Disclaimer: Everything belongs to their rightful owners.
A/N: My contribution for Jeyna week! I know it's late, but I actually did it. I was inspired by Clementine Von Radics' poem, to which I have no idea what the title is. But, if any of you know, feel free to tell me. And it's angst, it seems I've been writing a lot of Jeyna angst lately, I'll try writing more brighter ones in the future. AU-ish methinks. Rated M just in case.
"Reyna."
He was silenced when her lips touched the corner of his, her fingers brushed against the side of his neck that the arm he wrapped around her waist tighten momentarily. Her bare skin was soft under his fingers as they skimmed her back upwards where they buried themselves in her disarrayed hair, her breasts pressed against his chest as she planted small kisses upon his lips, backing them nearer to her bed with a trail of clothes left behind them.
They fell on the mattress when the back of his legs bumped against the edge of it, with her landing on top of him, legs tangled together. He turned them over, his larger frame hovering over hers with his hands planted on each side of her head. He brought his face closer to hers -his bright blue eyes full of intoxication and passion that made her heart thudded faster- his nose grazed against hers. He could feel her warm breath spread on his moistened mouth, her dark eyes an endless void he was scared of being lost in, a dangerous place where it belonged to a dangerous master.
He angled his head slightly, brushing her lips with his once, twice, and then kissed her with such gentleness, slowly tasting her like the first kiss they had shared, memorizing the way how those full lips had been his first to claim, how she stole his breath away in every way.
"Reyna."
He could feel himself being pushed backwards as she slowly knelt, and he had to tilt his head up as her teeth tugged his lower lip, her hands clasped at the nape of his neck. His fingers clawed at her back, swallowing a whimper when she withdrew slightly, the pressure of her lips absent from his.
"What have you done to me?" He growled slightly, angry that she had made him this way, that she had power over him. Though, he mused as he placed an open-mouth kiss at the end of her jaw, he didn't exactly mind per see, for now at least.
He could feel the vibration of her chuckles when he nuzzled her neck, before trailing his way down, pressing his lips on the space between her breasts, his fingers traced the curves of her body.
"Nothing," She murmured, burying her fingers in his blond hair, tugging his head upwards so that she could look at him, and he could see the way her eyes glinted. "You're the one who wanted this, I was only doing what you desired."
He always thought she would try her best to do things better than him, that she alone was right in every way. He wanted to become praetor, she already did. He was halfway done with the papers, she had finished them yesterday. He was the best warrior in Camp Jupiter, and what do you know, she had beaten him in combat more times than he could count. It was frustrating, and sometimes infuriating, but he knew she was what she was, that it was in her genes she wanted herself to win, for the daughter of Bellona had it drilled in herself that her victory was another reminder how she had another day completed without being herself killed.
But he thought it was rather cruel of her to use that kind of tactic on him.
He smirked, not even saying a word to admit her remark before pulling her on top of him. They adjusted their position, until he could hear the sharp intake of breath she took as she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, her face buried on his shoulder. He pressed a kiss on the side of her head, before trailing his lips to her ear.
"Te amo."
"My queen."
His eyes shot open, body jerked awake as the dream was cut off. His breaths came out franticly, heart banged against his ribcage like a bird trapped within bars of confinement. He blinked his eyes to focus his eyesight properly, and when the dark ceiling greeted him with its shadows, he ran a hand over his face, wiping the sweat from his forehead along the way.
The dream wasn't exactly a dream, he knew that from the second time he had it, and from there he understood the warning Juno had told him a night before he got the first memory, a week after the great war. The goddess had informed him that his memories will be given while he was asleep, through his dreams, slowly, surely, a few days, maybe weeks apart, because no mortal can take back his memories at one go without killing himself, because a memory given when one was awake will be have the same pain level when one was being impaled in the head. But what she didn't tell him was the after effects of waking up when having his memories back.
Some memories were fine, the happy ones at least didn't affect him as badly as it should be, but the ones when he was involved in killing monsters, or the part when a friend had lost a life. He could actually feel his muscles tensed in the dream as he swung the gladius in his hands above his head, the breath of the monster he was fighting washed over him like a blanket, the screech of pain it gave rang in his ears, and how the wind blew on his face as he tore his way towards those who he needed his help.
Months had passed since Juno's warning, and he had been waking up in the middle of the night as the blankets had clung to his sweaty body, heart beating wildly as the memory still burned in his mind. Like she had promise, those kind of dreams were weeks apart, a couple of weeks was the average estimation, and every time he woke up, it was the almost accurate situation as he was at the current state. Apparently, his reaction to the newest memory was worse than the past few dreams he got.
