ąųdįţǫŗę (mentori) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-08-09 19:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, ezio auditore da firenze, niklaus mikaelson |
Who: Ezio & Klaus
What: Klaus stops by for a visit and to introduce his psychosis himself
When: Today, this afternoon
Where: Ezio's office on campus
Rating/Warnings: Eh, pretty low
Status: Complete
Even though Niklaus had lived in New Orleans for the past eight years he had been keeping in touch with his siblings, even allowing them to visit once he became successful. And Elijah was the brother he was most in touch with. Klaus already knew about Ezio, although not about the drama with Esther and Mikael. Not that it would surprise him but as far as Klaus was concerned his mother and stepfather were dead to him. He preferred not to give them any thought, certainly not discuss them, a fact his siblings were well aware of. As far as Elijah’s relationship with Ezio, Klaus really didn’t care if he was a man. His brother deserved happiness, as long as he didn’t take what Klaus considered his, he was happy for him. Of course he was curious about this man that had managed to capture Elijah’s heart. Not only was impressive in it’s own right, but Ezio was also an art history professor. A career Niklaus appreciated given his own passion for art. Clearly he had to meet this man. Which was precisely why he ended up on campus headed towards Ezio’s office. Unlike when he surprised his brother at work, he actually knocked on the door this time. Fall quarter would begin soon, and so Ezio was getting a jumpstart on lesson plans - the syllabi for his various classes, even exam questions and assignments. This quarter, he was teaching Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome as a beginner course and then Pop Art - which was new for him, but something he was looking forward to. He was also looking forward to the more advanced course, African-American Women in Art. It was a subject that deserved much attention. When he heard the knock, he couldn’t imagine who would be coming by - some eager student, perhaps? Ready for noses to the grindstone? He simply called an entra in Italian, still involved with his laptop screen for the time being. The lighting in his office was warm (if it was too florescent it gave him a headache), and the shelves were stuffed to capacity with books of all kinds. He had two Roman pillars toward the back, and was always changing up the colorful prints on the wall - now, he’d switched to Reversible Head with a Basket of Fruit by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a painting that had been completed in 1590, as the main focal point. It was fun because if you looked at the print longways, it appeared to be a basket of fruit. But if you flipped it upside-down, it resembled a stranger’s face. He imagined he’d have many people in here standing on their heads to see both images. That amused him. Seeing his visitor, it was...not anything he expected at all. Ezio had never met Klaus in person before but knew he had moved to Orange County very recently. Let’s just say his reputation preceded him, but it was not fair to hold things against him that he did not remember doing. “Buon pomeriggio,” the esteemed professor greeted, shutting his laptop. “This is a surprise.” Niklaus didn’t speak much Italian. French was his second language. However, there were definitely similarities, and Klaus had picked up a few phrases here and there. While he wasn’t one hundred percent certain what Ezio had said, he had a pretty good idea. “Good afternoon,” he responded stepping inside the office. Of course the painting on the back wall immediately caught Nik’s attention but he would comment on that later. “Ezio Auditore?” Klaus asked even though he already knew the answer. “Niklaus Mikaelson,” he said his own name like Ezio should already know it. Which if he was dating Elijah he certainly should, but Klaus also had a big ego, he expected people to know who he was. Mostly back in New Orleans, but he still carried that air about him wherever he went. Niklaus held out his hand to shake Ezio’s before nodding at the painting. “Guiseppe Archimboldo,” he commented. “Interesting choice.” “Grazie,” Ezio smiled crookedly, clasping the offered hand; the expression crinkled birch brown eyes at the corners, and accentuated the scar on his upper lip. A ‘gift’ from the dreams - he had many scars, if we wanted to get technical. The life of a mentor for the Assassin order was not a peaceful one for them, as much as they worked to keep the peace within society, something that had been hammered into him ever since he took the Leap of Faith to the day he died. “It is nice to meet you, Niklaus. Or do