DAYLIGHT ↬ leo valdez x reader

4. TREACHEROUS

"You and him are going to have so much fun on your quest. I mean, time to get closer to a total dork who you're drooling over? Everyone knows it, Y/N, you're so obvious!"

"Your love senses are off, Val, because I don't like anyone."
Valentina hummed sarcastically. "If you say so. Mom sends me signals about these kinds of things, Y/N, and she's crazy about this love story."

All night I tossed and turned. Who was Valentina referring to? Sure, I'd had my fair share of crushes during my time at Camp, but they lasted for the summer then we all departed for the school year and it all faded. And there'd been none of that this camp, anyways. I'd been more focused on battle training, trying to improve my skills after skipping it for the past few years. I tried to push the thought aside, because there was always a possibility Aphrodite is wrong. A very slim chance, unfortunately.

The morning was glum. Breakfast had a less cheery aspect and instead the energy was quiet. Conversations were limited, people had less appetites, even the Aphrodite table had much less gossip. It was because of the departure, it was less fun to start the day seeing as we were all dreading the moment I boarded. The air was just only still due to the unspoken thought hanging over us. Were they all meant to be excited for anxious?

I was too busy sweating over everything that could go wrong on this quest. It was the same with my first ever quest too, though that one I had less time to overthink. And as the time came for us to leave, I was coughing off the nerves and heaving my bag to where the Argo II sat in a clearing, ready for takeoff. Gracie, Valentina and Katie stood beside me, each with a small parting gift. Leo was already above, shouting down to the campers that stand stunned in awe as they cower in the glory of the gigantic ship. 

Gracie held a little piece of parchment, tied with a little rope. She handed it to me with a little hop of her tiptoes and a hug. She pushed her long, glossy dark brown hair behind her and stood with a shy posture, waiting for the rest of us to exchange goodbyes. Valentina came up and gave me a little compact with white powder and a small little mirror. I didn't see my reflection in return, only a little scenic view of the central camp; where the campers walked to their activities, passing by unbeknownst to them.

"We'll talk through it, yeah? It was a gift from Mom." Classic Aphrodite girls, regifting things. "Promise to make time to talk, Y/N."
"I will try." I grinned.
Finally, Katie handed me a little basket full of apple turnovers, steaming and sprinkled with sugar. Just the sight made my mouth water. We embraced each other and they wished me good luck. Valentina added it with a wink, as if her good luck was for something other than the journey. I brought my stuff to the room Leo and I were to share, and I almost dropped my bags. Leo hadn't done whatever he promised to fix his mistake. It was untouched. I sighed and plopped my clothes bag into the corner. 

As for my addons bag, full of decorations to make the place more homely and my medicinal stuff, I began to unpack and place things around. There was a little set of drawers with a mirror on one side and a desk on the other. I automatically claimed the vanity as mine, placing my picture frame and compact on the surface gently. An energetic Leo bounced into the room, seeing my preparation and wincing.

"Hey, sorry about the bed thing. Whole lot on my mind." I waved a hand signifying that it's all good, and he gestured me over. "Come on, let's set up your little sick bay. Take off is in about five minutes, give or take. Everyone else is ready to leave, I think." He hesitates on the last little portion, which to my understanding is a reference to Annabeth. She's terrified for this.

The sickbay was so perfectly clean, with my tools all set up, cupboards filled with all kinds of bandages, a mini fridge stocked with ambrosia, aloe vera, nectar, and Gatorade (Coach Hedge insisted that it had healing properties but as a self-proclaimed professional, he was very wrong), and washcloths neatly folded by a sink. There was a little bed attached to the side of the counters which I'd made all nice and tidy. Hopefully nothing came and ruined this. 

The trip was estimated to be about five and a half hours by airplane, except this was a flying battleship so we could be there in record time, if need be. I thought we'd be there before things got dark, though, since our departure was early morning, so I had a lot of aimless wandering around left. Annabeth wanted to meet us in an hour in the mess hall to eat brunch and talk strategy, however I had a feeling that more so regarded Jason, Piper and Leo than me and Coach Hedge. 

The sudden, unfamiliar rush of the Argo II lifting into the sky made my organs shuffle around. I gave myself a moment to balance out and walk towards the staircase. I kept hopping up them, knuckles white from my tight grip on the handrail, until the wind hits my face and I saw Annabeth leaning over the edge of the ship anxiously. Piper was still waving goodbye to the campers below, Leo paced around like a madman pressing buttons on controllers and often sprinting to certain places to double check everything. 

The sight of everything, forming into place simply was so unsettling. I decided to join Piper, shouting farewells to my siblings, friends, campers, counsellors, squinting to try recognizing someone. After they were merely dots on the ground, I realized my mouth was very parched and could probably use some water. 
The hallways were so quiet, except for the occasional creak of a floorboard. Leo had placed lots of things on our desk, like screws and volts and blueprints and journals. The number of brainstorms and future inventions in the making that were all contained on that small corner of the room. It was very cool. I was even tempted to read it... No! I wasn't reading someone else's diary.

By the time it was brunch (is there a dedicated time for that anyways? Leo had a little bell to signify it...) Annabeth had us all assign ourselves roles. Piper, the peacemaker. She had some lines to say - ironic, considering who her dad is. Jason had prepared to wear the clothes of Camp Jupiter, as a kind of offering, a sign that we had safe intentions. Leo just planned to tamper with everything on the ship, stay on high alert. He was twitching to do it right now; you could tell it took all his self-control to stay put. Coach Hedge's job was to not hurt anyone. Literally to not invoke violence, and we all harshly agreed on that side of it. We also all agreed he was the most likely to stuff things up. 

Annabeth didn't particulate herself to anything and instead found herself the puppeteer of it all, planning everything out. She'd definitely confined to the individual thought about seeing Percy, and it's understandable. When the time came for the part I played in our arrival of Camp Jupiter, I was what Annabeth nicknamed the 'socializer'. When we got there, instead of hiding out in the sick bay, I would talk to the people, the campers. Not charmspeak in the way Piper was, or to prove myself indifferent like Jason was, or to scare them like Coach Hedge (goes for Annabeth and Leo too, to be honest.) I was meant to just lay low, answer curious teenagers questions, and be friendly. Emphasis on the friendly.

As the Bay Area neared and we found ourselves hovering above Camp Jupiter, I began to feel under the worry that I was going to be far from helpful during this aspect of our mission. Being besties with the enemies? Was that seriously anybody's strong suit? Y/N, the super-socializer.

➻ AUTHOR's NOTE
hello sorry im like never getting to the point w these stories but im trying to do slowburn with like filler chapters too. also im soo curious about you guys so please lmk what your fatal flaws would be in the pjo universe. personally, my fatal flaw is curiousity, which is kinda a vibe tho like me and pandora 😩😩

there was another thing but i forgot it HAHAHAH ignore me ive got something going on with my eye balls right now they wont stay open