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A glass slammed down onto the sticky counter, drips of alcohol along the rim running along the sides either back into the glass or across the fingers of the hand holding it.
Across the table, another glass was slammed down. “Ah!” Cipher let out a refreshed breath as if the alcohol never burned going down. “Not tapping out yet, are you, deliverer boy?” She goaded.
Phainon knew she was doing it on purpose, but there was no way someone of her stature could put down more than him. Taking a page out of Mydei’s book, Cipher tempted him into a competition. One that he is severely starting to doubt isn’t somehow rigged.
“Another,” he grumbled, face flushed and eyes possessed by an unfocused haze.
“I don’t know about this,” Castorice attempted to intervened.
“It’s fine, Princess Homebody,” Cipher waved her off. “Deliverer Boy knows his limits. Right?”
Suddenly, the two girls were looking at Phainon expectantly. He hadn’t been paying attention. He had no idea what they just asked him. “What?”
Castorice cast an accusatory glance at Cipher before looking worriedly at Phainon. “Phainon, maybe you should stop…”
“‘Ts fine, Castorice,” Phainon slurred, trying to focus on one of three of her. Since when were there three Castorices? “Are you a triplet?”
“I’m calling Mydei,” Castorice announced rather than answer Phainon’s question.
“Boo!” Cipher responded. “The husband.” The glint in her eye and mischievous smile on her face were too foggy in Phainon’s vision for him to process. He didn’t even have time to study her face before she left the booth.
Husband? Mydei? Mydei husband?
Castorice pressed her lips together, already on her phone and waiting for Mydei to pick up.
Phainon only kind of heard Castorice as she spoke on the teleslate. He heard his name but little else.
Cipher returned with four more shots. Not even thinking, Phainon reached out and grabbed one before assuming the position and waiting for Cipher to follow suit. The other mirrored him, glass in one hand, the other laid flat on the table.
“One, two, three!” And tip back.
This one Phainon wasn’t even sure he felt. Did it go down? Or did he just dump liquor all over himself? He didn’t feel wet. Was he wet? He looked down at his shirt. Bad move, bad move! The movement made his head spin as nausea took over. If he wasn’t wet, he was about to be.
*
The table was uncomfortable. It should be a bed… or something else soft and squishy.
“Yoo-hoo, Deliverer Boy,” a voice called out to him. He felt a nudge on his shoulder. “Hey, your husband should be here soon. Don’t you want to see him? Don’t you miss him? Your husband?”
“Cipher…”
Phainon rolled his head into an upright position, still propped up by the table. “Husband? I have one?” His words came out slurred and barely audible.
“Yes,” Cipher continued goading. “You’re telling me you can’t remember your own husband?”
Tears welled up in Phainon’s eyes. There’s only one person he’d ever marry. “Mydei?” How could he forget getting married to Mydei! It would have been the greatest day of his life!
“Of course!” Cipher encouraged Phainon’s train of thought. “Who else would it be? You’re not cheating on the Little Lion, are you?”
Castorice put her hand on Cipher’s shoulder. “That might be a bit far…”
Cipher just grinned as Phainon’s teary look cleared up and made way for fire in his eyes.
“I would never,” he growled. “Mydei is the only person for me.” Through the fog in his head, he understood that much, and even though the world was tilting again, he steadied himself on the table to properly sit up. With all the gumption of a royal instating a new law, he said, “And I’m the only one for him.”
The evil cat in front of him propped her head up on both her hands, elbows resting on the table, leaning forward with an eager grin. “Say, what’s your favorite thing about Mydei? You talk about him so rarely.”
A blatant and obvious lie, but Phainon was too eager to talk about Mydei to care.
“His heart,” he answered Cipher.
“His heart or his boobs?”
“Yes.”
A snort escaped the girl. “What else, Deliverer Boy? The floor is your’s.”
Phainon flipped through his internal Mydei catalogue, trying to decide if he wanted to go alphabetically, chronologically (from when traits were revealed to him), or from tip to toe. Maybe he could rank Mydei’s attributes? But how could he? If its Mydei, its all top tier.
