Work Text:
It was a beautiful, peaceful day in Toussaint. Geralt was working in his herb garden, enjoying the warm sun and the relaxed atmosphere around him.
However, in the early afternoon, the peace and quiet were disturbed.
Geralt´s head shot up when he heard horses approach. He didn´t expect anyone today and BB surely would have told him if they would get any visitors or deliveries.
So who could be approaching? Maybe people lost or a surprise visit from one of his brothers? Maybe there was an emergency and a Witcher was needed.
What he had definitely not expected was to see was the duchess herself riding towards him, two guards on her side. There had to be something wrong, Geralt thought. Why else would Anna Henrietta come here like this?
He also noted that Damien was not on the duchess side which was...unusual. Of course, he wasn´t always on her side, sometimes there were other things he had to take care of and other times she ordered him to not follow her. But the times the duchess had actually visited Corvo Bianco? Damien had been there too.
To be completely honest, Geralt had sometimes wished Damien would come alone or invite him to a night out drinking in town. They had become friends after all and, Geralt had been surprised himself, he quite enjoyed the company of the other man. Perhaps even more than he should.
But now was not the time to think about this. He had to find out what was going on.
As he quickly walked towards where the duchess was now climbing from her horse, he mustered her. She didn´t seem stressed or worried, but maybe that was just her poker face.
“Did something happen?” He asked directly.
Anna Henrietta smiled at him. “No. But something could theoretically happen. That´s why I am here.”
Geralt furrowed his brows at this. What was this supposed to mean? Was she about to hire him for protection? However, she had enough experienced guards. Maybe it was a monster problem? Then how did she know that it´s gonna be a problem in the future and not now?
“This is about Damien.” Anna Henrietta added and pulled Geralt out of his thoughts. Yet it did nothing to soothe his confusion. If anything it only put worries on top of it.
“Is he alright? Where is he?” he couldn´t stop himself from asking.
“Yes, he is fine.” the duchess replied, waving it off, yet there was a glint in her eyes Geralt couldn´t place, which he admittedly not liked.
“Then what exactly is this about?” the Witcher wanted to know, slowly but surely running out of patience.
“I want you to teach Damien how to swim.”
Geralt blinked once, twice and then a few times more before he finally replied with an eloquent:” What?”
“You heard me, Witcher,” she replied simply.
“Of course but,” he hesitated for a moment before asking, “why me?”
“He trusts and respects you.” Anna Henrietta stated. “Your experience in swimming, even with armour is also a big factor.”
Geralt could hardly argue with that logic. Still, this whole thing came seemingly out of nowhere. Though the duchess could also keep facts from him that would explain the question of "why now".
“You will be paid for your lessons. So do you agree?” she questioned.
After a moment of thinking about it, Geralt nodded in agreement. He didn´t care much about the payment, to be honest. If Damien had agreed to this, and surely the duchess was not doing this behind his back, then why shouldn´t he help a friend?
“Wonderful!” Anna Henrietta exclaimed. “Then let´s start tomorrow. At Noon? I will send someone to lead you to the pool, where the lessons are going to take place. It will be private. I am sure both of you will appreciate that.”
Damien had in fact not been asked if he wanted to do this and was anything but happy, Geralt learned the next day.
Just like, that everything he imagined when Anna Henrietta said: “pool” and “private” had been wrong. It was probably the largest and most luxurious indoor pool Geralt had ever seen. It was truly beautiful, though maybe a bit exaggerated. Without a doubt, it was a good option to teach someone how to swim. No danger of random drowners appearing, no stream and no cold wind to make somebody uncomfortable.
It could even be fun. Well, if Damien wouldn´t look as if he´d rather drown himself than take swimming lessons.
While Geralt was already naked from the waist upwards and was now taking off his shoes, Damien was still fully dressed. However, he wore only civilian clothes today, no armour. Which was basically the most naked Geralt had ever seen him.
Before the Witcher could think any more about this, Damien pulled him out of his thoughts. “I don´t understand why she suddenly wants me to learn how to swim. In all these years I served her it never mattered.”
“Maybe she is planning to travel by ship soon and don´t wants you to drown.” Geralt suggested, only half-serious.
He received a glare in return.
Geralt only shrugged, not fazed by it. “Does it matter in the end? Anna Henrietta wants you to learn and now here we are.”
“Yes, we are.” Damien agreed gruffly, before pulling his shirt over his head. “ Still anything the duchess ever did, she had a reason for.” Damien huffed.
For a moment the Witcher was distracted by the new skin that was revealed. He was surprisingly...soft. Of course, the captain was still musculus, he just didn´t look like a, how did Dandelion put it that one time, “god that came down to walk among simple men”. When his brain finally caught up with what Damien had said, he replied “Hmm.” And after a slightly awkward pause added:” I am sure she has a reason for this too. With a bit of patience, we may even find out which. Until then, there is a task at hand.”
Geralt climbed into the pool with no further hesitation. Meanwhile, Damien looked at the water as if it was his mortal enemy.
It made the Witcher consider something. “Are you afraid of water?” he asked.
“No!” Damien replied, perhaps a tad too quickly. “It´s been just a long time since I´ve been in the water.”
He knew he should hold the comment back but he just couldn’t help himself and so Geralt ended up retorting:” Don´t you bathe?”
Again he received a glare. “You know what I mean! Damien growled.
Geralt had a hard time holding back his chuckle but somehow managed.
He patiently waited as the captain slowly slid into the water. However, he kept clinging to the edge of the pool.
“Come on, give me your hands.” Geralt offered more than demanded.
“No.”
