#they have me sat here smiling and giggling at my laptop so openly my sister felt the need to comment on it smh | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

roseherondale · 4 years

Text

Kit Babysits Mina for the First Time

Summary: Kit babysits 8-month old Mina alone for the first time alone, and faces some trouble.

Word Count: 4404

Warnings: N/A

Read it on AO3 here

“Are you sure you don’t want us to cancel?” Jem regarded Kit with worry, but he just shook his head.

“You’ve had tickets for ages. We’ll be fine.” He promised, gesturing into the nursery where Mina was settled in her crib for her afternoon nap. Tessa emerged from within, beautifully dressed in a deep blue dress that reached her knees, and gently shooed them away from the door.

“If Kit says he’ll be fine, he’ll be fine.” She chided Jem softly, then turned to her adoptive son. “If you need anything you can call either or us or Magnus, okay?”

“I know, Tessa. We’ll be okay.” He knew she saw through his fake confidence, as she did with everything, and hugged him.

“Say the word and we’ll stay.” She whispered into his ear, giving him a final out. But Kit was a Herondale and they never gave up on a challenge. He just hugged her back tightly.

“Enjoy your play.”

“We will, thank you. Jem has never had the chance to see it and my other children had such a love for Oscar Wilde.” They were travelling to London to go to dinner and to see The Importance of Being Earnest, an Oscar Wilde play that Tessa had wanted to take Jem to see. She had told Kit many stories about her and Will’s children and her friends’ children, including Matthew Fairchild, her son James’ parabatai, and his dog, Mr. Oscar Wilde.

Jem stepped forward to hug him before they left. “We left a full list of instructions in the kitchen just in case. We know you know what you’re doing but it’s your first time babysitting alone, and it can’t hurt to be there just in case.”

“Thanks. Really, Jem, I’ll be okay. I’ve seen and helped you and Tessa do this every day.” Kit smiled, reassuringly.

“Okay, well thank you so much for your help today. We should be back by eleven. We love you.” Jem said and Tessa echoed him, placing a kiss on his forehead.

“Love you too.” Kit said. He had become a lot more comfortable with saying that, though he was sure that it was impossible to live with Jem and Tessa for a year and not love them. They were kind and attentive, and never made Kit feel pushed to the side, even though they had their own daughter. In a strange way, Kit was also theirs and he cherished the feeling of having parents who openly showed him affection.

They walked away from him, waving and disappeared around the corner of the corridor. Kit turned and headed back into the nursery, curling up in the armchair with the laptop Jem and Tessa had bought for him. She would be asleep for another hour, and although Jem and Tessa usually left the room for her naps, content to have the baby monitor beside them, Kit didn’t want to leave her side in case anything were to happen.

Magnus would have been there normally, with his and Alec’s children: Max and Rafe. Kit liked them too, not as much as Mina, but he often kept them entertained. Rafe was six and enjoyed playing with Lego. He was quiet, but content to sit and let Kit help him build castles and towers. Max was four, and too young for Lego, though at the age where he wanted to copy his brother, but Magnus and Alec had bought him some large building blocks which he played with happily. Kit would sit between them and help, keeping the kids entertained whilst Magnus caught up with Tessa and Jem.

However, Rafe had come down with a cold and Magnus was looking after him. He didn’t want to risk passing anything to Mina, and so had regretfully informed her that he couldn’t babysit. Tessa had seemed disappointed that they would have to cancel their dinner and theatre reservations, so Kit had stepped in and offered to look after Mina. It was something he hadn’t done before and the whole idea made him nervous. He loved looking after her, but was left with a constant fear that somehow, he would mess it up, like he did with everything else.

He watched part of a movie for a while with his earphones in, until he heard her moving around in her crib; a sure sign that she was waking up. Quietly closing the laptop and storing it under the chair so he wouldn’t stand on it. He leant over the crib, looking down at his little sister, who was wearing a top patterned with flowers, her dark hair messy.

“Hey Min-Min,” he whispered, and she stared up at him, large, dark eyes blinking slowly. “Hi, baby. Good afternoon.” He cooed in a way that he would be mortally embarrassed about if anyone, but Jem and Tessa had heard. “Do you want to go get some milk?”

She made a noise that sounded like “Ki-Ki” which Kit translated to mean “Kit-Kit” and was the way in which she addressed him. He gently lifted her and laid her on the changing table, to put her into a clean nappy. Once he had done, and dressed her in some leggings, he carried her down to the kitchen to make her some milk.

She clapped her hands, making happy noises as he carried her and he spoke to her the whole way down, mostly repetitions of her name and telling her that they were going to get some lunch. He remembered that Tessa had said about how talking to babies helped them feel secure.

They reached the kitchen, which was one of Kit’s favourite rooms in the house. Copper pots and pans hung from the wall alongside bunches of herbs drying from the garden. He placed Mina in her high-chair so she wouldn’t crawl away whilst he was warming her milk. His hand dragged across the wooden table. It was here that he sat when Tessa went into labour, and her nonchalance towards the situation freaked him out, it was here where he saw Livvy for the first time since Idris, here where he gave his mother’s heron necklace to Magnus to give to… He shook his head.

This was the table where he ate chocolate pastries that Jem bought him from the bakery, this was where he sat down for meals every night with his family, where he realised on his first night, how much he had missed out on family life before he moved here.

He took the bottle of milk from the fridge, where Tessa had prepared them earlier, and placed it in the electric bottle warmer Tessa had bought, excitedly, as it was a quicker method than warming it in water as she had done with her first two children. Kit chopped up half of a ripe banana as the milk warmed and placed it into one of Mina’s plastic bowls. He turned his attention back to Mina whilst he waited for the bottle to warm, chatting to her the whole time.

When the beep indicated that it was ready, Kit stood up, untangling his finger from her tiny fist. “It’s okay, Min-Min, I’m just going to get your milk for you.” He took the bottle out, shook it to ensure the temperature was the same throughout, and squirted a couple drops onto the inside of his wrist. It was warm; not too hot, and so he took it over to Mina.

“Here, baby, let me help you.” He tied a bib around her neck and then held the bottle out to her. She reached up and held onto it, taking it from him. She drank, thirstily, Kit keeping a watchful eye on her to ensure she didn’t choke on it. Once she had finished, he passed her the bowl of bananas and she giggled, grabbing them and pushing them into her mouth.

Kit pulled the notes that Tessa and Jem had left for him. He read through it all, checking that there was nothing he didn’t already know, and saw a note at the end.

Dearest Kit,

Thank you for helping us out, darling. We love you – you are a blessing. If you need any help (and admitting that is a sign of strength, not weakness), please call us or Magnus.

Good luck,

Love Tessa and Jem x

He felt his eyes water and immediately rubbed them. He was used to the kindness by now, but when they did simple things that showed him how much they cared, he was always surprised. He didn’t deserve all of this – he had been taken into a family and welcomed with open arms, and the fact that they trusted him with their daughter was so unexpected.

Mina was giggling over her bananas, her hands and face covered in a sticky mush.

“What mischief have you gotten up to, Min-Min?” He asked, humming as he used wet wipes to remove the mess from her. She laughed, happily, moving her arms up and down, tiny fists clenched. “How about we sit you down in the living room with some toys?” He suggested, hoisting her into his arms.

She kicked out with chubby legs, excited to be carried around by her brother but also at the age where she wanted to crawl everywhere. He smiled, placing her on the ground in the living room, and pulled out her toy box, placing some building blocks in front of her. They were some of his favourite toys to help her play with; she liked it when he built her castles to destroy.

