Little Leo {Little!Leo Valdez}

..:1:..

SHIPS MENTIONED IN THIS BOOK:
Nico/Will/Percy/Jason
Piper/Annabeth
Hazel/Frank
Asexual Leo (he flirts because it's funn)

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Months.

It had been months since Leo had been able to properly regress, and his head hurt. Gods it hurt so bad, his little side nagging and pulling at the inside of his head and chest. Crying and screaming to be release, and he wanted so desperately to do so.

He wanted to be able to fully regress so badly. To colour and watch Disney and suck on his paci and cuddle his blankie to his stomach.

But most of all he wanted to spend some time not having to think. He didn't want to continue to stress about projects or look back on the war with Gaia and regret or scrutinise every decision.

Or feel guilty about the whole faking of his own death situation.

He couldn't though. He always regressed to around the age of three, and without supervision things could get messy and quite possibly dangerous.

So that all brought him here, seated in the bunker with Piper.

"You're gonna have to speak up at some point, dude." The child of Aphrodite said, sending one of her famous gummy smiles at the shorter.

"Right- yeah, I know I'm sorry- I just.." Leo chewed on his bottom lip, anxiety welling up in his stomach. "I told you something important- a uh, yeah. Something important, back ages ago. I just wanted to know if you remember it?"

Piper raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly as she grew concerned. "Was it back when it was the two of us?"

Leo nodded.

Those times were still affected by the mist, because of Hera messing with their memories and all. They could of course remember something's, sometimes it'd slowly come to them. Others it'd be triggered and the memory would snap into place. Like an amnesia sufferer.

"I don't remember any big secret, I remember when you talked about your mum. Is that it?" Piper asked softly, picking up on the nervous habits Leo tried to hide. The picking at the skin on his arms, pushing his ear into his shoulder as if to itch it. Signs Piper had slowly picked up as Leo's body's way of dealing with strong anxiety.

"It's not that." His chocolate brown eyes refused to meet her multicoloured ones. "I just thought you might have remembered it."

"I'm sorry."

"No! No it's not your fault." Leo's shoulders sagged forwards. "It's just that I need help? And I thought maybe if you'd remember you could, you know, but it doesn't matter."

Piper tried to keep her charmspeak out of her voice, knowing he'd be mortified if he said something before he was ready to. This was a side of the Latino that he only trusted her enough to show. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable and force him to put back on his mask.

"Why don't you tell me again?"

"It's not that easy; you would probably hate me..."

"Leo, look at me." Reluctantly he followed her order. "Did I judge you before? Don't answer that, I can tell I didn't by you talking to me about it now. I'm still the same as I was back then."

A small smile made its way to his face. "Y-yeah I guess."

"That's the spirit!" Piper cheered, once again flashing a beautiful smile that held equal teeth to gums. A smile that probably wouldn't suit many, but she managed to make it look stunning. "So, shoot. I can handle anything. Promise."

Leo just fiddled with his fingers. "I don't know..."

"Don't know what?"

"How to tell you? It's weird..."

"Leo Valdez, I witnessed you set fire to Mother Earth. I can deal with weird." Piper reassured, breaking away Leo's tension slowly but surely. "Just tell me straight out, say exactly what it is with no giant speech if you don't know how to say it."

"Ok."

"Alrighty then, on three?"

Leo nodded hesitantly, avoiding her eyes completely.

"One." Piper said, barely audible to Leo above his racing heart.

"Two..."

There was no turning back, Leo knew that. Piper was fucking persistent if she needed to be. It'd be easier to do it willingly.

"...three."

As fast as Leo could, he pushed out the words that threatened to get stuck in his throat.

"I'm a little."