A Moment of Stars | PJO Chaos

Twenty-Four

Sounds of pure joy echo from the royal chambers of Aevum.

One of them being the laughter of the little prince.

Baby Perseus falls into a fit of giggles as his mother pokes his tummy—forgetting the blue rattle he was so enraptured by seconds ago.

"I got you!" She says and tickles him on the floor. Her own smile stretches

"Momma!" He couldn't have been more than a year old, but the little prince was already developing words and phrases. Order's smile widens even more. She knew he would become something great in the future. It was only principal to let him flourish as a child.

"You're such a smart little star, aren't you?" She lifts him in her arms and kisses his forehead. Perseus laughs and babbles in her embrace.

The door to the nursery clicks open, and Chaos walks in with a soft smile on his face. His hair is messy from running his fingers through it, and his eyes shining with warmth. Order beckons him over as Perseus' expression brightens even more and tries to waddle in his father's direction.

The child reaches his arms out and makes grabbing motions with his chubby little hands. "Papa!"

Chaos let's out a boisterous laugh and scoops Perseus into his arms. "How's my little Starburst?" He asks. Perseus babbles and moves his hands around as if explaining what he was doing. Chaos' grin grows wider as he nods along with the occasional 'oh, really?' and 'wow!'.

Order watches fondly as her son and husband interact.

"How was work, dear?" She asks as she stands up and makes her way towards the two.

Chaos brushes his nose against Perseus', making the baby laugh at the ticklish feeling."Busy, as usual. The Council requested that both of us be at the next meeting to discuss the intergalactic-travel dispute by the Triangulum Galaxy."

"Alright then," She hums, "I'll schedule Nyx to watch over the little one, then."

The creator of the universe makes a sound of disapproval and gives Order a knowing look. "Ask Hemera instead. You remember Nyx taught Perseus how to manifest darkness last time she watched over him."

That's right. The entire palace was washed in complete darkness for an entire week before Chaos and Order figured out a way to coax the baby from using his newfound ability.

Order smiles at the memory, already creating the mental note. "Alright, Hemera it is." Over the next hour, the two entities play with their son with fond gazes and affectionate cooing.

At one point, Perseus made it his goal to try to shove an entire block into his mouth, in which Chaos promptly had to chase him down and take it before the young prince hurt himself.  Perseus squirms himself under the coffee table, summons his wings, and curls them around his body protectively in order to keep Chaos from taking the block. Order sat in the rocking chair, laughing at the comical sight.

Chaos gives Order a pleading look that screamed 'please help me'.

Finally deciding that she's seen enough, she takes matters into her own hands. "Now Perseus." She calls. The firmness in her tone makes the young prince's head peak from the cluster of his feathers. His wide, galaxy-like eyes look into his mother's golden ones. The block is still in his mouth, stretching his cheeks awkwardly. Order struggles to keep from bursting into laughter at the sight. "Come here, Little Nova."

The baby's wings disappear from his back, and he waddles his way to the awaiting arms of his mother with a sad look—knowing he was being scolded. Order promptly takes the now slobber-soaked toy from his mouth and tosses it into the nearby crib. Chaos complains at how the young boy listens to her more than himself, but both parents know he was also struggling to keep from breaking into a grin. Perseus proceeds to babble seriously, hands moving around as if explaining the reason he decided to shove the toy into his mouth.