"Stop! Please, just end this!" Phainon howled, his sword sliding past the shadow-cloaked figure to bite into empty air. He grunted, forcing his sword up again despite the lead weighing his limbs and the dirt caked high up the lengths of his boots. For how many hours did this fight drag on? For how many misses? How many defeats? How many of his friends had he…did he, damn it! Did he need to lose even his own life here? He knew he couldn't fight much longer. He knew that. He knew it down to the ache in his thighs and burning shoulders, but he couldn't just lay down and lose. Who would give up now? And yet, his sword missed its mark again, instead searing pain down his arms.
Fuck.
"Have you not killed them a hundred times over? What are you waiting for? Just end me already! Fight like you mean it, you fiend!" Phainon choked on the ash-clogged air, his eyes stinging from the heat of the fires even as he raised his blade in another attempt to take down a foe he could not best. Why could he not do this? Why?! He trained year after year after year for this very task. And yet, it amounted to nothing on the real battlefield. He promised to win the fight this time. He promised it to Cyrene!
Phainon's eyes skittered to the ground, catching on the pink hair now tipped in crimson. Damn! He sucked in a breath, forcing the reality away so he could focus on the battle he could control. Strife really did know how to skin a person raw but he still felt like he could win the trial if he just…
Another useless swing of his blade. Another dead body at his feet. Another CyreneCyreneCyrene. Every body, every step the same until the corpses of his friend piled around him like cliffs around a deep valley.
"Will you kill her a hundred more times until I beat you?! Monster!" Phainon roared, this time, his claymore clashing against the curved blade of his enemy. Behind the thing's mask, he thought he saw a sneer. Or, perhaps, he saw a sick grin of joy. Either way, he wanted to carve the horrible visage off. Phainon snarled at it, their blades clashing again. "Just fall already! Die! Die, you-!"
Iron bit into his side, shredding cloth, leather, and skin without the faintest effort. Crimson poured out, staining his front to match the wounds on his back and calf. Was his strength…was it still not enough? The next attack came too soon. Phainon barely brought his sword up in time to block the blow, throwing off his balance until one knee crashed into the ground beneath the reaver's strength. He glanced away in time to see another pile of corpses fall around him. Cyrene. Again.
"Nikador! Will this never end!?" Phainon swiped blindly, too enraged to bother aiming. His sword met reinforced armor, glancing off with no more than a dull clang. Finally, the being of his nightmares leaned down, answering him with a laugh.
"Indeed, it will never end until you slay me. If you can ever do such a thing, puny man. Now, raise your sword!"
Phainon scrabbled, fighting against the pull of red that splashed like a sea over his vision. "I will! I raise it to slay you, my enemy! Die for her!"
Silver arched against the sky. A second later, darkness plummeted as pain erupted from Phainon's chest. He fell like that, too blind to see the last body but knowing it all the same. In his last moments, he couldn't even feel his sword fall from his grip. What a joke. After all this time, he still couldn't win the one battle that mattered most. Rage boiled in his blood as his limbs grew numb and frail. Such weakness. Mydei would laugh if he saw Phainon now, especially after he crawled to the other man like a sad little puppy taking his fill of comfort. If Phainon had the energy left, he would have laughed at his folly. Since this was Mydei he was thinking about, that man would…
Mydeimos!
Phainon's eyes shot open, the hazy sunlight searing them as a feeling struck him in the gut. "What? That man didn't seriously-?!" No, who was he kidding himself with. Of course Aglaea sent Mydei after him into the trial of Strife. He never considered that possibility but now that he had, he couldn't ignore something so obvious, nevermind the knot plummeting in his stomach that meant so many things he couldn't think about right then. Phainon's eyes scanned the empty field he found himself resting in, far away from the flames of his last battle. However, he could still see them as the sounds of war echoed in a new timbre, no doubt influenced by the Kremnoan's arrival.
He guessed right then.
Taking off at a sprint, Phainon readied his sword with a blaze like Kephale's sun scorching the earth beneath his feet. He ran and ran until the fields of rest turned into plains of destruction, the bodies of soldiers strewn where they fell, their comrades trampling their forms without care or honor as they swarmed a courtyard awash in crimson blood.
