An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Since it's that time of year again, here's my Winter Solstice/Yule Witcher fic.
Summary
Jaskier has never stayed with Geralt through winter before. As Yule approaches, they find themselves caught in a blizzard and encounter a monster threatening the closest town. Jaskier's Yule gift also drives a wedge of tension between them, making a cold winter even colder.
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This year, Jaskier’s questions were endless. A stone in his boot. An exposed nail in the saddle. Where was he planning to go? What beasts might he see? What lurked in the cold? Was it true the necrophages multiplied in the dead months? Where will you spend Yule?
“Nowhere.”
“Alone?” Jaskier’s forehead furrowed. “That sounds dreadful.”
Geralt watched him quietly over the rim of his tankard. The bard studied his drink.
“I could…” Jaskier shrugged a little. Glanced up once. “Stay on.”
And there it was. What Jaskier had been working himself up to all evening. Geralt set his drink down and sighed.
“It won’t be fun.”
“Geralt--”
“What about Oxenfurt?”
Jaskier heaved a sigh of his own. “I don’t want a semester at Oxenfurt.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Or a steady job in a nobleman’s court?”
The bard cut him a steady look. “Or that.”
He wanted to see the devils in winter, with his own eyes. And Geralt… could use the warm body. The warmer company in the bleakest of seasons. He should be better off alone, and yet… The solitude chafed.
