the text remains on his screen, taunting him as jaskier picks it up from where he'd thrown it in his fit of panic. he reads it again—𝘣𝘤 𝘪 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘯—and feels the panic rising again.

shit, he really just confessed, didn't he?

his phone rings then, scaring the shit out of him so bad he nearly drops it again. jaskier feels his stomach drop to his feet when he sees geralt's caller id.

well. no going back now, jask.

he answers timidly. "geralt—"

"say it again," comes geralt's demand, and jaskier blinks, teeth clicking as his mouth shuts. what?

"what?"

"say it again," geralt repeats, softer this time. he clears his throat, and jaskier holds his phone tighter against his face, like he might climb through it

and be next to geralt, hearing him and seeing him do this in person. "i-i mean. if you meant it. shit, you didn't mean it, did you. fuck. shit, just forget—"

"i love you," jaskier finds himself saying, voice working without his brain again—only this time

it doesn't feel like a mistake. "i do, i love you. i meant it—mean it. god, geralt, i love you more than i can say. i have for 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, how did you not know?"

it's quiet again, and jaskier has to strain just to hear geralt's breathing. god, did he fuck this up? please don't—

"geralt?"

"love you too, jask," geralt says, quick, but firm, resolved, and before jaskier can get another word out, the line goes dead, and jaskier pulls the phone from his face. geralt hung up on him.

𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘥.

// end thread