New Rome was certainly stunning. She knew Percy had always had his heart set on moving here permanently someday. Maybe one day they will. She’s certainly discussed it with Piper, assuming she was still going to be part of their family by then. Piper wanted them to be happy, but the idea of moving here herself made her…she wasn’t ready to be so close to Jason again. She would always assure them if they chose to move she would be happy to stay on at the flat in San Fransisco, and try to visit as often as she could. But they weren’t ready to move here yet. Or maybe she wasn’t ready to move here yet.
Annabeth had been thinking a lot about how resistant she’d been to it beyond that six month period following the second giant war. In fact she’d been thinking about a lot of things since they got here. She walked the streets of New Rome lost in thought, not even able to admire the architecture. She was lost in her own head, thoughts swirling around drawing much the same conclusion: that she was an awful human being. She couldn’t help it as she found herself playing all the mistakes she made in her relationship with Percy since the day they met. How many times has her pride nearly gotten them killed? How often has her arrogance put her friends lives in danger? She endangered Percy by insisting she listen to the sirens on that ship. She put them all in danger just because that pompous sphinx got under her skin in that Labyrinth. It was her fault she and Percy ended up in Tartarus. And then after what happened when she got to share Piper’s Charmspeak…she could’ve ruined Percy’s relationship with his mom, with their friends, with Piper…she was an awful person. She wondered why Percy hadn’t just dumped her already.
She came to a stop at a bench overlooking a gorgeous aqua duct, taking a seat to wallow in self pity. She looked out over the city, Camp Jupiter stationed just outside. Maybe Percy could move here after they broke up. He’d be happy here. They could be happy here he’d tell her. She couldn’t understand why he forgave her for everything, after all he’d done. Even Piper had forgiven her. But Annabeth still felt horrible. She tried to make it up to them, to prove to herself she could be better, but it didn’t feel like enough. How long until I mess up again? What if next time I go too far and there’s no fixing it? I couldn’t bear to hurt Percy again.
“Denarius for your thoughts?” A female voice asked, breaking Annabeth from her wallowing to draw her attention to the young woman standing in front of her. Reyna gave her a warm smile, dressed in her praetor uniform with a purple cloak and imperial gold armor. She nodded to the bench asking “mind if I join you?” Annabeth shrugged, not objecting as the daughter of Bellona took a seat beside her to look over the city. “Haven’t seen you around the last few days” she remarked.
“I’m surprised you noticed. I figured you’d be too preoccupied with my boyfriend to keep track of anyone” Annabeth replied in a snarky tone. Reyna smirked. She was starting to wonder if her and Percy spending some much time together on their visit was bothering her.
It wasn’t how the visit had planned. Percy suggested a week in New Rome to help Annabeth get away from the awkwardness in the flat. She was still nervous around him and Piper, and while she had stopped over apologizing for her actions with charm-speak she was still withdrawn and abnormally cautious, particularly around sex. Her friends were worried for her so Percy thought a change of scene would help. He invited Piper too, but they could both see the prospect of an empty flat had the girl excited. Annabeth was still worried for her, however, Piper hadn’t lived on her own since her break up with Jason. She kept calling to check in until Piper practically charmed her into trusting her and giving herself time to enjoy the trip. Without her best friend to worry over that left Annabeth with a lot of free time and a lot of unhealthy thoughts.
It didn’t help when the moment Reyna came to greet them at the entrance she practically stumbled over herself to leap into Percy’s shocked arms, both their eyes wide when she made out with him in front of her entourage. She couldn’t seem to pry herself from his side all the while they were settling into their room for the week, a cosy little apartment in the city not far from where Reyna was staying. Of course she somehow wound up staying the night at their place, in their bed, riding Percy like a woman possessed. And Percy was too kind to say no (not that he could say no to an intimidating woman like her). Annabeth didn’t voice any complaints, instead leaving them too it so she could go for a midnight stroll and explore the city where her pitiful mental spiral began.
