Chapter Text
Jaskier ‘ooed’ and ‘ahed’ as he spun around in the middle of Geralt’s room, “It’s so… neat.” He smirked as he turned to look at Geralt, “Course, when you have barely any decorations I’m sure it’s not hard to keep tidy.”
Geralt shrugged his shoulders as he booted up his PC, “Most of my interests are on the computer, and that doesn’t take up much space.”
Jaskier flopped in the chair next to Geralt. He grabbed the headset sitting on his desk and placed them on his head, pulling the microphone down to his lips, “Houston, we have a problem.”
Geralt laughed, “Go ahead and keep those on. I have a spare pair. I’ll hook it up so you can listen in on the game talk.”
Jaskier spun around in his chair, the headphone cable getting wrapped around him, “Awesome--oops, Geralt… a little help here.”
Geralt snorted when he looked over and saw Jaskier tangled up. “It’s probably a good thing you aren’t playing, huh?” He carefully unwrapped him, slowly spinning him in the opposite direction.
Jaskier grabbed his hand when Geralt started to pull away. He grinned, “My hero.”
Geralt blushed, turning away to resume setting up the game, “It was nothing…”
“So who are these friends you are playing with? Do you have a whole squad?” Jaskier rested his chin on his hand.
Geralt nodded, “It’s just Lambert, Eskel, Coen and me, but we sorta have a squad… The um… Wolf Pack…” His face grew warm with embarrassment. Now that he was saying it outloud it sounded kinda silly.
“That’s so cool!” Jaskier beamed, “The Wolf Pack, that’s a good name. Who came up with it?”
Geralt shrugged, “A group effort. It was a random joke, but it stuck.”
Jaskier wiggled in his seat, “Is it done loading yet? Are your friends on yet?”
Geralt laughed, “The game is still loading, but I can set up the Discord channel so we can talk while we wait.”
Jaskier leaned on Geralt as he watched the computer screen, “Discord? What’s that?”
“It’s the program we use to talk to each other. We send messages or essentially call each other through the channel and talk,” Geralt explained. He tried to keep his voice steady as his heart pounded rapidly in his chest. Jaskier continued to press against him. He was having a hard time focusing until a familiar voice rang through his headphones.
“About fucking time. You’re late!” the voice said gruffly.
Jaskier gasped as he held his headphones and pressed them closer to his ears, “I hear someone!”
“That’s Lambert,” Geralt grinned, “I told you I had after school activities.”
“He remembered, he just likes being an ass,” a different, calmer voice spoke. “Who's your friend?”
“Ah, hello, I’m Jaskier!” Jaskier beamed as he pulled the mic close to his mouth.
Geralt smirked, “You don’t need it that close.” He adjusted Jaskier’s mic for him. “As he said… my friend Jaskier. He came over to hangout. He’s going to watch us play.”
“It’s nice to meet you Jaskier, I’m Eskel.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Lambert snorted, “are we going to play?”
“Is Coen even on yet?” Geralt sighed.
“The star player has arrived!” a third voice announced.
Jaskier smiled, “That must be Coen right?”
“It is,” Coen said cheerfully, “And you are?”
“It’s just Geralt’s boyfriend. Can we get on with the game?” Lambert sniped.
Geralt sputtered, “He’s not-- He’s not my boyfriend…”
“Through no fault of mine,” Jaskier mumbled.
Geralt blushed, jerking his head toward Jaskier, “What?”
“I’m starting the round lover boy, join or get left out,” Lambert snarked.
Geralt sighed and clicked to ready up. Jaskier hummed in admiration as he leaned in to study the screen, “Is that your character?”
Geralt’s face felt warm, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of Jaskier’s close proximity or embarrassment at showing Jaskier his avatar. “Um, yeah…”
Jaskier beamed, “He’s so cool looking!”
Geralt shrugged his shoulders, “It’s a skin I got. Nothing special.”
