Nontraditional
As if the world wasn’t already cruel to omegas, it was brutal to those who couldn’t bear children. Not that witchers needed another reason to be despised, to be hated. They were all omegas by nature, the mutagens ensured that first before morphing them from soft and gentle into hulking monstrosities. Perhaps it was just as well that they were barren, who knew what abomination a monster could bear.
People hated witchers because they defied societal expectations. They weren’t gentle, vulnerable family makers, not at all dependent on an alpha for protection. No, witchers were fiercely independent, no alpha could stand their ground against one. They weren’t meek things to pamper and cherish. Most people were of the opinion that if an omega couldn’t be controlled and couldn’t be used to breed, they were a waste of space.
All these beliefs never stopped Geralt from having wants and needs. Because while he was more than capable of standing up for himself, it sometimes would have been nice to have someone to curl up with, to feel cherished and loved. Maybe even to not have to keep making decision and fighting to survive all the time. But nobody wanted an omega who wasn’t traditional. A witcher’s life was a lonely one not by their choice, but by society’s.
The bard tagging along on his winding path was a conundrum. Geralt wasn’t used to having someone with him who didn’t reek of fear or contempt. Somehow, Jaskier managed it though, flitting through life with all the wonder and delight of someone who hadn’t seen the horrors the world had to offer. Except, no matter what Jaskier saw, the awful things humans and monsters alike were capable of, he didn’t change. It wasn’t an innocence and definitely not a naivety but some other quality that Geralt couldn’t quantify. To find out that the bard was an alpha was a shock. Which was rich coming from Geralt, the least traditional omega possible.
Time passed, Jaskier never made Geralt feel like he was any less. No judgement when he went to whorehouses to try and find comfort, no sneering when he came back from a hunt reeking and veins burning with potions that made him more dangerous. Sometimes there was a hint of sadness and a lingering scent of hopelessness from him but Geralt assumed it was because he sometimes forgot Geralt was an omega.
Their dynamics didn’t seem to matter to Jaskier. He threw as much love at Geralt as he did at his audiences in taverns where he played. It was just a matter of fact that Geralt got to enjoy more of his attention because they travelled together. Food at taverns, Jaskier always pushing a healthy portion at Geralt before sitting down with his own. He also kept Geralt with a steady, fresh supply of comfortable clothes. Nothing extravagant, all in the style and colours Geralt preferred, easy to fight in and dark so dirt (and blood) showed up less. In turn, Geralt made sure their bedding was always as comfortable as he could get it, he hunted down lame wolves and injured deer to provide food as well as furs to keep them warm.
The shift came when, on a rare occasion, Geralt failed a contract. The creature had moved on before he could track it and the villagers were angry, disappointed they were denied their revenge. A stone bounced off Geralt’s armour as those gathered began to pelt him with pebbles and other debris. It was something he’d experienced before, knew the drill. His knees hit the dirt, head bowed as he took his punishment for failing.
A near feral growl rang through the air and a body stood between Geralt and the crowd. There was no mistaking the sound, it was a very pissed off alpha protecting what was theirs. Looking up, Geralt shivered. Given his own bulk, it was easy to forget that Jaskier was about as tall as him and broad in his own right. Next to Geralt, everyone looked small. But in that moment, Jaskier looked lethal, squaring off against the alderman with his head dipped a little and teeth bared. Thankfully it didn’t come to blows, the alderman sneered in disgust and turned, the villagers going with him. After another beat of Jaskier trembling and heaving a breath, he seemed to remember himself and turned to Geralt with so much more care and gentleness than should have been possible.
Crouching in front of Geralt, he fussed with the marks the stones left on the armour, licking his thumb to wipe them off. “You okay?”
