Digital Parents - (Phainon x f!Reader) - PART 1
Summary: You got isekaied in Amphoreus, coming from a world of struggle and pain, the only thing you have left of it: your Tamagotchi.
Author's note: This is my very first fan fiction, it's years that i only read and never actually put myself in action, but some weeks ago i got inspired and i wrote this down, this is the first part. Please enjoy!
ps: english it's not my first language!!
Content: mention of suicidal thoughs, panic attack, reader is a videogame lover so expect some videogames references now and maybe in the future, fluff, comforting, new found family/home, ModernAU Phainon.
Your world. A world you shared with many people, and if you asked any of us, we'd agree it's a shitty one. It's a place dominated by war and relentless capitalism, with rich and selfish people in power. Slowly destroying our own home, with global warming, smog, and poorly managed trash and plastic which is destroying the environment, killing animals, most of them near extinction.
Even if we all lived in such an awful place, thankfully, we managed to keep living, finding the good things. There were things and people that made it worth living, even when everything got harder by the day.
But humankind was never truly happy, always craving more. And you were no exception.
The day it happened, it was particularly stressful for you. You'd just had a fight with your mom about your futureâyou two weren't exactly on the same page when it came to your plans. You were already struggling to finish university and couldn't really think about other pressing matters. But how can you be blamed?
Yours was a world where everything moved too fast, and if you couldn't keep up, you just got left behind. No pressure at all, of course. Still, you couldn't stand your mom's nagging; you were fully aware she was just worried about you, but it was getting too much to handle.
You had a frown on your face, as you grumpily walked back home from your last lesson of the day you were tired from all the information in your head making your it spin a little, fragment of the fight you had that morning keep pop up, everything wouldâve be just fine if only the world wasn't so damn ruthless.
You sped up as you walked down the busy streets of your city, the air filled with smog and all kinds of weird smells, you knew the way home by heart so you werenât really focused on the street you were walking on, in your mind, there was only the desire to go back home, play video games to temporarily escape reality (you had a boss to defeat and daylies to do), and maybe invite your boyfriend over too.
You smiled at the idea of being on your comfy gaming chair with a nice drink in the comfort of your room, smiling and laughing at some stupid joke your boyfriend came up with and just for a moment forget about all your problems which in that moment seemed so big and so hard to get over.
Evading reality sounded like a nice idea... until it wasn't.
As you were lost in thought, you havenât noticed the switch in atmosphere right away, a fit of dread crept through your body as you realized you didn't recognize the street you were walking on anymore.
You suddenly stopped, looking around. The usual sounds caused by the traffric slowly but surely quieted down a bit and the building you were used to see every day started to look different from usual less tall more neat, like someone suddenly started to look after them, which was unsual in your city normally you'd have to pay attention something doesn't fall on your head, something didn't seem right.
Panic rised into your chest.
But it couldn't be. You knew these streets like the back of your hand, all the alleys and hidden stores now were gone, nowhere to be seen.
Suddenly everything seemed so different---too different.
Even the people around you acted differently, usually people on the street looks annoyed or frustrated and always wary of who's around them, but now they even seem to smile at you or even gives you look of consern.
You were still in a city, but it didn't look like the usual one you navigated every day.
Had all the pressure finally snapped your sanity?
You slowly wandered around, telling yourself that if you just kept going, you'd eventually find your way back home your hands shaking on your chest as you intertwined them together, looking for comfort
You'd never been more wrong.
Hours passed by, and still nothing.
Everything around you just felt so unfamiliar, the streets were clean and there was no noisy traffic or people swearing at eachother, like you were used to seeing.
Did some kind of revolution happen and you didn't hear anything about it?
You were frantically walking around, searching for somethingâanythingâthat would help you find your way back at that point. But it was useless. The fact that your phone had suddenly lost all signal didn't make the situation any better.
With tired legs you stopped as soon as you saw a bench to sit down on. Your hands still shaking your heartbeat rang into your ears as it gradually sped up, you stare at your hands.
âPanicking would only make everything worse.â
You shook your head, keeping your panic in check.
What the hell was happening? Something like this had never happened to you before. Sure, you'd gotten lost a lot in the past, but never like this.
And the random lost signal? It wasn't normal at all.
You were in a place you weren't supposed to be.
The idea scared you, making you freeze on the spot. Even though everything looked a lot nicer of what you were used to, the idea of being somewhere unfamiliar terrified you to the core.
"No, it's not the time to panic," you mumbled to yourself as you rosed up from the bench, eyes wandering in search of any information that could help you understand what was happening.
As you keep looking trough the small building of "your?" city your attention fell on the glass of a random shop displaying TVs who shined with bright and nice looking colors, you had to adjust your vision to clearly look at the screen, as you did your blood froze at the sight of the news.
Nothing of it reminded you of any of the things you heard that morning when you watched the news with your mom; places and names were completely unfamiliar to you.
A name stood out: "Amphoreus."
Was that the name of where you were? But how was that possible?
Your mind goes back to your secret desire to escape your world and find peace it was a silly wish your murmured one tiring day with a sleepy voice before falling asleep, you had imagined how it could be like, but this wasn't peaceful at all, that feeling of dread was nothing compared to what you had imagined.
What about your parents? Your friends? Your boyfriend? Were they gone, or had you just disappeared from there?
Tears started to fill your eyes as the realization hit you, your legs giving out aking you fall on the ground in front of the screens, your head between your hands.
