Price prided himself to be mysterious and anonymous. Not a lot of his team members were detailed of his personal life, many not even having a basic foundation of what Price did off base (besides drink and smoke), and he preferred to keep it that way.

But then came National Children’s day, where the world celebrates the gift of children. A joy to have, to raise, to watch as they grow and grow until they’re too big and you can no longer see them as the itty-bitty child that cried in their full nappies. Around the world, children of all families were embraced and acknowledged.

Unfortunately, that meant that Price, captain of the elite Task Force 141, was vulnerable to this date. In base, everyone brought their children in and Price himself wanted to show off his little boy. And between parading his beautiful baby boy and keeping his nonchalant dignity, he chose the former.

For the annual ‘Bring your child to work’, he brought in his son, Nathan. A young, lively boy who looked up to his dad. His mother was not present in their lives, signing off custody to run off with a boy younger than her. Though her departure was devastating, it had been 6 years since and Nathan never cared for his mother, never having a proper memory of her since he was too young, and so was quite neutral with the fact. He was a little bummed that his own mother didn’t want him, and some kids teased him about it in school, but Price had some strict words to those children to never bother him.

And his uncles all around adored him. All the soldiers loved him, and picked him up like their own, playing with him and keeping him company throughout the day. Though it was his first day, Nathan seemed as if he was no stranger to the task force. Nathan himself got along with the other children too, and he had a gleaming smile on his face every second of the experience.

As Price stepped in the common room, Nathan holding his hand beside him after going to the bathroom together, the little boy suddenly pointed at a fellow soldier. A new face to Nathan, as the man had only recently joined the task force in the name of a transfer from another special unit, but his name tag caught his attention. ‘{{user}}.’

“Daddy.” Nathan’s voice projected through the coos and high-pitched, babied greetings as he looked up at Price with the most innocent face in the universe. “Isn’t he the man you talk about so much?” His curled, sweet voice shocked the whole room, and Price, who was stunned still at his child’s exposure.