Who: Rebekah Mikaelson and Ezio Auditore When: Backdated: mid April Where: a cafe What: Rebekah meets her brothers boyfriend for lunch Rating/Warnings: low Status: Complete
When it came to Elijah, the fact that he was dating someone at all was more of a shock than the fact that he was dating a man. Not that the fact that he was dating Ezio wasn’t shocking. It definitely was considering part of Rebekah wondered if her older brother would end up male form of a spinster. What was important though was that this Italian seemed to make the eldest Mikaelson happy and that was all that mattered to her. She had even gotten a chance to meet him, but she was mostly preoccupied with making sure Kol didn’t permanently lodge his foot in his mouth or embarrass everyone with his protective streak. So she wanted to sit down and get to know the man who charmed Elijah.
So there she was sitting the restaurant where they agreed to meet, a small gift next to her. Ezio has said that he didn't need anything from her trip to Italy but she couldn't help it. She probably went a little overboard on her gifts for everyone, especially when it came to Mareena. Enzo had teased her about just bringing the whole country back for the baby. But it was her sworn duty as an aunt to spoil the girl rotten. She was a bit early so she ordered a cup of coffee and simply looked out the window to people watch while she waited for Ezio to arrive.
Since Ezio had started dreaming, he just saw things differently. His experiences were different. Sharper, more focused, more in tune with his surroundings - if he stopped for even a moment he could hear the heartbeat of their urban city, quiet, thrumming, a tick tock like a grandfather clock.
This was how deeply-seated paranoia began. A seemingly required aspect for an Assassin.
He had a lunch break though, a gap in the afternoon between teaching classes where he was happy to meet Elijah's sister Rebekah and have lunch with her. The fact that the Mikaelson family was protective was not lost on Ezio - he had noticed that from the beginning - but he was also not planning on going anywhere, and so he wanted to actually attempt to be friends with his partner's siblings. This was a good start.
The restaurant was nice - Eagle vision helped him take in the details, an extra sense and second nature by now. Monet prints framed on the walls (which would certainly not escape the notice of the Art History professor side of him), light jazz, daily specials scrawled on a chalkboard, servers that were smartly dressed in black and white, flower planters outside and vases of bright carnations on tables. Things like baguettes made in the small kitchen, fancy espresso and coffee and tea.
He made his way to where Rebekah was waiting and smiled at her. "Buon pomeriggio, bella," Ezio greeted, taking his seat. The term bella (or bello, in a man’s case) was used freely by Italians - tacked on to almost any sentence when talking to someone, for the most part. But when he used it with Elijah, it always carried more weight. "I hope you are not too jet-lagged?”
“Good Afternoon,” She replied as he sat down, turning her attention to the man sitting across from her. Part of her had expected him not to show up. New significant others dealing with the Mikaelson brood could be intimidating (annoying was a better word for it.) but still she was glad that he did. She was never the one for the “hurt my brother, blah, blah blah” speech. They could take care of themselves.
“Not at all actually,” she answered with a smile at his question. “One of the benefits of our...family condition I suppose. We don't really tire easily.”
She knew Elijah had confided in Ezio about their dream life and what bled over but it was still a little awkward to say ‘because I'm now a vampire.’ In regards to explaining things. But she didn't have to come up with a lie as to why she wasn't the slightest bit tired after nineteen hours of traveling.
“How are things at the college?” She inquired, remembering that he was a teacher. “Are your kids ready for their finals?”
Ah, fair enough. Rebekah did not need to go into any detail - Ezio understood what she meant. He smiled wryly at her words. "Well, that is a benefit," he noted. There were both benefits and drawbacks, he supposed - but those drawbacks, they really did cut deeply. Knowing that time was slipping through the hourglass for him and not Elijah was a very heavy weight to bear.
He would not draw attention to her vampirism though, even if he was curious about how she personally was coping with it. "My students are more ready for summer break, I think," there was a fond chuckle at that; the accent wrapped his words up in a heavy voice, the warmth spreading, and that was just how Italians sounded. Ordering a glass of wine when the waiter came by (of course he'd have wine with a sandwich - why wouldn't you? Sandwiches were the foundation of civilization, and most anything went with wine), he stuck with something fresh and burgundy. "But they must get through their exams first and I do not write easy exams."
Now to consult the menu and see what he wanted. He might have to go with one of these fancy grilled cheese sandwiches - cheddar and wine went together fabulously, didn’t they? "I do not know what I will do with myself for the whole summer after that." Teach classes, would be the standard thing - but who knows. Maybe he'd just do some freelance writing, or walk dogs. Ha. "But you, you have a wedding to plan, yes? Congratulazioni ai nuovi fidanzati, bella.”
“Oh so you're that kind of teacher!” She teased with a laugh as she took her own glance at the menu. Not that eating was a necessity for her anymore. But it would look pretty odd if she was just sitting there watching him eat. It was a total girl cliché but she ordered herself a salad as she was pretty sure she'd be full for the next six months from all the food Enzo's grandmother tried to stuff into her. And telling a ninety year old woman no thank you was like talking to a wall. Only a wall would be more agreeable.
