lukercy dump

by lazari-the-zalgoid

captive pomegranates belongs to Robin Drake on ao3 I'm just posting it here for my self so if you wish to read the book please please please go to ao3 so I don't get copyrighted

1. captive pomegranates

Annabeth honestly thought that, for once, this day would be normal. Comparatively, at least. Just yesterday she had to witness the unholy sight of Leo Valdez drunk and pole dancing. It wasn't just that, but Hermes kept on wolf-whistling. And then, and then, when Leo had collapsed, Hephaestus had picked his son up and went all teary-eyed, whispering softly to his son's curly hair. "I am so proud of you, my son," he had said, actually shaking. Leo had dreamily smiled at his dad, and Annabeth would honestly find it rather touching under different circumstances. Much different circumstances. There was a reason why she suddenly couldn't breathe when Poseidon, eyes misty, had picked Percy up and hugged him when they saw each other. And when Aphrodite had told Piper that she was so much more than she could ever ask for. Or that one time when Zeus had looked at Jason, changed into Jupiter for a moment, and actually smiled.
That was heartwarming. It made her feel warm and fuzzy inside. Which was also why Annabeth had almost cried when her own mother had told her that she, out of all her children, out of all her sons and daughters, out of even Daedalus, was the one she cherished most of all.
For the first time, Annabeth had actually appreciated a Monday for existing.
She didn't appreciate the one yesterday.
Come to think of it, she's starting to grow an annoyance for Tuesdays.
Her right eye twitched, and her hand started to reach for her dagger. It's been an hour, and Percy still hasn't come down yet. Granted, her boyfriend (and how exciting is that? She has a boyfriend, a really handsome and cute boyfriend, one with a great ass, and wow, her Rachel side needs to stop coming out so often) has never been on time for the daily readings. But still. The latest he's ever been was forty-eight minutes, twenty-two seconds, and that was on the first day. Sometimes, he's even one of the earliest to show up. Annabeth checked her watch, as she's been doing for the past hour to the point of obsessive-compulsiveness, and glared at it. One hour, three minutes, fifty-two seconds. She was almost starting to worry about him.
Ares yawned, stretching his arms. "Why'd we need that little upstart to start, anyway? He's lived through it once, no sense waiting for him to read the damn book. And why'd we need to read anyway? We got dear Hephie here and his punk of a son to build something to read for us. And, damn it, books. Can't we watch videos or something?" He whined, grimacing.
Annabeth suddenly remembered that she had a dagger in her hand.
Her mother's mouth twitched downward. "The Fates have made it very clear that we cannot open, much less read, the books unless all of us are present. That includes young Percy. Unfortunately." Athena turned to Annabeth, who frowned, knowing what was coming next. "My dear child, surely you must have found someone better than the hellish Sea Spawn? There is Richard Campbell in the Apollo cabin, don't you get along well? The both of you share the same taste in weapons, after all."
"Mom," she started, feeling a migraine coming on, "if you mean the thirteen-year-old kid who flirts endlessly with everyone, serenaded Percy that one time, and annoys me to Tartarus and back, then no. We don't get along well."
Athena frowned, as if she honestly did not expect them to not be sucking face. Aphrodite giggled, "Well, there's a reason why I'm the goddess of love, aren't I?" In her peripheral vision, Annabeth saw Piper rolling her eyes, and resisted the urge to do the same. Instead, she checked her watch again. One hour, nine minutes, eleven seconds. Damn.
Standing up, Annabeth said, "I'm going to check on Percy." She started to, anyway. The same moment, the doors opened, and there stood a silhouette of someone who she expected to be very pretty, judging by her slim figure and curves. The girl stepped forward, and some light rained upon her, revealing a very beautiful woman in very short shorts and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that hugged her frame in all the right places. Annabeth started to feel a little envious, looking down at her chest, but then she saw the girl's face. Or rather her eyes.
Green eyes. Very expressive, slightly big, sea-green eyes that she only saw on two people. Unless Poseidon had another child at the very same age as his other one, or this girl came from the future, or this was a person who she knew very intimately to be a male. Looking at Apollo's terrified expression, Annabeth grimly concluded that her boyfriend turned into a girl. A hot one. Very hot. Curves in all the right places, awesome legs, pretty face, and gorgeous hair tumbling in waves. Don't mention the eyes. Oh gods, the eyes.
Didn't you know all demigods were bisexual?
Annabeth opened her mouth, but Leo already beat her to the punch. He immediately sauntered over to Percy, and gave him a wink. And no, Annabeth was not ready to start referring to her boyfriend as a she. Nope. Percy will always and forever will be a he. Her he. Not her her. Ha, that sounds like an extremely stupid laugh. She started to laugh herself, but took her composure and placed it securely around her as her shield. No laughing today, Chase. You now have a girlfriend.
Girlfriend. Oh gods.
She bit her lip and forced herself to concentrate on something else. Piper was looking at Percy enviously as Jason kept on blushing and stammering all over himself. Frank was doing the same. Hazel had her golden eyes wide in confusion. The other gods were...
Well, Ares was openly drooling. Hermes kept on purring and staring. Aphrodite was grinning. Hephaestus, she assumed, couldn't care less, and was looking at Percy like he was trying to figure out where he came from. Zeus was coughing uncomfortably, and Hera was glaring at Percy like she knew exactly what she wanted to do with him. Annabeth decided to focus on the others. Demeter was saying, "I know who ate cereal today!" while Persephone quietly rolled her eyes and looked bored. Mr. D had dozed off earlier by the thirty-minute mark, but was now looking at Percy distastefully. Hades was playing with the shadows, although he smirked like he knew exactly what was coming. Sparing another glance at Apollo, whom both Artemis and Percy were currently glaring at, Annabeth supposed it wasn't hard to guess.
She didn't expect Hestia and Poseidon to start laughing. Neither did Athena, but she was more composed in her shock. She kept a stoic and calm expression, but Annabeth noticed the way her eyes were twinkling, and it betrayed her stony demeanor along with the fact that her lips were subtly twitching in amusement.
Her eyes flicked back to where Percy and Leo stood.
"Come on, is it just you, or is it starting to get real hot in here?" Leo wiggled his eyebrows.
"Leo," Percy said, eyebrows scrunched together, "it's me."
He had the gall to laugh. "No, I'm pretty sure I would remember a girl as beautiful as yourself." He then promptly took Percy's hand and kissed it, looking up at him and making bedroom eyes.
At which point Annabeth had to butt in, because Percy looked like he was going to strangle Leo with his hair. That would be tragic. No one knew how to pilot the Argo II like Leo did. "Shut up, Leo," she said, and Percy looked so grateful and adorable that a few thousand puppies were born, probably. "'Ocean Eyes' over there has a name, and it's Percy Jackson."
Leo stared at her for a moment. Then at Percy, who mockingly blew a kiss at him. Despite himself, he blushed, and muttered to himself, "Oh wow, I didn't notice." He pointed at Percy's chest, who immediately tried to cover it up, and exclaimed, "I've seen a few balls smaller than those bazoongas. Can I touch them, just to, uh, see if they're real?" He made a few squeezing motions with his hands that Percy grimaced at, and made Annabeth glare at him.
Apollo snorted. "Oh, they're real, alright," he drawled. Poseidon raised his eyebrow at him, and Hermes lowly whistled. Leo almost fainted from that.
Percy, meanwhile, wasted no time sauntering over to the god. Hera winced at the cracks that were made on her marble floor. He was looking down, but when he looked up at Apollo, his eyes were half-mast and dark. Apollo gulped, and it echoed through the suddenly silent throne room. Annabeth noticed he was quickly turning red. She quietly thought of Octavian fainting when he saw his ancestor being aroused by Percy Jackson, of all people, and luckily refrained from laughing out loud.
When Percy was directly in front of the god, he put his hands on Apollo's thighs and smirked. The god licked his lips and whispered, even though it was heard by everyone in the silence, "Does this mean I'm your type?"
And then Percy pushed himself up and straddled him.
Frank coughed.
"M'lord," Percy whispered back in a low, sultry voice that had Apollo's pupils dilate. "You're exactly my type. I mean, there were others, but they simply don't compare." With the position that he had, Percy's shirt rose up a bit to show some of his tan skin. For some reason, Annabeth doubted that it was the only thing that did.
"Who were they?" Apollo asked, his eyes looking at something that was definitely not Percy's face.
Percy looked away, and said, "Oh, nobody. Just Luke, and he's long gone. I guess that Octavian was a recent one, and I almost expected Jason to be," said Roman choked in the background, "but we get along well, so no."
The god frowned, and snapped out of his daze. "But," he said, chuckling nervously, "don't you have to get along well? They were, as you said, your type."
At this point, Percy actually laughed out loud. "Oh, they were. Tall, blonde, and extremely punchable."
Apollo shouted, "What—" and Percy punched him. Where it hurts. All the boys winced in sympathy pain, and so did Percy, a bit. Annabeth clapped. "HE HIT ME IN THE FAMILY JEWELS, OH MY US!"
Percy jumped off the god, and yelled, "You got rid of mine, I got rid of yours! We're even!"
"YOU PUNCHED ME WHILE I HAD A HARD-ON, HOW DARE YOU!"
Hermes was rolling on the floor at that one, and Poseidon was looking at Percy, teary-eyed, and said, "I am so proud of you, my son!" Percy gave him a thumbs-up, with that signature troublemaker's grin, and amidst all the noise from Frank screaming in horror to Piper's cackle of delight, somehow Annabeth clearly heard it when Artemis said to Percy, "You know, if you weren't a boy, or weren't so terrible at archery, I might have considered having you as a Huntress."
Percy's response to that was, "Yeah, but this is way too much I can handle for a Tuesday." Annabeth gave him a hi-five and kissed him. Leo actually fainted from thatFire!" Zoë ordered.
"No!" I screamed. I ran out in front of the arrows and threw up my shield to protect Annabeth. I didn't want to protect Dr. Thorn, the manticore, but if it meant saving Annabeth from the Hunter's arrows then it was a no-brainer.
The arrows thudded against my shield, one after another. My beautiful shield was already severely damaged. It couldn't take another round of arrows. It cracked and broke into pieces.
An arrow embedded itself just above my collarbone and split the thorn that was already embedded in my flesh. The pain was sharp and this time it actually did burn in a throbbing sort of way. It took my breath away. I dropped the little chunk of shield still attached to my wrist.
Annabeth slid off the manticore's back and into the snow. "Percy!" She shouted.
Before she could reach me, Dr. Thorn swung his tail. It caught Annabeth in the middle and sent her sprawling in the snow.
The manticore turned on me. "You'll do. And the Lady Huntress doesn't want you anyway." Dr. Thorn laughed. He grabbed me by my wounded shoulder and yanked me off the cliff side with him.
Pain flared up and my vision went black. I don't think we hit the sea below because it was a long time before I woke up and the pain remained in my dreams.
The next thing I knew, Dr. Thorn was setting me on my feet. "Wake up, brat. You're heavy."
I swayed on my feet, trying to get my bearings through the intense pain in my shoulder. The arrow still stuck out of my skin, I noticed nauseously, and framing it was the broken manticore spike. Every time I breathed, the three pieces shifted around and caused a new wave of dizzying pain to wash over me.
We were on the side of a hill, but the place felt more like the Underworld than the earth I knew. It was so dark that I couldn't see the sky and fog hung heavy in the air. Pieces of large black pillars lay scattered like someone had come through here with explosives.
Dr. Thorn nudged me with his tail. "Well," he said in an amused tone. "Go on."
Go where?
I climbed the last few feet to the top of the hill and gasped.
Luke crouched on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The black fog that swirled around him seemed hungry. His clothes were in tatters, mostly on the ground around his feet, and his skin was drenched in sweat. His eyes were squeezed shut, his teeth gritted. Luke's golden blond hair was an ashy white.
"What happened to you?" I asked. My voice was loud in the empty space.
Luke forced one eye open long enough to see who it was. "They left me here," he groaned. "Please. It's killing me." As he spoke, the scar on his face reopened like someone took a scalpel to his flesh. Luke groaned again.
I gasped again. "What's happening to you?" I asked, drawing Riptide. Was something attacking him?
"He took my place," a voice boomed. A man walked up, looking as regal as he did aloof. "Hermes' lot have always been my least favorite great grandchildren but now one is finally good for something." His smile was cold and unfeeling as he gazed down at Luke.
Luke was panting through his open mouth, not paying the man any mind. The scar on Luke's face was now a gory, bleeding slice from his eye to his jaw. I could see his teeth through the flayed skin. Blood dripped from his mouth onto the rocks that Luke knelt on.
Luke had tried to kill me in cold blood more than once but he didn't deserve this. This was torture.
"Let Luke go," I demanded.
The man walked closer to us. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for him, then? Be my guest."
Hold the sky? But wasn't that… It clicked into place for me then. The man was Atlas. I struggled to remember everything I knew about Atlas' punishment. Anyone could take the sky from him but only if they were willing. Presumably the same happened to anyone who took the sky from the new holder. But that wasn't true for Atlas himself; it was a punishment and he was the only one able to take it unwillingly.
If I could trick Atlas into holding the sky again, then Luke would be free.
"Could you explain it to me? I don't think I understand. That's the sky?" I asked, pointing to the swirling black fog.
Atlas huffed, clearly not impressed with me. "Of course not." He pointed up to the darkness above us. "That's the sky. Poseidon's son is an idiot."
"That's the same as this," I said, pointing to the fog again.
Luke's gasp drew my attention back to him. I never knew that Luke had more scars to split open until I saw the vertical lines of red going from Luke's pectoral to his hip. They looked like red road lines on a map.
Atlas advanced. He towered over me. "You stupid boy, do your eyes not work?"
The red lines started small but slowly opened wider and wider, making a terrible, quiet tearing sound that I could hear between Luke's pants. The darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake.
"Wait. I've got it. We're standing on the sky," I said and pointed to the rocks below us.
"That is the earth!" Atlas bellowed. He was no longer cool and distant. Even the aloof were brought down when dealing with the stupidity of others.
Huge chunks of black rock began falling.
"See, there's rock up there so the sky has to be down here," I said and flashed Atlas an empty, stupid smile just to really show him that I wasn't all there.
Atlas rolled his eyes. "If you were my son I would be ashamed. I would drown you in the nearest river."
I used the opportunity to tighten my grip on Riptide's hilt. While he was talking about drowning me, I lunged with Riptide, aiming for Atlas' knee. It severed from Atlas' body with shocking ease.
Atlas cried out in surprise and pain, collapsing on his side. The impact caused the ground to shake beneath our feet.
Pain flashed bright hot white in my shoulder. For a few seconds I couldn't see anything but blackness as the pain enveloped my senses. Then it subsided and I crashed into Atlas, knocking him so that he was right next to Luke.
Luke dropped the burden of the sky...right onto Atlas' back. He collapsed in a heap on the ground. His right eye was gone and the socket poured blood.
Atlas managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late. "Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!" Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
There was nothing more that I wanted than to curl up on the rocks and just go to sleep. But I couldn't. Luke wasn't moving and this place wasn't safe for either of us. Wherever we were, I could hear the pounding of waves against rock. If I could just get us to the ocean, we'd be safe.
I crawled to Luke and rolled him onto his back. The four gashes on his torso weren't as bad as I'd feared. They were still bad in that they'd probably need stitches but not so bad that Luke's organs were falling out. I grabbed Luke's forearm and began pulling him down the hill.
It wasn't easy. The hill was rocky so Luke kept getting caught on things. He was also a deadweight and completely unconscious but sometimes he'd groan in pain. My shoulder was killing me, pain making little lights float in my vision. Every time I thought about quitting and just laying down, Atlas would bellow and I'd remember that Dr. Thorn was lurking somewhere and I forced myself to take another step.
By the time we got to the coast, I was ready to pass out. The lights floating in front of my eyes turned black and more black crept up at the edges of my vision. The coast was big boulders that the waves slammed against. I left Luke far enough back that he wouldn't drown. Then I sat on the edge of one, the waves washing up almost to my hips, and took a few deep breaths. I pulled the broken spike from my shoulder, relieved to see that though they'd split in half, they didn't break any further than that. My hand shook as I gripped the shaft of the arrow.
This was going to really hurt. It took two hard yanks before the arrowhead came out and I felt it tearing me up inside as it did. I screamed. For a few seconds, my mind and vision blanked with the pain. When my vision returned, the arrow came into focus. There were backwards facing barbs on each facet of the arrowhead. It was designed to hurt as much as possible. And those Hunters were going to shoot Annabeth with these!
I left Luke on the rocks and slid into the sea. Beneath the waves, the surf wasn't as bad as it seemed above. I floated calmly beside the rocks. Water always healed me and now was no different. The pain slowly ebbed as my flesh knit back together. When all that was left was raised scar tissue, I rode the waves out of the sea and deposited myself on the rocks.
Luke was right where I left him. He looked unnaturally pale. His chest barely rose and fell.
"Hang on," I cried, looking around for something to help. A little ways away was a rowboat tied to a rickety dock. If I had that boat, I could get us back to the mainland. And then what? Luke was a wanted man. The Olympians would kill him and Luke had said that Kronos abandoned him so I doubted Luke would receive a good welcome with them either. There had to be a quiet little corner of the world that I could keep Luke tucked away. At least until he was better. Then...then we'd have to cross that bridge when we came to it.
Dragging Luke to the rowboat was a lot easier now that my shoulder didn't hurt. Though he was still a deadweight. I almost had him in the boat by the time I realized I could use the sea to help me move him. What was going to be me just pushing Luke into the rowboat became me using water to gently lower him into it. I sat at Luke's feet and urged the ocean to take us away from this terrible place.
