Blowing off some steam... (PRIVATE: Anime)

Salone snuggled down into the curve of Riley's body, closing her eyes so he wouldn't see the distress on her face. In reality Salone was scared of all the what ifs and the responsibility of someone other than herself. 

"We don't know that... but thanks Riley," She relaxed slightly. "It's the thought that counts."

Salone kept her eyes closed as he talked, "I would think that it would depend on were it was. New demigod powers are cropping up all the time. There is bound for someone to be a shield of some kind... or they can produce magical barrier shields of some sort. If you wanted to have a family, I bet you could convince them to put up monster barriers."

She was thinking out loud again, running her hand through her short blonde hair. It had started growing again, reaching a little past her shoulders and it was regaining some of its old beachy wave.

"It's a possibility," Riley spoke, looking to her. The daughter of Anubis still appeared perturbed by the idea that she may be as bad a parent as her neglectful mother. Instinctively, Riley's arm wrapped around her waist more tightly. He contemplated her suggestion, his eyes widening subconsciously as he realized that the possibility of being able to settle down and have children was feasible. After all that they'd been through, it felt like a miracle. Of course, being demigods, they could have had it much, much worse, but he felt like they'd been through enough regardless. Riley pressed a kiss to his girlfriend's forehead, meeting her eyes. 

"You'd be a great mother," he said softly before dropping the subject, aware that she didn't want to discuss it. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments before Riley had a thought, and before he could really think about it he held up a finger, glancing to the parking lot. "I'll be right back," he promised, shooting her a crooked grin before taking off towards his car. Within two minutes he was back, settling down beside her and reaching into his pocket, his palm concealing whatever it was he withdrew from it. 

"This- is not what you think it is," Riley spoke carefully, his nerves settling in slightly. "Well, maybe. But despite your protests I wanted to get you something for your birthday. I was going to give it to you later, but you freaked me out before because you joked about eloping, and no- this isn't an engagement ring, but- just open it," Riley spoke, laughing slightly and trying to suppress his nervousness. He pressed the small velvet box into her palm, watching her carefully.

Salone looked up at him as he planted a kiss on her forehead, "You missed," She teased him slightly in the attempt to lighten the mood. 
"You'd be a great mother."
Salone's face morphed again as she looked at Riley with wonder, the same kind of wonder she had looked at him with when he had told Salone she was beautiful. Then he stood and walked away, leaving her with a knot in her throat. While he was still away she wiped a few tears away before collecting herself again and she drew her knees to her chest. Salone's eyes staring at the ocean lost in thought. She jumped when Riley came back, settling back down beside her.

Then she was shown the little velvet box, her eyes narrowed at it.
"Riley!" She moaned, flopping back onto the sand. "No gifts!" She covered her eyes and looked at the box through splayed, very suspicious of it. But somehow Riley wormed the box into her hand and she sat up. Carefully she opened it, eyes widening at what was inside. 
"Oh," Salone said breathlessly, the look on her face said it all. 
Sometime later when Salone was out splashing around in the water an old man came up to Riley.
"You know," He said in a creaky voice. "She would have said yes if you had asked." Before he wandered away back over to an old woman, sitting on a bench playing with a grandchild.

Riley had loved the look on Salone's face when she opened that box. Now he laid out in the sun and watched as she splashed around in the water, and he really didn't have a care in the world until he was approached by a measly, genial old man. He spoke, and Riley faltered.

"What- how?" 

He was gone. Damn. Riley considered his words. How did he know that? Salone had shown an interest in marrying him, and he definitely wasn't opposed to it. Sure, the idea scared him a bit, but he couldn't be surer that he was willing to spend his life with her, and only her. But now... now it was...

It wasn't too late.

It wasn't too late.

