When Paige walked up to her door and saw the flickering lights in the window, she thought of the family waiting for her inside, and a warm feeling filled her heart.
In this life, she was no longer the lonely Paige who had only teammates and a number.
And this was no longer the cold house filled with handsome men where she used to feel empty every time she came back.
She finally understood what her old home was missing in her past life. It was warmth.
When she opened the door, she saw Winn was already awake and was using the stove to cook breakfast.
When he saw Paige, his eyes were full of care and love. "You're back. You must be tired. Breakfast is almost ready."
That short sentence touched something deep in Paige's heart.
All her life, no one had ever asked her if she was tired.
Everyone always thought that since she was so strong, everything came naturally to her.
Even she thought that being strong, protecting her country, was something she was born to do.
After all, Paige was created for battle.
Paige walked up and hugged Winn.
To Winn, she looked like a child who had been wronged.
He gently patted her back and comforted her, "If you're tired, then rest. Your health matters most."
His voice was soft and soothing, like the most pleasant melody in the early morning.
Paige rubbed against his chest and said, "I'm not tired, I just want to hug you."
Winn felt like his heart was melting.
It was the first time he had heard Paige speak in such a soft, sweet tone. The contrast between her gentle voice and her powerful strength was huge.
Inside, he still felt uneasy. After all, Paige was so strong.
And he was so weak.
At first, he thought he would be the one taking care of Paige and her younger brother, but later he realized it was really them taking care of him and his brother.
He had felt a little scared about that.
But now, knowing he was still needed made him feel very comforted.
Winn helped brush the snowflakes off Paige's coat, then patted her head.
Using a tone like he was coaxing a child, he said, "Be good. I'll get you a bowl of porridge. I added canned meat. Eat well and then take a nap."
"Then I want you to sleep with me," Paige said.
"Th-that's fine." Winn hesitated for a moment, then agreed.
They couldn't keep hiding their relationship forever. People would find out eventually, so they might as well be open about it.
"Then I want to take a bath too. I want to soak," Paige added.
"No problem. Eat first, I'll go boil the water right now," Winn replied.
"You're the best." Paige stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
Even though Paige was only about 160 cm tall, Winn and Uziel were just over 170 cm, so if she stood on tiptoe a little, she could easily reach.
Paige thought, this won't do. She'll grow taller in the future, and if Winn and Uziel stay the same height, they won't look impressive anymore.
She needed to give them more nutrition so they could keep growing taller.
Winn's face was red, but because his skin was dark, it wasn't obvious.
This was the first time they had been this close in broad daylight, and it felt a little embarrassing.
Even though they had already been physically close before, it was always at night, under the covers, completely different from now.
"You eat first. I'll go boil the water." After serving the porridge to Paige, Winn quickly headed outside.
It felt like he was escaping.
Paige watched him leave with a happy smile.
Her man was just too cute.
The dirty clothes they had worn earlier had already been washed, dried, and placed neatly in the room.
So Paige didn't have to worry about not having clothes to change into after a bath.
"No, I need to go to town after I wake up. I have to buy a few more sets of clothes," Paige said with dissatisfaction.
In her past life, she didn't get the chance to wear many nice clothes. Now that she had the chance in this life, how could she be okay with just two sets of clothes to change into?
After she was full, Uziel and the others came out of their rooms, rubbing their eyes.
"Big sis, you're back!" Ely greeted her happily when he saw her.
"Yeah, go wash up and eat," Paige said as she looked at Ely with a bit of dislike.
Winn had cooked a big pot of food, enough for all four of them.
They had all just woken up, but somehow Ely just seemed more annoying.
While the two of them were washing up at the door, Winn brought over a big bowl of steamed buns.
"Porridge alone isn't filling. Eat more steamed buns." Winn put the buns on the table.
Paige picked one up and took a bite. It was bland, not as good as meat.
"I just ran into Commander Ye's guard, Officer Fang. He said Commander Ye and the others want to invite you to a celebration banquet today. He asked me what time would be good.
I told him you'd be sleeping at noon, so evening would be fine," Winn said to Paige.
"Alright, I'll take you all to a big meal tonight. We haven't had anything good these past few days," Paige nodded.
"Do you guys still want to stay at the camp after this?" Paige asked Winn.
"Wherever you go, we'll go," Winn said without hesitation.
"I just want to get a big house, eat well every day, wear nice clothes, and when I get tired of living in one place, I'll move to another."
"That kind of life sounds really nice," Winn said with a smile.
He grew up in Rin Village. The farthest he had ever been was the city.
He never really thought about the future.
It was just like everyone else in the village, get married, have kids, farm, and live a busy, ordinary life.
The only thing he looked forward to was who his future wife would be.
"What sounds really nice?" Ely asked as he walked in.
"Leaving you at the camp while the three of us travel the world. Just thinking about it sounds great," Paige replied.
"Travel the world? Doing what?" Ely asked.
"Why can't you take me with you? Is it dangerous? How long will it take to come back?"
"I think we should worry about something more important right now," Paige said.
"What is it?" The other three all looked at her curiously.
"Is there a school in the city? I think you should go to school now." No education is kind of scary.
"Really? I can go to school too?" Ely asked excitedly.
"Why not?" Paige replied. "I'll ask them about it tonight."
Then she looked at Winn and Uziel. "Do you two want to go to school too?"
Winn and Uziel were a little tempted. "Aren't we too old for school?"
"No. Adults learn fast. You don't have to learn as slowly as the kids. I'll ask them tonight if there are classes for adults," Paige answered.
"Okay." Winn and Uziel nodded quickly.
These past few days, they had seen how strong Paige was.
They were afraid the gap between them would grow too big. Now that they had the chance to learn and become stronger, they were definitely willing.
Even if it meant not being by Paige's side all the time, it was something to prepare for the future.
They couldn't stay with Paige forever without knowing anything.