The words were soft, barely there whispers and filled with concern Geralt didn’t feel he deserved. He wasn’t a claimed omega and Jaskier wasn’t his alpha. But, then again, thinking back over their history, maybe he had been wrong. They weren’t traditional, there were no declarations of intent, no grand gestures or dowries. Instead, it was all the small things, Jaskier taking care of Geralt in the only way Geralt knew how to accept. And, not even realising it, Geralt had been responding in kind. It was a dance of give and take, so subtle that they slipped into something without quite noticing. The only thing missing was the bonding bite and the sex. They already had physical intimacy, sex was just an extension of that. It was their choice and not biology’s to reach that point and, if Geralt was reading the situation right, they were going to be veering in that direction in the near future.
Finally, Geralt looked up at Jaskier, eyes wide and vulnerable. He licked his lips, tasting the word before saying it.
“Alpha?”
The smile he was graced with was more than Geralt could have dared hope for. His fate was sealed by Jaskier’s reply.
“Yes, my omega?”
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An excerpt from my Geraskier ABO Pregnancy AU
I'm still working on this fic (it's a big one) but I wanted to give you all SOMETHING, so here's a little (3.5k-word) excerpt to tide you over!
Rating: Mature (no explicit sexual content, but it's fairly suggestive)
Tags: fluff, mild angst, platonic affection, idiots in love, pregnant Jaskier, mpreg, ABO/Omegaverse, canon era
Jaskier is soaking in an Igni-heated bath barely big enough for him to fit in. He doesn’t seem to mind, kicking his feet up over the far edge as he rests his head on the other end.
“As much as I hate you spending all our money on inns,” he’s saying, eyes closed as Geralt cleans his swords. “I do appreciate a good soak in a man-made basin every now and then.”
“I know you do,” Geralt says, half a smile on his face for a moment before it drops. There’s something on his mind, something that’s been bugging him since the moment he decided to keep Jaskier.
“Now, now, witcher,” Jaskier tsks. “What’s the frown for this time?”
Geralt sets aside his swords and looks at his companion. Jaskier has twisted his torso to see Geralt better, arms crossed on the side of the basin and chin propped up on them, watching Geralt with wide, amused blue eyes. Geralt no longer bristles at the bard’s nudity—a good thing, because he tends toward heat spells these days, and often the only way to cool down is to strip to the skin. They’ve had a good couple of weeks of work, so his cheeks are full and pinked with the heat from the bath. He could use a shave, but other than that, he looks good.
Geralt looks down at his own hands. “We should talk. About our arrangement.”
“I wasn’t aware we had an arrangement.”
Geralt rolls his eyes, watching the omega smile out of the corner of his eye. “I mean our situation.” He looks up and meets Jaskier’s eye again. “You can’t keep traveling like this, Jask. We need to get you somewhere safe. Comfortable.”
“But I am safe,” Jaskier pouts. “I feel safer with you than I do anywhere else.”
“That’s the problem, little lark,” Geralt says, the endearment spilling from his lips like water. Every time he calls him that, Jaskier’s shoulders relax like Geralt’s taken a great weight off them. He makes it a point to do it as frequently as possible now. “I told you before, the Path is no place for a child. And all that aside, you’re going to keep getting sicker if we don’t let you rest.”
Jaskier waves him off, sinking back into his bath. “You worry too much.”
“No, you don’t worry enough!”
The omega flinches at his tone, glaring at him from the corner of his eye.
Geralt sighs, looking at him apologetically. “I just mean you should take care, Jaskier. If you’re this ill barely a third of the way into your pregnancy, what do you expect to happen later on?”
“I’m not that ill.”
Geralt scoffs. “You turned down a minced pie today, Jaskier.”
He purses his lips, caught. “Fine. You’re getting rid of me, then?”
Geralt should take it for the opening it is. He knows how dangerous traveling with him is for Jaskier. How much worse will it get when he has a child at his breast? Geralt’s new worst nightmare had quickly become returning from a hunt to find Jaskier taken, hurt, beaten, ripped apart and sold for parts. And besides all that, it was becoming dangerous for Geralt. He’s never been so attached to someone—perhaps Eskel or Vesemir, but they know the dangers of their line of work and can fend for themselves. It’s hard to focus on monster hunting when half his mind is preoccupied with the omega waiting for him back at the inn.
