To Heal A Lonely Heart

Scars

And it didn't remain by just one town. The bard followed for weeks. Quiet couple-time was rare now for me and Geralt, the bard never really left us alone, but still, I kind of liked the bard's company. He was so young, light-hearted and naïve when it came to topics of the world that the witcher and me were living in. and I noticed that Geralt liked the bard's presence as well. Sure, he would never admit it, but I knew him better than anyone else, and I saw it in every of the witcher's actions. He could get rid of the young man easily, tell him to leave us alone, using that special commanding voice, booming and intimidating; or he could hurt or kill the bard. Not that he would do that, but if he really wanted the bard to leave us it would be the most reliable way...

But Geralt never made an attempt to do any of the above. Honestly, I guess it was mostly because of that stupid – and for my part as half-elf also insulting – song. Every time we entered a tavern the bard would sing it, and miraculously the townsfolk would sing along and actually toss their witcher some coins. It was a nice addition to the – in this part of the Continent – weak bounty we got for our services. But the song helped.

And for sure, one song wasn't enough for the bard. One night Geralt was sitting in the bathtub in our room at the inn we were currently staying and I was washing his hair, getting rid of all the dirt and blood that had accumulated during the weeks we spent in the wilderness, when the door burst open, showing the young man.

"Oh for fucks sake," I heard the witcher grumble quietly. My hands were still buried in his hair, massaging his scalp and his eyes were closed, but he felt the presence we both had grown accustomed to enter the room.

"Hey, uh, Geralt, how did the-" the bard said as he entered the room, not yet having spotted us in the secluded corner of the room the tub was sitting in. He was walking in our direction though. "hunt go..." he was dragging out the 'hunt' finally spotting Geralt in all his naked glory, the water doing little to hide what was underneath its surface. "Oh, ho ho ho. Wow."

"Bard, would it be too much to ask you to leave?" the witcher's annoyed voice sounded through the room. "I was planning to spend this night with my lady, and only her, for the first time in weeks."

"Ohh, no, no. I'm not going anywhere! Not until you tell me about those scars of yours."

With a huff Geralt sat up, knowing that there was nothing he could do to get rid of the bard now – well, at least nothing that wouldn't fill him with guilt afterwards. I washed my hands clean of the soap and dirt before reaching for a basin to wash the suds out of my lover's hair. He spluttered when I dumped the water over his head and I giggled quietly. Even for his fine senses he hadn't seen that coming? Once all soap was washed from his hair he got out of the tub and dried off, all while the bard watched.

I cleared my throat and raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't blame you, Bard. I reacted the same at first. But leave the man a little privacy. Gods!" I more or less laughed out.

"Oh, uh, so-sorry," the young man stuttered as he turned around, leaving the witcher enough privacy to tie a dry towel around his waist and walk over to sit in front of the fire to dry his hair. I sat behind him, massaging his tense muscles. It had become a habit of mine, showing this man the love he deserved, even though nothing I could ever do would be enough. He was way too good for this cruel world. A quiet groan left his lips when I loosened a knot in his muscles, the tangled iron wires beneath his skin slowly relaxing under my fingers. I kissed his temple and whispered into his ear, "The sooner you start telling him everything he wants to know, the sooner he'll leave."

He only sighed, opening his eyes to look at the bard, who was still standing where he stopped in front of the tub, watching mildly confused as Geralt more or less melted into my touch; the man he met as a warrior now almost vulnerable.

"Sit," the witcher directed and almost immediately the bard fell to the floor, sitting down criss cross opposite of Geralt and I. then it was silent for a while, the only sound being heard was the soft crackling of the fire. Or it was for human ears. For Geralt and me, we could hear the heartbeat and breathing of each of us.

"Uhh?" the bard breathed.

Geralt took a deep breath, preparing to start, but I beat him to that. "First, we want a name. You've been tagging along for weeks and we still don't know your name."

A grin stretched along the bard's face, thinking he was now finally accepted to the company – well, and in a way he was. "It's Jaskier," he said proudly, "now, spill it, Witcher!"

"Hm," Geralt grunted. "See this one?" he pointed to a scar that stretched all over his right shoulder. "A fucking alghoul. And this," his hand moved a little lower to his chest, "A vampire. Almost got the better of me, that bitch. And this one," he moved a little lower to a scar that wasn't as old. "Bruxa." He never told me that he too had gotten injured on that damned job. His hand moved lower to his ribs to an especially aged scar. "That one was a kikimora." That continued for a good hour, and Geralt still had more scars that he hid from the bard.

Once the witcher went silent Jaskier piped up, "Ohh, you will not regret this, Geralt."

"I already do." But the bard ignored that comment. "I'll write songs about your feats. It'll make you famous! The heroic White Wolf!"

Geralt rolled his eyes and I patted his shoulder gently. "Whatever brings us more coin," I whispered into his ear. He sighed, defeated.

"Can you leave now, Bard? I'd really like to spend some time with my lady now. Alone," he then spoke, raising an eyebrow.

"O-oh, ye-yeah. Sure," Jaskier stammered, walking towards the door and opening it. I got up from behind the witcher and followed the bard, holding onto the door as he stepped out.

"Goodnight, Geralt," he called out past me, then he turned to me, "Goodnight, Nienna." I smiled. "Goodnight, Jaskier. But next time, knock. Got it?" I raised my eyebrow at the last bit.

Slightly blushing from what I was suggesting he nodded and walked down the hallway towards his own room. I closed the door and once it clicked shut I felt a pair of hands on my hips from behind me and still slightly damp hair tickle the exposed skin of my neck.

"Mhh. I've waited so long to do this," Geralt muttered against my skin as he softly kissed right where my pulse was, now fluttering from his promise. "Curse that bard for never leaving us alone."

I enjoyed his lips exploring my neck for a while, but when he moved to push me against the door, I turned and pushed him away only slightly. His expression grew questioning. I rarely denied him. I was usually just as hungry for him as he was for me, sometimes more even.

"I'm dirty," I attempted to explain, "And tired. I just want to bathe and then sleep," I said tiredly. By now it must be way after midnight. Geralt had left at sunset for his hunt and came back hours later. I had stayed up, waiting for him and preparing his bath. The bath took a while and so did the bard's questioning. And don't get me started on the days on the road before that. To put it short, I was exhausted.

Geralt stood a while capturing my tired eyes with his amber ones, the love in them comforting like warm honey, making my heart melt. I was so lost in his gaze that I squealed when he picked me up and carried me over to the bathtub.

The water was cold now, not to mention dirty from Geralt's bath before. Geralt dropped me on my feet again, his hands returning to my hips to balance me as I held out my hand and concentrated. Within seconds the water was clean and steaming. My lover had in that time started unbuttoning my breeches, slowly pushing the leather down my legs. I quickly pulled off my blouse and was then lifted up and sat down in the steaming water. I sighed at the warmth engulfing me, letting my eyes fall closed. And an even deeper sigh left my lunges as Geralt started washing my body with the small rag, just like I had washed him before. When he came to massage the soap into my scalp and hair I fell asleep, the deep warm chuckle the last thing I heard.