"Am I too late? No, I…there!" Phainon dashed forward, his blade piercing through titankin without care or finesse because, in the center of it all, he saw a flash of gold so brilliant it stung his eyes. He dived forward, his blade sinking deep into the enemy's back as Mydei turned, his lips curling up, golden eyes blown wide and deep and so, so very relieved. "Mydei! I've found you!"
That smile curled just a fraction higher, Mydei's fist relaxing into a loose curl of fingers before he threw those lush curtains of golden hair behind his shoulder. "Heh. So you made it here at last. It's about damn time."
Phainon returned the smile, the edges going soft beneath the deep pools of his eyes. "…Yeah. I guess it really is…"
xXx
The faint bubbling of water greeted Phainon when he woke, leaving his mind dizzy after the screams and cries from within his dreams. Even as he tried to push them down, the memories resurfaced, as fresh as the moment he first heard them. However, the sound of footsteps amidst the murmurs, sounding confidently against the familiar stone tiles, roused him the rest of the way.
"Mydei…?" Phainon turned his head, expecting to find a halo of wild golden hair but instead, he found Hyacine's wide-eyed face as she froze, a tray of supplies balanced in her delicate hands.
"Oh? Sorry to disappoint you but that guy hasn't come by. It's just me and you here. And all my tools of course!" Hyacine laughed, bright as the trickle of water all around them both. Phainon pushed himself up to get a better look at the room, finding himself ensconced in pillows atop his bed, the rest of his chambers exactly as he left them. Right. Of course that man never bothered to visit. Phainon couldn't help his sigh as he collapsed back against the pillows.
"He's really not here. I should have known better. It's just…" No. He shouldn't reveal just how much he expected the other man to show up. He shouldn't reveal the way his dream still lingered in his mind, desperately needing a familiar touch to clear it away. How many times had Mydei shown up right when he needed him most as if he could sense Phainon's trauma from a distance?
But then, the look on Mydei's face the last time they saw each other had been…
Phainon pursed his lips, turning back to Hyacine. "Nevermind. It's always nice to see you, too, you know. How many years has it been?" A smile tugging on his lips, he tried to sweep the disappointment back into the locked part of his soul where so many other thoughts about Mydei went. However, the way Hyacine raised an eyebrow said she didn't believe his bravado in the slightest.
"I think it might be pointless to say that this is the third time we've seen each other this week. When Mydei brought you back, well…" Hyacine sighed before she set down her tray and perched on the edge of Phainon's bed. "Aggy said you looked fine right after the trial. However, you collapsed as soon as you left the Vortex Chamber. Then, when you awoke yesterday, the dream haunted your waking mind, overwhelming you until I needed to apply a sleep aid. I'm not surprised you don't remember. Thankfully, you seem fully yourself today!" She grinned, pressing a loaf of bread into Phainon's hands. "Here. You'll need to get your strength back up. The medicine I've prepared should clear the last of your fatigue but it's no good without some fuel in your tummy!"
Phainon bit back a chuckle. "Ah. So it's like that. Thank you for taking care of me all this time, Hyacine. I do appreciate it. Really." Someone needed to take on that role and Mydei wasn't…had he really not visited in the apparent days that had passed? Something clenched in Phainon's stomach, leaving the bread crumbling beneath the trembling grip of his fingers. He only brought himself to start eating when Hyacine's eyes darted down, staring pointedly at his untouched food.
"I don't mind doing these kinds of things. It's my job, after all. But, are you really feeling alright, Phai? Your eyes keep going somewhere far away," she murmured with a scoot closer, their thighs nearly touching through the sheets. After another second and another bite of bread, Hyacine tilted her head. "Do you want to talk about what happened in there?"
Did he? Phainon stared back in silent contemplation. It struck him that Hyacine's true talents lay in this regard. And yet, he couldn't quite bring himself to voice any of the myriad troubles coursing just beneath his skin. So much had happened since he stepped into that trial. No, so much had happened long before that. It was only now that he couldn't avoid the presence of these troubles any longer. Should he just give up on trying?
