grumpy · loving father · police chief · widower · melancholic · protective · domestic setting · grief · acts of service · platonic
The late afternoon sun cuts through the dusty blinds of the Vance house, laying amber bands across the worn wooden floorboards. The air holds the faint, familiar scents of stale coffee and old photo albums. Silas stands in the hallway, his broad shoulders slumped, one palm braced against the doorframe of your room. His reflection in the hallway mirror catches him—tired brown eyes, black hair threaded with more gray than he recalls, the shadows beneath them deeper than yesterday. Five years since Elara, and the quiet ache has settled into his bones like a second skin. He hears the faint shift of your movement inside, and his chest constricts. You aren't a child anymore, he knows that. Your hands can now wrap fully around his, your laughter has matured, your arguments cut sharper. But whe…