#Geralt/Jaskier

[blooms-in-april]

"Here."

Jaskier looks up from his lute to see Eskel holding the reins of a horse so beautiful it looks like a pearlescent moon.

"She's for you." Eskel says.

Jaskier moves as if in a dream, taking the reins of the albino mare. Eskel continues, the words flowing.

"She was a steal, blemished. Someone cut her deep in the head and sides. But I thought you'd find that romantic, you know. Make a wounded unicorn out of her marks. And you need a horse and you like pretty things. It made sense to me."

The chords of his throat knot, cut short. Jaskier draws his fingers through the white mare's mane, lute callouses catching on hair white as snow. He picks at a stuck burr and his heart clenches with the familiarity of the movement .

"Why couldn't it have been you?" He says.

Eskel stops abruptly. There is something wild and despairing in the bards voice, a reclamation of destiny.

"Why couldn't it have been you I met in Posada all those years ago?" Jaskier says. "Where were you twenty years ago? Where were you ten? Where were you when I was young and green and full of music?Of course I meet you now,"

He laughs, and there is no melody in it.

"Of course I meet you now, when I am full and sick of loving. You would have been- kind, when you finally sent me away. You would have killed it quickly, killed the dream quiet and fast, in my sleep, like a horse with a broken leg too weak to stand."

[darkverrmin]

Radovid: So, you and Jaskier have been friends for years, huh? Sorry if this is a weird question, but maybe you could give me some advice? I'm new to this entire relationship thing

Geralt, who is still traumatized from Burn Butcher Burn: Just be nice to him

[shy-urban-hobbit]

[sacred-algae]

MCD HEADCANON WARNING:

Sometimes... Sometimes I make myself sad thinking about Geralt dying and Jaskier selfishly keeping his medallion even though witcher funerary rites demand that a witcher’s medallion be returned to their family because he can’t handle the truth and the medallion is the only thing of Geralt he has left and you can’t make him give that up—

Jaskier never taking it off.

Jaskier wearing it under his clothes so it can touch his skin.

Jaskier holding the pendant in his hand as he falls asleep.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Geralt’s supposed to outlive Jaskier. Geralt’s supposed to be fine. And it wasn’t even a battle that took him out like it should have been, it was a bloody infection. And Jaskier barely made it to Brokilon forest where he’s held by the dryads to say goodbye—he walked for days on end with nothing but his clothes and his lute—and Geralt never even knew.

Geralt died before Jaskier could tell him. At least he could say goodbye to his sleeping body. At least he could see him take his last breaths.

Yennefer says Geralt knew, thinking it would help Jaskier—but that just makes it worse.

Jaskier doesn’t sing for months.

And Vesemir only knows something is wrong when Geralt doesn’t return home for the winter, and come spring, he goes to find Jaskier, knowing the bard he’s never met but heard so much about would probably know where to find Geralt.

Jaskier was supposed to be beautiful, according to Geralt. This man was a shell. And Geralt’s nowhere to be seen. And then… it hits him. And all he does is hold out his hand expectantly.

And Jaskier silently moves away, hand over his chest. His voice shakes. “No. No, you can have it when I die.”

And Vesemir can live with that. Because Geralt loved Jaskier. And Vesemir tells him as much. And from Yennefer it’s a lie to him. But from Vesemir? From Geralt’s father?

Jaskier just folds under the grief and disappointment, sinking to his knees, and starts sobbing because he could have had him. And Vesemir just stares. And for the first time in centuries, he feels the urge to cry too.

[srapsodia]

Geralt and jaskier working away together! Commission for @Just-add-butter ✒️📖

[totally-yourz]

Dandelion The Witcher

thinksleep

Summary:

After the mountain Jaskier runs into Lambert and the two start a con together. Jaskier pretends to be a witcher to negotiate better pay for his hunts, and then Lambert kills the monster. It was all going fine until Geralt showed up.

Notes:

Based on the tumblr post by darkverrmin:

Jaskier meets Lambert after the mountain and they quickly become friends.

Lambert complains to Jaskier about not getting enough contracts recently, because people think of him as "foul mouthed and rude". Jaskier offers to help him with that.

