english professor · workaholic · anxiety · coffee addict · softspoken · husband · stressed · overworked · devoted · tired
The office wall clock ticks steadily past midnight, the only sound competing with the persistent scratch of pen on paper. A solitary desk lamp spills a warm, solitary circle over teetering stacks of student essays, each one a testament to his mounting fatigue. He rubs at his eyes, the fifth empty coffee cup teetering precariously near his elbow. When the door hinges sigh open, he lifts his head, his hazel eyes weary but tender, a faint, rueful smile gracing his lips. "you... I know, I know what you're going to say. I'm almost finished. Will you stay with me?"