#roxy works

pairing: luke castellan x reader synopsis: luke wants to give you every single thing you've ever dreamed of, even if it costs him. but since he cant, he gives you what he can afford. included in this fic: fluff, pre-established relationship, idiots in love, sweetheart luke, pre-betrayal luke, no use of y/n word count: 1.2k notes: based off this request. what is it with me and docks? idk. had this in my drafts for a hot minute ty marcy for proofreading, idk how i feel abt this its kinda corny

"Look at these boots! Okay, y'know what, forget everything I said earlier. This is my first item."

Luke groaned. He had heard you say that same sentence about ten times in the past five minutes alone, and you two had been here for an hour.

It was partially his fault. You had run up to him after dinner, a magazine in hand from your friend Silena. And since Luke was utterly and hopelessly obsessed with you, he had made a bad idea.

He asked you what was in your hand.

Which is how he found himself in this situation. Both of you on the docks, lying on your stomachs, sipping cans of Diet Coke that Luke stole from Mr. D. The magazine was spread out between your bodies, the gentle sound of the waves a soundtrack to your eager speaking.

You were pointing out items in the magazine, happily telling him how those would be the first things you bought when you got out of camp. If you ever got out of camp. But Luke liked the word "when" more than he liked the word "if."

He liked to imagine a future with you. He had made an elaborate plan with you one night after sneaking into your cabin to cuddle.

You had gone through no less than forty potential places.

Manhattan? Too close.

Sweden? Too far.

Greece? Too connected to your demigod past.

He wanted to leave it all behind. The gods, the camp, everything. He just wanted to wake up next to you in bed, the sunlight pouring into your room. He wanted to cook you food when you had a rough day. He wanted to wake up, sleep, eat at whatever time he felt like it. He wanted to be able to go out and spoil you with every damn thing in that stupid magazine.

Right. The magazine.

He snapped out of his trance to look at you, a grin on his face. "You're going to make future me go broke."

"Good," you say, swinging your feet back and forth as you flipped a page.

He rolls his eyes, but he feels no true annoyance. He would go homeless if it meant you'd be happy.

Luke turns onto his side, propping his head up with his elbow so he can look at you better. His free hand finds itself playing with a strand of your hair, twirling it around his finger. He follows your gaze as it lands on an expensive-looking ring. Not that the other stuff you pointed at wasn't expensive, but this ring was probably worth more than sixty times the land that camp took up.

Of course you liked the most expensive thing there.

He watched as you turned the shiny page again. A simple, silver bracelet was on it. Cheaper than everything there. Yet you still looked at it for a hot second.

"You like that?" he asks, pointing at the bracelet.

You hum in agreement. "It's cute."

He nods, ripping the page, folding it, and putting it in his pocket. "Good to know."

"Luke," you say sternly, knowing in your gut he would probably save up his mortal dollars to buy something similar for you on his next quest.

He simply grinned in response, flipping the page for you.

The wrong way.

You were face-to-face with the ring again, and you couldn't help but gasp.

Something in Luke's chest ached. He didn't quite know what it was. Maybe it was the fact that he could tell you didn't have much hope for your plan to leave. Maybe it was the expression on your face, dreamy and slightly sad. Maybe it was just the fact that he was super in love with you.

His hands move on instinct. He picks up his empty Diet Coke can, ripping a strip of metal off and forming it into a ring shape.

"Hm?" you say, snapped out of the ring's trance after he had said your name.

"Will you marry me?"

You stare at him, dumbfounded, for a hot minute. Then you both burst out laughing.

You eventually stop, catching your breath, only to burst out laughing again for a good ten minutes.

"You want to marry me?" you say, raising an eyebrow when you finally stop gasping for air.

He wipes a tear from his eye. "Of course I do. Or…actually, maybe not. You'll spend all my money."

You playfully shove him, and he grins in response.

"C'mon, give me your hand."

"No, you dork."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Luke."

"Please?"

"Luke, stop it."

"Please?"

You give him your hand.

He slides the ring on your finger, grinning. "It goes well with your skin tone."

