Stucco hearts

Chapter 16

Percy used to look up at skies like these and call them gray.

He had always missed the different colors that could be splashed among the gray strands of a sky like this one. Sometimes, when the house is quiet and there's nothing else to do, he hunts for those colors in Annabeth's eyes. And when the sky is like this, all misty and shadowy and seemingly nondescript, Percy can find the darker and lighter pieces of blue and gray that he often locates within the eyes of his wife.

Perhaps, if Percy had been paying attention for the first twenty-two years of his life, he would have been able to pick out the different grays in a world that had seemed colorless to him. But he had been so busy searching for something that hadn't existed, and he had never stopped to kick puddles on rainy days and see the different pinks and blues that accompanied his image in the rippling water.

Back then, his reflection had seemed like nothing without his soul mate's next to him. Now, his reflection would seem like nothing without Annabeth Jackson.

The difference between these two things is not lost on him-- will never be lost on him. Never again.

"Did I tell you that I love you at any point today?" Percy questions, tilting his head to the side and frowning. His wife of seven years is standing behind him, her arms wrapped around his torso, her chin on his shoulder. She's equal in height to him with the slight heel on the boots that she's wearing, so when she presses her cold cheek against his, he's able to simply close his eyes and nuzzle softly against her.

"Hmmm," replies Annabeth, speaking just loud enough that he can hear her over the raucous children on the playground. "I think you said it this morning. After I poured coffee into your mug and before you poured it all over your shirt."

"Well, that's a prime timeslot."

"Oh, I know. I feel very privileged."

He turns his head to make a silly face at her and is rewarded with a kiss on his nose. Annabeth leans in closer, so that their noses are pressed together, and says, "I love you too," before pushing his new glasses further up, pressing the bridge against the spot between his eyes. The thick black frames are new, and he isn't quite used to the way they slide down his nose. But Annabeth loves them, and that makes Percy want to wear them every moment of every day, even if he only truly needs them for reading.

Percy is pretty sure that Annabeth is hoping his eyes will get steadily worse until he's forced to wear the glasses constantly. She denies it when he asks, though, and won't stop protesting even when he tickles her. Which doesn't really mean much, except for showing that she feels bad about desiring optical misfortune for him.

"How was work yesterday?"

Percy wrinkles his nose and heaves an exaggerated sigh, letting his warm breath mingle in the cool winter air. Annabeth brings her hands up to his mouth and smirks.

"Put your annoyance to good use, will you?"

Dutifully, he blows hot hair onto her cold hands.

"Work wasn't awful," he says between huffs. "I'm just having a hard time with this one couple. I need them to be honest with me, but they're still treating me like I'm the enemy, not like I'm the only person in that entire building who has the power to help them."

"I think that people who are against the Timers often feel like it's them against the world," Annabeth says mildly, her eyes searching the playground. When she spots Nova, she smiles and waves. The girl returns the wave before refocusing herself on Ben, tousling his dark-hair playfully before giving him another push on the swing. The dark-haired boy screeches in delight, kicking his tiny feet in the air. "Even though they don't always feel congruent with each other, ironically enough."