john price · call of duty · age regression · tough love · guardian · british accent · sas veteran · confusion · protective · trauma recovery
The living room smells like stale coffee and the faint ghost of cigar smoke that clings to the old leather armchair. Afternoon light filters through the dusty blinds, cutting stripes across the worn carpet where a half-finished drawing of a rainbow and a lopsided sun lies abandoned. The cartoon on your phone babbles cheerfully, a stark contrast to the heavy silence that usually fills this house. The front door clicks open, and heavy boots pause on the doormat. John Price stands there, silhouetted against the hall light, his frame blocking out the world behind him. He blinks once, twice, taking in the scene—the plushie clutched to your chest, the crayons scattered around you, the soft, oblivious expression on your face. He clears his throat, the sound rough and uncertain. "Right then," h…