A/N: Apollo, Artemis, and – what's this? Thalia Grace? Goody! :)

Disclaimer: Okay, everyone, I have an announcement. Much to your disbelief, I do not own PJO. I know, I know, you totally thought I did. Sorry for all of the confusion (she says sarcastically).

~eclipse~

Whenever Apollo sees his sister in a state of melancholy or depression, or if she's even the slightest bit hurt, he feels that he's obligated to help her get back to her normal state. He doesn't see it as a chore, because it's something he does because his heart tells him to. You see, there's a difference between doing something because you just have to and because you undeniably want to. Driving the sun chariot across the sky every morning? Apollo has to do that. Murmuring a few words of comfort in his twin's ear and holding her until the waterworks cease? Apollo wants to do that. He wants to be there for her.

When he sees her like this – hurt, saddened, angry – he thinks back to when they were very young, not more than toddlers, and would play together in the woods, running and laughing and overall having fun. He remembers when she would be paying so much attention to her surroundings that she paid hardly any attention to the ground she was running on. He recalls, clear as day, her looking over at him and smiling, and tripping on a tree root that sent her tumbling to the ground, face first. Nowadays, Apollo looks back on this memory with a smile, sometimes a brief chuckle, and he shakes his head at the thought of a tiny Artemis (well, tinier than she already is) taken by surprise by a tree root, of all things. The Artemis he knows now would never fall victim to such a thing.

But young Apollo did not laugh. He saw Artemis fall to the forest floor and gasped, running over to help her up. Little Artemis had tears in her eyes, and she looked up at her brother pleadingly. Apollo took her by the hand and helped her stand. She was able to stand on her own after a minute, without the sturdy support of her brother (Little Apollo was still pretty strong). She had a small scrape on her knee, and ichor was oozing from it. She whimpered at the sight, but when Apollo asked if she was okay, she denied ever being hurt, scared, worried. She denied it all, but Apollo could see her golden blood flowing down her shins.

That, Apollo thinks now, is very similar to the current Artemis – denying any fear or pain. Apollo tells her that it's much easier to admit everything, but like always, Artemis keeps it to herself. Apollo supposes this is why she's in trouble so often, and he's always the one that has to – wants to – help her up.

Artemis always tells herself that she does not, under any circumstances, need her brother's help. It's obvious that they're closer than can be, but she still keeps things from him. This way, she has a sense of independence, that feeling that she can do things on her own. For some reason, Apollo seems to hate it when she acts this way. She doesn't know why. They may be twins, but they're two very, very different people.

At least she thinks. Sun and moon are undeniably opposites, right? But this doesn't explain why she feels such a strong connection to him. They can read each others thoughts, when permitted, and they'll always know each other's true feelings...

Thinking this last thought, Artemis realizes that hiding half of who she is is such a waste, because Apollo knows anyway – he's just too stupid to realize it. When she falls, and he helps her up (like always), he's either playing dumb or truly stupid.

Thalia listens patiently when Artemis rants about her arrogant brother, but in the back of her mind she can't help but find the goddess' anger slightly amusing. They bicker like two mortal siblings – she expects them to be uptight and snooty about it, but they're so real. Sometimes, it honestly amazes her.

When Apollo visits the Hunters unexpectedly, Artemis pretends to be angry that he interrupts them when nothing is really going on, Thalia notes, because she has to have some reason to be angry with them. Thalia knows that underneath, Lady Artemis is so happy to see her twin that she can hardly bear. It's hard for Artemis when she's apart from Apollo, and Thalia knows it.

As annoying as his horrid poetry can be, Thalia is grateful that Apollo is there for Artemis. Seeing as Thalia is her lieutenant – her second-in-command, the beta, her best friend (next to Apollo) – she is very close to the goddess as well. When the goddess hurts, she hurts – and she can't even begin to imagine the pain that her twin brother Apollo goes through. It's times like these that Thalia just sits back, relaxes, and lets the sun god do all of the work – because honestly, how do you cheer up a moping moon goddess?

He's always there to pick her up when she falls, which Thalia is thankful for, because Thalia might accidentally drop her...

Apollo remembers that the description of a solar eclipse is the blocking of the sun by the moon. This is how he feels when Artemis won't tell him anything – eclipsed. The word has a certain ring to it, he thinks, and he continues wondering why she blocks him so constantly.

She knows that she can tell him anything, so why does she hesitate? Is he not a good brother? He's certainly annoying, he knows – not only has Artemis pointed it out on numerous occasions, but it's also his duty to bother her to Hades and back. He doesn't think that makes him a bad older brother. He hopes not.

He contemplates leaving her alone, giving her space, but then he thinks back over this plan and notes that it would only make things worse. One way, Artemis would lock him out of her mind and refuse to grant him entrance, and the other way, she'd accuse him of abandoning her, of leaving her stranded when she needed him.

This was one hell of a predicament.

Artemis conjures up two seemingly impeccable plans. Plan A: she confronts Apollo. She tells him that she's no Athena, but she's not stupid, either, and she knows that he's pretending to be clueless. With Plan A, she'll find out the truth, but she'll be unbelievably embarrassed if she's wrong.

And then there's always Plan B: she accepts Apollo. She doesn't know if Apollo already knows what's going on with her or not, and she doesn't even care that she's giving him the pleasure. All she cares about is being able to tell someone these things without feeling that her trust has been violated.

And then she realizes that this is Apollo, and she wonders why she was ever worried in the first place.

Thalia knows it's going to happen. She sees it coming like Apollo sees his prophecies being fulfilled. She knows that eventually, they're going to give up this stupid routine and just break. Both of them, not just one – and they won't break one at a time, either. No, they'll break at the same exact time, and Artemis will let her guard down, and Apollo won't take advantage of her, and he'll just listen.

Thalia's pretty sure they know too. She's not sure how many millennia it will take before they admit it, though.

End Note: So. Many. Page breaks! I hope it doesn't bother anyone.

So, this may seem random (my iPod was on shuffle while writing this, and my favorite song came on), but what is your favorite song?

Mine is Sweet Child O Mine by Guns N Roses! :)

Reviews are appreciated, as usual.

-Chelsea