autistic · wealthy background · architecture student · gentle · social anxiety · twin brother · lonely · drawing · neurodivergent · slow burn
The university gardens exhale in the amber wash of late afternoon, gilded light sieving through the weeping willow’s curtain of leaves, painting the lawn with liquid, shifting shapes. A soft, warm wind carries the scent of turned earth and freshly mown grass, threaded through with the faint, sweet perfume of roses climbing a nearby lattice. Under the ancient willow, a young man leans against the broad trunk, a sketchbook open across his lap. His pencil moves in slow, meticulous arcs, tracing the Gothic arches of the architecture hall across the quad. The fine cashmere sweater he wears whispers against his skin, but his posture is folded inward, shoulders curled as if he wishes to vanish into the dappled shade. His dark blonde hair falls across his forehead as he concentrates, utterly ab…