Apr 29
*good run.
Another lunch break run in the books. Steady pace and lovely weather.
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Japan
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from Türkiye
seen from Colombia
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Egypt
seen from China
seen from Egypt
seen from Germany
seen from Egypt
*good run.
Another lunch break run in the books. Steady pace and lovely weather.
Always in All Ways (Mattheo Riddle x Reader) Great Gatsby AU
Warnings: angst!!!! (but a happy ending) Reader wears a dress (once) cause it’s the 20s. Talk of kids and a future together. For the sake of incest, we’re gonna ignore the fact that Enzo and Mattheo are half brothers… And if you squint, there could be a sign of domestic abuse (but it is so little there that I'm not sure if you can call it that). Reader is married (not to Mattheo at first) and it's not technically cheating.... it's hard to explain. As always, swearing. Not entirely proof-read, but will get it done soon
Lorenzo Berkshire had moved into a gated, two story house, surrounded by a thick forest. The neighbourhood he had moved into was affectionately called Diadem East.
Diadem East was surrounded by a large bay, which, in turn, separated it from Diadem West. Diadem East and Diadem West were similar in the fact that they were obscenely rich. Even though both had enough wealth to buy the island of New York, Diadem West looked down on Diadem East because of generational wealth. Diadem West had come from old money - long lines of families that treated life like a simple game of chess and they could move others like pawns. Diadem East were those who only recently came into money and spent it freely and without care.
Lorenzo had moved to Diadem East in hopes of getting away from his overbearing parents, and it helped that his cousin lived right across the bay in Diadem West.
Y/n Pucey was a recent newlywed to Adrian Pucey. Lorenzo hadn’t been able to make it to the wedding, but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see his baby cousin married to a man fifteen years older than her. Y/n had always been Lorenzo’s favourite cousin; she was a bubbling, carefree girl, probably due to the fact that from birth, she had no restrictions with her father’s money. Now that she was married to the pretentious Pucey family, Lorenzo doubted she was familiar with the word ‘no’.
What Lorenzo did doubt, however, was Y/n’s happiness. He remembered a time, back when she was nineteen, that he had visited her over summer break. She told him tales of a man that had captured her heart. Lorenzo remembered how Y/n’s eyes gleamed and her cheeks burned with her extensive smiling. He remembered laughing with Y/n in the sunroom, saying, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy.”
“I’m in love, Enzo,” she had replied simply.
Needless to say, Lorenzo couldn’t wait to see his cousin again. He also couldn’t wait to return to a normal sleep schedule, given that his new neighbour wouldn’t stop having parties every single night that blasted light and music into Lorenzo’s bedroom window. It wasn’t until Thursday at four pm when a butler knocked on Lorenzo’s back door, holding a silver plate with a letter positioned on it. “Can I help you?” Enzo asked slowly, leaning on the door frame.
“Mister Riddle requests your presence on Friday night for a party he is throwing,” the butler said.
“Mister… Riddle?” Enzo reiterated. “I’m sorry, who?”
“Your neighbour, Mister Mattheo Riddle,” the butler explained. “He wanted to welcome you into the neighbourhood.”
“Right,” Enzo trailed off. “I’ll be there.”
“Mister Riddle looks forward to making your acquaintance.”
****
The next day, Enzo drove up to Diadem West, the hilltop Pucey Manor looming over everything. As soon as Enzo finished driving up the winding gravel road, the front door swung open dramatically. Y/n stood there, arms flung wide. “Darling Enzo!” she squealed. “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”
“My sweet cousin!” Enzo called back, bounding up the steps. He whirled Y/n up in his arms, swinging her back and forth, much to her delight. Her sundress flared around them in a swirling dance. “How have you been?”
“Lively,” Y/n answered simply. “How are those back home? You must tell me everything.”
Enzo flung his head back and said dramatically, “they miss you dearly, loving cousin. When I passed through town, everyone wept when they heard I was to see you. Jealous men came running down from their houses and begged me to take them with you. Mothers sobbed and cried out how they wished their daughters would turn out like you. Children dashed through the streets, racing after my carriage with joy.”
“They did?” Y/n beamed, gripping onto Enzo’s arms. “I do miss them, you know. Perhaps I should visit next summer.”
“They would all love to see you,” Enzo stated plainly. “Yet I have a question for you. Do you know of-”
“Lorenzo Berkshire,” a voice boomed from the front door. “What’s a man like you doing in these parts?”
Enzo stared up at Adrian Pucey, the esteemed husband of Y/n. “Adrian,” Enzo peeled himself away from Y/n and sauntered up the steps. “It’s nice to see you again.” He held out his hand for the man to shake.
“Get in here, good pal.” Adrian clapped Enzo’s hand and pulled him into a rough hug. Enzo let out a huff of air as he collided with Adrian’s chest. “Wonderful to see you as well. Tell me, how’s the stock business going?” Adrian placed a nonnegotiable hand on Enzo’s shoulder and led him inside the Pucey mansion. Y/n let out a noise of surprise and hurried in after them, determined not to be left behind.
“Good, good.” Enzo made senseless conversation with Adrian as he tried to take in the curated house he was in. All the doors and windows were open, letting in a soft breeze and the stinging smell of the bay water. The curtains fluttered around Y/n as she walked, her eyes cautiously on her cousin and husband. No matter how she acted, Lorenzo knew of the whip sharp mind that Y/n had.
“And you know where he’s living, Adrian?” Y/n cut in, moving to recline gracefully on the settee. “In Diadem East!”
Adrian’s brows rose and he turned to Enzo as the men sat on the couch. “Why not buy a house here? Hell, you’re welcome to stay in our guest room. Anything for a relative.”
“No, please.” Enzo held a hand up. “I’m perfectly fine on my own and I don’t want to intrude. It’s a nice, cosy house looking over the bay. In fact, if I look towards the right, I can see the end of your pier.”
“Really?” Y/n lit up, head turning towards Enzo. “How sweet. It’s almost as if we’re neighbours.”
“Speaking of neighbours,” Enzo took this opportunity to ask, “my own seems to be very eccentric.”
Adrian chuckled and poured himself some whiskey. “How so? Do you want any?” He gestured to the whiskey.
“No, but thank you.” Enzo adjusted in his seat and crossed his legs. “My neighbour throws these obscene parties almost every single night. I’m convinced that if it weren’t for the trees, I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep.” Y/n stretched out her legs and leaned her head back until it was resting on the arm of the chair. “But the oddest thing happened - he invited me to one tonight.”
“Really?” Adrian sipped his drink. “And who is this poseur?”
“A Mister Riddle.”
Y/n’s lips parted and, almost in slow motion, her eyes flickered to Lorenzo before going back to staring out the window to the gleaming blue water outside. “Riddle?” she murmured. Adrian glanced at her and Enzo’s brows furrowed. “I mean, there must be a thousand Riddles… why, in fact, just last month, I was introduced to a Ryder. Which is like Riddle, I guess.”
“Y/n, are you alright?” Enzo asked softly.
“Yes, are you well?” Adrian added on.
“I’m sure I’m fine,” Y/n said. “Perhaps just lightheaded. I’m going to go lay down now.” Her hand flit to her collarbone where a small chain was tucked under her dress.
“Okay.” Enzo stared after her, admittedly worried about his cousin, before standing and adjusting his suit. “Well, I'm afraid I have to go. Mustn’t be late to this fellow’s party.”
“Of course.” Adrian stood as well, in common courtesy, knowing that the two men had nothing in common or nothing to do with each other without Y/n as the mediator. “Riddle…” the man muttered. “I could’ve sworn I heard that name somewhere.”
“It’s a common name, you know.” Enzo chuckled as he swiped out the door.
“Yes, I’m sure.” Adrian closed the door behind Enzo almost as an afterthought.
****
“What do you want, my darling? Anything you wish and I will make it happen.”
“I’m happy with just you, Matty.”
“That’s not a good enough answer, and you know it. Now, I’m going to ask again: what do you want?”
“… I… I want a big house. Overlooking the water so our kids can play in the water.”
“Our kids, hm?”
“Oh, yes, Matty. Our kids.”
“Alright. And what else?”
“Hmm… and a big ballroom that we can dance in. And all the paintings will be our favourites. And big parties for every occasion. Perhaps a pool. Or a sunroom. And the largest bedroom ever.”
“Is that all?”
“As long as I have you, Matty, that’s all I ask.”
****
While everyone else arrived to Riddle’s party in new and shining cars, Enzo simply walked. People of all backgrounds were streaming in the doors and Enzo was pushed into the unrelenting mob of partygoers. Enzo shoved his way to the first butler he saw and presented his invitation. “Uh, yes. I have this invitation here…”
The butler glanced down at the letter and said stoically, “you needn’t one.”
“Pardon?” Enzo had never been to a party where he didn’t need to be invited.
“The guests come and go as they please - per Mister Riddle’s orders.”
“Alright,” Enzo pursed his lips together and nodded awkwardly. “Thank you. Do you know where I could find Mister Riddle?”
“No, sir,” the butler replied. “He likes to socialise with his attendees and be in the throng of things. He likes to make sure that everyone is comfortable and having a good time.”
Enzo hummed and nodded in thanks before allowing himself to be swept up in the current. He was carried further into the opulent mansion and Lorenzo needed to remind himself to close his mouth at the palatial nature of it all.
Practically every surface was plated with gold or made of marble. The ballroom opened up to a balcony that overlooked a large pool which was currently populated with dozens of people. On the other side of the ballroom, a large sunroom was occupied by a throng of people, cigarette smoke wisping up through the open roof. The stars were obscured by not only the smoke, but by the fact that every light in the mansion was turned on. Marble stairs led down to another open room which held a stage and a band whose music filtered up throughout the rooms. Congressmen, celebrities, and random people off the street were packed into the house, booze and drugs were passed around and waiters tried to filter through the crowd to hand out refreshments and food.
As he passed, Enzo heard tidbits of conversations about their host. “Did you know he was a bootlegger?”
“No, no, I heard he fought in the last war.”
“Well, whatever it is, it’s all terribly romantic.”
“Well, I thought that he was chasing a girl-”
Enzo managed to fight his way to the balcony and snag a glass of champagne on his way. He sighed in relief at finding a bubble of air to himself. A man dressed in a finely pressed suit jostled into him and quickly apologised. “Terribly sorry, old friend,” the man said. “I didn’t see you there. It’s a rowdy party tonight, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Enzo replied loudly. “Is it usually like this?”
“Unfortunately,” the man grinned. “Although few frequent. I always find that many people come once and then never return.”
“You seem like you know an awful lot about Mister Riddle’s parties. Do you come here often?”
“Yes,” the man tsked. “As hard as I try, I can’t pull myself away from this old mansion. Something always draws me back. Did you know that Mattheo Riddle built this house from scratch?”
“I did not.”
“Yes,” the man laughed, his lips curing up. “Of course, he didn’t build the actual thing, but he bought the land and drew up the blueprints years ago. Six, to be exact.”
“Why is that?”
“No one knows for sure. There’s a lot of rumours circulating around Riddle.”
Enzo shouted over the music, “I was actually invited by Mister Riddle himself. But his butler seemed surprised by that.”
“Yes, it is very rare that one is personally invited to these gatherings.”
“Do you know where I could find him? Mister Riddle, I mean.” Enzo took a sip of his champagne.
The man laughed again and raised his own champagne glass. A smirk coiled up on his face and he said simply, “why, you’re talking to him, old friend. I am Mattheo Riddle.”
The party noise faded in Enzo’s ears. “Oh. I’m so sorry.” His hand shot out for Riddle to shake. “I didn’t mean to be rude. Pardon me, Mister Riddle.”
