Water And Air

Summary: AU following Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters. Percy encounters Luke again outside Camp Half-Blood and finally figures out what the son of Hermes wants
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the first two books/films; some mentions of violence
Pairing: Percy/Luke - slash
Author's Note: I'm following the film canon with this story, which means the characters are going to be slightly older than in the books. I'm aging Percy up to about seventeen and Luke to about twenty

###

Realising that Annabeth and Grover needed some time with Thalia, Percy headed away from the celebrations. He considered going to find Tyson, but if he was honest, there was a part of him that needed to be alone.

Percy didn't realise he was heading towards the lake until he was standing on the end of the pier. He hadn't really intended to come here, but it made a certain kind of sense. Crouching down, he looked over the water a moment before speaking, not really expecting a reply, but hoping for one nonetheless. "I don't know why you never told me I had a brother."

There was no reply, of course, but Percy remembered everyone's reactions to Tyson, especially Annabeth's. If he'd known that he had a brother, he would have been told what his brother would probably have been like - and might have reacted even worse to Tyson than he had already.

Percy sighed quietly, part of him wishing that his dad would appear to talk to him - not that he would know what to say to Poseidon. But at least he'd know he was actually paying attention to him.

Still, Tyson had been healed after falling into the sea, so Percy could be grateful for that, at the very least.

Hearing the sound of footsteps behind him, Percy turned round, expecting to see Annabeth or Grover approaching. He was a bit surprised to see Thalia coming - alone - towards him and stood up automatically. "How are you feeling?" he asked, a bit awkwardly, not sure how to talk to someone who'd woken up after having been dead for several years.

"Everyone keeps telling me I should rest. But it feels like I've been sleeping for years." Thalia shrugged. "They all mean well, but I just needed to get away for a while." She eyed Percy, almost curiously. "I hear I have you to thank for this."

Percy shrugged. He didn't really see himself as a hero. Everything might have worked out in the end, but it had gone quite badly wrong up until then. And would anyone have told Thalia about Luke? He was probably dead by now... would Thalia still be grateful once she found out they'd failed to save her friend? "I didn't really do much."

"You shouldn't put yourself down," Thalia said. "No one rewards modesty."

"Where are Annabeth and Grover?" Percy asked, eager to change the subject.

"They're talking to Mr. D." Thalia looked back over her shoulder, towards the Camp, and then turned her attention back to Percy. "Was he angry with you for leaving without a word to anyone?"

"I think he was just too relieved to have the border restored." Percy reflected that it was probably a good thing that Thalia's resurrection hadn't brought the border down once more. He didn't think any of them would survive that.

"I heard about Luke." Thalia sat carefully on the end of the pier.

After a brief hesitation, Percy sat next to her. "I know he was your friend..."

"You're speaking like he's dead."

"He fell into the Cyclops' cave."

"It sounds like Luke's been hard to kill. And he's survived a long time already," Thalia added. "If I'm right and he's still alive, you're going to need to watch your back."

"I know. He's my enemy."

Thalia hesitated. "I'm not sure I would say that."

Percy frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I wasn't there when you ran into Luke, but from what I've heard, it sounds like he was trying to reach out to you. He probably sees something of himself in you."

Percy opened his mouth to deny Thalia's words, but then closed it again. Was Thalia right? It hadn't occurred to him at the time, but Luke had tried to persuade him over to his side. "Even if that's true, it's not like there's anything I can do about it."

"But if you had the chance, you would?"

"It's not going to happen." Percy shrugged. "But I guess so."

"Thank you." Thalia stood up and walked away.

Percy looked after her for a few moments, not sure if she'd been getting at anything in particular. Then, he turned his attention back to the lake. It wasn't like he could do anything about Luke. He knew Chiron didn't think it was over, but Percy was going to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

###

Returning to his cabin later after the meal, Percy was a little surprised to find a package on his bed. It was simply addressed to, 'Percy Jackson', with no postmark on it or return address. Still, whoever had sent it clearly knew where he was, since underneath his name were the words, 'Camp Half-Blood.'

Percy was a bit hesitant about opening the package, remembering the conversation he'd had with Thalia. He poked the package gently, but when nothing rattled inside, he glanced towards the cabin door, before deciding to tackle the package. He knew his friends - and probably Tyson - would want to be around, in case there was something dangerous inside. But he couldn't deny that he was curious. Besides, he didn't think sending packages would be Luke's style.

Opening the package, Percy was a bit surprised to see a silver staff with two carved snakes' heads wrapped around it. It looked similar to Hermes' staff, but the snakes weren't alive. He didn't pick up the staff immediately, though, and instead unfolded the piece of paper that had been in the package as well.

Percy

My son has survived the Cyclops, but he still wants to free Kronos. I know he won't listen to me, but there's a chance he might listen to you.

