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

3. l

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Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson

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Luke CastellanPercy Jackson

Additional Tags:

Future Fic51 ThingsNappingFluffShort One ShotPOV Third PersonLuke Castellan Is Alive

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English

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Published:2020-11-15Words:2933Chapters:1/1Comments:10Kudos:433Bookmarks:44Hits:2633

I Found You

robindrake93

Summary:

The five times Percy finds Luke napping in strange places and the one time Luke finds Percy.

Notes:

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Don't reupload/repost my fics.

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There he was. Luke sat with his back against the wide trunk of a tree. The dappled sunlight filtering through the branches lended a greenish tint to Luke. His eyelids were closed, his head drooping toward his chest. His expression was peaceful, the worry line between his eyebrows smoothed out with sleep. A book rested on his lap, page marked with his thigh as though he only set it down for a moment.

Percy pulled his cell phone from his back pocket and snapped a picture of Luke. He winced when the shutter went off and glanced up at his subject.

Luke stirred and stretched. He blinked his eyes open, yawned, and rubbed them. When his blue gaze finally landed on Percy, he flashed a happy smile. "Hey," Luke said.

Percy joined Luke beneath the tree, sitting beside him. "Hey," he said, returning the smile. He couldn't help it; Luke's smile was infectious and when Luke fixed it on Percy, well, it did things to the man. Namely eliciting warm, bubbly feelings like Percy drank a few glasses of champagne. "I wondered where you got to."

Luke dog-eared his page and showed Percy the cover. It was a book of poetry. "I was reading."

Percy's smile turned playful. "Oh? It looked like you were napping."

"No, no. I was definitely reading," Luke said, tone matching the playfulness of Percy's.

Percy's grin widened. "I didn't know you could read with your eyes closed. Is that a power you got from Hermes?"

Luke rolled his eyes. Twelve years later and he was still salty about his dad abandoning him for the first twenty-two years of his life. Instead of commenting about it, Luke leaned over and touched Percy's cheek. His fingers came away wet and red. "You do know you're not supposed to let them cut you?"

Percy's cut stung a little. He shrugged. "It's good for morale if they think they can actually land a hit on me." He drew the water from deep in the ground, calling it up and used it to heal his cheek.

Luke washed his fingers clean in the water. He gave a very put upon sigh. "Imagine if I had let you beat me."

Percy elbowed Luke playfully. "But you did. And it did wonders for my self esteem."

Luke elbowed Percy back but his smile was very pleased.

Percy didn't immediately notice Luke the first time he walked up to the dining pavilion. All the evidence pointed to Luke being at the Hermes table.

Rachel told Percy that she saw Luke heading up to the dining pavilion to spread out his work. That was a couple hours ago but Rachel claimed Luke looked like he was settling in for the long haul.

So Percy hiked along the path up to the marble pavilion. He found Luke's project, several stacks of paperwork that were held down by heavy gold paperweights that were miniatures of various monsters. Percy didn't see Luke, so he made a circuit. Then he noticed the body beneath the marble table.

To be fair to himself, Percy was expecting to find Luke sitting at a table, not laying beneath a table. He got down on his hands and knees and peered beneath the table for a better look.

Luke lay curled on his side. His shirt was balled up beneath his head as a pillow. There were dark bags beneath his eyes, indicating that he hadn't been sleeping enough lately.

Percy got up and looked at the paperwork Luke had left out. It was the Camp's finances. Luke was in charge of them because he was so good with money and math. It was a lot of responsibility but Luke had been doing it since he was fourteen. Percy knelt down again. He wiggled his front half beneath the table and reflected that he was getting too old for this. He shook Luke awake. "Do you wanna go to bed?"

"No," Luke mumbled without opening his eyes. "I have to finish this."

"You can finish it later," Percy suggested. "You need rest."

"I was just resting my eyes. I'm fine," Luke said. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, doubling over so that he didn't hit his head on the table.

Percy pulled out from beneath the table. He sat cross-legged and watched Luke, concerned. "You should take a break."

Luke gave Percy a rueful smile. "I was taking a break."

A flash of guilt went through Percy. Maybe he should have left Luke alone.

Luke crawled out from beneath the table, only pausing when he was nearly nose to nose with Percy. His blue eyes glittered with amusement. "Don't worry, Percy. I do this every year. Once I'm done with the finances, then I'll sleep for a week."

Even though Luke obviously wanted to get out from beneath the table, Percy didn't move right away. He looked into Luke's blue eyes, trying to judge if Luke really would be alright. The problem with Luke's eyes was that they were compelling and whenever Percy gazed into their depths for too long, he found himself leaning forward as though he was going to -

No. That was ridiculous. If he and Luke were going to happen, it would have happened already. Not when Luke was over thirty and Percy was nearly there too. They were too old to suddenly decide that they had feelings for each other.

Percy moved out of Luke's way and got to his feet with a groan. His body ached constantly from years of hard use. He may have only been twenty-seven but this was ancient for a demigod. Luke was so old that he was practically turning to dust. "We're old," Percy said.

Luke got to his feet. "Speak for yourself," he said with a tired smile. He sat down on the bench and looked at his work. Then he looked to Percy. "Maybe you should stay with me. Make sure I don't fall asleep and drool on our taxes or something."

"Yeah, okay," Percy agreed. He sat down beside Luke, close enough that they were touching.

When Percy wanted to get away from the endless, needy kids at Camp, he went into the strawberry fields. The fields were a good hiding place because the kids only worked in them during the morning before it got too hot and weren't permitted to play among the fields in case they ruined the product that kept Camp Half-Blood running. Evening, just before dinner, was Percy's favorite time to visit the strawberry fields. He walked barefoot on the sunbaked earth, enjoying the heat in the soil. It made pleasurable goosebumps rise on Percy's legs. This was also the best time because the strawberries smelled the strongest and overwhelmed the scent of monsters hiding in the forest.

It was quiet in the fields. The plants were bigger than what you would see at any farm, grown to the size of hedges because of Dionysus. Their dark green leaves turned up toward the sun. The berries were huge, each one the size of Percy's palm, and red as blood. They weren't like the large strawberries you got at the grocery store where the insides were unripe and they didn't taste good; these strawberries tasted delicious from top to bottom. Percy paused to pick one and nibbled on it while he walked along the rows of berry bushes.

Juice ran down his fingers, down his wrist. Percy didn't mind. It reminded him of being a kid again and his first summer at Camp, him and Luke picking strawberries together. Back then, Luke had made it seem like they were sharing a big secret picking and eating strawberries, hidden among the bushes. Percy knew better now. As long as you didn't eat too many, Dionysus wouldn't be angry and the Camp wouldn't suffer.

Suddenly Percy tripped. He caught himself with one hand then rolled onto his ass in the dirt. He turned to see what tripped him and saw a tanned leg. At first Percy didn't see more than Luke's leg, but then he realized that Luke was underneath the bushes.

From within the bushes, Luke said, "How is it every time I try to take a nap, you wake me up, Percy?"

Percy rolled his eyes but he smiled. "I'm talented like that," he said. He took a bite of his strawberry, content to stay sitting on the warm dirt if Luke was going to wake up to talk.

Luke rolled out of the bush and laid on his stomach. Dirt and leaves were on his clothes and in his hair. He propped his chin up on his hands. "I don't think I would call it a talent."

"Talent is relative."

"That is not the correct saying."

Percy held out his half eaten strawberry as a peace offering.

Luke took it and raised an eyebrow. "This is half eaten," he pointed out. This did not stop him from eating the other half in a few bites. His lips were very red from the juice of the berry. Luke yawned and laid his head down on his arms. "Did you need anything?"

Percy shook his head. "I just wanted some quiet," he explained.

Luke hummed. "Well, I'm gonna go back to sleep." He yawned again and his eyelids slid closed. After a few moments, Luke reached out and pressed his fingertips against Percy's leg. It was a gentle touch, just barely there. Afterward, Luke sighed.

Percy sat with Luke, watching the plants shifting in the wind. He watched a small frog hop across the ground and disappear into the next row. The sun was warm against his skin, never getting too hot because it was beginning to sink below the horizon. Now that he was away from everyone, hidden among the strawberries with Luke, Percy felt that he could finally relax. Maybe they weren't too old, Percy thought.

Boss, you should come out here, Blackjack's voice woke Percy from sleep.

"What's up, Blackjack?" Percy asked, swinging his legs out of bed. He got up and patted his pocket. Riptide was there as usual. He walked out of the Poseidon cabin barefoot. Usually Blackjack wanted him to rescue a sea critter and Percy didn't need shoes for that.

It was early morning and the sun wasn't yet up. The hard packed dirt beneath Percy's feet was cool. Blackjack led Percy to the clearing beside the stables. You see the problem?

"Is that Luke on a pegasus?" Percy asked, squinting.

As soon as she saw them, the pegasus mare began heading over to them. Her wings were fluffed against the chill. She moved slow and steady as though afraid of upsetting her rider. My lord! Thank the gods you're here. He fell asleep on my back. I was afraid of letting him fall.

Percy cocked his head. It was Luke on the mare's back and he was asleep, head dipping toward his chest. "But Luke doesn't ride pegasi."

He rides every morning before sunrise, boss. Never me, of course, but one of the others, Blackjack explained. He tossed his head and stretched his wings.

"Huh," Percy said. He's never seen Luke on a pegasus before. Finding him asleep on one was even more unusual. But they were up late last night on an extended game of capture-the-flag and had been in bed well after moonhigh. "Don't worry. I'll get him up." Percy moved to the mare's side and put his hand on Luke's thigh. "Hey, Luke, time to get up. Er, down, actually."

Luke jerked awake. He almost fell off the mare in his surprise to find himself on a pegasus. "Percy?" He released the mare's mane and gently patted her. Now that he was awake, a furrow appeared between Luke's eyebrows, wrinkling his forehead. He slid off the mare's back and put both hands on Percy's shoulders to steady himself. "My legs feel like jello."

Percy met the mare's eye and nodded to her. She and Blackjack walked away toward the stables, talking loudly about how strange Luke was. When they were gone, Percy focused his attention on Luke again. "What were you doing? You hate pegasi."

"I don't hate them. I'd just rather not ride them," Luke corrected automatically.

Percy blinked, waiting for an explanation.

Luke looked away but didn't drop his hands from Percy's shoulders. He took a deep breath. "I wanted to surprise you by actually taking you up on your offer to go for a flight." It was still too dark to properly see Luke's face, but Percy thought that the man was blushing.

"Oh," Percy said. He was strangely pleased that Luke would acclimate himself to pegasi riding just to make Percy happy. "You don't have to do that. I know how you feel about them."

Luke shrugged. He pulled his hands back reluctantly, shuffled in the dirt. "Well. I just…"

Percy slid an arm around Luke's waist. He smelled like hot candle wax and horse musk. They began the walk back to the cabins. "I appreciate it, Luke. If you want to fly with me, I'd be happy to have you along." Percy considered for a few moments. "But I also like having someone on the ground to come back to. So if you don't make it to flying, I'm still happy."

Luke leaned his cheek against Percy's head in a quick nuzzle. He didn't say anything, just sighed in a contented way.

At first Percy thought that there was a big cat stretched out on the wide porch railing of the Big House. Upon reflection, he wasn't entirely wrong.

Luke lay on his stomach on a railing just wide enough to fit him. One arm was stretched above his head and the other hung off the edge of the railing. His mouth was open.

Percy snapped a picture. Then he looked at Dionysus, playing cards nearby. "How long has he been there?"

"How long has who been where?" Dionysus asked without looking up from his game.

Percy sighed and rolled his eyes, too used to Dionysus to be really annoyed by him. He went up the steps of the big house and over to Luke. For a split second he considered pushing Luke into the flowerbed below. The urge passed quickly enough. An urge that did not pass was the desire to press his lips against the short hairs at the back of Luke's neck. Almost before he consciously thought of it, Percy was doing it.

Luke sighed in his sleep.

Percy kissed him again, let his lips linger even though sometimes Luke woke up from naps swinging. Only with other people, though. "This is getting ridiculous," Percy murmured.

"What's ridiculous is that you're going to make me fall off this railing," Luke purred. He sat up, swung his leg over so that he was facing Percy. He took both of Percy's hands in his.

Percy didn't pull away. He met Luke's eyes. "I guess there's no point in beating around the bush, huh?"

Luke shook his head. The grain of the wood was imprinted on his skin.

"Alright. By formal invitation, Luke Castellan, please come sleep in my bed as my boyfriend. I promise that it's much more comfortable than everywhere else I've found you." He smiled. "I'll even let you sleep." Percy added with a wink.

Pink bloomed on Luke's cheeks. "I accept your invitation, Percy Jackson." He leaned forward, pressed his lips against Percy's lips.

"Alright," Luke said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the group of teenagers. "Where did Percy go?"

They looked up at him and giggled.

Luke had to resist rolling his eyes. "Come on, tell me where he is."

"Can't you smell him?" One of the braver ones asked. He was a pipsqueak son of Iris.

Luke couldn't, actually, which was why he was asking. But why wouldn't he be able to pick up Percy's scent? He considered for a moment, then realized that the answer was obvious. If Percy hadn't left Camp - and he didn't say he was going to - then there was only one place he could be. Luke left without saying anything, taking long strides to canoe lake. He walked out onto the dock and looked down into the water.

There, twenty feet below him, was Percy. His boyfriend was curled in a bubble of air - not that he needed it, he had gills - and he was asleep in the shadows of the dock. The naiads swam around him, suggestions of faces in the water, but didn't disturb the sleeping demigod. Percy rarely took day naps even though Luke has been telling him that they're an essential part of the day. He worked so hard training demigods and running the camp. It was nice to see him relaxing.

Luke took off his shoes. He pulled his shirt off. Then he dove down, down, cutting through the water. When he reached the bubble, Luke simply phased through it. The air bubble let him through easily and it didn't break. Once inside, Luke took a deep breath. It was still a little weird being underwater yet able to breathe, but Luke ignored the trickle of unease. He trusted Percy not to let him drown. Instead, he slid down the side of the bubble and scooped Percy into his arms.

Percy's head lolled back against Luke's shoulder. His hands came to hold Luke's hands, resting on his middle. "You finally found me," Percy muttered.

"I finally found you," Luke agreed. He kissed the side of Percy's head. Then he too settled in for a nap.

Notes:

Come hang out in my PJO discord server (if the link doesn't work, ask for an invitation).

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Rating:

Mature

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Category:

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Fandom:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Related Fandoms - All Media Types

Relationship:

Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson

Characters:

Luke CastellanPercy JacksonOriginal Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson Child(ren)Hermes (Percy Jackson)

Additional Tags:

MpregLight AngstKnottingAnal SexConsensual Underage SexAlternate Universe - Canon DivergenceOne ShotPOV First PersonBook 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson)Cesarean SectionDreams vs. RealityMagicSex MagicPorn With PlotMale LactationLactation KinkOriginal Character(s)Memory AlterationScents SmellsLight foot fetishLuke Castellan Has Scars

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English

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Published:2020-12-15Words:12341Chapters:1/1Comments:19Kudos:281Bookmarks:31Hits:3743

If I'm Dreaming (Is This Wrong)

robindrake93

Summary:

While in the Labyrinth, Luke wanders into an alternate dimension - probably - and meets Percy and everything is fine.

Notes:

If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creators' Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.

Don't reupload/repost my fics.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

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Inside of the Labyrinth, there was no night or day. There was rarely any light at all, and nothing you could count on to be there for any length of time. Navigating the Labyrinth was a joke; maps didn't work, the usual tricks for getting out of a maze didn't work, and leaving a trail of breadcrumbs was more likely to lure something hungry to you than to help you find your way back. The bigger the group, the easier it was to get lost, but solo explorers didn't come back either. Not even getting into the fact that the Labyrinth was a living, growing thing that could read your mind and change in ways specifically meant to make it your own personal hell.

All of those reasons were why, even though I'd been catching whiffs of his scent for days, I didn't follow it. I was sure that the kid was down here somewhere but I was equally sure that the Labyrinth would sooner lead me to my death than to him. His scent was that of a warm tidepool; full of life and salt and water, just a little bit brackish. I liked the smell because I - for the most part - liked the boy whom it belonged to. Seeing him always improved my day because he always showed me a new side of his personality that I hadn't seen before. More so, he represented hope. However, despite all of that, I never caught more than a whiff of him. It was always there and gone, never any closer or farther away. So I was sure the Labyrinth was playing a cruel trick on me by dangling him just outside of my reach.

Time inside of the Labyrinth flows more slowly than time outside of it. Thanks to Kronos, I felt every single second that passed as though it was doing so through molasses. I was on a completely different level of time than everyone else, moved and thought so much faster than them, and it was an agony I couldn't describe. I saw everything in slow motion and had to wait on my slower companions to catch up with every little thing I said or did. Listening to the army give reports in slow motion drove me up a wall almost as much the Olympians did. At least they moved at my speed. A few seconds for me was a few minutes for everyone else.

The Labyrinth taunted me with his scent. As the days passed, it only grew more clever in how to taunt me. His scent began to grow stronger, as though he was right around the next bend. Sometimes I thought I heard the echo of his sneakers, the sound of his footsteps familiar to me. I knew how he walked; knew that he scuffed his shoes when he walked New York's streets because he was comfortable enough to slouch there, that when he was trying to be sneaky he put his weight on his heel first, that when he fought he danced around on his toes even though it made him easier to knock over, that when he ran he took long strides that ate up distance. I knew that he preferred sneakers over boots and hated sandals and that when he was home he preferred to be barefoot but at school he had slippers.

My army and I walked miles through the Labyrinth every day. There was rarely food or drink down here; we carried everything we needed on our backs. Monsters were more reasonable than the people at Camp Half-Blood gave them credit for; they knew to ration their food when needed. After four years, my army didn't give me much trouble anymore. That was because I was the nice leader; no one had liked Atlas and his frequent punishments. Compared to him, I was merciful and benevolent.

At night we rested wherever was safe. Sometimes we lost members, soldiers on the edges of camp who went missing while everyone else was asleep. It would have been frustrating if they hadn't been replaced by the lost souls wandering the Labyrinth.

I sat away from the main army, distancing myself from them while I poured over maps. They were all useless. We might as well burn them for light, for all the good they were doing. I smelled him again, stronger than ever before, as though he stood right next to me. I looked up, expecting to see him. Nothing. My eyes scanned the shadows outside of the torchlight. Was that movement? I rose to my feet.

Again, I could have sworn I saw a flicker of movement. I hesitated for only a moment, then I walked after it. For the first time, his scent didn't go away. It stayed strong, filling my nose and taking hold in my lungs. I couldn't let him get away. Suddenly, I burst into a run. My torch was back at the temporary camp and I didn't have more than a lighter in my pocket, which I fumbled and dropped when I tried to open it. I didn't stop to pick it up. That little bastard. When I caught him…

Blindly, following only my nose, I ran through something fine. It was like spider silk, but cool and wet, and it didn't cling to my skin. Still, I slowed and rubbed at my eyes. The smell vanished and I heard rustling. I froze. Slowly, I lowered my hands.

I stood in a field of golden wheat as high as my waist, naked as the day I was born, toes curled in the warm earth. The sky was blue-grey and it smelled like it might rain but there were no clouds. What was in the sky was a full moon as golden and brilliant as a polished drachma. The wind smelled sweet and earthy as it blew through the wheat bursting with seed.

A garter snake slid across my foot, belly scales smooth against my skin, and disappeared into the field. Once I was aware of one, I could hear other scaley bodies slithering through the stalks of wheat, making them rustle. Snakes didn't bother me in real life or in the dream. And I was sure that I was dreaming because I definitely had clothes on before.

To my left was a cabin, made of thick red logs. From the stone chimney, I could see smoke rising; which meant that the hearth was lit. I knew, in the way that you knew things in dreams, that no one lived there and that it was for me if I should choose to go inside.

However, there was movement to my right that seemed more interesting than a cabin. A head of black hair bobbing and the slosh of someone moving in the water. I walked towards the other person.

The river was about ten feet wide and two feet deep at the center. Fish darted in the shallows, silvery things that I couldn't begin to guess the species of. Wildflowers of all colors grew up and down the riverbanks, stems heavy with clusters of flowers. It smelled of roses and mountain laurel.

He was short and slender, the definition of new muscles only just beginning to replace his baby fat. His hair was a little longer than I remembered and the breeze made it fluff out around his face. But he smelled how I remembered. Percy stood knee deep in the middle of the slow-moving river. Like me, he was naked, his Mediterranean complexion deepened by long summers outdoors. His eyes were the color of sea glass, so vibrant that they almost glowed, and when he noticed me, his pupils narrowed to pinpricks. He leaned back without actually stepping back.

Neither of us had a weapon but for some reason I wasn't concerned with all of that. It felt very far away, unimportant. What did feel important, was that as I looked at Percy, I saw that he was the only thing that looked real. Compared to Percy, everything else around us had the quality of a painting. An extremely detailed painting, yes, but still a painting.

Percy straightened, his eyes flicking up and down my body. A shadow crossed his face as he took in the scars marring my torso. "This is weird," he decided without taking his eyes off my scars. That's what he thought was weird about this?

I laughed, surprising both of us.

Percy laughed too, body language relaxed and open like I hadn't seen since the day I'd lured him into the forest to kill him. He walked through the water towards me, stopped among the flowers only a foot away, and splayed his hand over my scarred abs.

I held my breath. The light from the moon was warm but Percy's hand was warmer, a pleasant brand on my skin. Another thing that added to the unreality of this place. I leaned down, cupped Percy's face, and kissed him on the mouth. He tasted cool and salty like the ocean.

Percy shyly kissed me back, inexperienced but eager, tongue darting across my lips. His hand snaked up to the back of my neck, held me in place as if I'd ever even consider breaking the kiss so soon.

I parted my lips, met his tongue with mine, and coaxed his tongue into my mouth. It was a wet, hot kiss that made my nerves come alive. My hand slid down to the small of his back and I pulled him flush against me.

Percy made a surprised noise that I could only describe as a mewl. His heart raced, pounded hard against our skin. He was so warm, skin so soft against mine. His fingers carded through my short hair.

I hummed low in my throat, pleased with his reactions and the hand in my hair. I sucked the flavor from Percy's tongue and slid my tongue into his mouth for more of his flavor, some part of me thinking that I wanted us to taste like each other.

Percy pulled away, gasping for breath, and looked up at me. His pupils were dilated so much that his irises were thin rings of color. As he looked up at me, a strange look crossed his face. Percy stroked the back of my head, the short hairs at the nape of my neck. "This isn't usually how it goes when I dream about you."

Everything inside of me went icy cold at his words. Percy thought he was dreaming? A dream thought that he was dreaming? No. This was really Percy. It didn't make sense, though, this place couldn't be real. I'd never seen the moon look like that and there were no stars in the sky. Maybe we were both dreaming; a strange, shared dream that we weren't in control of. It didn't feel malicious, which was a small blessing. "I don't think this is a dream."

Percy looked around. "It feels like a dream," he said slowly. "And if it wasn't a dream, then you would have tried to kill me already. That's what the real Luke would do." He met my gaze with the surety of an arrogant child. I'd seen the look plenty of times on Annabeth's face.

This was Percy's reality: we reunited and I tried to kill him.

I couldn't say that made me thrilled but it was better than what I would become to him. That thought was fleeting and distant, like a hawk riding the thermals. "I'd lose in a fight against you right now," I pointed out. "You're standing in the water."

Percy suddenly stepped away from me, hands pulled back to hover nervously in front of him. Percy's eyes slowly moved down my body until he was looking at his feet; one in the water and the other on the riverbank. His eyes darted up to my face, caught and held my stare. He stepped back and back and back. Then he tripped on a rock and fell into the river.

The look of bewilderment on Percy's face made me laugh. I squatted down among the flowers. They tickled my skin. "What'd you do that for?"

Percy lifted his foot out of the water. His heel was scraped red. "I couldn't feel it." He looked wildly around the river. "I can't feel any of it!"

My smile faded. I studied the water, the movement of the river. It was a close copy to the real thing but if I squinted, I could almost see what looked like brushstrokes. I dipped my fingers into the water. It was cool against my skin and it felt like normal water. I could definitely feel it.

Percy saw me and rolled his eyes. "Not like that! One of my powers is...is basically echolocation. If I'm in the water, I can feel everything around me." He stood up abruptly and carefully picked his way back to shore. He didn't stop until he was out of mud and onto dry land. Percy hugged himself, looking around with wide eyes. "Weird dream," he muttered.

I twisted around to look at him. "Damn," I said, impressed by the power and the fact that he no longer seemed to have it. I looked at the river, wondering if it was somehow poisoned. I made a cup with my hands and brought the water to my face, smelling it. It smelled like a normal river… Well, it smelled a lot cleaner than a normal river. But it moved differently than water was supposed to. I couldn't explain it. Bad rendering, maybe. Could we drink this? I stood and walked past Percy to the cabin.

"Where are you going?" Percy asked, anxiety in his voice. I was the only familiar thing here and he wouldn't lose me so easily.

I waited for him to catch up. "Just wanna see the cabin. There's a fire lit." I slid my hand into his. His hands were small and I felt tender calluses on his palms; in a few years his hands would be as tough as mine.

The cabin had one room. There was a double bed across from the fireplace. A large cooking pot sat beside the fireplace. There was a cupboard with dishes and silverware and cups, all made of wood but good quality. There was also a single knife but it wouldn't cut flesh no matter how hard I tried to dig the blade into my skin. Percy didn't have success with that either. Various containers, for food storage, maybe. A pail to hold water. A clawfoot tub sat across from the bed, near to the fireplace.

Percy looked around, a slow frown tugging his lips down. "There is no bathroom here."

That seemed like an oversight that whoever was in charge of this place wouldn't have missed. I walked out the front door and around to the back of the cabin. There was an outhouse standing there.

Percy joined me shortly. He was still frowning. He gave an annoyed huff.

"It's better than digging a hole," I pointed out with a grin. An axe leaned against the outhouse. I picked it up and hefted it. The weight felt right in my hands. Axes weren't really my strong point but I figured it would come in handy. The blade looked sharp but, like with the knife, it wouldn't cut my skin when I tried to slice my palm open. Weird. Was that dream logic or was some god fucking hardcore with us?

