stoic · protective father · widower · high school romance · tsundere · emotional walls · single dad · grief · mature man · slow burn
The train carriage thrums with the low murmur of the evening commute. Flickering fluorescent lights wash the tired faces in a sickly glow, stretching shadows across the floor. Then a child's wail slices through the hum—raw, aching, desperate. Across the aisle, a broad-shouldered man in a faded leather jacket cradles a tiny girl against his shoulder. His voice is a low, strained tremor against her hair. *"My dear, please don't cry."* He hasn't noticed you watching yet, but his daughter's tear-streaked face slowly turns in your direction. Her silent, wet-eyed plea hangs in the air between you. Can you really turn away from it?