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It genuinely amazed Percy Jackson how quickly he got used to the assassination attempts. After two months he wasn't surprised anymore. By four months they were only annoying. By six months he didn't even find them annoying so much as tiresome.
That isn't to say that Percy took the assassination attempts lightly. Each attempt was made in earnest, each would-be assassin serious about their intentions. Though they all had their own reasons, they wanted their target dead.
Percy thwarted every attempt, keeping his charge safe. Although safe might be stretching it considering there were daily attempts. Breathing and mostly unharmed were probably better ways to describe what life was like for Luke Castellan now that he was a prisoner at Camp Half-Blood.
Now one might think that it made sense to lock up the guy who stole from two Olympian gods, tried to start a war, and attempted to raise Kronos. Unfortunately Luke couldn't be contained by anything with a lock or by any sort of binding - not even magically enchanted bindings - because one of Luke's powers was to open, unlock, and unravel…basically anything. According to Dionysus, Luke's more or less god level at it. The magical border was keeping Luke inside Camp, but Dionysus had hinted that if Luke really wanted to find out a way out, he probably could.
Percy was going to have a serious talk with Hermes about this the next time he saw him. Of all Hermes' kids to give outrageous powers to, why did it have to be Luke?
In the meantime, Percy took it upon himself to keep an eye on Luke. Naturally this was a full-time job. Not only because he couldn't allow anyone else to risk their lives being around Luke, but because Percy didn't trust anyone not to take Luke's side as a Kronos sympathizer. Luke was naturally charming and worse, the things he said about the gods was right.
The thing was, Percy thought that Kronos was just as much of a jackass as Zeus was. And he's heard the way that Kronos talked down to Luke so he didn't understand why Luke was on Kronos' side either. Maybe Luke was the kind who would rather be abused than ignored.
Another thing Percy needed to talk to Hermes about, once Hermes decided to show his face again. If he showed his face again. For all that Hermes sent Percy on that quest to bring Luke home, Hermes hadn't actually shown up afterward. And to top it off, Luke wasn't welcome in the Hermes Cabin anymore.
Which was admittedly probably for his own safety since everyone was trying to kill him and for the safety of everyone else since the gods didn't want Luke to recruit anyone else. But still, that had to hurt. Luke took the news stone-faced until Percy had blurted out, "Well no shit he isn't sleeping in Eleven. Luke's my prisoner, which makes him Poseidon's. He's sleeping in Three." And Luke's lips had twitched up in a smile while everyone else stood shocked.
Poseidon didn't smite Luke that night, or any night since. Not even when Percy got so antsy about assassins that he demanded Luke sleep in the same bed as him. "It'll be easier to protect you if you're in arms reach," Percy said, trying to will his face to stop turning red. It didn't work.
"You're cute," Luke said as he slid under the covers beside Percy. He laid with his back to the door, facing Percy.
"I'm not cute. It's just practical." Percy should probably have switched spots with Luke…but he didn't. He scooted closer, put one arm over Luke. His hand rested between Luke's shoulder blades. They were extremely close, chest-to-chest and legs intertwined. "I-it's just my shield," Percy explained and expanded the shield hidden in his wristwatch. It covered Luke's back and head, would shield him from any deadly attacks.
Luke twisted to look. When he settled again he grinned. "You're amazing, Percy Jackson."
"Well, don't go singing my praises until it actually works. No one's tried to assassinate you in the cabin yet."
Percy prayed that they wouldn't. It would have been nice to have one safe spot in the camp. But his prayers ultimately went unanswered, because eight months after Luke was taken prisoner, someone snuck into Cabin Three.
Percy was awake in his dreams, watching over their bodies from above. It wasn't particularly restful and he didn't know how he was doing it, but Percy saw the cabin's interior from a bird's eye view. He saw his own body pressed to Luke's in their bed. He saw the door open and close with barely a sound. He saw no one enter. Which really gave away exactly who it was.
Out of everyone at Camp Half-Blood, she was the last person Percy expected to assassinate Luke.
Percy spent the past eight months awake in his dreams. Activating the shield in his watch while still dreaming was a simple matter only because he'd practiced so much.
Annabeth's dagger bounced off the metal with a clang.
Percy opened his eyes, already rising up to stand on the bed and get higher ground. He shoved with the shield, pushing Annabeth backwards, and pulling the ballpoint pen from beneath his pillow.
Annabeth stumbled backward but didn't fall.
Percy growled with annoyance. He pulled water from the saltwater fountain, using it to slick the floor and jumped down in the spot he guessed she would be.
Scrambling footsteps gave away Annabeth's location.
Percy used the water to grab her. He knocked the invisibility cap off her head and Annabeth came into view.
Behind Percy, came the creak of the mattress as Luke slowly rolled out of bed. "Annabeth?" he asked, sounding so confused it was like a knife in Percy's chest.
Annabeth snarled like a trapped animal. She kicked out but Percy was too far away and her heel thumped harmlessly against the wooden floor.
