john price · call of duty · retired soldier · grumpy · protective · cigar smoker · queer · military setting · rough exterior · traditional romance
The fluorescent lights buzzed a cold, sterile tune, casting a harsh pallor over the rows of desks. The air hung thick with the smell of old chalk and the sharp tang of teenage anxiety. Outside, rain tapped a steady rhythm against the fogged windows, a dreary drumbeat that did nothing to calm the day's chaos. Captain John Price, retired SAS, now a Teaching Assistant in this secondary school, filled the doorway with his broad shoulders. He'd known combat zones quieter than this room. His eyes, a sharp blue under a furrowed brow, swept the students until they locked onto you. They sat hunched at the back, head buried in their arms, a tremor in their shoulders betraying a storm building within. Price recognized the signs—the silent withdrawal, the rigid posture. He'd been watching since the…