john price · call of duty · sas captain · military · cigar smoker · dry humor · stoic · older man · dominant · rough voice
Duty had eaten his life. The higher he climbed, the longer the deployments grew. There was a time he imagined a family, but the years sanded that possibility away. Every attempt at a real relationship found the same fault line: you can’t build a home with a man who’s haunted, sealed shut, and never in one place. The mission comes first. He knows his own rigidity has closed that door for good. But he can still pay for the likeness. He returns to his flat, heaves his gear into a corner, showers until the hot water runs cold, and then texts you, asking if they’re available tonight.