doesntsing | open post

She’d like to think that her religion is a little bit different, but she won’t ever press Jaskier on it. It’s clear that he has had bad experiences with religion that were very formative for him.

Midge rests a hand on his chest. “Because I see you as sweet and not as a hedonistic bitch?” She looks at him with obvious fondness in her eyes. How quickly she’s grown attached to him.

There’s a pause and then she speaks again. “Do you have plans for the last weekend of September? I was hoping you’d come to my cousin’s wedding in the Hamptons with me. As my date. A friend.”

Perhaps that’s too much to ask, and she hadn’t exactly meant to ask him now. It has just… come out when she was contemplating how much she liked him. Jaskier is probably the only person who can help her get through this God-awful wedding.

Jaskier puts a hand on top of hers on his chest, nodding as he hopes she can't tell that his heart skips a beat when she looks at him like that. It's too much, too risky - yet he can't help but bask in it.

He's distracted by the way she looks at him and how he's internally dealing with this crush, so her question catches him by surprise, completely throwing him off.

"...what?" His eyes are wide, his body tense. He's touched that she wants him there; he's also absolutely panicking. "You-- you want me around your family? As your-- plus one?" He can't say 'date'. It's fine to tease about going on dates in private, but context suddenly makes it a big word. "What are you even going to tell them?"

“Yes,” she says, her confidence faltering a bit at his reaction. She did spring this on him out of nowhere though. “I’ll tell them you’re my plus one for the wedding. They already know you’re my friend.” Midge sighs. “I understand it’s a lot to ask, and you can have some time to think about it, but my cousin and her family are absolutely insufferable. I can’t go alone.”

Having Jaskier there will make things so much better.

Seeing her falter does make him feel a bit bad, but it's not enough to overtake the panic. Even if she only introduces him as a mere plus one, he knows exactly what they'll say behind their backs. And if this was merely like being seen with one of his other lovers in a bar or something, it wouldn't be a big deal - but he knows how much the family affects Midge's life. Not to mention, he has to wonder if she asking him means something else from her in the first place.

"A lot indeed," he replies as he swallows. Fuck. His hand tightens around her. "Let me think about it and I'll get back to you soon? This is... a lot." He already said that, didn't he? But his silver tongue is rather stuck at the moment.

“Of course,” she replies. That’s fair, isn’t it? Midge will try not to be disappointed if he says no. She thinks a lot of him, and thinks that a man who grew up rich and who has sang in the courts of kings and queens will know how to charm her relatives.

She kisses his cheek again, then picks up her coffee to finish it. “It’s getting closer to 10:00. What clothing did you bring me?”

That kiss almost makes him want to say yes on the spot, and that thought alone is terrifying. Thank goodness she changes the subject.

"Oh, right!" He leaves the bed to get the clothes, which he hands to her one by one. "Panties, bra, flats, aaaand-" He unfolds some dark green fabric. "Dress. Yennefer's spell used your hair, so it should fit perfectly. You'll be able to wear it one or two more times before it fades away, if you wish."

“Oh,” she says, looking at and then feeling the fabric of the dress. “That’s beautiful.”

Done with her breakfast, Midge pushes down the straps to her nightgown and lets the satin fall down her naked body. She’s sure this is doing nothing for how much both she and Jaskier want each other, but Midge allows him to admire her for a moment before she reaches for the panties and bra.

His breath catches when her nightgown falls (gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous), and Jaskier forces himself to look away before his cock wakes up. Looking out the window is a horrible idea, however, because a sweating Geralt makes it worse. Jaskier is mostly immune to it nowadays, but right now his body is needy and sensitive to certain kinds of stimuli.

He distracts himself by searching his closet for one of those retail paper bags from his many purchases so she can throw her robe and nightgown in it. When he puts it down on his desk, he notices his Polaroid camera and picks it up.

"Do you think we could--" He then realizes how it sounds for him to ask for a picture when she's still getting dressed. "-once you're done, of course."

Midge doesn’t blame him for looking away in this situation. It’s hard not to try to entice him at this moment, even though she knows she can’t.

She glances up when he speaks again. While she might not be opposed to doing pictures for him in her underwear, or even topless, now isn’t the time. It’s a relief when he says he wants a picture of her in the dress, though she’s still unsure.

“Really?” she asks as she steps into the dress. “But my hair’s a mess and I have no makeup on.”

"So you look like I just fucked you? Oh no!" It's both sarcastic and extremely dramatic. "How could I live with that image taunting me between the pages of my poems?"

