The first thing that Geralt felt was the hollow emptiness of the bed beside him. Not quite fully awake, he turned over and put his arm out, expecting to wrap it around Yen's waist as she slept, but it instead fell to the sheets below. His eyes snapped open and he sat upright in bed, scanning the room for any trace of his raven-haired love. Not seeing her in the room, he untangled himself from the sheets, dressed, and made his way out into the empty hallway of Corvo Bianco.
Knowing his lover as he did, Geralt made his way outside and down the path to the small greenhouse that occupied a corner of the vineyard. He'd moved a small seat out there months ago when she had fully moved into the home, because she had requested it of him, saying that she wanted to spend as much time in the garden as possible growing herbs and plants that she could use in her own alchemical projects. He'd obliged, of course, and had found her outside on many of the mornings he'd woken up alone.
He walked briskly through the vineyard to the greenhouse, taking in the tranquility of the early morning, before the workers had begun their tasks of tending to the vines and the casks of wine that were in the cellar. As he came closer to the greenhouse, the faint scent of gooseberries and lilac hit his nose, and he smiled to himself. He knew he'd find her here. He stood in the doorway and looked on at his love.
Yennefer was busy tending to a small patch of odd plants that she'd acquired in Kovir and was making notes in a small booklet she held loosely in her hand. He admired her as he watcher her study the small plants, her brow knitted in thought, eyes focused between the petals on the flower and the booklet in her hand. As soon as she'd finished her observation of the plant, she seated herself on the bench and went over her notes, while marking the opposite page with more notes to study the plant at night. He cleared his throat once she'd finished writing, and she looked over her shoulder in surprise.
"Geralt? I thought you were still sleeping?" She questioned as she stood to face him.
"Hard to sleep when you wake up alone." He commented as he pulled her into his arms and held her close to his chest.
"Yet you know that I only ever come out here in the morning when you're still asleep." She replied before placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Still, I would have liked to have woken up next to you this morning." He replied with a chuckle, knowing that she would never have wandered far without asking him to go with her. She still worried about being arrested by Witch Hunters, even though they were nowhere near Novigrad or Velen, but he certainly didn't blame her for being cautious.
"Well, you've woken up at just the right time. I've finished my studies for the morning and was just getting ready to head back in to make breakfast. Are you hungry?" She asked as she took his hand in hers.
"Starving." Geralt replied with a coy smile on his face.
She smacked his shoulder in response to reading his thoughts, which only made the two of them laugh as they made their way to the house. Yen led the way as they made their way into the foyer, and then detached herself from him to begin prepping breakfast for the two of them. Marlene, bless her heart, had gone into town for a few days to acclimate to living life as a human again, instead of as a Wraith, and to also purchase some supplies from the local farmer's market that was held in the town square. Barnabas-Basil had gone with her to help carry back the supplies, along with another young worker. The house itself was only occupied by Geralt and Yennefer, and both found immense joy in being left undisturbed.
Geralt attempted to follow Yennefer into the kitchen, but she merely kissed him before shoving him back out towards the foyer.
"Go set the table. Breakfast won't take long to prepare my love." She hummed before disappearing behind the wooden door to the kitchen.
Geralt sighed in defeat but smiled at the smile that had played on her lips. He made his way into the dining area and set the table for the two of them, grabbed a bottle of wine from the rack next to the table, and placed two glasses out for them. He grabbed a book from the small table near the kitchen wall, took a seat, and began to read as he waited for Yen to come out from the kitchen. Several minutes passed before the raven-haired sorceress made her appearance, carrying out two plates of pancakes, sliced fruit, scrambled eggs, and fried meat. Geralt took one from her and placed it off-center on the table, while Yen did the same with the other. The two of them ate between comfortable, and flirtatious, conversation, and before long, they had cleared off the plates and had made their way to the bedroom for an afternoon rendezvous of very passionate sex before falling back into a comfortable slumber in each other's arms.
Yennefer woke first a few hours later and sighed in content as she snuggled closer to Geralt beneath the covers; her naked body huddling to the warmth of his torso and embrace, one leg wrapped around his. She traced the scars on his chest absentmindedly as he slept peacefully beside her. Her body was a bit sore, and she tenderly touched the small bruises on her neck and chest with a small grin, the memory of their intense passion still very fresh in her mind. The magic that she had used was wearing off, and she was falling back into the world of sleep in her love's embrace.
