#phainon...

"It's not like that," you respond, turning when you catch movement in your periphery. Bronya walks toward the four of you with a receipt in her hands, being ever the sweetheart and paying for your meals. You smile as you catch her eye. "Thanks, Bronya."

Bronya smiles back at you before moving to stand beside her girlfriend (who is still staring at you skeptically). Firefly trails after the pair as they leave through the restaurant's double glass doors, and you lag behind all of them, weighed down by a huffy March who clings to your arm and demands answers.

Your fond irritation drops off and gives way to shock when you spot a familiar motorcycle parked across the lot. You stop in your tracks, watching dumbfoundedly as the owner of the bike takes off his helmet and shakes his head side-to-side, turning his long dirty blonde locks into a mess. He hangs his helmet on the edge of one of the handles and turns toward the restaurant doors, his amber eyes scanning your friends before locking onto you.

When his eyes meet yours, he raises an eyebrow, as if chastising you for ignoring his messages. He crosses his arms across his chest and takes slow, leisure strides across the lot toward you.

March pulls at your arm sharply. You side-eye her just enough to see her jaw hanging open as she eyes the man approaching you. "That's your man?"

"I told you it's not like that," you hiss at her before freeing yourself from her grasp. You turn just in time to see him stop in front of you. He tilts his head to the side expectantly, and you clear your throat.

"I don't remember telling you where I would be tonight, Mydei," you state matter-of-factly.

He shrugs nonchalantly. "Phainon."

Damn it. You and your childhood friend have a tendency to get involved in each other's love lives where you really had no business being. You would have to get him back for this.

You smile a little too sweetly at him. "And you decided to show up?"

His gaze sweeps over you before sliding over to your friends standing behind you. "I wanted to see who you were with."

You force a laugh, a poor attempt to distract yourself from the way you flush red. "Why? You jealous?"

Mydei meets your eyes, and your heart skips a beat at the intensity of his gaze. He steps closer to you, lifting one hand in the air and letting it linger mere centimeters away from your hip. "Let me take you home."

You're caught off guard. Sure, you knew what you had with Mydei had turned into something a little more than just hooking up, but you weren't expecting this— had he really shown up out of jealousy? Did he think you were ignoring him because you were seeing someone else?

You look at Seele, whose apartment you were planning to head back to after dinner. "Do you still want me to—"

"Nope. Have fun," Seele interrupts, trying to leave the situation as fast as possible. She gives you a curt wave before turning her back to you, heading toward her car. "We'll see you tomorrow."

Bronya and Firefly trail after Seele awkwardly. March flashes you two thumbs-up and an ear-splitting smile before bouncing off after them.

You turn back to Mydei and sigh playfully. "You scared off my friends."

He hums in response, moving to stand beside you and wrapping an arm around your waist. "They've had your attention all day. They'll be fine."

"Someone sounds a little irritated." You lean your head against his arm and peer up at him, grinning. "Surely me not answering you didn't bother you that much?"

Mydei frowns down at you, before taking your chin between his hands. He leans down and presses his lips to yours in a surprisingly tender kiss, one so unlike the countless others you two have exchanged. Your heart leaps again at the unexpected affection.

You're a bit breathless when he breaks the kiss. "Don't play coy with me."

He looks away from you and across the lot, releasing his hold on your waist to take your hand in his. Dazed, you allow him to guide you toward his motorcycle.

Maybe it is like that.

And there's no doubt that your phone's newfound incessant buzzing is March rubbing it in your face.

PHAINON - oh he looks so cute wrapped ‘round my finger

You’re holed up in the library with Aglaea, putting together a slide deck for a group project due later that week, when you feel something firm press against your back. As you look up, an arm snakes itself around you to place your favorite drink from the boba shop near campus in front of you.

Smiling radiantly, you tilt your head back to meet Phainon’s adoring gaze.

“Hey, Phai,” you greet in the sweet, airy voice you reserve just for him.

He grins down at you, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind your hair. “Hey, beautiful,” he says back.

Phainon isn’t the type of guy you’d usually go after like this; sure, he’s a bit of a jock, but unlike the other athletes you’ve been with, he’s actually incredibly sweet, charming, and attentive. He’s walking boyfriend material, and your roommate Jelena had warned you that you better not break this one’s heart or else you’d probably have a bounty placed on your head, and hers, by extension.

Luckily for both of you, you have no intentions of leading Phainon on or dumping him— not that you want him knowing that just yet. You do intend to make things official soon; your little situationship with him has been going on much longer than they usually do for you, by virtue of the fact that he’s actually everything you’re looking for in a guy that you would want to get serious with. The cold and distant facade you usually take up with your flings was quickly melted away by, well, everything about him, from his affection and eagerness to please to his consideration and puppy-like love. You can’t deny that Phainon had quickly managed to worm his way into your heart, but for the sake of your pride, you decide to drag things out just a little longer.

