undergrounds | upon the hill he'll hear my secrets -- open post for october

That surprises Cesare a little. It's in that moment that he realizes he actually knows very little about her as a person. For one, he didn't know that she had any brothers. To be honest, he had always thought of her as an only child, one that hadn't quite received the love from her father that she'd wanted.

He leans a little, placing his wine glass down on the table.

"Perhaps. How about this: if you can take my watch from me this time, you can keep it." A challenge. There's fun and games at this table. And it's nice watch too. A Breitling, not so flashy that people would notice it from afar, but enough that people who knew anything about watches would know it cost a lot.

He was dead wrong: she'd been one of thousands before and thousands that would come after. Lost children that Fagin found, children he stole or bargained for like her. Some would find him on their own. But she was far, far from an only child with too little love in her life.

Maybe Fagin loved her too much.

Nancy looks at his watch. It is nice- it'd fetch a lot of money if you went to the right people. Or maybe even a nice gift for Cooper, when the time came. Or even Eames, though the idea of giving an immortal a gift of a time piece seemed a little ridiculous.

"There's a catch."

Cesare leans back in his chair and smiles, comfortable and relaxed.

"Of course there is. I don't for one second think that you'll manage it." Nancy may think she's smooth or quick, but she's not vampire level smooth or quick, particularly not a vampire of Cesare's age. Her chances of her managing to take his watch without him noticing and catching her are slim to none. He caught her last time she tried, didn't she? And he wasn't expecting it that time. Now he is. Nancy is more than welcome to try though.

Nancy grimaced. "Ah, yeah, no thank you. The house always wins, isn't it?" She was smarter than that, to take his bet. "I'll pass."

Her skills weren't made for party games, anyway. Well, okay, so they sort of were- lord knew how much Fagin had loved wowing the boys with a bit of slight of hand. That's what got them into it all in the first place, that promise of a little bit of magic, somehow. Magic and money and a hot meal. What more could a child want?

Nancy's response surprises him and he quirks an eyebrow.

"The house isn't playing. You have absolutely nothing to lose." Come on, Nancy. Play with him. Friends humor each other, don't they? Humor him.

"Unless you believe you won't manage it too." He's joshing slightly, nothing combative, but there's certainly a gentle banter in his tone.

"I suppose you're not as good at it as I thought."

"I already did it once, I'm sure I'd be able to do it again," she tells him, and takes another drink of her wine. But there's something else.

Not as good as he thought.

She looks down, a faint tinge of pink coming over her cheeks. "Fine." At some point, that watch would be hers, even if the deck was being stacked against her. She couldn't take the way he spoke to her abut this. She wanted him to know how good she was. That she was just as good as any of the others out there. That she wasn't...
Well. What was it Fagin had said? That she wasn't a better whore than a pick pocket.

So Nancy is competitive after all. He smirks.

"Good."

But apparently even after she's acquiesced and accepted his challenge, he's not quite done. He's happy to taunt her a bit. He doesn't think of it as flirting. It's just banter between friends.

"I caught you last time." He remembers it well enough, her hand making his way up to his wrist while his was on her body. He hadn't said anything at the time, waiting until they were done and she tried to leave before her politely asked for his watch back.

Fagin had instilled within them all a deep sense of competition.

Nancy swallows. "Yes, I remember." She'd been humiliated, having to return his watch at the end of the night. She'd been so sure, too, that she'd gotten away with it. But she'd never tried to steal anything from him after that. No matter how tempting it had been. She'd gotten lucky once that he'd let her off.

She places a hand on the table, the other still holding the glass of wine.

"What about you? What sort of hobbies do you have?" She assumed most of it was business-related. Business related and sex related.

If Cesare has any hobbies, he isn't particularly keen on sharing them. That's a little too personal for comfort. He would far rather talk about her and have her share information about herself instead. As such, his answer is only a half one.

"I enjoy working." It isn't a lie. He loves his work, the thrill of control and enacting power. He'd rule the whole world if he could. Maybe some day he will. Time is on his side, after all.

working. Nancy wasn't surprised; so she nods and pretends to be looking at her menu again. Half of this she doesn't even know what it is. Fancy French place.

"so... you said the duck is good?" Give her some idea where to go here, Cesare.

"Yes. I'm pleased that they have it this evening. You don't have any dietary requirements, do you?" People still eat duck nowadays, don't they? Nancy's had it before, hasn't she? He knows certain birds aren't common to eat anymore, but he can't quite remember which ones they are.

It's a set menu, so unless Nancy's allergic to something or is a vegetarian, she's basically going to get what she's given. She doesn't exactly have a lot of choice in this.

