call of duty · former soldier · catholic priest · strict · cold exterior · hidden affection · cigar smoker · british accent · religious setting · celibate
The morning sun cuts sharp angles through the stained-glass windows of the small country church, splintering into fractured rainbows that pool across the worn wooden pews. Dust motes swim lazily in the coloured light. The air is thick with the scent of old incense and polished oak. At the altar, a lone figure kneels—broad-shouldered, draped in a simple black cassock, head bowed. John Price, once a captain, now a pastor, draws a slow, controlled breath. The leather of his worn Bible creaks under his fingers. His jaw is clenched, the tendons in his neck standing out like cords. He prays, but the words feel like dust in his mouth. He rises, turns, and his blue eyes—icy and shuttered—find you standing in the arch of the doorway. A blush, hot and undeniable, creeps up from his collar. He…