Regret 》Lukercy

I

Percy hadn't gotten out of bed since the night before, now drained of tears to cry.

Why was he so upset? He just won a war and is considered a hero! That should be something worth celebrating for, right?

Well, sure, he won a war. But what's really devastating is that the real hero is dead.

And that hero was in love with him.

He heard the door to his cabin open slightly, and he turned to see Annabeth there, standing by the doorway with her arms crossed over her bright orange camp half-blood shirt. She raised an eyebrow, looking at Percy curiously.

"Hey, Seaweed Brain- you okay?" Annabeth came a bit closer, looking slightly worried.

"No- not really." Percy shook his head, sitting up, his head in his hands.

Annabeth sat next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder. Percy tensed, not really expecting any physical contact, still shaken up a bit after that kiss with Luke.

Gods damn, that kiss.

The taste of burnt sugar never left his taste buds. It was one of the best ways to remember him.

Why did he even miss Luke? Luke betrayed him and everyone else and tried to kill them all.

"Do you miss Luke?" Annabeth asked.

Percy only nodded, scared that if he tried to speak his voice would break.

"I thought you hated him. What happened?"

Percy cleared his throat, doing his best not to cry.

"Luke apologized several times, and he showed me why he did it. Why he saved us." Percy managed to choke out safely, with no voice cracks.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow.

"He- he-" Percy shook his head, knowing damn well that he would cry if he said it out loud.

Annabeth's expression softened. "You can tell me, Percy."

Wow, did she really use his actual name?

"He kissed me." Percy choked out, his voice tumbling over itself.

There was a terrifying silence between them. Annabeth's eyes had widened, and her grip on Percy's shoulder grew firmer.

"On- on the lips?" She asked, looking slightly hurt, though Percy didn't know why.

Percy nodded. "He said he loved me. Why would he say that when he was dying? I wish he told me sooner-" Percy burst into tears, his head against Annabeth's shoulder.

Annabeth said nothing, just ran her hands along his back, obviously trying to calm him down. "Did you kiss him back?" Annabeth asked out of nowhere as Percy broke away.

Percy nodded slowly.

"Oh." Was all Annabeth said.

There was another awkward silence between them before Grover burst into the cabin, grinning. "The gods are here; and they have good news!"

Percy stood up immediately, his mind whirring with thoughts of what they could say. Somehow, to Percy's frustration, they all had to do with Luke.

Is he still alive?

What if he was brought back to life?

Did he live longer than that but died after?

Percy shook his head furiously at his own thoughts, which caused Annabeth and Grover to exchange glances.

Annabeth smiled, already walking out of the cabin, stopping by the doorway to turn toward Percy.

"Aren't you coming?" She asked.

"Uh- yeah." Was all Percy responded with as he followed the two towards where he saw the gods, tall and proud, standing before only a select few of other campers.

As Percy stared at the other campers, he noticed they all were campers who were heroes in the war.

Too bad some of the other heroes were dead.

"...you were all heroes in the war, and for that we will each grant you one wish." Zeus was saying, although it was obvious by the small smile on Poseidon's face that he forced Zeus to do this.

And so, each camper got one wish. Some were stupid, like a motorcycle, and some were peculiar, like some asking for their eye color to change, though Percy would never do that.

He knew what he was going to ask for.

As Poseidon set his gaze on his son, he asked, "And what is your wish, child?"

Percy set his jaw.

"I want Luke back."