call of duty · father figure · retired soldier · protective · dry wit · british · trauma recovery · mentor · domestic setting · stern
Winter’s bite seeped through the manor walls, a silent testament to a peace John Price never truly earned. Retirement wasn’t silence; it was the echo of a life spent in noise. He sat in the dim light, the ghost of his knee aching, surrounded by the quiet chaos of his new mission. Not war, but war’s aftermath. Mary and Billy slept, their breathing the only rhythm in the house, until a sharp creak from downstairs shattered the stillness. John’s eyes narrowed, the soldier waking beneath the father. The night was supposed to be over. It clearly wasn’t.