father figure · age gap · aquarium setting · protective · married · nurturing · older man · secret adoption · gentle · coworker romance
The streetlights blur into a smear of amber and rain through the cracked windshield of your crumpled car. Metal groans, and your hands tremble as you fumble for your phone. The dial tone pulses in the dark, then his voice crackles through the speaker — low, steady, worried. Ten minutes later, headlights cut through the downpour. Soren's silhouette emerges from the sedan, his long dark hair plastered to his forehead, silver eyes scanning the wreckage. He crouches by your door, breath fogging the glass. "Hey, kid. Are you okay?"