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Luke Castellan stood in the throne room on Olympus. It was a cavernous room, the ceiling stretching so high that giants could fit comfortably and decorated with a sky full of moving constellations. Snowflakes drifted lazily down, dissolving before they hit the ground.
Luke walked past the thrones, walking in an elongated oval around the room, observing and making mental notes. Each throne was unique and it was easy to see which throne belonged to which god, but the real tell was the weapons of power left carelessly by their owner's thrones. There wasn't even any security. The gods were too cocky.
Luke exhaled, his warm breath making a cloud in the cold air. There was something shiny on one of the thrones. Not like the diamonds and gold on other thrones, but something that caught Luke's eye all the same. It was tangled in the fishing nets draped across the throne.
Luke felt a familiar itch skitter up his spine and into his fingertips.
Luke paced Chiron’s office, annoyed at being stuck on desk duty, anxiety like ants in his wrists. He pressed the phone more firmly to his ear, trying to focus.
The woman on the phone was sobbing so much that Luke had trouble understanding her. “I…I need to register my…my son,” the woman managed. She squeaked with emotion. “His stepfather tried to…tried to…” Her sobs renewed.
Luke was pretty good at comforting people in person but he didn't even know what was wrong. Maybe she was really going to miss her son. Unfortunately, Luke didn't have a script for sobbing mothers. He turned at the sound of hoofbeats on the hardwood floor.
Chiron stood in the office doorway, in full centaur form. He held his hand out for the phone.
Silently, gladly, Luke handed it to him. His relief was tinged with guilt for not being able to do more. He sat down on one of the leather office chairs, watching Chiron and straining his ears to hear their conversation. Luke reached into his pocket, withdrew a pearl, and walked it across his knuckles so that he had something to do with his restless hands.
Chiron walked around to his desk, talking to the woman and trying to calm her down enough to get her son's name. His voice was deep and steady, giving the illusion that he could be trusted.
When the woman composed herself, she said, “My son's name is Percy Jackson.” She took a shuddering breath and continued, “His stepfather beat him within an inch of his life last night. It's…it's not safe for Percy to come home.”
Luke paused walking the pearl, his eyes snapping to Chiron's face to see what he made of this. They didn't often get parents who willingly turned their children over to Camp Half-Blood.
Chiron hid his feelings behind a mask of calm. “Where is Percy now?”
“At the hospital,” the woman said and gave them the name.
“We'll be there to collect him within the hour,” Chiron said. There was no room for debate in his voice. She'd called and they would go. “You understand that you likely won't see him again?”
Luke turned his face away because he wasn't as good at hiding his emotions. He forced himself to keep walking the pearl across his knuckles. It slipped and he snatched it from the air before it hit the ground.
“I understand,” the woman whispered. She began sobbing again.
“Say goodbye to him, Sally,” Chiron advised. Then he hung up the phone, placing it gently in its cradle.
Luke stood up, tucking the pearl back in his pocket.
Chiron met Luke's eyes. “Go get him.”
Luke turned heel, grabbed the van keys off the hook on the way out. He knew the drill. The van was a Delphi’s Strawberries one that the camp used to deliver strawberries to their customers but a snap of Luke's fingers made it look like an ambulance.
Luke dressed as a nurse to infiltrate the hospital. He walked into the hospital as the shift change was happening, followed the scent of demigod blood to Percy's room in the ICU and double-checked the clipboard to make sure he wasn't about to kidnap a different demigod.
A beating bad enough to put a demigod in the intensive care unit would have killed a mortal thrice over. Luke still wasn't quite prepared for how small and dead Percy looked. He wasn't going to be able to travel like that.
Luke unhooked the machines and IVs keeping Percy alive and pain free, tricking each one into thinking it never had a patient to begin with, and turning them off. Then Luke took a canteen from his pocket and uncapped it, putting the spout to Percy's mouth and tipping the contents into his mouth.
It was nectar, the drink of the gods, and it would heal Percy enough to keep him alive. Luke moved Percy to a wheelchair and tucked a blanket around him. He wheeled Percy down the hallway and out of the hospital, loading him into the back of the van.
The van had a stretcher that pulled down from the wall - because of how often they'd had to use it as an emergency ambulance - so Percy wouldn't go rolling around the back like a sack of potatoes.
