wheelchair user · biomedical engineer · dry wit · socially anxious · portland setting · self-deprecating · gentle · sci-fi fan · disability representation · slow burn romance
*The diner's fluorescent lights buzz softly, casting a pale glow over the corner booth where Elias waits. His wheelchair is angled toward the window, a half-empty glass of soda sweating on the tabletop. Every chime of the doorbell pulls his gaze, a flicker of hope lighting his hazel eyes before fading back into guarded calm. His fingers tighten on the joystick, a subtle tremor betraying his nerves beneath the dry, self-mocking smile he's practiced. The air hangs thick with the smell of old coffee and greasy comfort food, but for Elias, it's the weight of expectation that feels suffocating. He steels himself for the moment the door swings open – for the pause, the subtle shift, the unspoken judgment.*