Leo Valdez x Reader

Don't Leave Me

A/N: This was requested by Audrey_and_Diliah. There are a lot of requests from you guys, which I'm happy about, just remember that it is going to take a while for me to write them all. Especially because procrastinating happens to be my favourite past time...

Next: Aphrodite's Orders (Request)
Words: 971
Warnings: Talks about a panic/anxiety attack, so some slight angst. (I promise it ends with fluff though)

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No no no no no
Not again.
I frantically searched the room, desperate to find the one person who I knew could calm me down. Only to have it hit me, once again, that this same person is the very reason that I'm in this mess.
But it's not like I can blame Leo. It wasn't really his fault.
It was mine.
It was always mine.
My fault for worrying too much.
My fault for overthinking.
And my fault for panicking.
Oh gods. Oh gods.
What of Leo found me like this? What if he broke up with me? What if he doesn't love me because of this? What if-

"Y/N?"

The sound of the boy's voice froze my thoughts. Stuffing my hand in my mouth to cover my sobs, I quietly cringed further into the shadows, terrified of being found. My fears from earlier still screamed in the back of my mind, further filling me with anxiety.

"Y/N, I know you're in here."

The sound of my name leaving his lips again forced a further sob from my mouth. It was quiet and yet, in the still air of the room, it had seemed so loud. Silence roamed free, only to be broken again by the boy I loved.

"I can hear you."

The words were followed by footsteps approaching my position under one of the many desks that crowded Bunker 9, piled high with Leo's inventions.

"I'm not here to judge you."

'Yes he is.' The voice in my head contradicted.

"I promise I just want to help."

'No. He just wants to hinder and hurt you in ways that he knows only he can.'

"You've got to believe me Y/N."

My name escaped his lips and filled my mind, clashing with the voice in my head in a terrifying battle that left a painful ringing in my ears.

"Please come out."

A longing for Leo's comfort filled my body, but all I could muster was a whimper. It was small but the noise still brought attention, as well as a sudden wave of regret as the doubts from before came flooding back into my mind.

"There you are."

A soft and familiar smile entered my vision along with arms that wrote stretched out in a welcoming gesture. The need to be loved enveloped my heart, but was quickly ripped apart by the fear's claws. Insecurity sinking its teeth deeper into the roots of my mind like a wolf does its kill and I felt myself shrinking away.

"Stop."

The shakiness and horror lacing my voice filling Leo and causing him to freeze.

"Please. I don't want you to see me like this."

The desperation that coated my tone pushing past my cracked throat to create words with some slight firmness behind them. Despite this, Leo still pressed on, even moving closer towards me.

"If I don't love you at your worst, then how can you say I deserve you at your best?" Leo questioned softly, still making slow movements in my direction. The question bounced around in my head, knocking over negative thoughts that began to spill through my mind. The idea of 'deserving' slunk through happy memories and good thoughts, staining them with an inky black poison.

"Please. You have to- I can't- Please. No."

My sentences frantically stopped and started as my heart pounded and caught in my throat. Choking on tears and the all consuming fear of rejection, I just managed to note as Leo moved closer at a faster pace in an attempt to comfort. I kept my hands out and felt them collide with a chest. Leo. I couldn't let him get any closer. Rejection felt too near to allow that. With my heart pounding and eyes blurred, it hit me that my anxiety attack was back. And it was much worse than it had ever been in the past.

"Y/N, look at me." I could barely hear Leo's voice any more. Then, from nowhere, I felt a hand on my cheek. The contact caused me to freeze, tears still streaming and sobs still choking my throat.

"I love you."

The three words cut through the fog in my mind like a knife through butter, landing directly onto my heart and clearing my senses.

"Everything's going to be fine."

My breathing began to slow to normal.

"Because I'm here now. And I'm never going to leave. Ever."

My eyes cleared as the final tears leaked from my eyes.

"I'm in far too deep and love you far too much to leave now."

I became more aware of the hand on my cheek that had begun to calmly caress my skin. Leaning in to Leo's touch, I felt my muscles loose their tension. Opening my eyes that had previously been screwed shut, I chose to focus on the soft brown eyes and heavenly smile the boy's face held.

"I won't leave because I can't."

My hands now falling limp, Leo took this opportunity to pull me into his arms. One hand planted firmly on my back and the other comfortingly brushing through my hair.

"I love you too."
The words scraped at my dried throat, just barely managing to escape and make their appearance.

"I know."
Leo whispered into my ear, reassurance coating his words like a warm blanket.

"And even if you didn't, I'd never stop loving you anyway."