One More Chance // Thaluke

3. Apollo

Luke's POV

"I believe you should be thanking me for that."

Luke wasn't sure what was happening.

Have I reached the Underworld already? He thought. He blinked a few times and saw, quite clearly, that it wasn't the Underworld. If he was right, then he was still on Olympus but... last he remembered, he had been dead.

The first face he saw was Thalia's.

He looked around and was reassured that he was on Olympus, it was the same scene as when he had... passed out? Died and come back? Whatever.

The only thing he noticed was that Artemis and Apollo had also appeared from somewhere and Thalia... she didn't have her lieutenant's circlet or her bow and arrow.

Something clicked in his brain. His mind was starting to put the pieces together but it was still quite foggy. Maybe it was because he had just died. Speaking of which, how did he come back to life?

"It is all thanks to me." Said Apollo, as though in answer to the question he hadn't yet voiced.

"Well, Hermes and my son Asclepius helped as well, of course.

"Hermes had been begging the Fates ever since he found out that our friend Luke, here, was going to die. He gave up after a few years but started again just some time ago. What happened next is rather surprising and incredible and I know for a fact it hasn't happened in the past 4 millenia."

There was a dramatic pause. "The fates made a mistake."

Apollo let everyone digest that last sentence.

"But how?" Started Percy. "I saw the fates cut Luke's thread around five years ago."

Thalia looked at Percy with raised eyebrows. Artemis was looking at Apollo with a very confused expression, as though this was something completely unbelievable, which it was.

Apollo chuckled and said, "That's why I said it is incredible. The Fates have tied his string with someone else's."

"Whose?" Asked Thalia, immediately, seeming quite afraid.

"Yours. Luke Castellan's thread is now attached to your string, Thalia Grace." Said Apollo with a faint smile on his lips.

Thalia's eyes went wide. Luke, himself, was feeling quite faint and he doubted it because of the 'resurrection from the dead' thing.

"What does that even mean?" Said Annabeth, who looked frustated that she didn't know about something for once.

"It means that Mr. Castellan will be alive as long as Thalia is. Now, I do suppose that you two will have things to discuss. You are excused from here. Meanwhile, my brother and I have some things to talk about ourselves." Said Artemis. She walked to Apollo and they started a rapid whisper conversation, which Luke could not hear. Thalia got up and offered him a hand. Luke took it and stood up. He found it a bit hard to walk because his limbs were quite stiff. They walked outside the doors and stood beside the Zeus statue.

Luke realized that they hadn't actually stopped holding hands but he made no attempt take his hand away and neither did she.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Considering that I just came back from the dead, yeah, I'm pretty fine." He replied. Thalia chuckled and they stood looking into each other's eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry, you know, for pushing you off Mount Tam."

"I deserve that and much more." He said, with a dark laugh. "I thought you would be with me, at first. I thought I was doing the right thing. I... I thought I could bring you back.

"It took me a while but I realized, eventually, that I was doing the wrong thing. It hurt me on the inside, more than it did on the outside, when you pushed me off that cliff. I should be the one to say sorry, Thalia." He looked at his feet and continued in barely a whisper.

"I was angry at the Gods, they took you away from that's why I thought you would side with me." A silent tear rolled down his cheek.

"I.. I'm really sorry Thalia. I understand if you don't want to forgive me but-"

His words were cut short as Thalia hugged him. He hugged her back tightly. Luke wondered if that meant that she had forgiven him.

Thalia's POV

"Tell me what happened." Said Luke, after they pulled away.

Thalia froze for a moment. She didn't know whether she should tell him exactly what happened or not but he deserved to know the truth and the words started flowing from her mouth before she had time to think about what she was saying.

She started explaining in barely a whisper about her exact words after he had died. When she glanced up from her resolute staring at her feet, Luke's eyes were wide.

Then, about how Artemis heard the aforementioned words and kicked her out of the Hunters and how he came back to life exactly when she was giving back her bow and arrow and her lietenant's circlet.

She had just finished her words when Luke stepped closer to her. Her breath caught in her lungs and her heart was racing. She didn't move away. This was what she had been wanting since the day they met.

Luke seemed to be waiting for her to push him away or show some sort of hesitancy in her actions. But she looked into his eyes and both of them could see, very clearly, that it was mutual. They both wanted this.

He leaned in, slowly and Thalia's eyes fluttered shut.

Their lips met.

Thalia felt fireworks exploding in her chest. It was a new experience but it felt so right. This was how it was meant to be.

As their lips melded together, her hands came to rest on his shoulders and his, around her back. He pulled them ever closer and Thalia felt like she never wanted to let go.

Luke's POV

Luke couldn't believe he actually made a move.

He never had the courage when they were just kids, runaways, outcasts. He definitely didn't have it once she had come back (what with him being evil and all).

But now? Now, he knew that she liked him too and the way she looked at him told him that this was going to happen. They shouldn't stop it because... it would make them happy.

He pulled away first and he could feel the butterflies in his stomach as he looked into her piercing, electric blue eyes. Thalia's breathing was fast and her cheeks were stained pink. Luke guessed that he was in a similar state.

They were still in the same position, hands wrapped around each other, when he said, softly, "Thalia..."

He wanted to tell her something but he wasn't sure what. He didn't have time to think about what he should say because a high pitched, female voice interrupted him and said the same thing he had said previously, "Thalia!?"

It was one of her hunter friends and she was shouting. "What are you doing with that traitor?"

A/N : You don't know how much it hurt me to call Luke a traitor. It's been over a month, I know. I'm SO sorry.

Yours Truly 

ReynaLovegood2 :)