Luke Castellan | Percy Jackson (familyluke) wrote in somerealityrpg, @ 2020-01-30 17:00:00 |
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Entry tags: | inactive: thalia grace |
WHO: Luke Castellan and Thalia Grace
WHERE: Their apartment
WHEN: Jan 28
WHAT: Thalia isn’t a very good patient
STATUS: Complete
Although Hugo had come by with a healing spell, he hadn’t healed Thalia’s injuries completely. So while Thalia no longer experienced piercing pain every time she tried to breathe, she was still sore enough that moving around a lot was still a bother. The problem was, like all demigods, Thalia wasn’t very good at sitting still. She’d been born with battle reflexes - more so since she was a daughter of one of the Big Three - and when she wasn’t in battle, it just meant she very quickly got restless. Unfortunately, she also had a very strict nursemaid. “How about a walk,” she cajoled Luke, who seemed to have taken his resentment of her “abandoning” him and decided to punish her by not letting her move anywhere. “I’ll even lean on you, how about that?” *** “Nope,” he said simply, without even looking at her. “We’re not going anywhere. Or rather, you’re not. And I’m staying here and making sure of it.” He finally looked up at her, clearly annoyed. “If you think you can out stubborn me on this, you’ve got another thing coming.” **** “That’s kind of punishing yourself, isn’t it?” Thalia pointed out. “You haven’t left the apartment in days either. Come on, fresh air will do us both good. Besides, it’s not good for me to be immobile so long anyway. I’ll get stiff and end up with other issues.” *** “You’re not going to get anything. Demigods don’t get sick.” He knew better than to let her get by with something like that. “And I’m good. Getting done reading done.” He was calm, the anger in his eyes not noticeable in his voice. *** “Luuu-uuuuke.” Thalia flopped back against the pillows of the couch. “I didn’t realize you hated me this much. We did agree to a truce, didn’t we?” He was being unreasonable about this whole thing, she thought. She was the one who’d gotten hurt, but he was acting like he was the victim here. And really, she’d gotten hurt because she had taken a blow meant for him. That was gratitude for you. Though she supposed he’d never been good at that. He probably saw it as just another example of her wanting to play hero, when in truth she just didn’t want to see him hurt, no matter how estranged they were from each other. And anyway, her protecting him had allowed him to make the killing blow for Kronos, which she thought would make him feel better. Closure and all. Obviously not. *** Closure? There was no closure for him, there never would be. And even seeing Kronos again has brought up a lot of pain that he hadn’t wanted to remember. Ever. But it seemed that the world would always be turned against him in one way or another. And Thalia not being willing to let herself get better was just making him feel worse and worse. “Stop!” He nearly shouted. “Just stop! You need to rest. You need to get better. And I’m not letting you get up until you are.” *** Whoa. That was totally disproportionate to the issue at hand. The force of his anger was enough to make her stop her play acting and stare at him for a moment. “Luke, I am getting better. You know that, right? Hugo fixed up my ribs, and I just have to not get into any fights until I’m fully healed. Doesn’t mean I’m an invalid.” She’d done way more on a broken leg, back when they’d been running from monsters. *** “I know. But if you screw it up by getting up too early, you’re just going to get worse. And I don’t want to listen to you complaining about it when you do.” He was sorry he’d yelled, but he wasn’t going to take it back. Maybe it would make her realize that this was serious, and not a thing to joke around about. *** “Who said you had to? You’re not responsible for me.” Even though he seemed to be acting like he was. Even though it felt kinda nice, to have him fussing over her like old times, even if he was grouchier about it now than he used to be. Given that he was grouchy about it, though, Thalia wasn’t sure why he insisted on watching over her at all. “You don’t have to stick around, you know.” *** “And what if I don’t? You’ll get up and hurt yourself again and then I’ll have to listen to you whine again.” Honestly, he didn’t know why he felt such a need to stay here and watch out for Thalia. Maybe because he didn’t want her to leave him again. Maybe because there was still a part of him that cared. Maybe more than just a little part. *** “I’m only ‘whining’ because you’re being overprotective,” Thalia pointed out. “Did I whine about getting thrown into a building? Did I whine about being in pain every time I tried to breathe? No - I’m only complaining because you won’t even let me get the remote on my own!” That was the thing about Thalia: she didn’t whine, at least not about the important stuff. She’d fought monsters on a broken leg and scrounged for food in grim, silent determination. The only things she did whine about were insignificant things, when they had the luxury of doing so. *** “Then why don’t you just stop and do what I say? I mean, I’m not a son of Apollo or anything, but I know a little about first aid and know that the best thing that you can do right now is to just relax. Seriously. Just rest. Read. Watch TV. Just don’t get up or it’s going to be a lot slower getting better.” Overprotective! He wasn’t overprotective, was he? Of course not. He was just being realistic and she was being stubborn. *** “That was before Hugo came up with his healing spell,” Thalia argued. “If I was still lying here with fractured ribs, for sure I’ll be making you fetch me food and water and subscribe to Netflix. But I’m way better, and I’m not saying I want to go ten rounds with a Slayer or anything, I just want to take a walk!” She sat up