Achilles and the turtle

[gwenchan]

 

Fandom: The Iliad, Ancient Greece Religion and Lore
Characters: Achilles, Patroclus
Prompt: Antica Grecia
Tag: pre-canon

It is the sudden shift in weight, the absence of it actually, to wake Patroclus up more than the thud and the subsequent yelp that comes soon after.
It forcefully takes him from the middle of a dream he can’t quite remember, except from a feeling of being still in Opus royal palace.
He jolts up, looking frantically left a strange right, his brain foggy with sleep
Achilles? Where's Achilles? He was sleeping spooning him and now he isn't.
Frantically, Patroclus blindly touches in the dark.
If Achilles has decided to sneak out again under his nose, Phoenix is going to kill him. He is supposed to look after the prince.
He'll be grounded till puberty. Then, a whimper, coming from the floor. Oh. Shifting on his heels, Patroclus blinks, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Something moves at the feet of the bed.“Achilles?" He calls, softly. "Are you alright"
The shape that must be Achilles moves again again "Ouch” he groans. “What?”
"You fell off the bed," Patroclus feels the need to specify. There's a pause. “Are you hurt?”
"No," Achilles says eventually. "The carpet cushioned the fall."
Patroclus sighs in relief. He scoots a little to leave more space for Achilles to climb back to bed.
"I was having the strangest dream" Achilles says, unprompted, once he gets himself comfortable again, arms wrapping around Patroclus. His nose is warm against Patroclus' nape, but his feet are freezing cold. And he deliberately presses the heel on Patroclus' calf. "A nightmare?"
There's another pause.
"No."
Achilles' hair tickles his neck as he shakes his head. "Only strange."
"Do you remember it?"
"Some. Well, I'm running and at a certain point I spot this turtle on the side of the road."
"A turtle?"
"Yes, a turtle. It's just a bit ahead of me,  and obviously I think I'm going to surpass it soon …"
"I can feel a but."
"But I can’t," Achilles exclaims in dismay. "No matter how much I run or how fast I go. It's always there. And then I woke up."
Patroclus hums. That was a strange dream for sure.
"Do you think it means something?" He considers, freeing his arm from under his belly, before it gets all pin-and-needles.
Cuddled to him, Achilles shrugs. "Like something I want and I won't be able to get?"
“Could be…”
Honestly, the idea of Achilles failing in obtaining anything is quite unreal, talented and blessed by the gods as he is. He’ll become a hero one day. But the gods are just as fickle.
“Or maybe it was just a stupid dream.”
The consequences of eating one two many flatbreads at dinner or drinking a glass of pure wine when the grown-ups weren’t looking.
“Yes,” Achilles says, “maybe it was just a dream. Turn over, please.”
With some maneuvering, Patroclus obliges, letting Achilles snuggle against his chest. He holds him tight, so that he won’t fall again.
“Good night, Pat.”
“Good night.”
After that, it isn’t long before they  slip back into Hypnos’ realm. This time no strange turtles come to disrupt either dreams.