✴ SCENE: “The Boy With the Soft Hands”
EXT. CAMPFIRE – LATE EVENING
The sky is pink, the fire crackles, and Marco is finally sitting down with bandaged knees. Hermes pokes the flames with a stick shaped like a lightning bolt-shaped marshmallow skewer.
Marco:
“So… who was that guy again? Patroclus?”
Hermes (leans back, dramatically):
“Ah. The soft-hearted boy who made Achilles feel something other than rage and protein shakes.”
Marco blinks.
Hermes:
“They grew up together. Trained together. Ate bad military rations together. Probably kissed a few times. Achilles didn’t like anyone. But he loved Patroclus.”
Marco:
“Like… actually?”
Hermes:
“You don’t murder half a battlefield over someone unless it’s love, Marco. That’s just math.”
He twirls the stick in the fire.
Hermes:
“Patroclus wasn’t the strong one. He wasn’t the chosen one. He wore Achilles’ armor one day—tried to rally the Greeks. And then…”
He pauses.
Hermes (quieter now):
“Then he died. Hector killed him. Achilles lost his mind. Rage, grief, all of it.”
Marco (softly):
“He wore Achilles’ armor?”
Hermes:
“Yeah. Tried to protect people. Tried to give hope. Died trying to be his friend’s echo. His memory.”
A long silence. The fire pops.
Marco:
“That’s… kinda beautiful. And really sad.”
Hermes (smiling faintly):
“That’s mythology for you. Love, death, regret. It’s like watching your favorite playlist go off the rails.”
Marco:
“Would Achilles have died for him?”
Hermes (without hesitation):
“He did.”
✴ part 3
Godmode: Enabled 