Demigod Journals (Percy Jackson FanFic - Blood Of Olympus)

I Refuse to Make An Embarrassing Title for This! (Reyna)

POV: Reyna

((Circe's island...))

I slumped down into the sand, a bit tired and winded but most definitely happy.

"He's very springy for a goat." Nico, who was sitting beside me, commented. I mustered all my self control and suppressed the silly grin that wanted to break free on my face. I never had a hard time keeping up my poker face before, but now was a different matter all together.

Breathe. Keep calm and act normal. Not like some silly lovesick girl in the face of her crush. Breathe. I am the twelfth legion's praetor. I have control.

"Yes, he is." I said coolly.

"You love dancing?"

I peered a little to the guy beside me and I could clearly tell he was a bit uneasy. "Actually, yes. It was the few past times Hylla and I could agree on. Dancing and fighting." Ah, the good old times.

"Ohhh. Okay."

"What are you thinking, Nico?"

Watching him closely, I saw a faint blush crept up his pale cheeks. "Uhm. Nothing?"

"Are you getting shy on me, death boy?" I teased which just made him blush harder. That made me really smile. I remembered the day when he barely talked to me at all, let alone smile. The days when he was still as pale as death. Well, he was still pale but every now and then there was color in cheeks. To me, it was an adorable sight to see.

"What?! Of course not?!" His black eyebrows furrowed at me.

"Then why can't you look at me?"

He gave me his usual scowl though it didn't look as intimidating as before. "I am the son of Hades. I control the dead. I don't do shy." He said with that low menacing growl of his.

I snickered as I heard Coach Hedge and Fred laugh too. Nico and I were a few feet away from them near the surf while they were at the Athena Parthenos still enjoying my sister's boom box - yes, it was Hylla's and she always made sure to keep it in our collection bag. If you're thinking that it was sorely out of place in a bag filled with weapons, then you need to think again. Some monsters could only be fought with music.

"Right. And am I right to assume that sons of Hades don't also blush?"

Nico's cheeks turned even redder which just made me burst into laughter. He scowled at me even harder. "You are making fun of me!"

"Well yes!" I said between laughs. "Only because you look so cute blushing like that."

"Seriously, Reyna?! Stop calling me cute!" He growled angrily.

I shrugged my shoulders then a brilliant yet crazy idea came to my mind. "Make me." I taunted, hoping hard that he'd take the bait.

"Oh, you asked for this!" Yes, he did! I was ready when he moved as if to capture me and I sprang nimbly on my feet, evading his hands.

I ran fast and he was right on my heels, hard at pursuit.

"Cupcakes! Play nice and don't wander too far!" Coach Hedge bellowed but I was barely giving him an attention. My focus was where I was going and-

"Boo!"

"Ah!" A see-through ghost appeared right in front of me, cocked its head to one-side that its head nearly fell off and exposed its almost cleanly severed neck. The specter was so unexpected and a bit gruesome that I immediately stopped on my tracks. The one behind me didn't though and he hit me on the back to send us rolling on the powder-fine white sand.

Nico twisted so he would hit the ground first. It was a nice gesture but I wasn't done struggling. I dug my knee on the sand to propel myself up when Nico, who must have anticipated the move, quickly out balanced me and I ended face up on the ground with him right on top of me.

I was having a weird sense of déjà vu.

"That was a cheap trick." I said between breathing hard. My rapid breathing wasn't caused by the short run though. Actually, my body felt oddly energized. No, I was breathing hard because he was too close.

Nico was grinning triumphantly at me. His shaggy black hair was gently being blown by the cool afternoon breeze. My heart began thumping wild in my chest. He looked nice like this - the sunset giving him a warm glow. At that moment, I had the strongest urge to reach out to his hair and comb them with my fingers. However, my hands were currently immobilized by the person hovering over me. "We never did agree on the rules so everything goes. 2-1 and it's on my favor."

"Huh?" My eyebrows raised in confusion.

"This is the second time I got you under."

Ohhh... My cheeks burned and I was sure it wasn't because of shame. It was just the way he said it... It sounded like... I clamped down my thoughts. Sheesh. I was going ahead of myself here. "Are you really challenging me?" I asked instead.