"Y/N?" A voice snapped you from your memories, your eyes rose from the ground looking, your eyes made contact with the woman in front of you, she was serving you some tea.
"Are you okay?" the woman asked, her expression worried, the cup in her hand was hot, it gave off some smoke that collided with your face warming you up
Aglaea, the kind, elegant-looking woman who had found you on alone on the street as you were crying alone, looking lost and helpless.
She helped you and let you stay at her place for the time being, a month has passed since you found yourself in this new world.
No one was truly aware you weren't from here.
The kind woman had simply assumed you were in a difficult situation and helped you out.
For some strange reason, people in this world seemed much nicer than what you were used to.
You were so grateful to her regardless; you could never forget such a kind act of kindness, whether it was normal here or not.
"Yeah, everything's fine," you tried to reassure her, taking the cup from her hands bringing it to your lips, it scent filled your nose, giving you comfort.
The truth was, you couldn't stop thinking about your world and everyone you'd left behind.
Were they looking for you? They must be worrued sick about you.
You wished you could tell them you were fine, and that you were in a much nicer place.
Don't get me wrong, as you'd stayed there during that month, you'd found out that this world has its own kind of problems too, you'd never gotten to really understand them yet.
 You couldn't say all that to her; she would never believe you came from another world. So you just shifted a little on the nice material of the couch in Aglaea's apartment.
"I was just thinkin'..." you trailed off as you got more comfortable.
"I can no longer bother you, and I should start finding a jobâ you laid the cup on your lap, warming yourself up, âand a place to stay, of course." You added quickly looking up at her blue eyes.
She was far too kind to let you stay at her house for that long, and a much as you appreciate her, you didnât want to take advantage of her kindness.
After a bit of silence, the blonde woman thought hard on the matter, her eyes looking at you with care and worry, finally spoke, you clearly noticed she didnât want to leave you alone to your destiny, she had grown attach to you in that single month you spent together with her.
"I understand. You can stay here until you find another place. As for finding a job..." She put a hand under her chin, thinking. "...I think I can help with that."
Aglaea was a well-known woman in the city of Okhema and throughout Anphoreus; she was a stylist and owned a shop in the city. She offered you a job for the time being, and you couldn't be more grateful to her.
During that month, you'd tried several times to go back to your world, often finding yourself walking back to the street where everything started, in hopes of finding your way back home. But it was all hopeless. All your attempts fell into complete failure. There were days when you ran through that street in hopes of magically finding yourself at home again, in hopes of seeing some familiar face, maybe a friend from university or one of the usual people who took the same path as you to reach their destination. But that moment never came; you soon realized you were stuck there.
Butâoh, what a cruel oneâŚ
There were days where you almost decided to end it allâŚ
Yeah, you thought about killing yourself.
But everytime you even tried to plan to do it, your mind was filled with all the memories of your home.
Was that what your people wanted? For you to be dead?
You knew better than that, especially when there were someone helping you by your side, you werenât alone. So why give up?
So now, all you could do is to start a new life. And it was finally time to move on, even if you couldn't completly accept it yet. It was hard and you missed everyone at home, but you could only keep going for those you couldn't see anymore, your mind shifted to the fight you had with your mom about your future, she didn't need to worry for you any longer, you could build your future here.
"Thank you mom for always being there for me, i'm just sorry i cannot do the same for you anymore" you whisper as a little prayer before entering the building of the small shop you were going to work in.
The interior was nice and neat, there were a lot of mannequins scattered around all dressed with high quality materials clothes, made by Aglaea herself. The smell of fabric and lavander was the first thing you felt as soon as you were inside, sparkles in your eyes as you see the beautiful shop for the first time.
Your job consisted mainly of doing whatever was needed in the shop: arranging mannequins, storing materials, that kind of stuff.
At first, everything was a bit confusing; all the unknown fabrics and the confusing tools fried your brain into a mess. But luckily, Tribbie was there to help you.
Tribbie was Aglaea's partner in business, and even though she had a childlike appearance, she was actually a very capable person, so you felt pretty lucky to have her by your side.
Tribbie instructed you during every task, and thanks to her patience and understanding personality, you managed to get used to the job pretty quickly.
"Agy talked a lot about you," she said as she was checking the quality of the new materials that came the day before, looking at them with attentive eyes. "She told me you come from..." She took a second to think, "...a hard situation" implying she didn't know all the details. She then looked at you with a worried expression. "I don't want to sound pushy, but just know that whatever you've been through, you can count on us, alright?" She smiled at you right after.
You felt touched by her generous words.
In your world, this kind of interaction with someone you'd just met was incredibly rare. This place never failed to surprise you.
"It's okay, Tribbie, thank you for helping me out today. I've never really had a job, and I have no experience with clothes," you finished putting away some pieces of cloth in the storeroom. "You've already done so much for me. I'm really grateful," you smiled, turning in her direction. You knew in that moment that everything was going to work out in one way or another. You were now determined to keep going a little bit more than before.
"(Y/N), could you please put this stuff away while I work on this piece?" Aglaea asked you, her hands traveling over the mannequin as she worked on a new dress.
A week had passed since you started working in the shop, and your relationship with your superiors had grown stronger. Your job wasn't easy, and you often made mistakes, but you always managed to learn from them with Aglaea and Tribbieâs guidance. It was a quiet day, and you didn't have a lot of customers to take care of.
"Yeah, I'll take care of it, Aglaea." You picked up the basket full of materials, your arms already completely pulled down by the weight. You were supposed to take it to the storeroom, a space you now knew and had organized as if it were your own.