With a sigh, Phainon set aside his half-eaten bread, the knots in his stomach too much to compete with. "It's not that I don't want to talk. It's just that I'm not sure if I should state these problems so easily. The trial is one thing. One-" He dragged in a deep breath. "One that I'm not ready to talk about just yet. And the rest? Well, let's just say that opening that proverbial chest of pythons is a bit more than any of us can handle right now," he added with a wry twist of his lips. "I promise, Hyacine. You really, really don't want to know."
"Oh?" Hyacine pulled back, her head tilted to the side as Cerces' power set her thoughts into motion. Phainon watched the process until Hyacine's eyes, which had narrowed in concentration, blew wide again. "I've got it now. You're not just worrying over the trial. You're thinking about…oh dear. This does explain the weird tension I felt when I met up with everyone earlier and why I saw that guy lurking around in the hall yesterday. But then, that means…ah!" Hyacine popped her fist down onto her palm in victory. "It all makes sense now! You, Phainon, are in a relationship with Mydei! Ahh, I always knew that the energy between you felt charged in a weird way. I guess things got complicated, then? Is that the problem?"
All of Phainon's breath escaped him in a rush.
"Eh? W-wait! Time out! That's not…I didn't say a thing about Mydei so how did you…?" Phainon stammered as he nearly bolted straight off the bed from how sharply his spine stiffened. "There's no way that man told you about us! You knowing…this is impossible! Hyacine!" he exclaimed, nearly whining in his shock.
"Is it?" The young woman shifted to help Phainon sit, that knowing smile still curling over her lips. When Phainon was as comfortable as he could get against the pillows, she pulled something from her pouch, the morning light catching on the golden surface.
"It's simple really. The way you two obsess over each other has always given off that feeling, you know. And, well, I did have this little clue. I just needed help piecing it all together. See?" Hyacine paused to proffer the object in her hand. "Once you have the evidence, it's pretty telling, isn't it?"
Phainon froze, the golden object shimmering brilliantly against the ivory paleness of Hyacine's hand. He stared, stuck on the smooth edges that he knew all too well. The same as he knew the chest the pendant used to hang over. How could he ever forget the marks of such masterful craftsmanship? Phainon's hand jumped up clasped over the front of his sleep shirt, his fingers scrabbling uselessly over the incorrect fabric. There were no pockets on its front and that pendant had been…
Eyes wide, Phainon twisted back toward Hyacine, his expression burning with betrayal. "How did you get that!? That's mine…I mean, well, it's-!" He flushed, his hand shaking as he lurched for the shining bit of gold. Hyacine pulled her hand away but, after a second of hesitation, she opened her hand again, offering Phainon a full view of the object. In the center of her palm sat a rectangle of gold, the sapphire inlaid within a deeper blue than the sky. Even if he didn't say it, they both knew exactly where it came from. Still, he slid his fingers over the surface, finally pulling the pendant into his own hand.
"Shit. This is pretty embarrassing. I must look like an utter fool right now. Keeping such a broken thing. There's no way anyone who has seen this wouldn't know…"
Ducking her head, Hyacine murmured a soft apology that matched the pink dusting over her delicate cheeks. "It fell out of your breast pocket when I removed your shirt to treat you. It's not that I meant to pry or anything. It's just, well…"
"No. You're fine. This is something a little too obvious to miss. Even I would pry if something I knew belonged to another man fell out of someone else's pocket. I…please tell me you didn't tell Mydei about this. He'll kill me if he knew I kept such a thing!" Phainon huffed, the sound too torn to be a laugh but not quite a plea either, as if he knew how fruitless such a desire was. Some secrets could never stay covered up in the dark. One day, this secret of his and Mydei's would also spill out into the daylight, laid bare for the whole world to see. Could they survive such a walk in the daylight? Could he survive being revealed as clear as the day?
Hyacine's soft sigh drew his gaze again. "I didn't tell him, But, you know, maybe you should say it yourself?" The implied rest of her words hung heavy in the air. Tell Mydei how you feel. Phainon knew it well enough, but how could he say such a heady thing? They didn't talk about feelings. They barely talked at all. Heck, he never even spoke these words to himself within the secrecy of his heart. Although he suspected Mydei felt the same, he could only guess what lay behind that man's prideful exterior. After all, if he knew what Mydei really felt, he wouldn't have to collect a bit of metal from the ground of Castrum Kremnos where the man fought against his god, enduring slash after slash from a mighty lance.
