So, I was looking through the Jason/Reyna communities, and a lot of them were angst, one... And two, a lot of the summeries were Reyna calling Jason a liar. Well, in this one too, and you'll see why. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the published world (yet).

Thanks to Wikipedia and their list of a whole bunch of cakes. It made me hungry, and I finally figured what marzipan is.

Liar, Liar

She woke up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Soon her senses were awake and sharp. She swung her legs out of bed, showered, and got dressed in five minutes flat. It was nearly a science at this point.

She wandered into the front part of her house, her stomach asking for breakfast since a unicorn incident had required her to miss most of supper, and noticed something on the coffee table of the living room like area. She walked towards it, and saw a miniature cake with a candle planted in the middle. She could smell it, and it smelled really good... She rolled her eyes, and picked it up before depositing of it in the mini fridge. She'd sort it out later. Or the second she got her hands on Jason Grace...

At breakfast he sat down next to her at the praetor's table and she beat him to whatever he was going to tell her.

"I told you not to do anything for my birthday," She said. "You agreed! You liar."

"Of course I lied, I had to do something." He said. Reyna rolled her eyes.

"What is it? Banana bread with icing?" She asked.

"And a candle," Jason said. He'd found out her favourite cake when they'd had free time -hallelujah free time- last month and they'd walked around New Rome and loitered in the shops. Cato's Cake Shop had been one of their first stops and they'd spent gods knew (and Reyna didn't even want to know) how long just looking at all the different kinds of cake. From Red Velvet, to Opera cake, tiramisu, to cheesecake, to French vanilla, to cream puffs…

Cato –the owner- knew Jason since he was two years old, and so they'd gotten a taste of one type of cake. Reyna had gone for the banana bread. With nuts. And gods of Olympus- it was the best thing ever! Her ambrosia had started tasting like banana bread. She'd had a feeling right there that he'd never forget that. She'd also had a feeling she'd never forget the look on his face when he'd discovered she liked cake.

Gwen walked up to the table –although whenever Gwen moved, it looked as if the legacy of Cupid were gliding-, dragging Dakota –who was most definitely not gliding- towards the table.

She pulled something from behind her back and handed Reyna what looked like a muffin with an unlit candle.

"Happy Birthday!" She said.

"Hurray!" Dakota added, the enthusiasm only layered on to impress Gwen.

Reyna gave Jason a look.

"Thanks guys," she said. The muffin was still warm, and so was its scent.

"Is that a banana nut muffin?" She asked.

"They did that all on their own, I said nothing." Jason said, hands up.

"I told all of you not to make a fuss for my birthday, and you all agreed. I'm surrounded by liars. But… Just this once, I guess that's okay," she said ripping chunks of the muffin off and handing them out.

Reyna walked into the Principia where Jason was sitting in front of a pile of letters of recommendation that had gotten messed up by a Lar who'd mistaken himself for a freaking poltergeist sometime before supper- which she'd missed again.

She chocked when she saw the pile.

"You said it was just a bit of a mess!" She said.

"All is relative!" Jason said. "If you've ever seen the room where they store these- this is just a bit of it."

That didn't mean they wouldn't be here until midnight sorting this out.

"Plus it's my birthday," Reyna pretended to pout. Jason looked up at her with half a smile.

"I'll make it up to you," he promised. "Tomorrow I'll make time and we can go to the armour store, or spare, or something."

"You are a genius, but I don't think creating time is one of your talents," she said. "But it's a promise."

She pulled his bed sheets off, even if she doubted anything was there. A note to them wouldn't be like him because he, first off, had horrible penmanship he tried not to show off, and secondly, it just didn't fit. Plus what would he have to say?

"Reyna, he's not there." Gwen said softly.

"He was there yesterday," Reyna muttered uselessly. Panic was starting to gain on her because she had this horrible feeling that she wasn't going to see him for a while. Screw the plans for the armour shop even if he had made a promise; this was serious.

"Rally the cohorts for muster," she said. "Hazel, can you run over and tell the cohorts to assemble for muster."

"Me? But they won't listen to-"

"You tell them I sent you." Reyna said. They better listen to Hazel then.

"Yes, Reyna." She said, running off. Reyna threw the sheets back down. She saw a note on the mattress and she picked it up. It was more of a memo actually.

Ask Vitellius to do armour count for time in New Rome with Re

And there was half a 'y', as if he was going to write her name but the pen had been snatched from his hand.

