(A/N): Leo and Jerremyah finally leave the house. We find out a little more of the specifics of Lisbet and Jerremyah's relationship, and so does Leo.

Leo

It took longer than I would have liked to get going- Lisbet was reluctant to let us go, but now, I wasn't sure whether it was because she disapproved of us being alone together, or because she didn't want to leave either of our sides.

I hadn't missed the little moment that she and Jerremyah had shared over my bagged lunch- then again, they hadn't exactly tried to disguise it. Maybe she had wanted me to see... for some reason.

Sometimes, Jerremyah was an obnoxious, arrogant, wanker- and other times, he subverted all of my expectations. He seemed genuine about not wanting to kill people- not just wanting to be able to choose, rather than always being out of control... he wanted to not kill people, even when he had the choice. He said he would only choose to kill in order to protect his clan, and he seemed sincere about that.

He said he would rather die than hurt Lisbet- and even if I had already assumed as much, it was reassuring to hear him actually say it, out loud... especially so vehemently. He said that hurting me would hurt her just as readily as if he had hurt her himself.

Lisbet had told me I was her top priority. She said that if Jerremyah were to kill me, it would ruin both of them. They had both been very persistent in trying to garner my promise that I would do whatever it took to keep Jerremyah in check- to keep him from killing me, I was supposed to kill him, if it came to that. Despite saying that I thought Jerremyah probably deserved to be punched in the face, I didn't want to kill him- not just because I didn't like killing in general, or because I knew it would devastate Lisbet, in a way even more severe than my father's death had devastated Shari- but because I wanted to see what he would do next. How he would continue to surprise me.

Lisbet saw us off- trailing her hand down Jerremyah's arm, and then pulling my head down by my cheeks, so she could kiss me on the forehead. It was nice, but a bit awkward, and not just because I wasn't used to it. It was most awkward, because Jerremyah was watching us with such a yearning expression that it made me feel sorry for him.

Clearly, he must miss Lisbet's particular brand of affection quite desperately, if he resorted to openly watching our interaction the way he was doing.

As we started to leave, I got the feeling that Lisbet wanted to follow us, but was forcing herself to keep her feet rooted to the floor in the front doorway, so she wouldn't do so unintentionally. Hopefully she would find something to do while we were gone, and wouldn't just wait for us to get back- I didn't want her to worry, but I knew she would either way. At least maybe she could distract herself, though.

Jerremyah followed me to the Hunting Grounds, and once we were out in the forest, alone with only the trees, I turned to face him.

"Before we get started, I have some questions for you." He nodded seriously, looking like he had been expecting something along those lines.

"I would expect nothing less. What do you need to know?" 'Need' isn't exactly- well... I suppose it was stronger than a want.

"Neither of you have come right out and said it- you and Lisbet are mates, right?" He blinked, as if he hadn't been expecting that question.

"I- what? I thought- I thought the questions were going to be about- my control, or something!" I waved him off, shaking my head.

"I told you, I had questions before we got started. Those sorts of questions are for after." He hesitated.

"...Yes." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"'Yes'? 'Yes' what?" Jerremyah huffed out a sigh, and crossed his arms over his chest- jolting slightly as the lunch bag bounced off his bicep, where he had obviously forgotten he was holding it.

"Yes, Lisbet and I are mates." I nodded, wearing a satisfied grin.

"Good," He seemed surprised that I thought so. "How long were you two together?" He shifted, somewhat uncomfortably.

"Three hundred and nine years." I blinked. I... I had known that they were all... old, but to hear it said so... matter of factly, was kind of shocking.

"And... how long have you been apart?" I intentionally didn't say 'broken up' or anything along those lines- I didn't think it was fair to remind him of that any more than necessary.

"Almost ten years." I stared at him, too shocked to say anything, but that seemed to prompt him to continue. "When I received her letter, it was nine years, ten months, and fourteen days." Oh, god... he had kept track? ...No, actually, that made perfect sense.

"And how..." He winced, and I know that he thought I was going to ask why they broke up. "Was Lisbet a vampire when you met her, or...?" He seemed to relax, now that he knew I was asking something else, and he shook his head.

"No. No... Lisbet was human, when we met." I assumed, by the way he said it, that he hadn't been.

"You're older than her, right?" Jerremyah's eyebrows furrowed.

"Biologically, or chronologically?" I hesitated, and he took it upon himself to answer for me. "Both. Yes, I'm older than her- I was twenty six when I managed to make Nuria feel bad enough for me that she agreed to turn me-" Uh...? "-and that was more than ninety years before Lisbet was even born." Oh, he was... a lot older than her! I wouldn't have thought- he didn't act like-

"You're more than a hundred years older than her?" He shrugged, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"To be fair, I'm eighty two years older than Grey, too." I definitely wouldn't have guessed that he was older than Greygorry- whether that was entirely because of their different demeanors, or partially because Greygorry physically looked a few years older, I didn't know.

"And how old was Lisbet?" His lips turned downwards.

"When I met her, or when I turned her?" So, he had been the one to turn her? And were the two ages different?

"Both. How did you turn her, if your control is so... questionable? Weren't you worried about killing her-? Or was it not planned?" He grimaced.

"I- I had help. She was twenty three when we first met- she turned twenty four soon after. I left for a year, after... everything, and when I got back to England, Lisbet was... well, anyway. It was decided that she was to become a vampire, but... I tried to argue that I wasn't the best person for the job, and that Grey should do it, but... she said if it wasn't me, she didn't want it." That... That was somehow both a lot, and very little, information. Too much and not enough, at the same time.

"What-" He cut me off.

"If your questions are just going to be about our relationship, I feel I should direct you to ask Lisbet directly." But she wouldn't- "She'd tell you, if you asked- but I have a feeling you don't want to ask." It was certainly much less awkward to talk about relationships with Jerremyah, so far.

"I suppose I don't need to ask any more questions about your relationship." Jerremyah's smirk was smugger than I would have liked, as I confirmed his theory. "I know that you love Lisbet, and would do anything to keep her safe and happy." He nodded rather emphatically. "Beyond that, I don't really need to know." I was painfully curious, though.

"Is there anything else you would like to ask me, before we get started?" Well... If I wasn't going to ask anymore questions about their relationship...

"Yeah. So... how does the whole tattoo thing work?"

(A/N): Lisbet: *kisses Leo on the forehead*

Leo: 'This is nice. Awkward, but nice.'

Jerremyah: * O_O *

Leo: '...Um, can I help you?'

Jerremyah: 'My mate. My mate and our- HER! HER kit! He's HER kit!'

This chapter has had minor edits made to it on 1/4/23 - I don't know what sort of screwed up math I was using, but I said that Jerremyah is 'eighty four' years older than Greygorry, which isn't correct. Jerremyah was born in 1512, and Greygorry in 1594, which is 82 years, not 84. The problem with my math being wrong is in chapter 365, I reference that incorrect math, and say that Jerremyah was on his own for 'another eighty four years', when in actuality, because of my original incorrect math, that number is wrong too.