“We’re dropping!” Lambert snarled, “Parachute or get left behind.”
Geralt swore under his breath, and did his best to recover and focus on the match. Jaskier smirked as he watched Geralt’s avatar fall from the plane. “I thought you were playing a shooter?”
Geralt nodded, “We parachute to a location we choose, gather weapons and supplies, then try to last the longest against other squads.”
“You don’t even start with weapons?” Jaskier gasped in amazement.
“Survival of the fittest,” Lambert added cockily.
“Gear is random too, so you might not even start off with the best equipment,” Coen chimed in.
Jaskier stared in amazement as Geralt searched the house for equipment. He was quick in his gathering. Jaskier had a hard time determining what gear he kept and what didn’t make the cut. “How long have you guys been playing?”
“We’ve played this game for a few months, but there are other squad games we’ve played before this,” Eskel informed.
“Wow,” Jaskier watched as the squad grabbed a nearby truck. “How long have you been friends?”
“A couple of years now,” Geralt hummed, “I think since 5th or 6th grade.”
Jaskier opened his mouth to ask another question but was cut off by Lambert.
“Contact!” Lambert shouted, “Near West, 250.”
Jaskier’s eyes widened as he watched Geralt use a scoped rifle to take out one of the enemies. Eskel’s avatar took out the one next to Geralt’s target, while Lambert attempted to dodge the incoming bullets as they drove around the enemy squad.
“Throwing a grenade!” Coen yelled.
Lambert swore as smoke filled the area, “That’s a smoke grenade you ass hat!”
“What? Now we got some cover,” Coen laughed.
“How are we supposed to shoot them if we can’t see them!” Lambert raged.
Jaskier tried to suppress a laugh as he watched the chaos that ensued.
“Shit, I’m down,” Eskel’s character fell out of the truck. Geralt exited the vehicle to offer support.
“Crawl toward the tall grass, I’ll cover you,” Geralt crouched down in front of Eskel’s injured body, giving him cover fire as they made their way to safety.
“If Eskel dies because of your dumb ass smoke grenade, I’ll kill you myself,” Lambert growled.
Coen only cackled as the two of them continued to circle the smoke covered enemies, “It’s fine! I got it covered.” He threw another grenade. A regular one. Lambert swore as it blew up a little ways from the truck.
“I swear to Melitele, if you damage the truck!” Lambert swerved the truck away from the smoke and toward Geralt and Eskel.
Geralt had patched Eskel up and shared some first aid kits with him. They were scoping the area out to ensure Coen’s grenade had taken out the final enemies.
“We’re sitting ducks out here in this field. Let’s move on, the circle is closing,” Eskel said as Geralt and he climbed back into the truck.
“Don’t have to tell me twice,” Lambert steered them toward the center of the slowly shrinking play area.
“There are some buildings to the east. I’ve marked them on the map,” Geralt informed Lambert.
Lambert only responded by changing direction toward the indicator. Now that they had an encounter, Jaskier was hesitant to ask questions, but he was curious about the large circle he had seen on Geralt’s map.
He leaned in close and whispered, “What is that giant circle on your map?”
Geralt blushed, and turned to face Jaskier. Lambert was doing the driving so he could take his eyes off the screen to gaze into those sparkling blue eyes for a moment. “Um, well, the play field shrinks as the game continues. It forces the players into combat. If you aren’t in the circle then you take damage. So it’s kind of a race, but we also want to make sure we have good gear to face any enemies we come across. That’s why we’re stopping at these buildings. There is a chance for us to find items and better equipment there.”
Jaskier nodded in understanding. Eskel sighed as they pulled up to the building, “Doors are open. Someone has been here already.”
Coen jumped out of the truck, “Could still be some gear. Doesn’t hurt to check.”
“Be quick,” Lambert snapped, “we have 30 seconds till the storm gets us.”
Coen ran back to the truck and climbed in, “I got a shield.”
