Chapter Text
“Geralt, which one?” Jaskier held three different shirts up for his roommate to appraise.
Geralt only took a short look up from his phone. “Blue,” he answered scantly. Jaskier hummed and held the deep blue paisley shirt to his chest, standing in front of the mirror. “Matches your eyes.” Jaskier saw Geralt grinning at him over his shoulder and blushed. He looked down and hurried to put on the shirt. The other boy had already changed his usual band t-shirt for a shiny, black shirt, which clung tight to his muscles.
“Ok, you ready?” Jaskier asked when he was dressed and turned around to him.
Geralt stood up from his bed and approached him. “Hmm, almost.” He stepped into Jaskier’s space and reached for his collar to redo the first two buttons. Jaskier held his breath as Geralt’s warm hands smoothed his shirt down over his chest. “There, perfect. Let’s go.”
The karaoke night in St Winchester was always the thrilling highlight at the start of spring term. The party was already bustling and soon it was time for the singing competition.
Jaskier was in the middle of an interesting musical discussion with a boy from class when Valdo found him. “Here you are, buddy. Guess what, we’re opponents in the first round already. That’s gonna be gripping! I was due to choose our song. Hope you’ll like it.” Valdo winked at him and dragged him in front of the stage.
Jaskier was a bit surprised when Eskel of all people stepped onto the stage to announce the rules of the karaoke competition. Fourteen boys had signed up to sing in a sudden death tournament against one another. The winner would get the rare permission to leave the school for a day trip to Southampton with a friend.
The first duel was Dixie, the singer of the school band, against a boy from the grade below them. He stood no chance against the singer. Dixie was awesome, Jaskier was impressed.
After that it was Valdo’s and his turn. “Good luck!” Jaskier told the other boy as he took his mic. Valdo just smirked.
The music started and Jaskier focused on the text on the tv. They both began to sing. It took him a while to recognise the song Valdo chose.
Papa I know you're going to be upset
'Cause I was always your little girl
But you should know by now
I'm not a baby
Oh, no, he didn’t… he couldn’t possibly…
The one you warned me all about
The one you said I could do without
We're in an awful mess
And I don't mean maybe
Jaskier had stopped singing. The words got stuck in his throat, burning through his guts.
Papa don't preach I'm in trouble deep
Papa don't preach, I've been losing sleep
But I made up my mind, I'm keeping my baby, hm
I'm gonna keep my baby, hm
Valdo continued to sing alone. Jaskier’s tongue felt tied, he struggled to take a calming breath. He looked between the screen and the audience. Some of the boys were laughing, others looked bored and then there was Geralt in the back, watching him worried.
But my friends keep telling me to give it up
Saying I'm too young, I oughta live it up
What I need right now is some good advice, please
Papa don't preach, I'm in trouble deep
The songtext became blurred because of the tears that welled up in his eyes. He desperately tried to blink them away. Essi didn’t have that choice. Her parents took that away from her. She had to give up the baby, had to go through that cruel treatment. And it was his fault. He hated himself so much for what he did to her. He hadn’t been there for her. And now he would never see her again.
The song ended and to no one's surprise Valdo was declared winner of the duel. Jaskier fled from the stage, tears streaming down his face. He just wanted to get away from here but then Geralt stood in front of him and took him in his arms. Jaskier leaned against him and basked in his warmth. He buried his face in the crook of the other boy’s neck and tried to calm himself down.
“What the fuck was that, Jask?” Geralt rumbled in his ear while he stroked his back.
Jaskier sniffed. “How did he know, Geralt? I never told him about… about h-her…”
Geralt hummed. “Marx chose that song?” Jaskier nodded against his shoulder. “That little slug!” He took Jaskier’s face in his hands and wiped his tears away. “Don’t cry, baby. I’ll take care of that.”
Geralt took his hand and dragged him to the side of the stage where Eskel sat at a table with the attendance list in front of him. “Put Jaskier back on the list!” he yelled at his friend.
“What?” Eskel looked up, confused. “But he failed.”
Jaskier felt like he was punched in the guts twice in a short time.
But Geralt didn’t give up. “Marx cheated! He knew Jaskier wouldn’t sing that stupid song. He wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. You heard at the first note that Jaskier is a way better singer than that wretch. So put him back on the list!”
Eskel hurried to grab his pen. “But he doesn’t have an opponent.”
Geralt looked at Jaskier and down at their still linked hands, grumbling something to himself. “I’m gonna sing against him.”
“Are you serious?” Eskel sounded as incredulous as Jaskier felt.
Geralt nodded and took the songlist from the desk and shoved it in Jaskier’s hand. “Here, pick your song.”
Jaskier was still speechless by Geralt’s care for him. His eyes fell down on one of his favourite songs. He tapped on the list and showed it to Eskel who wrote everything down. “Alright, you're gonna be the second last duel. I don’t think they will notice. This better be worth it, Geralt.”
Geralt smiled at him and led Jaskier back into the crowd to wait for their turn. He never let go of his hand and Jaskier managed to get calm and was even looking forward to their duel.
When they were called on stage, the crowd was in high spirits and enthralled by all the party songs the previous pairs sang. Jaskier got doubts because of his song selection but it was too late now when the music started and the audience fell silent.
He looked at Geralt, who smiled so fondly back at him that he almost missed his cue but he had to take this second chance. So he sang.
I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
And Geralt sang with him, quiet and absolutely off key but Jaskier was so relieved that he didn’t care.
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
He felt more and more confident now, his voice sure and smooth during the chorus.
Maybe I've been here before
I know this room, I've walked this floor
I used to live alone before I knew you
I've seen your flag on the marble arch
Love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Jaskier was in his element now, singing for a room full of people who hung to his lips, though it felt like he was only singing for Geralt. And when the song ended and the crowd cheered, he all but floated down the stairs as the duel winner.