Thalia had not expected herself to fall in love once again.
As the lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis she was supposed to swear off men and dedicate her life to the hunt as an immortal hunter, recruiting other girls to join Lady Artemis. And if she did fell in love with a man Artemis would've turned her into some sort of animal (One of the older ex-huntress' Kallisto and Polyphonte was an example, and also partly the reason she left her demigod life behind. Thalia did not want to be treated as a pawn or a trophy by her father thank you very much)
Fortunately, the person she had fell for was a girl.
Unfortunately, the girl in question was Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, the cute and suave Roman praetor who once had a crush on not just her little brother, but Percy as well. (Thalia will preach to the fact her cousin is handsome in a godly way, but it doesn't change the fact he was a total idiot at times.)
This of course brought up a lot of problems. One, Thalia wasn't even sure whether Artemis tolerated lesbian, since her lady did say to swear off to men but never did she say anything about women. Two, she was a 100% sure that Reyna was as straight as a ruler. (Technically those two were the current main problems and Thalia can't argue on anything else because hey, homosexuality was the norm until Christianity took over)
Thalia tried to think of other things to take her mind off her crush, but it never worked. Everything around her seems to remind her of Reyna for some reason and it kept bringing her mind back to the beautiful woman, with her thick eyelashes that framed piercing black eyes and her glossy black hair tied into a simple braid, everything about her screamed beautiful and warrior to Thalia.
Days turned to months, and her affections for the praetor did not wavered, rather it had sunk into a forbidden corner in her heart that Thalia had desperately tried to seal off: Love.
Honestly, was there anything NOT to love about Reyna? She was a leader and a warrior, and though she may seemed cold and distant at first glance Thalia knew from experience that once you'd gained her trust, that trust will last for centuries. And gods that smile of her's that send sparks running down Thalia's spine as she fought to not blush every time that smile was aimed at her. Though she had to fight the urge to electrocute someone whenever Reyna's attention had been on some other person than her.
It did not help that the girl kept making trips to visit the hunt whenever she could to bring in girls from Camp Jupiter who wanted an immortal life away from men. With every visit Reyna made and every moment the shared together, Thalia fell deeperand deeper in love with the praetor.
Reyna had unknowningly stole her heart, and Thalia wasn't sure if she had wanted to take it back. The last time she had gave her heart to someone though...
Confused and scared by her own emotions, Thalia made a visit to a certain someone once the hunt had traveled to Camp Half-Blood, someone who also knew Reyna well.
~~~~ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᏰᎧᎩᏕ~~~~
"Let me get this straight, you're in love with Reyna," Thalia nodded, hugging the pillow close to her chest as she looked away from Nico with an embarrassed flush and a hesitant nod. "And you want my assistance and teaching in how to woo someone you like?"
Another nod.
Nico raised an eyebrow, "And why do you want my help? If you had wanted someone to help you play matchmaker the Aphrodite Cabin will be happy to help you out," Thalia rolled her eyes, "You're the only guy I know who has a same-sex lover and somehow got a boyfriend in less than a week. I'm a hunter, I already swore off to men but Lady Artemis had never mentioned-"
"Loving a woman in a romantic sense?" Nico suggested, earned him another nod from the huntress. "Did you asked her about it before you suddenly barged into my cabin at 3 AM in the morning screaming about an emergency when it turns out to be about your nearly-nonexistent love life?"
Thalia stared, "You weren't even sleeping when I got here. You were singing to emo songs, by the way what's the title of this song? Sounds catchy to me,"
"It's Girls/Girls/Boys by Panic! At the Disco," Nico muttered, a blush dusting his cheeks at the fact his cousin had caught him singing Wake Me Up Inside when she had barged in. Thalia hummed, tilting her head to the side she closed her eyes as she focused on the music floating through the soundproofed cabin.
Girls love girls and boys
Girls love girls and boys
And never did I think that I
Would be caught in the way you got me
But girls love girls and boys
And love is not a choice
"...hey Neeks, how do you know when you love someone?" Nico stared at the daughter of Zeus, who looked calculating as she stared at her hands as though they held the secrets of the universe. "I mean, I think I did love someone before I became a hunter but all these feelings are confusing to me and I-"
"It was Luke, wasn't it?" Thalia stopped, looking at Nico in surprise, "How did you-"
Nico shrugged, "Annabeth told me she was traveling with you two before coming to camp, and since you enjoyed the demigod life for a few months before becoming a hunter I pieced two and two together,"
Thalia stared at the son of death, "Since when did you become so perspective?"