"Oh, by the way, (Y/N)," Aglaea called, shifting her attention from her work to you, her hands carefully adjusting the expensive fabric on the mannequin. "Some new materials are arriving today; could you please make some room in the storeroom?" You stopped in your tracks, making a mental image of the storeroom, deciding where everything could fit.
"Yes, of course," you replied as soon as you made up your mind, struggling a bit with the basket in your hands. You already knew your arms would get sore once you finished the task. It would be so much easier for you to go to the storeroom if only you could see where you were going. The stuff in the box, covering your vision, forced you to walk backward toward the storeroom.
"Damn, this is a lot," you muttered, slowly walking toward the storeroom a step at a time.
"Oh, hi, Snowy, you're already here!" you heard someone enter the store as Tribbie greeted them. Who could it be?
"Hi everyone, guess what? I managed to bring Midey to help bring the stuff this time," a good-sounding voice cheerfully responded, followed by a gruff,
"...Uff, just because I lost a bet, Deliverer," another grumpy voice responded. A laugh escaped the lips of the little lady.
You'd never heard those voices before; you were really curious about them, but you had other matters to take care of as you huffed.
"This stupid basket," you muttered once again, adjusting the basket in your arms. The thing was heavier than you thought.
"Talk about the devil!" you heard Aglaea greet. "I just asked our (Y/N) to make room in the storeroom." She got off the mannequin and made her way to the entrance where the voices came from. "And since you came early, you could help, right?" she said in a nice but strict tone, almost as if she were demanding more than asking. You knew that tone far too well; she always used it with you when you messed up.
"Yes, of course," the nice voice responded, laughing nervously.
As you were walking backwards, you didn't realize how close you were to bumping into someone. No matter how careful you were trying to be, it was inevitable, and soon your back felt the presence of the guy who was talking to Aglaea.
"Whoa, be careful now. Are you trying to intimidate me with that big pile of cloth?" the nice voice said with a joking tone as you felt a pair of hands touch yours from behind. You let out a yelp in surprise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" you quickly apologized, surprised by the sudden warm touch on your hands.
"It's okay, let me carry it." He said quietly in your ear, making your heart skip a beat. You then let the person behind you take the basket from your hands, finally uncovering your vision.
Your eyes met with a pair of beautiful blue eyes, looking down at you with a smile, his white hair shifting to one side as he leaned to make eye-contact with you. "Hi, there," the man greeted you.
Your cheeks were a bit pink from embarrassment as you smiled at him. "Way to go, (Y/N), nice first impression," you scolded yourself internally.
You sure were impressed by his good-looking presence, not to mention his height. He was way taller than you, so you were glad he leaned down to look at you. You almost lost yourself in his eyes; you never saw such a shade of blue in your life. You mentally slapped yourself into reality.
"Thank you. I couldn't see anything; I didn't mean to bump into you," you apologized once again, fidgeting your fingers, embarrassed by the situation.
Your attention then switched to his friend. He was good-looking and tall too.
Gosh, now that you thought about it, all the people you'd met in this world were good-looking. You suddenly felt out of place by the realization.
"Nah, don't worry about it. You clearly needed help with this," he responded, giving a glance at the pile of materials. "Where should I take it?" you tried to convice him that you could handle it, but both him and Aglaea insisted on letting the white hair guy help you.
You guided him into the storeroom. It wasn't big, but it was enough to contain everything, and it was much more organized now that you were in charge of it.
You'd made sure everything was clean and in order; you could never forget how difficult it was for Tribbie to maintain it because of her small stature.
The air of clean, new fabric filled your nose as soon as you stepped inside.
"You can leave the basket there," you gestured towards a corner of the room, and the kind man soon followed behind you.
"Got it. Now..." He then looked at you, his eyes studying your thoughtful expression. "What can I do to help?"
You smiled at him, surprised by his offering.
"Well, are you ready to do some lifting?" you answered in a joking way, your smile shifting into a smug one.
"Is that a challenge?" A smirk appeared on his face as he teased back at you, crossing his arms on his torso.
"Maybe," you immediately laughed at the silliness of the situation.
This felt like the start of a good friendship.
"My name's (Y/N), happy to work with you," you finally presented yourself, extending a hand out for him to shake.
He smiled at the gesture, taking your hand and shaking it.
"I'm Phainon. The honor is mine. Aglaea kind of favors you a lot," he then said with an interested look. "She's hard to impress. I can't wait to work with you."
Chapter 2: Home is Where the Heart Finds Peace
After meeting Phainon, he presented you to his friend Midey. Phainon often drags him around to help with various tasks; they seem to have a rival type of friendship, always challenging each other like a couple of children, seeing them bicker was enjoyable. Aglaea had mentioned they often helped with material deliveries or moving furniture around the shop, and she clearly paid them well for their efforts.
You're starting to adapt to the city of Okhema. People even started to recognize you as Aglaea's pupil or Tribbie's babysitter, which is funny because she was the one guiding you around. You only helped her when she couldn't handle a task alone, and she doesn't seem to mind it; she actually thinks it's a little cute.
You still missed your home. You often caught yourself thinking about your old life: the chaos of every morning going to university, the hellish journey of using public transportation, your study buddies always teasing you for being slow at understanding the lesson's topic, and most of all,
The presence of your boyfriend.
He was the one who always had your back and never left your side. Not being able to see him anymore hurt more than you could admit. You already had come to terms with the fact that you wonât see him ever again and as a result, your relationship was officially done, you only hope for him to be happy, as fucked up at it may sound.
