A/N: woo here you go! Im really inclined to write more of this ill do my best to update again before the new year! These are sooo fun to write honestly. so this is more of a sequel than i thought it was going to be; I thought i was just going to write a bunch of one shots and not have much plot- i dont want to write plot ugh im taking a break from that- and though this is pretty sequel-esque, i dont think itll be a beginning-middle-end kind of thing.

! id love a dropped review and/or any ideas i could incorporate would be cool, this is really open ended! reviews/ideas inspire me to write more :)

Percy wasn't too keen on keeping track of time as of late. Whether it was the day of the week, morning or afternoon, even the number that labeled how far they were through the month; if you asked him, you wouldn't get much of an answer. Because it wasn't just that Percy didn't care much anymore, he also didn't want to know. Slowly but surely, the shock of the violent war and succession of godly absence had worn off into numbness. He didn't care. He was focusing on surviving, he could care less what day it was, even less so how long it had been since that day chaos took over. He couldn't bring himself to care about anything much; it didn't matter, nothing seemed to.

Nothing except for one person, one other demigod, who Percy couldn't figure out.

Luke Castellan- he just- didn't understand him. And especially after... that time in particular, that one time, it had changed a lot of things, and now it was even worse. Percy couldn't stop himself from thinking about the demigod, no- obsessing over him, to be truthful on the matter. Constantly wondering if he'd just suddenly appear through the doorway of the coffee shop Percy was currently working at, or if he would find him at night again, in an alley- if the scene would play out the same, or... what if Luke had already seem Percy again? What if the blond had been sneaking into his temporary room nightly, just to check on him, with all the ample opportunity to kill him whenever he deemed right?

The thought caused Percy's once-steady hands to falter, cleaning off a table with a rag.

"You really think I'd kill you?" he'd said, so calmly at the time. And soothing words, promises, to coax the son of Poseidon slowly but surely into submission. "Sorry, I shouldn't have done that..."

The half blood shivered again.

Even if Luke at the time had meant it when he left, that he had truly accepted Percy's deny as a final answer- everything else he'd said and done was working awfully well in downtime.

He really... wanted to see Luke again. Not to fight, or even to kiss like they had done before- the memory was still vivid, but- he just wanted to see him. Honestly just seeing Luke would be enough; that one consistent part of his old life life that he could still interact with. Even if it was Luke, even if he was a negative aspect of his life in the past... he didn't feel that resentment anymore. He just craved the comfort of someone else who would understand, who he could trust.

He felt he could trust Luke.

That was new.

"Your shifts off, Daniel- you worked such long hours today!"

Percy's boss caught him off guard with his upbeat tone, addressing him with the false name the demigod had halfheartedly come up with. The manager's light words were harsh in breaking the boy's train of thought, with a jump of his strung nerves leading to a rattle of silverware on a rickety table. The few customers still in the shop turned to the noise, but dismissed it just as quickly.

The young man stood with a standard blue apron with the logo plastered on the front. He grinned at his recently employed worker, pleased with how well he'd been taking the job over the past couple days.

"You should get out of here, it's late."

"Ah, thanks..." Percy replied- clumsily turning to face the unfamiliar man, sending an insincere smile his way, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "What time is it, anyways?" He had lost track. Again.

"Nearly eleven, kid. I won't let you work the late hours again- you've got to get some sleep, you've been here all day."

Percy flushed, reaching behind his back to untie his similar apron, just lacking the fancy manager badge.

"It's really no problem, I need the extra money -"

"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" the manager asked fondly; he crossed his arms, genuinely concerned. "School? Friends? Family?"

The question caught Percy off guard. Dangerously close to hitting an emotional chord.

"Not really, short answer..." he looked away, apron untied but still around his neck, reaching to pick up the dirty tub of silverware he had collected. "I'm kind of moving a lot. I've been shuffling around jobs..." he paused, adjusting the tub with a few clinks. "I don't think I'll be around for much longer, is all. Just as a heads up, if I don't come in one day..." I can't believe I'm telling him this. He spoke softly, as not to attract attention from the customers drinking coffee and working on laptops.

"That's a shame." The boss- what was his name?- clapped a hand onto Percy's shoulder, smile deflated a bit but still there. "We'll miss you. You're great to have around, Dan, and a better kid than most."

He doesn't even know my real name... The irony hit Percy hard, contrasting with the awfully kind words directed at him from practically a stranger. He choked back a laugh that might have been from exhaustion.

"Thanks. Again."

"I'll take this back, don't worry about it..." The man took the tub from the demigod with ease, shifting the weight in his arms. "You get going, alright?"

"Alright..."

