Title: I Swear You're the Reason
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~1,900
Characters: Jason/Reyna
Prompt: Starting over is different than trying again. – Sentence Blocks from WriteWorld + gif (see on AO3 version)
I Swear You're the Reason
All things considered, she should've known something was up.
Percy and Annabeth have gone back to visit Camp Half-Blood several times since moving to New Rome and they've never once asked her to house sit before this week. They'll be there all week, which is the most they've been away from their villa so far, and she'd assumed that was the reason they wanted her to check in on things this time. They just asked her to collect their mail each day and make sure their trash and recycling is out in the morning for pickup, maybe check on the food in the fridge and dust a bit if she has the time.
They hadn't mentioned that Jason would be stopping by, and she knows that they knew he was coming, because he lets himself in with a key.
Aurum and Argentum get on their feet and run from the kitchen to greet him, recognizing him immediately. It's been two, three years since Jason's been in New Rome, but they spent so much time with him before that they're still as attuned to his presence as they are to hers.
She hears him mutter a curse in Latin, obviously surprised to see them, but then he's dropping to his knees as she's stepping into the foyer, trying to wrestle them into a hug the exact same way he used to greet them before, and the scene makes her smile. It's as if no time's passed at all. Then Aurum wiggles himself out of Jason's arms and walks over to her, circling her legs and nudging her forward with his muzzle, and she laughs a bit and shakes her head before looking back at Jason, finding that his eyes are fixed entirely on her.
"Hi," she says. Gods, that's so lame, but she supposes that's as good a start as any.
"Hey," he replies. Argentum bumps his face, trying to get his attention again, but Jason doesn't look away from Reyna.
Aurum nudges her forward again and she lets him, taking a few steps, but then hesitates. Should she kneel? There really isn't a reason for her to, yet it feels a little odd to be standing over Jason like this.
He seems to catch onto this after a moment, too, because he moves Argentum off of his legs and stands up straight again, tousling his hair as he's always done when he wants to say something but can't gather his thoughts to form the words. (And it's kind of amazing that she can still read him so well. All things considered, he hasn't changed much.)
"It's great to see you," he tells her, meaning it. "I didn't know I was going to see you, though," he adds as an afterthought. "Did you…?"
"I didn't know I was going to see you, either," she clarifies. He makes a noise of understanding. "It's great to see you, too."
He looks a little thrown, even though she can tell he's trying not to show it. He probably wasn't expecting this.
Honestly, she wasn't, either.
But it's been three years since she's seen him, or it's about to be, at least, and there's really no reason for this reunion to be awkward. Well, there is, but there isn't. Yes, they've had so much happen between them and it's both of their faults that so many things went unresolved, but there's nothing they can do about that. And it's not fair to either of them to act as if they're strangers. Jason was – and still is – a very, very important person to her. There's no changing that. All the shitty things she went through with his disappearance and him coming back with Piper and leaving Camp Jupiter to take a gamble on the Greeks didn't change that. She hasn't gotten over any of it, because she mostly avoids thinking of it at all.
But enough time has passed that those aren't the first things that comes to mind when he crosses her thoughts. She just thinks of him and she misses him.
"So, everything's normal?"
It takes a second for her to realize he's talking about Percy and Annabeth's villa. "Ah, yeah," she answers, rustling the set of keys in her hand, just for the sake of doing something with herself. "There's not much to clean. Annabeth left the place spotless."
"Then they clearly overstaffed when they enlisted both of us to house sit," Jason says, tucking his hands into his pockets. "They need to communicate things better."
He's grinning and she laughs a little, knowing he's just joking. It's unlikely this was an accident on Percy and Annabeth's part.
There's an awkward silence threatening to settle in the air, but then Aurum and Argentum paw at hers and Jason's legs at the same time, and it's as if this distraction pushes away whatever hesitation she was feeling. "I was planning to stop by and get hot chocolate after this," she tells him, grabbing his attention again. "You're welcome to join us."
If this surprises him, he does a better job at hiding it this time. "Only if it's Nymph's," he says, and she raises her eyebrows as if to say, where else?
Aurum and Argentum sort of rush out the door as soon as Jason gets it open, but pause to wait for her as she locks it behind them. And they're usually really good about walking calmly at her side, especially if they're in a crowded place, but it's beautiful out and the road is empty and they're still excited from seeing Jason again, so they're sort of rough-housing with each other a few steps ahead of her and Jason, looking back at them – more specifically, at Jason – every so often, as if checking to make sure that he's still there.
