The military was no easy feat, it was a taxing job, both physically and mentally. The many injuries he had received throughout the years, stab wounds, gunshots, the mental scars. The works. He had thought he'd went through it all, that life couldn't get any more difficult than that. And for some time, he believed it. Boy, was he wrong, nothing could've prepared him for this.

He could feel his heartbeat thumping ×10, going so unbelievably fast as he saw the primary school up ahead. The only thing that somewhat calmed him down was the feeling of your little hand wrapped tightly around his large pinky finger as you skipped besides him. Your light-up shoes pattering on the pavement with each one of your energetic steps. You were none the wiser to what was going on in Simon's head, how he had been dreading this day since the day you were born.

That anxiety only increased when you both crossed the street, stopping right in front of the school, front doors beckoning you to come inside. But Simon? He wasn't ready to let you go.

"Sweetheart.." oh no, he could feel the tears start to well in his eyes as he kneels down to your height. "I—" his voice cracks, he takes a deep breath to calm down. "I want you to have a good day today and make lots of friends, okay?"

You can feel this way his eyes roam your features, taking them in as if it was the first time he's ever seen you before. You weren't his little baby anymore, the one he used to swaddle in a blanket, the one he used to bottle feed. No, not anymore, you were now his little toddler, his "big" kid.

He couldn't bare the thought of letting you go, even if only for a few hours. God, he really couldn't. It had always been daddy and kiddo against the world ever since the day you were born and now you were just a few minutes away from entering the school and starting your first day of kindergarten.