PJatO || Tram || PJatO || Sanuel || Peace for the Soul || Hercuel || PJatO || Donmy || PJatO

Set after chapter 46 of "Chasing Fireflies", an alternate chapter 47 in which the boys agree that Sam needs some loving and the girls decide to adopt him. Sam-centered fluff.

I've written this thing waaay back, when I wrote the actual chapter 47, but recently I've been bugged by CrazyCookieChick that I should post this thing. I'm not sure and like I said it's a totally random AU one chapter thing, so please be nice?

Alternate 47. Peace for the Soul

"Say something", growled Sam after what felt to him like hours. "Don't just sit there and stare at me with those fucking pitiful eyes! I don't need pity! If I had wanted pity, I would have broken down crying after it had happened! I'm n—not weak. I did everything, I trained every day, I didn't back down until I was strong enough to defend myself! I'm not a victim! I'm not defenseless anymore, I'm not weak anymore! Stop fucking look at me like that! L—Like I'm weak... I'm not that boy anymore and I never want to be that boy again so stop making me feel like that boy again!"

He was shaking, his facial expression a mix of fear, rage and something that could only be described as abandonment. His fists were balled beside his body and they all knew that it was currently taking all of his will-power not to smash his own kitchen, because using his fists had been his means of defense for just too long now. Donny was the first one up and the first one attached to Sam's hips, his face buried in Sam's chest as he hugged the taller boy closely. Sam looked a little lost for a moment as he stared down at the boy clinging to him. Not that he was given much time, because within seconds, Thea attached herself to him from one side and Nico from the other. He was still a bit confused, but he slowly wrapped his arms around them in a hug as they all started crying on him and how weird was it for him to comfort them now? He shook his head.

"I'm sorry", mumbled Nico into his chest (and that girl could give tight hugs, damn it). "For not-"

"Oh shush it, Esperanza", chided Thea as she rubbed her red-rimmed eyes. "He said he doesn't want pity so don't give him the 'If I had noticed, I could have helped'-self-blame. He has us now."

Sam was still too busy staring at them in confused amazement as the girls (the Disney Princess was totally one of the girls) stepped away some. Instead, Sander and Herc stepped closer and for the first time in his life, Sam felt actually intimidated by the other heroes. But Sander did what Sander did best, wrapping one arm around Sam's shoulders, pulling him close in a half-hug and ruffling his mohawk in that praising-loving way Sam knew it was meant as. Though as Herc wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and the son of Ares suddenly found himself sandwiched between the two heroes, he slowly started to wonder how in the world he deserved such caring and understanding friends. Instead, he leaned forward to rest his forehead against Trend's chest. And standing there, weirdly hugged by the three heroes, the girls and Donny around them, still sobbing, he felt safe.

/break\

Being held upright by the three strong heroes, with his head leaning against his new boyfriend's chest, Sam slowly cried himself to sleep. As the son of Ares nearly slipped down onto the floor, demanding for Hercules and Sander to fully support his weight, Trend decided to take him away from the other boys. Lifting the mohawked boy up bridal style, he cradled his lover close. On his way back to Sam's bedroom, he noticed how the others trailed after him. Once the son of Ares was placed on the giant bed, his head was hastily pulled into Donny's lap. The younger boy tenderly caressed Sam's mohawk, causing the brunette to hum in his sleep and snuggle up to Donny. Sander was sitting down behind Donny so he could wrap one arm around his boyfriend and rest his other hand on Sam's bicep, caressing it slowly, tracing Sam's tattoo. Not long after Sander, Hercules too sat down on the bed, one hand on one of Sam's knees, rubbing it with his thumb.

"What... is going on here?", asked Trend slowly, observing the other boys skeptically. "One after the other and I demand the truth. Don't bullshit me. Why are you... behaving this way?"

"H—He's my best friend", whispered Donny softly, his hand wandering down to cup Sam's cheek, the war boy nuzzling into the hand right away. "And we had a date, after all. It's... pretty hard not to fall for him, what with all the time we spend together and with how cute he was being."

Trend stared, a little surprised. Then again, he too had assumed them to be dating for weeks, so it was no surprise that for at least one of them, the bromance was missing a letter.

"Uh, yeah, may come off as a shock, but when Sam and I were on quests, we did occasionally fool around, you know, just... kissing and some groping and stuff. What? We're teenage boys with a sex drive", muttered Sander and flushed brilliantly under the judgmental looks of his friends. "He's hot and that's not my fault and we're kinda tuned in on each other, not just on the battlefield. I love Donny, but I can't deny that I care a huge lot more about Sam than I probably should..."