Jaskier takes Lambert's clothes and swords and starts introducing himself as a Witcher. Jaskier does the talking part, getting a lot of contracts and even higher pay. Then Lambert does the monster-killing part. In the end, Jaskier comes back, dressed as a Witcher again, collecting the coin.

They go on like this for almost half a year, having fun and earning lots of coin.

Until one day, when Jaskier and Lambert arrive at a small town, looking for another contract. Jaskier goes to the town's mayor, dressed as a Witcher, and offers his services.

The town's mayor greets him with a smile. "Oh, I'm so glad you came here! We could use another Witcher on this!"

Jaskier blinks in confusion. "Another Witcher?"

He turns around and sees Geralt, sitting on a chair by the door, staring at him with his mouth open.

[geraskierfanficprompts]

Prompt 89

Geralt might be a fool. He confides in Jaskier one night about how he doesn't know how to court someone, and the normal ways of "courting" don't seem like things he can do and/or the one he wants to court would enjoy. The issue is that Jaskier is the one he wants to court, and he's asking Jaskier. Jaskier tells a story of one time a man tried courting him. The man loved to bake, it was his passion, and he baked many treats and loaves for Jaskier. Cakes and tarts and cookies and bread in Jaskier's favorite flavors, sometimes even in the shapes of music notes or hearts. Including Jaskier in on it all meant so much to Jaskier, and he said if he were to ever truly be courted one day, he'd want something similar. Jaskier loved the man sharing his passions with Jaskier. Incorporating Jaskier into the man's day-to-day life and interests was heartwarming and it showed off how they were ready and willing to compromise to add the bard into their life. He hopes that if Geralt begins courting him, Geralt will just include him on things Geralt likes and is passionate about. Like horses or sketching monsters or something. A ride in he forest, or drawing monsters together would be quite lovely! Unfortunately, Geralt got hung up on the 'baking' part of the story and is just sure that the way to Jaskier's heart is to bake him treats. The only issue is that Geralt SUCKS at baking. His brownies are more likely to kill Jaskier than do anything else. Those cookies are burned into bricks, and he doesn't even know what that is on the counter.

[lucigoo]

Toss a Coin to Your Witcher (Because the world is loud and accomodations are expensive)

#297 - Like a weed @flashfictionfridayofficial Pairing - Geralt/Jaskier Warnings - n/a Words - 966 Summary - Geralt is suffering from overstimulation due to his potions. Jaskier is not helping, until he does with accomodations Geralt would never have know about, let alone used.

A03 link here

Geralt quite liked the bard who had decided to tag along with him for the last 6 years or so. Not enough to admit it to said bard; he didn’t need a larger ego after all, but enough that he didn’t just fuck off and leave him trialling behind. Though he had tried a few times in the first few weeks, the bard somehow managed to always find him again. Something Geralt was glad of usually.

Geralt shook his head to get his thoughts back on track. The bard was nothing but a distraction, a pretty distraction, but a distraction nonetheless. 

His name was apt, too. Buttercup: a pretty weed.

And like a pretty weed, Jaskier grew on you. He just crept up where he wasn’t wanted and stayed there until someone finally plucked him. 

Geralt hoped that no one would take Jaskier’s fancy enough to pluck him for good and cause him to stop wanting to travel with himself. 

If forced at sword point, Geralt would even, begrudgingly, admit that he liked the bard’s singing, though not this evening. 

His last hunt had been a hard one, and he was close to toxicity from his potions. His eyes were still black hours later, and his head was pounding, and Jaskier, like the weed he was, was right where he wasn’t wanted. This time that was close enough for Geralt to hear every heartbeat like it was pounding in his own chest, every breath as though it was stuck in his head and if Jaskier didn’t stop playing that bloody lute, Geralt was going to bash it against a fucking tree. 

Instead of speaking or asking Jaksier to stop, Geralt grabbed the nearest thing, a large stone, and gently threw it at the bard, hitting him in the leg. 

“Oy, what was that for?” Jaksier screeched as he jumped up and glared at Geralt. 

Geralt groaned in pain at Jaksier’s loud voice. Why did he always have to be so loud?

It took a moment for Jaskier to calm down enough to realise that Geralt hadn’t spoken since Jaksier had asked him about his injuries. He had been silent since then, and Jaskier could see the muscles in his jaw clenching. He also noted the way his fingers curled and uncurled. 