Every time, you struggled to keep your tears in check. It was difficult to move on from a relationship that never really ended in the first place.
A sigh escaped your lips as you thought about the past once again, Tribbie at your side as you cut some pieces of cloth for Aglaea. Your hands skillfully worked through the materials, now used to the job.
"It's the third time you've sighed today, sis. Is everything alright?" Tribbie caught your attention by using the nickname she reserved for you, looking at you with worried eyes. "Is Agy giving you too much work?"
You set aside the materials you were working on, looking at Tribbie. "Everything is fine, I was..." You trailed off, not wanting to tell her the truth, your eyes wandering. "It's just that I'm tired. I'm trying to learn as many things as I can so I can help around the shop more," an unsure answer falling from your lips, trying to reassure the little lady.
It was true, after all; there was a reason why people called you Aglaea's pupil. She was training you so you could work for her permanently. She taught you all the basic things of her job, and you were doing your best to keep up, it was always better than studying for university exams.
You were growing fond of your new job, something you could have never dreamed of in your old world.
A creative job? "You must be crazy, that won't take you anywhere!" That's what you were used to hearing anyway.
Tribbie wanted to press further, not really convinced by your answer, but decided not to for fear of bothering you. "Okay, I understand," she said, "but please don't work yourself too much. Even you need to rest."
After that, you got back to your work, focused on the notes that Aglaea had written down for her new creation. Your hands explored the pages of the notebook you always kept with you since you started working; without it, you'd probably lose your mind. It wasn't easy for you to remember everything that needed to be done around the shop without going insane.
It didn't seem like it, but there really was a lot to do to keep the shop in business.
"What you got there, partner?" You jumped in surprise as you heard an all too familiar voice ask from behind you, distracting you from your thoughts.
"Damn, Phainon, you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!" you turned around, only to see him laugh softly at your reaction.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he covers his mouth with his hand as he keep laughing
You looked at him a little annoyed.
"Where the hell did you come from anyway?" Just moments ago, there were only you and Tribbie in the shop. Phainon couldn't really suppress a smile at your annoyed face; he had come to like teasing you and seeing your reactions.
You had become close since he helped you in the storeroom when you first met.
"Well, I came from my house, I guess?" he then said, waiting for your reaction, his eyes fixed on your changing expression.
You suppress a smile at the joke. Gosh, you just liked joking around with him, and it was difficult to stay mad at such a nice-looking man. "Haha, real funny. Is that the best you could come up with?" you teased back with a note of sarcasm in your voice.
With no time to respond, Tribbie butted in, interrupting you two. "Can you stop flirting?" sighing a hand on her forhead as she listen to your conversation. "Get a room or something!"
Phainon instantly reacted to that; his back straightened, his cheeks turning a bit red. "No, that's not what I wasâ" his hands held defensively in front of him as he tried to explaing himself.
He stopped immediately as soon as he heard you laugh.
Something else he'd learned to enjoy about you was your laugh. His gaze focused on your smile, as he was held hostage by the sound of your cute hilarity.
"Come on, Phainon, it's not that serious," you said, laughing and gently hitting his arm. Of course, you were teasing him back. His heartbeat quickened a bit as he felt you touching his arm.
"Well, anyway, I came here to tell you something," he looked at you, his slight blush fading from his cheeks.
"Something you're probably really interested in."
He managed to get your attention. You finally stopped laughing and composed yourself. "Really?" You then looked at him. "What is it?"
Phainon's eyes brightened. "I found you an apartment you can buy," he then said. "The person who lived next to me moved out last week. The price is pretty cheap, and it's pretty close to the shop. Are you interested? I can put in a good word for you with the landlord."
"Wow, that's amazing, sis! You've been looking all over for somewhere to stay," Tribbie said, excited for you.
"Oh, Phainon, that's fantastic news! Thank you so much for telling me!" you said, grabbing Phainon's hand and making him blush again.
"It's settled then. I should talk with the landlord," he said, smiling at you, letting you grab his hand, not daring to move, he feared that by doing that you would immediatly let go, he wanted to feel your touch as much as possible.
So your story moved on. Phainon brought you to talk with the landlord, and you managed to buy the apartment thanks to the money you'd gathered working in the shop. All your hard work was finally paying off. Phainon and Midey (dragged by Phainon) offered to help you move in. Aglaea decided to contribute by helping you decorate your new home, and Tribbie helped you take care of the various documents. You weren't familiar with Amphoreus's laws, so you really appreciated all the help. It wasn't a big place, but it was yours, and it had everything you needed: a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and even a studio (future gaming room cough cough). You couldn't have been happier.
The space felt cozier as you finally finished moving all your stuff in. Midey nodded in your direction. "Seems like everything is in place," he said, looking around, checking for possible missing stuff.
"Thank you a lot, Midey. I couldn't have done it without your help," you thanked him, passing him a bottle of water from the fridge. It was the first thing they'd installed, so you'd put some bottles in there.
Phainon narrowed his brows. "What about me? I helped too!" he said a little offended. "Damn, I was the one who dragged him here in the first place!" He points at him like a child accusing his friend of stealing his candies.
"Well you can't really blame her for thanking me, i brought in the heavier stuff" Midey says proudly looking at Phainon with challanging eyes, "what, Deliverer, feel defeated?"
"Here they go again," you thought, a hand on your forehead as you watched them bicker.
