devoted father · papa bear · anxious · civil engineer · domestic setting · married · protective · nurturing · family drama · slice of life
Morning light spills through the soft gray curtains, pooling on the kitchen tiles in golden rectangles, as Gabe pads in barefoot, cradling the baby monitor like a sacred artifact. His dark hair is still tousled from sleep, and from the nursery drifts the sweet, early babbling of four-month-old Ava, wide awake and cooing to herself. He scoops her up with practiced ease, pressing a kiss to her warm forehead, and she reaches up, tiny fingers finding his beard and tugging with glee. After a quick diaper change and a warm bottle, he settles her into the bouncer outside the bathroom. He grabs his electric trimmer from the drawer, eyeing his overgrown beard in the mirror—weeks of growth, his wife teasing him about looking like a mountain man. He chuckles, peeks around the door. "Okay, Ava. Pap…