𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐕𝐈𝐈.
even if it's handcuffed i'm leaving here with you

ᯓᡣ𐭩

"𝐇𝐈," 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐌𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐄 could utter, her voice slightly breaking. She reluctantly took a step forward, not making any move to harm Luke, even though she probably should.

"Come to stop me?" Luke asked, still slightly weary, but taking a step forward too.

Maisie breathed in. "I should."

Luke tilted his head. "But?"

She looked down at her shoes, not bearing to look him in the eye anymore. She knew she was expected to do something, like fight him, or capture him, and it was killing her. She shook her head.

"Well, I... I don't know. I can't."

Luke kept his eyes on her, his meeting long forgotten. He stepped closer.

"You don't have to," he said. When Maisie looked up, he was so close to her that she could smell his perfume. The sea scent was gone, replaced by an artificial fragrance instead.

"Luke," she whispered.

They were eye to eye now. He was looking down at her with that softness he reserved only for her, and she was looking up at him with that frown that meant she couldn't stop this.

Luke reached out his hand to brush a strand of hair that came out of her ponytail behind her ear. His hand stayed there, cupping her face.

Maisie was about to give in and lean in when she heard her name being called, pulling her forcefully back to reality.

She took a step back, keeping her gaze on Luke and the moment they had almost shared.

"Maisie!" Ronan shouted again. Before Maisie had time to get to him, he found her. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Luke, drawing the dagger Maisie had given him.

"Woah, Ronan," Maisie said, at the same time Luke said "No need to be hostile." the edge returned to his voice.

"Yeah, right," Ronan said. Maisie approached him in an attempt to get him to calm down. Luke was still the strongest swordsman she knew and she didn't want him to test his skills on Ronan.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luke sigh impatiently.

"So, who are you?" he asked Ronan, his arms crossed.

"What do you care?"

"Frankly, I don't. I'm giving you time to back down."

Ronan ignored him, his dagger still firmly held in his hand. "What do you want with her?" he asked, gesturing towards Maisie. Maisie made a face, hating where the conversation was going, especially since they were talking about her like she wasn't there.

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"I think it's my business what you're talking to my girlfriend about."

Luke's face dropped, only for a tiny beat. His gaze instantly went dark, his eyes slightly narrowing.

Then, he smiled, that cruel smile that Maisie had gotten accustomed to. "Alright. Wanna fight? Come on," he said, drawing his sword, Backbiter.

"Luke, come on," Maisie said, trying to de-escalate the situation. He ignored her.

Ronan lunged first. He attempted to slash Luke's torso with his dagger, but Luke was faster. He blocked the blow with his sword, then slashed back. Ronan barely missed it, stepping to the side.

He attempted a few more hits, all of which Luke dodged. When Luke raised his sword again, it was with anger that he slashed at Ronan's stomach, leaving a cut deep enough to make him drop to his knees.

Maisie gasped, as Luke looked down at Ronan, the anger evident on his face.

"Don't cross me again," was all he said before he left, sparing Maisie one last look.

"Gods, Ronan, you just had to provoke him," she said, once Luke was out of sight, kneeling on the ground to help Ronan up.

"What did he want with you?" he asked, coughing up blood.

"Nothing. He caught me spying on them from the window, that's all."

She wasn't really lying. Just withholding some information.

He didn't press any further, mostly because he could barely speak. Maisie quickly got some ambrosia from her bag and poured it on his wound. He winced, but the cut disappeared fast enough.

"The others are waiting for us," he said, after Maisie helped him up.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

Turns out Zoë Nightshade wasn't too happy to see Percy. She was mad that he had gone against orders and followed them, even though she specifically said she didn't want him tagging along. Percy blocked out half of her lecture.

Once she made some peace with it, Percy informed the rest of the group about what he'd seen, about Luke and his accomplices that were increasing every day.

They decided it was time to leave the museum and continue making their way to where Artemis and Annabeth were kept, their purpose being to save them (most importantly the goddess, but Maisie assumed Percy cared more for his friend, as did she).

As they were walking towards the exit, Maisie heard a growl. Instinctively, she wielded one of her daggers and turned to the source of the sound. She looked around, not spotting any monster lurking. A frown pulled at her face and when she turned to her friends, she noticed that none of them paid her any mind. They hadn't heard the sound.

Maisie was still looking at them in confusion when she felt a hand slapping on her mouth and another tugging at her arm.

Her eyes widened, not knowing what was happening or who was pulling her away from her quest mates. So, she did the first thing her reflexes told her. She bit down on the hand covering her mouth.

The person who had pulled her hissed, and only then did Maisie recognize the voice.

"Gods, Maisie," Luke said, pulling his hand away, right as she turned to face him.

"Luke! What the hell are you doing?"

"I thought you'd get used to it by now." He had the nerve to joke.

Maisie pursed her lips, looking back to see her friends had already exited the museum, unaware of her absence. Even Ronan.

"Not gonna run away from me?" he asked, looking her in the eye.

"Would you let me?"

"No."

"There's your answer."

A smile tugged at Luke's lips. Before the others could notice she wasn't following them, he took her hand in his and led her down the hall. The exit was out of sight so quickly, she might have imagined she was going to leave.

They made it to a room like the one she'd seen him in, only this one was unoccupied, some chairs being the only things filling the small space.

Still holding her hand, Luke sat on a chair, looking up at her now. He gave her hand a small tug, urging her to join him.

She was hesitant at first. She thought of Ronan, who was probably running around frantically right now, looking for her, in vain.

She shook the thought out of her head.

Slowly, she went up to Luke's chair, settling on his lap as he slid his hand around her waist to hold her in place.

They were eye to eye now, so she could perfectly make out the nasty scar that ran along his face. In a moment of thoughtlessness, she reached out, tracing it with her fingers.

Luke let out a soft breath. "I missed you," he said quietly.

Maisie couldn't lie to him. She couldn't lie to him, or to anyone, and most importantly, to herself. She couldn't sit there and tell him she didn't miss him, or that she hated him.

"So did I," she admitted.

Her palm rested on his cheek, his eyes roaming all over her face. She was the first to lean in this time.

Her lips met his as her other hand found his unevenly cut hair.

They kissed, trying to get impossibly close to each other, months of longing catching up to them.

Luke was the first to pull away to breathe. "What's the deal with you and that other guy?" he asked, all flushed face and red lips.

Maisie couldn't suppress a laugh. "You're seriously asking that now?"

"Yeah. He seemed like an idiot."

"He's not an idiot." Luke tilted his head. "Okay, maybe idiotic enough to challenge you. Come on, he didn't know better. Can we stop talking about him now?"

"I don't know. Are you going to go back to him?"

"I don't know. I kind of like seeing you so jealous," Maisie challenged, a smirk making its way on her face.

Luke shut her up with a kiss, wiping the smirk off her face.

───────

dear reader!

my favourite chapter so far I think

I'm having such bad writer's block rn save me