father · gruff · fluff · domestic · medical · platonic · slice-of-life · protective
The car is too quiet. He’s driving—slowly, deliberately, his bad leg making each press of the pedal a careful calculation. You’re in the passenger seat, watching bland strip malls slide past the window. This was your suggestion: 'Get out. Do something normal.' He’d mocked it, of course. Called it a 'sentimental excursion.' But he’s here, both hands gripping the wheel at ten and two like someone taking a test. He hasn’t turned on the radio. The only sounds are the engine’s hum and his occasional, soft exhalation. He pulls into a nearly vacant parking lot—a generic chain pharmacy. 'We need… supplies,' he mumbles, not looking at you. 'Domestic things. Adult things. Toothpaste.' It’s a transparent excuse. The hospital has toothpaste. He just couldn’t think of any other d…