The Old Jackson Twins Book 2

Chapter Nine

One more test, and then Percy could leave.

He, Annabeth, Natasha, Tony, and Peter would head to New Asgard and meet up with the others as soon as Percy and Annabeth finished their exams and had break.

He was pretty sure Aria was pissed at him, but even though for the first time in ages, he knew where she was, he didn't dare IM her. If he did, she'd probably manage to stab him from thousands of miles away.

She had reason to be mad, after all. He told her not to go after the Avengers, and he did the exact thing he told her not to just hours later.

But he was worried that she'd see it as more than that.

He was worried that he had lost her.

Which was ridiculous, of course. They were a team. The Jackson twins were two of the most powerful half-bloods of their generation, and part of what made them so dangerous was the way they worked together, practically read each other's minds.

They were a team.

And that's the way it would always be.

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"Look, I know you're mad at him, but the last thing I need is to explain to the Norwegian police why my girlfriend murdered her brother."

Aria continued sharpening her knife. "Who says I'm planning to kill him?"

"And you can't even mildly wound him. Or badly wound him. Actually, just stay five feet away from him, okay?"

Aria didn't say anything.

Reyna sighed, then sat next to her and hugged her. "I know you're upset with him-"

"That's an understatement."

"But do you remember the last time you had a real fight? All of the cabins were drenched for three days."

"That was one time."

"And it was terrifying."

That got her attention.

"I know I say I'm not scared of you. And I'm not." Reyna carefully slipped the knife out of Aria's grasp. "I know you would never hurt me." Aria wordlessly leaned against Reyna, and she kept talking. "But that doesn't mean what you're capable of isn't scary. If you really wanted to, you could kill me right now with just a thought."

"I don't want to."

"I know." Reyna took Aria's hand, lifted it to her mouth, and kissed her fingers. "But the fact that you can is scary."

"You're scared of me?"

"No! Gods, this sounded way better in my head." Reyna thought for a moment. "Look, you're Aria Jackson. You're sort of famous in our side of the world. You're capable of hurricanes and floods and spontaneous heart attacks. But also, you're just you. You're funny and sweet and you like drawing and singing and running, and I don't want to spend my life with anyone other than you." She hesitated. "And that's the side of you I want to see. I want to see the you who loves me, and who I love. I don't want to see the dark side of the ocean in you. And when you're this mad, that's the side I'm worried about seeing."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." Reyna tilted Aria's chin up and made her look her in the eyes. "Remember the part where I love you?"

Aria smiled, and Reyna was relieved to see it reach her eyes. "I love you, too."

Reyna kissed her, and after several minutes of that, she started to move from Aria's mouth down to her neck-

Sam burst through the tent flaps without warning. "Hey- GAH!"

Reyna stopped and glared at Sam. "Ever heard of knocking?"

"You live in a tent!"

"So say something! 'I'm coming in.' Is that so hard?" she snapped.

Aria untangled herself from Reyna's arms and stood up, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Are they here?"

"At the gates. We already confirmed the identities of our friends, but you need to confirm theirs."

"We're on our way." Sam left, and Aria reached out a hand to Reyna, which she took and used to pull herself up. "Reyna?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For what you said. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

"And I never will be."

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Aria thought she deserved some credit for not pulling out her sword and murdering Percy on sight.

To be fair, that was mostly due to Reyna at her shoulder, ready to grab her if she tried anything. It was also Annabeth, who was maybe the only person besides her mother that Aria was scared of.

But also she held herself back, which she thought was a very impressive example of self-control.

He tried to catch her eye, but she looked away and out to sea, which just reminded her of what she really wanted to do: grab Reyna, jump into the water, go back to New York, find her parents and Estelle, and hide somewhere safe with everyone she cared about. Percy normally made that list, but she really didn't feel like being in an enclosed space with him right now.

They walked back towards the queen's hut in a silent group of four, and Aria kept her eyes on the path straight ahead, not even glancing at Reyna when she took her hand. She breathed in the scent of fish and salt air, which she enjoyed, with underlying hints of alcohol, which she enjoyed less, and shivered a little as a gust of wind blew by, whipping her hair into her face, which stung.

She and Reyna delivered Percy and Annabeth at the queen's door and let Reyna drag her back to the tent, where they spent the next few hours waiting for their friends' return. They passed some of the time quietly drawing and reading, and passed some more of the time on the pile of blankets, making out enough that Aria knew her mouth would be sore in the morning.

I'll make Reyna kiss it better, she thought with an internal grin.

It took nearly four hours before Percy and Annabeth came back, at which point Aria was brushing out Reyna's hair and weaving a few ribbons into it, because she thought it would look pretty and she'd mastered the persuasive smile that melted Reyna in a heartbeat. It wasn't hard, really. She just had to widen her eyes and bite the edge of her lip a little bit.

Anyways, strategies to get Reyna to do anything aside, Percy and Annabeth pushed through the tent flaps together, looking exhausted.

"She was relentless," Annabeth muttered.

"She's pretty tough," Reyna agreed. "Ow! Aria, what the hell are you doing?"

"It's a surprise."

"It's a painful one."

Percy laughed, and for a moment, Aria pretended they were just four friends, hanging out for a bit. The twins and their daughters of war goddesses. Annabeth, her idiot twins, and Reyna. For years, people had assumed that the trio of Annabeth and the twins was Percy and his girls, which was partially true, but it was also Annabeth and her twins and Aria and her painfully lovesick nerds. When Reyna had entered the scene, it had the potential to feel awkward, but it just felt right instead. Aria wasn't a third wheel anymore, Annabeth had someone to help her get the twins out of trouble, and Percy had someone to help keep an eye on Aria, who had developed a paralyzing fear of being alone after Percy disappeared (fuck you, Hera).

But the twins were fighting.

And maybe she wouldn't have her three best friends for a while.