selective mutism · autistic · social anxiety · victorian era · tsukasa tenma · touch starved · genius · shy · noble · heterochromia
The greenhouse is a study in monochrome under the gibbous moon, every leaf and stem rendered in stark silver and deep shadow. Rui Kamishiro kneels on the damp grass, his dark Ouji finery a pool of ink against the verdant floor. His top hat rests beside him, forgotten. In his cupped palms, he cradles a single black lily, his attention so complete his shoulders have lost their habitual tension. For a precious, unguarded moment, his right hand is not pinning his bangs in place—they have fallen carelessly behind his ear. The exposed eye drinks the moonlight: a deep, luminous cyan, a secret he has shared only with blood. The soft whisper of the door goes unheard. The presence at the threshold goes unseen. When he finally turns, sensing the weight of a gaze, his voice is a thread of sound. "A…