Thuke Oneshot. And it isn't dark.*Gasps in shock*

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO

Deck the halls with…

The cheery tune rang through her ears, annoying her as she walked down the street, too lazy to do anything else. Her boots stepped through the snow and the half melted slush on the concrete.

Shops were decorated with blinking lights; they hurt her eyes when she glanced at them curiously.

"Ugh." She groaned. "Christmas season. Again."

"It isn't 'Christmas Season' necessarily." He chimed in by her side, a teasing smile his face. "It's 'Holiday Season', Thals. You're being rude to non Christian people."

She looked up to glare at him. "Since when have you been Mr. Nice Guy?" She muttered, knowing that he could hear her clearly.

He rolled his eyes playfully, as he marched ahead of her. "C'mon." He turned to her. "Hurry up, Thalia."

"It's not like we're going anywhere." She complained under her breath, as she followed him. She squeezed between two couples, holding hands, and the sight made her want to throw up.

Who cared about 'True Love' and all that mushy Aphrodite stuff? To her, it was all garbage, because she didn't 'Love' anyone. At all.

"You don't like Christmas?" He teased her, pulling on her arm. "At all?"

"Yeah." The answer came out automatically, without thinking. Because she'd never waited on Christmas Eve for "Santa Claus" and all that trash.

She wasn't an idiot. She didn't know that "Santa Claus" existed until she was seven years old, when her mother told her that people shouldn't lie.

"What happened to all that "Holiday Cheer" and "Christmas Miracles" and all that stuff?" He looked at her seriously for a moment, but he started to laugh. Hard.

"Then again." He teased, bumping in to a lady holding too many bags for one person to be able to hold. "We haven't seen any monsters the past few days."

"There's your "Christmas Miracle". Happy?"

She rolled her eyes, and he hesitated. For a moment, she shivered, like she was afraid that he would stand up and leave her. But his grip only tightened as they surged on forward.

"Where are we going?" She asked as she blinked twice rapidly; hail had landed on her eye. Huzzah. If it 'Christmas Miracles' existed, it would be snowing, not hailing.

"Somewhere." He answered smugly, and she felt even more irritated than before. "Somewhere that I'm not telling where."

She stuck her free hand in her pocket, and let herself be led by him as they weaved through couples and dodged shoppers.

"Santa's coming to town." He sang quietly, and she kicked his shin in response. He didn't slow down though; he swore to himself and kept moving.

"How much farther?" She muttered under her breath, just loud enough for him to hear. "I'm kinda dead beat here…"

He walked faster; every stride was wider, they became quicker and quicker as he yanked on her arm.

"We're here."

She looked up, surprised because the two of them didn't have a goal for their journey; they were just wandering around everywhere, trying not to get killed. 'Here' didn't exist.

The colored lights flashed at her, but they didn't annoy her; they amazed her with their colors, how the way they turned on and off rhythmically. She liked it when things were nice and in order, precise.

But what amazed her more was the huge Christmas tree.

It was three times her size and it just stood there; in the kind of way that she used to write off as 'Waste of space'. But the way it stood there, strong and proudly, it seemed to glow; without the help of the lights or the people.

It was the people. It was as if they radiated, they glowed, and their happiness lit the tree in wonder.

She stared at the tree, bewildered, for a moment as he looked down at her, grinning like an idiot.

"Merry Christmas."

She shook her head from side to side; it wasn't Christmas. The warm feeling inside her had nothing to do with the stupid holiday. It was something else, something else completely….

"It isn't Christmas, duh."

He laughed at her answer, looking up, at the cloudy sky, or maybe at the top of the tree. "Let me rephrase that. Merry Two-Days-Early Christmas Eve."

She glanced at his face, his teasing, playful smile, and felt herself break in to a grin.

"But…" Her eyes searched through the crowd; she was sure that Christmas didn't do this to people. Christmas was her time to feel sorry for herself, with fake songs of cheer and lying tales.

"This is your Christmas miracle." He bowed down in a mocking way, reaching out for her hand. "This is my way to prove that they exist."

She kept her eyes on his face as she put her hand behind her back, searching for the cold powder. Her hand clenched in to a fist and she unclenched, drawing her arm back and letting the snow fly through the air and hit his face.

His ears turned pink with the cold; his face was covered in white powder. Slowly, he wiped the snow from his face.

"You. Are. Dead."

She laughed as he chased her playfully, his hands full of his own ammunition. A snowball flew through the air and hit her in the cheek.

"And there's more where that came from."

She laughed, as she ignored the tears in her eyes. Another snowball hit her face, and she went away, balling the snow carefully.

All of the people stared at them like they were immature, but she didn't care.

It was warmer out here with the icy wind, than inside the dark mansion, alone, so many years ago. It was cheerier here, with snowballs covering her face, than when chefs made Christmas dinner for one.

It wasn't Christmas; it wasn't really. But it felt more like Christmas than those old Christmases when she was younger.

Deck the Hall with…

The song rang through the street, but she didn't feel annoyed.

Because Christmas Miracles do happen.

It WOULD be prefered if I had reviews. *rocks back and forth* Please?