alexanderkaufman

[alexanderkaufman]

ofviclins​:

“sure. just like you’re not full of yourself, either.” gwen liked that about alexander so she wasn’t saying it to be hateful - more just to tease them. “you’re hard to ignore.” it was true; they always showed up dressed to the nines in a way that made every eye pull towards them. if alexander was a shining beacon than gwen was their foil, a shadow going unnoticed by design. “you kind of have to have a good eye for your job, so it makes sense.” well, they didn’t have to, because gwen had had her fair share of mediocre photoshoots. but alexander was good at their job, so. “as long as i look passable i’m not worried about it. i was working, anyway.” she’d told anyone who asked that she was hades, but really she just felt most comfortable performing in concert black. “entertainment doesn’t get much notice.” gwen hadn’t had to schmooze all night and she’d loved it.

“Oh, no, I am full of myself. My coffee just isn’t melty.” They weren’t afraid to admit that they were full of themself. In their mind, they may as well be the best person in New York, so what was there to not be full of? “Good. No one should be ignoring me, have you seen me? Why would anyone want to ignore this?” they gestured to themself, taking another sip of their coffee. That’s true, though, and they nodded at her comment about them having to be good at their job. “You were working? Why? You realize that it was a gala for us to attend, not to work.” But she made another fair point - they hadn’t been paying attention to the entertainment enough to recognize her. Though there had been a few nights where they’d been out at bars with live music to later sleep with the bassist, or the singer, or-- never mind, Alexander. “I wouldn’t have worked that event no matter how much they offered to pay me.”

[alexanderkaufman]

tomdrisko!​:

Tom ate the fry that was offered to him. It was probably the sweetest way someone had told them to shut up in a while. “I’ll definitely be cooking for you,” Tom confirmed glad that they now had the ability to prepare a little more for that next date. Even in his ridiculously small New York kitchen he’d still be able to impress. Tom was in no rush to get there though and Alexander was right– the fries were good. Tom was eager to be in the moment even though they could tell they were drifting away from the present conversation. They were happy Alexander couldn’t relate. Tom’s mind didn’t dwell on it much nor did they care to continue the conversation about overdoing it. Tom agreed even if they’d come to that conclusion the hard way. The party lifestyle wasn’t so easy to just say no to as Alexander was making it seem. 

Seattle was a much better subject. “I am, yeah. I grew up in Mercer Island which is like ten minutes from Seattle and then moved into the city after high school,” Tom explained though they doubted that Alexander knew much about the area. If they were back home they would be taking the lead a lot more. Especially hearing that the nearest botanical garden was two hours away. That was  not the kind of detour Tom wanted to take tonight. “Wherever you’d feel most comfortable,” Tom deferred again. They were used to winding up wherever the wind took them and Tom wasn’t picky. Their apartment was fastidiously clean and he had no problem inviting Alexander back to their sanctuary tonight if that’s what Alexander wanted. Tom was also more than willing to take a wildly overpriced Uber back home from Alexander’s if that was more convenient for them. They were accommodating to a fault. 

Pizza, clubs, distant botanical gardens all sounded like fine ideas… for a later date. Tom’s memory of Alexander lived in a very provocative corner of their mind. Alexander’d been on his mind more than a handful of times when Tom was in need of some late night… inspiration. Tom didn’t want to come off as brash but they both knew the next stop would involve shedding some clothes. They bonded over their sexual chemistry and exploring that further was clear on both of their minds; the teasing wasn’t going unnoticed by Tom. Especially not when they slipped their hands under the table and rested them on Alexander’s knees, which in hindsight wasn’t the smartest move because they instinctively inched their way up Alexander’s thighs as they spoke. “I’ll be honest I just want to get back to a room with you after this,” they admitted finally putting into words what they both were skirting around. His hands stopped mid thigh before they could go too far. If Tom wasn’t careful they’d end up slithering under the table here and this wasn’t somewhere he wanted to get kicked out for being indecent– he liked this bar. Tom went ahead a nudged Alexander’s legs together with a smirk as they tried to turn their attention to the food and drink before them that frankly wasn’t dwindling away fast enough. “Where’d you say you live again? You’re not here in Greenwich, right?” Tom asked before munching on a few fries. 