Nico's obsidian eyes gazed at me intently that every nerve of my body started to act up. "Why not? It won't be a challenge if it isn't you. Besides, you fight good which makes it even more satisfying to..." He leaned to me, closer. I swallowed hard.

Oh... "To?" I managed in a hoarse voice. What the heck happened to my voice? I watched his lips closely, feeling almost mesmerized at the way they moved. The cute little bow of his upper lip and his slightly thicker and pinker lower lip. They looked soft...

"To - ugh! Shut it, Fred! I am most definitely not saying that?! Get out of my head!" Nico suddenly pulled his head up and glared to the direction of the statue.

A bit of sanity returned to my brain. "Should I even ask?"

"Sorry, it just takes a good deal of concentration to get the undead out of my head. And it's really hard to concentrate now." His scowl had returned.

"Why is that?"

He turned his face back to me again and looked at me with a solemn expression. "Because all I could think of now is how much I want to kiss you."

Oh...

"Ohhh..." A sweet shiver ran down my spine and back up to my heady brain.

He rendered me speechless. No one has ever made me speechless. My mind blanked and I just stared at him. My mind returned to the embarrassing scene from earlier but I wasn't a bit embarrassed now. All my attention was on what Nico would do next...

"Can I?" He asked as if just asking me to shake my hand. How Is he so calm?!

I would have said 'yes' or 'go ahead' or something cooler and dignified but no, my lips had another idea. "Please..." And it came out almost like a begging sigh.

I didn't breathe. I couldn't anyway. My body ceased to function the moment his lips touched mine. I was right in thinking that he has such soft lips. Firm, yet very soft and also a bit sweet. This kiss was far too different from the one I got earlier. The former was hard, brief and a necessity to free me from Circe's spell. Now was even better, every bit of it.

My heart was beating so loud I swore I could almost hear it. My eyelids felt so heavy that I gave in into closing them.

Nico's hands freed my wrist and I felt his thumb caressing my cheek then following the line of my jaw. Where he touched, my skin tingled. My arms climbed up to his neck as I searched for something to hold on to for I felt like drowning. My body was being overwhelmed by warm and heavenly sweet sensations that there's nothing I could think of doing now but cling to him for dear life.

Nico's lips moved gently over mine. Slowly tasting, like sampling a treat and he wanted to make the most of it - that deeply touched me, it was like I'm being cared for - gentle and loving. I followed his lead, moving as he did, matching his pace. I pulled him more to me for despite that I already felt hot, I wanted him and his warmth closer.

"Reyna..." He whispered my name when we paused to take a breath. He rested his forehead on mine so our lips were still just a couple of inches away and I could feel his breath fanning my face. I greedily took in his scent.

"That was..." I struggled between my uneven breathing.

"Wow?"

I nodded weakly. Dam, it felt like strength just left my body. It was a good thing I was just lying in the sand. "It is something."

"Uhm was that your first?"

I blushed. "Yep. Yours?"

Nico smiled a bit. "Same."

That little insignificant fact oddly made me really happy. "Oh. Well. Good job." I patted his shoulder. "It was-"

"Wow?" He asked again.

A giggle escaped my throat. "Yeah, yeah. It was wow."

He kissed me again, brief this time but a kiss from Nico, nonetheless. "Good. Because I really liked it."

I matched his wide grin. "Ditto." This time, I was the one who reached out to give him a peck. He graciously accepted and even flushed a little. I smiled to myself as I felt pride for being able to make him blush. I made the freaking son of Hades blush!

Now that I somehow regained my wits and control of my body, I took the opportunity to change our positions. I gave Nico another kiss before pushing him back hard, rolled with his body, secured my legs on the sides of his hip and caught his hands in mine. "Hey! Not fair." He groaned after he landed on the sand with an 'umph'.

"No rules, so everything goes." I smiled. "2 all."

"You are sneaky." He grumbled but the little quirk in his lips told me that he was enjoying this as much as I do.

"You know being the one under isn't so bad." I said, my mind still not over with the bone melting kiss.

"Are you relinquishing the top place to me?" He asked with a challenging smile.

