(LUKE) here's to us.

[Talia Winchell]

Tal sat on the cool, slightly dirty tree roots, and opened her sketchbook. True, she hadn't used it for...years? But today, she was going to. She was in a more sentimental, romantic mood than she had ever been before. Why, she didn't understand. Having never experienced a crush before...she didn't know how to react. Or even what it was. Was it weird that thinking of her Ares friend, Luke, sent her heart fluttering to the puffy white clouds overhead with satin wings? And that was often. He was almost all she thought about.

After their last, very awkward conversation, Tal had concluded there was something between the two that was not just friends-y...basically, by putting herself in December's shoes and analyzing December's guy friends' relationships with her. Tal herself was a hopeless romantic...well, she'd never had a crush at age seventeen, so maybe "hopeless romantic" wasn't exactly the right term, but something along those lines? Whatever. She glanced at a beautiful, pale pink camilla flower near her, a few yards away from the strawberries. A dewdrop rolled off a petal and splatted to the ground.

Luke.

Why did everything—?

Tal took a deep breath, shifted her broken ankle into a more comfortable, natural position, and tried to capture the contour of the flower. It didn't work and looked like an amoeba. She'd never been too wonderful at drawing, really...why was she even trying? She let her mind wander back to Luke.

It's a strange thing that whenever you seem to be thinking about someone, they always seem to crop up wherever you are in some manner. They send you an Iris message. They dump a bucket of water on you. They prank you...they throw a tube of lipstick at you and demand you smear it all over your face. Or, in Tal's case, simply walk into the vicinity.

"Luke!" she said, putting down her pencil and closing the sketchbook's cover over her wonderfully failed amoeba/flower drawing.

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke had been trying so hard to get Tal out of his head. At first he though it must have been due to the sheer embarrassment of crying in front of her but he'd been training to get it out of his system. When he usually did it when he was angry or upset it worked. But this time? Oh, no. He couldn't stop seeing that concerned look she had. Gods, he felt so guilty for walking away from her in such an emotional wreck. She was trying to be there for him but he simply wasn't making it easier for her. It was like there was something between them that needed to come out. What was it?

In the morning he'd followed his usual routine lately: get up, get dressed and train. Luke was putting so much pressure on himself that Finn simply told him to leave it for the day before he pulled a muscle. He needed to go see Tal and say sorry, maybe that would ease things between them. He felt really guilty for the way he had abruptly stormed off, so although it was sort of desperate to hope for everything to be okay between them it felt like the right think to do. He asked all over camp to see if anyone had saw her until someone pointed him towards the strawberry fields.

Luke was wearing pretty much the same stuff except for a different pair of trainers. He tucked his hands into his pockets and looked over for her until he spotted her sitting on some tree roots. Was she drawing? Oh well, that didn't matter. He thought she looked beautiful, like always, with her natural look. He remembered the way her hair had blown in the wind towards him, gods he wasn't sure how he stopped himself from kissing her. It was a strange feeling, like every time he saw her he felt like caffeine had been injected into his veins. He felt happy and energetic, a desire to hold her in his arms.

Luke approached her wringing his hands as he expected her to to be upset about their previous meeting. But no, she called his name. Not like in a furious way though, it was like she was surprised to see him or something. "Hey Tal," he cleared his throat and spoke. "I'm so sorry about last time, I shouldn't have stormed off like that." He sat next to her and instead of avoiding eye contact, he looked at her straight in her eyes.

"I didn't know that you liked to draw," he smiled. Luke felt ten times more confident with speaking to her this time around.

Words: 453.

[Talia Winchell]

"Hey Tal...I'm so sorry about last time, I shouldn't have stormed off like that. I didn't know that you liked to draw." Luke sat down next to her and smiled, looking her straight in the eye. Hopefully the eyes weren't a barrier to the brain, because if it was...well, if he saw what was swirling around inside her head, he'd probably take off, totally weirded out. She doubted he saw her as anything more than a friend...

