Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson or Heroes of Olympus series, RR does.
A/N: I'M ALIVE! *cough* Nah, I've been alive all this time, it's just that I have a few bazillion things I like doing in my free time, I'm a bit busy with school and stuff and, on top of that all, I'm super lazy. Sorry for the wait, if any of you got pissed. ;) And now there's only one thing left: ENJOY!
You're probably the best Leyna FanFic writer here on FF. I'm fuckin' serious, dude.- a guest review to my Feel Good Drag; my dearest Guest, if you're reading this, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH! I may not completely agree with your opinion but those were so lovely words anyway. ;)
CHAPTER 9
She never wanted to find herself staring at him.
But she did and that annoyed her more than anything in a very, very long time. Damn, she hadn't been daydreaming since Jason! And by then she knew how it would end, so such weakness upset her to her wits' end. What was more, curse all the sanctities of the world, she was actually enjoying the view.
Damned Leo Valdez.
It was one day after she'd run into him dancing (if it could be called a dance...) to that strange song (Cute, he told her it was called) and the first extra lab class they were going to have from then onward. They were going to take place three times a week which meant one important thing to her.
She would have to work her ass off not to fall for Leo five times a week, if counting only the times they'd actually meet in person.
She was so screwed.
"Reyna..?" his voice snapped her out of her self-mortification session and her head jerked up for her eyes to meet his furrowed eyebrows. She cleared her throat and straightened, taking care of any wrinkles on her lab coat in the meantime.
"Yes..?" It was obvious to him that she hadn't been paying attention to himself all that time and that was an unbelievably inconvenient course of the action. Gods, he had even tried to comb his hair, were all the efforts to impress her going to die in vain?
"I was asking if you could hold it for me for a moment" he said, holding out a wooden arm with a test tube he had been using during the experiment. She nodded quickly, grabbing the arm and watching as he went to the drawer to take out a burner.
He then came back, preparing to light it, when a vivid memory of pain came to her mind and she hesitated.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing..?" she asked, remembering how hard the class' floor had been under her head and moving the tube out of his reach. Leo rolled his eyes and grinned.
"Have I ever not known?" he teased, wiggling his eyebrows. Her expression remained unchanged and he remembered about the accident from a few days earlier. "Um... Ok, you do it..." he mumbled, passing on the burner to her.
They worked in silence for some time, the only sounds being a few requests to one another concerning their tasks and echoes of the carried out reactions. That was perfectly fine with her, as long as he didn't do much, it was much easier not to fall under his charm. Leo, on the other hand, was starting to feel uneasy. Inactivity was the worst!
"So, um..." That was the time to bring the big guns out, he decided. "Did you miss me on Friday?" he asked, trying hard to catch her into his not-so-famous but definitely alluring Valdez stare. Disappointed in its poor result - her indifferent face - he focused on the beaker he was holding, just missing a faint blush that crept her way onto her cheeks when she didn't manage to restrain it for any longer.
"If you not being there means no physical damage then no, not at all" she stung him, hoping that keeping him in the nastiness zone would finally kill that unreasonable crush in its roots. It was the high time it had been killed!
Leo winced and huffed quietly. "How many times am I going to apologize..?" he mumbled, pouting. Seriously, he hadn't meant any harm to her, it was an accident! She could finally stop being so stubborn and let the memory of their poor first encounter go!
Reyna broke their stares' fight, returning to the work. She had to keep her mind occupied so she wouldn't focus on him instead. "And you?" she asked cautiously after a few moments of silence, deciding a casual talk wouldn't hurt and could definitely improve the awkward atmosphere that had ruled over the lab "Where were you?" she questioned, still not looking at him.
Oh, so she finally admitted she was interested? Well, the reasons for his absence were not quite what he meant but it was definitely a good start! He grinned, ruffling his hair out of habit.