The thought ran through his mind, and he gazed back to the old man. He couldn't find him. Geras? Riley wasn't sure, and he didn't know why his father would interfere with this, but before he could stop himself he was up, making his way to the water. He wasn't the most graceful demigod in the sand with his prosthetic, and he longed to move more quickly, but the moment he met the water he felt at home within it for the first time in his life. His skin tingled as his body longed to shift, but he knew that he wouldn't. He ducked under a wave quickly before sneaking up behind Salone, tackling her down before carefully untangling them, allowing her to come up for air. He snaked his arms around her waist, his fingers tickling her skin unintentionally. 

"I lied," Riley spoke softly, taking her right hand in his. On it she wore the ring he'd given her, despite the fact that she maybe should have taken it off when she went in the water. It was dainty but perfect, encrusted with tiny stones encircling a bigger stone, which took on a yellowish hue that resembled the one in her eyes. Of course, Riley hadn't realized that when he'd bought it, but thinking about it now he'd made the right decision. It certainly wasn't a traditional engagement ring, but since when were they traditional? Riley's heart felt like it was beating at a thousand beats per minute, but he turned and met her eyes as he did so, slipping the ring off of her right hand and taking it in his hand gently. 

"Marry me," he offered, completely serious as he watched her expression. A smile threatened to creep its way onto his face, but he was too scared for it to appear. The old man could have been wrong.

Salone shrieked when Riley tackled her and together the duo vanished under the waves. Eventually Riley sorted out the mess of limbs.

“Hey!” She protested, whipping her hair out of her face. “What happened to no more water for you?” Then he slid the ring off her finger, Salone didn’t remember even putting it on.
 
"Marry me." He stated, his left arm was wrapped around her waist while his right hand removed the ring.


A look of shock flitted across her face and her heart began to pound furiously, her eyes widened, and she was left unable to speak. So she pulled his face to hers and kissed him heatedly.  Her left fourth finger sliding into the steel band before her arms wrapped around his neck.

Right.

The old man had been right, and if Riley didn't know better he could have sworn that everything was right with the world right now. Salone practically kissed the wits out of him; when they pulled away to breathe he could barely even speak. He tilted his forehead against hers, his hands at her waist.

"That's a yes, right gorgeous?" Riley asked, grinning crookedly and kissing her again. He could care less who was at the beach at the moment; at that moment, it was only them that mattered. Riley felt a familiar prick behind his eyes as he processed what had just happened. After all they'd been through, they were getting married. Salone was his fiancée. There was a point in time during which Riley had lost hope that she would ever be able to look at him again, and yet here they were. But he wasn't about to let himself cry over it; thankfully, Salone was good at helping distract him.

Salone smiled when Riley called her gorgeous, this would probably be the only time he would get away with it. “Yes,” She breathed out, kissing him one last time before burying her face into his neck,  letting him just hold her. Her skin tingled as his fingers drifted over her flesh.

“Riley,” She murmured against his skin, sighing happily. “I love you and I’m getting a little cold.”


 Slowly she disentangled herself from his grasp and led him back towards the beach. Upon reaching the sand the two dried off and Salone slipped her shorts back on.  Then she settled back into the sand and curled up into Riley’s side, the ring winked at her as it reflected the sinking sunlight. It was truly a beautiful ring… 
“Are we going to drive all the way back to camp tonight or are we going to stop somewhere?”

Riley had been wondering vaguely how in the world he was going to break the news to Alison and his mother when Salone spoke, bringing him back down to Earth. He was so comfortable lying there next to her, and he had to think about the question for a moment before he responded.

"We can do whatever you want to do," Riley said softly, smiling and kissing the top of her head, which rested against his shoulder. "I was thinking we'd wash up and I'd take you to dinner somewhere, and if we're too tired I'm not objected to staying here for the night," Riley said, smiling slightly and quirking an eyebrow at her, subtly teasing her for her suggestion. 

"We should probably get going soon though," Riley said, gazing wistfully at the sun before looking back to his fiancée. Clearly, he wasn't in a rush to leave.

Salone traced nonsensical patterns on Riley's arm, resting a cheek on his shoulder, content and slightly mush brained from all that kissing earlier. 