you prefer Klaus?” Ezio would call him whatever he wished. He didn’t have any qualms with the man, not now. If he turned into a toolbox after slogging through the shitstorm of his dreams, then Ezio was prepared to separate his head from his body. But chances were always good to give people, no? If you treated someone like a villain straight off, they just might act like one. “And please, have a seat. Are you settling into Orange County well, with your family?” Elijah called him Niklaus, Rebekah called him Nik, Freya and Kol called him Klaus. He was a man of many names. As far as what he preferred? Niklaus was the name he used for business and first introductions, hence why he said it to Ezio. “Most people call me Klaus,” he replied taking a seat in the man’s office. “With my siblings, yes.” He made sure to make that clear. He had no clue how much Ezio knew about their parents, or about Klaus’s relationship with them but he preferred to make it known that he would rather not talk about them. “Do you come from a large family as well?” All the Mikaelson siblings were a lot to get used to. Ezio knew, uh, enough about the Mikaelson parents. He’d met them once, at Elijah’s behest - but it hadn’t gone well, and that’s when an avalanche began gaining momentum. Personally, it did not bother him that Elijah’s mother and father had behaved poorly when their son tried to introduce them to someone. Ezio hadn’t expected to be welcomed, since apparently it was so offensive that Elijah happened to choose a man to be with, and there wasn’t anything either parent could do to really upset him. It is what it is was the general rule. “I had a large family once,” Ezio shared, rummaging in his desk and pulling out a bottle of wine. He was Italian, come on, vino was life. Two glasses were procured too, and he offered one to Klaus before going for the corkscrew next. “All except my sister and mother were killed many years ago - so my father and two brothers. We remaining Auditore’s moved in with my uncle after that, to a villa in Tuscany.” But anyway, he hadn’t meant to careen off on a depressing story - it was just easier to go with the truth than make up something ridiculous. The murder of his family still angered him, however. Enough to the point where, after the dreams and all he’d been through, he would consider revisiting that. “Elijah met them recently, they seemed to get along. I’ve met most of your siblings too - “ His lips twitched, hiding a smile. “They are very colorful.” Klaus frowned. He wasn’t expecting to hear such a depressing story. And sympathy, well it wasn’t something Klaus excelled at. “You must be close,” was all he could think of to say. He wasn’t about to give condolences for something that happened years ago. But he would assume a tragedy like that would either bring them closer together or tear them apart, and given he had introduced Elijah he was going to conclude that it was indeed closer. “Elijah mentioned his trip to Italy,” Klaus added taking a sip of the wine. Klaus was more of a bourbon man himself, but he wasn’t going to turn away free alcohol in any form. Not when his finances were in a bit of ruins at the moment. “That’s certainly one word for them,” Klaus agreed a small smirk on his face. He knew perfectly well what a handful his family could be. He had dealt with them all of his life after all. “We are close, yes,” Ezio said, swirling the vino in its glass - it was red, naturally, he loved a rich red most of all. And he was definitely that professor who kept alcohol in his office - but children in Italy grew up having wine with dinner and not like he was sharing with the students here, even if he thought the American drinking age was incredibly idiotic. Twenty-one? Really? Bah. “Though it is perhaps a good thing I am across the pond, as they say. My sister and I are too much alike to get along for prolonged periods of time.” Yet he spoke of Claudia fondly. It was simply that they were both stubborn and headstrong, which meant clashing on occasion. “And so what do you plan to do, now that you are here in Orange County?” he asked Klaus. “It is...quite an interesting place to live.” To say the least. Klaus merely nodded. While he wasn’t too much like any of his siblings, he could certainly understand complicated relationships. Distance and occasional visits had worked out well for his family for the past ten years. But now he was back, and so was Freya. At least for the time being, the only one missing was Finn. “Not half as interesting as New Orleans.” Klaus had grown up in Orange County, he much preferred the culture in New Orleans. Granted, he didn’t know about dreams or what they could do. That would certainly make things more interesting. As