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His heels flashed in the sun, leaving deep imprints in the sand. His golden hair flowed behind him perfectly, as if he owned the winds. The sudden warmth that had filled Patroclus was gone—there was a new aching knot in his stomach, one he’d never felt when he was with this boy. It left him grasping and curling in on himself against the tree, surrounded by the roaring waves of the sea, seemingly defying against the actions he committed. The bark of wood, a soothing scratch against the now alone boy’s back, filled in the empty space that had once been occupied. He had been led astray by the feelings of his heart.He always relied on his head and the one time he disobeyed, it had cost him a part of his heart. A part that sprinted so fast it was as if it never belonged to him. Something so visceral it left him gasping with an endless stream of tears down his face. The sun casted beautiful rays against the beach that held so many memories of a childhood, taunting the pain he felt in the depths of his heart. This heart had betrayed him. This feeling—blundered him. This boy had left him so… so… defenseless.Thisand this,and this.Yet this. Was all over.The boy was gone, and with him a piece of Patroclus now. Forever lost and unknown
Patroclus felt the sting of cold water hit his face, an attempt by him to try and wake his body. Water slowly tracing each feature on his face till it joined at his chin, making the same continuous drip, drip, drip. He looked at himself in the silvery surface of the mirror, his eyes not quite focusing on the image in front of him but reminiscing on something he might have forgotten. The fog of thought left his mind as he regained focus on himself. His hair a frizzy mess of mahogany colored curls, longer in the back, and never quite laying flat in one spot on the top of his head.
How he despised those few strands that never laid flat. But he’s learned time after time to leave it alone as it has never gone down, no matter how many attempts of gel or water. He runs one hand through the water using the moisture as an attempt to calm the obscene amount of frizz in his hair. It was nearing the end of August: the heat and humidity still high as ever. He wished for the colder seasons where he could relax and enjoy the changing of seasons. It was his final week with his family. Something he was happy to be rid of.
There was a guilt in knowing that he would be leaving his mother behind. Alone. With his father. But it didn’t worry him much. His mother was a silent but gentle soul.
Never talking much and seemingly absent minded about the going ons around her. That’s all that ever surrounded him: the silence between him, his mother, and his father. His father refused to talk to him if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. His guilt still showed up from time to time in the form of nightmares. He never meant to hurt the little boy—it just happened. The boy had slighted his fathers skills.
How the conversation lead to that point he was still unsure about, but he does know they were talking about the boxing lesson his father had taught that day on the playground. They were sitting high on top of the tubes that connected one end of the playground to the other. An anger had gripped Patroclus—where it had came from he didn’t know—but he knew he reacted. A very fast reaction, so quick he didn’t even know his hands were on the boy until he saw the boy “slip” off the tube and fall on a metal rod ten feet below them.
He never forgot the sharp crack he heard from the boy's body. It had been his spine they told Patroclus later that day. He was lucky enough the boy was alive. His father never failed to remind him how lucky he had been that the boy had lived. If they were higher up, or if Patroclus had pushed him harder it would have cracked his spine in half. The incident caused a field day for his father.
A once world renowned boxer who had started his own personal ring to teach others, and Patroclus had made it come crumbling down in one day. Tabloids and papers filled with the headlines: Renown boxer Menoitius takes “fall” for his son. The result of the incident left his father embarrassed; his father had settled the issue with the boy's family. He had given them a generous lump some of money to cover hospital bills and anything that came after that.
The family was more than happy to receive the money from such a famous person. After the incident his father renounced all his titles and shut down the boxing ring, and left the town they had briefly gotten to know. They then found themselves to reside in the town of Pythia for a time. Patroclus’ time spent there was a haze of sun filled memories and a bottomless pit of emotions that he couldn’t dare try to discern from one another.
“Pat…” a soft voice called from behind the door, barely heard over the rushing water coming from the sink faucet.
He recognized the voice; it belonged to his mother. “Yes?” He replied wearily his mother was never up as early as him. It was unlike her to wake up just to talk to him. This had to be something important for her to come seek him out.
“I- are you done in the bathroom? I have something I would like to talk to you about, it’s about your school, chrondes, cirhondes, no that’s not it eith—“
“Chironides, mom.” he said with slight annoyance, but he couldn’t blame her: she was never good at remembering names. She wasn’t good at remembering a lot of things, but she tried.
“Yes, that was it,” she said happily through the door. He could hear the smile in her voice, knowing she was smiling made him smile. It wasn’t often she had something to be happy about, but when she was around Patroclus it was as if the world was smiling back at her—she couldn’t help but smile when she was around her darling boy. “When you’re ready, I’ll be in the kitchen waiting.”
“I’ll be out soon.” he said, starting to pick up his toothbrush and finish his morning routine of his daily hygiene. Once he finished, he grabbed one of the many head bands in the drawers underneath the sink. The one he grabbed was wavy and perfect for what he needed it for. He didn’t plan on going out today so there was no reason to do his hair, and this was the next best option to deal with it. He pushed the head band against the start of his hairline and continued till his forehead was exposed—no longer covered by his curls. “Perfect” he said silently to himself looking at the mirror. He walked out of the bathroom and found his mother in the kitchen grabbing a cup.
“You said you—“ he didn’t get to finish his sentence before he heard the high pitch ringing of glass hitting the floor and shattering.
“Oh my! I’m sorry, Pat you startled me!” Her voice was shaky and somewhat breathless.
“It’s okay, it’s my fault. Wait, don't you’re going to-“
“Ow!”
“Hurt yourself…” The words escaping his mouth alongside a sigh. His mother went to pick up the glass with her bare hands. “Mom, sit down, I’ll help clean it up and I’ll grab some of my stuff to clean your cut.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll let you handle it.” His mom said while holding her injured hand and sitting herself down.