Percy shifted nervously. "Luke," he said, "my foot hurts."

I took that as my cue and swung the axe over my shoulder. I put my free arm around Percy's shoulder. We went back inside, I set the axe by the door, and I deposited Percy on the bed. Then I knelt in front of him and lifted his foot so I could see his heel. The skin was scraped and dirty from walking around barefoot but otherwise he looked okay. "You'll be fine but we should probably clean this."

"Why didn't I heal?" Percy asked.

I shrugged. I stood up and picked up the pail. It looked clean enough. "Stay here. I'll be back." I walked to the river and filled the pail. While I was there, I looked around. There was forest on the other side of the river. I heard birds calling and insects humming. Our footsteps were the only signs of humanity. No airplanes overhead, no satellites in the sky, no rush of cars on the roads, no human pollution. The air tasted sweet and clean. "A dream?" I asked anyone who would answer me.

There was no response. The rules of a place were important to know and every place had different rules. If there was one thing I learned from my time with Kronos, it was that the Olympians weren't the only gods and their domains weren't the only ones around. You didn't even really need to be a god to have carved out a private space in the world. The Irish fairies had the Summerlands and the knowes. Other gods and creatures had other places.

I left the river and returned to Percy. Percy lay on the bed, legs dangling over the edge, one arm stretched out and one resting on his stomach. His eyes flickered to me and some of the anxiety in his face went away.

I sat cross-legged on the floor and took Percy's injured foot in my hand. It wasn't until that very moment that I realized the only fabric was the sheets and blanket on the bed. We were naked. There was no fabric anywhere to wash the wound with. "Don't kick me," I warned him. I wet my hand and rubbed it against Percy's heel.

Percy winced but he took it well. It was a small scrape, a skin abrasion and nothing deep or serious. The dirt along with a tiny bit of blood were rubbed away by my hand and cool water. Soon, his heel was pink and shiny, almost like new.

I held onto his foot longer than was necessary, pressing my thumbs into his arches and feeling the delicate bones of his ankle. He had nice feet, neatly trimmed nails and cute toes. I ran my hand up his calf, squeezed lightly, and mirrored the action with his shin.

Percy propped himself up on his elbows to look down at me. The anxiety had smoothed out of his features, making him look younger than he was. It was replaced with wanting.

There was never more than a few inches of space between us as I stood up to kiss him again. I hovered over him, so close to touching that I could feel the heat of his body. His mouth was soft against mine. It was so easy to kiss Percy.

Percy laid his head back against the mattress, kissing me all the while. He got better the more he did it. His tongue slid into my mouth, ran up the thick scar tissue on my cheek and rubbed against my own tongue. His arms came up around my neck, holding me over him even when he broke the kiss. Percy's breathing was uneven. His gaze flicked down between our bodies and his face took on a red tint.

I was half hard, cock filling out heavy between my legs. Just a side effect of kissing; there wasn't anything urgent about it. I ducked my head and licked Percy's lips to coax his mouth open again.

Percy parted his lips for me, met my tongue with his. He tasted like very, very diluted saltwater. Which was good because if he tasted like the actual ocean, I don't think I could have kissed him as filthily as I was now. When he pulled back again, his lips were slick and kiss swollen. Percy looked between us again. He seemed dazed when he said, "I knew there was no way you got away with just a little tiny scratch after facing Ladon." Percy splayed his hand on my chest, over the scars that ran from my left shoulder to my right hip.

My stomach fluttered under his touch. I held my breath until I was lightheaded, waiting and watching his face as Percy followed the length of the scar. It was only when my lungs ached that I let out my breath and drew another one. "Did you?" I asked to break the silence.

Percy glanced at my face and then away. "Well, not until I actually saw Ladon," he admitted. His hand rested on my hip, cool against my hot skin.

Maybe I needed to go for a swim and cool off. I looked down at Percy - the only clear thing in this world - and mirrored him, resting my hand on his hip. He felt real. Gods, did he feel real. The slide of his skin over bone, the rise and fall of his chest, the peach fuzz on his legs. I rubbed my thumb along the dip of his pelvis, over the soft skin beside his jutting hip bone.

Percy sighed, half closing his eyes. He was getting hard. "I think I want it to rain," he muttered. "It smelled like rain outside, didn't it, Luke?"

The crack of thunder made us both jump. In the next instant, rain poured down. It masked the crackle of the hearth fire and came in through the open door.

I slid off Percy to close the door. My heart raced. He asked for rain, and it rained. It still didn't look real, too soft at the edges. This place didn't even look real. The moon was too close, too big. There were no stars in the sky. There were no fucking clouds; it was a clear sky with rain pouring down. I walked outside and stood beneath the rain. It ran down my skin, chilled and wet, and dampened my hair. I licked rainwater off my arm. It tasted like normal water.

When I went back inside, Percy was laying on the bed properly, curled beneath the blanket. He peered at me through his lashes. "Where'd you go?"

I shook my head like a dog, flinging droplets of water all over, and sat in front of the fire. "Just to check out the rain. There aren't any clouds in the sky."

Percy hummed. "Dream logic."

As I watched the water evaporate from my skin, I couldn't help but think he might be right. Maybe this was just a weird, weird dream. I was warm and dry in a few minutes, but I stayed on the floor by the fire. The bed felt like a siren song of temptation.

"Are you going to stay there all night?" Percy asked.

"Maybe." I watched the flames flicker until my vision blurred. I blinked to clear it. Was it nighttime? The rain made it seem a little darker but the moon was still out in full force. I looked out the window and saw that it was pitch black out. Rain still drummed on the rooftop. Goosebumps broke out over my skin.

The bed creaked and then I heard Percy's footsteps on the hardwood floor. He squatted down beside me, the blanket wrapped around his shoulders. Percy leaned his cheek against my shoulder. "Come to bed with me, Luke."

I looked at him. In the firelight, his eyes looked even greener than normal and catlike. "Are you sure?" I asked.

Percy nodded. He stayed where he was until I stood up and offered a hand to him, which he accepted with a shy smile. Percy didn't let go of my hand until the backs of his knees hit the mattress. Then he let go and climbed onto the mattress, flopping onto his side near the wall. He gave me an expectant look.

I eased onto the mattress beside him. It was comfortable and cozy. I tugged at the blanket until Percy relinquished his hold on it and shared. The blanket wasn't small; it was a queen-size blanket on a double-size mattress. Then we lay in bed facing each other, the blanket pulled over both of us. I wasn't tired but the rain was cool and there wasn't anything else to do in the cabin. And Percy had asked.

Percy was the one who reached out first, fingers skimming the empty space between us until they brushed my cock. He curled his fingers around my cock. His hand was warm and soft.

My breath caught. I wasn't unwilling...he'd only surprised me. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised. I'd kissed him first, hot and wet, without warning. It felt good when he touched me; more than that, it felt right. Under his inexperienced touch, I grew harder than before.

And Percy was obviously inexperienced. He wasn't touching me like he knew what he was doing. Percy's touch was exploratory, getting a feel for the weight and texture of my cock. His breath caught as I got harder in his hand. "Oh," he whispered, sounding surprised even though he was old enough that he must have been exploring his own body.

When I couldn't hold my breath any longer, I let it out in a shaky exhale. My eyes slid closed. Percy's hand was warm and soft but it was also dry. If he got serious about touching me, we would have to do something about that.

Percy brought his hand up to the head of my cock. He curled his fingers around it and gently twisted his wrist, rubbing the top against his palm. Then he moved his fingers so that one slid along the slit.

Pleasure sparked in me and with every touch the flames were fanned higher. I moaned, soft and low in the back of my throat, and shifted to be closer to him.

Percy took that as permission to wiggle even closer. He slotted my leg between his, and I felt his thighs shaking. He pressed his lips to mine so eagerly that his teeth scraped against my lip. "Sorry," he whispered, pulling his head back.

I chased his lips, caught them in a kiss. Carefully, deliberately, I bit down on his bottom lip and sucked it between my teeth. Only after I'd drawn a wanting little noise from him, did I release his lip and kiss it better. Firmly, I placed one hand on Percy's hip, slid it up to the bend of his waist, then over his ribs. With a thumb, I rubbed circles on his nipple until it pebbled.

Percy sighed under my caresses until I got to his nipple. Then he moaned, again a soft sound that I barely heard. Was he naturally quiet or did he force himself to muffle the noises? His hand had stilled on my cock, a loose hold like he forgot what he was doing in the wake of his own pleasure.

I scooted closer, firmly sliding my thigh between his, high up until I could feel his balls against my skin. At the same time, I moved my hand around to his back, over his shoulder blades and along the ridges of his spine. My hand dipped at the small of his back, then I was squeezing his ass. He had such a cute little butt; not that I would ever admit that to him.

Percy let go of my cock to lightly scratch my chest with both hands. He arched, pressing his ass into my hands, and moaning. That was a little louder.

I ducked my head to kiss his throat, felt the vibrations of his moan against my lips. With a sudden clarity, I knew where this was going to go, what we'd been heading towards since the first time I kissed him. How long ago was that again? Unimportant. What was important was that Percy was trembling in my arms and I could feel the stiffness of his erection pressed against my hip. As I kneaded his ass, I thought about how good it would be if he were wet and ready to take me… I ran my fingers between the cleft of his ass cheeks, only marginally surprised to find his hole wet.

Rubbing the pad of my finger against his hole made Percy shiver and rock against me. He moaned, then whined as he was unable to decide if he wanted to press back against my finger or rut against my hip. "Luke," he breathed.

I pushed a finger into his body. He was so soft inside. Everything about Percy was soft, I was beginning to realize. He felt as though he were made to be touched by me. I eased my finger in past the first and second knuckles. Like I had wanted, Percy was wet and ready to take me. My mouth hovered over his, lips barely brushing against his.

Percy panted, hot little breaths against my lips. His eyes were closed and his face screwed up in pleasure. He sank his nails into my chest. It should have hurt because my scars always hurt but for some reason it didn't.

I wanted to take it slow but Percy was so perfect that I couldn't bear to take too long. My cock ached to be inside of him. I added a second finger, easing it into him slowly. This time, I did kiss him, hoping to distract him from any pain.

Percy responded by spreading his legs wider. He pushed back against my fingers and shivered. If he was in pain, I couldn't tell. A third finger made him moan aloud.

He was as ready as he'd ever be. I eased my fingers out of him - ignored his disappointed whine - and rolled onto my back, bringing Percy with me.

He sat astride my hips, watching with wide, curious eyes. He planted both hands on my chest. His cock literally dripped enough precum that it pooled on my stomach.

I eased Percy into position and then guided my cock into him. Yes, he was still tight enough that for a second I worried. But then the head slid past his ring of muscle and I was inside of him.

A small noise of surprise passed his lips. Percy flexed as though trying to draw me in. His complexion was just light enough that I could see how it reddened with a blush.

Greedy, I thought fondly. I rocked into him, taking it slow, until his ass was flush against my pelvis. His body was hot and tight around me, constantly flexing as he adjusted and pulsing in time to his heartbeat. "Feel good?" I asked.

Percy nodded. He shivered. His eyes were half closed and he was drooling. "So good," he mumbled, almost in a trance.

I put my hands on his hips. "Just wait. It'll feel even better once I start moving." Again, I began rocking my hips. They were small thrusts just to get him used to it...and to stop myself from cumming too quickly. I'd had boys before but none of them were Percy.

Percy tried to match my rhythm. The fact that he didn't know what he was doing, really cemented for me that this wasn't a dream. If it was a dream he'd be a perfect slut with all the knowledge of someone who had sex regularly. But that was a fleeting thought because Percy tried so hard to do good and follow my instructions. "Luke, harder," Percy begged. His face hadn't lost that rosy tint. His cock bounced between us, flushed redder than his face and leaking precum onto my belly.

This wasn't the best position for harder. Even though I didn't want to, I tried to pull out of him. If Percy wanted hard then we'd have to switch positions and far be it from me to deny him. I put my hands on his hips to still him.

Percy whined when he realized what I was going to do. "No, no! Don't! I want you inside me." The note in his voice was slightly, almost hysteric. He tightened around me, clenching down as though he could keep me inside of him.

I sat up to give him a sweet, reassuring kiss. "Just for a second," I said.

"No," Percy insisted. He kissed me hard, tongue and teeth in the mix.

"I thought you wanted it harder?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Right now I wasn't moving at all. If he didn't want to, then we could go back to what we were doing.

Now Percy hesitated. He squirmed as he ground down on my cock. His breath came out in little panting gasps. "What if we roll over again?" Percy looked so hopeful.

The truth was, I didn't want to pull out yet either. It felt good being inside of him. I kissed Percy one last time then lay back down. "Alright, gimme your leg and do not kick me in the face."

"Why do you think I'm going to kick you in the face every time my foot comes near your head?" Percy asked in a huff as he did what I asked. We managed to get his leg from one side of my body to the other and I didn't get kicked in the face or slide out during the process. Percy sat sideways on me, looking desperately turned on but also concerned. "Sex isn't like I imagined it would be."

I didn't know what to say to that so I kept quiet. Instead, I put my hands on his thigh and back and urged Percy to finish his turn so that he was reverse-cowboying it.

"Does it always require…" Percy looked at me over his shoulder and waved a hand vaguely.

Now that he was facing away from me, I carefully shifted our positions again. "Lean forward, on your arms," I instructed.

Percy did and in a moment, I was kneeling between his spread thighs. He looked at me over his shoulder again, eyes dark. "Luke, don't make me wait anymore," he said. "I'm...I ache."

I slid in and out of him a few times, getting a feel for the position. "Put your hands on the footboard." I smiled. "And brace yourself, Percy." I snapped my hips.

Percy gasped.

I did it again and again, keeping my thrusts short and hard.

Percy's moans let me know that I was hitting the right spot. Every moan sounded like it was forced from his lungs.

Of course I knew that there was something else happening here. The closer I got to blissful orgasm, the more I realized that there was something happening with me. There was a swelling at the base of my cock and as it grew, it became hard to keep thrusting in and out. Then, with one final thrust, I couldn't pull out again. We were tied together and at that moment I didn't care because I was cumming.

It was the best orgasm I've ever had. Even after the initial wave, I was rocked with aftershocks as Percy's warm body clenched and throbbed around me. And I was still cumming inside of him, cock twitching and pulsing as I filled him with my cum.

Percy rocked back, looking for the friction he needed to get off.

I pulled Percy back against me and carefully eased us onto our sides. Our heads were on the wrong side of the bed but it didn't seem to matter to either of us. I just wanted him near to me.

Percy lay panting and moaning, pressed against the curve of my body. He trembled as he pushed his ass back, grinding on my cock. "Feels so good." He twisted his torso around, head tipped back. "Will you kiss me again?"

I kissed him again. I slid one hand along his body, down to his little cock, and stroked it. His skin was soft like silk and so warm.

Percy came with a small cry against my lips. His body tightened around me like a vice, then throbbed in time to his heartbeat. He kissed me softly before relaxing on the mattress.

I wiped my hand clean on the sheet. Then I wrapped my arms around Percy, holding him close. I nuzzled the back of his head, nosing the fine hairs at his nape.

Percy sighed contentedly.

I wasn't sure if I slept or not. I didn't dream and I was constantly aware of Percy beside me, warmth against my side. But I was so relaxed and felt well rested by the time the swelling in my cock went down. I pulled out slowly.

Percy whimpered in protest. He turned around and nuzzled his face into my neck. "I never want to wake up," he confessed.

We laid in bed and made love a few more times before I got tired of the rain and being in bed. There had to be more to this place than the sudden desire to have sex with Percy. Almost as soon as I thought that the rain should stop, it did. There was a brief moment of silence, then a chorus of frogs started and the birds tentatively began their songs again.

"Let's go for a walk," I suggested as I kissed the skin beneath Percy's ear.

Percy gave a delighted shiver. He squirmed away from me as though sensing that we wouldn't leave the bed if one of us didn't stop. "Okay." Percy got out of bed and stood. He took two steps and froze, head bowed.

It only took a moment to see what the problem was. My cum dripped out of him, some falling directly to the floor and some oozing down his thighs. I didn't like that it was being wasted. It should be inside of him. Now that he was vertical and my cock wasn't keeping it in, my cum was coming out. I looked around, saw something - a plug? - made of smooth wood that was the right shape and grabbed it. I got to my feet and came up behind him, pressed the head of the plug against his stretched hole.

Percy whined and shivered. He widened his stance, pushed back almost eagerly. It was a good thing I could keep up with his sex drive.

I couldn't resist teasing him just a little, bouncing the plug against his hole, not quite entering him. My cock began to fill again, and I considered taking him again right now. Four times in a row was a bit excessive. Cum wet my fingers as I teased him and that was what made me decide to stop wasting it and ease the plug fully into Percy.

Percy trembled with desire. He panted and moaned as I teased and stretched his rim. When the plug finally entered him, Percy's moan held a relieved note. He turned to face me, pupils blown wide with lust and cock hard. His arms came around my neck, lithe body stretched against mine. "It doesn't feel like you," Percy said.

I held him, wet hands squeezing his ass and prodding at the base of the plug. The plug was doing its job yet I couldn't help but think it was in the way of my cock. I should be the one filling him, be the one he rocked back against. My cock was fully erect, smearing precum against his soft belly. "We're going for a walk, aren't we?" I asked, tone teasing but absolutely willing to stay here for another round if Percy wanted to.

Percy hesitated. He seemed to deflate a little. "Yeah. We can go for a walk." Percy turned away, toward the door.

Oh no. I couldn't leave him disappointed. I grabbed his arm and drew him back to me, back to my chest. My hand slid down his belly to his cock and I stroked him.

"Oh! Luke!" Percy melted against me immediately. He put his arms around my neck again, gripped the short hairs at the nape of my neck.

As I stroked him, I slotted my cock between his ass cheeks and rubbed against him. It was nothing like being inside of him but I still liked his skin against mine. "You don't have to wait if you want me," I said, lips against the skin of his neck.

Percy rolled his hips, thrusting into my hand as I jacked him off. He turned his face to kiss my cheek. "I always want you, Luke."

I moaned and pressed more firmly against him. Percy was perfect. Maybe I'd been blind before but I saw it now. And now that I saw him, saw him and had him, I was never going to let him go. No one would come between us; mortal nor god.

Percy moaned. His arms began to shake around my neck, a tremble that slowly worked its way down to his legs. "It...it's not the same as having you in me," he whined.

I sucked hickies into his neck as I got us both off. Rubbing against him was doing more for me than I thought it would. That swelling at the base of my cock was coming back. "I can fix that," I promised. I gently removed the plug.

Percy gasped as the widest part stretched him. He trembled harder.

I had to widen my stance to line us up. When I pushed into him, Percy's body was hot and wet around me. I got in as far as the swelling before pausing. Was it still small enough to fit? I didn't want to hurt him. I rocked my hips, a few short thrusts, and then the knot popped past his ring of muscle and into that tight heat.

Percy came all over my hand. He went boneless then, legs almost giving out.

I caught him before he hurt us both. I back toward the bed and sat down with him still impaled on my cock. In one hand I still held the plug. My free hand went to his mouth and I realized he was drooling again.

Percy opened his mouth when my fingertips touched his lips. He sucked on two of my fingers, little tongue rubbing against them. His mouth was so wet and the suction felt so good.

I came inside of Percy. It was another long, long orgasm during which I filled him with my cum yet again. While I trembled through my orgasm, I kissed and licked Percy's neck and shoulders.

We sat for a long time, enjoying each other's presence and waiting for my knot to go down. When it did and I began to grow soft, I pulled out of Percy. Only to immediately replace my cock with the plug, holding my cum inside of him. This time we didn't spill a drop. "Still up for a walk?" I asked gently.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. He sounded tired but determined. "I want to stretch my legs and explore." He slid off my lap and turned to kiss me. A brief peck and then Percy went to the door and opened it.

Golden moonlight poured into the cabin. The rain was long gone, only leaving behind a faint damp earth scent. I got to my feet and followed Percy out the door.

We walked through the wheat fields. Garter snakes slid over our feet if we stayed still too long but they were harmless and neither of us were concerned with them. The wheat field ended at a line of birch trees. I was sure that the eyes of the trees watched us as we passed between their trunks. There didn't seem to be an end to the birch forest. It kept going and going, no sign of it ending no matter what direction we looked. Doves perched in pairs in the branches of the trees, too absorbed in grooming to pay any attention to us.

After a while, Percy slid his hand into mine. "I think it goes on forever," he announced. And because he said so, the birch forest did stretch out forever.

The fine hairs at the back of my neck rose in warning. Percy thought that we were dreaming but I was more sure than ever that this wasn't a dream - at least not entirely - and that we needed to be careful with what we wanted and said. Otherwise, we'd get exactly that. "We'll go back to the wheat field," I said aloud. We turned around and began the walk back. It was a shorter walk going back. Within minutes, the golden field was in sight again.

"What do we do?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," I admitted.

"There should be an instruction manual," Percy decided. He promptly tripped, hand yanked out of mine. Percy cried out in surprise.

I saw the large book, the same red as the earth, but my concern was for Percy. I knelt beside him, looked him over for any injuries. There were none, only a bit of dirt clinging to his skin. "Are you alright?" I asked, worried that something inside of him hurt.

Percy nodded. His face was tinged red with a blush again. "What's that?" He pointed to the book that he'd tripped over.

I glanced at the book. The cover was made of reddish brown leather that looked like clay. It had no title and no author. "I think it's your instruction manual."

Sitting cross-legged in the dirt, Percy picked up the book. It had to be about twenty-two by eleven inches big. He ran his hand over the cover, feeling the texture of the leather. Then he opened it. The pages were all blank. Percy looked to me, confused, as though I had the answers.

"Just wait," I said on a hunch.

We both stared down at the blank page. Ink began to move out from the center crease of the book, spreading across both pages in full watercolor illustrations. It showed the little river with flowers lining the banks. Then two figures walked from the crease and into the water. They bathed and played in the river. The two figures looked like little watercolor versions of me and Percy. Then the image went still.

Percy and I looked at each other. "I guess we go to the river now. I sure could use a bath."

I nodded and stood. I helped Percy to his feet and we crossed the wheat field to the river.

Percy carried the book and set it on the bank far out of reach of the water. Then he went into the water. He walked to the middle of the little river and sat down, then began to wash the dirt off himself.

After watching him for a moment, I joined him in the water. It was good to wash the sweat from my skin. Sex was a sweaty affair even in dreams. Not that I thought we were dreaming. The book appearing like magic and telling us what to do like a fairytale was disconcerting. At the same time, it was a relief to have instructions, guidance. Otherwise, I wasn't sure that we would do anything except make love and walk around.

Over the next few days, the book showed me how to set traps and hunt and prepare my catches to eat. It taught me what plants to search for and which parts were edible. The ax and the knife both worked exceptionally well on flesh that wasn't ours, and I realized it was because whoever put us here didn't want us committing suicide.

Percy didn't like watching me kill and butcher the animals, but he did join me on foraging trips and he was happy enough to cook the meat I brought back. The only exception to this was when I went fishing. Then, Percy sat on the bank among the wildflowers and watched me. Sometimes he tried his hand at fishing but he was surprisingly bad at it. One day he said to me, "I like it here. The fish don't talk."

"Do the fish normally talk?" I asked as I tickled a fish from the water. I used the knife to slit the fish's throat and tossed it onto shore with the others.

Fish murder did not bother Percy. He watched with some interest and none of the squeamishness he showed with mammals. Then again, mammals bled more than fish. "Yes. Sort of. I hear their voices in my head. Do you think I'm crazy?"

"If you are, you get it from your dad," I said with a shrug. Mentally, I tucked that nugget of information away. Percy can talk to fish and the fish here don't talk back.

We ate well. My trap always caught something and there was always more growing to replace what I gathered. The stream never ran empty.

The book did more than just teach me how to butcher the animals. I learned how to cure skins and hides to make leather and furs. These were mostly used for towels and bedding. Clothes were very hard to make because I didn't have a needle - or thread - and couldn't figure out how to make one that wouldn't break. So we wore a lot of capes.

It turned out that capes were actually very convenient and useful because we had sex a lot. All the time. We would be doing something else and then all it would take is a glance and suddenly we were having sex. The capes made it so that we didn't have to move clothes out of the way and they made good blankets so that when we were outside, we weren't fucking on the dirt. Usually. Sometimes the urge was too strong and we wound up doing it in the dirt anyway.

"I miss my mom," Percy said one day after we finished a round of sex on the bank of the stream. He was still impaled on my cock, knot locking us together. Wildflowers brushed against his skin, bright spots of color against the brown of his skin.

"Oh yeah?" I held him close, breathed him in. His scent was subtly different, in a way that I couldn't quite pinpoint. Percy still smelled like the ocean and salt but there was something else...something warmer, somehow. Whatever it was, I really liked it.

Percy nuzzled me. He ran his fingers through my hair. This was a favorite activity. "Yeah. I love her so much. She's why I went to the underworld. I didn't care about my dad and the gods. I just wanted her back."

"I'm sorry," I said as I ran my fingers down his chest, over the bump of his abdomen. We were eating well and he hadn't yet lost all of his baby fat, but he seemed to be gaining weight. It didn't feel like fat; it felt firm beneath my palm. Touching the spot made me more excited than anything else.

Percy kissed me. He practically purred beneath my touch. "That's how I know this is a dream."

I swallowed and for a moment my misgivings about this place came back. "How?"

"Because the real Luke would never apologize for anything." Percy did this regularly, tore my heart out without meaning to or trying. He never seemed to notice how deeply his words cut me. It was like he forgot the words as soon as they left his mouth. Percy twisted so that he could meet my eye and he said, "I don't want to wake up."

"I don't either." My misgivings left as quickly as they appeared. The hurt Percy's words caused cooled and faded into nothing. The knot was deflating but I was getting ready to go again. Sometimes it was like this, sometimes I didn't even get a chance to pull out of him before the urge to make love to Percy came back. I rolled my hips.

Percy moaned, a sweet little noise that said he was as ready for more as I was. His rim stretched around my knot, always tight no matter how often I had him. He pawed at me, trying to get me to roll on top of him.

