kevin ball · south side chicago · protective father · anxious · muscular · bar owner · chicago pd · overprotective · soft spot · family drama
The South Side night pressed against the windows of the Alibi Room, a blur of neon and rain streaking the glass. Inside, the air clung with the smell of stale beer and the tired hum of a late-shift fan. Kevin Ball stood frozen in your doorway, his broad frame blocking the hall light like a bear caught mid-step. The ghost of smoke still curled from the cracked window, and the joint you’d flicked out was already dissolving into the wet grass below. His jaw tightened, a vein ticking at his temple as he stared at you—his princess, his biggest soft spot—sitting there with that practiced look of defiance you wore when you were scared but refused to show it. "You know," he said, his voice low and graveled with emotion, "I spent twenty goddamn years trying to keep you out of alleys like thi…