Written for the Capture the Flag Competition.

Round One - Pairing: Luke and Annabeth

Word Count (Not Including Title and A/Ns): 579 Words

The Bargains of a Bronze Knife

Oi. You there. Yeah, you. Look, I don't know how you managed to get yourself here in Tartarus, but I won't ask questions. In fact, I only want one thing. Take me with you. I don't care where. Just bring me along to where ever the Hades you'll be going. I rather not rust, or worst, become some monster's toothpick. Either way, it's not going to be pretty on this bronze knife. Besides, in exchange, I can give you a little protection. You see, around here the locals can get pretty hostile, if you know what I mean.

So if you got that part, you can probably see how this could go. You got something I want. I got something you want. This for that. That for this. This could be what the Romans called "quid pro quo."

Hey! Where do you think you're going?! What cha doing, turning your back on me and walking away just like that? Didn't your mama ever teach you some manners? So what if I'm a possible hallucination of a talking dagger? There's a ton of stuff around here that's a thousand times weirder than this. So listen here, bud: get use to it.

Anyway, I admit it. I'm a bit worn. But I can still work just as fine as a brand new sword. My previous owner could tell you that, if she's around here. Doubt she is, though. I can't imagine how she could bear leaving me here. Not to be vain, but I'm practically the only link to an old friend, if you can call him that.

You could say I was a gift from him to her, when he met and took my holder under his wing. Both of them were in some pretty rough times, so he could understand where she was coming from. In return, she looked up to him. They had a really tight bond. I mean, what they had together, it's kind of hard to explain. It was like… some sort of strong platonic brand of Elmer's glue full of sibling intimacy even if they weren't related by blood. To make it even more special, there were also sparkly glitter bits of one-sided infatuation.

That second part came from my bearer. I don't blame her. He had skills. Like a boss. Plus he didn't look too bad either. Now that was one guy I wouldn't mind sharpening my blade.

As you can probably imagine, he had many admirers all around but she had a special place in his heart. Not like anything romantic, no. He just cared about her a lot. Though, he did suspect that she might have a crush on him. But he didn't necessarily feel the same way, and he didn't really have the heart to turn her down.

So of the situation, on my owner's side those feeling grew. She was smart though, and still is. She knew that there was a seven year age gap. She knew that he only saw her as a little sister. She knew that it couldn't actually work out. But a tiny part of her still did hope that some day it would happen between the two of them.

But then their relationship got complicated. Things really spiraled downward. From there, it's a long story which I think the both of us don't have time for. So I'll spare you from the gritty details.

So going back to my bargain… do we have a deal?

A/N: This is my head canon on how things went between Luke and Annabeth before his betrayal and what not. I'll be honest, I don't really ship Lukabeth. But the name is so much fun to say, I'll give it that. Everybody, say it with me now: Lukabeth. Lu-KA-beth. LUUUU-kabeth. LUKABETH!

On another note, what is it with the cow on the Elmer's Glue logo? How is that relevant? Is that suppose to represent the brand's strength or…?