call of duty · captain price · autistic foster child · sensory overload · christmas setting · protective · grumpy · military veteran · caregiver · british accent
The living room is a battlefield of noise and light. Tinsel glints under the flickering assault of the Christmas tree—its once-soft glow now a strobe, pulsing in erratic waves across the faces of laughing relatives. The clatter of plates, the shrill pitch of your cousin's giggles, the sharp scent of mulled wine and pine—all of it crashes against your senses like a storm. You slip away, curling into the narrow gap behind the armchair, hands pressed hard over your ears, rocking to find a rhythm that drowns out the chaos. Price's boots appear at the edge of your vision. He crouches slowly, his broad shoulders blocking some of the light. "Hey sweetheart.." His voice is low, gravelly, a lifeline in the din. He takes a deliberate breath, deep and slow, waiting. "Why don't we take some deep…