(A/N): We're back with Jerremyah, Leo and Lisbet in 1975.
Jerremyah
Things were silent for a minute, and from my position a couple feet away, mostly behind Leo and across from Lisbet, I saw both of their expressions change. Understanding dawned on her face, then quickly morphed into horror before she had the chance to try to hide it. Leo, having been keeping a close eye on her reaction, immediately responded; the indignation on his face turned to disappointment, closely followed by shame- right up until it hardened again, into a sort of determined defiance. Uh oh.
The shame itself was enough to make me want to jump in, but either he'd gotten over it, or pushed past it- my money was on the latter- and now he was... this wasn't going to end well, if someone didn't interfere, and I knew Lisbet was far too busy reeling to be able to do so, so I stepped closer, automatically drawing Leo's eye as I held my hands up in a placating manner.
"Take a deep breath," Leo huffed at the instruction, then seemed to realise that he'd done so, and visibly recalibrated. Then, a second later, he actually... did it? I was shocked- not just because I'd been speaking figuratively, or because I'd expected him to be too emotional to be able to get through to him, but because I had never, in a million years, expected him to listen to me, and actually do what I asked. It took me a few seconds to recover, and I spent the whole time blinking rapidly. "I thought you weren't... planning on telling her." The wrong thing to say, since now, Lisbet spun on me. Then again, distracting her from Leo had been the goal, so I guess I was getting the job done, in the end.
"You knew?!" I winced at the look- and tone- of incredulous betrayal she was aiming my way, and I was glad she was too focused on me, to see her kit rolling his eyes at her. I shrugged as casually as I could.
"We were talking- I was hesitant to tell him about Sidonie-" Her expression flickered back and forth between concern, and what I could only guess was jealousy. Oh. That was gratifying, at least. "-and he was trying to get me to... not be. He reminded me that he'd had a girlfriend up until recently-" Lisbet's eyes widened, then darted- as if she hadn't realised that Leo not being a virgin, meant that the most likely sexual partner for him was his ex-girlfriend, Brooke. 'Most likely', but maybe not 'only'... I refused to ask, at this point.
"And after he still didn't get it, I jokingly referenced what he'd said that first day about how I 'wouldn't think it was that gross in a few years', making it clear that I hadn't thought it was gross when it was Brooke." Lisbet looked like she might faint, which concerned me, since she'd never been the fainting type, but I suppose having it confirmed was almost too much for her to handle.
"That's... nice." It was a long, fraught pause, and I could tell by the look on Leo's face that he was conflicted- likely struggling against the urge to snap at her, even as he was trying to give her time to adjust. It was clear- to me at least, and maybe just because I could relate- that he was simply desperate for approval, and unfortunately, Lisbet wasn't currently in the right mindset to recognise this, let alone to be able to provide it. I guess this would fall to me, as well.
I dropped my hands on Leo's shoulders, wiggling him around maybe not as carefully as I typically would have, since I figured he'd need the distraction, and I knew Lisbet was right. The kid was strong, he could take it- probably. "She's just freaking out a bit, don't worry about it." He turned to me with a furrowed brow, but the corners of his mouth had lifted slightly, like he wanted to smile but didn't think he should.
"Why?" He asked, which... oh, how to explain this?
"Well," I started, still not entirely sure about how I was going to continue, even as words began spilling from my mouth. "You know that she's... she's worried about your... I don't want to say the word, because I know you'll most likely react badly to it- and in this usage, I don't like it either-" Leo waved a hand at me.
"Just say it. I can handle it. Weren't you the one that told me-"
"Innocence." He flinched, then immediately, his cheeks flushed with something eerily similar to shame. As though he was embarrassed about his reaction- or the fact that I'd so easily predicted his reaction, maybe. "She's worried about your innocence, and this is... confronting, for her." Lisbet didn't argue, but she did look like she resented that I was the one having to explain this to him.
"She's-" He cut himself off, then shook his head.
