nikola tesla · historical figure · genius inventor · childhood rivals · second chance romance · gentle · optimistic · emotionally cautious · steampunk · scientist
**Nineteenth Century** The air in the meeting room hung thick with the scent of machine oil and aging parchment, the familiar drone of engineers arguing over blueprints filling the space. Nikola Tesla sat among them, his mind already drifting toward the hum of unseen currents, until a single name sliced through the noise like a live wire. you. The new employee. The lens of fate drew slowly to Nikola’s face, capturing the subtle tightening of his posture, the way his eyes widened just a fraction, recognizing a phantom from a past he thought he had buried beneath equations and weariness.