Hey y'all! GD here with the first part of a Leyna twoshot! I was going to write it as a oneshot but I really wanted to put this one out there! Not to mention bits of it have been sitting on my memory stick collecting dust.

As the summary states, this is full of Leyna and lulz. Hope you enjoy!

=#=#=#=#=#=#=

"I am… the master."

There was a short pause, before the boy in front of the mirror winked.

"I am completely, totally and utterly irresistible. Everybody loves a bad boy."

He combed through his clean, curly black hair.

"My presence brings all the girls to the yard. And I'm like, 'I've already got a date!'…"

He bit his lip.

"I'll have a new member on Team Leo at the end of tonight. Uh-huh."

Who was he kidding? Leo Valdez was a nervous wreck. For once in his life, he didn't smell of engine grease (although the temptation to tinker with a special washing machine he had been working on was so huge had had to get Piper to hide his tool belt), his hair was combed back neatly and he was dressed in formal coat and tie.

Tonight he was going out on his very first date ever. With Reyna.

He had been stuttering like a fool when he squeezed the words out of his mouth, and was also sweating so much the machine oil was running down like a waterfall. Reyna, at first, thought he was joking, and proceeded to challenge him to a duel for daring to humiliate her. You can tell how that worked out.

Anyway, when she finally understood that he wasn't kidding around like he usually was and said yes, Leo had been edgy ever since.

He had to be cool and yet super hot at the same time. The hot part he had all figured out (well, literally more than anything else), but being cool wasn't in Leo's persona. He cracked jokes, messed around, and was generally so bad he was surprised Santa had ever given him any presents for Christmas.

Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Percy and Annabeth had given him truckloads of invaluable advice. Since he had trekked all the way to Camp Jupiter, Frank had recommended the restaurant. Jason and Percy had told him how to handle himself with his special lady, which included the making of a very nifty checklist of things to do and say. Piper, Hazel and Annabeth had helped pick an outfit, dragging him to the shops and throwing all sorts of combinations on him until one stuck. Leo himself had written and memorised a ton of jokes to tell, and even Festus had whirred in encouragement. So, technically speaking, he was all set.

But definitely not mentally. No way. If Leo could escape and yell into the sunsets, he would.

He stared at his reflection with a little self-pity. He was wearing a loose black-white checked shirt with grey dress trousers, ironed so not a crinkle was in sight. Jason had lent him some lovely black loafers to go, too.

He clasped his hands together and took a deep breath.

"Hephaestus, help me now," Leo murmured, hoping his father would at least give him a little courage to see the night through. He sucked in his gut, standing firm, took one last look at himself with an approving nod, and swaggered out of the room.

"Gah, forgot my wallet!"

=#=#=#=

Reyna smoothed off her dress, standing in the Via Principia and patiently waiting for her date to arrive. She wasn't nervous. She wasn't excited. She wasn't anything.

Alright, that's what her face said. Anyone who had asked if she was scared or nervous received an eyeful of keep-out-of-my-business, but, truthfully, she was very uneasy. Reyna hadn't ever been on a date before, let alone with Leo Valdez.

She felt incredibly guilty about almost driving a spear through his shoulders when he had asked her out the first time, believing he was just mocking her and her dateless history. She scowled – it was very uncomfortable and highly embarrassing when Leo told her he was being serious. She was praetor – a position held by those who could actually understand what their underlings were talking about.

Still, Reyna hoped Leo liked purple. When she mentioned in passing to Hylla that she was going on a date, Hylla was here in less than a day, lugging with her an entire wardrobe for Reyna to choose from (hey, Amazonian women could have style too, you know). Reyna's favourite colour was, of course, purple, and she was Roman, so she went with the simple violet dress that fell to her ankles with black high heels and a matching bag. Her hair was pinned into a bun with a sparkly crocodile clip of some kind.

The daughters of Venus had helped with make-up, too, which made Reyna feel really fake and… prissy. It reminded her of her work at Circe's spa retreat. Still, they hadn't overdone it, so at least she didn't look like Dakota: overstated red lips from drinking too much Kool-Aid. On the whole, though, she felt very… unlike herself. It being only one night in a century that she had to look presentable, however, she allowed herself oddity of being dressed up.

