fic: So Far Yet So Close
Title: So Far Yet So Close
Word Count: 2,086
Characters/Pairings: Reyna/Pollux (a crackship from thedamfbrp)
Warnings/Spoilers:N/A
Notes: Like most of my fics this took approximately 9 months to write...and I thought I needed to finish it these holidays. I've wanted to write fic for these two for a while, just couldn't think of a scenario, and then I thought of a super angsty, sad one so apologies if this makes you cry. Dedicated to 12thvampire and nurblet because they are my fellow sailors on this ship that is Reyna/Pollux. It's obviously not canon, and 100% based on the RP, and if you're not part of it you'd probably not get this at all.
(Recommended but you don't have to, I was listening to this song and this song while I was writing. Have a listen while you read, it adds to the ~ambience~ or I'm just trying extra hard to make you cry.)
January 9th. Normally Pollux would be a-okay on this day, but not since the Battle of The Labyrinth. After that day, too much had changed all too quickly.
It still chilled him to the bone returning to an empty cabin back at camp, even after a spectacular party thrown in his honor. Miranda and Mitchell had outdone themselves once again, but he still felt a chunk of himself missing like he always did.
He didn’t think it was the best of times, but he found himself standing in front of the mirror, staring grimly at his reflection.
A heavy sigh filled the lonely room.
“Hey, man.” He began quietly. His eyes bore into his own but in them, he saw someone else. He felt shaky; the floor shifted restlessly beneath his feet, forcing him to pull up a chair for support. “I-I guess it’s a pretty special day, huh?”
He kept his gaze focused on the reflection, “I hope you’re really partying it up down there. Show them how it’s done.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the thought of his twin having a blast. That’s all he wanted, really.
Three years hadn’t been enough time to fill the void in his soul. He hated that he couldn’t control his teeth forming a cringe every time he passed a reflective surface. The mere mention of the word Castor felt like tiny needles pricking at him.
But when there’s a will, there’s a way and he slowly started to believe he was healing again.
However, demigod life wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t long before Pollux found himself and the rest of his kind in a raging war against Mother Earth herself. The idea that it could occur twice was absurd to him, no one’s luck could possibly be that rotten.
It soon became evident to him that it was indeed possible and Pollux realized just how cruel the fates could be.
“There’s…there’s someone I want you to look out for.” He swallowed thickly. Her face flashed through his mind.
Mysterious, obsidian eyes framed by thick strands of hair just as dark. She did not smile, eyes cold. The life in her; gone.
Pollux willed the image out of his mind. It’d been weeks since the war ended and he wanted nothing more than to see her face full of life again. A hint of a smile, the wrinkling of her nose, even the roll of her eyes would have been enough to reassure him, but he knew it wasn’t possible anymore.
Dreams had become nightmares. Scenes of terror filled his empty subconscious, even if he hadn’t been there himself to witness them.
Both camps had fought as one, even if they faced the enemy hundreds of miles apart. Gaia had sent a wave of her monsters to both camps and both had to defend their home with the absence of the seven. Camp Half Blood had stood their ground, and after the last beast disintegrated into dust they sent out a scouting team to survey the damage at the Roman Camp. Of course Pollux had insisted to go.
And that’s when the news hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Purple cloak, you really can’t miss her.”
Her body lay among the rubble; lifeless, like a broken rag doll, and that was what filled his mind every night. He swore he could still hear Hylla’s hysterical cries echoing in the chilled night air. Just thought of it ate away at him as he lay in silence.
She was a hero. He heard them say. She died with honour. She’ll never be forgotten. These words drifted round and round at the memorial service, but they meant nothing to him.
She was so much more than that.
He rarely enjoyed sitting around the fire back at Camp Half Blood anymore, the smell of smoke alone was too much to bear. He remembered the purple smoke that rose into the sky on the day, hints of gold following behind.
Running his hands down his face, he shook his head, forcing these thoughts from his mind. His eyes met the ones in the mirror once more, “Well, knowing you, you probably will miss her. You’re just a scatterbrain like that.” A real smile formed on his face this time.
