Hot Chocolate Heals All Wounds
Summary: Moving on is never easy, but with hot chocolate, love, laughter and Reyna by her side, Annabeth might just manage.
Pairings: Reynabeth and past Percabeth
A.N: This is both my first time writing Reynabeth and my first time writing smut. Yes, you heard right. Here there be smut. I wrote smut. I hope it doesn't suck.
There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate- Charles Dickens
Annabeth sat at the large Roman council table as complete strangers, a boy she loathed and the girl who saved her camp discussed her fate.
"This is ridiculous," Octavian stated, a sort of arrogance in voice that made Annabeth's stomach turn. She wondered if she'd ever sounded that arrogant. She hoped to her mother not.
"A Greek shall not serve as praetor of Camp Jupiter," he continued, "just because we didn't kill them does not make them our friends. It does not give them the right to rule over us."
"Jason is a leader at Camp Half-blood," Reyna said, looking regal and powerful with her royal purple toga and her confident posture, "it seems only fair that we give the Greeks a position in our government."
"Jason Grace is a turncoat, a traitor," Octavian sneered, "that does not mean that we should give an unqualified Greek a position in our government, let alone praetorship!" Annabeth took a deep breath. She tried to keep herself from telling this boy off. She needed to stay on the Romans' good side. The Greeks needed a representative to the Romans, and she'd made a promise to Reyna that she would try to be that someone. She couldn't screw it all up now.
"She is hardly unqualified," Reyna said, "Annabeth Chase led the seven on their quest to defeat the giants. If that doesn't qualify as leadership experience, then no one in this camp has any at all."
Annabeth felt a surge of pride after Reyna's speech and she felt herself grin.
"On another note," said a centurion, standing up, "we have already allowed a Greek as praetor. I suggest we allow her to finish up his praetorship, and then next election, the people can decide whether or not they want her to continue."
Reyna smiled at that and said, "That seems a sound suggestion, all those in favor say aye."
The hall rumbled with an almost unanimous aye. Annabeth smiled.
"Miss Chase," Reyna says, "it seems that you are to be my fellow praetor."
"It seems I am," Annabeth replied.
"Would you like to get some hot chocolate to celebrate?" Reyna asked.
"Of course," Annabeth said, remembering the first time she had met the girl, "chocolate is universal."
"Two hot chocolates, please," Reyna asked the barista.
"What exactly does a praetorship entail?" asked Annabeth.
"Public appearances," Reyna said, "occasionally making decisions for the good of the camp, wearing a purple toga and paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork."
"Are there any perks to this flood of paperwork I'll be completing?" Annabeth asked, as the barista gave the two their drinks.
"Praetors have a lot of power and sway at this camp," Reyna said, "and you get your own house."
"Now that's a perk," Annabeth said, chuckling.
They sat down at a high top table for two.
"I'm sorry for springing this on you," Reyna said earnestly, "it's just, we needed a Greek representative to try to keep the peace. You were the only person who seemed qualified that I liked." Annabeth took a sip of her hot chocolate. It felt warm and soothing on her tongue. The chocolate surrounding it in a blanket of her favorite flavor.
"Praetors probably have to do a lot of work together, don't they?" asked Annabeth.
"Yes," said Reyna, "it's why they so often become romantically involved together."
Annabeth took a deep breath, and contemplated whether or not she should even ask this question. Eventually, her curiosity won out over her common sense and she found herself asking, "Were you and Jason ever involved?"
Reyna gave her a wistful look and replied, "No, we weren't. I always kind of assumed that we would end up that way, though. Until Aphrodite told me that he and I weren't meant to be together. Then I started doubting it. I suppose after I saw him with the daughter of Aphrodite I realized that she was right. He'd never looked at me that way. I'm not even sure I ever loved him. He was my best friend, my only friend; really, it just hurt for him to be gone so long. I was afraid he was dead." That brought back memories of when Percy was missing. Annabeth had felt so alone and she had been terrified for him. She had never thought she'd find someone who would empathize with that.
"I know how you feel," Annabeth replied, earnestly, "Reyna; I know exactly how you feel about that."
"I'm sorry that I just emotional dumped on you," she said, and Annabeth was fondly surprised to hear the girl say something so modern and improper. Normally the girl's speech was so formal.
"It's just that I haven't really had anyone to talk to about this," she said.
"Consider me your friend, then," Annabeth said, "anything you need to talk about, just tell me."
"Thank you," Reyna said, "I'll keep that in mind. And keep in mind: we'll be spending a lot of time together."
Annabeth took another sip of her cocoa, which was now more lukewarm than hot. She gulped it down and she and Reyna headed for her new villa.
