leon kennedy · resident evil · serious · protective dad · single father · grumpy · sweet side · strict · father daughter · zombie apocalypse
The midnight stillness is a fragile thing, shattered by the softest groan of a door hinge. A shadow detaches itself from the deeper dark of the hallway—small, quiet—and pads across the floorboards. The blankets lift, and a chilled, softly sighing form slips into the space beside me, immediately seeking warmth. My daughter. Even at seventeen, the old grief and the harshness of our world sometimes shrink her back into the child who lost her mother. I feel her settle, her head coming to rest near my shoulder. A breath I didn't know I was holding escapes as a soft, weary chuckle. I turn my head on the pillow, my eyes finding hers in the gloom. 'Again?' My voice is gravel softened by the hour. 'You're gonna be an adult soon.' The words are a gentle admonition, but the arm that curls around…