A/N: I CANNOT TAKE THE BASH ON MY BBY NICO ANYMORE NO I CANNOT AND CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT HER ROYAL BAMFNESS REYNA FOR A SEC GODS ALMIGHTY –

This is a Reyna/Nico friendship fic. No romance. Yet.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians/The Heroes of Olympus

Title: Faith, Trust, and A Son Of Hades

Summary: Hades and Bellona aren't exactly friends. But their children are getting there. – Nico/Reyna. Spoilers for The House of Hades.

Disclaimer: I own nothing save this story. Don't sue, please.

~0~

Reyna disliked anything that has to do with Death. Or just plain Death, basically.

It's not actually a part of Reyna that was a secret. Every daughter of Bellona hated the idea of Death in virtue. Death cannot be piled into a neat set of maps and schematics that nestled in Reyna's quarters back in New Rome, nor can it be restrained by muzzles the way Aurum and Argentum, her faithful (metal) companions, can be. Most of the time it is unpredictable, and therefore unreliable. It does not serve any clear purpose except for extinguishing a person's existence from the world, and Reyna, despite the harshness and cruelties the life of being a demigod had shown her, found enough comfort in camp to get by. Death is nothing but an escape route for a man who sees no way out – the result when a person gave up on trying winning his battles and sees eternal slumber as a way to appease his cowardice and sloth. All in all, Reyna despised the thought of Death and dying.

Bellona's blessing to her was immeasurable valor, after all.

So when the son of Hades made his notion of getting the Athena Parthenos to the Greek camp in one piece and on time, it grated her. But the others did not have to know, of course, as Reyna kept her expression perfectly calm and removed. In a way, they all depended on her now and on the success of her quest. How the seven demigods of the prophecy could defeat Gaea with all of the Olympians crawling on the dirt of the ancient lands as they went wild with their split-personality thing going on, Reyna did not have an answer. The suicide mission with this sickly-looking person named Nico and the faun – no, satyr – would probably hold a better alternative.

Some days Reyna's insides begged for the boy to stop – the shadows that crept up every time to cover her body was enough to drive her mad. Some days she was too tired to care. Shadow-travel was ridiculously exhausting, and she's not even the one doing it. She wondered how the scrawny son of Hades could have made it this far in his life without getting devoured by a monster when he was constantly jumping from one place to another and too tired to raise his sword.

The fau – satyr named Gleeson 'Coach' Hedge (Greeks must have this freaking thing for weird names) had always put up a good face, but she knew his hooves quivered whenever Nico said it was time to move.

The monsters poured incessantly. The ominous aura of the big statue was ironically attracting dracanae and many more, and Reyna yelled defiantly as she impaled each and every one of them with her Imperial Gold sword. The satyr was not bad either; he kicked several monsters into oblivion, and Reyna must admit the protector had one mean, meaty swing. Most of the battles commenced while Nico snored merrily, on a nice patch of velvety grass, or on a strong tree branch or behind the statue – it didn't matter as long as Nico could be safe and unharmed as he muttered about 'communing with the dead', 'pizza' and 'Mama' in his sleep.

When he wasn't tired, Nico helped. He could launch an army of undead – which both terrified and amazed Reyna, but she kept the former emotion out of reach – in dire cases, but most of the time he fought with his sword. He wasn't the best swordsman Reyna had ever seen. Jason was better, Percy far more, and Dakota would laugh at this kid. Although he was lanky and morose, he had the death glow that most of the time drove the monsters away from him (so the monsters targeted Reyna and Coach Hedge instead, but Reyna didn't complain). He could fight well, and to Reyna that was enough.

They argued too, sometimes. Routes and fronts and offense and defense. Stuff like that. He's too Greek for Reyna's tastes: too much backbone, too much thirst to prove himself, too young to even consider the consequences.

But what frustrated Reyna the most was Nico's habit of running away and his predilection to evasion from confrontations. She hated that fleeing was even considered an option in the first place.

One measly day they fought about where to set up camp, and Nico was adamant to stay where the shadows were near.

"It's the perfect exit." Nico's voice was made of hard, tempered steel. "I can't protect all of you when we're out there in the open."

