Hello, everyone! This is my first Leo fanfiction so please let me know what you think. I'm not sure if I want to leave it as a one-shot or add more to make a short story. I'm open to suggestions and feedback! Actually, I really appreciate feedback. I hope y'all enjoy! :)

Note: I own nothing from the Percy Jackson universe, all of the credit there goes to Uncle Rick.

This is set after The Lost Hero and probably sometime during The Son of Neptune.

Chapter One:

Leo tapped his fingers on the incomplete console in front of him. He couldn't think straight, and he'd been trying for hours to figure out a way to efficiently program the navigation system into the control board of what he'd decided to call the Argo II. He shook his head and reached for his coffee. It had been awhile since he'd slept.

Not that anyone knew. People came and went frequently enough, but never long enough to actually notice him beyond him being the builder of the ship. Annabeth came regularly and helped him more than anyone else, but even she usually only stayed for a few hours at most. Piper usually dragged her away to keep her from dwelling too much on this Percy guy.

Piper.

Jason.

These were his two best friends in the world and he hadn't seen them in over a week. He knew this was partially his fault, seeing as he kept himself locked up in Bunker Nine pretty much all the time. He had an important job to do and he knew it. Still. He would have appreciated a visit. Even just a quick Hey, Leo! Hadn't seen you in a while so we just wanted to say hello! But no. Nada.

Leo threw his screwdriver away in frustration and held his head in his hands. He stayed like this for awhile before he hauled himself to his feet to retrieve his screwdriver. He held the tool loosely in his hand as he wandered to a wall and leaned on it, hitting his back on the wall a little harder than he intended to. He felt his feet slowly slide out from under him until his butt hit the hard, cold floor of the bunker with a soft thud.

Leo blinked and shook his head again. He didn't understand why he was suddenly feeling so worthless, but he knew beyond a doubt that the feeling was creeping its way into him. The feeling broke through his walls of protective humor, sarcasm, and upbeat cheerfulness until all he felt was the cold emptiness inside of him. He was alone. He had been for hours. And… no one… cared?

No.

No one cared.

Leo blinked and jumped in surprise as a stray tear splashed onto his dirt smeared cheek. Slowly, Leo reached out a hand and gently swiped his fingers over his face and held out his hand in numb curiosity. It was as if he couldn't believe he could have possible shed a tear. He frowned as he gazed upon the glistening tips of his grimy fingers. The numbing loneliness started to transform into anger.

Seriously, Valdez? He thought angrily to himself. You don't deserve people "checking in on you", you idiot. You have a job to do. That's why you're here. People are counting on you. People far more important than you. Look at the amount of people who are missing this Percy guy .Look at Annabeth! You see how it's tearing her apart. Percy is an important man. You?Well, Valdez, you're just the Repair Boy. Nothing more. Remember that, Valdez.

Leo finished his inner monologue and was surprised to find even more tear tracks running down his face. He swiped them away with the backs of his hand. He stood up and brushed himself off as he walked back toward his worktable. He leaned over and closed his eyes as one more stray tear fell and dropped on the table. He swiped it away sadly and got back to work.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please review :)