After a month of praetor duties Annabeth decided that she didn't particularly like the job. It was as strenuous as designing Olympus had been, but much less fulfilling. At least she loved architecture; she hated paperwork with all her being. The only thing keeping her sane was Reyna and her strong, comforting presence. The murmurs of Graecus from the campers and the ghosts certainly weren't helping her to feel at home. She wondered if accepting Reyna's offer to be a link between the camps hadn't been an awful mistake. Occasionally, she would see Frank or Hazel. Frank would always give her a timid smile and Hazel would come over and talk for a while, but it wasn't as comforting as it should be. She had terrible dreams at night, but she tried to forget about them during the day.
On top of her other worries, a thunder storm had rolled in. Her hair was soaked, and the wind was whipping it around on her head.
"Were both soaking wet," Reyna said, "Let's go get a drink."
Gods yes, Annabeth needed some hot chocolate to help ground her at this moment. Literally, she felt as though the gale force winds were blowing her away.
"Two hot chocolates, please," Reyna asked.
"How are you paying for this?" Annabeth asked.
"Praetors do get a salary, Annabeth," she said, "we have to run an entire camp. They can't not pay us at least a bit." She raised a fair point, Annabeth thought, and she was totally unopposed to the idea of being paid.
They sat down at the same table as the last time.
"I don't think that you've enjoyed your first month of praetorship," Reyna stated.
"Not really," Annabeth admitted, "it's stressful."
"I know the feeling," Reyna said, "I felt like I was going to pop my first few weeks on the job."
"Really?" Annabeth asked, "it seems like you'd be a natural at this sort of thing."
"I don't think anyone's a natural at this," Reyna said, chuckling. Annabeth heard a clap of thunder.
"Does it get easier?" Annabeth asked, remembering all the times this month that she felt like tearing out her hair.
"A bit," Reyna said, and then she took a sip of her hot chocolate.
"It's weird," Annabeth said, "I feel comfortable with you, more comfortable than I've felt with anyone in a long time."
"That's strange," said Reyna, "I'm not exactly a soothing presence."
"Neither am I," said Annabeth, "and you seem fine with me. It seems that we just make each other feel comfortable."
"My sister always said that I was too uptight," Reyna said, chuckling.
"Hylla," Annabeth asked, "right? Queen of the Amazons?"
"Yes," Reyna said, a wistful look on her face, "we don't really talk much anymore."
"Why?" Annabeth asked, remembering the past divide between herself and her father.
"We had a few too many differing viewpoints," Reyna said, "she wanted to be an Amazon, I, a Roman."
"Maybe you should talk to her sometime," Annabeth suggested.
"Maybe," Reyna said, leaving it to dangle.
"It's a good idea," Annabeth insisted.
"You say that about all your ideas," Reyna said.
"That's because they're all good," Annabeth said with a smirk, "I made Arachne weave her own cage, after all."
Annabeth took a sip of hot chocolate and then the lights went out.
Everything was black. Annabeth couldn't see Reyna. She couldn't see her green mug on the table. She couldn't see anything. Anything but blackness. Annabeth started breathing quick and shallow breaths.
She remembered Tartarus. Blackness, eternal, never-ending blackness. Percy's fingers against her own. Unbearable heat, the sounds of monsters all around her. Red, demonic eyes.
You're damned, just like the rest of us.
Mother Gaea brought us a snack.
Little demigods come to play.
Athena's precious daughter, lied to me, tricked me, made me weave my own cage. I'll destroy you. Rip you limb from limb and make your little boyfriend watch.
Every battle could be her last. Fighting on instinct alone. Sleeping curled next to Percy forever wondering if they'd ever wake up. Never ending pain. The fear, the borderline madness. Percy's screams.
"Annabeth!" a voice called her out of her infernal memories. She felt arms wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to artificial lights and a black braid in her face. Reyna's hair had a soothing mint smell. That was odd; Annabeth had never thought that hair could smell so nice.
"Reyna?" she asked cautiously.
"Annabeth," she breathed, "I was afraid for you. You seemed like you were having a panic attack."
"I'm alright," she lied. She pushed the memories to the darkest corner of her mind. Reyna released her hold of her and sent her a concerned look.
"I'm fine," Annabeth insisted.
"Maybe we should go back now," Reyna said.
"Yeah," Annabeth said, "That might be for the best."
Her nightmares might not have gotten any better, but praetorship got easier. It was nice spending so much time with Reyna. She had really grown attached to the girl. The paperwork was becoming second nature to her. She could allow her mind to wander to different architectural styles she would like to try in the future, and the murmurs of Graecus had almost stopped bothering her. She and Reyna had started going out for drinks once a week, and become great friends. Telling each other secrets, dreams, and occasionally creating an inside joke. Funny as it was, Annabeth, who had almost never trusted anyone, now trusted Reyna with her life.
Annabeth and Reyna arrived at the coffee shop and as soon as Reyna opened her mouth the barista replied, "Two hot chocolates?"