Since then she’s been rather numb, distracted, keeping to herself while Reyna showed her boyfriend a good time. Percy would try and break her out of her shell, but he was too distracted by their gracious host who seemed to pine over him after time they laid eyes on each other. Annabeth caught them fucking multiple times, sometimes in public. Percy and her were invited to the mess hall at camp Jupiter and Reyna couldn’t keep her hands off him, even jerking him off under the table. Annabeth was so mortified when Percy accidentally blew his load all over his dinner she couldn’t look any of the laughing demigods in the eye the rest of the day. At night she’d also find some excuse to come over for more sex, though Percy (bless him) would always try to turn her down. And he’d always try and involve her, his girlfriend. But Annabeth couldn’t bring herself to climb into bed with him while he fucked another woman. She’d tell him it was okay, but in truth it was starting to stir some ugly emotions she wasn’t comfortable with. At least it’s not Rachel Dare she’d tell herself as she slept on the couch in the next room, covering her head with a cushion while the sounds of sex tormented her at night. She never voiced a complaint, not once. Now she’d concluded she was doing it to punish herself. I deserve it, to see Percy sleeping with other girls without me. I deserve everything I getshe thought.
Reyna, however, saw through it all. She knew it was bothering her, could see it in her face every time she caught them going at it. The jealously, the shame, the despair hidden behind a façade. She turned to the young blonde woman and told her “I know you have a problem with me sleeping with Percy, so just say it. Say whatever it is you want to say.”
Annabeth looked at the raven haired woman, her stormy grey eyes staring into her obsidian black gaze, biting her tongue before muttering “it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine, I can tell” she pushed.
“What do you expect me to say?” She asked her in a huff. “Me and Percy agreed to have an Open Relationship. I don’t have any reason to complain about who he chooses to have sex with. I just wish you’d be more discreet” she added quietly.
Reyna pursed her lips and sighed. On that, they did agree. She couldn’t explain why but ever since they got her she has had this instinctive drive to please Percy, to fuck him, to breed with him. It was getting out of hand, her and Percy both saw it. She tried staying out of his way, keep from being in the same room. But every time she thought about him she found herself pining like a schoolgirl, gushing whenever she heard his voice, drawn to his room like a magnet desperate to feel his cock inside her. She shook her head before that feeling returned, like an itch in the back of her mind even now. She turned back to Annabeth, a girl who clearly needed a friend right now. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you and Percy agree to that arrangement? No offense but both of you struck me as the exclusive type.”
Annabeth snorted. “We were, or at least we tried. Problem with being a demigod is things have a habit of getting between you. Plus, we’re Greek so it’s practically genetic. If it wasn’t monsters trying to kill opus then it was nymphs trying to seduce us, or gods playing games with us. We’d both had to dodge situations since we reunited to maintain out exclusivity, but in the end we both just sat down and agreed to hell with it. As long as we were honest with each other, as long as we love each other, we’ll make our relationship work. In the long run it proved to be more rewarding.”
“As in Sleeping with other people?”
“As in Piper. She needed us and we were able to be there for her. And our relationship became stronger for it. Or at least it did, before…” she trailed off, her eyes falling to her lap in shame again.
Reyna looked at the glum demigod and felt pity. She really was in a bad way. “Percy told me what happened” she said cautiously, hoping the girl didn’t mind he had confided in her. “He also said you’ve been trying to make amends, a lot. How are you handling it all?”
Annabeth laughed. “Like any other demigod, you know. Burying it deep and pretending everything’s fine, wondering if I’m the worst person in the world and letting my boyfriend have shameless sex with our host and friend. How do you think I’m handling it?” She snapped. She didn’t realize she was holding some much in until she said it, feeling her chest loosen as if she’d released a sight from her shoulders. She buried her face in her hands and groaned. She didn’t mean all of that, she was just so frustrated with herself. “I’m sorry, it’s not you. I’m a mess. And a pathetic mess and Percy would probably be better off with someone like you as his girlfriend.”
