Oh gods (aha see what I did there… okay yea not funny), I've just finished reading The House of Hades in the Heroes of Olympus series and ah, I can't even explain. Too good. It's too amazingly good!

Anyway, I was planning to do this while reading The Demigod Diaries and I got reminded of Lukabeth, which is so tragically beautiful. But I'm a strict supporter of Percabeth too, so this fic just focuses on how Luke started falling for Annabeth :)

Enjoy! (I don't own the characters or even the general plot - just the specific inside stuff)

Set in The Lightning Thief

"Don't be hasty. Actually think about it first." He's begging for her safety, but he doesn't think she knows it.

"I have to go." Annabeth's face is set, determined, and her grey eyes are flashing indignantly. Luke has seen this expression on her face more than enough times to know that she won't relent, she won't back down.

But he has to try, or else she'll be killed along with Percy and Grover.

"Please," Luke says, an edge of panic creeping into his voice. "It's dangerous." She has no idea how dangerous.

But maybe Annabeth sees how worried he is for her, his little sister, because she calms down a little and says gently, "Yes, but I've been training for this for forever, Luke! It'll be fine, I promise!" She pauses and wrinkles her nose. "Well, except for the fact that I'll have to keep Percy and Grover on task."

Luke sighs. There's no point anymore. When a child of Athena sets her mind, it's not going to change. "I guess I can't dissuade you, can I?"

Annabeth's walls fall as she blushes and shakes her head. "No, you can't. But thanks for… you know. Caring."

He wants to say that that's what friends are for, except it feels so… wrong. He's betraying the camp already - he can't lie to his best friend, especially since she's probably going to die on this stupid quest.

He did it again. He referred to her as his best friend. It's unforgivable, it's a habit he has to stop.

"You should probably rest," Luke says stiffly.

"Rest? Oh, yeah. Rest." Annabeth sounds a little disappointed. Luke doesn't know why, because surely those twelve-year old eyes can't see what he's up to.

"Bye, Annabeth. In case I don't see you tomorrow, good luck." You'll need it. Luke walks away, towards the Hermes cabin without looking back, but he still hears the faint whisper of her farewell.

It's right after the Iris message with Percy that Luke starts to doubt himself. Not Kronos's plan, no. The plan is flawless, and Percy Jackson and his friends are falling into the trap perfectly.

No, it's Annabeth.

Luke hadn't even known how much he'd missed her quirky personality until he had seen her standing there behind Percy. And just like that, he was reminded that Annabeth's a target, too.

For a moment, as he looks out into the meadow again, Luke wonders what Annabeth will think of him once she and the rest of camp finds out. He wonders how much she'll hate him when he kills Percy. He wonders if she'll unexpectedly pop out of a trashcan again to kill him, except this time with a real knife and better skills.

Annabeth. Thalia. The good old days. The days when Luke had realized how cruel the gods on Olympus are.

Luke shakes his head to clear his thoughts. No more thinking about Annabeth or Thalia.

They were his family once, but even families break off sometimes.

Set in The Sea of Monsters

When Jackson, his Cyclops brother, and Annabeth escape the Princess Andromeda, Luke feels rather angry. He shouts at the servants at his disposal, he curses his father a hundred times, and he comes very close to killing the blasted drakon himself.

But it's not just because they bested him. It's because he's relieved she got away, which is why he is angry. He shouldn't be feeling like that.

And Annabeth, she had the nerve to say Thalia would never be on Luke and Kronos's side! Luke knows Thalia would be on his side. Thalia was like him. She would understand.

Annabeth, on the other hand, doesn't, because she has that ignorant Jackson by her side. If only Annabeth could see that Luke was trying to create a place where demigods didn't have to suffer anymore.

Luke remembers Annabeth's seven-year old face, as she told him and Thalia that her family hated her. He remembers how angry and disappointed she was, because of the gods.

Gods, Annabeth. Can't you see what I see?

(In the end, it's Annabeth that makes him see what she sees.)

Luke stands by the rail, waiting. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Tyson. They will be coming soon.

He is not worried about strength. Jackson is easy enough to deal with. The satyr and Cyclops? Not a problem.

But there's still a sick feeling in his stomach, and it's not from the sea. It's because of her.

He can't forget her face, a sweet, innocent smile forming on her young face, as she walk in between him and Thalia, and he describes their future. Thalia holds Annabeth's hand on the other side, her face wistful and full of hope.

"Family."

Luke doesn't realize he says it out loud, until a sharp pain forces its way into his head.

He is back in the dark abyss that is Tartarus. Kronos's essence is in front of him, a cold, foreboding presence in the air.

You would do well not to think of them, son of Hermes. Perhaps I need to remind you which side the girl is fighting for?

A series of images flash by, the last one of Hermes standing in the living room of Luke's mother's house. The warning is clear.