Patroclus came a minute later, putting down a med kit and some tweezers on the table by his mom while he swept up the broken glass. Once he was done, he returned to his mother.
“Let me see the cut please.” he asked kindly. His mother gave him her hand. Patroclus grabbed a disinfectant wipe from the med kit, cleaning the excess blood from the cut the glass caused. Once it was clean he grabbed the tweezers and plucked any smaller shards of glass from her cut to make sure there wasn’t any more discomfort when it healed. After he believed there was no more glass in the cut, he put Neosporin on the now clean cut, and topped it off with a few bandages. His mother had sat there calmly the whole time, not a word escaping her lips. The whole time her son worked on her she was admiring how amazing he was. It brought another smile to her lips and she let out a little laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Patroclus asked, concerned.
“Nothing, you're just such a sweet boy, you know that? Anyone would be so lucky to have you.” she said getting lost in the being of her son.
“Thank you mom, but are you okay?” He said, slightly embarrassed. His mother had a tendency to exaggerate about him; it happened often. Anywhere she could talk about him she would. Just the other day when he went to the store with his mother, she had met someone while shopping and started talking about how amazing he was and that the other mother she was talking to had a daughter his age. It was super embarrassing for him; he ended up apologizing for his mothers behavior, but the other woman laughed it off and said it was okay.
“Yes, I’m fine thanks to you.” she said with an even bigger smile on her face. “You're going to be an amazing doctor one day, you know.”
“I- thank you…” He trailed off. He didn’t know what to say. He was indeed studying to become a doctor, but he wasn’t entirely sure if that’s what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. There was still something in him that felt as if he was missing something.
“That reminds me, I have to tell you something. Do you remember years ago, a friend of your father, he taught you how to sculpt, I believe?”
“Yes, I do. He's the principal of the school I’m going to. But I wasn’t aware he was one of fathers friends.” He said,skeptical, as it was new information that he and the principal of his school had been friends with his father. It had made him question if he had got in due to strings being pulled by his father. But the thought was quickly dismissed. His father would never help him succeed in life.
“Well, they were more brief acquaintances you could say? More of a friend of a friend than anything. None the less your father called in a favor”
“A favor? From father?”
“Yes, he contacted the principal and asked if he could cash in on a favor he had given him. run down of the situation is you will be going a week early and spending the rest of your week with him instead of staying here.”
“Oh…So when am I leaving then?” There was a sadness in his mothers eyes that wasn’t there before.
“Today, in a few hours actually. I got up early to help you pack and see you off, and they will be sending someone to get you.” She looked at him with a disparity in her heart, not knowing if she would see her darling boy again after today. She wished to spend her final moments with her son alongside him. Patroclus had finally understood why it seemed like his father was “helping” him. His father wanted him gone already. His father had grown tired of seeing him around, and now that there was an opportunity to see him gone he wanted him gone faster.
“I see. We should start packing then, shouldn’t we?” A blunt response to the sadness that had swallowed his mother.
“Yes we should, we've wasted too much time because of me.” She said with a dry chuckle while gesturing to the medical supplies that were still on the table.
Patroclus packed the medical supplies up and headed to his room with his mother. With the help of his mother they were finished within the next hour. There wasn’t much to pack: he didn’t have many personal belongings that he wished to take with him. His father had never seen the reason as to why he should have anything that wasn’t pertaining to his studies. So, all they packed were his medical books, clothes, toothbrush, hair products, and a few pictures.
“They will be here soon.” His mom said sadly while looking at her phone. “There’s still something I want to give you before you go.” Her voice was starting to break, fighting back her emotions, knowing her son was no longer going to share their home. She came back after a few minutes of rummaging in her bedroom. She came back with a gold charm bracelet; there were only three charms on it. It had looked so familiar to him; he didn’t know why but there was a warmth in his stomach. Out of the three charms the most prominent was an intricate sun. He felt like there was something he was forgetting, something so crucial, yet it couldn’t come to mind. The gold of the sun looked slightly duller against the other charms.
“I bought some new charms to put on it recently. I got a little cross to show your goal of being a doctor, and a heart because of the love I have for you.” Her final words were slow, he could tell she was getting choked up. There was a burning behind his eyes now and he attempted to suppress it for the time:he didn’t want to cry in front of his mother. It wasn’t like him, he couldn’t even remember the last time he did cry. His father had always told him it was weak for men to cry. Granted he never took anything his father said to heart, but this always stuck with him.
“Thank you, it’s amazing.” He said with a smile on his face while stepping forward to hug his mother. His mother squeezed him hard, trying to hold on to what was going to be her last experience with her son. Patroclus felt the buzz of the phone in his mothers hand. She let go of him reluctantly and checked her phone. The screen lit up her face. He saw her eyes scan the phone. She looked up at him, her face unreadable of which emotion she was feeling.
“They’re here, my little boy.” A sad smile crossing her face. ”I’ll take you to the door.” She said while putting her hand on his back while he grabbed his belongings and walked out of his room, to the front door with his mother by his side. They walked out together. His mother stood on top of the stoop of the steps while he walked down to see a car waiting for him. He turned to say a final goodbye to his mother and saw an image he wasn’t prepared for. His mother was crying—heavy tears streaming across her face.
He started getting choked up, and breathing became hard for him. His mother started walking down the steps, and he walked forward as well to meet her half way. They embraced eachother, their height differences more apparent than he remembered; when had he grown so much? His memory had failed him; he didn't remember when he surpassed his mothers height. His mother wasn’t super short, but wasn’t super tall either.
He assumed his height had come from his father. A wet spot had formed on his shirt from where his mothers face was near his shoulder. He looked down while his mother looked up at him; he still wasn’t prepared to see his mother crying. At the sight of seeing his broken mother, tears started falling down his face as well.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” His mother had said putting her face back into his shirt in between broken cries of words that he couldn’t make out.
