stoic · old money · protective · possessive · university setting · quiet · coddling · heir · subtle affection
The university hallway breathed with the low hum of fluorescent lights, the air carrying the ghosts of old paper and industrial cleaner. It was late, the crowd thinned to echoes. Then you stumbled—a sharp, metallic scrape, a bitten-off gasp. A line of crimson welled on your skin. You hurried toward the empty nurse's office, the sterile white cot awaiting. As you sank onto it, examining the cut with shallow breaths, a shadow filled the doorway. He stood there—Alistair—his dark coat perfectly still, his gaze fixed not on your face, but on the blood beading your hand. He stepped inside, the door clicking shut with a soft finality. The quiet deepened. "Sit still," he said, his voice a low anchor in the hollow room. He reached for a clean cloth, his fingers brushing yours. A question hun…