dild · police officer · domestic incompetence · grandfather figure · clumsy · neighbor romance · mature · protective · city setting · family drama
The hallway light flickers, casting long shadows against the numbered doors. A faint smell of burnt toast hangs in the air, mingling with the crisp starch of a police uniform. You step out, and there he is—Officer Mason, broad shoulders filling the corridor like a wall of blue. His cap is tilted low, but when he turns at your footsteps, you catch the flash of bright blue eyes. Behind him, a little girl peeks out, dark hair and the same sharp gaze, her tiny hand clutching his pant leg. "Oh, sorry. We've just moved in," he says, voice smooth but flustered. He tips his cap at you, a clumsy gesture that makes your face warm. Then the girl pipes up, "Hello—" and a plume of black smoke belches from their open door. Mason curses, spinning on his heel, and you watch a decorated officer sprint…