He loved the living room. Above the fireplace, two paintings hung. One was of Will Herondale, his ancestor, Jem’s parabatai, and Tessa’s late husband. The other was of Tessa and Will’s two children, Lucie and James. On the top of the fireplace were several photographs of Tessa, Catarina and Magnus; of Tessa and Jem on their wedding day, of Mina when she was born, and his favourite: the four of them in the gardens of Cirenworth Hall, the house silhouetted behind them, taken by Clary, when Jace and his friends had visited in the summer. Mina was sat in Tessa’s arms and Kit was stood beside her, Jem behind him with his arms around his wife and his son. Kit had a copy of the photo in his bedroom.

For a while, things were fine. They built houses and she knocked them over, grinning and clapping her hands in delight, which, in turn, made Kit laugh with her. She picked up a brick, chewing on it and Kit tried to wrestle it from her, like he had seen Tessa do every day. However, when he finally got it away from her, she screwed up her face and began crying.

“Hey, Mina, it’s okay baby. Here, look at me, Min-Min, it’s okay. You can have it back; you just can’t chew it.” He said desperately, reaching across the bricks to her, but she pulled away from him. Her cries made him panic and want to cry too but he was the one in charge; he had to act like it.

“I’m a Shadowhunter,” he muttered to himself, “I fight demons, I can calm a crying child.” He stood up, and picked her up, so that her head was against his shoulder, and she beat her tiny legs against his stomach.

However, he was out of his depth. He had seen Tessa and Jem calm Mina with ease, but as he tried to rock her, she just screamed and hit at him with her fists.

Tessa and Jem shouldn’t have trusted him with their daughter. He felt his eyes well up. Kit had disappointed them, like he did with everyone else, and now he was going to have to face the consequences. They would send him away somewhere, maybe to the Shadowhunter Academy, and he would be all alone again.

He had to do something. Call Magnus or even Emma, so that they could fix this. He wasn’t cut out for it, and they had a lot more experience with kids. Of course, that would mean that Tessa and Jem would find out, and they would hate him.

His heartbeat quickened, and his breathing too, when suddenly, his attention focused onto the portraits. Will stared down at him, knowingly, and Kit’s eyes strayed down to their family photo in the centre of the mantlepiece. Tessa and Jem would never send him away. They may not be his actual parents, but they loved him much more than his father had, and they spent their time looking after him, and making him a part of their family.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself. Tessa had always said that telling Mina stories was a sure way to make her calm down. Kit cleared his throat and stared down at his sister.

“Alright, Min, I’m going to tell you a story, so you’re going to have to be quiet so that you can hear it.” He said, moving her slightly. Her cries seem to quiet slightly, and he let out a sigh of relief before he started his story.

“When I first moved here, before you were born, your mom and dad told me about my mom. They said she loved me so much that she had to leave me. Your parents had tried to help her, and she refused them, but she had this necklace. It was in the shape of a heron and your dad put a spell on it so that she could send a message to him if she needed to. For a long time, she didn’t, but then, she was attacked by some bad faeries and she was forced to. My mom… she passed away, but they kept the necklace.” Mira was crying still, though her tears fell silently. As he had been talking, he had brought her back to the nursery, where he drew the curtains, and placed her on the changing table. He changed her as he continued.

“They gave me the necklace and they told me about her and how she lived her whole life in hiding to protect me. I don’t remember her… Just vague memories of the song she used to sing. No, I’m not going to sing it,” he said as she looked up at him with wide wet eyes, “you’d wish I hadn’t.”

She giggled, thickly, even though she couldn’t understand what he had said, and Kit finished changing her, disposing of the nappy and wiping his hands with a wet wipe. He gently brushed away the tears from under her eyes and smiled at her.

“See, it wasn’t all so bad. You’re fine now, Min-Min.” She babbled at him, and he picked her up into his arms, pressing a kiss on her nose to make her laugh.

He took his sister back to the living room and pulled out the giant piano mat that they had. Jem had seen it and declared that he would try and teach his baby how to play. Mostly, she enjoyed crawling across it and Jem delightedly cheered her on, clutching Tessa’s arm and declaring that she would be the next Chopin. Kit thought that the most exciting part of the piano mat was Jem’s reactions and he secretly thought that Mina felt the same.

“Here you are, Min-Min. Compose a piece to show your dad later.” She giggled and crawled forwards. Kit had knelt beside her and absentmindedly hit some of the notes to make them clash or compliment each other. Every time he made them clash, Mina glared at him, pouting, and he was reminded of Jem.

Jace had been teaching him piano in the last year since he had left LA. It was something for them to do when he stayed at the Institute. He loved living with Jem and Tessa, they were definitely people he would consider as his parents, and his guilty feelings of replacing his own parents had gradually subsided with Tessa’s assurances that you can love more than one person without forgetting the rest. He had been visiting Jace a lot; he helped him with his fighting skills and took him on patrol. Kit had never been able to play an instrument before; his father thought it was a waste of time, and he wasn’t great at it, but he found himself enjoying it more than he had expected.

Jem and Tessa had unearthed an old piano for him and placed it in the newly renovated music room for him to practice. They respected and appreciated artistic, non-vital things, like music, unlike his father and encouraged him to pursue all of his interests, even if they weren’t related to being a Shadowhunter. It was a welcome change from LA with the Blackthorns where everything revolved around it. Kit liked the peace and quiet of Devon.

Mina had gotten bored of crawling around the piano mat, and had seized her stuffed giraffe, bouncing it on one note. Kit laughed, and drew her off the mat, and showed her an easy tune, moving her arm with the giraffe so that she would play it. She did and stared, wide-eyed, at him as if she didn’t know why the music sounded good. They kept doing it, until she dropped the giraffe.

She was easily bored and distracted, and Kit was more than happy to keep passing her different toys to entertain her. This time, she went for an animal puzzle where she placed wooden animal pieces into different sized holes. She had long since mastered the giraffe, which seemed to be her favourite animal, but she had trouble trying to place the lion in the meerkat hole and putting the elephant in the wrong way around.

He smiled as he watched her, finding it amusing the way she stared at the pieces with wonder, and then hit them against the bored repeatedly until they slotted in. Kit had never cared for babies, but Mina never failed to amuse him in the whole time she had been alive. Then again, Kit had never had a sister before, and he supposed that made her more interesting than a regular baby.

As dinner time fast approached, Kit carted Mina back into the kitchen. Tessa had prepared food for them in advance, and Kit heated up Mina’s sweet potato and chickpea mash, leaving it too cool so that it was warm, and then handed it to Mina with a spoon, after tying a bib around her neck, placing a small plastic cup of water beside her. She shovelled her food into her mouth. She was hungry, so she was more content to eat her food than make a mess with it.

Kit unwrapped his sandwiches and sat beside her, eating quickly. When she had finished, he wiped her face and brought her a yoghurt. He crunched on some crisps, and he washed the dishes quickly whilst she was preoccupied with her desert.

“Look at you, Min. Making such a mess.” He smiled, wiping her face again, and the tray of her high-chair. He placed her on the floor to crawl around, whilst he finished tidying the kitchen. At some point, Church wandered in, staring at Kit with wide yellow eyes whilst he prepared his food. Mina had tried to grab him, but used to her, Church had just jumped up onto a chair and then the table. This also gave him a better vantage point to watch Kit make his food.

“Ca-ca! Ca-ca!” Mina shouted, flapping her arms around. Kit understand that as baby speak for “cat” as she couldn’t yet pronounce Church.

“That’s right, Min. It’s Church the cat.” She babbled the same sounds again, and he clapped for her, making her copy him.

Church yowled in protest against the delay of his food and Kit hurried to finish spooning the meat onto his biscuits, whilst being judged by him, as usual. He placed the bowl on the floor where he ate, then scooped up Mina and took her away before she had a chance to crawl over to Church and bother him. Generally, he was fine with Mina; maybe sensing that Jem would be unhappy if he attacked her, or maybe it was because she was just so lovable, even the angriest cat in the world loved her. However, Kit didn’t trust him, given the amount if times he had growled at or attacked him.

