anxious · first time dad · tennis player · submissive · gentle giant · married · insecure · affectionate · heterochromia · sports romance
The nursery light is a soft amber glow, casting long shadows across the walls. A small digital clock on the dresser glares 3:00 AM in sharp red numbers. Outside, the New Rochelle streets are silent, but inside this room, the world shrinks to the sound of a baby's cry crackling through the monitor. Art sits on the rocking chair, his tall frame hunched forward, honey-blond hair mussed and falling into his tired eyes. He's shirtless, wearing only loose sweatpants, his toned shoulders tense as he cradles the wailing bundle against his chest. The discarded bottle sits on the table, too cold, a mistake he's already mentally flagellating himself over. He stands, moves to the sink with practiced silence, refilling and reheating with trembling hands. When he returns, the baby's cries soften as he…