Disclaimer: I don't own Leo or Reyna, Rick Riordan does. And MCR doesn't belong to me, if it would Gerard Way wouldn't be married and the band would be still playing :p.

Suggested listening: My Chemical Romance "Thank You For The Venom" (a weird choice, but somehow I've got a feeling it matches the story :D)

Warning: Vague "House Of Hades" spoilers.

Confirmation

The Sun was beginning to set, painting the sea in lazy orange and red colors of the evening. The girl standing on the board of a enormous sailing ship sighed yet again. He was late, she noticed as warm wind played with these strands of her hair that managed to escape a neatly-made braid.

This whole damn island was his idea, what a fool had he to be to return to a place that was once his prison... Reyna leant on the rail, propping her chin on her hand and staring on the horizon. Leo Valdez wasn't a man she liked, in fact he was more than annoying to her. But she stayed with him, because that was what her damned Roman pride wanted and because no matter how much bitterness could this bring, the two camps were now allies.

How ironic, Caesar would laugh at his young successors.

She flinched as she recognized his silhouette in the corner of her eye. Valdez was walking, no, more like pacing in the direction of his beloved Argo II. The ship was his work, and he liked to call it his masterpiece. The guy's footsteps resounded on the wooden gangway. She turned around but he didn't honor her with one glance, running to the machine-room immediately. That pissed her off.

"Hey, Valdez!" she shouted after him and got to the door, pulling at the handle angrily. It was all his fault that she had to waste her time watching the fucking-the-same views of the waves. She was a praeteor, not a sailor, dammit!

"Valdez!" she found him in front of the control screen, muttering some curses at the bronze ball. It was his masterpiece but it didn't mean he was going to be gently with it.

"What are you fuming about? What the hell were you-" he cut her off. "I don't want to talk about it" he growled through gritted teeth. She snorted. Somewhere in the back of her mind she wondered why was it that whenever she talked with him, they always ended up fighting, but she decided to shrug it off for a moment.

"Well, you gotta bear with whatever that woman told you, because I'm not going to waste more of my precious time on getting back to the camp because the damn-sensitive Leo Valdez was offended!" Leo chuckled darkly. "Woman, huh? You are all the same, heartless bitches..."

Reyna pretended that it didn't hurt that much, that it was just her pride as a woman that she wanted to defend. "What did you say?" she hissed, crossing the three-steps gap that divided them. "What did you say, huh?" her hand jerked his shoulder backward, forcing him to turn around. Leo was furious, his eyes gaining a dangerous fire-like glint.

"Stop touching me!" he was panting, his fingers trembling when he rolled up his sleeves. "Tell me, my precious mechanic, what did you say about women?" she easily looked him in the eye as they were approximately the same height.

He smirked, but it wasn't a happy smirk. It was an insinuation of what could happen if she crossed the line... And Reyna wasn't going to stop running in the line's direction.

Leo leant on the console, crossing his arms over his chest. "What? Am I wrong? You always use men for your purposes, and when you're done, you throw us away, just to find another idiot who would bow under the power of your sweet smile. That fucking pisses me off, do you understand?!" She placed her hands on her hips, tapping her foot on the floor impatiently. "Whatever you are not comfortable with, it doesn't matter, not when you're talking with me. I'm way over your level and-" "Heh. Way over me, yeah?" Leo lowered his head, his whole body shaking with force of a laughter.

"YEAH?" Reyna noticed that she wasn't standing still anymore, her body moved by the guy with a frightening ease. His face was centimeters from her as he leant over her, a scowl deforming his usually easy-going face. "I'm fucking done with me being underrated, and you better get it, princess!"

She gasped, feeling his hot body over her, pinning her to the wall in a way that disturbed her personal space more that unpleasantly. Leo leant even more, clutching her wrists in one of his hands, his breath ghosting over her braid.

Her thoughts scattered as she felt his hand tracing her tight.

All of her training, all of the lessons on self-defense... Everything was gone when she was placed in a confined space with a very disturbed son of Hephaestus.

Reyna's breath hitched as Leo chuckled into her ear. "What now, princess?". "I..." she tried to swallow but her mouth was suddenly very dry. "I think.. You're going too far, Valdez..."

Suddenly Leo withdrew, leaving her breathing heavily under the wall. "I thought so... When faced with this kind of problem, you women are all the same..." he shook his head and moved to the console, starting the engine. The room fell silent until Reyna decided to break the silence a few minutes later.

"You're wrong" she whispered. Leo barely turned his head, glancing at her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm just a cockroach under your boot, I know the rest of'-" "I'm not talking about this" Leo turned to face her, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

"You think that you're alone... am I right?" Leo fell silent, his eyes burning holes in Reyna's ones. "You think that nobody understands you, that nobody cares to understand... But it's not true... You have your friends, ones that love you..." she moved, not looking at him.

Reyna couldn't stand his stare as intensive as it was... For some reason. She had yet to understand it. Not now.

"You're not alone, Valdez, and that's what makes you strong." "Talks the one that's so alone..." he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest once again. She casted him a single glance, smiling bitterly. "Do you mean the soldiers? Yeah, they follow me... But out of fear. Out of their upbringing that told them to follow the praetor. But feelings... There's no place for such a weakness in a Roman legion" she ended, tracing a weird machine that produced green light with her finger. The lamp was warm under her skin, just as he was moments ago... Not like she still thought about it.

"What are you getting at?" Leo's voice brought her back to reality. She turned around and moved to stand in front of him, taking the steps almost hesitantly... Or maybe it was a trick Leo's eyes sent upon him. "You know, Valdez..." his eyes opened wide as her fingers traced his neck behind the collar of his shirt. "We all want... Maybe even need... We all need a... Confirmation of some kind. A confirmation of our worth"

Of the fact that somebody needs us.

The unsaid words rang in Leo's ears louder than the spoken ones. It was his turn to swallow nervously.

"And..? What about it?" he whispered, unable to force his throat to open wider. Her lopsided smile sent shivers down his spine. "And you know... Maybe the two lone wolves can get together? How about that, mechanic?" She gripped his shirt, burying her nose in his collarbone. Leo smiled.

"Whatever happens..." "It stays in the machine-room" she finished for him.

The guy smirked, his hands reaching for her waist as he moved his lips close to her. "Well, then... Let's get started, shall we?"

A/N: Written for ZJeM. Totally not what she's asked for, I'm sorry... T^T But they didn't want to cooperate, and I didn't want a sappy ending, so friends-with-benefits elbowed their way up there T^T Sorry for no lemon, and shit, Reyna is fucking bipolar 0.o Ah well.