Oh look I'm updating in the middle of exams week when I'm supposed to be studying... But I felt the need to experience the glory of a break. Plus I figured you guys wouldn't mind a quick update. :P

And just as an FYI, this is now a three-shot. Apparently I cannot accurately guesstimate the lengths of my stories. *facepalms* But I also figured you guys wouldn't mind more Leyna, so I don't feel too bad about that. ;)

Oh, and also I have to say that I am so excited to see that this ended up with more followers and reviewers than I expected for one chapter! I had feared that Leyna was a slowly sinking ship, so I'm glad to see you're all still interested in it! Your reviewing gave me life (and inspiration to finish this second chapter :P). Keep it up, please! I'm always happy to hear I'm doing something right. (But feel free to tell me if I'm doing something wrong, too. [As long as that "something wrong" isn't just you insulting this ship for absolutely no reason at all, of course.] ;))

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own HoO.

Part Two

"A walk," she said dubiously. "In Central Park."

"Well, yeah," Leo said with a grin. "If we were in a random small town, I'd say we should go bowling, and if it didn't have a bowling alley, I'd say we should grab a really bad movie from Redbox and sit on the couch and watch it together and make as much fun of it as possible—"

"You'd rent a movie from Redbox instead of taking me to the theater?" Reyna muttered. "Cheapskate. Your boyfriend potential's lowering in my books."

"—while feasting on the best Chinese takeout in the city," he added pointedly, "which I bought, and then finishing off the movie with some homemade desserts . . . that were made at home by me because if I wasn't training to be a mechanical engineer, I could totally go to culinary school and become a desserts chef."

"You can bake?" Reyna said in surprise. "All right, that makes up for you being cheap."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Anyway, if we were in a random small town, I'd suggest either one of those things. But seeing as we're in freaking Manhattan, one of the coolest places ever, it seems wrong to go on a date that doesn't involve Central Park or some other form of sightseeing."

"I've been living here for over two years," Reyna reminded him. "I've seen all of the sights. I've even gone on an exclusive demigod-style tour with Annabeth, where she pointed out all the spots where different Styx went down during the Battle of Manhattan."

"Okay, maybe," Leo conceded. "But the weather's so nice today! Do you really want to spend the afternoon doing something lame inside?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you were the type to appreciate beautiful weather," she said dubiously. "Since you seem to spend most of your life locked up in some workshop."

Leo grinned slyly. "Oh, I appreciate beautiful weather," he said. "But only when there's a beautiful girl I can share it with."

For one terrifying second, Reyna actually considered blushing. But she ended up shaking her head instead. "Nice try, Valdez. But I know you only said that so I would raise your boyfriend potential again."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leo claimed. "I was just telling you the truth."

They ended up spending almost three hours in Central Park. If she had known this would happen yesterday, Reyna would have guessed that the park would become boring after the first thirty minutes—because really, how much fun could two people have in a place full of trees? The brief awkward silence that had sprung up in her apartment would have only confirmed her suspicions. But surprisingly, the entertainment Leo provided never lulled. He kept the conversation funny and flowing long past when Reyna thought they would run out of things to talk about, and whenever he started forgetting the punchlines to jokes, Leo would run up to the nearest statue and copy its pose almost exactly. As stupid as his imitations were, Reyna kept finding herself smiling at them. She really needed to stop encouraging him.

Eventually, all the statues' positions started to look the same . . . but that just meant they could start people-watching. They sat together on a bench, almost touching but not quite, pointing out the strangest people that passed by. Leo never failed to hop up and do an impression as soon as each one left—and it wasn't until he copied the movements of an overworked dog-walker that Reyna stopped laughing.

Leo saw her mood shift and frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Was that imitation not realistic enough for you? It's hard to get pulled along by dogs without actually, you know, having any dogs."

"No, you were fine," she promised. "It's just . . . Gods, I miss my dogs."

Understanding dawned in Leo's eyes. "Aurum and Argentum? The coolest automatons I've ever seen? They don't stay in your apartment?"

Reyna shook her head. "No. Unfortunately, the Mist worked against me for once. The landlord of my apartment saw them and thought they were real dogs—and he has a no pets policy with zero exceptions."

"What?" he said indignantly. "That's stupid. What's his problem with pets?"

"Doesn't like the barking," she sighed. "Plus he thinks they'll tear up the floors—never mind that they're all carpeted—pee everywhere, and get fur over everything. Apparently he's allergic."

"Well, that's just dumb," he proclaimed. "Automatons don't pee. And they've got to be the most hypoallergenic dogs on the planet."