He couldn't hide a smile, reaching to take off his apron as his manager walked away through the doors to the back room. It wasn't too bad here. People were nice enough, and the shop was warm... at least he wasn't outside for whatever small job he was working. This had probably been the best one he'd had in a while. Folding the blue fabric, turning to go behind the counter to put it away-

"Finally, I thought he'd never leave."

A hand on the demigod's shoulder, the same spot the manager had grabbed- breath against his ear. Percy dropped his apron, face burning red even at such limited contact- eyes widening as he refused to turn to look at who he knew it was. Hoped it was? Dreaded? He wasn't even sure anymore.

Even through conflicting emotions, he still managed to drop his weight into some sort of adapted fighting stance- ready to turn at any second and get the hell out of this place. He wasn't sure what he was expecting- a knife, a public show of kidnap? What the hell... He had no idea what to do...

"Meet me outside, okay?" was the next sultry round of words, each one rolling off of Luke's tongue as if made for Percy's ears. "We need to talk."

And then the pressure on his shoulder was gone, the proximity vanishing with what heat Luke had been emanating as if it hadn't ever existed. Percy knew it was best to stay rooted to that spot, facing the display of pastries for sale; his eyes were glued to some variety of the treats until he heard a distant chime of the bell on the door, followed by a slight chilly breeze.

The boy let out a heavy breath he'd been holding. This was it, really. He couldn't stay here to work any longer. He would have to leave without taking his pay, even, as there wasn't an option left open now to choose from. The murmurs from low conversations indicated no one else had noticed the altercation. He'd half wondered if Luke would have gone as far as to hurt anyone here if he had resisted. No... that had been so quick...

Luke- he was gone now, out the door, waiting for him. And he expected Percy to cooperate, to humbly succumb to his order and go outside to meet him. Not to, say, slip out the other door and get the fuck out of the city while Luke still waited wherever he was outside.

He fucking trusted him.

Or at least, thought he would be to afraid of the consequences to refuse.

Which was smart... and true...

Percy felt waves of anxiety wash over him, bending to pick up the apron that was no longer his. He folded it, and left it on the counter instead of taking it to the back room. Sorry, I quit... he thought bitterly- taking a deep breath to settle his nerves, he knew he wasn't going to come back to this place again no matter how things played out.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

He was leaning against the side of the building, sword edged between the concrete lining on the ground; it wasn't much of an alleyway, more of a couple feet of empty space between tall blocks of brick and metal. Luke chewed the inside of his lip. He'd been waiting five minutes now, glancing to the door that was just visible from his position, willing Percy to walk out. It was cold. Mid September, in New York, the temperature was starting to dive into the lows that would carry on through the months, so uninviting in its every aspect this time of year.

Luke had been adamant in keeping track of time.

Every hour that passed, he craved to see Percy again, wanted to take him for himself- his resolve had started to tear the minute he'd left Percy in that dark alleyway, disheveled and hurt. And now it had been a month, he'd been able to withstand the urge- but something had broken it, shattered it completely to the point he was here now with no restraint. Luke grit his teeth. It had been immediate, his previous will to stay away from the half blood on his own word collapsing, he had to go see him, just to make sure he was alright-

"Luke..?"

A timid voice, from a dark haired boy in a light hoodie had walked up without him noticing. The blond could see his own breath, and in turn knew Percy was holding it in anticipation due to the lack of white puffs. The shivers running up and down his body were evident, seemingly both from nervousness as much as the cold as the boy refused to make eye contact.

Luke was delayed in responding, but did so in grabbing Percy by the shoulders and dragging him into the concealment of the alley. Percy almost resisted, tense and footsteps refusing to comply evenly, until he froze up as he was roughly pressed back into the brick.

"You- idiot- do you know how easy it was to find you here?!"

Right off the bat, the physical roughness, words thrown with spite.

"What?" Percy's voice was uneven, grabbing onto Luke's wrists, whose hands were curled into that jacket as if to rip it. "What are you-"

"Three, Percy." The blond ripped pitilessly from the grasp to hold his forearm against the boy's chest. "Three different demigods have seen you, and reported back to me. The only reason you're not dead right now is because they weren't definite it was you."

"I-I didn't-" Percy was gaping like a fish, shocked as well as understandably scared.

"I told you to stay hidden." Every word was as icy as the temperature they were enduring. Seething anger cut deep. "I thought you'd be smarter than to take a job where you show your face to everyone who passes through your stupid fucking coffee shop."

"I thought-"

"You thought wrong. You could be dead right now, if I hadn't come here first. Do you get that, Jackson?"

