"Cass, what are you doing here?" Luke asked, rushing to my side, "How did you get here? Are you okay?"
"I don't..." my head was still a bit mixed up from my talk with Kronos, "What is this thing? Why was it calling me here?"
"It was calling you?" Luke's face paled. He turned to the casket, "Leave her alone. I told you she was the only one that you can't have."
"That's Kronos?" I found it hard to breathe.
Luke put an arm around me, "Come on, let's get you somewhere less... creepy."
My brain was rushing around, trying to go over too much information at once. Luke saved me without even knowing it. By showing I wasn't a weakness, he kept Kronos from finding a way to get rid of me. Kronos, who was in a golden casket right in front of me this very minute. Was his cut up body pieces in there or was it just a skeleton? The thought of either option made me feel sick to my stomach. Luckily, Luke led me out of the room before I could dive even further into that thought rabbit hole.
There was still nobody to be seen as we walked across the boat. Luke kept his arm around my shoulders the whole time. I didn't mind, I liked both the body heat and being so close to him. It also gave me some desperately needed comfort after that whole situation. We didn't say anything but the silence was comfortable. Before too long, Luke opened a door and we both slipped inside. He flipped on a light and I could see we were in a big bedroom. His bedroom, I realized as I looked around. There were clothes on the floor and a sword leaning against the closet door. One lone picture taped to one of the walls. A picture of him and I, taken last summer before Percy had arrived. A picture from before everything started going downhill with us.
"Sorry it's so messy in here. I wasn't expecting company," Luke apologized, picking up some of the clothes off the floor.
I smiled a little, "No need to apologize. It's your space after all."
He smiled back. My heart did a flip. I did my best to ignore it but damn, he was looking more attractive than usual today. Maybe it was because I hadn't seen him in so long.
A knock on the door gathered our attention. Luke gestured for me to be quiet, "What?"
The tone of his voice struck me. It was a lot sharper than the tone he usually used when talking to me. I didn't like it at all, it sent shivers down my spine and not in a good way. Still, I stayed quiet like he asked.
"The others want to know when we're going to act," the voice on the other side of the door said.
"This couldn't wait until morning? You should all be sleeping!"
"They are growing restless with the lack of action being taken."
"And I've told you that it's only a matter of time before we make our move! Now leave me be until morning!" Luke snapped. There was the sound of retreating footsteps and Luke sighed, "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I have to talk like that around them or else they'll doubt who's in charge."
I didn't say anything. I just nodded my head. As much as I didn't like it, that answer made sense. He was the one who Kronos was manipulating. Of course he was the one who'd be in charge here. That thought made my heart ache.
"Enough about that though," Luke took a careful step towards me, "How are you doing? Has everything been okay since the last time we spoke?"
"I got attacked by metal death pigeons. Other than that, I've been fine. I'm still mad at you though," I crossed my arms defensively, "Have you been thinking about our last conversation?"
"I have been a lot actually. And I'm trying to figure out how to go about this plan without the people I care about getting hurt. Because you're right, it's not okay what has happened to you and Thalia during this."
"Good," I nodded, "I'm glad you're taking this seriously."
"Why wouldn't I? I'm serious about anything that involves you Cass."
I tried not to blush. I tried to maintain my somewhat strong composure. Neither of those happened. I found myself shrinking into my sweatshirt and my face was turning red as I mumbled, "Shut up."
"When it comes to you? Never," He gave me that smile that made my heart start doing different flips than before. Front flips and back flips and side flips and any other kinds of flips that existed. The smile was mischievous but fit him so well and was way too attractive. I found myself staring at him for far longer than I probably should've. He most definitely noticed since his smile was growing bigger by the second.
"Shut up," I repeated quietly before regaining my composure, "So how did your thoughts change after our conversation?"
