Disclaimer: I don't own PJO nor HoO, they are the beautiful children of Rick Riordan.

A/N: Here, have some pointless Leyna fluff. Just take it.

Suggested listening: Love Me Like You Do (Ellie Goulding) - Sam Tsui & Alex Goot (Cover) [seriously, people, it's pure magic]

Sunlight

"What's her name?" he asks suddenly and she only rolls her eyes, however still plastered to the paper in front of her, the one she'd have long read and dealt with by now if it weren't for his constant babbling about Reyna's own sister.

There is a note of sigh to her voice when she says, "Hylla, if you're so eager to know. What about her?" she mumbles, frowning at the letters blurring in her sight. Why couldn't it be Latin instead of English? Even the Romans, known for their brilliant organization and self-composure much more spectacular than that of their Greek friends, have dyslexia to make it a torture to get through boring paper work!

"Hylla…" she hears him mutter with a slight roll of his tongue and it almost goes unnoticed for her how a sting of jealousy strikes her heart. So far, she's been the only one whose name he told with Spanish accent! "Is she single?" the question makes her snort and when she lifts her head to look him in the eye with her eyebrow cocked in amusement, Leo's staring her down with a scowl making him look like a Santa elf who didn't get his candy bonus last Christmas.

"Do you even know what being the Queen of the Amazons means, repair-boy?" she teases, leaning back in her chair and watching those ridiculous dimples appear in the tissue of his cheeks when a smile cracks his face in two. "Boys are like puppies, remember? Cute and fun to play, but never partners. I wonder why I haven't decided to join, after all…" she reminds him one more time, hoping he didn't actually get the bit of regret to the last part. Either it worked or he decides to ignore it. Good.

"Do you think she'd change her mind when faced with," he jumps from the desk and straightens proudly with his fists on his hips, "This?!" he wiggles his eyebrows and she can't hold in her laughter. When she finally gets a hold of herself, Leo's digging through the bowl of jelly beans he himself has filled up this morning. He shoots her an expectant look and positions himself back on the side of her workplace. "C'mon, I'm serious here!"

"No. Hylla would never fall for you," she cuts his hopes short, getting back to her task but not being able to dispose of the goofy smile her godsdamn friend always makes her wear. There is silence for some time but if she were even to think it would last long, she is quickly proved wrong.

"Aww, too bad…" Leo sighs heavily and if she didn't know him as well as she does, she'd have definitely believed in his disappointment. Because it couldn't not be a joke… Right..? Reyna risks a distracting glance at him and it takes all the composure she has not to lower her gaze when faced with those ridiculously intense orbs of his.

"Since when are you into Hylla?" she asks quickly to dispose of any trace of awkwardness in her behavior, biting the inside of her cheek to regain cool and interlacing her fingers together on the dark, wooden table top in a professional gesture. Just a few more seconds of the eye-fight and he'd declare failure, like he usually did. Only this time, he seems way more stubborn not to become the loser..?

"Oh, technically, I've always been into her. You know, women like Hylla," he mutters in a hushed undertone of a naughty young male and she can't help but purse her lips in an expression of Really? You're trying this old trick now? Deciphering her disappointment, he chuckles shortly and the smirk quickly transforms into a smile with his eyes brightening and her own damn heart squeezing. She swallows and lets her eyelids droop, exhaling slowly through her nose.

When she opens her eyes once again, he's standing in the sunshine, back to the window, looking out and letting sunlight play with the mess of licorice-colored hair and glow lightly on the exposed tan of his strong forearms. She decides that it wouldn't hurt to have a short break and pushes the document away with a quiet sigh of relief.

Reyna walks up to Leo, armor cluttering with every move, fixing the unruly strands of hair that try to escape her braid when a fresh breeze of summer-day air gets her in its possession by the window. He doesn't take his eyes off her when she gets near and, after all this time they've known one another, she still can't decide whether it's his mouth that smiles more or maybe his eyes.

"She's strong and intimidating," he continues after she's rested her palms on the window sill and stuck her cheeks to the warm light, eyes closed and attentive ears catching every small sound of the demigod next to her, the fire-using son of Hephaestus, ex-counselor of Cabin Nine, Hero of Olympus and her newest, most annoying, pun-loving friend, "I think… Maybe even more than you, Reyna..!" he chokes out in mock terror and her eyes snap open to give him a pointed look of dissatisfaction.

"There's nobody scarier to you than me, you said so yourself," she spits out a bit too quickly not to sound like a naïve, narcissist teenage girl she never, ever, wants to become, referring to the memorable talk they once had and that was the beginning of their relationship. Talking was just another part of the duel in which she kicked his ass and got the honorable revenge for burning half of New Rome. But what those few cuts and bruises he got meant when being the price for what they have now?

Leo snorts and she feels her ears burn, and she is not quite able to decide whom she wants to punch more, him or herself. "Nah, I don't know, really…" he pronounces lazily, grinning at her and ignoring the death glare he gets, which confuses her even further. Usually he'd make a joke about that grim face of hers, at least… "I guess it's just that… I'm sorry to say, but she's prettier than you. And I bet she's a better kisser!" he exclaims hurriedly, folding his hands on his chest and searching the ceiling with his eyes, shaking his head with a pout curving his lower lip. Maybe it's better he doesn't look. If the weird mixture of anger, sadness, jealousy and simple bewilderment reflected in her eyes and he saw that, she'd never be able to live it down!