"Dinner sounds nice," Salone agreed, "As long as there are no monsters hiding under the table or under the bed for that matter." She flashed him a smile, fingers tracing his collarbone lightly before moving back over to his arm. 

Salone would have to call Jance or write him at some point to give him an update on life. 
"I'm game for whatever you want, Riley." She told him, snuggling deeper into his side and tilting her head up.

Riley laughed, unwilling to move. Salone nestled in closer to him, and he wished that they could stay here forever, wallow in this moment and soak in every part of it. "Okay," he spoke anyway, meeting her eyes for a moment before shifting, cradling an arm around her waist so as not to jostle her. They laid there for a few moments more before Riley got up, taking initiative and packing up their things, Dog at their feet.

"Let's get a room somewhere first and get rid of this nuisance, and then we'll get ready and head out to dinner," Riley decided as they made their final trip to the car. Dog huffed as if in indignation, but Riley scratched his head and the dog warmed up to him. And so they did that, and before they knew it they'd gone back and gotten ready and wound up at a restaurant overlooking the water. At one point in his life, Riley would have hated this. He used to feel mocked by the beauty of the ocean, constantly taunting him with its presence. Things were different now, and Riley was grateful. There was no longer anything threatening about the body, just the constant lull of the waves lapping at the shore incessantly. Riley looked to Salone, smiling slightly as he handed the bill to their waiter. 

"You want to talk a walk?" Riley asked, looking to her. Outside there was much to do boardwalk with games and a rollercoaster, among other amusements, a strip with all sorts of things- shops, and around the corner, casinos and hotels- ice cream places, and so on. Currently, they were in a more secluded area of the beach, but the options were endless.

Salone reluctantly uncoiled from her curled up position and she stood, dusting white sand off the back of her legs.
"Okay then," Salone smiled brightly. "Lets go." 
After putting on a proper pair of clothes on at the hotel and a light jacket they left for the restaurant. The food there was amazing and Salone ate until she felt the band of her jeans tight against her stomach. She glanced over at her fiancee and caught Riley smiling at her. Salone arched her eyebrow and agreed, getting gracefully to her feet. 
The night was pleasantly cool and Salone took his hand as they walked, the noise of waves falling into the background. The past twenty four hours had been quite exciting and the ring sparkled up at her catching the light from the poll.
"Thanks Riley," She finally said, flashing him a white toothed smile. "I've had fun."

"Of course," Riley replied, unable to stop himself from grinning back at her. They took a walk along the beach, down to the boardwalk as they browsed the outside of a couple shops. They went to an ice cream shop and got a huge sundae that they couldn't even finish together. At one point on their way back to the hotel, Riley caught Salone glancing at the ring, and a thought struck him.

"I still have the ring from Italy, if you want that too," Riley said, looking to her. "I was going to give it to you, but it felt... weird. It wasn't really your ring. It was Danielle's, and we used it to pretend we were a couple so we could rescue you. I just- I don't know. It didn't feel right," he admitted, looking to her. "And if you wanted something different, we could find something else- I know this isn't a traditional engagement ring," Riley said, taking her hand and gazing at it. To him, it didn't matter; it was perfect, but he wanted to be sure that Salone felt the same way. 


(sorry for my kind of boring post, feel free to skip if you want in the next post!)

Salone shook her head, “No. I like it. It’s ours and it doesn’t have painful memories like the other ring.”

She leaned her head on Riley’s shoulder for a few moments before straightening. Life seemed a little more normal these past two days. No monster attacks, eating too much food, and being in a overall snuggly romantic mood.

Dog was pleased to see the two upon returning to the hotel and Salone showered love and affection upon the canine while Riley used the bathroom.  Then Salone went down stairs and discovered the hotel gift store and… a pair of Winnie the pooh pajamas. She grinned evilly and bought them.
Returning to the room Salone waited and removed the tags on the pajamas so Riley could not return them.


