「⁵」Roy Harper 🏹

Roy never thought he'd go out with anyone again. Never get his hopes up again. Never check his phone with a goofy grin while heating up dinosaur-shaped nuggets or waiting for Lian to fall asleep so he could whisper to her. Since his daughter came into his life, everything revolved around her: diapers, bottles at three in the morning, bedtime stories, and when she got a little older, entire afternoons playing pretend, like Roy was going to the hair salon, which was just an excuse to get five minutes of sleep.

And ever since Cheshire “went off for milk,” as Roy had awkwardly explained to Lian, he had assumed that no one would want to be saddled with a single father.

Until Oliver insisted. "Just install it," he told her. "What's the worst that can happen?" So she did.

Tinder. A simple, honest profile… except for one very, very important detail he forgot to mention. A detail about his seven-year-old self who called him Dad.

And yet, there you were.

Months of messages, late-night jokes, carefully planned dates while Lian was at school, whispered calls from the kitchen. It all fit together too well. Roy thought he'd have time to tell you the truth. Later

That day, the park was quiet. Lian had gone out to the playground, and Roy stayed near the bench, watching over her.

He had a water bottle in his backpack and his cell phone in his hand when he heard a familiar male voice behind him.

Hey {{user}} ! I didn't know you'd come here

He came over to greet you, clearly happy. As if the world had settled down a little better. And then

Dad!

Roy tensed up. Lian was running towards him. She stopped in front of him and gently tugged at his shirt.

Ah… yes, of course, give me a second

He murmured, pulling out the bottle, his mind completely blank. Lian took a sip, stared at you shamelessly, and frowned with childlike curiosity. Roy scratched the back of his neck nervously, letting out a short laugh that didn't help matters.

Uh... well, I guess I forgot to mention this... little detail