“Long black hair, the silkiest, and maybe they smell a bit like raspberries. But don’t quote me on that one. With matching eyes. Well, her eyes aren’t silky and they don’t smell like raspberries either, that’d just be weird.” Pollux found himself chuckling and suddenly the cabin didn’t seem so empty anymore. “They are pretty damn mesmerizing though. Careful, even you might get lost in them.”
His gaze wandered to the frame of the mirror, and he picked a thin strip of film off from its spot. “She doesn’t smile a lot, hell, her laughs are even rarer but…when she does, savor it. It’s the best thing you could ever see on her.” Pollux ran his finger over the last picture, the events of said photograph running clear through his mind, and he didn’t want them to ever leave.
“She’s probably the most uncultured person out there when it comes to pop culture. It’s kind of cute, really but don’t tell her I said that.” He saw her wrinkling her nose when he insisted on playing a certain boyband song for her on his iPod. “I’ve done what I can, but you’re gonna have to take over. I think she might be a closeted Taylor Swift fan though, you can use that to ease her into it.” Pollux found himself grinning, something he hadn’t done for a long time.
“Workaholic. Stresses too much. Pretty sure her first love was…is paperwork. Awesome fighter though. Did I mention she was the praetor of the Roman Twelfth Legion Fulminata? Kick ass, right?”
A part of him wondered how it made sense that she was the one to go when the rest of her legion got to stay. But that was just it. “She may seem like the coldest, cruelest person in the world but trust me on this, bro. Reyna…she was so compassionate, if she cares about something, she really cares.”
It sounded like an understatement coming out of his mouth, and he knew it was. “She did it for the legion, her people. And I guess…I’m proud of her. I’m proud of what she did.” Of course he’d wished she didn’t, but that was the selfish route and Pollux understood the praetor had to do their duty. But he still constantly thought of the proper goodbye he never got.
“I never did get to tell her, y’know….” His feet grazed against the hollow, wooden floor of the cabin. The scuffing noises echoed throughout the room. He set the photo back in its place. “The war…it was tough, man. Lost more than I can count.” He remembers the day he and the rest of the Greeks were deployed back to Camp Half Blood, Gaia was laying siege to their home and it only made sense for them to return and defend what was theirs.
Though she didn’t say so, Reyna didn’t like the idea one bit. She had tried her best to hide it but to Pollux, the worry in her eyes was too evident. He had felt Reyna shake in his arms as he held her. The trembling of her lips against his lingered, but he knew she understood what had to be done.
That was the last time he saw life in her, and it passed him by much too quickly. She may have seemed terrified but she was alive and that gave Pollux hope that he had something to return to.
Had.
He suddenly found it harder to swallow. “Tell her…tell her I miss her.” His hands made their way into his jean pockets. “Can’t really call anyone ‘princess’ now…just doesn’t suit them enough. Not even Mitchell. Crazy as it sounds, but I kind of miss looking after her whenever she got ill. Yeah… I know being sick isn’t a good thing, but…it was kind of adorable. Meant even she could be vulnerable and I guess occasionally…needed someone to care for her.”
There was a thunderous knock at the door, followed by someone yelling rude obscenities. It could only be Miranda, a very drunk Miranda. Of course it wasn’t party fashion to be cooped up all alone in your cabin talking to your reflection. Especially when the party was in honour of your birthday.
Pollux sighed and started for the door, but he found himself turning back to the mirror one last time. “Just…tell her I lo-“ He willed himself to stop. He couldn’t understand why, but it hurt too much to say.
Shaking his head, he met his own stare in the reflection and thought back on the memories. Yes, there were bad ones, but the good ones filled his mind just as much. There was always a reason to smile, so he did.
“Tell her she owes me big time. If it wasn’t for me, Aurum and Argentum would’ve never found a new home.”
+++++
Reyna had never thought about The Underworld, she never pictured what it would look like, let alone imagined what it would smell like. So as she wrinkled her nose, she definitely wasn’t impressed with the damp, mossy smell of the place. She supposed she couldn’t really expect more, there was no sunshine in The Underworld after all.