"Oh, look at them, they never get tired, huh?" Aglaea entered the kitchen where everything was unfolding. "The apartment turned out good. Do you like it, (Y/N), dear?" she asked, looking at you, a hand on your shoulder in a reassuring way. She wanted you to be honest with her; if there was any problem at all, she couldn't ignore the needs of her dear pupil.
"Everything is perfect, Aglaea. Thank you so much for the help. I'll never stop being grateful to you; you did so much for me, you have no idea," you said, feeling tears welling up in the corners of your eyes. You truly didn't know what you had done to deserve all of this. Your life some months ago was just ordinary and uncertain, but now that you were in this new world, everything had changed for you. You'd never stop missing all the people at home, but now you were sure that you could never go back. This was now your new home.
"Mom, Dad, everyone, I'll pray for you to have a good life, even if I'm not there with you anymore. I'm sorry to have made you worry about me, but I promise I'll be happy. I'll always do my best,"
you prayed to yourself as Aglaea helped you wipe your tears.
"Aw, sis, don't get all emotional now," Tribbie said, hugging you. Midey chuckled at the sight, amused by your gratitude; his respect for you grew in that moment.
As for Phainon, he was admiring you from afar with a smile. You were so out of his world. He had never seen anyone as strong as you before; he wasnât sure why but he was drawn to your very being. He knew in that moment that he would always be there if you ever needed anything
You spent the evening together eating pizza, celebrating the start of your new life. Laughs and chatting filled the living room, giving it life.
 As the day got near its end, everyone started to leave one after another. You said goodbye to Aglaea and Tribbie. "See you tomorrow!" you waved them off.
Midey followed right after them. "It was fun.â He simply stated a smile on his face as he look at you with with care âCall if you ever need anything," he said, giving you a firm nod. He gave off such a big brother vibe. "Thank you again, Midey."
With everyone gone, only you and Phainon were left alone in the apartment. The silence settled in as you both say nothing, not really knowing what to say. Phainon's heart raced at the thought of being alone with you.
You felt a little awkward as the realization hit you. "Well, I guess I should be more thankful to you. Thank you for giving me this opportunity," you thanked him, a bit embarrassed by the situation.
"Well, it was my pleasure to help. I'm really happy with how the apartment turned out," he responded, switching his attention from you to his surroundings, there were still some boxes to unpack but overall everthing was tidy and clean. He was trying not to look at you too much afraid of making the situation more awkard.
After a bit of silence, he finally decided it was time for him to go. "Well, my job here is done," he said as he approached your apartment door.
"Remember, if you ever need anything, you can knock at my door. We're neighbors now, after all." He opened the door as he started to exit.
"Of course, I'll count on you then," you said in a joking way a small smile grow on your lips moved by his words, slowly closing the door behind him.
"Goodnight, (Y/N)," and he disappeared behind the door of your apartment. You sighed.
What was that about? Why did you feel so nervous all of a sudden? And why did his last words keep echoing in your head?
Seems like this was yet the start of another chapter of your life.
Chapter 3: It started with a beep!
A faint smell of tea came from your kitchen as you poured some into a mug. Some days has passed since you moved in the new appartment, and you were getting used to live there, making yourself comfortable.
You were back early from work, so you decided to relax and slowly finish unboxing the last boxes in your apartment, you left those abandoned in the corners of your noew home, too busy to even remeber about them, but everytime you got back from work their presence reminded you of your negligence.
Most of them mainly contained clothes you bought in Amphoreus you really didnât have any spare cloths from your world, plus some gifted by Aglaea.
As you opened every box, your home became a little bit more full than before. One box had some books that were recommended to you by Tribbie a little hobby you shared together was reading, seeing the types of books they have in Amphoreus was an important experience for you to understand its culture better; you put them away on the bookshelf, trying to organize them in alphabetical order. You took a sip from your mug every now and then, enjoying the calm of your home. Then you started to put your clothes in the almost empty wardrobe. Your carefully put every piece of clothing in their rightful place, being careful not to crease them.
As you finished putting everything away, you finally approached the last box you couldnât rember what vwas in it so ou were pretty intrigued to find out. You slowly opened it, being careful not to cut yourself with the box opener. Just as you got it open, your ears were filled by the sound of the doorbell.
Even if you had an idea of it, you left the box on the sofa in the living room and proceeded to open the door.
"Hey there," Phainon greeted you with a smile. He was holding a pot in his hands, dressed casually in just a t-shirt and some shorts. You smile at him as you greet him back, just as you thought.
"Sorry if I'm disturbing, did you have dinner yet?"
You turned your head to look at the clock on the wall beside the door.
Oh stars, it was already this late? You really took your time with those boxes.
"Actually no, not yet," you responded, looking at him with curious eyes.
"Well, would you like to eat together?" He gestured toward his pot. "You see, I made too much for me to eat." He wore a nervous smile on his face, looking at you with expectation. A nice smell wafted from the pot, causing a weird sound to come out of your belly as you realized your hunger; you were too focused on tidying your apartment to notice.
Your hand flew to your belly, your cheeks a bit red. A laugh fell from the white-haired man, making your heart skip a beat.
"Well, can I take it as a yes?" His eyes were full of hope, knowing fully well that he'd got you just by hearing your "roaring" appetite.
You smiled in defeat, moving to the side to give him space to enter.
"Heh, you got me, food is my weakness," you said, holding your hand in a punch in front of your face in defeat.
