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The lion did not concern himself with the trivial matters of another.
Except, no, Mydei was very concerned.
From behind the counters of a freshly cleaned kitchen, he watched the front door open with a creak as the clock ticked past eight. From the dark shadows emerged a haggard-looking man, face gaunt and with sunken eyes. His once beautiful, silky mint hair was tied in a messy bun that framed a pretty face, his delicate skin pale and his complexion unhealthy.
“Dinner is ready,” Mydei stated simply, watching his soulmate barely give a nod in acknowledgement with an unfocused gaze.
He sidestepped the counter, and with a few strides closed the gap to drag Anaxa into his embrace. He felt the small body tense momentarily, before relaxing in his hold. The weight against his chest was worryingly light, a body which swayed on two feet finding comfort against the suffusing warmth of Mydei’s chest.
“I don’t see you for a week, and this is the state you come home in?” Mydei hugged Anaxa tighter, unwilling to let go.
He wrapped an arm around the smaller man’s shoulders, and hooked his free arm under Anaxa’s knees. The effortless way Mydei lifted the feather-light body scared him--from up close, he could observe cracked lips and flaky, dry skin--signs of a certain lack of care, dehydration, exhaustion. The small body curled into himself and pressed against his chest, as though self-soothing in the way he sought comfort.
Anaxa always had a penchant for ignoring his own health, and Mydei wished his beloved would love himself as much as he did.
“Was the conference a difficult one?” Mydei asked, taking the first steps towards the bathroom. A warm bath and a fresh set of pajamas would surely help.
“Mhm,” Anaxa nodded, closing his brilliant dual-toned eyes. “Our proposal was rejected at the last moment. The team pulled a couple all-nighters to redo our entire presentation.”
“That…” Mydei was pensive for a moment. He was a simple chef, and didn’t truly understand the word of scientific discovery--only whispers of backstabbing and cutthroat competition where scientists wielded their pens like swords and their words like poisoned knives. “That sounds neither fair nor within established guidelines of any respectable conference.”
Anaxa chuckled and dug his face into Mydei, like a little mint cat seeking something soft.
“The team worked too hard for their efforts to go to waste,” Anaxa mumbled. “I’m sure it pains you to see my current decrepit state. I apologize.”
Ever so gently, with utmost care, he settled Anaxa down at the edge of the bathtub. Mydei brushed mint-green bangs aside to press a kiss against a delicate forehead.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” A little bit of guilt tugged at his heart for having assumed Anaxa willingly disregarded his health. Mydei removed Anaxa’s jacket, deftly slipping the worn socks from his feet. “Take all the time you need. I will reheat dinner once you’re done. Tomorrow, I will cook your favorites.”
Anaxa remained silent for a little bit, before his face contorted in confusion. “Is tomorrow not the 20th?”
“It is,” Mydei confirmed.
“You have prior engagements.”
“I do.”
“Do not alter your plans for my sake,” Anaxa warned.
“No plans are being cancelled.” He straightened his back and made his way to the bathroom’s door. “It is only a new pastry chef for the restaurant. My sous chef can handle the introduction and training. I do not need to be there.”
“No,” came Anaxa’s firm reply. “You are the head chef and owner.” The man crossed his arms, his brows furrowed as he puffed out a breath.
… Anaxa was stubborn like that. But now, Mydei was at an impasse: He did not wish to leave his lover behind when a mere gust of wind could knock him off his feet, but said lover was also insistent on Mydei keeping to his original plans. What to do?
“...” Mydei thought about his options. “A lazy morning.”
“Huh?”
“Rest well and sleep in tomorrow morning,” he said. “How about a compromise? I will keep your phone and tablet charged, and leave them on your nightstand. Stay in bed and relax until my return at noon. I will cook your favorites for lunch.”
Anaxa’s expression visibly relaxed as his body slumped, the tension seeping from his tired muscles. Both parties were aware of each other’s stubborn nature.