"I was giving Festus a proper check-up" he smiled proudly. When her answer was nothing more than confusion painted over her beautiful face (somehow, the wrinkle on her forehead didn't do any harm to her comeliness, if it wasn't actually making her even cuter), the terrifying truth got to him. "I haven't told ya about Festus?!" he gasped and Reyna rolled her eyes at his overly dramatic reaction.
"No, you haven't" she cut in before he could have gone on with the show "What is it?" she asked, genuinely wondering what could have been so important as to drag him away from his beloved Laboratory Science class and to actually name it, in the first place.
Leo made his goggles hang on his neck in an exaggerated movement and took a step back to have some more space. So she couldn't skip the performance? Too bad.
"Festus, my dear..." he started quietly, drilling holes in her eyes with his mysterious stare. She didn't know whether how he had referred to her had made a shiver travel down from her nape to the small of her back or if the sensation had been a result of herself feeling offended. "Festus is the miracle of the universe of music!" Leo continued, drawing away his arms in a sudden move and disturbing her mental clash "It's undeniably the creator of the purest, finest sounds in the entire world, if not in other worlds, too!" he knew he was getting carried away but hey! A chance like that was not to be wasted! He inhaled deeply, having run out of air mere seconds earlier, when Reyna interrupted suddenly.
"Ah, it's your guitar?" she wanted to confirm, pleased with herself for remembering his words and coming up with a way to stop Leo's excited babble. All air left the Latino, as if he had been a leaky tire.
"Yes, it is" he mumbled "But you're taking away all its magic!" he pointed out accusingly. Reyna lifted her eyebrow and snorted.
"What magic is there to a musical instrument? It's just a thing, it can be replaced" she said calmly, not being able to shoo the little bit of irony out of her voice. Leo's smile disappeared from his features and his eyes widened. How could she..? Just a thing?!
The atmosphere in the lab seemed to had got significantly colder with just those few words. Leo swallowed with difficulty through his dry throat. "You really think so..?" he asked grimly, not meeting her gaze. He was just opening his mouth to counter her reasoning (or tell her things he would regret later, he wasn't sure) when an arrival of two more people brought their attention to the door.
"Um... Are we interrupting..?" Jason asked uncertainly, which was a pretty odd question to ask when he'd already slammed the door open and walked in almost up to them. Behind him, a younger boy kept killing the back of the blond's head with his sight.
"You've already entered the room, why are you asking now?" he pointed out quietly with a note of annoyance in his voice. His frizzy black hair stuck out at weird angles, some of the wisps falling onto his forehead. He was unnaturally pale but the pallor of his skin couldn't completely conceal the Italian tint of his complexion. The new-comer was wearing black jeans, a black T-shirt and black aviator jacket which all together made Leo wonder if there hadn't started an ice age while they had been in the lab.
"Nico!" Reyna called, her features lightening significantly. A prickle of jealousy stung Leo. She had never been as glad to see himself! Something like a weak yet sincere smile passed through the new-come boy's features.
"Reyna. Leo" he acknowledged, bowing his head a bit towards the Latino. They knew themselves from their high school in NYC, though Nico was a little less than two years younger then Leo. They'd never been particularly close, blame it on Nico's distinctive avoidance of any other human beings (which crept the crap out of Leo a bit but shush!). Also, what the Latino just couldn't approve of, the guy had never seemed to get his magnificent sense of humor!
Him and Reyna, on the other hand, had got to know one another through Hazel, Nico's self-appointed step-sister. Nico had met her younger colleague via Hazel's gemstone collecting blog and the two had steadily grown close, especially after Nico's father's money helped the girl out of some trouble which details Reyna didn't know.
The Puerto Rican approached the boy with a smile gracing her regal features, leaving Leo speechless from confusion. He'd never seen Reyna or Nico that comfortable around somebody that they, supposedly, almost didn't know! What were they hiding from him?! Before he could have bitten his tongue, he blurted out "You two know each other?!"