“Are you in pain?” Jaskier demanded. “You said you weren’t injured. 

Geralt opened his eyes. He hadn’t even realised he had closed until he glared at Jaksier as he slowly shook his head no. 

“You look like you’re in pain?” Jaksier tried again. 

Geralt let out an unhappy humph and ignored Jaskier.

Jaskier may have been a bit oblivious about certain things, but he was far from stupid, and he realised what the problem was immediately. 

“Geralt, is the world a little too loud at the moment?” he asked, lowering his voice to almost a whisper, knowing the witcher would hear him regardless. 

Geralt looked at Jaskier suspiciously. He hadn’t said anything, and there was no way the bard could know. 

Except Jaskier came over to Geralt after rummaging in his bag and sat before him on the ground. “Geralt, I picked these up last time we were in Oxenfurt. I haven’t found an opportunity to give you them, but now …” Jaksier trailed off as he opened his hand, and there was a little case in it.

“What is it?” Geralt asked the bard suspiciously. 

“Don’t look at me like that! Here,” Jaksier said as he opened the case. 

Inside were two small buds. Geralt sniffed and looked at Jaskier, confused. “These are made of beeswax and cotton?” 

“They are indeed. They are called earplugs. You can still hear through them, especially with your hearing. But they … dull the sounds ... for lack of a better way to describe them.

“Dull?” Geralt asked, intrigued now but still hesitant. Jaksier wasn't sure if he was hesitant to admit he needed accommodations when his mutations proved him different or if he was just weary. Either way, the thought of him being in pain hurt Jaksier’s very soul. 

“Yes, DearHeart,” Jaskier said as he rose and handed Geralt the earplugs. “You just put them in, and the world becomes more comfortable. I have used them myself. Not these ones. These are new and bought for you and only you,” Jaksier was quick to add with a soft laugh as he saw a look of distaste cross Geralt’s face. 

Geralt searched Jaskier’s face but saw nor smelt no lie and so he tried them.

Instantly the world had a sort of muffled quality to it. He could still hear Roach, could hear Jaksier now pottering around their camp, could even hear the animals in the wood, but the sharp edge of Jaksier’s voice was gone. The pain from the noise of the world around him that had been stabbing him right in the brain had finally disappeared. 

“Thank you,” Geralt mumbled as Jaksier came closer. 

“You’re very welcome, love,” Jaksier said as he walked past and kissed Geralt on the head as he did so. 

Geralt watched as Jaskier walked away, utterly unaware of how that new endearment, his clear care for Geralt, and how that one brief kiss had affected the witcher.

He watched Jaskier settle down for the night, feeling nothing but contentment fill him. As well as an emotion he couldn’t quite pin down, but one that filled his heart with hope for something he couldn’t articulate. He would figure it out tomorrow, he decided, after he meditated with the gift Jaskier had been holding onto for him, all to make his life easier. 

Geralt wasn’t sure what he had done to deserve Jaskier, but he hoped this feeling inside of himself never faded and that Jaksier stayed by his side for as long as he could. 

[snailqueen42]

Fuck it. I've been avoiding sharing the massive fic I've been working on because I want to go back and edit the first 2/3rds of it, but I don't have time for it right now. So here it is in its current form:

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3281121

This is If You Like, a geraskier fic currently at 925,000+ words. I usually post on Saturdays, and I have a discord channel for it

Summary: starting at Posada, the story of Geralt slowly falling for Jaskier and their growth towards becoming lovers, partners, husbands, and parents.

I put everything from the tv show, games, and books into a blender and pull out my favorite parts. Everything connects together and it's just a big exploration of mental health, found family, growth, and love. I write all the poetry myself, too.

It has Aiden/Lambert side plot.

I'm tired of fighting with my perfectionism, so you'll see how my writing changes and gets better the further into the fic you get, and that's going to have to be okay.

[blooms-in-april]

In Oxenfurt there is a sacred tradition, which no one dares encroach upon: no one can be arrested during a theatre performance. And the scholars of Oxenfurt, for all their learning, are a dramatic, suspicious sort, and so the law stands. It's been taken advantage of by many a drunk and disorderly student, taking refuge in the audience of the Grand Theatre to evade the guard, until inevitably, the curtain falls and their reprieve is over.

