On the Fringe // Chapter Nine
This would have been posted last night with the ff.net version, but it was like, ten minutes to one in the morning when I posted and if I'd posted it here at the same time, I would have been up an extra twenty minutes formatting the HTML for this version. So I'm really sorry that my readers here had to wait and extra eight hours for this update. D:
Hell, I'm sorry you had to wait since April. DX It should be smooth sailing from here, since this is the last Underworld chapter, but I am not going to make any promises. I so often can't keep them.
Title: On the Fringe
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Eventual!Luke/Percy, past!Percy/Annabeth. Also some OC pairings, but those are very minor.
Warnings: AU, slash (m/m and f/f). Also, there's a handful of OCs, but most of them are camp counselors with minor roles.
Author's Note: This fic completely changes Luke's fate in The Last Olympian. And if you bothered to look at the pairings and warnings, there will be slash, both with boys and girls, so if you don't like it, use your handy little back button right now. If you're still reading this, enjoy the fic.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are copyright to Rick Riordan and if he had any idea what I'm doing with his characters, I'm sure he'd be out for my foolish mortal blood. I do, however, own the OCs.
Chapter Nine
Percy was vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms around him when he woke up in the morning, of a source of warmth beside him that he knew he didn't usually wake up to. His eyes were still closed, but he was more than aware of Luke's presence right next to him. The son of Poseidon was far too comfortable where he was to even think of why Luke was there, where they were or, even, who else was also there; until, of course, there was an amused snort from a few feet away. Percy let his eyes finally snap open as he caught sight of Tayen sitting up on the bed she'd slept in overnight.
"Just couldn't stay out of Luke's bed, could you, Jackson?" Tayen teased.
Percy gave a small groan and buried his face in the crook of Luke's neck, much to both Tayen and Luke's amusement. "Technically speaking, this is my bed and Luke just couldn't stay out of it."
Tayen only snorted again. As did Luke, who had clearly been awake for a while - since he'd apparently already gotten up and re-dressed before coming back to Percy's bed, where he'd wrapped his arms around the son of Poseidon and simply watched over him while the younger demigod slept on. The son of Hermes pressed his lips against Percy's hair and finally let go of him. "Come on, Percy," Luke said. "It's time to get up."
Rather reluctant to pull away from the warmth that Luke's body offered, Percy pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Are we leaving soon?"
"Just as soon as Nico gets back," Luke replied. "He went to talk to Mnemosyne about how to get back to the mortal realm from here."
Percy nodded, then stretched with a yawn. He was just a little exhausted still, despite finally getting a proper bit of sleep. His stomach was rumbling a bit as well, the meal Mnemosyne had offered them apparently long enough ago that the son of Poseidon was definitely hungry. Getting up, Percy checked the pockets of the jeans he wore to make sure Riptide was still there, as habit, despite knowing the blade would always return to him.
He rather looked forward to going home. Being in the Underworld wasn't exactly pleasant for him, far too many reminders of past experiences there - of coming in search of his mother, of being dragged there to help search for the sword Persephone had had forged for Hades, of being locked in a cell by the Lord of the Dead himself. Even with the rather nice experiences of visiting Elysium and, now, Mnemosyne's garden, Percy longed for the mortal realm, for the beach at Camp Half-Blood, the scent of the ocean he felt so at home in.
Percy must have looked rather nostalgic because Luke came over to him and wrapped his arms around the younger demigod. "We're going home, Perce," the son of Hermes murmured into Percy's ear. "We're all going home, together."
"Sooner than you think," Nico announced as he stepped back into the room. The son of Hades arched his brow at Luke and Percy, but didn't say anything about the intimate way Luke had the son of Poseidon held against him. "Mnemosyne told me the way to get back to the mortal realm. We've shifted since we came here, so we're no longer near the Acheron, which would have led us out to the Columbia River, on the Oregon and Washington border."
"That wouldn't have been much help," Tayen muttered, arms crossed over her chest. "That's all the way across the country from the camp. I mean, I know there's an airport in Portland, but neither you nor Percy can fly."
"Which is why it's a good thing that, as I've mentioned, the Acheron is not near where we are now," Nico pointed out. "We're actually closer to Father's palace now, so we can go back to the mortal world basically the same way we came in."
"Around Hades' palace and through to Central Park, right?" Luke asked.
Nico gave a nod. "Of course, it's still a couple hours' walk back to there. Mnemosyne has invited us for breakfast before we leave as well."
"That's good," Percy said. He pulled gently out of Luke's arms - much to the older demigod's clear dismay - and went to grab his shoes. "I'm starved."
"So am I," Luke spoke up. "Though I think you and I are talking about two different kinds of 'starved.'"
Tayen rolled her eyes. "Luke, that was uncalled for."
The son of Hermes grinned at her. "What can I say? I'm a son of Hermes, Tay-Dye."
That had the Barbadian girl pausing and staring at the older demigod. Her arms dropped from where she'd had them crossed over her chest as she gaped. It was one of the first times that Percy had ever seen the rather cool and calm daughter of Hecate surprised and he found out why a moment later. "Luke, you haven't called me that in a long time," she said.
Luke gave a pause of his own and looked back at the girl, one brow arched. "I call you that all the time."
Tayen pulled her lower lip into her mouth and shook her head. "You did," she told him. "A long time ago. Not since you came back to camp though."
"Because of my memories being wiped, right?" Luke asked.
Tayen hesitated again, then gave a nod of her head. "I'm...really glad you remembered. I kind of missed my old nickname."
Percy could tell by the exchange between daughter of Hecate and son of Hermes that there was much more to the two of them than he'd known previously. Even with Tayen explaining a few things during the journey through the Underworld, it was clear that the whole story hadn't been told. He was really curious about it, but now was not the time to go into long explanations, especially with the oath sworn on the Styx still holding them back. Tayen wouldn't be able to tell the whole story and Luke couldn't remember the whole story - yet.
"Let's go see Mnemosyne for breakfast," Tayen spoke up suddenly, changing the subject and turning on her heel to head out of the room before Luke could stop her.
