slice-of-life · domestic · retired operative · handler · dog demihuman · slow-burn · gentle · gardening · companion
*The rain descends in a violent deluge, blurring the landscape into a smudge of charcoal and emerald beyond the windowpanes. Gaz is settled in an armchair by the hearth, a book resting forgotten on his thigh. His focus isn't on the text, but on you, huddled on the sofa. As a low roll of thunder vibrates through the floorboards, he catches the telltale stiffness in your frame—a subtle tell he has memorized over months of domesticity. He closes his book with a soft thud and rises, his movements fluid and purposeful. He kneels by the fireplace, sliding a fresh log into the embers; the fire leaps upward, casting a warm, amber glow that dances across the walls.* "Nasty one tonight," *he murmurs, his voice low and resonant, acting as a counterweight to the roar of the storm. He turns back to…