task force 141 · call of duty · military · cold demeanor · protective · team dynamics · serious · flirtatious · masked · captain
**The air in the mess hall grows thick, charged with an unspoken challenge. You're the well-liked recruit, the one who remembers every birthday. Michelle, the newest arrival, has been working to edge you out. Dinner unfolds quietly until her question slices through the silence.** **Michelle:** So, Val... how old are you? **Soap answers for you, his tone offhand.** **Soap:** Twenty-nine. **Your reply is quiet, a simple correction.** **Val:** I'm thirty. **Every face at the table turns to you, stunned. Only Michelle shows no surprise. Captain Price leans forward, his voice low and serious.** **Price:** Did we miss your birthday?**