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The water dripping from Lambert’s hair ran into his eyes as he toed his boots off by the front door, sopping strands hanging limply at the edge of his vision. He threw his keys in the little tray he and Jaskier kept by the door with more aggression than he’d meant, a testament to just how miserable his day had been.
Lambert’s foul mood had persisted for some time, since the beginning of the week perhaps when the rain clouds had first appeared in the sky outside. They hadn’t left since. Lambert’s boss was giving him a run for his money, insisting he knew more about it than Lambert himself despite not being qualified. On top of that, Vesemir had been nagging him non-stop about the tuxedo he needed to buy for Geralt’s wedding - wanting both his brothers to match. Lambert didn’t have the money until his boss finally gave him his overdue paychecks but his father didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer. The storm that had been blowing persistently over the previous few days was just the icing on the cake. Even inside their apartment, Lambert could still hear the rain thundering on the window panes as he wandered through the kitchen and into the adjoined living room. He stopped at the entrance.
“Jask? What’s this?” Lambert called, confused. Blankets were strung up from the lampshade in the centre of the room, draped over items of furniture and attached to the picture hooks on the walls to create a small tent. The sofas, which had been pushed back against the walls to make more room for the construction, were devoid of cushions and throw pillows; and the faint yellow tinge of fairy lights could be seen through the blankets.
Lambert was ashamed to say his first thought was to sigh deeply and internally complain over the mess, too stressed out to deal with Jaskier’s weird activities. But he pushed that thought downwards. Yes, he’d had a shitty day, but he wasn’t going to take it out on his boyfriend.
“Oh darling, you’re home earlier than I expected! I thought you were staying late? I’m almost done but I was gonna make you some hot chocolate with marshmallows too!” Jaskier appeared from between the blankets of the makeshift tent, dropping a cushion back onto the floor and stepping over it as he approached. He wore a light blue jumper, incredibly soft and bringing out the even brighter hue of his eyes. Just at the sight of him, Lambert felt some of his earlier tension leave.
“What’s going on?” The answer was obvious but Lambert had always preferred things to be spelled out for him, that way it was easier to know where he stood. It had made dating Jaskier at all extremely difficult until the musician had figured it out, but they’d adapted accordingly on both sides.
Jaskier didn’t answer right away. He paced forwards, fluffy socks silent on the carpet, and helped Lambert shrug from his wet jacket, hanging it over the back of a chair to dry. After that, he pressed in close, easing himself into Lambert’s personal space and wrapping his arms low around the others waist. Jaskier was a little taller than Lambert and while the ginger pretended to hate it, he loved how it meant he could melt into his boyfriend more easily and rest his head on Jaskier’s shoulder. The temptation to do so then was strong, but Lambert resisted. His hair was damp from the rain and the last thing he wanted to do was ruin Jaskier’s jumper, as lovely as it looked on him.
“I know you’ve been feelin’ rough recently…” Jaskier squeezed Lambert's waist lightly, tugging him closer. “So I thought we’d have a nice, cozy evening together since it’s so stormy out - something a little different, hmm? It’s a pity we don’t have a fire place, then I could've really pushed the boat out for you.” Lambert was of the opinion that a full-sized blanket fort was already pushing the boat out but made no comment. Although he didn’t say as much out loud, Lambert thought he’d like a cosy night in with Jaskier fussing on him like his boyfriend so often wanted to. Usually, Lambert was too stubborn to give in - but tonight he would.
Jaskier didn’t seem to mind Lambert’s quietness and kissed him sweetly on the nose.
“You should get changed, sweetheart, I left a jumper and some fluffy socks out for you on the bed since I know you wouldn’t get them yourself…” That much was probably true. Left to his own devices, Lambert would have likely sat in his damp jeans and shirt for the entire evening. With a little nudge from Jaskier, Lambert set off towards their bedroom.
On the bed was indeed one of Lambert’s jumpers and a pair of thermal socks. Jaskier had bought the socks for him last christmas but Lambert rarely indulged himself enough to wear them. This evening, though, he would. He changed quickly and slipped them on, a pair of flannel pyjamas too for good measure. The jumper had also been a gift from Jaskier for his birthday, if Lambert recalled correctly. Since dating the musician, it seemed the number of soft things Lambert owned had grown exponentially, but he couldn’t find it in him to be upset
He arrived back in the living room just in time to hear the click as the kettle boiled over and switched off, Jaskier standing over it and preparing two mugs of hot chocolate. At a loss of what else to do, Lambert wandered over to him.
