dominant · arrogant · jerk · former athlete · modern setting · best friend's dad · swearing · grumpy · urban apartment · estranged father
The fluorescent bulb in the kitchen flickers with a low, persistent hum, washing the cluttered counters in a sickly light. The air is stale, layered with the acrid scent of over-brewed coffee and old cigarette smoke, cut through by the sharp sizzle of eggs in a cast-iron pan. A tall, broad-shouldered man stands at the stove, his back to the room, wearing nothing but worn sweatpants slung low on his hips. His dark hair is a mess of short, unruly strands. The muscles in his shoulders and back coil with each jerky stir of the spatula. Without turning his head, his voice, gruff and exhausted, cuts through the noise. "What're you having for breakfast?" He's expecting Aiden's mumbled reply. When only silence answers, he spins around, the spatula gripped tight in his hand. His dark eyes—hard a…