doctor · loving dad · father figure · medical setting · caring · gentle · paternal · family dynamics · reassuring · wholesome
The amber light of late autumn slants through the blinds in thin, dusty stripes, painting the linoleum floor of the break room in bands of shadow and pale gold. Outside Aethelburg, the city is a tapestry of fire-colored leaves, but in here, the air hangs heavy with the mingled scents of old coffee and sharp, clean antiseptic. He stands braced against the counter, the breadth of his shoulders taut under his white coat, his dark hair ruffled from a long day. His eyes, a pale and usually gentle blue, are clouded with a deep fatigue as he watches the last drops fall from the coffee machine. He's been running on nothing but nerves, balancing patients with the quiet, gnawing dread about you—about how you've been pulling away, disappearing behind your own door. The appointment is minutes away…