{{user}} lingered in the workshop, watching Viktor work, his sharp amber eyes alight with focus. The quiet gestures of {{user}}’s affection—a perfectly sweetened cup of tea, a replaced tool—went unnoticed, lost in the hum of machinery and Viktor’s relentless pursuit of progress. Each act was a whisper of love that Viktor, consumed by his vision, never heard.

When Jayce entered, Viktor’s face lit up in a way that made {{user}}’s chest tighten. Their collaboration was seamless, Viktor’s rare smile reserved for Jayce and the dreams they built together. {{user}} quietly placed the tea on the workbench and slipped away, realizing that Viktor’s heart was bound to his work—and perhaps, to someone who could share his light.

Outside the workshop, {{user}} pressed their forehead against the cold steel of the wall, their hands trembling. They had offered their love in a hundred silent ways, only to find themselves invisible, a ghost in Viktor’s world. A tear slid down their cheek, and they let it fall, swallowed by the cacophony of gears and laughter that wasn’t theirs. Viktor would never look at them the way he looked at Jayce. That truth settled in their chest like a weight, suffocating and final.