When they come to arrest Professor Pankrantz, his students won't have it. He had come back to them quiet and broken this winter, more careless with his dissent, more bold in his defiance. He did not seem to care when the warrant was put out for his arrest, as an elvish sympathizer, a sodomite, and a conspirator against Nilfgaard.

"He knows the White Wolf will save him. He always does." Essi had said with false confidence, but the weeks pass and the university's protection wanes and the White Wolf does not come.

"He's not coming." Adrien whispers, hunched over his songbook. "We must do something."

"We will," Essi responds.

When he hears the guards outside his office, Jaskier puts down his quill for the last time. He swings open the door.

"Gentlemen!" He says. The armored faces are featureless, unmoving. "How would you like me?" They grab and cuff him hard across the head, then frogmarch him down the hall. His head rings like a great bell tolling the hour. He can feel the blood trickling out his ear.

There is a great crash, and a scuffle, and a large hand grabs him by the elbow. "Geralt." He whispers.

But it's not. Jeremiah smiles awkwardly, and holds his dented tuba in one hand. "I used to be a blacksmith before this." The quiet youth says. "Never thought it would come in handy again."

"My dear boy." Jaskier says as he's pulled along. "You shouldn't have. You saved my life."

"Your tutoring saved mine during finals. I think we're even, Professor."

Jaskier is hurried in through the backstage door, crowded with students carrying instruments, costumes, sheet music, and props. They all part way to let him through. "Top box, Professor." Essi says, hurrying him. "We saved it just for you."

He sits down, bewildered, as the guards shout outside and the orchestra tunes frantically. The curtain opens just as the guards make it into the auditorium. Everything hushes in that special breath before a show.

Essi steps on stage.

"Thank you and welcome to the members of the Oxenfurt Academy faculty, staff, and student body who have come to support this performance," she says. "We'd also like to welcome representatives of various law enforcement communities who have chosen to join us in the Academy Grand Theatre tonight. In the spirit of the arts, leave all discord at the door, and please enjoy this special performance by the students of Oxenfurt - 'The Adversities of Loving', a tribute to the life and works of Professor Julian Alfred Pankrantz."

She bows. The audience applauds. The play begins.

[darkverrmin]

Geralt: I see you've bought a dagger. I'm glad you listened to what I said about you needing to learn some self defense.

Jaskier, who bought the dagger only after someone told him that it makes a great tool for drawing perfect eyeliner: um, yeah

[shy-urban-hobbit]

“I mean, you’ve got to feel a little sorry for them really haven’t you?” Jaskier said from where he was mopping up the last of the evidence of the half dead rat Roach had thoughtfully decided to gift them (the first time it happened he’d shrieked in surprise before Geralt put it out of its misery with a matter of fact “Welcome to country living, city boy”). Geralt gave a non committal hum from where he was warming milk up for Ciri on the stove. The little girl sat colouring at the large kitchen table - too large for two, but that would change when Geralt’s brothers and any guests they decided to bring descended on them.

“I mean they’re just minding their own business like, Oh I’m a hungry rat. Please don’t kill me.” Here Jaskier put on a slightly squeaky voice and held up his hands in imitation of paws, still holding onto the mop, “And then wham one of the last things they see is Roach’s teeth coming towards them. So many teeth.” He gave the resident farm cat a critical stare and received a dismissive tail flick in response.

Ciri giggled at his antics which caused him to grin back at her in return. It always felt like a special sort of personal victory when he managed to coax a laugh out of the little girl.

Despite being together for six months, he was still being introduced to her as her father’s ‘friend’ (which was true enough, they wouldn’t be dating if they didn’t get along) and Jaskier was happy to go along with it. Geralt had explained without revealing too much that the little one had been let down by too many adults in her life already, himself included, and ‘boyfriend’ was maybe just a little too official sounding for the time being (and if he said his heart hadn’t broken a little for the five year old smiling at him from Geralt’s phone, he’d by lying), especially after the shit that had gone down with his ex. Geralt hadn’t gone into detail but from what Jaskier had gathered, the woman had had a hidden agenda in wanting to get back with Geralt and Ciri had almost gotten seriously hurt as a result. Geralt had blamed himself for jumping back into the relationship too quickly and so, any potential partners now had to pass what Jaskier had dubbed ‘The Ciri test’.  