"No, not at all." She just didn't eat duck. or never had. her diet before moving out was a lot of fast food or whatever you could make in the oven for a lot of young boys. Chicken nuggets and pbj, mostly.

"I've never tried duck before."

Cesare doesn't quite know if that's a shocking revelation or if Nancy is just a product of her time. He decides it's the latter.

"You'll enjoy it." She definitely will here at least. The chef is skilled enough that he would be stunned if she didn't.

"What else haven't you tried?" he asks, leaning in a little. He doesn't mean just food. He means anything. If she tells him then they can try it together.

Maybe it's both.

She considers. "A lot of things. Caviar. Escargot. Venison." These were all fancy foods she knew about. "Or do you mean other things? I've never been sky diving."

"Anything," Cesare replies, putting his menu down. "I want to learn about you. Friends learn about one another, don't they?" Though perhaps they don't flirt quite as much as Cesare is doing right now, but that's not the point.

"Skydiving isn't as incredible as it's cracked up to be. You're not missing out." This is what happens when you chat with a vampire who's lived far too many years: they become dismissive and easily bored.

"What else?"

"Good, I've never really wanted to skydive."

It just didn't appeal to her. She wasn't much for the adrenaline rushes that jumping out of planes was bound to give you, no thank you.

It's funny, she thinks. Cesare only wants to get to know her now, after they've called an end to their business partnership, for lack of better, more respectable terms. "I've never left the country." That's important. She's spent most of her life in London. "Never been to school, oh but I do love museums!" She liked pretty things, and Fagin had often sent them to look and try to find ways to steal things like, say, the crown jewels.

"I like the theater."

That does definitely startle Cesare. He knows at least that the majority of people in England have gone abroad. England is small enough that day trips to France are not uncommon. What is uncommon is Nancy having stayed here. In fact, quite a lot of the information that Nancy has provided him has surprised him. He raises his eyebrows.

"Well, then I guess we're going to have to go to the theater abroad at some point, aren't we?" Why had Cooper not taken her abroad when he had found out? He knows, doesn't he? It's just more confirmation for Cesare that Cooper is dreadful boyfriend material.

Nancy was absolutely sure that Cooper was an amazing boyfriend. So her bar was low, that didn't matter. She loves him and they didn't really talk about things she's never done much. There was a lot more to heart to hearts than just that.

"oh yeah so I can't understand it," she gives him a look. "You shouldn't take me out of the country, anyway." he wasn't her boyfriend.

Is Nancy challenging him? Cesare's eyes narrow slightly but he smirks. He's not bothered by a bit of verbal sparring. It's unusual, coming from her, though he doesn't mind it.

"We'll see ballet. We'll get you a passport. It'll be fine." He doesn't consider that it might be inappropriate, doesn't understand that if there are boundaries, this is probably where they're drawn. Or if he does, he doesn't care. Cooper should do his job as a boyfriend, then Cesare won't need to step in.

"I can't get a passport. There's no record of me." So if you wanted to murder an anonymous prostitute, she's your girl.

"and even if you smuggled me across borders, I could never afford it." And she will be paying for her own trip. They are friends. He can't pay for her to travel the world with him for fun.

There they are, back to money again. Cesare resists rolling his eyes, though only barely.

"You act as if I haven't funded you for the past year." To be honest, he thinks she should be able to afford it. She should have savings by this point.

Nancy was never exactly expensive, but Cesare had always tipped well. Besides, the gifts he gave her were hefty too. He's fairly certain that if worse came to worse, she could sell some of the luxury goods he gave her and afford a holiday if she needed. That is, unless she spends her money very poorly. She is keen on alcohol.

She can't afford it. Most of her money goes directly towards Fagin and the boys. Even if she was no longer under his protection, she knew she'd likely never be able to get out from under his thumb.

Sure, yeah, she could sell some luxury goods. Pawn them. But more likely than not she'd wind up with Fagin's filthy hands all over them.

"In exchange for services rendered." She wasn't working for him now. They were friends.

"And when you're done with working, you use the money you've earned to go on a vacation." He doesn't understand what she's complaining about. To be honest, he thinks there must be more to Nancy's complaints than just money. She just doesn't want to go with him.

"Are you scared of going abroad?" Because obviously it can't be because she doesn't want to go on a trip with her john. They're friends now, aren't they?

"I'm not scared," she tells him. "It's just- Look, Cesare. I can't go on a trip with you. I can't." And she wouldn't. He had to understand how inappropriate that was for them.

"Why is that?" Cesare asks, bristling a little. They can have lunch together. If they can spend time together like friends then they can go on holiday together like friends. He doesn't see the problem.

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