To 8Ball3- Thank you ^_^ Frank is awesome, you can't not love Frank :D I built a trebuchet in our Year 7 Science Club, it was a tabletop one and I shot my teacher O:) Trump's gonna stop at nothing to get his way, I've been reading about the whole postal vote fiasco, like it's got to be some sort of voting fraud or something? I'm not up to date on everything, but I'm doing my best D: I can see why people would see Thalia as gay/bi, BUT she made the decision to join the Hunters and that needs to be respected, but at the same time, if people want to play with AUs and stuff, I'm down with that too :)

To readingbooksforlife- Woo! Sword Spouse! ^_^ I'd probably go with Riptide though, cos Riptide doesn't sing the Top 40 :P And thank you ^_^ I spend hours combing over my chapters for mistakes- I don't really have anything else to do in lockdown :P - plus, I've got about five notebooks and one massive Word document to pull things from for continuity and stuff XD And you did nail that compliment, thank you very much! ^_^ ^_^ I would say Camp Half Blood, because that's where the story started. But not near the strawberry fields- I have hayfever and I'm allergic to strawberries :O And that Percabeth proposal bit you did- you've made me change my plans for the Surprise rewrite O.o In a good way! Tootle-loo kangaroo!


For such a populated area, San Francisco had a surprising number of wilderness pockets. They parked on a dead-end road at the base of the tower's hill. To their right, a field of rocks and weeds offered a multi-million dollar view of the city. To their left, the incline was so heavily forested, one could almost use the eucalyptus trunks as climbing rungs. From the hill's summit, perhaps a quarter of a mile above them, Sutro Tower soared into the fog, its red and white pylons and crossbeams forming a giant tripod that reminded Apollo uncomfortably of the Delphic Oracle's seat.

"There's a relay station at the base." Reyna pointed towards the hilltop. "We may have to deal with mortal guards, fences, barbed wire, that kind of thing. Plus whatever Tarquin might have waiting for us."

"Neat." Meg said. "Let's go!"

The greyhounds needed no encouragement. They charged uphill, ploughing through the undergrowth. Meg followed, clearly determined to rip her clothes on as many brambles and thorn bushes as possible.

Reyna must have noticed his pained expression as he contemplated the climb.

"Don't worry." She said. "We can take it slow. Aurum and Argentum know to wait for me at the top."

"But does Meg?" Apollo countered. He had images of his young master charging alone into a relay station filled with guards, zombies and other 'neat' surprises.

"Good point." Reyna nodded. "Let's take it medium then."

Apollo did his best. That entailed lots of wheezing, sweating and leaning against trees to rest. His archery skills may have improved, his music was getting better… but his stamina was still one hundred percent Lester. He was just glad Reyna hadn't asked about his wound.

When he had dressed that morning, he had avoided looking at it, however, he could not ignore the throbbing pain or the deep purple tendrils of infection now creeping back along his arms, aiming for his wrists. He had even seen them making a beeline for his neck, something his long-sleeved hoodie could not hide. Every so often, his vision blurred with an aubergine overlay. He would hear a distant whisper in his head, the voice of Tarquin, beckoning him to return to the tomb. So far, the voice was a mere annoyance, but he had the feeling it would get stronger until he could no longer dismiss it… or fail to obey.

He just had to hang in there until tonight. Then he could summon godly help and get himself cured. Or he would die in battle. At this point, he preferred either option to a painful, lingering slide into undeath.

Reyna walked alongside him, using her sheathed sword to poke the ground, as if expecting landmines. Ahead of them, they had lost sight of Meg and the greyhounds through the dense foliage, but could hear them rustling through leaves and stepping on twigs. If any sentries waited for them at the summit, they would not be taking them by surprise. "So," Reyna said, apparently satisfied that Meg was out of earshot, "are you going to tell me?" Apollo's pulse accelerated to a tempo suitable for a parade march.

"Tell you what?" He tried for a smile. She raised her eyebrows- Really?

"Ever since you showed up at camp, you've been acting jumpy. You stare at me like I'm the one who got infected. Then you won't make eye contact. You stammer. You fidget. I do notice these things."