"Where'd you get that one from?! You don't even know my..! Abilities in that field…" she manages to suppress the emotional outburst halfway through, settling for subconsciously turning the silver ring round her finger, however mentally slapping her hand away when she realizes it could be yet another signal of her agitation he could easily read. When Leo half laughs, half chokes shortly, it is when she looks at him once again to find his eyebrow cocked and a sarcastic smile contorting his features.

"That's because you never gave me a chance, remember?" he remarks bitterly, making her exhale loudly in frustration, barely able to keep herself from throwing her hands in the air.

"You know what it's about, Leo!" she reminds him yet one more time, swallowing down the gall of embarrassment she feels at the sound of her voice breaking when she speaks his name. How many times is she going to have to repeat herself until he finally gets it?! It's not that she doesn't want to try, it's just..!

"Yeah, yeah, I know- Aphrodite's prophecy, you don't want to crush our friendship and all that jazz," he waves her off and it's only thanks to her shock at the ignorant attitude she's never seen him have when it comes to her resistance that keeps her from slapping him across the face or leaving the room. At least that's what she wants to believe. It wouldn't be anything good if any feelings she has for him affected her behavior to that extent.

"And what? Since when is that not a reason enough?!" she drawls out slowly, viciously, but it only makes him shrug. They stand like that in tense silence for a while, feeling the presence of the other full well with every cell of their bodies. Neither tries to meet the another's eyes.

"But," he finally breaks the ceasefire, "I'm not taking it back. Your sister must be a better kisser than you!" he claims arrogantly but she's had enough. She's too tired of his nagging and his stupid stubbornness and how he makes her harbor the feelings she's promised herself not to ever have for any demigod. And so she takes the opportunity to prove him who really has the upper hand in their situation.

Reyna kisses him, harsh and brutal and demanding, dominant in every move she makes, pushing him into the window sill and oppressing her mouth with his. And it goes surprisingly well until she's reminded that, of course, she has absolutely no experience in the matter and she has no idea what to do when their lips finally collide. This and that all the anger, hurt and determination to make a point to him she's felt washes away when overwhelming warmth makes her heart flutter with joy.

Leo's lips are soft and surprisingly gentle, intense but making her knees go weak with every dose of cautious pressure they apply. It becomes clear right away who is going to take lead and this time, she's more than happy to give in completely to him. His body of unnatural temperature makes her skin tingle wherever they touch and his smells fills her up with the unmistakable aroma of a workshop, Mexican spices and sweetness he's obtained due to the amount of sugar devoured thanks to her own sweet tooth. One of his arms wraps itself in the small of her back, holding her in place even though she wouldn't even have it in herself to turn back if she wanted to. Calloused fingers find their way to her nape, one of the few places uncovered by imperial gold, rubbing small, tickling circles under the base of her braid, and half a thought crosses her mind that she's never received any caress that would make her feel safer in somebody's arms than this simple touch of Leo's.

Reyna's hands move on their own whim, one of them resting on his chest, scrawny and lean, feeling his racing heartbeat under her fingertips and giving her the pleasant reassurance that she's not the only one unsure and excited and stressed all at the same time, a complete mess of sharply opposing emotions. The other one drowns itself in his soft locks, relishing in the noiseless grunt of pleasure he makes at the back of his throat when her fingers start massaging his scalp with uttermost care.

It's nothing what she could have imagined kissing Leo would be. It's much, much more than anything any storyteller could ever come up with.

And like everything good in her life, it has to come to an end. When their lips finally part for the reason unknown to her, but she can only guess his mind is already as hazed and dizzy as hers has been for some time, a quiet voice in the back of her head whispers cold reminders of: you shouldn't have. It will only make you hurt more. You were supposed to keep distance. The more affection you fear having, the further to keep him away. But she doesn't have it in herself to give into those thoughts. Not when she feels Leo's chest moving slowly in synch with hers, regaining all the air they both neglected to intake. Not when he doesn't pull away but seems to try and hold her even closer to himself. Not when their foreheads touch gently and those beautiful, unbelievably beautiful eyes look at her as if she were the most precious gift he's ever obtained.

But it's Leo Valdez and of course he'd have to destroy the moment. And so he snorts with laughter. Not only that, but he subdues into a chortling mass of limbs holding her in place, leaving Reyna with her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes open wide in disbelief when the ugly truth gets through the surprisingly thick skull of hers, in the end.

"You've tricked me!" she breathes, debating it in herself whether to join the amusement he presents, feel like a stupid girl deceived by a high school superstar, throw him out of the window or start crying in embarrassment at what she is sure will become the funniest anecdote to tell by this ridiculous, irritating, trickster bastard of a friend that is a much better kisser than she'd ever want to admit!

"Yes," he confirms, winking at her, but when he sees the doubt painted all over her face, his gaze softens and his lips curve in a shy smile. His thumb moves to her lower lip, rubbing delicately before his eyes close once again and he plants one more kiss on her mouth, even softer and more affectionate than the ones from mere moments before. And once again, she feels the message conveyed and, opposing any rational part of her mind, her heart is filled up with peace, trust and hope. "And you loved every minute of it…" he whispers in her ear with a hint of mock seducer tone to his voice and she only rolls her eyes, not being able to keep herself from smiling.

The jester is going to be the death of her, one day. But she wouldn't have it any other way.

ZJeM, 07-08.05.15

From author:

I know. I'm a horrible person. I should be writing updates and not this. But this idea has nagged me every day of the finals and I finally broke. I just had to write it. ;) Aand, it was supposed to be a lot less fluffy, I don't know what happened..? O-O Guess it's hard to make it all simply fun with Reyna's insecurities and Leo's self-consciousness involved, my poor babies! :3

THANKS FOR READING!