"That's okay..." she said, a bit hesitatingly. It was true she had been slightly offended after he had just...walked off...well, honestly, it had been more about her than him, she had thought. She had figured she had probably done something stupid, screwed everything up...and now he was apologizing for doing something himself. Well, yeah, he had been the one to walk off..."Yeah, I was trying to draw this flower," she fingered the fragile pale pink flower, "But it kind of turned out more like some amoeba or something. I fail at drawing." And that was true, she did. "I'm trying to get back into the swing of it...harder than it sounds." It wasn't like there was much else she could do at the moment.

The two continued to make eye contact, and Tal felt ridiculously giddy. It felt like someone was cutting off her air...she felt lightheaded. What was her problem? A leaf fluttered down from the tree above, and landed right on her head, landing on her wavy brown hair, on top of her head. She laughed and brushed it off. The laugh was sort of a gaspy, girly laugh...not Tal at all. It felt as though she was a different person around Luke. No, it wasn't like she was acting like someone she wasn't...it was just, he knew everything about her...scratch that. There weren't words to describe what she was feeling. It was just around Luke. Nobody else. She felt...different. Happy, happier than she'd ever been before.

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke had to try his best to keep his cool. Everything about Tal sent his head on a frenzy. Her voice, her skin, her hair. She was the epitome of perfection. Although he was feeling a lot more confident he was also still a little weary of what he was going to say. He messed it up big time the last time they'd spoken and he didn't want to destroy what they had between them. It didn't feel like they were friends anymore. Luke didn't want that, he wanted to please her. He wanted to make her laugh and feel happy.

"Thanks," he looked at her apologetically. "For not biting my head off and all, I really messed up last time." What was he supposed to say? He detected her hesitation. Maybe he really had upset her, if that were the case then he'd feel even more guilty than he already did. He had kind of had a false hope of thinking that she would've completely gotten over it. "Am-what?" he asked although it might seem stupid. Luke wasn't really the sharpest tool in the box. "Can I have a look?" He hadn't really wished to intrude on her stuff, but although he had hardly any creative talent he was interested in seeing what Tal had produced.

"Is it like sword fighting then? Like, if you don't practice after a long period of time, you go all rusty?" he asked. It was probably a stupid question and the scenario in question didn't even occur to him anyway. Being a child of Ares meant he was naturally gifted in swordsmanship but he heard that it happened to a lot of people. Luke often related things back to training and fighting because it was the only thing he knew. He was a fighter not a pencil pusher.

He wasn't even sure what happened next. Tal went all weird and he wasn't sure why. Luke laughed with her when a leaf fell into her hair. It wasn't her normal laugh though, it was more girly and again, Luke wasn't sure what to say. "I missed you," he said hesitantly. It wasn't like they'd been apart for such a long time, but she had been on his mind the whole time.

Words: 389.

[Talia Winchell]

"Thanks, for not biting my head off and all, I really messed up last time."

"It's okay. I get your reasons," she said, still inwardly thrilled he was talking to her. She didn't know why he wouldn't talk to her...but she was happy, even surprised by it. "For going off, I mean..." Oh gods, had she worded that completely wrong? Probably. Why was she so nervous? They were just a pair of friends, having a conversation. What's to be weirded out by?

"Am-what?...Can I have a look?"

"Amoebas...they're single-celled animals that look like blobs," Tal said quietly. "You can see it if you want, I guess..." She began flipping through the book and paused at one of her betterish drawings. She didn't want Luke to think she was a terrible artist, even though well, she kind of was...She began flipping through again and finally found her flower/amoeba drawing. Okay, so maybe it did look somewhat like a flower, but not much, honestly. She'd captured the main outline, but the rest of the drawing was mediocre. "See? It's an amoeba," she said playfully before tucking her hair all over one shoulder the way she did when she needed something to do without looking like a complete and total idiot.

"Is it like sword fighting then? Like, if you don't practice after a long period of time, you go all rusty?"

