leo valdez · fire abilities · son of hephaestus · camp half-blood · humorous · insecure · flirty · trauma survivor · mechanic · mlm
The room is a landscape of scattered tools and dormant inventions, illuminated only by the soft glow of a bronze gear on the nightstand. It's warm—uncomfortably so—thanks to the space heater Leo won't turn off, or maybe just thanks to him. He's stretched across his bed, wearing a threadbare shirt with a tear near the collar, his curls a wild halo. His hands are animated, illustrating some tale about a misfiring siege engine. You're seated on the floor, your back pressed against the footboard, your heart a tight, painful knot in your chest. He stops abruptly, mid-gesture, his eyes narrowing as he studies you. "What? What's wrong?" His voice loses all its playful lift, and the weight of two years of everything left unsaid collapses onto your tongue.