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Luke shouldn’t be doing this.
He knows he shouldn't, but after the day he’s had, he needs this.
Luke found himself walking the length of the Hudson River, past runners, couples, families, people and their dogs. To everyone here, he looked like a normal 20 year old. The New York chill had set in and he’d burrowed up in a long coat and a scarf, a coffee in tow.
He could do this, because things slowed during the winter. Progress with Kronos and the Titan Army slowed. Percy went back to school, Annabeth went too, Luke was sure. He’d seen her briefly. Well, she hadn’t seen him but that’s not entirely the point. Dionysus was probably withering away in his bedroom and poor Chiron was most likely left with the bare scraps of remaining campers.
Luke marveled at how beautiful New York during the winter time is. It almost made him feel like this could be his life, but he wasn’t here for that.
He was here for the person walking a few steps ahead of him.
He’d been following them for about twenty minutes now, trying to work up the courage to stop them. They had a set destination to meet with this person, though under a different guise, but Luke couldn’t help himself. He wanted to see them up close. He’d been waiting far too long, as miserable as that sounded.
They rounded the corner and Luke slowed to a halt, hovering just behind a tree to watch as the person checked their watch and sat down on the bench.
Luke sucked in a breath and put the cap on.
When he approached, he sat down beside the person. A mere floating mug and they scoffed.
“If that’s you, Annabeth, I don’t have time to help you or your little friends right now. My energy is scarce during the winters. You should know this. To save-”
“For the winter solstice,” Luke finished and the person went deathly still. Could it be possible to scare a god? Because right now, they looked terrified. “Hey, dad.”
“Luke,” Hermes breathed out, just above a whisper. People continued to walk by without a glance and Luke wondered if they saw a strange man talking to a floating cup, or if they could see something else.
Luke was also distracting himself with this thought thanks to the severe nerves flowing through his body at the knowledge that he was with his father.
“You shouldn’t… You shouldn’t be here.” Hermes looked straight at him and Luke frowned.
“Can you see me?” He asked, avoiding what Hermes had said.
“No, but I know my son’s face enough to get an idea. And I am a god after all.” Hermes’ voice came out hoarse, just like Luke’s always did when he was on the verge of tears. It tore Luke’s heart open. Hermes lifted his hand, slowly moving it right to the top of Luke’s scar on his cheek and moved down to his jaw, following the line. He’d memorized it.
Luke didn’t know what to do with that.
“What are you doing here, Luke?” Hermes pressed, eyes growing pained. He dropped his hand now and Luke had the urge to pull it back.
Luke paused. He came here to be honest. But why was that suddenly the hardest thing he’s ever had to do?
He sucked in a slow breath and placed the coffee beside him. “I saw mom today.”
Hermes didn’t respond for a long time. Both men turning to face the water. Luke thought he’d never speak again, but Hermes finally nodded.
“I bet she was pleased to see you.”
Luke winced at the emphasis. “She was, until she wasn’t.” He fiddled with his scarf. “She asked about you. I told her you’d visit soon and then she asked why we don’t come together… then she started going off about how ‘it’s started’ and then she wouldn’t stop crying and screaming at me, so… I ran out. Nothing new there.”
Hermes wiped his hand over his mouth, valiantly fighting tears away. You’d think a god who’d seen countless wars could hold his emotions together, but Luke always knew Hermes was sensitive about this little broken family of theirs.
“Your mother is just worried about you,” he finally murmured, resting his elbows on his knees. “She’s… Luke, she’s alone. It’s that simple and neither of us can go home to her for both her sake and ours. The Fates were cruel to her, but it’s out of our control and we can only try to do our best with what we’ve been given.”
Luke had a feeling that his father was hiding something, but he knew how iffy the gods got about certain fates. There was no point in pushing.
“It must suck to be a god and feel so powerless,” Luke replied, stretching out a bit on the bench. He wanted it to come off as harsh, but his tone was so uneven, it almost sounded like he felt sympathetic for Hermes. Did he?
“It is,” Hermes answered honestly, and Luke’s gaze shot in his direction in surprise.
“It is the hardest thing to be a god, to be this being with so much power and influence, and you can’t even help the woman you love and your son who you care for more than anyone else in the world. But sometimes… that’s just what life is. You go through the trials of loving from a distance, because it’s better than ruining them from up close.”
Luke was at a loss for words. This ache in his chest swelled, threatening to burst his fragile heart and he was thankful his father couldn’t see him, because his face was slick with tears.
“Luke, when you came into this world, I don’t think I’d ever been happier.” Hermes continued, a few tears of his own spilling. “I remember thinking that I’d give up immortality to spend a normal life with you and your mother just so I could have the privilege of watching you grow up.”
“What about your other kids?” Luke asked softly.
“I love them,” Hermes nodded. “I love them so much. But I have never experienced the love that I have for you and your mother before… And I never will again.”
Luke sniffed and now Hermes looked over at him, eyebrows furrowing.
“D- Dad?” Luke stuttered through the word. He sounded so young. Nothing like the 20 year old he was now.