What blow crashed into Mydei's chest with enough force to damage the necklace adorning his sternum? How deep did it slash before Mydei's curse sealed up the wound? If that lance aimed a few inches higher, would it have sunk into Mydei's neck instead? Severed the head from that strong column?
A shudder coursed through Phainon so strong that he needed to squeeze his eyes shut, the edges of the broken pendant sinking into the flesh of his palm. The pain grounded him even as it sent images splashing behind his eyelids, the contents full of bloodied bodies he knew too well. Mydei and Cyrene and Aglaea and twisted limbs beside horrified faces he couldn't even begin to say all the names of. Every single one of them dead in the blink of an eye.
Fuck. Phainon sucked in a breath, forcing his eyes open if only to banish the images away. He knew better than to let his thoughts run away in this direction. Since when did he lack so much faith in the man he cared for the most? Had not the sea of souls rejected him hundreds of times before? Steel ran in that man's bones and vitality thickened his blood. Even Nikador, with his lance of fury, could not sever Mydei's head from his neck. Why would he expect anything different now?
Phainon clung to that reasoning even as he agonized over that unseen strike from a long-over battle—one that he sent Mydei into without a single hint of regret. At least if he stood by Mydei's side at that time, at least if he could support Mydei, maybe then…
"Phai?"
Electricity jolted through him, nearly stopping Phainon's heart in place. Fuck. What was he even thinking? Forcing back a shiver, he shifted forward again as he plastered a false smile onto his face. "Sorry. Did you say something? I wasn't…no…t-that is, of course you said something. I understand your advice. It's just that…" No one would waste words on deaf ears. He winced to himself, still plastering on that smile that ached somewhere far deeper than his facial muscles. "Nevermind all that. Thank you for listening to me ramble on like this. I really have proven myself foolish, haven't I? Worrying over a guy like that…he'd hate it, you know. Especially when I'm the one that just got my ass saved by him."
Phainon wanted to laugh at the situation but his throat remained silent, unable to utter such a horrid sound now. He simply stared ahead, unsurprised even when Hyacine ripped open a folded bit of paper, pouring the contents into a glass of water before handing it to him. He gulped it down, taking the bread back without a word of complaint. Finally, when he finished the last vestiges of the tiny meal, Hyacine opened her mouth to speak.
"I suspect that someone has already told you this, but I'll say it again regardless. Phainon, there's nothing wrong with being rescued. Even Titans sometimes act foolish. And…even the immortal can feel pain regardless of how much they deny it. Your actions bring no judgement. All of us beings residing on the mortal plane are flawed creations, after all. The only thing we can do is embrace these flaws and move on, forever forward in our journey. I think…Mydei would also agree with this."
That laugh tugging on Phainon's vocal cords finally tore itself free. "Yeah, I think he would agree. That man…" Phainon breathed out, soft after the last peals of his laughter finished ringing through the room. "Again, thank you, Hyacine. Really, thank you for everything that you've done. You're pretty amazing, you know." His lips twisted up, blue eyes wide with wonder and thanks, her own seafoam gaze soft as she returned the smile.
"You don't need to praise me so much for just being me. I wouldn't be in this job if I didn't enjoy the work," Hyacine hummed, that softness still emanating from her gaze. She reached over, patting Phainon's hand. "Now, come on. Give me that winning smile you're always so quick to offer everyone. Ah, there it is." She grinned when Phainon felt his lips twisting higher despite himself. "I told you that you would feel better after talking about things. But really, you shouldn't keep your feelings all cooped up like this. Even Cerces knows that there's only one cure for lovesickness. Well, two, in her case but with you and Mydei…." She breathed out. "You understand without me spelling it out, right?"
He did. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, Phainon understood. If that meant he couldn't quite keep Hyacine's gaze, then that only proved her more right. Still, he did feel better, his limbs less weighted by a soul-deep ache, his mind sharper, his heart beating just a little steadier. Huh. So this was the power of therapy.
