Enjoy amigos :) I've never really focused on Luke/Thalia stuffs, but I decided to give it a whirl y'know? It's a bit longer than I'd hoped, but oh well! I'm going on a hunch that Thalia knew she was a demigod before meeting Luke. Maybe she didnt, but so what? :D
Disclaimer: Maybe I do own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Maybe my name is Rick Riordan and I'm secretly publishing my private work on fanfiction. You. Will. Never. Know. Just kidding. I do not own.
They stood, staring at each other, sizing each other up. Apparently, both still felt slightly intimidated by the other, and so they did nothing but stare.
He scrutinized her thin structure, fierce blue eyes, and spiky black hair. He couldn't quite place whose daughter she'd be, but her glare made him feel small, and he didn't like it. She looked about twelve or thirteen, about a year or two younger than him, and her scowl seemed permanently etched onto her face.
She figured he was just some random kid, prowling the streets at night. His face looked cold, but his humor filled, sky blue eyes gave him away. With high arched eyebrows and elfish features he might be labeled a troublemaker.
He was the first to give up the staring contest, "Okay, what's your name?" he asked, still not letting his guard down. She was hesitant, but then muttered, "Thalia." the hardness not leaving her electric blue eyes. "You?"
He didn't smile, but he gave up the cold façade, "Luke."
They both recognized that the other was a demigod, and the question still hung in the air, "Whose kid?" Luke asked, his curiosity overpowering his willingness to seem stoic. Thalia remained silent, contemplating whether or not this guy was worth telling.
Eventually, she caved, "Zeus. You look like a Demeter," she joked, her face unamused, "You a Demeter?"
He shrugged, ignoring her quip, "Hermes. But I couldn't care less. I'm on my own."
She stopped glaring, "Yeah. Yeah me too."
He had begun to walk away then, and Thalia couldn't help but break her icy appearance to ask, "Where are you going?" He stopped, and looked past her, "To my-" he paused, staring at her, "What's it to you?"
She shrugged, "Nothing. I don't really care. It's just not everyday you run into another demigod."
He gave her one last look, and then continued to walk away, slinging a green backpack over his shoulder. About a meter away, his steps slowed, and he peeked back. She was still there, only now she sat, her back against the alley wall, and a thin cloth wrapped around her like a blanket.
She was a daughter of Zeus. He knew how strong her aura would be to monsters. All the more reason to help her out, he thought. Besides, I could use her. She probably has some useful powers against monsters, as well as cool supplies I might pickpocket.
She looked up as he approached her, "You again," she mumbled, though her scowl was gone and glare softened up a little. He didn't stall with small talk, "Say, you wouldn't need a place to stay would you?"
They sat together in one of Luke's safe houses, which Thalia had come to know were little places with supplies, food, and medicine he might need while on the run. He didn't seem to mind sharing his things, but had chosen to stay cold when they reached the problem of Luke having only one blanket.
"Here, you use it. You need it more than I do," he said. She glowered, "And why would you assume that?" she spat. He merely put his hand on her frail arm. It was icy, and she had goose bumps. Occasionally the cold would send wracking shivers through her body.
She jerked her arm back, and her eyes widened. "You okay?" he asked then, trying to give her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, before she'd jumped away from him again.
"What's the matter? I'm clean, I swear!" he joked, cracking a small smile. She didn't find this funny. She simply stared straight ahead her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
His gaze softened, "Hey. So you're claustrophobic, huh? That's okay," he whispered softly. She shook her head, "I'm not claustrophobic," she mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence then, and she gazed skyward before saying, "It's my mom."
Luke looked puzzled, "Do you miss her or something?" he asked, awkward. She shook her head again, "No- no not at all," she hissed, and he caught on. "My mom was horrid too," he admitted, forcing her to look at him.
"Really?" she asked trying to look as bored as possible, "What was she like?" he was silent for a while, "She was a bit crazy. Sometimes, she would grip me so tightly, and shake me uncontrollably, screaming the most ridiculous things… I ran away when I was nine..." he trailed off.
