Luxi

When Phainon had volunteered to help Aglaea out with an important task, he hadn’t been quite sure what to expect — but it certainly hadn’t been this:

A group of Grove students stacking boxes upon boxes in the middle of one of the small Chrysos Heirs’ meeting rooms, filled to the brim with stacks of papers, scrolls, and ancient booklets that look like they might crumble to dust if one were to do as much as look at them the wrong way.

“What exactly are all of those for?” Phainon asks one of the students as he walks past them to take a leave.

The young man only shrugs. “Dunno. We were just tasked with taking these here,” he mumbles, quickly pulling past Phainon.

“Can we go now?” another student chimes in. She glances up at Phainon through a thick pair of glasses, looking slightly agitated as she pushes them back up her nose. “We all have a really important exam coming up… We haven’t been able to study at all because we had to deliver these boxes.” Phainon does feel a little bad for them. He remembers when he was a student, getting tasked with random work right before exams always was the worst.

“If I fail this one, Professor Anaxa might actually kill me personally,” the boy from before complains, impatiently tapping his feet.

Phainon shudders at the memory of Anaxa’s exams. “Yes, yes,” he quickly waves them off, “Go make sure you study well!”

The students all quickly filter out and Phainon turns back to the stacks of boxes, trying to make sense of what Aglaea could possibly need all these papers for. “Just what am I supposed to do with these?” he mumbles to himself, picking up a random scroll, only to start coughing heavily as a puff of dusk jumps right into his face. These documents really must be ancient.

“Were you not listening to Aglaea before?” a very familiar voice asks from behind Phainon. He didn’t know Mydei would be here too. He internally cringes a little. Maybe he really wasn’t listening to everything Aglaea had explained to him when he’d agreed to help out.

Another, significantly younger-sounding voice pops up alongside Mydei’s — Tribbie. “The Grove was kind enough to send us all the ancient texts they could find relating to the Titans,” she explains. “Agy was hoping we might find some leads that could help us with the Flame Chase.” Phainon turns around to greet his companions. Mydei is eyeing him with crossed arms, while Tribbie looks at the piles of notes behind him with wide eyes. “We weren't expecting this much, though.”

“So we’re supposed to read through all of those?”, Phainon asks, feeling a slight sense of dread creep up on him. He doesn’t mind helping out when needed, but reading through all of these notes is going to take up quite a lot of time.

Tribbie giggles. “Don’t worry, Snowy. They just need to be sorted a little for now. So you’ll just have to skim them through a little and sort them based on which Titan they refer to.” Okay. That seems a little more doable.

Phainon nods. “Alright, then. I’m sure the three of us will have this sorted out in no time! Are Trianne and Trinnon going to help too?”

Tribbie gives him an apologetic look and gently pats his knee. “We’re currently occupied with some other tasks, I’m sorry. Everyone’s really busy at the moment. But don’t worry, De is here to help you! I’m sure the two of you will do great!” She gives him a small thumbs up before leaving again.

Phainon glances back at the boxes, feeling a sense of dread creeping up on him.

“Well, Deliverer. What are you waiting for?” Mydei gives him a firm pat on the back and strives past him, grabbing a few of the boxes and carrying them over to sit down in a different corner of the room. “I’ll do this half, you can take the other one,” he declares, opening up the first box to look through it. Phainon can’t tell if he’s overly motivated or just wants to get this whole thing over with. Either way, Mydei seems a lot more determined than he could ever hope to be.

Phainon suppresses a heavy sigh and sits down amidst his own share of boxes, trying to skim over the first couple of pages. Usually he’s quite interested in old documents and tales of the Titans, but for some reason, his mind is a little preoccupied with all sorts of other things today, making it more difficult to stay focused on the task at hand. He’d rather be doing… Anything else, really. Maybe he’d even be willing to trade places with those Grove students from earlier and study for an exam instead of sifting through these dusty boxes.

His gaze wanders over to Mydei sitting in the other corner of the room. He’s so deeply focused on the stacks of paper in front of him that he doesn’t even seem to notice Phainon’s gaze on him. There’s a few rays of sunlight peeking through the curtains, hitting Mydei just right to make his eyes glimmer golden as they scan through the scroll in his hands, his eyebrows slightly furrowed and lips in a slight pout.

He looks really pretty like this.

The thought creeps into Phainon’s mind, and it takes him a few moments to fully process what he’s thinking. As soon as he realizes, he rips his eyes away from Mydei and forces them back on the small booklet in front of him, trying to make sense of the words he’s reading. Every time these kinds of thoughts about Mydei pop into his head, he has to try his utmost to force them back down, hoping that if he ignores them long enough, they’ll eventually disappear all on their own. However, they have a terrible habit of bubbling back up, even louder than before, always at the worst possible moments. Usually it happens during one of their bathing sessions, or in the middle of a spar causing him to completely drop his guard, but right now is pretty terrible as well. Where it was somewhat challenging to focus before, now it’s practically impossible. He typically tries to push these thoughts back into the dark corner of his brain where they emerged from. He tries doing so now as well, however he can’t help but continue to steal glances at Mydei — his messy hair hanging deep into his face, his long, slender fingers flipping through the pages of an old book, his muscles flexing as he reaches out to grab another stack of papers — and stopping mid movement.

“What are you doing, Deliverer?”

Shit.

“Oh, nothing.” Phainon scrambles for an excuse. “Just checking on your progress. Making sure you’re not slacking off,” he teases.

Mydei’s eyes flicker towards the (significantly smaller) piles of sorted papers in front of Phainon, then back up at his face, narrowing into a squint. “Perhaps you should focus on your own progress instead.”

Phainon’s lips purse into a pout. “Don’t get all cocky now just because you got a small headstart. I bet I’ll end up finishing my pile way ahead of you!” He huffs.

Mydei pinches the bridge of his nose. “Are you seriously trying to turn this into a challenge?” Phainon gives a confident nod. Mydei lets out a small sigh. “This is work, you know…”

“What? Afraid you’re going to lose?” Phainon grins. His smile widens even more the way he sees Mydei’s face twist. There’s few things that bring him as much joy as riling Mydei up with a little bit of teasing.

“Fine,” he says through gritted teeth. “If I win, you’re going to pay for lunch for the rest of the month.”

Phainon smirks, elated at how easy it is to push Mydei’s buttons. “Deal. If I win, you… You’ll-” He scrambles a little, trying to come up with something — anything — to ask for, but his mind is still lacking behind a little from being thrown off earlier. There’s a million things he could be asking for right now — he could ask Mydei to take over some of his chores, or show him one of his special fighting techniques that he treats like some great, important secret. However, his mouth works a bit faster than his mind, so the words that actually end up coming out are…

“You’ll go on a date with me!”

Dead silence.

The moment the words are out in the open, cold dread washes over Phainon and he wants nothing more than for the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

Mydei stares at him with wide eyes, his expression unreadable. Fear rushes into his veins. He’s usually quite good at reading Mydei, but he can’t tell what he’s thinking right now at all. Is he angry? Surely he must be. A nervous laugh bubbles out of Phainon’s throat, and he’s about to force out a lighthearted excuse along the lines of “Just kidding!”, when he’s cut off.