Mattheo Riddle shook Enzo’s hand, still grinning. His eyes held a mix of anticipation and happiness. Those who were close to Mattheo Riddle - which, really, was no one - had never seen such joy on Mattheo’s face. “Oh, call me Riddle. Or better yet, Mattheo. I feel as if I already know you, old friend. And, seeing as we’re neighbours, I hope to get to know you even better. How would you like to join me in my study?”
Enzo raised a brow and cliched his champagne fluke. “May I ask what for?”
“Oh, well, to tell you my life story, after all.” Mattheo clapped a hand on Enzo’s shoulder, much like Adrian had hours earlier. But unlike Adrian, Enzo found himself agreeing to go along with this man he only met today.
Mattheo led Enzo down the hallway and nodded to a butler who was standing guard over an oak door. The butler opened the door up to Mattheo’s study, which was more of a library. The library was a much different aesthetic than the rest of the house. While the mansion next to Enzo’s little cottage was energetic and extravagant, Mattheo’s library was dark and cosy. Instead of gold and marble, it was made of oak and the flickering flames of candles.
“An impressive collection,” Enzo commented, glancing around the room at the rows of books.
“Why, thank you,” Mattheo replied. “It overlooks the bay, you see?” He pointed towards the window that, true to his word, was directly facing the large water.
Enzo peered out the window and huffed a laugh when he saw Y/n’s house staring back at him. “That’s my cousin's house,” Enzo glanced back at Mattheo to see his gaze locked on the Pucey mansion.
“I know,” Mattheo said quietly.
“You know?” Lorenzo repeated questioningly.
“Yeah,” Mattheo nodded. “You’ve heard rumours of me.” It wasn’t a question. Before Enzo could answer, Matthei continued, “but I can assure you, only one of those is true, old friend. I am… a helpless romantic.” Mattheo chuckled lowly, a sad layer in his eyes. Instead of sitting behind his large desk, Mattheo opted to lounge on a couch and Enzo sat in a loveseat next to him.
“What do you mean by that?”
“About… eight years ago I met this girl. God, she was absolutely perfect.” Mattheo gazed out at Diadem West. “I have been bereft of her for so many years… And I finally hope to make it up to her. I’ve become the man that will be good enough for her archaic parents.”
“Where did you meet her?” Enzo asked quietly.
“I was visiting her hometown one day, eight years ago. And I just…” Mattheo took a moment to wet his chapped lips. “She had all other eyes on her. She was simply walking down the street, yet she drew everyone to her. And when I was blessed enough to hold her in my arms… to kiss her lips is better than heaven.”
“May I guess her name?” Enzo’s smile grew larger. “Is this lovely, captivating woman my cousin, Y/n Pucey?”
“How did you know?” Mattheo’s voice was airy and wistful.
“Many men have tripped over their feet just to take a glance at my cousin. She is not only beautiful, holding the Berkshire genes, but witty, magnetic, and gentle.” Enzo finished his champagne and lit a cigar that Mattheo had offered him. “And, well, she might have mentioned you once or twice. She was in love with you when she was nineteen. Perhaps she still is.” Mattheo’s eyes snapped to Enzo. “Then she was married to Adrian Pucey. Honestly, I’m a little surprised that you’re living right across from her.”
“Yes, I’m aware of all that,” Mattheo stated. “But nothing has been an accident, Mister Berkshire. There’s a reason why I host parties every weekend, why I keep the lights on every night, why my home is directly across from hers, and why you, her cousin, is renting next to me.”
Enzo scrutinised this stranger across from him. “You’re obsessed with my cousin,” he stated, somewhat disgustedly.
“No,” Mattheo whispered. “I’m in love with your cousin. I have always been in love with her - in all ways. And she is me. Mention my name around her and you’ll see.”
“I have,” Enzo admitted. “She looked as if she’d seen a ghost. But she also looked guilty, Riddle. She’s married. She has a life. She wants children.” Mattheo’s jaw jumped as Enzo continued, “you can’t rip her away from that. It’s been years, Riddle. She hasn’t seen you for years.”
“I know…” Mattheo trailed off. “But just to see her again would fulfil any wish of mine. I have a vow I need to make due on. I- uh, I was wondering if you could invite her over for tea. And I could drop by. Just one day.” Mattheo’s eyes felt dry and he quickly blinked.
Enzo sighed deeply and after a long moment, said, “okay. Tuesday? At three?”
A weight lifted off of Mattheo’s shoulders. He now had all the time in the world. In his eyes, everything was finally falling into place. Mattheo would finally get to be happy again. “That sounds absolutely perfect.”
****
Tuesday was outrageously cloudy. Lorenzo could hardly see the sun as he drove back to his house. As he pulled into his driveway, he came to see an ostentatious green Rolls-Royce convertible that was blocking his drive. Enzo stared defeatedly at the car for a long moment, knowing exactly whose it was.
Mattheo Riddle leaned on the hood and proceeded to wave at Enzo as if the man wasn’t hours too early to tea.
“You have a watch, don’t you?” Enzo called out, getting out of his car.
“I couldn’t wait,” Mattheo admitted. “I had nothing else to do today - well, that’s not true. I in fact cancelled some meetings that were set to take place today, but no worries.”
“You cancelled - you know what? Nevermind. Look, Riddle, I sure hope you know what you’re doing. Y/n… she’s changed from when you met her.” Enzo couldn’t look at his neighbour as he unlocked his door. Mattheo followed in after him, glancing around courteously, as if the real reason he was here wasn’t sending waves of nerves through his stomach. Enzo glanced back at Mattheo and moved to the kitchen to make some tea. Mattheo followed after him, his gait slow. “She used to believe that she could live any way she wanted,” Enzo continued. “But then she met Adrian.”
“Hm.” Mattheo made a low noise in his throat, fingers reaching out to play with the teacups that hung from a shelf.
“She’s not… unhappy with Adrian,” Enzo tried to explain. “But she’s putting her happiness aside for the grandeur of life.”
“I could give her that grandeur,” Mattheo muttered.
“Do you know how people back home would treat her if they found out she got divorced from Adrian Pucey just to marry a man who is rumoured to be a bootlegger?” Enzo asked, aghast. He roughly swallowed and said quietly, “I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
“No, no,” Mattheo waved him off, still seemingly fascinated by Enzo’s teacups. “It’s perfectly in line. You make a valid point. Though I can assure you, I am not a bootlegger. Far from it.”
“Then what is your line of work?”
“Never you mind. When is Y/n coming?” Mattheo turned to Enzo, changing the topic at an alarming speed. The teacups were long forgotten.
Enzo exhaled and dunked a teabag in the teapot. “She said she’ll be arriving around three. However, that means that she’ll either be arriving at two-fifteen on account of wanting to escape Adrian, or she’ll arrive at four-thirty because Adrian needs something from her.”
“Let’s hope it’s the former,” Mattheo growled.
As if on cue, the two men heard the rumbling of a car approaching. The air in the room stilled. Mattheo’s face dropped and he turned pale, staring at the door. They heard Y/n’s honey voice call out, “Lorenzo!” Enzo quickly came to his senses and rushed to open the door. Y/n was driving up, waving her hat enthusiastically in one hand. A smile split on Enzo’s face as he rushed over to help her out of her car. “I must say, I was wary when you asked me to visit without Adrian,” Y/n chatted as Enzo escorted her into the house. “I couldn’t possibly think of anything you would need from me.”
“Can’t I just ask you over for tea?” Enzo chuckled. “Does everything I do need malicious intent?”
“Based on your past, yes.”
Enzo rolled his eyes playfully. After he took Y/n’s coat and hat, his eyes darted around his house, but he couldn’t find one trace of Mattheo anywhere. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll… I’ll grab the tea,” Enzo muttered. He moved to his kitchen, and seeing his back door ajar, he shoved it open. “Where are you going?!” he cried out to Mattheo who was currently halfway across the lawn.
Mattheo spun back to Enzo, fear deeply rooted in his expression. “I can’t,” he whispered after he jogged back to Enzo. “I can’t do it. You’re absolutely right. She... she has a life. And probably doesn’t even remember me. It would be cruel to subject her to such emotions. I don’t want to cause her any harm.”
Enzo shook his head. “I will not have invited my cousin to tea under false pretences,” he said slowly and firmly. “You owe this to her,” he added.
A droplet of rain fell from a passing cloud and fell faster and faster until it splattered on Mattheo’s wrist. The water was absorbed by the cuff of Mattheo’s shift, but a small bit of the water rolled down onto his hand and drifted its way down to Mattheo’s ring finger. A thin gold band sat snug there. “Do you know what a pyrrhic victory means?”
“Yes.” Enzo frowned inquisitively. “It’s victory that cost the victor more than it did the defeated. But what does that have to do with Y/n?”
“My love for Y/n has cost me everything,” Mattheo muttered. “But she is everything. I'm used to people hating me for my wealth and how reserved I am. What I'm used to isn't people's love. And now, my love is with Y/n and I'm not letting anyone ruin that or take it away from me.” More raindrops began falling from the sky until a gentle pitter-patter could be heard all around them.
“So why don’t you come in and tell her that?” Enzo asked, gesturing towards his door.
Mattheo’s jaw jumped but he nodded, giving in. He shuffled through the door and into the living room where Y/n sat. Enzo grinned to himself and shut the door behind them before hearing Y/n gasp and the sound of a glass breaking. Enzo cursed to himself, knowing one of his precious teacups had now lost its life.
“M- Matty?” Y/n murmured, eyes wide. “Oh- oh, dear.” She stared down at the broken teacup on the carpet and bent down, hands shuddering. Mattheo crouched down as well, maintaining eye contact with Y/n the entire way. Y/n shook her head and focused on cleaning up her mess. Enzo noticed her whole body was trembling and he took a step forward as if to console her. Mattheo beat him to the punch. He grasped her forearms and helped her up, leaving the teacup behind. Y/n sniffed and repeated, “Matty?”
“Yeah, darling. It’s me,” Mattheo murmured, stepping closer to her. His hold on her arms softened and his cheek brushed against her forehead.
Y/n exhaled shakily. “What are you doing here?” she whispered, tipping her head to lean into a more intimate position with Mattheo. Enzo slid out of the room, smirking faintly.
“I live next to Enzo,” Mattheo said, neither one bothering to look for Y/n’s cousin.
Y/n chuckled humourlessly. “Tell me the real reason, Matty. I know you better than this.”
Mattheo smiled - the truest smile Enzo had ever seen on his neighbour’s face (not that Enzo was watching from the next room) - and leaned down to bump his nose against hers. “I could never hide anything from you. Not that I ever would, but I digress.” Mattheo reached down and gently lifted Y/n’s hand to his lips. He pressed featherlight kisses along her fingertips and confessed, “a year after you married Adrian, I built a house across the bay. The mansion whose windows are alight every single night with fireworks going off every weekend… that’s me, darling. Trying to get you to even glance over at me. Renting the neighbouring cabin to your cousin… that’s me. Every little detail, down to my car, is so I can see you again.”
“You did all that for me?” Y/n ran a soft thumb over Mattheo’s jawline, making the man shiver.
“And I will do so much more,” Mattheo promised. “I am yours, my love. Always in all ways.”
****
Y/n sat curled in Mattheo’s lap. The pair was under a tree on a picnic blanket, far from the L/n Villa. “I’m sorry I couldn’t spend my birthday with you, Matty,” Y/n murmured to him. “I know you had a surprise for me.”
“It’s alright, darling,” Mattheo whispered back, dragging his fingers through Y/n’s hair. “I know nineteen is a monumental birthday for your family.”
“But now you have me all to yourself,” Y/n lightly laughed, turning to grin at her lover. “What was the surprise you had for me? You’ve been awfully suspicious these past few days, Matty.”
Mattheo hummed, looking to the sky and rhythmically tapping his fingers against you. “Well, I don’t know, my love,” he teased. “What could I possibly get the most perfect girl for her birthday?” After your protests, he continued, not before kissing your temple. “I got you my heart,” he whispered. Out from his pocket, he pulled a thin chain. Dangling teasingly from the chain was a golden ring. “So I can be with you always,” Mattheo explained quietly.