At that moment, Geralt awoke and looked down at the disheveled locks that were splayed across his chest. Yen had tucked her head into the crook of his neck, and he could only smile at the image before him as he kissed the top of her head and held her closer to his body. He could feel her skin, cool to the touch, against his own, and held her closer to transfer some of his body heat to her. She snuggled up closer to him as she continued to sleep, and his heart swelled with love for his dear one as she slumbered. He gently pulled the covers up over her shoulders, and tucked her hair behind her right ear, gently running his thumb over her cheek and chin as she slept. He felt her smile as he began to drift off once again before his body began to feel slightly off.
He adjusted to try and make himself more comfortable, but the feeling persisted. Without disturbing her, Geralt gently untangled himself from her embrace, stood from the bed, and made his way over to the desk to look at his reflection in the mirror. He tilted his head from side to side, up and down, and then looked deeply into his amber eyes, but could see nothing wrong other than the sweat that coated his brow; he couldn't tell if it was from worry or from his mysterious illness, but he made his way back to the bed and sat on the edge, resting his head in his hands as he stared down at the floor. A few minutes later, he felt Yen's hand on his back, and he turned to look at her.
"What's wrong?" She asked; her voice heavy with sleep.
"Just feel… A bit strange." Geralt replied as he gave her a small smile.
"Love, what is it? What do you feel?" Yen asked as she sat upright; the quilt falling away to reveal her still naked body. She wrapped her arms around Geralt's waist and pressed her body against his back. He smiled at the feel of her bare breasts on his back. He turned to his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
"I think I might have thought of a cure, though it could just be a temporary one." He commented, blocking his thoughts from her as he felt her begin to probe his mind.
"And? What would that be?" She asked as she gazed up at him; violet eyes locked with amber.
Geralt leaned down at kissed her lips, passion fueled him as he embraced her. He lowered himself back down onto the bed and brought her up to straddle his waist. All too well, he felt the warmth between her thighs as she became more and more aroused at the thought of another round of sex.
Yen smiled into the kiss as she clenched her legs tighter around Geralt's waist, while he held tightly to her hips, egging her on as she began to rock her hips gently against his now throbbing member.
"You really are hopeless, aren't you?" She remarked after they'd broken apart from their kiss.
"And yet, you've never complained once." He chuckled before bringing his thumb down to rub her exposed clit.
She yelped in surprise at the touch of his cool fingers against her warm and tingling lips, but that was soon replaced with a deviously flirtatious smile as she leaned down to kiss him again, while also bringing her hand down to grasp his shaft and guide him to the folds of her wet opening. She slid down onto him, taking in every inch as she went, and she moaned in content with the feel of him throbbing against her walls. He grunted in response, and was soon rocking her hips with his hands, pulling her from his hips ever so slightly, just to thrust back into her once again. Each pleasured moan was more than enough encouragement for him to continue thrusting into her with measured speed.
Eventually, he began to become too comfortable with their position, and so he sat upright, stood from the bed, and then laid Yen down before he began to thrust into her again. Her perfectly rounded breasts bounced with each thrust, and Geralt couldn't help the arousal that spread through his body. The smell of lust that Yen was giving off didn't do much to prevent his new-found arousal either, and within moments, he found that Yen had wrapped her legs around his hips, and her walls had begun to tighten around his shaft. He couldn't control himself as he began to thrust harder and harder into her, bringing moans of pleasure from her lips, which were followed by her digging her nails deeper into his back, bringing a stronger sense of arousal as Geralt came closer and closer to climax. Within moments, Yen had clutched him to her body, squeezed his waist with her thighs, and began to tremble with her climax, causing Geralt to release his seed. He held her securely with one hand, kept his balance against the bed with the other, and whispered his love to Yen over and over, until she began to say it in response.
He removed himself from her folds and collapsed next to her one the bed, feeling to last of his euphoria escaping his body as he gained control once again. Yen crawled up towards the pillows and beckoned for him to follow. They came to rest, gazing into each other's eyes, while Geralt held her securely in his arms.
"I love you Yen." He mumbled into her hair as he held her close to his chest.
"And I love you my wolf… So very much…" She replied, her voice but a whisper in their bedroom.
"We should probably bathe." Geralt whispered, but Yen placed her finger to his lips.
"No, it's okay… I'd rather go back to sleep." She spoke, voice hoarse, as she began to doze off.
"How can I say no to such conviction." Geralt commented before pulling the covers up over their bare bodies.
"You can't, and we both know it." Yen chuckled as she snuggled closer to his body.