There was only one place I could think to go where no one would find us.
This time of year in Montauk there was no one at the dunes enjoying the seaside. The ocean was stormy green and near freezing. There was a light dusting of snow covering the sand. I knew that Montauk House was only rented out during the summer and no one lived there permanently. We shouldn't be disturbed.
I dragged Luke out of the boat and across the sand. His skin was cold and clammy. I hoped it was because of the winter weather. He was no longer groaning.
Tears rolled hot down my cheeks as I dragged Luke across the threshold. Sand and spiders scattered as I brought Luke into the dark, dusty house. I left him on the floor and collapsed beside him. Fumbling with his wrist, I searched for his pulse.
What if I was just dragging a body into my favorite place? What if he was dead? And what was I going to do with Luke anyway? Montauk House wasn't stocked with anything, let alone a first aid kit as extensive as what I would need to fix Luke. Who could I even ask for help? My mom would flip. The gods would kill Luke on sight.
Wait...maybe not all of them would.
"Help," I muttered. Louder, I said, "Help. Help! HELP! HERMES! HELP! HERMES!" The cold wind blew in through the open door. I turned toward it. "Help me," I pleaded to Hermes.
Hermes stood wearing his jogging shorts and marathon t-shirt. His expression was sad as he gazed down at the body of his son. "We aren't allowed to directly interfere," Hermes said dully.
"Only for your own children. You aren't interfering with Luke, you're helping me," I countered. "How do I help him? I have nothing here."
Hermes conjured a glass of amber liquid in one hand and a first aid kit in the other. "Make him drink half of it."
I scrambled to my feet and took the glass in both hands. More carefully I walked back to Luke, knelt beside him, and propped up his head. I poured the nectar down his throat, using my powers to urge it to go down easy. When I judged that he'd drunk about half, I pulled the glass back.
The hole in Luke's cheek knit back together until it was a scar once more. Luke's eye and torso still looked terrible though.
I looked to Hermes for instruction.
"Pour some into his eye socket."
I hesitated.
"It won't hurt him," Hermes promised.
I did as Hermes said, pouring the nectar into Luke's eye socket. "What happened to his eye?"
"It's lost," Hermes said unhelpfully. After I flashed him a look, Hermes explained, "Ladon plucked it out during Luke's quest. He got it back by cutting off Ladon's claw and bringing it back to Camp with him. Chiron was skilled enough to put Luke's eye back and heal it fully."
"So these are injuries from Luke's fight with Ladon?" I asked, gesturing to what I realized were claw marks.
"Yes," Hermes replied. "Now that's enough. Use the rest on his torso."
I did what Hermes said. Using nectar as a topical didn't work as well as ingesting it but the worst of the bleeding had stopped. "Can't we put his eye back again?"
"Do you have it?" Hermes asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Um...no," I admitted, guilt rising. It's not like I knew eyes could even be put back or like I had time to look for it. I should not feel guilty about this. The glass was empty.
Hermes handed me the first aid kit. "I don't think he needs stitches anymore. Press the edges together and then tape them shut. You'll have to do it yourself otherwise our little workaround won't fly."
"Long ways or across?"
"Across."
Starting at the top of one of the gashes, I pinched Luke's skin together. I used my teeth to rip off a bit of medical tape to hold his skin together. I went down one line, taping every inch or so, and then started on the next one. My fingertips turned red with Luke's blood.
Hermes handed me squares of gauze. "Now this overtop."
I taped the gauze into place, overlapping in some places but I doubted that mattered much.
"And his eye," Hermes said.
Now I paused. "What?"
"You'll have to stuff the socket with gauze, then tape over it with another square."
My stomach churned. I swallowed and took the gauze. There was no one else who could do this and the nectar hadn't healed him completely. Putting my fingers into an empty, bloody eye socket was easily the grossest thing I've ever done and I'm leaving it at that. Taping the last square of gauze around his eye was a relief. "W-what do I do now?" My hands were shaking.
"That's up to you, Percy," Hermes said sadly. "Though I hope you'll act with mercy."
I felt a breeze and when I looked up, Hermes was gone. The first aid kit was still there, though, along with another glass of nectar. I was so tired that my hands shook. Without really thinking about it, I laid down on the floor beside Luke and closed my eyes.
Chapter 2
Summary:
Percy goes to the store and Luke wakes up.
Chapter Text
The lighting had changed when I woke up, the sun pouring in from the East. I pushed myself into a sitting position. My joints cracked and ached with stiffness. "Ow, ow, ow," I hissed.
Luke was still laying where I'd left him but he'd regained some color and his breathing was closer to normal. I didn't dare remove the gauze and check on his wounds. Hermes had left nectar so I poured a little more of that down Luke's throat and hoped it would put him back to normal. Except maybe less homicidal. And maybe less naked. Because, whoa, was Luke very naked.
Normally I'm great about respecting the privacy of others but Luke tried to murder me twice so I thought I deserved to look at him naked if I wanted to. Not that I wanted to. I was just...curious. It's not like I saw a lot of naked men on the regular and none of them were as good looking as Luke. With my eyes I followed the blond line of public hair that started at Luke's navel and went down to the base of his dick.
I tore my eyes away. Looking at him made me feel…weird.
For the first time, I noticed the front door was wide open. I left the door open?! Ugh, there were going to be even more spiders in here than normal. Quickly I scrambled to my feet and slammed the door shut. Did anyone see us? They would have done something, right? Called someone? My heart raced as I leaned against the door.
There had to be a way to keep everyone out; gods and mortals alike. I clicked the lock shut. That would have to do for now. There were other things to worry about. Like getting Luke off the floor. I wasn't an animal and there was a perfectly decent pull out couch just a few feet away.
I unfolded the bed from the couch first and beat it a few times with the dusty broom in a rather vain attempt to make it less dusty. At least the spiders scattered, so that was something. Next, I picked up Luke's leg and dragged him around to the side of the pull out bed.
I've put on a little bit of weight and muscle but not enough to comfortably lift a grown man a whole two feet off the floor. The struggle was real. I wound up dropping Luke's head on the floor a few times before finally squeezing underneath him and pushing him up with my shoulders. I got Luke's torso onto the bed. His legs remained stubbornly on the floor. And I was squished beneath him. After some more struggle and a lot of wiggling, I managed to get free and pull Luke's lower half onto the bed at the same time.
Panting, I flopped onto the mattress beside Luke. "Oh my gods, that was hard," I said to fill the space. "You had better be worth the effort."
Luke was still unconscious and so he said nothing.
When I caught my breath, I made sure that his bandages were still in place. They seemed fine and none of them were bleeding through. From the back of the couch, I pulled an Afghan blanket and draped it over Luke. There. That was...well it was something and I was going to ignore the urge to keep staring at his junk. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
Right.
"Now what?" I asked myself. My stomach growled. "Okay. Food." There was none in Montauk House. I didn't have any money on me. This was supposed to be a quick in and out mission to scoop up those two demigod kids before Kronos could get them. I could call mom...except I couldn't use a cell phone. Montauk House didn't have a landline and even if it did, I didn't think the power was turned on for the winter. Maybe the gas station at the other side of the dunes had a phone I could borrow. Landlines didn't carry the same problem as cell phones did.
I got to my feet and made it all the way to the door before something occurred to me: what if Luke woke up while I was gone? What if he ran off and caused mayhem? My stomach growled again, more insistent this time. We needed food. Luke would probably sleep a while longer.
I washed my hands in the ocean since they still had blood on them. Then I ran across the dunes to the boardwalk. The boardwalk gave way to a concrete sidewalk and then I found the gas station. I waited in line for the clerk to be done ringing people up, then asked, "Could I please use your phone? Someone stole mine and I need to call my mom."
The clerk handed me the phone. "If you go outside you'll lose reception."
I called mom's cell number.
"Hello?" Mom's voice came on the line.
"Hi, mom," I said. "Could you come pick me up? I'm at the gas station by Montauk House."
"Percy? Are you okay?" Mom asked. Before I could answer, she added, "I'll be right there."
"Thanks, mom," I said and hung up. I handed the phone back to the clerk and jogged back to Montauk House. The wind blew cold off the ocean. Luke was exactly where I'd left him. Then I ran back to the gas station.
Mom pulled up twenty minutes later. She got out of the car and hugged me. Then she looked around. "Where are your friends?"
"We got separated." I hesitated, then asked, "They're planning to meet me at Montauk House and then we'll fly back to Camp. But there's nothing to eat at the house and we're out of toilet paper. Could you take me grocery shopping?"
Mom frowned slightly. Then she sighed and smiled. "Of course, dear. How many people are we going to feed?"
I hesitated. There was only Luke and I but who knew how long we would be here and mom was expecting at least six kids. "Six of us."
Mom let out a small whistle. "Alright. Let's go."
The grocery store was nearby. I had no idea what Luke liked to eat so I mostly left it to mom to pick out stuff. Mom chose a large packet of beef jerky, the largest jar of peanut butter and two jars of jelly - one strawberry and one grape - and a family-sized bag of barbeque chips. She also got some fresh fruit and bread and a whole rotisserie chicken. Then she added a brownie cake to the cart and some fruit punch. I added a small pack of toilet paper and paper towels to the cart. There was silverware at the house and I didn't want to tip mom off to this being more than one meal. The bill was almost two hundred dollars but mom only flashed me a tired smile and paid for it. We still weren't rich but we didn't have to pay for Gabe's addictions so we were doing better than before.
Mom parked in the lot beside the dunes that led to Montauk House. "Do you want me to help carry those?"
"No thanks," I said, slipping my arms through as many bags as I could. "Thanks, mom. Everyone's going to love this." I paused. "I'm going back to spend the last few days of my break at Camp Half-Blood." That meant I would miss Christmas with mom, which I felt bad about, but I couldn't leave Luke alone.
Pain reflected in mom's eyes. "Alright, Percy." She reached over and kissed my cheek. "Do what you have to and be safe, sweetheart. I love you."
"I love you too, mom." Then I got out of the car and walked into the dunes. To her credit, mom didn't follow me. She really trusted me and I wasn't sure that I deserved it. I was harboring a man who had tried to kill me more than once and who was going to raise a Titan that would destroy humanity.
I struggled under the weight of the bags and my arms ached by the time I got back to the house. From the outside it looked undisturbed. I still needed to turn the utilities on. Quickly I ran to the side of the house where the boxes were. There was one mounted to the wall and one in the ground. The wall one turned on the electric and the ground one gave us water. Then I went inside.
Luke was still asleep but he began to groan again as the smell of cooked chicken reached him.
My hands shook as I put away the groceries. My heart raced uncomfortably fast. What was I going to say to Luke? Would he attack me? Would we have to fight? What if he tried to run away? Could I really chase Luke down and drag him back here?
The bed springs creaked.
I snuck a glance at Luke from the corner of my eye.
He was sitting up, facing away from me, but I could still see his hand come up to his missing right eye. Luke made a soft, pained noise that I wouldn't have heard if it hadn't been dead quiet in the house.
I fumbled with a can of sliced pineapple. It crashed to the floor with a deafening clank. I flinched, spinning around to face Luke.
Luke was on his feet, the Afghan clutched to his front. He had no weapon but he looked ready to spring away from any threats. The confusion on his face when he saw me would have been funny under other circumstances. "Percy?"
I scooped to pick up the can of fruit and set it on the counter with an unintentionally loud bang. My face turned red. "Hi, Luke."
Luke looked around the small cabin. The confusion only increased. "Where are we?"
I hesitated, not wanting to give away our location. "Someplace safe."
"What happened? How did we get here?"
"Maybe you can tell me," I replied. "I was shot twice and kidnapped by a manticore. He took me to a hill and you were…" dying. "...there," I finished lamely.
Luke gave me a careful once over with his good eye. "I was holding the sky. I remember seeing you before…" he trailed off and touched the gauze over his right eye. "What happened?"
"Uh, your scars were opening up and the roof was falling so I tricked Atlas into holding the sky again," I said nervously. No one else made me feel how Luke did, small and weak and very afraid. Even when he wasn't armed and only had a blanket, being around Luke scared me. Why did I think I could do this?
Luke's eyebrows raised. "You...tricked Atlas into holding the sky again?" His lips curled in a slow smile. I guessed he was as fond of Atlas as Atlas was of him.
I nodded. If Luke thought this was a good idea, I wasn't entirely convinced I'd made the right move.
"Then what?"
"I dragged you down a hill, stole a rowboat, sailed here, and then dragged you into the house and took care of your wounds."
Luke held out the blanket with both hands and looked down at himself. After a few long moments, Luke asked, "Is there a bathroom here?"
There were only two doors; the front and the bathroom. I pointed to the bathroom door.
Luke moved slowly around the couch. He stayed with his back to the far wall, eye on me the whole time.
I turned with him, watched him go into the bathroom and close the door between us. The second it closed, I let out a breath. Well, he didn't try to kill me so that was good. The bathroom didn't have a window so I didn't have to worry about him trying to escape.
While Luke was in the bathroom, I finished putting away the groceries. The fridge was only just starting to get cold but we didn't have a lot to go in it except the fruit that couldn't be kept out on the counter. I was still really hungry so I got two plates from the cupboard and rinsed the dust off of them. At least the water worked fine.
I made two plates of food; cutting up the roast chicken, slicing some bread from the loaf, and finishing it off with two slices of brownies. I realized that we didn't have any butter and hoped that Luke didn't mind. Finally, I filled a bowl with sliced bananas and poured two cups of fruit punch. I carried it all to the tiny two-person table. Giving Luke silverware made me nervous but I wasn't going to make him eat with his hands.
If he wanted something else, then he was welcome to have it. Maybe I shouldn't have made his plate for him. He should be grateful just to get good food. But everyone deserved good food. Ugh. I was too nervous to sit down at the table so I stood by the sink and ate, eyes on the bathroom door.
Luke was in the bathroom for a long, long time.
I finished eating and washed my dishes before Luke came out of the bathroom. My back was to him when the door opened and I couldn't hide the way I jumped.
Luke's torso was free of bandages, red lines stretching across it. The blanket was around his waist. He held his hand over his eye. "Do you have more of that gauze? There was nothing in the cabinets."
My eyes slid to the first aid kit, still unopened on the floor. "Maybe," I said and made no move to go check.
Luke followed my gaze. He walked over and scooped up the kit. He brought it to the table and opened it. Sitting on the top was a black eye patch. Luke picked it up and frowned. "You might want to look away."
"My fingers were in your eye socket like eight hours ago," I blurted out. My face heated with a blush.
Luke shrugged and lowered his hand. Even with nectar, it was strange to see a socket with a missing eye. His eyelid hung strange. But really it wasn't as bad as it was when it was bleeding. Luke put on the eye patch. He closed the first aid kit. "Is this for me?" Luke asked, gesturing to the food.
"Yes."
Luke began to eat, watching me from the corner of his eye but mostly focused on his food. It was all gone within two minutes. When he'd cleaned his plate entirely, Luke looked at me fully. "Does anyone know I'm here?"
"Your dad."
Luke scowled.
"I needed help and I didn't have any supplies or money to get supplies," I defended myself.
Luke's scowl softened slightly. "So...what are you going to do with me, Percy?"
When Luke said my name it sent a chill up my spine. What was I going to do with him? "Well, everyone on both sides wants you dead," I said slowly, watching Luke closely.
Luke sighed but he didn't look surprised.
"And you don't have anywhere else to go -" Luke flinched slightly. "- so you can stay here. Besides, I can't let you run around trying to overthrow the gods."
Luke's scowl was back but only for a second. He stood and crossed the few feet between us.
I went for Riptide, the sword a useless pen in my pocket.
Luke grabbed both of my wrists and firmly planted my hands on the counter behind me. He got right in my face, still towering over me, and asked with a smirk, "Are you going to stop me?" His voice was pitched low and amused, the hint of a growl in his words.
My stomach flipped. My face grew hot. I tried to move my hands but Luke had me pinned. "I will stop you," I said, trying to sound braver and more confident than I felt.
"Then stop me," Luke challenged and slid a knee between my thighs, pinning me even more.
I struggled but couldn't free myself.
Luke didn't move. He might as well have been made of stone.
Just as my hands and feet were going cold with panic, Luke stepped back with a snort. "I didn't think so," he said dismissively. He walked to the pull out bed and said, "I'll stay here for now."
My legs felt like jello. Only my arms kept me from sinking to the floor. Luke was so intense. This was such a bad idea. I am in way over my head.
Thirty minutes passed before I could make myself move from the counter. My knees hurt. I crept toward the couch and saw that Luke was fast asleep, the blanket drawn up to his neck. I couldn't believe it. How dare he threaten me and then just take a nap?!
Well…a nap did sound nice. I climbed the ladder that led to the loft bed. It was basically a mattress on the floor with a foot of space on either side of it, not really room for anything else up here. I brushed away the spiders and laid down. If we were going to stay here for any length of time, we'd have to do something about the spiders.
I was asleep the second my head hit the mattress.
Chapter 3
Summary:
Luke is getting restless and Percy goes to extreme measures to keep him at Montauk House.
Chapter Text
The front door creaking as it opened woke me from a dead sleep. I almost vaulted myself off the loft before remembering the ladder. As it was, I half slid and half fell down the ladder. I ran the second my feet hit the ground. Still half asleep, I nearly ran into Luke.
"Where's the fire, kid?" Luke asked, completely nonchalant about being outside. He had the Afghan wrapped around him still. Which made sense because it was so cold outside I could see his breath.
"Y-you can't leave. I won't let you." I fumbled in my pocket for Riptide. There had to be a better way to carry this thing around.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "I said I'm staying."
