A/N: A whole lot of mushy comfy moments with Geralt being protective and a bit of playful banter. Not a lot of story in this one, so feel free to skip it if the aforementioned are not your jam.
If someone had told her she'd be spending a weekend in bed with Geralt… well, let's just say this wasn't what she'd have in mind. The entire time, he didn't let her out of bed for anything other than going to the bathroom and, although she appreciated how selflessly he was caring for her, his continuous refusal to let her do anything and his stubbornness to do everything in her stead was wearing on her. Of course, she had no real reason to complain. Spending the day being cuddled was nothing to scoff at, and she embraced the tenderness with glee, but she also wanted to make herself useful. She felt much better and all his fussing over her every step was becoming unnecessary. When he went as far as insisting she call Elly to ask her to take over her seminars the next day, she had to put her foot down.
"No, Geralt! That's absolutely out of the question! Elly has her own classes to attend to. Besides, I feel fine and there's no reason for me to stay home. There are only three days left until Christmas break. I want to see everyone at work and wish them happy holidays. They'll all be off until after New Year's and by then we'll be by Ciri's side. It might be a long time before I see any of my friends again."
"Fine, but I'm not letting you out of my sight. If I see you even remotely tired, I'm taking you home. No discussions."
"What? And how do you plan to do that? You'll throw me over your shoulder and carry me off in the middle of class?" she asked, amused.
"Something like that."
She looked at him incredulously. He had to be joking.
"If you think I won't do it, you're mistaken. I said I'd take care of you and I plan to keep my word. There'll be no martyrdom from you on my watch."
"That's ridiculous. Besides, won't the Director be expecting you to come in tomorrow?"
"No, I spoke to him already. I'm free to take the day off. There's nothing for me to kill at the moment. Not until they track down some fleders or ekimmas."
"That's one bit of good news. At least my bluff paid off."
"Mhm," he answered, avoiding her eyes.
"What is it?" She poked at his ribs. "Are they having any trouble? It's barely been two days!" She attempted to sit up, only to find herself eased back down by Geralt's firm hands.
He rolled his eyes and looked at her, annoyed. "Would you just rest?"
"I am resting. Not like you're letting me do anything else. But you're keeping something from me and I want to know what it is. You should know by now that if you don't tell me, I'll keep fretting and it'll be worse."
"You're truly impossible." He sighed. "The Director wanted me to ask you to come see him when you have a chance. Nothing urgent," he assured her before she even asked. "He said he has a personal request. But you don't have to do it. I can tell him you have more important things to attend to."
"More important things?" She smirked. "Leaving a permanent imprint on this mattress is definitely more important and will take all of my attention. You can tell him I'll come to see him Tuesday afternoon."
"I won't tell him anything just yet. He can stand to wait a bit, and besides, I'm not convinced you're up to it."
"Of course you're not. I can't do anything if you barely even let me out of bed… and not for the reasons I'd hoped."
She made to get out of bed with clumsy movements and Geralt came to her side to support her. Her legs felt like jello under her. With a stern wave of her hand, she refused his help. It was nothing more than numbness from prolonged inactivity and the only cure was walking it off.
"I'm fine to stand on my own. I've been lying in bed for too long."
Steadying herself as much as possible, she walked to the kitchen with a worried-looking Geralt by her side. She avoided knocking over a large trash bag just sitting on the other side of the bedroom door.
"What the hell is in there?" she asked, nudging the bag with her toes.
"Their surveillance equipment. I'll be dumping it on the Director's desk first chance I get."
"Geralt, there's no need to antagonize the man," she chided.
"Yeah, no need. But I want to. He practically used you as bait. If you weren't you, you'd probably be dead."
"He's not the one who sent me there."
"Yeah, that's why he's not the only one with whom I have a bone to pick."
He attempted to duck under her and lift her up into his arms, but she evaded him.
"Would you please let me stretch my legs and make dinner?"
He crossed his arms over his chest and pursed his lips. "You can stretch them all the way to that chair." He nodded towards the closest chair. "I'll cook us dinner. Nothing fancy, just a steak, but it'll help your body produce new red blood cells."
"Hmm," she hummed, one corner of her mouth slightly raised.
"I read up on blood loss," he said as he took over the kitchen. "It's a miracle you're standing at all, considering the amount you lost. You need red meat, lots of water and rest. Sit."
She begrudgingly obeyed him, but still argued her case from her seat.
"You do realize that I'm not normal, right? My body recovers much faster… even without food."
"Perfect! Imagine how much faster it will be with food!" he quipped back with his usual sarcasm.
She sulked and watched him from her seat with her chin resting in her palm. He looked remarkably at home, wielding the pan and spatula, foraging for items he needed in the fridge and pantry. One would have never guessed how recently he had become acquainted with this world.