“It’s okay.” His words broken as well, while they pulled each other into another embrace. The two were a sobbing mess swaying back and forth in each other's arms trying to calm one another. Once he felt that they had stayed to long, he looked up from his mothers embrace and saw his father standing at the door.
“I came to say goodbye.” His father said bluntly. There was no sadness in his face. There was no emotion to be seen in his face at all.
“I always knew you were weak—all that training and yet you're still weak. I thought I told you men don’t cry, Patroclus.” His father had spit out his name in a slur of letters, unlike the well pronounced and loving way his mother said his name: pa-tro-clus. His fathers words stung him, forcing himself to pry away from his mother. He stiffened before walking away.
“Goodbye, father.” His voice hoarse from crying. “I’ll talk to you when I arrive at Chirons place, mom.” His mother nodded while wiping away the tears on her face. He turned on the house that had never been his home. Grabbing his belongings, he put them into the trunk of the car that was there for him and entered the back with a sweeping motion of his legs. As soon as the door was closed, they were off just like that. His mother and his father were behind him.
“Sorry about that.” He said to the driver while wiping away the remaining residue of his tears.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Patroclus rubbed his fingers over the calluses that had formed on his right hand’s knuckles. He disliked their presence, it was a constant reminder of what his father had him do. He rubbed his hand in soothing motions to calm his nerves. The calluses weren’t as rough as they once were thanks to him and his mother’s constant treatment of them; always soaking and moisturizing his hands. It left his hands unnaturally soft but kept the calluses from completely hardening and causing a nuisance for him.
It also helped that he stopped practicing with his father months ago. He was lucky that he got to stop. He had asked his father if he could focus on his studies more since he needed to get into college. His father had grudgingly accepted his plea. Patroclus’ continuous soothing of his hands had lulled him to sleep.
The trees bark had dug harder into his back than he had originally thought. He hadn’t noticed the pain, he didn’t even notice the marks until his mother pointed it out to him. Patroclus shrugged her off not wanting to entertain her worry for him. However his father was harder to get away from.
His father pulled him aside, he had noticed the other boy that usually accompanied Patroclus was not with him, along with unusual streaks that painted his son’s face. “Why were you crying Patroclus?” the bark of his fathers question that came out like a command. Patroclus flinched when he spoke but knew it would be worse if he did not answer his father.
“I-I got hurt.” His voice wavering in his father’s presence, it wasn’t entirely a lie but it wasn’t the reason he had been crying. In truth he couldn’t feel the stinging the tree had left behind in his skin, nor the splinters that had been left embedded in his skin. Serving as a reminder of what had happened earlier that morning at the beach.
“Shape up boy.” His father said pushing him against the wall. “Your injuries mean nothing in this house if they’re not hard fought.” His father left him against the wall with a last glance of disgust before exiting the room.
His mother had come in shortly after. Her hands full with bandages and some other items. There wasn’t a word said between the two. His mother had him sit down on the floor while she worked on taking out all the visible splinters in the skin of his back. The room was cold, he was still shirtless from the beach and couldn’t put his shirt back on till his mother was done with him. His hands moved up and down his forearms to create some sort of friction to warm him up until his pinky finger got caught on gleaming gold on his wrist.
He awoke abruptly, a shiver going down the center of his back. He looked around; unsure where he was. His eyes made contact with another in a mirror, the driver. He had forgotten he was traveling, he adverted his eyes away from the drivers mirror and looked out the window it was gloomy, and there was a multitude of droplets painting the window in a bleary forest scape. His surroundings told him quite a bit of time had passed the sun was high in the sky but heavily clouded due to A rain.
“How much longer?” He was almost afraid to ask the question, he didn’t want to sound like a kid asking his mom over and over “are we there yet?”.
“We still have about four hours left, but we’ll be stopping soon to get gas so you can stretch and grab food or anything you need while we’re there.”
“Okay thank you, I appreciate it.” a slight smile crossing his face. The conversation ended there Patroclus was never much of a talker to begin with but with strangers, he tended to keep his silence. He noticed how the driver would check on him through the mirror every now and again, in probable hopes to spark conversation with him. It was a long car ride to just sit in silence. However silence was something Patroclus was use to, whether it was comfortable or not. Patroclus wasn’t sure how much time had passed from his previous conversation with the driver.
Regardless if five minutes had passed or an hour his eyes had started drooping, his thoughts carrying him to secluded coast with a mix of grass lands and a beach front with scattered black alder trees. A boyish figure waiting for him under a tree hiding his hands behind his back seemingly happy with himself. The car slowed and pulled to a stop the sudden motion change pulled Patroclus out of his stupor. A sudden grasp was around his knee startling him.
“Sorry about that.” The driver withdrew their hand from Patroclus’s knee. “I was going to wake you but…” The driver drifted off alluding to the fact that Patroclus was already awake and had reacted quickly to the touch.
“Oh don’t worry it’s fine you just startled me, that’s all.” Patroclus said while rubbing his hand along his opposite forearm calming himself after the sudden contact. The driver exited the car first leaving Patroclus alone to his thoughts for a moment while he fueled the car. Patroclus took a deep breath and left the car and headed inside of the gas station. The stale cold air hit him, he took in the aisle of snacks and from the corner of his eye the half asleep cashier, he continued scanning the very wide room for a bathroom but couldn’t find any signs that indicated one nearby.
His feet immediately took him to the cashier before he could deduce if the interaction was worth the annoyance he might cause. The cashier gave a quick glance at the person in front of her.
“Nice head band.”she said sarcastically
“Oh um thank you?”Patroclus said quizzically while scratching the back of his head, sensing the sarcasm in her voice.
