A/N: This is my first venture into writing Percy Jackson fanfiction, so here goes!
Reyna liked to insist that Jason Grace had no impact on her whatsoever.
Her hair had something else to say about the matter.
After she and her sister escaped from the pirates who had escaped from Circe, she wore her hair down. Not in poetic flowing waves down her back, but matted and tangled and covering her face. Hylla constantly told her to get it out of her eyes so she could at least see properly, but Reyna wanted no part of that. At ten years old but feeling much older, she wanted to see no more of the world, and if that meant letting her hair hang into her eyes, so be it.
(Jason saw Dakota and Gwen bring in a half-wild girl. When he said hi and introduced himself, she tried to choke him. He left her practically frothing at the mouth. Reyna wondered why someone other than her sister was being nice to her on purpose, but when he brought her Jellybeans she knew she had a friend.)
After she arrived at Camp Jupiter and settled in enough to not attack everything within ten feet of her, she wore her hair in a ponytail. Not one with cutesy strands framing her face, but one with her hair pulled straight back out of her way. Terminus liked to think it was his constant scolding that finally convinced her to make herself look presentable, but Reyna knew that wasn't true. At eleven years old and brand new starts, she wanted to meet people's eyes, especially a pair of startling sky blue ones, and if that meant constantly buying hair elastics to tie it up, that was just fine.
(Jason saw her knock a punching dummy across the floor. When he challenged her to a round of sparring at hand-to-hand, she beat him in about seven minutes. He left her smirking as he went to get an icepack. Reyna wondered if she should have gone easy on him, but after seeing him handle a sword, she knew she had real competition)
At a Feast of Fortuna when she suddenly found herself caring, she let her friend curl and pin her hair up. It hadn't been an effortlessly perfect look, but had involved almost starting a fire with the curling iron and scouring half the camp for bobby pins. Gwen had given her a look that was equal parts pleased and amused when she heard the request to 'do something and make it good' but Reyna would offer no further elaboration. At fourteen years old and a big girl now, Reyna wanted to be noticed by a certain son of Jupiter, and having her hair pulled and twisted and manhandled was a necessary evil.
(Jason saw her eating with Gwen at a table. When he asked her to dance, she stayed with him for four songs. He left her breathless after kissing her cheek and darting off. Reyna wondered if she would ever breathe normally around him again, but after some shared quests and battles, she knew she had a crush)
After the momentous occasion of being raised to Praetor, she wore her hair in a single braid down her back. It wasn't a particularly creative or artistic type of braid, but one that was so simple it looked elegant. The occupants of New Rome didn't think much of the switch, seeing as her hair was getting rather long, but Reyna knew it was part of a conscious effort to look more Roman, an effort she would have liked Jason to notice and like. At fifteen years old and invincible and infinite, Reyna wanted to be respected and feared as the queen she was, and if that meant constantly redoing her braid to keep it neat, it was only a small inconvenience.
(Jason saw her in her ceremonial toga and armor. When he shook her hand and smiled at her, she gasped a little but acted like she hadn't. He left her to her speeches while he spoke softly with a friend. Reyna wondered if they could really run New Rome together, but when he admitted he was sometimes uncertain too, she knew she had a partner.)
After her best friend, confidant, and co-praetor disappeared, she wore her hair in a bun, at least in private. Not a perfectly coiled, smooth ballerina bun, but a haphazard knot that would take a while to undo. Most people assumed that it was simply another way to get it off her neck, but Reyna couldn't tell them that she didn't want to see the braid that would remind her of how Jason would tug at and flick it during very boring meetings. At sixteen years old and confused as all get-out, Reyna didn't know why her sweet memories were suddenly turning bitter, but since keeping her hair out of her sight seemed to help, she would do it.
(Jason saw her in a dream his last night in New Rome. When he moved to flick her braid, she was gone and he was on a bus somewhere else. He left her without explanation as he was taken to the Greek camp. Reyna wondered if he would come back, but after months passed with no sign, she knew she had no one.)
After receiving word that Jason was coming home again, she wore her hair in a braid. Not the same braid she had worn when she had just become praetor, but a more elaborate braid to show Jason that she had been fine without him. The handful of people that noticed raised their eyebrows at the sudden change, but Reyna was focusing all her energy on keeping her chin up and her jaw set. At sixteen years old and running on coffee and hollow hope, Reyna wished she was welcoming Jason back as a partner in more than the praetor context, and she dismissed the two nails she'd broken while braiding too hastily as love's tribute.
