Characters: Jaskier, Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg, Triss Merigold, Vesemir, Lambert, Eskel, Coen
Additional tags: genderbending, alternate universe- modern setting, polyamory, matchmaking, pining, mutual pining, unrequited love, or is it?, friends to lovers, awkwardness, fem!Geralt, fem!Jaskier, bunch of helpless sapphics, everyone is confused, crushes, disability, emotionally constipated yennefer of vengerberg, oblivious geralt of rivia, oblivious yennefer of vengerberg, oblivious jaskier, everyone is fucking oblivious, insecurity, misunderstandings, lack of communication
Rating: mature
Full word count: 15,300 words
Chapter word count: 1,971 words
Chapters: 9/16
Summary: The plan is simple: help your best friend get together with the girl of her dreams. What could go wrong?
Well, when everyone is confused and pining but also very oblivious, pretty much everything.
Chapter summary: Jaskier and Geraldine have a conversation, which takes an unexpected turn. Yennefer attempts to move on.
Author's notes: Yeah I did not forget about this either! There's plenty more confusion and idiocy in store.
Read on Ao3
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It was during her last class when Jaskier heard the familiar sound of Geraldine's motorbike outside. Jaskier peered out the window, and indeed, there she was, unmounting her bike. Jaskier swallowed heavily at the sight of Geraldine's leather pants pulling tight over her firm, shapely bum. Geraldine took off her helmet and shook out her unruly silver hair. Jaskier stared at her, transfixed.
"Miss Pankratz?"
Blinking rapidly, Jaskier returned from her Geraldine-induced bleary state and turned back to her students, who stared at her in confusion, clarinets still in hand.
"Ah, sorry," Jaskier mumbled. "Got a little distracted. Eh, we still have like ten minutes left, right? How about I let you go earlier today?"
Naturally, her students didn't seem to mind. Jaskier would have yelled at them to treat their instruments with a bit more respect instead of shoving them in their bags so carelessly any other time, but her brain was too occupied with Geraldine. Which was a problem, since she's just told herself she would stop looking at her that way- as something she could never be.
Geraldine waited until the last student left the classroom then stepped inside with a small, cautious smile. The sight of her shifting from one foot to the other, teeth pulling on her lower lip nervously reminded Jaskier so much of the day she came there to ask Jaskier to play matchmaker. Jaskier sighed at the memory.
"Hey," Geraldine greeted her softly. "You're done for today?"
"Yeah. Had to send them home a little earlier, you know how fidgety kids can get."
Geraldine hummed. She stared down at her shoes as she crossed her arms over her chest. The frown between her brows deepened. Jaskier resisted the urge to kiss it off her face.
"Not much," Geraldine admitted. "She's being a little distant, again."
"I'm sorry about that."
"Look," Geraldine finally lifted her head to look into Jaskier's eyes, "can we talk?"
"This sounds alarming," Jaskier admitted with a chuckle. "Did someone actually die this time?"
"What?"
"Forget it," Jaskier waved a dismissive hand. "How about we meet up at my place? I don't feel like having a clearly distressing conversation in my classroom, again."
Geraldine nodded. She raised a helmet, and Jaskier couldn't help but grin when she realized it was the helmet that Geraldine always lent her when she whined to her about wanting to ride her motorcycle. It was pink with tiny kittens on it, and Geraldine bought it specifically for her.
"I was gonna take you, anyway," Geraldine told her. She reached for Jaskier's hand. When their fingers touched, Jaskier's heart jumped inside her chest, filled with unnecessary, stupid hope. Her cheeks felt warm as Geraldine led her outside by the hand.
Having to sit behind Geraldine on her bike and wrapping her arms around her firm middle certainly wasn't helping Jaskier on her mission of forgetting about her feelings for her friend. Yet, she couldn't resist putting her chin up on her shoulder as they rode away.
Once they were inside Jaskier's flat, Geraldine's nerves seemed to return. She sat stiffly on Jaskier's couch, fiddling with one of Jaskier's stuffed animals. She twisted the soft little turtle in her hands, her knees bouncing nervously all the while. Jaskier dreaded the talk that was ahead of them.
"What is it?" She asked as she sat next to Geraldine. "You're scaring me."
"I don't know how to tell you," Geraldine admitted. She petted the plush turtle's head with a sigh. "I wish I was like you."
"Like me?"
"More communicative. You always say what's on your mind."
"Not always," Jaskier whispered. If that were true, she would have confessed her feelings to Geraldine already, but she was too chickenshit to do that.
"Still. You're better at things like that than I am."
"It's okay, Geraldine. Take your time."
Geraldine took a deep breath. She only looked at Jaskier from the corner of her eye as she said, "I'm in love with Yennefer."
It wasn't a surprise, obviously. Geraldine has been head over heels for that woman since she's first laid eyes on her, but somehow, Jaskier's chest still tightened like someone just stepped on her ribcage. It was one thing to draw conclusions from looking at her behavior, and another one to actually hear the words leave her mouth. And while this was exactly why Jaskier decided she would try and accept her place as only a friend, it still broke her heart, just a little bit.
And as messed up as it was, she didn't only hate hearing this because this meant she officially lost Geraldine, but because she lost Yennefer, too.
She forced a smile onto her face as she patted Geraldine's knee.
"I know that, you big sap. And I'm pretty sure she feels the same way. Seems like my matchmaking is paying off, eh?"
She was utterly confused by the wounded look Geraldine gave her.
"I don't know," she said quietly, "I don't know if she feels the same. She's acting weird again. Like, since our last date. Or whatever it even was."
"Yeah, she has a tendency to do that. But, since you managed to say the magic words out loud to me, now you just have to say them to her as well, and I'm sure the ice will break."
