(A/N): The conversation that never ends... ends?.?.? It's been 60 chapters since this conversation started (chapter 407), but obviously there were Evie, Amelia and Soren chapters in there, so it was really only about... 43 chapters. A chapter being uploaded every second day, that's 86 days. That means (just this conversation) has been going on for almost three months. For another thing, this 'day' started in chapter 361, which is 107 chapters ago. Which is 214 real life days ago. I've been writing this same day for 7 months. But don't worry! After this chapter, there's only (I think?) three left before the day ends!

Lisbet

Jerremyah, being Jerremyah, saw the tension that had formed and decided to break it- or at the very least, change the tone. "So when other people do it, it's bad, but when you do it, it's fine?" I wanted to be appalled that he was joking about something as devastating as this, but then Leo snorted and buried his face in my forearm in an attempt to hide his laughter, and suddenly, I couldn't find it within myself to be upset.

I cupped his cheek in my hand and leaned in again to press yet another kiss to his skin, this time just above his right eyebrow. "Sounds a bit hypocritical of you, Nounours."

He lifted his head just enough to be able to make eye contact as he rolled his at me. "Does it?" He asked, and I noticed his voice sounded a bit sluggish; was he getting tired, or was he just emotionally drained?

"Not in the slightest." I inched minutely closer- to Leo, and to Jerremyah. "There are plenty of things that are dependent on the person you're doing them with, I don't know why death would be any different. In fact, if anything, I'd say it's even more important."

He arched a single brow at me. "So you're saying it's my choice?" He asked wryly, and I narrowed my eyes at him, getting the message loud and clear... it just so happened that I hated said message, and would very much like to set it on fire.

"It is your choice," I agreed, no matter how much it hurt to have to do so. "Whether I disagree or not- whether I wish you didn't have to feel like that, or not." I amended preemptively, knowing Leo needed my approval now more than ever. "I love you," I reminded him. "Nothing will change that." There was a clear second of hesitation, before Leo stepped away completely- rather abruptly, in fact. It took me a few seconds to recognise he'd been about to do something else but decided not to at the last second, and once I had realised, the knowledge made my heart sink.

"Lis-" I cut him off.

"No. None of that. What were you about to do?" He blinked, then dropped his head a little as his cheeks turned red. "Oh, something fantastic then, no doubt." His blush intensified, even as he narrowed his eyes at me slightly.

He crossed his arms over his chest as though he was annoyed, but I knew it was only because he was embarrassed, and struggling to deal with it. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I wasn't going to do anything, I don't know what you m-"

I reached for him, and he tried to dodge me. I countered his vampire speed with my own, and when I caught him, I comforted myself with the knowledge that if he'd really wanted to dodge me, he could've- but he didn't. He let me catch him, even if he went out of his way to roll his eyes at me.

"Little liar," I cooed, drawing him to my chest and relishing in the fact he immediately tucked his head under my chin, despite the fact that I would've preferred him not to have to shrink himself. I know it meant something different to him, and I did love the feeling of... parental-ness, the position inspired, but I doubted I'd ever be able to wholly shake that feeling. "My lovely little liar," The blush returned with a vengeance. "Why are you embarrassed? Do you think we'll judge you?" He hesitated only for the barest second, before shaking his head.

"Not you..." He whispered, and I felt my eyebrows furrow. I glanced at Jerremyah over Leo's shoulder, and he looked curious, but also slightly concerned.

"Jerremyah, then? You know he wo-" There was no hesitation here, Leo shook his head again- and clearly Jerremyah shared my relief, because a smile bloomed on his lips.

He may not have hesitated before shaking his head, but he certainly seemed reluctant now. "Not... not Jerremyah," He said, confirming what we already knew, but Jerremyah clearly appreciated it nonetheless. "Not Jerremyah... me." ...huh?

"You're... judging yourself?" Jerremyah asked dubiously, and Leo nodded. I... couldn't say I understood where he was going with this, but he was certainly going. "Uh... stop?" The corner of Leo's lips twitched, but whether it was heading upward or downward, I didn't know.

"I think we've already established I have issues- outside of the 'control' variety, that is." Well... at least he was aware of it. None of this did anything to temper my desperate curiosity, though.

"Could you... give us a hint?" He hesitated again, but then he started moving- I froze at the feeling of the tips of his claws pricking at my sides through my shirt. "O-oh," I stuttered, trying to push past my shock to be able to reassure him that things weren't nearly as dire as he thought. After all, they almost never were. "Good hint, Nounours." He made a noise in the back of his throat, and I wasn't sure if it was a chuff or a huff.

