Nick O'Neal (Neal Caffrey) + Pippa Granger (Paige Guthrie)
august 3
NICHOLAS O'NEAL (NEAL) + PIPPA GRANGER (PAIGE)
PG | COMPLETE
Sometimes having the day off wasn’t healthy for Nick O’Neal. He liked having the day away from the shop, but since there wasn’t a lot going on at the apartment and his brother was out enjoying the last bit of summer with his girlfriend, that left Nick’s hands very idle. Idle hands? Not a good idea for the semi-but-not-quite-reformed pickpocket and tourist con artist.
He was already tempting fate by sitting at one of the tables in the cafe of the resort. His coffee and a sketch pad were in front of him along with the book he’d barely cracked open. The coffee was still half full and lukewarm. The book still on the third or fourth page of the first chapter. The sketch pad, though, was on its third or fourth page, and his pencil was scribbling. Sometimes hurriedly, sometimes more slowly and deliberate. Most they were of people who were checking in, sat near him, or passed by. Even when he wasn’t sizing up a target, Nick was a people-watcher, and today was no different.
It wasn’t that he’d come here to actually pick a new target. He hadn’t actively tried anything in a good while. Not since he’d been caught red-handed, and his brother Colin had been given the option to work for the accountant’s wife. He appreciated the Miller’s help, but he wasn’t sure if their good intentions could truly change who he was. Or some of his more interesting hobbies that had kept his bills paid before he landed the job at the bike shop.
Sitting back in his seat, Nick was flipping through some of the pages in his notebook when a new couple passed by and headed to the check-in counter with several suitcases in hand. Middle-aged. The husband was passable, but his wife was gorgeous. It was either true love or there was another more profitable reason for why she’d let him put a ring on her finger. If it was the latter? God, that was his perfect target, and he shifted in his seat and purposely averted his eyes this time back to his book instead of the sketch notebook.
Nick knew that he was playing with fire being here, and he really needed to find a better place to spend his time on his days off from work.
Pippa had been working on new sketches for the last couple of days. The painting of Ms. Friel was almost finished and now she needed something new to work with. Something new to bring out and show the beauty of. It was always her intention with the pieces she created. It seemed she was always working on something, whether it was a new sketch, a new painting, even just a doodle or design for the part time work she did.
When it was like this, however, a beautiful day with a setting before her of people passing by, good food, good drinks, and a general feeling of relaxation.
She already had a couple of sketches of the food she'd seen on the tables around her, some of the people, even a couple of the pets that sat at their chairs. It was a plethora of subjects for the little blonde to spread along her pages and Pippa pulled it all in, working diligently to make them come alive for whoever may see the pieces in the future.
As she sketched, she disappeared in her thoughts. It was an easy way to let go. The easiest, really. She was only brought out of it when the waiter came to refill her tea. With a thank you and a tip, she moved back to her sketchings, this one of a dog that was sitting not too far away by its owner. Dogs were great as subjects because they were full of life, even the old ones. There was always a story they had to tell that could be seen within their eyes. Some happy, some sad, it just depended on whether you were willing to capture it...
He couldn't help himself. Nick's eyes raised again to see the couple finish at the check-in counter and start to walk past him again. Raising his cup of coffee, he met the eyes of the woman only to give her a sly smile as he took a sip. Her eyes met his, briefly, and he didn't dare look away until she had already passed by. He only glanced backwards to see her do the same to him. Well, the hook was set. Now he just had to work on the line and the sinker.
Despite the fact that he probably should have been listening to the ever so quiet whisper of Jiminy Cricket in his head telling him to listen to his conscience, Nick was more than pleased with a new prospect, and started to pack up his belongings. The book that hadn't gotten past the third page was closed and tossed inside the small backpack sitting on the floor next to him. He closed the sketchpad but tucked it under his arm rather than putting it away in the bag. One last sip of coffee, and that was tossed in the nearest trash can after he stood up to leave.
As he started out of the cafe and the resort, he noticed a girl a bit younger than him sitting there with a notepad of her own, sketching away while a dog close by sat patiently next to its owner. Nick paised a second and glanced up to see where his mark was heading, but the couple had already made their way to the elevator with the bellhop. He'd check in on her later.
