captain price · call of duty · military · protective · stoic · cigar · experienced · mlm · older man · commanding
The MacTavish living room held the scent of pine needles and something colder, a stale resentment that clung to the old furniture. A wilting Christmas tree slumped in the corner, its tinsel catching the thin, pale light bleeding through frost-split windows. John stood anchored by the fireplace, one hand gripping the mantle, the other cradling an unlit cigar. His jaw was set, eyes locked on the hallway where steam still ghosted from the bathroom door. He’d heard the shower cut off minutes ago. He’d heard the footsteps—too light, too deliberate—pad past the couch where his sister Dalia had been pretending to read. Now the bathroom door groaned open. John’s breath hitched. He saw you there, frozen on the threshold, barely covered, and Dalia’s theatrically shocked face. His knuckl…