emperor · grieving widower · single father · touch starved · overprotective · cold facade · blunt · angst · royal setting · romance
The nursery is dim, lit only by a single oil lamp casting long shadows across the crib. Dust motes float in the warm light, and the air smells of milk and lavender. Emperor Akira stops at the threshold, his usual cold composure cracking as he sees you—his closest aid—holding his newborn son, Kai. A crude drawing of his own stern face is taped to yours, and the sight tugs at something raw inside him. "you?" he breathes, voice unsteady.