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"That had actually crossed my mind, the water bit." Jeremiah sat back on his stool, posture proper for a moment before it simply was too uncomfortable for him to deal with. "It's part of too many old stories, old tales ..."

All the old stories are true.

The words rang in his mind and he let out of a huff of breath.

Aleksy mentioning a deal had Jeremiah blinking, studying him a bit. The fact that Aleksy had made a deal was news - a kind of terrible news. "That seems like it would have been costly." An eye twitch. "Knowing truth is what lets you see things the way you do?" And then, because he really - he could not not ask. This was the detective searching for answers. "What is the truth about them?" Jeremiah paused. "Though if you can't even tell me, I wouldn't be surprised." As there had been that moment, in Heliodora's demesne, when she seemed weighted down and unable to speak anymore.

Would that be the same here? Could that even happen?

Despite the 'very cheap' cost of the deal, it still sounded costly. A truth for a truth - one that Aleksy may not have wanted to know - was something else altogether. Though Jeremiah could appreciate it as someone who valued truth and honesty but he also knew that there were some things people were better off not knowing.

"Sad is part of Sunny." It was one of the first things he had noticed about her besides that she was young. That there was something right under the surface, a sadness that she was hiding. Mostly he thought he was imagining it, putting human emotions on something not human, but there was always something about her that reminded him of Zac.

That was probably what made him trust her. Whether or not that would be his downfall, he did not know yet.

This time he was pouring both of them a shot. A third would be fine, he had eaten recently, and if necessary he would just walk. It did not burn so much on the way down anymore. Aleksy's accent had already gotten thicker, Jeremiah was mindful of his still.

"Understandably." He finally said. "She ..." Jeremiah rolled the shot glass in his hands again, glancing towards Aleksy. "When that deer had the fire around me and it almost took me ... Sunny helped me."

He was still not sure what that help would cost. Nor could he forget the feeling that had welled up or the water that had put out the fire.

"And now I've blossomed?" Jeremiah snorted, then snickered at himself. Okay, perhaps he was a little bit affected by the vodka.

Just a little bit.

"I ... it felt like that," he admitted a moment later, when he had the snickering under control. "Like there was some part of me that was trying to do something and she pushed and lifted and ..."

Jeremiah frowned. That sky was still in his mind, old and new at the same time. Not the sky he knew, but the one Sunny did.

"Water was everywhere and the fire was out."

"Like ... cuscuta?" Jeremiah asked, with a raised eyebrow. It was a plant that was invasive, took over others and ... He did not need to be thinking about Sunny in that way. The thought did not settle right with him.

"I don't know what that says about me if I am a seed." Again, definitely affected by the vodka. Some part of him was snickering at seed. What was it about vodka that made him so juvenile. "I'm sure she tells those she likes best that she is going to eat their hearts if they don't make good on their deals." He pushed himself up to stand and stretched only to hiss at the flare of pain. It would fade, he told himself, when the burns healed completely.

"Oh, yes." Jeremiah reached into his pocket and pulled out a small tin. Inside was a gift card. "Additional forgiveness bribery." Another snort, at himself for even saying that. "For that site you mentioned that one time. That sales the liquor you like." Blue-green eyes glanced towards the bottle. "Since I don't think that one is going to make it through the day."

Jeremiah laughed, an honest to goodness laugh when Aleksy said that. "That is true, Aleksy, so very true."

Then he was silent, watching the young man. The detective was buttoning his jacket up properly now that he was no longer sitting (it was also a convenient way to test himself, make sure he was not too affected by the vodka).

"... because when I look at you I see Aleksy Spektor." His tone was soft, serious. "Not Aleksandra. That's not you, Aleksy, and it never was." Then that rarely seen small smile was visible. This was Jeremiah who was honest and blunt. "Because even when I first met you you were a grumpy, ornery teenage boy who was going to grow into a grumpier, ornerier young man." A snort. "Which you have done and I'm glad to know."

Jeremiah let out a chuckle, shaking his head. "Yes, take it from the orneriest person. You are well on the path of taking over my title."

He honestly could not remember the last time he had seen Aleksy so red. It had been a while but that smile? That was something else. It needed to be there more often. Jeremiah thought, perhaps, it was something to be protected as well. "You're welcome, Aleksy. I mean it."

With another nod, a small smile, the detective tilted his head goodbye and moved to leave the flower shop. "I'll see you later. Enjoy the apology vodka."

... and he totally flipped the open sign to closed, because he was leaving Aleksy with vodka.