Luke's smile wiped away and he sat at the edge of his bed, "I don't know yet. I know that sacrifices must be made in order for me to do what's right. I don't know what sacrifices those are yet or how they'll affect everyone else. But I also know that if Kronos asks me to hurt you, I won't do it. I've already hurt you once in this journey. I promised you that wouldn't happen again and that's a promise that I intend to keep."
"And if you have to hurt others?" I asked.
"I won't like it. Believe me, I won't. But you're the only person I'm promising that I won't hurt. Nothing else is certain. Please don't ask me to make any other promises because I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep them," he admitted, "I really don't want to hurt anyone, especially not our friends. But let's be honest here: neither of us know what's going to happen. I don't want to break any promises to you because I know that with each broken promise, I'll keep on losing any chance to gain your trust back. That's not a risk I want to take."
I sat down next to him, "I just don't want this to go the wrong way for you. That's my main concern."
"I know. I know that you don't like the decisions that I'm making and I understand if you want to walk away from it all."
"I'm not walking away from you," I said firmly. I knew how hard this was going to be and for me, Luke was worth it. That didn't stop my fears that he was going to get screwed over by Kronos. But I wanted to be there to help him pick up the pieces should that happen, "And don't ever think I'm walking away from you. I know we're on opposite sides and I know that seeing each other in the same light going forward will be difficult. We're going to see a lot about each other that we will not like because this will turn into a war. But I know you Luke Castellan. I know that you're more than just acting tough to be in charge. I know that you're really doing this so that other demigods are given the same treatment that you've been given and that you've seen others been given. You have a good heart Luke. I may not agree with your methods but I understand why all of this is happening. So yeah, it may be easier to walk away during certain points of this. But if you've learned anything about me in the last few years we've known each other, you should know that I don't give up easily. And that will certainly continue to be the case when it comes to you."
He stared at me for many quick heartbeats. I wanted him to say something, anything really. I didn't know if his expression was really unreadable or if I was just too nervous to interpret it. His eyes, his constant tell for me was the only thing I could see clearly. There were so many overwhelming and conflicting emotions but one shone past them all. I wouldn't call it love because the thought of him feeling something that intense towards me was a little scary. But it was definitely something within that category, maybe an emotion the next level down from love.
"How did I get so lucky to meet someone like you?" Luke asked, his voice soft like velvet.
I smiled a little at my hands, "I've been asking myself that question about you for a while now."
"You don't mean that."
He was looking at his own hands now. I smirked at the side of his face. It was his scarred side but it looked perfect to me nonetheless, "You just told a Titan who ate some of the gods to leave me alone. Not many people would be brave enough to do that. Or crazy, but we both already knew that about you. So yeah, I'm feeling pretty lucky to have you."
He nudged my shoulder with his own, a smile crossing his face, "Shut up."
"Make me," I challenged. I had no clue where that bout of courage came from but I wasn't complaining.
Luke raised an eyebrow but his smile turned mischievous. Nerves climbed into my stomach again. Nothing good ever happened when a child of Hermes had that smile. Luke was no exception to that rule. I tried to prepare myself for what was to come but I never could've predicted what was going to happen next. His hand reached up to my ribcage and...
He started tickling me. I gasped and tried to wiggle away from his grasp. Curse his long arms because no far how I scooted away from him, he always seemed able to grab him. I tried to tell him to stop between my laughs but nothing besides gasps for air came out. Eventually, he seemed to get the hint and stopped. At that point, we were both lying on the bed, the sheets all ruffled from me trying to get away. It took a while for me to come down from my laughing. Luke just watched me with a grin on his face.
"You suck," I breathed when I got the chance.
"You and I both know that's not true."
"Do I though?"
He held up his hand threateningly, "Don't make me start again."
"Please don't," I laughed a little again, "I'll behave."
"Good," he propped himself up on one elbow to face me, "I miss times like these."
"Me too," I looked up at him, a soft smile crossing my face.