“Nice muscles too.” She said propping her head on her hand giving her full attention to the person in front of her. Patroclus cheeks painted with a slight blush. He prided himself when it came to his muscles, he had a sleeper build which his father hated but Patroclus quite enjoyed. It made it less obvious to others that he was actually capable of handling his own situations if need be. It also saved him interactions with people asking him what did he do to get the muscle mass he had.
However his father saw it as a waste of time on training, if there were was no growth did he really do anything? Did he even practice? Was he anything in his father’s eyes?
“Do you have a bathroom here?”he said dodging her previous comment.
“Why planning on meeting someone in there?” Her eyebrow lifting in response to his question.
“I- uh no wh-“
“I’m just fucking with you dude, it’s past the freezers and take a left.” She smirked and slid him the key to the bathroom.
“Thanks.”His voice pitched higher after the accusation. He took the key off the counter and followed the girls instructions to the bathroom. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. The bathroom smelled of cleaning chemicals and a multitude of body odors. He really didn’t want to think of the activities that happened here, his eyes skirted around the obscenity’s drawn and written along the stall wall.
He did what he needed to do and went to wash his hands, brown doe eyes stared back at him while he washed his hands. He hadn’t noticed before but his hair was starting to fall out of his head band. Pulling back his wet hands from the sink he pulled his head band out of his hair with a swift motion trying not to pull any hairs with it. A failed attempt with a soft “ow” leaving his lips. He used the excess water on his hands to flatten out the stray strands of hair that had come loose.
His eyes searched for paper towels or a hand dryer but there was none to be seen so he subsided for the next best option, opening the door with his hip and waving his hands back in forth in the air to dry them faster. The cashier locked eyes with Patroclus and he felt a strange feeling of guilt in his stomach for not buying anything. Patroclus opened one of the nearby fridges and grabbed a water not really caring for which brand it was. As he walked towards the cashier he picked up a bag of his favorite candy, sour patch kids, what’s not to like about them? Once he finished picking out some items that didn’t make it seem like he was stealing he walked up to the cashier and waited to hear his total.
“That’ll be 8.50.”
His jaw quirked at the price wondering what made it so expensive. He looked down and saw that the water he had grabbed was a Fiji water bottle one of the bigger ones too. He had money saved but this was quite expensive for him since he only had a limited amount of money. He grudgingly gave the money to the cashier while she handed him his items.
“Thank you, have a nice day” He said to cashier not seeing her nod at him as he walked back to the car. The driver was already waiting for him by the time he entered the vehicle.
“Sorry if I took too long.” his voice apologetic as he closed the door.
“Don’t worry about it.” Waving him off as the driver started the car. The trip was going to take them another two hours to arrive, Patroclus took this time to enjoy the scenery changing from coastal to mountainous plains. Thinking of the mountains he remembered that the school itself was located in between the crooks of the mountains which was a great feat on its own, to have a school in the mountains, but on top of that the school was massive with a couple sports fields and multiple different outside and indoor classrooms. He wondered where Chirons house could be, it was never something he really thought of before considering Patroclus and Chiron haven’t met since he was a kid and they haven’t kept in touch.
The car pulled in to an open gated driveway, hedges lining the gravel on the ground. Patroclus started feeling butterfly’s in his stomach partly because he was anxious but also excited to see where the driveway led them. The driver pulled to a stop and opened Patroclus’ door for him. Patroclus was slightly startled by the gesture he was still entranced with Chirons home. The entrance having two Greek columns holding up an extended portion of the roof, with old marble steps leading into the house.
The house was bigger than he expected way bigger, it was something short of a mansion but more elegant than he could have imagined.
“Ummm… Thank you.” Hesitation littered his voice shocked by such a nice gesture
“Of course!” The driver said grabbing Patroclus’ hand and placing a small kiss on his knuckles. Patroclus’ face gave a slight flush at the gesture, his heart rate picking up slightly he looked at the driver with slight terror in his eyes.
“Stop torturing the poor boy Hermes” a mysterious deep booming voice called from the stairs. The only other person it could belong to. Chiron. The driver— Hermes chuckled a little and drew back from Patroclus. Patroclus shyly walked around the car and saw Chiron waiting for him on the steps. A very tall and broad man, with glowing toffee colored skin, Locs with silver hair pieces framing his face perfectly. His arms spread wide welcoming Patroclus.