"Ah. Well, uh… there's a, um…"

"Don't pin it on Lou. She's not been as bad as she could've been towards you." Reyna narrowed her eyes at him. "This is different." Apollo climbed a few more steps. Perhaps if he concentrated on the hike, Reyna would let the matter drop. "Look," she said, undeterred, "I'm not going to bite you. Whatever is going on, I'd rather not have it hanging over your head, or mine, when we go into battle." Apollo swallowed, wishing he had some of Lavinia's bubblegum to rid himself of the taste of fear and poison.

Reyna made a good point. Whether he died today or turned into a zombie, or somehow managed to live, he would rather face his fate with his conscience clear and no secrets. For one thing, he should tell Meg about his encounter with Peaches. He should also tell her he didn't hate her. In fact, he liked her pretty well, even loved her. She was the bratty little sister he had never had.

As for Reyna- he didn't know whether he was or wasn't the answer to her destiny. Venus might curse him for levelling with the praetor, but he had to tell Reyna what was bothering him. He was unlikely to get another chance.

"It's about Venus." He said. Reyna's expression hardened. It was her turn to stare at the hillside and hope the conversation went away.

"I see."

"She told me-"

"Her little prediction." Reyna spat out the words like inedible seeds. "No mortal or demigod will ever heal my heart."

"I didn't meant to pry." He promised. "It's just-"

"Oh, I believe you. Venus loves her gossip. I doubt there's anyone at Camp Jupiter who doesn't know what she told me in Charleston."

"I- really?"

Reyna broke a dry branch off a shrub and flicked it into the undergrowth.

"I went on that quest with Jason, what, two years ago? Venus took one look at me and decided… I don't know. I was broken. I needed romantic healing. Whatever. I wasn't back at camp a full day before the whispering started. Nobody would admit that they knew, but they knew. The looks I got… Oh, poor Reyna. The innocent suggestions about who I should date." She didn't sound angry. It was more like weighed down and weary. Apollo remembered Frank's concern about how long Reyna had shouldered the burdens of leadership, how he wished he could do more to relieve her. Apparently, a lot of legionnaires wanted to help Reyna. Not all of that help had been welcome or useful.

Reyna looked up at the sky, almost defiantly. "The thing is, I'm not broken."

"Of course not. Um… can I ask-?"

"About Lou?"

"Yes."

"I'm not broken. Venus was wrong. So what she said it was my 'fate' that no mortal or demigod will ever 'heal my heart'?" She scoffed, blowing a raspberry in a very Louisa-esque fashion. "I've known that idiot for years, I've learned that our fates are something we can have a say in." She glanced over at him, reading a question on his face that he hadn't even realised was there. "You want to know why her, don't you?"

"I-"

"She makes me laugh. Mostly in an 'oh my gods, I can't believe you just did that' kind of way, but she does. She makes me feel… normal. I don't have to be a praetor when Lou's about."

"Just a babysitter."

"Yes. I mean, no, but yes. It's weird. She's weird." Reyna shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know, I never can explain it, but… Lou means a lot to me. Most days, I would probably throttle her, given the chance, but at the same time…"

"You love her." Apollo deduced. A rosiness bloomed in her cheeks, but she nodded.

"Yes. Yes I do. She was not one of the 'innocent suggestions'. As much as people have accepted her at camp now, she still isn't 'dating material'. Scandalous, a daughter of Neptune, you know."

"Mm." Apollo nodded, pressing his lips together. "Scandalous."

"You haven't answered my question."

"What?"

"Why have you been acting so nervous? What does Venus have to do with it? Please don't tell me it's pity."

"N-no. Nothing like that."

Up ahead, he could hear Meg romping through the brush. Occasionally, she would say 'Hey, how's it going?' in a conversational tone, as if passing an acquaintance on the street. He supposed she was talking to the local dryads. Either that or the theoretical guards they were looking out for were very bad at their jobs.