Luke gave a frown from his place and turned to Percy. There really wasn't anything that the son of Poseidon could say to Luke, though; since he didn't know what had happened between Tayen and Luke during the war with the Titans, he certainly couldn't explain anything, even if the oath wasn't holding him back. "Let's go, Luke," he told the older demigod. "We don't want to keep breakfast, or Mnemosyne, waiting."
* * * * *
Some time after breakfast, the small group of demigods finally gave Mnemosyne their thanks and said their farewells as they headed out of the cavern that housed the Titaness' garden and home. With Luke joining them, there were now four of them as they took one last look back at the cavern as Mnemosyne waved them off. Her lampade guards also bid the demigods farewell before returning to their posts around the cavern's mouth, taking a half-circle formation.
Nico had said that it was at least a couple hours before they reached the passage way that led them back up to the Door of Orpheus in Central Park. The son of Hades had taken up the lead once again, guiding his companions through the Underworld. As with last time, Nico kept his Stygian iron blade out, in case of any attacks. Percy followed behind Nico, with Luke next to him and Tayen taking up the rear, her crossbow out and readied.
Unlike last time, though, the group wasn't nearly as silent as they'd been coming. Luke, as Mnemosyne had suggested, was taking advantage of the fact he had connections to the three other demigods with him. As Percy listened to Luke talk with Nico and Tayen, he started to piece together the things that he had missed during his year away from Camp Half-Blood.
From what Percy was hearing, Luke hadn't known Nico very long, had only met the young demigod when he'd first come back to camp - he hadn't even known that Hades had demigod children when he first met Nico - but, in the time since he'd returned to camp and Percy had come back, Luke and Nico had become reasonably good friends; Nico, apparently, had been one of the first people to accept the fact that Luke was back and he was the first who treated Luke without a silent grudge, as so many campers did.
When it came to Tayen, Luke had known, rather quickly, that she wasn't just any other camper. She helped Luke more than almost anyone else, giving him potions to help him sleep when he couldn't rest, talked to him when almost no one else would, joked around with him. It was clear that she held nothing against him. Luke often noticed that the daughter of Hecate held a certain sadness around her whenever he was around and, for a while, he'd stopped bothering her until she'd sought him out again.
All of this was new to Percy. Over the last year, he hadn't really kept in touch with the people at Camp Half-Blood, mostly focused on not getting kicked out of school again. With both Grover and Annabeth away from camp during the year as well - Annabeth on Olympus and Grover out doing his Lord of the Wild thing - Percy really hadn't had much reason to contact camp. He hadn't been expecting Nico to stick around camp, since the son of Hades had a tendency to only check in every few weeks.
Learning all of this, Percy was wondering, once again, just how he and Luke were going to work. For all he claimed to know about Luke, there was clearly so much that he was missing. How could he truly love Luke when he just barely knew anything about the older man, outside of what he'd learned during the war and during the last few weeks?
"Percy?"
Luke's voice cut into the son of Poseidon's thoughts and Percy looked up to the older demigod. "What?" he asked, trying to act casual.
"You're doing it again." Luke caught Percy by the hand and stopped, forcing the younger man to do the same. "Thinking too hard." He pulled Percy in and pressed his lips to the son of Poseidon's forehead before looking to Nico. "Let's take a break for a few minutes."
Nico wrinkled his nose. They were about half-way to the exit to Central Park. If they stopped now, it would only take that much longer to get back to the mortal world. Not that the son of Hades had any problem with staying in the Underworld for a while longer - the Underworld was more of a home for him than the cabin he had at Camp Half-Blood, after all; he was comfortable there more than anywhere else. It was more a matter than the others didn't really belong in the Underworld - with, perhaps, the exception of Tayen, but even the daughter of Hecate was not meant to stay there for an extended period of time.
"Alright," Nico finally conceded. They had just passed Hades' palace and, therefore, were safe from most any creature that might have threatened them otherwise, so the younger demigod put his sword down for the time being, sticking the blade into the black earth beneath his feet. "Ten minutes, then we should continue on our way."
"Thanks, Nico," Luke said, pulling Percy off to the side for a moment, so that the two of them could talk in private. The moment they were out of earshot of Tayen and Nico, Luke had his hands on Percy's shoulders, blue-gold eyes focused on the younger demigod with his brow furrowed. "Perce, what's bothering you?"
Percy shook his head. "It's - "
"Don't tell me 'it's nothing'." The son of Hermes knew words as well as his father did. Strong hands squeezed at Percy's shoulders. "Perce, one minute you're saying you love me, want to help me, that you'll fight for me, with me. The next time I turn around, you're standing there with a lost look on your face, like you don't know what to do now."
"I don't know what to do now!" Percy admitted, frustration coloring his voice. "Luke, I've never known 'what to do now'. With Annabeth, it was always her decisions, her plans, her next move."
Luke gave a laugh, despite how obviously stressed Percy was. "You mean to tell me that Annabeth wore the pants in that relationship?" he asked. He didn't even let the son of Poseidon answer before he leaned in and pressed his lips against Percy's in a small, rather tender kiss. "The great Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus, is the submissive one?"
"I never said that," Percy protested, giving a slight frown against Luke's lips. "I just said that Annabeth was the one who always decided what next."
Another laugh escaped the son of Hermes and he pulled Percy close to him. "Sounds pretty submissive to me, Perce." Luke held Percy to him for a long moment, leaning in and burying his face in the crook of the younger man's neck, taking the chance to just breathe in everything that was the son of Poseidon. He let his hand rub down Percy's back, slowly, only stopping when a soft gasp escaped Percy as his fingers just touched the small of the other demigod's back. "Perce?"
Percy gave a quiet noise, arms looping around Luke's waist. "I'm okay," he murmured. His back was tingling from the brush of Luke's fingers against his most vulnerable - and, definitely, his most sensitive - spot. He let out a shaky breath, still holding onto Luke as he closed his eyes. "Still not sure what to do now."