“Hope it was worth it,” Lambert slammed on the gas, the truck surging ahead as soon as Coen was in the vehicle.
“It’ll at least protect me from your wrath,” Coen joked.
Jaskier gasped, “Oh, I think I saw someone in the tree line.”
Geralt hummed as he inspected the area with his scope, “Contact… North.”
Jaskier cheered as Geralt took out the enemy.
“Insta kill?” Eskel asked.
“No,” Geralt informed him. He noticed the question on Jaskier’s lips and answered before he could ask, “If they don’t die instantly then it means they have others in their squad left to revive them.”
Jaskier nodded, “I see.”
Lambert swore as they were shot at. The truck surged ahead as Lambert was injured and tossed out of the vehicle. “Shit! I got sniped!”
Eskel quickly grabbed the wheel and steered it back toward Lambert.
“Fuck!” Lambert yelled, “It’s that fucking bastard!”
Geralt swore as he saw a skull pop up where Lambert was, “He’s dead.” Eskel veered back on course toward the center of the circle.
“I can’t fucking believe it,” Lambert growled, “That same bastard keeps finding me and killing me. What the fuck is his problem?”
Jaskier smirked, “Does Lambert have a secret admirer?”
“Secret admirer?! Hell no. I don’t know what I did to this fucker, but every game we’re in together he targets me. Doesn’t even bother with the other members of the Wolf Pack.”
“You know,” Eskel mused, “now that Jaskier says something… it does kinda sound like he might be a secret admirer.”
Lambert grit his teeth, “A troll more like.”
“Don’t feed the troll~,” Coen sing-songed.
“How does he keep finding me?!” Lambert huffed. “KittenA$$assin, I will find you and murder you!”
Jaskier snorted, “KittenA$$assin? That’s the name of the guy who keeps murdering you?”
“Talk about adding insult to injury,” Coen chuckled.
“I can’t believe you’re still alive,” Lambert growled.
Coen laughed, “It’s easy when you don’t have a secret admirer out to kill you.”
“He’s not--”
“Contact,” Eskel announced.
Geralt snapped to the direction Eskel indicated and sent a barrage of bullets.
“Grenade!” Coen shouted as he tossed it in the enemy's direction.
“If that’s a smoke grenade…” Lambert warned.
“What are you going to do about it?” Coen smirked, “You’re dead.”
Lambert started to complain but was cut off by the explosion.
“Insta kill,” Geralt reported.
“That means all the squad members are dead?” Jaskier murmed his question as he watched entranced.
“Yeah, but there could be other squads nearby,” Eskel answered. “I hear gunfire south of us.”
“The truck is loud. Now that we’re closer to the center maybe we should head in on foot,” Coen suggested.
“You can use the line of trees for cover,” Lambert added.
Eskel hummed, “I think we can use the trees for cover.”
“Good idea Eskel,” Geralt grinned.
Lambert growled, “You fucking bastards. Don’t act like I’m not here.”
“It was so sad losing Lambert,” Coen feigned remorse, “you know, sometimes I think I can still hear his voice.”
“I don’t know why I play with you asshats,” Lambert huffed.
“Because you love us,” Eskel cooed. Lambert only growled in response.
“Time to crouch!” Coen sing-songed. The remaining squad members slid to the ground and crawled over the hill, hugging the trees nearby.
“Spot anyone?” Eskel inquired.
Geralt grunted as he surveyed the area with his scope, “Not yet, I think they’re all waiting.”
“Storm will be closing in soon. Won’t be able to stay in this position for much longer,” Coen pointed out.
Eskel sighed, “Yeah.. it’s a shame too because this is a good spot.”
The squad made it’s way down the hill toward the desolate town at the bottom. There were some areas for cover, but not a whole lot with the remaining teams left.
“This is going to be a bloodbath,” Lambert groaned. “There’s still 5 other squads.”
