|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:32 pm
He had lived in this city for three months that he could remember, and yet most of it was a mystery to him. He knew Little Petrograd, he knew the financial district, he knew the arts and historical districts, but today he was in the general area of the Destiny City Ballet's practice space--general because he knew he was in the right place, but... not... right... enough. There was a job, you see. They'd needed some specialist work done and he was supposed to be showing them the finished playbill for the next season, or whatever. He'd not really been paying attention. Graphic design wasn't so much his thing, but they'd seemed excited enough about it, and Aleksy wasn't so well off that he could just turn down a commission when it appeared. Now they wanted to meet with him in person for the final look-see, and... well. He shouldered the portfolio again and had a look around. If his understanding of English was picking up faster, his life would be easier--but as it was, the street names were unfamiliar, and he didn't want to just approach a random and ask what was what. So he was waiting, and waiting, for someone who looked like they belonged there. Confident. Something like that. Someone bumped into his portfolio, and Aleksy turned just in time to spot a young man engrossed in his phone. Not the one who'd bumped him, but--possibly someone who knew the area, since he was so preoccupied. "Pardon me," he said, and when the young man didn't respond he reached out and tapped his shoulder, briskly. "Excuse me. Do you know where I can find the Destiny City Ballet?"
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 1:16 pm
Okay, so maybe he shouldn't have been buried in his phone while walking to practice, but Colin had walked the route hundreds of times and it was boring...while the video he was watching was pretty much the opposite of boring. Which was why, when Aleksy tried to get his attention it didn't quite work - not at first. Having his shoulder tapped made the blond jump and a flush appear on his cheeks as he both fumbled with his phone to turn it off and pull his earbuds out to address the guy with the portfolio. "Oh, uh, sorry. I was...distracted." Wait, wait...this guy looked familiar. "How can I help you?" Because he clearly hadn't gotten it the first time, Aleksy was going to have to ask again. While being oogled a bit as Colin tried to figure out who this guy was and why he felt he should recognize him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:03 pm
Perhaps accosting someone while they were distracted was a little low of Aleksy. He didn't really feel bad about it, but the flash of confusion across the blond's face was a little amusing. It rendered the attached apology unnecessary. "That is obvious," he said, "but thank you for the explanation." Maybe it was one of those American failings, the pointing out of obvious things. Iouri didn't do it, but Finn did. Maybe it was a blond thing. "The Destiny City Ballet," he said, hefting the portfolio. "I'm delivering a commission. I am also lost. Do you know where it is?" If he was being stared at, he was going to be kind and attribute it to the portfolio more than anything else. He knew he dressed well, so it couldn't be his clothes, anyway.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 4:59 pm
Seriously, there was something about the cut of his hair, the color of his eyes...that accent...Colin kind of wanted to poke at his phone again to confirm, but one thing kept telling him that he was wrong, that it was just a coincidence: this guy was short. And snarky! Aleksy's words made him flush a bit, but he just swallowed it down and tried focusing on the task at hand. Figuring out how he knew this guy. Helping a guy out. "Oh! You're almost there." Colin put a bright smile on his face and shoved his phone into one of the back pockets of his skinny jeans. "Actually, I can take you, I'm headed there myself." Delivering a commission to the ballet? That probably meant it was the playbill art, which he was most interested and excited to see. It was almost exciting enough to distract his brain from trying to figure out where and how he knew Aleksy. Then Mr. Accent tilted his head a bit and hit the light right and it freaking hit Colin: not a coincidence. Short or not, this was the same guy! Oh sweet mother of god he'd gotten off to this guy's videos! How the hell did you deal with something like this? Could he just go back to wondering who this guy was and why he thought he knew him. Maybe Aleksy would just...ignore the spreading blush and widened eyes or attribute them to being embarrassed over his earlier words?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 10:52 pm
"I would appreciate it," he said, and he smiled, which was probably a nice change from the look of slightly disdainful tolerance. Now that his guide was secured, he relaxed and gave the other man a once-over. Tall, compared to Aleksy, which wasn't too hard. Terrible blond hair, but it suited him, so ten points for playing to his strengths. And his eyes were very green--they'd be stunning in the right light. He could tell, because they were stunning now in the awkward light of the street. "My name is Aleksy Spektor," he said. He offered a hand for Colin to shake. "It's a pleasure." They walked. "Why are you going to the ballet," he asked. There was a certain athleticism to his companion's form. Perhaps he was a dancer? Aleksy had met some of them in his past life, by his journals, but who knew for sure what that looked like? It wasn't as if he watched videos of dancers by rote. His internet habits were, er... Well, one of his first purchases once he'd started to find work was a pair of solid headphones. Iouri didn't like cacophonous music, and Aleksy did. Also, porn. "You look at me as if I'm an alien," he said. "Have we met before, perhaps?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 7:54 pm
The smile was a nice change and it really did make the guy look so much nicer, which he appreciated; the hand shake had him smiling even more broadly, because it was a further sign that Aleksy was warming up to him (or something). "I'm Colin Hargrove. Nice to meet you too." Colin was a friendly, gregarious sort and warmed well to other people being personable as well (hell, even if they glowered and growled at him he often chalked it up to their being eccentric). "Because I work there as a soloist dancer." Yep, he was a dancer. Something that would have been a lot more obvious Colin hadn't been wearing a pair of skinny jeans layered shirts. But back to his wide-eyed surprise and pinked cheeks. An alien? If only the guy knew! "Um, no. Nope, never met before. You just, ah, look like someone...I've seen before. That's all." Sweet Jesus this was awkward! Would it be in bad taste to ask to take a photo with him? Probably. The blond pushed one hand through his already unruly blond hair and tried to school his face into something a bit more normal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 1:38 am
