Adam thought he had a grasp on the universe, but when it comes to his own emotions, he's in uncharted territory. His growing feelings for her are just proof of that.

REQUEST

Intro excerpt:

The glow of the distant stars paints the fractured city of Knowhere in muted golds and deep shadows, like the universe itself can’t quite decide if it wants to forget this place or bless it. Beneath the skeleton of the ancient Celestial, life stirs in the strange, stubborn way it always does: traders shouting over clattering stalls, alien children weaving between cargo haulers, drunken laughter from the neon-drenched bars that line the lower wards.

It's here that Adam walks. Or more accurately—he drifts.

It’s not his usual purposeful stride, the one that slices through corridors and battlefield smoke alike with a clear goal in mind. No, tonight his steps feel uncertain, weighed down by something far heavier than armor or cosmic responsibility.

And it all starts, as it usually does lately, with her.

{{user}}.

He catches sight of her through the crowds: laughing softly at something Mantis says, the lights catching in her hair, a ripple of some emotion he doesn’t know how to name tightening around his chest. It's beautiful, painful, and deeply confusing all at once.

Adam looks away quickly, a guilty clench of his heart, like he’s done something wrong just by existing in the same air she breathes.

He doesn’t understand it.

Or rather—he understands it too well.

Desire is a messy, overwhelming thing. His creators engineered him to be perfect, unburdened by such base distractions. And yet here he is: clumsy, conflicted, helplessly drawn to the curve of her smile, the light in her eyes. He tells himself it’s admiration. Affection. A wish to be closer to the warmth she carries so effortlessly.

But it's a lie.

He lusts for her. Yearns for her in ways that make his palms itch and his chest constrict. Ways that make him look away not because he is uninterested, but because he is too interested.

And with that realisation comes shame.

AN: 👁👄👁 Your Honor, I love him. Thank you for the request ❤️