(A/N): Lisbet and Jerremyah react to Leo's admission from the last chapter.

Lisbet

I almost spoke up. It was instinct, and one I had to fight quite hard not to give in to- and I only really managed to do so because I realised that after I'd inevitably started by saying his name, I would've found myself floundering. In the end, I decided to let Jerremyah handle it... not just because I thought Leo would respond better to that, but because I knew that if anyone could relate to something like that, it was him.

"I... can't say that I have?" Jerremyah said, clearly rather unsure about doing so, and while I was struggling against the unfair feeling that my faith was misplaced, I also didn't see any other way that he could've reacted, considering that I was just as bewildered by what Leo had admitted as Jerremyah looked. Still, we were both forced to watch Leo's already fragile looking expression start to crack- like we were walking across far too thin ice. "That doesn't mean- just because I haven't experienced something, doesn't mean that it isn't very real, and completely normal." He paused for half a second, tilting his head to the side before he opened his mouth again. "Or as normal as people like us are capable of, at least." I felt my eyes widen at Jerremyah's choice to poke fun of Leo at a time like this, but then Leo huffed out a small, somewhat shaky laugh.

"What was it you said about me tying myself to you?" What? Why would- why would Leo want to 'tie himself' to Jerremyah? Why- why could I think of no other reason, than him having taken a liking to him? Not just as a person, but as a- it didn't just hurt to think about, but it felt almost disrespectful, even if it was just in my head, to put Jerremyah anywhere close to that role. The role that walked hand in hand with mine- with the one I wanted to fill, that is! I didn't- I couldn't just take the position I wanted so badly, I needed to earn it- to have it given to me... if Leo ever chose to do so. He was my kit- but that didn't mean that he felt the comparable sort of sentiment for me. And even if he did... that didn't mean that Jerremyah-

"That you didn't have to do it?" Of course he'd tried to dissuade Leo from doing so- and Leo's lips quirked up minutely upon hearing this. "To be fair, I was including Lisbet in that- the rest of the clan, too." I watched Leo's eyebrows twitch upward, just a little.

"Speaking of which-" Jerremyah cut him off.

"Are you changing the subject to get out of talking about this, or is this actually more important to you?" Leo blinked. Jerremyah's tone wasn't harsh or impatient, or even slightly judgemental- he sounded like he would've been genuinely fine with either option, he just wanted to know the reason behind the decision. The obstacle to learning that reasoning, was getting Leo to start functioning again- since he'd frozen at being interrupted so suddenly with this.

"It's... I guess I can... talk about that later. It isn't- it's important, but it's not- it doesn't need to happen now, for any particular reason." He hesitated for a second. "I wasn't trying to avoid talking about it," His voice was surprisingly quiet. The volume itself wasn't what was surprising, since he undoubtedly knew that we'd both be able to hear him no matter what, but instead, because it felt like he was trying to be careful. Like his tone would've been soft, if he'd felt like he could do so without making it sound gentle. Clearly, that wasn't what he was aiming for, here. "I'm sure that'll come later." Jerremyah and I both huffed a laugh- him into the air, and I into Leo's jaw.

"Well," Jerremyah said lightly. "Thanks for the honesty, I guess. I'll take that warning under advisement." Leo shrugged. "We'll get to it," He reassured him. "We have the time to take, so... take it." Leo was quiet for a few seconds, then nodded.

"Do you..." He was clearly hesitant to voice whatever he was thinking. "Do you think it could be because of what I am? I mean, it's not like- it's not like there's much of a precedent, for... people like me." It hurt to hear him say that- hurt even more that I couldn't dispute it. Yes, Leo was different to just about anyone in the world, and particularly to those closest to him- that didn't make him any less than them, though.

"I don't think there's an answer I can give you, that won't leave you more upset than you are now." Leo's eyebrows furrowed.

"I'm not upset," He objected, and Jerremyah and I shared a sly little look that definitely said, 'uh huh, sure, I believe you'. "I'm not!" Okay, maybe we weren't as sly as I'd thought. "...what- what do you mean?" He was forced to ask, since Jerremyah wasn't readily forthcoming.

"Whether I agree or disagree- whether I say that I think that is or isn't the cause- either way, it's not going to help you. It's just going to make things worse, because if it is, there's nothing you can do about the fact that you're unique." By the look on Leo's face, I knew he was thinking the same thing that I was- that 'unique' was an awfully nice way to say 'alone'. "If it isn't, then it means something else is the cause... which I'm sure is equally upsetting." Maybe almost as upsetting to Leo, as it was to the rest of us. It was obvious that Jerremyah didn't feel any better about saying it than Leo- and I- did hearing it.