I did, careful not to crush him beneath my weight. There had been a time earlier when I hadn't minded pushing Percy flat against the ground but now I was careful with him. Something inside of me warned me to be careful with him. So I doubled over his back, giving short thrusts of my hips like a dog mounting him.

Percy rocked back in time with every thrust. He let out little moans and whines of pleasure. His skin was hot against mine, sweat gathering between us. Percy whispered my name like a prayer and I whispered his name with the same reverence.

There was no unhappiness here, no stress, no worry. But sometimes we came close to it, brushed against it like the wheat that brushed against our skin. Percy would grip me tight and give me a look that was all desperation and say, "I don't want to wake up. I don't want to go back." Then he would cover his eyes with the heels of his palms. "I couldn't stand losing this version of you. I would die," he moaned. "I would die, I would die."

What could I do except take him in my arms? "I'm the same now as I've always been," I tried to tell him. There was only one me. This me.

Percy would shake his head and worry the knot of scar tissue on his right palm. "No, no, Luke. Don't tell me that." He put his hands over his ears like a child.

The only way to get him back to good was with nuzzles and kisses and rubbing my whole body against him like a cat. Percy liked that and after enough physical attention, Percy would go right back to smiling and happy and content to let himself pretend that this wouldn't end.

It needled at me longer but I was caught. The more I showered Percy with affection and praise, the more I made him laugh and put him at ease around me, the more convinced that Percy became that I was something from his imagination. That I was a good dream - a really good dream version of the Luke he knew outside of this place - and that I did not exist in the Luke he remembered. Sometimes I wondered if he was right. What if I wasn't real?

I lay in bed beside Percy, sucking his nipple and rolling it between my teeth. His nipples tasted sweet lately and they were puffy. That sweetness was addicting. I suckled like a baby, first from one nipple and then from the other.

It made Percy pant and arch into my mouth. He had his hands in my hair, holding my head to his chest and running his hands through my hair. When I suckled like this, Percy hated for me to stop. Sometimes he came from nothing but my mouth on his nipples. His belly swelled and now it lay between us, firm and round.

The first day I realized that Percy wasn't just gaining weight because he was eating well, I felt stupid for not realizing sooner. It was so obvious what was happening; Percy was pregnant. The other obvious thing was that it was my baby inside of him. There was no one else. And we were trapped somewhere that was literally overflowing with fertility symbols. I should have known what we were doing. But it didn't really matter how or why.

Knowing that Percy was going to have my baby just made me happy. I started a family. We started a family. There would be a little one, a perfect legacy, toddling around. I would do anything for Percy and for our unborn baby. Anything at all. I would abandon the gods and Kronos, if Percy asked. That should have scared me but it didn't.

But what Percy wanted right now was for me to suckle his aching, leaking nipples. So I sucked, licking and occasionally nibbling, until Percy's nipples were swollen and red and shiny with my spit. Then I kept going, the sweet taste of milk on my tongue and filling my belly. It was good.

Percy arched and sighed. His body went rigid right before he came on my thigh. Then my mouth was too much and Percy lightly pulled my hair to pull my head away. He rolled onto his back and spread his legs in invitation.

I rolled over top of him, not putting any weight on him at all. Percy's lips were slack when I kissed him so I trailed kisses from his jaw to his temple. Then I eased my aching cock into him. Soft, wet heat surrounded me. It was like sinking into bliss.

"Easy, Luke. Gentle," Percy murmured, half asleep and drifting in post-orgasm bliss. "Our baby's in there."

His words of caution were unnecessary; I was always careful with him. I think he just liked mentioning that we were going to have a baby. I leaned down and rubbed my nose against his nose. Then I straightened and began thrusting, chasing my pleasure with restraint. It took a little longer but I got there, knot swelling and then locking us in place as I came.

I pulled Percy into a sitting position so that he straddled me and leaned against the wall. My hands went to his belly, feeling the life moving inside of him. "Do you think it was the first time?" I asked.

Percy watched me touch his belly. His hands rested on my shoulders, thumbs dipping to stroke my collarbones. "I think so."

We had no proof. Time meant nothing here. I couldn't say if we've been here for days or years. A brief trickle of unease nagged at me...and then faded away. What did it matter? This was the best time of my life. It felt like it would never end.

Percy's belly grew and grew and he got out of bed less and less. He was tired but always happy, smiling and talking about our baby. What would they look like? What would they be like? We didn't have sex as often, but that was alright. I was just happy to be with him.

Then one day, I opened the book and waited to see what it wanted me to do. The watercolor spread across the page. For the first time since coming here, I felt true fear. It showed me a version of myself holding a knife and cutting into Percy...cutting the baby out of him.

I could do it. I knew I could because I've gotten very good at skinning and butchering animals. But this was not an animal; this was my lover and our unborn child. A mistake could end all of this before it even began. It could spell disaster and pain.

Percy lay in the bath, water warmed by the fireplace, and watched me. Finally, he sighed. "Show me, Luke."

I wanted to hide it from him, as though that could stop what I had to do. But that baby had to come out somehow and he wouldn't love me anymore if I came at him with a knife and no warning. I showed Percy the book.

There was not a flicker of surprise on his face. Percy just sighed again and nodded. "Okay."

"But -"

"It's time. I can feel it. Our baby has to come out somehow," Percy said, echoing my thoughts. He sat up a little straighter, held a wet hand to me. "Help me up, Luke."

My hands shook as I helped Percy up. They've never shook like this before, like I was freezing cold or a junkie in need of a fix. If I could will Percy to be wet and ready to take me every time we wanted to have sex, then I could will my hands to stop shaking. By the time I got Percy to our bed, my hands were steady again. "I love you," I told him.

Percy beamed up at me. He kissed me. Then he laid back on the furs. "I love you too. You're going to do fine."

When I picked up the butcher knife, it looked the same as always. But there was something different about it. The difference was, of course, that it could cut flesh this time. A test of the blade showed that it still wouldn't cut me. I knew in my bones that it would cut Percy with no problem.

Percy watched me, not a hint of concern in his expression. "I trust you, Luke." His trust meant more to me than the I love you.

I consulted the book one more time to make sure that I wouldn't do more harm than good. It was time. My hands were steady. The knife parted Percy's flesh like it did the animals I butchered.

If Percy had cried out, I probably couldn't have gone through with it. But he was silent, eyes on my face the whole time. It wasn't something that he wanted to see, even in a dream.

The book's instructions had never misguided me before and they didn't start now. Our baby was exactly where the book said it would be. I set the knife aside and lifted our wet, squirming child.

Our child wailed, lungs healthy and working. I did a quick assessment, counted all the fingers and toes and made sure that everything looked okay. They were perfect.

We had a blanket of soft rabbit skin made especially for the purpose of wrapping our newborn but I didn't reach for it. Instead, I handed our baby to Percy.

Percy held our wet and messy newborn close to his body. He didn't need to guide it to a nipple to nurse; seemed that the instinct to feed was something babies were born with. His sea glass green eyes were wide with awe as he gently stroked our baby's damp black hair. "The umbilical cord, Luke," Percy said distractedly.

I tied off the umbilical cord and cut it. Then I referred to the book on what to do next. The book's instructions were a little suspect but only because I was fairly certain this wasn't how it worked. Everything, including the part of the umbilical cord, was supposed to back into Percy. It showed his body reabsorbing it. Well, who was I to argue with a magical book? I did what it said. There was the matter of healing Percy and after a moment of consideration, I tried to will him healed. Percy's flesh knit back together as though it never knew the slice of a knife.

I washed my hands in the bathwater, and the knife. Then I joined them on the bed, stretching out beside Percy. In the time it took me to do that, our baby was clean. I assumed that this was Percy's doing. "Are you okay?" I asked. I ran my finger over a tiny, perfect little foot.

Our baby squirmed, ticklish.

Percy nodded. He rested his head against my shoulder. "It didn't hurt and now our baby is here."

"Now they're here," I agreed. Relief made me press a kiss into Percy's hair. Then I reached for the soft rabbit skin and draped it over our child to keep them warm.

Life continued much the same as it had before except now we had a baby to take care of.

We named them River. It was difficult to tell if River was growing very quickly or if we spent years here. My brain told me it had to be years because River went from a crying, helpless baby to a giggling, mobile toddler. But I wasn't sure. Maybe I would never be sure. Maybe we would live here forever in familial bliss.

We took River with us everywhere, first carrying them and then holding their hand as they toddled alongside us. River was a curious child, with pale green eyes that looked like my mother's, a gaze that followed our every move and absorbed everything. They weren't squeamish like Percy was so I brought them along while I hunted and butchered the animals. Then River would help me carry back our catch and stay by Percy's side to help him cook it in the pot over the fireplace.

Percy taught River to swim and they took to the water like a true legacy of Poseidon. The two swam and splashed and had contests to see who could hold their breath the longest. One night, after the first contest like this, as we were laying in bed, Percy whispered, "I used to be able to breathe underwater." He couldn't anymore, not here, because none of our powers worked.

As River got older, they went from toddling to running. They were coltish, running tirelessly. Games were their favorite; hide n seek, tag, Marco-Polo, foot races. Small competitions to see who was faster or stronger or could climb the highest or eat the fastest. Their black hair grew and grew. I twisted it into braids down their back and wove flowers into it.

They got too old to sleep in our bed. There wasn't room for a second bed in the cabin. Our solution was a hammock, willed into existence. We hung it up and River said it made them feel like flying or rocking or maybe swimming. Percy and I got our bed back.

"Now that we've got our bed back," Percy murmured against my throat. He reached across like he had our first day and wrapped his hand around my cock.

Our love making was as good as it was before River was born. My knot still formed before I came, locking my cum inside of Percy. Somehow, I didn't think that we would have another child. River would be our only one. But I was okay with that. I had my little family and I didn't want or need anything else.

River caught the garter snakes and brought them into the cabin. We rarely ate the snakes because there wasn't much meat on them and the skins weren't worth much, but they were catching the snakes just for the fun of it. "Look, Pop!" River said to me, holding up a handful of the snakes.

They called me Pop. I think it was short for papa but River never added that last vowel. "Good job. What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

River looked at the snakes and frowned. What were they going to do with them? Eventually, River shrugged. "Show Da," River said and went to show Percy.

Percy oohed and ahhed over River's catch and for the rest of the day, our child strutted around like a peacock. While River released the snakes back into the wheat field, Percy came to me. "They're getting so big."

I nodded. "They're almost a teenager," I said though this was more of a guess than a fact.

Percy hummed. "Not quite a teenager," he decided. "But they're getting close." Percy fixed his sea glass green eyes on me. His expression was serious, like it used to be sometimes before River was born. "If I wake up and things are back to how they were before, I'll kill myself."

It had been a long time since Percy last brought up whether or not we were dreaming and when this would all end. I did my best not to think of it, but more and more I thought of the world we'd left behind. This world...it felt different lately. Tight, almost, like it was under some sort of pressure. It made me feel uneasy. But I didn't share my worries with Percy. Instead, I wrapped him in my arms and kissed him. "We'll be together, always. No matter what. All of us." I was scared that River would not be able to go back with us, that they had been born here and would be trapped here. This was not something I said to Percy.

Time passed, though I couldn't say how much. The dream didn't end. We grew older...until we didn't.

River grew into an attractive young adult. They began to make trips into the woods and would be gone for long stretches of time only to show up out of the blue. This worried us, at first, until one day they brought a young man their own age to meet us. "He's of the birch," River said.

The young man looked like a birch tree personified. He was polite and shy and very sweet on River. It did not surprise either Percy nor myself when one day River announced that they were going to live together. "Just through the forest, Pop. You can always come visit us, Da." River did not know that the birch forest went on forever but this world worked for them the same way it worked for us; if they wanted it, it was.

Then River and the birch man were gone and it was just me and Percy. Life went on for the two of us.

We made love, we made food, we had fun together. Our bond strengthened every day. The memories of our lives before slowly faded as we spoke of them less and less. Another book came, this one to tell us endless stories. When we got lonely, River would come visit with their lover and later with their children.

Percy no longer talked about waking up. He didn't say that he thought we were dreaming. Every night after we made love, Percy lay in my arms and whispered about our shared past to me, "I remember the first time you stepped out of the wheatfield. You were so handsome, Luke, and I wanted you so badly even then. I think I fell in love with you a little even before you kissed me. And you kissed me so filthily. We've shared so many kisses but that first one was my favorite."

This whispering, confession game was my favorite to play. I loved to revisit my birth and the first time that I saw Percy. "I remember seeing you in the stream for the first time, a beautiful young thing playing in the water. I was drawn to you. You were so beautiful and the way you touched me, Percy, I knew I would never be happy without you." Here, I would smile and turn my voice teasing. "I was lucky you didn't bite my tongue the first time I kissed you. Did you want me as much as I wanted you?"

"Yes, yes," Percy whispered and his lips met mine. "Always and forever, I want you. You're the whole world, Luke. I think I was born in that stream for you, so that we could love each other and make River."

I couldn't help but kiss him now, kiss him as I had the day we met when we met on the streambed ladened with blooming flowers. "Yes," I murmured against Percy's lips. "Yes, that's what happened exactly. I was born for you and our love made River."

We went on and on and on. River and the birch man brought us grandchildren and when those ones grew up, they found their lovers in fox and in snake, in snow and in rain. Just as Percy and I had found each other as wheat and stream. So it went on and on.

Hermes spent many days in his home on Olympus staring at a painting hung upon his wall. He had become something of a recluse these past thousand years. The other gods still teased him about it, but it was light teasing because they knew that Hermes had a very important job to do.

Hermes was the keeper of two souls; Percy Jackson and his own son, Luke Castellan.

Unlike most of the souls that Hermes ferried to the Underworld, that was not what he did with Luke and Percy's souls. It had been a stroke of genius, a last ditch effort to keep the two demigods from destroying each other and the whole world. This was the only way to keep Luke safe and to make up for how Hermes abandoned him.

The painting was made of magic. It showed a wheat field, a stream with wildflowers on the banks, a large golden moon, a small red cabin, a white birch forest. All of the gods contributed and none of them were subtle in putting their own signs and symbols. Particularly not when it came to those who were inclined to love and pregnancy and childbirth. That was Eros' idea, the pregnancy and giving them a child. He had said that if they had something to love - besides each other - it would make the magic binding them there that much stronger.

Hermes was ever grateful that Percy was Poseidon's son because the demigod of the sea was flexible in all things, including his biology. That made it easier to get him pregnant. Though it was odd to have a grandchild - an entire family! - who lived only in a portrait.

In any case, Eros had been right.

Percy and Luke had their growing family, their limitless love, their perfect life, and in their heart of hearts, they didn't want to leave any of it for the real world. They forgot everyone except each other because it was easier, and then they forgot the past because that was easier too.

The downfall of Olympus was averted, Kronos was not raised, and the two demigods got to rest in the loving embrace of the ones they loved most. And if Hermes missed his son, and missed Percy's dry sarcasm, well, it wasn't so bad. They weren't really gone. Hermes could check up on them whenever he wanted to.

It was a happy ending, for everyone who mattered.

Notes:

I rewrote this six times but I'm finally happy with it. The plot has changed from that first telling. The only thing that hasn't changed is the scene where Luke wakes up in the field and kisses Percy for the first time. Title is from the song Under Your Skin by Aesthetic Perfection...it isn't quite as relevant as it was before rewriting but I decided to keep it anyway.

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Explicit

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Category:

M/M

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Relationship:

Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson

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Luke CastellanPercy Jackson

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Dead Dove: Do Not EatCannibalism PlayBitingAlternate Universe - Soulmatessoul marksMildly Dubious ConsentWound Fuckingwound lickingOne ShotPOV Third PersonPost-The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson)Plot What Plot/Porn Without PlotPain Kink

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Published:2020-12-05Words:3076Chapters:1/1Comments:8Kudos:203Bookmarks:11Hits:2786

The Bond Unsevered

robindrake93

Summary:

Luke's soulmark is identical to Percy's and Percy confronts him about it.

Notes:

READ THE TAGS. READ THE TAGS. READ THE TAGS.

If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.

Don't reupload/repost my fics.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Everyone talked about soulmates and how much they wanted to find theirs. In the modern day of the internet, most people took a photo of their soulmark and posted it online. Finding your soulmate was considered a human right in every country.

But that wasn't something Percy could do. Because he was a demigod and if he posted a picture of his mark, it would be like ringing the dinner bell for monsters. He didn't really understand why but that's how it was explained to him at Camp Half-Blood.

"Besides," Chiron said kindly. "Most demigods are soulmates with each other. It's rare that a demigod's soulmate will be a mortal."

Which was a nice way of saying that his soulmate could be dead. Percy tried not to dwell on that. Instead he focused on finding out if they were in camp. The thing about soulmarks was that they were always in the same spot.

So there were some people he could rule out instantly. In fact, most of the camp he could rule out because theirs were on their faces, arms, torsos, lower legs. Places easy to display and easy to see.

Percy's was not in a socially appropriate place to display. His was on his upper inner thigh. It was close to his balls, which was embarrassing. That meant if he wanted to show anyone to compare marks, he would also be showing them his genitals.

But after his quest, Percy was determined to find his soulmate. He could die any day here. It was a dangerous world that he lived in. So he went around and asked about the soulmarks he couldn't see. Disappointment after disappointment bogged Percy down. No one shared a soulmark with him.

Except there was one person he hadn't asked yet. Percy was more nervous to ask him than to ask anyone else. Luke was the coolest person in camp. He didn't have a visible soulmark - and Percy had done his best to look - so there was a chance. Oh gods, there was a chance. And if he was wrong? If Luke wasn't his soulmate? But if Percy didn't ask, he wouldn't know for sure either way and he could keep pretending.

Not asking turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

On the last day of summer, Luke tried to kill Percy in cold blood. It shattered Percy's whole world.

Percy spent two years fighting Luke. He was given more scars. He heard Luke's voice in his head every time he picked up a sword. Percy hardened his heart, built a wall around it so that he couldn't be hurt again.

Fate had a cruel sense of humor.

As Luke was holding the sky, straining under the weight of something that was trying to crush him, and dressed in rags, Percy saw something that shattered his world again. His soulmark was on Luke's upper inner thigh.

They were soulmates.

For days after the discovery, Percy was unable to sleep. Questions plagued him. Did Luke know? Did Luke care? Would Luke switch sides if he knew? Was it too late to save Luke? Percy went back and forth, debated endlessly with himself. He lost sleep because of it.

Luke was Percy's soulmate.

Finally, Percy couldn't take it anymore. He needed answers. In the middle of the night, Percy snuck away from his mom's apartment. He used the fire escape to scale the building. It was bitterly cold as he walked down the street toward the harbor. But Percy needed information and this trip had been spontaneous. His hoodie was back on the floor of his room.

At the harbor it was just a matter of asking a hippocampus to take him to the Princess Andromeda. The yacht's security was as bad as usual. Percy was able to easily sneak on board. Once he got on board, all he had to do was follow his nose to Luke's room. There were a few hundred demigods on board but Percy knew Luke's scent intimately; he would never forget it.

Percy found Luke alone in his room, sleeping on a large bed. He flipped the light switch and for a second was blinded before his eyes adjusted. Then he ran for the bed. He climbed up, stood over Luke. "Do you know?!" Percy shouted at him.

Luke woke up with the lights. He snarled out a "What the fu-" before he registered that it was Percy in his room. Slowly, Luke sat up. His back rested against the headboard but his whole body was rigid with tension. "What are you doing here?"

Percy pulled down his sweatpants. He was naked beneath them. "Did you know?!" He repeated forcefully.

Luke's gaze was drawn to Percy's crotch. He stared and then his eyes flicked over and Luke visibly paled. His hand went to his own thigh where an identical mark tattooed his skin.

That was all the confirmation that Percy needed. Luke hadn't known but he did now. "What are you going to do?" Percy demanded.

Luke swallowed. His hands began to shake. Slowly he reached out, touched the mark. He couldn't touch the mark without touching Percy's cock and balls too; it was so high up. Like a secret.

Percy shivered. One little touch made his blood rush to fill his cock. He couldn't work up the energy to be embarrassed. He was too busy being angry and helpless. His eyes hooded and he gazed down at Luke through his lashes. What would Luke do?

Luke met Percy's gaze. He ran his thumb over the mark. His attention was drawn downward again as Percy's cock became fully erect. If that bothered Luke, he didn't show it. After a very, very long silence, Luke said, "No one can find out, Percy." His voice wasn't loud but he spoke every word carefully and clearly.

"I'm not about to tell anyone," Percy hissed. He curled his toes into Luke's comforter. "You think I want you as a soulmate?" If his balls weren't on display and obviously made of flesh, even Percy might have wondered if he actually had balls made of steel because that was a very brave - or foolish - thing to say to someone whose hand was very close to your sensitive bits.

There was no surprise on Luke's face but he did look momentarily annoyed. "I don't think you understand." He ran one finger down Percy's thigh and then back up. "This can't be a thing. No one can find out about it. Ever."

Percy thought suddenly that no one knew where he was. He hadn't told a soul about Luke being his soulmate and he hadn't told anyone where he would be. They would probably chalk his murder up to a monster attack like so many other demigods before him. "Can I see yours?"

Luke shifted the blankets and spread his legs so that Percy could see. His soulmark was identical to Percy's, as Percy had glimpsed before. His crotch was not the same as Percy's. Luke wasn't circumcised for one. His cock was longer and thicker around and at the base were tight blond curls. Now that Percy was looking, he saw that Luke had a happy trail going up to his navel, the fine blond hairs almost invisible. He was not hard. Luke let Percy look all he wanted, silent and watchful.

Finally, Percy looked away. His face was warm and his cock gave an interested twitch just from him looking at Luke's. He almost jumped out of his skin when Luke touched him again.

Luke trailed his fingers up from Percy's ankle back to the soulmark. "You're a good kid, you know?"

Percy said nothing. He watched Luke with his peripherals.

"I wish things were different," Luke continued. He ran his knuckles along the seam of Percy's leg where pelvis met thigh.

Percy shivered again. Clear drops of precum gathered at the head of his cock. He curled his hands into fists.

Both of Luke's hands were on him now, on his butt, urging Percy closer. Luke's mouth was open, exhales hot against Percy's skin. Only when Percy's thigh touched his lips, did Luke slide his hands down the backs of Percy's thighs.

Percy gripped the headboard with both hands. His eyes widened, his heart pounded. The precum slid down the underside of his cock as more beaded up to take its place. His mouth filled with saliva.

Luke dragged his lips up to Percy's hip. He nosed his way back down. Percy couldn't see his eyes. Luke shifted so that he could press his face between Percy's legs. His tongue stretched to lick the soulmark.

A squeak, not even a proper moan, was the only sound that Percy made. His whole body was burning up, mind spinning and foggy with arousal. What was happening? How did it happen? Didn't Luke say that no one could know? Maybe he wanted to indulge one time before killing Percy? Percy tilted his head to look at Luke's crotch.

Luke still wasn't hard. Even though he was licking Percy slowly and sensually. The side of his tongue occasionally brushed Percy's balls and his breaths had become even hotter.

Percy trembled from his head to his toes. His knuckles paled from how hard he gripped the headboard. His cock was making more precum than it ever did before. He made small noises of pleasure involuntarily and wished he could stop each one before it came out.

Luke scraped his teeth across Percy's skin. Even being gentle, his teeth were sharp enough to make a trickle of dread slide down Percy's spine. And then he wasn't so gentle. It happened fast. Luke sank his teeth into Percy's thigh. They went deep and there was an indescribable noise as his skin ripped open.

The pain came so swift and strong that Percy couldn't even scream. His limbs locked in shock. Hot blood ran down his thigh. Only when blackness crept up the edges of his vision did Percy realize that he was holding his breath. He drew a shuddering breath. Saliva dripped off his lip and into Luke's hair.

Luke's teeth worked, gnashing and tearing apart the soulmark on Percy's thigh. His feet felt like steak knives slicing apart the flesh, ruining the soulmark. After a time, he swallowed audibly. Luke gazed up at Percy through his lashes. His mouth was shiny and red. He drew his tongue across the gaping wound he'd made.

Percy's whole body felt cold. He panted unevenly, but surprisingly steadily considering that Luke was eating him. Luke was eating his soulmark. His head spun. His mouth was making so much extra saliva that he was drooling. Percy couldn't look away from the sight of Luke lapping at his thigh. Worse than anything was that he was still hard. Even as his blood ran hot down his thigh, even as pain short-circuited his mind.

Luke of course noticed. He shifted his red mouth from Percy's thigh to his balls, fit them both in his mouth and rolled them with his tongue. His teeth did not make an appearance.

Luke's mouth was the only source of heat Percy felt. When he was finally able to squeeze a noise out of his mouth, it was an incoherent moan. The tugging sensation of Luke sucking on his balls, the way Luke's tongue pressed against them, was more pleasure than Percy had ever felt. And his wound, it throbbed in time with his cock, pulsed with his heartbeat.

When Luke released Percy's balls, it was only to lick a red stripe up the underside of Percy's cock. His mouth was so red inside, tongue a deep crimson. He pressed his fingers into the wound, rubbed the raw flesh with the pads.

It hurt so good that Percy's cock leaked more precum. His cock was shiny with it and so hard that it almost hurt. Percy let out a needy whine.

"Got some wires crossed, do you?" Luke observed. His voice had turned low and raspy. He ran his hand through the blood on Percy's thigh and then curled his fingers around his cock. Sometime while he was biting Percy, his cock had hardened and Percy saw that his observations had been correct about Luke's size. "Don't worry, it's probably just your soulmark. It always feels good to touch them."

At the gentle prodding of Luke's fingers in the wound, Percy's eyes rolled back in his head. It was pain-pleasure that made Percy hot and cold at the same time. Percy couldn't form words. He couldn't even think. He sounded like a zombie groaning in response to Luke's statements.

"Come down here," Luke coaxed. When Percy didn't move, Luke squeezed the backs of Percy's knees to make him drop. He tugged on Percy's forearms but Percy didn't let go of the headboard. Luke sighed and moved on.

