nealbekah verse } { guess who's coming to dinner

[alias_savant]

When searching an entire city for one daggered Original vampire, it's best to split up to cover more ground. Neal and Rebekah agreed to this strategy early on, and Neal kept to the shadows. He's still recently dead and is trying to keep a low profile, and in being recently dead, is not exactly the strongest vampire on the block. The longer he kept off Marcel's radar the better. Personally, from what Rebekah had told him, he doesn't want to be on it at all. Klaus is unavoidable, especially if they're living at the plantation house. But Marcel he can at least stay out of the way of.

After another day of coming up empty, he kills a little time by stopping at a market on the way home and bringing some fresh food back to the house. Living with vampires meant a very sparse kitchen, which is bad for a soon-to-be mother. Neal intends to make sure Hayley has an actual meal, even if he has to cook it himself.

(It's something he should be doing for Elizabeth - making sure she eats right while Peter is pulling a late night at the office. But the Burkes believe he's dead and for now that's for the best. Peter will figure it out eventually, and when he does, he can go back to being the old Neal Caffrey again.)

He manages to snare a werewolf once the food actually starts cooking, and she decides to stay and chat with him a bit while he finishes. By the time he hears Rebekah come in the door, he and Hayley are sitting down to a delicious smelling dinner, with wine (for him) and a third plate for Rebekah if she'd like to sit. He looks up when he sees her, and flashes her a bright smile.

"You're just in time. Hungry?"

Comments

I forgot to ever tag into this whoops

[easily]

Being back in New Orleans is stressful for a multitude of reasons. One of course is being in close proximity to Niklaus again. The other is the discovery of Marcel still being alive. It's not that she doesn't love Neal, she does, but it still stings that Marcel never came looking for her. Especially with everything she did to try to keep them together. She called her father in for him. She had risked everything. Perhaps it meant nothing.

She tries not to focus on that and instead...focuses on the constant dead ends that come across in trying to find Elijah. No such luck so far. But she's not about to give up any time soon. She came back for her brother, and she won't leave without him.

When she walks into the house the smell of food hits her nose and a smile spreads across her lips as she makes her way into the kitchen. She'd know Neal's cooking anywhere.

"Starving. This looks wonderful."

[alias_savant]

"Have a seat," he says with a smile, before getting up to grab another glass of wine for Rebekah. Not that they mean to rub it in Hayley's face with the alcohol but, well ... vampires. Once that's done, he places it down in front of her and starts to serve the plates. "Find anything interesting?"

[easily]

"Nothing interesting enough. I know it has something to do with that little witch Marcel keeps hidden away. If I could just figure out where he's keeping her..."

But that's proven easier said then done.

[alias_savant]

Neal tips his head to the side as he moves around them, filling them each with food until he takes his seat across from her. "Do you think it's some kind of spell or just them being really hard to find?"

It can be hard to tell at times, at least from his outsider perspective. Rebekah's seen more of the world than he has. He might be able to know more.

[easily]

"I wouldn't be surprised if a cloaking spell was involved."

She is an overly powerful witch, after all. It's not out of the realm of possibility.

[alias_savant]

He nods for a moment, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Would the spell be against everything and everyone? Or does it need to be targeted to a specific person?"

[easily]

"It's probably anchored to a specific person or place. I think in this case it's a place that's being hidden."

[alias_savant]

His mouth draws to the side for a moment, considering carefully, before giving a bit of a shrug. "I am a new face. Maybe I might be able to poke around and get a bit further. Make some new friends?"

[easily]

She thinks for a moment before nodding. "It could work. You'd have to be careful"

[alias_savant]

"Careful is my middle name." Except it isn't, who even knows what Neal's middle name is anymore, but the point still stands. "I'm just going to make some friends."

[easily]

"Dangerous friends" She points out with a look.

[alias_savant]

"It's been a very long time since I've had friends who may want to kill me." He leans back from his dinner with a bit of a cavalier shrug. "It'll be good for me. Keep me on my toes."

[easily]

"That isn't comforting, you know," She points out with a look before sipping from her glass of wine.

[alias_savant]

He glances over at her with a soft look, because as much as he loves her, he knows how complicated her life is. "If I'm going to be with you, I'm going to have to get used to it again."

[easily]

"It's true. There are a lot of people who will come after you to get to me." It sounds bad, but it's true. Being with her is a liability to his safety.

[alias_savant]

"All the more reason I should get back into practice. I'm just as slippery now as I was when I was human - if I anything I should be better and I can help you here." It will just take a little time to get his way into Marcel's inner circle. "Plus, I already have a daylight ring. It'll give him even more of a reason to trust me."

[easily]

"It's true. It'll help you get into his inner circle quicker, if nothing else."

[alias_savant]

Neal nods in agreement, taking another sip of his wine. "I'll be careful. And I'll steer clear of your brother."

[easily]

"Always wise advice, whether trying to play long con or not."

What with his habit of killing her lovers.

[alias_savant]

"Plus, he is not excellent company. Whenever he sees me, he always wants to discuss art."

Klaus's opinions on art are not good opinions on art.

[easily]

"That's because you've insulted his art. He takes that very personally, you know."

[alias_savant]

"Yes, well, I don't like it when people try to lead me into a certain conclusion about their work. I'm sure I'll see the 'genius' in it when I'm good and ready."

[easily]

"And until then he'll keep needling you about it, fishing for the answer he wants. My brother is very stubborn that way."

[alias_savant]

"It is a tactic I know very well," he says with a small smile. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. I've handled more fragile egos than his."

[easily]

"Are you sure? I'm not positive such a thing exists." She says this with a grin. She can't help but make fun of her older brother -- he makes it so easy.

[alias_savant]

"Oh, there is. Klaus is hardly the first artist I've come across who fails at taking constructive criticism." Neal says with a slight laugh. Probably the most dangerous, yes, but artists tend to be fragile people as a rule, and Klaus has other areas to draw his confidence from.

[easily]

She laughs a little in return. "I imagine that's probably true." Neal has known a lot of artists, after all.

[alias_savant]

"So I will handle your brother and his ego and I will be just fine." He grins back at her with a nod. "Don't worry about me."

[easily]

"Just don't hurt his ego too much," She warns, a little serious now. "Or I might have to worry about you."

[alias_savant]

He shakes his head. "Just enough to make him huff a little. I promise."

[easily]

"Good." She smiles. "That's what I want to hear."

[alias_savant]

"Good," he says with a nod, before looking down at his empty plate. "Anyone want seconds?"

"Me," Hayley says, handing off her plate to him. "I definitely would."

[easily]

"I'm good," Rebekah says with a shake of her head.

[alias_savant]

He nods, before glancing over to Hayley with a smile. "I'll be right back." And with that they'll continue to enjoy their evening, so long as Klaus doesn't come in to ruin it.