“The way we are able to keep up with each other and only each other makes my heart flutter,” Phainon began, suddenly slurring less. “More than anyone, he understands me and I understand him. His conspicuous body, too. Oh, Titans… There so much of that physique to admire… appreciate. I wanna lick the dip in his waist, maybe bite it even. I need Mydei to struggle beneath me while I-”
“Deliverer, do you want to die?”
Phainon snapped his head to the familiar voice behind him. “Mydei!” His eyes brightened, stars reflecting in them crystal clear.
Mydei, in return, was scowling, arms crossed and blocking the full view of his chest. Part of Phainon mourned the fact he couldn’t see the full display, but another, larger part of him was too captivated by the presence of Mydei, his husband apparently.
Unfortunately for Phainon, the filter between his brain and mouth was dead to the world. “Mydei, did you know we were married? I didn’t know we were married. We should do it again.” As he said this, he reached for Mydei, stumbling up from his seat.
Mydei caught him before his face made contact with the floor.
“HKS, how much did you have to drink? Married?”
“More importantly,” Phainon hoisted himself up, still leaning heavily on Mydei, and wrapped his arms around the latter’s waist. “I don’t remember our first time. We should definitely do that again. I always pictured you a squirmer—yeah! Just like that!”
Mydei tried to wrestle free of Phainon’s grip. “HKS, what are you even talking about?”
A pout formed on Phainon’s lips, teary eyes pointed directly into Mydei’s. “Awh, come on. You wouldn’t call your dear husband hi-cuss, would you? You’re allowed to say my name. In fact, I’d encourage it!”
“Phainon,” Mydei said, hands over Phainon’s forearms, trying to pry him off. “Let go of me.”
A huge, bright grin was Phainon’s immediate response to Mydei’s vocalizing of his name. As for his request, “No. You’re mine forever.” That’s how marriage worked.
Mydei looked beyond Phainon, searching for someone. Phainon couldn’t have that. He placed a hand on Mydei’s cheek and turned his face to look back at him.
“That means only looking at me, Mydei. You don’t need anyone else.” His tone was stern, almost reprimanding, but mostly deep and cold. Demanding. The man shivered under his palms. “I want to devour you.”
This time, Mydei flinched at the words. Something complicated flashed in his eyes, as if he didn’t quite understand.
“Let’s get you home. The one responsible seems to have ditched you.”
“Ah, our home as husbands,” Phainon sighed.
“We are not married, Deliverer. Who put that in your head?”
A loud, dramatic gasp came from Phainon. “We got divorced? Was it to get married again? You will get married again to me, right?” His face had moved to be pressed right up against Mydei’s, their foreheads and noses touching. Phainon moved his other hand cup the other side of Mydei’s face. “Why would I let you divorce me otherwise?”
Mydei grabbed Phainon’s wrists in an attempt to pull them away. Even drunk, Phainon was strong enough to hold his own, and Mydei didn’t want to use his full strength on someone who could tumble to the ground at any moment. “We were never married in the first place, HKS. Calm down.”
“Calm down!”
Uh-oh.
“Calm down!? How am I supposed to calm down! What do you mean we were never married! Obviously we are!”
“We live separately. Neither of us has a ring on. We never even dated or expressed romantic interest in each other. Amphoreus is still being rebuilt. When would we have possibly gotten married? Didn’t you also just admit to not remembering it? It didn’t happen, Phainon.”
More devastating words had never been spoken. Not to Phainon, at least.
“M-Mydei…” Tears pooled in his eyes. Phainon’s hands started shaking.
“Why are you crying?” Mydei asked incredulously.
Phainon placed face in Mydei’s neck, snuggling in close. In public. Just a few feet away from a table of drunks. “I don’t believe you.”
“Whatever,” Mydei sighed. “I am not going to waste my breath convincing you. Let’s just get you home.”
He adjusted his hold on Phainon, wrapping an arm beneath his shoulders and tossing one of Phainon’s arms across his own shoulders, latching onto the arm to keep him steady. Phainon’s normal clinginess increased tenfold when he was drunk. Rather than do his best to walk on his own alongside him, he leaned his entire weight onto Mydei’s side.
