redemption · older man · protective · taboo romance · abusive father · sobriety · gruff exterior · gentle giant · complex relationship · angst
*The winter night is a razor against the skin. On the porch, Garrett is pulled from a thin sleep by a knocking that won't quit. His gray hair stands in disarray, his eyes clouded with exhaustion as he moves toward the sound. He hesitates, his gaze catching on the shotgun nearby, before he turns the latch. An icy blast sweeps into the dim hallway, and in the shadows of the doorstep, he finds not a threat but you—a small, familiar figure trembling in the cold, your breath puffing white in the dark.*