Percy heard the scrape of metal against wood as Luke picked Annabeth's dagger up off the floor. He turned his head just enough to keep Luke in his peripherals.
Luke wasn't allowed to so much as touch a weapon and now he was holding one. He held it - head bowed and a look of melancholy on his face - with the blade pointed towards himself.
Percy's shoulders went tense and he subtly pulled more water from the fountain; just in case. He really didn't like the look on Luke's face. "What do you want to do with her?" Percy asked.
Normally what happened was that Percy introduced the would-be assassins to the sharp end of Riptide and he maimed. Percy was currently banned from dessert privileges for the next two years. But more than just maiming, Percy also stuffed ash in the wounds so that even when they healed with nectar and ambrosia, they left permanent marks on the assassins skin. Luke was the one who started it because the first assassination attempt started by the bonfire, but Percy kept up the practice afterwards. Percy wasn't about to let anyone forget what they did.
Percy now kept a pocketful of ash on him at all times. There were even jars full of it in the Poseidon Cabin.
Normally Percy wouldn't hesitate to maim and mark except… Annabeth was Luke's little sister; by heart more than by blood. Which meant that while Percy could cut up the Hermes Cabin and Luke wouldn't bat an eye, Percy wasn't so sure he could do the same to Annabeth. And since Percy had to sleep with Luke, he was more conscientious about these sorts of things.
Luke knelt in front of Annabeth. "Which of us were you trying to kill?"
Annabeth's face went red as a tomato. It looked like she wasn't going to answer. Finally she spat out a name like a curse, "Percy."
Percy blinked, surprised. He knew that Annabeth didn't like him, and if he needed anyone to push him down a flight of stairs she was his girl. But to attempt to kill him and in his own cabin? That was batshit crazy. "What did I do to you?"
"LUKE IS MINE!" Annabeth roared.
The silence afterwards made Percy's ears ring. Percy was impressed by her vocals and sincerely hoped no one outside of the cabin heard that. He did not want to think about what the Camp gossip was going to be like in the morning.
When Annabeth caught her breath she said, "He's my brother! He's my protector! He's supposed to be by my side! He's supposed to be on my side! But ever since you got here, it's just Percy, Percy, Percy. It was bad enough before when you spent all day alone in the woods together. Now you're literally sleeping in the same bed like you're married."
Annabeth sounded so scandalized by this that Percy couldn't help but blush. Married? Married? Yeah right. As if. Married. Pft. Percy had to diffuse this situation. "Yeah! Because people keep trying to literally murder him! If they didn't have a murder boner for Luke, we'd still be sleeping in different beds."
Luke facepalmed and sighed.
Maybe boner wasn't the right word to use in this situation.
"Maybe Luke shouldn't be so stupid," Annabeth retorted.
"So you're alright with everyone else in the Camp trying to kill him but not with me sharing a bed with him to keep him alive?" Percy asked. Her logic made no sense.
"Luke can keep himself alive. He doesn't need you," Annabeth snapped.
"I'm not allowed to have weapons, Annabeth," Luke said mildly.
Percy's hackles raised. He couldn't quite pinpoint what it was but something about this conversation felt…wrong. He was missing something.
"You were killing monsters at fourteen with your bare hands from the time Grover found us all the way to Camp Half-Blood," Annabeth said, her voice full of pride.
Luke shook his head. "You were only seven. You're forgetting how many times I got hurt, or Thalia bailed me out, or we ran away without killing them."
Percy could admit that he was more inclined to believe this version. Luke was strong - just look at those biceps! - but Percy's never heard of anyone killing monsters with their bare hands. The idea unnerved him.
"Without Percy, I would be long dead. Don't underestimate him, Annabeth." Luke spun the dagger, the point of it facing Annabeth. In the blink of an eye, Luke cut the hollow of Annabeth's throat. He kept the dagger pressed to her throat. "Now listen closely. Percy is the only thing standing between me and death. The moment he dies, I do too."
Blood welled up red, pooling until it stained the neckline of Annabeth's orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. She gave a belated gasp. Tears began to fill Annabeth's eyes.
"Percy. Ash." Luke held out his hand.
Percy deposited the pouch of ash into Luke's palm.
As he pressed ash into the cut, Luke said, "A reminder, so that you don't forget."
Some demigods tried to wash the ash out of their wounds before healing them, but Percy and Luke thought of that. There were flakes of dried ambrosia mixed into the ash so that it began healing immediately. Even if it wasn't a perfect black line, they'd never fully remove the black spots. Annabeth didn't get a chance to wash out her wounds because Percy handed Luke a small canteen of nectar.
Luke poured it over the wound and it healed into a clean black line on the hollow of Annabeth's throat. He stood, recapped the canteen, and set it aside. "Let her go, Percy."
Percy wasn't so sure he wanted to. In fact he thought that she got off lightly. "Annabeth, I wouldn't go on the water for a while," he said. "You did try to kill Poseidon's only demigod son in Poseidon's Cabin, after all." If dad didn't try to drown her, Percy himself might for the sheer audacity of her assassination attempt. Then he let her go.