“Hey, I got you something.” Salone teased before holding out the pajamas. The fabric was incredibly soft and snuggly.

Riley might have panicked for a split second upon emerging from the bathroom and finding the room empty, save for Dog. It took him a second, clad in a plain black t-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts, his hair still damp, to process the fact that Dog was calm, and that Salone had probably just stepped out for a moment. Sure enough, she reentered the room maybe five minutes later, a mischievous expression on her face as she thrust a pair of Winnie the Pooh pajamas towards him: flannel bottoms and a button up top which he simply refused to wear. She gave him a pointed look, and he knew he wasn't getting out of this, and so he grudgingly pulled on the pajama pants- which he had to admit were comfortable- before all but tackling and kissing the breath out of her, effectively getting out of putting on the button-up Pooh-embroidered flannel top. 

"Thanks," he murmured, grinning at her and pulling her down beside him on the mattress. "Although I think the top half suits you more than me," he teased, grinning and chucking it at her. 

--

"You're what-?" Mrs. Peterson asked, looking at Riley with a look of recognition on her face. It's a few weeks later, and Riley and Salone traveled back home for Thanksgiving. It's been a crazy few weeks; Salone had been working hard to get her GED and Riley had started classes toward getting his physical therapy degree so that he can help other amputees and people recovering from injuries. They sat together- Riley, Salone, and Alison- around the island in the kitchen, watching the parade and Mrs. Peterson as she frantically flitted around, making sure everything was in order for later, when her husband's family would be coming over with some of Riley's extended family. For now, though, the house was quiet, and it was the perfect opportunity for Riley to make his announcement.

"Salone and I are getting married," Riley spoke, reaching over and taking Salone's hand in his. He held it out towards his mother and sister, who had also been busy lately with all of her high school courses. His mother admired the ring for a moment before enveloping her son, and then Salone, in a hug. Her eyes were undoubtedly filled with tears, but Riley couldn't see as she squeezed the life out of him and started chattering on and on about how excited she was and how maybe just maybe they were a little young but that that was okay, and that when she was their age and...

Alison just gaped, glancing between the two of them. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she turned her attention to Salone.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

Salone looked pleased before Riley seized her around the waist and she was immediately assaulted by kisses, all over her face, neck, collarbone, and finally on her mouth.

“Rile-“ She squealed but her mouth became stopped up by his.  “hmnn… its because it had tigger on it huh?” Salone asked, her arms sliding up and around his neck.  Riley settled back onto the mattress into a comfortable position for Salone to lean against his chest. She ran her fingers along his bicep and fingers, looking faintly amused. Later that night she fell asleep in his arms.

**

Salone had been nervous about going to Riley’s for thanksgiving. He planned to tell his mom that they were engaged and Salone was anxious about her reaction. “Thanks Sophie,” She said, allowing the woman to enfold her into a hug.
Alison on the other hand seemed suspicion.

“Am I pregnant?” Salone asked amused, disentangling herself from Sophie Peterson and turning to Alison, suddenly aware that every eye was upon her. Feeling evil she responded positively before busting up laughing and shaking her head.


“No, I am not. Sorry, couldn’t resist. Your face Riley...” She giggled and ducked out of sight behind the Island for a few seconds to regain her composure. Popping back into view she rolled her eyes, running her hand through her beachy curls. Salone had so far was pretty sure she was not pregnant. But after she married Riley she would possibly consider children. Ani and Liz both know they will have twins but the characters don’t. Maybe triplets depending on how evil they are feeling at the time.

(LOL fairly suggestive posts are amusing tigger I can't. triplets omg evillllll and I think I've changed mrs. peterson's name a million times now)

Riley was about to make a comment about what Alison was suggesting, but then he saw the look on Salone's face and he froze. Suddenly, she seemed nervous, although slightly amused, and she glanced between the three of them, nodding discreetly and avoiding his eyes. Riley's stomach dropped. Why hadn't she told him this beforehand. How did this even happen? He could have sworn they'd been pretty careful together. "Salo-?"

