THE ARGO II WAS CERTAINLY VERY DIFFERENT FROM CHRYSAOR'S PIRATE SHIP. Even at the start, Chrysaor's ship had felt foreign and unwelcoming - a feeling that only escalated towards the end, when it had started to feel more like a prison, with that strange, ancient presence lurking around every corner. The Argo II was the complete opposite. It felt like home. It was softly lit and beautifully built; Dawn didn't know a single thing about architecture, but even she could appreciate the coziness of the Argo II. It was completely filled with things that were obviously designed to make demigod life easier - the enchanted screens in the mess hall, the magical ice chest, the pictures plastered up along the hallway of Camp. It was nice, that was all.

Dawn decided to head further below deck, making her way down the stairs. When she had been down there before, she'd liked the sounds of the ship moving, the creaking, mechanical sounds of the engine room. They were soothing in a way that reminded her of home, of the steady flow of water and the mindless chatter of underwater creatures. The boat was a little stuffier on the bottom floor - nothing unbearable, but warm and pleasant, like she was sitting in front of a roaring fireplace, and she felt her goosebumps fade into nonexistence. She remembered what Jason had said about Leo being in the engine room and she made her way past the armory and sickbay, heading to the mechanical maze that was the engine room. As she walked, she thought hard, trying to match a face to the name. Leo, Leo, Leo... He wasn't the blonde - that was Jason - and he (obviously) wasn't Percy or Annabeth either, so that meant he was either the scrawny Latino boy that had been with Percy who'd found her, or he was the big Chinese Roman guy with the girlfriend. She'd gathered that the Argo II was pretty much split into couples - Jason and Piper, Annabeth and Percy, and the Chinese guy and (Emerald? Ruby? Hazel?). Dawn cursed her bad name-remembering and blamed it on her short attention span. Either way, she felt sorry for whoever the scrawny guy was - he'd be alone on a boat full of couples. And, sure, maybe he had a girlfriend back home, but she couldn't imagine it would be much fun either way.

She reached the engine room and ducked her head inside, scanning for signs of life. Either Frank (that was the other boy's name!) or Leo - just, which was which? Was Frank the scrawny one or the big one? She had a feeling that Leo was the small one, but she couldn't be sure and that would be so super awkward if she called him by the wrong name. She almost hoped she didn't spot anyone down there, but as she looked she saw a flash of curly hair in the corner of the room and grinned, the extroverted side of her brain begging her to go over and say hi. So it was the boy who was with Percy when he found her - he'd seemed fun! Only a little taller than her, very fidgety, a kind of glint in his impish features that made Dawn think he'd appreciate a little mischief.

She heard a clunking noise from around the same place she'd just seen the sign of movement (from behind one of the giant metal death-trap-looking structures). She paused, listening in. The clunking, clanging noise. And then swearing; a mix of ancient Greek, English, and some other language that she couldn't quite work out. Maybe Italian? Regardless, she skipped towards the sound (a feat, considering the numerous boiling metal structures that were in the way) and came face to face with the boy from the ship, who was muttering to himself as he tried to hammer a stubborn looking metal plate back onto the ground.

"Hello!" She grinned, and he jumped when he saw her, clutching his chest. She made a mental note not to sneak up on people too much. It was different underwater, in her defense! If you were swimming towards someone, it was practically impossible to sneak up on them, given all the currents and bubbles and need she go on?

"Holy Hephaestus, you scared me." The boy said, muttering something to himself about women and ships. Dawn narrowed her eyes at him. He was scrawny - skinnier than her - with wild, curly brown hair that was currently sticking in every which direction, like he'd been running his hands through it. His eyes had a kind of crazed energy, but, up close, they were adorned with dark bags underneath them. She frowned. He was wearing a shirt that had probably once been white and was now completely covered in grease - grease that was all over his face as well. He looked like a crazy man who mothers would tell their kids to cross the street to avoid. He also looked like a tired teenager who needed a rest. She just wished she could remember his name.

"I tend to have that effect." Dawn quipped, and the boy huffed a surprised laughed, hammering neglected.

"Dawn, right?" He asked, sticking out a grease-covered hand for her to shake, grinning boyishly. She obliged, shaking it in a hello. "Percy's cousin?"

"That's me!" She smiled, letting go of his hand. Hers was covered in grease and dirt now too, but Dawn really didn't mind that much. Her hands had been covered in much worse than that during her life thus far. "And you're- uh- you're the boy from the boat who was with Percy!"

