Life never goes according to plan. 

Exploring his sexuality was part of the high school experience, or so he told himself over and over. "It's part of figuring out who and what you are." 

Though his father didn't see eye to eye."Boys don't like boys." It was supposed to be the end of the conversation—the finalization of that topic.   

But Geralt didn't just like boys. He liked girls, and he liked... well, people. And in the confusion of figuring out what that meant, it left him with a hard lesson. 

That parents don't always love unconditionally. 

Dating a guy had come at a steep price and a heavy hand. Coming home from the hospital after being dealt with by his father and a tire chain, he realized that the empty floors of that old beachside house were devoid of everything he'd ever known, including his family. 

With no support and a stack of cash on the counter, the words he stared at punctuated the disappointment his parents had in him. 

"I'm sorry."

His mother's explanation was hastily scrawled on a post-it note. 

Determined to keep food on the table, he did what he had to do and made every tie and connection until money wasn't a worry. Hustling until he graduated by holding down jobs and selling what would make him the most cash, the moment a diploma crossed his hands, he turned around and signed his name across the dotted line. 

But sometimes, that dotted line costs far more than just a few years of wearing a uniform.....