Tales of Time and Travel (LGBT)

TimeLabs - Day 2

Olympia, Greece, 776 BC

The time machine settled in the middle of a large olive grove. The sun beat down on their heads as Sam and Zak followed Marcella through the trees and once again climbed a ladder up to another hide. This one overlooked a track of packed earth, with an embankment on one side. Men, dressed in long robes or leather kilts, milled around, watching a group of naked young men lining up on the track. To Marcella's amusement, Sam and Zak both had their eyeshields on maximum magnification before she could blink.

The race was over in a couple of minutes and the winner was crowned with an olive branch to the sound of much cheering.

"Apart from the naked boys, that was a bit disappointing," said Zak. "I didn't realise the first games only had one event."

"Mind you, the naked boys were worth it!" Sam grinned. There were both looking at each other. Marcella cleared her throat. "Back to the time machine, then?"

"Yes, please," both men answered as one.

"After - er - lunch, we can walk around the site of the future temple if you like. It won't be built for another three hundred years or so but it was a pretty impressive building in its day."

"I think we'll give it a miss if it's all the same to you," said Zak, winking at Sam. "After all, this is our honeymoon. Perhaps we could have afternoon tea in the olive grove, instead?"

Later on that evening, Zak looked across at Sam and saw a dreamy expression on his face.

"Still thinking about those naked boys, eh?" he teased.

Sam blinked and smiled at him. "No, actually I was remembering the night we first met."

"Oh. My engagement party do you mean?" asked Zak, feeling a little uncomfortable as he always did when he thought back. After all, it hadn't been Sam he was engaged to then.

"Yes. I nearly didn't go to the party, you know. If Sally hadn't insisted she wouldn't go unless she had a date‒even a pretend one‒I wouldn't have gone and we wouldn't have met." He pulled Zak tight against his side. "What a frightening thought!"

Zak hugged him back. "As soon as I saw you standing there on the other side of the room, looking absolutely adorable, I knew I was doing the wrong thing. My engagement to Pamela was a mistake, our whole relationship was just a pale imitation of the real thing. I knew you were the one, right from the first moment‒I just had to persuade you that I was the right man for you!" He smiled, remembering how cross Sam had been‒believing Zak was mocking him. He'd refused to go out with him at all for a whole month after Zak called off the engagement.

Zak shuddered. If Sam hadn't gone to the party, would he have gone ahead with his first engagement? Married Pamela of the beautiful red hair, and made them both miserable? He thought he would have come to his senses and broken things off in any case, but it didn't bear thinking about.