Hi! It's me, Mel again :D I'm back with an old oneshot that had been requested on Tumblr (I'm also thejudgingtrash there ^^) by a dear friend. Since my newest completed fic (or the last two chapters rather) is still being edited by my beta readers, I've decided to re-upload some of my other requests on FFN and AO3! If you have a request or a prompt or a sentence which could be used for a fic, let me know! :D I'm slow, but I'll get to it!

Anyway, enough rambling. Enjoy!

The Model

Annabeth Chase had a secret passion. Makeup. Most of her classmates would've never thought that she would enjoy the art of the daily enhancements, but she secretly did. Techniques, palettes, brushes, sponges… Everything was kept in boxes at home, all neat and tidy.

Annabeth Chase also never thought that she would actually get the gig at MAC to work there. She aced the multiple interview rounds, impressed her future employer with her skills and diverse approach in makeup and was nearly hired on the spot. And now she was a fairly skilled makeup artist. One of the best.

There was another thing that Annabeth Chase never would have guessed. That it would take only one random afternoon to change her life forever. A man entered the store. He was tall, wore sunglasses and an expensive Italian suit. He chatted with Drew, Annabeth's supervisor.

"Oh, yes!" said Drew with a polite smile. "Annabeth?"

The blonde turned around and approached them. "He wishes for something natural for the day to cover the circles under the eyes," Drew explained. "Can you do that quickly?"

"Of course, I can. Please follow me, sir!" Annabeth rarely worked with men, but there was a first for anything.

Her client took a seat and removed his sunglasses. Despite having rich dark skin, blemishes and fatigue ruined an otherwise fairly handsome face. The man took care of himself. Mostly. Sleep apparently wasn't important enough.

Annabeth took her arsenal of makeup and other supplies and put them in front of the large mirror the client was facing. "You are warm toned," she softly spoke and grabbed foundations to mix them together.

"Skin is already primed," the man added. He also sounded Italian.

"Oh yes, I can see that!" she smiled. Then she started her work. She grabbed her sponge and placed the mixed foundation. Slow buildup, little by little. She used the concealer to smooth the surface and brighten the under eye area a little bit. Highlighter for a little pop. The customer didn't want a full eye look, just curled lashes and mascara and sharpened eyebrows. Roughly twenty minutes passed, and Annabeth stepped aside so that the man could see the magic she had worked.

"Oh wow!" the client sounded impressed and tilted his head.

"Very natural. I like that!"

Annabeth smiled. "Oh yes. A full face can be so expressive and fun but not something for the day to day. A natural look should enhance your beauty, make spots disappear, not turn you into something you aren't."

"Very true," the client agreed.

"Can I book you again?" he then asked. Annabeth nodded to Drew.

"Oh sure, just ask my boss!"

The man laughed and shook his head. "No, no, honey. Can I book you?"

His hand wandered into his suit and pulled a business card out. He handed the card to Annabeth.

Charon Bianchi. Casting director. Paris – NYC - Milano. DMFASHIONSTUDIO.

Annabeth looked up to Mr. Bianchi. "Uh…sure?"

The following four years changed everything for her. Gone was the job at MAC after she had signed with Charon. Hello flourishing career as an international MUA that got booked for galas, editorial shootings and runway gigs. Even certain celebrities and YouTubers hired her.

Annabeth had seen it all in those short years and had worked with all of them. She had been in Shanghai and then in Greece two days later. Flights from Paris to Kabul, New York to London. Annabeth had crossed paths with famous makeup artists like Pat McGrath, Charlotte Tilbury or Lisa Eldridge. She had been on the sets of photo shootings with incredible photographers such as Lara Jade, Lina Tesch, Cass Bird and even the famous Peter Lindbergh before he had passed. But the more recent things she had been booked for were runway gigs. Less pay, but more fun and definitely more stress.