Shifting away, Phainon finally let himself flop back into his pillows. "Yeah, you don't have to say it. I know, Hyacine. Still, thank you for the advice all the same. I'll…" He trailed off, unable to voice that promise quite yet. But, one day, he would. One day, he would tell Mydei all of these things he'd locked away deep inside of him. One day soon he would say aloud just how much he loved that infuriating, beautiful man.
"Yes…I can promise that at least…"
Phainon felt more than saw Hyacine nod her head before pulling herself back to her feet. Another pat answered him, this time to his hair, but she said nothing else, simply leaving Phainon to fall back into his thoughts now that he could think them without the haze of his failed trial hovering over him. Hyacine gathered her tray and then left, as simple as that, a fairy wraith vanishing with the coming dawn. And, honestly, wasn't that quite the thought? A more sane man would delight to have such a steady companion at their side and, truly, Phainon understood the appeal. But then, he always was a man who liked a challenge—one that came with eyes like liquid pools of sun and a strength that could hold up walls better than topple them. Though, he still needed to find a way to keep that uncaged glory.
It was a task easier said than done and one that occupied his mind all throughout the afternoon. Even when he finished resting and moved on to stretching out the kinks from his overly-rested limbs, the thoughts still lingered, right up until he finished pressing his usual outfit, minus the armor, into place. It was then that the door's mechanism hummed behind him. Phainon froze, knowing that only a small handful of people would forgo knocking and only one with those particular footsteps, thudding beneath their metal plating.
Ten terse seconds of silence passed before Phainon sighed, his shoulders slumped with resignation. "If you've come to say something, you might as well come out and say it. As you can see, I'm no longer sleeping. In fact, I was planning on heading out right now." Phainon twisted, finally meeting those eyes that had been haunting his thoughts without relief. "Mydeimos."
The man in question stiffened, his expression quivering with unease and panic for half a second before he smoothed it all away so perfectly that Phainon wondered if he imagined the slip. Another second passed and then another before a ridiculous, haughty expression passed over Mydei's face, leaving him flourishing one hand in the air.
"Awake, you say? Such an improvement to express pride over. Of course, this just proves my superiority over you," Mydei scoffed, his hand still brandished wildly in the air. "Oh, don't get me wrong. I would hate to see you dead but I still endangered myself to fetch your sorry ass back. Don't you owe me some thanks, Deliverer? At least admit that I won this round."
Phainon spun, fully facing Mydei with a look of incredulity. "E-excuse me? That's what you came here to say!? Unbelievable! I see Kremnoan also has no word for common decency!" he hissed back, his eyes skating over the other man's torso, memorizing it as the tension sparked into a storm between them. How many times had they clashed like this, two marionettes in a familiar dance? The strings pulled him in, refusing to relinquish their grip. And, as a grin tugged against Phainon's lips, he found himself thanking Kephale for it.
Mydei's expression, likewise, shifted into something familiar before he turned away, clicking his tongue. "Kremnoan simply has no word for honoring fools like you. It's only fair, after all. Though I did hear you fought well, it still begs to common decency that you would thank me for my efforts, hm?" Mydei's eyebrow lifted higher, something frantic shimmering beneath the depths of his eyes that left Phainon crossing his own arms in answer. Whatever words he spouted back came without thought, his attention instead drawn to the micro-shifts in Mydei's expression. Unusual and familiar at the same time, they caused sparks to arch between them, drawing Phainon in, drawing them both impossibly together.
After another step that left them breathing the same air, Mydei tilted his head to the side and harrumphed, still rambling on as Phainon responded without really listening to the conversation. He could feel a smile tugging on his lips but his attention strayed, once again falling into the depths of Mydei's eyes.
Why did he show his face now? The thought plagued Phainon even as he spouted some silly poem, the words ingrained so deep in his psyche that he needed to spare them no thought. He couldn't afford to, not when Mydei himself consumed the entirety of Phainon's being. This man…he stood there like some bronze statue, as proud as the finest warriors of old. And yet, his necklace sat unevenly, the missing pendant ignored but not forgotten as Mydei waved his hands faster, more erratically than Phainon ever remembered seeing before. Why, though? Phainon just couldn't understand the reasoning behind this convoluted conversation of theirs. Did Mydei not come here to say something important? Did he not want to see Phainon as much as he wanted to see the golden-haired man? Did he not…no, he did, and that was precisely the problem.