Riley didn't manage to get out her name before she burst into laughter, running and hiding behind the other side of the island. Relief washed through him in a wave; although Riley hoped to have kids one day, he wasn't sure he was quite ready yet. Mrs. Peterson and Alison burst out laughing at the look on his face. 

"I hate you, you know that right?" he asked, looking to Alison and then glancing back to Salone, who'd emerged from beneath the counter, her hair tousled as she grinned at him. "You, too," Riley spoke, sliding off his barstool and snagging her around the waist.

"I really, really hate you," he spoke, grinning deviously and lifting her up in a fireman's carry. She struggled, and he only let her go when he had to, laughing as he dumped her onto the couch in the family room.

"I'm kind of relieved that you're not pregnant, now please don't ruin that by making actual babies on the couch!" Alison called, and Riley glanced up at her for a moment, rolling his eyes. 

"You know you'd love to deal with a mini-me running around here," he spoke, winking at his sister and turning his attention back to his girlfriend- no, fiancée. "I still hate you."

"So the wedding's off?" Mrs. Peterson called, amusement in her tone. "But please, no baby-making in the house; I'm too young to be a grandmother," she called, the look on her face teasing. Riley flushed in embarrassment, although he couldn't help but laugh.

(I powerplayed un poco but I figured it was okay. )

Salone squealed when Riley tossed her over the shoulder without much effort.

“Hey!” She protested, trying to keep her legs out of tickling reach. Upon being dumped onto the couch she grabbed his wrists and pulled him down to her level. “You don’t really hate me. You still get a dazed look on your face when I kiss you.”
 She stated, teasing him slightly before letting go.
Salone rolled off the couch and joined in the laughter, straightening her shirt she hip checked Riley before wandering over to the kitchen and attempted to steal some pumpkin pie filling again only to be impeded by Sophie. Dog barked at the back door and Salone let him in, giving him an itch behind the ears.

“Pft,” Salone said. “Baby making is the least of my worries at the moment. Calculus is taking most of my attentions.”

Mrs. Peterson was aware that Salone had gone back to school as well as Riley and through him; she assumed that Alison knew as well.  Dog barked slightly and poked her with the end of his cold wet nose in the collarbone.  Salone yelped slightly and she sat down, dog took the advantage of her sitting and completely slimed her face.

“EW!” Salone sputtered.

"No, Salone's right. I don't really hate her; we're still getting married," Riley spoke, grinning at his fiancée as she walked away from him, bumping him with her hip. "And baby-making is not high on the priority list."

"Good," Mrs. Peterson commented, putting her pies in the oven. "It'll be even lower after your cousins show up today, with the babies," she said, smirking slightly. She turned to Alison and Salone. "My nephew and his wife have two-year-old identical twin sons, as well as a newborn."

Riley's face lit up. He didn't see his cousins often, but when he did it was like no time had passed between visits. His life as a demigod had always been busy, particularly over the past year or so, and now that things had relaxed a little bit he was still busy; between classes, working, and teaching courses at camp he barely had time to breathe, never mind helping Salone get through her own coursework, finding time to go apartment-hunting, or just being able relax for a day. On top of it all, they were wedding-planning, but since neither of them wanted to make too much of a fuss things were easier. 

Dog slobbered on Salone and Riley laughed. "At least he has good taste," he commented.

Salone fended off dog and stood, looking at Riley. She had been officially slimed so she walked over and wiped her face off on his shirt as revenge.

“HA!” She stated before dancing out of his reach. Salone noticed how Riley had brightened up at the mention of a baby and two twin boys. “Better keep the baby away from you,” She notified her Fiancée, “You might snuggle the poor thing to death.”

