Notes: this was written for the Percabeth Discord's Secret Saturnalia Event 2021. i didn't write the rules so imma ignore the one about no nsfw. and a big thank you to WinglessQuill for reading this over!

love you Ari, hope this is legible :) ❤️

The sound of car horns and the bustling of New Yorkers heading to work filled the air.

Percy moved through the crowded Manhattan streets with a practiced expertise, all while balancing a stack of files in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. His phone was perched on his shoulder, pressed in place with his cheek as he spoke to a client.

"... I'll have to see about that. The firm isn't opposed to extending the lease, but our partners would like… yeah… yeah, we can do that, but it'll set you back a good four months... Probably thirty cents on the dollar at a minimum…"

Glancing up, he smiled at the bold insignia of NEO DΔEDALUS, the architecture company he worked for, glaring back at him. The huge building always seemed so out of reach during his internship. But not anymore. This had been his dream: working for the top architecture company in the city. And he'd been doing so for the last five years after he graduated college.

He walked through the automatic glass door, shooting a smile at Lexi, the receptionist. The cool bite of the air conditioner was a nice refreshment after coming from that heat outside. In November. Global warming had NYC weather all types of fucked up. He stepped into the elevator and managed to jam the button for the 30th floor.

"Hold the elevator! Please!"

Percy stuck a foot out to stop the door and smiled when he saw who it was. A blonde haired beauty stepped into the lift, looking frazzled and put together at the same time. Like him, a bunch of files were in one hand, though she was missing the coffee. She was wearing a white blouse with a black pinstripe pencil skirt, her lips a cherry red, long voluminous waves of curls falling over her shoulders to her waist like a princess'.

He always loved it when she left her hair down.

"Thanks…" she finally looked up at him and her brows lifted in surprise. Those dazzling gray eyes, lined with light liner and mascara, popped in the fluorescent light. "Oh, Jackson, it's you."

"Mornin', Chase," he returned jubilantly.

"Good morning. You're on time for once."

"You're late for once."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not late, idiot. I had to park my car three blocks away because somehow every single spot was taken right outside."

He chuckled a bit. "That's why I don't drive to Manhattan. Just take the subway like everyone else."

"What's the point of having a car if I never use it?"

"I dunno, but it's better than trying to squeeze in some tiny ass spot on a Monday morning."

"Whatever."

This was Annabeth Chase. A woman who pretty much hated his guts. As to why, he had absolutely no clue. She was an architect like him; she was his beloved coworker, his rival, and he couldn't get enough of her company. They had been at odds for as long as he could remember.

And that was a long time.

They'd both graduated from NYU in the same year, and began working an entry level position at Neo Daedalus. Since then, they'd climbed the ranks together and quickly became rivals, always trying to outdo the other's merits. Now they hailed as second level designers, or Designer II's, two years before the designated needed experience.

All of their friends and colleagues knew of their feud and it was actually encouraged by some of the more lax. It made for great entertainment and a brilliant escape from staring at blueprints all day.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

"See you at the meeting, Chase."

"Unfortunately, I'll have to," Annabeth sighed and walked off toward her office. Without turning, she hollered, "Remember it's at 12:30. Don't be late again."

Percy smiled wistfully at her retreating form.

-xo-

Annabeth shook the hand of her client and bid the older woman, Drew Tanaka, farewell.

She watched her leave through the glass walls of her office, waiting until she had turned the corner to let out a groan and slump back in her chair. God, this woman had rejected her design for the third time now, never satisfied. Once was fine. Twice, okay maybe. But three times?

That was just plain rude.

Ms. Tanaka was the owner of a chain of fashion and jewelry stores, and Annabeth was in charge of her newest location. How intricate could she want it to be? They literally sold overpriced clothes and stones to uptight rich people. No one even cared about the layout of the store, only what was in it.

And her perfume had stunk up her entire office. This woman made all the high school boys spraying egregious amounts of Axe look like saints. Inhaling that foul scent for the last forty five minutes had given her a splitting headache.

Client after client, Annabeth hadn't even gotten the chance to buy breakfast yet.