"Since Will confessed to me that he had a humongous crush on me since the Titan War," Nico dryly answered, playing with the sleeves of his aviator jacket in embarrassment as he avoided Thalia's stare. "He confessed to me and I returned it, because my feelings for him were also confusing at that time,"
"He makes me smile, makes me blush at even the smallest teasing. I laugh at his jokes even if they do sound cheesy or dark at times. He treats me not like the son of death who brought the Athena Parthenos back to camp and a hero of two wars, but as Nico di Angelo a normal kid who summons ghosts with McDonald's to play Mythomagic with him in graveyards. I feel happy just being around him, and butterflies start to appear in my stomach when he laughs or smiles at me. I don't know how love is for others, but to me someone you love is the one person who sees you for who you are and makes you happy,"
"...dude, that's deep," Nico playfully punched her shoulders, "Shut up, what I'm trying to say is that everyone has a different perspective on love and how it works. You shouldn't be asking me how I feel for Will but asking yourself what you feel around Reyna. If it's love, you'll know it yourself,"
Thalia continued to remain silent.
~~~~ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᏰᎧᎩᏕ~~~~
"Nico, I need an insight view for this... crisis," The demigod turned towards Reyna in confusion, they were currently in the arena sparring with a couple of hunters, (They had neutrally accepted Nico since he was gay and an important cousin of their lieutenant) "What do you mean?"
BOOM!
The two turned to face the commotion, only to find Thalia with her shirt signed off leaving her in her sports bra and a hunter on the ground. "Nothing to see here, get back to training!"
Nico heard the noise of a dying animal behind him and turned, only to find Reyna covering her very red face with her hands as she non-subtly ogled Thalia's muscular body. His talk with his cousin a few weeks ago came back to mind and he hid his grin, "You like Thals, don't you?"
Reyna nodded with a cough, the redness in her cheeks never fading. "I... Lady Venus had approached me once, saying that no demigod will heal my heart. Taking a lover of the same sex is quite normal in Roman history but I had never seen any girl that way," Nico hummed, twirling his skull ring, "Don't worry, it just meant you hadn't found the right girl until her," He inclined his head in Thalia's direction.
"And I don't think Aphrodite's words will apply to Thals,"
Reyna cocked her head to the side curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Well for starters, every woman that joins Artemis' hunt has either been a Greek princess, a demigod, a nymph and more," His mind couldn't help but flashed back to Bianca, the phantom pain in his heart ached a little. "Once they joined the hunt though, their heritage or blood doesn't matter as they are hunters from then on, and nothing else."
"Thalia isn't a daughter of Zeus or a child of the Big Three to many. Rather, she's just the lieutenant of Artemis' hunt," Reyna's eyes widened at the realisation as Nico gave her a wink, "If you do like her, don't stand by the sidelines and win her over,"
"...since when did you became such a love expert?"
Nico snorted, "Since people kept coming to me about their love problems rather than a Aphrodite kid," He was not going to tell her he secretly read cheesy romance novels in his spare time.
Plus, it was like a big 'FUCK YOU' with middle fingers in neon lights to that dam Cupid.
~~~~ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᏰᎧᎩᏕ~~~~
"My lady, I have a question to ask out of curiosity," Thalia asked out, keeping her head down even as she heard the rustling of maps and the clinking of weapons as Artemis turned to face her, "Yes, my lieutenant?"
"Is it wise for a hunter to fall for a woman?"
Silence followed her words, the woods outside the tent was a hushed silence as Thalia waited for the goddess' answer with a bated breath. "Let me show you something," Artemis said as Thalia looked up to watch her pull something out of her pocket. A polaroid picture, her mind supplied. Artemis handed it to Thalia with a small smile, "This is Hemithea and Josephine with their daughter, Georgie,"
The two woman in the picture were holding up a little girl with brown hair and dark eyes, all three of them had big smiles plastered on their faces as the sun descended in the background. But what caught Thalia's attention was the the outfit one of the woman was wearing, a silver jacket similar to the Hunt's outfit.
"What,"
"They were hunters before they resigned. Currently they're living in Waystation with their daughter," Thalia met Artemis' eyes in shock.
The goddess smiled knowingly at her lieutenant, "I may not be Aphrodite but I do know what love is, you may court the Roman praetor but in the end when the time comes you'll have to make your choice. I only wished for my hunters well-being and happiness in the end,"
Thalia continued to gape like a fish out of water before she found her voice back, "How- I don't know- dam- wait, does this mean I can date Reyna for real?"
Artemis nodded, amusement twinkling in her eyes, "Yes Thalia, I think the proper wording for this moment would be 'Go get her, tiger',"
~~~~ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᎶᎥᏒᏝᏕ/ᏰᎧᎩᏕ~~~~
Reyna arrived at the clearing Nico had told her to meet up at, holding a picnic basket as she continued to look at the drawn map he had gave her, "Nico, why in Hera's name did you want me to pack a bunch of McDonald's burgers? I thought Will had put you on a strict diet..."