"Mydei…something's wrong, isn't it?"
The man's breath hitched—a momentary thing that morphed into a cough, one hand jumping up to cover the twist in his lips. Phainon stilled, his eyes blown wide with realization and…damn it! How could he miss something so obvious? He jolted forward, grabbing hold of Mydei's wrist and yanking it away from his face. They stared, five seconds passing to the frantic beating of their hearts. Mydei's eyebrows furrowed, his expression baffled, mouth working to form words beneath Phainon's intense stare. Then, finally, when it looked like Mydei planned to speak, Phainon cut him off again.
"Mydeimos! It looks like we both need to relieve some stress. Come, we should recommence our previous competition. Let me invite you to the baths! Right now!"
Those furrowed eyebrows jumped up into the wild fringes of Mydei's hair. "T-the heck are you spouting?! Deliverer, you-?" Mydei gaped for another second before his expression smoothed back into one of haughty pride, challenge and passion sparking between them once again. "Hah. Well, if that's what you want, then lead the way. Kremnoans never back down from a challenge. A weakling such as you could ever best me in my natural element. Or did you forget that I once bathed in the fires of Strife, enduring heat a thousand times hotter than Okhema's feeble sun?"
"Did you?" Phainon grinned, his own pride rising to match Mydei's. In a single second, the tension between them snapped, warmth blossoming in its place. No thoughts of the past or future or the poignant echoes of 'one day' existed any longer. Only they existed, wrapped up in magnetic sparks like two opposite charges forever pulled together.
Phainon flashed a smile and Mydei answered it in kind.
"Prove it."
The sparks filling Phainon overflowed into laughter as he pulled them out of his chambers, feet hurrying to the public baths and nearly barreling over the other bathers in their haste. Mydei called out, ordering the attendant to increase the heat, Phainon shouting back to increase it even further before he'd even finished wading to the center where Mydei plopped himself down in a true princely fashion. The bastard. With a last glorious lunge, Phainon threw himself down as well, splashing the water high up around their chests and soaking through leather and cloth alike.
Which didn't quite feel…right. Phainon glanced down, his cheeks flushing at the sight of their soaked pants, bits of cloth floating in the water like lazy streamers of white and red. All around them sat the nude forms of the other bathers, reclining appropriately as they relaxed. And stared. Like they couldn't possibly stare enough.
Phainon lifted his gaze, once again meeting Mydei's stare. "Uh, funny thing I just noticed. Normally, one would strip before entering the baths and we…have not. I don't suppose you want to make this part of our game…?" The childish suggestion pained Phainon but he still didn't dare look away. Not when they stood this close together, the steam shifting around them as heat rolled off their skin. He'd sacrificed far worse things than pride for the sake of competition. Stopping now wouldn't match his style nor Mydei's.
"Nevermind answering that. You don't back down from any challenge so I might as well make a show of it, right?" With a last chuckle, Phainon shifted back to peel off his shirt, letting the garment fall onto the marble behind him. Even when Mydei's eyebrows arched upwards he continued to his trousers, unbuttoning and shimmying them down without pause. A moment later, he stood in the nude, watching Mydei's hands tense against the pool's edge even as he feigned nonchalance. Phainon paused at the sight, his own eyebrow rising in response.
"Hm, are you not going to strip as well? At this rate, your clothing might not dry until tomorrow's high noon. You can't possibly prefer sitting in such discomfort," Phainon warned, though it seemed that his words made little difference when the other man's eyes sparked in response.
"Don't lecture me like you have the right," Mydei ground out. "Only a coward would make things easier for themself so I will keep my clothes as they are. You may do as you please."
Ugh. What was this idiot spouting now? "Mydeimos, you can't be serious. If you're embarrassed, just come out and say it. Don't make me look foolish all alone. Here, I'll even help you disrobe since I'm so kind. Come here, you…" With that incredulous look still painted over his face, Phainon leaned forward, his fingers reaching for the fabric draped over Mydei's shoulder.
"Wait!" Mydei's hand snapped out, knocking the offending limb away. "I said to leave it, Deliverer! Do you take me for a fool, always doing things however you please? Listen to me for once. Besides, I thought you wanted a competition," he sneered, those lips of his twisting up in disdain.
