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He should have known when he assigned a show-and-tell day that one of his darling students would bring in something that they really ought not to. And he had, to some extent, past classes having shown him that students were often very good at misinterpreting assignments when they wanted to be.
He just hadn’t expected this .
After the incident a few months back when Ciri had locked herself in the bathroom, things had mostly gone back to normal. Jaskier had spent that night with a tray of brownies and his favorite feel-good movie playing in the background while he worked through the mess of emotions that had been dredged up. Once that was done, he began doing research into evidence-based practices that would help him best connect with his young pupil and help her to recognize when she was becoming overwhelmed by her emotions.
If these tactics were similar to the ones he himself had used many years ago, well that was just a coincidence.
(And if he spends a bit too much time thinking about how Mr. Rivia’s arms had flexed and bulged, easily taking the weight of his young daughter, of how those arms might feel wrapped around him, that’s no one’s business but his own.)
He had chatted with Mr. Rivia about Ciri’s situation several times in the intervening months, outlining the tactics he wanted to implement and asking about what they were doing at home to carry over those strategies in the classroom. And it seemed like things were working- Mr. Rivia had written him a brief email the other week describing how Ciri was able to tell him when she was beginning to get upset and how they had been able to work through it together.
He had been concerned that watching many of her peers show off trinkets and souvenirs gifted from parents or purchased on family vacations might be upsetting to Ciri, that she might lock herself away again if she was reminded of the loss of her parents. But that email had soothed his worries; Ciri would let him know if something was wrong. It was going to be a great show-and-tell day.
He really, really should have known better.
There was a fair bit of noise while his young charges went to their cubbies to retrieve the items they intended to share with the class- many stopped to show their friends what they had decided to bring and there were many exclamations about how cool or awesome or cute something was- and so he wasn’t too suspicious at the cooing he heard from Ciri and her friends while he was passing out the worksheets to be completed after the presentations.
That suspicion increased when he couldn’t easily see what it was that Ciri was planning on sharing, but he dismissed the feeling; perhaps it was something small and she had stuck it in a pocket for a more dramatic reveal, gods know that’s what he had done at her age.
He found out a few minutes later just how right he was.
“Alright, thank you Dara! I hope your rat enjoys the maze you built him as much as we did! If I ever get turned into one I’ll be sure to come to you for the very best mazes. Would you like to pick who goes next?” Dara nods eagerly, and without any hesitation picks his best friend.
“Ciri! Ciri should go next!”
“Well alright then, Ciri it is.” Both Ciri and Dara burst into giggles as they take their spots, and by the way that Dara is squirming in his chair it seems as though he’s more excited for what Ciri has brought in than he was about his rat’s maze.
It takes a moment for Ciri to get her laughter under control long enough that she can start talking, and her glee over the mystery item has the other students starting to wiggle in their chairs in anticipation.
“For show-and-tell today,” she breaks off in another fit of giggles and Jaskier can’t help but smile along with her, happy at her happiness. She takes a deep breath and starts again.
“For show-and-tell today, I bringed- brought in something very special to me. Me and my papa got her together and she makes me very happy everyday. Her name is Roach, like the fish not the bug, and I hope you like her as much as I do.” At this, Ciri begins to undo the curious front pocket of her sweatshirt, which clearly has something inside from the small bump that can be seen.
Jaskier is expecting her to pull out a new toy or stuffed animal like many of the other students have.
What he is not expecting is for Ciri to pull out a kitten. A living, breathing, absolutely-not-stuffed kitten.
The class erupts into unmitigated chaos.
There are loud shrieks of delight, students stampeding forward and crowding around Ciri, trying to get a better look and pet the small feline, one student with allergies is sneezing even as he continues to try to touch little Roach.
It takes quite a few minutes for Jaskier to wrestle back control of his classroom, and he makes a desperate call to one of the physical education teachers to see if they can take his class while he sorts out what to do with Ciri and her kitten.
He lets out a quiet sigh as he closes the door behind the last student, the chatter from his over-excited class still audible. He’s going to owe a big favor to the teacher who came to his rescue.
“Mr. Pancats, am I in trouble?” And that’s the question isn’t it? He didn’t say that no one could bring in a pet, he had thought it obvious to any parent or guardian that read the assignment information that animals wouldn’t be allowed, so in a way Ciri really hasn’t done anything he said she couldn’t do.
“No Ciri, you’re not in trouble. But we will have to call your papa so that he can come get Roach.” Said kitten has been remarkably calm throughout the whole episode, never once trying to break free from Ciri’s hold or scratch any of her classmates, which was a relief unto itself. He’s not quite sure what he would have done had the kitten gotten loose.
Ciri doesn’t look very happy about letting her father know that she snuck their cat to school with her. Apparently she only managed it because one of her uncles dropped her off that morning and they had been in too big of a rush for him to question the lump in the front of her sweatshirt or where Roach was as they hurried.
When he tells this to Mr. Rivia the man doesn’t seem surprised, just lets out a sigh over the phone and promises to be there soon. Jaskier thinks he hears the other man mutter something about never letting Lambert drive her again before the call is cut off, but he’s not entirely sure.
Jaskier sits beside Ciri on the floor while they wait. Ciri has constructed a sort of pen for Roach using the wooden blocks in the classroom and the little kitten is sniffing at them curiously. Now that he can take a moment to actually look at the cat, he sees that one of her back legs has been amputated and that her left ear and eye both look to have been injured at some point.
“Tell me more about her?” He asks, and Ciri’s maudlin mood vanishes as she launches into the story of how she and her father had come to have Roach in their lives.
