Badlands ♡ muke

12 ⋇ poseidon

Poseidon

The god of the sea, storms, earthquakes, and horses.

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Luke knew two things for sure.

One, Calum might have looked okay but he was far from it. The simplest tasks weren't as simple anymore and Luke was grateful for the bond Michael and Calum had, as the mysterious boy always seemed to know what Calum wanted or needed.

It also helped that since learning about the feelings the son of Apollo had for him, Ashton was extra protective of the boy. The attention of his crush helped Calum smile through the toughest moments.

That's why he was certain that he had to leave.

Alone.

They were only a day or two away from the splitting point between their two destinations.

Luke was certain that Ashton and Michael wouldn't leave Calum to go and search for him. He also knew Calum would be in the best possible hands so Luke could feel less shitty about leaving Calum after promising to get him better.

The only problem was that whenever Luke would leave their campsite to find firewood when he'd stay behind when they were on their horses to find some healing herbs for Calum ... Michael would stay behind with him, Michael would go and see if he was okay when he didn't return quickly enough.

"I'm not a baby, you know." Luke once complained when he was bathing in the river and Michael decided it was a great time to wash his clothes.

Michael just smiled and continued doing what he was doing.

Fine, Luke thought to himself and walked out the water, completely naked. He had no intentions of waiting for Michael to leave and honestly, he wanted to see his reaction.

Michael glanced at him, at his naked body for just a second before looking away. Luke smirked when he noticed the blush on his cheeks.

Beautiful.

Luke frowned. He wasn't sure if his thoughts were about Michael or his own body. He was never vain but his mother told him he had to appreciate his looks.

Modesty won't get you anywhere. She'd always tell him.

He tried to get Athena out of his mind.

Luke picked up his clothes and put them on. The moment his tunic was on he felt like he couldn't breathe.

At first, he thought it was heat but he soon realized he physically could not breathe.

He tried to call for help.

Michael. Ashton. Calum.

Nothing worked.

Luke started walking towards Michael, trying to say his name.

Michael, his cheeks still flushed, carefully turned around to see if Luke was still there if Luke was dressed.

The man had to see the pure panic on Luke's face as he immediately stood up.