(A/N): We're back in 1975 with Lisbet, Jerremyah and Leo. They discuss Grey's motivations (for 0.2 seconds) and then move onto talking about Lisbet and Jerremyah's relationship/Leo and Jerremyah's control issues.

Lisbet

Jerremyah was unpredictable, I knew this- in fact, it was one of the things I loved most about him- and yet, he still occasionally took me off guard, even after over three hundred years together. He kept me on my toes, which was more important than ever before, now that I was dealing with Leo- now that I was fortunate enough to be the one supposed to be 'dealing with him'- who was quite possibly the only person more unpredictable than Jerremyah.

"Um... you were talking about Grey's motivations?" Jerremyah nodded, even though I could tell he'd yet to really return from wherever he'd been trapped deep in thought. When he did come back he frowned slightly, as though the subject troubled him.

"Right, yes. Well. As I was saying, I'm not sure how he feels about Dahrya- about having a child at all. I don't know if he wants Lavinia back- he was certainly quite infatuated with her the last time I saw them together-" Which I assume was the last time I'd seen them together, too, since apparently their relationship had come to a close at the same time Jerremyah and I's had. "-but, well... I would've thought if he could give her up once, then maybe he wasn't as into her as I thought he was." Wait... why did that feel- "Oof!" Clearly Jerremyah and I had both been caught off guard, and I was confused as to why he'd made that sound, until I saw his eyes dart downward, to where Leo was removing his elbow from his ribs.

"Stop projecting... pillock." What-? Oh. Oh... that's why it felt off- because my brain was making the same connection that Leo had.

"I'm not- 'projecting'. I'm just being realistic-" Apparently Leo didn't like that either, since Jerremyah had to catch his elbow to avoid another well-aimed strike. "Stop that." He said, then thought better of his tone, and amended himself with, "Stop that... please?"

Leo, for his part, snorted- which made something in my chest loosen, even though I hadn't realised there was anything tight there before that point. "Can't talk much, gotta argue some way." It sounded odd. Stilted. He was still having trouble speaking, but at least words were coming out, even if it was slow and a little rudimentary.

"You can never just let something pass you by, can you?" From my position behind Leo, I saw him pull back a little, just enough to tilt his head back presumably to be able to meet Jerremyah's eye. I couldn't see the look he gave him, but whatever it was, Jerremyah huffed out a laugh. "No, of course not. I don't know why I asked." Ah, I had a feeling I knew the look- I'd been on the receiving end of it a few times myself. It was Leo's, 'it's like you've never even met me before!', look.

"My boy takes 'seize the day' very seriously." I joked, and almost missed Leo's quiet chuff under Jerremyah's chuckle- oh, what an absolute travesty that would've been! I strongly suspected it was because I'd referred to him as 'my boy'- if I was right, it was a blessing. I lived for the moments where I felt I could slip that kind of thing into conversation in an appropriate way. "Can I... touch you?" Almost before I'd finished talking, he was nodding vigorously.

"Mmhm, yup!" Not the most eloquent, but what he lacked in elegance, he more than made up for in eagerness. He was clearly struggling with the dilemma of trying to stay close to Jerremyah, while also wanting to make himself more available to me in an effort to entice me to fulfill my promise of physical contact, so I stepped in close and laid my hand on the back of his neck, where his spine met his skull.

I felt more at ease in an instant. The second I touched him, it was like returning home at the end of a long day; a sense of unquestioned belonging washed over me, as if the universe was telling me to touch him. Well, it could get in line, behind my body, mind and soul- but beyond that, I felt my heart grow in my chest as I heard Leo let out a shaky, blatantly relieved breath- as though he'd needed this just as much as I did.

"Doux garçon," I practically cooed. "Mon. Mon. Mon doux garçon." I felt him shiver, but felt his cheeks flush, at the same time. "Am I making things better or worse?" He was, after all, currently in the state he was in because he was struggling to deal with a previous emotional conversation, so I was concerned that piling on with the affection and terms of endearment might result in a bit of a backslide, but apparently, I shouldn't have worried.

"Better." It was practically a growl, but there was no aggression in it- anger, anyway, since it was quite forceful, in the end. "Always better." I refrained from spending more time telling him how sweet he was, if only because I was worried about changing his opinion. Instead, I moved on to complimenting him in a different way.

"Good catch, by the way. With Jer? I wouldn't have caught that, if not for you." He huffed out a small, slightly dark chuckle, even as I saw Jerremyah pout over his shoulder.

"Liar." Of course he'd caught me. I should've known better, but I just wanted so badly to find a way to deliver the encouragement I desperately wanted to give.

"Sorry," I told him, having to fight my instinct to deny it, in order to do so. Leo wouldn't take kindly to being lied to, and he'd take it even worse if I lied to him about lying. Trust was key, and I'd inadvertently just thrown my credibility into question. "Habit." For whatever reason, he snorted out another laugh. "What's so funny?" He shook his head, which I suppose was the end of his part of the conversation. "Alright then, keep you secrets. Jer-"

Jerremyah huffed quietly, like he was annoyed by my attention- which would be a first, if true. "I wasn't projecting." I stared him down, and after a few seconds, he amended himself with, "Much." Leo scoffed into the knit of Jerremyah's jumper, which must have softened the blow, since Jerremyah only looked mildly offended at the sound- or the sentiment behind it, I suppose. "Hey! Why are you always on her team?" It was obviously a joke, considering I'd known him for almost as many years as the number of days Jerremyah had known him, and yet...

"Trust me, I call her out when she makes questionable choices, too." It would've been true, I'm sure, if I ever made questionable choices. "'course, she calls me out, too, when I need it. They all do, but Lisbet's..." He ducked his head a little further, and shrugged.