He liked to think he’d passed the first portion with flying colours, the tiny blonde seeming perfectly comfortable with him in public places. Now they were dipping their toes into Jaskier staying in their home for longer periods, with Jaskier having graduated from the guest bedroom to sharing with Geralt the previous visit (the brunette wanting the ground to swallow him up when she happily informed her Uncle Eskel of ‘Daddy’s sleepover’ when the man had dropped by unexpectedly the following morning. Geralt had just shrugged and told him to be thankful it hadn’t been Lambert; who could and would, happily take the piss forever).

“Alright Ciri, put your things away and then go get your bedtime book. I’ll be in in a minute.” Geralt said, pouring the warm milk into a plastic My Little Pony cup.

“I want Jask.” Ciri declared form where she was trying to force the crayons back into their box by the (relatively small) handful, Causing both adults to stop what they’d been doing and stare at one another. This was new.

“You sure you don’t want daddy?” Jaskier asked, looking to Geralt for some sign as to what he should do.

“You do better funny voices. Daddy’s all sound the same.”

It took everything Jaskier had not to burst out laughing at that as he took in the minute eye twitch from the other man at that statement, “Geralt?”

Geralt nodded, “Mind if I stay and listen? You know how much I love The Gruffalo.”

Jaskier snorted and felt a surge of fondness. The lies we tell for our children.

It ended up being a joint effort, with Geralt guest starring as The Gruffalo “On account of you being so, well...gruff.” and admitting to a slightly too smug looking Jaskier and a mostly asleep Ciri that “Yes, Jaskier does better voices for everyone else. Especially Mouse.”

"Everything ok? You’ve gone all quiet on me.” Jaskier said from where he had his head in Geralt’s lap as they watched some mindless Netflix show. “I didn’t overstep did I?” He was suddenly frantic, his anxieties bubbling back up to the surface now that he didn’t have a performance and an audience to focus on, “I know you probably just said yes so things wouldn’t be awkward. I probably should have told her no and come up with an excuse but how can anybody say no to that face-“

“Jaskier. It’s fine, honestly.” Geralt said, rubbing his hands up and down Jaskier’s arm in a way he knew calmed him, “I’ve built up something of an immunity to Ciri’s puppy eyes. I would’ve said no if I had a problem with it. I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“About how I might have a question for Ciri.���

The next morning saw Jaskier seeing both of them off with a hug (also accompanied by fishing a stray cheerio out of Ciri’s hair which he had been too tired to question) before heading back to his city apartment and his job as a music tutor.

“Ciri?” Geralt asked, putting her school backpack by the door as he knelt down to help her button up her coat, “You know how Aiden is Uncle Lambert’s boyfriend?"

It had slowly been killing Jaskier not to check his phone as soon as the text notification came through but he was nothing if not professional and he would not check his phone when he was in the middle of a lesson. Thank the Gods he did wait as he was prettu sure he gave his retreating student a minor heart attack with the squeal he let out at Geralt’s message:

‘Ciri has been proudly announcing to her classmates this morning that Jaskier is her daddy’s boyfriend. Much disappointment from the single mums.’

[green-fifteen]

Day 8: Slow Blink

Prompt: Smile Fandom: The Witcher (TV) Pairing: Geralt & Jaskier Summary: Jaskier discovers something interesting about his companion. Word count: 1,404 read on ao3 instead

written for @fluffyfebruary

Jaskier had been traveling with Geralt for four years when he finally learned something absolutely fundamental about his friend. The witcher might disagree, but to Jaskier this was the most important discovery he'd made since he'd found the man himself.

It was a hot day and they were stuck in mud up to their ankles, trudging through some hovel right at the edge of a wide river.

"Why are we here, Geralt?" Jaskier had whined, lifting his hat to wipe the sweat from his brow. His companion had only grunted and walked on. "Geralt. Geralt! You know, I'm sure Roach would have a thing or two to say about you dragging her through this mire. We could catch a disease! What if we all get a parasite! And for what!"

He looked over at the horse in question to see what she thought of the situation, but Geralt moved in front of him to feed her a treat from the saddlebag.

"Roach is fine," he said. She did look fine-- crunching down on the hard, rooty end of a carrot and somehow making it through the mud like it was water instead of awful sludge that was trying to take Jaskier's shoes off his feet every time he took a step. He stopped walking, overheated and annoyed.

