#bumblebeeboat

Percy’s heart breaks, but he doesn’t know what to do for her. He’d cheer her name and tell her she could do it, but he’s pretty sure that sort of thing would be frowned upon in this establishment. Other than that, he doesn’t have very many options. Come on, Wise Girl, he thinks, drumming his fingers on his lap. I didn’t fall asleep through twenty of your practice presentations just so you could freeze on stage. You’ve got to put more faith in yourself and your awesome building.

“Miss Chase, you may begin.”

To Percy’s amazement, those words revive Annabeth like water heals Percy. Her eyes harden, and her shoulders relax, and she picks her technological clicker thing off the table and faces the committee with a slight, professional smile on her face. He can only grin and watch as she says, “Thank you for allowing me to be here today. I’m grateful for this chance to show you my plans for your building complex.” 

She shifts slightly towards the projector screen and holds her clicker aloft. “Companies today,” she says, “believe that buildings should be built only to be useful. Every architect knows the quote that defines the Modernist movement. ‘Form follows function.’ Louis Sullivan said it once, and we have it drilled into our heads from the first day of college classes. It’s the mantra we’re meant to eat, sleep, and breathe while designing buildings—especially while designing offices and building complexes. And I will admit, this quote has value. Modernism has value. It’s the most cost-effective method of design and the easiest way to create a aesthetically-pleasing building. It’s a guaranteed success, another glittery skyscraper rising into the clouds.”

Annabeth tilts her head to the side. “And because of this value, Modernist architecture is also very common. In a sea of average-looking, glass-covered constructions, another building complex would fit right in. But just because buildings are constantly being designed like this doesn’t mean that they should be.”

She squares her shoulders. “I say, forget about ‘Form follows function’. This concrete wasteland of a world doesn’t have to stay empty and bland. I believe that there’s nothing wrong with keeping both form and function and creating a building that’s a thousand times better, a thousand times more memorable, than a simple skyscraper. So that’s what I did.”

With a slight flourish, Annabeth pulls the sheet off of her model. Percy can’t help but gasp in awe, even though he’s seen her working on it a million times. He doesn’t understand anything about architecture, no matter how many times Annabeth has tried to explain things to him, but he can appreciate her final product. The main office building stretches upward like any other skyscraper, but it’s anything but ordinary. Subtle decorative touches and unique, round windows unite to form a building that screams professionalism and creativity all at once. And the buildings scattered around the main office each have their own unusual geometric design that ties into a specific element featured on the main building. Although the surrounding buildings would seem random as a group on their own, the central structure ties them together, creating a complex that is equal parts functional and beautiful.

Annabeth talks for a while, explaining the finer points of the structural design, the purpose of each building, the environmentally-friendly elements, and a spattering of other things that she’s mentioned to Percy before, but Percy doesn’t focus on her words. Instead, he watches her form her words with confidence. He watches her point out notable aspects of her buildings and answer the committee’s questions like this isn’t her first architectural design competition. He watches her overtake the other contestants without even realizing it, and he falls in love with her for the third time in as many minutes.

It takes all of Percy’s willpower to sit still through her entire presentation. When the committee finally says, “Thank you, Miss Chase,” and Annabeth thanks them for their time and consideration and walks off the stage, he can’t take it anymore. He snatches his jacket off the back of his chair, inches past the people in chairs beside him until he reaches an aisle, and then sprints out of the conference room. Percy knows he probably gets some disdainful looks at his less-than-professional exit, but he’s not the one entering this competition. He doesn’t have to worry about what those businesspeople think. And when he knows that Annabeth is waiting in the back, he really couldn’t care less about their opinions.

When Percy tries to get into the back, however, a security guard grabs him by the tie and hauls him to the side. “What are you doing?” he demands. “Do you have a pass to be allowed backstage?”

“What?” Percy gasps, still straining to get a view of Annabeth. “Do I need one?”

“Yes,” the guard snaps. “How do I know that you won’t try to sabotage one of the contestant’s designs? How do I know that you won’t try to steal their ideas for a design of your own?”

“What?” Percy says again. “I don’t care about any of that! I just want to see my girlfriend—”

“Percy!” Annabeth’s voice envelopes Percy like the smell of his mom’s blue chocolate chip cookies. He grins at her as she hurries toward him. “I was just coming to look for you—why is this security guard holding your tie?” She narrows her eyes. “Percy Jackson, what did you do this time?”

