Wait, Geralt says, and thank the gods he adds the rest of that sentence as soon as possible, because Jaskier wouldn't have been able to stand even a millisecond of hope. Right, of course, can't have the bard do another stupid thing. He glares at the witcher as he pulls back his arm as if the contact burned him, considering for a moment making another comment about him not being a dog and finally deciding against it. He's just so done with this shit.
"Point at the right way and then kindly fuck off."
The fact he even has to say that aloud hurts like hell.
Thankfully Geralt doesn't follow him this time, and so Jaskier wanders. Not because he's lost (well, there's a bit of that too) but because he doesn't know what to do with himself. Usually company and a distraction is what he'd go for, but he's not in the mood to be stared at by golden eyes, even if they aren't the ones that hurt him. And his mood is not something the princess should deal with, especially after what she heard him confess earlier.
Has it been a mistake to have come here after all? Or had it been wrong of him to confess, to ask for this? Should've they stayed friends and do winter on their own like they used to?
Or had the true mistake been to forgive Geralt in the first place? Maybe it's just a giant chain of mistakes.
He eventually makes it to the library, somehow, and Jaskier decides to stay there, in the company of books. Most of them are monster or potion manuals, not his kind of reading, although he's fascinated by their apparent age. Tucked in corner, though, he finds some elven history books, and those capture his attention immediately. Time to brush off that Elder of his. Dinner time comes and goes, and Jaskier decides not to show up for it - not only because he doesn't want to see a single witcher face, but also because his stomach has barely been able to pass the two or three grapes he stole from the bowl Ciri left there earlier, he doubts he'll be able to eat anything else.
With Elder speech on his eyelids, Jaskier falls asleep in the reading chair, dreaming about a twenty year old adventure with the elves at the edge of the world.
It's Cirilla that finds him there late in the morning, when she comes by to do her daily monster reading. She's clearly worried about him, asking him why he didn't show up for dinner and if he is okay. Jaskier doesn't know what bullshit excuse Geralt may've made up last night when his boyfriend wasn't there with him (let's be fair, the coward probably just grunted) but even if he knew, he wonders if he could even say it when the princess looks at him like that, fierce lion eyes demanding him to share and not be treated as a child.
Calanthe would be proud.
The bard's silver tongue manages to dodge the subject and get her to talk about what she heard the day before. Jaskier doesn't want her to feel guilty for what happened to him - it's not your fault, he repeats over and over, I want to protect you as well, if it pleases you. She's not convinced at first, with him being just a bard and all, but he gets her to reluctantly change her mind when he points out hey now, would you like me to tell you you can't protect me because you're just a girl?. It gets him a nudge in return, but she's smiling. Precious girl, she'll be a magnificent woman one day.
"You should talk to Geralt."
Scratch that, she's a little shit too smart for her own good.
With the excuse of her needing to concentrate on her studies, Jaskier leaves the library, wondering once again what to do with himself. He could put all his feelings into poetry like he's done in the past, he supposes, but what he truly needs is a distraction - he doesn't want to be with his alone with his own thoughts right now. Neither Geralt or Vesemir are options, Cirilla would only try to make him talk to her dad again, and-
Ah. Jaskier stops right in front of a window to make sure he's seeing correctly - yep, that's Eskel on stable duty again. That's kinda perfect actually, his company is nice and tending the horses is actually something Jaskier can help with. It takes him a couple of wrong turns to get there, but thankfully he makes it before the chores are over. Eskel nods at him from behind a horse Jaskier doesn't recognize.
"There you are, we've been wondering--" Golden eyes fall on Jaskier's chest - on the lack of brooch. "Fuck. What the hell happened?"
Jaskier shrugs, trying to come off as feeling better than he actually does. Which is stupid, because Eskel can smell his heartbreak. "Your brother is an arsehole."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"How about thank you?"
That catches Eskel off guard, so Jaskier takes the chance to babble away without mentioning or even referencing Geralt even once. Eskel notices he knows what he's doing with the horses and so they fall into an easy, comfortable rhythm of working and chatting. Jaskier apologizes and thanks Eskel for taking care of Cirilla yesterday, and for having been a sweetheart in general, which of course the witcher doesn't know how to take (Jaskier gets a little bit angrier at Vesemir). He promises him his first song whenever inspiration comes (translation: when he's feeling better) and that he'll include that mention of his handsome face - he hasn't forgotten the comment back in the hunting cabin.
