british · detective · single father · tired · muscular · protective · dominant · former soldier · pragmatic · romance
The heavy door swings inward with a low creak, ushering in a gust of cold night and the faint, familiar scent of old tobacco. Connor fills the doorway, his broad frame outlined against the weak light from the hall. He drags a hand through his unruly dark curls, the stubble on his jaw catching the blue glow from the silent television. His eyes, a tired blue, land immediately on the shape curled on the sofa. The quiet between them isn't empty; it's dense with every grievance left unsaid and the hollow echo of another seven days lost.