“You’re not terrible to look at.”
Jaskier barked out a laugh, tension snapping just a little. “Why, thank you. High praise.”
Geralt’s mouth curved, just slightly.
Jaskier swallowed.
“So… that means you’ve… thought about it?” His voice dipped, suddenly less certain. “About us?”
Geralt didn’t look away.
“Yes.”
“…Why didn’t you ever say anything?”
Geralt’s shoulders rose in a small shrug. “Never seemed like the right time.”
Jaskier let out a sharp laugh, pushing himself up onto his elbows. “Didn’t seem like the- Geralt, I was practically throwing myself at you the first year we met.”
“That didn’t count,” Geralt said evenly.
Jaskier blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You were eighteen,” Geralt continued, finally shifting his gaze to him. “Too young. Didn’t know what you wanted.”
Jaskier stared at him for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly.
“…And you?” he asked, quieter now. “Didn’t you know what you wanted?”
Geralt didn’t look away.
“I knew,” he said.
Jaskier’s breath caught, just slightly.
***
Jaskier stared at him for another moment, then huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. “Okay, so you didn’t want to go for it when I was eighteen. Well. I’m thirty now.” His smile turned a little sharper. “If anything, I’ve only gotten better.”
Geralt didn’t smile. Didn’t look away, either.
His eyes stayed on Jaskier- steady, intent in a way that made something twist low in Jaskier’s chest.
“Well,” Geralt said quietly, “yes.”
Jaskier huffed a small laugh. “That was a joke, Geralt. I mean, I’m getting old.”
Geralt’s gaze stayed on him.
Longer than it should have.
Jaskier was still half-smiling, like he always did when he was trying to turn something into a joke, like he could soften anything if he just talked around it enough.
Geralt didn’t miss the details.
The way the candle light caught in his hair, softer now that it was clean. The line of his mouth, still curved even when he wasn’t speaking. The easy way he took up space, unguarded, like he didn’t realize how he looked when he wasn’t trying.
Geralt exhaled slowly.
“You? Old?”
A beat.
“If that’s old… you wear it well.”
The words landed heavier than they should have.
***
Continue reading:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/82623221/chapters/217496811