Like sword fighting? Honestly, she didn't know. "I don't use swords that much, but I suppose so," she said. "Drawing is easier when you're used to doing it regularly, believe it or not. I know that makes me sound kind of crazy..." She took a breath and looked at him again. Gods, he was so gorgeous. "I haven't drawn for a really long time now...so now I fail at it." Hopefully, that made sense. "My other ones are much better."

"I missed you."

He missed her? He'd missed her? What...? "You missed me?" she asked tentatively. And then, she decided to take a risk. "I missed you too."

[Lucan Lucchesi]

"I appreciate it," Luke smiled slightly. She understood his reasons for walking off so maybe she knew how embarrassed he was. He just wished he hadn't let his emotions get to him so much, but when he was around her he felt emotions that he'd never felt before. Emotions that were in the depths of his mind. He'd always been perceived as a hard kid, the type that wouldn't get pushed around and he'd warmed up to it. But around Tal? He was like a school girl or something. It still kind of shocked him that she was so calm about everything and that she understood why he was so rude by abruptly walking away from her.

"Never heard of them," he admitted with a frown. Luke didn't know much at all and it sort of stung inside. He probably looked like a moron; the son of Ares, born with muscles and no brain. That's how it seemed to him anyway. Again, he cursed his father for the setbacks he'd given him. "I think it looks good," Luke looked at the flower/amoeba and then he returned his gaze to Tal. "Seriously, I think you're good at art. I suck at stuff like that." It was true, his father wasn't known for creative traits so neither was Luke. The only stuff he was good at was destroying things, which wasn't always a good thing.

"Oh yeah, I suppose you wouldn't would you," he replied. Luke hadn't really thought about whether Tal would know anything about sword fighting. After all, she was the daughter of Hermes who was a much more friendly god. "I guess that explains why I can't even draw a circle then." Luke thought about the amount of times he'd attempted to delve into literature or art. Only a couple of times and that was only at the mortal schools because they thought creative activities would enable him to express himself without using violence. Even then though, he sucked badly.

"I don't think you're a fail at art, I think what you have done is perfect." He felt like saying "like you" but the words just wouldn't escape his lips. Instead, he made a sort of whimpering sound.

"Yeah," he answered her question. Had he come across the wrong way to her? Luke really didn't fancy like looking like an idiot in front of her again like last time. When she said that she'd missed him too, he just felt like kissing her. Instead though, he grabbed her hand and held it. Luke was so nervous about it all, he'd never felt that feeling before. His heart was racing in his chest. What was wrong with him?

Words: 467.

[Talia Winchell]

"I appreciate it."

Even the simple sound of his voice made her heart melt. "No problem," she said, hoping it was the right thing to say. Her voice quivered a little bit, she thought, but really she couldn't be sure. The world seemed to be shifted a bit out of focus. Everything was a bit blurry except his face...at least, that was how it seemed. The world had gone away. He was here, she was here, that was all that mattered. She took a breath and willed herself to stop being stupid and weird and start concentrating. Why was she being so...?

"Never heard of them...I think it looks good. Seriously, I think you're good at art. I suck at stuff like that."

"I'm pretty sure I probably...you know, suck more," she said, looking at the drawing. It really did look like an amoeba to her. "You want to try drawing it?" She didn't wait for an answer and handed the drawing pad to him. "Give it a try, I'm sure you aren't too bad." Okay, so maybe Ares wasn't exactly known for his fine-motor skills, but she was eager to see Luke draw something, and well, she was hoping to cut back on awkward silences.

"Oh yeah, I suppose you wouldn't would you. I guess that explains why I can't even draw a circle then."

"I'm pretty sure nobody can draw a circle, freehand," Tal said, watching his jaw move up and down as he spoke. His eyelashes fluttered when he blinked, and buttery sunlight shone on his face. Perfection...

"I don't think you're a fail at art, I think what you have done is perfect."