Tears pricked at Y/n’s eyes as she gently took the necklace from him and thread the chain through her fingers. “You… you’re being serious right now?” Her focus was drawn to Mattheo’s own ring finger, where she noticed a new, immortal band lay proudly. “Are you…?”
“Only for you,” Mattheo reassured her. “Don’t worry. It’s my way of showing my devotion.” He twisted the necklace around her neck, clipping it there.
“Only for me?”
“Always in all ways,” Mattheo vowed.
****
Y/n frequented outings with her friends much more often as of late. Adrian only sent Y/n away with a half-committed kiss on the cheek and eyes fixated on his golfing or his business contracts. Y/n would get in her car (or Enzo’s if he was feeling nice), and drive down to Mattheo’s mansion. Most days, there would be other cars there, waiting for Riddle’s house to open to party. They would be carrying booze and wearing all fashions of clothes, and when they would walk up to his door only to be turned away, they would pout and groan. Mattheo’s house wasn’t blazing his lights anymore, nor were there any fireworks crackling each weekend. His car was kept parked in his garage and his smile was constant.
The first time Y/n had gone over to Mattheo’s mansion, so conveniently and coincidentally located across from hers, she had been in awe. “It’s exquisite!” she had exclaimed. She had run all over the house, marvelling at the floors and the ceilings, dragging Mattheo along behind her. Mattheo laughed loudly, his joy echoing off the walls. Of course, all of the art decorating his walls was accented to Y/n’s taste and the colour palette was exactly as Y/n had hoped for all those years ago.
“Dance with me,” she beckoned Mattheo one day, already spinning on the deserted dance floor. Mattheo would lock the doors to his manor and keep out the partiers forever and always if it meant he could see Y/n on his dance floor, waiting for him.
Mattheo stared at her, his eyes bright with love. He swept her up in his arms, pressing her close, and they danced to nonexistent music. Y/n rested her head on Mattheo’s chest and whispered, “this is nice.”
“This is very nice, indeed. I hope to do it more often.”
Y/n’s fingers gripped onto Mattheo’s shoulders. “Matty…” she whispered. “You know my feelings for you. But I- Adrian-”
“Please don’t speak his name,” Mattheo pleaded. “And I know about him. But I don’t care about him. Please tell me you don’t care about him either.”
“He is my husband, Mattheo.”
“That doesn’t mean you care about him.” Y/n took a breath and stepped slowly back from Mattheo. His mouth parted slowly and desperation filled his eyes. His hands reached out in anguish. “Please, my love. Don’t do this.”
“I will never love him as much as I love you,” Y/n clarified gently. “But I don’t hate him, either. Over the years, I have come to care for him. It’s a complicated feeling, Mattheo, I’m sure you understand.”
“Marry me,” Mattheo suddenly declared. “I promise, my dearest, I will give you all and more.”
“It’s not fair to Adrian,” Y/n protested, her hands dropped to her sides. “We don’t live in a life where one can just divorce their spouse to pursue another. You know of the rigidity and the silent rules that if we don’t follow, the exile we face.”
“Exile of what?” Mattheo cried, helplessness in his voice. “You can move in here. I can give you the life we dreamed of.”
“The life I dreamed of included my parents and my loved ones,” Y/n objected. “Not an isolated life with only one of the many I love.”
“Anyone you love can come visit you if they want,” Mattheo offered. “I won’t push anyone away. I just want you.”
“You know they won’t visit,” Y/n’s voice broke. “You know people will ridicule us. And I am so sorry, Matty, but I don’t know if I could live with that.” Mattheo didn’t speak for a long moment, staring at Y/n’s neck. “What’s wrong?” she eventually demanded. “Do I have something on my collar?”
“No,” Mattheo murmured softly. “It’s just… you kept it.” He pointed to Y/n’s neck and reached out to finger the chain around Y/n’s neck. The woman couldn’t help but shiver under his light touch. “You kept it,” he repeated. Carefully, as if afraid he might break her, Mattheo lifted the hidden necklace that was tucked under Y/n’s dress. “My ring.”
“I couldn’t bear to get rid of it,” Y/n’s breath hitched and she swallowed back tears. “I’ve never taken it off. Even- even on my wedding day.”
Beside himself, Mattheo chuckled, though it quickly turned to a gasp for breath. “So even when he made love to you, you always kept my ring around your neck?” Tears slipped down his cheeks and Y/n reached up to quickly wipe them away.
“I don’t want you thinking about that,” Y/n muttered, shaking her head at the absurdness of it all. “Please… just be here with me.”
“I’m here,” Mattheo could hardly get a couple words out. He pulled her close to him and pressed a firm kiss on her forehead. “You still haven’t said no to my proposal.”
Y/n laughed loudly. “I didn’t think you were being serious.”
“With you, I am always serious,” Mattheo grinned, bending down to look her in the eye. “And that wasn’t an answer. Why are you avoiding the question, darling?”
Y/n sighed, a coy smile on her lips. “Would I simply leave Adrian? What of my things? Adrian would come looking for me, you know?”
“I would buy you whatever you’re missing a thousand times over.” Mattheo stared at Y/n, his eyes holding all the tenderness that a lover was supposed to have. “I would protect you and Adrian would never know where you are. He will never harm you, I promise.”
Y/n tapped Mattheo’s chest thrice and hummed. Mattheo’s heart fluttered and his lips brushed against her temple. Silently, he begged all the gods he knew of that Y/n would agree to be with him. His lips moved wordlessly, pleading, before Y/n said, “I will call you tomorrow, Matty. I’m sure Adrian already knows of our endeavours, but give me one night to collect my thoughts. Can you give me that much?”
“Of course, my love. Whatever you need.” He kissed Y/n’s forehead again. “Always in all ways.”
“Always in all ways,” Y/n repeated.
****
“Where are you going?”
Y/n’s shoulders tensed and she slowly turned around to face Adrian. A packed bag was on her bed. “Enzo, the sweetling cousin he is, invited me to stay with him,” she said. “I thought it would be fun to spend a night in East Diadem. To see how others live.”
“You? In East Diadem?” Adrian chortled a laugh. “And why, pray tell, would you do that?”
“Because I love my cousin,” Y/n reiterated firmly. “Are you forbidding me to see my family?”
Adrian’s head hung and he shook his head. “I may be rich, but I’m not stupid.” He hesitated before stating, “I know about Riddle.”
“My old friend?” Y/n asked smoothly. “Yes, he was a friend of Enzo’s. That’s how I met him, you know.” She cleared her throat and zipped up her bag.
“You’re fucking him, aren’t you?” Adrian then suddenly shouted out, his hair flying out of place and his face turning red. “He’s fucking my wife, that bastard! Why, I should- I outta- you bitch!” He growled and whirled around, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Adrian.” Y/n held up her hands, trying to soothe his emotions. It was the only way she learned how. “I haven’t been unfaithful to you, I promise. I made a vow on our wedding day and I have since upheld it.”
Adrian grunted and demanded, “so tell me you love me.”
Y/n swallowed. “I- I love you, Adrian. Just not in the way you want me to.”
Her husband let out a yell of frustration and slammed his hands down on the back of an armchair. Y/n flinched. After a tense moment, he hissed out, “go, then. Leave me.” His voice rose to a crescendo and he shouted out, “but know that I will never let you back into this life again! No one will ever let you step inside Diadem West without rumours and hatred trailing behind you.” He let his voice drop and as Y/n shuffled back, he raised his head and looked at her, pleadingly. “I want to make you stay,” Adrian whispered. “I want to tell you all the ways I love you. But… But I think we both know I can’t.” He took a step towards her and held a hand out as if he wanted to cup her face in his palm. “You are so beautiful, Y/n,” he muttered. “But he makes you feel alive. You- you deserve that.”
“So do you, Adrian,” Y/n choked out.
“I know,” he nodded once, conceding. “I know.”
****
It took four weeks for Y/n to officially move into the house across the bay. Immediately, she had sought out her cousin and stayed with him for some time. She spent many of those days sitting out on the lawn, staring out to the bay and her old house. Her hair would whip across her face and sometimes, Mattheo would come and sit a couple feet away from her, not saying a word. Mattheo knew she was experiencing the eroding feeling of guilt. He didn’t dare disturb her thoughts if, eventually, it would lead to him. What’s a couple more weeks when he had been waiting years?
Then, one day, Y/n turned towards Mattheo and said, “you promised to love me always and in all ways.”
Mattheo’s head whipped toward her. The shame in his eyes was deep. “Yes,” he uttered.
“I think I’m ready to take you up on your offer.”
Mattheo broke into a smile.
A year later, the pair was married. The band that had been around Y/n’s neck was now around her finger. Y/n’s parents refused to attend and she had spent the night crying in Mattheo’s arms. Enzo had taken the place of her father and walked her down the aisle. The wedding was sparse and while Mattheo’s aunt had come to offer her congratulations, as had one of Y/n’s old friends, the couple knew that their life would be a lonely one until they either made new friends or Y/n’s old friends in Diadem West came around. But they were happy.
Grand parties weren’t a frequent occurrence, though every month or so, Mattheo threw a celebration for an unimportant holiday, simply to show Y/n off. He finally had the pleasure to kiss her in a room full of people and not be ridiculed. However, parties weren’t needed. As long as Mattheo woke up with Y/n in his arms, he would call it the most wonderful day ever.
And when years had passed and their children would move out to begin their own endeavours, the house would lay empty. After decades had gone by and the mansion was simply a statement of extravagant wealth and the jubilance of society, people would wander in the house, marvelling at the gold and marble. Whispers would echo the hallways of the great love story that transpired within its walls. A large, dusty old portrait of the couple still hung above the fireplace, their eyes holding as much love as there was water in the bay.
✨🌻❤️🔥JEN’S 6.4K SPECIAL!!!❤️🔥🌻✨
AHHHHH, BBYS!!! THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!
I never imagined that I would ever have these many people following me, so thank you sooooooo much. I’m extremely flattered from all the support, and the love, and all the affection from y’all. 😌💖
As a treat, I’ll be opening my requests back up until June 1. 🎉
So please feel free to send your requests here. 🥰
It’s a Grey Area
Chapter 2:
A/N: ‘Italics’ are thoughts. Warnings? Swear word or two?? Skywalker bashing. OC’s not a fan. Its a bit sad? Talk of parents dying, if thats a warning??
Gif is from @gif-hunts-for-you bless you for your Jessica Lowndes gif sets
It took another 3 hours to finish sorting and doing the inventory, after which Blix sent Amber and Bre on home. There were not many patients in the Med Bay currently, so the night rounds would be quick. Blix was finishing up some paperwork, when she heard someone sigh quietly, near the door. She looked up to see who came in.
“Ben? Come in. What’s-“ Blix began to ask, before noticing the blood dripping from his arm. “Come here. Let me see.” She held out her hands.
He stepped forward and mumbled, “It’s not a big deal, it’s just annoying.”
“Uh huh. Let me be the judge of that,” She stated as she gently rolled up his sleeve. There was a large scrape running along his forearm, that was slowly bleeding and covered in dirt.
“How did this happen?” She asked as she examined it to see how deep it went.
“Luke. Training. He threw me into some trees,” He murmured.
She sighed deeply and began to disinfect it with some pads, before spraying it with Bacta. As she worked, she felt a prod in her mind. Like something was trying to break through her mental barriers.
“Ben, you are lurking without a permit. Get out of my head,” She lightly admonished not looking up at him.
“My apologies. Force of habit,” He replied.
“Mh. One that you need to get rid of. You want to get to know someone, try talking to them. Ask questions. That sort of thing. No one likes their minds being probed, and if you ever did that to Commander Dameron again, no one would stop him from beating your face in,” She remarked as she finally turned to look at him.
