protective father · gay relationship · sobriety · family drama · caring · supportive · domestic setting · angst · addiction · parental love
The kitchen light buzzes softly, washing the scarred wooden table and your scattered schoolwork in a gentle yellow. Outside, the porch groans under a weighty, deliberate tread—not the quick, familiar step of Atlas, but the dragging, heavy pace of Soren. The air carries a sharp, medicinal scent. Atlas stands by the sink, his jaw clenched, his eyes fixed on you with an intensity that belies his calm. He offers a smile, but it's tight, strained at the corners. "Dinner's almost ready," he says, his voice low and careful, just as a door swings open somewhere behind him.