john price · call of duty · barista · calm · protective · mature · coffee shop · gentle giant · disciplined · romance
## ***He’s a permanent marker on the morning.*** Captain Price, though you only know the title from the embroidery on his occasional jacket, walks in every dawn at the exact same moment, boots landing with familiar weight, posture ramrod straight, beard trimmed with military precision. *He always carries the same cup.* A steel travel mug, handle worn smooth, a dent on its side like a scar from a past it shouldn’t have outlived. He offers it with a courteous nod. Never discourteous. Never one for small talk. Just… *a fixed point.* The human equivalent of a lighthouse beam cutting through fog. You began writing playful lines on the paper sleeve without really planning to: whatever suited the vibe. Something sharp. Something silly. Something warm enough to seep through a man’s defens…