Church started to eat, crouching down in front of the bowls, tail flicking slowly behind him to indicate that, although he was happy to be fed, he still didn’t like Kit. To protest, he stuck his tongue out at the cat’s back before leaving the room.

He took Mina to the bathroom adjacent to her nursery and ran a bath whilst she sat there, pulling out some toys. Watching her, through the door, so that he wouldn’t fill the bath up too much, he couldn’t help but smile at the sight of her babbling to herself as she played with her giraffe.

He checked the temperature with a thermometer and made sure that the bathmat was secure, swirling the water around to avoid hot spots that could scald her. Kit brought her into the bathroom and washed her hands and face before undressing her and gently lowering her in. She was at an age where she could sit up properly on her own, but Kit was ready just in case she were to slip. The bathmat allowed her to avoid that, though, and he began to wash her.

Part way through, she splashed him with the water, soaking his grey t-shirt. He laughed, and gently flicked some at her arm. She stared at the spot where it hit her, with wide, confused eyes and then started giggling, hitting the water with her palms. Kit used one hand to wipe the water from his face.

“Oh Min-Min, you really are trouble. Your poor mum and dad won’t know what to do with you.” He joked, as he finished washing her. She giggled at him and her voice was squeaky.

“You’re like a mouse. Min-Min the mouse.” He imitated her, making a squeaking noise that made her clap her hands in delight.

Kit gently lifted her from the water and wrapped her in a soft, fluffy towel. He dried her, then carried her to the nursery to get her changed into her pyjamas.

“Ki-Ki!” She called.

“Hey, Min. We need to shush now, it’s nearly bedtime.” She let out a large yawn, as if he had reminded her that she was very tired, even though she couldn’t understand him properly yet.

“How about I finish my story?” He suggested, and she babbled in what he took as agreement. He swaddled her in and blanket and held her, as he sat in the chair.

Then, he continued his story. “Before my mum passed away, she gave me to my dad, and he looked after me. He wasn’t anything like your parents though, and I was unhappy. I made do though; I learnt a lot about the Shadow World through the Shadow Market. Then, one day, the protection spells around our house went down and he passed away too.” Kit didn’t expand on it. He didn’t think telling a baby about his father being murdered by demons would be a good bedtime story.

“Your parents saved me and took me to the LA Institute. They had some other things to do before they could come back and look after me. I made some friends there; Livvy and Ty, and later, Dru. I met my cousin, Jace. You know him; the one that looks a bit like me and is completely full of himself, and his girlfriend, Clary. She’s wonderful. I think you’ll really like her when you’re older. Basically, whilst I was living at the Institute, a bunch of things happened, and I chose to leave.”

Kit paused for a moment, thinking. “I’m glad I did. Things didn’t work out for me there, but I now have new parents who love me and the best little sister in the world.” He gently tickled her under her chin, and secured her as he stood, lowering her into the crib. Scooping the giraffe from the floor, he slipped it beside her, and she held onto it, then he placed the blanket her.

She yawned, sleepily, and Kit pressed a final goodnight kiss to her head, before retreating back to his chair. When her breathing had slowed into soft snores, he went to the bathroom to empty the bath and clean the water from the floor. Watching the water trickle away in a miniature wave pool, he considered what he had said to Mina.

He was happy he left LA. Sure, he missed the ocean and the Shadow Market, and Ty Blackthorn, but he would rather get another chance at a family than to mope around the Institute, knowing that Ty wouldn’t return his feelings.

Kit had a wonderful life in Devon, and he realised that it was what he had always needed. He had spent most of his time in LA watching the Blackthorns being a family, and until he got Tessa and Jem, he never truly understood what he had been missing, and he realised now, more than ever, that he couldn’t have fit into their family, like he had imagined doing.

Once the bathroom was dry, and the towels were hanging on the rack, he turned off the light and headed back to the nursery chair, cuddling up with a blanket, and continuing to watch the movie.

It was there that Tessa and Jem found him later, fast asleep, mouth slightly open, with his head on his shoulder. They checked on Mina and found her sleeping just as peacefully.

Kit woke up briefly, when Jem lifted him into his arms and carried him back to his bedroom, but promptly fell back to sleep before his head hit his pillow.

Jem covered him in his duvet and Tessa placed the laptop on his desk, then they both bent to give their son a kiss on his head, and Tessa paused to smooth out his golden curls.

“We were lucky to find him.” Jem remarked in a whisper.

“We were blessed.” Tessa corrected. “We have two beautiful children, and each other.” They stayed for a moment, watching Kit breathe, then they left, hand in hand.

Thank you for reading - I really hope you enjoyed! This little family warms my heart.

Let me know if you have any other fic ideas you want to see, about them or Kitty. xxx

#kit herondale #tessa gray #jem carstairs #mina carstairs #the dark artifices #ghosts of the shadow market #gotsm #tda #forever fallen #cassandra clare #my writing #my fanfic #fanfiction

35 notes · View notes

dramaqueeenamby · 6 years

Text

4AM (14)

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE TAGGED IN THIS STORY, CLICK HERE.

Words: 3.4K

MASTERLIST ---- BEFORE you read this chapter, read MORNING AFTER.

4AM

“T’Challa,” his name leaving her mouth, soft and breathless, only motivated him to deepen the depth of his thrusts. When he saw the fluctuation of her eyes from the increase, he nearly came undone. “Ahhhh.”

He slammed his eyes shut and continued to hammer into her, his hand lightly cupping her swollen breast, his fist forced into the pillow as he feared losing control with trying to hold onto such a durable structure like their headboard.

“Please,” she whimpered as he lowered his face down to hers, pulling her lips onto his while she angled her torso in order to deepen the kiss. Her arms wrapping around his neck, tugging him close to her, caused a small hiss to leave his mouth.

“Stay,” she breathed, her own eyes shutting as he tried to tune out her request. Bast only knew how much he was already contemplating abandoning his mission. Out in the field versus staying in Wakanda where he could make sweet love to his wife every night?

Yes. Truly a hard decision.

“Please,” he gasped when he felt her moving her body back against his in an effort to take as much of him as she could. He couldn’t help but think of how he always hated the spooning position, but now, he couldn’t think of a better way to penetrate his Queen.

“Bashira,” his jaw tightened as he deliberated how to handle such a delicate situation while in the midst of intimacy. “I-”

“Kumkani!” T’Challa literally had the burning desire to kill someone as the call for him was accompanied by several, hard knocks on the bedroom doors.

The king gasped when he felt her clench around him and looked down to see her eyes wide with trepidation. However, her tightening walls around his throbbing member only intensified his desire for her instead of making him realize that she was nervous about their interruption.

“Leave us!” He barked, continuing to drive into Bashira, his head dropping down to her shoulder as he felt her trying to restrict her sounds. “While I still allow it.”

It was a known fact that when the king asked not to be bothered, it meant that he didn’t want to be fucking bothered, especially in his current situation where he was cherishing his last few hours with his wife before departing.

“Please, my king!” The intruder continued which caused T’Challa to growl as he sensed that Bashira was trying to push him away. “It is in regards to the son of Jakarra.” T’Challa looked down to see that Bashira was no longer nervous. She was afraid.

“Shhhh,” he comforted, placing a kiss against her clavicle before slowly sliding himself out of her, trying to ignore her small whimper from the separation.

“What is it?” He asked harshly while pulling clothes over his nude form. “What-“

“He is dead, Kumkani.” A beat. “Thom is dead.”

Bashira broke from her thoughts about the night that Thom’s dead body was discovered. She grimaced at the description of how How corpse was found, slashed at the neck by claws that the design team was still trying to pinpoint to a culprit. She didn’t say anything, Bashira sometimes wondered if her husband had anything to do with the murder.

She also felt as though the council shared her concern, but no one dared try to openly accuse the king of such a thing.