"You're outside," I replied. I was slowly waking up and looking around, for any sign that there was a god watching us. The moon overhead looked threatening and I couldn't help but remember the barbed arrows that Artemis' Hunters had struck me with. Giving up on Riptide, I grabbed Luke's arm. "You have to come back inside."
"I don't want to. No one is going to see me on a deserted beach in the dark," Luke replied. He shrugged me off of him.
I couldn't let Luke roam around free. He was a terror, a danger to all demigods. There had to be a way to contain him to Montauk House. There was only one person I could think of to ask for help. "I'm going to go to the store for supplies. If some god decides they want to smite you while I'm gone then it's no skin off my back."
If Luke responded then I missed it.
I walked down the beach, angling for the boardwalk but not yet crossing the dunes. The supply run was an excuse. If I could convince Hermes to grant me two favors tonight then I would actually go to the store and pick up things like toothpaste and clothes. If not, then they could wait.
After a while, I became aware of a presence beside me. Hermes walked alongside me, looking quite at ease considering he'd shown up out of nowhere. "How is my son?"
"Trying to run away," I replied. "No one knows where he is, right?"
"Not to my knowledge," Hermes agreed. "My father is angry with Luke and he's known for...creative punishments. Atlas is a good example of one such punishment."
That they might not immediately kill Luke hadn't even crossed my mind but now that it did, I realized that killing Luke would be a mercy compared to what they could do to him. I turned around but couldn't see Montauk House from where I was. Anxiety spiked in my veins like needles. "I shouldn't care," I said aloud, mostly to myself.
Hermes cocked his head. It was dark on the beach but his eyes shone faintly like an animal's eyeshine catching the light. "But you do, don't you?"
Instinctively I wanted to disagree. I saved Luke's life because no one deserved torture...but I wanted to wash my hands of him and get on with my own life. Luke didn't need or want me around and if he was going to throw away his life then that was his choice. But I wasn't stupid, for all that I pretended to be. Admitting that aloud to Luke's dad would be a mistake. So I only nodded. "I'm scared that if he leaves the house, someone is going to catch him. The Olympians or the Titans. Do you have anything to make him stay?"
Now Hermes was the one who paused. He stopped walking and studied me intensely. "I have a way to keep Luke in your little cottage," he said slowly. "But Luke won't like it. Much like it is difficult to contain the ocean, trying to stop a traveler from roaming is ill-advised."
I bit my tongue so that I didn't say anything that would directly insult Hermes. Containing a single traveler was nothing like trying to stop the ocean. People - travelers or otherwise - had nothing on the sea and were subject to the whims of it. And for the most part, they knew that. Luke would survive and he would stay out of trouble if I kept him confined to Montauk House.
"Of course, if Luke can't leave, then someone will have to take care of him," Hermes said in a leading tone of voice. "Make sure that his needs are met."
I hesitated, wondering how the heck I would manage to take care of Luke while going to school full time and doing part time demigod work. Maybe I could sneak away from school on the weekends and restock the fridge. "I'll take care of him. But I don't have any money."
Hermes twisted his wrist and a little black credit card appeared in his hand. It read Hermes Express in silver letters. "My children are born wild, Percy. I don't like to restrict them and I don't like to tie their fates to anyone who may not have their best intentions at heart." Hermes put a hand on my shoulder. "Luke is my favorite of all of my children, for all that he's gone astray."
I suddenly felt lightheaded. The weight of what I was asking for settled heavy on my shoulders. I thought my legs might give out from the pressure. "I...I'm still angry at Luke," I admitted. "But I don't want him to be tortured." I met Hermes' gaze. My gut twisted. "We don't give up on family, right?"
Hermes smiled slightly. He pressed something into my hand.
The first thing was the credit card, which I pocketed. The second thing was a strip of leather. One side was soft and the other had a sort of bumpy texture. There was a buckle on the end and I realized that it was a dog collar...or something similar. Instinctively I knew that Luke would hate it...and hate me. I looked up at Hermes.
"The magic contained in this is sensitive but strong. It will keep Luke confined wherever you want him. If you want or find yourself needing to move, the magic will allow Luke to go with you."
"Can't he just take it off?" I asked. Holding the collar made me feel slimy but I didn't see any other way.
"Only you can take it off." Hermes squeezed my shoulder. "Please take good care of my son, Percy."
Before I could reply, Hermes disappeared. I was starting to dislike that.
Well...I supposed I'd better go shopping. I folded the collar and put it in my pocket. Then I went to the grocery store. I barely made it before closing, so the staff was breathing down my neck waiting for me to leave. I tried to be fast, going to the pharmacy section and putting things in my basket; shampoo, conditioner, soap, a razor and shaving cream, toothpaste and a toothbrush, floss, a hair brush, deodorant. I picked out some fresh towels and washcloths, then some blankets because they didn't sell sheets and it was cold in Montauk House. I couldn't carry all of this and pillows so I opted to wait till tomorrow for pillows.
The grocery store didn't have much in the way of clothing. Some t-shirts featuring the local high school football team's logo and socks were about all they had. There were women's underwear and stockings but I didn't think Luke would want those. Tomorrow, I promised myself, I would buy Luke actual clothes. But for now he might appreciate having warm toes and a t-shirt to go with his Afghan. At least we had heat at the house now.
As I walked back to Montauk House, it began to snow. By the time I got there, I was shivering. My jacket was more of a summer jacket than anything that could be used for really cold weather and it had a few holes in it from my encounter with Dr. Thorn.
I expected to see Luke still up and about - or gone, if I was being completely honest - but he was laying in bed asleep again. I guess when you hold the sky and almost die, it takes a lot out of you.
I put away my purchases then went back into the living room and withdrew the collar from my pocket.
The collar was black leather, made of some type of scaled skin if the pattern was anything to go by. There was one golden ring attached to the front, where a chain was supposed to connect. Hermes hadn't given me a chain. Maybe magic collars didn't need chains.
Carefully as to not wake Luke, I slipped the collar around his neck. When I buckled it, Luke would be contained in Montauk House until I unbuckled it again. He wouldn't be able to take the collar off by himself and he wouldn't be able to walk out the front door. I thought of Hermes' warning about containing the son of a traveler but dismissed it. Luke could stand to be a little uncomfortable if it meant keeping Luke alive and preventing Kronos from rising. I buckled the collar.
A chain grew from the D ring on the collar and silently slithered across the floor like a snake of celestial bronze metal links. When it reached the middle of the room, it sank into the hardwood.
There. It was done. Now I could rest easy knowing that Luke couldn't get up to any trouble. Hopefully the chain wouldn't leave any damage to the floor.
I yawned. It was nighttime but I was still tired too. It's been a long two days. Oh my gods, was it only two days? I hauled myself up to the loft and laid down on the mattress. Finally, I could sleep easy.
I couldn't breathe. My throat was tight and something heavy was on my chest. My ears popped and suddenly I heard Luke's voice: "Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!"
I forced my eyes to open.
Luke was sitting on top of me, hands wrapped around my throat, looking furious. His face was red and the vein in his temple pulsed. His lips were peeled back to show his teeth. I've never seen him so angry. When he saw I was awake, Luke lifted me off the mattress by my neck and slammed me back into it. "Get this thing off me, Percy!"
It knocked what little air was in my lungs out of them.
Luke's fingers tightened around my throat.
The blood pooled in my head. I was lightheaded. I lashed out, clawing at Luke's face, catching his injured eye.
Luke yelped and released me, scrambling backward instinctively.
I sucked in a huge breath that felt as pleasurable as it was painful. My dick got hard. Not just a little hard, but fully erect. I groaned and forced myself to scoot away from Luke before he could attack me again.
Luke was on me again in a second, hands sinking into the meat of my thighs and yanking me toward him. A low, angry growl resonated from him.
I swiped at Luke's face again.
Luke was prepared this time; he caught my hand and pinned it to the mattress. Then he grabbed my other one and held both of my wrists with one of his hands. His eye was ablaze with fury. He jerked the chain dangling from the collar around his neck. "What is this and why won't it come off?" Luke snarled.
"Get off me!" I rasped. My throat hurt. Every breath was a struggle.
"What did you do to me?!" Luke yelled. His grip on my wrists tightened until the bones in my wrist ground together.
"You can't leave," I said, hating the whine in my voice.
"I said I was going to stay!" Luke growled. He didn't loosen his grip. "Take this off."
"No."
"Percy, I am not fucking with you. Take. It. Off."
I shook my head. "Even if everyone didn't want to kill you, you're too dangerous to go free. I can't let you hurt anyone."
Luke stared at me, his expression going curiously blank. "I should have known this would happen when I left you with them. I told him he should have let me bring you." Luke sat back on his haunches, which happened to be at my pelvic region.
A hot flash of pleasure sparked in me and I whimpered. Part of me was terrified and part of me wanted Luke to do that again. My face went hot with shame. Luke was evil and this was probably somehow part of his evil plan to overthrow the gods or kill me. But gods if he wasn't also handsome.
Luke frowned as he gazed down at me. "You think I'll let you make me your pet?" he snapped.
I shook my head. "You aren't my pet, Luke."
Luke's eye narrowed. He leaned over me, face close to mine but out of headbutting range. "Your slave, then?" His voice was a dangerous, almost seductive purr.
I shook my head again. My erection hadn't flagged at all and now my legs trembled with how much I wanted to get off. "Were...were you lying?"
"No," Luke said without hesitation. Then he added, "About what?"
"You said that...that he left you there, holding the sky," I managed. My heart was pounding so fast I thought it might burst from my chest.
I didn't think Luke could look more upset but he managed it. "No," he said quietly, like he didn't want to admit it out loud. "That has nothing to do with this," Luke spat and jerked the glowing chain again.
The shaking spread to my arms. "You were dying. I...I heard him say that you weren't useful to him anymore. He left you there to die, didn't he?"
Luke snarled and bore down, somehow becoming heavier without really moving.
This time I squeezed my eyes shut as I whimpered. It was really a small noise. Maybe I'd get lucky and Luke wouldn't have heard it. My knees shook. I curled my toes. "A-am I wrong?"
"What's the point, Percy?" Luke snapped impatiently, notably not telling me I was wrong.
"You can't go back to him because he wants you dead," I said in a rush. "And...and you can't go back to the Olympians either because they'll torture you too."
Luke said nothing but his expression told me I'd better do better than this.
"Y-you keep trying to kill me...but I can't turn you over to either side and let you be tortured again. I know that...that fairness and forgiveness aren't the Olympians' strong points." If I was being honest with myself, that was probably an understatement. I swallowed. "If I let you go, you're going to keep fighting the Olympians and you're going to fight the Titans and you're going to hurt more demigods to do it."
"So your plan is to just keep me chained up in an inhospital shed for…ever?" Luke asked, incredulous.
I wouldn't call Montauk House an inhospital shed. It just needed cleaning. I couldn't meet his eye. "I don't know," I admitted quietly and braced myself to be hit.
"You are exactly like our parents. No wonder they wanted you to be their champion." Then, to my surprise, Luke threw back his head and laughed. It was not a jovial laugh, but a sinister one that sent a chill down my spine. Luke lashed out, throwing his fist at the wall. The wood cracked on impact.
I flinched and hated myself for it.
Luke looked at his knuckles, splinters sticking out of his flesh. He looked at me, the previous blaze just a flicker in his blue eye. "You should have left me to die." Then he got up and swung himself over the edge of the loft. His feet made a soft thud.
I lay panting on my mattress, staring at the hole Luke had punched in the wall. Now that he wasn't sitting on me, my whole body felt too light and insubstantial like I was going to float away. My heart pounded hard in my chest. Gingerly, I touched my throat and winced. It felt bruised inside and out.
This was exactly why Luke couldn't be allowed to roam free.
Although...if I had been the one chained up, I would fight my captor too. Hermes had warned me that Luke wouldn't like being confined. Well, he was right. Hopefully Luke got it all out of his system though.
Was I doing the right thing?
I wish there was someone I could ask for advice.
I laid there for a long time, trying to decide what to do and waiting for my body to stop hurting. Unfortunately, the shadows had shifted on the ceiling before I realized that there was no easy solution and that my body wasn't going to stop hurting anytime soon. Slowly I rolled onto my side. I laid there for a while longer before scooting to look over the edge of the loft. There was a short railing to keep people from rolling off so I had to push myself into a sitting position to see the rest of the house.
The bathroom door was open and I couldn't see anyone inside. Luke also wasn't at the kitchen table. I had to fold myself almost in half to see the living room below me and even then, only caught a glimpse of Luke's pale skin in the corner. He sat on the far edge of the bed, his head in his hands and his back to me. He was the picture of misery.
Trying to be quiet, I crept down the ladder and across the floor to the table where Luke had left the first aid kit. I picked it up and walked quietly over to Luke.
Luke growled at me without lifting his head. The skin around the splinters in his knuckles was slightly inflamed.
I knelt down, tensed to spring away if he decided to lash out again, and opened the first aid kit. There was a pair of plastic tweezers inside. I took them out and slowly reached for one of Luke's hands.
Luke's growl was deeper this time.
"You're hurt," I whispered. There was no reason to whisper; no one could hear us.
"So what?" Luke snarled. He still wouldn't look at me.
I touched Luke's left wrist.
Luke's growl was so deep that I felt it in my own chest.
"So...you shouldn't suffer anymore than you already are." I skimmed my fingers to the back of his hand. "I know you're mad at me and everything about this sucks but we don't have to pile on more sucky stuff." Gently, I pulled Luke's hand from his face.
We locked eyes.
Luke made a soft, surprised noise. His breath caught. His pupil dilated.
I felt something in my chest, a warm sort of pressure that was there and gone before I could process it.
The important thing was that Luke let me touch him without growling.
I used the tweezers to pluck the splinters from his knuckles. "I'm going to go to the store and get more stuff. Is there anything you want me to get from the store?"
Luke hesitated, looking around the house. After a long time, he said, "Cleaning supplies, bedding, clothes. More food. Meat and vegetables. Milk." He pointed to the old box television that rested on the tiny entertainment center. His other hand was still in mine. "Does that thing work?"
"It plays VHS tapes but there's no cable."
"Get some movies too, then." Luke pointed to the all in one record-CD-cassette player that rested on a side table beside the entertainment center. "Does that work?"
"I think so," I said and released Luke's hand. I put the tweezers away and closed the first aid kit. "What kind of music do you like?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't care. Whatever you can find." He looked at the empty bookshelf. "And books."
A lot of the things on his list were entertainment, I noticed. It's not like I could fault Luke for that. Montauk House was small and when you took away the ability to go outside, there wasn't much to do. "I'll see what I can do."
At the grocery store, I got window cleaner, floor cleaner, a few rags, and dish soap. After lingering in the cleaning section for far too long, I finally decided to invest in a sponge and a mop. The laundry detergent was so heavy that I knew I wouldn't be able to carry it back easily so I decided to skip it for today.
As for food, I chose hamburger patties and bacon first because they could be cooked in a frying pan. I wasn't going to waste money on fish because I could fish whatever I wanted from the ocean and it would be fresh. Next to go into my cart was a carton of eggs, a gallon of milk, and butter. I dithered over the refrigerated pastries before deciding to go with flaky biscuits. At the vegetable section, I hesitated, unsure of what kind of vegetables Luke would like. A lot of people were super picky about vegetables. In the end, I got frozen carrots and green beans, fresh bell peppers and fresh mushrooms, and canned corn. I also got Luke tomatoes and a bag of salad.
Look, I'm not in charge of grocery shopping at my house. I've never done this before. It looked something like what we kept at home. Maybe he liked being healthy.
Next I hit the spice aisle, getting pretty much one of everything because while I didn't cook, I knew that mom liked to use spice in her cooking and Camp food tended to be unseasoned despite how good it tasted.
Wait.
Did Luke know how to cook?
Did he know how to season?
This could be disastrous in more ways than one.
As I eyed the cart, I worried that I wouldn't be able to carry it all from the store to Montauk House in one trip. It was only a mile and a half walk but that was really far when you had heavy groceries on both arms and it was cold enough to make your ears ache.
This was just food; I haven't even gotten to the entertainment and still couldn't get more clothes or bedding. For a few moments I stood there in a silent panic, wondering what was a priority and if I could afford to put anything back. I still had about a week and a half before I had to be back to school. I'd come back for more stuff tomorrow.
Luke could wait for the rest.
As I waited in line to check out, I couldn't help but notice the movies on display. It wasn't like VHSs weighed a ton and they were only a couple dollars. Stores were starting to phase out VHS tapes now that DVDs were the new movie medium. I could snag one or two. I grabbed Alien vs Predator and The Fifth Element. I've never seen either of those movies but they looked appropriately grown up, which I thought Luke would appreciate. Maybe. Did evil people watch movies?
They must because Luke asked for some.
Carrying the load back was as terrible as I thought it would be. Now that I was fourteen and a hero, you'd think that I would have some major muscle. Not so. I still struggled to carry the groceries for any length of time. Getting Luke down the hill had been mostly adrenaline.
Luke was in the bathroom when I got back. I finished putting the food away by the time he came out. When he saw the movies, Luke picked up the Fifth Element and said, "Have you seen this yet?"
"No," I admitted. "Have you?"
Luke nodded. "But I'll watch it again. Want to watch it with me?"
"Okay," I said, unsure what Luke's intentions were. But really, what harm could he do while we were watching a movie?
We folded the bed back into the couch. I set up the movie. Then we sat on opposite ends of the couch. The movie was alright but it couldn't distract me from how close Luke was or from how my throat still hurt after that strangling.
What if he tried it again?
Why didn't I hate the idea as much as I thought I should?
