Hi gang! I'm back from vacation, which means the triumphant return of my regular updating schedule. I want to finish this by Christmas, which means two or three chapters a week and I'll be golden.

Thanks to everyone as usual for reading/reviewing. I've been waiting for this chapter… Get ready for a certain development that many of you have seen coming for a while now, heh heh.

Enjoy!

XXXV
LEO

Leo woke with a start and jumped so badly he flung himself off the bed and onto the floor.

"Ow…" he groaned, having landed on his left arm and jolted his injured wrist. Dull jabs of pain ran up the muscles in his arm, and his heart skipped a beat as he was reminded unpleasantly of the dream he'd just woken up from. He sat up and leaned back against the bed, breathing fast and trying to calm his nerves.

When he closed his eyes, the image of that glowing black fire danced across his vision. The dream had shaken him more than your typical demigod nightmare, despite the fact that it wasn't real. Fire was something Leo knew, something he understood. Ever since he'd first come to Camp Half-Blood over a year and a half ago, he'd focused his energy on mastering his power over fire so that what had happened to his mother would never happen around him again. Fire became nothing more than another tool in his arsenal—something he could rely on in a pinch. To have it used against him like that—for it to cause him so much pain and despair—it got to him in a way that not many things could. He didn't know what that horrible black fire was, and he hoped he never got the chance to find out.

Then there was the woman who'd spoken to him. He couldn't be sure, but he had a feeling he'd just seen the Queen of Night, Nyx. She possessed the same kind of old, powerful energy that Gaea had shown, and she was just as terrifying. If that was who they were up against, Leo realized they'd need more luck than he'd originally thought.

He took a deep breath, his heart rate finally slowing almost to normal velocity. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that he'd somehow managed to burn a number of holes in the shirt he was wearing. He didn't usually spontaneously combust in his sleep—only on special occasions—but this particular dream must have freaked him out so much that he'd lost control. He climbed to his feet and pulled the charred and useless shirt off over his head, tossing it in the trashcan beside his bed and hoping the hotel staff hadn't planned on getting it back in one piece. He glanced down and noticed that the sheets on the bed were slightly burned as well, though not so badly as to cause a disturbance, seeing as Nico was still sound asleep on the next bed over.

Now that Leo was awake, he doubted very much that he'd be getting back to sleep anytime soon. So instead, he quietly left his and Nico's bedroom, closed the door behind him, and strode into the kitchen area, flipping on the light and flinching at the sudden brightness. He had no idea what time it was, and frankly he didn't care. Their room wasn't exactly in line with normal time, after all. He paused at the sink to splash some cold water on his face, clearing away the last bit of drowsiness, before pulling open the refrigerator and grabbing a slice of leftover pizza. He wasn't exactly hungry, but eating was something to do that would keep his mind off that dream.

Leo leaned against the corner wall beside the sink and was halfway through his slice of pizza when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He looked up as Reyna stepped into the kitchen, blinking and holding a hand over her eyes. She was dressed in the same simple, white, borrowed pajamas that he was, her hair spun in a messy braid over her shoulder.

"Morning," he said cheerfully, grinning at her and taking an oversized bite of pizza.

"Is it?" she asked dryly. "What are you doing up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Leo answered with a shrug, deciding not to mention his dream. After all, it didn't really give them any clues that would help them against Nyx. "What about you?"

"I'm a light sleeper," Reyna answered, which for some reason didn't surprise him in the slightest. "I heard someone out here so I…" Her voice trailed off as her gaze dropped below his chin. She quickly turned her head and looked determinedly at the floor as she finished, "I came to check it out. I didn't mean to intrude." A light flush had appeared across the bridge of her nose, which for some reason looked strange on her. Leo frowned. Why did she sound so flustered all of a sudden?

He glanced down and felt like smacking his forehead—he still wasn't wearing a shirt. He'd discarded the burned one, but hadn't bothered to grab another, figuring that no one else would be awake to care. Of course Reyna had to be the one to disprove that assumption. As if she didn't think he was a total idiot already.

"Sorry," Leo said quickly, his ears warm and probably reddening. "Hold that thought." He edged around Reyna and dashed back into his bedroom, pulling on the dark green T-shirt he'd been wearing earlier that day. When he returned to the kitchen, he half-expected Reyna to have gone back to bed. Instead, she'd pulled a glass from one of the cupboards and was busy filling it with water from the sink. A bit surprised and still feeling slightly awkward, Leo picked up his forgotten slice of pizza from the counter and reclaimed his place against the wall.

"I never did thank you," Reyna said abruptly after taking a long drink of water from her glass. Leo blinked and shot her a puzzled look. "For saving me," she added. "Twice."

"Even though you weren't really in any danger," Leo pointed out with a wry smile. "Orion couldn't have killed you, and the second time was a dream."

