doesntsing | open post

"Of course you care," he says in his softest voice, still rubbing her back. "He was the love of your life, the one you chose to marry. That won't go away overnight. Your heart aches for whom it used to crave." Another kiss for the top of her head. "You mentioned that first, he wasn't impressed by the details - I don't know exactly what you told him, but if it was about life in clubs and the stage, then I imagine that hurts as well. Because he may've been attacking me, but he was indirectly attacking you, too, since we share that lifestyle."

His voice loses its softness with each word, getting angrier by the second. Jaskier takes a moment to take a deep breath and calm down - she needs comfort, not bitching.

"He's just a bitter arse, angry at himself for losing something wonderful, but taking it out on you. Of course it hurts to be attacked for his mistake. Remember that, Miriam: his mistake. Not yours. You haven't done anything wrong."

Midge lays her head back on his chest, nuzzling up underneath his chin.

“I told him that you were a musician and an Otherworlder…” She sighs again. “He knows you’re not Jewish.” It will most likely be the biggest problem that her parents will have with Jaskier as well, should they ever learn the true nature of he and Midge’s relationship. “He shouldn’t have a problem with clubs. The idiot is trying to open his own club in Chinatown.”

Midge puts her hand on Jaskier’s chest, stroking gently and feeling the warmth of his body next to hers.

“It’s hard to remember sometimes. Sometimes I still think I must have done something to drive him away.”

"For fuck's sake..." Of course, it had to be the religion thing. Of fucking course. Jaskier sighs and thanks the gods that Midge is still talking, because he's pretty fucking angry at Joel now and who knows if he could've contained his religious rant.

(If this is such a big deal, he doesn't look forward to meeting her parents, then.)

"That's the kind of argument I would've expected from people in my world. Many a person was stuck in unhappy marriages and couldn't escape - cheating was their only choice. But here? You have fucking divorce. I seriously doubt you did anything, considering he wants you back - but even if you had, he could've just asked for divorce. Yet he didn't. He kept using you as his maid, nanny, and cook. And now he behaves like a controlling arse, which proves he's like that in his spare time and not because of your marriage."

Midge doesn’t want to get into religion right now either. She’s weary and upset. Someday she will try to explain it to him, but not at nearly 4AM.

“He thought he could have me and her. He thought I would forgive him when he came back.” She shrugs. “Joel’s really not a bad guy. He just made a huge mistake and has to suffer the consequences. You’re not the type of guy he thinks I should be with, but he doesn’t get to dictate that.”

"Nobody gets to dictate that, except yourself," he immediately points out, not wanting to think about shit like arranged marriages. "I won't deny that I'm not the kind of bloke a lady introduces to her parents. But I don't think Joel thinks anyone is the 'type of guy' you should be with. So fuck him."

He kisses Midge's cheek. "Worry not, Yennefer will teach him to behave."

“You’re a good person, Jaskier.” Midge wants to make that clear. “But I understand what you mean.” He doesn’t want to settle down. Most parents don’t want that for their children.

“Joel didn’t have much to say about Benjamin, but Benjamin is Jewish, and a doctor. There wasn’t anything he could say. That’s like… the ideal thing a Jewish mother looks for when it comes to a husband for her daughter.” Thus why Rose was so disappointed when Benjamin and Midge’s engagement fizzled.

Midge hums a worried note in her throat. “I don’t want Joel to be hurt,” she warns.

A chuckle. "I'm a bitch. But thank you." It's not even about settling down. It's about him having a dirty mouth, about not behaving according to society's rules, about being a slut, about being an artist without what is considered a 'proper job'. Settling down is the least of his worries when 'meeting the parents'.

Benjamin. That name is new. Jaskier remembers she said she's only slept with two people, so he guesses he must've been the second guy. A doctor, of course - a respectable profession. He bets Joel didn't like him either, but couldn't complain because he liked arguments.

"What happened with this 'ideal' Benjamin?" Curiosity is killing him. Part of him wants to jump on the obvious conclusion: Midge doesn't want traditional anymore. But who knows, maybe he dumped her. "We won't hurt him. Just... scare him a little."