God, she needed a secretary. But unfortunately, she'd have to wait until she was higher in rank for one. Senior Designer seemed like a dream right now. And that was roughly five years away unless she pulled enough spontaneous merit for an early promotion. Unfortunately, that was very unlikely.

Annabeth groaned again when her phone rattled out her 12:25 alarm. Five minutes til the meeting.

Sighing, she stood up, walking to the board room with a rumbling stomach. Her Louboutin heels clacked loudly against the tiles, and for the first time she regretted buying them because it only made her headache worsen. Even still, she entered the room with schooled features, the pique of proper.

The long table was filling up with her fellow architects, third year interns and above. And across from her sat one of the Senior Managers.

"Annabeth, hey."

She offered a genuine smile to her colleague. "Hey, Grover."

"You look tired," he said, concern present in his kind eyes. "You getting enough sleep? I told you to stop overloading on cases."

Annabeth laughed lightly. "I wish I could do that."

Looking toward the front of the room, she saw the President of Neo Daedalus, Chiron Brunner, sitting at the head of the table. He looked over at everyone with a grandfatherly smile, a twinkle in his eyes as they walked in. Soon enough, every seat in the room was filled.

All except the one right next to her.

Annabeth suppressed an exasperated sigh. Of course, it'd be him. Why wouldn't it be? She had no idea how Percy Jackson of all people had the same position as her.

He was completely unprofessional. He was late to everything, he never wore his suit properly — always forgoing the jacket and opting for the button up shirt only, untucked with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows before the first hour, and his tie was perpetually loose with two of the buttons undone. Not to mention his hair; that tousled, wavy jet black mess on his head was the very opposite of the men's dress code. But Chiron never seemed to mind too much. Percy did good work after all, as much as she loathed to admit it.

"Well, I suppose we should start," Chiron began, standing up. He turned on the projector and pressed a few things into his laptop. "I won't drag this out for too long so let me just get to the main points. Our company's been doing well, but as of last month Dimmsdale Dimmadome has upped their ratio of…"

The glass door swung open once more. And in came the annoyance that plagued her mind.

Percy moved around the table, holding a cup of coffee and a brown paper bag. Annabeth's eyes rolled. Of course, he'd be out getting food when there was a meeting. And now he'd be eating right next to her. Could this day get any worse?

"Mr. Jackson, thank you for joining us."

Percy smiled, charming and sheepish. "My pleasure, Chiron."

"Take a seat, my boy."

Chiron was too nice to him. He was too nice to everyone, but especially Percy. For some odd reason, everyone was fond of him. It made no sense. He was annoying, always joked around during work, and never seemed to be able to actually look at the expensive watch he flaunted on his wrist.

"Hey, Chase," Percy whispered, plopping down into his seat.

"Jackson," Annabeth muttered back, not looking at him.

The smell of his coffee filled all her senses. And god, was that a chocolate chip muffin? The universe seemed to be taunting her today. Those were her preferred breakfast items from the amazing coffee cart right down the street.

As Chiron continued his lecture, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She shrugged that shoulder, brushing him off. Jackson was always playing around in these meetings. But he just kept on tapping her no matter how many times she averted him. When he tugged on a lock of her hair, she finally had enough. Of all the middle school bullshit—

Annabeth shot him a pointed glare and hissed, "What do you want?"

Percy's sea green eyes lit up with amusement and seemed to pop even in the dim light as he slid the brown bag over to her followed by the coffee.

"Saw you didn't get breakfast," he murmured with a little smile.

The annoyance left her in a flash as she looked back and forth between the heavenly sustenance and him.

She didn't know what to say. "Jack—"

"Shh," he hushed jokingly. "Look around, we're in a meeting."

Annabeth stared back at him, blinking and confused. At his encouraging nod, she reached forward and took a sip of the coffee. Black with one sugar. Just how she liked it. And upon opening the paper bag, she found there was a bagel inside in addition to the muffin she sniffed out. Strawberry cream cheese on a toasted plain bagel, no jelly. Just how she liked it.

There was a pattern here somewhere.