Near the end, the movie got interesting enough that it distracted me from Luke's presence. The hot man and the orange-haired woman were having sex. My eyes went wide with the realization and then my heart skipped a beat. The sex scene made my skin hot and the back of my neck prickled.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Luke watching me watch the screen. He was smirking. Because he's seen this movie and he knew what was coming. Ugh. He was totally evil. Only an evil person didn't warn you about...something like this.
I could not watch sex happen on screen with Luke right next to me but I wasn't sure I could excuse myself without the reason being totally obvious. Before I could figure out what to do, the sex scene finally ended and the credits rolled. I let out an unintentionally loud sigh of relief.
Luke snorted. "So, what did you think?"
"You could have warned me," I said, face positively burning. I couldn't look Luke in the eye.
Luke's smirk grew. "Don't you know what sex is?"
I nodded even though I wasn't, like, super educated on the subject. I thought I had a fairly firm idea of the basics but that was mostly through an iffy sex education class and what I'd overheard other kids talking about. Porn was a thing but I've never seen any and mom was still always careful to make sure I didn't watch any movies with a higher rating than PG-13. My blush burned all the way down to my fluttery stomach. "It was kind of a boring movie, though."
Luke hummed. He got to his feet. The chain keeping him here clinked. He walked around to the table and picked up the other movie. "Want to watch this one?"
I twisted around to watch him. "Is there sex in that one too?"
Luke paused, looking at the VHS. "No…" Luke said, not sounding like he was sure about this. "There's…" he paused again. "Childbirth." Oh great. The thing that came after sex. Because that was exactly what I wanted to see. "But I think you'll like this one."
"You don't know me," I heard myself say. The defensiveness in my own tone made me wince.
The tension in the room skyrocketed. Luke tilted his head slightly, deciding how to respond. Finally, he shrugged. "So do you want to watch it or not?"
It was too early to go to bed and I had nowhere to be and nothing else to do. I should have gotten more movies. "Alright."
By the end of the movie I had to admit that Luke was right; I did like it.
Chapter 4
Summary:
Percy makes another few trips to the store. He and Luke get into a fight.
Notes:
Edit: why didn't any of you tell me I updated two days early? XD
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The next day Luke said, "When you go to the store, get me some pomegranate bath bombs."
"Why pomegranate?" I asked.
"For the irony of the situation I've found myself in." Luke rolled his eye. "I never thought a teenager would hold me hostage."
"I'm sorry," I said, because I was now that I'd had a few days to think on it. "I'll be back soon." Then I went to go get Luke's pomegranate bath bombs and the rest of the stuff he wanted.
There was so much sand in my shoes from walking across the dunes that I had to stop on the sidewalk and dump them out. There were cons to being Poseidon's son and the inability to keep sand out of my sneakers was one of them. I was going in and out of the dunes so much lately that I seriously considered investing in a wagon or something to pull my groceries. Maybe I could find one. Because I did not want to keep hauling tons of stuff all the way to Montauk House.
This time I went to Target, which was a longer walk than the grocery store. The first thing I did was find a beach wagon to carry my purchases. Thank gods we were in a beach town because they were in stock even though no one was visiting the beach this time of year. Now that I had wheels, I could get more things so I made my way to the toy aisle and got a deck of cards. I couldn't picture Luke playing board games - or me playing them with him - so I skipped those and went to the entertainment section of the store. Their VHS section was tiny and I got one of everything. There were barely ten movies here.
In the book section, I stood for a long time looking at the covers. Books weren't my thing. They always say not to judge a book by the cover but it wasn't like I was very interested in reading them. There seemed to be two main genres of book; romance and crime novels. I didn't want to give Luke any ideas so I chose three of the romance novels. They all had attractive men on the cover and sometimes a woman in the background or somewhere around the man's feet. I couldn't have told you what any of them were about if my life depended on it.
In the home goods aisles I stood in front of the sheet sets like a complete moron. What was the difference between full and twin sized beds? The couch mattress and loft mattress were bigger than what I had at home so would they be queen sized beds? Was it better to get sheets that were too big than too small? They had thermal sheets so I put three sets into the wagon; two for Luke and one for my bed, since I wasn't planning to be there long enough to need to wash my sheets often. Speaking of washing, I needed laundry detergent. Before I left that aisle for detergent, I picked up four big pillows.
Detergent was between home goods and the men's clothing section. I'd guessed right when I chose an XL shirt for Luke but I had no idea what size pants he wore. I held up a pair of jeans and frowned, trying to mentally compare them to Luke's waist. Or was it the hips I was supposed to be thinking of? Oh no.
In the end, I got a couple of different sizes and styles. I bought him some pajama sets and a few packs of underwear and socks. Which was probably too many. Was I expecting him to never do laundry? "Why is this so hard?" I mumbled as I debated between getting Luke a hoodie or a winter jacket. If he wasn't going outside did he need a winter jacket? Would a hoodie keep him warm enough? Montauk House only had a tiny space heater since it was meant to be a summer home so it was still pretty chilly. Maybe I should buy another space heater. And a heating pad for Luke's bed.
Finding the heating pad took me to the pharmacy. I stared at the huge amount of pills surrounding me. There were vitamins and pain relievers and allergy medicine and cold medicine. Would Luke need any of this? Demigods didn't really get sick but we could have allergies and we definitely felt pain. I didn't know where I'd get more nectar for Luke when we ran out so maybe keeping the medicine cabinet stocked would be a good idea.
I bought Luke Flintstones vitamins, allergy medicine - the drowsy kind because he had nowhere to be to stay awake for - some medicine for upset stomachs, and pain relievers. Then I got more bandages, gauze, medical tape, and some regular bandaids in various sizes. Was this alright?
Wait. The bath bombs. I spent a long time in the bath bomb aisle, squinting at the tiny lettering on the packages. Why was everything in a clear square package with tiny little print on a round sticker? At first I thought there wouldn't be any pomegranate but at the bottom of the shelf were four packs of two in the back. I grabbed all four of them. Luke could drown in pomegranate bath bombs for all I cared.
I wandered down the aisles, trying to think of anything that I may have forgotten. I couldn't remember anything but had a nagging feeling that I was missing something. Well, it could probably wait until tomorrow. Going shopping gave me time away from Luke, which calmed my nerves and made me anxious at the same time.
At the checkout stand, I added a book of word searches and a National Geographic magazine to my purchases. Then realized Luke would need pens and wound up with a whole pack of red ballpoint pens too.
The total made me feel a little ill because I didn't think I'd been too crazy with my choices. Part of me expected the card to decline because Hermes finally decided I was spending too much on his son, but it went through. Getting out of the store was a relief. At least the wagon made it easier to lug all this stuff back.
When I got back to Montauk House, it was snowing and Luke stood in the doorway. He was wearing the t-shirt and socks, along with the afghan around his waist. The second that Luke saw me, he burst into laughter.
My face turned hot with a blush. "Yeah, yeah," I grumbled as I stopped in front of him. "Laugh it up."
"Oh, Percy, you are adorable," Luke purred between peals of laughter. His laughter made the blanket around his waist loosen and slip and he made a mad gab for it before it fell. "Did you get my bath bombs?"
I slipped my arms in the bag handles and picked everything up at once. It was heavy, which was why I'd bought the wagon in the first place. "I think you'd be more worried about pants," I huffed as I squeezed past him.
Luke did not move to let me through and didn't react when I knocked him with my shoulder. Only one I was inside did he step away from the door and follow me. The golden chain dragged across the floor with every step that Luke took.
"Which I got for you," I added. I set my purchases on the table and rubbed my arms. They were banded with red lines up to my elbows.
Luke stopped behind me, so close that my skin prickled with his presence but not touching. "So?" he said, voice lower than it had been a moment before. "What did you bring for me?"
For a split second I thought of a stone altar, and could almost feel it beneath my knees. Head bowed, shoulders hunched, I set my offerings on the altar and awaited judgement from a god I had angered.
Luke's breath ghosted across the back of my neck.
I snapped back into reality and was surprised to find that I really did set out Luke's stuff. The most bizarre mix of feelings clashed inside me like the place the Atlantic and Pacific oceans meet; the desire to move away from Luke and the equally strong desire to stay right where I was. In the end both feelings won and as I slid away from Luke, I twisted and was surprised by just how close he was and the small space between his body and the table that I'd occupied.
Luke ignored me, looking over my purchases with a critical eye. He noted that the pants were different sizes and told me his pant size for future reference. Half of what I got him was going to be too big. "Get me a needle and thread and I'll see if I can't fix that," Luke said.
"I don't think I trust you with a needle," I said, squinting at him suspiciously. There were a lot of terrible things that Luke could do with a needle.
"You left all of the knives in the drawers," Luke replied without looking up. He held a romance novel in his hands, reading the back of it.
Oh. "W-well, that's different. You need them for the food." Even as I spoke, it sounded so stupid. Luke just wanted to fix the clothes that wouldn't fit him so that he could wear them comfortably.
Luke raised an eyebrow.
I dropped my eyes to my feet. "I'll check tomorrow," I promised. Why did it even matter? Clothes were clothes. Shouldn't he be grateful I wasn't making him walk around in a blanket? Oh, but if mom ever found out that I'd treated someone like that - even if he was my enemy - then she would be so disappointed. She didn't raise me to ignore it when people needed help. Right now, I kind of wish that she had, just so that I wouldn't be in this situation.
Luke smiled. It was a small, genuine smile that lacked the smugness of a smirk.
My stomach flipped at the sight of it.
"You didn't get any music again," Luke noted. As soon as Luke said it, I felt the silence of this place press in on us. The way you could only hear the ocean lapping at the shore and the wind through the sand. It felt very lonely.
I snapped my fingers to dispel the feeling. "Shoot." I knew I'd forgotten something.
The next day, I went to a record store and chose some classic rock, country, hip hop, and Christmas classics albums. Who knew what Luke liked to listen to. He didn't tell me before I left either, so I was in the dark here. Hopefully he wouldn't be mad but so far Luke didn't seem upset with anything that I brought back. Except maybe the pants that didn't fit. At the drugstore, I found more VHS tapes that we didn't have and a tiny sewing kit that I told myself wasn't going to come back to bite me in the ass.
I didn't need the wagon for this so I just carried it back to Montauk House on my arm.
Luke was cooking. He stood at the stove, wearing fleece pajama pants, socks, and the hoodie I'd bought him. He hummed to himself as he scraped minced mushrooms and peppers into liquid eggs in a frying pan; it looked like omelettes. Between the two space heaters and the stove on, it was toasty in the small house. "Did you get any music? The silence is driving me up a wall and I don't want to get sick of the movies too soon."
I held up all four albums. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I just chose at random."
Luke's face gave away nothing when he looked at them. "Put one on."
I chose the Christmas one just to see how Luke would react. It wasn't yet Christmas but most people were sick of Christmas music because they started playing it on the radio and in the stores around October. Not that I thought Luke really had a chance to listen to the radio or go shopping since he joined Kronos. The idea was kind of depressing. I tried not to think about how Luke still wouldn't be able to go shopping or listen to the radio. Instead, I asked, "Is some of that for me?"
"You want me to cook for you too?" Luke asked, tone somewhere between mocking and incredulous. Too? I suddenly realized that the kitchen surfaces had been wiped down and the floors swept and mopped. Luke had been busy while I was gone. "Maybe you should have bought me a dress and some slippers so I can look the part of your housewife, since clearly that's what you think I am."
I wasn't quite sure how to backpedal from that so I didn't say anything at all. My brain was stuck on the mental picture of Luke in a dress.
Luke lolled his head to me, looked at me with his good eye, and rolled it. "Don't hurt yourself thinking about it." He returned his gaze to the frying pan, looking more amused than angry. "Yes, some of this is for you, Percy."
Because Luke was cooking and I felt inadequate, I set the table. "I should have gotten orange juice," I realized as I looked in the fridge for something to fill our glasses with. The options were milk, fruit punch, or water.
"When you go to the store tomorrow, get some juice that doesn't need to be refrigerated too. It'll last longer," Luke said.
"Okay." I sliced up two more bananas and put them in bowls, then poured milk on them. I poured more milk into two mugs and frowned down at them. It would be nice to have chocolate or strawberry milk.
"You bought hot chocolate mix, if you're lamenting our lack of drink options," Luke informed me. He took the omelettes out of the frying pan and divided them between two plates.
"Oh!" I said, because I hadn't realized. Maybe someone put it with the spices on accident. But sure enough, when I looked in the food cupboard, there was a small box of hot chocolate mix. There were only six packets so I'd have to get more. I took two, poured them into our milk, and then mixed it together with a spoon. Finally, I put them both in the microwave and set it for two and a half minutes. The microwave was low wattage and with two things in there, it would take twice as long.
Luke cocked his head in curiosity when he saw the banana cereal but kept his mouth shut about it. Maybe they didn't make it where he was from. He sat down at the table and began eating without waiting for me to join him.
I stood by the microwave, watching him.
It looked like Luke felt better today. At least he hasn't tried to strangle me since the night I put the collar on him. My eyes dropped down to the black leather collar. In the daylight it looked like it was made of black snakeskin and I was almost positive the scales came from a monster but I couldn't name which one. The collar shifted slightly every time Luke swallowed. Was it too tight? Was there anything I could do about it? If I unbuckled the collar for even an instant, Luke would fight with all he had to make sure it came off.
Why couldn't things ever be easy?
The microwave beeped. I brought our lukewarm drinks to the table and sat down opposite Luke. Luke poisoning the food did cross my mind but he was eating it too and the only poisons in the house were the cleaning supplies, which I would taste before swallowing. The omelets were good.
"You should take a shower," Luke said after breakfast.
"Excuse me?" I asked, halfway between the table and the sink. I twisted around to glare at him.
Luke looked calmly back at me. "You stink and this is a small…" he paused, searching for a word. "Dwelling." Oh my gods. "Go take a shower."
I set my dishes on the counter. If Luke wanted to tell me I reek then he could do the dishes. "Shouldn't you be used to smelly teens?"
The few traces of good mood left Luke's face. "Just because you're used to something doesn't mean it's good."
And with that obvious metaphor, I hurried into the bathroom before he could continue. We'd pretty much managed to avoid a second serious fight and I was hoping to keep the streak up for as long as I was confined to this house with Luke. Listening to him talk badly about the gods - whether he was right or not - would just start a fight that I didn't want to have.
Of course, having gone straight to the bathroom, I realized that I didn't have any clean clothes. Like, at all. I've been wearing the same clothes for a few days now because I didn't have any of my stuff with me and I hadn't thought about buying anything for myself. That seemed like a stupid oversight now. At least there were towels in the bathroom so I could cover myself while I did a load of laundry.
Being naked with Luke in the next room, knowing that he could unlock any door, made me nervous in a fluttery sort of way. I kept imagining Luke walking into the bathroom on me, on how that first burst of cold air would feel. Needless to say, I washed and showered as quickly as possible. When I got out of the shower, I willed myself dry and wrapped a towel around myself. It was cold even without being wet, the chill still clinging to my skin. With the door closed, the temperature in the bathroom was slowly dropping.
I put my clothes in the stacked washer, then joined Luke in the main room. I sat at the kitchen table and pressed my knees together. My toes were freezing.
Luke came and sat down across from me. He looked pleasantly warm and plush in his hoodie, like a teddy bear. I bet he'd radiate heat too. Not that I wanted to hug him. Luke's blue eye gleamed like I'd told a joke. "Ah, how the tables have turned."
"Nothing has turned," I replied hotly. Luke was the one at my mercy here. He was the one who couldn't leave Montauk House. Our roles were not reversed in any way and they wouldn't ever be.
"Except for your face turning red," Luke said with a snicker. He rested his chin on his hand. "May I inquire as to why you're naked?"
The blush spread to the tips of my ears. "I don't have any clean clothes so I'm doing laundry. They were...in need of a wash."
Luke's smile grew. "So I was right."
"Absolutely not," I said automatically and incorrectly.
Luke only smiled and chose a movie to watch. "Well, we might as well kill some time with a movie."
So that's what we did.
I was washing the bathroom mirror, staring at my reflection. My eyes kept getting drawn to the scar on my shoulder. It was from the Hunters and Dr. Thorn, a combined effort that I suspect had almost killed me.
The memories played out like my worst nightmare; going over the cliff and seeing Luke on the hill, being crushed under the weight of the sky. I understood now that he had been breaking open at the seams. It made me shudder to think of. He said the army left him there. But why? And how? You couldn't unwillingly take the sky from Atlas.
The thought ballooned in my mind. I dropped the rag. I stormed into the main room. "Why did you hold the sky?" I demanded.
Luke was sweeping out the loft. He peered down at me, his frown making the scar on his face twist. Luke sighed. "I didn't want to, but I had no choice." His voice was tired.
"Atlas is the only one who can unwillingly hold the sky," I countered, hands on my hips. It suddenly annoyed me that he was up higher than me.
"I didn't want to," Luke repeated. He leaned against the broom and stared into middle space. After a moment he said, "Mr. K was angry that I let you leave with the Fleece and he was even angrier when it brought Thalia back. No one was expecting another player on the board." Luke shook his head.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that Mr. K was Kronos. I glared up at him. "Let us leave with the Fleece?"
Luke ignored the growl in my voice. He didn't even look at me. "Mr. K promised that if I freed Atlas, he would let Thalia live. He would find a way to use her in his plans instead of killing her."
Thalia and I had our differences. She was a lot more prickly and standoffish than I ever expected based on how everyone talked about her. But she was a hero and a demigod and even though Thalia annoyed me sometimes, I didn't want her to die. It never occurred to me before that Kronos might want her dead. And it didn't occur to me that Luke might be the type to sacrifice his life to save someone else's, even when they were on a different side.
The direction of my anger shifted from Luke to Kronos. "You said you let us take the Fleece."