Mydei steadied their combined weight and started the trek to Phainon’s room.
“When is the last time we fucked?” Phainon asked without a hint of shame. He watched in delight as pink rose to Mydei’s cheeks.
“HKS, just be quiet.”
“I can’t! I have no know, Mydei. Do I top? I’m not really into bottoming. Like, I would… for you. But it’s not my preference. What’s your preference?”
“Deliverer, we are in public.” Mydei spoke through gritted teeth. “Can this wait until tomorrow?”
“Why wait? Can’t we fuck when we get back home?”
“Absolutely not,” Mydei responded immediately.
“Wouldn’t a good fuck feel so good right now, though?” He rubbed his cheek against Mydei’s face. “Come on, let’s do what we would normally do.”
“We do not normally do anything of that nature, Deliverer. Just stay quiet or I will dump you to—”
“Wait! No! Don’t dump me!” Phainon straightened himself to grasp onto Mydei’s shoulders. “I’ll fix it. I’ll be quiet. Don’t leave me.” With each plea, his voice got softer until he was whispering.
Tears welled in his eyes and fell down his cheeks in his hysterics. Mydei took pity on him and reached his bare hands up to wipe the tears away. Phainon leaned into the touch, nuzzling against the palm of his hand. One hand gripped Mydei’s wrist, keeping his hand pressed there.
“You did not let me finish, HKS. I will not be leaving you.” Not that he could in that capacity. Not when they weren’t something in the first place. “I was simply threatening to lay you down on the street and go home.”
A pout formed on Phainon’s lips. “You can’t leave your husband behind.”
Letting the matter go, Mydei sighed. “I will not. Now can we please get you home.”
“You’ll let me stay?”
“HKS, I am taking you to your place.”
“Then you’ll stay?”
“You’ll regret it in the morning,” Mydei told him. “We are not together.”
Phainon grinned. “Sure looks like we are together right now. Just don’t leave my side.”
“I would never,” Mydei admitted. “And you know what I mean. You are being obtuse on purpose.”
“Not really hating where it’s getting me.” Phainon shrugged his shoulders. Something in his eyes lit up suddenly.
Mydei didn’t like that look. It was a look that spelled t-r-o-u-b-l-e.
“If I get us there quickly, do I get a reward?”
Mydei’s eyebrows pinched together. “What kind of reward would you possibly get for going home?”
“I could think of a few things.” Phainon leaned in close, their noses nearly touching.
“We are not fucking,” Mydei put bluntly.
Phainon’s smile turned to a sinister smirk. “I didn’t say anything about fucking.”
Mydei couldn’t help the huff that escaped him, flush once again rising on his cheeks. “You brought it up earlier, HKS. I cannot read your mind.”
Finally, Phainon brought their foreheads together. “Either you’ll give me a reward willingly when I get us home quickly or I take it by force right now.’
Mydei’s breath hitched. He glanced around the street. Though late, there were still plenty of people out, wrapping up their nights. Whatever Phainon had in mind, Mydei was sure he wouldn’t want an audience. Phainon probably wouldn’t care. So it was on Mydei to care. And he very much did.
“Let’s just go.” He nudged Phainon’s shoulder, prompting him to move.
Phainon, however, had other plans. Even though he was stumbling and dragging his feet just minutes ago, he dipped, wrapped one arm around Mydei’s legs and the other behind his back.
Mydei didn’t screech he didn’t yelp but he sure as hell did nearly punch the Deliverer in the face as he hoisted him up.
“Off we go,” Phainon announced and started hustling towards his rooms.
Unsure of what to do, Mydei just stayed frozen in Phainon’s arms. The other man slowly broke into a jog as he found his footing, eventually making his way into a sprint. Unable to contain his joy—the alcohol in his system, the love of the life in his arms, and cool air blowing on his face—he laughed.
It had been so long since Mydei had seen the Deliverer laugh so carelessly. In fact, he wasn’t sure he hadn’t ever seen Phainon laugh like this. His second thought was about how hungover Phainon was going to feel in the morning. As he… passively allowed Phainon to carry him to his place, he made a mental plan on what all he would need to make the morning as painless as possible.