She didn't need any protecting, Reyna spat back. She's a Roman praetor for four years. She's a daughter of Bellona, the fucking goddess of war. She crossed the ancient lands on her own, for gods sake. She can handle monster-slaying even on her own very well with her every guard on, thank you very much.

"It's not you I'm really worried about," he replied calmly, and when Reyna demanded why he didn't answer.

She didn't expect him to answer outright to her question or to anything, not really. Nico was always tired to talk to them properly and, well, not too enamored with the action of talking itself.

So.

Reyna wasn't quite sure what to make out of him when he offered to cover her flank for the night, Get some rest while you can, he said. She was cautious, she had to be, but her eyelids drooped dangerously low and the fourteen-year-old was not taking no for an answer.

That night she dreamed of her horse, Scipio, her beautiful, regal pegasus that had been a constant since she discovered her godly parentage and was whisked away to Camp Jupiter. In her dream, it was one of those days when she was off from taking notes and ordering cleanups of the barracks at six in the morning, and she was free to escape to her own world with Scipio in the skies. And then the sky grew dark and gryphons and venti were everywhere at once. Scipio whinnied in pain as scratch marks appeared from what seemed like nowhere, and poison spewed from all directions. The nimbus clouds rained with blood, and Reyna was back in Argo II, a dying pegasus on her wake and a knife, a choice, hanging lifelessly on her fingers.

The next thing she knew she was jolted from her sleep by the shivering gasps her body was doing and the liquid that slithered down her cheeks had made her hair stick to her face in an unflattering way. What surprised her most of all was the figure next to her, its knees cupped inside its arms, sitting two yards closer than it had been when she closed her eyes. Nico looked straight ahead, but his body was tensed like a chord and his mouth set in a grim line, like he had witnessed every scene Reyna had been dreaming about. He did not utter a word until the silence grew unbearable to her.

"What are you doing, Nico?" Reyna asked in between embarrassing sniffles. Stupid, stupid question.

Nico glanced at her briefly, his expression unreadable in the dark. "Keeping watch."

~0~

After that, they still fought. Only they fought together now, and not each other. Coach Hedge would shriek about banging monster heads and gutting innards while Reyna would cover the left side, Nico would cover the right. The enemy numbers dwindled, and by the time they reached the coast of Massachusetts they were a well-rigged monster-slaying machine.

They were near the end of their quest, Reyna could sense it. But the journey was very much still on. She constantly craned her neck on the lookout for a screech owl or anything that signified a bad omen, and she had to stop herself from becoming so superstitious. Fate was in nobody's hands but her own, she chided herself.

~0~

"Hey! You there. Yes, you punk! D'you have a drachma?"

Reyna's and Nico's eyes tore from the landscape they were keeping tabs on as they both turned to face the satyr. "What?" Nico said.

"A drachma, you boob! A Greek coin!"

"I know what a drachma is," Nico grumbled. "I meant to ask why. And yeah, I have a couple."

When Coach Hedge rolled his eyes, the effort seemed to rock his whole head. "And I thought the Romans were nosy. Just give me one, will ya? I have no time for chitchats. But fine – since you insist so much I'll tell ya."

Coach Hedge shot off tales about his wife – "I married her at the young age of 106! Talk about lucky." – and their unborn child, who was due to open his eyes for the first time in about five months –

"How can you be sure it's a boy?" Reyna questioned. "It could be a girl."

"Gah! Whatever, Roman girl! The important thing is I have to talk to my wife tonight. Now gimme that drachma and let me talk to her in peace. But okay, fine! Since you want to see her and my baby I guess you can all have a little peek. But just once, I tell ya. Once."

The satyrs could be downright silly, Reyna surmised as she smirked, unlike the unlikable fauns.

Coach Hedge sprinkled on a series of drops in the air from his magical mechanical sprinkler, with the nozzle set on the option Iris Message. He then threw the coin with a metal ting! The goddess of rainbows soon accepted his offering, and the air soon shimmered with colors until it steadied to reveal a glass-eyed wind nymph. She was smiling.