Luke's gaze sharpened as he focused on me. He gave a little half shrug. "I could have divided the army and sent some of them after Clarisse or just gone after her myself while the army distracted you."
I never thought of that before and a chill went down my spine. "Why didn't you?"
To my surprise, Luke's face turned red. "It's going to sound stupid."
I raised an eyebrow.
"There was...a voice or something in my head that just said, 'let them go and see what happens.'" Luke made a gesture. Demigods hearing voices was usually a sign of gods talking to them. I didn't think Luke was the type to still listen to the gods. "So I let you go and Thalia came back." Luke laughed a little at the end, like he couldn't believe that she'd come back.
I touched my knee. There was a scar on the flesh just above it where Luke had stabbed me with Backbiter.
Luke, of course, saw the gesture. Regret shone in his eye.
"You didn't have to stab me if you were going to let us go," I complained. The betrayal I still felt could be heard clearly in my voice.
Luke's expression was hard to read. "Yes, I did. You're the Olympian's chosen champion and I already let you walk away without a scratch once."
I showed him my right palm, where the asterisk-shaped scar always ached.
A flicker of surprise crossed Luke's face before he smiled. How dare he smile after trying to kill me? "I heard you lived."
"No shit, Sherlock," I replied, angry with him again.
Luke's smile widened. He looked like he was enjoying himself up there, like he was in on a joke only he knew. "Think about it for a while." Then he went back to sweeping.
I asked a ton of questions and Luke didn't answer any of them. Finally, I threw up my arms and said, "I hate you! You're so annoying." Then I went back to cleaning the bathroom.
Notes:
So. The thing is. This was supposed to be a one shot. But then it hit the 30k word count and I went "let's split it up into chapters." Except every time I post, I break up the chapters differently. Which is why sometimes a lot happens and then sometimes almost nothing happens. This was going to end at the first break but my heart went "not long enough 3" so here we are. Chapters four and five combined.
Chapter 5
Summary:
Percy gets a lesson in sex education.
Notes:
Things are starting to get horny! And indulgent. I warned you this was going to be indulgent.
Chapter Text
Luke used the margins of the word search to make a list of what he wanted me to pick up from the store. It contained normal things like sugar, flour, chocolate chips, shortening, baking powder and soda, things of that nature. I guessed he wanted to bake.
There was also lotion, nail polish, nail polish remover, eyeliner, and lipstick. What was he going to do with this stuff? Whatever.
The list contained the usual request for more movies, music, and books. He also added games to the list, which could mean anything. Board games or video games? I'd have to make a stop by Target again to see if we could find something that would hook up to our old television. I felt a flash of anxiety as I wondered what Luke was going to do when I went back to school, but shoved it away. So far we limited ourselves to two movies a day so that we didn't go through them too fast but that only ate up a few hours a day. Luke was going to get bored.
Well, better bored than dead.
Maybe.
I would figure something out.
Then I got to the bottom of the list. "What do you need lube and condoms for?" I asked aloud. Just saying it made my face go hot and a tingling feeling spread between my hips.
Luke was on the couch, one leg thrown over the back of it while he read. He lifted his head enough to throw me a dirty look over the back of the couch.
I made a face back at him that he didn't see. "Are you planning to have people over?"
Luke snorted. He slapped his book closed. "Who would I invite over?"
"Um,"
"How would I invite anyone over?" Luke continued.
"Uh,"
"I'm a grown man, Percy. I have needs."
Well, okay. That made sense. Except. "Condoms, though? Don't you use those with a partner?"
Luke sighed. "Gods help me," he breathed. Louder, he said, "Clean up is easier when it's contained."
"Oh." That made sense. I pocketed Luke's list. "I'll be back soon."
"I'll be here," Luke said, with a bit of bite in his voice. "They're in the pharmacy section, by the way."
Every day that I walked outside and saw that our wagon hadn't been stolen in the night made me relieved. I picked up the handle and walked to the store.
At the store I got the baking stuff Luke wanted. I chose more romance novels for him because he hadn't complained yet. I bought more records in various genres, some of which was stuff I knew I liked and some was stuff I'd never heard before.
As I gathered board games and found a PlayStation 2 and some video games that looked interesting, my eyes kept straying to the two items at the bottom of the list. There was nothing forcing me to go and humiliate myself in front of the cashiers. Which I was sure was what would happen. Was I even allowed to buy condoms and lube? Were they going to laugh me out of the store? Was I ever going to be able to shop here again?
To buy some time, I skipped the pharmacy section proper and went down the makeup aisles. Luke hadn't specified shades and colors so I chose at random. Makeup wasn't my forte. Then there was nothing left on my list. Except the two items I didn't want to think about.
My heart hammered against my chest and my palms were sweaty as I stood in front of a small section labeled Men's Healthcare. For a long time I stared at the sign. Hermes told me to take good care of Luke. Target seemed to agree with Luke that this was going to keep Luke in good health. Which meant that getting this stuff was part of the responsibility I'd taken on when making Luke my prisoner. Thinking of Luke like that made my stomach twist into an uncomfortable knot. I'm sure there were ways to sugarcoat it but I found myself shying away from the idea of calling this something it wasn't. Luke was my prisoner. I was holding him captive against his will.
Standing there, staring like an idiot, was how I discovered that condoms came in different sizes. I had no idea what size Luke would need. I've seen his dick but it had been soft at the time and even if it wasn't I had no idea what any of the sizes meant. There were also some that came prelubricated and some that apparently had textures. A lot were described as skin thin, so thin that it was like they weren't there. They were made of latex or lambskin or words I couldn't pronounce. There was more to this than just getting condoms, I realized with dismay. I was going to have to buy multiple boxes because I had no idea what Luke liked or needed. I wound up with five different boxes in my wagon.
Now the lube. If I'd thought this was going to be easier than the condoms, I was mistaken. There was thick lube, thin lube, white and clear lube. There was lube that cooled off when you used it and lube that warmed up when you used it. There were silicone-based and water-based lubes. There were lubes with scents and lubes with flavors and lube that advertised itself as massage oil. Then there was the super confusing His and Hers lubes that came in blue and pink bottles but didn't say much else except that they were only for Him and Her, whatever that meant. And there were the anal lubes...which was for butt stuff, if the name was anything to go by.
I was going to have to buy more than one of these too. But which ones? Was Luke into...butt stuff? Would he get mad if I bought it for him? Did I care? No. Okay. It was going in the wagon. I also got a water based and a silicone based. Then chose one of the ones that was warm before you used it, because that sounded better than being cold. And for good measure, I added a pomegranate scented massage oil because I thought Luke might get a kick out of it.
I took my haul to the front of the store and waited in line. I couldn't meet anyone's eyes. My heart hammered like a drum the whole time. I felt...dirty...but in an excited way. It didn't make sense.
Every time an employee walked by me, I kept expecting them to kick me out but they barely looked at me. Even the cashier kept a straight face as she rang up my purchases. Despite that, it was a relief to get out of there and walk back to the house.
Although now I had to face Luke.
The first thing that Luke saw was the PlayStation. His whole face lit up. "Oh sweet! I've never played one before." He spent a few minutes looking at the games I'd gotten. They were just games that I've heard classmates talking about; Spyro, Devil May Cry 3, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Jak and Daxter, Final Fantasy X, and something called Gun, which I bought because it had cowboys on it.
The next bag that Luke opened was the one with the condoms and lube. He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't ask you to buy the whole store."
"I didn't know what you wanted." My face was so hot again. My ears were positively burning. I couldn't meet his eye. "They had a ton of options and you didn't narrow it down at all."
Luke hummed. He picked up a box of condoms and read it. He did this for each one, his face giving nothing away. "Okay, so, I'm not girthy enough to need the magnums. The base of these ones are wider than the standard so there's going to be leakage."
Leakage, I thought and made a face.
Luke saw the look. "That's important when you're with someone who can get pregnant or if you're trying not to make a mess."
"Noted," I mumbled. It made sense.
Luke held up a box of snug-fitting condoms. "And these won't fit me. The length might work but the base is going to be too tight and they might break when I cum because they aren't long enough." He met my eye, making sure I was following along.
I nodded. I was learning way too much about Luke's dick and condoms.
"You can have them if they'll fit you," Luke said and tossed the box to me.
In an excellent display of demigod reflexes, I fumbled and dropped the box. Quickly I picked it up.
Luke picked up the box of textured condoms and turned it over. "I wonder if the texture is on the inside or the outside," he mumbled.
"Does it matter?" I asked, curious despite how hot this conversation was making me.
Luke shrugged. "If it's on the outside it's more for pleasuring your partner than going solo."
"Oh."
Next Luke looked at the lube. "I prefer water-based lubes. They're thinner than silicone but they don't erode condoms or toys and it's easier to clean up water-based. You just need water. Silicone tends to cling like...oil on a pan. You need soap to get it off."
I made a noise of acknowledgment and wondered how this turned into a sex education lesson.
When he saw the warm lube, Luke brightened. "This stuff is really good. Especially if you're already cold." He made a hand gesture to encompass Montauk House. Our little space heaters had their work cut out for them since there were still two months of winter left and it would only get colder. Luke picked up the pomegranate massage oil. "This is massage oil," he told me like I couldn't read.
"It was in the same section…"
Luke grunted. "It's good for external use only. Foreplay and things like that. But you shouldn't use it for anything internal because it'll burn."
"Good to know," I said.
Luke picked up the anal lube next. "Aside from the massage oil, anything you got can be used for anal. This is just going to be a little bit thicker than everything else, even though it's water-based."
"Why?" I heard myself ask.
Luke gave me a look that was hard to read. Then he sighed, softly. I couldn't find meaning in that either. "Vaginas are typically self-lubricating and generally only need a little bit of lube to get started. Your ass is not self-lubricating. It's gonna stay dry the whole time, so the lube you use needs to be thicker. And you need to use a lot of it. Like twice what you think you will and keep reapplying it as it dries up." He smiled slightly. "Although, sometimes demigods have weird anatomy so it could be that your ass is self-lubricating." He shrugged. "But mine isn't."
Imagining fluid leaking out of my ass was weird but I also didn't hate the idea as much as I thought I would. It was kind of...thrilling. What would it be like to put something in there? Weird, probably. But...maybe in a good way. I clenched down automatically, as though expecting to feel something. I didn't, of course. I was just being stupid.
Luke watched me and smiled a little too knowingly.
I got the sense that Luke knew what I was thinking about.
Luke took his stuff into the bathroom to put it away. "You should set up that PlayStation."
So I did and we played video games for the rest of the day.
Chapter 6
Summary:
The world as they know it ends.
Chapter Text
The next day, Luke was restless. He paced the length of the living room and kitchen. He was working up enough body heat to make the house warmer than normal.
I watched him from the loft, trying to stay out of his way. Was this something I needed to be worried about?
"What day is it?" Luke asked me suddenly. He didn't stop pacing. The chain slid from side of the floor to the other, making a racket that I could hear over the record player.
"Um…" I tried to do the mental math but the days blurred together. "It should be on the receipt from yesterday."
Luke all but lunged for the plastic bag full of plastic bags that we kept under the sink. He pulled one from the top and read the date. "December twenty-first."
"That sounds right," I said. "So today is - "
"December twenty-second," Luke said grimly. His shoulders drooped. He put the receipt back and went to peer out the window.
"Does that mean something?" I asked, bracing myself for anything to happen. Maybe today was the day Luke tried to escape. Would he kill me? Would he have someone try to rescue him? What if he took me prisoner?
"It's Thalia's sixteenth birthday," Luke said, managing to make it sound like this was the worst thing in the world.
It took me a second to catch on. About seventy years ago, Chiron had received a prophecy stating that a child of the Big Three gods - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - was destined to decide the fate of Olympus when they reached sixteen. This summer, Thalia had come back to life. As a fifteen-year-old. This wasn't even something I didn't already know, but with the Luke situation, I'd forgotten about it entirely.
The fate of Olympus was in Thalia's hands.
What if she made the wrong choice? What if Kronos got to her and she won? I was so worried about Kronos using Luke again that I didn't think of how he could use Thalia. I had to make sure that didn't happen.
The next thing I knew, Luke's arms were around me. I wasn't in the loft anymore. The balls of my feet ached, telling me that I'd jumped. Luke had a grip like steel. "Oh, no you don't," Luke said.
"Let me go!" I tried to twist away from him but he was too strong. "I have to…to…go. I have to go!"
Luke swung us both around and shoved me up against the wall between the bookshelf and the bathroom door.
The impact of my head hitting the wall made my teeth rattle and black spots appear in my vision. I blinked until Luke's face swam back into focus.
Luke put his hands on my shoulders and a knee between my legs, blocking me in. "You aren't going anywhere, Percy. Thalia is already sixteen. She's already the prophecy child. The burden of this is on her shoulders," Luke said. His tone was firm but his face was the picture of misery and fear. "We all have to live with whatever choices she makes."
"But what if she chooses wrong? What if she winds up like you?" I struggled against Luke, hands on his chest, and tried to use the wall to throw him off of me. He didn't budge. I was just wearing myself out.
Luke suddenly seemed to weigh more as he settled so that we were chest to chest. Our faces were only inches apart. "Percy, Thalia is probably going to die. Permanently this time."
I froze. "What?"
"They haven't told you the full prophecy, have they?" Luke asked. He did not relax just because I wasn't struggling.
I shook my head.
So Luke told me the prophecy from start to finish. By the time he was done, I knew why the gods had wanted to keep the rest a secret from me. The hero dies at the end. "We can still save her."
"Percy, if you go to Thalia, you might be the one reaping her soul." Luke studied my face. His breath ghosted across my cheeks. I could taste the pineapple on his breath from breakfast. "You've been...trained to be the Olympian's champion. They would expect it of you. Can you kill another demigod?"
I looked up into Luke's blue eye. Just last week I wanted him to die. I would have fought to be the one who pushed the sword through Luke's heart. I'd have stood over his slumped, dying body and stood coldly watching him struggle for his last breaths. At least, that was how I always imagined it. The reality was that when Luke lay at my feet dying, I'd saved his life. Almost at the cost of my own.
Luke had hurt me in the past. I had scars on my body because of him. When he betrayed me the summer before last, my heart shattered like so much glass and broke something vital in me. I kept my distance from everyone else so that I wouldn't get too attached before they betrayed me, and I didn't trust like I used to. I saw the worst in everyone.
Thalia and I had petty arguments. Neither of us knew what to make of the other. She wasn't what I expected and I was just the boy who took both Luke and Annabeth from her. But Thalia never really hurt me. We had scuffles but didn't try to kill each other. She wasn't the one who broke my heart.
If I couldn't leave the man who hurt me so much for death, then I couldn't kill Thalia with my own sword.
My hands went cold and began to shake. Hot tears welled up in my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. "I hate you," I said, voice wet with emotion. I bowed my head and because we were so close, that meant I cried into Luke's shoulder.
Luke wrapped me up in a hug. "I know," he said softly as he rested his cheek against my head. "I'm sorry."
We stayed like that until I was all cried out. Sometime it had begun to rain, the soft pitter-patter of it falling against the roof. It had to be cold but all I felt was the heat of Luke's body still pinning me to the wall. Luke was quite a bit taller than I was, which meant that his knee was quite a bit high between my thighs. I realized this with a rush of heat that ran through my whole body and settled achingly between my legs. What if he felt my boner against his leg?
We were just talking about his childhood friend destroying the world as we knew it and dying. I couldn't get a boner right now. Oh my gods. This was mortifying. How was I going to get away from Luke before he noticed? Maybe he wouldn't notice.
I peered down between our bodies, saw the tent in my joggers clear as day. Maybe because it was pressed up against Luke's knee. Which meant he probably already knew.
Before I could decide what to do, a boom of thunder shook the house and made both of us jump.
Luke jumped away from me like I'd burned him and looked up at the ceiling like it had answers.
I ran to the nearest window and pressed my face against the glass. It looked like night outside. The sky was dark with black clouds. Or it would have been if it wasn't for the lightning that flashed nonstop across the clouds. Goosebumps rose on my skin.
The chain slid across the floor as Luke moved. "Oh, fuck," Luke breathed.
I twisted around, saw him leaning over the kitchen sink to look out the window. I hurried over to the door and ran out.
The wind hit me like a punch, knocking me back a few inches. I squinted into it and looked at the ocean, not far from our doorstep. The waves were a deep, dark green and they were massive and angry. Lightning struck the sea and the dunes around us with huge explosions of light. My hair stood on end, the air around me crackling with electricity.
A hand grabbed the back of my shirt and yanked me back into the house. Luke slammed the door shut as soon as I was through it. "Are you crazy? For fucks sake, Percy." He dragged me by my shirt to the sink and pushed me against it. "That isn't something you want to be out in."
Luke was right. Watching the storm from inside Montauk House was safer - maybe - than being out in it. The lightning just kept going and going, striking what seemed like everywhere except our little beach cottage. The waves pounded against the shore and went all the way up to the dunes, eroding them before our eyes...except the tide stayed away from our cabin.
"I should get the wagon," I said, my voice sounding far away. Whatever was happening out there was big and it was bad and… "Is that a person?"
Luke stood behind me the whole time but now he pressed against me, his front flush against my back as he tried to get a better look. After a long, tense moment in which I could only think about how his body felt against my body, Luke said, "Lock the door."
"What?" I squinted out into the storm. It wasn't raining yet but the grit and spray that the wind kicked up made it hard to see details.
Luke was already moving, crossing the room and flipping the lock in a heartbeat. He growled, looked around, then dragged the refrigerator in front of the door.
I thought about protesting but I couldn't take my eyes off the vaguely human figure walking through the water. How was it staying upright? Even shallow water could have a strong current and the whole ocean was furious right now. If I went in there I'd be swept away and I was a son of the sea god.
