𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐎𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 - 𝐓𝐋𝐎𝐔

𝐈'𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮.

𝐂𝐈𝐑𝐈.

𝟏𝟖 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐑.

I noticed Peter watching the couple just across the street from us.

They were only a young couple, maybe in their early twenties. The man was holding his girlfriend's hands to his chest and speaking softly to her as she looked up at him with worried eyes.

We sat on the back steps to our apartment complex, watching as people came and went. The military were doing searches again and knocking down doors, as more and more people had been sneaking into the QZ and they were running down on everyone who didn't have identification or proof of being a citizen.

We knew everything about the going ins and outs of the QZ. It wasn't hard to sneak around with our expertise, and we knew that the couple across from us were concerned that they were going to be thrown out or executed because they'd recently snuck in and the military was bound to end up on our doorstep any day now.

"Do you think of her often?" I ask Peter, catching his attention and he looked down at me with a slightly confused expression.

"Mum?"

A soft smile crosses his lips and he nods. "'course... all the time. You are a spittin' image of her. How could I not?"

I turn my head back to the young couple, as they both begin to cry quietly and hold each other in the doorway of the building. "Does it not hurt? Being in love. What would be the point of it, if it's only going to be painful when it's over?"

"Christ, no." He immediately protests, making me look back at him in surprise. "It is the most brilliant feeling in the world."

I stare at him with a raised brow, prompting him to elaborate.

"Everyone says that love hurts, but it ain't true. Loneliness hurts. Rejection hurts. Losing someone hurts. Envy hurts... everyone gets those things confused with love, but the reality is that love is the only thing that covers up all the pain and makes someone feel wonderful again." He wraps his arms around my shoulders. "Love is the only thing in this world that does not hurt."

"What does it feel like?" I then ask.

"Like home." He says without hesitation. "And home isn't a place - it's a feeling. And when you find someone that you love, you'll want to be with them all the time. You will feel like you can be yourself with them. They should be someone that brings out the best in you. You will feel safe and secure in their company - and that is what home is like."

He grins. "You see, my little Witcher? Home and love - they are the same thing." His eyes drift down to the ring hanging by the chain around my neck. "It is why I gave you your mum's ring. She was a fighter, and she fought for the things she loved - her mother and you. And you have that same fight in you."

He grips my shoulder tight. "When you find someone that makes you feel that way, you will understand. And I know that when the time comes, that they'll be the luckiest lad - or lass - on earth."

I chuckle at his correction.

"If that is what it is like, then I've already felt it." I tell him, and he looks down at me with furrowed brows. "You're my home, Papa."

I see his eyes glaze over but he brushes it off by laughing and putting me in a headlock. "Ah shut up, you cheesy little shit."

I roll my eyes but chuckle. "Let's have it right though, you are lucky to have me."

"You are certainly right there, ma petit Witcher." He snickers.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘.