Thalia hated the meetings that Reyna held every day. It was usually held an hour after the store opened, just enough time for her to throw some paperwork together and make it look like she had done something. Normally, Thalia was exempt from these meetings, but she had to attend one today. And she hated it.

Everyone else talked about sales numbers or sales plans. Thalia talked about how she stopped a grand total of two people from stealing. She wanted to say three, but apparently, it wasn't stealing if a little kid grabbed something without their parents knowing. Thalia felt ridiculous standing in front of the others and talking for two minutes compared to their five or ten.

Today, matters were made worse because she couldn't stop gawking at Reyna. Her manager wasn't even the one leading the meeting; it was Percy, for the first time. That had to explain why and how he forgot that Thalia was there. He talked about her like she wasn't in the room!

The red on his face had yet to fade away, and while no one judged him for the mistake, Thalia would rag on him later. Instead, she watched as Reyna stepped forward, instantly drawing the whole room's attention.

"There is one more matter of business," Reyna began. A small grimace came to her face. "Next month, I'll be having surgery. I'll be out for at least a month if not longer. I expect all of you to help Percy and treat him with the same amount of respect you give to me."

"They're going to have to handcuff you to the hospital bed to keep you from coming in," Silena joked. A small smirk came to Reyna's face.

"My sister has already threatened me if I come into work before I'm ready. Trust me. I know better than to anger her," Reyna said. She looked around and seemed to catch Thalia's eyes. Reyna quickly looked away. Right. Things were still super awkward between them.

It wasn't like Thalia judged Reyna for what happened the day before. Breakdowns like that were unfortunate but also a fact of life. It didn't disgust Thalia or make her think less of Reyna. In fact, she was concerned about her manager.

Maybe that was the problem.

Thalia had always thought Reyna reminded her of someone. It wasn't until the two were teaming up against her in laser tag that she realized Reyna reminded her exactly of Annabeth. Upon telling Annabeth that having a crush on Reyna was like having a crush on a Hispanic Annabeth, she was promptly hit with the nearest solid object.

But, the two were alike. Thalia knew that Annabeth didn't tell many people about her problems if she ever told anyone, preferring to shoulder that burden alone and trudge forward through life. Annabeth hated to show weakness, and Thalia had no doubts Reyna was the same.

It took years to convince Annabeth that her panic attacks were nothing to be ashamed of. She shouldn't feel lesser because someone watched her freak out. Even then, it took Thalia having a panic attack mixed with a flashback for Annabeth to realize it wasn't a bad thing. Now, what the hell was Thalia going to do about this?

"If no one has anything to add, you can get back to work," Reyna said. Thalia watched as everyone gathered up their paperwork before leaving the office. She didn't move an inch. Percy looked at her and smiled sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," Percy repeated. Thalia waved her hand like it didn't matter, and she kept her gaze on her manager. Reyna had turned her back to pretend like she was going through paperwork.

"Reyna, can we talk?" Thalia asked. Reyna tensed but slowly turned around. Percy waved and then quickly walked out of the room. "I know you don't like to hear this and will probably ignore me, but what happened isn't something that you need to be ashamed of. I don't judge you any differently."

"I know you don't want anyone to fawn over you or worry about you. I'm sure your sister does that enough, but you don't have to shoulder your burden alone," Thalia said. "You shouldn't have to. I just want you to know that if you need to talk to someone, I'm always here."

Thalia fell silent and stood. She watched Reyna and tried to smile in a comforting way. Reyna studied her quietly and didn't say a word. A small sigh finally left her, and she looked down, "Thank you."

"Anytime," Thalia promised. She rubbed the back of her neck. "You didn't hear my rant, did you?"

"I did," Reyna admitted after a few moments. She looked at Thalia and smiled slightly. "I am sorry about what happened, though. Losing years of your life like that. I can't imagine it."

"I personally like to say that I just took a really long nap," Thalia chuckled. Reyna walked towards her and sat on the desk next to her.

"Can I be honest with you?" Reyna asked in a quiet tone. Thalia nodded quickly. "I want to show you something I have only shown one person before, and that's because she walked in on it. I haven't even shown Nico this."