Geralt shook his head with a quick laugh as he wrapped his arms more securely around her waist. Within moments, Yen had already fallen into slumber, and Geralt was left with the silence of the bedroom as his company. His mind wandered back to his earlier thoughts, and he thought deeply on his previous feelings of unease. Was he worried? Anxious over something? Perhaps his stomach didn't agree with what he'd eaten earlier this morning? His mind raced with possibilities, and all he wanted to do was stretch his tired limbs and practice his swordsmanship. But he didn't want to wake his love. Didn't want to give her cause for concern for his wellbeing. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him, running his fingers up and down her back to lull him into restless slumber.
When Garelt awoke the next morning, alone as he had grown accustomed to be, he removed himself from bed, dressed, and made his way out to the garden. As he came closer to the greenhouse, he picked up Yen's voice immediately, and then the voice of another, younger woman. His eyes grew wide, and he practically ran to the doorway to see if his ears had failed him.
Ashen hair sat beside raven locks, and he knew then that his ears hadn't deceived him.
"Ciri…" He breathed, breaking the two women from their conversation.
"Geralt!" She exclaimed, leaping from her seat next to Yen and into his awaiting embrace.
He hugged his little girl close to him, breathing in her scent, internally kicking himself hoping that this was not a dream. When she placed a soft kiss to his cheek, he knew that this was no dream. That she was here, in the flesh, and in his arms once again.
"Oh Ciri… How I've missed you…" Geralt spoke as he held her ever tighter.
"I've missed you too!" She exclaimed, wrapping her arms tighter around his shoulders before letting go.
Geralt set her back down on the ground and cupped her cheeks in his hands, looking over the young woman his little girl had become, and noting not a scratch on her excluding the scar over her eye.
"You haven't changed a bit since I last saw you. It's been ages… How long are you staying?" Geralt finally asked as he gazed into Ciri's playful emerald eyes.
"As long as you'll have me. I'm taking a bit of a break from the Path. Need to rest up before I take anymore contracts on." Ciri replied as she plopped back down next to Yen. "Yennefer has been telling me all about life here at Corvo Bianco, and how you've started having wine produced." She continued, recounting the list of things that Yen had just told her not long before Geralt had walked into the greenhouse.
"Ciri, enough about me, let's hear some of your stories. Where have you been? What have you been up to?" Geralt finally got in when Ciri paused for a moment to recall another part of the list of life in Corvo Bianco.
"Me? Hmmm… Well, I've done quite a fair bit of contracts as a Witcher. Taken down a few Werewolves, hunted some Griffins. I met up with Lambert and Kiera to take down an Ancient Leshen that had been terrorizing a local village." Ciri spoke. Yen and Geralt fell into peaceful bliss while listening to their adopted daughter recount her own adventures as of late.
"How are those two? No one's heard from them in ages." Yen asked as she gently took Ciri's hand in her own.
"They're doing wonderfully. Seems like their relationship has gotten stronger over the time that they've been travelling together. But who can really say when it comes to Lambert." Ciri remarked, poking fun at her adoptive elder brother.
Contrary to how he had behaved when Ciri was younger, Lambert always took great care to keep an eye on the young girl. He never let her stray too far from Kaer Morhen, didn't let her swing around any weapons that were too heavy for her, and didn't allow her near the alchemy lab until she was old enough to learn how to mix potions and oils. And Geralt could recall every story that Lambert had ever told Ciri. Every kindness that he had shown the young girl as she was growing up. The memories he now saw flash before his eyes brought a smile to his face.
"It's good to hear that they are doing well. And that Keira has been able to put up with Lambert all this time." Geralt remarked with a laugh as he pictured the headstrong Witcher and the equally headstrong sorceress.
"I'm more surprised by Keira wanting to travel with him. Do you suppose that she chose to settle down with him?" Yen asked as she looked over to Geralt.
"Well, I know I have a wonderful relationship with a certain raven-haired sorceress… Can't say the same for Lambert though. I honestly never saw him as being the type to settle down, especially with a sorceress." Geralt chuckled as he took Yen's other hand in his own.
"Yes, and I suppose you plan to keep it that way?" She asked devilishly with a smile gracing her pale lips.
"Wouldn't have it any other way." Geralt replied before capturing those lips in a kiss.
"I've told Geralt already, but I'm just so glad that the two of you wound up together." Ciri chimed in. Her voice danced with her happiness as she looked between her adoptive parents.
"You knew about the Djinn, yes?" Yen asked as she looked over to the smiling young woman at her side.
"Yes, Geralt told me all about it. And about how you both captured another Djinn to break the wish of the first Djinn. And how, even though you'd always been bound by magic for so many years, you still developed a relationship that didn't need magic to keep it together." Ciri recalled the story like it was yesterday.