"Not because you asked me for it, but because it's the truth."
And just like it happened with the l-word back in the cabin, Eskel doesn't know how to react, so Jaskier once again decides not to let the chance go to waste and hugs the witcher around his waist.
"Everything I said yesterday to Vesemir - it applies to you too." Not only Geralt is implied there. "You deserve kindness. I hope I can call you a friend."
Bad idea? Should he be doing this after the disaster that had been befriending Geralt? Jaskier can't help it, this little afternoon of chatting and sharing stories have reminded him why he enjoys witcher company in the first place. Luckily Eskel doesn't disappoint: he laughs and awkwardly pats him on the back. "I think I can handle that."
It's Eskel's turn to prepare dinner that evening, so after finishing with the horses (which eventually took them to do some cleaning in the stables and surrounding areas) he drags the bard with him to the kitchen under the excuse of having more chores for him but with a plan to feed him before he misses dinner again (because while other, lighter smells peeked into his scent during the day, heartbreak is still the one on top).
They chop vegetables while drinking ale and munching on bread, cheese and ogórki kiszone, sitting side by side on the table while Eskel tells him about his hunt of a cursed pack of wargs. Muscles tired after a day of working and having spend last night on a fucking chair, plus alcohol going quicker to his head because of his emotional state, Jaskier ends up falling asleep on the witcher's shoulder.
Not surprisingly, Eskel is a walking furnace as well.
He doesn't register being picked up or taken somewhere else until a door is slammed near him. Jaskier sits up with an eep, discovering he's on a bed-- and not just any bed, but Geralt's bed in Geralt's room. Fuck. Not only that, Geralt himself is being pushed inside the room by a very serious looking Eskel.
"I don't want to see either of you again until you work things out."
Bollocks.
The door is slammed again before Jaskier can tell him anything, so he's left staring at Geralt instead who-- fuck, is that a bruise? He's two seconds away from picking up their medical kit to take care of it, but the memories of the day before slowly coming through his sleepy mind and he decides to stay where he is.
"Did Eskel punch you?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. "I owe him another one."
no subject
"Point at the right way and then kindly fuck off."
The fact he even has to say that aloud hurts like hell.
Thankfully Geralt doesn't follow him this time, and so Jaskier wanders. Not because he's lost (well, there's a bit of that too) but because he doesn't know what to do with himself. Usually company and a distraction is what he'd go for, but he's not in the mood to be stared at by golden eyes, even if they aren't the ones that hurt him. And his mood is not something the princess should deal with, especially after what she heard him confess earlier.
Has it been a mistake to have come here after all? Or had it been wrong of him to confess, to ask for this? Should've they stayed friends and do winter on their own like they used to?
Or had the true mistake been to forgive Geralt in the first place? Maybe it's just a giant chain of mistakes.
He eventually makes it to the library, somehow, and Jaskier decides to stay there, in the company of books. Most of them are monster or potion manuals, not his kind of reading, although he's fascinated by their apparent age. Tucked in corner, though, he finds some elven history books, and those capture his attention immediately. Time to brush off that Elder of his. Dinner time comes and goes, and Jaskier decides not to show up for it - not only because he doesn't want to see a single witcher face, but also because his stomach has barely been able to pass the two or three grapes he stole from the bowl Ciri left there earlier, he doubts he'll be able to eat anything else.
With Elder speech on his eyelids, Jaskier falls asleep in the reading chair, dreaming about a twenty year old adventure with the elves at the edge of the world.
It's Cirilla that finds him there late in the morning, when she comes by to do her daily monster reading. She's clearly worried about him, asking him why he didn't show up for dinner and if he is okay. Jaskier doesn't know what bullshit excuse Geralt may've made up last night when his boyfriend wasn't there with him (let's be fair, the coward probably just grunted) but even if he knew, he wonders if he could even say it when the princess looks at him like that, fierce lion eyes demanding him to share and not be treated as a child.
Calanthe would be proud.
