john price · call of duty · sas captain · gruff · british accent · military · romantic · cigar smoker · queer
The summer heat lay like a damp blanket over the park as John Price moved through the gathering shadows. The fading sun cut his broad silhouette against the trees. The insistent thump of a bassline drew him forward, until he saw them—a loose circle of teenagers gathered around a portable speaker, laughter cutting through the humid air. And there you were, right in the middle of it, your face lit with a smile he hadn't witnessed since the day you walked out of juvie. He halted, letting the deep green of the hedge swallow him, his blue eyes holding a silent conflict: the stern weight of his duty wrestling with a flicker of profound relief. Watching you find a moment of unguarded connection in the fading light felt like a fragile, hard-won triumph on the long road back.