more to plant more kisses along his skin. Mydei's body jumped underneath him with every light touch of his lips that wandered along his hips and fell dangerously close to the heat that was standing proudly between his legs. 

As Phainon inched closer to his heat, the more stray strands of silver hair would tickle against his skin, and he squirmed under Phainon's hand that had grasped his waist. Phainon was muttering sweet whispers into his hips, leaving love marks where only the two of them could see, while tenderly venturing deeper inside of Mydei and sliding along every part inside of him. 

“My lovely Mydeimos.” Another kiss. “So pretty for me, my Mydeimos.” Another soft kiss right next to his length, burying his nose into the golden hair below his waist. “So beautiful and perfect, my Mydeimos.”

Mydei's face heated up with every tender kiss and every word that spilled from Phainon's lips. Every slight shift of his finger inside sent goosebumps running along his skin, and he brought a hand up to his own lips to stifle the noises that were threatening to escape. 

After circling his finger inside for a few moments, and another reassuring kiss along his happy trail, Phainon slowly eased in another finger. Mydei's entire body stiffened at the extra digit that was entering inside, and the stretch was much more prominent than before. Phainon was doing his best to distract the man, running his other hand along Mydei's tensing abdomen, rubbing small circles into his tattoos, kissing along his hips, sucking lightly across his skin, and whispering the sweet praises that spilled from Phainon's lips. Words that he had always wanted to say to Mydei, and words that he had always had to bite back. They were words that had always been circulating in Phainon's brain every time he was with the prince, and they were words that Phainon thought he must never let slip. 

Phainon added more bath oil along Mydei's entrance, keeping his fingers still for Mydei to adjust. He couldn't possibly imagine what Mydei was feeling, and he could only stare worriedly up at the man with furrowed eyebrows and a clenched jaw. His mouth was still covered by his hand, so Phainon couldn't see much else and was left guessing to himself. 

“Mydei?” Phainon almost wanted to take his fingers out at seeing how tense his body had become. His shoulders were shaking, hot tears burned the corners of his eyes, and his quaking chest was trying to control his own breathing. Phainon didn't know what to do; he despised the mere thought of causing Mydei so much pain and discomfort. He didn't have to be inside today. Phainon didn't have to be inside at all. If it was hurting Mydei, Phainon didn't want to do it. But before his mind could decide whether he should pull out or not, a deep voice cut into his thoughts. 

“Don't you dare,” Mydei growled, and it was Phainon's turn to grow rigid. “I know that face of yours. Do not stop.”

Phainon could only stiffly nod, turning his attention back down to the filled entrance. With another gulp as he tried to grimace and forget the pain he was inflicting on his beloved, Phainon hesitantly obliged and slowly pushed his fingers inside, watching how his knuckles disappeared one by one into Mydei's body. Blue eyes were flitting between his sinking fingers and Mydei’s expression, making sure that the man was still okay before proceeding. As much as his anxious heart wanted to stop and cradle Mydei in his arms, he knew he would immediately be thrown onto the floor if he didn't proceed. 

His fingers were now fully sunken inside, and Mydei was desperately trying to regulate his breathing at this new intrusion inside of him. His eyes were half opened, his eyebrows were deeply knitted together, and he was doing everything in his power not to writhe in Phainon's grasp. It killed Phainon’s heart, and anxiety filled his entire being at seeing this stubborn man trying to bear all the weight of Phainon’s love and emotions onto his trembling, tense shoulders. And with worried eyes traveling along the other man’s body, Phainon tried to find something else he could do to soothe his beloved and take his pain away. Lips gently connected to the head of Mydei's dick, and he jolted in bed, disturbing the still fingers inside. 

Relief instantly washed over Phainon's senses at seeing Mydei's body reacting to his faint touch, and he continued forward to relieve this man of all the burden Phainon had put onto him. He attached his lips to Mydei's skin once more, kissing and sucking at his length to find the place that gave his beloved the most pleasure and satisfaction. 

