Guise, I think this isn't going to be a three-shot...unless the second chapter is divided in two. So this is chapter 2.1. I even have an epilogue prepared. Hint: Second gen.
ALSO: follow, favorite, AND review/comment! I appreciate it so much and I honestly love reading them. I like to get ideas too!
I really want to get Benjamin's personality through before the wedding. I love him so much and I described him totally like my type of guy xD Biased of me? Perhaps.
It was a friday night and a rare night that a few demi-gods choose to hang out together. News obviously spread that Reyna was getting married soon. Gwen called her up and claimed the position of wedding planner without even a discussion since she hung up before Reyna could say anything. After that, Hazel found out via Gwen and Frank found out via Hazel. Frank told Percy, who told Annabeth. Piper found out because of Annabeth and Leo found out thanks to Frank. Tonight, Gwen had invited herself and Piper over at Reyna's basement apartment. Reyna had the place to herself, which was a very large basement, since her roommates were out for the weekend. Annabeth came knocking on her door, saying that Gwen had told her this address. Reyna didn't mind Annabeth visiting but she didn't feel comfortable with Gwen inviting everyone over with no heads up. Turns out, Annabeth was with Percy so Percy was going to stop by later with Frank.
So it was Gwen, Annabeth, Piper, Frank and Percy in the living room with Reyna.
"It's nice...all of us together" Mused Frank honestly.
"Yeahh..." Piper agreed.
"Why don't we call the others?!" Gwen stood up, flipping out her phone.
Reyna gave her a stare. "Don't you think you invited too many people already without my consent to my apartment?" Reyna glanced at her guest, "Not that I mind, guys; but yeah" She turned to Gwen again, "It'll be nice if you told me about it before hand..."
"Um.." Gwen started, "Can I invite the others? See, I asked you"
Reyna rolled her eyes. "Fine..." She gave in. Gwen smiled and yay-ed silently, as she dialed a number.
"Hello?" She said as she was walking away to the kitchen, "Hazel? Hey, we are all in Reyna's apartment. Why don't you come by with the others? Yeah, Leo and Jason..."
"So..." Annabeth started saying, "..How did he proposed?~" She asked with a smile.
Reyna let out a here-we-go-again sigh. But before she could say anything, her phone went off. She picked it out of her pocket and saw who it was, although she already knew. "It's Ben. I'll be right back..." Reyna stood up, placing the phone on her ear and walked away a bit from the center. Right then, Gwen returned.
"Hazel said she'll be here in no time with Jason and Leo" she said as she sat down on the couch, next to Piper and Frank.
"So..." There was an awkward silence right now and they all knew what it was about. "Reyna is getting married..." The klutz Frank starting saying. Leave it to him to cut through the awkwardness, even though he was bound to make it worse. "And not with Jason..." he pursed his lips. There, he said it. He said what everyone was too afraid to say.
"Weird isn't it..." Gwen added. It seemed like Frank and Gwen were the ones who felt more comfortable speaking about this since they known either Jason or Reyna the longest.
"They made their choice" Annabeth said with a shrug.
They all heard footsteps return and Reyna appearing. She sat down on the floor, in front of the coffee table. "Benjamin said he just made it back into town and that he'll be passing by"
"Awkwarddd..." Frank said under his breath, the only one that heard him was Gwen.
"Cool" Gwen said, to conceal Frank's comment. "I've been dying to meet him" She said.
"Now that I think of it, none of you guys met him" Reyna said.
"I was about to think that we would finally meet this mysterious boy at the wedding" Percy said with a chuckle.
"I did too..." Reyna admitted. "Oh" She changed her composure. "Jason actually met him" Reyna said, causing everyone to look at each other, confusion on their faces. "I visited New Rome about three months ago" Reyna explained.
"Oooh..." Gwen connected the dots. So Jason met Benjamin before...? And didn't do or said anything...?
"Yeah, I kind of told Benjamin everything"
"Everything?" Percy asked, "Like, how much is this everything we are talking about?"
"Like, I told him about New Rome and Camp Jupiter and my mom..." She said, "And the Titan Wars and Gaea..." She added quietly.
Annabeth couldn't believe it. Reyna, the strict former praetor Reyna, confiding in a human..? "And how did he react?" Annabeth knew that most mortals couldn't take the truth. Take Luke's and Jason's mom for example. But this was different. Benjamin met a demi-god, and not a God.
Reyna shrugged, "He took it well. More well than I expected him to take it to tell the truth. I was relieved though. He said that explained so much about me" Reyna smiled nostalgically.
