A Hero's Tears

Still Not My Mother

After Luke took his shower (during which he washed his hair seven times to get it as clean as he possibly could), he got dressed in a nice long-sleeve cotton shirt that was dull grey, a pair of denim jeans, and the Converse that Piper gave him. On top of those, he put on a blue woolen jacket, and he put a beanie in his pocket, in case he needed it.

"That's better," called a voice as he exited his cabin. He turned and saw Annabeth waiting against the wall of the cabin. "Took you long enough," she said.

"Hey, if you hadn't showered in as long as I have, you'd spend quite a bit of time in there, too," he said. "So how's this going to work?" he asked her.

"We're taking my car. Hephaestus kids started working on machines, along with their usual stuff. They're also enchanted so they require as minimal maintenance as possible. Not even gas is needed," she explained. "We're going to first go back to your place."

"Why? I doubt that dick knows where she's buried."

"Oh, I don't think for a second he does. But I bet you'd like to break the bastard's nose, so that's our first stop. Then, we're going into the town to really find out where she is, and we'll both pay respects."

"Alright. Sounds like a plan," Luke said, shaking his head to displace some stray hair.

"You know, I kinda like that style. Like a rogue-ish pirate, Edward Kenway kind of look," she commented.

Luke furrowed his brow. "Who?" he asked.

"Oh, I forgot. You've been out for the past five years... I'll explain later. But let's go."

A little while later, Luke found himself in a car he'd never seen before. There wasn't a typical company logo anywhere. There was just a "H" on the hood, and again on the steering wheel. It was sleek, fast, and a nice cream colour. That's all Luke knew about it.

"What kinda car is this?" Luke asked. He was simply curious.

"It's called the Tholoura," Annabeth said. "Made by the Hephaestus kids. It can go wicked fast, and has a few special features."

"Such as?"

"No gas required, or charge. It just goes. It only lets me or anyone I've cleared drive it. It's got those cool auto-breaks. And it can hover, if needed. Like, if there's a pothole, or something, it just glides right over it."

"Sweet," Luke said.

Skip forward a little bit, they were pulling into Luke's old home's driveway.

"I know you've been out for a while, but gods your taste in music is so outdated," Annabeth was saying.

"Hey, you're about as old as me, now, so don't go calling me old," he said jokingly.

"Your body might be twenty-two, but you were born almost thirty years ago, now c'mon. I wanna meet your new friend," she said, stepping out of the Tholoura.

The two of them walked up the driveway to the front door of the house. Luke looked around nervously, and shivered slightly from the cool air. He pulled his beanie out, and pulled onto his head, folding the edge up about an inch, and it covered his ears nicely, especially because of the double layer of the fold.

Annabeth knocked on the door, and Luke braced himself for the grumpy, greasy, doughy man with beady black eyes.

The door swung open, and, indeed, it was the same man as before, and he looked just as grumpy.

"What do you want?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as he looked harshly at the two. Especially Luke, as he could slightly remember him.

"We're looking for a May Castellan. Sh-" Annabeth started, but the man cut her off.

"I told this bum last month that she's dead," he growled, and started to close the door, but found Annabeth blocking him from closing it.

"I. Wasn't. Finished," she said, her voice dangerously calm.

"She used to live here, and we want to know where she's buried. This man is her son, and wants to pay his respects."

"Listen, here, bi-" he started, but was cut off by Luke's fist as it slammed into his mouth.

"Don't. Talk to her. Like that," Luke said, his face red with anger.

"Let's go. This git won't tell us anything," Annabeth said, and they walked off.

"You'll regret that!" the man shouted to them.

Luke turned quicker than should be possible, and was at the man's collar in seconds, glaring into his eyes.

"Luke... Let's go," Annabeth insisted.

Luke took a deep breath, and turned back around, walking towards her.

"Yeah," he said. "Sorry."

The two got in the car, and pulled out of the drive way.

Once they put some distance, Annabeth spoke.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. Just lost my cool for a bit. Think I cut my knuckle on his tooth," he replied in a voice he tried to keep calm, but he couldn't hide the slight shake in it.

"It's okay. I've got a small bit of nectar in the glove compartment," she said.

"Thank you... for all of this," he said.

"It's my pleasure."

They drove in silence the rest of the way into town.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I know this is early, but I really wanted to post it because I'm super excited for this and The Battle of Manhattan to end. Not because I hate the stories, I just really want the final chapters out, and stuff. If you don't know what that is, it's my other story that follows an unclaimed Hermes kid on the frontlines during the Battle of Manhattan, during The Last Olympian. It actually takes place in the same universe as this story, but it may take a bit for that to unfold.
Fun fact: Luke Castellan and AmazingPhil are the same age, and a month before the first PINOF, Luke/Kronos was invading Manhattan.
~LotP