(A/N): Leo and Lisbet's conversation continues. No more talk of suicide/suicidal ideation in this chapter.

Lisbet

"I trust him, to do that." I- oh. Oh, Leo... I felt a small, tender smile bloom on my lips.

"Doux- Mon Doux Garçon." He flushed slightly- not like he was embarrassed, but instead, rather pleased. Good. "...thank you." He started to nod, but I continued. "He made me very happy in the past- even when we fought, I... I loved him more than anything. I still do." I admitted, but Leo didn't look surprised. "We kept each other honest- we didn't pretend, or concede, or compromise who we were, to please each other." His face changed slightly- he looked almost guilty. "What?" He winced, and let go of my hand to rub the back of his neck, sheepishly.

"So... I need you to not get too mad at me." Uh oh.

"Why? What did you do, that you think I would be mad at you?" I could tell he was trying not to wince again.

"Okay first off, I would like to state that I know that what I did was wrong, and not the best choice-" This didn't sound good. "But I didn't know what else to say." Okay, well, at least if he said something, rather than doing something, it probably wasn't that bad. "When Jerremyah said he thought he was bad for you, I... I didn't know what else to say." I would like to repeat- Uh. Oh.

"What'd you say?" He stared at me warily for a second.

"He... he was being so... acting so... I felt bad for him!" Which was ironic, and Jerremyah would probably laugh at the thought. "It... it was supposed to give him hope, just until I talked to you- I never thought it was actually a good idea. But he was really... er... hopeless?" I blinked. "In the literal sense- like, without hope. He acted like there was no way he could deserve your love-" Which made me want to break something. "-so I... I told him to change." What?! "If he didn't think he was worthy, and he wanted you so badly, and was questioning whether he should be with you, even if you did take him back- then he should change until he felt he was worthy. Until he was good for you."

It took everything inside of me, every ounce of self control, to make myself stay tolerant of him- to not be terse or cruel, just because I was outraged.

"That's awful." I told him, and he nodded, rather firmly.

"Yes, yes it is. What are you going to do about it?" I blinked.

"What?" He shrugged with one shoulder.

"What are you going to do about it? He asked me, what if he could never be good enough for you- by his own standards- and I told him he had no choice. If he wanted you- wanted to be with you, but felt like there was something in the way- then he needed to do whatever it took to remove that obstacle- even if that meant changing himself for you." I sighed, long and heavily, drawing my hand back to pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Leo..." I groaned, and this time, he did wince.

"I know. It's terrible, I screwed up- now, how are we going to fix this?" 'We'?

"I-" I stared at him for a second, then tilted my head back, and shook my head at the ceiling. "Leo." When I lowered my head again, he was watching me with a tentatively hopeful look. "You don't understand." His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and I saw the concern in the set of his eyes. "We- we broke up, because Jerremyah changed." His face dropped. "Because he changed himself for me." His mouth fell open, into a little 'o'.

"Lisbet... I didn't- I didn't know." How could he have known? Jerremyah had apparently refused to tell him, and I certainly hadn't told him- before Jerremyah had shown up, Leo hadn't even known we had a history, let alone... the circumstances of our parting.

"I didn't understand at first- or for a long time, actually- what had happened, but... Grey told me some things. It's not... it's not like Jerremyah told him, outright, but... well, Grey's pretty insightful, when he wants to be. What he said made sense- it explained why he changed, so drastically. Why he started treating me like I was... precious." His eyebrows furrowed.

"And that's... bad?" I flashed him a small, sad smile.

"He made me feel lesser." Understanding dawned on his face. "Weak, useless, like I was a... a trophy, rather than an equal." He winced. "He wanted to protect me, at the detriment of our relationship... and my sense of self. If what Grey said is true, then I understand why- I don't know if I can forgive it, but I understand it. All he has to do, to be 'worthy' of me, is apologise for making me feel that way- not discussing his reasons with me- and to go back to treating me the way he used to. I don't need him to change- I need him to change back." Leo was quiet for a second, and the look on his face was... illuminated. Like he had realised some sort of secret of the universe, if a little less extreme.

"How... how are you supposed to keep the people you love safe, without making them feel that way?" Oh, Leo...

"I... I guess that depends on who those people are. There are certain people who would have been fine with the way Jerremyah treated me- and a lot who wouldn't be. It also depends on who you are, to them." His eyebrows lifted. "For example," Less of an example, when I knew it was exactly what he was asking about. "There's a different between you wanting to try to protect me, versus trying to protect Elaine." He flushed slightly, clearly knowing he was caught out, but not having it in him to be all that embarrassed by it.

"Because she's human?" I shrugged.

