It should be noted that this one is not for everyone guys. There's still some sexual fun and little Thuke teasers, but well it's also a highly awkward situation. One that I've always kind of wondered about. All these coming of age stories like Percy Jackson where the girl never really gets much of an introduction to the sex-ed classes...well, you'll see.
Anyways, Thalia is eleven here and Luke's thirteen. Takes place a good many months before the last oneshot.
Warnings: sexual references and sheer awkwardness.
Enjoy!
For all her joking about it or putting up a coolheaded, experienced façade, Thalia actually didn't know very much about sex or her own body. She'd picked up almost all she knew from eavesdropped conversations between her mother and the men she bedded back when Thalia'd been too naïve to know just what they were talking about. That or the few times she'd had access to the internet, she'd googled it maybe once. Okay twice. And both had left her both disgusted and…intrigued. She'd never really had the opportunity to…learn anything from the awkward family life talks the older kids always complained about and never had the misfortune of having "the talk" with her mother.
She'd noticed her body was changing over the last few years. She'd developed curves and her face seemed to have thinned, the angles growing harsher. There was coarse hair in places there hadn't been before and the little hairs on her legs grew explosively, much to her annoyance. She'd broken down and bought a bra finally four months back, finding the increasing volume of her chest to be uncomfortable when running around for her life. She'd bought the wrong size though, having no clue that there was that much of a difference between a training bra and a regular B-cup. Not that it mattered all that much; she grew into it pretty fast. Originally she found it both restricting and comforting at the same time. And a bit awkward. But she'd gotten use to it and found it almost comfortable now.
Nearly every girl she met over the age of thirteen had breasts. Getting boobs hadn't been a big surprise for Thalia. She'd expected it actually. Getting her period, however, had. She'd been more than a little freaked out the first time she woke up to find blood in her underwear. In fact, she'd very nearly shrieked and spent the morning racing around wondering if she was sick or wracking her mind, trying to figure out what hurt her and when. And why the bleeding wouldn't stop. She was half-way tempted to try some ambrosia or go to the hospital.
In the king of awkward moments, it was Luke who calmly explained to her about periods. It was an embarrassing conversation…one she'd prefer to erase from her memory if possible. Him knowing more about her body than she did, not to mention the general concept, had left her flushed and mortified.
"So…what do I…do about it?" Thalia asks.
Luke's not looking too much better, fidgeting and looking very much like he just wants to abandon her. Evidently, he's not enjoying this too much more than she is. "Pardon?"
"How do fix it or whatever?" Other than digging a hole and hiding in it permanently. As she was sorely tempted to do rather than face this.
"I…well my mom use to send me out to buy feminine napkins." His cheeks redden deeper at the memory.
"Whosa whaza?" Thalia isn't sure she likes the sound of that. The dreaded Feminine word…
"Just come on." He drags her to a tiny connivance store and sends her down the aisle with pads and tampons and…other things that reredden her cheeks and send an oddly cold yet somehow pleasant shiver down her spine. But she has no idea what to get. What's the difference between a maxi and a regular? And what the heck exactly is a tampon? She gets the concept of a pad but…she examines the instructions and feels queasiness settle in. You put it…where? Oh gods, kill her now!
She ends up having to flag Luke back down, a couple packets of feminine products clutched against her chest. He reluctantly returns to her and tries to look supportive but he's failing miserably. Still, she appreciates the effort. Although his advice is less than helpful, she does revel in the way his voice has gone all squeaky as he tries to share the abysmally little knowledge he has on the topic.
She ends up picking out a simple pack of pads, forsaking the tampons and the horror they present. Maybe one day she'll get up the guts to try them…okay maybe not. Still, one more horror faces her: facing the cashier. She knows she needs them but…buying them it practically announcing to the world that she has her period and she's expecting the cashier to give her a disgusted look. It's silly and she knows it. But still.
There's only one person working at the convenience store, which is not very convenient if you ask her. An old man with crinkled skin that looks like a prune. She instantly loses her nerve and squirms in her skin. She can't buy…pads from him! But on the other hand, she really needs them. She's already changed three times and only has one more set of sweats that she can waste on this before she either has to wash cloths or run around with blood on her bum. Reddening she starts toward the register, Luke plodding around a distance behind. Not too close but not too far. Not really too supportive.
The man regards her with milky eyes and she loses her nerve again. She should just steal them! She'd rather just steal them! Her mind's busy calculating how best to slip out of the stole with her contraband toiletries when he clears his throat. "May I help you?" His voice is gruff and does nothing to relieve the irrational fear building in her. She opens her mouth to answer, but then flees back to Luke's side. Like a damn coward. Why is this so god damn hard?
"What's the matter?" Luke says.
"I'm…too embarrassed to buy these." She answers hesitantly. Luke lets out a condescending chortle. "It's not funny!"
"It's just I never thought I'd see you afraid of a cashier." Luke answers with one of his best annoying smirks.
Thalia glares knives and daggers and imagines eviscerating him. It does wonders to her mood.
"Think we can lift it?" Thalia asks in an undertone after a moment, studying the old man. It's possible he has cataracts. He might not even be able to see them from here. But he probably has video feed…
"No…ugh just give it here." Luke sighs in resignation. Thalia tosses him the package of pads like it's a hot potato. He goes up to the front of the store while Thalia leans against the wall and tries to ignore her cramping stomach.
"Buying those for your girlfriend?" The man asks when Luke produces the package onto the counter. Luke flushes.
"No she's not my girlfriend. Just my friend." He recovers quickly.
The man chuckles. "Well then you're a good friend. I don't know many 'friends' who would buy their lady friend's toiletries." He adds something in an undertone that Thalia can't quite make out from here but it makes Luke blanch and the remainder of his face goes bright scarlet. Thalia can't help but chuckle at that. Away from the desk, this is actually pretty funny.
"Is that so?" Luke replies for the lack of anything better to say. He forks over a couple bills to pay, encouraging the man to move faster. But he's like a tortoise and Thalia's getting ansty. The man's digging through his register and slowly picking the appropriate change.
Finally the man finishes and Luke tears away from him like he can't get away fast enough. He tosses Thalia the package without even looking at her and the two exit the store together with a "Thank you, please come again!" from the old man.
"Not likely." Luke murmurs. Thalia's inclined to agree.
Poor Thalia and Luke. I just couldn't help but put them in this situation though.
Anyways, tell me if you liked it, hate it, or what not. I won't be poking this topic(meaning periods) again most likely, not even in passing. Next time who knows? Maybe I'll get a little grittier. Depends on my mood I do suppose. If I didn't say so before, my rating of this mostly stems from the fact that I consider PJO to be a fairly pure fandom. If I was writing this for a different fandom it would be more than likely rated T with warnings.
However I've been mulling over something that would be more worthy of an M rating. If I decide to pursue it then you can be sure I'll be posting it here.
Until next time,
~Crisi