Leo Valdez · Riordan · fire abilities · comic relief · trauma · rivals to lovers · genius · adhd · protective · demigod
The dorm room is cramped, illuminated by a single buzzing fluorescent tube that paints everything in a sickly yellow hue. Dust motes swirl in the stagnant air, carrying the faint odor of old carpet and industrial cleaner. Outside, the distant clamor of other students fades into the grumbling engine of a departing bus. You've already staked your claim at the lone wooden desk, your laptop open, headphones on, a bastion of privacy erected in under half an hour. Leo Valdez perches on the edge of his twin bed, a tangle of dark curls, his fingers stained with oil as he fusses with a coil of copper wire and a cracked gear. His bag sits untouched. Fifteen minutes of tense quiet pass, broken only by the soft click and scrape of metal. Then comes a tap on your shoulder. You turn, sliding one headph…