Chapter Text
Achilles or as better known by his friends as Chili pepper or just Chili, always knew he was the best at tennis. He won every championship he entered, people in the sport respected him, even though he was still young, he had the titles, he had the charisma and most importantly he had the talent. Tennis was his life, he breathed, live, and trained to win. His father had done it, his grandpa had done it, his grandpa had done it, so he felt he should do the same. He never thought he’d be in love with something or someone else ever as much as he loved tennis … until he met him.
Chili had been a professional for two years, he went to the BMW Open after having won the St. Petersburg Open, having defeated his opponent Beowulf, in the finals, with two sets to zero, and having won on the start of the mouth the Monte Carlo Masters, against Spartacus, in both tournaments he had been spectacular and in less than two years touring he had earned the respect of all the older and younger players. There he was, coming from big victories, with a good reputation, and on his country, though he hadn’t been born in Germany, and yes in Athens, he always lived in his father’s home town, Hamburg, so he played under the German flag, even though when he visited his mother’s house in Santorini she always asked him when he was going to play as a greek. It never really bothered much but she would always do it.
Yet nothing could shake him that year, at least was what he thought, he was already in the hotel, had gotten to Munich on the night before, and after a good night of sleep and a shower he went straight to the breakfast lounge of the hotel, so he could have a good meal and get ready for the qualifying day. He got in and went directly to the buffet as he always did, he got himself some pieces of fig, some bread, eggs, and bacon. As he got out of the buffet section he saw an arm signalizing towards him.
“ Chili, here I saved you a spot .”- He heard the voice off Eudorus or as people called him Eddy
He walked toward the four-place table were Eddy was seated, he sat in front of him and was greeted by the rest of the group, there were other two people sitting at the table, Aeneas or Neas an American, a player from North Carolina, him and Chili had met years early when he was competing for the Junior at the Junior US Open, and Briseis at his side, or as he called her Bri, the top feminine Junior, half Turkish, half Greek girl with the scariest backhand he had seen in the last few years on feminine tennis.
“ It's good to see you guys.”- Chili said
“ Congrats on monte Carlo .”- Bri said after sipping in her coffee
“ Thanks.”- Chili
Achilles went back into eating his food, and listening to a story Neas was telling them about something that had happened with his racquet, Chili took that time while he was stuffing himself with food too also look around, he saw the brother’s Menelaus and Agamemnon sitting on a table not too far from them, Many as the younger tennis players called him was a fun-loving and very kind man, in contrast to that his brother Agamemnon, he was a man few liked, Achilles and he had never fought, but Agamemnon was known to have broken all the rules of decorum established in the sport by decorating himself as one of the greatest assholes the sport had ever been aware of, Chili was sure that if one day their paths crossed he would end up losing his composure, after all, that's why people called him chili pepper, he was hot-headed, but in the last few years he had learned how to control his anger and how to put it in his game.
He looked to the other side and saw on another table there was Odysseus or as he insisted to call him Ody and Hector, Briseis’ cousin. They were both old and very good players together with Menelaus were the big three. They were the ones on top even though they weren’t always on top, they usually were the three best players in the world. He had finished his bacon and eggs when he came back to pay attention to Neas’ story, Bri and he was discussing if he should change his racket more during the matches, as they did Achilles got the fig from his plate and started to eat it looking back at the crowd, but as he did he spotted someone on the crowd.
Achilles didn’t know him, his skin was a deep sun-kissed shade, he had dark brown curls someone of which had fallen about his face, he had a sharp jawline yet it didn’t make him seem older if anything it made him look like he had jovial, and the thing that caught Achille’s eye the most was that the man in question had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, they were a dark brown, but when he looked more attentively he saw the eyes of the unknown man had the color of Tamara, the one bathed in chocolate that reminded Chili of when his mother had bought chocolate bathed Tamaras for his birthday when he was little, it was a sweet memory that came along with this stranger who was so focused on eating his apple slices and reading the book he had in hands, that he didn’t even notice the blonde, two tables from him, staring directly at his face.
“ Who ?”- Neas asked turning to look into the direction of where Achilles’ eyes laid
“ The man, two tables from us who is him ?”- Achilles asked, but he could be anyone
The hotel wasn’t exclusive for tennis players and people on the championship staff, but the federation made sure the great majority of people on the hotel were at least linked to the championship, he only could hope that the man was a new judge, thought he looked too young for that, or if he was a reporter for a foreign news outlet.