A distracted witcher is a dead witcher.
“No,” Geralt says, not even surprising himself.
There’s no question. He physically can’t bring himself to let Jaskier go. He’s tried considering it a time or two in the months they’ve been together, and each time, his stomach ties itself in knots.
The omega relaxes in the tub. “Good. Because as much as I love you, Geralt, there are some things even you can do to break my heart.”
His tone is light, teasing, and he doesn’t seem to realize the impact the words have on Geralt.
He’s still reeling from those words (I love you echoing in his mind) when Jaskier finally pulls himself from the bath, dripping wet, pruned, and smelling of chamomile. Perhaps the sight, perhaps the smell, perhaps those words muddle his mind enough for Geralt to blurt out, “Come to Kaer Morhen with me.”
Jaskier blinks up at him from the towel he’d been drying himself with, his hair tufted up on one side from where he’d rubbed it. “Kaer Morhen?”
“The homeplace of the witchers,” Geralt explains. “The wolf witchers, at least. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I—where we go every winter.”
“And you… want me to come with you?”
“Is that… is that alright? For me to ask?”
Jaskier chuckles and comes to where Geralt is sitting at the edge of the bed—there’s only one, since they’re on a strict budget, after all—and insinuates himself between Geralt’s knees. He doesn’t even seem to be aware of his nudity. Geralt decidedly is aware of it. “Dear witcher,” Jaskier says fondly. His hands land on either of Geralt’s shoulders and his scent, warm and happy, surrounds Geralt’s senses. “Never doubt how much your generosity means to me. It sounds lovely, but…”
“But?” Geralt gives into temptation, lets his hands settle in the dip of Jaskier’s hips, his wrists almost brushing the soft skin of his ever-growing belly. Some deep, base instinct makes him want to rub his scent glands over Jaskier’s bump, to claim him and the pup as Geralt’s. He digs his fingers into his bard’s hips to keep from doing that. He hasn’t been given permission. Jaskier has given no indication that he sees Geralt as anything more than a close friend, a platonic person who could protect him and his pup. The last thing Geralt wants is to breach his trust.
Jaskier purrs softly, not seeming to realize he’s doing it. He fiddles with Geralt’s hair. “I feel as if I’m taking advantage of you.”
Geralt snorts. “Trust me, if I didn’t want you here, I would have dumped you before we even left Posada.”
The bard tips his head and smiles and gods above Geralt just wants to pull him into his lap and press his face against his neck where his scent is strongest. Still grinning, Jaskier asks, “Why do you put up with me, witcher? You don’t seem the type to form attachments.”
“I’m not.”
“And yet… here we are.”
Geralt observes him carefully in the candlelight. “Here we are.” He drags his thumb absently across Jaskier’s ribs, watching goosebumps rise in his wake. Jaskier takes a breath at that, pulling himself away from Geralt to continue drying and dressing himself. Geralt mourns the loss of his touch but lets him go.
“So.” Jaskier twists open a jar of sweet-smelling oil he’d been rubbing on his belly of late. I may adore this child with every fiber of my being, Geralt, but that does not mean I wish to have the marks of pregnancy on my youthful form for the rest of eternity. “Kaer Morhen?”
“Mmm.” Geralt picks up his swords again, going about cleaning and sharpening them absently while he watches Jaskier go about his routine. “Vesemir will be there. He’s a healer, of sorts. He could help with the delivery. Or we could bring someone if you like. A midwife of your choosing.”
Jaskier hums back at him, a mannerism he’s beginning to pick up from Geralt without even realizing it. “Vesemir?”