Luke got into the driver's seat and drove back to Camp Half-Blood.
They gave Percy so much nectar over the next few days that he ran a fever for a week. He woke up a few times but wasn't coherent enough to hold a conversation and always fell back into sleep so deep it looked like death.
Until one day Chiron brought Percy to cabin eleven. There wasn't a mark on Percy, all his injuries healed, but his eyes were like shattered glass. His only question was how long he'd be there.
“Until you're eighteen, at least,” Chiron replied. “After that you can choose to stay or to leave.”
Luke chose that moment to introduce himself. He put on his best smile, held out his hand, and said, “Welcome to Camp Half-Blood. I'm Luke, the counselor for cabin eleven.”
Percy hesitated before shaking Luke's hand. “I'm Percy.”
“It's nice to meet you,” Luke said. He already knew where he was putting Percy - in Connor’s old bunk because it wasn't like Connor ever slept apart from Travis anyway - and gestured to the bed. “This is your bunk.”
“Thanks,” Percy said quietly. He sat down, a lost expression on his face as he looked up at Luke. They’d put Percy in an orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and given him a pair of jean shorts but other than the clothes on his back, he had absolutely nothing. His mom hadn't had time to pack a bag.
Impulsively, Luke took the pearl from his pocket. “Catch,” he said and tossed it.
Percy snatched it out of the air, looking briefly surprised that he caught it. He opened his hand and looked at the pearl, confusion and intrigue on his face. Percy held it between two fingers, turned it this way and that. “Thanks?” It almost sounded like a question.
Luke smiled. He sat beside Percy and held out his hand for the pearl back. When Percy gave it back, Luke walked it across his knuckles. Then he handed it back to Percy.
Comprehension dawned on Percy’s face. He tried the same trick. The pearl fell onto his lap.
“Don't worry, you'll get it.” Luke plucked the pearl from Percy's lap and did a disappearing trick that ended with the pearl back on Percy's knuckles. “Try again.”
Percy did, trying to walk the pearl across his knuckles.
And when he looked at Luke with those pleading puppy dog eyes, Luke gave him more demonstrations and tips. Sometimes a distraction was all that was needed.
Percy was really good with a sword. He learned fast and took his lessons so seriously that he asked Luke for more.
Thus, the private lessons began.
Luke had a favorite training spot in the woods, out of sight of everyone else except for the dryads. He took Percy there and began the process of teaching Percy everything he knew about sword fighting.
It became apparent very quickly that Percy wasn't really a talker. He asked and responded to questions, but wasn't much for small talk or bringing up casual conversation on his own. Regardless of this, it was pretty clear to Luke that Percy was enjoying their lessons. Slowly but surely, Percy became quick to smile and then quicker to laugh.
This was a treat for Luke, because outside of their lessons Percy was stoic. He was more prone to eye rolls and sneers than anything else, always letting the others know that he was above anything they could throw at him.
Finally the time came when Luke felt that Percy was ready for something more advanced. On the way to dinner that night, Luke asked, “How do you feel about fire?”
“Fire?” Percy echoed. He ran his nails over the leather sword sheath that hung at his hip. He had a habit of scratching things and there was a discolored patch where Percy had ruined the leather with his fidgeting. “Like fire fire?”
Luke laughed. “Yeah. Like fire fire. How do you feel about it?”
“Uh…it's cool?” Percy said, trying to give Luke what he thought was the right answer. Percy did that a lot. Luke was trying to train him out of it but it was a slow process.
Luke smiled. “Yeah, it is. Are you scared of it?”
A mask of neutrality slammed down over Percy’s features. Most people would see indifference or even aloofness but when Luke looked at Percy all he saw was a scared kid, wary of a trick and trying not to show it. “That depends,” Percy said slowly.
They entered the dining pavilion and cut in line for the buffet. No one complained. One perk of being the oldest demigod at Camp Half-Blood and of being the sword fighting instructor for the entire camp was that Luke got first dibs on food. Always.
“On?” Luke asked. He passed a plate to Percy. The kid was very aware of the social hierarchy and even though it annoyed him, Percy wouldn't have made a plate for himself yet if Luke didn't make him. Luke fixed his own plate, piling it high with a little of everything offered.
