A big thank-you to icy roses for looking this over. I hope you guys like it!

Summary: Silena-centric fic set before TLO. A bit of fluff, a bit of seriousness. Plenty of Silena/Beckendorf for those who miss it. R&R, please!

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Popsicles

Popsicles; fresh, fruity, and flavorful, they'd been Silena's favorite childhood snack. Growing up in New Jersey had been carefree for the most part, and Silena's memories of that time were speckled with sweet scenes of eating popsicles--by the swingset, with her stepmother, and otherwise--good memories all around. Complete with all the childish innocence chocolate lacked, popsicles reminded Silena of a time before deceit.

As a girl, Silena's favorite flavor had always been orange. Quite the Aphrodite girl even before Camp Half-Blood, she'd always admired the coral stain orange popsicles left on her lips. She would smack her lips and mock-pout, emphasizing what she considered her best feature. No grape flavor would do, no lime--only orange would make the cut.

Of course, Silena couldn't afford to be so picky now. The camp store rarely stocked any popsicles, much less boxes of exclusively orange ones. But when a sweltering July day caught Silena in wishful thinking, she wandered in the store anyway.

Meandering down the few sparse aisles, Silena didn't see anything worth her drachma. Nearly giving up, she turned around; her jaw dropped. She blinked to make sure the sun hadn't messed with her vision, ran up to the freezer display, and grabbed three boxes...of orange popsicles! Fumbling with the zipper on her Dior handbag, she finally reached her coin purse and pulled out a few drachma. Shoving them at the startled Hermes girl working as cashier and not waiting for a reciept, Silena grabbed the three boxes and ran out of the store.

After making a quick stop at the Big House to deposit two of the boxes into the Aphrodite cabin's mini-freezer, Silena had to find Charlie. She yelled his name into the Hephaestus cabin, where his half-siblings merely shook their heads. Next she tried the forges, where she heard a familiar voice boom, "Silena?"

"Charlie, it's me! Come here!"

"What's up?" Beckendorf walked out of the back room, sweaty and holding a dirty rag.

"Ooh, you look like you could use a break. Come with me!" With the popsicles tucked under her arm, she began dragging Beckendorf toward the door.

"Um, okay," Beckendorf muttered while tossing the rag aside. "I'll be back, guys," he called to his friends in the back room.

Once Silena had dragged Beckendorf all the way to the woods, she sat down on a rock and ceremoniously opened the box of popsicles. Beckendorf seemed to notice them for the first time; "Hey, popsicles. And they're orange, my favorite."

Silena squealed and kissed him on the mouth. "I knew we were perfect for each other!"

Beckendorf blushed and motioned toward the box. "May I?" he asked gruffly.

"Of course!" Silena smiled and wondered how, in that moment, life could get any better.