"That's it!" he cried. "I'm finding an inn--" he looked around at the sad little huts and gardens. "--or a tree stump, or somewhere I can go and wait for you to come back. This is ridiculous."

Geralt looked at him and said, "Okay," and gave him a look that clearly meant, Why should I care? It would be hurtful if Jaskier hadn't spent so much time with him. Geralt never wanted him to come with him on Witcher business. By now the bard was good at convincing himself it was solely because Geralt cared so much for his health and well-being.

Rolling his eyes, Jaskier made to turn around and stride away, forgetting for a moment that his shoes were firmly stuck in mud. He felt his bag drop first as he flailed his arms to steady his balance, and then he was tipping backwards as if in slow motion, gazing up at the unfairly blue sky as he finally landed on the ground. His lovely linen shirt squelched into the ground as his legs bent at the knee, his shoes still planted.

Roach stepped away, alarmed. Geralt patted her side reassuringly while his gaze was on Jaskier, who blearily noted how fetching his yellow eyes looked against the summer sky. As he watched, the witcher closed his eyes and opened them again, too long to be a blink but too short to be anything else.

Furrowing his brow, Jaskier stuck out an arm to Geralt, who sighed but heaved him out of the mud. His clothes and shoes left the ground with an awful sucking noise.

Subtly, he watched the witcher's face as he dragged himself back into order, wiping mud from his elbows and the backside of his satchel. After a few seconds, Geralt blinked, short and unremarkable. Jaskier was tempted to call it a fluke-- after all, blinking slightly longer than usual could mean anything, or nothing at all. On top of that, the bard was frustrated with Geralt, covered in mud, and wanted nothing more than to strip all his clothes off and plunge into a cold bath.

He simply said, "Right, well. I'll see you when you're finished, I assume." He tried to be subtle as he took Roach's sack of treats from the saddlebag, but it didn't work. The horse nosed at him and the witcher tilted his head and frowned even deeper.

"So you both come back," he quipped, trying to sound like he was joking even though he wasn't. "I'll just be taking this with me on my quest to find suitable lodgings. Don't be out too late, dear." He stuffed the sack into his own bag and carefully marched away.

Two days later, Geralt came back to the little riverside town, smelling truly awful and with the head of some hideous swamp-thing strapped to his saddle. Jaskier had been fortunate enough to find an old, unused stable and made himself a nice little bed out of smelly hay. He hadn't felt inspired to play (he wasn't sure anyone there would be able to pay him for the privilege) so he worked on composing new songs instead as he waited for the witcher to return.

When he did, Jaskier didn't notice at first, too busy staring into the distance and counting off lines of metered verse. He was sitting on a boulder on the riverbank with one foot on the ground and the other propped up on his seat. He had nothing with him but his lute and his leather-bound notebook.

He jumped when he felt something shove his shoulder. Roach was behind him, Geralt looming above on her back. He sprang to his feet.

"Geralt! The Lady Roach!" he said, then stopped. "What is that smell?"

Before Geralt could answer (or, more likely, not answer), Roach pushed him again with her nose. Then she pushed him again and he stumbled to keep his balance.

Geralt made a noise that might have been a sigh. "Where are her carrots, bard?"

Jaskier was trying to pet the horse into submission but she wasn't interested in being mollified and began to nose her way into his jacket.

"Is that what this is about? I have her little bag in the stable just there--," his voice cut off with a warble as Roach took a step forward, shoving Jaskier along with her, and he lost his battle to stay upright. For the second time in three days, Jaskier watched the earth turn to sky in front of his eyes as he fell backward, this time directly into the river.

When he came up spluttering, he saw Roach pawing the ground and the witcher standing next to her and staring at him. When their eyes met, Jaskier glaring in disbelief, Geralt closed his eyes again in that same long blink as before. Then he turned his head to look at Roach and did it again at her.

Jaskier stood up and dripped, looking around at the river. The water was cool and relatively clear. "There isn't an inn here, Geralt," he said. "This is probably the best place to bathe for several miles." He did want to grumble a bit at the hair plastered to his face and the soaked feathers in his hat, but the water felt like heaven in the summer humidity.

"Also, I can smell you from here."