Luke was quiet for a moment, fingers still going over Percy's back, tracing up the younger demigod's spine, back down, almost touching that sensitive point before going up again. Each time Luke's fingers came near his Achilles' spot, Percy had to suppress a shiver of anticipation for that jolt that shot through his body. Finally, the son of Hermes let his hand flatten against Percy's back as he pulled his head up to look at the younger man.
"Now we figure out what's bothering you so we can go home," he told the son of Poseidon. A grin crossed the older demigod's lips, tugging at the scar clawed into his cheek. "Of course, once we get home, I suppose we have quite the confessions to make to a certain daughter of Athena, if she's still at camp."
Percy gave a groan and let his head drop against Luke's shoulder. "She's going to gut me like a fish," he muttered, sounding miserable. Though he'd come to terms with the fact that he was going to have to talk to Annabeth, admit to what had happened and that he was kind of, sort of, not-quite-officially an item with Luke, Percy did not look forward to confessing anything to the girl who was one of his closest friends, had briefly been his girlfriend. "I don't even know where to begin telling her what's happened."
"Well, don't look at me," Luke said, voice completely casual. "You came on to me. Of course, it's not like there's any way to resist these looks." The older demigod preened at his own self-glorification.
"You are so full of yourself," Percy told him, giving a frown and glaring up at the other demigod, though there was no heat in his eyes.
Luke bounced his eyebrows at Percy. "Maybe I am, but I bet you'd love to be full of me, too."
"Luke!"
The older man laughed heartily then, catching Percy in his arms and pulling him in for a deep kiss. "By the gods, Percy, you are far too innocent for a teenager."
Percy wrinkled his nose up at Luke. "I'm hardly innocent," he muttered. "Not with the dreams we've been sharing for weeks." Those dreams, wild and sexual, pleasing and enlightening, had all been far from innocent dreams. With Eros orchestrating the dreams, using them to undo what his mother had done, it was an experience that Percy had been, at first, confused by, then curious, and finally, come to actually look forward to.
"You know, those don't have to be just dreams," Luke murmured.
"I know, but - "
"Guys!" Tayen called from where Luke and Percy had left her and Nico. Neither she nor the son of Hades were visible from where the other two stood. "Your ten minutes are up! Put your clothes back on and come over here!"
Percy's head fell against Luke's shoulder and the son of Poseidon gave a groan of embarrassment. "Oh, you can so tell she's your friend, Luke," he grumbled. "None of my friends have mouths like that."
"Hurry it up, Jackson!" Nico yelled to his cousin. "You can ride Luke like a Tilt-a-Whirl later!"
"You were saying?" Luke asked, unable resist grinning at the look of shock on Percy's face.
"Where does a twelve-year-old learn to talk like that?" Percy gave a shake of his head as Luke led him back to the other two demigods.
"He's been hanging around Travis and Connor. What do you expect? Those two will corrupt a twelve-year-old faster than you can blink."
Percy heaved a sigh and made a note to talk to the two other sons of Hermes later about the corruption of his younger cousin.
* * * * *
The group was on the last stretch of the Underworld before they reached the exit to Central Park when trouble found them again. Journeying through the Underworld wasn't without its dangers; however, it seemed like a horrible cliché that the final leg of the journey would be the hardest. They'd already traversed the dark realm of Hades, found the Pool of Memories, reunited with Luke and were almost home free when Nico stopped them, hand raised in a silent signal, with his other hand lifting his sword for defense.
Immediately, Luke and Percy both had their swords out as well. Tayen once again had her crossbow up and ready, one of her magic-enhanced arrows notched. All four of them moved together in a formation, backs to each other in a circle. For a long moment, there was nothing; no movement and the only sounds those of four demigod's breathing. Whatever Nico sensed, it was good at hiding in the dank darkness that surrounded them.
It wasn't until a whizzing noise sounded and Nico cried out that any of them knew their enemy had struck. The fact that the son of Hades - more than a fair fighter, despite his young age, and someone who was one of the last people that any of them thought could be hit - had collapsed almost immediately, a small, crude dart in his shoulder.
"Nico!" Percy broke formation to get to his cousin.
"Haha, got him!" a familiar voice called out. A moment later and the two lamiae from the previous day showed themselves. The one that had cheerfully proclaimed that she'd gotten Nico lowered her bamboo dart gun with a fang-filled grin.
"Great job, Evadne!" the other lamia, Stacia, said, slithering across the rocky terrain towards the fallen son of Hades.
Luke cut her off, running between her and the two sons of the Big Three. In a flurry of motion, the son of Hermes fended off her attacks, protecting his friends with ease. Just as in the mock-fight a few weeks ago, he showed that his lack of memories were no handicap to his skills with a blade; he knew how to fight, his movements sharp, studied, and deadly. "Get him out of here!" he called over his shoulder to Percy.
Tayen joined Luke in fighting the two lamiae, using her crossbow to keep Evadne from getting closer. Her arrows differed from those Percy had seen the Apollo kids and the Hunters of Artemis use in battle before; the daughter of Hecate charmed them with all sorts of spells, spells more serious than a sulfur charm or noise-making charm. Her arrows were no laughing matter. At first, Percy thought that Tayen was missing her target, her arrows striking the ground a full three feet from the lamia, but as he looked closer, he saw that the arrows sparked and created an electric current between themselves, effectively standing as a barrier to keep Evadne from getting closer.
"Percy!" the daughter of Hecate shouted, still shooting arrows to fend Evadne off. "What are you waiting for? Get Nico out! They probably poisoned him!"
That got Percy's attention back to his younger cousin. He caught Nico's uninjured arm and looped it over his own shoulders to help the son of Hades stand again. Nico was still conscious, thankfully, but judging by the way his eyes were fluttering and the way sweat beaded on his forehead, Percy doubted that the boy was going to stay conscious much longer. With Tayen and Luke keeping the two lamiae at bay, Percy hurried towards the exit of the Underworld.
"Percy, wait!"
The son of Poseidon paused and turned, just in time to catch an object that Tayen had thrown to him. The daughter of Hecate went right back to firing at Evadne. "Get up to the mortal world!" Tayen called over her shoulder. "Turn the dial three times! It'll put you in contact with Emma and Ella! Tell them to come get you!"
