It was supposed to be a normal blind date. Then why did things turn out the way it did?
Sitting in front of him was the all-familiar and popular woman in his company, not to mention, his boss. And if that wasn't uncomfortable as it was, he was on a date with her.
"I am so sorry for this. My friend set this up," Percy said as he looked at the white clothed table, the auburn-haired woman staring at him intently.
"It's okay."
Silence enveloped the table, and he could see, from the corner of his eyes, the waiters hesitating to serve their table. Money was being passed between them and Percy tried to hide his embarrassment. How could they try to earn quick cash from his misery?
"So how is the pitch towards Maple Beauty Corporation going? Any strong ideas?" Artemis finally spoke.
Oh no. Work conversation on a date? Man, am I going to be the joke of the year.
Despite his internal strife, he smiled and replied, "Drew and Silena are working on ideas for the product that might make Aphrodite relent shares for her exquisite product. Its hard since we aren't able to send men to discuss it since we all know what happened last time some of them went for," he forced his hands to move and motioned in air quotes, "discussion."
Artemis let out a small smile at his gesture and nodded along while she opened the menu laid in front of her. The sea green eyed man in front of her opened his menu as well even though he knew what he wanted.
"You ready to order?" a female waiter asked, a white shirt that wrapped around her figure tightly while a red apron hung from her neck and fell just short of her knees. She looked at him with a pointed gaze making him look away and lightly blush.
Artemis replied, giving Percy a cold look, "Yeah, I'd like to order 1 dish of lobster frittata."
"Hmm, I'll go with white truffle pasta," Percy continued after he felt their gazes starting to drill a hole into him.
"Would you two be interested in any drinks?"
"I am good, I am driving," Percy responded instantly, already prepared for the question.
Artemis though, on the other hand, hummed slightly before she answered, "I'll take some red wine."
"Got it, any desserts?" the waitress asked, noting in the pad with speed that made her hands seem like a blur.
"Maybe later for me," the auburn-haired female said before looking at Percy expectedly.
"Same."
The waitress finally left with a smile as she gathered their menus, leaving them in an awkward smile. Percy had never interacted with Artemis at work other than any project they collaborated on or when she was giving him jobs to do.
"So, what made you go on a blind date except for your friend setting you up?" Artemis finally asked, her hands positioned under her chin as her elbows rested on the table. The silver eyes seemed to stare at his soul, and he felt the tie beginning to get tighter from nervousness.
"My friend wanted me to try the app before he did and since I had nothing better to do tonight, I agreed. What about you? I never would've thought someone like you would need to use an app to get a date."
"Someone like me?" Artemis' eyebrows twitched slightly as Percy bit his lip from what he said, "What do you mean by someone like me?"
Percy stuttered for a response and luckily for him, the waitress from before returned with their dishes, giving him a small wink. Percy sighed in relief and changed the topic, "What about you? Why did you agree to a blind date?"
"I was bored," she replied simply as she took a bite out of her frittata. Percy grabbed a fork and took a little bite to test its temperature. Fortunately, it wasn't too hot that it would burn his tongue and he began to eat it.
Percy asked, "So what are your favourite things to do on your day off?"
"I would say archery and sometimes I volunteer to help at Greek All-Girls School."
"Oh wow, archery huh?" Percy asked, flabbergasted. She nodded and smirked, "American Representative for Archery for 4 years and still going strong."
Percy gave her a cute lopsided grin as he continued to eat the pasta. The taste seemed to make him feel things that he never expected, and he finally understood why it was so expensive. The spices and cream that mixed together created a perfect blend of taste on his tongue, making him yearn for more.
"What about your swimming?" Artemis piped up as she finished swallowing the last of the frittata.
Percy asked as he chewed, "What about it?"
"Aren't you like American Representative for Swimming?"
"Used to be. Now I am more focused on work," Percy replied as he gently wiped his mouth from the meal and looked around for the waitress.
It didn't take long considering the restaurant was practically empty save for another couple at the far end. A blond boy with close-cropped hair sat opposite an indigenous girl, 'Cherokee' Percy assumed, with hair that resembled chocolatey brown colour, however unlike the boy, her hair was cut unevenly. Yet, the kaleidoscopic effect of her eyes as they seemed to be a mix of different colours drew the attention away from any imperfection on her face.
"You know what?" Artemis' voice broke Percy from his stupor as he turned his gaze towards her and watched her twirl the glass of wine in her hand, "I changed my mind. I want something stronger."
Percy looked at her concerned, slightly taken aback from her change in demeanour, "Are you sure?"
"Yes," she replied, her pointed gaze seemingly staring into his soul and he sighed. Fortunately, the waitress he was waiting for came to the table, her notepad already out and her cheery smile directed at them.
No words were needed as Artemis broke the silence, "I'll go with something stronger than red wine please."
"Unfortunately, the bar is closed at the moment."
Percy had figured that might be the case considering it was 10 o'clock on a Thursday night. In fact, he was quite certain that the diner would be closing soon and they were most likely delaying the chefs and waiters.
"That's alright," Percy spoke, "Artemis, its getting late so we should get going as well." He gave her a look 'its late and they want to go home' and hoped she'd catch on. Luckily, she did as she nodded and, gracefully stood up.