“Including KittenA$$assin,” Coen added helpfully. Lambert responded with a colorful string of curses.
The rest of the match was as Lambert predicted. A lot of commands and warnings were shouted out, but with such small quarters, and so many enemies it was difficult for the Wolf Pack to remain the last squad standing.
Geralt sighed as he leaned back in his chair, “Second place isn’t bad.”
Jaskier beamed and patted Geralt on the shoulder, “You guys were amazing out there!”
Geralt blushed and shrugged his shoulders, “We got good gear at the start… we were luckier than some.”
Jaskier rolled his eyes, grinning, “Oh come on, you also had such good teamwork. You’ve got skill Geralt Roger Eric Rivia.”
“Roger Eric?” Eskel snorted, “Is that your middle name?”
Geralt huffed, “No… it’s not.”
The conversation was interrupted by a shriek from Lambert.
Geralt winced, “What is wrong?”
“That bastard KittenA$$assin messaged me saying ‘Good game.’ Can you believe that?!” Lambert raged.
“That’s very polite of him,” Coen teased.
“The fuck it is,” Lambert growled.
“You should message them back,” Jaskier suggested, “maybe you can determine why they keep targeting you.”
Lambert hummed in contemplation, “I kinda did, but I told them to fuck off. Doubt they’d want to talk to me now.”
Jaskier grinned and glanced at Geralt, “Maybe, but I bet they’ll still reply.”
“Oh? A bet?” Lambert smirked, “And what do I get if you lose?”
Jaskier ran his tongue over his bottom lip, then stared directly at Geralt, “I’ll kiss Geralt.”
Geralt’s heart would have flown out of his chest if it could, “I… uh, w-what?”
Lambert scoffed, “That’s hardly an incentive for me.”
Jaskier shrugged his shoulders, “Fine, I’ll kiss him if I win. That’s more likely to happen anyway.”
“Yeah right,” Lambert groused, “I’m messaging him back right now. Get ready to eat your--.”
The line was suddenly quiet. There was a moment's pause before anyone spoke up.
“Sooo…” Eskel drawled, “Don’t leave us in suspense Lamb.”
“Shut up! Let’s play another match already!”
Jaskier cheered, “I’ll take that as me winning the bet.” He turned to Geralt, “Geralt, may I take my prize?”
Geralt sputtered, his face turning beet red, “I um… that is… I would…”
Jaskier tilted his head, a small smile on his lips, “It’s alright if you say no.”
Geralt shook his head, “Y-yes… you may…”
A loud whistle sounded through the headsets. “Way to go Geralt!” Coen cheered.
Jaskier smiled, a small blush forming on his face. Geralt had never seen Jaskier look embarrassed, or shy, or whatever emotion it was Jaskier seemed to be feeling at the moment. It was extremely adorable.
Jaskier gently cupped Geralt’s cheek. He leaned forward, hesitating a moment before he pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. When he pulled back, he averted his gaze, fidgeting his hands. “All done.”
Geralt felt his chest warm, and his skin tingled where Jaskier had touched him. He wasn’t sure how to respond. Should he kiss him back? Hug him? Shake his hand? Geralt frowned at all of the options. None of them felt right, but Jaskier looked… anxious. Geralt didn’t want him to feel that way regarding their kiss.
Geralt reached out and took Jaskier’s hand. He pressed the back of it to his lips, “Thank you. It was… very nice.” He smiled at Jaskier as his stomach flip flopped.
Jaskier’s blush brightened as he nodded his head, “I’m… I’m glad.”
“Enough with the mushy talk,” Lambert groaned. “I wanna win at least one match today.”
“Aww, excited to see KittenA$$assin so soon now that you’ve swapped phone numbers?” Coen teased.
“We didn’t-- I am not!” Lambert sputtered.
The two continued to argue as Eskel set up the next match. Jaskier smiled softly as he continued to hold Geralt’s hand, and Geralt wondered if he would be able to play the next match without it.