A/N: aaah heres a chapter i am sorry it took so long, i think this is it i think its over! u_u im totally sick right now i stayed home b ut i remembered to update wohoo o

and! again the plots completely nonexistent and a lot nicer to percy than anything else. sally's fine, she's not living with gabe, grover and chiron basically visited their flat and were like "lol so can we take your lil boy to camp" and sally was all "sweet no prob guys have fun lil perce" and she's having a gr9 time being hot & single while her lil boy is off at demigod camp. yeh eah no plot im sorry just these two sweet boys makin kissy faces at each other.

in any case thank you! for reading! this is the end, i think! waah you are all great i hope you liked it! (i might do an m rated counterpart if i have time but itll be a separate story, just cause i wanna keep this one legal aaha ha /nervous laughter)

Everyone knew.

In fact, a couple kids had even spotted Luke and Percy on their way out of the mess hall the last evening, so the rumors from Cabin Eleven were proven true by even more rumors. It was the type of talk where eventually, every person had convinced even themselves that they had been there and seen everything, detail for detail. When really, it was only a few campers who saw the two boys together.

So when Percy went to sword training the day after, set on seeing Luke again after being unable to talk for most of the day, it was hard to get any privacy. Which was uncomfortable for both of them, Percy being too shy-struck to speak much and Luke in turn didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to his boyfriend. It was an unfortunate predicament, where the demigods had the leeway to actually talk to each other only a couple times in the extense of the class, most often being limited to exchanging eye contact for a moment or two.

But then, something happened.

The worst possible person imaginable caught up with Percy on the way back to his cabin that night, greeting him with a not-so-warm welcome.

"Jackson."

He didn't have much time to react, as the collar of his shirt was pulled back so he choked slightly- panicking, he whirled around to face who it was, breaking out of the grip on his shirt.

And he wasn't relieved much to see who it was, comparative to a monster of some kind... there wasn't much of a difference.

"What do you want?" he hissed at her, backing away slightly to feel the comfort of the rails to his cabin.

"Just checking in," Abigail said with a spiteful undertone, not quite as sweet as the phrase sounded, more bitter and sickly instead. "Having fun?"

"What ar-"

"With Luke, shithead." She scowled.

"Oh." Percy couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt; Luke had almost, it seemed, dropped her for him. Although she deserved it.

"Yeah, 'oh'. You realize hes probably just using you, right?"

"For what?!" The demigod nearly shouted, more confused than angry at the statement.

"For whatever he wants. He's pretty manipulative if you notice little things, here and there-"

"Stop."

"I'm telling you, he-"

"Stop talking, please." Percy clenched his fingers into fists, at this point more than done with this twisted conversation. "What are you even trying to do, here? Make me break up with him for no reason?"

"Something along those lines, yeah."

The son of Poseidon was taken aback, gritting his teeth for a moment before willing himself to reply.

"Why would you..?" He sighed, watching the girl as she drummed her fingers against get crossed arms. "Couldn't you just...leave me alone?"

"I'm just warning you," Abigail shrugged. "You know what he did to me, obviously. No doubt he'll dump you just as quick."

Percy didn't want to argue, wanted to retreat back into his cabin and forget this whole thing- but he found himself painfully drawn in anyways.

"That's not true." He held himself high, thankful for the extra height he had from stepping up one on the cabin stairs. "Maybe he would've been with you longer if you didn't yell at him. Or act like a brat. Try being a little nicer, for a change."

"Oh, shut up."

They glared at each other for another uncomfortable minute or so, waiting for the other to back down. It was Percy, out of common sense, who finally broke the tension ridden silence.

"Never mind what I said, okay? Can't you just leave me alone?" He rubbed his temples, conveying his disdain for the entire scene. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to bed."

Abigail rolled her eyes, uncrossing her arms to hold them against get hips, but refused to let up the glare.

"Don't you have a cabin to get back to?"

"I said, shut the hell up, Bambi."

Something hit him through the fog of frustration, a bright light of memory of something said to him that afternoon, something worth sharing. Percy smiled despite the circumstances, letting out a breath as he opened his cabin door, ready to head inside to sleep.

"You know, I heard that Ares counselor might have a thing for you. You know, that redhead with the accent?"

"Kenneth?"

"Yeah. Kenneth."

Percy smiled wider as her answer had come just a little too quickly, and Abigail seemed to notice, playing down her intrigued tone with a snort and uninterested look to contrast.

