this to be our last words - patrochilles

IV

In the river our eyes turned touches. We were desperate to learn the way our bodies were threaded together. We stayed submersed in the water until our skin shriveled. We stayed touching until we couldn't any longer.

Achilles would push me in with him, smiling and laughing as he threw himself under the current, his tunic soaking through.

In the river Achilles' hands met my body first. He would clump up my hair as it grew longer, brushing the base of my neck as we were hot from chasing each other through the water, pushing each other underneath until we forfeit. He would cup water there, cleaning me from the sweat. I had let him so often, until I felt the thrum of his heartbeat in his fingers. He itched to see more of me, even if we were already well acquainted with each other.

He said because of our rising age, his sixteenth only mere days away, that the thrum of heartbeat in his chest itched in his fingers. I had told him the same, as we were always in tune.

It was with my hair clumped that he first pressed a kiss to my hairline, his lips lingering on my neck. A thrill went through my body as I turned to him. He stood there, wet hair stringy over his eyes. It met the water in length.

I had pushed his hair back, my fingers curling behind his ear. His eyes had met mine in sudden realization. I had dipped him further into the water, my hands pressing the lines in his arms. He lifted me then, pulling me on top of his thighs. They felt strong beneath my own. My fingers had brushed the bump of his neck meeting his spine. He gazed up at me with widening eyes.

"Tell me," He said, eyes focused on mine. I kept my hand moving over his shoulders. I brushed the tiny bumps of adolescence over his back and shoulders. "When you feel your fingers tingling, what do you do?"

"I find you and I hold onto you," I told him. "My mind can keep busy, but my body protests without you near." Achilles's lips had pulled slowly into a smile. I shifted my hand, brushing his lips with my thumb. He watched me still, his hands finding the small dip of my ribs to my hips. The water felt cooler.

"See, my mind protests too," He said. I smiled as I tugged at his lip carefully.

"You cannot keep away," I murmured with the water. Achilles pulled my face down with his body, letting his knees drop away from my body. He held me still as my feet dangled in the water. I was not tall enough to reach the bottom.

"I cannot," He agreed, pressing his lips to mine. My hands cupped his face as he pulled me closer, our chests pulled flush. His mouth opened in welcome as I adjusted his hair out of his face. My hands had traced his arms in full, his face more familiar than my own. His tunic was soaked through when I pulled him up to a rock, our chests and waists above the water.

"You're soaked through," He mumbled into my mouth. I kissed him back, pulling away before muttering: "You were the one who pulled me in."

Achilles laughed. "Let us be carefree before we must cook dinner!" He chuckled. I pressed my lips flush as he pulled me higher above the water, the current creasing around my calves.

"Achilles!" I shouted, clinging around his neck as he pushed me higher. "I will fall again!"

"Patroclus!" He shouted back, bringing me down before pressing another kiss to me. "Patroclus!" Perhaps my name was his favorite word. No other joy I could see on his face as he called my name.

"Achilles, what is your favorite word?" I asked him suddenly, my words finally forming. He blinked at me, a grin painted to his lips.

"Take a guess?" He teased me. I took a breath, my arms wrapping tighter around his neck until our faces were pressed.
    "My name?" I asked. Achilles laughed, pulling me high once more. He took my face in his hands when he set me down on the rock.

"You!" He said with a smile. "Patroclus." His words were spoken with warmth and sweetness. His mouth offered my honeyed name and I accepted. "Patroclus, why should I say any other word when your name exists on my tongue?" I pressed his face away, my own burning. He pushed my hand away, bringing me close once again. "I adore your name to be mine. That even as I lie with my life fading, Patroclus, you will be my last thought."

"As you will be mine," I told him, pressing a kiss to the flesh beneath his eyes. "This to be our last words."

"Patroclus."

"Achilles."