Reyna blinked, rapping her fingers on her knee before lounging against the bench to look over the city. “First day I became the Praetor, I was so terrified” she said, casually like they were discussing the weather. “At first I was worried nobody would listen to me. Then people started following my orders and I fell into it, got used to the influence I now had.”
“If this is going to be one of those I understand what you went through stories, you didn’t have charm-speak” Annabeth interrupted angrily.
“No, I didn’t” Reyna agreed. “But I was in charge and people did what they were told because I was their leader. And I got so used to that kind of power I started abusing it. I got to chose what tasks my subordinates did. I could put them through hell and reward them for being nice to me. I got to chose who I spent time with, however I wished. Imagine being able to walk into a room and pick whomever I wanted to serve me, or sleep with me, or go out and die for me. I don’t know exactly what it was like for you, but I know how easy it is to get addicted to that kind of power. I made my share of mistakes too, pushed too far…broke people” she muttered ashamed. “Then one day someone snapped me to reality and made me realize what I was doing was too much, that I was becoming someone I didn’t like. Someone I couldn’t stand to see in the mirror.”
Annabeth turned to look at the downcast young woman, her expression mirroring hers. Maybe she did know a little of what Annabeth was going through. She sat up and leant back on the bench. “How did you come back from it?” She asked curiously.
“I almost stepped down” she confessed. “But I found that the people I hurt were willing to give me a second chance, so I made the most of it. I’m still trying to prove myself but it’s…easier now. The hardest part was accepting myself and who I was, understanding why I did what I did” she explained, turning to face the blonde. “Annabeth, you and I aren’t that different deep down. We’re both headstrong, we’re both independent and we’re both control freaks. We have the idea of not being in control so we enforce our will on others, in our own way. Pride is a powerful foe, but an equally powerful ally.”
“You’re saying I should own what I did?” She asked.
“I a word” she nodded. “Charmspeak didn’t make you do what you did, but I think you’ve worked that out. But it doesn’t make you a bad person, only human. We all make mistakes, it’s how we learn. Percy has given you a second chance, so make the most of it. Don’t give up on yourself, because the people you care about haven’t given up on you.”
Annabeth looked at her and smile. Her advice was surprisingly insightful. She wasn’t sure if she could follow through with it, but she could try. She thought about Percy, and Piper, both her friends who stood by her after all of it, helped her come out the other side. She smiled, thinking it could be possible to forgive herself. “Who helped you?” She asked curiously.
Reyna smirked. “Someone I came to trust most” she answered cryptically.
Annabeth gave it a moments thought before smirking. It was an easy answer to deduce. “How is Jason? We haven’t seen him since he and Piper broke up. I kept seeing him around here, but when I try to talk to him he…”
Reyna sighed, looking out with an expression of guilt. “Yeah, I might’ve let slip where Piper has been staying” she confessed. She saw Annabeth nod, awkwardly rubbing her neck. “I’m sure he’s fine, just processing. I’ve been keeping him company, or distracted depending on your you ask.”
“So you two aren’t…?”
Reyna shook her head. “It’s just sex. Just like me and Percy, so you don’t need to feel jealous.”
“I’m allowed to feel a little jealous” she replied. Reyna raised an eyebrow, prompting Annabeth to tell her “it wasn’t the amount of sex that was bothering me, mostly. It was how…effortless it seemed between you. Percy and I haven’t been connecting like that lately when we…”
“Percy mentioned you were a little…squeamish?” She said.
Annabeth’s gaze narrowed. “Percy needs to learn to talk a lot less” she instinctively snapped defensively.
“What I meant to say is he mentioned you had had a knock to your confidence. I get it, but being submissive isn’t really the thing for girls like us. Control freaks, remember.”
“Easy for you to say” she sighed. “But every time I get into bed with someone, all I can think is what if I mess up again? What if I do something that…” Annabeth was interrupted when Reyna rolled her eyes, slide closer and grabbed her face to plant a firm kiss on her mouth. Annabeth’s eyes widened before pulling away from her, sliding back along the bench staring at her. “What the fuck was that?” She cried.