“Yes, Luke?” Hermes replied.
“I’m so fucking scared,” Luke choked out and doubled over, his head in his hands. What had he done? What had he started? He came here today to remind Hermes of the power Luke held. Of the future. He came here to recruit his father. To blackmail and gaslight and manipulate. But here he is crying like a child to his father because deep down, he knows this is wrong.
Hermes reached out, lowering his arm until it found Luke’s back and he pulled his son closer into an embrace. He kissed his son’s head, feeling the brush of the cap and knew right away it was Annabeth’s.
He let Luke cry. He let Luke sob so loud, people glanced over, but Hermes didn’t care. Everyone around them were ants compared to them. His hand gently rubbed up and down Luke’s back, moving his fingertips in light circles like he’d seen May do when Luke was small and crying his little heart out after nightmares.
“I don’t want to go back there,” Luke sobbed into the crook of his father’s arm. “I don’t care if I look like a coward. I can’t go back there. Dad, please don’t make me go back.”
Luke could’ve pulled the ‘you’re a god, you can do anything,’ but instead he pleaded for his dad to help. Nothing more.
Hermes’ jaw clenched. The Fates had their plans, had probably seen this in their future too. If Hermes meddled now, would the outcome remain the same no matter what? He supposed not. He’d seen Fates change before. How certain people involved would bend their futures. Usually, the fate would land on someone else to keep the balance and whilst that might seem cruel, Hermes would sacrifice any soul for his son’s safety.
“You won’t go back there,” Hermes reassured with such surety in his voice, Luke let out a loud sob of relief. “You’re safe now, Luke. I’ve got you. I’ve got you…” Slowly, he reached for the cap and gently pulled it away, revealing his son’s body to him.
Luke looked up now with big, puffy red eyes and Hermes’ heart broke all over again. He looked so frail. His cheeks were hollowed. He was paler than usual. Even the color of his hair seemed dull.
“You promise?’ Luke looked at him with a fierce desperation and Hermes cupped his face like porcelain.
“You are under my protection now, Luke. In a few hours, the Titan Army will receive a message that you’ve been captured and killed by the gods. They’ll have to find a replacement. You will reside in Olympus until this blows over and no one, and I mean fucking no one, will touch you.” The glow in Hermes’ eyes and the vibration in his voice, made Luke realize he’d never seen his father lose his temper. Part of him wanted to see it, the other part was too frightened of the outcome.
“W- What about Percy?” Luke’s desperation switched to fear. He wouldn’t forgive himself if Percy died. “He wants Percy more than he wants me-”
“Percy isn’t part of this story, Luke.” Hermes promised. “Not in the way that you think. I can’t say anything else, but you need to trust me here, okay?”
Luke sniffed and forced himself together. Though it was only a little bit. He was barely hanging on by a thread as it was. Telling Hermes, a god — never mind him being his father —, was an incredibly difficult feat for Luke. but there was this screaming fire in his heart that swore up and down that the person Luke could trust most in the world right now, was Hermes.
“I trust you,” Luke breathed out and Hermes did too, though with more relief.
“Then it’s settled. You’ll come home with me.” He confirmed.
“Thank you,” Luke whispered, fighting off a fresh bout of tears. “Thank you, dad.”
Hermes reached out and wiped Luke’s tears away. “I’d move the world for you, kid.”
That alone, was a big statement. Luke couldn’t believe he ever hated the man.
He was just trying to keep the balance.
“I’m not a kid,” Luke deflected, rolling his eyes.
“No,” Hermes said fondly, looking his son up and down. “No, I suppose you’re not. But Luke, I don’t think you ever were…”
“No, I suppose I wasn’t,” Luke mimicked his reply, a sad smile on his lips. “But it made me stronger.”
Hermes smiled a little now too, holding the back of Luke’s head. He couldn’t grip onto his curls anymore. They were cut too short. “I am exceptionally proud of you, do you know that?”
“I do now,” Luke offered a cheeky response and Hermes chuckled, pulling him closer to kiss his forehead.
“When all of this blows over, we’ll start looking at colleges for you. Maybe an apartment of your own near the Empire State. What do you say?”
Luke paused, eyes growing bigger. He never thought he’d make it to college. He never even gave any thought to what he wanted to study. His whole life revolved around war and running away.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” He replied slowly, an even bigger smile forming. “But only if you spend weekends with me.”
“Every single one,” Hermes swore. Luke stood up first, reaching for his coffee, followed by Hermes, who slung an arm around his shoulders. “I love you, kid.”
Luke lightly jabbed him in the ribs for the nickname. “I love you too.”
Luke had never felt lighter. He was still terrified that something could go wrong, or that Zeus would deny him entry into Olympus, but he had his dad on his side now and he felt unstoppable.
Hermes had never felt so selfish. Was it cruel that he didn’t care that the prophecy had fallen onto someone else? Maybe so. But Hermes had his son and that was all that mattered.
He hoped Ethan Nakamura wasn’t as kind as Luke.