Chapter 1 | Destiny

                                    

                                          
Julian POV
                          
It had not even fully reached winter yet, it was still in the beautiful season of autumn yet there were snowflakes starting to fall already. It was quite normal for these parts, the snow did get quite heavy in the wintertime.
                          
Jaskier's hands were in his front pockets, his thumbs poking out. His nails were short now, ridged, no longer polished and shaped so harshly. He did clean under them though. That was something because of his job and old habits of hygiene. Some things just always stay. He wore a simple black jacket. It was thick, had wool inside, and waterproof outside but he did not bother to do it up seeming he was only walking two blocks.
                          
The bar that he works at, Sweet Kiss, ran out of damn ice because the freezer out back broke down making everything turn to slush. The fact no one there dusts it or looks after it really apart from wiping it down sort of predicted it was going to happen sooner or later. He needed some foam from the store, check.
                          
He had that already in a black plastic bag which was held up by the handles on Jaskiers forearm along with the receipt shoved inside. Now he just had to get some supplies for the men he worked with who said they'd buy him a snack if he went ahead and got some snacks for them.
                          
Everyone had missed out on their morning break this morning, Tuesdays were usually busy like that. No particular reason, maybe it is just the social day. People order water or lemonades and such, more often than alcohol during the morning but night shifts, Jaskier's usual shift time, was filled with the same people who were drinking earlier, people who had switched from lemonades to shots and others were just night owls or got off work for the night.
                          
So here Jaskier was, padding down the street with his black leather polished shoes which were designed to be especially waterproof, every barman had them due to it being work code they wear them, and the rest of the code was to wear black and white and don't look like a snob.
                          
So Jaskier had black velvet-like pants, a simple white undershirt which allowed his chest hairs to freely spring up the top from it. Untamed and unkept yet still soft as ever. It seems that part of him stayed, even if he only used soap on his chest. Black suspenders clipped onto the velvet pants helped to make him look a little more classy but still, he was rough.
                          
Which was his persona one could say when he was at the bar. There were two other bartenders who worked there. Mike and Jewels. Both were their way before him, married, and are actually the owners of the place. A lot of people who have their own businesses in this town decided to work and be in their own shops. Jaskier had heard lots about how Mike and Jewels built the place from the ground up.
                          
Took a few summers as the winters were harsh and sometimes undid some of the work they had put into it, no matter what they did. But three summers and she was built, ready for action. It's the only town bar there is apart from one on the very very far side of town.
                          
That was mainly targeted at people coming through though. It was more like a bar and less than a home though, especially compared to in here where it was always warm. Torches lit along the wall, mainly for the blackouts which happen more often than not due to the town being so far away from any other place. It's not a rich town either, but the people all help one another and are accepting even if they don't agree.
                          
As Jaskier thought of the town and rolled his eyes internally at the two back at the bar, he slid his hand out of his pocket and ruffled it against his stubby chin, not helping but letting the right side of his mouth tug up slightly at the corner of his lips.