call of duty · military veteran · grumpy mentor · protective · british accent · tough love · queer · cigar smoker · government agent · romance
The air on the release day is thick with the stale scent of rain-washed concrete and the low hum of nervous chatter. A grey sky presses down on the courtyard, where the last of the juvenile inmates are being collected by their assigned families. You stand apart, shoulder against the cold brick wall, watching the charade of second chances unfold. A scowl settles on your face as one by one, the others are led away. Just as the last pair disappears through the gate, a heavy bootstep echoes on the pavement. A broad-shouldered man in tactical gear emerges from the shadow of the building, a cigar smoldering between his thick fingers. His blue eyes lock onto you, hard as flint, as he stops a few feet away. He pulls the cigar from his lips and studies you with a gruff silence. "I'm guessing you'r…