She hid the smile that overwhelmed her into the cup, turning around and refocusing on the lecture. Though, everything Chiron said went in one ear and out the other. This muffin was so good she very nearly moaned at the first bite. Food always tasted better when hungry.

A tingle went up her neck. The feeling when someone was watching you. It wasn't hard to determine who the perpetrator was. Heat flashed under skin and she rolled her shoulders reflexively. She wouldn't turn around. She wouldn't.

She did.

Percy smirked at her, like he knew exactly what was going on in her mind. The subtle smell of his cologne wafted toward her. But this time, it was pleasant, fresh, cedar-y, and aromatic, and he didn't dump the whole bottle on himself. Very much unlike Drew Tanaka. She liked it.

"Good muffin?"

"And what does that have to do with architecture?"

"Everything, clearly."

Annabeth bit back a laugh and nudged his shoulder. "Thanks for this. I really appreciate it. Very sweet of you."

"No worries," he whispered back.

Percy's lips tugged up at the corners, pleased as he watched her take another bite, and for a moment, he was nothing like his normal annoying self. She noticed how his beard, full and neatly trimmed, was nothing like his endearingly wind whipped, messy hair. Over the years, she'd amusedly seen his struggle to grow it, but he finally managed to a year or two ago.

Wait, endearingly? No, that definitely wasn't right.

Their gazes met once more. And despite all she disliked about him, she could never deny he had the prettiest eyes she'd ever seen.

-xo-

It was nearing 8 PM on a Friday evening when he got Chiron's message.

Percy sighed as he waited for the elevator to arrive. He had finally finished his month-long project for a client and felt like death on legs. Everyone else had already gone home, off to enjoy their weekend, but not him. No, he had to work Saturdays too. Which would be fine if he got to go home and enjoy at least five hours of sleep after indulging in a glass or two of a Bordeaux.

Just as the elevator was about to close he heard, "Hold the elevator!"

His mood lifted a bit at that voice as he held the door open again. It seemed like she got called by Chiron too.

"Hey," Annabeth breathed, stepping inside beside him. "Thanks."

"You ever get déja vú?" Percy asked, smirking down at her. She was red cheeked and tired, the wear of the day clear in her face. He probably wasn't much better. "This is becoming a habit of yours, Chase. Probably because of those death traps you call shoes."

"Heels," she said with a huff. "And they make my legs look good."

"You don't need anything to make your legs look good."

Annabeth scoffed and poked his side. "Eyes up, buddy."

He batted her hand away. "Don't call me buddy."

"Idiot," she corrected amiably.

Laughing, he nodded approvingly. "There we go."

That seemed to get a smile out of her. Her lips were pink today, closer to their natural shade. And her eyes were shadowed with a light silver. Baby hairs matted down, her loose strands looked like threads of fine gold, the same ones that made his heart rich. She was gorgeous.

Chiron's office was on the very top floor, typical for big silver haired tycoons like him, so it took a while for the elevator to get up there. Percy was very glad Chiron wasn't the arrogant type. Attitudes got real old, real fast, and he had no patience for shit like that.

"Any idea what this is about?" Percy wondered.

"Obviously the new design everyone's been pissing their pants about. Keep up, Jackson."

He clicked his tongue. "One day that pride's gonna get you killed, Chase."

"Well, until that day comes, I'll just keep on outdoing you on every project."

"In your dreams. I knew you were blonde, but I didn't know you were delusional, too."

"A blonde joke?" She scoffed. "Real original. I have more intelligence in my pinky than you have in your whole body."

"Yeah, my ass."

Before she could say anything else, the elevator dinged and opened up to Chiron's lavish office floor. The walls were a sparkling white and the marble tiled floors were always lustrous. Percy had only been up here a few times over the years. Chiron normally made his rounds personally so a summon was quite out of the ordinary.

This mysterious new design everyone was buzzing about was based off of a flagrant rumor that Christopher 'Zeus' Grace was thinking about starting another location. But that was ridiculous. They had just started remodeling the California office five weeks ago.

Percy and Annabeth walked down the long hallway and up a small set of manila stairs, stopping in front of Juniper Green's desk, Chiron's secretary.

Annabeth waved at her. "Hey, June."