Percy had to trust that Tayen and Luke would catch up and that the device the girl had thrown him would do what she said it would. He needed to get Nico out of danger's way and he needed to do it quick. Holding onto his cousin and pulling the son of Hades towards the cavern that would lead them out of the Underworld, moving as quickly as he could with a half-conscious young teen leaning against him. He was reminded of the last time he and Nico had been in the Underworld together, when the son of Hades had brought him there to help him gain invincibility.
It took much longer than he would have liked, but Percy eventually got Nico through the cavern to Central Park. By the time they got outside, the younger demigod had lost consciousness completely. He was breathing, but his whole body was shivering, his skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and the black clothes Nico wore were soaked with his perspiration. Percy had to do something, anything, to help Nico. The problem was that Percy was no healer and he knew nothing about poisons like the one that had been clearly used on the younger demigod.
He had no choice but to use whatever Tayen had thrown him. Setting Nico down gently, he sat beside the son of Hades as he held up the device. It looked like a watch-bracelet, thin and silver, but instead of a clock-face, it held a picture of the twins from the Aura cabin, sitting together for what must have been a professional portrait. Turning the dial on the side, three times as instructed, Percy prayed this would be fast; he needed to get Nico to the camp, to one of the Apollo healers in the infirmary; they had to know what to do about the poison the lamia had used on Nico.
"Tayen, where are you?" one of the twins' voice came through the device.
"We've been worried sick about you!" the other added.
Percy had to feel a little guilty that the girls couldn't actually talk to Tayen, since the daughter of Hecate was, currently, still in the Underworld with Luke. "Hey, actually, it's Percy," the son of Poseidon told the two girls.
"Percy? What are you doing with Tayen's bracelet?"
Percy shook his head, though it was clear that neither of the girls could see through the watch to see him do so. "I'll explain later, but Tayen said to call you two," he said, the words coming out of his mouth in a rush. "Nico's been hurt, poisoned. I need you two to come to Central Park as fast as you come. We need to get him to the camp healers."
"Oh my gods." Percy still couldn't tell which of the twins was speaking, but it didn't seem to matter all that much, because it almost seemed the two of them were alternating every other sentence. "Percy, stay right where you are."
"We'll find you. Tayen charmed our bracelets in case we got lost."
"Because we sort of suck with directions."
"And always wind up calling her."
"Hey, Emma, Ella?" The son of Poseidon was getting a little impatient. "Nico? Poison? Gotta get him to the infirmary, remember?"
There was a quiet 'oh, yeah' on the other end. A loud bang sounded, like a door being slammed open and hitting the wall. "Two minutes, Percy!"
The connection between the bracelet and the ones that twins implied they had cut off then, leaving Percy with nothing to do but wait. He kept Nico close to him, wishing that he could do something for his cousin besides sit there with him. The poison in the younger demigod's body seemed to be affecting Nico's mind, as well as his body, as the son of Hades would occasionally whimper in his unconscious state and call out for his sister.
Seeing the normally calm, mostly aloof child of Hades like this wasn't easy for Percy, not when he'd come to know his younger cousin as having the strength to get through just about anything. Nico might not have the curse of invincibility, but he was strong, untouchable in his own way. After all, the younger demigod had survived on his own for over two years after his sister had died, he was the Ghost King, the one who had brought Percy to the Styx, in defiance against the Lord of the Dead himself. If that wasn't strength, Percy didn't know what to call it.
"You're going to be okay, Nico," Percy promised his cousin. He brushed Nico's bangs from his face, then looked towards the Door of Orpheus, waiting and watching for Luke and Tayen. "We're all going to be okay."
Silence answered him, Nico's soft whimpers having ceased and no one come through the cavern after them. It was too quiet for Percy's comfort and, in the silence, his ADHD-addled mind started going a mile a minute, with scenarios running through his consciousness. He was eternally grateful that a hard wind picked up a few moments later, alerting him to the Aura twins' arrival. Emma took Nico from the son of Poseidon, promising that she'd get him straight to the infirmary, while Ella took hold of Percy's arm, ready to take him back to camp.
"What about Tayen and Luke?" Percy asked. "They're still in the Underworld."
Ella certainly didn't look pleased that her girlfriend was in the Underworld, but she didn't dwell on it. In fact, she just gave the son of Poseidon a rather knowing smile. "I'm not worried. Luke will get them home."
"In the mean time," Emma called to her sister. "We need to get these two home!"
Ella gave her twin a nod, then looked to Percy. "Hold onto me," she told the older demigod. She gestured for Percy to put his arm around her waist for the best hold and, once he did, the two daughters of Aura concentrated together. Percy couldn't help but be impressed by the wind the twins brought together, creating identical whirlwinds that easily picked all four demigods up.
He wasn't even entirely sure what happened next. The winds that Emma and Ella had created moved too fast for him to see where they were going, but they twins seemed to know exactly what they were doing. It didn't take very long for the whirlwinds to take the four of them from Central Park, back to Camp Half-Blood. When they set down again, Percy found that Emma and Ella had brought them directly to the infirmary, as the younger twin had promised when she'd taken Nico. Percy thanked both of the girls for the ride and went over to Emma, giving her a hand getting Nico actually in the infirmary.
Will Solace, the head healer in the infirmary, took one look at the unconscious, feverish form of the son of Hades and immediately directed Percy and Emma to set the younger demigod on the bed. He shooed both of them out of the infirmary, telling them that the last thing he needed was a bunch of healthy demigods clogging up his infirmary while he healed Nico. Though Percy protested, wanting to make sure his cousin was going to be alright, he finally did leave...
...and found himself face-to-face with Annabeth Chase.
The daughter of Athena had her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her lips, her grey eyes dark as she glowered at him. "Perseus Jackson, you have a lot of explaining to do."
Author's Notes: Just remember, guys, if you lynch me, you can't get updates from me. D: At least the plot's moved from following Luke to the big confessions with Annabeth, right? Yeah, okay, I know. Write faster or you really will lynch me. I know when I'm just a slave to you guys!