"Aw..." Gwen mused. She had a bunch of bridal magazines layout in front of her, "but back to wedding planning" She cut them off.
"Fine..." Reyna gave in.
They spent some time discussing the 'wedding', but that was more Gwen's focus. The others were simply talking and catching up. It was only twenty minutes later, and Hazel stroll inside the apartment, Leo and Jason on her trail.
"Gee, thanks for knocking" Reyna said with a smile but everyone knew she was being sarcastic.
"You are very much welcome" Hazel followed and sat on a small seat.
A few greetings here and there. Reyna glanced at Jason and smiled, "Hey"
Before Jason could say anything, Leo chimed in.
"Guys, I just found the best thing ever!" Reyna raised her brow in curiosity and glanced at Jason, who gave her a you'll-see look. "Reyna?" Leo talked to her, "Where is the DVD player?" He asked her.
"Um..." Reyna stood up and walked over to the TV set, "It's right here..." She pointed.
"I was spending some time at Camp Jupiter..." Leo said as she excitedly opened a DVD case, "I got to say, Vulcan's kids over there at really cool. Not as cool as my old crew back at CHB, but, ya'know" Leo was getting a bit too excited.
"The point, Valdez" Gwen was getting impatient.
"Well, Dakota sobered up a bit and got an epiphany...More like a reminder. Literally" Leo propped the DVD inside and grabbed the control, sitting on the arm of the couch.
"What is this all about?" Reyna asked, looking at Leo and then at Jason.
Jason simply sighed. He didn't look really happy about this. "You'll see eventually..."
"Shush" Leo ordered as the DVD started playing. He went to the light switch and turned them off.
On the corner of the screen, appeared a younger version of Bobby. "Is this filming...?" He asked into the recording camera.
At that moment, everyone realized what it was. It was an old video. If Reyna guessed correctly, this small film was taking at the armory at Camp Jupiter by Bobby, a month before the fight against Krios. She and Jason weren't praetors then. They were preparing for the War Games. She remembered this but seeing it all over again, was much more refreshing in a way.
"Oh, it is" Bobby said, causing Reyna to smile. "Let's see..." Bobby grabbed the camera and focused it in front of him. Right now, all they could see was a bunch of weapons laid out on the wall. Bobby walked forward and focused on three people. It was younger version of Reyna, Gwen, and Jason. Reyna, as she watched the video, collapsed forward, hiding her head, feeling embarrassed.
"Awww, so cute" Gushed Hazel, "Young Reyna and Jason and Gwen!"
Gwen didn't change much since she was the eldest of the three. Jason and Reyna in the other hand...Jason had his blond hair closed cropped like usual -at the time-, his purple shirt and jeans. He obviously looked younger; his cheeks were fuller and he was leaner -for a lack of a better word. But other than that, he was no different. He was still tall and strong. Reyna was shorter by perhaps only an inch or two. She looked less intimidating in the video yet not so friendly but she looked more approachable then. Perhaps because of her current company. Being Praetor for so long and those eight months without Jason's support should have taken a huge toll on her, changing her disposition. She was wearing shorts and the same purple shirt as Jason with sandals. Her hair was pulled back in a pony-tail, strands of hair framing her face.
"Hey guys. Wave hello to the camera" Bobby said. In the edge of the screen, you can see Bobby's finger as he waved his hand.
Simultaneously, Jason, Reyna and Gwen glanced at Bobby. It seemed like they were preparing their armor for tonight. "What are you doing?" Young Jason asked with a crooked smile.
"Filming, Duh" Bobby answered.
"Can I ask why?" Reyna asked this time around.
Bobby focused the camera completely on her. You can see young Reyna with a raised brow as if she was uncomfortable. She probably was and she probably wanted to remove the camera's focus from her. "Well, Reyna. I actually have some questions for you in return you see" Bobby's voice came in from the background. "One of them would be why are you with my peoples?" Dakota and Gwen and Jason shared a room, along with Bobby. Reyna gave Bobby a stink face. "You have gotten sassy" Bobby told her and then removed the camera's focus from her and to himself. Almost like a note-to-self, he spoke to the camera, "This to future Bobby and anyone really, remind me to give Reyna here a piece of her own mind" You can see Reyna roll her eyes in the background.
"What do you want Bobby?" Gwen asked, to mediate the situation.