She surveyed her surroundings as the line of souls in front of her shifted forward inch by inch. It felt like she’d been standing in it for hours and the grey mist forming above their heads was becoming eerier and eerier by the second.
The casualties of the war hadn’t been low and Reyna could see that, but she hadn’t spotted anyone she knew, or at least personally. She knew she was meant to feel relief, but she couldn’t ignore the sudden loneliness and emptiness building up inside her.
Reyna was left to face death, all on her own.
She held a straight face throughout judgment, oddly enough she never expected William Shakespeare to be the one reviewing everything she did in her life. Even in death she had a reputation to uphold and she knew breaking down and bawling into her hands wasn’t an option. No matter how unprepared she was to die.
Her fingers quivered even after she was granted passage to Elysium. What was she to do now? The heavy doors creaked open and she and several others took their wary steps into eternity. She was scared and she despised it.
There were souls everywhere, none of which she recognized. It might have seemed silly, but she had never felt more fear in her existence. Unfamiliar spirits passed her on all sides and she wanted nothing more to have one, just one person she knew with her.
Reyna studied the world around her up until something caught her eye. Blonde hair sticking up in all directions, the cheeky grin.
It can’t be.
She took a reluctant step towards the distant figure, her eyes unmoving. Every stride she took became quicker and quicker until those familiar purple eyes became so clear they were staring straight back into hers.
Reyna froze in place.
He was there, right in front of her and she couldn’t have been hallucinating. Couldn’t have been. He was real. So real she could reach out and touch him. He was in Elysium with her.
“H-how…how?”
She didn’t wait for a reply, how could she after everything?
His airy laugh filled her ears as she threw her arms around him, but even then…she knew it was too good to be real. She had wished it more than anything else and she knew it was selfish, that’s why it would never happen. Despite all this she never let him go.
She felt his hands run through her hair, no matter how unfamiliar it should’ve felt she could still sense Pollux next to her.
“Nice to meet you, you must be Reyna.”
The voice sounded just like him, she could even hear the smile and all. Although she didn’t think it was possible, Reyna soon found herself smiling again.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Because even if he was still breathing and she was not, a part of him would still always be around…and she could accept that.
Word Count: 2,086
Characters/Pairings: Reyna/Pollux (a crackship from thedamfbrp)
Warnings/Spoilers:N/A
Notes: Like most of my fics this took approximately 9 months to write...and I thought I needed to finish it these holidays. I've wanted to write fic for these two for a while, just couldn't think of a scenario, and then I thought of a super angsty, sad one so apologies if this makes you cry. Dedicated to 12thvampire and nurblet because they are my fellow sailors on this ship that is Reyna/Pollux. It's obviously not canon, and 100% based on the RP, and if you're not part of it you'd probably not get this at all.
(Recommended but you don't have to, I was listening to this song and this song while I was writing. Have a listen while you read, it adds to the ~ambience~ or I'm just trying extra hard to make you cry.)
January 9th. Normally Pollux would be a-okay on this day, but not since the Battle of The Labyrinth. After that day, too much had changed all too quickly.
It still chilled him to the bone returning to an empty cabin back at camp, even after a spectacular party thrown in his honor. Miranda and Mitchell had outdone themselves once again, but he still felt a chunk of himself missing like he always did.
He didn’t think it was the best of times, but he found himself standing in front of the mirror, staring grimly at his reflection.
A heavy sigh filled the lonely room.
“Hey, man.” He began quietly. His eyes bore into his own but in them, he saw someone else. He felt shaky; the floor shifted restlessly beneath his feet, forcing him to pull up a chair for support. “I-I guess it’s a pretty special day, huh?”
He kept his gaze focused on the reflection, “I hope you’re really partying it up down there. Show them how it’s done.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips at the thought of his twin having a blast. That’s all he wanted, really.
Three years hadn’t been enough time to fill the void in his soul. He hated that he couldn’t control his teeth forming a cringe every time he passed a reflective surface. The mere mention of the word Castor felt like tiny needles pricking at him.
But when there’s a will, there’s a way and he slowly started to believe he was healing again.
However, demigod life wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t long before Pollux found himself and the rest of his kind in a raging war against Mother Earth herself. The idea that it could occur twice was absurd to him, no one’s luck could possibly be that rotten.
