Hey guys! As you can see, I'm trying to get these chapters out there as fast as I can before the House of Hades comes out. If all goes well, this story will be finished before then. In the mean time, however, enjoy!

Purpleflower362: I promise more fangirl-squeal worthy chapters in the future. Bear with me through the boring stuff in the mean time. :D

MidnightEevee: You know dogs, they get overemotional. :P

Chapter Eight

In the week that followed, Reyna visited Leo every day. Sometimes she would stop by for fifteen minutes and other times she would stay for a consecutive twenty five hours. Most of the time, Reyna watched Leo's sleeping figure. Other times they chatted about weapons and sugary foods.

Whatever they did together, Leo enjoyed the company. Mainly because Reyna was a no nonsense sort of person. She never gave him special privileges because of his injuries. Piper, on the other hand, would pamper him to no end, bringing him chocolate and warmer blankets and asking him constantly if he was okay.

Above all, Leo enjoyed seeing Reyna look uncomfortable. This sounds rude, of course, but he really did. Reyna hadn't apologized. Not that she had to; it wasn't really her fault that Leo was in this condition. In any case, she hadn't apologized and being around Leo obviously made her uncomfortable. It was this break in her rigid façade that Leo enjoyed seeing.

Most of the time, he would use this to his advantage and poke and prod at her. He made fun of her and flirted with her to no avail. The fact that Reyna took his audacity with stride made him like her more.

He actually enjoyed her company. Sometimes she made jokes [sometimes meaning barely] and sometimes she told stories. Some of her stories were wonderful [like the story of Aurum secretly stealing all of Octavian's unstuffed animals and burying them in the cemetery] and some were truly terrible.

But she always looked beautiful.

Leo never judged a book by its cover. And although he had had crushes on beautiful girls before, he had never actually cared about them as much as he did for Reyna. He didn't know what it was. The fact that although she never laughed at his jokes, he knew that she was the only one who understood them. Or maybe that when she felt left out, she pretended to be content with the situation, but in reality, was mentally praying that someone would need her assistance elsewhere.

Maybe it was her long black hair, always pulled out of her face, a single braid hanging over her shoulder. Maybe it was her cheekbones, high and proud. Maybe it was her heavy brows that only emphasized her dark gaze. Maybe it was her expression, serious yet surprised, not upset, but slightly amused.

Leo never judged a book by its cover, but how could he not love a girl who brought him coffee every day?

…

"Reyna!" Leo complained, relying heavily on his crutch to stay standing up. "Why are you taking so long?" Leo hadn't bothered to brush his hair that morning [come to think of it, he never really did] and his jeans bunched awkwardly trying to cover his cast.

Reyna rolled her eyes and internally smiled. Paying for the coffee and hot chocolate, she picked up the mugs and walked back to Leo, who was waiting by the door of the café. "Why," she retorted, "Are you so impatient?"

"Because I like my coffee hot, not slightly warm." Leo responded, grabbing a mug from her hand and taking a quick chug. As soon as the liquid went into his mouth, he scrunched his eyebrows and spit it on the ground. "This isn't coffee." He squeaked and handed her the mug.

Reyna sighed and gave him the other mug, taking a small sip of her hot chocolate with extra sugar and marshmallows. "Patience is a virtue."

"Yeah, well, I like to get things done fast. You should know this. As fast as possible. Like this stupid cast, why do I have to wear it? I mean, I…" And Leo babbled on about his old invention: a set of robotic legs that he could maneuver around on until he was healed, as they hobbled down the path. "So what if it pinches a vein a little, not a biggie. Right?"

"Doctors orders." Reyna replied shortly. She wasn't paying attention. She had yet to receive Aurum and Argentum from the Vulcan kids and had a pile of paperwork sitting on her desk. And here she was, walking with Leo Valdez.

She didn't hate Leo. In fact, sometimes, she found his company amusing. But in the back of her mind, there was always a voice whispering, "You never really cared about Leo getting better. You just wanted to show everybody that you hadn't purposely attacked him. You aren't really friends. This is a show."

"Reyna, you okay?" Leo had stopped walking and was watching her concernedly.

"Of course I am. Keep walking." Reyna ordered, but she stopped with him nonetheless.

"Look, I know you weren't really invited. But everyone's going to be okay with it. I mean, you aren't intruding or anything." Leo said. "No one blames you." No one blames her? Everyone blamed her. But, Reyna was glad to know that Leo didn't. She followed him as they came to the edge of camp, near a meadow where she saw the rest of the seven hanging out. They had told Leo to come, if he was up to it. And Leo had invited Reyna to come with him. Reyna consented, of course, but she wasn't sure what the reaction of the others would be.

"HEY GUYS!" Leo yelled, waving his free arm in the air. "NOW THE PARTY CAN REALLY GET STARTED! WOOOOH!" And he hobbled as fast as he could to join his friends.

Reyna walked, slightly embarrassed, behind him.

…

Surprisingly, everyone accepted her. With the exception of Jason's glares, she was made felt welcome with the group. For the most part, they all just hung out, laughed and talked. It was obvious just how close Jason and Leo were from their constant bickering.

"Dude, throw it away."

"No man! It's mine."

"You found it on the side of a road on garbage day!"

"So?"

"So it's ugly and old and broken and it smells like…" Jason wrinkled his nose, "like a gas station."

"That isn't a good reason!"

"It's a perfectly good reason."

"Piper, tell him to back off!" Leo whined.

"Jason, leave Leo alone." Piper warned her boyfriend, smiling a bit.

"No. Sorry Piper, your charmspeak won't work. The stench of the chair is too overpowering." Jason argued.

"Reyna!" Leo called to Reyna, who was patiently listening to the entire conversation. "You're Praetor, tell him that you'll give him some Roman punishment if he touches my chair."

"I would," Reyna said, "but Jason's also a Praetor."

"Damn you weird Romans with your weird power system. What if I battle you to the death?" Leo asked Jason.

"There will be no battling to the death!" Annabeth said suddenly, breaking the conversation.

"You can be on Team Leo if you want." Leo offered. Annabeth gave him a look Reyna felt proud of.

"Leo… guys, I want to tell you something." Annabeth said, standing up so that everyone paid attention to her. "Actually, Percy and I both wanted to tell you something." She said, looking over at Percy who was sitting next to Frank and Hazel.

"Holy Hephaestus, don't tell me you guys are getting married." Leo said, his eyes widening with excitement.

"Oh, Gods, no, Leo! Just listen to me." Annabeth laughed, "Percy and I decided that we are going back to Camp Half Blood to help with the reparations."

The group fell oddly silent. None of them had ever felt obligated to go back and help fix Camp Half Blood, mainly because of the huge battle they had just won and the fact that everyone else, with the exception of Leo and Piper, was Roman. It had never crossed their minds, but it was obvious that Annabeth would go at some point. She was an architect. And Percy wouldn't leave her alone.

"Go for it." Hazel piped up and looked at everyone else for encouragement. "Camp Half Blood needs you."

"Yeah," Piper said, nodding, "You should go."

"When are you leaving?" Reyna asked. If they were leaving soon she would have to make preparations. A sending off ceremony, not to mention transportation…

"Tomorrow." Annabeth said shyly. No one said anything for a moment.

"Well then," Leo said simply, "Let's party."