the star and the songbird (JaskierXGeralt Modern AU)

Practice

before going to the club Geralt asked Julian if he wanted to stop by the cafe. they walked holding hands. at first it felt weird to hold Julian's hand, but now Geralt held it without knowing. it was like breathing now. it just happened. as they walked Julian told Geralt a joke he saw in a magazine. Geralt thought it was funny, but Julian's laugh was so enthralling that he forgot why the joke was funny in the first place.

The cafe was as empty as ever and Geralt was actually relieved. he just wanted to drink his coffee and not deal with anyone. except for Julian. He was the only one that Geralt could stand. recently he'd been feeling irritated at everyone. he didn't know why. just last Friday he had snapped at Eskel and Lambert. they were being loud, and he was trying to study. he didn't mean to snap, and he apologized, but Geralt didn't know why he snapped in the first place. Lambert and Eskel were always loud, and it never bothered him before.

"Hey Jules! you look happy," the barista said. "Did Phillipa fall in front of a bunch of people? Because I would have paid to see that."

"No, Vinnie. though I would also pay to see that. I went on a date! an actual date! with this handsome man," Julian got on his tip toes and kissed Geralt on the cheek. Geralt knew he was blushing based on the way Vinnie was looking at him. "Also, I wanted to ask you something."

"Ask away."

"Do you remember when I first came in here after I started working at the Red Lion and you made me that milkshake?"

"Of course I do. it only took me 45 minutes to make! but you looked like you needed it. you want me to make one for you?"

"Well, two if you don't mind." Julian asked. he paid and then told Vinnie the same joke that he told Geralt. Julian's smile lit up the small cafe like the sun. it was warm. it made Geralt feel things. good things. he liked feeling this way. he felt the same feeling whenever he ran his fingers through Julian's hair, when they kissed, when they touched...

"Thanks Vinnie!" Julian and Geralt took their shakes to go. The shakes were s'mores flavored and had whipped cream on the top with chocolate squares. "Whipped cream is not truly whipped cream unless it's been whipped with whips. everybody knows that."

"Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory!" Geralt exclaimed. "That reference I do understand. I used to watch that movie with my mom..." he trailed off.

Julian took a sip of his shake. "You don't talk about your mom much. are you guys on bad terms? if you are I totally understand. I don't really get along with my folks either."

"It's not that. She's just...." he searched for the words to describe her. "She can just be difficult at times. She's the one who encouraged me to get the scholarship. but she's never there for me when I need her. I know I'm an adult and I can handle myself but sometimes it's nice to have someone to talk to and she never seems to be that person. she's always so---" Geralt sighed.

"Distant?" Julian asked, squeezing Geralt's hand.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't know, it's complicated."

"We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. let's talk about something else," Julian said.

how does he do that, Geralt thought. how does he make everything seem ok all the time? 

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They arrived at the club at about 12:30 pm and were greeted, not so warmly, by a man who looked to about 20. he was shorter than Geralt but taller than Julian, had black hair with a purple stripe in his bangs, and he wore black clothing from his shirt to his shoes.

"You're here early. what was your name again? James?" the man asked Julian.

"C'mon man you've known me for almost four years. just because I got your name wrong once doesn't mean that you get to purposefully get MY name wrong." Julian growled.

"I am never letting that go. my name is literally so easy to remember, and you still got it wrong!" he laughed.

"One time! I did that one time, Vic! look I just wanted to know if Phillipa was coming in today." Julian rolled his eyes.

Vic suddenly lost the color in his cheeks. "No, she's not. did she really--?"

"Yup, and I don't want to talk about it. are we going to practice or what?" Julian said. the three of them walked downstairs and Julian went off to change. he came out wearing a pink tank and black leggings. 

"What are we working on today?" Vic asked. "Not that you need to practice, but how else would you spend your time on a Sunday?"

Julian looked at Geralt with a mischievous look. "I can think of a few ways. but I want to work on the silk today. I had trouble with wrapping my feet last weekend for some reason." Geralt had no idea what any of this meant but he was curious. "Geralt you can sit over there if you want. although I might ask for some help. you are considerably stronger than I am."

"You mean you might ask me to lift you?" Geralt smirked.

"Mhmm," Julian nodded.

Geralt sat down and watched Julian, who was walking over to the silk hanging from the ceiling. he wrapped the silk around his wrists and his feet and started to climb. he was about 6 feet in the air when Vic started to call out numbers.

"One," he called out. 

Julian wrapped the silk around his torso.

"Two."

Julian flipped upside-down.

"And drop!"

he dropped and was now in a sideways pose. "And this is where I messed up. how do I bring my leg around if I'm all tied up like this?"

Geralt couldn't focus on what they were saying because he was too busy admiring Julian's body. he was stronger than he looked. he had to be if he was able to climb fabric like that. he had some muscle, not like Geralt's but muscles, nonetheless. Geralt watched as he ran through the routine over and over and over again trying to get it just right. eventually Vic started doing it with him when Julian started yelling at the silk.

"It's an inanimate object, Julian. It can't hear you." Vic said as he got to the other set of silks.

"Well, if it would stop misbehaving, I wouldn't have to yell at it!" Julian sighed. "Let's run it again."