His face twisted in anger, and she tentatively reached out her hand and laid it in his arm. His expression settled, but his mood was still off. "My mom was crazy too," she said quietly, staring off into the distance. "She'd come home with different guys every night and they'd drunkenly beat the living crap out of me."
Her mother had left her frail and antisocial. Just lifting his arm made her flinch uncontrollably.
Luke felt a pang of sympathy, and something even stranger. He felt protective of this strange punk girl. Her hand was still on his arm, but she made no effort to remove it.
"Yeah, well, we're a team now," he said, "I won't let anyone hurt you anymore." The corners of her lips quirked up in a barely there smile, "And I guess I've got your back too, from now on," she replied, removing her arm and hugging her self tightly, "But we've got to make that commitment count."
He shook his head, causing his long blond hair to droop into his eyes. "How?" he asked. She grinned, for the first time since he'd met her, "Blood promise. Hand me your knife," Thalia commanded, gesturing to his backpack that lay on the ground by his side.
He looked uneasy, but did as she said. To his utter surprise, she slashed the inside of her palm, and watch the blood flow. He flipped his hair involuntarily, "You know now would be a good time to let me know if you're emo," he muttered, eyeing her warily.
"Your turn. Grab the knife, quick," she demanded, and he looked nervous. "What? The monster slaying, runaway son of Hermes is afraid of a little blood?" she teased, grinning again. His face hardened, and he slit his palm with one quick swipe, wincing. "Okay now what?" he asked.
"Now we shake on it," Thalia declared, and held out her bloody hand, smiling as he took it. "It's done."
As it got late, they crawled into sleeping bags Luke stole. After a long argument, Thalia had agreed to let Luke sleep by the entrance, warning her of any imminent threat.
They found themselves relaxing, letting go of any animosity they may have had.
The safe house had no roof, and so they both lay on their backs, star gazing. "Know anything about stars?" Luke asked, "You know, being a daughter of Zeus and all?"
She shook her head, and then, realizing he wouldn't see, said, "Nope. Nothing. You?"
"Nothing. I suppose we should though, seeing as how most constellations are based on Greek myths," he replied, shrugging.
"They aren't myths if you believe in them," she muttered, assuming he wouldn't hear. But he chuckled answering with a quirky, "Stupid tales, they are."
She glanced at him, "And why is that?"
"Because all of them center around how the gods were too proud or selfish. And that's all they are really," he spat, his voice sounding more menacing than someone as cheerful he was should've been able to pull off.
Before she could reply, an echoing stomp had them both up and alert, grabbing their weapons. "What was that?" Thalia asked, the gentleness completely gone.
She gasped as something struck her from behind, causing her to fall over onto her knees, and was rewarded with a sickening the crack of her leg. "It's a hellhound!" Luke yelled, before running toward her and pushing her out of the way.
They worked together: Thalia, limping, while distracting it with Aegis, and Luke running up from behind and around it looking for blind spots to stab.
They were both breathing heavily at the end of the ordeal, and sweat coated their clothes. "Nice work, kid," Luke praised, a crooked smile on his face.
"Kid?" she exclaimed. He just chuckled, and walked over to her.
"Let me see it," he commanded, his tone leaving no chance for arguing. She limped heavily back to the wall, and sat down, sticking her injured leg out in front of her and rolling up her pants. He sat by her, inspecting it. "Here," he murmured, handing her an ambrosia square, running his fingers gingerly across the bone.
"I should probably take off," Thalia muttered, "All I'm doing is attracting more monsters than you need to handle."
He looked at her, his eyes boring into her, as if he knew all her secrets and insecurities, "No you shouldn't. I promised I'd look after you didn't I?" he said, giving her a half smile. "I don't need to be 'looked after'", she grumbled, her eyebrows knitting.
Sighing, he rolled down her jeans, "I could use a friend," He admitted, smiling, "Besides, we made a blood promise."