"It's definitely not perfect...but thanks," she said, smiling at him, making eye contact. She'd actually put on a bit of lip gloss that morning, she remembered. Hopefully it was working...well, hopefully he'd notice it. Noticing her lips were glossy, therefore drawing his attention to her lips, therefore making him want to kiss her. Okay, maybe that wouldn't happen, but a girl could dream, couldn't she? He made a sort of whimpering sound and Tal raised one eyebrow at him. She could do that. Raise one eyebrow without the other. Some people actually asked her how she did it. They stopped what they were doing and asked if she could show them how to raise only one eyebrow. Why was she even thinking about that?

He muttered something Tal didn't quite catch, and then he started holding her hand again. Tal decided to take a plunge. Now or never.

"Have you ever thought of us as...possibly...more than friends?"

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke smiled at her in response. Well it made him feel a lot better knowing that they'd swept the whole incident under the carpet. It had been playing on his mind since he'd stormed off but despite the fact that they'd dealt with the problem he still felt weird feelings. He'd assumed it was a strong sense of guilt or something but it was now apparent that it was something different. It was starting to creep him out because although it was a good feeling he hadn't felt it before. He wasn't sure what it meant and what he should do.

"Don't say that," he frowned at her. "I bet i'll suck more anyway, I mean the only thing i'm good at is fighting." Luke hated it because she just didn't understand that he thought she was genuinely good at art. Was it so hard for girls to accept a compliment now and then? "Alright, maybe it'll give me a chance to show you how crap I am." He took the drawing pad and opened it up to a fresh page and held the pencil awkwardly. It had been so long since he'd had to use one that it felt unusual to hold something small in comparison to the celestial bronze swords that he used on a daily basis.

Luke looked at the flower and tried to apply some of the techniques his teacher in his first school had taught him. That was way back when he was a normal kid and actually wanted to be able to draw like other kids. As he started to draw he realized that the proportions were all wrong and it ended up looking really shabby. And to make it even worse? As he tried to shade in a part of the stem the tip of the pencil broke from the pressure he was putting on it. "Oh i'm sorry," he laughed nervously as his cheeks flushed.

"You'd be surprised, I've met a couple of kids who can do that." It seemed such a trivial talent to be able to draw a circle without a form of template. For a percentage of his life he'd been realizing that his talents were kicking monster ass.

"Hey, it's just my opinion," he smiled at her. It was only at that moment did he care to examine her face properly and he noticed that her lips were glossy. His heart fluttered because they stood out so much. Luke couldn't think of anything better than to cuddle up to her and kiss her.

"W-What?" he stuttered as her question had caught him completely off guard. "Um, yes." Luke felt close to passing out on her, which would be totally uncool but he couldn't contain his internal joy. "I can't get you out of my head," he admitted.

He suddenly felt brave enough to do what he had desired; he leaned towards Tal and kissed her innocently on the lips. Luke hadn't kissed anyone before other than his own mother, but it felt good. Perhaps he was really inexperienced but he hoped that she didn't notice.

Words: 535.

[Talia Winchell]

"Don't say that, I bet I'll suck more anyway, I mean the only thing i'm good at is fighting. Alright, maybe it'll give me a chance to show you how crap I am." Luke began to try and draw the flower. He was no Picasso, but Tal had seen worse while she was in elementary school. And then the tip of the pencil snapped off. "Oh, I'm sorry." Tal laughed with him.

"No, it's fine," she said. "And the drawing...it isn't too bad..." Well, it was true to her. Anything Luke did got a million perfect-points. Her heart fluttered like it was about to burst right out of her chest.

"You'd be surprised, I've met a couple of kids who can do that."

Circles freehand? "Cool," Tal said. She herself had tried to do that for forty-five straight minutes, when she was in fourth grade. She'd just ruined a lot of paper and her nanny, Wendy, had come downstairs to see what all the racket was, and why it was that Tal kept asking for sheets of paper. They had ended up turning her circle-drawings into paper airplanes that Nicolette, Tal's actual mom, freaked out about when she saw them since they would make such a huge mess.