“Alright, I guess.” His tone is flatter than usual, but at least he isn’t yelling at him. “Then are you done bothering me now so we can get back to work?” he asks, abruptly ripping his eyes away from Phainon and going back to his documents.

Phainon is left dumbfounded. He briefly wonders if the documents he’s reading are so boring that he’s dozed off and dreamed this entire conversation up. He sneakily gives his arm a slight pinch, but nothing happens. He definitely isn’t dreaming. Phainon briefly wonders if he should just give up now and avoid trouble later down the line, but he’s never been one to back down from a challenge. If he gave up now, Mydei would never let him hear the end of it. He’d be signing up for weeks, if not months of relentless teasing.

No, he’s gotten himself into this, and he better see it through to the end now. Phainon grabs a new stack of papers, trying to make sense of the words he’s reading. It takes a while, but he eventually comes into a bit of a flow of filtering out the important words, and his work slowly starts to go a little more smoothly.

When he finally puts down the last piece of paper, he flings his arms up into the air with a triumphant grin. “Done!” he cheers, beaming over at Mydei, who’s still holding a small booklet in his hands.

“You did it. Congratulations, Deliverer,” he flatly notes.

Phainon smirks and slowly trots over to Mydei, leaning over his shoulder with an air of casualness. “Told you I’d win!” He leisurely pats Mydei’s shoulder, who in turn lifts his eyes to look at him, his expression once again impossible to decipher.

“You did.” He slowly sorts the last booklet, putting everything into small, neat piles. “So?” He gives Phainon an expectant look.

Phainon blinks at him. “So… What?”

Mydei raises an eyebrow. “You wanted to go on a date if you win. So… What exactly is your plan now?” Right. That.

Part of Phainon wishes they could have just forgotten about that part, but Mydei just had to bring it to attention again. The bastard. He probably enjoys watching Phainon scramble.

When there’s no response for a while, Mydei crosses his arms. “What?” he asks in a mocking tone. “Are you backing out now? All that fuss over nothing?”

Oh, that’s it. Phainon can’t take the air of arrogance, so he just huffs out a “You wish.” He crosses his arms too, getting right into Mydei’s face. He’ll simply have to treat this like yet another challenge. For now, he’ll just have to lie a little, he can worry about the specifics of what a date actually entails later. “I’ll take you on the best date known to man! But it’s a surprise. I’m not going to tell you my plans just yet. You just get ready and I’ll meet you here again later at the start of Parting Hour.”

Mydei doesn’t appear convinced, but if he’s seeing through the lie, he’s giving Phainon enough grace not to call him out. “Alright, sure. See you later then.”

. . . . . . .

Parting Hour. Phainon has about four quints to come up with a plan. It should be more than enough in theory, except for one small issue: Phainon has no idea how dates work.

The last time he’s been on anything even close to resembling a “date” was back in Aedes Elysiae, when he’d asked a girl from his class to hang out with him after school. He’d been 12 years old, terribly naive, and really only did it because most of his other classmates had started going on “dates” as well and he didn’t want to feel left out. Not that he’d had any idea what he was doing back then, either. He took the girl down to the sea to go on a small fishing trip, but due to a series of unfortunate circumstances, it ended with them both drenched from head to toe in sea water, and the girl so angry that she wouldn’t even look at him afterwards. Cyrene had teased him relentlessly for it for an entire month afterwards, until he got sick of hearing it.

Even now, the memory makes him cringe so hard, he’d rather not dwell on it for too long.

He never went on another date with anyone before the Black Tide took everyone away from him, and ever since he’d been too preoccupied with everyone else to even consider dating again. Not until he met Mydei, anyway. And even though Mydei had become someone he could see himself going out with very early on in their friendship, he never found the courage to ask him out, too afraid of rejection of making things too awkward. The idea of messing things up with the one person he had feelings for terrified him so much, it had felt easier to just pretend that those feelings didn’t exist at all.

So, it’s safe to say, Phainon hasn’t put much thought into how to plan out a date before, and now that he’s in a bind to come up with something to do quickly, he feels utterly lost. He’ll need help if he doesn’t want to mess things up.

The bearer of the Romance coreflame would seem like an obvious choice for advice on this matter. However, the only thing that could make Phainon feel more embarrassed about this situation than he already is would be by having to explain all of it to Aglaea.

Instead, he decides on the second best, far less embarrassing choice — the one person who spends most of her days reading romance books and writing romantic stories herself.

He makes his way over to Castorice’s home in a bit of a rush, and is when she actually answers the door for him. “Lord Phainon!” she greets him with a smile. “What a nice surprise. How are you?”

With no time for pleasantries, Phainon only greets her with “Cas, I need your help.”

Her polite smile quickly shifts into a worried expression, and she steps aside to let him in, leading him into her living room. When he enters the room, he’s surprised to find someone else already sitting there.

“Hey there, Phainon!” Hyacine greets him with her typical sweet smile. He wasn’t expecting her to be here too. There’s a small tea set and a plate of cookies on the wooden table in front of her. Little Ica next to her nibbles on one of the cookies, not even stopping to look up at Phainon. Seems like they were having a small tea party here. For a moment, Phainon feels bad for interrupting them, but Castorice turns to him with a smile.

“So, what did you need?” she asks, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Phainon lets out a small sigh and sits down across from the two girls. He fidgets with his hands, staring at the plate of cookies instead of looking directly at them. “I might have accidentally asked Mydei on a date.”

Castorice looks a little perplexed, but doesn’t say anything. She just nods slowly, waiting for him to elaborate.

Hyacine, however, doesn’t seem to give him quite as much grace. “How does one accidentally ask someone out?”, she asks, propping her head on her hands. Little Ica looks at her, then at Phainon, letting out a small “Brrrrt brrrt?” He probably agrees with her too.

Phainon bites his lip. “It just slipped out before I knew what I was saying.”

He starts to explain his current predicament in a bit more detail.

When he’s done, Hyacine breaks out into a giggle. “Only you would manage to get yourself into a situation like that!”

Judging by the faint smile on Castorice’s face that she’s carefully trying to hide by taking a pointed sip from her cup of tea, she’s just as amused by his tale as Hyacine is, even though she’s far too polite to ever openly comment on it. Not that Phainon can blame them. When he lays it all out like this, it really does sound a little silly.

He sighs. “Well, any ideas on what I should do now?” he asks in an attempt to brush past Hyacine’s comment. “I’m kind of in a time crunch, you know?”

Castorice clears her throat and sets her cups back down onto the table, quickly regaining her composure. “I actually do have something to propose,” she says. Phainon feels an instant rush of relief. He knew he could count on Castorice to help him out. “I helped Lord Mydei look for one of the chimeras that escaped a few weeks ago. When we finally found the little one, she was playing near a starting point for one of the dromas city tours. Lord Mydei asked me about it, and when I explained to him what the city tours were, he seemed quite intrigued by them. I’m sure he would love to go on one of those rides around the city.”

Phainon immediately knows what she’s talking about. He’s seen them before on the outskirts of town, usually with some lovey-lovey couple sitting atop the dromas, holding hands as they take in the scenery together. Phainon feels his face heat up. His first instinct is to ask if that wouldn’t be a bit of a too romantic activity to do with Mydei. However, the words die in his throat. This is a date, isn’t it supposed to be romantic?

