~Percy~
I woke up to a kiss. Annabeth was looking at me, that bright, hopeful smile tugging at my lips even before I fully opened my eyes. A soft light filtered through the blue curtains, painting the room in shades of dawn.
“Whyyyy?” I groaned, stretching. “Months since I’ve gotten a full night’s sleep. Why do you wake me up so early?”
Annabeth’s smile widened, almost too wide.
“It’s the big day, Seaweed Brain. Remember? Frank and Hazel’s wedding…”
Right. The wedding. We hadn't even gotten *around* to a gift yet. A knot of anxiety tightened in my chest. It felt like we had so much to do before the ceremony, a few extra hours weren’t going to cut it.
Suddenly, a shriek ripped through the quiet.
“Moooooommy!!!!!!”
Annabeth bolted down the stairs. Whatever disaster was unfolding, she needed to be on it fast before it escalated. I dragged myself out of bed, skipping the shirt, and stumbled towards the kitchen, still half-asleep. My feet didn't register the toy left at the top of the stairs. I tripped. And tumbled down the stairs on my butt.
Annabeth was already there, cradling our daughter, Silena. Her hair was black as mine, but she had Annabeth’s stormy grey eyes, already alight with intelligence. She was wearing a little blue and green dress, soaked through.
“Do you think I can handle a third one?” Annabeth asked, a familiar wink in her eye.
“Daddy hurt?” Silena asked, her voice small and worried.
“No, Silena, Daddy’s not hurt.” I reached for her, kissed her forehead. She stretched her arms, demanding to be held. Annabeth let her go, and Silena latched onto me, soaking wet. Her dress was darker than usual, dripping onto my pajama pants.
“What happened, my love?” I asked. She took a deep breath, her little chest puffing out. She was getting ready to explain.
“Me wanted to be like you, Daddy!” She threw her arms in the air. “Me wanted to control the waaaater! But then the sink went KABOOM and now there is water EVERYWHERE!” She giggled, hiding her face in her tiny hands.
I kissed her again. I set her down, and she took off running, hopefully not back to the sink. I turned to Annabeth, pulling her close. The stairs, the sink… it wasn’t exactly a promising start to the day.
The sink…
Water was everywhere in the kitchen. Without letting Annabeth go, I dried the floor, the water obeying my command. Being a son of Poseidon really did come in handy, sometimes.
So my daughter had my powers. It wasn’t the first time she’d used them. She was only a few months old when we realized. Annabeth was trying to give her a bath, and Silena’s hair just… stayed dry. I was so proud.
“Mom and Dad are kissing! Gross!”
I rolled my eyes. My seven-year-old son, Luke, took off running the moment I looked at him. We’d struggled to find a name for a boy. We knew we wanted to name our first daughter Silena, after Silena Beauregard, that brave daughter of Aphrodite who died a hero. But a boy?
“Luke,” Annabeth had blurted out. “Let’s call him Luke.”
There was a painful story behind that name, but we wanted to give it a second chance. Luke was born blonde, like Annabeth.
I chased after my son, holding Annabeth’s hand, and caught him quickly. I held him, and he squirmed, trying to escape. He was tall for his age, stronger than the others, but he wasn’t interested in sports. He preferred to read, or play with Silena.
“Yes, I kiss Mom sometimes, because I love her,” I said, kissing Annabeth’s hand.
“Dad!” Luke protested.
I hugged him a little tighter, then headed upstairs to get dressed. When I came back down, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to find Leo, one of my best friends, grinning at me. He was holding Calypso’s hand. They were both smiling. I let them in, and my kids descended on them.
“Uncle Leo! Aunt Calypso!”
“Do you have a gift, Uncle Leo? Also, my mini dragon broke. Can you fix it?”
Leo laughed, hugging Luke and Silena. Calypso stood awkwardly by the door, still getting used to the modern world after years on her island. I exchanged a glance with her, the same one we always shared since she came back. I didn’t remember talking with her when she came back with Festus, but with one glance we understood each other. I was apologizing and she was forgiving me. I’d paid dearly after forgetting Calypso in Tartarus, and Annabeth had suffered along with her. I tried to push the memory away, now that Calypso was free and happy with Leo.
Calypso lit up when she saw the kids. Leo lit up literally. My daughter shouted that his nose was on fire.
“It’s okay, it happens all the time!” Leo laughed.
Silena was really enjoying herself, already telling Leo about the sink incident while Luke led Calypso to the living room, where he’d built a train station. I was happy to see my children so carefree. I couldn’t imagine them going through what I had as a teenager. Fighting monsters, watching friends die, fighting for my own life… For now, we were safe in New Rome. But I always had a bitter taste in my mouth thinking about my children, who would probably have to train and fight the same monsters I had to fight when I was a teenager. At least for now, we could protect them, and they weren’t outsiders at school because every kid in their classes had ADHD.
Annabeth put a hand on my shoulder. She knew what I was thinking, and she saw the relief in my eyes.
“Ready to go?” she asked. I nodded.
I said goodbye to Luke and Silena, urging them to be kind to Leo and Calypso, but they were already mesmerized by the gifts Leo had brought. Annabeth and I needed to find a gift for the wedding, and quickly.
Our house was on a quiet street in New Rome. A lot of young families like ours had found a place to live in our neighborhood. There were often little kids running in the streets and young couples taking a walk during hot summer days. Since the war against Gaea, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were closer. There were no more tensions between the camps, and they were both open to all demigods, no matter if their godly parent was Greek or Roman. With their families, they had a home anywhere and felt safe and accepted. All this thanks to Jason Grace.
Jason was doing the trip between the two camps every month. He invited the campers at Camp Half-Blood to visit Camp Jupiter for a summer and even go to college there. That's what Annabeth and I did. Through the years, the camps moved to make it easier for the half-bloods to do the trip. Camp Jupiter was now closer to Long Island, to make it faster to travel to Europe, where more and more quests took place. It was almost like one big camp where Greeks and Romans blended their culture.
There were many shops in New Rome, and I was sure we’d find something for Frank and Hazel. We entered a small shop selling antiquities. There were old clocks, small wooden sculptures, and paintings. Annabeth and I wandered through the shop, commenting on every item, taking notes for future gifts.
It took us a few minutes to find the perfect gift for Hazel and Frank…