every_blossom_blooming | after the fall festival

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after the fall festival

Nina couldn't remember the last time she had fun like this. She'd had fun, happy moments, but all of them against the backdrop of something moving beyond her control. Maybe Darrow was no different, in the end, but at least here she wasn't coerced into debt, she wasn't constantly waiting for the next thing she would have to do for the gang that offered her protection. She still worried: she worried about Ravka, about the moment she left behind, about her friends.

But all day today she had not let a single one of those things bother her. She'd danced until she felt like she would drop and only then did she let Geralt guide her away from the square and the music, and she happily pressed against his side, her arm draped around his waist.

"Thank you," she said warmly; in the dying sunlight her eyes had become a deep green. The gratitude was heartfelt, the feeling infused each simple word. Her cheeks were still flush from their joyous exertion. "It's been a long, long time since I danced like that."

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Everything in her softened and Nina leaned down to kiss the tip of Geralt's straight nose. "Yes," she murmured, a little smile on her lips. "We have cardinals in Ravka."

And he wasn't the first person to call her little red bird.

"I like it. And you're cute when you blush." She smiled and plucked the bottle of wine from his hand.

"What?" Geralt gave a soft little laugh, at the way she seemed to melt above him. Gone was the mischief that usually hung around her demeanor, replaced with something very gentle, very young.

He gave up the wine readily, though he turned beneath her to reach for the basket. She'd said she'd brought along some food. He found he needed some, after, although he hadn't felt hungry at the time.

Her bottom was a warm and sturdy weight over his thighs.

"Should we get dressed? In case?"

In the basket, Geralt would find slices of meat, cheese, and bread, along with a large bunch of grapes and a few apples, and her tin of ginger snaps.

"Someone called me something like that before, I don't know what that says about me. But I like hearing it from you."

She took a drink from the bottle and helped to get the basket closer so she could could reach it. She didn't seem eager to give up her seat. Nina made a face at the thought of getting dressed.

"I suppose I could put my dress back on."

Geralt made a sound of relief and pleasure to discover just what ina considered snacks. He didn't know if she'd done it for his sake, or for her own, but he was appreciative of that propensity of hers regardless. He pulled out some of the packages and set them on the blanket.

"It's not too dark for you up here? I could help."

Geralt gave her another long, lazy once-over, face gentle and filled with lingering desire. He could be happy, just staring at her for hours. But he doubted she would be so happy just sitting there being enjoyed.

"Just thinking of your honor," he teased. "Whatever's left of it now that you've spoilt it by bedding an evil, greedy witcher."

"Besides, you seem to be enjoying the view. How could I deny you that?" She winked at him, but she did adjust the blanket over her shoulders.

"If you want to put together a few and feed me, I'm not going to fight you." Nina could see alright - enough to tell the difference between slices of cheddar, kielbasa, and baguette slices - but she wouldn't mind Geralt taking care of her.

Nina laughed and rolled her eyes. "Please, obviously you've been bewitched by the unnatural powers of a Grisha," she quipped.

"It's a good view," Geralt said, earnest again. "One of the better ones. And I grew up in a remote Kaedweni mountain valley."

He took the hint and began assembling for Nina as well as himself. He suspected she could see well enough, but he had no way of actually knowing. His own eyes adjusted quickly, naturally, to nearly anything. Geralt couldn't remember what the world had looked like before.

The witcher held one of the bites out to her, before sticking one in his own mouth. He held it between his teeth while he leaned to reach for her dress, and his own briefs.

He stood to pull them on, white skin bright in the moonlight.

Nina accepted the bite happily; she slid off Geralt's lap so that he could stand and cover up. She took a moment to appreciate the view; he looked good in the faint moonlight and starlight.

She reluctantly pulled her dress back on, not bothering with any of her underthings. She would just make sure not to forget them up here when they left.

"Will you stay the night?" she asked as she started constructing another few bites for both of them.

Edited 2017-10-29 03:12 (UTC)

He reached for his trousers next, the thick hunter green curdoroy he'd worn to the festival earlier. He hadn't expected to end up here. He might have dressed more nicely if he had, at least, in his own vision of nicely. He might have brushed his teeth before leaving, might have trimmed his beard.

But Nina never seemed to mind. Never seemed to complain. That, too, was refreshingly unlike Yennefer.

