AN: Heyy. So, I know I said a Thalia and Annabeth chapter for 'Brothers' is coming up, and it is, but I got the inspiration for this Reyna one, and I just had to write it. It might be a little OOC, but I think that Reyna's initial reaction would be something like this. Enjoy!

Reyna's POV

In hindsight, she should've known better. Really, falling for the son of Jupiter...he was pretty much the jock of the demigod world. And jocks never fell for the underdogs. Ever.

But even then, she couldn't help herself. He was handsome, the perfect image of Rome, with crystal blue eyes and close cropped blond hair. The scar on his lip made him look more human. He had a kind smile, and was the first person she hadn't managed to scare away.

When he had vanished, she had felt like he had taken a piece of her with him. That was understandable, considering how much they had been through together. What scared her was realizing just how big that piece was.

So she waited. She held off Octavian's advances and kept peace in the senate and just managed to hang onto her sanity, and waited. She waited for the boy who smelled like the wind to come back and return that missing piece.

And he did come back. He came back on a mother warship full of Greeks, with a slightly insane faun and ballistic missiles and logically she shouldn't have let that monstrosity land, but he was right there and besides, Percy said it was safe (normally, that would have given her more reason to say no, but she was bending all the rules now). So, she gave the clear. And for a second it was all okay.

He stood at the head of the ship, praetor cape secure around his shoulders, blond hair longer and eyes darker than she remembered. But it was him. And he was back.

She forced down her giddy joy. Flashbacks flew through her mind like movie scenes. She saw the first time they had met; her bruised and scarred from her time with the pirates, him the vision of perfection. He had taken the initiative to show her around Camp, and she had learnt a lot...especially that the guy wouldn't take no for an answer and that he was surprisingly unafraid of sharp objects being pressed against his throat.

Her first quest had been under his lead. They had both nearly died half a dozen times, and for the first time ever she found herself praying that he would make it. Which scared her to Pluto and back.

When she got her own quest (along with an omen from Octavian saying that she was sure to die) he had been right next to her. She didn't even need to ask him. He just figured that he would be next to her, no matter what they faced. And she was grateful. Because right next to her was exactly where she wanted him.

They were promoted to centurion at the same time, and raised as praetors together. Years of pranks and battles and trips to the city flashed before her eyes. The time they had spent 5 hours and nearly 100 dollars at the arcade, all to get a stupid stuffed elephant that he swore looked like Hannibal. The time they hid out on the roof and talked until the sun rose about everything and nothing all at the same time. The kiss they had almost shared a week before he had vanished.

He got off the ship, along with a beautiful girl with kaleidoscope eyes, a boy with wild, curly hair and another girl, who was, judging by the way she and Percy were staring at each other, Annabeth.

She watched as Percy and Annabeth flew towards each other, complete disregard for everyone around. They kissed, and she flipped him over her shoulder and Reyna had to force back a smile because, yes, it was adorable, and yes, maybe a part of her wanted someone else (a particular someone else) to greet her like that.

He greeted her with and easy smile cordial words. But the way he stood, angling himself between her and that other girl (whose name was Piper), like all of a sudden, Reyna was the threat. The way he looked at Piper...almost as though...no, she couldn't think of it.

She swallowed the bitter lump that had formed in her throat and greeted the guests to her camp with as much enthusiasm as she could manage.

They went to eat, and she saw more signs; the way they looked at each other and the way Piper smiled and the look in his eyes and...Reyna forced herself to look away.

He told her that he wanted to show Piper around the city. Their city. Her throat constricted and she could feel something inside her shatter. Maybe it was that piece he had taken with him. Even then, she forced a smile and nodded and said sure and acted like it was okay.

Like she wasn't hurting.

Like she didn't miss him.

Like she could still breath.

Like she never loved him.

She took a breath to steel her nerves and watched her best friend fall in love with someone else. And she forced herself to be okay. To move on.

Falling in love is the easy part. It's moving on that's hard.

AN: And there you go! What do you think? Liked it, loved it, hated it? Let me know! :*