"Reyna?!"
She stopped as her head snapped up to meet vivid blue eyes in shock. "Thalia?!"
Thalia stood at the opposite end of the clearing, dressed in the usual hunter's garb in. Reyna coughed, trying not to blush as those electric blue eyes stared her down in disbelief and curiosity, fuck I'm gay for this woman. "I'm sorry, I think I took a wrong turn. I was supposed to meet up with Nico with these," She gestured to the picnic basket in hand.
Thalia raised an eyebrow, "Funny you mention that, because I was supposed to meet up with Nico as well, he said something about wanting to spar with me,"
Reyna's eyes widened in confusion, "What in the world..."
"Are you two Thalia and Reyna?" A voice cut in, the both of them turned to stare as a wood nymph came out of the woods holding a red-white checkered blanket. Reyna nodded slowly, "Yes we are, state your business," The nymph dropped the blnekt onto the ground between them with a knowing smile, "A young demigod wearing an aviator jacket told me to give this to you if you two were to arrive here today. Hope you enjoy your date~" As fast as she had appeared, the nymph disappeared back into the forest with a giggle, off to tell her friends of the interesting experience she had today.
Silence fell upon the clearing before both Reyna and Thalia burst into a shade of red indescribable, "NICO!"
Reyna turned back, glancing at Thalia with an apologetic nod. "I'm sorry that Nico had to use you to play a prank against me, Thalia. I'm going to go to kill a certain demigod now. Bye-"
"Wait," Thalia's command halted her in her tracks before she turned around, only to find Thalia spreading the blanket on the ground. "...great," Reyna blinked in confusion, "I'm sorry Thalia but you'll have to speak louder because I can't hear you-"
"I SAID GOING ON A DATE WITH YOU SOUNDS GREAT," Thalia shouted, her blush darkening her skin.
"..." The Hunter looked away from Reyna, "I had a crush on you for some time now, I mean you're beautiful and all plus you make me calm in a way I can't describe. I'm... sensitive to emotions and I tend to burst when I'm angry but with you... I don't dare use my powers against you even if I'm extremely angry. Not to mention you're a badass in a leather jacket and I meant that in a metaphorical way,"
The hope in her chest faded into dust the longer Reyna remained silent and she bowed her head, "You don't have to date me now that you know, so feel free to reject me right here and now-"
"Wait wait wait, who says anything about rejecting?!" Thalia stopped, looking up to stare at Reyna and noticing for the first time since their first meeting, the girl was blushing. Combined that blush with the glow of the sun illuminating behind her and the image was beautiful on a godly level to Thalia.
"...I never liked girls in a romantic sense since the only boys I had fallen for was Jason and Percy," Reyna began slowly, "And I met Lady Venus once who told me that no demigod shall heal my heart, so I gave up hope on dating until you caught my eye," Staring at Thalia as she spoke, the girl hoped that her message would reached the freckled girl. "At first, I thought Nico was playing a horrible prank on me seeing as only he knew about my crush on you-"
"You told Neeks too?!" Thalia's embarrassed shout caught her attention before Reyna processed her words, "Wait, 'too'? Are you saying that Nico knew I had a crush on you and you had a crush on me?"
Thalia's silence said it all as the two thought, Neeks/Nico is going to get it.
"So," Thalia coughed, jabbing a thumb towards the blanket laid on the ground, "Shall we get this date going?" Reyna smirked, moving towards Thalia and resisting the urge to skip from happiness. "Sounds like a great idea, I have McDonald's with me. Do you prefer cheese or beef?" The hunter snorted, "Cheese duh, never really liked the beef burger that much,"
"Another thing we have in common then," She was going to enjoy this date to the fullest, and hopefully get a girlfriend by the end of it.
EXTRA:
"So, Thalia and Reyna huh?" Nico nodded, war paint on his cheeks as he spied on his cousin and best friend through a binoculars. "Reyna deserves happiness and so does Thalia, plus they like each other so it's a win-win situation for me," Will hummed, dressed in the same garb like his boyfriend. "And why are we spying on them?"
"Because I needed to make sure that this date doesn't end in a disaster,"
"I see... you do know that Reyna and Thalia will probably kill you later on for what you did, right?" Nico nodded again, though this time with a resigned look in his eyes backed by steely determination, "Yup, and I'm ready to accept whatever harm they inflict on me by then,"
Will slapped his boyfriend's back with a frown, "You're supposed to run away and hide when that happens, idiot." Nico mirrored his expression, "Don't you know the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'? Besides, if I did run away the pain when they find me is going to be tenfold. I thought you knew that since your Cabin pissed Clarisse off when she was on her time of the month?"
"... touché," Clarisse's revenge back then was brutal and reminded everyone that there was a reason she was the Ares' cabin leader since she was a kid.
