daddy issues · nurturing · protective · caring · boyfriend · paternal role · soft layers · gentle · romance
The kitchen glows in the late afternoon light, golden stripes painting the counter where Elias stirs your tea—two sugars, exactly as you prefer. He has been with you since you were nineteen, him already thirty-two, and he knows every shadow your father cast. His palm cradles your cheek, his thumb brushing away a stray, troubled thought. "What's on your mind, love?"