The figure got closer and suddenly the details came into sharp focus. It was a human. Or it had been, before it died. As it, er, shuffled, the thing was a water-logged corpse. The corpse moved in a mindless sort of way, by which I mean I didn't think it was going to eat our brains. Or maybe it just hadn't caught our scents yet.
The lights clicked off. For a second I thought the power had gone out but the heaters were still humming away. I heard Luke moving around the house.
The corpse was getting closer. I think it used to have red hair. There was a hole in its cheek that showed teeth and a small crab clinging to the torn white flesh. It seemed to be coming this way. Was this Hades' doing?
Then, because it was cold and wet enough, sleet began to drop from the sky. Sleet was what happened when it snowed and rained at the same time. The temperature dropped so quickly that I shivered and my goosebumps came back full force.
Luke pressed in on me again to close the curtains. "I imagine that someone knows we're here. Or someone knows you're here, otherwise the house would be torn apart by now."
Luke was warm and alive and an adult taking charge and for a second I felt safe.
Then he moved away again, opening the fridge this time. He sighed at the contents. "I should have had you get more food. I just wasn't expecting the end of the world as we know it to happen today."
I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered. "Do you know what she chose?"
Luke hesitated. He closed the fridge and straightened up, which I think was to buy himself more time. "I think she killed the ophiotaurus. That's why there's all the lightning." Luke grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over my shoulders. "The other gods are probably preparing for war and that's why the ocean and the corpse are...like that."
"What's the ophio...the thing you said?"
"The ophiotaurus is a monster that looks like a bull and a sea serpent blended together. If you kill it and burn the entrails, you'll gain the power to defeat the gods."
The blood drained from my face. "So she chose...Kro- " I almost said Kronos before catching myself. "Mr. K?"
Luke hesitated again. "I honestly don't know. We used to talk about how things would be if we were in charge but…" Luke bit his lip and looked away. "Whatever she chose, it could be a long wait before we...before you can leave safely." He turned his back on me and laid on the couch.
I looked at the window over the sink. I could slip through it and be out in the action before Luke could stop me. I was fast and small enough to fit through. Maybe things could still turn out okay. Maybe I could stop Thalia from killing the gods.
Didn't we need them?
Did we need them?
Whether we needed them or not, if Thalia could kill a god now then what would stop her from squashing me like a bug? I couldn't even beat Luke in a fight. And there was no guarantee that I could make things better by intervening. I was just one kid. A stupid kid who wasn't good at anything and had no friends and a dad who didn't want him and a mom who would probably be happier without him.
Did it matter if Thalia killed me?
But if I ran off and something happened to me, then what would happen to Luke? Would he be trapped here, starving to death? Hermes knew that Luke was here but it was only the two of us and Thalia could probably kill gods now. What if she killed Hermes? What if Luke died because I wanted to chase glory? The very idea of that kind of power made my chest hollow and filled with something sharp.
No.
I've had enough glory. I've done so many awesome things in the past few years and saved so many lives. I was a hero and I never wanted to be involved with any of this. It just kept happening and people kept needing me. But the person who needed me now was Luke.
I picked out a movie from the shelf and popped it into the VHS player. Then I looked at Luke. "Make room for me."
"You want to watch The Day After Tomorrow when the world is ending?" Luke asked, sitting up to make room for me.
"It feels appropriate," I said with a shrug. I sat down on the middle cushion instead of the one farthest from Luke.
Luke visibly perked up, watched me with open curiosity. But when that was all I did, Luke turned his attention back to the movie. After a while, Luke put his arm over the back of the couch. He wasn't quite touching me, though he was close enough to it that my skin prickled.
I leaned against Luke's shoulder, head tucked against his neck and my side pressed against his. I told myself that it was just because he was warm and it was so cold in the house.
We were both tense.
I wasn't sure how he would react.
After a few long moments, Luke moved his arm so that he was holding me properly.
When I realized he wasn't going to get mad, I relaxed.
Luke relaxed after I did. A while after that, I heard Luke sigh.
It was kind of nice, when I managed to forget that the world was ending outside the door. Luke was warm and he smelled good. I liked how he held me. There was probably something wrong with me that I liked being held by a man who was my enemy...but Luke somehow felt less like an enemy right now.
"Can you do that?" Luke asked.
"Do what?"
"Flood New York." Luke gestured to the television, where an enormous wave was flooding the streets of New York City.
"Oh." I thought about it. "Probably. But I'd need a nap after and I can't make it freeze." And by 'need a nap', I meant that it would probably kill me. "Dad could."
Luke gave an amused snort. "I know that." He squeezed me briefly. "You're far more interesting than your father."
I felt myself blush again and was glad that Luke couldn't see this time.
Chapter 7
Summary:
Percy and Luke bond.
Chapter Text
Overnight the ocean went up over the dunes, past the boardwalk, and all the way to the sidewalk. The wind ripped apart every man-made structure and tore out the few stubborn plants that the ocean hadn't managed to already drown. Black clouds blocked the sky but near constant lightning kept it from being dark.
Our little house remained untouched aside from the sleet that still poured down. Chunks of ice and clusters of snow floated on the surface of the waves.
It was so cold that I slept in Luke's bed with him. There were two space heaters pointed right at us, a heating pad near our feet, every blanket and sheet in the house piled on top of us, and we still shivered.
I was beyond caring about personal space and laid with my face pressed into the crook of Luke's neck, my hands between us beneath his hoodie, and my legs tangled with his. The collar around Luke's neck was a minor bother that I could easily ignore.
Since neither of us wanted to come out of the nest we'd made, there was nothing for us to do except sleep and talk.
"I was made in this cabin," I admitted as I ran my fingers over the scars lining Luke's torso.
"Oh yeah?" Luke breathed. His arms were around me, holding me against him as he shivered. "In the loft or on the foldout?"
"I...I don't know." I pushed my cold nose into Luke's collarbone. It was humid under the covers but that was better than the cold air outside our nest. "Mom didn't really get into the details. She just said that she met dad here in June and in August I was born. It was a summer romance."
Luke's silence held a puzzled quality to it. "Huh," was what he landed on. "If you weren't you and we weren't demigods, I'd think she had an affair."
I pinched him.
"Hey!" Luke protested, reflexively jerking away from me.
I dragged him back, nails scratching him. "Don't say that about my mom."
Luke let me drag him back. He rubbed circles on my back. "I literally prefaced that with the agreement that she didn't have an affair. But you have to admit that the math on that is wonky at best and horrifying at worst. I can't imagine growing a whole human inside of me in nine months but cutting it down to three seems...nightmarish."
I tried not to think about it too often because it made me pretty uncomfortable too. Sometimes I wondered if mom even knew what was happening to her or if she was shocked when she went into labor and had a baby. "How did your parents meet?"
Luke tensed. And then he let out a long sigh. "Mom was traveling the country as a medium. She had clear sight, so she always saw things for what they were. I don't know how dad found her but mom saw him for what he was and fell in love." Luke squirmed like the idea made him uncomfortable. "I'm sure Eros had something to do with that. But, uh, he married her."
"Wait, your parents are married?" I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. How could the gods marry someone and not make them a god too? That was like their whole thing.
"It's complicated," Luke admitted, sounding like he didn't like the topic much. "Olympian law says that marriages to mortals don't count and the mortals don't recognize dad as a person so they're only married in their own eyes."
I wasn't sure what to say. I had no idea that it was like that, but considering that most of the Olympians were married, it shouldn't have surprised me. Finally I settled on, "Well that's lousy."
"Yeah," Luke agreed. "Mom went crazy after I was born, though, and dad left us. And when I was nine, I ran away from home."
Here was more math that didn't add up. "But you were only at Camp for five years?"
"I was homeless for five years. On my own for four of those years. Then I found Thalia and near the end we found Annabeth. Five years later, you showed up and...well, here we are."
"Oh." I hadn't known any of this. I always wondered how Luke could be so angry but things were starting to slot into place. "When I was six my mom married a mortal. He was awful and he smelled so bad. I would have run away but I didn't want to abandon mom to him. It's funny, but if I had run away, mom would have divorced him. She only married him and stayed with him because his scent was so foul that it hid mine." "Being a demigod is hard," Luke said wisely.
"Yeah." I opened my eyes and saw the black leather collar around Luke's neck. Something in my gut twisted. "I just want a normal life."
"Me too," Luke admitted softly.
"Favorite color?" I asked.
"Green," Luke answered. "Favorite food?"
"Mom's blue chocolate chip cookies." I rolled onto my back, still cold but tired of laying on my side. "Favorite book?"
"Desert Sons," Luke said without hesitation. "Favorite movie?"
"Wait, what's that about?" I asked.
Luke paused before answering, "It's a coming of age story." Something about the way he said it made me think there was more to it than that.
"What kind of coming of age story?"
"You didn't answer my question," Luke said. He reached over and poked my ribs. "You were the one who said no questioning answers."
"Fine." I huffed to let Luke know I was annoyed but I was the one who made the rule. "Um…my favorite movie...is...Labyrinth. Favorite item of clothing?"
"Hoodie," Luke said like it didn't matter. "Favorite character from Labyrinth?"
"Jareth," I said, wondering why he got so specific.
Luke made a pleased rumbling noise in his throat like he was David Bowie being told he did a good job in the film.
"Favorite time of day?" I asked.
"Sunset. Favorite day of the week?"
"Saturday. Favorite, um, animal?"
"I don't have one."
I rolled toward Luke. "What do you mean you don't have one?"
"I'm not around animals a lot." Luke shrugged. He met my eyes in the gloom. "Fish are alright, I guess." His smile told me he wasn't talking about the animal.
I punched him lightly, more a gentle brush of my knuckles against his chest than a proper punch. "I always wanted a puppy."
Luke tugged on the D ring attached to his collar. "Shocking," he deadpanned. It reminded me of when he strangled me, of how he'd told me he wasn't my pet.
"I didn't mean… You aren't my puppy, Luke. I - "
Luke put a finger to my lips. "I'm messing with you, Percy" he said, amusement in his voice.
"O-oh." My heart raced. I pressed my hands to my chest and stared at Luke's collar. He was chained up in my house like a dog.
Luke scooted forward until our noses were touching. "Unless you want me to be your puppy?"
My heart skipped a beat so violently that it hurt. I squeaked with surprise, eyes going wide. My dick hardened in a rush of dizzying pleasure. "I-I…"
Luke laughed suddenly, rolling away from me and onto his back. "You're so cute." He eased out of bed, out from beneath the covers. "I'm going to make dinner before we starve to death. Pray that I don't freeze."
Chapter 8
Summary:
Percy and Luke get intimate.
Chapter Text
We discovered that with the oven on, it was significantly warmer in the house. That thing made a lot of heat, especially compared to our two tiny space heaters.
I could even come out of our nest and not curl into a shivering ball of misery. Stretching and walking around felt good. I put on a record while I was up, Christmas music again because I was fairly sure that it was either today or tomorrow.
Luke showered before he got in the bath. He said it was because he didn't want to sit in his own filth. Then he ran the bath. Luke couldn't close the door with the chain so it was partially open. I heard him get in and after a moment, I heard the pages of his book turn. A short while after that, Luke shook his chain. It moved in an S shape over the floor, making a distinctive noise. He stopped shaking it and said, "Percy!"
"Luke," I said by way of reply.
"Come here for a moment." Luke didn't sound like he was in distress but he did sound like he very much wanted me to come to him.
I hesitated. It's not like I haven't seen Luke naked...or like I didn't want to again. And he was being less murdery. I went into the bathroom.
Even with the door cracked, steam fogged the glass. It was even warmer in here than in the main room. Luke lay in the bathtub, one leg out of the water. He was careful to keep his book above the water. The cover featured a buff, shirtless man. Luke glanced at me then went back to reading.
I loved Luke's body. He was handsome and really did look like a model...even with the pink scars and missing eye. Maybe 'evil male model' was still accurate. But at the moment he looked more like a porn model because Luke was hard. The water distorted my view somewhat but I liked what I saw.
We went on like that for too long, him reading and me staring at his erection. My mind went right back to the condoms and lube I'd bought him a few days ago. Did he ever get a chance to use them before the world ended?
"A picture will last longer," Luke said casually. He stole a glance at me over his book. "Although, I suspect you're the type to retain a clearer memory of the things you get to touch, rather than just look at."
My whole face went red hot. I was hot and hard between my legs, dick chubbing up. "I...I wasn't looking at...you." That was really convincing. Good job, Percy.
Luke smiled. "You should bathe with me. See what the fuss is about the...pomegranate."
I didn't think he was talking about the bath bomb.
Luke's dick twitched and the head breached the surface of the bath water briefly. His one blue eye watched my face carefully. "You can sit on me this time."
My dick twitched too, a bolt of arousal shooting through me. This was so bad. I shouldn't indulge him at all. Luke was my enemy. But I was curious and I did like how he looked and I was so very horny. "Close your eye."
"How am I supposed to read if my eyes are closed?" Luke countered. "Eye is closed," he corrected after a moment.
I decided that it probably didn't really matter if Luke saw me get undressed. Hopefully this wasn't a prank, I thought as I pulled my shirt over my head.
Luke was watching me through his lashes, chin tipped toward his chest as he pretended to read.
I pushed down my pants and stepped out of them. My insides felt like butterflies. My skin broke out into goosebumps as the cooler air hit it. "Just so you know, I can breathe underwater."
Luke's dick twitched again. "Are you planning to have your head underwater?"
I knew what a blow job was and the idea of doing that to Luke...well, I didn't hate it as much as I thought I should. I stepped into the bathtub, standing between Luke's legs. The water was hot enough that it steamed. "No. I'm just preemptively warning you in case you try to drown me."
"Good to know," Luke said, watching my every move. "Sit down before you fall down."
"I can't slip in the water," I replied as I sat down near Luke's feet. The hot water felt amazing.
Luke raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's also good to know." Even though Luke looked utterly relaxed, his expression was intense. "Are you going to stay over there?"
It felt like there were pins and needles going up my hands as I scooted closer to Luke. It's not like it was a big bathtub. Luke's legs were so long he couldn't stretch out. But there was a spot for me between his feet that didn't really involve touching him too much. Now I was so close I felt his balls against my hip and his dick pressed into my side. I put my arms between my legs to hide my erection.
Luke gave an amused little snort. "Want to read with me? It's het but not all that bad."
What was het?
Whatever it was, I shook my head. "I don't like reading."
Luke shrugged. He went back to reading.
I haven't taken a bath in a long time, not since I was really little. And I didn't have a book to occupy me. Or distract me from Luke's dick. I took a deep breath, felt the soft brush of his skin against my ribs. It was interesting. I did it again and wondered if Luke was serious about letting me touch him.
Luke's face was already flushed from the heat of the bath. But as I watched, his face turned steadily redder.
Was this one of Luke's needs that Hermes wanted me to take care of? Would I mind if it was? I inched my fingers across my ribs until I was touching the spongy head of Luke's dick.
Luke dropped his book in the water, startling both of us. "Sorry. Sorry," Luke said, hurriedly plucking his book from the water. It was sopping wet already, pages beginning to curl as the water spread toward the middle. "Damn it," Luke cursed softly. "I guess I didn't need to know how that ended."
I studied him and decided he didn't look mad so much as flustered. Did I fluster him? The idea that I could fluster Luke was exhilarating. I touched the book and willed it to dry. All of the water fell out of it.
Luke dropped it again. "Sorry. Uh, I wasn't expecting that. Could you dry it off again?"
I picked up the book, dried it, and said, "You're never going to finish like this." I didn't realize what I implied until after it was out.
The tips of Luke's ears turned red. "I will if you're here," he said, his voice slightly hoarse.
That was so irritatingly charming. Irritatingly charming was a good way to describe Luke, actually. I crawled up between Luke's legs and kissed him right on the mouth. I've never kissed anyone before in my life. But I've seen it done.
Luke tipped his head slightly and suddenly the kiss got a lot better and he was kissing me back. He put his arms around me, drawing me against his chest. His lips moved along mine and then he bit the corner of my lower lip. It hurt. Not enough to stop me.
I whimpered.
"Shh, shh," Luke said soothingly, kissing over where he bit. His voice sounded husky. Softer. More intimate.
"No," I said against his lips. "Again."
Luke made a soft sound, an ah of understanding. He bit my lower lip again. Harder.
My heart skipped a beat. I pressed myself more firmly against him. It was a little awkward, our first time kissing. And kind of exciting. And a little scary. But mostly exciting.
Luke let go and licked at my lower lip and then sucked at it.
I opened my mouth and slid my tongue over Luke's tongue. The sensation was strange and wet but I liked it. It felt very good. I slid my tongue past Luke's teeth, half expecting him to bite me.
Luke did not bite me. He moved his tongue against mine and mostly let me do what I wanted. His hands came to my waist, holding me against him.
I'd have been content to stay there kissing forever.
Luke pulled away from me, breathing heavily. He stared at me, blue eye wide. His face flushed and he seemed almost dazed. Then he smiled, a slow happy smile that I've never seen before. "Okay?"
I nodded, unable to speak because of the feelings that suddenly welled up in my chest like a balloon expanding. "You?"
"Yes." Luke ducked his head again, kissing me gently, lightly, on the lips. "Do you like the bath bomb?" Luke asked, teasing.
"Best...damn...bath bomb...ever," I said between eager kisses.
We kissed until the water lost its warmth. When we got out, I dried both of us off so that we weren't standing there freezing. We hurried back into bed and spent the rest of the night kissing and cuddling.
Chapter 9
Summary:
Luke and Percy get frisky.