“Oh, I don't know. Like how much fire?” Percy chose his food like someone who knew what it was to go hungry. “That matters, you know.” He took the best cuts of meat, the freshest vegetables. “And what are we going to do with it?” Percy piled golden rolls onto his plate and chose the plumpest fruits to go beside them.
They turned and Luke jerked his chin to the Poseidon table. That was the table they sat down at. The gods wouldn't like it but they could suck Luke's dick. Luke's done worse than this to offend them.
The gods stayed silent on this matter and the demigods were able to eat in peace.
“I want to teach you how to fight with fire,” Luke said. From the corner of his eye, he studied Percy very carefully.
“Huh?” Percy said. So far he looked more confused than scared. That was good.
“It’s good to know how to fight with more than one weapon and to be able to improvise,” Luke explained. If Percy really put up a fight about it, Luke would back off. The thing was, demigods needed all the training and help they could get.
A shadow crossed Percy's face, his expression settling into grim acceptance. “Alright. Let's do it.”
Fire was hot, messy, and painful to work with.
The first time the fire bit Percy, he yipped like a kicked puppy and dropped the burning branch they were training with. The fiftieth time the fire bit Percy, he only gritted his teeth and pushed on.
Luke was proud of him. The first time that Percy landed a hit on Luke with the burning branch, Luke realized that it wasn't just pride he felt; he admired Percy too. Maybe it was strange to admire someone who hurt you, but Luke was so happy to have someone who could keep up with him and with more training, Luke knew that Percy might even surpass his skill as a swordsman.
They healed their wounds with nectar and headed to the lake to wash up and cool off.
Percy liked to dive off the dock and to the bottom of the lake. He was phenomenal at holding his breath to the point that it was supernatural.
Luke suspected he knew who Percy's godly parent was but if he was right, then Percy was going to remain unclaimed forever. He didn't bring these suspicions up to Percy.
Luke stood in the shallows of canoe lake and washed the sweat from his skin.
Percy came out of the water without warning, suddenly popping up beside Luke.
Luke jumped.
Percy smiled.
“Yeah, yeah. You got me,” Luke said, smiling back. Then he splashed Percy.
Percy sputtered, shaking his head like a dog. He splashed Luke back and his wave was much bigger than Luke's had been and the whole lake rippled.
The ground shook beneath Luke's feet. He lost his balance, falling onto his butt on the sandy lake bottom. He blinked in surprise and then he tossed his head back and laughed.
Son of the earthshaker indeed.
Percy came up to sit beside Luke and laughed too. “Got you again, Luke.”
Luke ruffled Percy's black hair. He felt a peculiar fondness for Percy that warmed him from his head to his toes. “Yeah. You sure did. Good job, Percy.”
The days passed in a blur - they always did at Camp Half-Blood - but with one notable difference. Percy was there. And somehow that really did change things.
Luke spent all his time with Percy. It was so easy; because Percy was part of his cabin, yes, but also because Percy wanted to be with Luke. He sulked whenever he had to go study Ancient Greek with Annabeth (which was really the only time they weren't together).
“She's kind of mean,” Percy admitted one day. He didn't look Luke in the eyes as he said this, and his body was tense like he expected Luke to get mad at him for saying so.
“Yeah, that's just how she is,” Luke said grimly. Annabeth could be tough to get along with. She liked to pick fights and was so insecure that it made her lash out at everyone. “Just ignore it.”
Now Percy did look at Luke, a look of disgust on his face.
“I know. Trust me, I do,” Luke said sympathetically. It was a growing problem and stopped Annabeth from making friends at Camp, but Luke really didn't know how to fix it. She didn't want to get along with the other kids, she wanted to rule them. “Come on, let's go for a ride.”
It wasn't until they were in the pegasus stables that Percy said, “Everyone here is kinda mean except for you.”
This was the closest thing to complaining that Luke ever heard from Percy and it worried Luke. It wasn't like he was blind, he knew that the other campers didn't really like Percy. He was more competition for their parents' affection, another unwanted kid taking up space and resources, and he was unproven. They knew that Luke went to get him but that was all they knew about his past. It didn't help that Percy didn't talk to them unless he had to, or that he took all of Luke’s free time.
Luke was rarely greedy, rarely acted selfishly, but even though his attention was making Percy more of an outcast at Camp Half-Blood, Luke didn't want to put distance between them. He liked Percy. Maybe too much. He lost Thalia, he was losing Annabeth, Luke didn't want to give up Percy too.
