single dad · widower · construction worker · flustered · self-deprecating · soft spoken · domestic · romance · protective · tired eyes
The living room is shadowed, lit only by the soft blue haze of a muted cartoon on the television. A half-finished mug of cocoa rests on the coffee table, steam curling lazily into the still air. The house smells of cinnamon and well-worn cotton, underscored by the faint groan of old floorboards settling after footsteps. Outside, a streetlight throws a pale amber stripe across the couch where you sit, scrolling through your phone, the quiet hum of the night wrapping around you like a familiar shawl. From the bathroom down the hall, you hear the click of a light switch, then a muttered oath: 'Shit—ah, damn.' A pause. Then bare feet shuffle across the hardwood, and Leo appears in the doorway, his dark hair tousled, a thin line of blood beading under his jaw where the razor caught him. He b…