Reyna turned back to her colleague (nothing more!) and shot him a quick glance, trying not to snort at his hanging jaw. "Annabeth gave us the opportunity to get to know each other better" she explained. Reyna and the soon-to-be (or so everybody expected) Mrs. Jackson had found out their intriguing similarity when the blonde, the overprotective girlfriend she was (But of course I'm not..! Percy, get into the shadow or you'll have a sunstroke!), had come to visit her boyfriend during his stay in LA at the time of the holiday exchange he and Jason had had. Basically, the guys had switched places for the summer. It had been by no means their idea, Jason's aunt who was in charge of the exchange program just happened to know somebody from Percy's family and the two had been set up without themselves even knowing what had been going on until they had been both getting into their respective planes. Or at least so both Percy and Jason had told.
The exchange was also the cause of Reyna's naïve hopes to become somebody more than a good friend for Jason crushing with the fast train in the person of Piper McLean but... It wasn't like she still hadn't got him over yet. Of course not...
While that whole clunky emotional mess of a situation had nothing to do with Nico di Angelo, the newly bloomed friendship with the student from NYC had been the cause of herself and him going one base further than just greeting each other formally whenever Reyna run into Nico visiting Hazel. Some time after Annabeth and Percy had gone back home, she had received a call from the blonde who had asked Reyna to do her a favor. Her aunt, who was a scientist in LA, had wanted to accuse the other's collage of stealing scholarly properties. Not wanting for the matter to get too ugly, Annabeth had asked of her that she had eased the conflict, acting as a troubleshooter between her relative and the institution.
How the boy of Italian origin had got into the case, Reyna didn't remember by then. The only thing that mattered to her anyway was how much of a help he had been and how much closer they'd got during their diplomatic mission. Nico was quiet, didn't like to socialize much and felt no need to be in the centre of attention whatsoever. She valued those features, she wasn't exactly the loudest type herself to begin with.
That meant, a sudden thought had suddenly struck her like a lightning, that she was the exact opposite of Leo... On impulse, she turned to him again to find his jaw already picked up from the floor but his sight not being able to stop its track from herself to Nico and back. Theirs eyes met and that damn, unintelligible part of her brain absolutely had to haze her mind a little with the darkness his orbs held...
They heard somebody clear his throat and suddenly it occurred to them that, right, Jason was in the room too! Reyna broke their eye contact to return to Nico and the blond. Too bad it hadn't lasted longer... Leo sighed quietly and walked up to their guests, forcing a bright grin.
"What brings you here, Nico?" Reyna was asking when he approached the other three and settled for a stand by her side. Much too close, for her taste. Gods damn it, they weren't BFFs out of the blue! She accidentally nudged his shoulder when she was trying to move away discreetly but whether he chose to ignore it or simply didn't feel it was going to stay an unknown as he didn't show any reaction to the movement.
Nico was eyeing the two, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. "I came to visit Hazel" he pronounced slowly, casting a gloomy stare at the blond by his side. "Basically, Jason abducted me and dragged me here by force to say hi to you guys" he added, completely straight-faced. Reyna smirked a small smile. So like the two of them!
Jason huffed quietly. "They are your friends, why would you hide away from them?" he asked, crossing his arms on his chest and, Leo was almost 100% sure of that, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. Nico snorted with quiet laughter.
"You're also calling yourself my friend and, sometimes, I'd prefer to avoid you" he countered and Reyna could swear there was a tiny smirk on his lips. Leo chuckled.
"Oh, you guys love one another so much!" he grinned, ignoring the death glares Nico sent him, trying to conceal a faint blush on his cheeks. Reyna frowned. As far as she was concerned, Leo still simply couldn't understand how much meaning those words could have when it came to their younger friend... That didn't mean she wasn't going to stop him, however!
"Enough, Leo" she snarled maybe a little too harshly. The Latino's snicker halted immediately and he looked over at her, slightly offended.
"What did I do yet again?!" he parried, not being able to hide the hurt in his voice. Seriously, what was her problem?! Did she swear on the river Styx to hate him forever or something?! For gods' sake, he wouldn't be surprised even one bit if she never returned his feelings but what was with the constant hostility?! "Damn, reina, at least don't be so ruthless!"