“Noted. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding you doctor. No one seems to know your background, nor do you seem to interact with anyone beyond your work. Why is that?” He questioned starring at her intensely, curiosity shining.
“I am not here to make friends. I am here to heal. That’s it. May I give you some advice though, in relation to this?” she gestured to his nearly healed arm. “Just because Luke is your uncle, and sort of your teacher, doesn’t mean you have to constantly take his beatings. I’ve seen your powers. You are strong. Don’t let him get away with this shit, just because you feel like you need to be punished for crimes that you have made amends for with your mother. Forgive yourself and take a damn stand. I didn’t take you for a coward nor do I see a child. An ass, maybe, but not a quitter.”
His face showed no emotion, though his eyes showed some surprise. His only response was to simply pull his arm from her grasp before walking out without another word.
Blix sighed as she cleaned up the mess and then made her way back to her room, her shift over for now. Her room was simplistic, a bed in the center of the room, a small kitchen to the right, refresher, and closet to the left. She had a small desk to work at; books, journals, and scrolls lying everywhere.
She quietly showered and changed into some sweats and a shirt. She thought about making herself something to eat but didn’t have the energy to do so. She laid in bed, starring at the ceiling, wondering to herself, ‘Why did I agree to come here? What exactly is my purpose?’
She thought she knew when she went to med school. Help people, no matter who they are or where they come from and heal them. Now, that purpose, while still important, was fading slowly; an emptiness began to fill her chest and mind. A hole that she pondered over late into the hours, which usually only led to her sleeping for a spell.
She’s not quite sure when she fell asleep, she just knows when she woke up it was about 6am and someone was knocking on her door. She stands up, exhausted to the core, but growing annoyed with constant knocking.
“I’m coming!” She yelled as she walked/wobbled over to the door.
She flings it open to see an officer standing there. “Yes? What is it?”
“The General requests to see you in the Command Center, Dr. Blix,” He informed. “I am to escort you once you are dressed.”
“Joy. Give me like 5 minutes,” Blix replied sarcastically. She closed the door and turned around to go get some get some clothes on. She pulled on some black cargo pants, and a green shirt followed by a long grey cardigan. She threw on some socks and her boots and grabbed her keycard on her way out.
She reopened the door and stepped out with a sigh. The officer then proceeded to lead her to the command center, never once saying another word to her.
As she stepped up to the center, she saw General Organa, Luke stood off to the side with Rey & Ben, and Poe nearby with Finn & Chewy. She heard a small beep and felt a bump to her leg. She looked down to see a familiar orange and white droid who began to beep happily at her attention.
“Hello Beebee. I’m good, how are you?” She quietly asked him, as she gave his head a pat, a small smile on her face. He began to beep his response when a voice cleared their throat loudly stopping it. Her smile froze and quickly disappeared as she straightened up and gave her attention to Leia.
“I am sorry to have awaken you so early doctor, but it has come to my attention that you have never been on a field mission before. Which I found strange when I first heard of it and had to confirm it myself. That changes today,” Leia informed her.
“Come to your attention, you say?” She repeated as she turned her head slowly to Poe, anger and betrayal laced her features, as she glared at him. He had the decency to flinch and look away, as he shuffled behind Finn to avoid her gaze.
“Listen. General. I am a doctor. Not a soldier, a fighter, or a pilot. I am a doctor; I belong in the med bay not out galivanting across the universe. So, you can take whatever mission you are about to shove into my arms, elsewhere. I am not doing it,” She declared and turned away, intending to leave.
“Blix,” Came Admiral Holdo’s voice.
She growled and turned around swiftly, and angrily answered, “Yes Amilyn? What? Let me guess. You once again want to bring up how ‘my parents wouldn’t have approved of my behaviors.’ How if they were alive, they ‘would have been disappointed with how I am reacting’ and that I ‘need to respect my superiors, especially one as admired as her?’ Right?”
Before Holdo could even answer, Blix continued, “Newsflash. They are dead. My father died long before I was even born, on a planet that was blown to smithereens by the Deathstar. My mother died long before I even turned 10.”
Many in the room shifted uncomfortably at this information and Leia stepped forward cautiously, and interjected, “I understand that you have lost a lot in this war, but so have others. I empathize with your pain, I sincerely do. Everyone else understands that the only way to find peace is to fight for it. They fight because they have hope in a better future. They-“
“Save the speech. I am sure it’s quite inspiring to everyone else, but I was raised to be a politician just like you Princess,” Blix interrupted, emphasizing Leia’s previous title through gritted teeth. “I know when I am being fed a line. ‘Rebellions were built on hope?’ You mean rebellions were built on the blood spilt and the dead bodies of the hundreds of thousands of people that died because of YOUR family.”
There were many gasps heard but Blix no longer cared.
“You tell me you understand but, how could you? When your family is the reason why I, hell, why half the galaxy doesn’t exist anymore! Your father reigned terror and death for decades, and you expect me to just, what? Forgive and forget what he took from me? Or forget that it was your idiot brother who tried to attack and kill your son. The son that then turned to the dark side and helped the First Order come to fruition. You and your family are a plague,” She snarled, before turning and exiting the room.
She stormed out of the base and could feel herself lose control. Her mind was raced, adrenaline surged through her as rage continue to bubble in her chest. She took a shaky breath trying to regain control over herself. Her hands shook as a tingling sensation worked through her fingers. Her teeth gritted, and gnawed on her lip as she tried to desperately calm down
She made her way out to the surrounding forest, and eventually found the familiar winding path that she had created in her time here. She followed it for several minutes before it opened out to a small field of flowers. She began to pace frantically up and down, but the rage refused to die down. Taking deeps breaths didn’t work. She couldn’t concentrate long enough to count.
There was only one thing she could do. She turned to a large boulder and raised her hand out to it. She felt a surge of energy as the Force surrounded her and as she clenched her hand closed, the boulder exploded into many pieces.
The energy released left her slightly drained. She was breathing heavy as she stood there. She collapsed to her knees; head bowed, exhausted. Her vision swam a bit and she could feel tears build up.
“Now, what exactly did that boulder do to you?” a warm voice asked.
Blix jerked her head into the direction of the voice, “Grandfather?”
A pale, ghostly blue figure, a Force Ghost, stood there in her small sanctuary. He moved to sit before her and gave her a soft smile.
“What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you, but you don’t often appear before me,” she quietly inquired.
“Your rage could be felt even amongst the dead. My dear heart, why are you doing this to yourself?” He gently questioned.
“Not quite sure I know what you mean,” Blix replied, not making eye contact with him.
“Don’t play coy. You know what I mean. You have been holding a part of yourself back for years. You have built this wall to hide who you really are. Your soul is tearing itself apart as you deny your destiny,” He chastised.
“Destiny? What destiny? My destiny to wind up dead for being within the same star system as a Skywalker?” Blix scoffed, her eyes rolling.
With a small sigh, he reached out and flicked her on the nose. She blinked rapidly and slowly reached up to cover her nose as it lightly throbbed with pain. ‘Ow.’
“Enough of that. You were destined to be a Jedi. Your powers cannot be held back anymore. There will come a time when you will have to use them, and those walls will come crashing down. Stop fighting who you are meant to be. Your soul and mind are at war with one another. That void you keep feeling? The restless nights? That is your power trying to break free. It is only going to get worse unless you start accepting it.” He urged her, trying to get her to see reason.
“I just..” She struggled to articulate her feelings. There was so much she wanted to say to the man she only knew from his journals and had only seen in her dreams. Tears formed again and fell down her cheeks. She hastily wiped them away not wanting him to see.
“I know. Time was cruelly stolen from us. There are many things I wish I could have taught you personally, but you have done so well on your own. You were destined for greatness. Are you going to continue to fade away in obscurity or are you going to be the Jedi you were meant to be?” He questioned, pressing a kiss to her forehead before fading away.
Blix sighed heavily. She sat there for an hour maybe two, mulling things over in mind, before she got up. The rage had died down and the world slowly came back into focus, and the sounds of the forest grounded her. All that could be heard was the wind rustling leaves, birds chirping. Off in the distance, she could hear the flight deck come to life as pilots fired up their ships for takeoff or engineers began their work.
She made her way back out of the forest, and over to the flight decks. She could see Poe and Chewie were getting the Falcon ready. She took a deep breath, and as much as she didn’t want to, she swallowed her pride and move toward them.
She stood before them, cleared her throat, and inquired, “Ahem. So. What’s this mission about?”
Poe, upon hearing her voice, stopped in his tracks, and looked at her stunned. After a moment, a smile broke out on his face. “Get on board, and I’ll tell ya on the way, gorgeous.”
She smiled back softly and greeted Chewie as she walked up the ramp, the two of them following behind a moment later. Chewie walked into the cockpit to get the ship fired up, as Poe stood next to her. She bit her lip as she tried to figure out what to say to him. Should she explain? Should she apologize?
Poe stopped her train of thoughts when he reached out and grabbed hold of her hand. She tried to focus on what he was telling her and not on how warm his hand felt, or the small callouses that gently soothed over her own hand. ‘Such different lives we’ve lived.’ She thought.
“We are going to meet up with a possible informant who may have intel on the First Orders next plan of action,” he quickly informed. “You and I are going to pretend to be a couple while there so as not to raise suspicion. Simple mission. Very easy. I promise nothing will happen.”
She nodded her head, and as she stared at him, she knew he wanted to remark on what happened earlier. He sighed and looked down for a second and rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand. He eventually looked up and gazed into her eyes.
“Listen, I’m not going to ask you about the stuff you said this morning, unless you feel comfortable about it. I do want to say. I am sorry for going behind your back and requesting you for this mission, without talking to you first. That was a dick move, and I hope you can forgive me,” He apologized.
She bit her lip for a moment, and with a nod replied, “Apology is noted. Acceptance is pending.”
He pouted for a second, before it switched to a smirk and he stepped closer to say something else, but Chewie roared that the Falcon was ready to go and that they needed to leave soon.
“To be continued?” she offered with a small smile.
His smile was the only answer she needed, and they headed toward the cockpit. Poe sat in the co-pilot seat, she in the seat behind him, and seconds later they were off.
It took about an hour to get to Cantonica, headed toward a town a few miles outside of Canto Bight. As soon as we landed, Poe stood up and said, “Come with me.”
She followed him over to one of the sitting areas. Blix took off her cardigan and threw it on the table to cool down a bit, as he opened a draw and withdrew a spare blaster. He turned to her and held it out for her to take.
“Um. What’s this for?” Blix hesitantly asked, stepping back a bit.
“For you. For your own protection,” He answered still holding it out to her.
“I.. I’ve never used a blaster before Poe. I..I’m not sure this is a good idea,” She admitted, shaking her head and rubbing her arm anxiously.
Poe smiled softly, “It is only for emergencies. In case we get separated. I just want to be sure that you are armed in the off chance that we run into trouble. Just point and shoot. I don’t suspect trouble, but I would rather be assured that you are safe and armed.”
He turned back to the drawer and pulled out a belt with a holster attached to it. He placed the blaster into the holster before he turned back around to her. “May I?” he politely asked gesturing to her.
Blix shifted for a moment, still not quite sure of this but she knew that there was a possibility that it could go wrong. She nodded and held her breath as Poe stepped forward, leaning over her slightly as he wrapped the belt around her. He quickly secured it to her asking, “Is this too tight?”
“No, its fine,” She responded. “Tell me, does it clash with my outfit?”
He huffed out a laugh at her question and stepped back to fully examine her. “Looks perfect on you. Shall we get going?” He asked as he grabbed his own blaster.
As they stepped onto the ramp leading out, the heat of the planet hitting them immediately, Poe stopped and turned to her slightly.
“Also. Out here, you follow my lead. This isn’t the med bay, and I am your commanding officer. Got it?” He firmly demanded.
