- The Seams Of My Heart -

"Keep the change." Percy spoke, his voice raspy while slamming a twenty-dollar bill on the counter. He walked out of the bar, pulling his leather jack tighter across his chest, as there were snow flurries falling from the sky. His mind was already numbing from the amount of alcohol he'd consumed in the past hour or so. But Percy didn't mind, he was, as he liked to call it, professionally trained in the art of 'drinkin' 'til you're drunk'. Percy didn't necessarily like that he was a hopeless alcoholic, but hey, everyone needed something to take the pain of their lives away, let it be for one hour or just one measly minute. Some people talked, others smoked, some even took drugs. Percy buried himself deep in his alcohol. Beer, wine, vodka, you name it, he drank it. He would be concerned about his health, but there was nothing left he had to live for anyway.

Percy had become a bit crabby ever since the war. But he believed he had a right, for everyone he loved had left him.

Left. Died. Dead. Gone. Never coming back. His mother, his best friends, even his girlfriend. Courtesy of the cruel world he lived in. So Percy left. He left Camp Half-Blood, left the few people that remained important to him, left his 'demi-godly' duties and the Greek Gods entirely, and tried to forget about the people he lost, relationships he ruined. That was where the drinking came in. It helped him forget. It numbed the pain. And that was all Percy could ask for.

But soon Percy's ways would come to a screeching halt, his only known means of coping slipping through his slim, pale fingers.

All starting with a simple, grouchy, "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going!"

xXx

Thalia was not the type to snap so easily.

Okay, maybe that was a lie. But she was getting better, and her temper was a lot more controlled than it had been, say, five years ago. But Thalia had been having a pretty shitty day, to say the least.

To start it off, she woke up late and showed up late to her first class, science, a subject she was not very fond of or good at in the first place. Her teacher dropped her grade ten points in her scored for the day, something she could not academically afford. Then, when she went to go get her lunch, she realized after waiting on line at The Salad Shack for 20 minutes she'd forgotten her wallet at home. She decided it would be easier just to skip lunch than run all the way home and back.

When she got back to school with a growling stomach, she walked in to her math class only to find that she had a test she had not studied, thus almost guaranteeing her a failing grade. After math, she got to take up to three pages of notes, front and back, in each of the rest of her classes. So by the end of the day, Thalia was just ready to go home and collapse on to her lumpy, old sofa and hopefully get a good night's sleep and starting off the Winter Break by waking up at noon tomorrow. Even though it was Christmas Eve tomorrow and her brother, Jason, would be coming down for the holiday (something she was actually very excited about for a change), that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to sleep in. She had spent the last couple of days cleaning her apartment up for just the occasion. She'd been working hard, and Jason wasn't due to come down until about three, anyways.

As she was distractedly reminiscing about the fun things she could do with her brother, and hopefully get dinner from her favorite Chinese restaurant, Jade Garden Palace, she didn't notice some guy about to walk straight in to her.

Caught off guard, Thalia fell to the ground, butt connecting with the hard cement.

"Hey, why don't you watch where you're going!" She yelled indignantly. Thalia was pretty sure it had been her fault, but she was having a bad day. And you did not want to get in Thalia's way when she was annoyed.

"Sorry," the man grunted in response, not sounding all too sorry at all. He stuck out his hand, but Thalia was perfectly capable of picking herself up. When Thalia stood up and brushed the dirt off her pants and assessed the minor scrapes on her palm, she looked up to see whom the idiot was who had bumped in to her in the first place.

Thalia gasped in surprise. Her electric blue eyes widened. Her attacker's sea-green eyes seemed to widen in surprise. The last time Thalia had seen eyes like that had been the last time she saw...

"Percy?" Thalia breathed.

"Thalia?" Percy asked at the same time, voice full of surprise. A moment of silence passed, both of them examining the other thoroughly, head to toe.

"Wow," he sighed. "It's been... a while." He said while chuckling awkwardly.

"You're telling me? I barely even recognized you, Seaweed Brain!" Thalia said. "Where the Hades have you been, Mr. Jackson?" She questioned.

Percy sighed. Now that was a complicated question. Reasonable, but something he didn't really want to answer at the moment. "Well... You know... around..." Percy said awkwardly.

Even though Thalia was glad to see Percy and to finally actually know that he was okay, alive, and breathing, she couldn't help but feel a little... well, totally pissed off. All her feelings from when Percy had first disappeared suddenly came rushing back to her. Sadness. Regret. Anger. "You go missing for... what, five years, and when I ask 'Where have you been?' you have the nerve to answer 'Around'?" Thalia asked. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. She punched him on the shoulder.

"Hey!" Percy said indignantly. Thalia chuckled.

Thalia sighed. She guessed could scold him later. As long as he didn't knock her to the ground again. "Same old Seaweed Brain. Stupid in a way that makes you can always make you laugh," She said whilst Percy rubbed his shoulder where she had punched him.

"Good to know you've still got a strong punch..." Percy mumbled.

Thalia smirked. "You should see me with a sword. I'm like a ninja. My skills have definitely accelerated since the last time we... dueled." She said while pretending to hold a sword and strike Percy in various places. She couldn't help but think how weird she must look to the random people passing by.

Percy couldn't help but laugh out loud. Even at twenty-one, she still acted like she was twelve year old.

"So... do you want to... you know... grab dinner or something?" Percy said while shuffling his feet across the ground. He couldn't help but feel... nervous? He didn't know exactly why, but he felt like he really needed her to say yes.

"Do you really think I'd let you off the hook so easily, Seaweed Brain?" Thalia smirked. "Of course you're coming to eat dinner with me!" Thalia laughed.

"You can come back with me to my apartment, we'll order Chinese food, and maybe you can actually tell me where you've been!" Percy smiled. He guessed he hadn't realized how much he had actually missed Thalia. Or having any friend, for that matter. Lost in his memories, he didn't notice Thalia start to walk away, presumably towards her home, until she turned and noticed he wasn't following her and came jogging back.

"What are you doing?" She asked, head slightly tilted.

Percy snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh. Sorry. I was just..." Percy didn't have time to finish his sentence, as Thalia grabbed his arm and started pulling him along. He laughed.

"Same old Thalia..." He muttered, grin evident on his face. Percy's skin felt all tingly where Thalia's hand met his wrist, and he wasn't sure if it was from nerves, or her just being a daughter of Zeus and always feeling like that. Whatever it was, he liked it.

Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe this was supposed to happen. Even though it was freezing outside and snowflakes were falling in his forever-messy black mope of hair, he felt warm. He had his old friend back, and he'd be damned if anyone tried to steal her back.

xXx

Tadaaa! I just can't get enough of Perlia. They're too damn cute! :3 So, did you like it? Love it? Hate it? Drop me a review and tell me what you thought! Always remember; reviews ate love an author. :)

PS. In this story, Thalia was never a Hunter.