“My… father, I suppose.” At the omega’s inquisitive look, he goes on. “Witchers are born human and come—came, rather—to the keep when they were young. Many were orphans. Some… weren’t.” Jaskier clearly catches on but graciously deigns not to dig in. “Vesemir was one of the teachers before the sacking of Kaer Morhen, when mages destroyed all knowledge of making new witchers and killed all but a handful of us. Vesemir is the oldest living witcher. He took it upon himself to care for the keep and the last few witchers.”
“You speak fondly of him,” Jaskier says. “Are you close?”
Geralt grunts, not in agreement or disagreement. “I suppose. As close as witchers let themselves get. We have a lot in common. All the witchers left do. No one quite understands the life of a witcher more than another witcher.”
“How many of you are there left?”
“Of my school, the wolf witchers”—he thumbs his medallion—“there’s only me, Vesemir, and my brothers Eskel and Lambert. There are several others left from other schools, but we’re not nearly as close.”
“So, this winter,” Jaskier says. “Would it just be us and Vesemir? Or will your brothers be there?”
“Hard to tell,” Geralt shrugs. “We usually don’t know who’s going to show up until they arrive at the keep. The past couple years, Lambert has brought a guest.”
Dark eyebrows rise as Jaskier slips into a clean change of smallclothes. “A guest? Then it won’t be strange if I come?”
Geralt snorts. “No, it will be strange. Lambert’s guest is a witcher from one of the other schools.” He meets Jaskier’s eye. “None of us have ever brought home a human. Not since it’s just been the four of us.”
“Let alone a pregnant omega?” Jaskier snorts. He flicks a wrist, playing at being scandalized. “Imagine what they’ll say, Geralt! They’ll accuse you of stealing my virtue!”
Geralt rolls his eyes. “As if you had any to begin with.”
Jaskier gasps, clutching his chest. “You wound me, darling. I’ll have you know I was the picture of innocence before—well, before this.” The hand at his chest smooths over his stomach as he looks down fondly.
Geralt hums in response, languishing in the omega’s happy scent as he strokes his baby bump. “They’ll know it’s not mine anyway.”
“How so?”
“Witchers are sterile,” Geralt says. He expects the shocked, saddened look Jaskier shoots his way, and waves him off. “I’m not sensitive about it. It’s part of the Trials to become a witcher, and they don’t hide the information from us beforehand. We go in knowing we will either die in the trials or come out the other side an alpha with no ability to breed.”
“Oh.” Jaskier wilts a little, his scent—usually a mix of honey and lilies—dips toward something like sandalwood. “I’m sorry, Geralt.”
“It’s not your fault, Jask.”
“No, I mean.” He throws his chemise over his head and scrambles up onto the bed with Geralt, laying his head on the witcher’s shoulder with no regard for the sword in his hands. Again, that blind trust that makes Geralt wonder what he did to deserve it. “Here I am, running around and making poor life decisions while carrying a pup, and you can’t…”
“Jask.” Geralt nuzzles his hair absently to get his attention. The omega tips his head up to look at him with watery blue eyes. Geralt sets the sword aside—again—and resolves to finish it in the morning. “I told you, I don’t care. Especially not when I get to see how happy you are every day.”
Jaskier squints, mushing his cheek against Geralt’s shoulder, looking every bit like a contented house cat. “I am happy. I feel as if I should be worried or anxious or afraid, but I’m not. I have many regrets in my life, but this is not one of them. I’m glad I have the pup. I’m glad I have my freedom. I’m glad I have you. You’re a dear friend, you know that, Geralt?”
Geralt grunts.
“You are!” Jaskier shoves his arm gently, not even enough to dislodge himself from Geralt’s shoulder. “Not many people would be willing to put up with me, with or without the child. And here you are, not just tolerating me, but taking care of me. Why is that?”
Geralt shrugs with his free shoulder.
“Oh, don’t get silent on me now, Geralt! We’re having a heart-to-heart!”
“Exactly.”
