You Met Him at a Brothel - Geralt x asexual!shy!Reader
A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience! Moving is a much harder and longer process than I remember. Publishing this first because it’s been in my drafts for quite a long time, but all my other requests are doing good and should be out within the next week or so!
This turned out a little different because I wrote it in head canon style but it ended up as more of a one shot, so I just got rid of the bullet points and let it stand on it’s own. I hope that’s okay! Also I played around a little bit and decided to make this just sort of the beginnings of their relationship instead of following all the way through with it because I thought that was a cute idea, but if you'd like to see more of this particular story line, feel free to request it and I'll be happy to go further! (Am I incapable of short author’s notes? Yes.)
Request: maybe some Geralt falling for someone who is asexual and/or really timid, but still kinda snarky? for artemis_in_space on AO3!
Warnings: Second hand embarrassment BIG time warning. Allusions to sex and temporary brothel setting but nothing inappropriate.
Funnily enough, you meet him outside of a brothel. You're friends with one of the girls that works there, and you're there to walk her home when she gets off of her shift. He's there for different reasons, but you bump into each other either way. You're both quiet, and reserved, and feeling a little awkward as you wait and he takes care of his horse, but you're drawn to him in a way you can't explain. You try to make conversation, after a while.
"Um... your mare is beautiful. What's her name?"
He examines you for a long moment, and then opens his mouth to speak, "Roach."
You find the name odd, "Pretty."
It's then that your friend finishes her shift and comes out to greet you. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" She says. If only you had kept me waiting just a moment longer. You think, though you'd never say it out loud. She nods politely at the white-haired stranger, bidding him that she hopes he'll come again. He nods politely in return, not saying anything, and then watches you the rest of the time as you leave, while your face burns.
You kept him in the back your mind, for a while, thinking about him, and hoping you'd get the chance to meet him again.
Then, a few months later, you meet him outside the brothel again. Same exact circumstances. You try to speak with him more quickly this time, although it still takes you a moment to work up your nerve.
"It's been a while since I've seen you here. Is this just not your usual thing, or...?"
Once again, he watches you for a moment before speaking, "I travel a lot."
That didn't really answer the actual question you were trying to ask, "And how about you? You seem to come here often, then, so is this... your thing?"
You immediately begin stammering and blushing profusely, "No, absolutely not, I just come here to walk my friend home in the evenings, she works here! I would never- not that it's a bad thing to do- that is to say that s- se- you know, that in general is not really my thing! Doesn't really appeal in any circumstance, you see, I much prefer a good conversation to... physical intimacy? That's not to say that I don't enjoy physical touch at all..." You trail off when his little smirk gives you the idea that he had caught your meaning quite a while ago. "Ahem. No, it's not."
Your friend shows up shortly after this once again, and you silently curse her for it. You immediately feel bad about that. Your departure goes about the same as it did before, with the man watching you as you leave. You finally notice that you still haven't gotten his name.
You think about him constantly in his absence, this time.
The next time you meet him is not at the brothel, but when a bard you'd seen around, but never spoken to, drags him to your doorstep.
You stop your routine when you hear a loud banging at the door, and run quickly to answer it. You're of the mind that someone needs help, or maybe has urgent news; what else would warrant such a commotion?
But no. You open your door and there is... that bard, that you see at the tavern sometimes, grinning widely.
"Hello! My name is Jaskier, you may have heard of me! You know my friend Geralt, he's mentioned you a few times, and he was wondering if you could help us out with something!"
It was only then that you noticed the white-haired stranger - you supposed his name was Geralt - behind the bard.
"Oh, yes, of- I'm sorry, how did you find my house?"
"Geralt asked your friend about you! Now do you have some time to spare?"
You were shocked, to say the least. You figured the man hadn't been thinking twice about you, and now here you were finding that he had been asking after you. What a situation to be in!
"Yes, of course. Would you like to come in?"
Geralt stepped up now, "That shouldn't be necessary. I only meant to ask after someone in the village that I've been looking for, for quite a while. Jaskier thought it might benefit us to ask a local. None of the others are too keen on speaking to me, or they didn't know anything, though you never seemed too bothered, and I figured it was worth a shot." He rambles for a moment, which you appreciate given your blunder the last time you met, and you figure he's not used to feeling flustered like he so obviously is now.
They describe who they're looking for, and you're able to point them in that direction quickly enough. Hanging around the brothel DOES have some perks, like always being able to afford taking the time to pay attention to those who come and go, unlike those that work there.
You don't ask questions, because despite how sketchy this might seem, and given how little you know these men, you find yourself easily believing that you can trust them. Especially Geralt.
You're not a fool. You understand that he's a witcher, and that people say that they're bad. You know that he's probably not strictly a good guy. Still, you were never one to follow convention, obviously, and you find yourself willing to trust your gut on this one.
When they gather their information from you, the bard is quick to go to leave. Geralt is slower, and lags behind. You wait eagerly, hoping he'll say something more this time. He seems to decide against it, though, and begins following after his bard. So of course, you have to take the initiative, once again. "Geralt, wait!"
His gaze falls on you, and it occurs to you that you hadn't really thought about what you were going to say. However, you figure just saying anything is more important than thinking it through, and you'll probably figure it out half way as you go.
"You remember how I said I prefer good conversation? To... other things? I do, and that's about the best thing I offer, and I guess what I'm really trying to say is that I like your conversation, or what I've had of it so far. In short, I'm trying to ask if you'd come back again, so that we can have... an actual conversation. A full length one, because I look forward to getting to know you better, I hope you'd consider humoring me and stopping by, sometime soon." Your speech falls off not very eloquently, but you still find him smiling.
"I... enjoy your conversation, as well. I will."
