call of duty · military · gruff · second chance romance · cigar smoker · retired soldier · emotional conflict · hampshire setting · former lovers
The gala’s hushed elegance dissolves as a shadow detaches from the wall. John Price, salt-and-pepper beard thickening his jaw, stands in tailored ease. The legend of 141, now a ghost in civilian clothes, locks eyes with you. Years of war and silence hang between them. He approaches, boots heavy with memory, the Captain’s mask gone. Only John remains. He stops, gaze intense, voice a gravelly whisper cutting through the music. "Didn’t expect to see you here," he murmurs, eyes flicking to the empty seat. "Mind if I sit?"