Gritting his teeth, Trend shook his head some. So his jealousy toward Sander hadn't been just in his mind? The way Sam had been straddling Sander's hips, the way their bodies worked with each other. It didn't just come from years of fighting side by side.

"Uh, yeah, I don't have that much to offer. I just... always had a hero-crush on him. And now... knowing that he's been hurt that deeply...", whispered Herc with a glare. "I want to protect him."

Arching one eyebrow, Trend turned toward Thea questioningly. Surely she couldn't take such things so casual. Her boyfriend just admitted that he had a thing for another boy.

"Oh please, it is against our very nature to be monogamous. Look at the gods", snorted Thea and rolled her eyes, one arm sneaking around Nico's waist. "Herc and I have an.. arrangement. It's not cheating as long as we do it with our own gender. Besides, Sam is actually quite sweet, so I don't mind. It's kind of hot to imagine Herc fucking Sam... Mh..."

Thea licked her lips with a cheeky grin as Nico laid one arm around the native American's shoulders. "We'll be in my room. You boys, figure this out on your own. I don't care."

With that said, the two girls left Sam's room. Trend returned to glare at the other three boys surrounding his boyfriend, each having a hand somewhere on Sam's body. But not in an inappropriate way, more as though they each tried to reassure themselves that Sam was alright, that he was safe. The same thing Trend had tried during Sam's confession. The urge to hold the brunette, know him safe and secure. The son of Athena gritted his teeth and climbed into the bed. He could see the honest affection and worry radiating off the other boys.

"We will talk about this in the morning", declared the blonde Greek annoyed. "With Sam."

"Of course", grunted Donny with a slight glare. "If anything, this is Sam's decision."

"But I think it'd be the right thing for him", murmured Sander thoughtful. "He needs the love."

"He needs to know that he is being loved", nodded Hercules in agreement.

/break\

Sam knew the mansion quite well and he knew that it was awfully chilly most of the time, which was why they had at least three to four blankets on their beds when they lived there. Due to the sudden stay however, Sam didn't have that many blanket out yet. Which brought him to the oddity that had woken him up. He was feeling hot. Extremely hot. And there was skin, all around him. Not just beneath him because he was laying on top of Trend, but seriously everywhere.

Blearily blinking one eye open, he took a closer look. Okay. That was a new sleeping arrangement. He was laying on top of two blonde heroes. Left beneath him was Trend, right beneath him was Hercules and Sam was somehow sprawled over both their chests, the blonde heads leaning against each other. If that wasn't twilight-zone-worthy enough, there were Sander and Donny laying on top of him, their arms wrapped around each other as each had their head resting on one of Sam's shoulders. There was a warm body everywhere around him and somehow, this was nice. Closing his eyes, he snuggled closer into the protective warmth of the other four boys. He had no idea what was going on, but this was warm and safe and nice, so he wasn't going to argue.

"Good morning, Sammy", whispered Trend's dark voice into his ear. "How are you feeling?"

"Well rested", murmured Sam sleepily, leaning into the touch as Trend kissed his earlobe. "I think I haven't slept that good in... years. Wow. Huh. But can you explain to me why we're trying out how many people can fit into my bed? Because... I'm not really sure what's going on here and that does make me kind of... uncomfortable. W—What is this?"

Trend ran his fingers through Sam's mohawk in a calming manner, the son of Ares arching into the touch a little blissfully. "They... want you. They care deeply for you. After what you said yesterday, they... want to keep you safe. I allowed them to stay because I know how they were feeling, because I feel the same. I want to hold you, to know that you're safe. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable by allowing them to stay. Making you uncomfortable is the last thing either of us wants."

"I... don't understand...", confessed the brunette war boy confused. "Why?"

"What's that supposed to mean, Sam?", asked Donny as he slowly woke up and shifted some.

The Disney Princess poked his boyfriend until a grumpy Sander opened his eyes to stare from Donny over to Sam and cocked his head. The couple sat up some to give Sam more space. A flailing arm hit Hercules and woke him too. Groaning slightly, Herc sat up and stared at Sam quizzically.

"Sorry", mumbled the son of Ares. "Didn't mean to hit you. So... What's going on here?"

"You and me, we're a team", whispered Sander softly, grabbing Sam's upper arm and caressing it with his thumb. "I... hate that someone did that to you. You and me, we always had each other's backs. And I hate that I hadn't been able to protect you back then."

"But you love the Disney Princess", pointed Sam out, completely confused.

"I do", confirmed Sander, his hand slowly sliding down Sam's arm to grab the other brunette's hand. "But that doesn't mean that I can't also... have feelings for you. You're one of the most important people in my life and I want to know that you're safe. I want to keep you safe."

