A/N: So I'll warn you in advance, this is kind of out of character for Leo. Usually he's happy and joking, but he once said "humor was a good way to hide the pain", and that gave me this idea of a sad Leo who can't hide the pain. So yeah, that led to this...so I hope you enjoy :)
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Hazel stood awestruck in the doorway to the engine room, amazed at the huge, complicated-looking piece of machinery before her. She stared at the bronze mass of gears and pipes uncomprehendingly; still shocked at the realization that it was what powered the ship. How it worked, she had no idea. How Leo had built it, let alone operated it and fixed it was an even bigger mystery. She shook her head, reminding herself to focus. Right now, her focus was finding Leo. Too late, she realized she had no idea where he was and no idea how to find him. She sighed and took a cautious step into the room, grimacing at the heat and hoping the engine room wasn’t very big. She figured she would just wander around until she found him, so she turned down the hallway branching out on her left.
She quickly discovered that the engine room was much larger than she’d originally thought. She passed a few doors and empty rooms, until her mind began to wander. Thoughts of Sammy invaded her head and she thought about her recent flashback-the one she’d shared with Leo. She wondered if Leo thought about it as much as she did, suddenly remembering that she was supposed to be looking for him.
That was when she noticed the door, the only door left ajar. There were a few doors on one wall, all shut tight and probably locked. All except for one. The door was slightly open and a soft glowing light seeped through the gap. She pushed the door open and found a small office, with a simple floor lamp and desk in the corner. The room was a mess; covered in blueprints, plans, notes, gears, wires, and scattered small robots and machines, most of them broken.
She let out an inaudible gasp when she noticed Leo, slumped against the wall near his desk, his knees tucked under his chin as he stared at empty space. He didn’t seem to notice her come in, or maybe he was choosing to ignore her. Either way, he showed no reaction to her finding him in this state.
She stood frozen in the doorway, wondering what she should do. Close the door and leave him be? Tell him there was a meeting? Talk to him? Stay? Go? No, she couldn’t go. She couldn’t abandon him, sitting there by himself, clearly upset. No, she couldn’t do that.
She steeled her nerves and walked over to where was sitting in the corner. His eyes flickered towards her then back to the empty air in front of him. He said nothing. She sat down beside him, wondering if she should say something.
“You found me,” he said, his voice rough.
“We’re having a meeting in the mess hall,” she said lamely.
“I’ll sit this one out.”
“I’ll sit it out with you.” She looked over to him, and he tucked his head into his knees, curling into a ball.
“Leo, what’s wrong?” she said softly. He didn’t respond. She nudged him with her shoulder, trying to appear more confident than she felt. She had no idea what to do or say; she had never seen Leo this way. He was always smiling, laughing, making bad jokes. Even when he was sad or angry, he kept his sense of humor. She had never seen him so depressed, and she had no idea how to handle him.
“Leo, talk to me,” she insisted, her voice sill gently. He looked up, still not meeting her eyes.
“What is there to talk about?”
“We can start with why you’re sitting down here all alone.” His eyes met hers, and her heart broke at the sight of him. He looked sad and lost, lonely and anguished. His eyes were so full of pain; she wondered how he managed to smile every day.
