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Jaskier had been following Geralt around like a lost puppy for just over a decade when his best friend, and yes he was using friend, invited him back to Kaer Morhen for winter. It had been partly due to Jaskier trailing after Geralt all the way to the bottom of the blue mountains and then proclaiming he would get lost on the way back to Oxenfurt. He wouldn’t, and Geralt knew that he wouldn’t. Geralt had rolled his eyes and hidden a smile as he asked Jaskier if he would like to make the trek up the mountains. Jaskier had been over the moon.
Fucking finally!
Geralt’s mood had changed almost as soon as they’d stumbled half frozen through the doors. He no longer allowed Jaskier the casual touches that had become as natural as breathing. Jaskier’s heart ached the first time Geralt shoved his hand away but then he began to watch. The witchers had hugged each other as a warm greeting when they’d arrived but Jaskier was sure he’d not seen so much as a handshake since unless they were sparring in the courtyard.
He was flabbergasted.
Two weeks and not a single hug. He was going insane. They were better when they were drunk. There was a bump of shoulders or awkward pats to arms when they were drunk but it wasn’t enough. Surely it couldn’t be enough. He knew that Geralt enjoyed the physical touches of their friendship so it wasn’t a witcher thing. He was sure of it.
He chose his moment well. White gull had loosened everyone’s tongues and inhibitions when he struck.
“I dare you!” He slurred his words a little more than necessary, really playing the part of drunken bard, and he bopped Geralt on the nose. “I dare you…. to hug me!”
Eskel and Lambert choked on their drinks and Geralt blushed as bright as the sweetest rose.
“I. We. Jask.” Geralt groaned.
Jaskier just pouted up at him. “I need a hug, Geralt please!” He whined pitifully. “Hug your very best friend in the whole wide world!”
“Best friend?” Eskel asked as Geralt nodded and Jaskier jumped into his witcher’s lap.
“In the whole wide world.” Jaskier agreed and he felt all the tension leave his muscles as Geralt embraced him tightly. “Oh sweet Melitele I have missed this.”
“Hmm.” Geralt agreed and buried his face in Jaskier’s neck.
“Wait so you’re not fucking?” Lambert asked.
Jaskier snorted. “No.” He drawled slowly. “Did Geralt tell you we were?”
Geralt hummed to say that he had absolutely said no such thing. Lambert and Eskel looked very bemused. “But all the touches?” Eskel asked.
“Between friends?” Jaskier furrowed his brow. “It’s not sex. It’s just a hug?”
“But you share beds!” Lambert yelled pointing at them as if he’d unearthed some great secret. “Geralt told us last year. He said you were low on coin so you shared!”
Jaskier laughed. “The White Wolf is a cuddler. Did you not know?”
“Jask!” Geralt growled and Jaskier just patted Geralt’s hair.
“But you don’t… fuck?” Lambert frowned.
“Holy mother of…. no!”
“Can… can I have a hug?” Eskel asked quietly. “Without the sex.” He clarified.
Jaskier looked between the three witchers in horror. Did they honestly think that a hug between friends had to lead to something more sexual? Fuck. He needed to fix this.
He kissed the top of Geralt’s hair. “Thank you, darling.” He murmured and extracted himself from Geralt’s arms. “Follow me!” He cooed at Eskel.
The witcher looked a little startled but stood up. “No sex?”
“No sex.” Jaskier agreed and led Eskel through the keep to the large warm living area where the best and most comfortable sofas were found.
He sat down on the largest sofa and patted the empty seat next to him. Eskel shuffled forward before sitting down. “I thought sex was the only way.” The witcher muttered.
“The only way to what?” Jaskier asked as he opened his arms and Eskel tentatively leaned in to his embrace.
“This. Touching.” Eskel sighed. “I never really wanted sex but we were always told it was the only way. No one would ever want to get close to a witcher unless they were paid to fuck us.”
Jaskier didn’t say anything. Rage filled his heart and he wanted to raise an army against every person that had ever hurt his wolves. Instead he bit down on his lip and gently guided Eskel so that he was lying in Jaskier’s lap. “I want that, my darling wolf.” He sighed as he threaded his hands through Eskel’s hair. It wasn’t as long as Geralt’s but it was just as soft.
“Hmm.” Eskel hummed and Jaskier couldn’t help but laugh.
“Careful, you sound like Geralt.” He let one hand rest on top of Eskel’s chest and the witcher reached up to hold his hand.
“We grew up together.” Eskel noted.
“Oh?”
“Yeah. We were just kids. Before the mutagens and the trials. We were just kids.” Eskel let out a heavy sigh. “There were more of us then.”
Jaskier hummed not wanting to interrupt Eskel’s story. His finger’s never staying still in Eskel’s hair, gently massaging his scalp and brushing out any tangles as he combed through the soft sandy blond strands.
“We were the only two to survive and then Geralt went through it all again. I thought I was going to lose him too.” Eskel’s breathing was getting deeper. Jaskier smiled fondly as his golden eyes fluttered shut.
“But you didn’t.”
“Didn’t I?” Eskel sighed. “He’s never been the same since.”
Jaskier paused his gentle movements through Eskel’s hair and frowned before gently trailing his fingers along the witcher’s cheeks and forehead. “He’s still alive.”
“Hmm.”
Jaskier rolled his eyes as he continued tracing patterns along Eskel’s cheeks and then slowly stroked his hand down Eskel’s chest to put his other hand on top of Eskel’s. “See, touch doesn’t have to be anymore than two people enjoying each other’s company. Are you alright, darling?” Jaskier asked quietly.
“Yeah.”
“You’re doing well. I know it’s not easy allowing yourself to be vulnerable like this.” He squeezed Eskel’s hand. The witcher groaned and a blush covered his cheeks. He rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arms around Jaskier’s waist. “Eskel?”
“Hmm.”
Jaskier sighed. “It’s alright, my dear. You’re alright.”
They stayed like that until time stopped really meaning anything to Jaskier. He might have dozed off at some point, he wasn’t sure. He hummed under his breath when he was awake, singing the lullabies his nursemaid had sung to him as a child. At some point Geralt and Lambert slunk into the room. They sat by Jaskier’s feet and after some gentle coaxing snuggled up together, Jaskier kept one hand in Geralt’s hair and one hand around the sleeping witcher in his lap.
It was Jaskier’s first time at Kaer Morhen but the dusty halls of the old keep would never be the same again.