The huff makes him chuckle again, and he kisses her cheek because she's being cute now, too. The offer takes him by surprise and he takes a moment to consider it. It's not like he's against the concept of pregnancy per se. Just like marriage, it just happens to be something that people do out of obligation, so those memories aren't always the greatest to revisit.
It doesn't seem to be the case with Midge, though. After studying her for a minute, he nods.
"I'd love to see all kinds of pictures of younger you," he replies as he leaves the bed for a second to throw the dirty wipes in the trash can by his desk. When he returns, he lies down on the pillows and pulls at Midge's robe, calling her in for cuddles. "You still have all the pregnancy pictures? Marriage too? I don't know how divorces work. Joel didn't take any?"
“Oh God,” she groans. “Not the childhood pictures.” Midge cuddles up to him, half lying on his chest. “My parents have childhood pictures of me and I’ve got a few albums from my marriage, including the wedding album and albums for my children. Joel’s the one who left, so I’ve got all the pictures.”
It’s not like he can’t see them if he wants to. She presumes he’d want to see the children’s albums. Probably not the wedding album.
The comment about Joel leaving gets a ha! out of him, clearly approving of this deal. Good for her for keeping what she wants.
"Oh, come onnnnn, I want to see little Miriam!" He pinches her cheek. "You have no idea how amazing the existence of those pictures is. Posing for the painter as a kid was such a pain in the arse. I swear I could fall asleep while standing, just like a chicken. And all the festivals I've played at? Oh, how I wish I had framed images of the perfect moments! Smiles under the moonlight! Dancing on the beach! All the Roaches I met throughout the years!"
“I was really cute,” she confirms. “A little princess. I’m glad my parents never tried to have a painting done. Posing for photographs is annoying enough. I can’t imagine sitting still long enough for a painting, although I would make an alluring model, don’t you think?” Midge is joking, but Jaskier will probably agree with her anyway.
“I wish I could see a painting of little you. All the roaches you’ve met?” Midge gives him an unsettled look.
"You'd be a stunning model. You kept that drawing from the art jam, I hope."
He still has his, and he treasures it so. When she says she'd like to see those paintings, he wrinkles his nose. Would his parents even have them still? Maybe they were burned. He doesn't know how to feel about that.
"I told you about Geralt's horse Roach, right? Well, all his horses were named Roach. All brown mares, too. I've known Geralt for over twenty years, so I've seen many a Roach die or retire."
Immediately after I posted the tag I realized you were talking about Roach lol
“I did,” she confirms. “What? You weren’t a cute little boy?” Somehow they’ve circled back to his childhood again.
“Oh!” Midge laughs out loud. “Yes, you told me that. I thought you were talking about bugs and I was very curious why you were so sentimental about them.”
Talking about roaches is probably a better topic than Jaskier’s childhood.
it can't be a Witcher related thing without the classic gag, you did nothing wrong
"I was fucking adorable. It's just... you know." He shrugs, trying not to make it seem like it's not a big deal. "I wasn't really myself on those paintings."
He pulls a face and pokes her as 'punishment'. "Eww, that's bloody disgusting. There's only one bug I approve of, and that's butterflies. Ah, I guess spiders aren't so bad when they're eating the other bugs. Camping with mosquitoes isn't fun."
Midge hums in her throat, her fingers stroking his chest. “I’m sorry, darling.”
“I’ve been off spiders ever since you and Geralt killed those things at Moishe’s factory. I mean, I guess I was never on spiders, but you know what I’m trying to say.”
Those things had been massive and absolutely disgusting.
Her sympathy is met with a kiss to the top of her head - a gesture that speaks better than words, for once. Saying it's ok wouldn't have been honest.
The spider thing makes him laugh. "I do know what you're saying. I was talking about normal spiders, but you have an excellent point. Did the factory function well afterward? I know Geralt made a big mess with the broken wall and all."