It soon became evident to him that it was indeed possible and Pollux realized just how cruel the fates could be.
“There’s…there’s someone I want you to look out for.” He swallowed thickly. Her face flashed through his mind.
Mysterious, obsidian eyes framed by thick strands of hair just as dark. She did not smile, eyes cold. The life in her; gone.
Pollux willed the image out of his mind. It’d been weeks since the war ended and he wanted nothing more than to see her face full of life again. A hint of a smile, the wrinkling of her nose, even the roll of her eyes would have been enough to reassure him, but he knew it wasn’t possible anymore.
Dreams had become nightmares. Scenes of terror filled his empty subconscious, even if he hadn’t been there himself to witness them.
Both camps had fought as one, even if they faced the enemy hundreds of miles apart. Gaia had sent a wave of her monsters to both camps and both had to defend their home with the absence of the seven. Camp Half Blood had stood their ground, and after the last beast disintegrated into dust they sent out a scouting team to survey the damage at the Roman Camp. Of course Pollux had insisted to go.
And that’s when the news hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Purple cloak, you really can’t miss her.”
Her body lay among the rubble; lifeless, like a broken rag doll, and that was what filled his mind every night. He swore he could still hear Hylla’s hysterical cries echoing in the chilled night air. Just thought of it ate away at him as he lay in silence.
She was a hero. He heard them say. She died with honour. She’ll never be forgotten. These words drifted round and round at the memorial service, but they meant nothing to him.
She was so much more than that.
He rarely enjoyed sitting around the fire back at Camp Half Blood anymore, the smell of smoke alone was too much to bear. He remembered the purple smoke that rose into the sky on the day, hints of gold following behind.
Running his hands down his face, he shook his head, forcing these thoughts from his mind. His eyes met the ones in the mirror once more, “Well, knowing you, you probably will miss her. You’re just a scatterbrain like that.” A real smile formed on his face this time.
“Long black hair, the silkiest, and maybe they smell a bit like raspberries. But don’t quote me on that one. With matching eyes. Well, her eyes aren’t silky and they don’t smell like raspberries either, that’d just be weird.” Pollux found himself chuckling and suddenly the cabin didn’t seem so empty anymore. “They are pretty damn mesmerizing though. Careful, even you might get lost in them.”
His gaze wandered to the frame of the mirror, and he picked a thin strip of film off from its spot. “She doesn’t smile a lot, hell, her laughs are even rarer but…when she does, savor it. It’s the best thing you could ever see on her.” Pollux ran his finger over the last picture, the events of said photograph running clear through his mind, and he didn’t want them to ever leave.
“She’s probably the most uncultured person out there when it comes to pop culture. It’s kind of cute, really but don’t tell her I said that.” He saw her wrinkling her nose when he insisted on playing a certain boyband song for her on his iPod. “I’ve done what I can, but you’re gonna have to take over. I think she might be a closeted Taylor Swift fan though, you can use that to ease her into it.” Pollux found himself grinning, something he hadn’t done for a long time.
“Workaholic. Stresses too much. Pretty sure her first love was…is paperwork. Awesome fighter though. Did I mention she was the praetor of the Roman Twelfth Legion Fulminata? Kick ass, right?”
A part of him wondered how it made sense that she was the one to go when the rest of her legion got to stay. But that was just it. “She may seem like the coldest, cruelest person in the world but trust me on this, bro. Reyna…she was so compassionate, if she cares about something, she really cares.”
It sounded like an understatement coming out of his mouth, and he knew it was. “She did it for the legion, her people. And I guess…I’m proud of her. I’m proud of what she did.” Of course he’d wished she didn’t, but that was the selfish route and Pollux understood the praetor had to do their duty. But he still constantly thought of the proper goodbye he never got.
“I never did get to tell her, y’know….” His feet grazed against the hollow, wooden floor of the cabin. The scuffing noises echoed throughout the room. He set the photo back in its place. “The war…it was tough, man. Lost more than I can count.” He remembers the day he and the rest of the Greeks were deployed back to Camp Half Blood, Gaia was laying siege to their home and it only made sense for them to return and defend what was theirs.