“Doesn’t that tour also end near the small restaurant that serves authentic Kremnoan food?” Hyacine chimes in. “A meal there would be perfect to end your date.”

Castorice’s face lights up. “That’s right! I bet Mydei would love that place!”

"That does sound like a great plan," Phainon admits. He can’t quite believe it, but with the help of Castorice and Hyacine, he now actually has a solid plan for their date. His anxiety slowly dissipates and he breathes a sigh of relief. This date might even end up feeling like an enjoyable experience.

"Thanks, you two helped me out a lot," Phainon says with a sincere smile. He finishes the rest of his tea and is about to get up again when he feels a hand grab his to hold him back. He looks down to find Hyacine staring back up at him, her eyes flickering up and down his body.

"Are you planning to go on your date dressed like that?" she asks.

Phainon gives her a sheepish look. "What's wrong with these clothes? I thought I looked nice."

Castorice shakes her head. "You do, but you can't go on a date in just your usual attire."

Hyacine gives a firm nod. "That won't do. You should put some effort into it."

“Brrrt brt!”, Little Ica chimes in, bumping his head into Phainon’s sleeve.

Phainon gives all of them an incredulous look."Is that really necessary? I shouldn't overdo this, right?" Neither of the girls answer him, but the looks on their faces are more than enough for Phainon to know the answer — in their minds, this absolutely is necessary.

So, he reluctantly allows himself to be dragged along to his place by the two of them. He stands in the middle of his bedroom, watching as the girls dissect his closet piece by piece, occasionally holding items of clothing in front of him and exchanging meaningful glances, every once in a while nodding or shaking their heads. Phainon almost wonders if this is some kind of secret code or if the two have suddenly turned into telepaths. By the time they're finally satisfied with the way Phainon looks, he feels more exhausted than after an intense sparring session. That being said, when he checks his reflection in the mirror, even Phainon can’t deny he looks positively stunning. Unfortunately, that whole idea also took them far longer than expected, and by the time they’re finished, he’s running a little late.

Phainon rushes to where Mydei and him agreed to meet before, and immediately spots him from afar, standing there impatiently and occasionally checking his phone with a disapproving glance. As Phainon draws closer, Mydei spots him as well.

"You're late," he huffs. "I was starting to wonder if you got cold feet after all."

Phainon wants to apologize, but the words never leave his lips. Any apology he'd prepared on his way there is completely forgotten the moment he looks at Mydei.

He, too, has changed from his usual clothes into something far nicer. On top of that, he's put his usually messy hair into a cute little ponytail. Upon closer inspection, Phainon realizes that part of his bangs is held back by a small, apple-shaped hairpin… Did Tribbie help him get dressed?

As much as Phainon had cursed Castorice and Hyacine earlier for making such a fuss over his appearance, suddenly, he feels very grateful to them. If he’d just gone to the date wearing his normal clothes, he would have ended up feeling severely underdressed compared to Mydei.

Mydei’s ears redden a little when he notices Phainon staring at him. “What? Did you forget how to use your words?”

Phainon snaps out of his gaze and quickly shakes his head. “Yes- I mean- no, I mean-” He sighs and takes a deep breath, trying to calm his thoughts and muster up the courage to say what’s actually on his mind. “You look very handsome, Mydei.”

Now it’s Mydei’s turn to be at a loss for words, staring back at Phainon as the red from his ears spreads further onto his cheeks. His eyes flicker onto the ground as he mutters something that Phainon is almost certain means “You look nice too.” Phainon feels his heart beat a little faster at the sight — Mydei really is cute when he’s a little embarrassed.

He suppresses the urge to giggle like a nervous school girl, and instead puts on his usually relaxed smile. “So, shall we get going?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before he links his arm with Mydei’s, dragging him along. For once, Mydei doesn’t complain and just followers after him instead.

“Are you finally going to tell me what our date actually entails now?” Mydei asks after a bit of walking.

Phainon turns to him with a grin. “Nope. You’ll have to remain patient a little longer.”

Mydei frowns a little, looking almost like a dissatisfied child. He’s definitely getting impatient by now. Phainon only chuckles. He really is adorable like this.

As they draw closer to their destination and Mydei spots the small bell to initiate the dromas ride, he abruptly stops in his tracks, almost yanking Phainon’s arm back. “Is that what we’re doing for our date?”

“Yep. Finally figured it out?” Phainon responds, looking back with a casual smile. “Hope you like my plan.”

“It’s... Not bad,” Mydei replies. He’s clearly trying to appear nonchalant, but there’s a million little details to give away just how excited Mydei actually is. The small glint in his eyes, the way his pace quickens ever so slightly as they make their way over, and even how his grip on Phainon’s arm has tightened just a little. It’s kind of cute. Mydei always tries his best to stay calm and reserved, but if Phainon pays close attention to all the small details, it becomes clear as day to him what Mydei is actually thinking.

The first couple of minutes of the ride are spent in awkward silence. Now that their 'date' has officially started and it's just the two of them sitting alone on the dromas' back with nothing else to do, it seems like neither of them truly knows what to say. Usually, Phainon has no problem filling a bit of silence (if anything, he tends to talk a bit too much), but right now, nothing he could possibly say seems adequate.

He looks around to take in the beautiful scenery, but he can hardly focus on that when Mydei is right beside him, eyes sparkling with amazement as he takes in his surroundings. Phainon has never seen him before, but suddenly he can’t get enough of it. He wants to etch this sight into his brain so he can think back and remember just how beautiful Mydei is whenever he likes.

"It's quite beautiful, huh?" Phainon finally asks with a soft smile, trying to make conversation again.

Mydei nods. "I've been considering doing this for a while now," he says after a bit. "I've lived in Okhema for quite a while now, but I never took the time to just casually take in the scenery." He turns to Phainon, smiling. "This is great. I might have never gotten around to doing this if you hadn’t taken me along."

Phainon can relate to what he's saying. He's lived in Okhema for years, and he's run so many errands across town that he probably knows every nook and cranny by now. But between all of that, never actually took the time to just stop and take in the beauty of this new home of his.

"I'm glad we got to do this together, then," he finally says.

After the initial awkwardness is broken, their conversation flows a lot more naturally, and they can finally chat and joke around like usual. Phainon finally feels like he can allow himself to relax a little, no longer feeling like things might go south any second. Just as he leans back a little, an unexpected bump in the road forces him to readjust his position. He realizes far too late that suddenly, his hand is lying right on top of Mydei's.

The warmth of his skin jolts through Phainon's arm and causes his heart to jump into his throat. His first instinct is to pull away and apologize, but when he looks over at Mydei in a panic, he doesn't pull away in the slightest. Mydei only looks at their hands for a few moments, then back up at Phainon, and continues their conversation as if nothing happened. Instead of pulling away, he simply turns his hand around enough so he can link their fingers with each other. Phainon swallows down his initial panic, trying to relax a little. They’re just holding hands, it shouldn’t be a huge deal, right?

The tour passes way too quickly, and before they know it, it's time to dismount. Mydei hops off first, and just as Phainon is about to climb off too, he notices a hand being stretched out to him. Mydei doesn't look directly at him, instead staring at the ground with a slightly red tint spreading all the way to his ears, but it's clear he's offering his hand to Phainon to help him get down. Phainon is perfectly capable of dismounting a dromas by himself, of course, but something about the gesture is so sweet that he can't help but accept. His hand finds Mydei’s again and he lands on his feet right next to him, lightly squeezing Mydei's hand.

