#poseidon is a good parent

[kationella]

I wish we had gotten the POV of someone with more of a history with their godly parent during the Battle of the Acropolis. And by that I mean either Percy or Annabeth. If Nico or Thalia had been there I would have been okay with their POVs too.

Can you imagine the tension, angst, and yearning during the fight? Did they trade words or battle banter? Annabeth had recently dealt with the fallout of the Mark of Athena, and now she has to fight alongside the one who started that whole mess. This would have made for an excellent opportunity to address Annabeth's feelings and relationship with Athena across the series, giving that background plotline that has been since The Lightning Thief closure.

Or maybe the appearance of multiple sons of Poseidon across HOO foreshadows a final talk between Percy and Poseidon after the fight. After they can finally stand physically together side by side. Percy, after being left alone by his father once the Great Prophecy ended, feels the true (maybe now fully unconditional) support of his father for the first time in his life. A great send-off for Percy as a protagonist before focusing on new characters in the next sagas.

Just... they were DEMIGODS fighting alongside their GODLY PARENTS. That was huge. The kind of shit you only saw in fanfics. I just feel it could have been... more(?).

[one-in-a-million-fishsticks]

The Netflix show Kaos just rewired my brain chemistry.

First of all, fuck Zeus. That fucker killed a kitten, a baby, and who-the-fuck-knows who else. I will never forgive him.

Secondly, Dionysus as an immature fratboy is everything that I never knew I needed.

Hera is awful and deserves every bit of shit that Zeus gives her, but we already knew that.

Persephone was ✨ SLAYING ✨ from start to finish, her and Hades have my whole heart.

Prometheus genuinely had me snorting here and there, I loved him.

Fuck all the way off, Poseidon.

The fact that the entire rest of the pantheon fails to appear at all purely because they make a hobby out of avoiding Zeus at any cost might be the funniest fucking thing ever to come out of an interpretation of Greek mythology.

Riddy (Eurydice) and Orpheus are both such great characters, alone and as a complicated relationship thing. They're super well rounded and developed, both mean well, but they're so humanly written. They don't know what to do with each other, neither wants to hurt the other, but their decisions are flawed and their love has turned into such a messy situationship. It's beautiful when they finally communicate and accept the circumstances for what they are.

A healthy breakup, in my Greek mythology media?

It's more likely than you think!

Canaeus, my beloved.

Cassandra, my scruffier beloved!!!! 🤩

Ari, you own my heart now.

All such well written characters, now where's my Season 2 announcement?

[livingonsugar]

So we all know that Percy is Poseidon’s favorite son - that is canon and has been stated outright by other individuals. And now we get Poseidon loving to brag about Percy to the other Olympians/gods. (I mean - I think they were talking about Percy here).

Reminded me of what Poseidon told Percy at the end of TLO (“You have risen above every hero; not even Hercules -“). You just KNOW that Poseidon was insufferable afterward. That’s probably the real reason Zeus got annoyed and frustrated with Percy.

“Yeah, yeah - your kid did all those great quests and whatever, but did YOUR kid save Olympus and help bring down one of the gods’ most dangerous and powerful enemies? I don’t think so.”

(Side note: The only thing I don’t like about the READ RIORDAN post is their mention of Percy and Annabeth “coming back from Tartarus with minimal injury and trauma” - like did we read the same book?)

[dezyj1205]

One Shot!!

So I am working on No Cut Strings right now, but while I was writing it an idea for a one shot wouldn't leave me alone. I decided to write it as I wrote the next chapter (which might be late but it's because of health reasons so I'm sorry). It's loosely based off of my Incorrect Quote of how Percy should have met Triton but won't be completely the same. It's not too long (it is a one shot lmao) but I hope it isn't too short either.

My plan is to make this a series of one shots based around the SeaFam and the Incorrect Quotes I post. I'll probably not add onto it all the time, just every now and then between chapters that take a little longer to write. Like a treat. <3

There is a little bit of world building in this fic, and I did take several creative liberties for how Atlantis is constructed but it's fanfic soooo...

If I'm remembering right Thalia was turned into a tree 5 years before Percy went to camp, so he was 7- like Annabeth. So, most of the plans in this fic focus on the fact Percy isn't the prophecy child, and the gods know that because Zeus told them about Thalia when she was born. Let's pretend the other gods were mad, but didn't try and kill her because her dad fucked up. Let's pretend the gods know about Percy and didn't try to kill him because Thalia was already born, and they can't really say anything against it. OK? Let me have my creative liberties please <3

12,694 Words (36 pages)

(originally i was planning for it to be 4-6k but it got away from me)

TRIGGER WARNING: Canonical child abuse, alcohol abuse, mentions of child abuse, and the SeaFam reacting to Gabe...

Take care of yourselves and read carefully!

Percy and His Fish - Inordinateamountofficsconsumed - Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan [Archive of Our Own]

[mythology-void]

guys. guys both Poseidon and hermes think they're terrible fathers but they were both willing to make unimaginable sacrifices to make sure their sons were safe. guys. guys pay attention

[pjohoo-reclists]

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis Fic Recs

A list of fics with Percy Jackson and Paul Blofis's father - son relationship. Last updated 10/8/23. Enjoy!

The Shovel Talk by LaughingThalia

G | 300 words | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

BAMF Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson is a Queen amongst Woman, Don't Mess With Sally Jackson, She Will Mess You Up and then use your lifeless corpse to pay for schooling

Paul's been expecting the Shovel Talk from Percy for a while. He's an only child, teenaged boy, son of a Greek god whose mother's ex-husband used to abuse her so he was pretty much certain it was going to happen. The content of such talk was the surprise. Sally's a bad ass.

Sons and Fathers by the_seaworthy_muffin

G | 400 words | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Family Fluff, Father-Son Relationship, Drabble

“Eleven dollars,” the cashier says, passing them their assorted snacks in a plastic bag. Paul hands over his card. Then, almost as if on an afterthought, the cashier adds: “He your son?” Paul freezes. The thing is, he wants to say yes. He wants to believe that both Percy and he think the answer is yes. But what if Poseidon smites him for daring to claim his son? The sea god is real. Paul doesn’t want to spend the rest of his life as a barnacle on the bottom of a ship.

Go ahead and cry little boy, nobody does it like you do by Pluto_Not_The_Planet

Not Rated | 600 words | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

BAMF Percy Jackson, Good Parent Paul Blofis, High School

"What happened?" Paul let the words hang in the air as Percy fidgeted and drooped his head down. Paul consoles Percy in the staff room after a fight. Or alternatively, Paul and Percy have a weird bonding moment.

There are worse things I could do by Phantomxlegend

G | 900 words | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Paul is a good step father, he's trying his best, description of a panic attack

There are some things that Gabe did that never left Percy. Paul didn’t mean to trigger him, he didn’t know.

The best step dad by Phantomxlegend

G | 1k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Post Tartarus, Percy has a nightmare, Paul comforts Percy

Usually Annabeth or Sally is the one to comfort him. Paul had no clue what to do in this situation. Percy has a nightmare while Sally and Annabeth are out and Paul is the only one there to help comfort him, and there's no way that Paul is letting his stepson deal with this himself.

Before the Wedding Bells by liketolaugh

G | 1.3k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis

Reveal, Abused, Percy Jackson, Missing Scene, Family Fluff

There's one thing Percy and Sally need to clear up before she marries Paul.

having a hard time adjusting by elliemiller

T | 1.3k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Drunkenness, College, Father Figures

“Reassuring,” Paul says nervously as he approaches Percy, hovering his hands over his stepson. “Where were you? What—” He breaks off as he sniffs, and worry morphs into suspicion. “Is that alcohol?” Percy coughs. “Shit.”

Red Ink Checkmarks by liketolaugh

T | 1.5k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Paul Blofis

Past Child Abuse, Developing Relationship, Boundary Negotiation

Paul joins their family a year and a half after Smelly Gabe leaves it. Percy, to his own irritation, is still sensitive about a lot of things at that point.

Sword to the Throat by DancingInTheSliverGlow

G | 1.7k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Hermes, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Misunderstandings, Good friend Hermes, Protective Paul Blofis

Percy wakes up with a start. His eyes focus, and the same face is staring down at him. The same blue eyes, the same elvish features, same skin tone- Before he knows it, Percy lunges up, grabbing Luke with one hand, uncapping riptide with the other, kicking out with a leg and twisting until Luke is pinned underneath him. Percy slashes with riptide, forwards, under Luke’s neck until- Hands appear in front of his neck, stopping the blade from touching. Golden blood emerges, staining the celestial bronze blade. Golden blood? Luke doesn’t have golden blood. Breath heaving and confused, Percy looks up at Luke’s face. The large, intrusive scar that runs down Luke’s face isn’t there. His hair isn’t blonde, it’s brown. His eyes aren’t glowing golden. The presence that Kronos emits isn’t there. It’s not Luke. But if it’s not Luke, then that means - Oh no. Oh no no no. It’s Hermes.

