Just a quick oneshot of a Geralt and Ciri romance. I know it can be considered kind of sick since they are foster father-daughter, but I can't help but dream. Ciri was awesome, and Geralt is one of my favorite characters. Can't help but wish you could have them get together. Pavetta was Duny's surprise child, and they got married and eventually had Ciri after all. There aren't any true lemons, although it pretty blatantly references sex. Just tossing the idea out there to see what you readers think.

"We'd like a room," Geralt gruffly told innkeep.

The man glared at Geralt, eying his unnatural eyes and pale white hair. Clearly he was one of those types. Geralt grunted in annoyance, but quickly placed a few extra coins on the counter before him. That prevented any insult from leaking forth from the man, the war meant no practical man would pass up the opportunity to make a profit. In Geralt's experience, people with enough smarts to successfully run an inn were smart enough to choose to ignore their prejudices and make a profit over picking trouble with a witcher.

Quickly swiping the coins up, the man looked at Ciri behind him and grunted out, "Our rooms only have one bed."

"That's fine," Geralt grunted right back.

That caused the innkeep to glower at Ciri, clearly assuming she was simply a girl he picked up instead of being a witcher in her own right, even one without mutations. Didn't matter anyway. "First door to the right up the stairs. Be out before noon tomorrow."

"Got it, and send up a bath and water," Geralt told him. He cut off any complaint with a few more coins. While Geralt tended to be stingy with money, he had enough to spare at the moment. While much of the populace was suffering under the war, the widespread corpses, distracted soldiers focused on the enemy instead of monsters, and general chaos were conductive to rising monster populations. Which meant plenty of work for witchers.

Plus, these few days they could take amidst all that was happening were too precious and rare to ruin by worrying about money.

With that Geralt and Ciri went up the stairs to their room. On other days they might have bought a meal and ate it down there to listen for any interesting rumors, but todays definitely wasn't one of those days. Stepping in the room, the two started the usual cleanup of their weapons, armors, and clothing. They had just finished a witcher contract to wipe out a flock of harpies, and were noticeably filthy as a result. While there was no way they'd get truly clean, that was no reason not to do so as much as possible. Maintenance of equipment was a must, and a nice bath was always a treat.

It also provided plenty of time for all the bathwater to arrive. A bronze bathtub was brought up by what appeared to be several stablehands, and then the innkeep's wife and daughter brought in numerous buckets of water till it was full. It took a while, but afterwards they were left alone.

Finished with his equipment maintenance, Geralt walked over to the tub and dipped his hand in it. "Lukewarm."

"Move over. I'll hand it," Ciri said with a chuckle as she approached, done herself. Her hands glowed as she waved them, and the water immediately started steaming. "There. Nice and hot."

"Great," Geralt said as he moved behind Ciri. His arms rose and hugged Ciri from behind. He then kissed her neck as he growled out playfully, "Are you going to get undressed or do you want a hand? I'm more than willing to lend one or two."

Ciri just laughed. She then said teasingly, "I appreciate the offer, but…I've got this."

Geralt just smirked and stepped back giving her a quick swat on the ass. "Get to it then." He then watched as Ciri undressed provocatively before him. It wasn't a striptease, Ciri wasn't so experienced as to pull that off, but it was still a plenty amazing view. Finally slipping out of her underthings, Ciri stepped carefully into the tub and slipped into the water. The feeling of the hot water caused her to let out a pleased moan.

Which definitely pleased Geralt. Ciri clearly sensed as such and sent him a teasing smirk, before gesturing at him and asked playfully, "Are you just going to stay there watching me bathe or are you going to get undressed and get in here?"

"I'd really be happy to just watch," Geralt admitted with a smirk, but then added, "Guess it wouldn't be fair though. Not going to be as nice a sight though. Just a warning."

"Noted, and ignored."

Thus Geralt undressed himself. Obviously he didn't put the same amount of showmanship into the process as Ciri, but he thought it was unneeded. Geralt was a warrior, and his body showed that. Trying to put on a show like Dandelion might would just be weird. As soon as he was undressed, Geralt stepped into the small tub with Ciri.

The two immediately embraced and kissed.

The two didn't actually have sex in the tub. While bath sex could be amazing, it was difficult and required a bit of preparation. A small bathtub in a random inn wasn't the ideal setting for that. They instead used the limited space to rub up against each other as they carefully and thoroughly cleaned each other. No sex, but plenty of foreplay and intimacy.

