Summary: Just a one shot where Thalia actually likes Percy and Percy is a lot darker than in cannon. It makes an interesting mixture.
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Note: I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters. This is merely a fanfiction.
The car rattled down the interminable stretch of the desert highway, the occasional bump jostling the passengers. Outside the car, the night was like an unceasing blackness, the storm from earlier a faint memory. The only sounds came from the hum of tyres and the steady, rhythmic breathing of the others.
Zoe, Bianca, and Grover were sound asleep, leaving Percy and Thalia huddled in the backseat.
Thalia sat stiffly, arms folded, turning her head to peer out the window as though the darkness held all the answers.
She was acting like she was ignoring him, but Percy knew better.
Percy smiled, readjusting just enough toward Thalia so that their legs brushed—a slight tease, just enough to earn a response.
"Are you always this tense? " he asked quietly.
Percy's smile faded into a slight grimace upon seeing Thalia's glare, staring intensely at him. It was like looking into an ice storm, those blue eyes colder than clouds.
"Shut up, Jackson," she said, her voice too serious.
"Touchy," Percy said, jerking his head just slightly. "I guess that hit a sore spot."
Thalia rolled her eyes and turned to face the window again. "You think everything is a game, don't you?"
"Only when I'm winning."
Percy leaned just a touch closer to Thalia, dropping his voice lower. Maybe it was a little too quiet there.
" You sure about that?"
Thalia stayed silent.
The silence hung like a thick fog between them, charged and tense. The kind of silence experienced before a storm brewed somewhere far off. Before something shattered.
Percy looked at her, observing the way her fingers gripped onto the cuff of her jacket, the way she stared at him, stealing glances, when he thought he wasn't looking.
She thought about it. Joining the Hunters. Running away.
Coward.
He shifted again, brushing up against her arm. She tensed but didn't pull away.
"Come on, admit it," he said, "you're scared."
Thalia turned and her eyes sparkled. "Of what?"
His gaze drifted slightly down past her eyes and onto her lips, before returning to connect with her eyes. "Me."
She let out a sharp breath, but her anger arrived quickly, covering the hesitation. "You're an idiot."
Percy smirked, leaning in a little further and opening his mouth to speak in more of a whisper. "Am I?"
The car went jarring over a pothole, and Percy used that as an opportunity to lean in closer, giving an inviting breath on her cheek. She could push him away. She should. She shrugged. "Tell me, is it easier to walk away than to pursue whatever is between us?"
Thalia's breath caught in her throat for a moment, but he managed to notice it.
He reached up, his fingers brushing her cheeks - lightly, swiftly, and that was enough. Enough to make her shiver.
"You don't want to run," he said, lightly trailing the line of her cheekbone. "You want to fight." His fingers drifted lower, featherlight against her throat. "And you want to win."
She was shaking now. Just a little bit.
Percy grinned. "Or is it just me that you want to run from?"
Thalia's hand shot up against his wrist. Her grip was strong - while sturdy enough to bruise, she did not pull him away.
Percy chuckled to himself. "That's cute," he said quietly.
Her grip grew stronger. "I hate you."
"You keep saying it."
She swallowed hard, and - for the first time - she looked unsure.
Percy's thumb barely grazed her lips, for a split second. A test.
Her breath hitched.
He tilted his head, his mouth a millimetre from hers. "Say the word, and I will stop."
The car hummed beneath them. The seconds dragged by.
Thalia didn't respond.
And that was all the answer Percy needed.
He kissed her.
It wasn't gentle. It wasn't soft. It was a war, teeth gnashing, heat blazing. It was a desperate, fiery brush of mouths. His hands were raw with desire, attracting her closer, pulling at her fingers, wrangling them into her jacket.
Thalia was just as fierce. Her fingers were tight in his shirt, scores digging into his skin. She kissed him back like she was trying to rub it in like she was trying to burn him alive for making her feel like this.
The car jerked again, separating them just enough to catch a breath. Thalia's lips were parted, her breath uneven. Percy grinned, rubbing their noses together, relishing how she still didn't move away.
"I knew you would break for me," he said smugly, darkly.
Thalia growled, pushing him away hard. "Shut up, Jackson."
He laughed.
And then the car lurched forward again, sputtering and Zoe was awake in the front.
"We're here," she said. Percy barely had time to register the words before Thalia was moving. She took her time to straighten her jacket while getting her expression into something unreadable like time had stopped in moments that just happened.
She stepped out first.
And as Percy followed, he smirked.
Because he knew she wouldn't forget.
And she knew it too.
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Author's note: Just a one shot I wrote cause I love Perlia.