"Oh, I just got this camera and decided it'll be fun to record something. Thats what it is for" He said as he focused the camera on Jason and Gwen. "Anything to say to yourself in a few months...or years, depends how lucky we are"
"Um..." Jason scratched the back of his head. "Don't ever, and I mean ever, allow a child of Venus take care of Hannibal"
"Wise words Dude" Bobby agreed.
"Thanks" Jason smiled.
"Um" Gwen thought, "Dakota owes me 10 denari. And Jason owes me lunch since he stole mine last week"
Bobby focused the camera on Jason, "What you have to say about that?"
"Um, about Gwen's lunch...Thats a funny story actually. What had happened was..."
Gwen and Reyna smiled and Bobby decided to focus the camera on Reyna again. "Any final words Reyna...? Something you want to add on your will?" He asked her and Reyna faked laughed.
"Remind me to push you in front of the target tonight at the War Games if I don't kill you myself..." She said with a sweet smile.
"Aw, so kind of you" Bobby said with sarcasm with a chuckle. Bobby and Reyna had a friendship based on sarcasm. Only they knew how it worked. "Thank you"
"You're welcome" Reyna returned with a smile.
Bobby focused the camera on Jason again, "You'll save me if I'm in danger right, Jason?"
Jason shrugged doubtfully, "I don't know man..." He said, "i think I'll prefer to side with Reyna rather than being against her on the battle field"
Bobby focused the camera on himself, "It's only me, myself and I, pal" He told the camera and then focused on Reyna, who was smiling. "You won this battle" He told her and she gave him another face, but this one was more playful. A thump was heard on the background. Jason tacked Bobby playfully and the screen turned black for a moment.
Watching this video now, Reyna felt really nostalgic. Everything seem so much better than, even when they were close to a Titan War. Jason had his memories then, he was his old self. She actually felt like a teenager with good friends who cared and a crush but then Gaea had to stir and ruin everything. Jason left for eight months, loosing everything that he had then, Reyna has closed herself again, letting no one in. As much as everyone wanted to go back in time then, it wasn't possible. It didn't go bad either after they had defeated Gaea, thankfully. But...She didn't know. Their life took a unexpected toll. Perhaps that was what was destined to happen. But watching this video, she really wanted that old life back.
A new scene appeared on the screen. Actually, background music came first but the screen stayed black. It was more like a bunch of teenagers singing. Reyna knew this song. It was a traditional roman song. She think she knew what this was.
"Wait, I still have that thing on the camera..." Said Dakota who removed the cover from the camera. Once he did, his face appeared smiling. He had a scar on his forehead and a cut still healing on his neck down to his shoulder. He had gotten those on the Titan War. "So if I guess anyone is watching this, you probably survived" He said. Reyna could feel a hint of nostalgia and pain in his voice. Most people knew someone who had died in the final battle. Dakota smiled. "If you were wondering what that singing is in the background, it's celebration party" He said. He turned the camera around. There was a dozens of teenagers with band-aids and some other type of first aid smiling and laughing and singing.
Reyna remembered that day. They- well, Jason defeated Krios and they sent him and his army back to where they belong. They did a celebration of course, to Jason, for defeating Krios, and also for being titled as Praetor along with Reyna and for everyone really, for defeating an army. That party lasted about 2 days straight. Some people consider Romans strict; perhaps they are but they were also based on loyalty and unity. And at the end of the day, there were teenagers that liked to have fun and celebrate.
"Let's see what the others are doing" Dakota said and took the camera with him as he walked toward his friends at the Principia. Even inside the Principia, everyone was celebrating. "It looks like the VIP lounge inside here" Dakota commented. And it honestly did. There were people waking back and forth and all. They were preparing this place for the new Praetors most likely. Dakota focused the camera on Reyna. "Here is one of the new Praetors" He said. Reyna was standing up straight, hands on her hip. Behind her, stood a daughter of Venus. It appeared as the daughter of Venus was measuring some fabric on her. It was for Reyna's new regal cloths now that she was Praetor. Reyna caught glance of Dakota with a camera. She wondered why he had a camera but smiled at the end and waved.
"What you up to?" She asked him. The daughter of Venus seemed to be done and walked away.
"Just recording a historic moment here at New Rome" He said. "How do you feel becoming Praetor?" he asked her kindly.
Reyna looked like she didn't know how to answer that. It was a great responsibility really, being praetor. "I honestly don't know" Reyna started. "I didn't expect becoming Praetor"
"C'mon..." Dakota said, "You are totally lying. Everyone kind of saw that coming..."
In the background, you can see Jason walked back and forth in view of the camera.