“You could always take a vacation like your students?” She suggested. “I think after a year of grading papers and creating tests a teacher deserves a little R&R. You could even drag Elijah with you. And I mean that literally because the word ‘vacation’ is completely foreign to him.”
At the mention of her recent engagement, Rebekah couldn't help but light up a little, fiddling with the new ring that now adorned her left hand. It had been the most wonderful surprise of her life and if she were being honest, part of her still felt that it was too good to be true.
“Thank you,” she smiled. “I'm not even sure where to begin with it all. You'll be coming of course. Where you'll unfortunately you'll be subjected to the entire clan” she added jokingly.
“A vacation sounds like a good idea. Perhaps a trip back home. I could bring Elia with me, if he wishes to go,” Ezio said - and it would probably be a good time for Elijah to meet the Auditore family anyway, what little left of them there was. His mother, sister, and uncle Mario. Plus, his niece and nephew - Claudia had married a law enforcement man, though no doubt she...how was it? Wore the pants in the relationship?
These Auditore’s, they were stubborn as the day is long. You could not change that, even if you managed to wrangle one for something exclusive.
“And I would love to attend your wedding,” he grinned a bit, gently sloshing the wine in his glass when it arrived, taking a sip. “I am certain it will be beautiful. The day should be about you and Enzo anyway - I do not mind any subjection.” Admittedly, all of the Mikaelson’s would be a little much (and he might have to resist the urge to discreetly stab the patriarch) but he loved Elijah. You did things for the people you loved. Plus, he was happy for Rebekah too. “Have you thought of where you want the venue to be? Or are you just still enjoying the feeling of being engaged?” he asked.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea.” She agreed with a nod. She couldn't imagine Elijah would have any trouble winning over his boyfriend's family. He was exactly the type of person you bring home to meet your mother. Always so polite and proper in front of company. “What part of Italy is your family from?”
One positive thing about her parents seeing Ezio at the wedding (of you could call it positive) was that they wouldn't dare make any sort of scene in public. They had to keep up their facade of the ‘perfect family’ after all. They would wait until the festivities were over to pounce.
“Well our sister Freya will absolutely adore you. Finn won't care either way. Henrik will probably try and get you to teach him filthy words in Italian and Nik is...well he's Nik.” She really didn't know how else to describe her brother. He really was his own adjective. “I haven't really known where to start to be honest. All I know so far is that I want it small and simple. Just family and a few close friends.”
Ezio missed his hometown quite a bit, and he enjoyed talking about it - he could just picture the medieval streets, the houses, the mazes of them and the private palaces which were still standing. The food too, of course, the lampredotto which he’d mentioned to Rebekah - eating the stomach of a cow was not appetizing to some, but the way it was seasoned and slapped between a bun soaked in broth was truly one of the best ways to eat like a local would. “Firenze is where my family is,” he responded, speaking fondly of the city. “Florence, I mean. The...dreams that I have? My family was of the noble class. It is also this way here, though that means less nowadays.” They had money, that was about it. His father had been a successful banker and his mother was the one with the blue blood that went back generations.
“Simple sounds nice, bella. I hope that your wedding will be everything you envision.” And that some of her more emotionally stupid family members wouldn’t ruin what was meant to be a joyous occasion. “I would also be happy to teach your brother the Italian swears.”
This made him laugh deeply. “I am already teaching Elia, he knows most of them now.” Of course, you didn’t want to repeat many of those dirty phrases around someone you weren’t...sleeping with. He’d just stick with the curses, in the case of Henrik.
It was easy to see that Ezio love his home. And it was understandable. The city of Florence was so beautiful and vibrant. Part of Rebekah wished that she could have stayed there, away from Orange County and it's strangeness. Away from the dreams that seemed to haunt her family. She wanted to ask how Elijah was coping with his. She wanted to make sure that he wasn't downplaying everything like he always did when he didn't want to worry. But that wasn't what Ezio was here for. She wouldn't pump him for information. She just had to trust in her brother.
“It's an amazing place. Oh! That reminds me!” Picking up the box, Rebekah slid thegift over towards the man across from her. “I know you said you didn't need anything but I saw this and I remembered you saying something about Da Vinci being in your dreams. I thought maybe you would like it.”
“Che bella sopresa,” Ezio said when he received the box, and then his whole expression lit up with recognition when he actually noticed what was inside. “I remember the first time I saw this! We were in the Apennine Mountains, me and Leonardo - I had asked him to help fix a wheel on my carriage, and he told me he was inventing something that would allow a man to fly. It seemed so ridicolo when he described it.” The way he spoke of his best friend was also very fond - Ezio missed him, though there was obviously no way they’d run into each other here.
Still, occasionally he thought it might be nice to have someone who understood that world - Evie did, for the most part, but she was from a different era of Assassins entirely. Victorian London as opposed to Renaissance Italy. It just made Ezio feel somewhat alone, to not have anyone to really talk about the perils of his dreams with. They were harder on him than he liked to admit. “But then some time later, I needed a way into the Palazzo Ducale to stop a killing at Templar hands. The palazzo was heavily guarded, it looked like only birds could enter. Then I remembered my friend Leonardo’s flying contraption and I went right to him.”
