Leo Valdez X Reader

Chapter 36 (Y/n)

The wind whipped through my hair as I fell through the darkness. 

Was I making the right decisions following this little robot guy, or was I about to become the next smear on the bottom of wherever this ended?

There was a small column of light beginning to grow at the bottom, but the force of the fall was making me spin oddly, so I couldn't quite register what it was until I fell into it.

 A rather large bucket of leather scraps had broken my fall. 

It was weird, but not the weirdest thing I had seen recently.

But hey, I was alive! 

You know you might be going crazy when falling into scraps feels like an accomplishment. 

I burst from the bucket, feeling some rush of success.

"Suck on that World!" I yelled. 

Finally, I got a good look around. Orange and yellow lights shone against the stone walls. A flash of heat came from a forge a few feet away, and a wall was lined with tools. Honestly, it just looked like a bigger version of Bunker 9.

"(Y/n)!"

I turned to see Harley come running over to me. I climbed out, slightly embarrassed by my outburst, just in time for Harley to wrap his arms around my leg.

"You're okay! We couldn't find you." He mumbled.

"Are the others with you?" I looked up to see my friends staring at me. 

Liam wouldn't meet my eye, and Melog spoke softly as she approached me.

"Leo and Harley's dad is here." 

That's when I noticed the tall man standing behind them all. He had tanned skin and dark brown hair that spread into a beard. He was dressed in dark overalls and hefted a large hammer in one hand.

"Hephaestus," I mumbled, trying to muster a bow. 

He grunted, a look of distaste plastered on his deeply scarred face. They slithered across his skin in bands of pink and tan.

What was his problem? Was it the fact that we had broken his workshop or that I was wearing his son's hoodie?

Speaking of Leo. I noticed he, Nico, and Will were absent.

"(Y/n)," Harley started, tears trickling from his brown eyes. He wiped at them furiously.

 "Somethings wrong with Leo."

What?

"Show me," I mumbled, and he grabbed my hand. The crowd of my friends parted, all looking nervous.

Leo was lying on a work table, unconscious. He was breathing, which was what mattered, but other than that, he looked a bit pale.

"What happened?" I asked. Will was standing beside me, examining some glass jars from his bag.

"I think he hit his head during the explosion. But I didn't see it happen."

I don't know why I did it, but I gently pushed a few chocolate curls from his forehead. 

He was oddly warm. I wasn't sure if it was from the hit or just Leo being his warm self.

Maybe it was because he wasn't as bad as I thought; not all people were out to hurt me. 

He actually cared.

"And we have one more problem," Melog muttered, "when Leo blew up Hydros, he clogged our exit with ice."