and gave him her most Convincing Face, complete with eyelash batting. “Look. Give it a try. If I wince or whine or whatever, you can set me back on the couch and tie me down or something. Just let me try.” *** Luke crossed his arms and frowned. He didn’t believe that she was really all that much better, but he assumed a few steps might not kill her. “You can walk to the bathroom,” he said, giving in more than he expected himself to. “And then we can go from there on whether you get to walk any further.” *** He was rewarded with a brilliant smile, though there was a certainly element of amusement in it. “Oh, thank you so much for letting me walk to the bathroom on my own.” She didn’t laugh, though; the action still bothered her a little. But getting up didn’t. Aside from stiffness from not moving a whole lot over the past few days and soreness from her injury, it seemed fine. At any rate, she was determined not to let him see her experiencing any pain, or else he really would tie her down and sit on her. “See?” She stood up triumphantly. “Totally fine.” Even so, she took her time, and some care, to take herself to the bathroom. *** When she returned, he looked at her as if he’d just given her a great and wondrous gift. “There. You’ve been up for a while now. Compromise, right? You get up for a while, then you lay down and behave and heal like you’re supposed to.” Did he really expect Thalia to behave? Hell no. But he had to say the words anyway, if only to annoy her if nothing else. *** To which he received a Look. Now that she was up and about, Thalia wasn’t going to go back to being coddled on the couch. Even if she kinda didn’t mind being coddled by someone she’d once loved. “Hah,” she replied, as she headed for the door. “I’m going to stretch my legs and make sure my joints don’t freeze in place. You can come and make sure I don’t fall, or you can enjoy having the apartment to yourself.” *** Luke leapt to his feet and was instantly by her side. “I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he warned. “It’s cold. There might be ice. And if you fall, we’ll have to start completely over. That’s not what you want, is it?” He didn’t think that reason would reach her, honestly. When she got something in her mind the only thing you could do was go along with it or hit her hard over the head. *** We’ll have to start completely over. Thalia still didn’t understand why Luke was making this a group project when they’d only just come to a truce, but she didn’t want to probe too much into it. It was awfully nice to feel like he had her back, just like he used to, and although Thalia knew they were nowhere close to the relationship they had in the past, she was lonely enough, for long enough, to go along with this weird partnership for now. “It’s a good thing, then, I have you to catch me if I fall,” she said beatifically. She turned to him, a hint of hope that she couldn’t quite hide coming into her eyes. “I do, don’t I?” She wasn’t quite talking about a literal fall at that moment. *** “I don’t know, do you?” he asked. He was determined that he wasn’t going to get into a more serious discussion right now. This was about keeping her safe, and no matter how he might have felt about it (and her) he needed to figure things out for himself first. And he didn’t know how he felt. “I’m not always great at catching. Best that we stay inside.” *** That spark of hope faded out at his answer, to be replaced by the stubbornness he was so used to. “I’ll give Hugo a call then,” she muttered. “He’s good at catching.” Sure, there might a little bit of an attempt to make Luke jealous there, but she did know that Hugo would make a great crutch. After all, he was the only reason why she didn’t end up being a giant ball of bruises after their ice-skating attempt. *** “You like that Hugo guy, don’t you,” he said bitterly, his eyes narrowing as he watched her. “Fine then. If that’s what you want, just go hang out with him.” Luke didn’t care. He didn’t care at all. Not a bit. Thalia could do whatever she wanted. He wasn’t jealous at all. Nope. Not a bit. *** He did care, at least a little. Despite all that had happened between them, Thalia knew him well enough to know when he was lying. Now that she’d gotten the reaction she wanted, she allowed herself a smile. “Come on, Nurse Rachet.” She tucked her arm around his and tried to ignore the fact that he had muscles now. Nice muscles. “Let’s go.” *** Sighing, he went with her, letting her take his arm for her balance. He wasn’t going to think about how good it felt to be holding close to her like this. It had been a long time since they’d had that sort of feelings, and even then it had been so new and frightening that they’d never really had a chance to feel it. “I’m not trying to be difficult, Thalia,” he said, finally. “I just don’t want you getting hurt again.” *** Thalia, at least, was taking it easy as she’d promised. The pace she set was a slow amble rather than her usual brisk trot. His words gave her pause, and for a moment she was quiet as well. The responses she thought of ran from snide (“Well, that’s a change.”) to the wistful (“It’s been a long time since I heard you say that.”) but in the end, because she’d grown a little from the hothead she used to be, she only replied, “Thanks. I appreciate that. But I do know when to take it easy, you know.” He’d just never really had a chance to see that side of her. When they’d travelled together, the danger was so fierce and so constant that they’d never had a chance to recover, and so Luke had only ever seen her push herself constantly, even when she was hurt. Travelling with the Hunt has given her periods of respite she hadn’t experienced when she, Luke and Annabeth had been on their own. *** “Do you?” The question was both to her and to himself. He wasn’t sure if she did. It had been so much time since he’d run around with her, and