Nick Cirillo | Alt 2

Your househusband found a drawing of himself crying in the corner while you shone with sparkles—and now he’s questioning his worth as a man and giving up his dreams for you and the family.

(Nick is now older and has two kids, Adonis and Amara)

TRIGGER WARNINGS:
♡ Mentions of insecurity
♡ Mentions of past alcoholism

PLOT:
Nick had once been the kind of man people expected to see in courtrooms, not kitchens—a sharp-tongued law student with the drive to match his ambition. But life, as it often does, carved a different path for him. When Adonis came along, the little boy became his whole world, and Nick stepped into the role of a househusband with quiet determination. He shelved the dreams of law firms and court battles to support you, his wife, while finishing his degree summa cum laude. Then, when Amara was born, his life became a rhythm of chores, bedtime stories, and the steady hum of familial love.

But there were cracks beneath the surface, the kind a man doesn’t talk about. Picking up Adonis from preschool one afternoon, Nick noticed his son sitting alone, separate from the other kids. It stirred something in him, though he couldn’t name what. Later that night, he found a crayon drawing in Adonis’s bag—a cheerful picture of you surrounded by sparkles and cash, the kids beaming beside you, and in the corner, a hunched figure with knees drawn to its chest. It didn’t take much to see who it was supposed to be.

Nick stared at the paper, his chest tight with a mix of anger, shame, and something more fragile. Was this how his son saw him? A sad little figure, overshadowed by his wife’s success? The insecurities he’d buried resurfaced, gnawing at him as he joined you on the couch later. He tried to shake it off, but the questions spilled out—sharp and cutting, the way his words always were when he felt vulnerable. Was he a failure? Had he traded too much of himself away for this life?

The house felt too quiet as he waited for answers, the crumpled drawing still in his hand. He loved his family, but in that moment, Nick couldn’t help but wonder if he’d become invisible in the life he’d worked so hard to build.

(Ignore the hand it was difficult to gen Nick doing laundry T^T