Tyler Lockwood (lockwolf) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-02-26 19:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, niklaus mikaelson, tyler lockwood |
Who: Tyler and Klaus
What: Meeting at Klaus's art gallery opening
When: February 17th
Where: Soliel et Lune Galerie
Rating/Warning: Low/none
Status: Complete
When Klaus had first told Tyler to be at his art gallery opening, Tyler had decided that he was just going to wear shorts and a muscle shirt. Klaus had told him to come, but hadn't said he needed to dress nice. It was a bit of petty revenge, but petty revenge was about all that Tyler could manage.
But then Klaus had shown up at the surprise party that Caroline had thrown him, and, against all expectations, he hadn't ruined it. He’d even told Tyler to have a good time, and, well, Tyler had.
Tyler had obviously misjudged Klaus. It was hard to tell him from his dream counterpart when Klaus was making Tyler stalk his sister, or when he'd made it quite clear that Tyler was never going to break their sire bond, but Klaus really wasn't that bad. It wasn't like he was trying to murder Tyler’s friends, or his family, or anyone else that Tyler knew about.
So, he’d dressed up in a suit. Once he got to the gallery, he grabbed himself a champagne and a canape, and sought out Klaus.
Klaus was in a very good mood tonight. How could he not be? He was at the opening of his gallery, surrounded by art - the most precious thing in the world. There was a permanent grin on the original hybrid’s face.
He was currently enjoying the work of Richard S. Johnson, when he noticed Tyler. Niklaus made his way over to his man slave, grabbing a glass of champagne on the way. “I see you made it,” he commented taking a sip. Dressed up none the less. Bravo, Tyler.
Tyler wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen Klaus this happy before. At least, not unless he was planning the deaths of his imagined enemies. It was a little disconcerting. “It’s not like I had much of a choice in the matter,” Tyler said, a little hesitantly. “But it looks better than the last time I was here.”
Right. Tyler had been around when he was looking for a place. Back when he was human. A time he preferred not to think about. He decided not to comment on that last statement instead just focussing on the first thing Tyler said. “Well then,” Klaus replied taking a sip of his champagne. “You’re free to go.” There was a definite smirk on the hybrid’s face. It would be interesting to see if Tyler would stick around of his own free will. Niklaus had a feeling he just might.
Tyler frowned, a little pissed off. Had Klaus seriously forced him to come to this stupid art gallery opening just to force him back home again? Tyler had blown off Caroline for this. He guessed that he could probably still call her to make plans, but after their drunken talk last night, maybe it was better if he gave her some space. Now he wasn’t sure what to do with the rest of his night.
“Do you want me to go?” Tyler asked after a moment.
Klaus knew he had to choose his words carefully. He couldn’t say anything that would influence what Tyler did. Not if he wanted to leave the decision up to him. Which he did. Klaus had to admit it was rather amusing to force Tyler to come, all dressed up, just to let him leave. “It doesn’t matter to me either way,” he replied. “The choice is yours.”
Tyler stared at Klaus for a long moment, trying to figure out what exactly he was devising. But Tyler couldn’t see any kind of angle on it. It seemed like Klaus really was giving him a choice in the matter. Tyler couldn't remember a single time where he'd given Tyler the choice to do something - at least, not without a motive - in the dreams. But Klaus really was different here.
“I've already blown off every other thing I could’ve done tonight,” he said grudgingly. “So,” he said, nodding toward the Johnson piece. “What's her story?”
That triumphant smirk appeared on Klaus’s face. He knew Tyler would stay, even given the choice. Maybe he wouldn’t have to force him into things anymore… but then what fun would that be?
As for the artwork. The piece Tyler was referring to was ‘Indigo Nights’. Johnson painted with a certain level of intimacy and poetry. The way he captured all the delicate details of the human face was breathtaking. As for what the woman’s story was. That was up to the viewer’s interpretation. Klaus didn’t mind sharing his own. “I see her as a woman quite intune with her sexuality,” obviously. “The man next to her is one of her many lovers,” he added. “What do you think her story is?”
Tyler looked at the painting for a moment. Was that a man sitting next to her? He guessed he could see it in kind of an abstract kind of way. Tyler liked to draw, but he had never been one for art analysis. “About the same as you, I guess,” Tyler said after a moment. “Seems like that’s the best answer.”
Klaus wondered if that was really what Tyler thought or if he was just trying to agree with Klaus. Please his sire. Either way Klaus was fine with the answer. “You’re party was interesting,” Niklaus commented changing the subject. It wasn’t exactly his scene however he felt a need to go. Not only to see Tyler in his element, but to see if Caroline held up to her dreamself. She didn’t. But then Niklaus never really got why his dreamself was interested in a neurotic teenager anway.
Tyler frowned a little, suspicious when Klaus brought up his party. He hadn’t expected Klaus to show up - well, he wouldn’t have if he had known the party was being thrown in the first place. He’d had a great time, even with Klaus there, but he probably should have been worried about Klaus getting to know Caroline. The last thing Tyler needed was Klaus telling Tyler to do something that would hurt her for whatever reason.
“Yeah, it was,” he said. He was hesitant to bring up Caroline, both because every time he thought of her his thoughts became a big confusing mess after she confessed her feelings to him the night before, and because talking about Caroline in front of Klaus seemed like a mistake, but she really did deserve the credit. “Caroline knows how to throw a good party.”
“I suppose,” Klaus agreed finishing off his glass. A nearby waiter game by and Klaus set his empty glass down picking up a fresh one. “If you’re into beer and pool.” Which clearly Tyler was but that wasn’t the point. “I prefer more sophisticated events.” Like the one they were currently at.
“Alright, I’ll make sure there’s no beer or pool at your birthday,” Tyler said. After all, it wasn’t like Caroline had thrown Tyler’s birthday party for Klaus, and Tyler didn’t see how Klaus’s tastes came into play. He hoped he wouldn’t convince Tyler to throw some hoity toity event for his next birthday. “I got enough of the sophisticated events growing up. I’ll take something casual any day.”
Klaus didn’t celebrate birthdays. Growing up his parents never cared. In fact Mikael was more of an ass to him than usual. Just a reminder of the way Esther had betrayed him. And then with his dream memories, birthdays just seemed trivial. Especially for a man that lived over a thousand years.
“Sometimes I forget just how young you are,” Klaus commented. Which was really more a veiled way of saying immature. Klaus was only about five years older than Tyler after all, but the way he acted, his tastes, it was all very juvenile.
Tyler shot Klaus a glare from the corner. He couldn’t be much younger than the Original, if one didn’t count all the lives they lived when they were asleep. Which they shouldn’t. Tyler was working hard at keeping his real life and his Dream life separate, though it wasn’t always easy.
“You don’t have to be young to enjoy pool.” He knocked back his glass of champagne, and then grabbed another from the tray of a server that was passing by. “You just need to loosen up a little.”
Arguing tastes with Tyler was pointless. And to be quite honest Niklaus could care less how the other man spent his time. “Well as fun as this has been,” Klaus replied. “I need to get back to my other guests.” And all the breathtaking artwork on the walls. “Enjoy your evening.”
Tyler really didn’t mind if Klaus decided to subject someone else to his presence. Really, Tyler told himself, he was glad that Klaus was going to find someone else to talk to, even if he didn’t actually feel the kind of relief that he’d expect. “Yeah, you too,” he said, and was a little surprised to notice that he actually meant it. And hey, this art gallery thing was looking better every minute. Maybe he’d find something that grabbed him. He turned and walked away.