Percy moaned as he shifted into a straddling position over Luke. The bite was hot like a fever. His vision blurred but no tears fell. His hands hurt from how hard he gripped the headboard. He didn't think he'd ever get his hands to unclench. Straddling Luke's lap brought them eye to eye. Percy found himself staring into Luke's pale blue eyes.

Luke looked into Percy's eyes as he guided his cock to the wound high on Percy's thigh. He rubbed the head into the bite wound almost gently. His breathing became breathier as his cock slid across the bloody tear. He let out a long "ooh" and dropped his eyes to where their bodies met.

Percy was past trembling and had gone straight to rigidity. It felt so good, it was so dirty, that he couldn't move. When Luke's cock touched the gaping bite mark, it sent icy needles up Percy's spine and hot waves through his abdomen. He tried to close his legs, couldn't, and whimpered. Percy wanted to lock that feeling in forever. He watched Luke's face, saw his cheeks redden with a blush and his tongue dart out to lick his lips and the pleasure written in his features.

Percy wondered if it was him or the wound that made Luke excited and decided that he didn't want to know.

Luke adjusted Percy so that he was leaning back - still holding the headboard and they were going to have to bury Percy with this headboard - and Luke could slide his cock along the bloody seam of Percy's thigh. He rolled his hips up, thrusting against the wound and blood. Every few thrusts, the head of his cock caught on the edge of the wound and tore it open a little wider and a little longer.

Percy's voice had finally come back online and his moans were so loud that they were almost screams. He rocked his hips, little thrusts that only served to allow Luke's cock to rip him open more.

They thrust at the same time and suddenly Luke's cock was under his skin, in tight with his muscles and fat.

Percy did scream then. The headboard cracked under the pressure of his grip.

Luke let out a desperate moan, a noise of pure pleasure. He wrapped both arms around Percy to hold him close. "Gods, yes, you're perfect, baby." The head of his cock made a bulge beneath Percy's skin. Luke gave short little thrusts, more of a grind than a proper thrust, panting about Percy's virtuous body as he did.

Now that the headboard was done for, Percy moved his hands to Luke's shoulders. He had half a thought of breaking the bones, shattering them. His mouth was open and he drooled onto his chest. A low groan came from his throat. His cock strained and twitched and was slick with precum. His balls drew tight to his body as the pain-pleasure rose within Percy like waves of poison in his veins. The wave peaked, crested, and Percy came untouched onto Luke's stomach. He lost his grip on Luke's shoulders and fell backward, boneless and exhausted.

Luke let him fall. He sank his nails into Percy's waist, keeping him close so that he didn't slide out of that perfect little hole he'd made.

Percy whimpered and whined like a puppy through the aftershocks. He gripped the sheets and shook his head. His back arched, his knees bent.

It could have been seconds or hours before Luke came. He shuddered and moaned as his cum coated the wound. Luke's nails left red crescent moons in Percy's skin. He stilled, trembling, and catching his breath. Slowly, after he got through the aftershocks, Luke pulled out.

Percy hissed. He lifted his head to look at what Luke had done to him. The roundish hole in Percy's upper thigh was red and bloody. There was a layer of yellow fat visible and of course the white-turned-pink strands of Luke's cum. The skin around the wound was red like it was already infected. If it didn't kill him, it was going to heal ugly. Percy dropped his head back onto the bed. He closed his eyes.

The feeling of Luke's tongue prodding the space beneath his skin made Percy's eyes shoot open. He lifted his head to see Luke's face buried between his thighs again. Luke licked him clean of cum and actually kept his teeth to himself. He was gentle, almost reverent with Percy as he cleaned him and then rearranged him so that Percy's head laid on his pillow.

Percy was exhausted mentally, physically, emotionally. He couldn't be more drained than he was at this instant. At this point he didn't even care what Luke did to him next. Percy didn't even feel like a real person.

The lights flicked off and then Luke lay beside Percy in bed. He stroked Percy's hair, gentle and comforting. "Stay here for a few days while that heals. No one will bother you." There was an implied 'except for me' there that Luke didn't speak out loud.

"'kay," Percy agreed. Privately he wondered if Luke would let the ruined soulmark heal. He snuggled close to Luke, tucking his head beneath Luke's chin.

Luke gave a pleased rumble. He took one of Percy's hands in his. His fingers were coated with half dried blood.

Soulmarks were only a physical manifestation meant to help you find your perfect other half. Even though Luke ripped Percy's mark from his body with his teeth, they were still soulmates. And nothing could sever that bond.

Notes:

This fandom has almost no gore porn and that's a damn shame. What's wrong with you people.

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Rating:

Mature

Archive Warnings:

Graphic Depictions Of ViolenceUnderage

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Related Fandoms - All Media Types

Relationship:

Luke Castellan/Percy Jackson

Characters:

Luke CastellanPercy Jackson

Additional Tags:

Alternate Universe - Canon DivergenceBrandingBad Things Happen BingoHappy EndingUnderage SexDubious ConsentSharing a BedAsphyxiationPOV First PersonFirst TimeLoss of VirginityOne ShotBook 2: The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson)Just the Tippillow humpingCryingCrying Percy JacksonMinor Annabeth Chase/Thalia GraceScarsRimmingLuke Castellan Has Scars

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English

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Previous Work Part 10 of the Bad Things Happen Bingo series Next Work

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Published:2020-10-12Words:12304Chapters:1/1Comments:2Kudos:283Bookmarks:35Hits:4496

Facing, Confronting, Branding Each Other

robindrake93

Summary:

Twelve hours trapped in a room together changes everything for both Luke and Percy.

Notes:

I said that I would do another fic for branding but this one honestly got out of hand. I meant to stop it after the actual event but then the words just kept coming. And here we are. Title is from the song Great Expectations by Cat Power.

This is my 50th fic on AO3! I've officially met my 2020 writing goal. Yay!

If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.

Don't reupload/repost my fics.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

"Luke, listen," I pleaded. "Your dad sent me -" The look on Luke's face made me immediately regret bringing up Hermes. I'd made a mistake but I didn't get a chance to fix it.

Almost before I knew what was happening, Luke had closed the distance between us. He curled one hand around my throat and lifted me off the ground so that he could look me in the eye. Luke was taller than me by almost two feet. His expression was twisted into a silent snarl.

Riptide fell onto the floor. I couldn't touch the ground. I just wasn't tall enough. Instinctively, I curled my legs up, trying to keep my vulnerable belly protected. A whimper of fear slipped out of my throat. Before this, I'd never really realized how big Luke is. He had to be at least double my seventy-five pounds and he was solid muscle.

The anger didn't leave Luke's expression as he appraised me. The seconds stretched on into minutes as he held me up, arm not even trembling with the effort, and studied me.

I hoped that this meant he was thinking about letting me go, but the scar on my right palm was a constant reminder that to Luke, I was disposable. It was really hard to breathe. I could just barely draw in air, not enough to fill my lungs, but just enough to keep me from passing out.

When Luke smiled, it wasn't the kind smile from Camp or the arrogant one from a few moments ago. This smile was so cold that it turned my blood to ice. If I didn't get him to let me go, something bad was going to happen to me. I clawed at his forearms, nails sharp enough to draw blood.

Luke didn't flinch. It was like I wasn't doing anything at all. His lips parted to show off shiny white teeth. His canines were pointed and it took me a minute to realize that was because they'd been chipped or carved into needle-sharp points.

The expression on Luke's face made me shudder. I looked over Luke's shoulder to Annabeth and Tyson. They were struggling to get free but it didn't look like they were going anywhere anytime soon. I was on my own. I sank my nails even deeper, trying to leave gouges in Luke's skin. If he even loosened his grip then I could get free.

Irritation crossed Luke's features as though my just looking at the others made him remember that we weren't alone. He snapped the fingers of his free hand. "Get rid of those two. Percy and I need a little privacy. I've got a message for him to deliver to my father."

Annabeth and Tyson were manhandled out of the suite. As soon as the doors were closed, their shouts cut off. The room was soundproof, I realized. Tyson must have heard because Luke wanted him too, had left the door open just enough. We'd really walked right into this trap. And now I was going to pay for it.

I tried to say Luke's name, to appeal to him. But the only noise that could escape my throat was the tailend, the uke part of his name and it sounded like a croak. My arms were shorter than his but I tried to claw at his face.

Luke turned his attention back to me. A tension I hadn't realized was there left his body, his expression. The anger still turned his eyes to blue flame but it didn't radiate off him like it had before. He made a complicated motion with one hand and was suddenly holding a long, thin length of metal. One end glowed neon orange with heat. "Sorry about this, Percy," Luke said as he carried me over to the couch. He pressed me into it, hand never leaving his throat.

It seemed like I finally remembered that I had legs and now I kicked out at him. I couldn't take my eyes off the glowing hot metal. Even if Luke's hand hadn't been cutting off my air, I would have panicked because it looked like a branding iron. And I was pretty sure that was exactly what it was. I didn't need to be a child of Athena to figure out what Luke intended to do with it.

Luke pinned my legs down by straddling my thighs. He was so much bigger than I was, his body easily keeping me pinned down. "Lift your shirt up," Luke said calmly.

I shook my head the best I could.

"You don't want your shirt to melt into your skin, do you?" Luke asked, voice deceptively innocent despite his horrifying words. His anger was cooling and that was not a good thing for me. Being hot headed meant making mistakes but cold anger meant a level head. "C'mon, Percy. Be a good boy for me."

A wave of humiliation swept over me, leaving my skin hot and uncomfortable. I really didn't want my shirt to melt into my skin, and I knew from experience that it would. I'd been on the lava-spewing climbing wall at Camp Half-Blood enough to know that this was seriously going to mess me up. My hands trembled as I grabbed the hem of my shirt. Slowly, I pulled it up to my ribs.

"Higher, Percy," Luke said patiently. The branding iron was still hot as ever. Was it magically enchanted?

I lifted the shirt to my nipples, and then at a look from Luke, up to my throat. He wanted it well out of the way...or he was going to brand my chest. By now I was sure that he was going to brand me. All I could do was pray for intervention; divine or otherwise.

Help didn't come.

Luke spun the branding iron so that the hot end pointed to me. In the brief glimpse I got before it touched my skin, I saw the symbol. Then Luke pressed it against the right side of my abdomen and I forgot everything except the all-consuming burning pain.

I don't know how long it was that I could only think of the pain. But eventually it tapered off. Not to say it still didn't hurt, but the pain wasn't mind sizzling anymore. My brain came back online enough to let me know that I was making an animal noise that sounded like a hybrid between a whine and a howl. A few seconds later, I could open my eyes again.

Luke's face was very close to mine. His mouth was almost touching mine. No, it was touching mine. Was he kissing me? No. Just brushing his lips against mine. "Almost done, Percy." When he talked, I could taste something sweet and fermented on his breath. It tasted how champagne smelled.

I groaned. His hand was still around my throat. My head spun. Black spots danced across my vision. I was going to pass out any second now.

Then Luke pulled the branding iron away. He did that thing with his hand again and it disappeared. Magic, he must know magic now. Luke let go of my throat to pull my shirt over my head.

I didn't resist. My whole body throbbed and burned with pain. The fact that I could breathe again was a painful miracle. Tears ran down my cheeks and dripped onto my chest, onto the brand on my side. Sitting up took too much energy. I slumped over.

"Whoa!" Luke said and caught me before my wounded side touched the couch. He eased me down the other way, so that I was laying on my left side.

Breathing hurt. The air on my brand hurt. I closed my eyes so that I didn't have to look at Luke or this room or my wound. It smelled like burnt flesh, which was a terrible smell no matter how many times you smelled it.

Luke knelt next to me on the floor, still staring at my face. The gentle way he brushed my hair out of my eyes was a startling contrast to how he'd just branded me while asphyxiating me.

It prompted me to open my eyes. But I didn't know what to say. The tears still rolled hot down my face. I felt feverish and uncomfortable in my own skin. If I'd felt betrayed with the pit scorpion, I felt even more betrayed with this. It really cemented in the fact that I was nothing to Luke. I was disposable, just an object that he could use. My tears fell harder. I was in so much pain that I couldn't even be humiliated over them. "At least Annabeth openly hates me. You're so...sneaky about it."

Luke's eyes widened in surprise. "I guess you would think that." His gaze slid to my side. "You want some ice? Some champagne?"

"I'm thirteen," I reminded him. What I really wanted was some nectar and a nap.

Luke shrugged. "You'll be a man in two years. That's close enough."

I stared at him, confused, wondering if someone had hit him in the head one too many times. Fifteen wasn't anywhere near being a man. But even I knew when to shut my mouth so I didn't argue.

We stared at each other. I couldn't help but think of when I was younger - and far more naïve - and how much I would have liked one on one time with Luke. If Luke wasn't evil then this would have been a dream come true.

Luke nodded as though reading my thoughts. "Yeah. Shits rough, right?"

"You're rough," I growled back.

"I don't know what Hermes was thinking, sending a puppy after me." The corner of his mouth pinched. "Then again, there isn't anyone else to send. All they've got is a camp full of puppies. With little puppy teeth." Luke pushed my lip back with the last statement.

It took everything in me not to snap at him. Before he branded me, I wouldn't have hesitated to bite him. But now? Now I was still so hurt that breathing sent flares of pain through me. And Riptide was still on the floor, six feet behind Luke. The stupid sword hadn't yet reappeared in my pocket.

"Don't be upset. Maybe Hermes will heal it." Luke glanced at the brand again. "Or maybe he won't. They're all narcissistic and I'm sure he'd like to see his mark on Poseidon's son."

"You could heal it," I pointed out. So I'd seen correctly; it was a caduceus. Maybe if Hermes didn't want to fix it, Poseidon would. He wouldn't like me with another god's symbol burned into my skin.

"Kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?" Luke said casually.

Luke was annoying, I decided. I wished he would just shut up. I closed my eyes so that I didn't have to look at him anymore.

I didn't mean to fall asleep but I think I must have because when I woke up, it was dark. Well, dark except for the glow of the golden coffin. I sat up and hissed through my teeth as the hot pain in my side flared up again. The first thing I did was feel my pockets but Riptide still hadn't returned and it wasn't on the floor anymore.

The second most pressing issue was to find Luke. It took me a few glances around the room to actually spot him. He lay on the bed, the skin of his chest pale against his sheets.

I couldn't see his face. I didn't want to get closer to check to see if he was awake or not. Instead, I rose to my feet. My head spun and my vision went black. I swayed on my feet until slowly my vision came back. Just a head rush. It wasn't until I'd taken a few steps that I realized my feet were bare. What did he do with my shoes? I tried to be quiet as I walked toward the doors. They were the only way out; the portholes were too small for even me to fit through.

Locked. The doors were locked.

I could have screamed. Instead, I turned my back to the doors. If there was a key, then Luke probably had it on or near him. As far as I could tell, Luke hadn't moved since I got up. I took a deep breath to steel my nerves. Then I cautiously made my way to Luke's bedside.

When I realized that his eyes were open, a chill went down my spine. Luke sat up. He wore a robe of black silk and one sleeve slid down to his elbow, leaving most of his torso exposed. In the glowing golden light, I saw five shiny scars stretch across his skin. I couldn't see where they began or where they ended. Luke's blue eyes looked almost green.

"The doors are locked," I said, hoping that a direct approach would get me what I wanted.

"It's nice to shut out the world," Luke said. He sounded tired. He looked like a model from Playgirl magazine. Except those scars ruined the image of the perfect sexy man. Luke rested his cheek against his bare shoulder.

I didn't know where to look. I could see the jut of his hip bone and was pretty sure that Luke wasn't wearing anything under the robe. "I want to leave."

"Me too." Luke sighed. I didn't think he was talking about the yacht.

"Where's the key?"

Luke smiled like I'd told a joke. "You're welcome to look for it." Then he flopped back onto his pillows.

I didn't want to waste time or energy on what I was sure was a wild goose chase. I placed my hand over my ribs, a few inches above the brand but even that hurt. My palms grew sweaty as the heat washed over me. "I think you have it."

Luke hummed noncommittally.

Tears of frustration welled up in my eyes. I hadn't had a drink in a long time and couldn't afford to lose more water but I also couldn't stop the tears. I bit my lip to stifle the sounds of my crying.

Not that it did any good. Luke and I - and the thing in the coffin - were the only ones here. Luke sat up again. This time the other sleeve slid off his shoulder, leaving him naked to the hips. He shifted so that he knelt on the bed in front of me. The lower half of the robe, thankfully, stayed in place. Luke used the sleeves to wipe the tears from my face. Silk really wasn't the best material for that but it felt smooth against my skin and it was nice to feel something that didn't hurt. "Sometimes you have to wait for the things you want because they aren't as easy to get as you first think."

Luke caught my eye and then very deliberately looked over my shoulder.

I followed his gaze. The golden coffin was there, menacing even though it wasn't doing anything. I think I got what Luke meant. Turning to face him again, I tapped my ear and cocked my head in question.

Luke nodded.

Kronos could hear us.

The idea made my gut curl with nausea. Mentally I replayed everything that Luke had said, searching for some sort of double meanings. I always assumed that because Luke didn't tell jokes or use sarcasm he also didn't lie and was incapable of twisting his words or saying one thing but meaning another.

I dropped my gaze to the brand on my side. Luke's message to Hermes. It was odd that he'd chosen to use his father's symbol instead of Kronos's. What was that supposed to mean? Was he still loyal to the gods?

"I want to leave."

"Me too."

Was that what Luke was trying to say? Would Hermes understand?

Luke studied my face and slowly nodded, as though he could see my thoughts. "It isn't time, so you might as well get comfortable." He tugged me closer, until his mouth was almost touching mine. "Shows over, Percy. Relax."

I could barely hear him. Which meant that Kronos probably couldn't hear him at all. Ah, I got it. So I climbed into bed. It was a large bed that could have easily fit three or four more people.

Regardless, Luke drew his legs up as I made my way to his right side so that I could lay down on my left and face him.

The sheets were silk and if I'd been feeling better, I would have rubbed myself all over them because that was how good it felt. Luke's scent washed over me; hot candle wax and leather. For the first time, I realized that I'd smelled him the second I boarded the yacht but now his scent was concentrated and there was nothing to distract me from it. Thinking about his scent made me realize that I was in bed with a naked grown man, in a soundproofed room, trapped behind a locked door.

Luke eased onto his side so that he was facing me. He shrugged the shoulder of his robe back into place.

I didn't want to get closer but even more than that, I didn't want Kronos to hear me. So I squirmed closer to him, not touching but closer. "Where's the key?"

"Sunrise is the key," Luke murmured back. If he was locked in here then that explained why he didn't bother us during the night.

I glanced around for a clock but didn't see one.

"Six more hours," Luke answered my unspoken question once I settled down again. He pressed his wrist to my forehead. "Are you sure you don't want ice? You're hot."

"Thanks," I managed, sounding cockier than I felt. "I'm sure." I wasn't sure about anything.

Luke snorted, amused. He cupped my cheek. After a moment he slid his hand down to my neck.

I made a noise of pain. My neck was tender. I'd barely even noticed how sore my throat was.

Luke drew his hand back but inched his entire body closer to mine. Our noses touched. "I'm sorry."

A pained whine slipped out. "Don't." I put my hand to his chest, intending on pushing him away. Maybe I didn't want to talk after all.

Luke must have felt the scar on my palm because he took my hand in his and kissed the scar he gave me last year.

The tears threatened again. I would rather he be rough and mean than gentle and sweet. "I hate you." My voice squeaked with emotion.

Luke angled his face so that his nose brushed against my cheek and his lips brushed against mine. "I know."

I don't know how it turned to kissing Luke, but it did. Luke upset me so much that my heart felt like it was breaking and I was crying again, but some instinct made me push my lips against his. Maybe because we were already technically kissing. Maybe because I didn't want Kronos to hear me crying.

Luke kissed me back. The way his mouth moved against mine felt good; it was a relief that this didn't hurt. He kept his hands and his body to himself, didn't try to touch me anywhere but his lips on mine.

Kissing Luke felt good. I couldn't believe that I was doing this. That he was kissing me back. Even as I kissed him, part of my brain told me that this was an incredibly stupid thing to do. Even if Luke didn't take advantage of me - more than he already had - then I was just setting myself up for more heartbreak later on. Except...except Luke was using me to send a message to his father that he didn't want to be here. Hope was a small flame within me and it burned blue hot.

We mutually decided to stop kissing. I couldn't say how we both came to that conclusion at the same time but we were suddenly pressed nose to nose again, space between our lips.

My tears stopped falling. A headache pounded at my temples. Six hours to kill before the doors would unlock. Surely that was enough time for a nap. I yawned right in Luke's face.

Luke took it with good grace. "Go to sleep," he suggested once my teeth clacked shut and there was less danger of being bitten.

Because he suggested it, I didn't want to. But my body had other ideas and before I knew it, I was sleeping again. You would think that being less than twenty feet away from Kronos would give me nightmares but I didn't dream of anything at all. It made sense that I didn't dream of Luke since he was right next to me and it would be boring watching us sleep but I'd expected something from Kronos.

The next time I woke, Luke was asleep. For real this time. He lay beside me exactly where I'd left him and his breathing was even.

I eased away and out of the bed. My mouth was dry and my headache was worse. I searched for water and only came up with the tap in the connected bathroom. After drinking my fill, I took advantage of the toilet and privacy and peed. Washing my hands and drinking water both helped to make me feel better and feel a little more alert. Alert enough that I finally noticed the ring of black bruises around my neck.

The thing was, I believed Luke when he told me that the doors were locked until sunrise. So I was trapped here until then. There was no porthole in the bathroom or vent to squeeze into to try and escape. While Luke slept, I took the opportunity to search the suite for food. Surely he had a mini fridge in here. Who knew where the kitchen was in this place.

I did in fact find a mini fridge. The cool blue light from within felt like a floodlight. I glanced at Luke but he didn't move. Maybe he was still sleeping or maybe he didn't care. The fridge didn't have a lot of food in it. Some cheese, some fruit. Strawberries. I took out the carton of strawberries and opened it, wincing at how loud the plastic was in the quiet suite. I ate the berries until my hunger pangs went away, then put the carton back in the fridge.

As I walked back to the bed, I licked my fingers clean. Bed was warm and comfortable. I hated to say that I enjoyed it but...I enjoyed it.

Luke made a small noise when I rejoined him but he stayed where he was and didn't open his eyes. His chest was still bare despite the robe and I could barely see the sheen of his scars. Whatever had caused them had been massive. What little I knew about Luke helped me to deduce that it was the hundred-headed dragon, Ladon, who had marked Luke. These weren't new scars.

Impulsively, I reached out and brushed my fingertips against one. It was raised slightly and had an odd texture that I couldn't place. I swallowed nervously. Each scar I traced over until they disappeared beneath the robe. My hesitation only lasted a moment. It wasn't like Luke's robe was belted closed. Shifting the robe so that I could keep following the scars' progress was easy.

The scars dipped dangerously close to Luke's dick, only missed it by an inch. That was about the only lucky thing that could be associated with the scars.

I traced the scar down, down between Luke's hips. He radiated more heat here than along his torso.

Suddenly Luke's fingers were curled around my wrist, stopping me from crossing that narrow distance between scar and dick. "Kissing is fine, but you're headed into more serious territory," Luke muttered without opening his eyes.

I felt a flash of irritation that he stopped me. It's not like I'd been intending to hurt him. I was just curious. "You branded me," I reminded him. "I'll carry your mark on my skin forever." I wasn't really talking about the brand anymore.

For a moment we both seemed to hold our breaths. Then Luke sighed. He reluctantly let go of my wrist. His eyes stayed closed.

Now that I knew he was awake, I was more nervous. But why should that stop me? Luke didn't care what he did to me. Why should I care what I did to him? I was nervous enough that I didn't put my hand back on the exact track it had been going. Instead, I tracked back up to the jutting bone of one hip. The skin that dipped down was soft...until I hit scar tissue again. "Does it hurt?"

"Sometimes." Luke took very deliberate breaths. In...out. Even. He kept his hands tucked up under his chin.

I trailed my fingertips along the scar, edging close to his dick again. His skin was so warm, like the fire that I felt within myself. I bypassed Luke's dick a second time to feel the jagged end of the scar on his thigh. They were such long claw marks that it surprised me there was actually an end to them.

Luke's skin broke out in goosebumps and quivered beneath my touch. His carefully even breaths were less even, a little more ragged, though they followed the same in…out.

Tracing the scar back up, I let my fingers brush against his dick. Luke wasn't hard, which made me both relieved and disappointed.

Luke murmured, "You're just like Poseidon."

We were locked in a room for five more hours but I didn't feel like asking him what that meant. Truthfully, I wasn't sure I wanted to know. And I was far more interested in what my hand was touching. The only penis I'd ever touched was my own. I ghosted my fingers along the length of it, over the scar where his foreskin was cut, to the rounded head.

Luke inhaled shakily and exhaled the same way. His eyes squeezed shut tighter.

As I slid my finger back and forth along the slit, I mentally compared us. Luke was longer and thicker and the texture of his skin was a little rougher. But other than those differences, it really wasn't all that different from mine.

Luke's dick twitched against my fingertips.

I was turning him on. Some part of me jumped at the thought. It never really occurred to me before that I could make someone else feel good just by touching them. My boners were pretty random. I didn't ever try to get turned on; it just seemed to happen. So this was new and exciting and a little scary. I switched from one finger to two, rubbing circles on the head. I liked how it felt; soft and warm against the pads of my fingers.

Luke was definitely getting hard. His dick shifted as it filled out, small movements that surprised and excited me.

The harder that Luke got, the more I realized that I liked this a lot better than when his dick was soft. The texture was slightly different now that he was erect, a little smoother, and I could feel the thick vein along the underside. I traced it along the shaft, then back up again.

Luke moved to hide his face in his arms. He buried his face against his biceps and gripped his short hair with both hands. He was taking harsh breaths now, though obviously trying not to. It looked like his breathing exercises weren't working.

Wetness had gathered at the slit in the head of Luke's dick. It was kind of sticky and it made my fingers just glide across Luke's skin. That was good. I wondered how to get him to make more of it, then tried rubbing my fingers along that vein again. Success! When I touched Luke's slit again, there was more wetness gathered there.