"Mellie, baby!" Coach Hedge screamed in delight. If his wife in front of him wasn't made up of clouds and spectral dust, he would have ran forward and crushed her in a big bear hug. It was like a happy family reunion that Reyna couldn't help but laugh.

After the satyr in an undeniably proud voice introduced them to Mellie (Reyna wondered how in the world this graceful and shy aura agreed to marry a crazy-from-head-to-toe satyr) and her billowing stomach that she cradled with care, Reyna heard a ghost of a chuckle on her right. In Reyna's disbelief, Nico was smiling genuinely, albeit a small smile. Reyna thought it made the son of Hades' face brighten up a bit, but she had to admit he was out of practice. They both were.

This is what Jason meant, Reyna thought as she eyed the teary-eyed pregnant Mellie and the ecstatic Gleeson Hedge. Hope.

Nico tossed a few coins to Coach Hedge's furry hand. "We'd better go now, Coach. We won't disturb you anymore, I promise."

"Damn straight you won't!" And he went back happily to face his wife.

~0~

The night they stayed in Rhode Island was as chilly as the time they made a forest in Ireland as their temporary quarters. Reyna was shivering despite herself even with the added padding on her body; she made her purple cloak into a makeshift blanket, but it did nothing to lessen the cold. She bit back a Latin curse and instead studied the night sky. There were only a few stars that adorned the pitch black ceiling of the world and they glimmered faintly.

Just then a slightly worn-out aviator jacket hovered in front of her face, and she was a little taken aback at the sight of Nico di Angelo standing eerily next to her, wearing only his black T-shirt and jeans that was held to his waist by a skull belt. He wasn't chattering his teeth to smithereens.

"Take it," he said. "I'm used to the cold."

Reyna reluctantly obliged and muttered her thanks as she slid the jacket on her. It smelled of earth, evergreen leaves and incense, and also a faint musky scent that she quickly associated with the son of Hades after their few days of travel. At the corner of her eye, she saw him take a seat next to her, but with a few inches of distance away from her than a regular person would have permitted. They stared at the sky in silence.

"I'm impressed, Ambassador of Pluto," Reyna admitted. "I did not bet that we would make it this far."

Nico frowned. "Same here. Honestly, shadow-traveling west with a forty feet statue on your back and a downpour of monsters was the easiest thing I've ever done in my life."

"You have backup," she intoned. "And that is probably because we have Hedge the protector with us. Violent creature, that satyr."

Nico's lips formed a smile that Reyna also associated with glass, easily breakable. "Not like those sniveling idiots back in Camp Jupiter, eh?"

"I admit they are, uh, quite incompetent compared to the Greek's. I've met one of yours before. 'One of the Council of Cloven Elders', he said. He was accompanying your Oracle to our grounds and turned our centurions' pilas into trees with his reed pipes."

Nico chuckled, amused. "That must be Grover. He's the anti-Hedge. He likes turning swords into sunflowers."

"I like satyrs better," Reyna decided. "They seem to have more sense, and they try to make a difference in this world. And he," she pointed towards their companion's tent. "Makes everything less mortifying, I suppose, when he's not challenging harmless boulders to a duel to the death."

The boy beside her responded with a grunt she knew was acknowledging what she just said but didn't have anything more to add. This gave Reyna a time to study his profile a little more closely than she had ever done, and she took in Nico's heavily slouched back and slender shoulders. His black shirt highlighted the muscles on his arms, and his jaw looked surprisingly strong. His nose was crooked, and there was a small line that ran beneath his left ear, faint and almost dismal, probably a scar from when he was younger. He had eyes too intense to be described as beautiful, dangerous and somewhat incriminating. He was too sad for his age, and Reyna wondered what had this boy done to warrant all the tragedies that happened in his life.

"Annabeth told me about you," she started, and she was a little surprised that she was engaging her own thoughts out loud. "Well, about you and Tartarus. That was really remarkable, how you managed it on your own."

It took a moment for Nico to respond. "Just barely," he croaked. "But that's a nice surprise. What else did she tell you?" This time, Nico's voice hardened. A few cracks of bitterness and anger were showing, but that was because Reyna was so attuned to listening to other people. Or that was what she believed.

