PJO One-Shots

leo Angst/Fluff maybe :3

Leo Valdez had never understood people.

Children of his age were not particularly observant of this sort of thing. However, the shivering eight year old sitting in the corner of his bedroom was a special case.

Grown-ups had often said that about him. He was aware of how the neighbours whispered about him behind his mother's back, staring at him when they thought she wasn't looking. At first he had thought it was a good thing. Then he grew up.

Being special in a society like this was never a good thing. It only brought pain.

Sometimes, at school, the children jeered and laughed at him for no reason. They pushed him around, punched him, threw garbage found on the floor or in the trash- Leo wasn't sure where it came from- at him.

He noticed that it was mainly the children with lighter skin than his who did this. He wondered why.

He was quite puzzled at this behaviour. He did not think he had done anything wrong, other than cracking a few light hearted jokes to his friends. (Could he even call them friends, with the way they treated him?) Sure, teachers often scolded him, ("Valdez, you better make sure you sit still before this ruler comes right down on your wrists!") but wasn't that normal? Didn't the teachers shout at the other children as well?

Hmm.

These thoughts ran through the child's small mind, rapidly switching from one memory to the next, then diverting to that flying ship he had seen in his dreams- that strange one with the big sails, and the strange people on board. Like the girl with the feather in her hair and the peculiar eyes, the ones that never seemed to stay the same colour for long. And the Chinese boy in the purple shirt, who's arm Leo swore shifted into a bear's for a second. They were weird, but Leo felt comforted when they appeared in his dreams. They reminded Leo of himself: an outcast, weird kid.

The temperature of the room dropped a little, and Leo's breath quickened, trying to stay warm in the small corner of the bedroom. The heater had broken, and Mama had gone out to fix it.

"Just five minutes, mijo. I'll be back in five, okay?" She had said. Leo had nodded, and watched as she disappeared. Had it been five minutes since then? It felt like an eternity. Still, it gave Leo time to tinker around with the scraps of who-knows-what that he had kept in his pocket for when he was bored and had nothing to do. He fiddled with the straw he had gotten from the diner that he and his mother frequented every Friday, just to celebrate having gotten through another week. Little moments like that made her smile that contagious smile of hers.

Leo wasn't immune to it, but that was okay. He thought he could live with that.

Small victories. Those things were worth living. No matter how poor they were, no matter how much Leo didn't understand people, it'd be okay.

Leo heard a shudder from the heater as it sprang back to life, it's steady humming filling the house with a comfortable silence.

Another victory for Leo and his Mama.

hi it's kom... it's been like a year hi again!!! its 2am currently and I was in the feels so yeah... don't expect frequent updates though 😿 I'll upload when inspo hits :)) y'all can still suggest though so please do that thanks!!!!