"That's right. I'm glad you know, and that you are here with us." Yen replied as she wrapped her arm over Ciri's shoulders.
"I am too. It's so peaceful here." Ciri remarked. She took a deep breath in and exhaled with a smile on her face.
"Ciri, dear, why don't you head back inside and get yourself set up in the guestroom. It's up the stairs past our bedroom. I'd like a moment with Geralt." Yen spoke softly now, almost as if she was nervous about a moment alone with her love.
Ciri, though, was no rookie when it came to conversations like this. She did as she was asked and made her way back to the house to unpack her bags that were currently attached to her mare. As soon as she was out of earshot, Yen broke her gaze of the house and instead looked down to the ground. Geralt sensed worry in her posture. As if she was afraid to speak to him. He sat down beside her, never once taking his hand from hers, or breaking his gaze from her face, even though she was refusing to meet his eyes.
"Geralt… I wanted to talk to you before I knew that Ciri was coming by, but now is as good a time as any, I suppose…" Yen whispered as she held tighter to his hand.
"Yen… Please, tell me what's wrong." Geralt pleaded with his love, trying to break the ice between them.
"I need to travel for a while. I will check in, of course, but there's something amiss, and I need to figure out what it is." Yen allowed the words out, and finally looked up into Geralt's eyes.
"What? Why?" He asked, clearly taken aback by her sudden need to leave their home, and so soon after Ciri had gotten there.
"Please Geralt, I need you to understand. I don't fully know what's happening, and I need to focus my attention to the matter. I will write you as often as I can, so that you may stay updated and in contact with me." Yen continued, clearly, to Geralt, not telling the whole truth.
"Yen…" He sighed, exhasperated, "What is scaring you away? Can you tell me? Give me a hint maybe?" He asked but was again greeted with the silence of her gaze.
"As soon as I know something, I will be in touch. Besides, it won't be horribly lonely in my absence. Ciri is here. I'm sure the two of you will find something to do together, even if it's just swordplay." Yen joked, trying to break Geralt's tense stare.
"Promise me, Yen…. Promise me that you will be okay, and that you will send for me the minute that you are in trouble. I will be there for you." Geralt finally conceded to his love's request.
"I promise, my wolf. I promise." She whispered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a tight embrace.
Geralt held her as close to his body as he could, not wanting to let her go for fear that she would simply disappear.
"Stay the night…" He whispered into her hair before nuzzling into the crook of her neck.
"Of course I will… It will probably be some time before we will see each other again. I wouldn't refuse another night wrapped in your arms." She whispered back as she ran her fingers through his hair.
The two of them stood and made their way to the house. They shared dinner with Ciri, who filled them in on a good majority of her contracts from the last few months, before the young woman finally began to feel the onset of sleep. Geralt, seeing the exhaustion play at the corners of her eyes, carried Ciri up to her room and placed her in her bed, making sure that she was tucked in and comfortable before he went back downstairs to his own room. Yennefer was already dressed down in her undergarments and was seated on the edge of the bed waiting for him. Geralt removed his own clothing and sat down beside her, taking her body into his embrace. He could feel her trembling in his arms, as if she was fighting back tears. He gently pulled her onto his lap and began to rock her back and forth to quell her fears.
"It's all right my love… Ciri and I will manage. We'll keep in contact with each other, and I will only be a letter away from coming to you. I'll make sure the house is kept tidy in your absence, since I know how much you hate a messy home." Geralt whispered in between the small hiccups that broke free from Yen's lips.
"I will never understand the calmness that you feel, even in the face of grave danger. And it's one of the many reasons why I love you." Yen commented as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into its crook.
"There's no danger here. Ciri is sleeping soundly upstairs. It's just you and me right now." Geralt commented as he rubbed small circles on Yen's back.
"As much as I enjoy when we make love, it's the last thing on my mind right now… Geralt… Just hold me…" Yen whispered the last part as if saying these words for the first time.
Geralt would never deny Yen what she asked for. He smiled, kissed her forehead, both cheeks, and then her lips before lying down and covering the two of them with the quilt. He wrapped his arms firmly around her waist and pulled her back into his chest. She held his arms securely in place with her own and began to trace the old scars that lined his skin. He placed soft kisses on her shoulders and the back of her neck, all while whispering sweet nothings into her ears. As her mind began to drift towards sleep, she let herself relax fully into both the pillows and the blankets and ran her hands over Geralt's arms once more. He gently tightened his grip for a second before allowing himself to relax enough to sleep as well. When he heard her soft breaths in his ears, he allowed sleep to overtake him.