(A/N): We're back with Lisbet, Leo, Jerremyah, Danniel, Jo, and Greygorry (though Lisbet, Leo, and Jerremyah are by far the most prominent in this chapter). Quite a bit of google translate French, because Leo and Jerremyah can't have an emotional conversation in front of other people without making sure (most) of them can't understand them.
Lisbet
Leo gave very few complaints about being slung over Jerremyah's shoulder- in fact, if anything, I thought maybe he enjoyed it. I mean, he was laughing and smiling from ear to ear, and after a minute or two he even wrapped an arm around Jerremyah's waist to help steady himself, but I didn't want to assign those sorts of feelings to him in case I was accidentally projecting my own desires onto him. Seeing them so comfortable with each other- the ease with which they seemed to interact, at least on a physical level- made me want to purr. Preferably into Leo's hair, or maybe the side of Jerremyah's neck... or both, at the same time.
"So, what are we starting with?" Jerremyah asked the group at large, one of his forearms still holding Leo's thighs to his chest as if his shoulder was the place our kit belonged- which... I couldn't say I disagreed with, if I was being completely honest. Jerremyah's shoulder, my lap- as long as he was with us, the how and where didn't matter. I met Jerremyah's eyes, then pointedly glanced at Leo- well, his rear end, anyway, which bobbed as Jerremyah's shoulder lifted in a shrug underneath it. "I know I'm not usually one for planning, but I think in this instance we can all benefit from a little discussion before we actually throw ourselves into things." That was... unusually prudent of him. Then, he cracked a grin- dimples blatantly taunting me- and followed it up with, "That, and I'd like to keep my little backpack for as long as possible."
It took Leo a second to realise that Jerremyah was talking about him, but when he did, he made a choked noise and turned bright red. "B-back-?" He spluttered, before his fluster cut him off.
"One shoulder, very convenient," Jerremyah assured him with a firm nod, and a smile Leo couldn't see from behind his back. "Quite stylish, too." Leo didn't seem to know what to make of that, so I took this opportunity to playfully dip the tips of my fingers into one of the pockets on his jacket, upside down as it was.
"Plenty of storage, too," I joked, and Leo snorted- but I feared it was more from surprise than amusement.
I watched him wiggle a bit, reorienting himself so he could twist to the side a little in order to face me slightly more head on. When he was finally in a position he was happy with, he reached out with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Jerremyah's waist, and I automatically stepped closer so he could have an easier time doing whatever it was he wanted. What he wanted was, apparently, to curl his hand around my forearm, and hook his pinky finger over the prominent bone at my wrist. "Lis," He said quietly, softly- then immediately hesitated. When he did speak again, he did so in French... though I wasn't entirely sure why. "Est-ce qu'il sait que je ne suis pas petite?" I mean... I would hope so, but knowing Jerremyah, he might have missed it.
"Tu es petit," Jerremyah answered before I could even try to find my words. "Peut-être pas en taille, mais en esprit." Maybe not the best thing to say, especially considering how Leo frowned upon hearing it. "Pas... pas comme ça. Vous avez un grand esprit, mais vous..." Jerremyah's lips moved soundlessly for a few seconds, as if he was running through the words in his head. "Il y a un esprit d'enfant en chacun de nous qui a besoin d'être nourri- certains d'entre nous plus que d'autres. C'est ce que je veux dire quand je dis que tu es petit." That... that was better, I guess... Leo seemed to think so, too, if his face softening was anything to go by.
"Je pense que tu as aussi un grand esprit," He said almost shyly, and Jerremyah's eyes widened even as his cheeks turned pink. "Le plus grand," He added, and as Jerremyah's cheeks changed from pink to red, I couldn't help but grin at Leo.
I cupped his face with my free hand, only for him to immediately push his cheek further into my palm- I could tell that Danniel and Jo were both at least somewhat surprised by how tactile he was being, and I was glad he was too distracted to notice. "While I wholeheartedly agree," I told him. "If you want him functional anytime soon, you might want to hold back on the heartfelt stuff- since, as you know, my lovely mate gets flustered by that kind of thing rather easily." Jerremyah shot me a weak glare, which was instantly mitigated by the grin growing on Leo's face.
"So you're saying he can dish it out, but he can't take it?" Jerremyah's face screwed up with a hint of amusement, and he carefully brought his free arm backward to gently nudge Leo in the side with his elbow.
"Careful." Leo's grin only expanded at the 'warning'. "Kot. Pettle."