"So, what now?", Mydei asks, his voice sounding slightly pressed like he's trying to push past the awkwardness.

Somehow, Phainon feels comforted seeing Mydei act a bit awkward as well. At least he doesn't seem to be the only one who's a little out of his element with the whole dating experience. He grins and gently tugs Mydei along as he starts walking. "Just follow me. I have something else planned for us.”

The Kremnoan restaurant Hyacine recommended is in a small alley off the main road. On the outside, it's pretty inconspicuous. Phainon has walked past this place a million times, but he's never even realized there was a restaurant hidden in this small, old building wedged between two significantly larger ones. However, the inside is a different story. The moment they step foot into a place, Phainon’s nose is filled with a variety of unknown smells so delicious they make his mouth water almost instantly. The place is decorated quite cozy, with lots of small, traditional Kremnoan decorations. Clearly, someone has put a lot of effort into making this place as warm and welcoming as possible.

There aren't a lot of customers as they walk in, so the owner—a nice elderly lady—immediately rushes to the front to greet them with a warm, grandmotherly smile. Her face lights up the moment she recognizes Mydei.

"A visit from the prince? What an honour! What do I owe the pleasure?"

Mydei returns her warmth with a courteous smile. "We'd like to have some dinner here. Do you have a table for two?" The moment he's addressed by one of his people, it's like his energy shifts a little to a more mature, strong aura, his voice becoming just a little more firm and direct. It's kind of attractive.

Despite the slight shift in energy, the old lady pats Mydei's arm without a second thought and warmly smiles up at him. "Of course, let me get you two seated!” She leads them towards a table a little further in the back, bringing them each a menu to go through.

Phainon isn't too familiar with the Kremnoan cuisine, quickly realizing that none of the dishes' names ring any bell to him. How is he supposed to choose something to eat when he doesn't even know what any of it means?

Luckily, there's someone far more knowledgeable in Kremnoan culture sitting right across from him. He rests his hand on one hand and smiles sweetly at Mydei. "Got anything to recommend for me?"

Mydei glances up at him from his own menu, seeming a little hesitant for a moment. "We didn't have a whole lot of variety in food options with the detachment," he answers slowly. "I never really got to eat a lot of classic Kremnoan dishes." At second glance, he looks almost as lost as Phainon.

"Do you boys need any help?" The owner calls over to them. She seems to have picked up on their confusion immediately. What an observant old lady! “How about I'll just get you a bite of all our best dishes so you can try the whole range of our amazing cuisine?"

"That sounds wonderful, thank you!" Phainon says with a smile.

Not long after, the space between them is filled with all sorts of dishes. The smell is unlike anything you'd typically find in an Okheman restaurant, but Phainon's mouth waters just at the sight of it. The owner is eagerly awaiting their reactions as she's chatting away explaining the origins of all the different dishes. It almost reminds Phainon of the times he used to help his own grandma with cooking when he was little. She'd always be more than happy to teach him about all kinds of foods, absolutely delighted whenever Phainon showed an interest in what she had to tell him.

While eagerly listening to the lady’s explanations, he mindlessly grabs a bite from the nearest bowl to him — and almost chokes. He's never eaten anything this spicy before! Phainon quickly swallows the bite, trying to play it off and ignore the burning in his mouth, but as he looks back up he's met by a light smirk from Mydei. Of course he immediately picked up on Phainon's reaction. He's going to tease him for this for eternity.

Mydei makes firm eye contact with Phainon as he reaches over to grab a bite from the same bowl, swallowing it without any trouble. His smile widens. "What's with the red face, Deliverer? Don't tell me you can't handle a little spice!"

Well, Phainon certainly wouldn't call it "a little". But he quickly puts on a smile and forces out a laugh. "As if! It's just a little warm in here, that's all!"

Mydei shoots him a doubtful look. "Of course. In that case, you should try this. I'm sure you'll enjoy it." He hands Phainon a small plate from his side of the table, watching with a blank expression as Phainon tries a big spoonful of it.

The heat hits Phainon before his brain even manages to process the taste. He quickly reaches for his glass of pomegranate juice and takes a large sip, hoping that it will stop his mouth from feeling like a fire has been lit inside of it. It doesn't help at all.

"How do you like it?" The owner asks with a sweet smile. Phainon can't tell if she's just as sadistic as Mydei, or if she really couldn't pick up on his discomfort.

"Yeah, Deliverer. How is it?" Mydei smiles at him warmly.

For a brief moment, Phainon wants to curse him, but he quickly puts his smile back on. Either way, he wouldn't want to make his host feel insulted, so he responds with his most polite tone, "It’s amazing. I really like it."

The owner looks delighted. She actually seems to believe him. "It’s not often we get to hear that from Okhemans. Most of them always complain that the food is too spicy. But if it’s to your taste, please come back anytime."

Phainon lets out a nervous laugh. So that’s why there aren’t a lot of customers here. Most Okhemans probably can't actually handle proper Kremnoan food. "Oh, for sure. Is this the spiciest dish you have?"

The owner laughs. "Not at all! This one is still on the milder side. If you’d like to try something truly spicy, I can go make you something right now."

Phainon’s eyes widen a little, a slight panic rising within him. Before he can think of a way to politely decline, Mydei cuts in.

"There’s no need! We’ve already troubled you enough for today. But thank you, we appreciate your hospitality." The owner seems satisfied with that and wanders off again, leaving them to try the rest of the dishes on their own. Phainon breathes a sigh of relief. Mydei shakes his head a little.

"Always putting on such a brave face." He huffs out a laugh, clearly amused by Phainon's suffering. "Next time, I’m not going to save you."

Phainon huffs. "Come on, I was trying to be polite."

Mydei chuckles. He hands him another bowl with a smile. "You should try this one. It’s not as spicy."

Phainon glares over at him. "I don’t trust you anymore," he pouts.

Mydei huffs a little. "Your loss. I guess you'll just have to try things for yourself and hope nothing is too spicy then..." He's doing this on purpose, isn't he? Phainon hesitates for a few moments, but eventually decides to give it a try after all. He’s surprised by how good it tastes. This dish is still slightly spicy but in a way that’s a little easier to handle. There’s lots of unique flavors, making the dish very enjoyable. And yet, something about it is… Comforting. It almost reminds Phainon of something…

Mydei smiles. "I did have this one a few times. It's always been one of my favourites."

Phainon breaks out of his thoughts and returns his smile. “I think it might become one of my favourites as well.” He takes another bite, closing his eyes for a few moments to really focus on the flavors. Yeah, there’s no doubt about it. “It actually tastes similar to something I used to eat back at home. I never would have thought that Kremnos and Aedes Elysiae had some overlapping flavors in their dishes…”

Mydei gives him a curious look. “Is that so?” He lets out a small chuckle. “That does make me curious about the kind of foods you had back in Aedes Elysiae.”

“Maybe I should make some for you one day,” Phainon notes. It’s an offhanded comment, but when he looks up, he finds Mydei staring back at him with a hint of red spreading across his cheeks. Phainon averts his eyes, sheepishly adding, “Only if you want, of course.”