(Jason saw her standing at the head of the legion alone to welcome the bronze ship. When he mentioned his name to avoid getting fired on, she admitted she had missed him. He left her for another girl when he had been on the quest to Alaska. Reyna wondered if he really loved this Piper, but after he acted like he didn't recognize her, she knew she had been replaced.)
After a perilous solo journey across the Atlantic, Reyna went back to the plain braid. Not simply because she was too busy trying not to die to give much consideration to her hairstyle, but to prove that even in life threatening circumstances, she could look respectable. No one would ever know that she had spent a precious ten minutes fixing her hair in the rearview mirror of a parked car, but Reyna knew it had just as much to do with Jason as it did with keeping up her image as praetor. At seventeen years old and feeling her heart breaking, Reyna still couldn't give up on Jason, and if that meant her braid had to be her lifeline as she watched him with Piper, her lifeline it would be.
(Jason saw her, exhausted but still going as she joined them in Europe. When he tried to speak to her, she discussed only the upcoming war. He left her to stop a war as he went off to fight one. Reyna wondered if she and Jason would ever again be as close as they had been, but when he didn't look back on his way to Greece, she knew she had no chance.)
After agreeing to go on another dangerous journey, this time with the DiAngelo boy, the boisterous satyr, and the enormous Athena Parthenos statue, Reyna wore her hair down. Not the type of look that was popular in shampoo commercials, but one that showed she was giving up on everything, starting with her hair. Nico DiAngelo would often stare intently at her, as if he could see straight through her façade, but she would turn away sharply, her hair flicking his face and settling like a curtain around her so he couldn't see her face anymore. At seventeen years old and too full of heartache, Reyna wanted to be left alone, and if it meant she had to emphasize her point by turning her black hair into a barrier, she was glad to do so.
(Jason saw her often in Piper's magical blade as she struggled to complete survive another trans-Atlantic trip. When he tried to Iris message her, she didn't answer or didn't receive it. He left her to her wits as he continued on his quest. Reyna wondered if he ever thought about her anymore, but after several near-death experiences on her quest, she knew she couldn't afford to think about it.)
After delivering the statue and making peace between Greeks and Romans, Reyna let Rachel do her hair. Not because they were best friends who squealed and giggled as they did each other's' hair, but because Reyna was too injured, exhausted, and drained to think about something so trivial. Rachel gently wove the strands into a braid, trying to make polite small talk, but Reyna kept her mouth and eyes shut tight. At seventeen years old and slowly falling apart, Reyna wanted to be taken care of, just for a day, and if it meant letting someone touch her hair for the first time in years, Reyna was too numb to care.
(Jason saw her as Nico took her to Rachel's cabin. When he tried to follow her for a word, Rachel shooed him away. He left her slumped exhausted on the floor as he went to Bunker Nine to talk to Leo. Reyna wondered where he was when she needed him, but after seeing no one try to help her but Rachel, she knew she could admit to her weakness.)
After the Giant War was over and the two camps had come together for a memorial and celebration, Reyna had found it in her to wear her hair in a chignon. Not because she was trying to be particularly fashionable, but because she needed to show that although she had lost a love, she had won a war. Several of the girls had offered to do her hair, help with her makeup, or lend her their heels, but Reyna insisted that she didn't need their help. At eighteen years old and suddenly a grown woman, Reyna didn't know what to do with a broken heart other than cover it up, and if a fancy up-do was going to deceive people, she'd lie like a rug.
(Jason saw her in professional attire, giving a very serious speech about the death and damage of the war and how they must carry on. When he clapped at the end, she couldn't make him out in the tear-obscured crowd. He left her lonely as ate and chatted with The Seven. Reyna wondered if it was worth it to interrupt his reminiscing and celebrating, but knew deep down that she had lost her chance.)
After receiving an invitation to Jason and Piper's wedding, Reyna stuffed her now waist-length hair under her helmet. Not because she felt angry and was preparing to attack anyone, but because she needed to look at herself in the mirror with her helmet and armor and forcibly remind herself of how strong she had once been, how strong she needed to be now. She supposed everyone was shocked when she hadn't shown up to the wedding, only sending word that she was sick, but by the time she had second thoughts, she knew she was in no shape to attend a wedding – she hadn't even brushed her hair. At twenty-four years old and weaker than she would like to admit, Reyna wanted to be strong enough to face and not fight the facts, and if her legionnaire's helmet was the only thing that could remind her of her zenith as a queen, she was ready to reminisce about the old days rather than attend a wedding she could not celebrate.
(Jason mostly ignored Annabeth's hints that Reyna's excuse for not coming was a lie. When he asked his sister about it, he was told only that she wasn't feeling up to it. He left her to her illness, pretended or not, as he danced somewhat awkwardly with Piper. Reyna wondered if she was overreacting, but when she couldn't make herself get up, she knew she had a broken heart.)
