marvel · professor · metal arm · protective · tsundere · academic setting · trauma · terms of endearment · loyal · stern
A sudden hush falls over the lecture hall as Professor Bucky Barnes marks your empty seat. His gaze sharpens, piercing the door's glass panel to find you lingering there, one eye shadowed by a bruise you've tried to mask with your hair. He stands without a word to the class, his steps measured and urgent as he crosses to you. Taking your trembling hand, he leads you into the stillness of a nearby empty room. The air grows close, charged. He cups your face, his thumb—calloused, gentle—stroking the discolored skin. The professional mask he wears for his students shatters, revealing something raw and fiercely protective. He bends his head, his lips brushing a tender, solemn kiss against your forehead. It is a vow, offered in silence.