The sudden shift in personality caused Blix to blink in surprise, because suddenly he wasn’t Poe Dameron, flirty flyboy. He had switched to Commander Dameron, respected officer of the Rebellion. She felt the need to tease him a bit, “Got it… Commander.”
They moved forward and began to make their way to the meet, a shady cantina. Blix slowly moved closer to Poe and muttered, “Put your arm around me, we’re meant to be a couple, yeah?”
He casually wrapped his arm her shoulders and she tucked herself into his side, arm wrapped around him, her thumb hooked into one of his belt loops, to rest.
After a few minutes they arrived at the cantina and were making their way to an empty table. As they took a seat side by side, Poe informed her that they were looking for human, who goes by the name Crixus. They had arrived early, and ordered drinks to not raise suspicion, sipping at them lightly.
A moment of silence had passed when Poe commented without looking at her, “So an orphan eh? Didn’t really see that one coming.”
She chuckled, somewhat bitterly. “Yeah. My mother was an ambassador who made a lot of enemies really quickly. She uh.. was killed by a bounty hunter. I wasn’t there, I was…elsewhere. I was about to turn eight. My mother never really spoke much about my father, all I know is he died on Scarif. I haven’t had the stomach to look her stuff and find out more,” She explained, finding a spot on the table, suddenly fascinating.
“Scarif? Like. Rogue One? He was a part of that? Wow!” He said amazed before adding, solemnly “I lost my mother when I was eight. Dad’s still around but I haven’t really seen him much since I joined the cause. I keep her close to my heart though.” He tugged at the chain of the necklace he wore.
“That ring is your mother’s? I always wondered but I never felt right asking about it,” She admitted, looking at him, as she bit her lip.
“Yeah. I plan to one day give it to the girl I want to marry,” Poe revealed. “I have a fairly good idea who I want to marry eventually. I just can’t seem to figure out if she feels the same way about me.”
She looked away, not really wanting to hear him describe who it is he clearly had feelings for and went with a simple, “Oh?”
“Yeah. She’s stubborn, and beautiful. Keeps refusing my dates and cites regulation at me. Though last time she didn’t do that, and it gave me hope that she is interested.” He continued offhandedly.
A smile slowly appears on her face, alongside a blush that she tried to hide. He gently cupped her face and turned her to look him in the eyes. “I’m going to guess by that pretty smile and lovely blush I see that that’s a yes?”
Before she could answer, someone loudly sat down across from them. They pulled away from each other and looked to see a human male, with dirty blonde hair, and multiple scars running along his face sitting there.
“Crixus?” Poe asked to confirm his identity.
He nodded and as they began to speak, Blix couldn’t help but to feel a nagging sensation inside her head. Something was off, something was wrong. As she examined the man before them, she slowly heard it. It was faint, and she had to focus to fully hear it. It was a beeping noise. A rapid beeping. Like that of a-
“Poe,” She interrupted. “Stop talking to him. Who sent you?”
“I don’t know what yer talkin ‘bout lady. No one sent me,” Crixus denied.
“Oh really?” She pondered mockingly, before she made her move.
She reached over, grabbed his head with both of her hands and slammed it down onto the table, hard. He was knocked unconscious, and she pushed at Poe to get out of the seat, urgently.
“Wh-what the hell was that? He was about to give us valuable information!” He protested as they both stood up and she leaned over Crixus.
She reached around into Crixus’ pockets and after a moment, she found it. A fob.
“He’s a bounty hunter, and we’re the bounty. We have to go now!” She exclaimed, as she dropped the fob on the ground and stomped on it to break it.
Poe grabbed her hand, and they made their way out of the cantina. They went a different route back to the Falcon. It led them down a path to an open market area, that quickly filled with stormtroopers, who recognized them immediately, and began to fire upon them.
Poe shoved into her an alleyway and he took to the opposite side, occasionally taking shots at the troopers.
“’A simple mission’ you said. ‘An easy mission’ you said. ‘Shouldn’t run into any trouble,’” She yelled over at him.
“I know! I’ll make it up to you!” He promised as he took a few more shots.
They were quickly being outnumbered. Poe was a good shot, but more and more were appearing. Her thoughts ran rampant, as she tried to figure out how to get them out of this. A plan that would get them to safety. A gust of wind blew, carrying a whisper, “You know what to do.”
‘Really hitting this on the nose, eh gramps?’
She straightened up, closed her eyes trying to focus and muttered to herself once, “I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.”
When she reopened them, she could feel the Force surrounding her, the energy crackling. She stepped out and walked toward the open market; ignoring Poe’s attempts to gain her attention.
As she stepped out, multiple troopers fired their blasters at the same time. She raised her hands, in front of her face, stopping them midair. They hovered for a mere moment before she threw her arms forward, sending the shots backwards into the troopers. As they fell, she threw her right hand out to her left, and then to her right, knocking those troopers back into walls and various objects.
The coast was clear, for now. She leaned forward, her hands on her knees, exhausted. Her energy drained, and she felt a bit lightheaded. Poe, at some point, walked up next to her and stared at her in awe.
She stood up, ignoring how tired she felt, and said, “C’mon. The Falcon isn’t far, and I don’t want to wait for more to appear, or for these guys to wake up.”
She began to walk away but she only got a few feet before she realized Poe wasn’t following. He was still standing there, gaping.
“You’re… you’re a Jedi?” He wondered.
“I don’t know what you are talking about. Let’s go,” she said turning back around, striding away.
Poe ran to catch up to her, and inquired, “You’re really just going to ignore my question? Blix? C’mon, you gotta explain that to me?”
They were finally getting near the launchpad that held the falcon, but stormtroopers were marching their way. They stopped short, and Blix uttered a small, “Fuck.”
He looked at her, then pushed her to a nearby wall. “Kiss me.”
“What?” She spluttered.
“Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable. So. Kiss. Me.” Poe demanded through gritted teeth, as the troopers got closer to them.
She quickly leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. Blix wrapped her arms around his neck, as his found her waist, before pulling her closer. She couldn’t deny the butterflies that had built in her stomach and were fluttering chaotically. He made her feel warm and safe within his embrace.
The stormtroopers passed but they failed to notice it, far too wrapped up into each other for the moment. It wasn’t until they pulled apart, gasping for breath, that they realized they were free to move on.
She pulled away from him so they could finally begin their hasty walk to the Falcon. As they rushed back on, Poe yelled for Chewie to get on the gunners, as the ramp closed.
Poe has her follow him into cockpit and shoved her over to the co-pilot seat. He pointed out which switches and buttons to hit to fire the ship up as they heard the familiar roar of TIE-Fighters entering the atmosphere. They took off but the path had a squadron of TIEs coming straight for them.
Poe dodged them left and right, trying to help Chewie line up shots to take them out. Several went down quickly but there was still a couple on their tail. They were flying out over canyons, and Blix vaguely recognized the area, and a terrible idea came to mind.
“Poe. I have an idea but it’s a little crazy,” she hesitantly informed.
“I have been told my middle name is crazy, so let’s hear it doll. Preferably before we are shot out of the sky,” He grunted as they were hit.
“See that crevice there? Dive into it.” She commanded pointing to a crevice that was coming up to them on their left.
He followed her directions, straight into a crevice that was only just barely wide enough for the falcon to fit through. They heard a couple of crashing noises from above, but they still had one TIE on them.
The narrow canyon, had them dodging rock formations left and right, and he yelled at her, “My trust in you is waning a bit, what the hell does this open up to?” As the falcon scraped several times along the wall.
“You’ll see. Go for that large opening,” She replied with a wince, pointing slightly to their right.
He does and as they breakthrough they enter an underground city of sorts, full of bright lights and towers everywhere. There was only one path, that she confirmed he needed to follow. The path was somewhat narrow but allowed enough space to dodge hits.
“Blix. Please do not tell me we need to go down that,” He asked worried, as he looked ahead.
“That” was a dark tunnel, that was named the Tunnel of Death (and labeled on the wall in bright lights), that they were swiftly coming upon.
“Yep. Just.. listen to me when I tell you to start pulling up, because it’s a straight drop, that suddenly curves,” Blix advised with a grimace. “Chewie! Buckle up, this is going to be rough!” She yelled toward the back, as she too buckled in, Poe following.
As they dropped down into the hole, they are plunged into absolute darkness. Blix was quietly counting to herself how long it had been since they began their descent. ‘1, 2,3, 4, 5,6.’
“Poe. Start Pulling up,” She told him as her mental countdown got to 7 seconds
He does so, and as they continued to straighten back out; they hear a final crash as the TIE flew directly into the ground. They soon saw cracks of light as they made their way to the exit, and finally flew back out into the open air. They flew until they had left Cantonica’s atmosphere, before jumping into hyperspace.
Once we were safe in hyperspace, Poe turned to her questions written on his face.
She smiled sheepishly, as she rubbed the back of her neck. “So. Did I ever tell you I was a bit of a wild child?”
He threw his head back and laughed, which caused her to laugh as well. As he sobered up, he replied, “No. Failed to mention that tidbit. What was that and how the hell do you know about it?”
“It’s an old pod racetrack. The entrance is back in the middle of Canto Bight, but I heard that there were secret entrances in the canyons. So, I was kinda going off my memory, hence why I said it was little crazy.” Blix confessed with a smile. “My mother used to tell me that while I looked like her, I had my father’s personality. His tendency to be super serious with a side of devil-may-care. I fell in love with podracing when I was like 4? And my best friend’s father was a mechanic, so we built a podracer. My first race I came in second place.”
Poe shook his head in amazement. “You are a mystery wrapped in an enigma,” He began and with sudden realization continued, “That’s. That’s where you were, when your mom died, isnt it? The “elsewhere?””
She nodded her head, with a sad sigh. “She uh.. wasn’t thrilled by new hobby, but she supported it. Said if I’m going to lose, do so spectacularly, and win as often as possible. I was in Kergans, it was a huge race. 19 other competitors, a huge purse as the prize. I was one of the last 5 pods to survive in total, the regular champ was an asshole who liked to cheat and play dirty. He got his comeuppance, when I knock him into a wall, and he lost an engine. My victory lap when I crossed the finish in first was cut short when I was informed that she had been killed on her way to watch me. Never raced again after that,” Blix divulged, leaning back into her chair, staring at the ceiling.
“Then Holdo’s family took you in?” Poe connected.
“Yep. Amilyn was alright living with. Her mother…not so much,” Blix trailed off.
“What? What was she like? Though, knowing the admiral I assume she was not great,” He admitted with a frown.
Blix sighed heavily, “Maureen. She uh. Didn’t care for frivolity. She made sure that I became a ‘proper young lady.’ She practically beat into my head that love was a fairytale and happy endings were not real. Marriages were meant to move power around and change alliances. Dating was not in the cards. Only courting with potential suitors.”
She rolled her eyes heavily at the memories of Maureen scolding her.
“Which.. is why I have been difficult every time you ask me out. I just.. I was conditioned to not accept potential romantic dalliances. I. She. Its difficult for me to get over that. I am trying to move past it, just.. be patient with me please?” she quietly pleaded struggling to explain, as she looked over at him.
He smiled softly. “I’ll wait however long you need me to,” he promised.
“I am sorry if I often seem cold or detached as well. I’m not trying to act bitchy or hoity toity. I just grew up with a hard woman who believed in all things rational and refused to acknowledge anything that suggested emotion,” She apologized her shoulders dropping.
His reply was immediate, “Apology is noted. Acceptance pending.”
She shook her head with chuckle, as he referred to their earlier conversation.
“So… that’s explained. You going to tell me about the Jedi thing?” He queried an eyebrow raised.
“I still have no idea what you are talking about,“ Blix replied standing up. ‘That is not a conversation I want to have with anyone honestly.’
He sighed annoyed at her dismissal of his question again and goes for instead “Okay. Then how about the kiss?”