He comes closer to help her with the buttons at the back of her dress, moving a bit more slowly than he should because he wants to savor the brush of his fingers against her skin. "I think you look amazing in everything, including naturally." He kisses her shoulder. "But I understand wanting to look your best. Bathroom is at the end of the corridor. You'll find my brush, my creams, and my eyeliner. I know it's not much, but it's safer than Yennefer's private vanity."

She closes her eyes, enjoying the sensation of his fingertips on her skin. The offer to use his cosmetics is nice, but she thinks she can bear this. Midge looks in the mirror and runs her fingers through her hair, flattening it down. She twirls a little in the dress too; it fits her like a glove.

“You can take a picture of me like this,” Midge tells him. “It’s just for you anyway.”

"You are too good to me," he replies with a soft smile. Jaskier makes her sit on his desk, just because he likes the idea of her next to his work, and quickly takes the photo.

While he shakes it, he looks at her with his head tilted. "Should I take the camera to your next gig? I'd love to take one together, too, but no makeup will save my nose now."

Not to mention he seriously needs a shower. When the picture is ready, he shows it to her and kisses her cheek. "As pretty as the real one."

“Sure, if you want to. Don’t let Susie tell you no photos.” Knowing her, she’d try to monetize it somehow.

Midge smiles at the Polaroid. Fortunately, they don’t show a lot of detail, so you can’t really even tell that she isn’t wearing makeup. “Thank you. This dress is beautiful.”

Jaskier tucks the picture in his notebook but before he can answer, the door opens.

"Thank you. Enjoy it while it lasts," Yennefer replies as she comes inside.

"Don't you know how to knock?" Jaskier glares at her.

"As if that stopped you before." Yennefer doesn't even look at Jaskier, who pouts at her answer. She approaches Midge and hands her a box with twelve small potion bottles, all filled with a grayish-purple liquid. "Birth control. That pill your doctors sell here--" The disgust is clear in her voice. "-messes with women's hormones. These are safer." She looks at Jaskier then. "What did you call the tiny ones?"

"Oooh, free samples! You finished them?" He runs to peek inside the box. "Most of our clients are men. Husbands think magic and monster matters are too dangerous to be handled by their wives." He rolls his eyes. "We've been looking for a way to reach women."

Yennefer nods. "You can keep one or two, if you wish, but we'd appreciate it if you share them with your friends." Her eyes are rather intense when she says appreciate - she's playing nice, but she thinks Midge owes her after so many portals. "Together with Jaskier's number, of course. So they can order more."

Midge is taken aback when Yennefer presents her with the box of potions. A tinge of pink forms on her cheeks after the witch explains what they are.

“O-Oh…” she says. “Yes, of course I will.” Giving out an unregulated potion sounds like a way to get the FDA on your case, but Midge knows that women will be very interested in this, even if it’s considered taboo to talk about.

She glances at Jaskier. “Did you put her up to this?”

"To make free samples? Yes, it was my idea. To ask for your help to hand them out, though?" Jaskier shakes his head and raises his hands in a gesture of innocence. He doesn't say more, wanting Yennefer to finish explaining. Like Geralt, she needs to socialize more.

Yennefer glares at him before turning to Midge. "Well. Since you wrote to me, asking for--" She hesitates, unsure of how to approach this.

"Frieeeeeendshiiiiiip?" Jaskier teases. Yennefer smacks him on the arm, but he just laughs.

“I meant to make it in the first place,” she clarifies. It seems like a very Jaskier thing to ask for, considering that it will enable them to not have to use condoms anymore.

Midge won’t bring it up right now, but there’s still the risk of disease, especially because she and Jaskier aren’t exclusive. Unfortunately, they may not be done with condoms after all.

She grins at Yennefer. “I know. It feels weird asking for something like that as an adult, but adults need friends too.”

"Oh." His eyes widen when he realizes Midge may think he asked Yennefer to do it for them. Or for Jaskier's night adventures. Or both. "Oh, fuck no! Nope, nothing like that - that was all her." He waves his hands in Yennefer's direction, so she smacks them away. "I didn't even know she could do that until she brought it up."

Yennefer offers Midge the tiniest of smiles - just the smallest turn of the corners of her lips. But she has a reputation to maintain. "You sound like him. No wonder you two get along so well." She turns to Jaskier. "Is everything ready?"

Yennefer raises her hands to open a portal behind Midge's building, near the fire escape. Even if she's entering through the front door this time, she shouldn't show up in the middle of the street.

Jaskier rushes to put Midge's clothes and the box of mini potions inside the paper bag and hands it to Midge as he kisses her cheek. "Let me know how it goes with your family, alright?"

She raises an eyebrow at Jaskier. “Well, trust me when I say that a lot of women will be very interested in these, if I don’t use them all myself.”