Paris 2020. Dior Men, the new fall/winter 2020/21 collection. Designer Kim Jones wanted Annabeth to return to the set, so she did. The venue was beautiful. That was all Annabeth could think before she and a dozen others were sent backstage to prep their own little areas before models, videographers and photographers would swarm the place. Four hours until the show began, and everybody was already stressed out. The first few models showed up. Annabeth had been given a set card with faces she would work with on that particular day. 47 looks in total with 37 male models. Second looks, great Annabeth thought. More stress.

Malick Bodian, Ludwig Wilsdorff and Perseus Jackson were the models that were assigned to her. Perseus Jackson. A handsome young man, not much older than Annabeth came to her mind. Long curls, brown skin, light eyes and a beautiful grin. Annabeth had seen Perseus multiple times, but she had not worked with him directly before. Whereas many designers or their agents chose models because they had an interesting look or a beautiful symmetrical face, Perseus had both. The IT factor. His walk was among the best of his generation.

Annabeth was done with Ludwig's look as she saw how Perseus stepped into the hectic atmosphere. He was two hours early which meant that he was four hours too late in the fashion world.

"You're good to go," said Annabeth to the young man next to her.

"Thanks," he laughed and got up to get dressed.

Annabeth waved Perseus over to her. His lips formed an "Oh," before he sat down next to her.

"I think we've never worked together before, haven't we?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Well, Percy," he introduced himself.

"Annabeth," she smiled.

"Annabeth?"

"Don't ask," she rolled her eyes. "A southern thing."

That made him roar with laughter. Annabeth had the entire Dior makeup arsenal next to her and was supposed to focus on enhancing his looks, but she couldn't. He was way too charming, way too funny, way too charismatic. They talked about life before fashion. Percy got scouted at the age of sixteen as he was working at his mother's bakery in NYC. At first, he thought it was a joke and his mother also had been very skeptical, but after the first few gigs, they realized that Percy had the potential of making it big in the scene.

Annabeth could sense that he was one of the few male models that could actually live a fairly comfortable life with his runway, video and editorial income. He was way too relaxed, and Annabeth knew how struggling models looked like.

Percy had seen Annabeth's work before. They've crossed looks behind the scenes of Prada, Valentino and Isabel Marant. At first, he had thought she had been a model herself with her height and gorgeous looks. The fact that she had been hired as a makeup artist came as a total surprise to him. The blonde set the foundation. He paid close attention to the movement of her hand. That is how he saw her diamond for the first time.

"Oh, wait you're engaged?" His eyes widened.

"What?" Annabeth looked at the ring on her finger. A birthday gift to herself.

"Oh that," she laughed.

"I think I might have missed the memo, but I'm pretty sure that I'm single."

"Oh," Percy laughed. He almost sounded relieved.

The makeup was a soft look that should set focus on the grooming of the models. A glow on the cheekbones. Smooth skin. Little crystals that were set around the eyes functioned as little highlights. A black earring dangled from his left ear. Then Annabeth moved further to his lips.

Annabeth used neutral brown tones that were supposed to enhance his looks. She applied the color and slowly worked on his bottom lip. His lips slightly parted and his intense stare made Annabeth blush. Her gray eyes wandered back to his lips to finish her work.

"I think you're good to go," Annabeth said.

"Already?" he pouted. It was unfair. How could someone shift from fierce to seal eyes in less than a second? Features that could shift from humor to almost anger so easily from the shoots Annabeth had seen from him.

"Move," she laughed.

Perseus got up. "See you around," he winked. A warm feeling spread through Annabeth. He's just cheeky. That's all.

The collection had a touch of British fashion. Percy grabbed his stuff and was placed into a changing room by a stylist. As soon as he left, he had been swarmed by people that corrected everything. From the way the tie was sitting to the way the white jersey was stuffed into his pants. Someone actually got on their knees to work on the socks. His first look was a gray wool coat which was accompanied by a dark set of pants, a white jersey which had a silver shirt underneath. A fitting white tie and white gloves were set as highlights.

"We need someone to do a little retouch!" one of the stylists yelled. Percy turned around to see if Annabeth was around somewhere. She was not. She still sat in her niche and worked her magic on his colleague Malick. They were laughing. A pang to his heart. Disappointment.

