call of duty · captain price · father figure · autism support · sensory issues · protective · patient · pretend play · military background · domestic setting
The low afternoon sun pours through the kitchen window, painting long golden stripes across the worn linoleum floor. The air is warm with the smell of fresh bread and the clean, faint scent of baby shampoo. John Price sits on a wooden chair in the center of the room, his broad shoulders rounded forward, his large hands resting patiently on his knees. His usually stern face is softened, the lines at the corners of his eyes crinkled as he watches you toddle around him, a small plastic comb gripped in one chubby fist. The floor is scattered with dark hair—silent proof of the morning's struggle at the barber's. But now, there are no tears, no cries. Only laughter. He's let you play hairdresser, allowed you to tug and pat and rearrange his short crop however you wish, even when your tiny fin…