Hell, I'm sorry you had to wait since April. DX It should be smooth sailing from here, since this is the last Underworld chapter, but I am not going to make any promises. I so often can't keep them.
Title: On the Fringe
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Eventual!Luke/Percy, past!Percy/Annabeth. Also some OC pairings, but those are very minor.
Warnings: AU, slash (m/m and f/f). Also, there's a handful of OCs, but most of them are camp counselors with minor roles.
Author's Note: This fic completely changes Luke's fate in The Last Olympian. And if you bothered to look at the pairings and warnings, there will be slash, both with boys and girls, so if you don't like it, use your handy little back button right now. If you're still reading this, enjoy the fic.
Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are copyright to Rick Riordan and if he had any idea what I'm doing with his characters, I'm sure he'd be out for my foolish mortal blood. I do, however, own the OCs.
Chapter Nine
Percy was vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms around him when he woke up in the morning, of a source of warmth beside him that he knew he didn't usually wake up to. His eyes were still closed, but he was more than aware of Luke's presence right next to him. The son of Poseidon was far too comfortable where he was to even think of why Luke was there, where they were or, even, who else was also there; until, of course, there was an amused snort from a few feet away. Percy let his eyes finally snap open as he caught sight of Tayen sitting up on the bed she'd slept in overnight.
"Just couldn't stay out of Luke's bed, could you, Jackson?" Tayen teased.
Percy gave a small groan and buried his face in the crook of Luke's neck, much to both Tayen and Luke's amusement. "Technically speaking, this is my bed and Luke just couldn't stay out of it."
Tayen only snorted again. As did Luke, who had clearly been awake for a while - since he'd apparently already gotten up and re-dressed before coming back to Percy's bed, where he'd wrapped his arms around the son of Poseidon and simply watched over him while the younger demigod slept on. The son of Hermes pressed his lips against Percy's hair and finally let go of him. "Come on, Percy," Luke said. "It's time to get up."
Rather reluctant to pull away from the warmth that Luke's body offered, Percy pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Are we leaving soon?"
"Just as soon as Nico gets back," Luke replied. "He went to talk to Mnemosyne about how to get back to the mortal realm from here."
Percy nodded, then stretched with a yawn. He was just a little exhausted still, despite finally getting a proper bit of sleep. His stomach was rumbling a bit as well, the meal Mnemosyne had offered them apparently long enough ago that the son of Poseidon was definitely hungry. Getting up, Percy checked the pockets of the jeans he wore to make sure Riptide was still there, as habit, despite knowing the blade would always return to him.
He rather looked forward to going home. Being in the Underworld wasn't exactly pleasant for him, far too many reminders of past experiences there - of coming in search of his mother, of being dragged there to help search for the sword Persephone had had forged for Hades, of being locked in a cell by the Lord of the Dead himself. Even with the rather nice experiences of visiting Elysium and, now, Mnemosyne's garden, Percy longed for the mortal realm, for the beach at Camp Half-Blood, the scent of the ocean he felt so at home in.
Percy must have looked rather nostalgic because Luke came over to him and wrapped his arms around the younger demigod. "We're going home, Perce," the son of Hermes murmured into Percy's ear. "We're all going home, together."
"Sooner than you think," Nico announced as he stepped back into the room. The son of Hades arched his brow at Luke and Percy, but didn't say anything about the intimate way Luke had the son of Poseidon held against him. "Mnemosyne told me the way to get back to the mortal realm. We've shifted since we came here, so we're no longer near the Acheron, which would have led us out to the Columbia River, on the Oregon and Washington border."
"That wouldn't have been much help," Tayen muttered, arms crossed over her chest. "That's all the way across the country from the camp. I mean, I know there's an airport in Portland, but neither you nor Percy can fly."
"Which is why it's a good thing that, as I've mentioned, the Acheron is not near where we are now," Nico pointed out. "We're actually closer to Father's palace now, so we can go back to the mortal world basically the same way we came in."
"Around Hades' palace and through to Central Park, right?" Luke asked.
Nico gave a nod. "Of course, it's still a couple hours' walk back to there. Mnemosyne has invited us for breakfast before we leave as well."
"That's good," Percy said. He pulled gently out of Luke's arms - much to the older demigod's clear dismay - and went to grab his shoes. "I'm starved."
"So am I," Luke spoke up. "Though I think you and I are talking about two different kinds of 'starved.'"
Tayen rolled her eyes. "Luke, that was uncalled for."
The son of Hermes grinned at her. "What can I say? I'm a son of Hermes, Tay-Dye."
That had the Barbadian girl pausing and staring at the older demigod. Her arms dropped from where she'd had them crossed over her chest as she gaped. It was one of the first times that Percy had ever seen the rather cool and calm daughter of Hecate surprised and he found out why a moment later. "Luke, you haven't called me that in a long time," she said.
Luke gave a pause of his own and looked back at the girl, one brow arched. "I call you that all the time."
Tayen pulled her lower lip into her mouth and shook her head. "You did," she told him. "A long time ago. Not since you came back to camp though."
"Because of my memories being wiped, right?" Luke asked.
Tayen hesitated again, then gave a nod of her head. "I'm...really glad you remembered. I kind of missed my old nickname."
Percy could tell by the exchange between daughter of Hecate and son of Hermes that there was much more to the two of them than he'd known previously. Even with Tayen explaining a few things during the journey through the Underworld, it was clear that the whole story hadn't been told. He was really curious about it, but now was not the time to go into long explanations, especially with the oath sworn on the Styx still holding them back. Tayen wouldn't be able to tell the whole story and Luke couldn't remember the whole story - yet.
"Let's go see Mnemosyne for breakfast," Tayen spoke up suddenly, changing the subject and turning on her heel to head out of the room before Luke could stop her.