“You're even pretty down here.” Phainon's low chuckle sent waves of heat throughout Mydei's body, and his tense shoulders were now jumping at every touch along his length. He tried to breathe out a demand for Phainon to stop, but the shocks of electricity that rushed through his veins stifled his words. Every kiss that littered against the head of his dick and dipping lower down his shaft, the more Mydei was gasping for breath and writhing in Phainon's hand. His chest was sporadically rising and falling with every gentle smile against his dick, every sparkle in those soft, blue eyes, and every tender kiss that landed upon his skin. 

“You really are… beautiful everywhere, my Mydeimos.” Phainon's warm breath only made Mydei crave more of Phainon's touch, and a slight movement of his hips made him realize that Phainon was already venturing deeper inside, scissoring him open and loosening his entrance. Mydei barely had time to process the sensation, as Phainon was already peppering him with more heartfelt love and attention. Whispering praises and compliments sent Mydei into a spiral, with the world spinning above him, and a slight brush against something deep inside of him sent a loud moan into the air before Mydei could stop himself. 

Phainon paused immediately, glancing up at Mydei, who was trying to cover his burning face. Titans, his Mydeimos was so adorable. 

“Mydei?” Phainon breathed, pushing himself onto his elbow to try to assess the man. 

He could see his throat bobbing at his voice being called, but no response came from the other man. Phainon's fingers had stopped against a particular spot inside of Mydei, which Phainon could feel was slightly different from the rest of the fluttering muscles he was feeling inside. Another brush of his fingertips, and Mydei's back arched off the bed, with his legs trembling around Phainon. 

Another quiet laugh, and Phainon began ravaging that same spot. Mydei was a mess of moans that spilled into the air, and Phainon's blue eyes watched as Mydei struggled to hide his beautiful sounds, with his ears burning every time he cut into their silence. He watched how Mydei's tip began to leak, dripping rivulets of precum down his length, his scrotum, and pooling at the bed underneath his arching back. Phainon couldn't help but indulge in this sweet ambrosia, dipping his lips downwards to catch anything that spilled from Mydei's tip. The man jolted as Phainon's lips wrapped around the head of his cock, sucking at the precum that was spilling from him with every tender stroke of his fingers inside. 

“Phai… non.” A hand was pushing down on Phainon's head, trying to pull him away from the precum that Phainon was lapping at. Half-lidded eyes stared up at Mydei as he sucked his lips hard around Mydei's tip, and Mydei's head flew back at the pleasure that flared in the pit of his stomach. Heat was crashing into him in waves the longer Phainon's lips were wrapped around his cock and sinking lower, and he could feel his dick slowly being submerged in Phainon's warmth, sliding against his tongue that was tracing every ridge and vein upon Mydei's length. A third finger was added inside, but Mydei could barely feel it over the stimulation that he was feeling in the front and the deep blue eyes that were staring straight through his very soul. His stomach was tightening, his toes were clenching, and his hips were shaking into every thrust of Phainon's fingers that aimed right at his weak spot, and Mydei had turned to digging his fingers into Phainon's hair instead to push his head further downward on his aching cock. 

“Phainon, Phainon, I'm–” Mydei's eyes squeezed shut, taking in the pleasure that was erupting all over his body. He was panting for breath, struggling to breathe, but all of it was futile against his tightening abdomen and his parted lips. He had given up trying to stifle his moans, as even his hand could do nothing except slightly quiet his embarrassing sounds. Mydei was making noises he had never heard himself make before, and every new sound sent waves of embarrassment to wash over him. He was sure he was already as red as the tattoos that lined his body and the love marks that Phainon had littered down his skin. And right when he felt the heat flaring up within his stomach, turning all of his limbs numb and all of his senses to be absorbed in ecstasy, Mydei was suddenly empty. 

His body collapsed into the mattress, with his chest heaving for deep breaths as air finally flooded his lungs, but despite possessing control of his body once more, a deathly glare shot in Phainon's way. “Why did you stop?”

