Phainon x (fem)reader
The One Forgotten (7)
Previous
Morning light filtered softly through the glass-veined ceiling of the Mamoreal Palace, painting pale gold across the marble floors. The palace was quiet at this hour too early for most of its inhabitants, too peaceful for the usual bustle of priests and attendants.
Y/N stepped out into the corridor alone, letting the cool air brush across her skin. She hadn’t slept well her mind kept circling the same thoughts, the same shadows but she needed space. Air. Something that didn’t feel like the weight of last night pressing against her ribs.
The gardens behind the palace were nearly empty. Only the birds were awake, perched along the branches. The air smelled faintly of morning dew and flowers.
Y/N sighed, finally letting her shoulders relax.
She didn’t realize she wasn’t alone.
Not until she heard footsteps quiet, approaching along the stone path behind her.
When She turned.
Phainon stood there.
Still half in shadow, sunlight catching in the cool angles of his features and the pale blue hue of his eyes. His hair was slightly tousled, as if he’d gotten ready too quickly; his mantle wasn’t draped as precisely as usual. (He’d hurried. For her.)
His expression softened the moment their eyes met.
“You’re up early,” he said, voice steady but low, carrying that same quiet warmth from the night before.
Y/N shrugged lightly. “Couldn’t sleep.”
A faint crease formed between his brows in Concern.
“Nightmares?” he asked.
She hesitated. “…Not exactly.”
Phainon stepped closer just enough that she could feel his presence settle gently beside hers. He looked out over the garden, giving her room to breathe.
“Still thinking about yesterday,” he murmured, not even phrasing it as a question.
“Yeah,” she admitted softly.
A breeze stirred the leaves of the trees, scattering flecks of light across the grass. For a moment, they stood in silence.
Then Phainon spoke again, barely above a whisper.
“I’m glad you’re here.”
She glanced up at him, expecting him to look away or correct himself. But he didn’t.
He held her gaze, earnest and unguarded.
A faint flush crept across his cheeks, so subtle she would’ve missed it if she weren’t watching him closely. He cleared his throat, suddenly awkward.
“I mean...I’m glad you’re… safe. After yesterday.”
He looked away, stiffening slightly. “That’s all.”
“Phainon,” she said, a quiet laugh slipping out before she could stop it, “that’s not what you meant.”
Hischeeks flushed.
He tried really tried to keep his composure, but the red at the tips of his ears betrayed him entirely. He exhaled, defeated.
“…Perhaps not entirely,” he admitted.
She smiled genuine and soft in a way she rarely let herself be. The way she only ever seemed to be with him.
Phainon noticed.
His breath hitched for just a moment, eyes flicking down to her lips before he caught himself and looked back at the garden with forced discipline. He stood a little straighter, as if trying to rein in something he wasn’t supposed to feel.
They stayed like that, watching the morning light bloom across Amphoreus.
Eventually, footsteps approached from behind.
“Ah,” Dan Heng’s calm voice said, “there you two are.”
Phainon stiffened instantly, the serene moment shattering like thin glass.
Y/N bit back a smile.
And right behind Dan Heng
“Oh-ho?” Trailblazer’s voice chimed, smug and too awake for this hour. “What’s this? An early-morning date?”
Y/N groaned. “It’s not a date.”
Trailblazer pointed between them. “It looks like a date.”
Dan Heng sighed. “caelus, please don’t start.”
Phainon looked like someone had just caught him doing something illegal. He straightened, composure returning like armor sliding back into place.
Y/N glanced at him and caught the faintest flustered twitch at the corner of his mouth.
Trailblazer’s grin only widened as he stepped closer, hands on his hips like he had just caught two kids sneaking out past curfew.
“And you’re sure it’s not a date?” he teased, leaning in far enough that Y/N had to take a small step back. “Because from over here, it looks very date-like. Early morning, quiet garden, soft eye contact...”
Y/N didn’t even let him finish.
She bent down, grabbed the smallest pebble near her foot, and without looking, flicked it at him.
tack—
It hit him square in the forehead.
“Ow—!?” Trailblazer jerked back, clutching the spot dramatically. “Uncalled for! Assault!!”
Dan Heng let out a slow exhale, the closest he’d come to laughing. “You deserved that.”
“I absolutely did not!” Trailblazer protested, pointing accusingly at Y/N. “That was premeditated!”
Y/N crossed her arms, deadpan. “You walked directly into it.”
Phainon coughed into his hand an attempt at hiding the quiet, startled laugh that slipped out. The sound was soft, barely there. It warmed the space between them more than the sunlight did.
Trailblazer gasped again. “Oh, he laughs at that and you don’t throw a pebble at him?”
“You want me to?” Y/N asked, reaching down like she might pick up another one.
Trailblazer shielded his forehead immediately. “NO. No, I’m good. Perfectly good. Fantastic, even.”
Dan Heng shook his head and turned toward the palace entrance, clearly deciding to start the morning before Trailblazer got hit again. “We should regroup. The others will be waiting.”
Trailblazer grumbled, rubbing the faint red mark on his forehead as he followed.
Y/N started after them until she felt a gentle brush at her elbow.
Phainon, lingering just behind, leaned in slightly.
“Nice aim,” he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.
She looked up at him, fighting a grin. “I’ve had practice.”
He chuckled.
Then they walked forward after a moment
Phainon glanced at her again, The light caught in his blue eyes, softening the sharpness of his usual composure.
“…Did you sleep poorly because of the Flame Reaver?” he asked gently.
Y/N slowed her steps.
She hadn’t expected the question.
“I…”
She hesitated, fingers brushing the hem of her sleeve.
For a moment she considered lying.
Saying she was fine.
Saying it was nothing.
But something in the way he waited for her still,without pushing made the truth slip out.
