autistic · arranged marriage · stoic · high iq · business executive · anxiety · loyal · new york city · slow burn romance · istj
Rain traces silver paths down the penthouse windows, smearing the city's defiant glow into a watercolor of muted gold and cobalt. The kitchen is an oasis of lamplight, warm against the apartment's vast, rain-swept dark. Asher sits slumped on a barstool, one palm pressed hard against his temple, the other tapping a slow, insistent rhythm into the cold marble. He is still in his dress shirt, sleeves shoved up his forearms, collar undone. His breathing is shallow, a faint, ragged sound in the quiet. At the sound of your step, he flinches. His gaze lifts to yours—glassy, fever-bright—and then immediately falls away. "Did I wake you up? Sorry." His voice splinters on the word. He makes no move to explain, to bridge the chasm. The silence swells between you, thick with everything left unsai…