RiordanVerse One Shots :)

Always Be There - Thalia & Luke

▪ This one is based before Thalia joined the Hunters or even before she became a tree [right after 'The Demigod Diaries']
▪ Luke and Thalia are on the run. They haven't found Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth or Grover yet.

Luke's POV
"You should rest now. I'll take the first watch shift."

I thought she would argue with me. But she seemed to give in. "Alright, but wake me up this time, okay? Don't make this like last time," she replied.

"Sure. I'll wake you in 30 minutes. Get some sleep till then."

30 minutes did not sound like a lot of time, but for a demigod, even one millisecond of rest is rare.

Thalia spread the newspapers that I had stolen from a bin on the ground and lay down. She rested her head on my lap and closed her eyes.

"You know, Luke," she said, dreamily, "you're not the worst person to be with."

Although that didn't really sound like a compliment, it still made me feel flushed. Thalia never complimented anyone. This was an achievement.

"Thanks, Thals. You too." I replied, but she had ready drifted on by then.

I just sat there staring at her sleeping face on my lap. For a girl who was wary of emotions and tried to mask her feelings, she looked really vulnerable in her sleep. Her slumber face seemed to betray the toll our recent run-in at Hal's house had on her. Hal had mentioned something that made Thalia agitated. Well, more agitated than usual. Although I didn't ask her what he meant, I couldn't help but be curious. But I also knew that if I did ask her, it would probably result in her ignoring me, flashing Aegis in my face, yelling at me or somehow all three at once.

It was funny how a few weeks ago, I would have turned down the offer of travelling with a companion rather than travelling alone. I considered myself a "lone wolf". But The Fates had other things in store for me. And now meeting Thalia might have just been the best thing in my life.

Gods, I was crushing so hard. I'd never felt this way before for anyone. I mean, I have had crushes before but they usually lasted a couple of days. They were never this intense...

But Thalia.... she was different. Maybe being in near-death experiences with someone draws you closer to them. I don't know. All I know is that a daughter of Zeus stole the heart of a son of the god of thieves. How ironic.

And now I was too afraid to confess my feelings to her. What if she didn't feel the same and I was only ruining our friendship by telling her how hopelessly in love with her I was? I'd rather remain as friends than her not talking to me.

But it also felt like a weight holding me back. Keeping that secret.

I sighed. What was I to do?

"I love you, Thals."

I did it. I admitted it out aloud when she was sleeping. Because I was too much of a wuss to actually say to her when she is awake.

I sighed to myself. Why did the Fates do this to me? Why did I have to fall in love with the one girl who would never love me back? At least not in that way...

Suddenly, Thalia's expression changed. She went from looking sad in her sleep to creasing her eyebrows. Her face portrayed fear.

"No, no! Please mom! Not him! Not Jason," she screamed in her sleep.

"Thalia, are you okay? What happened?" I shook her awake.

"Luke... nothing. I just-" she sighed heavily and sat up, "I just had a nightmare, that's all."

"Oh... do you, perhaps, wanna talk about it?"

"Oh no, it's quite alright. I'm fine now." She was obviously lying. She looked anything but fine. She was still shaking from the nightmare. I didn't want to push her further by persuading her to tell me so I just hugged her instead. Normally, that would have resulted in her cutting my limbs off. But she was so agitated that she didn't even hesitate.

I just sat there, holding her in my arms. She eventually stopped shivering. Her face was right next to mine. I could feel her breath on my lips...

"Luke, you don't have to do this, you know. You should get some sleep. What if we run into some monster or something later?"

"Hush now. It's alright. Don't stress it too much. It'll all be okay eventually."

"I'm-i'm scared."

I was a bit taken aback. Thalia Grace admitting that she is scared? Wow. But I still held her and whispered softly:

"Don't worry. It'll all be okay. I'll always be there."

A/N: nearly 800 words phew! I wrote this in 3 goes (all on my way back home from school). Anyways I hope you guys liked this! Tell me if you ship Thalia and Luke or not. I think Luke totally had a crush on Thalia. And maybe, just slightly, perhaps Thalia liked Luke back too? Don't ya think?

Anyways I will upload Back to School [Hazel] pt. 2 soon. Stay tuned!