“What about it?” Blix asked as she got to the doorway of the cockpit.
“What did you think about it?” Poe clarified turning his chair to follow her movements.
She thought about it for a moment, jokingly humming in contemplation, before she responded, “It was good.”
“Good? Just good? What do you mean by that!?” He spluttered not expecting that response.
“Yeah. Good. I’m sure the next one will be better,” She hinted with a smile as she skipped out.
Chewie made his way inside, and Poe hears her apologize for the bumpy ride she led them on. He responded in kind, gently roaring that it was okay.
As Chewie took his seat in the copilot, Poe stared out into the hallway for a moment longer, still processing what just happened.
“Next time?” he whispered. He nods his head several times before he turned back around to face the front. “I’m going to marry that woman. I’m going to marry her, she will tell me all her secrets, and I will die a happy man. It’s going to happen. Yeah.” He muttered to himself as he focused on the controls.
As they dropped out of hyperspace, they informed base that they were about to land. The moment the Falcon was on the ground, Blix made her way off. Poe followed after her, sensing she was going to try and make a quick getaway.
“Hey- wait a minute!” He called out grabbing her arm, stopping her. “Seriously though. You can use the Force? Why are you trying to hide this?”
“Poe. Stop. We are not talking about this,” Blix scolded glancing around, hoping no one heard him.
She pulled her arm away and walked away from him. Poe was determined though- he was going to get her to talk to him. He chased after once more and grabbed her hand again.
“I just- I don’t understand! You have this power and you’re not using it!?” He beseeched looking her in the eyes, searching for an answer.
Blix huffed and held her hand to up to his face and gently waved it, as she commanded softly, “You did not see anything.”
He stared blankly at her and repeated, “I did not se- Wait!” He blinked and shook his head violently. “Did you just… try to Jedi mind wipe???” He asked confused but excited.
Blix groaned loudly and clenched her fist at her failed attempt to use the Mind Trick, swearing softly as she turned and tried to once again walk away.
He ran after her and as he reached out to grab her arm once more, she turned to him suddenly and angrily growled out, “Poe. If you grab at me one more time, I will hurt you.”
“Oh? You going to use the Force and push me away?” He teased and held his arms out, waiting.
“No. I’ll just do this,” She stated seconds before she threw a punch out, hitting him in the stomach.
He leaned over and grabbed at his stomach as the pain (and shock) swept through him. She then dropped down and swung her leg out to sweep his legs out from under him. As he landed on the ground, she stood back up, dusted herself off, and headed to her room. She locked herself into her room and stayed there for the rest of the day, collapsed onto her bed, and passing out as the day’s event hit her.
As Poe laid on the ground, gasping for air, and trying to blink away the pain, Finn slowly moved over to him. Finn squatted down and asked, “Do I want to know what that was about?”
Poe propped himself up onto his elbows and looked at Poe with a dazed smile, and commented, “Finn. I’ve met my future wife.”
“Your future wife just knocked you on your ass. How do you feel about that?” Finn teased as he held his hand out for Poe to take to help him back up.
“Strangely alright,” Poe replied with a smirk, as he took Finn’s hand and got up with his help.
Rey stepped forward as well, confusion written on her face. “I’ll tell ya later. In private. I have to go to the mission brief. We’ll meet up at my place for dinner, it’s a doozy. Hell, I’m still wrappin my head around it,” Poe requested as he looked at them both.
His thoughts were scrambled, ‘Orphan. Podracer. Jedi. Podracer. Jedi. She likes me back but isn’t used to affection. Jedi. The kiss. Jedi.’ As he gave the mention brief, he left out her powers and the kiss, and told Leia that she did well under pressure, and if weren’t for her recognizing the sound of the fob, they would probably be dead. Though that did beg the question.
“Why was a bounty hunter sent after us? Very few people knew about this mission, and it was only planned a day ago. So why were they after us?” Poe inquired lowly to Leia, so no one else could hear.
“Those are very good questions Commander. Questions that need to be answered. Fast. Figure it out Commander,” Leia ordered quietly.
Poe nodded his head in affirmation and began to review who all knew about this mission, retracing his steps since this mission came to them. It was going to be a long night for the Commander.
Breaking Vows
So here’s my fic for the @wlwpjoexchange ! I got @omegasmileyface I really hope you like it! Sorry I took forever, I got a little carried away because I loved this pairing so much! It’s my first time writing wlw and I loved it and ahhh I just hope you like!
Reyna found the Greeks excitement quite absurd. She didn’t doubt the Huntress’ abilities, she’d seen Thalia Grace in action herself, but she’d also seen her sister and the Amazons. They didn’t stand a chance, especially in such a rudimentary game of capture the flag. Apparently the Greek campers had never beaten the Hunters of Artemis, but they all seemed to be rooting for them. “Sorry,” said Jason as he walked over to her Pegasus. He was wearing a gray shirt that read Hunters Rule!
Reyna chuckled. “Let the best sister win.” He dipped his head but seemed pretty amused by the whole ordeal. Reyna watched him join Piper and Annabeth who both waved back at her.
Hylla was more than happy to let her warriors fight while she led from the background, often choosing to come in as a last resort or as a surprise, but she’d been eager to fight Artemis’ Lieutenant herself.
“This is going to be awesome.” Now it was Percy who spoke beside her. He was already mounted on his own black Pegasus, Blackjack she heard him call him.
“Yes,” agreed Reyna. “I rather enjoy watching my sister fight.”
“Yeah I heard she’s deadly. If she’s anything like you, the hunters will have a good fight on their hands.”
“I’ve seen Thalia in action, the Amazons won‘t be disappointed either.”
Percy’s smile had a little mischief. “You talk like you already know who’s gonna win.”
“They hunters will put on a good fight, I expect nothing less from a daughter of Jupiter, but the Amazons are, like you said, deadly.”
“Zeus,” Percy corrected as he took off into the air, shaking his head with an amused look similar to Jason’s. “She’s a daughter of Zeus.”
Reyna rolled her eyes. She wasn’t underestimating Thalia. She was just being realistic. Her sister had to fight for her throne and her warriors didn’t have the protection of mortality. Her sister had also been leading the Amazons longer as far as she knew. Plus, and she would never said this aloud from fear of sounding pretentious, she’d taken down Thalia with her hands tied before.
She kicked off into the air. Below her Greek and Roman campers alike gathered at the entrance of the woods to see the two groups of lethal women burst into action. Reyna hadn’t been allowed to referee due to her relation to Hylla, but had still been granted permission to observe from above, along with several other skilled Pegasus riders. She’d been surprised to find that Annabeth hadn’t been chosen as the Greek referee, but she’d laughed it off and said that she’d be too biased. Jason had briefly mentioned something about Thalia and her being on the run together when they were younger.
Chiron looked up at them from the ground. Ready? Dakota nodded and she saw Percy do the same from the corner of her eye. The centaur blew the whistle and they were off. Reyna immediately scanned for Thalia and Hylla, but she figured they were seeking the other out, waiting for the right moment. Meanwhile she observed a young girl make a rather spectacular shot, pinning one of her sister’s warriors to a tree. The campers cheered in the background, Leo had set up a live feed to some screens at the entrance of the woods. Will Solace rushed to the warrior but she simply yanked the arrow, snapped it at her knee and ran after the young girl.
Reyna looked up at Percy who had flown further to her right. He looked down in concentration, whistle ready at his lips, unable to help himself from smiling every now and again. He kept scanning the woods. Reyna knew that he too was looking for the leaders.
Finally, after twenty minutes filled with expectation, thunder rumbled followed by the surprised shriek of an Amazon. Reyna urged her pegasus to get closer. She caught a glimpse of celestial bronze knives and smiled as she heard the clink of Hylla’s belt follow. Below her Amazons and Hunters engaged in impressive battle. Celestial bronze hunting knives and arrows against the spears, swords and daggers of the Amazons. The campers were relishing the fighting but Reyna paid no attention. She swept towards the place where she’d heard Thalia’s lightning. She was approaching a clearing. When she saw her sister emerge, knives in hand, she almost growled in anticipation.
She was now almost shoulder to shoulder with Percy, who had dropped any act of referring and was now watching as eagerly as she. “There’s Thalia,” he said, pointing at a dark figure perched atop a tree. She was holding a bow and arrow to her sister’s head. Hylla didn’t even flinch at the threat, her eyes fixed intently on her target. Reyna cursed for not bringing a pair of binoculars, but Percy seemed to be reading her mind and handed her a pair she hadn’t noticed he had around his neck. He was smiling, eyes never once leaving the two girls.
Through the binoculars Reyna got a clearer view of Thalia’s face. She seemed to be weighing out her options. Finally, she smirked and threw her bow aside, making her quiver disappear. She told her sister something that made her grin and pulled out her own hunting knives. Thalia jumped out of the tree and in a split second the daughters of Bellona and Zeus had attacked.
Reyna could admire both styles, Thalia’s clearly Greek but still different from other Greek campers she’d met, and her sister’s an even balance of powerful blows and speed. One such blow was too quick for Thalia, who was almost swept off her feet when Hylla lunged towards her torso, leaving an opening for her sister to kick one of Thalia’s knives away. Thalia retaliated by taking advantage of her free hand and punching the Amazon Queen square in the face. Percy almost laughed beside her but passed it off as a cough when she glared at him.
Below them the fight continued with no acknowledgement of the lack of weapon and bloody nose. Reyna thought it had ended for good when Thalia slid between her sister’s legs, making a nasty gash as she went along, but Hylla simply grabbed her by one of the many chains she wore around her neck and slammed her back on the ground, knife pressed to her throat. The Amazon stood over her just like Reyna had back in Puerto Rico. She recalled the raspiness of Thalia’s voice as she whispered close enough for her lips to feel her breath, but was pulled out of her thoughts when thunder clapped above them, almost hitting her and Percy, and traveled down to where both girls were. Reyna almost swept down to her sister, scared of what a direct lightning strike might do to her but Percy held her back. “C’mon, Reyna,” he told her, “Thalia wouldn’t do that.”
Thankfully, Percy was right. Somehow Thalia had dispersed the full force of the strike, causing the air around her and Hylla to crackle with electricity and her sister’s hair to puff up twice its size. It was enough to get Hylla to loosen her grip and for Thalia to jump back into action. Both girls blurred into a mess of knives and battle cries. Reyna saw another knife fly away, but this time it had been her sister’s. They finally slowed down enough for them to catch a glimpse of their state. Hylla was bleeding for the deep cut Thalia had inflicted on her leg as well as her bloody nose, and Thalia herself had a black eye and a bit of a limp. Reyna focused on their faces and found that they were both smiling. They seemed to be enjoying the show just as much as Reyna and Percy. She caught Thalia’s eyes travelling to her sister’s belt and both girls seemed to come to a sort of silent agreement. They both dropped their remaining knives, her sister unfastening her belt and striking it against the ground menacingly and Thalia pulling out a bracelet that suddenly transformed into a spear. Beside Reyna Percy cursed excitedly in what she guessed was Ancient Greek.
Clearly both girls had been saving the best for last. Each weapon was practically and extension of them. Hylla swung her belt with lighting speed catching one of Thalia’s ankles and tossing her into the air, but the young Lieutenant simply twisted in mid-air and used every last bit of the wider range her spear provided. It was speed and technique like Reyna had rarely ever seen. They seemed to move closer and closer until, “Percy!” called Dakota, “What are you doing?” Percy immediately turned, clearly annoyed by the distraction and looked at where Dakota was pointing. This time he cursed in English, and he didn’t seem as excited as before.
Reyna was trying hard to concentrate, Thalia had the tip of her spear pointed at her sister’s carotid and Hylla had managed to wrap the belt around Thalia’s throat, but just then Percy blew his whistle at them. “Hey!” He called. “You have no idea how much I hate to interrupt, but your girls seem to be having too much fun trying to kill each other!”