Luke let out a faint whine. The heat between us grew and swelled. His skin became hot to the touch.

If I felt feverish and hot before, I was only more so now. Touching Luke, feeling his reactions to my touch, turned me on. My dick was stiff, pushed against the fly on my jeans. The jeans had become uncomfortable to wear. I squeezed Luke's dick and wiggled closer to him. Moving shifted the waistband of my jeans up and for a blinding second, all I felt was pain in my side. I had to let go of Luke to tug my jeans down past my hips.

Luke let out a sigh of relief.

His relief didn't last long because as soon as my jeans weren't in the way, my hand was back on his dick.

Luke's breath caught.

For all that Luke hid his eyes from me, he didn't seem as worried about hiding his mouth; so I was able to press my lips to his. "Sunrise?"

Luke swallowed before answering. "Four hours." His voice was a low almost-growl. "Por todos los dioses, matame antes de me venga," Luke prayed under his breath, lips moving against mine.

For a moment I was shocked that Luke knew Spanish. Then I realized that he was probably pretty good with languages being the son of a traveling merchant. And I'm pretty sure that he didn't know I speak Spanish. To be honest, I didn't think Luke had a good chance of the gods answering his prayer. They didn't answer mine when I prayed for an intervention of my branding. I elected to pretend that I had no idea what he was saying and pushed my lips against his to shut him up.

Luke kissed me back with more hesitation and restraint than he'd shown earlier. Mostly he just let me do what I wanted. His uneven breathing and the wet hardness of his dick were the only acknowledgement that I was even doing anything.

Meanwhile, I was burning up. Was this lust or some sort of infection from the brand? My jeans were uncomfortably tight. My palms were slick with, well, Luke's slick but also with sweat. I had to get out of these jeans. They trapped the heat against my legs. I let go of Luke's dick for a second time and shimmied out of my jeans. I had to be out of my mind.

When Luke realized what I was doing, he groaned and rolled onto his back. He drew up his leg - the one closest to me - and threw his arm over his eyes. The robe was more or less off of him now.

Getting my jeans off was such a relief that for a few moments I just lay there, luxuriating in how much cooler my legs felt. From the corner of my eye, I watched the rise and fall of Luke's chest.

Luke looked beautiful and tortured.

I couldn't feel pity for him, though. While I certainly hadn't expected this to happen, I didn't feel bad about it. At least what I did to him felt good. My side was still killing me and my throat still ached. I brushed my fingertips against his ribs.

Luke's whole body tensed. "Gods. Fuck," Luke hissed. He rolled over again, facing me. "What are you even doing? Do you even have a plan?" His voice was at a normal level but we'd been whispering so now it sounded like a shout.

I flinched, reminded again that Luke was letting me do what I wanted with him and he could just as easily break my hands as let me touch him. Mute, I shook my head no.

An annoyed growl rumbled in Luke's throat. "You can be so stupid, Percy." He rolled on top of me and gripped my thighs hard, dragged me to him. "What if I decided I wanted to fuck you? Because you're such a little tease." Luke dropped to his elbows, face close to mine, boxing me in.

My heart skipped a beat and then beat so hard it was painful. I tried to shrink into myself, instinct saying to make myself as small as possible. There wasn't enough room to hit him and clawing at him didn't work before. I didn't know what to say and even if I did, I couldn't get any words out.

Luke looked at me for a long time. "You don't even know how to kiss."

Embarrassment swept hotly through me.

Luke poked my side, just above the burn but close enough to make me yelp. "And you're hurt."

Tears sprung to my eyes again. I was pretty sure he couldn't see me very well, though. Did Hermes kids have night vision? "What do you want me to say?" I choked out.

"What are you doing?" Luke repeated, growling. My night vision was pretty good so I could see the anger in his face, in his eyes. Luke's anger was terrifying.

"I don't know!" I blurted out. A tear rolled down into my ear and I squirmed. How was I going to get out of this?

Luke rolled off of me. He sat a little ways away, his back to me.

I sucked in a huge breath. That danger seemed to have passed...or wasn't so immediate anymore. The worst part of it was that I was still turned on. It would be great if my body would get the message that we weren't doing sexy things anymore.

When Luke moved again it was to get off the bed. He glanced at me as he went into the bathroom. I heard water running and Luke muttering to himself but I couldn't make out what he was saying. The water shut off and Luke came back a minute later. He crawled up beside me. Luke held something in his hand. No. Two somethings. Washcloths? Luke set one on his thigh while he folded the other. The folded one was placed on my forehead. The second one was very carefully draped over my brand.

The washcloths were soaked with cold water that dripped onto the silk sheets beneath me. The cold wet felt so good that I went boneless, all the tension melting out of me. Luke was still a threat but I felt better.

Luke watched me for a moment. Then he slid off the bed again and went to the mini fridge. There was a crack that sounded familiar but I couldn't place it until I heard ice clinking in a glass. Luke rejoined me holding the glass of ice cubes. He stretched out on my right side and plucked an ice cube from the glass. For a moment he just held it in his hand. Then he put it against my skin, along the edge of the washcloth.

I jumped in surprise. It was a lot colder than the washcloth.

Luke used two fingers to push the ice cube along my skin, following the square of the washcloth. It sucked all of the heat from the brand. Luke went around and around and around, his cheek in his hand, apparently spacing out.

"What are you doing?"

"You're too hot and you're acting irrational. So I'm trying to cool you off," Luke answered. The ice cube melted quickly, as though agreeing with Luke's statement. He circled once with just his bare fingertips before starting over with another ice cube. "All I've got in here is ice and champagne...and I think the champagne would just bring your fever up more. And you'd get drunk after like one glass and probably get sick and go home feeling like shit."

The ice and the washcloths were helping to bring down my temperature. "I am not irrational," I argued.

"You do know that you were jacking me off thirteen minutes ago?" Luke asked.

"I didn't forget." Another flush of heat under my skin.

"So you wouldn't do that if you were using your head."

"How do you know?"

"Because that isn't like you."

"You don't even know me," I said. I didn't know why I was arguing. Luke was right; it was out of character for me to be reaching for some older boy's dick. Or any boy's dick.

Luke sighed. "Based on what I do know of you, you wouldn't get handsy." Around and around the ice cube went. My skin was steadily going numb but that was alright. It was better than the alternative.

"Luke?"

Luke hummed.

"Will you show me?"

"Show you what?"

"How to kiss." Maybe it was because I'd failed at so much in my life, because I never measured up, but I wanted to be good at something. Or maybe the fever was frying my brain.

Luke didn't falter in orbiting the ice cube. He closed his eyes and sighed. He didn't answer me. His fingers pushed the ice cube around until it was just his cold fingers on my cold skin. Then he opened his eyes. Luke gently turned my face toward him and kissed me. It was the same kind of kiss as before...until he opened his mouth and slid his tongue across my lips.

I knew what French kissing was even though I'd never done it, so I parted my lips and shyly met his tongue with mine.

Luke coaxed my tongue into his mouth. He rubbed his tongue against mine, then sucked. His teeth lightly scraped against my tongue. His canines were notably sharper but they didn't break skin.

When Luke pulled away, I gasped. My flagging erection was at full mast again. Instinctively I reached for Luke, wanting to draw him back to me.

Luke rewarded me with another kiss. This time his tongue went into my mouth. He took the lead on this one too, the tip of his tongue tracing my teeth and the lines of my mouth.

I did my best to keep up with what he was doing. I was too afraid to try that trick with my teeth; I didn't think he'd like it if I bit him. The second time Luke pulled away, I whined.

A finger beneath my chin gently closed my mouth, then Luke kissed me again. He alternated the pressures, kissing me lightly and hard. He sucked my bottom lip into his mouth and gently nibbled on it. Luke kissed me until my lips felt bruised and swollen.

It was a strangely good feeling. I shook with how good I felt. My breath came in harshly. I wanted to roll over and press myself against him but he was on my right side, the burn side, and I wasn't that irrational no matter what Luke said.

The hand beneath my chin moved to cup my cheek. It was cold as the ice he'd been touching. Luke kissed me again, and again. He was good at kissing. Every time our lips met, I wanted just one more kiss. The glass of ice was forgotten as Luke shifted closer to me, finding a better angle to kiss me at.

I reached for him, between his legs. I wanted to touch him again. He was still partially hard. I stroked him, but the angle was awkward. "Get on my other side so I can roll over."

When I touched him, Luke's breath caught. I felt the vibrations of a moan. Luke did move, but it wasn't where I'd told him to. He rolled on top of me again, used his knee to nudge my legs apart so that he could kneel between them. "Stubborn, irrational boy," Luke murmured against my lips.

"That's me," I answered between kisses. The angle was better for jacking him off; didn't hurt my wrist as much. I touched him how I did before, until he was making that slick wetness again.

Luke trembled above me. I felt his knees shaking against my thighs, his arms quivering on either side of my head as he kissed me. His kissing became sloppier and sometimes he stopped entirely, like he felt too good to keep kissing me.

I slid my hand down the front of my boxers. My own touch was electrifying. But I couldn't focus on jacking both of us off at the same time.

Luke noticed. Whatever hesitation he had earlier he seemed to be over. He slid my boxers down and off. Then he brought both of my feet up to his shoulder. He slotted his dick between my thighs and it rested heavy against my own. "Does that hurt?"

It did but I shook my head. I couldn't take my eyes off of Luke. He was so handsome. The scars, I decided, didn't really detract from how handsome he was. His size had been scary while he was holding me by the neck like a doll but now being manhandled was exciting. It didn't make sense.

Luke rolled his hips. His dick dragged against mine, sparking pleasure between us. He watched my face and then gave me a crooked little smile. "Feels good, huh?" And he did it again.

It did feel good, a concentrated sort of pleasure that was heightened by the fact that it was someone else creating it. I bit my lip and nodded. It felt so good that my toes splayed. I rolled my hips, trying to match his rhythm and failing. He didn't scold me for it though. I pulled him to me, kissed him, and then whispered, "Luke, will you come with me?" Pulling Luke to me meant that I had to bend in half since my legs were still on his shoulders. Good thing I was flexible.

"Working on it," Luke grunted. He kissed me. His rhythm didn't falter at all. How much experience did he have? Probably a lot. It was hard to resist Luke.

It took a moment for me to realize that he'd misunderstood me. I cupped his face to get his attention and was pleased when his pace slowed a bit. I shook my head no. "I meant sunrise."

The anxiety in his features was there and gone almost before I registered it. His eyes flicked to the coffin. Then Luke kissed me. "They -" a kiss, "-have to -" another kiss "-let me." A fourth kiss, this one hard and desperate.

Was he talking about the gods? I dropped my hands from his face, tried to focus past the cocktail of pain and pleasure that made my head spin. Why wouldn't they let him back? I'd brought back the master bolt and we were going to get the Golden Fleece to save Thalia. Everything Luke had done was reversible.

Luke straightened up. He smoothed his hand down my left side, squeezed gently. "You have to deliver my message to Hermes." His dick dripped that slick fluid onto mine and the glide got even smoother.

"I-I will," I promised. The smooth glide of our skin made me tingly all over. I was rushing toward elation. My orgasm hit me harder than it ever had before. It felt like I was falling and flying and every nerve ending was alive. My back arched and I curled my hands into the sheets. A very, very small bit of wetness came from the slit in my dick. It looked like basically the same fluid that had come from Luke's dick except a little more opaque. Well, that was new. I didn't think about it too much; I was shivery and very tired.

Luke didn't take his eyes off me. He let our dicks slide against each other one more time before pulling back. The head of his dick pressed against my hole, not quite penetrating me but definitely putting pressure there.

It felt better than I ever could have imagined...and I'd honestly never imagined it before. Pleasure shot through me like sparks. I got hard again almost immediately. My heart jackhammered against my chest but it was with excitement rather than fear.

Luke applied a little more pressure, just the slightest bit. His hands spread my cheeks and he pushed even more against my hole. Suddenly he was inside of me. Not much, only the head of his dick, but boy did I feel it.

My hole was stretched open on his dick and I could barely breathe from the shock of what was happening. It wasn't...entirely unwelcome though. When I did breathe again, it only to moan. My dick was still rock hard and it twitched against my stomach. Luke was inside of me. My head spun. Why didn't anyone tell me that it would feel this good?

Luke moaned, the noise drawn out of him like he hadn't expected it. He went still for a long moment, breathing hard and trembling. With exaggerated slowness, Luke moved one hand to his dick. He jacked himself off, hand striping his dick at a much faster pace than my hand had gone. Luke didn't rock his hips at all, or penetrate me any deeper than the head of his dick...but I could still feel the subtle movements. When Luke reached orgasm, his dick spurted hot fluid into me.

I whined, somewhat confused, but mostly hoping he wouldn't just leave it there. I realized suddenly that it would take a lot of showers before I was able to wash the scent of Luke out of my skin. Someone at Camp would surely know what I'd been up to.

Luke gently pulled out, shivering as he did. Luke carefully set my feet back onto the bed. He lowered himself between my thighs and before I could even begin to puzzle out what he was doing, he licked my hole.

I almost sat up in shock and probably would have but the brand hurt too much for sudden movements. "Oh gods," I breathed. Luke was licking my hole, using his tongue to scoop out the fluid from within me. I could feel his lips against me, his tongue reaching into me. My second orgasm came fast and hard. I didn't even have to touch my dick. I moaned, arching off the bed again as pleasure coursed through my veins.

Luke gave me a few final licks. Then he sat up and plucked the wash cloth from off my brand. It was still damp but all of the cold had been leached out of it. He used the washcloth to clean me up, then tossed it onto the floor. He took the other washcloth from off the pillow - I hadn't even realized it fell - and used it to wipe the...whatever that white fluid was - off his face. That washcloth joined the one on the floor. Luke crawled up my body and kissed me again, a sweet kiss like the first ones we'd shared. His mouth smelled strange and tasted kind of salty. Then Luke laid down beside me, sticking to my good left side.

Without thinking about it, I shifted so that I could tuck my head beneath his chin. "I think you were right," I murmured. My whole body felt tingly like I'd touched an electrical socket or something.

"About what?" Luke asked. He carefully placed a hand on my ribs. His hands were large enough that he was almost but not quite touching the brand.

"My brain is fried." My eyes just wouldn't stay open for anything. How long until sunrise? I still desperately wanted to leave, but now I didn't want to leave without Luke. And wasn't that what Hermes had sent me here for? To bring Luke home? "I'm having irrational thoughts."

Luke gently nuzzled the top of my head. "Happens to the best of us."

He would know. He was the best of us.

"Come home with me, Luke," I whispered, pleading.

Luke swallowed audibly. "Not today, Percy."

I napped until sunrise. The room flooded with light the moment that the sun rose and startled me out of my doze. I sat bolt upright and hissed in pain as my side hurt. It was still hot and I was still blearily tired but that few hours nap did me good.

Beside me, Luke stretched and yawned. I heard his joints cracking. When he was thoroughly stretched, he sat up and pressed his chest to my back. Not leaning on me, just touching me. "Light of day, Percy. Ready for your walk of shame?"

"What does that mean?" I asked. Where were my clothes? I had to dig through the sheets to find my boxers.

Luke got out of bed and began to get ready for his day. "You'll be safe from Annabeth because her sense of smell has always been shit but the Cyclops will be able to smell me on you."

Having my suspicions confirmed didn't make me feel better. The idea of Tyson finding out that I'd slept with Luke...literally and figuratively...made my face warm up. I wasn't a virgin anymore and now my half-brother would know. I found my jeans half hanging off the bed and slid them on too.

Luke wandered over to me and kissed my shoulder before continuing on to the bathroom.

I picked my shirt up off the floor by the couch and considered putting it on...then changed my mind. My burn could barely handle open air; a shirt would just trap all the heat. I tossed the orange shirt onto the couch and looked around for my shoes. They were gone, as far as I could tell, and so was Riptide. To be fair to the sword, I hadn't been wearing pants in a long time and it had never failed me before. So I didn't look too hard for Riptide.

Once I was dressed, I got the strawberries from the minifridge. I was starving. I sat on the floor and ate strawberries, watching Luke move around his room.

Luke pulled on camouflage pants and a white tank top. He shoved his feet into boots and laced them up. Then Luke joined me on the floor. There were wrinkles on his forehead as his brow furrowed. "Percy…"

I looked up at him, met his blue eyes. Something about the look on his face made dread curl around my spine and a stone sink in my belly. Suddenly, I wasn't hungry anymore. My hands started to shake.

Luke took the strawberry carton from me and set it aside, then he took both of my hands in his. "We're still enemies in the light of day," Luke said carefully, maintaining eye contact with me. "And it's going to stay that way unless something happens. When we meet again, if it's under the same circumstances, I won't go easy on you, okay?"

I knew what he was saying, even though I didn't like. I was probably still riding the high of losing my virginity a few hours ago...but I didn't want things to be like this. To be honest, I never wanted things to be like this. Luke being my enemy was terrible. Let it be anyone else, but not Luke. "I understand," I said unhappily. "I won't go easy on you either."

"I should hope not." Luke kissed me on the lips. "Get outta here, Percy," he murmured.

I let the kiss go on for a few long moments. Then I got to my feet and walked to the doors. They opened. I left Luke sitting there and it felt like leaving part of my heart. I'd thought I was over my feelings for Luke but they were stronger than ever.

I found Annabeth and Tyson hiding out in a bedroom. They seemed happy that I was alive. Tyson gave me a big hug but when he let me go, he had a puzzled look on his face. Thankfully some monsters came and we had to escape, so Tyson didn't get a chance to ask me why I smelled weird in front of Annabeth. As Luke had predicted, Annabeth didn't smell anything strange about me.

We stole a lifeboat to escape the Princess Andromeda and with the thermos that Hermes had given me, I got us far, far away. Riptide finally returned to my pocket.

Luke was right.

The next time I met him, he slashed my leg open just above the knee with Backbiter. It hurt so badly and his eyes looked cold like glaciers as he stalked me across the deck. I was reminded of the man who left a ring of bruises around my neck and branded me. The bruises had faded to a sickly yellowish-green but the brand was still there and still sore. The scar on my palm was killing me.

I scrambled backward and wondered if he was going to kill me. It would be so easy to. Did he change his mind? Was that night a lie?

Then Luke stilled and said something to one of the twin giants.

The hesitation gave the party ponies enough time to burst onto the deck and rescue us. They carried us all the way back to Camp Half-Blood and I once again left Luke behind.

"Hermes," I said to the god. "I have a message for you from Luke."

Hermes cocked his head. I had caught his interest. "What's his message?"

I faced Hermes and lifted my shirt to show off the caduceus branded into my skin.

Hermes was silent for a long time. Long enough that I got nervous. Finally he said, "I see."

"Will you bring him home?" I asked, letting my shirt fall to cover the brand. "Please? He wants to come home."

Hermes cocked his head in the other direction. It occurred to me for the first time that Luke was a carbon copy of Hermes...except for his blond hair. They had the same prince curls, the same blue eyes, the same build. "Where is his home, Percy? I don't think Luke wants to come back to Camp Half-Blood."

My heart twisted at that. Hermes was right. I didn't think that Luke wanted to return to Camp Half-Blood even if he could do so safely. Where would Luke go? Where was his home? He was a year-rounder at Camp, which meant he didn't have a family to go back to. But I couldn't just leave him there in Kronos' clutches. I lifted my chin and met Hermes eyes. "With me."

Hermes eyes darted down to my brand and then back to my face. "I'll see what I can do."

A few days later, Thalia Grace came back to life and everything changed. Of course, I didn't know it at the time.

The first day of fall break, there was a knock on my apartment door. "Percy! Could you get that?" Mom called from the kitchen. She was doing her homework and making dinner at the same time.

"Got it!" I called back.

Nothing could have prepared me for seeing Luke again. He looked good, wearing form-fitting slacks and a pale blue long sleeve button up. There was a suitcase by his feet. He looked like a young businessman from Time magazine or something.

"Percy!" Hermes said, drawing my attention to him for the first time. Compared to his son, Hermes looked like a model for an athletes magazine. He was dressed in his jogging outfit again. His shorts were a little too short and I'd hate to think of how much ass I would see if he bent over. "Is your mother home?"

"Uh…." I said intelligently. Without taking my eyes off them, I turned my head and yelled, "Mom!"

"Who is…. oh." Mom recognized Hermes for what he was immediately. I wondered what she saw when she looked at the gods. Her gaze flicked between Luke and Hermes and I saw her make the familial connection. "Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you! We would." Hermes led the way in. He held out his hand. "I'm Hermes. This is my son, Luke."

Mom shook his hand. She looked at me, silently asking if I knew anything about this impromptu visit.

I shrugged. Every single cell in my body wanted me to throw my arms around Luke's neck. And maybe punch him in the face for the scar above my left knee. "What's with the suitcase?"

"It was my dad's idea," Luke explained. "I asked for a backpack or a duffle bag. Something practical."

"It is practical! The straps make it double as a backpack and the wheels are for when you get tired of carrying it around." Hermes put his hands on his hips.

"It's not at all practical. It's like carrying around a box on my back. There's no flexibility."

"But you can sit on it."

"I can sit anywhere. I don't need to sit on my stuff."

"One day you'll appreciate my inventions."

"I can't even use it as a pillow."

Hermes opened his mouth, reconsidered, and closed it. "I will give that one to you." He wagged a finger. "But it's still a good invention and has plenty of practical uses."

I had worried that they were going to start actually fighting but when it didn't go that way, I let out a sigh of relief. This wasn't serious fighting; it was just bickering. It was a normal level of bickering too.

"I'm in the middle of making dinner and I don't want it to burn," mom said and made her way into the kitchen.

Hermes followed her without hesitation. He waved a hand to signal that we were to stay where we were. When he spoke to my mother, it was in rapid Spanish.

Mom answered in Spanish and they went back and forth.

I looked at Luke again. "So," I began. "Are we still enemies?"

Luke shook his head. "Nope. I'm a free man." He paused. "More or less." That was referring to the gods owning him again but I could live with that. Better to be pawns on the same side.

I wrapped my arms around his neck like I'd been wanting to do since I saw him. Longer than that. The scents of hot candle wax and leather and Luke washed over me. I had to stand on my tiptoes to reach.

Luke wrapped his arms around me and held me close. He nuzzled my neck and breathed in my scent. "Thank you."

I hugged him tighter. Then let go before my mom saw us. I was pretty sure she wouldn't be happy about me and Luke. "Do you wanna watch a movie with me?"

"Sure." Luke sat down on one end of the couch.

I curled up beside Luke, tucked against his body. And it was good, being close to Luke again. When we were separated, it felt like something stretched taut between us. But when we were together, that something inside of me relaxed.

"Did you talk to my dad about the brand?" Luke murmured.

I shook my head no. "I didn't want to risk him saying no to bringing you home."

Luke glanced at the entryway to the kitchen then tipped my chin up and kissed me sweetly. He met my gaze afterwards, his blue eyes gorgeous and swimming with gratitude. Even though it looked like he wanted to kiss me again, Luke turned back to the tv.

I managed to wiggle almost into his lap; as close as I could get without being completely inappropriate.

Luke wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

We were halfway through the movie when Hermes came out of the kitchen with two plates and two cans of coke balanced in his hands. "Dinner is ready. Not done talking yet. Just stay here and be good." Then he hurried back into the kitchen.

Luke and I ate and finished the movie. I put another one in and still we waited. It was comfortable together with our bellies full. We dozed, a light sleep that was broken as soon as we heard footsteps.

Luke pulled his arm from around me and sat up. There was some anxiety in his expression.

I sat up too, though all I wanted was to stay curled against him, and rubbed my eyes.

Mom studied the two of us and I wasn't sure that she liked what she saw. She would like it even less if she knew that the man beside me had taken my virginity over the summer and branded me and that those things happened on the same day. "Hermes asked me if Luke can live with us."

My jaw dropped.

Hermes smiled.

Mom nodded to herself as if that confirmed something for her. "I told him yes. On the condition that Luke get a job to help me pay the bills."

Luke nodded. He wrung his hands together and I realized that not only did he know about this, but that he was scared mom wouldn't say yes.

"And Luke is sleeping on the couch while you're home, Percy," Mom added. This was said with a look that told me she suspected there was something going on between us and she didn't like it. It was hard not blaming her for trying to separate us and stop any sex from happening...but the rational part of me knew where she was coming from. Even if it was annoying.

I wanted to whine, almost did, but stopped myself just in time. That wouldn't help my case of being mature enough to have my boyfriend sleep in my bedroom with me. I bit my cheeks and nodded unhappily. At least Luke would be here. At least he was safe.

Luke only nodded again. This didn't seem to surprise him. I searched his face for any sign that he regretted what we did…but there wasn't any regret there. That pleased me.

Luke got a job at the sweet shop that mom worked at. She was only part time now because of college - barely making twenty hours a week - so they had an opening. Like mom had before him, Luke brought me hope free samples of treats. They were always blue. Let it be known that Luke paid attention.

He slept on the couch for the whole week of fall break. Which was annoying because every night I longed for him more than anything. I wanted Luke more than I wanted my dad's acceptance and more than to make it through the school year without getting kicked out and more than I wanted to sleep in till noon. Before I left, we managed to get a few minutes of alone time.

Luke cupped my face and kissed me like he was as desperate for me as I was for him. "I'll see you in a few months."

"Take care of mom," I said, because that was easier than telling him I'd miss him.

"I will." Then he kissed me again. When he pulled back, Luke's pupils were dilated and held a heated promise. "Soon."

When I got home for winter break, Luke wasn't there. "He's at work, dear," Mom said as she kissed the top of my head. I let her hug me until I had to squirm out of her grasp. It wasn't that I didn't love her too...I just didn't want to be held by her anymore. Mom sighed, but in a fond way. "He's closing tonight so he won't get home until you're already asleep."

That's what she thought. Now that I was home, there was no way that I was going to be able to sleep without seeing Luke. I ate dinner and helped mom clean up, then took a shower and watched a movie with her. Mom got me caught up on her life, including telling me about a new man she'd met at college. His name was Paul.