"Maybe," Geraldine bit her lip. She looked at Jaskier, and was that a blush on her cheeks?
"My family said I should be more honest about my feelings. That communication is the key."
"Yeah, well, you're getting there," Jaskier smiled. "Look at you, Miss I never want a relationship. You're ready to marry Yennefer already!"
"This isn't just about Yennefer."
Jaskier raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean this isn't just about her?"
Geraldine was never quite good with eye contact - it was rare she held it up for more than a few seconds. But now, she looked deeply into Jaskier's eyes, so deeply in fact, that it suddenly felt like she was staring right into her soul. The air was heavy around them. Jaskier felt short of oxygen.
"I don't want to lose you," Geraldine told her, her voice honest, pained. "I wouldn't survive if I did."
"Hey," Jaskier said softly as she reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. "You could never lose me. Not in this lifetime, that's for sure."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Okay, now you're really scaring me," Jaskier admitted, her heart hammering inside her chest nervously. "Geraldine, please, tell me what's wrong."
Geraldine swallowed audibly. She stared at Jaskier again, before her eyes flickered to her lips - and stayed there. Jaskier was about to ask what was wrong, again, but she never had the chance as Geraldine moved towards her, and pressed her lips against Jaskier's.
For a second, Jaskier was certain she died and went to Heaven, or at least was experiencing a beautiful dream. Because this couldn't have been real, that Geraldine's slightly chapped but still so soft lips were on hers, that her strong hands where on her thighs. There was no way she tasted coffee on Geraldine's breath, and she felt her hair tickling her face.
The memories of that one kiss from all those years ago flooded Jaskier's brain. She never would have thought she would ever experience it again, that their sloppy, drunk make-out session would repeat itself. But here they were, kissing on her couch with Jaskier's stupid plush turtle trapped between them, and they were sober this time.
Jaskier's hands flew up to tangle in Geraldine's hair, pulling her closer, holding on desperately. She may have whimpered into the kiss when Geraldine gently squeezed her leg. This was everything Jaskier wanted, what she's been craving for years, and she got it. Her dream came true.
So why did she suddenly pull away then, breaking the kiss with a horrified gasp?
It was because that dreamy teenage-like crush was smothered by logic, at last. Because Jaskier did promise herself she would extract herself from the Geraldine-Yennefer equation, and now here she was, kissing Geraldine back. That kiss... as good as it was, it couldn't be real. Because Geraldine just confessed to her that she was in love with Yennefer, so the only reason she kissed Jaskier was because she was looking for a stand-in. Geraldine even said it herself that she wasn't sure of Yennefer's intentions since she was acting so distant again, so she must have kissed Jaskier because her highly-strung emotions made her react irrationally.
"This is a mistake," Jaskier whispered, her voice choked up as frustrated tears started welling in her eyes. "I should not come between you two."
"Jaskier," Geraldine's voice was full of pain, and if Jaskier dared to look into her eyes, she would have probably seen they were too. "I don't think you understand..."
"No, no, I understand just right," Jaskier sniffled. "You're not sure Yennefer feels the same way, so you need something to take your mind off of her."
"What? That's not why I..."
"We promised each other we wouldn't repeat last time," Jaskier continued quietly, "that kiss. It was good. And this was good, too, but... you and Yennefer, you belong together. I don't fit into that picture."
She stood abruptly from the couch, knocking the plush turtle off. It rolled on the floor, staring up at her with a grin that now seemed mocking. Jaskier suddenly wanted to kick it.
"Get over Yennefer, I know. But you don't have to. I'm sure she feels the same way. Go, tell her. It's time for you to be honest."
"Jaskier..."
"Actually," Jaskier bit down on her lip hard, trying to will the ugly sobs to stay inside, "can you leave now? I forgot I have this, uh, important stuff to do. I'll text you later."
She barely saw Geraldine leaving through the tears. She heard her muttering something under her breath, then the door closing.
Jaskier looked down on the plush turtle on the floor. Tears streamed down her face as she gave in to the urge and kicked it as hard as she could, sending it flying over to the other side of the room.
Then, she sat down on the floor and started sobbing harder than she's ever done before.
--
She was such a pretty girl, and very eager, too. Her name was Chiara, if Yennefer remembered right. She smelled like vanilla and her hair was soft beneath Yennefer's fingers. Her sighs against Yennefer's lips sounded so lovely.
Her body was gorgeous, too, and she looked so good crawling over her on the bed with that teasing smirk. It was even more perfect when she dipped between Yennefer's spread legs, at last.
She was also very good with her tongue.
Yet, it was somehow all wrong. When Yennefer looked down on Chiara moving between her legs, she imagined silver hair, then brown. She imagined Geraldine's soft grunts and Jaskier's needy whimpers. Somehow, that way, the whole experience was a lot better. Yennefer closed her eyes and let the fantasy take her away, into Geraldine and Jaskier's arms, where her heart kept pushing her to.
She swore under her breath, hands fisted in the sheets. Not from the pleasure like she hoped, but from the sheer irritation she felt.
Yennefer was a strong-willed woman. If she put her mind to something, she would go through with it, no matter what.
So why couldn't she forget about those two morons? Why did they consume her every thought, why didn't they let her move on?
She looked down on Chiara again, and sighed.
Maybe she didn't have the ability to move on, but she could at least try and pretend to.
Just wanted to show you more of our modern!fem!Geralt and Jaskier cosplay cause I think it turned out rather funny. What do you think, are we recognizable enough?
So I saw some fem!geraskier posts and fell in love with them and I just thought ohhhh who could they be as real actors and I simple went with people I knew have been in a show to do with historical drama and they're not from the same period but like...
Come on right???? Would this not be fem!Geralt and Fem!Jaskier?!?! AHHHH like I'm kinda shipping this omg
