Female Organice Life Forms

Loveisintheair, Leo Valdez, the son of Hepheastus thought bitterly as he absentmindedly tinkered with the back-up engines of the Argo II. He hid away in the hot and loud compartments of the engine room, where oils leaked and fumes carried grime from the walls to your skin. With his wrench, Leo managed to fix sixteen faults at a time, even without his mind in total focus and presence. He just needed to get away from all the organic life-forms that threaten him and ensure him a life of loneliness and being married to your forty-year-old truck and wrenches.

He couldn't ponder on how people have the leisure time for love in the midst of a war that could mean the apocalypse. Even Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, fits it in her schedule. And despite the growing tension and pressure for the demigod heroes, she looked happier than he'd ever seen her. She used to be so distant, distracted and hot-headed. But upon landing of the Argo II on Camp Jupiter, she was totally different person. Who knew she was humanly capable of laughter?

And Jason Grace, the new leader of the Greeks, manages to find time to make kissy face and hold hands with Piper McLean. It was all too much.

Some campers he didn't know irritated him even more. They find the courage to profess their undying love to everyone, before being sent to a quest - also known as certain doom. Quest rates have increased, and it's directly proportional to confessions of love rates. And there he was, Leo Valdez, exceptionally good looking in a very Santa Elf sort of way – completely, utterly and dreadfully single.

Oh, who was he kidding? He was as appealing to girls as the least appealing thing in the world (it could not be put to print due to safety issues). After an uncountable number of failed trials to impress the opposite sex, he decided to give up on all human kind. He mingles with them only when absolutely necessary. For the rest of his days, he spends time with artificial beings.

"Leo?" the call of a female voice struggling to fight the loud hum of engines made him jump. It's been a long time (approximately two hours) since his ears caught sound of a female voice. It was all too sudden and foreign. The voice called out his name again.

"Reyna?" Leo croaked. He had been silent for two hours, and he wasn't used to it. "What are you doing here?" The daughter of Bellona walked up to him; her hair was French braided down the back, and she wore a simple purple blouse and worn-out jeans. She looked awesome. And she was just her type, too. Definitely out of his league.

He mentally slapped himself. He had sworn himself out of love. And besides, this girl falls for a guy like Jason. He was nowhere near Jason.

"I heard you shut yourself inside hear, and you refused to come out," Reyna spoke with softness Leo never thought was possible for her. "You okay?"

Leo nodded, but it looked spastic thanks to the aching muscles he acquired from two ours of looking down. "Uhmm, Reyna?" Leo said tentatively. "You're wearing normal clothes."

The praetor laughed. "Yes, am I not entitled to that?" She paused as if she was giving something deep thought. Leo can't help but notice the way she speaks. How authority is of constant attendance in her tone. There was hardness when needed, but there were occasional hints of friendliness. The way her words are usually strung together was weird and archaic for him; he guessed it went with the whole praetor thing. He wondered if there were ever moments where she could be a regular teenager, who knows the regular teenage slang and lives the regular teenager life – even if for just a fraction of a time. It was sad to think that maybe wearing regular clothes and being out of the bed sheets they call togas was the closest she got to normalcy.

"I'm going out of Camp today," she interrupted his train of thought. All Leo could reply was a simple "Oh."

"We just needed you to fix something, if you don't mind. You're the only son of Vulcan – er, Hephaestus who can manipulate fire."

Leo sighed, and hesitantly nodded. "Fine." Duty awaited.

…

The sun was unbearable after what felt like an eternity (or two hours) of darkness in the Argo II engine room. But he was lucky he got sent indoors again to the kitchen, where there was a little problem with the ancient stoves that burned with magical – and apparently rebellious and impertinent firewood. Why the Romans still kept that despite the fire hazard, he didn't know.

He started to head back to the engine room, when he bumped into Percy Jackson, the only person who could turn Annabeth into a big pile of mush. He was a great guy and all, but it was hard to imagine him dating Annabeth at first. She seemed to go perfectly with a fellow serious brainiac. And Percy just wasn't that. A lot of Aphrodite girls like them together, and say they have a really great story. So it's possible that occurrences and plot twists could bring two opposites together. Or is it destiny? Damn, love is hard. Leo can't understand how Piper could handle it.

