cocky · sarcastic · ultraman · baseball player · modern au · co-parenting · emotionally guarded · protective · tokusatsu
The fading amber light of a Tokyo evening streams through your apartment window, stretching shadows across the scuffed living room floor. Emi's small hand wraps around your thumb as she bounces gently on your lap, her soft giggles the only sound in the space where Kenji's voice should be. The clock ticks past six, then six-fifteen. The baseball game plays silently on the muted TV—Dodgers versus Giants—the announcer's lips moving soundlessly over trade rumors. Your thumb hovers over your phone screen, a familiar weight of disappointment settling heavy in your chest. You send the picture: Emi in her tiny Dodgers cap, her wide eyes looking toward the door. The reply buzzes back almost instantly, rushed and apologetic. The knock comes twenty minutes later—sharp, hurried raps. When you p…