(A/N): The conversation that never ends~
Leo
I saw Jerremyah pale a little as Lisbet glared at him, and I rolled my eyes at her. "It's not like I didn't already know- remember yesterday, with the threesome thing?" She crossed her arms over her chest.
"And who let that one slip?" She asked pointedly, and I resisted the urge to wince on Jerremyah's behalf.
"Lis..." I hesitated, then shrugged. "I'll be completely honest with you." She perked up- and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jerremyah do much the same. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment behind it- and I do, I really, really do- I would prefer it if you didn't feel like you had to censor yourself to protect me- or to protect my ears, anyway." I gave her as soft a look as I could manage, while still trying to be firm enough to convince her. "I want you to feel like you can be yourself around me. I want that for all of my clan members, but especially for you, Tante." Her expression softened, and after a second she stepped forward, tucking her forearm behind my neck to pull me to her.
"I am myself, Nounours." Over her shoulder, Jerremyah looked almost cautious- like maybe he knew something I didn't- but he was still- rather predictably at this point- watching us with probably more interest than was strictly warranted. "It's not-" She huffed out a breath just above the curve of my ear, then pushed in a little closer, clearly just to breathe in my scent. "To be honest with you," I didn't fail to notice the fact that she'd specifically not said 'completely honest', like I had. "I have my own reasons for trying to... for the way I treat you." I felt my eyebrows furrow.
"Because you're the closest thing I have to a legal guardian?" She winced- well, not winced, exactly... it was definitely a pained movement born of surprise, as though she hadn't expected me to say something like that. Even still, she pressed a kiss to my temple.
"Something along those lines." ...? What was that supposed to mean? "I just... I know that it seems ridiculous- maybe it is ridiculous- to want to protect you from such things, but I... you're..." She seemed to take a second to breathe, just to brace herself. "You're my little one."
The thought, 'if only' popped into my head, and immediately, I felt guilty. Not just for putting that on Lisbet, but also inexplicably for my mother. For the family I had- the family I still have, even if I may not be on the best terms with most of them. If Lisbet was- I couldn't even get through the thought properly. If she was, then Mia wouldn't be, and if Lisbet was my- yeah, then who would my father be? Still Nicholai, or-
"Leo?" I blinked, and realised that Lisbet had pulled back slightly so she could look at me, concern clear on her features. "Did I... say the wrong thing?" I shook my head frantically.
"No! No, not at all!" I squeezed her around the waist with my arms, butting my forehead against her shoulder for a second before I straightened up- I only did so to save my back. If I could have, I would have stayed like that, but my height left me at a disadvantage in this case. "It's- I got caught in my head a bit." Her eyebrows furrowed, and her mouth dropped open a little for a few seconds before she spoke.
"Should I... be concerned?" ...oh, how to answer that?
"I don't think it has any effect on anything but my own sanity." Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say, because her face creased with something suspiciously akin to grief. "That's not- I'm not- it's not anything actually worrying, just pondering hypothetical situations." I glanced at Jerremyah, then sighed. "Again." Lisbet was clearly confused by this, turning to look back at her mate briefly, but Jerremyah simply shrugged- either he didn't remember the theory he'd posed about Elaine and I being likely to enter an arranged marriage if our lives had gone differently, or he didn't think it was worth mentioning.
"So I... shouldn't be concerned?" I titled my head to the side.
"No more than usual." Even so, she looked relieved.
She drew her hands across my back to rest on top of my shoulders, her fingers tugging at the fabric of my shirt, as if it were some sort of stand in for pulling me closer. "You're my little one." I didn't go back to that line of thought- the conviction in her voice grounded me. "You are. Nothing will change that." I lowered my head slightly, in a deferential manner.
"I know." I wanted to burrow into her, but I wanted to show her that respect- she didn't seem as keen on it, though.
She slid her hand up the side of my neck, and tucked her fingers under my chin- then, ever so gently, she used those fingers to lift my chin, and tilted my head back up. "Look at me." My eyes had still been dropped, but I thought it would be more disrespectful not to look at her now that she had asked for it specifically, so I did. "There you are." I wasn't sure why, but I felt my cheeks heat. "Doux garçon. My sweet boy." They got even hotter- I didn't doubt that I was quite pink right now, and Lisbet's proud look was all the more confirmation. "I want to protect you. That's- it's instinct, for me." I blinked.
It was... instinct? She- it was instinct, for her to want to protect me? That was- I didn't know what to say to that. My chest was in two minds about this- on one hand there was an ache there, like something was missing, or was being squeezed uncomfortably. On the other hand, I genuinely felt like there might be a small sun glowing within my rib-cage, lit by her words. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't. I just bent at the knee, and thudded my forehead against her collarbone, which was about as low as I could viably reach.
"Oh, Leo..." It was at that point that I realised I was purring, and I buried my face in her shirt to hide the fact that my cheeks were heating up again. She pressed a kiss to the crown of my head, and huffed quietly, but I wasn't sure whether she was breathing in or out. "Mon petit garçon- my little one. My sweet, sweet boy." She brushed her mouth against my hair and scalp.
"Mm." I grunted quietly, trying to do the thing where words happened. "Mine. Ma Tante. Mine- my Lis. My Lis." I felt her tense, and I had the barest half second to worry that I had said the wrong thing, before she seemed to reactivate, moving to wrap her arms more around my back than my shoulders now, and squeezing me tightly to her. Much more tightly than she usually did. This was vampire tightly, not human tightly, and it was almost too tight. Almost, but not quite... and even with the constriction on my chest, I heard my purring only get louder. I knew Lisbet could feel it, because I immediately felt the thrum of her replying purr in my chest.
It was that sensation- something more akin to an embrace than even her arms around me- that made my claws extend, and put ten little holes in the fabric of her shirt, as they did so.
(A/N): Leo: *having a crisis about the idea of a hypothetical universe in which he's Lisbet's son*
Lisbet: *seeing him space out*
Lisbet: 'Uh oh.'
Leo: 'If Lisbet was my mother, would Nicholai be my father, or- or- or Je-'
Lisbet: '...Leo?'
Leo: *snaps out of it*
Lisbet: 'Did I say the wrong thing?'
Leo: 'No. I mean, I'm having a bit of a crisis, but that's on me.'
also
Lisbet: 'Should I be concerned?'
Leo: 'Oh, I'm just losing my mind.'
Lisbet: *trying to delay her pure panic, knowing that Leo doesn't always think about the way he says things sometimes*
Leo: 'I mean, it's not an issue.'
Lisbet: 'So I... SHOULDN'T be concerned?'
Leo: 'No more than usual.'
Lisbet: 'Well I'm usually VERY concerned, sooooo...'
also
Leo: *trying to be deferential, and show his respect to Lisbet*
Lisbet: 'I don't want your respect, if it means you feel the need to cower before me.'
Translations (French):
Tante = Aunt
Nounours = Teddy Bear
Doux garçon = Sweet boy
Mon petit garçon = My little boy