Turn the lights off

Rebekah walked through the quiet town of Mystic Falls. She liked this place best when nobody was out and about. It was so much more tolerable when she wasn't running into any of the Salvatore brothers, the doppelganger, her brother, their vampire friends, their witch friends, their werewolf friends… The list went on and on, she just couldn't be bothered to think about all the pests making her life miserable and Nick's mood swings unbearable.

Her high heeled boots clattered over the pavement and she found herself smiling at the drifting snowflakes passing her by and landing on the ground, cladding it in a dress so immaculately white, she had to admire the purity of it.

This fleeting distraction unfortunately did nothing to take her mind off the big picture for long. The fact remained that everything was going to hell. She found herself wishing Klaus had never revived her. A bitter smile flashed across her face. No, she thought, if he had pulled that dagger out fifty years earlier or a century later, things would have been the same.

Nick. Always surrounded by enemies, always fighting a war he would never win. That eternal war that was in his heart. He needed to convince himself that he was finally and forevermore, safe. And Rebekah couldn't believe that that day would ever come.

She turned street corners, walked down lanes, wandered, without any destination in mind, without any notion of time passing by. This wasn't the first time she had done this. Ever since they had come back Mystic Falls she had spent night after night walking alone, trying to unwind, trying to sort through her feelings, desperately looking for a solution to their family's problem. How could they love each other again?

She was almost at a dead end in her mind again when the lights in the streets went off. Rebekah stopped dead. This wasn't a good sign. Aside from the moon nothing was lighting the place, even the houses dark and dead. Rebekah sharpened her instincts and listened. Only the sound of the wind and the leaves rustling on the ground were to be heard. Then the faintest noise of electricity crackling reached her. In a second a trail of small lights flared to life. Green, red and blue, the tiny lightbulbs twinkled in the night, marking out a way.

'What is this?' Rebekah asked the dead silent night. Was this for her? Was this a joke? A trap? An invitation? She looked around but the lights started exactly where she was standing. No coincidence then. Slowly she took a step forward. If something went wrong she could always fight. After all, there wasn't much that people could do to an original vampire. This settled it. With deliberate steps she started following the trail of lights, winding its way through Mystic Falls. After a while she almost enjoyed the company of her little stars, shining, glowing, and leading her to the center of town.

When she arrived her heart sped up slightly. The fountain in front of her was decorated with even more lights making the frozen water in the basin dance in a thousand fragmented colored ice crystals.

'Beautiful, isn't it?' A familiar voice came from the shadows and Nick stepped into the faint light. Rebekah looked taken aback.

'What are you doing here?' The underlying hostility in her voice didn't seem to deter him. Instead he gave her surroundings a meaningful glance.

'This was you?' She asked, incredulous.

'Dear sister, do you not believe that I am capable of such things?' He asked, smiling sweetly. Rebekah looked around again. Of course she believed him. This was very much like Nick. Extravagant, elegant, over the top, yet still romantic enough to make anyone who didn't think twice fall for it immediately.

'Why?' She stared him down.

'The answer to your question is very simple Rebekah. For the past few weeks you have been acting very distant. As a brother, I worry about my sister.' He smiled. 'I figured since you spend most of your alone time wandering these paths I would take the chance to make this evening more magical than usual.' Klaus stepped closer to her and motioned to the steps of city hall.

'Shall we sit?'

Rebekah's mind was strangely quiet. He had done this for her? Nicklaus had gone out of his way, to make her day better? He had picked up on her feeling lonely?

'What do you want, Nick?' She had seen him be nice one too many times to fall for this so easily.

He turned and spread his arms.

'For once, nothing.' Klaus answered pleasantly, while settling on the steps. 'No tricks, no daggering, no hidden agenda. I simply want to enjoy a night with my sister, watching the stars in the sky, observing snow settle on the ground, maybe drinking some wine?' This said he pulled out a basket that clinked in a very promising way. 'Tell me what you need to be happy Rebekah, and I will try doing my best to help you get it.'

The bottle popped open and Rebekah found herself walking over to her brother and sitting down. This felt nice. This felt like a long forgotten memory when Nick used to care. She held the moment close, like a rediscovered childhood toy, thought to have been lost forever. She looked at the fountain again and then at her brother, who looked out into the night, turmoil raging in his eyes, while he forced his face to look peaceful. Yet he was here, with her, trying to be nice. A part of her wanted to believe this was real and another part already believed it was.

'What I want Nick,' Rebekah found herself answering. 'Is for our family to be reunited again.'

Their eyes met, her expression hopeful, his serious. Then a broad smile spread across his face.

'I'll drink to that.'