Luke has always been running. Running from family, from home, from monsters, from pain.
It's been a way out. Leave before you get left. Hurt before you get hurt. Make them cry before you do.
A way to stop the pain.
So yeah, he's been always running, but it's different now. It was always away from something smaller. Now, he's running from death.
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Nico has always been hiding. Hiding from Percy, hiding from the world, hiding from help, hiding from everything.
It wasn't like the shadows hurt him. They were the only place he could be himself. The only place he couldn't get hurt.
Of course, that meant people barely realized he was there. But was that really that bad? It wasn't like hiding would hurt you, it was the easiest way out.
But now he has to hide from the world once again.
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Percy has always been lying. How are you doing? Fine. You need something? No. Wow Percy, you help me so much, you need any help? I'm good.
It's always been that way. Maybe it started with smelly Gabe. He couldn't talk about it with his mom, and it wasn't like he could just swim down to his dads for therapy.
Plus, a demigod already had so much on their plate, so why should they care to help him?
Honestly, he didn't deserve all the attention. He was just a lying little kid, nothing special or good.
But it's harder to always lie when they knew the truth.
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Leo has always been faking. Cover the pain with a smile. If you laugh, it's joke. If you'd like, they don't realize.
No one treats you differently if you smile. If you just crack a joke or two, no one asks question. You don't need anything or anyone if you just fake it.
And, if someone catches him, he just says he's tired. It's easier that way, no one wasting time trying to help a guy not worth fixing.
He's always been faking, and it's hard to stop even if they know the truth.