Corners of Jason's mouth twitched upwards awkwardly and he stepped in between their angry-offended glaring session. "It's ok, guys, no need to argue" he tried to ease the conflict that was lingering in the air. Leo looked away from her and Reyna could his eyes shining oddly but wasn't able to make out if there were tears or just gleams of annoyance. Maybe she had been a little too hard on him, after all..?
She hated admitting she had been wrong... Words came out as a croaked mumble when she opened her mouth to let them out "Look, Leo, I-" Before she could have even made him look at herself, a loud clatter resounded in the air, followed by an undistinguishable mutter, most likely a swearword.
Three heads turned to bore their eyes into a bent form of Nico di Angelo picking something up from the floor. A silver object glistened in his palm and after a moment, they watched him put a ring with a scull back onto his finger. That was the time Reyna finally realized there was something anomalous about their friend.
"You've lost weight, Nico, haven't you?" she pointed out accusingly, worried about how much paler his skin was, how hollowly the cheekbones stuck from under his skin and how unnaturally loose his jacket was. Nico winced but quickly pulled himself together, forcing a weak smile that could have been convincing if it hadn't been for the unhealthy shadows below his shining pitch-black orbs.
"I... Came across some unpleasant people..." she didn't even have the time to express how such beings shouldn't even have had the right to breathe the same air as Nico aloud, as the boy seemed to have noticed her outraged frown and quickly added "But I'm OK now, really. It's only getting better"
Reyna huffed quietly in annoyance and Leo allowed his aching infatuation to take a midget peek at her profile. Lips slightly pouted but not to the point for it to stand out too much and fully express her emotions... Nostrils of the neat nose wavering slightly when she inhaled sharply... A small wrinkle between two shapely, dark lines of eyebrows... Eyes gleaming with the unsaid threat of just what she would have done with Nico's naggers...
And suddenly his throat was too dry, his chest seemed too tight to be able to breathe steadily, his heart wanted to try and break a few of his ribs and (the worst of all) something throbbed queerly in his loins... If only she made it somewhat harder to become obsessed with her wonder!
"Is it a keepsake of sort? A valuable family treasure?" the question coming out of her majesty herself distracted him from the never-ending valley of thoughts of paranoid adoration. He shook his head slightly and tried to focus his attention back on Nico. He was surprised to find the boy actually smiling, his eyes fastened on the piece of metal around his finger.
"No, it's just... Very important to me" he muttered, almost seeming to had forgotten where he was and what he was doing. Reyna frowned yet again (were they all simply fixated on wanting to make her have wrinkles or something?). What was that with them all being attached to everyday objects so much? First Leo and his guitar, then Nico and that ring!
Leo smirked bitterly. "Why? It's just a thing, it can be replaced" he quoted, grimly satisfied with the way Reyna budged stiffly at his side. The biggest crush of his life, the most gorgeous girl he'd ever known or not, he couldn't help just a tiny little bit of spite - he still hadn't forgiven her for Festus. Well, at least not completely...
She was confused, what was that all about?! Why did Leo insist on making such a fuss out of her opinion on his instrument? Why was he so resentful, it wasn't like she'd offended him, right? She hadn't said anything to make him act like a spoiled brat (whom he probably still was)! Gods, she would never be able to get that guy!
"It's a gift from my father" Nico continued in the meantime, probably the only reason why Reyna still hadn't confronted her irritating Latino drama king of a colleague "It reminds me that he cares, even when he's not around..." he finished more quietly, confusion painting over his face as if even himself was surprised with the sudden confession. Reyna was eyeing the ring, her features the consistency of a well-chilled jelly.
A memento..?
Jason's wide smile faded when the blond's eyes accidentally met the clock on the wall above Nico's head. "Uh-oh..." he hummed, frowning just as much so his face looked more mature and reliable. One of her favorite expressions...