That wouldn't do, I'd have to convince him to talk- to say what he'd been about to say. "She's what? Beautiful? Fascinating? An incredible, awe-inspiring creature?" From the corner of my eye I saw her cheeks pinken, but I was focused on Leo, who looked half frustrated, and half... confused? Not as though he was confused about what I was saying, but why. Well, not why, but why. He probably wasn't accustomed to the people around him blatantly declaring their affection, or even admiration, for each other- I know that when I'd been his age, I certainly hadn't been. Honestly, it was a miracle he was capable of talking about his feelings at all.
His eyes pointedly flicked from me to Lisbet, before he met mine again. "I'm not... voicing that thought." Because he didn't feel like he could be vulnerable in that sort of way, or because he knew that the thought was... well, poorly formed. A thought that was 'ill-thought-out', so to speak.
"At all, or in front of Lisbet?" His eyes darted to her again and she caught this a second too late, just in time for him to flush as he took his eyes off her, and planted them in the middle of my upper chest. He wasn't meeting my eyes, but he hadn't lowered his all the way to the ground, either.
"Not now." Was all he said, which gave me hope that I might be able to get it out of him at a later date, once we were out of earshot of Lisbet, or anyone who might report back to her. Then again, depending on the nature of the thought in question, I might be forced to report back to her... whether I wanted to or not. Hm, I guess that's how being forced works, isn't it?
"Alright. Um..." I scratched the back of my head somewhat awkwardly. "Would you prefer to continue talking about this, or go back to talking about... your mother's punishments?" He considered this for a surprisingly long time- wow, he really didn't want to talk about this thought of his, did he?
"Technically, both of them punished me, but Sebastien wasn't exactly... an active parent, most of the time. And I preferred that. Honestly, I might even say I preferred being around my mother, than him." I didn't take my eyes off him, but I could tell even without looking at her that Lisbet was just as concerned by this statement as I was, if not more so. "She was easy to- her rules were easy to navigate, most of the time, whereas Sebastien..." He bit his lip. "He was predictably unpredictable. I swear my mother spent as much time managing him as she did Mia and I, especially with the way he-" He cut himself off, wincing.
"The way he what?" Lisbet asked gently, apparently having recovered from the revelation that Leo wasn't quite as innocent as she'd thought, and the look on his face was almost... guilty?
"...the way he treated women." Her eyebrows furrowed, but I felt a sense of déjà vu- was this yet another thing we had in common?
"How?" I rasped, and Leo's eyes met mine. At first, I saw confusion on his face, but then he seemed to recognise something there, and I saw understanding in his eyes. "How did he... treat-"
He grimaced, and Lisbet's attention was as rapt as mine, if a little less clearly agitated about the matter. "Let's just say he wasn't subtle in displaying his attraction, and didn't care whether the subject of his attention was unhappy with having caught his eye. He particularly liked to use his position as head of our household to exert control over the woman that worked for him- the more vulnerable, the better."
Hmm... gee, I wonder who that reminded me of?
(A/N): Jerremyah: *tells Leo to do something*
Leo: *does it without a second thought*
Jerremyah: *dial up internet sound*
also
Sebastien: *holds a sword to Leo's throat*
Cipicia: *uses the cruciatus curse on him*
Leo: *still prefers Cipicia*
also
Jerremyah: *repeatedly and insistently complimenting Lisbet*
Leo: '...what the fuck? What the fuck is this? This isn't- that's not how things are supposed to- what's happening?'
Jerremyah: 'Ready to talk yet? I can do this all day.'
Leo: '...I don't know if I'm ready to TALK, but I certainly need THERAPY.'
also
Leo: *talking about something someone ELSE did*
Leo: *feels personally responsible*
Lisbet: 'So an investigation has been conducted, and as it turns out, you were in no way responsible for that thing that happened.'
Leo: 'Are you sure? Because I really feel like-'
Jerremyah: 'Well, seeing as you were halfway across the country, and wouldn't be born for another month and a half, I'd say the chances are pretty slim.'
Leo: '...but not zero?'