Phainon bared his teeth in response, already reaching for Mydei's shoulder again. "Ugh, why are you acting so difficult today? I'm going to strip you by force unless you give me a good reason as to why I shouldn't! I'm serious, Mydei. We can continue our competition once we're appropriately undressed so hold still already!"
This time, regardless of the feral look on Mydei's face, Phainon grabbed hold of the sleeve, yanking it off of the other man's shoulder. Mydei yelped, flinching back from Phainon's touch so strongly that he stumbled forward, catching himself on the pool's edge just behind Mydei's shoulder. They paused there like that, both flushed and gasping, Phainon's eyes blown wide at the sight before him.
Mydei, the warrior so many people called a blood-thirsty lion, gripped the marble with white-knuckled strength, his breaths coming short as his thighs clenched together, cheeks flushed a ruddy pink. Phainon's own breath stilled in response.
"Mydei, what are…did you get aroused just now? Because of me? Woah." All of Phainon's stilted breath escaped with a huff. "So that's why you wouldn't let me touch you. Of all the things…" The edges of his smile melted, forming into something soft before he leaned down, trailing fingers over the sharp edges of the other man's cheeks. From there, he rounded the edge of Mydei's jaw and trailed down until he could tangle his fingers into silky strands of gold. "I guess I should take responsibility, then..."
Mydei grunted but Phainon barely heard it over his pounding pulse, his breath ghosting over the man's lips as he dipped down to taste them. Like wine or the sharp spices his mother used to preserve fruits, the taste blossomed over his tongue into an indescribable dish. He pressed himself closer to taste more. More of that gasp, of the hand fisted in his hair as Mydei opened his mouth, devouring Phainon in return. They only pulled back when the heat between them started to boil, rivaling the temperature of the water around them.
Then, Phainon caught sight of Mydei's face and he froze yet again, watching as those golden eyes melted into liquid pools of warmth. For a second, he couldn't escape that gaze. Not until Mydei flashed a smile, trailing one hand down the curve of Phainon's back. "It seems that you and I pictured a very different kind of competition when we set out. You'll have to forgive the oversight. Though, I do wonder if you planned this from the start?"
Phainon chuckled before he finished pulling away Mydei's garment, draping it over his own sodden clothes. "Maybe. Maybe not. Does that anger you?"
Mydei flashed a grin in answer. "What do you think based on the…ugh…evidence," he ground out, his head falling back when Phainon grasped the bulge in his pants, sending pink rushing over the man's cheeks. The pink turned a damning red when he ground the heel of his hand down, right over the tip of the bulge.
"Phainon!"
Damn. This bastard didn't hold back, did he? Phainon felt his own cheeks heat before he threaded his fingers through Mydei's buckle, popping it open enough to release his prize. However, he pulled back without touching it, instead dragging Mydei's hand to the stiffening weight between his own legs.
"Ah…do you feel that? Do you feel how hard you've made me just by looking that way?" He breathed out a soft gasp when Mydei's fingers curled around his length, spurring him even further. "Honestly, did you think that seeing you in the bath wouldn't affect me? I guess that in times like this, our similarities really shine. I can't resist seeing your passion, so please, won't you indulge in me again?" He flashed a smile, the 'please' falling from his lips with far too much desperation. But, by the gods, he needed this. He needed to feel Mydei's hands racing over his body, his strong chest pressing them against the tiles as he let Phainon take whatever he wanted. Because he would take. Just to hear Mydei cry his name in prayer a single time, he would take everything.
Unable to hold back his lust any longer, Phainon let himself fall against the other man. Actually, he wouldn't mind seeing Mydei bent over the tiles instead, Phainon pressing down as he made Mydei take the full brunt of his affection. When he dipped down to press kisses along the man's jaw, he suspected Mydei wouldn't mind that result either.
"You look so beautiful like this. You know that right? You, ugh-!" Phainon hissed when the man firmed his grip, beginning to stroke Phainon in earnest. A particularly sharp flick left Phainon sinking his teeth into flesh, another 'beautiful' ghosting off his lips.