Once they reached his door, Mydei expected Phainon to set him down. Instead, the Deliverer opened the door with Mydei still in his arms and carried him off into the bedroom, tossing him on the bed without any ceremony. He then climbed on top, straddling Mydei’s hips and leaned down so their faces were millimeters apart.
“So about that reward,” Phainon began.
Mydei pressed his hand to Phainon’s face and pushed him back. “Absolutely not. I promised nothing.”
Rather than allow Mydei to push him away, Phainon pushed back pressing his body weight on to the other. He frowned into the hand. “Pleeeeeease,” he dragged out.
He no longer cared that he was dealing with a drunk, Mydei swung his leg out and flipped their positions. He also maybe growled a little. But he can’t be blamed. The Deliverer was beyond frustrating.
“How about you stay here,” Mydei pinned Phainon’s wrists above his head. “I will get you a glass of water and some break. You will eat it and drink and stay awake long enough to wake up with a shitty hangover.”
“I’m hard.”
Mydei released Phainon’s wrists and got off of him, standing next to the bed. “Do what you have to do, I’ll be back in five minutes.” He wouldn’t meet Phainon’s gaze, face turned away, hiding his face from the other.
“I’m going to need more than five minutes,” Phainon said. “Unless you wanna help?”
“You need serious help.”
“That’s why I’m asking.”
Yet another growl left Mydei. He wasn’t going to respond to that. He left Phainon where he laid and stalked off towards the kitchen. What he needed right now was space to think. Phainon had been spewing a lot of strange things. Things they would likely have to talk about tomorrow. Part of him dreaded what would come of it. Another, larger part was too hopeful to let the opportunity slip by.
He busied himself with preparing a glass of water and raiding Phainon’s cabinets for some type of carb. There was some pita stored away that he considered good enough. Just as he set some on a plate, he felt arms wrap around his torso.
Mydei jumped at the unexpected contact, once again nearly lashing out and elbowing Phainon in the stomach. He held back just in time.
“Deliverer, what are you doing now?”
Phainon pressed his nose to Mydei’s neck. “I missed you.”
Mydei turned in his arms. “Eat this.” He pressed the plate to Phainon’s chest. “Drink this,” he demanded, holding the glass out for Phainon to take.
If Mydei had considered how the rest of the night had gone so far, he would have seen this coming, because Phainon did not reach for the glass. Instead, he looked at him expectedly.
“Will you tip it for me?”
“Ugh, you are not a child, Deliverer,” he said, but pressed the glass to Phainon’s lips. “Drink it all.” He tipped the glass back, maybe a bit too aggressively, and forced Phainon to down the glass in one go.
A drop of water escaped the glass and missed Phainon’s mouth, traveling down his chin and neck. Mydei’s eyes watched, entranced, following the drop as it traveled down the bobbing of Phainon’s throat. His eyes followed it even as it dropped low enough to be absorbed by his shirt. That got Mydei to snap out of it.
Flustered by his own behavior, Mydei tipped the glass further, forcing the last of it in Phainon’s mouth. Nearly choking, Phainon tapped Mydei’s shoulder, telling him to let up. Allowing the Deliverer a break, he set the glass back down, reminding himself to refill it. Not giving Phainon much of a break, Mydei picked up a piece of pita between them and shoved it in his mouth.
“Go sit down,” he ordered.
Through his chewing, Phainon asked, “Will you sit on my lap if I do?”
“No,” Mydei growled.
“… Can I sit on your lap?”
“No!” He shoved another piece of pita in Phainon’s mouth.
“Please?” Phainon pressed closer, his hips getting dangerously close to Mydei’s own.
In a panic, Mydei moved his hands to grip Phainon’s hips and keep them away. “Sit. Down,” he commanded, evoking the voice he used to talk to the Kremnoans. “On a chair.”
Phainon frowned and leaned in more. “I want that reward.”
“Fine! Listen to me the rest of the night and you can get whatever you want before you go to bed.” He rolled his eyes. “Stop with this childish act.”
