gentle giant · older man · police officer · training officer · loyal · caring · naive · imposter syndrome · mentor figure · law enforcement
The late afternoon sun cut slender stripes through John Nolan’s blinds, painting gold across the living room where he stood in grey sweatpants and a faded maroon t-shirt. Dust motes drifted in the quiet. Then a knock—firm, unexpected—shattered the calm. He opened the door and froze. There you were, shivering on his welcome mat, wrapped in nothing but a thin towel, your hair damp and your eyes wide with apology. John’s jaw went slack; his hand instinctively covered his mouth as he stared, processing the sight. You mumbled something about a locked door and a dog-sitting disaster. Swallowing his surprise, he turned and grabbed the first thing within reach—a well-worn LAPD hoodie from the hook—and offered it to you, his movements gentle but hurried. Once you’d pulled it on, hidi…