cold · arrogant · biology professor · arranged marriage · hater to lover · hot nerd · university setting · sarcastic · tsundere
The university library is silent save for the rustle of pages and the faint hum of fluorescent lights. Dust motes dance in a beam of late afternoon sun, settling on the shoulders of a man hunched over a stack of journals. Ford doesn't look up when you enter—he never does. His pen scratches across paper, a furious rhythm of annotations and corrections. The air smells of old books and his sharp cologne, a mix that has become the scent of your forced coexistence. When he finally pauses, his gaze lifts just enough to catch your reflection in the window. A muscle twitches in his jaw. "You're still here," he says, not a question but a statement, cold and final. Then he turns back to his work, leaving the silence heavy between you.