Satisfied with his answer, Phainon back up into a chair, his eyes never leaving Mydei. For a drunk, he sure was acting coordinated.
Mydei went to fill up the glass again. “What kind of reward are you looking for anyway?”
“I just want a kiss from my husband,” Phainon explained, popping a piece of pita in his mouth.
“For the last time,” Mydei sighed. “I am not your husband. You will not receive a kiss from a husband you do not have.” He set the glass in front of Phainon and sat down on a chair next to him.
“Boo,” Phainon pouted. “I clearly remember giving you a ring.”
Mydei stiffened at the mention of his mother’s ring. “Not directly.”
“Give it back and I’ll do it properly.”
“You’re impossible.”
Phainon smirked and kept eating and drinking. As he finished, his eyelids dropped, getting heavier and heavier, harder to keep them open.
“Come on,” Mydei said, picking up Phainon’s empty plate and glass. “Go to bed. I’ll refill this and set it on the nightstand for the morning.”
“Where’s my kiss?” Phainon protested.
Mydei posted count of how many times he’s huffed that evening. “Who even told you we were husbands? Why do you want to kiss so bad?”
“Cipher,” Phainon answered. “And I love you, why wouldn’t I kiss you.”
“Cipher—Phainon, think about this,” Mydei began. “Cipher told you we were husbands, I told you we were not husbands. Of the two of us, who is more likely to tell you the truth.”
A complicated expression crossed Phainon’s face. “You would never lie to me.”
Well, at least he understood that. “And Cipher very much would, yes?”
“To mess with me, yeah,” Phainon admitted timidly. “So… we really aren’t husbands?” His eyes stared down at his hands, fidgeting in his lap. “We aren’t together?” Mydei swore he heard a sniff.
With a sigh, Mydei kneeled in front of Phainon. “Just because we are not together now does not mean I do not want us to be,” he said honestly. “I just do not want to have this conversation while you are drunk. And on the off chance this was all just a mistake, I do not want you to wake up and be disgusted by the fact I took advantage of you.”
“Of the two of us, I am more likely to take advantage of you,” Phainon tossed back.
“I do not know how many time I have to tell you that you can do what you want with me, Deliverer.” Mydei stood and pulled Phainon up along with him. “Let’s get you to bed.”
“You don’t have to kiss me tonight,” Phainon started bargaining. “But stay the night? Promise you’ll kiss me in the morning?”
Without looking back at the other, Mydei dug through Phainon’s wardrobe to find his pajamas. He tossed the man’s sleepwear at him from over his shoulder. “I’ll stay but make no promises for anything like k-that. We will talk in the morning. That, I promise.”
Phainon caught the clothing and set it on the bed, immediately starting to strip and getting stuck in his shirt. “Mydei… could I get some help.”
“HKS, you carried me here while running but get lost in a shirt?” He moved over to free Phainon of his burden, doing his best to not touch and avert his gaze. “You are so weird.”
Phainon smiled at Mydei as he was freed. Mydei didn’t allow him much time to tease him before forcing the new shirt onto him.
“I’m not helping you with your pants.”
“If you did, we’d be having a very different conversation tomorrow.”
Mydei raised his brow. “Do I want to know what that means?”
Phainon raised his head in thought. “Probably not? But it means I want to fuck—”
“Enough!” Mydei picked up the pants from off the bed and shoved them into Phainon’s chest. “I’m going to use your bathroom first while you get dressed.”
He stormed off to the bathroom, ready to process even more new information. At this rate, he wasn’t going to be calm enough to sleep. He splashed his face with some cool water, hoping to hide the heat that was so clearly making a permanent residence on his face.
A soft knock was heard through the door. “I’m dressed,” Phainon announced.
Mydei opened the door. He really wasn’t catching enough of a break this evening. “Brush your teeth, use the bathroom, but whatever you do, please do not require my assistance.”
Phainon hummed and obediently went to the sink to brush his teeth.
Mydei left the bathroom and rid himself of his clothes, stripped to his underwear.
“Hey,” Phainon appeared. “How come I have to sleep in clothes but you get to sleep like that?”