Stop it! She cursed mentally at what she'd just been going to do. He's Jason, he's a friend! Focus! A distraction, look for a distraction!
Not that it bothered him in any way possible, but Leo was rather astonished with Reyna staring at him. Well, that was until his brain got completely knocked out when she came close, really close, grabbed him by his lab coat fiercely and pulled him in for a sweet, unearthly kiss, not taking a notice in Jason or Nico's shocked gasps and not shoving him away, for once, when he wrapped his shaking limbs around her waist and felt her smirk against his lips...
"Leo? Are you even listening to me?" And then he blinked and the image was gone, Reyna's mesmeric eyes indeed looking at him but herself doing nothing beside it. His face flushed bright red and he lowered his head, turning to Jason trying to communicate with the ruler of Fantasyland. Damn it.
"Y-yeah..?" he tried, but it didn't come out anyhow convincing. Nico was looking away, his sight wandering through the lab as he was probably beginning to feel bored, and Jason's facial expression demanded an answer to the question Leo had never heard. He didn't dare look at Reyna, fearing another hallucination.
The blond sighed, a small smile gracing his lips. "You wasn't listening, huh..?" he said, amusement heard in his voice when his eyes slipped into hers. Wait, he wasn't insinuating anything, was he?! Her head jerked back to Leo before she could have stopped herself. Judging by the coloration of the Latino's ears, he was..! "I was saying" Jason prevented her from losing her cool and making a loud protest "Piper is making dinner with the help of Frank and Hazel and one of the reasons we came was to get you home before midnight" Reyna didn't like his enigmatic smirk, like hell she did!
"Oh" was the only croak Leo managed to get out before making a sudden move to the side that had almost thrown some of the equipment they had earlier used off the table and making a narrow escape in succeeding to catch it. "Um, sure, I'll be ready in a sec, gotta clean it here first!" he hoped his grin wasn't looking as fake as he felt it be.
"You may come too, if you want" Jason addressed Reyna "We'd be really happy if you did" he offered, smiling. So he was inviting her to join their little friends reunion? Not that she felt anything but sympathy towards every one of them (even Leo, her nonsense increased level of interest was the fault of only the darn part of her brain she didn't remember ever giving a right to exist), but after today, after that meeting... Something felt so not right with herself and she wouldn't have been Reyna if she hadn't checked thoroughly what that was.
"Thanks for the invitation, but I think I'll pass" she answered carefully, hoping that Jason would drop the subject and not bother her further. "I have... Some things to do..." she added, meaning some thinking had to be done. After the issue with Nico's ring, she was strangely confused about her earlier quarrel with Leo and wanted to analyze her own weird psychical state... Speaking of whom...
Leo felt a glass flask being taken away from his hands and looked to the side to meet Reyna's uncommon closeness as she was obviously trying to do the work he had just been doing for him. "What are you doing?" he blurted out, as usually, not thinking too much about what or how he was going to say. Her sweet, indefinable smell hit his nostrils (how could he have not paid attention to that earlier?) and through a haze that was his mind, he almost missed the way she wouldn't meet his eyes. Almost.
"Go, I'll handle it" she announced firmly, though there was an inconsiderable amount of a bizarrely unsteady note in her voice. He was eyeing her warily for a few moments, but she stopped making any signs as to even taking a notice of the other three's presence.
"Alright, thanks..." he finally mumbled, though an unseen frown didn't leave his face. He then took his protective clothing off and stood next to Nico and Jason, the blond looking at Reyna as if he was considering something in his mind.
"Let's go, then" Nico was the one to break the torpor. "Goodbye, Reyna. I hope to see you again soon" She turned around to give him one last glance before he disappeared for gods-knew-how-long. Her eyes softened and she smiled. How beautifully lightened her features were when she smiled...
"Yeah, I hope to see you soon too" she answered, returning to her task mere seconds later. Jason brow was still furrowed in confusion but he finally gave up and walked to the door.
