Ahoj, lovely readers!

I'll get straight to the important notices:

1. This is a prompt (Off Black: Power) story/submission for the April Contest (Colors of the Rainbow), an event in the Camp Half-Blood forum (link in my bio).

2. WARNING: Contains slight swearing.

3. Word count (without A/N): 1,471

4. Pairing: Theyna

5. Thank you very much to BethnPercy for adding the story to their list of favorites! Special thanks to AlbaAstridHoffer and guacamole lover for reviewing! Love you guys! And I'm grateful to the followers who are waiting for more!

6. The next chapters in this fic may or may not be related to each other.

Enjoy!

Of Dates, Auras and Asses

Thalia was known as a Hunter of Artemis. Heck, she was the lieutenant of the troop! She wore 'death to Barbie' t-shirts!

Conclusion: Thalia wasn't a girl to fall in love! Maybe she was once, but not after . . . Ah, let's not go there.

Whatever it was, she couldn't understand how that Reyna chick had managed to capture her undivided attention.

As far as Thalia could figure out, it was because of the powerful aura the Roman Praetor gave off.

Being in the Hunt had its perks: like Thalia could blend into any scene, set tents in a matter of seconds and shoot arrows to faraway targets.

One of the innumerable advantages was that she could read the power auras of people.

It usually came handy in battles. She would figure out how powerful the opponent was and then strategize her attacks and movements so that she got the upper hand.

The most impressive aura she had ever seen around a demigod was undoubtedly Percy's, Annabeth's and Jason's, while Nico, Clarisse, Frank, and Piper and came in for a close second.

But Reyna . . . That girl's power aura seemed to know no bounds, figuratively speaking. The daughter of Bellona radiated pure energy. Maybe she couldn't win against Percy with his water-controlling powers – whose aura also continued to grow stronger and stronger with each passing day – but Thalia was sure that she could beat anyone else to dust if she really wanted to.

Purely emphasizing on the point: Thalia had acknowledged the fact that she probably, in the very very slightest, liked Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.

There. She said it.

At first, it had been hard – really hard – for Thalia to accept her feelings and to open up to one of her fellow Hunters and friends, namely Hunter.

Yeah, that poor girl got that a lot.

Hunter Kowalski had told her to not worry if her crush was on a girl.

"Even if that wasn't as common eons ago, it is now. The gods and goddesses aren't what they once used to be, and even then they fell in love with the same gender," she had said. "Lady Artemis would understand. And don't you think she knows already?"

That had been true.

When Thalia finally decided to break the news to the goddess of the Moon, she found out that Artemis had indeed known it all along.

"It is the will of Aphrodite, Lieutenant." Artemis had admitted, shaking her head a bit too solemnly (which had looked a little funny, considering that Lady Artemis was in her 'thirteen-year-old-girl' form). "And I cannot go against it, for it does not break the oath the Hunters take. Maidens have to stay maidens and swear off boys. The rule doesn't apply if your love is a girl."

After that bit of information had made a home in her heart, Thalia went from denial to acceptance, to denial again and then she finally accepted her feelings when Reyna had talked to her that one evening.

The Hunters and Romans were visiting Camp Half-Blood for some time during the summer. Now that the two camps knew about the other's existence, they met quite frequently for purposes varying from casual meets to the annual celebration they had to commemorate the victory against Gaea.

That fortunate day, Reyna had been practicing in the arena, massacring the dummies. Thalia had gone up to her, asking her whether she would like to fight with someone who could strike back, but Reyna politely declined her offer, saying that she would have to go freshen up for the campfire, as it was her duty to always keep setting examples for the members of the Twelfth Legion, which in this case was being at the venue on time. Then she had continued that it was the Praetor's responsibility to take care of her 'family' and that she cared about them all, even the Greeks and . . . and Thalia as well.

That had apparently struck Thalia's rock of a heart.

Presently, she rubbed her arms; it was starting to get a little cold at the beach. Plus, she was not wearing any socks, which were "cozy as anything in any weather" according to her blonde bestie.

