150 Degrees (Leo Valdez X Reader)

Close Proximity

Your POV

After attacking Leo for smearing grime on your face, he took you to Bunker 9, a place he found while wondering in the forest when he first came to Camp Half-Blood.

"Only special guests are allowed," Leo said, leading you through the forest. 

"Oh," you said, stepping over a fallen tree. "Am I a special guest?"

Leo chuckled. "Of course." 

You smiled, enjoying every moment you spent with him. It was nice finally being back with Leo after all these years. 

As you two walked, you felt your foot get caught on something and you fell, falling on Leo's back. Both of you fell on the floor. 

"Ow," Leo groaned, propping himself up on his elbows and spitting out dirt from his mouth. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but my foots stuck." You lifted yourself up and tried turning your body, but it only tangled your foot even more. It felt like vines and rock were scraping against your ankle. "Ow! A little help!" 

Leo wriggled away from under you and crawled to wear your foot was at. "Ah, Y/N, you're bleeding."

"Really?" you asked, trying to turn your head and see, but you just ended up hurting your neck. "Just get me free please."

Leo pulled out a pocket knife from his tool belt and cut you free. You slipped your foot out and twirled onto your back, sitting up. You noticed a cut around your ankle. It was bleeding a little and you winced when you tried twirling your ankle. 

"Can you get up?" Leo asked, kneeling beside you. 

"I don't know," you replied. "Help me up."

Leo stood and lifted you up with ease, hooking his arms under your armpits. You tried to pull away from him and stand on your right foot, but you almost fell, nearly shrieking with pain. Luckily, Leo wrapped his arms around your waist. Just then, you noticed how close he was to you. 

He turned red and adjusted his arms around you so he was a little bit farther from you. 

"I have some nectar and ambrosia at the bunker," he said, looking anywhere but your eyes. "I can carry you on my back." 

"You sure?" you asked, a little embarrassed. You wanted to walk on your own, but the pain you felt on your ankle was pretty bad. "I'm a little heavier than your average backpack." 

"Oh, c'mon," Leo chuckled. "Even when you were taller than me, I would carry you on my back. It's fine." 

"Alright  the-" 

Before you could finish, you felt yourself get lifted off the ground and you were on Leo's back. He held your legs and started trucking along. You quickly wrapped your arms around his neck, afraid of falling. 

"Am I heavy?" you asked nervously. 

"Stop being so self-conscious," Leo said. "You're as light as a feather."

"Okay," you mumbled. 

You guys passed a few trees before reaching a cliff. It completely blocked your way. "Are we lost?" you asked.

"No, of course not," Leo said, spinning you around so that you were facing him, his hands gently on your waist. He turned red before smiling nervously and placing you down on the floor. "I just need to do something real quick. It's really cool."

"O-Okay," you stammered. That was the second time you two were in such close proximity. The second time you saw him flush. Did you flush too? You touched your cheeks and sure enough, they were pretty hot. You turned around and saw Leo walk towards the limestone cliff. "What're you doing?"

He looked at you and gave you a small smirk before placing his hand on the cliff and closing his eyes. The entire thing burst on fire, revealing a large door. You felt your jaw drop. Leo opened his eyes and opened the door, turning his attention back to you. He smiled proudly when he noticed your shocked your expression. He walked over to you and slung you onto his back once more. 

"H-How did you do that?" you asked, as two passed the door. He shut it behind him with his foot. It was a lot bigger inside than you anticipated. 

"Magic," Leo said, laughing slightly. He placed you down onto a chair beside a work table. "Let me get you that ambrosia."

When he left, you looked around. It was really messy in here. When he came back holding a small slice of ambrosia, you were surprised. How was be able to find anything in this place?

He handed it to you and you took it gratefully, taking a small bite. "Thanks," you said. 

"Sure," he said, pulling up a chair and sitting across from you. "So, how have you been? I missed you. There wasn't a single day where I didn't think of you." 

You gulped down the bite of ambrosia, feeling the pain in your ankle already fading. You looked down and it healing slowly. You smiled and took another bite. 

"I was just about to say the same thing," you responded. "I've been... okay. When you left, I ran away two years after you did. I've been living on the streets ever since."

"What, really?" he asked, sad and surprised. "Wait, and you were okay all those years? You're Poseidon's daughter and you were never attacked. I mean, besides that one time with the Kindly One."

"Not really." You thought back to your time on the streets, trying to remember any weird encounters. "Well, actually, I remember seeing weird things. Like a few years ago, I was using the bathroom at this museum and when I came outside, I saw this red head talking to a few skeletons. At the time, I was on the run from the police and I hadn't slept for two days, so I just assumed I was hallucinating."

"Oh, I see," Leo said. "But still. I'm surprised you lasted so long. Since your big three kid, your scent is supposed to be incredibly strong." 

"Percy said the same thing to me before bed yesterday," you mentioned. "He told me my scent must've been covered. Since I slept in dirty alleyways next you trash cans." 

"Yeah, that explains it," Leo said. "You must've stunk."

You punched his shoulder lightly. "Shut up!" 

He laughed and then met your eyes with his own chocolate ones. He had a small smile on his face as he examined you. Back then, you always envied his eye color. It was so nice. Now that you two are older, they look even better, brighter. Everything about him got better. When you two were kids, you were about two inches taller than he was. Now, after many years, he's definitely taller. He was also a lot more masculine. Still a little scrawny, but his arms were toned and his shirt revealed abs. 

His hair had gotten longer too, slightly covering his eyes. 

"I like your hair," you blurted out. His eyebrows rose but he laughed again. 

"Thank you," he said smugly. "I've done everything to get it as soft as possible." 

"Yeah right," you said, raising an eyebrow. "You're hair was always tangled when we were kids."

"No, really," he urged. He leaned forward and grabbed your hand, placing it on his head. "See, doesn't it... feel..." 

He stopped. Your eyes were big and your face felt hotter than ever. He was so close. Why was he so close? And why did you feel your heart rate accelerate? 

You two just stared at each for what seemed like forever before you heard a conch horn sound off in the distance. 

You chuckled before quickly ruffling his hair and standing up. Your ankle ached a little, but for the most part, you were fine. "G-Guess we better go to dinner." 

"Y-Yeah," Leo stuttered, quickly standing up and looking down. "Let's go."

You two walked out of Bunker 9 and headed towards the Mess Hall.

That was the third time.