"I remember coming to the Wolf House and meeting Lupa. And the little quest to Camp Jupiter. I thought I would be lucky if I actually survived the year here after what I- after what we all went through at the Wolf House at one point" Reyna finally caught glance of Jason pacing behind her. "What are you doing?" She asked him quietly. Jason simply shrugged and continued walking. Reyna looked at the camera again, "He's weird" She said as she looked at Jason one final time, "But anyways, yeah. It's been three years now and I'm not dead"
"What is one thing you want to change as Praetor?"
"Is this an interview now?" Reyna asked.
"Answer the question. One thing you'd like to change as praetor..."
Reyna was about to answer but she glanced at Jason again. He was very distracting as he walked back and forth behind her. "What are-" She was about to ask but shook her head and sighed. "So weird.." she focused on the camera now again. "Anyways. I don't really now. Maybe a more flexible scheduling yet packed with activities, jobs and chores. We can't afford people slacking around..."
"Um, okay..." Dakota didn't know what to do about that. "How about Jason, your fellow colleague? You guys been on a quest together before, right? What do you expect working with him now?"
"Um..." Reyna notice Jason slowly slowing his pace until he was now definitely behind her.
"Go on. Answer the question..." he told her with a serious face. Reyna rolled her eyes and glanced at him expectantly, her arms crossed over her chest.
"I do not feel like answering that question" She said and then walked off. Dakota focused the camera on Jason now, who was looking at Reyna walking off but then at the camera.
"Tell me Jace. You are now praetor along with Reyna. You two aren't strangers. You gone to quests together. Anything Camp Jupiter need to know about her?"
Jason put a face as if he was thinking very hard about that question. He pointed out his finger in an i-got-one way. "You know some stuff about people during quests: she grinds her teeth when she sleeps" He said casually.
"I do not!" You can hear Reyna shout in the background.
Jason glanced back, "Of course you don't" He told her but mouthed, 'She totally does', at the camera.
"Lets speak to her again" Dakota said and walked over with the camera, Jason on his side.
They finally caught up with Reyna, Dakota pointing the camera at her and Jason on her side.
"Okay, Preators. Tell me: 3 things you want to accomplish during your praetor-ship"
Jason and Reyna glanced at each other.
"Increase New Rome's defenses even more powerful" Jason pointed out a finger, counting one.
"Build stronger houses for the Families in New Rome and more bunkers for the campers" Reyna said and Jason extended another finger: two.
"And..." Jason was figuring what else to say. "decrease the death tolls and-"
"get more recruits with the blessing of the gods" Reyna finished with a smile. Jason extended another finger and held them out. There it was. Their three things they wanted to accomplish together.
"Very nice of you two" Dakota said but held a bit of sarcasm in there. Dakota put the camera to focus on his own face.
"There it was Ladies and gents. The Royal unofficial couple of camp Jupiter"
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. That snapped Reyna out of her thoughts. That video made her nostalgic. She was even teary eyed. Leo stopped the video.
"I didn't know we had more visitors..." He said looking around.
"Right, Reyna boyfriend, Benjamin, said that he'll pass by..." Gwen said.
"Oh..." Leo said.
Reyna was glad that the lights were off. She didn't want them to see her like this. As she was trying to remove any sign of teary-eyes, an actual tear rolled down her cheek. Gee, that was helpful. Watching that video, reminded her of what she wanted, of what her life could have been if Gaea hadn't interfered. Her life at Camp Jupiter, her relationship with Jason...You can still have all of that, a little voice rung inside the back of her head. Reyna shook her head and walked over to the light switch. "I'll get the door" She said, trying very hard that the sadness didn't convey in her voice. She turned on the lights and walked quickly over to the door, where she was out of sight. She wiped her tears away before she opened the door for Benjamin.
As the entire video played, Jason was actually paying attention to Reyna and how she would react to it. He also had felt nostalgic. He wondered what would have happened if they shown him this video when he had amnesia. Watching this video, let him know with more confidence who he was and what his life was before Gaea. Why couldn't they shown him this video sooner...it was too late now. What was the point of showing him what he could have been when that cannot be anymore. Now, if he actually change how things was going, it would be very helpful but sadly, he cannot. Life was taken it's course and he wasn't going to interfere, again – even though that first time wasn't his fault.
Next instalment.
Benjamin confronts Reyna and asks her what is really going on or what really happened between her and Jason.
Jason's bros has more than advice for him. And maybe even the appearance of a lovely god.
Who do you think will meet Reyna at the end of the aisle?
Jason or Benjamin.