"I feel like shit," Reyna moaned as another sneeze wracked her body. She curled up on her side and then buried her face in the pillow with a small groan. The smell of fresh soup drifted through the house. "How long was I asleep?"

"About two hours," Nico replied as he sat the bowl of soup down. "And, it's called being sick because you stayed in the rain for hours."

"How much sleep did you get?" Reyna mumbled into the pillow. Her gaze slowly moved up to Nico.

"None," Nico answered bluntly. He helped Reyna sit up and gave her the bowl of soup. "Just try to rest. I'll call Lupa for you and tell her you aren't going to the gym. Don't argue with me, just rest."

"Thanks, Nico," Reyna said softly. "Make sure you get some sleep. Please."

"I will," Nico promised. He heard a door open and turned his head to see Thalia walk out of the room. Her gaze slowly moved around before focusing on Nico and then on Reyna. Her eyes narrowed.

"Thalia," Reyna began as she turned towards her. Nico frowned as he studied Thalia: she looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken in, and her face was pale like a sheet. "Are you okay?"

"What happened?" Thalia questioned as she looked around and focused on the motorcycle helmet and leather jacket that belonged to her. Nico was kind enough to wash the jacket, but the helmet would need repairs. Thalia rubbed her temples like she had a headache.

"I found you drunk on the side of the road after you crashed your motorcycle," Reyna explained. She turned her head and coughed, nearly spilling the soup. "You were drunk. What happened?"

"Why the hell didn't you just leave me alone?" Thalia demanded.

"Thalia, I-"

"Isn't it obvious I don't want to see you?" Thalia demanded. "You should have let me be. The last thing I want is to be around your fuc-"

"That's enough!" Nico interrupted. Thalia turned on him and opened her mouth. "Shut the hell up. I'm taking you to Jason's place."

Thalia nodded stiffly and walked towards her things. She snatched up her jacket and helmet before following Nico out of the house. As Nico was closing the door behind him, he saw Reyna staring down at the bowl of soup. Her lower jaw was quivering slightly.

Nico quickly stepped back into the house and spoke, "Reyna, fuck her. You went out of your way to help her, and this is how she treats you? Don't let her."

"Thank you," Reyna said softly. Nico nodded and stepped out. "Drive safe."

"I will," Nico promised. He closed the door and walked towards his car. Thalia was staring at the passenger side. Nico unlocked his car and sat inside. He exhaled to get rid of his growing anger. Who the hell did Thalia think she was to treat Reyna like that? At the same time, it wasn't worth arguing with her.

Nico started to drive. It was silent and cold in the car. Not that Nico cared. He kept his gaze on the road while Thalia stared out the window. There were no emotions on her face, but she kept rubbing her eyes. He didn't think it was from the hangover.

Nico was brimming with fury. It was one thing for Thalia to treat Reyna like she had when they broke up. It was another to treat her like this when she went out of her way to help Thalia. Reyna didn't have to go out of her way to bring Thalia to their place or to take care of her motorcycle.

"Did she tell Jason?" Thalia muttered.

"I doubt it," Nico replied as he kept his gaze ahead. "Jason hates her because of you."

"Yeah. Because I'm the one who convinced her to date me because she wanted to make Jason upset."

"No, you didn't do that," Nico intoned coldly. "You were just the one who got back into a relationship that you truly didn't want to have. I'm not blind, Thalia. I know you just wanted to sleep with Reyna again because she's, and I quote 'so good at shutting up and putting out'."

"I didn't say that!"

"Yes, you did. I heard you on the phone when I was cleaning the gym," Nico revealed. He glanced at Thalia. "If you had just told Reyna you wanted to sleep with her with no strings attached, all of this could be avoided. But you didn't because you knew she wouldn't accept it.

"I don't agree with Reyna for only dating you to get back at Jason, but she was a teenager! A goddamned teenager! She actually tried when you two got back together, but you never wanted to, so you didn't even try at all. Do you know how unfair that is?" Nico expressed hotly.

Thalia remained silent. Nico took a deep breath, "I don't know what kind of shit you're going through, Thalia, and I don't care. What I do know is that you need to talk to Jason. Do you know how badly that would've screwed him up if his older sister died the same way his mom did?"

