Disclaimer: This may come as a surprise to you, but I am not, in fact, Rick Riordan. Therefore I own nothing but the plot.
This was originally meant to be a songfic including the song 'Still Into You' by the band Paramore. Personally, I thought it fit. However, somebody said that including song lyrics to a song that isn't public domain is punishable on , so I've decided to update this document.
Not to go on a side tangent or anything, but I did make a point to give credit to the band for their music. I didn't just steal the song, and a lot of other people do the same thing as me without getting reported by the website. I don't think anybody really would have stopped me, but another person mentioned that they liked this but weren't into songfics, so I figured 'why not' and just decided to change it.
Thus I have skirted around the rules of the website and made the songfic part optional, if anybody wondered where the lyrics came into play. You will see random numbers throughout the fic. At the bottom, I will give a link to a lyrics page show the corresponding stanzas. Yeah, it's a little weird, but that way if you don't want to read the lyrics, you don't have to. Sorry for the inconvenience!
1
Luke almost couldn't remember his life before Thalia. It seemed that whenever he imagined the way he used to be in his youth, restless and on the run, it was all a sort of blur without her. Especially now that both of them were dead together - teens again, in an endless paradise.
The whole thing still felt surreal.
2
"Hey," she smiled from behind him, grabbing his hand. Unwittingly, he smiled back. "Were you thinking about the good old days again?"
"Are they really the good old days? I recall us almost dying a lot in the 'good old days', Thalia." She stuck out her tongue at him. Even hundreds of years old, the daughter of Zeus had yet to outgrow her stubborn, childish streak. Of course, now being dead, he doubted she ever would.
"No, it wasn't some life threatening string of events, it was a road-trip-like bonding experience with constant danger. Dancing with death might have been part of the appeal." Luke laughed a bit at that.
"Yet you admit that it was dangerous."
"A little, yeah," she reflected. "But it was home, too."
"Hmmm," he hummed, gripping her hand a little tighter. "Yeah, it was a home."
3
To his right, Thalia sighed a little. He glanced up at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"We fought a lot back then, didn't we?" she stated. It wasn't really a question, though it was phrased like one. "I wish I would have known it was going to end so soon. We argued about absolutely everything."
"Hey, don't get too worked up about it. You were too much of a firecracker for your own good, and I wanted to maintain some semblance of control. It's just part of being young," the blonde teenager reassured her.
"I know."
4
"We always made up right afterwards, though," he reminisced. She nodded.
"We did, didn't we?" Her smile returned and she shoved him lightly. "I remember it was mainly you apologizing to me."
"I loved you. Of course I did," he shrugged. "I could let you hate me for days or I could bow down. It was a no brainer."
"Wow, even in death, you're a sap."
"Thalia!"
5
"Oh, come on, Luke. You know you love me," she teased, wrapping her arms lazily around his waist. He flushed ever so slightly, his stomach stirring with warmth. He's known Thalia for so long, it's scary to even consider life without her again. Why did she still make him feel like this, even after all this time?
"Unfortunately, I do. I guess I'm stuck with you now."
"Darn right you are, because I'm not going anywhere." She never stopped loving him after being turned into a tree, his possession by Kronos, and throughout her days as a Hunter of Artemis. There was no way Thalia was leaving him again.
6
"Good. I don't think I could ever be without you anymore."
"Me neither."
7
He hummed a little, looking out into the distance. Thalia sighed into his shoulder.
"Now it's my turn to ask you what's wrong." He looked up in surprise.
"Why?"
"Something's bothering you. I want to know what," the black haired girl shrugged firmly. On anybody else, it would seem relaxed, but on Thalia the gesture could be downright intimidating. "You should tell me now." Luke straightened up and began to talk again.
"You remember that time we took Annabeth to see my mom?" he asked hesitantly. Thalia cocked her head slightly.
"How could I forget? That was kind of horrible," she commented. "But she needed the medical attention, so it was a necessary evil. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering about being alive and I think that that was one of my biggest regrets. I never showed you guys her. I was wanting to show her into a corner, even though she was a part of me. I was embarrassed of her, and I was too weak to face that fear," he admitted. "I thought you might as well know now. There's nothing I can do, anyways." His dark haired companion knit her brow.
"I never once looked back on that and saw you as a coward, Luke. Actually, I admired you for it. Putting aside your pain so Annabeth could get help, despite the fact that she was broken beyond repair, was pretty brave, even if you didn't feel brave. It's one of the reasons I loved you, and I told you as much. Don't you dare regret it." He smiled weakly at her.
"I'll try not to. But I did a lot of messed up stuff; that was the least of it. How did you love me?"
"I just did. I still do, if you can believe that." Now it was his turn to shove her, emitting a snort of amusement from the girl. "We're all a little messed up. But you chose to do something about it at the end of your life. That's what counts. That's what I'm remembering."
8
"Thank the gods you were there to help me calm down."
"That's what I was there for. Besides, I liked distracting you; starting a spontaneous race, making up dares, singing along to terrible radio songs. It's what I lived for. I lived for you guys."
9
"Why do I love you so much?" he questioned jokingly.
"I'm naturally irresistible."
"Okay, Miss 'Swore Off Men Forever'," the son of Hermes stated smugly.
"Hey!" she cried, hands now on her hips. His waist was instantly cold. "I'm with you now, aren't I?"
10
"Yes," Luke told her, moving closer. "Yes, you are." As he swooped in to kiss her, he decided he didn't care what eternity brought. As long as Thalia continued to stay by his side, forever didn't seem so bad.
Magical lyrics key :
Go to this page: music/preview/Tot42ubci47jchnyzzvs6swtubi?lyrics=1&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=lyrics&pcampaignid=kp-lyrics
1: line 1
2: lines 2-3
3: line 4
4: lines 5-7
5: lines 8-10
6: lines 11-14
7. lines 15-16
8. lines 17-20
9. lines 21-22
10. lines 23-26
In addition to this being my first Thaluke oneshot, it's also my first songfic. Double first - I deserve a cookie or something.
Also, two oneshots in one day? That's another first. I'm actually productive today.
Scary how that works.
Look for more fics in the nearby future and leave a review. I hope you enjoyed this!