“It is a compromise I can accept,” Anaxa finally agreed.
“Great.”
With that, Mydei walked out of the bathroom. He made a mental note to visit the store tomorrow morning, doubting the fridge and pantry carried enough of the ingredients he needed to cook a second feast to welcome the professor home and celebrate a job well done.
-----------------x-----------------
When the quietude of the night settled in and the day came to a close, Mydei tiptoed into their shared bedroom--and his breath caught at the sight greeting him.
Anaxa was curled, bundled underneath a mess of blankets. An oversized shirt--his shirt--hung from his thin frame, a rounded shoulder exposed to the air. The glow of the moon outside seeped through the curtains, casting a soft light over the sleeping body. Anaxa’s light little snores were peaceful, and the slight curl of his lips told of a dream particularly sweet. Or perhaps chaotic, since Anaxa took quite the enjoyment in various explosive experiments.
Mydei moved, quietly, and slipped into the cool sheets on his side of the bed. He had barely laid down and adjusted the pillows when he felt the bed shift and a weight was pressed to his side. He could feel a warm breath on his chest while the weight curled against him, a worn dromas plushie tucked securely in between the both of them.
But Anaxa remained in a deep sleep. Whether it was Mydei’s scent or his warmth that made the sleeping man seek his presence, he didn’t know--but his heart melted at the sight of a lovely mint creature next to him in an adorable lump.
In the tranquility of the night, Mydei carefully wrapped an arm around Anaxa and turned towards him. He tucked the smaller man to his chest and dragged warm blankets over them both.
A deep breath.
Mydei took in the gentle smell of mint and parchment as he buried his nose into the mess of seafoam-green hair. It only took a few seconds before his eyes drifted shut and he, too, let the embrace of darkness envelop him.
-----------------x-----------------
While the streets outside were still quiet and the moon hung high in the skies, the sound of rustling sheets and a dip in the bed coaxed Mydei from his slumber. The haze of sleep only had a moment before dissipating as he blinked his bleary eyes open.
He jolted, immediately noticing the pointed emptiness within his arms: Where Anaxa had been, Mydei was hugging a simple lump of limp blankets. But the sheets were still warm, cooling with the presence that had abandoned its comfort. A little dromas plushie was laid carefully against a feathery pillow, the corners of the blanket tucked around its resting form.
He reached for his phone--3:30 AM.
Believing Anaxa would return soon, Mydei waited. He waited and waited--minutes ticked by, but Anaxa was still nowhere to be found.
And so, Mydei pushed himself from the cozy bed. Phone in hand and with feet snug inside fuzzy dromas slippers, he fumbled out of the bedroom and down the hall. Anaxa was not in the bathroom, not in his studies, not in the kitchen, not in the living room--he was nowhere to be found.
Ever so slightly, fear tickled the back of his mind. Where was Anaxa, at this hour of the night? Before panic took him in full, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the front door slightly ajar.
Mydei took hesitant steps towards the door. He recalled, specifically, Anaxa had closed and locked the doors when he came home earlier in the evening. Was this not the case? Perhaps they were both careless, Anaxa in his exhaustion and Mydei in his complacency. Or, maybe, Anaxa had sleepwalked out of the door.
With a few hurried strides, Mydei was at the door. He swung it wide open--and there Anaxa was, forearms leaned against the banisters of the front porch. His head tilted upwards, eyes sparkling with the reflections of the starry night.
A large sigh of relief escaped Mydei--a breath he didn’t know he was holding. All of the tension left his body, relaxing now that he found Anaxa. Safe and sound, though perhaps mildly insomniac.
He let the front door close behind him as he took a few steps onto the porch, towards Anaxa.
“Can’t sleep?” Mydei, too, leaned against the banister, a hand finding its way to grasp Anaxa’s. His skin was soft, the tip of his fingers slightly cold from the breeze of this cool early morning.