Or he'd been taken. Or paralysed. Or kidnapped. Or, or, or…

Reyna slipped it in her pocket.

"Gwen, Dakota; ready the fifth cohort as well." Reyna said, heading towards the door. Some part of her was relieved- he hadn't just left, he hadn't just run away for some unknown reason.

But at the same time the worry was growing on her because who or what could and would kidnap Jason Grace?

She looked into his eyes for the first time in months, facing him. She had to look up to see his face because she might be tall, but he was taller than her by a good few inches.

"Anything you'd like to say to me, Grace?" She asked, holding his forearm as his fingers closed around hers, in their usual handshake.

"Yeah; sorry I never got to take you to New Rome for your birthday," he said. "Juno really couldn't wait."

Or she doesn't want me getting in the life of her hero, Reyna thought once she was in his arms, in a hug she was beyond ready to get. Too bad for her. Her hero doesn't lie.

Reyna paced from one side of the room to the other. She reached the wall and stormed towards the other, rounded back towards the other, and back.

"Reyna, you're not a caged animal." Annabeth said gently. "You can stop pacing."

"I feel trapped," Reyna said. "I feel trapped inside of me. Like I'm stuck and there's a door but someone left with the key. And I don't even have a bobby pin to cheat my way out. Have you ever felt it?"

"Yes," Annabeth said carefully. "I've been lied to and betrayed as well."

"Well then let me pace." Reyna said.

Annabeth sighed, but she knew to let Reyna pace after all. They were alike in ways not many people thought they could be friends thanks to. They were both strong, independent, they both held their heads high, they could be prideful at times, and aggressive others. And they both had that little piece of them somewhere deep down that someone special would find, wake up, and make them love with. Both of them had been through all of that as well, and both of them had worried for months and searched fruitlessly, just for the heck of it, because they were both restless when there was nothing to do, and not even patience could help.

"Reyna, what are you going to do?" Annabeth asked after she'd watched Reyna go back and forth thirteen more times. "Pace forever?"

Reyna sighed.

"No."

"Exactly. So come here, sit down. Take a deep breath, take a break; and talk to me."

"I'm not a talker." Reyna said, sitting down.

"I know you aren't, which is why you have to talk now."

Reyna turned her face the other side.

"Come on," Annabeth said. "It's me. I'm your best Greek friend. I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I'm too much like you to do that. I'm the best person to talk to right now and you know it."

"Even if you are you still wouldn't understand!" Reyna exploded. "You don't understand how sick and angry I feel because him right now!"

"Reyna, I think you're sad. You just don't want to admit it."

She groanned. "That too. I suppose I can say it to you... Mars Almighty- thank gods he is out of my reach because I might hurt him!"

"Don't say that, because you don't mean it." Annabeth said.

"I mean it!" Reyna took a deep breath to recompose the image of a strong and stone-faced and hearted praetor she was. "Annabeth, I make even less promises then you. And I don't let people make me promises very often. And when I do, it's for serious and it's real, and he knew that. But he still promised something he couldn't keep even if he knew."

"He couldn't help it." Annabeth said gently.

"He promised he'd always be there- and now I'm alone! With you," Reyna said. "But that's not the same."

"Of course it's not."

"And there's nobody else that this has happened to. Because the fates were smiling at you and nothing will have changed between you and Percy, since he doesn't break promises!" Reyna said.

"Reyna I-"

"No, you don't understand-"

"It's happened to me before, alright?" Annabeth said. "Promises. And they look so full and juicy and you're just so glad you have them. And then, just as you're holding on tight, poof, like a water balloon. It just explodes and gets all over the place, and you can't pick it up and put it back together."

"No." Reyna insisted, her head in her hands. "Stop it Annabeth- you know a lot of things but you don't know how this feels!"

"Rey-"

"No, because Percy came back alive!" Reyna shouted, jumping to her feet in utter anger and uncontrollable sorrow that she'd been holding in so that she looked strong when inside, everything was a crumbling wasteland. "And Jason… Jason just didn't. And he promised he would. He promised that since we'd made it for ten months, we'd make it after and it'd be sweeter than nectar. But that was a lie, because he's not here, and it's not his fault, because he's not a liar but..."

She was stuttering on her words and tears were prickling her eyes for the first time in a long time. Annabeth got her sitting back down, in her arms. Reyna tried not to look weak or angry at him.

Because after all, some promises just couldn't be kept.