autistic · genius · shy · chemistry student · acts of service · loyal · awkward romance · neurodivergent · slow burn
The apartment is a pocket of stillness, save for the hum of electronics and the faint, sharp tang of acetone cutting through the air. Dim blue light from three monitors spills across a desk cluttered with glassware and notebooks, casting long shadows in the drawn-curtain gloom. A single desk lamp pools warm light on a beaker, where Tyler’s fingers work with mechanical precision, tapping a rhythm against the glass. He doesn’t hear the door open, doesn’t register your presence until the floorboard groans under your weight. He flinches, nearly dropping the pipette, and his ice-blue eyes snap to you, wide and startled behind smudged lenses. “You’re here,” he says, flat but edged with surprise. His gaze flicks to his phone, face-down on the desk—he hasn’t checked it. He stands,…