Percy suddenly reacted. Through the smothering words, and the pressure on his chest, something set him off- he shoved Luke off of him and came off the wall for a second to do so. But as soon as the other half blood had stumbled those few steps back he could, hitting the other wall of the tiny alleyway, Percy sunk back against his side. Holding his hands clenched into fists, breathing hard-

"Do you care, is that it?!" he shouted, "Why did you come back here?! I don't understand you at all, I d-on't..." His voice cracked, and exhaustion seemed to overwhelm his drive to defend himself... Percy snapped, biting his lip to avoid saying anything else, but couldn't stop tears from welling and threatening to fall. He bit down so hard it hurt, but couldn't tell if he drew blood, looking down to attempt to ignore the fact Luke was still here. Watching him.

"St-op..." The simple word was broken; Percy wasn't sure what he was referring to more than just in general his situation. Stop yelling at me. Stop confusing me. Stop looking at me like that, he thought, lifting an arm to wipe his eyes on the inside of his sleeve, hoping to erase the evidence.

Luke couldn't move. He exhaled, subconsciously noting the visible breath appearing and disappearing just as quick- he'd never seen Percy cry before. He'd made him laugh, and pissed him off, as well as scared the hell out of him. They'd hugged, and fought, but never this. And it was affecting him strangely; he felt some sort of tight knot in his gut, but it wasn't an unpleasant feeling, more of... he wasn't sure if he wanted to yell at him more, make him sob, or to wrap his arms around Percy until he felt happy again. Well not happy given this day and age- at least okay, not like this. But either way, he felt a twisted form of pride that he'd made Percy cry.

"...Why are you protecting me, anyways?" Percy mumbled, seemingly almost over his ordeal, although his eyes were still wet but his face at least was dryer than before. "I don't get it. Couldn't you just tell them not to kill me?" The question was soft, as if he was doubting actually asking or- he wanted answers, obviously, stuck in such a desolate limbo of ignorance. He wasn't sure about anything anymore, and had been pushed to the limit on anxiety over the whole thing.

"Do you really think they'd be okay with that? Just letting the 'hero' of Camp Half Blood off without any consequence?" Luke smirked despite the circumstance, settling back in closer to Percy again, resting an elbow against the wall next to the other's ear. "Or, you're more of a criminal than a hero to anyone now. I'm the only one who really has tabs on you anymore, Perce- everyone else hasn't heard or seen you in months."

"That's not too surprising." A dull response, lacking the hurt tone Luke had expected. Now the older demigod was intrigued; and it was true, he was the only one with direct contact with Percy now, he had him to himself really. "What do you see me as, then?"

"Special."

"What?"

"You're special, Percy Jackson." Luke dropped his head to brush against the other's forehead, just barely, but spoke lower now though there was no one around to hear. "You led the camp. You disappeared and you've made it on your own. You're a leader, and a role model... you're special. And you've fallen so far, its tragic."

Percy tensed at the last few words, gritting his teeth.

"How great would it be for us if you, the 'hero', finally joined with me? Anyone else still resisting would come to us without any hesitation, I'm sure, and then we'd all be united. All demigods together, against the gods... now that's much better odds than having us all split up and ruined like you, right?"

"You're still on that, huh?" Percy's tone seemed bored. He'd lost all strength to show any emotion now, after crying in front of the person he wanted to seem strong for. "The whole gods thing."

"And you're struggling to stay afloat, because you're against it." Luke could tell Percy's resolve was weakening overtime; maybe, just maybe he could push him over that edge. "You know, I already have your things. I stole them from your apartment. We could leave right now, I could bring you back, you could take a nice hot shower and eat a decent meal for the first time in forever..."

"You're horrible."

"Excuse me?"

"You know I can't do that." But he didn't seem certain.

"Why not? Tell me, Percy, what's bad about what I have to offer you?" As he said this, Luke leaned in, licking his lips, sensing a victory at Percy's passively spoken words.

Now the demigod just shook his head, refusing to meet the other's eyes right on- stuffing his cold hands in his pockets, the cold hitting him suddenly as if he'd forgotten the temperature for a while during their heated argument. Now that things had died down, the icy wind really got to him again... his thin jacket was hardly helping.

Luke noticed both the action as well as the refusal to respond, and took it as a sign to press forward, chuckling with hidden implication while grabbing for Percy's shoulders. The boy wasn't surprised, but still flinched at the contact- and sunk back against the brick wall as Luke started to move his hands up and down, causing friction with the thin material.

"What are you doing now?" Exasperated, and too tired to fight back against something that wasn't all too bad.