“Then how am I supposed to teach you?”
“Don´t know. Figure it out.”
Geralt sighed. Damien was as stubborn as ever. He needed to change his tactic.
So after a moment of silence, he said: “You remind me of my little brother.”
Damien´s hand whipped around, displeased frown on his face. “What?”
Geralt hummed. “He´s probably the fastest swimmer of us. But he hates it. Nobody knows why, yet the first time one of the older Witchers tried to get him into the water, Lambert scratched him so hard, he got a scar from it.”
“Well, that´s what you get from forcing someone to do something they don´t want,” Damien muttered.
“True.” Geralt nodded in agreement. “So Damien, are you actually willing to learn how to swim or are you only here because Anna Henrietta told you so?”
Damien opened his mouth, yet before he replied with words, he closed it again, pressing his lips into a tight line.
That was all Geralt needed as an answer.
“We can tell her. She won´t be happy but I am sure she would understand,” he told his friend softly.
Now it was Damien´s turn to sigh. “The swimming isn´t the main...problem,” he confessed.
“And what is it then?” Geralt questioned, curious and confused at the same time. “You are clearly uncomfortable in the water.”
“Well, I did not say that the water itself wasn´t a problem at all!” he exclaimed, sounding frustrated.
“You can tell me, maybe I can help somehow?” The Witcher offered.
It was obvious that whatever bothered the captain, was something serious. Maybe Anna Henrietta had known about this and this was the true reason for this arrangement? The hope Damien would tell him what was wrong and that the White Wolf could somehow fix it And Geralt would definitely try. That´s what you do for those you care for after all.
Damien seemed torn. As if he wanted to talk to Geralt but at the same time not.
Just as he wanted to speak another encouragement, Damien burst out:” It´s you!”
Geralt´s eyes widen in shock. He didn´t know what to say or even think. He thought they were friends? So what had he done that Damien would say something like this. So he was just left to staring at the other man in confusion and hurt.
Damien either not noticing the Witchers state as he looked everywhere but at him or misinterpreting it in some way, just kept talking:” When she told me she gave you the job as my swimming teacher….I couldn´t believe it! I am sure she knows! Did she do it on purpose? I just...I don´t know…”
“So she knows you hate me?” Geralt whispered. He couldn´t believe it.
Yes, they had been mad at him after Syanna´s death but all three of them had sat down and talked and they had shown understanding. Then it had just taken time for them to grief, for Anna Henrietta that her sister hadn´t been the one she had known anymore. To come clear to the fact that her sister had actually wanted to see her dead. And for Damien it had mostly taken time to stop blaming himself for the pain the duchess was going through.
They had visited then, they had talked again and everything seemed alright after that. The visits became regular. What happened had not been mentioned. The friendship Damien and he had started and Geralt had feared died, started to grow.
Had all of this being a lie from the beginning?
Just like at the beginning of their lesson, Damien pulled the Witcher out of his thoughts. “What are you talking about?” he asked, looking at Geralt as if he had completely lost his mind.
Geralt looked away. He already showed his hurt too much, made himself vulnerable. “You said I am the problem. It is obvious what this means.”
“Obviously it is not obvious!” Damien replied irritated.
“If that is not that, what did you mean with it?” Geralt asked, challenging and looking back at the captain.
Damiens irritation and frustration now made room for nervousness and self-consciousness. "Do I have to say it out loud?”
“You don´t have to say anything.” Geralt stated with a sigh, “But I really want to understand what´s going on.”
If Damien would say nothing, Geralt would just leave, talk to the duchess, tell her to search for a different teacher. If swimming lessons ever were her true intentions. It was probably better this way.
However, Damien apparently decided to talk to Geralt. “If you truly don´t understand….” he chuckled bitterly, “you are probably the last to know.”
The Witcher frowned. So he missed something?
“The problem is not that I don´t like you, it´s that I like you too much,” Damien admitted, not looking at the other man.
At this Geralt could only stare again. This time dumbfounded rather than hurt.
“I understand if you don´t want to do these stupid swimming lessons now or don´t want me to visit you ever again and I am…”
“Can I kiss you?” Geralt interrupted Damien´s, in his opinion, unnecessary talking.
The captain stared open-mouthed at the Witcher for a moment before shaking himself out of his frozen state. “Yes! I mean,” Damien cleared his throat, trying to keep his countenance, “if you want to.”
Geralt chuckled and drifted closer to Damien, right into his personal space. “I wouldn´t have asked if I didn´t.”
With that said Geralt put a hand on the captain´s neck and pulled him into a kiss.
Damien for the first time let go of the edge of the pool, to wrap his arms around Geralt instead. Trusting, that he would not be left without support.
They forgot time as they kissed. Ragged breaths and quiet moans echoed in the big room, as they kept going. Kissing and exploring each other´s bodies.
After a while that could be minutes as well as hours, they didn´t know or care, Geralt put a hand on the scarred side of Damien´s face, causing a shudder to run through the captain as the scars are a sensitive spot, he himself barely touched.
“I think, we should end this lesson.” Geralt said, voice close to a purr. “Come home with me?”
Damien nodded and smiled for the first time today.
***
“You owe me.” Anna Henrietta whispered as she peeked into Geralt´s bedroom.
“Indeed” Barnabas- Basil stated, yet looked not too unhappy about it. “Apparently your little scheme worked better than I anticipated, my duchess.”
She hummed. “I know Damien well enough. I knew he would somehow slip up.”
BB nodded. “So it seems. But good for them.”
Anna Henrietta nodded as well. “Yes. Now, the excellent wine you promised?