(A/N): Merry Christmas! We're back with Lisbet, Jerremyah, and Leo (and Greygorry, Jo, and Danniel, though they aren't mentioned). Minor foreshadowing, sort of, kinda? Not really, since technically I said 'god' instead of- Anyway. Also, happy two year anniversary of consistent uploads, lol.
Trigger Warning: Uh... blasphemy? Sort of? Someone is referred to as a god non-seriously/in passing, and given that the person making the reference, and the person performing the act are both religious, I thought I should probably tag it, even though neither of them would see it that way. Spoiler Alert: Leo dissociates again.
Lisbet
"Wow," Jerremyah choked into Leo's hair, which I certainly couldn't blame him for. "That bloke sounds like a giant wanker." This, I could blame him for- both because I hated his self-deprecating tendencies, and because he'd cursed in front of our kit. Our kit, who I knew absolutely wouldn't have minded- probably would've burst out laughing- if he wasn't also clearly concerned by Jerremyah's reaction. Seeing this concern, I decided to let him take charge for the time being; whatever he ended up saying to Jerremyah would probably have more of an effect than anything I could do right now, anyway... Well, anything I was 'willing' to do, especially since I was currently required to remain vertical- and clothed.
Leo frowned, and started to pull back- undoubtedly to meet Jerremyah's eye, or scan his face- but before he could do more than lift his chin from my mate's shoulder, Jerremyah's grip tightened. Not enough to harm- no, never that- but enough that it made Leo let out a small noise I couldn't hope to decipher. It sounded... surprised, yes, but also rather pleased, which was where I was getting tripped up, considering he was currently being held against his will. Well, sort of. Jerremyah reeled Leo back in as if he was scared he might lose him... a fair worry, even if that loss was only temporary, and only of immediate physical contact. "'myah," Leo said quietly but clearly, and it seemed that Jerremyah truly must have been operating on autopilot, because he pulled him in closer at the nickname and bumped his cheek against Leo's.
It wasn't a full rub- not quite so damning as that- but it was a lot even for the way Jerremyah had been treating him for the past few days, and as I focused all of my attention on him, I felt him squeeze his eyes shut tightly as though he knew he'd pushed things a tad too far, even if he wasn't currently entirely in control of himself. I have to say, I far preferred these control issues over the other ones. There was a split second that felt like minutes- the vampire brain speed accelerated by anxiety- but as it turns out, we needn't have bothered worrying, because almost as soon as Jerremyah had bumped Leo's cheek with his, Leo was pressing right back into him. As if he enjoyed the contact just as much as we did. If another vampire were to see this- one completely unfamiliar with who we were and what we meant to each other, given a single snapshot of time that happened to be this very moment- they would be able to tell, pretty much without a doubt, that Leo was our kit. Or... maybe just Jerremyah's, depending on how obvious the adoration was in my eyes as I watched them.
"'myah," Leo said again, and I got the distinct impression that if he didn't stop using that nickname soon, Jerremyah was going to bury his nose in the hollow of his soft little cheek, or perhaps behind his ear. That one was more dangerous on multiple levels, but I held suspiciously less fear over Jerremyah biting Leo than properly scenting him. Than claiming him, as ours. The way he should be. "You're not a wanker." As much as I didn't like hearing Leo swear- on principal, in practice I was having trouble not finding it both amusing and endearing- it sounded almost innocuous coming from his mouth. Maybe not quite innocent, but something somehow surprisingly neutral.
Jerremyah snorted, which I assumed- by the context and the sound of it- was incredibly forced. "Tell that to my right hand." Which- ugh. This, Leo did laugh at, although he mostly managed to swallow it before it came out.