Percy was sensitive to the moods of others and while they were flying, he shouted above the wind, “Are you mad at me?”
Luke shook his head. “You? No. Never.”
They flew in circles, unable to leave the boundaries of Camp Half-Blood lest they anger Dionysus. Through no means and at no time were campers allowed to leave except on quests or on the last day of summer. Luke hated this rule and he had more freedom than most because sometimes he got to do errands for Chiron. He had nowhere else to go but he was literally made to travel and it felt like he was tethered. Camp Half-Blood wasn't the place for Luke. Maybe it wasn't the place for Percy either.
Luke and Percy spent the summer training and playing. Sometimes the line between training and playing blurred and Luke would find himself laughing while Percy held a sword to his throat or Percy would say “watch this” and stand on the back of his pegasus while they flew through the air.
Percy was good at riding and even better at trick riding. He and his pegasus - a black mare named Blackjack - were very close. Percy had confided to Luke that Blackjack was his second favorite person at Camp Half-Blood.
“Who's your first?” Luke asked, even though he knew. He just wanted to hear Percy say it.
Percy smiled. He smiled so freely for Luke, and his smile always gave Luke butterflies. “You. Duh.”
“Duh,” Luke echoed. Then he threw Percy over his shoulder and carried him to the strawberry fields for a sweet snack.
Percy laughed and accepted his fate easily. He never said so, but he liked being carried and tossed around by Luke. Luke knew because Percy's sea glass green eyes sparkled and he couldn't stop laughing and sometimes when Luke went a while without carrying Percy around like a sack of potatoes, Percy would give him a look.
Luke tossed Percy onto the dirt between rows of strawberries.
Percy had a fistful of Luke's shirt and it came half off of Luke.
Luke wound up on the ground with Percy. He wiggled out of his shirt and laughed. Even when he was with Thalia, the love of his life up to this point, Luke never laughed so much.
Percy threw Luke's shirt back at him. He picked ripe red strawberries and popped them into his mouth.
Luke didn't bother putting his shirt back on. It was a warm day and while he liked toting Percy around, it was still hard work. He laid back on the earth and looked up at the clear blue sky.
“Luke?”
“Hm?”
“Annabeth told me you brought me here.”
Luke's heart did something funny and aching. He kept his eyes on the sky. “I did.”
“Why?”
“Your mom asked us to bring you here. She thought it would be better for you,” Luke said.
“But why did they send you?”
Luke sighed. “My father is the god of thieves. Kidnapping is just stealing a person. Chiron thought I'd be best at it.” And Luke was.
Percy considered this for a few moments. “I think she was wrong.”
Luke propped himself up on his elbows to look at Percy. “Your mom?”
Percy nodded. His lips were thin with displeasure and red from the strawberries. “Chiron said I can't leave.”
Chiron wanted to keep Percy here. It only made Luke want to get him out more. “You can leave on the last day of summer. If you choose to stay, you'll have to stay the entire year until the next last day of summer,” Luke explained.
Percy's eyes narrowed. “He didn't say that.”
“They don't like it when demigods leave.”
Percy hummed. He looked thoughtful. “You've been here for five years, right?”
Luke nodded.
“Why?”
Why? Luke thought about it. Thalia's tree was here but it was just a symbol of her death. She was gone forever. Luke tried to take care of Annabeth but she gravitated towards Chiron and Luke's short stint as her guardian was over almost before it really began. He didn't like being homeless - it was very hard, even for a natural born thief - and this place at least put a roof over his head and fed him. But Luke was getting restless and what they gave him often felt like too little for what they asked of him. “I guess I've never had a reason to leave,” he admitted.
Percy flashed Luke a look of pure longing. “And if you had a reason to leave?”
Luke met Percy's eyes. “Then I’d never come back.”
The night before the last day of summer was the bead ceremony. It always felt a little stale because almost nothing happened and this year was no exception. Except for the arrival of Percy, but they weren’t about to put him on a bead. New campers weren’t really exciting enough and there was no point in making everyone jealous and angry over showing Percy special treatment. Poseidon still hadn’t claimed him so as far as the rest of camp was concerned, Percy was nothing special.