Luke gave a frown from his place and turned to Percy. There really wasn't anything that the son of Poseidon could say to Luke, though; since he didn't know what had happened between Tayen and Luke during the war with the Titans, he certainly couldn't explain anything, even if the oath wasn't holding him back. "Let's go, Luke," he told the older demigod. "We don't want to keep breakfast, or Mnemosyne, waiting."
* * * * *
Some time after breakfast, the small group of demigods finally gave Mnemosyne their thanks and said their farewells as they headed out of the cavern that housed the Titaness' garden and home. With Luke joining them, there were now four of them as they took one last look back at the cavern as Mnemosyne waved them off. Her lampade guards also bid the demigods farewell before returning to their posts around the cavern's mouth, taking a half-circle formation.
Nico had said that it was at least a couple hours before they reached the passage way that led them back up to the Door of Orpheus in Central Park. The son of Hades had taken up the lead once again, guiding his companions through the Underworld. As with last time, Nico kept his Stygian iron blade out, in case of any attacks. Percy followed behind Nico, with Luke next to him and Tayen taking up the rear, her crossbow out and readied.
Unlike last time, though, the group wasn't nearly as silent as they'd been coming. Luke, as Mnemosyne had suggested, was taking advantage of the fact he had connections to the three other demigods with him. As Percy listened to Luke talk with Nico and Tayen, he started to piece together the things that he had missed during his year away from Camp Half-Blood.
From what Percy was hearing, Luke hadn't known Nico very long, had only met the young demigod when he'd first come back to camp - he hadn't even known that Hades had demigod children when he first met Nico - but, in the time since he'd returned to camp and Percy had come back, Luke and Nico had become reasonably good friends; Nico, apparently, had been one of the first people to accept the fact that Luke was back and he was the first who treated Luke without a silent grudge, as so many campers did.
When it came to Tayen, Luke had known, rather quickly, that she wasn't just any other camper. She helped Luke more than almost anyone else, giving him potions to help him sleep when he couldn't rest, talked to him when almost no one else would, joked around with him. It was clear that she held nothing against him. Luke often noticed that the daughter of Hecate held a certain sadness around her whenever he was around and, for a while, he'd stopped bothering her until she'd sought him out again.
All of this was new to Percy. Over the last year, he hadn't really kept in touch with the people at Camp Half-Blood, mostly focused on not getting kicked out of school again. With both Grover and Annabeth away from camp during the year as well - Annabeth on Olympus and Grover out doing his Lord of the Wild thing - Percy really hadn't had much reason to contact camp. He hadn't been expecting Nico to stick around camp, since the son of Hades had a tendency to only check in every few weeks.
Learning all of this, Percy was wondering, once again, just how he and Luke were going to work. For all he claimed to know about Luke, there was clearly so much that he was missing. How could he truly love Luke when he just barely knew anything about the older man, outside of what he'd learned during the war and during the last few weeks?
"Percy?"
Luke's voice cut into the son of Poseidon's thoughts and Percy looked up to the older demigod. "What?" he asked, trying to act casual.
"You're doing it again." Luke caught Percy by the hand and stopped, forcing the younger man to do the same. "Thinking too hard." He pulled Percy in and pressed his lips to the son of Poseidon's forehead before looking to Nico. "Let's take a break for a few minutes."
Nico wrinkled his nose. They were about half-way to the exit to Central Park. If they stopped now, it would only take that much longer to get back to the mortal world. Not that the son of Hades had any problem with staying in the Underworld for a while longer - the Underworld was more of a home for him than the cabin he had at Camp Half-Blood, after all; he was comfortable there more than anywhere else. It was more a matter than the others didn't really belong in the Underworld - with, perhaps, the exception of Tayen, but even the daughter of Hecate was not meant to stay there for an extended period of time.
"Alright," Nico finally conceded. They had just passed Hades' palace and, therefore, were safe from most any creature that might have threatened them otherwise, so the younger demigod put his sword down for the time being, sticking the blade into the black earth beneath his feet. "Ten minutes, then we should continue on our way."
"Thanks, Nico," Luke said, pulling Percy off to the side for a moment, so that the two of them could talk in private. The moment they were out of earshot of Tayen and Nico, Luke had his hands on Percy's shoulders, blue-gold eyes focused on the younger demigod with his brow furrowed. "Perce, what's bothering you?"
Percy shook his head. "It's - "
"Don't tell me 'it's nothing'." The son of Hermes knew words as well as his father did. Strong hands squeezed at Percy's shoulders. "Perce, one minute you're saying you love me, want to help me, that you'll fight for me, with me. The next time I turn around, you're standing there with a lost look on your face, like you don't know what to do now."
"I don't know what to do now!" Percy admitted, frustration coloring his voice. "Luke, I've never known 'what to do now'. With Annabeth, it was always her decisions, her plans, her next move."
Luke gave a laugh, despite how obviously stressed Percy was. "You mean to tell me that Annabeth wore the pants in that relationship?" he asked. He didn't even let the son of Poseidon answer before he leaned in and pressed his lips against Percy's in a small, rather tender kiss. "The great Percy Jackson, hero of Olympus, is the submissive one?"
"I never said that," Percy protested, giving a slight frown against Luke's lips. "I just said that Annabeth was the one who always decided what next."
Another laugh escaped the son of Hermes and he pulled Percy close to him. "Sounds pretty submissive to me, Perce." Luke held Percy to him for a long moment, leaning in and burying his face in the crook of the younger man's neck, taking the chance to just breathe in everything that was the son of Poseidon. He let his hand rub down Percy's back, slowly, only stopping when a soft gasp escaped Percy as his fingers just touched the small of the other demigod's back. "Perce?"
Percy gave a quiet noise, arms looping around Luke's waist. "I'm okay," he murmured. His back was tingling from the brush of Luke's fingers against his most vulnerable - and, definitely, his most sensitive - spot. He let out a shaky breath, still holding onto Luke as he closed his eyes. "Still not sure what to do now."
Luke was quiet for a moment, fingers still going over Percy's back, tracing up the younger demigod's spine, back down, almost touching that sensitive point before going up again. Each time Luke's fingers came near his Achilles' spot, Percy had to suppress a shiver of anticipation for that jolt that shot through his body. Finally, the son of Hermes let his hand flatten against Percy's back as he pulled his head up to look at the younger man.
