Kill Your Darlings (Jaskier x Assassin!Reader)

Chapter 7

Getting Julian out of the Kingfisher Inn was like ripping a knife from your own thigh: painful and a lot more trouble than it's worth. After around a good hour of packing his many, many clothes, he was finally ready to change locations; in the end, it didn't matter, because you all agreed that waiting until night fell would be safest to travel.

Eventually, the three of you managed to sneak out of the inn and to another one. The Nowhere Inn, located to the east of Novigrad, was where you found yourselves camping out. You waited with Julian while Geralt booked a room, your eyes and ears trying to focus on the world around you to make sure no one was lurking in the shadows. The bard blabbered on anyway, distracting you more than you would be comfortable admitting.

"The Nowhere Inn is absolutely perfect. When someone asks where I am, you don't even have to lie. Just say Nowhere."

You didn't bother holding back your eye roll.

And now, all three of you had made it to the room. It wasn't nearly as nice as the Kingfisher Inn, and Julian made a point of saying so multiple times. It was still a nicer place than you usually stayed in, so you couldn't complain. Instead, you silently claimed a chair in the far corner of the room, hoping to be left alone for the remainder of however long it was that you would have to stay there.

But of course, that wouldn't happen.

You were sharpening one of your knives when the bard's antsiness peaked. He patted a rhythm on his lap and sat up in his own chair, across the room from you.

"When do you think Geralt will be back?"

You lifted the knife to eye level to inspect the sharpness. Without looking at the bard, you answered, "Why do you think I would have a clue?"

"Alright, no need to have an attitude." His tone might have made you feel guilty if he hadn't been practically pestering you this whole time.

It had only been a couple of hours of hiding in the inn with Geralt and Julian, and they were already getting on your nerves. Geralt, not so much. He kept to himself mostly, unless Julian resorted to talking to him (which he usually did). But when Geralt left to go do something or another, the bard was forced to turn to you for his...entertainment.

You felt him watching you as you switched knives, still watching you as you continued to sharpen it. It made you uncomfortable, to say the least. You sighed and put your knives back in their sheaths, making a point of looking at Julian with raised brows. "Do you need something?"

Instead of taking the hint, he leaned forward. "Do you do anything other than that?"

The ghost of a frown crossed your features. "Than what?"

"You know," Julian waved his hand in the air. "Assassin things."

You gave his question a good amount of thought before answering, "No."

"You don't have any hobbies? Any secret talents? Well, other than killing people."

You blinked, yet again leaving a long space of time for him to bask in his anticipation. Then, you uttered a firm, "No."

After he didn't answer, you leaned back in your chair and lay your head over the edge. Perhaps if you closed your eyes he would get the hint to stop talking to you. It was a foolish thought, because almost seconds after you closed your eyes, you heard him get up from his seat, drag his chair agonizingly slowly across the room, and plant himself right in front of you.

You only slightly opened your eyes so you could peek at him — but when you saw he was holding his lute, you snapped your eyes open.

"Calm down, I'm not serenading you." It was the first time you heard him laugh, genuinely, and you would be lying if it didn't make your breath halt. Still, your eyes widened with what was close to fear at the thought of him performing just for you. If he did that, you might have to jump out the window.