"It is quite literally a strip of metal."

"It is the finest grade exclusive essence of aluminum. A super limited design, mind you. Imported straight from Long Island. It's one of a kind."

"So, basically, a strip of metal?"

"A special strip of metal."

"Ah, I see."

He brings your knuckles up to his lips, kissing the ring. "One day, I'll buy you anything and everything you want."

"You promise?"

"I swear."

Just then, the sun begins to set, painting the sky in orange and purple hues. And as you look down at the ring, you see it's reflecting the colors. Almost as if it was a mosaic.

"Luke, look!"

His eyes move from your face to your hand, still held in his. A chuckle leaves his lips, tender and whispered into the air.

"Told you. Finest grade."

"Maybe it is a special strip of metal."

His thumb gently brushes against the ring. "Of course it is. It's my promise to my favorite girl. I can't give you diamonds, but I can give you a sunset."

A warm smile touches your lips. You let yourself stare at him for a bit, your mind reeling. The sky engulfs you in a warmth that can only come from hanging out with Luke. It's as if the sky itself wants you to hope and believe. Maybe it will work out. Maybe, just maybe, you'll end up somewhere far away from this place, waking up on his chest every morning. Maybe one day.

But on this day, you turn back to the magazine, the sky now turning more cool toned. "So, I also really liked this one…but I think this one is better. And this one—"

He groans, but once again, he feels no true annoyance. He loves listening to you yap. Your voice is probably his favorite sound in the world.

So he lays there with you for the rest of the day, carefully discussing every item in the magazine until there's none left. And then, just to hear you talk again, he suggests rating everything from the beginning, which you happily agree to.

One day, you'll live your dream. One day, you'll both live alone together.

But quite frankly, Luke doesn't care. As long as you're by his side, talking his ear off, sitting in the sunset—he's the happiest guy in the world.

He may only be able to offer you a soda can ring for now, but to him, he's lucky that he's the guy that you accepted it from. He's lucky that he's the one that you go to when you want to fantasize about a glamorous life. He's lucky that he's the one who gets to give you a sunset. He's lucky that he's the one you love to annoy.

Luke wouldn't have it any other way.

pairing: luke castellan x reader synopsis: you and Luke Castellan always find your way back to each other, even when things are complicated included in this fic: ANGST, hurt w occasional comfort, miscommunication, post-quest Luke, original character included as a love interest for reader, jealousy, pre-lightning thief, tiny diet zero calorie fluff if u squint super hard, title from the joji song, no use of y/n, childhood bsf Luke, ex bf Luke word count: 2.0k notes: first fic...kinda nervous

You and Luke's relationship was…interesting.

And that was being nice—because it seemed everyone else you asked had something else to say.

Annabeth said it lacked communication.

Silena said you two were meant to be together.

Clarisse simply called both of you idiots.

So when you finally classified your relationship—for yourself and yourself only, since you decided it was too complicated to classify to the general public (also known as the demigods in camp who clearly have bigger problems)—you repeated it into your head every time you saw him.

Frenemies.

That was all you were.

However, frenemies didn't describe the feeling of talking to him every day since you were six years old. Frenemies didn't describe how your heart swelled the first time you kissed him. Frenemies didn't describe the ache in your chest when he broke up with you. And frenemies definitely didn't describe how Luke was yours at one point, and you were his. How it was always like that. You and Luke against the world.

Until it wasn't.

His reason for breaking up with you?

Him.

You hated him. You wanted to kill him. You wanted to scream at him for taking Luke away from you. And you didn't even know who "he" was.

"He's corrupted my mind," Luke had said to you under Thalia's tree. The exact place where you saw your best friend die before she even reached the camp border.

Your brows had furrowed. "Who? Who's corrupted your mind? Tell me, and I'll—"

"It doesn't matter!" he said, his voice growing frustrated. "This is for your own good."

You remembered the feeling vividly. Your stomach slowly dropping. The dread creeping into your veins. "What are you saying, Luke?"

"I'm saying that you—" he stopped. As if he was debating saying it.

