Leo Valdez x Reader

Small Talk

"Alright. Argus is going to take us into the city and then we'll be on our own from there," said Leo.

"Argus?" I asked.

"He's got 100 eyes, all of them spread throughout his body," answered Nyssa.

"Wow."

"Yea. It's kinda cool. I wonder how the world looks to him," said Leo.

"Speak of the devil," said Nyssa, referring to the 100-eyed guy leaning against a van.

"Hey Argus. Ready to take us?"  Asked Nyssa.

"Yep. Get in guys."

We all climbed into his van, (Holy Hades this isn't right) with Nyssa riding shotgun and me and Leo in the back.

Nyssa and Argus soon became deep into conversation, and I began to stare out the window.

"Y/n?"

I turned to Leo, who looked slightly concerned.

"You okay?"

"Oh yea," I said, smiling. Just lost in thought."

"Were you conjuring up a haiku?"

"What?"

"Oh yea. I keep forgetting you were only at camp for like, one day."

"Yea. I still don't know why my dad sent me on a quest. I mean, like why not Will or Kayla or someone experienced?"

"I don't know. But since he sent you on this quest, maybe you'll meet him. He obviously thinks you're important enough to be trusted with a quest."

"Always leave it to Leo Logic to make me feel better."

"That's my job. I think sarcasm is now a permanent habit in my vocabulary."

"English, please."

"Sorry, I only speak in words that I have no idea the meaning of to sound smart."

"Hilarious."

Leo laughed. It was a light, airy sound. He sounded genuinely happy, and it made me smile.

"So you and Nyssa. Your dad is Hephaestus, right?"

"Yep."

"That's so cool. So you build and forge stuff? Like, every day?"

"Yep."

"Wow."

"We always help the Hermes Cabin with pranks and stuff."

"Pranks?"

"Oh yea. When we make it back to camp, I'll give you the tour. Yea, Annabeth gives a through one, but she doesn't include the best qualities!"

"Like what?"

"Like a glitter bomb in the Athena Cabin. Drives them crazy."

"Or stealing a hairbrush from an Aphrodite kid."

"And you're already getting the hang of it! I'm starting to like you, y/n," he said, lightly punching my arm.

"And I'm starting to like you, Valdez."

We both held each other's eyes for a second. We both darted our eyes away, and I felt something in my stomach—like a nervous tugging.

"So tell me, y/n, how did you get into music?"

"Well, there was this ice cream shop—"

"This is as far as I need to take you. You'll have to travel on your own from here on out," said Argus.

"Finish the story later?" Asked Leo.

"Yea," I laughed. I was kinda glad for Argus's interruption. Leo's question was on a really tough subject that I didn't feel like talking about.

We all piled out of the van while Argus drove off.

"Well first things first. We need to get to the Ohio River," I said.

"Our best hope of safe transportation is by train. We'll get there in very little time," (idk his long it would take but yanno) said Nyssa.

"Okay. Chiron gave us a handsome amount of money, and I've got a ton from my own wallet."

"Alright. We'll snag cheap but good seats on the route nearest to the Ohio River," said Nyssa.

We all took the subway to the nearest train station. I was happy to get out of the nostalgic city. It brought back too many memories of my mom, and my heart wasn't ready for it.

"Three tickets to Pittsburgh, please," asked Leo.

The teller looked at him a bit oddly, then acted as if he didn't really care.

"That'll be ninety dollars," said the teller.

Leo handed him the money, and the teller handed us the tickets.

"Alright guys. Chiron told us to go to the Ohio River, and Pittsburgh was the closest place. If the wind spirit wants to guide us we shouldn't have to spend our whole time looking for him," said Leo.

"True," I responded.

"Our train boards in thirty minutes," said Nyssa.

"Then lets get as much info as we can before we leave," I said.