"Hey Percy!" Makeup artist and great friend Piper McLean greeted him and redid some of Annabeth's layers.

"All models must be ready in the next ten minutes!" yelled director Luke Castellan over the noise and busy people. "First Looks and then get in line! Ten minutes everybody!"

Percy got to the small corner where photographers were ready to take the first pictures of the entire looks. Posing, demonstrating, not getting blinded by the flashing lights. Percy stood in a group with Jason Grace, Ethan Nakamura and Taemin Park. They broke the formation after a few minutes to make room for the next set of models with other looks. Percy got in line for the runway. He wasn't going to open the show; he was the fourth look. But he would have the honor of closing the show. A key highlight. He made a silent prayer and then it was time.

Assistant Grover Underwood gave the opening model Nico di Angelo the go to walk out. Everyone stared at the screen backstage in anticipation.

"Go!" Charles Beckendorf left.

"Go!" Jason Grace moved forward.

"Go!" It was Percy's turn.

Annabeth was in awe of his work. Percy walked upright. The right amount of poise and elegance. A hint of arrogance. A lot of determination. He did not move his hips too much and he accentuated the movement of his shoulders. A strong masculine walk and on beat with the music too. A beautiful strut. A neutral game face but his sea green eyes were set aflame.

Percy focused the minute he had reached the middle of the runway. He could do a sloppier walk in the beginning but not anymore. Eyes open, be casual but attentive. The camera that would capture the picture for Vogue Runway which would be sent all over the world in a few minutes caught his gaze. He worked around the crowd of celebrities and fashionistas that captured his looks with their own smartphones and made his way backstage. The coat got taken off immediately. A stylist handed him the final outfit which he had to change in less than a minute. Then Piper caught up with him and did small retouches before he went to Second Looks.

Percy wore a black coat which was embroidered with silver elements. The strong silver started from the collar and was reduced by the chest area. The streaks got less and less, like feathers that were falling and captured. The black fabric of the coat took over and created an interesting silhouette.

Percy was surprised. Annabeth stood next to him and actually did his retouching again. Her thumb brushed the fallout off. A small gesture he truly enjoyed.

"What? No good luck kiss for me?" Percy asked innocently. Annabeth's jaw dropped. She actually laughed. Cheeky. He was very cheeky.

"What would you need a good luck kiss for?" He was more than just professional. Percy didn't need luck. He just worked and did so perfectly each and every single time.

"Go!" said Grover and pushed him out. A last cocky grin and wink to Annabeth and then he was back on stage.

Annabeth stood next to designer Kim and watched how Percy worked his magic on the runway again. All 37 models were set in a row and did one final round one after another after Grover's go. After that, the designer went on stage and bowed to the crashing applause.

The crew backstage cheered as well. Another gig was done and over and the fashion world knew what the man would wear in the coming fall season.

Annabeth helped collect the makeup and clean the area. She turned around and nearly walked into Percy. Percy almost looked nervous.

"Oh. Is everything okay?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask you whether you had makeup wipes," he said lamely.

Annabeth grabbed a few and handed them to him. He was already changed back into his casual jeans and black hoodie. It almost broke the makeup artist's heart to see the model cleaning the canvas. But with or without makeup, Percy was a handsome man.

"Thank you," he smiled. And he did not move an inch. A question rested on his lips.

"Would you like to drink some coffee with me?" Annabeth halted her movements and looked up to Percy.

"What?"

Percy was surprised at her surprised reaction. The fact that top model Percy Jackson was single and actually had asked her out blew her mind. Annabeth nearly dropped the brushes.

"Are you serious?" Annabeth asked him. He was confused.

"Why wouldn't I be serious? I like you," he explained. A man that was direct. That was something Annabeth certainly liked.

"So. Coffee or not?"

"Sure," she said and shared his smile.

The End.

Something short and sweet! Percy's looks are looks 4 and 47 from Dior Men Fall/Winter 2020/21 if you want to check :D

I'd also love to hear your thoughts! Let me know what you think :D