"You seem cold." Luke now pulled Percy towards him, hands wrapping around his back. It wasn't a hug, more of a stand off, Percy's chin on Luke's shoulder and closed his eyes- savoring the warmth even though he didn't want to give the other demigod the idea that he was giving in. "I'm just warming you up, no big deal, right?"

And then Percy did something Luke definitely did not expect, not in any situation, did he think the demigod would tilt his head up and kiss him on the side of his mouth.

So he laughed to play off his shock, smirking.

"What was that for?"

"Kiss me."

"...What?"

"Take my mind off this bullshit," Percy said through gritted teeth; Luke was taken aback. He'd never seen Percy like this either. This wasn't a matter of affection, or warmth... "That's what you wanted anyways, right? Kiss me like before."

He just wanted something painful to distract from everything else.

Despite the reason, Luke was all too inclined to fulfill this need, roughly sliding his hands around to the the small of Percy's back. He pulled the other into him, collapsing against his own side of the alley, opening his mouth into a wet, hungry kiss. Expressing how frustrated he'd been this past month, no one turning out to be as satisfactory as this special demigod was... His anger played into desire, one and the same, biting at chilled lips harder than he should have.

Percy jumped in reaction, breaking their tie for a moment before getting over himself to kiss back again. He was going through with this... not because he was succumbing to want, but rather needed someone else to make him feel like it was worth it to keep going. Percy was on his last lifeline, and that was Luke. He needed him. So Percy went along with other's sadistic nature, closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the older half blood's neck. Refusing to back down, not even when Luke sunk his teeth down hard- only whimpered slightly, tugging at light hair to lessen his own unease.

Luke was feeling it now, far more than Percy was- he exhaled sharply, adjusting his hands to the back if the boy's head and pressing him into the opposite wall now. He rocked his hips forward only once before catching himself, instead of continuing he nudged a knee between jean clothed legs. Oh, he wanted this for a while now, he'd been hoping for something like this to happen...

The younger demigod wound his cold fingers tight into the thick jacket Luke had on, and from such warmth in turn keeping him from freezing, felt his exterior start to collapse again. He couldn't look weak, and he needed this distraction... So he curled his fingers tighter. His nose scrunched as he forced his eyes to remain shut, willing his conviction to keep his shoulders from shaking. To keep from breaking down again.

It didn't work.

And Luke tasted the salt before realizing that the half blood was crying again- shocked into a stalemate, hands still cupping the back of Percy's neck up to his hairline- and pulled away so their noses barely touched. Watching gross tears flow one after the other down soft skin... it didn't help that this turned Luke on even more. He'd done it again, and didn't even know how or why; made Percy cry. He looked so pretty when he did so, too. Eyes wired closed, biting his own lip now though the steadiness of both actions were questionable. He was shaking.

"S-orry, sorry..." he finally said, trying to wipe the tears away again with his sleeve without making eye contact. "I didn't mean to..."

Luke didn't say anything in response, but brushed his thumbs back and forth under the soft nook under Percy's jaw, meaning to show some sort of comfort in that way. It was all he could do besides resisting the urge to ravish him even more, make the boy more and more vulnerable and brutally expose his weaker side. It was an exhilarating thought. He cautiously kissed the other's wet cheek, debating what to do from here.

"I'm a mess... haaha..." Percy groaned, taking a deep breath. He finally had the courage to look up into blue eyes, faked a smile and then looked away again, down at the concrete. And caught a glimpse of Luke's sword, propped against the wall next to them. Knowing that if he said anything at all to suggest it, Luke wouldn't hesitate to open up a portal with that thing and whisk him away to somewhere better. Somewhere he wouldn't feel like shit, somewhere he'd feel safe.

Noticing that Percy had realized the existence of his sword, Luke mulled about his options, never taking his eyes off of the other's unreadable expression. He really had the opportunity here. If he played his cards right, this could be all too easy.

"Still cold, Perce?" he tried, mouth against the top of the shorter demigod's forehead. A light kiss, meaning nothing really, but his strategy had Percy blushing in contrast from his previously blank gaze.

"...Yeah." He knew where this was going; but for certain reasons, he wasn't resolute on refusing to play along.

"I could take you somewhere warmer."

"I know."

"Do you want me to?"

No reply at first, just the continuity of white breath in the air. Percy couldn't bring himself to say no. Yes he wanted to, of course he would rather be somewhere warmer, the question was whether it was worth the cost. And even that was unclear. What would be so bad about going with Luke, anyways? The whole reason he was resisting was so torn now, twisted from an encompassing theory of good versus evil to his own wants. Which was so blurred now, nothing made sense, nothing had for a while now.

So really, why not?

"Yeah. Take me somewhere."

"Gladly."

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.