After being asked to visit Jason and Piper's firstborn, Reyna cut her hair short. Not short like Jason's militaristic buzz cut, but chin length like some actress on a magazine, wanting to be rid of the glossy black locks and the stories they contained. Jason's jaw dropped, Piper squealed and declared it gorgeous, but Annabeth took her aside and asked why she cut it, unsatisfied with Reyna's answer that she didn't want the baby pulling on it. At twenty-six years old and ready to leave things behind, Reyna was ready to change her life, and if that meant going on a clichéd impromptu soul-searching road trip, she couldn't wait to feel the wind blowing in her apparently-fashionable new hairstyle.
(Jason saw her holding and cooing to his baby daughter. When he awkwardly asked how she was doing, she avoided the question. He left her smiling through tears as he asked her to take a picture of his family. Reyna wondered if Jason ever desired another life, but after watching his blue eyes tear up every ten minutes, she knew she was no longer wanted.)
After settling in a rough small town in Texas to run a girls' martial arts academy, Reyna somehow found herself with dye and a brush, leaning over her kitchen sink. The result looked nothing like the picture of bold red streaks on the bottle, but more of a mottled mix of black, brown, auburn, and red that looked different depending on the lighting. Leo, with hope in his eyes, suggested that it looked a bit like fire, but Reyna hadn't the heart to contradict him with her idea that it looked like the angry red of scars. At thirty years old and not old quite yet, Reyna knew that the only fighters with scars were the ones who lost, but she could wear them on her hair where they were beautiful and colorful rather than on her heart where they just hurt.
(Jason saw her in a polaroid Annabeth showed him of her visit to Texas. When he asked Annabeth what was up with Reyna's hair in the photo, she answered sharply that Reyna had changed. He left her with no word of how he was getting on as he went on with his life. Reyna wondered about him every now and again, but upon realizing she was busy enough to not have time to wonder, she knew she was better off this way.)
After getting in a scrape with illegal gunrunners and further proving her theory that trouble would always hunt her down, Reyna let Leo twist and tie her hair out of the way as he mended her many wounds with his able hands. Not tenderly brushing it out of her eyes like in the movies, but roughly tying it with a bread tie of all things, cursing frantically in Spanish until she was conscious enough to recognize him. She had stayed in his apartment for a week and at some point decided that he should add the prefix 'boy-'to his title of 'friend', but couldn't help feeling it was more of a support system than a functional relationship for both of them. At thirty-one years old and seeing a silver lining at last, Reyna knew that a half a loaf was better than none, and if Leo could make up the difference with the delicious empanadas he made, she found herself not minding the additional pound or two.
(Jason received word that Reyna and Leo had moved in together in an IM from Leo. When he laughed uneasily, not sure why he was uneasy, Leo sharply retorted that anyone would be blessed to have a chance with her. He left the conversation before he could say anything else. Reyna wondered if what she and Leo had was actually love, but after dozens of batches of flan, a couple of telenovela marathons, and hundreds of bad jokes, she knew that at least he wouldn't leave)
After getting a phone call for help from Percy in which he told her that Piper and Jason had hit a rocky spot and weren't speaking, what with Jason in Ukraine with the Marines, Reyna didn't even take her wet hair out of its towel before dragging a surprised Leo into her car and burning rubber towards San Francisco. She didn't even stop at a public restroom to dry it with a hand dryer, but made the trip nonstop while soaking through the headboard. She and Leo listened to an alternately sobbing and screaming Piper's story of how she'd gotten a letter from one of Jason's men that their CO had been tipsy one night and mentioned something about charmspeak and daughters of love and war and a girl back home whose name was rare in Spanish. They opened the door, thinking it was Annabeth, whom Leo had called as they crossed the state line, but found a serious man in a gray suit, notifying the next of kin that Sergeant Major Grace was seriously wounded. At thirty-two years old and still being thrown with every twist, Reyna was willing to fly to Ukraine and bring him back by herself or something equally as insane, but found herself doing something even harder- making the appropriate phone calls and inquiries and preparations as friends and relations arrived, again a lone leader as she slept with one eye open, waiting for Grace.
(Jason watched the proceedings in the blade of Katopris, which Piper had sent with him. When he was told that the shrapnel had been removed and his ribs were healing, he wondered why there was still an ache in his chest. He left the blade, which kept showing the stoic, dark haired woman, on the floor of a field hospital in Ukraine, as he was flown home. Reyna wondered if she would get lucky and when Jason came back this time it would be for her, but after feeling Leo's warm touch on her shoulders, she knew she wasn't supposed to wonder that anymore.)