He began to pull his hands back- to remove his claws- but I covered his hands with mine and forced them back into position. Forced him to grip my shirt, and forced him to sink his claws back through the fabric. "Lis..." He whined, but he didn't fight me- in fact, if anything, I might be inclined to call what he was doing happy wiggling, aka, the best movement in existence.

"The shirt means nothing to me- and you, you mean everything. Rip, tear, puncture- none of it matters to me. You matter to me. Your happiness matters to me, and if your happiness is what's making you want to do these things, then I'm all for it." His cheeks pinked again, but he didn't exactly seem embarrassed this time, more a combination of pleased and flustered.

"You're- very nice." He practically choked it out, and I pressed my lips to the top of his head to hide my grin. "You're... the nicest." It was incredibly sweet, but I was starting to understand why he was so reluctant to tell Elaine exactly how he felt- he didn't seem to have the words to be able to properly convey his feelings.

"You're pretty nice yourself, Nounours." I murmured into his hair, my voice getting muffled slightly as he pushed the top of his head against my mouth. "Do you... do you want me to guess?" He shook his head, but when he didn't offer any further information, I tried again. "Do you want... to change the subject?"

His nod was eager, and he jerked his head to the other side, so he could look at Jerremyah- who was watching the two of us rather fondly. "Talk," Leo said, but when he saw Jerremyah's freshly furrowed brow, he provided him further instruction. "Tell her about the letter- about how you'd made your decision before you got here, and not because of the chance of a teacher." Surprisingly, Jerremyah blushed, and I found myself even more intrigued by that than what Leo had said.

"Jer?" I asked tentatively, and when his eyes flicked to me, his hand shot up to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. "Is that true?" I already knew it was; Leo wouldn't lie about this, and to be honest, it fit more with the Jerremyah I used to know, than the fragment of himself he'd chosen to present that first day did.

"It..." His eyes darted back to Leo. "I'm not entirely sure this is something we should... whether we physically can talk about this in front of Leo." Leo's eyebrows furrowed, and when he glanced back at me rather than at Jerremyah, I saw Jerremyah's eyes widen pointedly, and I knew it wasn't just because it wasn't 'kid friendly'.

When I looked down in order to meet Leo's eyes- tucked into my chest as he was- I found him frowning slightly. "Leo?" He blinked like he hadn't expected me to address him. "Is there anything more you think we should talk about tonight? Dinner's done by now, and I'm sure you're probably getting tired- do you want to take a break for tonight?" He took a few seconds to think about it, more than I thought the decision truly warranted, but eventually, he nodded.

"I think we've covered everything we need to cover tonight," He agreed, but he tightened his arms around me as if he didn't want to let me go. "Are you... are you going to continue this now? Or with Grey? And if you're not coming down for dinner, are you- will I see you before I go to bed?" Immediately, I knew what he was really asking. What he really wanted. I don't know how exactly I knew, but the fact that I did, and the sentiment behind the question, made something in my chest glow white hot.

I gave him the softest, sweetest smile I could- exactly what he deserved. "We'll talk about it with Grey. We're coming down to dinner with you, but even if we weren't- I promise you, we'll say goodnight before you go to bed."

(A/N): Leo is self-aware of the weirdest things, lol. Also, if you're wondering why Leo pulled away, he totally got the urge to sink his fangs into Lisbet's sleeve. He wasn't going to bite her (because vampire venom = incredible painful, yadayadayada) but he was definitely about to put his teeth on her, and that's why he got so embarrassed. Leo gave her the hint of putting his claws to her skin again, because he was embarrassed by that the last time, and it's honestly quite similar, but if you notice throughout the story, Leo uses his claws more readily than his fangs (like with scratching Sirius, etc), so I'm working off the idea that because fangs = venom, it's more embarrassing (and more meaningful) that he wants to set his teeth to her. There's also the whole thing of it being a really vulnerable thing to ask for, and to allow, considering the fact that one wrong move (or one even small betrayal) could end with immense pain for the person receiving (in this case Lisbet). Of course, in this case Leo would also end up in immense pain if he bit another vampire, even Lisbet, because of the effect vampire blood has on veela.

TLDR: Leo got the urge to put his teeth to Lisbet, which would be very (too) meaningful to both of them, and then got super embarrassed about even having that urge, which is why he pulled away. He never would've mentioned it if Lisbet hadn't caught him out.