Imprisonment by DancingInTheSliverGlow

T | 1.9k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Poseidon & Tyson, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson & Paul Blofis

Domestic Fluff, Post Tartarus, Hurt/Comfort

After the Giant War, Percy's life is looking up. His relationship with Annabeth is strong as ever. Poseidon regularly invites him down to Atlantis to spend time with him and Tyson. The greeks and romans have resolved most of their issues. Grover is starting his life's calling as Lord of the Wild. Paul helps Percy get his drivers license, and Percy helps his mom paint a room for his soon to be little sister. Everything is perfect. That is, until someone abducts Percy.

Father Figures by TheProfoundSilence

G | 2.4k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Father-Son Relationship, Sick Paul Blofis, Family Bonding

In between the battles and the school life, there are the important things. Paul-Percy bonding fluff. In which Paul gets sick and Percy is awesome and Paul realizing for the first time just how lucky he is to have a step-son like Percy.

The Power of Healing by 1benzy

G | 2.5k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Family Fluff, Light Angst

Paul wants to spend a calm day with his new stepson, Percy. Percy is a demigod, and so calm days are something of a rarity. This poses a problem.

Family Matters by southslates

G | 2.7k | Complete

Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis & Percy Jackson

Family, Thalia Grace & Percy Jackson Friendship, Good Parent Paul Blofis

Paul meets Percy's electric-eyed cousin and learns absolutely nothing about the mystery that is Sally's son.

some things we can't just get away from by Astarisbroughtbacktolife

G | 2.7k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Angst and Feels, Powerful Percy Jackson, Comfort

Percy's powers are still growing, and he doesn't know what to do. Telling Paul Blofis is always a good place to start.

this home is home, and all that i need by rabbit_soup

G | 3.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Percy Jackson needs a hug, Sally Jackson is a good parent, hurt/comfort

The only real difference in this hallway, in this building, is Percy. He’s taller than the door’s peephole now, when he used to have to jump up on his toes to see through it. It’s small. It’s so small. It’s such a pointless detail, but Percy knows he doesn’t belong anymore. AKA: Percy goes home.

shatters like glass by orphan_account

T | 4.1k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Post Tartarus, Angst

It was obvious that Tartarus had changed them drastically. The boy Paul had met before was, granted, more responsible and older in mind than those his age, but now?

A man named Poseidon on a Montauk beach by Deerlie_03

T | 4.8k | Complete

Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Family fluff, Percy Jackson needs a hug, Sally Jackson is a good parent

Paul has to become part of a small, tight-knit family. He thinks he does it quite well. An exploration of how Paul might have been thinking during some missing scenes from the books/some original scenes, and how they may have gone.

three fathers by thesleepingsiren

T | 4.9k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis, Percy Jackson & Poseidon

Sally Jackson is a good parent, Gabe Ugliano is a horrible parent, Poseidon is a decent parent, Paul Blofis is a good parent

Percy Jackson has had three fathers. Only one of them sticks around. Or, an exploration of three father figures in Percy's life.

only one place left I want to go by whitesunlars for thesleepingsiren

G | 5.4k | Complete

Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Paul Blofis/Sally Jackson, Paul Blofis & Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Fluff and Angst, Hopeful Ending, the Percy and Sally reunion we were denied, Plus Percy calling Paul Dad

“We’re going home,” Percy told Chiron, Annabeth’s hand held tightly in his. It wasn’t a question, and it wasn’t a demand, it was a fact. With or without Chiron’s permission, Percy was going to be leaving the camp turned battlefield for the afternoon. The Jackson Family Reunion Fic.

All My People by lammermoorian

G | 7.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis, Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis

The reveal, technically the aftermath

Chapter 1: Their new place has rooftop access, which Percy has a hunch was a deliberate choice on his mom’s part. It’s tight, but it’s just about the right size for a Pegasus landing pad, just in case he ever needed a quick, supernatural pickup. It’s also where Paul has been for the last half hour, processing the huge revelation the two of them just dumped on him. (Between BotL/TLO, immediate post-Paul reveal). Chapter 2: Paul has been waiting for the other shoe to drop at Montauk for years. When it finally does, at Percy and Annabeth's birthday party, it does so in the best way possible. (Post-canon)

Get to Know You Better by the_seaworthy_muffin

T | 11k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Post-Tartarus, Coping, Family Bonding

If Paul may say so himself, he thinks he’s getting better at all this demigod business. Or: Percy is struggling in the aftermath of the Pit, and Paul tries to help. Hilarity, Angst, and heaps of Family Feels ensue. A (Step) father-son bonding fic.

Not By Design by inkncoffee

T | 11k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Father-Son Relationship, Recovery, Family

Being a stepfather was hard enough even when your new stepson wasn't the greatest demigod of his time. Paul's journey from that guy dating Sally to being Percy's father.

[fluffywings13]

A new fandom?? Me???

Mayhaps!!

"Look at me, Little One.” Uncle doesn’t seem surprised, shock is not a word she would use to describe how he appeared to be, as though this was far from the first instance. “In the eyes, Skychild.” Sparkling blue meet deep sea tones, they stare for what seems an eternity, Thalia blinks when her Uncle merely presses his lips to her forehead for a solid moment and settles back in his previous position (still totally octopusing) and seemingly content to remain in this position for the near future. “You expected more? No, child, the Claim will be ever present. I’m all for underhandedly infuriating my brother. Welcome, my child, to the family.”

That was that, Poseidon seems to doze off into the place where gods go when mortals would go when falling asleep, his only Land Born son playing gently with the talisman resting over his chest. “So….Does he come here often?” It’s only been a few weeks since her younger cousin had been claimed by her Uncle—Adopted Dad?--Uncle Dad in that game of capture the flag. Her dad, old dad, claimed her first day, and she’d never actually met him. “You guys seem pretty close for…You know..”

“It was weird at first, he’d show up and I’d ignore him completely, didn’t anger him like I thought it would for some reason. Always came when I was alone though.” The talisman resting loosely upon Poseidon’s chest isn’t something either Demigod can say they’ve seen before. But then again. “I was mad, and dad didn’t want to push it, had a nightmare one night and he was just there.” The god hums in his “sleep’ as his hand curls around his son’s, dwarfing the tiny thing, thumb rubbing over the back of his fingers. “And now we just chill. Dad makes for a good napping buddy. It’s because he likes to octopus. I too like to octopus. I think it’s hereditary.”

“I’m just imagining someone as tiny as you, Cous, and Poseidon God of the Fucking Sea, just….” She struggles to find the right words for a moment taking into consideration her own position with said Sea God. “Snuggling up to take a fucking nap.”

“Language.”

[erenfox]

my boi nico may have some pretty harsh trauma, but at least he has found-family 😭🥺

the different relationships of the big 3 kids with their godly parents are so amusing to me. Percy's like, awkwardly aware that his dad cares about him but they're still too distant so every time Poseidon tries to do Dad Things Percy just doesn't really know what to do about it. Thalia doesn't like her dad and Jason is pretty generally negative towards both Jupiter and Hera/Juno.

Meanwhile the only reason Pluto hasn't given Hazel everything in the Underworld is because he left to buy milk for too long/Gaea and Marie got the kids in the divorce and now Hazel's too distant so he has to use Nico as a proxy so she knows he cares about her. And on the other side of things Nico's just like "oh yeah no my relationship with my dad is great. Yeah my step-mom too. And her mom. Of course I see them regularly, I live with them. You guys don't-?"

[trollocs-ooc]

something something being immortal makes you time blind something something 5 minutes is equal to 10 seconds for these people

No no see. The thing is. Thats not an immortality issue, at least for these 2. They are literally just like that.

riki's not immortal. Probably. He has the soul of a god but the mind of a mortal so his time perception is very fucked I'll give him that. But not an immortality issue

And with eileil (still trying to think of a name for this fucker in the au btw. Eilixus? Eileixus... everything sounds dumb i have no clue-) thats not his issue because most gods interact either on an equivalent level with each other or know how to adjust. Because theyre socialized. On some degree. He is Not. Only person he spoke to on a regular basis for any period of time in his life was his father and let me tell you. Liexii in this AU. To put it lightly is not a very good only-person-to-be-able-to-talk-to-in-your-formative-age. Which is completely Liexii's fault but im not gonna bore you with his bad parenting. So long story short Eileil is the god equivalent of a nepo-baby who also has the social skills and awareness of an alien. Bless his soul

So they are the only people who see nothing wrong with rikis light yagami ass internal monologuing

[t4tdanvis]

I think it’d be funnier if gene was a hades kid and dante was a poseidon kid implying Maria pulled 2/3 of the big three. Or if Gene’s parent made no fucking sense. Mf’s an Aphrodite kid somehow.

You have NO IDEA how tempting it was to make Gene's godly parent this specific version of Aphrodite...

But I chose Neptune for a lot of reasons :) Mainly because the greek/roman dichotomy is Awesome, and also because his powers are more focused on the "earthshaker" aspect of Neptune (because the Romans hated the ocean for a Long time and it makes more sense for Gene's powers to not be super water-centric because of that!) and I think Gene being able to cause earthquakes is Mmmmmmmm

[prettygalswag]

Poseidon and Sally being good co-parents is really healing something in my child-of-a-divorcee heart. Sally can JUST summon him and he will JUST arrive.