"Well, it's not a surprise, really."

"Oh. Okay then." He held back a laugh, biting his tongue. Well, hopefully that'll cheer her up... not to mention get her off my back a bit. "Goodnight, then."

"...Night, Jackson."

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It was a couple days later that Percy had been moaning about the uneasy truth of everyone knowing, worn out from all the new attention. He hadn't told anyone about Abigail, but he wasn't too fazed by it, either- she didn't scare Percy, and hopefully from the tip he had given her, he was creeping towards Abigail's good side.

Getting up from his seat- not next to Luke, sadly- that would be way too chaotic, with both factors of the amount of campers at that table, and the two of them being together. So Percy had been sitting with Grover at his own table today, as Annabeth had been busy helping set up an event. Archery? He wouldn't have known, he hadn't been able to pay much attention lately. Because of, well, you know.

The son of Poseidon had been complaining about how quickly the rest of the camp had found out; it was almost like they knew before Percy had. Grover had responded with a roll of his eyes, stating that things had always been like that at camp. There wasn't really a way to get around the inevitable, even with taking all necessary precaution.

"Well... I wouldn't say we were that careful," Percy admitted, walking with his friend outside after dinner had practically ended. "It kind of just...happened."

"Ah. So you just made it easier for the whole thing to erupt," the satyr scoffed. "I guess you know for next time, right?"

What?

Percy's step faltered slightly at that comment. Wasn't quite sure how to react to...

"What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying..." Grover didn't seem to realize exactly what he'd said, continuing on nonchalantly. "I doubt you two will stay together for that long, right? He's never really been much of the type to keep anybody."

"I don't-" Why in hell would he go and say something like that? Percy thought to himself, unable exactly to put it into words for his friend. Instead, he stopped walking completely, green eyes wide in shock as his initial reaction. He stood with his arms stiff at his sides, trying to ignore the unpleasant feeling in his gut. "I- why would you-"

Grover stopped walking as well, seeing his friend had done so a couple steps back. He caught the look on the half-blood's face, blanched, obviously reeling through the last lines of conversation and had realized what he's said wrong. Grover's mouth dropped open a little, making it clear to the other boy that the satyr had caught on to the weight of what he'd said.

"That's not- I mean I didn't mean it like that I-I was only-" he pulled at his shirt, moving closer to Percy as he fidgeted in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I-" He continued to unsuccessfully search for words, any string of words, something, mouth flapping for some sort of excuse.

"You really think..?" Was the soft-spoken, unfinished question.

"No, of course not, Per-er-ercy!" A bleat slipped into the dialogue, because of Grover's newfound discomfort. "It just slipped out, of course I don't..." The reassurance seemed fake on his lips, because he meant what he had said, but Grover did feel terrible all the same. "I'm sorry. That wasn't the right thing to say."

Percy couldn't reply for a moment. He really didn't know how, or what to think, other than feeling plain offense. Grover had just... was that what everyone was thinking? No one thought their relationship would last? That's also what Abigail had said, but Percy was sure it had just been out if jealousy. And worst of all, as much as he hated to even admit it to himself, the statement had some truth to it, when it came down to the line. Even when Luke had been with Abigail, Annabeth had been the one to reassure Percy that they wouldn't be together for very long. She'd actually said that, how could he forget? Luke wasn't exactly known for dedication- Percy already knew this even being new to camp.

I shouldn't be doubting him, the boy caught himself in his defeatist train of thought. It was wrong, too, to assume these things. He's my boyfriend, right? He wouldn't...

"It's fine." Percy tried his best to brush it off, looking to the side. He kicked the toe of his shoe into the dirt, sighing. "Don't... worry about it."

"You're not mad?"

Yes he was mad, but at himself more than Grover. He was mad for doubting. He was upset that everything else had made him lose a grip on reality, that he was in the end after all with Luke- Luke had picked him. And they liked each other. Why in hell would anyone have the gall to say otherwise?

But he really wasn't mad at Grover, honest. He couldn't bring himself to get angry, especially with that dopey-eyed look on his friend's face.

"It's no big deal..."

The satyr looked relieved to see Percy hadn't taken it too badly, or at least, the demigod was acting as such. But unfortunately for both of them, the timing was horrible and Grover was needed elsewhere scheduled at that moment. So it made Percy feel kind of... abandoned, and in turn Grover felt like an ass for leaving.