"Hey, Annabeth, Perce. Go on in, Chiron's free."

"Thanks."

Percy winked at her and mouthed 'Grover,' suppressing a laugh at how she blushed and immediately dropped her gaze, floundering with her keyboard. Her face was tinting the same color as her hair. She was always easy to fluster. It was adorable.

Going through the wooden double doors, they had finally reached Chiron's office. The wide windows spanning the room offered a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline, especially at night when all the lights were out. And for some reason, Chiron kept a huge painting of a centaur shooting a bow and arrow on the wall behind his desk. It was weird, but he never questioned it.

"Hello," Chiron said with a kind smile. "So sorry to have called you here this late."

Annabeth shook her head. "It's not a problem, sir."

"Next time make it during our hours," Percy joked, though about ninety percent serious. "Some of us aren't married to this building like you."

Chiron chortled and nodded. "I'll have to see about that." Pulling out a drawer, he brought out a fat file, barely held together in the light blue folder. "I assume you both have heard inklings of what I'm about to tell you."

"A new branch?" Annabeth asked, surprised. "It's true?"

So much for her earlier assuredness.

"Quite true, Ms. Chase." Chiron opened the file and placed it on his desk facing them. "It'll be the biggest project we have to date. The only branch Neo Daedalus has in Europe is located in Germany, and the board and I have decided London would be our best bet."

"Wait a minute, why would you agree to something like that?" Percy interrupted, drawing looks from both other parties in the room. "How can we already be building this branch? Some of the interns and even the Designer I's are already underpaid as is. And if the company goes through with this, then who knows if they'll still have jobs left."

There was no way Zeus would be stupid and reckless enough start an entirely new building at the same time as their California branch remodeling. Funds would be spread far too thin.

Annabeth looked at him with an expression he couldn't quite decipher.

Chiron propped his elbows on the table and interlocked his fingers. "I appreciate your concern for your juniors and I share them deeply. However, it turns out Zeus doesn't want to waste the time it would take if we did them separately."

Percy scoffed. "He's too arrogant."

"I can neither agree nor disagree with that," Chiron said, the amusement in his eyes spoke clear tones of his opinion. "Zeus is, however, indisputably the owner of this company. And as long as we don't go under the line, he's within his rights to put this motion forward."

"Skimming the edge," Annabeth commented, probably computing the numbers in her head.

"We've argued about this case for months until the decision was made so I'm afraid it's out of my hands now. Financials aside, let's move to the reason why I called the both of you here." Chiron withdrew a set of papers and looked over them, and without looking up, he said, "I take great pride in saying that the NYC branch is the best. And no one can argue with me on that. So in the chairman meeting, it was decided that the architects leading the London project will be from here."

Chiron's stark, intense brown eyes met theirs.

"And after deliberation with my Junior Partners and Managers, especially Mr. Underwood, we've decided that under their supervision, the Designer II's will be given a chance at this."

Designer II's on such a big project? It was unheard of. Any fatigue Percy felt from the day had receded, replaced by something fiery, a thirst. Beside him, he saw Annabeth's shoulders become rigid. They were clearly thinking the same thing.

"I should design it," Annabeth said immediately. What the fuck? "I have the best closing rate in the company—"

"Aren't you forgetting something, Chase?" Percy cut in, adamant. "My rate is just as high as yours. And I have the highest clientele percentage."

"More clients doesn't make you better."

"It does if I've closed more than you. I've generated more profit for this company in the last eight months than you have in a year!"

"This is about design credibility, not profit! And even if it was, you know you cheated!" Annabeth's eyes harbored an angry storm as she gesticulated wildly with her hands. "We all know you were sleeping with Rachel Dare—"

"I was not! Wha—why would you even think that? I barely even talked to her! My client was her father, not Rachel!"

"Is that why William Dare requested you for all of his queries? Because Rachel had no say in it?"

The audacity of this girl. Always making dumb assumptions. It's as if she thought him incompetent as an architect. There was absolutely no way he could be sought out for his skills. No, of course not, that would be ludicrous.

