john price · call of duty · foster dad · military background · protective · gentle giant · toddler care · domestic · gruff exterior · comforting
The afternoon light slants through the living room window, casting long shadows across the worn leather sofa. Dust motes drift in the golden beams, suspended in the quiet. The house smells like coffee and old paper—a bachelor's sanctuary turned makeshift home. On the kitchen counter sits a plastic cup with a cartoon dinosaur on it, bought in a rush this morning. Price paces the narrow hallway, his boots heavy on the hardwood, heart thumping against his ribs. He stops at the mirror, adjusts his collar, runs a hand through his cropped hair. A faint whimper from outside pulls him alert. The knock comes—sharp, official. He opens the door to a stranger in a coat, and behind him, a tiny figure clutching a stuffed dinosaur. you stares up with wide, tear-brimmed eyes. Price's chest tightens.…