A/N: One-shot. Luke tries to persuade Annabeth to run away with him. Post-TLO.
When you try your best, but you don't succeed
When you get what you want, but not what you need
When you feel so tired, but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse
"Luke," she breathes. He's standing in her doorway, his eyes tired, his face smudged with dirt. He's pulling nervously on his shirt and looking around, like someone's about to come out and slice him to pieces any second. She's oblivious as to why he's standing there in the first place when every encounter they've had in the past three years has resulted in someone getting hurt. Yet here he is, in San Francisco, unarmed. "What are you doing here?"
"I've tried, Annabeth," he says. He goes to continue, but he looks past her into the house. The living room is faintly lit by a cozy lamp and music is softly playing. His heart longs for something like that; something much simpler than the life he's currently living. She hesitates momentarily, but steps aside.
"Come on in," she tells him softly. He obliges, closing the door behind him.
"I've.. I've tried. I thought I could do this, but I can't. It's not what I want. I mean, I thought it was; total power, revenge for the way the gods treat us, but it's not. It's not, 'Beth." Annabeth's heart tings at the mention of 'Beth'. It's been so long since she's heard him call her that-a nickname that was given while on the run at a young age.
And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone, but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?
She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, staring at the boy across from her. She wonders what made him like this; what changed him from the happy boy she once knew to such a tired, worn down man. No, she knew who was responsible for taking him and she was going to see to it that he paid for it personally.
"I lost Thalia and.. and I lost you, too. You were like my little sister, Annabeth. What happened?" he asks. At first she's ready to rant about how he turned to the dark side and about how many horrible things he's done, but she softens up at the sight of a few tears trickling down his face. She swallows.
"Kronos happened, Luke. That's what." She fights back tears herself. It's hard, though in this situation. After Luke betrayed them, he had always been a touchy subject for her; even Percy knew that. But seeing him, in her house, unarmed and having a conversation with him.. well, this was almost as hard as holding the weight of the sky, which she knew all too well about. Just another one of the things Luke has done to me, she thinks.
"Family doesn't leave you behind though, 'Beth." She shakes her head, tears flowing now.
"No, Luke. No. You can't just come here and say things like that. Not after what you've done. If anything, you left me." He can almost feel his heart break into pieces. It's true; he did leave her. He thinks about it every day, the promise he made to her, the time that he, Annabeth and Thalia had all spent together. He gives those memories credit for the only thing keeping him alive right now.
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you
"I want to help you," she says. wiping her tears on her sleeve. "I do, Luke. But I don't know what I can do. I thought- I thought that maybe if we brought you back to camp a while ago, then maybe you'd change your mind, but.." she trails off, making a gesture with her hands toward him. "But look at you, Luke. You're.. you're not you anymore, and I don't think I can fix that."
He shakes his head. "That's where you're wrong for once, Annabeth," he says, running his fingers through his sandy blond hair. His blue eyes are bloodshot, but the tears cease. "We can run away. Leave. Forget any of this. Percy won't have to die for the prophecy."
Percy. Die. Prophecy. Suddenly all her problems are flooding back to her. The upcoming war, the prophecy that will ultimately kill her best friend. Her eyebrows knit together.
"Yeah," he says. "Chiron told me the entire prophecy. You were too young, but he.. he told me. You could save him, Annabeth. And me too."
And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth
"I can't. I can't do it." She looks up at him, her gray eyes staring analyzing him. "I can't lea-" she stops herself before finishing her sentence. She doesn't know whether she should say it, or what she even means by it. I can't leave him. She contemplates her options and Luke can almost see the gears turning in her head.
He looks down at his hands, suddenly interested in twiddling his thumbs. He's about to be rejected; he can feel it in his bones. She won't go with him, he's almost certain. But he has to try; it's his last chance and she's the only thing that really matters right now. That little blond girl with curls and gray eyes that he used to care for, the one who was once like a sister to him. He needs her now more than ever.
"I love him," she finally says after many moments of silence. "I.. yeah, I love him." She nods, as if trying to convince herself. "I know that leaving with you.. it would, I mean, it might stop the war but I just can't leave him."
He purses his lips. The rejection he knew was coming hurt a lot worse out loud than in his head. He stands up, his fists clenched. "Do you know what you're doing, Annabeth? He'll die.. I'll die. Don't you care anymore?" He doesn't mean to, but he's shouting.
She's on her feet now, tears flowing and heart hurting. Of course I care! She wants to scream. She wants to hug him and tell him everything's going to be alright; that he won't have to go back to the Titan army and that they can run away together. She wants to, but she knows she can't. She'd never forgive herself for leaving him; the one that's been there for her for four years. The one that's saved her life countless times. The one that was there when Luke wasn't. The one she loves.
"I can't fix you, Luke. Believe me, I would if I could."
"This might be the last time I ever see you rationally," he says. He's calmed down a bit now, the anger subsiding and the tears settling behind his eyelids. He takes a step forward. Annabeth flinches and that's when, if possible, his heart breaks even more. She's afraid of him. He can't believe it. He's ashamed of himself for what he's become but now, there's no stopping it. He hesitates, wanting so badly to just ruffle her hair and say, 'Let's go, kiddo.' but he can't and he knows it. He takes a step back.
His blue eyes focus on her gray ones for what may be the last time. "Bye, Kiddo."
"Goodbye," she whispers as she closes the door behind him.
Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you