the circumstances then were indeed a good deal different. “The Thalia I remember definitely didn’t.” Of course, she’d grown up a lot since she’d been the Thalia he remembered. “I don’t hate you,” he said after a long time. “I mean, I know you hate me, but you have reason. I don’t hold it against you.” *** “I’m totally taking it easy.” She gestured to their leisurely pace. “See?” They walked in silence for a while longer as she mulled over his words. “I don’t hate you,” she finally said. “I’m mad at you and I think you made really stupid decisions at every step at the way, but I don’t hate you.” Truth be told, she probably never really did hate him, no matter what she’d told him. He was too important to her for that. “I just wish…” She shook her head. There was no point in wishing for the past to be changed; that was impossible. The only thing they could do now was move forward. And that was something the old Thalia wouldn’t have had perspective on. She had grown up. “Nevermind. Just...thanks for coming with me.” *** “You just wish that I haven’t been stupid and gone all in with Kronos,” he finished for her. Of course that was how she felt. It was how he felt, more or less. He still understood why he did it, and he could still feel that anger. But he’d changed enough that he knew now that he’d made a mistake and that it hadn’t been the right thing to do. He’d hurt people, and he wasn’t proud of that. Not at all. “Are you sure you don’t hate me? I mean, you did try to kill me.” This time, there wasn’t any accusation in that. It was just a question. He might have even considered her attack on him justified, if he thought about it long enough. *** Since he’d gone and said it, Thalia didn’t deny it. She just tipped her head in an acknowledgement of his words. Things would’ve been so different if he hadn’t teamed up with Kronos. They could’ve still been friends. They could’ve been...more. “We were kinda in a fight to the death at the time,” she pointed out. “You weren’t holding back either; I just happened to get there first.” *** “I would never have killed you.” He believed that, whether it was true or not. He’d technically saved Bethie too, although he did regret what had happened to her. Not that he was going to say that out loud. It just hurt so much inside - both the things that he’d done, and the things that had been done to him. “I’m not sure I would have blamed you. I’m not sure I even would have been upset.” By then, he was starting to realize how deeply he’d gotten into things, and it hadn’t been fun. *** “It’s nice to think that,” Thalia said wistfully, when he said he wouldn’t have killed her. In that desperate fight, when she’d been nearly blinded by her own tears, she’d certainly felt like he would’ve killed her if he had a chance. “Thank you,” she said after a moment. They were actually talking about this like grown-ups, which was what she’d hoped when he had returned, and although it was painful, it was also cathartic. It was a conversation that was long overdue. “I needed to hear that from you. That you don’t hate me, and that you don’t think you actually would have harmed me.” Of course, he had poisoned her, but she was beginning to see now just how twisted Kronos had made him, to the point of believing that poisoning her would help her. *** “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” He paused. “I mean, I know I did. I hurt a lot of people, and that wasn’t right. There’s no excuse for that. But I never...you know, enjoyed it. Not like him. Not like the others. I knew, somewhere deep inside, that it was wrong, but he was in my head telling me it was right and it was really hard to hear anything but Kronos.” He hadn’t talked about this with anyone either. Probably most people wouldn’t even listen to him if he did. He was Luke Castellan, after all, and that name, to most demigods, was nothing but bad news. *** He was Luke Castellan, but she was Thalia, and she’d always been his best friend, the one who believed in him even when he didn’t believe in himself. Her faith in him had been so strong that she’d yelled at anyone who’d so much as hinted he’d turned traitor, and she’d only believed it when she saw it for herself. And even then, she’d ached with the loss of him and hoped he’d return to himself. She stopped suddenly, and released his arm...but only so she could turn fully and give him a fierce, tight hug. *** Luke was definitely caught off guard by the hug. He hadn’t expected it at all. How could he, when he thought she hated him just like everyone else, despite what she might say out loud? It took him a second, but he finally got control of himself and hugged her back, as tight as she’d hugged him. He couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched him kindly, and it almost brought tears to his eyes. *** “You’re an idiot,” Thalia told him. The words were muffled against his chest, because she wasn’t letting go of him. “But you’re my idiot, and if you ever let anyone get in your head like that again I will kick you off a cliff again and keep kicking you all the way down.” *** “The only reason it happened was because you weren’t there.” It wasn’t an insult, not really. It was more that he was saying how much she meant to him, how important she was, and how she would have been able to silence the voice that he couldn’t. “He knew exactly where to bite,” he said softly. “He knew exactly where I was vulnerable. And he attacked me there. And there was nobody else to listen to.” *** “I’m here now.” Thalia pulled back and looked at him sombrely. “And I’m not going to let you go off the rails like that again.” Knowing now how desperately lonely and abandoned he’d felt, Thalia did feel guilty that she hadn’t been there when Kronos had started whispering to him. But now that they were both back, it was like they had a second chance at this. She wasn’t going to let that pass. *** |