A/N: What can I say? I had very little internet for a weak and so my imagination ran wild. HAVE SOME JAGORAS. Prompt 40: Sight
I'll save you.
"Jason!" screamed Pythagoras as he watched the young man, whom he had grown to call a close friend, hang from the crumbling cliff. The mathematician scrambled over, grabbing Jason's arm in a desperate attempt to save him, but that left them exposed to the surrounding wolves. How in Hades's name did we get here? Pythagoras asked himself as he clung to Jason in the eerie darkness, wolves closing in all around.
The answer to that was quite simple: Hercules. The man had gambled away all their money and in a last scramble to have enough money to eat, they took a job taking some goods across the desert. It was dangerous and foolhardy; not to mention the fact that Hercules had come down with a fever and was staying with Medusa. Leaving Jason and Pythagoras to transport the small, but valuable casket across the perilous wilderness. Well, they had already got it there, just getting home was the issue. They'd made camp in the glow of the setting sun, close to a cliff edge to deter predators. But Jason had been sure he'd heard a wolf and went to investigate. The next thing that Pythagoras knew, there were wolves all around and Jason was clinging to the cliff edge, having misjudged the distance.
"Hang on!" yelled the mathematician and had the situation not been so dire, Jason would have probably made some clever remark but the dark-haired man's heart was in his throat as Pythagoras held him up with one hand, clumsily drawing his sword with the other. Slashing wildly, the boy tried to ward off the ever-approaching wolves. For a moment, it worked, but then the wolves grew wise and one leapt forward, sinking it's teeth deep into Pythagoras's arm, causing him to scream and Jason to shout his friend's name,
"Pythagoras!" The mathematician's grip slipped and Jason scrabbled at the cliff face for traction, eventually finding a small rock to grip on to as Pythagoras weakly fought back the wolves. Arms aching, Jason hauled himself up on to the outcrop, taking the sword from the injured Pythagoras and yelling at the wolves. They backed off fast as Jason stabbed and slashed at them, the mathematician lying, whimpering, cradling his mauled arm behind him. Once the wolves had fled, the hero knelt by his barely-conscious friend, fear in his eyes.
"Pyth? Pyth, can you hear me? C'mon, please..." The boy gave a low groan, eyelids fluttering open.
"Jason?" he murmured, slightly slurring. Gently, the dark-haired man scooped up the blonde man, carrying him back to their fire.
"Stay with me, Pythagoras. I'll patch you up." The mathematician just whimpered, curling into Jason's chest. He felt weak and nauseous from the white-hot agony that pulsed through his left arm.
"You're gonna be fine... Just fine," whispered Jason as he removed his own shirt and shredded it to make bandages. As gently as he can, he cleans Pythagoras's wounds with the shirt, causing occasional whimpers and cries of pain from the boy. Jason apologised constantly and sometimes Pythagoras shook his head weakly.
"S'alright... Alright." When Jason had sloppily bandaged it, he pulled the mathematician close to his chest and held him as his head lolls.
"Thank you," murmured Pythagoras, content to lean into Jason's gentle heat.
"Don't thank me. I'll always be here to save you, as you were to save me."
"Why?" The boy's voice was no more than a faint whisper. He had wondered for many days why Jason stuck around, why he got them out of scrapes. Pythagoras knew he wasn't a good man. He was a murderer, plain and simple, still running from his father's death, still hiding. And without that, he was awkward, obsessed by his beloved triangles and geometry, which must have annoyed Jason as much as it obviously annoyed Hercules. The other man was quiet for a long moment before simply saying,
"You need me. And I need you." At that, he scoffed. Jason, needing him? Pythagoras had never heard anything so stupid. Of course Jason didn't need him and the realisation stung. It ached deep in his heart that he would never be wanted, never be needed. But Jason seemed to understand all of this from the scoff and the strangled whimper that followed, tightening his arms around the boy comfortingly.
"Pythagoras, you are so clever, so intelligent and so... So wonderful. Without you, I would be dead, Hercules would have starved. Pyth... Please. I know you're not much on a battlefield but life isn't all about winning wars! You are revolutionary." And with that, he presses a dusty kiss to hairline, causing the mathematician to blush and curl back into Jason's arms.
"You really mean it?"
"Of course I mean it. Now, you need to rest. That arm won't heal otherwise."
"Hurts, Jay..." he murmured as he turns to burrow into the hero's chest. "Hurts a lot." And then there were soothing hands underneath him, holding him close as the other man leant against a tree nearby.
"I know, Pyth. But it's going to be okay, don't you worry." The blonde boy sniffed and a gentle hand smoothed his frizzy curls. "We'll set off home at day break."