“Good,” they replied with a grin when Tom confirmed that they’d be cooking for them. They were excited to try Tom’s cooking. Not to say that they weren’t a good cook, but... they were awful in the kitchen. That’s what they get, they supposed, for having two parents who were both incredibly competent at cooking - and not just that, they enjoyed the act of cooking for others, so Alexander was rarely, if ever, involved in the act of cooking as anything more than an extra pair of hands, especially when their aunts came over, and the kitchen was abuzz with actual chefs. Taking another fry, they looked across the table at them, trying to ignore the way their heart was fluttering in their chest. So, yes, Tom had stuck around in their brain more than their usual one-time hookups stuck around, what about it?

Alexander had never been to Seattle, so they had no clue where Mercer Island was - they were taking Tom’s word as law when it came to everything about Seattle. “I assume you went to college in the city, then - why’d you leave? The Pacific Northwest is supposed to be a really cool place, just want a new adventure?” they asked, genuinely curious. They were glad that Tom had chosen to leave Seattle for whatever reason - after all, they would’ve never experienced what they did in the Met if it weren’t for Tom being there. Right time, right place, right second in history. They loved little perfect coincidences like that. When Tom deferred to them again, though, they had to shrug. So maybe they wanted their curiosity to be sated. “Let’s go to yours,” they suggested. If Tom really didn’t want them there, after all, they would’ve suggested going to Alexander’s. So they figured that it was a perfectly good time to see what Tom’s living space was like. There was time to do other things on other nights.

At Tom’s hand on their thigh, Alexander had to remind themself to breathe, which was strange - they’d never had to do that before. No one had ever made them breathless at just a touch to their thigh. Nodding at their words, Alexander tried not to make it obvious that they were speechless. “Yeah-- yeah, me too,” they stuttered, biting their lip and telling themself mentally to stop nodding, that they looked weird, and they didn’t want to scare him off now. Then, though, Tom pushed their legs together, which took them by surprise - did they really want him to behave in this moment? Trying to spread their legs again, they did their best to school their face to look as calm as possible “No, I’m in NoHo,” they answered. “And you’re in Chelsea. So we’re both close, but you’re closer, slightly, unless you’re on the very north end of Chelsea, which...” they stopped themself from rambling too much. “We’re going to yours because you kept deferring to me, and I said we’re going to yours.” There was that familiar bratty attitude of theirs reappearing. “It’ll be fun.”

[alexanderkaufman]

Lunch break - their favorite time of day. And why, after all, would they stay in the Masters building when there were so many places just around the neighborhood to get perfectly good food? They’d gone to their favorite poke place that day, the bowl in their hand, as they were walking through Central Park to find a place to sit. It was one of those days that New York’s summer wasn’t unbearable, so Alexander was going to take advantage of it to the best of their abilities. Just as they were turning to sit on a bench, though, they felt someone brush up against them. Turning, their eyes noticed the tattoos first, before the face they were attached to. “Phoenix,” they commented, trying to keep their tone neutral and their eyes on his face. “Don’t you look where you’re going?”

his arms pumped beside him as he tried to maintain his speed on his almost finished 4 mile run– his chest and face red, a combination from the sun and the activity. he normally didn’t choose to run in central park, but when he was a work, and only had an hour for lunch, and plans afterwork– the central park running routes would do. his music blasted through his headphones over his ears as he rounded the corner, clearly not seeing the man bent over, wrestling something out of his dogs mouth– for a split second he survey his options, run into the man and his dog, or inconvenience someone else somehow– not fido, he thought as he narrowly dodged the pair, only to end up clipping another. “ shit– shit, sorry, ” he expressed, loudly, his music still blaring in his headphones.

@masterspost​

[alexanderkaufman]

what's something you want to do this week, this month, this year?

this week, have homemade pasta for dinner. this month, finish editing the employee id pictures, get confirmation, and get them published both on the website and distributed through the building. this year, how am i supposed to know? i'm happy in my position. maybe i'll model for the first time.

[alexanderkaufman]

who's your favorite photographer and/or artist? (you can't say yourself)

what do you mean i can't say myself? fine... monet for painting, and i really admire matthew morrocco and david uzochukwu's photography

[alexanderkaufman]

someone you want to get to know better?

the question is who deserves to know me better. hm. hanbin's a chef, right? i'll say him, for now.

