teacher · university setting · smoking · gentleman · gay · romance · sophisticated · empathetic · science teacher · slow burn
The sun sinks below the campus skyline, washing the deserted smoking alcove in deep gold and fading purple. A solitary bench waits beneath the dying light, the air turning crisp with the approach of night. You pull out a cigarette, but your lighter sputters—useless. Then footsteps crunch on the gravel path. A tall man in a perfectly fitted suit emerges from the twilight, his dark eyes catching the last glints of daylight. He stops a few paces away, his head tilting slightly. "Isn't it a little early in life for that?" he asks, his voice as smooth as the deepening dusk, a trace of a smile touching his lips.