They continue eating, and for the rest of the meal, Phainon trusts Mydei's suggestions, finally able to enjoy their food without being scared to burn his mouth.

Once they're done eating, they're seen off by the old lady, who thanks them profusely for stopping by.

They walk side by side in silence for a bit, when Mydei abruptly turns to face Phainon. "You know, I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this date. But I had a lot of fun. Thank you, Deliverer.”

Phainon is a little taken aback. He's not really used to the two of them being sincere with each other, so he's unsure of how to respond. Eventually, a smile finds its way to his face. "I enjoyed it a lot too. It's been nice."

. . . . . . . . . .

When Phainon gets back home, he falls into bed with a happy sigh. He doesn’t even notice the huge grin plastered across his face until his cheeks start to hurt. He’d been so scared to ask Mydei out all this time, but now that they finally went on a date, he feels like he’s on another plane of existence. He never would have thought that he’d be enjoying himself as much as he did. But now that he’s gotten a taste for it, he’s itching for more.

But even so, part of him wonders if Mydei would be willing to go on another date with him. While he said himself that he’d enjoyed their date, Phainon can’t help but wonder if he had agreed to this if he hadn’t lost their bet in the first place. In the end, didn’t he only go along with it out of obligation?

The more Phainon’s thoughts start to turn, the deeper he seems to fall out of his earlier high as there’s a creeping sense of self-doubt, nagging at the back of his mind until the earlier enthusiasm turns into cold, prickling anxiety. What if he asks Mydei out again and he declines? He never asked Mydei out before precisely because of this fear — how would he be able still continue their friendship if he ended up ruining things between them by overinterpreting their relationship? The thought is too much for Phainon to handle.

Still, after today, he’d really, really like to spend more time with Mydei again.

An idea forms in Phainon’s head — maybe he can orchestrate yet another challenge for them. That way he’d have an excuse to ask Mydei out on another date.

. . . . . . . . .

A few days later, Phainon decides to set his plan into action.

Mydei watches him with his arms crossed as Phainon excitedly explains the rules for his newest challenge — an old social media trend called “Who's the chimera’s favourite?”

“Didn’t we try this once before already?” Mydei cuts in, just as Phainon is about to get to the rules. “And you hopelessly lost, remember?”

Phainon pouts as he recalls the last time they’d played this game. It’s true that he suffered a great loss that time. The chimera they’d chosen for the challenge didn’t even want to stay in his spot in the first place, instead choosing to follow Mydei around the entire time, so it had been more than apparent who the winner for that challenge had been. He’s still a little sore about that devastating loss, which might be part of the reason why he’s decided to redo this particular challenge in the first place.

He pouts. “But that time wasn’t fair. We picked Beagle Coconut for that one, and you’re clearly his favourite because you’re always playing with him, so the odds were against me right from the start. I want a rematch!”

Mydei gives him a doubtful look, but finally, he sighs. “Very well. What’s the winner’s reward going to be this time?”

Phainon smirks back at him. “Same as last time. If I win, we will go on a date.”

Mydei’s eyes widen a little in recognition. Perhaps it’s just Phainon’s imagination, but suddenly Mydei seems just slightly more on board with the idea. “Alright, I guess,” he huffs, heading towards a spot where a few chimeras are resting.

They all perk up the moment they see them approaching. Mydei kneels down a few steps in front of them, carefully holding out a hand for them to sniff. Phainon glances over his shoulder to look at all of them, observing as one of them slowly paws at Mydei's hand while another is already trotting over to try and climb on his lap. He definitely won't be picking one of those two.

Finally, his eyes settle on a small, light pink chimera that looks familiar to him. He’s played with her a couple of times in the past when helping Hyacine look after the chimeras, and that one has always appeared to like him quite a lot. Maybe it isn’t quite fair to try and employ the exact same methods he’s criticized Mydei for just a few moments ago, but he’s willing to overlook that if it means he has a better chance at actually winning this challenge and going on another date. “Let’s go with this one!” He says with a wide smile.

Mydei follows his gaze, quietly eyeing the chimera for a few moments. “Sure,” he finally nods, leaning down to pick the chimera up and greeting her with a few headpats. Phainon just watches them for a few moments. He tends to tease Mydei about it, but in truth he’s always found it heartwarming to see Mydei interacting with the chimeras. Thinking back, it’s one of the reasons he’s started to develop this crush of his in the first place. Whenever he’s playing with them, Mydei’s usual hardened demeanor seems to melt away and he treats them with the utmost gentleness and softness. Over time, Phainon kept wondering if he’d ever get close enough with Mydei to experience that side of him on himself — Which eventually turned into this crush of his. Not that he doesn’t enjoy their usual gruff banter too.

“Ready, Deliverer?”

Phainon snaps out of his thoughts when Mydei turns around to him, the chimera in his arms eyeing Phainon with a curious look. Phainon reaches out to scratch her behind the ears for a moment, then nods. He watches as Mydei sets the chimera on the ground. Just as he’s about to walk to his spot, Mydei stops him by placing a hand on his arm. “Deliverer, hold on.”

Phainon turns back to him with a confused look. Did he forget a step to the challenge? But Mydei only gives him a small smile, patting his back a few times. “Good luck.”

Phainon huffs out a laugh, gently shoving at Mydei’s shoulder. “I don’t need luck. I’m going to win either way, just you wait!”

Mydei rolls his eyes a little, but shoots him a small grin. “Look who's all confident today.”

They each get to their spots, and Phainon anxiously watches the little chimera. She’s looking around between the two of them, seeming a little confused at first. Her eyes settle on Mydei, and Phainon feels his heart sink a little. Could it really be that he’s going to lose this challenge again?

Yet, a moment later, her gaze wanders over to Phainon again, eyes widening a little bit as she happily waddles over towards him. Phainon can’t help but feel a little excited as the chimera settles down next to him, slightly pawing at his cape and looking up at him. Maybe it just took her a few moments to recognize him.

He lets out a triumphant laugh and picks the chimera up, twirling her around for a moment. “See, I told you I’d win!”

Mydei walks over to them. “I suppose you did win this time. Congratulations.” He pats the chimera's head some more, who by this point seems a little bored of the whole ordeal. She hops off Phainon’s arms and makes her way back over to her chimera friends.

Mydei looks back up at him. “So what’s the plan this time? Taking me out for dinner again?”

Phainon pauses for a moment, suddenly feeling a little shy. "Well... Do you remember how last time you said you’d like to try some of the food from my hometown?" Mydei nods slowly. "I thought we could go fishing together, then I could make one of Aedes Elysiae’s greatest dishes: Elysian trout stew!"

Mydei’s eyes light up a little. He seems excited for a moment, but when he responds, his tone is as calm as ever. "Sure, I like fishing. Sounds good."

Phainon grins. “Alright then. It's still early, how about we head out right now? Then we'll have a delicious stew by dinner time for sure… If you don't have anything better to do.” He adds the last part hoping to come off a little more nonchalant, in an attempt to match Mydei's composed energy. He can't be running around like an overly excited puppy, can he? Not when Mydei seems so calm and collected.

“Sure, we can go there now.” Mydei smiles. Phainon is about to set off, but realizes Mydei is still not moving. He turns around confused, only to find Mydei extending one of his hands to him. “If it's another date, we should be holding hands, right?”

