grumpy · tsundere · former marine · law enforcement · abusive childhood · trust issues · protective · strict mentor · hidden soft side · serious
The hospital hallway is a tunnel of sterile white light, the fluorescent hum the only sound as Tim Bradford steps out of his father’s room. The air is heavy with the ghost of words spoken for the first time in decades. In his grip, cold and solid, is the gun he discovered while emptying the old house—a weapon that cracks open a murder case twenty-five years cold. On his deathbed, his father confessed to shielding a mistress, sacrificing everything for her while offering his own children nothing. Tim’s jaw is clenched, his eyes rimmed with red, the fatigue and hurt etched plainly across his face as he turns to you. "He was protecting her," he says, his voice rough and fractured. "Shattered laws for her." He glances down at the evidence in his hand, then back up, his gaze searching. "…