"you won't want to hear it"/"no, but tell me anyway" MEANS SO MUCH TO ME. Like yes! Poseidon bearing part of the mental load means a lot to me.

[reefs-camp-blog]

(based off a discord message with my friend)

percy has so much casual trust in poseidon and i dont think he even realizes it

like. its just so casual and natural that you barely even notice

imagine everyones the argo 2 and are like ‘so should we fly?’ and they all turn to jason whos like: idk if my dad will like if we fly, especially either nico (son of hades) and percy (son of poseidon), so percy, would we be able to go on the ocean? and percys: oh yea my dad wont let anything happen, he doesnt really mind that jason (son of jupiter) and nico (son of hades) are here, when i sailed with annabeth (daughter of athena) he didnt try to hurt her or anything, so yea we’ll be good

and everyone else is just. flabbergasted about how casually percy puts like. full trust into his father, without a second (maybe even first) thought

then they meet poseidon after the war (and after he talks to and helps percy) and they realize why

cuz hes just. so much more chill than they thought hed be. like he doesnt even blink at percy and nicos friendship and is even like ‘so you tell are getting along better now? thats great and brilliant keep up the good work (i love you two), and with annabeth he pats her on the back: annabeth, dear! you did great on your quest, youre (bitch ass) mother hasnt said anything about it, but i have a good feeling shes proud (i am too. i love you). and with the rest of the seven he just. doesnt give a shit /pos. like: yea ik you kinda left my son to fall in tartarus and i am still kinda pissed about that- but hey you seem like you all get along fairly well so who gives a shit (he does. so much)

and the rest of the seven are like. hey. hey percy. do you. do you realize how much your father cares about you.? and percy, with the shittiest self esteem ever is like: well yea he does, a bit. but i dont think its that much

meanwhile poseidon is so close to adopting all of percys friends (thalia nico and annabeth mostly) with shitass parental issues and trauma bc if percy cares and loves for them, then if sally taught him anything, he can too dammit

[pjohoo-reclists]

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson Fic Recs

A list of fics where Percy and Sally's relationship is centric in the story. Enjoy!

Words of Affirmation by punkfistfights

G | 900 words | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Grover Underwood, Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase

Past/Implied Child Abuse, Fluff, Words of Affirmation

“Actions don’t always speak louder than words.” How the three people closest to Percy made sure he knew they loved him.

A Mother's Hope by IzzyMRDB 

T | 1.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

AU - Canon Divergence, BAMF Sally Jackson, Fix-it of Sorts

Sally Jackson doesn't pray that her plan works, no, that'll catch Their attention, but she does hope. Hope that her son is safe. After all, she is doing all of this for her son. For Percy.

Home for the Holidays by hopecanbeyoursword

G | 1.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis

Christmas Fluff, Family Feels, Future Fic, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent

It's been ten years since Percy was thrown into the demigod world, and he's content in spending it with his family, thankful he's going to have a happy ending.

Home, alive -That's all matters. by TheSkyAtMidnight

T | 1.3k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Sally and Paul are good parents

A 'Percy comes home to Sally after the Giant War' fic.

Half-Blood of the Eldest Gods by wearethewitches

T | 1.7k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Poseidon, Sally Jackson/Hades, Sally Jackson/Zeus

Crack treated seriously, Parent-Child Relationship, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent

A Mamma Mia! AU, where Sally got busy back in the era of her son's conception. aka, the how (they're gods), who (the gods) and why (heartbreak) Percy Jackson has three fathers.

Imprisonment by DancingInTheSliverGlow 

T | 1.9k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Poseidon, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Domestic Fluff, Post Tartarus, Angst with a Happy Ending

After the Giant War, Percy's life is looking up. His relationship with Annabeth is strong as ever. Poseidon regularly invites him down to Atlantis to spend time with him and Tyson. The greek and roman have resolved most of their issues. Grover is starting his life's calling as Lord of the Wild. Paul helps Percy get his drivers license, and Percy helps his mom paint a room for his soon to be little sister. Everything is perfect. That is, until someone abducts Percy.

(i) missed call by achievingelysium

T | 2.5k | Complete

Sally Jackson & Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis

Canon Compliant, Post The Heroes of Olympus, Hurt/Comfort, Family

From a dead letter lost in the mail, addressed to PERCY JACKSON, sent by SALLY JACKSON: Dear Percy, Please come home— After Sally Jackson’s son disappears, messages begin to appear.

Baby Blofis College Fund by zipadeea

T | 2.9k | Complete

Sally Jackson/Paul Blofis, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson & Poseidon

Fluff and Humor, Family Feels, Pregnancy

Valerie calls her an hour later. “Sally, what the hell?” “That bad, huh?” “Bad? Sally, it’s gold. I went from squirming in my seat to crying genuine tears. And that twist, making him a Greek god, it’s exactly what we’re looking for right now. How soon can you get me the next chapter?” *** In which Sally Jackson realizes by the time the new baby is eighteen, a semester of college will cost an arm and a leg. And those Fifty Shades of Grey books sure did make a lot of money.

agape by livingonthestars

T | 3.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Child Percy Jackson, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

Percy nods amiably, then he takes another bite of the sandwich, and while he munches he says, “Oh, and I also met some weird guy back at the park. He was alright I guess, but he kept calling me Poseidon as if that was my name.” Sally chokes on absolutely nothing immediately, because what?

this home is home, and all that i need by rabbit_soup

G | 3.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Paul Blofis

Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending

The only real difference in this hallway, in this building, is Percy. He’s taller than the door’s peephole now, when he used to have to jump up on his toes to see through it. It’s small. It’s so small. It’s such a pointless detail, but Percy knows he doesn’t belong anymore. ___ AKA: Percy goes home.

Some Parts of Life by orphan account

T | 3.2k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson & Poseidon, Sally Jackson & Paul Blofis

Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Poseidon is a Good Parent, Post-Tartarus

Percy's finally returned home to Sally but the ghosts and memories of Tartarus and the war still haunt him.

Achilles Come Down by joverton707

T | 3.5k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase

Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

After Percy’s mental breakdown that leads to him having a cry for help, Percy and Sally have a much needed talk about their past trauma with Gabe and how secrets they kept from each other has lead them with a crack in their relationship.

a word that sometimes you cannot say by Lleavingwonderland 

T | 4.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase

Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Fix it

"He wants to have words that make this all ok. He wants to be able to tell her with a clear conscience that he was saving the world, out on hero business. That somehow it was worth it. But it wasn’t. He had been carrying the burden of the world since he was twelve years old. He was tired. And he was hurt. It’s not ok. “Mom…” He runs a calloused hand over the tears on his cheek, and into his unruly hair. “Can you come get me? I want…I’m ready to come home.”" or the Percy & Sally reunion that we were so cruelly denied at the end of HoO Part 1 of a word that sometimes you cannot say

my love isn't lost; it's all i got by Lleavingwonderland

T | 4.0k | Complete

Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase, Sally Jackson & Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Sally's POV, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort

""And so Sally’s heart, already wrung out with ache for Percy, made more room to ache for Annabeth. She was also acutely aware that Annabeth didn’t have a mother to ache for her and smooth her hair while she rode out a panic attack. “Annabeth,” Sally said, extending her arms for Annabeth to walk into, which she did. Sally pulled her close, cradling her shoulder and her head and said to her quietly, “Thank you for bringing him home.” “I said I would,” Annabeth whispered back."" or Sally reflects on Annabeth and Percy now that they're both home safe. Part 3 of a word that sometimes you cannot say

A Good Run Of Bad Luck by furnaceglow

G | 4.7k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson & Apollo

baby Jackson, Sally and Apollo: the brotp you didn't know you needed

Contrary to popular belief: the gods have been immeasurably kind to Sally Jackson.

Que Sera, Sera by lesbabeths (nixy_stix)

G | 5.3k | Complete

Sally Jackson & Percy Jackson

mentions of abuse, parenting, childhood, reunion, motherhood

He's a foot taller than her now, but he'll always be her baby.

Awake, Awake, You Children Bold by mrthology

T | 10k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Family Feels, Mother-Son Relationship, Single Parents, Hurt Percy Jackson

Sally smiled up at Poseidon, meeting his eyes, sea-green shot through with gold. She wondered if their son would inherit the same otherworldly gaze. "If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself," she insisted. "Trust me." "I do," he whispered. Then, "I must leave you," he continued, putting one hand on her stomach. "Take care." Sally closed her eyes, unwilling to watch her lover disappear for what she knew would be the last time. "You and me, kid," she murmured. "We can do this." — Or, Sally and Percy throughout the years, for better or for worse.

Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson by IzzyMRDB 

T | 19k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

BAMF Sally Jackson, AU - Canon Divergence, Book 4: The Battle of the Labyrinth

But we needed the help of a clear-sighted mortal to lead us through the Labyrinth and there’s nobody else we knew of that would agree to. Other than my mom - Sally Jackson.

