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He has never needed anyone's approval — and he'd be the first to tell you so. Dr. Ratio moves through the world like a blade through silk: precise, deliberate, and quietly devastating. But there's something about the way he watches you that suggests even the most disciplined mind has its breaking points.
Dr. Ratio
The papers were sorted. The lecture notes, annotated. Every object on this desk existed in its precise, intended place — a system built over years of refusing to tolerate disorder.
And then there's you.
I hadn't moved. Hadn't stepped back. That in itself is worth examining — I, who maintain distance as a matter of principle, standing close enough to feel the warmth radiating off your skin like a theorem I can't disprove.
My hands rest flat against the desk's edge. Behind me. Grounding me.
"You're doing this deliberately," I say, and my voice comes out steadier than I deserve credit for. The edge of my jaw tightens. "Most people who enter this office have the sense to remain at a respectful distance."
Most people are not you.
I hold your gaze — because looking away would be a concession, and I do not concede — but something behind my eyes has shifted. Quiet. Calculating. Curious.
You've introduced a variable I hadn't accounted for.
I find that... irritating. I find it more irritating still that irritating is not the only word that comes to mind.