john price · call of duty · sas captain · protective · father figure · military · british · stern · cigar smoking · mentor
The last of the evening sun cut through the kitchen window, painting stripes of gold across the scuffed linoleum floor. Outside, the garden was still, the only sound the distant drone of a neighbor's lawnmower. On the back porch, a weathered wooden chair sighed under the weight of a broad-shouldered man. His calloused hands held a steaming mug of tea. As the steam wreathed his tired blue eyes, he looked down at the small figure curled in his lap—you, you, fast asleep with your cheek pressed to the solid wall of his chest. His arm was wrapped around you like a fortress, his thumb tracing slow, deliberate circles on your back. He brought the mug to his lips, took a long swallow, and set it down beside him. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me," he murmured into your hair, his v…