Green Stick by tooyoungtobesostressed

T | 30k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson

Child Abuse, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, Protective Sally Jackson

Sally Jackson learned how to do makeup to protect her son. Little does she know, he is learning to do the same thing for her.

Rhyme, Don't Repeat by InquiringMinds

G | 52k | Complete

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Percy Jackson & Medusa, Sally Jackson & Medusa

Parental Bonding, Time Travel, Sibling Bonding

Percy is suddenly 12 again, and with all of the lessons learned in the years he's suddenly lost he decides to make a better world, earlier and hopefully with fewer challenges and immortal demands. Featuring parental bonding, actual childhoods instead of training for your life, and monsters that really aren't that bad, just misunderstood. Also a cross country road trip!

Just Add Water by seasunwrites

T | 58k+ | Ongoing as of 11/9/21

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Poseidon, Percy Jackson/Annabeth Chase

Camp Half Blood, AU - Canon Divergence, Powerful Percy Jackson

“Don’t you feel it, Sal?” he said, pulling her closer. She looked up at him and met his eyes. “What?” “The sea,” Poseidon explained. “It rises with the moon. Over and over. One of the only sureties in this world. Over and over, the tide will rise.” Sally gave him a funny look. “Well, of course I know about the tides and that it’s a full moon—” “Yes, but do you feel it?” . It's strange, how you add a bit of water and suddenly...Percy isn't human anymore.

The Blue Food Project by liketolaugh

T | 83k+ | Ongoing as of 21/8/23

Percy Jackson & Sally Jackson, Sally Jackson/Froggy Nelson (Daredevil TV), Percy Jackson & Foggy Nelson, Avengers Team & Percy Jackson

Percy Jackson Needs a Hug, Abused Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson is a Mama's boy, Second Titan War

Foggy meets Sally in a grocery store, sees the three bottles of food coloring in her cart, and listens to her talk about how much her son loves it for about ten minutes before he decides he's in love. About four months later, Natasha drops by the Jacksons' apartment to take her first close look at the child that heralds the realization of the Great Prophecy. He looks small, for the end of the world.

[newlyfoundwren]

Imagine percabeth kids not fully comprehending how powerful their parents are. Like sure they’ve heard stories about their parents when they were the same age but it just never full sets in.

To the kids Percy is the cool dad who makes bad jokes and makes blue food and listens to old music and Annabeth is the overbearing mom who wears suits all the time to work just to come home and throw in the oldest and most washed and damaged t-shirt and lay on the couch the rest of the afternoon surrounded by building blueprints.

And then a monster attacks and the kids life is in danger and they don’t see their parents. They see Perseus Jackson, killer of the Minotaur, two time hero of Olympus and eldest son of Poseidon and his wife Annabeth Chase-Jackson, the one who found the Athena Parthenos and sent Arachne back to Tartarus for good.

[cabin-3-counselor]

and i raise another point now that there are more episodes (apologizing in advance cause English is not my native language):

• Poseidon is clearly AND constantly breaking the rules of no interference for Percy. In the Arch, Percy was literally shit talking him before Poseidon saved him from imminent death, not only from the fall, but also from the Chimaera's poison, he sent a messanger to assist Percy in learning what type of powers he has besides simple healing, not to mention that in the following episode, after Percy came out of the river he said that Poseidon is waiting for him in St.Monica, that he promised to meet Percy there to aid them in their quest, clearly they will not go there but still, Poseidon is doing the best he can to protect his son with the rules he has to follow

hey

old crabbing trap hanging down with sea weed an absolutely GORGEOUS Poseidon mural yeah yeah blah blah blah but look over at the bed, just as i thought, tucked into a corner old and rickety and just another reminder that he’s not supposed to be there

[kamaluhkhan]

LONG HOT SUMMER NIGHT

pairing: luke castellan x fem!poseidon!reader word count: 8.4k chapter summary: it's the summer solstice and olympus is throwing a party! thalia notices the tension between you and luke, poseidon gives you some relationship advice and you punch the god of desire in the face. warnings: angst! jealous reader. lots of drinking. complicated relationships. reader dealing with ptsd + survivor's guilt (post-titan war). mention of injuries + blood. creepy guy pushing reader to hook up. ending is a bit steamy but no actual smut. spoilers for the entire pjo (book) series. no betrayal (au where chris was the one who sided w kronos and led the titan army) so slightly ooc luke <3 also reader is in a band called the midnight sirens and is born on the summer solstice! author's note: thank you so much for all the love for part 1!! summer is almost over and this is very much a summer series BUT summer's not over yet !!! hope y'all enjoy this one too and thanks 4 reading 💙

part 1 | series masterlist

♪: long hot summer night by jimi hendrix

mail to: 

Luke Castellan Camp Half-Blood, Half-Blood Hill 3.141 Farm Road Long Island, New York 11954

LUKE! 

I’m sitting in my kitchen right now, watching Percy make us blue blueberry pancakes and hoping he doesn’t burn down my kitchen while doing so. I caved and agreed to take him to Disneyland while he’s here and breakfast was part of the deal, but I think I might regret it later. 

We went surfing yesterday. It was Percy’s first time, but he was (unsurprisingly) amazing at it. I still can’t get over how beautiful the beaches are and the waves — gods, the waves are unreal. You’d seriously love it here. It’s like every day is summer. You have to come visit. PLEASE come visit!!!!

- [your initial]

P.S. The band and I are working on some new music, which means I won’t make it to camp again this summer. I’m sorry ;( Fingers crossed I’ll make it next year. 

P.P.S. hi luke! happy to report that i did not burn down my sister’s kitchen. anyways, can’t wait to kick your ass in sword-fighting this summer. xoxo, percy

THREE YEARS LATER 

the first time you visited olympus, you had been sent on a quest to retrieve zeus’ stolen lightning bolt, bringing luke and charles beckendorf along with you. you had missed the summer solstice deadline, but still tried to reason with the king of the gods when presenting the symbol of power, maybe calling him out once or twice along the way. before zeus could strike you down for your boldness, poseidon stepped in. the war between them was averted in fear of a much larger, looming threat; an ominous introduction for what was to come in the next chapter of your life.

another time, the gods debated whether or not they should kill you, some seeing you as a threat to their future. that was the day you accepted your destiny, not wanting your brother percy or your cousin nico to deal with the weight of the great prophecy. 

your last visit to olympus was on your 18th birthday, after helping to defeat kronos and his army. you made the gods swear to stop neglecting their kids and to allow all demigods, regardless of whether their parent was an olympian or not, to have a home at camp half-blood; to treat their children as children rather than heroes as pawns in their twisted games.

needless to say, it’s quite strange, being back here under very, very different circumstances, where the gods invited camp half-blood’s senior counsellors and staff to join in their summer solstice festivities.

it’s not every day you’ll be invited to a party on olympus; you’re determined to have a good time, to have fun. there’s already an abundance of music, dancing, food, or alcohol, and the night is just getting started.

you’re happy to be there with new and old friends, but you’re ecstatic when you see that thalia grace is there, too. 

“immortality looks good on you, t!” you compliment, raising your voice slightly over the music.

thalia preens, and you bask in her silver glow. 

“bet you wish you took the gods up on their offer, huh,” she teases. then, her eyes widen. “oh - shit! it’s your birthday! happy birthday!” 

thalia tackles you with another hug; even after all these years, she still smells like pine trees. she grabs two goblets of honeyed wine and hands one to you as you catch up. you eagerly gulp the sweet drink, until you’re reaching for another while listening to her stories about adventures she’d been on with the hunters of artemis. 

about halfway through her story about fighting off a manticore during a snow storm, a nymph appears with a platter of the ripest of fruit – sweet plums and fresh figs, tantalising pomegranates, succulent grapes and crisp apples. 

“oh my gods, this is the best apple i’ve had in my entire life!” thalia exclaims after indulging in a taste, herself giddy from a few goblets of wine. “where’s luke? he’s gotta try this — he’s always reminding us to eat more fruit. luke!” 

you hadn’t kept track of luke, at least not on purpose. you assumed he’d been off partying with van or his siblings, and, probably, avoiding you. wherever he was, thalia calls his name twice more and, like a ghost, luke appears. 

“i’m here, t.” luke’s voice is a deep, steady rumble floating above the music. his cheeks are slightly flushed, either from the heat or the drinks. likely both. “what’s up?”

“you need to try this.” thalia shoves the apple in his mouth before luke can respond. 

luke takes a bite, and some juice drips down his chin. you, in a honey-soaked haze, think about running your tongue over to catch it, but he beats you to it, wiping it away with the back of his hand. 

probably for the best.

“holy shit. yeah, it’s good.”

thalia, a sparkle in her eyes, urges you to try it as well. from across the makeshift triangle the three of you had formed, luke tosses the apple your way. you catch it effortlessly, and sink your teeth into it. 

you’ve almost overwhelmed by the burst of flavor. the fruit is just the right amount of tart to balance out the sweetness, and it’s damn near the best crunch you’ve ever experienced.

“good is an understatement,” you say after another bite. a distant memory crosses your mind. “i wonder if these are the same ones we almost got killed by a hellhound for.” 

thalia shakes her head, laughing in disbelief. “all because luke said we needed more vitamin c.”

