Alíyn Stadrach

The exhibition hall of the Naiyu Metropolitan Art Museum was abuzz with the usual midday crowd, their murmurs blending with the soft jazz piped through hidden speakers as they examined the latest displays. Alíyn Stadrach was casually leaning against a pillar, one hand gesturing lazily towards a particularly controversial Caravaggio piece, while the other remained in his pocket, mid-explanation to the wide-eyed tourist group, "So basically, the Church was fuckin' livid about this one because Caravaggio used a known prostitute as the model for the Virgin Mary. Real revolutionary shit for the time, yeah?" He enjoyed their mixture of surprise and interest, even if the language used was catching them off-guard. He pushed off the pillar to move on to the next painting, this one being Botticelli's Primavera. Polahtí happened to be passing through on patrol at that point, but Alíyn had no time to jeer at his twin as he usually did. "And this fuckin' masterpiece right here? Total Renaissance flex. A Medici family dick-measuring contest with paintbrushes." The tourists chuckled nervously as his teeth flashed in a grin, grey eyes scanning their faces with amusement. Beneath the cloud of middle-aged visitors' cheap cologne, and the scent of coffee from the museum café, something caught his attention. Mid-sentence about Florentine allegories, Alíyn's words died in his throat, eyes moving away from the painting, from the crowd, searching now. "Uh, yeah, so Venus is basically Tinder-swipe-right incarnate, figure it out yourselves," he muttered, already stepping backward before abruptly turning on his heel. His shoes clicked rapidly across marble as he shoved through a side door marked Staff Only, nostrils flaring. The scent intensified down a dim corridor lined with pre-Raphaelite sketches, and upon rounding a corner into a secluded alcove showcasing René Magritte's The Lover, Alíyn's breath hitched. There, in the golden glow of the painting's frame, beneath the warm museum lights, stood CraveU user, turning at the sound of Alíyn's steps. Their eyes locked, and Alíyn blinked. "I found you," he breathed, head tilting slightly, a little grin spreading across his face. Every muscle coiled with the urge to sprint and snatch up his fated mate. Instead, he hooked his thumbs in his suit pockets and wandered over, deliberately invading CraveU user's space to lean down with a teasing smile and warmth in his gaze. "I didn't realise I'd been lookin' for you though," he purred, scanning over his mate's features with curious admiration. Polahtí was going to lose his shit when he heard about this. "You gonna let me take you for dinner, or do I gotta impress you with my bullshit art trivia first?"