“No, darling, you go sit in the fort, I’ll be with you in just a sec…” Jaskier shooed him off in the direction of the fort and Lambert followed the command with a small grunt.
Parting the wall of blankets, Lambert looked down to find the duvet from the spare bedroom lining the floor, odd cushions and pillows dotted around to make something similar to a nest. For a moment, Lambert only stared. Jaskier had said it often enough that he never knew how to relax and Lambert supposed he was right. After several seconds, though, he tentatively took a seat on one of the sofa cushions, the fairy lights strung overhead brushing against his drying hair. He fiddled with one of the fleece blankets scrunched nearby, pulling it over his lap and picking at the frayed label.
“Now here we are…” Jaskier’s voice rang out as he entered the blanket fort, two mugs in his hands, both filled to the brim with frothy hot chocolate. On receiving his, Lambert couldn’t help but smile at the marshmallows piled on top. He’d never told Jaskier outright, but that was his favourite way to drink hot chocolate. Lambert supposed he couldn’t be too angry at Vesemir for letting that particular detail slip.
Taking a sip, slurping as the foam covered his top lip, Lambert noted it was not, but not uncomfortably so. ‘He really does know how to make the perfect hot chocolate…’ Lambert thought.
Jaskier settled himself behind Lambert on the same cushion, sitting sideways and winding his free arm around Lambert’s waist so the ginger was guided back to rest against him, leaning into Jaskier’s side and tucked under his arm. Lambert squirmed a little and settled, content with the silence as he nursed the hot drink in his hands.
“I did quite a bit of organising today…” Jaskier started, voice soft and close to Lambert’s ear. “Managed to get that tux sorted out for you - it’ll be delivered in time for alterations to be made but they’ve extended a line of credit so we don’t have to pay until next month…” The combination of Jaskier’s smooth voice and the knowledge that he’d get Vesemir off his back had Lambert relaxing further into Jaskier’s hold. “I thought we could spend this weekend at the winter fair instead of the tailors? You still haven’t tried pumpkin spice lattes and you promised you would…”
Lambert huffed exaggeratedly but there was a smile on his lips as he took another long swig.
“Yeah fuckin’ fine… I’ll be a valley girl for the day if it makes you happy…” Jaskier giggled and squeezed the arm wrapped around Lambert’s middle. Smiling into his drink, Lambert yawned widely, jaw cracking with released tension. Jaskier put down his mug and carded a hand through Lambert’s hair softly.
“You sleepy, baby?” His voice was barely there but loud enough for Lambert to hear and nod. Now that the tension had finally left his body, Lambert was feeling the exhaustion that the past few days had left him with.
“Fucking exhausted…”
“Aww… come lay down then. Here.” The almost empty mug was pried gently from Lambert’s hands as Jaskier shuffled backwards. He used the arm wrapped around Lambert’s stomach to pull the ginger with him, guiding him to lay on his side with his head resting on Jaskier’s thighs. The fleece blanket that had been sitting on Lambert’s lap was moved, draped over his body up to his shoulders. Lambert sighed under its weight, wiggling a little to get comfy before he went limp.
Jaskier made a satisfied sound and smiled down at him. A hand pet at Lambert’s hair idly again for a moment before it was gone, Jaskier leaning back to grasp something hidden beneath the duvet under them. Lambert’s teddy bear from when he was a child.
Too relaxed to be even slightly annoyed, Lambert could only sigh softly when he saw it. The first time Jaskier had visited Vesemir’s house and seen Lambert’s childhood bedroom, he’d insisted on taking the bear with him back home. Since the two of them had moved in together, the bear (which Lambert had rather creatively named ‘bear’ and which Jaskier often referred to as Arnold because he refused to go along with Lambert’s boringness) had lived on their shared bed along with one of Jaskier’s own stuffed toys. Jaskier had put it there under the pretense of ‘decoration’ but spent a good deal of time coaxing Lambert to hold it at night. Usually, Lambert resisted and threw the toy to the other side of the room in protest, but not this evening.
Begrudgingly, Lambert accepted Arnold and took the bear into his arms, squashing him against his chest and settling again. Jaskier pulled the blanket up from where it’d slipped slightly and went back to stroking Lambert’s head, the tips of his fingers digging into Lambert’s scalp satisfyingly. The ginger’s eyes slipped closed, the draw of sleep too much to resist - and he didn’t think he wanted to anyway. In the back of his mind, Lambert knew that if he napped then, he wouldn’t sleep well that night, but he did so anyway. What was life without a little indulgence, hmm?