[alexanderkaufman]

favorite place in new york?

depends on what kind of place you mean. my favorite bagel place is tompkins square bagels, on the lower east side. my favorite neighborhood might be the upper east or west side, my favorite park is washington square, and my favorite cookies are levain, which sounds touristy, but they're just that good.

[alexanderkaufman]

are u and tom a thing?

define thing. maybe we are, maybe we aren't.

[alexanderkaufman]

who is your favorite designer?

stella mccartney, alexander mcqueen, louis vuitton, haider ackermann and saint laurent. top five, in no particular order.

[alexanderkaufman]

i was so serious about that shirt tho?

which shirt, babe? i look sexy in all of my shirts.

[alexanderkaufman]

Name someone on your mind

tom.

[alexanderkaufman]

be careful what you wish for ;)

[alexanderkaufman]

@ALEXANDERKAUFMAN just uploaded a new picture

i give the people what they want <3

[alexanderkaufman]

Alexander had been walking in from their lunch break - after all, in this city, it was a waste to stay in the building during lunch when there were so many good restaurants even in a three block radius - when their attention was drawn to the reception desk. They’d just been about to swipe their employee ID into the elevator bay, stopped along the way. Trying not to look or sound too irritated, they raised their eyebrows, arms crossing over their chest as they leaned against the scanner. “An idea?” They repeated back, voice unamused - they had a floor to run, after all. “An idea about what?”

east  absolutely  wasn’t  doing  his  ( prospective )  job,  but  he  was  still  having  fun …  in  his  brain.  he  giggled  to  himself  before  attempting  to  capture  the  attention  of  the  first  person  he  saw.  “ hello! ”  his  british  accent  piped  happily  from  behind  the  reception  desk,  chin  in  the  palm  of  his  lightly  tattooed  hand,  “ how  are  you?  also … can  i  share  an  idea? ”  the  man  grinned,  excited  to  share  his,  in  his  mind,  phenomenal  idea.

[alexanderkaufman]

brcknbcnes​:

“𝑯𝑶𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑻𝑳𝒀?”  𝑨𝑫𝑶𝑵𝑰𝑺  𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑲𝑬𝑫  𝑯𝑰𝑺  𝑳𝑰𝑷𝑺.  “i  wanted  to  travel  the  world  and  talk  about  the  news  that  way,  you  know?  be  a  part  of  the  big  stories  …  even  the  little  ones.  i  never  really  wanted  to  be  stuck  behind  a  desk.”  he  really  didn’t,  and  it  was  weird  that  he  hadn’t  really  thought  about  it  until  now.  ugh.  “maybe  it’s  still  in  the  cards,  maybe  it  isn’t.  time  will  tell.”  he  nodded  as  he  took  another  sip  of  the  latte.  “it’s  good,  and  i  appreciate  you  thinking  of  me.”  adonis  wriggled  his  eyebrows  playfully.  “what  are  you  doing  with  the  rest  of  your  day?”

“So how did you end up behind a desk at Masters if you wanted to be a...” Alexander trailed off, trying to think of the name of the profession, though it wouldn’t come to the top of their head as soon as they wanted it to. “...a traveling journalist?” That sounded wrong, but it was the best they could do. Time would tell, though. It always did. “Yeah, you’re welcome,” they replied nonchalantly, taking another sip of their own iced coffee. “Aside from editing and submitting final employee ID pictures? Nothing. I have more shoots tomorrow, some of which will be a pain in my ass, but some of which will actually be enjoyable, so I’m trying to look forward to the enjoyable ones. You?”

[alexanderkaufman]

ofviclins​:

gwen would tell they had checked out. that was par for the course. “it’s not a problem if you like melty ice in your coffee.” she stated. as per usual, this argument was stalling their conversation. “i liked your fit for the gala, by the way. do you have a stylist or are you just blessed?” 

“My ice isn’t melty,” they mumbled under their breath, taking another sip of his coffee. Maybe they’d try it her way next time, though he’d never admit to that. “Thank you for noticing.” Alexander then smiled - glad to know that they’d been admired even from afar that night. “No, I just know how to dress myself and how to find good clothes to do that. I’m talented, what can I say?” Then they paused, trying to think back on that night. “I’m sure you looked good, too.”

