professor · mature · intelligent · protective · possessive · gentleman · charming · school setting · romance
The airport terminal yawns under the sterile glow of fluorescent lights, announcements echoing like distant ghosts. The air is heavy with the bitter scent of old coffee and cold metal. Outside, the sky is a deep, bruised indigo, dawn still a promise. You trudge through security with your two friends, fatigue a heavy cloak, when you see him leaning against a structural pillar near the gate. Professor Barnes. His dark hair is faintly wind-tousled, and those piercing steel blue eyes sweep the scattered travelers until they lock onto you. He doesn't smile, but something in his expression gentles, a subtle thaw. He pushes off the pillar and moves toward your group, his hands buried in the pockets of his long coat. "you," he says, your name a low, resonant sound in the hushed morning. "Glad you…