Chapter Text
The storm let up overnight, blowing away almost as quickly as it had appeared. Thunder still rumbled in dark gray clouds and the ocean waves were still choppy but the lightning stayed in the clouds and the tide fell back to its normal position. The wind and sleet stopped completely. Which of course meant that the temperature rose about twenty degrees. The air smelled at once fresh and rotten, as the pollution was gone but there were dead things everywhere.
Luke moved the refrigerator back to its proper spot.
I opened the curtains. A quick check outside showed me that the wagon was still there by the door.
Someone up above really was looking out for us. I wondered if he still was.
Part of me wanted to go check. To hop on a bus to the Empire State Building and go up the elevator to Olympus. To rush to Camp Half-Blood and make sure that my fellow demigods were alright. I wanted to know what happened and who fought and on what side and who won. Was it safe to leave Montauk House? Was Luke still in danger?
And if Luke wasn't in danger? What then? Could I just take the collar off and let Luke roam around doing whatever he wanted? What if he tried to raise another Titan? What if he left me?
I clutched my chest, breath catching at the pain of the thought. I didn't want Luke to leave me again. My heart couldn't handle it. I stole a glance at Luke.
Luke stood in the doorway, the Afghan around his shoulders. He looked out at the world he was kept separate from like he wanted to leave and never come back. So much has changed over the past week, but I couldn't change what was in his blood, couldn't change that he'd been born to roam. Luke turned his head, caught my eye. His smile was slow and sweet. He closed the distance between us, wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed my nose. "What's on your mind?"
"The future," I admitted reluctantly.
Luke's gaze sharpened. "Oh?" He didn't hold me any less gently but he did tense, bracing himself like he was expecting the worst.
"I…" I felt pinned beneath Luke's gaze. I was used to things happening quickly, used to my life being turned upside at the drop of a hat, but I was terrified by this newest development. And I was in way over my head. I had a nagging feeling that I knew what the right thing to do was and I didn't want to do it. "I was wondering if it was...safe for you to leave." My voice caught on the last word and I blinked back tears.
What was wrong with me? Spending a week in close quarters with Luke made me head over heels? How could I change my feelings for him so quickly?
"Ah," Luke said. His expression was carefully blank. "I suppose you'll have to do some scouting."
"Yeah," I agreed, suddenly not wanting to go anywhere. I wanted to find out what happened to everyone but my time with Luke suddenly felt like sand sliding away between my fingers. I only had a short while left.
Luke glanced toward the door and in that split second, I saw the longing back on his face. By the time he looked at me again, it was masked. "I think you should give it a day or two, just to make sure it's really over."
"Okay," I said and wrapped my arms around him.
Luke hugged me for a long few minutes. Then he tipped my face up and kissed me, slow and hot.
It was hard to think of anything but Luke's mouth on mine while he kissed me like that. I wrapped my arms around Luke's neck and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him better. The chain was a constant and uncomfortable presence between us.
Luke slid his hands down to my butt and picked me up. He walked me to the counter, set me on it, and kissed me like his life depended on it.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, hooking my ankles at the small of Luke's back. With Luke pressed between my legs, pressed against me, I grew hard. It was still strange and exciting to have someone be the exact reason for my erection. No vague fantasies came to mind when Luke was right in front of me, filling my senses with himself. I ran a hand through Luke's hair, surprised to find that it was still so soft despite having turned basically white.
Luke whined and slid both hands up the back of my shirt. He parted his lips only to bite mine.
"Ooh," I moaned, legs squeezing tighter around Luke's waist.
Luke ran his nails down my back.
A hot pleasure burned in his wake. I arched toward him as my whole body flushed with heat. The sound that came out of my mouth - a filthy moan - was one I didn't even know I could make. My fingers tightened in Luke's hair automatically.
Luke moaned, a low needy noise that made my dick ache. His face turned as red as mine. He kissed me hard.
We kissed and kissed until we were both panting.
My lips tingled. My whole body throbbed in time to my heartbeat. I knew I was making noise - moans and whimpers and whines and maybe Luke's name bastardized by a mouth that wanted him too much to speak properly - and it might have been embarrassing if I had any room in me to care.
Luke made a rumbling noise in his throat - a growl or a purr or both - as he planted firm kisses along my neck and throat and shoulders. His hands were all over me under my shirt, hands never lingering in one place for long but always coming back, like he couldn't stop touching me.
Finally, I figured one of us should have some sense, and I pulled my shirt over my head.
Luke wasted no time in kissing down my chest. When he reached my navel, Luke lifted his head to kiss me on the mouth again. His hands trailed down from my collarbones to my hips, which he squeezed.
I gripped the back of Luke's shirt, trying to drag it up so that I could feel his skin against mine.
Luke took the hem of his shirt in his hands and got it up to his throat but wouldn't stop kissing me enough to take it all the way off.
Finally I had to plant my hand on Luke's chest and physically push him back. "Greedy." I helped him take his shirt off. It passed through the collar and chain like they weren't even there.
"I like kissing you," Luke defended himself. He proved it again, lips moving sensually over mine.
I ran my hands over Luke's chest, and felt the scars on his right side. I hesitated, unsure if they were healed or still caused him pain.
Luke pressed my palm back to his chest, over the scars. "It doesn't hurt."
I followed Luke's scars down to his hip and squeezed the bone. His jeans rode low, a little too big for him, and I wanted to push them down. I wasn't exactly sure what I would do once the jeans came off, though, so I left them on. Instead I pulled him closer to me and kissed his neck.
Luke moaned, head tipping back. He melted against me. His blush spread down to his throat. I could feel the bulge of his cock, hard and hot, between my legs.
Knowing how much Luke wanted me, feeling the proof of it against my body, sent a bolt of arousal through me. My fingers danced down to Luke's navel, and followed the fine blond curls down to the hemline of his jeans. I let my fingertips dip into his jeans but no further. His skin was hot.
Luke moaned again, sucked his stomach in as I touched him. He held his breath, letting my fingers dip down a little farther into the heat. Luke hesitated for a heartbeat. "Do you -"
"Yes," I said eagerly, twisting my wrist so that my palm lay flat against his skin.
Luke kissed my cheek. "You don't even know what I was going to ask."
I turned my face and caught his lips with mine. The more we kissed the more natural it felt and the bolder I became. Even though Luke is the only person I've ever kissed, he responded so nicely that I thought I must be good at it. "Do you - "
"Yes," Luke said without hesitation. He gave me a sheepish look when he realized he did the same thing I had. Then he added, please in a breathless sort of way.
I was hooked. My love for Luke was an arrow stuck in my chest that I didn't want to pull out. I whined, wanting, and tried to squeeze my hand deeper into his jeans.
Luke sucked in his stomach again and rolled his hips and suddenly my hand was all the way down the front of his pants. It was hot and kind of humid in the confines of Luke's jeans.
I could hold Luke's dick in my hand, kind of follow the hot, firm length of him, though it was a cramped space. His public hair tickled my wrist. I found the spongy head of his dick, the slit leaking precum. I ran two fingers over the head, collecting it, wondering what it tasted like.
Luke shivered and moaned. He leaned more of his weight on the counter. He pressed his lips to my neck, bit down and sucked.
Luke's mouth felt good. My jeans were getting uncomfortable, the pressure against my dick not enough and too much at once. I kept rubbing the slit of Luke's dick, the only thing I could really do like this.
Luke moaned, sending vibrations through my sensitive skin. His whole body trembled and he gave short panting moans.
With my free hand, I tugged on one of his belt loops. "Can you -?"
"Uh-huh," Luke said and unbuttoned his jeans. He pulled the zipper down and shoved the jeans down to his thighs. His dick sprang free, rigid and flushed a pretty red. It was bigger than I expected, even having seen it in the water, which made it kind of intimidating.
When I wrapped my hand around the firm shaft, his skin was hot and satiny soft. I liked the feel of it, the weight and the heat and the bit of wetness at the slit. I spread my legs, squirming to ease the ache of my arousal. "Luke, would you, please - "
Before I could finish, Luke popped the button on my jeans and said, "Lift your butt."
Mom would kill me if she found out that I sat on any counter buck ass naked. At the moment, I didn't care how disappointed mom would be in me. I used Luke's shoulders for stability, lifted my butt and when Luke pulled down my jeans, I sat back down on the counter. My jeans came between us in the most annoying way.
Luke pulled the jeans off completely. This wasn't the first time we've been naked in front of each other so he didn't even bat an eye at my nudity. My jeans were unceremoniously dropped onto the floor. Luke ran both hands up my thighs, stopping before he touched my dick. "Are you… Is this okay?"
"Yes," I said. My heart beat fast and my stomach fluttered but I was eager and willing. With my jeans off, I was able to wrap my legs around Luke's waist again. I liked the feeling of his skin against my thighs.
Luke finally touched me, fingers curling around my dick.
My legs shook and I moaned. It was so different from touching myself. Different in a good way. I wondered if I would ever be able to go back to jacking off by myself after this and the thought that I might have to almost brought me down from the euphoric high.
Luke pressed in so close that we touched from our balls to the heads of our dicks. He curled his hand around both of our dicks, stroking up and down. Luke kissed my neck and shoulder, moaning against my skin.
I rolled my hips, eyes closing in pleasure. I ran my hands over Luke's skin, wanting to touch him everywhere. His skin felt so good beneath my palms. I dragged my nails across Luke's back.
Luke hissed but he didn't ask me to stop scratching him. His hand squeezed around our dicks. He ran his thumb over the heads of our dicks. Luke shivered.
I shivered too. The pleasure when he did that was tight and spiraling and wound me up tight. I cupped Luke's face and kissed him hard.
Luke moaned in my mouth. His hand moved faster along our dicks. He trembled against me. Luke came over our hands, suddenly, his cum hot and wet and the perfect lube to make his hand glide.
Luke came for me. He came for me, because of me. It was so sexy. I felt more powerful than I ever have before. And my dick felt amazing. The pleasure was so good, tight and hot like a firecracker. It washed through my hips and dick and I came on Luke's hand, adding to the mess.
Luke's hand slowed and stopped. He rested his forehead against my shoulder while he caught his breath.
I leaned my shoulders against the counters and closed my eyes. That was good. I didn't want to leave Luke, not for anything. I put my arms around his neck. "Take me to bed. I want a nap."
Luke laughed. "Let's get cleaned up first." He grabbed paper towels and wet them in the sink beside us. Then he cleaned up the mess we'd made on ourselves. Luke disposed of the soiled paper towels into the trash. Finally, he cupped my ass and dragged me across the counter.
I wrapped my legs around Luke's waist. The chain dug into the joint of my pelvis. I ignored it and clung to Luke.
Luke carried me to bed. He laid me down and then flopped beside me. The chain was still between us.
If I hadn't been so wrapped up in post-orgasm bliss, I might have been sad about the collar and chain between us, that would always be between us. Instead I ignored the chain and snuggled close to Luke, tucking my head beneath his chin.
Chapter 10
Summary:
They talk a little bit.
Chapter Text
Now that it wasn't cold, I wasn't sure if I was still welcome in Luke's bed. Even with how physical we got - and just thinking about it made me shiver with remembered pleasure - I didn't actually know where we stood in terms of our relationship. Maybe Luke would make out with and jack off anyone. I didn't know. Asking felt like opening myself up to rejection. I still didn't know what would happen when I took Luke's collar off. In my heart, I thought he would leave and never come back.
So when it came time for bed, I climbed the ladder to the loft and laid on my bed. Even with the thermal sheets, it felt cold and lonely in the loft. I hugged my pillow. Even if I didn't let Luke go, I would have to go back home when school started. Tears welled in my eyes. Why couldn't anything ever be easy?
Being with Luke was easy. Kissing him was easy. Talking to him was easier than I thought it would be. I liked being around him when he wasn't hellbent on taking over the world. I've lived without Luke before but I could honestly say that I liked life better with him in it...when we weren't fighting to the death.
According to Luke he wasn't fighting me to the death.
I rubbed the scar on my right palm. It ached, as it always did, all the way to the bone. Even after everything else that happened afterwards, the last day of summer was my worst memory. I remembered it in great detail, having thought about it over and over, relived every terrible second in my nightmares.
I still didn't know how Chiron saved me. It occurred to me before that maybe he was in on it, because sixty seconds was such a short amount of time and I wasted more than that killing the pit scorpion and getting to the stream. How was I alive? Was someone looking out for me? Did dad stop me from dying? I hadn't even thought to pray to him, though, and dad only answered prayers. Poseidon wasn't exactly a proactive force in my life.
Luke had told me to think about it for a while.
Well, I was. And it didn't make any sense at all. I would be dead if the venom was lethal in sixty seconds. Unless. It wasn't. Sure, the venom was still lethal, I knew that much and nothing could convince me otherwise.
"Luke?" I called down.
"Yeah?" Luke called up.
"Will you come here?"
Luke didn't answer but I heard his chain clink and slide as he moved. A few seconds later, his head popped up. "What's up?"
"You lied about the pit scorpion."
"Yes," Luke replied with zero hesitation. He climbed up the rest of the way and crawled onto the mattress with me. Luke flopped down and scooped me up in his arms. "It takes an hour to kill you but you'll be unconscious after a minute. I didn't think the naiads would let you die."
I relaxed in Luke's embrace and tossed the covers over Luke so that he knew he was welcome here. "You broke my heart," I admitted because it was dark and I felt so alone and I needed someone to know. No one knew.
"I'm sorry, Percy," Luke whispered and kissed the skin behind my ear.
"Why didn't you take me with you?" I wasn't switching sides. Luke hadn't magically convinced me that Kronos was a good idea or that the gods should be overthrown. But I would be lying if I denied that I probably would have gone with Luke if he'd asked and framed the whole thing better than he had.
Luke's sigh tickled my neck. "Mr. K said that if I asked you to come with me, you would have come as a spy for the Olympians and you were going to ruin our plans. He thought you were too unstable."
I hated to agree with Kronos on anything, but I had to with this. Not the spy part, probably. But the unstable part. More often than not, I felt like a rowboat drifting out to a hostile sea, being controlled by the currents of my emotions. In a week, I went from hating Luke to hating the idea of living without him. I was not a dependable weapon for either side.
"I'm sorry I hurt you."
"Thank you for apologizing," I said in a whisper because I wasn't ready to forgive Luke yet. Maybe I only needed more time or maybe I'd never forgive him. I didn't know yet.
We didn't talk after that.
I fell asleep in Luke's arms. It was starting to feel natural.
Chapter 11
Summary:
Percy gets eaten.
Chapter Text
I was going to have to leave Montauk House and do some retcon eventually. I told myself that I could have one more day with Luke, and then I would go out into the world and find out if this was goodbye or not.
Luke and I were playing on the PS2 when I told him. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
"Scouting?" Luke asked without taking his eye off the screen.
"Yeah," I replied. "I don't know how long it will take so I'm going to fish before I leave. We're low on meat." Not that Luke needed me to tell him that; he was the one who cooked.
Luke gave me a curious look. "You know how to fish?"
"Uh, not with a pole or anything. But yeah, I can fish."
"Like, with your hands?" Luke asked.
"Umm...I mean, my hands are part of it, cause I have to pick the fish up."
Luke paused the game. He turned his body to me. "Tell me exactly how you fish."
I felt my face warming up. "It's not like traditional fishing. I just go into the water and ask a fish to come to me and then I pick it up and take it home."
Luke's eyebrows raised. "You ask a fish to be your dinner? And they just…do it?" He sounded disbelieving and excited at the same time.
I nodded.
Luke laughed. "You are a delight. If I ask you for a pufferfish, will you summon one?"
I frowned. "No."
"You don't trust my cooking?" Luke asked, teasing.
"Not with pufferfish!"
Luke laughed again. "Good because neither do I. I have no idea how to prepare a pufferfish. What fish will you summon?"
I wasn't actually sure. "What do you like?"
Luke gave an unhelpful shrug.
"Do you like fish?"
"Yes," Luke said with a small smile. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. "Especially this fish."
It was so corny but I was charmed. "Well you can't eat me. I'm off the menu," I replied.
Luke's smile turned mischievous. "Is that so?" he asked, voice turning to a purr. He kissed my neck. "So I'm not allowed to do this?" Then he bit me.
I squeezed the controller so hard that the plastic creaked. "Oh, um, well. -"
Luke licked the bite. "Or this?" He moved over a bit, kissed my collarbone before biting it too.
I moaned, my face flushing and blood running south. I dropped the controller onto the floor.
Luke lifted my shirt up and over my head. "Or this?" He ducked his head and licked my nipple.
It felt so good that I fell back onto the couch cushions. Immediately, I reached for Luke.
Luke came to me, sitting between my legs. He hovered over me and met my eyes with his blue one. "So, am I still banned from eating you?"
"I dunno," I replied. "Maybe a few more bites will convince me - "
Luke ducked his head and bit my nipple.
The pain was exquisite. I arched off the couch with a moan. I got hard so fast it made me dizzy.
Luke flicked his tongue over my nipple, the bud still held tight between his teeth.
I was going to melt into a puddle of pleasure. There would be no more son of the sea god because I was going to be devoured by Luke. What a wonderful way to go. I wrapped my legs around Luke's waist and threaded my hands through his hair.
Luke adjusted his bite, took more of my flesh between his teeth, and sucked.
The pleasure made me arch again. My brain was short circuiting because I've never felt so good, not even yesterday and I thought that was the best thing ever.
Luke kissed down my ribs, leaving hot wet kisses in his wake. He inched down to my navel, glanced up at me. "I want to -"
I put both hands on Luke's head and pushed him down. "Please, please."
Luke laughed. He slid further down my body, trailing his tongue in a straight line from my navel to my dick.
My gasp turned into a moan. No one has touched me there except for me and I've never even tried to get my mouth on my dick. It was shockingly good, shockingly hot and wet and pleasure. I wrapped my legs around Luke's neck, arched up toward his mouth. "Please, Luke, please."
