are you mine[?]

.huit.

Patroclus caught Nico's body as his legs crumpled. He cursed quietly as he ran through the corridor and shouted for a guard to send a medic to his bedroom. When he arrived, he laid Nico on the king sized bed. The smaller boy sank into the blankets and mattress so much that Patroclus could barely see him.

A medic came ten minutes later. She was breathing hard from her run from the healing wing, but she had a bag of remedies over her shoulder. Patroclus stepped aside as she rushed forward, only to grasp Nico's hand on his other side, kneeling on the bed.

"He's just exhausted," the medic explained finally. "He needs sleep, a lot of good food when he wakes up, sunlight, and water. Maybe feed him some unicorn draught?"

Patroclus relaxed. "Okay. Thank you."

The medic nodded. "My name is Jami, by the way. If you need me, just yell my name. I'll hear you from anywhere in the castle."

Patroclus tilted his head. "Thank you, Jami."

The medic left. Patroclus ran a hand through Nico's shaggy hair as he got up to change. He changed into a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants for bed, as quickly as he could.

He looked at Nico, curled up in the middle of the bed. And he picked Nico up to move him closer to the wall as he laid down on the more vulnerable side of the bed.

And he fell asleep, hand open for Nico to hold.

}{}{}{

He jumped awake as Nico shifted... in his arms. He blushed and pulled away, embarrassed enough for both of them. Nico pulled away, sitting as close to the wall as he could.

"Sorry," he mumbled in a low voice.

Patroclus felt his cheeks heating up again, and shook his head. "It's fine," he squeaked. He cleared his throat and tried again. "It's fine. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have slept so hard."

Nico frowned. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated. "I... uh, put myself in this side of the bed so I could... protect us while you rested."

"Who's going to get in here?"

"Someone who can navigate our halls. It's not difficult to find someone who can — we all know it in here. I just... felt like I needed to protect you."

Nico flushed. "Oh. Okay."

"If you want a separate room, that can be easily arranged —"

"No!" Nico said quickly. Then his cheeks went red again. "I just... um..."

"It's okay," Patroclus said. "I understand. But, um, Jami said you need to eat as soon you get up, as much as we can stuff down your throat."

"Who's Jami?" Nico asked, deciding to ignore the other parts.

"The medic that came by. Now get up. I'm sure we can find something that will fit you for the time being."

"The time being? And what's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

"You're cute when you're confused," Patroclus grinned. "You're going to be stuffing your face, but then you'll be in the throne room with me, relieving some of the boredom."

Nico blinked as Patroclus traveled to the closet and dug out a suit.

"That's for me," he promised.

Then he started the real search. Nico stood awkwardly behind him as Patroclus pulled out tunics and shirts and pants of all colors and styles.

"What —?" Nico ducked a stray tunic.

"Sorry," Patroclus apologized. He pulled out a pair of black jeans and a white tunic with leather boots. "Think these might fit?"

Nico caught the clothes and fumbled. "Um... probably?"

"Try them on," he urged. "I'm going to change. If the boots don't fit, it's okay. Actually, I'll call Jami and Micah here. Jami will do her healer stuff, Micah can get you some proper clothes."

"Uh..."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah. I'm just... you're acting like I'm staying here my whole life."

"Who said you aren't? The people love you already, don't leave. Honestly, I think the grandparents are the most excited."

Nico stared blankly at him. "I'm... uh... from the thirties, Patroclus. I'm not used to this."

Patroclus smiled weakly. "You'll get used to it. As Trojans, we never ditched our ancient principles. It will be fine. Nothing will explode in our faces... probably."

"That's-that's not reassuring."

"Wasn't exactly meant to be. Now go change."

Nico scooted behind the curtain as Patroclus grabbed his pants and started to get dressed. He was buttoning his shirt when Nico came out, who immediately blushed and turned away. Patroclus raised an eyebrow.

"Nico, I'm buttoning a shirt. It's fine."

Nico still refused to look until Patroclus had tied his hair into a knot bun. He lifted his laurel off of the cushion it rested on and placed it on his head.

Patroclus held out the door for Nico, grabbing another stone from the plate. He dropped the stone necklace around his neck and started out into the secret corridor.

"So if you go directly left, you'll find the hospital wing. Jami will be there."

"Okay," Nico mumbled.

Patroclus turned down the hallway into a regular corridor. He smiled lightly to himself, staring at his fingers which had held Nico only minutes before.

And then he entered his throne room.

}{}{}{

So Patroclus is officially a simp lmao. He's also terrible at comforting... oh well.