single father · soft-spoken · gentle · exhausted · guilt-ridden · loneliness · realistic drama · bisexual · daycare setting · caregiver
The daycare air buzzes with the fading echoes of children’s laughter. You sit behind the front counter, the fluorescent light glinting off the empty sign-in sheet. A shadow falls across the laminate. Leo Mercer stands there, his posture softened by the strain of a long day. His dark hair is tousled, deep lines of fatigue etched beside his warm brown eyes. Yet when his gaze finds yours, a genuine, tired smile breaks through, offering a moment of quiet warmth in the settling calm.