(A/N): Leo and Lisbet hug. A lot. For quite a while. There's some French. Jerremyah makes a mistake.

Leo

There was a brief second of silence, where everyone, including Lisbet, was still. Then, her arm came up, and she cupped the back of my head with her hand, in order to keep my head pressed firmly to her shoulder- but I wasn't in danger of going anywhere, any time soon. Her body twisted, and tentatively, she wrapped her other arm around me, resting her open palm flat over my heart, on my back. No doubt she could feel it beating, but it didn't seem to bother her.

She didn't say anything to try to reassure me, and I was thankful for that. I knew that, for the most part, I was safe on a day to day basis- at least from any parental figures- but if she were to try to tell me I was safe now, it could only ever be a lie. After all, my mother had managed to harm me at the most unexpected of times- not to mention Jonothan, and any other vampires that might want to take a shot at the, 'half vampire, quarter veela child'.

Instead, she just... held me- and that was exactly what I needed.

I blew out a breath, and wrapped my arms around her in return- clenching my eyes shut, just taking in the feeling of her embracing me. Slowly, lightly, she started petting my hair, and after a minute or two, I felt her turn her head, and press a kiss to the side of mine. Another minute passed, and I lifted my head- just enough to scent her. Her reaction was immediate, and she brushed her nose against my temple, before lightly depositing another kiss there, as well.

I knew she wasn't going to be the one to end the hug- unless there was some sort of emergency- and as much as I didn't want to leave the comfort- the sanctuary- of her arms, I knew that this entire time, Jerremyah was in pain. It was selfish of me, but I stayed where I was for another minute or two, before I sucked in a breath to brace myself, and finally pulled away.

Or, I tried to. I had removed my arms from around her and tried to step back, but Lisbet's arms were still around me- and for a second, they stayed that way. I felt bad- maybe she needed the hug just as much as I did- but then, she released me, and took half a step back. Just enough to put some distance between us, but not any sort of significant amount. Then, she brought her hand up, and brushed my cheek with the back of her fingers.

"Mon doux, doux garçon..." I flushed, and no doubt she could feel it, but even if she hadn't, I pressed my cheek into her touch- which she seemed to appreciate. I lowered my head, but- with considerable difficulty- kept my eyes locked with hers.

"Mes Bras Ouverts." She sucked in a breath, her face softer than I had ever seen it. In fact, she looked like... like she might be about to cry, if I wasn't careful. "Mon Mortier." Her eyebrows furrowed, but she still looked oddly touched. I bumped my shoulder against hers. "We should... get back to healing Jerremyah." She glanced back at him, and he didn't even bother trying to hide the fact that he had clearly been watching us with great interest. She turned back to me, and hesitated, ever so briefly, before opening her mouth.

"Merci d'être venu vers moi. Pour m'avoir fait confiance." Oh. I, uh... I didn't know what to say to that. "Cela signifie plus pour moi que vous ne pouriez jamais savoir." Well, at least I knew how to answer that- even if I was more than a little awkward about it.

"Je suppose que cela doit être proche de ce que cela signifie pour moi, de savoir que tu m'accepterez si je le fais." She blinked rapidly, and I knew that she was blinking back tears, so I reached out and- lightly- tugged on the end of her hair. She seemed more confused by the action than anything else, but at least it distracted her. "We should heal your... Jerremyah. He's been incredibly patient, throughout all of this." The man in question shrugged.

"Oh, don't worry about me- go back to hugging." I was getting ready to roll my eyes at his sarcasm- before I realised that none was present. He seemed sincere... maybe he saw me as a proxy- a way to experience Lisbet's intimacy, now that he couldn't experience it firsthand. Maybe that thought would have bothered me more this morning, but... that was before he had told me that, before he met Lisbet, his life had had no meaning- or at least, he thought so.

I hated that he ever thought that- that he had ever had to feel like that was true. Every life had meaning- Every. Single. One. And Jerremyah... well, he didn't seem so bad. In fact, I think he was kind of... growing on me. Which was a horrifying thought, in and of itself.

"You said your leg was killing you- you've been waiting long enough." He blinked, then his eyes darted to Lisbet- but I couldn't tell whether that was because he hadn't wanted her to know that he'd said that, or because he was surprised that I was pushing the subject so hard.

"I- I can wait." I went to open my mouth, but he continued- effectively cutting me off before I even had the chance to speak. "I can. You've got more important sh- things, going on." I felt my lips twitch up involuntarily at his near slip up, and had to fight to rein in my reaction.

"As one of your fellow clan members, your health is my utmost priority." He pursed his lips.

"God, you're... relentless." I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged, before glancing at Lisbet, and smiling.

