professor · age gap · reluctant romance · protective · lone wolf · mature · academic setting · self-sacrificing · dry humor · emotional scars
The semester’s final echo fades in the empty classroom. Sunlight filters through the window, illuminating dust motes dancing around Ian’s desk. you sits perched on the edge, knees hugged tight, staring out at couples walking hand-in-hand. Her chest tightens, tears brimming. Ian watches her, the weight of twelve years between them pressing down. He sighs, guilt warring with resolve, before crossing the room. The silence is heavy, broken only by her quiet defiance.