The night sky was glimmering mysteriously, sparkling with a thousand little pinpricks of bright lights, interspersed by wispy clouds that were tinged with the fire from the setting sun. The atmosphere was different - cooler and calmer somehow, and in the silvery light of the new moon, he saw Thalia's intense blue gaze roaming over the stars and constellations.

Slow down.. this night's a perfect shade of
Dark blue
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you
I said the world could be burning down
Dark blue
Have you ever been alone in a crowded room well I'm here with you
I said the world could be burning 'til there's nothing but dark blue
Just dark blue

'It's a beautiful night tonight. Look at all the stars...'

Luke paused and looked at the sky, too.

'Yeah, 'specially that one. It's so bright.' he indicated a twinkling light in the middle of the sky that shone brighter than the others-

Thalia laughed quietly, shaking her head.

'That's an airplane, Luke. It's moving. There's a lot you don't know about the sky. That's why I love it. It's full of mystery, forever changing.'

The two half-bloods stood in silence for a while, drinking it all in. Thalia started to move, but Luke caught her hand.

'Slow down. Take a look around. This night is a beautiful shade of dark blue.'

Thalia stopped and rolled her eyes at Luke, but stayed where she was.

We were boxing
We were boxing the stars
We were boxing
You were swinging for Mars
And then the water reached the West Coast
And took the power lines
And it was me and you
And the whole town under water
There was nothing we could do
It was dark blue

Luke took her hand and guided it upwards to point at another particularly bright star on the horizon.

'Is that one a star?'

Thalia moved her finger along an imaginery line that joined up five stars in a straight line, with the one in the middle being the one that Luke had pointed at.

'That's not a star. That's a planet. See how there are five 'stars' lined up? The one in the middle is Jupiter. The other ones are the moons of Jupiter. Those are the Galilean moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto - the lovers of Zeus.'

Luke smiled.

'I got it. That has to be a star. It's the brightest one in the whole sky.'

His finger traced the constellation in the sky, then came to rest on a glowing light.

Thalia watched the star in wonder. As she stared at it, it dimmed the slightest bit and then returned to normal brightness.

'Oh, gods, Luke! You finally got it right!'

Thalia smirked and slapped his arm playfully.

'I always wonder, you know. About the stars, and the planets and the big bang and all that. Where were the titans before that? See? I'm smart.' Luke laughed, staring up into the hazy darkness that was the sky.

If you've ever been alone in the dark blue
If you've ever been alone you'll know

'Can you believe we're watching the past, billions of years ago? All those stars in the sky might not even exist anymore. Nothing lasts forever.'

Luke shook his head, a slow smile spreading across his face, as beautiful as the sun setting the clouds on fire at sunrise.

'True love does.'