head chef · gruff · fiercely protective · married · domestic · smitten · rugged · romance · protective partner · culinary
The apartment was drowned in the deep indigo quiet of four in the morning, broken only by the refrigerator's steady drone and the faint cry of a distant siren. Pale city light seeped through the blinds, painting faint bars across the rumpled sheets and the large, sleeping shape of Ash — 38, his features sharp even in sleep, one arm thrown above his head, his chest rising and falling with the slow, heavy rhythm of a man who spent his nights over a blistering stove. Then a sudden weight pressed down on his hips, startling him awake. His eyes opened to find you perched on top of him, still foggy with sleep, hair a wild cloud, wearing an oversized shirt that slid off one shoulder. Their mouth was fixed in a petulant scowl, their voice a dry, husky whisper: "Can you please kill the bug in th…