It's familiar, walking with Jason like this, and the silence feels as comfortable as she remembers.
They've walked this particular path before, almost every day, she thinks, because they went to Nymph's Café often. She notices it in her peripheral as they catch the attention of restaurant and shop owners and their customers that have been regulars for years, casually acknowledging her and Jason for a moment as if they'd been expecting them to walk by at any second, then doing a double take as they realize that the two of them haven't walked down this street in years. Maybe that sounds absurd, but she doesn't doubt they would react this way. Their reputation as praetors meant that they were heavily involved in the community as a whole, and most people knew that this street was one they walked often.
"I feel like we should be wearing disguises," he tells her in a hushed tone.
She feels herself smile. "It's probably like déjà vu to them," she points out. "It feels like déjà vu to me."
"Yeah, no kidding," he exhales with a laugh.
"It's not the same in New York, huh?" she asks, and she'd honestly only been referring to the shops, but the question comes out more loaded than she'd intended.
He doesn't seem to mind it, though, or see it as some sort of jab. "It really isn't," he admits. "Which is a good thing, I think," he adds. She looks at him. "Makes it more special when you can't find anything like it, you know? Not that there was any doubt that New Rome was special to me."
"I hope you know that the feeling is mutual," she tells him, and he meets her eyes. "Everyone still talks about you, asks about you every now and then. They still miss you."
Something flickers in his eyes, and she has a strong sense that he knows she's talking about more than just the citizens of New Rome.
"I miss them, too," he says. "I miss you." She glances away, but he tilts his head, grasping her gaze again. "Is that another feeling that's mutual?"
"Yeah," she breathes, and he gets this very wide, very Jason smile on his face. She can't help but smile in return, and then she glances away. She feels like there should be a catch somewhere. It shouldn't… it shouldn't feel this easy with him, right? "How long are you in town for?" she asks, a very obvious attempt to change the subject, but whatever.
"A while," he replies, and there's something about his tone that catches her attention. "I'm planning to move back here."
She blinks, almost faltering in her stride. "When did you decide this?"
He brings his hand up to scratch below his jaw—another nervous tick of his, and one that she's only ever seen him do when they're alone, to be honest. "I've been thinking about it for a few months now," he admits, "but I decided to… just a few seconds ago, actually."
"Jason," she says, and this time, she does stop walking. He pauses a second later when he notices.
She's waiting for him to elaborate, and he does without needing to be asked. "Like I said, I missed you, and I missed it here. So, yeah, I've wanted to come back for a while. I just… I didn't want to intrude or anything, you know?" He pauses, as if waiting for her to respond, but then continues when she doesn't. "I didn't want to come back and, I don't know. Throw everything off for you. I didn't want to come back if you were just going to ignore me, either. But I did want to come back if I knew it was possible we could eventually… you know."
No, she honestly doesn't.
"Jason, I've missed you, truly." He's smiling again. "But we've been reunited for all of ten minutes, and nothing's been settled. We can't just start over."
"I don't want us to start over," he insists, stepping closer, and she doesn't step away. "It was really, really hard trying to get you to be my friend the first time around," he says, and despite herself, she lets out a laugh. "But we're already friends, and we do have history, and… and starting over is different than trying again."
Distantly, she hears Aurum and Argentum calling for them.
"I want us to try again, because I think we could be so much better this time. Don't you think so?"
"I…" Yes, surprisingly enough, she does. But she's having a hard time wrapping her head around that this is even happening right now, that he's really saying what he's saying.
"Can you at least hear me out over those hot chocolates we're still getting? If we're still getting them, I mean," he amends. "It's totally up to you."
She knows he's talking about more than just the drink.
Aurum and Argentum call for them again, and this time, the she and Jason both look over at them, distracted for a moment. "Yes," she says, because it's what she wants, and she's not about to let her own doubts take this – him – away from her for a second time. "Yes, we're still getting those hot chocolates."
His answering smile is unlike any she's ever seen. She kind of loves it already.
With a third set of barks prompting them, she and Jason begin walking again, and, appeased, Aurum and Argentum start trotting forward once more. "I'm glad," Jason tells her, and he grasps her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.
She kind of loves that, too.