“A kiss” Reyna said plainly, staring back at her with a confident smirk. “It’s what you do when you want to get someone’s attention in a particular way. Why, think you can do better?” She asked, her eyebrow raised in challenge.
Annabeth figured out what she was going very quickly. Unfortunately her pride made her take the bait and lunged forward to pull her into a kiss of her own. Reyna grinned as the girl smashed her lips against her, plunging her tongue into her mouth to make her… She suddenly froze and pulled away, her face paling as she shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I can’t…shit, I can’t even just kiss someone without freaking out” she screamed.
“Yes you can” Reyna said confidently. “You know why? Because in that moment you knew what you wanted to do. Tell me. Tell me what you wanted to do” she insisted, clutching her arm to turn the blonde to face her.
Annabeth looked at the Roman demigod and hesitantly replied “I…wanted to kiss you.” Reyna gave her a look, prompting Annabeth to suck in a breath and admit “okay, I wanted to fuck you. I wanted to throw into the nearest wall and pound my fingers into your ass and make you scream. I wanted to bang you in front of all your loyal subjects and show you for the slut you are to get you back for fucking my boyfriend in front of everyone and making me…” she stopped when she realized she was ranting, staring at herself as Reyna smiled triumphantly. But then her confidence faded again and she slumped back in her seat. “But I can’t. That’s not…that’s not who I want to be. It sounds horrible.”
“Actually, I thought it sounded fucking hot” Reyna told her, getting wet picturing the daughter of Athena punishing her infidelity. She looked at the young woman as she curling back into her shell and sighed. “You don’t have charm-speak any more so you can’t force people to do anything. If it’s consent you’re worried about, a simple conversation will fix that. What you really need is to get your confidence back. And you’ll only get that back by being brave and being the badass control freak who can dominate a bedroom.”
“I don’t know if I can” she said quietly.
Reyna smiled, putting her hand on her shoulder and leaning in to peck her cheek. “If you want I could help you, give you a refresher course on taking control of your sex life. Percy could be our slab of meat?”
Annabeth looked at her, still hesitant at the thought of approaching the same level of control she got addicted to. “What if I lose control again?”
“You won’t” she promised. “You’ll never lose control like that again because, even while you’re topping you man, you’ll have that lesson those mistakes taught you. You’ll keep yourself in check. You know where the line is now, so don’t be afraid to step up to it.” She waited until Annabeth was able to meet her eyes before patting her shoulder. “Give it some thought. And if you don’t want my help, that’s fine. You’ve got a lot of people looking out for you. You’ll get through this.” She looked at her watch, sighing heavily. “I have to go deal with something. Praetor’s work is never done.”
Annabeth watched her stand up and stretch, admiring how she held herself up proudly. “I am jealous of you” she muttered.
“Don’t be. Me and Percy are just friends and occasional fuck buddies” she promised.
“No, I mean…I’m jealous of how confident you are. You are so together…I wish I was you right now.”
Reyna looked down at Annabeth and shook her head. “No you don’t” she told her, her smile becoming sad. “I could ask anyone to come into my bed each night, but I have two favorites. Two lovers who are handsome, sexy, powerful and fucking amazing in bed. They are my reliable consorts and I would cherish every night I spend with either of them.”
“Sounds amazing” Annabeth smiled.
“They are” she agreed. “They both just have one flaw though.”
“What’s that?”
“They’re both deeply in love with someone else” she explained, her sad face expressions her disappointment and shame. Annabeth felt bad for her until she realized that the two men she was talking about, one of them was Percy. She stared at Reyna, who gave her a nod. “he loves you. Whatever you think, no matter how many other girls he is with, don’t ever doubt that” she told her, turning away to return to her duties and leave Annabeth to think about what she said alone. Annabeth looked out over the city and, for the first time in a while, felt a bit more optimistic.
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