[ luke takes a step back, as if stung. his mouth is pinched and his blue eyes swarm with anger. what he had thought to not be a joke seems to rear its ugly head as being one. he hadn't really meant to say anything, but, as per usual, the words had been stolen from his mouth before he could trap them between his teeth. he doesn't know why he says it; he doesn't care if she's okay, he doesn't care if she's suffocating in a dress that, while looks almost surreal on her and outlines her body shape better than the tomboyish crap she usually wears, isn't her. ]

It seemed like it meant a lot to you, La Rue. [ his eyes purposefully dip and travel down her figure. it's easy to fall back into the asshole that pushes people away with his anger. luke understands anger better than anyone. he harnesses it, but, in reality, he had let it harness him. he's meant to pull his gaze straight from her feet to her gaze, but he lets it travel up the route of her slender, tall, and surprisingly feminine, figure once again. then, his angry, blue eyes hit hers. he smirks, but it's strained, as if it's taking effort to put up this old and hardened and misfitted mask. ] Was the whole point of this trip to my place some weird Ares kid seduction plan? Because you're not doing really well at it.

[ she'd been doing just fine throwing him for a loop before her old defenses kicked in. who knew clarisse la rue was capable of looking anything like temptation? luke knows one name that had known all along, but he doesn't think of the kid who he had left to the madness of the labyrinth. revisiting the past is only good for him when it's a means for protection. his archilles heel these days is his loneliness and he has to protect that weak spot with everything he has, even if it's tossing whatever potential forgiveness he could pull from clarisse la rue to the wind. ]