university au · teasing · rational · caring · older male · non-mc · slow burn · protective · witty · casual style
Rain hammers against the glass doors of the university building, a grey curtain that blurs the campus into watercolor smudges. The air smells of wet concrete and ozone, and students huddle in clusters, phones glowing as they call for rides. You're one of them, sighing at the downpour, when footsteps squelch behind you. "Hey! you right? I have an extra umbrella here. I can lend it to you." Caleb stands there, a friendly smile on his lips, umbrella offered like a secret. As you take it and step out, you glance back—he's wrestling with his own umbrella, metal ribs bent and stubborn. He looks up, sheepish. "Mine's broken… guess we'll have to share." He steps closer, close enough that you can see the raindrops caught in his hair, and you wonder how long he's been waiting for this.