"I know," Thalia grumbled as she crossed her arms and seemed to shrink in on herself. "Are you done lecturing me? Or should I just finish walking to Jason's place."

"I haven't even said half of what I wanted to," Nico answered impatiently. Silence hung between them as he made a turn. Nico made no attempt to continue the conversation until Thalia sighed.

"What else did you want to say?" Thalia muttered.

"Does it matter?" Nico countered. "You don't care what I have to say. We both know that, so it's no use."

The rest of the ride was silent. Nico finally stopped at Jason's house and parked the car. He stared ahead as Thalia got out. The door started to shut, but it stopped halfway. Nico turned his head. Thalia slowly leaned down and looked inside.

"Tell her thank you. And that I'm sorry," Thalia said softly.

"I will," Nico returned, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. "Get some damn help."

"I don't... I will," Thalia finally said as she pulled away from the car and closed the door. Nico waited for her to go inside. Then, he grabbed his phone. A smile came to his face as he saw a text from Will that he quickly responded to. Then, he called Lupa.

"Hello," Lupa answered three rings later. Prompt as usual.

"Hey, Lupa. Reyna isn't going to be in today," Nico began.

"I figured," Lupa said. "She looked like she was going to be sick last night."

"You saw her?" Nico asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"She called me and asked for help with getting Thalia's motorcycle out of a ditch," Lupa explained. "Is Thalia okay?"

"I just dropped her off at Jason's," Nico replied.

"Good," Lupa replied. "If you want to take today off too, you can."

"I better," Nico admitted. "I haven't slept at all."

"Get some sleep then," Lupa said in a gentle tone.

"One more thing," Nico began. He felt his heart flutter for a moment.

"Yes?"

"Um, so I know there is a spot at the front desk that you're looking to fill. I was wondering if I could have an interview to fill it," Nico asked.

"I wasn't aware that you enjoyed the position that much," Lupa commented.

"I am. I know it's different and doesn't seem like something I would like, but I enjoy it," Nico explained.

"The job is yours then."

"Really?!"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Lupa questioned. "There is no better candidate than one inside my gym, and I know how well you work. If you don't mind showing Romy the rest of what you do, he will take over your former duties. Octavian will train you after that, but your new pay will start effective immediately."

"Thank you," Nico said softly.

"You're welcome, Nico. Get yourself some rest," Lupa gently ordered.

"I will," Nico promised. Lupa hung up the phone, and Nico placed it down. He drove home with a huge smile on his face. Running the front desk had been intimidating at first, but there was something about it that he enjoyed. He didn't mind taking all kinds of different calls or fielding visitors.

Nico drove home and kept that beaming smile the whole way there. His conversation with Thalia was long forgotten, and he maintained that visage as he walked in the front door. The couch was empty, but he saw Reyna doing the dishes.

Nico put his hands on his hip, and Reyna looked at him. She spoke, "If I didn't do this, you were going to."

"Maybe," Nico replied nonchalantly. He looked at the living room and saw that the couch was pulled out to make a bed, and it was covered in their blankets and pillows. The dogs were laying outside it. "What's this?"

Not that Nico needed to ask. He had set this up a few times after they moved in together. It was for the nights he couldn't stop thinking about Bianca and had to distract himself with the television. Reyna had commented on it once or twice before joining him on the bed and saying it looked comfortable.

The next time it happened, Nico told her the reason why. She didn't push, and anytime one of them wasn't having a good night, they would just pull out the couch, and the other would know.

"I had a bad nightmare," Reyna admitted after a moment. She shrugged and looked down. Nico frowned. "Kind of don't want to sleep alone."

"Just don't snore," Nico warned. Reyna smiled as she finished the dishes. She sniffled and wiped her nose. "Don't breathe on me either."

"So bossy," Reyna complained. Nico took off his shoes and jacket. He didn't bother to change as he flopped into the bed. Reyna laid next to him, and the space in between them was taken up by the dogs.

Reyna buried her face in Aurum's fur and spoke softly, "Thank you, Nico."

"Anytime," Nico whispered as he placed a hand to her shoulder. "If you want to talk about it."

"Maybe later."

"Later is good," Nico commented. He gripped Reyna's shoulder to show he was there. Then, he let his hand fall onto the mass of fur. His eyes closed, and he was asleep before he knew it.