Phainon mentally cheered as he made his way inside. It wasn't the first time he'd entered your apartment after you moved in; he'd gotten into the habit of checking on you once in a while, making up some excuse.
This time, it was the "I made too much food" excuse.
"Oh, " he noticed as soon as he entered, "you put away the boxes!" Your place was a lot more spacious. He looked at how you meticulously had organized your books on the shelf in wonder.
"Yeah, I was actually going to open the last one," you replied, approaching him from behind. "Do you want to see what's inside with me?"
He turned around, making your eyes meet. His heart skipped a beat, not expecting to have you that close. He composed himself before answering, "Hey now, are we sure there's not a bomb in there or something?" He joked out of nervousness; he always felt comfortable joking around with you and liked the way you played along every time, like you were meant to complete him somehow.
"Oh, I won't make any promises," you said, giving him a playful wink before you turned around approaching the box you left on the sofa.
"You can leave the pot in the kitchen, Phainon." You finally sat on the sofa, waiting for him to join you. He was a little stunned by your response he didnât expect to see you wink at him, his cheeks warmed a bit, but he soon followed your command, walking hurriedly into the kitchen.
As soon as he came back, he sat beside you, looking at the box with curious eyes, leaning in to see better. "Well, what do we have here?"
You took the box into your hands âwell, we are about to find outâ, you place it into your lap, slowly opening it.
"Let's be careful, it might explode," he said, teasing you. You gave him a side-eye, a little smirk on your face, as you finally opened the box, revealing what was inside.
Your eyes widened at what you saw. Phainon noticed it, his curiosity piqued as he got closer to see.
Your hands reached into the box, taking out what was inside. "Wow, this is old," you commented, looking at the backpack in your hands. It was the same one you had when you arrived in Amphoreus.
âA backpack?â Phainon asked a little confused.
For a moment, you didn't move. You had completely forgotten about that bag. Since Aglaea took you in, you'd never touched that backpack again. It was the one you usually used to go to university.
"Yeah, it's been a while since I used it," you responded, opening it. The fabric felt nostalgic under your touch; the familiar sounds of your keychains resembling yoru favorite characters, filled your ears as a reminder of all the times you almost lost it on the bus or in one of the various classrooms in your university.
As you took a peek inside, the firts thing saw was your laptop. You took it into your hands almost immediately, startling the man beside you. He glanced at the object, confused.
"Is that a laptop?" he asked, leaning in to look at it better.
"Yeah," a sigh escaped your nervous lips "I hope it still works."
You opened it, staring at the black screen as you tried to turn it on. You waited for a while, but nothing happened. The battery was out, and of course, you hadn't brought the charger with you that day, how lucky.
You closed it, a little disappointed. Just as you thought you had something that could prove your life in your world, this happened.
"Oh well, it was worth a tryâŚ" A sad expression crossed your face.
"Thatâs wierd" He slowly took the laptop from your hands, observing it as you explained to him what was wrong.
"HmâŚthe battery is out, you say." He took a moment before speaking, a hand scratching his head, ruffling his white hair. "I've never seen this kind of model of laptop before. I don't recognize the brand name either." Of course he didn't; it was a laptop from a company that didn't exist in Anphoreus, but only in your world. He shook his head with a sad expression. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can help."
"Don't worry about it; it's an old laptop anyway," you said, trying not to sound too disappointed. You took the laptop and put it back in the box for the moment; you really didn't want to throw it away.
âThat laptop has a lot of memories and files fromâŚmy old lifeâ you tried to explain, noticing the confusion on his face. But that only made him more confused.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'old life'?" He looked at you, his blue eyes observing your face like he usually did when he teased you, but with a look of concern in them instead of his usual playful one.
You really wanted to tell him the truth, you really did, but something inside you stopped you from doing it, like something was stuck in your throat, a sense of nausea crept into your body.
He would never believe you.
And even if he did, what would he think of you?
"Let's just sayâŚthat I'm not from hereâŚit's a long story," you managed to blurt out avoiding his eyes. You didn't want him to ask more. He seemed to have understood that when you saw him nod.
"Did you lose your people too?" he hesitantly asked, his voice lower.
Lost your people, huh?...Yeah, you could say that. But maybe they were the ones who lost you, or better yet, you were lost, and in the meantime, you lost everything you had, too.
âYeah, i did, i lost my home and i couldnât find my way backâŚâ
He looked at you, studying you. Deep down, he knew what you meant, even if you weren't fully saying it. Of course, he didn't know all the details, but he still understood.
He could tell by the way you always found yourself staring at nothing, lost in thought at random times of the day; by the way you looked confused by some things, like you were seeing them for the first time; by the crying sounds he heard through the walls of his apartment coming from yours during the night when you struggled to sleep. He understood becauseâŚ
Once again he was impressed by you, admiring your efforts, your dedication to your job, and the caring way you were always there for your friends.
"I think I understand..." he wrapped an arm around your shoulders, trying to comfort you.
Silence filled the room. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was weirdly comforting, a feeling you hadn't experienced in a very long time. The only sound was the clock ticking, a reminder of time passing by.
"I lost my home too," he admitted, staring at the corner of the room, filling the silence.
Your eyes widened at the revelation, and you turned your head in his direction. "Youâyou did?" A look of surprise appeared on your face as you tried to meet his gaze.
"Yeah, the Black Tide took them away from me, it took away my homeland, Aedes ElysiaeâŚ" his voice quiet. He took a moment to compose himself; he was trying to comfort you, after all.
