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Leo doesn’t get sick. Not too much anyways. Between him and Calypso, he had the better immune system which has irritated her in the past, but it’s all water under Puente Baluarte. His sleep schedule may be trash four out of seven days of the week but his inner body was golden it seems.
When they woken up this morning, Leo had an itch in his throat and his felt goosebumps all over his arms. But life stops for no one and Leo Valdez has a life to live. So he brushes it off, letting out a cough while getting dressed. This got Calypso attention but she remained quiet. Colds aren’t that bad, he can just sweat it out.
Calypso didn’t bother him about this until he coughs violently for the 5th time in one morning.
“Leo if you sneeze one more time, I’m forcing you back to bed.” Her tone was dead serious, not looking up from her laptop.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time. But you don’t need to worry Sunsh—“ Leo pinches his nose and an explosion detonates out of his mouth. Calypso gets out of her chair, ready to grab him.
“Okay hey that didn’t count.” Leo backs behind his car. Running around the vehicle doesn’t work too well. She holds him with both arms behind his back.
Leo attempts to bargain, “I’m innocent, I’ll never talk, you’ll never take me alive!”
“You have lots of traits Leo, but convincing me to let you burn yourself out is not one of them.”
//
She hands him the thermometer to put in his mouth as she flips through their colored coded schedule to accommodate for Leo’s absents. The machine beeps, alerting Calypso and Leo hands it back to her to read.
“Is it serious doc?” He tries to keep the mood light. He knows he’s putting a lot on her shoulders. The least he could do was ease it out the best way he knew how.
Calypso maths some calculations in her mind as Leo would be registered sick regardless if they went to a normal doctor (added body heat and all that.)
“You have a cold Leo. So get some sleep and it should be healed by tomorrow.”
“That’s not too bad.” Leo concludes. Should be enough time to replace the Garcia’s oxygen sensor.
He and Calypso have been in business for about 6 months now, sponsored by Apollo. It not only served as a mechanic/ veggie growing business, but also a safe haven for demigods passing through. So far, they’ve helped out regular mortals, Percy’s brother Tyson, a flock of boars when the hunters of Artemis came by and, there was also a chimera attack last Tuesday but they had a Festus.
Leo still did volunteering workshops with the shelters around the city. Always and forever, Leo loves the young minds he’s sculpting.
“I’ll be downstairs so call or text me if you need anything, and I’ll write down any customers who need car repairs to call back.” Calypso informs him.
He would’ve kissed her hand if she wasn’t six feet away, “You’re awesome.”
She lets out a playful laugh, “so you keep reminding me.”
Calypso walks over to the door to give Leo the rest he needs to obtain in order to combat his cold.
“I’ll be back in an hour to check on you.” She says as she starts closing the door.
“I don’t wanna sound already too pampered but, why don’t you leave an air spirit so you don’t have to go back and forth for the day?” He suggests.
Calypso stops, bitting her bottom lip, as if weighing the options,
“Well I’d like to be with you on your deathbed rather than my air spirits.”
….
Calypso eyes and shoulders tense as if her brain had facepalmed itself, “Was that too morbid?”
“Yeah just a little.” He admits, pinching his finger with a wanky smile. Calypso checks went red, probably getting war flashback to her horrible stand up comedy when they were first helping out Apollo.
“Sorry I tried. I love you. Just, get some sleep.” She fumbles and closes the door.
“Love you too.” Leo laughs back, even with a stuffy throat.
Welp, guess it was either starrin at already dry paint on the ceiling or getting some shut eye. Leo eyes the stuff Calypso had left him on the bedside counter: three water bottles, cough medicine she hopes he’ll take (or force him to eat), a few oranges for that good vitamin C and a puzzle box that needed to have stacks of wood moves in a certain order to unlock. She wants him to sleep but she knows her boyfriend enough to not make him bored for 8 hours when he inevitably wakes up after four.
She knew him enough to know which fidget object distresses his brain and which ones make his brain go into overdrive working mode. She wasn’t going to leave the archimedes sphere or a stack of paper to sketch out new ideas or else he’ll never sleep.
Leo takes a gulp of medicine (his throat was killing him) and flops into bed, bouncing his leg against the mattress until sleep overtakes him. He was starting to sweat a bit.
He senses Calypso come in an hour later, just as promised, but Leo was too fatigued to greet her. He feels her rest her hand over his slimy forehead. Then she hums a gorgeous melody that tickles Leo ears. He wants to open his eyes but his immune system won’t let him. Dam it.
The air seems to have gotten breezier, like an organic AC system and Leo was no longer sweating as much.
She came around 5 pm for a late lunch/early dinner. Stew was on the menu and they talked while Leo ate. He could already feel his cold depleting.
She sits on the edge of the bed and lashes her fingers inbetween one of his. Leo takes that as an opening to hug her waist,
“Sorry you had to take over the shop today.”
“I am part of the business’ title.”
“True.”
“You shouldn’t feel bad for your immune system failing on you.”
Also true. Every hero and demigod alike gets sick. But Leo just can’t do ‘sitting around for more than 2 days without moving’. It’s in his blood, it’s the ADHD inside of him.
“I’m antsy I can’t help it.”
“I know.”
She massages her thumb over his fingers, causing him to squeeze her hand affectionately while grinning.
“Feels like a good software update though, so thanks for manhandling me to bed.”
She playfully smacks his arm and rolls her eyes, “I’m glad Georgina isn’t around to hear you say stuff like that anymore.”
Leo may not be that much of a smooth talker, but he did manage to convince Calypso to sleep with him for the night instead of her taking the guest bedroom.
He told her he was all better, demonstrating by pinching his nose and not coughing violently. Flawless performance, and she had agreed. And Leo, true to his word, did not get her sick.
Until next week.