“Welcome home Skops.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
“Skops?” Patroclus said, perplexed “Were you expecting someone else to come as well?” A laugh came from Chiron causing a jump from Patroclus. His laugh was unexpected and startling.“No it’s just you my friend, sorry that was an old name that a friend of mine used to call you. I guess you don’t remember that do you?” “No sorry I don’t, but I don’t mind the nickname, it's just not something I’m used to.” “No worries, shall we then?” Chiron asked Before Patroclus could get a word out, Hermes was handing Patroclus his bags. “Oh thank you.” “Of course!” Hermes grinned a flashing smile at Patroclus. He finally took in the person that was his driver. Hermes had loose beach waved hair that ended just above the lobe of his ear. Patroclus’ eyes caught on the shining silver winged earring Hermes had on, he also noticed that Hermes had two tattoos that met around his neck and ended just below his jaw. The tattoo was quite detailed. Two snakes wrapped around both of his forearms, the snake heads positioned below his jaw, right under his ears. The snake's tongues flicked out as if they were whispering into Hermes’ ears.Hermes didn’t look too old either, he must have been Twenty seven at the oldest. Patroclus wondered how Chiron had met a young person like him. Not saying Chiron was old but Chiron wasn’t exactly young either.“Like what you see?” Hermes chimed in, breaking Patroclus’ wandering eyes from him. Causing a slight snicker from Hermes.“Sorry I was just looking at your tattoos.” Patroclus stammered while skirting his eyes away from Hermes, “But um- thank you for driving me.” Patroclus said remembering the original reason why he had been looking at Hermes. “No problem, I’ll be seeing you around!” Hermes gave a wink and entered the driver's seat of the car. In the time Patroclus was occupied with Hermes, Chiron had come down the stairs to help Patroclus. “Oh, Chiron, you don’t need to, I can do it. I didn’t bring a lot of things.” A surprised tone laced his voice not expecting to have Chiron help him. To his surprise Chiron had made no noise coming down the stairs, for someone with such a stature he was quite quiet. “Please, Patroclus, let me help you. It’s the least I can do after your long travels.” Concluding his sentence he grabbed one of Patroclus’ bags that he was holding. Throwing the backpack along his back. Guiding Patroclus up the stairs of his grand house. “I would like to have you know I will not be joining you until later tonight. I was only available to greet you, I have a few work meetings to attend to but before I leave I’ll take you to your room.” “Oh no worries, sorry to take your time up.” Noting Chiron’s words he took in his surroundings hoping to remember the way to his room taking in the grandeur of Chiron’s house.“Please you are no inconvenience to me, I was hoping to spend more time with you. You’re quite the character.” Chiron said with a smile lining his lips. “Oh really? I appreciate it.” Feeling flustered he took his eyes off his surroundings and looked at his feet and continued following Chiron. “This will be your room” he commented, opening a dark mahogany door that had intricate carvings curling around the edges. Patroclus’s eyes widened in shock at the vastness of his room. It had to be at least twice the size of his own room at home. The decor of the room was strikingly beautiful and moody. To start there was a canopy bed on the left wall, at the edge of the bed a chest made of metal and wood, Patroclus assumed it was for clothes or belongings. The walls themselves were an amazingly deep green with flower patterns blooming across the room scape. Across from the bed was a bureau with a large ornate gold oval mirror above it.The wall directly opposite from the door had an arched window that faced the rest of the mountainside. Under the window was an old writing desk, alongside it a large bookcase spanning the rest of the wall and scaling up to the ceiling. Completely stepping into the room Patroclus noticed the ornate gold, black and white rug under the bed. He looked up at Chiron “Are you sure this is my room? This seems a bit much.” His tone skeptical.“Of course this is yours, this is one of the guest rooms. If you ever need me, my office and my bedroom are on the second floor. If you need the bathroom there’s one on the right hand side of the hallway. However the shower and bath are located towards the back of the house where the backyard is.” “Chiron if you don’t mind me asking just how big is this house?” A tone of skepticism trailed when he finished his sentence. “It seems quite big just for you to live here by yourself.” A small chuckle left Chirons lips “Always the observant one aren’t you? Since you’re so intrigued I’ll tell you. Your observation is not wrong. I don't live here alone.” Chiron stopped himself pondering on what he said. “Well I used to live here with quite a few people, but they’ve long since moved on from here, I’m only in contact with one of the former friends that used to occupy this space with me. But even then time has found a way to split us apart.” A light and sad chuckle escaped his lips, seemingly reminiscing on old memories he used to share with the old occupants of the home that Patroclus now had a presence in. “Oh- Oh I’m sorry I didn’t mean to bring up…” Patroclus didn’t quite know how to end his sentence; he opted with trailing off and massaging his forearm for comfort. “ It’s quite alright Patroclus I don’t mind, I don’t regret the memories that I’ve had here. I hope you have some great ones to come as well.” He said gazing into Patroclus’s eyes seemingly looking into him and seeing experiences that Patroclus’s had yet to live. “And please Patroclus stop apologizing, you do it quite often when it is unneeded.” “I’m sor- got it.” Patroclus said with a laugh escaping his lips realizing that he was about to say it again. Chiron let a laugh escape as well, “If those are the end of your questions I must be going I’ll see you soon I hope. If there’s anything you need I’ll leave a note with my number on it and some money in case there's nothing to your liking here.” Patroclus nodded in response to Chirons instructions. Chirons stepped forward suddenly startling Patroclus Chirons arms wrapped around Patroclus trapping him in a bear hug. Chiron picked him up slightly off the ground and swayed him back and forth. “Farewell Patroclus.” Chiron said with a genuine smile upon his face. Patroclus couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He wasn't used to people picking him up, he wasn’t exactly light even though he may have looked it. He also wasn’t used to the amount of affection Chiron was showing him. It wasn’t common that Patroclus had people touch him affectionately. “Bye Chiron.” Patroclus said between fits of laughter. Patroclus didn’t feel like eating after setting all his things down. He felt like he needed to desensitize himself from all the new things. It wasn’t that he was uncomfortable with his new environment, it was just something that he wasn’t used to— At all. It was all entirely new to him the splendor of Chiron's home and the open affection that spread around him like a wildfire that was entirely out of his control. But it was something that he welcomed with open arms and would let it burn him to cinders if the flames desired to. Walking out of his room he took it upon himself to take on the intricacies of Chiron's house. Such as the