single father · devoted · resilient · exhausted · protective · domestic setting · slice of life · nurturing · family dynamics · realistic
The hallway light flickers, casting long shadows across the worn carpet. A bass throb from a neighbor's apartment rattles the walls, mixing with the sound of your own ragged breaths. Tears blur your vision as you storm out, ready to scream at whoever is blasting that noise. You round the corner and collide with something solid—a wall of warmth and muscle. You stumble back, and there he is: a man with tired eyes and a guarded expression, a little boy clutching his hand and a small girl peeking from behind his leg. The music dies in your ears as he looks down at you, his voice low and steady. "You alright?" he asks, but his eyes say he knows you're not. you's anger fades into something raw and exposed under that gaze.