"See you later, Reyna" he said before exiting the room and following Nico. That left only one laggard behind... Why did Leo stay? What did he expect her to do? That guy was never to become understandable.
"Reyna..?" And so was her own behavior, it seemed. She didn't know why she turned around, why she took the small smile in her sight. His warm, dark eyes looked directly into hers when he opened his mouth again. "Bye" was the one and only word he said.
She resumed her work.
Not thinking about Leo.
Not worrying that, maybe, she might have hurt him some.
Not wondering what that smile meant, if meant anything at all.
Not having to deal with her heart's strangely irregular beating.
She was so not falling for him...
Who was she trying to fool?
X X X
Hesitantly, she climbed to her toes, hoping she wouldn't fall from the chair she was using to gain access to the top of her wardrobe. After a few moments of blindly moving her hand in the fields of dust, her fingers gripped a small box in the corner of the furniture's top. She dropped back to the ground and blew the sign of age off the carton, coughing a little and squinting her eyes, trying to protect them from the nasty puffs.
She opened the box and, immediately, an affectionate glow shone in her eyes. She carefully took a few pictures out and spread them on her desk. Every one of them showed a tall, short-haired Caribbean man and one or two girls, one of them smaller than the other. She was also the one smiling the brightest.
Reyna looked into her father's merry eyes, a sting of pain piercing her heart at the thought of how much she missed him.
"Chin up, niña" he would have always said when she'd been sad, Spanish words rolling off his tongue in a soft tune she could still hear in her head "It's not the end of the world, you still have me, your sister y Señor Conejito" he'd have grinned, tapping the stuffed animal on its head.
Señor Conejito...
She could see the toy rabbit in most of the photos, her younger self squeezing it in one of her small palms or wearing it attached to her belt like one would do with a sword. It had been a present from her father, given not to ever forget she hadn't been alone. A silly little object that had held so many hopes, memories and feelings.
A memento...
She rubbed a spot off one of her own, lately put aside and forgotten, keepsakes, the only ones that were left, partially to clean it and partially to caress her unmoving, yet so lively friend. Was it stupid, to care so much about a thing, something that, as she had told Leo, could be replaced? Common sense told it was but emotions... That was an entirely different story.
She then understood what Nico and Leo meant, why they didn't treat their ring and guitar like only the means to an end, but like something more. She also remembered she had once felt that affection too, could have told she had also been attached to an ordinary thing. Her eyes darkened when the bitter realization hit her.
Only that part of herself had been lost since her and Hylla had left Circe's school. Since their mother had transferred them to USA, since the beginning of a new life for the both of them.
Since Señor Conejito had burnt in the memorable fire, along with everything they'd known, with everything that had tried to stand in for the home they'd lost.
That was also the time she'd completely given up on her childhood. From then onward, she would have been only stronger, more and more self-sufficient, until she hadn't needed anybody else anymore.
It had been the best way, at least that was what she kept saying to herself when something deep inside of her whimpered with jealousy at the sight of children playing in the streets, not having a care in the future and what was to come. She didn't get attached, never stopped. Life would always kick you in the ass for that in the end, anyway.
But maybe... She fidgeted in her chair, a bit uncomfortable and strangely anxious. Maybe she shouldn't have treated Leo the way she had? Herself having given up on his view on the world didn't mean he had to be treated worse for that very same outlook, right?
And then, remembering the excitement in his eyes when he had told her about Festus, just for a few seconds, she wondered if her victory over sentiment didn't actually have any traits of a loss, after all...
X X X
Classical Mechanics had never been as boring as they were that day. The lecture went on and on and on and ON, no interruptions or breaks. It wasn't that the topics wasn't his thing, it always was in that class, but it seemed that on this particular Wednesday, his ADHD had been becoming exceptionally whimsical with every hour spent inside the collage's walls.
"C'mon..." Leo murmured, drilling holes in the clock with his sight. Only a few minutes and he'd get to see Reyna again...