The two were done by the time the water cooled, ready to move to the main event. The two left the bath, with a bit application of magic by Ciri drying them off. The two then tumbled into bed, already plenty entangled as their passion consumed them.

Geralt awoke silently and without even a twitch to announce his return to consciousness. His eyes simply opened. Feeling a weight on his chest they swiveled down to look at the silverish-white ashen hair of Ciri. She was currently sleeping with her head on his chest.

Geralt relaxed as he reminisced. Ciri and Geralt had made love numerous times the previous night before finally even Geralt's witcher stamina gave out. Then after Ciri did a bit of magical cleanup to ensure their bath wasn't rendered pointless by their activities, the two had gone to sleep while cuddling.

Geralt's thoughts were knocked for a loop when Ciri suddenly woke up, "Sleep well, Geralt?"

"You're awake…You've gotten better at hiding your presence," Geralt commented. Usually Geralt would detect anyone active around him, even while asleep, and wake up. It was part of his witcher senses.

"No. You were just sleeping deeply," Ciri admitted.

"It was a good sleep. It always is with you," Geralt admitted himself. "I assume it wasn't the same for you."

"It usually is. Just this time…" Ciri claimed before trailing off. Geralt didn't interrupt though, allowing her to eventually continue, "I was just thinking."

"What about?"

His question caused Ciri to move her head so that her chin was now resting on his chest and her deep green eyes locked with his bright yellow ones, "About how I don't want this to end…How I don't want to go to Novigrad…The Wild Hunt, the White Frost, Nilfgaard. I want to just forget all about it and stay here…Like this."

"Ah, Ciri," Geralt whispered painfully. He understood her. He understood so much it hurt.

Geralt and Ciri were supposed to be meeting Triss and Yennefer in Novigrad to help reform the Lodge of Sorceresses in order to combat the Wild Hunt. They had however taken a detour in the process. It was amazing how spread out many of these large 'urgent' tasks were, Geralt often managed to fit several witcher contracts between each one. The world of nation-affecting plots measured itself by a different time standard from the world of witchers. Geralt and Ciri had used the opportunity to get away from it all for a while to…bond.

In that world their relationship was both amoral and unforgiveable.

It wasn't so hard to understand why. Ciri was his destiny child. He'd practically raised her as her foster father. The two becoming lovers was…weird.

It really didn't matter though. The two were bound by destiny. Geralt sometimes wondered whether it all started when he invoked the Law of Surprise with all those years ago or whether he invoked the Law of Surprise because of destiny. Either way, Ciri was Geralt's destiny. It didn't matter that had Geralt been a normal man he would have died of old age before Ciri had been born. That because he wasn't a normal man, he would outlive her. They found each other despite every obstacle in their way.

That had proven itself multiple times over the years. He'd saved her in the Brokilon Forest when she was a child without even knowing she was his destiny child, and she had wanted to accompany him even then. Even when he was a stranger, she wanted to be with him. He had refused, but would later meet her again when she became his destiny-child a second time over. Geralt had invoked the Law of Surprise on a merchant he saved, and they returned to the merchant's home only to find that the man's wife had taken in Ciri after she escaped the Slaughter of Cintra. He'd recognized it then, and had taken her to Kaer Morhen to be trained as a witcher despite her being female. So much had happened since that, but they always ended up back together. No matter what troubles arose, no matter how far they ended up from each other, the end result was them always finding their way back to each other.

When Geralt had lost his memories, he'd always known there was some massive gap in his soul. Something gone from his life that needed to be there. He'd just logically assumed it was his lost memories. Then when he started regaining his memories, he'd assumed Yennefer was what was missing. Ciri was the final piece of his memories he recovered, and even then they had been vague. He'd tracked down Yennefer, only to find himself intensely disappointed. When he chased down Ciri though, every step closer he got to her made things clearer. Made his desire, his yearning, grow.

Then when he found her, he had finally felt like he was complete.

Apparently, Ciri felt the same. The two never tried to explain it, or even understand it. They just knew it was there. Even with the battle at Kaer Morhen, Vesemir's death, their killing Imlerith and the Crones…they came together. They had used this brief respite from the rest of the world to explore it.

Because it was doomed in the wider world. Even if one ignored the father-daughter relationship Geralt and Ciri had for so long, they were on completely different levels. Geralt had no illusions about the place of witchers in the world. They were tolerated, at best, when needed, and reviled when not. While Ciri had trained as a witcher, she had never undergone the mutations of the Trials of the Grasses. She was merely an extremely skilled human. Not a freak.

