Work Text:
LEO
I
" You can't heal what you refuse to acknowledge. "
For the past three hours, the only sounds drilling into Leo's mind was the sound of metal clanging. He knew it was here somewhere—but he couldn't find it.
He'd searched every inch of Bunker Nine. The workbenches. The storage shelves. The scrap bins. Even the places he usually avoided, like the spider-infested corner near the ceiling pipes and the far back section with the loose floorboards where Nyssa had fallen through that one time.
Actually, he really needed to fix those. How long had they been broken?
A week?
Two?
Maybe longer.
He made a mental note to repair them later.
Wait.
What was he looking for again?
Leo lowered the wrench in his hand and stared at it. Well, if he was looking for a wrench, he found one.
Leo looked around—half the bunker was completely trashed due to him looking for... whatever he was looking for. The remaining space was take. up by Festus's left wing. Why Leo had taken off? He wasn't sure. Leo was a few all-nighters in. It had probably been two or three days. He really needed to sleep. Will Solace calls it "Insomnia," Leo calls it "Being Batman, AKA The Night."
A yawn ambushed him so violently his jaw cracked. He rubbed at his eyes. The bunker lights seemed brighter than usual. Or... dimmer? He wasn't sure.
Or maybe his head just hurt.
Probably the second one.
He'd been getting headaches more often lately. Nothing serious. Just annoying little pulses behind his eyes that came and went whenever they felt like it. Will Solace told him it was because he'd been surviving almost entirely on coffee and whatever snacks he could steal from the dining pavilion.
Damn you, Solace. Calling out Leo and his bad habits.
Whatever.
Not important.
The important thing was finding the thing.
The thing he was looking for. The thing that absolutely existed.
Somewhere.
In the bunker.
Hopefully.
Leo stood motionless for a moment. Then groaned and dragged both hands down his face.
"Okay, Valdez. New plan."
He paused.
"...What was the old plan?"
Silence.
Leo sighed and dropped onto a work stool. The stool wobbled. One of the legs were shorter than the other. How had that happened? It looked like it had been sawed off...
Oh.
Oh fuck you, Connor. He knows it was you.
Another thing he needed to fix. His list was getting long.
Oh! Speaking of lists!
What about lists?
He yawned again. Actually, when was the last time he'd slept? A proper sleep.
Not a nap. Not accidentally passing out on a workbench. Not closing his eyes for twenty minutes and calling it a rest.
A real sleep.
Leo frowned.
The answer should've come easily.
Instead, his mind produced absolutely nothing.
"Huh."
That probably wasn't a good sign.
He ignored it.
Like usual.
He was about to continue what he was doing. What was he doing again?
He stared back at the wrench in his hand, and then to the metal on his desk.
Yet, the answer didn't come to him.
His thoughts were abruptly cut off by the horn blowing, was that for breakfast? Or dinner.
Maybe he should acctualy go to the dining pavilion. Yeah.
Leo had a plan. Have breakfast... or dinner, shower and take a proper sleep. That was a good plan.
He stood up from the uneven stool, he placed the wrench into his pocket, he'd use it later. He always did.
***
Stepping out of Bunker 9 hit him like a train, a really big train. He didn't know what kind, just a really big one. Like a FAT train.
The sun was bright, blinding nearly. Which probably meant it was breakfast.
Thank the Gods. He was craving some bacon.
Hey, wait a minute. What did he need to fix again?