“ Ohhh the guy in black ?”- Bri asked leaning into Achilles to have a better look
He looked back for a second and saw that, yes the unknown man sitting two tables across from him was wearing a black shirt, he was actually all dressed in black.
“ Yeah him .”- Achilles
“ Ohhh .”- Briseis said
Her answered puzzled him, Ohhh, wasn’t an answer given when Briseis didn’t know what was happening, hope stricken Achilles, maybe it was a friend of hers, and he could go ask the guy to sit with them.
“ Soo, you know him ?”- Achilles asked
“ No, not personally, he is the new guy .”- Briseis said
“ New guy ?”- Eddy said looking back at him
“ Yeah .”- Briseis said
“ How is he the newcomer? I never even seen him in my life .”- Eddy said
Though Eddy’s question wasn’t the most polite nether the better formulated one, what he said was true. It was almost impossible in the world of tennis, to get to the status of pro, and the others players not knowing you, yet Achilles and neither of his friends seem to know who he was, Chili at least believes if he had seen the boy before he wouldn’t have escaped his attention, not enough for him to forget him completely. Not because of the way he would have had to play to get to the status of pro, but because also the man’s eye-catching physical aspects.
“ But he is the new guy. He was the guy that won the Masters 1000 Rome tournament last year, and he also won the Next-gen ATP finals last year. I saw one of his games on clay, he won the Masters 1000 Rome final against Diomedes last year.”- Briseis said
She might not know who he was well, but Achilles knew she might have been warned by her cousin Hector about this mysterious newcomer, thought she wouldn’t play against him in the tournament, Hector would have told her. Hector was on the big three, which meant he had a lot of friends on the organizations, and in the inter weep of the sport, he would obviously know of a new mysterious player before anyone else. And, what Achilles also took into consideration was the information, that this player had defeated Diomedes on a clay court, Dio was no Menelaus a 20 times winner in clay, but he was one of the most skilled players on the surface. So some apprehension and apprehension did strike him in regards to the new man in town.
“ So he just came into existence last year. Where did he come from ?”- Eddy
“ I don’t really know .”- Briseis
“ He means, what did Hector tell you ?”- Achilles said playfully, turning his eyes for a second
Briseis looked at him with a knowing look, Achille knew Briseis for a smaller period than he had the other boys, but they had this back and forth that was almost natural. He used to tell people she was his little brother because she always insisted on hanging out with the boys. Some of the male players, were really comfortable with a girl, hanging out with them for a reason Achilles could never understand, Bri was thought as nails and funny as hell, so he always had her under his wing. Though her cousin being Hector was already reason enough for people to respect her.
Achilles always appreciated Briseis, because she was always determined, he knew that she had great potential and that she was one of the most talented women and one of the most talented players, he had the theory that most male players were intimidated by her because she was talented. Achilles had approached her and became friends with the girl because he knew her potential, he knew that if he played against her he would lose.
“ My cousin said he is very good and that you shouldn’t underestimate him.”- Briseis said
“ Ohh please, he doesn’t seem too threatening.”- Eddy said looking back at him
“ We should invite him to sit with us.”- Neas said
“ Why ?”- Eddy asked turning back to Neas
“ Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”- Neas
“ Okay I’ll invite him, to sit with us.”- Bri said
She got up from her seat and went toward his table, Achilles felt a goosebump coming up his back, he made his expression stay as neutral as possible but if he could, but he couldn’t lie to himself he was nervous. Briseis walked gently towards the man Achilles was admiring and stopped next to him, but he didn't respond. Normally someone wouldn’t turn immediately towards someone close to them but the man seemed to not notice Briseis’ present at all. She looked back at the boy and with a faint whisper, they told him to call him. So she did …
“ Hey ?”- She said passed her hand through the boy's line of sight
He looked back at her half astonished and half surprised, he seemed to have been caught off guard by Bri's action. The man looked directly at her for approximately five seconds without saying anything, but it trully seemed like five our, the situation did feel awkward in general. Achilles could see the blush creeping up Briseis’ face, but after those agonizing five seconds a friendly smile crept up in the boys’ mouth, he swiftly turned away and took off air pods from his ears that his hair was hiding, that explained why he was caught by surprise.