There was silence for a second, before Leo snorted. "I can only hope that was intentional, and you're not having some sort of medical episode." Jerremyah rolled his eyes- fondly, as was to be expected, at this point.
"It'd heal in a minute or two, anyway." Oddly, Leo didn't seem comforted by that- actually... maybe it wasn't as odd as I had initially assumed. "I'm fine, just... yeah. But yes- I'm aware, we're just speaking two different languages."
Leo's eyebrows furrowed. "Well... in that case, I appreciate the translation." Jo rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, the rest of us would, too."
Either Leo was ignoring her, or was too focused on Jerremyah to hear her, right now. "If- You said... 'some of us'." Jerremyah frowned, a crease appearing between his brows as though he was painfully confused. "Does that mean... you?" The confusion didn't clear, so after a second, Leo continued to elaborate. "Do you- nurture?" My mind went blank momentarily, distracted by the concept of Jerremyah 'nurturing' Leo- which, for the most part, he was already doing- and I could tell Jerremyah was stuck in much the same manner. "Do you need- want- nurturing?" It was harder to misinterpret what Leo meant, this time, but it still sounded like... He was asking whether Jerremyah wanted to be nurtured, but the incomplete nature of it made it feel like he was asking whether Jerremyah needed- or wanted- to nurture other people. Both were true, I feared.
Jerremyah hesitated, but I couldn't exactly blame him for that, considering the subject at hand. "I don't know," He said carefully- as though he was trying to speak as clearly as possible, so he was less likely to be misunderstood. "I honestly haven't given it much thought." And I could tell that it really was honest, which I'm sure Leo would appreciate. "I didn't have much of a childhood, so I guess maybe it's-" He cut himself off, changing the subject. "Even if I did, it's not like I have parents to give me that sort of thing, so I suppose it doesn't really matter."
Leo's eyebrows furrowed, and I saw his forearm flex- squeezing Jerremyah's waist in the best approximation of a hug he could manage right now. "Neither do I," He said, which... well, it hurt, even if it was technically true. "But I don't see why that's a problem." Jerremyah and I shared a wary look.
"No parental figures, no nurturing," Jerremyah said, and I could tell he immediately regretted it- regretted both implicating us as potential parental figures, since we were both doing our best to nurture Leo, and regretted possibly upsetting Leo if he hadn't equated us as such, and assumed that because he no longer had parents- good ones, at least- he was out of luck on the nurturing front.
Surprisingly, Leo merely shrugged. "Since when has nurturing been limited to parents and their children?" He asked- rhetorically, I think. "If you can nurture ideas, why can't your friends- family- clan... nurture you, a full-grown vampire?" Jerremyah looked... well, like he wasn't going to be functional for a little while, to say the least, and Leo seemed to recognise this, because he raised his eyes to mine. "Lis, you know my training stuff best- and you've fought me in a real fight before-" Ouch, thanks for that reminder, baby boy. "-so, you and Grey can start us off by creating a game plan. If... if that's okay." Hm... that smelled like some good delegation, right there. I locked eyes with Grey, and he gave me a begrudgingly soft look- like he was willing to take it easy on me, but only because he had to. As if I didn't know he was really a big softie, at heart.
"I'll- We'll get right on that," I said, and Greygorry nodded firmly.
"We'll handle it, you don't need to worry- focus on being the best little backpack you can be." And he must have taken that advice to heart because he beamed, then released my forearm to wrap both of his arms around Jerremyah's waist with great enthusiasm. Grey tilted his head to the side, watching this happen with quite a bit of interest- right... he had his own half-vampire to consider, now- though Jo and Danniel weren't far behind. "Well, I'll give him one thing," He said with more than a little amusement. "He's certainly dedicated to making the best of the cards he's been dealt."
(A/N): Translations (French):
Est-ce qu'il sait que je suis pas petite? = Does he know I'm not small? (Leo)
Tu es petit, = You are small, (Jerremyah)
Peut-être pas en taille, mais en esprit. = Maybe not in size, but in spirit. (Jerremyah)
Pas... pas comme ça. Vous avez un grand esprit, mais vous... = Not... not like that. You have a big spirit, but you... (Jerremyah)
Il y a un esprit d'enfant en chacun de nous qui a besoin d'être nourri– certains d'entre nous plus que d'autres. C'est ce que je veux dire quand je dis que tu es petit. = There is a childlike spirit in all of us that needs to be nurtured– some of us more than others. That's what I mean when I say you're small. (Jerremyah)
Je pense que tu as aussi un grand esprit, = I think you have a big spirit too, (Leo)
Le plus grand. = The biggest. (Leo)