DAYLIGHT ↬ leo valdez x reader

9. in a 20 year dark night

"How are you not annoyed with him?" I joked, watching Leo carefully in case of another mishap. Frank just sighs. 
"He's like an extra enthusiastic puppy dog. I think I can handle it." 
I just scoff. Little did poor Frank know.

Fortunately the bronze dragon wasn't damaged. When we reached the bow of the ship, the figurehead turned a hundred and eighty degrees to look at us. Frank yelped and backed away.
"It's alive!" he said. I would have laughed if I hadn't felt so bad.
"Yeah. Frank, this is Festus. He used to be a full bronze dragon, but we had an accident." Leo explains,
"You have a lot of accidents," Frank noted.
"Well, some of us can't turn into dragons, so we have to build our own." Leo arched his eyebrows at Frank. "Anyway, I revived him as a figurehead. He's kind of the ship's main interface now. How are things looking, Festus?" Festus snorted smoke and made a series of squeaking, whirring sounds. "Ugh," Leo said. "Could be worse, but the hull is compromised in several places. The port aerial oars have to be fixed before we can go full speed again. We'll need some repair materials: Celestial bronze, tar, lime—"

"What do you need limes for?"
"Dude, lime. Calcium carbonate, used in cement and a bunch of other— Ah, never mind. The point is, this ship isn't going far unless we can fix it." Festus made another click-creak noise. "Oh...Hazel," he deciphered. "That's the girl with the curly hair, right?"
Frank gulped. "Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Leo said. "According to Festus, her horse is racing along below. She's following us." 

"We've got to land, then," Frank said. Leo studied him.
"She's your girlfriend?" I cooed.
Frank chewed his lip. "Yes."
"You don't sound sure." I stepped on Leo's foot as punishment for the stupid remark.
"Yes. Yes, definitely. I'm sure."
"Aw!" I said. That was a bit cute.
Leo raised his hands. "Okay, fine. The problem is we can only manage one landing. The way the hull and the oars are, we won't be able to lift off again until we repair, so we'll have to make sure we land somewhere with all the right supplies."

  Frank scratched his head. "Where do you get Celestial bronze? You can't just stock up at Home Depot."
"Festus, do a scan."
"He can scan for magic bronze?" Frank marveled. "Is there anything he can't do?"
Leo peered over the ship's bow and I followed. Behind us, the stairs creaked. Percy and Annabeth climbed up, their faces grim.
"Is Jason—?" Leo started.
""He's resting," Annabeth said. "Piper's keeping an eye on him, but he should be fine. Y/N, I know Piper wants to look after him but you might want to go down there just in case." I nodded, pacing to the stairs. Jason was in the sick bay with Piper, who stroked his head and furrowed her brows. I approached quietly, letting her sense me before hearing me. She glanced up and mustered a small smile.

"Do you mind?" I said, creaking the door open further and walking up to my counters of concoctions. "I have to dim the lights for when he wakes up." I explained, sliding my finger on the wall beside the door frame. Leo had installed a bunch of settings for environments, ranging from concussions to vomiting situations. "Head injuries normally lead to concussions, and it's better to have a quiet, settled space for him."
"You're so good at this." Piper choked. I whipped around and exhaled gently.
"Try infirmary duty fourteen hours a week since you were eleven." I scoffed, opening my mini-fridge and reaching an ice pack. I wrapped it up with a small cloth before handing it to Piper. "Keep something cold over the bandage. It'll help with any swelling." She took it gratefully and watched Jason breathing lightly. I stood in silence for a bit, before she broke it.

"Hey Y/N?" she said. I perked up. "What do you think of Leo?" My heart started to race, because of the randomness of the question. I raised an eyebrow. She shrugged. "He told me to ask."
"He's.." I thought over my words, trying to phrase it. "I don't know. He's funny, and a lot to take on, but he takes his work seriously, which I admire." She grinned and shooed me away.
"Go back. We'll be fine. You can go hang out with your boyfriend." She cooed. I shook my head.
"Piper, no!" I laughed, flustered. She opened her mouth threateningly, warning me that she would charmspeak me into going up there and probably embarrass myself in doing so. I complied gingerly.