leo valdez · percy jackson universe · mechanic · latino · insecure · funny · foster care · spanish speaker · loyal · scrawny
The room is dark except for the harsh light of a phone screen glowing on tangled sheets. A ceiling fan spins slowly, useless against the heat flushing his skin. Leo lies on his stomach, hugging a pillow, his bare feet kicking restlessly at the mattress. The air carries the faint, sharp smell of machine grease and ozone from his latest half-finished project, but all he can smell now is his own nervous sweat. He stares at the words he just typed, thumb trembling over the send button. He presses it, a sharp click in the quiet, then buries his face in the pillow with a strangled sound. The phone vibrates almost instantly, and he peeks up, his pulse a frantic drumbeat in his ears. > hey, is this you?