"Needy," Luke teased. "Greedy."
"Maybe I've decided I want you to eat me."
Luke snorted. "Maybe?" Without waiting for a reply, Luke opened his mouth and took me down to the root. He sucked once, twice, three times.
And I came down his throat. I'm not sure which of us was more surprised.
Luke took it in stride and swallowed my cum. Then he climbed up the length of my body and dropped himself onto me. The chain was trapped between our bodies and tugged on the collar. Luke didn't seem to notice. His erection dug into my thigh. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me almost lazily. All the while, he ground his dick against my thigh, a slow and deliberate thrusting of his hips.
I kissed Luke back, wondering if I should be embarrassed by how fast I came. Luke didn't seem to mind it, though. As he humped my thigh, I found myself aching on the inside for his dick. The desire to be stretched around him and filled made me clench down…but it was unsatisfying. Thinking about the places I wanted Luke to touch me and with what made me tremble.
Against my lips Luke said, "Do you want to stop?" Despite his question, his hips kept up their steady thrusting against my thigh.
"No." I clung tighter to Luke, unwilling to let him go. I nuzzled him and then bit his neck and sucked a hickey into his pale skin where his pulse beat fast.
After a few more minutes, Luke came on my thigh. His cum was hot and dripped down both sides of my thigh.
I had the strangest urge to rub his cum on my dick.
Luke slid down the length of my body and licked his cum from my leg. He watched me through his lashes as he did it, blue eyes looking into mine. It was unbearably sexy. When I was deemed clean, Luke squeezed between me and the back of the couch. He wrapped me in his arms and held me close to him.
We laid together for a while, not talking and not playing our video game. Outside was the comforting and constant sound of the waves beating the shore. Inside was warm and Luke was still cuddling me. Not that I needed to be cuddled or anything but…wow. It really was nice to have someone holding me and treating me like I was worth something.
After a while, I grew restless. Thank you, ADHD. "I want to go get your fish," I told Luke.
Reluctantly, he let me up.
We got dressed again. Even though it had been at least an hour since our adventure on the couch, my legs still felt a little shaky.
Luke watched me from the doorway of Montauk house, his arms crossed, trying to hide his scowl but not succeeding. He looked at me like he wanted me back within touching distance. "Don't forget it has to fit in the freezer!" Luke called.
I had forgotten but Luke didn't need to know that. Instead of replying, I waved a hand to let him know I heard. My whole body felt tingly and alive as I stepped into the ocean. The event on the couch had been so good. If I left would we ever get to do that again?
I called a fish to me with my powers and dragged it out of the water. I used a knife from the kitchen to end its suffering. Then I prepared it. For some reason preparing fish has always just been something I can do. It would be more useful if I went fishing more. I brought the meat back to Luke in strips that he wrapped and put in the freezer.
When the last of it had been carried in, Luke wrapped his arms around me and dragged me back to the couch. The golden chain dug uncomfortably into my spine. He tossed me onto the couch and hooked his thumbs in my jeans. "How about another go, Percy?" Luke purred.
"O-okay." I was putty in his hands.
Chapter 12
Summary:
Percy leaves Montauk House to find out what's going on.
Chapter Text
The next morning I got dressed slowly. I did not eat breakfast, even though Luke cooked for both of us. I sat at the table while Luke ate, staring into middle space and trying to prepare myself for whatever I found beyond these walls. Thinking of what damage Thalia wrought on the world was easier than thinking about what I would do with Luke.
Luke acted like there was nothing unusual happening. He ate breakfast like normal, keeping up a steady one-sided conversation about...something. When Luke got tired of me ignoring him, he threw a blueberry at me.
It hit me in the face. I focused on Luke.
"Why do you look like a man marching to his funeral?" Luke asked.
It took a few seconds before I could formulate an answer. "I just don't know what to expect."
"Ah," Luke said. "So you are prepared to die and never come back." He said this easily, as though it didn't matter one way or another. As if he wouldn't die if I never returned.
It took me by such surprise that I couldn't help but blurt out, "Aren't you afraid I won't come back?"
Luke blinked. He set down his fork. "No."
"But you'll die if I don't come back."
"Yeah. There is that." Luke's expression was intense. "I just think you'll come back."
It felt like I was going to cry and I didn't even know why. "What if I don't?"
"Do you want to?"
"What?"
"Do you want to come back?"
"Yes," I said, almost a wail, my voice going up an octave.
"Then you will," Luke said with a shrug. Easy. Like it didn't matter. Like it was settled and set in stone. Just because I wanted it to be. Luke seemed to see something in my expression because he asked, "Don't you have faith in yourself?"
"No," I admitted, even closer to crying than before.
"Ah," he said. Luke got to his feet and walked over to my side of the table. He knelt in front of me and took my hands in his. "Whatever you encounter out there won't stand a chance against you, Percy. You will come back to me." Luke kissed my knuckles.
I cupped Luke's face in my hands and kissed his forehead. "Well when you put it like that…"
Luke smiled. He tipped his face up for a proper kiss.
If I let myself I could have stayed there and kissed Luke and let it turn into more. I could have convinced myself to stay for another day. But I could see that path stretching out in front of me; telling myself just one more day every day. Gently, I pushed Luke away. "I want to get this over with."
Luke let me push him away without a fight. He stood. "Okay. Be careful out there. Alliances may have shifted and the gods will be suspicious of everyone."
"I'll keep that in mind." I stood up and patted my pocket to make sure I had Riptide. The sword was there. I grabbed a jacket off the hook and put it on. My shoes were already on. The credit card that Hermes had given me was tucked away safely in my other pocket. I had everything I needed to go. "Okay. I'm ready."
Luke pulled me into a hug. "I'll see you soon."
I hugged Luke tight. "Soon," I echoed and hoped it was true.
It was time to go for real now. I left Montauk House with a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, like something was pulling me back. The feeling didn't lessen as I walked through the dunes. The path was too familiar even after the storm damage; it was the same one I took to the store.
Even though it had been washed over with water and all my landmarks were more or less gone, I managed to find the boardwalk and followed it to the sidewalk. There were corpses, mostly old things that the ocean refused to give up until they were called into service by Hades. Not all of them were human, though a good number were. Most impressive was a whale skeleton rotten and half buried in sand.
I didn't see a lot of living people. Or living anything, for that matter. Montauk was not the size of New York City but it was nothing to sneeze at. There should have been at least a dozen people all around me at all times and I saw no one. Anxiety was a knot in my stomach. How much damage had been done? How many lives were lost?
I had no golden drachmas to call the Gray Sisters and I didn't think that there were any mortal taxis taking customers right now. Calling mom was also out of the question because she would know that I'd lied to her. I'd have to call Blackjack. Closing my eyes, I focused on my bond with the mare and sent out a wordless plea.
Pegasi had the ability to fly long distances in a short amount of time. Blackjack once tried to tell me it was like riding the crest of one wave onto another crest, without having to dip down to the trough. Soon enough, I saw a shiny black dot in the sky. A few minutes later, Blackjack landed beside me. "Hey boss," she said, tossing her head and folding her wings. "We thought you were dead." She offered me a head bump, getting me right in the stomach.
"Hey, Blackjack. I wish you'd stop calling me that." I ran my hands over her cheeks and neck. It was such a relief to find that she was still alive and unharmed. "And I'm not dead yet. Fill me in on what's happened while we go to Camp."
Blackjack sighed. She waited until I climbed onto her back before saying, "It's been wild, boss. The...the Big Three are dead. Or as dead as gods like them can be."
For a few blissful seconds that meant nothing to me. Then it hit me. The Big Three were dead...which meant that my father was dead. Poseidon was dead. I almost fell off of Blackjack.
"Whoa!" she said as she corrected my seating. "We don't want you to die too, boss. The new King won't like that."
"The...the new king?"
"Of the gods," Blacksaid said helpfully.
"Who is that?" I imagined Thalia in Zeus' throne and it became difficult to breathe. She killed her father and both of her uncles. Who else fell under her spear?
"Hermes."
I gripped Blackjack's mane with both hands to keep from falling off. It felt like the world was falling apart around me, like I was free falling to my death. And that was a feeling I knew from experience. "Blackjack, will...will you take me to Hermes?"
"Sure thing, boss," Blackjack said. She flapped her wings hard and caught a thermal that took her high, high, high up into the air. We were headed for Olympus.
The grand city in the clouds appeared at first as indistinct shapes that slowly gave way to grand infrastructure. Homes and workshops made of marble and gold and silver and a hundred other precious metals and stones glistened and gleamed. Each one vied for attention, vied to be the most beautiful and impressive. At least, that was the impression you got upon first glance. A closer look showed cracks in the pillars and scorch marks on the houses and golden ichor splattered upon the sidewalk. Some buildings were caved in or trees charred beyond recognition or statues half melted and scattered to crumbled stone.
There were nymphs and satyrs, mending injuries and crying over the bodies of their fallen companions. The gods who remained were few and far between, all of them looking like shell-shocked teenagers. All of them sported injuries, lichtenberg figures that spread black across their skin. A good deal of them were naked or almost there, clothes burned and ripped away.
A battle had taken place here, between one angry, hurt girl and all of the gods. They could not stand against her power.
Blackjack flew straight to the throne room. She didn't land until we were on the steps. "I'll be right outside to take you home."
"Thank you," I said. I mounted the steps and walked into the throne room. It was so massive that the ceiling and walls were too far away for me to see. But I could see the thrones, huge monuments. There were five broken ones: Zeus', Athena's, Poseidon's, Artemis', and Apollo's. The others bore marks of damage but they hadn't fallen, hadn't been utterly destroyed and slewn across the floor like garbage.
To say that Hermes stood in the throne room was like saying that the Empire State Building stood in New York. It was a presence. Hermes was a presence. He was so large that I was only an ant compared to him. When he sighed, it came down to me as a gust of wind. Hermes turned and sat down upon a throne that was marred by black lightning. The ground shook when he moved. Hermes gazed down at me.
I looked up at him. This was the first time that I really felt the power of the gods. It made me realize how easily they played with us, how they considered themselves above and beyond. We were only toys. I broke the silence first. "I don't think I can congratulate you, given the circumstances."
Hermes waved a hand. I felt the breeze from it. "I would be insulted if you tried to congratulate me on the death of my father, though he was not a good ruler or a good father."
I nodded and decided not to comment on that. Instead, I gestured to the throne room. "What happened?"
Hermes sighed again, this time growing smaller as he did until he stood a little taller than Luke. "Thalia Grace happened."
I couldn't say I was surprised.
"She slayed the ophiotaurus and ate the entrails."
"Gross," I couldn't help but say.
Hermes flashed me a small smile. "It was. Regardless, she did it and gained the power to slay gods. She turned on the ones she felt wronged her and harmed all who got in her way."
Luke was right when he suspected that this was what happened. I looked at the broken thrones and wondered what Artemis, Apollo, and my father did to Thalia. For that matter, what did her dad do to her? Besides turning her into a tree. Actually, if dad turned me into a sea sponge I would be upset too. So I kind of got that. "Hermes, I know that prophecy isn't your...specialty," I began, nervous.
Hermes looked at me the same way Luke did when he sensed I had something interesting to say. "But?"
"Is the prophecy over? Did we...did Luke and I…"
"Did you evade the prophecy and therefore save your lives? I can't say for certain, because though a choice was made, the hero's soul wasn't reaped."
Fear was pins and needles in my chest, spreading out along my veins and leaking cold panic in the wake. Someone could still die. It could still be me...or Luke. "But how? Didn't you kill Thalia?"
"Me?" Hermes raised an eyebrow. "Oh, no, Percy. Killing demigods isn't really my style, even when they misbehave. I expect that Thalia may come after me some day, but for now she's set her sights on my son."
I thought I couldn't get more scared but a fresh wave of pins and needles washed over me. My knees felt weak. "You mean Luke?"
"Yes. She blames him for all that has happened." Hermes finally looked troubled, his worry showing through. "She's hunting him. I do not know if she'll find him. As you said, prophecy is not my forte."
My eyes widened in surprise. I thought Thalia was over her hatred for Luke. She got what she wanted, didn't she? "So she's on Kronos' side?"
Hermes shook his head. "Kronos has been put rather thoroughly out of commission. He is no longer relevant."
"Why would she go after Luke? We have to stop her!" I said, my voice rising as my panic did too. I left him alone, without a weapon, against someone strong enough to kill gods. He couldn't even run.
Hermes shook his head sadly. "My resources have been slain. I cannot reason with her."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means that her heart cannot be changed by any magic at my disposal," Hermes said. "We can only hope to keep Luke hidden long enough for Thalia to lose interest and go after bigger fish."
I didn't mean to, but I curled in on myself, dropping onto my haunches and putting my head in my hands. "What am I going to do?"
Hermes put a hand on my shoulder. "Does anyone know of the cabin?"
"Just me and my mom," I replied. "And you and Luke." A thought suddenly occurred to me. "You aren't going to hurt my mom are you? She won't tell anyone where he is. She doesn't even know he's there." And it was a good thing mom didn't know too, because I didn't think she would approve of my relationship with Luke.
"Do you think so little of me?" Hermes asked.
"I think that you'll do anything to give Luke a chance," I replied, looking him in the eye. Luke inherited his eyes from Hermes too, a vivid cerulean blue.
"You are not incorrect. However, I have no intention of hurting your mother."
Well, that was good to know. "Is there any way to keep Montauk House from being found? How is she hunting him?"
"I imagine she's tracking him through scent, as is how everyone finds demigods," Hermes said. At my surprised look, Hermes said, "Surely you inherited a good sense of smell?"
I thought about it and then nodded.
"All demigods do. It's to help you find each other and avoid monsters."
"Oh." I frowned, remembering what Luke said about strange anatomy. He didn't say anything about scents but being able to track each other like bloodhounds seemed like a strange anatomy quirk. "How do I hide Luke?"
Hermes considered for a moment. I resisted the urge to tell him to hurry up. Every second that I wasted with him was a second that Thalia got closer to Luke. "There's a tree in a garden."
I groaned. "Not a quest. I don't have time!"
I expected Hermes to get angry but he didn't. He just squeezed my shoulder again. "You have more time than you think. Your friend Annabeth is hunting Thalia even as Thalia hunts Luke."
I blinked. "What? Why would she do that?"
"Because I told her to," Hermes said simply.
I could not imagine anyone doing something just because I told them to. I couldn't imagine making friends attack each other with a single command. "Why? Thalia can kill gods. Annabeth won't stand a chance."
"Annabeth is immortal and she wields a blessed blade. I doubt that she'll fail," Hermes replied with the cold indifference of a god.
"Annabeth is immortal?" I echoed, feeling so far out of the loop that I couldn't even see it. "How? Why? Who...who made her that way?"
"I did." Hermes stood up. "When Artemis fell, her Hunters lost their immortality. I offered it back to them, no strings attached, except for one. When I have need of them, they must rise to the call. Otherwise, they are free to do as they wish."
"But Annabeth wasn't a Hunter."
"No, she wasn't and she still isn't. She didn't want to give up sex and love to be one of Artemis' girls. As a Hound of Hermes, Annabeth does not have to give that up and she reaps all of the same benefits." Hermes pulled me to my feet.
"Can boys join?" I asked, hating the idea of being someone's dog but sensing an opportunity to get on Thalia's power level.
"Gender and sex are not disqualifiers. However, I will not admit you to my pack, Percy. My son would not be happy if you went home to him with my mark on your flesh and I have upset him enough, I think." Hermes tapped my neck. He wasn't rough but it still hurt.
It was tender like a bruise or a...a hickey. I slapped my hand over the love bite Luke had left. "Um….got it. You were saying something about a tree?"
Hermes' blue eyes sparkled. He flashed me an amused smile. "There is a tree in a garden," Hermes began again. He told me of his grandson, a demigod named Pandemonius, son of Pan, who once had need to hide from a pack of hellhounds to, apparently, do some veterinary work on a litter of hellhound puppies that had become ill. Persephone quite liked the hellhounds and so she planted a seed which grew into a tree of special white pomegranates that would hide Pandemonius' scent from the adult hellhounds so he could treat the puppies. "The tree still grows."
"Another trip to the Underworld?" I asked, aghast. I really didn't want to go back; even with Hades dead and gone.
Hermes laughed. "No, my boy. It merely requires a walk to Persephone's home here on Olympus. Young Demon lived here on Olympus for many centuries. Hades may not have been welcome here but his wife certainly is. Demon often had to ask the gods for assistance in healing this beast or that. After he died, Persephone kept the tree alive in her garden in honor of his memory." There was pride in Hermes' voice when he spoke of his grandson.
"How did he die if he lived on Olympus?" I asked.
"Monsters used to be only beasts. Wild though they were, they did not seek out demigod flesh any more than the flesh of any other creature. Until they were cursed. Then, despite centuries of him caring for them, Pandemonius' beasts turned on him and devoured him."
"That's horrible," I said, recoiling.
"Yes. It was a terrible day. I imagine that it weighs heavy in their hearts as well. Young Demon was my favorite grandson. I suspect that I am not going to get any grandchildren out of Luke either, whether he survives Thalia or not." Hermes clapped his hands. "Now, go and buy my son some more time in this life." His caduceus appeared in his hand and Hermes used it to lightly nudge me away.
I took the hint and left the throne room.
Blackjack was waiting for me by an apple tree that I think used to be - or might still be - a nymph. She was eating an apple from the tree. "He didn't smite you. That seems like a good sign."
I sighed. "We have to find Persephone's house. Do you know where it is?"
Blackjack bobbed her head up and down. "I can take you."59fecf6e0f