In His Eyes:
She Saw Everything She Needed To See
He laid there, motionless—as in unmoving, not a single muscle twitching, his chest barely rising to signal his breathing. In all the times she'd seen him, this was the first time he truly stayed still. Which says a lot of his current condition; if he'd been healthy, he'd be sneering, scowling, grumbling and spitting cruel and biting words at her.
His golden eyes were closed, face lacking the usual sneer or smirk or scowl. All three expressions representing his moods—sneer when he was happy, smirk when he was being sadistic, scowl when he was upset. Everyone'd think she was lunatic if they ever knew she thought he looked better with those expression than a calm and emotionless face. Because no expression meant he couldn't do it anymore, and he couldn't do it anymore because he was dead.
Dead... that was impossible right?
Laughing slightly hysterical, the daughter of Zeus crawled towards the son of Kronos. She studied him as she was close to him. His face looked young in the light of the heart, lacking the lines of stress marking them the last time she saw him as himself, before he became the vessel of his father.
She reached out her hand, trembling but she refused to acknowledge that fact, to soothe the furrow in his brows, contorted in pain and discomfit.
He coughed and spluttered blood just before her fingers touched the small scar on his left brow. Golden eyes fluttered open weakly; but the intensity of his stare was still there. He studied her, as if he couldn't comprehend why she was standing so close to him, nearly in tears and not trying to kill him or hurling death threats, the way they always interacted—biting words hiding meanings that no one can know.
He turned his steely gaze to the bronze dagger in her hands and smirked. But even his signature smirk was weak, as if fading along with his lifeforce.
"Good blade..." he croaked, voice raspy.
"Its a gift from my father," she said simply, unsure as to why she would tell him that—an irrelevant fact. The Bronze Dagger that was Annabeth's knife, the one measly weapon that'd defeated the most powerful half-blood and Titan King combined.
"Why?" the question slipped out of her mouth before she can reign it in. But controlling herself was near impossible, the daughter of Zeus had always been the most impulsive of the demigods.
"You are not the hero, Thalia."
"I know. But how did you?"
"More," the son of Kronos breathed sharply before continuing. "More spies in camp than you'd imagine."
The daughter of Zeus laughed bitterly, all the sacrifices and yet... she wasn't the hero? Her electric blue eyes glazed over and she suddenly didn't know why she can't see clearly anymore. "And you think you're the hero?"
His voice grew weaker as blood trickled down his chin, as the daughter of Zeus' friend came closer to her.
"Make it to Elysium," the son of Kronos was mumbling. "See mother... dad would be... Isles of the Blest. Try for three times."
The daughter of Athena choked back a sob as she stared at the fading boy whom had once been her friend and crush. "You've always been an overachiver."
"Gotta be perfect," the golden-eyed boy murmured in reply.
The daughter of Zeus grit her teeth together in anger. "Aren't you going to say something to me? You at least owe me that much."
Molten gold eyes locked with electric blue ones. The son of Kronos was adamant in not saying anything to her—the words she wanted to hear, thought he'd say to her had things gone right for them.
She saw nothing else when he just stared at her. Not everyone watching them, not Zoe the Huntress running across the night sky, nothing. Just him. She leaned her head into his bloody chest, and tried not to cry. She failed, but didn't really care if anyone saw anyway. There were tears and blood on her face.
"I told you so many times to go away, and you never listened." He said finally, and she inhaled sharply.
"Yeah, and that's why…" she wiped at her eyes, "That's why you can't go, Percy please…" she was begging now, the great daughter of Zeus, reduced to this for one boy, this selfish and cruel son of Kronos. Artemis would be ashamed. But the goddess wouldn't understand. He wasn't just a mere boy, he was so much more than a boy. He wasn't a temporary light that lit up the world, he always seemed so permenant in her life—as enemies, as temporary allies and the boy who saved her—and now his light was fading
He shook his head.
"You're so…stubborn." She laughed through her bitter and salty tears.
"Yeah, everyone says I never know when to give it up." She tried not to weep too hard, but his body was already dissolving under her fingers. He closed his eyes. "Don't forget me okay?" she breathed, and he opened his eyes again, and looked at her. Looked at her for a long time. It felt as potent as the first time he'd ever turned his eyes on her, and she shook as gold met blue for the last time.
She saw everything she ever need to see there, in his eyes, all the words he'd never spoken, prevented by pride or the wrong situation, all the words he'd meant to say but hadn't had the chance or time, and all the things he'd ever said that meant other things.
It was enough. And when he closed his eyes this time, he didn't open them again but she didn't remove her head from where his chest had stopped rising, she cried all the tears she had managed to hold back all those times he was cruel, when she knew that he had her heart and didn't want it.
She cried happy bitter tears for him and his newfound purpose, and the one time he'd touched her with something akin to tenderness, let her know in his own biting words, that she had his heart as well.
It was enough.
She knew that he had done the best thing, but she was great daughter of Zeus, Thalia Grace known to be so similar with her father in so many ways and above all, she was a hero and heroes were always selfish. The safety of the world was an insignificant thing, in the wake of what she'd had, even as her friends came to hold her and pick her up and tell her that it was a noble thing. Even as her father approached her and comforted her himself, even as Hera offered her a shred of sympathy. Yes, she'd known it was. She known him as he was alive, watched in awe as he was possessed by his own father and led his army and fought like a demon, had bathed in the River Styx like him and thought he saw her as his lifeline just as he was hers. She was sure he would remember her, but…
That just wasn't quite enough.
PxTA/N: The son of Kronos is Percy of course, and this events follows that of Daughter of Time except that Percy was a boy. There are changes here and there to lead to this one-shot. Should this be a multi-chap or one-shot?