True, she had offended Festus, even if she couldn't have quite understood how much of an insult it had been. He'd tried to stay angry with her but it had appeared to be utterly impossible. He was a moth and she was his flame, or he was an electron while she was a proton, if he stayed around the topic that was now what connected them the most, and the topic he put all his hopes in. He couldn't get away and stop caring, no matter how hard he tried.
And as for her underrating Festus... He'd just have to show her its genius in person, one day...
"Thank gods!" he sighed loudly when the class was finally over. He grabbed his backpack, threw inside everything he'd been playing with, trying to survive the lecture, and bounced out of the room. Just behind the door, he bumped into somebody. "Woah, sorry!" he grinned, not even bothering to check who that was, as all that mattered for him in that moment was one name being replayed in his head like a broken record: Reyna.
"Leo?" Wait, was he also supposed to hear her voice?! He turned around hastily, hitting some girl with his backpack. After an awkward chuckle, a few sorrys and a roll of her eyes, he finally focused on the source of the call: his queen herself was standing in front of him, her arms crossed on her chest, skinny black jeans clinging to her figure and sleeves of the white shirt rolled up to her elbows. All in all, she, as always, made his jaw probe the floor.
"Present..!" he answered absent-mindedly, one of the few conscious parts of his mind wondering how that was even possible that he hadn't fallen for her the first day he'd seen her. What had taken him so long?! So much time lost..!
A small confused wrinkle appeared between Reyna's eyebrows, but she adjusted the bag on her shoulder and walked up to him nevertheless, so hey! It wasn't all that bad! "Can we..." she started hesitantly, her eyes slipping out of his and a quiet huff escaping her before she continued "Can we talk, before going to the lab..?" the question almost swept Leo off his feet.
Say something impressive! "Sure!" he squeaked and they started walking towards their destination. Slowly, side by side. If it wasn't a dream then he must have hit his head hard to come up with such a scheme! But, damn, Valdez, you can't let that chance go to waste! "Soo" he tried to get a conversation going, summoning his (hopefully efficient) Bad Boy Supreme charm "What would a fine woman like you want to do with the likes of me on this lovely day?" he asked, his lips curling up in a smile that was meant to enchant the greatest misery and lifting his eyebrows to complete the set.
She wasn't going to react, she wasn't going to be bewitched! Too bad the domineering part of herself was slowly losing its supremacy on behalf of the Team Leo one... If that went on, she... To be frank, she had no idea what she would have done, and that scared her the most. She cleared her throat, hoping her slight nervousness wouldn't get noticed. "I wanted to apologize" she finally let out.
Leo's eyes widened. "Apologize? For what?" he blurted out almost in one blend, halting in place. Reyna stood several dozen centimeters from himself, took a deep breath and flicked a few unruly strands off her eyes.
"I'm sorry for insulting your instrument. Festus, was it?" she said, locking her eyes on his in a slightly defiant gaze. He couldn't believe his ears. The scene was so unlikely to happen that he started having trouble trusting his senses that what was happening wasn't a mirage, a creation of his mad mind. "And for getting at you after that... You know, with Nico... I'm sorry for that, too" she added, her dark, dark eyes keen and focused... Focused on himself! Her intoxicating scent, so close... Her chest rising and falling smoothly with her peaceful breathing... An incredible girl, a beautiful woman, an intelligent student, a tough defender, a deft dancer, his precious queen...
Quiero besarte... [I want to kiss you...]
He didn't notice he was drawing near until he could count her eyelashes and feel her breath on his face. He swallowed hard, feeling his lungs quickening their pace in tenseness. "Reina, yo ..." a croaked mumble resounded in his ears, though he wasn't able to think of anything more splendid or complex, for gods' sake, he could barely recognize it as his own - how could he, he was barely holding his fundamental living functions in order..! And the best of all..?
Reyna didn't move a tad.
"¿Sí..?" her hoarse whisper made a jolt of high voltage crawl down his spine. So that was it? He was finally going to succeed? His hand travelled up to her cheek but stopped abruptly halfway.
