(A/N): Leo's reaction to his admission at the end of the last chapter, before the three get distracted again (because they, like me, are scatterbrained). Oh also, uh... slight foreshadowing. As in, there are things in this chapter that will make sense to you now, but after a reveal later in the story, will suddenly make a lot more sense. Also, traffic stats are all jacked up again- hopefully y'all are seeing this, because as far as the stats are concerned, no one's read the last three chapters, and no one's even clicked on the story for over five days, even though I know for a fact that I have.

Leo

I knew I shouldn't have said it. I should've lied, or deflected away from the subject- Lisbet likely would've fought me on it, but I knew Jerremyah would support my doing so... and in the end, the disappointment I surely would've seen on her face when I avoided the subject yet again, would invariably have been better than this. That horrified, outraged expression that always appeared whenever she learned some small snippet of my childhood- of my life before we'd met. Although... I knew of at least a handful of events that had happened since, that would inevitably cause that look to come out again- my self-destructive tendencies being just one of them.

The problem was, well... lying felt wrong. Not in general- I could do it, if I thought it necessary, but with Lisbet- any member of my clan, really, but Lisbet especially- it just made me feel... dirty? No, not exactly, but... like I was doing the wrong thing. Making the wrong decision. Making the weak decision. Taking... taking the low road, so to speak. I didn't want to lie to them, didn't want to feel like I had to lie to them. Except they almost always reacted... poorly, and I never quite knew how to handle it. Which left me with my current dilemma... dealing with it.

"Leo..." Lisbet practically whispered, sounding hurt- physically hurt, to the point where I instinctively tried to pull back slightly to inspect her for any injuries she may have obtained, only to be immediately yanked back, flush to her chest. What-? Oh. She thought I was trying to escape again.

"I wasn't... trying to leave." I don't know why I felt the need to explain myself, but either way, it got Lisbet to loosen her grip on me, in order to look me in the eye- her own sweeping over my face, the tightness around them easing as she obviously caught sight of my rapidly flushing cheeks. "It... it's dumb." Her brows furrowed.

"I like dumb." She said simply, which... did make me feel a little bit better, but not enough to loosen my tongue.

"You know she's telling the truth," Jerremyah piped up rather unnecessarily. "She picked me, after all." I barely heard her quiet huff- was that laughter, or displeasure? This, too, eased my worries. That Jerremyah felt like he could joke about it, not Lisbet's uncertain reaction.

"It's just... well..." How to phrase this, so I didn't sound absolutely bonkers? Then again... "Remember when Jerremyah thought you broke my ribs?" Lisbet winced, and I could tell Jerremyah wanted to as well, but had found himself the restraint to avoid doing so. Because he didn't want me to feel bad about bringing it up again?

Lisbet grimaced, then said, "Vividly." Now, Jerremyah winced, and raised a hand to rub the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Well," I said, doing my best to push past it in an attempt to alleviate Jerremyah's clear embarrassment, even as I battled my own ingrained urges to keep quiet- to keep things secret, hidden. Like they'd always had to be... but they didn't have to be, anymore, did they? That's what Lisbet was offering- what, I think... they were both offering. "It's sort of an instinctual thing. Whenever someone looks hurt- emotionally- I always... check." Her eyebrows furrowed again, but understanding lit in Jerremyah's eyes, and he nodded.

"For injuries. You check for injuries whenever someone looks hurt, even though you know they're not." I echoed his nod, and Lisbet looked... not horrified, but again... hurt. I had to force my eyes not to dip, and attempted to satisfy that instinct by scanning her head and neck for any wounds that might be hidden by her hair.

"I'm... fine," She assured me, clearly noticing the action, and I did my best to shrug it off. "I'm not injured, I'm just... you deserved better than that. You still deserve better than that." Frustratingly, my eyes dropped to the floor of their own accord, but when she squeezed my shoulder, I was able to lean forward and drop my forehead to her shoulder.

I huffed quietly, and I thought I understood her earlier reaction, because now, even I wasn't sure whether the sound was a laugh, or a dry sob. "You say the nicest things." I murmured into the fabric of her shirt, and immediately, her hand swept up from my shoulder to cup the back of my head, to keep me where I was. I'd have to put up a fight to be able to leave, but I... I didn't want to fight. Not anymore, and certainly not with her.