"You didn't know either of those things," she argued, sounding a little exasperated, like she was explaining something to a grade-schooler for the fifteenth time in one day. "I'm trying to be grateful, here. Just accept my thanks like a normal person."

Leo laughed, and Reyna rolled her eyes. Truth be told, Leo had felt a lot more comfortable around Reyna since their dream trial when she'd stabbed him in the chest, as strange as that sounded. The main reason for that had been the look on her face—there wasn't any malice or satisfaction in her action. She'd looked conflicted, regretful even—like she hadn't wanted to kill him, even though she thought it was necessary. He'd woken up in the hotel lobby about five minutes before the others had, which had given him a little time to understand what must have been going through Reyna's head. Afterward, he'd gained a considerable amount of respect for her—he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to do what she'd done. Her resolve was tougher than titanium.

Plus, like she'd said earlier, she'd been more or less threatening to kill him all week. Sure, she had actually followed through, but she hadn't wanted to. That had to be a step in the right direction, didn't it?

"Alright, fine," he finally conceded, finishing his pizza and brushing off his hands. "In that case, you're welcome, Your Highness. Though, if driving your dagger through my heart was your way of returning the favor, I think we might have to work on your people skills."

The corners of Reyna's mouth turned up in amusement and she leaned back against the counter in front of the sink, her shoulder brushing against Leo's as she folded her arms across her chest. He suddenly took note of how different she looked without her armor, and without the hard, determined glare she always wore into battle. She looked so… normal. Which, for a demigod, was a major accomplishment.

"You know, you're cute when you smile," Leo said before he could stop himself. "Almost makes me forget you killed me yesterday. You should try smiling more often."

Reyna tensed, her cheeks coloring just barely. It struck Leo that maybe she wasn't used to getting compliments like that. In her natural habitat, all decked out in Roman battle armor with a knife on her hip and those angry-looking automaton dogs at her sides, she usually gave off an unapproachable vibe—like you had to choose your words around her very carefully if you wanted to keep all your fingers. But underneath all that, maybe she wanted to be appreciated just as much as anybody else.

"I could say the same to you," Reyna replied, setting her glass down on the counter beside her.

Leo arched an eyebrow. "I'm cute when I smile?" he said with a grin, nudging her arm with his elbow.

She shot him a pointed look (though she didn't exactly refute his remark, which he tried not to be too happy about). "I mean you should smile more often," she explained.

"Aw, you don't have to worry about me," he said, waving a hand airily. "I smile plenty."

She studied him for a few quiet seconds, and Leo had the uncomfortable feeling that she was staring inside his head, trying to read his mind. He wondered if she'd succeeded when she replied simply, "Sure you do."

At Reyna's serious tone and knowing gaze, Leo's grin faltered. He was reminded of his conversation with Annabeth after they'd left San Francisco two days ago, when she'd pointed out how Leo and Reyna were similar in that they were both experts at masking certain emotions. For some reason, he thought back to his dream, and an unwarranted chill ran down his spine. He held out his hands, half-expecting them to be covered in black fire, and then mentally scolded himself for being paranoid and stupid when of course they weren't. He thought back to his decision not to tell anyone about the dream. He'd figured it wasn't important, but was that the real reason? Maybe he was really just pushing the pain away, like he always did.

Leo sighed, somewhat defeated by his own brain, and leaned his forehead against his hands. "A dream," he said shortly.

"What?"

"That's why I was awake. I had this crazy dream." He wasn't sure why—maybe he felt like Reyna really could read his mind and would eventually figure it out anyway—but he told her what had happened in the dream. He tried to explain without expressing how much it had affected him, but the slight break in his voice as he talked probably gave him away. If Reyna noticed, however, she didn't show it. She listened with the same thoughtful look on her face the entire time.

"So that was Nyx…" she said absently when he'd finished, tapping her fingers on the edge of the kitchen counter. "If she really is like Gaea, then it sounds like we're in for a long, difficult fight." She frowned and added, "Hopefully this dream isn't some kind of vision of the future."

"You're telling me," Leo agreed ruefully. Most demigods didn't usually have prophetic dreams—more like symbolic or sometimes real-time visions—but that didn't mean it was impossible. The thought made an uncomfortable lump form in his throat.

"We're going to beat her," Reyna said. Leo could tell she was trying to sound confident, but there was a tiny spark of uncertainty in her eyes that she couldn't quite hide. "We have to. My camp is counting on us. I don't want… I won't let them down."

"You're scared," Leo realized. Reyna's eyes flashed dangerously and he shrugged. "Hey, it's no big deal. After that dream, this chick has me freaked out, too. It's okay to admit it sometimes." He shook his head and gave a wry smile. "I guess Annabeth was right. You and I are a lot alike."

