Piper avoids Reyna for a week. It's exactly what Reyna expects and not at the same time; she doesn't know what she wants and she does. Everyone on the ship notices within days and how could they not, while keeping such close quarters with each other?
Jason, who notices last somehow, corners her one day after breakfast. "Why is my girlfriend avoiding you?" he asks, crossing his arms and trying to look intimidating (which is absurd because she's known Jason since he started running- he could never be intimidating to her, not while she still remembers the face he made the first time he ran into a wall).
The word girlfriend makes something in her stomach twist, echoes around her brain like a siren.
"Did Piper say something?" he presses. He frowns. "Did you say something?" he adds, like he's just realized that she might have something to say about the situation he's landed the three of them in. Over his shoulder, Reyna sees Piper watching, the expression on her face morphing into something between sorrow and interest, maybe anger as Piper locks eyes with Reyna. When she looks down at her hand she can still see the soulthread on her finger leading to Piper, pulsing in time with their heartbeats.
She looks back up to see Jason giving her his patented we need to talk look, raised eyebrow and all. He opens his mouth and before he can something stupid (are you okay?) or predictable (you can talk to me, you know?) or both, Reyna sighs, turns, and walks away.
Piper avoids Reyna for a week. Not by choice, she rationalizes, but because she doesn't know what she's supposed to say to Reyna, if she's supposed to say something at all. She doesn't have any precedent for something like this. (That's a lie (she seems to be doing that a lot lately- lying). Even without a precedent, Piper knows radio silence probably isn't the healthiest solution but what can she do? It's not like Reyna is helping the situation either. It's not Piper's fault that Reyna's so unapproachable, it's not Piper's fault that all Reyna does is stare, it's not Piper's fault that Reyna hasn't stopped avoiding her either. And so they stay locked in their stalemate.)
It gets so bad that eventually Percy has to pull her aside one day. "You need to talk to her," he says without any prompting whatsoever. "If not for you or for Reyna, then for the rest our sanities or for the millions of people we have to save. You two can't keep walking on eggshells."
Piper tries to play dumb. "I don't-"
Percy shakes his head. "Save it. This is the twenty first century, Piper, and we all have eyes." Piper looks down at her hands.
"You can talk to me, you know," Percy says quietly, smiling in a way she hasn't quite seen before. "We kind of have to if we're going to survive the next few months in this tin can."
Piper looks down and kicks the floor in a way that will probably scuff her shoes which doesn't matter to her as long as she can avoid Share Your Feelings Time! with one of the most perceptive people on this floating death trap. (Besides, there is a very high chance that she'll never go shoe shopping again, even if she does make it through this alive.) Percy sighs. "If you don't talk I'll get the others and we'll just lock you and Reyna in a closet."
"We're soulmates," Piper says on a sigh that morphs into a laugh. "Soulmates," she repeats trying to convince herself that this is really happening.
"What did you do? When...it...happened?"
Piper winces. "I ran."
Percy sighs too, running a hand through his hair. "Well shit."
Piper laughs again, sounding more than a little hysterical. "My sentiments exactly."
Despite all of Piper's calculated timing and Reyna's indifference, they wind up having to talk the next week at breakfast. It's Piper who starts as Reyna butters a piece of toast. "So..."
"So?" Reyna prompts, summoning a muffin too.
"I..."
"You?" Reyna echoes, looking more than a little amused. Piper coughs, blushing and pretends to take a sip out of her empty glass. "That's that then," Reyna says, giving her a strange look then whirling around on her heel more than a little dramatically (which is something Piper hadn't thought Reyna was capable of) and walking back to her bunk.
"Wait!" Piper blurts. Reyna stops. Piper sighs. "We need to talk."
Reyna laughs, turning around. "It's about time," she says, smiling around a bite of her muffin.
"Oh shut up," Piper grumbles, stalking into the stables and pulling a smiling Reyna along with her.
"So," Reyna says after Piper shuts the door, only a little mockingly. Piper throws a piece if hay at her. Reyna settles down next to Scipio who nuzzles her neck and tries to eat her braid even as she gently pushes him away. "What are you going to do about Jason?"
Piper winces at that. "I don't know."
Reyna smiles. "You do know that this isn't the first time this has happened to him right?"
Piper looks up so fast Reyna swears she hears her neck creaks in protest. "What?"
"It was a girl in New Rome. I don't remember her name," Reyna says. (That's a lie. The girl's name was Jenna. Reyna remembers that, along with almost everything else about her- the way she smiled, the way her eyes changed colors in the sunlight, the twisting feeling in her gut that only ever appeared when Jenna was with Jason. At the time she though it was because she wanted to be Jenna. Now she isn't so sure.) "She came out to him about two months into their relationship and Jason acted as her beard for a few more weeks while she...figured everything out, and then they broke up. They went out for coffee regularly for a while after the break up, to catch up, and then...this happened."
Piper exhales. "Is that supposed to pressure me into telling him?"
"No. It's supposed to help you realize that Jason will be fine. I want you to take your time, Piper," Reyna says looking down at her sword, "but you and I both know we might not have much time left."
Piper nods, sucking in a breath. "What about you?" she asks, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees. A lock of hair falls into her face and Reyna's fingers twitch as she tries to repress the urge to tuck it behind her ear.
"What?" Reyna asks, absentmindedly.
"Jason will be fine but what about you?"
Reyna caves, reaching across the tiny room they're in and cupping Piper's cheek for a few seconds longer than necessary as she moves Piper's fringe of bangs. "I'm your soulmate, Piper," she says, ignoring the way her hands start to shake, "we'll figure it out." And she will. For Piper.