The air was cool tonight, thankfully; Reyna didn't like the idea of taking a walk in the snow. The sun dimmed on the horizon and Reyna gulped: she hadn't been so ridiculously late that he just left, had she?

The girl shook her head vigorously, instantly regretting it because some of her black hairs fell out of place. She was nervous, not stupid. Leo had said to meet him here in the Via Principia at seven so they could catch dinner within the Pomerian Line. That was how it was going to be. No more predicting awfulness.

But she couldn't resist glancing at her watch – it was two minutes past seven. Two minutes. Either he was running late or he had decided to abandon the date altogether. The thought was terrifying and embarrassing all at once.

Just as she was about to lose her head, Reyna heard the clack of shoes thud in a consistent quick pattern on the cobblestone steps behind her. She whipped around to see Leo Valdez, wearing an outfit that made him look totally endearing, screeching to a halt in front of her and pausing to take a long breath.

"Gah… ran… I'm still here… don't be mad…" he looked up, and the couple locked eyes for a second. Reyna could feel the heat rise to her face as she looked away and scowled.

"You're two minutes late," she pointed out callously.

Leo stood upright. He was now taller than her by quite a bit, and yet still managed to retain his childlike appearance that most people found cute. His hair as combed backed neatly and for some reason Reyna thought he looked older. The son of Hephaestus bit his lip before smirking.

"Well, I could have come on time… but then you would have had to pay for everything."

"… Oh, two minutes past seven, seven; what's the difference?" she corrected, dropping her praetor-like attitude and replacing it with relief. It would have been awkward and not to mention so un-gentlemanly if she had to pay for their meal alone, "I'm glad you decided to show, at least."

Leo grinned. Reyna's felt herself returning the smile, which was something only Leo could make her do. It was an odd sensation that she felt when he smiled – like her insides were melting. A good melting, obviously.

"Cool, shall we get going?" he held at her arm, waiting for her to take it. Reyna just stared.

"Yes, we should. We're already two minutes late," inside, Reyna panicked. What was she supposed to do? Take his hand? But then his arm would be at a completely awkward angle. Did she grasp it? But he was too tall! He'd have to bend down just so it was comfortable.

The couple just waited for each other, Leo sticking his arm out and looking akin to a broken robot and Reyna thinking very hard about how to let him take the lead.

"Um…" said Leo, "You're meant to hold it."

"I am aware," Reyna said, scrutinising the arm like it was an unknown species of monster, "I am just calculating how to hold it without it being uncomfortable and inelegant…"

"Oh," came his response, a little dumbstruck, "Well, maybe if I lower it-"

"No, no, that won't do. It would look childish."

"If I hold it higher-"

"You would look like a flightless chicken."

"Ah… how about I just…" he flopped his arm down to his side, "There. Now you take that hand and hold your bag in the other."

She did so. It was hardly noticeable and very comfortable. His hand, slightly clammy, was warm and soft like a baby's bottom. Her heart fuzzled inside her chest again, but she remained calm and collected on the outside.

"This is perfect; the correct way to hold the hands of a significant other."

Leo just laughed, "I think Frank and Hazel could do with lessons from us. C'mon, let's go!"

=#=#=#=

The couple had arrived three minutes later than Leo had predicted at the restaurant, Nolita. This was partly due to his lateness and partly due to the terms and conditions of the Pomeranian line. Terminus had almost not let them through – giving the excuse that Leo's wallet could be used as a weapon.

"What do you think I'm going to do? Lob it at someone?"

Terminus had huffed, "You could very well do so!"

"And then what? They'd just take my money and run!"

Thankfully, Reyna had a good influence over the god of boundaries (that, and she really, really did not want to pay for the whole dinner), so, let them through with a passing remark and a grunt of disapproval.

Anyway, that was beside the point – they were behind schedule. Leo was completely aware how his date was fond of deadlines and being on time, and today, they were anything but on time. He had a plan all set out – he would meet her at seven, take approximately two minutes and thirty-five seconds to pass Terminus and arrive at the restaurant and then a twenty-two seconds to find their table and sit down (all calculated the days beforehand). Two minutes late collecting Reyna had ruined his perfect schedule and almost gutted his insides. Imagine what being three minutes late did to him.