Besides, with the way he continues to shower you with gifts and act like a boyfriend even without the title, he clearly has no plans of leaving you, either.

You’re not a stranger to attention, but you do find that it’s far more meaningful and preferable when it’s Phainon’s eyes on you.

You take a sip of the drink, and hum in approval. “My favorite,” you say, pleased. “You remembered.”

“Of course I did.” Cheekily, he tilts his head to the side as he asks, “Do I get a reward?”

You hum in consideration, before leaning up to give him a peck on the lips— brief, as to not make Aglaea uncomfortable. 

He pouts, adorably, when you pull away. “Is that it?”

“Depends,” you say with a shrug. “Will I see you tonight?”

Phainon grins, and it’s like staring into the sun itself. There seems to be a satisfaction about him, but his cheery demeanor distracts you enough that you don’t linger on it too much. “Sure you will,” he answers easily, “I can take you out after practice. Seven okay?”

“Seven’s perfect.” You lean your head against his chest, winking. “See you then.”

He winks back at you and gently presses his thumb to your lips before leaving. With his back now turned to you, you allow your carefully crafted smile to break out into a stupid grin as a feeling of giddiness washes over you. You’re biting back a few giggles when a voice cuts through your daze.

“You probably think you’ve got him caught, don’t you? Right where you want him.”

Aglaea’s words bring you down from your fleeting feeling of lightness and back to reality as something lurches in your stomach. You do have Phainon exactly where you want him— it’s obvious, what with all the gifts and the way he follows you around like a lost puppy.

You look at her with a raised brow. “What?”

Your confusion must show on your face because Aglaea gives a soft laugh and shakes her head. “Phainon is one of the most intelligent and talented people on this campus. You should give him more credit and maybe reassess the nature of your relationship and where exactly you stand with him.”

She gathers her things and packs them into her bag, bidding you farewell with a promise to make sure that Cifera does her part of the project, but you’re too caught up on the implications of her previous statement to pay it any mind.

You’re obviously the one pulling the strings and calling the shots here… right?

SUNDAY - one touch and i brand-newed it for ya

"So are we gonna talk about it?"

Your fingers stab furiously at your keyboard, each click of the keys louder than necessary. "There's nothing to talk about," you mutter, pointedly ignoring the way your coworkers lean in conspiratorially. You don't know why they're doing it. There's nothing to be secretive about.

Stelle leans back in her chair, pointing a stick of Pocky in your direction. "You've either gotta be dumb or dense as hell to not see the way he's wrapped around your finger."

"Dumb, dense..." Caelus smirks and sing-songs, "or in denial."

"I don't know why you'd deny it." March puts her head in her hands and pouts. "I mean, if you get with him, you can totally quit your day job and have it made for you! You could be living every girl's dream!"

 "That only happens in dramas, March." You wait a moment, before adding, "Besides, he's not into me."

"Yes he is!" March exclaims, exasperated. "I don't know what you did, but he's been, like, obsessed with you since the end of year formal!"

You try (and fail) to stifle a blush as the memory of that night comes rushing back to you. As one of the biggest companies in the nation, Astral Express's finest were invited to attend Halovian Corporation's annual end of year formal.  It was supposed to go off without a hitch. You planned to stick by Dan Heng the whole night, the two of you taking on a vow of sobriety as to not make asses of yourselves or the company in front of The Family.

But then Dan Heng got whisked away by some old colleagues, and March got her hands on you and steered you toward the open bar, and then—

And then the next thing you knew, you were perched on a windowsill in one of the long hallways leading into the ballroom. Very tipsy and borderline drunk, you chatted with whoever crossed your path, your giddiness making you rather pleasant company.

You'd been humming a tune to yourself when two figures staggered into the hallway. The shorter of the two huffed and moved toward the wall, untangling the other's limbs from his shoulders as he left him propped up against the wall.

The flashy blonde man looked around, before locking eyes with you. He gave you a charming smile before asking, "Do you mind keeping an eye on my colleague here for a moment?"

You shrugged at him. "Sure. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks. You're the best, friend." He turned to his companion, making very direct eye contact with him and sternly saying, "I'm gonna go find your sister. Stay here. Don't leave this hallway."

The other mumbled something incoherent, drawing your attention to him. You turned your head, and your eyes bulged out of your head when your gaze fell on none other than Halovian's esteemed CEO.

You sputtered nonsense for a moment before clapping a hand over your mouth, remembering yourself— and your present company.

