Annabeth had her hands on her hips as she looked around her apartment with a deep scowl. Everything was a mess. Which was a little ridiculous because not twenty minutes ago, this entire place was clean. There wasn't anything in it of course, but it was still clean.
Why did she think moving was a good idea at this time of year? Back when she planned it though, there wasn't a competition looming over her head. True, she couldn't really help the timing of the previous residents' lease being up, but still.
She had called out of work for two days to take care of this thrilling escapade. That meant two days of appointments being pushed back. And worse, two days without working on the project. She was falling a bit behind on it now. If that wasn't enough insult to injury, the movers demanded she pay them more to set up all her heavy furniture for her.
Growing up in this city, she knew when she was getting played. Two hundred dollars on top of what she was already paying them? It might've been the holiday season, but she wasn't a damn charity foundation. Honestly, did they think of her as a desperate fool stupid enough to fall for such brazen extortion? Well, she wasn't... but it would take forever to do all this by herself and if she wanted to get back to work ASAP, then she'd need a little help.
And so, without thinking, she found herself dialing his number.
Only two hours later, there was a knock on her door. She figured it was some variant of a Karen, ready to complain about all the noise she was making. But to her surprise, Percy was standing there in his work clothes with a smile on his face and a few things in his hands.
"Hey, Beth."
Something compelled her to spout: "Jackass."
He immediately caught on. "Chode," he returned, lips twitching dangerously.
They stared at each other for a moment, the silence spreading thin until they simultaneously burst into convulsing laughter. It probably wasn't all that funny, but to them, it was fucking hilarious.
"I can't believe we used to call each other that," he managed in between breathy laughs, hardly coherent. "Talk about a throwback."
"Can you imagine what the others thought? I didn't even know what 'chode' meant at first," Annabeth wheezed, wiping a tear from her eye. "Urban dictionary was not very, um, elegant about it. Though, I have to question why you knew it."
"I was a high school boy once. You learn selective things."
"I'll take your word for it."
Letting him inside, she gave him a brief hug when a certain otherworldly smell hit her senses. He had brought her coffee again. And there was probably another bagel and chocolate chip muffin in that paper bag.
"I figured you forgot to eat with all this going on."
He was right.
"I've been meaning to ask you about this!" She exclaimed as she accepted the food, flashing him a grateful smile. "How did you know my breakfast order?"
"What do you mean? You've been ordering that same thing for the last seven years. Probably more."
She blinked, faltering. "Yeah, but—how did you know that?"
He turned somewhat sheepish. "Uh, well, I used to work at the campus cafe. And you used to come in sometimes."
Wait...
"You mean back at NYU?"
"That's the name of our school, so yeah."
"Okay, smart ass," she tittered, knocking her elbow against his. "But you remembered that after all this time?"
He shrugged. "I remember a few of the regular's orders. Guess it's just a barista thing."
How can we be strangers if we've known each other for the better part of a decade, ya know?
Percy had said that back when they went to his parent's house. That meant the better part of a decade referred to longer than just their tenure at Neo Daedalus. But since they were in NYU? She didn't think he'd paid that much attention back then. To her or otherwise.
"Percy..."
"I guess you didn't really notice me back then." He laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I was pretty invisible, though, so you're good. I remember I used to keep my headphones in with my hood up at all times and ignore everyone else unless I absolutely had to talk to someone."
Invisible and Percy Jackson didn't go in the same sentence. It didn't even go in the same book.
Objectively, he had the brightest smile in the world. Objectively, he was the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen. Objectively, she found him really fucking attractive. And so did everyone else apparently; when he walked into a room, or the firm's cafeteria, or even a boring board meeting, everyone turned to look at him.
It was like gravity had shifted its axis and he was now the center. Sometimes, it was a bit ridiculous.
And besides all his looks, he had a charm to him that drew everyone in, in a way that only he could. Kindness and compassion seemed to just roll off his being. She knew, of course, that they had been in the same program. They'd talked about their school days a few times after being hired at ND, shitting on dumbass professors and laughing about stressful nights in the studios.
"I did notice you around campus and on class rosters, but, I suppose, not at the café." Annabeth's voice became soft. She was starting to get a little anxious and felt the need to apologize. "I'm sorry. I really wish I would've known—"
"What?" He recoiled a bit, cutting her off. "No, don't even worry about it, Beth. It's not like I knew you like that either. Or that we were gonna be working together in the future. All that was like a million years ago." He then smiled thoughtfully. "Though, it would've been pretty cool if we'd been friends since college."
She nodded eagerly. "Definitely," she agreed. There it was again, kindness and compassion. "And thank you for coming here today. But you're early, like really early. It's still morning. I didn't expect you until after 4."
"Oh, I had a meeting with a client at his place. He ended up canceling as I was on the way there so I decided to come here instead."
Annabeth put a hand on her hip. "Then, shouldn't you get back to work?" She fixed him with a stern glare. "Chiron's gonna get mad."
"I'm about to work right now." He gestured around to her apartment with all of its unopened boxes and strewn about furniture that still needed to be put back together. "We should probably get started if you want to sleep on a bed tonight."