Phainon's face lights up, all his caution about trying to appear cool going out the window immediately. He slots his hand into Mydei's with a wide grin. Mydei seems satisfied now too, and they finally set off. They stop by Phainon's place to grab some fishing equipment before they set off towards the lake located just by the outskirts of Okhema. This time, Phainon barely feels nervous about holding Mydei's hand. He's gotten used to this sensation way too quickly. In a way, it just feels natural, almost like he was always meant to be holding Mydei's hand. He lightly swings their arms as they walk, happily humming a small tune. Mydei doesn't say anything, but when Phainon glances back at him, he could’ve sworn he sees a fond smile flash across his face for just a moment.

The lake is unusually quiet today. There's barely any people around, and even the water seems calmer than usual. They settle down at a somewhat secluded spot, and Phainon sets up the fishing rod before sitting down in the grass next to Mydei. They stare out into the water for a while, neither of them saying anything.

"You know, when I was a kid I'd usually just jump into the water and catch the fish by hand," Phainon says after a bit with a small chuckle. "I was way too impatient to wait to catch them with my rod. My mom would get so mad at me, she'd scold me the entire time, while my dad just took the fish and prepared dinner for us."

Mydei huffs out a laugh. "Why did you stop? You're still not exactly what I would call patient."

Phainon ignores the light teasing and just huffs out a sigh. "One time I took a girl from Aedes Elysiae with me to go fishing, but I splashed water on her and she got upset. My mom wouldn't stop lecturing me the whole week every time she saw me. Said how I need to act more like a proper gentleman on a date." He shoots a shy glance over at Mydei. "So I figured maybe I should do it properly for today. I can't be repeating my past mistakes like that, right?"

Mydei is about to respond when his attention is caught by something in the lake. Phainon follows his gaze, only to find that a fairly large fish has swum over to the surface. He waits with bated breath, hoping the fish will swim towards the fishing rod. Mydei looks over at him quietly for a few moments, when a grin flashes across his face. Before Phainon can process what is happening, Mydei lurches straight into the lake. The splash reached all the way to Phainon's feet, who just watches in confusion. Mydei reemerges a few seconds later with the fish in hand and a satisfied smirk on his lips. "Did you do it like this?"

Phainon looks at him in surprise, lost for words. Eventually, he manages to stammer out a, "Mydei, you... I didn't think you could do that."

Mydei lets out a small laugh. "I used to catch fish like this all the time when I was a little kid. It was the only way I'd get anything to eat back then, so I got quite a bit of practise early on."

"Oh, that makes sense," Phainon mumbles. He'd never considered that, but of course Mydei would have learned how to catch fish back during his time in the Sea of Souls. The man had been fighting sea monsters on a daily basis; these fish are probably nothing to him. Suddenly, Phainon can't help but worry — did he just ruin the mood by digging up old painful memories for Mydei?

However, Mydei just grins up at him, not appearing bothered in the slightest. "What, are you going to just let me catch fish alone? I thought you wanted to be a gentleman?" He smirks. “Or are you afraid your technique is lacking compared to mine?”

Those words are more than enough to get Phainon fired up again. He shrugs off his coat and leaves it behind on the grass. Seconds later he jumps into the water right next to Mydei when he spots another, even bigger fish nearby.

He catches the fish immediately, and jumps back towards the surface to hold the fish out to Mydei with a triumphant grin. "See? I still got it!"

Mydei watches him with an amused smile. For a brief moment, there's a glimmer of softness in his eyes.

"So, what are we going to do with these now?" He asks.

"We can turn them into a nice stew at home. I usually keep all of the necessary ingredients at home..." He trails off a little, realizing they'll have to make their way back home through Okhema with all their clothes sopping wet now.

However, before he can say anything else, Mydei has already climbed out of the water, giving him an expectant glance. "Then let's go!" The water is dripping off him onto the ground, but he doesn't seem bothered in the slightest, so Phainon decides to push his worries aside as well.

They catch a few strange looks from the townspeople as they make their way back to Phainon's home. They must make quite the pair, dripping from head to toe with two raw fish in hand. But at this moment, Phainon couldn't care less. He's brimming with excitement. He never got to share one of his childhood dishes with anyone, but somehow it feels fitting that it would be Mydei of all people.

"So, what kind of Aedes Elysiae specialty is this?" Mydei asks, glancing over Phainon's shoulder as he's happily chopping vegetables and throwing them into a pot.

"I'm actually not sure if it has a proper name," Phainon muses, "but my granny always made it for me after I'd gone fishing with my dad. It was my favourite growing up."

There’s no response from Mydei. When Phainon turns to look at him, he finds him softly smiling back. “You speak with such fondness of your hometown. You must have had a really happy childhood growing up there.”

Phainon is a little taken aback at first, but quickly nods with a wide grin. “I guess I did, yeah.”

Mydei smiles. “I would have liked to see Aedes Elysiae. It sounds like a nice place.”

Phainon smiles back. “I think you would have loved it.” He can envision clearly how fun it would have been to take Mydei back home with him one day, exploring the fields around Aedes Elysiae together with him.

That night, Phainon can’t help but let his imagination run wild with what it would have been like to take Mydei back home with him. He imagines introducing him to all his friends, taking him to play heroes with the younger kids, and introducing him to his parents. He can’t think of a single person there who wouldn’t have loved Mydei. His mother especially surely would have adored him.

He imagines taking Mydei to all his favourite spots and secret hideouts, running through the fields with their dog Snowy and watching the beautiful Aedes Elysiae sunsets together.

Phainon often aches for the days when he still had a home, but there’s something especially painful about knowing he’ll never get to take Mydei back there.

It’s bittersweet. Who knows if they had ever even gotten to meet each other if he hadn't come to Okhema? And yet, he can’t help but imagine a calm, quiet life together with Mydei back in Aedes Elysiae, wondering what could have been had fate been just a little more kind.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

After this, it’s getting more and more difficult for Phainon to come up with new possible challenges. It used to come naturally to him—sometimes random ideas would just pop into his head while they’re walking through town together or running errands. But now that he feels like he needs to come up with new challenges to find more excuses to take Mydei on another date, it’s like his mind is completely empty.

Perhaps it would really be better to just ask Mydei outright, the looming fear of rejection still keeps Phainon from even giving that path much consideration. In a way, it's gotten even worse now that he's gotten a taste of what dating Mydei feels like.

Just as he’s mulling over how he could possibly come up with a new challenge, a sign catches his eye.

"Annual Okhema arm wrestling competition, coming back soon!" it reads in big bold letters. Phainon still recalls the last competition almost a year back. He’d made it all the way to the finals, only to end up going against Mydei in the last round. That day, Mydei officially became the first person to win the arm wrestling competition three years in a row.

However, that glaring defeat was also the catalyst to motivate Phainon to do more strength training in hopes of one day being able to beat Mydei in an arm wrestling match, unable to take the defeat. It's a bit risky, but if he can manage to score a win, maybe he could use that as another opportunity for a date.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mydei startles a little when Phainon barges into his room with all of his usual fiery attitude that he gets when proposing a new challenge. "What in the Titans' names are you doing?" he curses, tossing aside the scroll he'd just been reading.

Phainon smirks. "It's the annual arm wrestling competition soon!"