"I- I'm sure it's listening, too," He said somewhat unevenly, probably because he was still trying to mask his amusement. "You're not-" There was a brief pause as he readjusted, not wanting to start the whole conversation over again. He didn't hesitate because of what he was about to say, though, which was pretty telling. "I like you." It was a dangerous thing to say to someone like Jerremyah- almost as dangerous as, 'I love you'. "I really, really do. Like..." He did hesitate here, and his cheek turned quite red against Jerremyah's. "Way more than I probably should- this soon," He gushed, and it was at this point I realised that the reason I couldn't see his eyes wasn't because they were lowered, but because they were entirely closed. I may not have noticed at all, if he hadn't squeezed them shut in this moment- clearly trying to keep the rest of us out.
Jerremyah was quiet for a moment- he didn't say anything, but the way his chest rumbled with his purr was speaking for him... at least for those of us who weren't oblivious to these sorts of things. Whether Leo was aware of that sentiment, I had no way of knowing. When he finally found his voice again, he sounded unusually gruff, most likely because he was struggling with his emotions, and the fact he couldn't exhibit the extent of them to our kit. "I like you too, kiddo." I think we were all surprised by the force with which Leo pressed his head against Jerremyah's- and it was the entire side of his head, now, since he was pushing hard enough to smush both of their cheeks flat- to the point where Jerremyah's tilted his head to the side as if he wasn't sure whether he should be returning the exerted pressure or not. For the time being, he was letting Leo push him lest risking him hurting himself on Jerremyah's immovable head, and I couldn't tell if that was what Leo had expected, or if he was disappointed. "I like you so damn much." Immediately, Leo started purring again, the sound mingling with Jerremyah's slightly deeper rumble.
"'rrrr-my-ah." Muddled by the purr, Leo's attempt at Jerremyah's name came out incomplete, but in no way wrong. I had a feeling that the way he dragged the side of his face down Leo's- the rasp of his facial hair against smooth, downy skin almost deafening to me- in order to reposition his temple and hairline against Leo's cheekbone was purely instinctual... as was the way he bumped his nose to our boy's ear, and chuffed almost directly into it. I saw the muscles in Leo's arms flex as he tightened his hold on Jerremyah's shoulders and back, as if he, too, was trying to pull them closer together.
"Leo," Jerremyah said in return, but Leo shook his head. I didn't understand why, until Jerremyah made a slightly frustrated noise in the back of his throat, and continued by almost whining the words, "I don't know what else to call you. Kiddo feels- impersonal-" I'm sure it did, if only in comparison to kit, which is what he really wanted to call him. "-and you've already made it clear I can't poach any of Lisbet's unless I do it jokingly, so what am I supposed to call you?" Leo was conspicuously quiet, as if he didn't know either... or he did, and refused to say it. My galleons were on the former, though. "You're- You're so- You're such a-" He cut himself off, frowning slightly even as his furrowed brow relaxed- as though he'd finally found the answer, but wasn't sure whether he should say it.
I inspected them both for a second- though Leo was by far my main concern, I was still trying to assess whether the term of endearment Jerremyah had settled on was the one we'd been steadfastly avoiding or not- before I decided that the best way to figure out if Leo could handle this would be to go straight to the source. "Level?" I asked him, and it took a second for him to register both that I was talking to him, and what I was talking about.
"Hm." The small noise was incredibly contemplative. "Seven?" He didn't sound unsure, exactly, but I had the feeling he knew this was subject to change. "I can handle it," He said, then his eyes darted to the side, away from Jerremyah, as if he was second guessing himself. "I want to hear what you've come up with." This was a lot more certain, firm, and I saw the corner of Jerremyah's lips quirk upward unbidden.
"What if I told you you're a gift, huh? What would you say to that?" 'Gift', to the right ears, could almost sound like 'kit'.
Leo flushed, and his head bobbed slightly as if he had either instinctively tried to get closer to Jerremyah, or to hide, but it was clear he was still with us- thank God. "Well-" His flush brightened, hesitating briefly before he met my eye with a cheeky smile- likely because he wouldn't be able to meet Jerremyah's without pulling his head back, which neither of them would allow. "Of course I'm a gift," He asserted boldly, and I couldn't hide my shock fast enough to keep him from witnessing it. He seemed to relish it, though, so I suppose it was just as well. "I'm a blessing and a joy, and you're all super, duper lucky to have me. Honestly, I'm just the best."
