Work Text:
He’d changed her design.
MJ checked the file’s revision history again just to be sure that she wasn't hallucinating, but there it was; someone named Peter Parker had fucked with the schematic.
It was a tiny change, and one that in the grand scheme of things didn't matter, but it was the principle of the matter. Her schematic was completely sound from both a design and engineering perspective, so why ‘Peter Parker’ thought it was necessary to extend the length of her columns by five inches.
She tried to let it go, reverting the file back to her original design, but when she checked it a few hours later, there it was again: Last modified by Peter Parker.
Now officially pissed off, she pulled up the company intranet. A quick look through the employee directory showed that he was from the Engineering department and had joined the company only a month prior, so not only was he audacious, he was new.
Since his department was three floors below hers she had to walk all the way to the elevators, and once she got there the amount of time she had to wait for one to arrive made her even angrier.
By the time she made it down to his floor her patience had worn completely thin. She stomped her way through the engineering pit and looked for the name ‘Peter Parker’ on the cubicle nameplates, and when she found it she knocked loudly on the wall next to it.
“Hey,” she said, her tone gruff and curt.
He swiveled around in his chair to look up at her, and truth be told he wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting. Still definitely nerdy, but rather than buttoned up and old he was young and cute in an average middle class white guy kind of way, and somehow he just looked like a Peter.
“Yes?” he asked.
“You changed it. My design.”
He blinked up at her, clearly surprised to be confronted so directly, and somehow that angered her more. “Not much,” he replied as though that somehow made it all okay.
“I double majored in architecture and engineering. My measurements are sound.”
“Oh, yeah, they are. I just—here—” He swiveled back around to his computer and pulled up her file. “My adjustments would allow the courtyard to support an extra few dozen tons, and I thought it would be nice if it could have more trees or something.”
As annoying as it was to admit, that would actually be nice. New York was far too gray for her liking, and she was all for slowing the heat death of the planet by a couple of milliseconds.
“You couldn’t ask me first? It's usually considered polite to discuss it with the design lead before changing something.”
“Sorry, I didn't know I had to. At my last place we all just kind of collaborated on a design and went over it together before the final review. I'll definitely talk to you first next time.”
Seeing how genuinely apologetic he seemed, her anger fully died. He wasn't as smug as she'd expected him to be, and the idea had been a pretty decent one.
“Can I buy you a coffee or something to make it up to you?” he asked.
She narrowed her eyes at the offer. Obviously he was making a pass at her, and obviously she should turn it down. But she was in the middle of her afternoon slump, and leaving the cold, quiet building for the warmth and loudness of the city always felt like a good idea.
“I’m getting three espresso shots, whipped cream, and a caramel drizzle,” she warned.
Without batting an eyelash he hopped to his feet. “Great, that’s exactly what I get in mine too. I'm Peter, by the way.”
She rolled her eyes, because introductions felt extremely unnecessary when the both of their names were all over her design file. “Michelle, and now it's four shots for stalling.”
Peter grinned and slung a goofy little red and blue fanny pack over his chest as he followed her out to the elevators.
“That's exactly what I get in mine, too.”