Chapter Text
It had been rough for the four men left. Well, it had been hard since the Cyclops cave, when Polites had almost died, being saved by one of their crewmates, who lost his life along with 11 other men. Then came Poseidon, leaving only 43 under Odysseus’ command. Circes’ island, where their captain had lost his life to the witch, after saving their crewmates from being pigs. They didn’t talk about that particular place very often. Polites and Eurylochus still couldn’t handle the loss of their best friend. And in Eurylochus’ grief and hunger, which resulted in recklessness, he killed a sacred cow, leading Zeus to kill whatever was remaining of the crew. And now, only four were alive- Perimedes, Elpenor, Eurylochus and Polites. After the lightning strike, they had washed up on a beautiful island, with fruit enough to feed everyone who fought in Troy. As the four woke up, they were greeted by a woman with long, brown hair, and a warm smile.
“Morning sleepyheads! You’ve been resting for a while! I swore that you were dead when you washed up on my isle! Do you know you-“
She pointed at Polites.
“-talk in you sleep? Tell me though who’s Odysseus?”
As the looked away, Eurylochus gave her an answer.
“He was our friend…”
Completely ignoring Eury, the girl kept going.
“Anyways, I’ve got all you could want here, all you could need here, under my spell we’re stuck in paradise!”
“Paradise?”
Asked Perimedes, interrupting the girl.
“And what’s your name?”
Asked Elpenor before she opened her mouth to answer Peri.
“I’m Calypso! And yes, this is paradise! What are your names?”
“I’m Perimedes.”
Said Perimedes.
“Hey. Elpenor.”
Waved Elpenor.
“Eurylochus of Ithaca.”
Grunted Eurylochus.
“Polites, but you can call me Poli!”
Greeted Polites, because no matter how many deaths happened, he’d always greet the world with open arms.
The girl, Calypso, took a good look at each of them, before turning to Elpenor.
“You know, you are pretty cute!”
The man chuckled a little.
“T-thank you, Calypso, but I’m not really into girls…”
Perimedes raised his hand.
“Neither am I.”
And Polites chuckled nervously.
“Me neither.”
Eurylochus didn’t say anything, making Calypso turn to him.
“I’m gonna love you forever!!”
Eury looked at her, kind of disgusted, clearly thinking of Ctimene. Noticing his best friend’s distress, Polites went to Calypso, distracting her from the other.
“So… what is there on this island?”
“I’ve got all you could want here, all you could need here!”
And she was cut off again.
“We want to get back to our homeland. Ithaca.”
Stated Eurylochus, with a clear longing on his voice.
“Ody couldn’t make it home, so we have to tell Penelope, Telemachus and Ctimene…”
Polites placed a hand in his best friend’s shoulder, comforting him.
The emotion moment was cut off by Perimedes.
“Do we really need to get back to Ithaca? Here is paradise. She said herself she has all we could want and need.”
Elpenor put his arm around his boyfriend’s waist.
“Peri, be quiet… we do need to go home, okay?”
Peri was about to deny it, when he looked into Elpenor’s eyes, a faint blush creeping onto his cheeks.
“Tch, whatever.”
The five feel into uncomfortable silence, which has broken by Polites’ gentle, soft voice.
“Can we have anywhere to rest…? I think Peri and Elpenor would like a room together. I don’t have any preferences, and Eury would prefer being alone or with me. Did I get it right?”
She grinned for a second before the smile softened.
“Sadly, I only have my room and one more in here…”
“It’s okay, we can all share.”
Elpenor pulled his friends into a hug at that, receiving a kiss on the lips from Perimedes and a tight hug from Polites.
Calypso’s eyes twitched for a second, her voice more controlled when she spoke again, almost as if she was hiding something.
“One room isn’t big enough for four people. Eurylochus can stay with me in my room!”
She pulled him close, being pushed away almost immediately, Eurylochus going to stand beside the couple.
“Actually, I could stay with Perimedes and Elpenor, and Polites stays with you.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Chirped Polites enthusiastically, but Eury could see the discomfort in his body language. He apologised with his eyes, getting a smile as response.
The woman’s eye twitched again, but she forced herself to speak.
“V-Very well then.”
The next morning, when Perimedes, Elpenor and Eurylochus woke up, Polites was already awake, sitting at the breakfast table. Alone.
They didn’t even need to speak to know what to do- hug him. They wanted to have spent the night with him too, but Calypso clearly wasn’t having it. Poli only noticed his friends when they had their arms around him, pulling him close.
“Good m-morning, my f-friends!”
His voice almost sounded like… he had been… crying…? No. Polites didn’t cry much. He was like the sun, and the sun doesn’t cry. Besides, if he was upset, he’d just tell his friends.
The grand entrance came.
Calypso glided in, her hair and clothes being gently waved by her wind spirits friends.
“Good morning boys. Look at this food! Isn’t this paradise?!”
The four looked. Sure it looked paradise-y, but it wasn’t…
Home.
“When do we get to go back to Ithaca…?”
At Perimedes’ question, Calypso opened a wide grin with hovering above the ground..
“Who said you can leave?”