“Hello .”- He said swiftly
Chili was taken by a feeling he had never before, the sweetness of that man’s voice and the faint accent that he couldn’t really pinpoint, but felt it was close to home. As the man turned to face Briseis he put the straights of his beautiful hair behind his ears, Achilles could see he had a silver hoop earring handing from his ear and that was definitely a plus.
“ Hey… My name is Briseis, I’m ... a player … a tennis player .”- Briseis said
Achilles found it a little weird, it didn’t really correspond to the confident and determinate attitude Briseis usually had, but ad Achilles was still taking in the new feelings this stranger brought to him, he only brushed it off as her being nervous to meet someone new.
“ I know who you are, I have seen some of your games, I like your backhand a lot.”- He said gently still with that friendly smile and making Briseis blush even more
“ Thanks, I… You’re name, what’s your name ?”- Briseis said sitting on the chair across from him
“ I’m Patroclus … But people call me Pat.”- Patroclus said
“ Nice to meet you, Pat, I’m Bri… But I already told you that .”- Briseis
He laughed softly at her confusion, he wasn’t mocking her obviously but was amused that anyone like her would be nervous to meet him. Patroclus knew he new meat, he didn't have any friends there and he most surely didn’t expect for someone to go and introduce themselves to him, he wasn’t the most eys catching of people, at least was what he thought. On that point, he was totally wrong because when he laughed so gently and softly, Briseis felt a goosebump coming up her spine, and on the other table Achilles that was overlooking the whole interaction was feeling his body shift with arousal, he knew that sensation but didn’t know it could come from a simple and gently laugh.
“ You like The police ?”- Briseis asked looking over to his phone were the icon of the band’s album was upon the phone’s screen
“ Yeah Every breath you take, is my jam .”- Pat said gently
“ I love them they are really cool.”- Briseis pointed out, running out of things to say
“ Yeah they are.”- Pat
“ So, I came here to ask if you want to sit with me and m friends over there .”- Briseis said pointing out to the table
“ Ohh .”- Pat said and looked back at the table where Neas, Eddy, and Chili were seated
As he looked over they all waved to him, Eddy waving his hand only once with total lack of enthusiasm, Neas waved enthusiastically like a child, and Achilles waved rather mildly, with the nervousness taking over him and the fact the beautiful man was looking at him didn’t help at all. Patroclus waved back softly with his gentle smile and shortly after went back to talking to Briseis.
“ I’m sorry, but I have already finished, and I really have to go to the court center. I agreed with my coach that I would be there half an hour earlier to talk about today's match, but maybe tomorrow. “- Patroclus said looking up the time on his phone
“ Ohh, yeah that would be cool.”- Briseis said
“ Okay then it’s a deal.”- Patroclus said putting his phone away on his bag and getting his stuff to leave
Briseis got up as he did, and looked as he got his bag, she accompanied him until they got to the table and he turned back to all of them.
“ Bye guys, see you tomorrow."- Pat waving them good by
“ See you .”- All of them waved him goodbye
As he got out of the dining room, Briseis sat down again at her place on the table and all the boys started to ask her questions, while she maintains her eyes fished where they had last seen Patroclus.
“ Soooo ?”- Neas asked
“ Ohh my god !’- Briseis said brushing her face with her hands
“ What did he say ?”- Achilles asked with an excitement that wasn’t very usual for him
“ My godI almost lost myself on that man .”- Briseis said
“ Bri to earth, what did he say ?”- Achilles
“ He said he would like to have breakfast with us tomorrow.”- Briseis
“ And ?”- Neas
“ He likes the police .”- Briseis said
“ And …” Achilles echoed Neas
“ Chili I was under pressure I couldn't t get anything else out !”- She whispered angrily
“ So, we have new meat and his name is ?” - Eddy asked
“ Patroclus, but he told me to call him Pat.”- Briseis
“ Patroclus .”- Achilles reperted the name
With that name in mind he zoned out, while his friends discussed the new player, he thought of his beautiful hair, handsome but gentle feature, Patroclus, a name that slipped from his tongue in such a sweet and natural way, he would surely know more of Patroclus, or matter effect Pat, because he wanted to feel that feeling he want he had when he had seen Pat’s face for the first time, he wanted to know and to feel every breath he took, every move he made, he wanted Patroclus.