"And I mean them, too." Her voice was soft, but not a whisper- as though she wanted there to be no confusion, here. She wasn't ashamed of what she was saying, she wouldn't try to take it back- she was sure, and the only reason her voice was soft and quiet was because she didn't want to irritate my sensitive hearing as she spoke directly into my ear. My grip tightened unconsciously, before I realised I was probably hurting her, and instead of squeezing her forearms, I changed so that I was only clutching at the sleeves that encased said forearms, rather than the limbs themselves. "I know what you're doing," She said, but she didn't. She couldn't. There was no- "It didn't work for Jerremyah, and it won't work for you, either." I blinked.

"What- what didn't?" I breathed into her shoulder, too exhausted- mentally, emotionally, physically, damn near everything- to fully form a proper sentence, and Lisbet dug her fingertips into the nape of my neck. It- there was that sensation again. That 'mother cat picking up her kitten by the scruff of the neck' sensation that left me feeling simultaneously helplessly docile, and just about more alive than I've ever felt in my life. Maybe... maybe I felt alive, because I knew, in that moment, that Lisbet would do anything to protect me. That my 'aunt' would do anything to protect me.

I wanted to call her something else- a different female relative entirely- but... I couldn't. Not just because I knew she almost certainly wouldn't accept it, but also because, well... I had some hang-ups about that particular term, and my past usage of it. And even if she accepted it, and I could get past my hang-ups, it felt... childish- which, we already know I have issues with. But to call her- that- I wasn't sure I could ever recover.

She was very careful not to use her claws- even after I'd already punctured her shirt with my own- and yet the points of her fingertips against the back of my neck- against the flesh surrounding the very top of my spine- made me want to curl up against her. It was an odd thing to want, at least in my eyes. For all my attempts at making myself small- my slouching, as she had pointed out, among other things- I couldn't recall a time where I'd ever wanted to curl up against someone. Or... I suppose I should phrase that better. I couldn't remember a time when I'd wanted to curl up in someone's arms, rather than to curl myself around them, at least in a setting where I thought it could be possible.

It was just a more natural choice, for me to be the one on the outside. I was, inevitably, bigger than all of my snuggling partners, and even if I hadn't been, it... it was expected. If I'd tried to curl up to Elaine the way I really wanted to, she would've- well... knowing Elaine, she would've... that's enough about that, I think. There's no use thinking about it, especially not while I was in Lisbet's arms, currently resisting a similar, although vitally different, urge.

"Grabbing my clothes, instead of me." What-? Oh, right. I flushed guiltily, and even though he was out of my sight in this new position, I had the distinct feeling that Jerremyah was appropriately chagrined as well.

"Right," I choked into the fabric covering her shoulder again, ignoring the strange and sudden instinct to take it in my teeth and just hold it there- the fabric, not her skin. "Well, I- I didn't want to hurt you." I felt her tilt her head to the side, both because the muscles under my forehead moved, and because her cheek came into contact with the side of my head.

"You're strong," She acknowledged, and I felt a flare of pride rise unbidden in my chest. "But so am I," This confused me. I knew she was strong, but that didn't mean that I wouldn't hurt her. Strong people got hurt all the time- vampire or not. "If Jerremyah couldn't break me in three hundred years, I highly doubt you're going to, now." It... surprisingly, that was somewhat reassuring. I'd felt Jerremyah's strength- not all of it, but some; enough to know that he was a force to be reckoned with- and even if I knew he'd treated her gently wherever possible... it still made me feel a little better. But... how did Jerremyah feel about being the yardstick to measure her physical vulnerability by?

I twisted my head slightly, lazily opening one eye- I wasn't sure when I'd closed them, but clearly I had- and when I caught sight of his face, I immediately knew he didn't realise I was looking. He was giving her a look that wasn't just very telling, but entirely telling- there was no doubt in my mind what that look meant, because I'd seen it on myself a few times. It was a look I only got to see for myself while trying- and failing- to make myself look like I hadn't just gone multiple rounds with Brooke in the Room of Requirement, and found myself incapable, even with the help of a mirror, of taming my hair so it no longer looked like she'd just had her fingers tangled in it. It was a look of, 'Give me five minutes, some water, and a snack, and I'll get right back to work', that spoke of heated gazes and shared pleasure. Clearly, at least one of them hadn't just been thinking about embraces... at least not the platonic kind.

