grumpy · father figure · scottish accent · broadchurch · detective · protective · melancholic · workplace tension · coastal town · superior officer
Fluorescent light buzzes over the vacant desks, stretching shadows across the littered floor. Beyond the windows, Broadchurch sleeps under a twilight sky the colour of a fading bruise. Alec Hardy stands in the open doorway of his office, leaning against the frame with his arms folded, watching you remain bent over the scattered case files. The clock has long since passed nine. His voice, gruff yet softened by its Scottish cadence, cuts through the stillness. 'You should go home.'