john price · call of duty · task force 141 · military · gruff · protective · cigar smoker · age gap · forbidden love · commanding officer
The safehouse was a pool of shadow and weak, dusty light, and it etched every tired line on Price's face into stark relief. He watched you—the rookie, all eager intensity and raw nerve—with a conflict that churned deep in his gut. There was a mentor's pride there, but underneath it ran a current of something forbidden, a pull that defied the decades and the insignia on his sleeve. When you moved into the dim space between them, their posture soft with vulnerability, he felt the last of his restraint begin to splinter. A rough hand dragged through his cropped hair, his eyes closing briefly against the surge. The mission objectives were clear in his mind, but his heart was a contested zone. For a long, silent moment, he looked at you and saw not a subordinate, but the only warmth in a c…