“i was just looking out for us!” luke guffaws. “how was i supposed to know that persephone owned an apple orchard in connecticut?”

you pat his shoulder, the three of you smiling at the memory. “let’s call it an honest mistake.”

“well if annabeth had been with us by then, i’m sure that she wouldn’t have made that same honest mistake.” 

“okay, but she’s the daughter of athena —”

you let luke and thalia slip back into their playful bickering as if no time has passed. you listen and continue eating that glorious apple, enjoying how the golden glow of your shared past fills whatever distance might have grown between the three of you. 

somewhere down memory lane, luke’s amber eyes flick towards you.

“hey, you’ve got some….” without another word, luke suddenly reaches over to brush away a trail of juice with his thumb before sticking the finger in his mouth to savour the taste. he holds your gaze as he does so, and you feel a familiar kind of heat rush through your body — not from alcohol or summer sun, but from luke. 

it’s such an intimate gesture that you almost forget that you’re at some extravagant party on mount olympus, where gods and half-bloods and a whole bunch of other mythological creatures are celebrating the start of summer by essentially getting drunk together, until thalia clears her throat. 

“okay, well, seems like the two of you might want some alone time.”

luke’s cheeks grow more flushed than before, and his eyes widen as if realizing what he’d done.

“oh, we don’t need —”

“we’re not —”

you and luke both stumble over your words; thalia just smiles knowingly. 

“i’m gonna go flirt with that nymph,” she announces, pointing across the grand marble pavilion.

“i thought — doesn’t artemis sort of frown upon that sort of thing?” you ask.

“she makes exceptions on holidays. besides, i’m her favourite. you guys have fun.” thalia winks at you and walks away.

you glance at luke and, gods, there’s so much history between you. 

the time you jumped into an ocean full of sirens to save luke from drowning? you have a scar running down your forearm where one of them scratched you as you struggled to get luke towards the surface. 

or when you took turns holding up the sky while on a quest to save lady artemis and defeat the titan atlas? it’s evident in the matching streaks of grey that you each have running through your hair. whenever you see your reflection in the mirror, you remember how you couldn’t save your cousin bianca di angelo earlier that day, and how nico has had to grow up without a sister because of a promise you broke.

how about when you, luke, and one of your best friends were sent on a mission to destroy the princess andromeda, the headquarters of kronos’ army? only the two of you survived, and sometimes you can still feel luke squeezing your hand pike he did during charles beckendorf’s burial shroud ceremony while you both cried.

or when luke took a sword between the ribs for you because he, somehow, knew the one spot the curse of achilles left you vulnerable? he can only slouch for so long before the bones there start to ache.

so, yeah. there’s way too much history, and so many tangled threads, and now really isn’t an ideal time to unravel it all. 

“i’m gonna go find my dad,” you blurt out and disappear into the crowd with no real intention of finding your father. 

the once sweet apple now tastes rotten on your tongue; you rid yourself of it in exchange for some more wine. you’re determined to have fun — no pain or heartache or grief. 

you’ve all had enough of that for three lifetimes. 

summer — age 14

“sorry your birthday was ruined.” 

luke exhaled sharply when you pressed a disinfectant-soaked cloth to the wound on his leg.

“hold still,” was all you mumbled in response, brows knitted together as you wrapped the cut in gauze. 

once you were done with his leg, you moved on to luke’s hands, burned by poisonous acid. the four of you had run into a hydra earlier that night. you managed to wound it enough so you could all get away, but not before a few injuries were sustained. 

you were uncharacteristically quiet as you worked. you only met luke’s gaze to warn him before pouring some nectar on his wounds. you let luke hold your hand, tightly, as the liquid dripped through his fingers and down to yours, first right, then left. the pain was instant, seering almost as much as the hydra acid, but it was over quickly. the last thing you did was bandage each hand before getting up. 

“i’m…i’m gonna check on thalia and annabeth. i’ll take first watch.”

luke caught your hand before you got away.

“wait. you’re bleeding.” he pointed to the cut on your brow. you had been so preoccupied in making sure everyone else was safe that you let crimson liquid drip down your face. it probably stung, too, based on your grimace.

luke wiped away the blood with his sleeve, used nectar to disinfect the wound, and dressed it with a fresh bandage, working silently as you did.

“it’s still your birthday,” luke finally said once he was done. “you get some rest; i’ll take first watch.”

you gave him a small, strained smile before checking on the others. 

later that night, you stayed up with luke anyways. 

seemingly out of nowhere, you handed him your portable cassette player. luke stared at it for a moment, unwilling to comprehend just what you were offering and, more importantly, why. 

you and luke had grown accustomed to sharing things: flannels, socks, makeshift beds and scavenged food. but this —

it was your aunt’s. 

you never met your mother, who’d left you as a baby, and of course, poseidon was too busy tending to his underwater kingdom to step in as a parent. your aunt raised you as her own. and then you lost her, too. 

you kept her cassette player buried deep in your bag with some mixtapes she had made and ones you’d stolen throughout the years. when it wasn’t your turn to keep watch, luke would sometimes catch you with headphones on, looking up at the stars. 

luke liked to think he knew you well; all those subtle elements that made you — the crack of your knuckles, the cadence of your voice, the slope of your nose, the dreams of your childhood. engraved in his own personhood. bones and all. 

and, still: he didn’t know you, not entirely. 

you’d only allowed luke to listen with you once, maybe twice. he’d never forget what it was like: knees pressed together and heads just as close to keep the wires from stretching too far; you gushing about the magic of jimi hendrix, recounting memories that echoed through gentle guitar riffs; luke yearning for one more song to play, for another a wistful smile of yours to appear. luke, wishing to linger in your private oasis a beat longer before you pushed him out again and closed the door behind him. 

the one lock luke couldn’t crack: your grief, and how you carried on so buoyantly despite its weight.

well, there you were, presenting the key to luke as an offering. a sacrifice for something luke would never ask of you. 

“this….” luke swallowed the lump in his throat, refusing to look at you. he turned the device over in his bandaged hands, the metal smooth, though well-worn. “you can’t just —”

leave. you can’t just leave. you can’t just —

“hey.” 

your hand over his, forcing him to stop spiralling and look at you. 

right away, luke regretted it. a small sliver of him, however delusional, had hoped that you were joking. 

you weren’t. behind you, there was an empty space where you had previously wedged your sleeping bag. your backpack was already strapped around your shoulders, fully packed. 

“i need to leave, luke. we can’t stay together. it’s too dangerous.”

“you don’t need to —”

“there’s more of us, now,” you interrupted, pulling your hand away to rest on your thigh. “four demigods together isn’t ideal. we’ve been attracting more monsters. more deadly monsters.”

“that would happen, anyways. it always has whether it’s the four of us, the two of us, or….” 

luke stopped his sentence short, not even wanting to give you the idea to go out on your own, even though you’d probably been thinking about leaving for some time. 

you made reckless decisions sometimes, but this didn’t seem to be one of them.

“well, it’s happening more.” your voice was steady, too steady. luke imagined you rehearsing just what to say to counter the inevitable backlash. 

luke shook his head. “i’d be dead if it weren’t for you.”

“you almost died because of me,” you clipped. you lifted a hand to touch the bruise on luke’s jaw, but let it drop just as quickly. “you know that children of the big three cause more trouble. maybe we managed it when it was the two of us, but now, there’s more to consider. a child of poseidon and a child of zeus, travelling together. it’s like we’re asking to be killed. it’s too dangerous.”

“that’s our life,” luke snapped. “you can’t just run from it.” from us.

you faltered, looking back to where annabeth and thalia were sleeping peacefully. 

oh. he must have said that last part out loud, too. 

“you know i’m right,” is all you said.

luke could only shake his head again. because, fine, you weren’t entirely wrong. it was more dangerous — but it was danger luke hoped you’d all face, together. 

“i’ve made up my mind,” you added, an anchor in the sand.

“don’t leave.” luke’s words came out as a prayer. if he offered something, maybe you’d stay.

you paused to take a shaky breath. “this isn’t goodbye, luke. i swear to poseidon…fuck, i swear to all the gods that this isn’t goodbye.”

luke couldn’t speak. there were tears bubbling in his throat, threatening to spill. 

“so, keep this for me,” you whispered, once again placing your hand on top of luke’s. his fingers gripped your cassette player tightly, like it was the only piece of driftwood leftover from a shipwreck, keeping him from sinking into the cold, dark nothing. “you’ll give it back when we see each other again.”

a promise. 

“fine,” luke conceded, though he wanted to scream at you. he wanted to argue like little kids — petty, loud, meaningless, back and forth until tears streamed down cheeks and throats were raw. 

but, you were leaving, one way or another. luke didn’t want this shared memory to be tainted if it might be your last.

“you have to take this, then. give it back when we see each other again.”

luke removed the chain from around his neck, the one that held the key to his childhood home. he placed it around yours, instead.

he didn’t need the key now, but his mother had given it to him when he was six. before he knew what it meant to be the son of hermes, god of thieves. 

call him sentimental, but luke had kept it. just in case he ever got lost. 

