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Sword training was going fine until Luke swung a little too close to Percy's back.
He didn't make contact. No, at this point at least, he had no interest in causing real harm to the kid. It was the same as most of his other swings- A fake-out that was just close enough to make the fight feel real.
Nonetheless, Percy flinched violently, his shoulders hiking up and his whole body going rigid as he dropped his sword to the ground. Luke frowned and set down his own sword upon seeing this reaction.
"Percy?" he said softly, testing the waters. If Percy heard him, he did not react. He realized now that the kid was starting to hyperventilate and was shaking aggressively. Percy's knees buckled and he fell, Luke just barely managing to catch him in time and lower the both of them safely to the floor.
Once he was sure Percy was safe on the ground, he removed his hands, careful to give the kid the space and distance he needed.
"Percy, you're safe, I promise" he said as reassuringly as he could. "Whatever you're seeing now isn't happening anymore. You're in a training room at Camp Half-Blood. I'm Luke. You're twe-" he faltered as he remembered just how young Percy was. The life of a demigod really did warp your perception of age. "You're twelve years old"
It took a few more minutes of these reassurances for Percy to finally start to calm down, his shoulders eventually lowering as his hyperventilating slowed back down to stable, if somewhat shaky, breaths.
"Hey" Luke said once Percy was back to normal. Percy didn't look at him. "I think you just had a flashback" he informed. Percy still didn't say anything. "Monsters?"
Percy looked up at him when he said this. After a moment, he shook his head. Luke took in a breath.
"Parent?"
"My mom never hit me or anything, if that's what you're worried about" Percy replied firmly. Luke nodded, then considered for a second.
"What about a step-parent?" Luke asked. Percy avoided his gaze again, not saying anything. Bingo.
"I don't really wanna talk about him" Percy said after a moment. Luke nodded. As curious as he was, he wasn't gonna force a traumatized twelve-year-old to divulge the information about his stepdad's abuse.
"That's okay" Luke assured him. "Do you wanna keep training or go get some fresh air?"
"Fresh air"
"Alright" Luke nodded, helping Percy up off the ground. "Come on. Let's go see what our friends are up to"