"Not bad," he said to her as he stepped closer and pointed to the dog taking shape on the paper. "Dogs are a favorite subject of mine too."
For an artist, Pippa had a nasty habit of tunnel visioning more often than not. She should probably take in her surroundings more... maybe then the man who came up and spoke about her sketches wouldn't have startled her enough that she jumped and knocked over her drink.
"Oh, shit," she muttered, moving to grab napkins in order to clean up her mess, her sketchbook falling from her lap to the ground as she tried to get everything under control once again.
That didn't seem like it was going to happen anytime soon.
Taking a breath as she left the napkins over the spill, Pippa leaned down to pick up her sketchbook and then stopped to look at the man next to her.
He was good looking. There was definitely that. But there was a small edge to him as well. Something that didn't seem to coincide with the image he was putting out. It was intriguing... and he had complimented her sketch.
"Thank you," she replied, smiling as she ran a hand through her hair. "I am... Oh, uh, sorry. About the tea. It kind of... you just startled me. I wasn't expecting anyone other than the waiter to come up to me."
She socialized, sure, but she didn't do it a whole lot. If it weren't for Mack and Cerise, she'd probably sit alone more nights than she already did and focus on her art and studies way more. It was just who she was. Who she'd always been, really.
"My name is Pippa. Pippa Granger. Would you like to sit down, Mr..."
She didn't know if he'd give her his name, didn't know if he'd sit down, but she'd been raised to be polite and she was definitely that to a fault. Maybe that was why she'd been single for as long as she had. Because she was too nice.
Nick grimaced for a brief moment, hating the fact that he'd accidentally caused her to spill her drink. "No, no it's alright. I'm sorry for just walking up like that," he said and tried to help her with the napkins.
"I'm Nick." He sat down at the table and left his name at that, not offering up a last name yet. He was by no means famous in town, but a few people here and there knew who he was after a couple arrests a while back. He'd been kept out of trouble for a while thanks to the help he and his brother had received from the Millers, but Nick was like an addict needing another fix. He missed the thrill of running a con or the rush after scoring a good take.
"I hope I didn't screw up something you were working on," he said and motioned to the sketchbook. "Do you get your inspiration here often?" It was always nice to meet someone else interested in art, although, Nick would never claim to be an artist. It was just something he did on the side from time to time.
"Great minds must think alike." He laid his own book on the table that he'd been using earlier but didn't open it up yet. Most of his weren't of animals but of people he found interesting for various reasons.
Between the apology and the helpfulness and the introduction as he sat down, Pippa blinked for a moment as she physically willed her brain to catch up to the conversation they were having.
It happened that way sometimes. Pippa would get lost in her art and manage to completely lose track of what was going on as well. It took a little time to get back into the swing of things every once in awhile, but once she did, the little blonde was back in the saddle and ready to be a productive member of society, so to speak.
Or, at the very least, someone who could make someone else's day better.
Checking her sketchbook over, Pippa was glad to say that Mr. Nick had not actually ruined anything. Her drink hadn't managed to hit her book, which made Pippa incredibly thankful. "No, no, sketchbook is nice and dry. Thankfully," she chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "This place kinda gives me a lot of ideas. It's the constant change. If there isn't one thing that catches yer eye, then all ya have to do is wait a second and something new will come along, ya know?"
In her haste to make sure the sketchbook wasn't wet and to answer his question, she realized that she'd bypassed the most important step of meeting someone else. Smiling, she reached out to shake his hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Nick."
"Good," he said. "I'd hate to ruin what you were working on." She was talented, that much was clear. Nick had an eye for art and some raw talent himself, but he'd never really tried to polish those edges over the years. "And I meant what I said." He motioned to the drawing. "It's really good."
With a small smile, Neal reached out his hand to shake hers but then shook his head and waved off the formality. "Please It's just Nick." He must have been showing his age today. Looking around the place, he gave a small nod. Yeah, this place gave him inspiration too but it was usually of a different variety.
