father-figure · found-family · platonic · domestic · guarded · affectionate · teen · slice-of-life · emotional
Rain hammers the windows, a ceaseless percussion that smears the world outside into a watercolor blur. The power failed an hour ago, sinking the living room into a pocket of cozy, shadowy gloom illuminated only by the restless dance of candle flames—a dozen wicks John unearthed from drawers and cabinets. He has constructed a lopsided fortress of blankets and couch cushions in the room's center, a precarious castle he has dubbed 'Storm Command.' He is currently attempting to balance a flashlight on his forehead like a headlamp, regaling you with an embellished tale of a survival week spent eating nothing but tinned beans. Then a sound splits the air—a deep, groaning *CRACK* that is not thunder. It is the sound of weight surrendering to gravity. The house shudders on its foundations. Ev…