Taking another few moments to look at each of his students, meeting the eyes of those who were looking at him (and not staring at their desks or fiddling with their supplies), Steve was finally satisfied that he'd gotten through to everyone the gravity of the situation, and how they were expected to conduct themselves while they were his students.
He was just about to go to the door and open it again, so Rogue wouldn't wonder what was going on, when there was a knock, and the woman herself entered the room. Her cheerful words almost fooled Steve - but he'd gotten into the habit (for better or worse, considering what he'd just lectured his students on) of paying close attention to Rogue; the way she moved and spoke... the way she smiled, especially when it was at him. And this morning was different.
"Absolutely, we were just getting set up. Right guys?" There were murmurs of agreement - a little more subdued than usual, but nothing that should stand out. Even as Steve spoke however, he was giving Rogue a surreptitious second look, cataloguing the differences today. Her eyes were bright, and combined with the flush on her cheeks - that could have been from the cold wind and rain - and the pink tinge around her eyes...
She'd been crying. Or at least, trying not to cry. He couldn't ask her if everything was alright, not in front of the class; even if he kept his voice down, one of them was bound to overhear, and he didn't want that for her. And he didn't want her to feel self-conscious by pointing it out now, anyway.
He hoped it didn't have anything to do with Neil. After overhearing what the young man had been insinuating (and outright suggesting with no subtlety, as well), Steve had promptly sent him off ("to be dealt with later"), and then assured Rogue, numerous times, that he would take care of it, she didn't need to worry about something like that ever happening again in his classroom.
It wasn't just that she was the only person he'd been able to find who would agree to model for them. He genuinely liked Rogue, and was coming to care for her as a good friend, despite not having known each other for more than a couple months.
...And, yeah, okay, he might be starting to develop feelings for her that weren't strictly platonic. He was ignoring those feelings, because at least for the moment, he wasn't going to do anything about them; he was the authority figure, her 'boss' for lack of a better term, and he wasn't going to jeopardize either their working or friendly relationship by suggesting something more. Not right now, anyway.
For right now, he could be the friendly young professor. Which meant he grabbed the cup of coffee he'd started buying on his way to class every morning, even though he didn't really enjoy the stuff; Rogue did, and it was the least he could do to repay her for helping him out in the first place.
"For you," he told her with a smile, that was a little softer than his usual grin when interacting with her, handing the cup over. Carla, the woman who had a coffee 'cart' that traveled around campus, was getting cute: this morning she'd written "Professor Steve's Model" on the cup, instead of either his name, or even Rogue's, which she had learned a few weeks ago.
no subject
He was just about to go to the door and open it again, so Rogue wouldn't wonder what was going on, when there was a knock, and the woman herself entered the room. Her cheerful words almost fooled Steve - but he'd gotten into the habit (for better or worse, considering what he'd just lectured his students on) of paying close attention to Rogue; the way she moved and spoke... the way she smiled, especially when it was at him. And this morning was different.
"Absolutely, we were just getting set up. Right guys?" There were murmurs of agreement - a little more subdued than usual, but nothing that should stand out. Even as Steve spoke however, he was giving Rogue a surreptitious second look, cataloguing the differences today. Her eyes were bright, and combined with the flush on her cheeks - that could have been from the cold wind and rain - and the pink tinge around her eyes...
She'd been crying. Or at least, trying not to cry. He couldn't ask her if everything was alright, not in front of the class; even if he kept his voice down, one of them was bound to overhear, and he didn't want that for her. And he didn't want her to feel self-conscious by pointing it out now, anyway.
He hoped it didn't have anything to do with Neil. After overhearing what the young man had been insinuating (and outright suggesting with no subtlety, as well), Steve had promptly sent him off ("to be dealt with later"), and then assured Rogue, numerous times, that he would take care of it, she didn't need to worry about something like that ever happening again in his classroom.
It wasn't just that she was the only person he'd been able to find who would agree to model for them. He genuinely liked Rogue, and was coming to care for her as a good friend, despite not having known each other for more than a couple months.
...And, yeah, okay, he might be starting to develop feelings for her that weren't strictly platonic. He was ignoring those feelings, because at least for the moment, he wasn't going to do anything about them; he was the authority figure, her 'boss' for lack of a better term, and he wasn't going to jeopardize either their working or friendly relationship by suggesting something more. Not right now, anyway.
For right now, he could be the friendly young professor. Which meant he grabbed the cup of coffee he'd started buying on his way to class every morning, even though he didn't really enjoy the stuff; Rogue did, and it was the least he could do to repay her for helping him out in the first place.
"For you," he told her with a smile, that was a little softer than his usual grin when interacting with her, handing the cup over. Carla, the woman who had a coffee 'cart' that traveled around campus, was getting cute: this morning she'd written "Professor Steve's Model" on the cup, instead of either his name, or even Rogue's, which she had learned a few weeks ago.