"Hey, it's just my opinion." Tal smiled at him. He was so sweet...

"W-What?" Was he surprised by her question? Was he freaked out by her? Was he — "Um, yes." Yes? Tal felt like jumping up and starting to dance before, you know, fainting or something clichéd like that. "I can't get you out of my head."

"Same here," she said quietly. And then...and then Luke kissed her. It only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. Tal felt as though she could jump over the moon. She was so, so happy. When they pulled away, Tal kissed him...on the cheek this time. She smiled at him before saying, "So...do you want to...?" Hopefully he knew what she was talking about; words were failing her.

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke felt like it was his best day ever. For once he felt truly happy and the awkwardness between them seemed to have faded away. Tal laughed with him when he broke the pencil and his eyes set upon her affectionately. There wasn't a bad thing he could say about her.

"Thanks," he grinned as he looked down at his so called masterpiece. "I still think the one you drew is better." Luke nudged her as he teased. He'd never been like this around a girl before. Usually the only kind of girls he liked were ones that was good in combat. Perhaps it was because he had a respect for a fellow warrior. But Tal? Jeez, he'd never seen her fight once. He just felt something between them, like a connection or something. It made him enjoy her company but then at the same time, he was unsure how to handle everything. All of this girl stuff was new to him.

"It was pretty cool at the time," he frowned slightly. It reminded Luke of his time back in the mortal world, how he'd tried to fit into society by doing what normal kids did. He tried to get into writing but his Dyslexia made it hard for him to read because the words floated about on the page and he was genuinely crap at coming up with material. That's how he knew that Camp Half-Blood wasn't a dream, he just wasn't creative enough to invent something that would fill the gaps in his life. He came to terms with everything so easily.

Tal said she couldn't get him out her head too and that was when he'd kissed her. It was impossible to describe, it was just amazing. The texture of her lips were amazing and he savored the taste. Luke felt his heart do a tap dance when she kissed him on the cheek. It was so unusual, he'd never felt this before. "You mean, us two together?" he said quickly as though he needed to take a breath. "Yeah." If this was love then he was upset with what he'd been missing out on.

"I-I think i'm in love with you Tal," he locked his yes with her and caressed her cheek.

Words: 388.

[Talia Winchell]

"Thanks, I still think the one you drew is better."

She smiled at him, ridiculously happy just to be in the same vicinity as such a flawless person. Seriously, she felt happy and warm and better just being with him...she'd never felt like this before. It was amazing how much that Luke could uplift Tal's mood, simply by being there. She blushed as he complimented her, knowing she was being really obvious but honestly not caring much.

"It was pretty cool at the time."

"I bet," she said, looking at him again, lost in his eyes. She couldn't concentrate on what she was saying if she was looking at him...

"You mean, us two together? Yeah."

He had agreed? Tal was over the moon. Ohmygodshehadsaidyeshemightlikehertoo. Tal's mind was in a frenzy; all her thoughts were blending together. Luke had said yes. He'd want to be her boyfriend. Luke, Tal's boyfriend. This time, it was her who leaned in and, instead of his cheek, she kissed his lips. It was as though fireworks went off in her chest. Truly amazing.

"I-I think i'm in love with you Tal."

Love. Was there ever a more loaded word? She didn't hesitate before saying, "I think I love you, too."

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke hoped he was handling the whole scenario properly. Everything seemed to happen so quickly. He'd complimented her and he noticed that she blushed. Gods, she was so cute. He stopped himself from wrapping his arms around her and squeezing. That probably wouldn't be wise seeing as he had such a muscular body which would probably crush her. Was it unusual for a child of Hermes and Ares to fall in love?