At that, Reyna found herself smiling again. "I know that," she said. "But try explaining robot dogs to a mortal and see what their reaction is. I'll give you a hint: They won't believe you."

"That's dumb," he repeated. He was quiet for a minute. "Where are they, then? If you're not keeping them with you."

"Back in California," she huffed. "Frank and Hazel take good care of them, but . . . well, it sucks not having them nearby. When I was—" She froze. Her history with the pirates had become common knowledge a long time ago—or parts of it, anyway—and it usually just made people think she was even more badass than before. But she still didn't like to talk about it. Telling Leo Valdez that she and her sister had found the dogs a few days after escaping, before they got so frustrated with each other that they split up—and that the dogs helped her remember that time, so many years ago, when her and Hylla were closest—well, that was unthinkable. "The dogs and I have been through a lot together," she finished lamely. "Two wars and four years as praetor, and a heck of a lot of other stuff besides that. I just . . . miss them."

"Dioses mis, chica," he said regretfully. "I wish you had told me, like, two months ago. I could have gotten Hazel to bring them when she came to visit Camp Half-Blood—and she probably could have worked some of her weird Mist magic on your landlord, too."

Reyna made a face. "Well, lo siento, Repair Boy," she retorted. "Excuse me if we were barely acquaintances two months ago."

Leo gaped at her. "Acquaintances?" he said in mock pain. "That's what you call us? And here I thought this date was going so well."

Reyna snorted. "That's a bit optimistic, don't you think?" Leo opened his mouth to complain again, but she ignored him. "So what's next on the agenda, Valdez? Are we going to sit on the edge of a bridge and watch the sunset?"

"What, on a highway bridge filled with six lanes of crazy New York taxi drivers? Hell, no." Leo grinned. "My plans involve something even more exciting. Food."

"Here we are, mi reina," Leo grinned, thrusting his arms forward and waving at the building in front of them. "Your deepest, darkest, dining fantasy."

Reyna stared at him. "This is a McDonald's, Valdez."

"What? No it's not—" Leo, turned, looked behind him, and flushed. "Whoops." He took three steps to the right and flailed his arms again. "Now welcome to your deepest, darkest, dining fantasy."

"Smooth," Reyna said dryly, not even glancing at the restaurant he was pointing out.

"Well, excuse me for pointing out the wrong place," he complained. "Your regal wonderfulness is distracting."

Reyna chose to snort rather than blush. "I already told you compliments won't raise your potential any, Valdez."

"And I told you that I'm just being honest," Leo retorted, looking at her with an intensity that Reyna was just a little too afraid to read into. "Now are you going to look at the restaurant I picked out, or am I going to have to present it magnificently again?"

"Pretty sure you presented it embarrassingly," Reyna muttered, but she turned and followed his directions—and gaped. "Dei ex Olympi. Is that—?"

"The new Mexican restaurant that just opened six months ago that uses green chiles on everything and also specializes in ultra-spicy foods?" Leo grinned. "It is. I figured you'd like your food as hot as your mechanics, reina." He winked at her.

Reyna glared. "Pickup lines lower your boyfriend potential substantially," she informed him. But she couldn't quite keep her smile off of her face.

Leo insisted on holding the door as Reyna walked in, making sure to paste a ridiculous smile on as she passed him. It was easier than letting his mask slip—because Leo was almost certain he'd reveal that he couldn't look at Reyna without remembering the way it had felt to have her lips move against his, her hands gripping his shirt and keeping them pressed together. Gods, was it normal to be so attracted to someone only a month after breaking up with your girlfriend of five years? Even if you had been ready to get out of that relationship for one-fifth of those five years?

"Leo? Leo."

"Yes, mi reina?" Leo smiled, forcibly suppressing a crazy daydream in which Reyna told him that she found him equally attractive for some crazy reason and decided to kiss him senseless multiple times and—

"When the heck did you make reservations for this place? I've been with you all afternoon." She frowned. "And you can stop holding the door now, you know."

"Oh. Right." He stepped forward and let the door slam shut, ignoring the quizzical glance she shot him. "I made reservations while you were putting on that wonderful dress, Praetor." He wiggled his eyebrows saucily.

"Shut up, Valdez," Reyna said for the thirtieth time that day . . . but was that a blush he just saw creeping across her face? Nah. Leo shook his head. He was being ridiculous. The queen of the legion didn't blush.

"Never," he claimed. "Not when I could spend this entire fake date proclaiming your endless fine qualities to this whole establishment."