Plus, in her heart, she truly felt like he was innocent.

Bashira even felt a small sense of sympathy for Jakarra. Thom was a monster, but he was the man’s only child, his wife having died when Thom was but a boy.

Now, he had no one.

She knew all too well the feeling of being alone.

“Oh, sister.” Bashira looked up to see Shuri standing in the doorway of her office. “Are you busy?”

“For you, never.” She laughed and waved for her to walk in. “What brings you here?”

“Well,” she watched Shuri lean back and forth on her heels, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I was just wondering if you’d like to join mama and me at the Hangar Bay to welcome brother home.”

“Home?” Bashira gripped the handles of her seat. “T’Challa has returned?”

The Queen didn’t even try to hide her genuine excitement at the return of her husband. What was meant to be a simple mission that would see him back in a matter of days turned into something that kept him away from Wakanda for two weeks.

“Of course,” she replied, closing up windows on her laptop, oblivious to the surprised look on Shuri’s face.

To the public, Bashira never saw her husband off because it was “too hard on her.” Same for his return. But, in actuality, she didn’t bother to show up because she simply didn’t want to.

She didn’t care.

However, that was no longer the case.

She actually wanted to see him.

Bashira missed her husband. She was prepared for him to be gone for a few days. Not two weeks.

She was still trying to process the loss of her father, so the concern that haunted her in his absence wasn’t necessarily without good reason.

She’d only been able to speak with him a few times while he was away.

That wasn’t good enough.

“Brother will certainly be happy to see you. Both of you.” Shuri wiggled her brows, and Bashira rolled her eyes while she put away her remaining paperwork before using the handles of her seat to stand up.

“Hush. It is his fault that I am as big as I am.”

Her statement was partially true. Their baby, while only close to four months along, was developing at an abnormally fast pace. Bashira looked as though she was five months, which, incidentally, was exactly where her baby was in terms of development.

The doctor suggested that she would probably give birth at eight months instead of nine.

“Oh,” Shuri started as the two walked down the halls. “Have you two decided on a color for the nursery?”

“Nice try,” Bashira smirked. “I am still not telling you.”

She groaned. “You two are infuriating.”

Bashira and T’Challa made the decision to withhold the sex of their baby until after his return.

Shuri wasn’t too happy about that.

“We love you too,” sister.” Bashira giggled and latched onto the teenager’s arm.

“Liar.”

“Shuri!” She shook her head as the two continued to walk while engaging in playful conversation when they finally reached the hangar bay.

“Oh, we’re late.” Shuri frowned as she and Bashira watched the ramp of the jet open. T’Challa was the first to exit, decked in his panther suit, the sight of seeing him in so long bringing a smile to her face.

However, that smile quickly dropped as two other people exit out behind him.

“Wait,” Shuri frowned. “Why is Nakia there?” She looked over at the queen. “I did not realize she had accompanied them.”

Bashira’s smile and heart dropped.

Neither did she.

The pregnant queen found her body moving back as Shuri too realized that Bashira had been oblivious to her sister joining T’Challa on his mission.

“I-I-I have to go,” Bashira rushed out, ignoring Shuri’s calls for her as she tried to put as much distance between them and herself as humanly possible.

-----

“I told you that he could not be trusted!” An enraged Amari fumed as he paced back and forth. “I’m tempted to go over there and kick his ass myself.”

Ode sent him a venomous glare as she lightly rubbed the top of Bashira’s head while the young queen silently cried. She knew that Amari had been friends with Bashira longer than she had, but she still wished that Bashira had only called her.

Something about Amari didn’t sit right with her.

“And do what?” Ode rolled her eyes. “Get yourself jailed? Killed even?”

The General was too consumed by his thoughts to even comment on Ode’s remark. “I knew he would do this! I knew it.”

“You’re not exactly helping,” Ode spat, looking down as Bashira sniffled.

“He’s right though,” she whispered, eyes dull with pain. “I-I- should have known.” She shut her eyes and shook her head. “He has probably been sleeping with her this entire time.”

At that, Ode found it strange how Amari averted his gaze to the wall. “Bashira, you don’t know that.”

“Doesn’t mean that it’s not plausible,” Amari argued as Ode contemplated strangling the man. Bast, could he not see that she was upset enough as it was?

“All you saw was the three of them exiting the jet, Bashira. Nakia is still a War Dog. For all you know, she could have just been there for strictly professional reasons.”

“If that were the case, why did he not tell me she would be there?” Bashira sat up and wiped her eyes. “Now I understand why our communication was so limited in his absence. His attention was devoted elsewhere.”

Ode released a sad sigh. “Bas-”

“Thank you both,” the queen cut her off as she looked between them. “For coming...for being here for me.”

Bashira hadn’t seen or spoken to Amari since her father’s funeral and even though she’d desperately tried to get Ode to share what she planned to tell the council about Thom, the War Dog would not bulge. Yet, regardless of their own personal issues, both Ode and Amari did not hesitate to drop everything when she truly needed them.

They really were true friends.

“But I…” she trailed off as Luna came over and laid in front of her queen who she could sense and see was not herself. “I wish to be alone now.”

Amari and Ode froze as they watched their heartbroken friend stand up and smile sadly as Luna rubbed her head against Bashira’s stomach.

Ode was immediately hesitant. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”

Bashira closed her eyes as she looked at the mirror across the way, the floor that she’d spent the majority of her life dancing on. It was, in many ways, her sanctuary. It was where she went after seeing T’Challa with Nakia, just sitting, crying by herself before she decided to call her friends.

But the queen was tired of crying. She needed an outlet. She needed to dance.

“I just….I need to be alone,” she finished in a small voice, looking over her shoulder at her friends. “Please.”

“Bashira-”

“Please.”

Amari’s shoulders dropped in defeat. “If that is what you wish.” The General walked up to her and cupped her face. “You know that I am here for you. Always.”

“We both are,” Ode supplied as she walked over to them, uncomfortable with how Amari was both touching and looking at the queen. “I love you.”

Bashira mustered a sad smile. “I love you too.” She wiped at her face and broke away, heading over to the sound system. “Now go. You two are taking up my floor space.”

Amari laughed lightly, but Ode was still reluctant. She could see that her friend was putting up a good facade. She did leave but stayed close by in case Bashira needed her while Amari returned to the base.

Bashira ran through her music, shuffling through her playlist before she settled on a tune that she hadn’t listened to since….since the first time she caught her husband cheating with her sister.

I remember years ago someone told me I should take caution when it comes to love.

I did.

As the music played, Bashira allowed the lyrics and soft beat to dictate her movements, dancing with more emotion than power as she wasn’t as fluid as she could be because of her pregnancy.

You were strong, and I was not.

My illusion, my mistake

I was careless, I forgot.

I did.

Tears clouded her vision as she moved along, powering through her emotional pain.

She felt so stupid. She trusted him. She really thought that he’d changed, that he cared for her, that he loved her. But, once again, he ended up untouched while she carried all the pain that accompanied heartbreak.

She wanted to break down.

All we had is gone now

Tell them I was happy

And my heart is broken

All my scars are open.

She hated him. At least, she wanted to. Maybe then her heart wouldn’t hurt as badly as it did. Bast, why did she allow herself to go down this path? Again? How many times did he have to show his true colors before she saw him for what and who he truly was?

Heartless

Tell them what I hoped would be

Impossible

So consumed with her dancing and blinded by the tears that streamed down her face, Bashira didn’t even notice that he’d walked in. That he was watching her, studying her every movement, his eyes initially glued to her body, amazed by how much it had changed since he’d last seen her in person.

However, he broke from his trance when he saw it, the tears that dawned on her beautiful complexion.

His smile immediately dropped as he decided to make his presence known by moving so that he was in her line of vision.

