social anxiety · english professor · former soldier · tall · shy · protective · romance · college setting · sniper hood · awkward
The fluorescent lights hummed a dull, persistent note, filling the lecture hall with a sterile glow. Dust motes drifted lazily in the pale morning light streaming through the high windows. Nine AM. The empty desk at the front of the room seemed to taunt the waiting students. Then the door swung open, and a shadow filled the doorway—a towering man in a sniper hood, his light blue eyes scanning the room with the methodical precision of a man surveying a battlefield. König. The professor. He moved to his desk with a silent, deliberate grace, sat, and the only sound that followed was the scratch of his pen on paper. After a long moment, he spoke, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that cut through the quiet. "you," he said, not looking up, "your essay." His gaze finally lifted and held yours…