Reyna knew she had overstepped a boundary, but she breezed on. She'd had her own share of experience in taking risks. She already calculated this talk in her head, taking it in different angles, and she had always considered the advice Hazel gave her.

He's not exactly a people-person, his half-sister told Reyna a few minutes before she was to shadow-travel for the first time, arming herself for information about her new, strange companion. He's quite difficult to understand but once you try, he's not so bad.

"Nothing much, I guess. The general bits. You being born in the 30s, your sister, the Kindly Ones, you and Percy – "

"I get it!" Nico interrupted, his face edgy. Regretting the uncalled for outburst, he sighed. "Just the basics. That's fine. I guess we do have to be on the constant look out for any potential enemies, then."

Well, Hazel was right about the not a people-person part. Reyna gritted her teeth. "That wasn't what I was trying to say – "

"I know," he breathed. "I know. Sorry." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I, uh – I don't really like talking about it. My past, I mean. I don't really remember much of it so it's more of a frustration."

She nodded. She knew where that came from. "The past can be a curse sometimes. A burden."

"And of course the future isn't a ray of sunshine either. Especially with Octavian spouting couplets about your death like it's a measly walk in a park."

"I hate him." Reyna grimaced. It was the first time she ever admitted straight-out about her feelings of animosity towards the augur, and she felt her shoulders loosen a little. "I hate Octavian with every fiber of my being."

Nico did not seem to be surprised by her sudden confession. "Yeah, he's a manipulative ass," he agreed, swatting a mosquito with the back of his hand. "I wish he would just choke on his own toys, but that would have been too easy a death."

Reyna was seething in anger, remembering that Octavian might be surging towards Camp Half-Blood by now, openly disobeying her orders and giving her another headache to fix. "I should've let my dogs tear him to pieces when I had the chance. Jason and I argued about Octavian constantly when he was praetor. Jason, I mean. Unfortunately, Octavian is the only child of Apollo who understood the ancient laws of prophecy – "

"Yet."

" – and that gave him a seat in the Senate. Jason commissioned a bend in the rules, but I knew it was impossible. After all, Octavian is a valuable asset in Rome."

"Still not an excuse for being an insufferable prick."

Reyna laughed out loud. "I suppose you could say that."

Nico thought of something. "You and Jason seem to go way back."

If Nico noticed Reyna stiffen, he did not make any comments. "We were captains of the same ship, so to speak. We had to work against the Titans, and Octavian at some point. He's… a capable leader when he puts his mind to it." She didn't need to mention the almost thing she had with Jason. Completely irrelevant, definitely.

Nico snorted. "He's a nosy Miss Goody-Two-Shoes with a penis, if you don't mind my saying so."

Was it really the second time this night that Reyna laughed? It was two times more than she was used to. "Brash words, son of the Underworld. You're quite right, but I in fact believe that's what made Jason popular in his cohort, and what made him a formidable leader and opponent in the field. He particularly is nosy. 'Group cohesion', he used to say. Things like that." She snickered once more.

"He sorta annoys me sometimes," Nico commented dryly. "But yeah, he's a swell guy. I'll pick him over Octavian any day."

"You sound like you are rather well-acquainted," Reyna responded.

It was Nico's turn to tense up. "Uhh, we've had our times. A couple of trips to Croatia. We're okay."

Whatever it was that happened in Croatia, he seemed to be pretty bothered about it, but Reyna decided to let the matter drop. She was getting the hang of it, this whole whatever it was with Nico di Angelo. It seemed to lighten the baggage, and for the first time in a few years since Jason, she's glad she could have a person she could trust for a while. She found a confidant, and if Nico was aware that he had a share of the burden, he wasn't complaining.

Reyna decided to brave the waters one last time. "Are we okay?" she asked him.

Nico turned to look at her for almost a minute before breaking into that blink-and-you'll-miss-it smile she knew now, and would recognize even a mile away.

"Yeah," he replied in a voice as strong as hers. "We're okay."

~0~

A/N: OH NICO BBY HOW ABOUT US ARE WE OKAY?

Thank you for reading and please review!