A sudden image of her kissing Reyna popped into her mind and she winced, sure that it was the love goddess' doing.

Thalia nearly fell off of the out-of-place log that she sat on when Aphrodite spoke in her head: Let go of your fears. Embrace your heartfelt desires. You don't need to run away anymore, child.

Running away. That option had always seemed appealing to Thalia.

But Thalia didn't have any heartfelt desires to run away from! Or . . . maybe she did.

"Shit," she cursed out loud, rubbing her forehead irritably. "My life just had to get fucked up again."

Closing her eyes, Thalia decided something: she would abide by Aphrodite's terms and confess everything to Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano.

The golden opportunity came sooner than the daughter of Zeus had initially expected (and hoped for).

Thalia wasn't much of a procrastinator when it came to the future, but she did visualize the scene to be more — what's the word? Yeah — intense.

Both of them – Reyna and Thalia – were sparring off in the arena, the former having taken up the latter's offer. Moments later, the sun had set and it was nearly time for dinner.

"Let's pack up now," Reyna suggested (read: ordered), panting, completely poker-faced. Thalia couldn't help but notice how her hair were in a perfect messy-bun.

Wait . . . Romans did something messy and unruly?

She laughed internally at her own joke, then decided that it wasn't that funny enough to mention to Reyna.

This is it, Thalia thought to herself. Go for it, mouth.

"I kinda like you, you know," Thalia blurted out, immediately finding the speck of dirt on the ground interesting.

Reyna stayed quiet for a long time, which made the blue-eyed girl's heartbeat speed up so that it matched the continuous vibration of a phone kept on silent mode.

"Jason told me," she finally said, her voice as confident as ever, even at a time like such. "I've known that for the last week or so."

Thalia mentally threw a string of curses at her brother, frowning.

"Don't kill him, please," Reyna shrugged, as if reading her mind. "We still need our Pontifex Maximus."

Thalia laughed, almost humorlessly.

"Fuck. I've ruined everything, haven't I?"

"I do not think so, Thalia." Reyna shook her head. "I just don't know if that is what Venus meant when . . ."

"When what?"

"When she said that no demigod could heal my heart. And you . . . you are a Hunter of Artemis. Immortal. Not a demigod. What I'm trying to say is, you might be the one I have waited such a long time for."

Never in a million centuries would Thalia admit what happened next.

A single drop of tear rolled down her cheek, and she was grateful that Reyna couldn't see that in the dark of the evening.

Finally, after what seemed like heart-wrenching years, Thalia glanced at the girl with hope, managing to get her expression to harden up.

"Does that mean I get the date?" she asked, looking deep in the charcoal eyes as fiercely as possible, to show that she wasn't afraid of the consequences.

That she wasn't just doing this just because a goddess enjoyed muddling up their heads.

"I suppose that is what I meant," Reyna replied, smiling.

"Right. So, coffee tomorrow?"

Reyna nodded.

They walked towards the bathrooms in silence for a while, which was completely fine with Thalia. Their hands slightly brushed together once, which weirdly made the punk girl grin. That is, before she snorted.

"Didn't know Romans did anything messy."

She motioned towards Reyna's black locks.

And Reyna, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion, laughed at her silly joke; the same joke that she hadn't dared to tell her moments ago.

"I didn't know that Romans laughed either," Thalia chuckled.

"That's too much, Thals," Reyna retorted good-naturedly. "I . . . uh, can call you that?"

Had anyone else called her that, they would've grabbed their electrified asses in a matter of seconds. Like, literally. Thalia had done that a couple of times, mostly to Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Jason.

But with Reyna, it was different.

"You can. Can't say no to someone too powerful, now," Thalia smirked. "Can I?"

"You can't and you know it."

That she did.

And she didn't mind it at all.

And done! Liked it? Didn't? Tell me in the reviews!

I know this isn't my best work, but hey, I had to write this, people; I've got a deadline.

Anyways, REVIEWS/FAVORITES/FOLLOWS make me very joyful! Until the next chappie!