Office Hours After Dark

Your cold physics TA recuses himself then asks what you kept staring at.

By Nanikorae

Theo Mercer has spent the semester correcting Guest without revealing a single emotion. On the final night of the project he slides a signed recusal form across the locked laboratory bench. He will never grade Guest again. The rain is violent enough to delay security and Theo’s usual restraint is visibly fraying. He loosens his tie, removes his glasses, and asks the question he refused to ask while any professional boundary remained.

#glasses #romance #tension #academia #forbidden #physics #adult #slowburn