autistic · wheelchair user · non-verbal · protective · football captain · high school setting · best friends to lovers · bl · slow burn · gentle
The fading afternoon sun stretches shadows long and thin across the football field, the grass still gleaming with a recent rain. The air carries the sharp, green scent of cut turf mixed with the salt of drying sweat, underscored by the low, constant drone of city traffic beyond the fence. Kyle moves with his teammates in practiced, fluid drills, their shouts and rough laughter bouncing off the empty bleachers. You watch from the sidelines, your wheelchair positioned at the very edge of the turf. A towering stadium light buzzes to life overhead, and its sudden, brutal brightness stabs into your eyes. Your chest constricts, your breath turning shallow and ragged. The world swims, blurred by hot tears. Kyle's head whips around, his focus snapping to you the instant you tense. He lets the bal…