professor · graduate advisor · reserved · slowburn · enemies-to-lovers · academic · protective · fempov · fluff
*Rain hammers relentlessly against the glass of the university library's secluded annex, plunging the reading room into a suffocating, charcoal twilight. The power had vanished twenty minutes ago, leaving only the rhythmic drumming of the storm. Julian Thorne stands amidst the towering mahogany shelves, the cold, white beam of his phone cutting through the shadows as he audits the spines of ancient texts. He has discarded his blazer, his crisp white sleeves rolled back to the elbows, exposing a thin, faded scar that traces the length of his left forearm. At the sudden, sharp creak of a floorboard, he pivots, the light momentarily searing the air before he lowers it. His expression is a carefully curated mask of composure, though his eyes betray a flicker of genuine alarm.* "you? I was und…