Mydei blinks at him slowly, his brows slightly raised. "Yes...?"

"So, I want to compete against you. Let's test our strength right now."

"Are you serious?" Mydei looks exasperated at first, but then squints a little. "You're not going to ask for another date if you win, are you?"

Maybe the fact he can see through him so easily should make Phainon reconsider what he's doing. But at this point, he's already gotten himself way too fired up, so he can only grin. "You got that right!"

Mydei remains quiet for a moment, looking like he's about to say something, but pursing his lips as if he's still deciding whether he should speak up or not.

Is he going to say no?

Feeling a sudden surge of panic, Phainon decides to push ever so slightly. "What, are you scared you'll lose?" he asks, putting on a provocative grin. Hopefully that's enough to cover how nervous he suddenly feels.

Immediately, Mydei's expression changes a little, his own competitive spirit surging up as well. Phainon has to chuckle at just how easy it is to push his buttons. "Don't get cocky. I'm not afraid of you. Fine, let's do it." He jumps up to sit at a nearby table, getting in position.

He really took that "right now" to heart.

Phainon stretches his arms a little, sitting down across from Mydei.

The moment they get started, a sliver of doubt creeps up within Phainon. He forgot just how strong Mydei really is. Could it be that he’s overestimated his own strength?

He grits his teeth, putting in all of his strength, while Mydei looks as though he’s barely breaking a sweat holding his own against Phainon. But he really can’t lose now. Not after all that big talk and taunting just a few moments ago. If he loses now, not only would that ruin his chance for another date, but Mydei would never let him hear the end of it.

Pulling in all his strength, Phainon begins to push even harder, and finally Mydei’s hand begins to bend down a little. Phainon almost can't believe his own eyes, but he doesn't let up. This small success is just the push he needs to gather the last of his strength. Just a bit further, and then...

Victory!

Phainon breaks into a cheer the moment Mydei’s hand hits the table. "I actually won!" he cheers.

Mydei leans back into his chair with a smirk, crossing his arms. "Not bad. Good job."

Phainon grins. "I told you I’d win."

Mydei slightly rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You sure did." He shifts forward again, resting his chin on one hand. "So, what’s the next date going to be?”

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

"You're taking me to bathe for our date?" Mydei asks, sounding slightly amused as he trails up the mountain behind Phainon. "Don't we already do that all the time back home?"

"Come on!" Phainon chuckles, turning around to look at Mydei with an excited grin. "These are hot springs! That's way better than the regular baths back home."

Mydei doesn’t look quite convinced yet, but at least he didn’t refuse to tag along, either. "How did you learn about these anyway?"

"I stumbled across them when I was out on patrol." Phainon turns slightly to shoot Mydei a grin. "And my first thought was to show them to you of all people! You better feel honoured." In truth, it’s been quite a while since Phainon came across this place. He’d always been a bit nervous to ask Mydei to come all the way out here with him just for a bath, but they seemed like a nice spot for a date.

They arrive there soon enough, at a small secluded space up in the mountains of Okhema. Not only is it incredibly peaceful up here, but they also have a nice view of Okhema and even the statue of Kephale in the distance. Looking a little further to the left, Phainon can even make out the Grove from here. "It really is quite the breathtaking sight, isn’t it?"

He turns to find Mydei looking at him, a casual smile on his face. “It sure is. Very beautiful.” Something about the intensity in Mydei’s eyes makes Phainon briefly question if he really meant the view, or if this was an attempt at flirting. However, the more he thinks about it, the more flustered he’s starting to feel, so Phainon decides to ignore the comment and quickly make his way over to the hot springs instead.

Up close, the space of the springs is a little smaller than it appeared in Phainon’s memory. It's enough to fit the both of them, but there won’t be much wiggle room between them. He feels doubt creep up in his mind on whether or not this was a good idea, but quickly pushes the thought aside. It’s too late to have second thoughts now that they’re already here.

He settles in first, feeling the warmth envelop his whole body, and immediately any doubts he’s had before melt away. "Wow, this is amazing!" he sighs. He closes his eyes for a moment and leans back his head, taking in the feeling as the steam from the hot springs seeps into his skin. There’s a slight shift in the water’s distribution, and he opens his eyes again just in time to watch Mydei settle into the spring as well. Phainon feels a sudden rush of warmth shoot to his head, and he can’t tell if it’s because of the heat or something else.

He should be used to seeing Mydei's body by now, considering his usual attire and how often they go to the baths back in Okhema together. But it's rare to see him this up close, sitting right across from him. If he moved just a little bit, their knees would be practically touching.

Phainon tries keeping his eyes on Mydei's face, but it's as if the harder he tries, the more his eyes want to wander to take in the outline of Mydei's muscles and the way his tattoos stretch out across them, all the way down to his—

"Phainon?" His eyes shoot back up, met with Mydei staring right back at him, one eyebrow slightly raised. He definitely noticed him staring. Damn it. Mydei lets out a light chuckle. "I just said, you really picked a great spot. The water is the perfect temperature”

"Oh!" Phainon clears his throat. He didn’t even register that Mydei had been saying anything at all. This is bad. "Yeah, it really is… Quite the nice spot, huh?" A nervous laugh bubbles out of his throat. His eyes flicker back down, but he forces them to remain on Mydei's face. Mydei smirks.

"See something you like, Deliverer?"

Phainon blinks at Mydei for a few moments, trying to think of anything to say. He likes to think he’s a pretty quick-witted person, but right now it’s as if his brain is overthinking just trying to process Mydei’s words. All that comes out of his mouth is a small, breathy “Yeah.”

Are there any vortexes in these wild springs? He wouldn’t mind if one opened up right now and sucked him in so he could have an excuse to escape this situation. Just what has he gotten himself into?

As if things aren’t bad enough already, Mydei laughs, a low, rumbling chuckle that sends goosebumps up his smile. Phainon notices the way Mydei’s chest slightly shakes as he’s laughing. He swallows hard. Maybe this place will be where he dies. With the way his heart is beating, he certainly isn’t far off from a small heart attack.

There’s a small shift in the water and suddenly, Mydei is sitting even closer, practically leaning into Phainon now. Their shoulders slightly brush, and Phainon feels like his skin is electric. “What, don’t you have any smart retorts for me?” Mydei asks, his voice a mixture of amused and disappointed. It’s way too close to his ear, raising the hairs on the back of his neck a little. He looks back at Mydei with wide eyes, trying to think of something—anything—to say right now. He comes up with nothing. Mydei tilts his head a little, a playful glint in his eyes. “I definitely see something that I like,” he says in a quiet voice that’s almost a whisper. His eyes flicker down—briefly to Phainon’s chest, then up to his lips and finally back to his eyes.

It would be easy to just close his eyes, lean in a little and close the gap between them. There’s a million thoughts running through Phainon’s mind, but the most prominent one of them is just a big, loud don’t mess this up.

Followed by a quieter, but more forceful You’re going to mess it up.

How could he not? He’s never done this kind of thing before.

Mydei looks at him, holding eye contact for what feels for an eternity, before a slightly forced smile appears on his face and he shifts back into his earlier position. He lets out a small laugh. “Lighten up a little, I was just teasing…” There’s a small hint of something heavy in his voice, but Phainon can’t tell what it means.