She laughed and chose not to argue. "Right."
Now with both of them barefoot, she realized without her heels just how tall he really was. Probably just above six feet, and it made her feel somewhat small. Though, he probably felt amazing when cuddling. Among other things.
Get a grip, she berated herself.
"Oh, and here, I got you this too." Percy held out the larger bag in his other hand. "Think of it as a little housewarming—er, an apartment-warming gift."
Quite a large bag actually.
"You have to stop buying me stuff. I feel bad."
Percy gave her a look. "Shut up and open it."
"Don't tell me what to do."
He chuckled.
Glancing at him skeptically, she withdrew a square shaped object. A canvas, she realized. And on it was the most beautiful painting of the Chrysler building, at night where the building was bathed in golden light and angled so the uniquely terraced crown was gorgeously emphasized.
It was her favorite thing in the entirety of Manhattan's skyline.
"This is amazing, Percy," she breathed, holding it out with open arms. The background had a fractal glass type of style that only added to its uniqueness. "I've never seen anything like this in stores before. I love it, it'll go up perfectly in my living room. Thank you so much."
His lips pressed together as he smiled like he knew something she didn't. "You got it," he said, amused for some reason. But before she could question it, he took a look around and lifted a box. "Well, let's get to it then."
It was painstaking work that would surely give her some degree of scoliosis.
The first thing they worked on was the living room. She and Percy had lugged her plastic wrapped sofas into her desired spots followed by the TV that she barely ever turned on. She really liked how this apartment was carpeted, especially now that winter was here. Now she just needed to remember to vacuum regularly.
Annabeth took care of her drafting table herself. It needed to be handled with great care, which Percy understood better than anyone else, but it was her baby. No one else got to touch it.
And then came the ire that was her bedroom. After college, she had bought a whole lot of unnecessary shit, truth be told, and was a bit of a hoarder. So what? She might need it at some point! But at this moment, they only served to annoy her as she had to assort everything back onto their appropriate spots.
Yes, they did things out of order of importance.
Between two architects, they had gotten all of the furniture built and ready to go at record speed. She thought this day would've been tedious, and it was, but not to the extent it could've been. With Percy here, she was laughing more often than not. Like right now, Percy was on his toes, reaching up to hang the painting he'd gotten her while she made sure it was aligned properly.
"No, a little more to the left."
Percy groaned. "You just said right."
"Now, I'm saying left," she stifled a laugh into her hand. "Okay, a smidge to the right—" cue another groan. "That's it, perfect."
"Fuck, man." Percy lifted his arms and stretched out his kinks. She really wished he didn't do that; his T-shirt shifted up and revealed a flash of skin over his beltline. Somehow it was enough to heat her cheeks. "Let's take a break. You up for some pizza?"
Half an hour later, they were sitting on the floor in the corner of her bedroom, leaning back against a wall eating Papa John's. Her tables were still wrapped up and neither of them felt like doing any work right before eating or sitting in that clutter. And her mattress was still in the hallway.
"I'm glad you moved to Manhattan," Percy told her after a swig of water. "Easier for you to get to work."
Easier for us to visit each other too, she added silently.
"Yeah, me too. I lived in that shitty old apartment for too long even though I could've afforded something nicer a long time ago."
"I'm glad you finally pulled the plug. And there's a Trader Joe's right across the street. Must be nice."
"That's what sold me on this place."
As they talked, she came to realize that for all of Percy's ups, he had one very, very big down that made her want to reconsider this friendship.
"I can't believe you don't like black olives," Annabeth admonished, pointing the tip of her slice at him. "They're so good."
"Hell no. Black olives taste like shit."
"They do not!"
"Just keep 'em on your half."
She smirked and threw one at him, cackling when he let out an exaggerated, high-pitched gasp in disgust. Grinning, he threw a jalapeno at her in return and the rest was a big pizza-y mess. Italians everywhere must've been weeping.
Annabeth coiled and sprang forward, trying to rub a chunk of cheese onto his face. Percy's hands grabbed her wrists, his throaty laughter a carefree, rumbling sound as they wrestled playfully. She was barely thinking when she straddled his hips and pressed his back harder against the wall. But then the cheese ended up falling down the collar of her baggy shirt, making her flounder and laugh even harder. She hardly even noticed when one of his arms curved around her waist to support her.
Their chests heaving, Annabeth settled her weight on his lap.
She was breathless when she took in Percy's amused, laugh ridden expression. His head was tipped back against the wall, cheeks flushed and eyes bright as he stared back at her with too much fondness. He always made her feel seen.
"Never thought I'd be getting into a food fight with Annabeth Chase of all people."
Her thighs unconsciously squeezed tighter only to be met with his. A fire stoked within her.
"I'm full of surprises, Mr. Jackson."
"I know." His right hand dropped atop her thigh, scorching hot through her sweatpants. Please. "I intend to discover them all."
"That might take a while."
"I have time."
And that's when she broke out of this trance and felt the burn of him all at once.
