Co Written By the lovely Spiritblaze

Disclaimer: We Own Nothing

Surprised that he was able to reign in the blind rage that suddenly overwhelmed him, Achilles stood up and gently pushed Patroclus back, seething.

Patroclus also leapt up and grabbed onto his cousin's arm, trying desperately to stop him.

"Achilles, please don't go!" he begged. "I don't want you to leave me again!"

"Cub, I have to go!" Achilles replied heatedly. "I'll be back soon."

And with that, he grabbed his shield and weapons and headed out to confront the "King of Kings."

-

Achilles stood in the doorway of Agamemnon's throne room, eyes wild, covered in blood, and with black anger practically emanating from him in waves. From the minute he had stepped foot on the shores of Mycenae, he had killed anyone who stood in his way, and now, as he stood before the "King of Kings," his whole body trembled with barely contained rage.

"How dare you!" he growled, stalking menacingly towards Agamemnon, much like a lion going in for the kill. "How dare you beat my cousin? Not only is he my charge, but he is also a child. A child, for gods' sake!"

"You forget, soldier, your army fights under my command. Your men march under me. That boy was a coward. There is no room for cowards in my army. I was merely teaching him a lesson since his guardian was too preoccupied looking for his Trojan -"

Without another word, Achilles growled and lunged towards Agamemnon. He would have killed the man if Odysseus had not restrained him then and there.

"Achilles!" Odysseus shouted. "Think! If you kill Agamemnon, you will be killed as well! And if you die, who will take care of Patroclus?!"

At the mention of his cousin, Achilles reigned in his infamous rage and backed off. Shooting one last icy glare in Agamemnon's direction, he turned to leave.

-

When Achilles finally arrived home at sunrise, he was bruised and bleeding. As he'd made to leave, Agamemnon's guards had attacked him. In any other circumstances, Achilles would have been able to fight them off very easily. However, this time around, his injury complicated matters and given the guards the upper hand. While he had managed to kill them all on pure adrenaline, they had still done a nasty number on him, and he was covered in blood – theirs as well as his own, for once.

As he entered the house, the sounds of conversation coming from Patroclus' room reached him. When Achilles entered the room, he saw Antilochus sitting on the bed with Patroclus on his lap, trying to soothe the distraught teenager. The minute Antilochus saw Achilles, he gently laid Patroclus on the bed, shushing him when the boy whimpered.

When the two warriors were outside the boy's room, Antilochus rounded on Achilles.

"How you could just leave him?!" Antilochus growled. "He was so scared! He has been crying the entire time you have been gone! You should never have gone in the first place, nor should you have sent him to Troy!"

"I realize that," Achilles said quietly.

If Antilochus heard his leader, he didn't acknowledge it.

"He is a child, for gods' sake! You shouldn't have abandoned him in Troy!"

"Stop," Achilles whispered.

But Antilochus stubbornly continued, "You aren't fit to be his guardian! You aren't fit to care for that boy! I hope you never have children of your own, you -"

"Get out of my sight!" Achilles yelled, barely holding back from striking the younger warrior.

Giving a mock salute to his leader, Antilochus turned and strode out of the house.

When he re-entered the room, Achilles saw that Patroclus sat against the wall, looking so forlorn and miserable that Achilles immediately moved to take him in his arms. Patroclus flinched violently, seeing his cousin covered in blood.

Hurt by the boy's resistance, Achilles finally allowed the tears he had been holding back to stream down his face.

Seeing his cousin's distress, Patroclus ran over and threw himself against Achilles' chest, and for a while, the two cousins just held each other until they both calmed down.