Luckily, the waiter was a pro and knew immediately where their table was (well, that and Leo had also come here the day before, double-checking that he had actually booked one), so the table-finding went down to thirteen seconds. This pleased Leo.

The restaurant itself was really frikkin' cool, in his opinion. Being a Portuguese restaurant, the cuisine was practically every meat you could find lathered in hot sauces. Leo hoped Reyna like Peri Peri. The dining areas made had a modern twists; carved moss-green wooden tables and matching steel high chairs, exotic plants in bulbous, decorated pots and the walls decorated with heaploads of South-African artworks. You could see the kitchen behind the brick and slate counter – the dishes being cooked in traditional stone ovens.

So Nolita was like a nicer, foreign and slightly more expensive version of McDonalds. This was good – it didn't burn a hole through his wallet.

Reyna sat down, inspecting the scene with her unreadable expressions. Leo sat opposite, trying and failing to understand whether or not she liked where he picked. The table was neatly ordained with spice shakers, menus and a single red rose in a thin, clear vase. That last one was his own doing.

"I haven't been here before…" she mumbled, mostly to herself. Score! One for Leo.

"That's good – I haven't either, so new experience for both of us!"

His date looked a little disappointed, "Oh, you haven't been here before? I was hoping you could order for the both of us." Minus one thousand for Leo.

He gulped, glancing down at the menu the waiter had left. Yep, just like he expected, everything was every meat in existence lathered in hot sauces. He peered warily back at Reyna, who had now turned her attention to the menu.

With a shrug, she began, "Oh, I don't really know what I like," she said, scanning the chicken-littered paper for something that wetted her appetite, "What on earth is Peri Peri?"

Leo smiled, "Oh, Peri Peri is hot sauce. Extreme Peri Peri is peri hot sauce."

Nothing like a good joke to break the ice… but Reyna looked blanker than a sheet.

"Get it? Peri hot sauce? Very hot sauce?"

She still didn't react. Leo gulped; this was going to be harder than he thought, wooing the praetor of Camp Jupiter. He didn't want to say that his jokes were wasted on her, but sometimes she didn't find even the most hilarious things funny.

Then to his surprise, she smiled – like she was suppressing a giggle. Leo's insides burst with delight – SUCCESS! He had managed to brighten the day of Reyna. Even if only a little, Percy and Jason had told Leo to make sure she was happy, as the number one thing to do… and he'd just ticked that off his mental checklist.

"A funny play on words. Bad, but funny," Reyna said, glancing back on her menu now that she had been further educated using awful humour, "What would you suggest then?"

No time to bask in delight anymore. Leo had to pick something he thought his date would like.

Come to think about it, Leo hadn't exactly ever paid attention to what she did like to eat. It was obvious that Reyna was so busy with her job as a praetor that she had never come to this specific restaurant to eat, of all the rotten luck. Heck, for all he knew she could pig out on Chinese takeaways every night. He was shooting in the dark when choosing the most important decision in his life, and he wanted to be in control.

"Do you like chicken?" he blurted before he could stop himself. He couldn't help it; half the menu was chicken. What if she was actually a vegetarian and he didn't catch on?

She nodded. Phew, Leo got lucky.

"Great, we can have this," he leaned over to her to point out a delicious looking half of a roast-chicken with sweet mash potato on the side, but ended up doing something much worse than choosing a dish.

He tipped the vase over.

Reyna yelped as it shattered, littering her menu with broken glass. The crystal clear water spilt everywhere, dampening the menu, her napkins and her dress. Luckily, the worst had been taken by the menu and napkin.

Leo had no words, except the rude ones that could only berate his stupidity. How could he have been so careless as to fling his arm out so inelegantly when it would have been perfectly acceptable to read the dish number instead?

He jumped up, shaking his hands in a jazzy fashion and squeaked, "I'm so sorry, Reyna!"

=#=#=#=

Well this date had been successful so far. First they were late to the restaurant and now her outfit was ruined.

Reyna cringed as the water tainted her violet dress and turning it into a darker colour. She hadn't had to worst of it, thank Bellona, but still enough to make it look like she couldn't hold her own bladder.

