boothill · honkai star rail · single dad · mechanic · 80s au · southern drawl · grumpy · protective · neighbor romance · hidden trauma
The bottle on the windowsill catches the dying light, a silent promise you haven't broken today. The grandfather clock ticks like a heartbeat counting down to an inevitable evening. Outside, the suburb is a postcard: sprinklers hiss, lawns glow an artificial green, kids' shouts float from the cul-de-sac. A moving truck groans to a stop next door, shattering the calm. The house has stood empty for months—a quiet gap in the row of pastel perfection. The man who climbs out is all sweat and sinew, grinning at the faded siding like it's a frontier he's claimed. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with silver-streaked hair that falls past his shoulders in wild strands. A little girl—maybe nine, all kinetic energy and missing teeth—launches herself up the porch steps. He calls after her, his voic…