Tell Me You Love Me

Gaining Trust(Onety-Threety-Six)

Noah's POV

I could tell it would take a little while to gain back Luke's trust, but I was getting there.

The next morning, on the way to breakfast, Milo ran at me and gave me a big hug, tears in his eyes.

"Noah! You have no idea how happy I am to see you. Luke woke up happy this morning. You saved him. I was so worried, I though we were gonna lose him."

"Don't give me so much credit," I said. "It's my fault for leaving in the first place."

"No, don't blame yourself. Aiden's the reason he's depressed like he is. That asshole hurt him, and I'm afraid you're the medic in this situation. Heal him, please."

I felt a lump form in my throat. "I'll try," I said.

Milo nodded. "I trust you."

He ran off ahead to sit at the Legacy table, ruffling Sammy's hair as he sat down.

"Hey," Luke greeted, coming up behind me. He was wearing a hoodie in the cool morning, hands in his pockets. His curly hair was damp from a shower and he looked better than he did yesterday. Happier.

"Hey," I said back and we walked together to the dining pavilion.

^*^*^*^

A week later, Percy had to leave for the night on a quest for his dad and needed Luke to babysit the twins. Luke invited me to help him and sleepover afterwards.

We went over in the afternoon, leaving Ariana at Camp.

"Why do they have to babysit us?" Ethan asked. "We're not even babies, we're eleven."

Bianca nodded along.

"Because," Percy explained. "They're trained and they know how to protect you in case of a monster attack."

Bianca rolled her eyes. "There hasn't been a monster in camp since the Giant War, Dad. You know that's not going to happen."

Percy didn't have an answer.

"Just drop it, Bianca. You weren't there the day Mom was taken, but I was. Just let it be."

Bianca looked a bit ashamed.

When Percy left, we played board games and watched TV for awhile. We made frozen pizza and then eventually sent the twins off to bed. That left Luke and I to talk.

I told him all about my quest and how we finally found Dionysus after months and months of searching.

After awhile, we were both getting tired so we headed up to his room. I grabbed a pillow and a blanket and started making a bed on the floor when Luke called from the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Sleeping on the floor. What does it look like?"

"Don't be silly. Get up here."

So I got up and sat gingerly on the bed.

Luke gave me a look. "It's not like we've never shared a bed before. It's fine."

I blushed. "Yeah, but isn't this like...weird?"

"I don't think so," Luke said tentatively. I decided to let it go. I laid there in silence, listening as Luke's breathing evened out and he fell asleep.

I was expecting him to become the cuddle monster he normally is, but that never happened. I turned to look and he had his back to me, squeezing the life out of an extra pillow, curled around it.

I realized that it would probably be awkward if he was cuddling me. But I kind of wanted him to.

I woke up hours later, staring at the ceiling, puzzling over why I woke up. I was about to fall back asleep when I heard it again. A whimper. I turned my head to see Luke, facing me, his face screwed up tight. He was shaking.

"Luke," I whispered.

"No," he moaned. "Stop. Stop it. Don't touch me."

I sat up. I reached out to shake his shoulder, but I didn't know how he would react to being touched.

"Luke," I said a little louder.

A few tears slipped down his face. "Stop. Aiden, stop!"

"Luke!"

His eyes flew open and he jumped back. He was breathing hard and fast, hyperventilating.

"Luke, you're okay. It's just me. You need to breath. Follow me, okay? In and out. That's it."

He struggled, but eventually he got his breathing back to normal.

His hands were still shaking though.

"C'mere," I said and he crawled over into my arms. I hugged him tight and he just broke. He started sobbing, clutching my shirt tightly in his fists. I rubbed his back soothingly and pressed my lips to the top of his head.

"I hate this. I hate him," he cried.

"I know. I know, it's okay."

"I love you," I said before I could think about it. I froze.

"I love you too," Luke said back.

^*^*^*^

The next morning, Percy was in the kitchen making breakfast when we walked down the stairs hand in hand.

Percy caught us at it and grinned suggestively. I looked down and pulled my hand away quickly. I hadn't even realized we were doing it.

On our way back to Camp, we walked in silence. Every time I looked over at Luke, it was like he was trying to work up his courage to say something.

Finally he grabbed my hand again. I looked up in surprise.

He smiled sheepishly, looking down at our intertwined fingers, then back up at me.

"Can we be boyfriends again? I really do love you and I've missed you a lot."

I was positively beaming. "Of course is love to be your boyfriend."

"Good, because—" he didn't get to finish, because I pulled him forward by his hand and kissed him.

That was pretty much the best kiss ever.