"But you have Donny", repeated the son of Ares as though he was stuck.

"Yes, he has me", agreed Donny softly, taking Sam's other hand. "But he also wants you. Sam, you're... so very, very important to us. To both of us. You're my best friend and I care deeply about you. I feel awful that you had to go through this alone and I feel honored that I was the first person you trusted enough to tell. I want to be there for you, I want to hold you and tell you that it's going to be better. Sander and I are engaged, yes, but that doesn't mean we can't care about you."

"But... Why...?", asked Sam a little helpless by now.

"Stop saying but and stop asking why!", exclaimed Hercules frustrated. "You're perfect, how can you not see that? How can you not believe that we'd want you?"

"I'm not perfect", snorted the son of Ares defensively and pushed them off. "I'm dirty and broken and a completely screwed-up mess! I'm not worth your time and effort, so just-"

He was cut off by soft and salty lips being pressed upon his. Staring doe-eyed at Donny, he was tempted to push the other boy off. But Donny's hands were clawed into his shirt and the kiss was so soft. Trend rested his hands on Sam's hips in a calming manner.

"You are perfect, Samuel Raser", whispered Hercules determined. "I've been hero-worshiping you for years now. You're so strong, such a great hero. You protect the innocent, slay the monsters and smile that amazing smile of yours all the while. That you kept this smile, after all you've been through, that you grew so strong and determined instead of just giving up shows your true strength. Shows how amazingly perfect you are. And do you have any idea how beautiful you are?"

Sam frowned as the kiss broke, staring from one of them to the other and back. He was an emotional mess, but he wasn't stupid. He was well-aware of his looks. Which made him frown now.

"I'm handsome, I guess", shrugged Sam a little modest (because knowing and saying it out loud were two different things and he was not one to brag). "But I'm not beautiful. Beautiful is a word you use for pretty girls and for guys like Donny, but not for me. Even if you care about me, I guess, but you don't want me. Not in the way I want to be wanted."

"What is this really about, Sam?", asked Sander softly, caressing Sam's hand.

"I'm a bottom", blurted Sam out, blushing furiously. "I want to bottom. I want a strong dominant partner to hold me and to fuck me. B—But I'm not... I just... After Roy, I was afraid to trust anyone like that again, so I trained and tried to become stronger and m—more dominant so no one would ever force me to submit again. I want to trust again. I want to submit again. But I don't... I'm not... I'm not the kind of guy others would want beneath them... I don't look like a sub..."

"Not everybody wants a petite and breakable sub, you know?", whispered Herc softly.

"Yeah. I mean, how much more petite would I have to go looking for?", asked Donny teasingly.

"Sam", said Sander seriously, staring his long-time partner dead in the eyes. "We want you. You completely. Not just part of you. You-you. All of you. Argh. I'm not good with words."

So instead, he dove in and kissed the other brunette, his hands on either side of Sam's face. The son of Ares grunted once again in surprise. His arms flailed some as the way stronger and more compact boy – compared to Donny – was suddenly all over his personal space. But Hercules caught him with strong arms. And didn't that just feel nice. Once the two Greeks parted from their kiss, Sam craned his neck enough to stare at Hercules questioningly. The Roman blushed brightly.

"You're blushing", pointed Sam out, staring a little amazed. "Why?"

"Because I really want to kiss you. Wanted to do that for a really long time now", confessed Herc.

The son of Ares looked past Herc to lock eyes with Trend for a second, unsure what to do. But his blonde only looked at him with love and devotion, nodding slowly in understanding. With a blush of his own did Sam lean in and press his lips against Herc's. This time around, the other boy was the one making the surprised sound and wasn't that kind of satisfying.

"I still don't fully believe that you guys really want-want me, but... can we for now just go back to sleep? Because I'm really... drained after yesterday and all that emotional-strip-tease-shit", muttered Sam and curled together in himself. "I for my part will go back to sleep."

"I think napping sounds good", agreed Donny with a smile and kissed Sam's cheek.

Sam's face brightened significantly as Trend and Herc returned to their earlier positions as his pillows. Fitting perfectly between their bodies and resting his head on their crossed arms, Sam heaved a content sigh. Donny laid down half on top of Trend and half on top of Sam while Sander took the same position on top of Herc. The four boys really were good as a human cocoon of warmth and safety. Closing his eyes, Sam snuggled into the embrace.

"We love you, Sammy. Rest now. We'll keep watch. We'll protect you", promised Trend tenderly.

"Mhmh", nodded Sam, nearly off to sleep again. "Love you too..."

~*~ The End ~*~