A/N: Just a short little ficlet for Kirii, who makes the world a better place. I guess you could say these are just loosely-connected drabbles, and yes, I'm aware they're not that well-written. It's been a long time since I wrote anything, but I guess Kirii's efforts with her Shades AU inspired me to write again.
Critique would be considered super-welcome.
Warnings: Femslash. Don't like, don't read.
Explanations: This is an AU, where Jason is a Greek, Percy and Annabeth are Roman, and Reyna and Jason are the ones switched. Takes place during TLH and DD.
Title refers to Venus's infamous conversation with Reyna, referenced herein.
A Baited Heart
Reyna ran her fingers through the sleeping Piper's hair. She wished she could remember having her as a girlfriend, but she still swore up and down that the first time she'd seen Piper was at the skywalk. How could someone as amazing as Piper be in love with her, anyway? It didn't make sense. Piper was bold and emotional, and Reyna was stoic and reserved. Reyna couldn't understand why Piper didn't go for Leo - their personalities meshed so well together, and they were so... natural. So easy together, like Venus herself had destined them. Yet, for some unfathomable reason, Piper preferred Reyna. Reyna wasn't sure how she felt about that. She didn't remember much of her old life, but what she had managed to recall wasn't pleasant.
There was one person she remembered clearly from her past: a girl named Annabeth. She was beautiful, tall and blond, and just thinking about her made Reyna's stomach threaten to send up her tofu tacos. She was smart, brave, and funny; but she also had secrets she buried within herself, things that made her lash out if you ever discovered them. Reyna was probably the only person who knew as many as one, and it would surprise most people that she knew more. Reyna flashed on her face for the umpteenth time that day, and felt a strong urge to be near that daughter of Minerva - to embrace her, to kiss her, to tear off her shirt and force her into bed. And then all at once, she bolted upright, as if snapping out of a trance. Her face flushed red, and she scolded herself for thinking that way when she already had Piper.
The truth was, Reyna didn't know why she wanted Annabeth. She didn't think they'd been dating, when she left - wherever it was that she was from. Truth to tell, she didn't remember all that many things about Annabeth, just obscure details; little things, like "hates mornings" and "geeks out over architecture". She remembered that Annabeth had shared secrets with her, but she didn't remember what they were; she retained her opinion that Annabeth was funny, but couldn't remember a single joke she'd told. All she really understood was that, whoever she was, Reyna wanted her. It made her feel guilty, like she was leading poor Piper on, and maybe she was...
She shook her bangs out of her eyes, refusing to think about it. Who she did or didn't love didn't matter right now. She was on a quest to save the queen of the gods. She had to focus. She had to plan. There had to be some way to meet this deadline.
Camp Half-Blood was different at Christmastime. It was more festive, more cheery; one could almost forget that Gaea was rising, and they still had a ship to build and a prophecy to fulfill. That all seemed so far away.
Reyna had regained all her memories now.
She remembered a boy called Octavian, whom she'd been rivals with. She remembered another boy named Frank, who'd been like an awkward younger brother to her and Annabeth. She remembered little Hazel, a short black girl who'd joined the Legion shortly after the war had ended. And she remembered why she hadn't been dating Annabeth: There was a boy called Percy, a mutual friend of theirs they'd gone on several quests with. Annabeth had been infatuated with him for years, and last summer, they'd finally gotten together.
Reyna had been crushed, but she'd hidden it as well as she could. She doubted either of them had ever guessed she was a lesbian, and anyway, they were all friends. Reyna hadn't wanted to ruin that, but it'd still made facing her co-praetor difficult, knowing he'd stolen the girl of her dreams right out from under her. As furious as she was with Juno for tearing her from her home, in a way, it had been a blessing in disguise, she decided.
This must be what Venus meant, she thought, about finding love in unexpected places.
Years ago, Venus had visited her whilst on a quest. She had flat-out ordered her to give up on Annabeth... but then, Reyna had never responded well to people ordering her around (divinity be damned), and she didn't listen. Having found Piper felt like some undeserved reward, and for once in her life, she actually felt like thanking the goddess of love instead of cursing her.
When she picked Piper up for their date that evening, she thought she'd never seen a more beautiful girl, and only her Roman courtesy kept her from saying so. Best not to sound like she was coming on too strong, she thought. She didn't want to scare off her first real girlfriend with too many compliments on the first date, after all.