"That's what you'd like?"

He sat himself down again and reached for his unbuttoned shirt. And the wine bottle.

Nina gave him a soft look as he sat down again. "Yes," she answered. "That's what I'd like." She considered a moment and added, "If it won't bother you."

She knew, sometimes, the city was too much for him. She hoped her apartment was a little oasis, at least. She tried to make it that way: she'd gotten heavier curtains to block out sound at night, and the street lights.

She ran her fingers through her hair, fluffing it a bit to get it out from under the collar of her dress.

"Not tonight," he said, and nodded his assent, so that she knew he meant that it wouldn't bother him. He hadn't been doing any hunting in the last few days, fortunately. He hadn't taken any decoctions, any philtres. He was feeling relatively human, in the greater scheme of things. It wouldn't be unbearable to spend the night in Nina's apartment with her, rather than at his camp in the woods.

Plus, the nights were growing damp and cold. Geralt could handle the weather, physically, but it was bad for his mood and worse for the ache in his bad leg.

"Maybe we could watch a movie."

He liked movies. He also didn't use his own television, at the apartment. He didn't know how and refused to learn. He looked young, but he was old at heart.

"Mmm, a movie and then a bath," she said.

The idea of a nice, warm, extended bath with Geralt before sinking into her nice, warm bed for the night sounded lovely. How often had Matthias complained about her un-soldier-like affinity for sleeping in and indulging herself?

Too many to count.

"If the winter makes the city any easier to endure, you're welcome to stay here as often as you want," she offered. She wasn't sure he would take her up on it, but maybe she had some hope that he might. She knew his senses were assaulted, especially his sense of smell, especially if he'd done anything to enhance everything to hunt. But the winter, she hoped, would bury the worst of the smells in cold.

It was the one thing that made winters in Ketterdam bearable. Everything smelled less, even in the Barrel. Especially in the Barrel.

"It'll be warm. I already know my bed - or even the couch - is more comfortable than your nest. There's a bathtub. I bake." And she felt she was getting pretty good at it, now. She listed off all these as if Geralt weren't already perfectly aware of them.

"Nina."

Geralt stared at her warmly, before shoving some of the food in his mouth again. He was actually famished, despite how much he'd eaten at the festival.

"You don't have to sell me on it. I want to be there. All I ask is you don't judge me for using your bath products."

He actually liked them. He knew the other witchers, especially Vesemir, would have given him hell for it. But Geralt had a hidden taste for luxury. And shit that smelled great.

Edited 2017-10-29 03:47 (UTC)

She relaxed at the reassurance and she moved closer to him, lightly pressing to his side. Nina kissed Geralt's cheek, because she certainly wouldn't interrupt his eating.

"At least I know you'll smell nice," she quipped. She didn't mind that he used her products, and she found it strangely endearing when she buried her nose in his hair and caught the faint scent of her sandalwood.

Nina didn't know what to do with the fact that she simply liked having Geralt near her, in her space. She liked the idea that she might look up at any moment and see him. She was glad for the dark in that moment, because she was almost certain she was blushing.

"Are you sure all that's enough to overpower me?" he asked, teasing, as he made sure to eat a bit more than might seem couth before starting to pack up. The mention of a bath had made him eager to soak his leg.

"Heard I've got an odor."

"Mmm, more of a musk. And it's not unpleasant." Nina ate a bit more before Geralt packed up. She rose lazily so they could fold the blankets for easier carrying, and she made sure to grab her bra and panties.

She took the basket and let Geralt carry the blankets - he had longer arms - and carefully made her way back down into the building. She was grateful to find that she hadn't locked them out - in their rather mad dash through earlier, she had put her keys down and forgotten to take them again before they headed to the roof. Probably because a certain witcher had simply picked her up and carried her off.

"Bath first or movie first? Dealer's choice."

It was a hard choice, and Geralt seemed to earnestly consider it for a good, long moment as he packed the blankets away carefully where he knew they belonged, and kicked off his shoes and stockings.

"Bath," he decided. That way, they would fall asleep in front of the movie, and not in the water. And also, they could take as long as they wanted. Until they were pruney all over, preferably.

He caught Nina by the shoulders and stole a kiss against her mouth.