Then there is Ciri's station. The chosen successor of Emhyr vas Emreis and the throne of Nilfgaard. Even if Ciri didn't technically have to take the position, Geralt had a feeling she'd end up being forced to. And as Empress of Nilfgaard, a relationship with a witcher absolutely wouldn't be tolerated, even if it was as a mere bed warmer. Ciri was also the only known descendant of Lara Dorren, and thus the heir of a powerful bloodline. Witchers were rendered sterile by their mutations. Geralt would never be able to get Ciri with child, and while Ciri had never shown any indication she wanted or felt compelled to have children, there were numerous people in the world who wouldn't allow the line of Lara Dorren to come to an end.

There were also more personal issues. Mainly in regards to Geralt's love life before reuniting with Ciri. Triss and Yennefer.

Yennefer was the closest thing Ciri had to a mother, and no way would she approve of Geralt and Ciri. Geralt wasn't even sure how to handle his relationship with her. He had managed to squirm out of giving her an answer after having the djinn remove the bond between them, saying he needed time to truly understand his own feelings. While removing the bond had indeed removed the constant pull he felt towards Yennefer, it didn't totally remove his attraction to her. After all, something had compelled him to make the wish to the djinn in the first place…Still, she made his feel like tearing his hair out sometimes. Thoroughly infuriating, if sexually compatible and engaging, even if in a combative way.

Triss was different. I was hard to not like Triss. She was fun, open, and comforting in ways Yennefer could never be. She was also attractive, and an enthusiastic bed partner. Geralt also had to admit her devotion to him was intoxicating in a way. Definitely selfish, but anyone who claimed to not like having a partner pining after them was a liar. Really the only problem Geralt could think of in regards to her was how she had purposefully kept his memories and past from him. That wasn't something Geralt could just forget about. It was understandable in a way though, and something he probably could eventually look past if not forgive.

Both of them were great. Better than he deserved. Yet, it wasn't enough.

They just weren't Ciri.

The days of trying to put off his inevitable decision in regards to them were drawing to a close. They both expected, and deserved an honest answer from him. A selfish part of Geralt definitely wished to prolong both his physical and emotional relationships with both. While they weren't Ciri, Geralt had formed relationships with them for a reason. Geralt had also spent so long living an unstable life where things changed by the day that he instinctively cringed away from a stable and long term relationship. They deserved for him to be straight with them though. Geralt also wasn't willing to risk what he had with Ciri for anything. While Geralt hadn't ever truly discussed his relationships with Yennefer and Triss with Ciri, he had to operate under the assumption that she wouldn't approve any more than any other woman would.

Geralt liked, and possibly even loved, Yennefer and Triss. Ciri was more than that though. She was something utterly irreplaceable for him. Trying to imagine a life without Ciri was impossible for him, incredibly strange considering he'd lived near a century of life before Ciri had even been born.

Thus Geralt had resolved to simply grasp these times they had together with everything he had, even if it could never be. As soon as people found out about Geralt and Ciri's relationship turning romantic, they'd make sure a hundred and one obstacles would come between them. That meant they had to keep it a secret. That was all they could do, while simultaneously doing their best to catch a few days together when alone and away from the cities…Even when both of them knew their time was limited.

The Wild Hunt had to be defeated, and that meant working together with the Lodge of Sorceresses. The White Frost had to be stopped, and only Ciri could do that. The war too would have to come to an end, and possibly the best ending to that was for Ciri to succeed Emhyr and become Empress of Nilfgaard. These were all things that had to be done.

No matter how much Geralt wished for they weren't.

Forcefully bring his musing to an end, Geralt looked back into Ciri's eyes. Lifting his head so that he pressed their foreheads together and could look into her eyes even closer, he told her, "Trust me, Ciri. I understand completely. I wish none of this ever happened. That you and I could live a normal life, or at least as normal a life as two witchers could have…But I never tried to shield you from the harsh realities of the world. That would be an insult to your own strength. So I'm going to be blunt here."

Ciri let out a bitter laugh as she interrupted, "So now you're going to tell me I have to fulfill my destiny or whatever as well?"

