A/N: apparently i'm two chapters behind crossposting with this fic so a double update ahead for anyone interested i guess :p

Ch.6. Besotted Blue

"Can I come with you?"

Yennefer sighs.

He can't come with her; he's a small child and she's sure the Lord she's visiting won't take kindly to him being there.

"I'm sorry, little one, but I'm afraid you can't."

Buttercup's eyes water. "Please, Yenny, please?"

(Her own eyes nearly start watering at that.)

She shakes her head for what feels like the millionth time in the last week. "It's too dangerous for you."

He pouts and gives her one last offended look before letting go of her leg and running out of the room.

She watches him go, wishing there was a way to take him with her. She's just about ready to admit the last few weeks have been much more pleasant than they usually are when she comes to this particular house of hers.

(He makes it feel like a home.)

But she doesn't want him to take him to a manor where there'll be prying eyes and accusations being thrown all over the place.

So she's said no every time he's asked, which happens to have been almost every day - nobody had warned her that little kids could be so stubborn and have such good memories.

(A part of her recognises he's not like most kids.)

By the time he comes running back to her in the evening with another bouquet of wildflowers and a firm pout, she finds that her resolve is wearing thin and she's becoming more and more tempted to say yes.

"Can we have jam again?" he asks as he holds out the flowers.

She takes them from him, raising her eyebrows. "You don't need to give me flowers to have jam, Buttercup."

He just shrugs.

And of course, they have jam again.

(They'd finished it yesterday but what is magic for if not to cater to a child's culinary desires?)

It's only when Buttercup has yawned for the seventh time that Yennefer picks him up and tucks him into his bed, even though she knows full well that he'll quietly slide into hers in a few hours.

He mumbles what sounds like a goodnight before his eyelids droop and he drifts off.

Yennefer takes a moment to wonder why she'd become so accepting of this domestic routine so quickly but she moves on to organising her visit to the Lord who's requested her presence instead of wasting time dwelling on it.

(She dwells on it often enough anyway.)

Thankfully, she's finished her plan far before Buttercup stumbles into her room with a sleepy pout.

Instead of simply curling into her side like he normally does, he looks up at her with guilt laced into his expression. "I lied."

She smiles gently and brushes his hair back. "What about, little one?"

"Promise you won't be angry?"

He sounds so scared, it almost hurts her.

(She usually hates such promises.)

"Of course."

He nods and yawns widely before blinking his eyes open properly. "The flowers weren't for the jam."

Having been imagining the worst, relief floods through her mind the same way magic flows through her fingers upon hearing his innocent confession. She smiles at him and chuckles softly. "I guessed that already. What were they for?"

"I want to go too," he whines, looping his arms around her neck.

When she sighs, he sniffles and buries his head in her hair. "Please, Yenny? I don't want to be alone again."

Oh.

(Nor does she.)

"I'm not leaving you, I just…" She trails off because from his perspective, she is leaving him. And she's been a fool not to understand that.

She's been a fool not to realise that the strange routines they've built in the last few weeks must seem as necessary to the poor child as breathing at this point. And for her to so casually suggest leaving him must be nothing less than mildly heartbreaking.

"I'm not leaving you," she repeats before taking a deep breath. "You're coming with me."

He gasps loudly before pulling himself away from her, looking into her eyes with a joyful sort of hope she never wants to see disappear as he then asks, "You mean it?"

She nods, wrapping an arm around his small shoulders. "I mean it. Now go to sleep, okay?"

He only hums in response, settling in her lap and dozing off before she can move him and avoid waking up with pins and needles.

(She doesn't move all night anyway.)

And when he wakes up with a bright smile aimed at her, she knows it was worth it.

"Good morning," she murmurs as he grins, hugging her.

"We need to make some rules before we go," she tells him softly.

He frowns. "Can we have jam first?"

It's not even that funny but Yennefer laughs at that, laughs until her chest hurts and she feels she can't breathe, at which point she exhales slowly and nods. "Of course we can, Buttercup."

(She'd probably let him have anything he asked for at this point.)

And so they have jam yet again.

And after that, she turns to him with a serious look. "Listen, little one, the place we're going to is far bigger than this house and I need you to do as I say so we don't get split up, okay?"

"Stay with you?" he suggests, climbing into her lap.

She nods, running a hand through his hair absently. "Stay with me. And don't talk to anyone, okay?"

He looks confused but nods quickly. "Stay quiet and stay with you. I can do that!"

Yennefer smiles down at him, still surprised at how eager he is to listen to her and accept what she says without question.

(At how eager he is to stay with her.)

And then something else occurs to her.

If they're going to arrive and stay together the whole time, people are going to assume he's hers. And if it keeps him safe because they fear her wrath, she might as well make it obvious and co-ordinate their appearances.

"You're going to need new clothes," she declares, standing up so suddenly that Buttercup yelps and wobbles, clutching onto her desperately.

"Sorry," she whispers as her magic makes sure he doesn't fall off, tucking an arm under him as she leads him to his room. "What colour would you like to wear?"

"Can't I wear my doublet?" he asks, his voice small and hesitant.

She'd guessed that there was something special about his doublet since he never takes it off and she finds she doesn't have the heart to make him part with it.

"Yes, of course you can."

(She's never agreed with anyone so much in her life.)

"But can you wear something of my choice under it?" She asks carefully.

He bites his lip but nods in agreement, jumping down from her arms and waiting as she opens the little cupboard that's empty unless she wants something to magically appear inside it. As it is, she pulls out a small, purple chemise for him.

"Will you wear this so everyone knows you're with me?"

His smile is answer enough.

But he gives her a verbal one anyway. "And then we get to match?"

Yennefer smiles at him yet again., kneeling down so she's at eye-level for him. "Exactly."

He's done it enough times for her not to be entirely shocked by now but she's still startled when he throws his arms around her and grins so hard she can all but feel his happiness as he giggles out a soft "Thank you!"

(It's truly her pleasure.)

"You're welcome," she whispers back.

thanks if you're reading x