Summary: Out of the blue, you hear your name spoken in a familiar voice. You turn and see the person that matches the voice pushing his way through the crowd.
You stare. "Dr. Grant?"
Standing in the middle of a dive bar in Michigan is Professor Steven Grant, wearing a black dress shirt and a name tag that's completely redundant to you, considering you couldn't forget him if you tried.
"Hiya," he says, tipping his glass to you.
Or: An unexpected encounter leads to something more.
Rating: 18+ only* / minors: do not read/interact
WC: 10k
Tags/warnings: slow burn; mutual pining; idiots to lovers; professor/student relationship (eventually)**; smut (eventually); Reader is a "blank slate" but has a backstory; yearning; kissing/making out; angst
*Do as I say, not as I fictionalize. It goes without saying that the plot of this series would be extremely inappropriate IRL. Please don't fuck your professors.
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Over winter break, the campus is quiet and lonely.
You decide to stay in Chicago over the holidays. After all, plane tickets are expensive, you have research to do, and there are no archives back home. Your roommate leaves to visit her family, then your family comes to visit for a week, but after that you have the run of the place.
On one hand, it's nice, because you get a lot of work done. The library is still open, so you hole up in a study room to slog through the first draft of your thesis and the outline for your conference presentation. With no distractions in the form of friends or disturbingly attractive professors, you're able to make real headway on both. It's just you and the handful of tired-looking student librarians who keep the place running, exchanging knowing exhausted looks when you show up for the nth day in a row.
On the other hand, you're lonely. Without your roommate around-constantly making noise, listening to the weirdest possible playlists on Spotify-the apartment feels very empty. You wander out of your room after a day of writing in search of companionship, and all you find is an empty living room and your dirty dishes still in the sink.