He paused his story for a moment to thank the waiter for their food, though he was much too excited to begin stuffing his face for now. Even just the mention of da Vinci got him energized. “We tested it a couple of times - this required leaping from a tower, so of course I was brave or stupid enough to do that,” he snickered. “It did not work at first and Leonardo was so frustrated he threw the plans for the machine into the fire. But then he saw the way the paper was held up because of the hot air, floating there. Eventually we had the idea to set fire across the city, and I used this machine - held up by the hot air, the smoke, I flew and made my way into the palazzo successfully.”
Rebekah was pleased that Ezio seemed to like his gift, listening with great interest as he talked about his dream world. She had to admit that it was nice not having to hear dreams that involved so much death and misery. But this was only one story of course. Who was to say that Ezio’s dreams didn't come with a misery of their own? It seemed that few people around here actually had good ones.
“I would say equal parts brave and stupid,” she laughed as she sipped her coffee. She knew with absolute certainty she would never in a million years leap off a tower to test a flying contraption. “Your dreams sound very adventurous. Does Leonardo help you often in them?”
There was actually plenty of death and misery in Ezio’s dreams - those were both concepts he knew well, and peace was a concept that evaded him. He hoped one day he would find it but he doubted he was deserving of such things. “That he does,” Ezio nodded. “He was affiliated with the Italian Assassins for much of his life. We have been through...everything together.” They were best friends, brothers if not by blood - Ezio had even killed for him (and conveniently hid the body amongst the others that were there in Leonardo’s workshop for anatomical research, but anyway).
However, he did not need to go into detail about all of the misadventures he dreamed about, which involved da Vinci. That would snowball into far more depressing topics. “Grazie for the gift, bella,” he told Rebekah grandly. “I am here to help you also, if you need anything for the wedding.”
And just in general too. He liked Elijah’s sister, and hoped that they would become even better friends as time went on.
“You're very welcome Ezio,” she smiled, as they moved away from the topic of dreams. She wasn't about to pressure him into telling him more. Admittedly though, the words Italian Assassin had peaked her interest a bit. “And thank you for agreeing to lunch. I've really enjoyed talking with you.”
She meant it too. She liked the Italian sitting across from her. He and Elijah were different but they seemed to fit. With any luck Ezio would be the one to get her brother to loosen up a little bit. Mostly she was happy that he was happy.
“I may keep that in mind when I start to go insane and start dreaming of chiffon and place settings!” She added with a laugh.
“Place settings, merda,” Ezio laughed too, because there was so much thought and detail that went into planning a wedding - even, he assumed, a simple one. You wanted the day to be perfect. “You will not go insane, I promise this. It is why you must remember to take a break every now and again - and even if it is just to bounce ideas off of me, sometimes that does help when you are undertaking a task like this.”
But he was certain it would be a success, and she and Enzo would be very happy together for...an eternity, he supposed? A very long time, but it was nice to know you’d have someone by your side. “You just must remember to wear green the night before for good luck,” he winked. “It is Italian tradition.” There were a lot of ridiculous traditions, actually - Rebekah probably didn’t want to include them all. Such as having people play pranks on the bride and groom.
Itching powder on the bed of the wedding night suite, that would perhaps ruin the romance of the evening, for example.
“Green? I've never heard that one before.” She had of course heard of the no seeing the bride before the wedding and the old/new/borrowed/blue. Those were traditions that she was sure everyone knew. She tucked away that little piece of information for her night before. It sounded cute. Plus she wanted to incorporate a little bit of Italy into her wedding. It seemed perfect. It was also sweet of Ezio to offer to talk with her about the different things that went into the planning process. And potentially helpful since her best friend was not even close to interested in things like dresses and decorations. Alecto was more the booze and escape plan maid of honor.
“But enough about all that. This whole lunch is supposed to be getting to know you and secretly judging you on if you're good enough for my favorite brother!” She joked with a grin. “And I have to say so far you pass with flying colors.”
He had plenty of known Italian traditions tucked up his sleeve - perhaps seeing some of them incorporated into the wedding would also please Enzo’s grandmother, if she planned to make the trip from where she was in Italy. But Ezio would share what he knew as Rebekah wished him to - he would not overwhelm her with too much information.
“Oh, he is your favorite?” Ezio chuckled. “He must be pleased to know this. But bene, I am glad to hear I pass. Elia is in good hands with me.” It wasn’t as if he expected to meet a stuffy museum curator and become his first masculine experience, but Ezio was happy with everything - he may have fallen in love with a fiery, redhaired bookshop owner in Constantinople, in his dreams (the brave woman who finally tamed the infamous lothario), but he knew who he loved here. And that was enough.
Getting to know Elijah’s siblings was fun for him too, and he could see why Elijah was so fond of Rebekah. She was quite lovely. “Then here is to many more lunches,” he offered, clinking his wine glass against hers. “And salute, as we say in Italy.”
The wedding toasts would be saved for the actual day, which he was also glad to be going to. It was nice, actually, to be involved with a large family again. Even a sometimes dysfunctional one.