Dawn thought it was a good cover-up! Unfortunately, the boy didn't seem to share her sentiment. His impish features lit up mischievously. "You totally can't remember my name, can you?"

"Yes, I totally can," Dawn said stubbornly.

"Uh, no you can't. It's fine, if you can't. I tend to have that effect. Devilishly handsome, and all." He raised his eyebrows at her, and Dawn was so surprised that she laughed, quickly covering it up with a cough.

"That would be really funny if I couldn't remember your name, but I totally can, so it's not that funny actually. Sorry." She raised her arms in a kind of what-can-you-do gesture, and he grinned at her in a very much I-know-more-than-you kind of way. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"What's my name, then?"

"This is a test. I'm testing you right now."

"I'm terrible at tests." Leo shrugged, still grinning. "So what's my name?"

"..."

"Ha! Knew it." The boy gloated at his victory for a second, sticking his tongue out at her. She felt herself smiling. "It's Leo, by the way. My name. Or Supreme Commander Valdez. Or Bad Boy Supreme. Or Captain Toolbelt." He nodded seriously, but his eyes were sparkling. Dawn laughed.

"Knew it." She said with an air of poshness, waving her hand around the way a queen would. "Well, Leo, you've passed my test. Congratulations."

"Thank you," Leo said, matching her poshness, pulling something out of his toolbelt to fiddle with.

Dawn sat down on the floor of the engine room, her back up against the cool metal of the wall, and Leo joined her on the floor. Dawn was temporarily distracted by the way one of the pipes glinted against the light, twisting her head to look at it from a different angle before her brain jumped back to Leo.

"Did you build this boat?" She asked curiously. He scowled.

"This boat? Lady, this is a spanking hot war machine!"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Boat, war machine, same difference. Did you build it?"

Leo nodded, dark eyes finding hers as he went into a tangent about all the 'cool, demigoddy' features of the Argo II. She wondered if it would be rude to try and do a cartwheel while he was speaking (what? She realized she hadn't tried to do one in a while and wondered if she still could!), but ultimately decided against it, instead tapping a rhythm against her legs as he told her all about the ballista and cannons and Wii activated steering controls.

Dawn listened, engaged. She didn't really know all that much about building and ships, but she could see that the curly-haired boy was passionate about it - and it made her heart warm, just a little. It was like when someone got her talking about Atlantis - she could talk and talk and talk, and it always made her happy when people listened in.

Leo was wrapping up a tangent about the pegasi stables when he looked at her, confused.

"Wait, dude, why were you on that boat in the first place? With the pirate ship guy?"

Dawn frowned. She told everyone her - very brief - story once she'd gotten onto the Argo II. She mentally replayed the scene - Annabeth just shaking her head in disbelief, the satyr threateningly tapping his baseball bat, the Romans - there were Romans, now, too! - and Piper just looking resigned, like they'd just accepted the weirdness at this point. And Leo... Leo wasn't there! He must've been down working on the boat, or something. Dawn felt a giggle bubble in her throat, that turned into a kind of strangled laugh.

"Wait, wait." She choked, "You're telling me that you didn't know why I was here! Or who I was! All this time we've been talking, you've thought- You've thought I was just some random enemy! Oh my gods! Oh my god!"

Dawn laughed, tears welling in her eyes. The idea that Leo had just been vaguely confused their whole conversation as to why some random he'd met on an enemy ship had now taken residence on the Argo II was enough to have her in stitches. And the fact that he was either too polite, or had just completely forgotten until now to ask her - Dawn didn't think she'd laughed this long in a while. Leo frowned, dark eyebrows knitted together, but his impish mouth was tugging up in a smile.

"Hey!" He protested, "I'm a polite guy! Also not a great fighter! What if you told me you were working for Gaea and that you'd already - I don't know - killed the whole crew? I'd rather delay that conversation as long as possible!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!" Dawn laughed, her cheeks hurting. "You- Leo- would make a terrible soldier."

"Hey!"

"I'm not kidding! If I was a bad guy, your grand plan was just to never bring it up so I'd never be able to tell you my evil plans? Oh my gods!" Dawn giggled, wiping her eyes.

Leo screwed his face up so he was squinting at her in feigned annoyance, and Dawn playfully hit him on the shoulder.

"You're my new favorite person." She grinned, and he had to smile back at that, dark eyes finding hers and features alight with sarcasm and maybe a bit of genuine happiness.

Dawn talked to Leo until she was struggling to keep her eyes open, laughing more than she ever had in her life, and eventually retired to Jason's cabin, falling asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow. 

a/n completely rewrote this chapter it's definitely giving