The staff you will find in this package has two properties to it. It's charmed to take you to Luke's location once you grasp it. After that, all it will take is one touch to any part of his bare skin to temporarily seal away his abilities.

Make sure he doesn't get the staff away from you, because its properties will work just as well on you as him.

Hermes.

Percy read through the whole message and then slowly sat down on the edge of his bed, careful not to come into contact with the staff. He'd only just got back from one mission. And why couldn't Hermes at least try to get through to Luke, before trying to push his son off onto someone else?

Although Percy's first thought was to just ignore the message, he couldn't let go of Thalia's words. Was she right? Had Luke been trying to reach out to him?

Maybe this thought had been in Percy's mind since his conversation with Thalia. He knew that, if he talked to his friends about it, they'd persuade him not to go through with it - or to take them with him, at the very least.

And Percy doubted that Luke would be willing to listen to him if he didn't go alone. To be honest, he didn't think Luke would listen to him either way - but he might have more luck alone.

Checking to make sure he had his pen safely in his pocket, Percy finally stood up. Reaching out for the staff, he closed his hand around it in a tight grip.

And the whole world dissolved around him.

###

Percy wasn't a stranger to weird types of travel - not anymore, at least. But by the time the world stopped spinning, Percy felt like his entire body had been turned inside out and chewed up and spat out several times.

Somehow, though, he'd still managed to keep hold of the staff.

As the ache faded from his body, Percy realised he was lying on the hard ground of a forest, his cheek pressed against the soil. Bracing his free hand on the grass, he pushed himself up - first to his knees and then to his feet.

Looking around, Percy didn't recognise the forest. He saw that he'd landed outside a cave, though. Was Luke in there? Then again, the stuff was supposed to take him directly to Luke, according to Hermes' letter. But, looking around, Percy couldn't see any sign of the other boy. If the staff had worked anything like it was supposed to, the cave was the most likely place for Luke to be.

Transferring the staff to his other hand, Percy took the pen out of his pocket and activated it. He then slowly stepped into the cave.

It took a few moments for Percy's eyes to adjust to the darkness, but once they did, he began moving down the narrow passageway. As he walked, he silently wished that Hermes had given him something to say to Luke. Or some idea of what to do once his son was helpless.

After a few minutes walking, Percy realised there was a dim glow ahead of him. He slowed his steps, reluctant to just jump into the situation, no matter what his first instincts were. He could see Luke, kneeling in front of a fire that was the source of the light.

Percy slowly crept up behind Luke, raising the staff.

"Did you really think you'd find me defenceless, cousin?"

Percy found himself abruptly frozen in place as Luke stood and slowly turned, looking at him. "Did you come to finish me off?"

"I came to talk."

"With that staff in your hand?"

"I didn't think you'd be that open to talking to me."

"What's the staff for?" Luke asked.

Percy knew that he couldn't tell the truth, so he went with the first thing that came into his head. "It was supposed to give me greater strength as long as I held the end." He tried to keep his face expressionless, knowing that Luke would be watching him closely. After all, the other boy was probably fairly good at guessing when he was being deceived.

"This is my father's creation. Why would he give it to you?" Suspicion was clear in Luke's tone.

Percy took only a moment to decide to lie again. If he told Luke that Hermes had given him the staff so that he could fight him, he suspected it would merely anger the other boy. Instead, he decided to play on Luke's jealousy... which he hoped was there. "It was a gift."

Luke's face darkened and he grabbed for the staff, yanking it free from Percy's grip. As soon as his hand touched the staff, though, sparks shot around the cave and Luke yelled, collapsing to the floor as the fire sputtered and went out, plunging the cave into darkness.

Percy felt himself freed from the magic that held him and he grabbed onto what he hoped was the wall to keep his balance. Putting his sword - now back to its normal shape of a pen - away, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.

Before Percy could make out anything more than vague shapes, the smell of something burning assaulted his nostrils. Reminding himself that fire couldn't harm water, he dropped to his knees and crawled forward, feeling around until his hands encountered Luke's prone form. "Are you all right?"

It took a few moments, but Luke finally responded. "I don't think I'm supposed to be all right."

"It wasn't supposed to burn you."

Luke snorted softly. "I'm sure it was supposed to be a punishment," he said bitterly.

Percy placed a hand on what he hoped was the other boy's shoulder. "You could come back."

"To what?"

"The Fleece brought Thalia back."

"I don't care about that."

"She still cares about you."

Luke shrugged away from Percy's hand. "Leave me alone."

"I can't do that."

"Then what do you want?"

Percy hesitated, but what Luke had said about punishment rang through his mind. Burning Luke - if that was what had happened to him - wouldn't do any good as a punishment, but Percy knew there were forms of punishment that, while embarrassing and painful, would show evidence of care and friendship.

