Work Text:
Before even embarking on their journey to find the djinn, Yennefer paused for a moment and stared at the ocean. The icy depths of Skelligan waters did not bother her the slightest. It was only the prospect of their minds being wiped clean of each other that gave her a sense of foreboding.
She wanted to tell him what her plans were. She hoped to tell him. She hoped that his last wish was only trying to reveal what was already sincere.
---
As the battle against the djinn ceased, she gazed at the icy peaks and their glory, not wanting to look at the man who might possibly not love her anymore. The wish was broken, shattered, and yet she knew that her heart still wholly belonged to him. But did he feel the same?
"Feel anything? That anything's...different?" Geralt asked her. He looked at Yen, trying to gauge what she was feeling, what she was thinking. He desperately wanted her to say that she loved him, that she still cared for him. He held his breath when she began to speak.
"I expected...I didn't know what I expected, actually. A bit of vertigo, perhaps…"
She hesitated. She did not want to read his mind--did not want to risk her heart being shattered into pieces. But she did not want to hide, did not want to put on her mask because this was Geralt. This was the man who has fought by her side, who has loved her, who has been with her for decades.
Instead, she told him the truth.
"I thought you'd become a stranger to me. That I'd look at you and not feel a thing." She looked down, unable to meet his eyes, and tried to find the right words to describe her aching heart.
He waited. The only thoughts running through his mind were ones of overwhelming want. He wanted her. He needed her.
"But it's not like that at all."
She shook her head as her voice carried her words, her violet eyes meeting his downturned gaze.
"Nothing's changed," She finally confessed, hoping he would say the same.
Her words resonated within him with the promise of the future. He smiled, eyes wide and reflecting the want, the joy. "Djinn might've cheated us after all."
Her heart twisted, threatening to leave her chest. Yet, she maintained her composure and raised her eyebrows in question.
"Why?" She asked.
He was happy. Complete. At long last, he knew exactly where he was supposed to be.
"Cause I don't feel that anything's changed either."
At those words, what felt like the weight of the world was lifted from her conscience. She smiled, and his golden eyes met hers.
"I love you, Yen."
Genuine. Their relationship was genuine. It was real, and it was raw. Moments of near-death, rage, and despair were present yet always overwhelmed by longing, intimacy, and love.
And oh how she loved him.
She found it hard to believe that he still loved her despite that she was so cold, even harsh at times. She always had her moments, and yet he still wanted her. He wanted her moments of anger and her moments of tender love. He wanted it all. He was hers, and she was his.
"And I love you."