"'Kay," slurred Pythagoras, tongue loose with exhaustion. "Night Jay."
"Goodnight, Pyth." Soon, the mathematician was fast asleep, Jason watching over him quietly. "Goodnight, my love." He was tired of denying it. Jason was head over heels in love with the small, dorky Atlantean. The crush he'd had on Ariadne seemed pitiful in comparison; the love he felt for Pythagoras burned deep in his heart. Sighing softly, he buried his face into the straw curls, inhaling their soft scent. By the gods, he hated it when the boy was hurt. It made him feel so useless, so broken when he cried. And he wanted nothing more than to kiss away the tears, the pain, the hurt of the past until the soft smile reappeared. However, Jason really wasn't sure if Pythagoras loved him too.
Dawn broke, cool and crisp, but the mathematician in the hero's arms was as hot as a fire, burning with a fever. Jason woke from his groggy doze with a groan to hear a soft whimper from Pythagoras.
"Pyth, Pyth? Pythagoras!"
"Jay... S'hot. Too hot, Jay."
"By the gods," muttered the dark-haired man, smoothing his hand over the other' forehead. "You've got a fever. Your injury must be infected..."
The mathematician moaned weakly, causing deep pangs of sympathy to fire through Jason's chest. "Okay, Pyth. We're gonna get you home so I can look after you." With that, Jason stamped out their smouldering fire and gently pulled Pythagoras into him, carrying him bridal style. It would have been romantic, had the blonde boy been more conscious or the dark-haired boy less terrified for his friend's life. As they began to walk back, Pythagoras occasionally gave a soft whine or squeak as he was jolted, trying not to toss in Jason's arms. Soon enough they had reached the bustling city of Atlantis, Jason darting through the crowds with the now-unconscious boy.
"'Scuse me! Sorry, sorry. Excuse me! Sorry, gotta get through! Please, c'mon!" After much shoving and frantic apologises, the hero made it back to their home. As fast as he could, he laid down Pythagoras on his bed and began to search for blankets. He collected some water and used it to dampen a rag, slipping back to the mathematician. Sitting beside him, he softly smoothed his fevered forehead.
"Don't worry, Pyth... Don't worry. I'm here, you'll be okay..." The blonde boy just whimpered, shivering and shaking as his body is gripped with fever.
Nightfall found Jason cradling Pythagoras as the fever began to break, covering them both in sweat but the hero didn't really mind. Hercules hadn't returned home but the dark-haired man's concern was for the mathematician alone at this point.
Pythagoras woke at daybreak, buried into Jason's chest. The dark-haired man was fast asleep, arms tight around the boy. He felt like he should move but the mathematician couldn't find it in him to move out of the embrace he was enjoying so much. Ever since Jason had fallen into his life, he had been so in love, longing after the embrace of the heroic man but Jason had only ever shown interest in women, namely Ariadne. And it had hurt so much to see Jason gaze at the princess, the way Pythagoras wanted him to look at him. The mathematician gave a soft sigh, curling closer with a hiss of pain as he jolted his mauled arm. The movement woke Jason and as he blinked the sleep from his bleary eyes, he smiled at the blonde boy.
"Hey... How're you feeling?"
"Surprisingly amazing," muttered Pythagoras into the hero's shirt. "Arm hurts but I'm good... I'm good."
"Good," Jason grinned as he raised his hand to stroke the boy's forehead. "Your fever's broken. You're going to be just fine." Subconsciously, the mathematician leant into the warm hand, revelling in his touch. Without as much as a sound, Jason bowed his head to kiss Pythagoras's soft lips gently. For a moment, the blonde boy was stunned but he soon got over it, uninjured arm moving to play with the dark tousled curls as the kiss lingered. From behind them, there was a giggle and a cough, causing the two to spring apart like jack-in-the-boxes. There stood Medusa and Hercules, the girl grinning like all her Christmases had come a once, the man frowning a little.
"Care to tell us something?" asked Hercules dryly.
"Uh... Hey... Hey Hercules. Medusa... Um..." stuttered Jason, Pythagoras still curled up in his lap.
"Hercules, lay off them. You know as well as I do that Pythagoras has loved Jason since he appeared here," chided Medusa. The mathematician went beet red and the hero just looked at the boy in his arms.
"You have?"
"Well, I just... I mean... Y-yeah... But you were only interested in Ariadne and I n-never thought... I-" Pythagoras was cut off by Jason's warm lips pressing intently to his own. When they broke apart, the dark-haired man rested his forehead on the blonde boy's forehead.
"Pythagoras?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up and kiss me." Without hesitation, he obliged.