"It's alright," she said eventually, grabbing Leo's napkin without much thought and trying to wipe herself down. It wasn't as successful as she hoped. Leo joined in too, flinging himself to the nearby cutlery stack and seizing and handful of napkins.

"It's fine," she reassured him, but Leo wasn't listening. He bustled over, face brimming with worry, to offer her napkins and bark orders at the waiters. Honestly, she'd been here when the camp was suddenly attacked (by this very boy, no less); this was nothing in comparison.

A waiter finally made his way over when he noticed the commotion, wiping the table down with hastiness.

"My apologies, ma'am, sir," he said, bowing so low his nose brushed the floor, "The bathrooms are in that direction, if you need a mirror."

"Yes, I should probably fix myself up again," Reyna spoke coolly, glancing at her now spoilt dress. Leo looked utterly distraught, like a child robbed at Christmas time, so she felt rather guilty leaving him to stew in his undoubtedly morose thoughts, "Leo, if you could, order me a Coke – no ice – and the dish you chose. I'm sure it will be delicious."

"Okay," he responded, although it was definitely forced. He looked incredibly sullen – more sullen than Reyna thought he could go – as she strode with whatever dignity she had left into the ladies' bathrooms.

No-one else was around, thank the gods. It was just her, left to her own thoughts and embarrassment. Yes, she had been embarrassed. She was certain that the waiter recognised her – no-one could get around New Rome for so long without at least knowing the general appearance of its leaders. He didn't snigger or look amused in anyway, but Reyna had a feeling that he was probably giggling hysterically now and passing gossip to his co-workers. She felt hot on her face, red with shame.

Why should she feel ashamed? Accidents happen. Leo didn't purposefully knock the vase over – he wouldn't even have nightmares about it. It probably wasn't the first time something so silly could happen. But, it was perhaps her reputation that she felt the need to preserve – high-end, classy, and certainly not the type of person to have vase water flung all over. She couldn't help but desire respect wherever she went, as leaders do desire, and not to be made the fool of.

This thinking really didn't do Reyna any good. She inhaled, held her breath for five seconds, and then exhaled. Calmness and collectedness. It wasn't Leo's or her fault, and therefore, she had nothing to be ashamed of.

Then came the problem of how to dry the dress. Patting it with numerous napkins hadn't worked at all. She still looked like a tramp, coupled with her slightly sweaty forehead and already uneven hair that the Venus children were going to have a frenzy over.

Reyna noticed the electric dryer, tucked in behind large sinks, calling her name. Quick as she could, she held out her dress underneath the dryer and stuck her hand roughly underneath it. The dryer whirred to life, heating the water straight out of the fabric and warming her entire body. In no time at all, her dress was as good as new.

In good timing too, as just as she finished drying, one of the older women from the camp waltzed into the bathroom just as Reyna was making her swift exit.

=#=#=#=

How Reyna did it, Leo Valdez would never know.

Ever since she had made her rapid descent into the Tartarus known as the ladies' bathroom, Leo had been fretting that she would make her escape out of the window and run home-free into the sunset at the Pomeranian Line. Wasn't that what girls did in movies when a date ended so badly?

It had hardly begun, Leo realised, and already he had made five thousand mistakes. He honestly thought this was it and that ordering her food and drink was pointless, yet after only three minutes and nineteen seconds did she make her exit.

And she radiated beauty.

The stain was gone – how, Leo didn't know. Probably woman magic – and the rest of her just looked as stunning as when he'd met her on the cobblestone steps. He was lost for words and his stomach twisted in a fresh bout of nerves again.

She made her way over with a gentle smile, "Hello," she greeted again, taking her seat opposite him.

"Hot- Er, I mean, hi," Leo said. The waiter had done a good job cleaning up the extra water and providing more napkins, so the table was practically anew. He couldn't argue with that.

"Did you order?"

"Yep," he said, regaining his cool personality that he reminded himself he had to continue the upkeep of. His mental checklist said so, "The half-roast chicken sweet potato mash on the side. It's lemon and herb flavour; that's okay, right?"

She nodded with a shrug, "We'll have to see, won't we?"

Oh gods, she was halfway threatening him if the food tasted bad. Leo's insides began the long fall into a bottomless pit.