He takes a deep breath and snaps back out of his trance. He didn’t even realize how much his entire body had tensed up. He relaxes his shoulders slightly, forcing out a laugh as well. “Of course, I know that.” Why would it be anything else? He’s clearly overthinking this whole situation.

Still, if it was nothing more than light teasing, why does the mood between them suddenly feel so heavy? Mydei is a lot more quiet than before now, barely reacting to Phainon’s jokes aside from small laughs and some stiff smiles. Eventually, they fall silent as they make their way back down the mountain.

After they say goodbye, Phainon can’t help but feel like in the end, he messed things up with his own fear of doing something wrong. He so desperately wants to run back to Mydei and apologize for screwing things up, but with how awkward things were between them earlier, that might just make everything even worse.

Maybe if he can convince Mydei to go on a do-over date, he’ll be able to salvage things between them…

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A few days go by and Phainon once again struggles to come up with new challenges. As time goes by, he grows increasingly agitated. He’s barely spoken more than a few words with Mydei since their date at the hot springs, but things have still felt a little odd. It feels as if the longer he waits, the worse things will get. He’ll need to hurry up to come up with a plan quickly, before he messes things up so badly that they can’t be repaired. However, with the added pressure of needing to get things right, his brain is even less cooperative than usual.

Phainon decides to clear his head, so he goes on a small walk around Okhema. He’s barely left his home yet, when he turns a corner and almost bumps into someone. He frantically tries to apologize, but stops when he recognizes a familiar face in front of him, looking just as surprised as he is.

"Mydei! What are you doing here?" Phainon asks. He barely even notices the big smile creeping onto his face.

Mydei looks a little embarrassed, averting his eyes. "Actually, I was looking for you.” He pauses for a moment, like he’s contemplating what to say. “I was thinking about going to that Kremnoan restaurant again and was wondering if you’d like to come along… I’ll help you pick something you can eat this time."

Phainon’s face lights up as an idea pops into his mind. This might be the perfect opportunity for him. He grins widely, linking his arm with Mydei’s to lead the way. "Sure, let’s go!"

Mydei seems a bit surprised at the enthusiasm, but allows himself to be dragged along nonetheless, while Phainon is brimming with excitement. For once, the awkward air that has been hanging between them for the past couple of days is barely noticeable as they make their way to the restaurant.

The owner seems delighted to see the two of them again, greeting them with a warm smile. She leads them to the same table they’d been seated at last time and hands them both a menu. Mydei begins to flip through it, but Phainon only smiles up at the owner.

"Could we get two bowls of your spiciest dish?"

Mydei’s eyes shoot up in horror, but before he can say anything, the old lady lets out a hearty laugh and pats Phainon’s shoulder. "I didn't expect this young man to be such a lover of spicy food. I’ll fetch you two bowls right away. Just be warned, even some of our Kremnoan customers refuse to eat this one since it’s too hot." She chuckles and gives him a hearty slap on the back. "But I’m sure you won’t have a problem at all."

Phainon immediately regrets his choice, but he just smiles and nods confidently. He’ll simply have to grin and bear it. Really, just how bad could a bit of spice be?

As soon as the owner has waddled off, Mydei shoots him a look as if he’s gone insane. “Deliverer, what on earth are you doing? Have you already forgotten about last time? You could barely handle that dish, what makes you think you can eat this one?”

Phainon grins. “It’s another challenge. Whoever manages to eat more of the spicy food wins, easy!” He puts his chin on one hand and smiles sweetly. “Same reward as last time if I win.”

Mydei looks like he’s about to pop a vein. “Is this really necessary? Are you out of your mind?”

So he’s resistant again. Fine, maybe he just needs a little push. Phainon puts on his usual provocative smirk, leaning in a little closer. “What is it? Afraid you’ll lose?” Surely pushing Mydei’s buttons will work just fine.

However, Mydei just grinds his teeth. “No, that’s not it. I just—”

He’s interrupted when the owner returns with two steaming bowls of food, setting them down in front of the two of them. Phainon can smell the spice already, feeling his eyes water a little. This is going to get bad. But he’s already committed now, so how could he back out now? He braces himself, trying to hype himself up to start eating.

Mydei watches in horror as he grabs a spoonful and slowly raises it up to his mouth. Just as he’s about to take the first bite, Mydei reaches out to grab his hand, almost causing Phainon to drop it.

“Phainon, stop. Why are you so hellbent on doing this?” He almost shouts, leaning over the table and tightly holding onto Phainon’s hand.

Phainon is a bit taken aback seeing Mydei look so genuinely angry. He averts his eyes, slowly using the spoon to stir around his bowl. “Why do you suddenly have a problem with us doing some harmless challenges?” he mutters.

Mydei looks at him with a frown. “Harmless? You won’t be able to eat that. At best you’ll end up with bad stomach pains, but...” He sighs. “What’s the next thing going to be? Are you planning on putting yourself into the hospital over these challenges one of these days?"

Phainon huffs. "You're exaggerating. I wouldn't do that..."

"Well, sometimes I really can't tell what you're thinking.” Mydei frowns Phainon, tell me. Are you really doing all this just so you can take me on a date?" Phainon's eyes widen a little as his head shoots up. Is he really that easy to see through? "Why not just ask me like a normal person?"

Phainon quickly averts his eyes again, wanting to look anywhere but at Mydei. "I didn't think you'd want to go," he admits quietly.

Mydei raises his eyebrows. "Are we not sitting here right now because I invited you to go eat something with me? And you still think I don’t want to spend time with you?" When Phainon remains silent, he sighs. "Phainon, don't you think that if I didn't want to go on a date with you I would have told you to pick something else in the first place?” Well, that is true— “Or I just wouldn't have let you win each time."

Wait, what?!

Phainon's eyes shoot back at Mydei, looking at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Mydei laughs. "What, did you really think you could beat me at all of those?"

Truth be told, Phainon did start to wonder a little. Ultimately, he'd just decided he was on a lucky streak. He didn’t want to jinx it, so he figured it would be best not to talk about it.

Mydei huffs out a laugh. "You know, when we were sorting documents, I just slowed down to let you catch up. You actually sped up quite a bit towards the end, so it wasn’t that hard. But did you really think you'd win against the three-time arm wrestling champion?"

Phainon huffs. "I thought maybe my training paid off... But what about the chimeras? You couldn’t have just told them to go to me without me noticing, right?"

Mydei chuckles. "I hid some treats in the back of your coat when I patted you on the back."

"So the chimera doesn't actually love me more?" Phainon is almost a little heartbroken over that revelation.

Mydei laughs. "I've been looking after her quite a bit lately, so she’s grown attached to me, I think." How devastating. Noticing his face fall, Mydei pats Phainon’s arm and smiles. "How about I'll take you to look after the chimeras for our next date? I'm sure they'll absolutely adore you... He smirks a little. "Just as much as I do."

Phainon lets out a small, awkward chuckle. "You really do?"

Mydei huffs out a laugh. "I wouldn't put up with your antics if I didn't." His gaze softens a little. "But I really do mean it. I like you. And I hope next time we can go on a date without you feeling like you have to put yourself into hospital first."

Somehow, Phainon feels very silly for how worried he was before. All that overthinking just held him up in the end. He smiles at Mydei and nods. “Yeah, that sounds like a plan!”