When I finally said good night and slipped into my room, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. It was like a fever had overtaken me and I kept tossing and turning in bed. Luke had promised soon. It hadn't felt like soon but this was the soonest that I could see him again and the promise had kept me wanting for the long weeks I was away. Now I was home, in my bed that smelled like Luke since this was where he slept while I was gone.

My pillow smelled like Luke. My sheets smelled like Luke. Luke's clothes were in my drawers and his stuff was mingled with mine. I was rock hard in seconds, cock stiffening. Not once did it cross my mind that Luke wouldn't come in and say hello to me, but I needed to take the edge off.

The pillow we shared found its way between my legs and I rolled my hips. Wrong angle. Needed something a little bit harder than the soft pillow. If I rode it, though, that was good. Wedged between my body and the mattress, it firmed up enough to actually feel good. Even before I humped it in earnest, my breathing turned to heavy panting. I humped it, pretending that it was Luke. Which part of Luke exactly kept shifting as I thought of his body beneath me and his skin against mine and which parts would feel best.

I could hump his leg like a dog. I could rub against the joint of his hip. I could thrust against his stomach. I could fuck his thighs like he'd done to me. Oh, that one was good, the thought sent a spiral of pleasure through me.

Mom had gone to bed too but I still tried to be quiet. Quiet was good; it reminded me of how quiet Luke and I had been when he'd taken my virginity.

I wanted him inside of me again. Gods, if only there was something I could fuck myself with while I humped the pillow.

I was so lost in my rutting that I didn't hear the window of the fire escape slide open. I wouldn't have heard Luke's footsteps anyway because he was noiseless...but I should have heard the window because it always creaks. Luke's hand threaded through my hair and he pulled my head back. His hand was over my mouth before the yelp of surprise even left my throat. "You couldn't even wait for me, puppy?"

Luke's voice was low and sexy and that combined with him pulling my hair was just the right thing because I came all over the pillow. My face warmed as a feeling like humiliation or shame burned within me. Was that really all it took for me to cum?

With his hand still keeping my head tipped back, Luke kissed me. It was a hungry kiss, made more so by his sharp teeth in my lip and the vibrations of a growl in his throat. His other hand worked open his slacks and shoved them - and his underwear - down to his knees. Against my lips, Luke murmured, "I've been waiting for you all day, puppy."

My heart raced with excitement. I just came but I was so turned on that I wanted him. I kissed him back eagerly, licking his lips so that he would let me taste him.

Luke opened his mouth, let me shove my tongue past his lips. He slotted himself against my back, cock hard between my cheeks. He still wore his uniform shirt, smelling of candy along with the usual hot candle wax and leather scents. "How should I punish you?"

I whined, long and high. I couldn't help it. I wanted him so bad. "Luke, take me like you did last time. Please. I want - I want -"

Luke cut me off with a tender kiss. "Shhh...I'll take care of you." He was more prepared this time. A tiny packet of single use lube was ripped open and spread on the head of his cock. Luke guided the head of his cock to my hole and began that barely rocking motion again, easing himself into me. It was easier with actual lube, Luke slid into me quicker.

I clamped my hands over my mouth to muffle my moan. It felt as good as before; the stretch, the way my nerves lit up. My legs shook with pleasure. It was only minutes but I was hard again, cock stiffening between my legs and dripping clear precum.

Luke didn't stop his rocking. He didn't get much deeper than the head - just a little bit - and he never fully pulled out. It was gentle and not too much but just enough. He wrapped one arm around me to hold me to him and threaded the other one through the hair at the back of my head, tugging my head back again. "Percy, puppy, if I put my hand around your throat, are you gonna be okay?"

I made an unintelligent noise.

"It won't hurt. I won't hurt you again," Luke promised.

"O-okay," I agreed. My heart skipped a beat.

Luke must have felt how tense I'd become because he ducked his head to kiss my neck. He let go of my hair and placed his hand over my throat. There was almost no pressure. "Okay?"

I nodded. My heart beat fast. My attention was fairly evenly split between the hand on my throat and Luke's cock inside of me. My heart didn't think that Luke would revert back to Kronos' side by trying to kill me again, but try telling that to a paranoid mind.

Luke squeezed my throat just a little bit. Nothing like before. There wouldn't even be a red mark. He slid his other hand down to my cock and stroked it. "Good boy, puppy." He murmured against the shell of my ear. Luke placed small kisses and nips, further distracting me.

I whined, short and soft. My fingers curled around Luke's wrists. I didn't pull him away. Instead, I held on and bounced on his cock. Small movements, barely more than what he was doing. But through our combined efforts, Luke slipped into me an inch past the head. I bit my tongue so that I didn't moan aloud.

Luke pressed his lips against my neck and I felt his moan rather than heard it. He was gentle with me as we moved together.

The bed barely even moved, mattress quiet as though it knew we had to be secretive. Luke was nothing but perfect and I couldn't hold his lapse in judgement against him. Not when he'd been manipulated. I could forgive him, could think of the moment with the pit scorpion and not feel it's sting.

I turned my face for a kiss, brushed my lips against his. The reality stared me in the face. There was no one else, it had always been Luke. We were bound together by fate. And being with him made me so happy. I couldn't remember ever caring for someone so much. "I love you," I admitted, voice breaking with emotion.

"I know," Luke said, warmth in his voice. "I love you too."

While Luke and I were having sex in my childhood bedroom, the wheels of fate kept turning. Because Fate demands sacrifice.

The boy who took Luke's place as the hero of the prophecy was called Ethan Nakamura. He was a son of Nemesis, and only had one eye. I didn't find out until later that he'd stepped into Luke's place because his mother had taken his eye as a preemptive measure that supposedly guaranteed that Ethan would restore balance.

Luke didn't say anything outright but I knew that he thought balance was subjective. His war against the gods was over...for the moment.

Ethan wasn't even from Camp Half-Blood. He was just a demigod out in the world trying to survive. They found him coming out of the Labyrinth and Kronos didn't hesitate to snatch him up. Ethan bathed in the River Styx to gain invulnerability.

Thalia Grace turned sixteen the night that Luke came home to me. She and Ethan fought...and Thalia gave him a blade to kill himself with.

Ethan reaped his own soul, and sent Kronos scattering to the winds. Hermes told us that Ethan had a place in Elysium for his heroic sacrifice.

Thalia was offered immortality in the form of goddesshood. She took it without hesitation and became the new goddess of the Wild. Thalia was not passive like the Pan who passed away...where she went, she made her own Wild. Greenery sprang up to destroy human creations and humans themselves turned into animals. It was chaos. But at least she left demigods alone.

Annabeth became a Hunter of Artemis, claiming her own immortality by becoming Artemis' lieutenant. Apparently the Hunters of Artemis were mostly lesbians and asexuals because no one batted an eye when Annabeth lost her maidenhood to Thalia.

Luke and I were shaken up by what we narrowly avoided. But we still had to steal our moments together whenever we could get out of my mom's watchful eye. Luke went to a local college, just for fun. I finished high school.

The second I turned eighteen, Luke proposed.

I said yes. On one condition. I wanted to brand him. It was only fair. Whenever people saw my brand - which wasn't very often because I hid it as much as possible - they always thought that I was an owned creature. If I was owned by Luke, then Luke was owned by me.

Maybe it wasn't the healthiest thing ever.

But Luke agreed and I got together everything I would need to brand my fiancé. Now he bears a trident scar on the right side of his lower back. He wears a band of gold on his left ring finger. And so do I.

Notes:

Luke saying that Percy will be a man in two years (at 15) is a reference to what Poseidon tells Percy when he turns 15, saying that he's a man now. I think that after spending half his life with the gods, some of their old ways would rub off on Luke. And Luke comparing Percy to Poseidon is just a nod at how fast and loose with consent that Poseidon is.

"Por todos los dioses, matame antes de me venga" means "By all the gods, kill me before I come."

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Rating:

Mature

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No Archive Warnings Apply

Category:

M/M

Fandom:

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Related Fandoms - All Media Types

Relationships:

Luke Castellan/Percy JacksonAnnabeth Chase/Percy Jackson

Characters:

Luke CastellanPercy JacksonAnnabeth Chase (Percy Jackson)Hermes (Percy Jackson)

Additional Tags:

ResurrectionResurrected Luke CastellanFuture FicCheatingCheating Percy JacksonAnnabeth Chase Is Her Own WarningAnal SexAnal FingeringBoys KissingFeral Luke CastellanOne ShotPOV Third PersonExplicit Sexual ContentCaretaking

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Published:2020-12-06Words:15489Chapters:1/1Comments:10Kudos:301Bookmarks:43Hits:3195

All I Want For Christmas

robindrake93

Summary:

Hermes sends Percy on an errand that changes Percy's life forever and for the better.

Notes:

This was inspired by the idea that Luke was a feral child due to neglect and homelessness coupled with the fight club thing Camp Half-Blood has going on...as well the thought that he went to the fields of punishment instead of someplace less shitty. Please excuse that terrible title. I had no idea what to call this fic.

If you don't like the font color, click "Hide Creator's Style" at the top and it'll revert to black.

Don't reupload/repost my works.

(See the end of the work for more notes.)

Work Text:

Percy Jackson was tired of doing homework. College was exactly the nightmare that Percy had suspected it would be. He never wanted to go to college. But Annabeth had given him an ultimatum; it was college or her. Of course she didn't say it in so many words but Percy could take a hint after she kept going on about how embarrassing her stupid, uneducated boyfriend would be.

Percy wanted to be a house husband. He wanted to stay home barefoot and take care of the kids and, most importantly, teach them how to surf. That was the only good thing about California; the surfing was awesome. But they didn't have any kids. It looked like they wouldn't for a long time because Annabeth was worried about her career and her figure. She didn't have time to be a mother. She was too busy following her dreams. Percy's dreams could wait.

Percy stared at the wall of their apartment. A color-coded calendar was tacked to the wall, full of Annabeth's loopy handwriting reminding them about due dates and college events and divine holidays. Looking at it, at how all of their days were filled up doing things Percy didn't want to do, filled him with restlessness. He shifted his gaze to the window.

California wasn't always sunny but lately there has been nothing but sun. Constant sunshine and heat. The heat was oppressive and made his skin tighten like leather. Percy longed for rain. He missed the snow. It was almost December for fucks sake. There should be clouds and snow.

Speaking of snow...the voice on the radio predicted massive snowfall this winter. There was a host of bad storms going to hit the Pacific Northwest, stretching as far as Colorado but not as far as California. Typical. The radio shut off abruptly, snapping Percy from his thoughts.

Percy twisted around to see Annabeth standing, her finger still on the off button for the radio. She was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt that sported the college logo. Her long blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. "What did I tell you about distractions? You need to get that essay written if you want to get your grade up before the semester is over." Annabeth made her way to him and turned Percy's head so that he was once again looking at the essay. "No boyfriend of mine is going to be a B student."

If Percy didn't know for a fact that Annabeth had seen every single report card of Percy's, he would have thought that her statement was just misinformation. It wasn't. Annabeth knew that Percy never made higher than a B. Even getting his GED, Percy barely scraped by. School was not for him and this was abundantly clear to everyone except for Annabeth. "Noise helps me concentrate," he said. Percy turned his head to look at her.

Annabeth turned his face back to the paper. "You obviously weren't concentrating on that essay." She kissed the top of his head and moved away from him. "Did you make dinner?"

"It just needs to be warmed up," Percy said. "Everything's ready. Don't touch it!" Annabeth couldn't boil water without burning it. Every time she went near the food, it always ended up inedible.

"It'll be fine. I'll warm it up and you work on that essay," Annabeth called from the kitchen. There was noise as she moved things around.

Percy bit his lip. He really didn't want his hard work to go to waste. But there would be no talking Annabeth out of it. She always got her way. At least he'd had a big sandwich for lunch so he wouldn't go hungry. Percy turned back to his essay and scowled. There was so much work that went into being a marine biologist. They wanted him to know so much. As if Percy would need to know about aquarium filters. As if Percy would ever willingly step foot in another aquarium. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl with slimy, unclean horror.

He tried to work on the essay. He really did. But he only wrote down two sentences in the time it took for Annabeth to burn their dinner. With a sigh, Percy pushed away from the desk. He went into the kitchen and stared bleakly at the spaghetti meal he'd prepared. The noodles were mush. The sauce looked like a fungus. The vegetables were burnt and withered. The French bread was dehydrated because Annabeth cut it too soon and left it sitting on the counter.

Annabeth set the table and sat down. She didn't say anything about the meal. If she had problems eating her own cooking, Annabeth never voiced them.

Percy got a coke from the fridge and joined her. He scooped only the tiniest bit of food onto his plate. It looked like one of those plates from fancy restaurants where the food was minuscule and arranged artistically. Between bites, Percy took long drinks of coke to wash out the flavors.

Annabeth talked about her day, which mostly meant she complained about how stupid everyone else was. Her professors were stupid. Her classmates were stupid. The textbooks were stupid. "If I wasn't going to be an architect, you know, in the mortal world, then I'd write the textbooks and then teach them. I just can't believe how stupid these people are. Where are they getting their information?"

Percy agreed with everything she said and forced down the rest of his dinner. He finished before Annabeth and leaned back, sipping his coke. The soda would help fill his belly. He tried to decide if Annabeth was in a good mood or not. If she was, he might be able to convince her to go back to New York for winter break. During a pause in the conversation, Percy broached the subject, "My mom called today. She wants to know if we're going back East for Christmas."

Annabeth's gray eyes hardened. She narrowed them. According to mutual friends, Annabeth's glare had nothing on Percy's Wolf Stare but it always made Percy deeply uncomfortable. "I already said we aren't," Annabeth said.

"I want to visit my family." They didn't visit during fall break, which made sense because that was only a week long. Winter break was two weeks.

"We just saw them in the summer," Annabeth said.

Summer was six months ago. Percy hadn't seen his mom or step dad or baby sister in six months. Estelle was probably getting so big. When Sally called and updated him, Percy felt like he was missing all of Estelle's milestones. Did she even remember him? This was the longest that Percy had been away from his family since Hera kidnapped him. "I miss my family. I want to see them."

Annabeth pursed her lips. Percy didn't normally argue with her but he was putting his foot down now. "We don't even have time. There are things to do over break and since you can't fly, it'll be a couple of days of nonstop driving. It's not like we can take our time. Plus we don't have gas money."

Percy tried to listen to her arguments but he felt himself drifting away. Inside of himself, he felt like a bird trapped in a cage and wildly flapping its wings. "I don't have anything to do over break. I could go alone." It wasn't like Annabeth wanted to see her family so her presence was preferred but not required.

Suspicion immediately sharpened Annabeth's gaze. "No. It's too dangerous to travel alone." It was safer traveling alone because the two of them attracted twice the monsters. "Besides, you need to do extra credit work over break if you're going to get your grades where they need to be."

Percy opened his mouth to say what he's been thinking since September -

"I can't believe you two eat like this."

Percy didn't scream but he did make a high noise of surprise.

Annabeth threw her fork without thinking. There was still spaghetti on the end of it. Her eyes went wide. "L-lord Hermes?"

Hermes vanished the fork into the ether. Like an asshole. It wasn't like forks grew on trees. He sat in one of the empty chairs at the table, wearing a t-shirt with a tortoise on it and a pair of very short jean shorts that showed off his athletic thighs.

Seeing Hermes immediately flooded Percy with relief. Whatever the god wanted would be better than fighting with Annabeth. "Hey, man. Why are you here?" Percy held out his hand for a high five.

Hermes slapped his palm. It stung. "I need you," he pointed to Percy. "To run an errand for me." Hermes' expression was completely neutral but his eyes were hard...and shifty. He was up to something and he didn't want Annabeth to know about it.

Annabeth looked like she'd been sucking on a lemon. "He isn't going on any quests. Find someone else."

The look that Hermes gave Annabeth was like she was a cockroach crawling across the floor. "This doesn't concern you, girl." He still refused to call Annabeth by her name. Did he really blame Annabeth for not running away with Luke? More than he blamed Percy for failing to convince Luke to come back to Camp with them right after he ran away?

Percy flashed Annabeth an apologetic look as he stood up and took Hermes by the arm. The god was ripped, his muscles bulging beneath Percy's palm but he tried not to notice too much. "I'll find out what he wants. Thanks for dinner, babe." Then Percy tugged Hermes through the apartment and to the balcony. Once the door was shut behind them, Percy turned to Hermes and asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Hermes didn't answer right away. He slowly looked Percy up and down. His gaze lingered on Percy's face for a long time, staring into his eyes. Hermes had blue eyes the deep blue color of glacial waters. Luke had inherited those eyes and looking at Hermes never failed to make Percy think of his old friend. "I need you to take a trip and follow a recipe for me."

Percy cocked his head, confused. "Like for cooking?"

"Something like that," Hermes said vaguely. His casual tone was belied by the intense look in his eyes. "You must follow the recipe exactly, Percy. There can be no mistakes."

"I haven't said I'll do it," Percy reminded him gently. It was only because the way Hermes was looking at him made the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise. Whatever this task was, it was a lot more serious than Hermes would say outright. Despite his protest, all it took from Hermes was a raised eyebrow and Percy gave a sigh of defeat. The truth was that he needed a break; from college, from Annabeth, from hot weather.

Hermes placed his hands on Percy's shoulders. "This is very important, Percy."

"I'll do it." Percy put one hand over Hermes'. His skin was warm. "You know I will. Have I ever failed you?" That was a stupid question because of course Percy failed Hermes. He failed to bring Luke back.

But Hermes only smiled. "No. You're a remarkable demigod, Percy. Very adaptable, very quick witted. And you have a heart of gold."

The unexpected praise made heat rise to Percy's face. He hoped that Hermes wasn't flirting with him. He got enough of that from Apollo. "Um, thank you." He cleared his throat. "So what's the quest?"

"I'm going to send you to my house in Colorado. All of the ingredients are there." Hermes paused, snapped his fingers. "Except for one thing." He presented Percy with a small wooden box. It was made of birch wood and fit in the palm of Percy's hand.

Percy was immediately wary of any type of box being handed to him. "This isn't like Pandora's jar, is it?" he asked. If it was, he was going to kill Hermes.

A small smile graced Hermes' lips. "No, Percy. It isn't like Pandora's jar. You can open it, if you want, and nothing bad will happen. Just don't lose any of its contents."

That was less reassuring than Hermes probably meant it if only because Percy was now terrified of losing its contents. Still, his curiosity could not be ignored. Percy opened the little wooden box. He almost dropped it in shock. Teeth were inside of the box. Tiny little teeth. Some were cracked or chipped and some still had dried blood on them from when they fell out. There were about twenty in total. Percy looked up at Hermes. "What are these?"

"Milk teeth," Hermes supplied. He had a peculiar look on his face. There was an emotion there that Percy couldn't quite read but he knew that these teeth were important.

Percy carefully closed the box. "What are the teeth for?"

"The recipe is at the house, along with all of your ingredients." Hermes' gaze slid from Percy's face to something behind him, then back again in a second. "It will be simple, Percy. I wrote it all very clearly." He said nothing about the teeth.

Percy frowned slightly. He hated it when people sidestepped his questions. But he really didn't want Hermes to change his mind. Percy needed to get out of here. If only for an afternoon. "Okay. Well, how am I getting to your house?"

Hermes' smile was so smug and mischievous that Percy felt dread over it. "Oh, don't worry about that. I'll send you there." He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly Percy was freezing. He stood in the snow in front of a two-story house. The house had a large front porch with several rocking chairs on it. There were two doors. One nearby and one set about twenty feet away from the first one. Percy blinked. He shivered and looked around. There were little pine trees everywhere, the kind that grew short and bushy.

Percy started toward the house. He chose the door closest to him. It led into a mudroom, full of boots and coats and assorted odds and ends. The floor was concrete. Stairs twisted down to a wooden door, which led to the basement. Percy ignored that and went in through a door on his level that led into the house. All of the lights were off but the house was warm enough.

Percy had to walk through the little kitchen to find a light switch on the living room wall. He flipped the lights on and the whole floor lit up. The kitchen and living room were all one room, divided only by the carpet in the living room and the wood in the kitchen.

His attention was drawn to the table. A bone bowl sat upon the table, the size of which could be described as a very large mixing bowl. It was the creamy white of fresh bone, yet something about it made Percy think that it was very, very old. The edges were sanded to a smooth finish and it looked in good condition. The presence of the bowl made the hairs on the back of Percy's neck rise in warning. Percy did not touch it.

Beside the bowl was a piece of parchment paper with Hermes' neat block handwriting on it. This, Percy had no qualms about touching. He picked it up and held it closer to his face as he made out the words. It was the recipe that Hermes had spoken of. The list of ingredients was bizarre.

- Gold

- Blood

- Salt

- Phoenix tears (blue fire)

- Clay

- Milk teeth

- Hair

- Pomegranate seeds

- Ladon's poison

- Ash

Percy read over the ingredients list wice, his frown deepening. In one hand he still clutched the birch wood box full of teeth. "Well," he said aloud. "I've got the milk teeth." Hermes had said that everything Percy needed was in the house and upon further inspection, Percy noticed a basket of birch bark upon the table as well. It was full of glass vials that were all stoppered up and carefully labeled.

"Step one: mix ash, clay, and salt into the bone bowl. Okay." Percy gathered his ingredients and double checked the labels. The ash was the most prominent ingredient, a whole one-hundred-ten ounces. It took careful work to pull the cork free without spilling the ash but he did it. Percy hesitated before pouring the ash into the bone bowl. He would have to touch the bone and he didn't particularly want to. But he promised Hermes that he would. Percy drew the bowl closer and poured the ash inside.

It was not a fine ash; there were large chunks of something pale and hard within it and it seemed gritty. When it settled at the bottom of the bone bowl and nothing happened, Percy continued. The clay was more difficult. It was labeled as clay and the instructions called it clay, yet it was a powdery substance. Did Hermes get it wrong? Percy debated with himself for a few moments, then added the clay. It was dyed a deep russet red that stained the glass tube it had been kept in. Next was an easy two-hundred grams of salt. As far as Percy could tell, it was regular salt.

So far so good. Percy consulted the instructions. "Add the gold, hair, and milk teeth to the bone bowl. Mix well with your hands. Oh, jeez, with my hands? Really?" The gold turned out to be the flakey kind that rich people were eating as of late. There wasn't much of it, maybe two ounces. Percy had to tap on the sides of the glass to get it all to fall into the mixture. The hair was pure white and appeared to have been cut from someone's head. It fell easily into the mix. Percy opened the little birch wood box that contained the milk teeth; baby teeth. Whose teeth were they? Whose hair was that?

He dumped the tiny teeth into the bowl and took a deep breath to steel himself before reaching a hand into the mixture. There was some relief that the texture was like moving around really gritty sand. The instructions only said to mix well so Percy mixed it until all of the little gold flakes were covered in gray and red ashy material. He shook his hand over the mixture, trying to clean it while keeping as much in the bowl as possible. It did not clean very well; bits of salt and ash and red clay still clung to his skin.

"Fill a bowl with snow and melt it to wash your hands. When finished, pour contents into the mammoth skull bowl," Percy read aloud. He narrowed his eyes. "Hermes, you asshole, you could have put that at the top of the page." He found a mixing bowl and trudged outside to scoop up some snow. Then he went back inside and turned the stove on to melt it. Instead of placing the wooden bowl directly onto the burner, Percy found a sauce pan and filled that with tap water, then placed the wooden snow-filled bowl on top of that. The snow melted faster than Percy was expecting but not fast enough for his liking. He hurriedly washed his hand in the snowmelt and brought it to the table.

"Do not touch the following with your bare hands: the phoenix tear, Ladon's poison, and the pomegranate seeds. Pour them into the mammoth skull bowl. Do not mix." Percy uncorked the phoenix tear and stared at the little blue self-contained flame. It was about the size of a quarter and didn't look like much, but Percy carefully tipped it into the bowl. Ladon's poison was black and tar-like. It smelled like rotten meat and acid. The smell got somewhat better after it was tipped into the bowl, which Percy was grateful for. In the smallest glass container were twelve pomegranate seeds. They went into the bowl easily.

"At the bottom of the basket is a measuring cup, a vial of nectar, and a knife made from celestial bronze that you will recognize." Percy paused to check the bottom of the basket. Those things were all there. He hasn't seen Annabeth's dagger since before his fall into Tartarus. Looking at the familiar weapon made Percy even more unsettled than he cared to admit. He turned his attention back to the instructions. "Cut your wrist and measure out sixteen ounces of blood into the measuring cup. When finished, pour into the mammoth skull bowl. Wash the cup in the snow melt and pour all contents into the mammoth skull bowl."

Percy stared at the last few sentences, rereading them. "Excuse me?" Hermes wanted him to use his own blood for...something. Percy still wasn't sure what it was he was doing. He turned the parchment over but there was no writing on the back. The last few sentences only instructed him to leave the bowl to sit and not to touch it. Percy shook his head. The last time he'd bled for a super power, it had been for Gaea and that little bit of blood allowed her to take physical form. This was sixteen ounces.

Percy pressed his wrist over his eyes and groaned, trying to decide what to do. As far as he knew, there was no way out of here. He didn't notice a garage or a car and this was obviously an isolated area in the mountains. Who knew how far a town was. Plus it was snowing. Did he really have a choice? Would Hermes leave Percy here in this house until the agreed upon task was complete? "Damn it," he hissed. Percy hated being backed into a corner but he didn't see a way out of this.

He picked up the knife. It gleamed like new, no hint of a rust stain from the blood that had stained the metal. Percy took out the glass measuring cup and found the mark that said sixteen ounces. He learned that sixteen ounces was also two cups or one pint. It looked like a lot. Two whole cups of his blood. Percy chose his left wrist because if something went wrong for whatever reason, he wanted his dominant hand to be alright. He took a deep breath that echoed the sound of the howling wind outside. Then he cut open his wrist.

The cut was deep. It had to be to get that much blood out of his body. Percy knew that he'd cut an artery because that's what he'd been aiming for. The blood dripped into the measuring cup, filling it faster than Percy would have thought. He didn't like watching himself bleed but there was no other choice; he had to get the measurement correct or this would be worthless. The distastefulness of slicing his own wrist open for arterial blood was tempered somewhat by the vial of nectar within easy reach. Percy would be fine. He doubted that he would even have a scar, though it was of course a possibility.

