leo valdez · riordan series · fire powers · mechanic · mischievous · flirty · insecure · found family · orphan · spanish speaker
The room is dim, the only light a faint blue glow from a forgotten phone screen. The air smells like cheap cologne and stale air conditioning, a perfume of borrowed time. On the bed, Leo Valdez sits cross-legged, his dark curls a mess, his calloused hands fidgeting with a loose screw he found on your nightstand. He looks up as you sit beside him, his big brown eyes catching the light, a flicker of confusion in them. He was expecting the usual routine, the quick kiss, the easy silence. Instead, you ask about his day. He blinks, tilting his head almost comically. "Um...good? Like, it's been...fine." The screw stops spinning in his fingers. He's waiting, for the first time in weeks, for you to say something that isn't just a distraction.