Nico stared at the praetor who simply stared back at him. The young woman turned and shouted to her family that she was going out. Nico stared at her for a moment before she grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him out the door. The poor man nearly dropped the dessert, which at the moment, Reyna couldn't care less. Once they were outside, Reyna gripped his shoulder and hissed into his ear,

"Take me to your home before I take that glass container and smash it over your head." Suffice to say, Nico moved quickly and took the girl to his house. Thank gods he had cleaned the part before he'd gone over to Reyna's. Will and Nico were more opposite in more ways then one. Nico was a neat freak and Will.. well, when he couldn't see the floor or Nico yelled at him, he'd clean up. They had gotten into mini arguments over that. After putting the dessert into the fridge, Nico turned to Reyna and raised an eyebrow. Reyna plopped on the couch and put her head in her hands. Well, he hadn't expected that from the daughter of Bellona.

"Uhm, do you want something to drink?" he asked. Reyna didn't respond, her body merely shook as sobs wracked her body. Nico walked over and sat next to her and patted her on the back, awkwardly. Soon, both demigods sat on the couch, Reyna crying into Nico and Nico with an arm around her, running a hand down her arm.

"Shh, shh," Nico said soothingly, mimicking the way Will would often hold him when he had woken up from a nightmare. Reyna hiccuped down a last sob and then pushed Nico away. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We're.. uhm, friends..I think."

"Wow, thanks."

"So, why did you run away and never tell anybody?"

Reyna took a deep breath, "Did I ever tell you what Venus told me a long time ago?"

"…Not that I can remember."

"Well, she told me, 'You will not find love where you hope or wish. No demigod shall ever heal your heart.'" Nico slid back and stared wide-eyed at her. "Reyna…"

"Yeah… so no demigods for me. Anyways, you know how they let me and Frank have a few days off?"

"Yup… how is Frank and Hazel anyways?"

"She's your sister!"

"I know! We—"

"She's expecting..again."

"WHAT?!"

"Anyways, back to my story. DON'T interrupt—" Nico opened his mouth to speak, and then meekly nodded— "So, when I was twenty-two and on my day off, I had walked into San Francisco. And I had gone to a boxing match and happened to sit next to this guy—Dereck— and we hit it off rather well. Come to a few months later, I was visiting him on every break I could. And Cupid's stupid arrow drove me over the edge and I'd often find myself sneaking out of Camp Jupiter to go see him. He proposed to me a year later. But I didn't want to leave camp. I told him my answer was definitely a yes, but I needed to straighten things out. Luckily, my decision was decided quickly… as I found out a few months later that I was pregnant.. with Bianca—whom I named after your sister—and had to get out of camp. You know how strict the Roman punishments are. So.. I abruptly quit and named your sister praetor and left. Then, Dereck and I got married in private. And the rest is history. I needed to get away from the demigod life. That's why I didn't come back or tell anyone of my whereabouts. Hazel and Frank are the only ones I've visited and talked to. Nobody else knows about me."

Reyna looked down and sighed. Nico gave her a pitiful look and scooted closer to her.

"Thank you." he said softly. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and gave her a hug, which she returned. They only stopped when they heard a clunking sound behind them. They broke apart and stared at the intruder.

"Nico? What's the meaning of this?" Will asked.