karaoke

Reyna doesn't understand why they thought this was a good idea. But it's her last night in New York after her first ambassador duties at Camp Half-Blood, so they've all decided they'd have a group night out. She's figured that this is more for their enjoyment than her own.

It's Hazel who casually mentions she still doesn't know what a karaoke bar is, but it's Percy and Leo who battle long and hard for it to be their destination. Frank tries to explain there isn't anything really good about them (and she fervently agrees). Jason and Piper don't really care, so when Annabeth breaks under Percy's pleading, she and Frank resign themselves to the fact there's no other choice.

The karaoke bar is tacky, loud, and Reyna's pretty sure there's a hen's night going on in front of them. Percy's green eyes light up in excitement and Piper flips through the song book. She feels uncomfortable here – she has a feeling, even if she was just a regular mortal, this wouldn't be her scene – but jokes are being shared and it feels nice to be included into this secret clique. (She's no Hero of Olympus, after all.)

Arguing ensues when Piper doesn't know what to sing, so Leo snatches the book from her grasp. "You're taking too long," he says. He begins to shuffle through the papers, eyes darting from page to page, looking for the song of his choice. "Aha!" He looks up and winks at Reyna. "Y'all will be swooning over my performance, let me tell you."

The music starts up in a few moments, and she's surprised at the fact she actually recognises the song. She'd assumed that he would be singing a song from one of his famous classic bands, but this isn't anything like that.

It's the song she plays when she works out.

Leo knows it word for word, but his pitch is off-key and he is dancing wildly, limbs flailing, eyebrows waggling. He sounds like a dying cat, but Leo is having the time of his life and he occasionally grins in her direction, as if this is meant to be seductive.

The others have written the performance of as Leo just being Leo, but Reyna laughs, harder than she has in their presence before, and they seem bemused by it. Leo just grins harder and acts more ridiculous until she can hardly breathe.

When he's finished, he bows dramatically, a stupid grin plastered on his face. Reyna's still gasping for air, tears running down her cheeks and her face feeling incredibly hot.

"Tell me, Reyna," he says, "How good was I?"

It takes her a moment before she can speak.

"Good. But don't quit your day job, Valdez."


Look at me, getting my Leo/Reyna muse back! I'd been at school and I'd been dying to write this all day. I know it won't make up for six months of absence, but I'm really humbled that everyone is still reading this story and enjoying it. I hope you enjoy this chapter - and all likes and reviews are greatly appreciated. x