seemingly dark glass stone ceiling he couldn’t make out the material; it seemed glossy but solid. It looked as if the stone had constellations set within the stone itself. It marveled his brain and couldn’t wrap his head around how it looked the way it did, the constellations would shift when looked around from a different angle caused by the lighting around him. It was truly a spectacle to behold. It made him feel like he was gazing at the stars from a forest clearing. He didn’t know how long he stared at the ceiling but he could feel it in the lower section of his neck. Patroclus continued walking through the house remembering Chiron’s instructions of where to find the bath. When he finally stumbled himself into the area of the house where the bath was located he was surprised at what he saw. Granted given the rest of the house he shouldn’t have suspected anything less from what he would call a small bathhouse in the back of Chiron's house. This “bathhouse” didn’t lack any splendor either; it was mainly wood of a light ash color. The bath itself was inserted in the ground with a rectangle of intricately designed tiles surrounding the edges. The bath itself wasn’t what he would think of a bath; it had to be at least ten feet wide on each side, a lip lining the inside where people could sit down while bathing.Its depth looked about at least four feet, enough to submerge yourself while standing and to submerge most of your body while sitting.bPatroclus looked around to find how he would fill the bath up and found the faucet on the opposite side of where he was standing. He wondered how long it would take for just one faucet to fill the bath. He turned the knob hoping it was the hot one, it wasn’t very specific as to which one was hot and cold. Once the water started running, he ran his fingers through the water that was pouring out from it. To his surprise water started seeping from the side of the bath and helped fill the vacancy with water quite fast.In utter amusement he guessed correctly the water was indeed hot, maybe a few degrees hotter than intended but it wasn’t nothing he couldn’t handle. Patroclus was curious as to how he was to wash himself though there wasn’t any soaps or anything of the sort to wash himself off. His feet hastily took him back to the kitchen to find the note with Chiron’s number. He took out his phone and gave chiron a text. Patroclus: Hey Chiron sorry to bother you but I wanted to know where the soaps and towels were for the bath?Chiron: They should be located on the right side entrance. There will be a door and everything that you will need should be in there. Patroclus: Okay thank you so much.💜Patroclus was stunned by the quickness in which Chiron replied to him he expected it to take a while longer due to him handling business related things. He followed Chiron's instructions and saw the door he was talking about, he saw how he missed it the first time the door was inserted into the wall and barely noticeable besides the slight insert to pull the door out and to the side. He forgot how lavish chiron was, as soon as he opened the door a plume of smells swallowed his senses. Inside the closet there were shelves upon shelves of different soaps and shampoos and all sorts, there were many scents for calming and relaxing or energizing and rejuvenation. There were even flower petals in jars as well, they seemed freshly picked and dried. He would have to ask Chiron if he has a personal garden somewhere around the house.Patroclus liked plants and he wouldn't mind seeing them or taking care of them. Maybe he could ask to have some in his room if Chiron allowed it. Patroclus grabbed the fresh and dried rose petals that were beside each other while grabbing a bottle of coconut milk, and mango soap. Patroclus noticed that there was a basket at the bottom of the shelves to carry the contents of the closet. Thankfully he noticed it, if not he would have had to make multiple trips, the bottles were relatively big which was reasonable considering the size of the “bath” itself.Grabbing a rag and a towel, he headed towards his destination. Kneeling on the rim of the bath he started pouring the continents of the soaps into the water turning the water itself into a pale creamy yellow with roses dancing on the surface of the water carving out little trails into the soapy surface in their wake. With everything set up he undressed and put his clothes by the basket he brought with him and stepped slowly into the water using his foot to find the inner lip of the bath. Once he determined where it was he sank into the water and immediately felt the effects. All the anxiety and stress from the day ebbing into the water leaving him an empty shell to be filled with the experiences tomorrow will bring. The warmth of the water was lulling, Patroclus allowed his head to rest on the surrounding tiles and felt himself sink further into the comfort of the water which called for his flooding thought to be lulled and be rendered silent. He allowed the water to take him under and clear his mind and as he did so his eyes closed. Patroclus awoke to the sounds of multiple male voices from the kitchen, he hadn't realized but he fell asleep in the bath, with his hands all pruned up he rinsed himself washed himself quickly and started the draining process for the bath. Hosting himself out of the inset bath he wrapped the towel firmly around his waist and returned the items he took to the closet. Once making sure he cleaned up after himself adequately he turned off the lights and headed out. Once he crossed the threshold into the kitchen did he remember that the door led straight back into the main space.He continued walking hoping he could sneak by without anyone noticing his presence. But of course Chiron was the first to notice. “Patroclus is that you? I thought I heard you op-” Chiron stopped after he turned to see Patroclus’ appearance. Chrions turning and abrupt end of his sentence caused the others he was speaking to also turn and acknowledge his presence. Patroclus’ eyes filled with a panic considering he was half naked in front of people he didn't know. His eyes met with ones of the softest green, ones that reminded him of fresh grass in a forest, mixed with speckled gold that belonged to kings. He was one of Chiron's younger guests who seemed to tower over him from this distance but compared to Chiron he was still decently below his height. His hair looked as if it belonged in a chamber filled with treasures. That's how bright and golden it shined. Patroclus saw the stranger's eyes flick quickly down and trail up his legs; he could see how they followed the curves of his thighs and stopped where the towel cut him off.It didn’t deter the wandering eyes that carved a path of fire on Patroclus’s body, the stranger continued his search meeting his happy trail and ending its path at his neck and finally their eyes made contact again. A swelling heat filled Patroclus he could feel it deep in his gut but couldn't quite place the feeling. After what felt like forever the stranger spoke. “Nice tattoo.” He spoke through perfectly bow shaped lips and gave Patroclus a wink. Patroclus forgot he had a tattoo that lined his thigh. It was an olive branch that started at the apex of his hip, twining down his thigh and ending at the base of his heel. “Oh… Um thanks?” Patroclus’ brain was acting slower and slower the more he was in the presence of this man he didn’t know. “A- As Chiron may have said, im Patroclus nice to meet the both of you, sorry about the lack of clothes.” “Nice to meet you Patroclus, I'm Achilles and this is my father Peleus.” He said, indicating toward the older gentleman by his side. “I hope I'll be seeing you around more.” a teasing tone lacing his lips which patroclus couldn't take his eyes off of. “Stop teasing the boy Achilles.” His father said with a stern tone that still had kindness towards his son.