Hermes knew the last place he should be was right here, in front of May Castellan's house. He also knew that as soon as he got home, Apollo would be there, either scolding him or comforting him, depending on Hermes's state when he arrived back. Either way, he'd made a promise to his son. And one thing he never did was back down on a promise.
Hermes walked in the house and saw a five-year-old Luke sitting on the couch with his arms wrapped around his legs, pulling his knees up to his chest. His eyes were squeezed tight, as if pretending he was any place other than where he was now. The sight made Hermes want to cry.
May was in the kitchen, as usual, humming to herself. It saddened Hermes to see her like this. He still loved her, down to the very core of his heart. She looked up and saw him, and her face illuminated. "Hermes!" she exclaimed, running over and hugging him. Hermes smiled and kissed her cheek. "Hello, my love."
May pulled back, and Hermes turned around to see Luke running for him. Hermes opened his arms the same time Luke jumped into them, like they'd practiced this a million times. Except they hadn't. They'd just always been this synchronized.
"Daddy! You came!" That look of utter joy and relief on Luke's face made Hermes's heart swell. He smiled, picked his son up, and nodded at May before leaving the house through the backdoor. Luke had a playhouse outside.
"Of course I came. It's your birthday! What are you now, fifty?" Hermes asked seriously, and Luke giggled.
"No, daddy! I'm five!" he exclaimed, grinning, and Hermes smacked his forehead after he set Luke down on the ground. He kept thinking that he loved nothing more than to see Luke smiling like that.
"Of course! How could I forget? You know, you get more handsome every time I see you, meus filius," Hermes said, switching from English to Latin without a second thought. But Luke was used to it by now, and thought nothing of it as he climbed to the top of his playhouse. "Do you have a girlfriend yet?"
Luke made a face down at his father. "Ew. Girls are gross," he said, like it should have been obvious. Hermes laughed, sitting down on the grass.
"Oh, of course they are. The grossest," he said with a smile. "So, would you like your present now, or later?"
Luke jumped excitedly. "Now, please!"
Hermes tilted his head, like he was thinking. "Hmm… I don't know…"
Luke jumped from his playhouse right onto Hermes, who made a grunting sound as Luke fell on top of him. "Please, daddy?"
Hermes chuckled. "Alright, alright! Don't kill me!" he said, pulling out a box wrapped in Hercules wrapping paper. Luke gasped and ripped off the paper, seeing a blank shoe box. He opened it and pulled out one of the shoes. They were tiny little tennis shoes with fluttering wings on each side. Luke's eyes widened.
"These are cool!" he exclaimed, and Hermes laughed as Luke scrambled to take off his shoes and replace them with the flying ones. "Now I can be just like you, daddy!"
Hermes smiled. "Yes, you can. Now, these are a bit tricky, so don't get discouraged if you can't-"
Hermes paused, on account of the fact that Luke was already hovering above his playhouse, moving back and forth. "Like this, daddy?" he asked, and Hermes shook his head in disbelief, laughing.
"Yeah, son. Just like that." He watched as Luke landed gracefully on the ground, running over to hug his dad.
"Thank you! I got you something too," he said, pulling a tiny stuffed animal out of his pocket. It was a tortoise. "You told me it was your sackered animal." Luke could never say 'sacred', so he just said 'sackered'. It was one of those things that always made Hermes smile.
"Yeah, it is, Luke. Thank you very much. You're very thoughtful," he said, taking the animal from his son. He wanted to cry more than anything at this moment. Why couldn't he just take his son away to safety? Nothing in the future would ever have to happen…
The sun got hotter over head, making Hermes sweat. Right. Apollo could probably see the future changing, and was reminding him to stay away. Hermes sighed and kissed his son's forehead.
"Luke, daddy has to go now," Hermes said, trying not to cry as he watched Luke's face fall. "I'll see you again some time."
Luke began to cry then, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Daddy! You can't leave me with her! She scares me!"
Hermes could barely hold himself together then. "I know, son. But you're the man of the house now, and you have to take care of your mother. For me. Alright?"
Luke sniffled, but nodded. The only thing he ever wanted was to make his father proud, and Hermes felt like he was exploiting that desire. But he couldn't change the future.
"Be good, my clever, clever son. I love you with all my heart," Hermes said, kissing his forehead again before standing up and teleporting. Only when he arrived home did he break down in tears, staring at the tiny stuffed tortoise his pride and joy had given him.