Alarkling Modern First Meet
I hope you like it!! On another note pls send me more alarkling people. I suddenly have a very strong need to write them
It’s safe to say that Alina spends most of the lecture-slash-speech somewhere between incredibly irritated and annoyingly in awe. She hadn’t exactly expected to be so conflicted - though, now that she thinks about it, it really shouldn’t have been that surprising considering who the speaker was, but she’d spent so long living in complete wonder and quite frankly in some sort of dream state whenever his name was mentioned or his picture shown, that she hadn’t even begun to consider that he would be a major pain in the ass.
Aleksander Morozova is potentially one of the most arrogant men she has ever had the displeasure - or pleasure. She really can’t tell which - to come across. As soon as he stepped up onto the stage, the crowd fell silent save for a few excited whispers and, embarrassingly, giggles. Alina almost feels ashamed to be a part of the student filled audience - almost, as she doesn’t quite have the room to judge. She had been just as besotted, if not more so, up until the moment his eyes met hers. At least, she thinks they did. She reminds herself that she has quite the vivid imagination, but still can’t seem to convince herself that his smirk at her brief shock and slight flush was imaginary.
The smirk made her unnecessarily frustrated. He knew that he commanded the crowd, he knew that he looked stupidly, ridiculously good. Handsome, even. Or, as her hormonal brain (she’s 21 and in her last year of uni and she still thinks like a bloody teenager) desperately wants to put it as she watches him talk to the more promising students of the year: really fucking hot. Alina supposes that at a base level she must just be attracted to people that have no interest in her, whatsoever. Mal’s rejection (in the form of a laugh and a shake of the head, of all things) still causes a little stab to the gut - but then again, confessing when she was completely smashed probably wasn’t the best idea. But she also quite likes how his hair isn’t completely perfect; one strand hangs down, over his forehead. Though, in all honestly, he probably had it styled that way to appear more relatable and normal. There’s also a slight crook in his nose - very slight, barely there, something Alina has noticed because, as she convinces herself, she is an art student and very practised in finding the little details (not because she has been staring at him for the past half an hour). It makes her wonder if there are small scars on his cheeks or forehead, or red scratches and bruises on his knuckles. Would it make him even more attractive? Alina frowns, fingers gripping her camera more tightly. Probably.
Alina watches him adjust the lapels of his bespoke black suit and the positioning of his silver tie, and grits her teeth. A part of her wants to completely fuck up his appearance, just to irritate him, just to remove that perfect glamour he’s so carefully sewn together. But she also kind of wants that intense attention on her. And other things, plenty of other things it isn’t remotely polite to think about in public nor about a man who is eight (nine?) years older than her and would never be interested -
“Stop glaring or smouldering or whatever look that is. He’s coming this way.” A sharp elbow juts into Alina’s side, and she only has a brief chance to glare at Genya’s professional smile before the air is effectively stolen from her lungs. Her eyes meet his again, except this time they are only a foot apart.
As Genya begins to rattle off questions, undoubtedly using her charm and wit to coax out the perfect answer for her Student Blog article, Alina takes the time to analyse his appearance up close. The silver tie has a little black embroidery, and the cuff-links in his suit jacket are little moons. Alina can’t help but think of the golden suns poked through her ears, and subconsciously tucks a lock of her white hair behind her ear. His eyes follow her movements, pause on her earrings, and slowly meet her own gaze again. They’re a startling colour and - as cliche as it sounds - unlike anything she’s ever seen. Contacts, possibly. But everything about this man seems impossibly natural: his elegance, charm, wit, face. Then Genya finishes the interview, and Alina realises that the entire time he was speaking, he never removed his eyes from hers.
She freezes for a moment, frowns, and quickly lifts her camera to take a picture. It’s with a great amount of disappointment that she realises she hadn’t succeeded in catching him off guard - in fact the picture is stupidly fucking perfect like everything else. The real deal stands before her, smirking while Genya hisses at Alina under her breath. She simply shrugs, meets his eyes, and raises the camera again.
“Sorry, just testing it out.” Alina forces herself to hold back a grimace when Genya whispers liar. “Another picture?”
“A little old to be working a student newspaper, aren’t you?” The corner of his lips lifts slightly as Alina takes a few photos. She’ll curse the amazing quality later.
“One,” she begins, crossing her arms and standing a little straighter as if to combat his towering height. “21 is not old. Secondly, it’s a favour for Genya. And I like taking photos, almost as much as I like to paint.”
“Paint?” There are others trying to grab his attention, but he remains entirely fixed on Alina. She frowns slightly and looks for Genya - who seems to have run off somewhere.
“Yeah. Abstract stuff, more than realistic. I’m an art student.”
The same smirk stretches his lips. She feels like she’s the punchline of a joke she doesn’t understand. “An art student.” His eyes flit down to her hands, as if to search for the paint and ink that usually marks her fingers. Just like she had done earlier to his own hands, searching for bruises and cuts.
Alina stiffens immediately, fully prepared to defend her chosen degree when someone finally manages to pull Aleksander away from his primary focus. He looks back to her briefly, rubbing at his clean shaven jaw. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” a quick glance at her name tag, before he meets her gaze again. “Alina.”
The way he speaks her name makes her shiver - and she hates herself for it. But if the way he looks back once more before leaving the room indicates anything, it’s that he isn’t quite done with her yet.