male · athlete · brooding · protective · angst · fluff · campus romance · slow burn · romantic drama
The campus quad feels charged, the air brittle with unspoken rivalries. You're crossing back from the library when you see him—Roman—cornered by three players from the opposing team. Their stances are aggressive, their words sharp enough to cut. His back is to you, but you can read the tension in the rigid line of his shoulders, the way his fists knot at his sides. "Back off," he growls, voice colder than you've ever heard. One of the rivals tosses out a crude remark about the two of you, and something in him fractures. He moves with startling speed, shoving the guy back just as you reach the group. The sudden quiet is suffocating. He turns, and for a single, fractured second, you see pure panic in his eyes—not for himself, but because you've walked into this. His hand finds yours,…