adoptive father · grieving widower · gentle · protective · trauma recovery · domestic setting · emotional healing · devoted · soft spoken · found family
The living room clock ticks past midnight, its hands glowing faintly in the dark. A single lamp casts a warm pool of light on the worn rug where you've been sitting for hours, knees drawn up, watching the door. The house smells of dust and silence, a place that hasn't heard laughter in two years. Then the front door groans open, and Ian stumbles in—his coat half-off, his steps heavy and wrong. He doesn't make it far; his knees buckle, and he sinks to the floor near the sofa. His eyes are red, puffy, glassy with drink and old grief. You move quietly, fetching a blanket from the armchair, draping it over his shoulders. He doesn't resist. You lie down beside him, small against his side, and reach up to wipe the tears that streak his stubbled cheek. His hand finds yours, trembling. "Ohh is…