“Moishe had to make repairs, which I’m sure he grumbled about, but he didn’t have much choice, did he? He couldn’t have left those spiders in there. Everything seems to be fine now, as far as I’m aware.”
“True,” Midge replies, as she has known some incredibly cheap people in her life, “but then his workers would have started dropping like flies and the health and safety board might have to come in. It would have cost him more in the long run.”
He seems confused. How cute.
“You.” Midge gives him a gentle poke in the chest. “Jaskier of Oxenfurt, acted with bravery and selflessness by running into a building infested with giant, nasty, poisonous spiders after your friend was hurt and helping to heal him despite the fact that you could have been hurt as well.”
"Oh!" He chuckles and takes that finger to kiss it. "Geralt had killed most of the creepers by then. And he was there! I have nothing to fear when he's around. He protects me."
It's easy being brave, if it can be called that, when you have a mountain of a man as a shield.
“You don’t want to take some of the credit?” Midge asks, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “You seemed very in charge that day, knew exactly what to do. And then you told Joel that you’d be coming to Leah’s wedding with me.”
The final shot. Jaskier knew exactly what he was doing and looked so confident doing it. It was pretty arousing.
Alright, he has to laugh at that. "Oh, I was definitely in charge, just not of the monsters." He kisses her hand. "That's the teamwork - he kills shit, I talk shit, it all works out." He tilts his head, a grin widening. "You were pretty bossy, too. I loved how you kept Joel in his place."
“Someone has to tell him what to do so he doesn’t do something stupid,” Midge replies. She tilts her head up to kiss his cheek. “I’m sure Geralt appreciates your help with dealing with clients.”
"Something stupid like staying there after being told to leave?" he teases. It's funny how she praises him for taking charge, yet she didn't listen to him. "Geralt appreciates any excuse that allows him to avoid socializing. If those bird watchers truly sit for hours and don't talk at all, he's going to love them."
Midge sticks out her tongue at him. “I had to make sure that you and Joel didn’t get into a fistfight. Geralt will probably like the bird watchers, especially if he doesn’t mind talking about birds.”
It’s a generally silent activity. One could technically do it alone. No need to socialize.
"You seriously think I can get into fistfights?" Jaskier says with a snort. "Joel would only get to punch me once before Geralt was on his arse." Suddenly, he giggles. "Man, I'd fucking pay to watch that."
It's a pity Midge made him promise he'd avoid conflict with her ex.
"With my words? Of course! I made an entire career defending someone's honor. And defending you won't get me moldy bread." He winks before kissing her nose. "Although you didn't like it when I defended your honor against your parents." It's kinda shitty to go back to that, but he can't help it. Big mouth and all. "If you expect me to get in fistfights for you, though, you don't know me as well as I thought."
Midge hopes that if someone was attacking her, he would try to help her, but he’s also brought up her parents again.
She furrows her brow. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that I don’t think my parents are trying to hurt me. They’re just… practical people. They can’t believe that people make money telling jokes onstage, especially not women. They also think that what I make jokes about is vulgar, and by conventional standards, it is. They would be offended if a man said those things too, but I think that they, like most of society, are more offended when it comes from a woman.
They’re not the most modern, free-thinking people, but I love them, Jaskier. And I know that they love me.”
If someone was physically attacking her and his family wasn't around, he would indeed try to help. But he understood defending her honor as merely someone insulting her.
He watches her for a second, and he sighs. "I'm going to say something, and-- it's not a jab at your parents, although it does apply. It's about love and the logic you just used." He pokes her nose. "A person's love isn't proof that they aren't hurting you. Love makes people some really stupid shit."
Could Joel be proof of this, maybe? Jaskier isn't sure how true his love for Midge is.
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It doesn't seem to be the case with Midge, though. After studying her for a minute, he nods.
