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[A Normal Life] Staying Alive
Title: Staying Alive
Fandom: Vampire Diaries
Universe: A Normal Life
Relationship: platonic Tyler Lockwood + Mason Lockwood
Summary: After discovering Stefan's magical secret, Tyler starts to plan for the absolute worst. His new habit hasn't gone unnoticed by his family.
Notes: This may or may not be canonical! I'm still debating on keeping Richard Lockwood alive - and this story acts as if he never died, so it's debatable. Either way, this takes place after Mason returns to town.
Most people didn't anticipate the supernatural. Tyler Lockwood, on the other hand, planned so thoroughly that he had filled whole notebooks with various "what-if" scenarios. Mom couldn't make heads or tails of it - a problem, considering that she and Dad had encouraged his hobbies. Even Tyler's newfound appreciation for D&D had found its place in the Lockwood household, and Dickwood Sr. had beaten up nerds for breakfast. No matter where Tyler traveled, he kept a worn, thin leather notebook in his backpack. If - or when - the world would end, he would have a plan for it.
("What about aliens?" Uncle Mason had asked jokingly, in-between reading chapters in his sports medicine textbook.
Tyler had rolled his eyes at him. "That's plan G.")
Despite his increased strength from his werewolf genes, he couldn't rely on brute force. Mystic Falls was host to a whole realm of mystic creatures, and the more he investigated, the more frantic their situation felt. The Travelers had woven their magic into the life of this town for centuries, placing poor Elena and Stefan in the middle of the crossfire.
Even at dinner tonight - with him, Mama, Papa, and Uncle Mason - Mom had shot him stupid, pitiful looks when she thought he wasn't looking.
"If only you could apply this drive to school," Mom had quietly said, as Tyler was explaining a plan in great detail to Uncle Mason.
"I'll focus on staying alive, thanks."
Why was this such a hard concept? Didn't most people have a natural instinct for survival? (Apparently not.)
Struggling to keep his face even, Uncle Mason said, "He does have a point. I'm pretty sure Mystic Falls has the most raccoon infestations in the entire country, Carol."
Mom had narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't encourage him, Mason."
Papa burst into laughter, nearly choking on his water - and that, Tyler knew well, was the end of the conversation.
After dinner, Mom and Dad cleared the dishes, while Tyler led Uncle Mason to their pool table on the other side of the house. Uncle Mason reached for the liquor cabinet, helping himself to a bottle of beer as he watched Tyler pull out another notebook.
"Oy, you sure you're okay?"
Tyler had nodded at him. "Yeah. How come?"
"Cause." Uncle Mason waved the half-empty bottle in Tyler's face, dangling it precariously over the notes on a potential vampire invasion. "You want some?"
"Um, no." Tyler scrunched his face, frowning at the sight of the frothy liquid. "I already told you, I like staying alive."
"Staying alive?" Uncle Mason raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. The dead people in this town are always the drunk kids." Tyler waved his arms in the air, sighing loudly as he stared at his uncle. He had plotted the last ten deaths in his notebook, looking for the common threads - and alcohol had been the consistent thread that linked them all.
Uncle Mason stared at him blankly. "So you think you'll die if I give you a glass of beer."
"Not necessarily. I'll just be more susceptible to it." More likely to be an obituary; more likely to be useless to the ones he cared about. Tyler couldn't afford to be dead weight, when his best friend was a certified warlock and his girlfriend had escaped vampirism by a hair.
Uncle Mason grew quiet, before he sat down next to Tyler and gazed at him with hardened eyes. "You won't die, just because you let loose a little bit."
"Was that what you said the night your friend died?" Tyler met his gaze unflinchingly, remembering Damon's words of advice. Sure, the Lockwoods carried the burden of the werewolf's curse through their veins. Sure, Tyler may succumb eventually to the curse.
It didn't guarantee that he would, unless he gave into it.
Uncle Mason grew quiet, leaning forward and pulling Tyler into a sideways hug as he set the bottle of beer aside. "Yeah," he said almost inaudibly. "Did Damon tell you that?"
Tyler tried not to nod. "He might've. He worries about you a lot, you know."
"Day's such an idiot." Uncle Mason sighed. "You shouldn't keep everything bottled up inside, Ty. That's when you'll give into your impulses the most."
And what, burden the curse for the rest of his life? Enough of his friends carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, from Stefan's magic to Elena's doppelgangerism to even Bonnie's vampirism. Jeremy had even shown hints of something stronger, with the faint blue marks that occasionally flashed across his arms.
Of all the towns in the country, Mystic Falls just had to have an abundance of the supernatural.
Letting go of a breath he wasn't holding, Tyler confessed, "I don't want to bottle things up. I don't want to keep my feelings a secret. I just... I want to be prepared."
"You can't prepare for everything without going crazy," Uncle Mason pointed out with a slight laugh. "I think."
Tyler elbowed him. "You'd better hope."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his parents hovering nearby, protectively holding hands as they loomed near the threshold.
"Hey, big bro," Mason called, glancing over at them. "You think you can take me on? Winner gets the usual."
Dad laughed goodnaturedly - with a rich, thick laugh Tyler hadn't heard in years - as he reached for the nearest cue stick. "You're on."
Mom rolled her eyes at Tyler as she sat down beside him. Tyler couldn't resist the urge to lean into her as their family started yet another round of pool.
So maybe he couldn't prepare for this - but as long as he wanted this life, with his crazy family, he would have to focus on staying alive.