“Bashira…”

She saw him in the mirror before he spoke and lifted her head to look at him, her chest heaving slightly from the dancing.

“Get out.” She quietly hissed.

T’Challa stopped in his tracks. “What?”

“Get out.” She repeated, turning around to head over and shut the music off. “I won’t repeat myself.”

The king was completely baffled. “Bashira, what is wr-”

“Is this just a game to you?” She interrupted harshly, twisting around and staring at him with a look of pure betrayal. “Am I just a game to you?”

“No.” He whispered, watching as Luna came to stand at the side of his wife. “How could you ev-”

“Stop lying to me!” She raised her voice and shut her eyes. “I cannot take any more of this.”

His shoulders slumped. “My lo-”

“I saw you with her, T’Challa!” She shouted, sniffling as she tried to fight through her tears. “I saw you with Nakia.”

He froze, his face dropping. “W-what?”

She raised her chin in an effort to convey confidence. “She went on your mission with you….didn’t she? Didn’t she?!”

He lowered his head. “Yes.” Bashira covered her mouth to hold back the sob. “But it is not what-”

“Bast, I am so stupid.” She cried and backed away as he tried to move closer to her. “Don’t touch me.”

T’Challa wanted nothing more to gather her in his arms. He could see that she was devastated, hurting beyond comprehension, and he hated that. He hated that he was the cause. “Bashira, please listen to me-”

“I watched you leave, T’Challa. With Okoye. Not Okoye and Nakia.” She reminded. “So what, you had her come to join you? After the fact? So that I wouldn’t find out? Or perhaps you just didn’t care.” A beat. “Just as you don’t care about me.”

“I love you,” he breathed, realizing just how dire of a situation he was in. “Nakia was on the mission, yes, but she was never supposed to come. Do you remember when I told you there was no diplomatic solution? I was wrong. But because it was Nakia’s mission, I needed her for the connections she made.”

“That all sounds really nice,” Bashira scoffed bitterly despite the heaviness in his delivery. “But if it is as you said, why would you not tell me? Why keep it a secret? Why?”

His hand fisted at his side as he stammered with his response. “I-I did not want you to think that it was something other than what it was-”

“No, I think it is exactly what it is.” She whimpered and turned around. She didn’t even want to look at him. “Please, just leave.”

However, T’Challa had no intentions of fulfilling her request.

“No. Bashira-”

“Just stop it! Okay!” She yelled, once again twisting her body so that she was facing him, the king gasping at how she looked, face flushed, eyes moist with tears that were increasing by the second. “Stop lying to me! I can’t take it anymore! I can’t keep doing this!” She dropped her head and hiccuped. “All you do is break my heart over and over again, and I am tired of it.”

At that point, the king’s own eyes were starting to mist. “Please, Bashira. Nothing happened.”

She tried to tune him out as T’Challa could no longer take being so far apart from her. He easily closed the distance between them and went to cup her face.

“I love you, Bashira. Not Nakia. Not anyone else. You.” He pledged, speaking through the lump in the back of his throat that threatened to cause his own resolve to break. “P-please. I need you.”

“I should have never kept this child,” Bashira whimpered as T’Challa’s stomach dropped. She...she didn’t mean that. She couldn’t have. “You don’t deserve to be a father. Not then, and still not now.”

The ending statement caused the king to still. “What?” He watched closely as alarm overtook her face. She clearly hadn’t meant to say what she did. “What are you talking about?”

Bashira’s jaw trembled as she pushed him away. “It matters not now.”

T’Challa suddenly found a small sense of anger creeping upon him. “What matters not?” She said nothing. “Answer me!”

Bashira jumped from the volume of his voice and leaned back against the mirror, her nose turned up as she battled the tears that had haunted her for the past few hours.

“You really want to know? Hmm?”

He closed his eyes. He was losing his patience. “Bashira….”

“Fine. Here it is.” She stepped closer to him, craning her head up so that she was looking directly into his eyes. “I got pregnant on our wedding night.”

The young king’s eyes were wide with apprehension as he unconsciously stumbled back. “W-w-what?”

“You heard me,” she replied with a faltering tone. “I was with child, T’Challa. Your child.” A beat. “And I hated it. Not the baby. Not the fact that I was pregnant, but that I was pregnant for you.”

Silent tears leaked down the king’s face as he found himself unable to take his eyes off her. “What….what did you do?” Her head dropped as the sob broke through. “What did you do, Bashira!”

He nearly broke down as delivered the next shaky statement, her eyes clamped shut and her head dropped. “I told you….you didn’t deserve to be a father-”

“So you terminated the pregnancy without even consulting with me!” At that point, he was no longer in control of himself, his pain from the shocking revelation dictating his everything.

“I wanted nothing to do with you-”

“Damnit Bashira, it was my child too!” His voice broke as he turned his head to blink away his tears. “How could you-Bashira?”

When he laid eyes on her, he found her dubbed over, holding her stomach.

“Bashira,” he rushed over to her, catching her just before she fell to her knees. “What is it?”

“Something is wrong,” she gasped, her face contorting in pain as she cried out. “My-my stomach….the baby…..” Again, she shouted out, nearly limp in his arms.

She was….she was cramping. Severely.

Pregnant women weren’t supposed to experience such a thing, and when they did….it was almost always never good.

Bashira halfheartedly listened as he swept her up into his arms and frantically ordered the Doras that accompanied him to alert the hospital that he was coming and that it was an emergency.

T’Challa attempted to comfort her, whispering into her ear that everything was going to be okay, she and the baby were going to be fine.

She didn’t know if he was right. She didn’t know much of anything anymore.

However, what she did know was that if someone happened to her son….she would never forgive T’Challa.

And that was a promise.

---

I know I promised fluff. But truly....this is what I always planned, what I had plotted, and this is what felt right.

Even though I know you all hate me now. 😭😭😭😭

—

TAGLIST: @texasbama @profilia @90sinspiredgirl@msincognito67@janellemonaenae @onyour-right@beautifulbashfulblackqueen@skysynclair19@ilcb7@theresnomoregoodones@siriuslycollins@kumkaniudaku@inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove@theunsweetenedtruth@chi-chi97@aieyr@sarcastic-sunshines @chaneajoyyy @airis-paris14@karensraisns@cockyboysandsugarism@siriuslycollins@sisterwifeudaku@issa-melanin@babygirlofwakanda@niecey4cocaine@gibunpa@ashanti-notthesinger@idilly@wakandawinning@autumn242@chaneajoyyy@SUNFLOWER-HOE@palmsofgranate@lavitabella87@purple-apricots@missumuch1918 @simplyjaydaa @-harmonytbh@simplyyamberr@melanisticroyalty@forbeautyandlife@fentybabyy@amethyst09@ilcb7@maliadestiny@blackpantherimagines@heyauntieeee@youcantkillamutant@tadjoa@mejustme06@bugngiz@aieyr@bamakakechick@blackbypurpose@yourwonderbelle@multipersonalitygirl@chefjessypooh@hamato-rue159@blublubleu@elaindeereads@girlie94 @nubian-queen18@autumn242@romanticcandle@msblkshot710 @nubian-queen18 @romanticcandle @girl-with-the-pen@headhunchess@afraiddreamingandloving@thatbish27@almostpurelysmut @halfrican-heat@blkintrovert@xxthotii @marvelislifemarvelisbae@muhhhkrysta@dreamlloudly @k-o-jass@yoyolovesbucky@kileynoelle852 @mademoiselleoya @supersizemeplz@violet-ines@silentlikethe-g-inlasagna @brianabreeze @bezzywazhere@beautifulbashfulblackqueen@halfrican-heat@marvelislifemarvelisbae @xxthotii @blkintrovert@indieee-vibeees@bluesaladexpertpsychic@queennanayaa@thegirlwithoutaname87@dreamlloudly@supersizemeplz@violet-ines@SHAELYN102@redbutterfly330@who-wants-toknow@abena-aa@bossyboyd03@phambili-myking@esther-adri@bluesaladexpertpsychic @vibranium-soul@yoyolovesbucky@nycoledon@syreanne@disneysdarlingdiva@dameshaemonique @girl-with-the-pen@klaine15689@jessyalmighty@im5ftbutmythroat66 @amore-fiore@thekinglai@ellebosemanduke@ovohanna24@takanoriwatasdeliciousstreetkidcroissant @esther-adri@chereedrop619@vibranium-soul @bossyboyd03 @brianabreeze @jamesbarnesappreciationsociety