Salone stuck her tongue out at him before helping Sophie with the pies. She had helped make the pumpkin as well as the banana cream before Riley had claimed her attention earlier that day.
“How long until people st-“

The doorbell rang and Salone glanced curiously at Riley. He pretended like he didn’t know anything but Salone was familiar with that look as she hesitantly moved to open the door. She had been expecting Jance. Not a woman in a military uniform, dog tags glinting around her neck, and a pair of pale blue eyes.

“DANNI!” Salone flung her arms around her friend’s neck and held her tight.


“Hey,” She laughed, lifting Salone with ease so she could get over the door step, before setting her down and Danni looked around the kitchen.
“Sorry I’m late. I got lost.”


She had changed, gotten taller and she had cut her red hair to about shoulder length. Danni’s military shirt was unbuttoned, displaying the black T-shirt underneath.

"I might," Riley admitted, but he couldn't really focus on what she was saying because he'd heard a car pull up outside. He glanced to the door, waiting for Salone to pick up on the fact that someone was there. It didn't take her long.

Riley couldn't help but grin and shake his head as Salone attacked her friend. "You should have called me!" he argued as she said she got lost, moving in to wrap an arm around both Salone's neck and Danielle's. "The two fiancées of my life, together again," he joked, grinning and waiting for one of them to hurt him for it. He realized that the last time Danielle was at his house, it was because Salone had been kidnapped. Riley shuddered. He was glad that was in the past. Mrs. Peterson gave the demigod a wary look, smiling and saying hello while checking that all of her dishes were being properly attended to. There was another ring of the doorbell and Riley headed over to the front door, only to be bombarded by two impish brown-haired creatures. "Riley!" one shouted, clinging to his leg. Their mother restrained him, pulling her sons to her side. She smiled, and Riley just managed to get a hug from his cousin Matthew and his wife before the two kids toddled into the house, all but tackling Dog. 

"Whoa, don't kill him!" Riley called, and the boys giggled. Dog gave him a pitiful look and Riley scooped one of the identical rascals-who called themselves Michael and Jonathan-  up, doing his best to hold the squirming child on his hip. Mrs. Peterson busied herself talking to her nephew. Riley turned to Salone, a devious expression on his face. "See, we don't need to have kids. I can just steal these ones!"

"Noooo!" shouted Michael, who lunged towards his dad and struggled against Riley's grip. 

((I just made up totally random names))

Salone was about to ask Danni something when another figure slipped in. Fabian. What? He seemed slightly nervous, to many people apparently for his liking. While everyone was distracted he moved over to Alison, clearly looking uncomfortable.  
“This,” He said in a low voice. “Was a really bad idea.”


Fabian’s dark blue grey eyes scanned the room; Salone offered a brief smile before arching an eyebrow and turning back to Zoe. This was going to be an interesting night.  Salone turned red at the mention of having kids in front of people she didn’t know that well.

“I don’t know Riley,” Salone mused, taking a few steps forward. “Is he ticklish?” Salone struck and 

the little boy shrieked with laughter. The other twin, Salone couldn’t tell which, attacked her. Latching onto her leg and proclaiming.

“YOU ARE NOW MY PRISONER!”

Alison watched as Fabian slipped into the room, making his way to her as discreetly as possible. He spoke and she couldn't help but smile at his discomfort. She nudged him gently. "No, it wasn't a really bad idea. I don't know anyone here, and you've saved me from making awkward conversation with Riley's uncle," she spoke, looking up at him. "I have to be Riley's 'friend,' too, because there's no explanation for how I'm related to him," she said, frowning and glancing at her brother. Riley dumped Michael on the couch, as he'd done with Salone earlier, and the boy squealed with delight as he tried to scramble back up onto Riley. Alison laughed, and Riley looked to her, his eyes flickering with confusion and then recognition. 

"What are you doing here?" Riley asked, looking at Fabian with poorly hidden contempt. How did his sister even know him?

"He's my friend, and so I invited him," Alison said, looking to Riley. She understood his posture, and she knew that something was up. She met his eyes, daring him to challenge her. "This is Fabian. You've met before, haven't you?"

