Stucco hearts

Chapter 13

~Two months earlier~

A baby is staring at her.

All big blue eyes and chubby cheeks spit dribbling down its chin. And okay, it's cute, but why is the thing so damn intent on staring her out? She would just look away - quite easily distract herself with Percy who is sitting right next to her, his warmth pressing into her - but she's not about to lose a staring match with an infant.

The bus jostles and Annabeth's shoulder bumps Percy's. They are sat together on the back row, right in the corner and will have to fight their way off when they get to their stop. Annabeth is hoping Percy's paying attention to their surroundings because she's pretty occupied by stare baby.

"He likes you," the baby's mother notes, forcing Annabeth's eyes up to her face. She smiles and bounces her baby in her lap. She's young - younger than Annabeth is - and looks exhausted, with dark circles against already dark skin shadowing her eyes. But she looks happy as she watches her baby.

"He's gorgeous," Annabeth says, feeling Percy lean forward against her arm to get a look at the topic of discussion. "What's his name?"

"Armin."

Annabeth smiles and looks back at the baby, he has now reached out to grab her curls which are falling loose over her shoulder. She forces herself not to wince and pull her hair out of the baby's grip. Leela has always been obsessed with her hair, so much that she used to pull it out.

Percy laughs. "Kids love Annabeth," he says fondly, it only makes her squirm a little.

The woman smiles at them both, glancing at Percy's left hand on Annabeth's knee and probably spotting the wedding band there. "Do you have children?"

Not yet.

"No," Percy says.

Her eyebrows rise. "Oh. When did you meet?"

Annabeth looks at her husband. "We're coming up to a year now, right?"

He nods, smiling that wonderful smile. "Will be in November, yeah."

"And no children yet?" the woman says, sounding shocked. "My husband and I were given the order two months after our marriage."

"Wow."

Annabeth doesn't know what else to say. She can't imagine being given an order only two months after knowing Percy. It took longer than that to accept him in her life, and even longer to love him and to consider the idea of having his child. She looks at the woman next to her and the child - happy, ignorant of the world it has been born into - giggling in her lap. And Annabeth wonders how this woman had received that news. Had she welcomed it? Were she and her husband eager to begin their family together? Or had it shot dread into the young woman's veins; thrusting such a weight onto her shoulders at such a young age and after only knowing her husband for a few months?

"This is us," Percy says, jolting Annabeth from her thoughts as he leans over her to press the bell.

They both manage to squirm out of the seats - Annabeth freeing her hair from the baby's chubby fists - and say good bye to the woman.

"Best of luck to you both," she says and it makes Annabeth hesitate.

"And you," she replies.

Percy's hand circles her wrist and tugs her down the aisle. They shove their way off the bus, thanking the driver as they go and are deposited on the sidewalk. Annabeth shivers, zipping her jacket up and wishing she'd worn more layers.

"It shouldn't be this cold in September."

Percy chuckles and wraps an arm around her shoulders and she goes willingly to his side, curling her arm around his waist.