Jason almost dies three days later. It's not one of the dracenae or the hellhounds or the storm spirits that nearly kills him though- it's himself. In typical fashion, Jason had been overworking himself for weeks without telling anyone. None of them are very happy with him when he wakes up, some more so than others. As soon as his eyelids begin to flutter open, Leo blurts, "What the fuck were you thinking, man?"
Jason coughs and sits up a little. "I'm fine."
"The hell you are. You were unconcious for two days, Jason. You nearly died," Leo says crossing his arms.
Jason smiles, soft and sweet, and his fingers twitch as if they're trying to find something. "Leo," he starts, and Piper's stomach flips at the realization that Jason's subconciously reaching for Leo, that he's never once looked at her like that, that he hasn't ever said her name with this much care or affection. "I'm going to be fine," he echoes, his smile growing even wider as Leo seems to soften, arms uncrossing, shoulders drooping. Piper feels stupid now, foolish for having chalked all those silent conversations and lingering touches up to friendship.
Leo harrumps and slumps down onto Jason's cot, pacified for the time being, Frank and Hazel fidget uncomfortably as if to say, Annabeth and Percy share a look before he turns to Piper and raises an eyebrow as if to say there's your excuse. Reyna merely smiles.
Jason corners Reyna again as soon as he's able to walk a foot without Leo hovering over him. "She came out to me," he blurts one day as she's about take a drink.
"Who did?" Reyna asks, raising an eyebrow at him over the rim of her glass.
"Piper," Jason says, eyes flitting over the room hurriedly. "We have to finish talking before Leo finds me. He's probably already coerced Frank into helping him."
"So what did you say?"
"When?" he says, only half listening.
"When the banana fell off the roof," she deadpans.
"What?" he asks, finally looking away from where Frank has morphed into a grizzly. Reyna gives him an exasperated look. "Oh right, that. Okay."
"And...?"
"What do you mean and? I said okay, and then she told me we had to break up, and then I said okay. Again."
Reyna blinks. "Your girlfriend came out to you as a lesbian and then dumped you and all you said was okay," she says flatly.
"We both know I'm not the most skilled at...interpersonal communications."
"...You were praetor before you were kidnapped, Jase. 'Interpersonal communications' is almost 80 percent of your job description."
"...Whatever."
Reyna rolls her eyes. "She knows too," she tells him, in a solemn tone.
He raises an eyebrow. "About?"
"About you and Leo. Don't even try to play dumb." He looks down at his feet. "You're soulmates aren't you?"
Jason nods, then shrugs, blushing and clearing his throat. "So we're cool then," he states.
"Not quite." Reyna fidgets. "Has she told you about...the other thing?"
"What other thing?"
Reyna lets out a breath. "It's not my thing to tell," she says cryptically.
Jason squints at her. "Well then how the fuck am I supposed to know if I know the thing?"
Reyna tilts her head. "I hadn't thought about that," she says, before walking out of the room.
"What the fuck?" Jason whispers to the floor.
"Did Reyna tell you?" Piper asks, slamming her plate on the table and giving Jason an expectant look.
He pauses mid bite. "What thing?"
Piper makes an disgruntled noise in the back of her throat. "The thing."
"What thing? You can't keep doing this, just tell me-"
Piper scowls and leaves, stomping all the way back to her bunk.
"What about your food?" Jason asks.
"Leave it!" Piper yells so loudly that is startles poor Buford.
"She told me to tell you," Reyna announces coolly, falling into step beside him.
"Tell me what?" Jason growls.
"You know," Reyna says innocently, clasping her hands together in front of her and looking up at him through her lashes, letting her lips quirk up, "the thing." Jason walks away.
"We're soulmates," Reyna says, so quietly he almost misses it.
Jason stops. "When did you find out?"
"About two weeks before she broke up with you. She couldn't figure out to tell you, that's all," Reyna adds hurriedly, noting his skeptical look.
Jason swallows. "Okay."
"Really? Again?" Reyna asks incredulously.
Jason flails his arms. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say! Good for you, I guess?"
Reyna relaxes. "So you're okay with this?"
"Why wouldn't I be? I can't exactly pretend to have the moral highground what with Leo."
Reyna nods and fidgets with her empty sheath. "Cool beans."
"Cool beans? And you thought I was ridiculous-"
"Oh shut up."
Reyna walks into Piper's room almost regally, her long coat floating behind her like a train. "I told him," she tells Piper, flopping down onto Piper's mattress like they've been doing this forever, and it's so incongrous in comparison to the Reyna she knew before- put-together and queenly, that she has to laugh a little.
"Told him what?"
"That we're soulmates," Reyna says, turning to face Piper. The syrupy afternoon light slips through Piper's blinds, spills over Reyna's jaw and she looks so fucking soft it's takes every fiber of Piper's self control to lie still.
"What did he say?" Piper asks, too distracted by Reyna's long lashes to be nervous. (They've never been this close to each other, she notices. Strange.)
"Okay."
Piper wrinkles her nose. "Again?" Reyna laughs so hard she nearly falls off the mattress.
(The next morning they walk into the kitchen hand-in-hand to find Leo bustling around the kitchen with Jason plastered to his back.)
notes: this was soo fun to write, even if it took forever! as always pls read and comment and follow/favorite.
if you wanna yell with me about these girls, find me on tumblr piperreynas (my wlw/fic blog) or acehazels (my main).