Luke thought about one of his ambitions to have his own family. He wanted that with Tal, although he was unsure if it was a big step to start thinking about that sort of stuff. It was just weird, Tal was his girlfriend. What was he supposed to do? What was he supposed to say? He didn't want to make her feel upset so he had to make sure he didn't screw up. Because Luke screwed up a lot of things, his mortal education for example.

Then Tal leaned in and kissed him and his heart skipped a beat. He couldn't contain himself any longer, he needed her. Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and he made eye contact with her. "You're a good kisser you know," he smirked as he started to kiss her neck. She was everything he was looking for, she was Luke's definition of perfection. Maybe Ares had given him some traits that were appealing because he still was unsure why Tal would want him as her boyfriend. Luke stopped kissing her neck and then he kissed her lips twice before pulling away.

"You're perfect," he smiled dreamily. He rubbed his hands up and down her waist as he tried to get over the shock of it all.

Words: 289.

[Talia Winchell]

Hopefully, she hadn't screwed anything up yet. She had been nervous this whole time; even more so when she practically blurted out that she'd like it if he was her official boyfriend. She didn't think he was all that creeped out though, to be honest...although, really, she had been genuinely surprised at his reaction. How could he have liked her too? This couldn't be happening to her. Her luck had never been so...good. "You're a good kisser you know," he said before kissing her neck again and again, and then her lips. Twice. Ten minutes ago, they'd just been two friends having a nice, normal conversation. It was amazing how quickly things could change.

"You're perfect." He started rubbing her waist. O-kaaaayyy. She took a deep breath. "Um...Luke..." How could she say this without screwing up? "Do you mind if...we just kind of..." She took a breath. "Take it slower?" Did he hate her now? Most likely. Or at least, he probably thought she was a total prude. Oh gods, she'd probably royally screwed up. "Sorry..." she added more quietly, fiddling with her hair the way she always did when she was nervous.

[Lucan Lucchesi]

Luke stopped rubbing her waist when she suggested that he slowed down. He sat in the same position for a few moments silently before he moved his hands back to his sides. What was he supposed to say? He wanted to look like he was keeping his cool but in reality he was angry with himself. He was new to this stuff and he had never meant to make her feel uncomfortable. Luke cracked his knuckles the way he did when he was really nervous and angry. His brain felt ready to just shut down on him.

"Don't be," he spoke distantly. "It was my fault, i'm rushing things." Luke dared to look at her for a second but then he fixated his gaze onto his hands. "I'm sorry," he spoke softly. Was he supposed to smile or something and convince her that everything was okay? If that was the case then he wasn't doing a good job. "How's the ankle?" Luke muttered. He just wanted to forget the whole thing and lighten his mood again so he hoped she wouldn't mention anything about it.

If there was one thing he wasn't going to do, it was to walk off. He couldn't put her through that again. She didn't deserve to feel responsible for something he'd done.

Words: 225.

[Talia Winchell]

Tal was worried that she's screwed everything up by voicing her feelings so. She watched as Luke pulled his hands away from her and cracked his knuckles silently. The awkward pause got longer and longer and — "Don't be. It was my fault, I'm rushing things."

Crap, so she had made him feel uncomfortable too, after all. She kissed his cheek again to show she didn't really care too much...and honestly, she didn't and had made it a bigger deal than it should have been made of. "No problem." Okay, so maybe that wasn't exactly she should have said, or the exact right thing to say, but it was as good as she could get right now. She really hoped she hadn't screwed up their relationship already. Way to go, Tal.

"How's the ankle?"

"It's fine. Better," Tal said, resolving to be as smiley and nice as possible for the rest of their conversation. This really didn't need to get weirder than it already was..."Do you want to...go for a walk...or something?" Okay, that was sort of ironic given her state, but hopefully he knew what she meant. She placed the worn sketchbook a few feet away, near the broken pencil, and very slowly twisted into a standing position, picking up her crutches and steadying herself with them. "In any case, I'm going to stand up, I'm slowly dying here from sitting around so much." She smiled, hoping that their überawkward moment had passed.