Multifandom Oneshots

percy jackson ~ afraid of heights (hurt/comfort) ~ percy & thalia

A/N : Takes place during book 3 in between chapters 12 and 13

The group sat atop the wild boar, looking out on the horizon as the world passed them by.

It was incredibly uncomfortable (after all, the thing was made of steel) and all of them (except for maybe Zoë) looked absolutely miserable. Percy's back burned and ached as they rode along, but they didn't exactly have another ride (not one that would hold all of them at least), so this was what they had to do to get where they needed to go.

Grover sat by its head, gently playing music to keep it going. He seemed exhausted and tired as time went on but he persisted, only occasionally taking breaks when the wind passing them by was enough to run through his pipes without his aid. Zoë and Bianca sat in its middle, talking and chatting about the quest, Artemis, and whatever else two Hunters would have to talk about during an uncomfortable and boring boar ride. And finally, Percy and Thalia sat at the rear, keeping watch to make sure that nothing followed them.

Thalia still didn't seem particularly thrilled to be stuck with him, but she didn't really have much choice in the matter so she decided to be civil with him. "Daughter of Zeus" Percy chuckled to himself, remembering their earlier conversation. Thalia shot him a withering glance. "Afraid of heights"

"Shut it" Thalia hissed at him, not wanting the Hunters to hear, though they did not seem to notice. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't tell anyone"

"I'm not telling anyone" Percy replied with a smug little smile that made the older girl want to sock him in the face. "Yeah, whatever" she mumbled, remembering that the back of a metal boar running Titan knows how fast wouldn't be a particularly ideal place to start a fight with the guy. "Why do you find it so funny anyways?" she challenged. "I'm sure you've got some dumb, irrational fear somewhere in that thick head of yours"

Percy felts a slight sting in his heart but didn't reply. "Annabeth was afraid of spiders" he said solemnly after a moment of awkward silence. Thalia couldn't help but feel pain at him speaking of the girl in past tense, as though she was dead. She might as well be she thought to herself darkly, and it was true. Sure, Annabeth was technically still alive, but she wasn't in a state that one could really consider fully living. No, the girl was suffering.

"I know" Thalia replied. "Did you bully her for that?"

"Kind of, yeah..." Percy admitted with a slight chuckle. "But she's still one of the strongest people I know, and she's saved my life more times than I can count" he smiled as he said that, and Thalia couldn't help but wonder if there was a little more to the two's relationship than just being friends, but she shoved that thought away. "You're also really strong, Thalia"

The older girl avoided his gaze, not wanting to show how much those words affected her. Everyone had always talked about how brave and strong she was after she died, sure. But now when people talked about her strength, it was almost as if it was a bad thing- Like she would suddenly turn to the dark side and completely fuck everyone over, and they would be defenseless to stop her reign of terror. But... Percy didn't seem to mean it that way.

"Thanks, Percy" she said softly. "You're strong too... Even if you're kind of annoying"

"At least I'm not afraid of heights!"

"Don't push it"