"Not only that- after all, there's a difference between someone like your friend Lily, and, say, a well-trained Hunter. Both human- both need very different levels of protection. The Hunter may be able to take down vampires, but they still need protection from certain things- maybe they're afraid of the dark." He blinked. "And Lily may need protecting from vampires- and many other things- but she'll punch a bully in the face." Shades and degrees. "Acknowledge what they're capable of, and fill the gaps as much as you can- but be willing to listen to them, and adapt. You aren't infallible, Little One." He jolted slightly, and oddly, he began to look almost shy.

"And- and what if- if they insist that they can... do something that you know they can't?" I considered this for a second, taking a bit longer than I maybe should have, because I was distracted by his unexpected, flustered stuttering. Was that... because I had called him, 'Little One'?

"You talk to them." He blinked, and stared at me, like he couldn't believe it was so simple. "You explain to them why you feel the way you do on the subject, and they can do the same." He continued to stare at me. "I know it's hypocritical of me to say, but... communication is key." He huffed out a laugh, and the corner of his lips quirked up.

"And what if they continue to try to do the thing you know they can't do?" I narrowed my eyes at him, and the corner of his lips joined the first in a smile, before he shrugged. "Elaine is very stubborn, okay?" I sighed, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well..." I started. "What I do for the, 'very stubborn', people in my life-" I narrowed my eyes at him again, and he looked appropriately chagrined, if a little more amused than I would have liked. "-is get some help." He blinked. "It's a lot harder to argue that you're right, against more than one person." And if they still don't relent, there will be more people to help you physically stop them, if need be. I didn't say that out loud though, because once again, it was rather hypocritical of me- but if it came to saving Leo or Jerremyah's life from their own stubbornness, I would absolutely restrain them. For their own good.

"That's... surprisingly mature of you, Tante." I rolled my eyes at him softly, and shrugged.

"I am over three hundred years old, you know." He nodded.

"I know." Hm? I hadn't expected him to confirm that, so easily- oh. Right. Jerremyah.

"What didn't Jerremyah tell you, during these conversations of yours?" He grinned.

"A lot. And... a little." What was that supposed to mean? "We should... get to that later. You've got... stuff with Jerremyah to get through, and then we'll... meet back up, and talk things out." He glanced at the window, and the late afternoon sun streaming through it. "I don't know how long that will take, and I would like to go to bed at a reasonable time, so..." He lifted a shoulder, trailing off.

"Are we... done here?" I didn't want to let go of him, but I also didn't want him to spring something else on me, so I was both disappointed and relieved when he shrugged again.

"I think so. Should we... go after them?" I hesitated, then eventually nodded.

"I... yeah." He pulled away from me- slowly, possibly just as reluctantly as I felt, but he didn't leave me completely. His hand slipped into mine, and he practically plastered himself to my side- like he couldn't bear to be away from me right now, just as I couldn't bear to be away from him.

"We're going to have to let go of each other to run, and I, for one, do not like that." His candidness surprised me so much that I barked out a laugh, and got to watch as his face lit up.

"I would apparate us, but we have no idea where they went. I mean, yes, the Hunting Grounds, most likely, but that's a pretty wide area, so we'd inevitably still have to run, and we could end up pretty far off- or, there's a very small chance, where we could apparate into the same space that one of them is occupying." Leo grimaced.

"And apparating sucks." My lips quirked up, and I nodded.

"And apparating sucks." I agreed, and Leo's face changed, so he could smile down at me, before he arched an eyebrow.

"Shall we?"

(A/N): Leo: 'I trust Jerremyah to make you happy.'

Lisbet: 'He did. I loved him more than anything (...) we didn't compromise who we were, to please each other.'

Leo: '...I fucked up.'

also

Leo: 'I know I screwed up, please don't be mad at me. I told Jerremyah to change himself in order to be worthy of you, since he feels he isn't.'

Lisbet, chanting under her breath: 'He's my kit, he's my kit, he's my kit, he's my ki-'

also

Lisbet: 'Jerremyah made me feel lesser- weak, useless, like I was a trophy, rather than an equal. He wanted to protect me, at the detriment of our relationship.'

Leo: '...how are you supposed to keep the people you love safe, without making them feel that way?'

Lisbet: *softens*

Lisbet: 'This is about Elaine... isn't it?'

also

Leo: 'We're going to have to let go of each other to run, and I, for one, do not like that.'

Lisbet: *laughs at his candidness*

Leo: 'Oh thank god, she doesn't hate me.'

Lisbet: 'I barked out a laugh, and got to watch as his face lit up.'

Translations (French):

Doux- Mon Doux Garçon. = Sweet- My Sweet Boy.

Tante = Aunt.

The next chapter is a special chapter, for the Eleven Year Anniversary, and is another flashback chapter- but we're not going to be with Evie and the others, this time. I figured, for the Anniversary, we should be with a character we've been with the whole time, so... we get to see some more of 'Little Leo' (AKA Leonides). It is Part 1 of at least 3 parts.