Leo looked up at him through his lashes, his head bowed as though in a manner that reminded me of prayer. "At least if that was the cause, I'd know why I feel the way that I feel." In that moment, he almost reminded me of Evie- there was a lot of talk about why, rather than just feeling your feelings as they happen. Introspection was a good thing- not least of all Jerremyah's newfound sort- but sometimes people thought too much. Leo was especially guilty of this, though I knew it wasn't his fault.

There was probably something there, about growing up in a house where the people who were supposed to nurture you were instead closed off and distant, where you were only ever praised for how mature you were, that lead to one being more inclined to think rather than feel- and that was before we even took into account the years before that, where he'd been at the mercy of his mother and stepfather, likely punished severely for showing any sort of emotion.

Then again, any punishment seemed severe in my eyes- especially when it came to Leo. I hadn't met him at that age- I couldn't even really fully imagine the way he would've looked, the picture he must have presented- young, and small, and fragile, and- scared. It made my chest hurt just to think about, and in a way, I was grateful that I hadn't been there- because I knew I wouldn't have been able to stop myself, and slaughtering his 'parents' like the monsters they were would probably only have traumatised him further.

He was hedging his bets. If Jerremyah thought that Leo's 'unique' heritage was what was causing him to feel this way, Leo was not so subtly hinting that it was okay to reveal it- Jerremyah wasn't giving in, however. I wasn't sure what his opinion was- to be honest, I wasn't even sure what my opinion on the subject was, beyond the usual 'protect Leo!'- but whatever it was, he was playing it close to the chest... for once.

"...you feel the way you feel because you're under a lot of pressure." Was all he deigned to say on the matter, and Leo stared at him with slightly bugged eyes, as though he was something peculiar.

"What pressure?" Jerremyah and I both stared at him for a second as we realised that he was neither joking, nor trying to be sarcastic. Christ, he had no idea, did he?

Then, Jerremyah tilted his head to the side, as if actually considering this. "Perhaps pressure was the wrong word," He admitted, which- no, it wasn't! "What I meant to say," Was that Leo was under more pressure than any fifteen year old should ever be? "Was that your concerns, about the expectations that others put on you, may have contributed to your... turbulent, emotions." Leo didn't so much as blink, but I sure did- and then I realised what this was. This was Jerremyah distancing himself. Not in the way that he would be if he was trying to pull away because he was uncomfortable, but because he knew- and Leo had even admitted- that Leo needed things like this to be... uninvolved. Leo had asked for distance, and Jerremyah was giving it to him, like a good- adult male role model.

Leo hummed quietly in my ear. "I like that word," Oh, good. Which one? I'll have it engraved on a plaque for you to hang above your bed, to keep Elaine's letter company. "Turbulent." ...oh. "It's... quite fitting." Which was sad in a truly incalculable number of ways.

"Well, then I'm glad I gave you-" Leo interrupted him. I doubted he was aiming for that, he'd simply started speaking- almost to himself- and Jerremyah had ceased doing the same. Ready to stop at a moment's notice to hear what Leo was going to say. What small nuggets of insight he was willing to provide us.

"It's not just other people," He said, and I didn't understand what he meant by that. Jerremyah clearly didn't either, if his furrowed brow was anything to go by. "I... I think I expect a lot of myself, too. A little too much sometimes, maybe." And what an admission that was.

(A/N): Lisbet: *imagines Leo as a seven year old, or younger*

Lisbet: 'Owwwwww, my hearrrrrt!'

Lisbet: 'And also his parent's hearts, as I rip them out of their chests, but that's neither here nor there.'

Lisbet: 'Like his parent's hearts, which would be absolutely EVERYWHERE.'

also

Jerremyah: *doing his best*

Lisbet: 'My trust was misplaced.'

Lisbet: 'No! No, bad brain! No, my trust was PERFECTLY placed, shut your stupid brain mouth!'

Jerremyah: 'Perhaps pressure was the wrong word,'

Lisbet: 'No, it wasn't!'

Lisbet: *realises that Jerremyah is distancing himself like Leo said he needed*

Lisbet: 'What a good- dad- ADULT MALE ROLE MODEL!'

also

Leo: 'I... I think I expect a lot of myself, too. A little too much sometimes, maybe.'

Lisbet: 'Oh, we're TALKING about it, now?'

Jerremyah: 'I have been here less than three days, and even /I/ knew that.'

Leo: 'Did I go too far? Am I being melodramatic? Clearly there silence is because they disagree, and they think I'm lazy, and I don't expect ENOUGH of myself!'

The thing Leo was about to bring up before Jerremyah cut him off and called him out for trying to change the subject was the making and giving of the charm necklaces for Jerremyah and Greygorry. Hence why he said it wasn't time sensitive, because it really isn't, but it just popped into his head and he figured he should bring it up now, but Jerremyah interrupted him because he thought he was trying to avoid the conversation. Which would've been fine, but he thought he should ask.