"Maybe that's another thing I picked up from Lisbet." I saw her eyebrows furrow, before I stepped up to the edge of the table. "The faster you give in, the faster this will be over. The faster the pain ends, and the faster I can go back to hugging Lisbet." And you can go back to watching me do so. He looked unhappy that I was using that against him, but honestly, that's what he deserved for watching us so blatantly. Lisbet sighed, and returned to her place between his feet, before pausing.

"Um, Leo?" I blinked. "I'm going to have to open the blood bag now- would you like to take a step back?" Oh. Oh, that made sense. Actually...

"Oh, yeah, good idea. I'll grab a bowl, so hopefully we don't have to worry about mopping up the runoff." Lisbet seemed to appreciate my foresight, and I flashed her a small smile before I started to move away.

I was bending down to retrieve a large plastic salad bowl from a lower cabinet, when Lisbet pierced the bag. The smell hit my nose, and I only just barely managed to avoid smacking my head on the underside of the countertop. I straightened, and slowly, carefully, returned to Lisbet- or, well, a few feet behind Lisbet.

It was hard, fighting that instinctual urge to slip into Sensory Alert at the presence of human blood- technically, there was no reason to resist it, but... I'd prefer to stay out of it. I didn't like being in Sensory Alert in general- it made my vampire side stronger. That poisonous- or maybe venomous was more accurate- voice in the back of my head louder... harder to resist. And I didn't need it to be any harder to resist.

As I watched, she leaked a few drops into the glass of water- my eyes tracked those drops through the air as if they were falling in slow motion, until they broke through the surface of the water, and began to disperse- before she clipped it sealed once more. Most of the scent of blood went away but not all of it, and as I stepped closer, it only got worse- but not as bad as it had been.

Lisbet dipped her finger into the glass and stirred in the drops of blood- well, I guess that was one way to do it. She pulled her finger clear, and drew it to her mouth- sucking it clean of the diluted blood mixture. Jerremyah watched the movement very intently- and I really, really didn't want to think about why. Then again, if he was that interested in one finger, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him- and even sorrier for Lisbet.

"Alright, here we go. Leo- you ready?" I nodded, knowing she would feel it, and not thinking it was a good idea to risk opening my mouth. "Good. Hold the bowl here, if you would." She gripped Jerremyah's shin with one hand and raised it, gesturing with her other to the empty air now beneath it.

"Mmhm." She glanced at me, and I saw the concern in her eyes.

"You okay?" I shrugged, then nodded. 'For now.' "...Alright. Let me know if that changes." I nodded again, much more firmly. "Good. Right- Jer? We're going to get started now. If it hurts- well, try not to bite your tongue off." His lips quirked up into a smirk that looked more than a little nervous.

"Why? Because you like it so much?" She shot him a sharp look- then pointedly glanced at me, before back to him.

"Watch yourself." I hoped Lisbet didn't recognise what the knowing look he flashed me meant, and I sent him a sharp look that- hopefully- rivaled Lisbet's. He huffed out a laugh, and I thought maybe it hadn't.

"Like mo-" He cut himself off, looking stricken, and his eyes flicked between Lisbet and I. Lisbet herself took a second, before her jaw dropped open- she looked shocked, and... maybe a little hurt? She stared at him, aghast, and he winced, appearing... apologetic? What-? "That's- I didn't- I'll just shut my mouth, now." Lisbet seemed to agree that this was the best course of action. I had to take a stand- and there was only one surefire way to distract Lisbet from what had just happened- at least, that I was willing to enact, anyway. Opening my mouth.

"What the fuck was that about?"

(A/N): Leo: 'I really, really don't want to think about it.'

Leo: *thinks about it*

also

Leo: 'If he was that interested in one finger, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him-'

Jerremyah: 'Hey!'

Leo: '-and even sorrier for Lisbet.'

Lisbet: 'Hey!'

also

Jerremyah: 'Like mo-ther, like son.'

Lisbet: 'U wot m8?!'

Leo: 'Uh... what?'

Translations:

Mon doux, doux garçon... = My sweet, sweet boy... (Lisbet)

Mes Bras Ouverts. = My Open Arms. (meaning that Leo knows that Lisbet's arms are the ones that will always been open to him.)

Mon Mortier. = My Mortar. (Lisbet doesn't get this, but what Leo means, is that she is the mortar, that holds his brick wall together. AKA, she holds HIM together.)

Merci d'être venu vers moi. Pour m'avoir fait confiance. = Thank you for coming to me. For trusting me. (Lisbet)

Cela signifie plus pour moi que vous ne pouriez jamais savoir. = It means more to me than you could ever know. (Lisbet)

Je suppose que cela doit être proche de ce que cela signifie pour moi, de savoir que tu m'accepterez si je le fais. = I suppose it must be close to what it means to me, to know that you will accept me if I do. (Leo)