If Reyna wasn't dating Thalia, Annabeth would absolutely kiss her. It was probably the buzz she had over the last two days from all the alcohol that she had been drinking, but she loved Reyna as a date. Percy was great and all, but he was always just filling the silence. Always trying to keep everyone engaged, and he was an open book.

When Percy came around, the gossip started. Annabeth didn't mind, but she did hate the thought of everyone talking about Percy and his wild family. When it came to Reyna, she barely talked. Reyna didn't share anything about her family, and Annabeth could see the old crones of her family frustrated that Reyna didn't give them new gossip.

Reyna was also extremely respectful, and it was so weird. Annabeth always saw Reyna as a bit of a hothead, but when a family member insinuated anything negative about Reyna or her being a lesbian, Reyna either shrugged it off or made a joke about it. Then, there was the thing Annabeth had just witnessed.

Annabeth had been going to get a refill on her wine. She knew she was getting closer and closer to being drunk, but would the rest of the trip be so bad if she was drunk the entire time? When she stepped into the kitchen, she saw two of the distinguished members of the family talking to Reyna.

Reyna was still wearing her suit, but the tie only loosely fit now. Her jacket wasn't as straight as it could have been, signs that she was starting to care less and less. The two men that she talked to were each seventy years old, close to retirement.

"But, a fighter?" one of them questioned. He chewed on his cigar. The other one looked Reyna up and down with a look of disgust on his face. Reyna simply leaned on the counter and took a sip of alcohol. "Why?"

"It's a good career," Reyna said as she drained her glass. A grin came to her face. "I make more money than a professor or a doctor, and I didn't even have to go to college."

The look that came to both of the elder's faces caused Annabeth to grin widely. She hid it behind her drink. The oldest of the men spoke, "Where is that Alex boy at?"

"Girl," Reyna corrected as she casually refilled her drink. "Alex is going by female pronouns today."

"Why can't that queer make his damn mind up?" the other asked. A scowl crossed Reyna's face. Annabeth started to step forward, but Reyna slammed her glass down.

"Alex can make up her mind, and today, she is feeling more female than male," Reyna seethed coldly. "I believe she is with her boyfriend, avoiding bigots like you. Assholes like you, really."

Reyna pushed herself off of the counter and turned away. She froze upon seeing Annabeth. It took a moment for Annabeth to walk towards Reyna, and she wrapped an arm around her date. Reyna spoke in a whisper, "Sorry."

"That was so hot," Annabeth whispered back. She gently kissed Reyna's cheek and saw the other woman blush. "Too far?"

"No," Reyna whispered. She turned to face Annabeth and smirked. Annabeth saw her two family members stare and then quickly walk away. "You're not mad I lost my temper?"

"You stood up for Alex to those two. That was hot," Annabeth said as she turned towards Reyna and pulled her closer. Reyna gasped in surprise. "Is kissing good now?"

"W...what?" Reyna asked. Annabeth chuckled and then pecked Reyna's cheek. Her "date's" cheeks turned bright red.

"I'm messing with you," Annabeth teased. Reyna somehow turned even redder. Annabeth laughed. "Thalia did say you were easy to embarrass."

"You two are jerks," Reyna grumbled under her breath. Annabeth laughed again and leaned on Reyna. "Speaking of Alex and Magnus, where are they?"

"I'm not sure," Annabeth admitted. Reyna pulled away.

"I'm going to find them. Are you good on your own?" Reyna asked. Annabeth nodded. Reyna gave her a small grin and walked away. Annabeth refilled her drink and walked towards the living room. She hadn't spoken to her stepmother much, but that was because she was playing host to the rest of the family.

The relationship between Annabeth and her stepmother was odd. Anything strange that happened when Annabeth was younger was blamed on her. Anything that her brothers did was blamed on her. Annabeth was the scapegoat, and it negatively affected their relationship.

Annabeth walked through the living room and towards the backyard. Some of her family had gathered outside, including her father and grandparents. Annabeth looked at her grandpa. He was the eldest member of the family and probably the crankiest.

"I don't know why you keep inviting her," one of Annabeth's cousins commented. Annabeth frowned and stopped walking. Her family had their backs to her. "It's the same thing every year."

"She's my daughter," Frederick said.

"And a lesbian," another cousin commented with a shake of his head.

"A disappointment," Annabeth's grandfather said. Annabeth gripped her drink tightly as she listened. "She won't continue on the legacy of our family. All of my grandchildren are disappointments."

"She can't find a man to date her that isn't an idiot like that Jackson boy. And this new girl? A fighter like her. How is Annabeth supposed to continue the legacy of our family? We shouldn't be surprised. She has always been a disappointment."