The next time he spoke, everything inside you ripped apart.

"I'm saying that we should break up."

Since that moment, you barely remembered what happened. Crying. Lots of crying. And anger. Probably even more anger than crying.

This was Luke. Luke who had held your hand in the dark of your closet when your mom drank too much. Luke who had admitted to pining for you ever since he met you as a sticky-fingered toddler. Luke who always reassured you, even when your heart didn't want to believe it. Luke who snuck into your cabin when you both arrived to camp and got separated, just to hold you through the nightmares of Thalia's death. Luke who loved you more than anything else in his life. Luke who made you finally open up to someone.

You couldn't fathom how that same Luke ended up being the one to make you never want to be vulnerable ever again.

He was always the clingy one in the relationship. The one who would constantly look for you. The one who was practically your shadow. And somehow he was the one who ended the relationship.

It wasn't fair. Nor did it make sense.

Though you were unaware of his own struggle.

Luke loved you so much it hurt. So much it made him certain he would do anything—absolutely anything—for you.

So when Kronos entered his mind a week after he returned from his quest for the golden apple, promising a better life for all demigods, he was fully ready to accept.

Until Kronos said he would have to betray you. When he said no, of course, Kronos threatened you. He told Luke that your fate was to die brutally, alone—surrounded by fear.

It made Luke sob and beg for mercy.

So he did it. He accepted Kronos's offer.

He began to give Luke orders. They were small at first. To not hold your hand. To Luke, it felt like he was holding up the sky.

Then they got bigger. Forget to go to one of your secret meetings after curfew. Stop sneaking into your table at dinner. And finally, break your heart. Which meant breaking his own heart, too.

The sight of you crying tortured him. The thought of knowing that you were crying because of him? That practically executed him.

And then there was Aiden.

Aiden Mankov. Unclaimed kid. Same age as Luke.

He was Luke's best friend that wasn't you or Annabeth. He immediately welcomed Luke into the Hermes cabin with open arms when he first came. Over time, he became your friend too.

He had comforted you during the breakup. Spoke to you gently. Told you about how he had noticed change in Luke. How his smile didn't reach his eyes. How he didn't make jokes like he used to anymore.

Luke began to hate Aiden.

He was always jealous of him. The fact that he was charming, joyful, got along with everybody. The fact that Aiden had explained he was in the Hermes cabin because there was somehow a mistake, and he had gotten claimed by both Apollo and Aphrodite back when he was an infant. How he never knew who his mortal parent was. How he was an amazing archer, musician, poet, healer, all things Aiden had desperately done to get Apollo's attention, since he clearly liked Apollo more than Aphrodite. And it didn't help that Aiden was getting incredibly close to you now. So much so that the campers practically thought you two were dating.

Luke tried to deny it at first. Told himself it was just camp rumors. But one night, he saw Aiden walk you back to your cabin. The way you used to with him. And he realized that maybe—just maybe—Aiden had replaced him.

Somehow, a few months after the breakup, you and Luke had begun to talk again. Slowly. It was strange. It felt like you were talking to a new person, not the same person that had been your best friend for years—and the one who at one point had been the love of your life.

You had also heard things. Rumors of Luke being seen crying, him waking up on the floor and saying he had just "fallen out of bed." Him constantly sleeping, supposedly whispering your name into the dark. You chose to not believe them for your own state of mind.

During the day, you and Luke would sometimes spar. Teach lessons to the newbies, even. You often scolded yourself for how you could swear you felt tension. There would be satirical remarks about the breakup, as if they were lyrics to the beat of your bronze weapons clashing together. Then, during the night, you would sometimes find each other. By Thalia's tree, united in grief. By the docks, where you often laid together in the past. In the woods, when you both wanted to get away from the noise of the bonfire.

About a year after the breakup is when the frenemies thing started. It gave you false closure. You liked having a label on it.

No matter what you did, it was like your soul was chained to him. Like you were two souls who had been ripped away from each other before you were brought to earth.

"Hey," you said once, the light of the moon making the moment feel strangely intimate.