"I have to get going, anyways," stated the satyr. "I... sorry, again, but Mr. D-"

"It's fine! Don't worry about it," Percy protested. "I should wait for Luke anyways."

"Okay, but-"

"Percy! You're still here," came the son of Hermes' cheerful voice, his presence made known as soon as he had stepped outside the mess hall doors. He was alone, probably saying goodbye to his fellow cabin mates inside the large structure- it was flattering that Percy had remembered to wait. Luke was pleased, to say the least, but wasn't so keen on the look on his newly officiated boyfriend's face. It wasn't a happy expression.

"Yeah!" Percy seemed to realize this, and put on a face, taking a deep breath. Clearing his head. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Just hoping you would remember." Luke raised a hand to brush aside some dark hair, planting a casual kiss on the top of the younger half-blood's head. And as usual, Percy flushed just a little bit darker due to Luke's multitude of public displays of affection. Which always felt nice. Yet the effect was dampened because of Grover's recent outburst, and as much as Percy had insisted it hadn't been a big deal, it indeed had an impact on him.

"Well... see you."

Grover turned to leave before he was roped into anything, hooves clopping against the ground to kick up dirt. He waved over his shoulder, and Percy was just hoping he wouldn't turn around to add anything about what they'd been discussing, especially while Luke was around. There was a quick exchange of goodbyes, and Percy knew from Grover's firm nod that he would make it up to him, later. Maybe sneak him a soda, or something, maybe a bag of candy- that sounded nice right about now.

"So! Have any plans?" Changing the subject, Luke asked, leading the way to walk towards the campfire as instinct. He in particular had none for the evening; no sparring classes were assigned after dinner on account of the later time- less light to see by meant more opportunity for injury. And while he appreciated having time to himself, refreshingly relaxing in the otherwise chaotic schedules of everyday camp, he was hoping to enjoy it with Percy today.

Not explicitly like that, no way was Luke going to take the risk. But he could honestly admit he liked Percy's company; with a clear conscience, he could say he didn't have any alterior motives in this situation. The half-blood just wanted to spend time with the son of Poseidon.

"Well, I haven't thought about that really." Percy took the time to contemplate the simple question, rather than spilling an easy 'yes' or 'no'. "Annabeth's setting up an event. I was thinking of helping her with that."

"Oh. I was thinking, maybe, we could spend some time together tonight. You know, cause we don't see each other that often."

Percy looked up, contemplating. But before he had the time to reply, the chance was snatched away as Luke misread the pause.

"...Well-"

"I mean, if you don't want to, its okay. Annabeth probably needs some help anyways- there's that archery contest, though I'm not sure-"

"No, wait, that's not... I wasn't saying anything like that," Percy almost laughed, shoving his hands deep into his pockets with a small smile. "I want to. I do."

"Sweet. Sorry about that, I..." Luke rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed by his outburst. "Awesome." Though the older half-blood noticed, still, that Percy's mood wasn't as chipper as usual. Which bothered Luke to no end, albeit he tried not to show it. "Do you want to go back down to the beach? We have an hour."

"Oh." Percy took a breath, biting the inside of his cheek. Nervous. He shouldn't be, it's just Luke, why... "Sure! Why not?"

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

They had already been heading there, but took their time sneaking onto the deserted stretch of sand as to prevent unwanted attention. Luke took the liberty to reach for Percy's hand as they descended down the rocky pathway, casually linking together while bringing up the topic of Manhattan. What it was like there, how it was different from camp, "Do you miss it at all?".

And Luke was aware when Percy unconsciously gripped his hand tighter as he replied. Though he put in a straight face, Luke had the ability to tell when the demigod was faking his smiles, claiming that anything was better than Manhattan from where he left it. And although he missed his mother, she was alright, Chiron had informed him. And as far as Luke could tell Percy meant what he's said, but was holding back how much he deeply felt about it all- he had just been thrown into this strange new world with nothing more than a pen-sword. He had a right to keep things to himself.

"You're liking it here, though?"

"The food's better."

"That's definitely important."

They sat down on the beach once they were a good ways out of sight of the cabins, Percy on instinct kicking off his shoes and socks to dig his toes into the still-warm sand. Stopping to enjoy himself for a moment, looking out over the rapidly darkening sky.

"You must like it out here, hm?" Luke asked, smiling as he watched the other boy scrunch sand between his fingers and open toes. Following the example, slipping off his shoes, crossing his legs to rest his elbows on his knees. "Son of Poseidon, right?"