“I think it best if we leave Patroclus to his room to get himself situated?” Chiron chimed in as a saving grace for him. Patroclus nodded in agreement and took his opening to leave. As he walked away his face flooded with heat during his walk of shame back to his bedroom. Once he entered his room he dressed in the clothes that he brought in his bag for the night. He didn't bother unpacking; it was better to leave it as a future Patroclus’ problem. As he was getting dressed the embarrassment slowly ebbed out his body. The drowsiness from earlier coming back and weighing his body down.Interacting with the others in the kitchen seemed like a hassle to him after his inappropriate welcome, it’s not like they knew him well anyway they wouldn't need him to enhance their conversation in any way which left him with the only and best option, to lay in his bed. He pulled back the extravagant drapes the canopy had tied around the bed posts, for sheer curtains they blocked out a decent portion of the moon light that was cascading in from his window. The sheets beneath him felt like cool sleek water; it was the best feeling in the world. He could grow used to living with Chiron, it wasn't half bad and Chrion was pretty accommodating and nice to him. There was a feeling in his gut, he really hoped he wouldn't ruin his chance with Chiron; it was the best opportunity he's had in a while. It also granted him the best opportunity to create connections with others due to Chiron’s vast network of people, a perfect example being the people in the kitchen currently. How Chiron had become acquainted with someone with such beauty was baffling to him. Achilles, he repeated in his mind the name suited his feminine and masculine beauty. The perfect balance of both how Achilles achieved that through the genetics lottery was beyond him, everything about him was perfect, the way his strong nose complemented the soft features of his eyes and face, the most amazing burning hair that framed his face as if he was painted by the masters themselves he was a piece of art to be viewed by all but never touched.However he wouldn’t mind the thought of touching him, his body seemed decently built he could see the muscles of his arms that were on full display due to his t-shirt it was slightly baggy so he couldn't determine Achilles full frame but he imagined it was as perfect as the rest of his features. His height added a weird gratefulness to his person he truly was a wonder to behold. Just thinking of Achilles made his body's temperature rise. In an attempt to stop it he let his thoughts wander off of Achilles and onto random nothings that the mind conjures while trying to sleep. It was almost instant for Patroclus the wave of sleep passed over him and took him under. Achilles was getting tired of the droning conversation his father and Chiron were having. It was a dull matter regarding the school and his father's business which he personally had no interest in. His thoughts still wandered on the spectacle that was Patroclus; he was instantaneously captivated by the man who showed up unannounced. Albeit Achilles may have been tactless in greeting him but who could blame him? Patroclus was something to behold the perfect curve of his thighs and the way the design of his tattoo looked as it was made specifically for him and him only. It screamed out what his personality would be like and he was captivated by it. He shouldn't have allowed his eyes to wander his mother had taught him better than to just blatantly stare at someone no matter how full of beauty they were. But all that went out the window as he traced Patroclus’ figure with his eyes, he was disappointed that the towel had stopped the total view of the specimen in front of him but that was just the shameless male in him shining through. The happy trail that followed as he continued his search was a pleasant surprise to him; the rest of the expanse of his chest was practically hairless, but nothing compared to the moment he met his eyes.Soft honey colored eyes that seemed to fade to a silent gray with a doe like stare, he could see everything in him the shy kindness that seemed to emulate from him and his words. But of course Achilles with his tactless self decided to wink at him instead of properly greeting him. The embarrassment washed over him one he realized what he did but before he could say sorry Patroclus had retreated to his room, which was quite understandable considering the state of his undress, but it wasn't something to be ashamed of he was quite built, plus he was in a room filled with men anyway but other people aren't as outgoing as he was. Achilles pulled himself from his thoughts and rudely interrupted whatever conversation Chiron and his father were having. “Chiron, if you don't mind me asking, where can I find Patroclus’ room?” he asked matter of factly not really caring for whatever details they were discussing “Whatever for?” his father started before Chiron interrupted, providing him what he was looking for. “Go down the hall and follow the stars along the ceiling and take a right. You should find his room there.” Achilles questioned in his head what stars Chiron would be talking about but did not speak his mind on the matter. Memorizing Chirons instructions he dismissed himself from their conversation and went to find Patroclus’ room,as he continued walking through Chirons lavish home he saw what Chiron was referring to. There was what seemed to be a clear quartz or marble like materials with stars that seemed to move as you walked. He followed the path that the stars had paved for him and eventually found what he assumed to be Patroclus’ room, reaching for the door his heart beat increased, he didn’t know why he was so nervous this would be his first time actually having a proper conversation with him there was no reason why he should be like this.He took his hand off the door and took a few breaths to stabilize him, once he was ready he opened the door and was met with a slight gust of cold mountain air, the first thing he saw was the open window with moonlight seeping into the room illuminating the room in a ghoulish glow. Following the light's path his eyes met what he was looking for. However he didn’t expect to find a handsome prince lying in emerald green sheets, the position he was in was kind of silly considering he had one hand over his head and the other tightly wrapped around the bottom of his torso. Achilles took slow steps towards the bed allowing himself to be illuminated by the moonlight on the opposite side of Patroclus’ bed. Achilles parted the sheer curtains lining his bed admiring the prince below. He felt slightly weird and creepy just staring at Patroclus’ sleeping body so he tore his eyes away from his body and found something else to focus on. Suddenly he felt two strong hands grip his shoulders. His body swiftly hit the bed and he felt a massive weight on top of him with a hand around his throat . Once the shock of the movement wore off he fixed his eyes to the person on top of him.The eyes looking back at him had a fierce but pleading look.