"Can't find a man. Wouldn't be a scholar," Annabeth's grandfather continued. "She had to turn to the most brutish of sports."

Annabeth wanted to do one of two things: confront her family or walk away. Instead, her body would not move. Her legs refused to work. She could just stand there and listen as her extended family talked about her in the worst way possible.

That wasn't the worst part about it. Annabeth had heard all kinds of comments from her family. Those comments didn't bother her most of the time, but over time, those words just piled up and played into her self-doubt. She looked down and swallowed painfully as she listened.

The worst part about the entire thing was that Annabeth's father didn't say a word. He didn't defend or speak up. At least if he agreed with them, Annabeth would know where they stood. It somehow hurt more for him to not say a word.

Annabeth wasn't sure why she was surprised, though. Why did she even bother with this? Her father proved time and time again that he didn't care for her. That she truly was the disappointment that he would never voice out loud. Annabeth found it hard to breathe all of a sudden, and she swallowed painfully.

Annabeth turned and walked away. She bit the inside of her cheek as her eyes watered. Why did she do this every year? Why did she show up at her father's house and expect anything to be different? Annabeth walked towards the basement. There were people outside and probably a person or two upstairs.

Right now, she just needed to be alone. Annabeth walked down the stairs of the basement, and she hated herself with each and every step. On the last step, she sat down and felt tears slide down her face. It was the same thing every year.

Annabeth showed up with her fake date. To do what? Stick it to her father? What was the point of that? Why did Annabeth care so much about what her father thought of her? It shouldn't matter to her this much, but it did. Annabeth hated it.

That was one of the reasons Annabeth pushed herself so much when she was in the Delian League. One of the biggest reasons she wanted to be on top of the league was so her father couldn't just brush off her success. He had to be proud of her.

Going to the Olympic League and being the champion there meant her father had to be proud of her. Making appearances on talk shows and being mentioned on the news was something that everyone wanted. Her family had to want that, but it still wasn't good enough. What did she have to do?

Annabeth let out a bitter cry as tears fell from her eyes. She felt like it didn't matter who she came with. Man. Woman. No one. Her family would just continue to talk about her like she was nothing more than a disappointment. Because that was exactly what she was to them. Because she didn't conform to their idea of her being a housewife.

"Archaic bastards," Annabeth choked out in between her cries. She heard the door behind her open and quickly tried to wipe her eyes. Footsteps walked down the stairs, but with how light the footsteps were, it had to be Reyna.

"What's wrong?" Reyna asked as she made it down the final step and sat next to Annabeth. As much as Annabeth tried to stop her crying, she couldn't. Her eyes met Reyna's, and her fellow fighter looked concerned.

"I'm fine," Annabeth mumbled as she wiped her eyes again.

"You're not," Reyna said in a gentle tone. It was probably the gentlest tone she had ever taken with Annabeth. "Tell me what's wrong. I'm here."

"Nothing I do is right for them," Annabeth cried. She felt two arms wrap around her, and she buried her face in Reyna's chest. Reyna held her close and rubbed her back. "I just want to feel like my father loves me."

"That's all I want," Annabeth whispered. She pulled away and quickly wiped her tears. No one needed to see her cry. Especially not Reyna. "I just want to know that he doesn't hate his daughter."

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Reyna began. She wiped a tear from Annabeth's cheek and slowly put one arm around her. Annabeth didn't fight this time. She hugged Reyna back and buried her face in the crook of Reyna's neck. Tears followed right after. "I'm right here, Annabeth. I'm here for you."

Annabeth tried to stop the dam in her that was threatening to break. She always tried to keep her emotions inside until she could let them out in a positive way, like during training or sparring. Crying wasn't going to do anything for her. It was useless.

Reyna rubbed her back with one hand and kept the other resting near her waist. Reyna spoke softly, "We can always leave, Annabeth. You don't have to stay here with these assholes."

A few more tears slipped out before Annabeth was able to compose herself enough to speak, "Should we?"

"It's up to you, Annabeth. We can leave now or stay in this basement all night. I'm here for you no matter what," Reyna promised. Annabeth moved her face to Reyna's shoulder even though she knew her makeup would smudge into the fabric. She would just pay Reyna back.

"I don't know," Annabeth admitted. She hugged Reyna tightly. "Can we just stay right here for now?"

"As long as you want," Reyna whispered. She continued to hold Annabeth close and hummed softly to her. Annabeth held onto the other woman and tried to suppress her tears. When that didn't work, she cried into Reyna's shoulder until she came to her decision, and her decision was to stay the rest of the time. Because no matter what, Annabeth Chase did not give up.

One way or another, this would be the year where Annabeth figured out what her father really thought of her.