Pairings: Hera/Percy
Challenge: Her husband breaks his vows to her over and over. She breaks them only once.
Word Prompts: Overzealous or Fragmented
Song Prompts: Lips of Angel by Hinder; Missing by Evanescence
TV/Book/Movie Prompts: Lord of the Rings (b)/Harry Potter (b)

To start with, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! I wasn't expecting much of a response.

Reviewers:
pjo hoo: I'm glad that you think that it's any good. It's my first PJO story with Hera.
Leaseablue: I'm glad that you loved it.
aesir21: I'm adding one more chapter to the story for you.
Guest: This should explain why for you.
barclayteo: See the above.
Hanabifan: I'm pleased that you see it that way.
x0097-Fuinn: Damn, nice name. But here's your sequel.
Guest (Another one): See the above.
hotsformoroni: Nice name. I'm glad that you gave your opinion.
Guest (Yet another one): It does seem that way. D'awww
Idle Writer of Crack: Trust me, I enjoyed writing it way, way too much myself.
Gold Testament: I'm assuming you mean the ending?

Notables:

Favorites:
x0097-Fuinn
viet girl14
The Tantalus Complex
pointblank135
NikiD1233
Nightrain97
McCabeRz
Leaseablue
KingJupiter
InsanityRunsInMyBlood
Hitthefloorrunning
Hargreaves19
Hanabifan
fallenthantos
Chunk Li
Animortal28
alone shadow dream

Story Alert:
aesir21
alone shadow dream
Animortal128
Chulalongkorn0818

Now, on with the story!

Hera drank her cup of tea, watching Percy eat her homemade meal gratefully. His eyes slid shut, a sound of pleasure leaving his lips. Hera flushed faintly, pleased at how much he enjoyed her meals. It was strange, to see how Percy reacted to her cooking. When the meal was finished, Percy insisted gently that he would do the dishes. As he ran the sponge across the ceramic, Percy glanced over his shoulder.

"I thought that you would stay a goddess," Percy confessed softly. Hera smiled sadly, allowing the beautiful young man to refill her cup of tea with soft thanks. Hera shook her head briefly.

"One of the most important terms of my marriage was to stay faithful. As our marriage was sanctioned by the Fates, coupled with my position as the goddess of marriage, I had to give up something. I chose to give up my godhood." Percy's stormy green eyes saddened, when he looked at her again, rinsing off his cup of tea, placing it in the dish drainer. Wiping his hands off on the towel, he settled next to her, taking her free hand in his own. His thumb stroked her hand, affectionately.

"Are you sure you want this?" Percy murmured, tucking away a strand of soft caramel hair. Hera nodded.

"Yes, I do."

Hera stared blankly at the racks of clothing with an open mouth. Percy stifled giggles.

"Do their mothers know that they're wearing this?" Hera squeaked finally, flushed red. Percy didn't answer, waving her forward with one hand. He hiccupped faintly, and followed her, dutifully carrying all of the clothes she bought as replacements. He coaxed her into buying a pair of pants, and she piled plenty of clothes on top of his arms.

Nemesis slapped Zeus across the face, after Hera left. The babble of Olympians silenced at her audacity.

"I warned you," She said finally. "Hera was the most faithful goddess of us all, and you ruined it. It has balanced itself out. You broke her heart over and over, and she only needed to do so once." She scowled at the openmouthed expressions on many of the other Olympians. "What do you expect? She found a good person – a good man who would truly love her. And you threw her away one time too many." The Goddess of Revenge and Balance spun on her heel and stalked away. Oh, revenge truly was a dish best served cold.

Percy stepped out of his shoes, scooping up twin bundles of squealing children. They both took after their mother with soft brown hair, but they had their father's eyes. Charity huffed, running down the hall of the cozy little home they lived in.

"Athena! Poseidon!" She yelled, skidding around the corner. "How many times do I . . . Oh." Charity blushed and waved sheepishly at her half-brother, who stood there, grinning at her, children in his arms, his bag on the floor.

"Go on, tell me what you were going to say," Percy nudged his sister with a small grin. "Come on Cher," He teased, letting the black-haired girl sigh.

"I was telling them not to run away during lunch, no matter how much they hate veggies." She mumbled. Percy laughed, handing the kids over to the blushing teenager. Percy took the box of lunch and called over his shoulder,

"I'm going to give Hera her lunch, be right back!"

Hera dismissed her little terrors for recess, keeping a warm eye on the giggling masses of children. A pair of affectionate, callused hands covered her eyes. "Percy," She greeted, smiling at her husband. "What brings you here?" Percy lifted up her lunch.

"I brought you lunch honey." He informed her with a grin.

"Honey-soaked stories,
Holding cherished memories,
Nothing is sweeter,"

A familiar voice recited. Percy and Hera shared amused smiles at each other.

"Fred," Percy drawled, looking at the Sun God in amusement. "You've gotten better." Apollo beamed, sitting next to them.

"Why thank you!" He chirped. "Hey, this is from Hestia and the rest of us, as a happy 10th anniversary." Apollo handed them a beautiful photo, as well as . . .

". . . summer tickets to Bermuda?" Percy asked, amused. Apollo blushed.

"Um, that was from Calypso. She wanted you two to see her new garden." Hera and Percy looked at each other.

"Well?" Percy asked his wife. Hera smiled prettily.

"Always."

"In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away." Shing Xiong