"Now we figure out what's bothering you so we can go home," he told the son of Poseidon. A grin crossed the older demigod's lips, tugging at the scar clawed into his cheek. "Of course, once we get home, I suppose we have quite the confessions to make to a certain daughter of Athena, if she's still at camp."
Percy gave a groan and let his head drop against Luke's shoulder. "She's going to gut me like a fish," he muttered, sounding miserable. Though he'd come to terms with the fact that he was going to have to talk to Annabeth, admit to what had happened and that he was kind of, sort of, not-quite-officially an item with Luke, Percy did not look forward to confessing anything to the girl who was one of his closest friends, had briefly been his girlfriend. "I don't even know where to begin telling her what's happened."
"Well, don't look at me," Luke said, voice completely casual. "You came on to me. Of course, it's not like there's any way to resist these looks." The older demigod preened at his own self-glorification.
"You are so full of yourself," Percy told him, giving a frown and glaring up at the other demigod, though there was no heat in his eyes.
Luke bounced his eyebrows at Percy. "Maybe I am, but I bet you'd love to be full of me, too."
"Luke!"
The older man laughed heartily then, catching Percy in his arms and pulling him in for a deep kiss. "By the gods, Percy, you are far too innocent for a teenager."
Percy wrinkled his nose up at Luke. "I'm hardly innocent," he muttered. "Not with the dreams we've been sharing for weeks." Those dreams, wild and sexual, pleasing and enlightening, had all been far from innocent dreams. With Eros orchestrating the dreams, using them to undo what his mother had done, it was an experience that Percy had been, at first, confused by, then curious, and finally, come to actually look forward to.
"You know, those don't have to be just dreams," Luke murmured.
"I know, but - "
"Guys!" Tayen called from where Luke and Percy had left her and Nico. Neither she nor the son of Hades were visible from where the other two stood. "Your ten minutes are up! Put your clothes back on and come over here!"
Percy's head fell against Luke's shoulder and the son of Poseidon gave a groan of embarrassment. "Oh, you can so tell she's your friend, Luke," he grumbled. "None of my friends have mouths like that."
"Hurry it up, Jackson!" Nico yelled to his cousin. "You can ride Luke like a Tilt-a-Whirl later!"
"You were saying?" Luke asked, unable resist grinning at the look of shock on Percy's face.
"Where does a twelve-year-old learn to talk like that?" Percy gave a shake of his head as Luke led him back to the other two demigods.
"He's been hanging around Travis and Connor. What do you expect? Those two will corrupt a twelve-year-old faster than you can blink."
Percy heaved a sigh and made a note to talk to the two other sons of Hermes later about the corruption of his younger cousin.
* * * * *
The group was on the last stretch of the Underworld before they reached the exit to Central Park when trouble found them again. Journeying through the Underworld wasn't without its dangers; however, it seemed like a horrible cliché that the final leg of the journey would be the hardest. They'd already traversed the dark realm of Hades, found the Pool of Memories, reunited with Luke and were almost home free when Nico stopped them, hand raised in a silent signal, with his other hand lifting his sword for defense.
Immediately, Luke and Percy both had their swords out as well. Tayen once again had her crossbow up and ready, one of her magic-enhanced arrows notched. All four of them moved together in a formation, backs to each other in a circle. For a long moment, there was nothing; no movement and the only sounds those of four demigod's breathing. Whatever Nico sensed, it was good at hiding in the dank darkness that surrounded them.
It wasn't until a whizzing noise sounded and Nico cried out that any of them knew their enemy had struck. The fact that the son of Hades - more than a fair fighter, despite his young age, and someone who was one of the last people that any of them thought could be hit - had collapsed almost immediately, a small, crude dart in his shoulder.
"Nico!" Percy broke formation to get to his cousin.
"Haha, got him!" a familiar voice called out. A moment later and the two lamiae from the previous day showed themselves. The one that had cheerfully proclaimed that she'd gotten Nico lowered her bamboo dart gun with a fang-filled grin.
"Great job, Evadne!" the other lamia, Stacia, said, slithering across the rocky terrain towards the fallen son of Hades.
Luke cut her off, running between her and the two sons of the Big Three. In a flurry of motion, the son of Hermes fended off her attacks, protecting his friends with ease. Just as in the mock-fight a few weeks ago, he showed that his lack of memories were no handicap to his skills with a blade; he knew how to fight, his movements sharp, studied, and deadly. "Get him out of here!" he called over his shoulder to Percy.
Tayen joined Luke in fighting the two lamiae, using her crossbow to keep Evadne from getting closer. Her arrows differed from those Percy had seen the Apollo kids and the Hunters of Artemis use in battle before; the daughter of Hecate charmed them with all sorts of spells, spells more serious than a sulfur charm or noise-making charm. Her arrows were no laughing matter. At first, Percy thought that Tayen was missing her target, her arrows striking the ground a full three feet from the lamia, but as he looked closer, he saw that the arrows sparked and created an electric current between themselves, effectively standing as a barrier to keep Evadne from getting closer.
"Percy!" the daughter of Hecate shouted, still shooting arrows to fend Evadne off. "What are you waiting for? Get Nico out! They probably poisoned him!"
That got Percy's attention back to his younger cousin. He caught Nico's uninjured arm and looped it over his own shoulders to help the son of Hades stand again. Nico was still conscious, thankfully, but judging by the way his eyes were fluttering and the way sweat beaded on his forehead, Percy doubted that the boy was going to stay conscious much longer. With Tayen and Luke keeping the two lamiae at bay, Percy hurried towards the exit of the Underworld.
"Percy, wait!"
The son of Poseidon paused and turned, just in time to catch an object that Tayen had thrown to him. The daughter of Hecate went right back to firing at Evadne. "Get up to the mortal world!" Tayen called over her shoulder. "Turn the dial three times! It'll put you in contact with Emma and Ella! Tell them to come get you!"
