Coming Back [A ReyNico FanFic]

Unsaid Goodbyes

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I'm so, so, so sorry for the late update, guys! I've been so busy lately, especially with the final exams and with two grades to boost and with a scholarship to take care of. . . The semester just ended, but I'm really worried because I might not find a job for Christmas break. Oh, gods, I'm so stressed out right now. If you guys are starting to lose interest because I update too slow, just let me know. :(

Also, thanks for the 6k reads and the tons of patience you're giving me. You have no idea how much that warms my heart. ❤❤

This chapter may seem like a filler chapter on the first glance, but it's actually like a preparation for the next one. I feel like this is asking too much, but please don't skip. Even though the paragraphs are really long.

Nico
It was still dark when Nico woke up, but he could already hear the legionnaires marching as a part of their morning training.

It wasn't the kind of alarm clock ordinary people would like, but it was pretty darn effective.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes. The cool blankets slipped off his bare shoulders as he reached for a shirt at the foot of the bed. His possessions were not sent to him after he left Camp Half-Blood, so he had to make do with silly supermart clothes and camp shirts. The gate to Camp Half-Blood had broken down after Reyna had gotten through, according to Leo. So basically, both camps had no easy contact.

Nico remembered perfectly the hissy fit Leo had thrown regarding the matter via Skype.

"Yeah, your girlfriend tested the gate, which was yet to be tested. And we were about to do that in a controlled environment!" Leo had said menacingly, unaware that Nico was in Reyna's study and she was hearing every word. "And then it stopped working. The bulbs went out, the buttons exploded and the rainbow disappeared. Hear me? The rainbow disappeared."

"Shame," Reyna had muttered, scooting close to Nico so that Leo could see her. "At least you got your results, huh, Leo? The gate only works once."

Leo looked so shocked that Nico had to suppress a smile. "So, are you going to send us our stuff or not?" he asked instead.

"We are," Annabeth, who was behind Leo, had replied. "We'll send it to you next morning."

Well, that was a half lie. Only Reyna's stuff came. Nico's things? Probably still in his cabin, waiting to be noticed.

He had been staying at Camp Jupiter for a couple of months now, but he still felt like he was adjusting. The Twelfth Legion Fulminata was different from the demigods in Camp Half-Blood. Not to mention their activities were a lot more brutal and loud. He almost got trampled by Hannibal the War Elephant in the war games yesterday, and he wasn't even playing. Who would've thought refereeing alongside Reyna and Frank could almost turn you into a pancake?

Speaking of Reyna, Nico couldn't look at her without feeling a strange rush of guilt and melancholy. He had felt like that for months, since the night he shadow-traveled to the Roman camp and found her. . .

He had felt really bad about their argument. He really had. It was stupid, how he had decided to let go when she needed him the most. But at that time, she made it seem like he couldn't be trusted. The thing was, although they had been through a lot, he felt like he understood so little about her. It seemed like she was always changing, like she was still continuing to build walls around herself. This hurt him in a way he couldn't really justify.

Those days of being apart were Nico's worst.

There were times when Nico would just find himself in front of Reyna's cabin, wishing he could talk to her and make her see sense. And there was that time where he was determined to talk to her, only to chicken out and hide in the edge of the woods when she passed him by. Megan had found him there, and the son of Aphrodite had said things that Nico couldn't simply brush off.