hold them closer [jaskier x reader]

Chapter 6

Traveling with Jaskier and Geralt was way worse than you remembered.

To be fair, the last time you traveled with them it was a relatively short distance — now, traveling from Novigrad to Velen, you were ready to stab both men in the legs before traveling any further.

Being around the two men wasn't the problem — it was being around the two men when you only had a few coin left. It was always said that money could make a man go mad, in more ways than one. But this time, you could only blame it on two things: hunger, and lack of sleep.

Your arms were crossed over your chest, face drawn in a scowl as you looked at the man before you. "Jaskier, we need to feed the horses."

Jaskier placed his hands on his hips, his coin pouch clasped in his grip. You were currently blocking him from going to buy food because, with the coin you had left, there wouldn't be enough for everyone.

Still, Jaskier scoffed. "I'll have you know, man is very close to horse—"

"Man is closer to a donkey."

Jaskier's mouth dropped open. "Are you calling me an ass?"

You snorted. "You did that yourself." The man threw his arms in the air, turning away from you so he could shake his head. You looked around, praying that Geralt would return quickly — you needed someone to back you up, since Jaskier clearly wasn't seeing reason.

You couldn't even remember the last time you ate or slept for more than a couple hours. The past few nights, the three of you camped out in the woods, not having enough coin to get your own rooms at any inn. To be blunt...it had taken a toll on all of you.

You softened your voice once Jaskier faced you again. "We just need to make it a little bit further to Velen, and then—"

"Then what? We starve there?"

"We'll find a place there, maybe catch some jobs for coin. Then we can feed the animals—" You paused, looking to Jaskier with a hint of playfulness in your voice, "and the horses."

Jaskier's jaw dropped, not nearly as amused as you were, "I am worried about all of our health, love."

"Will both of you shut up." Geralt appeared, placing a hand on Roach's side with a huff. You and Jaskier snapped your gaze to him, almost comically so. You rolled your eyes at Geralt's smirk, but he continued nonetheless. "While you two were arguing, I got us two rooms for the night."

Your eyebrows shot up, "Two rooms?" You flicked your eyes to Jaskier. "At this rate, I'm sharing a room with the witcher."

Jaskier's eyes narrowed as he looked down at you, "You definitely don't mean that." He pointed a finger in Geralt's direction. "Where, exactly, did you get this coin?"

Geralt only turned away towards Roach, lifting an apple to the horse's mouth. You and Jaskier watched in a stupor at the apple as it disappeared between Roach's teeth, both hiding the way your mouths watered at the sight.

Blinking out of your trance, you huffed. "It's probably best we don't know."

Silently, you and Jaskier gathered your bags from Buttercup's back, following Geralt as he led the two of you through the shabbiest looking inn you had possibly ever seen; right now, it looked better than a luxury. And as soon as you and Jaskier walked into the room, you both made a beeline for the bed, backs hitting the mattress at the same time.

In complete synchronization, you let out a sigh a relief — you hadn't slept on a mattress in quite some time.

"This is better than food." Jaskier murmured, his voice raspy as he let his eyes flutter closed.

You rolled your head towards Jaskier, apology etched in your sleepy eyes. "We'll make sure to get some food soon."

He smiled, eyes still closed, and placed his hand in yours. "I know."

—

The next morning was better than the last, but not by much. It turned out that getting a good night's sleep only made you more tired — and more hungry. But even through the snippy remarks and silent glares, you all knew your words meant practically nothing.

Road trips were recipes for attitude. You had traveled long treks before, but mostly alone. Now that you were with the two men you had come to call friends, it was a different experience entirely. While before you could internally curse out the squirrel that looked at you the wrong way, now, you had two other people to yell at.

And, you assumed, Geralt and Jaskier were used to the random anger that came with being on the road for too long — Geralt definitely more so than Jaskier.

But soon, the three of you found a place to pick up jobs here and there (some more humiliating than others — like finding a farmers' lost chickens, which was rather funny to watch Geralt do). You had enough coin to eat, find a place to stay the night, and by then, you were only a little under a day's trip away from Velen.

Even though Arnet told you the village was near the crossroads of Velen, it still left a bit of a search for the three of you. The trip was taking longer than you hoped, though you tried not to hope at all.

Hope only led to disappointment, which you were well aware of. But something about this trip had your typically pessimistic outlook on a low. It was probably because of Jaskier, who was constantly looking on the bright side.

Sometimes, very literally.

"The sun is a beauty, isn't it? Even as it falls, it transforms the sky."

"I think you've been looking at the sun a bit too long." You felt Jaskier laugh against your back; his hands settled around your waist as Buttercup lead the way down the road you had been following for quite some time.

Jaskier's talk about the sun made you look at it as well; it was getting late, as the sun was falling closer and closer to the horizon. You sighed, realizing today was yet another dead end. You just had to keep going, no matter how many times you were let down. You owed your mother that much.

But ahead, you noticed the brown wood of a building — another village.

You flicked Buttercup's reigns, "Hyah!"

Your heart sped up as you neared the relatively small area. It was a village — was being the key word. The buildings that were still standing were on their last limb; it looked as though the wood had been decaying for quite some time, not nearly strong enough to hold itself up for much longer. This village was completely abandoned. Any signs of life that had been there...they were long gone.

You blinked at the sight in front of you, a mix of emotions filling your entire being.

There's no way.

Jaskier's voice took you out of your head. "Why are we stopping?"

You slid off the horse, swallowing the lump that had formed in your throat. Avoiding his and Geralt's gaze, you spoke.

"This was my village."

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