Percy Jackson Oneshots

Moment of Panic (Luke Castellan)

Written for Fictober 2022 on Tumblr!

Prompt: "That sounds like a you problem."

Summary: Y/N, an Athena camper, has secretly had a crush on their best friend Luke Castellan for a long time. But when the two go head-to-head in capture the flag to defend their cabins' honors, Y/N's need for a distraction of any kind might ruin the whole "secret" part of their secret crush.

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I crept through the dark woods as stealthily as possible, straining to hear any little sound I could. I knew my partner Malcolm was somewhere off to my left, but I couldn't see or hear any sign of him.

I clutched my sword a little tighter and inched ahead. Tonight, my cabin (Athena) was squaring off against Hermes in capture the flag, and I had NO intention of losing. Luke, my best friend and long-time crush, and I had been exchanging trash talk every day since we'd realized we would be on different teams, and now it was time for me to back it up.

I'd figured out, from some hardcore sleuthing all week, where Hermes and their allies had decided to put their flag. My cabinmate, Malcolm, and I had decided we'd form our own small strike team to hit that location just across the boundary while everyone else served as a distraction. I was approaching from the right while he approached from the left, and hopefully, at least one of us would get an opening.

I tiptoed a few more steps forward, until at last I caught sight of the Hermes flag through the trees, right where I'd thought it would be. I wanted to rush forward and grab it, but I stopped myself. Athena was smarter than that, and I wasn't about to fall into some Hermes trap because I got careless.

I froze completely where I stood, trying to tune in to my surroundings and sense anything out of the ordinary. After a few tense moments, I felt a shift in the air next to me, and I leapt back and raised my sword just in the nick of time.

Luke appeared from behind the nearest tree, standing between me and the flag as he brought his sword down with incredible force. I half-deflected and half-dodged his blow, then quickly pulled my sword back up to defend against his next wave of attacks.

If I didn't spar almost every day with Luke as part of our normal routine, he would've knocked the sword out of my hands in seconds. He was an incredible swordsman, and it took every bit of focus I could muster just to hold my own. As the fight went on, however, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, Luke grinned at me. Clearly he knew I was fighting a losing battle too, which meant I needed a new plan, and FAST.

I mustered as much of my strength as I could, then shoved back against Luke's next strike with every last possible bit of force. I stepped back a bit immediately afterwards, putting some space between us, and then I held up my hands in a gesture asking for a temporary truce. Luke raised an eyebrow, but he didn't push to attack me again just yet.

"What's the matter? Giving up already?" he asked with a crooked grin. He wasn't even a little bit out of breath, damn him.

"You wish," I scoffed, trying not to show just how out of breath I was, especially in comparison. "I just figured we could talk for a second. Maybe come up with a truce."

Luke grinned, and it made my heart skip a beat. "So... you're stalling."

"Maybe..." I said, only half paying attention as my mind raced to come up with an idea. I caught sight of Malcolm peeking out from behind the furthest trees I could see, and the urgency of coming up with a good distraction hit me all over again. "Or maybe... maybe I have something I want to tell you."