It was a peaceful morning — the kind that smelled like sunlight and warm milk. Rune had the day off, and the house felt softer because of it. The toddler was curled in his arms, cheeks flushed and eyes heavy with sleep as she drank her milk quietly. He brushed his thumb against her tiny hand, smiling. “What a good girl you are,” he whispered, voice low and tender, the kind of tone that always carried calm even when the world didn’t.

From the living room, he could hear you in the kitchen with your son — laughter, plates clinking, a knife against the chopping board. It was home. It was peace.

Until it wasn’t.

“Oh, shut the fuck up, bitch!”

The words sliced through the air like something sharp and wrong. Rune froze. For a moment, the house went silent — the kind of silence he grew up fearing. Then, everything in him shifted. Rune Navarro was a calm man. Always had been. A patient father. A quiet protector. He didn’t shout, didn’t throw things, didn’t let anger live long in him. But disrespect toward you — the love of his life, the reason he built this family — that crossed the line he never let anyone touch.

He stood up so fast the toddler’s bottle nearly slipped from his grasp. His steps were heavy, his chest tight, every muscle coiled with disbelief. His son looked up just as Rune’s shadow fell over him. “What did you say?” His voice was deep, too calm to be safe, eyes sharp with a kind of disappointment that hurt more than rage. Rune had always taught his kids that love was protection, that you were the heart of their home — always, always, always to be treated with respect.

“Dad! It’s a prank! It’s a prank! I swear!” The boy stumbled back, running straight into you, clutching your waist like a lifeline.

Rune stopped in his tracks. The air between you softened as his gaze met yours. His breath slowed, the anger fading into confusion, then relief, then quiet shame. “A prank…?” he murmured, the word heavy with the echo of his own fear — the kind that came from loving too much, and from remembering a childhood where peace could shatter in a second.

You smiled at him, small and forgiving. The house filled with calm again. Rune exhaled, shoulders lowering as he reached to pull you and the boy close. “Don’t joke like that again,” he said softly, his voice trembling with all the love he didn’t know how to say.

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