“You aren’t to me.”

Maybe he’ll have no reason to ever meet her parents, but Midge will deal with the situation if it turns into a disaster. Jaskier has manners, at least.

She sighs. She hasn’t told him about Benjamin has she?

“We were engaged, but it was… too much, too soon. We didn’t want the same things. He wasn’t against my career, but he wanted to have a wife at home and have children. I’ve… done that.” A pause. “It’s not that I wouldn’t have more children if my new husband wanted them, but I want to be able to have my career too.” It seems like an impossible task for a woman to have both.

She glances at Jaskier. “And how are you going to scare him?”

You aren't to me. That's... incredibly sweet. He doesn't have the heart to destroy the idea she has of him. He wants to kiss her properly, but considering the cold, he sticks to kissing the top of her head again.

Engaged?! Hopefully, she's still comfortable on his chest and doesn't see Jaskier's very shocked face. Nothing wrong with wanting to get married again, it's not like he expected Midge to completely give up the idea, he's just surprised by how soon she jumped on it again.

It seems she's aware too - 'too much, too soon'. At least, it doesn't sound like he was a dick to her - it seems he didn't try to change her. So he gets a pass.

"He sounds like a nice bloke. Sorry it didn't work out. I'm glad you're so passionate about your career - although I admit I'm also surprised to hear you'd have more children."

He shrugs, the hand on her back going up to play with her hair. "I'll have to talk to Yennefer. Nightmares are always an option. Or Geralt could pay him a visit. He's good at being intimidating."

Admittedly, her feelings were hurt when Jaskier told her he was seeking a man after his gig at the club, but she didn’t think that was him intentionally trying to hurt her feelings. She agreed to not being exclusive, so she didn’t have much of a right to complain. Otherwise, Jaskier has been nothing but sweet and encouraging to her.

“If my new husband didn’t have a child of his own and he wanted one, I’d try to give that to him.”

Midge huffs a laugh. “Geralt would scare the piss out of him.”

Edited 2025-08-22 22:21 (UTC)

"Try," he repeats. The use of that word immediately raises some alarms. "But is it what you want?"

Ah, she's laughing. Good, it seems the cuddling and chatting truly are helping her feel better. "He's very good at that, too. He's made many a man piss their pants. Literally."

“I don’t know,” Midge replies. “Love and marriage make you sometimes change your mind about what you want. I always wanted to have three children anyway.”

Her fingers gently stroke over his chest. “He can’t know anything is connected to you or I, otherwise he’ll accuse me of trying to attack him.” Midge doesn’t want to deal with the fallout of any potential pranks.

Love and marriage make you sometimes change your mind about what you want.

But where is the line between changing your mind and surrendering a part of yourself? Jaskier doesn't have the answer, and he doesn't want to sound like he's shitting on her ideas either. She may be feeling better, but still not the best of moments. So he only answers, "Mmh." Geralt has taught him well.

"Aww, but the idea was to get him off your back!" He's pouting - see? A bitch. "You take the fun out of it."

Marriage is a give and take. Not big things. Not your whole life and personality. But compromises have to be made. You do them because you love the other person. Jaskier seems to reject all of it outright, despite having a song about making a little sacrifice. It might be a good thing that he doesn’t want to be in a relationship.

“It will create more problems,” Midge says. “He’ll tell his parents, who will tell my parents and then suddenly I’m getting called on the carpet and being asked why I put a curse on my ex-husband.”

Funny enough, he thinks he's sacrificed for Geralt - being the White Wolf's barker meant bigots have treated him like shit for supporting a witcher.

"Because he's being a controlling motherfucker," he immediately replies, his voice almost a growl. She's right, though. This place isn't like home, a curse will only get her in trouble. Jaskier sighs. "Fine, I promise we won't mess with him. But next time he tries something, let me know during it. We'll make him piss his pants on the spot."

“Jaskier.” Midge looks at him. “He doesn’t control me. We argue about things because we don’t always agree and he knows exactly how to push my buttons.”

She sighs. “I guess that’s embarrassing enough that he won’t tell anyone about it. I just don’t want any negativity coming back on you or your family. You have to be careful with magic here.”