His blood flowed faster than he thought it would. Percy grabbed the vial of nectar and yanked the cork out with his teeth. He downed the nectar just as his blood reached the sixteen ounces mark. The cut healed immediately, veins and skin stitching back together. There was a faint, shiny scar as though he'd had the wound for years rather than minutes, but otherwise he was good as new. Maybe a little faint.

Percy picked up the measuring cup. The glass was hot. He stared at his blood contained within it. "Please, be for something good," he prayed. Then he poured it into the bowl. He rinsed the measuring cup in the snow melt and his wrist too, then dumped that whole mess into the mammoth skull bowl. By now the bowl was rather full and smelled primordial. Not that Percy was keen on primordial scents but he was sure that this was that. It had the smell of something ancient, something ritualistic that a buried piece of his hindbrain recognized.

Percy was suddenly starving. He put the wooden bowl and measuring cup in the sink, then went to the fridge. There was meat on a plate. Percy didn't think to care about whether or not it was cooked when he reached for it and ate it. This, too, tasted primordial. Yet it was suiting, he supposed, since the bowl was actually a mammoth skull. While the animal had obviously died thousands of years ago, it had probably done so in its youth. Percy was sure that mammoths were generally bigger than that. After the meat was eaten, Percy washed his hands.

His jaws split in a yawn. Percy did a quick tour of the ground level, saw that there was a bathroom, but was far more interested in the stairs going to the second floor. He turned the lights off before tackling the stairs. They were steeper than he liked and there was no hand railing but Percy climbed up them and found himself in an enormous bedroom the length of the whole house. He flicked on the lights real quick to make sure that no one was hiding out upstairs. Percy was alone. Still somewhat blind from the brief flash of bright light, Percy shuffled toward the large bed he'd seen. It looked like a king sized bed, the biggest bed that Percy would ever sleep in.

Percy crawled into the bed without hesitation. He settled back on the mattress; it was the exact softness that he liked. He put one pillow between his knees and another one pressed against his back. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

CRA-ACK!

Percy sat bolt upright in bed. He reached for Riptide, uncapped the sword, before he even tried to place what the sound was. Something broke, obviously, but what was it? It sounded...somehow familiar. Percy jumped out of bed and winced at how loud his feet sounded even with the carpet beneath them. Moving quieter, Percy made his way to the stairs. He eased down the steep steps and into the living room below.

There was something on the table.

Even Percy's enhanced night vision was next to useless in this kind of complete darkness. The moon wasn't full enough to do more than vaguely outline the shape of the thing on the table. Percy saw shoulder blades and spine as the creature stretched. It's growl turned into a snarl at the end. He heard the distinct sound of teeth clacking together.

What was that? A mountain lion? They had those in Colorado right? How did it get in? Where was the light switch? If he could turn the lights on them maybe that would scare it….and buy Percy precious seconds before it attacked. For a mind numbing moment he forgot where the light switches were in this house. By the stairs! He'd flipped the lights off as he was going up to bed. Percy quietly moved toward the switches. He flipped them all on at the same time.

Light flooded the kitchen and living room. The creature on the table snarled in pain.

Percy stood frozen in shock. He was pretty sure that he was staring at a human for all that it - he - didn't sound like one.

The man sat on the kitchen table between two halves of the cracked bone bowl. He was covered in ash and slick, wet blood. Percy's first impression of a big cat wasn't entirely incorrect in that the man was muscular and lean like a big cat. Beneath the ash and blood, his skin looked like that shade of golden tan that white people's skin took on when they spent long days in the sun. His hair was too wet and bloody to determine a color. But his eyes.

Percy was caught on those eyes.

They were the deep blue of glacial waters. There was not an ounce of humanity in them, not a spark of recognition. Those were the wild animal eyes of someone who had long since gone feral.

Percy's voice was caught in his throat. He couldn't push words out of mouth. And he needed to speak. Percy needed to make that connection before something bad happened.

Even after the man's eyes adjusted to the light, his pupils stayed constructed into pinpricks. His eyes darted around the room and then landed on Percy. He stared at Percy and slowly his lips drew back in a silent snarl. The message was clear enough: stay away.

Percy's mouth was dry. His heart hammered in his chest. He had to talk. He had to say something. Why oh why was this happening now? Percy's mouth moved but no sound came out.

The man's gaze sharpened. He shifted.

Percy flinched.

They both froze.

This is stupid, Percy thought. He let the saliva pool in his mouth, swallowed, then forced the word out, "Luke?"

The expression on the man's face flickered with some recognition before settling on confusion. It seemed that he was trying to pull a memory from somewhere deep, deep down. Slowly, recognition crept into his features. Real recognition. He moistened his lips, swallowed, then said, "Percy?"

Percy nodded. "Hi." Luke looked thirsty. He should get Luke some water but he was still afraid to move. Because Luke Castellan was sitting naked on the kitchen table and the noises he'd made didn't sound human. Or demigod. And he and Luke hadn't exactly parted on the best of terms. In fact, they'd spent the better part of five years as enemies and Luke was dead and what was going on? Percy knew that blood magic was powerful but this… Was this what Hermes had wanted all along? "I'm going to get you a glass of water."

Luke stared uncomprehendingly for a moment before slowly nodding.

Percy took three long steps toward Luke and the kitchen. He didn't take his eyes off the man, watching for attack. Then he slid with his back to the cupboards, still keeping Luke in his sights as he moved past a small counter and the fridge. There were more cupboards mounted to the walls and Percy went to them, still keeping an eye on Luke. He guessed which one held the glasses and was pleased to have guessed right. He took two glasses out and filled them with tap water. It was probably drinkable...he wasn't going to risk turning his back to Luke to check the fridge.

Percy brought the glasses over to the island counter that separated the kitchen from the living room. On the other side of the island was the table and Luke. He set a glass on the edge of the island so that Luke wouldn't have to reach too far to get it. Then he put his glass to his lips and drank, still watching Luke.

Luke moved like he didn't know how his limbs worked. He trembled when he reached for the glass. His fingertips bumped it before he managed to curl his fingers around it. Luke drew the glass to him, focusing hard on holding it. There was a very real chance that he would drop it. As he drank, some of the water sloshed down his chest. It left clean streaks against his skin. Luke didn't stop drinking until the water was completely gone. Then he set the glass down.

Percy knew that it was rude to stare but he couldn't help it. He was pretty sure that Hermes had tricked him into bringing Luke back to life. Why hadn't he just told Percy that this was what he wanted Percy to do? A tiny bit of shame burned in Percy as he wondered if he would have agreed so easily had Hermes given him more details. "Um...do you want to take a shower or something? You're kind of…" Percy made a hand gesture.

Luke looked down at himself as though realizing for the first time that he had a body. He blinked. "Is...is there a lake or river around here?" he asked. His voice sounded better now that he was hydrated.

Percy threw out his senses, searching for bodies of water nearby. There were none close enough to walk to. And it was snowing. He shook his head. "There's a bathroom with a bath, though."

Luke didn't look happy but he gave a resigned sigh. He moved slowly as he shifted to get off of the table. As strong as those muscles said he was, Luke didn't look like he would even be able to stand on his own. Percy's suspicion was right when Luke's legs immediately gave out.

Percy hurried over to him, barely pausing before drawing Luke's arm over his shoulder and drawing him up. He helped Luke to his feet, took most of his weight.

Luke put one hand on the island to steady himself. He took one shaky step after another. It took a long time to get the ten feet to the bathroom but they did get there in the end. This close, all Percy could smell was the ash and blood that clung to Luke's skin. Maybe a good shower would bring Luke's normal scent back. Percy could only hope.

The bathroom was beyond a door just past the fridge. It wasn't a big bathroom; a shower/bath, a sink with a cupboard underneath, and a toilet. But like everything else in this house, it was clean and looked modern. Percy flipped on the light switch and the overhead light filled the room with a yellow tinted glow.

Percy helped Luke into the bath and turned the water on. The water immediately began to wash away the blood and ash on Luke's feet, making a swirling gray and red mess down the drain. Percy hoped that it wouldn't clog up the pipes. He wasn't sure he could fix that. Percy ran his wrist under the water, testing the temperature, then turned the shower head on.

Luke flinched when the water rained down on him. He squeezed his eyes shut and held himself. The filth ran in rivers from his skin and hair. His hair was the sandy blond it had been before he held the sky; before it turned white. Luke shivered beneath the water. His face was screwed up in displeasure.

Percy frowned. Was the water too cold? He felt it again but no, it was warm to the touch. Actually, it was borderline hot. He could see steam rising. Maybe Luke was just…getting used to being alive again? Would it be rude to ask? Percy made sure that the water stayed in the tub despite the shower curtain being open. He knelt on the rug beside the tub. "Hey, Luke?"

No response.

Percy decided to press on anyway. "Are you okay?"

It was like Luke hadn't heard him. Aside from that full body tremble, he didn't move. His eyes and mouth were tightly closed. Some of the more stubborn clumps of ash and blood still clung to Luke's skin.

Percy focused the water so that it worked a little harder at getting Luke clean. There were bottles of shampoo and conditioner and body wash but Percy wasn't about to wash the man himself and Luke didn't seem to be capable at the moment. This would have to do. Once Luke was spotless, Percy turned the water off. He hesitated before reaching out and pressing his fingertips to Luke's bicep and willing him dry.

The water ran off of Luke and down the drain. Luke blinked, looking a little surprised. Hi shivering continued.

"Come on. Get up unless you want to spend the whole night in here." Percy was strong but he wouldn't be able to lift Luke without Luke's help.

Luke rose to his feet. He was unsteady, swaying slightly.

Percy wrapped a towel around Luke's waist. That would do until he found something for Luke to wear. Suddenly he wished that he'd taken more time to explore the house. He slid an arm around Luke's waist and as he did so, Percy realized that he was three or four inches taller than Luke.

They got to the kitchen before Luke just slumped to the floor beside the island counter.

Percy was so surprised that he didn't think to hold Luke up. He stared for a moment, confused, and was about to ask what was wrong. Then he heard the rolling growl of Luke's stomach. He was hungry. Okay, well, that seemed to make sense. He'd been thirsty too. "Um, just sit there and I'll make you something."

Luke slid down and curled up on his side. He closed his eyes.

"Okay," Percy muttered. Something simple would be best. Probably something with protein and calcium. Percy grabbed a carton of eggs, a bag of shredded cheese, and a stick of butter from the fridge. He returned to the fridge and looked for vegetables. There were green bell peppers in the vegetable drawer. Percy took one. He glanced at Luke, noted that he hadn't moved at all, and opened the cupboard beside the fridge. It seemed like food would go on one side of the kitchen and dishes on the other.

Percy was right. There was an entire spice rack in the cupboard, along with what looked like jars full of baking ingredients. Percy went through the spices. He picked out salt, pepper, sage, basil, thyme, and chives. He wished that there were onions here… Sally Jackson kept them in a bowl beneath the sink but when Percy looked, there were no onions. Well, Luke could live without onions.

Percy cut a slab of butter to put in the frying pan and set the pan on a stove burner to warm. None of the herbs were fresh like Percy wanted but dried would be alright. He mixed them in a small bowl, then set that aside and took out three eggs to mix into a bigger bowl. Percy cracked the eggs on the side of the bowl and whisked them together. He mixed in the herbs.

Another glance at Luke. No change. His ribcage rose and fell as he breathed.

Percy lifted the pan off the heat and moved the melted butter around. When it coated the entire bottom of the pan, Percy set it back down and poured the egg mixture into it. He let it cook and quickly chopped up the bell pepper. The whole pepper wouldn't be used right now because Percy wasn't making enough eggs for the whole thing, but he would still add a little for flavor. Even though Luke was as white as could be. It only took a few minutes for the eggs to cook, fluffy after whisking. Percy scraped them onto a small plate.

There was orange juice in the fridge so while the eggs cooled on the counter, Percy got the carton and poured Luke a glass of orange juice. That should help too...even though Percy wasn't sure what was actually wrong with Luke. Coming back to life couldn't have been easy, though. He retrieved the eggs and fork from the counter and crouched before Luke. "Foods ready," he said.

After a moment, Luke pushed himself back into a sitting position. His shoulders trembled. When he sat against the island, Luke took the plate from Percy. He looked at the fork like he didn't know what to do with it. For a second Percy thought that he was going to use his fingers. Then Luke picked up the fork and carefully stabbed a piece of egg. His first bite was tentative. Once he realized that Percy could cook, Luke shoveled it into his mouth. He finished his eggs in two minutes, then the empty plate slipped out of his fingers. Luke flinched but barely noticed, picking up the orange juice instead and gulping it down.

Percy felt like he was watching a wild animal. He was reminded of a flashback he saw once, where Luke was only fourteen and the feral look in his eyes and the way he was scrawny with starvation. This Luke didn't appear to be starving, but that didn't diminish the feral look.

Now Percy needed to decide what he was going to do with Luke. He expected Hermes to show up at any moment but so far there was no sign of him. Clothes. Luke would need clothes. "I'm gonna get you some clothes. I'll be right back."

"Thank you," Luke whispered. He sounded a little better.

Percy almost jumped out of his skin in surprise. "Um, don't thank me yet. I haven't checked out the closet." Then he hurried upstairs. This was so weird. So, so weird. He turned the light switch on and the bedroom was bathed in warm lighting.

There were two long wooden dressers on either side of the bed, and Percy went to those first. He picked out underwear, socks, and soft flannel pajamas that were blue with a snowman print on them. They looked like they would fit...maybe a size smaller than what Percy himself would wear. He brought them down to Luke, was only mildly surprised to find Luke still sitting on the floor.

Luke stared at his hands like he didn't recognize them. He ran one up his thigh in a way that suggested he wasn't sure that it was attached to him.

Percy watched him for a moment, a growing sense of dread and pity within him. He put the clothes on the couch then went to collect Luke. "C'mon. Clothes are over there. You don't want to sit on the floor all night, do you?"

Together, they got Luke to the couch. It didn't occur to Percy until Luke sat there doing absolutely nothing, that he would have to dress the man. It was too cold to leave him in just a towel. He hesitated, nervous about the prospect. But if could get Luke in the bath then he could get clothes onto him. Right? Right.

Except.

Except there was that thing he was avoiding thinking about. And Percy would have to confront it, at least in his own mind. There really wasn't a way around it. He really, really didn't want to.

Percy steeled himself and grabbed the underwear.

Luke was more helpful than he'd thought Luke would be, at least he lifted his feet and ass so that Percy could slide the fabric up into place. But that's all he did.

Percy got the pajama pants on him in the same way. His fingers brushed against that thing he wasn't thinking about and a hot chill crept up his spine. Would Luke tell him about it if he asked? Was it rude to ask? Did Percy really want to know? Next the socks, while he was still kneeling on the floor. And it would distract him from...from what he wasn't thinking about. If only for a minute more.

Finally, Percy couldn't put it off any longer. He picked up the shirt and carefully slid Luke's arms through the holes. There were buttons on this shirt and as he went down the row to button them, Percy's knuckles brushed against Luke's skin. There was no way he could ignore it now.

Five thick scars ran from Luke's right shoulder to his left hip, and down to his thigh. They looked sort of like the Jurassic Park logo in thickness and the way the edges were ragged. It was bad. It looked painful. Percy hadn't known they were there, but he'd never seen Luke with his shirt off before. This was probably the reason why.

The feral look in Luke's eyes had dimmed to mere wariness. Probably because his belly was full...or at least he was less hungry. He kept his eyes on Percy, watching every little movement. When Percy finished with the last button, Luke yawned.

"Lie down, Luke," Percy said. He was surprised when Luke listened without complaint. Percy took the blanket off the back of the couch and draped it over Luke. He made sure that Luke was tucked in warmly and then he took a step toward the stairs. "I'll be upstairs."

Luke yawned again.

Percy went upstairs and to bed. He got beneath the covers and laid in the dark with his eyes open. Now that he bought Luke back, Hermes was bound to come for them at any time. What repercussions would his actions bring? Did he just bring the wrath of the gods down on his head? Would Hermes protect him? What if Luke picked up exactly where he left off?

No. There was no way that Luke could pick up where he left off. Kronos was scattered to the winds...and Luke didn't seem strong enough.

Percy lay in bed until the room began to lighten with the arrival of dawn. He didn't really sleep, only dozed. His dreams were filled with monsters chasing him and Luke's slick wet skin against his. Percy stared at the wooden beams in the sloped ceiling, wondering if Luke was still on the couch and if he was awake yet. Getting out of bed would make the floor creak and Percy didn't want to risk Luke knowing that he'd checked up on him. Then again it would be better than Luke coming up the stairs.

Percy stayed in bed for a while longer, thinking, nursing a headache. The air was cold and his head felt swollen. Last night he didn't really notice it but this morning he felt the cold on his skin like it was ice on a river. His spot beneath the covers was warm enough that leaving wasn't appealing. Percy looked to the open closet on the far side of the room. Maybe there was warmer stuff over there. There were too many reasons to get out of bed and so with great reluctance, Percy pushed back the covers and put his feet down on the carpeted floors. The floor immediately creaked beneath his feet, the sound loud in the silence of the house.

Why was it so silent? Percy glanced out the window that lay above the headboard. It took him a moment before he realized that there was no wind. Ah, that was it. The snow had stopped.

He walked to the closet, wincing with every loud footfall he made. Gods, why did Hermes house make this kind of racket? Wasn't he supposed to be a subtle thief? Beside the closet with it's back to the half wall by the stairs, was a small loveseat that did not match the couch downstairs but that looked very comfortable and well-worn. The closet held sweaters, jackets, coats, t-shirts, dress-shirts, and even a silky black dress. Percy pulled on a sweater at random. It fit. He chose a jacket. That also fit him perfectly. Now he needed socks and maybe a hat to keep his ears warm. The dresser would be best for that. He found thick black socks in the dresser and a blue beanie. Percy put both of them on. He noted that there were scarves and mittens as well. Good.

Now that he was dressed, Percy couldn't put off going downstairs any longer. He took a deep breath then started down. Before he even reached the bottom of the stairs, Percy saw that Luke was still on the couch.

Luke was curled on his side exactly how Percy had left him. He could have been asleep except that he was slowly tapping his fingers against the couch cushion in front of his face. Pinky, ring, middle, index, thumb. Repeat. His blue eyes were wide, staring at his own hand as he moved his fingers in a silent count. One, two, three, four, five.

"Hey, Luke," Percy said softly as he took the final few steps. He worried about startling Luke. What if he was still confused and feral?

Luke lifted his head. The pattern of the fabric was engraved on half his face like a mysterious map. His nostrils flared, taking in Percy's scent. Then he laid his head back down on the couch. "Hi, Percy." Luke's voice was soft, quiet.

Percy shuffled his feet. He glanced at the table, where the celestial bronze knife lay beside the cracked mammoth skull bowl. There was no mess, no sign that Percy had mixed together strange ingredients or that Luke had been covered in ash and blood. Why was Luke covered in ash and blood last night? Percy wondered what to do with the bowl and the knife. He didn't have a sheath on him for the knife. Maybe he should hide it somewhere Luke probably wouldn't find it. Somewhere upstairs. That mammoth skull bowl, though, what to do about that? Maybe he should put it in the corner of the living room, or in the mudroom; somewhere out of the way. He decided on the corner of the living room. "Has anyone been by today?" Percy asked Luke.

Luke said, "uh-uh." He drew the blanket up to his chin. His eyes followed Percy's every movement.

Percy frowned. Surely now that Luke was back and it was the light of day, Hermes would be coming to collect them? He glanced at Luke as he walked to the kitchen and peered out the window. The yard was covered in snow. Birds flitted about outside, searching for something to eat and trying to stay warm in the cold. Percy considered telling Luke that his dad was the one who arranged this, but he decided against it. The last time that Percy had brought up Hermes to Luke, it had started a fight.

Percy retreated to the kitchen to make breakfast. He could only barely see the couch from here but the glimpses he got were enough to verify that Luke was still on it. For breakfast he would make something simple and filling; bacon, toast, and sunny side up eggs. Just a little something to tide them over until Hermes came to get them. Percy was confident that Hermes visited this house frequently because all of the food was still good. He hadn't found a single expired thing yet. Percy cracked two eggs into a large frying pan and added several slices of bacon. He put toast in the dual toaster and adjusted it to how he liked it done.

When he thought of how hungry Luke had been last night, Percy took some grapes from the fridge. He washed them and portioned out two handfuls. Today was a coffee day so Percy started the coffee pot. He glanced at the eggs. Time to get those on a plate. Percy used a spatula to transfer their eggs to a plate, careful not to break the yolk. He let the bacon cook a little longer. The toaster made him jump when it was done. Percy spread butter and then grape jelly onto the crisp toast.

Percy watched the bacon, the coffee pot, and Luke. The bacon was done cooking first and Percy set it on their plates, doling it out in even amounts. While Percy took their plates to the table - it was strange how clean it was considering what had happened on it - the coffee finished brewing.

Luke was now sitting up but he made no move to cross to the table. His expression was intense as he stared at the food.

Percy found forks for the eggs and mugs for the coffee. He hesitated when it came to preparing Luke's coffee for him. How did he like it? A glance at Luke did not encourage Percy to ask, and instead he just prepared it with cream and sugar the way he liked it. He brought everything to the table. "I made breakfast," Percy said as he set the mugs down.

Luke hesitated. He slowly slid his feet to the floor. It was rare for Percy to ever have seen apprehension on Luke's face but now the man wore it clearly. It wasn't until Luke slid off the couch onto the floor and began crawling that Percy realized he didn't have the strength to walk even the short distance to the table.

Percy averted his eyes as pity swept through him in a hot wave. His skin prickled with embarrassment as he stared down at his plate so that he could avoid looking directly at Luke. Should he offer to help?

By now it felt too late and Luke had left the carpeted living room for the cool hardwood of the kitchen. Luke hauled himself into a chair. He barely looked at Percy, far more interested in eating. The message was clear: Luke would eat even if he had to crawl across the floor to get it.

Once Luke began eating, it was quickly made clear that he was watching Percy. Percy's coffee cup was on the right side, close to Luke, and when Percy reached for it, Luke let out a low growl under his breath.

The growl surprised Percy but didn't stop him from getting his own damn mug. He stared at Luke as he drank it, watched Luke's hackles go down almost immediately. Percy set the mug down on the left side of his plate, farther away from Luke. Luke did not growl at him again for the rest of the meal and by the end of it, Percy had to deduce that Luke had growled at all because he thought Percy was going to take back the food.

After breakfast, Luke returned to the couch, crawling on his hands and knees to get there. He pulled himself up and curled tight beneath the blanket.

Percy gathered the dishes and took them to the sink. He filled one side with warm, soapy water, and began to scrub. It wasn't that he liked doing dishes but Percy wanted to think and they needed to be done anyway.

Questions swam in his mind but he had very few answers. Like the typical god, Hermes had sent Percy here with the bare bones information. Percy knew that they were in Colorado. He knew that by following the list of instructions Hermes left, he'd managed to bring Luke back from the dead. Hermes said that this wasn't a quest and so far Percy didn't have to kill any monsters and there wasn't a time limit; whether it counted as a fetch quest or not was debatable and if not then Hermes was skirting that line pretty closely. Percy knew that Luke was alive and that he wasn't behaving like the confident camp counselor that Percy remembered. Suddenly he wished for Nico, to be able to call the boy to ask if Hazel was like this when he brought her back. Somehow, Percy didn't think so.

Percy finished washing the dishes. He found a dish towel hanging from the stove and used it to dry them. When he was done, Percy wandered back into the living room to look at Luke.

Luke was a lump beneath the blanket, not an inch of him peeking out from beneath it. Maybe he was cold. It was chilly in the house.

Percy wondered if there was a heater but after another tour of the upstairs and the ground floors, he couldn't find anything that either looked like a heater or a control panel for a heater. It would be nice to have heat. Hermes wouldn't have an oversight like that, would he? Even gods liked to be comfortable with climate control. As he stood in the living room again, he noticed something on the floor. It was a grated vent.

There was one place that Percy hadn't looked, he realized. Basements were creepy and Percy wasn't a fan of them but he suspected he couldn't get out of it. Percy held Riptide in one hand and went into the mud room. He descended the concrete stairs and opened the plain wooden door.

Darkness. Except, no, there were small windows. Two against the front wall, one against the far side, and two more against the back wall.

Percy scented the air but it just smelled like stone and cold. He poked his head in, noticed the light switches, and flicked them on. Lights flickered on overhead and showed Percy a single room.

There was a clothes line strung across the ceiling but no clothes. A washer and dryer. A bed on a wooden platform that looked like it had never been slept in. He saw two huge water tanks and a row of…giant batteries? In the far corner was a wood stove and beside it was a large pile of wood. "Why couldn't you just have an electric heater, Hermes? You've got electric lights and running water," Percy muttered as he stepped down into the basement. The temperature was significantly colder. The ground was made of squares of gray stone pavers. The walls didn't have the half log texture from above but looked like plain drywall.

Percy put some wood into the wood stove and found a book of matches. He struck one and dropped it into the stove, then closed the door. They would have to watch the stove to make sure the fire didn't go out. Where was Hermes?

He stood and went back upstairs, closing the door behind him. Percy stood in the mud room, debating what he wanted to do. Finally, his desire to have a look around prompted him to pull on a pair of snow boots, pick out a heavy coat, and head outside.

The air was crisp and clean. Snow blanketed most scents but Percy could pick out the smell of pine. There didn't seem to be any monsters around. Percy walked around the house, noted a tiny porch at the back of the house. The porch held a couples swing and a small table. Percy kept walking. So far all he could see was forest in every direction. On the far side of the house was a small greenhouse, attached to one wall and only about four feet wide. A sliding door led inside, so Percy opened it and stepped in. The greenhouse was warmer than being outside but it was empty. Nothing was growing. Another sliding door led to the front of the house, so Percy exited that way and found himself beside the large front porch.

Percy walked to the mud room and took his boots off. He went in through the door to the kitchen and was pleased to find that it was warmer. Not much, but enough. Percy made his way to the couch where Luke hadn't moved. "There's a wood stove in the basement so it should be getting warmer in here."