"Maybe you just have a strong pelvis," I joked, but she didn't seem to get it. "Look, it's... good practice. For vulnerable humans, with whom I spend the majority of my time." Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Bruising pelvises?" Of course, Jerremyah got the joke, and I grimaced- both because of that unsettling prospect, and because I knew I had to be careful with my response, lest Lisbet realise that I was more well-versed in certain matters of anatomical familiarity than she expected me to be.

"I'd prefer not to bruise anyone anywhere, but particularly not there. Especially when the goal of that is for it to be as enjoyable as possible for- all involved." Were my eyes playing tricks on me, or did Jerremyah almost look... proud?

Lisbet frowned, her eyebrows furrowed, before she finally seemed to catch on to what we were talking about, and her eyes shot wide. "Wait, are you- Jer!" She reprimanded him, and I figured she might have even smacked him on the shoulder, she'd been able to reach him. "And you- Leo." She sounded like she wanted to scold me, too, or worse- to give me a long, most likely horrifically embarrassing talk about how to treat a partner in bed. "While you could do worse for a mentor in that department- a lot worse-" I'd already suspected that Jerremyah 'got the job done', so to speak, by the way Lisbet had been reacting that first day, but this just confirmed it. "- I think maybe you're a bit young for-"

Indignation flooded my chest, the familiar ache of being told, 'you're too young' for this, but 'too old' for that, making me reckless in ways I typically wouldn't be. I pulled my head up, finding her hand on the back of my neck to provide no challenge, and shrugged carelessly. "It's a bit late for that." Her eyebrows furrowed again.

"I know you don't like me trying to protect you, but I really think that this time, you're-" I cut her off, exasperated that she hadn't understood, and equal parts frustrated and relieved that Jerremyah hadn't said anything.

"No, Lisbet- you don't understand. It's a bit late for a mentor, when I'm not exactly an amateur on the subject."

(A/N): Leo: 'If I'd tried to curl up to Elaine the way I really wanted to, she would've- well... knowing Elaine, she would've... let me. Encouraged me, even, most likely.'

Leo: '(...) that's enough about that, I think.'

also

Leo: 'I choked into the fabric covering her shoulder again, ignoring the strange and sudden instinct to take it in my teeth and just hold it there- the fabric, not her skin.'

Leo: 'Well, mostly not her skin.'

also

Lisbet: 'You're strong,'

Leo: * :D *

Lisbet: 'Yes, that's pretty strong too.'

also

Lisbet: 'If Jerremyah couldn't break me in three hundred years, I highly doubt you're going to, now.'

Lisbet: 'Unless you fetch the chains, that is.'

also

Leo: 'Especially when the goal of THAT is for it to be as enjoyable as possible for-'

Leo: *realising he can't say 'for HER' without tipping Lisbet off*

Leo: *realising that since he already knows that Jerremyah and Lisbet have had threesomes with Greygorry at the very least, he can't say 'for both partners'*

Leo: '-for all involved.'

Jerremyah: 'That's my boy!'

Lisbet: *finally realising that Leo and Jerremyah have been talking about sex*

Lisbet: 'No, my boy!'

also

Lisbet: 'I could sure stand to do something stupid.'

Jerremyah: 'I'm something stupid, do me.'

also

Lisbet: 'While you could do worse for a mentor in that department- a LOT worse-'

Leo: 'I'd already suspected that Jerremyah 'got the job done', so to speak, by the way Lisbet had been reacting that first day, but this just confirmed it.'

Jerremyah: 'You're damn RIGHT I do!'

Lisbet: *rolling her eyes, but honestly just glad it wasn't Grey in a position to offer Leo advice, given his history with Sidonie*

Grey: 'Did someone say 'manwhore'? My ears are burning.'

also

Leo: 'I don't want Lisbet to know I'm not a virgin.'

Leo: *pretty much explicitly tells Lisbet he's not a virgin, and then literally clarifies when she STILL doesn't get it*

Jerremyah: 'I thought you were supposed to be GOOD at keeping secrets!'

Leo: 'You'd think, but no. I just HAVE a lot of them.'

So the original thing instead of 'Give me five minutes, some water, and a snack, and I'll get right back to work' was 'And I'd do it again', but it didn't say what I wanted it to, which was that Jerremyah basically had sex on the brain, and Leo could tell. It's also supposed to be a slightly more '1975 appropriate' version of 'give me five minutes, a gatorade and a power bar', which... I'm not entirely sure where I heard that, but essentially, a means for a man to quickly recover after bouts of sex. Of course, some water and a snack would probably work for Leo, but not for Jerremyah, cos y'know... vampire.