Author's Note: And here is chapter five of Fire and Ice!
This is the longest chapter yet. I don't know exactly how this happened. I just knew I needed to update soon and then when I started writing some type of inspiration hit me and voila! This chapter was born!
Please keep in mind that dialogue isn't my forte. I didn't have much of it in other chapters for a reason but it needed to be in this one. The dialogue just had to be written.
This chapter is mainly fluff. It's still early in the Leyna relationship stage but I felt like some fluff needed to be written. It worked as motivation for this chapter, you could say.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy! And don't forget to review and that constructive criticism is always welcome!
Happy Reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, The Heroes of Olympus, or any characters and/or places associated with either series. All rights go to Rick Riordan and Disney Hyperion.

Chapter Five

"Leo? Leo, are you awake? Leo!"

"Reina?" Leo asked, forgetting that she didn't know he called her "Queen" in Spanish when people weren't around.

Reyna was too excited to notice the demigod's slip-up. She was just glad that he was alive.

"You're… You're… You're awake!"

Leo took the look on Reyna's face as one of displeasure, rather than one of shock—delighted shock, of course, but shock all the same. "Well, yeah. I'm awake. I'm sorry that causes you so much disappointment. I'm sure you wanted me dead." He looked away, his cheeks red and tears threatening to fall.

"No!" Reyna called out immediately. Leo froze. "I don't want you dead. Quite the opposite, really."

Leo turned around to face the warrior girl. "But I attacked your camp and lead you on a goose chase for days."

"I know. But I'd like to hear your side of the story. My soldiers have acted rashly and I'd like to make up for it."

Leo looked at her in shock for a brief moment. Then that flirty smirk reappeared.

I love it when he smirks, Reyna thought. Cut it out, Reyna. You have interrogating to do.

Leo smiled and said, "Well, then let's start talking, Reina."

They spent hours talking. Leo explained his various dilemmas and adventures while on the run with the other six and Coach Hedge. It was a nice conversation, even though Leo couldn't help but throw in quite a few jokes and sarcastic comments throughout the story. His signature smirk was present throughout everything but the part about his encounter with Narcissus. Then his face turned red and he smiled shyly.

Reyna couldn't help but enjoy this time with him. They had fun and it was a great conversation. She couldn't tell you the last time she had laughed like that.

"So," Leo said after he finished his story, "how many Team Leo shirts do I need to specially order, Reina? And I'll throw in a special deal, just for you." He winked.

"Oh? And what would that be?" she asked, rolling her eyes.

"Every shirt ordered from you will be signed personally by me. Praetor's special."

"You wish, Valdez."

"One of these days, Reina. One of these days."

"Keep dreaming."

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes after that, simply enjoying the other's company. They enjoyed being able to act like themselves for once.

After a while, though, Reyna broke the silence. "Hey, Valdez?"

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

His lips quirked. "You just did, Reina." She rolled her eyes. "Alright. Shoot."

"Why do you call me that?"

Leo looked a bit confused. "Huh?"

"Reina. You call me Reina. It sounds different. Spanish."

"That's because it is Spanish."

"Why do you call me that? Any particular reason?"

"A couple of reasons, actually."

"Care to explain?"

"When I first heard your name, it was before I had actually met you. So when I first heard it, not knowing that Reyna was actually your name, I thought it meant reina, like the Spanish word. I'm bilingual—my mother often spoke Spanish to me as a child—so it was natural to think of it as reina. That's reason number one, I guess. First impressions can be important."

"And the other reasons?"

"Well, I guess I should tell you first that reina means 'queen' in Spanish. This, I guess, is kind of the other reason in itself." Reyna looked at him oddly, as a puzzled look crossed her face. "When I first met you, I was intimidated. You were flawless. You were fearless. You were unbreakable. You were powerful. You were a leader. In my mind, I saw you as a queen. A true queen. The kind that led her people through thick and thin and actually took action. You really were what I thought to be a queen." And not just any queen, he wanted to say. I saw you as my queen. I still see you as my queen.

Reyna smiled. "You know what, Valdez?"

"What?"

"That might just be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me. And right now, with Octavian and Camp Jupiter all waiting for me to screw up, I needed to hear it." She looked up at him, into his eyes. "Thank you for that, Leo."

"Any time," he replied.

They simply sat there after that. It wasn't awkward. It wasn't suffocating. It was actually quite relaxing. It was something neither of them had had with anyone else for a long time.

And they had it with each other.

So, they let it linger as long as they could, savouring the moment.

Then Reyna made the mistake of looking up into the boy's eyes.

They flickered, it seemed, in the lighting. They seemed to have a sort of fire to them. Reyna smiled at the thought, but it went unnoticed by Leo.

He was too busy looking into the girl's gorgeous, captivating eyes.

They sat in a trance, looking dreamily at the other. And slowly—painstakingly slowly—they moved closer. Closer and closer they moved, until they were centimeters apart.

Then Leo's calloused hand went up to caress Reyna's face and their lips met in a tentative kiss that both demigods needed desperately.

Of course, that moment was when all Hades broke loose.

Author's Note Part II: I'm sorry that I ended it there. I'm a dramatic writer. And, unfortunely, every bit of fluff in the beginning of a relationship has to end somewhere.
So yeah, dramatic cliffhanger sentence as an ending. I'm evil. I'll update as soon as I can! I swear on the River Styx! Until next chapter!