A Good Listener

"I want to hear it from you," Reyna said.

"Hear what from me?" Annabeth turned to look at her.

"The truth," the praetor explained. "Convince me that I'm not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeaking when I hear it. I can't trust what she says. And Jason. . . well, he has changed. He seems distant."

Her words were sharper than broken glass, but that didn't stop Annabeth from hearing the underlying hurt lacing all her words with pain. The blonde knew it from months of hearing it come out of her own mouth. From months of worrying and worrying whether her boyfriend was alive or not, if she would ever see him again.

Now that she saw him, now that Annabeth finally had Percy back, she didn't feel it anymore. No longer did her heart come to a stop every time he kissed her. No longer did her chest hurt from the pounding of her racing heart every time he smiled at her. No longer could Annabeth tell him she loved him without having a guilty taste on her tongue. The daughter of Athena finally realized that he was her best friend, and it was just weird being anything else. Percy seemed to know that too.

But Reyna, she didn't even have the pleasure of feeling that. Jason's heart would not race when he saw her. He would not kiss her and make her world spin. She could never tell him how she felt because the former Roman hero had gotten a girlfriend while he was gone. Leaving Reyna all alone with feelings that would never be returned.

Reyna had went through the same thing as Annabeth, having someone she cared so much about disappear and fearing the worst to happen. The difference was Reyna probably still loved the blonde son of Jupiter.

But Annabeth wouldn't talk about that. The praetor didn't seem like the kind of person who would want pity.

Instead, she told Reyna about her own life. Starting with her father and stepmother and stepbrothers in San Francisco, to how she ran away and befriended Luke and Thalia then finally making it to Camp Half-Blood on Long Island. Annabeth described what her camp was like, how she'd grown up there and about her siblings. She even went into describing how she'd met Percy and all the adventures they had gone on together.

Reyna was a good listener.

When the blonde finished, she looked out at New Rome and finally felt the smile that had found its way to her face. Her stomach wasn't twisted in knots, as it was when she'd always been around Percy, afraid she would sound too smart. No, for once, Annabeth was at ease talking about her past, or about anything at all.

"You are a warrior," Reyna said after a moment, taking a sip of her hot chocolate.

Annabeth turned, gray eyes widened at the thought of perhaps upsetting the Roman leader. "You are surprised by that?"

"No," the daughter of Bellona admitted, turning to Annabeth. "I can see the fire in your eyes. I remember the way you fought with Percy when on Circe's Island. I knew you were a warrior. The only problem is that Minerva is different here. She is not known as a goddess of war. Her children, they wouldn't be like you. They might be craftsmen, artists, maybe advisers, but in no way a warrior."

"Oh," Annabeth wasn't sure how to respond to that. She looked down at her feet in attempt to hide her reddening cheeks. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize for that Annabeth," Reyna said, the edge of her lips twitching upward. The blonde looked surprisingly cute when she blushed. "It is meant to be a compliment. The fact that you defy boundaries and stereotypes."

"Where I come from," the blonde piped in, still feeling the warm flush on her face, "Athena's children are like me. We are strategist and warriors. My sibling, Malcolm and I, planned much of what our Camp did during the Titan War."

The Roman nodded. "I expected no less from you. You seem like the kind of person who will not give up until she wins."

Annabeth's face turned a deeper shade of red and she looked away, hoping to hide it. Reyna grabbed her chin and turned her face so that she could see those stormy gray eyes. "You don't have to hide your face from me," the praetor whispered, not looking away.

The blonde felt her mouth open slightly as she stared into Reyna's dark browns eyes, getting lost in the deepness. Before Annabeth knew what was happening, the Roman's lips were touching hers and they were kissing. Her gray eyes slipped closed and she felt a warm hand slip into hers, intertwining their fingers, and another sliding around her waist, pulling their bodies closer.

Quicker than she whispered, Reyna pulled away. Her hand wondered from from the blonde's waist to cup her cheek. "You don't need to be embarrassed around me Annabeth," she smiled.

Annabeth shook her head, confused. "Reyna, why—"

The shrill sound pierced the air and a light flashed in the corner of Annabeth's eye. The girls turned just in time to see an explosion blast a new crater in the forum. A burning couch tumbled through the air. The Romans began scattering in panic.

"Giants?" Annabeth asked, cocking her head to the side and looking up at Reyna. "I thought their army was defeated?"

"It isn't the giants." Reyna's eyes had hardened with hurt and disbelief. "You've betrayed my trust."

"What? No! I wouldn't do that Reyna!" Annabeth yelled frantically, not missing the fact that the praetor had said "my" and not "our".

But as soon as it was said, the Argo II launched a second volley, sending a massive spear wreathed in Greek fire at the Senate House, causing and explosion.

"Gods, no." A wave of nausea filled Annabeth's stomach as she realized the conclusion Reyna was coming too. "Reyna, you must believe me. I wouldn't betray you like this. I wouldn't play with you like this."

The metal gods ran to their mistress's side as she glared. They snarled at Annabeth but paced uncertainly, as if reluctant to attack.

Reyna sighed almost painfully. "You are telling the truth," she judged. "Perhaps you were not aware of this treachery, but someone must pay." She spun on her heels and began making her way back to New Rome.

"Reyna!" Athena's daughter reached out, grabbing onto the other's wrist, forcing her to turn around. "I swear that I did not do this as a distraction. I like you Reyna and hope that we can continue this."

Staring into those large, worried eyes, Reyna couldn't find it in herself to say no, despite her years of training as a Roman solider. "I believe you Annabeth," she whispered. "But, I can not promise anything, Romans and Greeks have never gotten along, and this strike is proof of that."

A scream from below brought their attention back. Chaos was breaking out. The crowds were pushing and shoving. Fistfights began to break out.

"Bloodshed," Reyna's eyes widened. She turned to Annabeth. "We will continue this later. For now this must be stopped!"

"Does that mean?" The blonde's eyes were hopeful.

"Yes, yes," Reyna said. She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "But we must hurry and stop this now!" Then, with Annabeth's hand still in hers, she took off down the hill and back to where her soliders were fighting with what seemed to be their new enemies.

Curse Mark of Athena for making me ship this new couple! Curse it also for all the Percabeth, hate that couple if you can't tell. Anyway, as usual, I wanted to be the first to post this pairing, as a real pairing story. So, enjoy it if you will, I know I did.

Thanks for reading.

~Goddess of the Multiverses