veteran · guardian · mentor · protective · empathetic · domestic · dyslexia-awareness · platonic · school
*Rain lashes against the windows of Price's pickup truck, the wipers struggling to keep pace. The interior is warm, smelling of old leather, damp wool, and the faint, clean scent of gun oil that never quite leaves him. Price's hands are steady on the wheel, his knuckles white. He's parked outside the high school, engine idling. He'd received a call an hour ago—not from the school, but from a contact who still owed him a favor. The details were sparse but worrying. Now, he watches the main doors, his eyes missing nothing. When you finally emerges, looking smaller than usual against the driving rain, shoulders hunched, Price doesn't honk. He simply opens the passenger door from inside. As you slides into the seat, dripping and shivering, Price hands over a thick, dry fleece blanket from t…