Reyna slowly extended her right forearm. Thalia focused on the tattoo and studied it. She knew that Reyna had a tattoo, and she may have or may not have been trying to get a good look at it for months now. Thalia had seen enough bits and pieces to put the whole image together.

The tattoo was a sword crossed with a shield. There was writing in another language on the shield and sword. Spanish? Latin? Thalia had never been bold enough to ask. Wreaths wrapped around the sword and shield.

"This is my family's crest," Reyna revealed softly. Reyna gently grabbed Thalia's hand and brought it to the tattoo. "I got the tattoo a few months after I left the army."

Thalia almost forgot how to breathe, but she did her best to play it cool as Reyna rested Thalia's hand on the tattoo. Thalia could instantly feel the smoothness of Reyna's skin, and how rigged, scarred, some of it was.

"Reyna," Thalia began. Reyna looked away and remained silent. Thalia couldn't help herself as she gently felt the rest of Reyna's tattoo. It felt like there were four different scars hidden by the ink. The only way to tell they were there was by touch.

"Hylla found me," Reyna said after a few moments. She shook her head. "I was struggling to adjust. I kept having arguments with my mother, and I didn't have any support. Hylla and I weren't talking at the time. All because of our stupid mother."

"I don't know why Hylla came over that day. Maybe, it was because I left her voicemail telling her how much I loved her. Maybe she just had a feeling. I don't know," Reyna whispered. She hung her head and retracted her hand. "Sorry. I don't know why I told you that."

"It's because we're friends," Thalia said softly. She slowly placed a hand to Reyna's back. When her manager didn't tense, she slowly rubbed it. "It's the same reason I told you about my mother and my accident. We're friends."

But, I want to be more.

Thalia wanted to kiss Reyna once again, but it wasn't the right moment. She really hoped the right moment would come sooner or later. After a moment, Thalia spoke, "You're not... well... you don't... you know?"

"No," Reyna said softly. She bit her lip. "I didn't try it again. Not after that. The way that Hylla reacted. I woke up in the hospital, and my mother wouldn't even visit me. She didn't visit in the first place either. Hylla was there, though. She spent every day with me in the hospital."

"You talked things out," Thalia assumed after a moment. Reyna nodded. "That's good, right?"

"The problem was that Hylla blamed herself," Reyna whispered. "She thinks it's her fault that I did that, but it's not her fault. It's mine."

"Hey, you are not going to blame yourself," Thalia shot down immediately. She grabbed Reyna's good shoulder. "Don't ever blame yourself. Ever."

Reyna remained silent. It seemed like she was shutting down. Thalia gently rubbed her shoulder and then leaned on her. She didn't want Reyna to be in a bad mood, and she didn't want to watch her have another panic attack or flashback.

"Hey Reyna, can I tell you something?" Thalia asked softly. Reyna nodded once. "Did you know that you are a cheater? You, Annabeth, and Percy are all cheaters!"

"It's not my fault you can't aim," Reyna argued.

"I think it is," Thalia complained. "You gave me a bad gun!"

"You picked out the gear," Reyna began. Thalia huffed and crossed her arms. "You know what, get back to work."

"Can't handle the truth?" Thalia teased. Reyna sat on the desk next to her. "I'm going to tell everyone that you are a cheater."

"I'm going to tell everyone that you're a sore loser," Reyna countered. The hint of a smile came to her face. Thalia rolled her eyes. "Is Annabeth doing okay after seeing her ex?"

"She's okay. Bastard man not only cheated on her, but the three of us have known each other for a very long time," Thalia said. "It's the worst. I would punch him in the face if it wouldn't get me arrested."

"Annabeth seems really cool. I don't know what kind of idiot would cheat on her," Reyna commented. She sighed and brought her knees to her chest. Reyna rested her head on her knees. Thalia was sure that whoever this desk belonged to, probably Silena, wouldn't be too happy about the boot marks.

"That's what I keep saying," Thalia commented. She sat next to Reyna. "Can I ask you something? A serious question this time."

"Yeah," Reyna said softly.

"I heard that you had knee surgery too," Thalia began. Reyna remained silent and stared ahead. "Shit. I'm making it worse by making you think about it, aren't I?"

"No," Reyna replied after a few moments. She looked down at her shoes. "I had my surgery after my, um, attempt. It was one of the reasons I was spiraling. I ended up shredding my knee in a freak accident. It was already pretty bad from the incident."