He leaned forward to brush a piece of hair out of my face. His hand lingered on my cheek. I closed my eyes and leaned into it. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if last summer hadn't gone the way it did. Would we still be dancing around our feelings? Would we ever have kissed? And if we had, would we be together like this? How much PDA would we be doing? Would all of his kisses feel like the first one we shared or would they be amazing in their own way?
"What are you thinking about?" He asked, kissing my temple just under my hat.
"Us," I confessed, opening my eyes.
"And what about us?"
"What do you think we would've been like if we hadn't been separated since last summer?"
"Honestly?" He let out a big breath, "Probably still just friends."
"Really?" I laughed.
"Yeah," Luke's face got a bit red, "I thought I was pretty deep in the friendzone with you. I didn't want to do anything that would hinder our friendship. The only reason I confessed when I did was because I wasn't sure when I'd see you again or under what circumstances that would be."
"You do remember we almost kissed at least twice before I went on the quest, right?"
"Yeah."
"And you still thought you were in the friendzone?" I teased. I didn't want to tell him that it took Grover for me to realize I was no longer in the friendzone with him. He'd only use that as ammunition to tease me back and there weren't many chances for one sided teasing like this. I was going to take full advantage of this while I could.
"I was scared you were going to think it was a mistake afterwards. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me Cass. You've seen me in a light that nobody has ever seen me before. I was terrified to lose you. And if I had to feel pain every day knowing that you couldn't be mine just so you could still be in my life, I was more than ready for that."
I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't ready for this conversation to take this kind of turn.
Luckily, Luke continued before I could utter something stupid and ruin this moment, "You don't have to say anything to that. I know that it was a lot that you probably didn't see coming. And I probably shouldn't have sprung that on you considering our current situation. But it kind of just came out and I thought it was something that you should know."
"Thank you for telling me," Was all I managed to say.
He gave me a small smile before getting up, "It's pretty late and I'm betting you're pretty tired. So how about we get some sleep and talk more about everything in the morning?"
I nodded and got up too. Then I noticed something, "There's only one bed in here."
"And? We've slept in smaller beds than this together before," he said before his smirk dropped, "Unless you want to sleep separately, which I totally understand. I can take the floor-"
"No, it's okay. You're right, we can share the bed. Just don't take all of the sheets this time."
"I didn't last time either!" Luke protested to which I just gave him an amused smile in reply.
We slipped off our shoes and climbed into bed. Luke turned off the light and we fell into silence. We both laid there, not a single part of our bodies touching. I knew he wanted to cuddle with me like the last time we'd slept in the same bed, but I had a feeling that he was waiting for me to make the first move. I scooted a little closer to him until our hands touched. Our fingers automatically tangled. He shifted so he laid on his side and a hand rested on my waist.
"Is this okay?" He whispered.
"Yeah," we were quiet for a few more moments before I let out, "Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for being so patient with me with this part. The whole touching part I mean."
"You're welcome, Little Mermaid. And I will always be patient with you."
We went back to silence. While the time passed, I realized how many unanswered questions I currently had that didn't pertain to Luke's and my relationship/friendship. What was up with the ship? Who built up the crew since the voice earlier didn't exactly sound human? Did Luke know that Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson were also on board? I'd been so distracted by Luke himself that I hadn't even thought about the situation that I was currently in. Unfortunately, now was not the time to get those answers though since Luke's breathing deepened, indicating that he was asleep. The combination of both his breathing and his heartbeat made me fall asleep pretty quickly too.
Kronos didn't invade my dreams this time.
Author's Note:
Hey guys! Yes, I'm still trying to update this when I can. A situation that I had hoped would be getting better has been getting somewhat worse and it has been affecting my mental health a lot. In good news though, I am getting help and I will be out of said situation in a few weeks so hopefully I'll be back to more consistent updates again soon. But for now, thank you for continuing to be patient with me and the next update will be up as soon as I get it done. I hope you guys enjoyed the fluff chapter in the meantime!