Kronos withdraws himself from Luke's mind, and Luke almost falls over the railing into the ocean below. He manages to catch himself before he does, and leaps back onto his feet on deck.

In a way, he is thankful that Kronos has interfered with his thoughts. At least now, he can go into battle without feeling guilty about Annabeth.

Set in The Titan's Curse

Luke's back hurts.

Carrying the sky is much harder than it seems, and he'd only done it for a while. Until he tricked Annabeth into saving him.

It's strange. Luke knew that Annabeth would come to save him, no matter what he'd done to her the past two years. He knew Annabeth would not hesitate to take the weight of the sky from him. The idea seems foreign to him, but Kronos had once told him that Annabeth was in love with him.

And now, as a result of her love, the pain he had barely endured is on her delicate shoulders.

He hopes Artemis will come soon, because, like he had with Annabeth, Luke knows Artemis will not fail to take the burden from Annabeth. Artemis better not fail, because if she doesn't, Annabeth will surely die.

But she may die anyway, won't she? There's a chance she might, because Kronos doesn't know. Kronos doesn't know that Luke…

He stops his thoughts right there. No need to ponder the unspeakable.

(He should have known that thoughts don't work that way.)

With a small tray of food in hand, Luke walks towards Annabeth's prison, dismissing the dracaenae as he passes. They hiss at him, but even they can appreciate a good break from work.

He spots her curly blonde hair before anything, and it's a punch in the gut. Her grey eyes are the next thing he sees, and it's a stab in his heart.

She's worn down. She's tired. She's also glaring at him with so much hatred that Luke has to avert his eyes.

"What do you want?" Annabeth says as fiercely as she can, but Luke can tell that she's still exhausted, both mentally and physically.

Luke can't say anything. He doesn't trust himself to. Instead, he slips the tray into her cell, and motions towards it. He watches her eyes linger on the food with longing, but her pride wins and she turns back to him. He knows she'll eat it later, when there's no one around. But that's all that counts.

"Percy's coming for me," Annabeth says, but she sounds uncertain.

Luke can't resist himself any longer. "Yes, Jackson's coming. But it's no use, because he and you will die anyway." For some strange reason, it hurts to say that.

Annabeth attempts to stand up, but her legs almost immediately fall beneath her. She settles for sitting cross-legged on the floor, and takes a while before she asks, "Why are you doing this for me, Luke?"

Luke panics. "Doing what?"

She gestures to the food, then to herself. "Keeping me alive, when Kronos wanted me dead."

Shoot. Luke hoped she was completely knocked out at that time, but apparently not. He tries to shrug and seem nonchalant as he replies, "He tends to kill people who still have use to us."

Her face contorts, and for a brief moment, there is pure pain on her face, but it is quickly masked with boiling anger. "So that's all I am to you? Bait? Knowledge? That's why you kept me alive?" She takes a deep breath, and her grey eyes become all the more piercing. "That's why you kept me alive all those years ago?"

Luke's breath catches in his throat. She's so ignorantly far from the truth that he doesn't care how harsh he sounds when he spits out, "That was then. This is now." He turns away and stalks from her prison, until he's cut short by a yell that wrenches his soul out.

"I HATE YOU!"

Luke turns back to the prison in shock, where fourteen-year old Annabeth stares at him, her eyes livid despite the fatigue in her bones. There are tears slowly making their way down her face as she repeats herself, no louder than a whisper: "I hate you."

Luke turns away again, holding back himself. He can't stand it any longer. He knows if he spends even another minute here, he will break down and do something stupid like hug her. He tries his best to sound boastful and superior. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. If you and Thalia just saw some sense… well, this could be avoided."

And he walks away, because she can't know that she's starting to get to him.

Right before he falls over the cliff, Luke looks into Thalia's face.

His former best friend is exactly how she looked before, from her clothes to the determined expression on her face. Except the eyes she reserves for the "monsters" are fixed right on his face.

There's pain in them too. As they were fighting, she had whispered to him with her movements: "Why?".

But Luke knew it was because she doesn't realize what he's doing for the world. Just like how Annabeth doesn't.

Annabeth. Annabeth!

His eyes reach behind Thalia to where Annabeth stands, one of her hands extending out to him, the other covering her mouth in shock. She's next to Percy, and seems to be alright, except for the fact that there's pure terror woven into her sweet features.

He thinks she might be screaming on his behalf, but before he can really make out anything, he's plummeting fifty feet to the ground.

His last thought before the rock meets his head is that at least Annabeth is okay.

Yay for Lukabeth - I know it's more friendship right now, but I'm trying to keep it very, very Canon, as you can probably see.

It's probably just going to have one more chapter, combining moments from the Battle of the Labryinth and The Last Olympian. But I don't know, it might extend to two :D

Reviews, anyone..? :)