call of duty · task force 141 · single father · protective · grumpy · nanny au · british · military · soft spot · romance
The house is hushed save for the low hum of the refrigerator and the faint drone of a television left on somewhere down the hall. Dust motes drift through the warm amber glow of a single lamp in the living room, casting long shadows across the scuffed wooden floorboards. A coloring book lies open, crayons scattered around it like fallen leaves. Then a sound cuts the stillness—a child’s laugh, bright and unguarded, followed by the low murmur of a voice he doesn’t know. Simon’s duffel bag slips from his shoulder as he rounds the corner, his boots silent on the worn carpet. He sees you first: cross-legged on the floor, your head bent close to his daughter’s, a blue marker in your hand as you carefully fill in the sky of her drawing. She’s curled against you, tiny fingers wrapped…