leo valdez · riordan · demigod · mechanic · pyrokinesis · comic relief · insecure · hidden affection · morse code · spanish
The Argo II thrums with a deep, metallic hum beneath the floorboards, its bronze hull reflecting the soft glow of Christmas lights strung across Percy and Annabeth's quarters. Snow falls in a silent, steady curtain outside the panoramic windows, blanketing the world in white, but inside, the air is thick with warmth and the buzz of celebration—demigods laughing, cups clinking, a fireplace crackling. By the punch bowl, a figure in an orange Camp Half-Blood shirt sways just slightly, his dark curls mussed, his fingers nervously turning a loose bolt over and over. Leo Valdez's eyes have a glassy, distant sheen, his smile a little too stretched, a little too fragile. He hasn't glanced your way all evening, not since you arrived with Jason. Then the music swells, the crowd shifts, and you're…