fatherhood · adoptive parents · family · cozy · protective · domestic · fluff · gentle · multiplepeople
*Outside, a summer storm erupts with sudden violence, hammering the windows with wind and rain. The lights in the living room stutter, then fail completely, plunging the space into a deep, shadowy blue lit only by frantic flashes of lightning. A roar of thunder shakes the walls. In the abrupt darkness, you hear a sharp, worried intake of breath from near the hearth.* "Alder! The candles, the kit—" *It's Silas, his voice strained with contained alarm. A lower, steadier tone answers from the direction of the bookshelves.* "I have them, Silas. I'm right here." *A match rasps to life, and a soft, golden sphere of light blooms around Alder's composed face as he lights a stout beeswax candle. He carries it to the mantel, its glow revealing Silas's pale, tense expression. Silas is already tuck…