A/N

. . .

hereguyshaveastoryI'msorryyyyy :(

Fall Into The Sky

(a hundred moments, a single love)

10: years

"Mama! Silas won't stop touching me!"

"Nu-uh!"

Her face dusted with flour and her fingers covered in chocolate frosting, Annabeth Jackson could only let out a half-desperate, half-exasperated sigh. "Silas, leave Charlie alone. Charlie, if your brother's bothering you so much, go somewhere he isn't."

"But Mama-!"

"Do you want this cake or not?" she demanded, turning her head halfway so she could just see the disgruntled little face peering at her from around the kitchen doorframe. Charlie's mouth and nose wrinkled in distaste at the concept before she caught sight of the bowl of chocolate icing at her mother's fingertips. Green eyes grew wide beneath an unruly mop-top of blonde curls (and this was the last time she'd let her husband brush her daughter's hair), and she bit her lip.

"Mama...hey, Mama..."

Annabeth laughed, turning back to her bowl. "No, baby girl."

"Aw, but Mama!"

"Not until it's on the cake and everyone's here."

"But that's not for, like, days!"

"They'll be here in half an hour, Charlie, don't exaggerate." She dipped the plastic spoon into the mixture and dolloped a healthy amount onto the smooth surface of the cooled devil's food cake. She could feel her daughter's intense stare on her arm as she smoothed the frosting out over the surface, coating the cake as much as she could before returning to the bowl for another scoop. It continued for about two more seconds before she felt the stare double in intensity. "Silas," she laughed, not turning around, "you can't have any either."

"Oh, good. I'm still in the running," replied a happy voice. She rolled her eyes and, turning, shot her husband a glare that was belied by the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"No, Seaweed Brain."

"Aw, but Annabeth!"

She laughed. "No, Percy!"

And then he was behind her, arms circling her waist and chin resting on her shoulder. "Aw, but Annabeth! Please? I've been so good. I cleaned and everything."

"Look at you, big macho man cleaning house for a bunch of two-year-olds."

"I still say we should've had a birthday party at one of those centers...Chuck E. Cheese, or something."

"Maybe when he's older, Percy, like Charlie. She had her five-year-old party at the bumper car arena-but she had all her birthdays before that here. I want them to associate birthday with family and home, not with wristbands and commercially-made cakes."

Percy huffed a laugh into the back of her neck, and she tried to ignore the pleasant goosebumps as she scraped more icing from the bowl onto the cake. "Oh, fine. Use logic to defeat me. You know my weaknesses too well, Wise Girl."

"That tends to happen after twelve years of marriage."

He stilled behind her, just breathing against her skin. She paused, too, enjoying the quiet moment. She could hear Charlie playing with her brother on the deck out back ("This balloon is red!" "Wed!"), the soft, rhythmic sounds of the waves breaking on the not-too-distant beach, the quiet ticking of the clock, the soft melody of the chimes, and the gentle pattern of Percy's breaths brushing against her neck. She turned her head towards him and her mouth met his, and he tasted just as new and just as sweet and just as right as he had for the past twelve years.

The moment was broken with a cry of, "MAMA! Silas fell off the deck!"

Percy laughed audibly into the kiss, breaking away but returning for a fleeting reminder. "I'll take care of it," he replied, and, quick as a flash, he dipped his whole hand into the icing bowl and vanished out of the doorway to the deck. She broke out laughing, clutching at the counter.

"Percy Jackson! Stop stealing my icing, or no cake for you!"

Brushing little mirthful tears from the corners of her eyes, she returned to her bowl of icing and her cake. She scooped in one finger, carefully licking it clean before she continued.

Twelve wonderful, wonderful years.

A/N

Hi...

So, um, yeah. Silas (named for Silena) is turning two, and Charlie just turned five. Charlie has blond hair and green eyes (as mentioned in the story), and Silas has black hair and gray eyes (as not mentioned in the story; sorry about that). And...yeah. That's about it.