He tried to keep his tone light, but his voice still strained slightly as the hostess led them to a candlelit table in the corner. Schist, he wasn't prepared for this part of their fake date. The part where they sat across from each other and Leo had to spend at least an hour staring into those gorgeous dark eyes and engaging in conversation that retained just the right mix of serious and witty without getting too real. Because this wasn't a real date, so he had to keep reminding himself that he couldn't like a girl this much when he had only recently become single and . . .

Oh, screw it.

Leo pulled one of the chairs back and flamboyantly gestured for Reyna to sit down.

"Thanks," Reyna said with considerable surprise.

"No problem, mi reina," he said goofily, sliding her chair in. "After all, I'm sure chivalrous acts will raise my boyfriend potential, right?"

"I . . . Right," Reyna muttered, seeming to deflate a little. But Leo was probably just imagining that—because he looked down to fiddle with the clasp of his suspenders, and by the time he glanced up at her again, Reyna was perched on her chair as regally as ever.

And that, Leo decided, was the real problem. It would be one thing if Reyna was only beautiful—because he'd seen plenty of beautiful girls before he'd started dating Calypso, and he'd seen plenty more afterwards, and Calypso was plenty beautiful herself, and at this point, it didn't really catch Leo's eye anymore. Sure, when he'd been a teenager, he'd fallen for every pretty girl he met. But he was old enough now to know that attractiveness didn't form the basis for a lasting relationship, and it certainly wasn't worth pining over. So Reyna's tan skin, long eyelashes, and dark hair weren't the issue.

No, her everything was the problem. Not only was she gorgeous, but she held herself like a queen. Scratch that; she was a queen. Everything, from her name to her confident leadership to her courage to her selflessness to her impressive combat skills, elevated her above all other demigods. Leo was awed by her abilities every time he glanced her way . . . but that wasn't even the worst part.

The worst part was that on top of all that impossible skill, she was also painfully human. She was both a praetor and a college student who had ached to have her dogs back. She was a giant-slayer and a bilingual girl who didn't like to talk about her past. In other words, Leo didn't just like her because she was pretty. He liked her because she was perfectly flawed and stronger than Leo could imagine, and there was nothing Leo could do about that. So instead of trying to suppress his feelings, he channeled them into crafting their best possible fake date—both because Reyna deserved it, and because Leo was reasonably certain that he'd never get a chance like this again.

Not after he'd whined to her about how unlovable he was. By now, Reyna probably agreed with him.

Reyna was busy arguing with Leo about which of the restaurant's peppers would be spiciest when a tall girl with curly blonde hair walked up to their table. "Hi, I'm Alicia and I'll be your server today," she said cheerily. "How are you doing?" She directed the comment at Leo.

He looked up at her and unleashed a blinding grin that shouldn't have bothered Reyna as much as it did. After all, he'd already warned her about what would happen if they had a cute waitress. "I'm fantastic," he claimed. "How are you?"

"All right," Alicia said graciously. Reyna was starting to feel like a third wheel on her own fake date. "What would you like to drink?"

"Oh, I'm open to suggestions," Leo said with a grin. Then, to Reyna's surprise, he turned to her. "What do you want, Reyna?"

Probably just trying to be considerate to impress our waitress, Reyna told herself. "I'll have iced tea," she said primly.

"Sweet or unsweet?" Alicia asked, just as Leo said, "What, no alcohol, mi reina?"

Reyna's eyebrows shot up. "It's Wednesday, Valdez."

"But it's also happy hour," he reminded her. "Are you sure?"

Reyna rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure, Valdez. Maybe I just like iced tea." She turned to Alicia. "Unsweetened, please."

Alicia nodded, and Leo sighed. "In that case, I guess I'd better have Coke."

"Sounds good," Alicia smiled, apparently unaffected by their mini-argument. "I'll be right back with those drinks." And she flounced off.

"You know, you didn't have to do that," Reyna told Leo as soon as Alicia was out of earshot.

Leo was staring at a spot just to the right of Reyna's ear. He jumped when she spoke to him. "Do what?"

"Not order alcohol because I didn't," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't care if you drink or not."

Leo mustered up a smile, but it seemed weaker than usual to Reyna. "Eh, I wasn't really in the mood anyway," he claimed. "Like you said, it's Wednesday."

Reyna snorted. "You didn't seem to care about that detail before I mentioned it. And it's not like I'm going to be sticking around much longer anyways."

Leo just stared at her in confusion, and Reyna decided she'd have to spell it out for him. "Obviously, Alicia qualifies as a 'cute' waitress," she sighed. "Do you want me to storm out before or after my drink arrives?"

But Leo wasn't even paying attention. He unfolded his napkin, placed it on his lap, then picked it up and started creasing it again. "What?"