The blonde's laughter echoed down the hallway as he walked away.

The first few minutes had been awkward to say the least. Seeing the Sunday Oak so disheveled and drunken was enough to shock you back into near-sobriety, and so you sat there, openly gawking at him as his gaze wandered the hallway, studying the intricate wallpaper and embellishments.

Eventually, his gaze landed on you. You stiffened as he gave you a once-over, his head tilting to the side as he considered you.

“I should apologize for my present state,” he said, impressively not slurring his words. “This is no way to behave in front of a lady as pretty as you.”

You felt yourself flush bright red at his words. You laughed loudly to cover up your nerves. “Oh, it’s fine, I’m also far too drunk to be in front of someone of your caliber.”

He frowned a bit at your words. To your disbelief, he pouted, and then threw his head to the side, balancing it against the wall. “My caliber?” He huffs, almost sounding sassy. 

“Well, you are the CEO of the largest company in Penacony,” you responded.

“Yes,” he spat dryly, “it seems that is all I am to people.”

You clammed up at his sudden shift in demeanor. You’d clearly struck a nerve, and it’d probably be best to just keep to yourself until the blonde man returned. 

That’s what you’d intended to do— until you noticed Sunday struggling to keep himself upright against the wall.

“Ah—” You hurried to your feet and rushed to his side to brace his side just as he was about to topple over. “Come here, sit, sit.” You gently eased him down onto the ledge you’d just been sitting on then took a seat beside him.

He hiccuped, and you’d be lying to yourself if you said you didn’t find it endearing. “Thank you, he murmured. You noticed him eyeing where your hand was still holding his bicep.

Flustering again, you released his arm and folded your hands in your lap. “So, um, Mr. Oak—”

“Sunday,” he interrupted. “Sunday is fine.”

“Right! Sunday,” you amended. “How has your night been so far?”

Whether it was because of your friendliness and warmth, or because his inhibitions were already so low, or because you were both drunk, you couldn’t say, but for whatever reason Sunday cracked under the question and said, “Positively awful. I had to break things off with my… partner.”

You blinked rapidly. “Oh.” You blinked some more. “Oh, I wasn’t aware you, uh, had one.”

“It was a mere month of my time wasted,” he muttered. “They were only after my position and inheritance.”

“Oh,” you said, dejected this time. “I’m really sorry to hear that. I’m sure you’d be delightful to date. You seem sweet.” When he stared at you in question, you elaborated, “I work with Stelle and Dan Heng, they’ve both talked about how much you dote on your sister. I’m sure someone so caring would make an amazing partner. It’s unfortunate that people only see you for your title and money. Anybody would be lucky to have you.”

Sunday looked at you again at those words, that same considering gleam in his eyes. 

Then, suddenly, he’d asked, “Can I kiss you?”

Your back went ramrod straight. “Huh?”

“Sorry, I—” Now he was blinking fast, looking anywhere but your face. “I’m not sure what came over me. I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“It’s not offensive,” you blurted out, eager to smooth things over. “I meant it, anybody would be lucky to have you, even me!”

Well. A little too eager, it seemed. Sunday blushed even more at that, but leaned closer to you. He stopped a bit away from your face, as if waiting for permission.

In a normal state of mind, you probably wouldn’t deny Sunday Oak a kiss. In a drunken state, you definitely weren’t denying Sunday Oak a kiss.

You gently pressed your lips to his, laying a hand on top of his as you met him halfway. 

And that’s how Robin Oak found you drunkenly making out with her brother in a hallway at the winter formal, her gasp snapping you both out of whatever had possessed you two.

You slump into your chair, muttering, “Nothing happened at the formal, March.”

“Bullshit,” Stelle declares, jutting a finger in your direction. “Robin won’t tell me what happened, but she gets all giggly when I bring you up.”

Before you can fire off another denial, Welt pokes his head into the meeting room you’ve all been monopolizing, rapping his knuckles against the door to announce his arrival.

“I have something for you,” he says as he walks over to you. You watch as he sets down a neatly packaged lunch from the restaurant Astral employees frequent a lot. To your horror, there’s a note attached to it, scrawled in immaculate handwriting that you’ve only ever seen at the end of important company documents. 

Stelle lunges forward and snatches it off the container before you can stop her. You throw yourself across the table at her, but she leans back too fast, already skimming the note. She bursts into shocked laughter before turning the note back to you, yelling, “Sunday wants to know if he can see you again!”

Both of Welt’s eyebrows shoot up at that. Dan Heng sighs heavily as March and Caelus both start yelling at you, the latter in a mocking manner while the former badgers you for answers with more vigor than ever before.

Clearly, this was not a drunken decision you’d be able to just sleep off.