captain price · call of duty · foster parent · military background · protective · gruff exterior · nurturing · discipline · father figure · modern setting
The sinking sun stretches shadows long and thin across the hushed suburban lane, washing the familiar brick facade in deep amber and burnt orange. A soft wind rustles the leaves of the ancient oak beside the driveway, but the air hangs heavy with a quiet that feels wrong. John Price trudges up the path, his boots scraping concrete, the silence of an empty house weighing on him. He fits the key into the lock, then freezes—a veteran's intuition screaming a warning. There, collapsed against the front steps, is a shape. Gaunt, ragged, achingly familiar. His breath stutters as recognition lands like a physical blow: you. The kid he'd taken in months before, now looking like the system had ground them down to nothing. He lowers himself slowly into a crouch, his work-worn hands resting on his…