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Bursts of colour shot up into the air. Paint, powder, lines of silly strings and ribbons. The music was so loud that it rumbled in the chests of the dancers; pounding bass that settled in the soul. Just underneath the cacophony of cheesy pop music and smash hits, were the voices of people. They sang, more like yelled, the lyrics at each other, screaming in each others’ faces as they moved, wiggling like worms in the street to the beat of the music. But it was more than just a party. There were banners and signs, people cheering for their right to exist.
It was the one day they could truly be themselves, surrounded by noise and colour… and the scent of churros? There was just something about parades and fried food that went hand in hand, like cheese and wine, or Lennon and McCartney. You couldn’t have one without the other.
Sort of. Jaskier did really like cheese and had it with most things because as an adult it was his right to make bad life choices that made him happy. That being said, the Beatles were much better as a group than any of their solo careers so maybe his point did stand.
But now he was thinking about cheese… and churros. Gods, even a big bucket of chips would do him. Pride parades were some of his favourite days out, especially the big ones like London or Brighton. He tried to go to as many as he could, but London would always be his favourite, partly because he could get completely sloshed and not have to worry about getting home. London might be a nightmare in its own right, and very much out of Jaskier’s price range as a wannabe musician, but it was home.
If he were feeling poetic, he might say that Geralt was his home, but Jaskier was at his core, a lover of the finer things in life, and as fine as Geralt’s ass was, it wasn’t exactly shelter from the dreary British weather.
Talking of Geralt, Jaskier had lost him in the crowd a few blocks back. It always happened. Jaskier would see someone else he knew and then he’d migrate through the crowd to talk to them for a while before moving on to the next one, and before he knew it, he’d be completely lost. Luckily, they had a meeting point already picked out when the parade itself ended and the parties began.
And maybe Jaskier could finally get some food. All the smells of London’s pop-up stalls were driving him mad. They’d passed a burger place a while ago that just drenched the fries in cheese and bacon bits. It had looked so good that Jaskier had started drooling on the spot! They were nearly though, just another block, marching and cheering and singing too loudly.
“Julian!” A voice called through the crowd, making Jaskier roll his eyes even though he couldn’t help but smile.
His long coat swirled out behind him as he spun around to face his nemesis. It was sufficiently dramatic that he felt a shot of euphoria rush through him. The swishy feeling of skirts was one thing that he really missed, but he wasn’t quite in a place where he could wear them just yet. There were just too many bad memories attached, all the shes and hers and that name.
Jaskier shuddered internally at the memory, then greeted Valdo with a fake feigned smile.
“Marx,” he said cooly, cocking his head.
“Pankratz,” Valdo replied, their green eyes fixing Jaskier with a glare.
They stared at each other like that for a few moments, the crowd pushing past them muttering mumbles of displeasure, and then Valdo broke. They beamed as they threw their arms around Jaskier’s neck, pulling him into a tight hug.
And who said you couldn’t be friends with your ex/rival?
“Darling!” Jaskier simpered, pressing a kiss to Valdo’s cheek. “How have you been? How’s Virginia?”
“My dear Countess. She’s wonderful. Actually, I do have some news!” Valdo clapped their hands excitedly, before taking Jaskier’s arm as they started to walk once more.
“Are you finally admitting that I’m a better songwriter than you?” Jaskier asked with a wink.
“Never happening, love. What’s the phrase? Dream on!” Valdo answered with a smirk before they continued. “Virginia’s pregnant! I’m going to be a parent!”
Now that really was news. Valdo had always wanted to be a parent, it was one of the main reasons that they’d broken up, despite being childhood sweethearts. It had broken Jaskier’s heart to let them go, but when they’d first started dating Jaskier had still presented as female, and it had been sort of assumed that one day they would have children. Even if that was never what Jaskier had wanted, and wouldn’t have wanted even if the very idea of being pregnant didn’t trigger his dysphoria and make him feel all icky inside.
So he was happy for his friend. It was a dream come true for Valdo, and who was Jaskier to stand in their way?
“That’s brilliant!” He cheered, throwing his arm around their shoulder. “Tell me everything!”
As they walked, Valdo filled him in on their life, telling him about their dogs, Daisy and Dandelion, which they’d named after flowers just to tease Jaskier about his choice of stage name. Although, these days it was more just his actual name, though he still went by Julian legally. Changing one’s name once was quite enough for him. The whole process was a nightmare. But anyway, Jaskier learned about Valdo’s new album that they were nearly ready to release, about Virginia’s pregnancy cravings, and well… just about their life in general - the whole small talk and chit-chat thing.
“Oh, that’s the pub where I’m meeting Geralt! It was really quite horrible to see you, Marx,” Jaskier teased, kissing Valdo’s cheek.
“And you, Pankratz.”
“Hope the sproglet goes well!”
“It’s a baby, Jaskier,” Valdo called as the crowd started to feel the gap between them.
“That’s what I said!”
And Valdo was gone, eaten by the crowd. It didn’t matter. The sun was still shining, miraculously, and the music still coursed through Jaskier’s veins. It was a day of love, lust and pride; all things sinful. Jaskier’s next sin to check off was gluttony. Gods, he was bloody starving. Hopefully, Geralt was already there and had ordered a giant plate of chicken wings for the pair of them.
Jaskier darted inside the pub without a second thought. Food and Geralt. There was nothing quite as tempting on earth.