"My gods, you're even more distracted by her than I thought," she said, more annoyed than she was willing to admit. "I guess that means I should leave now then." She scooted her chair back.

"Wait, what?" Leo frowned at her mid-fold. "Where are you going?"

"My gods," Reyna repeated exasperatedly. "You're the one who told me to leave if our waitress was pretty, remember?"

Slowly, comprehension dawned in Leo's eyes. "I was kidding, Reyna!"

She raised her eyebrows, ignoring a slight thump of hopefulness that banged somewhere in her chest. "That smile you shot Alicia didn't seem to be kidding."

"I was just being polite!" He frowned at her again. "Gods, Reyna, you really think I'd kick you out of here before we finished arguing about spicy peppers? We can't complete a cliché fake date without a nice dinner, and all that statue impersonation in Central Park made me too tired to wait tables anyway. Besides, she's not my type. After being around Annabeth for so long, I kind of consider blondes more scary than cute."

"Really?" Judging from Piper's stories about Leo's constant rejections during their days in the Wilderness School, Reyna had kind of figured that every girl was Leo's type. "What is your type, then?"

For a moment, Leo's hands froze, gripping the napkin tightly. Then they released, and he grinned forcefully. "Well, for the last several years, it's been tan immortal girls with freckles, chestnut hair, and a weird obsession with t-shirts and jeans. I guess I've lowered my standards since then, though, because now I'm also accepting girls with normal-length lifespans."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "As long as they're not blonde."

For some reason, Leo was staring at her braid. "Right. As long as they're not blonde."

After that, Leo remained friendly to Alicia (but not overly so), and the dinner passed in a whirl of teasing banter and spice-tolerance contests that ended in Leo ordering an extra-large milkshake to cool down his mouth while Reyna sipped quietly at her iced tea, her eyes watering. When the dessert-drink arrived, Leo grabbed at it hastily (he was crying a little too) and said, "Could we have another straw, please?"

Alicia gave him a knowing look of approval and smiled. "Of course, Leo." (They were all on a first-name basis now, after Leo found out halfway through their first appetizer that Alicia went to NYU too. She was a senior and a psychology major.)

"Another straw?" Reyna teased, grabbing an extra napkin and brushing away a stray tear. "You've got to fill your mouth that quickly?"

"Nah," Leo grinned as Alicia brought him one and then turned to the next table, where a balding man was starting to look impatient. "I just figured you might want some too."

She gaped. "You want me to share with you?"

"Sure, Praetor," he laughed between sips. "That's why I ordered an extra-large." And with that, he stabbed the straw into the shake and slid it across the table to her.

She only hesitated for a split-second before spiciness overcame her surprise, and she started slurping down the wonderfully milky beverage. But the icy cold bliss only lasted a few moments before she realized Leo was silently fanning his tongue with his hand. "Still dying over there?" she said worriedly, moving her mouth away from the life-saving straw so she could form coherent words. "I can give this back—"

"No, mi reina," he panted, "I gave it to you. Don't belittle my generosity by returning it. That would make my gesture seem insincere." He mustered up a smirk between gasps of air. "Besides, you probably need it more than I do. As the winner of our contest, I can obviously tolerate this burning sensation on my tongue much better than you can."

Reyna glared at him. "Cut out the BS, Valdez. You know I won."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, reina," he said cheekily. "After all, I am the fire-immune half of this picture-perfect couple."

Reyna snorted. "Being immune to fire doesn't make you immune to ghost peppers," she informed him. "Here." She extended his straw in his direction.

"Reina, I already said I'm not going to take it from you—"

"We'll share." When he still looked like he would protest, Reyna sighed. "At the same time."

"I—" Leo blanched. "Wait. You mean . . ."

Reyna rolled her eyes, hoping it would distract him from the fact that she was blushing furiously. Or maybe he'd mistake the heat on her cheeks as a reaction to the peppers they'd both swallowed whole. "Yes, Valdez, we'll sip from this delicious concoction simultaneously. That's generally what sharing at the same time means." She gulped down another quick sip and dared to continue. "Besides, we're a couple for the day, aren't we?" Her eyes gleamed. "And this is what couples do."

Now Leo was flushed red too. "Right," he said weakly. "Give me the straw, Reyna." With that, he leaned over the table and started drinking. Reyna did the same.

And it was so nice to feel the spiciness recede from her mouth that she almost—almost—forgot that her nose was only a quarter-inch away from Leo's. Close enough for her to feel his higher-than-normal body temperature.

Reyna just hoped his hair wouldn't start smoking again. That might be hard to explain to Alicia.

Any thoughts?