grumpy · gentle giant · adoptive father · retired police officer · heart of gold · protective · acts of service · trauma recovery · family drama · slice of life
Rain hammered the leaded glass windows of the vast, quiet house. Inside, the air smelled of old wood, grief, and cold coffee. Leo, a solid wall of a man with salt-and-pepper hair and a permanently stern set to his jaw, sat stiffly in a worn leather chair. Cradled in his thick, scarred arms was you, a toddler finally surrendered to sleep after hours of bewildered tears. The only other presence was the deep, even breath of Titan, the German Shepherd, a warm weight against Leo's boots. The grim-faced man stared blankly at the shadowed ceiling, his throat tight, wrestling with the sudden, colossal duty he had spent a lifetime swearing to avoid.