"Mamá, what does it mean to kiss?" a small Latino boy with a dark stain on his nose asked loudly out of a sudden from behind the car's opened mask.
"Hmm?" a curly-haired woman in working clothing hummed in response, turning down the radio and coming to him with a damp towel, with which she started to rub the dirt off her son's face.
"Mamaaa!" he whined, pouting. The woman sighed quietly but smiled, a contagious smile that indeed was.
"Come here, mijo" she said, sitting on a chair next to the car and motioning for him to get close. The boy jumped onto her lap and nestled into her arms as she started playing with his untamed locks. "To kiss means... It's something we do to show our love to each other" she started, his shining chocolate brown orbs fixed on herself as if he thought the world of her "When we kiss, we want to prove our close ones how important they are. It's something really wonderful and you could call it a vow to never part ways with that special someone" her smile widened at the sight of Leo's concentrated frown.
"But, mamá, what does it look like to kiss?" he asked, starting to wriggle and visibly losing his focus. Esperanza took her son's face in her hands and kissed both of his cheeks.
"These were kisses" she kissed his forehead "This is a kiss, too. There are many types and every one is reserved for the specific person you want to kiss" He thought on that for a little, then his face brightened and he grinned a wide smile that lacked some teeth.
"Then I'm going to kiss you all day, mamá!" he exclaimed and the workshop filled with the two's joyful laughter.
Leo cleared his throat and made a step back. "Lo siento... I mean, I'm sorry..." he mumbled, his cheeks flushed and his eyes fastened on the ground. He couldn't do that. He couldn't take advantage of Reyna like that. If she ever wanted to make the vow, that would be her decision only and he wouldn't try to speed the things up. He wasn't going to pressure her to give him something that special.
Reyna blinked a few times in surprise. He hadn't kissed her, after all..? "Don't... Don't mention it..?" she croaked out, her eyebrows drawing together. Why hadn't he? Was it something with herself? Should she feel piqued..?
But then he glanced up at her and she understood. Her frown smoothed and a tiny smile made its way on her lips while he averted his eyes again. Well, well, well, so he had yet another thing to hex her with? She didn't know why that didn't annoy her further, after all, it was the win of Leo's adherents in her head, but somehow...
In that particular moment, she didn't mind at all.
He still wanted to do that, to press his lips to hers and feel their taste on his tongue (she shivered a bit at the thought). She could have seen that in the way his hungry stare had wandered at her mouth and how the pain of restriction had gleamed in his eyes. But he'd withdrawn and the only reasonable explanation she could think of was that he'd done that for her.
"Are we going, señor Valdez?" he heard a playful tone that sounded suspiciously like Reyna's voice but couldn't possibly be her, could it..? He looked up and had to stop his jaw from dropping to the core of Earth at the sight of her exquisite smile. A smile meant for him.
A few long seconds passed before he finally got a hold of himself, the warmth of new hope filling him whole. He snickered and put his arm out in a cavalier way of an old-school beau. "Be my guest, señorita" his heart flipped when her palm closed on his forearm and they resumed their walk, slowly, side by side.
ZJeM, 09.04-15.06.14
From author:
So I was recently leafing through HoH and thought that fanfics distorted my view on Leo a bit. Sure, he can be sweet and self-conscious, but I decided I needed to give him a boost of his distinctive bravado. Let my know if I didn't succeed.
Also, when we're having practical classes in Chemistry, I'm usually terrified because:
1. This means Valdez B's probably gonna be around a lot more and I won't be able to focus. XD
2. If I were to name a single thing in Chemistry that I really suck at, that'd be experiments.
That babble was supposed to tell you I have no idea what one could do at extra lab classes at an American collage, three cheers for me! ;p Anyway, I'm trying..! *sigh*
I know a great part of the chapter is a description but I felt things had to be made clear, 'kay?
When I was writing, I mistyped "Percy" as "Pervy"... XD
THANKS FOR READING!
