(A/N): Quite a bit of Lisbet and Leo fluff. Lisbet's reaction to Leo intentionally breaking her 'clean language' mandate.

Lisbet

My jaw dropped open and I spun on him- but then I froze. If I hadn't been so tuned in to his vitals, monitoring his reactions to make sure he wasn't about to lose control in the presence of the human blood from the blood bag, I probably wouldn't have noticed it. It wasn't a flinch- and I think that was only because he had braced for it- but it was the slightest of full-body twitches. I stared at him for a second, mouth hanging open, as I tried to figure out how to deal with this.

Technically, he had misbehaved. I had asked- well, actually... now that I think about it, I hadn't asked. I had made it clear, especially to Jerremyah and Grey, that no one was supposed to swear- or use otherwise indecent language- in front of Leo. Or, within his hearing range, if at all possible. And I had made it clear to Leo that his own use of poor language was frowned upon- but he had done it anyway.

He had done it anyway... Hmm...

"Leo..." He arched an eyebrow at me, but I could both hear, and feel, his heartbeat speed up. What to do, what to do...?

"Yes, Lisbet? Is there a problem?" ...He was trying to provoke me. But... why?! I... suppose there was only one solution- if Leo wanted to provoke me- to frustrate or anger me- I would simply have to not give him what he wants- which was ironic, considering that that is exactly what I usually wanted to do.

I put down the glass of bloody water, and released Jerremyah's leg- now, the second my hands were free, and started to move towards him, he did flinch- but I expected that, so I continued. Not because I wanted to ignore it, but because I wanted him to know that my intentions hadn't been affected by it. I continued reaching towards him, keeping my movements slow and steady, and he let me put my hands on his upper chest- near his collar bones- and then slide my hands up, up the side of his neck, to cup his cheeks. I watched as he blinked in surprise, and kept my eyes glued to his... completely silent, for more than several seconds.

"...why?" His eyebrows shot up, and under my hands, his mouth popped open.

"I- what?" He sounded bewildered- good. I had to keep that going. Gently, I pinched his checks, jiggling them around, and took a page out of his book.

"Meep!" Much like I had, he spluttered- and then, laughter started to bubble out from between his lips.

"Wha- Lis! Stooop!" He whined, and I couldn't help the grin that I felt spread across my face.

"Make me, Nounours." He reached up and put his hands over mine, effectively stopping me- but he took his time doing so, as if he were indulging me, even if he didn't like what I was doing. "Ah, you're no fun." I joked cheekily, before pulling his head down, so I could press yet another kiss to his forehead- right between his eyebrows. When I pulled back, he was staring at me, once again looking quite confused. "Now... why?" He blinked, and his eyes flicked to something over my shoulder- Jerremyah, it had to be- before he shrugged, in a way I knew was only seemingly casual.

"Well, if you're mad at me, you're not mad at Jerremyah anymore, are you?" ...Oh, Leo...

I glanced back at Jerremyah, and he looked just as stricken as I felt. He flung himself upright as if the table had been set on fire beneath him, and there was a brief second where- unintentionally- the front of his body brushed against the back of mine, before I felt him try to step back.

"Shit!" He growled, practically into my ear, and I felt that expulsion of air stir the hair laying down the back of my neck, before he lurched forward again, and bumped into my back. I was so surprised by this that I swayed a bit before I could catch myself- but immediately, I felt a hand on each of my elbows. One of them was Leo's, having been repositioned from my own hands on his face, and the other was Jerremyah's.

With Leo just in front of me, and Jerremyah pressed against my back, each with a hand steadying me, for that brief moment, I felt... grounded. Rooted. Connected. But it didn't last as long as I would have liked, because Jerremyah leaned back- I don't think he could step back, I think the pain from his wound was what had made him stumble- and we were no longer in contact, other than his hand on my elbow. And then, slowly, he removed that, too.

When I looked back to Leo, his eyes were focused on that elbow, and the hand that had just left it. I slid my hands back, and lightly covered his ears, which served to get his attention. I flicked my eyes over my shoulder.

"Jer... language. I know it may seem pointless, but... help me out, here- be a good role model." I was very careful not to put any emphasis on my words, but I was pretty sure that he would know what I was really trying to say.

It wasn't quite, 'Help me raise this boy- this child that I can't help but consider as mine', but it was... I guess almost a peace offering. 'I still trust you- even with something that means as much to me as this. And... I think you're someone he can look up to, if you let him.' Hopefully, he understood all of that- and I could tell by his wide-eyed expression, that at least some of it had gotten through.

"I- y'know I'm not exactly-" He hesitated. "Grey's a much better option for a role model-" Surprisingly, I didn't have time to even consider trying to dispute that, because Leo huffed out a laugh.

"Him?" Hm, I guess he was still mad about that comment Grey had made about Elaine. "Considering everything you told me-" He cut himself off, but it was too late. What could- would- Jerremyah tell Leo about Grey that would make him think that he wasn't a good role model? "I mean, he's got his own impressionable half-vampire to worry about." I rolled my eyes at him, lightly.

"Subtle." He flushed, and shrugged.

"Yeah, well- you would have just eavesdropped on my heartbeat anyway- that sucks, by the way. You should feel bad- isn't that like, a major violation of privacy? Like, the vampire equivalent of reading my diary?" I rolled my eyes again, but couldn't help the way the corner of my lips quirked up. It was more than clear at this point that the hands I had over his ears were doing nothing, so once again, I moved my hands back to his cheeks- I liked it, it made me feel like I held the whole world in the palms of my hands.