We all knew it was false- his belief, not the sentiment he was actually spouting- that it was put-on for our amusement, particularly Jerremyah's, but that didn't stop us from enjoying it all the same. I heard Jerremyah give a slightly watery chuckle, even as I echoed his undoubtedly unstoppable grin. "You said it, kid." His voice was gruff again, throat likely thick with emotion as he pressed a rare kiss to the side of Leo's head- Leo, who leaned into it. "You truly, truly are." Then, he hesitated again, before I heard him murmur reverently into Leo's hair- as though he was offering a prayer directly to the god he intended to reach, "You're my favorite little Sunburst."
This, unlike the gift comment, rapidly sent Leo over the edge.
(A/N): A Sunburst is 'a flash of sunlight, especially through a break in the clouds'.
Note that Lisbet said 'god' with a lower case, not 'God' with a capital G, because she doesn't mean to say that Leo is 'God', but that Jerremyah sort of views him as A god, as in, someone to worship. These two aren't so strictly devout that they see something like that as blasphemous, but I figured I'd add the warning anyway, just in case. Jerremyah has undoubtedly both referred to her as, and actually called, Lisbet a goddess before, and I'm sure Lisbet has thought to herself- or jokingly told him- that Jerremyah 'has a body like a Greek god', as well.
Jerremyah's mother and father were Catholic, but he has considered himself Protestant since before he was turned- so, for over 437 years. Jerremyah sort of bounced back and forth between a few different denominations, and to this day if you ask him to put a name to his faith he'll just say 'Protestant', because he's never really found one that fits his view of things perfectly. He's always had a bit of a soft spot for what would later become known as Anglicanism, though, since the end of the English Reformation. Lisbet is, of course, Anglican.
Whether Jerremyah turned Protestant on his own (which seems like something he would do), or whether the cloth merchant he was entrusted to ended up Protestant (Protestant ideas were popular among academics and merchants with connections to continental Europe), I'm not quite sure yet. I do imagine that Jerremyah wouldn't let someone like that dictate his religious choices on any conscious level though (unless it was to go against them), but cloth merchant would've had to be Catholic in order to be entrusted with Jerremyah in the first place. Maybe he had colleagues who were Protestant, and they treated Jerremyah well and shared varying ideologies with him.
If the cloth merchant WAS Protestant, I think he would be Calvinist, whereas Jerremyah would've taken a more Lutheran stance to combat that. If you're unaware- like I was- one of the main differences between Calvinism and Lutheranism is their contrasting beliefs on Salvation and Predestination. 'Regarding salvation, Calvinism holds the doctrine of unconditional election, which means God chooses who will be saved without considering human actions or merits. Lutheranism, however, believes in justification by faith, emphasizing that salvation is received by faith alone, not by any human effort. On the topic of predestination, Calvinism teaches the doctrine of double predestination, asserting that God predestines some individuals for salvation and others for damnation. Lutheranism rejects this notion and instead emphasizes God's universal will for all people to be saved.' (from christianpure dot com) The cloth merchant is, of course, convinced that he and his family are predestined for salvation, and that Jerremyah is predestined for damnation, which Jerremyah refuses to believe for numerous reasons.
I think Jerremyah being Protestant at this particular time also sheds more light on his reaction to Lisbet almost being burned at the stake for witchcraft later, considering that heretics (including Protestants) were burned at the stake around the time he was turned, and at different times between him turning and when he met Lisbet, and she was almost burned. Lisbet's always been Anglican.
Also, I managed to write that chapter I was having trouble with (664) right after I posted the last chapter, and also managed to write the next two after that (665, and 666), so I've finished the Halloween chapter that I rearranged the whole year's posting schedule for (or at least the first draft of it, anyway).