Phainon was swiping at the corner of his mouth, and Mydei's cheeks burned at realizing drips of precum littered his lips. “I can't have you cum without me, Mydeimos.”

Mydei clicked his tongue, turning his head to the side. Phainon was holding in another laugh at Mydei's impatient behavior, and he reached for the bath oil once again, hissing at the liquid that was now coating his own dick. He had discarded his own underwear while Mydei was recovering, and the man's eyes bulged at feeling something different pressing against his pulsing entrance. 

His head whipped around. Phainon had two hands planted on either side of his waist, with the head of his dick disappearing between Mydei's legs. But Phainon was giving him the most loving smile, with blue eyes swelling with affection, that he had reached up to beckon Phainon over. Eyes widening in confusion, Phainon bent down with slightly downturned lips, wondering what Mydei wanted to say to him, but his lips were captured in another deep kiss once more. 

Groaning into the kiss, Phainon's eyes fluttered closed. With the sounds of their lips filling the room, Phainon pushed his way inside. The body oil easily allowed Phainon to slip inside, and the heat of Mydei's entrance permeated through Phainon's head as he immediately made way for Phainon's entry. His tip continued forging inside as his dick progressed deeper inside of Mydei, and Phainon couldn't stop himself from moaning against Mydei's lips upon feeling his entire length becoming encapsulated in Mydei's heat and becoming tightly surrounded by his soft insides. And soon, Phainon's wish had finally come true when his hips had become flush with Mydei’s behind. They were truly, undoubtedly, connected as one, and Phainon blushed at the realization. 

“We're connected, Mydei,” Phainon murmured against his lips. He opened his eyes and saw that Mydei was already squinting at him with shaking eyes that glistened in the corners, and upon seeing the tears lining his eyes, Phainon's eyes shot wide as he attempted to push himself off. But two strong arms around his shoulders rooted him back down. 

“Where are you going?” Mydei muttered with a frown. 

“I just… I just thought you were hurt.” Phainon's eyes were searching wildly across Mydei’s face, but the man made no indication for Phainon to move. 

“Didn't I tell you already?” A weak scoff left Mydei's bruised lips. “You could never hurt me, Phainon.”

A pounding heart that rattled his ribcage, echoing words that reverberated through his brain, and an unconscious thrust of his hips that searched to feel even more of Mydei overtake his entire body sent Phainon down into a mesmerized mess. An abrupt moan slipped past Mydei's beautiful lips as Phainon continued chasing the pleasure that ripped through his body, poured into his palpitating heart, and heated his entire body. He buried his nose into golden hair, taking in more of the sweet scent that followed Mydei wherever he went, and every thrust of his hips that sent electricity up his spine was followed either by a kiss upon Mydei's forehead, his temples, his cheeks, his running tears, or his ears. 

Mydei was clawing against Phainon's back, digging into his skin every time his dick perfectly aimed for his sweet spot. With lips forever parted, spilling sweet noises for both of them to hear, Mydei was jostled in the bed over and over as Phainon continued flooding every single one of Mydei's senses and completely filling him up inside until he could barely even breathe. Sparks of ecstasy were overtaking his brain as he succumbed to the pleasure, and he could do nothing except spread his legs wider for Phainon and call for his name. 

Phainon's ears were being filled with love that was pouring from Mydei's lips. He had become obsessed with the sound of Mydei's voice and his moans, and he had become even more obsessed with Mydei calling his name. He wanted to hear more of his own name dancing along Mydei's tongue and filling the space between them. He wanted to hear the man calling for him, pleading for him, and wishing for him, and he pressed another tender kiss along the shell of his ear, asking him in a low voice. 

“Can you call me ‘Khaslana,’ my beautiful Mydeimos?” 

Between fits of gasps and moans as he bounced against the bed, Mydei managed to breathe, “Khaslana?”

