disclaimer: I don't own PJO.

pairing: Thalia x Luke

prompt: Dreams~ (from a tumblr otp post!)

notes: starting a collection of short stories/one shots of pairings ~

- peaches


Every night the feeling of falling grew stronger. Thalia would feel as if she were a rag doll, the strength of gravity feeling like it was growing larger and larger. She could almost feel the wind whipping past her form, and the cold chill of the air seeping into her bones as she fell screaming into the dark abyss of the underworld.

How could he have let go of her hand? How could he have let her fall? He promised! Promised!

"No!" She felt herself scream, the high vibrato a strangled sound that ripped from her chords. No, no, no...

Thalia jolted upright. Her breathing came in short irregular pants, and she scanned her bedroom warily. The moon shone through the sheer white curtains, and the stars that blinked back at her on the night sky did little to soothe her pounding heart and restless mind.

"Thals..." Came a deep timbre murmur, the tone laced with drowsiness. A warm large hand reached up to her bare shoulder, the thumb pad drawing lazy circles on her smooth skin.

Her posture relaxed immediately, her body responding to the rough, familiar touch.

"Luke," she sighed, turning her head down to look at her husband, her black bangs falling into her eyes. He gazed up at her with worried ocean blue eyes as he brushed the hair from her forehead and touched the apple of her cheek. He then moved his fingers down her arm, the light feathery touches making her breath slow down. When his hand finally reached hers, he gently massaged her knuckles, coaxing her hand to ease their iron grip on the sheets.

"Bad dream?" He asked, unmoving on their bed.

Thalia nodded. "Every time," she whispered, her eyes locking with his. "Every time, I fall. I don't know how, but you always let me fall."

He closed his eyes then, a hurt expression gracing his features. "I'm sorry," he replied, and Thalia knew it was just a generic response, as how could he ever reply to something like that?

His arm came up around her waist and she snuggled back down, cuddling against his warm, hard chest. He kept their hands intertwined, kissing her forehead softly. "You know," he murmured. "It was just a dream. I would never let you go."

Thalia kissed his knuckle as he settled his head on top of hers, and she was slowly lulled back into a dreamless, peaceful slumber.

•*´¨`*•

The alarm clock noise woke her up at six, along with Apollo's sunlight glaring at her through the windows.

Thalia stretched and moved to the right, noticing that he was gone. There was no trace of Luke ever being there. The sheets lay straight, just as how they were when she went to bed. The bubble of panic she experienced last night in her nightmare grew tenfold.

"You promised," she muttered, shrugging into a black satin nightgown. Standing up from her bed she moved to her mirror and make up stand, her finger beginning to trace the metal vines like an old known pathway in the woods. She finally stopped at an old photograph of a young couple. The girl had short black spiky hair and the boy had sandy blonde waves. They stood together at a lakeside, his arm looping around her waist, and she smiling adoringly at him.

"Nana Thalia! Nana Thalia!" Came a young girl's voice, and Thalia looked up at the mirror to face a woman with soft white hair, wrinkled skin and electrifying blue eyes that told tales of a once beautiful lady.

"In here," she called for her granddaughter, and as soon as the black haired little girl with ocean blue eyes ran into the room to clamber up onto her lap, she looked at the small card placed next to the photograph and her heart ached with joy:

Until the end of time, I will never let you fall. - L.