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Jaskier is completely oblivious to the fact he's half-god and immortal.
Until one spring night, Jaskier wakes up screaming, blood on his face and mouth, tongue burning. He freaks out so bad Geralt has to physically restrain him to calm him and see what's going on. After much negotiations and smoothing words, Geralt manages to calm him down enough for him to take a little water and rinse his mouth. It's too dark to see what's going on exactly so Geralt makes him lie down again before he passes out from breathing too fast and holds him close until morning. Neither of them sleeps again and he can feel Jaskier shake all night against him, in pain and scared because he's unable to speak anything at all other than small broken whimpers. Geralt tries to smooth him as best he can, running his hand up and down Jaskier's back. For the first time since they started to travel together a few months ago, and now that Geralt was finally accepted the bard wasn’t going anywhere and maybe Geralt didn’t want him to, Jaskier smells of pain and anxiety and he hates it.
At dawn, when there's enough light coming through the trees Geralt discovers that runes appeared on Jaskier's tongue overnight. And Geralt's medallion vibrates very slightly if Jaskier is very close to him. Each rune is raw and bloody and swollen and Jaskier has a hard time speaking and eating for a few days and he is completely miserable until the carvings heal.
They go to four different sorceresses but none of them can find any curse on Jaskier at all. One of them tells them that a sorceress in Skellige could know more since runes are common among their Gods. Jaskier freaks out again, sure he's been cursed by a Skelligen god last winter when he went up north in the islands to sing before joining Geralt in spring. Maybe he slept with someone who was favoured by a God but neither of them knows enough about Skellige's traditions and religions to know how real their Gods are. It makes no sense to Geralt, since Jakier has left Skellige for months but there’s no calming Jaskier, who absolutely needs to go back and find that girl or guy he slept with and find out if they did this to him.
So in the middle of spring, they start a trek in the opposite direction back to the north. It's slow going, Geralt still has to take contracts and Jaskier, feeling better by now, needs to stop often in cities for a few days to earn them coins too. Ironically, with his tongue all scared, Jaskier thinks it’s the best season he's ever had, people more generous than they ever have been both with their coins and their propositions to him. Jaskier is also writing better music and poetry than he ever has before and except for Geralt who still can't appreciate his clever rhythm, it's enough for Jaskier to say one poem to get the undivided attention of the entire room for hours.
Right before they get to the coast to cross for Skellige, Jaskier requests they make a little detour to Lettenhove to see his family. Jaskier gets more and more nervous the closer they get to home and Geralt is not too happy about it because he thinks Jaskier's family will hate him, for being a Witcher and for taking Jaskier on the Path with him and that's why Jaskier is nervous. But he can't help but feel a little warm in his chest when he sees Jaskier falling in his mother's arm and hug her tightly. Turns out Jaskier was nervous because he didn't know how to tell Geralt he was a Viscount. Geralt doesn't give a fuck since Jaskier was already a spoiled brat before he knew he was a noble. That doesn't change much about their arrangement. But when Jaskier's old housekeeper calls him Master Julian, a name that absolutely nobody else calls him ever, he sees the glee in Geralt's eyes and knows he's gonna get teased endlessly from now on. Geralt refers to him only as Master Julian for three whole days. Jaskier's family immediately loves him and even gives him the full guest treatment.
After the third night, Jaskier finally breaks down and tells his parents late at night why they were up north in the first place. He didn't mean to worry them but they knew something was wrong when he's been avoiding speaking directly in their direction, keeping his head low so they couldn’t see his tongue and never agreeing to sing for them when he knows it would delight them to hear him. "I'm too tired" can only work so many times after all.
After a big freak out from both Jaskier and his parents, they finally admit Jaskier isn't their son but they secretly adopted him. He was brought to them by a mysterious man one late night who begged them to take him in or his wife would kill the baby. He wouldn't say who the mother was but he revealed himself as Bragi, God of Poetry and Music. He brought his baby to Lettenhove because Jaskier’s family on his mother’s side had been one of the oldest in Skellige before she moved to the mainland to marry the Viscount. Bragi knew her family was one of the most loyal to the old Gods, particularly to him so he kept an eye on her after she’d left and he knew his son would be safe and cared for with them and they would love him as their own. They’ve been struggling to have their own baby and as a gift, Bragi gave them the ability to do so. Both as a thank you and because he wanted his son to grow up with many siblings.
He was heartbroken when he had to finally say goodbye for good, he wanted to keep his son with him so badly. But his wife Iðunn was extremely mad at him for having a child with a mortal woman and was absolutely refusing for him to raise the babe himself after the mother had passed in childbirth. He named the baby Jaskier and handed him over after a final kiss on the head and a whispered: “be good my son, I love you”. But Bragi told them he would give Jaskier gifts as a way to claim him as his own, that he would receive only after finding his Destiny.
At this point, there's an awkward silence only broken by a little hum from Geralt when Jaskier’s eyes fall on him. Geralt very much doesn't want to curse in front of Jaskier's parents, Vesemir did beat some manners into him after all. But he might be freaking out a little bit on the inside. What is he supposed to do with a half-god bard who probably will get into even more trouble now that he has "gifts" from his father. And why is Jaskier’s destiny to travel with Geralt? Geralt doesn’t want to be responsible for that! He hates Destiny so fucking much right now.
While Geralt is quietly having an existential crisis on his side of the table, Jaskier's mom reaches from her son's hand on the table and asks if he's okay because Jaskier has been suspiciously quiet so far. Jaskier nod, delighted by the news and says
"Ah, let Valdo Marx try to claim he's the best bard in the continent now! I dare him!"
And then promptly declare Geralt and he needs to leave in the morning if they want to make it on time for the bardic competition he's sure to win now.
Mother and son leave the diner table to make grand plans about the competition so Jaskier can impress his second dad and find out more about his newfound gifts. Jaskier’s father gets up with a little smile on his face, relieved Jaskier is taking the news so well but not that surprised, his son has always been an oddball, like his mother. He sympathetically pats Geralt on the shoulder and just tells him "Good thing you're a Witcher, there's no stopping him now. I love my son but he was a handful before he knew he was half a god! Good luck with that one..." and leave Geralt alone at the table, still freaking out.
When they do leave the next morning, Jaskier's mum hugs them both tightly, to Geralt's surprise and whispers to him "please keep him safe, he's going to be with you for a very long time and I don't want him to get in too much trouble." Geralt doesn't answer with words but she only needs to find his eyes to know he'll do everything in his power to protect her godling.