Percy had to trust that Tayen and Luke would catch up and that the device the girl had thrown him would do what she said it would. He needed to get Nico out of danger's way and he needed to do it quick. Holding onto his cousin and pulling the son of Hades towards the cavern that would lead them out of the Underworld, moving as quickly as he could with a half-conscious young teen leaning against him. He was reminded of the last time he and Nico had been in the Underworld together, when the son of Hades had brought him there to help him gain invincibility.
It took much longer than he would have liked, but Percy eventually got Nico through the cavern to Central Park. By the time they got outside, the younger demigod had lost consciousness completely. He was breathing, but his whole body was shivering, his skin was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and the black clothes Nico wore were soaked with his perspiration. Percy had to do something, anything, to help Nico. The problem was that Percy was no healer and he knew nothing about poisons like the one that had been clearly used on the younger demigod.
He had no choice but to use whatever Tayen had thrown him. Setting Nico down gently, he sat beside the son of Hades as he held up the device. It looked like a watch-bracelet, thin and silver, but instead of a clock-face, it held a picture of the twins from the Aura cabin, sitting together for what must have been a professional portrait. Turning the dial on the side, three times as instructed, Percy prayed this would be fast; he needed to get Nico to the camp, to one of the Apollo healers in the infirmary; they had to know what to do about the poison the lamia had used on Nico.
"Tayen, where are you?" one of the twins' voice came through the device.
"We've been worried sick about you!" the other added.
Percy had to feel a little guilty that the girls couldn't actually talk to Tayen, since the daughter of Hecate was, currently, still in the Underworld with Luke. "Hey, actually, it's Percy," the son of Poseidon told the two girls.
"Percy? What are you doing with Tayen's bracelet?"
Percy shook his head, though it was clear that neither of the girls could see through the watch to see him do so. "I'll explain later, but Tayen said to call you two," he said, the words coming out of his mouth in a rush. "Nico's been hurt, poisoned. I need you two to come to Central Park as fast as you come. We need to get him to the camp healers."
"Oh my gods." Percy still couldn't tell which of the twins was speaking, but it didn't seem to matter all that much, because it almost seemed the two of them were alternating every other sentence. "Percy, stay right where you are."
"We'll find you. Tayen charmed our bracelets in case we got lost."
"Because we sort of suck with directions."
"And always wind up calling her."
"Hey, Emma, Ella?" The son of Poseidon was getting a little impatient. "Nico? Poison? Gotta get him to the infirmary, remember?"
There was a quiet 'oh, yeah' on the other end. A loud bang sounded, like a door being slammed open and hitting the wall. "Two minutes, Percy!"
The connection between the bracelet and the ones that twins implied they had cut off then, leaving Percy with nothing to do but wait. He kept Nico close to him, wishing that he could do something for his cousin besides sit there with him. The poison in the younger demigod's body seemed to be affecting Nico's mind, as well as his body, as the son of Hades would occasionally whimper in his unconscious state and call out for his sister.
Seeing the normally calm, mostly aloof child of Hades like this wasn't easy for Percy, not when he'd come to know his younger cousin as having the strength to get through just about anything. Nico might not have the curse of invincibility, but he was strong, untouchable in his own way. After all, the younger demigod had survived on his own for over two years after his sister had died, he was the Ghost King, the one who had brought Percy to the Styx, in defiance against the Lord of the Dead himself. If that wasn't strength, Percy didn't know what to call it.
"You're going to be okay, Nico," Percy promised his cousin. He brushed Nico's bangs from his face, then looked towards the Door of Orpheus, waiting and watching for Luke and Tayen. "We're all going to be okay."
Silence answered him, Nico's soft whimpers having ceased and no one come through the cavern after them. It was too quiet for Percy's comfort and, in the silence, his ADHD-addled mind started going a mile a minute, with scenarios running through his consciousness. He was eternally grateful that a hard wind picked up a few moments later, alerting him to the Aura twins' arrival. Emma took Nico from the son of Poseidon, promising that she'd get him straight to the infirmary, while Ella took hold of Percy's arm, ready to take him back to camp.
"What about Tayen and Luke?" Percy asked. "They're still in the Underworld."
Ella certainly didn't look pleased that her girlfriend was in the Underworld, but she didn't dwell on it. In fact, she just gave the son of Poseidon a rather knowing smile. "I'm not worried. Luke will get them home."
"In the mean time," Emma called to her sister. "We need to get these two home!"
Ella gave her twin a nod, then looked to Percy. "Hold onto me," she told the older demigod. She gestured for Percy to put his arm around her waist for the best hold and, once he did, the two daughters of Aura concentrated together. Percy couldn't help but be impressed by the wind the twins brought together, creating identical whirlwinds that easily picked all four demigods up.
He wasn't even entirely sure what happened next. The winds that Emma and Ella had created moved too fast for him to see where they were going, but they twins seemed to know exactly what they were doing. It didn't take very long for the whirlwinds to take the four of them from Central Park, back to Camp Half-Blood. When they set down again, Percy found that Emma and Ella had brought them directly to the infirmary, as the younger twin had promised when she'd taken Nico. Percy thanked both of the girls for the ride and went over to Emma, giving her a hand getting Nico actually in the infirmary.
Will Solace, the head healer in the infirmary, took one look at the unconscious, feverish form of the son of Hades and immediately directed Percy and Emma to set the younger demigod on the bed. He shooed both of them out of the infirmary, telling them that the last thing he needed was a bunch of healthy demigods clogging up his infirmary while he healed Nico. Though Percy protested, wanting to make sure his cousin was going to be alright, he finally did leave...
...and found himself face-to-face with Annabeth Chase.
The daughter of Athena had her arms crossed over her chest and a scowl on her lips, her grey eyes dark as she glowered at him. "Perseus Jackson, you have a lot of explaining to do."
Author's Notes: Just remember, guys, if you lynch me, you can't get updates from me. D: At least the plot's moved from following Luke to the big confessions with Annabeth, right? Yeah, okay, I know. Write faster or you really will lynch me. I know when I'm just a slave to you guys!