He was on the docks, his converses beside him as he swung his bare feet in the water. He didn't even look back. He could recognize your voice from miles away.

"You're stalking me now?" he said lightly.

"Don't act like you didn't sneak into my cabin yesterday night," you replied.

He chuckled slightly, feeling a bit more carefree. He always felt like when he was around you, nothing else mattered.

You eventually sat down next to him, putting your own shoes beside you.

That was all you did. Sit there.

The silence was different. It didn't feel like the silence when you were alone with him during the day. This silence was calm. Filled with re-mended promises. It was almost…comfortable.

After a while, he spoke.

"This is where our first kiss was."

The comment was like a blow to your senses. You and Luke never mentioned your past relationship, aside from the remarks you said during sparring. However, you always felt like that was simply strategy. A way to knock the other off balance. But now, you were realizing that maybe it was more that just a physical fight.

He continued. "I was so happy. I had been waiting for that moment since forever."

You shifted on the dock, putting your hands in your lap. "Yeah, well. That was a long time ago."

He finally risked a glance at you, then leaned back on the palms of his hands, staring up at the moon. "You're right," he sighed. "But it feels like it was yesterday."

A bit of heat ignited in your chest. "No offense Luke, but you're the one who ended the relationship."

You could have sworn you felt him flinch beside you. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds passed, then he sighed again. "I was never enough for you."

Oh.

Oh.

Well, now you felt bad.

"I'm not like Aiden, or..or any of your other ex-boyfriends. They were all…stable. Aiden's stable. I'm…me. I'm broken. All I do is hurt you. I mean, you shouldn't even be talking to me right now. I ruin everything I touch. I'll ruin you too. I don't get how you can just—just, sit there and pretend like I'm good for you. I'm not. Because I'm me. I'm a wreck."

Your heart ached at his words. After all, this was still the same boy who you knew since you were a kid. "You're not, Luke. Don't say that."

"I'm saying it because it's true."

"No it's not," you said sternly.

You let your words echo in the slight breeze for a second, calculating your next ones before you say them.

"You're Luke Castellan. Luke Castellan is the opposite of a wreck. You're the one who causes the wreckage."

He lets out a watery laugh, and you can't help but laugh too.

"I'm serious!" You say. "Like, if this camp ever ignited on fire, I think you'd be the first one on Chiron's list of suspects."

He turns to you, grinning, his eyes slightly glassy. "You're not any better than me!"

You mock-gasp. "I'll have you know I'd be innocent!"

"Sure," he says sarcastically, shaking his head and turning back to the moon. "Whatever you say."

You giggle, and for a second, it feels like old times. It feels like you can just lay your head in his lap if you wanted to. He would run your fingers through your hair and tell you it was all going to be okay. That he would never hurt you.

But of course, those were old times.

You go back into the silence. Staring at the moon. You wonder if it's staring at you back.

"It's so pretty," you mumble under your breath.

He turns to face you again. "What is?"

"The moon."

He hums in response, and you swear he's still staring at you when he says the words "It's beautiful."

The haze of the night causes your vision to blur slightly. The exhaustion of the day catches up to you, and before you know it, your head is on his shoulder. His arm slowly drapes around you, as if he's unsure if he still has the right to. You feel his hand rubbing up and down your arm, generating warmth. You're asleep.

You don't know what happens after. You don't know if he'll wake up hating you again. You don't even know if you still hate him. But you do know one thing—through thick and thin, through ups and downs, you and Luke Castellan always find your way back to each other.

"It's me and you against the world," he had said to you once. "In every universe. Through every good and bad situation. Always."

Always.

It was such a complex word.

࣪ ִֶ☾ - angst 𖹭 - fluff ⚡︎ - suggestive

LUKE CASTELLAN

slow dancing in the dark - ࣪ ִֶ☾ -> 2.0k words -> you and Luke Castellan always find your way back to each other, even when things are complicated

i like shiny things, but id marry you with paper rings - 𖹭 -> 1.2k words -> luke wants to give you every single thing you've ever dreamed of, even if it costs him. but since he cant, he gives you what he can afford.