It doesn’t break his heart in quite the same way as last time, but Jaskier feels it ache all the same for little Roach and all the horrible things she seems to have endured. He’s mostly recovered from the tale by the time the phone on his desk rings and the secretary at the front desk lets him know that Mr. Rivia has arrived.
Ciri doesn’t go running to her papa when he walks in, just drops her head and starts playing with the strings on her sweatshirt, looking as guilty and remorseful as a six year-old can. Jaskier drops his head for an entirely different reason- apparently it’s started raining and the moisture is making the fabric of Mr. Rivia’s shirt cling in a very alluring way and he needs a moment to compose himself before he says something truly idiotic.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Mr. Rivia.” He says, rising to his feet and fixing his shirt. He forgets that he’s almost the same height as the other man, something about those broad shoulders and quiet demeanor make him seem much larger.
There’s a small, exasperated smile on his lips, “Thought I told you to call me Geralt?” and Jaskier would but the barrier of professionalism and the fact that Mr. Rivia is Ciri’s father are the only things that are keeping him from flirting shamelessly with the man. It doesn’t help that with each conversation they have Jaskier learns a little bit more about him and with each new thing he falls a little bit deeper.
“Ah. Yes, well-” He’s saved from making an embarrassment of himself by Roach leaping over the walls of her temporary enclosure and darting over to Mr. Rivia, letting loose the most painfully adorable little meows as she goes. Mr. Rivia bends down to scoop up the stowaway kitten, who seems displeased at the man’s overall dampness, but not so much that it prevents her from perching on his shoulder.
“Hello there, little trouble maker. Have a fun time at school?” Mr. Rivia asks Roach, scratching under her chin and pulling forth a wave of happy purring.
If this family gets any cuter, Jaskier might actually die.
Ciri, who had lifted her head when Roach made her daring escape, quickly looks down again when she meets her father’s eyes. Mr. Rivia lets out a small hum before making his way over to her and crouching down to be at her level.
“Ciri.”
“Are you mad at me?” Jaskier has built up a tolerance to puppy-dog eyes, it was necessary for working with young children, but even he would be weak to the wide-eyed look Ciri fixes on her papa; the poor man must struggle not to give in to her every whim.
“Not mad, Cub. But you know better. We talked about this.” There’s a moment of dangerous lip-wobbling but Ciri seems to catch herself before it turns into full-on tears.
“I know papa; I just wanted to show everyone Roachie because she makes me real happy and Mr. Pancats said to hold on to what makes me happy.” Which is, well, something he’s definitely said but not quite what he meant. Luckily Mr. Rivia doesn’t seem to mind his word choice.
“Yes. But what would have happened if Roachie ran outside? Or if someone pet her too hard? It’s safer for her at home.” Ciri takes a moment to consider this before nodding.
“Maybe…” She starts, with growing excitement, “maybe I could invite my friends over and they could see her and she’ll be at home so it’s safe and she has all her toys that we could play with?”
“That sounds like a very good idea.” Ciri’s smile is infectious and Jaskier feels one spreading across his own face.
It’s still there after Mr. Rivia has wrangled Roach into her carrier, and it only grows as the man fumblingly tries to apologize for Ciri’s antics.
“Hardly the worst thing that has ever happened in my classroom. Don’t fret, if it wasn’t Ciri bringing in Roach, it would have been someone else bringing in a snake or something equally exciting.”
“Still, after everything you’ve been doing for Ciri, I feel like an apology is the least that I owe you.”
He’s about to rebuff the apology again when Ciri pipes up, “Mr. Pancats should come over and see Roach and we can make I’m-sorry-cookies for him. And then I can show him my room and you can show him yours too!”
Jaskier tries to explain to Ciri why that won’t be happening at the same time as her father, and they speak over each other for a bit before Mr. Rivia gestures for him to speak. Ciri doesn’t seem to fully understand, but nods anyway. Mr. Rivia apologizes again, this time for Ciri’s suggestion and Jaskier feels something left over from his college days die at having to refuse an invitation into such a gorgeous man’s bedroom.
Roach, who evidently is completely fine being stashed away in Ciri’s pocket but despises her carrier, starts up a chorus of truly awful yowling as she tries to claw her way out of her prison. Mr. Rivia seems to jump on the excuse to leave and Jaskier can’t blame him- he’d rather like the floor to swallow him up where he stands.
The rest of the day isn’t as eventful by half, though Jaskier collapses onto his sofa at home all the same. He’s managed to put the incident out of his mind, but now that his full attention isn’t needed his mind begins to replay the events of the day and he stuffs his face into a pillow and groans out his embarrassment.
Gods , it’s not that he ever truly thought he could pursue something with Mr. Rivia, never even considered if the man would be interested in him, but the way that he practically fled from the classroom has dashed any hopes.
He wallows in pity for a few minutes more before dragging himself up and checking his email. He’s expecting an email back from a local farmer about some duck eggs that they’re going to incubate in the classroom and is anxious to know when they’re going to be delivered. The email is there, the farmer, a man named Eskel, has been prompt and courteous throughout their exchanges, so it’s not much of a surprise.
What is a surprise is the email from Mr. Rivia, apologizing yet again, but also inviting Jaskier to have dinner with him and Ciri after the school year has ended. To thank him, apparently. And to let Jaskier meet Roach in a better situation.
He marks the proposed date in his planner, and if he’s grinning like a love-struck fool as he writes back, well, that’s no one’s business but his own.