He couldn't believe it, he had seen it, he knew that was one of those dreams, and he had experience it again for fuck sakes, but he still couldn't comprehend that he actually had that type of relationship with Reyna. It was then he realized his muscles didn't forget her like his brain did, it didn't escape his knowledge from the way his fingers twitched when he saw her, or how he had the sudden urge to just hug her. There was even some sort of burning sensation in his chest he didn't even seem to know back then.
He even said he loved her.
"Jason?"
He turned his head to the side, where Piper was blinking awake, her multicolour eyes staring at him, brows scrunched slightly in confusion. "Are you okay?" She said carefully, as if treading on broken glass.
He couldn't help be feel as if she knew what he dreamt about and tensed, but forced himself to relax and gave her a weary smile. "Just a dream," He assured her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Nothing to worry about."
She took his hand in hers. "Those type?"
He hesitated. "Yes."
She kissed into the palm of his hand. "Another bad memory, huh?"
He wasn't sure, he didn't even know what to think of it. All he knew was that it happened. "You could say that."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
He tried not to flinch. That was the last thing he would want to do. "I could handle it," He said unsurely. Seeing her sceptical expression, he forced out another assuring smile. "Just another bad memory."
Hardly.
He wrapped his arms around her when she scooted closer, perching his chin on the crown of her head. He could feel her lips pressed against his collar bone, a sign that said she was with him always, that she would wait if he felt he wanted to tell her. But for a moment the dream flitted passed his brain. He only held Piper a bit tighter, shutting his eyes tight in attempt to get rid of it, but was rather fruitless when he could still hear her whispering his name, could still feel the tingle on his body where her fingers had touched him, where her nails had left crescent moon marks on his back.
He hoped for it to go away, it was not fair to Piper, it was not fair to him.
But Reyna had always been unforgettable, even when his head was a warzone.
Piper was worried of Jason.
Because he was dreaming of her again.
And it was making him depressed.
She knew about Hera's word to him, how the goddess was giving back his memories through his sleep, she was happy for him really.
But what unnerved her most was that most of it were about the daughter of Bellona.
She tried to brush it off, ignoring it, but of course it didn't work. She didn't miss the way he said her name, how it was filled with such fondness that it made her heart clenched. She knew she shouldn't be surprise, their relationship as comrades was deeper than that, most of their lives had been spent together, and feelings were going to sprout whether they could help it or not.
The perks of having her mother as the Goddess of Love to know this type of things.
He didn't even know he had done that. She remembered when he had already slept, while she was getting ready for bed when he mumbled some words. She had been curious, and so came nearer to the bed to hear what he said, a smirk on her face as the thought of Jason talking in his sleep amused her.
"Reyna."
She had prayed she had heard him wrong, the smile instantly dropped as she watched him wide eyed in shock, his hand reaching out at her side of the bed, frown in place as he instead curled to the empty space when he felt no body contact, mumbling out her name again.
It was painful for her, and she tried to let it go. But then he had a second dream of her, and she almost cried when he wrapped his arm around her waist as the name he breathed out wasn't hers.
This current dream had made him loose sleep apparently, and his perfect expression of a poker face and act of nonchalance could almost rival Nico's when the next morning arrived. She could see the way he looked tenser than usual, the easy going smile came out more forced than he had intended. She was trying not to be nosy, but she had to know what happened between them that made him woke up in the middle of the night, how terrified he looked after saying her name.
"I assume you have something personal to tell me."
Piper merely watched the young warrior sharpened a gladius as she herself stood a few feet in front of her, hands in her pocket hoodie, the shrill sound of rock against metal ringed in the room as both of her faithful guardians lay on each side of her, heads on their paws as they slept. The praetor only donned in her sports bra and yoga pants as she sat on a small stool, an odd sight for Piper since she had only seen her in her armor and toga, dark hair in her usual braid.
"Or you would not have seek out my presence in the middle of the night when you should be, ah, resting," Reyna lifted an eyebrow at her, and for a moment she had a touch of annoyance flared in her chest, for the girl had used her holier-than-thou attitude, but she brushed it off when she reminded herself of why she was there in the first place. "I wouldn't want to think my guests are uncomfortable."
She shook her head. "As far as I could tell, everything's fine, this only concerns us," She pursed her lips. "And Jason."
Reyna paused for a while, glancing at her. "Doesn't everything when it comes down to it?" The dry remark didn't went unnoticed by her. Reyna shook her head as she put down the slab of stone, standing up from where she sat as Aurum and Argentum pricked their ears, their eyes now open. "What about him then?"
"His memories," Piper noticed the way her eyes flickered. "Hera's giving them back through his dreams, twice a month at least, and frequently he kept waking up in the middle of the night. Bad memories probably, he wouldn't exactly tell me what happened. And also, he," She cleared her throat. "He dreams about you."