"Oh, hey Leo," Percy grinned lopsidedly at him. He looked tired with the bags under his eyes and all. Leo didn't know how else to react but to nod politely. "You've awfully quiet lately, Leo," Percy frowned, "It's unlike you. The crew definitely needs its comedian back."

Leo put a hand on his shoulder. "I have no place with organic life-forms, Percy. Especially of the female kind. One could only take so much rejection in one day."

Percy laughed. "I get what this is all about."

"Please spare the love advice," Leo groaned warily.

"I'm not really the person to ask love advice from," Percy shrugged. "I mean, I didn't plan or do anything to get Annabeth. It just happened."

"But she's so.. different from you, and you say you didn't work hard to get her?"

Percy thought for a moment. "I worked hard on a lot of things, I guess. Trying to protect her and help her out on quests. We've been on so many together, and we always had each other's backs. I tried to tell her how I feel, but I never got a chance to until after we were dating. It was a whirlwind since I met her. And I guess our differences balance each other out."

Leo blinked. "What do you mean, balanceseachotherout?"

"Well, we provide each other what we don't have."

"What?"

"She leads me to the right direction and I'm the anti-stress. It works well."

Leo considered this for a moment. A spark ignited in him, but it died down as fast as Jenny Hawthorne's rejection. "I still don't want anything to do with organic life forms." He shook Percy's hand, which made him raise an eyebrow. "Goodbye, Percy. This may be the last time you ever see me. I'll be in the engine room. Thanks for everything."

….

"Leo?" Reyna called out again. Her voice was clearer, because Leo managed to shut out the groaning of the engines. He also managed to make a few unnecessary modifications.

"I see you're back from the outside world, female organic life form! It's been so long since I made contact with one. I remember they had long her and petite forms," Leo said dreamily. "Be gone! You do not belong here!"

Reyna laughed. "I'm praetor. I can go wherever I want."

Leo blinked. "You didn't say 'whereverIplease'," Leo raised a wrench. "If memory serves me right, Reyna speaks only in that matter. WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH HER, IMPOSTER FEMALE ORGANICE LIFE FORM?"

"LEO!" Reyna slapped him, and the wrenched clanged to the ground. "Five hours of solitude drives you nuts, doesn't it?"

Leo snapped back to reality. "Reyna, you've spoken like a true teenager, what happened in while I was stuck here?"

Reyna smiled. "Nothing, "she shook her head. "You expect me to be praetor-like all the time? It is a tough responsibility, Valdez. It's a heavy load, especially on such young shoulders. It makes you mature fast to live up to the expectations of the Empire. But do not forget I am only fifteen; I also live off junk food, music and movies."

"So, what kind of music do you listen to, the Apollo Lyre collection of 4 B.C.E.?"

Reyna laughed, and it was a good hearty one. Leo never heard her like that. Truly entertained. It made him feel good inside. She even smiled a school girl smile. It was good to see her like that. Good to know that she was just like him – human.

"My favorite band is Tears of Blood*. I especially like the album Smelling a Rat*," Reyna said matter-of-factly. This made Leo's eyes widen. "NO WAY! That's like, the awesomest ever! I can't believe you like that!"

"A lot of people find it strange that I like it, so I just don't broadcast it much," Reyna shrugged, but the smile never left her face. Leo shook his head. "Liking that band is so understandable and so not weird! I have all their CDs and posters and stuff. What about movies?"

"Well, I always wanted to see Bomb Punch. Sadly, I haven't had the time to see it."

"That's like a totally violent, gory action movie. So cool! I always wanted to see that! Why don't we see it together?" Leo blurted out, only realizing what he had just said. It was too late to take it back. He felt like bomb punching himself. "I mean, uhhh.. errrrrrrr….."

"Why not? I'm free at eight," Reyna smiled, "See you then, unless you decide to leave this place."

"I'm leaving, alright," Leo finally smiled, after hours of torture. "I'm hungry." And together, they headed out for the calm night breeze to embrace them. Leo couldn't absorb that he asked Reyna out without meaning too, and she said yes. Not a bad day, not all. Maybe he had a chance with organic life forms after all, even the female kind.

The End.

*Tears of Blood – I heard this in Wizards of Waverly Place. I don't know if it is of actual existence.

*Smelling a Rat – I got his from W.I.T.C.H.

Thanks for reading you guys! I hope you enjoy it! Review, okay?

Love,

Legendaryhuntress

Stand, Bow, Bye!