“I slept plenty.”
“Four hours is not ‘plenty’,” Mydei countered.
Anaxa chuckled, his voice sing-song. “Go back to bed. I promise to return soon.”
“Too late. I am wide awake.”
Mydei tugged Anaxa’s hand, gentle but incessant--until Anaxa gave in and allowed himself to be dragged into Mydei’s engulfing embrace once more. He buried his nose into the crook of Anaxa’s neck, chin resting against sharp collar bones while he took in his beloved’s scent. His frame dwarfed Anaxa in his entirety, but still, the smaller man was a presence who grounded him.
Two lithe limbs rose to wrap around Mydei’s neck, a hand entangling in the mess of a blond lion’s mane.
“I apologize. Did I scare you?” The hand stroked his hair, a reassuring weight that soothed Mydei to his very soul.
Mydei only hugged Anaxa tighter to his chest.
The two remained like this for a brief moment--of Mydei clutching onto Anaxa and Anaxa holding Mydei. After this brief reprieve, Mydei released his hold on Anaxa to cradle a precious face. His thumb brushed against soft cheeks, gliding over those adorable cheekbones. Even in the darkness of the night illuminated by the flickering startlight, Mydei could see himself reflected in those beautiful dual-toned, brilliant eyes.
Mydei leaned forward to press his lips against Anaxa’s. A chaste, shy kiss. A brief touch of lips, gentle in the way their body pressed slightly against one another to feel the warmth of each other’s presence. Anaxa’s breath tickled Mydei’s upper lips, and the smaller man stood on his tiptoes to carefully kiss back--a little bit deeper, more forward.
When they parted, when the tips of their nose briefly touched--Mydei could see the wordless adoration written on Anaxa’s visage.
“I missed you,” Mydei confessed.
“As did I,” Anaxa whispered.
The small body leaned forward, pressing a forehead against Mydei’s chest. Once more, Mydei kept his steady arms wrapped tightly around Anaxa.
“I couldn’t sleep.” Anaxa’s voice carried a weight of exhaustion so resounding, Mydei was worried Anaxa would collapse right then and there, in his arms. “It was loud, dusty, and dirty. No matter how tightly I closed my eyes, it was always too bright.”
It took a moment for Mydei to understand Anaxa was referring to his past week at the conference. It was held in a large metropolis, where the hustle and bustle of busy people echoed at all hours of the day.
“The bed was large,” Anaxa’s voice was stable, but forced in the way he seemed to hold back the slight tremble with a swallow. “The pillows were plush and the comforter was soft. But it was always so cold and empty.”
Mydei could imagine it--he pictured a lonely little mint cat, curled in on himself in a bed too big for his frame. Every toss and every turn, the mint cat would be met with a wide chasm of a void. Mydei knew--Anaxa preferred to be tenderly held.
Right now, in his arms, Anaxa shivered--from the overflowing emotions or from the coolness of the night, Mydei didn’t question.
“I think four hours is the longest I’ve stayed asleep,” Anaxa sighed. It was under the cloak of darkness, shrouded in the veil of the night that Anaxa allowed himself to be vulnerable. This stubborn, confident man--peel back his mask, and underneath the bravado was a man with a fragility few could understand.
Mydei said nothing--he rubbed and massaged Anaxa’s back in silent understanding.
“I’m tired.” It was Anaxa’s turn to confess.
“Let us return to bed,” Mydei coaxed.
In his hold, Anaxa seemed to melt into a puddle--and he nodded. Mydei pressed a quick kiss to Anaxa’s temple, before pressing a firm hand to his lower back to guide them both towards their home.
Only, there was a problem.
“...”
“...”
Both men were staring at their front door, firmly closed. Their lock was one which auto-locked.
“I did not bring my keys,” Anaxa stated simply.
“... Neither did I.” And Mydei allowed the door to shut earlier, when the panicked thought of needing to find Anaxa was the only matter on his mind.