“Nothing! I was just coming to look for you too!” Percy tears his eyes away from her long enough to tell the security guard, “This is my girlfriend. Can I please go now?”

With a grunt, the guard releases his tie. Percy can’t run to Annabeth and scoop her into his arms fast enough. “You,” he says, planting a kiss on her lips, “are amazing.”

Frick, he loves the way her eyes shine when she asks, “You think so?”

“Of course! Your design was amazing, your presentation was amazing, the way you answered their questions was amazing, and I swear you had the whole room interested in your work. As far as I can tell, you’re going to win this competition hands-down.”

“Percy! Don’t make things up!”

“I’m serious! Once you opened your mouth, everything you did was perfect.” Percy steps back, takes her hands, and adds, “I saw the look on your face when you first got onstage, though. What had you so worried?”

Annabeth shrugs. “Oh, I don’t know. Bernie Thomas started crying as soon as he got offstage, and I guess it psyched me out. If he, a professional who’s been to at least ten of these events before, was freaked out by the committee, then how the heck would my design survive their questioning? I spent too much time in my own head, that’s all.”

“Well, you got over it quickly,” Percy grins. “Because you’re freaking Annabeth Chase, the best architect in the business.”

She laughs. “Oh, not really. I just remembered that you were in the audience somewhere, probably thinking that you didn’t sit through all my practice presentations just to see me freeze up onstage, and that made me smile long enough to remember what I was supposed to say first. After that, it was easy.”

Percy gapes at her. “That is what I was thinking,” he says. “Like, that’s almost exactly what I was thinking!”

A smile spreads over Annabeth’s face, making her glow brighter than Apollo’s red convertible. “Well, we have been dating for more than seven years, Seaweed Brain. I’d like to think that at this point in our relationship, we know each other pretty well.”

“Gods, I love you,” he says without thinking, surging forward to meet her lips. “I can’t wait until we’re married.”

“WHAT?” 

Percy freezes, staring at his girlfriend with eyes as round as hers. “Um…”

The security guard glances between the two of them, frowns, and says, “I’m just going to… go patrol the halls. Don’t let anyone unauthorized backstage, and—uh—bye.”

He practically sprints away from his post, but Percy barely registers the movement. He’s too busy panicking. Before he can help himself. his fingers flit towards a suspicious lump in his pocket, and Annabeth notices because she’s too perceptive, as usual.

If possible, her eyes gets even rounder. “Percy,” she breathes. “Do you…”

Percy looks at her for one, two, three seconds, and then sighs. “I was going to wait until tonight,” he says, “and I know this is probably a bad time, but since you’ve figured it out anyway…”

He kneels down and pulls out the box in his pocket. “There was only one problem with your presentation today,” he says with a nervous smile, “and that’s that the committee kept calling you Miss Annabeth Chase. I know it’s a little late to go back and change that now, but will you… uh, will you marry me? That way we can fix that problem at all future competitions.”

Annabeth raises her eyebrows and laughs. “Oh, gods, Percy. You’re such a dork.”

Percy makes a face. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes, it’s a yes!” She drags him to his feet and kisses him. “Of course it’s a yes, Seaweed Brain. It’s been a yes for years now.”

“Oh.” Percy grins. “Good to know.” He hesitates. “But, uh, do you mind telling me that again in Central Park tonight? I was supposed to wait until then. My mom wanted to watch, and Jason and Piper wanted to film us.”

She snorts. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, sorry. I just, um…” He winks at her. “I couldn’t wait any longer.”

“Dork.” She reaches forward and tangles her fingers in his hair. “I forgive you, and I like this proposal better anyway. It wouldn’t feel right if you actually followed a plan for once.”

“Hey!”

“You know it’s true!” she laughs. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t ask me in the middle of a monster fight.”

He makes a face and mumbles, “I almost did.”

“Percy! Seriously?”

“Yeah, last week. You were standing there and you looked so badass and i almost asked you to marry me right then. But I didn’t have the ring with me, so I restrained myself.”

“Gods. I can’t believe I agreed to marry you.”