safe || leo valdez x oc

forty-three: emotional damage

LEO

~•♡•~

everyone grabbed a quick breakfast before meeting above deck. leo ate a simple piece of toast with jelly on it, while aruna held a mini waffle-maker (where she had even gotten one, he didn't know), and was eating mini-waffles as they came out of the machine. she wore clean clothes- a baggy shirt black that had a blue whale on the front, black sweats, and her adidas. her hair was done in a low bun held with a silver chopstick, though it didn't seem to do much because her hair was wild and sticking out all over the place. she looked like she'd just rolled out of bed, which mustn't much of a stretch. her cheeks and eyes were sunken, and her lips looked unnaturally pale- anemia, as leo recalled. her arm still had the massive stitches in it because annabeth claimed the insides were repairing first, not so much the outside, but aruna made no effort to cover it up. peeking from behind her silver bracelet was yet another scar from when she'd had her hand reattached in february.

even as she shoveled a waffle in her mouth, leo had trouble not staring at her.

the air smelled the way kansas air does; like fresh soil, crops, and sweat. it reminded leo of some of the places he'd been to in east texas. mixed with the smell was aruna's waffles, which she offered to share with leo. he opened his mouth, and in she popped a single waffle.

"how is that practical?" annabeth asked as aruna poured some more batter into the machine. from behind aruna, percy popped up, and took the waffle as it came out. annabeth deadpanned as percy took a large bite out of the waffle.

"see?" aruna pointed to percy. "i am feeding the homeless."

"i am not homeless." percy said. "i have camp half-blood, camp jupiter, and my mom and step-dad in new york."

"imagine still having a mortal parent."

"sally jackson is a goddess in herself." percy replied. "she's the safe place for demigods."

"then where was she when i was getting caught in riots?"

leo stared at aruna. "mamas, you started the riot."

"no- the church started the riot. i simply caused the most bodily harm."

percy looked at aruna. "that wasn't very smart of you."

"percy," annabeth groaned. "you challenged the god of war when you were twelve."

"he was disrespecting me!"

aruna pointed at annabeth with a waffle. "if it's stupid, and it works, then it's not stupid." next to her, leo bit the waffle out of her hand.

"no." annabeth shook her head. "stupid doesn't mean wrong, or not-working. it just means stupid." she explained.

"then i think you are stupid." aruna replied. "your mommy may be the goddess of wisdom, and you may have an itinerary for sleepovers-"

"what?" jason snorted.

"-but that doesn't make you any less of a nut-fuck whack-job in my eyes."

"didn't you literally get your hand severed off because you ran away from camp?"

"what?!" frank gaped.