“Ugh!” Jaskier flings himself back on the bed, kneeing Geralt in the thigh as he squirms to get comfortable. Geralt pinches his leg in retaliation, making him giggle. “Fine. Don’t tell me, then. I’ll just assume you are susceptible to my charm and wit. You saw me in Posada and thought, ‘Yes. Now there’s a man I’d let rub chamomile on my lovely bo—‘”
“It was one time, Jask.”
“One very memorable time, on my part.” Jaskier grins, cheeky and lecherous. With a face like that, there’s no wonder he was knocked up before the age of twenty.
Geralt makes himself end that line of thought the second it arrives.
Instead of admiring his friend’s fuckability, he grunts. “It’s not too late for me to leave you along the road somewhere.”
“No!” Jaskier wraps his arms around Geralt’s waist from behind, his head knocking against his hip. Geralt twists to accommodate him, letting the bard rest his head in his lap. “I’ll surely shrivel up and die the moment you leave me. You wouldn’t want that on your conscience, would you?”
“I think you overestimate how much you need me. You’d make it just fine on your own.”
The omega tips his head to level an unimpressed look up at him. “When we met, I was getting booed out of taverns and stuffing bread in my pants so I’d have something to eat later.”
Geralt just hums.
Jaskier pokes him in the side. “I’m happy with you, Geralt. It’s a peculiar arrangement, but I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
Geralt watches him for a moment, aware his face was probably too fond at the moment but too content with the omega’s closeness to care. “You pet your stomach when you’re tired, you know that?”
Jaskier looks down. Sure enough, his hand had strayed to the little bump and was smoothing over it. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Winter isn’t for another two months still.”
“Very astute, love.”
Geralt snorts and tugs his hair until Jaskier yelps and bats his hands away. “I mean, I think we should find somewhere safe for you until it’s time to make the trip to Kaer Morhen.”
Jaskier frowns and turns to lay on his back, his head still in Geralt’s lap. The hand that had tugged his hair now smooths it back. “You want to split up?”
“Only for a couple weeks,” Geralt says. “The Path, as I’ve said, is no place for you right now. You’re only going to get more uncomfortable in the coming months, and you need to be somewhere you can rest and relax. It would… I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you or the pup because you’re with me.”
“What do you propose, then?”
“I can put you up somewhere. Somewhere with good weather and plenty of things for you to do. Somewhere you can relax and pick at that lute you’ve barely touched the past few weeks.”
Jaskier frowns. “Fingers were too swollen.”
“The swelling will go down if you rest.” Geralt leans over him to catch his eye. “And as much as I love having you close, knowing you and the pup are safe and healthy, I’d feel better knowing you were somewhere you can get warm baths and hot food whenever you want.”
“How do you propose we do that, hmm? It isn’t as if we have the money.”
Geralt puts a hand on Jaskier’s chest to hold him steady as he reaches over the edge of the bed for his sword. He unclasps the pin there, the one he’d pulled from Renfri’s body as a reminder all those years ago. He holds it out for Jaskier.
The bard takes it and studies it. “I’ve seen this but didn’t want to ask.” His thumb runs carefully across the clasp. “I figured it was sentimental. It’s fine craftsmanship. I’m sure it would sell for a pretty penny, if that’s what you’re suggesting.”
“It is,” Geralt says. “I’m not sentimental. The person who gave it to me is long dead. It was more of a… reminder to myself, than anything else. I don’t…” He looks at Jaskier. The bard was now holding the hand Geralt had put on his chest, stroking his wrist softly as he watches Geralt with those wide, innocent eyes. “I don’t think I need it anymore.”
Jaskier’s heart rate spikes for a moment as he turns the pin over in his hand, pink flushing his cheeks. “If you’re sure,” he says. “I don’t want you giving up any more than you already have for me, Geralt. I’ll never be able to repay you for your kindness.”
“I’m not doing this so you’ll pay me back.”
“Then why are you?”
