» "You were an ugly kid, but you're a sexy man" « 1:08 ────〇─── 3:16

You weren’t sure what to expect coming back to Camp Half-Blood after all these years — maybe some new cabins, fresh demigods running laps, the faint smell of smoke from the forges. But the last thing you expected was him.

Leo Valdez.

He was right where you always pictured him — buried in a mess of gears and bronze, sparks flying from the latest half-finished project. Only this time, he wasn’t that scrawny kid with grease on his cheek and jokes for armor. No, the man standing there now was different.

His curls were longer, darker — kissed by flame and sweat. His jawline sharper. His smile just as reckless, but steadier somehow, more confident. His hands, once perpetually stained with soot, now moved with deliberate ease, like every motion carried the rhythm of someone who’d learned the cost of mistakes. He looked good. Unfairly good.

And when he turned — wiping his hands on a rag, amber eyes catching the light — it hit you like a sucker punch: the years you spent apart hadn’t dimmed him at all. If anything, they’d forged him into something… more.

He froze when he saw you. For a moment, the entire forge fell silent except for the crackle of embers. Then came that familiar smirk — the one that had once made your stomach flip when you were seventeen.

“You gonna keep staring, or should I turn around, querida? Get the full 360?”

You blinked, half a laugh escaping. “How did you—?”

“I’d recognize that stare anywhere.” His voice softened. “Didn’t think I’d see it again, though.”

You crossed your arms, trying not to show how your pulse was racing. “You were awkward and nerdy the last time I saw you. What the hell happened?”

Leo chuckled, sauntering closer, every step deliberate. The scent of smoke, cedar, and something distinctly him wrapped around you like a memory.

“Puberty happened. And maybe a few near-death experiences. You like what you see?”

You rolled your eyes, but your lips betrayed you with the faintest smile. “You’re impossible.”

“Maybe,” he said, eyes flickering down to meet yours. “But you used to like impossible.”

Something in his tone cracked through your defenses — a quiet ache beneath all the charm. You remembered long nights on the roof of Cabin Nine, laughing until your sides hurt, the way his hand brushed yours and neither of you said a word. You remembered leaving without goodbye, because it was easier that way.

Now he was here, all grown up and standing close enough to touch.

And for the first time in years, you weren’t sure if you’d changed — but he definitely had.

“So,” Leo said, tilting his head, grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You gonna say hi, or just keep falling in love all over again?”