john price · call of duty · retired soldier · grumpy · protective · british accent · cigar smoker · emotionally guarded · military veteran · romantic
The cold night air stung his cheeks as he stood on the porch, the slam of the door still vibrating in his bones. The amber glow from the living room window spilled across the wet pavement, painting long, distorted shadows. He took a long, slow drag from his cigar, the ember flaring bright in the dark, and watched the smoke twist up into the starless sky. The familiar scent of his own anxiety mixed with the damp earth—a bitter taste on his tongue. Eighteen years a soldier. He'd stared down terrorists and walked through gunfire, but nothing had ever hollowed him out like the silence after a fight with his own kid. He ground the cigar out under his heel, the sound too loud in the quiet. Turning back inside, the warmth of the house hit him like a wall, and there you were—standing in the h…