"You know us too well," Reyna said.
"Hylla and I ran into some of the Amazons on our way to the Wolf House," said Reyna, "that's when she joined them."
"What are they like?" asked Annabeth. She had never met the Amazons and was curious.
"They were amazing," said Reyna, "strong, confident, important, everything that I had always wanted to be. You remind me a bit of them with your tough physique and the confidence you carry yourself with."
Annabeth laughed, "so that's why you thought I was an Amazon?"
"Amazons are the toughest people I've ever met," Reyna said, "that was a compliment."
"Why didn't you join them?" asked Annabeth. It sounded as though Reyna really admired the Amazons.
"My mother, Bellona had appeared to me before we met the Amazons," Reyna said nostalgically, "she said that I would find my home at Camp Jupiter. No matter how much I craved power, I wanted a place to call home more." Annabeth smiled and took a sip of her soothing hot chocolate. Reyna took the opportunity to take the conversation away from her feelings.
"I'm just a bit afraid you won't be re-elected," confided Reyna, "the Feast of Fortuna is coming and you haven't done anything to cement your place."
"If I'm not reelected," said Annabeth, "that's alright. I don't really need the position."
Reyna rolled her eyes, "What is with you Greeks refusing power? You're just like Percy."
Just like Percy.
Percy.
And that's when it all hit her.
The fall.
Tartarus,
And the end.
Annabeth stumbled out of the doors. Her broken ankle still ached. Her body was a starry sky of cuts and bruises, but the sunlight on her skin for the first time in weeks felt more rejuvenating than even the ambrosia and nectar she'd grown so accustomed to consuming. She looked behind herself, but Percy wasn't there. He wasn't through the doors, and they were closing.
"Percy!" she screamed, jumping towards the door, "Percy!"
"Annabeth," he said, the door shutting in her face, "Nico said the doors had to be closed from the inside. Someone had to stay." His voice cracked, "I couldn't let it be you. It had to be me." She heard nothing but Percy's voice and her own tense breathing.
"Percy, let me in," she screamed, pounding on the door, "Percy! You can't do this!" She heard footsteps coming up behind her, but whether it was her friend or a monster, she neither knew nor cared.
"Annabeth," he said, "y-you have to let me go."
"Never," she yelled, "you promised me forever. You said that we'd stay together! Damn it, Percy!"
"I love you, Annabeth," he said, and then she heard him scream. Probably his dying scream.
She felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and saw Nico di Angelo wearing an expression of anguish. She heard the screams of her friends and the cries of dying monsters. The air reeked of smoke and sulfur. She drew her knife, and finally let her tears fall as the world burned around her.
When she surfaced, Reyna had her arms wrapped around her again.
"Reyna," Annabeth said, between sobs.
"I'm here, Annabeth," she said, running a comforting hand through Annabeth's hair, "I'm here."
Annabeth tried to choke back her sob, but to no avail. A thunderstorm of tears fell from her eyes and a wildfire seared her throat. Annabeth tried to focus on the soothing hand running through her curls and not the searing pain in her throat, or in her heart. She tried not to focus on the black hole in her heart, destroying all her happiness and replacing it with memories of Percy. She cried herself dry and there was puddle of water on Reyna's purple toga.
"Sorry," she mumbled, trying to pull herself off of her friend.
"Annabeth," Reyna said, "it's alright. I-I know that you must miss him. You need to get your feelings out somehow. It's unhealthy to bottle them up- I'd know."
Annabeth gave her a small smile through her stormy eyes and she took a sip of hot cocoa.
"I think I should go back now," Annabeth said, her voice cracking.
"I understand," Reyna said, a sad smile on her face. Annabeth didn't doubt that she did.
Annabeth was not reelected praetor. She lost by a narrow margin to a son of Apollo from the third cohort. She went to her villa and started packing her things. She hadn't made much of a difference being here, and now she wasn't praetor, there was no use of her staying here any longer. No one wanted her here, and Annabeth made a point not to stay where she wasn't wanted. She heard the door open, and Reyna stood in her doorway. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a Camp Jupiter shirt. She still managed to look regal with her single French braid cascading down her back and her confident stance.
"Annabeth," she said, "you don't have to leave."
At that precise moment, Annabeth accidentally picked up a bra and she blushed in an embarrassment.
"There isn't any reason for me to stay," Annabeth said, "I don't like to intrude where I'm not wanted."
"You are wanted here," said Reyna, coming closer to Annabeth, "at least I want you here."
"But, Reyna," Annabeth said, "I'm not praetor anymore; I can't actually help with peace and crap."
"I don't care, Annabeth," Reyna said, taking a step closer. Now, their faces were inches away.
"I know how much you love architecture," Reyna said, "you could enroll at the University, they have a fantastic program."
"And how would I manage that," Annabeth asked, "I haven't completed my ten years. I've never even been marked."