"I'm not saying he controls your life, I'm saying he's trying to." Totally different, if you ask him. No, really!

There's a pause before he buries his face in her hair, nuzzling it. "Fuck, I want to kiss you so badly right now. Do you have any idea how sweet you are?" Another pause while calloused fingers draw random shapes on her back. "None of us is strangers to the public seeing us negatively. But I won't deny that being here is a good chance to start over. At the end of the day, though... we must choose to do what is right, not socially acceptable."

“And I’m not going to let him,” Midge replies emphatically.

She leans against him, a smile crossing her lips. “I more often get told that I’m sassy,” she says. “Maybe a little tart.” Pulling back slightly, her eyes rest on his lips. “Do you think you can give me a chaste peck on the lips?” she asks softly.

Reaching up, she runs her fingers through his hair. “Don’t go to jail because of me. I can deal with Joel.”

"You are sassy," he replies with a grin before pressing his lips against hers, chastely and quickly. It's not enough, and pulling back is much harder than it looks.

Jaskier purrs when she pets his hair, always glad to feel her nails on his scalp. "If I hadn't gone to jail, I wouldn't have met you."

It’s not enough. Midge wants him, even though she knows she can’t have him right now. She suffices with resting her forehead against his.

“That’s true. Are you looking to meet some new partners?” she teases as she continues to rub his scalp. The purring is such a lovely sound to her ears.

That.

Sure is a question.

Jaskier tenses and the purring pauses. If this had been another lover, he wouldn't mind talking about it. But while Midge has agreed to his terms, she hasn't been exactly interested in the details (which, you know, fair). Last time in the bathroom, she didn't take it well. Add to that what has brought her here tonight...

"Is that something you really want to talk about?"

Her hand stops moving in his hair. “I was trying to make a joke… jail isn’t usually the best place to meet lovers.”

Midge moves her head to the crook of his neck. She thought they might talk playfully about it, but she guesses that Jaskier is trying to spare her feelings.

Maybe Joel is right and this isn’t the sort of arrangement she should be in.

"Oh." He instantly relaxes. He's about to ask her to pet his head again, but then she's hiding her face in his neck. Fuck. Jaskier wraps his arms tightly around her, and a hand reaches for her head - now it's his turn to pet her gently.

(This should be a red flag - can she handle this arrangement after all? Jaskier ignores that little worry. Tonight she's vulnerable, he decided the other day that she deserves a chance, and--- and, well, this newly discovered crush is making it hard for him to even consider ending things so soon.)

"Apologies, darling. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I'd feel like that any day, but after seeing you cry like that? I wouldn't forgive myself for making it worse." He drops another kiss on her head. "Honestly? I'm the kind of person who makes friends even in the weirdest contexts." Friends, sure, let's call it that.

“You’re not making it worse,” she says. “I wouldn’t be here if I thought you did.” Any jail lovers they talk about would technically be hypocritical, wouldn’t they?

Midge is feeling vulnerable though. Her heart feels like it’s on the sleeve of her robe and all she wants is to not mess up this good thing in her life. She hasn’t been this drawn to another person in such a long time.

“I like you a lot, Jaskier. When I’m with you, I’m happy. You… make me feel like I really can make it in this business.”

"You came here for the promise of comforting cuddling, not for details about my other lovers." He's half serious, half teasing. "I don't look down on curiosity. So if you want to know what my life is like, like when you asked me about text and phone sex with others, I'll share. If you want us to look at cute men together, we can. But not tonight. Not with you like this."

He thinks that's a fair middle point - a way to show that he'll trust her to handle it, but only if she chooses to.

Her next words make his heart skip a beat, and once again, he wishes he could kiss her right now. But even if he didn't have a cold, Yennefer has reminded him of the rules, and Cirilla continues to be his priority. If he kissed Midge right now, he wouldn't be able to stop.

"See? An absolute sweetheart." Still hungry for contact, he reaches for her hand and kisses it before nuzzling it. "You honor me by calling me your happiness and your encouragement, darling. I like you a lot, too. You're a spark capable of brightening any day."

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