Nina smiled at him, and before she could say anything, Geralt kissed her. She smiled beneath his mouth, hummed her soft approval and let herself sink against him for a moment.

As Geralt lifted his head, gently breaking from her, a grin blossomed across her face.

"If this is a ploy to get me naked again, it's working," she cooed, as if she hadn't been the one to offer a bath in the first place.

She escaped his arms and wandered toward her bathroom, removing her dress again as she went.

"Do I need a ploy?" Geralt asked. He followed after her, obedient as a puppy, stripping pieces of clothing off and leaving them where they fell as he moved.

He watched her in the bathroom, naked, hands on the doorway. His eyes had returned to tight slits under the artificial lighting in the apartment. They fell, self-indulgently, onto the swell of her bottom.

Nina's mouth fell open and she turned back to him, holding her dress to her chest in a play at modesty. "Are you suggesting that I'm immodest, witcher?"

Then she smirked and threw her dress so it would land over his head unless he caught it.

She tried to avoid most of the overhead lighting in her apartment, but the bathroom was the one place she couldn't quite get away from it. Nina leaned to start the water running - and maybe she made it a point to be coquettish then. She made sure the temperature was nice and warm before she stopped the drain.

"Hmm... do we want bath oil?"

The witcher had the reflexes to grab the shift of fabric before it hit him, but he let it land over his head anyway, and then let it sit there fore a moment, before removing it. She could tease him a little, if she liked. He'd been led to believe he deserved it.

Geralt pulled the dress from his face and set it aside on the bathroom counter. He didn't answer Nina with words; only a very small quirk of his lips into a smile.

Once the water started pooling in the porcelain tub, he crossed the distance to step in, testing it with a white toe.

""Depends on how well you expect me to behave myself."

"If I were expecting either of us to completely behave ourselves, I think I'd still be in that dress," she said airily. "And out of arm's reach."

And even that, that wasn't exactly a guarantee of good behavior for either of them, she'd learned. Nina considered the bath oils she had while Geralt tested the water. It was hot, but not so much that they would have to wait for it to cool down. She chose an oil with rose and benzoin resin, knowing the latter might help prevent any sore muscles. It had been a while since she danced like that.

Edited 2017-10-30 04:05 (UTC)

It was hot. Not hot enough to scald, but hot enough that if you sat still, it would pull the ache right out of bones and muscles. Perfect. Geralt stepped in with one foot and then the other, before lowering himself, slowly and carefully, into the water. Nina had a deep tub, and he was grateful for it. Especially now that cold weather had started to set in.

He knew he never looked quite as old as he did when he was getting into a bath. He chuckled a little at his own slow slide. And then, settled, he rested his head against the smooth curve of the back of the tub and let out a very, very long sigh, eyes closed.

Darrow had some good spots. Baths on demand in moments, that was one.

Nina watched Geralt sink into the water and used her hand to spread the oil around. Once the water was high enough, she turned it off and eased into the tub with him.

"Saints," she sighed as she melted against him, lounging against Geralt's chest with her head against his shoulder. "Oh, can we just sleep here?"

She'd been accused, by more than one person, of being too indulgent to be a suitable soldier. What soldier, after all, looked like Nina Zenik? But all of them could go pound sand for all she cared. She was not giving up having hot baths when she could get them.

Edited 2017-10-30 04:15 (UTC)

"Unfortunately not," Geralt murmured from beneath her. He was perfectly content with Nina cradled in front of him, leaning back against his chest and shoulder.

The smell of the oil bloomed in the humid air, released by the heat of the water.

"Although if I've got to go one day, drowning in a tub with Nina Zenik isn't a bad way to go."

Nina laughed. One hand lazily lifted from the water, fingertips drifting across Geralt's cheek. "You're damn right it isn't."

She took a deep breath and let it go slowly. She was quiet for a long moment, listening to the sound the water made as either of them moved, however subtly. She listened to the sound of Geralt's heart, his breathing.

"Matthias thought I indulged too much. How could I possibly be a soldier, he said. I like to sleep late, I take long, hot baths whenever I can get one. I'm hardly all hard muscle. Even Zoya never got on me about any of that and she found fault in everything else I did."

Maybe because Zoya Nazyalensky, she knew, liked lavender oil baths whenever she was in the Little Palace.

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