Title: meet-cutes are only for the movies (4/5)
Fandom: Percy Jackson & the Olympians/Heroes of Olympus
Word Count: 1278 words
Characters/Pairings: Mainly gen-Reyna, with slight Jason/Reyna /Summary: Five occasions, given time, Jason and Reyna might have been something more.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus.
Notes: Each part varies in style and AU-ness, from "could be pre-TLH if you want it to be" to "indulge me by suspending your disbelief as you read this crack!fic where everyone happens to be in the same place at the same time instead of opposite seaboards." Nothing super spoilery, though it makes reference to The Lost Hero and The Son of Neptune.
four. in which danger strikes much later
Ruling in peacetime is never easy - there are always monsters to vanquish and prophecies to fulfill - but it is decidedly more predictable than to lead the legion in ending a war. Reyna takes comfort in this, feels the burden on her shoulders lessen just a bit when the world has a chance to quiet down.
Marina takes her out to lunch far from New Rome, just the two of them, shortly after she steps down and Jason is raised high upon a shield. "So," she says, "how would you say things are between you and Grace? And be honest."
Reyna puts down her tea and then shrugs. "Fine, I guess. We've never been particularly close since we never went on quests together, but he seems level-headed enough. And very obviously not Octavian."
The older girl sighs, shifting her vegetables across her plate with a fork, lining them up in a familiar battle formation. "Reyna, I'm going to say this as both your friend and former co-praetor. Camp Jupiter prides itself on being egalitarian, but sometimes... I just want to warn you that the older legionnaires might give you a hard time and expect you to defer to Jason. Not only because his dad is Jupiter, but because he's a guy. Now that we're in the process of rebuilding as opposed to fighting, there are a few that will probably want to stick you with the bureaucratic stuff and let Jason lead the war games and give all the speeches."
"Oh." Reyna grows quiet, unsure of how to respond, though she should have known from her previous conversations with Hylla that this was probably coming.
Marina pats her gently on the arm. "Don't worry, Rey. In our time working together, I know you've never been a pushover. Just don't - don't feel pressured to give in to what others want, when it isn't right for you. And you and Jason can be as close or as distant as you feel comfortable being."
She senses something else beneath the surface, realizes exactly why Marina had been unusually silent on a particular subject of great interest throughout the course of the day. "Did you and Tony...?"
"Yeah, last week. It wasn't working out."
"I'm sorry, Marina. If I had known, I wouldn't have brought it up."
"No, it was for the best. Once we stopped being co-praetors and went our separate ways, we found out we had less in common than we thought. But enough about that. Tell me about your plans. Where do you see yourself after all of this?"
They work unexpectedly well together once they get past their individual personality quirks, dividing up duties and speaking in turn, finding a balance between what they're good at and what they want to learn. Jason still loiters around the Fifth Cohort's barracks whenever he can, and Reyna makes it a point to have meals with her friends from the First, but they are never necessarily opposed to spending their more leisurely hours with one another. They spar, mostly, and occasionally debate, but Reyna finds that she rather likes it and slowly but surely, their relationship begins to warm from mostly professional to a little shy of being best friends.
She's smart and observant, so when her birthday arrives and her friends find themselves all mysteriously too busy to spend time with her, she is hardly surprised when Jason invites her out to dinner at peak party planning time.
"So, will you let me visit you at Stanford?"
"Will you even have time to? I'm sure you'll be busy living it up at Berkeley, given all that tutelage you received under Dakota and his siblings."
Jason laughs. "You caught me. My real name is actually Party Animal Extraordinaire. But seriously, it'd be good to keep in touch. It was nice getting to know you over the past couple of years, especially since we never really had the chance to go on a quest together. Sometimes I even wondered if our parents conspired to keep us apart."
"It was probably because you and your friends were so welcoming to me when I first arrived! My mother took offense!"
Jason starts sputtering and she has to wait a moment for him to regain his composure. "For the last time, it was our divine reflexes! How was I supposed to know that Bobby would tackle you when I raised my sword at Hylla? But I do apologize for the one hundred and fiftieth time if it makes any difference."
"Hmm... I'll have to consider it. The last one hundred and forty nine pleas fell a little flat." She maintains a straight face for as long as possible, but bursts into a fit of laughter when Jason stoops so low as to give her puppy dog eyes.
It's late when they finally make it back to camp, and she can feel just the slightest bit of tension between them, one she hadn't noticed the presence of before. Reyna wonders if it's because this is one of the last occasions they'll have time to themselves like this, and before she knows it she's questioning if they'll end up like other co-praetors before them, the ones that fall back into being casual acquaintances once their service ends.
"Reyna?"
"Yeah, Jason?"
"There's something I should tell you."
"Oh. If it's about visiting, you should know by now that I'm only joking when I say-"
"No, it's not that. I, um, I decided to defer for a year, and look for my sister."
She stops in her tracks. "Have you heard word, then? I know you heard about some sightings."
He shakes his head. "Not from her directly. It's like there's a fog - Mist-induced, maybe - but I just know she's out there."
Reyna reaches for his hand. "I happen to have some experience in tracking down long lost sisters and can give you a few pointers, if you'd like."
"Of course. You know how well I fare without your wise guidance. And before you punch me, I'm being serious!"
She's half-tempted to hit him anyway, but settles for rolling her eyes. They walk forward in comfortable silence for a while, nearing the gates, when Jason starts to speak again. "Reyna, this is probably the worst timing for it since we're only going to be here for a few more months, but there's something else I wanted to ask you -"
Reyna never finds out exactly what he means to say because that's the moment her friends jump out and yell surprise. It's only later, when her best friend tells her how instrumental Jason was to planning the entire party that she realizes what she would have answered yes to. She thinks of Marina and Tony and all the others that came before them, and allows herself to imagine a future where they're a pair that lasts.
Reyna sits at her desk, getting an early start on her essay on The Aeneid while waiting for Jason's call. It never arrives, but she hears from a praetor instead. The voice on the other line is out of breath, worried even.
"Is Jason, is Jason with you?"
"No. He was supposed to get in touch once he arrived at the bus station, but I figured he'd been delayed with the thunderstorm and all." As soon as she says the words, a prickling feeling rises up in her throat.
"Reyna, I have some bad news. We've just confirmed that both Juno and Jason have gone missing and Octavian says that it's just a matter of time before the Senate moves to declare war."
"On who?"
"The Greeks."