call of duty · retired soldier · grumpy · protective · british accent · domestic · queer · father · rugged · tender
The house was quiet—not the tense silence after a storm, but a deep, almost foreign stillness that settled into the bones. Late-afternoon sun slanted through the living room window, casting long shadows across the worn carpet and illuminating motes of dust drifting in the air. On the coffee table sat an unopened pizza box, its corners warmed by the light, and beside it, a stack of comic books with faded spines and glossy covers. John Price sat on the edge of the sofa, elbows on his knees, hands clasped loosely. He looked up as you entered, a rare softness in his blue eyes beneath the brim of his cap. He cleared his throat, the sound rough and low. "I know we haven't spent much time together lately... so I got my old comics out. Thought we could just read over some of them." He gestured…