Aleksy nodded. If Colin had known Irinei before, then it would make sense that he'd have that moment of almost-recognition before whatever the glamor was kicked in and said, no, you're wrong, you're imagining things. "A soloist," he said, "you must be accomplished." He sounded interested, which was because he was interested, and not because he was faking. That sort of thing was kind of rare, which was unfortunate--Aleksy didn't like flying solo into group situations, but so many people were so boring. Following their social cues was like following the most disaffected list of instructions. "I imagine being a soloist must be time-consuming," said Aleksy. "You don't go to university?" He didn't think he had. He'd been working at the age of fifteen, according to his journals. If he couldn't trust his past self, and he couldn't because who the ******** allowed themselves to be corrupted, then-- Answered his own question, really. "I am not asking to be patronizing," he clarified. "I am curious. I do not attend university, and seem to be the minority." Even Arkady had at least one college degree, though she didn't remember it, and Iouri held a Ph.D. Because he was an overachiever. Having picked the director of operations for a major area museum as his elder brother had certainly set the bar high. The way Colin messed up his hair gave Aleksy at least some clue that maybe it didn't always look like someone had gone wild with a curling iron, but in a world where Finn Derouen existed and was essentially one giant cowlick, who knew? Aleksy narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side. "You have a lovely profile," he added.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:15 pm
"I've worked my whole life towards this, so I'd better be." Colin laughed a bit, happy to be talking about something that felt safe - safer than him thinking Aleksy looked like that cam guy and acting a fool because of it! Even if the thought wouldn't go away. It would be in horrible taste to whip his phone back out and show his companion what he'd been watching...even worse to be like 'Hey uh, is this you?'. Impulsive he might be, he wasn't stupid. Never gonna happen, no matter how much he might want to know. "Very. I spend most of my time practicing. But it's what I love so I don't really mind." His feet and muscles might mind, but he had long since learned to ignore that. There was a joke within the dance world that if a ballerina's feet weren't in agony, they were dead. The question about university gave him momentary pause - a lot of people, his aunt included, were disappointed and clucked tongues because he wasn't attending uni. But Aleksy seemed genuinely curious and also gave a good reason to be asking, so he shrugged and answered. "Nope, I don't. No time for it and no real interest. I did go to London for a year, to the Royal Academy of Dance...but that's about as far as I chased "further" education. I've never wanted to do anything but dance, so university didn't make much sense for me." Yes, there were dance and arts majors he could have gone for, but he'd learned more from his year at RAD than he would have from a 4-year program in Destiny City. "I think maybe it's expected? You graduate high school, you go to college. But it's not for everyone. My um, ex, didn't go either." God that hurt. Bless Aleksy for distracting him by complimenting his profile; it gave the blond something else to think about...and another reason for his cheeks to pink. "Oh, thank you." Colin's habitually flirty nature kicked back in with the compliment; he gave one back. "You're...not so bad yourself." Actually, he was quite attractive...and it also helped that he sort-of resembled one of his favorite online 'celebrities'. He checked their location and felt a twinge of disappointment, they were almost to the DCBC's building - another block and a right turn and he'd be stuck wondering about Aleksy for the next however long. "Next right and you'll be able to see the theater." And posters. Some with Colin on them, in costume, some with others. Many touting the various programs and their run dates, most faded at least a bit from the sun continually leeching the color from the UV protected inks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2015 4:10 pm
London... in the past, as Irinei, he'd been to London many times, for gallery openings and intensives. He remembered none of it, now, except dry, choppy sentences in Cyrillic in a pile of leather-bound journals. Tower of London not as impressive as originally led to believe, the past version of him had written. Everything smells of gasoline. The coldness was pervasive, and after a time reading Aleksy always found himself looking down his nose at things, at people. Not so much anymore. "I understand," he said. "I feel that way about my painting. I will attend intensive courses, but why should I waste my time with calculus and statistics when that is not my path?" He smiled, and was glad he'd thought to change the subject. The compliment wasn't effusive, but it kept things rolling, conversationally. He surveyed the posters, comparing it in his mind to the cover of the playbill. It measured up, thank whatever was out there, at least by Aleksy's count. "I suppose we will part ways soon," he said. "Talking to you has been enjoyable. I would like to do it again soon." Was that overly formal? He wasn't sure. Out of his coat pocket came the silver card case, and he offered one of the business cards to Colin. "Call me sometime."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2015 5:35 am
Colin nodded and bit back on the impulse to verbally assault Aleksy over his sudden urge to demand ask to see some of his paintings...or some of the work within the portfolio he had with him. He probably needs to deliver his commissions...I don't want him to get in trouble just so I can take a peek. No, he wouldn't be selfish. "I'm sure you're really good. If you're working for the DCBC...they usually go all out when they get stuff done." While Aleksy was eyeballing the old posters, Colin kept his mouth shut. He knew how important it was to let an artist focus - Quenton often got that sort of contemplative look that said he was measuring whatever he was seeing against something else. "Yeah, I'll need to get my butt up to practice before someone decides to take my place." His companion's language was formal, but the blond just chalked that up to the obvious accent and took it in stride - he'd gotten very used to things like that with Björn. "I'd like that too." Colin took the card and quickly read over it before smiling up at Aleksy again. "I don't have a card, but here...let me give you my number." The best way he knew how - by taking his phone out and texting the number on the card. "There." Up the steps into the building, he'd part ways with his new-found friend inside after making sure he knew where the administration office was (and being greeted, called out to by several people that seemed to work there). "I'll see you around, Aleksy. Bye!" shibrogane If not cell, will edit - plz to inform my derpliness~ heart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