"This makes me feel so useless," she groaned. "At least let me help. Pass me those veggies, a knife, and a peeler. I can make a salad while sitting down."
He squinted at her, and she didn't need to read his mind to see he was thinking of any plausible reason to deny her request.
"Come on! I'm healthy enough to peel and chop vegetables. Yesterday morning you thought I was healthy enough for you to bed. Repeatedly, I might add."
"That was before I read..."
"I truly wish you hadn't read anything! Now pass me what I asked."
He complied, but kept his eyes on her, looking to see if there was any sign of weakness in her hands. She couldn't decide if his care was endearing or annoying. Once he was convinced she could manage, he turned back to the stove.
"When do you want to leave to see your parents?" he asked, his back to her.
His question was so unexpected it stunned her into silence, and when he didn't get an answer, he looked over his shoulder to check on her.
"I expect you'll want to see them before we leave. You might not get another chance for a while and I don't want you regretting it."
She wanted to see them. She really did. But that left the door open for another question. Would he want to come with her? She hadn't even thought of it since they both agreed it was too early for such things. Was it still too early?
Her mouth went dry. "Would you like to meet them?" she finally gathered the courage to ask.
He shrugged. "Only if you want me to." He turned back to check on the food.
"I'm not forcing you, if that's what you mean. I'm genuinely asking to know if you'd be interested."
"Actually, it's one of the two things I've had on my mind since last week."
"You were thinking about my parents?" she asked incredulously.
"In a way, but not exactly. I was wondering if this thing between us is official or not."
"Official? You mean to say you can't tell? I introduced you to Elly and Darren as my boyfriend."
"To be honest, I'm not sure what that means here. The word sounds childish. I'm neither a boy nor a friend. Or better said, not just a friend. At least so I hope."
"Fine, you make a good point, your neither. I'll have to think of a better word for you."
"What I meant was, now I have an identity and a proper job. Here I'm not seen as a mutant, nor a killer. I'm an upstanding citizen with whom you could have a future, not just a man you take to bed. Maybe I could even be a man you can present to your family…" he suggested timidly, to her great astonishment. Timid was one word she'd never thought to use when describing him to anyone.
"I admit you caught me off guard with all of this. I had made my peace with having only a video call with my family for the holidays…"
"Nevermind then…" As if the disappointment in his voice wasn't enough, his shoulders slumped a bit.
"Perhaps you should hear the rest before dismissing me."
He turned to look at her with wary eyes. Did he really think he was her dirty secret? Only a lover and nothing more? If he did, he wouldn't for much longer.
"I intended on having a video call, but nothing would make me happier than seeing my family in person with you by my side and introducing you as the man I love."
She beamed at him, and a relieved smile bloomed on his lips. "Then I'd love to go with you and meet them."
"But I have to warn you," she said, "I don't know how things stand where you're from, what customs you may have, but here it's a pretty serious thing to take someone home to meet your parents."
"I wouldn't know. No one has taken me to meet their parents thus far. You'll be the first. I've actually been shoved inside a closet or two just to keep one's parents from seeing me. Quite uncomfortable, maybe a five out of ten. Wouldn't repeat unless absolutely necessary."
His stern face as he spoke sent her into a fit of laughter.
"Oh, you poor thing! I won't shove you in any closets. You'll meet them in plain daylight."
"I imagine I'll be under scrutiny."
"Indeed. Questions will be asked. Assumptions will be made. Oh, I don't think you know what you have gotten yourself into! My parents are nice people, but my mom doesn't censor herself... at all! She'll say whatever she's thinking, best be prepared for that."
"Are you deliberately trying to scare me off?" he joked as he put a plate of food in front of her. "Because it's working. I might hide in the closet out of my own free will. No shoving required."
"Come on! The great monster hunter is afraid of two feeble elderly humans? Pish posh! You'll handle them wonderfully, I'm sure!" She laughed at his distraught expression. "Really, you have nothing to worry about. They only care if I'm happy or not, that's all."
"And are you? Happy, I mean?"
He looked at her with warm eyes, full of care. How could she not love him? It was impossible to feel anything but bliss when her chest swelled under his gaze.
"I'm the happiest I've ever been."
She matched his warmth with her smile as his hand reached over to hers. His thumb brushed gently over her knuckles, tenderness coursing through his touch as he lifted her hand to his lips, his eyes still pinned to hers. There was no need for words, he looked as happy as she felt and that was enough. He released her hand with a content smile and encouraged her to eat before the food grew cold.
"You said you had two things on your mind. What was the second?" she asked once they settled on the couch after dinner, with her curled into his side, his arm protectively around her shoulders.
"You once offered to help me learn more about my mother and her motives. Are you still willing to do that?"
