if i’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?
seth and leila post C:SW.
“Hello, Seth.”
Seth looks up and grins broadly as Leila steps into view.
“Hey, Whittaker,” he says, sarcastically friendly. He gestures around at his cell. “Welcome to my humble....you know. Nice of you to pay a visit.”
“Well,” Leila replies, “we have some unfinished business.”
“Kinda seems like you have more pressing issues.” Seth stands up, clasping his hands behind his back. “Come on, just between us girls: did you and Captain America…you know...?”
Leila’s smile turns frosty. “That’s not what I’m here to talk about.”
“Are you sure? Come on, be honest, who’s better: me or him? It’s me, right?”
“I dunno, Seth, let’s talk about your girlfriend. Alex, right? Isn’t she a little young for you?”
Seth tilts his head in consideration. “I mean, look at everything you accomplished when you were even younger than her,” he points out. “Some people are just mature for their age. Besides, it’s not like I’m dating, say, a seventeen year old. One who doesn’t even know how to read.”
Leila stares at him, her blood running cold. “See, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” she says. “It turns out, you haven’t been keeping some secrets very well. When did those names slip out? Was it pillow talk?”
“They kinda came out when we started, y’know, plotting against you. See, unlike you and your star-spangled piece of ass, there are no secrets in my relationship. Wait, sorry,” he adds. “Your ex-star spangled piece of ass.”
“They weren’t your secrets to tell,” Leila says quietly.
“Well, you took my superpowers, so let’s call it even.”
“Hm...no.” Leila steps closer to the glass. “I was thinking more along the lines of, a secret for a secret. Tell me, how’s little Rory doing? God, she must be, what twelve?”
The smirk slips off his face. “You wouldn’t hurt a kid,” he says, but he doesn’t sound convinced.
“But I already have,” Leila reminds him. “Remember little Roscoe Miller? May he rest in peace.”
“Yeah, I remember your weird little protege,” he says bitterly. “He was hardly a child, though.
“Granted, he was a little older than your sister, but…” Leila waves a hand. “Nuance. Besides,” she adds, “what about all those kids we killed in December of 2004? You remember, that right?” She grins. “I mean, I’d be hurt if you didn’t, it was our first major gig together.”
Seth stares at her for a long moment. Finally: “If you even touch Rory--”
“You’ll what? You’ll what, Seth? What are you gonna do to me that’s worse than what you already did?”
“So what, you’re gonna kill my kid sister because I told Alex a few names? You and I both know I don’t know enough about wherever the fuck you came from to ruin your life. You do that on your own.”
He’s not wrong, she thinks, but she shrugs. “Who,” she asks, “said anything about killing her?”
He stares again, running his hand through his hair the way he does when he’s stressed. “What do you want with her?”
“See, I’m gonna go ahead and let you guess on that one,” Leila replies. “Maybe I’ll torture her. Maybe I’ll use your power to do it. Or maybe I’ll kill her quickly. Or maybe I won’t do anything. I’m gonna let you decide what you think I’m capable of, and we’ll touch base in awhile and see how close you were.” She flips her hair over her shoulder. “See you around, Seth.”
“LEILA. LEILA,” he screams, hitting the glass, like he’s in any place to make demands. “Don’t fucking walk away from me, you bitch. If you even touch my sister--”
She ignores him as the doors slide shut behind her, muting his voice.
There’s a part of her that wishes she had a witness to what just happened. Someone to tell the truth to. About Roscoe. About Rory. About everything. Or someone to lie to, someone to let think she’s a monster.
Ultimately it doesn’t matter which, she supposes. What do her minor acts of compassion look like in the face of everything she’s ever done wrong? Steve certainly didn’t care, and he’s the most rigorously moral person she knows, to a frankly annoying extent.
It doesn’t matter. What matters is whether Seth Lennox thinks twice about spilling her secrets in the future, and even though it’s been years, she knows him well enough to know that he will.