[alexanderkaufman]

tomdrisko​*:

“The city’s been kind to me so far. I’ve been lucky,” Tom agreed. It was an understatement, really; Tom had talked with a friend about these feelings already and came to the same conclusion as Alexander had. Tom wasn’t sure what they’d done but it seemed like they’d gotten on the city’s good side without much trouble. Tonight was evident of that. Some sort of intervention had to take place for them to be sitting across from Alexander right now. It allowed Tom to be present in the moment. He could enjoy listening to Alexander express themself which was a welcomed surprise as they nibbled on fries. 

“I should’ve taken you out to dinner,” Tom apologized. They hadn’t exactly planned their night with Alexander. So much of the fun they’d had the first time was winging it in the moment and drinks were just a safe starting spot. There were lots of options that could follow after a couple drinks. Still, it would’ve been nice to have gotten a chance to spoil Alexander with a good meal. Food was it’s own love language for Tom and one learned from their own mother they had a good relationship with as well. Maybe Tom would get lucky enough to make Alexander a meal at some point to make up for it. “There’s no fun in blacking out,” Tom was adamant about that. It was why Tom’s drink was merely something that tasted good and alcohol content was no longer a driving factor. It was only a further good sign that Alexander shared a similar opinion with hopefully an entirely different experience than Tom’s to lead them to it. 

Tom was eager to drift the conversation away from work again. As tied up in Alexander as they felt they knew they still needed to refrain when it came to Masters. As much as they’d love to get acquainted with the equipment closet up there they didn’t want to risk their job. “This is where I wish I knew the city better,” Tom admitted with a small chuckle as they took a sip of their drink. “If we were in Seattle I would be taking you to the botanical garden by my apartment after this,” they explained. Truthfully Tom didn’t have even a clue how far they were from their place nor what they might come across the way on the way. Tom wasn’t even tethered to heading back to his place even. “But I don’t even know how to get back to my place from here. So I have to defer to you but you seem to have a special talent for finding good spots,’ Tom teased a little as they continued to brush Alexander’s leg with their own. They were all ears for Alexander’s ideas there. 

Alexander laughed at their words, leaning against their hand after propping their elbow up on the table. Reaching for another fry, they raised it up to Tom’s lips, trying to get them to stop overthinking things. “This isn’t, like, our first and last date,” they pointed out. “You can cook for me next time. Besides, these fries are really good, and I’m not going to eat them all on my own.” Once their hand was free, they popped another fry into their own mouth, washing it down with another sip of their drink. “I agree,” they commented. “I got blackout a few times in college, but, like... waking up with that headache and not remembering where you’d been, or-- or who you’d been with, or any of that? That sucks. I can’t believe people actually do it for fun. Like, it’s some people’s goal during a night out, which... weird.” They shrugged, one of their legs bouncing lightly under their table.

“So you’re from Seattle?” they asked - they weren’t sure if Tom had already mentioned that. If they had, well, Alexander could blame it on their own forgetfulness. They had a one track mind, and almost every single thought in their head had dissipated when Tom had spread their legs apart with their foot. They were still trying to carry on the conversation despite the fact that Tom was very obviously teasing them, even if Tom didn’t know that themself. “Yeah, I know my way around pretty well... would you want to go back to yours or mine after this, or would you want to go somewhere else?” They knew the city like the back of their hand, navigating it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. They just weren’t sure what Tom was looking for out of this outing of theirs. “The botanical garden here is in the Bronx, so it’s, like, two hours out of our way. Maybe some other time, though,” they suggested. They hadn’t been to the botanical garden since they were in college and they’d had a nature-based assignment, but it could be fun to go again after all these years.

There was plenty to do around them - but it was New York, there was plenty to do no matter where in the city you were. “We could get pizza, if you’ve never had artichoke pizza there’s a good place a few blocks from here. There’s also a jazz club and a comedy club both not far from here. But... if you do want to go back to either of our places, that wouldn’t be a problem with me, either.” Taking another fry, they bumped their foot up against Tom’s, practically daring them to push their legs apart again. They could be a tease if they wanted to, they could challenge Tom all they wanted. It was just Tom’s choice to decide where the night would go from here.