"I was going to make a joke about knowing where you keep your diary, but... I think that would be a bit cruel." He winced, then shrugged.

"My diary is private, but not confidential. My journal, is confidential, but I keep it locked away, so I wouldn't worry about it." He... had a journal? I knew he had a diary- but a journal, as well? And... what sort of things did he deem 'confidential', especially when I knew, from overhearing him murmuring to himself as he wrote it- that he often wrote in depth about his feelings for Elaine in his diary- which was apparently only... 'private'?

Then again, if he was pondering his word choice out loud in a house full of vampires, I guess it was never going to actually be secret. There was a reason, after all, that I had bought him a Poetic Thesaurus for his fifteenth birthday. Luckily, I had given it to him a few days early, before... well. He had been quite appreciative... when he got past his embarrassment.

I remember that I had made a comment about poetry, and how, even if not the most polished or refined, words- as long as they came from the heart- could have quite the effect on a woman. I think he had assumed I was speaking generally- after all, I'd never told him about Jerremyah, or my relationship with him- but I wasn't. Jerremyah was, surprisingly, rather poetic- or, well, it was surprising to other people. I don't think he ever really set out to be- he was, at his core, a rather practical sort of person. As long as things worked, he didn't care much past that- until it came to his mate. To me. It's not like he sat down to write me sonnets- at least, not when he was sober- but he had this way of speaking sometimes... like his heart- or at least his feelings- came spilling out of his mouth, in the form of words.

Every time it did, it set my heart fluttering. And I didn't doubt that, if Leo did the same, it would affect Elaine much the same way.

"I don't know what to say about that." He shrugged, smiling slightly- tentatively.

"Given the subject matter, probably something about how you can tell I'm telling the truth, because my heartbeat's even." From behind me, Jerremyah scoffed, quietly, and I watched Leo's eyes dart to him.

"Oh please, your heartbeat hasn't been 'even', since I got here." Leo's eyebrows furrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I winced, and Leo's eyes flicked to me, zoning in on that movement. "Lis?" I hesitated.

"Look... Leo..." His face shifted, and I knew he was probably thinking that he wasn't going to like what I was about to say- and he probably wasn't. "It's hard to explain-" He started to open his mouth- probably to protest about me trying to avoid the subject- but I continued on my own, so he closed it again. "But I'll try my best. You-" I took a deep breath. "Since your father died-" I very carefully didn't look at anyone else in the room. "-your vitals have indicated signs of... physiological distress. I... I think your grief has effected you on more than just a psychological level." His eyebrows furrowed even further, but something in his heartbeat flickered- and even with all of my abilities, I didn't know what that meant.

"Can't say I haven't been stressed, recently." I didn't doubt that that was quite the understatement, and it made my chest ache.

"I'm sorry you have to feel like that, Bud." He seemed vaguely uncomfortable about this. "It means it's a little harder to... 'eavesdrop on your heartbeat', as you put it." He shrugged weakly, and flashed me a smile that was more a grimace.

"I guess that's one blessing to come from all this." Oh, Leo...

...Screw it. After everything I'd done since they'd gotten back, it wasn't like this was going to be what pushed my luck too far. I pulled his head down once again, and started peppering kisses all along his hairline. For the first few, he was still, but when I showed no signs of stopping, I felt him move slightly- and it took me a second to realise that what he was doing, was pressing that part of himself upwards into my touch. He... he was not only letting me scent him- he was openly encouraging it. So, I kept kissing. And kissing. And kissing.

"Mm, Lis!" He protested, a bit reluctantly, and I made myself pull back, chuckling.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop." I was pleased to see that he looked slightly disappointed by that. "We... we should get back to helping Jerremyah." His eyes flicked to the aforementioned man, over my shoulder, and he nodded.

I heard movement from behind me, and when I turned, I saw Jerremyah in the process of standing upright once more, albeit, while keeping his weight off his injured leg. He caught me looking, and after a second, I had to force myself to tear my eyes away, before they inevitably got stuck on him for too long. Again. I turned back to Leo, sliding my hands back down from his cheeks, down the side of his neck, resting briefly on his shoulders, before eventually retracting my touch all together.

"You know, I've always had a thing for nurses." Both Leo, and I, rolled our eyes at Jerremyah's comment.

"Funny, you've never mentioned that to me, before." He shrugged, and started to open his mouth, before Leo cut him off.

"I would make a joke about exactly what occupation Jerremyah is known to have a thing for, but that would inevitably lead into a much longer conversation, that we don't have time for, right now." What was that supposed to mean? Seeing my furrowed brows, Jerremyah winced, and said,

"Right... We'll leave that for later. Let's get to work."

(A/N): Leo: 'What do you mean, my 'heartbeat isn't even'?'

Lisbet: 'Your vitals show signs of physiological distress.'

Leo: '...?'

Lisbet: 'It means you're a big ball of anxiety.'

Leo: '...Ah. I had noticed that, yes.'

Translations:

Nounours = Teddy Bear (French)

Also, a 'Poetic' Thesaurus isn't something that seems to exist, at least that I can find, but what I mean is basically a Thesaurus that is specifically meant to suggest 'poetic' words related to one another- not necessarily just synonyms and antonyms, but thematically related. At least, something like that.