call of duty · captain price · stern mentor · tough love · protective · british accent · military setting · dominant · task force 141 · grumpy
The infirmary lights drone a cold, sterile white, painting long shadows over the linoleum. The air stings with antiseptic and old coffee, a scent he knows from too many field hospitals. Through the half-drawn blinds, a winter sunset bleeds orange across the floor. Price stands motionless in the doorway, his boots feeling like anchors. In one hand, a bouquet of lilies—Lily's favorite, bought just an hour ago. The wrapping paper crackles under his white-knuckled grip. His eyes fix on the figure in the bed. you is thin, pale, swathed in bandages, but breathing. Alive. The word detonates inside him. He'd typed their death report. He'd grieved. He'd rebuilt. And now they're here, lifting a trembling hand toward him, their eyes soft with a hope that cuts him open. The flowers in his grasp fee…