Annabeth scrambled for her hat. She snatched it but didn't try to put it on. That was probably the wisest thing she did all evening. Instead she looked at Luke and asked, "Are you going to give me my dagger back?"
"I'm going to hang onto it for a while," Luke replied.
"You aren't allowed to have weapons," Annabeth said, gray eyes narrowing.
Luke handed the dagger to Percy. "Percy will keep it safe for me."
Oh great, Annabeth was going to love that.
Annabeth looked like she was going to scream again. She looked like she wanted to strangle Percy. If looks could kill, Percy would be dead on the spot. But Luke's lesson must have sunk in because she slunk to the door and left without another word.
Percy closed the door behind her and though it was foolish, he rested his forehead against the wood. He wished his cabin door had a lock, but none of the cabins did. Maybe he should make one somehow. No, Percy didn't know the first thing about making locks. It would be easier to go to the store and buy one. But would a lock really keep anyone at this damn place out? The half that cared about subtly could get through a store-bought lock easy and the half that didn't, well, were more than capable of brute-forcing the door open.
Luke's arms around Percy only made him jump a little. His body was warm against Percy's. He rested his chin against Percy's shoulder. "I'm sorry about Annabeth."
"I can't really blame that one on you," Percy said. He tilted his head so that he was touching more of Luke.
"Your shield worked," Luke noted. His hand slid along Percy's forearm, stopping at the wristwatch. His touch was delicate.
Percy felt Luke's heart beating against his back. "Didn't save you, though."
"Sure it did. I'll die without you, Percy." Luke's fingers brushed Percy's palm. They were almost holding hands. "Come on, let's go back to bed."
"Alright," Percy agreed with a sigh. He was more tired than usual after a fight. Maybe it was because Annabeth woke him up in the middle of the night. Percy crawled into bed, tucking Riptide and the dagger under his pillow.
"Is that comfortable?" Luke asked as he laid down beside Percy.
"No," Percy admitted, and adjusted the dagger until it wasn't as annoying. He yawned right in Luke's face and then mumbled, "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Your breath is still minty fresh," Luke teased.
Percy huffed. He threw his arm over Luke, hand settling in its customary spot between Luke's shoulders.
Silence fell between them. It was comfortable. In the beginning there was some awkwardness, but by now Luke and Percy were comfortable with each other. Neither usually felt the need to fill that silence. Except Percy couldn't just let himself fall asleep. He had to know.
"Do you really not need me?" Percy asked quietly. And instantly regretted the way he asked it. That wasn't what he meant to ask, but what slipped out of his stupid mouth and it was too late to take it back. "I mean, killing any monsters with your bare hands at fourteen is impressive and it's not like you've gotten any weaker."
Luke took a very deliberate breath. He reached for Percy's hand between them, held it in his. And then he told Percy the truth. "I was buying Thalia and Grover time to get Annabeth away from the immediate threat. Thalia had a huge target on her back because she was a daughter of Zeus, but she can move like lightning when she wants to and Hermes is a speedster so I can more or less keep up with her. But Annabeth was slowing us down and the monsters were finally catching up to us. We had to literally take turns carrying her and fighting monsters. I didn't have a weapon because I gave my dagger to Annabeth, so when it was my turn to fight, I had to use my speed and my hands. Sometimes it worked. Sometimes Thalia had to double back to save my ass. Even when I won those fights, I got hurt a lot, and I burned through our supply of nectar and ambrosia."
Percy tried to imagine that life, and it scared him. His heart ached for Luke. He squeezed Luke's hand. "That sounds really shitty."
"It was." Luke lifted his chin, tucking Percy's head against his neck. "I could probably stop most of the assassination attempts myself, but Percy, it's really nice to not have to always fight my own battles. I like knowing you've got my back."
Percy nuzzled the pillow until he was comfortable with the new position and if he was nuzzling Luke at the same time, that was just a happy coincidence. He hooked his fingers in the material of Luke's shirt. "Having your back is my job." It wasn't. Only Hermes would care if Luke died, but Percy still couldn't bear the thought of letting it happen.
"And you're very good at it," Luke said. He brought his free hand up and stroked the back of Percy's head, twirling his fingers in the curls at the nape of Percy's neck, before starting all over again. "But you can rest easy tonight, Percy. You've more than earned it."
Percy couldn't keep his eyes open. He didn't try very hard. Because as soon as he closed his eyes he was dreaming above them again.
Percy watched Luke pet him so tenderly it was easy to forget that those hands were capable of killing him. After a while Luke raised his head and saw that Percy was asleep. He smiled a warm, soft smile that made Percy blush even in his dreams. "Sweet dreams, Percy," Luke said quietly, and kissed Percy's cheek. Then he laid down and went to sleep.
If my dreams get any sweeter, I'll get cavities, Percy thought, smiling, and saw his smile reflected on his sleeping face.