“Are you going to be good and keep your hands to yourself?”
Phainon looked Mydei up and down. “No.”
“Then say goodbye to the view.” He stole one of Phainon’s shirts and put it on. From behind him, he heard Phainon moan.
“Wearing my shirt doesn’t exactly help the situation.”
“Go to bed, HKS.”
Phainon didn’t acknowledge those words beyond throwing himself onto the bed and making grabby hands at Mydei, beckoning him to join. “Can we cuddle?”
“What part of ‘keeping your hands to yourself’ did you not understand?”
“The part where I have the willpower to resist?”
“What exactly did you drink? Do not ever drink it again.” He crawled onto the bed, doing his best to stay out of Phainon’s reach. “You can hold my hand but nothing else. Or I will go sleep in my own room.”
“I’ll be good,” Phainon promised, hand outstretched and ready for Mydei’s.
Mydei latched onto the hand offered to him and laid down. “Have a good night, Deliverer.”
“Mm. Goodnight, Mydei.”
Before anything else could be said, Phainon’s eyes shut and he drifted to sleep. Mydei stayed up longer, thinking about what to say tomorrow, how to go about it in a mature way that communicated his wants without making Phainon uncomfortable in case his affections were not returned. In the end, nothing was truly settled, but he fell asleep with a tight grip on Phainon’s hand.
*
Phainon woke up to the best sight in the world. Well… maybe second best. The two mounds in front of his face were truly a sight to see, but when he looked up and saw the peaceful, sleeping face of Mydei, he found it hard to beat.
He let the events of last night replay in his mind. The details were fuzzy, but he remembered the conversation they were meant to have today. The excitement and nerves boiled together in his stomach, making him feel sick.
Or maybe it was the hangover. Probably both.
The sun pouring in from his window made him snuggle deeper into Mydei, blocking the harsh light. It didn’t take long for Mydei to stir next to him, having also woken up.
“Before anything else,” Phainon said, stopping Mydei from any possible kind of backtracking. “I still want that reward.”
Mydei groaned and rolled over, too sleepy to deal with the Deliverer’s bullshit so early in the morning.
“Mydei,” Phainon sat up and shook the other’s shoulder. “Don’t ignore me, Mydei. I want my reward.”
“Can I fucking wake up first? Give me five minutes.”
“No,” Phainon rejected. “We are getting together right now. I’m proposing as well. Because I still want that kiss from my husband.”
Mydei finally turned back over and glared at the other. “Do you ever quit?”
“You admitted you wanted to be together last night,” Phainon pointed out. “If you think I’m quitting now then you have some rough news headed your way.”
The prince rolled his eyes but opened his arms. “Come here, then. Let our first kiss be filled with disgusting morning breath.”
“That’s not the deterrent you think it is,” Phainon stated. “I’d love to taste every version of you.”
“I have never met a man as shameless as you,” Mydei said.
Phainon leaned in close, their noses almost touching. “Don’t talk about other men while in my bed.”
Without allowing Mydei any time to respond, Phainon dipped down the final bit he needed for his lips to land on Mydei’s. It was everything he wanted and more. It was soft, but rough. It maybe indeed tasted like morning breath but it was Mydei’s morning breath. Only he’d be the one to taste it.
He wanted nothing more than to press Mydei into the mattress and deepen the kiss, maybe roll his hips into the prince’s and have his way with him. However, he knew Mydei would definitely want to talk first, and Phainon was having a fun enough time teasing him to allow it to happen.
When he pulled away, he was met with Mydei’s flushed face once again.
“Titans, you’re so hot,” Phainon whispered between them.
Mydei scoffed. “I am not accepting your proposal, by the way. I have standards.”
“Mhmm, whatever you say, Beautiful.” He once again capture Mydei’s lips in a sweet peck. “But I won’t stop until you accept.”
And if there’s anything Mydei knew about Phainon, it was the fact he was willing to try again and again and again and again. But he wouldn’t have to propose thirty-three million times in order for Mydei to put him out of his misery. He didn’t even make it to the third attempt before accepting.