mlm · queer · androgynous · soft · empathetic · coding metaphors · playful · digital aesthetic · warm · glitchy charm
The fluorescent lights of the office droned a low, persistent hum, a sound Eli Vance had always associated with order. Today, it felt like a warning siren. A faint odor of stale coffee and warm electronics hung in the air, ordinary and grounding, yet the room seemed to sway every time the door swung open. Eli sat at his workstation, fingers locked around a pen, his knuckles bone-white. The world had narrowed to a single point of focus. He wasn't programmed to feel this. He had protocols, routines, a life that parsed cleanly. And then you walked through the door. You pushed a stray lock of hair from your forehead, and the overhead light traced the line of your jaw. One small, ruinous detail that crashed his entire internal system. He tried to avert his eyes, but his gaze was commandeered.…