"Haha, you wish, death boy." I leaned over to him, closer until we were face to face once again. I watched in delight as his eyes turned even darker as his pupils dilated, his breath became ragged and his pulse quickened beneath my palms. I celebrated that I wasn't the only one who felt all that at his close proximity. "So, are we going out now?" I asked.

"Reyna..."

"Yes?"

His face turned suddenly serious which made me frown. What now? "I'm not the most cheerful person. Actually, I'm not the best person to be with... but I really like you, Reyna. I'm sure of that now. You make me really happy and I want to be with you, longer than this quest would allow. I'm willing to change, be a better person for you so that I could stay with you. Even if it means that I need to be more Roman then so be it. Just say the word."

"That's a long speech." I mumbled trying hard not to let the building tears in my eyes show.

Nico frowned. "That's all you are going to say? I poured my heart out in there!"

I breathed in to calm myself. "Don't try to make me angry, Nico. What makes you think that there's something I want you to change?" He opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. The sad look on his face already told me what he would say. "Fine. If there is something that I would ask of you, then it would be that you share as much as you can, even your pains. Especially those. We all have our own demons and I may not even be able to help you but I will try as much as I can. I wish for you to be happy, Nico. That's all."

Strong arms wrapped around me and I landed with a thud on Nico's chest. He held me tight for a while. "Thank you." He breathed on my ear. "And I will do whatever it takes to make you happy, too."

I lifted myself to meet his eyes. He wasn't smiling but I could feel the sincerity of his words through his eternally dark eyes. "So, are we going out now?" I asked again just to lighten the mood.

"Definitely. Anyone who says so otherwise will have to go through me."

"Oh Octavian may not agree of my new Greek boyfriend."

"You know, I could control ghosts and skeletons that could vanish in an instant when they want to. Just say the word and I'll whack your augur in the head, tie him in a water cannon and send him off the camp for good. No one will ever have to know."

I laughed because he said it so seriously that it might actually be better to keep Octavian off Nico's path. As much as I hate Octavian, I didn't want the wrath of Apollo on Nico. "I'll take that wonderful offer into serious consideration."

A hand rose to my face and he tucked a wayward hair off my face. The sun had already set now but I could still see a faint of Nico's features in the growing darkness. I knew he was looking at me as much as I was looking at him. "Kiss me and let's make this official?" He suggested.

I grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

And this time, I took the lead of the long kiss. It was getting better than the last.

"Hey, cupcakes!" Coach Hedge unexpected call eventually tore us apart. "First base, I'm okay but second, you'd have to have the consent of your guardians, understood?"

My whole body tensed. "Coach?!!!" I complained feeling my face burn with mortification. What a way to ruin the mood?!

"Let's ditch the satyr?" Nico asked beside me when we finally stood back on our feet.

"I could hear you, death boy! For that, you are grounded! You hear me?!"

Nico scoffed and he turned to me as if still waiting for my answer about ditching our satyr guardian.

"Oh come on, death boy. We don't want to antagonize him. He may sleep between us again." I took his hand and he instantly laced his fingers through mine. "Oh, that feels nice."

He grinned. "Good point, war girl. Fine then. And besides, I'm getting kind of hungry now."

"Nico..." I called again. "I like you, too." I eventually said. I thought it's just prudent to return the gesture since it's what I really felt. I liked being with him. I felt lighter and happier. He may not realize it but his smiles were actually contagious. Also with Nico, I felt like it was okay to feel vulnerable and that I didn't have to wear my mask of strength every second. I found peace and comfort in his presence.

He beamed at me so wide that I could clearly see his white, perfect teeth. He pulled me in for another kiss. "You just made me the happiest person now."

I didn't try to stop myself now. I grinned back that silly lovesick grin.

It was the best walk on the beach I had. And I would never make fun of cliche romantic movies again about holding hands while walking for I just realized how much good it felt with the right person beside you.

And Nico on my side felt so right.

*****

I waited long for this... And I'm actually excited writing this... Ohh I could just imagine Nico all brooding and dark then suddenly... Hay... @_@ I'm so jealous of Reyna right now... Anyways, the movie im watching now inspired the headless ghost, I'm sure many are familiar with this line, "Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" :)