“if you’re ever back in connecticut, you have a home.”

“yeah, okay.” you smiled softly. 

it fell just as quickly. 

“take care of them,” you told him. “of yourself, too. i’ll see you again when it’s safe.”

luke didn’t ask when it would be safe, because the truth is that it might never be.

“because you want your cassette player back?” luke joked, instead trying to lighten the mood, to capture one last moment of brightness.

you laughed softly to not wake the others. 

“yeah. that too.”

you pressed your forehead to his, something you hadn’t done since you were kids. 

“i’ll see you again,” you repeated.

without another word, you got up and jogged away. luke shut his eyes, refusing to see you become nothing but a shadow. 

(you looked back several times, but he couldn’t see through the darkness.)

now

call the gods out on their bullshit (you encourage it), but if they have one thing going for them, it’s that the olympians know how to throw a party. 

the night grows darker, yet somehow becomes more lively. demeter and persephone had supplied a generous amount of fresh, decadent fruit, and dionysus an even more generous amount of wine. apollo starts a karaoke corner and you’re just tipsy enough to agree to sing a duet with him in order to break the ice. apparently, he’s a big midnight sirens fan and had seen your band when you headlined at glastonbury festival. you smile to yourself, imagining your bandmates’ faces if you told them that the god of music had watched you perform.

as you hand the microphone to a giggling dryad, the sound of your name washes over like gentle waves on a shore.

“if it isn’t my sweet, summer child!” your father brings you in for a hug and an ocean breeze engulfs you — salt and sand and sun. 

“hi dad,” you exhale as you pull away. 

you hadn’t seen each other in a while, but poseidon looks the same. he’s dressed in a turquoise hawaiian shirt and birkenstocks with a crown of seashells on his head. there’s a cocktail umbrella in his glass, a slice of pineapple wedged onto the rim. you’re about to ask him how he managed to secure a pina colada and where you might find one, too.

“that was quite the performance!” poseidon takes an eager sip of his drink, green eyes sparkling like sea glass in the sun. “i must tell you: your newest album is all the rage in atlantis. the nereids and merpeople can’t seem to get enough of it and, truthfully, i find myself playing it on repeat as well. you’re quite talented.” 

you try not to let your shock slip through, instead smiling and asking how things are in his underwater kingdom, but you’re….touched at your father’s unexpected praise.

the gods aren’t perfect, and your father is no exception. they’re divine beings who have time to conceive children, but not to raise them. there’s a long history of them abandoning, mistreating, and manipulating their own offspring. of course, being the prophecy child, it became practically impossible for your father to ignore you; you’re sure that being dubbed the saviour of olympus gives him bragging rights with his immortal family. even with their sworn promise to change, it’s impossible not to resent the gods in some ways. 

still, you feel comforted by your father's presence at times — when you catch the perfect wave on your surfboard, for example, or when you sit on your fire escape during a storm after a bad day. it’s been like that pretty much all your life: poseidon there in spirit, not in practice. despite everything, he’s watched over you, and percy, throughout the years.

and here poseidon is now, grinning at you like you’re his pride and joy. 

“enough about aquatic politics.” he pats your shoulder enthusiastically after telling you about the struggles of keeping humans from overfishing. “i came over to wish you a happy birthday. and to give you this.” 

poseidon reaches into the pocket of his shirt and hands you something you’d long thought gone: a leather cord with several clay beads and a silver key.

“i found it off the california coast,” he explains. “i kept meaning to get it to you, but i suppose time has a way of getting away from us, immortal or not.”

a warmth grows in your chest as you run your thumb over your old camp necklace, bright and full. it had fallen off one day when you’d gone surfing, and you assumed it was lost to the ocean. you'd been given a fresh leather cord when you arrived at camp earlier this summer, but it felt empty. hollow.

“thanks, dad.” 

you smile at him as you put on the necklace; it feels like coming home. your father then asks you about your summer so far.

you tell him all about your life as of late, until you catch a glimpse of luke with van on a marble bench at the other end of the pavilion. van is sitting in luke’s lap, and they lean over to whisper something in his ear before kissing his cheek. 

you freeze mid-way through your sentence.

sensing the shift in mood, poseidon frowns. he turns his head to follow your gaze.

“ah.” poseidon turns back to you and clears his throat. “now, i don’t mean to pry, but i saw you earlier with the castellan boy.”

you flush at the fact that your moment with luke was witnessed by your own father. “dad —”

“did you know in ancient greece, throwing someone an apple and having them catch it is considered a marriage proposal?”

“i’m pretty sure that was disproven,” you scoff.

poseidon raises an eyebrow at you, clearly amused. “which one of us was actually there, hm?” and though you roll your eyes, you can’t argue with that. “i just wanted to know if there was a wedding happening in the near future.”

you almost choke on the last remnants of your wine. “dad.”

“i’m kidding. i’m kidding! mr. castellan seems otherwise occupied.” 

“yeah, it does seem that way,” you grumble.

poseidon puts a hand on your shoulder, firm but reassuring. “regardless: if you find someone who would go to tartarus and back with you, someone who would fight alongside you every step of the way, you hold on to them. there’s only so much time you mortals have on this earth.”

you sigh — easier said than done — but your father is trying, so you manage a nod.

“i’ll keep that in mind.”

“now, i better go — ” poseidon looks over your shoulder, where the air behind you starts to feel staticky. “it seems a disagreement is brewing between zeus and hades. they always get into it whenever dionysus makes the wine a bit too strong. brother, put away the lightning bolt —” and he rushes away to prevent another divine conflict from arising.

left to your own devices, you venture over to the food table, finding an array of fresh and dried fruit, breads, cured meat, fresh oysters and, of course, more wine. you grab a goblet and a few dried figs.

“careful, i heard dionysus made the wine extra strong tonight,” someone warns, creeping up beside you. the voice is soft and alluring, and you feel something tug at your heart. 

you do a double take when you turn to them; the person is devilishly handsome, a golden aura paired with a golden smile. 

(you will soon find out that the god flirting with you is the son of ares and aphrodite, the latter of which takes the appearance of whoever the onlooker loves. as it turns out, her son appears in the same way. 

all this to say: it doesn’t mean anything that this god looks like luke castellan to you. 

it doesn’t mean anything at all.)

“i’m eros.”

“hey. i’m —”

“i know who you are, savior of olympus.” eros winks at you. “i just never realized you were so beautiful.”

your cheeks heat up as you take a sip of your drink.

oh, shit. 

okay. the literal god of desire and pleasure is flirting with you. 

you’re flattered, really, and maybe the wine has gotten to your head, but you’re not eager to turn him away.

“well, i’ve definitely heard about you, and the rumors do not do you justice,” you quip, painting on a flirtatious smile.

eros puffs out his chest, clearly pleased. 

over the next few minutes, you decide that eros can hold a decent conversation, asking you the classic first date questions about your likes and dislikes, and he’s cute enough that you wouldn’t mind things going further. 

(he might be a god, but he’s no luke. you push that thought away, and force yourself to flirt with helios. eros. right, eros.)

eros leans in close, pretends to listen to you, lets his gaze drop every so often to the deep v-neck of your shirt.  

“no way! 13 going on 30 is a classic,” you argue. you nudge your shoulder into eros’s playfully, and let the contact between you linger. eros, the inspiration for cupid himself, has angel wings, and you feel them brush softly against your burning skin. 

“it’s totally overrated!” eros exclaims. “also, the childhood friends to lovers trope gives people false hope.”

“it’s not false hope. it’s about the buildup to their happily ever after,” you reason, swallowing some wine to dislodge the lump in your throat.

eros shakes his head. “trust me, baby, it’s all about the instant attraction. that’s where the excitement is.” 

he’s so close now, you can smell the sharp alcohol on his breath. not wine, but something stronger.

“oh? what do you mean by that?” you lean impossibly closer, trailing a finger down his chest.

eros smirks, placing a hand on your thigh. “want me to demonstrate?” 

not even a second after you whisper a yes, eros crashes his lips onto yours, and you will yourself to kiss back. he slides his tongue in your mouth, runs his hands over your body. 

you’re making out with the god of desire and passion, so, objectively, it’s a good first kiss: soft around the edges and firm where it needs to be.

sure — you feel nothing, no real spark, but it’s almost enough to fill the hole in your heart in the shape of a certain son of hermes. 

the son of hermes who has moved on and is in a loving relationship with a perfect emotionally available partner. 

so, it’s fine. 

this, this thing with eros, is fine. 

you’re fine.

eros pulls away first, but keeps a hand on your cheek.

“let's get out of here.” 

he grabs your wrist before you have a chance to answer. you stand up, let him weave you through the crowd towards the stairs of the pavilion. apparently, his room is just through the garden. 

as he tugs you along, he looks back at you, smiling. under the glow of the stars, eros looks just like luke, except it’s becoming harder to ignore that he isn’t luke and that makes you feel all sorts of nauseous. your camp necklace weighs on your chest and, in particular, the silver key that you’d kept for all those years burns through your skin. 

lightheaded, you pull away from eros’ grip just as you reach the top of the stairs and place a hand on the column next to you to steady yourself.

eros turns around sharply. “what is it?”