"That happened while you were in the army," Thalia interrupted. The words slipped out before she could stop them. She was worried that Reyna would be mad, but her manager just nodded.

"Yeah," Reyna answered. She sighed and buried her face in her knees. Her shoulders shook suddenly, and Thalia tensed, thinking she had made her manager cry. This was not what she meant to do. Reyna's shoulder shook again, and a laugh left her. "My mother pushed for me to join the army. Said I needed structure in my life. I know she just wanted me to follow in her footsteps."

"I hate your mother," Thalia admitted. "She seems like an asshole politician. And everything you say about her only makes her seem worse."

"Pretty much," Reyna agreed. She rubbed her knee slightly. "But, yeah. There was this incident? Accident? Karma? I don't know what to call it. But, I'm sure you probably heard a lot about it since Clarisse saw Octavian."

"I just heard her blame him, but she didn't go into detail. And, you don't have to share it," Thalia said. She rubbed Reyna's back again.

"I just wish this would stop happening at work," Reyna muttered softly. "First Percy. Now you. Twice in one month. It's pathetic."

"It's not pathetic. I'm sure you're just stressed out because you have to teach the new manager what to do, and honestly, Percy is a handful. I'm sure you're also nervous about your surgery. Scared, maybe. I would be scared too," Thalia whispered. She leaned on Reyna. "Let me buy you lunch today."

"You don't have to," Reyna mumbled.

"But, I want to," Thalia retorted. "I'll order something and drop it off at your office for you."

"Do you want to have lunch with me?" Reyna asked. She slowly looked at Thalia. "Especially if you're paying."

"I don't want to intrude," Thalia began.

"You're my friend. You're not going to intrude," Reyna replied. A huge grin broke out on Thalia's face. Reyna smiled slightly as she stood from the desk. "Thanks, Thalia. It means a lot."

"We all need a support system," Thalia said. She stood as well and studied Reyna. Maybe, this would be a good moment. Reyna seemed to be mostly clear-headed. She seemed to be in a better mood. All Thalia had to do was ask.

It should be easy. Just ask Reyna if she wanted to go out to dinner. Or on a date. Hell, she could make their lunch a date. Thalia opened her mouth to ask, but the radio crackled to life. Hazel's voice came over the radio, "Can I have someone hop on a register for me? We're backed up."

That was pretty easy for Thalia to ignore. She wasn't allowed to work the register. Although, she probably should be watching the cameras if it was getting that busy that they needed a backup on the lanes. Either way, Thalia would need to ask her question first.

"Reyna," Thalia began. Reyna slowly looked at her. Thalia watched her manager and hesitated. It wouldn't be fair to ask now. Not with the surgery looming over Reyna's head. Not with the flashback this fresh in her mind.

Thalia was worried that Reyna would agree now and then change her mind once she got out of the fog she was in. Part of Thalia knew that was just an excuse. She shut that side away and then forced herself to smile, "I am really going to miss you after you have your surgery. I'm also going to get you a stuffed animal."

"Please don't," Reyna pleaded, but she didn't sound like she meant it. Thalia grinned widely. The radio crackled to life again.

"Team, can I have someone hop on a register?" Hazel asked again over the radio. Reyna grabbed her radio from her belt and unclipped it. She brought it towards her mouth and waited. Thalia felt awkward. Seconds passing by as no one answered.

"Who is going to help Hazel up front? I need two people," Reyna finally said. As soon as her finger left the button on the walkie-talkie, Thalia heard three different people trying to respond at once. Reyna put her radio back on her belt.

"That was hot," Thalia commented. She instantly froze.

Why?

Why could she not just keep her damn mouth shut?

Why did these words just slip out of her mouth when she knew it was a better idea to just keep her lips sealed?

"What?" Reyna asked as she looked up from her belt. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

Thalia almost let out a sigh of relief. Instead, she quickly answered, "I said it's kind of hot in here. But, I should get back to my office and watch the cameras."

Reyna nodded, and something flickered across her face. Was that disappointment? Before Thalia could dwell on it, Reyna turned and walked out of the room. Thalia was left alone, and she leaned back on the desk. One question lingered in her mind.

Why the hell couldn't she just ask Reyna out?