#fic: 4AM #t'challa x reader #t'challa udaku #t'challa x black reader #t'challa x OC #T'Challa x Bashira #black panther imagine #black panther fanfiction #black panther #angst #BP fandom

216 notes · View notes

ohboywonder · 7 years

Text

office AU - PJO / HOO fanfiction

MONDAY - TUESDAY - WEDNESDAY - THURSDAY - FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY

Summary: Percy had no idea that his new secretary worked so, well, well! Although his work keeps him busy the whole day, he notices quickly that he can rely on her.

Words: 4778 Warnings: none || AO3 No one read it beta, so if you find any mistakes, let me know!

TUESDAY

The next morning started with the alarm clock. Percy lifted his head and eyed the clock face suspiciously, as if he could persuade it through staring to give him some more time to sleep. He had no success.

After a shower and a bowl of cereal – no, not the healthy one Hazel had proposed but the colourful and probably cancer-causing one – he left his apartment and got into the car. Although it didn’t seem like it, the fun part of his morning was nearly over. Behaving like a kid instead of a grown-up, having ice cream for dinner and staying up ridiculously late for playing the latest game, these were things he could do at home and not in the office. At home, where he was just Percy, not the leader of a life style magazine company. At home, where no one was watching. Where there was no one to share it with. Percy sighed.

He started the engine. It was not his favourite way of transport, usually he rode his bike, but it poured and sometimes the car needed to be moved as well. His mother used the car as well and it benefited her more than Percy. His little sister needed to get to school, his mom to work and sometimes it was used to transport Percy, Paul, his mom, and Cassie to fun weekend trips.

Today would not be a fun-weekend-trip-day. Percy sighed while turning left. He had a meeting with Octavian, that idiot, today at eight, then a discussion with the board about the next issue, then he needed to see some photographs and call someone who might work for them when their current photographer found out that he would, well… have to reorient.

Coffee. He needed coffee. And maybe a bagel. Luckily, he knew the best place for an early second-before-work-breakfast. Percy left the car and walked into a little coffee shop with an in-built pastry shop, not a block away from his office. A big, broadly-built Chinese man stood behind the counter and filled out a form. A few people sat in the back and chatted. His face lit up as he saw Percy.

“Long time no see Percy!”, Frank came around the counter and hugged him. Percy just loved this guy. He looked so tough and scary but inside he was a gentle, kind, person. His better half popped her head through a door that led to the ovens. Golden shimmering curls framed her face and made her dark skin glow. A smile that was nearly too wide for her face appeared on her lips and she hugged Percy tightly.

“I knew I heard right. Where have you been?”, she asked while letting go of him. Percy immediately found his black shirt stained with flour but he couldn’t care less. Frank’s and Hazel’s coffee shop had been his first and last refuge, before and after work, so often, he did not care about his looks, he cared about them.

“Work was killing me lately. I was out of secretaries since Millie had to go.”, he said while Frank nodded and went behind the counter again.

“Same as usual?”, he asked and Percy nodded. He really needed this coffee with an extra espresso and a shot of salted caramel cream right now.

“Out of secretaries?”, Hazel asked and wiped her hands on her flour-covered apron. “That means you fired Millie?”

Percy sighed. “Yes. She was driving me crazy. But I have a new one, since yesterday.” His hand automatically wandered to his neck and rubbed it.

“Oh”, Hazel and Frank said in unison and looked at each other in silent understanding. Although the actions that followed these glares often went against him, Percy admired their silent understanding. That’s what he wanted. Someone to understand him, his weird sarcasm, the tiny signals – all that he saw with Hazel and Frank, or his mom and his step-dad.

“Oh what?”, Percy whined and let himself sink in a chair. “What now?”

“Your body language.”, Frank said.

“The hand in your neck.”, Hazel added.

“The looking down.”, Frank nodded and looked at Hazel and together they said: “Those are signals.”

“Signals for what?”, Percy wanted to know. What were the two of them going on about now?

“That you like the new secretary. Remembering her made you look nervous and happy for a second.”, Hazel said and smiled sweetly. Then a beeping filled the air and she clasped her hands before her mouth. “My tartes!”, she whined and scurried back to the oven.

“Tell me about her”, Frank said, handing Percy his coffee.

Percy frowned. What was there to tell about Annabeth Chase? He knew her for one day! “Well, her name is Annabeth Chase. She actually is over-qualified. She has a degree in literature and has done internships at nearly every big newspaper company you can imagine. Yesterday was her first day and she let the coffee machine explode.” He grinned and Frank raised an eyebrow. “Has probably never made her own coffee, dunno. She is very very, like, very interested and does her job quite well, at least, from what I’ve noticed so far.”

Hazel had returned, standing in the doorway, leaning on it and listening. She smiled and wanted to say something but Frank interrupted her: “What about her looks?”, which made Hazel frown.

“She… well, she looks good. I guess. I don’t know?”, Percy said, trying to sound persuasive. “I could send her down later and you can make yourselves a picture of her. What do you think of that?”

Frank looked at Hazel who smiled brightly. “Sounds like a great idea! Here, I made you a bagel back there. I bet you wanted one and only forgot to mention it.” She winked at him and handed him the bag.

“You’re an angel Hazel. Thank you so much. Guess I better get going now. See you guys.” With that Percy payed, including a ridiculously high tip, and left. He was only a little bit late when he arrived ten minutes later in his office. Annabeth was there already.

Today she was wearing dark jeans and a grey pullover that had such a long neckline that it hung over her shoulder and revealed some of the skin there. Her blonde hair was up in a ponytail and some loose strands of hair hung into her grey eyes. Although all of this was immensely fascinating, Percy couldn’t help but stare at her skin. As she noticed his gaze she immediately apologized.

“I’m sorry about the outfit Mr Jackson but this is one of the few pieces I own that don’t scratch my skin beneath it. I will make sure to wear something more appropri-”

“Ms Chase”, he quickly interrupted her and forced himself to pull his gaze away from her shoulders and the skin that showed. “It’s fine. I fully support your, well, your body, especially its healing after what happened yesterday.” As the sentence was out, he realised how weird this sounded but Annabeth giggled and nodded.

“Thank you, sir.”, she said and cleared her throat. She was standing again so Percy thought she could follow him to his office anyways. But before he even had made a signal for her to do so or said one word, she came around the desk and stepped besides him. “This morning you have a meeting with Mr Blinder. He was here already to remind me to remind you.” She sighed.

It amused him that her knowledge of human nature obviously was so well developed that she’d noticed already what an idiot Octavian could be. “He also said”, she continued, “to remind you of his Snapchat idea.”

“I will continue to draw sad smileys on these papers until I die”, Percy declared and grinned at Annabeth. She nodded, the trace of a smile on her lips.

“Next thing up is the board meeting and you need to call the photographer. Both of them, actually.” Percy sat down and started his laptop. There were seven new emails in his inbox – a fact that made him frown. Only seven? “Oh”, Annabeth said as she noticed his face, “and I checked your emails and answered the ones I could.”

