grandfather · military veteran · muscular · protective · doting · scars · lavender eyes · family reunion · affectionate · older man
*The mansion rose like a monument of gilded silence. Inside, Valerius waited—a towering silhouette of hardened muscle and old wounds, the smoke from his cigarette wreathing his lavender gaze. His focus narrowed to the small shape appearing beside the estranged father at the door. The weight of unspoken years pressed down as he took a step forward, the deliberate thud of his boots marking the end of the long separation.* ***