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The Only Comfort

"Well?"

Thalia abruptly stared up at him. "Well what?"

"Wh-What do you think?" Percy inwardly cursed himself for stumbling over his words. He couldn't help but be too nervous for his own good. He had just made the biggest confession of his life.

"It's a lot to process, Seaweed."

It was basic routine for them each day, that after dinner and whatever bonfires they had that day, Percy and Thalia would go walking along the shore that held the blue ocean. They'd go completely barefoot late at night, padding through the wet sand, their hands laced together—loose enough that it wasn't overbearing, but tight enough so that neither of them would let go that easily.

The white moon that hung ablaze in the night sky, surrounded by specks of stars always reminded Thalia of Artemis, and what could have been if Thalia had taken the role as the goddess' main Huntress. She supposed she'd be wearing that white parka those Hunters wore, and also a white, thin circlet around her head as Artemis' leading Lieutenant, like the moon goddess had offered her that position to be.

She supposed she would be hunting the world for monsters like the rest of the Hunters, having sworn off of men forever and schooling her emotions to anything that resembled love or falling in love. She would have been immortal, watching the ones she cared about grow older and older, as she stayed young forever.

But Thalia had not wanted that life.

She didn't regret turning down Artemis' offer.

She wasn't the strong, independent girl she had used to be when she first ran away with Annabeth and Luke. Her heart had been thawed of ice when she had turned into the pinecone tree. Her spirits broke, and her self-confidence went down a notch as she watched all the people she had known died around her. Luke especially, the bastard that he was, wasn't much of a bastard in the end, when he had ultimately taken his life to be rid of Kronos.

Plainly speaking, she was tired from it all. All her life, Thalia had thought her mother had been weak. Her mother had been weak under peer and social pressure, and weak for not being able to take being alone all these years. The woman hit her lowest point when she resorted to alcohol, but Thalia couldn't have cared less for her mother. In fact, she let her mother drink and drink each day, secretly hoping that maybe, just maybe, her mother would drop dead.

What kind of person thought that about their mother? Why was it that years later, Thalia finally understood the pain her mother had to go through? The agony of separation between her mother and Zeus must have taken a dramatic toll on her mom's life, and she hadn't realized it.

And just now she started remembering her mother. Of all periods, now was the time she starting paying her respects. She had run away in the first place, leaving her mother to the many bottles of wine that loitered around the house. Thalia figured that her mother was half-dead anyway. She was dead most of the time. Certainly she wouldn't even notice if her only daughter when missing from her life all together. When she heard that her mother had died in a car crash, under the influence, she didn't even attend the funeral.

"Percy," Thalia whispered quietly, gripping the tall boy's hand. "Could you say it again?"

The son of Poseidon furrowed his eyebrows. "Say what?"

"The thing you said earlier."

He hadn't realized that they had stopped walking. The waves of the water were steadily washing over their feet, cold touches and sensations brushing over their toes. Thalia's brilliant blue eyes are averted from his, gazing out into the ocean.

Percy's fingers trailed to her chin, gently prying her face until she was looking up at him. "I love you, Thalia," he murmured softly, words barely a whisper. He felt her jaw quiver slightly against his palm. He soothed the tension away with his thumb.

"Why do you love me?" Thalia's throat was suddenly dry.

How could he love her? Why on earth would he love someone like her?

"Why not?" he countered, tilting his head down. "I…I'm not really good with words, but I know that I can't imagine a day without you in it. I can't live without you. You're a kind, caring person, despite how tough you come onto other people. You fight for who you love, and you've got one of the best hearts in the world," he paused with a small smile. "You're beautiful, Thalia, in every single way."

He saw her as kind? Caring?

Thalia shook her head in disagreement. "What you know is wrong, Percy. I'm not all of those things. I'm not considerate or caring—" she broke off, her lips shaking. Something wet and foreign pooled at the corner of her eyes. And slowly, they started to fall down.

Tears. Real tears. By gods, she was actually crying.

Percy's heart tugged at the sight of Thalia crying. "What's wrong, Pinecone?" he asked with worry, his arms immediately going around her, shielding her from whatever was causing her pain. He's never seen Thalia cry before.

In return, her arms wound tightly around him. "I love you, too," she muttered against his chest, the top of her head brushing against his chin.

The moment Thalia returned his love, he wanted to whoop and celebrate. He would have too, if it wasn't for the precious girl he held so delicately in his arms. For some reason, Thalia, strong Thalia, felt breakable.

"I've done really horrible things in the past. I've thought bad things…" she trailed off, her thoughts once again reverting back to her mother. That only caused more tears. Tears that had been kept in for at least a decade. "I left my mom—"

"You left because you had to," Percy cut in, his palm cradling her cheek. "You left because you knew your life was unstable as it was, and it was dangerous for you to stay with her. You did the right thing."

"She died—"

Percy leaned in until their foreheads were touching. He stared at nothing but those electric blue eyes. "Her death had nothing to do with you. As far as we both know, you were still on the run when she died in that car crash. Her death is not your fault, so don't blame yourself." His lips softly brushed against hers.

She sighed as she closed her eyes, calming down. Percy silently watched her, continuing. "You do realize she's watching you from wherever she is, right?"

"I know," she nodded, eyes still closed.

"And she forgives you, even though it wasn't your fault in the first place," he added. His hand tenderly brushed her hair back away from her face. "You've been taking care of yourself your entire life. Let me take care of you."

She had always been on her own. Percy had changed that all when he wedged his way into her heart. Would she allow that to happen? Would she even consider leaning on someone else for a change?

"Okay," she finally said, completely fine on the fact. She registered Percy's happy smile, and that feat had caused a bubble of happiness to set off in her as well. She closed her eyes again, accepting the kiss Percy gave her on her lips.

He was the only comfort she had left in the world.

And she was going to hold onto him.