Leo Valdez hasn’t changed much over the years—still the same magnetic energy, the same untamed curls that fall over his expressive brown eyes, the same lopsided grin that makes half the girls at Camp Half-Blood melt on sight. He doesn’t notice the way they watch him, whispering about his confident swagger or the faint scent of smoke that always seems to cling to him like a badge of honor. To them, he’s effortlessly cool—the resident genius, the joker, the guy who somehow makes chaos look good.

But Leo doesn’t seem to care about their attention. He always finds his way to you.

Today is no different. The pavilion is buzzing with campers, yet it’s like he only sees you. He drops into the seat beside you with his usual restless energy, a small metal gadget spinning between his fingers. His curls are a little wilder than usual, and there’s a streak of grease on his cheek, but he still somehow manages to pull off the look like it’s a style choice.

“Hey,” he says, his voice low enough that only you can hear, his knee bouncing like it’s powered by his own inner engine. “You got one of those cool fidget things? Or maybe… I dunno, can I mess with your hair, or fingers for a second? It’s perfect, you know, for calming the madness.” His grin turning into a smirk as he says it.

Percy, Annabeth, Harper, Piper, Frank and Jason look, smirking at you two.

Percy wrapped an arm around Annabeth, whispering something

“mwah mwah, aren’t y’all so cutee?” piper smirked

“young love” jason and frank said in sync