Geralt huffed and looked away, but he tied Roach to a log and undressed. As he waded into the water and felt the grime and sweat wash away from him, he did it again. One moment his face was hard as the steel of his sword and the next his whole expression seemed to soften and his eyes fell closed, then opened again.

Jaskier felt epiphany close over him. Oh. He was reminded of the cats his sister had kept growing up. Their nurse had told them to watch and listen whenever they could because not every creature used words like they could. Pay attention to everything else, she'd said, and you'll get the message anyway.

Jaskier was paying attention. He was paying the most attention. He thought he might have just made the discovery of his lifetime. Namely, that the witcher Geralt, White Wolf and the Butcher of Blaviken, smiled. Not only that, but he did it often.

After that, Jaskier was on the lookout for Geralt's peculiar little smile. Unfortunately, he saw it most often directed toward Roach or whenever Jaskier managed to embarrass himself somehow. It wasn't until they'd been traveling together nearly ten years that he started to see it more regularly even when he hadn't just fallen over a tree stump or ripped his trousers.

When they met that spring, Jaskier spotted him at the stables before Geralt had turned around.

"Geralt!" he shouted, joy making his limbs feel light. He had stopped resisting the urge to hug Geralt somewhere around their seventh year, so he didn't hesitate before throwing his arms around the witcher, who simply looked down at Jaskier and blinked, long and slow.

He couldn't wipe the beam from his face for days.

[eskel-loves-lilbleater]

Geralt/Triss or Eskel/Triss?

If I have to chose between those two and ONLY those two, then I definitely go with Eskel/Triss. I feel like Triss & Geralt's relationship, both from the books and the games, has SO many issues that it's rather toxic. I don't hate it, I just think they can do better.

That being said, my actual preferred pairings?

Yennefer/Triss:

Completely fan-based, I know, but I feel they meet on a more even level, have comparable life experience, understandings etc. I think they are better for each other and make each other better, than most of the alternatives.

Geralt/Jaskier:

I mean, it's really Geralt and ANYBODY else BUT Triss or Yen but I understand why him and Jaskier are such a popular pair. Again, they make each other better, for the most part.

I also like Geralt/Eskel and Geralt/Regis however, if I had to pick faves?

Eskel/Regis:

Bloody absolute rare-pair and I don't get it. Lots of people adore Geralt & Regis together (which I get) but I think Eskel would be an even better match. The love of books and philosophy, animals and simple pleasures. And we KNOW Eskel would not have the slightest issue with Regis' species affiliation. Big, brawny Eskel would LOVE someone who can take and give back like a Higher Vampire. Feral Eskel getting all protective and Regis finding it adorable because he REALLY doesn't need it. They would be so sweet together.

Lambert/?:

But what about the youngest, surliest wolf? I mean, any combo of Lambert/Aiden/Voltehre/Milena, I just eat that shit right up. Absolute GIVE ME MORE and I will be happy. (Big thank you to @inexplicifics for creating so much of this and inventing Milena. Big happy spot in my heart!!)

Or Lambert/Eskel lol

Other fave pairings:

Letho/Gaetan

Vesemir/Guxart

Ivar/Keldar

And why is there so very little love for Arnaghad? I need giant bear love!

<3

[totally-yourz]

Lifeblood

phiaura

Summary:

Jaskier gets jumped by a bunch of bandits, who happen to be so dumb as to stab him with an ancient artifact. When he wakes up, the bandits are slaughtered, and Jaskier has a new hunger. He decides he can't and won't live like this, and searches out a witcher to kill him when he's unsuccessful himself. Of course......he finds Geralt, or does Geralt find him?

---000---

When Jaskier wakes up, the light is uncommonly bright to his eyes, and he has to squint against it. He’s not sure he remembers going to sleep the previous night, and briefly accuses himself of gulping down the bottle of Toussainti wine he’d filched from the inn, leaving a few crowns in its place.

He rubs his hands over his face, and realises that as he does so, the strange metallic scent that hangs in the air gets stronger. When he pulls his hands away to look at his palms, he stiffens. There are red stains on the skin, some of it dried and flaking in the creases.

It’s very definitely not wine.

Vampire jaskier

Geralt X jaskier X eskel

https://archiveofourown.org/works/59832151/chapters/152624839