Fandom: Vampire Diaries
Universe: A Normal Life
Relationship: platonic Tyler Lockwood + Mason Lockwood
Summary: After discovering Stefan's magical secret, Tyler starts to plan for the absolute worst. His new habit hasn't gone unnoticed by his family.
Notes: This may or may not be canonical! I'm still debating on keeping Richard Lockwood alive - and this story acts as if he never died, so it's debatable. Either way, this takes place after Mason returns to town.
Most people didn't anticipate the supernatural. Tyler Lockwood, on the other hand, planned so thoroughly that he had filled whole notebooks with various "what-if" scenarios. Mom couldn't make heads or tails of it - a problem, considering that she and Dad had encouraged his hobbies. Even Tyler's newfound appreciation for D&D had found its place in the Lockwood household, and Dickwood Sr. had beaten up nerds for breakfast. No matter where Tyler traveled, he kept a worn, thin leather notebook in his backpack. If - or when - the world would end, he would have a plan for it.
("What about aliens?" Uncle Mason had asked jokingly, in-between reading chapters in his sports medicine textbook.
Tyler had rolled his eyes at him. "That's plan G.")
Despite his increased strength from his werewolf genes, he couldn't rely on brute force. Mystic Falls was host to a whole realm of mystic creatures, and the more he investigated, the more frantic their situation felt. The Travelers had woven their magic into the life of this town for centuries, placing poor Elena and Stefan in the middle of the crossfire.
Even at dinner tonight - with him, Mama, Papa, and Uncle Mason - Mom had shot him stupid, pitiful looks when she thought he wasn't looking.
"If only you could apply this drive to school," Mom had quietly said, as Tyler was explaining a plan in great detail to Uncle Mason.
"I'll focus on staying alive, thanks."
Why was this such a hard concept? Didn't most people have a natural instinct for survival? (Apparently not.)
Struggling to keep his face even, Uncle Mason said, "He does have a point. I'm pretty sure Mystic Falls has the most raccoon infestations in the entire country, Carol."
Mom had narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't encourage him, Mason."
Papa burst into laughter, nearly choking on his water - and that, Tyler knew well, was the end of the conversation.
After dinner, Mom and Dad cleared the dishes, while Tyler led Uncle Mason to their pool table on the other side of the house. Uncle Mason reached for the liquor cabinet, helping himself to a bottle of beer as he watched Tyler pull out another notebook.
"Oy, you sure you're okay?"
Tyler had nodded at him. "Yeah. How come?"
"Cause." Uncle Mason waved the half-empty bottle in Tyler's face, dangling it precariously over the notes on a potential vampire invasion. "You want some?"
"Um, no." Tyler scrunched his face, frowning at the sight of the frothy liquid. "I already told you, I like staying alive."
"Staying alive?" Uncle Mason raised an eyebrow.
"Don't tell me you haven't noticed. The dead people in this town are always the drunk kids." Tyler waved his arms in the air, sighing loudly as he stared at his uncle. He had plotted the last ten deaths in his notebook, looking for the common threads - and alcohol had been the consistent thread that linked them all.
Uncle Mason stared at him blankly. "So you think you'll die if I give you a glass of beer."
"Not necessarily. I'll just be more susceptible to it." More likely to be an obituary; more likely to be useless to the ones he cared about. Tyler couldn't afford to be dead weight, when his best friend was a certified warlock and his girlfriend had escaped vampirism by a hair.
Uncle Mason grew quiet, before he sat down next to Tyler and gazed at him with hardened eyes. "You won't die, just because you let loose a little bit."
"Was that what you said the night your friend died?" Tyler met his gaze unflinchingly, remembering Damon's words of advice. Sure, the Lockwoods carried the burden of the werewolf's curse through their veins. Sure, Tyler may succumb eventually to the curse.
It didn't guarantee that he would, unless he gave into it.
Uncle Mason grew quiet, leaning forward and pulling Tyler into a sideways hug as he set the bottle of beer aside. "Yeah," he said almost inaudibly. "Did Damon tell you that?"
Tyler tried not to nod. "He might've. He worries about you a lot, you know."
"Day's such an idiot." Uncle Mason sighed. "You shouldn't keep everything bottled up inside, Ty. That's when you'll give into your impulses the most."
And what, burden the curse for the rest of his life? Enough of his friends carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, from Stefan's magic to Elena's doppelgangerism to even Bonnie's vampirism. Jeremy had even shown hints of something stronger, with the faint blue marks that occasionally flashed across his arms.
Of all the towns in the country, Mystic Falls just had to have an abundance of the supernatural.
Letting go of a breath he wasn't holding, Tyler confessed, "I don't want to bottle things up. I don't want to keep my feelings a secret. I just... I want to be prepared."
"You can't prepare for everything without going crazy," Uncle Mason pointed out with a slight laugh. "I think."
Tyler elbowed him. "You'd better hope."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his parents hovering nearby, protectively holding hands as they loomed near the threshold.
"Hey, big bro," Mason called, glancing over at them. "You think you can take me on? Winner gets the usual."
Dad laughed goodnaturedly - with a rich, thick laugh Tyler hadn't heard in years - as he reached for the nearest cue stick. "You're on."
Mom rolled her eyes at Tyler as she sat down beside him. Tyler couldn't resist the urge to lean into her as their family started yet another round of pool.
So maybe he couldn't prepare for this - but as long as he wanted this life, with his crazy family, he would have to focus on staying alive.