—Patroclus’ thoughts were racing; he didn't mean to grab him the way he did, it was an instinct and his body took over. He stared down at the man below him slowly loosening his grip around Achilles throat. His voice was hoarse from his sleep. “I-I’m-I’m sorry I didn’t mean too, it- it-was an instinct.” His voice pleaded with the person below him. A cough escaped Achilles throat. “It’s okay, it's my fault for coming in unannounced.” As he finished his sentence he fully took in what was happening. Staring back at him was Patroclus’s bare chest and his thighs straddling the rest of his body. A warmth flooded his cheeks and he could slowly feel the blood moving south, because it was a wonderful sight for him. He could see the moment of realization hit for Patroclus as well, his cheeks gathering a light blush as well. “Do you mind getting off of me? You’re kinda heavy, unless you still see me as a threat?” He said jokingly.“I- yeah sorry about that.” He said sliding off of Achilles lap, allowing the man to throw himself off the bed while Patroclus settled himself back on his bed. Achilles’ back was turned to Patroclus while he situated himself. “Well sorry for disturbing your sleep,I had originally came in to talk to you.” He said while turning to face Patroclus, “Chiron and my fathers chats aren’t the most entertaining things in the world to listen to.”“Oh? I wouldn’t really know this is my first time meeting Chiron.” “Is it? I thought you were related to him or something?”Patroclus shook his head in response to his question. “I was offered to stay with Chiron before the school year started.” His tone slightly awkward due to the conversation topic. “Oh so you’ll be attending Chironides?” “Yeah, I plan on going in for medical studies. What about you?”“I’m undecided for as of right now but it’s mostly likely going to be sports that what I got my scholarship for, but I don’t know if that something that I won’t to continue doing forever but I enjoy doing what I do.” A loud voice cut through their conversation. “ACHILLES ITS TIME TO LEAVE.” “There goes my father.” He said in an exasperated sigh, “Well I guess this is goodbye for now? I hope to see you around the school, you’re an interesting person to be around.” He said with a smile“Thanks I think?”“It was a compliment, don't worry.” Achilles said with a chuckle. “Goodbye hug?”“Oh— um sure?” Achilles leaned in for the hug forgetting that Patroclus was shirtless, he saw Patroclus’ wrist from his peripheral as he went to close the embrace. He saw something gleam off of it and was curious. Once the hug was over he looked down to Patroclus’ hand to see what it was that shone off his wrist. His eyes met with a familiar bracelet with an intricate sun that reminded him of something he owned, the only difference to the bracelet was that there were new charms added to it. He lifted Patroclus’ hand without warning, “where’d yo—” Achilles fathers voice cut across the room again “ACHILLES!”“COMING”he yelled back. “I’ll see you.” He said waving goodbye to Patroclus and sprinting out the room. Patroclus looked at the empty doorway that Achilles had left open in his mad dash to return to his father. He was really quite an interesting person to admire, for someone who looked so put together he seemed loose and free spirited. He definitely looked forward to seeing him around the school, however he didn't know if he would fit into Achilles' personal crowd; he was never one to get along with the sporty boys regardless of him practicing boxing as well. He never clicked with them and their weird ways of showing friendship like affections to each other, most of their “banter” just being insults towards one another. It's not something he wished to be associated with, he preferred being silent and just watching from afar. It was better that way it made his life easier minimizing his socialization with others. It's hard keeping up with everybody's differences and who likes who and who doesn't. But all this would be a future Patroclus’s problem, he highly doubts Achilles will remember him in the coming weeks of school nothing about him was particularly eye opening or interesting. He decided he would let Achilles seek him out instead of him awkwardly going up to Achilles to see if he remembers him and making a fool of himself.Dragging himself away from his room and into the dining room where Chiron should be located. He found Chiron eventually, finding him sitting in the living room on the couch reviewing some papers. Papers he assumed regarded what he and Peleus had been discussing while Patroclus was in his room. Chiron turned in Patroclus’ direction hearing his shuffling feet. “So…What were you and Achilles up to? He left in quite the hurry to your room earlier.” “What do you mean?”“Well Achilles seemed rather eager to see you again once you retreated back to your room, he was rather restless actually. Have you met him previously before today?” “Oh, um no, no I haven't, that was my first time meeting him, he seemed… nice.”“Yes he’s quite the respectable boy, I personally reviewed his application as well as yours, his was more out of favor to his mother but he had quite the repertoire. But that is neither here nor there, I would still like the answer to my previous question.”“Which one?” Patroclus asked, rubbing his neck in general confusion. “Where I asked what you and Achilles were up to in your room.” “Oh… OH. He had just wished to speak to me.” his face slightly betraying him a steady blush painting his cheeks. “Wished to speak to you while shirtless, I see?” Chiron said with a smile across his lips“I- I, are you implying that something happened?” Patroclus asked while skirting Chirons eye contact. “If that is what you interpret it as, then yes that is what I'm implying.”Patoclus’s words were not able to escape his lips; all that came out was an audible puff of air. Swallowing and recollecting himself he attempted to speak again, “No- No sir nothing happened I promise.” His voice was slightly scared considering this was Chiron's home and he didn't wish to break any rules or break any boundaries on his first night there. Chiron let out a laugh. “I do not intend to scare you Skops, I am merely joking with you. However if there is anytime that does happen please just let me know or a little gesture in advance so I don’t interrupt.”Patroclus was flabbergasted a stream of incoherent words leaving his lips. “ I feel like I should put this out there, I do not judge for what you are into and if he is something you like then I will not judge you in your pursuit.”“Are you saying that I like Achilles?”“I'm not, not saying that you do.” Chiron said answering in his typical way.“This is my first time meeting him. I don't think I have determined whether I do or not.” He said while looking at Chiron with pure triumph. “The marks forming on his neck say otherwise.” Chiron said with a wide smile across his lips. “I- That is a misunderstanding you see.” he said while burying his head in his hands. Retelling the events of what happened leaving a few minor details out of the interaction. “I see, well Patroclus, you are safe inside my home. I promise if there is anything or anyone that makes you feel otherwise please let me know, your safety is in my hands and I intend to keep that as a top priority.” Patroclus nodded and slowly receded out of the conversation not knowing what to say and hoping sleep would take the embarrassment away from him.