Chiron gave Percy his leather necklace with the bead on it and Percy wore it only long enough to not be rude. Before the night was over, Percy slipped it over his head and put it in his pocket.
After the ceremony, there was a party. Fireworks, loud music, a feast. It was the same every year. Luke didn’t mind the party but he wanted to go somewhere private with Percy. They went into the woods, to their usual training spot. This far away, the music was a distant thump but the fireworks still lit up the night. They sat on a boulder big enough to comfortably fit them both. Not that it mattered; Luke and Percy sat down so close that they were touching from ankles to shoulders.
“I have something for you,” Luke said.
Percy cocked his head, bringing his face closer to Luke. “For me?”
“Yes. For you.” Luke smiled. “Do you still have the pearl I gave you?”
Percy dug the pearl out of his pocket, holding it in his hand. Then he walked it across his knuckles like Luke taught him to.
It made Luke smile even more. Luke held up a necklace, the chain made of fine and faintly glowing celestial bronze. On the end was a tiny wire cage, also made from celestial bronze. He didn’t have a lot of time away from Percy, and so he’d had to make his gift for Percy while Percy was right next to him. But thankfully Percy didn’t seem to know what Luke was doing, so it was still a surprise. Luke held his hand out for the pearl.
Percy handed it over.
Luke slid it into the wire cage and handed the entire necklace back to Percy. “I just thought you might want somewhere to carry it that wasn’t your pocket.”
Percy took it. He held it up and looked at it this way and that. The white surface of the pearl reflected the colors of the fireworks. “Thank you, Luke. This is cool. Put it on for me?”
“Of course.” Luke took the necklace back and unclasped it.
Percy turned away from Luke and brushed his curly black hair to one side where it would be out of the way. His hair was getting longer.
Luke put the necklace around Percy’s neck and carefully closed the clasp. He moved Percy’s hair back into place. “Lemme see.”
Percy faced him again. The necklace was exactly the right length and the pearl looked really good reflected in the golden light of the celestial bronze. Percy looked down at it, touched it, and beamed at Luke. “I love it. No one’s ever made me anything before.” He threw his arms around Luke, hugging him tight. “Thanks, Luke. ”
Luke hugged Percy back. “You’re welcome. It looks great on you.”
They stayed like that for a long few minutes and Luke began to worry that he wasn’t ever going to want to let Percy go. But eventually he did and they went back to the party. Percy stayed glued to Luke’s side the entire night, head held high and pearl necklace on display for everyone to see.
On the last day of summer, during the predawn hours, Percy crawled into Luke's bed. He laid beside Luke beneath the covers and nudged Luke awake. “Luke,” he whispered, voice soft and right next to Luke's ear.
Luke wasn't really awake. The whole camp had a massive party last night to celebrate another year survived and it felt like he'd only just laid his head down. “Mm?”
“It's moving day,” Percy said softly.
Yes. It was. That woke Luke up a little more. He stretched and yawned. “It is,” he agreed, wondering where Percy was going with this.
“You said you need a reason to leave,” Percy said. He was pressed up against Luke's side, body warm and comforting. “Can… Maybe…” Percy trailed off, struggling to get the words out.
Luke rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He rolled over to face Percy and waited.
Percy hid his face in his hands. “What if…what if I was your reason for leaving?” he whispered.
“What are you asking for?” Luke asked, trying not to get his hopes up or jump to conclusions. Loosely he wrapped his hands around Percy's wrists, trying to pry Percy's hands from his face so Luke could read his expression.
Percy gave a soft whine of protest but ultimately let Luke reveal his face. “I want to leave with you,” Percy admitted. “And stay with you after we leave.” It was dark but Luke could feel the heat of Percy’s blush.
“You like me that much?” Luke asked. He thought Percy had a crush on him but enough that Percy wanted to live with Luke? Just the two of them? It felt like a dream come true.
Percy adjusted so that Luke was holding his hands instead of his wrists. “A lot,” he confessed. “Maybe too much.”
“Not too much,” Luke reassured Percy. “Never too much.” Any traces of sleep left him as Luke began to plan for their new life together. It wouldn't be easy but it was going to be so worth it. Luke pressed his forehead to Percy's. “Well, we'd better get packed. It's moving day, after all.”
Then, to Luke's surprise, Percy kissed him. A quick, soft kiss, but a kiss nonetheless. “Thank you.”