Apollo swallowed nervously. "You see…" He fumbled for his words. "Back when I was a god, Venus gave me a warning. About you." Aurum and Argentum burst through the bushes to check on Mom, their toothy smiles gleaming like freshly polished bear traps. Apollo was so happy to have an audience. Reyna patted Aurum absently on the head.

"Go on, Lester."

"Um…" The marching band in his bloodstream was now doing double-time manoeuvres. "Well, I walked into the throne room one day and Venus was studying this hologram of you, and I asked- just completely casually, of course- 'Who's that?' And she told me your… your 'fate'. The thing about 'healing your heart'. Then she just… tore into me." He made tearing motions with his hands, crumpling something fiercely. "She forbade me to approach you. She said if I ever tried to woo you, she would curse me forever. It was totally unnecessary. And also embarrassing."

Reyna's expression remained as smooth and as hard as marble.

"Woo?" She repeated. "Is that even a thing anymore? Do people still woo? Oh gods, it's not like the Sims woo, is it?"

"I don't- I don't know what that means."

"Good. Keep it that way."

"Uh, right. A-anyway, I stayed away from you. You'll notice I stayed away. Not that I would've done otherwise without the warning, I didn't even know who you were." She stepped over a fallen log and offered him a hand, which he politely declined. He didn't like the way her greyhounds were grinning at him.

"So, in other words," she mused, "what? You're worried Venus will strike you dead because you're invading my personal space? I really wouldn't worry about that, Lester. You're not a god anymore. You're obviously not trying to woo me. We're comrades on a quest." She had to hit him where it hurt- right in the truth.

"Yes," he continued uncertainly, "but I was thinking…" His voice faltered, drying up in his throat. Why was this so hard? He had spoken of love to women before, and men. And gods and nymphs and the occasional attractive statue before he realised it was a statue. Why, why oh why, were the veins in his neck threatening to explode? Oh gods, was it Louisa? Had she followed them? Was she going to blow up his head for talking to her girlfriend? He cleared his throat again, parched. "I thought if… if it would help," he stammered on, "perhaps it was destiny that… well, you see, I'm not a god anymore, as you said. And Venus was quite specific that I shouldn't stick my godly face anywhere near you. But Venus, I mean… her plans are always twisting and turning. She may have been practising reverse psychology, so to speak. If we were meant to… um, I could help you."

Reyna stopped. Her dogs titled their metal heads towards her, trying to gauge their master's mood. Then they regarded him, their jewelled eyes cold and accusatory.

"Lester." Reyna sighed. "What in Tartarus are you saying? I'm not in the mood for riddles."

"That maybe I'm the answer." He blurted before he could lose his nerve. "To healing your heart. I could, uh…" An image of Louisa popped into his head and his nerve wilted. "As Lester." He squeaked. "You and me. You know, like… yeah." He knew without a doubt that the other Olympians were recording this to post on Euterpe-Tube.

Reyna stared at him long enough for the marching band in his circulatory system to play a complete stanza of 'You're a Grand Old Flag'. Her eyes were dark and dangerous. Her expression was unreadable, like the outer surface of an explosive device.

She was going to murder him.

No, she would order her dogs to murder him, or have him march back to camp and face Louisa's prolonged wrath. Whichever one, by the time Meg rushed to his aid, it would be too late. Or worse- Meg would help Reyna bury his remains and no-one would be the wiser. When they returned to camp, the Romans would ask What happened to Apollo?

Who? Reyna would say. Oh, that guy? Dunno, we lost him.

Oh, well! The Romans would reply, and that would be that.

Reyna's mouth tightened into a grimace. She bent over, gripping her knees. Her body began to shake. Oh gods, what had he done? Was he meant to comfort her, hold her in his arms? Should he run for his life? Why was he so bad at romance?

Reyna made a squeaking sound, then a sort of sustained whimper. Apollo's heart was set to burst his eardrums- he really had hurt her!

Then she straightened, tears streaming down her face, and burst into laughter. The sound reminded him of water rushing over a riverbed that had been dry for ages. Once she started, she couldn't seem to stop. She doubled over, stood upright again, leaned against a tree and looked at her dogs as if to share the joke.