Salone stopped what she was doing at looked up at Riley before sliding her arms around his waist. Luckily no one other than the demigods had noticed the animosity in the air.

“Yeah, we met before briefly,” Fabian confirmed, blatantly ignoring Riley’s challenge.  Danni crept up behind Riley and pulled him into a headlock. Salone let go of Riley so she was not squished as well


“Be nice, or I won’t let you drive my car.” Danni dangled the keys in front of his nose, lowering her voice she stated, “I’ll beat him later if you wish.”

The car in question happened to be the latest model of a Mustang, dark blue with a black racing stripe. Fabian shifted slightly to hide part of himself behind Alison, the only person in the room he happened to trust.
 “Bad idea,” He grumbled again before he was ambushed by Sophie Peterson. Fabian had met her a few times under several different sets of circumstances, mainly due to Danni’s orders when Salone had been kidnapped.
Salone wrapped her arms around Riley’s waist again after Danni had let go of him, pressing a kiss to his cheek. 

“You’re a little stubbly.”  She notified him, arching a blonde eyebrow. “If you want any more affection I expect you to shave.”


That was when one of the twins latched onto her leg, “SURRENDER!” He demanded and Salone let go of  Riley to tickle attack the munchkin.

Riley tensed as Salone wrapped her arms around him, meeting his eyes and pleading with him to relax a little bit. If anyone should have been mad about him being there, it was her, and since she wasn't he softened a little bit. Danielle grabbed him and he laughed, taken off guard. 

"Hey!" he said, twisting out of her grasp as best he could. "I might take you up on that," he murmured, referring both to the car and her offer to beat him up. He glanced at Fabian, who had taken up conversation with his mother. Alison had slid an arm around his waist, leaning into him slightly as he spoke to Mrs. Peterson.

"Don't worry about it, Fabian," Alison spoke softly as Mrs. Peterson went to take the food out of the oven, smiling at him. "He'll just have to get over it."

Riley frowned, tensing up again as his sister leaned into that boy, that... Riley didn't even want to think about it. How could he watch as his sister became so close with the boy who had hurt Salone so badly? He glanced out the window, scanning the horizon for monsters, and it was at that moment that Salone caught hold of him again, bringing him back down to Earth. He managed a smile as she teased him about his five o'clock shadow. "I'll take that into consideration," he said, his smile fading.

"There are too many demigods here. If something happens..." Riley shuddered. He was interrupted when one of the twins attacked Salone, and he scooped up the other one, grinning. 

"Dinner!" Mrs. Peterson called, and sure enough the table was all set.

Fabian squeezed her shoulder slightly, thanking her for her trust and faith in him before making his way over to the table. He sat down next to Alison, making sure to sit on the same side as Riley and several seats down to avoid dirty glares. “Maybe he will get over it when I’m dead,” He muttered, resting his cheek on her head for a fraction of a second before recalling himself and dropping his arm. He had told Alison what had happened between him and Salone several weeks ago at camp so she was up to date on Riley's dislike of him.

Meanwhile Danni was reassuring Riley that monsters wouldn't come near here because she had laid extra precautions as well as Hound patrolling streets. Salone was slightly sitting on one of the cousins while she had the other one trapped in a head lock. At the call to dinner she let them both go and they scampered off to their parents to grab a seat.

Then Salone joined Riley and after a few moments the family began to eat. Dinner took an hour and forty five minutes (not counting dessert) and it was monster free much to everyone’s relief. Salone was talking to Riley’s cousin’s wife and holding the baby. The infant was asleep and she could only watch with adoration and a surprising feeling of tenderness. Salone had never held a newborn before in her life so it was slightly odd for her.


Fabian had vanished into the backyard for some air, managing to climb out and up onto the roof. Danni helped Mrs. Peterson with the dishes. The twins had crashed in the guest room for a nap, leaving the house strangely quiet. Salone wasn’t staying here in the house so all was good with them sleeping there.