I would do anything for a fic/snippet of perimedes seeing Elpenor in the underworld and fully trying to jump off the ship to get to him
oh, you like the pain, huh? Should I be worried, babe?
“Elle!” Perimedes groaned as he looked through yet another storage closet. “Where the hell are you?!” He must have gotten drunk again and wandered off…here’s hoping he didn’t fell overboard, gods dammit…he’s not in the kitchens, the crew’s quarters, the armory…
Creeaaak
There he was.
“Periii…” Elepenor giggled, slumped against the wall. “Y’found me!”
“Of course I found you, you dunce. I always do.” Perimedes reached down and took the bottle from him- it was empty, great- and wrap an arm around his waist. “Captain’s gonna kick your ass if he finds out. Come on, we’ll hide you in the crew’s quarters. Let’s go.”
“I told you!”
Eurylochus stood behind Perimedes, watching the other man lean over the railing. Above them, towered a cliff- hundreds and hundreds of souls waiting on the shores of the Styx. A lot of the faces were blurry, but some were recognizable. A missing eye. Towering stature. Curly hair. A brother, a friend. A lover.
Elpenor.
He didn’t look awake like the others. He looked like he always did after just one drink of wine- even the watered-down shit. He was slumped against someone else on the edge, and for once, Perimedes felt no jealousy- maybe relief that there was at least someone else to hold him.
It still should have been him. He should have been up there with him. Perimedes had tried to go along with Elpenor on Aeaea, but no, Eurylochus had told him to stay behind and help fix the sail. And Elpenor just- never returned. They didn’t even know what happened to him. All the men that turned into pigs supposedly came back, according to their brilliant captain- was he lying? Could they even trust him anymore?
Perimedes didn’t even know how his own lover had died. Pathetic. But he’d tried, dammit. He’d seen the men return to the ship while he was wrapped up in some ropes with Nets, but he hadn’t seen Elpenor get on- he should have made sure he came back. Someone should have at least taken a fucking headcount!
He’d looked around for Elpenor after. Searched the entire ship for him, scoured every inch. He’s just gotten drunk again and wandered off. He’s somewhere. I’ll find him.
He hadn’t found him. Anxiety had turned to panic turned to dread, and he went to Eurylochus and Odysseus, asked if they’d even seen Elpenor return. They hadn’t.
And for all the begging Perimedes subjected himself to, Odysseus refused to turn around. Eurylochus had awkwardly reassured him that Elpenor might have just been left behind, but the younger man was so charismatic that he was probably making friends, doing alright, instead of being turned to pork or whatever crazy shit happened on that island.
“I fucking told you we should have turned around!” Tears in his eyes that he didn’t even bother to hide, Perimedes shouted back at Eurylochus and anybody that wanted to listen, but he wouldn’t take his eyes off Elpenor. “But no. We just couldn’t.” Selfish bastards. “And now Elle’s dead. Just like the rest of them…”
His voice cracked, and somewhere on that cliff, Elpenor stirred- rolling over, just a little. He always seemed to know when Perimedes was upset, even in his sleep. It was so incredibly endearing, and Perimedes missed it so bad he thought his chest might collapse.
I need to…
Perimedes didn’t even know what the rest of the thought was, didn’t even know what urge possessed him, like a feral, thoughtless, suicidal animal- his grip tightened on the railing, and he was heaving himself up onto the edge.
“Whoa, whoa, hey! Hey!”
Strong arms wrapped around his waist, dragging him back- for a moment Perimedes thought it was Miron that was shouting, that man always seemed eager to step in and act like the father Perimedes had barely known, but no- Miron was dead too. He was up there. The arms and voice were Eurylochus, for once showing a speck of care for another crew member in pain. There was more shouting behind him, Nets panicking halfway up the mast, and Sofoklis’ heavy footsteps thundering up before another pair of arms wrapped around him to drag him back to a life that wasn’t even worth living anymore.
“Crazy motherfucker, get down! What are you doing?!” The rough quartermaster bear yelled in his ear.
Perimedes kept fighting, refusing to let his feet touch the wood of the ship again, until it drained out of him with the sudden thought, let them win. This cursed ship isn’t going to last much longer anyway. I’ll find him again.
So he let Eurylochus and Sofoklis drag him back, glaring at everyone- especially Stelios, just fucking daring him to make a cheeky joke now; the man for once remained quiet, as Perimedes was dragged away to be locked in the crews’ quarters. It didn’t matter to him.
He couldn’t see Elpenor anymore, anyway.