The bard's silver tongue manages to dodge the subject and get her to talk about what she heard the day before. Jaskier doesn't want her to feel guilty for what happened to him - it's not your fault, he repeats over and over, I want to protect you as well, if it pleases you. She's not convinced at first, with him being just a bard and all, but he gets her to reluctantly change her mind when he points out hey now, would you like me to tell you you can't protect me because you're just a girl?. It gets him a nudge in return, but she's smiling. Precious girl, she'll be a magnificent woman one day.
"You should talk to Geralt."
Scratch that, she's a little shit too smart for her own good.
With the excuse of her needing to concentrate on her studies, Jaskier leaves the library, wondering once again what to do with himself. He could put all his feelings into poetry like he's done in the past, he supposes, but what he truly needs is a distraction - he doesn't want to be with his alone with his own thoughts right now. Neither Geralt or Vesemir are options, Cirilla would only try to make him talk to her dad again, and-
Ah. Jaskier stops right in front of a window to make sure he's seeing correctly - yep, that's Eskel on stable duty again. That's kinda perfect actually, his company is nice and tending the horses is actually something Jaskier can help with. It takes him a couple of wrong turns to get there, but thankfully he makes it before the chores are over. Eskel nods at him from behind a horse Jaskier doesn't recognize.
"There you are, we've been wondering--" Golden eyes fall on Jaskier's chest - on the lack of brooch. "Fuck. What the hell happened?"
Jaskier shrugs, trying to come off as feeling better than he actually does. Which is stupid, because Eskel can smell his heartbreak. "Your brother is an arsehole."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"How about thank you?"
That catches Eskel off guard, so Jaskier takes the chance to babble away without mentioning or even referencing Geralt even once. Eskel notices he knows what he's doing with the horses and so they fall into an easy, comfortable rhythm of working and chatting. Jaskier apologizes and thanks Eskel for taking care of Cirilla yesterday, and for having been a sweetheart in general, which of course the witcher doesn't know how to take (Jaskier gets a little bit angrier at Vesemir). He promises him his first song whenever inspiration comes (translation: when he's feeling better) and that he'll include that mention of his handsome face - he hasn't forgotten the comment back in the hunting cabin.
"Not because you asked me for it, but because it's the truth."
And just like it happened with the l-word back in the cabin, Eskel doesn't know how to react, so Jaskier once again decides not to let the chance go to waste and hugs the witcher around his waist.
"Everything I said yesterday to Vesemir - it applies to you too." Not only Geralt is implied there. "You deserve kindness. I hope I can call you a friend."
Bad idea? Should he be doing this after the disaster that had been befriending Geralt? Jaskier can't help it, this little afternoon of chatting and sharing stories have reminded him why he enjoys witcher company in the first place. Luckily Eskel doesn't disappoint: he laughs and awkwardly pats him on the back. "I think I can handle that."
It's Eskel's turn to prepare dinner that evening, so after finishing with the horses (which eventually took them to do some cleaning in the stables and surrounding areas) he drags the bard with him to the kitchen under the excuse of having more chores for him but with a plan to feed him before he misses dinner again (because while other, lighter smells peeked into his scent during the day, heartbreak is still the one on top).
They chop vegetables while drinking ale and munching on bread, cheese and ogórki kiszone, sitting side by side on the table while Eskel tells him about his hunt of a cursed pack of wargs. Muscles tired after a day of working and having spend last night on a fucking chair, plus alcohol going quicker to his head because of his emotional state, Jaskier ends up falling asleep on the witcher's shoulder.
Not surprisingly, Eskel is a walking furnace as well.
He doesn't register being picked up or taken somewhere else until a door is slammed near him. Jaskier sits up with an eep, discovering he's on a bed-- and not just any bed, but Geralt's bed in Geralt's room. Fuck. Not only that, Geralt himself is being pushed inside the room by a very serious looking Eskel.
"I don't want to see either of you again until you work things out."
Bollocks.
The door is slammed again before Jaskier can tell him anything, so he's left staring at Geralt instead who-- fuck, is that a bruise? He's two seconds away from picking up their medical kit to take care of it, but the memories of the day before slowly coming through his sleepy mind and he decides to stay where he is.
"Did Eskel punch you?" He asks with a raised eyebrow. "I owe him another one."