"You're right. We'd like to pay the bill."
"Sure thing."
Percy and Artemis silently followed the waitress, the former mindlessly following and his body acting by itself. He couldn't believe that his 'date' was over already before they even got to any of the 'date' stuff. Was it supposed to be this stiff or challenging?
"Wait up," she called out and Percy finally realized that he had walked further than her and had reached the traffic lights. Fortunately, he hadn't continued onwards, or the onslaught of the American cars would've been the last thing he'd have remembered.
Turning around, the green-eyed man looked at Artemis who seemed to be slightly struggling with wrapping the scarf around her. "Here, let me," he offered and, without waiting for a response, he untangled it and embraced it nicely around her slender yet defined shoulders, trying extremely hard to not accidentally touch any skin of hers.
"Well, are you trying to get yourself killed or something?"
"Don't curse me," he moaned, burying his face in his palms, "I was just deep in thought."
"Could've fooled me."
"Yeah well, I wouldn't have pegged my boss who seems well established and organised to struggle with something like wrapping a scarf," he retorted, his gaze looking anywhere but her. He wanted the light to turn green for the pedestrians so they could split and he could put this disastrous 'date' behind him.
She rolled her eyes in reply, "People can't be perfect."
Silence enveloped them again but this time, Percy had to admit that it felt more comfortable than in the restaurant. Perhaps, it was because of the atmosphere that led to a dry date.
"Say," Artemis began, "wanna go to a bar? I don't think I have had enough drinks for the day, and I don't feel like ending this "date" already."
Her look seemed mischievous and Percy began to notice a rather carefree side to her, the stoic and stern expression still present but also she was more relaxed. He nodded in response, silently glad that his 'date' wasn't a complete disaster, and said, "I know a bar that's close to my house."
"I didn't bring my car with me tonight since I live close to here and frankly, I was quite prepared to finish this quickly and go back home."
"I mean, I have my car with me. I am not going to drink but I can be your chauffeur for tonight."
Artemis gave him a small grin and bobbed her head. He dug for the keys in his pockets and led her towards his car. It didn't take long and was Percy glad that he had cleaned his car out the previous day. Files and empty boxes from takeouts weren't impressive on a 'date'; he had seen enough rom-coms to know how that seemed.
"Buckle up," Percy stated as he turned the engine on followed by the headlights.
New York streets that were popular for being annoyingly crowded didn't seem so frustrating as Percy wove through the traffic and Artemis had to admit, he looked quite attractive with the serious expression on his face as he focused on driving.
Conscious of each other's presence, neither noticed the amount of time it took to get to the bar that Percy had talked about and from the exterior, she noticed that it looked pretty bland. It looked like any old building, except the neon sign that read 'OPEN 24/7'.
Artemis looked at Percy hesitantly, but the latter waltzed in casually, motioning for her to follow. She walked behind slowly and once she was inside, she noticed that it was quite different. Contrasting the exterior, the inside looked more modern as she'd expect.
"Surprised?" Percy asked, his eyes betraying his amusement, "So was I when I saw this first."
Artemis nodded and continued following Percy who walked to the bartender at the side of the room and heard him say, "Hey Pollux, how's it going?"
Purple eyed boy with dark curly blonde hair eyed Percy and smiled widely. "Percy, where you been?"
"Just here and there."
"Been a fucking long time since you came by. What was it, a month ago?"
Percy shrugged in response and Artemis elbowed him slightly. Seeing all the drinks being made, Artemis was more than eager to get her night started after them being kicked out of the restaurant. Fortunately, Percy took the hint and said, "You reckon you can get her some of your finest drinks."
"Trying to get her drunk, are you?" Pollux joked and Percy nervously laughed.
"You are going to get me in trouble if you speak like that. No, she is my boss and seemingly a heavy drinker."
"Is that right?" The bartender asked as his gaze turned towards her.
Artemis, on the other hand, glared at him and responded, "Yep. Being the Director of Operations, I can safely say that being a heavy drinker is the way to go."
Pollux laughed as he backed off and began pouring drinks and mixing them with the skills that she had only seen in her half-brother. If she looked closely, she could see some resemblance but not too much.
After what took a few minutes, he slid a drink towards her and began wiping his hands as he watched her reaction eagerly. She looked at it for a second before picking it up and gulping it down in one go, the burning sensation hitting instantly and her eyes widened.
"Oh, this is good. Keep it comin'."
Percy grinned, "Put it on my tab."
"Nah man, just take it on the house. You rarely bring anyone over since her."
Artemis's brow furrowed as those words made their way in her ears but before she could question, another glass presented itself in front of her. More like another victim as it found itself sliding down her throat within mere seconds.
She didn't know when she had passed out because when she regained consciousness she found herself in an unknown bed and all she could do was scream silently.
A/N: Ngl, I was going to just make this a one-shot but then when I started writing and after I got help from Silver1119, I was encouraged to think a bit more and decided to make this into a story. I cant tell how big or small it will be but its mostly a fluff modern au story so I am not really too invested in it. However, it doesn't mean, I am not invested at all. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and please fav, follow and review. I'll take whatever you can give, of course, for someone like me, reviews work a charm. You can also find me on discord at *slash* elibrary. That should work hopefully.