"Remind me why you thought this was a good idea," Thalia complained. She pulled her jacket around her torso tighter as the cool autumn wind blew on them.
Luke just laughed. "I've always been good at stealing stuff. I don't get caught. I promise." He looked across the street to check out the Target that was there, making sure that the last employee there was almost gone.
"I don't know," Thalia sighed. "If I get caught, you are so dead," she threatened him.
Again, Luke laughed. "Don't worry about it. I know exactly how to get in and out, no problem."
"That's what he said," Thalia mumbled.
Luke snickered before turning away to check the employee once more. As they crouched behind the bushes, Luke couldn't help but steal a couple of glances at Thalia. He wanted to reach out and stroke her jet black hair just to see if it was as smooth as it looked.
Sure they lived on the run, but Luke was an expert at breaking and entering and ever since Thalia came along he had made sure that they got to some place with an accessible shower- just so she could have a little comfort in this cold, hard world.
The same went for their clothes- although, they still didn't wear the biggest brand names (as if Thalia would even touch any of that, much less wear it) they did get the clothes that they needed to keep them warm and covered enough to keep from catching too many colds. Whenever something ripped or something tore they would find a nearby store and grab the clothes that were needed- which was how they ended up here tonight.
And for the first time, Thalia had finally decided to go with Luke on his little stealing spree- he usually went alone with just a list of items and sizes that she needed (much to Luke's disappointment there was never any "undergarment" on that list)- but now she finally did need those "undergarments". To say that Luke fancied this trip more than the others, was an understatement.
Thalia cleared her throat beside him. "Do we have to wait for a certain amount of time now that the employee is gone or something? I'd really much rather not be crouching down all night in these smelly bushes."
"They aren't smelly," Luke blurted out without thinking, embarrassed that he had just been caught daydreaming- about her, no less.
"So it's just you, then?" she teased.
"Oh, come on," Luke said to her as he stood up to walk to the entrance of the store. As soon as he reached the store he got to work.
Thalia's not exactly sure what he did or how he did it, but in a mere couple of minutes he had turned off the security system and was holding the door open for her. "After you, ma'am," he smirked at her.
"Those security cameras are off inside as well, right?" she asked, refusing to walk inside before she knew for sure that his plan was fool proof- at least for now.
He rolled his eyes at her. "What is this? A test? A sort of trust fall? I told you, there's nothing to worry about."
She rolled her eyes right back at him. "Fine," she said before entering the store. "Man, it's so much warmer in here than out there."
"Yeah, no kidding." He clapped his hands together. "Where to first?"
She raised one eyebrow at him. "I can do my 'shopping' on my own, thank you."
Luke tried not to frown- he was really looking forward to shopping for bras and "panties". "Well fine then. I'll go get my stuff and meet you in the ladies' section."
"Whatever," Thalia replied, already walking away to go get her things.
To be quite honest, Luke didn't waste any time. He was hastily grabbing whatever he saw that seemed like it would fit and whatever he needed and stuffing it into one the bags that he had grabbed from him and Thalia. It was the first time that he truly felt like a thief. A lot of them would practically sprint around the store to get everything they wanted- or at least as much as they could get- but Luke was usually slow and steady, not worried about the possibility of jail and having to pay fines. He had been doing this for a long time. Stealing was part of the way that he and his mom survived- or how they had survived.
But he wasn't with her anymore. And he needed to remember that. He couldn't let the memories of her get to him. It was done with. Over. He wasn't going back.
Before he could think about his mother any longer he grabbed some deodorant- actually spraying some on right then and there when he remembered Thalia's joke about him smelling- stuffed it into one the bags he was carrying, and quickly walked to the women's section to sneak up on Thalia.
"Boo!" he shouted as he pinched her sides.
She jumped before turning around and smacking his arm. He clutched his side and tried to get an apology out between laughs, but Thalia wasn't listening anymore. "Give me one of those bags, will you?"
"Okay," he laughed.
"And if you giggle one more time, I'm shoving this hanger up your ass," she warned him.
"I am not giggling," he said, holding back more laughter.
She shook her head and snatched one of the bags from his hands. Luke looked from the bag to Thalia and back again as she stuffed her clothes in there. She stopped. "What? What is it?"
Luke grinned like an idiot. "Nothing, nothing at all."
She glared at him for a moment before turning around and reaching for more items to put in the bag. That was the only sign he needed.
He snatched whatever was in her hand and held it up above his head. He looked through the pile in his hand, while keeping Thalia from grabbing it back, and made a list in his head: pajama bottoms, t-shirt, and Jackpot! A bra; a lacy, purple and black stripped one to be specific.
"Luke, goddamn it! Give it back!" Thalia yelled.
Luke dropped the other items, keeping the bra. "There you are."
"Luke!"
"What size is this?" he asked, trying to read the tag- which, for your information, is kind of difficult when you have Thalia hitting you and trying to tackle you- that girl can throw a punch. "34C, very nice."
Thalia grabbed the hand that was pushing on her shoulder and bit it. Luke stopped pushing and raised his eyebrows at her. "Did you just bite me?"
Thalia knocked him to the ground. "Yes, I did. And that is not the worst that you're going to get."
"Oh come on. Is it really that big of a deal?"
"You're invading my privacy. I would say that's a big deal. Stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours."
For unknown reasons to Luke, Thalia stood up and did not punch him in the face- which was what he expected, at the least.
Luke lay there a moment, confused, before sitting up. "I'm sorry, okay?" he apologized to her.
She let out a deep breath. "It's fine. Let's just go."
They walked towards the front of the store in silence. Luke stopped when he reached the one dollar section near the front and smiled. Thalia didn't notice at first and kept walking. "Hey," Luke called to her.
She turned around. "What?"
"We should get it," he said. At first she had no idea what he was talking about, but then she looked down and saw the stuffed seal that he was holding. "His name will be Paco."
Thalia laughed. "Alright," she shrugged. They didn't usually carry around little knick-knacks that were pretty much useless, but it would be nice to have a sort of luxury item for once.
They walked through the entrance and back out into the cold air. "Gods, it's cold out here." Thalia shivered.
"It'll be fine. I grabbed extra blankets. Let's go find a site to camp out at for tonight." They walked in a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the sounds of nature. "So? Was it really that bad?"
"Huh?" Thalia asked distracted by a sign that was advertising some new restaurant due to come out in a couple of weeks.
"Stealing with me. Did I pass that trust test of yours?" he joked.
She flashed him a smile before looking back at some other sign. "Other than the bra incident, yeah I think you did."
He smiled. "I knew it," growing a bit more serious he told her," Definitely for the best if we trust each other because I feel like we'll be traveling together for a while."
She bumped his shoulder with her own. "Not if you drive me crazy first and I have to run away before I go completely insane." she teased.
He chuckled. "No promises." And in the spur of the moment, he planted a kiss on her cheek. Soft and sweet. Thalia was shocked, but right when Luke feared that he would be getting that punch in the face now, she grabbed onto his hand and they walked on like that down the winding streets of New York.
Thalia snuck away from the other huntresses and entered her tent. She searched through her bag for a minute before pulling out a familiar stuffed seal. Hot tears stung her eyes. Luke was dead. But Paco wasn't. He was still with her. And he was the only reminder that she needed to know that Luke was a hero and what they once had could still live on. In memory, and in heart.
A/N: How did you like my first Thuke fic? :) Not to be a total brag, but I'm pretty proud of this. Tell me what you think! :D
Edit: I changed Thalia's bra size. I'm sorry for that mistake of making it so huge. I forgot that she was only twelve at the time and not 15.