Luke didn't reply. The blanket rose and fell with his breath so at least he wasn't dead. Again.

Percy didn't want to keep standing awkwardly by the couch but he also didn't want to sit on the la-z-boy recliner a few feet away. He shifted his weight. It would be nice to get some answers before Hermes arrived to take them home. Or wherever Luke was going to live now. "Luke...do...do you know what happened?"

For a few moments more, there was silence. Then Luke's face appeared from beneath the blanket and he sat up. He drew his legs up to his chest and kept his arms tucked in close, still hiding beneath the blanket. "No."

"What do you last remember?"

Luke blanched. He shrunk into himself even more. His face paled down to the color of the mammoth bone skull.

Percy was stunned by the reaction. He said, "Okay. Well, do you remember dying?"

Luke made an impatient sound. "I know I'm dead." He glanced around, eyes fearful. "But this is new."

Percy felt the need to sit down. "What do you mean? What happened?"

Luke fixed his gaze on Percy and cocked his head. His eyes narrowed. "I got to the dock and the lake was red like blood and this time, when I reached for your hand, I caught it. Then I was…" Luke pointed to the table. "Over there. And now I'm here." Normally, speaking of something was a weight off of the speaker's shoulders but Luke's distress visibly grew.

Percy's legs decided that they didn't want to hold him anymore. He collapsed somewhat gracefully onto his butt. "Where did you go after you died?"

"The fields of punishment," Luke said as though it should have been obvious. "The judges didn't have a choice. Hades wouldn't let me into Elysium and I think he threatened to throw the judges into the fields of punishment if they put me in the fields of Asphodel." His expression showed annoyance and some grief but no surprise.

Percy knew that the gods didn't like Luke, that they had hated him from the moment he was born, but he didn't think that they would actually deny him a decent afterlife too. He crossed his legs and played with the hem of his jacket, wondering what the gods would do with him when he died. Denying Apollo assistance crossed his mind, as did all of the times that he'd called the gods out on their shit. "Oh," Percy said awkwardly. "What was it like?"

Luke hesitated, indecision written across his features, until finally his resolve seemed to harden. "I was nine again, in my childhood bed, and I woke up to two girls screaming. I grabbed a plastic sword and ran out of my bedroom and was in Hal's house. I ran downstairs and there were Thalia and Annabeth surrounded by hellhounds, screaming for me to help them. The hellhounds waited until I got there to attack, and they ate the girls. I couldn't get through the throng. My plastic sword broke. Thalia and Annabeth kept screaming for help, even when there was nothing left of them. Then the hellhounds turned on me and chased me all the way to Camp Half-Blood. I ran out onto the dock and looked over into the water and saw you looking back up at me. So I dropped to my stomach and reached for you but before I could grab your hand, the hellhounds caught up to me and ate me. Then I'd wake up again and start the whole thing over."

When he was through recounting his story, Luke looked around and shuddered. He pulled the blanket tighter around him. His pupils shrunk to tiny black dots in a sea of blue.

Luke's retelling of what he'd gone through for the past two years and four months made Percy absolutely sick to his stomach. Percy had seen some of the punishments that the fields of punishment had to offer and while none were pretty, they also didn't involve so much psychological terror. Just imagining it made Percy's system flood with adrenaline that left him shaking. Studying Luke closely, Percy decided that his old friend was handling this much better than Percy himself would have. "Well," Percy said once he was sure he could speak without stuttering. "I've got some good news for you."

Luke's blue gaze snapped back to Percy. He didn't smile, he didn't relax any, there was still an unbelievable tension in his body and a wariness in his gaze.

"You're alive, Luke."

Luke's reaction to the news was fairly anticlimactic. He stared very hard at Percy. Then he asked, "Why?" in a hard, unfriendly tone.

Heat rose to Percy's face. He couldn't meet Luke's gaze any longer and dropped his to the carpet. "I don't know. Your dad sent me here," Percy gestured to the house. "And told me that I had to follow the list of instructions he left for me. And to be very careful because it was important and I couldn't make any mistakes. So I did, and then I went to bed, and your...resurrection woke me up."

They stared at each other in tense silence.

"What the fuck," Luke said, summing it all up very eloquently. Abruptly he slid off the couch and onto the floor in front of Percy, dragging the blanket down with him. He hesitated only a moment before touching Percy's arm.

Percy didn't try to stop Luke. He knew what it was like to get out of hell and want to touch someone who hadn't been there with you. Softly, as though talking to a wounded animal, Percy said, "I thought your dad would be here to pick us up but he's a no show so far."

Despite himself, Luke let out a snort of amusement. "That tracks. Now I know I'm alive." He ran his fingers along the scars decorating Percy's arm, touching lightly and almost tickling. Luke inched closer and closer, until their knees bumped together. His attention was laser focused on touching Percy's arm, on the contact between them, but he seemed distant from Percy himself. Carefully, as though Percy was the one who would bite, Luke picked up Percy's hand and examined it. He touched the tiny scars there, wounds too small to waste nectar on. Luke fit his palm against Percy's palm and a deep frown furrowed his brow. His blue eyes flitted to Percy's face. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," Percy answered. Luke's examination of him made Percy feel flayed and spread bare as though just by looking at his hands, Luke could know everything about him.

"You've grown," Luke murmured.

Percy slotted his fingers between Luke's, getting more comfortable. "I'm taller than you," Percy said, unable to keep the pride out of his voice. He sat up a little straighter.

Luke noticed and the corner of his mouth twitched like he wanted to smile. His other hand went up to Percy's hair, two fingers stroking along Percy's temple where his gray streak used to be. "You lost your gray streak."

"So did you," Percy said. He gently tweaked the spot in Luke's curls that used to be white.

Luke looked up as though he'd be able to see the absent white streak. His cheeks colored with a blush that spread out like watercolor on paper. He kept his gaze firmly on the top of Percy's head, avoiding his eyes. Luke ran his hand along Percy's hair, around his ear, and down to his neck. His fingers lingered over Percy's pulse for a moment. It seemed to satisfy him to find it.

Percy stayed completely still, unsure of what to do. Holding Luke's hand, having Luke run his fingers through Percy's hair, it felt nice and Percy didn't want to break the contact. It had been so long since someone besides Annabeth touched him...and her touches usually hurt. Annabeth liked to pinch, poke, prod, and squeeze whenever she touched him.

Still avoiding Percy's eyes, Luke's gaze shifted to their hands. He looked confused. Then, slowly, he asked, "You aren't invincible anymore, are you?"

Percy shook his head. "No," he said aloud in case Luke missed the gesture. He gave Luke an abridged version of events, catching him up as quickly as possible on what had caused Percy to lose his invincibility. At the end of it, he impulsively moved their joined hands around to the small of his back, pressed Luke's fingers into the quarter-sized spot that was his Achilles Heel. Impulsively Percy slid their hands up the back of his sweater, shivered at Luke's cold fingers against his skin. "I know where yours was. This is where mine was."

Reaching around to touch the spot brought Luke closer to Percy, their faces were only inches apart. This close, Percy could see that Luke had a light splattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, and that Luke's blue irises were shot through with violet, giving them their unusual vibrancy.

Percy honestly couldn't say which of them made the first move, but their lips pressed together in a kiss. His eyelids slid closed as they kissed and Percy let himself get lost in it. There was no tongue or teeth, just simple kissing. Percy cupped Luke's face with both hands.

Luke's other hand joined the one at the small of Percy's back. He made a gesture like he wanted to pull Percy onto his lap.

Percy didn't think as he uncrossed his legs and scooted into Luke's lap. He recrossed his ankles behind Luke's back. He had to duck his head to kiss Luke properly and realized with a thrill that he's never sat in someone's lap and kissed them before.

Luke leaned back against the couch. He ran his hands up and down Percy's back, over muscle and vertebrae. His palms were calloused from so many years of fighting with a sword.

The way Luke kissed Percy was as though they'd done it a hundred times before, as though this was a familiar rhythm and not something brand new. Percy could admit that it felt right to be pressed close to Luke and kissing him. It was like his blood was replaced with gooey, sugary melted caramel. Percy didn't question his body's response to kissing Luke, how his cock filled out and strained against the confines of his pants.

Luke's physical arousal surprised Percy; but only for a moment and only because Percy had never been with another man. It was surprising and exciting to feel Luke's cock hard against his ass. He pulled back, searched Luke's face to gauge how far Luke wanted to go.

Luke's eyes opened. He leaned forward for another kiss. A few more minutes of kissing passed before Luke leaned back. This time it was he who searched Percy's face. "Do you -?"

"I want to - "

They both broke off.

"Please," Luke said.

"We need - " Percy started.

Luke kissed him, heated and forceful. "Check the bathroom."

Percy hesitated, kissing Luke hard and pouring all of his longing into the kiss.

Luke pushed Percy away by his hips. "Go. I'll be right here." He paused, doubt appearing on his face. "Unless -"

He didn't get to finish that thought because Percy was up in a heartbeat, running for the bathroom. Percy didn't want to hear the rest of it. He skidded into the door, socks slipping on the hardwood, and scrambled into the bathroom. The first place he checked was the medicine cabinet but there was no lube. The next place was under the sink and Percy had to pause and stare for a moment at the absolutely huge bottle of lube. It was gallon-sized, with a hand pump. The label read water-based anal lubricant. Percy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. But he picked up the massive thing and trotted with it into the living room.

Luke actually laughed when he saw it. "Oh my gods."

Percy eyed the bulge Luke's cock made in his pajama bottoms. "Please tell me that the amount of lube I found is not proportional to how big you are."

Luke's shoulders shook with silent laughter. His face was red with it. When he caught his breath he said, "Not at all. I take it you aren't a size queen?"

Percy set the gallon of lube down and straddled Luke again. He kissed Luke's forehead and cheeks, peppering kisses all over. "I don't know. I've never had anal."

Luke sobered up. He said, "really?" As though the revelation was the most confusing thing that Percy had unloaded on him so far. Confused, Percy noted, but not put off by it. "Huh."

To distract himself, Percy began unbuttoning the front of Luke's shirt. One button at a time, knuckles dragging along the bits of chest revealed. Percy didn't ask about the scars.

Luke pulled Percy's sweater over his head and ran his hands over Percy's chest. He murmured "gods look at you" like Percy was a work of art. He pinched Percy's nipples until they stiffened.

Twin bolts of pleasure traveled through Percy straight to his dick. He mimicked the action on Luke and drew a moan from the man. Percy pushed the shirt off of Luke and ran his hands over the biceps he'd been admiring since he was twelve. He skimmed his fingertips across Luke's scarred torso, and hooked his fingers in the waistband of the pajama pants.

Luke lifted his hips to help Percy pull his pajama pants down. His cock was pretty when it was hard, pressed against his belly and flushed red. Luke reached for the lube, pumped a very generous amount onto one hand. "Can you bottom?"

Percy nodded. His heart pounded. He never thought that he would get the chance to do this. "What do I do?"

"Take your pants off and come here," Luke said. He had the faintest smile on his lips. His eyes never left Percy as Percy did as he asked. Once Percy was naked and in the proper position, Luke pushed one finger against his rim. "Just breathe."

Percy nodded again. He focused on breathing, relaxing. The lube was chilled and Luke's finger touching his rim was strange. But not entirely unpleasant. As Luke rubbed and teased, Percy was beginning to realize that he had quite a lot of nerves there and they liked what was happening.

Luke pushed a finger into him. He didn't rush the action but it felt very sudden to Percy.

Percy gasped. Immediately he clenched down, which only made the burning pleasure more intense and made him feel fuller. He made himself breathe, focused on relaxing. It wasn't so bad. Weird, yes, but not bad.

After a few moments, Luke worked his finger in and out of Percy. He moved slow, making sure to never leave Percy's body. When he did finally pull his finger out completely, it was only to get more lube. Luke's wrist was shiny with the excess that had dripped down. This time, he eased two fingers into Percy.

The burn made Percy whimper. It was doubly intense. Glancing down at Luke's cock between them, he had no idea how he was going to fit that inside of him. But Sally Jackson did not raise a quitter. Percy's legs shook. His breath came faster. What he needed was a distraction. "W-what do I feel like? Inside, I mean."

Luke tilted his head slightly, as though the question surprised him. He considered, both fingers moving slowly inside of Percy. They brushed against something that made Percy cry out in unexpected pleasure. Luke rubbed his fingers against the spot again. "Soft," he finally answered. "So soft inside and tight. I can't wait to have you around my cock."

Percy moaned and shivered. What Luke was doing with his fingers felt so good that he couldn't help but roll his hips, rocking back onto Luke's hand. He decided that he liked having Luke talk dirty to him.

Luke leaned forward enough to press his lips to Percy's throat. "And you're hot, so hot and alive. It feels good." Luke pulled his fingers out.

Percy whined with the loss. When he saw that Luke was reapplying the lube, he had to squeeze the base of his cock to keep from coming. This time he bore down on Luke's fingers, and was somehow surprised that he was now trying to fit three of them inside of Percy. His eyes slid shut as he was stretched more than ever before.

"We should have got a towel," Luke observed. He had three fingers inside of Percy, lube dripping from them as he worked them in and out. Three was a stretch and Luke was still bigger than that. "You're so wet."

Percy didn't know if he could take more in one go. He wanted to try, even though the idea was a little daunting. Sex with girls was easier, he thought, then wondered if Percy would have to prep Luke this much. Frankly, Percy wasn't sure that Luke had the energy to be much more involved than he was. He wouldn't be fucking Percy like a wild animal; not today anyway. The idea of fucking Luke made a huge blob of precum form at the slit in his cock.

Luke noticed, ran his free hand over it and down the shaft of Percy's cock. His grip was firm and confident. At the same time, he pushed his fingers in as far as they would go.

Percy trembled and moaned as pleasure wove through him. He didn't think he could take the fingering much longer and wanted to get on with the main event. "I think I'm ready." He tried to lift up off of Luke's fingers.

But Luke's hand moved with him, kept his three fingers buried deep in Percy. "Are you?" Luke asked, voice almost a purr. This was closer to the old Luke than Percy had seen yet. He worked his fingers in and out, creating a burning stretch at Percy's rim.

It felt good. Percy still tried to wiggle away. He was up on his knees now, towering over Luke, cock rubbing against Luke's sternum. "Luke, I'm ready. Please stop. I'm going to cum." Percy didn't recognize his own voice.

Luke finally pulled his fingers free. He held Percy's hips and guided him closer. One hand went to his cock and the other stayed on Percy's hip, steadying him.

When Luke penetrated him for the first time, Percy's breath caught. He held himself rigid with surprise.

Luke searched Percy's face. "We can stop."

Percy shook his head. He managed an offended look as though the mere suggestion was insulting. He sank down, slowly, feeling Luke's cock stretch him. It was stupid in hindsight, but he never realized how full being full of cock would make him feel. Percy glanced down, half expecting to see a visible bulge in his abdomen. There was no bulge.

"If I could offer you some advice?" Luke said.

Percy nodded consent.

"It's actually less overwhelming when you're moving and the faster you go, the better it feels."

"Better for who?" Percy asked. He felt like he didn't have enough room in his lungs for air. The thing was, Luke wasn't even really that big. A solid six inches, yeah, but that was fairly standard. Maybe a little on the long side. But he wasn't pornstar massive like the gallon of lube implied.

"Both of us," Luke said honestly. He rubbed his thumbs over Percy's hips in a soothing manner.

Percy would take Luke's word for it. He lifted up, sucked in a huge breath, and eased back down. It took a few times doing this to get in the rhythm of it. This wasn't the usual position he had sex in and he found that he was working muscles in new ways. But soon he realized that Luke was right; moving made Luke's cock feel less intrusive and it did feel better as he found his groove. Once he realized this, Percy smiled at Luke. Then he kissed him.

Luke barely had a chance to smile back before Percy was kissing him. They kissed with every rise and fall Percy made as he rode Luke's cock. Luke didn't participate much in the way of thrusting, only occasionally rolled his hips in a short thrust. But he made up for it by running his hands over every single inch of Percy that he could reach. He especially seemed to like Percy's nipples, pinching and rubbing them until they were aching and red.

Percy liked the attention to his nipples. It felt so good to be touched there. He bounced on Luke's cock, enjoying the friction and the way pleasure shot up his spine like a rocket whenever he got the angle right. The head of his cock rubbed against Luke's stomach.

It occurred to him that it was odd Luke growled at him earlier but was willing to have sex. Then again, so far Percy was fulfilling all of Luke's basic needs. Maybe this was just another one. That thought made him sad...until he decided that even if this was just a one time thing with Luke, he would be happy with what he could get.

"Percy," Luke said after a few minutes of this. "I'm going to cum. So if you don't want me to do it inside of you…"

Percy's whole body tingled at the idea. He felt on top of the world; and in a way he was. "It's fine. I don't mind."

Luke moaned, a soft and broken sound. He shivered and tensed.

Percy felt Luke's cock twitch inside of him and then the heat of his cum. Warmth rushed to Percy's face. He wrapped a hand around his cock and striped his cock. He rocked, small movements on Luke's cock while it was still hard. His pleasure built and crested and he came onto his hand.

Luke watched him, pupils blown wide and tongue coming out to lick his lips. He moaned low in his throat as Percy milked every last drop from him.

Percy's legs trembled. He wiped his hand on his discarded shirt.

After they caught their breath and the sweat had cooled on Percy's skin, Luke yawned so hugely that his eyes watered. He said, "I didn't sleep last night and today has been...surprising." Luke bit his lip. "I just want you to know that I'm going to pass out in the next few minutes."

"Oh," Percy said. He was tired too, had barely slept last night and everything with Luke had come as a surprise. "Do you want to go upstairs? There's a bed."

Luke glanced at the stairs then shook his head. "I'm fine on the floor," he said, leaning to one side like he was halfway asleep already.

Percy considered the merits of going to bed alone versus sleeping on the floor with Luke. He plucked the decorative pillows from the couch and put them side by side. Then he pulled Luke's blanket down and over them. The fire was probably going to go out soon but Percy wanted to sleep more than he cared about the heat. It was fine last night.

Luke smiled, yawned, and rubbed his eyes. Then he laid his head down on one pillow and gave Percy an expectant look.

Percy laid down beside Luke, fit into the curve of his body. No one had ever been the big spoon for him either and this felt good in a similar but subtly different way than sitting on Luke's lap had. He suspected that you didn't cuddle one night stands and that maybe this was going to be a repeat experience.

After a nap, Percy extracted himself from Luke's arms. He took a moment to kiss Luke's temple and brush his hair behind his ear. Then he got up and got dressed. Percy went downstairs to add more wood to the fire so that it warmed the house. As he stood in the basement, he considered where a thief would hide their golden drachmas. He wound up walking on each and every paver until he found one that was loose. Percy found a crowbar and pried the paver up. Below it was a small hidey hole with a leather bag in it. The bag clinked when Percy picked it up.

When he looked inside, there were glittering golden drachmas. He took three and put everything back exactly how it had been before. Upstairs, he put his boots and coat on. Then he went outside and walked around the house until he came to the little greenhouse. While the greenhouse didn't have plants in it, it did have a hose. Percy turned it on and angled the spray so that it created tiny rainbows. "Annabeth Chase," he requested of Iris and flipped his coin into the spray.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!" Annabeth screamed at him the moment she noticed Percy. "How dare you leave me!? No one is more important than me, do you understand that? You'll never have anyone better than me in your life so you'd better stop sucking up and leaving without my permission. Where are you? You'd better get your butt home right now."

Percy waited in silence until she took a breath. He took his opening when he saw it. "I'm not coming back to California," he said. "And I'm breaking up with you. I only wanted to go to New Rome because it was safe for demigods and I thought that we could have a future there together. But you're making me take classes for a profession I don't want to be in, you won't let me go home to see my family, and you're a lousy person to be around when we aren't about to die. I found someone else. It's over, Annabeth."

Annabeth's face turned steadily redder and redder. Her face twisted into an expression so awful it would have looked at home on Thalia's shield. She opened her mouth.

"Goodbye, Annabeth," Percy said and hung up before she could get another word in. He sent a silent prayer up to Iris asking her to block Annabeth's calls from now on. There was no telling if the goddess would listen, but he thought that she liked him and would do this for him. Next, Percy called Hermes.

"I hope you're calling because everything went well," Hermes said when he answered the message. His blue eyes sparkled with mischief and knowing. He didn't need an answer.

"Luke is back. He's a little…" Percy paused, considering his words carefully, "off kilter. I think it's because he was dead and in the Fields of Punishment. But we're taking care of all his needs and I think he'll be okay."

The look that Hermes gave Percy was one of knowing amusement. "I'm sure that you're making sure absolutely all of Luke's needs are met," Hermes agreed. He sobered a little. "I heard that you no longer have a place to live."

There was no use in denying it. While Percy could go back to New York and live with his family, or attend Camp Half-Blood, he wanted to branch out and see what it was like to be his own person. He needed the room to stretch his wings and decide what he wanted out of life without the influence of his family and Camp. Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "News travels fast, huh? Yeah. I'm out of a place. I'll, I dunno, get a part time job somewhere and save up for an apartment for us."

"Us?" Hermes asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked uncannily like Luke.

Percy's face warmed. "Well, I haven't asked him, but I kind of thought that Luke and I would...spend some time together. You know, until he's back on his feet. Maybe longer, if he wants."

Hermes tapped his chin with a finger. "Well, in that case, I suppose I could allow you to use my house for a while longer. Until you can afford your own residence. There's a town nearby. About ten miles away. The car keys are in the cookie jar on the counter."

Percy blinked, surprised. "Uh, thank you. But, uh, where is your car again?"

"In the garage, Percy," Hermes said. He had a smirk on his face like this was a joke. "You must have missed it."

Percy was confused but he didn't argue. He shuffled nervously and took a few deep breaths. His heart pounded fast. "Are you okay with me and Luke in a relationship? And are you going to smite me if we break up?"

"I think you have to be dating to break up," Hermes said mildly. The look he gave Percy was one of sympathy. "No, Percy, I'm not going to smite you if you and Luke go your separate ways. I'm aware that you still have things to work out and that it won't be easy but you have my blessing to romance my son. Please be gentle with his heart." Hermes' expression turned thoughtful. "I doubt your father would say the same to Luke about being gentle with your heart, so I'll have to say it for him."

Percy's face became even hotter. He didn't want Hermes giving either of them the shovel talk or getting Poseidon involved. "Um, thank you. For everything. I should be going. I've got one more call to make and then I'd better go in and make sure Luke is alright."

"Goodbye, Percy. Take care of my son and yourself," Hermes said and then ended the call.

The last person that Percy called was his mother. She was at home, sitting on her computer and typing up an essay. For a few moments, Percy just watched her. Then he cleared his throat. "Hi, mom."

Sally jumped with surprise. She twisted in her chair and when she saw Percy, a wide smile broke out across her face. "Percy! It's good to hear from you. How are you? Did Annabeth change her mind about Christmas?"

"I'm good, mom. I, uh, actually broke up with Annabeth recently and I'm seeing someone else." Percy ducked his head. "It's, um, he's a boy."

A flicker of surprise crossed Sally's face. They had never talked about Percy's sexuality. But Sally was a good parent. Her smile was warm. "Well, are you going to bring him home for Christmas?"

Percy nodded. Maybe it was presumptuous to say that Luke was going to their house for Christmas but Percy couldn't imagine leaving him alone for the two weeks it would take to get there, visit, and come back. He had a suspicion Luke wouldn't want to be left alone in his father's house for that long. "Yeah. We'll see you on the twenty-first and stay through Christmas, if that's alright?"

"That sounds lovely, Percy. I can't wait to meet him," Sally said.

A weight lifted from Percy's chest. He smiled. "Alright. Well I've got to go, just wanted to let you know that we would make it up there this year. I love you, mom."

"I love you too, Percy," Sally said.

Percy ended the call and left the greenhouse. When he reached the porch, he stopped in his tracks. About twenty feet from the house was a large garage that looked like it would hold three cars. That had definitely not been there before. Unless Hermes was hiding it from him before. That seemed likely. Percy decided to save exploring for later. He went back inside.

Luke was awake and sitting up. The worry lines on his face vanished when he saw Percy. "Hey." With one word, Luke somehow managed to convey everything that he'd been thinking.

"Hey." Percy sat on the floor beside Luke. He held out his hand, palm up, in offering.

Luke put his palm in Percy's and laced their fingers together. The last of the worry left his body.

"I went outside to call some people," Percy began. In an instant, he decided not to bring up Annabeth. They could talk about her later. "I talked to your dad. He said that we can live here until we can afford our own place. Or places. Do you want to live with me?"

Luke studied Percy's face for a long few moments. Slowly, he nodded. "I'd like that." He leaned over and brushed his lips against Percy's cheek.

Percy sighed with relief. He hadn't realized how much he wanted Luke to say yes until he did. "Okay. And I talked to my mom. I told her that I was, um, bringing someone special home for Christmas. I hope you don't mind. Will you come home with me for Christmas in a few weeks? We'll have to drive because Zues would strike me out of the sky but…I mean. You don't have to."

Again, Luke nodded. His cheeks colored with a blush and he offered Percy a surprisingly shy smile considering that they were just fucking on this a few hours ago. "So I'm someone special?" The insecurity in his voice was painfully obvious.

Percy didn't draw attention to it. He flashed his own shy smile at Luke. "You've always been special to me. This is just...a new special. A better special. That sounded really stupid." He closed his eyes, took a centering breath. "I always wondered if we could be more. But war got in the way and you died so I never got the chance to find out. Until now. I want to find out how good we can be together."

"Was war and death all that was keeping us apart? Here I thought it was because you were twelve." Luke said, a small smile on his face. He leaned against Percy and sighed. "I want to find out how good we can be together too."

Percy couldn't help but smile. His future suddenly didn't seem so dark and bleak.

Notes:

This was another one that was going to be really long and Percy was going to help Luke become a person again and Luke would find out about Annabeth and boy, Annabeth's reaction to Percy cheating on her was going to be gold (and cold), but in the end, I decided to make it a one shot and leave their future up to readers.

Also, for once I didn't make Percy work for that dick. lol

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