Just in time, the waiter popped around, carrying a tray of several drinks. Leo hadn't taken much notice of it until now, but his hair was slicked back in exactly the same style as his own. Maybe he was copying and trying to steal his girl?!

"Two Cokes for you?" He placed two glasses of the black fizzy beverage by each person, and, after a quick "thank you" from the recipients, nodded as he walked away to serve others.

Leo steadied his hand. He had to be careful when taking a sip, as Coke was infinitely worse water in terms of staining and he didn't want to ruin Reyna's dress – or evening – any further.

He glanced at Reyna peering at the Coke with a hint of dislike. He looked at the drink – did he order the wrong one? It was a harmless glass of Coke with ice cubes bobbing around.

Oh gods. ICE CUBES.

Immediately Leo snapped his fingers and called over the waiter. He was over in ten seconds flat.

"Yes?" he asked.

Leo remained cool, "When I said I wanted extra ice I meant in my glass, not hers."

He looked completely baffled, "Sir..?"

"Yep. If you could take out the ice in her glass, that'd be nice. Thanks dude. I'll tip you."

Was it really that obvious that he forgot? The waiter shrugged, swayed by the mention of a tip, and took both glasses away to obey his order.

"Sorry about that," Leo said to Reyna, who looked like a mixture of confused and impressed, "Waiters. Think they can remember every detail in their heads, every minute part of every single order. They're good, but they slip up sometimes. Delicate people, really. Just have to be gentle with them. Offer them tips."

Reyna giggled this time. That was a start, since before she'd only smiled before (although maybe it was because the joke was so bad, but whatever). She looked pretty when she giggled, her perfectly pearly-white teeth on show. At least it was some indication that she was enjoying herself now that the vase incident was out of the way.

Now it was time for something Leo had dreaded the most – small talk.

It was the fine art of mastering light conversation that Leo struggled with. He was surprised there wasn't somewhere you could learn this highly sought-after skill, not a book nor a class. If he didn't have his awesomely-great sense of humour, he'd probably not speak at all.

Percy and Jason had let him in on their secrets as much as they could. Leo's mental checklist had consisted of many things – most of which were topics to talk about. Topics that would rivet his date.

The first of which was her camp. Jason had done a grand job of spilling all the Jupiter chitchat and events. Maybe it was the expansion of the Pomerian Line to fit more shops and more houses. Perhaps he could babble about his acute knowledge of the weapons room or the latest War games. The only thing he should avoid were the things Reyna did not have interest in: gossip… and probably Piper McLean too.

So here he went. Leo inhaled deeply before opening his mouth.

"Nice weather we're having."

And he'd gone and thrown his whole checklist out of the window. He was just more than slightly nervous.

Reyna nodded, "Indeed. It's surprising, for this time of the year. October is usually quite rainy."

But Leo knew there was always a way to save his skin: funny jokes.

"I like the rain."

Reyna spoke, confused, "You do? But you're a son of Hephaestus."

"I know, but when it does Reyn-a think of you!"

He waited for her to laugh, giggle, smile, anything to suggest that the joke hadn't fallen flat on its face and rolled into Tartarus. Her face only darkened and her black eyes just seemed to turn blacker. Immediately, Leo knew something had gone wrong. Heinously wrong.

"Are you comparing me to a dreary, depressing and gloomy type of weather?" His date tested.

The boy flailed his arms out, "No, no! I was making a pun on your name. Since it's Reyna. And it sounds like rain," he could feel himself digging a deeper and deeper whole each second he uttered a word, "I wasn't suggesting that you're boring or dull, because you're not. I wouldn't ask you out if you were boring or dull."

=#=#=#=

That was perhaps the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

Reyna didn't think she was the best at conversation. She could talk, yes – quite well, at that – but she always had the niggling feeling inside her head whenever she did suggesting that she was boring. When she did talk, it was always about the War Games or Camp Jupiter or something battle-related. She hadn't attempted to talk about anything outside her realm of expertise since… well, only the gods knew how long it'd been.

Probably didn't help that Jason had split his duties between Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, and that left her with only Octavian sometimes. You can tell how well that always worked out.

But since Leo had bravely asked her out, she had decided that she was going to try and attempt not to be a bore. Expand her horizons a little. So someone telling her she was anything but dull was a very encouraging thing to hear.