This was actually not her task. Not yet. With Millie, he had discussed her work area and as soon as he trusted her abilities enough, which took quite some time, expanded her tasks. Percy scrolled through his mails and checked the answers. Mostly they were intern mails asking for a time spot in his schedule that Annabeth, eh, Ms Chase, had given them. His notebook openly lay at the desk next to his keyboard and all the new dates were already written in it. Ms Chase’s handwriting was orderly and more ornate than his own but she did her job well.

As he looked up, he saw her biting her lip. Apart from that nothing showed that she was worried that she had gone too far. Her confidence was baffling him but she had done nothing wrong. Still, it bugged him.

“Thank you, Ms Chase”, he said and looked up. She nodded and looked at her own notebook. Obviously, nothing was on it anymore and she looked back at him.

“Can I do anything else, sir?”, she asked. Through the glass front he could see some of his employees coming from the kitchen with steaming mugs. Coffee had obviously been already made. He shook his head and tried another smile.

“Thank you, Ms Chase. I’ll let you know.” She left the room and took her seat behind her desk. Percy had hated that damn glass wall when Millie had worked here. He had to watch her do her nails while talking on the phone, chatting with the other employees more than actually doing her work and every three hours or so going to make some new coffee. But with Annabeth… Oh, come on Percy! With Ms Chase, it was different. She sat at her desk, taking calls, and writing emails as if she was here forever. Maybe even before Percy himself.

Still, this stunt she’d pulled… Well, if she wanted a challenge, she’d get one.

The tasks he had on his schedule today would have taken him the whole day. But maybe he could use it as a test to see how well she’d actually do. Percy made a list with tasks and stood up, taking his phone and jacket.

“Ms Chase”, he said and Annabeth’s head shot up. She was writing another email and her blond curls hung in her grey eyes. For a moment, he forgot what he wanted to say. The impact she had on him was weird. But fascinating. Her eyes scanned his face before they lingered on the list. “I have some tasks for you. I wrote everything down and I need to get to the board meeting now. I am sure you’ll be done with this list by lunchtime.”

Carefully he watched her reaction as she scanned the tasks, the names and she was biting her lower lip again while she read the list concentrated, which made Percy smile.

“Of course, Mr Jackson”, she replied and he nodded contently.

“I thought so. I’ll check in with you after lunch.”, he said and turned to walk to his board meeting. He’d never been a fan of those meetings but there was one good thing about them. He could see his friends.

As he walked into the room, a few seats were already taken. A tall girl with short black hair looked up from her phone and smiled at him. Her blue eyes sparkled as he sat down next to her. “Finally!”, she said and grinned. “I was getting bored with all those serious business people around me.”

Although she insulted him in a way, calling him an unserious business man, he couldn’t stay mad at Thalia. Not for one second. “I’m glad to see you, too. Where’s your brother?”, Percy said grinning and looked around. Jason was nowhere in sight. Not that it was hard to overlook him. He and Thalia couldn’t have looked any more different. Thalia, with her dark hair and her thoughtfulness, who would never step into the spotlight – if not necessary. Still, she had the ability to command a the attention of a whole room without any effort. And then there’s her younger brother, Jason. Tall, blonde, absolutely born for the spotlight. His ability to rationally negotiate between his employees, between different companies, between his friends, always marked him down as the leader – which is why he’d gotten a job that high ranking in his young age in their parents’ company.

“What do you think?”, she asked and her eyes seemed to sparkle again. That was the only thing the siblings had in common. Those light blue eyes.

“Piper?”, Percy suggested and smiled.

“Piper”, Thalia confirmed. Percy’s head of customer service and Thalia’s little brother had met on an office Christmas party and were dating since then – should be two years now? Whenever Thalia and Jason came over to join a board meeting, Jason was lost the moment he’d entered the building until the meeting began. “He should be here any minu-”

“Percy, I’m glad to see you!”, Jason said, entering the room this very moment. He patted him on the back and sat down next to his sister. Percy grinned. His usually so accurately brushed hair looked a bit unorderly but he was happy for him.

“Glad to see you too, Jason.”, Percy said, as Grover took his seat next to him. He nodded at the siblings and nudged Percy’s shoulder.

“I have a copy of the report you asked for, the one about cutting down on the CO2 emissions. Turns out the recycled paper is not as shiny as the one we used before but the emissions are nearly cut half through it. Maybe you should talk to Rachel about it.”

Percy took it and scanned the report. This was good. Really good. As he looked back up, he noticed everyone was there and after clearing his throat, he opened the board meeting.

Two hours later he came through his office doors, only to find Annabeth’s desk empty. Well, she certainly was completing his list. A familiar figure lingered in one of the comfy seats in front of his desk and Percy smiled. Although he was already exhausted this would be nice.

“You’re not on the list.”, he said and Leo’s head popped up, the dark curls flying as he looked around to see Percy standing in the doorway, holding a cup of Annabeth’s coffee in his hand. Ms Chase’s coffee. Damn it.

“Aw, come on, Boss. You’ll have time for a little signature, right?”, he grinned and Percy got behind his desk, putting down his papers and the mug.

“What’s it this time, Valdez?”, Percy really tried to be annoyed, but he couldn’t. Leo was, although a little young, an incredibly talented IT manager. His skills were that good, one time the entire company server was down and Leo somehow managed to get it to the printers and the copy could be published as if nothing had happened. Up to this day nobody knew how he’d managed that. But from then on he was head of IT and did a wonderful job, although his favourite response to any problem still was: Have you tried turning it off and on again?

“I need a signature, your new secretary… Well, I have to admit, she scares me, but she looks great. Have you noticed that?” He leaned forward and wiggled his eyebrows. Percy sighed but couldn’t help a smile.

“What about her?”, he asked and took the sheet Leo handed him and scanned it.

“She did what you asked her to do. Came around, told me about the missing signature and that, if I don’t get it, I will probably lose my job or something.” His eyes widened. “She was scary. Good scary, I mean. But I came straight up here to get the signature. I mean, if I understood correctly I actually need a permit to do certain things on the server and since I don’t have that one – you know.” He shrugged and Percy shook his head, a grin on his face.

“Well, there you go. You’re now officially allowed to continue your work.”

“Thanks Boss, really. And, she is really good lo-”

“Get going, Valdez!”

“Alright, alright. Thanks though, Boss-man!” And with that Leo Valdez had vanished. It always was a bit complicated to get him away from his machines since he loved them so much, which is why Annabeth mildly impressed Percy. She’d gone for the right tactic: to scare him a bit so he would come upstairs. As he checked his schedule, the mood lift Annabeth’s good work had given him, seemed to vanish again. Next thing up was the meeting with Octavian. Ugh.

Since Percy obviously couldn’t help but call her by her first name, he decided to go with Annabeth instead. He’d only have to take care to not call her that to her face. As he took a sip from the mug, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. The coffee tasted great! Maybe even better than Millie’s coffee and that was one of the sole reasons she had had her job for so long.

A knock pulled him out of his thoughts. “Come in”, Percy said and Octavian stepped into his room. In his hands, he held his tablet and some papers, probably graphics, predictions, and a form to finally get his Snapchat account.

“Good morning, sir.”, he snarled and sat down.

“Have you tried the coffee today?”, Percy asked him and took another gulp before placing the mug next to his screen. “It’s amazing.”

“After the coffee fiasco from yesterday? No, thanks.”, Octavian said and raised his eyebrows. Percy could read his utter discomfort he always showed when he was around him. He didn’t believe Percy could or should lead the company. And he was after his position, the power it held and the people he then could control. What Octavian did not understand, it wasn’t about control. It was about trusting, pushing, and catching, if someone would fall.

“Well, you don’t know what you’re missing.”, Percy said and leaned forward. “Show me the tables from last weeks. Some graphics would be nice, too.”