The Black Tide. That was the first problem you'd learned about in this world. It was a kind of virus that could take away an entire city of lives in a matter of months. It was a terrible diseaseârare, but not uncommon.
You gasped; that was horrifying to think about. You didn't know what to say, so you just leaned into his embrace, resting your head on his shoulder, trying to comfort him back.
A chuckle escaped his lips at your attempt to comfort him, his cheeks getting a little warmer. That sweet part of you made him feel all giddy inside.
"It's okay," he said, looking at you. "We shouldn't be this sad before eating." He gave you a smile, nudging your shoulder with his hand. He proceeded to get up off the sofa, gently pushing your head away from his shoulder and lifting his arm from your shoulder. You already missed the warmth of his embrace.
As he got up, he accidentally hit your backpack with a thud, letting it fall on the ground. All of your notebooks from university classes were scattered on the floor.
"Oh stars," he said, mortified. As you both got down to pick up the stuff from the floor, you noticed something glittery blue emerging from the scattered notes.
You picked it up from the ground and couldn't believe your eyes. The glittery blue device shined in your hand as it came in contact with the light; it was your Tamagotchi!
"No way! I thought I'd lost it!" you said with enthusiasm in your voice, your hands already working through the smooth plastic of the device, checking for any demages.
"Oh please, at least make this work," you mumbled as managed it in your hands. Phainon observed with curiosity as your fingers traveled through the small buttons of the device, small beep sounds came out of it.
He peeked from your shoulder, his eyes wandering onto the small screen of the device. It looked like you were setting the time.
âCould it be some kind of clock?â he was playing a little guessing game in his head, as you were too focused on the device to answer any of his questions.
"Oh thank god, it still works," you said, bringing the Tamagotchi to your chest, like it was the most precious thing to you. And it wasâthat was the last object you had from your world.
"I'm glad to see you so happy, but care to explain what is that?" Phainon asked. This day was getting weirder and weirder for him, and he needed answers.
"This is a Tamagotchi," you showed your device to him, a big smile on your face. "This is a digital pet."
Phainon raised a brow at that; confusion hit him once again. "A what now?"
You sighed. He really didn't know? They didn't have anything similar in Anphoreus?
You started to explain to him the magical world of digital pets, and slowly you taught him how it worked.
"You see, now that I've set the time, it's just a matter of minutes for the pet's egg to appear," you showed him how all the little buttons worked, leaning in his direction making your shoulder almost meet.
"The egg?" he asked hesitantly, scratching his head, leaning it a bit to the side like a puppy (which was adorable).
 A constant beep came out from the little device, interrupting you.
"Oh stars, I was joking when I said it could explode!" he said, looking at the device like it might actually explode.
You rolled your eyes at him. You took the Tamagotchi into your hands.
"Here it is, see?" you showed the little screen to Phainon, who curiously looked at it, a spark in his eyes lighting up as he saw the little egg. He slowly took the device from your hands observing it with wonder in his eyes, like a child receaving a new toy.
 You shook your head your cheeks lights up in a bright red color surprised by your thought
âGosh what was that?â
Yeah, you though he was handsome and a nice man, but that thought that just crossed your mind was different, and you knew it was.
That man was making you feel things you werenât feeling from the longest time, you were just realizing that.
He leaned closer to you so you could look at the screen too, you were noticing how close the two of you were, making your heartbeat speed up, and your cheecks a little more redder.
The device start to beep again in a more insisting way, making the man beside you jump a bit out of surprise, a bit of panic flickered in his eyes has he looks at you.
âWhat is happening now?â
The Tamagotchi stopped beeping and the egg finally hatched.
âItâs hatched!â you exclaim with enthusiasm, you both stared at the little pixaleted pet with awe in your eyes.
âIsnât it cute?â a laugh escaped your lips as your hand find it way around the plastic device making contact with Phainonâs hand that was still holding it, your fingers pressed the little buttons in search of the stats page.
He chuckles softly at your laugh, his hands loosening their grip, allowing you to take the blue device back, the sight of your smile and the sound of your laughter made his heart flutter in his chest, it looked like the tamagotchi came to your rescue since you were sad.
Even if it was a bit strange for him, he has decides to play along with your little gadget, eager to see more of your smile.
Beeping sounds filled the room as you tended to your little pet. Phainon's curious eyes tracked your every movement, trying to understand what made you so happy about it; after all, it was just a bunch of pixels.
"Aww, look how small it is! I gotta protect it with my life," you commented, a soft smile on your face as you watched the little pet eat.
Phainon let out a dramatic gasp. "With your life? That's a big responsibility, are you sure you can handle it?" A boyish smile appeared on his stupidly handsome face as you shot him an annoyed look.
"Of course I can! As a matter of fact, I will officially become a mom, starting from now." A big smile on your face, you looked at him with a determined gaze.
"A mom, really? A single mom in this economy??" he gasped again, his hand flying dramatically to his forehead.
You slapped his arm softly, a giggle escaping your lips at his stupid remark. Laughter filled the room as your little bickering went on. The sadness from minutes ago was completely erased as you both got distracted by the little pet. Yes, it was just a bunch of pixels, but it managed to lift your spirits.
You composed yourself, a smile still on your lips as you now looked at the screen. "Shall we give it a name?"
Phainon shot a surprised look at you, âdoes it even need one?â his gaze now on the small screen looking at it intensly, âwe donât even know it genderâ.
Your eyes widen at that âwell, OF COURSE itâs a girlâ you say with confidence.