Though she didn’t say so, Reyna didn’t like the idea one bit. She had tried her best to hide it but to Pollux, the worry in her eyes was too evident. He had felt Reyna shake in his arms as he held her. The trembling of her lips against his lingered, but he knew she understood what had to be done.
That was the last time he saw life in her, and it passed him by much too quickly. She may have seemed terrified but she was alive and that gave Pollux hope that he had something to return to.
Had.
He suddenly found it harder to swallow. “Tell her…tell her I miss her.” His hands made their way into his jean pockets. “Can’t really call anyone ‘princess’ now…just doesn’t suit them enough. Not even Mitchell. Crazy as it sounds, but I kind of miss looking after her whenever she got ill. Yeah… I know being sick isn’t a good thing, but…it was kind of adorable. Meant even she could be vulnerable and I guess occasionally…needed someone to care for her.”
There was a thunderous knock at the door, followed by someone yelling rude obscenities. It could only be Miranda, a very drunk Miranda. Of course it wasn’t party fashion to be cooped up all alone in your cabin talking to your reflection. Especially when the party was in honour of your birthday.
Pollux sighed and started for the door, but he found himself turning back to the mirror one last time. “Just…tell her I lo-“ He willed himself to stop. He couldn’t understand why, but it hurt too much to say.
Shaking his head, he met his own stare in the reflection and thought back on the memories. Yes, there were bad ones, but the good ones filled his mind just as much. There was always a reason to smile, so he did.
“Tell her she owes me big time. If it wasn’t for me, Aurum and Argentum would’ve never found a new home.”
+++++
Reyna had never thought about The Underworld, she never pictured what it would look like, let alone imagined what it would smell like. So as she wrinkled her nose, she definitely wasn’t impressed with the damp, mossy smell of the place. She supposed she couldn’t really expect more, there was no sunshine in The Underworld after all.
She surveyed her surroundings as the line of souls in front of her shifted forward inch by inch. It felt like she’d been standing in it for hours and the grey mist forming above their heads was becoming eerier and eerier by the second.
The casualties of the war hadn’t been low and Reyna could see that, but she hadn’t spotted anyone she knew, or at least personally. She knew she was meant to feel relief, but she couldn’t ignore the sudden loneliness and emptiness building up inside her.
Reyna was left to face death, all on her own.
She held a straight face throughout judgment, oddly enough she never expected William Shakespeare to be the one reviewing everything she did in her life. Even in death she had a reputation to uphold and she knew breaking down and bawling into her hands wasn’t an option. No matter how unprepared she was to die.
Her fingers quivered even after she was granted passage to Elysium. What was she to do now? The heavy doors creaked open and she and several others took their wary steps into eternity. She was scared and she despised it.
There were souls everywhere, none of which she recognized. It might have seemed silly, but she had never felt more fear in her existence. Unfamiliar spirits passed her on all sides and she wanted nothing more to have one, just one person she knew with her.
Reyna studied the world around her up until something caught her eye. Blonde hair sticking up in all directions, the cheeky grin.
It can’t be.
She took a reluctant step towards the distant figure, her eyes unmoving. Every stride she took became quicker and quicker until those familiar purple eyes became so clear they were staring straight back into hers.
Reyna froze in place.
He was there, right in front of her and she couldn’t have been hallucinating. Couldn’t have been. He was real. So real she could reach out and touch him. He was in Elysium with her.
“H-how…how?”
She didn’t wait for a reply, how could she after everything?
His airy laugh filled her ears as she threw her arms around him, but even then…she knew it was too good to be real. She had wished it more than anything else and she knew it was selfish, that’s why it would never happen. Despite all this she never let him go.
She felt his hands run through her hair, no matter how unfamiliar it should’ve felt she could still sense Pollux next to her.
“Nice to meet you, you must be Reyna.”
The voice sounded just like him, she could even hear the smile and all. Although she didn’t think it was possible, Reyna soon found herself smiling again.
“I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Because even if he was still breathing and she was not, a part of him would still always be around…and she could accept that.