"Yeah..." his reply was breathy, relaxed, taking in the smell of salt in the evening air. "Manhattan's not the ideal place to swim, there's not many pools- the place is so packed. I remember staying in a hotel with my mom once, and there was a pool on top of the building, that had a cool view of the city." Percy laughed softly, but as Luke looked over to him, the boy's features lacked a smile. "I remember being 'saved' by the lifeguard. He thought I'd drowned, when I was pretending to be a submarine and was under the water for a good five minutes." Now he smiled, but it was forced, although the memory was indeed a good one.

"Are you okay, Percy?"

"Huh?"

"I asked of something was wrong," came the question, laced in genuine concern. "You seem... down."

It was an understatement, but Luke didn't want to press too far.

"Oh." Percy exhaled slowly, looking back to the ocean view to stare blankly. "Yeah. I thought you might notice... you kind of always do."

The blond skipped over Percy's dry humor, carefully choosing his words, formed into simple yet meaningful sentences.

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm just being an idiot..." the boy ran his fingers through his hair, silent for a moment before laughing softly. "Forget it." He tucked his knees up to his chest.

"You can tell me."

And the tone in Luke's voice made Percy want to continue, want to spill his thoughts; and so he did. There was an opportunity, and he took it without regret, for once.

"I'm just worried that... this is going to end so fast. I haven't had much to hold on to, you know?" He licked his lips, finding a seashell in the sand and turning it over in his palm absentmindedly. "Everything's come and gone so quickly. Hardly anything's ever been concrete, especially people, so this- this is new. And I like it. And I'm so worried what will happen... when it's over."

The demigod felt horrible bringing up such a subject so early, talking about breaking up even though they hadn't been together for very long. But he'd come to terms with what he'd said. And for the first time in a long time, felt comfortable telling someone about how he felt.

There was silence for a minute or two, a mulling over of the voiced thoughts that had come into play. The pair were looking forward, the contrasting warms and cools of the sunset captivating, adding to the atmosphere of it all. And Percy felt relieved. Tension gone, spreading his fingers and toes into the sand with ease.

"Relationship bullshit..." Luke sighed, lingering on things past said. Percy caught the drift of his words- that night, when he'd stumbled across Luke by himself at the stream. When they'd talked about Abigail; how the counselor had broken up with her, and they'd ragged on the concept of relationships. The blond could see how Percy would take that, now that he was in the seat of "relationship bullshit". And he regretted saying it now, even if it applied when the situation had been so specific to Abigail, and, well... "I'm sorry," Luke said, truthful in his apology. Short and real.

"I know you didn't mean it like that," Percy reassured him. I trust you, the demigod meant. I always have.

The taller boy took a breath, decisive in his next move.

"I really like you, you know."

The son of the sea god turned to face Luke again, a slight shade of pink on his cheeks, visible in the slim rays of sunlight quickly fading. He should be used to this by now, the constant affection, the kind words... it always felt like the first time he'd said something like this, though. Luke smiled, cautious in sliding his hand over the other's, and brushing the pads of his fingers over soft skin.

"Me too."

Percy craved the touch, if only as innocent as holding hands. It was so nice to have someone to do that for him, to be there for him...

"So you don't have to worry about anything, okay, Perce?"

...You're amazing, Percy thought. Unable to respond for a moment, smiling too wide to do so, or to think of much to even say- looking back out over the blue sea for a second, stained red by the orange sunset casting light over the water. Overwhelmed with the sensation of belonging, something remarkably foreign to him; a concept that Luke had helped him to understand.

"Thanks," the demigod whispered, leaning in with the purest form of affection in existence. Real affection. Borderline on dependance, confused maybe with love as the word was so stretched and molded to one's liking. Love was a fleeting thing, malleable to circumstances and feelings so that... yeah, Percy could say that maybe, just maybe, he loved Luke.

The boy pecked the older half-blood on the corner of his mouth, lingering maybe a little longer than he had originally intended, shifting so that he was on his knees facing the other.

"Don't mention it, really..." Luke smiled as he raised his other hand up to Percy's neck, threading through dark hair for a moment before leaning in for another.

And another, and another.

They didn't know how long it would last; but for the two of them, just now was enough.

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A/N: THANK YOU FOR READING AGAIN THANKS DARLINGS drop a review if you indeed would like a racy little epilogue ;)