"Really? How can you tell?" Phainon asked, his surprise shifting to genuine curiosity. He leaned in, peering closer at the tiny pixelated creature.
âWell i can just feel it, girls always recognize other girlsâ you exclaim with confidence, your eyes brigh as you were fully convicend of what you were saying.
Phainon blinked a few times, but he still nods at you, even if he really didnât understood your logic.
âWell, donât man have a similar kind of feeling?â you asked noticing his confusion.
âYes, itâs called common senseâ he said laughing.
A hand flew to your head as you rolled your eyes at him, starting thinking about a potential name, for the little girl. There was only a small problem: You were terrible with names.
Your mind daze off to the momories of your poor pokemons, they always ended up with stupid names, you had a pikachu named thunder and even an Eevee named BOB, that was probably a moment of true inspiration for youâŚ
"Okay, okay, what do you think about the name... Pixel?" you said, gesturing dramatically with your hands in the air.
Phainon smirked. "Pixel?" he repeated, trying not to laugh. "Are you sure about it?"
You narrowed your eyes at him. "So what's wrong with it?"
At that, he finally snapped. A childish laugh erupted from his lungs, and he doubled over, holding his stomach. Your cheeks grew warmer at the sight; he was really cute, but you felt a bit embarrassed by your poor naming choice.
"Damn, (Y/N), you really suck with names!"
He noticed the little frown on your face and composed himself, looking at you with a small grin finding your small flaw adorable.
âIâm sorry for laughing, but i wonât let our girl be named with such a nameâ he looks at the pet on the little screen, it was dumb, but he was liking the idea of taking care of it with you, making his insides warm up.
He thougth for a minute a hand ruffling his white hair making some fall on his face, âmaybe we should go, with a name who gives off important vibes, something elegant, you know what i mean?â
You blink at him, a small smile on your face, an elegant nameâŚMaybe you could think of something, together.
âWhat exactly do you mean by elegant?â
âYou know, a name that has meaning, something historical, like Aquila, the sky titan!â Phainon suggest.
 You hummed unsure, you were familiar with the concept of titans, they were basically godsIn your world, the concept of religion was a lot more complicated due to its history; there was more than one, and it was often used as a reason for war. Amphoreus beliefs reminded you more of greek mythology wich you were obsessed about in middle school.
"Maybe calling our pet after a Titan is too much⌠what if we call her Iris?" You tried to suggest once again.
"Iris⌠it sounds nice, elegant, but I've never heard of it," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck.
You figured. It was the name of a flower in your world and also the name of the goddess of rainbows in Greek mythology. "It means 'shines' and 'bright' from Greek⌠it's a language I used to study years ago," you explained, trying to hide the actual origin of the language.
Phainon listened carefully to your explanation, enjoying the shine in your eyes as you spoke. He nodded, the grin on his face growing tender. "Very well then, I like this name. It's far better than something basic like Pixel," he teased, giving you a little wink.
You nodded, satisfied with the name you had chosen together. It was a small thing, but it made your heart feel tender in your chest. You got lost in his eyes; you always thought they were beautiful. They reminded you of the sea, and the sparkle in his eyes was the sun that illuminated it.
Before you could say anything, the device started beeping again, demanding your attention once again. Phainon, as he was also lost in your irises, immediately snapped out of his thoughts, a little blush on his features. "Oh Iris, is SO demanding!"
"I-I know right?" you blushed too as you realized what you were thinking. Soon, your hands met as you both tried to grab the Tamagotchi. The contact sent a shock through your whole body, making you retreat your hand to your chest.
"Oh, sorry," you muttered.
"Nah, donât worrâ" Another beep came out from the device, more demanding of your attention. Phainon quickly took it in his hands, a worried expression on his face, as he took care of Iris.
You could feel your heart beat into your chest, making your hand upon it tremble a bit. It definitely sped up. This wasn't good. You were catching feelings for your dork neighbor, who was also your colleague at the shop and your close friend.
You observe him as his eyes concentrate on the little screen of the Tamagotchi, tending to the need of your little pet, his big and nimble hands were frantically pressing the little buttons, his tongue almost out while he was deep into âworried parentâ mode.
Parent huh? Various images of Phainon as a dad flashed into your head. You shook your head frantically, slapping your face with both hands.
âSnap out of it, isnât it too soon to think about this stuff?â
The little beeps from the button pressing stops, as Phainon looked into your direction, realife washed his face as Iris was good again. âDone, she should be good for a while!â a proud big smile on his face, it almost took your breath away.
âNice job, digital parent!â you commented, giving him a thumbs up too flustered by your new feelings to come up with a smart response.
A laugh escaped the lips of the man that was giving your brain a shortcircuit, âdigital parent, is that how is called?â
âW-well, actually i just invented itâ you admit looking away from the sparkling man.
Phainon grinned at the idea, taking care of Iris with you sounded like a fun idea, and maybe a chance to get closer to you, so without thinking he jumped into it, âLetâs do it!â he exclaimed leaning closer to you with exctiment.
Your cheeks immediatly heats up, âwait, what do you mean?â your voice came out a little higher than you inteded. He looked at you in confusion, than he realize how wrong it sounded, now a blush cover his cheeks too âNO! Sorry it came out wrong- What i meant was,â he pause taking a deep breath to calm down.
âLet me be a digital parent with you!â
diverders by: galactic-graphix and cafekitsune
Phainon banner edited by me please give credits if used.
Please don't repost this fanfiction anywhere without consent, DON'T FEED TO AI PLEASE.