“i changed my mind, actually. let’s just…keep talking here.”

eros grabs your wrist again, his grip tighter than before. “don’t be a tease.” his tone is ever-so-gentle, but there’s an edge behind his words. 

this time, your voice comes out more assertive. “i just changed my mind. that doesn’t make me a tease.”

“come on, baby, don’t you wanna experience what real passion is? this is a once in a lifetime opportunity that a million girls would kill for. you’d be an idiot to pass it up.” he brags, and you’re this close to breaking this guy’s nose, god or not. 

“i don’t care,” you snap, struggling to break free from his grip. “and i’m not your baby.”

“okay, whatever,” eros rolls his eyes, but quickly plasters on an arrogant grin. “we’ll go somewhere private and i’ll call you whatever you want.”

he manages to drag you down two steps as you strain against his iron grip, now almost cutting off your circulation. your heartbeat quickens and you feel dizzy. finally, you grab onto the railing for leverage and use your strength to rip out of his grip, forcing eros to stop in his tracks.

“what is it now?” he snaps, whipping his head around once more. 

he looks nothing like luke, now.

“just stop, eros.”

“listen,” he starts, speaking to you almost mockingly, like you’re a naive little kid. so much for being the savior of olympus. “trust me, i know what people want, so you don’t have to be shy. i promise to be the best you’ve ever had —”

“eros, is it?” the rest of the party is in full motion, but here’s percy, giving eros one of the most intense death stares you’ve ever seen. percy, your little brother who talks to lonely fish at the aquarium; who, if you cut open, would bleed blue m&m’s; who would never let anyone, god or otherwise, hurt someone he loves. “i’m gonna have to ask you to let go of my sister.”

“mind your own business, kid,” eros hisses. “we’re kinda in the middle of something.” he tries to move you down another step, but you stand your ground.

annabeth, no longer the scared little seven year old you, luke, and thalia found behind a dumpster, is also glaring at liam from the top of the stairs. one of her hands rests firmly on her belt, where she keeps her dagger. 

“i’d back off, if i were you,” she warns. “wouldn’t want to cause a scene.”

“just mind your own business,” eros snarls.

“they said leave her alone,” thalia asserts, walking over once she sees what’s happening. “and you don’t wanna mess with us, trust me.” she clenches her hand into a fist.

“who the fuck are you? her bodyguards?” 

“just let her go,” percy orders. “my sister can do a lot better than a minor god with a major god complex.” 

eros growls, baring his teeth at percy. “you impertinent little shit.”

as soon as eros lunges for your brother, you tug one of his wings towards you, hard. he whips around and you take the opportunity to punch him in the face. he doubles over, golden ichor gushing from his nose.

“i’d be careful if i were you, baby,” you seethe. “you wouldn’t want to go up against the demigods who led an army against kronos and won. unless, of course, humiliation is a kink of yours.” you laugh humorlessly at the way eros scowls at your words. “to each their own,” you continue. “but i’m not in the mood to fuck an entitled creep with angel wings to compensate for his tiny dick. you better fucking respect that, and leave us alone while you’re at it.”

eros’ flirtatious smile is long gone, replaced with the kind of anger only entitled, self-important jerks have when they don’t get what they want and they’ve taken a few blows to their ego. 

call it stupidity or arrogance, but his only response is a punch delivered right back to your face. 

you hear a crack upon impact, and pain radiates from your nose. you stumble, but percy manages to reach out and catch you before you fall down the stairs. he holds you as thalia and annabeth create a barrier between you and eros. you hear them shouting at eros over the music, but their exact words don’t register.

you lick your lips, tasting blood. your ears are ringing, and everything is suddenly all fuzzy. percy tries his best, but you slump your body weight into his and he almost topples over.

“i’ve got her.” luke’s calm and measured voice cuts through the chaos. you feel a strong, familiar arm wrap around your waist to steady you. “from what i remember, you were too much of a coward to even step foot on the battlefield, so i’d listen to her if you know what’s good for you.” in a haze, you guess that luke is directing his sharp words towards eros, before turning to the others and instructing: “you guys take care of this — find clarisse if you need back up.”

somehow, you find yourself over in a small secluded temple, sitting on a window bench overlooking the clouds as luke sits next to you.

like most of olympus, the building is made of marble with gold accents; this one has roses engraved on the walls, and the space smells like flowery perfume. it’s much quieter than the pavilion, though you can hear laughter and music in the distance. it’s cooler, too, but not by much; even without all the body heat, you're left with sticky summer air, and luke’s breath on yours, sweet with wine and ripe fruit, as he carefully examines your injury.

you feel your head spinning all over again. maybe it’s the alcohol, or the adrenaline, or the fact that the two of you haven’t been this close in a while — probably a dangerous mix of all three. 

you know (from trying not to but ultimately not being able to pull your attention away from him after all) that he’s had a few drinks as well; it seems like the two of you ignore each other best when you’re sober.

“thought the curse of achilles would protect you from nosebleeds.”

“guess it doesn’t protect against —” what did percy call eros? “ — minor gods who have major god complexes,” you recite.

luke looks slightly amused. “that’s a shame,” he hums. “would have been nice to get one birthday without being injured.”

a smile creeps onto your face, despite the dull ache from your nose.

“you remembered.”

“of course i remember,” luke almost scoffs like the mere suggestion of forgetting what day you were born is an insult to his very character. he meets your gaze, and you could melt when he offers you that lopsided smile of his, painfully familiar. “happy birthday, aquagirl,” and it’s the softest he’s spoken to you in a while. just like old times.

he remembers. 

somewhere within him, luke holds on to fragments of you.

he wipes the blood off your face, the sleeve of his silk white button-down now stained crimson. “how’s your hand?” he asks. 

you flex your fingers. “it’s been better,” you answer, your knuckles slightly aching. “totally worth it.”

“i guess all those years away didn’t change anything. still willing to put a god in their place, huh?”

all those years away. 

the reminder feels like a stab to the heart, and you’re worried that it might burst the comfortable bubble you and luke had drunkenly stumbled into. 

thankfully, luke continues:

“the kids really take after you.”

he says as a joke, mostly, but there’s a sincerity in those deep brown eyes of his, too. something you also hadn’t seen from him in a while. 

the kids, who you’d in some ways raised together when monsters were trying to kill you and the gods didn’t care enough to stop it. 

the family you and luke had built together despite being born into the world of greek tragedies. 

“as if annabeth wasn’t threatening to pull the dagger you gave her, skywalker,” the nickname rolling off your tongue with ease. “besides, they’re not kids anymore.”

“yeah.” he pauses. “neither are we.” 

luke’s fingers trace your camp necklace, brush against your collarbone. the breath hitches in your throat.

here you are again, at the edge of something real and very scary, and you fear luke is going to push the two of you over. 

but he doesn’t. instead, luke suggests, jokingly: “maybe we should start a fight club at camp.” 

you take that as a good sign: like you, he’s hoping to preserve the playfulness between you before everything else seeps in and ruins it. before you’re brought back to the present, where you’re practically ignoring each other.

where you’re fine, but really. 

you snort. “chiron and mr. d would love that.”

“like they’d ever find out!” luke explains. “you know the first rule of fight club —”

“don’t talk about fight club,” you finish together. 

luke laughs, even though it’s not that funny. you laugh, too. 

and that’s the thing that really, truly gets you. 

try as you might to ignore it, some days it’s hard to forget the pain and heartache and grief. 

you still feel like your life is a battlefield; you still see the ghosts of everyone you couldn’t save even though people call you a savior; you still have those scars, inside and out, that seemed healed but ache every once and a while. 

but that isn’t all. 

sometimes it hurts more thinking back to the good times and knowing, deep down, you can never go back.

summer — age 13

“ugh — you think with all their power, the gods could help stop global warming,” you groaned, swatting away a mosquito that tried to land on you. “do you think they have air conditioning on olympus?”

“oh, for sure,” luke quipped. he gave you a lopsided smile, his curls sticking to his forehead, drenched in sweat. 

it was the summer solstice, the longest and the hottest day of the year so far. the two of you had found a perfectly good hideout, but luke insisted that this place would be worth the move. 

he’d been leading you down side streets for what felt like forever. the sun had already set, and you were very close to passing out from the heat, until luke finally stopped at a door behind an alley, with a sign reading CLOSED FOR RENOVATIONS. 

luke knelt down to do whatever son-of-hermes lock magic he had to do to get the door open. he flipped a switch, and you winced at the sudden overwhelming brightness. 

the destination was different than the hideouts you usually sprung for: those small, hole-in-the-wall type places. instead, this space was big and bright, filled with arcade games and fun posters and neon colours. the type of place a kid might have a party or where a group of normal teenagers might spend their friday night. 

“what…what is this?”

