Third Person's POV.
The morning sun filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of their apartment, catching the sharp lines of Percy's charcoal suit and the slightly nervous twitch in Gemini's fingers as he straightened his own "business casual" attire. Today wasn't just another Monday; it was Gemini's first day as an intern at Aethel Designs.
"You're going to be three floors away from me," Percy noted, his voice a low rumble of discontent. "That's roughly thirty feet of vertical distance too much."
"Percy, stop," Gemini said, swatting away Percy's hand for the third time as the older man tried to fix a tie that was already perfect. "We talked about this, Percy. You have to promise me. I am an intern. You are the CEO. If you walk into Aethel Designs and start acting like... you, I'll never make a single friend. Promise me right now."
Percy let out a long, dramatic sigh, leaning against the marble kitchen island. "Promise you what, Bunny? That I won't ensure my boyfriend is the most comfortable person in the building?"
"Promise me you won't interfere with my work," Gemini insisted, his expression dead serious. "No special treatment. No hovering. No 'dropping by' the archives just to see me. I want to learn, Percy. I want to earn my place at the company without you pulling strings."
Percy's jaw tightened. The idea of Gemini being out of his sight for eight hours, subjected to the whims of middle managers and the clanging noise of a busy design firm, was physically painful.
"Fine." Percy agreed reluctantly. "I will be the epitome of a distant, cold corporate overlord. Happy?"
Gemini stood on his tiptoes to press a quick, sweet kiss to Percy's cheek. "Very. See you at the end of the day."
"Wait," Percy caught his waist, pulling him back for a kiss. "The end of the day is a very long time from now, bunny. Do you really have to do this? Won't you miss me?"
"Nice try." Gemini laughed as Percy made a pouty face and shook his head before getting out of Percy's arms and urging Percy to hurry up so they don't get to work late.
By 12:30 PM, Gemini was actually having a great time. He was stationed in the Aethel archives, helping organize a massive backlog of architectural sketches. He made friends with two other interns—Sarah and Leo—who were currently regaling him with stories about the "Legendary Grumpiness" of their CEO while they sat in the communal break room.
"And then," Leo whispered, leaning in as they shared a box of takeout pasta, "I heard he once fired a guy just for wearing the wrong shade of navy blue back when he was the creative director for his mother's company. The 'Legendary Moore Glare' is real, you guys. You're lucky you're in Designs; you'll probably never even see him, Gemini."
Gemini let out a genuine, bright laugh. "Oh, I don't know, Leo. I'm sure he has a softer side somewhere."
"Easy for you to say," Sarah giggled. "You haven't had to—"
Suddenly, the air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. The laughter died in Sarah and Leo's throats. Their eyes went wide, and their faces turned a ghostly shade of white as they stared at something behind Gemini.
Gemini froze. No way. He didn't.
He turned around slowly. Standing there, looking like an avenging corporate god in a three-thousand-dollar suit, was Percy. He wasn't smiling. He was radiating a "serious boss" energy that had the entire break room going silent. His eyes weren't on the other interns; they were fixed solely on Gemini, specifically on the way Gemini was sitting so close to his new 'friends.'
"Mr. Moore!" Sarah squeaked, dropping her fork.
Gemini stood up immediately, his face flushing with a mix of embarrassment and fury. Before Percy could drop a single soul-crushing comment, Gemini grabbed Percy's arm.
"Excuse us," Gemini said to the petrified interns. "I need to... discuss a filing error with the boss. Right now."
Gemini practically shoved Percy into his office, slamming the heavy oak door shut.
"You broke it!" Gemini hissed, pacing the length of the rug. "You promised! Three hours, Percy! You lasted three hours before looming over me like a mother hawk!"
"Looming? I was merely checking the company's facilities," Percy defended, though he looked more annoyed than guilty. He crossed his arms, his massive frame making the large office feel small. "And why were you laughing so loud with that guy? Leo, was it? You two looked awfully close."
"He was talking about how scary you are!" Gemini cried. "And we were just having lunch! Normal intern behavior!"
"That's exactly the problem," Percy countered, stepping into Gemini's space. "I am used to having lunch with you every single day, even when you are at school. With different lunch hours. Now you are literally three floors below me, in my own building, and I'm supposed to eat alone in silence? Why can't we just eat together?"
"Because you're the CEO and I'm the intern!" Gemini tried to explain, his voice softening into a plea. "People gossip, Percy. If they see us together, they'll say I'm only here because of you. They won't respect my work."
"I don't care about 'people,' Bunny. I care about my time with you."
A gentle knock at the door interrupted them. Alexis walked in, holding a thick stack of contracts. She took one look at Gemini's flushed, argumentative face and Percy's stubborn scowl and sighed.
"The tension in here is giving me a migraine," Alexis said, sliding the documents onto Percy's desk. "Let me guess. Percy tried to kidnap you to have lunch with him?"
"He broke his promise, Lex!" Gemini vented.
"I am simply requesting a compromise," Percy said, looking at his cousin. "Tell him, Lex. Tell him it's perfectly normal for the CEO to mentor a promising new talent over lunch."
Alexis leaned against the desk, looking between them. "Gemini is right, Percy. If you're seen parading him around the executive dining room on day one, his credibility is shot. But," she looked at Gemini, "Percy is currently refusing to sign some very important papers because he's 'distracted by hunger and loneliness.' He's being a toddler."
"I am not being a toddler," Percy muttered. "He's the one being mean to me."
"I have a solution," Alexis offered. "Gemini, you eat with the other interns three days a week. Percy, you get him the other two, but you use the service elevator and eat in the executive dining room or here behind closed doors. No public displays of affection. How about that?"
"No," Percy said instantly. "Every day. Or I won't sign those papers."
Alexis rubbed her temples, looking at Gemini with a 'help me' expression. "He's literally holding the company's future hostage for a turkey sandwich and your company. Can we just find a middle ground before he fires the entire HR department out of spite?"
Gemini groaned, covering his face with his hands. " You are impossible! Fine! We'll eat here, but you have to stay away from the archives and the break room! You scared Leo so much I think he's going to quit!"
Percy finally smirked, a victorious glint in his eyes. "Leo will be fine. He needs to learn to handle the pressure if he wants to work here."
"He's an intern, Percy! Not a Navy SEAL!" Gemini exclaimed in exasperation.