Although he could have been saying it because he was being nice. Half the night they hadn't been talking since she felt like she had spent more time in the bathroom than at the table.

Reyna didn't let the thought dishearten her. Leo was definitely a sweet guy, and she definitely felt something for him. Perhaps it was not as much as she had felt for Jason – yet – but she was willing to try.

"Thank you," she spoke softly in reply to Leo, currently looking anywhere but her, "That's very kind of you."

"No problem," he said, with renewed confidence, "That's just how Leo Valdez rolls. Like a fresh piece of bread straight from the oven."

Reyna couldn't resist a smile. Did this guy go out of his way to prepare an arsenal of bad jokes just to impress her and make her laugh? She found it hard to believe… but at the same time, that was how Leo Valdez rolled (like a fresh piece of bread straight from the oven). And she liked it. He always had a bad pun waiting underneath those greasy sleeves of his.

It was her turn now. He had attempted small-talk. So now she had to think of something Leo loved to talk about.

Her eyes trailed down his body, looking for something in particular (not like that!). His tool belt; it was absent. She knew how much Leo loved mechanics and tinkering with random objects. She'd had a fair taste of his handiwork when the Argo II bombed her camp. He'd installed Archimedes' Spheres onto it, too – not to mention a motorised dragon supposedly only one person could ever control was at his beck at call. She would indulge him in mechanics.

"Have you been working on anything recently, then?" She threw out the question – maybe a little forced – in the hopes he would start to open up and babble like a buffoon to fill the time. Not that he wasn't already.

He nodded eagerly, "Yes! I've been messing with the Argo II control panel lately – I mean, the Nintendo Wiimote's a bit outdated, so I thought I could upgrade the panel to incorporate the Nintendo Wii U controller – it has a fancy-schmancy screen on it which will be good for checking the ship's vitals. I think Festus will like it; I don't have to translate every click of his metal tongue to understand what the problem is-"

Reyna found it fascinating. Not the whole Wiimote-thing – she didn't understand a word of it – but the way Leo could talk for hours on end on machinery and mechanics. Most men she knew liked to talk about their endless wins in battle or how their muscles protruded from their well-toned chests. She had no qualms with them doing so, but Reyna knew the shapes of their bodies were not their passion. Leo talked about what he really loved to do, tinkering his toys, and he openly shared it with everyone he knew.

He had stopped at some point, watching Reyna with thoughtful eyes. She realised she had been staring at him while wrapped up in her observation musings. She immediately straightened in her seat, and flicked her head to the side.

"You were saying?"

Leo still continued to watch her with heart-wrenching sullen face; she had never seen Leo change from incredibly peppy to morose in less than one minute ever. In fact, she had never seen Leo change from incredibly peppy to morose full stop.

"You're bored of my mechanical babble," he stated, as robotically as his dragon. Reyna felt her stomach drop in guilt.

"No, Leo…" she hesitated; this small-talk was working oh-so very well, "Okay, I admit to not understanding much of what you wanted to say. But… But I was just thinking about how at peace you looked, having conversation about something that interests you. It… it pleases me to see you like that."

She looked up at him, scared to meet his eyes, but to her surprise he was turning a cranberry colour. It warmed her like melting chocolate and she couldn't suppress a small smile.

"Really? Well, I-…" he said, a grin erupting on his red face, "I could… I could keep telling you about mechanics, if you like?"

She let the smile take over before leaning onto the table, "Enlighten me."

=#=#=#=#=#=#=

Happy-ish cliff-hanger?! GD ARE YOU ILL. Lol :P

Second part ain't written yet my lovely readers, so you'll have to wait a while. I'm thinking I'll try to complete it for PJO Ships Week (thing on tumblr). Leyna week is between the 1st to the 7th of September. What say you?

All reviews, favourites and follows are appreciated with many hugs and internet cookies! And I hope that none of Leo's jokes fell flat on their face.

Thanks for reading!

~ GD

PS. SOM I CAN'T HANDLE IT I NEED TO SEE IT JGVHwGMLLLeflg/

Image by Jackie-lyn on dA. If you wish for me to remove the image, please message me. Thank you.