Storm [LAMS demigod AU]

Alex

TW: Implied trauma/PTSD, death mention, drowning mention. 

A/N: Lots of angst wow Nico di Angelo the Angst King would be very proud :)

Alexander Hamilton hated flying.

It wasn't that he was afraid of heights.

It was that he was afraid of the sky itself.

At any moment, the sky could erupt into a storm. Bolts of lightning, sheets of rain, thunder shaking the sky. Alex had seen what the sky was capable of, had seen it tear itself apart and unleash unspeakable horrors. And if Alex was flying, he would be caught right in the middle of it.

Hector had the body of a horse, so riding him felt just like riding one of the horses back at Camp Jupiter. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that he was back at camp, riding a horse into victory during the war games.

But, unfortunately, Alex was not at Camp Jupiter. And this was not a war game.

He was thousands of feet up in the air, on a solo quest to find something evil that may or may not exist.

Alex took a deep breath, trying to steady himself.

He was terrified.

His hands were shaking. He had his head down, focusing on the back of Hector's flowing auburn mane, not even daring to look at the sky around him.

He knew that if he looked down, if he saw how high up he was, he wouldn't be able to go on.

He could hear the wind whistling in his ears. He could feel the air getting colder the higher they ascended.

It made him sick to his stomach.

At any moment, a storm could erupt.

Sheets of rain. Bolts of lightning shaking the Earth. Roaring thunder. Walls of water and swirling winds destroying everything in their path, reducing entire cities to rubble.

Children crying. People calling out for help as the world around them collapsed, crushing their bodies under walls of water and tons of rubble.

Just like that day.

Just like that day.

Just like that day.

Alex shook his head, forcing the thoughts away, pushing them back down and praying that they would never come back up.

He didn't have time to think about this.

He had a quest to complete.

He was a Roman. Romans always put their duty first.

Above their feelings. Above their fears. Above their desires.

Above everything.

The legion always comes first.

Alex's quest had to come first.

It didn't matter how much he hated flying.

It didn't matter that being in the sky made him sick to his stomach with fear.

He had to push forward.

He had to reach Virginia.

He had to complete this quest and save the legion.

His legion trusted him to keep them safe.

The day he'd become praetor, he'd made a promise to them. To always put the legion first, to serve them even if it cost him his life.