Reyna stared at her. "Dreams about me," She repeated slowly, and Piper had to remind herself not to twitch under her calculated gaze. "And how is it that you know he dreams about me?"
"He talks in his sleep," She gave a wry smile. "And the fact that he searched for you in bed, you should have known that by now."
Reyna pressed her lips together, looking away from her. "Pick up fast, do you?" She let out a humourless chuckle, taking a step back as she picked up the gladius. "Go on then, ask," She continued, a hint of mockery visible as she hung the weapon on the wall. "I know there is more than just informing me about his returned memories, you might as well tell me now when you have the chance."
Piper clenched her jaw, the expression on the other girl's face held suppress impatience as she waited for her to answer. "It was true then," She snapped. "The two of you did have a relationship, you loved him."
"And why does it matter to you?" Reyna shot back, picking up a jacket that was folded on the arm rest of a sofa and slipped it on. "We were children, our puppy love was something in the past, even he doesn't remember it, why are you so persistent on finding out?"
"Puppy love?" She hissed out incredulously. "Then explain why he woke up as if his nightmares were trying to kill him. He called out to you, Reyna, he was remembering who he was and the first thing he reached out to is you, and you don't care?"
Reyna stood straighter. "It's in the past, and he is with you. Why meddle when it could only hurt all of us?"
Piper stared at her in disbelief. "You are heartless, do you know that?"
Dark eyes flashed with anger. "And what do you expect me to do, daughter of Venus? Take him from you? Give him the bliss I had been giving him before he was stolen away from me? I am saving the heartbreak it will cost all of us, and it is as if you are leading us there."
Piper wetted her lips. "What did you do to him?"
"Nothing," Reyna replied with an edge in her voice. "He made the mistake of loving me, of thinking we would have a future together," She trailed off, before shaking her head. "He was an idiot," She continued harshly. "Making promises when he knew to expect the unexpected."
Piper stood there helplessly for a moment, overwhelmed with the information that was given to her. Of course he would think they would have a future together, they were close, too close for at least something to feel towards each other. "He had faith in both of you, and you love him too."
"Loved," Reyna corrected. "He means nothing more than someone I used to work with."
Aurum and Argentum curled their lips at their master, showing the peek of their canines. "It looks like your dogs says otherwise, O' praetor," She taunted as Reyna glared at her. "And I am the daughter of Aphrodite, remember? Your lies about these types of things are immune to me."
The girl shouted Latin at the gold and silver beasts, and they hesitantly left at her command, ears twitching in what Piper assumed was annoyance. "What does this prove, Piper?" Reyna suddenly sounded tired as she watched her dogs go. "You come here, tell me about his returned memories and how he is dreaming about me, and then you accused me of hurting him when I have done nothing wrong," It was then she faced her. "Even if I did, you have no actual prove."
"His pain is enough."
"I have done nothing," Reyna emphasized on her sentence, standing rigidly as she narrowed her eyes at her. "His memories of me are causing him pain, of how the weight of his words and mine are crushing him because of our promises we have uttered, his guilt eating him alive because he wasn't able to for fill them," She shook her head, a sardonic smile stretched on her lips. "He had always been the loyal one."
"And you're going to help him in this," Piper questioned, her charm speak slipping in her words for a while. "You have too."
Apparently, Reyna was able to detect them. "Don't you dare use your magic on me, graecus," She growled. "Or of what respect I have for you will disappear entirely."
"Right," Piper muttered, remembering something about her knowledge of sorcery. "Circe."
Reyna gave a half smile. "Exactly," Then it disappeared. "I suggest you leave, Piper, whatever it is you are trying to do is not succeeding."
"You're hurting him." Piper tried again, desperation filled her words.
Reyna pursed her lips, and Piper caught her own pain flashed in her eyes as she looked away. "I have told you, it is his own fault."
Piper stood there for a while, unable to comprehend of what she heard. Then, she hung her head in defeat, making her way towards the door to leave. She paused at the door, hand already wrapped around the door knob. "I hope you realise when he snaps," She murmured. "Because this is killing you as much as it is to him."
Just before the door closed behind her, she thought she heard Reyna's quiet words floated back to her.
"Oh, how right you are."
I pity the woman who will love you when I am done.
She will show up to your first date with a dustpan and a broom, ready to pick up all the pieces I left you in.
She will hear my name so often it will begin to dig holes in her.
That is where doubt will grow
She will look at your neck, your thin hips, your mouth, wondering at the way I touched you.
She will make all the promises I did and some I never could.
She will hear only the terrible stories.
How I drank.
How I lied.
She will wonder (as I have) how someone as wonderful as you could love a monster like the woman who came before her.
Still, she will compete with my ghost.
She will understand why you do not look in the back of the closets.
Why you are afraid of what's under the bed.
She will know every corner of you is haunted by me.
-Clementine Von Radics-