On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

Annabeth adjusted her dress shirt as she scrambled into her office. Her cheeks were pink from the cold; the rest of her face flushed to match. Annabeth shivered as she dropped her briefcase on her desk. She quickly hurried to turn up the heat in her office and sighed in relief when it began to hum. The heater was next to her chair so she quickly sat down and opened her laptop up to check her emails.

Annabeth had been offered the positon of CEO only a few months prior and she was still in disbelief. In all her twenty seven years on the planet, she never thought she would be where she was. She had hoped –the Gods knew she had wished and dreamed for this—but for a while having this positon was only a distant dream. It only became a reality due to her hard work.

Now the Olympus company was well known for their extraordinary buildings; both in design and structure. Her mother hadn't understood why she wanted to be an architect but supported her none the less. If it wasn't for her; Annabeth doubted she could have finished college and gotten her degree.

As her emails began to load, a small chime sounded. Annabeth smiled to herself and clicked on the new message.

To the blond goddess sitting alone in her office,

How is your morning going? Seems like someone was a little late today. Tssk tssk. Not very CEO-like Miss Chase.

Now worried you might clomp me for the teasing, I have brought coffee and muffins as bribery for you to spend part of your busy morning with me.

If that ploy doesn't work; I'll use guilt. I walked all the way across the street to eat with you; dodging dangerous cars and old ladies with purses. Surely that earns me a few minutes?

I'll be in your weird waiting room.

The lonely and hungry,

Percy Jackson.

Annabeth bit her lip to fight her growing smile. Percy Jackson; just his name shouldn't bring her so much joy. She had met him her senior year of high school ten years ago; he quickly became her best friend. And shortly after, her first love.

He of course didn't know that.

And probably never would.

Annabeth had thought once upon a time, that she and Percy could have been high school sweethearts. The type of people to build a life together effortlessly. She had been sure he was going to kiss her at their senior prom but something had flashed in his eyes –she suspected fear—and he had stuttered something about punch before dashing off.

They never quite had another moment like it.

When they had graduated, she remembered getting a quick picture with him and a fleeting hug before he was dashing off into his car to travel with his friend Grover for the summer. She had tried to squash her disappointment by focusing on her future. She was going to college; one of the best around.

She didn't see Percy for years.

She had gotten the full college experience. Parties here and there, study groups, new friends, couple of boyfriends and memories she still thought about to this day. She had been happy but she could never fully forget the boy with sea green eyes who had stolen her heart so many years before.

When she had gotten a job at Olympus she had bumped into him.

Literally.

Her coffee had exploded and she was seconds away from doing the same until he offered her his hand and her eyes met his. She could never forget those eyes even the man behind them had changed. He had looked older, more mature and completely amused at the sight of her.

After learning he worked in the aquarium building just across the street and often visited Olympus to visit his cousin Jason and his wife Piper –who Annabeth later met at the accounting reception desk—Annabeth had been floored. It only took her a week to realize like it or not, Percy was back in her life.

After taking two years to get used to it and all the emotions she felt for him returning, Annabeth found herself enjoying him the same way she did in high school. Whether he was her best friend or something more, Annabeth loved spending time with him. They were together so often, people were often surprised that they weren't 'together' together.

Annabeth had been firm in setting everyone straight. She couldn't afford to let her entire office building know she was stupidly in love with the man that often used chopsticks to make himself a walrus in their lunch room.

Annabeth sighed blissfully and shut her laptop to head towards her waiting room. She passed Jason and Thalia on the way and they both eagerly followed her when she mentioned she was going to meet Percy. Thalia was head of their marketing department and Jason had taken a job as an accountant to be closer to his wife.

When Annabeth made it to the waiting room, she smiled. Percy was watching the fish float around in their tank quietly. His hands were in his lap but sitting next to him, as promised was her muffin and coffee. She cleared her throat to get his attention and Percy immediately jumped up from the couch to greet her with bright eyes and an easy smile. Annabeth felt her heart melt.

She hid it with a smirk.

"Coffee and muffin?"

"Geez woman." Percy scoffed and handed her the food. "I see you only came down for the food instead of my wonderful company. Am I just a delivery boy to you?"

"Nah." Annabeth took a bit of her muffin. "You're a good distraction."

"Need to be distracted from something?"

"December is a rough month. We're going to be on break in a few days so there's a lot I want done before then."

"Oh right!" Percy grinned childishly. "Christmas is only twelve days away right?"

Annabeth did the math in her head and nodded. Percy's grin widened and he turned to the receptionist. She was smiling too and Annabeth immediately felt defensive. One glance at Thalia and Jason told her something was happening.

When Percy turned from the receptionist desk with a large bundle of felt roses, she sucked in a breath as Percy presented them to her. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. His smile turned sheepish.

"Piper helped me make them. She said you would like handmade ones better then plastic ones and these last all year 'round so you don't have to worry about taking care of them or anything."

"Why?"

Annabeth hadn't been able to say anything else, think anything else. Today wasn't anything special and roses were a symbol of…well something they didn't have. At least not on his end. Percy grabbed her hands and set her coffee and muffin down; he wrapped her fingers around the bundle and seemed pleased when he saw them in her hands. He blushed lightly.

"On the twelfth day of Christmas-" Percy gulped nervously and glanced behind her. Jason and Thalia were encouraging him silently. "-your um…well your me gave you twelve heart felt roses."

Annabeth found herself laughing breathlessly at him; still having no idea what was going on. Percy smiled at her once more, seeming more encouraged with her expression. She glanced down at the pedals and touched them carefully. When her eyes met Percy's, she found him closer. She squeaked. (Something she whole-heartedly denied later)

"I'm going to woo you this Christmas, Annabeth Chase." Percy announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. "I made a mistake not doing it sooner so I'm making up for lost time by doing it in style. Tell me now if this is something you don't want."

Annabeth flushed as everyone leaned closer to hear her answer. She was scrambling to think of something to say; anything would work!

"Um."

Okay so anything but that. Annabeth saw Percy's face fall instantly and she panicked, reaching out to touch his arm. He glanced at her hand before staring back at her. Realizing that this was actually happening and Percy was waiting for her answer, Annabeth smiled flustered but nodded.

She stumbled backing away from him and lifted the flowers bashfully. Percy was grinning as he watched her struggle to walk back to her office. She was walking backwards and managed to bump into the door and stumble over her own feet, further embarrassing herself. She laughed sheepishly and firmly shut her office door behind her.

Annabeth leaned back against the door and pressed the flowers into her face to hide her red cheeks. The felt was soft against her cheeks.

….Twelve felt roses.

Yep you got it. I'm doing a Percabeth count down till Christmas.

So we're all in the same boat.

~Percy and Annabeth are both in their late twenties

~They work across the road from each other but have known each other since high school

~Percy plans to woo Annabeth using his own 12 days till Christmas.

Questions will be answered throughout the story.

But its mostly just fluff to help us count down the days.

Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow!

~12 days until Christmas~