"What was the last, 'questionable choice' she made that needed correcting? I think it's only fair I ask, since you've already called me out several ti-" Apparently, Leo didn't need to think about it very hard.

"Lying to you." He said it so simply, so plainly, as if he hadn't just flung a proverbial bombarda maxima into the middle of my relationship- as well as the conversation.

Jerremyah blinked, and I rushed to explain, before his brain had time to conjure up all sorts of scenarios in which I stole, or cheated, or never loved him to begin with- as it was wont to do. "It's nothing big, it's recent, it's not anyth-" Jerremyah cut me off, leaving me literally breathless as his lips curved upward into a particularly enticing grin.

"Oh, the- the thing?" Leo nodded- what thing? "You told her off for that?" He nodded again. What thing? "Good boy." What- Oh. My mind went blank for a second as I felt Leo blush rather intensely at that. Jerremyah squeezed his shoulder from behind, and gently- as casually as one could, given the situation- brushed the side of his jaw against Leo's temple. Well. That was... life-altering.

"What, uh..." Jerremyah's eyes flicked back to me, instead of staring down the length of Leo's spine. "What thing?" He snorted quietly, almost like he was worried about startling the occasionally skittish boy in his arms.

"Oh, it- that first day." What about it? "When you were trying to convince me to join, and you told me that Leo could help me." Okay...? "When we were out there, talking about my control issues, he... set me straight." Why did I have the feeling there was more to it than that?

"What do you mean, he 'set you straight'? Allow me the opportunity to do the same." It was only when I was trying to figure out why he was looking at me so warily, that I realised I'd said that out loud. Oops, that was more of an inside thought...

"He explained that he had control issues as well. That his vampire side was-" He cut himself off, and I knew that look. Jerremyah was subtle, and I knew when he'd been about to say something, and then realised just in time that it was supposed to be a secret. "Troublesome, sometimes." Even without the face he was making, I knew that was an understatement. I knew Leo had issues, I just didn't think they were anywhere near as severe as he thought they were.

"And?" Jerremyah blinked, then his mouth hung open for a few seconds until the words he needed, found him waiting.

"And, uh... that- that's a bit of an obstacle to him helping me with my control issues, isn't it?" He said it like it was obvious, and thus, the question was rhetorical- and yet, I responded anyway.

I shrugged, which seemed to throw him way off. I suppose if I hadn't been dealing with Leo for as long as I had, I probably would've been a bit lost by my reaction, as well. "He's fifteen- a baby-" Leo made a noise, but I couldn't tell whether it was offended, or just caught off guard. "If he didn't have control issues, I would be far more shocked." Silence, even as Jerremyah looked vaguely chagrined. "In fact, I think him having control issues will make him even more likely to be able to help you." He seemed cautiously hopeful.

"How- how so?" Surprisingly, this wasn't Jerremyah, but Leo, and he shivered as I strummed my thumb across the back of his neck.

"Well, for one, I think you'll be more tolerant of him than anyone else, since you can relate." Hesitantly, he nodded. "But honestly, I think your biggest advantage is also your greatest-" I almost, almost said 'weakness'. It was so close, but I caught myself from that fatal mistake just in time. "-vulnerability." I waited for him to ask- and then I waited for him to refuse, when he was silent for a minute, but in the end, I shouldn't have worried.

"What- what is it?" He sounded nervous, nearly shaky, so I took pity on him. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the same temple Jerremyah had brushed, then whispered in his ear,

"You empathy, mon doux Nounours. Your empathy."

(A/N): Lisbet: 'I stepped in close and laid my hand on the back of his neck, where his spine met his skull.'

Leo's Spine: 'Hello, Skull.'

Leo's Skull: 'Hello, Spine.'

also

Jerremyah: 'I would've thought if he could give her up once, then maybe he wasn't as into her as I thought he was.'

Jerremyah: 'Maybe... maybe LISBET'S not as into ME as I THOUGHT she was.'

Leo: 'You're supposed to be a PROJECT, not a PROJECTOR.'

Lisbet: 'Bzzt! Incorrect! I am in fact more into you than you could possibly ever know, so take that, you prick!'

also

Lisbet: 'He's fifteen- a BABY-'

Leo: 'I am NOT. BABY.'

Leo: '...but also it doesn't sound that bad when it's Lisbet saying it...'

also

Leo: 'Trust me, I call her out when she makes questionable choices, too.'

Lisbet: 'It would've been true, I'm sure, if I ever made questionable choices.'

Jerremyah: *considers himself to be a walking questionable choice*

Leo: *considers himself to be a younger, if not smaller, questionable choice*

Lisbet: 'Sometimes I think God is punishing me- and then one of you smiles, and I realise I've actually been blessed.'

Jerremyah: 'Aw, that's so sweet!'

Leo: 'Yeah... why did it make me want to lash out?'

Jerremyah: 'That's normal, it'll pass in a couple centuries... probably.'

also

Lisbet: 'Can I... touch you?'

Leo: 'Oh, TOUCHING is on the table? HELL YEAH!'

Translations (French):

Doux garçon. Mon. Mon. Mon doux garçon= Sweet boy. My. My. My sweet boy.

Mon doux Nounours = My sweet Teddy Bear. (I'm not sure if this is grammatically correct, because when I typed it into google translate it, it gave me a different way to say teddy bear, but since Nounours is the nickname that Lisbet [and I] have settled on, that's what I used.)

Also, the 'Alright then, keep your secrets' from Lisbet is, of course, a reference to the Lord of the Rings meme.