“Yeah,” she murmured.
Phainon nodded once, accepting it. But he also didn’t look away.
“Is it fear?” he asked softly.
“No,” she said quickly too quickly.
She exhaled. “It’s not fear. It’s just…”
Her gaze flickered upward, toward the distant shimmer of the crystal canopy.
“When he looked at me… it felt like he...”
She stopped.
Phainon’s brows lifted slightly, concerned. “Like he what?”
Y/N swallowed, choosing her words carefully.
“…he hesitated...Like he knew me.”
The air between them stilled.
Phainon’s expression barely changed, but a faint tension gathered in his shoulders.
“…Knew you,?” he echoed softly.
“Yes.”
Her voice was barely above a breath.
“And it didn’t make sense. It still doesn’t.”
She forced a small smile the kind meant to lighten the mood, even if it didn’t reach her eyes.
“But… walking with you helped,” she added, almost shyly. “A lot more than I expected.”
Phainon’s ears warmed instantly, color rising from his neck to the tips. He cleared his throat, straightening slightly like he didn’t know what to do with the sudden heat in his face.
“I...um.”
A small cough.
“…Good.”
Y/N huffed a soft laugh under her breath.
They walked a few more steps, the distance between them closer than it had been before. Their hands didn’t touch but they almost did. Each swing of their arms brushed a little nearer.
Then she tilted her head.
“You’re… really easy to talk to,” she said quietly.
Phainon nearly tripped.
“I... really?”
It came out too sharp, surprised.
Y/N nodded, warmth flickering in her smile.
“Yes. Really.”
Phainon looked forward quickly, trying to hide the way his mouth tilted into something helplessly soft.
“…Then,” he murmured, voice low and earnest,
“You can talk to me anytime. About anything.”
She felt her heart shift just slightly at the way he said it.
Phainon ran a hand over his hair out of habit, but it didn’t hide the fact that his hair was still slightly tousled from where he’d clearly rushed out earlier. A few strands fell over his forehead, stubbornly refusing to settle.
Y/N noticed immediately.
She stopped walking.
“Hold still,” she said softly.
Phainon blinked, halfway turning toward her. “What...?”
Before he could finish, she stepped closer close enough that he forgot to breathe for a moment... and gently brushed her fingers through his hair, smoothing the wayward strands back into place.
Phainon froze like someone had touched a live wire.
Her fingers were warm. Gentle. Soft.
He could feel every tiny point of contact like sparks running down the back of his neck.
“Your hair’s a mess,” Y/N murmured, concentrating as if this were an important mission. “You didn’t brush it properly.”
“…I was in a hurry,” he muttered, ears burning pink.
“I noticed.”
Her hands moved again, careful, brushing through his hair to settle it properly. His breath hitched just slightly.
Then she shifted to his mantle, straightening the clasp near his shoulder where it had folded wrong.
“There,” she said quietly. “Now you look like the Chrysos heir you’re supposed to be.”
He swallowed, blue eyes locked on her with something warm and startled.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
Y/N smiled at him, close enough that he felt it,
And then
CLICK.
A loud shutter sound snapped through the hallway.
They both jerked.
Phainon almost jumped out of his skin.
Y/N whipped around.
At the far end of the hall stood Trailblazer.... holding March 7th’s camera like a prized weapon, eyes sparkling with pure chaos.
“Don’t mind me!” he said brightly.
“Just documenting important historical moments!”
Phainon turned scarlet.
“CAELUS...” Y/N hissed.
Another CLICK.
“Ooh, that one came out great,” Trailblazer said, squinting at the screen. “The lighting in here is amazing. Phainon, you look so...”
He didn’t finish.
Because Dan Heng appeared behind him, grabbed the back of his collar like a misbehaving raccoon, and started dragging him away with the calm resignation of someone who had been dealing with this for far too long.
“We are leaving,” Dan Heng said flatly.
“But I got really good angles...!” Trailblazer protested, kicking the air as he was hauled off.
Phainon stood rooted to the spot, face glowing red, ears practically smoking.
Y/N pressed a hand to her forehead.
“…Sorry about him,” she muttered.
Phainon shook his head stiffly, still too flustered to form actual words.
But as she turned back toward him, he gave her a tiny, helpless smile.
“…thank you...,” he murmured.
She smiled back.
“don't mention it.”
Phainon exhaled once, steadying himself. The flustered heat in his cheeks hadn’t quite faded, but he managed to gather the remnants of his dignity... shoulders straightening, mantle now perfectly aligned thanks to her hands.
Y/N brushed her fingers against her palm, still feeling the warmth of him lingering there. Neither of them spoke, but the silence had changed. It felt gentler. Close.
Ahead of them, Dan Heng and Trailblazer were already halfway down the corridor one walking with composed resignation, the other dangling from his grip like a loudly protesting cat.
Y/N glanced at Phainon, an amused sparkle still in her eyes.
“We should go before he tries to take more pictures.”
Phainon huffed a quiet, breathy laugh. “Please. Yes.”
They fell into step beside each other, their pace finding an easy rhythm. The earlier tension, the heaviness in her chest, felt lighter now not gone, but manageable. As if sharing some of it with him made the weight easier to carry.
Sunlight spilled across the marble as they walked, casting their shadows long and close together behind them.
Trailblazer twisted around (still held by his collar), waving the camera dramatically.
“Hurry up, lovebirds!”
Dan Heng tightened his grip on him with a sigh. “Stop talking.”
Phainon laighed softly, Y/N shook her head and laughed a warm, real sound that made him glance at her with a helpless softness he didn’t bother hiding this time.
She nudged him lightly with her shoulder.
“Come on.”
Phainon nodded, a small smile touching his lips.
“I’m right behind you.”
.....