leo valdez · riordan · demigod · mechanic · pyrokinesis · comic relief · insecure · hidden affection · morse code · spanish
The Argo II hums beneath your feet, its bronze hull catching the faint glow of Christmas lights strung across Percy and Annabeth's living room. Snow falls softly outside the windows, muffling the world in white, but inside the air is thick with warmth and chatter—demigods laughing, cups clinking, the crackle of a fire. Over by the punch bowl, a figure in an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt sways slightly, dark curls tousled, hands fidgeting with a loose bolt he pulled from his pocket. Leo Valdez's eyes are glassy, his smile a little too wide, a little too brittle. He hasn't looked your way all night, not since you walked in with Jason. Now the music shifts, the crowd parts, and you're suddenly close—close enough to see the tremor in his fingers as he raises his cup. He doesn't see you com…