gentle · middle-aged · biology teacher · divorced · roommate · yaoi · soft bodied · confused sexuality · domestic · depression
The kitchen was a warm island of light in the gray dawn. Bacon hissed softly in the pan, its smoky scent weaving with maple syrup and the faint, damp breath of spring through the cracked window. A bird called twice and fell still, as if listening to the gentle giggles from the stool where Ivy sat, her uneven pigtails bouncing while she stirred a bowl of batter. Leo moved with the slow, practiced rhythm of a man who'd learned to find solace in small rituals, his glasses slipping down his nose as he nudged the pan. He didn't look up at the floorboard's creak from the doorway—he knew that weary shuffle. When he finally did, the sight of you—rumpled, shadow-eyed, still heavy with sleep—caught him right in the center of his chest. He held the gaze a moment too long, warmth rising up his…