"I'd love to see all kinds of pictures of younger you," he replies as he leaves the bed for a second to throw the dirty wipes in the trash can by his desk. When he returns, he lies down on the pillows and pulls at Midge's robe, calling her in for cuddles. "You still have all the pregnancy pictures? Marriage too? I don't know how divorces work. Joel didn't take any?"
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It’s not like he can’t see them if he wants to. She presumes he’d want to see the children’s albums. Probably not the wedding album.
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"Oh, come onnnnn, I want to see little Miriam!" He pinches her cheek. "You have no idea how amazing the existence of those pictures is. Posing for the painter as a kid was such a pain in the arse. I swear I could fall asleep while standing, just like a chicken. And all the festivals I've played at? Oh, how I wish I had framed images of the perfect moments! Smiles under the moonlight! Dancing on the beach! All the Roaches I met throughout the years!"
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“I wish I could see a painting of little you. All the roaches you’ve met?” Midge gives him an unsettled look.
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He still has his, and he treasures it so. When she says she'd like to see those paintings, he wrinkles his nose. Would his parents even have them still? Maybe they were burned. He doesn't know how to feel about that.
"I told you about Geralt's horse Roach, right? Well, all his horses were named Roach. All brown mares, too. I've known Geralt for over twenty years, so I've seen many a Roach die or retire."
Immediately after I posted the tag I realized you were talking about Roach lol
“Oh!” Midge laughs out loud. “Yes, you told me that. I thought you were talking about bugs and I was very curious why you were so sentimental about them.”
Talking about roaches is probably a better topic than Jaskier’s childhood.
it can't be a Witcher related thing without the classic gag, you did nothing wrong
He pulls a face and pokes her as 'punishment'. "Eww, that's bloody disgusting. There's only one bug I approve of, and that's butterflies. Ah, I guess spiders aren't so bad when they're eating the other bugs. Camping with mosquitoes isn't fun."
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“I’ve been off spiders ever since you and Geralt killed those things at Moishe’s factory. I mean, I guess I was never on spiders, but you know what I’m trying to say.”
Those things had been massive and absolutely disgusting.
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The spider thing makes him laugh. "I do know what you're saying. I was talking about normal spiders, but you have an excellent point. Did the factory function well afterward? I know Geralt made a big mess with the broken wall and all."
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She tilts her head up to look at him.
“You were very brave that day.”
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Her comment takes him by surprise. Blink, blink. "What do you mean?"
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He seems confused. How cute.
“You.” Midge gives him a gentle poke in the chest. “Jaskier of Oxenfurt, acted with bravery and selflessness by running into a building infested with giant, nasty, poisonous spiders after your friend was hurt and helping to heal him despite the fact that you could have been hurt as well.”
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It's easy being brave, if it can be called that, when you have a mountain of a man as a shield.
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The final shot. Jaskier knew exactly what he was doing and looked so confident doing it. It was pretty arousing.
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It’s a generally silent activity. One could technically do it alone. No need to socialize.
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It's a pity Midge made him promise he'd avoid conflict with her ex.
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Midge looks up at Jaskier again. “What about you? Would you defend my honor against someone?”
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She furrows her brow. “It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that I don’t think my parents are trying to hurt me. They’re just… practical people. They can’t believe that people make money telling jokes onstage, especially not women. They also think that what I make jokes about is vulgar, and by conventional standards, it is. They would be offended if a man said those things too, but I think that they, like most of society, are more offended when it comes from a woman.
They’re not the most modern, free-thinking people, but I love them, Jaskier. And I know that they love me.”
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He watches her for a second, and he sighs. "I'm going to say something, and-- it's not a jab at your parents, although it does apply. It's about love and the logic you just used." He pokes her nose. "A person's love isn't proof that they aren't hurting you. Love makes people some really stupid shit."
Could Joel be proof of this, maybe? Jaskier isn't sure how true his love for Midge is.
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Midge genuinely wants to know what his reasoning is. She’s not angry. She wants to understand.