"I tend to go for landscapes and people rather than animals." He shrugged. "I'm not sure why. But I like to come here and people watch. Sometimes I start sketching, sometimes not. Artists... we can be a temperamental sort, huh?"
That was one way of putting it. Mostly, Nick just suffered from his eyes being bigger than his proverbial stomach, and it was that large appetite that often got him into trouble.
“Everyone has their own preferences, Nick,” she chuckled, running a hand through her hair. “I mean, art wouldn’t be art if everyone did the same thing over and over again, right?”
She wasn’t sure others shared her views, but it was how she thought about art and, well, life in general. If everyone was the same, nothing would be unique. Nothing would be beautiful. Pippa liked finding the beauty in everything she could. It was something her mother taught her at a young age.
Pippa wondered what sort of other differences there was in this man sitting with her. He seemed quite *unique* himself. Why, she couldn’t put her finger on. But it was what it was. Sometimes Pippa just felt things about people.
They weren’t always right… but they weren’t always wrong either. They just kind of… *were*.
"Yes, of course," he said quickly. "We all have our own preferences, and there's nothing wrong with the direction one person leans versus the other. It's all about what you find inspiration in, and as long as you have that then that's all that matters."
Sure, he liked to broaden his artistic horizons every now and then, but he wasn't one to stretch himself too broadly. Nick tended to stick with what he knew, and often what he knew were imitations of other work. There was something about the study of someone else's work and being able to replicate that down to the fine details that was so incredible and satisfying for him. He'd never really taken any art classes outside of high school or the occasional community college course, but his teachers generally tried to encourage him to find his own inspiration. For some reason, it was never that easy for him.
"Well," Nick said with a small smile. "I guess I ought to let you get back to your work." He held up his hands as if pretending to be non-threatening. "I promise not knock over any other drinks."
Pippa chuckled, canting her head to the side as she took him in once again. “Can I see some of your work?” she asked, curiously. Some artists held their art close and she wasn’t one to begrudge someone of their habits. Especially when it was about something as important as art.
If this guy was anything like her, art was incredibly important.
Nick hesitated for a second as he'd already started to stand and tried to think what was in his sketchbook that he could show her. He smiled a little, settled back in the seat, and opened up the book. Flipping through a couple pages, he landed on a handful of sketches that he'd completed a week or so ago of people in and around the park. It wasn't quite as honed in as the sketch he'd made of the woman a little earlier but of a handful of people and the scenery around.
"These are from the park a few days ago," he said and turned the book around so she could see. He wasn't picky about someone seeing his own work, depending on what it was, but thankfully his more questionable and possible forgeries were still back home. He didn't usually take those with him unless he planned on using them for something.
Taking a look at the sketches, Pippa smiled brightly. “These are amazing. If you want, I could put some of your stuff in the gallery I work at. It’s always nice to showcase a new artist.”
It was the truth, too. Pippa liked putting new artists in the spotlight to give others a chance to appreciate their art as she did. As the artists did.
Nick lowered his head as he smiled. “No,” he said with a small shake of his head. “I appreciate it, but I don’t think there’s really anything that would go in a gallery.” He could recreate life or what was before him, he could even copy another piece of work so that the untrained eye had trouble discerning the difference, but he didn’t have much inspiration for his own, unique projects.
“I really appreciate the offer though. It’s more like a hobby than anything else. Sometimes helps clear my head.”
“I can understand that,” Pippa stated, nodding up at the other man with a smile. “The offer’s on the table if you change your mind, though. It was nice to meet you, Nick.”
Nick nodded in return. “It was nice meeting you too, Pippa.” Looking over his sketches, he hesitated for just a moment but carefully tore out one of the pages that he’d shown her - one of the drawings from his visit to the park a few days ago. There was a vague sketch of a mother and child sitting on a bench across from him and someone walking their dog as if they were about to step off of the page.
“Keep it if you want,” he said with a small smile. “No galleries, but it’s still nice knowing someone appreciates them.” At that he picked up the rest of his belongings. “Maybe we’ll see each other around sometime,” he said as he turned to leave.