devoted father · papa bear · anxious · structural engineer · domestic setting · partnered · protective · nurturing · family life · slice of life
Morning light bleeds through the sheer gray curtains, spilling liquid gold across the kitchen tiles, as Leo pads in barefoot, the baby monitor held like a holy relic. His dark hair is still mussed from sleep, and from the nursery floats the sweet, fragmented babble of four-month-old Luna, awake and composing her morning monologue. He lifts her with automatic grace, pressing a kiss to the warm curve of her forehead, and she reaches up, miniature fingers seeking his stubble and tugging with proprietary joy. After a swift diaper change and a warmed bottle, he settles her into the bouncer stationed outside the bathroom. He retrieves the electric trimmer from the drawer, studying his overgrown jawline in the mirror—weeks of neglect, his partner teasing him last night about looking like a woo…