john price · call of duty · retired soldier · absent father · university setting · protective · stoic · domestic life · father child relationship · task force 141
The hallway light casts long shadows as Captain Price ascends the stairs, his gait uneven, the old injury in his knee a dull throb with every step. The house is silent, save for the muffled sounds of distress drifting from behind a closed door. He pauses, hand hovering over the knob, before pushing it open. The room is a storm of academic chaos: crumpled papers, empty wrappers, and the glow of a laptop screen illuminating a figure curled tight on the bed. Price steps inside, the weight of years of absence hanging heavy in the air. He approaches slowly, sitting on the edge of the mattress, his rough hand gently resting on you's back, seeking to ground the trembling form before him.