The same question from earlier, just rephrased. Glancing at Jaskier, Geralt knows he did it on purpose. Geralt sighs and takes the pin back, just to give himself something to do. “Because you’re special, Jask.” The bard beams, and Geralt nudges him softly. “Don’t let it go to your head. I’m going to sell this so you don’t freeze or go hungry while I’m gone. I’ll let you pick the town.”
“Oxenfurt,” he says without hesitation.
Geralt frowns. “Why Oxenfurt?”
“I’ve got friends there, at the university,” Jaskier explains. “I know at least one of them will put me up, especially if I pay for food and whatever other expenses I’ll have.”
“How do you know these friends?”
“Stand down, guard dog,” Jaskier chuckles. “We grew up together. Priscilla was from a neighboring family, and we were the same age, so we always sat together at parties. She is kind, and generous, and happily bonded to her alpha, Philippa.” He gives Geralt a significant look and Geralt stops bristling—which he didn’t even realize he was doing. “They’re good friends, Geralt. They’ll ensure I’m looked after while you’re gone.”
Geralt nods, smoothing a hand down Jaskier’s chest. His gaze strays to the little bump on the bard’s belly, where Jaskier is still stroking.
“You want to feel?” the omega offers. “Pup won’t be moving for a couple months, probably, but it’s a fascinating feeling.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Oh, Geralt.” Jaskier takes his hand and lifts his chemise, letting Geralt finally rest his palm over the little swell beneath his navel. His skin is hot and smooth, little divots where his skin has begun stretching to accommodate the life growing beneath the surface. It’s not big—Geralt’s hand covers the full expanse of it—but it feels significant. If he focuses, he can feel the vibrations of the pup’s heartbeat. His breath leaves him in a rush.
“What?” Jaskier asks in quiet alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong,” Geralt says. He strokes his hand across Jaskier’s belly gently, soothing him in and taking in the feel. “I can feel their heartbeat.”
“Really?” Jaskier slips his hand under Geralt’s, brows drawing in with the effort of trying.
Geralt chuckles softly at him. “You won’t be able to. Witcher senses.”
“Oh, Geralt,” Jaskier squeaks. The scent of tears alerts Geralt to his sudden burst of emotion.
“Jaskier?” He shifts around so the bard is no longer on his lap and leans over him, one hand still on his belly and the other on the bed. “Jaskier, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“No, no.” Jaskier gives a shaky laugh and wipes his face with the hand not trapped under Geralt’s. “I’m fine. Just… overwhelmed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He flips his hand over to catch Geralt’s fingers in his. “That was the greatest gift you could give me. Guh.” He gives a mighty, nasty sniff that makes Geralt laugh. “Shut up. Don’t make fun of a poor, pregnant omega.”
“I would never.” Geralt raises their joined hands to his lips before he even realizes what he’s doing and presses a kiss to the omega’s knuckles. Jaskier’s cheeks turn pink and his scent takes a sultry spike that Geralt doesn’t let himself linger on. “So, we’re agreed? Tomorrow we leave for Oxenfurt, where you’ll stay with your friends if they’ll have you. I’ll return for you in two months when it’s time to make the trip up the Blue Mountains. We’ll spend the winter in Kaer Morhen until the pup arrives, then we stay as long as you need to recover.”
Jaskier blinks up at him. “We… you mean you intend to keep me around after the pup arrives?”
“Of course,” Geralt says, though he hadn’t put much thought to it before. All he knew was that there was no way he was willing to part with his omega.
No, not his omega. Just Jaskier. Jaskier, who happened to be an omega. Jaskier, who was carrying another alpha’s pup.
Jaskier can’t seem to find words—a rare occurrence for him—so he just pulls Geralt down into a crushing hug. Geralt keeps himself up, afraid to put too much weight on the bard. “Thank you,” Jaskier whispers, a fresh wave of tears spilling from his eyes and smearing all over both of them. “Thank you, thank you.”
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