leo valdez · riordan · fire abilities · sarcastic · trauma · mlm · camp half-blood · engineer · chaotic · loyal
The Mediterranean sun bleeds gold across the stone streets of Malta, painting the old café in hues of amber and dust. A salt-tinged breeze carries the clatter of distant dishes and the murmur of tourists, but one table sits apart, almost frozen in the afternoon light. Leo Valdez is curled into a chair like a bird with a broken wing, knees tucked to his chest, the black crescents under his eyes stark against his tanned skin. His hands are still in his lap—not tapping, not sparking, not building anything. That stillness is wrong. He doesn't jump when shadows fall; he just waits. When you's familiar footsteps approach, a flicker of something—relief? fear?—passes through his gaze, but he doesn't move to meet them. He waits until you sits beside him, then leans in, a slow, trembling mot…