Reyna finally tore her gaze from the binoculars and urged her Pegasus to move closer to where Percy had sped off. She was shocked to see the forest decimated. It looked as if a tornado had hit it. Below her trees swayed, trying hard not to fall altogether, and fires seemed to have erupted all over the fields. “Hey!” Percy yelled. “Careful with the nymphs!” When he noticed that neither Amazons nor Hunters reacted to his yells or whistles he directed his voice towards the spectators. “Call the Demeter cabin! Quick!” Dozens of campers ran at his command and then he turned to Reyna. “Get Thalia and Reyna to break them up!”
Reyna nodded as he sped away and swept down to where she’d last seem her sister and Thalia. They were already running towards the commotion. “What happened?” Hylla asked, wiping some blood off her top lip.
“The Amazons and Hunters seemed to have gotten a little carried away. I think they might’ve forgotten the creatures that live inside the forest.”
“What?!” Thalia looked furious, her blue eyes flashed terrifyingly. The look made Reyna’s heart race. Thalia ran towards her Hunters, forgetting about her limp, Hylla followed after her.
The scene they arrived at was chaos. Several campers were trying to tear Hunters from Amazons and vice versa but they seemed to be in a frenzy. There were several fires erupting around them and Reyna saw several nymphs running around in a panic. Thalia and Hylla stared dumbfounded, but it was Thalia who spoke first. One of her hunters had already spotted her and the mere sight of her lieutenant seemed to be enough to stop her in her tracks.
“What is the meaning of this?” She wasn’t shouting, but her voice seemed to boom over the clearing. Slowly more and more hunters noticed their leader and stopped. Amazons did the same when they noticed Hylla’s furious look, a look that made Reyna feel sorry for the Amazons once they were alone with her sister. Thalia’s tactics were different though, she wanted the punishment to be public. Reyna once again remembered that she hadn’t been lieutenant for long, not by immortal hunter’s standards, and understood the need to make a show of the situation. “What exactly do you expect me to tell Lady Artemis when she hears of this? Her own hunters damaging that which she swore to protect?” Reyna caught her features turn into a disgusted snarl as she looked around, “you’ve brought me shame!” We’re guests in this Camp!”
By then all commotion had ceased completely. No Hunter would spare to look a their lieutenant in the eye. The Amazons has dropped their weapons and stood frozen, waiting to hear what their own queen had to say. Hylla said nothing which was possibly worse. Just then a wave swept over the clearing, quickly putting out any fires. Percy dropped down from his Pegasus soon after. He’d spared Reyna, Hylla and Thalia but hadn’t even tried to cover the other girls, they stood soaked and embarrassed. Some even threw him angry looks he ignored. A petite girl charged out from on of the bushes that had been previously on fire. She looked quite odd to Reyna but she couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until she yanked the whistle from around Percy’s neck and started blowing it furiously did she notice her skin was green. Reyna figured she must be a nymph. “It’s a draw!” She shrieked furiously. “You all lose! You wicked women! The Council will hear of this! My boyfriend-“
“Yes. Thank you, Juniper!” Percy quickly stepped in, taking the whistle from her hand. “I agree.”
“The Council?” Reyna heard her sister ask.
“Yes!” Answered the nymph, Juniper, testily. It was obvious to her that Hylla was one of the leaders. “And you shall all be punished for this abominable conduct!”
“Agreed.” The nymph seems a bit taken aback by her sister’s instant agreement. “I will meet with your Council at once. I will also like to apologize to you personally for the action of my warriors. Know that this won’t go unnoticed by me either.”
Juniper lost her rage fast. “Yes yes, thank you! You are forgiven...m’lady.” Apparently she considers a courtesy was necessary since she bowed and scrunched up her soaked dress in a Victorian fashion. She directed her green eyes at Thalia now and some of her fire seemed to come back. “I expect you’ll do the same, Thalia. And don’t think that because Grover-“
“I know Juniper. I’m really sorry this should’ve never happened.”
She gave another firm nod, chin up high, and turned around and disappeared into the forest. Reyna turned to look at Thalia just in time to catch her off guard. For a second she looked tired and embarrassed, then she noticed her and quickly went back to yelling at her hunters. Arrangements to meet with the council tomorrow evening were hastily made.
All Reyna could think about as she walked back was the look she’d seen on Thalia’s face and how much it reminded her of herself.
**********
“It was embarrassing that’s what it was!” Thalia told Jason later that day. They were inside their father’s cabin. “And of course Hylla kept her composure the whole time and I just lost it!”
“You have more to prove than she does. I probably would’ve done the same.” He looked quite uncomfortable inside the mostly empty cabin. Thalia noticed how he kept eyeing the huge statue of Zeus in the middle. She couldn’t blame him, it’d always creeped her out. “Couldn’t we meet in your cabin?”
“This is my cabin.”
He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
“I can’t bring a guy into Artemis’s cabin, it’s against the rules.” She sighed as she looked around. Jason had left the little corner she’d camped out in untouched. “I got carried away. I don’t know I just wanted to prove something I guess.”
Jason looked confused at her. “You’re freaking Thalia Grace! What is there to prove?”
Thalia immediately thought of her little audience back in the forest. Was she showing off? As soon as the thought entered her mind she found, to her horror, that she was blushing. She quickly turned away, but apparently Jason caught it.
“Okay whoa!” He said. “There’s definitely something you’re not telling me here.”
“Shudup,” she mumbled, absolutely furious at herself. She was an adult for crying out loud! Lady Artemis’s right hand and lieutenant to a small army of deadly hunters! She cleared her throat. “It’s nothing okay.”
But Jason wasn’t about to drop this. He walked around to get a good look at her face. She begrudgingly looked up at him. There was a wickedly mischievous grin forming on his face. “What is up with you, sis?”
She looked back at her hands, afraid she might blush again. This was Jason, she could tell him anything. She was being stupid, right? “I just...remember how I told you about Puerto Rico? Well I might’ve left some details out.”
“Like?”
She sighed, pushing down her ego and ignoring the heat that rose back to her face. “Like maybe your good friend Reyna pretty much kicked my ass with her hands tied. And maybe I noticed her and dumbass Percy watching me and Hylla fighting earlier and wanted to show off okay!”
She looked up at him once again. His face seemed to change from confusion, to understanding, and finally to amusement. “You were showing off for Reyna?”
“What?! No! When you say it like that it sounds weird!”
He laughed. Gods he really annoyed her sometimes. “What then?”
“I just wanted her to see that I wasn’t someone she could just beat every time! She caught me off guard that time! That I deserve the praise-” She cut herself off. Gods she sounded full of herself. “What I mean is-”
“That you wanted to impress her.” Thalia thought he might be making fun of her again but he seemed genuinely determined to understand her. Somehow it made her feel worse.
“Who? Reyna?” Thalia wanted to brush it off, but in all honesty Jason had hit the nail on its head. The realization made Thalia panic. Why would she want to impress her? “Just forget it okay? I gotta go prepare for the stupid meeting tomorrow.”
“I could h-”
“No it’s fine.”
The door slammed shut as Thalia left. Jason stood there, debating whether or not to follow her.
The next morning he still felt guilty about the whole ordeal. He could tell that he’d further embarrassed her sister and that yesterday that was the last thing she needed. Once again he felt like there was so much he didn’t know about his sister, so he went to the person that seemed to know her best.
Annabeth was in the arena, watching closely as two young campers sparred and stepping in every now and again to correct their posture or make a quick note. She nodded when she saw him but gestured at him to give her a second. Jason stood patiently as a new set of kids sparred. Once they were done Annabeth walked towards him. “Hey! What’s up? I know I haven’t gotten back to you about the temple-”
“Oh no it’s okay. Percy told me you were busy with college applications. I actually wanted to talk to you about something else.”
He walked beside her as she dropped her weapon off at the shed and took a swing of water. “Thalia?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“She stopped by my cabin last night. She seemed weird.”
“She’s pretty upset about yesterday.”
Annabeth shook her head. “No. I mean it sucked and everything but she’s dealt with worse. She seemed almost,” she shrugged, “I don’t know frazzled? Which I didn’t really think possible.”
Jason agreed. “She told me something about Puerto Rico and Reyna disarming her or something.”
Annabeth stopped mid-sip. “She never told me that. She didn’t even mention Reyna.”
Jason found that even more odd. Thalia told Annabeth everything. “Apparently she wanted to show off. Show her she wasn’t easy to beat or something.”
Annabeth still didn’t look convinced. “I mean sure that sounds more like her. She had this whole ego battle with Percy years ago, but she got over it. She grew out of it y’know? Did she say that?”
“Those were her words, but in all honesty I think she was trying to impress her.”
Annabeth got that look in her eye, the one that told Jason her thoughts were moving faster than he could comprehend. “I bet it’s nothing,” she said abruptly, “just stress or something. I don’t know.”
It seemed to Jason that in fact it wasn’t nothing and that Annabeth did know, but before he could question her further she mumbled something about needing a shower and rushed off.
**************
Reyna knew it was foolish of her to stay an extra day at Camp Half-Blood. There was too much work to be done and it wasn’t fair for her to leave Frank to do all of it. But she’d stayed anyways. Frank had told her it was fine in the Iris Message she’d sent, she was still getting used to it but Percy was nice enough to set it up for her. He’d understood she didn’t often get to see Hylla and since her stayed had been extended due to yesterday’s fiasco he figured it made sense. In all honesty Reyna hadn’t even thought about her sister. She felt guilty, but all she’d been able to think about since yesterday was Thalia Grace, and how utterly deadly she looked using that spear.
It was just her luck that in that moment, Thalia Grace herself was walking back to her cabin, tired and annoying after getting an earful from an ancient satyr and sheepish looks from Grover during the Council meeting. Reyna was so engrossed in her mental picture of Thalia in battle that she didn’t notice Thalia walking towards her. The daughter of Zeus, in turn, was so busy grumbling and she didn’t notice Reyna, which resulted in both girls running into each other and ending in an almost identical situation as the one months prior. This time, however, Thalia had ended on top. She cursed but stopped mid-sentence once she noticed who’d she’d actually run into. “Reyna! Gods, I’m sorry! I didn’t even see you!”
“Don’t be! I walked right into you-”
“I should’ve looked up or something.”
Had anyone been around, they would’ve been able to comment on how strangely high both their voices had gotten, and how intensely they looked at each other when they both abruptly stopped their rambling. After a couple of seconds Thalia was the one to notice and almost jumped back when Reyna’s shaky breath touched her lips. She got up an offered her hand to Reyna, who in turn accepted, unable to keep a blush from creeping to her cheeks. Both girls stood awkwardly facing each other, neither one used to feeling this nervous. Reyna tried to ease the tension a bit. “So...how was the Council meeting?”
A small flicker of annoyance passed through Thalia’s face. Reyna preferred it over the deer-caught-in-headlights expression she’d worn before. “Awful,” she said, “your sister knows how to handle official business much better than me.”
“Surprisingly diplomatic for someone so aggressive, right?”
Thalia chuckled. “Where you waiting for her?”
Reyna once again failed to hide a blush. In all honesty, she hadn’t been waiting for her sister. She’s subconsciously walked to this clearing, a small part of her expecting her to run into someone, maybe not quite so literally. “Yeah-yes,”she lied, “Did you see where she went?”
“I think she went back to the Amazons. I don’t really know where they’re staying.”
“Hylla likes it that way. She didn’t even tell me.” Reyna felt guilty at not even trying to look. Surely, Hylla expected her to and was probably wondering why she hadn’t already been to see her.
