ﾟ･stars were made for falling ﾟ･ (original)

10- the crab's gauntlet

Getting into an argument with the only two people that weren't teenagers in the house was not something Leo necessarily wanted to do, even if it was Casper's favorite pass time. Unlike his roommate, he much preferred keeping the peace in the house, rather than starting something inflammatory with Liz, who held a grudge unlike anyone else he'd ever seen. On the flip side, it seemed almost impossible to actually make Miles mad- he tended to get more anxious, it seemed, which wasn't as bad, but still, in turn, made Leo anxious, so it was also something to avoid.

So, only a day after returning from receiving the Bull's Bracer, when they received almost immediate word from Aldrich for them to progress, Leo couldn't fathom why Ivan would push the envelope for his idea of a group. He wanted- insisted- that this time, just he, Leo, and Halley should go, and that they didn't need help for this specific one. Maybe he was tired of being around the same couple of people, maybe he needed a break from the authority the adults reigned over them, or maybe it was some ploy for their independence. Whatever it was, it had resulted in a death glare stalemate in the middle of the kitchen, with Ivan and Liz at the helm.

They both refused to budge for what seemed like hours, both repeating the same two arguments over and over, while Miles and Leo looked on with worried expressions. Halley looked mostly displeased, watching with a small frown, but seemed mostly unaffected, while Casper looked completely bored of the whole thing. He was back in his armchair, sitting in the odd way he does with his legs over the side, reading "Moby Dick" like he had the day they'd first shown up. Leo didn't understand how he wasn't as anxious as the rest of them- maybe he was just used to constant fighting? That's actually kinda sad...

"You've only been here for the better half of a month," Liz insisted again, her voice dangerously close to a snarl. "We don't know if you're going to betray us or not yet. We haven't given you the chance, and I'm not about to now."

"You'll never know if we're trustworthy or not if you keep us under constant surveillance like prisoners ," Ivan spat in reply, slamming his palms down onto the dining table in an attempt at intimidation. Both Miles and Leo flinched, while Halley's eyes only widened a tad. Only Casper and Liz were unaffected; Liz looked even angrier, if anything.

"You're not prisoners, you're just under trial. I can't allow you three to possibly endanger my family like that. For all I know, you could easily just call up your little friend and get all of us whisked away to the damn Citadel."

Ivan let out a cruel laugh at that, shaking his head. "What a fucking ego you have, Elizabeth! For god's sake, what the hell would the Citadel want with you? Why wouldn't it be easier for them to just send someone to kill you instead?"

Liz blanched a little at that, taking a small, quick breath in, her eyes darting to Casper briefly, before settling back on Ivan. What was that about? What could the Citadel possibly want with the world's moodiest teenager?

Before she could think of a response, however, Miles stepped away from the wall, standing almost in between them. He was still somewhat nervous, but his voice was soothing as he spoke. "Why don't we just put the coordinates for the farmhouse and the nightlight into your GPS, Liz, and give them that one. You deleted the Citadel information from it a long time ago, and it's not like they'd be able to talk to Aldrich on that one. That way, they won't have a way to backstab us, short of running off into the unknown with an almost defunct communicator."

Silence fell over the feuding pair as they considered his offer, expressions switching from irritated to pensive. Slowly, Ivan began to nod, while Liz mumbled sounds of assent to herself; Miles grinned in a relieved way, letting out a small sigh of satisfaction.