A deep shiver rushed down Phainon's spine as he pushed the man deeper into the bed, snaking a hand underneath Mydei's arching back and continuing to ravage his beautiful hole. The pace of his thrusts began to increase, shaking the bed underneath them and pounding against the wall that it was leaned against, and the sounds of their skinship pervaded the entire room. Mydei gasped sharply at this new fervor, moaning into the air, but Phainon wanted the whole bedroom to echo with his name. He wanted to sear his own name upon Mydei's tongue and ensure that the other man could utter no other name. He pummeled his hips deeper, spreading Mydei's legs wider and feeling his dick breach a part of Mydei that he had never touched before, and the hand that was pressing Mydei's body against his ventured upward, massaging into a certain spot that meant so much to Phainon and earning wanton moans and whimpers from the trembling man in his arms. 

“So gorgeous, my Mydeimos. So sweet and alluring, my Mydeimos.” Phainon was addicted to the sensation of Mydei's naked body sliding against his as he clung tightly around Phainon's shoulders, and Phainon wanted nothing more than to stay within his warm embrace forever. He could faintly spot Mydei's golden hair bouncing in the corner of his eyes with every thrust of his hips that ventured deep inside his warmth, and it only made their connection solidify in Phainon's mind. “Again, Mydeimos.”

Mydei groaned, digging his fingernails into Phainon's sun tattoo. The spark that had shot up his spine over Phainon's exploring hand left his brain feeling like mush, and he could barely retain any semblance of sanity over feeling the pleasure sharply rising in his core, spreading through his body from below his waist and his stimulated tenth thoracic vertebrae. “Khas… lana.”

Phainon hummed in pleasure, his brain being flooded in Mydei's husky voice and his dick aching inside of Mydei's beloved heat. His pulsing walls fluttering in satisfaction only drove Phainon closer to ecstasy, and the pleasure rushed through his veins in waves every time Phainon pummeled into his twitching hole. He could even feel his own dick quivering delightfully at the feeling of submerging into his hot and moist insides and the walls that his dick had the pleasure of sliding against. Every time he pulled out just so that only his tip was inside, he was enraptured in the way Mydei's entrance clenched and tightened to try and suck him back inside. 

“My enchanting, stunning Mydeimos. Again, my love?”

“Khaslana.”

“Again, my Mydeimos?”

“Khaslana!”

The heat tightened dangerously around Phainon to the point where he even had to stop thrusting his hips. He held onto Mydei tightly, pressing deeply into the middle of his back as Mydei buried his face into Phainon's sun tattoo. Moan after moan vibrated against Phainon's leather choker and reverberated against his eardrums as he felt Mydei spilling himself between their pressed torsos. His body was violently trembling in Phainon's arms, with toes clenching high in the air as he rode out his high. 

And it wasn't long of hearing Mydei continually calling out his true name, of his warmth tightening and pulsing around Phainon inside, of clenched hands tugging at the roots of his silver hair, and of feeling Mydei's warm cum spilling between them, that Phainon could not hold himself back anymore. The heat within his stomach flared as he threw his head forward, pinning Mydei to the bed. His vision turned dark as Phainon shut his eyes, and a wanton moan escaped his throat as he emptied himself inside of Mydei's fluttering hole. Calling for Mydei's name and muttering sweet praises into his ears, Phainon's body jolted and spasmed against Mydei's hips, filling him deep inside with his cum until they were both left sticky, sweaty, and gasping for air. 

Phainon slowly raised his head, blinking the haze of pleasure that had previously overtaken his mind. Meeting with ravishing, golden eyes, Phainon couldn't help but peck another kiss upon his parted lips. “How are you feeling, my Mydeimos?” He graced the man below him with another gentle smile and another light peck upon his beautiful lips. 

Mydei swallowed thickly. He was still breathing heavily from recovering from his orgasm. “Fine. How are you feeling?”

Phainon laughed quietly. “The best that I have ever felt. I'll even feel better if you meet me on the rooftops tomorrow.”

With a roll of golden eyes, Phainon, who wore a teasing smile, was pulled down to capture Mydei’s reddened lips in another deep, passionate kiss.