Oh dear.
They were both in their sleepwear, without any form of tools to pop open a door lock.
And it was roughly 4:00 AM, when no locksmiths would be available for at least another three or so hours.
Oh dear .
Mydei let out an exasperated, deep grumble before leaving Anaxa to stand alone on the front porch. He hurriedly surveyed the house--he knew all of the windows on the ground floor were shut tight and locked, but there was a chance one of the windows on the second floor was not. Or perhaps, he could scale the walls to climb to their porch overhang and pop open one of the windows.
It seemed Anaxa knew exactly what Mydei was thinking, because thin fingers were suddenly wrapped around one of his wrists.
“Don’t,” Anaxa hissed.
“I didn’t say anything yet.” But still, Mydei had been caught. “I can climb onto the portico and get us both back in and to bed.”
“Do not,” Anaxa reiterated. “The risk is not worth the reward.”
Mydei did not argue, when he could feel the slight tremor of Anaxa’s fingers. The risk was worth it to him: Rest was precious, and Anaxa needed as much rest as he could. He really, truly needed it. Mydei himself trusted in his athleticism to climb a measly overhang--but one look into Anaxa’s worried eyes had him fold like a piece of wet tissue paper.
He sighed.
The hold on him relaxed. But, now what? They had to, dumbly, stand outside while they waited for rescue from a local locksmith?
“I apologize,” Anaxa broke the heavy silence hanging over them. “It was silly of me to not have brought my keys along.”
“You do not--”
Anaxa raised a hand to halt Mydei in his tracks. “Even if I had the foresight to leave the door open, a simple gust of wind could have brought it closed. Regardless of your actions, it is my carelessness which led to our current situation in the first place.”
Mydei didn’t like this--not one bit. They were now at an impasse.
He took in Anaxa’s form: A small figure wrapped in an oversized shirt that hid the curves of his body, loose hair with stray strands sticking from his bedhead, and dark eyebags which seemed permanently etched onto his lovely face.
“How about this?” Another one of Mydei’s compromises.
Without waiting for Anaxa’s response, Mydei took a step closer to the smaller man. He, as always, lifted Anaxa into his arms and carried him towards the bench on their front porch. Mydei settled down and leaned back against the harsh metal--but his sole focus was Anaxa sitting securely in his lap.
Anaxa’s legs draped across one thigh, feet resting on a cushion on the metal bench. Mydei pressed Anaxa’s head to his chest--an arm protectively wrapped around his waist.
“Sleep.”
For a moment, Anaxa remained still, before he relaxed with a sigh. He drew his arms closer to himself and leaned into Mydei, making his heart flutter.
“It must be very uncomfortable,” Anaxa remarked, his voice growing quieter.
“I am very comfortable.” Though the hard material dug into his flesh, Mydei was not lying: The weight in his lap was reassuring and the scent which drifted from Anaxa’s body was soothing.
As Anaxa’s breath evened and his body stilled, Mydei hoped Anaxa would be visited by a peaceful and calm dream. One in which Anaxa was worry-free and could laugh towards the skies unabashedly.
Once more, Mydei pressed a kiss to Anaxa’s temples.
-----------------x-----------------
A bug.
There was a bug on Mydei’s face, poking and prodding at his cheek.
Briefly, he could hear a familiar, annoying voice whisper something from afar. Or from up close? Mydei didn’t know, when in a groggy trance, everything was muffled. The only thing which grounded him was a presence in his lap.
He sluggishly blinked his eyes open, squinting at the brightness of the sunlight. His blurred vision took a moment to focus--
“Hks!” Mydei jolted, one arm clutching onto Anaxa tight while a second arm flew up in reactive self-defense.
SMACK
His fist connected with the unfortunate soul standing in front of him, who immediately crumpled to the floor.
“Uh--what?” Anaxa startled awake, arms immediately wrapping around Mydei.