"Oh… my… gods…" She wheezed. She managed to restrain her mirth long enough to blink at him through the tears, as if to make sure he was really there and she had heard him correctly. "You. Me?" She cracked up again, hiding her face in her hands, wheezing and doubling over once more. Her dogs were just as confused as he was. They glanced at each other and then at him, as if to say What have you done to our mom? If you've broken her, we will kill you.

Reyna's laughter rolled across the hillside. Her back slid down the tree and she crouched, unable to breathe through her hysteria. She folded her arms across her knees and hid her face, cackling.

Once Apollo got over the initial shock, his ears began to burn. Over the last few months, he had experienced quite a few humiliations. But being laughed at… to his face… when he wasn't trying to be funny. That was a new low.

"I don't see why-" New peals of laughter at the sound of his voice. "I wasn't saying that-" She coughed, continued to laugh, rocking back on her heels. Aurum pawed at her leg.

"N-no," she wheezed through giggles, "stop, please… killing me!"

"She doesn't mean that literally!" Apollo corrected in a panic for the dogs' benefit. Reyna managed to point with one hand- at him, herself, the sky- wiping at her eyes with the other.

"Seriously?" She snickered. "Wait, my dogs would have attacked if you were lying. Oh. Wow. That's-" She snorted, dissolving into laughter once more. Apollo huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So, that's a no then." She could only nod. "Fine, I get it. You can stop-" Her laughter turned to asthmatic squeaking as she dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve.

"Apollo. When you were a god…" She struggled for breath, unable to contain a few giggles and a big grin. "Like, with your powers and good looks and whatever-"

"Say no more. Naturally, you would have-"

"That would have been a solid, absolute, hard-pass, no."

"I am astonished!" He gaped. She cackled, clapping twice, tipping her head back to laugh at the sky.

"And as Lester, I mean… you're sweet and kind of adorkable at times."

"Adorkable? At times?"

"But wow. Still a big-time no." She snorted again, now having the decency to stifle giggles in her fist. A lesser mortal would have crumbled to dust on the spot, their self-esteem imploding. In that moment, as she had rejected him utterly, Reyna had never some more beautiful and desirable. Funny how that works. "And…" She held up her finger, coughing and trying to catch her breath. "I have a girlfriend. Girlfriend."

"Right."

"Who doesn't like you very much."

"Yes, I've heard."

"You gonna give her a reason to, I dunno… use your own legs to kick you into oblivion?"

"Wait, would she-?" Reyna nodded, hiccupping and drying her eyes. "Uh, why do you like her again?"

"Kinda gay, buddy." Reyna chortled, leaning to the side as the last of her humour broke free. Argentum nudged her cheek with his nose, still confused. "Ah, damn, that's… that was good, I needed that."

Meg chose that moment to crash through the hackberry bushes.

"Guys, there's nobody up there, but-" She froze, taking in the scene, then glanced at the dogs for an explanation.

Don't ask us, they seemed to say, Mom's not normally like this.

Meg looked to Apollo, corner of her mouth twitching. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Reyna assured. She held her breath for a moment, squeezing her eyes shut as she lost it again in another fit of giggles. Apollo wasn't sure how this computed- Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano, feared praetor of the Twelfth Legion, giggling.

At last, she seemed to regain some of her self-control. Her eyes danced with humour. Her cheeks glowed beet-red. Her smile made her seem like a different person, a happy person.

She had said Louisa made her laugh. Did Louisa get to see her smile like that? See her lose control to giggles and asthmatic wheezing beyond all comprehension? Is that why she fell for the praetor, because she could pull a whole new light from her, made her seem a whole new person? Made her be herself?

Reyna stood, brushing herself down. She sniffed, gave one final 'heh' of amusement. "Thanks, Lester. I needed that. Now," she composed herself, although a smile still tugged at her lips, "let's go find the soundless god, shall we?"

She led the way up the hill, holding her ribs as if her chest still hurt from too much hilarity.

Then and there, Apollo decided that if he ever became a god again, he would rearrange the order of his vengeance list. Venus had just moved to the top spot.


I love this chapter. Poor Lester XD