Although he could barely stand that guy, Octavian Blinder was good at what he did. He had pushed up the public image of the company and raised awareness of their magazine, collected sponsors, and took care of the ads that were channelled. The feedback on company adds and the number of people who’d seen those did go up nearly two percent since last month.

“Well done”, Percy said and ran a hand through his hair. It always lifted his mood to see that people bought the magazine, that they clicked on the adds or liked pictures of the upcoming articles on Facebook or Instagram.

“Thank you, sir”, Octavian said and looked very pleased with him, “but I wanted to talk to you about the Snapchat idea.”

“No Snapchat”, Percy said and shook his head. They’d gone over this at least thrice now. His employee pursed his lips. He was about to tell him – again – how important this platform was and how it would speak to more people on a wider range but Annabeth saved him.

“Mr Jackson, there is a call for you.”, she said and looked at him urgently. Octavian looked at her, then back at Percy, and seemed baffled that she could interrupt their meeting – as if there was anything more important than his Snapchat idea.

Percy tried to hide a smile. “Well, I guess we’re done anyways. Thank you for your time, Mr Blinder.” It took Octavian a second to realise that he was being sent away but he stiffly nodded, grabbed his belongings, and left.

“Who is it?”, Percy asked the second Octavian had left the office but Annabeth shrugged.

“No one. I just thought you might like him to leave.”

He must have looked as baffled as Octavian because Annabeth started to giggle. “I am sorry if I overstepped a line again but I saw you two talking and you did not seem happy. Plus, he was here for nearly an hour now. I thought you’d might like him to leave.”

Still unable to process what had just happened, Percy nodded. “Uhm”, he stammered and tried to wrap his head around her. Why on earth would she… How could she know he was suffering from talking to that guy? What was it with this girl?

He caught himself again and smiled. “Thanks, Ms Chase.” More and more she started to win him over. Her work, her sense of situations, how she handled the other employees. And then there still was this tension between them. Right now, for example. They both looked at each other and Annabeth clung onto her notebook as if she needed to hold herself back. Percy felt the same energy. He would have loved to stand up, walk over to her, and pull her toward himself and …

Never mind.

“So”, he said in a lame attempt to get his brain back to work. A quick look at his watch revealed it was nearly time for lunch. “How does it go with the list?”

“Uhm…” She still looked him in the eyes and had a hard time pulling her gaze away. Then she looked at the list and nodded. “One task to go. I think I better get going. I want to be back on time with your lunch.” She smiled shyly, turned around, and left his office again.

He followed her with his eyes until she’d disappeared through the door and probably headed for the elevator. Her last task was to get some bagels for lunch from Frank’s and Hazel’s shop.

The call to end the employment contract with their last photographer was easy. The call to employ the new photographer was easy, too. Sometimes things went smoothly. Sometimes.

Percy’s phone buzzed. A text from Frank saying: “She’s gorgeous!!! Sent her back up, Hazel thinks she’s pretty (&) amazing.” Percy smiled and put the phone away. In a few minutes, he’d get something to eat and a little break. Then he’d talk to Rachel about the new paper and whether there are any updates on the next issue.

The lunch with Annabeth had been pleasant but Percy wasn’t surprised by that anymore. He genuinely enjoyed Annabeth’s presence – and her company. And even better, they could talk about normal things. He had talked about his mother as Annabeth mentioned her and about his teenage sister, about his step dad and his actual dad. Annabeth was a good listener. She nodded and smiled and thanked him in between for buying lunch for her as well. She hadn’t talked about her personal life but Percy could understand. She maybe still was unsure whether she would stay in this position or was hesitant about talking to her boss about her private life.

For Percy, however, it was not a question. Annabeth would stay. She did good work and he enjoyed having her around. And there still was this tension between them… as if they were drawn towards the other.

“Mr Jackson?”, Annabeth’s voice called him back into reality. “Your phone”, she said and raised one eyebrow. And she was right. Percy had been so lost in his thoughts, he must have been staring at her – unconsciously of course.

He reached for the phone and looked at the photo. Rachel Elizabeth Dare smiled brightly from the screen. Her red curls framed her face, the green eyes looked a little bit provoking. He picked up and noticed how Annabeth’s eyebrows wandered up her forehead. “Hey, Rachel”, he said and tried to not look at Annabeth.

“Hey Perce, would you consider, I don’t know, getting your ass down here? I have a thing or two to talk about with you and they are, well, how to put this? Essential for your magazine?”

Percy pulled a face. He should have called her sooner. “Yes, I’ll be there any minute, okay? Just let me finish lunch?”

He could hear Rachel growl and see her before his eyes, the way she rolled her eyes and then sighed: “Alright, but hurry!”

Staring at the screen going black again, Percy sighed. As he looked at Annabeth, she raised one eyebrow and he just shook his head. “As sorry as I am to interrupt this, I need to go. Rachel needs me in graphics. Please, eat whatever you want and then, finish your list?”

“I’m already done with that, Mr Jackson.”, she said and narrowed her eyes at him. “The last task was to get your lunch,” after a tiny pause she added, “our lunch.” This was the last task? Whoa. This surprised Percy.

“Well, then stretch your break a little longer and maybe make some phone calls? Or leave early if you want to.” He smiled at her.

“But… I thought you’d say…”

“Yes but today, there’s only this little thing with Rachel left, so go if you want to.”

He turned around and left the office, leaving a confused Annabeth behind. He was interested in what she would do but for now he needed to concentrate on the last task.

“There you are!”, Rachel greeted him. Well, she seemed a bit upset about him only coming in now but besides this, everything else was normal. Her hair was a wild, red mess of curls and her green eyes sparkled of creativity and the desire for action. Her jeans were full of sketches, drawn onto it, and her hands were busy knocking a pen on her desk. Behind her there was a big window, facing a park full of trees and bushes, the big pictures showed magazine covers and paintings, graphics, and photographs.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I brought you coffee.”, he grinned at her and placed a full mug next to half a dozen empty ones. “And I will send someone to collect your mugs, mh?”

“Don’t you worry”, she said and started to shuffle some papers on her desk, looking for the one he wanted to see. The cover for next month’s edition. “Here”, she finally said. This was one of Percy’s favourite moments: to see the final cover. To see the hard work, he and his employees had done put onto a cover, that would soon wrap it all up.

“It looks great!”, he said, looking closely at the cover, noticing the details. The covers usually were a mix of a photograph and a drawn scenery, for example a mountain lake and a drawn sky. Or a drawn hut on a green valley. This time, it was a seashore, waves crashing on the beach and a ship drawn on the water. “The colours… You’ve outdone yourself Rachel!”

She smiled at him and shrugged but her face beamed. “Thanks Percy. But I heard some rumours… About a new paper?” She raised an eyebrow and glared at him.

“Well, yeah. This is more economic and will do good for the environment. And if we do this clever the prize of the magazine won’t go up and we’re saving the world – at least a little bit.” He looked at her apologetic.

For a second he thought he would have to fight with Rachel over this now but she sighed and nodded, her arms crossed before her chest. “I will have to do a test print, but it’ll do, somehow.”

“Thank you, Rachel. Now I might need to tell you about the new photographer…”

“The new what?”

As Percy finally got back to his office, it was five. Somehow this happened a lot. He wandered around the company, from office to office, checked with the journalists, the graphics, ended up chatting with Piper about weekend plans, was called down to sign something in Grover’s office and then it suddenly was five.

“Oh, you’re still here?”

Annabeth looked up and nodded. She was on the phone and wrote something down. Percy felt a warmth inside him. That she still was here, still worked… It made him proud. A smirk on his face, he went to his office to grab his suitcase and jacket before going back into Annabeth’s office.

“Shall we get going?”, he asked and winked at her. Annabeth froze for a second but then grabbed her jacket, cheeks pink. They both left the office and made their way through the open plan office and Percy grinned while thinking about their elevator ride. This was something he could get used to.

63 notes · View notes