He scowled. "She was only there because William and I planned out his new office building at their house—"

"That's rich. So why did Rachel post a shirtless picture of you at her pool on her Instagram story?!"

"Shirtless—what?" Percy recoiled like a bee was flying around his face. "So I swam in their pool a few times, so what? They offered, so I—wait, you follow her on Instagram?"

Annabeth faltered, blinking multiple times as a blush rose in her cheeks. "No, of course not," she said quickly, scrambling a bit now. "Silena showed me. You know how she is with gossip."

"Uh-huh," he scoffed in disbelief. "So if I call Silena right now, she's gonna confirm that?"

"Yeah! She will, but she's on her honeymoon with Beck right now. They're probably in the middle of some questionable things and we're not here to talk about that," she quickly tried to change gear. "We're here to discuss this project—"

"Yes, we are," Chiron said, finally speaking. He looked all too amused at their banter. "Now that you both got that out of your system, perhaps we can discuss how to go about this."

Annabeth was about to speak up again when Chiron raised a hand to silence her.

"Listen, I know you two very well. And I can tell you both want this." He tapped his wedding ring against his desk a few times as he thought. "Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give you both a month, until December 31st to be precise, to come up with a design. I want schematics, blueprints, alternative layouts, a powerpoint, and a 3D model—ask Mr. Valdez if you need help with that."

"So there's gonna be two designs for the building?" Percy asked.

"Nice, you can add one plus one," Annabeth commented.

He sighed, starting to feel aggravated, but tried to ignore her. "Are you just going to see who has the better design and pick that one?"

"Essentially," Chiron agreed. "The one who presents the best design to me will, of course, be heading the project, but I'll also throw in a promotion. Senior Designer."

"Senior Designer," Percy echoed, flabbergasted. He blinked multiple times, exchanging a mutual floundering look with Annabeth. "You mean no holds barred, straight up Senior Designer at our age. We don't need the ten years experience?"

"Exactly," Chiron said with a knowing smile. "At 28, you should feel very proud of yourselves for that feat, should you get it. You'd be the youngest SD we've ever had. Even with ten years in the business, it's not guaranteed to get that spot. But I know you two, and your work ethic speaks for itself."

His words rang sweet. Too sweet, Percy thought.

"Chiron," Annabeth breathed. She practically had stars in her eyes. "That's… that's amazing. Thank you."

Chiron smirked at that. "Don't thank me yet, you haven't heard the catch."

Percy was starting to get antsy. It was nearing 8:30. If he made it home in the next hour, he could probably get at least a third of the research done tonight. He wanted to win this thing so badly.

Annabeth arched a perfectly threaded brow. "The catch, sir?"

Chiron's expression hardened, turning grim and solemn. He'd never seen his boss so serious before.

"Whichever one of you presents the best design of my choosing will become Project Manager and get the promotion. And whoever loses… is fired."

Thunder struck in tumultuous rolls through Percy's entire being. No, that couldn't be. He couldn't get fired, he'd worked too hard. A crawling anxiety rippled through his skin with all the subtlety of a whirlpool and cold sweat prickled the small of his back. During which, Annabeth actually lost her balance and bumped against him before grabbing onto his arm to right herself. He was pretty sure that wasn't because of iron deficiency.

"Fired?!" They echoed with horror clear in their expressions.

That was inane. He couldn't do that.

But then realization set in like a big fat anchor. This wasn't simply a manager of their firm who held technical authority over them. And he wasn't just a businessman or some experienced personnel in the industry either. He was the most renowned architect in all of New York. This was Chiron Brunner, the President of Neo Daedalus.

He could very well do that.

"Yes, fired," Chiron said resignedly. "You both are phenomenal at your jobs, but I will not have your feud continue to damage the quality of your work and the work environment. Do you know how many complaints from the new employees I've had to waive because of you two?"

No, they didn't. Sheepish visages lit up their pallor.

"Cooperation is also a part of being an architect. And you two clearly don't even know what that word means. I've tolerated it for five years but even my patience has its limits. So I'm giving you this competition. Whoever wins, stays. Whoever loses, goes. Simple as that."

Kind as can be, but a harsh man, he was.