"Praetors do have some sway," Reyna said, smirking, "I could pull some strings."
"Reyna," Annabeth said, "I'm sorry, but I feel like an outsider here. I'm the Graecus, born of a maiden mother. I'm the child of broken vows, remember?"
"Annabeth," she said, "These past few months have been the happiest of my life." The look on Reyna's face told Annabeth that she'd said more than she intended, but she kept on going.
"When you're around, Annabeth," she said, "I don't feel so alone."
"Reyna," she said breathlessly. Annabeth's heart stopped. She hadn't felt this way in forever, since Percy. She could feel the memories breaking through the flood gates and tried her best to banish them. She could feel herself going into another panic attack. She could feel her breath speeding up.
"Annabeth," Reyna said with a concerned tone, cupping her face. Annabeth remembered something that Percy had said when he closed the doors; you have to let me go. Annabeth tried to get a hold of herself. She needed to ground herself in the present.
She looked at Reyna and focused on her, her stoic face that lit up when they were alone, her black eyes that bored into Annabeth's soul, her mint scented hair, her laugh, and her calloused fingers running soothingly through Annabeth's hair. She looked at Reyna, really looking at her and saw the vulnerable look in her eyes, afraid that Annabeth would go into another panic attack, or maybe even reject her.
Let me go, Percy's voice echoed through her head and she seized her opportunity.
Annabeth leaned forward and kissed her. Reyna pressed back against her and started moving her lips with enthusiasm. Reyna tasted of hot chocolate and jelly beans and sweets. Thank the gods for Reyna's sweet tooth, Annabeth had time to think before she lost coherent thought. Reyna dug her fingers into Annabeth's hair and Annabeth reached for Reyna's bra strap, unhitching it. Reyna followed her lead and Reyna's hand slid up the back of her shirt, undoing Annabeth's bra strap. She lifted her shirt and her bra fell to the floor. Reyna did the same.
"You look incredible," Annabeth muttered, taking in Reyna's topless form.
"Not as much as you," Reyna said, kissing Annabeth again.
She looked down at Annabeth's pants and said in a tone that went straight to Annabeth's crotch, "Let's get rid of these, shall we?"
Annabeth had no witty retort, so she just slid off her pants as quickly as possible. They were both naked and she drank in Reyna's form. Reyna was about the same height as she, maybe an inch taller. She had plump breasts, a toned stomach and a curly trail of black pubic hair. She felt the bed behind her and Reyna pushed her down onto it.
She looked up and saw Reyna, who set herself down onto Annabeth. She caressed Annabeth's breasts for a moment, and Annabeth tried to rub herself against Reyna. Reyna got the message and started rubbing herself against Annabeth. Annabeth raked her nails across Reyna's back and received a low growl in response. The tension within Annabeth was rising. They were both wet, and Annabeth's erect clit dug against Reyna. The feeling was tantalizing. She tried to rub herself against Reyna, harder, harder, but the girl had her pinned. Reyna had set the pace, and it was driving Annabeth insane. She let out a moan. A deep throaty moan and Reyna started to move faster. The tension was building and so was the sensation. Annabeth felt like she might explode if she didn't have release soon.
"Reyna," she demanded in frustration. She wanted to scream, but instead she thrust towards Reyna. The added sensation finally did it. It sent her over the threshold. The world went white. She felt pleasure course through her body, and she heard herself scream, though it sounded far away. Reyna continued to rub against her as she rode out her orgasm, but what seemed like a few moments later, she heard Reyna scream as well. She cuddled into the covers and went to sleep.
Annabeth awoke hours later naked in her bed, using Reyna's stomach as a pillow. She stirred a bit and she felt Reyna move underneath her.
"Did we," Annabeth asked.
"Yeah," Reyna replied, "we did." She paused a moment, "You don't regret it, do you?"
"No," Annabeth said, snuggling back into Reyna's arms, "never. I don't do regrets."
Annabeth decided to stay in New Rome and attend the University to study architecture. She and Reyna met up every Friday for a hot chocolate date and she would spend Friday night at Reyna's. Sometimes, they would have sex, and sometimes they would just watch a movie and cuddle, sleeping together in the most innocent way possible. She loved and she learned and she was building something permanent.
She visited her friends at Camp Half-blood, and her father and she introduced Reyna to everyone that she loved. They were all happy that she found someone that would make her happy, found a way to move on.
Reyna introduced, or rather reintroduced her to Hylla who was pleased with her sister's choice in girlfriend. Annabeth just approved of the fact that Reyna was mending her ties with her sister.
Annabeth never forgot Percy. He was her best friend and her first love, but she was able to move on. She was able to remember her past but still look to her future, and the future that she saw with Reyna was bright, beautiful and passionate.
A.N: I hope this one didn't suck.