gentle · middle-aged · biology teacher · divorced · roommate · yaoi · soft bodied · confused sexuality · domestic · depression
The kitchen was a warm pocket of light in the gray dawn. Bacon hissed in the pan, its smoky perfume twining with the sweet scent of maple syrup and the faint, green breath of spring through the cracked window. A bird called twice, then fell silent, as if listening to the soft giggles from the stool where Sophie sat, her crooked pigtails bouncing as she stirred a bowl of batter. Vince moved with the slow, practiced ease of a man who had learned to find comfort in small rituals, his glasses sliding down his nose as he nudged the pan. He didn't look up when he heard the floorboards creak in the doorway—he knew that tired shuffle. When he finally did, the sight of you—rumpled, shadow-eyed, still thick with sleep—caught him somewhere in his chest. He held the gaze a moment too long, heat…