Beside Reyna, Thalia was building up the courage to ask Reyna something. She hadn’t really figured out what she was going to ask but she’d jump that hurdle when she got there. Reyna’s thoughts, however, had stayed on her sister and she’d made up her mind to finally go see her. “I should get going,” she told Thalia, whose mouth was half-way open. She quickly hurried away, leaving Thalia feeling confused and once again embarrassed. Reyna was almost gone when she stopped and faced Thalia once again. “By the way,” she started, a bit of a smile hiding in the corner of her smile, “nice fighting yesterday, quite impressive.”
************
Thalia’s head buzzes with Reyna’s words all day. As punishment, her hunters and her got assigned to wash the dishes at camp and she’s so distracted she almost plunges her hand into the lava without any gloves. Cara stops her just in time and gives her a weird look. Thalia is reminded of a very similar look given to her by Annabeth earlier. We need to talk. Annabeth sure hadn’t gotten any less bossy. Thalia figured Jason must’ve told her something. Not that there was anything to tell.
That night Thalia entered cabin six to find Annabeth analyzing some blueprints. “What are you working on now?”
“Remodelations, temples, same old.” She waved it away but Thalia still felt a surge of pride. She remembered seven-year-old Annabeth going on and on about all the things she wanted to build. Back then Thalia would nod along but knew deep down that they’d be lucky to get past the week, a future where she became an architect didn’t really seem possible. Yet there she was. “Talked to Jason,” Annabeth said, still looking at the blueprints, “he seems to be under the impression that he upset you.”
“Why would he think that?”
Annabeth fixed her with a look, a look that Thalia herself had taught her, that said cut the bullshit. “What’s going on with you?”
Thalia was tempted to say nothing and keep ignoring the weird ball of nerves in her stomach lately, but this was Annabeth. “I-I don’t know. It’s weird and stupid.” Annabeth rolled the blueprint up and finally looked up at her. Thalia was thankful the cabin was empty and suspected Annabeth had planned it ahead. “I feel stupid.”
“For wanting to impress Reyna?”
A small pang of annoyance hit Thalia but she pushed it down. Annabeth didn’t miss a beat. “Yes, Okay? What the hell is wrong with me?”
“So it’s not an ego thing?”
“What? No!”
Annabeth looked more interested than before. “Good.”
“I mean I wasn’t super pleased with what happened in Puerto Rico but it might have more to do with the fact that I lost Phoebe.”
Annabeth nodded. “She was one hell of a huntress.”
Thalia thought that Phoebe was more than just one hell of a huntress. She’d been her best friend among the hunters and had backed her up since day one. But she knew Annabeth understood. They’d shared loss before. “I don’t know what got into me to be honest. I mean Hylla is a bit intimidating with how she handles all the command stuff but if anything I’m glad she’s there to set an example for me to follow.”
Annabeth chuckled. “Wow, look at Thalia all grown up and mature.”
“Shut up.” She couldn’t even keep the smile from her face. She really missed Annabeth. “I actually ran into her today. Reyna, I mean.”
“And?”
“And I mean literally ran into her. Knocked her down and everything. As if yesterday wasn’t bad enough!”
Annabeth laughed. “So,” she got closer to Thalia and nudged her in the ribs, “did you ask her out or what?”
Thalia almost jumped straight into the air. Her heart raced. “Wh-”
“C’mon, Thalia. I saw how you looked at her. It’s okay.”
“Of course it isn’t!” Thalia has started whispering. “I made a vow Annabeth and-”
“And what?” Her grey eyes seemed to be challenging Thalia, but she’d seen them before a fight, this wasn’t it. “You’ve given so much Thalia. You deserve this, whatever it is. We don’t owe anything to the gods.” Thalia couldn’t help but be reminded of Luke. Annabeth saw it in her eyes. “He would’ve wanted you to keep trying, to allow yourself-”
“Stop.” It wasn’t only the vow she’d made to Lady Artemis. It was the fact that she’d made a much stronger vow, to herself. She’d promised herself never again the moment she’d pushed Luke off that cliff.
Both girls looked at each other but said nothing. They didn’t have to. Annabeth’s face told Thalia don’t give up and Thalia’s argued right back I already have.
***********
Reyna was only half-surprised to find Jason in the fighting arena. Back in Camp Jupiter they always ended up training at the same times, even before they were praetors. That’s how they’d become friends. No one really spoke to Jason, he was a son of Jupiter from a disgraced cohort, but Reyna had seen him fight before and welcomed the idea of a good training partner. He looked up at her and smiled. “Just like old times.”
“With the minor adjustment of this being an arena in a Greek camp.”
He laughed. “Right.”
The silence that followed was awkward, but Jason seemed determined to pretend like nothing had changed, at least for a little while. He drew his sword and Reyna followed almost on instinct. Before they both knew it they were sparring. Reyna was surprised to find some of the Greek style had seeped into Jason’s technique, but she hadn’t lagged on her trying all these months. Overall it felt good to fight with Jason again. She found herself letting go for the first time in almost a year. She’d missed him, missed this.
Afterwards they both sat, trying to catch their breath and taking turns drinking out of Jason’s canteen. It was almost painful how easy it was to go back to this routine because, at the end of the day, everything had changed. Reyna had to go back to Camp Jupiter and she’d only see Jason every now and then. He had new friends, new responsibilities.
“I missed this, “ he finally said.
“So did I,” she agreed.
He sighed and looked at his hands. She could tell he was nervous. He always bit down on that scar on his lip. “I just wanted to say I was sorry.” She looked away so he rushed to make himself clearer. “What I mean is that I just showed up after nine months like nothing had happened and treated you like a stranger.”
“I know you were still struggling with you memory, Jason.”
Reyna hated talking about things like this. Jason knew it, but he’d already stayed silent on the matter for too long. “No, Reyna. I was scared of going back, scared of how much I changed. But, all those months, they don’t erase the fact that you’re my friend. That you fought beside me and had my back for years.”
Reyna braced herself to look at him. It seemed foolish now that she’d been nervous about talking to him. It was Jason after all. And maybe he had glasses now, and he fought more like Greek and he had a girlfriend and friends she didn’t know, but he was still Jason. “I still have your back Jason. Always.”
“You too, Rey.” Gods she’d missed him. She didn’t have to be put-together for him. Seeing him come back to Camp Jupiter, their home, and treat it like it didn’t matter as much as it does had shattered her, and the worst part was that she’d had to keep her poker face on throughout the whole thing. The fact that he acknowledged it, acknowledged her, was like having a huge weight lifted off her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” he told her again, “and I get if you don’t want to go back to how we were-”
“Of course I want to, Jason!” She cursed herself for raising her voice and felt her face go red with shame as she felt the sting of tears but kept going. If she stopped she would never say what she’d been fearing since she realized he was actually alive. “I just thought that it wasn’t a possibility anymore. You’re finally who we dreamed of being! Who I always saw you pushing down all those years! And I don’t know if I fit into your life now-”
“Reyna,” true to his Roman upbringing it was Jason who felt the shame of the sting of tears now, “you will always fit into my life. You’re my family.”
They let the silence settle in between them after that. It wasn’t uncomfortable. They were both mildly aware of the other wiping a few tears away here and there, but the awkward tension that had been following since Jason came back to Camp Jupiter was mostly gone. It wasn’t exactly like before, Reyna doubted it ever would be, but maybe that wasn’t a bad thing.
After a while Jason asked: “How much longer are you staying? Just until Hylla leaves?”
Reyna had actually come back from talking to her sister when she decided to head to the arena to squeeze in some training. “She’s leaving tonight, actually. She promised the Council to check on some endangered nymphs so they’re heading out.”
“Hylla must share your bargaining skills, because the Hunters have to wash the dishes all week.”
Reyna chuckled along but a small spark on interest flourished in her chest. “So, Th-your sister is staying all week?”
“Seems like it, yeah.” Jason eyed Reyna suspiciously from the corner of his eye. Reyna pretended to ignore it. “She actually mentioned you yesterday.”
“Really?”
“Yeah she noticed you and Percy watching her and Hylla fight.”
“Oh well,” Reyna stalled by taking another swing of water, “they’re both very impressive fighters. I mainly just flew over there to see what was holding up, Percy.” Jason smiled to himself and laughed when Reyna punched his shoulder. “C’mon,” she said as a means to divert the conversation, “let’s go get some food.”
***********
Annabeth had physically forced Thalia to go to the campfire the following night. She’d even had to bring in Percy as reinforcement, for which Thalia had almost accomplished her long-running goal of killing someone with one glare. “C’mon, Grace!” She flinched as the sound of her mother’s last name. “It’s not going to kill you! Jason’ll be there! You could get in some quality sibling bonding time!”
She rolled her eyes and complained the whole walk there, but she finally agreed to go. She had been meaning to talk to Jason again anyways. Thalia had been too busy washing dishes the previous day. When she got there, however, she was surprised to see him seating not only with Piper, but with Reyna as well. “There’s Jason,” Percy stupidly pointed out. He had a dubious grin on. Thalia quickly looked to Annabeth, but of course she’d understood that their conversation, like most of the conversations they had, was very much private. Percy still knew something though. Thalia was once again reminded to never underestimate Percy. He’d been up there watching her and Hylla fight with Reyna during capture the flag after all. This led her to wonder how Reyna had reacted to her. She was already regretting coming to the campfire.
She was formulating a plan on how to run away without Annabeth noticing when Jason saw her. He smiled and beckoned for her to join him where he was sitting. It was just her luck that the only available seat was beside Reyna. They were packed in so snuggly that Thalia’s arm was pressed right besides Reyna. They were both wearing sleeveless shirts, so their bare skin was touching. Thalia felt as her whole arm were on fire. Piper was telling them something about her sister, Lacie, and this strange girl she’d seen at her school, but Thalia could barely concentrate. It was like waging a small war with herself and she kept losing. A small strand of Reyna’s hair had fallen loose from her braid as well, and every time Reyna leaned forward it tickled Thalia’s chin. She rushed up to rub the feeling away and accidentally caught Reyna’s eyes. And, once again, she lost the small war, but this time she didn’t fight back. You’ve given so much, she remembered Annabeth telling her.
Maybe I deserve to try.
Reyna’s eyes were strong and vulnerable all at the same time. When she finally looked away Thalia found that she kept searching for them. She was probably doing a crappy job at keeping up with the conversation, and for a second she felt guilty about not making a bigger effort to listen to her brother. Then she remembered how Jason had moved towards Piper when he’d seen her, opening a space for her to seat beside Reyna. So she sat half-listening to Jason and Piper talk and sing along to cheesy songs. Her other half slowly melted into Reyna’s side. Their hands ended up touching and Thalia felt her heart in her throat as neither one pulled away. Finally, she felt a familiar huff of breath hit the side of her face. “Let’s get out of here,” Reyna said. Thalia grabbed her hand and pulled them into the forest. She knew that if she looked back she’d lose her nerve so she kept going until she found a clearing with enough moonlight. She was forced to look back when she felt Reyna’s hand finally pull away.
Reyna was looking up at the moon, but quickly looked back down at her. Her eyes only stayed momentarily on hers, then they moved down until they rested on her lips. Thalia was out of breath due to the combined factors of almost running to the clearing and of her heart suddenly choosing to beat erratically. She felt like bolting when Reyna moved closer towards her, but found that her body didn’t respond. All she could do was keep her eyes trained on Reyna, and she finally allowed herself to think: gods she’s beautiful. Reyna wasn’t wearing her purple cape, or armor. Thalia realized she’d never seen her without a combination of both. She looked more real with a simple pair of jeans and a purple shirt. She looked achingly human. Thalia’s hand moved of its own accord to cup her face. She could feel Reyna’s equally fast heartbeat, could tell she was just as nervous. But they both seemed resolved to stay.
Reyna felt more like herself than she had in years. She was scared, terrified actually, but she wasn’t thinking about anything in particular when she looked at Thalia. She caught sight of her lips, felt her hand -rough with callouses from years of wielding a weapon- on her face, and let go.
Thalia thought Reyna’s lips tasted like glory.
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