Percy Jackson Fanfics

What Binds us Together

Title: What Binds us Together
Author: TheProfoundSilence
Site: Archive of Our Own
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24875824

If you don't like Luke I advice you to not read this one. I don't really like Luke but I had liked the writing style of this story.

TW: Implied Rape

______________________

The worst are his dreams.

To beat your enemy, you must first get to know them. Luke had never wanted to know Percy like this, sympathize with him, see him at his weakest.

There is Sally Jackson, pregnant when she despairingly drives to an abortion clinic, her pregnancy not even showing it when she takes the dose, once, twice, thrice until she can’t bear it and gives up, her son stubbornly alive inside her womb.

There is a little Percy, not even a week old when Poseidon comes in a swirl, his face thunderous and unhappy, trident angrily raised to strike his son dead before Percy could have a chance to destroy him. Until sentiment takes better of him and softening, the sea god runs a hand through his son’s forehead.

There is baby Percy strangling two snakes in his crib, not even old enough to sit up by himself but apparently old enough to be left in the hands of a careless baby-sitter who doesn’t much care.

He sees Percy with a violent step-father and watches impassively as he walks into his step-son’s room, watches as Percy redresses himself with trembling fingers through teary eyes, giving up halfway, leaning against the wall of his ‘bedroom’, blood running down his thighs through his half-open shirt.

He sees Percy grow up a little, starved of affection from a distant but ultimately caring mother, terrified of consequences of a fat balding monster, wary of monsters at every turn, tired of not having even a single friend.

Every time Luke wakes up, he meditates.

He doesn’t want to understand Percy or sympathize with him. Every time he sleeps, he has to wonder, how can Percy possibly forgive the gods for all that has gone wrong in his life? How can he still be so…so naïve? So hopeful?

_-_

Kronos intrudes in his dreams. He doesn’t say a thing about the frozen background, which was Percy on his quest to the Sea of Monsters. Even at 13, he was more resourceful than his inexperience might suggest.

Kronos told Luke his plan. Luke tried not to cry.

Kronos was thorough. He gave the guidelines and fed Luke all the ceremonies he had to follow to bathe in the Styx.

Nobody before or after Achilles had survived the Styx, he was repeatedly told.

But you’ll survive and thrive, Kronos had repeatedly promised.

_-_

He has to lead an army and convince allies to join his side and do his master’s bidding and at night, he peeks into his arch-enemy’s life and tries not to feel…whatever it is that he is feeling.

He thinks during these times, he thinks a lot. He wonders how his mom is doing, he knows he’ll find out when he goes to take her blessing. He thinks about Annabeth, but his memory of her is tainted by her rejection.

Thalia and Annabeth had meant the most to him in this whole damn world and now that he’s feeling his destiny, following the path of righteousness and his destiny to be great, they had rejected him without even hearing him out.

Sometimes he worries that he’ll burn up in the Styx without a mortal anchor. He just doesn’t have anybody who holds him to this world anymore.

_-_

He doesn’t want to jump. Kronos is still threatening him quietly in his head, telling him to jump. Ethan is standing to the side but there is just no point in pushing him. He’ll just dissolve if he’s not ready.

When he does jump, it’s the worst pain ever. Something hollow and excruciating as if it is not just hurting his body but also something deeper. He tries to focus on his mortal spot, but it seems so distant. It’s not just his body but also his soul that needs an anchor.

Then suddenly he is in the arena. Camp Half-Blood’s arena. He hadn’t seen it in so long, it immediately sends a pang of wistful nostalgia through him.

“Yield?” Percy asks him. This isn’t 12-year old Percy that he had trained and reluctantly admired. This Percy is a bit older. 14, maybe 15. But his face isn’t stressed and haunted like he knows Percy is right now.

His shoulders are relaxed, his eyes are bright, his smile looks genuine. “C’mon, Luke. You keep this up, I’ll steal away your title of best swordsman in 300 years.” When Luke doesn’t say anything, doesn’t help himself up, just drinks in the sight hungrily, Percy rolls his eyes and tugs him up, his mortal point burning lighting, tying him irrevocably to Percy.

_-_

When he thinks about it, he doesn’t know what it means, even in the deepest privacy of his own consciousness.

What binds them together?

It’s not a secret pining love and it’s not uncontrolled hate. It’s not just anger or desperation or something so easily quantifiable.

He just does.

He just hates Percy for leading CHB and he hates him for being so weak that despite everything that had gone wrong in his life, Percy is still holding stead-fast to a dead-beat who doesn’t care, but is more importantly, fighting for the gods who rule tyrannically with little to no thought of anyone else.

And then, he just admires Percy for holding steadfast to his ideals even in such a violent crisis, for being so hopeful and wonderful and genuinely good even after seeing some of the worst in the world. He admires his ability to improvise and get out of tough situations, just as he hates the idea of such a formidable enemy.

_-_

Almost a year later, Luke opens his blue eyes again and fondly looks to Annabeth, his little sister and freely thanks the gods that he had had the strength to make the right choice.

He looks to Percy and remembers all that he saw and thinks he sees the same understanding in Percy. They both know that they know each other and their secrets and their deepest shame and fear better than anyone else in the world and they still don’t know where they stand with each other.

Percy looks at him and promises he’ll get Elysium.

Why do you care? Luke wanted to ask but Annabeth is right there and besides, Luke knows Percy enough to know he doesn’t know what entangles them together any more than Luke does.