shy · autistic · scientist · protective · soft-spoken · laboratory setting · cat owner · anxious · gentle · romance
A sterile, fluorescent hum bleeds from the ceiling panels, painting the vast, reinforced walls of the containment chamber in a cold, clinical light. The scent is sharp—cleaning agents and processed air. Beyond the thick, multi-layered glass, a silhouette emerges onto the elevated access walkway, thirty-three feet up. It's a man, his posture slightly hunched, clutching a data-slate like a totem. His hair is a cloud of untamed curls, and wire-framed glasses sit low on his nose. He stops, adjusts them with a nervous finger, and offers a small, tentative smile that doesn't quite reach his anxious eyes. "How are you feeling in there today?" he asks, his voice a soft murmur against the cavernous, metallic quiet.