𝙼𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚒𝚊 (𝙇𝙚𝙤 𝙑𝙖𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙯 𝙓 𝙊𝙘)

είκοσι εφτά

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Elena hadn't slept that night (not that she hadn't been sleeping inadequately any other night) even more so than usual, she could say the same for Leo who she'd heard running up and down the halls (to keep them on course) as she'd gone to feed Ere who was reaching milestones freakishly fast for a baby. He was sleeping almost all throughout the night.

Typical demigod infancy, Sally Jackson had stated months prior when Ere had sat up without Elena's help at the tender age of 4 months. He'll be walking and wrestling snakes soon Sally Jackson had stated almost nostalgically over the Iris message. Elena shook her head as she recounted how Sally Jackson had offered to take care of Ere while they'd gone questing.

She'd rejected her offer only because she was convinced that it'd be unsafe for her brother to be there on the ground while Gaea was still a threat. Maybe it had been her own selfishness talking she mused as she had laid down to sleep. She rolled to her side watching her brother sleep and she couldn't help but shudder. The position was so motherly and so utterly mundane she had to slap her cheeks to snap out of the weird vibe that had descended on the room. There was some irony to the whole situation as well she supposed.

Elena had never entertained the idea of having children, she was too young and she'd probably never make it to settling down age but there she was sleeping next to a child she'd use the earth as kindling wood for a fire just to keep warm. Ere let out a small mewl of discontent before snuggling closer to her arms.

Elena stared at him wistfully, she wished she had more time. Time as his sister, time as his adoptive mother, time as- gods. Time as a wife. That was another thought she tried to banish from her mind. It just didn't make sense how easy loving Leo was.

She was pretty sure Percy had taken longer to realise he liked Annabeth as more than a friend than she had to fall in love with Leo. But then again people could fall in love in just two days. She was living proof of that, a product of a passionate but short love affair between a human and a god. Whether they loved each other or it was a moment of lust she wasn't so sure but it had happened and she was suffering the consequences of that love.

She shook her head. She'd really, really (seriously really ) only ever entertained the idea of being a wife jokingly when she'd pretended to marry Connor in a game to entertain the younger demigods at camp and that had been so long ago. Now she was seriously entertaining the idea. Thanks a lot, brain. She chided quietly.

Camp Jupiter had been an experience to say the least, Elena had never seen aged demigods until she'd stepped foot in that camp. It wasn't helping her delusions to say the least. She imagined waking up next to Leo every morning, an older looking Leo would kiss her forehead softly, a daughter or son resembling Leo (Elena didn't care about the gender as long as they were healthy) would be snoozing in their cot, Ere would burst into their room jumping on the bed energetically to start their day. Leo would groan as Ere hit a particularly sensitive area in his enthusiasm. Elena would laugh before pulling Ere in between them and snuggling in with her husband and son.

Her life would be a content one, she'd wake up with the ones she loved, She and Leo would compare crows feet and greying hairs as they aged, they'd complain about their back pains as the years went on. They'd watch their family grow, sure; they'd experience loss and grief but they'd experience it together, they'd walk hand in hand until the day their leathery and loose bodies no longer had the strength to do it for them, when that happened, Elena would picture their youth, Leo's smiling face and his warmth, his eyes and his fire.

Elena clenched her shirt tightly feeling hot tears rolled down her nose and wet the pillow. She had never realised how badly she wanted that life. That quiet contentness her mother seemed to have when she'd met Ere's father, she finally understood it and her heart burned with jealousy as she remembered she'd never have that. Not unless she won.