"Are you still angry?"

They were all walking today because the path was too narrow for Roach to carry anything other than their packs.

Jaskier threw the witcher a short glance.

"I'm not angry, Geralt."

"Then you are not well. – Your heart is beating too fast."

A soft snort. "I think we've established that I'm not exactly at the top of my game right now…"

"Hmmm…"

It was only an hour into their day when Geralt unexpectedly brought the group to a stop for their first break.

"Geralt…?" Ciri threw him a questioning look.

"This mountain is called Killer for a reason. We will take it slow today." He handed her his waterskin, then started to collect some berries.

"Geralt…" Jaskier joined him, addressing him quietly. "I know what you're doing. And I honestly appreciate the sentiment. But Ciri needs to get to Kaer Morhen and off this trail as quickly as possible, doesn't she." Not really a question.

The witcher handed him a handful of berries. "So?"

"So, you need to go on without me. I'll follow at a slower pace. – I promise you I'll get there, but I can't hold you back like this."

"I'm not leaving you."

Jaskier rolled his eyes at the absoluteness of the statement.

"Yeah? Is this a new rule…? 'Cause I very much remember your usual tune of 'keep up or else'… I also remember you not having any qualms about leaving me on a mountain before."

"I've learned from my mistakes," was all the witcher replied to that.

Even though the wind had almost completely died down today, the temperatures had started dropping again. Geralt wordlessly grabbed a fur from his pack and wrapped it around Jaskier's shoulders.

Holding on to his friend a little longer than necessary, the witcher's golden eyes searched conflicted blue ones. "If you can't go on at some point, I will send Yen and Ciri up to the keep to send back some help. But as long as you can keep moving at all, we're all staying together."

They continued walking shortly after that, Geralt leading Roach directly behind the bard, who was setting the pace, followed by Ciri and Yennefer at the end of their small procession.

"I betrayed you on that mountain." It was easier talking to the back of Jaskier's head, not having the bard's expressive eyes react to the painful words. "That's why it's so hard for me to believe that you didn't tell him anything. – I don't understand why you didn't betray me back." It was maybe the most honest sentiment Geralt had ever uttered, even though it sounded ridiculous to his own ears now that he had said it out loud.

Jaskier didn't reply anything for several long minutes. When he finally spoke, he kept his gaze fixed on the path before him, trusting Geralt's superior hearing to pick up his quiet words.

"Ours is the most important relationship in my life, Geralt, and you're very… dear to me, as I'm sure you know. – That doesn't change with one ugly episode between us or even a 'betrayal'."

Geralt swallowed hard at the open words and the vulnerability the bard was still willing to risk with him.

"And besides," Jaskier continued in a pointedly measured tone. "I know that you wanted to hurt me on that mountain, and you did. In fact, you may have broken my heart a little bit… And I was really, really angry for a while."

"I heard," Geralt commented laconically. "So did the rest of the continent."

A mirthless laugh.

"Yes, that wretched song… I have to admit: Even though it did come from the heart at the time, it certainly wasn't my finest hour."

"At least you made it very clear that you wanted specifically me to burn, not some generic 'witcher'."

"Yes, Geralt, at least I didn't with one song ruin everything I've been trying to accomplish over the last two decades or so…" Voice dripping of sarcasm. "Anyway. After a while, and countless renditions of said song and many similarly anguished tunes, I understood that you said what you said mainly because you were hurting yourself. – I forgave you your words long before fire-fucker found me."

Geralt felt something inexplicably loosen in his chest, but he didn't reply anything. It had not just been words that had hurt his friend that day. There had been actions as well, after; deeds of omission. How could anything he had to say make that better now?

"And even besides that," Jaskier continued unaware of his conflicting emotions, "and you should really know this much about me by now: Even if I'd still been angry at you, I would never endanger the life of an innocent child just because of some hard feelings between us. You never have to worry about something like that with me…"

Geralt briefly wondered how the cold air made his eyes suddenly water today.

"I do know that," was all he finally replied. Then, after a while: "And that wasn't 'mainly' the reason; my hurt was the only reason. Nothing I said that day was true, Jask." He stopped walking abruptly, feeling – for once – that this needed to be said and heard. "Not anything."

When he heard no movement behind him anymore, Jaskier turned around a questioning look on his face.

"Uh, Geralt? That is really nice of you to say and all, but shouldn't we… you know… keep walking?" He gestured indistinctly towards somewhere higher up the mountain. "Kaer Morhen? Your child surprise? – Remember…?" But the jocular words could not conceal the subtle smell of salt in the air, or the sudden shine in Jaskier's eyes.

Geralt stood completely still for another long moment, staring somewhat indecisively at his friend.

Then he just muttered a "Fuck it" that echoed Jaskier's greeting when they had first met again after Caingorn, in that prison cell. Letting go off the horse's reigns for the moment, Geralt took a step towards the bard and tentatively opened his arms.

Jaskier returned the fierce hug without hesitation.

"You are very dear to me, too," Geralt mumbled into the bard's hair. Then he pushed the man back a little bit to force himself to look into those still shining eyes. "I'm sorry I'm so bad at showing it most days."

Jaskier impulsively grabbed the witcher's face and gently pushed their foreheads together.

"Words like these every 20 or so years will keep me around for a while longer, I believe…"

Geralt heard the bard's smile more than he saw it.

"This will not make it into any of your songs…"

Jaskier couldn't help it, he laughed.

"Only heavily encoded in some complicated imagery, I assure you."

He let go of the witcher and slowly turned around again after giving a perplexed-looking Ciri a small wink and a smile.

He felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, some ground truth re-established by words he knew to be true but had still desperately needed to hear.

Then he took a deep breath, suddenly resolved to focus only on the next step for now, and the one after that.

They would all make it.

Together.

Thanks for reading. :) Until next time! 3