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A/N: This is my first PJatO fanfic, so be sure to review so I know what I'm doing right and wrong! :3 Thanks!
Leo shifted his gaze from the blueprints in his oily hands to the frame of the Argo II. "It's not much, but at least it's progress." he said to himself. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, no doubt smearing grease all over his face. "Now, I can get started on the engine." he thought, chugging down a whole bottle of water. He quickly discarded the empty bottle and began digging through a large pile of schematic drawings, when suddenly, he heard footsteps. And it sounded like whoever-or whatever-it was, was coming in his direction-and quickly. Leo continued shuffling through the papers, fingers closing around his trusty three-pound hammer in his tool belt-just in case. Leo drew in deep breaths, trying to ignore the fact that his stomach was growling like a monster and his heart was pounding like crazy. He felt nauseous. "Ugh..." the fire-using demigod groaned, arms wrapped protectively over his stomach. He only came to realize that he was swaying when he heard pounding on the bunker entrance. Leo steadied himself and brought out his hammer, edging towards the source of the noise. "Leo?! LEO?! Are you in there?!" he heard someone shout. It sounded like...Jason. "Still," Leo reasoned, "It could be a Cyclopes."
"LEO?! Open up! It's just us!" The words washed over, giving him the strange desire to open up the bunker to the public. That was definitely Piper. He highly doubted Cyclopes could imitate charmspeak. Leo sighed in relief as he opened the door with a burst of flames, glad that he wouldn't have to worry about battling any monsters as worn-out as he was. Jason and Piper entered, looking at him worriedly. Leo decided to ignore the worry in their faces. "Hey, guys! What's up?" he asked, trying to sound cheery. "We brought you some lunch, since you weren't at breakfast this morning." Piper explained, holding up a pizza box. "Thanks! I was about to go to the mess hall, when you showed up." he lied. He had skipped through breakfast and lunch on purpose, using the time to work on the ship instead, but didn't want to worry them. "Dude, it's four o'clock. They stopped serving lunch at one-thirty." Jason pointed out. "Oh. I guess that time flies when you're having fun, huh?" Jason gave Leo a skeptical glance, but didn't press the matter. His two best friends looked at one another with expressions Leo didn't quite understand. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, Leo shrugged to himself and went back to the schematics, in search of the drawing showing the engine's design. He had a deadline to meet, after all-no need to waste time. Somebody pinched his arm, though, quickly bringing him back. "Ow! What was that for?" he asked, agitated.
Why wouldn't they leave him alone?
"Sorry 'bout that." Jason apologized, with a firm hand on Leo's shoulder. The son of Hephaestus was quick to accept the apology after seeing the guilty look on Jason's face. "It's okay, bro." he responded casually, "Thanks for bringing that pizza, but I should be getting back to work now if the Argo II's going to be done in time." He expected Jason and Piper to leave, but neither of them budged. "No, you should be taking a break." Piper argued, obviously struggling to force back her charmspeak, "Sit down and have a slice." Leo shook his head, biting his lip. "No can do, Beauty Queen. Let me get started on the engine, then I'll take a break. Deal?" he bargained, although he already had a feeling it wouldn't do the trick. "No deal. Rest now; work later." Jason insisted. His hand was still on the mechanic's bony shoulder. "Leo...I've told you this before, and I'm going to again: You're not a machine. You need to take a break; sit." Leo sighed in defeat-he was too tired to keep arguing. "Yeah, I know." he grumbled, as he sat down dejectedly. Besides, the aches in his stomach only seemed to get worse after catching a whiff of the pizza. He began to stand back up to grab a towel off of a nearby table so he could wipe the grease off his hands and dig in, but quickly sat back down, due to a dizzy spell. Leo suspected if he tried to stand up again or much less, walk, he would collapse. "Hey, umh...Could one of you guys hand me that rug-I mean, rag-over there?" Leo always felt a bit awkward asking for even the smallest favors, but he figured it was better than passing out oh-so-heroically in front of his friends. Strangely, both Piper and Jason looked pleased. "I've got it." Piper volunteered. "That table?" she asked, pointing towards a table across the room. "No, that one." Leo corrected, pointing towards a workbench by the boat's frame. Piper nodded, clearly satisfied, and walked off. Leo's stomach practically roared with hunger, growling way louder than before. "Woah! Was that your stomach?" Jason gawked. "Yeah," Leo brushed it off, "But, I'm fine. Probably just-" Leo stopped mid-sentence, his eyes closing. His back slumped and he began to lean forward. He would've fell out of the chair if Jason hadn't caught him. Piper approached, towel in hand. "Leo?" she gasped. The daughter of Aphrodite and Jason exchanged horrified looks.
Leo moaned, "Ugggggghh…."
"LEO!" he heard somebody shout his name.
…
And then he blacked out.
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