"Of course I am. You don't even have to ask," she answered while wrapping her arms tighter around his waist. "Although I'm a little surprised you changed your mind. Last time I proposed it, you wouldn't even consider it."
He shook his head. "I'm still not sure I'm ready to dig up that part of my past. Don't think I'll ever be. Some things are better left buried and there's a good chance I won't like what I'll find. But…"
"But?"
He sighed. "But if there's even an infinitesimal chance that what I learn could help Ciri, I have to do it."
"I can't promise you that. I don't know what we'll find, but it might prove useful. If nothing else, it will put some old demons to rest."
"Alright. Then, once you're better..."
"I already am better!"
"Fine, once you are even better, you can help me."
"How about tonight?" she asked.
"No, not tonight, but maybe before we leave to see your parents. It would be nice to know something about mine beforehand."
"As you wish," she conceded. "Christmas is next Sunday, so if we fly in on Friday, it'll be perfect. We'll have plenty of time to explore your past and settle whatever business the Director might have with us."
A shadow passed over his face, and then it dawned on her.
"I just realized this means you'll get to fly!"
He groaned and raised an eyebrow. "Must we? I'm not fond of driving, but I expect it's still better than flying."
"Yes, we must!" She laughed. "Relax, I won't be the one piloting the plane, and I'm not wasting a whole day driving when the flight there takes only two hours. I'll book our tickets and that's that."
"Fine. As long as you're not the one flying." His deadpan delivery got her laughing again. He stifled a smirk and continued. "It'll be one more thing to tell Ciri about."
At her insistence, on Monday he reluctantly let her go about her day as she normally would. At first glance, she appeared recovered, but he kept a close watch on her in case she showed any signs of fatigue. She called herself resilient, but that was just a euphemism for sheer stubbornness in all forms, and she had plenty of it.
Elly greeted them with her characteristic cheer and prattled on about her Christmas tree and the ski trip she was taking with Darren and their kids. The mood in the entire university was light and carefree. Everyone - teachers too, but especially the students - was itching for some time off and a general excitement floated in the air at the thought of the fast-approaching holiday season.
He couldn't say he truly understood them. It was a foreign celebration, and it wasn't even a single event being celebrated; each local faith had its own meaning for the winter holiday, but there was one thing that was common between all of them. Presents. He had to get her something and find a way to keep it a surprise. An idea crystallized in his mind, but he still needed to get away for a while without her suspecting the reason. Lying to her wasn't something he was enthusiastic about, but he reckoned that showing up empty-handed would be worse. Besides, it was just a small white lie.
He pretended to check his phone. "I need to work on Thursday. If you'll be feeling well by then, of course," he said to her during a break.
She nodded without even questioning him.
"I'm feeling well already, you should really stop worrying so much. You can take care of your work without rushing and I'll take advantage of that time to invite Kathy and Sylvie over to our place for coffee on Thursday. I haven't seen them since we went out to the club. Between you and the new project, I haven't had time for anyone else, and I really want to see them before the holidays. Not to mention that I need to apologize for how I disappeared on them that night."
"I'm sure your brother already did that. It seems his style."
She smiled. "True, but it still was anything but polite of me. I'm lucky I have very understanding friends."
"Hope you're not regretting leaving with me that night," he joked.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Is this where I bolster you? Tell you how utterly amazing you were?"
He could tell her she had screamed it plenty of times for him to know it to be true, and he was only teasing now, so he smiled smugly and swallowed his reply.
"I hope you have a good time with your friends," he said instead. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, but I'm glad you'll have company meanwhile."
"Mhm, what you mean to say is you're glad someone will keep an eye on me while you're away."
"You make me sound so overbearing."
"That's cause you are!" she huffed, amused. "Overbearing and insufferably fussy."
"Only because I love you." He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her delicate ear and leaned in to kiss her. "Besides, someone has to defend you from your own stubbornness," he whispered next to her lips.
"That's like the pot calling the kettle black," she scoffed.
He took his seat and continued to watch her as she soldiered through the gruelling long day as if she hadn't almost lost her life mere days ago. Apparently, nothing could put a dampen in her cheer. Especially now that the holidays were so close.
The mood in the classroom was light-hearted. The kids were cracking jokes, dreaming about mulled wine and their mothers' cooking. Some were planning trips, others were settling for the dorm parties that were sure to come, none were thinking of anything other than fun. He envied their privilege. In his life, there was never a time when he was perfectly careless, with no worry about the next day, food, shelter, or danger. Then he realized that at that moment his only immediate worries were what present to buy for her and if her parents would like him. He smiled to himself, thinking that this was as careless as he'd ever get, and it wouldn't last much longer, so he'd better make the most of it.