safe || leo valdez x oc

twenty-eight: aruna has a tantrum

ARUNA

~•♡•~

"hey, runa. when's your birthday?"

aruna stopped mid-bite, her three-pound cheeseburger somewhat caught in her mouth. piper looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer.

"doesn't matter. i don't celebrate it."

she promptly chewed down, enjoying the savory blast of flavor that exploded to life in her mouth. piper and jason raises their eyebrows, each still holding onto their much smaller burgers.

aruna continued chewing and she looked up, locking eyes with leo as he frowned at her. she felt his swirl of emotions- mostly confusion- as his rustic brown eyes met hers. aruna shot him her signature shut-up-or-else stare, and the son of hephaestus promptly shut his mouth.

"really?" jason marveled. "like, at all?"

"wait." piper huffed as she scooted forward. "so, you don't celebrate christmas. or new year's. or easter. or memorial day. or veteran's day. or saint patrick's day. or valentine's day."

leo looked like he wanted to say something, but aruna kicked him under the table.

"you don't even celebrate dia de las muertos!" leo exclaimed.

"that, my friends," aruna said as she waved her burger at everyone. "is what happens when your dad dies and you're left in the care of a no-fun grandma. and besides, i did celebrate dia de las muertos."

"including your birthday?" piper said somewhat sadly.

aruna shrugged. "it's just another day for me." she admitted.

"well, we should still get you something." leo huffed, sending crazy eyes towards aruna.

in return, the daughter of selene just shook her head. "no. forget it. i don't like to celebrate it anymore, anyways. so, nobody knows my birthday, 'cause it doesn't matter."

piper and jason frowned as aruna took another massive bite of her hamburger. leo still looked longingly at aruna, like he was desperate to ask why she wouldn't have told jason and piper.

aruna just kept her eyes forward as she pointed to piper's uneaten watermelon slice.

"you gonna eat that?"

~•♡•~

aruna huffed as she saw leo enter the arts and crafts tent, somewhere he rarely showed up. in fact, it was wild he had even shown up to lunch earlier, but he only came because aruna literally dragged him out of bunker 9.

his dark brown hair was rustled and greasy, as it usually was. he wore an orange bandana over his forehead, like he sometimes did when it was extra hot in the bunker. his red coca-cola shirt was almost impossible to read due to the giant splatter of what aruna thought was oil. his light-blue jeans were ripped in several places, and he wore clunky yellow boots like a construction worker.

aruna ignored him despite the fact that she was very much checking him out just a moment ago, and she went back to gently working at her clay sculpture.