That thought made Percy pause. Did he care about Luke? The other boy had betrayed them... tried to kill everyone in Camp Half-Blood. But he wasn't a truly evil person. Percy couldn't believe that of him, especially since he was sure there had been some friendship between them after he'd first arrived at Camp Half-Blood.

"I think you deserve to be punished. And since no one else is here to do that, I guess it had better be me."

Luke made a sound that might have been a strangled half-laugh. "It's not as if I have any choice but to submit to you, but you'd better hope that the effects of the staff last long enough, because I'm stronger than you normally."

Percy thought about insisting that he and Luke go outside, but his eyes had grown fairly used to the dark now and he was pretty sure he could see well enough to carry out his plan. Moving so that he was kneeling next to Luke, he placed a hand on the small of the other boy's back and let his hand hover above Luke's backside a moment before bringing it down fairly hard.

Luke jumped and Percy realised that he would feel the swat about the level a normal human would. Deciding not to go easy on the older boy, even knowing that the spanking would have quite an effect, Percy repeated the swat, using even more force. The sound of the slaps sounded dully through the cave.

Percy delivered two sharp swats just below the first and heard Luke draw his breath in. Ignoring the signs of Luke being in pain, he continued the hard, sharp swats down to Luke's thighs.

The swats to Luke's thighs made him start trying to pull away. Percy held Luke down easily, taking hold of his shirt in a tight fist and using that grip to pull the other boy further down towards him, creating a better target.

When Percy started over from the top, Luke groaned softly and his fists clenched. Going down to his thighs once more set Luke squirming, writhing around in an attempt to break Percy's grip - or so Percy assumed.

Reaching Luke's thighs for the second time, Percy decided that it didn't look like he was getting through to the other boy and he slid his slightly-sore hand underneath Luke, undoing his trousers and pulling them down.

Luke let out a sound that might have been a whimper, but didn't try to stop Percy, even when Percy hooked his fingers in Luke's boxers and pulled them down to just below his knees.

Not hesitating, Percy pressed down lightly on Luke's back and began swatting his bare backside. Without the protection of trousers and boxers, the slaps echoed crisply through the cave - though Percy only landed another two circuits before he had to stop, his hand getting sore.

Luke was breathing hard, almost panting, but it didn't sound like he was close to tears yet. Considering for a few moments, Percy remembered the belt he wore and started to remove it.

Doubling the belt in his hand, Percy took a few practise swings through the air, noticing the way Luke flinched at the sound. Bracing his hand on Luke's back once more, Percy landed the belt hard.

Luke yelled, loudly enough that Percy hoped the forest was deserted. He felt bad for causing this kind of pain, but he hardened his heart to the other boy's cries as he landed the belt in swift, hard strikes down to Luke's thighs before starting over from the top.

By the time Percy had finished the second circuit, Luke was drumming his feet against the floor and, by the way his shoulders were shaking, Percy was pretty sure he was crying. He could feel the heat radiating from Luke's backside, but forced himself to continue, completing a third circuit before Luke slumped, exhausted, crying audibly.

Dropping the belt, Percy moved a bit closer to Luke and carefully put an arm around the other boy's shoulders, surprised but relieved when the other boy leaned into the embrace, resting his head against Percy's knees.

Although Luke's tears soaked through his trousers, Percy didn't move away and just rubbed his back, letting him calm down in his own time. He was somewhat surprised to feel a fierce wave of protectiveness towards the other boy, seemingly at odds with the way he and Luke had become enemies.

Finally, Luke's tears died away and finally stopped. He quickly dropped his head, raising a hand to wipe at his eyes.

"You don't have to be embarrassed," Percy said, a little awkwardly.

"I just cried in front of you."

"I think you had a fairly good reason."

Luke hesitated before asking, "Why did you do that?"

"You mentioned punishment." Percy shrugged. "I wanted to see if anything between us had been real. You could have fought me, but you didn't." Try as he might, he couldn't help the hopeful note that crept into his voice.

Luke snorted softly. "Yeah, well, I liked you. I guess I figured you should have had revenge."

"It wasn't about revenge."

Luke looked up at Percy and Percy thought he looked quite vulnerable. But his voice was only wary as he asked, "What was it about?"

"I like you too."

"Oh."

Percy cleared his throat, feeling even more awkward. "More than friends."

Luke almost looked a bit amused, but there was still a trace of that vulnerability. "I'm sure you don't mean that. You like Annabeth."

"I like you more."

"You certainly picked a strange way to show that."

"Will you come back with me?" Percy asked.

Luke moved, but it was only to wrap his arms around Percy's waist and lean his head lightly against his stomach. "This isn't going to be all sunshine and roses."

"I don't want that." Percy placed a hand on his shoulder. "I want you."

Luke said nothing, simply tightened his arms around Percy's waist. Percy moved his hand slowly down and over the other boy's back, rubbing in slow, soothing circles as he took deep, even breaths.

Things weren't going to be perfect, but at least they had a chance.

The End