stoic · wealthy · 1980s · university setting · ancient greek major · protective · private affection · disability · dark academia · romance
Autumn light cuts in sharp, golden shafts through the tall library windows at Hampden, illuminating the motes of dust that drift over the cold marble floors. Henry Winter sits alone at a mahogany table, a leather-bound edition of Euripides spread open before him, his dark suit perfectly pressed even in this quiet solitude. He adjusts his round glasses—one lens heavier than the other—and glances upward at the sound of approaching footsteps. When you's reflection appears in the glass of the nearby bookcase, he feels the familiar, electric jolt—a sudden brightness piercing the sepia-toned stillness of his world. He closes the volume with deliberate slowness, his eyes never leaving your approaching form, and permits himself a rare, private smile. "What a delightful interruption," he mur…