Midge takes the bag from Jaskier, then gives him a gentle kiss. “I will. I’ll see you on Wednesday night? You can always meet me at the apartment if you don’t want to come to my gig.” She won’t be offended.

“Thank you,” she tells both Jaskier and Yennefer. “If you really want to market something, it should be this thing.” Midge points to the portal. “With how traffic is in the city, people would pay good money to get somewhere in an instant.”

With that, she goes through.

He knows women would love something like this, that's why they've chosen it as one of their main products to market. But he doesn't have time to express that thought - Midge says she may use them all herself, and Jaskier's breath catches. Is it a joke or...?

"I won't miss it for the world."

Marketing portals would be impossible even if they wanted to, but Midge is already gone so Yennefer saves the explanation for when they finally go out on their girls' date.

Jaskier knows he has to give her time, and dealing with family (especially hers!) can't be easy. But he's worried about the consequences of this little escapade. He doesn't regret it, but he'll still feel bad if shit goes down.

Only an hour and a half passes before he texts her. How did it go?

She wasn’t joking, though maybe these potions don’t work like the pill she’s heard about. Her understanding is that you have to take them every day or they don’t work. Maybe the potions are different.

When Jaskier texts her, she’s walking to the grocery store to pick up a few things. She stops to reply.

Not as badly as I thought it would. They were concerned and weren’t exactly sure why I went to see you. I said I needed some space and that I also wanted to make sure that you were feeling better. They would prefer if I don’t make a habit of it and that I leave a note next time.

The potions are indeed different! The label explains that one sip a week is enough. Isn't magic great?

The reply takes a little longer to arrive - Jaskie is in shock. She told them she went to his place? Holy crap. He thought she would tell them she went for a walk to clear her mind or to a bar. It's touching to see her be open about their friendship, and his little crush giggles like a schoolgirl. The rational part of him, however, knows that a woman sneaking into a man's room in the middle of the night is going to bring assumptions. He wonders what her parents think of him now, which makes him more wary about the wedding.

I'd make a joke about them ruining my future kidnapping plans, but honestly - I'm just relieved to hear it went well. I'm not about to regret anything (except the lack of note), but no matter how much they may irritate me, I wouldn't want to get between you and your parents either. I can see how much they mean to you. Are you feeling well? They didn't leave you too shaken, did they?

Maybe she shouldn’t have been so honest, but she’s tired of making up stories. Midge won’t be telling them about she and Jaskier’s rendezvous at the apartment, but she thought she could manage with this. It’s made them want to meet Jaskier, probably because they can tell that something is going on, but she’s going to put that off as long as she can. Hopefully, he’ll agree to come with her to Leah’s wedding.

It won’t ruin anything. I’m trying to set some boundaries with them. We’re all fine. I’m sure they suspect that we’re together, as they want to meet you, but don’t worry. I’ll hold them off as long as we need to.

...they want to meet him. Fuck. There's no way that fucking wedding can go well, but he's not about to bring that up when she just went through that awful night.

Boundaries are great - I'm proud of you, my dear lady. I'll see you on Wednesday, then?

Not his smoothest exit from a conversation, but the subject is getting on his nerves. This is going down a dangerous path, and yet he can't bring himself to pull out. He rants to Geralt about it, and his friend says that Jaskier knows what the right thing to do is.

He's weak, though. He just can't. Things haven't blown up yet; is it so bad to hold on to hope? They text a few more times during the week, because chatting with her is always delightful, but the subject of the wedding doesn't come up. The elephant in the room is clear, though.

On Wednesday, Jaskier shows up at the club wearing a dark green suit that he's purchased himself, in honor of how much she liked Yennefer's dress. He's brought his lute and his satchel as usual, but no flowers - he doesn't want to give her parents another excuse to talk. This time, the gift is smaller (hideable!) and waiting in his bag.

That was a quick exit, and Midge wonders if she’s done something wrong. He seems absolutely terrified of meeting her parents. Maybe it’s just what that implies. Perhaps he’s panicking. Midge doesn’t want him to panic though. She can tell them no. As difficult as it may be, she has a right to some privacy.

They speak a few times during the week, but Midge doesn’t bring up the wedding. She doesn’t want to push him. It seems difficult to find a balance with him lately. Perhaps they’ll talk when she sees him next (between rounds of sex).

The one thing she knows they’re in sync with is sex, and Midge is very happy to see him at her gig on Wednesday. She kills her set, then meets him in the club afterwards. “You look incredible,” she murmurs to him after kissing his cheek. She’s wearing a rich purple dress that unintentionally compliments his suit. “We could have a drink, or we could get out of here…”

Yes, she’s horny for him. No sense in beating around the bush.

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it's a few years off for the pill but fuck the timeline

we do what we want

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