Laughter had left them and in its place was something indescribable, something that had her heart doing gymnastics routines. His hair was messy as usual, so dark and inviting, and all she wanted to do was run her hands through it. Their faces were so close as her peaked breasts pressed flush against his warm chest.
Today would be the day she didn't wear a bra.
Heat sparked across everywhere they were touching. And they were touching everywhere. His breath fanned over her mouth. It wasn't her imagination when his gaze dropped to her lips for a lingering moment.
Percy wanted to kiss her! And she wanted nothing more than to let him.
God.
Her thoughts were going at light speed, unable to settle on a single thing, much like how her eyes were flitting between his. So fucking green. She could drown in them. She was drowning. And then — a warm hand came up to cradle the side of her neck, his thumb gliding gently along her jawline, and all her thoughts settled to just one.
Percy.
Intimate and soothing at the same time, it rolled shudders through her. She could get swept away by this touch, lost in his riptide. Her eyes closed as a breath left through her nose. The last thing she saw was his lips parting as they slowly leaned in—
BANG!
Oh, how she wished she could.
They sprang apart, eyes flaring wide as they looked to see what happened. Behind them, her headboard toppled from where it had been leaning against the wall and fell over her bed frame. Shit, that was loud. Her downstairs neighbors were probably pissed.
Annabeth looked back at Percy, making eye contact for a brief moment before scrambling off him and starting toward the bed. How had he left her a breathless, shaking mess already? They hadn't even done anything. Fucking hell, she was done for.
"We're some fugazi architects," Percy tried to joke, but his voice was strained. "Can't even fit a bed."
Annabeth laughed weakly. "Yeah. We didn't screw this in yet."
Screw. That was a nice word.
They had been so close. Only an inch more and they'd have been kissing. And this floor might've been properly christened. The sore tailbone and possible carpet burns on her ass would've definitely been worth it.
But all that tension had now blown up in their faces, and awkwardness oozed in spades.
The rest of the time Percy had been here was spent in relative silence. He asked questions about where she wanted things to go, she'd asked him to help her set the mattress, and then they were basically done for the day. She could take care of the cleaning and smaller amenities tomorrow. Right now, she just wanted to brush her teeth and go to sleep.
Preferably with him—stop.
Yeah, there was no doubt she'd be making use of that shirtless Instagram picture of him at the Dare's swimming pool again for a little 'me time' tonight. Maybe, just maybe, she had it screenshotted and saved in a separate folder on her phone for special circumstances.
Just maybe though.
Annabeth lingered awkwardly behind him as he put on his shoes, grasping both of her elbows tight to her body so she didn't do something stupid like drag him down by the collar and kiss him to satisfy this nearly overwhelming ache that had festered in her. The phantom feel of his hands and the hard heat of his body on her was still fresh.
"Thank you for coming here today, Perce," she found herself saying instead. "I know Chiron might give you shit for skipping out."
"I'll deal with him," he said with a little smile. Her eyes lingered on his lips even after his smile faded. "And it's no problem. Do you need me to come by tomorrow, too?"
"No, it's fine. I can handle it."
"Alright." He shrugged on his coat and opened the door. "I'll see you on Wednesday then, yeah?"
"Yeah."
He stood just outside now with a somewhat hesitant look on his face, like he was debating something. Did he not want to leave yet? Or perhaps he felt bad about what happened earlier? Because he shouldn't in the slightest.
"Okay," he said, clearly swallowing the words he'd wanted to say. "See ya at work."
She didn't pry. "Bye, Percy."
Annabeth watched him walk down the hallway, each wingtip-ed step echoing louder than it should've. He made it all the way to the bend where the elevators were when she just barely noticed him shake his head. To her shock, he swiveled around and briskly came right back. Determined about something.
Was he going to kiss her? Did he feel that desire as strongly as she did? Was he—
"Annabeth," Percy called with urgency.
Had she ever mentioned how much she loved how her name rolled off his tongue?
"Yes," she breathed, looking up at him now that he was right in front of her. "Did you forget something?"
Unintentionally a tease.
Percy reached out to take her wrist in his hand. "Listen, Chiron's Christmas party is this Saturday—" Oh, his thumb was tracing circles on her skin. "And I know we'll both be there anyway, I mean, if you're going, we will. I just wanted to ask... would you want to—will you go with me... as my date?"
Butterflies flapped hurricanes through her stomach.
"Yes, absolutely," she answered a little too quickly, but didn't care at all. His rambling was so cute. "I'd be happy to."
A huge smile spread over his mouth, nearly blinding her with its beauty. And was that relief she saw? Ridiculous. As if she'd say anything else. Idly, Annabeth thought back to the painting he'd gifted her, and like its background, there were a lot of layers to Percy that were slowly exposed to her much like fractals. Perspective assortments.
"Great. I'm glad," he said with a breathy laugh. "What time should I pick you up, or—"
"I'll meet you there," she promised instead, stepping to kiss his cheek. Her lips tingled from the mere touch. "I want to surprise you with my dress. I'll text you the color, though, don't worry."
Percy squeezed her wrist gently. "Okay, Saturday then."
"Saturday."