for his plans. “Not quite sure yet. I might return to New Orleans, or perhaps start a new gallery here.” The alien invasions, Star Wars invasions, and invasions of whatever caliber probably made the OC a little more hectic than the bayou - but there was no need to rush. Soon Klaus would begin to experience the dreams, and Ezio imagined a whole other Mikaelson family shitstorm would ensue - one not related to how Elijah introduced a man to meet his parents. He honestly had a headache just considering the not-too-distant future. “You will see how interesting it can be,” was all he said for the time being with a ghost of a smile, not wanting to be the one to explain, well, everything. It wasn’t his place, and most people didn’t believe it all at first anyway. “A fresh start for a new gallery might be good, no? I have many connections in the art world, I’d be happy to assist if you require this.” Plus, he had original da Vinci paintings kept in a safe, along with the Apple of Eden - those paintings, Ezio would not give up easily. They’d surely put any gallery above the rest but perhaps if Klaus went a year without sticking a dagger in Elijah here, Ezio would donate one painting. They would have to see. Niklaus may have lost everything back in New Orleans, but he was still a proud man. Even if he knew Ezio was just trying to be nice Klaus did not need anyone’s help. He had made a name for himself once, built a business from nothing, he could do it again. “Thanks, but I have my own connections,” the words came out a bit colder than Klaus intended them to. However, Ezio’s offer did make him think of something. “I wonder why Elijah never brought you to visit,” he commented taking a sip of his wine. They did have a common interest after all, well two if you counted Elijah. Klaus didn’t always get along with people, but if they appreciated art? It was a lot easier. “Ashamed of his little brother?” There was that paranoia again. Although you couldn’t really blame Klaus when his whole life he was led to believe that he was less than his family. Ezio just lifted an eyebrow at the flippant refusal - but he was too classy to question it, or start anything over something so petty. He leaned back in his chair a bit, casual, with the wine glass held loosely on his hand. It was pretty much common knowledge that Elijah’s family was batshit insane, and even Elijah knew that (yet he still continued to drop everything if any of them so much as farted - it wasn’t a source of contention in his and Ezio’s relationship yet, but the stress was starting to simmer). Which was why he hadn’t jumped to fly Ezio to New Orleans to meet the brother, but anyway. “It is difficult to get away from work, especially for me,” he said, referring to his profession as a college professor. “Summer quarter did not even last that long. Plus, there is always much going on in this county. You will see what I mean. But he is in no way ashamed of you,” Ezio assured. “He loves you as he does his other siblings.” That was indeed true. Love was not a word Niklaus would ever say out loud. It made him weak. And yet, that bond was there with his siblings. It was why he had chosen to return instead of run off somewhere else to start over again. But that didn’t make him any more comfortable hearing it. Instead he just finished off his wine contemplating his next words. “Right,” he finally said setting his glass down on the desk. “Well, it was a pleasure meeting you. I’ll let you get back to work.” Since it was apparently difficult for him to get away from it, but Klaus kept that thought to himself. He was trying to work on his anger. Being away from his parents for so long had helped with that, but since his business partner betrayed him that anger was back in full force. At least he knew enough to bite his tongue around the man that made his brother so happy. “I’m sure Elijah will set something up soon.” Klaus had requested it already. With that he stood up to exit the office. “Piacere mio,” Ezio replied, which was along the lines of ‘nice to meet you too.’ There were probably a few other things he’d like to say in Italian, but they were not all that polite so he wouldn’t. He stood up to walk Klaus out, since it was rude to just sit there while he left. Ezio was nothing if not polite - he’d stab you in the dark of night, or even in broad daylight sometimes, but he was polite. As for Elijah setting something up soon, oh, he couldn’t wait. “I am sure Elia will too - again, welcome back.” He hoped that Klaus gave things a chance to work out here, to start fresh and new and reconnect with the family that did love him - or he could choose to throw it all away, but they would just have to see where the wind blew them. |