Kingfisher: The Oneshots

Distractions - Anti-Hero

AS PROMISED BC TAYLOR WON BEST DIRECTION

Just a lil drabble with fluff and a little bit of spice that may or may not make it into the fic later on :)

Leo had been working for four hours straight. The process was exhausting, but if he managed to finish it, the Waystation would be one step closer to having a proto-AI assistant that was operated by the Waystation itself. Leo would be the first person to give the building a voice. He had the mechanics part of it nearly done, but to finish it, he'd need Jo's help to get it online and to decide what kind of voice the Waystation would have.

Leo thought Via voicing the Waystation's AI was an excellent idea. That way he could hear her voice all the time, even when she wasn't there. Of course, he'd have to run that by Via to make sure she'd be okay with it, but Leo saw no problems with it.

He paused his work for a moment, taking a deep breath and a step back to assess everything he'd just done. He'd definitely made headway today, which he found satisfying. He hated working for hours without making noticeable progress.

When he checked the clock to see how long he'd had his nose to the grindstone, the satisfaction melted away. He'd promised Via he'd take a break and spend time with her about an hour ago. She was probably extremely upset at him. She was probably avoiding him now; Leo was willing to bet that was why she hadn't come to ask him where he'd been. That's exactly what Calypso would've done to get back at him. And he probably deserved it. What kind of boyfriend was he, breaking a promise to spend time with his girlfriend?

"Leo?"

Leo whipped around in a panic. Via was standing in the doorway of the workshop, her messy golden curls pulled back in a ponytail with flyaways framing her face perfectly. Even in scrubs, she looked amazing.

She didn't look mad at all. In fact, if Leo was being honest, he would've said she looked guilty.

"Hey," he said nervously.

"So, I know we agreed to hang out an hour ago..."

Here it comes, Leo thought, turning back to his tools and bracing himself. "Yeah..."

"I'm sorry I didn't come find you."

Leo blinked. He'd expected her to be mad at him for not keeping their agreement, not apologize for not coming to find him when he didn't. He looked around at her and noticed she was fidgeting nervously with her hands.

"I lost track of time." Via said, almost pleadingly, like she thought he was mad at her. "I was making more nectar-infused thread, and when I looked up at the clock it had been an hour... so... yeah, I'm so sorry, Leo. Do you still want to spend time together?"

"Yes!" Leo exclaimed. "I mean, yeah. I'm sorry, I lost track of time, too. I thought you were mad and that's why you didn't come."

"Wait, you're not upset?" Via asked.

"No, of course not."

"Oh," Via said, sounding relieved. She smiled at Leo, and he finally allowed himself to relax. "Okay. So. Spending time."

"Spending time," Leo agreed. "What do you want to do?"

"Oh, I don't really care. If you want, I could just help you with whatever you're doing."

"Actually, that would be great," Leo said. Via beamed, causing Leo's face to grow warm, and sat down beside him, her nimble hands poised over his tools, ready to hand them to him.

They got to work. She handed him tools while he worked on the AI and they talked about anything and everything: Taylor Swift's current tour and how Via wished she could go but hadn't been able to get tickets for her and Pat to go, Leo's latest win at the robotics competition he and the robotics club at their school had gone to, Via pondering joining the tennis team (apparently she was pretty good), and so on.