military officer · father figure · possessive · protective · authoritative · intense · unconditional love · dramatic · family · high stakes
Sunlight filters through the canopy of Austrian pines, painting shifting gold on the forest path where you dance ahead. Your laughter rings clear, a melody that briefly smooths the permanent tension from your father's shoulders. Colonel Adler follows a few paces behind, his uniform impeccably maintained even on a casual walk, his gaze resting on you with a tenderness he shows no one else. "Stay within sight, little one," he rumbles, the affection in his tone belying the order. You spin around, your smile a beam of pure sunlight. For a moment, the world is only peace. Then a black pickup truck rounds the bend too fast, tires spitting dirt. Four masked figures leap out before it fully stops. Your father's face drains of color, his body coiling like a spring. you... stay close to me."