“Ow--” Phainon wailed on the ground, one hand over a slightly swollen cheek. “Mydei, why’d you hit me?”
It took a moment for Mydei’s brain to catch up to what his sight was taking in. This situation was ridiculous.
“My apologies, Phainon.” Not really. He wasn’t sorry at all. “It was a reflex. Perhaps do not startle someone awake.”
Anaxa shuffled in his lap, and wiggled himself free. “Are you alright?” He asked, addressing the dejected samoyed puppy at his feet.
“Professor!” Phainon paused. “You’re back. How was the conference?”
“Terrible,” Anaxa laughed.
Phainon finally stopped his dramatic ministrations and got back to his feet. Much to Mydei’s annoyance, Phainon’s sudden appearance at their doorsteps was likely something out of concern--friendly neighborhood graduate student and all.
“I’m on my morning jog, and--” Phainon’s eyes darted between the both of them. “I noticed Mydei and the professor taking a nap on their front porch.” There were a few unasked questions, but the curious tone in Phainon’s voice was not lost on him.
“We are locked out of our house,” Anaxa explained.
Mydei glanced down at his phone. It was now 06:41 AM, and the local locksmith should be opening shop soon. If he placed a call the moment they opened, there was ample time for Mydei to properly groom himself and head to the restaurant on time.
Phainon took a glance at their front door. “Auto-lock?”
“Indeed.”
“I’m guessing there’s no deadbolt on it,” Phainon pondered.
“Neither of us have our keys. We couldn’t have deadbolted it,” Mydei responded.
“I got this.” Phainon’s tone was cheeky, like a child being given permission to skip the vegetables and eat ice cream for dinner.
Phainon reached into his back pocket, and in his hand was his wallet. He took out one of the many long-forgotten gift cards and crouched in front of their front door. Carefully, he slid a corner of the card into the crack and started to bend the piece of plastic.
Mydei exchanged a glance with Anaxa--he didn’t know whether to be concerned or in awe of what he was seeing. Because, in a few seconds, Phainon was able to push their front door wide open.
What?
“Good job,” Anaxa praised.
“I’m happy to have assisted the professor!” If Mydei squinted, he could see the ghost of a puppy tail wagging behind that annoying man.
Excuse me? Was Mydei the only one concerned at how fast Phainon was able to unlock their front door? Equipped with a state-of-the-art security lock?
“Where did you learn how to do this?” Mydei inquired, the words perhaps a little bit harsher than intended.
Phainon only flashed one of his signature smiles and a thumbs-up at Mydei. “Never underestimate a broke college student who locks himself out of his apartment a lot.”
“Lock picking is a useful skill to have,” Anaxa agreed, nodding.
“... Hks.” What was Mydei supposed to say to this? “Thank you for your help, Phainon.”
Phainon’s eyes widened. What? Did he think Mydei would be ungrateful or something? What was with the surprise?
“You’re welcome!” Phainon laughed. “Treat me to one of your famous cheesecakes, maybe.”
“I’ll save you a slice.”
Introduce and train the new pastry chef, run errands to cook a feast for Anaxa, and bake a cheesecake as thanks for Phainon’s timely assistance on this fine morning. Mydei’s to-do list was ever-growing. Perhaps, in addition, Mydei should research into the world of lock picking.
When Phainon resumed his morning jog, Mydei followed Anaxa back into their home.
The door barely closed behind him when he hugged Anaxa from behind and buried his nose into the exposed nape. The skin was smooth and soft, smelling of mint--Mydei pressed a kiss to the elegant neck.
Reverent in the way Mydei kept Anaxa close to him, Anaxa reciprocated with a light chuckle and a touch to his toned forearms. For Mydei, the world around them faded--just slightly. He focused on the warmth in his embrace, the steady breathing, and the silent heartbeats.
When this day, too, would inevitably come to a peaceful close, he would thank silently for the welcoming gentleness of tomorrow.