After Jason was back and well enough to be visited, Reyna put up her hair with a mini-Festus comb that Leo had made. Not because it was particularly easy or convenient to put her hair up with a comb, but because Leo's eyes positively lit up when he saw it in her hair. Jason talked about anything and everything but Ukraine as everyone squeezed his hand and brought him balloons and wished him a speedy recovery, but when he took her hand and seemed about to say something, self-appointed nurse Piper ordered everyone to let him rest; the comb in Reyna's hair felt heavier than usual on the ride back. At thirty-two years old with the past almost repeating itself, Reyna wanted to be free of it, realizing that the humid west coast air was rather bad for her hair.
(Jason watched as she left, holding hands with Leo, neither of them looking back. When he called out to her, she was already out of earshot. He left her to her life in Texas as Piper came up behind him and ruffled his hair. Reyna wondered on the car ride back if she had forgotten anything in the hasty departure, but she only had to look at the sky blue of the ocean to know that she had left the part of her heart that Jason would always have.)
After returning to Texas and trying to go back to normal, Reyna dyed a blond streak in her once-again long hair. Not in memory of Aurum, her faithful dog that had passed away recently, but for Jason Grace and the thirty-seven missed calls from him that she couldn't make herself return. Thalia eyed it dubiously and said it looked 'lonely but somehow functional,' Leo jumped to her defense, saying it was 'a tribute to someone that can't come back,' but let them banter about her hair without telling them they were both right. At thirty-four years old and still a bit hollow, Reyna was still ill-equipped to heal broken hearts, but if a perfect world was impossible, golden blond hair dye certainly wasn't.
(Jason heard about the streak from Hazel, who had heard from Thalia. When he said he thought it was a bit strange for Reyna to be in her mid-thirties and still be using a style from their childhood, Hazel staunchly defended her former praetor, saying it was creative and pretty. He left her and Piper to gush about Reyna's hair. Reyna wondered when her hair had become so damn symbolic, but when she stumbled across a picture of her with her hair in a braid and Jason trying to photobomb, she knew it had been all along.)
After agreeing to a girls' day trip with Hazel and Annabeth, Reyna braided her hair, packed four daggers, and kissed Leo goodbye before driving to Dallas to meet her friends. Not that she thought lunch, a movie, and shopping were particularly dangerous tasks, but between the three of them, they had made plenty of enemies back in the day that might still want them dead. She was about to charge when she heard Leo's voice call for help in agony, but realized that it wasn't quite Leo's accent, that their duress word hadn't been spoken, that this was an ambush. At thirty-five years old but still a praetor at heart, she refused to let pregnant Hazel and unarmed Annabeth take on a Cyclops, so she ordered them to call for backup that couldn't possibly arrive on time, walking forward bravely with daggers drawn.
(Jason is distraught, ashamed, and many other things that this is the first time he's seeing her in four years and she's in a casket)
Her will is straightforward; she has few possessions and few close friends.
She leaves Annabeth some battle plans, designs for weapons, and the utmost respect. (She leaves her gray eyes clouded over in grief and shock)
She leaves Thalia her martial arts academy and a request to carry on the art they practice. (She leaves her wondering if immortality is worth it as she loses another friend)
She leaves Gwen all her photo albums, a half-finished scrapbook, and eternal thanks for being a wonderful friend. (She leaves her crying, without her trademark smile.)
She leaves Hazel a set of garnet jewelry, a sum of money to finally get a real art studio like she wanted, and gratitude for always being sweet, positive, and supportive. (She leaves her regretting that Reyna will never get to meet the baby she gave her life for.)
She leaves Piper an imperial gold dagger and instructions to be good to Jason. (She leaves her wondering why they never really made up and became friends like they could have been)
She leaves Hylla the rest of her weapons and a salute to the Queen she never managed while alive. (She leaves her wishing she had taken better care of her baby sister)
She leaves Frank her armor, helmet, and the best of luck as Praetor. (She leaves him shaking and sobbing as he loses another one of his heroes)
She leaves Percy her sword, shield, and an unrepayable debt for helping New Rome through a difficult time. (She leaves him thinking she's a stronger leader than he'll ever be)
She leaves Leo their house, some money, a secret recipe for salsa, and her love. (She leaves him without a goodbye kiss.)
She leaves Jason a lock of her hair. (She leaves him like he's been leaving her his whole life. She leaves him reeling. She leaves him empty. )
(She leaves him forever.)
Let me know what you think!