"Not at all," Geralt instantly replied with a chuckle. He then continued to a surprised Ciri, "I've lived a long life, Ciri. All of it as a witcher. I too was a surprise child, and I grew up knowing I'd be a witcher. The fact that I embraced it doesn't mean I accepted it as my destiny. It meant I acknowledged it as a job that needed to be done, and myself as one of the best suited to do it. And during my time as a witcher, I've learned possibly one thing more than any other…There are many ways to do a job. There are choices, even during a job you have to do. Choices that can make all the difference to who you are."

Geralt then sat up, and shifted Ciri so she was facing him while practically on his lap. He then lifted his hand to gently tilt her chin up to look at him as he continued, "You too have a choice, Ciri. Even here, during this job that needs to be done, when you it might seem like you don't. You are the one that can do this, Ciri. You. Not Avallac'h, not the Lodge, not even me. Don't ever forget that, or the power it gives you…And I believe in you with everything I have. If nothing else, believe in that. Any choice you make, no matter what it is, I'll follow. No matter where to choose to take us…I trust you. Not because you are a descendant of Lara Dorren, have Elder Blood, or because Destiny said so, but because I've seen you grow from a child into the woman before me. I've seen you overcome every trial placed before you. You've become someone I both trust and believe in…someone I love completely."

Ciri lowered her face to his shoulder, and then spoke with a tone that indicated she was likely crying, "What happened to the gruff and ineloquent witcher I grew up with? You almost sounded like Dandelion there, Geralt, if a bit more sincere and less flowery."

"Low blow, Ciri. Comparing me to Dandelion," Geralt grumbled playfully before tightening his arms around Ciri's waist and answering, "I guess even an old dog can learn new tricks, huh? Especially when it comes to comforting you."

"Thank you, Geralt," Ciri whispered before lifting her head and kissing him. Even with some tears still on her face, Geralt kissed back. He only hoped that his words had helped. Geralt couldn't change the world, but he could hopefully comfort Ciri in regards to her role in life and more importantly, his life.

"There it is," Geralt announced as the dirt road they'd been traveling along widened as it met another. "If we follow that road, we'll be at Novigrad by nightfall."

After the confession by Geralt, the two had made love again. Then after another bout of magic by Ciri, the two had left the inn. Now two hours of riding along Roach and another horse had left them at a crossroads.

Despite the road before them being clear, both looked at it gravely. Ciri finally whispered, "By nightfall, huh?"

"Yep," Geralt answered. "Yen is probably ready for us by now."

"She probably is," Ciri agreed with a slight grimace. Despite having spent near three weeks doing witcher contracts and alone together, both felt it wasn't enough now with the end in sight.

Geralt finally reached into his pack and pulled out a few contracts he had picked up throughout their travels. Finally he announced, "There are several wyverns at a village near here with a good bounty. We could probably get there by nightfall. Assuming we can quickly track them down, we'd probably only delay our arrival at Novigrad for three or four days."

"A three or four day delay would be plenty enough for Yen. You know how she is," Ciri pointed out.

That caused Geralt to grimace. Yes, he did know. Once again, Yennefer was great in a way, but damn if she couldn't be infuriating and, honestly, a bitch at times.

"Alright. I guess Novigrad it is," Geralt said reluctantly.

Ciri paused before asking with a grin, "Let's go hunt some wyverns. A few days won't spell the end of the world."

That caused Geralt to grin as well, and the two immediately turned around and headed away from Novigrad.

They both knew delaying a few days wouldn't change what was waiting for them. The Wild Hunt wouldn't grow tired and give up on its hunt for Ciri. The world wouldn't also change enough in these days for Ciri and Geralt to be able to be together openly. This would ultimately change nothing. It was a dream. Nothing more. A dream that they were merely two witchers on the Path, unbothered by the issues of a wider world.

Was it so wrong to dream though?

There it is. Much harder to put fantasy down into coherent words and a flowing story structure than I predicted. Didn't plan Geralt's little monologue to Ciri, and didn't plan on having so much of the story being Geralt's internal reminiscing. Ciri also didn't talk enough as well. Probably could use a rewrite, but it was good enough to put out there to see what, if any response, it received. Hope you guys enjoyed it, if nothing else.

As for those who wish to know what happened after this...Well, it's possible it ends as both Ciri and Geralt feared in this story. Or its possible Geralt purposefully led both Yennefer and Triss on, thus causing both of them to break of with him and leaving him to the Path. It's also possible that Ciri didn't become Empress, faking her death so she too could travel the Path. And if both Geralt and Ciri traveled together before disappearing a year or two later, well...anything is possible.