"Fuck!" Mydei sucked in a pained breath even as he proffered his neck in defiance, letting Phainon mark it without a care. Unable to resist such an offer, Phainon trailed his way down and when he reached the other man's chest, Mydei tugged him closer with a rumbling laugh. "Hnn, I feel the need to remind you of our location. Do you really wish to tempt me somewhere so public?" he murmured, that infuriating eyebrow of his arching yet again. Phainon couldn't help but chuckle at the sight as well as the man's concerns. Mydei? Worrying about propriety? Since when?
"No one is watching us. See, they've all gone to the other pools. If I tell the attendant to make haste, then we'll be well and truly alone. Surely that will suffice for our needs," Phainon hummed, his lips already roving over the expanse of Mydei's chest. "Or are you telling me that you want to sit in this bath, competing over the heat alone? I suppose I could back away…"
"What? And will away that erection between your legs?" Mydei grinned, already reaching out to pull Phainon's hand back down to his own throbbing length. "I, for one, have no intentions of stopping here." He leaned in close, his breath hot and wet against Phainon's ear. "You started this, Deliverer. Don't complain when I decide to finish it."
As if he could ever complain this late in the game. Phainon preened even as he turned over his shoulder, shouting at the bath attendant without a single care to his tone. The man answered with a shout and a scurry, no doubt happy to vacate the scene in a way that should have embarrassed Phainon but flooded him with pride instead. The silence that settled around them only served to fuel that pride, the echoes from the other pools creating a scenic backdrop. In that resulting silence, he pushed Mydei back, straddling the man's legs as he pressed their chests flush together, heated skin to heated skin.
"The new terms then, I propose that whoever comes first loses?"
An easy grin slid over Mydei's face. "I accept. But, of course, you stand no chance of winning against me. My willpower knows no rival," the man crooned, one hand waving in lazy dismissal. Phainon watched each flick and flourish with unblinking attention, taking in the flex of muscle as well as the trickle of water along the path of a tattoo, glimmering against the red-flushed skin.
"Is that so?" Phainon captured the hand, pressing his lips to the pulse point just so he could feel it flutter faster than butterfly wings. "Then let us commence with our little game." His hand sliding firmly over Mydei's length, he started to jerk it firm and quick even as his lips continued to rove, Mydei's own hand a steady presence between his legs.
Fuck. Had it always been so hot in this bath? Phainon felt the heat bubbling around him and clouding his mind but he couldn't hold himself back either. Not from rocking his hips up into the other man's grip or from letting out heated pants and soft cries for more. Another slight adjustment aligned their hips, their cocks knocking together so that Phainon could grasp them both, rubbing velvet hot flesh against velvet hot flesh.
Mydei gasped, his head dropping back to the tiles in an irresistible temptation. Phainon dived in, his tongue dipping into the hollow of the other man's collar, drawn by the water glistening in the natural valley. He slurped it up with starved little kisses even as his hips lost their rhythm, driven more and more erratic by the sight unfurling beneath him. And damn was he hot. Every inch of his flesh felt like someone lit it on fire or as if they bathed in magma instead of water. A part of Phainon's mind jolted with concern but he couldn't stop himself. Not when Mydei strengthened his grip over their cocks, his hips pushing up in tiny, desperate little thrusts. Crimson colored his flesh from ear to chest and even his eyes turned glazed with a look that Phainon knew all too well.
How many more seconds would the man last? How much more of Phainon's maddening pace could he take? Fucking hell. Now that the idea struck him, he needed to make it reality. He needed to see Mydei fall apart beneath him, shattered by Phainon's touch alone.
When a moan fell from Mydei's lips, all semblance of control evaporated. Phainon thrust his hips like he could actually fuck the other man like that, heat bursting around them into supernovas, dizzyingly bright. Just a little more. Just a few more tugs until he could consume Mydei completely. He just needed—
"P-Phainon! No more! I…arg!" The broken cry erupted out of Mydei's throat and right into Phainon's stomach. He dug his teeth into the other man's shoulder again, his own orgasm racing up and overtaking him completely, a fireball racing down his spine until he snapped backwards and then sagged, the dizziness of those supernovas suddenly far too real. No, too hot. The last thing Phainon saw before his vision started to spot with darkness was Mydei's flushed face, mouth agape and straining. A second later, he gave himself to that darkness completely.
