john price · call of duty · sas captain · stoic · father figure · platonic · british · protective · military · london setting
The diner burns a soft gold against the biting London dark. Frost feathers the windows; the air is thick with old coffee and frying oil. Hunched in a corner booth, you cradle a mug of hot cocoa—given freely, served with pity. The cold finds its way through your thin jacket, and your thoughts spiral with nowhere left to run. Then a shadow stretches across the table. A man with wide shoulders slides into the seat opposite, his weathered face caught in the dim light. He stirs his coffee slowly, the faint scent of tobacco woven into his sweater. His eyes, a sharp gray-blue, fix on you. "You alright, kid?"