“you thought i forgot, didn’t you?” luke smirked at you. he sat down on the colourful carpet, taking out some snacks, a small plastic bag with coins, a wrapped box, and a plastic blue crown, and gestured for you to join.

you did, in fact, think that luke had forgotten your birthday. 

birthdays were bittersweet for children of gods, who were constantly reminded that any year could be their last, their youth cut short by monsters or prophecies or a fatal flaw. all the two of you usually did on either birthday was split any sweet treat you could get your hands on. 

it wasn’t a big deal, really, to skip that tradition of yours. there were much more urgent things to worry about, like finding food and water and shelter, and not being devoured by monsters. 

you did think it was strange that luke hadn’t so much as said happy birthday to you all day, but you knew that he loved you.

(like a friend loves a friend. nothing else, no matter how much your stomach fluttered at the thought of him.) 

“i wanted to surprise you,” luke explained once you claimed your spot next to him. he reached over to place the crown on your head. “i found this place a few days ago during a food run. it reminds me of where we had your —”

“eighth birthday party, yeah.” you smiled at the memory of running around and feeding quarters to every machine and trying every game, of your classmates singing happy birthday to you off-key before you all stuffed your faces with sickly sweet confetti cake. 

truthfully, you never thought about having another celebration like that again.

but, it was five years from that faded childhood memory, and luke was presenting you with something you didn’t even realize you had needed: the chance to be a kid again.

“so,” luke got up, a wide smile on his face. he held the plastic bag in one hand, extending the other to you. “which do you wanna play first?”

you started with space invaders, then moved on to dragon’s lair and pac-man. you took a break before street fighter ii so that luke could ceremoniously light a candle and present a cupcake that had been tossed around in his bag (but you were still very, very grateful for), along with fresh batteries for your portable cassette player. he had made you a mixtape too, though you couldn’t figure out how. 

your last stop was a photobooth. you vowed to keep those pictures — a collection of you and luke together, smiling bright and colourful, goofing off and laughing — for the rest of your life.

now

those moments from past summers are like popsicles melting in the sun: tangible for a limited time before leaving you with a sickly sweet mess of what once was. 

you think about what happened earlier, how percy, annabeth, and thalia stepped in to protect you, still the brave kids you had once known so well. how luke is here with you now, taking care of you so tenderly even after you’ve silently agreed to give each other the cold shoulder. 

maybe luke is right. maybe all those years away didn’t change anything. 

except — once you leave this temple and the alcohol leaves your system, it won’t be the same. 

none of you are kids anymore, if you ever even were. 

“why’d you go for eros, anyway?” luke asks, breaking you away from your thoughts. he removes his sleeve from your nose since the bleeding seems to have finally stopped.

“you really wanna know?”

“yeah. most gods are assholes. and you’re…” luke places a hand close to your leg, pinky finger brushing your thigh. “you.”

“i went for eros because….well, honestly, i don’t think i cared who it was, as long as they made me forget you,” you admit, because what did you have to lose. you probably have a broken nose, you definitely have blood on your shirt, and your time with luke is running out. 

luke’s eyes darken. his fingers start to play with the hem of your shorts. 

“did it work?” his voice is a whisper, but he’s close enough that he’s crystal clear.

“no.”

it’s hard to determine who leans in first, but soon enough your lips are on luke’s — messy and urgent. noses bumping together, teeth clacking against each other. he cradles your face in his hands, and you move to straddle his waist. you taste wine on his tongue, and maybe a hint of sweet pears, but it’s overwhelmed by the salty, metallic taste of blood stained on your lips. when you run out of air, you pull away. it’s clearer now: you’re not dizzy from the alcohol or adrenaline, but dizzy from him. luke’s gaze is heavy on yours as he traces your top lip with his thumb.

“luke,” you whimper, itching to kiss him again. 

“you’re still bleeding.”

luke wipes away the blood with his thumb. before either of you can do or say anything more, there’s an echo of footsteps on the marble floor. a flower nymph, there to leave an offering and let you know that, while aphrodite encourages acts of love, she prefers it doesn’t happen in her place of worship. 

you realize that aphrodite also might not look so fondly at you kissing someone else in her place of worship after publicly rebuking her own son.

luke untangles himself from you, and you know that he’s been jolted back to reality, too. 

and, just like that, another moment has melted away.

your father was right. time has a way of slipping away for us, immortal or not.

summer — age 18

“hey, you awake?”  

“yeah,” you replied softly. sleep hadn’t been easy, in the days and weeks and months leading up to that final battle with kronos and his army. 

and once it was all over? 

you rested your head on luke’s shoulder, sword discarded at your feet and armour half-removed, as argus, the hundred-eyed security guard of olympus, drove a school bus with a dozen or so demigods back to camp.

“why’d you turn down their offer?” luke whispered.

oh.

"why...why do you ask?"

"i don't know." luke paused. "just curious, i guess."

you closed your eyes and replayed that moment on olympus when you refused the gift of immortality. the look of shock written on the gods’ faces. and on luke’s.

“i don’t care about living forever,” you told him bluntly.

forever seemed too long, especially for someone who was prophesied to die at 18.

you tilted your head up to meet luke’s gaze, and his messy curls brushed against your forehead. evidence of the battle was clear on his face: caked-on dirt and blossoming bruises and dried blood. 

behind him, outside the bus window, the world was flying by. a child who had fallen off their bike being comforted by a friend. two people sharing an mp3 player and a pair of earbuds. an elderly couple walking their dog.

“you once told me that this was our life,” you continued, gesturing towards the weapons and battle-worn kids, some quiet, others crying, many injured. “what if it didn’t have to be?” 

luke furrowed his brow. “do you mean….are you talking about leaving?”

you shrugged. running from monsters for your entire childhood then being the child of the great prophecy was a lot.

a break might be nice.

there was so much about the world, the one you’d fought and bled to protect, that you wanted to experience. 

maybe something closer to a normal life.

“would you ever leave camp?” you wondered, not really answering luke's question. 

“no,” luke replied instantly. his fingers started fiddling with the beads on his necklace. “i can’t just walk away, not after everything.”

“yeah, i get that.” and you did; you really, truly, did. the guilt of wanting to leave camp curled in your stomach like a venomous snake. you took a shaky breath. “let’s talk about this later, yeah? i’m tired, and we have the rest of — ”

the rest of the summer slipped away in the blink of an eye. gone, before you even had a real chance to say goodbye.

you closed your eyes and held on to luke, as if gripping his arm would anchor you to something you weren't ready to let go of, but in some ways needed to move on from.

it was no use, though. 

by the end of august, you’d be gone too. 

now 

you learned early on that the curse of achilles doesn’t protect you from hangovers.

you wake up the morning after the celebration on olympus with a deep, throbbing pain lodged in your temple and an uncomfortable swirling in your gut. parties and late nights at bars are common on tour, which means migraines are, too, so you have a routine to make sure you’re not out of commission for too long.

except this time, the aspirin and blue gatorade and dry toast don’t work. the sting in your brain and uneasiness in your stomach doesn’t go away, even after a few days. you haven’t been able to sleep, either.

desperate for a cure, you consult lou ellen, head counsellor of the hecate cabin, who you’d unexpectedly grown close to in the past few weeks. she mixes something for you, while asking if there’s something that’s been weighing on you.

you couldn't keep it in anymore; you tell her about the summer solstice and luke.  

later, with nothing but your thoughts and percy’s snoring occupying your time post-curfew, you grab your phone and flip it open, deciding to finally reach out to luke, when you get a text from him.

luke is already on the beach when you arrive, looking out onto the water. 

“hey,” you greet as you sit next to him on the sand, but not too close. “i was actually about to text you —”

“did you tell anyone that we kissed?” he interrupts. you can’t quite read his expression as he waits for you to answer.

“no, i didn’t,” you lie. “would it matter if i did?”

“well, i mean, word travels fast around camp, and i don’t want van finding out. it’s not like it meant anything.”

the throbbing in your brain becomes a sharper sting, the uneasiness in your stomach a tidal wave of nausea.

“it didn’t?” you hate how fragile your voice sounds, compared to luke’s stoic demeanor.

luke shrugs. “i mean, we were both drunk and the thing with eros happened…we just got caught up in the heat of the moment.” 

“you’re saying there’s nothing between us, then? nothing?” the word tastes bitter in your mouth.

luke turns away before he answers. “no. nothing.”

“then what about last summer?” you demand. you force yourself to keep it together, your tone firmer than before. “i guess that didn’t mean anything, either.”

“y/n…” he sighs. “i don’t know what you want me to say. we’re barely even friends anymore. you come back here, after all this time, after so much shit happened, and expect us all to drop everything to fit you back into our lives. but, you don't. whatever you came here for, it's not here for you. there's nothing to go back to. we moved on. i moved on, and i can’t deal with you —" 

“got it,” you snap, already turning to walk away. “loud and fucking clear, luke.” 

it’s not like it meant anything. we’re barely even friends anymore.

you replay luke’s words as you crawl into bed, holding back tears so as to not disturb percy. finally, you swallow a generous amount of whatever concoction lou ellen had brewed up for you.

drifting off into your own sleep, you decide that you don’t love luke anymore. not as a friend, not as a.....

nope. 

according to luke, there's not even anything to go back to.

nothing.

nothing.