She frowned thoughtfully, and after a minute returned his humorless smile. "Yeah," she agreed. "Must be why we don't exactly get along."

"We don't?" Leo repeated, making a show of looking around the small kitchen in wonder. "What do you call this?" He gestured to the air in general, referring to their relatively civil conversation, and leaned forward in front of Reyna to look her in the eye and grin good-naturedly.

She smiled and shook her head, before holding out her hands and using her thumbs and index fingers to form a rectangle, like a director trying to envision a movie scene. "I call it, 'The Last Time Reyna Investigates Strange Noises at Night'."

Leo laughed. "What do you know?" he said, feeling a strange, giddy sort of satisfaction at her having made a joke. "Ice Queen's got a sense of humor under all that armor." He reached up and poked her forehead, silently hoping she wouldn't break his other wrist in response.

But all she did was lightly swat his arm away and smirk in agreement. "Somewhere," she admitted.

Just then, Leo realized that his last movement had placed him unnaturally close to Reyna—his shoulder was leaning against hers and he could pick out the tiny streaks of brown in her dark hair. She seemed to tense a bit, like she had just noticed this as well, and he cleared his throat awkwardly and straightened back. "Guess we'll just have to work on lightening you up a bit," he said with a grin, stretching his arms to try and cover his sudden movement.

Reyna breathed out shortly, looking distracted. "I… guess we will," she said.

Despite every brain cell he had screaming at him to quit while he was ahead, Leo's mouth seemed to have a mind of its own, and he said, "It's a good thing you're looking at the king of lightening things up. I've got an armory of grade-A jokes and witty comments that I can—"

The rest of Leo's rambling sentence died when Reyna leaned to the side and suddenly her lips were on his. He felt his entire body go rigid with shock, and even when she backed away he stood there frozen like a demigod ice sculpture, attempting to bring his vision into focus and understand what had just happened.

"Sorry," Reyna said curtly. She averted her gaze, but not before Leo registered the light flush on her face that somehow made her look so much younger than her usual scowl did.

Leo could have sworn he'd told his mouth to say something smooth and nonchalant, like 'Nah, babe, I'm sorry—sorry you've had to survive all these years without me', or maybe 'See? We're lightening you up already', or heck, even 'Maybe we should talk about that'. Instead, all that came out was, "Uhhhh…"

Reyna turned her head, loose strands of hair falling to cover her face. "Goodnight," she said abruptly to the microwave. "Thanks again. You know… for before."

As she swept past him back toward her bedroom, Leo finally regained control of his body, blinking his eyes as though coming out of a trance. "W… Wait!" he stuttered, darting ungracefully toward Reyna and knocking over one of the kitchen chairs in the process. He reached her just inside the dark living room and latched his fingers around her arm.

Leo wasn't sure how exactly it happened, but one second he was stumbling after Reyna, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't make everything worse, and the next she was leaning into him, her mouth pressed firmly against his. In no time her arms had snaked themselves around his neck and pulled him closer, and it was all he could do to keep his balance as his muscles turned to jelly and fiery sparks flew from his fingertips. Leo had no idea anything could ever feel so completely right, and even though his eyes were closed he could've sworn he could see stars.

A loud thud followed by a gasp brought everything rushing back at once. Reyna and Leo tore away from each other and as Reyna spun on her heel toward the sound, Leo's gaze landed on Hazel, who was standing a few feet away with both hands clamped tightly over her mouth, her golden eyes wide with shock and embarrassment. Her cavalry sword lay forgotten on the floor at her feet.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hazel squeaked, eyes darting back and forth between Leo and Reyna as a deep blush crept up her cheeks and neck. "I-I was just… I heard something fall and I thought we might be… I shouldn't have… Oh, I'm sorry!"

She probably would have apologized until the sun came up, but Reyna chose that moment to duck her head low and stalk toward her bedroom, causing Hazel to flinch as she passed by. In a matter of seconds she had closed the door tightly and disappeared from sight.

"She's mad, isn't she?" Hazel muttered miserably, staring at Reyna's bedroom door.

Leo didn't answer. He was too busy trying to sort out what in Hades had just happened.

"I'm really sorry, Leo," Hazel insisted again. "I-I won't say anything, I promise!" With that, she picked up her sword and hurried quietly back to her own bedroom. Leo opened his mouth to call after her, but no sound came out. It was like he'd misplaced his tongue in the confusion. Maybe it was still in the Roman praetor's mouth.

Great. As if his life wasn't complicated enough already.

Say hello to my romantic side! It's been kind of constrained in this story, given the main plot and genre, but no matter how hard I try it just can't be completely silenced. Can't be helped, I guess. Nothing to do but go with it XD

Reviews are love, everybody! Next chapter should be up this time Wednesday :) Later days!

-oMM