A/N: this was meant to be angst but sweet comments on ao3 meant i just extended the fluff ;p
Ch.3. Beaming Blue
It turns out Blue was fated to be quickly renamed.
(And it was partly his doing.)
Much to Yennefer's confusion, he refused to tell her his name.
Or anything, for that matter.
It took him more than the small eternity of a very long minute to unwrap himself from her neck and let her breathe properly again.
(She almost missed his warmth - almost.)
It took him well over an hour to really let go of her, as if he was scared she would disappear if they weren't physically connected.
He stayed attached to her leg or her arm or simply kept a grip of her dress as she completed all her easier tasks, tidying and writing letters and organising small battles, the like.
(It might have been funny if it wasn't so sad.)
It then took him the whole afternoon to stop trailing her wherever she went, from the kitchen to the gardens to her study, the study she'd never let anyone else even imagine, never mind remain inside with curious eyes.
(He was a quick exception.)
"Aren't you hungry?" she asks as she sees the sun rapidly sinking, looking up from the treaty she'd been analysing for loopholes.
To her surprise yet again, he merely shrugs.
And she starts wondering again, wondering why he can be satisfied with so little when most humans she's met have been perpetually hungry, needy, greedy, never turning anything down, especially if it came for free.
(She rarely ever gave anything for free, though.)
"Are you?" he asks, speaking up for the first time since she'd told him he could stay.
She blinks at him, confusing.
"Are you hungry?" he asks again, tilting his head to one side as if wondering where all her intelligence had gone.
Yennefer glances over him properly, making a note to find him some shoes, before her gaze settles on something blue peeking out from under his unfastened doublet.
"Come here," she asks softly, reaching out a beckoning hand.
He does so immediately.
(She doesn't let herself dwell on the beauty of his trust.)
Smiling at him so as not to worry him, she gently pushes aside his doublet, trying to get a better look at his necklace and see why it had caught her attention - It's simple and beautiful and she wonders who gave it to him.
"It's like me," he explains before she can ask.
"I'm sorry?"
He smiles at her, at the necklace, and at her again. There's something sorrowful nestled in his expression as he looks up at her, "It's me and my flowers."
Yennefer nods slowly, glancing between his eyes and the small flower, focusing on figuring out what he means rather than questioning where the small pendant came from.
(Questioning who gave it to him.)
"You're a buttercup?"
He frowns for a moment, something dark and cloudy and deadly in his eyes, before nodding with a bright smile.
"Well then," she smiles, "it's nice to meet you, buttercup."
He positively beams at her and she can't help but agree that his smile is golden and he is truly an accurate namesake, not that she plans to admit that aloud any time soon.
(But it's not like she'd planned for any of this.)
"Thank you," he whispers solemnly.
It takes her far longer than it should to remember what she was doing in the first place, at which point her eyes widen. "Food!"
Buttercup frowns at her. "Are you hungry?" he asks again.
She wants to laugh or scowl but she does neither, simply standing and, to her own shock as well as his, holding out her hand for him to take. Which he does, without hesitation, a beaming smile on his face yet again.
(He smiles too much for her.)
Their meal is quicker this time, his abilities regarding spoons much better the second time round, and she finds herself with an armful of tired gratitude far too quickly for her to have prepared for it.
"Hey, buttercup…" she trails off, deciding not to dislodge him.
He only settles further, his head against her shoulder as if they were made to be pieces of a puzzle slotting together.
She lets him be, simply summoning the treaty from her study and continuing to read it above his head, making notes on what to change in both the relevant King's and her own favour as she goes, knowing he won't question her choices in the slightest.
Only when she notices that the boy's grip is loosening does she stop, glancing down at him, his drooping eyes.
"Buttercup?" she whispers slowly, nudging him as carefully as she can.
(Being careful comes to her with great difficulty.)
"Mhmm?" he blinks up at her, lifting a hand to rub his eyes as he yawns.
Her muscles move on instinct: she smiles.
It catches her off guard and she forgets to reply, but he doesn't seem to mind, letting his head drop back onto her shoulder with a small, content sigh. As much as she wants to stay where they are, she knows they can't.
"Let's get you to a bed," she murmurs, then pauses.
Exhaling softly, she clenches her jaw and picks him up, her arms wrapped firmly around him and her magic ready to catch him if she drops him.
(She doesn't, not even nearly.)
He giggles quietly, locking his legs together around her waist, pressing himself against her, radiating a joy she hasn't felt in years, decades, possibly ever.
Without really thinking about it, she takes him to the spare room closest to hers, it's the smallest one but she doesn't think he'll mind because he's so small himself.
"Come on, down you go," she whispers, kneeling beside the bed.
He blinks groggily, slowly untangling himself from her and flopping onto the bed, only for his eyes to widen.
She thinks she's done something wrong but then he giggles, sitting up and bouncing on the bed with glee shining in the blue of his beaming eyes.
Yennefer squints at him. "What is it?"
He just continues to giggle, his sleepiness temporarily paused as he continues to bounce as if he's never seen a mattress before, occasionally throwing himself backwards only to bounce back up again with a grin.
(His careless happiness is nearly painful.)
"It's soft!" he exclaims, beaming at her as if she'd invented beds.
She just nods, equal parts amused and bemused. "It's just a mattress?"
"Mattress? Mattress… I like mattress!"
Slightly out of her depth yet again, Yennefer just nods, shuffling a little closer to the bed. "That's great, buttercup, but you're meant to just sleep on them."
As if on cue, he yawns again, his eyes watering with the force of it. But he nods dutifully, flopping down once again and giggling when he bounces a little before settling properly, looking up at her with another pure smile.
"Can I jump on the… the mattress tomorrow?"
"Of course," Yennefer promises, even though she's confused as to why he's so happy with such small, almost insignificant demands.
(She's also confused as to why she's happy he wants to stay.)
"Thank you," he mumbles, stretching his arms as he rolls onto his side.
"Goodnight, buttercup," she whispers, reaching a hand out but thinking better of it, choosing to simply watch him until she feels his breathing relax into the rhythm of sleep.
There's something about such a small child trusting her to keep him safe that fills her with confusion and dread and what might be warmth, it's not every day that she's faced with such a strangely comforting responsibility.
(It might be her favourite responsibility so far.)
And if she enchants the blanket to keep him warm all night, well, nobody has to know.
not-yet-jaskier growing on yennefer is definitely actual plot, what do you mean? ;)
Thanks for reading! Review with thoughts? xx