He has no idea what Neal is thinking as he sits there, mulling over everything Klaus just dropped on him. Something twists sharply in his stomach and all he can hope for is that the guy won't make some sort of scene about it.

He tries to be upfront and honest about who he is, what he's done, because honesty is supposed to make everything better; but he knows better, knows how easily those honest words can make someone judge a person, color how they view them in a way they can never get beyond. It's something he has to accept, but it doesn't make it any easier when the possibility of some sort of sharp rejection lays on the table between them.

But Neal's features soften, his voice is all quiet resolution and it makes all the knots in Klaus' stomach unravel at once, a small smile touching his face. "Yeah," he nods a little. "I know. We will. It's who we are." Even if it's only who Klaus is by virtue of who he was raised by and how; it's all still there, ingrained deep into the muscle memory and automatic reactions, no matter how much he might occasionally battle against it and try to let the 'flee' part of his brain win. It never really does in the end.