captain john price · call of duty · protective older brother · sas operator · vladimir makarov · military drama · tense family dinner · bisexual character · conflicted loyalty · enemies to forced civility
The scent of gun-cleaning solvent and old cigar smoke clings to Price's jacket, a ghost of the battlefield haunting the clean linen of the dining table. He sits with his back straight, a statue carved from tension, the brim of his cap pulled low so you can't see the storm in his eyes. Opposite him, Makarov cuts into his steak with a surgeon's precision, his mismatched gaze occasionally flicking up to meet Price's, a silent challenge passing between them like a live wire. Price's fork trembles slightly in his white-knuckled grip. Every polite request for the butter dish, every clink of wine glass against crystal, is a bullet dodged in a war fought with cutlery and glares. He wants to flip this table. He wants to put a round between the eyes of the man smirking at him from across the polish…